The core of Buddha’s teaching; the way to live happily

We all like to live happily. This is everybody’s main hope in life. But how many of us succeed in this? Generally speaking none of us! How can that be? What about those with material wealth and influence? Don’t they live happily? Why do we value happiness so much? Many questions arise. The answer lies in the Dhamma upon which the Buddha was enlightened.

The Buddha found that why we cannot live happily is because there is suffering in this world. It is universal. Every one of us with no exception has to undergo suffering. Both the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich have to experience this curse in different degrees. This is why all of us value and so concerned of happiness. Everything we do has one single target – happiness. This may be making a profit, acquiring some material thing, winning the heart of someone you like or gaining status. Everybody wants it but nobody gets it forever. So suffering is the greatest obstacle to happiness. Why is it so difficult to beat suffering? To answer this you must have an understanding of the nature of suffering.

Occurrence of suffering 

We are equipped with a remarkable and a powerful set of organs which have the capability to capture external entities and provide us with images of these. These are the sense organs - eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body. We are able to see, hear, smell, taste and feel because of these. How do these processes work? Suppose you see a beautiful flower. Your eyes have to see the flower first. That is a contact has to occur between the eye and the flower. Once this happens you come to know that you are seeing something. In other words a sensation arises. Along with the sensation you recognize the object of vision as a flower. This is perception. The perception identifies, labels and also evaluates the object as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. That is it makes the judgment. Once the sensory input due to an object is evaluated as pleasant or unpleasant an immediate reaction starts to play. In this case as the input is pleasant a wish occurs to intensify and prolong the experience. You want to see more of the flower. But if the input signal is evaluated as unpleasant you begin to dislike it wanting to put an end to it. Suppose somebody scolds you, this is evaluated as unpleasant and you want to hear no more of it; want to stop it. The same process occurs with the other sensory inputs of sound, smell, taste and touch. For instance, after identifying the flower as such, you would like to know what smell it has. Now you smell it with the nose. The same processes as for the vision with the eye, contact, sensation, perception and reaction takes place. Also you might want to see whether the petals feel soft, leathery or fleshy. Sense of touch with the body occurs here. Further, you would like to taste any nectar the flower may have. These two sensory inputs also follow the same route ending in the reaction.

The processes with regard to perception and reaction occur lightening fast and repeat with each subsequent occurrence of contact. Because of the rapidity you don’t recognize it happening. You will come to know of it only after the reaction has been repeated over a long period and has developed into an intensified and a pronounced form. This is when it has come to the consciousness level. Here the information gathered is stored. That is consciousness is the database of the mind. It should be noted however that this is the discriminative consciousness. It differs from the pure consciousness which is the mind completely purified of defilements or the Supreme Mind. The Supreme Mind has no discriminative consciousness as this has been completely eliminated. When an object previously encountered is contacted by a sense organ evaluation by perception takes place by obtaining recorded data from this consciousness. This is how the mind works with sensory inputs from external sources or objects formed by the sensory organs.  It is because of this process that one feels that there is a ‘person’, ‘self’ or ‘I’. This is what causes all the trouble. The fact an individual is basically a collection of various physical elements bonded together along with the mind energy is not realized. Thinking that there is a permanent being called ‘I’ one develops craving or attachment. This is how discriminative consciousness brings suffering to us.

In addition to these there are various thoughts arising in the mind momentarily. These also originate from the discriminative consciousness. The data accumulated through the five sense doors, eye, ear, nose etc. are stored here as explained before. The process is the same as for the external inputs. Whatever thought arises gets back into discriminative consciousness and arises again from here. This cycle is repeated rapidly and the thought gets intensified. It happens so fast we don’t recognize it. We think it is a one stream of thought. These thoughts appear in image form in the mind. To understand this suppose someone insulted you in the past, say the day before. The thought of this happening comes out from the discriminative consciousness and arise in the mind. You see the person and hear him speaking the words of insult in your mind. Now you feel disturbed, embarrassed and angry. You respond by developing a repulsive and hateful attitude towards this particular person. You would want to punish him or her; take revenge. You would think of planning a way to implement this. Now you cannot concentrate on anything you have to attend to. You are confused. Suddenly this cycle of thoughts will pass away and you will find some relief. But unfortunately it recurs and every time this happens you undergo the same agony. And whom did you confront? The person concerned is not with you now but you are dealing with an image of him. And who gets affected? Who loses? Not that particular person but you. The result is immense pain in the mind i.e. suffering for you. Now it is clear that it is futile and also harmful to you and others to receive and respond to evil thoughts which are only images that arise from the discriminative consciousness. The solution for this is that as soon as you are aware that such a thought has arisen, you must let it go; pass off. This is where relief, happiness and peace are. Not only the thoughts that make one angry causes suffering this way but also those concerned with worry, fear, physical pain and sorrow. Even with these the only way to prevent suffering occur is ‘letting go’ of these as soon as you become aware that they have arisen.

We have been paying attention to unwholesome and therefore unpleasant thoughts so far. What about the pleasant thoughts? Don’t these bring happiness? Yes they do. But the reality is that you can’t prolong this happiness which is what you want. A pleasant thought also arise and pass away in a moment. Of course this would arise again and again but eventually it will fade away: not what you want. What you want is to intensify and enjoy the happiness more and more as much as you require. But this does not happen. Instead it loses its strength and withers after a short while. This makes you unhappy; unsatisfactory; causing suffering ultimately.

