Lecture on Vesak Day
by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi
United Nations, 15 May 2000.
Prologue
To begin, I would like to express my pleasure to be here today, on this auspicious
occasion of the first international recognition and celebration of Vesak at
the United Nations. Though I wear the robe of a Theravada Buddhist monk, I am
not an Asian Buddhist but a native of New York City, born and raised in Brooklyn.
I knew nothing about Buddhism during the first twenty years of my life. In my
early twenties I developed an interest in Buddhism as a meaningful alternative
to modern materialism, an interest which grew over the following years. After
finishing my graduate studies in Western philosophy, I traveled to Sri Lanka,
where I entered the Buddhist monastic order. I have lived in Sri Lanka for most
of my adult life, and thus I feel particularly happy to return to my home city
to address this august assembly.
Vesak is the day marking the birth, enlightenment, and passing away of the Buddha,
which according to traditional accounts all occurred on the full-moon day of
May. Ever since the fifth century B.C., the Buddha has been the Light of Asia,
a spiritual teacher whose teaching has shed its radiance over an area that once
extended from the Kabul Valley in the west to Japan in the east, from Sri Lanka
in the south to Siberia in the north. The Buddha's sublime personality has given
birth to a whole civilization guided by lofty ethical and humanitarian ideals,
to a vibrant spiritual tradition that has ennobled the lives of millions with
a vision of man's highest potentials. His graceful figure is the centerpiece
of magnificent achievements in all the arts -- in literature, painting, sculpture,
and architecture. His gentle, inscrutable smile has blossomed into vast libraries
of scriptures and treatises attempting to fathom his profound wisdom. Today,
as Buddhism becomes better known all over the globe, it is attracting an ever-expanding
circle of followers and has already started to make an impact on Western culture.
Hence it is most fitting that the United Nations should reserve one day each
year to pay tribute to this man of mighty intellect and boundless heart, whom
millions of people in many countries look upon as their master and guide.
The Birth of the Buddha
The first event in the life of the Buddha commemorated by Vesak is his birth.
In this part of my talk I want to consider the birth of the Buddha, not in bare
historical terms, but through the lens of Buddhist tradition -- an approach
that will reveal more clearly what this event means for Buddhists themselves.
To view the Buddha's birth through the lens of Buddhist tradition, we must first
consider the question, "What is a Buddha?" As is widely known, the
word "Buddha" is not a proper name but an honorific title meaning
"the Enlightened One" or "the Awakened One." The title is
bestowed on the Indian sage Siddhartha Gautama, who lived and taught in northeast
India in the fifth century B.C. From the historical point of view, Gautama is
the Buddha, the founder of the spiritual tradition known as Buddhism.
However, from the standpoint of classical Buddhist doctrine, the word "Buddha"
has a wider significance than the title of one historical figure. The word denotes,
not just a single religious teacher who lived in a particular epoch, but a type
of person -- an exemplar -- of which there have been many instances in the course
of cosmic time. Just as the title "American President" refers not
just to Bill Clinton, but to everyone who has ever held the office of the American
presidency, so the title "Buddha" is in a sense a "spiritual
office," applying to all who have attained the state of Buddhahood. The
Buddha Gautama, then, is simply the latest member in the spiritual lineage of
Buddhas, which stretches back into the dim recesses of the past and forward
into the distant horizons of the future.
To understand this point more clearly requires a short excursion into Buddhist
cosmology. The Buddha teaches that the universe is without any discoverable
beginning in time: there is no first point, no initial moment of creation. Through
beginningless time, world systems arise, evolve, and then disintegrate, followed
by new world systems subject to the same law of growth and decline. Each world
system consists of numerous planes of existence inhabited by sentient beings
similar in most respects to ourselves. Besides the familiar human and animal
realms, it contains heavenly planes ranged above our own, realms of celestial
bliss, and infernal planes below our own, dark realms of pain and misery. The
beings dwelling in these realms pass from life to life in an unbroken process
of rebirth called samsara, a word which means "the wandering on."
This aimless wandering from birth to birth is driven by our own ignorance and
craving, and the particular form any rebirth takes is determined by our karma,
our good and bad deeds, our volitional actions of body, speech, and thought.
An impersonal moral law governs this process, ensuring that good deeds bring
a pleasant rebirth, and bad deeds a painful one.
In all planes of existence life is impermanent, subject to aging, decay, and
death. Even life in the heavens, though long and blissful, does not last forever.
