Tuddism is not a religion in the true sense of the term as a system of God-worship with some prescribed rules and regulations of ritualism for the attainment of heaven (Moksa) and avoidance of hell (Niraya). It is a religion that prescribes certain way of living with ethical and psychological codes of conducts and behaviors. This is a personal system of mind-purification.
It is the general belief that only a religious system can give the meaning and scope for the human life, and complete the worldliness as the perfect cycle of births and deaths. All India philosophical schools are of religious nature, Moksa-oriented, and Buddhism also as a religion and philosophical school is moksa-or Nibbana-oriented. The Carvaka, materialistic school of thought, advocates the philosophy of “eat, drink and enjoy the life, because tomorrow is not in your grip and in the future after death you are going to be non-existent.” Except this school, the other religions believe in Moksa, Kamma and Rebirth. To all them ahte attainment of Moksa or Nibbana is the final goal and the ultimate value of the human life. Buddhism, too, sincerely believes and preaches for the attainment of Nabbana as the ultimate value and goal of all the struggles and endeavors of human life on earth. Buddhism values the human living on earth as the preparatory ground or workfield to work out for the attainment of Nibbana.
Fulfillment of life’s mission
The Buddhists realize that desire is the root of all actions which in turn create either good or bad kamma forces. Knowing fully well that all the worldly desires are mingledwith sorrow and suffering, one should become disgusted, detached with all forms of attractions of worldly desires. He should try to control his passion, desist from forbidden actions and enjoyments. He should do all the good Kamma, earn merits, avoid the possibility of earning bad kamma-forces, keep the mind always free of evil influences and seek the ways of Nabbanain order to destroy the sorrow and suffering and get released from bondage. Here Nibbana is the final, transcendental value, which is one only of this kind in the lokottara level of Existence. The four Noble Truths, Eight-fold Path, Sila, Samadhi, Panna, the DasaParami, such as Dana-generosity, sila-morality, Nekkhamma-renunciation, Panna-wisdom, Viriya-energy, Khanti-patience, Sacca-truthfulness, Adhitthana-determination, Metta-loving-kindness and Upekkha-equanimity and the Five, Eight Precepts, Ten Precepts, the entire Vinaya rules and the other ethical codes and moral doctrine-all these form the supplementary or additional values of Buddhist life-value. Hence the attainment of perfection in the strict observances of these is also considered to be the human values, because only after these attainments one can hope and work towards the final value of Nibbana-Bliss.
It is a glorious privilege to be born as a man. The man’s fulfillment of life-mission consists in the development of the reasonable, more rational mind with calm-thought and of right-wisdom. Then he should live more righteous life, having love and compassion to one and all of the entire universal beings. This is rightly dignified as the highest value of human life.
The Buddha’s religion does not guarantee that the worship of the Buddha image would bring forth the ultimate value of life viz, the Nibbana. In Kalama Sutta of the AnguttaraNikaya. He says “do not believe in any traditions …, in the scriptural statement of some old sages …, in any truth into which you have become attached by habit, and do not believe in merely on authority of your preceptors and elders. Only after observation and analysis of something. If it agrees to your clear reasoning, and is fund to be conducive to ultimate good and gain of yourself as well as others, then accept it as true and live upto it”. Thus He sums up His attitude towards all His prescribed codes of conduct and worthy living, as something rational and psychological values.
Detached and Desire-free mind:
The problem of human life is the same at the time of Enlightenments of the Buddha as well as at present that is the eradication of sorrows and sufferings and earning of the absolute freedom and Nibbanic Bliss. Even now the true followers of Buddhism find it very difficult to get a suitable job and earn well to live comfortably. Yet His Dhamma trainings ease his mental agony to a large extent and comfort him of the unavoidable competition and struggles for job and earning in the world. He waits patiently for his turn and opportunity and learn now to make best use of the available chances and circumstances to his favour. Whether he is rich or poor, he is highly content and satisfied with all existing conditions and life-comforts. He strives with a detached heart and desire-free mind, to live the normal life most peacefully and happily in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha. That means Buddhism, as the more effective religion, warns its followers the very beginning of the life-struggles and teaches how to avoid the unwanted care and tension in life. It urges men to give up the unsuitable ways of earnings and living contrary to the expectations of the Dhamma-life. The Buddha does not deny the practical life from all its zests and desirable motives. But it stresses our attention to what are eternal and long-lasting human values. He teaches us the influence of fetters of blind forces, the most dangerous fallout on our way to the eternal values and encourages us to achieve the still higher and more real values of life.
