Be a light unto oneself

By Amal HEWAVISSENTI

What the Buddha preached through his fathomless wisdom almost 2600 years back does not at all fail in its special significance to generations of all times. In brief, his practical and rational doctrine coupled with the greatness of his personality continue to be more and more effulgent and remain a dynamic source of inspiration for the entire humanity as times passes.

It is far difficult to interpret the greatness of The Buddha and the limits of his greatness fall beyond the boundaries of human understanding. We could create for ourselves a small picture of it by certain observations made by various people, and followers and words of the Buddha.

Lotus on water

Drona, a famous Brahman of the Buddha's time, was once amazed at some footprints left on his way and quickly concluded that they belonged to a man of exceptional qualities and appearance. Presently he espied an extravagantly pleasant person who was seated under a tree calm and composed. Driven by an uncontrollable urge to know the identity of this strange person, Drona Brahmana asked a chain of questions - "Are you a god? A gandharva? a demon? or an ordinary man?"

To all these questions, the Buddha's answer was a direct 'No'. then the Buddha simply introduced himself in the following terms "O Blahman! It is totally improper to call me by name of a god, or a demon because I have totally done away with the common evils and weaknesses present in man, gods or demons. You know that a white lotus or a lily grows in water and mud. Yet the white lotus remains above water without the least possible stain of mud or dust.

In the same way I was born in this world, grew among people and now stand above them because I am completely free from all kinds of evil, weaknesses and impurities. Just as the lotus spreads its fragrance, I extend my compassion and love to all creatures of the world".

"I remain free from the evils of the world. O Brahman, therefore you could better recognise me as Buddha".

The Brahman instantly realised that the Buddha was a person who had elevated his mind to the sublime and had achieved superiority over every living being. This dialogue manifestly shows the level of the Buddha's greatness as a person ready to guide the people to end their suffering.

Gauging the wisdom

Once, Janussoni Brahman travelling on a chariot, met Pilothika a Parivrajaka (a member of another religious cult) who was on his way from a visit to the Buddha. The Brahman asked Pilothika whether be really believed in the wisdom and enlightenment of the Buddha.

To this Pilothika Parivrajaka answered: "we cannot possibly penetrate the level of wisdom of such a person. Another Buddha equal to him alone is in a position to correctly gauge that wisdom and exploration of truth."

"He is well commended by the most praised in the world. He effortlessly commands superiority over humans and gods. Learned men, intellectuals and debators of varied calibres daily confront him.

They raise questions on workings of the universe, nature and solution to the human suffering, nature of mind or rebirth. What happens at the end is that they are overwhelmed by the analysis by the Buddha and become his followers. That is really why I consider him great..."

Unfailing compassion

The Buddha's undisguised compassion and love for suffering people are well illustrated in different incidents of his life. His cousin, evil soul Devadatta conspired several times to harm and finally to kill the Buddha but all his plans were miscarried. But the Buddha was practical and sensible enough to pardon Devadatta's evil intention and earnestly expected that guilty and repentant Devadatta would duly regenerate himself and come back to the correct path.

In the same way the depraved dacoit Angulimala received the compassion and love from the Buddha and was converted. The Buddha's patience and rare capacity to handle people made Angulimala throw away his sword and become his follower.

On one occasion, the Buddha saw a bhikkhu afflicted with acute dysentery lying in utterhelplessness in his own dirtiness. The Buddha approached him and washed him with the help of Ananda thera. Here the Buddha displayed a motherly care and concern in nursing the bhikkhu in a deplorable condition.

Help one another

The Buddha seized the opportunity to illustrate how men should act when another is suffering. "Bhikkhus! You do not have either a father or a mother to take care of you. If you are not prepared to look after each other who will look after you? Let him who would look after me look after those who are sick."

Rethinking one's actions

What enhances the Buddha's greatness is his amazing skill in explaining complex phenomena in simple words using examples. One day the Buddha asked Rahula thera "What do you use a mirror for?" Rahula thera simply answered, "People look on the mirror to adjust what is wrong in their appearance." The Buddha's comments on this answer obviously shows his practical approach to life.

"Rahula, just as you make adjustments on looking in the mirror you should rethink what you think or do." He emphasised that one must rethink what one has just thought or decided to do with logical reasoning before implementing it.

In brief, one must think well before doing, while doing and after doing something for a complete assurance of its value to oneself and others.

"O King, what you see there is the Kosala Janapada which is prosperous and where persevering people live.

I am from a family which belongs to the clan of Shakya descending from Solar Race." (Pabbajja Sutra of Sutra Nipatha). Here the Buddha reminded king Bimisara that he was a human being, not an omnipotent god or Mahabrahma. Yet he was an extraordinary human being who attained Buddhahood not by divine blessing but by exploring ultimate truth of life.

The Buddha emphasised that there had been Buddhas before him and there would be Buddhas in the future because any human being could attain His status. Here He stressed that no man can correct the behaviour of another and each is responsible for his actions and success.

A mahout called Pessa once went to the Buddha and expressed his wonder at The Buddha's skill in controlling and converting most depraved people who He claimed were often inferior to animals in their pattern of thinking and actions.

He thus expressed his appreciation for the intelligence of the Buddha who penetrated the innermost setup of such people and brought them back to normalcy by employing them in meditation.

Another prominent characteristic in the life of the Buddha is His preparedness to allow freedom for His followers to believe what is right according to their conscience. He never imposed restrictions on what is to be accepted as right. Thus He proclaimed "You should analyse what I preach and never accept it against your conscience just because it comes from me, the Buddha." As illustrated in Sahiya Sutra of Sutra Nipatha, a Parivrajaka named Sahiya banked on several religious leaders of the time for the solutions of a number of problematic areas.

The Shastrus were even exasperated by their inability to provide satisfactory solutions for the questions asked by Sahiya and ultimately he was debarred from asking anymore questions. Once Shaiya produced the same questions to the Buddha he was allowed to forward as many questions as possible and the Buddha displayed his marvellous intellect in answering all the questions. The Buddha said, "You should dispel all your doubts about my preachings and principles by carefully scrutinising them and enquiring of me about them in greater detail. Never repent that you lost your chance of knowing about them later. The Wimansaka Sutra of Majjima Nikaya illustrates the sublime attitudes of the Buddha when He declared that any person has the right and freedom even to question the Buddha's behaviour."

When Upali, an ardent Jainist, confronted the Buddha, in a serious debate in order to crush the reputation of the Buddha's teachings and His personality, Upali became a total Buddhist at the end of an enlightening discussion. Even then the Buddha advised Upali to rethink his decision to be an ardent follower of Buddhism and accept Buddhist principles only if they provide comfort to his life. In a legendary exhortation to Nigrodha, a Parivrajaka the Buddha said, "Nigrodha! I have preached Dhamma to you only to bring you to the right track, but not to make you a follower of what I preach.

My purpose is not to be a religious leader with a biggest train of followers. My purpose is to create a few people who can think right and act right.

The real significance and value of one's life lies not on the prolonged life time but on what one does in his life."

(Based on a discussion with Ven. Mawela Jinananda Thera)