Suffering and discriminative consciousness      

It is now clear that suffering occurs in the mind and not in the physical body. This can be shown as follows. Suppose you have got an injury, say you have got your finger caught between the door and its frame of a car. Obviously this is unbearably painful. Now you are suffering a lot. Just at this instant somebody knocks at the door. You forget about the finger and you don’t feel the pain. As long as you think of the injury it pains but once the mind is distracted from it the pain is not felt. The injury is still there but the body doesn’t feel it. Only our mind feels the pain. You can harbor only one thought at a time in the mind. This fact also plays in relieving the pain. The thought of pain is replaced by the disturbing thought in this particular case and the suffering vanishes. Not only physical injury and sickness but all forms of suffering, worry, anger, sorrow, aging, fear, birth and death occur in the mind. The source of suffering is in the mind. The Lord Buddha realized this through wisdom developed by insight. He showed that in whatever form it comes, it comes from the database of the mind or the discriminative consciousness. What a person can do is to let go of a thought, when he is aware of arising of it and any new sensory inputs coming from outside through the sense doors should also be allowed to let go at the sensation stage so that it cannot reach the discriminative consciousness and get registered and recorded. This process happens involuntarily sometimes in daily life. When you travel in a vehicle you see the scenery at the sides. People, trees, houses, animals and other vehicles pass by. But you might not remember most of these later because your mind has not recorded or sent the images of these objects into discriminative consciousness. If you walk in the street both these processes might take place. If you meet a friend, thoughts from the discriminative consciousness will arise and you will recognize and welcome the person. If you meet someone whom you dislike you will try to avoid him or her. Apart from them you would see many other people whom you don’t know. None of them will get registered in your discriminative consciousness and you’ll not recollect them, their images having been stopped at the sensation level. This is what you must be doing, stopping the process getting to the discriminative consciousness level.

Life and discriminative consciousness    

But isn’t discriminative consciousness necessary to live the worldly life? Yes it is, without which we cannot survive. It makes judgments and provides you with the necessary intelligence and the knowledge gathered from studying and learning skills from birth, to get on with life. Take for instance a little child. When someone knocks at the door she goes to the door. She has nothing on her body, just the way she has been playing inside the house. She has no idea of this because it is not in her discriminative consciousness. Then the mother comes along and gets her into knickers. This now gets registered in her discriminative consciousness and the next time the knock is heard she will not forget to wear something before going to answer.

The judgment of the discriminative consciousness however, does not help you to see things as they really are; only to see them as they appear to be. Because of this you are deceived becoming blind to realize reality. This is ignorance. This makes you crave or attached to worldly things – the cause of suffering.

The core of Buddha’s teaching

Suffering can never be eliminated as long as discriminative consciousness prevails. Thus discriminative consciousness has to be eradicated to end suffering and attain Nirvana. You must realize this fact and while using the discriminative consciousness to live the life without being a slave to it, must try to achieve the Eternal Bliss. This is the way to happiness; the way to live life happily.

This is the ultimate of what the Buddha taught. All the writings, books, sermons, speeches, discussions and explanations on Buddha Dhamma revolves round this core of Buddha’s teaching. This is a simple yet a complicated revelation to understand; simple for the wise, complicated for those blind with ignorance. Simply it is that all suffering originates in the mind. Suffering is all from the mind and of the mind. You don’t need a Buddha who knows everything in the universe in and out to tell you that birth, living, sickness, old age and death are all suffering. Any ordinary person can understand it. But where exactly it occurs and how it could be wiped out completely forever was taught by the Buddha. The solution is simple because all you have to do is ‘let go’ of any thoughts arising once you are aware of them. Yet easier said than done! As far as the arising of thoughts from the discriminative consciousness is concerned we have no control over it. Only thing we can do is to be mindful and when you know that a new thought has arisen you let it go. But being persons who have been living a life relying on and controlled by thoughts coming from the discriminative consciousness since birth this exercise is not an easy task. Yet it is not something that cannot be done. With the right effort you can achieve this ability gradually. It is a skill you have to develop.

The meditation based on the Noble Eightfold Path as described in my 1^st article does exactly this. You follow the procedure of the meditation technique. If you hear a sound, you take it as just a sound and let it go. You don’t try to think of it again or follow it to know what conditions gave rise to it. If you get a smell or feel the touch of something say a nice breeze or a body pain you deal with these in the same manner. Since the eyes and mouth are closed there are no inputs from these. This way all the five external sensory inputs are shut out and nothing goes to the discriminative consciousness. And when you are aware of the arising of thoughts coming from the discriminative consciousness you let these also go. However, these thoughts will keep coming on and on. When you progress in your meditation a moment comes enlightening you on the fact that arising of these thoughts is the real culprit which doesn’t allow you to be calm, peaceful and happy; the factor that really bothers you, confuses you, make matters unclear affecting mindfulness – the reason causing suffering. It is the hindrance to go along the Noble Eightfold Path and an obstacle to attain Nirvana. When these thoughts are allowed to go by, the mind becomes pure, gaining its originality, with no attachment, closing the door to suffering and achieving Nirvana the Noble Bliss. 

To sum up, the value and the reality of this truth can be realized from the following story.

A young and a very intelligent man once came to see the Buddha and pleaded Him to teach the Dhamma. The Buddha was occupied with begging alms in a street but with deep compassion to the youth, preached the Dhamma in a nut shell. Thus He said,

“Young man if you see something, do not carry it in your mind.

If you hear something, do not carry it in your mind.

If you smell something do not carry it in your mind.

If you taste something do not carry it in your mind.

If you feel something on your body do not carry it in your mind.

If you get some thought do not think of it again.

The young man contemplated this for a moment and attained Arhantship then and there.

The Greatest illusion of all

Sumith is short, dark and not good looking. A classmate who has got angry with him calls him, “ugly dwarf”. Sumith becomes angry too and hits the other boy with his pencil box. Class teacher’s timely intervention prevents the incident developing into something serious. The young child got angry because he was called names. This sounds quite natural. This is a small incident in a school. People become angry if they think, they are insulted, their position is challenged, they cannot have their way to get what they want, someone does not agree with their opinion etc. Sometimes losing temper gets out of hand leading to violence, loss of a life or unimaginable destruction. According to a clause in the United Nations Charter, ‘War originates in the human mind’. Adolf Hitler’s anger on a Jew over an incident that made him feel insulted when he was a young boy developed into such hatred that it resulted in the holocaust of the 2^nd World War with millions of Jews being massacred, when he became the dictator of Germany.

