Theirs is undeniably a correct vision and a life sublime.

Erring disciples like Arittha and Sati in early Buddhist history have been severely chastised by the Buddha for such lapses. They have been told that they have not had even a warming up in the religious life : na usmãkato ' pi imasmiü dhammavinaye. They turn out to be substandard rejects [ M.I. 132 and 258 ]. The basic value of this doctrine of not accepting an all-pervading other power as one's guide is to be thoroughly understood. It gives a distinct character to the whole way of Buddhist living. Self-reliance [without kneeling down before a wide variety of divinities and praying for an equally wide and wild variety of gifts and favours ] and a total grasp of the Buddhist teachings therefore turn out to be the basic ingredients of Buddhist life.

This is the total implication of the relentless position taken in the Buddhist texts that this teaching is for the wise and not for the unwise: pa¤¤avat ' àyaü dhammo nàyaü dhammo duppa¤¤assa. [ A.IV.229 ]. Buddhism wishes us to realize the basic position that all sense stimuli of the world make man move all the time in either of two primary directions of attraction and repulsion. Herein an attainable position of neutrality, attainable through a self-acquired culture of being neither attracted nor repelled is contemplated. Both these processes of mental stirring up or agitation [ See anurodha and virodha at M.1. 266 ] underlie the genesis of the life process which is referred to as bhava. In the absence of such activity of the mind [ anurodha + virodha + vippahãno M.1.270 ] man acquires no momentum for the regeneration [ from one life span to yet another ] of the life process [M.1.65 & 109 ]. All religio-spiritual endeavours are undertaken to bring about this position of neutrality, of reacting without being attracted to or repelled by the sensory stimuli of the world. This is the one and only basis of release in Buddhism [ anupàda parinibbàna - M.I.148; II.265 ]. This ceaseless process of dual agitation to surrender and succumb [anunaya ] on the one hand, and to resist and assail [ pañigha ] on the other is a subject of recurrent admonition.

1. Yo imesu pa¤casu upàdànakkhandhesu chando àlayo anunayo ajjhosànaü so dukkha-samudayo. [ M.I 191 ].
2. Yato-nidànaü bhikkhu purisaü papa¤ca-sa¤¤à- saïkhà samudàcaranti ettha ce natthi abhinanditabbaü abhivaditabbaü ajjhositabbaü es ' evanto ràgànusayànaü es ' evanto pañighànusayànaü es ' evanto diññhànusayànaü...Etth ' ete pàpakà akusalà dhammà aparisesà nirujjhanti. [M.I.110 ].
3. Ananuruddha- appañiviruddhass ' àvuso sà niñthà na sà niñthà anuruddha- pañiviruddhassà ' ti. M.I. 65 ].

This is why the Buddha stated in no uncertain terms about self-reliance [ Tasmàt' ihànanda atta-dãpà viharatha atta-saraõa ana¤¤asaraõà. D.II. 100 ]. The word dãpa in this context means an island or place of security which gives one a firm foot-hold. It means a safe, reliable position. It certainly does not mean a lamp as has often been mistranslated and misunderstood and too loudly uttered [ See Dialogues of the Buddha II.108 ]. It means that each man must acquire for himself this unassailable position and be not mislead to seek it in another. And certainly not in those mortals who come from the midst of men, claiming that they have received a divine mandate. Any one who knows the Buddhist way of thinking and is familiar with Buddhist texts cannot possibly miss this allusion to dãpa as an island. This is how the Dhammapada, the indispensable hand book of the Buddhists re-affirms this idea.

In the development of the spiritual life of the Buddhist, the complement to this idea of self-reliance is reliance on the dhamma. It cannot be reliance on any other idea or ideas, picked up at random from elsewhere : dhamma-dãpà dhamma-saraõà ana¤¤asaraõà. [D.II.100]. It would be quite clear to any serious-minded Buddhist that a truly Buddhist religious life is not built up by piecing together fragments collected, particularly in moments of severe stress and strain in one's life, from diverse quarters during one's sojourning, east or west, north or south. If there occurs any idea of being religiously good, that goodness must necessarily be tied up with the Buddhist concept of salvation or release from the ills of saüsàra. In other words, perfection of goodness in Buddhism is the attainment of Nibbana. There can be no meaningful concept of goodness besides it. In fact this goodness which is nibbàna oriented, it would soon be realised, is what would be most desirable for the world. For it necessarily shows up all that is evil or akusala in man which is the outcome of what is believed to be the normal process of life in the world.

The Buddhist philosophical position is that unguarded human nature as we encounter in the world moves in certain directions which are damaging both to the individual and society. What we call the process of life in the world consists of fulfilment of basic needs like food, clothing and shelter on the physical plane, very knowingly referred to in Buddhist texts as ghàsachàdana-paramatà [ D.I.60 and M.I.360 ], as well as the gratification of emotional needs like sex, etc. With these are closely tied up our reactions to sense stimuli which come from the living world through the eye and the ear etc., all of which are accepted as normal in the day to day run of life. But it is little realised that humans invariably exceed the approvable limits in their gratification, approvable to the extent of not damaging the interests either of oneself or of others. One could ill afford here not to be aware of the comprehensive sermon of the Buddha, given to his son Rahula, in the Ambalatthikarahulovada Sutta of the Majjhimanikaya [ M.I. 414-420 ] which spells out this in great detail. Thus it runs.

