Save Buddhism from Brahma elements
by A.D.T.E. Perera
In Sri Lanka the bhikkhus always identify themselves as bhikkhus or
Theras, for example, Narada Thera, Madihe Pannasiha Thera, Walpola
Rahula Thera and Ananda Maitriya Thera, who were internationally
recognised great scholars compared with the so-called ‘Meditation
Masters’ who appear time and again from Myanmar and Thailand.
The Sri Lankan bhikkhus never prefixed the tag ‘Brahma’ before their
names, but only what the Buddha had bestowed on them, that is bhikkhu or
Thera. Brahma is a despicable term in Buddhist literature. The Buddha
had showed compassion to the leading Brahmins, the worshippers of Brahma
in His day, who came to confront the Buddha in defence of the
pre-eminence of Brahma.
Challenge
When the leading Brahmins held that since they were born out of the
great Brahma's mouth, they were above all other castes, the Buddha
openly challenged them to come forward and declare themselves that they
were born through the mouth of the Brahma. Thus the Brahmins of the
Buddha's day were put to utter shame by the Buddha on many occasions.
Subsequently a large number of youth from Brahmin families, entered
the Buddhist Order, the Sasana. The two chief disciples of the Buddha,
Ven. Sariputta and Ven. Moggallana (previously Upatissa and Kolita) came
from two prominent Brahmin families in city of Benares.
Buddhist meditation
At the meditation centre, they promote mass-scale, “meditation
classes,” which they claim to be “Buddhist meditation.” This is an utter
hoax. The Buddha, never expected His disciples, the Bhikkhus to confine
themselves to the temple enclosure and seated cross-legged and practise
what they call meditation.I have read a few booklets distributed by the
Brahma monks who had arrived in Sri Lanka recently to promote their
Brahma meditation practices and found in them nothing but misleading
distortions of the Buddha's explanation of Bhavana, the sine-qua-non for
attaining Nibbana.
The Buddha told His first batch of Bhikkhus - “Go thee, O! Monks on
foot, for the well-being of the many, for the good of many people, with
great compassion for the worldly-beings (Caraka bhikkhave Carikam
bahujana hitaya, bahujana sukhaya, (okanukampaya). The Buddha, Himself
set an example by leaving His monastery and going on foot to convert
thousands of adamant Brahmins and others who practised Vedic rituals
such as worshipping Agni, the fire-god.
Kassapa brothers
Of the first batch to be converted in this manner, was the three
Kassapa brothers, Uruvela Kassapa, Nadi Kassapa and Gaya Kassapa, who
worshipped the Vedic Fire God, Agni. Having listened to the Buddha's
sermons, they understood His Dhamma and attained Arahanthood within few
days and joined the Buddhist Order.
The Buddha visited thrice to Sri Lanka and converted many people, who
were worshipping their own form of gods, called Yaksa gods. Later with
the dawn of the rule of emperor Asoka, who befriended the King of Sri
Lanka, Devanampiyatissa, the whole island Kingdom was converted to
Theravada Buddhism, through the good offices of Arahant Mahinda and
their Sanghamitta the Crown Prince and his sister, the children of
Emperor Dhammasoka.
Theravada Buddhism
It was this original Theravada Buddhism that prevailed for more than
two thousand millennia, and is still the living religious force in Sri
Lanka. All the Bhikkhus in Sri Lanka are reverently addressed “Sangha”
or “Thera”, and the Sri Lankan Bhikkhus from time immemorial adopted
themselves pure Buddhist names such as Buddhadatta, Dhammapala,
Sanghamitta, Buddhasena, Dhammasena, Sangharakkhita and Dhammarakkhita.
Never in the history of Theravada Buddhism, there appeared bhikkhus
with the appellation Brahma, the supposed creator god of Hindus, in
India.
‘Brahmamoli’, ‘Brahmajoti’ and ‘Brahmasami’, who have come from
Western countries and pose themselves as great ‘meditation masters’ of
the Buddhist Order in Asian Theravada Buddhist countries such as Sri
Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. The Buddhist
leadership in these primary Theravada Buddhist countries should be aware
of this unethical appearance of “Brahma monks” and take precaution to
protect the purity of the Buddha Sasana from Brahma elements from the
West.
Else irreparable damage will be caused to the Theravada Bhikkhu
community, who are the custodians of the Buddha Sasana of Sakyamuni
Gautama Buddha.
The writer is a former Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy,
University of New Mexico, US. |