Not only anger but other defilements such as jealousy, enmity, stinginess, vengeance, grief, fear, impatience etc. originates in the mind as a result of looking at things self centered. These occur in relationships, friendly, intimate, husband and wife, teacher and student, superior and subordinate, ruler and citizen etc. Reacting to these could result in a minor, just forgivable and forgettable happening or in a serious, violent or destructive incident – starting with disagreements, heated arguments and ending up in exchange of blows, parting of the ways or even murder.

The cause may be minor but the consequences would be disastrous. How does it happen this way? People say that when you take things as personal it leads to such situations. Why does one take things as personal? This is because of the ego ‘I’ which identifies someone as ‘self’, ‘me’, ’my’ or ‘mine’. ‘I’ was scolded, insulted, embarrassed, not cared for, not loved, cheated, beaten or my property, my beloved ones etc. is how it is being taken for granted. This thought is very strong. You identify things as yours. You may see many belongings on a table, say hand bags but you identify your one as yours. Yet all are just bags. You will see cars stopped in the park. But you see your one separately. My car! You feel a difference. The fact that all are cars does not occur. The thought ‘my car’ stands out. That is how possessive the ego ‘I’ is. This is how we have been conditioned from birth by our parents and other elders.

The easiest thing to know in this world is that there exists a person called ‘I’. Of course, you can feel it and you can sense it. It comes from right within you.  Can anyone challenge it? On the contrary however, the most difficult thing to realize unquestionably concerns also with ‘I’ and that is the fact that in reality there is no such person called ‘I’.  How can one say this? Prove this? Yes it is most confusing and complicated for a lay person to fathom it. If someone who has realized that the ego, ‘I’ does not exist, says so he will be laughed at and considered as ‘out of mind’.  Isn’t each of us a separate individual with a body and a mind? Let us see how real this is.

The hollow man

A person is composed of the physical body, the mind and different physical energies. Taken separately none of these could make a living being on its own. All three components have to be bound together to form a human being. If you consider the body, it is basically made of different elements of the universe which are in a state of continuous transformation from one form to another. The speed at which these changes take place is so fast that we cannot realize or recognize it. As a result we don’t see a constantly changing phenomenon in us but a permanent entity. A good analogy is the working of a movie. To show a single movement, say the winking of an eye, hundreds of frames in the film each with a micro fraction of change in position move so fast, the naked eye sees only one movement i.e. the winking of the eye.  Thus it is clear that there is no permanent body as our sense organs show us but only a constantly changing physical phenomenon.

How solid is our body? It looks and feels real solid. The physical elements of which the body is made fundamentally constitute of atoms. The atoms in turn are made of sub-atomic particles such as electrons protons and neutrons. The arrangement and movement of these particles in the atom is similar to that of a solar system where planets orbit around a sun. There is a nucleus with protons and neutrons around which electrons revolve. In the planetary system there is a vast distance perhaps many light years between the central sun and the planets.  Having the same system these gaps do exist in the atom as well though they are relatively micro. So there are spaces or gaps in the atoms of which we are made of. Also atoms are said to be the smallest mass of an element. But do they really have a mass. Think of the components they are made of, electrons, protons, neutrons and any other sub-atomic particles. Do these have a mass? Albert Einstein the greatest physicist the contemporary world has seen discovered that mass is some quality interchangeable with energy. And energy he said is a manifestation of vibrations. Once when asked as to what one would see ultimately if the body is analyzed he said, “vibrations and vibrations”. The Lord Buddha saw this over 2,500 years ago, not by experimenting with advance scientific equipment or by deducing from complicated mathematical calculations but through wisdom developed by insight.

So it is understood that our bodies are neither permanent entities nor solid matter as they appear to be but phenomena constantly undergoing change and with lots of gaps or spaces within. In reality physically we are just hollow; hollow men and women.

The invisible monster

There is an invisible monster within each of us that cannot also be touched or felt. This is the non-physical component or the mind. It cannot be reached but it governs and controls us: tells us what to do and what not to the way it wants. We have become slaves to it. If it can’t have its way it would lead us to sacrifice our lives even. It craves to indulge in pleasures and directs us to seek and get it by hook or by crook. It has no bounds for this. However much happiness you give, it is never satisfied asking for more and more.  Till the end of our life what we do is trying please this monster master.

What is this monster or the mind made of? The mind is an energy composed of a flux of thoughts arising and passing away every moment. This action takes place so fast perhaps in one millionth of a second that we cannot recognize it. Once a thought passes off another one replaces it. This happens all the time; throughout the life. Each new thought is related to the previous one causally. But we feel that it is a constant stream of thinking. Here again we are trying to see a permanent entity in a continuously changing phenomenon. This is our problem.

The greatest illusion

It is clear that since body and mind are continuously changing that there cannot be a permanent person; a person called ‘I’; but only a changing entity. To understand this, suppose you say ‘look’. The moment you’ve finished uttering it you become a changed person; a different person. In a broad sense if there is a ‘self’ or ‘I’ then our body and also the mind should exist and perform in the way we want. But this is not the case. We do not like to get old or sick. Can we live without these happening? Everybody wants to be happy throughout life without being sad, worried or fearful. But can anybody even with all the luxuries, power and intellect achieve this? The feeling of possession extends not only to your own body but to other physical entities as well; ‘my’ loved ones, personal ware, home, vehicle, land, enterprise, position etc. This is how you see them. But in reality none of these are yours because there is no either ‘you’ or ‘I’ i.e. no one who owns anything does exist. On the other hand if they are yours they should perform or exist the way you want. But also these undergo change or decay against your wish. You cannot control it. If so how can you identify them as yours? Further when you die you have to leave all these behind. What an illusion this is?