Every existence eventually comes to an end, to be followed by a rebirth elsewhere.
Therefore, when closely examined, all modes of existence within samsara reveal
themselves as flawed, stamped with the mark of imperfection. They are unable
to offer a stable, secure happiness and peace, and thus cannot deliver a final
solution to the problem of suffering.
However, beyond the conditioned spheres of rebirth, there is also a realm or
state of perfect bliss and peace, of complete spiritual freedom, a state that
can be realized right here and now even in the midst of this imperfect world.
This state is called Nirvana (in Pali, Nibbana), the "going out" of
the flames of greed, hatred, and delusion. There is also a path, a way of practice,
that leads from the suffering of samsara to the bliss of Nirvana; from the round
of ignorance, craving, and bondage, to unconditioned peace and freedom.
For long ages this path will be lost to the world, utterly unknown, and thus
the way to Nirvana will be inaccessible. From time to time, however, there arises
within the world men who, by his own unaided effort and keen intelligence, finds
the lost path to deliverance. Having found it, he follows it through and fully
comprehends the ultimate truth about the world. Then he returns to humanity
and teaches this truth to others, making known once again the path to the highest
bliss. The person who exercises this function is a Buddha.
A Buddha is thus not merely an Enlightened One, but is above all an Enlightener,
a World Teacher. His function is to rediscover, in an age of spiritual darkness,
the lost path to Nirvana, to perfect spiritual freedom, and teach this path
to the world at large. Thereby others can follow in his steps and arrive at
the same experience of emancipation that he himself achieved. A Buddha is not
unique in attaining Nirvana. All those who follow the path to its end realize
the same goal. Such people are called arahants, "worthy ones," because
they have destroyed all ignorance and craving. The unique role of a Buddha is
to rediscover the Dharma, the ultimate principle of truth, and to establish
a "dispensation" or spiritual heritage to preserve the teaching for
future generations. So long as the teaching is available, those who encounter
it and enter the path can arrive at the goal pointed to by the Buddha as the
supreme good.
To qualify as a Buddha, a World Teacher, an aspirant must prepare himself over
an inconceivably long period of time spanning countless lives. During these
past lives, the future Buddha is referred to as a bodhisattva, an aspirant to
the full enlightenment of Buddhahood. In each life the bodhisattva must train
himself, through altruistic deeds and meditative effort, to acquire the qualities
essential to a Buddha. According to the teaching of rebirth, at birth our mind
is not a blank slate but brings along all the qualities and tendencies we have
fashioned in our previous lives. Thus to become a Buddha requires the fulfillment,
to the ultimate degree, of all the moral and spiritual qualities that reach
their climax in Buddhahood. These qualities are called påramis or påramitås,
transcendent virtues or perfections. Different Buddhist traditions offer slightly
different lists of the påramis. In the Theravada tradition they are said
to be tenfold: generosity, moral conduct, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience,
truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness, and equanimity. In each existence,
life after life through countless cosmic aeons, a bodhisattva must cultivate
these sublime virtues in all their manifold aspects.
What motivates the bodhisattva to cultivate the påramis to such extraordinary
heights is the compassionate wish to bestow upon the world the teaching that
leads to the Deathless, to the perfect peace of Nirvana. This aspiration, nurtured
by boundless love and compassion for all living beings caught in the net of
suffering, is the force that sustains the bodhisattva in his many lives of striving
to perfect the påramis. And it is only when all the påramis have
reached the peak of perfection that he is qualified to attain supreme enlightenment
as a Buddha. Thus the personality of the Buddha is the culmination of the ten
qualities represented by the ten påramis. Like a well-cut gem, his personality
exhibits all excellent qualities in perfect balance. In him, these ten qualities
have reached their consummation, blended into a harmonious whole.
This explains why the birth of the future Buddha has such a profound and joyful
significance for Buddhists. The birth marks not merely the arising of a great
sage and ethical preceptor, but the arising of a future World Teacher. Thus
at Vesak we celebrate the Buddha as one who has striven through countless past
lives to perfect all the sublime virtues that will entitle him to teach the
world the path to the highest happiness and peace.
The Quest for Enlightenment
From the heights of classical Buddhology, I will now descend to the plain of
human history and briefly review the life of the Buddha up to his attainment
of enlightenment. This will allow me to give a short summary of the main points
of his teaching, emphasizing those that are especially relevant today.
