An explanation of the practice as a way of life

by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

The pith instructions briefly summarised:

Put the five strengths into practice.

If we possess these five strengths, Bodhichitta will arise in us. They are as follows: The power of resolution, the power of familiarisation, the power of the positive seed, the power of revulsion and the power of aspiration.

The power of resolution. This is, for example, the taking of a firm decision that, for this month, this year, until we die or until we attain enlightenment, we will not abandon Bodhichitta; even though hurt or injured by others, we will not give way to anger. And this strong resolution should be reinforced again and again.

The power of familiarisation. In the beginning, meditation is difficult but it becomes easier if we persevere in it. For as the saying goes, 'There is nothing that one cannot get used to.'

Once upon a time, there was a very miserly person unable to give anything away. He went to see the Buddha.

'It is impossible for me to be generous,' he said, 'what shall I do?'

'Imagine,' the Buddha replied, 'that your right hand is yourself and your left hand a poor unhappy person. Give from your right hand to your left some old food, which you don't like or need. Try hard to get used to this. Do it until you are no longer miserly.'

The man began the practice, but he was so tight-fisted that at first, he could give away only a few left-overs or food he did not like. Gradually, however, he acquired the habit so that the day arrived when he did not feel so niggardly. Thereupon, he went to see the Buddha and  reported, 'Now when I give food from my right hand to my left, I don't feel so miserly.' Buddha replied, 'Now, with your right hand, which you take to be yourself, give some gold, silk or fine clothes to your left hand, which you imagine to be a beggar. Try to see if you can give open-handedly, without avarice.' The man tried and when he got used to it he went again to see the Buddha. 'Now, you can be a benefactor,' the Buddha said, 'you are free from attachment; you can give away food and clothing to those who lack them.'

Freed from his miserliness, the man thus came to help many beggars and poor people. He gradually practised and in the end, his generosity was steady, without any wavering. He understood that there is no point in being parsimonious or attached to riches. He became a monk and attained the level of an arhat. Through persistent practise one may likewise become accomplished in the two Bodhichittas.

The power of positive seeds. This is, in fact, the accumulation of merit. Going to temples and monasteries, performing prostrations and devotions before sacred objects, we should pray, 'May I be able to cultivate the two types of Bodhichitta. May I be peaceful and without anger towards those who do me harm. May I be free from one-sided attachment for  friends and relatives.' By repeatedly praying in this way, and through the power of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, we will be able to accomplish these qualities.

The power of revulsion. Through careful thought, it is possible to see that all the suffering and afflictive emotional states experienced in life are the results of the devastating flood of ego-clinging. Ego-clinging is the cause of every ill. Therefore when it arises, even if only for an instant, we should apply the antidote, like the doctor who gives us healing medicine when we are sick. As the saying goes, 'Hit the pig on the nose; clean the lamp while it is still warm.' When an angry pig rears up at us, if we hit it on the nose with a stick, it will immediately turn round and run away, unable to bear the pain. If we clean the butter-lamp while it is still warm, the job is very easily done. In the same way, if we apply the antidote before our ego-clinging has gathered strength, we shall not fall under its influence.

The power of aspiration. Whenever we have completed some positive action we should pray, 'From now on until I attain enlightenment, may I never abandon the two Bodhichittas. Whatever conflicts I may encounter, may I be able to use them as steps along the path.' Praying in this way, we should make offerings to the Teacher, the Three Jewels and the  Dharma Protectors, asking for their assistance.

It is said of these five powers that they are the whole of the teachings condensed into a single syllable HUNG. The meaning of this is that all the profound and elaborate instructions of the Mind Training are contained within the five powers. Therefore we should practise them fervently, as did the Buddha himself when once, in a previous life, he was the royal hermit Kshantivadin, the Forbearing.

The story goes that he had withdrawn into the forest as an ascetic whereupon his younger brother had succeeded to the throne. One day the king, the younger brother, went on an expedition and at some point, he took his rest and fell asleep. Meanwhile his queens, the ministers and attendants went off to see hermit Kshantivadin, whom they knew from before and requested him to teach them. When the king awoke, he found that he was alone and, thinking that the queens, ministers and attendants had abandoned him, became very angry. He arose and searched and found them grouped around the hermit. Not realising that the holy man was teaching the Dharma, the king thought that he was leading his queens and ministers astray and corrupting them.

'Who are you?' cried the king. For he had been very young when his brother had renounced the world and did not recognise him.

'I am hermit Kshantivadin,' replied his elder brother.

'Well,' said the king, 'let us see if you are worthy of such a name. Let me see how much you can bear.' So saying, he cut off the sage's right hand. 'Well, can you bear that?' he said.

'Yes, I can,' came the reply.

Cutting off the hermit's left hand, the king said, 'Are you still Kshantivadin, can you still bear that?'

'Yes,' he said.

Then the king struck off the hermit's head, saying, 'Can you still  bear that?'

'Yes,' he said.

And so it was that he cut off the hermit's hands and head. But from his wounds, instead of blood, there flowed a white milky substance.  The king calmed down, and thinking that this could not be an ordinary being, he asked his retinue who it was. 'It is your brother, Kshantivadin,'  they told him, 'who in the past renounced the kingdom to go to the forest.'

Thereupon, the king felt great remorse and began to weep. Now Kshantivadin was a Bodhisattva, and so, although his head had been cut off, he could still talk. He said: 'My hands and head you cut off as you asked your questions, therefore in the future, when I become a Buddha, may I be able to cut off your defilements as you question me.' In fact, Kshantivadin was later to become the Buddha Shakyamuni. After the Buddha's enlightenment, the first five disciples (one of whom had been Kshantivadin's brother in a previous life) asked him:  'What is samsara?'

The Buddha said: 'Samsara is by nature suffering.' 

Then they asked: 'Whence does suffering arise?'

Buddha said: 'Suffering arises from defiled emotions.'

Then they asked: 'How can we eradicate the cause of suffering?'

Buddha said: 'You must follow the path.'

Then they asked: 'What is the good of following the path?'

Buddha said: 'All karma and emotions come thereby to cessation.' And it was through this teaching that the five disciples attained arhatship. So, although the head of Kshantivadin was chopped off in anger, yet, through the power of his aspirations for enlightenment, he was able to transform that evil karmic connection into the positive cause of the king's becoming his disciple later on. We can see from this why the Dharma teaches the necessity of making prayers of aspiration.

We will now speak about the instructions for dying according to this Dharma tradition. For the practice of the transference of consciousness according to the teachings of the Mind Training, it is as the root  verses say:

On how to die, the Mahayana teaches

These five strengths. It matters how you act.

These five strengths are the same as those just mentioned: positive seeds, aspiration, revulsion, resolution and familiarisation.

The power of positive seeds. When we practitioners realise that we are about to die, that we are in the grip of a fatal disease, and that there is no way that we can prolong our lives, we should make an offering to our Teacher and the Three Jewels of all our possessions, giving them away wherever it is most beneficial and meritorious. We should deal with all our unfinished business and have no attachment or aversion for anyone or anything.

The power of aspiration. Making the seven branch offering to our Teacher and the Three Jewels, we should pray as follows: 'May I be free from fear in the bardo, and in all my future lives may I be blessed with the practice of the twofold Bodhichitta. May the Victorious Ones bless me, especially the master who has taught me the Bodhichitta practice, the Mind Training instructions.' We should pray like this again and again, confident that our Teacher will take care of us.

The power of revulsion. We should remember that ego-clinging has brought us sorrow in the past. Even now, the hope that we might continue to live, attachment to our bodies as something precious, worries as to the way in which our wealth will be used: all this might still occasion a  lot of suffering. If even now we are unable to rid ourselves of such clinging, we will never have peace. We should let our bodies go like earth and stones, thinking that they are not worth holding on to. We are suffering just because of our attachment to them. Just look!-on the outside they are skin, inside they are filled with flesh, blood, bones and all sorts of disgusting substances. They are actually nothing but bags of dirt and there is no need to identify them as ourselves. Let them be burned; let the birds or dogs devour them! Reflecting in this way, we rid ourselves of self-cherishing. 

The power of resolution. We should remind ourselves that when we have to pass through the bardo, by meditating on the precious Bodhichitta, we will in fact be meditating on the heart essence of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. It will be impossible for us to fall into the lower realms. By resolving to practise Bodhichitta constantly with strong determination, we guard ourselves from the terror of the bardo.

The power of familiarisation. We should constantly be mulling over the techniques just described: how to practise the twofold Bodhichitta, how to exchange happiness for suffering, how to develop compassion towards those who are hostile. We must live in such a way that, through remembering the Mind Training constantly, we will be able to apply it when the time comes for us to die and we are in a lot of pain.

Now when the moment of death arrives, this is what you should do. Just as the Buddha did when he passed away, lie on your right side,  rest your head on your right hand. Breathe in through your left nostril,  blocking your right nostril with the little finger of your right hand. Meditate on love, wishing happiness for all beings, numerous as the sky is vast, and generate compassion with the desire to free them from every suffering. Using the support of your ingoing and outgoing breaths, imagine that you exhale all your happiness, comfort and wealth, sending them to all who suffer. And inhale all the diseases, evil, negative emotions and obscurations of other beings, taking them upon yourselves.

Afterwards, you should reflect that samsara and nirvana are themselves illusory, just like a dream or a wizard's magical display. Everything is devoid of self-existence. Everything is but the perception of the mind and where nothing exists, there is no cause for fear, here or in the bardo. Try to remain in that conviction, without any mental grasping.

An old lady and her daughter were once swept away by a river. The lady thought to herself, 'If only my daughter could be saved, I do not  care if I drown!' The daughter thought, 'What does it matter if I die? Only let my mother be safe!' They were both killed, but, because their final intentions were those of such a powerful love, they were reborn in the realms of the gods. And so we should have loving thoughts like this all the time, and when we come to die, we should meditate alternately upon the two Bodhichittas.

There are many well-known and celebrated instructions on how to transfer the consciousness at the moment of death, but none are so sublime, amazing or wonderful as this.

The others know not that in this quarrel we perish; those of them who realise it, have their quarrels calmed thereby.