Concept ‘I’ and reality      

All these facts show that there is no such person as ‘I’; that there is no ‘self’. Then why do we think that ‘I’ exists? We live in a world full of concepts and we are conditioned by them. There are concepts of mind and body, man and woman, place, time, possession, self etc. Of these the mostly deeply rooted one that keeps us blind and carries us through the cycle of birth, death and rebirth is the concept of ‘I’ or ‘self’. It originates at the earliest stage of life, in the fetus. As soon as the sense organs are functional any sensations felt results in identifying the physical body as ‘mine’. This is the beginning of “self” or ‘I’. From here onwards the feeling intensifies and develops into the ‘self’ concept which is further strengthened by elders especially parents and whatever acquisitioned after birth and lasts throughout the lifetime.

How does this concept work?  It is the factor of the mind which perform the act of cognition that separates and isolates ‘self’ or ‘I’ from the rest of the world. These two are modes of expression for factors of vision, sound, smell, taste and touch arising in the sense organs eye, ear, nose, tongue and body respectively. The following example would help to understand this fact. Take a car. The major parts of a car is made of body, engine, upholstery, chassis and wheels which in turn are composed of metals, plastic, rubber, glass and cloth. In reality a car is a collection of parts made of these elementary materials fitted together and not a ‘car’ as such. The ‘car’ is only a concept. But we don’t see it as such. It is the same illusion that we are in when we think that there is ‘I’ or ‘self’.

So if this is reality can we live our life with it? In the South-Eastern part of Sri Lanka in a place called Kutumbigala there is forest monastery. The monks following the Eightfold Path reside at the top of an elevated rocky area, engaged in their meditation procedures. They have to come to the village down through a long, narrow passage between two huge rocks for alms. This is also the same route used by a few wild elephants to go up or down. The passage is barely enough for a big elephant to pass through but there are one or two places which are a little wider. If it happens that the monks come down at the same time that the elephants go up, when they see the beasts they move to and stay in the nearest wide spot and let the animals go up. On the other hand if the elephants are on their way down, they move aside in one of these places and let the monks pass by. Here if the monks imagine “Oh! We are hollow and so are the beasts and we can mingle with each other like two shadows and go through each other” what will happen? This is obviously suicidal. So the reality is there for us to understand the actual nature of things. But the concept is necessary for us to live in this world. But you must not become a slave to it. But rather make use of it to eradicate suffering and achieve the Eternal Bliss as taught by the Buddha.

Escaping from ‘I’                  

The concept of ‘I’ or ‘self’ creates us almost every problem, worry, sorrow, fear and misery in our life. That is, it is the main producer of suffering in an individual. Not only it causes suffering in this life but also carries it to the next life by initiating rebirth. How can we escape from it? The only way to do this is by getting reality unfolded. The attachment to concepts on things strengthens their separation and isolation from the rest of the world. When we free our minds from these attachments by ‘letting go’ of them we can unfold reality. It is then we begin to see things as they are; the fundamental unity of elements that comprise our being. Even a momentary realization that ‘I’ is no person settles the mind instantly particularly during the meditation procedure based on the Eightfold path which I described in my 1^st article. If one experience this only, can one realize the value of it. The bonds attached to the ‘I’ concept are severed and you experience a great relief. Away goes the burden accompanied with ‘I’ which comprises the defilements such as indecisiveness, confusion, worry, desire, sorrow and fear. This releases the mind. Now the meditator sees that it is not ‘I’ or ‘self’ that keeps track of the meditation procedure but the mind component responsible for awareness. This is realized through insight. Now an excessive force or striving is neither required nor applied since there is no ‘I’ or ‘self’ to implement this. From then onwards meditation becomes simple and successful with the freed mind following it with full awareness. The Lord Buddha showed us that the only way to realize reality is by freeing our minds from attachments by passage through the Noble Eightfold Path. Thus the above mentioned meditation technique based on the Eightfold Path that trains us in ‘letting go’ will carry us through the four Higher Mental States, ‘Sovan’,’ Sakurudagami’,’Anagami’ and ‘Arhant’ to Nirvana in this life itself freeing us from the Greatest illusion of all, the ‘I’. Kalu Rinpoche, a well known Tibetan meditation master summed up this Great Feat in a nut shell. Thus,

-          “You live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a Reality. You are that Reality. When you understand this, you will see that you are nothing. And being nothing, you are everything. That is all”. 

     

The Triple Gems are right within you

The Buddhists begin every religious, cultural, matrimonial or funeral activity or any inaugaration ceremony with paying homage to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha – the NobleTriple Gems. This  includes even daily worship. For activities other than religious, this is considered auspicious. The majority chant the relevant Pali recitals, some with no idea as to what they stand for and some with the idea of taking refuge in the Triple Gems. The ‘taking refuge’ is as taught by the conventional teaching, which goes as follows.

                                    Conventional Meaning

            To the Enlightened One I go for refuge.

            To the Path of the Enlightened One I go for refuge.

            To the Enlightened Community I go for refuge.

From the conventional meaning what one could gather is that the Buddha and Sangha are revered individuals while Dhamma is a sacred teaching from all of which one has to seek refuge. This is contrary to what the Buddha taught and is misleading because no one can provide salvation from suffering for another. The Buddha and the Sangha can only show the way while Dhamma is only the teachings of the Buddha which one has to follow. As such, seeking refuge from the outer world is not possible and according to the teachings of the Buddha the refuge is within us. 

