Mirror Mirror

What is emptiness? Emptiness (shunyata) is the reality of the existence of ourselves, and all the phenomena around us. According to the Buddhist point of view, seeking reality and seeking liberation amount to the same thing. The person who doesn’t want to seek reality doesn’t really want to seek liberation, and is just confused.

If you seek reality and you think that it has to be taught to you by a Tibetan Lama, that you have to look for it outside yourself, in another place – maybe Shangrila! – then you are mistaken. You cannot seek reality outside yourself because you are reality. Perhaps you think that your life, your reality was made by society, by your friends? If you think that way you are far from reality. if you think that your existence, your life was made by somebody else it means that you are not taking the responsibility to understand reality.

You have to see that your attitudes, your view of the world, of your experiences, of your girlfriend or boyfriend, of your own self, are all the interpretation of your own mind, your own imagination. They are your own projection, your mind literally made them up. If you don’t understand this then you have very little chance of understanding emptiness.

This is not just the Buddhist view but also the experience of Western physicists and philosophers – they have researched into reality too. Physicists look and look and look and they simply cannot find one entity that exists in a permanent, stable way: this is the Western experience of emptiness.

If you can imagine that then you will not have any concrete concepts; if you understand this experience of physicists then you will let go of your worldly problems – but you don’t want to understand.

It seems to me that we twentieth century people are against nature, against reality, the very opposite of reality. Each moment we build up our artificial, polluted ego; we cover ourselves with heavy ego blankets – one, two, ten, one hundred blankets against nature, against reality. Modern life is the product of the intellectual mind, and we create it. The intellectual mind is superstition. We don’t understand reality, and the intellectual life that we lead keeps us far from reality.

So we don’t accept who we are. We are always looking to cover ourselves with thick blankets and say “this is me”. We hide our own reality and run away from natural beauty, completely neglecting it. By not touching our reality, our modern life becomes so complicated and we create problems with our superstition. We are like a spider spinning his web, climbing on his thread then falling down; climbing up again and falling down again. In the same way we build our own intellectual web, a way of life, that is so complicated, that doesn’t touch reality, that is so difficult to live in. This construction arises from our own mind and does not arise from anything else.

If I told you that you are nothing, you are zero, that you are nothing that you think you are, then you would be shocked. “What is this monk saying?” But what if I say that it is the truth! In fact you are non duality, non self existence. You do not exist, relatively or absolutely, as you think you do. If you really understood this then you would become more realistic and you would really gain satisfaction and peace. But as long as you hold on to the fantasy, concrete conception of yourself and project this wrong conception onto your environment, then no way will you understand reality.

In Western cities nowadays, you can see, the older you are the more problems you have. When we are young, not so many problems, but then there are drugs and sex, and eventually they become dissatisfying, then more depression, more depression. So, as your body becomes bigger and your brain becomes wider, you have more and more problems and become more and more depressed. The more money you have the more problems come. You can see this.

You only take care of your body, you never take care of your mind, and the result of this imbalance is depression. For most western people this is the case: only the body is reality and they don’t care about the existence of the mind, the soul, the consciousness. They don’t believe they can change their minds. They can change their nose through an operation but they don’t believe they can change thei And when you believe this then no way can you resolve your depression.

Our thoughts, our mind or consciousness are mental energy and cannot be localised in the body. It cannot be touched; it has no form and does not travel in time and space. We cannot touch it or grasp it.

What is important to understand is that the view you have of yourself and the view you have of your environment are based on your own mind; they are the projection of your mind and that is why they are not reality.

I will give you a good example. When a western man or woman looks for a girl or boyfriend, there is this research energy from both sides and when suddenly they see each other they make up an incredible story. “Oh, so beautiful! Nothing wrong inside or outside”. They build up a perfect myth. They push and push., the mind makes it all up. If they are Christian they say, “Oh, he looks just like Jesus. She looks just like an angel. So nice, so pure”. Actually, they are just projecting their own fantasies onto each other.

If she is Hindu, then he would say, “Oh, she looks like Kali, like Mother Earth, like my universal mother”…and if you are Buddhist you fold your hands and say, “Oh, she is a dakini and she is showing me the true nature of all things”. You understand? “When I am near her she gives me energy, energy. Before, I was so lazy, I couldn’t move, I was like a dead person. But now whenever I go near her I can’t believe my energy!” I tell you all this is superstitious interpretation. You think that she is your spiritual friend and all she does is really perfect, even her kaka and pee pee are so pure! Excuse me, perhaps I shouldn’t talk like this – I am a Buddhist monk! But when we speak about Buddhism, about reality then we have to speak practically, from daily life, about what is earthy, what we can touch and see, not just get caught up in concepts.

