St. Xavier's Institution, Penang Buddhist Student's Society Ehipassiko 1997/98 Issue No. 2

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The Buddha The Life Of The Buddha      Historical Evidences Of The Buddha      Why Should We Pay Respect To The Image Of The Buddha The Future Buddha Kalama Sutta Choose Your Companion Next Page

The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal god and avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description......... If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.

- Albert Einstein

The Buddha

Buddha is the one who knows the Four Noble Truth and attains enlightenment by himself. He also attains sabbannutanna, the great wisdom of omniscience, that is the ability to know everything. He is an incomparable man because of his great compassion for all beings, unique wisdom and great supernatural powers.

The word 'Buddha' means 'Awakened' or 'Enlightened One'. The Buddha is not a god or a saviour. He is a great teacher because he teaches us how to escape from sufferings, how to gain happiness and attain enlightenment.

There are 28 Buddhas who have been recorded in the Buddhist scriptures:

Tanhamkaram Medhamkaram Saranamkaram Dipamkaram Kondanna Mangala Sumana Revata Sobhita Anomadassi

Paduma Narada Padumuttaram Sumedha Sujata Piyadassi Atthadassi Dhammadassi Siddhata Tissa

Phussa Vipassi Sikkhi Vessabhu Kakusendha Konagama Kassapa Gotama

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The Life of the Buddha

Once upon a time, there was a king called Suddhodana. He married a beautiful Koliyan princess named Maha Maya. The couple ruled over Sukyas, a warrior tribe in the north of India. Everyone in the kingdom lived happily as King Suddhodana and Queen Maha Maya was very kind and justice.

One day, while Queen Maha Maya was resting under a Sala tree in Lumbini Park (near Nepal), her baby boy was born. The birth took place on a Wesak full moon day in the year 623B.C. According to the legends, the baby began to walk seven steps forward and at each step, a lotus flower appeared on the ground where his foot stepped on.

On the fifth day, King Suddhodana invited five wise men to witness the naming ceremony and to suggest a good name to the prince. The wise men examined the birth marks and concluded that, 'the prince will be the Buddha.' Then the wise men gave him the name SIDDHARTA meaning 'wish fulfilled'. His family name was Gotama.

On the seventh day, Prince Siddharta's mother died. The king had another queen called Projapati Gotami, the younger sister of Queen Maha Maya. She treated Prince Siddharta very well just like his own son. Prince Siddharta was sent to school when he was only a few years old. He was the tallest, the most handsome and the cleverest in the class. He gained distinction in all the subjects and became cleverer than his teachers.

Soon, Prince Siddharta finished his studies. He had the best teachers to learn from, the best friends to play with, the best house to live on, the best clothes to wear and the best food to eat. When he was sixteen years old, he married a charming and kind girl by the name of Yasodhara. They lived a happy married life for thirteen years in luxurious condition created by Kind Suddhodana.

One glorious day, while Price Siddharta was on the way to the royal garden, he met with the four sights which made a great impact upon him. The four sights were an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a monk. Thus, he learnt of old age, disease and death. Realizing the worthlessness of sensual pleasures, he decided to renounce worldly life to search for the truth and eternal peace.

When this final decision was made, news came that his wife had given birth to a fine baby boy. As soon as he heard the news, he said, "Rahula has been born to me, an obstacle has been born to me. His son was then named 'Rahula'.

Prince Siddharta called his faithful servant, Channa to saddle his favourite white horse to go out for a long journey. As Channa was preparing for the journey, he went to see his new born son for the first time. His wife was sleeping beside the baby. The compassion for the two dear ones was great at that parting moment, but his compassion for the suffering humanity was much greater.

Leaving all behind, he rode away from the palace at midnight with Channa. He rode to the bank of the river Anoma and then got down from his horse. He remove all his jewelry and princely clothes and gave them to Channa, asking him to return them to the king. After that, he took his sword and cut his long hair. He put on an orange clothes, took a begging bowl and asked Channa to go back. He said, " As soon as I have found the way to stop old age, sickness and death, I will return to the palace and teach it to my father, wife, son and everybody in the world."

