
                              What Buddhism Is

The three lectures in this booklet were given by Sayagyi U Ba Khin 1951 to 
the Religion in Life Forum, in the Methodist English Church of Signal Pagoda 
Road, Rangoon.


                     Lecture No. 1 (September 23, 1951)

     I consider it a great privilege to be in your midst today and to have 
this opportunity of addressing you on the subject of "What Buddhism Is." At 
the outset, I must be very frank with you. I have not been to a university 
and I have no knowledge of science except as a man in the street. Nor am I a 
scholar in the theory of Buddhism with any knowledge of Pali, the language 
in which the Tipitakas (literally, the "Three Baskets" of Buddha-Dhamma) are 
maintained. I may say, however, that I have read in Burmese to some extent 
the treatises on Buddhism by well-known and learned Buddhist monks. As my 
approach to Buddhism is more by practical than by theoretical means, I hope 
to be able to give you something of Buddhism which is not easily available 
elsewhere. I must admit, however, that for the time being I am just a 
student of practical Buddhism, an experimentalist trying to learn through 
Buddhism the truth of the nature of forces. As this has to be done as a 
householder and within a limited time available in between the multifarious 
duties of a responsible officer of Government, the progress is rather slow 
and I do not claim for a moment that what I am going to say is absolutely 
correct. I may be right or wrong. But when I say a thing, I assure you that 
it is with a sincerity of purpose, with the best of intentions and with 
conviction.

     The Lord Buddha said in the "Kalama Sutta": 

Do not believe in what you have heard; do not believe in traditions
because they have been handed down for many generations; do not believe in 
anything because it is rumoured and spoken by many; do not believe merely 
because a written statement of some old sage is produced; do not believe in 
conjectures; do not believe in that as truth to which you have become 
attached from habit; do not believe merely the authority of your teachers 
and elders. After observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and 
is conducive to the good and gain of one and all, then accept it and live up 
to it.

     Pray do not, therefore, believe me when I come to the philosophical 
issues until and unless you are convinced of what I say, either as a sequel 
to proper reasoning or by means of a practical approach.

		To abstain from evil,
		To do good,
		To purify the mind,
		These are the teachings of all the Buddhas.
					Dhammapada, verse 14

This extract taken from the Dhammapada gives in brief the essence of 
Buddhism. It sounds simple, but is so difficult to practise. One cannot be a 
true Buddhist unless one puts the doctrine of the Buddha into practice. The 
Buddha said:  

You, to whom the truths I have perceived have been made known by me, make 
them truly your own, practise them, meditate upon them, spread them abroad: 
in order that the pure religion may last long and be perpetuated for the 
good and the gain and the well-being of gods and men.

     Before I take up the teachings of the Buddha, which form the basic 
foundation of Buddhism, I propose to acquaint you, first of all, with the 
life story of Gotama Buddha. For this purpose, I feel it is my duty to give 
you a background of certain Buddhist concepts which may be foreign to most 
of you. I propose, therefore, to give you a short descriptive explanation of 
such concepts in Buddhism as the Universe, the World-system, the planes of 
existence, etc. These will, no doubt, give you some food for thought. I 
would, however, appeal to you to give a patient hearing and to pass over 
these matters for the time being, i.e., until we come to the question time 
for discussion.

                                The Universe

The Buddhist concept of the Universe may be summed up as follows: There is 
the Okasa Loka (the Universe of Space) which accommodates Nama and Rupa 
(Mind and Matter). In this mundane world, it is Nama and Rupa (Mind and 
Matter) which predominate under the influence of the law of Cause and 
Effect. Next is the Sankhara Loka (the Universe of Mental Forces), creative 
or created. This is a mental plane arising out of the creative energies of 
Mind through the medium of bodily actions, words and thoughts. The third and 
last is the Satta Loka (the Universe of Sentient Beings) visible or 
invisible, beings that are the products of these mental forces; we may 
rather call these three the "Three-in-One" universe, because each is 
inseparable from the others. They are, so to speak, interwoven and 
interpenetrating.

     What will interest you most are the Cakkavalas or World-systems, each 
with its thirty-one planes of existence. Each World-system corresponds to 
the Human World with its solar system and other planes of existence. There 
are millions and millions of such World-systems; they are simply 
innumerable. The ten thousand World-systems closest to us are within the 
Jati-khetta (or the Teld of Origin) of a Buddha. In fact, when the renowned 
Sutta (or discourse), the Maha-Samaya (meaning the "Great Occasion") was 
preached by the Buddha in the Mahavana (forest) near the town of 
Kapilavatthu, not only the Brahmas and Devas of our World-system but of all 
the ten thousand World-systems were present to listen to the teachings of 
the Buddha.

     The Lord Buddha can also send his thought-waves charged with boundless 
love and compassion to the sentient beings of a billion such World-systems 
within the Ana-khetta (the Field of Influence). The remainder of the World- 
systems are in the Visaya-khetta (infinite space), beyond the reach of the 
Buddha's effective thought waves. You can very well imagine from these 
concepts of Buddhism the size of the Universe as a whole. The material 
insignificance of our World in the Okasa Loka (the Universe of Space) is 
simply terrifying. The Human World, as a whole, must be just a speck in 
space.

     Now I will give you an idea of the thirty-one planes of existence in 
our World-system, which, of course, is the same as in any of the other 
World-systems. Broadly speaking, they are:

	(i)	Arupa Loka	The Immaterial Worlds of the Brahmas
	(ii)	Rupa Loka	The Fine-material Worlds of the Brahmas
	(iii)	Kama Loka	The Sensuous Worlds of Devas, mankind and
                                lower beings.

     The Arupa Loka is composed of four Brahma Worlds of immaterial state, 
i.e., without Rupa or Matter. The Rupa Loka is composed of sixteen Brahma 
Worlds of fine-material state. The Kama Loka is composed of:

	(a)	Six Deva Lokas (or Celestial Worlds):
			(i)	Catumaharajika (the World of the Four
                                Guardian Kings)
			(ii)	Tavatimsa (the World of the Thirty-three)
			(iii)	Yama
			(iv)	Tusita
			(v)	Nimmanarati (those who enjoy their own
                                creations)
			(vi)	Paranimmita-vasavati (those who enjoy
                                others' creations)
	(b)	The Human World
	(c)	The four Lower Worlds (Apaya):
			(i)	Niraya (Hell)
			(ii)	Tiracchana (Animal World)
			(iii)	Peta (Ghost World)
			(iv)	Asura (Demon World)

     These planes of existence are pure or impure, cool or hot, luminous or 
dark, light or heavy, pleasant or wretched -- according to the character of 
the mental forces generated by the Mind through the volition (Cetana) 
associated with a series of actions, words and thoughts. For example, take 
the case of a religious man who suffuses the whole universe of beings with 
boundless love and compassion. He must be generating such mental forces as 
are pure, cooling, luminous, light and pleasant, forces which normally 
settle down in the Brahma Worlds. Let us now take the reverse case of a man 
who is dissatisfied or angry. As the saying goes, "The face reflects the 
mind." The impurity, heat, darkness, heaviness and wretchedness of his mind 
are immediately reflected in the person -- visible even to the naked eye. 
This is due, I may say, to the generation of the evil mental forces of Dosa 
(anger) which go down to the lower worlds of existence. This is also the 
case for the mental forces arising out of Lobha (greed) or Moha (delusion). 
In the case of meritorious deeds such as devotion, morality and charity, 
which have at their base attachment to future well-being, the mental forces 
generated are such as will normally be located in the sensuous planes of 
Devas (celestial beings) and of Mankind. These, ladies and gentlemen, are 
some of the concepts in Buddhism relevant to the life story of Gotama 
Buddha.

                     The Preparation to Become a Buddha

     Gotama Buddha is the fourth of the five Buddhas to rise in the World- 
cycle which is known as a Bhadda Kappa (an auspicious world-cycle). His 
predecessors were the Buddhas Kakusanda, Konagamana and Kassapa. There were 
also innumerable Buddhas who arose in earlier world-cycles and who preached 
the very same Dhamma that gives deliverance from suffering and death to all 
matured beings. Buddhas are all compassionate, glorious and enlightened.