At the outset I must stress that the Buddha was not born as an Enlightened One.
Though he had qualified himself for Buddhahood through his past lives, he first
had to undergo a long and painful struggle to find the truth for himself. The
future Buddha was born as Siddhartha Gautama in the small Sakyan republic close
to the Himalayan foothills, a region that at present lies in southern Nepal.
While we do not know the exact dates of his life, many scholars believe he lived
from approximately 563 to 483 B.C.; a smaller number place the dates about a
century later. Legend holds he was the son of a powerful monarch, but the Sakyan
state was actually a tribal republic, and thus his father was probably the chief
of the ruling council of elders.
As a royal youth, Prince Siddhartha was raised in luxury. At the age of sixteen
he married a beautiful princess named Yasodhara and lived a contented life in
the capital, Kapilavastu. Over time, however, the prince became increasingly
pensive. What troubled him were the great burning issues we ordinarily take
for granted, the questions concerning the purpose and meaning of our lives.
Do we live merely for the enjoyment of sense pleasures, the achievement of wealth
and status, the exercise of power? Or is there something beyond these, more
real and fulfilling? At the age of 29, stirred by deep reflection on the hard
realities of life, he decided that the quest for illumination had a higher priority
than the promise of power or the call of worldly duty. Thus, while still in
the prime of life, he cut off his hair and beard, put on the saffron robe, and
entered upon the homeless life of renunciation, seeking a way to release from
the round of repeated birth, old age, and death.
The princely ascetic first sought out the most eminent spiritual teachers of
his day. He mastered their doctrines and systems of meditation, but soon enough
realized that these teachings did not lead to the goal he was seeking. He next
adopted the path of extreme asceticism, of self-mortification, which he pursued
almost to the door of death. Just then, when his prospects looked bleak, he
thought of another path to enlightenment, one that balanced proper care of the
body with sustained contemplation and deep investigation. He would later call
this path "the middle way" because it avoids the extremes of sensual
indulgence and self-mortification.
Having regained his strength by taking nutritious food, one day he approached
a lovely spot by the bank of the Nerañjara River, near the town of Gaya.
He sat down cross-legged beneath a tree (later called the Bodhi Tree), making
a firm resolution that he would never rise up from his seat until he had won
his goal. As night descended he entered into deeper and deeper stages of meditation.
Then, the records tell us, when his mind was perfectly composed, in the first
watch of the night he recollected his past births, even during many cosmic aeons;
in the middle watch, he developed the "divine eye" by which he could
see beings passing away and taking rebirth in accordance with their karma; and
in the last watch, he penetrated the deepest truths of existence, the most basic
laws of reality. When dawn broke, the figure sitting beneath the tree was no
longer a bodhisattva, a seeker of enlightenment, but a Buddha, a Perfectly Enlightened
One, who had stripped away the subtlest veils of ignorance and attained the
Deathless in this very life. According to Buddhist tradition, this event occurred
in May of his thirty-fifth year, on the Vesak full moon. This is the second
great occasion in the Buddha's life that Vesak celebrates: his attainment of
enlightenment.
For several weeks the newly enlightened Buddha remained in the vicinity of the
Bodhi Tree contemplating from different angles the truth he had discovered.
Then, as he gazed out upon the world, his heart was moved by deep compassion
for those still mired in ignorance, and he decided to go forth and teach the
liberating Dharma. In the months ahead his following grew by leaps and bounds
as both ascetics and householders heard the new gospel and went for refuge to
the Enlightened One. Each year, even into old age, the Buddha wandered among
the villages, towns, and cities of northeast India, patiently teaching all who
would lend an ear. He established an order of monks and nuns, the Sangha, to
carry on his message. This order still remains alive today, perhaps (along with
the Jain order) the world's oldest continuous institution. He also attracted
many lay followers who became devout supporters of the Blessed One and the order.
The Buddha's Teaching: Its Aim
To ask why the Buddha's teaching spread so rapidly among all sectors of northeast
Indian society is to raise a question that is not of merely historical interest
but is also relevant to us today. For we live at a time when Buddhism is exerting
a strong appeal upon an increasing number of people, both East and West. I believe
the remarkable success of Buddhism, as well as its contemporary appeal, can
be understood principally in terms of two factors: one, the aim of the teaching;
and the other, its methodology.
As to the aim, the Buddha formulated his teaching in a way that directly addresses
the critical problem at the heart of human existence -- the problem of suffering
-- and does so without reliance upon the myths and mysteries so typical of religion.