When Prince Siddharta left his palace, five of his friends- Kondanna, Bhaddiya, Whappa, Mahanama and Assaji left their homes to become monks like him. They went to a well known religious teacher, Alara Kalama and studied under him. Alara taught them everything until one day he told Prince Siddharta, " There is nothing more that I can teach you. You are the same as I am now." Therefore, Prince Siddharta left Alara with his five friends. They came across to another teacher, Uddaka who was known for his cleverness. So, they learnt from him for some time. However, Uddaka could not teach him to stop suffering, old age and death. He had not heard of anyone who could solve these problems. He left Uddaka with his five friends and struggled by himself to find a solution to cease suffering.

For six years, Prince Siddharta practised extreme austerities but his efforts were in vain. He finally realized that this was not the right way to attain enlightenment. Then, he remembered the one-pointedness of mind he attained as a child. He decided to renounce the extreme ascetic practices and to follow the Middle Path. As a result of this, his five companions deserted him thinking that he had returned to a life of luxury.

On Wesak full moon eve at 588B.C., he meditated under a Bodhi tree. He practised the concentration of breathing in and breathing out while many evil thoughts began to come to his mind - desire for worldly things, hunger and thirst, craving, laziness, wish to be praised and honoured, thinking highly of oneself and looking down upon the others. These thought began to disturb his concentration but he was more firm than ever. He became more calm and brave and continued his concentration. Finally, he succeeded in destroying all these thoughts during the earlier part of the night and got the power of seeing his own past lives. In the second part of the night, he got the power of seeing the death of living beings and their rebirth. In the third part of the night and in the following morning, he got the power to understand the cause of suffering and how to get rid of them. Thus, he became the wisest man in the world. He knew the way to end sorrow, suffering, old age and death. He had attained enlightenment. Since then, he was known as the Buddha.

Seven weeks later, the Buddha walked to the Deer Park to expound the very first sermon to his five former companions. On the full moon day of July, the Buddha preached the first discourse to them. The five Bhikkhus attained enlightenment after listening to the teachings of the Buddha. Soon, the Buddha established the Sangha. The Buddha taught for forty five years. At the age of eighty, the Buddha passed away on the full moon day of May 543B.C. in Kusinara. His passing away was known as Mahaparinibbana, entering into Nibbana - the extinction of all sufferings.

- Teh Yih Sien

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Historical Evidences Of The Buddha

Gautama Buddha was not a mythical figure but an actual historical personality who introduced the religion known today as Buddhism. Evidence to prove the existence of this great religious Teacher are to be found in the following facts:

1. The testimonies of those who knew Him personally. These testimonies were recorded in the rock-inscriptions, pillars and pagodas made in His honour. These testimonies and monuments to His memory were created by kings and others who were near enough to His time to be able to verify the story of His life.
2. The discovery of places and the remains of buildings that were mentioned in the narratives of His times.
3. The Sangha, the holy order which He founded, has had an unbroken existence to the present day. The Sangha possessed the facts of His life and Teachings which have been transmitted from generation to generation in various parts of the world.
4. The fact that in the very year of His death, and various times subsequently, conventions and councils of the Sangha were held for the verification of the actual Teachings of the Founder. These verified Teachings have been passed on from teacher to pupil from His time to the present day.
5. After His passing away, His body was cremated and the bodily relics were divided among eight kingdoms in India. Each king built a pagoda to contain his portion of the relics. The portion given to King Ajjata satthu was enshrined by him in a pagoda at Rajagriha. Less than two centuries later, Emperor Asoka took the relics and distributed them throughout his empire. The inscriptions enshrined in this and other pagodas confirmed that those were the relics of Gautama Buddha.
6. "The Mahavansa", the best and authentic ancient history known to us gives detailed particulars of life as well as details of the life of Emperor Asoka and all other sovereigns related to Buddhist history. Indian history has also given a prominent place to the Buddha's life, activities, Buddhist traditions and customs.
7. The records which we can find in the Buddhist countries where people received Buddhism a few hundred years after the Buddha's passing away such as Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Tibet, Nepal, Korea, Mongolia, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos show unbroken historical culture, religious, literary and traditional evidence that there was a religious Teacher in India known as Gautama Buddha.
8. The Tipitaka, an unbroken record of His 45 years of Teaching is more than sufficient to prove that the Buddha really lived in the world.
9. The accuracy and authenticity of the Buddhist texts is supported by the fact that they provided information for historians to write Indian history during the 5th and the 6th century BC. The texts, which represent the earliest reliable written records in India, provide a profound insight into the social-economic, cultural and political environment and conditions during the Buddha's lifetime as well as into the lives of His contemporaries, such as King Bimbisara.