-- The Buddha 

自我而非我

圣严法师

以前我刚开始教禅、讲禅的时候，一开始就讲“无我”的观念。我说：“要开悟就要把这个‘我’去掉，如果有“我”，就不能开悟。”结果多半的人听不懂，一时间也不能接受这样的观念。

因为通常的人都非常重视“我”，认为“我”是生存动力的来源，例如：因为“我”肚子饿了，所以“我”要拚命赚钱买东西吃；因为“我”希望有好名声，所以“我”努力工作，希望社会给“我”名誉荣耀。如果没有了“我”，就失去努力的动力；如果真的没有“我”的话，那我还来上什么课？听什么佛法呢？

后来我也觉得这样讲佛法，对初学者可能太困难、太高深了，所以决定先从“有我”开始谈起。其实佛法、禅法的修行，都是从有我开始的。“有我”是个著力点，即使说：“我愿无求”，也还是要有一个“我”来发这个愿；或是有人说：“我的烦恼很多，希望能除烦恼而证菩提，达到无我的境界。”这个无我的还是我。所以无论如何，一定要从“有我”才能到“无我”。

一般人如果没有修行的功夫，根本不知道“我”究竟是什么，虽然每天都在讲，我的这个……，我的那个……，但事实上根本不清楚“我”是什么，还以为那一连串的妄念，以及每天看到的自己的影像，或是每天接触到的环境，就是“我”。实际上那不是“我”，而是“我的”。

有人说：我会思考，于是把自己的思想、念头当做了“我”。每天只想着那是我的、那不是我的；我的念头是我，坏的念头是我，好的念头也是我。那究竟哪一个念头才是真正的我呢？

也有人说：我的身体是我，我的观念是我，我的财产是我，我的环境是我，我的世界是我。但仔细分析，这里面并没有一样东西称得上是“我”。

又有人说：永恒的我才是我，但什么才是永恒呢？所有的思想、观念，说穿了不过都是一个一个串起来的念头，并不是永恒不变；我们的身体、外在的环境，更是无时无刻不在变化之中，哪有一个永恒不变的我。

以佛法、禅法的观点来看，在还没有开悟，还没有智能的时候，“我”只是一连串的妄念。即使已经是佛教徒，看了很多佛经，听了很多佛法，很多人依然烦恼很重，生气照样气，贪心照样贪，不该做的事情照样去做，为什么？因为还没有看清楚什么是“我”，结果自己做不了自己的主。

要能够主宰自我，一定是透过了解自我、肯定自我之后，才能进一步达到的。所以一定先要知道“我”是什么，才能肯定自我；肯定自我之后，才会知道什么是我，什么是非我，也才能够提升自己、充实自己、改善自己、转变自己。如果不知道“我”是什么，要想提升也无从提升起。

事实上，“我”是自我，也是非我，它没有一定的面貌，且是可以透过修行来改善、转变的，当“我”转变了，所有“我的”也会跟著转变。

了解自我的第一步，首先要摒弃“我”的观念，要肯定自我是假的，是虚妄的，然后在“无我”上成长自我，以“非我”为我。不应该产生的念头不要产生，不应该讲的话不要讲，不应该做的事情不要做；相对的，该做的事情要努力做，该讲的话要多讲，该起的善念要尽量发挥。也就是，要“行一切的善，断一切的恶”，能够做到这样，就能渐渐体会何谓“无我”了。

According to Buddhism, the cycles of cause and effect of our negative deeds (karma) yield only pain. When we die and our mind escapes from the web of our material body, we begin our journey through the transitional state (bardo) to our next rebirth. Whether our subsequent rebirths are pleasant or not depends on the habits that we have generated in our minds. Whatever negative experience we have today is the product of some unwholesome mental and emotional tendency, or karma, from our past.

Karma can also work in our favour, however. Thanks to karma, if we could sow a seed of positive perceptions and feelings, we could turn our mental and emotional tendencies to positive ones and start to enjoy a peaceful and joyful life.

-- Tulku Thondup Rinpoche

Expansion in Consciousness

by Ayya Khema

Just as we're capable of changing the body at will, the same applies to the mind. Changing the body can occur when we eat less and get thin, eat more and get fat, drink too much alcohol and spoil our liver, smoke too much and sicken our lungs. We can exercise to get muscles, or train to run fast or jump high, or to become very efficient at tennis or cricket. The body is able to do many things which ordinary people usually cannot do, because they haven't trained for that. We know, for example, of people who can jump two or three times further than is common, or run ten times faster than anyone else. We may have seen people doing stunts with their bodies, which look miraculous. There are also people who can use their minds in seemingly miraculous ways, which are really just due to training.

Meditation is the only training there is for the mind. Physical training is usually connected with physical discipline. The mind needs mental discipline, practice in meditation.

First, we can change our mind from unwholesome to wholesome thinking. Just like a person who wants to be an athlete has to start at the beginning of body training, the same needs to be done for mind training. First, we cope with the ordinary, later with the extraordinary. The recollection of our own death brings us the realisation that all that is happening will be finished very soon because all of us are going to die. Even though we may not know the exact date, it is guaranteed to happen. With the death contemplation in mind, it doesn't matter so much anymore what goes on around us, since all is only important for a very limited time.

We may be able to see that only our kamma-making matters, doing the best we can every single day, every single moment. Helping others takes pride of place. There is no substitute for that. Someone else can benefit from our skills and possessions since we cannot keep them and cannot take them with us. We might as well give it all away as quickly as possible.

One of the laws of the universe is the more one gives away, the more one gets. Nobody believes it, that's why everyone is trying to make more money and own more things, yet it is a law of cause and effect. If we would believe it and act accordingly we would soon find out. However, it will only be effective if the giving is done in purity. We can give our time, our caring, our concern for others' well-being. We have the immediate benefit of happiness in our own hearts when we see the joy we have given to someone else. This is about the only satisfaction we can expect in this life which is of a nature that does not disappear quickly, because we can recollect the deed and our own happiness.

If we really believe in our impending death, not just use the words, our attitude towards people and situations changes completely. We are no longer the same person then. The one we have been until now hasn't brought us complete satisfaction, contentment and peacefulness. We might as well become a different person, with a new outlook. We no longer try to make anything last, because we know the temporary nature of our involvement. Consequently, nothing has the same significance anymore.

It could be compared to inviting people to our home for a meal. We are worried and anxious whether the food will taste just right, whether all the comforts are there and nothing missing. The house should be immaculate for the guests. While they're visiting we are extremely concerned that they're getting everything they could possibly want. Afterwards, we are concerned whether they like it at our house, were happy there, are going to tell other friends that it was a pleasant visit. These are our attitudes because we own the place. If we are a guest we don't care what food is being served, because that's up to the hostess. We don't worry whether everything is in apple-pie order because it's not our house.

This body is not our house, no matter how long we live. It's a temporary arrangement of no significance. Nothing belongs to us, we're guests here. Maybe we'll be present for another week or year, or ten or twenty years. But being a guest, what can it matter how everything works? The only thing we can do when we are guests in someone's house is trying to be pleasant and helpful to the people we're with. All else is totally insignificant, otherwise, our consciousness will remain in the marketplace.

Doesn't it only matter to elevate our consciousness and awareness to where we can see beyond our immediate concerns? There is always the same thing going on: getting up, eating breakfast, washing, dressing, thinking and planning, cooking, buying things, talking to people, going to work, going to bed, getting up... over and over again. Is that enough for a lifetime? All of us are trying to find something within that daily grind which will give us joy. But nothing lasts and moreover, all are connected with reaching out to get something. If we were to remember each morning that death is certain, but now have another day to live, gratitude and determination can arise to do something useful with that day.

Our second recollection may concern how to change our minds from enmity, hurtfulness and unhappiness, to their opposites. Repeated remembering makes it possible to change the mind gradually. The body doesn't change overnight, to become athletic, and neither does the mind change instantly. But if we don't continually train it, it's just going to stay the same it has always been, which is not conducive to a harmonious and peaceful life. Most people find a lot of unpleasantness, anxiety and fear in their lives. Fear is a human condition, based on our ego delusion. We are afraid that our ego will be destroyed and annihilated.

This willingness to change our minds should make it possible to live each day meaningfully, which is the difference between just being alive and living. We would do at least one thing each day, which either entails spiritual growth for ourselves or helpfulness and consideration for others, preferably both. If we add one meaningful day to the next, we wind up with a meaningful life. Otherwise, we have an egocentric life, which can never be satisfying. If we forget about our own desires and rejections and are just concerned with spiritual growth and eventual emancipation, and being helpful to other people, then our dukkha is greatly reduced. It reaches a point where it is only the underlying movement in all of existence and no longer personal suffering and unhappiness. As long as we suffer and are unhappy, our lives are not very useful. Having grief, pain and lamentation do not mean we are very sensitive, but rather that we haven't been able to find a solution.

We spend hours and hours, buying food, preparing it, eating it, washing up afterwards, and thinking about the next meal. Twenty minutes of recollection on how we should live, should not be taxing our time. Naturally, we can also spend much more time on such contemplations, which are a way to give the mind a new direction. Without training, the mind is heavy and not very skilful, but when we give the mind a new direction, then we learn to protect our own happiness. This is not connected with getting what we want and getting rid of what we don't want. It's a skill in the mind to realise what is helpful and happiness producing.

This new direction, which arises from contemplation can be put into action. What can we actually do? We have all heard far too many words which sound right, but words alone won't accomplish anything. There has to be an underlying realisation that these words require mental or physical action. The Buddha mentioned that if we hear a Dhamma discourse and have confidence in its truth, first we must remember the words. Then we can see whether we are able to do what is required of us.

If we contemplate to be free of enmity, we can recollect such a determination again and again. Now comes the next step: How can we actualise that? When going about our daily life we have to be very attentive whether any enmity is arising, and if so, to substitute with love and compassion. That is the training of the mind. The mind doesn't feel so burdened then, so bogged down in its own pre-determined course because we realise change is possible. When the mind feels lighter and clearer, it can expand. Activating the teachings of the Buddha changes the awareness of the mind, so that the everyday, ordinary activities are no longer so significant. They are seen to be necessary to keep the body alive and the mind interested in the manifold proliferations that exist in the world.

The realisation arises that if we have been able to change our mind even that much, there may be more to the universe than we have ever been able to touch upon with the ordinary mind. The determination may come to make the mind extraordinary. Just as in an athlete, enormous feats of balance, discipline and strength of the body are possible, just so it is feasible for the mind. The Buddha talked about expanded awareness as a result of proper concentration, time and time again. Right concentration means a change of consciousness because we are then not connected to the usual, relative knowing.

Being able to change our mind's direction, we are no longer so enmeshed in the ordinary affairs, but know that there must be more. Through having been disciplined, strengthened and balanced, a mind can perform feats of mental awareness which seem quite extraordinary, but are just a result of training. It means getting out of the mental rut. If we have a wet driveway and drive a truck over it time and time again, the ruts get deeper and deeper and in the end the truck may be stuck fast. Such are our habitual responses that we have in our everyday affairs. Practising meditation lifts us out of those ruts because the mind gets a new dimension. Contemplation and resulting action make a new pathway in our lives, where the old ruts are left behind... Those were a constant reaction to our sense stimuli, of hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking. It's a great pity to use a good human life just to be a reactor. It is much more useful and helpful to become an actor, which means deliberate thinking, saying and doing.

It is possible to eventually have the kind of concentration where the meditation subject is no longer needed. The meditation subject is nothing but a key, or we can also call it a hook to hang the mind on, so that it will not attend to worldly affairs. When concentration has arisen, it can be likened to the key having finally found the keyhole and the door being unlocked. When we unlock the door of true samadhi we find a house with eight rooms, which are the eight meditative absorptions (jhanas). Having been able to enter the first room, there is no reason why, with practice, determination and diligence, we cannot gradually enter into all of them. Here the mind actually lets go of the thinking process as we know it and reverts to a state of experiencing.