He further promises that those who follow his teaching to its end will realize
here and now the highest happiness and peace. All other concerns apart from
this, such as theological dogmas, metaphysical subtleties, rituals and rules
of worship, the Buddha waves aside as irrelevant to the task at hand, the mind's
liberation from its bonds and fetters.
This pragmatic thrust of the Dharma is clearly illustrated by the main formula
into which the Buddha compressed his program of deliverance, namely, the Four
Noble Truths:
(1) the noble truth that life involves suffering
(2) the noble truth that suffering arises from craving
(3) the noble truth that suffering ends with the removal of craving
(4) the noble truth that there is a way to the end of suffering.
The Buddha not only makes suffering and release from suffering the focus of
his teaching, but he deals with the problem of suffering in a way that reveals
extraordinary psychological insight. He traces suffering to its roots within
our minds, first to our craving and clinging, and then a step further back to
ignorance, a primordial unawareness of the true nature of things. Since suffering
arises from our own minds, the cure must be achieved within our minds, by dispelling
our defilements and delusions with insight into reality. The beginning point
of the Buddha's teaching is the unenlightened mind, in the grip of its afflictions,
cares, and sorrows; the end point is the enlightened mind, blissful, radiant,
and free.
To bridge the gap between the beginning and end points of his teaching, the
Buddha offers a clear, precise, practicable path made up of eight factors. This
of course is the Noble Eightfold Path. The path begins with (1) right view of
the basic truths of existence, and (2) right intention to undertake the training.
It then proceeds through the three ethical factors of (3) right speech, (4)
right action, and (5) right livelihood, to the three factors pertaining to meditation
and mental development: (6) right effort, (7) right mindfulness, and (8) right
concentration. When all eight factors of the path are brought to maturity, the
disciple penetrates with insight the true nature of existence and reaps the
fruits of the path: perfect wisdom and unshakable liberation of mind.
The Methodology of the Teaching
The methodological characteristics of the Buddha's teaching follow closely from
its aim. One of its most attractive features, closely related to its psychological
orientation, is its emphasis on self-reliance. For the Buddha, the key to liberation
is mental purity and correct understanding, and thus he rejects the idea that
we can gain salvation by leaning on anyone else. The Buddha does not claim any
divine status for himself, nor does he profess to be a personal savior. He calls
himself, rather, a guide and teacher, who points out the path the disciple must
follow.
Since wisdom or insight is the chief instrument of emancipation, the Buddha
always asked his disciples to follow him on the basis of their own understanding,
not from blind obedience or unquestioning trust. He invites inquirers to investigate
his teaching, to examine it in the light of their own reason and intelligence.
The Dharma or Teaching is experiential, something to be practiced and seen,
not a verbal creed to be merely believed. As one takes up the practice of the
path, one experiences a growing sense of joy and peace, which expands and deepens
as one advances along its clearly marked steps.
What is most impressive about the original teaching is its crystal clarity.
The Dharma is open and lucid, simple but deep. It combines ethical purity with
logical rigor, lofty vision with fidelity to the facts of lived experience.
Though full penetration of the truth proceeds in stages, the teaching begins
with principles that are immediately evident as soon as we use them as guidelines
for reflection. Each step, successfully mastered, naturally leads on to deeper
levels of understanding, culminating in the realization of the supreme truth,
Nirvana.
Because the Buddha deals with the most universal of all human problems, the
problem of suffering, he made his teaching a universal message, addressed to
all human beings solely by reason of their humanity. He opened the doors of
liberation to people of all social classes in ancient Indian society, to brahmins,
princes, merchants, and farmers, even humble outcasts. As part of his universalist
project, the Buddha also threw open the doors of his teaching to women. It is
this universal dimension of the Dharma that enabled it to spread beyond the
bounds of India and make Buddhism a world religion.
Some scholars have depicted the Buddha as an otherworldly mystic totally indifferent
to the problems of mundane life. However, an unbiased reading of the early Buddhist
canon would show that this charge is untenable. The Buddha taught not only a
path of contemplation for monks and nuns, but also a code of noble ideals to
guide men and women living in the world. In fact, the Buddha's success in the
wider Indian religious scene can be partly explained by the new model he provided
for his householder disciples, the model of the man or woman of the world who
combines a busy life of family and social responsibilities with an unwavering
commitment to the values embedded in the Dharma.