The animal-life policy of ‘survival of the physically fittest’ is not the same value as the value of the human life. Here only the mentally fittest can survive. He needs training in social qualities like love and kindness, self-sacrifice, giving up of one’s own earned merits for the sake of others, and for the welfare and happiness of many. One should share even the unhappiness and miseries of other fellow beings without any jealousy, selfishness and ego. The teachings of the Buddha promotes, as the human values, the courage and patience towards all the struggle and problems of life. And at the same time it imparts the perfect sympathy and light-heartedness, full of feelings and emotions for the miseries and sorrow of the rest of mankind.
Human Values:
The Buddhist moral teachings enumerate many such human values, such as abstinence from destroying life, laying aside the club and weapon, to be modest and full of pity. Compassionate and kind to all creatures, abstinence from the act of theft, observances of chastity and purity, development of honesty and sympathetic hearts in the understanding of others’ sorrows and sufferings, abstinence from falsehood and deceit, living the life as a peace-maker, a speaker of pleasant … kind words that promotes love and understanding with one and all, abstinence form foolish talk, meaningless talk, harsh language, back-biting, intoxicants and stupefying drugs etc.
All these can be explained as the human values to be nourished and developed in the human existence of earth for the final attainment of Nibbana.
The followers of Buddhism should also abstain from earning a livelihood by the practice to wordly arts, interpretation of dreams, fortune telling, palmistry reading, astrological forecasting, crystal gazing, prophesying and enchanting charms of all sorts etc. these are considered not the values to be practiced and perfected by human beings. Then the practice of Samadhi and Panna or vipassana meditation are considered to be the values that would keep one’s mind pure and free from all evil-fetters and influences.
The usefulness of life is explained by the Buddha in the KaraniyamettaSutta the development of universal love and sympathy towards the making and other living beings. As a mother would love her only child, the man should ponder boundless love and affection towards all other beings. The mother takes care of the child even at the cost of her life, the devotee of the Buddha accordingly is instructed to maintain the universal peace and love with all forms of existences and states of life, risking his own existence for the cause of keeping the other beings good and happy. The attainment of this brotherhood later develops into the universal brotherhood and thereby, the idea of separateness is destroyed. Then only is one’s life recognized as useful, worthy and valuable.
A Homeless life:
The Samannaphalasutta describes the fruits of living the life of homeless Samanera and the Bhikkhu. It compares the values of household life with that of the homeless life thus; “Full of hindrances is household life, a path defiled by passion ; whereas free is the life of his (Samanera) who has renounced all worldly things. It is difficult for the householder to live the higher life in all its fullness, in all its purity and in all its perfection … The Samanera passes a life self-restrained according to the Vinaya Rules of the Sangha ; he sees danger in the least of those things he should avoid, he encompasses himself with holiness in word and deed, he sustains his life by means and deed, he sustains his life by means that are quite pure : good is his conduct, guarded the door of his of his senses, mindful and self-possessed, he is altogether happy.”
For the ordinary house-holders the human values consist in the accumulation of wealth, construction of comfortable and beautiful houses, gathering of valuable and rare jewels ornaments, possessing of superfine dresses, clothes etc. For them the Buddha instructs the simple codes of morality as the human values, such as the charity, purifying the mind, making others participate and co-operate in good works that one is doing, nursing the sick, giving gifts to the deserving ones, learning and memorizing all that are good, others to learn the correct6 form of education, rules of morality etc. He warns them of the values of professions such as slave dealing, sale of weapons of warfare, sale of poisons, sale of intoxicants, and the sale of flesh etc.