This deed of mine which I now intend doing, says the Buddha to Rahula, giving it as a yardstick of measurement, if it turns out to be harmful to me as well as to others, then it is indeed an unwholesome deed, generating unhappiness and bringing evil consequences in its wake [...akusalaü idaü kàya-kammaü dukkhudrayaü dukkha-vipàkan'ti. op.cit.416 ]. And he concludes, this indeed is not to be done [ Evaråpaü te Ràhula kàyena kammaü sasakkaü na karaõãyam. op.cit. 415 ]. This is what is most characteristic of the three basic roots of evil, viz. greed, hatred and delusion. All action and conduct which damage both the nature of man and his well-being in life are rooted in these. Therefore it is their opposites which are constructive and conduce to peace and prosperity among men. That is what is conducive in the ultimate analysis to the emancipation of every man from the total round of ills of saüsàric existence [Alobho kusalamålaü adoso kusalamålaü amoho kusalamulaü. Idaü vuccat ' àvuso kusalamålaü....diññh 'eva dhamme dukkhassantakaro hoti. [ M.I.47 ].

Such a process of change which man himself has to initiate is looked upon in Buddhism as bhàvanà, i.e. progressive culture or development : kusalaü bhàveti = nurtures what is wholesome. A good disciple of the Buddha, i.e. an ariya-sàvaka who is endowed with saddhà is said to be on the correct track of rejecting or keeping away from what is evil and unwholesome and nurturing their opposites : akusalaü pajahati kusalam bhàveti. This gives him purity and wholesomeness of character: suddhaü attànaü pariharati [ A. IV.109]. The Samanamandika Sutta more specifically says that a bhikkhu regulates and cultures his activities through thought, word and deed : Idha Thapati bhikkhu kàya-duccaritaü pahàya kàya - sucaritaü bhàveti vacã-duccaritaü pahàya vacã-sucaritaü bhàveti mano-duccaritaü pahàya mano-sucaritaü bhàveti [ M.II. 26 ]. It is also looked upon as sikkhà, i.e. discipline or training. If one is able to well and truly understand that greed and hatred are the outcome of our misdirected responses to the stimuli we get from the world outside, then it is not that difficult to understand that salvation of man or his release from these failings of life cannot be attained through prayer or supplication, i.e. through the assistance of an external agency. It has necessarily to be a personal process of correct judgement and consequent action which means self-correction and self-development.

Now let us ask ourselves as to where or in what fields this development has to be undertaken. Seeing the postulate of the presence in man of a cosmic or divine counterpart, i.e. soul or àtman as untenable, Buddhism renders the complex process of human life, not as one existence from birth to death, with the possibility or not of its return to divinity, but as a vast and complex continuity of existence or saüsàra which means 'a continuous rolling on'. Or more precisely, samsàra implies the existence of infinite chains of existence of each and every one. See how vividly and precisely the Samyutta Nikaya presents this idea as Anamataggo ' yaü bhikkhave saüsàro pubbà koñi na pa¤¤àyati avijjà-nãvaraõànam sattànaü taõhà-saüyojanànaü sandhàvataü saüsarataü [ S.III.149,151]. This means : Infinitely long is this life processes of beings whose vision is obscured by ignorance and who are fettered with craving and are consequently rolling on, with each one gathering his or her own momentum in saüsàra. Its first beginning is hardly discernible.

Otherwise what sense do these usages in Buddhism mean : 1. dukkhà jàti punappunam [= Being born again and again is painful. ], 2. ayam antimà jàti [ = This is my last birth.], 3. anekajàti-saüsàraü [ = This saüsàra with its numerous births ], 4. khãõà jàti [ = Being born is ended.], 5. natthi ' dàni punabbhavo [ = Now there is no more being born again.} 6. nàparaü itthattàyà ' ti pajànàti [ = Knows that there is no more going to another state like this.] 7. saüsaraü hi nirayaü agacchisaü [ = In my journeying in this life process, I 've been to the suffering states of niraya.] 8. So anekavihitaü pubbenivàsaü anussarati seyyathãdaü ekaü ' pi jàtiü dve ' pi jàtiyo...[ = He recollects diverse former states of existence. ]. In a truly Buddhist theory of Pañiccasamuppàda or Causal Genesis which undeniably has its relevance to saüsàra, see the beautiful interplay of nàmaråpa on vi¤¤àõa and vi¤¤àõa on nàmaråpa: Seyyathàpi àvuso dve naëakalàpiyo a¤¤am a¤¤aü nissàya tiññheyyuü evaü eva kho àvuso nàmaråpapaccayà vi¤¤àõaü vi¤¤àõapaccayà nàmaråpaü. [ S.II.114 = Just as O monk, two bundles of reeds stand leaning on each other, dependent on each other, in same way vi¤¤àõa results from nàmaråpa and nàmaråpa results from vi¤¤àõa.].

This compete and comprehensive Buddhist thesis is enunciated with incredible clarity and lucidity in the Mahanidana Sutta of the Digha Nikaya [ D.II 63f ]. It is our considered opinion that the translation of this in the Dialogues of the Buddha [ Vol. II. 61 ] is misleadingly blurred. Therefore we attempt here a fresh translation of the relevant portion of the Pali text.

"O Ananda, thus far there is birth, decay and death, and passing away from this existence, and being born in another; thus far an appellation or reference to by name, thus far an allusion to a doer or a doing, thus far conventional reckoning of persons, thus far is the range of activity of wisdom; thus far does the rolling on of the wheel of life go for the postulation of a life like the present one. It is only so far as name and form [ nàma-råpa ] co-exists with consciousness" [ i.e.vi¤¤àõa of the Pañiccasamuppàda which implies in our opinion saüsàric consciousness or vi¤¤àõa-sota. See D.III. 105 ].

