[ Chapter 01 ]
THE DHAMMA OF THE BLESSED ONE IS PERFECTLY
EXPOUNDED
"The Dhamma of the
Blessed One is perfectly expounded,
to be seen here and now, not a matter of time."
The first line of this chant proclaims
real faith in the Dhamma. Not believing everything without inquiring, but an
inner relationship of trust. When one is faithful to someone, then one also
trusts that person, one gives oneself into his or her hands, has a deep
connection and an inner opening. How much more is this true of the faith in the
teaching of the Buddha. Those aspects of the Dhamma which we don't understand
yet can be left in abeyance. Yet that doesn't shake our faith and trust.
If we feel that it is "perfectly expounded,"
then we are very fortunate, for we know one thing in this universe which is
perfect. There's nothing else to be found that's without blemish, nor is there
anything that is becoming perfect. If we have that trust, faithfulness and love
towards the Dhamma and believe it to be perfectly expounded, then we have found
something beyond compare. We are blessed with an inner wealth.
"To be seen here and now,"
is up to each of us. the Dhamma has been made clear by the Enlightened One who
taught it out of compassion, but we have to see it ourselves with an inner
vision.
"Here and now," needs
to be stressed, because it means not forgetting but being aware of the Dhamma in
each moment. This awareness helps us to watch our reactions before they result
in unskilful words or actions. Seeing the positive within us and cultivating it,
seeing the negative and substituting it. When we believe all our thoughts and
claim justification for them, we're not seeing the Dhamma. There are no
justifications, there are only arising phenomena which cease again.
"Not a matter of time,"
means that we are not dependent upon a Buddha being alive in order to practice
the Dhamma; though this is a wide-spread belief, it is quite possible to
practice now. Some people think there has to be a perfect situation or a perfect
teacher or perfect meditation. None of that is true. Mental and physical
phenomena (//dhammas//) are constantly coming and going, changing without pause.
When we hang onto them and consider them ours, then we will believe any story
our mind will tell us, without discrimination. We consist of body, feelings,
perceptions, mental formations and consciousness, which we grip tightly and
believe them to be "me" and "mine." We need to take a step
back and be a neutral observer of the whole process.
"Inviting one to come and see, leading
inwards." The understanding of the Dhamma leads us into our inner
depth. We are not invited to come and see a meditation hall or a Buddha statue,
a dagoba or a shrine. We are invited to come and see the phenomena (//dhammas//)
arising within us. The defilements as well as the purifications are to be found
inside one's own heart and mind.
Our minds are very busy, always
remembering, planning, hoping or judging. This body could also be very busy
picking up little stones and throwing them into the water all day long. But we
would consider that a foolish expenditure of energy, and we direct the body
towards something useful. We need to do the same with the mind. Instead of
thinking about this and that, allowing the defilements to arise, we could also
direct the mind towards something beneficial such as investigating our likes and
dislikes, our desires and rejections, our ideas and views.
When the mind inquires, it doesn't get
involved in its own creations. It can't do both at the same time. As it becomes
more and more observant, it remains objective for longer periods of time. That's
why the Buddha taught that mindfulness is the one way for the purification of
beings. The clear and lucid observation of all arising phenomena eventually
shows that there are only phenomena manifesting as mind and body, which are
constantly expanding and contracting in the same way as the universe does.
Unless we become very diligent observers, we will not see that aspect of mind
and body and will not know the Dhamma "here and now," even though we
have been "invited to come and see."
"To be known by the wise, each for themselves."
No one can know the Dhamma for another. We can chant, read, discuss and listen,
but unless we watch all that arises, we will not know the Dhamma by ourselves.
There's only one place where Dhamma can be known, in one's own heart and mind.
It has to be a personal experience which comes about through constant
observation of oneself. Meditation helps. Unless one inquires into one's own
reactions and knows why one wants one thing and rejects another, one hasn't seen
Dhamma. Then the mind will also get a clear perception of impermanence (//anicca//)
because our desires and dislikes are constantly changing. We'll see that the
mind which is thinking and the body which is breathing are both painful (//dukkha//).
When the mind doesn't operate with an
uplifted, transcending awareness, it creates suffering (//dukkha//). Only a
measureless, illumined mind is free from that. The body certainly produces //dukkha//
in many ways through its inability to remain steady. Seeing this clearly will
give us a strong determination to know Dhamma by ourselves.