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Why Should We Pay Respect To The Image Of The Buddha?

Buddhists do not pay respect just to an image of the Buddha. Actually they are paying respect to the Buddha's attributes.

The Buddha has nine attributes:

1. Worthy of honour
   The Buddha is worthy of honour because he has no greed, ill-will, ignorance, or other defilements which are the source of bad deeds, Moreover, the Buddha has uprooted in himself all other defilements such as conceit, envy, meanness, boastfulness, deception and etc. Although we may wish to eradicate these things, we have not been able to do so, therefore he is worthy of honour.
2. Fully Enlightened One
   The Buddha knows everything by his own insight without depending on the teaching of others. He is always ready to explain anything that should be explained. There is nobody who can answer as many questions as the Buddha. Other teachers, when they are baffled by a question resort to speculation and imagination. When the Budddha is asked questions, he can answer them spontaneously because the Dhamma is fully penetrated by him.
3. Perfect in knowledge and conduct
   The Buddha perfected fifteen kinds of conduct namely: morality, sense restraint, moderation in eating, vigilance, moral shame, moral dread, great learning, wisdom, confidence, industry, concentration and the four-fold jhana of the non-material sphere.
4. Blessed One
   The word Sugato is the combination of 'su' and 'gato'. 'Su' means peace extinction or nibbana while 'gato' means getting or realizing. The Buddha was the first to realize nibbana so he bore the title of Sugato.
5. Knows the world
   The Buddha has knowledge of all existences that is he can perceive the nature of all beings, planes and phenomena. He knows all the past, present and future lives of beings as well as their temperament. The Buddha also truly knows the nature of mind and matter. He perceives that they are always changing that is impermanent.
6. The guide of unruly man
   The Buddha is also known as the peerless tamer and guide of the hearts of men. This is related to the previous attribute. He has the ability to instruct and tame other people because he knows people's temperament.
7. The teacher of gods and men
   The Buddha was able to solve many problems which could not be solved by anyone else. Then he enlightened other gods and men. He taught them how to live, how to practise meditation and to cease suffering. The Buddha not only taught detachment from the world but also gave many instructions on how to live happily, how to relate to others, how to make an honest livelihood and etc. Therefore, the Buddha was the teacher of gods and men.
8. The Enlightened One
   The Enlightened One or the 'Awakened One' is someone who attains omniscience. The Buddha realizes the Four Noble Truths. There is nothing to know beyond the four noble truths because all phenomena fall within their scope. Without realizing the four noble truths, no one can be free from suffering.
9. The Exalted One
   The Buddha was called the Exalted One because he possesses six special qualities:
   (i) control over his mind
   (ii) nine supramundane attributes
   (iii) good disciples
   (iv) glory
   (v) the wish to further the welfare of all beings
   (vi) untiring energy

- Extracted from 'The Triple Gem'

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The Future Buddha

'I am not the first Buddha to come upon this earth; nor shall I be the last. Previously, there was many Buddhas who appeared in this world. In due time, another Buddha will arise in this world, within this world cycle.'

When the Buddha was about to pass away, Ven. Ananda and many other disciples wept. The Buddha said, 'Enough, Ananda. Do not allow yourself to be troubled. Do not weep. Have I not already told you that it is in the very nature of things that they must pass away. We must be separated from all that is near and dear to us. The foolish man conceives his idea of Self; the wise man sees there is no ground on which to build the Self. Thus the wise man has a right conception of the world. He will conclude that all component things will be dissolved again; but the Truth will always remain.'

The Buddha continued : 'Why should I preserve this body when the body of the excellent law will endure? I am resolved. I have accomplished my purpose and have attended to the work set upon me. Anada, for a long time you have been very near to me in thoughts, words and acts of much love beyond all measure. You have done well, Ananda. Be earnest in effort and you too will soon be free from bondages! You will be free from sensuality, from delusion, and from ignorance. ' Suppressing his tears, Ananda said to the Buddha, 'Who shall teach us when You are gone?' And the Buddha advised him to regard His Teaching as the Master.