While there is this unquestionable interplay of body and mind, both towards the prolongation of a being's continuance in saüsàra [ as paccaya ]or towards its termination or [nirodha ], the Buddhists for the most part appear to be concentrating only on the mind [citta ] when they speak of bhàvanà. This perhaps has been further aided by the general use in common parlance of the word meditation [ which stands for the exercise of the mind ] as the equivalent for the Buddhist concept of bhàvanà. This, we venture to call an error of judgement. There can be no development, culture or discipline in Buddhism except in terms of both body and mind [ kàya-bhàvanà and citta-bhàvanà ], a concept which is thoroughly discussed in the Mahasaccaka Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya [ M.I. 237-251 ] by the Buddha himself.

Kàya-bhàvanà would amount to the culturing, training, or educating of the body, i.e. the sense organs of the eye, ear, etc. in terms of anicca dukkha and anatta. Thus responses to the external stimuli of the world, guided by the awareness of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and soullessness would bring about restraint of the sense organs or indriyasaüvara. This is also called indriyesu gutta-dvàratà or keeping one's sense faculties under watch and vigil. This would be a great step in the direction of kàya-bhàvanà which reduces the emotional imbalances to which our unguarded worldling can be subject, causing great stress and pain of mind. This is what is referred to as the mind being overwhelmed: cittaü pariyàdàta ñiññhati.

This being so, according to the Buddha, a wise disciple [ sutavà ariya-sàvako ] does not allow a pleasurable sensation to generate within him an intense attachment to that pleasure.[...sutavato ariyasàvakassa uppajjati sukhà vedanà. So sukhàya vedanàya phuñtho samàno no sukha-sàràgã hoti na sukha-sàràgitaü àpajjati. M.1. 239 ]. The result is the pleasurable feeling which is experienced does not overpower his mind because his body is already adequately cultured [ Tassa kho esà Aggivessana uppannàpi sukhà vedanà na cittaü pariyàdàya tiññhati bhàvitattà kàyassa. Ibid. ].Thus what is basically implied here is a regulation and control of the process of bodily reaction. Here one sees in this Buddhist explanation a physical origin and a physical cure for a possibly resultant mental stress.

On the other hand, the ability to withstand the assaults of painful mental situations would be the reward of mind culture or citta-bhàvanà. It is these two together, i.e. kàyabhàvanà and citta-bhàvanà, culture of the body and culture of the mind, which gives poise in life to the man in society. They produce a man with stability of character. For this total Buddhist goodness is the product of a process of self-culture, a culture not only of the five external sense organs, but also of the mind internally [ as the sixth.]. At the completion of this total process of culture, the disciple is said to enjoy uncontaminated inward bliss. [So iminà ariyena indriya-saüvarena samannàgato ajjhattaü abyàseka-sukhaü pañisaüvedeti. M.1. 181]. What truly would be called goodness in Buddhism would be achieved at this stage. For the real Buddhist judgement of the things of the world in terms of anicca dukkha and anatta makes of the Buddhist disciple a man of virtue. It could not be otherwise.

There is yet another process of development through which a good Buddhist disciple, monk or layman, attains the perfection of his character. It is a much larger and much more extensive and comprehensive one. It is the system of three sikkhà. As a system [ sikkhattaya ] it is more specific and its constituents [ tisso sikkhà ] imply direct involvement in the process of development [ sikkhà ]. This is the most comprehensive disciplinary machinery of Buddhism. The interesting reference in the Anguttara Nikaya to the Vajjiputtaka monk who expressed to the Buddha his inability to guard himself in terms of every rule of the Patimokkha [ A.1.230 ] tells us of the Buddha's advice to that monk to discipline himself in the alternative, in terms of the three sikkhà [Tasmàt ' iha tvaü bhikkhu tãsu sikkhàsu sikkhassu adhisãla-sikkhàya adhicitta-sikkhàya adipa¤¤à-sikhàya. Ibid.]. In this same context it is made abundantly clear that the threefold culture through sikkhà contains all the refinement and development envisaged under the regulations [ sikkhàpada ] of the Patimokkha [ Sàdhikaü idaü bhikkhave diyaóóha-sikkhàpada-sataü anvaddha-màsaü uddesaü àgacchati yattha atthakàmà kulaputtà sikkhanti. Tisso imà bhikkhave sikkhà yatth' etaü sabbaü samodhànaü gacchati. op.cit. 231 ].

These three items of sãla samàdhi pa¤¤à, let it be noted clearly at the very outset, constitute a three tiered development, one succeeding the other. They are really spiralling upward, because each succeeding one is an ascent over the former. The Buddhist texts are very definite about this. That alone, we believe, makes sense. The Anguttara Nikaya [ A.III. 15 ] says that there never is a possibility that one who does not perfect his sãla or moral rectitude would perfect his samàdhi or composure of mind. First things first. Thus without a perfection of samàdhi there would likewise be no perfection of pa¤¤à or wisdom. They imply successive stages of a spiritual ascent. To speak of a concurrent or parallel development of these would be not to know the full implications of these in Buddhism. It is no secret that concepts like bhàvanà, sãla, samàdhi and pa¤¤à are some of the most misused and misunderstood in the later history of the religion, in the hands of uninitiated and uninstructed persons [ assutavà puthujjano ]. It is considerably damaging when such persons assume the role of teachers and instructors.

We note with regret that there is considerable confusion regarding these three stages of religious culture. It is a confusion, inherited from where or when, we do not know. What is indeed amazing here is that we are in fact forewarned about this to some extent in one of the very renowned suttas of the Majjhima Nikaya, viz. the Cullavedalla [ M.I. 299-305 ]. This sutta is delivered by one of the most distinguished ladies in Buddhist history. She is none other than Theri Dhammadinna. She tells us via her admonition to her erstwhile husband Visakha that while the three sikkhà contain within them the Noble Eightfold Way, the Noble Eightfold Way does not contain the three sikkhà, the term khandha being used in the sutta for these three divisions [ Na kho àvuso Visàkha ariyena aññhaïgikena maggena tayo khandhà saïgahità. Tãhi ca kho àvuso Visàkha khandhehi ariyo aññhaïgiko maggo saügahito. op.cit. 301 ].