The first thing that happens when concentration has come together is a sense of well being. Unfortunately there is a mistaken view prevalent that the meditative absorptions are neither possible nor necessary. This view is contrary to the Buddha's teaching. Any instructions he has ever given for the pathway to liberation always included the meditative absorptions. They are the eight steps on the noble eightfold path (samma-samadhi). It is also incorrect to believe that it is no longer possible to attain true concentration; many people do so without even realising it, and need support and direction to further their efforts. Meditation needs to include the meditative absorptions because they are the expansion of consciousness providing access to a totally different universe than we have ever realised.

The mental states that arise through the meditative absorptions make it possible to live one's daily life with a sense of what is significant and what is not. Having seen, for instance, that it is possible to grow large trees, one no longer believes that trees are always small, even though the trees in one's own backyard may be tiny, because the soil is poor. If one has seen large trees, one knows they exist, and one may even try to find a place where they grow. The same applies to our mental states. Having seen the possibility of expanded consciousness, one no longer believes that ordinary consciousness is all there is, or that the breath is all there is to meditation.

The breathe is the hook that we hang the mind on, so that we can open the door to true meditation. Having opened the door, we experience physical well-being, manifesting in many different ways. It may be a strong or a mild sensation, but it is always connected with a pleasant feeling. Of that pleasure the Buddha said: "This is a pleasure I will allow myself." Unless one experiences the joy of the meditative state, which is independent of the world, one will never resign from the world, but will continue to see the world as one's home. Only when one realises that the joy in the meditative state is independent of all worldly conditions, will one finally be able to say: "The world and its manifold attractions are not interesting any more" so that dispassion will set in. Otherwise why should one resign from that which occasionally does give pleasure and joy, if one has nothing else? How can one do that? It is impossible to let go of all the joys and pleasures which the world offers, if one has nothing to replace them. This is the first reason why in the Buddha's teaching the meditative absorptions are of the essence. We can't let go when we are still under the impression that with this body and these senses we can get what we're looking for, namely happiness.

The Buddha encourages us to look for happiness, but we need to look in the right place. He said we would be able to protect our own happiness. Even the very first instance of gaining physical pleasure in meditation already illuminates the fact that something inside ourselves gives joy and happiness. The physical well-being also arouses pleasurable interest which helps to keep us on the meditation pillow. Although it is a physical sensation, it is not the same sort of feeling that we are familiar with. It is different because it has arisen from a different source. Ordinary pleasant physical feelings come from touch contact. This one comes from concentration. Obviously, having different causes, they must also be different in their results. Touch is gross, concentration is subtle. Therefore the meditative feeling has a more subtle spiritual quality than the pleasant feeling one can get through touch. Knowing clearly that the only condition necessary for happiness is concentration, we will refrain from our usual pursuits of seeking pleasant people, tasty food, better weather, more wealth and not squander our mental energy on those. This is, therefore, a necessary first step towards emancipation.

We are now entering mind states that go beyond the everyday, worldly affairs... We all know the mind that is connected with ordinary matters. Such a mind worries about all sorts of things, is anxious, has plans, memories, hopes, dreams, likes, dislikes and reactions. It's a very busy mind. For the first time, we may become acquainted with a mind which doesn't contain all these aspects. Pleasurable well-being has no thinking attached to it, it's an experience. Here we finally realise that the kind of thinking we're aware of will not give us the results we had hoped for. It is just good enough to project a willingness to meditate. We learn, even from that very first step, that the world cannot do for us what concentration can do. Happiness independent of outer conditions is far more satisfying than anything to be found in the world. We are also shown that the mind has the ability to expand into a different consciousness with which we had no previous contact so that we gain first-hand experience of the fact that meditation is the means for spiritual emancipation.

Because of having had this pleasurable feeling, an inner joy arises. This gives the meditator the assurance that the pathway towards "non-self" is a pathway of joy and not of dukkha. Thereby the natural resistance to "non-self" is greatly lessened. Most people resist the idea that they are "nobody," even after they have understood it intellectually. But being able to experience these first two aspects of meditation, gives a clear indication that this is only possible when the "self," which is always thinking, is temporarily buried. Because when the self is active, it immediately says "Oh, isn't that nice," and the concentration is finished. It has to be an experience where nothing says "I am experiencing." The explanation and understanding of what one has experienced come later.

This is a clear realisation that, without "self," the inner joy is a much greater and more profound nature than any happiness one has known in this life. Therefore the determination to really come to grips with the Buddha's teachings will come to fruition. Until then, most people pick out a few aspects of the Dhamma, which they've heard about, and think that is sufficient. It may be devotion, chanting, festivals, doing good works, moral behaviour, all of which is fine, but the reality of the teaching is a great mosaic in which all these different pieces fall together into one huge, all-encompassing whole. And the central core is "non-self" (anatta). If we use only a few of these mosaic pieces we will never get the whole picture. But being able to meditate makes a great deal of difference in one's approach to that whole conglomerate of teaching, which encompasses body and mind and completely changes the person who practices like that.

We have to base our meditative ability on our daily practice. We cannot hope to sit down and meditate successfully, if all we can think about are worldly affairs, and if we do not try to reduce anger, envy, jealousy, pride, greed, hate, rejection in daily life. If we use mindfulness, clear comprehension and a calming of sensual desires, we have a foundation for meditation. As we practice in everyday affairs in conjunction with meditation, we see a slow and gradual change, as if an athlete has been training. The mind becomes strong and attends to the important issues in life. It doesn't get thrown about by everything that happens.

If we can give some time for contemplation and meditation each day and not forget mindfulness, we have a very good beginning for an expansion of consciousness. Eventually, the universe and we ourselves look quite different, based on our changed viewpoint. There is a Zen saying: "First the mountain is a mountain, then the mountain is no longer a mountain and in the end, the mountain is a mountain again." First, we see everything in its relative reality; every person is a different individual, every tree is a particular kind, everything has some significance to our own lives. Then we start practising, and suddenly we see everything in its relative reality; every person is a different individual, every tree is a particular kind, everything has some significance to our own lives. Then we start practising, and suddenly we see a different reality, which is universal and expansive. We become very involved with our own meditation and do not pay much attention to what is going on around us. We see an expansion and elevation of our consciousness, know that our everyday reactions are not important. For a while, we may pay attention to just that and to living in a different reality. In the end, we come right back to where we were, doing all the same things as before, but no longer being touched by them. A mountain is just a mountain again. Everything returns to the same ordinary aspect it used to have, except it's no longer significant, or separate.

A description of an Arahant in the Discourse on Blessings (Maha-mangala Sutta) is: "...although touched by worldly circumstance, never the mind is wavering." The Enlightened One is touched by worldly circumstances, he acts like everybody else, he eats, sleeps, washes and talks to people, but the mind does not waver. The mind stays cool and peaceful at all times.

Develop a mind that is open to everything, and attached to nothing. Disturbances are not caused by the world they are caused by clinging to it.

-- Tilopa

假和尚常见骗术大揭底

智宗法师

“假和尚”问题由来以久，而且屡见报端。这些人毫无例外地都是表面上穿着出家人的衣服，口里诵着佛号真言，好一幅道貌岸然样儿，而实际上，又没有一个不是做尽坑蒙拐骗的坏事。对于这些人，居士们一定要练就一双火眼真睛，眀察秋毫，以防上当受骗。

1、化缘式。打着某某寺院的旗号直接登门化缘，且煞有介事地写缘簿，还往往说多少都可，心诚就行——仔细想想，如果一天有10个人“心诚”，那他也发大财了。

2、闹鬼式。装出偶然碰上的样子（实际他盯你很久了，认为你好骗！），并且作出大吃一惊地丑态，说什么你脸色不好家中有灾的鬼话，吓你个半死，然后就说他是某某人（一般是哪个高僧）的徒弟，和你特别有缘，可以帮你破解，当然，条件是你要拿多少钱——露出真实嘴脸！

3、结缘式。和你聊天，把你哄得心花怒放，忘了东西南北，然后在你不防备的时候，送你小东西，如小佛像、挂件之类的，一定说这是某某高僧活佛开光加持过的，他花了很多钱才弄到，一般人是没有的，和你结缘，你就看着给一点儿钱吧——你说你就真好意思给一点儿？给一点儿他也赚了！

4、求助式。可怜巴巴地向你诉说他个人的困难情况，希望你能帮他，给点钱，而且为了让你相信他的鬼话，他还会拿出一大摞地证件，来证明自己是真和尚，会念经让佛菩萨永远保佑你全家如何如何的——你说你信不信？

5、算命式。先和你套近乎，把你家里的情况摸得差不多，然后装模作样地要给你算一下，吓，这一算就算出你家有这有那，反正很不好，怎么办？他会说只能用这个或那个的法术才行，但这法术太耗神，会折他的阳寿，总之，他不好办。这时我们这小老百姓只有求爷爷告奶奶地苦苦哀求他，当然我们会许他多多少少地钱，合适了，他就“很不情愿地”——实际心里乐开了花——说，你这样好的人，不帮你他真不忍心，于是结果就是他“不要命地”帮你了。

6、治病式。人吃五谷杂粮，哪能没个大病小灾的？这是众所周知的道理。但真是生了病，人们却又很少是这样宽慰自己，而是往往觉得不应该，生怕别人说自己前辈造业今生受报，恨不能赶快完好无损，于是就有乱投医的，要是此时碰上假和尚，那他肯定不会放过你，自然最方便地骗术就是说他会治病，这功那功的，只要你给钱啊。

7、最难防的复合式。就是以上的种种方式组合运用，让你防不胜防，比如上门到你家的，先拿出证件让你相信他，然后说他所在的寺院修这殿修那塔的，希望你随缘乐助（化缘式），你给了，他却并不立即就走，而是左看右看地说你家风水啊什么的不好，会有这灾那难的，把你吓得不轻，只好请他给破破，当然你不给钱是不行的（闹鬼式）。更复杂的，还有找在家人冒允居士做“托”的，一唱一和，搞得你不迷糊也糊涂，最是难防。

8、最可恨的家贼式。一般的假和尚不过是自己买套僧装唬人的俗人，所用的证件也多是自己假造，不伦不类的，内行的居士其实稍稍用心就能辩认出来，真正上当受骗的，更多地是那些对佛教有一定感情但又确实一无所知的社会普通大众。因此，对居士而言，最最难防，最最可恨的，还是那些身出家心未出家的“家贼”，也就是有门有户、手续齐全，甚至见面脸熟、有一定本事的“真和尚”。对待这些“菩萨家的畜牲”，最好的办法就是多和寺院的大和尚联系，及时检举揭发，以防更多的人受害。

最后的几点忠告：

1、善心不可滥发。现在的正规出家人都不在外化缘，对于那些上门化缘的，我们一定要保持警惕；对于希望获得我们帮助的，也要反复观察，最好根据他的言语和寺院取得联系，以验真伪。

2、贪心不可增长。天上不会凭空掉馅饼，意外之财不可得，有好事情、好东西还是要多思量；身体有病更不要怕这怕那，要相信现代医术，有病到医院。

3、正念永驻心中。佛教讲“命自我立”，风水之学虽有一定道理，但佛教更重地是善行必有善报，只要坚信因果，笃行五戒十善，一切自能大吉大利。遇上美言绮语，更要“八风吹不动”，要多忖己德行，脚踏实地，老实做人。

Prostration is the essence and one of the most important parts of devotion. It is, for the sake of benefiting all sentient beings to prostrate and become Buddha. During the prostration, it might come up with good ideas or bad ones. Look at them with an equal mind then they would be gone without any traces. That would be the best!