The Buddha says, “He who is faithful, leads the life of a householder, and possesses the for dhamma values; truth, justice, firmness and liberality, does not grieve when passing away.”
The acquisition of these human values are very much essential, because the values such as generosity, polite speech, public welfare of sociality and courteous behaviors are valuable in all places and circumstances. If there are not possessed, none will receive any support, sympathy, respect and honour from the others.
That is the reason when the Buddha says, “He who is not generous, who is found reached the calmness of mind, who is discontented at heart, who has control over his senses-such a disciple is far from me, though he is body near me.”
The ultimate value of the perfected human life is Nibbana, and the path promulgated by the Enlightened One for this goal is the Noble Eight-fold path. It is by the perfected-self through charity, purity, love and equanimity that goat of Nabbana be realized.
In the MahadhammaSamadanaSutta, the Buddha warns the poor not to give up the religious life-values even though these will be very hard for them to practice and nourish these values. As a patient takes the bitter medicine to cure his disease, so the poor should observe the religious life values which will be very hard for them, to cure the disease of bondage. The VasalaSutta calls one Vasala-the low-fourth of the wealth should be spent for the care and protection of the poor and needy. All these values are common for both sexes and, in the view to the Buddha, women are equally worthy and responsible to observe and nourish all the values that men can honour. The CulavedallaSutta of the Mahavagga recommends that women as well can attain the same ultimate value of human life viz. Nibbana and attain the Arahatship, which is possible by men.
Some scholars criticize Buddhism as the pessimistic religion that looks to dark side of the reality, denies completely all the good in the human life, reduces life-struggle to an empty show, and advocates the totally negative way of living as the value of human life. They are wrong. No doubt in the initial stage, the Buddha ponders more on the sorrows and sufferings of worldly life and seek an easy route of stopping all these sufferings at once by complete avoidance of the enjoyment of worldly life with its varied sense-pleasure objects. Yet, gradually He also imparts the greater survival value of human life.
The Buddha condemns only the unreflective type of pre-historic primitive man’s life governed by all animal passions and attachments. The primitive man’s life was thoughtlessly led, giving vent to all blind impulses and unquenchable desires that led him finally to the life of prolonged misery and bondage. One should use one’s rational mind in differentiating the ordinary routine life values the attainment of the eternal value of Nibbanic blissful life. As a wise father would teach his children the value of fictitious play things and promote their understanding of life and its problems by total prohibition of the play motives, so that Buddha prescribes to His Dhamma followers the more rational, reasonable, eternal values of human existence and enjoyments than those of animal instincts and impulses.
To be a Perfect Example
The Buddha’s philosophy is the cream of the Indian social values, culture and civilization. The religion is for the promotion of the social happiness and prosperity. Therefore Buddhism as the most rational and pragmatic religion aims at the promotion of all varied zests and interests of life-values in the society.It teaches how the individual and social life can be lived as the enlightened life. Free form cares, detached and released, full of far-sights and insights.
The descriptive analysis of the application of Buddhism in the hurly-burly life of the lay devotees and of the monastic life would convince us of its practical and the applied ethical values in the social, economic, political, intellectual, moral and spiritual field.
It is the bounden duty of the Bhikkhus and lay devotees of the Buddha to live the Dhamma life as the perfect example of the holy values. They must continuously exhort others and the weaker brethren towards these religious values. But perfecting one’s own community a society can be uplifted; after the society’s upliftment a country canbe said to progress and develop. Let us all wish for the prosperity of our fellow brethren as well our country by observing and nourishing these Buddhist human values.
Buddhism does not guarantee that worship of the Buddha image alone can bring forth the ultimate value of life.
The animal-life policy of ‘survival of the (physically) fittest’ does not apply in Buddhism, wherein only the mentally fittest can survive.
0 comments:
Post a Comment