It is all well known that the Noble Eightfold Way as the magga begins with sammà-diññhi and ends with sammà-samàdhi. It does not contain within itself any reference to the category known as pa¤¤à. Then it is obvious that the magga as the carrier only goes up to a specific point and no more. But the way is set for further journeying, journeying on the spiritual track, with no fear of a loss of way. About the path to Nibbana and the infallible attainment of that goal, the Buddhist texts are specific and definite when they say niyato sambodhi-paràyano [ M.III.277 and S.V. 343 ] which means ' definitely ending up in enlightenment.' Therefore one has not to make a frantic search for pa¤¤à of the tisso skkhà within the magga. The Cullavedalla Sutta, sensibly studied, precludes us from doing this. So does the Mahacattarisaka Sutta [ M.III 71-78 ] which dwells on same theme. It tells us that sammà-samàdhi generates sammà-ïaõa and that sammà-ïaõa is followed by sammà-vimutti [ sammà-samàdhissa sammà-ïàõaü pahoti sammà-ïàõassa sammà-vimutti pahoti. ]. The sutta adds these two to the magga and consequently we have the disciple who is released, through ten stages, namely the arahant [ Iti kho bhikkave aññhaïga-samannàgato sekho pañipado dasaïga-samannàgato arahà hoti. op.cit.76 ].

Thus the magga within the tisso sikkhà is part within the whole. Correct vision or sammà-diñthi, on the other hand, is a prerequisite which together with sammà-saïkappa precedes and heralds the sãla category of the magga which consists of sammà-vàcà sammà-kammanto sammà-àjãvo. While correct vision or sammà-diñthi shares of the nature of wisdom [ yà ca sammà-diñthi yo ca sammà-saïkappo ime dhammà pa¤¤à-kkhandhe saïgahãtà' ti. M.I. 301 ], no sensible Buddhist, or any serious student of Buddhism, could so much surrender sanity as to identify pa¤¤à of the tisso sikkhà with sammà-diñthi of Eightfold Way. [ It makes little sense to say that pa¤¤à is a higher developed stage of sammà-diñthi. ]. Pa¤¤à here is a completely superior Buddhist wisdom, wisdom which finally liberates a saüsàric being from the àsava or defilements which bind him to the ills of life in saüsàra.. This is why final liberation in Buddhism is always referred to as àsavànaü khayà anàsavaü ceto-vimuttiü pa¤¤à-vimuttim diññh' eva dhamme sayam abhi¤¤à sacchikatvà upasampajja viharati. [ M.I. 71, 289, 367 ]. It is the liberation of the mind of àsava through wisdom or pa¤¤à. It can arise only in a samàhita citta, in the perfection of sammà-samàdhi. This again is the outcome of the grooming in sãla through sammà-vàcà sammà-kammanto and sammà-àjãvo.

One of the finest presentations of the goodness which a true Buddhist disciple is required to develop in himself is witnessed in the Anguttara Nikaya Lonaphala Vagga [ A.I. 249 ]. Here the Buddha himself is seen saying that in the case of a particular type of person, even a small misdeed done by him [ [appamattakam' pi pàpaü kammaü kataü ] would lead him to niraya or painful states of degeneration. On the other hand, yet another type of person would be able to wear out in this very life time the effects of the same type of deed without even the slightest residue [ diñthdhamma-vedaniyaü hoti nanu' pi khàyati kiü bahud'eva ]. The explanation offered for this difference in the operation the karmic law is the difference in the development of the character of the two persons concerned.

We followed this line of argument centered on goodness and greatness through the process of spiritual development of the Buddhist to show that goodness in Buddhism is a personal development and a personal achievement. This development proceeds with equal validity through both corrective processes of sãla and samàdhi in Buddhism. One should here be adequately sensitive to the reference to sãla and samàdhi as corrective processes of personal development. It is correction of oneself to be in total harmony with the world we live in, with no conflict whatsoever on account of likes or dislikes [ anurodha-virodha ]. The likes and dislikes or greed and hatred conflict of man is witnessed and reckoned with from the first beginnings of religious culture in Buddhism. At the level of sãla, the first two injunctions of the pa¤ca-sãla, i.e. pàõàtipàtà veramaõã and adinnàdànà veramaõã are indicative of this. They refer to destruction of life and dispossessing others of what rightly belongs to them. Such actions are prompted through likes and dislikes or greed and hatred, depending on the intensity of feeling at the particular time of action. Coming up to the level of samàdhi or the level of jhànas, the pre-jhànic purge of the mind which one is required to possess in the elimination of the five nãvaranas again reveals this 'likes-dislikes conflict' in the area of abhijjhà and vyàpàda. The Khaggavisana Sutta of the Sutta Nipata [Sn . v. 42 ] expresses this idea beautifully when it says : ' Completely at ease in all the four directions of the world, one runs not into conflict with another [ càtuddiso appñigho ca hoti.].

The spectacular achievement in the teaching of the Buddha is the verifiably correct identification and the diagnosis of the ills of the humans as well as the prescription by him of a way of life to them for their eradication. And placing this triumph in philosophical analysis in the context of world history, this was at least half millennium before the appearance of the major surviving religions of the world today. It is also to be remembered that according to Buddhism, this total process of salvation of mankind is personally effected by each one [ men and women themselves ], without the intermediary of an external agency who dwells outside their pale of existence. Nevertheless, the eradication of the ills of life and the consequent salvation of the humans imply a process of transcendence. This is the contrast which the Buddhists have to constantly keep in mind, the contrast between the lokiya and lokuttara or the mundane and the supramundane. This is a realistic and down to earth differentiation and requires no assistance of any profound theology. This is a fact which would be established and proved here and now, in this very life [ diññh ' eva dhamme ] as the Buddha himself demonstrated through his own life.