     A hermit by the name of Sumedha was inspired by Buddha Dipankara -- so 
much so, that he took the vow to make all the necessary preparations to 
become a Buddha in the course of time. Buddha Dipankara gave him his 
blessings and prophesied that he would become a Buddha by the name of Gotama 
after a lapse of four incalculable periods  of world-cycles plus one hundred 
thousand world-cycles (Kappas). From then onwards, existence after 
existence, the Bodhisatta (future Buddha) conserved mental energies of the 
highest order through the practice of the ten Paramitas (or Paramis, Virtues 
leading toward Perfection):

	(i)	Dana Parami       Virtue in Alms-giving (or generosity)
	(ii)	Sila Parami       Morality
	(iii)	Nekkhamma Parami  Renunciation
	(iv)	Panna Parami      Wisdom
	(v)	Viriya Parami     Great effort (or perseverance)
	(vi)	Khanti Parami     Forbearance (or patience)
	(vii)	Sacca Parami      Truthfulness
	(viii)	Aditthana Parami  Determination
	(ix)	Metta Parami      All-embracing Love
	(x)	Upekkha Parami    Equanimity

     It is, therefore, a most arduous task to become a Buddha. Utmost 
strength of will-power is necessary even to think of it. The Bodhisatta's 
preparatory period came to an end with the life of King Vessantara who 
excelled any living being in Alms-giving. He gave away his kingdom, his wife 
and his children and all his worldly possessions, for the consummation of 
his solemn vow taken before the Buddha Dipankara. The next existence was in 
the Tusita (celestial plane) as the glorious Deva Setaketu, until he got his 
release from that plane of existence and took conception in the womb of Maya 
Devi, the queen of King Suddhodana of Kapilavatthu, a place near modern 
Nepal. When time was drawing near for her confinement, the queen expressed 
her desire to go to the place of her own parents for the event. King 
Suddhodana accordingly sent her there with a befitting retinue and guards. 
On the way, a halt was made at the Lumbini Grove. She descended from her 
palanquin and enjoyed the cool breeze and fragrance of Sal flowers. While 
holding out her right hand to a branch of a nearby Sal tree for a flower, 
all of a sudden and unexpectedly, she gave birth to a son who was to become 
the All-Enlightened Buddha. Simultaneously, the natural order of things in 
the cosmos was revolutionized in many respects and thirty-two wonderful 
phenomena were vivified. All material worlds were shaken from their 
foundation up. There were unusual illuminations in the solar system. All the 
beings of the material planes could see each other. The deaf and dumb were 
cured. Celestial music was heard everywhere, and so on.

     At that moment, Kaladevala, the hermit teacher of King Suddhodana, was 
discoursing with the celestial beings of the Tavatimsa Deva world. He was a 
hermit of fame who had mastered the eight attainments (Samapattis) which 
gave him super-normal powers. Learning of the birth of a son to the king in 
the midst of the rejoicing in all the Rupa and Kama worlds, he hurried back 
to the palace and desired the baby to be brought before him for his 
blessings. As the king was about to place the baby before his teacher for 
the occasion, a marvel took place. The baby rose into the air and rested his 
tiny feet on the head of Kaladevala who at once understood that the baby was 
no other than the Embryonic Buddha. He smiled at this knowledge, but cried 
almost immediately thereafter, because he foresaw that he would not live to 
hear his teachings, and that after his death, he would be in the Arupa 
Brahma Loka (the Immaterial Planes of the Brahmas) whence he would have no 
relationship with any of the material planes. He regretted bitterly that he 
would miss the Buddha and his teachings.

     On the fifth day, the child was named Siddhattha in the presence of 
renowned astrologer-palmists who agreed that the child had all the 
characteristics of a Buddha-to-be. His mother, the queen, however, died a 
week after her confinement, and the child was taken care of by his maternal 
aunt, Pajapati-Gotami.

     Siddhattha spent his early years in ease, luxury and culture. He was 
acclaimed to be a prodigy in both intellect and strength. The king spared no 
pains to make the course of his life smooth. Three separate palaces were 
built to suit the three seasons (hot, cold, and rainy) with all the 
necessities that would make the prince sink in sensuality. That was because 
the king, out of paternal affection, desired his son to remain in worldly 
life as a king rather than become an Enlightened Buddha. King Suddhodana was 
ever watchful that his son should be in an environment that would give him 
no chance for higher philosophical ideas. In order to make sure that the 
thoughts of the prince would never turn in this direction, he ordered that 
nobody serving him or in his association was ever to speak a single word 
about such things as old age, sickness or death. They were to act as if 
there were no unpleasant things in this world. Servants and attendants who 
showed the least sign of growing old, weak or sickly were replaced. On the 
other hand, there was dancing, music and enjoyable parties right through, to 
keep him under a complete shade of sensuality.

                           The Great Renunciation

     As days, months and years passed, however, the monotony of the sensual 
surroundings gradually lost their hold over the mind of Prince Siddhatta. 
The mental energies of virtue conserved in all his earlier innumerable lives 
for the great goal of Buddhahood were automatically aroused. At times, when 
the world of sensuality lost control over his mind, his inner self worked 
its way up and raised his mind to a state of purity and tranquillity with 
the strength of Samadhi (concentration) such as had raised his baby form 
into space and onto the head of Kaladevala. The war of nerves began. An 
escape from sensuality and passion was his first consideration. He wanted to 
know what existed outside the walls of the palace, for he had not gone out 
even once. He wished to see Nature as it is and not as man has made it. 
Accordingly, he decided to see the Royal Park, outside the palace walls. On 
the way to the park, in spite of the precautions taken by the king to get 
the roads clear of unpleasant sights, he saw an old man bent with age on the 
very first visit. Next he saw a sick person in the agony of a fatal malady. 
Thereafter he met with a human corpse. On the last trip he came across a 
monk. All these predisposed his mind to serious thinking. His mental 
attitude was changed. His mind became clear of impurities and tuned up with 
the forces of his own virtues conserved in the Sankhara Loka (the plane of 
mental forces). By then his mind had become freed from hindrances, was 
tranquil, pure and strong. It all happened on the night when a son was born 
to his wife, a new fetter to bind him down. He was, however, immune to 
anything which would tend to upset the equilibrium of his mind. The virtues 
of determination worked their way for a strong resolve and he made up his 
mind to seek the way of escape from birth, old age, suffering and death. It 
was midnight when the solemn determination was made. He asked his attendant 
Channa to keep his stallion Khanthaka ready. After a parting look at his 
wife and the newly born babe, Prince Siddhattha broke away from all the ties 
of family and of the world and made the Great Renunciation. He rode across 
the town to the river Anoma, which he crossed, never to return until his 
mission had been achieved.

                            The Search for Truth

     After this Great Renunciation, Prince Siddhattha went around in search 
of possible teachers in the garb of a wandering ascetic with a begging bowl 
in his hand. He placed himself under the spiritual guidance of two renowned 
Brahman teachers, Alara and Uddaka. Alara laid stress on the belief in the 
atman (soul) and taught that the soul attained perfect release when freed 
from material limitations. This did not satisfy the prince. He next went to 
Uddaka who emphasized too much the effect of Kamma (volitional actions) and 
the transmigration of the soul. Both could not get out of the conception of 
"soul" and the prince ascetic felt that there was something else to learn. 
He, therefore, left both of them to work out the way to emancipation on his 
own. By that time, of course, he had learned the eight attainments 
(Samapattis) and had become an adept in the exercise of all the supernormal 
powers including the ability to read events of many world-
cycles to come and a similar period of the past. These were all in the 
mundane field and they did not much concern the prince ascetic, whose 
ambition had been an escape from this mundane field of birth, suffering and 
death.