The moral code the Buddha prescribed for the laity consists of the Five Precepts,
which require abstinence from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech,
and the use of intoxicating substances. The positive side of ethics is represented
by the inner qualities of heart corresponding to these rules of restraint: love
and compassion for all living beings; honesty in one's dealings with others;
faithfulness to one's marital vows; truthful speech; and sobriety of mind. Beyond
individual ethics, the Buddha laid down guidelines for parents and children,
husbands and wives, employers and workers, intended to promote a society marked
by harmony, peace, and good will at all levels. He also explained to kings their
duties towards their citizens. These discourses show the Buddha as an astute
political thinker who understood well that government and the economy can flourish
only when those in power prefer the welfare of the people to their own private
interests.
The Parinirvana and Afterwards
The third great event in the Master's life commemorated at Vesak is his parinirvana
or passing away. The story of the Buddha's last days is told in vivid and moving
detail in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta. After an active ministry of forty-five
years, at the age of eighty the Buddha realized his end was at hand. Lying on
his deathbed, he refused to appoint a personal successor, but told the monks
that after his death the Dharma itself should be their guide. To those overcome
by grief he repeated the hard truth that impermanence holds sway over all conditioned
things, including the physical body of an Enlightened One. He invited his disciples
to question him about the doctrine and the path, and urged them to strive with
diligence for the goal. Then, perfectly poised, he calmly passed away into the
"Nirvana element with no remainder of conditioned existence."
Three months after the Buddha's death, five hundred of his enlightened disciples
held a conference at Rajagaha to collect his teachings and preserve them for
posterity. This compilation of texts gave future generations a codified version
of the doctrine to rely on for guidance. During the first two centuries after
the Buddha's parinirvana, his dispensation slowly continued to spread, though
its influence remained confined largely to northeast India. Then in the third
century B.C., an event took place that transformed the fortunes of Buddhism
and set it on the road to becoming a world religion. After a bloody military
campaign that left thousands of people dead, King Asoka, the third emperor of
the Mauryan dynasty, avidly turned to Buddhism to ease his pained conscience.
He saw in the Dharma the inspiration for a social policy built on righteousness
rather than force and oppression, and he proclaimed his new policy in edicts
inscribed on rocks and pillars throughout his empire. While following Buddhism
in his private life, Asoka did not try to impose his personal faith on others
but promoted the shared Indian conception of Dharma as the law of righteousness
that brings happiness and harmony in daily life and a good rebirth after death.
Under Asoka's patronage, the monks held a council in the royal capital at which
they decided to dispatch Buddhist missions throughout the Indian subcontinent
and beyond to the outlying regions. The most fruitful of these, in terms of
later Buddhist history, was the mission to Sri Lanka, led by Asoka's own son,
the monk Mahinda, who was soon followed by Asoka's daughter, the nun Sanghamitta.
This royal pair brought to Sri Lanka the Theravada form of Buddhism, which prevails
there even to this day.
Within India itself Buddhism evolved through three major stages, which have
become its three main historical forms. The first stage saw the diffusion of
the original teaching and the splintering of the monastic order into some eighteen
schools divided on minor points of doctrine. Of these, the only school to survive
is the Theravada, which early on had sent down roots in Sri Lanka and perhaps
elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Here it could thrive in relative insulation from
the changes affecting Buddhism on the subcontinent. Today the Theravada, the
descendent of early Buddhism, prevails in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia,
and Laos.
Beginning in about the first century B.C., a new form of Buddhism gradually
emerged, which its advocates called the Mahayana, the Great Vehicle, in contrast
with the earlier schools, which they called the Hinayana or Lesser Vehicle.
The Mahayanists elaborated upon the career of the bodhisattva, now held up as
the universal Buddhist ideal, and proposed a radical interpretation of wisdom
as insight into emptiness, or shunyata, the ultimate nature of all phenomena.
The Mahayana scriptures inspired bold systems of philosophy, formulated by such
brilliant thinkers as Nagarjuna, Asanga, Vasubandhu, and Dharmakirti. For the
common devotees the Mahayana texts spoke of celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas
who could come to the aid of the faithful. In its early phase, during the first
six centuries of the Common Era, the Mahayana spread to China, and from there
to Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. In these lands Buddhism gave birth to new schools
more congenial to the Far Eastern mind than the Indian originals. The best known
of these is Zen Buddhism, now widely represented in the West.
