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| Sunday, 26 May 2002 |
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The daily life of the Buddha "A Unique Being, an Extraordinary Man arises in this world for the benefit of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the good, benefit and happiness of divine beings and human beings. Who is this unique being? It is the Tathagata, the Exalted, Fully Enlightened One." (Anguttara Nikaya) The Supreme Teacher, the Buddha indefatigably performed His unparalleled and remarkable service for the benefit of all beings. During His forty-five years ministry, the Buddha, the embodiment of compassionate being went from place to place, door to door, palace to poor shelter and prince to beggar. By performing His peerless service, He treated all people alike, without any discrimination and favour. Even though the Buddha lived a busy and diligent life, He spent each and every minute of His days for the benefit of others. Accordingly, He planned and arranged His daily routine within five divisions, and on account of this daily routine and His careful classification of time, he was able to perform His significant service. The great people of the world who served the global society fulfilled their unforgettable duties according to their own timetable without wasting the precious time. Even the sun and the moon appear on time and disappear likewise, though it is not a fixed time. Therefore, if someone wishes to practise the Buddha's teachings in their personal life, they should arrange and plan their work under a certain timetable in order to achieve their aspirations and goals. The Buddha's daily routine was divided into five parts as follows. Spiritual The first was the Forenoon Session. According to tradition, early in the morning, the Buddha scrutinised the world with His divine eye to see whom He could help. If anyone was in need of spiritual assistance, He would go without invitation - often on foot, and sometimes by air using his supernormal powers - and reform that person by showing them the right path. As a custom and general rule, He would go in search of the vicious and impure, whistle the pure and well-cultured people would come in search of Him. For the second session, called the Afternoon Session, after the noon meal the Buddha would take a seat in the monastery and the disciples would assemble to listen to His exposition of the Dhamma. Some disciples would approach Him to achieve a certain objective and learn the technique to make peace of mind according to their characters and frame of mind. Others would pay their due respects to the Buddha and would leave for their shelters to practise. After the Buddha's discourse or exhortation to His disciples, he himself would go to His private perfumed chamber to rest. If He so desired, He would lie on His right side and sleep for a short period with mindfulness. In the evening, the lay followers of the Buddha would gather to Him to listen to the Dhamma. The Buddha would deliver a sermon to the people at a level that varied according to their capacity for comprehension, and would instruct them for about an hour. To the average person, the Buddha would at first explain and speak of generosity, morality and heavenly bliss. To the more advanced, He would discourse on the benefits of renunciation and the repercussions of sensual pleasures, whilst to the highly advanced, the Buddha would set forth the Four Noble Truths. Disciples Following this was the third session. This period of the night continued from six o'clock in the evening to ten o'clock at night and specially and completely reserved for the guidance to the disciples. During this period, the disciples were free to approach the Buddha and have their doubt cleared, to question and catechize the Buddha on the entanglements and intricacies of the Dhamma. They would also obtain appropriate objects of meditation and listen to the Dhamma. The forth session was the Middle Watch which extended from ten o'clock in the night to two o'clock in the morning, divine beings such as Devas and Brahmas who are invisible to the physical eye, would approach the Buddha to question Him on the Dhamma and get their doubts cleared. The fifth session, namely the Last Watch, was the small part of the morning extending from two o'clock to six o'clock and was divided by the Buddha into four parts. The Buddha would spend the first part in walking meditation, pacing up and down, which also served as a mild and gentle physical exercise. During the second part of the Last Watch, from three o'clock to four o'clock in the morning the Buddha would mindfully sleep on His right side. In the third part, from four o'clock to five o'clock, He would enter the state of enlightenment and experience Nibbanic bliss. Ecstasy In the final hour of His day, that is from five o'clock to six o'clock in the morning He would attain the ecstasy of great compassion and would radiate thoughts of loving-kindness towards all beings to soften their hearts and to assist them to get rid of suffering. Thus, for the whole day, the Buddha was fully occupied with His spiritual duties. Unlike other beings, the Buddha slept for only one hour at night. In the morning at dawn, He conveyed thoughts of loving-kindness to the whole world and brought happiness to the millions of living beings. Leading a simple and a humble life, seeking alms without inconveniencing any, wandering from place to place except in the rainy period of the year, the Buddha spent His life delivering His teaching and performed His incomparable and unrivalled duties for the benefit and happiness of all living beings. In this light we should now consider ourselves. How do we arrange and plan our duties and works? Generally we all prefer to spend our time freely, uselessly, pointlessly and unprofitably, and this may lead to disaster and tragedy here and hereafter. Thus, without letting it go, we should use our precious time wisely, seeking to curb tendency of our minds to dwell only on pleasurable objects. Negligence of time is laziness of person. All great philosophers, thinkers, social reformers and leaders both who have left the world, or are alive in the present, diligently serve the greater mass of humanity. Some people postpone the duties that they ought to do for their children, parents and the rest of their family members, but we ought to contemplate our short lifespan. Since "life is uncertain, but death is certain", then concerning this natural phenomena of existence, we should perform all our duties for the benefit of others and under a certain timetable. In every single moment, we step towards to meet and embrace the unavoidable and inescapable death. No one is responsible for us. Prime responsibility is the purification of the mind. Keeping this compulsory and inevitable question before you, with effort and determination we must make a peace of mind. "Like a border city, guarded within and without, so guard yourself. Don't let slip this opportunity, for they who let slip the opportunity grieve when born in a woeful state." (Dhammapada - 315)
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