     He was joined later by five ascetics, one of whom, Kondanna by name, 
was the astrologer-palmist who definitely foretold on the fifth day after 
his birth that he would surely become a Buddha. These ascetics served him 
well throughout the six years during which he was engaged in fastings and 
meditation, subjecting himself to various forms of rigorous austerities and 
discipline till he was reduced to almost a skeleton. In fact, one day, he 
fell down in a swoon through exhaustion. When he survived this condition, he 
changed his method, followed a middle course and found the way to his 
Enlightenment was clearer.

                        The Attainment of Buddhahood

     It was on the eve of the full-moon day of Vesakha just 2540 years ago 
[i.e., in 1951] that Prince Siddhattha, a wandering ascetic, sat cross- 
legged beneath a Bodhi tree on the bank of the river Neranjara in the Forest 
of Uruvela (near present day Buddhagaya) -- with the strongest of 
determinations -- not to rise from that posture on any account until he 
gained the Truth and Enlightenment, Buddhahood -- even if the attempt might 
mean the loss of his very life.

     The great event was approaching. The prince ascetic mustered up all his 
strength of mind to secure that one-pointedness of mind which is so 
essential for the discovery of Truth. The balancing of the mind, the prince 
found on this occasion, was not so easy as hitherto. There was not only the 
combination of the mental forces of the Lower Planes with those of the 
Higher Planes all around him, but also interferences strong enough to upset, 
off and on, the equilibrium of his mind. The resistance of the impenetrable 
masses of forces against the radiation of the light normally secured by him 
was unusual, perhaps because it was a final bid for Buddhahood, and Mara, 
the supreme controller of evil forces, was behind the scenes. The prince, 
however, worked his way through slowly but surely, backed up by the mental 
forces of virtues which must inevitably come back to him at the right 
moment. He made a vow and called upon all the Brahmas and Devas who had 
witnessed the fulfilment of his ten great Perfections to join hands with him 
in the struggle for supremacy. This done, the association with the 
transcendingly pure mental forces of the Brahmas and Devas had salutary 
effect. The thick masses of forces, which seemed impenetrable for a time, 
broke away and with steady improvement in the control over the mind, they 
were wiped out once and for all. All the hindrances having been overcome, 
the prince was able to raise his power of concentration and put the mind to 
a state of complete purity, tranquillity and equanimity. Gradually, the 
consciousness of true insight possessed him. The solution to the vital 
problems which confronted him made its appearance in his consciousness as an 
inspiration. By introspective meditation on the realities of nature in his 
own self, it came vividly to him that there is no substantiality, as there 
seems to be, in the human body and that it is nothing but the sum total of 
innumerable millions of Kalapas, each about the size of 1/46,656th part of a 
particle of dust raised by the wheel of a chariot in summer. On further 
investigation, he realized that this Kalapa also is matter in constant 
change or flux. So also with the mind, which is a representation of the 
mental forces (creative) going out and the mental forces (created) coming 
into the system of an individual continually and throughout eternity.

     The Buddha then proclaimed that the Eye of Wisdom (Panna-cakkhu) arose 
when he overcame all false perception of substantiality within his own self. 
He saw by means of the lens of Samadhi (concentration) the Kalapas on which 
he next applied the law of Anicca (impermanence) and reduced them to 
nonentity or behaviour, doing away with what we, in Buddhism, call Pannatti 
(concept) and coming to a state of Paramattha,  understanding the nature of 
forces or, in other words, Ultimate reality.

     Accordingly, he came to a realization of the perpetual change of mind 
and matter in himself (Anicca) and as a sequel thereto the Truth of 
Suffering (Dukkha). It was then that the ego-centralism in him broke down 
into the void and he got over to a stage beyond Suffering (Dukkha Nirodha) 
with no more traces of Atta, or attachment to self, left behind. Mind-and- 
matter were to him but empty phenomena which roll on forever, within the 
range of the Law of Cause and Effect and the Law of Dependent Origination. 
The Truth was realized. The inherent qualities of an Embryonic Buddha then 
developed and complete Enlightenment came to him by the dawn of Vesakha. 
Verily, Prince Siddhattha attained Samma-Sambodhi (Supreme Enlightenment) 
and became the Buddha, the Awakened One, the Enlightened One -- the All- 
Knowing One. He was awake in a way compared with which all others were 
asleep and dreaming. He was enlightened in a way compared with which all 
other men were stumbling and groping in the dark. He knew with a knowledge 
compared with which all that other men knew was but a kind of ignorance.

     Ladies and gentlemen, I have taken so much of your time today. I thank 
you all for your patient listening. I must also thank the clergy of the 
church for their kind permission given to me for this address.


                     Lecture No. 2 (September 30, 1951)

     Last Sunday I gave you a brief outline -- a very brief one too -- of 
the life of our Lord Buddha, up to the moment of his attainment of 
Buddhahood. I am going to tell you today what his teachings are. Buddhist 
teachings are preserved in what we call the Tipitakas, consisting of the 
Suttas (Discourses), the Vinaya (the rules of discipline for Sanghas, or 
monks and nuns) and the Abhidhamma (the philosophical Teachings). We have 
the Tipitakas in Pali in several volumes which will require an intelligent 
Pali scholar some months just to read through. I propose, therefore, to 
confine myself today only to essentials, that is to say, the fundamental 
Truths of Buddhism.

     Before Lord Buddha took upon himself the task of spreading his Dhamma 
(Teachings), he remained in silent meditation for a continuous period of 49 
days, that is, seven days under the Bodhi tree and seven days each in six 
other spots nearby, enjoying at times the peace of Supreme Nibbana and at 
others going deeper in investigation into the most delicate problems of 
Paramattha-Dhamma (Ultimate Realities). On his complete mastery of the law 
of Patthana (the Law of Relations), in which the infinite modes of relations 
between thought moments are also dealt with, there emerged from his body 
brilliant rays of six colours, which eventually settled down as a halo of 
six-coloured rays around his head. He passed through this seven-times-seven- 
days' meditation without food. It is beyond us all to be without food for 49 
days. The fact remains that he was throughout the period on a mental plane 
as distinct from a physical plane, in which mankind normally is. It is not 
material food that maintains the fine-material existence and life-continuum 
of beings in the Fine-material Worlds of the Brahmas, but the Jhanic Piti, 
which in itself is a nutriment. So also was the case with the Buddha, whose 
existence during this long period was on a mental rather than physical 
plane. Our experiments in this line of research have firmly convinced us 
that for a man of such high intellectual and mental development as the 
Buddha, this is a possibility.

     It was the dawn of the 50th day of his Buddhahood when he arose from 
this long spell of meditation. Not that he was tired or exhausted, but, as 
he was no longer in the mental plane, he felt a longing for food. At that 
time, two traders of a foreign land were travelling in several carts loaded 
with merchandise through the Uruvela forest. A Deva of the forest who had 
been their relative in one of their previous existences advised them to take 
the opportunity of paying homage to the All-Enlightened Buddha who had just 
arisen from his meditation. They accordingly went to the place where the 
Buddha was seated, illumined by the halo of six-coloured rays. They could 
not resist their feelings. They lay prostrate in worship and adoration 
before the Buddha and later offered preserved rice cakes with honey for the 
first meal of the Buddha. They were accepted as his lay disciples. On their 
request that they might be given some tokens for their worship, the Buddha 
presented them with eight strands of hair from his head. You will be 
surprised to know that these two traders were Tapassu and Bhallika from 
Ukkala,  which today is known as Rangoon, where you are at this moment. And 
the renowned Shwedagon, which you all probably have visited, is the Pagoda 
in which were enshrined all the eight hair-relics of the Buddha under the 
personal direction of the then ruler of Ukkala, 2540 years ago. It has been 
preserved and renovated till now by successive Buddhist kings and devout 
laymen. Unfortunately, however, these two traders of Ukkala, who had the 
privilege of becoming the first lay disciples of the Buddha, were disciples 
only by faith, without a taste of the Buddha-Dhamma in actual practice, 
which alone would give them deliverance from suffering and death. Faith is, 
no doubt, a preliminary requisite, but it is the practice of the Teachings 
which really counts. The Buddha therefore said, "The Path must be trod by 
each individual; Buddhas do but point the Way." 