In India, perhaps by the eighth century, Buddhism evolved into its third historical
form, called the Vajrayana, the Diamond Vehicle, based on esoteric texts called
Tantras. Vajrayana Buddhism accepted the doctrinal perspectives of the Mahayana,
but supplemented these with magic rituals, mystical symbolism, and intricate
yogic practices intended to speed up the way to enlightenment. The Vajrayana
spread from northern India to Nepal, Tibet, and other Himalayan lands, and today
dominates Tibetan Buddhism.
What is remarkable about the dissemination of Buddhism throughout its long history
is its ability to win the allegiance of entire populations solely by peaceful
means. Buddhism has always spread by precept and example, never by force. The
purpose in propagating the Dharma has not been to make converts, but to show
others the way to true happiness and peace. Whenever the peoples of any nation
or region adopted Buddhism, it became for them, far more than just a religion,
the fountainhead of a complete way of life. It has inspired great works of philosophy,
literature, painting, and sculpture comparable to those of any other culture.
It has molded social, political, and educational institutions; given guidance
to rulers and citizens; shaped the morals, customs, and etiquette that order
the lives of its followers. While the particular modalities of Buddhist civilization
differ widely, from Sri Lanka to Mongolia to Japan, they are all pervaded by
a subtle but unmistakable flavor that makes them distinctly Buddhist.
Throughout the centuries, following the disappearance of Buddhism in India,
the adherents of the different schools of Buddhism lived in nearly total isolation
from one another, hardly aware of each other's existence. Since the middle of
the twentieth century, however, Buddhists of the different traditions have begun
to interact and have learnt to recognize their common Buddhist identity. In
the West now, for the first time since the decline of Indian Buddhism, followers
of the three main Buddhist "vehicles" coexist within the same geographical
region. This close affiliation is bound to result in hybrids and perhaps in
still new styles of Buddhism distinct from all traditional forms. Buddhism in
the West is still too young to permit long-range predictions, but we can be
sure the Dharma is here to stay and will interact with Western culture, hopefully
for their mutual enrichment.
The Buddha's Message for Today
In this last part of my lecture I wish to discuss, very briefly, the relevance
of the Buddha's teachings to our own era, as we stand on the threshold of a
new century and a new millennium. What I find particularly interesting to note
is that Buddhism can provide helpful insights and practices across a wide spectrum
of disciplines -- from philosophy and psychology to medical care and ecology
-- without requiring those who use its resources to adopt Buddhism as a full-fledged
religion. Here I want to focus only on the implications of Buddhist principles
for the formation of public policy.
Despite the tremendous advances humankind has made in science and technology,
advances that have dramatically improved living conditions in so many ways,
we still find ourselves confronted with global problems that mock our most determined
attempts to solve them within established frameworks. These problems include:
explosive regional tensions of ethnic and religious character; the continuing
spread of nuclear weapons; disregard for human rights; the widening gap between
the rich and the poor; international trafficking in drugs, women, and children;
the depletion of the earth's natural resources; and the despoliation of the
environment. From a Buddhist perspective, what is most striking when we reflect
upon these problems as a whole is their essentially symptomatic character. Beneath
their outward diversity they appear to be so many manifestations of a common
root, of a deep and hidden spiritual malignancy infecting our social organism.
This common root might be briefly characterized as a stubborn insistence on
placing narrow, short-term self-interests (including the interests of the social
or ethnic groups to which we happen to belong) above the long-range good of
the broader human community. The multitude of social ills that afflict us cannot
be adequately accounted for without bringing into view the powerful human drives
that lie behind them. Too often, these drives send us in pursuit of divisive,
limited ends even when such pursuits are ultimately self-destructive.
The Buddha's teaching offers us two valuable tools to help us extricate ourselves
from this tangle. One is its hardheaded analysis of the psychological springs
of human suffering. The other is the precisely articulated path of moral and
mental training it holds out as a solution. The Buddha explains that the hidden
springs of human suffering, in both the personal and social arenas of our lives,
are three mental factors called the unwholesome roots, namely, greed, hatred,
and delusion. Traditional Buddhist teaching depicts these unwholesome roots
as the causes of personal suffering, but by taking a wider view we can see them
as equally the source of social, economic, and political suffering. Through
the prevalence of greed the world is being transformed into a global marketplace
where people are reduced to the status of consumers, even commodities, and our
planet's vital resources are being pillaged without concern for future generations.