Wisdom arises within and comes from an
understood experience. Neither knowledge nor listening can bring it about.
Wisdom also means maturity, which has nothing to do with age. Sometimes ageing
may help, but it doesn't always do that either. Wisdom is an inner knowing which
creates self-confidence. We need not look for somebody else's confirmation and
good-will, we know with certainty.
When we chant anything at all, it is
vital that we know the meaning of the words and inquire whether they have any
connection to ourselves.
Pamadamulako lobho,
lobho vivadamulako, dasabyakarako lobho, lobho paramhi petiko, tam lobham
parijanantam vande'ham vitalobhakam
Greed's the root of negligence,
greed's the root of strife, Greed enslavement brings about, and in the future
ghostly birth; That One who's known greed to the end, I honour Him who's free of
greed.
Vihannamulako doso, doso
virupakarako. vinasakarako doso, doso paramhi nerayo, tam dosam parijanantam
vande'ham vitadosakam
Hate's the root of turbulence, of
ugliness the cause, Hate causes much destruction and in the future hellish
birth; That One who's known hate to the end, I honour Him who's free of hate.
Sabbaghamulako moho, moho
sabbitikarako, sabbandhakarako moho, moho paramhi svadiko tam moham parijanantam
vande'ham vitamohakam
Delusion's root of every ill,
delusion's a troublemaker, All blinding from delusion comes and in the future
birth as beast; That One who's known delusion's end, I honour Him,
delusion-free.
The Buddha said:
"Though a thousand
speeches are made of meaningless lines, better the single meaningful line by
hearing which one is at peace." -- Dhp. 100 (Trans. by Ven. Khantipalo)
If we can practice one line of Dhamma,
it's so much more valuable than knowing the whole chanting book by heart.
The arising and ceasing phenomena,
which are our teachers, never take a rest. Dhamma is being taught to us
constantly. All our waking moments are Dhamma teachers, if we make them so. The
Dhamma is the truth expounded by the Enlightened One, which is the law of nature
surrounding us and imbedded within us.
Once the Buddha said: "Ananda, it
is owing to my being a good friend to them that living beings subject to birth
are freed from birth." (S. III, 18, XLV, 2).
Everyone needs a good friend, who has
enough selflessness, not only to be helpful, but also to point out when one is
slipping. Treading the Dhamma path is like walking a tightrope. It leads along
one straight line and every time one slips, one hurts. If we have a painful
feeling inside, we're no longer on the tightrope of the Dhamma. Our good friend
(//kalyana mitta//) might say to us then: "You stepped too far to the
right, or to the left, (whatever the case may be). You weren't careful, that's
why you fell into depression and pain. I'll point out to you when you're
slipping next time." We can only accept this from someone whom we trust and
have confidence in.
One can be fooled by a person's
beautiful words or splendid appearance. The character of a person is shown not
only in words, but in the small day-to-day activities. One of the very important
guidelines to a person's character is how they react when things go wrong. It's
easy to be loving, helpful and friendly when everything goes well, but when
difficulties arise our endurance and patience are being tested as well as our
equanimity and determination. The less ego-consciousness one has, the easier one
can handle all situations.
At first, when one starts to walk on
the tightrope of the Dhamma path, it may feel uncomfortable. One isn't used to
balancing oneself, but rather to swaying all over the place, going in all
directions, wherever it's most comfortable. One may feel restricted and coerced,
not being allowed to live according to one's natural instincts. Yet in order to
walk on a tightrope, one has to restrict oneself in many ways with mindfulness.
These restrictions may at first feel irksome, like fetters or bonds, later they
turn out to be the liberating factors.
To have this perfect jewel of the
Dhamma in our hearts, we need to be awake and aware. Then we can prove by our
own watchfulness that "the Dhamma of the Blessed One is perfectly
expounded." There is no worldly jewel that can match the value of the
Dhamma. Each one of us can become the owner of this priceless gem. We can call
ourselves most fortunate to have such an opportunity. When we wake up in the
morning, let that be our first thought: "What good fortune it is for me to
practice the Dhamma."
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DharmaNet Edition 1994
This electronic edition is offered for
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Transcribed for DharmaNet by Maureen Riordan
Sincere thanks Dr.
Binh Anson for offering us this electronic book. (Thich Nguyen Tang,
12/07/00)
Computer layout: Thieu Manh
Update : 01-01-2002