This places before the Buddhist two realities, the reality of life in the world and the reality of the state in which it is superseded. To the Buddhist, both these are real existing states. Hence they are truths or saccas, the first and the third of the four Noble Truths [cattài ariyasaccani ], viz. dukkha and nirodha. To the Buddhist, the life in the world is not fiction [ màyà or illusion ] as against a REALITY [ paramattha ] beyond this. It is, more or less, his inherited lot as a saüsàric being to suffer in living it, to suffer physically on account of disease, old age and death. And also suffer mentally the stresses and strains on account of self-acquired likes and dislikes of the humans as well as partialities and prejudices in which they find themselves desperately plunged in. Buddhism sensitizes man to these and in the process teach him the need to eliminate them by transcending the very process of living.

It would profit us to take note here of the fact that early Buddhism seems to uphold the wisdom of the ancient psycho-ethical concept of man in the definition : Poràõà pana bhaõanti manassa ussannatàya manussà = Ancients say the humans are called maussa on account of the elevated or lofty nature of their minds [VvA. 18 and KhA. 123 ] as against the more legendary one of presenting man as the offspring of the First Man or Manu : Manuno apaccà ' ti manussà. [ Kh A. 123 ]. Man, by this sublimity of his mind or power of reasoning [ manassa ussannatàya ] is gifted with the capacity to choose or to reject the one in preference to the other, choose what is wholesome and contributory to his well-being [ i.e. kusala ] and reject what is unwholesome or detrimental [ i.e. akusala ]. This is the normal run of religious culture in Buddhism, which insulates him against moral and spiritual disaster [ akaraõãyo màrassa akaraõãyo pàpimato. A. IV.109 ].

The Anguttara Nikaya enumerates seven factors as the bases of this culture: Ariya-sàvako akusalaü pajahati kusalaü bhàveti sàvajjaü pajahati anavajjaü bhàveti suddhaü atànaü pariharati ... etc. [ A. IV 109-111].. The Samyutta Nikaya [ S.III. 8-9 ] describes the situation very vividly and in a very convincing manner, saying that the adoption of evil ways [...akusale dhamme upasampajja viharato ], leads to misery in life [ dukkho vihàro], to anguish and tribulation [ savighàto saupàyàso sapariëàho ], and entailing painful consequences in the life beyond [ duggati pàñikankhà ]. For this reason the Buddha is present as praising the rejection of evil and the adoption of virtue: Tasmà bhagavà akusalànaü dhammànaü pahànaü vaõõeti... kusalànaü dhammànaü upasampadaü vaõõeti. S.III.8 ].

Thus correctness of choice as the basis of action turns out to be the burden of Buddhist thinking.Whether it be the oft-quoted lines sabba-pàpassa akaranaü kusalassa upasampadà [ Dhp. v. 183 ] or it be the inquiry of a Cakkavatti king on the collapse of his empire, wisely worded as Kiü bhante kusalaü kiü akusalaü kiü sàvajjaü kiü anavajjaü kiü sevitabbaü kiü na sevitabbaü kiü me kayiramànaü dãgharattaü ahitàya dukkhàya assa kim và pana me kayiramànam dãgharattaü hitàya sukhàya assà'ti. [ D.III. 61], it implies a direction of policy, a reorganization of the pattern of living, moving over from the mundane to the more sublime or transcendental. There could be no other way thinking or acting. This indeed is the only passage from saüsàra to nibbàna.

In one of the loveliest contexts in Buddhist history, the Buddha expresses these wise and kind words of counsel in the Suttanipata [ Sn.vv. 1120-23 ]. A very aged monk of Brahamanic origin who was Pingiya by name, [ said to be a hundred and twenty years in age according to the Commentary ] and had joined the Buddhist ranks late in his years, comes to the Buddha and reveals his true position both with regard to his age and decrepitude. Bemoaning the inadequacy of his spiritual attainments up to that point, he wishes to obtain from the Buddha an answer to his problem of transcending the ills of life here and now [jàti-jaràya idha vippahànaü. ]. He expresses his present plight with such vividness and with such veracity that one could hardly remain unmoved : ' My vision is not clear and my hearing is not efficient. Not comprehending your message, let not my life at death be an empty one. Do tell me Sir, how I may transcend birth and decay in this very life.' The Buddha's message to him in brief is this: ' Reject form, i.e. the physical body, if you choose to eliminate birth : Jahassu råpaü apunabbhavàya ' [ Sn. v. 1121 ].

It is followed by the request to give up taõhà or craving. The prompting for the abandonment of craving comes from the awareness and conviction which results from a closer look [pekkhamàno ] at life wherein one sees that those immersed in greed and attachment [ taõhàdhipannà ] are victims of anguish [ santàpa-jàte ] due to maladjustment on the psychical plane of existence. At the same time, a Buddhist has to become aware of the fact that the process of saüsàric existence where ills of life like decay, disease and death prevail, is perpetuated by the force of craving or taõhà. Therefore on the physical plane one must necessarily recognize the presence of physical bodily deterioration, of which Pingiya has already admitted that he is a victim, as a bye-product of taõhà [ taõhàdhipanne jarasà paretet ]. For the transcendence of ills on both these planes, the Buddha advises Pingiya to give up taõhà. Indeed that alone transcends birth : jahassu taõhaü apunabbhavàya. Towards the attainment of this goal, a great deal of self-adjustment is needed : an adjustment of values, of attitudes and a great surrender of customary ways. This is in fact what the Buddha meant when he said that his teaching as a way of life requires an up-stream movement, a movement against thecurrent: pañisotagàmiü [ See M. I. 168 Ariyapariyesana Sutta ].

