Dhammananda_Leading_a_Buddhist_Life.pdf

LEADING A BUDDHIST LIFE

What is the Purpose of life?

Man is the highest fruit on the tree of evolution. It is for man to realise his position in

nature and understand the true meaning of his life.

To know the purpose of life, you will first have to study the subject through your

experience and insight. Then, you will discover for yourself the true meaning of life.

Guidelines can be given. but you must create the necessary conditions for the arising of

realisation yourself.

There are several prerequisites to the discovery of the purpose of life. First, you must

understand the nature of man and the nature of life. Next, you keep your mind calm and

peaceful through the adoption of a religion. When these conditions are met, the answer

you seek will come like the gentle rain from the sky.

Understanding the nature of man

Man may be clever enough to land on the moon and discover wondrous things in the

universe, but he has yet to delve into the inner workings of his own mind. He has yet to

learn how his mind can be developed to its fullest potential so that its true nature can be

realised.

As yet, man is still wrapped in ignorance. He does not know who he really is or what is

expected of him. As a result, he misinterprets everything and acts on that

misinterpretation. Is it not conceivable that our entire civilisation is built on this

misinterpretation? The failure to understand his existence leads him to assume a false

identity of a bloated, self-seeking egoist, and to pretend to be what he is not or is unable

to be.

Man must make an effort to overcome ignorance to arrive at realisation and

Enlightenment. All great men are born as human beings from the womb, but they worked

their way up to greatness. Realisation and Enlightenment cannot be poured into the

human heart like water into a tank. Even the Buddha had to cultivate his mind to realise

the real nature of man.

Man can be enlightened - a Buddha - if he wakes up from the 'dream' that is created by

his own ignorant mind, and becomes fully awakened. He must realise that what he is

today is the result of and untold number of repetitions in thoughts an actions. He is not

ready-made: he is continually in the process of becoming, always changing. And it is in

this characteristic of change that his future lies, because it means that it is possible for

him to mould his character and destiny through the choice of his actions, speech and

thoughts. Indeed, he becomes the thoughts and actions that he chooses to perform. Man is

the highest fruit on the tree of evolution. It is for man to realise his position in nature and

to understand the true meaning of his life.

Understanding the nature of life

Most people dislike facing the true facts of life and prefer to lull themselves into a false

sense of security by sweet dreaming and imagining. They mistake the shadow for the

substance. They fail to realise that life is uncertain, but that death is certain. One way of

understanding life is to face and understand death which is nothing more than a

temporary end to a temporary existence. But many people do not like even to hear of the

word ' death'. They forget that death will come, whether they like it or not. Recollections

on death with the right mental attitude can give a person courage and calmness as well as

an insight into the nature of existence.

Besides understanding death, we need a better understanding of our life. We are living a

life that does not always proceed as smoothly as we would like it to. Very often, we face

problems and difficulties. We should not be afraid of them because the penetration into

the very nature of these problems and difficulties can provide us with a deeper insight

into life. The worldly happiness in wealth, luxury, respectable positions in life which

most people seek is an illusion. The fact that the sale of sleeping pills and tranquillizers,

admissions to mental hospitals and suicide rates have increased in relation to modern

material progress is enough testimony that we have to go beyond worldly, material

pleasure to seek for real happiness.

The need for a religion

To understand the real purpose of life, it is advisable for a person it choose and follow an

ethical-moral system that restrains a person from evil deeds, encourages him to do good,

and enables him to purify his mind. For simplicity, we shall call this system 'religion'

Religion is the expression of the striving man: it is his greatest power, leading him on

wards to self- realisation. It has the power to transform one with negative characteristics

into someone with positive qualities. It turns the ignoble, noble; the selfish, unselfish; the

proud, humble; the haughty, forbearing; the greedy, benevolent; the cruel, kind; the

subjective, objective. Every religion, represents, however imperfectly, a reaching

upwards to a higher level of being. From the earliest times, religion has been the source

of man's artistic and cultural inspiration. Although many forms of religion had come into

being in the course of history, only to pass away and be forgotten, each one in its time

had contributed something towards the sum of human progress. Christianity helped to

civilise the West, and the weakening of its influence has marked a downward trend of the

