Mangosteen Dharma
By Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
One little monkey biting through the mangosteen's bitter skin
furiously throws it tumbling away heads over heals.
Another monkey, more observant, knowing where value lies,
splits open the rind, eats the fruit inside, a monkey's delight.
Fools shut off religion, complaining it is too bitter, too ascetic,
furiously raging against it as if they're possessed by demons.
True Ones unearth the inner Dharma and find real Truth;
savoring Dharma, they taste happiness every day and night.
Monkeys and people can both go mad, just about the same.
Swallow wisely, it goes down smoothly and effortlessly;
swallow skin and all, eyes roll backward and one dies standing.
Swallow the inner flesh, the refreshing and delightful Dharma.
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This ceremony marks two important dates in the life of Buddha. The
first event occurred two years after Buddha’s enlightenment and is
referred to as the Fourfold assembly. These events were:
- 1,250 disciples came to see the Buddha that evening without being summoned.
- All of them were Arhantas, Enlightened Ones, and all were ordained by the Buddha himself.
- The Buddha gave those Arhantas the principles of Buddhism, called "The ovadhapatimokha". Those principles are: - To cease from all evil,- To do what is good,- To cleanse one's mind;
- It was the full-moon day.
All of these occurred on full moon day of the third lunar month. As
part of this gathering Buddha gave the basic principles of Buddhism to
the monks. These principles are:
- Not to do any bad deeds
- To do good deeds
- To cleanse the mind of impurities.
If everyone followed these principles we would have a peaceful
family, peaceful community, peaceful nation, and peaceful world. Or put
another way, we would have peaceful and happy lives.
The second event occurred in the second half of Buddha’s life on
Makha Puja day. Buddha delivered a sermon called "Keys for success". The
second event was three months prior to his passing away. During this
ceremony lay people focus more intensely on Dhamma and meditation.
Dhamma (or Dharma) as it is sometimes referred to is the teachings of
Buddha. Lay people would typically take vows to refrain from bad habits
and perform acts to benefit them spiritually. The Keys are as follows:
- Good will and good intention (Chanda)
- Effort (Viriya)
- Thoughtfulness (Citta)
- Investigation (Vimangsa)
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The practice of happiness
Phra Paisal Visalo suggests practical ways to cultivate happiness in our lives this coming year
Everybody wishes for
happiness. Whatever we wish for, be it good health, luck, wealth, love,
success or not facing difficult situations, they are all manifestations
of happiness.
Unfortunately, we usually
find happiness short-lived and rare to come by. So we come to another
wish. How can we find happiness forever?
Phra Paisal Visalo said the
irony is that the more and harder we strive for happiness, the less and
further we are from it. To attain genuine happiness, we need to stop
and have time for ourselves to take an inward journey to discover the
spring of joy, the monk said. The keys to happiness, he believes, are
already in our hands.
"Happiness is intrinsically
natural for us. It dwells in our heart. We can't realise it because we
spare very little or no time at all to contemplate on life. With life in
the fast lane, we hardly see who we are, what is essential for our
living, what we truly want in life," said Phra Paisal at the launch of
Kam Kor Tee Ying Yai, which he co-wrote with Arthit Yam Chao.
"Our view that happiness is
out there to be found from people, material goods, fame, positions or
awards blinds us from seeing the truth," he added. "Happiness is not
about earning or maintaining the status quo. It is about feeling and
being happy."
The first step may be
cultivating the view that happiness is not everlasting. "Like everything
else in nature, happiness changes and subsides. If we can accept this
law of impermanence, we will be permanently happy."
Happiness cannot be bought
or consumed, said Phra Paisal. It comes to us when we learn to let go of
our selfishness, cravings and desire to own things, including
happiness. "When we stop demanding that nature, people and things will
be as we please, then we will be able to taste the sweetness of joy."
Attachment is the root of
our sufferings, said Phra Paisal. "We hold on to the 'me' and 'mine' so
much that we are enslaved by whatever we cling to. For example, when
someone stains or scratches 'my' car, it feels like 'I' am stained and
scratched. In this sense, 'I' have become the car.
"If we ease up our grasp on 'my' car, yes, the car is ruined, but our mind will not be," he said.
The degree of our suffering is relative to the size of our "self". The bigger our ego, the more our suffering, Phra Paisal said.
While Buddhism teaches us
to be "nobody", consumerist society encourages us to be "somebody",
driving us to go after money, fame, rank, wealth and power.
"The 'big' ego becomes an
easy target where suffering can hit without a miss. For example, one may
go to a restaurant and feel upset for not being waited on instantly. Or
if you thought that you were 'someone', you would not like to have to
line up for service.