Consequently in Buddhism, man's salvation depends on adjustment to the world in which he lives. He has to regulate his reactions to the stimuli of the world of senses which keep bombarding him all the time, from birth to death. 'Seeing a form with his eye or hearing a sound with his ear...' say the Buddhist texts [cakkhunà råpaü disvà ...sotena saddam sutvà... M. I.180 ], a diligent disciple grasps them not. The world which we live in is the launching pad from which the take off to the transcendental realms is effected. Or putting it differently, ' On the journey to nibbàna one does traverse the highways of society.' An intelligent analysis of the Noble Eightfold Path would convince one of the truth of this. At the core of Buddhist ethics obviously lies the correction of man's attitude to man, for his actions and reactions are primarily in relation to those around him, even inanimate things of the world having some kind of relationship to persons and vice versa.

This ethical correction of man applies to both primary evils of greed and hatred [ lobha and dosa or abhijjhà and vyàpàda ]. The threefold incorrect bodily action, the fourfold incorrect verbal action and the threefold processes of thought of the ten akusala-kamma or evil conduct also imply this concern for correct inter-personal relationships. The Ambalatthika Rahulovada Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya [ M.I. 414-420 ] discusses this at a level which reminds one of transcendental values. All the same, these considerations are not unrelated to down-to-earth realities. All evil traits verging on ill-will, i.e. vyàpàda, vihiüsà and paigha are shown to have their origin in man's maladjustment to man. Self-correction by man in this sphere safeguards for man this primary need, viz. the security of person. That is the right of every man to live. Founded on the basic awareness that one's own life is dear to everyone more than any other [ Evaü piyo puthu attà paresaü. S.I.75 ], one is called upon to respect the right of every other to safeguard his or her own life [Tasmà na hiüse paraü attakàmo. ibid. ].

The process of living also carries with it the accessories of life, viz. property. We are impressed by the Saleyyaka Sutta's reference to them with remarkable insight as vittåpakaraõa, i.e. possessions and means, or possessions as means of livelihood [ M.I.285 ff. ]. The respect for another's property or the willingness to regard it as the basis of his sustenance, prevents one who is endowed with an ethical consciousness from dispossessing another of his legitimate belongings. We should note here how the Commentary to the above referred sutta describes property with even greater insight as the source of his joy : tuññhi-jananaü parikkhàra-bhaõóaü. These two items of fundamental human rights relating to life and to property, with their universal extensiveness, form the core of Buddhist lay ethics. Speaking in terms of religious culture, they are potent enough to assail the primary roots of evil in man, viz. greed and hatred [ lobha and dosa ]. Thus they also take their place as items 1 and 2 of the Buddhist pa¤ca-sãla or layman's code of basic ethics. Suttas like the Saleyyaka and Veranjaka [ M.I. 285 ff.] show that these ethics in the breach constitute vicious behaviour or evil conduct [ visama-cariyà or adhamma-cariyà ] in society, leading to degeneracy of human life, here and hereafter.

It is this universality of pa¤ca-sãla which makes the Buddhists recommend it to all mankind, irrespective of the differences in social and political ideologies. The non-fulfilment of the ethics contained therein leads to corrosion of life in this very existence or as the Dhammapada puts it ' digs up his roots here itself ' [ idh' ev' eso lokasmim målaü khaõati attano. Dhp. v. 247 ]. The Cakkavatti king of Buddhist tradition insists on their observance when he says to all those who come under his domain that 'Life should not be destroyed [ Pàõo na hantabbo ] etc., irrespective of the political creed they uphold, whatever it be [ yathà-bhutta¤ca bhu¤jatha. D.II.173; III. 62 ]. Obviously, brand names like democracy or communism which loom large in our minds today mattered very little to the Buddhists whose total vision of human goodness overrode those petty divisions born of egoistic arrogance, both at individual and national levels. This is clearly seen in suttas like the Mahasudassana and Cakkavattisihanada which deal with the religio-political organization of the Cakkavatti king [ See D.II. l96-199 and D.III. 58-79 ]..

In Buddhism what would be called the essentially religious life, not the mere acceptance of or conversion to the faith which is referred to as pàõ'upetaü saraõaü gato [M.II 145, 213 ], begins thereafter with the taking upon oneself of the ethical injunctions of the pa¤ca-sãla in their true spirit. The Mahasakuludayi Sutta speaks of Buddhist disciples who giving up their higher life as monks return to lay life as taking upon themselves and living in accordance with the pa¤casãla. In doing so, they remain in the status of àràmika and upàsaka, by which are meant the more earnest and dedicated lay disciples [...te àràmika-bhåtà và upàsaka-bhåtà và pa¤casu sikkhàpadesu samàdàya vattanti.. [ M. 11. 5 ]. Many references in the Therigatha call upon those in lay life who wish to avert the displeasures and discomforts of life to choose to be guided by the Buddha, the dhamma and the saïgha and take upon themselves the moral precepts, i.e. saraõàgamana and sãlasamàdàna.

For peace and harmony and social well-being in the world these basic rights of life and property [ more specifically referred to today as fundamental human rights ] have to be universally respected. The disrespect for these by any single individual or any single group sets in motion a series of events. Obviously they are action taken to safeguard the first or the second or both together. Manifestations of this type of defensive action, relative to the degree of disregard for the above discussed basic human rights, can certainly appear offensive and threatening to those very rights which are being championed. This is why universally extensive honest acceptance of the pa¤casãla, or basic human rights in other words, is needed for international and inter-religious peace. Not the demand to wage holy wars in defence of fanciful action and behaviuor of sectarian groups, religious or otherwise.Thiscall for unity in the name of religion, in support of internationally undefend-able or humanistically insupportable lines of action, would [ and should ] look blatantly unacceptable in the eyes of the divine, who must necessarily be above board in his patronage of humanity.