What I mean is this: you should recognise how every appearance in your daily lift is in fact a false projection of your own mind. Your own mind makes it up and becomes an obstacle to touching reality. This is why, our entire life, no matter what kind of life we have, it is a disaster. If you have a rich life, your life is a disaster. If you have a middle class life, your life is a disaster. If you have a poor life, your life is even more of a disaster! You become a monk and your life is a disaster. If you become a Christian your life is a disaster. A Buddhist, disaster… Be honest. Be honest with yourself.

In fact reality is very simple. The simplicity of the mind can touch reality, and meditation is something that goes beyond the intellect and brings the mind into its natural state. We have the pure nature already, this reality exists in us now, it is born with us… The essence of your consciousness, your truth, your soul is not absolutely negative, it does not have an essentially negative character. Our mind is like the sky and our problems of ego grasping and self pity are like clouds. Eventually they all pass and disappear. You should not believe, “I am my ego, I am my problems, therefore I cannot solve my problems”. Wrong. You can see. Sometimes we are so clear in our life we are almost radiating. We can have this experience right now. Now!

So it is wrong to think that we are always a disaster. Sometimes we are clean clear, sometimes we are a disaster. So, stay in meditation, just keep in that clean clear state as much as possible. All of us can have that clean clear state of mind.

Actually, maybe this is the moment to meditate. My feeling is to meditate now. So, close your eyes, don’t think, “I am meditating”, just close your eyes and whatever view is there, whatever view is there in your mind, just be aware. Don’t interpret good, bad. Just be like a light – light doesn’t think “I like this, I like that”. It is just a light. Whatever is in your consciousness, whatever experience, just be aware. That is all.

Whatever your experience at the moment, whatever your colour, whatever appearance is there, just stay aware. Be aware. If it’s black energy, then that black energy is clean clear. If it’s white energy, just feel that clean clear state. Be aware of whatever is happening. No interpretation … Don’t try to hold onto something or to reject something.

This teaching is an excerpt from Lama Yeshe’s talk at VajraYogini Institute, France, September 5, 1983.

@ http://www.buddhasvillage.com/teachings/ly_everyday.htm

Transforming Confusion into Wisdom
City Retreat | Berkeley Shambhala Center
Fall 1999

Let me address this question of: What’s the difference between dissolving the barriers and setting good boundaries?

This came up in some of the discussion groups, and this question also comes up —you won’t be surprised— in many of the places where I do this teaching. I’ve given this some thought —and I’ve heard a lot of other people’s views on this too, so I’ve been educated by other people’s thinking on this. Currently, this is my answer, and I’m sure it’s a work in process.

I feel that setting boundaries, good boundaries —the intention of that— is to allow for communication to happen. And, barriers are shutting down communication.

To set good boundaries takes a lot of courage. And you have to be going through this process of acknowledging your pain, and also what triggers you, and acknowledging how much you can handle and how much you can’t handle. Theres already a lot of courage that’s gone on in coming to the place of setting boundaries. But, the intention is to make communication clearer.

For instance, the classic situaton of you’re in a relationship where you’re beaten. And, all your friends are saying, “Why do you stay in that relationship?” Well, it’s because of barriers, and turning away, and all of this stuff. Because, why do you to allow this to happen to yourself again and again? Well, it’s very complicated, and it has to do with the ego structure and how we are afraid to actually to go into this, and we’re hoping that this time the happiness that I’m seeking will come from staying in this destructive relationship.

A barrier is this turning away and staying stuck. There’s ignorance involved in barriers. Maybe that’s one of the main ingredients of the ego and the self-centeredness, or the barriers, cocoon— however you say it— is ignorance: not really looking at what’s going on. So, then, usually with a lot of help from other people, and your own reservoir of courage beginning to come up, and your own reservoir of clarity and sanity and self-compassion getting stronger, you get to the place where you actually say: If you hit me again, I’m leaving, and I’m leaving for good, and I’m not coming back unless you do some work with a therapist, or whatever, around the fact that you keep hitting me. But, from my side, I’m out of here. And then you do it. That’s an example of setting good boundaries. But it takes a lot of courage to do that, because that may mean the end of this relationship, which represents a lot of things.