"When we are angry or
arrogant, we are separating ourselves from the others. It is this
separation that blocks us from the flow of happiness."
In short, Phra Paisal said
what we need to do to realise happiness is to scrape off our ego, which
brings about selfishness and separation. He urges us to be "an empty
boat", which is not affected by low or high tides. "Ultimately, supreme
happiness comes when there is no 'one' who is attached to sufferings or
happiness."
To this end, the monk offered some practical advice.
Say 'I'm sorry' and 'never mind'
We are not angels. As human
beings it is natural for us to be imperfect and prone to make mistakes,
said Phra Paisal. But these days, he went on, we say sorry too little
and too late. Consequently, we are relentlessly living in feuds at home,
at work and in broader society.
For example, "Sorry" from
doctors could prevent doctor-patient relationships coming before the
courts. "Sorry" from the government may help heal the wounded hearts of
Muslims in the South who feel justice is not being served. An apology
might have stopped the situation from becoming so violent. "Sorry" said
by parents may prevent children from ending up in juvenile detention
centres.
"Sorry," said Phra Paisal,
seems to be the hardest word because we associate it with failures,
mistakes, incompetence and weakness, which we feel we must not show to
others.
"When we say sorry, we are
not losing face. We are losing delusion. It is a noble act. It shows
one's humility and compassion to feel others' sufferings," said the
monk.
It needs understanding and
courage to make an apology, he added. "One needs to take off many heavy
hats we are wearing, like education, seniority, experience, ranking,
social status, and just relate to one another as human fellows."
The sooner one says sorry,
the quicker one can mend conflicts and restore relationships. Most
importantly, Phra Paisal emphasized, it is a perfect tool to scrub off
one's ego.
"When we sincerely feel and
say sorry, our mind will be light and liberated. But if we remain
headstrong, resisting our mistakes, we are harming ourselves. Our heart
becomes hard and cold, our ego gets stronger, and thus our sufferings
are deepened."
Like giving an apology,
forgiveness also sets our heart free from anger, grudges or sorrow that
weighs us down. At times, it cannot be helped that people hurt us with
their deeds and words. It is thus crucial that we learn to cultivate a
forgiving mind,
said Phra Paisal. "We can all make mistakes, thus we all need forgiving."
The sooner one forgives, he said, the sooner one will be happy.
Say 'thank you' and offer compliments
"Thank you," he said, is
not merely a social courtesy. When uttered from the heart it can promote
our happiness, too. How? Because it takes optimism and humility to say.
Those who are hard to
please or see themselves as above others may find it difficult to
appreciate or see others' contributions and goodness, said Phra Paisal.
They may see only flaws and give complaints and criticism rather than
compliments. In this manner, one is likely to feel upset, dissatisfied,
frustrated and far from happy.
To be able to thank someone
or something needs both truthful and positive perspectives. This
outlook can be cultivated and trained, said Phra Paisal. Appreciating
the little things in life, the small things people do or say to us, will
bring joy and make us smile.
Most importantly, Phra
Paisal said our sharpened positive outlook will help us through
difficult times. "This inclination can help us see the bright side of
suffering and make our plight manageable and not so miserable."
Learn from suffering
Phra Paisal urges us to
take the bull by the horns: "Be happy when suffering comes as it
provides us a chance to shake off our ego," he said.
We suffer because we cling to suffering, he added.
There are two main kinds of
situations that make us suffer, explained the monk. The first is losing
what we love and desire. When we lose people, things, positions, or
circumstances we prefer, we become miserable and angry.
The second situation that
makes us suffer is facing what we hate, be it people we don't like,
physical or emotional pain, criticism, failure or disappointment.
"When faced with these
situations, do not try to push or bury them away. When you suffer, try
to see that it is not 'you' but the 'self', the 'delusions' that is
suffering. You need to allow these delusions to suffer so as to tame
them. Things won't appear as we please, accept it as it comes with
humility."
Set time to oneself
It is impossible to be
truly happy when one is always on the run. To realise happiness, Phra
Paisal says we need to slow down and give ourselves more time in
solitude. He advises us to take time off each day to install happiness
in our bodies and minds.
Sadly, people are always
running out of time, both for themselves and for others. Our attention
can be scattered between many things - schedules, meetings, work and
other activities - making it difficult for us to focus on really
important issues in life such as what truly constitutes happiness.
Ultimately, Phra Paisal
wishes that we will be aloof from being "someone" who feel happiness or
suffering. "Then, you will attain permanent happiness."