                        The Teachings of the Buddha

     Buddhism is not a religion according to the dictionary meaning of the 
word religion  because it has no centre in god, as is the case in all other 
religions. Strictly speaking, Buddhism is a system of philosophy co- 
ordinated with a code of morality, physical and mental. The goal in view is 
the extinction of suffering and death.

     The Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha in his first sermon, known 
as the Dhamma-cakka-ppavattana Sutta (the Discourse to set in motion the 
Wheel of Dhamma) form the basis on which is founded this system of 
philosophy. In fact, the first three of the Four Noble Truths expound the 
philosophy of the Buddha, while the fourth (the Eightfold Noble Path which 
is a code of morality-cum-philosophy) serves as a means to the end. This 
first sermon was given to the five ascetics led by Kondanna, who were his 
early companions in search of the Truth. Kondanna was the first disciple of 
the Buddha in practice to become an Arahat (a Noble One who has gone beyond 
the limitations of all fetters).

     Now we come to the Four Noble Truths. They are:

	(i)	Dukkha Sacca	The Truth of Suffering
	(ii)	Samudaya Sacca	The Truth of the Origin of Suffering
	(iii)	Nirodha Sacca	The Truth of the Extinction of
                                  Suffering	
	(iv)	Magga Sacca	The Truth of the Path leading to the
                                  Extinction of Suffering

     To come to a complete understanding of the fundamental concepts in the 
philosophy of the Buddha, emphasis is laid on the need for the realisation 
of the Truth of Suffering. To bring home this point, Lord Buddha tackled the 
problem from two different angles.

     Firstly, by a process of reasoning. He made his disciples feel that 
life is a struggle, life is suffering; birth is suffering; old age is 
suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering. The influence of 
sensuality is, however, so strong in mankind that people are normally apt to 
forget this themselves, to forget the price they have to pay. Just think for 
a moment how life exists in the pre-natal period; how from the moment of 
birth the child has to struggle for existence; what preparations he has to 
make to face life; how, as a man, he has to struggle till he breathes his 
last. You can very well imagine what life is. Life is indeed suffering. The 
more one is attached to self, the greater is the suffering. In fact, the 
pains and sufferings a man has to undergo are suppressed in favour of 
momentary sensual pleasures which are but occasional spotlights in the 
darkness. Were it not for the Moha (delusion) which keeps him away from the 
Truth, he would surely have worked out his way to emancipation from the 
rounds of life, suffering and death.

     Secondly, the Buddha made it known to his disciples that the human body 
is composed of Kalapas (subatomic units), each dying out simultaneously as 
it comes into being. Each Kalapa is a mass formed of the following nature 
elements:

	(i)	Pathavi           Extension (literally, earth)
	(ii)	Apo               Cohesion (lit., water)
	(iii	Tejo              Radiation (lit., heat and cold)
	(iv)	Vayo              Motion (lit., air)
	(v)	Vanna             Colour
	(vi)	Gandha            Smell
	(vii)	Rasa              Taste
	(viii)	Oja               Nutritive essence

     The first four are called Maha-Bhutas, i.e., essential material 
qualities which are predominant in a Kalapa. The other four are merely 
subsidiaries which are dependent upon and born out of the former. A Kalapa 
is the minutest particle noticeable in the physical plane. It is only when 
the eight nature elements (which have merely the characteristic of 
behaviour) are together that the entity of a Kalapa is formed. In other 
words, the coexistence of these eight nature elements of behaviour makes a 
mass which, in Buddhism, is known as a Kalapa. These Kalapas, according to 
the Buddha, are in a state of perpetual change or flux. They are nothing but 
a stream of energies, just like the light of a candle or an electric bulb. 
The body, as we call it, is not an entity as it seems to be, but a continuum 
of matter with the coexisting life-force.

     To a casual observer, a piece of iron is motionless. The scientist 
knows that it is composed of electrons, etc., all in a state of perpetual 
change or flux. If it is so with a piece of iron, what will be the case for 
a living organism, say a human being? The changes that are taking place 
inside the human body must be more violent. Does man feel the rocking 
vibrations within himself? Does the scientist who knows that all is in a 
state of change or flux ever feel that his own body is but energy and 
vibration? What will be the repercussion on the mental attitude of the man 
who introspectively sees that his own body is mere energy and vibration? To 
quench thirst one may just easily drink a glass of water from a village 
well. Supposing his eyes are as powerful as microscopes, he would surely 
hesitate to drink the very same water in which he must see the magnified 
microbes. So also, when one comes to a realization of the perpetual change 
within oneself (i.e., Anicca or Impermanence), one must necessarily come to 
the understanding as a sequel thereto of the Truth of Suffering as the 
consequence of the sharp sense of feeling of the radiation, vibration and 
friction of the subatomic units within. Indeed, life is suffering, both 
within and without, to all appearances and in ultimate reality.

     When I say, Life is suffering, as the Buddha taught, please be so good 
as not to run away with the idea that, if that is so, life is miserable, 
life is not worth living, and that the Buddhist concept of suffering is a 
terrible concept which will give you no chance of a reasonably happy life. 
What is happiness? For all that science has achieved in the field of 
materialism, are the peoples of the world happy? They may find sensual 
pleasure off and on, but in their heart of hearts they are not happy 
concerning what has happened, what is happening and what may happen next. 
Why? This is because, while man has mastery over matter, he is still lacking 
in mastery over his mind.

     Pleasure born of sensuality is nothing compared with the Piti (or 
rapture) born of the inner peace of mind which can be secured through a 
process of Buddhist meditation. Sense pleasures are preceded and followed by 
troubles and pains, as in the case of a rustic who finds pleasure in 
cautiously scratching the itches over his body, whereas Piti is free from 
such troubles and pains either before or after. It will be difficult for 
you, looking from a sensuous field, to appreciate what that Piti is like. 
But I know you can enjoy it and have a taste of it for comparative 
evaluation. There is therefore nothing to the supposition that Buddhism 
teaches something that will make you feel miserable with the nightmare of 
suffering. But please take it from me that it will give you an escape from 
the normal conditions of life, a lotus as it were in a pond of crystal water 
immune from its fiery surroundings. It will give you that Peace Within which 
will satisfy you that you are getting not only beyond the day-to-day 
troubles of life, but slowly and surely beyond the limitation of life, 
suffering and death.

     What then is the Origin of Suffering? The origin of it, the Buddha 
said, is Tanha or Craving. Once the seed of desire is sown, it grows into 
greed and multiplies into craving or lust, either for power or for material 
gains. The man in whom this seed is sown becomes a slave to these cravings 
and he is automatically driven to strenuous labours of mind and body to keep 
pace with them till the end comes. The final result must surely be the 
accumulation of the evil mental forces generated  by his own actions, words 
and thoughts which are motivated by Lobha (desire) and Dosa (anger) inherent 
in him. Philosophically again, it is the mental forces of actions (Sankhara) 
which react in the course of time on the person originating them, and which 
are responsible for this stream of mind and matter, the origin of suffering 
within. 

              The Path Leading to the Extinction of Suffering

     What then is the Path leading to the Extinction of Suffering? The Path 
is none other than the Noble Eightfold Path taught by the Buddha in his 
first sermon. This Eightfold Path is divided into three main stages, namely, 
Sila, Samadhi and Panna.

