Issue

5th Issue (September, 2007)

Editor's Preface

Introduction

The theme of this issue of Bodhi Journal is ‘Social Functions of Buddhism’or ‘Social Philosophy of Buddhism’  which should captivate the interest of the lay Buddhists or householders of Buddhist faith and even adherents of other religious faiths. About 2,500 years ago, Gotama Buddha did not preach only to the devas in the heavenly worlds but also expounded the Saddharma to the terrestrial disciples or devotes comprising the monks, nuns, Brahmin intelligentsia, householders and other categories of audience. Besides expounding serious doctrinal point on soteriology pertaining to nibbānic or nirvānic emancipation (vimutti), the Exalted One also promulgated doctrines related to the ethical or righteous expedient devices in earning, expansion and management of  economic or material wealth for the householders or lay people. Vyagghapajja-sutta (AN), Sigālovāda-sutta (D.N), Mangala-sutta (Sn), Dhaṃmika-sutta (A.N), Parābhava-sutta(Sn) and Vasala-sutta (Sn) are some of the important discourses of Gotama Buddha on the doctrinal issues on economic or material wealth and personal development in the present and next life. The targeted audience were householders.  The Exalted One admonishes us  to emphasize  present development or success in this world (diṭṭha-dhamma-sukha) and also the importance of success or  happiness in the next world (saṃparāyika sukha). Material and spiritual development must be in equilibrium to ensure incessant bliss.

The second formulated item of the Four Noble Truths (cattāri ariya-saccaṃ), which states that ‘Desire’ (to be more exact, Craving)  is the cause of suffering, has been misinterpreted widely.  This negligent misinterpretation seriously mispresents the authentic Word of Gotama Buddha. Such interpretation seems to affirm that all forms of desires are the causes of human suffering, anguish, vexation or predicament.  But in actual fact, not all forms of desire are the causes of suffering or vexation (dukkha). Gotama Buddha never rejects or denies all forms of desire in human beings. Without desire, the six sense faculties or organs are extinct; the human personality ceases functioning normally. The Exalted One rejects only craving (taṇhā) which is selfish desire motivated by the superimposition of false self-identity in the five aggregates(pañcakkhandhas)  which constitute the human personality (nāmarūpa). The Buddha principally advocates selfless desire (chanda) not motivated by the superimposition of false self-identity or ego. The worldlings are selfish and egoistic whilst the wise are selfless and egoless.

Brain and EQ

The Features column features K.S.Chow’s contribution on ‘The Brains and EQ”. The article highlights the imbalance of modern education system which emphasizes heavily on the intellectual development of students  which involves only the left-brain functioning and neglects emotional and spiritual development connected with the right-brain functioning. Intellectual development based one left-brain thinking only develops the IQ (intelligent quotient) of an individual. Emotional and spiritual development utilizing the right-brain thinking develops the EQ (emotional quotient). Intelligent quotient is a means of  measurement of the level of one’s reasoning or rational thinking power. The emotional quotient is a yardstick to measure and evaluate the capacity of managing one’s emotions in dealing with others during social intercourses. A high score of EQ mirrors that one is adept at comprehending human engineering. Comprehension of human engineering is the capacity of an individual to apprehend  what makes a person fail or succeed in terms of management of human emotions of oneself and others. The intuitive discernment of Saddharma produces a high or even perfect score of EQ. The Buddhist knowledge of ultimate truth involves the function of the right-brain thinking. The Buddhist Middle Path of understanding the interpenetration and co-existence of the knowledge of conventional truth and that of the ultimate truth involves the combination of the mechanism of both left-brain and right-brain thinking. Saddharma marries the left-brain and right-brain operations optimumly in terms of Middle Path.

Economic Wealth

The Academic Articles column features three significant articles which are of enormously pragmatic value to the householders in economic growth, management and mundane or worldly successes or achievements. Two of these three  articles are Wong Weng Hon’s expositions on the  ‘Significance of the Vyagghapajja-sutta(A.N)’ of the Theravāda tradition  and also the ‘Purport of the Vyagghapajja-sutta’. The former is the exposition of the four-fold value system of Buddhism promulgated by Gotama Buddha. The four-fold value system is enumerated as follows:

1. Confidence (saddhā)
2. Virtue        (Sīla)
3. Liberality    (Cāga)
4. Wisdom      (Paññā).

Every genuine Buddhist’s cultivation and personal development ought to be constructed on the basis of personal development of  faith in the three jewels of Buddhism, namely taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha, development of morality, performance of generosity and meditation to develop wisdom. This four-fold value system embodies the entire path of the Noble Eight-fold Path (Ariyo Aṭṭhangiko Maggo).