Occidental spirit. Buddhism, which civilised the greater part of the East long before, is

still a vital force, and in this age of scientific knowledge is likely to extend and to

strengthen its influence. It does not, at any point, come into conflict with modern

knowledge, but embraces and transcends all of it in a way that no other system of thought

has ever done before or is ever likely to do. Western man seeks to conqueror the universe

for material ends. Buddhism and Eastern philosophy strive to attain harmony with nature

or spiritual satisfaction.

Religion teaches a person how to calm down the senses and make the heart and mind

peaceful. The secret of calming down the senses is to eliminate desire which is the root of

our disturbances. It is very important for us to have contentment. The more people crave

for their property, the more they have to suffer. Property does not give happiness to man.

Most of the rich people in the world today are suffering from numerous physical and

mental problems. With all the money they have, they cannot buy a solution to their

problems. Yet, the poorest men who have learnt to have contentment may enjoy their

lives far more than the richest people do. As one rhyme goes:

"Some have too much and yet do crave I have little and seek no more; They are but poor

though much more they have And I am rich with little store. They poor, I rich: they beg, I

give: They lack, I have, they pine, I live."

Searching for a purpose in life

The aim in life varies among individuals. An artist may aim to paint masterpieces that

will live long after he is gone. A scientist may want to discover some laws, formulate a

new theory, or invent a new machine. A politician may wish to become prime minister or

president. A young executive may aim to be a managing director of a multinational

company. However, when you ask the artist, scientist, politician and the young executive

why they aim such, they will reply that these achievements will give them a purpose in

life and make them happy, Everyone aims for happiness in life, yet experience shows

time and again that its attainment is so elusive.

Realisation

Once we realise the nature of life (characterised by unsatisfactoriness, change, and

egolessness) as well as the nature of man's greed and the means of getting them satisfied,

we can then understand the reason why the happiness so desperately sought by many

people is so elusive like catching a moonbeam in their hands. They try to gain happiness

through accumulation. When they are not successful in accumulating wealth, gaining

position, power and honour, and deriving pleasure from sense satisfaction, they pine and

suffer, envying others who are successful in doing so. However, even if they are

'successful' in getting these things, they suffer as well because they now fear losing what

they have gained, or their desires have now increased for more wealth, higher position,

more power, and greater pleasure. Their desires can never seem to be completely satiated.

This is why an understanding of life is important so that we do not waste too much time

doing the impossible.

It is here that the adoption of a religion becomes important, since it encourages

contentment and urges a person to look beyond the demands of his flesh and ego. In a

religion like Buddhism, a person is reminded that he is the heir of his karma and the

master of his destiny. In order to gain greater happiness, he must be prepared to forego

short-term pleasures. If a person does not believe in life after death, even then it is

enough for him to lead a good, noble life on earth, enjoying a life of peace and happiness

here and now, as well as performing actions which are for the benefit and happiness of

others. Leading such a positive and wholesome life on earth and creating happiness for

oneself and others is much better than a selfish life of trying to satisfy one's ego and

greed.

If, however, a person believes in life after death, then according to the Law of Karma,

rebirth will take place according to the quality of his deeds. A person who has done many

good deeds may be born in favorable conditions where he enjoys wealth and success,

beauty and strength, good health, and meets good spiritual friends and teachers.

Wholesome deeds can also lead to rebirth in the heavens and other sublime satates, while

unwholesome deeds lead to rebirth in suffering states. When a person understands the

Law of Karma, he will then make the effort to refrain from performing bad actions, and

to try to cultivate the good. By so acting, he gains benefits not only in this life, but in

many other lives to come.

