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| Sunday, 26 May 2002 |
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life in the right perspective
by J. P. PATHIRANA
Vesak dawns once more. But this time the bells peal out a more hopeful message in many ways. It is not so much creature comforts that count on this day of soul-searching and religious dedication. What must be considered is not what we might gain or lose by way of material ownership but whether we have added to our mental stature and gained any advantages where personality, growth and fulfilment are concerned. We see conflict around us and the lacerations of war and international dichotomy. Have we individually and otherwise been guilty of such lapses and offenses against society ourselves? Everyone of us live in a social framework that must collapse if not for the element of selflessness, in terms of what we can really do for ourselves and those around us? Is there something more we could do or give our fellow-beings than what we are doing at the moment. What sacrifices are we ready to make if our neighbourhood is to be more pleasant. Humanity reaps what it sows and hence the benefits we could expect would depend largely on what we give ourselves. The spirit of service, the thinking we put in; on behalf of others all lend to a situation where reciprocity enriches life around us. The more we love the more we are loved. The more we think of others the more blessings would come our way. This is precisely what the Buddha taught us. And so, while we drink in the spirit of Vesak on this blessed day, let us think of what we owe humanity in terms of goodwill, sacrifice and personal endeavour. In other words, let us strive towards that mental balance which saves us from self-destruction that is inevitable with an attitude that the world owes us everything while we don't owe others a thing. So, let the spirit of Vesak seep-in to enable us to view things in the right perspective. The world needs the ethics of Buddhism as a sick man needs a physician - in its teaching of the law of cause and effect; in its stress upon the unity of life and the relative un-importance of the real self, which emancipates the ego from the lower enthralment of the lower nature and its striving for self. It shows us the perfected man in the form of the Buddha, and holds out to all human beings the glory of achievement. The very nature of the physical pleasures lead only to suffering, because the very nature of the physical world is transitory. Everything that has a beginning has an end, and sorrow, disillusionment and pain are concommitants of physical existence. The war-scarred world needs peace and rest and this can only be achieved through the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha Dhamma is the soothing-balm to this international headache of strife, bloodshed and enmity in this troubled world of ours. In a world where masses of people are hungry and hateful, are still dispossessed of the very land they cultivate, who is so foolish to think that this little self, can even create an island of happiness? The teachings of the Buddha showed us a new path to world peace and it is very gratifying to see signs of a revival of Buddhism all over the world; which means a new outlook in life of men and women and a permanent solution to the troubles of the world. As the Dhammapada says "should one conquer a million in battle, and another conquer himself; the latter indeed is the greater conquerer." The great trouble with humanity is its absorption in the lower-self and its manifestations - and this is where Buddhism shows us a better way. Even our limited experience proves to us that no permanent happiness, is to be found on earthly pleasures, for everything of the earth is impermanent. Buddhism with its ethical code, its Noble Eightfold Path, gives us an ideal of conduct which is unsurpassed in any other religion man has ever known. There is no doubt that the message of the Buddha has a meaning for the world today. The principles that He enunciated, know no limits of time, space or class. The practice of those virtues are essential for the establishment of justice and brotherhood on earth. |
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