Two millennia and a half have passed since Buddhism offered this charter to mankind for its healthy growth and progressive march, for mankind as a whole and not for its petty and militarily [ or industrially or economically ] glorious encampments as superpowers. Should man's insatiable desire for supremacy to bring mankind under the banner one single religion or one political ideology lead to an insane rape of man ? In both these areas one often sees frantic attempts at welding together of even unrelated fragments, merely for the love of an impressive array. But these attempts at unification are also seen blowing up in volcanic explosions under the slightest provocation. On the hand, should not the wisdom of man, if he is believed to have any at all, be diverted first to the establishment of a kingdom of man earth, where man is worthy to rule man, decentralised to any desirable extent, on account of his primary virtue of mutual respect.

This is what the Buddhists would offer to the world as mettà or maitrã, universal loving kindness for practice among themselves, one and all, in a universally extensive manner.

' The unity as well as the continuity of the old life produced by a handful of simple principles. A superior religion, Buddhism, in its Theravada expression of well-nigh Grecian restraint and purity, which conferred effective meaning on every department of life. Theocratic kingship clarified by the Buddhist notion of the Cakravartin, righteous and pacific monarch. A modified system of caste with social but not religious sanction. And a closed agricultural economy based on an astonishingly complex system of irrigation, of canals , enormous reservoirs and artificial water-works of every kind. Together, these axioms and their deductions led to a level of rich prosperity and to long unbroken tracts of peace, inspite of the frequent skirmishes and palace squabbles which explain the reputation of Lanka, even among the disabused Chinese travellers of the past, as the very 'land without sorrow.' [ p.25 ]

Therefore as an year draws to a close and we set our thoughts on the advent of another, let our remarks and observations on it resound and reverberate with Buddhist values which are vitally the back-bone of our people and our coutry. The world at large, with its evident sanity and inellectual honesty, does not seem to lose sight of the fact that Buddhist culture with its vastness both across time and space, over almost the whole of Asia for more than twenty-five centuries, is not only something to reckon with but is also something which should be hopefully retrieved. The contribution which Buddhism made to countries like Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq well before the advent of Christianity, as recorded by the Islamic historian Abu'l - Rayhan Muhammad al- Biruni more than a thousand years ago [ For more details see Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Vol. IV. Fasc.I. p.21ff.], and substantiated by archaelogical evidence even today, should serve as a model for the functioning of any culture, any where. That makes a live phenomenon of culture, guiding and directing our lives as humans as we live it.

Looking at the process of the passage of man through time the Buddhists make this very interesting observation which comes to us from the Samyutta Nikaya.

What this means is that our lives which we choose to call our own and the world we live in are both incessant processes which are at work We cannot call a halt to the nature or the functions of the world. In order to avoid conflict in our lives we have primarily to make the changes ourselves, and within ourselves. And this we must do, here and now, while we come to grips with life. The antithesis of a here and a hereafter [ Sinh. melova paralova ] is not truly Buddhist. My emphasis here is deliberate. But it must be remembered the denial is of the antithesis, i .e. the apparent assumption as though there were only two worlds or states to reckon with. There is absolutely no question about the idea of a life after or paralova. It is an incalculable string of lives one has to face, all linked together. What is to be emphasised is the multiplicity of such states of existence, using the plural of the word paralova. Paralova implies a whole chain in the likeness of the present one, propelled by it and cast in its mould.

That this restructuring and correcting of life must be done with urgency and maximum efficiency is hinted at in the line 'Stages of life in turn abandon us. ' To the Buddhist, if reckoning of time in this context [ accenti kàlà tarayanti rattiyo ] has any meaning or significance, it is on account of this urgency to fulfil a mission with minimum delay. Delay and neglect, according to Buddhist philosophy, or better we say according to the Buddhist way of thinking, are virtual death. We have either died almost in our cradles or are not truly born at all. If we have not learned this from the Dhammapada when it says ye pamattà yathà matà [ Dhp.v. 21 ] = ' The heedless are like unto the dead ', and have not put ourselves on the right gear so that we drive our carriage of life to maximum benefit, then we have to lament that we have heard all our sermons in vain.

Let us now focus attention on another Buddhist theme which has a relevance to the present discussion. Talking very briefly of the past, present and future, the Buddha says:

The negative of this is put even more effectively saying that the fools wither away, pining over the dead yesterdays and unborn tomorrows, withering away like the bamboo, cut down green.

These statements with regard to the validity of time reckoning have in fact, when examined more closely, a third-dimensional religio-ethical significance. They really constitute the Buddha's reply to a question as to how the forest-dwelling monks living in tranquillity fare so well, subsisting on one meal a day [ S.I.p.5 quoted above ]. The bare truth of this is that the strain of time is on account of its stored up bulk and weight. Time must be allowed and given the freedom to wear itself out. It is in the sensible severance of the linkage [ the real meaning of viveka in both Pali and Sinhala being this ] of the present with its menacing partners, the past and the future.