The Buddha continued again : 'I am not the first Buddha to come upon earth; nor shall I be the last. In due time, another Buddha will arise in this world, a Holy one, a Supremely Enlightened One, endowed with wisdom, in conduct auspicious, knowing the universe, an incomparable leader of men, a master of devas and men. He will reveal to you the same Eternal Truths which I have taught you. He will proclaim a religious life, wholly perfect and pure; such as I now proclaim.'

'How shall we know him?' asked Ananda. The Buddha replied, 'He will be known as Maitreya which means kindness or friendliness.'

Buddhists believe that those people who at present are doing meritorious deeds by leading a religious life will have a chance to be reborn as human beings in the time of Maitreya Buddha and will obtain Nibbana identical with that of Gautama Buddha. In this way they will find salvation through the guidance of His Teaching. His Teaching will become a hope of the remote future for everybody. However, according to the Buddha devout religious people can gain this Nibbanic bliss at any time if they really work for it irrespective of whether a Buddha appears or not.

'As long as my disciples lead a pure religious life, so long the world will never become empty of Arahantas.'

- Maha Parinibbana Sutta

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Kalama Sutta

• The Buddha taught us not to accept a thing to be true immediately without questioning. He detailed ten ways of acceptance which we should use so that we would not fall intellectual slave to others' concepts, even those of the Buddha Himself; and we should be able to select which teaching is capable of truly relieving us of suffering. The ten ways declared by the Buddha in the Kalamasutta are as follows:
1. Ma anussavena: One should not accept a thing to be true just because it is spread by the word of mouth. This is the way of stupid people such as those in Bangkok who once believed that there will be crisis for the persons who were born in the year of the small snake, big snake, horse, and goat, according to the Thai calendar.

2. Ma paramparaya: One should not accept a thing to be true just because it is practised as a tradition. People tend to imitate what others do. The story of the excited rabbit and other animals that ran after it for safety but tripped and trumbled or fell into an abyss can be cited as an example. The vipassana practice that is done by imitating others leads to similar results.

3. Ma itikiraya: One should not accept a statement to be true just because it is sensationally spread far and wide. Doing so implies over-susceptivity to news- a manner of a fool who does not exercise his power of discrimination.

4. Ma pitakasampadanena: One should not accept a thing to be true just because it is cited in a pitaka. The word "pitaka" means inscription on some writing materials. The oral tradition is not considered a pitaka. A pitaka is a conditioned thing which is made by man and can also be changed by man. So we cannot trust every word in it. We need to actually examine whether it leads to elimination of suffering. Schools of Buddhism have their own canons, among which there may be differences.

5. Ma takkahetu: One should not accept a thing to be true on the ground of takka. Takka is a method of gaining knowledge known as logics. This method can be wrong if its data or the inferences are wrong.

6. Ma nayahetu: One should not accept a thing to be true on the ground of naya (deductive and inductive reasonings) or what is called philosophy. In Thailand, we translate the word philosophy as prajna. Actually, the Indian people accept "naya" as a point of view. They do not accept naya as leading to the highest knowledge, which should be called panna or prajna. Naya ,or nayaya, is a method of reasoning with assumption or hypothesis.

7. Ma akaraparivitakkena: One should not accept a statement to be true just because it appeals to one's common sense, which is a prompt judgement by one's habit of thought. Some arrogant philosophers rely on common sense; they think of themselves as very smart.

8. Ma ditthinijjhanakkhantiya: One should not accept the thing to be true just because it agrees with one's preconceived idea. It can be wrong because the incorrect method of proving or testing cannot lead one to the truth. It seems to be a scientific approach, but actually it is not, since its proof or experiment is inadequate.

9. Ma bhabbarupataya: One should not accept a thing to be true just because of the speaker's credibility of prestige.

10. Ma samano no garuti: One should not accept a thing to be true just because the preacher (speaker) is his teacher. The Buddha's purpose for this important point is that one should not be intellectually enslaved by someone else, even by the Buddha Himself. In Buddhism there is no system of dogmatism to force others to believe without giving them a chance to decide for themselves. This is the greatest characteristic of Buddhism which keeps the followers from being enslaved by others' concepts.
• The ten ways in the Kalamasutta are a sure fire defense against intellectual dependence, that is, neglecting one's own intellect in perceiving what is set by others ("paratoghosa," as they are called in Buddhist term). When one listen to anything, he should fully pay attention to it and carefully scrutinize it. If the statement is definitely beneficial for elimination of suffering, then one should completely accept it.