Setting good boundaries is actually pushing you more and more towards going into it. And it’s clarifying the situation. It is the most compassionate thing you can do for the other person and for yourself, because it’s frightening because the other person is often not going to want to hear— your boss, your spouse, your child, or whoever it is, is not going to want to hear your boundaries, and they’re going to get angry with you.

If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of someone setting their boundaries, and it provokes you and makes you angry, but at least you know what you’re working with. And you can even say, This doesn’t work for me, I have to go —or you decide to stay and work with it. But, at least, there’s clarity.

Whereas, with barriers, and the whole way ego works, it just causes a lot of confusion —mixed messages are a sign of barriers— and so the suffering just escalates with barriers.

The idea of setting good boundaries is to provide clarity, communication, and it takes a lot of bravery to do it.

@ http://www.shambhala.org/teachers/pema/bvb.php

One of the most perplexing problems that people have is how to deal with their feelings. Just experiencing some of them is hard enough, but people are further confused by various recommendations to “go ahead and feel them,” “let them take you to their source,” “analyze them,” “go ahead and express them,” and “change them.” It’s not surprising that some of these recommendations seem to contradict each others. Perhaps it will be helpful to consider dealing with feelings in terms of “stages.”

Stage 1: You get a mildly unpleasant feeling that doesn’t really interfere with your work or relationships. It could have a multitude of sources, from burnt toast for breakfast to someone else’s emotional spillover. It isn’t worth being concerned about. Turn your attention to something else and it will automatically transform itself.

Stage 2: You get a more unpleasant feeling that does interfere with work and relationships and your own self-esteem. First step, find some way to express it without disrupting your work or relationships. If you can express it safely to someone else, fine; otherwise, do it when alone or in your imagination. Often this process alone will transform the feeling into something more positive. If not, take step two, which is paying attention to your thoughts and to your environment (including people) when the feeling comes on. In this way you can learn to pinpoint the source of the feeling and deal with that. It might involve changing ideas or opinions; using a mental or energetic technique; or changing your environment (even a cluttered desk can be depressing). If you can deal successfully with the source, the feeling will change automatically.

Stage 3: You have a recurring or constant unpleasant feeling that interferes with your effectiveness. You have found the source as far as you can tell and have tried to deal with it, but this hasn’t worked very well. In all likelihood, the feeling is linked to a habitual idea about yourself or about life, but just knowing that won’t change it, and just saying you are changing it won’t change it either. I won’t kid you, the solution at this stage requires effort. It will mean consciously and with determination forcing yourself to behave differently and think differently in spite of how you feel. You don’t force yourself to think of something unrelated at this stage (that may work with Stage 1 or 2), because here that will only result in suppression. Instead, you force yourself to think and behave in a way that is the direct opposite of the feeling. Consciously and on purpose you generate the opposite feeling, too. You break the old habit by replacing it with a new one, and you maintain the effort until the job is done.

Here is a simple guideline for a difficult process. I call it the Triple Whammy FUDS-buster (FUDS = fear, unhappiness, doubt, stress):

1. Increase your energy (breathe deeply and slowly)
2. Bless the present (change negative words to positive words)
3. Trust yourself (change negative thoughts to positive thoughts)
4. Expect the best (change negative posture to positive posture)

It works, but only if you use it.

@ http://www.huna.org/html/feelings.html

EIGHT WORLDLY CONDITIONS

Vicissitudes of Life
(Atthalokadhamma)

This ill-balanced world is not absolutely rosy. Nor is it totally thorny. The rose is soft, beautiful and fragrant. But the stem on which it grows is full of thorns. What is rosy is rosy; what is thorny is thorny. Because of the rose one will not meddle with the thorns nor will one disparage the rose on account of the thorns.

To an optimist this world is absolutely rosy; to a pessimist this world is absolutely thorny. But to a realist this world is neither absolutely rosy nor absolutely thorny. It abounds with beautiful roses and prickly thorns as well, from a realistic standpoint.

An understanding person will not be infatuated by the beauty of the rose but will view it as it is. Knowing well the nature of the thorns, he will view them as they are and will take the precaution not to be wounded.

Like the pendulum that perpetually turns to the right and left, four desirable and undesirable conditions prevail in this world which everyone, without exception, must perforce face in the course of one’s lifetime.