The main theme of the article on the ‘Purport of Vyagghapajja-sutta (A.N) highlights the four norms or standards of growth and management of economic wealth which are still universally applied to anyone in our modern society today. The norms or standards are applicable to all but not only confined to  the Buddhists only. These are the universal truths about wealth expansion and management.  The four norms or standards declared by the Exalted One to the householders are enumerated as follows:

1. Professionalism in occupations/ jobs
2. Protection of  Economic Wealth
3. Good Associations/ Friends
4. Sound Personal Budgeting

 

The third article is the exposition of  the qualities of a successful woman contributed by Satiman. It is the purport of three numerical discourses, namely  ‘The Tactics of Love’ (A.N.VIII), ‘A Woman’s Success (A.N) and ‘Seven Kinds of Wives’.

Hate and Love

The Reflections column  features Dr. Thynn Thynn’s article on ‘Hate and Love’. Dr. Thynn Thynn contributes her wisdom of  ‘Silence of the Mind’ in managing one’s emotions through right mindfulness and clear awareness recommended  by the Gotama Buddha ‘s discourse on the ‘Four Foundations of Mindfulness’  (Satipaṭṭhāna).

Dr. Thynn Thnn expounds lucidly how one’s should take refuge in the Silence of the  Mind or the Nibbāṇic mind (The pure  or non-manifestative consciousness) to deal with stresses and strains of life. The ‘Love and Hate’ corresponds with the Buddhist exposition of attachment to likes and aversion towards the dislikes. The Silence or Stillness of the mind (absolute mental appeasement)  is the power of equanimity of neither attachment nor aversion to absorb all impacts or shocks of the ups and downs of mundane or worldly life.

Buddhist Economics

The Reflections Column also features another inspiring and revealing article  ‘Buddhist Economic Wisdom of Shinichi Inoue’. Shinichi Inoue implements the Middle Path of Buddhist Economics  of transcending the extreme practice of Capitalism and Socialism. He has successfully aided Japanese business corporations in implementing the Buddhist principle of Dependent Co-arising which emphasizes interconnectedness between diverge or contigent conditions  constituting any business system or wholeness of an enterprise or  a task undertaken. His Buddhist economic thoughts have influenced the Japanese business transactions and successes from which the international business community has emulated.

Besides Shinichi Inoue, western scholar, E.F.Schumacher and Eastern Buddhist savant, Ven. P.Payutto also put forwards their theories of Buddhist Economics.

Sigālovāda Sutta

The Poetry column features two poems on the tenet of Sigālovāda-sutta (D.N). Both poems crystallize or condense the key ideas expounded in the Sutta. The Key ideas  pertain to the Root-causes of vices, the Moral Restraints of Five Precepts, Association with Good Companionship  and the Buddhist Deontological Ethics of the Six Reciprocal Harmonious Relationships between parents and child,, between  teacher and pupil, between husband and wife, between friend and associate, between employer and employee and between guru and disciple. The harmonious reciprocal relationships are preserved by fulfilling duties and obligations ethically expected to be discharged by the respective reciprocal parties concerned. When the pair of reciprocal parties does not transgress the Five Precepts, the Buddha’s five moral injunctions, which invigorate   self-restraint  and virtue, the deontological ethics are fulfilled. Such ethical norms or standards concur with the spirit of the Confucian classic of ‘Great Learning’ which expounds the linear co-relationship between self-cultivation, harmonizing the family (including also any external social group or organization), good governance ( or any form of leadership) and harmony and peace (nationally and internationally).

Conclusion

Perfect character formation ensues from the development of wisdom or insight of insubstantiality (Anattā) or Emptriness (śūnyatā)  which illuminates the illusion of the multiplicity, the diversifying differentiations of the conventional world and leads to the successful annihilation of the illusive superimposition of self and ego which does not exist in the first place. If a beginner who has not developed insight or wisdom of the saddhamma or saddharma, one  may  just note any negative or unpleasant stimuli assailing oneself  utilizing the tool of mindfulness meditaton learned from Insight meditation (Vipassanā-bhāvanā) so that one is closer to or in communion with the Silence of the mind. For the Mahāyānists, a continuous  recitation of the name of Amitābha Buddha is sufficient to brush aside the negative or unpleasant external stimulus. The mature yoginis and yogis, who have arrived at the Origin of Silence,  is spontaneously capable of ceasing grasping and engendering the pure consciousness or non-manifestative consciousness (anidassana-viññāṇa)  which purifies their minds. There are many expedient devices (upāyas) in Buddhist thoughts and practices to preserve equanimity (upekkhā) – the Silence or Stillness of the mind (absolute mental appeasement). Silence engenders perfect virtue which appeases and harmonizes oneself and others. The person of the Silenced mind is akin to a lotus which penetrates through the sullied mud, sullied water, emerges through the surface of water and springs forth unsullied.