Inspiring Humanity

Zen Buddhists refer to the constant chatter of the mind as monkey mind. The Buddha held that the human mind is filled with drunken monkeys flinging themselves from tree branches, jumping around, and chattering nonstop. He meant that our minds are in constant motion.  Typical mind chatter sounds like the following: Your mind reading off a laundry list of to-do items. Your mind listing its fears, both real and imaginary. Your mind recalling hurtful things that have happened in the past. Your mind judging the present. Your mind creating catastrophic “what-if” scenarios of the future. As a result of this monkey mind, it’s nearly impossible to slow down and enjoy the present. In addition, all that negativity affects our mood—making us unhappy, angry, restless, and anxious; it hampers our ability to concentrate; it has a negative impact on our behavior; and it interferes with our ability to have positive interactions with others. It’s also very stressful to have a barrel of monkeys s...

A student should be able to understand things and have a good memory. A brahmin once said to the Buddha. “0! Venerable Buddha, what I have learnt before, I find it difficult to remember now. What are the reasons for this? The Buddha gave five reasons for forgetfulness. Just as colour added to water makes it unclear, so desire for things muddles the mind making it difficult to remember. Just as it is impossible to see into boiling water, likewise a mind seething with resentment or anger cannot clearly see. Just as the bottom cannot be seen of a pond covered with, weeds, a sleepy, lazy mind cannot see to understand it clearly. Just like the surface of water is stirred up by the wind, a restless mind is agitated and cannot think smoothly. Just as it is impossible to see through water in the dark, nothing can be found in the memory when they are doubts about what has been learned. These states of mind are the five hindrances (panca nivarana) that obstruct the mind and prevent it from ...

The dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity has not gone very far, in my opinion, because we have not been able to set up a solid ground for such dialogue. This is a reflection of the present situation.  Buddhists believe in reincarnation, the possibility for human beings to live several lives. In Buddhist circles, we do not use the word incarnation very much: we use the word rebirth. After you die, you can be reborn and can have another life. In Christianity, your life is unique, your only chance for salvation. If you spoil it, then you will never get salvation. You have only one life. Buddhism teaches that there is non-self, anatta. Christianity clearly teaches that a Christian is a personalist. Not only are you a person, self, but God is a person, and He has a self. The Buddhist teaching of emptiness and no substance sounds like the teaching of no being. Christianity speaks of being, of existence. The teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of the philosophy of being, la ...

Everybody gets angry. Whether it’s mild irritation or flaming rage, we experience it every day and there are few of us for whom this is not, at some point, a serious problem. By “problem” I mean “soul sucking, productivity leaching, blood pressure soaring, jaw clenching, dark aftermath generating” state. This is what, in more genteel Buddhist parlance, is called an “afflictive emotion”, or in other words, a mental state that causes suffering. Eliminating suffering is the raison d’etre of Buddhism. In the Buddha’s own words: “Both formerly and now I teach only one thing: the nature of suffering and it’s ending.” And anger does cause suffering. You might at this point object that we need anger. Perhaps.  Yet most of the things we think we need anger for — fighting injustice, fleeing danger, protecting ourselves — are actually better done when not angry. When we are calm, collected and ruled by love instead of anger we are actually more insightful, more effective, more vital, and...

(1)  Meditation helps to calm the mind and get it better organised. (2)  It strengthens our will power and enables us to face all problems and hardships with confidence. (3)  It guides us think positively (4)  It improves our efficiency in work by helping us to concentrate better and by sharpening our mental faculties (5)  It frees us from worries, restlessness, fatigue, stress and blood-pressure. (6)  It increases our mental health and therefore bears a positive effect to a large extent on our physical health and thereby an awakening in all our day today activities. (7)  It helps cleanse our mind of defilements (Kilesa)     (8)  It creates in us virtuous qualities like kindness, inner peace, humbleness (as opposed to arrogance), a realistic attitude towards life and it prevents us from being influenced by such elements as passion, selfishness, hatred, jealousy, malice, taking revenge or greed. ...

In Buddhism, marriage is regarded as entirely a personal, individual concern and not as a religious duty. Marriage is a social convention, an institution created by man for the well-being and happiness of man, to differentiate human society from animal life and to maintain order and harmony in the process of procreation. Even though the Buddhist texts are silent on the subject of monogamy or polygamy, the Buddhist laity is advised to limit themselves to one wife. The Buddha did not lay rules on married life but gave necessary advice on how to live a happy married life. There are ample inferences in His sermons that it is wise and advisable to be faithful to one wife and not to be sensual and to run after other women. The Buddha realized that one of the main causes of man's downfall is his involvement with other women (Parabhava Sutta).Man must realize the difficulties, the trials and tribulations that he has to undergo just to maintain a wife and a family. These would be magnified...

As parents age, it is inevitable that their bodies will gradually weaken and deteriorate in a variety of ways, making them increasingly susceptible to physical illnesses that can affect every organ in their system. As the realisation grows that there is no escape, the aging individual must try to find some way to come to terms with the disturbing new reality. Filial piety is an important factor in caring for the aged in our traditional Asian society. As Asians it has long been the norm for us to accommodate and nurse the aged parents in our own homes as far as possible. Do children owe any legal liability to care for old and disabled parents? Unfortunately the answer is 'No'. Parents simply have to depend on the goodwill of their children. Although we are proud about our values, and cultural heritage, unfortunately the number of elderly citizens with no savings and abandoned by their families is growing in Asia. The problem for us to consider is whether our value...