			Sila (The Precepts)
	1.	Right Speech
	2.	Right Action
	3.	Right Livelihood
        		Samadhi (Tranquillity of Mind)
	4.	Right Exertion
	5.	Right Attentiveness
	6. 	Right Concentration
			Panna (Wisdom, Insight)
	7.	Right Aspiration
	8.	Right Understanding

A. Sila. The three characteristic aspects of Sila are:

	1.	Samma-vaca: Right Speech
	2.	Samma-kammanta: Right Action
	3.	Samma-ajiva: Right Livelihood

By Right Speech is meant: Speech which must be true, beneficial and neither 
foul nor malicious.
By Right Action is meant: The fundamentals of morality, which are opposed to 
killing, stealing, sexual misconduct and drunkenness.
By Right Livelihood is meant: A way of living by trades other than those 
which increase the suffering of all beings -- such as slave trading, the 
manufacture of weapons and traffic in intoxicating drugs.

     These represent generally the Code of Morality as initially pronounced 
by the Buddha in his very first sermon. Later, however, he amplified it and 
introduced separate codes for the monks and lay disciples.

     I need not worry you with what has been prescribed for monks. I will 
just let you know what the code of morality, or the precepts, for a Buddhist 
lay disciple is. This is called Panca Sila, or the Five Precepts, which are:

(i) 	Panatipata: Abstaining from killing any sentient being. (Life is the 
most precious thing for all beings and in prescribing this precept the 
Buddha's com-passion extends to all beings.)
(ii) Adinn'adana: Abstaining from taking what is not given. (This serves as 
a check against improper desires for possessions.)
(iii) Kamesu-miccha-cara: Abstaining from sexual mis-conduct. (Sexual desire 
is latent in man. This is irresistible to almost all. Unlawful sexual 
indulgence is therefore something which the Buddha prohibited.)
(iv) Musavada: Abstaining from telling lies. (This precept is included to 
fulfil by way of speech the essence of Truth.)
(v) Sura-meraya: Abstaining from intoxication. (Intoxication causes a man to 
lose his steadfastness of mind and the reasoning power so essential for the 
realization of Truth.)

The Panca Sila therefore is intended to control actions and words and to 
serve as a foundation for Samadhi (equanimity of mind).

B. Samadhi. Ladies and gentlemen, we now come to the mental aspect of 
Buddhism, which I am sure will greatly interest you. In the second stage of 
the Eightfold Noble Path (Samadhi) are included:

	1.	Samma-vayama: Right Exertion
	2.	Samma-sati: Right Attentiveness
	3.	Samma-samadhi: Right Concentration

     Right Exertion is, of course, a prerequisite for Right Attentiveness. 
Unless one makes a determined effort to narrow down the range of thoughts of 
one's wavering and unsteady mind, one cannot expect to secure that 
attentiveness of mind which in turn helps one to bring the mind by Right 
Concentration to a state of One-pointedness and Tranquillity (or Samadhi). 
It is here that the mind becomes freed from hindrances -- pure and tranquil, 
illumined within and without. The mind in such a state becomes powerful and 
bright. Outside, it is represented by light which is just a mental reflex, 
with the light varying in degrees from that of a star to that of the sun. To 
be plain, this light which is reflected before the mind's eye in complete 
darkness is a manifestation of the purity, tranquillity and serenity of the 
mind.

     The Hindus work for it. To go from light into the void and to come back 
to light is truly Brahmanic. The New Testament, in Matthew, speaks of "a 
body full of light." We hear also of Roman Catholic priests meditating 
regularly for this very miraculous light. The Koran, too, gives prominence 
to the "Manifestation of Divine Light."

     This mental reflex of light denotes the purity of mind within, and the 
purity of mind forms the essence of a religious life, whether one be 
Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or Muslim. Indeed, Purity of Mind is the greatest 
common denominator of all religions. Love, which alone is a means for the 
unity of mankind, must be supreme, and it cannot be so unless the mind is 
transcendentally pure. A balanced mind is necessary to balance the 
unbalanced minds of others. "As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise 
man makes straight his trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to 
guard, difficult to hold back."

     So said the Buddha. Exercise of the mind is just as necessary as 
exercise of the physical body. Why not, then, give exercise to the mind and 
make it pure and strong so that you may enjoy the Jhanic Peace Within?

     When Inner Peace begins to permeate the mind, you will surely progress 
in the knowledge of Truth.

     Believe it or not, it is our experience that under a proper guide, this 
Inner Peace and Purity of Mind with light can be secured by one and all 
irrespective of their religion or creed, provided they have sincerity of 
purpose and are prepared to submit to the guide for the period of trial.

     When by continued practice one has complete mastery over one's mind, 
one can enter into Jhanic states (absorption states) and gradually develop 
oneself to acquire the attainments (Samapattis) which will give one 
supernormal powers like those exercised by Kaladevala, the hermit teacher of 
King Suddhodana. This, of course, must be tried with very strict morality 
and away from human habitations, but it is rather dangerous for those who 
still have traces of passion in them. Anyway, such a practice, which gives 
supernormal powers in this mundane field, was not encouraged by the Buddha, 
whose sole object of developing Samadhi was to have the purity and strength 
of mind essential for the realization of Truth.

     We have in Buddhism forty methods of concentration, of which the most 
outstanding is Anapana, that is, concentration on the incoming and outgoing 
breath, the method followed by all the Buddhas.

C. Panna. Ladies and gentlemen, I will now take up the philosophical aspect 
of Buddhism in the third stage of the Noble Eightfold Path, Panna or 
Insight. The two characteristic aspects of Panna are:

	1.	Samma-sankappa: Right Aspiration (or Right Thought)
	2.	Samma-ditthi: Right Understanding

     Right Understanding of the Truth is the aim and object of Buddhism, and 
Right Aspiration (or Right Thought) is the analytical study of mind and 
matter, both within and without, in order to come to a realization of Truth.

     You have heard of Nama and Rupa (mind and matter) so many times. I owe 
you a further explanation.

     Nama is so called because of its tendency to incline towards an object 
of sense. Rupa is so called because of its impermanence due to perpetual 
change. The nearest terms in English to Nama and Rupa therefore are mind and 
matter. I say "nearest" because the meaning is not exact.

     Nama, strictly speaking, is the term applied to the following:

	(i)	Consciousness (Vinnana)
	(ii)	Feeling (Vedana)
	(iii)	Perception (Sanna)
	(iv)	Volitional Energies (or Mental Forces) (Sa_khara).

     These, together with Rupa in the material state, make what we call the 
Panca-kkhanda or Five Aggregates. It is in these five aggregates that the 
Buddha has summed up all the mental and physical phenomena of existence, 
which in reality is a continuum of mind and matter coexisting, but which to 
a layman is his personality or ego.

     In Samma-sankappa (Right Aspiration), the disciple, who by then has 
developed the powerful lens of Samadhi, focuses his attention into his own 
self and by introspective meditation makes an analytical study of the 
nature, first of Rupa (Matter) and then of Nama (mind and the mental 
properties). He feels -- and at times he also sees -- the Kalapas in their 
true state. He begins to realize that both Rupa and Nama are in constant 
change -- impermanent and fleeting. As his power of concentration increases, 
the nature of the forces in him becomes more and more vivid. He can no 
longer get out of the impression that the Panca-kkhandha, or Five 
Aggregates, are suffering, within the law of Cause and Effect. He is now 
convinced that, in reality, all is suffering within and without and there is 
no such thing as an ego. He longs for a state beyond suffering. So 
eventually going beyond the bounds of suffering, he moves from the mundane 
to the supramundane state and enters the stream of Sotapanna, the first of 
the four stages of the Ariyas (Noble Ones). Then he becomes free from (i) 
ego, (ii) doubts and (iii) attachment to rules and rituals. The second stage 
is Sakadagami (Once-Returner), on coming to which sensuous craving and ill- 
will become attenuated. He ceases to have any passion or anger when he 
attains the third stage of Anagami (Non-Returner). Arahatship is the final 
goal. Each of the Ariyas can feel what Nibbana is like, even as a man, as 
often as he may choose by going into the fruition stage of Sotapanna, etc., 
which gives him the Nibbanic Peace Within.