While advocating a very practical and sensible approach to the immediate problems of day to day life, these words also seem to lay down a policy for a more stable philosophy which would elevate the quality of life both materially as well as in terms of extra-material values. To begin with, the reality and supremacy of the present moment is here emphatically announced. This immediately ties itself with the question of urgency which we discussed earlier. Moments, fruitlessly and unproductively allowed to drift away become the property or stock-in-trade of the lamentable past. Here are recurrent inspiring refrains from the Buddhist books which stress the need for this alertness. ' Let no moment be wasted. = Khaõo ve mà upaccagà.' [ Dhp.v.315 ]. Highlighting the painful consequences of its neglect, it is said : Those who have wasted their precious moments or opportunities lament when they face the reality of their own decline. = Khaõatãtà hi socanti nirayamhi samappità. [ Ibid. ]

This should make it clear to us that when the Buddha says ' They make no lamentation over the past ' there is absolutely no attempt to smuggle in any idea of being reconciled to the lot of one's past, or using a less meaningful phrase, one's fate. There is no surrendering here to a fatalistic theory of karma, or accepting without a tear in one's eye, what one is 'destined to suffer.' An unquestionably honest attempt should be made to harness the present moment profitably in every sense, so that when it passes over to a point instant which would be reckoned as past, its results would yield both profit and pleasure. That is the Buddhist norm in terms of which action would be declared good and bad. Here, I quote to you from the Dhammapada.

With equal emphasis verse 67 of the same text supplements this idea by defining what would be termed bad action.

The wisdom of the Buddha's instruction about not lamenting over the past comes out more poignantly when we take the following into consideration. Not ignoring the oft-argued impact of society on the individual one has also to logically trace the behaviour pattern of society to the behaviour of guided or misguided individuals who constitute that society, reckoning at the same time the accelerating power of their numerical strength. Thus, through pressure or persuasion, if it were possible to get individuals to be conscientiously responsible in their behaviour, there would be little need to grieve over the past. There should be the genuine consolation that whatever lapses there are either in the life of the society or of the individual, they are unavoidable sins of omission than of commission. There would also be the genuine consolation that inspite of the accelerated speed at which the society is moving, an endeavour would be made, benefiting. from the experience already gained to avoid repeating in the present the mistakes of the past.

So, at any stage in the history of a people, if resolves and aspirations are to be made, it should be to plan and determine the activities of the present in such a way as to leave no room for regrets or remorse of the unborn tomorrow. Basic ingredients for this are correct and right action. That is why the Buddhist upholds that no correct or justifiable way of living will ever commence without correct views or judgement. Thought and action follow this. Now it should be clear why the Noble Eightfold Way, the one and the only way to release or nirodha, i.e. the Ariya aññhaïgika magga begins with sammà diñthi and leads thereafter to sammà saükappa.

In Sri Lanka where we are ranked among the developing nations of the third world, many drastic changes are necessarily taking place every day. The world is reaching a stage of consciousness when, in the interest of humans, nature and environment have to be treated with great respect, because in polluting it man is polluting himself. According to Buddhism, this is true not only physically and materially but also psychically or spiritually or by whatever other name you choose to call this less recognised area of human life. The Buddhist would look upon this as the psychical corrosion that comes through greed and hatred, the unwillingness to share, and unwillingness to tolerate. This is a serious crime against society, the crime of polluting the social environment with drastic consequences. This also causes serious imbalance in the world society and its disastrous consequences are being witnessed every day. The world can well afford to put into the pool a great deal more of love and generosity and redistribute it among those who urgently need to benefit from it.

The Sri Lankans, to whatever reforms they subscribe, reforms initiated from within or without, would do well to remember this. Old world monstrosities in the realm of thinking like affluence, power, aristocracy, leadership, supremacy and monopoly which lead to social discrimination and exploitation, internationally or within nations, have to be relent-lessly rejected before we welcome another year or the twenty-first century. For victory breeds hatred [ jayaü veraü pasavati and the vanquished lies dejected: dukkhaü seti paràjito. Dhp. v. 201]. In a truly Buddhist atmosphere one can steer clear of these. Only one should not be fooled by Utopian schemes which neither correctly analyse nor assess true human nature, its strength and its failings. For the efficacy of the remedy, i.e. contemplated reforms will seriously depend on the diagnosis of the disease and the competence of the reformists to handle it.

This is what prompted the late Dr. Raphaelo M. Salas, the U.N.Expert on Population, to declare at the University of Colombo - Special Convocation at the BMICH in August 1979 that Sri Lanka should give to the world as its message for the twenty-first century this utterance of the wise old sage of India, uttered over two thousand five hundred years ago. It reads as follows:

A. Anguttara Nikaya PTS [ Translation : Gradual Sayings PTS ]

AA. Anguttara Nikaya Commentary - Manorathapurani SHB

D. Digha Nikaya PTS [ Translation : Dialogues of the Buddha PTS ]

DA. Digha Nikaya Commentary - Sumangalavilasini SHB

Dhp. Dhammapada ed. Narada Thera

DhpA. Dhammapadatthakatha PTS

Kh. Khuddakapatha PTS

KhA. Khuddakapatha Commentary PTS

K.S. Kindred Sayings - Samyutta Nikaya Translation PTS

M. Majjhima Nikaya PTS [ Translation : Middle Length Sayings P'TS ]

MA. Majjhima Nikaya Commentary - Papancasudani SHB

Mhv. Mahavamsa PTS

PsB. Psalms of the Brethren - Theragatha Translation by Mrs. Rhys Davids PTS

PsS. Psalms of the Sisters - Therigatha Translation by Mrs. Rhys Davids PTS

Pv. Petavatthu PTS

S. Samyutta Nikaya PTS [ Translation : Kindred Sayings PTS ]

SA. Samyutta Nikaya Commentary - Saratthappakasini SHB

SHB. Simon Hewavitarana Bequest Series [ Sinhala script edition. ]

Sn. Sutta Nipata PTS

SnA. Sutta Nipata Commentary SHB

Thag. Theragatha PTS

Thig. Therigatha PTS

VvA. Vimanavatthu Commentary PTS

Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis - Eric Fromm, D.T.Zuzuki, Richard de Martino