They are gain (lābha) and loss (alābha), fame (yasa) and defame (ayasa), praise (pasamsā) and blame (nindā), happiness (sukha) and pain (dukkha).

GAIN and LOSS

Business men, as a rule, are subject to both gain (lābha) and loss (alābha). It is quite natural to be complacent in obtaining a gain or a profit. In itself there is nothing wrong. Such righteous or unrighteous profits produce some pleasure which average men seek. Without pleasurable moments, though temporary, life would not be worth living. In this competitive and chaotic world rarely do people enjoy some kind of happiness which gladdens their hearts. Such happiness, though material, does conduce to health and longevity.

The problem arises in case of loss. Profits one can bear smilingly but not so the losses. More often than not they lead to mental derangement and sometimes to suicide when the losses are unbearable. It is under such adverse circumstances that one should exhibit moral courage and maintain a balanced mind. All have ups and downs while battling with life. One should always be prepared for the losses in particular. Then there will be less disappointment.

When something is stolen naturally one feels sad. But by becoming sad one would not be able to retrieve the loss. One should think that someone had benefited thereby though unrighteously. May he be well and happy!

Or one can console oneself thinking:– “It’s only a minor loss.” One may even adopt a highly philosophical attitude “there is nothing to be called Me or Mine.”

In the time of the Buddha once a noble lady was offering food to the Venerable Sāriputta and some monks. While serving them she received a note stating that her husband and all her sons who had gone to settle a dispute were waylaid and killed. Without getting upset, calmly she kept the note in her waist-pouch and served the monks as if nothing had happened. A maid, who was carrying a pot of ghee to offer to the monks, inadvertently slipped and broke the pot of ghee. Thinking that the lady would naturally feel sorry over the loss, Venerable Sāriputta consoled her, saying that all breakable things are bound to break. The wise lady unperturbly remarked — “Bhante, what is this trivial loss? I have just received a note stating that my husband and sons were killed by some assassins. I placed it in my pouch without losing my balance. I am serving you all despite the loss.”

Such valour on the part of courageous women is highly commendable.

Once the Buddha went seeking alms in a village. Owing to the intervention of Māra the Evil One, the Buddha did not obtain any food. When Māra questioned the Buddha rather sarcastically whether He was hungry or not, the Buddha solemnly explained the mental attitude of those who are free from Impediments, and replied:– “Ah, happily do we live, we who have no Impediments. Feeders of joy shall we be even as the gods of the Radiant Realm.”

On another occasion the Buddha and His disciples observed vassa (rainy period) in a village at the invitation of a brahmin, who, however, completely forgot his duty to attend to the needs of the Buddha and the Sangha. Throughout a period of three months, although Venerable Moggallāna volunteered to obtain food by his psychic powers, the Buddha, making no complaint, was contented with the fodder of horses offered by a horse-dealer.

Visākhā, the Buddha’s chief female lay disciple, used to frequent the monastery to attend to the needs of the Buddha and the Sangha decked with a very valuable outer garment. On entering the monastery, she used to remove it and give it to the maid for safe custody. Once the maid inadvertently left it in the temple and returned home. Venerable Ānanda, noticing it, kept it in a safe place to be given to Visākhā when she visited the monastery. Visākhā discovering the loss advised the maid to look for it but not to take it back in case any Bhikkhu had touched it. On inquiry the maid understood that Venerable Ānanda had kept it in safe custody. Returning home, she reported the matter.

Visākhā visited the monastery and inquired of the Buddha what meritorious act should she perform with the money obtained by selling the costly garment. The Buddha advised her to build a monastery for the benefit of the Sangha. As there was nobody to buy the garment because of its high cost, she herself bought it and built a monastery and offered it to the Sangha. After the offering, she expressed her gratitude to the maid, saying:– “If you had not inadvertently left my garment, I would not have got an opportunity to perform this meritorious act. Please share the merit.”

Instead of grieving over the temporary loss and reprimanding the maid for her carelessness she thanked her for granting an opportunity for service.

The exemplary attitude of cultured Visākhā is a memorable lesson to all those who are quickly irritated over the misdoings of helpless servants.

Losses one must try to bear cheerfully with manly vigour. Unexpectedly one confronts them, very often in groups and not singly. One must face them with equanimity (upekkhā) and think it is an opportunity to practise that sublime virtue.