-- Droge Yonten Gyatso Rinpoche

Your Mind Creates Your Experience

by Venerable Dr Chuan Xuan

The sudden chest pain threw me into a state of deep worry. I felt hopeless as I curled up in bed. My hot tears cooled quickly on my face, making the chilly south-eastern China winter even colder. Hiding beneath my blanket, I said to myself: “Am I going to die? I have yet to perfect my sutra recitation. What will happen to my students if I die? Will the college have enough time to find a replacement? Who is going to water my office plants etc…” Thoughts kept drifting in and out, and my tears continued to flow. 

It was 31 January 2020,  about eight days after the nationwide lockdown in China to combat a then unknown deadly pandemic, now known as COVID-19.

I was visiting one of my monastic mentors, and taking up his hospitable offer, I extended my stay so that I could catch up with him and other long-time-no-see dharma-farers as well.

As the only one who had an overseas travel history in the past fourteen days, I naturally and unquestioningly established a causal connection of my chest pain to the virus. My emotions intensified and I was very fearful. Although I was clueless about the cause of my chest pain, I came to the conclusion after hours of struggle and despair that I must be COVID-19 positive for sure.

This, however, did not bring me even a moment of peace. I could only lie and cry in bed, as I felt my strength drain away. It was four in the morning, nearly 11 hours after experiencing the suspicious pain. The monastery bell tolled, a daily signal that a new day had begun and all monastics were to assemble for their daily morning service at the Hall of Shakyamuni.

Deeply convinced that I must be ailing from COVID-19, I decided not to attend the morning practice. To be honest, even if I had wanted to attend, my body was too weak for me to do so. Thus, I sent a text message to the discipline inspector and obtained his permission for absence. The venerable was so kind; he added in his reply that he would bring me warm porridge if I could not make my way to the dining hall for breakfast. 

Despite being physically weak and mentally restless, my 22-year-long monastic training reminded me that I should not lie in bed while my fellow monastics were chanting. Well, I must admit, the 108 strikes of the bell also made returning to sleep rather difficult. For a moment, a thought flashed through: “The monk who is in charge of striking the bell should be nicknamed Venerable Armstrong, for his strength in sounding the bell so loudly.”

With my last ounce of strength, I tried to sit up cross-legged and managed to remain still. As part of my training as a monastic, it had become habitual for me to attend to my breath whenever I am in a sitting position. I started to stay mindful of my in-breath and out-breath. Although that day my meditation wasn’t progressing the way I used to practise, I kept at it.

After a few rounds of counting inhalation from one to ten and then from ten to one, I could feel my breath vividly again. It was warm, rapid and short. The sheer awareness of my own breath allowed me, for the first time in the past 11 hours, an opportunity to disassociate from the feeling of being a “victim” of the virus. This momentary disassociation of I and my feeling released a tremendous inner strength that allowed me to see “me” and “virus” as separate. In other words, I take care of “me” and the physician will take care of the virus.

So instead of worrying, I went to a hospital before breakfast and did the prescribed medical examinations. The test results came out the next day. 

My chest pain was merely due to cold. The pain went away the next day.

So, what have I learnt from this intense episode, and my monastic journey so far?

First and foremost, allow yourself to be human and have feelings. Be it love, fear, anxiety, anguish, and so forth, whenever a feeling arises, contemplate the feeling as just a feeling and give it due recognition. Second, try not to become overwhelmed with your feelings, neither downplaying nor exaggerating them, be they positive or negative. Always maintain your mindful awareness of your reactions. Third, whenever you are about to take an action, be it mental, verbal or physical, spare a moment or so to reflect if this action is wholesome or unwholesome.

Is it meaningful or worthless?

Is it enriching or damaging?

Finally, give people such as scientists, statesmen, physicians, volunteers etc, the room to perform what they are good at and be grateful for their contributions.

Amidst this pandemic, some are lamenting that we will never be able to go back to our good old days. I do not know about that. However, I have faith and am confident that when our hearts are united in mindful awareness, we shall emerge from this much stronger and thus enjoy a better future together.

It is okay to be intense, but it takes wisdom to be at peace. With this quote from the Dhammapada, I wish everyone peace, good health and happiness. 

To learn Buddhism is to learn wisdom and compassion. To attain Buddhahood means the manifestation of the inherent wisdom and compassion of Buddha-nature after all the obscurations have been purified. That is all it means. 

-- Khenpo Tsultrim Lodro Rinpoche

要经过很大的折磨，才能超越痛苦的错觉

慧律法师

每次坐计程车，司机就问：“师父，你看起来没有几岁，为什么要出家呢？好可怜！”我不知道要如何答复他。又问：“你是哪里想不开？是否有读书？”我说：“没有读什么书，只念研究所而已。”司机又说：“读研究所还出家，枉费父母亲的钱，就像把钱填入水沟里。要出家应该早一点，为什么还要念研究所呢？”

所以，我们的愚痴可见一斑。禅宗教我们一种妙法：“修行人要天天放生。”放生的意思不是“放走那些家禽、家畜”，而是“烦恼生起时，放走它。”这才是放生。

什么叫“众生”呢？就是“烦恼一直生起，集一切烦恼，叫作众生。”

有些人拜佛时都非常功利，在佛前放些供品，就一直要求佛陀保佑升官发财，或求病除，一切祭拜都是有所求的。

有一句话说：“修行念佛不求无病，无病容易增长一切的罪恶。”人假如无病来磨练，宿业难除，所谓“比丘常带三分呆，比丘常带三分病。”如此才能警醒自己好好修行。

我们必须到什么程度才会没有生、死呢？禅宗有一句话说：“风来疏竹，风过而竹不留声；雁过寒潭，雁去而潭不存影。”意思告诉我们，一个修行人，当境界显现时，不要受境界的影响，一切的幻象都不要留在心中；必须保持如如不动的定境，心不要被境转。

我们人活著，就是生活在记忆里面的残影，残影的幻化形式，会强烈地产生自我与主观。

一般人很难有禅师这种超是非、超善恶、超有无、超好坏的胸襟。没有办法超越就会落入相对比较，就会产生痛苦；人家说句好话，他就感到愉快，别人毁谤就产生苦恼，这样要如何修行呢？只是永远活在别人的语言当中。

所以，人活在别人的批判中就会很痛苦；如果你很在乎别人对你的看法，你的生命便失去了自主，你同意吗？所以，不必要去管别人的看法如何，只要我们所做的事情能对得起良心，没有违背三宝，也没有失去什么东西就可以了；晚上睡觉问心无愧而高枕无忧，也不必去管别人讲圆的或扁的。别人说我们如何，我们也不必去解释。有时候越解释是越不清楚的，要让别人了解你，你只有离开他，当你要去解释什么，人家会认为你一定有错而心虚。

所以，我们必须学习禅师的功夫，修净土宗的人，也必须有禅定的功夫，念佛时心才能定。

我们继续来解释这句“雁过寒潭，雁去而潭不存影。”这句话是说我们的心，事情过去就算了，不必去翻老帐。一个人对别人最残忍的事就是本钱加利息苛求对方，残忍的就是翻旧帐。所以，我们必须有禅者那种“雁过寒潭，雁去而潭不存影”的境界，意思也就是无所执着。

禅师又说：“海阔纵鱼跃，天高任鸟飞。”如果我们的胸襟非常开阔，面对任何事情都能保持如如不动的心境，任何人对我的称、讥、毁、誉都不会影响情绪的起伏，那么，我们临命终时，就有把握了。

再来是好好念佛，念心口一致的扎实佛，不要念“松佛”，所谓“松佛”就是不实在，对事情会计较，没有肚量，一种“鸡仔肠，鸟仔肚”的狭窄肚量。也就是说：越拜佛越我慢，拜佛拜到倚老卖老；若有人请他去听经，他会说：“法师还没出世，我就在拜佛了。哼！听他讲经！”这种倚老卖老的口气，好像是说：“年轻就是一种过错，产生不了什么力量。”

但是这个力量，有时候不能从年龄来论断；英文有一句话“Knowledge（wisdom）is Power.”这是说“智慧就是力量”，也没有说年长就是力量。

俗云：“无智空长百岁，有德不在年高。”并不是人活得老、年纪大，就一定有智慧；假如毫无智慧，活了一百岁又有什么用呢？

所以，我们说：“迷人口念，智者心行。”有智慧的人是从内心下功夫的。有的出家人看起来钝钝似的，都不说话，其实，也许他是大智若愚，他的功夫有多深是难以测度的。

以前有一位冬瓜和尚，因头部长得像冬瓜，手持念珠，有点装疯卖傻做痴呆的样子。他常到菜市场去，找那些卖鱼、卖猪肉的小贩；冬瓜和尚一进市场就一直念佛，这些商人呼唤他时，冬瓜和尚就说：“啊！造孽、造业……”然后奉劝商人不要卖鱼、不要卖肉。那卖猪肉的拿起屠刀说：“猪肉不卖，那我太太谁要养呢？”冬瓜和尚笑一笑说：“啊！可怜喔！可怜喔！”装出一脸不在乎，再继续念他的佛：“阿弥陀佛……”。

他修行是在内心，表面上痴痴呆呆的，其功夫之深是没有办法丈量的。他临终前站立著，面向西方持佛珠、合掌、念佛，旁人都看到三道光芒射下来；冬瓜和尚往生了，而依然兀立著。这种功夫要那里去找。

所以，看出家人不要只看外表，要观察他内在的功夫。我们不要以外表去丈量一个出家人，不要看不起他们；最少，他们能剪断那一头烦恼丝，我们就必须尊重他三分。

在家居士也一样，有时候也看不出他的修行功夫有多深，俗云：“人不可貌相，海水不可斗量。”就是这个道理。所以，在修行路上，我们发现别人的缺点，不要到处宣扬，说不定他是佛菩萨示现的。

我告诉各位一句话：“对你特别坏的人，你必须更感谢他。”就好比我以前的那位女朋友。我在高中时就开始谈恋爱，是她先追我的，那时我读建国中学时趾高气昂，我教她国文、数学、英文，本来纯粹是同情她、教导她，没想到后来竟然自己陷入感情的泥沼中，无法自拔。后来，她知道我把感情付出了，我要约她去看电影，她就说：“不要。”一味的吊我胃口，我开始产生烦恼。

然后，她看我没时间了，再来约我出去，我感觉女人真奇怪。要，她说：“不要。”不要，却说：“要。”令我糊涂了。现在我已经了解了。像当时这一种折磨，到了今天，我体会到生命的意义以后，我非常感激她。她是我在世界上最大的恩人，因为她折磨我、刺激我；当我陷入感情泥沼中时，还差一点跑去跳淡水河。

到今天我才体会到人为什么要自杀的道理，那是一种身（心）不由己。不要陷入感情的泥沼中最好，要是陷入当中，一百个人，可能死去一百零一人。明明知道这种感情是不会快乐的，要娶了她也可能痛苦一生，但仍然去爱她，真是百思不解。所以，我认为感情根本没有什么道理，我是被她磨练出来的，她就是我的恩人。

有一次，我在文化大学演讲，她到休息的客厅来找我，许多北部各大专院校的学生也在场，我就故意说：“我这双手这一生才牵过一个女孩子。”她把头低了下来。在大学四年中，我这双手真的没再牵过任何女孩子；我已经学聪明了，没有人能再荒废我的青春了。所以说：第一次是纯纯的爱，是感情的牺牲者；但是第二次就不会迷惑了。到了今天回想起来，也只有感激她。

所以，我们不能有嗔恨之心。恨意会很强烈地束缚自己，又不能解决事情。我恨你，你或许也不会了解，这样不是很无知吗？假如，我恨你可以缩短你的性命，我就恨你到死；但是我恨你时，你也不知不觉，这又有什么用呢？恨是不能解决问题的，恨是世界上最愚痴的。因此，我们必须常怀感念别人的心情，用大无我的精神，就不会有痛苦。

When we trust our creative energy, we encounter a supreme kind of enjoyment — an amazement at the natural unfolding of life beyond our ordinary way of looking at things. When we talk about creating art — or more importantly, the art of living a sane life — it means trusting our basic nature and its natural creativity.

-- Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

Correct Meditation

by Zen Master Seung Sahn

When I was in the hospital, the doctors checked my heart. The first time they checked, there were 23-25 mistakes (premature ventricular contractions) in one minute, out of about 80 beats.

Many people have read about research by a Harvard professor who checked people with bad hearts, diabetes, etc. He checked people who did meditation and people who didn't. People who didn't do meditation were O.K. with medicine, but not O.K. without their medicine. But people who tried concentration meditation got better more quickly and were O.K. without their medicine. The Transcendental Meditation people advertised this: "Meditation can fix many sicknesses." So now many doctors like meditation. So my doctors said, "Soen Sa Nim, you are a Zen Master, so you try!" So I said, "O.K., I will try." So I tried this fix-your-body meditation. In three days my heart was making only five mistakes — usually, it takes about one month to recover like this, so my doctors understood this meditation was helping my body, so they were very happy.

After one week, my heart was only making one or two mistakes, and my doctors said, "This is wonderful! Most people take two or three months to come down to only one or two mistakes each minute!" So I said, "Thank you very much, you have helped me, so I can get better quickly. But this is only fix-your-body meditation. This is not correct meditation."

"Why isn't this correct meditation?" they asked.

"You can fix your body, your heart, your diabetes. In Korea, China, and India there are people who do yoga. They go to the mountains and do breath-in, breath-out meditation. They can live 500 years and not get sick. Keeping their bodies for a long time is possible; even flying in the sky is possible. Trying this style body meditation, anything is possible. A body is like a car. Use the car a lot, and in three years, it is broken. Only keep the car in the garage, then keeping it for a long time is possible. But finally after 500 years, then these yoga people die. Then what? Live a long time, then die; live a short time, then die — it is the same! Dying is the same." The doctors understood. "What is correct meditation then?"

I told them, "I always try meditation. Meditation means always keeping one mind, not-moving mind." They thought meditation meant only concentration and keeping your body still. So I said, "Meditation means keeping one mind. You must understand — what is life? What is death? If you keep one mind, there is no life, no death. Then if you die tomorrow, no problem; if you die in five minutes, no problem."

"What do you mean, 'no problem?'" they asked.

"Maybe you do fix-your-heart meditation. Then, 'My heart is good, my body is good.' It is very easy to become attached to this meditation. But when you get old, and your heart is not so good, then you try this meditation. Maybe it is still not so good. Then, 'Why doesn't my meditation work?' Then your body, your meditation, become hindrances. If your meditation cannot help your body, then you don't believe in your meditation. Then what? So this style of meditation is no good."

"Correct meditation means correctly understanding your situation moment by moment — what are you doing now? Only do it! Then each action is complete each action is enough. Then no thinking, so each moment I can perceive everything just like this. Just like this is truth. Sick-time, only be sick. Driving-time, only drive. Only go straight — then any situation is no problem.

The doctors liked this; they wanted to hear more about Zen. So six doctors came to my room and I talked to them for two hours. One doctor asked me, "I am very busy, at the hospital, then going home to my family — how can I keep a clear mind?"

""Clear mind," I told them, "means moment to moment, what are you doing now? When you are with your patients, only 100% keep the doctor's mind. When you leave the hospital and you are driving home, 100% keep the driver's mind. When you meet your wife, 100% keep the husband's mind. This means each moment only go straight; don't make 'I, my, me.' If you make 'I, my, me,' then your opinion, your condition, your situation appear; then you have a problem."

"'If, when you are with your patients, you think, 'Where is my wife? Is she spending a lot of money?' Then this patient is talking to you and you only say, 'Uhm, yeah, mmm-hmm.' So the patient is thinking, 'What does the doctor think?' They don't believe you. If you are talking to your wife, and she is telling you something important, and you are thinking about the hospital, this is just your opinion, this is just thinking; it is not your just-now situation. So put it all down, only go straight."

"We say jeon il, completely become one. When you are doing an operation, you and this knife completely become one. When you are driving in your car, you and your car only become one. If you drive on a road with pebbles and you are not thinking, only driving, then you can feel these pebbles under your tires. Only become one means, you and your action completely become one, then you and the universe only become one — completely no-thinking mind. Inside and outside become one. The name for this is, 'only go straight,' or 'put it all down,' or 'don't make anything,' or 'keep a clear mind.'"

"If you are only in the present, how can you plan for the future or choose a direction? I have to plan for my patients, and for myself, my family," one doctor said.

So I said, "What is the purpose of life? I asked many old people in the hospital this question, or 'What did you get out of life?' and many said, 'Nothing.' Maybe they have a good job, good family, good wife or husband, but these things cannot help them now. They want something they cannot have, and they understand this, so they say, 'Nothing.' This is understanding nothing. But understanding cannot help them, so they are suffering. Zen means to attain this nothing mind. The Buddha said, 'If you keep clear mind moment by moment, then you will get happiness everywhere.'

"Zen is attaining this nothing mind and using this nothing mind. How can you use it? Zen means making this nothing mind into big-love mind. Nothing mind means no 'I, my, me,' no hindrance. So this mind can change to Great Compassion mind, action-for-all-people mind. This is possible. Nothing mind does not appear, does not disappear. So moment by moment, it is possible to keep your correct situation. Then your mind is like a mirror — when you are with your patients, only become one. Then helping them is possible. When you are with your family, only become one; then understanding what is best for them is clear. Just like this. The blue mountain does not move. The white clouds float back and forth."

The self-realisation of liberation from rebirths can be accomplished either in the human world or the purelands. This ultimate liberation from cyclic existence is called Final Nirvana.

-- Venerable Yin Shun

新得三新三不少

仁俊長老

新，從佛法的立場說，涵蓋著清淨、光明、真實與「最極究竟」。諸佛所證與所诠的一切，從「法性」的本來如是到「法界」的普遍如是，也就是從性空一味到緣幻無盡無量的種種界類，無一與「天啓」及「世智」所見所說者相同。佛教聖者們所破與能覺的界劃：「我法」與「佛法」。生死雜染的動力--我法，無生寂靜的通道--佛法。依佛法正聞正見，深持深行，學得能體解「幻有」，不玩幻而能明正地入幻、對幻不著；修得能順應「真空」，不撥空而能精純地契空，行空不（偏）證（我空，水到渠成地自然圓證）。世智中雖也談空說有，嚴格究诘：談空的每墮于斷，說有的都落于常；如此斷常，莫不乖背乎中道。佛陀诠空闡有，空呢空得徹頭徹尾，有呢有得立因立緣；徹頭徹尾空脫常執（機械得自囿自陷），因緣會合，則能建立世出世間一切因果。「雖空亦不斷，雖有亦不常」，正好說明了佛法中道。這，超時空而又普遍于一切時空的真理，驗之于當前及過未，無不呈現得的的曆曆、清清晰晰，莫可否定、抹煞或破壞，真可謂「萬古常新」，永恒准則。

 

釋尊說法的核心：特別著重于人類的三業。世間的一切福善與禍患，無一不與人類的業行息息相關。由于(染淨)業行的潛釀與久熏，世出世間的現象與「實相」，都這麽憑人類業行的迷悟作導向。業的簡略分類：俗情業與真德業。這兩類業的發動與完成，起初，都從人類（意）思業中的一念正否爲關鍵。由思業引發著身語二業，從而構成世間複叠交錯極難測數的無盡現象：從如此現象中體悟、透達其通則，便是出世的一味實相。佛法所說的世間觀，涵蓋著整個的世出世間。從諸佛的徹破與遍覺說，世間與出世，從來就沒有界際的隔劃、障礙。因而也就沒有世界（權威）欲的擴張、戰鬥與殘殺。佛法給予一切人類最大最究竟的啓示、導向：因之相依與緣之相助（相成）。從因之相依中化除我見，從緣之相助中消融我愛，眼界與眼光，心地與心量，瞻察得與諸佛相通，照護得與衆生相見。這麽樣瞻察得一徑虔誠，照護得一片熱摯，不論有形或無形，則自自然地令人看的不離佛法，做的不舍衆生，久了，就同見到諸佛的化身一樣。學佛法，一步一趨地不忘諸佛菩薩，念頭與心底的印象，如此的熟悉了，認定了，許多人才知道我們身住世間而心行（勝）出世(間)。從這般印象中習制成的形象，卓立而堅持得永不倒退，人類則能從我們身心上多少體會到出世氣息，許多人才能逐漸解粘釋縛，從系戀世間而轉爲樂慕出世間。有了出世意念作底襯、做前導、爲中堅，入世就沒有墮敗之虞了。入世與出世，大抵這麽打成一片、融爲一體，這才是最新最完整的世界觀。

 