The Sangha

The term ‘Sangha’ literally means ‘community’. This refers generally to the order of monks. The 3rd one of the Triple Gems - ‘the Sangha’, means the ‘Aryans’. An aryan is a person who has embarked on the Noble Eightfold Path. He may still be on the path (Magga) on any one of the four Higher Mental States that is, ‘Sovan’, ‘Sakuradagami’, ‘Anagami’ or ‘Arahant’ or he may have already been enlightened on any of these States (Palaya). This makes eight Great Persons or – ‘Atta Purusha Puggala’ in Pali. So an Aryan or a Sangha is one of these eight persons. They can be either layfollowers or monks. Therefore, it is clear that a non-Aryan or a mundane person in saffron robes with a shaven head does not make a Sangha. In otherwords clothes does not make one a member of the Sangha. This is a misinterpretation of the conventional teaching according to which those who wear saffron robes having their heads shaven are termed Sangha.

An individual who practises Buddha’s teaching i.e. Dhamma  along the Noble Eightfold Path is a Sangha. Thus actually it is one’s mind  that walks the Noble Eightfold Path practising the Dhamma which is ‘letting go’ of defilements, is the Sangha. In other words the actual meaning of Sangha is the Aryan mind which follows the Noble Eightfold Path, learning and practising Dhamma as a follower or a student. If the mind becomes Sangha, that gives true refuge to the person.

The Dhamma

The 2nd of the Triple Gems is the Dhamma or the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha was enlightened on the four Noble Truths of this world. The first of these is the universal suffering. Birth, disease, decay and death are all suffering, as are all other aspects associated with life. The second Noble Truth is that suffering is due to ignorance which brings about craving or attachment. All things and events are related as causes and effects. Therefore, they are transitory which again gives rise to suffering. The cause of suffering is within us and it is the self centered craving. This selfish craving is based on egoism, the main cause of worldly turmoil. The suffering can only be eliminated by the removal of attachment. The cessasion of suffering is the attainment of the Noble Bliss or Nirvana. This is the third Noble Truth. The fourth Noble Truth is the way or the path to achieve Nirvana. The Buddha discovered that extremes of sensual pleasure indulgance and self mortification do not lead to liberation from suffering. Only by adopting the Middle Path could one achieve Nirvana. This Path of self conquest is eightfold and it is the Eightfold Path. This fundermentally is the Dhamma.

To seek protection and safety from the Dhamma in books is absurd. It is some teaching that you have to follow to attain the final goal – the Nirvana. In following the Path , the Dhamma is principally ‘letting go’of difilements and latent tendencies of the mind purifying it. During the passage of the Path, wisdom develops and the Dhamma is preached, heard and realized by the mind itself, all these happenings taking place at the same moment. The follower awakens to the Noble Truth as if he is waking up from a deep slumber. This again is an achievement of the mind. As such, Dhamma is a quality of the Aryan’s mind developed by practising the Path and not something external. By practising ‘letting go’ there will be true refuge to a person.   

The Buddha

Now let us see the actual meaning of the 1st of the Triple Gems. The term ‘Buddha’generally means realization or enlightenment; i.e. enlightenment of the Dhamma. In other words it is the enlightenment one achieves by following the Path. The Lord Buddha was enlightened this way. He was enlightened by omniscience, by seeing all in their true perspective, without being led by any other and so He called Himself the Buddha. Thus, the Buddha saw suffering in life, the impermanence of life and that the death is not the end of suffering since there is rebirth; an unending cycle of birth, death and rebirth. The Great Teacher was enlightened on the Dhamma which shows what causes suffering – the attachment -, what brings the cessasion of suffering and the way to end it. That is the Buddha was enlightened on the four Noble Truths. What is the sense in asking protection and blessing from Him? The Buddha has shown us the Path to Enlightenment but He cannot make us enlightened. What the Buddha taught was, “Follow the Dhamma and you will see me.” This means that if you follow the Dhamma you also can get enlightened acquiring the Buddha quality within you. So this also, like the Sangha and the Dhamma is a quality that manifests in the mind of the follower of the Path.

An Aryan  does not and doesn’t need to go for refuge to any other, for he gets the blessings of the qualities acquired in the form of due benefits from these and as a result he lives a happy and peaceful life. The actual meaning of refuge in the Triple Gems is as follows.

Refuge in the Buddha: I embark upon the Path to attain Enlightenment

(Which is achieved through the 4 stages culminating in Arhant).

Refuge in the Dhamma:  I practise non-attachment (which is achieved through the 4 stages culminating in Arhant).

Refuge in the Sangha:  I travel on the Path practising non-attachment in order to attain Enlightenment.

Therefore, Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha are qualities of an enlightened mind and they are from the

 mind, for the mind and of the mind and not some without it.

The Amazing World of the Present Moment

Life is short! They say. How short is it? Let us see. The average life span of a person presently is about 70 years. So how can 70 years be short? Let us see this too. A person is made of two main entities, the physical body and the mind. The body is composed of different combinations of physical elements which are in a state of constant transition from one form to another. The speed at which these reactions take place is so fast that it is not recognizable and it appears as if there is a permanent being. This is comparable to a moving object in a movie: for a single action, say raising a hand, hundreds of frames, each with a slightly different position of the hand in the act of raising, move so fast that the naked eye sees only one action - the raising of the hand. So it is clear that though there appears to be a permanent being there is no such thing. Since the constituents undergo change continuously there cannot be a permanent body but only a constantly changing phenomenon that exists only for a moment. In other words, as a whole it comes into being, lives and dies all in a single moment.

How about the other component – the mind? It is a non-physical entity comprising of a flux of thoughts which arises, exists and passes away. Once a thought is gone, a new thought arises in its place and this too passes off in the same fashion. This process also takes place so fast, perhaps in one millionth of a second that one does not realize it. So the mind too is in a state of constant change. Now since mind and body both change constantly every moment, quite understandably there cannot be a permanent self. The following will help you to understand this fact. Suppose you say “I”. As soon as you have finished uttering it, you are not the same person who just said it but a different one because you have undergone change mentally and physically to become a new person. In other words a new person is born. This is how fast is the change that occurs, which clearly we fail to recognize. 