FAME and DEFAME

Fame (yasa) and defame (ayasa) are another pair of inevitable worldly conditions that confront us in the course of our daily lives.

Fame we welcome, defame we dislike. Fame gladdens our mind, defame disheartens us. We desire to become famous. We long to see our names and pictures appear in the papers. We are greatly pleased when our activities, however insignificant, are given publicity. Sometimes we seek undue publicity too.

To see their picture in a magazine some are ready to pay any amount. To obtain an honour some are prepared to offer any bribe or give a fat donation to the party in power. For the sake of publicity some exhibit their generosity by giving alms to one hundred monks and even more, but they may be totally indifferent to the sufferings of the poor and the needy in the neighbourhood. One may charge and punish a starving person who, to appease his hunger, were to steal a coconut in his garden, but would not hesitate to present thousand coconuts to get a good name.

These are human frailties.

Most people do even a good action with an ulterior motive. Selfless persons who act disinterestedly are rare in this world. Even if the motive is not very praiseworthy, those who do any good are to be congratulated on having done a beneficial act. Most worldlings have something up their sleeves. Well, who is hundred percent good? How many are perfectly pure in their motives? How many are absolutely altruistic?

We need not hunt after fame. If we are worthy of fame, it will come to us unsought. The bee will be attracted to the flower, laden with honey. The flower however, does not invite the bee.

True indeed, we feel naturally happy, nay extremely happy, when our fame is spread far and wide. But we must realize that fame, honour and glory only lead to the grave. They vanish in thin air. Empty words are they, though pleasing to the ear.

What about defame? It is not palatable either to the ear or mind. We are undoubtedly perturbed when unkind defamatory words pierce our ears. The pain of mind is still greater when the so-called report is unjust and absolutely false.

Normally it takes years to erect a magnificent building. In a minute or two, with modern devastating weapons, it could easily be demolished. Sometimes it takes years or a lifetime to build up a good reputation. In no long time the hard-earned good name can be ruined. Nobody is exempt from the devasting remark beginning with the infamous “but”. Yes, he is very good, he does this and that, but… His whole good record is blackened by the so-called “but”. You may live the life of a Buddha, but you will not be exempt from criticism, attacks and insults.

The Buddha was the most famous and the most maligned religious teacher in His time.

Great men are often not known; even if they are known, they are misknown.

Some antagonists of the Buddha spread a rumour that a woman used to spend the night in the monastery. Foiled in this base attempt, they spread a false rumour amongst the populace that the Buddha and His disciples murdered that very woman and hid her corpse in the rubbish-heap of withered flowers within the monastery. When His historic mission met with success and when many sought ordination under Him, His adversaries maligned Him, saying that He was robbing the mothers of their sons, depriving wives of their husbands, and that He was obstructing the progress of the nation. Failing in all these attempts to ruin His noble character, His own cousin and a jealous disciple of His, attempted to kill him by hurling a rock from above.

Being a Buddha, He could not be killed.

If such be the sad fate of faultless, pure Buddhas, what can be the state of ordinary mortals?

The higher you climb a hill, the more conspicuous you become and much smaller in the eyes of others. Your back is revealed but your front is hidden. The fault-finding world exhibits your shortcomings and misdoings but hides your salient virtues. The winnowing fan ejects the husks but retains the grains: the strainer, on the contrary, retains the gross remnants but drains out the sweet juice. The cultured take the subtle and remove the gross; the uncultured retain the gross and reject the subtle.

When you are misrepresented, deliberately or undeliberately unjustly reported, as Epictetus advises, it is wise to think or say — “O, by his slight acquaintanceship and little knowledge of myself I am slightly criticised. But if I am known better, more serious and much greater would be the accusations against me.”

It is needless to waste time in correcting the false reports unless circumstances compel you to necessitate a clarification. The enemy is gratified when he sees that you are hurt. That is what he actually expects. If you are indifferent, such misrepresentations will fall on deaf cars.

In seeing the faults of others, we should behave like a blind person.

In hearing unjust criticism of others, we should behave like a deaf person.

In speaking ill of others, we should behave like a dumb person.

It is not possible to put a stop to false accusations, reports and rumours.

The world is full of thorns and pebbles. It is impossible to remove them. But if we have to walk in spite of such obstacles, instead of trying to remove them, which is impossible, it is advisable to wear a pair of slippers and walk harmlessly.