現代人常說的「新新人類」，果真有了新之又新的人，這個世界才有最新的起色與活力。依佛法說，最簇新、最超卓的世界觀：「一切得之于世界，一切還償給世界」。世界的別稱--世間，佛教對一切衆生（人類），也稱之爲世間。因爲如洪流般底生命滔滔不絕，奔放前進，過去現在與未來，從未瞬息停止過。世界，從佛法的另一名詞說：「法界」；法界的法，含有染淨二義，所以從佛界乃至地獄界，稱爲十法界。徹悟了十法界的一切，便被尊稱爲佛陀。佛陀悟入的純淨法界，並非染汙法界外的另一法界，乃是即染汙法界的當體而悟入清淨法界。所以，佛是出世圓滿的大覺者，亦是世間人類中的一個人，因此，釋尊說：「我亦在人數」。慧眼洞照的釋尊，把自己和一切人看成一樣；因此他所證的，也是「是法平等，無有高下，是名阿耨多羅三藐三菩提」。從人平等法平等中，脫脫落落地消通了人法的界別、類別，渾融得一（實）相一（解脫）味，整體的、圓性的、最新的文化與文明，就這樣昭示得光輝法界，導照群生。從佛的「亦在人數」中，回過頭來看我們自己，「理性佛性」從未離開身心，只須當下肯認著，便不甘與泛常者同生死。從這裏，體練得事不著相，勘驗得理能契心，便不肯讓佛，亦不敢诳佛。激提得振作雄沈，默了得虛寂廓平，非常與平常之際，與佛法則順應得無憂無喜。觀行在這麽種順應中，佛法便成爲家常事，見佛與見法，爲法與爲人，則調融得平正而平衡，不再爲己而忘（學）佛，爲人而（昧）忽（乎）法。身心的佛化與言行的法化，從此便紮紮實實的了。真實得不爲己作，盡爲人作而無倦慮之感，佛之心腸與己之血汗，就這樣凝合、體效得極真極熱。一切得之于世界，一切還償給世界的心量與眼光，便開濟得軒軒昂昂、充充沛沛的了。

 

共三乘道的「無作」（一作「無願」），著重決絕地斷除欲私，培育成恬淡高逸的風範。大乘不共的菩薩道，無爲與有爲綜合爲一，即無爲而行有爲--「不住無爲」，即有爲而出無爲--「不盡有爲」，特重透達、遍化（九）法界衆生。以此與二乘（聖者）相較，三毒盡斷而三善（根）不具（足）；大乘行者不急斷煩惱（粗猛的致力降伏），一切時處對三善根體踐、發揮得切實而純真、圓淨而絕無瑕疵之善--「三善根」。佛陀所證所行之無上善法，盡是無住之慧與無極之悲的綜攝而成。從無住之慧中深契（不動）法性，從無極之悲中久持（不違）毗尼，始能從純正的因地而進達圓淨的果地。純極之善透脫了有漏之報，才獲得最光熾、最充滿的不可思議的淨報，從這般淨報中流布出的言教與道迹，其力價與功能，足以令一切衆生轉迷趣覺。佛法的學行與（作）證（體）印，念念不忘于善，處處兌現著善；善，成爲生活上的標幟，化爲生命中的力願，事事都發足了此力願，時時則聞到諸佛的呼聲，也聽到衆生的哭（泣）聲；諸佛的呼聲直透心肝，衆生的哭泣痛切肺腑，才知道感報諸佛大恩，肯得拔除衆生劇苦。三善根認定著：時間太可貴了，惜時甚于命，（法性）空間太夠深（廣）了，敬空同瞻佛，這麽樣握准時間不浪費，踐定空間不掠虛，明得的的曆曆，安得泰泰谧谧，三毒就被三善根調伏得沒彈展余地，福德基地就一天天擴充開去。

 

諸佛菩薩身相莊嚴的表征--大福德藏，（因地中）曠劫來，施舍頭顱腦髓、國城妻子等等，才感得如此的表征。福德齊修，菩薩一發心便這麽無間地策提著。活在福德中的菩薩行者，首先誡勵著：甯可苦自己，決不肯苦他人。這樣的心術、心量慣習了，形成了，忍苦耐害，受怨報德，便老是顯現出臉寬嘴柔的溫雅神態。德重于福而以德導福，福順于德則不爲福覆，「不斷亦不破」的堅誓弘願，憑賴的就是如此的品概、作爲與氣骨。造福、回福而擴德，德擴得、愧得太薄、太少，忘卻了享福的世俗情戀，入世行化則不再苦樂萦懷，利衰動心，惟道是務，惟願是償。最極重視「普賢行」的大乘人，一切無不以「現實利益」（衆生）爲前提，由于此，一切人類的腦與眼，才看得明豁，感到暢奮。群衆歡呼中鮮旺熱摯的「生佛」，就這麽爲世界陶冶、鼓鑄成無數的活人與覺者。學佛法，奠固善根爲第一要著，從善根中將善力熏發、操練得足足實實，福德藉善(慧)力的擇覺、把定著：德勝于福，福隨乎德，不肯享福，「以福舍罪」，不敢匮德，致德效佛，必須如此，才能德勝于福，福德齊修。

 

善力與福德融彙得無滯、無蔽、無匮；從這三無中體認著佛法的活潑、通廓、涵蓋的絕無底際、質性，則自然而必然地觸會因緣。佛法不共于世俗一切的特征--因緣。概括地說：有爲與無爲，生死與解脫，世間與出世，無一不該攝于因緣中。以故，釋尊開示的一切法門，可說是純純粹粹的因緣論。這肯定了：學佛法，就是學因緣，見地與行徑，才會明明准准的不偏不邪，必中必正。「緣起理則」與「緣生事相」，久已成爲佛法中顛撲不破的准量。緊切地體握著這，不僅能透脫流轉而還歸寂滅；進一步說，大乘的即生滅而寂滅，即寂滅而生動、活躍、肆應得入世不倒，出世不住，超越乎凡小的精神與意（態）氣（概），也還是依緣（無盡的開通）而起，從緣（有形的結合）而生。所以，大乘因緣的觀與行，不光是消極的、厭離的還滅，而更能積極的、熱切的創辟。因此，因緣給予我們的大力大用，從衆緣所生中破除了我愛（振脫了自我威脅），從淨緣攝集中完成了大（智大悲，大雄大忍）的「假名我」。諸佛菩薩就是善用此假名（緣起）我而上進而遍覺的。我們學佛菩薩的看准了這，從淨因大緣的開（濟）創（獻）中，盡可能的植善根而增善力，修福德而回福樂，念頭上心底裏，怎也不忘卻此三不可少；從三不可少中透透徹徹地舍身舍心，認定也作定「一切得之于世間，一切還償給世間」；這麽種認定作定得殷勤、真實而遍廓，永無底極永發心，我們才能從三業中一新永新得與三寶同在，從三寶光輝中永遠見得三寶，拔濟三界。

 

轉瞬間，又屆新春了，讓我重複一下：「一切得之于世界，一切還償給世界」的新觀念，僅是學（行）大乘道的開始喲！　　

You should cultivate love, understanding that all the living beings who fill space have been your gracious parents. Thereby you will acquire the higher aspiration that cherishes others more than yourself. Whatever you do, you should maintain the relative enlightened mind that is intended exclusively for the benefit of others.

--  Jamgön Kongtrul Lodro Thaye

The Buddhist Attitude Towards Nature

by Lily De Silva

Modern man in his search for pleasure and affluence has exploited nature without any moral restraint to such an extent that nature has been rendered almost incapable of sustaining healthy life. Invaluable gifts of nature, such as air and water, have been polluted with severely disastrous consequences. Man is now searching for ways and means of overcoming the pollution problem as his health too is alarmingly threatened. He also feels that it is irresponsible and morally wrong on his part to commit the future generations to a polluted planet. If man is to act with a sense of responsibility to the natural world, to his fellow human beings and to unborn future generations, he has to find an appropriate environmental ethic today to prevent further aggravation of the present pollution problem. Hence his search for wisdom and attitudes in a hitherto neglected area of knowledge, namely, religion.

Buddhism strictly limits itself to the delineation of a way of life designed to eradicate human suffering. The Buddha refused to answer questions which did not directly or indirectly bear on the central problem of human suffering and its ending. Furthermore, environmental pollution is a problem of the modern age, unheard of and unsuspected during the time of the Buddha. Therefore it is difficult to find any specific discourse which deals with the topic we are interested in here. Nevertheless, as Buddhism is a full-fledged philosophy of life reflecting all aspects of experience, it is possible to find enough material in the Pali canon to delineate the Buddhist attitude towards nature.

The word "nature" means everything in the world which is not organised and constructed by man. The Pali equivalents which come closest to "nature" are loka and yathabhuta. The former is usually translated as "world" while the latter literally means "things as they really are." The words dhammata and niyama are used in the Pali canon to mean "natural law or way."

NATURE AS DYNAMIC 

According to Buddhism changeability is one of the perennial principles of nature. Everything changes in nature and nothing remains static. This concept is expressed by the Pali term anicca. Everything formed is in a constant process of change (sabbe sankhara anicca). The world is therefore defined as that which disintegrates (lujjati ti loko); the world is so-called because it is dynamic and kinetic, it is constantly in a process of undergoing change. In nature there are no static and stable "things"; there are only ever-changing, ever-moving processes. Rain is a good example to illustrate this point. Though we use a noun called "rain" which appears to denote a "thing," rain is nothing but the process of drops of water falling from the skies. Apart from this process, the activity of raining, there is no rain as such which could be expressed by a seemingly static nominal concept. The very elements of solidity (pathavi), liquidity (apo), heat (tejo) and mobility (vayo), recognised as the building material of nature, are all ever-changing phenomena. Even the most solid looking mountains and the very earth that supports everything on it are not beyond this inexorable law of change. One sutta explains how the massive king of mountains — Mount Sineru, which is rooted in the great ocean to a depth of 84,000 leagues and which rises above sea level to another great height of 84,000 leagues and which is a very classical symbol of stability and steadfastness — also gets destroyed by heat, without leaving even ashes, with the appearance of multiple suns. Thus change is the very essence of nature.

MORALITY AND NATURE 

The world passes through alternating cycles of evolution and dissolution, each of which endures for a long period of time. Though change is inherent in nature, Buddhism believes that natural processes are affected by the morals of man.

According to the Aggañña Sutta, which relates the Buddhist legend regarding the evolution of the world, the appearance of greed in the primordial beings — who at that time were self-luminous, subsisting on joy, and traversing in the skies — caused the gradual loss of their radiance and their ability to subsist on joy and to move about in the sky. The moral degradation had effects on the external environment too. At that time the entire earth was covered over by a very flavoursome fragrant substance similar to butter. When beings started partaking of this substance with more and more greed, on the one hand, their subtle bodies became coarser and coarser. On the other hand, the flavoursome substance itself started gradually diminishing. With the solidification of bodies differences of form appeared; some were beautiful while others were homely. Thereupon conceit manifested itself in those beings, and the beautiful ones started looking down upon the others. As a result of these moral blemishes, the delicious edible earth-substance completely disappeared. In its place there appeared edible mushrooms and later another kind of edible creeper. In the beings who subsisted on them successively, sex differentiation became manifest and the former method of spontaneous birth was replaced by sexual reproduction.

Self-growing rice appeared on earth and through laziness to collect each meal man grew accustomed to hoarding food. As a result of this hoarding habit, the growth rate of food could not keep pace with the rate of demand. Thereupon land had to be divided among families. After private ownership of land became the order of the day, those who were of a more greedy disposition started robbing from others' plots of land. When they were detected they denied that they had stolen. Thus through greed vices such as stealing and lying became manifest in society. To curb the wrongdoers and punish them a king was elected by the people and thus the original simple society became much more complex and complicated. It is said that this moral degeneration of man had adverse effects on nature. The richness of the earth diminished and self-growing rice disappeared. Man had to till the land and cultivate rice for food. This rice grain was enveloped in chaff; it needed cleaning before consumption.