It is now quite clear that both mind and body live only for a moment. The life span of a person may be 70 years but the existence of life is momentary. Thus every moment, one comes into being, exists and dies. Or else, in reality we live only for a moment. This is what really matters. That is, to live in a given moment (which will be referred to as the Present Moment from here on) is what is important in life; not the moment that you just passed or the one that is to arrive next: broadly speaking neither the past nor the future; just like in a bank account what matters is the last entry of balance. Past can never be brought back and corrected and the future can never be predicted. Therefore, it is futile to worry over the past or bother over the future. This does not mean to say to forget about the past and the future. When you are recollecting the past or plan for the future do so mindfully. And do not daydream. Stop worrying. Be positive and live in the present. Living in the Present Moment clears your mind of unnecessary burdens which leads to stress.

Make hay while the sun shines   

If you are to live in the Present Moment, you have to be mindful of it; you must know what you are thinking; you must know what’s going on in your mind. Otherwise, you would be daydreaming; mind wandering aimlessly nowhere; wasting precious time. And when you wake up from the slumber you feel guilty of wasting so much time. Normally, this is how we spend most of the day, living in fantasies and illusions, recollecting happy or unhappy experiences; some grudge you have with someone; something embarrassing that happened to you; about someone who insulted you or contemplating whether the future would be fruitful, unsuccessful or fearful. When lost in such negative thoughts, you are not aware of what is happening or what you are engaged in at that moment. You would be brushing teeth but the mind would be at the work place where you had to face some unpleasant experience the day before or it would be in a hotel where you’ve planned to go the next weekend. Suddenly, when you come back to brushing, you don’t know which part of the dentition you have finished and which you have not. So back to the beginning: what a waste of time and energy?

This is also the time that you would think of finding, perhaps harmful solutions to your unpleasant, worrisome problems. You would plan to take revenge from someone; destroy something beautiful belonging to someone whom you don’t like; to cover up some wrongdoing etc. During this time, any violent solutions would look right, justifiable and reasonable. These unwholesome thoughts that crept in would go on pricking you from time to time, hurting you unless checked soon, causing unpleasantness and unhappiness i.e. suffering. You wouldn’t be a pleasant sight to others – an angry and an irritable person. What emerges would be dangerous not only for others but for you as well. Also, not focusing on what you are doing, causes in an unsatisfactory and an unsuccessful ending to it – result of not doing what should have been done at the right time and thus not being able to complete the job on time. These negative effects of not being in the Present Moment, lead to un-satisfactoriness.

Do not let this happen. Be aware of what you are doing. If you are engaged in some task, focus on it. If you are relaxing do so mindfully. This is how you should live in the present; how you should make use of the moment successfully; how you should make the most of the Present Moment. This has relevance to anything you do. When you are reading something, live in it; word to word; line to line. Then only you can digest the contents fully and enjoy the reading. If you are singing a song, live in it; lyric to lyric; verse to verse. This is what you call singing from the heart. You and the listeners will enjoy it. When you are eating something, say some tasty food, live in it. You will enjoy the real taste till the whole portion is over. Otherwise, you will get the taste of only the first one or two bites and the rest will go down without the feel of any taste. You lose enjoying the taste. This of course goes for anything that you eat or drink. If you have to cover a big job comprising of a large number of units, do not be negative and think, “Oh! How to do such a lot? Impossible”. But concentrate on each unit at the Present Moment and attend to it. You will finish the job in such a short time that you never would have imagined possible.

Living in the Present Moment should especially be applied to day to day routine chores, because we have taken these tasks for granted. These just happen involuntarily while our minds wander all over accumulating all kinds of defilements. So while brushing teeth, washing face, bathing, washing clothes, using the toilet, wearing clothes, ironing, eating, drinking, cooking just to mention some, pay attention to these, concentrate on them and do not daydream. Live in the Present Moment. These tasks will not be a burden. You will not be unnecessarily tired at the end of them; but will be happy and satisfied.  Almost 99% of the factors leading to stress such as confusion, hastiness, irritability, over excitement and hindrances to progress such sloth and stupor could be avoided if you live in the Present Moment.

Living in the Present Moment can bring solutions to a tight situation even if you haven’t faced it before. Once, a huge 24 wheel container truck in the United States got stuck in a tunnel just as it was going in. The driver couldn’t move the vehicle either forwards or backwards. He phoned an automobile engineering firm and an engineer arrived at the scene. By now there were growing lines of traffic on either side of the tunnel and the motorists were getting uneasy. The engineer and the onlookers were trying to find some solution to the problem frantically but they found the situation very complicated. All of them were confused. First all started blaming the driver. “What an idiot? He should have known that such a big truck couldn’t be driven through this tunnel”. The engineer chipped in, “No common sense” (all of them thinking of the past). He had one or two solutions but he was thinking whether these could lead to serious consequences, which fact prevented him from implementing them. Would the truck get damaged more? Would the tunnel develop cracks? Would I be blamed if any of these happen (contemplating the future)? This is when two nine year old boys who got out from a car were watching what is going on. One of them casually said, “If you deflate the tyres a bit the truck will ease out with no problem”. Finally this is what was done preventing damage to either the truck or the tunnel. How did the little boys get the wisdom to solve the problem which was so complicated to the adults? Clearly, this was because they were living in the Present Moment. The elders on the other hand, including the expert, were living in the past or the future and they failed to see common sense which the engineer thought the driver doesn’t have. Since their minds were preoccupied with something else there was no room for the solution to come into being. So here living in the Present Moment helped to ease out a difficult situation.   