     This Peace Within, which is identified with Nibbana, has no parallel 
because it is supramundane. Compared to this, the Jhanic Peace Within, which 
I mentioned earlier in dealing with Samadhi, is negligible because while the 
Nibbanic Peace Within takes one beyond the limits of the thirty-one planes 
of existence, the Jhanic Peace Within will still keep one within these 
planes -- that is to say, in the fine-material world of the Brahmas.

     Ladies and gentlemen, just a word more. What I have said includes only 
some of the fundamental aspects of Buddhism. With the time at my disposal, I 
hope I have given you my best:

		To come to a state of Purity of Mind with a light before
                     you;
		To go into a Jhanic state at will;
		To experience for yourselves Nibbanic Peace Within.

     These are all within your reach.

     Why not, then, try for the first two at least, which are within the 
confines of your own religion? I am prepared to give you any help that you 
may require.

     May I again express my gratitude to you all for your patient listening. 
My thanks are also due to the clergy of the church for their kind 
permission.




                     Lecture No. 3 (14th October 1951)

     My talks on "What Buddhism Is" will not be complete without a 
reference, though in brief, to the Law of Paticca-samuppada (the Law of 
Dependent Origination) and the Law of Patthana (the Law of Relations, or 
Cause and Effect).

                      The Law of Dependent Origination

     It will be recalled that in summing up my first lecture, I mentioned 
how Prince Siddhattha, the wandering ascetic, realised the truth and became 
a Buddha. Lest you forget, I will repeat that portion again.

Verily, Prince Siddhattha attained Samma-sambhodhi and became the Buddha, 
the Awakened One, the Enlightened One, the All-knowing One. He was awake in 
a way compared with which all others were asleep and dreaming. He was 
enlightened in a way compared with which all other men were stumbling and 
groping in the dark. He knew with a knowledge compared with which all that 
other men knew was but a kind of ignorance.

     All religions, no doubt, claim to show the way to Truth. In Buddhism, 
for so long as one has not realized the truth (i.e., the Four Noble Truths), 
one is in ignorance. It is this ignorance (Avijja) that is responsible for 
the generation of mental forces (Sankhara) which regulate the life continuum 
(or consciousness) (Vinnana) in all sentient beings. Just as the life 
continuum is established in a new existence, mind and matter (Nama and Rupa) 
appear automatically and correlatively. These, in turn, are developed into a 
vehicle or body with sense centres (Salayatana). These sense centres give 
rise to contact (Phassa) and contact of these sense centres with sense 
objects gives rise to sense impressions (Vedana) which have the effect of 
arousing desire (Tanha) followed closely by attachment or clinging to desire 
(Upadana). It is this attachment, or clinging to desire, which is the cause 
of becoming (Bhava) or of existence with the attendant birth (Jati), old 
age, illness, death, anxiety, agony, pains, etc. (Jara-marana, etc.), all of 
which denote suffering. In this way the Buddha traced the origin of 
suffering to ignorance.

     So the Buddha said: 

Ignorance is the origin of mental forces;
Mental forces, the origin of the life continuum;
The life continuum, the origin of mind and matter; Mind and matter, the 
origin of the sense centres; The sense centres, the origin of contact; 
Contact, the origin of impression; Impression, the origin of desire;
Desire, the origin of attachment; Attachment, the origin of becoming
   (existence);
Becoming (existence), the origin of birth;
Birth, the origin of old age, illness, death, anxiety, agony, pains, etc.
   (which are all suffering).

     This chain of origination is called the Law of Dependent Origination 
and the root cause of all these is therefore Avijja, ignorance -- that is, 
ignorance of the Truth. It is true that superficially desire is the origin 
of suffering. This is so simple. When you want a thing, desire is aroused. 
You have to work for it or you suffer for it. But this is not enough. The 
Buddha said, "The five aggregates, which are nothing but mind and matter, 
also are suffering." The Truth of suffering in Buddhism is complete only 
when one realizes by seeing mind and matter as they really are (both within 
and without) and not as they seem to be.

     The Truth of Suffering is therefore something which must be experienced 
before it can be understood. For example, we all know from science that 
everything that exists is nothing but vibration caused by the whirling 
movement of infinite numbers of sub-atomic particles, but how many of us can 
persuade ourselves to believe that our own bodies are subject to the same 
Law? Why not then try to feel things as they really are in so far as they 
relate to yourself? One must be above physical conditions for this purpose. 
One must develop mental energy powerful enough to see things in their true 
state. With developed mental power, one can see through and through; one can 
see more than what one can see with the help of the latest scientific 
instruments. If that be so, why should one not see what exactly is happening 
in one's own self -- the atoms, the electrons and what not, all changing 
fast and yet never ending. It is, of course, by no means easy.

     Here is an extract from a diary of one of my disciples which will give 
you an idea of what Suffering Within is:

21/8/51. As soon as I began to meditate I felt as if someone were boring a 
hole through my head and I felt the sensation of crawling ants all over my 
head. I wanted to scratch, but my Guru forbade me from doing it. Within an 
hour I saw the sparkling radium of blue light tinged with violet colour 
entering inside my body gradually. When I lay in my room continuously for 
three hours I became almost senseless and I felt a terrible shock in my 
body. I was about to be frightened but my Guru encouraged me to proceed on. 
I felt my whole body heated up and I also felt the induction of the 
electronic needle at every part of my body.

22/8/51. Today also I lay down meditating for nearly three hours. I had the 
sensation that my whole body was in flames and I also saw sparkles of blue 
and violet rays of light moving from top to bottom aimlessly. Then my Guru 
told me that the changing in the body is "Anicca" (impermanence) and the 
pain and suffering following it is Dukkha and that one must get to a state 
beyond Dukkha or Suffering.

23/8/51. My Guru asked me to concentrate on my breast without the radiation 
of light and added that we are reaching the stage of philosophy of our body. 
I did accordingly and came to the conclusion that our body is full of 
Sufferings.

     In reality, this Suffering Within is a sequel to the keen sense of 
feeling of the vibration, radiation and friction of the atomic units 
experienced through a process of introspective meditation called Vipassana 
with the aid of the powerful lens of Samadhi. Not knowing this Truth is 
indeed ignorance. Knowing this Truth in its Ultimate Reality means 
destruction of the root cause of suffering, that is, ignorance with all the 
links in the chain of causation ending with what we call "life" with its 
characteristics of old age, illness, anxiety, agony, pains, etc.

     So much for the Law of Dependent Origination and the root cause of 
suffering.

                        The Law of Cause and Effect

     Let us now turn our attention to the Causal Law of Relations as 
expounded by the Buddha in the Law of Patthana in the Abhidhamma Pitaka. 
This is the Law in the course of the analytical study of which six coloured 
rays emerged from the person of the Buddha during his non-stop meditation 
for 49 days soon after the attainment of Buddhahood. We have five volumes of 
about 500 pages each of Pali text on this very delicate subject. I will just 
give here only an idea of the Law. There are 24 types of Relations on which 
the fundamental principles of Cause and Effect in Buddhism are based. They 
are:

	1.	Condition                Hetu
	2.	Object                   Arammana
	3.	Dominance                Adhipati
	4.	Contiguity               Anantara
	5.	Immediate Contiguity     Samanantara
	6.	Coexistence              Sahajata
	7.	Reciprocity              Annamanna
	8.	Dependence               Nissaya
	9.	Sufficing Condition      Upanissaya
	10.	Antecedence              Purejata
	11.	Consequence              Pacchajata
	12.	Succession               Asevana
	13.	Action                   Kamma
	14.	Effect                   Vipaka
	15.	Support                  Ahara
	16.	Control                  Indriya
	17.	Ecstasy                  Jhana
	18.	Means                    Magga
	19.	Association              Sampayutta
	20.	Dissociation             Vippayutta
	21.	Presence                 Atthi
	22.	Absence                  Natthi
	23.	Abeyance                 Vigata
	24.	Continuance              Avigata

     I will explain to you now about the co-relation of Hetu (condition) and 
Kamma (action) and the effect produced by their causes, as I understand 
them.