The Dhamma teaches:

Be like a lion that trembles not at sounds.
Be like the wind that does not cling to the meshes of a net.
Be like a lotus that is not contaminated by the mud from which it springs up.
Wander alone like a rhinoceros.

Being the king of the forest, lions are fearless. By nature they are not frightened by the roaring of other animals. In this world we may hear adverse reports, false accusations, degrading remarks of uncurbed tongues. Like a lion, we should not even listen to them. Like the boomerang they will end where they began.

Dogs bark, caravans peacefully move on.

We are living in a muddy world. Numerous are the lotuses that spring therefrom. Without being contaminated by the mud, they adorn the world. Like lotuses we should try to lead blameless noble lives unmindful of the mud that may be thrown at us.

We should expect mud to be thrown at us instead of roses. Then there will be no disappointment.

Though difficult we should try to cultivate non-attachment.

Alone we come, alone we go.
Non-attachment is happiness in this world.

Unmindful of the poisonous darts of uncurbed tongues alone we should wander serving others to the best of our ability.

It is rather strange that great men have been slandered, vilified, poisoned, crucified, or shot.

Great Socrates was poisoned. Noble Jesus Christ was ruthlessly crucified. Harmless Mahatma Gandhi was shot.

Well, is it dangerous to be too good?

Yes, during their lifetime they are criticised, attacked and killed. After death they are deified and honoured.

Great men are indifferent to fame or defame. They are not upset when they are criticised or maligned for they work not for fame or name. They are indifferent whether others recognise their services or not. “To work they have the right but not to the fruit thereof.”

PRAISE and BLAME

Praise (pasamsā) and blame (nindā) are two more worldly conditions that affect mankind. It is natural to be elated when praised and to be depressed when blamed.

Amidst praise and blame, the Buddha says, the wise do not exhibit either elation or depression. Like a solid rock that is not shaken by the wind they remain unmoved.

Praise, if worthy, is pleasing to the ears; if unworthy, as in the case of flattery, though pleasing, it is deceptive. But they are all sounds which have no effect if they do not reach our ears.

From a worldly standpoint a word of praise goes a long way. By praising a little a favour can easily be obtained. One word of merited praise is sufficient to attract an audience before one speaks. If, at the outset, a speaker praises the audience, he will have attentive ears. If he criticises the audience at the outset, the response will not be satisfactory.

The cultured do not resort to flattery nor do they wish to be flattered by others. The praiseworthy they praise without any jealousy. The blame worthy they blame not contemp-tuously but out of compassion with the object of reforming them.

Great men are highly praised by the great and small who know them well though they are utterly indifferent to such praise.

Many who knew the Buddha intimately extolled the virtues of the Buddha in their own way. One Upāli, a millionaire, a new convert, praised the Buddha, enumerating hundred virtues ex tempore. Nine sterling virtues of the Buddha that were current in His time are still being recited by His followers, looking at His image. They are a subject of meditation to the devout. Those well-merited virtues are still a great inspiration to His followers.

What about blame?

The Buddha says:–

“They who speak much are blamed. They who speak a little are blamed. They who are silent are also blamed. In this world there is none who is not blamed.”

Blame seems to be a universal legacy to mankind.

The majority of the people in the world, remarks the Buddha, are ill-disciplined. Like an elephant in the battle-field that endures all arrows shot at him, even so, the Buddha says, do I suffer all insults.

The deluded and the wicked are prone to seek only the ugliness in others but not the good and beautiful.

None, except the Buddha, is hundred percent good. Nobody is hundred percent bad either. There is evil in the best of us. There is good in the worst of us. He who silences himself like a cracked gong when attacked, insulted and abused, he, I say, the Buddha exhorts, is in the presence of Nibbāna although he has not yet attained Nibbāna.

One may work with the best of motives. But the outside world very often misconstrues him and will impute motives never even dreamt of.

One may serve and help others to the best of one’s ability sometimes by incurring debt or selling one’s articles or property to save a friend in trouble. But later, the deluded world is so constituted that those very persons whom one has helped will find fault with him, blackmail him, blemish his good character and will rejoice in his downfall.

In the Jātaka stories it is stated that Guttila the musician taught everything he knew to his pupil without a closed fist, but the ungrateful man he was, he unsuccessfully tried to compete with his teacher and ruin him.