When a person understands the nature of man, then some important realisations arise. He

realises that unlike a rock or stone, a human being possesses the innate potential to grow

in wisdom, compassion, and awareness and be transformed by this self-development and

growth. He also understands that it is not easy to be born as a human being, especially

one who has the chance to listen to the Dhamma. In addition, he is fully aware that his

life is impermanent, and he should, therefore, strive to practise the Dhamma while he is

still in a position to do so. He realises that the practice of Dhamma is a life-long

educative process which enables him to release his true potentials trapped within his

mind by ignorance and greed.

Based on these realisations and understanding, he will then try to be more aware of what

and how he thinks, speaks and acts. He will consider if his thoughts, speech and actions

are beneficial, done out of compassion and have good effects for himself as well as

others. He will realise the true value of walking the road that leads to complete self

transformation, which is known to Buddhists as the Noble Eightfold Path. This Path can

help a person to develop his moral strength (sila) through the restraint of negative actions

and the cultivation of positive qualities conducive for personal, mental and spiritual

growth. In addition, it contains many techniques which a person can apply to purify his

thoughts, expand the possibilities of the mind, and bring about a complete change

towards a wholesome personality. This practice of mental culture (bhavana) can widen

and deepen the mind towards all human experience, as well as the nature and

characteristics of phenomena, life and the universe. In short, this leads to the cultivation

of wisdom (Panna). As his wisdom grows, so will his love, compassion, kindness, and

joy. He will have greater awareness to all forms of life and better understanding of his

own thoughts, feelings, and motivations.

In the process of self-transformation, a person will no longer aspire for a divine birth as

his ultimate goal in life. He will then set his goal much higher, and model himself after

the Buddha who has reached the summit of human perfection and attained the ineffable

state we call Enlightenment or Nibbana. It is here that a man develops a deep confidence

in the Triple Gem and adopts the Buddha as his spiritual ideal. He will strive to eradicate

greed, develop wisdom and compassion, and to be completely liberated from the bounds

of Samsara.

Buddhism for Man in Society

This religion can be practised either in society or in seclusion.

There are some who believe that Buddhism is so lofty and sublime a system that it cannot

be practised by ordinary men and women in the workaday world. These same people

think that one has to retire to a monastery or to some quiet place if one desires to be a true

Buddhist.

This is a sad misconception that comes from a lack of understanding of the Buddha.

Some people jump to such conclusions after casually reading or hearing something about

Buddhism. Some people form their impression of Buddhism after reading articles or

books that give only a partial or lopsided view of Buddhism. The authors of such articles

and books have only a limited understanding of the Buddha's Teaching. His Teaching is

not meant only for monks in monastries. The Teaching is also for ordinary men and

women living at home with their families. The Noble Eightfold Path is the Buddhist way

of life that is intended for all people. This way of life is offered to all mankind without

any distinction.

The vast majority of people in the world cannot become monks or retire into caves or

forests. However noble and pure Buddhism may be, it would be useless to the masses if

they could not follow it in their daily life in the modern world. But if you understand the

spirit of Buddhism correctly, you can surely follow and practise it while living the life of

an ordinary man. There may be some who find it easier and more convenient to accept

Buddhism by living in a remote place; in other words, by cutting themselves off from the

society of others. Yet, other people may find that this kind of retirement dulls and

depresses their whole being both physically and mentally, and that it may therefore not be

conducive to the development of their spiritual and intellectual life.

True renunciation does not mean running away physically from the world. Sariputta, the

chief disciple of the Buddha, said that one man might live in a forest devoting himself to

ascetic practices, might be full of impure thoughts and 'defilements'. Another might live

in a village or a town, , practising no ascetic discipline, but his mind might be pure, and

free from " defilements". 'Of these two' said Sariputta, ' the one who lives a pure life in

the village or town is definitely far superior to, and greater than, the one who lives in the

forest (Majjhima Nikaya) The common belief that to follow the Buddha's Teaching one

has to retire from a normal family life is a misconception. It is really an unconscious

defence against practising it. There are numerous references in Buddhist literature to men

and women living ordinary, normal family lives who successfully practised what the

Buddha taught and realized Nibbana. Vacchagotta the Wanderer, once asked the Buddha

straightforldly whether there were laymen and women leading the family life who

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