The point I wish to emphasise by citing this evolutionary legend is that Buddhism believes that though change is a factor inherent in nature, man's moral deterioration accelerates the process of change and brings about changes which are adverse to human well being and happiness.

The Cakkavattisihanada Sutta of the Digha Nikaya predicts the future course of events when human morals undergo further degeneration. Gradually man's health will deteriorate so much that life expectancy will diminish until at last the average human lifespan is reduced to ten years and marriageable age to five years. At that time all delicacies such as ghee, butter, honey, etc. will have disappeared from the earth; what is considered the poorest coarse food today will become a delicacy of that day. Thus Buddhism maintains that there is a close link between man's morals and the natural resources available to him.

According to a discourse in the Anguttara Nikaya, when profligate lust, wanton greed, and wrong values grip the heart of man and immorality becomes widespread in society, timely rain does not fall. When timely rain does not fall crops get adversely affected with various kinds of pests and plant diseases. Through lack of nourishing food the human mortality rate rises.

Thus several suttas from the Pali canon show that early Buddhism believes there to be a close relationship between human morality and the natural environment. This idea has been systematised in the theory of the five natural laws (pañca niyamadhamma) in the later commentaries. According to this theory, in the cosmos there are five natural laws or forces at work, namely utuniyama (lit. "season-law"), bijaniyama (lit. "seed-law"), cittaniyama, kammaniyama, and dhammaniyama. They can be translated as physical laws, biological laws, psychological laws, moral laws, and causal laws, respectively. While the first four laws operate within their respective spheres, the last-mentioned law of causality operates within each of them as well as among them.

This means that the physical environment of any given area conditions the growth and development of its biological component, i.e. flora and fauna. These in turn influence the thought pattern of the people interacting with them. Modes of thinking determine moral standards. The opposite process of interaction is also possible. The morals of man influence not only the psychological makeup of the people but the biological and physical environment of the area as well. Thus the five laws demonstrate that man and nature are bound together in a reciprocal causal relationship with changes in one necessarily bringing about changes in the other.

The commentary on the Cakkavattisihanada Sutta goes on to explain the pattern of mutual interaction further.[8] When mankind is demoralised through greed, famine is the natural outcome; when moral degeneration is due to ignorance, epidemic is the inevitable result; when hatred is the demoralising force, widespread violence is the ultimate outcome. If and when mankind realises that large-scale devastation has taken place as a result of his moral degeneration, a change of heart takes place among the few surviving human beings. With gradual moral regeneration, conditions improve through a long period of cause and effect and mankind again starts to enjoy gradually increasing prosperity and longer life. The world, including nature and mankind, stands or falls with the type of moral force at work. If immorality grips society, man and nature deteriorate; if morality reigns, the quality of human life and nature improves. Thus greed, hatred, and delusion produce pollution within and without. Generosity, compassion, and wisdom produce purity within and without. This is one reason the Buddha has pronounced that the world is led by the mind, cittena niyati loko. Thus man and nature, according to the ideas expressed in early Buddhism, are interdependent.

HUMAN USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES 

For survival, mankind has to depend on nature for his food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and other requisites.

For optimum benefits, man has to understand nature so that he can utilise natural resources and live harmoniously with nature. By understanding the working of nature — for example, the seasonal rainfall pattern, methods of conserving water by irrigation, the soil types, the physical conditions required for growth of various food crops, etc. — man can learn to get better returns from his agricultural pursuits. But this learning has to be accompanied by moral restraint if he is to enjoy the benefits of natural resources for a long time. Man must learn to satisfy his needs and not feed his greed. The resources of the world are not unlimited whereas man's greed knows neither limit nor satiation. Modern man in his unbridled voracious greed for pleasure and acquisition of wealth has exploited nature to the point of near impoverishment.

Ostentatious consumerism is accepted as the order of the day. One writer says that within forty years Americans alone have consumed natural resources to the quantity of what all mankind has consumed for the last 4000 years. The vast non-replenishable resources of fossil fuels which took millions of years to form have been consumed within a couple of centuries to the point of near exhaustion. This consumerism has given rise to an energy crisis on the one hand and a pollution problem on the other. Man's unrestrained exploitation of nature to gratify his insatiate greed reminds one of the traditional parables of the goose that laid the golden eggs.

Buddhism tirelessly advocates the virtues of non-greed, non-hatred and non-delusion in all human pursuits. Greed breeds sorrow and unhealthy consequences. Contentment (santutthi) is a much praised virtue in Buddhism. The man leading a simple life with few wants easily satisfied is upheld and appreciated as an exemplary character. Miserliness and wastefulness[15] are equally deplored in Buddhism as two degenerate extremes. Wealth has only instrumental value; it is to be utilised for the satisfaction of man's needs. Hoarding is a senseless anti-social habit comparable to the attitude of the dog in the manger. The vast hoarding of wealth in some countries and the methodical destruction of large quantities of agricultural produce to keep the market prices from falling, while half the world is dying of hunger and starvation, is really a sad paradox of the present affluent age.

Buddhism commends frugality as a virtue in its own right. Once Ananda explained to King Udena the thrifty economic use of robes by the monks in the following order. When new robes are received the old robes are used as coverlets, the old coverlets as mattress covers, the old mattress covers as rugs, the old rugs as dusters, and the old tattered dusters are kneaded with clay and used to repair cracked floors and walls. Thus nothing is wasted. Those who waste are derided as "wood-apple eaters." A man shakes the branch of a wood-apple tree and all the fruits, ripe as well as unripe, fall. The man would collect only what he wants and walk away leaving the rest to rot. Such a wasteful attitude is certainly deplored in Buddhism as not only anti-social but criminal. The excessive exploitation of nature as is done today would certainly be condemned by Buddhism in the strongest possible terms.

Buddhism advocates a gentle non-aggressive attitude towards nature. According to the Sigalovada Sutta a householder should accumulate wealth as a bee collects pollen from a flower. The bee harms neither the fragrance nor the beauty of the flower but gathers pollen to turn it into sweet honey. Similarly, man is expected to make legitimate use of nature so that he can rise above nature and realise his innate spiritual potential.

ATTITUDE TOWARDS AND ANIMAL AND PLANT LIFE 

The well-known Five Precepts (pañca sila) form the minimum code of ethics that every lay Buddhist is expected to adhere to. Its first precept involves abstention from injury to life. It is explained as the casting aside of all forms of weapons, being conscientious about depriving a living being of life. In its positive sense, it means the cultivation of compassion and sympathy for all living things.[19] The Buddhist layman is expected to abstain from trading in meat too.

The Buddhist monk has to abide by an even stricter code of ethics than the layman. He has to abstain from practices which would involve even unintentional injury to living creatures. For instance, the Buddha promulgated the rule against going on a journey during the rainy season because of possible injury to worms and insects that come to the surface in wet weather. The same concern for non-violence prevents a monk from digging the ground. Once a monk who was a potter prior to ordination built for himself a clay hut and set it on fire to give it a fine finish. The Buddha strongly objected to this as so many living creatures would have been burnt in the process. The hut was broken down on the Buddha's instructions to prevent it from creating a bad precedent for later generations. The scrupulous nonviolent attitude towards even the smallest living creatures prevents the monks from drinking unstrained water. It is no doubt a sound hygienic habit, but what is noteworthy is the reason which prompts the practice, namely sympathy for living creatures.

Buddhism also prescribes the practice of metta, "loving-kindness" towards all creatures of all quarters without restriction. The Karaniyametta Sutta enjoins the cultivation of loving-kindness towards all creatures timid and steady, long and short, big and small, minute and great, visible and invisible, near and far, born and awaiting birth. All quarters are to be suffused with this loving attitude. Just as one's own life is precious to oneself, so is the life of the other precious to himself. Therefore a reverential attitude must be cultivated towards all forms of life.

The Nandivisala Jataka illustrates how kindness should be shown to animals domesticated for human service. Even a wild animal can be tamed with kind words. Parileyya was a wild elephant who attended on the Buddha when he spent time in the forest away from the monks. The infuriated elephant Nalagiri was tamed by the Buddha with no other miraculous power than the power of loving-kindness. Man and beast can live and let live without fear of one another if only man cultivates sympathy and regards all life with compassion.

The understanding of kamma and rebirth, too, prepares the Buddhist to adopt a sympathetic attitude towards animals. According to this belief, it is possible for human beings to be reborn in subhuman states among animals. The Kukkuravatika Sutta can be cited as a canonical reference which substantiates this view. The Jatakas provide ample testimony to this view from commentarial literature. It is possible that our own close relatives have been reborn as animals. Therefore it is only right that we should treat animals with kindness and sympathy. The Buddhist notion of merit also engenders a gentle non-violent attitude towards living creatures. It is said that if one throws dish-washing water into a pool where there are insects and living creatures, intending that they feed on the tiny particles of food thus washed away, one accumulates merit even by such trivial generosity. According to the Macchuddana Jataka the Bodhisatta threw his leftover food into a river in order to feed the fish, and by the power of that merit, he was saved from an impending disaster. Thus kindness to animals, be they big or small, is a source of merit — merit needed for human beings to improve their lot in the cycle of rebirths and to approach the final goal of Nibbana.

Buddhism expresses a gentle non-violent attitude towards the vegetable kingdom as well. It is said that one should not even break the branch of a tree that has given one shelter. Plants are so helpful to us in providing us with all necessities of life that we are expected not to adopt a callous attitude towards them. The more strict monastic rules prevent the monks from injuring plant life.

Prior to the rise of Buddhism people regarded natural phenomena such as mountains, forests, groves, and trees with a sense of awe and reverence. They considered them as the abode of powerful non-human beings who could assist human beings at times of need. Though Buddhism gave man a far superior Triple Refuge (tisarana) in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, these places continued to enjoy public patronage at a popular level, as the acceptance of terrestrial non-human beings such as devatas and yakkhas did not violate the belief system of Buddhism. Therefore among the Buddhists there is a reverential attitude towards specially long-standing gigantic trees. They are vanaspati in Pali, meaning "lords of the forests." As huge trees such as the ironwood, the sala, and the fig are also recognised as the Bodhi trees of former Buddhas, the deferential attitude towards trees is further strengthened. It is well known that the ficus religiosa is held as an object of great veneration in the Buddhist world today as the tree under which the Buddha attained Enlightenment.

The construction of parks and pleasure groves for public use is considered a great meritorious deed. Sakka the lord of gods is said to have reached his status as a result of social services such as the construction of parks, pleasure groves, ponds, wells, and roads.

The open-air, natural habitats and forest trees have a special fascination for the Eastern mind as symbols of spiritual freedom. The home life is regarded as a fetter (sambadha) that keeps man in bondage and misery. Renunciation is like the open air (abbhokasa), nature unhampered by man's activity. The chief events in the life of the Buddha too took place in the open air. He was born in a park at the foot of a tree in Kapilavatthu; he attained Enlightenment in the open air at the foot of the Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya; he inaugurated his missionary activity in the open air in the sala grove of the Malas in Pava. The Buddha's constant advice to his disciples also was to resort to natural habitats such as forest groves and glades. There, undisturbed by human activity, they could zealously engage themselves in meditation.