Devadatta, a pupil and cousin of the Buddha who had developed psychic powers, not only tried to discredit the Buddha but also made an unsuccessful attempt to crush Him to death by hurling a rock from above while He was pacing up and down below.

On one occasion the Buddha was invited by a brahmin for alms to his house. As He was invited, the Buddha visited his house. Instead of entertaining Him, he poured forth a torrent of abuse with the filthiest of words.

The Buddha politely inquired:-

“Do visitors come to your house good brahmin?”

“Yes”, he replied.

“What do you do when they come?”

“Oh, we prepare a sumptuous feast.”

“If they fail to turn up, please?”

“Why, we gladly partake of it.”

“Well, good brahmin, you have invited me for alms and entertained me with abuse. I accept nothing. Please take it back.”

The Buddha did not retaliate, but politely gave back what the brahmin gave Him. Retaliate not, the Buddha exhorts. Vengeance will be met with vengeance. Force will be met with force. Bombs will be met with bombs. “Hatreds do not cease through hatreds, but through love alone they cease” is a noble utterance of the Buddha.

There was no religious teacher so highly praised and so severely criticised, reviled and blamed like the Buddha. Such is the fate of great men.

In a public assembly a vile woman named Cincā feigning pregnancy, maligned the Buddha. With a smiling face the Buddha patiently endured the insult and the Buddha’s innocence was proved.

The Buddha was accused of murdering a woman assisted by His disciples. Non-Buddhists severely criticised the Buddha and His Disciples to such an extent that the Venerable Ānanda appealed to the Buddha to leave for another village.

– “How, Ānanda, if those villagers also abuse us?”

– “Well then, Lord, we will proceed to another village.”

– “Then Ānanda, the whole of India will have no place for us. Be patient. These abuses will automatically cease.”

Māgandiyā, a lady of the harem, had a grudge against the Buddha for speaking ill of her attractive figure when her father, through ignorance, wished to give her in marriage to the Buddha. She hired drunkards to insult the Buddha in public. With perfect equanimity the Buddha endured the insults. But Māgandiyā had to suffer for her misdemeanour.

Insults are the common lot of humanity. The more you work and the greater you become, the more are you subject to insult and humiliation.

Jesus Christ was insulted, humiliated and crucified.

Socrates was insulted by his own wife. Whenever he went out to help others his intolerant wife used to scold him. One day as she was unwell she failed to perform her unruly task. Socrates left home on that day with a sad face. His friends inquired why he was sad. He replied that his wife did not scold him on that day as she was unwell.

“Well, you ought to be happy for not getting that unwelcome scolding,” remarked his friends.

“Oh no! When she scolds me I get an opportunity to practise patience. Today I missed it. That is the reason why I am sad,” answered the philosopher.

These are memorable lessons for all.

When insulted we should think that we are being given an opportunity to practise patience. Instead of being offended, we should be grateful to our adversaries.

HAPPINESS and PAIN

Happiness (sukha) and pain (dukkha) are the last pair of opposites. They are the most powerful factors that affect mankind. What can be endured with ease is sukha (happiness), what is difficult to bear is dukkha (pain). Ordinary happiness is the gratification of a desire. No sooner is the desired thing gained than we desire some other kind of happiness. So insatiate are our selfish desires. The enjoyment of sensual pleasures is the highest and only happiness to an average person. There is no doubt a momentary happiness in the anticipation, gratification and recollection of such material pleasures highly priced by the sensualist, but they are illusory and temporary.

Can material possessions give one genuine happiness?

If so, millionaires would not think of committing suicide. In a certain country which has reached the zenith of material progress about ten percent suffer from mental diseases. Why should it be so if material possessions alone can give genuine happiness?

Can dominion over the whole world produce true happiness?

Alexander, who triumphantly marched to India, conquering the lands on the way, sighed for not having more pieces of earth to conquer.

Are Emperors and Kings who wear crowns always happy?

Very often the lives of statesmen who wield power are at stake. The pathetic cases of Mahatma Gandhi and J. F. Kennedy are illustrative examples.

Real happiness is found within, and is not to be defined in terms of wealth, power, honours or conquests.

If such worldly possessions are forcibly or unjustly obtained, or are misdirected, or even viewed with attachment, they will be a source of pain and sorrow for the possessors. What is happiness to one may not be happiness to another. What is meat and drink to one may be poison to another.

The Buddha enumerates four kinds of happiness for a layman.