Live Present Moment brings relaxation. This is because there is no clouding of the mind with thoughts concerning the past or the future. It is hundred percent focused on what one is engaged in. Therefore, there is no access for the defilements to enter the mind. This removes confusion and thus stress, resulting in enjoyment of whatever task is being done. It also brings you mental calmness. This allows you to think clearly causing wisdom to develop. Living in the Present Moment even for a second could make you discover something new; an invention which may go to great lengths. One of my own experiences comes to mind. Once our research team required an air conditioned environment to grow a newly emerging parasitic organism in test tube culture. The organism grows optimally in the temperature created in such an environment which is a few degrees below the average room temperature. However, we were short of funds to purchase an air conditioner. The only solution was to think of an alternative to obtain the required condition. I was racking my brains over this for days. Then one day after a hard day’s work in the culture room I went to the tap to wash my hands and as soon as the cold water touched my skin, I knew that I had the answer to my problem. Why not immerse the cultures in tap water? I instantly knew how Archimedes would have felt when he discovered the law of specific gravity while getting into the bath tub! We progressed on this discovery and successfully invented a device to culture the parasite. We were able to publish the finding in a prestigious international medical science journal of the Royal Society in England. It also won an award from the biggest medical science association in the country. Further, it was nominated for Presidential Awards. All these achievements were made possible because I was able to forget my worry for a moment and focus attention to the present – feel of cold water- i.e. living in the Present Moment. Such could be the fruits of living in the Present Moment. So live in the Present Moment and make the most of it. 

Further, living in the Present Moment would help you in a life and death situation. I experienced this once when I went to bathe in a river once, with some friends. I was about 10 years old at that time and I didn’t know how to swim. I saw some boys smaller than me swimming in deep water and thought, “Oh! If those small boys can float why can’t I?”. I jumped into the water and tried to swim but soon my legs gave way and I was sinking in deep water. My first thought was that I was going to die and I had the vision of me standing right in front of home with all my family members watching me. It was so clear that for a moment I thought I was really there. I didn’t feel that I was under water. But again I thought that I was too young to die and must keep my head clear and focus on what should be done to get out of the situation. This brought me to the Present Moment and instantly I remembered someone telling before that if you go down in water you must kick the river bed with the toes which will shoot you upwards. I did exactly this and to my surprise I went upwards fast and broke the surface. I took a deep breath and cried, “Help!, Help!”. But my friends have thought that I was joking. I went down a second time and came up. Fortunately, one friend who thought that I was drowning swam towards me and saved my life. Had I not concentrated on the Present Moment in that instant most certainly I wouldn’t be there to write this article. My being in the Present Moment saved my life. This is how critically important it is to live in the Present Moment.   

Can we enjoy the benefits forever?  

The living in the Present Moment as we have seen so far helps one enlighten on worldly things. However, this does not bring a permanent state of happiness in the mind. This is because your actions and reactions when living in the Present Moment are based on worldly knowledge and intelligence accumulated since birth. The data for this accumulation are evaluated and judged by a mental factor, from the sensory inputs brought in by the sense doors eye, ear, nose, tongue and body. This is where the catch is, because the evaluation is done from what appears to be and not from what they really are. Thus, the conclusions and decisions arrived at on the same thing differs from person to person and from time to time. This is why the worldly knowledge and intelligence are misleading, miscalculating, unreasonable, blind and dangerous. How can we get a permanent state of happiness by living in the Present Moment? The nature of the mind is such that it wanders aimlessly most of the time. To live in the Present Moment one has to focus the mind on the present. Normally, this happens occasionally when you pay serious attention to something important. So is it possible to increase the number of times you live in the Present Moment so that it covers most of the day at least, rather than once in a way so as to reap its benefits. Yes, you can! This may not be easy though, because after living for so many years, most of the time lost in thoughts, you just slumber into the dream world involuntarily. The mental factor responsible for overseeing the behavior of the mind – the Observation - is underdeveloped. The mechanism to develop Observation is to practice meditation. As described in my first article, the meditation based on the Eightfold Path provides the best technique for this practice. This exercise allows you to increase the power of Observation of your mind. The Observation oversees what your mind is doing and guides you to keep it in the Present Moment during meditation. When you progress in meditation the Observation helps to bring the mind that is lost in fantasies and illusions back into the present so that you can live in the Present Moment. This prevents defilements from getting into the mind thus making it purified. Now it is understood that meditation is the means to train your mind to live in the Present Moment. Therefore, it is essential to practice meditation to enter the world of the Present Moment to live a happy and content life.

 In the country of the blind one eyed man is king

Life in the Present Moment is simple and easy going because the mind is not burdened with defilements. The people living in the Present Moment are relaxed, happy and pleasant always with a smiling face. They see enjoyment in trivial matters like wide eyed small children who are just beginning to learn the world around them to which normally the adults pay no heed. Children are happy as if they’ve nothing to care in this world since they live in the Present Moment. Likewise people in the world of the Present Moment are happy because they have all the time in the world to be happy, as no time is wasted worrying over the past or the future. Whatever commitments and responsibilities there are, these fortunate individuals face them with ease yet with good understanding which fact makes them efficient.

The world of the Present Moment is a reality. Anybody can enter it. Anybody is welcome. It is up to you to go there. Nobody can take you there. You and you alone can make it. For this you must have the will and must make a determined effort. This world is full of life, joy, relaxation and peace. It is remarkable. There are no regrets, worries, sorrow, anger, jealousy, ill will, hatred or sloth and stupor in this world. The absence of these makes the mind pure. This is because you live in the present and not in the past or the future. This is when the wisdom dawns which we all need to achieve Eternal Peace – the Nirvana.   Don’t you like such a world? Isn’t it amazing? Just having the knowledge that the Present Moment is the only thing that matters in this life is not sufficient. You must see it through insight and get enlightened on it. Then only you will realize what it really means: that this existence is of the Present Moment only and of nothing else. This is when the life becomes so simple and you realize how much time and energy you have wasted (the time in which you could have enjoyed your life and be happy) on futile matters –things of the past and the future- so far in your life. So, train your mind through meditation and embark on the world of the Present Moment. Enjoy its fruits. You will live happily amongst all those who are not enlightened on what life really is. How amazing is this world of the Present Moment?