• The principles in the Kalamasutta are appropriate for everyone, everywhere, in every era, and every world, even for the worlds of gods. Nowadays the world is narrowed by superb communications and easy and rapid exchange of informations. People can get new knowledge from every direction. In the process, they are confused and, therefore, are in the same position as were the Kalamas during the time of the Buddha. Indeed, the Kalamasutta can be their refuge in this situation.

• One who follows the principles in the Kalamasutta will have his own independent knowledge and reason to understand the meaning and true nature of things he newly perceives. For example, when he hears that greed, hatred, and delusion are dangerous and evil, he will clearly understand because he has already known those things through his own experiences. He, therefore, relies on himself instead of others. The practice is the same in other cases. If the statement has not been verified, one should try to understand it first; then he should consider whether to accept it or not. He must not accept a thing to be true just because he merely believes the speaker. He should take his time even if it would mean his whole lifetime. So, the Kalamasutta can ultimately prevent one from becoming an intellectual slave of others.

• The Kalamasutta requires us to develop wisdom before belief. If we want to take belief as a forefront, we should take one which comes from wisdom, not which comes from ignorance. This is the same condition as in the Noble Eightfold Path, for which wisdom or right understanding is the first constituent. It is safe to have belief which comes from wisdom or right understanding, since we will neither blindly believe what we learn nor believe it because of fear or remuneration.

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Choose Your Companion

Most of us would not be able to live alone in this world. Usually, we will have lots of friends to travel the long journey of life together. We need them to boost our morale when it is low. We gather together to work in a spirit of perfect harmony, sharing and caring. We can learn much from each other, providing necessary advice or aid, sharing of experiences or may be just some healthy, stimulating conversation to regain freshness and faith. It also helps to keep us away from association that lead to decline.

Besides, there are many things that can be done only by group effort or with another's help. And what can be done by an individual can be done on a larger scale and a better way if more people would jointly plough in their resources.

These activities will include:

• Sharing of views, ideas, knowledge and experiences through discussions, group therapy sessions, counselling and the like. It would also encourage trust among friends.
• Joint meritorious acts- such as participation in Buddhist festivals, social welfare projects.
• Propagation activities which would require many helpers in preaching, organising, translating, publication works, financing and contributing in various little ways.

We will be associating with people of different character in our daily life. Some of them will then become our friends. We might be classifying them into categories such as "A class friend", "B class friend" and etc. Some of them will be closer to us while some will be far apart.

However, we have to be on guard. There are people who are not true friends. They are wolves in sheep's clothing, enemies in disguise.

In a discourse, by the Master, four are given:

• The swindler, who associates only to get what he wants from you, expects much for little, does his duty only in fear, thinks solely of himself in the association.
• One good only for his words but not actions, who entertains you on what he has done or will do for you, treats you with what is of no value, runs away when you ask him for help.
• The flatterer who assents to your deeds (good or bad) praises you in your face but speaks ill at your back.
• The friend in downward ways; the Companion who brings you around to heedless and harmful ways - such as indulging in harmful intoxicants, night roving and gambling.

The same discourse also tells of good friends.

• The helper, who provides what is needed besides being a refuge in other ways.
• The faithful, who would not forsake you even in worst times.
• The counsellor, who guides you on the upward path.
• The sympathiser, who sympathises in your misfortunes, rejoices at your prosperity.

In order to have good friends, we have to treat our friends with metta and karuna. We need to have seven qualities to build up a good friendship as stated in the Sutta Nipata. They are:

1. Ability to give what is difficult of giving.
2. Ability to perform what is difficult of performing.
3. Ability to be patient where patience is difficult.
4. Ability to keep a friend informed of the intentions of others who want to harm him.
5. Ability to respect the confidences of a friend.
6. Ability to stand by a friend when a friend in danger or in need.
7. Ability to preserve friendship unchanged when a friend falls into poor circumstances.

- Teh Yih Sien, Editor

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