     Hetu is the condition of the mind at one conscious moment of each Kamma 
(action) whether physical, vocal or mental. Each Kamma therefore produces a 
condition of mind which is either moral, immoral or neutral. This is what in 
Buddhism we call Kusala Dhamma, Akusala Dhamma and Abyakata Dhamma. These 
Dhammas are mere forces -- i.e., mental forces -- which collectively create 
the Universe of Mental Forces as explained in my first lecture.

     Moral (Kusala) Forces are positive forces generated from Kammas 
(actions, words and thoughts) motivated by such good deeds as alms-giving, 
welfare work, devotion, purification of mind, etc.

     Immoral (Akusala) Forces are negative forces generated from Kammas 
(actions, words, and thoughts) motivated by desire, greed, lust, anger, 
hatred, dissatisfaction, delusion, etc.

     Neutral (Abyakata) Forces are neither moral nor immoral. This is the 
case, for example, of an Arahat who has got rid of all traces of ignorance 
(Avijja). In the case of an Arahat, contact (Phassa) of sense objects with 
the sense centres produces no reaction to sense impressions (Vedana) 
whatsoever, just as no impression is possible on flowing water which is ever 
changing. To him, the whole framework of the body is but an ever-changing 
mass and any impression thereon automatically breaks away with the mass.

     Let us now adjust the moral and immoral forces generated by conditioned 
actions with the planes of existence. For this purpose, I will classify the 
planes of existence roughly as follows:

	(1) Arupa- and Rupa-Brahma Planes. These are beyond the range of 
sensuality. Supreme Love, Supreme Compassion, Supreme Joy at others' success 
or greatness and Supreme Equanimity of Mind are the four qualities of mind 
which generate transcendentally pure, brilliant and extremely pleasing, 
cool, and light mental forces which find their location in the highest of 
the planes of existence. This is the reason that in these planes matter is 
superfine and there is nothing but radiance, and the vehicles or bodies of 
the Brahmas cannot be identified with matter but with radiation or light.

	(2) The Sensuous Planes which are composed of:

	(i)	the Planes of Celestial Beings
	(ii)	the Human World
	(iii)	the Planes of the Lower Forms of Existence

     The Planes of Celestial Beings. All good or meritorious deeds, words or 
thoughts which have a taint of desire for future well-being create moral 
mental forces which are very pure, luminous, pleasant and light. These find 
their location in the higher planes of celestial beings where matter is 
fine, luminous, pleasant and light. These celestial beings therefore have 
astral bodies varying in fineness, luminosity and colour according to the 
planes to which they belong. Ordinarily they live in heavenly bliss till 
their own moral mental forces are consumed, when they revert to the lower 
planes of existence.

     I will now pass on to (iii) the Planes of the Lower Forms of Existence. 
I will come to our Human World last.

     The Planes of the Lower Forms of Existence. All malicious, evil, 
demeritorious actions, words and thoughts create mental forces which by 
nature are impure, dark, fiery, heavy and hard. The most impure, dark, 
fiery, heavy and hard mental forces should therefore find their place in 
Hell, the lowest of the four planes of existence. The matter in all these 
planes must, therefore, be hard, crude, unpleasant and hot. The human world 
is just above the concentration of these forces, which are meant for 
consumption by those beings destined for these lower forms of existence. 
These beings, with the exception of those in the animal world, are invisible 
to the ordinary human eye but visible to those only who have developed the 
higher powers of Samadhi and secured the Divine Eye. Here, suffering, both 
physical and mental, predominates. This is just the reverse of what happens 
in the planes of celestial beings.

     The Human World. Now I come to the human world. This is a half-way 
house between heaven and hell. We experience pleasure and pain mixed 
together, in degrees as determined by our own past Kamma. From here, we can, 
by developing our mental attitude, draw in our own mental forces that are in 
the higher planes. It is also from here that we can go down to the depths of 
depravity and tune up with the forces of the Lower Order. There is no such 
constancy as in other planes of existence. One may be a saint today but one 
can be a rogue thereafter. One may be rich today but one may soon become 
poor. The vicissitudes of life here are very conspicuous. There is no man 
who is stable, no family which is stable, no community which is stable, no 
nation which is stable. All are subject to the Law of Kamma.

     As this Kamma comes out of Mind, which is ever-changing, the effects of 
Kamma must necessarily also be changing.

     It is the condition of the evil mental forces submerged in the Earth 
just under our feet which gives rise to the Law of Gravitation. For as long 
as man has inherent impurities in him which, prima facie, exist, he is 
subject to this gravitational pull and if he dies with the mental attitude 
tuned up with mental forces of a plane of lower existence at the last moment 
of his life, at the moment of death, the next existence is automatically in 
that plane, in order to clear, in a manner of speaking, his debit account of 
mental forces there. On the other hand, if at the moment of death his mental 
attitude is associated with forces in the human world, the next existence 
can be in the human world again. If, however, his mental attitude at the 
last moment of death is associated with the reminiscence of his good deeds, 
etc., the next existence will normally be in the celestial world, in order 
to enjoy the credit balance of his own mental forces there. One goes to the 
Brahma world if, at the moment of death, one's mind is not sensual, but is 
pure and tranquil. This is how Kamma plays its role in Buddhism, with 
mathematical precision.

     These, ladies and gentlemen, are the essential teachings of the Buddha. 
The way in which these teachings will affect the individual depends on how 
one takes it. The same applies to the family, the community or people in 
general. We have Buddhists in Faith and Buddhists in Practice. Yet there is 
another class of Buddhists who are just labelled Buddhists by Birth. Only 
Buddhists in actual practice can secure the change in mental attitude and 
outlook. Let them only observe the five precepts. They are the followers of 
the teachings of the Buddha. If this were followed by all the Buddhists in 
Burma, there would be no internecine strife such as we have here in Burma. 
But there is another disturbing factor: bodily requirements. One must have 
the bare necessities of life. Life is more precious to a person than 
anything else. The tendency, therefore, is for one to break laws of 
discipline, whether religious or governmental, for his self-preservation and 
for others depending on him.

     What is most essential is the generation of pure and good mental forces 
to combat the evil mental forces which dominate mankind. This is by no means 
easy. One cannot rise to a level of pure mental attitude without the help of 
a Teacher. If we want effective power to combat these forces, we must work 
for it Dhammically, i.e., according to the Dhamma. Modern science has given 
us for what it is worth the atomic bomb, the most wonderful and at the same 
time the most dreadful product of man's intelligence. Is man using his 
intelligence in the right way? Is he creating good or bad mental forces, 
according to the spirit of Buddhism? It is our will that decides how and 
upon what subject we shall use intelligence. Instead of using intelligence 
only for the conquest of atomic energy in matter without, why not use it 
also for the conquest of atomic energy within. This will give us the Peace 
Within and will enable us to share it with all others. We will then radiate 
such powerful and purified mental forces as will successfully counteract the 
evil forces which are all around us. Just as the light of a single candle 
has the power to dispel darkness in a room, so also the light developed in 
one man can help dispel darkness in several others.

     To imagine that "good" can be done by means of an "evil" is an 
illusion, a nightmare. The case in point is that of Korea. For all the loss 
of lives on both sides, now over a million, are we nearer to or further away 
from Peace? These are the lessons which we have learnt. A change of the 
mental attitude of mankind through religion alone is the solution. What is 
necessary at the moment is mastery over mind and not only mastery over 
matter.

     In Buddhism we differentiate Loka Dhatu from Dhamma Dhatu. By Dhatu is 
meant the nature elements or forces. Loka Dhatu is therefore matter (with 
its nature elements) within the range of the physical plane. Dhamma Dhatu, 
however, comprises mind, mental properties and some aspects of the nature 
elements which are not in the physical but in the mental plane. Modern 
science deals with what we call Loka Dhatu. It is just a base for Dhamma 
Dhatu in the mental plane. A step further and we come to the mental plane; 
not with the knowledge of modern science but with the knowledge of Buddha- 
Dhamma in practice.