ATTITUDE TOWARDS POLLUTION 

Environmental pollution has assumed such vast proportions today that man has been forced to recognise the presence of an ecological crisis. He can no longer turn a blind eye to the situation as he is already threatened with new pollution-related diseases. Pollution to this extent was unheard of during the time of the Buddha. But there is sufficient evidence in the Pali canon to give us insight into the Buddhist attitude towards the pollution problem. Several Vinaya rules prohibit monks from polluting green grass and water with saliva, urine, and faeces. These were the common agents of pollution known during the Buddha's day and rules were promulgated against causing such pollution. Cleanliness was highly commended by the Buddhists both in the person and in the environment. They were much concerned about keeping water clean, be it in the river, pond, or well. These sources of water were for public use and each individual had to use them with proper public-spirited caution so that others after him could use them with the same degree of cleanliness. Rules regarding the cleanliness of green grass were prompted by ethical and aesthetic considerations. Moreover, grass is food for most animals and it is man's duty to refrain from polluting it by his activities.

Noise is today recognised as a serious personal and environmental pollutant troubling everyone to some extent. It causes deafness, stress, and irritation, breeds resentment, saps energy, and inevitably lowers efficiency. The Buddha's attitude to noise is very clear from the Pali canon. He was critical of noise and did not hesitate to voice his stern disapproval whenever the occasion arose. Once he ordered a group of monks to leave the monastery for noisy behaviour. He enjoyed solitude and silence immensely and spoke in praise of silence as it is most appropriate for mental culture. Noise is described as a thorn to one engaged in the first step of meditation, but thereafter noise ceases to be a disturbance as the meditator passes beyond the possibility of being disturbed by the sound.

The Buddha and his disciples revelled in the silent solitary natural habitats unencumbered by human activity. Even in the choice of monasteries the presence of undisturbed silence was an important quality they looked for. Silence invigorates those who are pure at heart and raises their efficiency for meditation. But silence overawes those who are impure with ignoble impulses of greed, hatred, and delusion. The Bhayabherava Sutta beautifully illustrates how even the rustle of leaves by a falling twig in the forest sends tremors through an impure heart. This may perhaps account for the present craze for constant auditory stimulation with transistors and cassettes. The moral impurity caused by greed, avarice, acquisitive instincts, and aggression has rendered man so timid that he cannot bear silence which lays bare the reality of self-awareness. He, therefore, prefers to drown himself in loud music. Unlike classical music, which tends to soothe nerves and induce relaxation, rock music excites the senses. Constant exposure to it actually renders man incapable of relaxation and sound sleep without tranquillisers.

As to the question of the Buddhist attitude to music, it is recorded that the Buddha has spoken quite appreciatively of music on one occasion. When Pañcasikha the divine musician sang a song while playing the lute in front of the Buddha, the Buddha praised his musical ability saying that the instrumental music blended well with his song. Again, the remark of an Arahant that the joy of seeing the real nature of things is far more exquisite than orchestral music shows the recognition that music affords a certain amount of pleasure even if it is inferior to higher kinds of pleasure. But it is stressed that the ear is a powerful sensory channel through which man gets addicted to sense pleasures. Therefore, to dissuade monks from getting addicted to melodious sounds, the monastic discipline describes music as a lament.

The psychological training of the monks is so advanced that they are expected to cultivate a taste not only for external silence, but for inner silence of speech, desire, and thought as well. The sub-vocal speech, the inner chatter that goes on constantly within us in our waking life is expected to be silenced through meditation. The sage who succeeded in quelling this inner speech completely is described as a muni, a silent one. His inner silence is maintained even when he speaks!

It is not inappropriate to pay passing notice to the Buddhist attitude to speech as well. Moderation in speech is considered a virtue, as one can avoid four unwholesome vocal activities thereby, namely, falsehood, slander, harsh speech, and frivolous talk. In its positive aspect moderation in speech paves the path to self-awareness. Buddhism commends speaking at the appropriate time, speaking the truth, speaking gently, speaking what is useful, and speaking out of loving-kindness; the opposite modes of speech are condemned. The Buddha's general advice to the monks regarding speech is to be engaged in discussing the Dhamma or maintain noble silence. The silence that reigned in vast congregations of monks during the Buddha's day was indeed a surprise even to the kings of the time. Silence is serene and noble as it is conducive to the spiritual progress of those who are pure at heart.

Even Buddhist laymen were reputed to have appreciated quietude and silence. Pañcangika Thapati can be cited as a conspicuous example. Once Mahanama the Sakyan complained to the Buddha that he is disturbed by the hustle of the busy city of Kapilavatthu. He explained that he experiences calm serenity when he visits the Buddha in the quiet salubrious surroundings of the monastery and his peace of mind gets disturbed when he goes to the city. Though noise to the extent of being a pollutant causing health hazards was not known during the Buddha's day, we have adduced enough material from the Pali canon to illustrate the Buddha's attitude to the problem. Quietude is much appreciated as spiritually rewarding, while noise is condemned as a personal and social nuisance.

NATURE AS BEAUTIFUL 

The Buddha and his disciples regarded natural beauty as a source of great joy and aesthetic satisfaction. The saints who purged themselves of sensuous worldly pleasures responded to natural beauty with a detached sense of appreciation. The average poet looks at nature and derives inspiration mostly by the sentiments it evokes in his own heart; he becomes emotionally involved with nature. For instance, he may compare the sun's rays passing over the mountain tops to the blush on a sensitive face, he may see a tear in a dewdrop, the lips of his beloved in a rose petal, etc. But the appreciation of the saint is quite different. He appreciates nature's beauty for its own sake and derives joy unsullied by sensuous associations and self-projected ideas. The simple spontaneous appreciation of nature's exquisite beauty is expressed by the Elder Mahakassapa in the following words:

Those upland glades delightful to the soul,

Where the Kaveri spreads its wildering wreaths,

Where sound the trumpet-calls of elephants:

Those are the hills where my soul delights.

Those rocky heights with hue of dark blue clouds

Where lies embossed many a shining lake

Of crystal-clear, cool waters, and whose slopes

The 'herds of Indra' cover and bedeck:

Those are the hills wherein my soul delights.

Fair uplands rain-refreshed, and resonant

With crested creatures' cries antiphonal,

Lone heights where silent Rishis oft resort:

Those are the hills wherein my soul delights

Again the poem of Kaludayi, inviting the Buddha to visit Kapilavatthu, contains a beautiful description of spring:

Now crimson glow the trees, dear Lord, and cast

Their ancient foliage in quest of fruit,

Like crests of flame, they shine irradiant

And rich in hope, great Hero, is the hour.

Verdure and blossom-time in every tree

Wherever we look delightful to the eye,

And every quarter breathing fragrant airs,

While petals falling, yearning comes fruit:

It is time, O Hero, that we set out hence.

The long poem of Talaputa is a fascinating soliloquy. His religious aspirations are beautifully blended with a profound knowledge of the teachings of the Buddha against the background of a sylvan resort. Many more poems could be cited for saintly appreciation of nature, but it is not necessary to burden the essay with any more quotations. Suffice it to know that the saints, too, were sensitive to the beauties and harmony of nature and that their appreciation is coloured by spontaneity, simplicity, and a non-sensuous spirituality.

CONCLUSION 

In the modern age man has become alienated from himself and nature. When science started opening new vistas of knowledge revealing the secrets of nature one by one, man gradually lost faith in theistic religions. Consequently, he developed scanty respect for moral and spiritual values as well. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the acquisition of wealth by mechanical exploitation of natural resources, man has become more and more materialistic in his attitudes and values. The pursuit of sense pleasures and the acquisition of possessions have become ends in themselves. Man's sense faculties dominate him to an unrelenting degree and man has become a slave to his insatiable passions. (Incidentally, the sense faculties are in Pali indriyas or lords, because they control man unless he is sufficiently vigilant to become their master.) Thus man has become alienated from himself as he abandoned himself to the influence of sense pleasures and acquisitive instincts.

In his greed for more and more possessions, he has adopted a violent and aggressive attitude towards nature. Forgetting that he is a part and parcel of nature, he exploits it with unrestrained greed, thus alienating himself from nature as well. The net result is the deterioration of man's physical and mental health on the one hand, and the rapid depletion of non-replenishable natural resources and environmental pollution on the other. These results remind us of the Buddhist teachings in the suttas discussed above, which maintain that the moral degeneration of man leads to the decrease of his lifespan and the depletion of natural resources.

Moral degeneration is a double-edged weapon, it exercises adverse effects on man's psycho-physical well being as well as on nature. Already killer diseases such as heart ailments, cancer, diabetes, AIDS, etc., are claiming victims on an unprecedented scale. In the final analysis, these can all be traced to man's moral deterioration. Depletion of vast resources of fossil fuels and forests has given rise to a very severe energy crisis. It cannot be emphasised too strongly that such rapid depletion of non-renewable natural resources within less than two centuries, an infinitesimal fraction of the millions of years taken for them to form, is due to modern man's inordinate greed and acquisitiveness. A number of simple ancient societies had advanced technological skills, as is evident by their vast sophisticated irrigation schemes designed to feed the fundamental needs of several millions. Yet they survived in some countries over 2000 years without such problems as environmental pollution and depletion of natural resources. This was no doubt due to validity of the philosophy which inspired and formed the basis of these civilisations.

In the present eco-crisis, man has to look for radical solutions. "Pollution cannot be dealt with in the long term on a remedial or cosmetic basis or by tackling symptoms: all measures should deal with basic causes. These are determined largely by our values, priorities, and choices."[63] Man must reappraise his value system. The materialism that has guided his lifestyle has landed him in very severe problems. Buddhism teaches that mind is the forerunner of all things, mind is supreme. If one acts with an impure mind, i.e. a mind sullied with greed, hatred and delusion, suffering is the inevitable result. If one acts with a pure mind, i.e. with the opposite qualities of contentment, compassion, and wisdom, happiness will follow like a shadow. Man has to understand that pollution in the environment has been caused because there has been psychological pollution within himself. If he wants a clean environment he has to adopt a lifestyle that springs from a moral and spiritual dimension.

Buddhism offers man a simple moderate lifestyle eschewing both extremes of self-deprivation and self-indulgence. Satisfaction of basic human necessities, reduction of wants to the minimum, frugality, and contentment are its important characteristics. Each man has to order his life on normal principles, exercise self-control in the enjoyment of the senses, discharge his duties in his various social roles, and conduct himself with wisdom and self-awareness in all activities. It is only when each man adopts a simple moderate lifestyle that mankind as a whole will stop polluting the environment. This seems to be the only way of overcoming the present eco-crisis and the problem of alienation. With such a lifestyle, man will adopt a non-exploitative, non-aggressive, gentle attitude towards nature. He can then live in harmony with nature, utilising its resources for the satisfaction of his basic needs. The Buddhist admonition is to utilise nature in the same way as a bee collects pollen from the flower, neither polluting its beauty nor depleting its fragrance. Just as the bee manufactures honey out of pollen, so man should be able to find happiness and fulfilment in life without harming the natural world in which he lives.