Through the prevalence of hatred, national and ethnic differences become the
breeding ground of suspicion and enmity, exploding in violence and endless cycles
of revenge. Delusion bolsters the other two unwholesome roots with false beliefs
and political ideologies put forward to justify policies motivated by greed
and hatred.
While changes in social structures and policies are surely necessary to counteract
the many forms of violence and injustice so widespread in today's world, such
changes alone will not be enough to usher in an era of true peace and social
stability. Speaking from a Buddhist perspective, I would say that what is needed
above all else is a new mode of perception, a universal consciousness that can
enable us to regard others as not essentially different from oneself. As difficult
as it may be, we must learn to detach ourselves from the insistent voice of
self-interest and rise up to a universal perspective from which the welfare
of all appears as important as one's own good. That is, we must outgrow the
egocentric and ethnocentric attitudes to which we are presently committed, and
instead embrace a "worldcentric ethic" which gives priority to the
well-being of all.
Such a worldcentric ethic should be molded upon three guidelines, the antidotes
to the three unwholesome roots:
(1) We must overcome exploitative greed with global generosity, helpfulness,
and cooperation.
(2) We must replace hatred and revenge with a policy of kindness, tolerance,
and forgiveness.
(3) We must recognize that our world is an interdependent, interwoven whole
such that irresponsible behavior anywhere has potentially harmful repercussions
everywhere.
These guidelines, drawn from the Buddha's teaching, can constitute the nucleus
of a global ethic to which all the world's great spiritual traditions could
easily subscribe.
Underlying the specific content of a global ethic are certain attitudes of heart
that we must try to embody both in our personal lives and in social policy.
The chiefs of these are loving-kindness and compassion (maitri and karuna).
Through loving-kindness we recognize that just as we each wish to live happily
and peacefully, so all our fellow beings wish to live happily and peacefully.
Through compassion we realize that just as we are each averse to pain and suffering,
so all others are averse to pain and suffering. When we have understood this
common core of feeling that we share with everyone else, we will treat others
with the same kindness and care that we would wish them to treat us. This must
apply at a communal level as much as in our personal relations. We must learn
to see other communities as essentially similar to our own, entitled to the
same benefits as we wish for the group to which we belong.
This call for a worldcentric ethic does not spring from ethical idealism or
wishful thinking, but rests upon a solid pragmatic foundation. In the long run,
to pursue our narrow self-interest in ever widening circles is to undermine
our real long-term interest; for by adopting such an approach we contribute
to social disintegration and ecological devastation, thus sawing away the branch
on which we sit. To subordinate narrow self-interest to the common good is,
in the end, to further our own real good, which depends so much upon social
harmony, economic justice, and a sustainable environment.
The Buddha states that of all things in the world, the one with the most powerful
influence for both good and bad is the mind. Genuine peace between peoples and
nations grows out of peace and good will in the hearts of human beings. Such
peace cannot be won merely by material progress, by economic development and
technological innovation, but demands moral and mental development. It is only
by transforming ourselves that we can transform our world in the direction of
peace and amity. This means that for the human race to live together peacefully
on this shrinking planet, the inescapable challenge facing us is to understand
and master ourselves.
It is here that the Buddha's teaching becomes especially timely, even for those
not prepared to embrace the full range of Buddhist religious faith and doctrine.
In its diagnosis of the mental defilements as the underlying causes of human
suffering, the teaching shows us the hidden roots of our personal and collective
problems. By proposing a practical path of moral and mental training, the teaching
offers us an effective remedy for tackling the problems of the world in the
one place where they are directly accessible to us: in our own minds. As we
enter the new millennium, the Buddha's teaching provides us all, regardless
of our religious convictions, with the guidelines we need to make our world
a more peaceful and congenial place to live.
About the Speaker
Bhikkhu Bodhi was born in New York City in 1944. He received a B.A. in philosophy
from Brooklyn College (1966) and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Claremont Graduate
School (1972). In late 1972 he went to Sri Lanka, where he was ordained as a
Buddhist monk under the late Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayaka Thera.
Since 1984 he has been editor of the Buddhist Publication Society in Kandy,
and since 1988 its president. He is the author, translator, and editor of many
books on Theravada Buddhism. The most important of these are The Discourse on
the All-Embracing Net of Views (1978), A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma
(1993), The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (1995), and The Connected
Discourses of the Buddha (due for publication in October 2000). He is also a
member of the World Academy of Art and Science.