     At least Mr H.A. Overstreet, author of The Mature Mind (New York: W.W. 
Norton) is optimistic about what is in store for mature minds. He said:

     The characteristic knowledge of our century is psychological. Even the 
most dramatic advances in physics and chemistry are chiefly the application 
of known methods of research. But the attitude toward human nature and human 
experience that has come in our time is new. This attitude could not have 
come earlier. Before it came, there had to be long preparation. Physiology 
had to be a developed science; for the psychological person is also 
physiological. His mind, among other things, is a matter of brain tissue, of 
nerves, of glands, or organs of touch, smell and sight. It was not until 
about seventy years ago that physiology was sufficiently developed to make 
psycho-physical research possible, as in the laboratories of the 
distinguished German psychologist, William Wundt. But before physiology 
there had to be a developed science of biology. Since brain, nerves, glands 
and the rest all depend upon processes, the science of the living cell had 
to have its maturing before a competent physiology could emerge. But before 
biology there had to be chemistry; and before chemistry, physics; and before 
physics, mathematics. So the long preparation goes back into the centuries. 
There is, in short, a time clock of science. Each science has to wait until 
its hour strikes. Today, at least, the time clock of science strikes the 
hour of psychology, and a new enlightenment begins. To be sure, the 
interests explored by this latest of the sciences are themselves old; but 
the accuracy of research is new. There is, in brief, a kind of iron logic 
that is in control. Each science has to wait for its peculiar accuracy until 
its predecessor has supplied the data and tools out of which its accuracy 
can be made. The time clock of science has struck a new hour: a new insight 
begins to be at our service.

     May I say that it is the Buddha-Dhamma which should be studied by one 
and all for a new insight into the realities of human nature. In Buddhism we 
have the cure for all the mental ills that affect mankind. It is the evil 
forces of the mind (past and present) that are responsible for the present 
state of affairs all over the world. By inspiring a strong sense of Buddhism 
in the minds of the people during the most critical days of Burma some two 
years ago, we have been able to get over the crisis.

     Nowadays, there is dissatisfaction almost everywhere. Dissatisfaction 
creates ill-feeling. Ill-feeling creates hatred. Hatred creates enmity. 
Enmity creates war. War creates enemies. Enemies create war. War creates 
enemies and so on. It is now becoming a vicious circle. Why? Certainly 
because there is lack of proper control over the mind.

     What is man? Man is after all mental forces personified. What is 
matter? Matter is nothing but mental forces materialized, a result of the 
reaction of moral (positive) and immoral (negative) forces. The Buddha said, 
"Cittena niyyati loko," "The World is mind-made."

     Mind, therefore, predominates over everything. Let us then study the 
mind and its peculiar characteristics and solve the problem that is now 
facing the world.

     There is a great field for practical research in Buddhism. Buddhists in 
Burma will always welcome whoever is anxious to have the benefit of their 
experience.

     Ladies and gentlemen, I have made an attempt to give you the best of 
what I know about Buddhism. I shall be glad to give any interested person 
such further explanation on any point that he may wish to discuss. I am 
grateful to you for your kind attendance and the interest taken in my 
lectures. May I again thank the clergy of the church for the permission so 
kindly given for this series of lectures on their premises.

     Peace to all beings. 


Republished by IMC-UK, see address below, 1989
Email address: INTERNET:1000330,3304@compuserve.com


                        Worldwide Contact Addresses
                   in the Tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin

AUSTRIA:
International Meditation Centre, A-9064 St. Michael/Gurk 6, Austria;
Tel: +43 4224 2820, Fax: +43 4224 28204

EASTERN AUSTRALIA:
International Meditation Centre, Lot 2 Cessnock Road, Sunshine NSW 2264, 
Australia; Tel: +61 49 705 433, Fax: +61 49 705 749

UNITED KINGDOM:
International Meditation Centre, Splatts House, Heddington, Calne, Wiltshire 
SN11 OPE, England; Tel: +44 380 850 238, Fax: +44 380 850 833,
Email: CIS, IMC-UK, 100330,3304

USA:
International Meditation Centre, 446 Bankard Road, Westminster MD 21158, 
USA; Tel: +1 410 346 7889, Fax: +1 410 346 7282
Email:  CIS, IMC-USA, 74163,2452
Contact address California:
Linda H. Kemp-Combes, 1331 33rd Avenue, San Francisco, California 94122, 
USA.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA:
International Meditation Centre, Lot 78 Jacoby Street, Mahogany Creek WA 
6072, Australia; Tel: +61 9 295 2644, Fax: +61 9 295 3435

GERMANY:
Sayagyi U Ba Khin Gesellschaft, Christaweg 16, 79114 Freiburg, Germany,
Tel: +49 761 465 42, Fax: +49 761 465 92

THE NETHERLANDS:
Sayagyi U Ba Khin Stichting, Oudegracht 124, 3511 AW Utrecht, The 
Netherlands, Tel: +31 30 311 445, Fax: +31 30 340 612

SINGAPORE:
Sayagyi U Ba Khin Memorial Association, 10 Anson Road #24-04A, International 
Plaza, Singapore 0207, Tel: +65 281 3381, Fax: +65 225 4021

SWITZERLAND:
Sayagyi U Ba Khin Gesellschaft, Greyerzstrasse 35, 3013 Bern, Switzerland;
Tel: +41 31 415 233, Fax: +41 61 691 8049

BELGIUM:
Address as for the Netherlands, Tel: +32 2414 1756

DENMARK:
Contact Address: Mr. Peter Drost-Nissen, Strandboulevarden 117, 3th, 2100 
Kopenhagen, Denmark. Tel: 031 425 636

JAPAN:
Contact address: Mrs. Mindy Martin-Feng, 14-17-201 Aoki-cho, Akedia 21, 
Nishinomiya-Shi, Hyogo - 662, Japan.  Tel: 0798-74-4769

ITALY:
Contact address: Mr. Renzo Fedele, Via Eugena 94, 35033 Bresseo PD, Italy.  
Tel: +39 55 603 333


Published by the Sayagyi U Ba Khin Memorial Trust, United Kingdom
Address as above, registered charity no. 280134

                                 FOOTNOTES:

 Gradual Sayings, I, pp. 171f. References, unless otherwise specified, are 
to the publications of the Pali Text Society.
 See the Buddha's instructions to his first disciples in The Book of the 
Discipline, IV, p. 28.
This Sutta is found in Dialogues of the Buddha, II, pp. 284-293.
 For more details concerning past Buddhas, the ascetic Sumedha's vow to 
become a Buddha, and Buddha Gotama's life, see The Clarifier of the Sweet 
Meaning (the commentary on The Chronicle of Buddhas).
 An "incalculable" (asankheyya) is equal to a number equivalent to a "1" 
followed by 140 ciphers.
See Jataka Stories, n_ 547.
 Or Wesak, the full-moon day of the month of Kason in the Burmese calendar. 
In Burma, usually spelled Okkala.
See Dhammapada, verse 276.
 The Oxford English Dictionary gives among its definitions of religion: 
"Action or conduct indicating a belief in, reverence for, and desire to 
please, a divine ruling power; the exercise or practice of rites or 
observances implying this. ... Recognition on the part of man of some  
higher unseen power as having control of his destiny, and as being entitled 
to obedience, reverence, and worship ..." The transferred usage given is 
closer to the way the word may be correctly applied to Buddhism: "Devotion 
to some principle ..." But even so, it is important to exclude  any idea of 
a creative and controlling god or principle behind the existence of the 
universe. Buddhism only recognizes that the functioning of mind and matter 
can be understood as it follows the fixed law of cause and effect. The 
Dhamma in its highest sense is this Truth, which is rediscovered by each 
Buddha and taught by him.
Dhammapada, verse 33.
See Kindred Sayings, II, pp. 23f.
Kindred Sayings, I, p 55; Gradual Sayings, II, p. 185.


                              What Buddhism Is

                             Sayagyi U Ba Khin

[end of file]