The actual meaning of refuge in the Triple Gems and the Precepts, for the lay person

The Lord Buddha showed us the Noble Eightfold Path as the only way for the eternal ending of suffering – the attainment of Nirvana. This is something that the Buddha realized by himself and preached to the world. Even though He was knowledgeable in everything in the whole universe in and out, the Great Teacher taught primarily as to how to end suffering. Therefore, the teachings mainly revolve round and incorporate the essence of His Declaration that ‘the cause of suffering is attachment and the only way to end suffering is non-attachment’. As such, the recitals in Pali – the language in which the Buddha preached -  for daily chanting for the lay person pertaining to ‘taking in refuge’ and the Precepts also were meant to go along with this concept.

These teachings of the Buddha can be correctly interpreted only by a person who is enlightened upon them i.e. by an Arhant. But down the years many of those who had translated the Teachings from Pali to other languages, had not been Arhants and had not even being the achievers of the lower ranking Super Mental Status and as such they had  mis-interpreted the right meaning. Some of these authors were Indian and they have even incorporated ritualistic aspects of Hinduism into Buddhist teachings.  Because of this what Buddha really meant in His Teachings has become clouded, buried under, with the result that an intelligent learner often gets confused and the follower misled. Thus it is understood that there are a number of misinterpretations to Buddha’s Teachings but only one actual meaning. This actual meaning is the one which is in relevance to the Eightfold Path and the one which the Buddha really meant. Therefore, it fits right into the Eightfold Path. The meaning of the Five Precepts in the conventional context for instance, was in existence even before Buddha Enlightenment. The actual meaning is quite intriguing and interesting to the learner. It is useful to know the actual meaning of the verses so that the chanting becomes understandable and meaningful. This however does not mean that the conventional meaning of these disciplines is not significant because a careful study of the actual meaning of these shows that the former is already incorporated in the latter. The actual and conventional meanings of the reverence, the refuge and the precepts are shown in comparison here for the reader to have a right understanding of these. It should be mentioned that the actual meanings provided here are as preached by an Arhant.

Reverence of the Enlightened One (Pali chant)

NAMO TASSA BHAGAVATO ARAHATO SAMMA-SAMBUDDHASSA

Conventional meaning	Actual meaning
I revere wholly the Blessed One who achieved Enlightenment all by Himself, who delivers the Dhamma and who is devoid of defilements.	I totally submit myself for Enlightenment through the process of purification of the mind.

Refuge in the Triple Gems

Pali Chant	Conventional meaning	Actual meaning
BUDDANG SARANANG GACHCHAMI	To the Enlightened One I go for refuge	I embark upon the Path to realize Enlightenment.
DHAMMANG SARANANG GACHCHAMI	To the Path of the Enlightened One I go for refuge.	I practice non-attachment.
SANGANG SARANANG GACHCHAMI	To the Enlightened Community I go for refuge.	I travel on the Path practicing non-attachment in order to achieve Enlightenment.

The Precepts (All ten precepts are included)

Pali Chant	Conventional meaning	Actual meaning
PANATHIPATHA VERAMANI SIKKAPADAM SAMADHIYAMI.	I undertake the rule of training to refrain from killing living beings.	I undertake to refrain from the process of taking in a sensory input from a sense door and leaving (killing) it to take in another input from the same or another sense door and repeating this over and over again. (E.g. Suppose you see a beautiful flower with your eyes. You get its picture in your mind. At this moment if you hear a sound with your ears you divert the attention to the source of the sound forgetting the flower. Then again if the sound is of no significance you revert to the flower, this time to smell it. So whatever the sensory inputs taken in are indulged in and are given up yet for another new input.)
ADINNA DANA VERAMANI SIKKAPADAM SAMADHIYAMI.	I undertake the rule of training to refrain from stealing.	I undertake to refrain from taking in sensory inputs brought by the sense doors.
KAMESUMICHCHA CHARA VERAMANI SIKKAPADAM SAMADHIYAMI	I undertake the rule of training to refrain from sexual misconduct.	I undertake to refrain from indulging in sensory inputs brought in by the sense doors.
MUSAVADA VERAMANI SIKKAPADAM SAMADHIYAMI	I undertake the rule of training to refrain from false speech.	I undertake to refrain from believing in what my eyes show (which makes you think that things are permanent and bring happiness) and what my ears make me hear (which makes you think the same thing as the eyes).
SURAMERAYA MAJJAPAMA DHATTANA VERAMANI SIKKAPADAM SAMADHIYAMI.	I undertake the rule of training to refrain from taking intoxicants.	I undertake to refrain from engaging in imaginations that arise in the mind and pursue them aimlessly.

VIKALA BOJANA VERAMANI SIKKAPADAM SAMADHIYAMI	I undertake the rule of training to refrain from taking meals after sunset.	I undertake to refrain from indulging (partaking) in all sensations brought in by the sense doors at the time I travel along the Noble Eightfold Path to achieve Enlightenment.
NACHCHA GEETHA VADADITH VISUKA DASSANA VERAMANI SIKKAPADAM SAMADHIYAMI.	I undertake the rule of training to refrain from all sensual entertainment.	I undertake to refrain from engaging in sensations of vision and sound.
MALA GANDHA VILEPANA DHARANA MANDANA VIBHUSHA NATTANA VERAMANI SIKKAPADAM SAMADHIYAMI.	I undertake the rule of training to refrain from bodily decoration.	I undertake to refrain from engaging in sensations of odor, taste and touch.
UCHCHASAYANA MAHASAYANA VERAMANI SIKKAPADAM SAMADHIYAMI	I undertake the rule of training to refrain from seeking comfort in majestic and luxurious seats.	I undertake to refrain from engaging in sensory inputs brought in by the four sense doors eye, ear, nose and tongue situated at the top of the body (the head) and the other below, which forms the rest of the body.