They are the happiness of possession (atthi sukha), namely, health, wealth, longevity, beauty, joy, property, strength, children, etc.

The second source of happiness is derived by the enjoyment of such possessions (bhoga sukha). Ordinary men and women wish to enjoy themselves. The Buddha does not advise all to renounce their worldly pleasures and retire to solitude.

The enjoyment of wealth lies not only in using it for ourselves but also in giving it for the welfare of others. What we eat is only temporary. What we preserve we leave and go. What we give we take with us. We are remembered for ever by the good deeds we have done with our worldly possessions.

Not falling into debt (ananasukha) is another source of happiness. If we are contented with what we have and if we are economical, we need not be in debt to any one. Debtors live in mental agony and are under obligation to their creditors. Though poor, when debt free, you feel relieved and are mentally happy.

Leading a blameless life (anavajjasukha) is one of the best sources of happiness for a layman. A blameless person is a blessing to himself and to others. He is admired by all and feels happier, being affected by the peaceful vibrations of others. It should be stated however that it is very, very difficult to get a good name from all. The noble-minded persons are concerned only with a blameless life and are indifferent to external approbation. The majority in this world delight themselves in enjoying pleasures while some others seek delight in renouncing them. Non-attachment or the transcending of material pleasures is happiness to the spiritual. Nibbānic bliss, which is a bliss of relief from suffering, is the highest form of happiness.

Ordinary happiness we welcome, but not its opposite — pain, which is rather difficult to endure.

Pain or suffering comes in different guises.

We suffer when we are subject to old age which is natural. With equanimity we have to bear the sufferings of old age.

More painful than sufferings due to old age are sufferings caused by disease, which, if chronic, we feel that death is preferable. Even the slightest toothache or headache is sometimes unbearable.

When we are subject to disease, without being worried, we should be able to bear it at any cost. Well, we must console ourselves thinking that we have escaped from a still more serious disease.

Very often we are separated from our near and dear ones. Such separation causes great pain of mind. We should understand that all association must end with separation. Here is a good opportunity to practise equanimity.

More often than not we are compelled to be united with the unpleasant which we detest. We should be able to bear them. Perhaps we are reaping the effects of our own Kamma, past or present. We should try to accommodate ourselves to the new situation or try to overcome the obstacle by some means or other.

Even the Buddha, a perfect being, who has destroyed all defilements, had to endure physical suffering caused by disease and accidents.

The Buddha was constantly subject to headache. His last illness caused Him much physical suffering. As a result of Devadatta’s hurling a rock to kill Him, His foot was wounded by a splinter which necessitated an operation. Sometimes He was compelled to starve. At times He had to be contented with horse-fodder. Due to the disobedience of His own pupils, He was compelled to retire to a forest for three months. In the forest, on a couch of leaves spread on rough ground, facing piercing cool winds, He slept with perfect equanimity. Amidst pain and happiness He lived with a balanced mind. Death is the greatest sorrow we are compelled to face in the course of our wanderings in samsāra. Sometimes, death comes not singly but in numbers which may even cause insanity.

Patācārā lost her near and dear ones — parents, husband, brother and two children — and she went mad. The Buddha consoled her.

Kisā Gotami lost her only infant, and she went in search of a remedy for her dead son, carrying the corpse. She approached the Buddha and asked for a remedy.

“Well, sister, can you bring some mustard seed?”

“Certainly, Lord!”

“But, sister, it should be from a house where no one has died.”

Mustard seeds she found, but not a place where death had not visited.

She understood the nature of life.

When a mother was questioned why she did not weep over the tragic death of her only son, she replied; “Uninvited he came, uninformed he went. As he came, so he went. Why should we weep? What avails weeping?”

As fruits fall from a tree — tender, ripe or old — even so we die in our infancy, in the prime of manhood or even in old age.

The sun rises in the East only to set in the West.

Flowers bloom in the morning to fade in the evening.

Inevitable death, which comes to all without exception, we have to face with perfect equanimity.

“Just as the earth whate’er is thrown
Upon her, whether sweet or foul,
Indifferent is to all alike,
No hatred shows, nor amity,
So likewise he in good or ill,
Must even-balanced ever be.”

The Buddha says:

– When touched by worldly conditions the mind of an Arahant never wavers.

Amidst gain and loss, fame and defame, praise and blame, happiness and pain, let us try to maintain a balanced mind.