Good Question and Good Answer

7. Wisdom and Compassion

QUESTION: I often hear Buddhists talk about wisdom and compassion. What do these two terms mean?

ANSWER: Some religions believe that compassion or love (the two are very similar) is the most important spiritual quality but they fail to develop any wisdom. The result is that you end up being a good-hearted fool, a very kind person but with little or no understanding. Other systems of thought, like science, believe that wisdom can best be developed when all emotions, including compassion, are kept out of the way. The outcome of this is that science has tended to become preoccupied with results and has forgot-ten that science is to serve man not to control and dominate him. How, otherwise could scientists have lent their skills to develop the nuclear bomb, germ warfare, and the like.

Religion has always seen reason and wisdom as the enemy of emotions like love and faith. Science has always seen emotions like love and faith as being enemies of reason and objectivity. And of course, as science progresses, religion declines. Buddhism, on the other hand, teaches that to be a truly balanced and complete individual, you must develop both wisdom and compassion. And because it is not dog-matic but based on experience, Buddhism has nothing to fear from science.

QUESTION: So what, according to Buddhism, is wisdom?

ANSWER: The highest wisdom is seeing that in reality all phenomena are incomplete, impermanent, and not self. This understanding is totally freeing and leads to the great secu-rity and happiness which is called Nirvana. However, the Buddha doesn’t speak too much about this level of wisdom. It is not wisdom if we simply believe what we are told. True wisdom is to directly see and understand for ourselves. At this level then, wisdom is to keep an open mind rather than being closed-minded, listening to other points of view rather than being bigoted; to carefully examine facts that contra-dict our beliefs, rather than burying our heads in the sand; to be objective rather than prejudiced and partisan; to take time about forming our opinions and beliefs rather than just accepting the first or most emotional thing that is offered to us; and to always be ready to change our beliefs when facts that contradict them are presented to us. A person who does this is certainly wise and is certain to eventually arrive at true understanding. The path of just believing what you are told is easy. The Buddhist path requires courage, patience, flexibility and intelligence.

QUESTION: I think few people could do this. So what is the point of Buddhism if only a few can practice it? ANSWER: It is true that not everyone is ready for Buddhism yet. But to say that therefore we should teach a religion that is false but easily understandable just so that everyone can practice it is ridiculous. Buddhism aims at the truth and if not everyone has the capacity to understand it yet, they per-haps will be ready for it in their next life. However, there are many who, with just the right words or encouragement, are able to increase their understanding. And it is for this reason that Buddhists gently and quietly strive to share the insights of Buddhism with others. The Buddha taught us out of com-passion and we teach others out of compassion.

QUESTION: So we arrive at compassion. What,

according to Buddhism, is compassion?

ANSWER: Just as wisdom covers the intellectual or com-prehending side of our nature, compassion covers the emo-tional or feeling side of our nature. Like wisdom, compassion is a uniquely human quality. Compassion is made up of two words, ‘co’ meaning together and ‘passion’ meaning a strong feeling. And this is what compassion is. When we see some-one in distress and we feel their pain as if it were our own, and strive to eliminate or lessen their pain, then this is com-passion. So all the best in human beings, all the Buddha-like qualities like sharing, readiness to give comfort, sympathy, concern and caring — all are manifestations of compassion.

You will notice also that in the compassionate person, care and love towards others has its origins in care and love for oneself. We can really understand others when we really understand ourselves. We will know what’s best for others when we know what’s best for ourselves. We can feel for others when we feel for ourselves. So in Buddhism, one’s own spiritual develop-ment blossoms quite naturally into concern for the welfare of others. The Buddha’s life illustrates this very well. He spent six years struggling for his own welfare, after which, he was able to be of benefit to the whole of mankind.

QUESTION: So you are saying that we are best able to help others after we have helped ourselves.

Isn’t that a bit selfish?

ANSWER: We usually see altruism, concern for others before oneself, as being the opposite of selfishness, concern for oneself before others. Buddhism does not see it as either one or the other but rather as a blending of the two. Genuine self-concern will gradually mature into concern for others as one sees that others are really the same as oneself. This is genuine compassion and it is the most beautiful jewel in the crown of the Buddha’s teaching.

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8. Vegetarianism

QUESTION: Buddhists should be vegetarians,

shouldn’t they?

ANSWER: Not necessarily. The Buddha was not a vegetarian. He did not teach his disciples to be vegetarians and even today, there are many good Buddhists who are not vegetarians.

QUESTION: But if you eat meat you are indirectly responsible for the death of a creature.

Isn’t that breaking the first precept?

ANSWER: It is true that when you eat meat, you are indi-rectly and partially responsible for killing a creature but the same is true when you eat vegetables. The farmer has to spray his crop with insecticides and poisons so that the vegetables arrive on your dinner plates without holes in them. And once again, animals have been killed to provide the leather for your belt or handbag, oil for the soap you use and a thousand other products as well. It is impossible to live without, in some way, being indirectly responsible for the death of some other beings, and this is just another example of the First Noble Truth, ordinary existence is suffering and unsatisfac-tory. When you take the First Precept, you try to avoid being directly responsible for killing beings.

QUESTION: Mahayana Buddhists don’t eat meat.

ANSWER: That is not correct. Mahayana Buddhism in China laid great stress on being vegetarian but both the monks and laymen/laywomen of the Mahayana tradition in Japan and Tibet usually eat meat.

QUESTION: But I still think that a Buddhist should be

vegetarian.

ANSWER: If there was a person who was a very strict veg-etarian but who was selfish, dishonest and mean, and another person who was not a vegetarian but who was thoughtful to others, honest, generous and kind, which of these two would be the better Buddhist?

QUESTION: The person who was honest and kind.

ANSWER: Why?

QUESTION: Because such a person obviously has a good heart.

ANSWER: Exactly. One who eats meat can have a pure heart just as one who does not eat meat can have an impure heart.

In the Buddha’s teachings, the important thing is the quality of your heart, not the contents of your diet. Many Buddhists take great care never to eat meat but they are not concerned about being selfish, dishonest, cruel or jealous. They change their diet which is easy to do, while neglecting to change their hearts which is a difficult thing to do. So whether you are a vegetarian or not, remember that the purification of the mind is the most important thing in Buddhism.

9. Good Luck and Fate

QUESTION: What did the Buddha teach about magic and fortune telling?

ANSWER: The Buddha considered such practices as for-tune telling, wearing magic charms for protection, fixing lucky sites for building, prophesizing and fixing lucky days to be useless superstitions and he expressly forbids his disciples to practice such things. He calls all these things ‘low arts.’ “Whereas some religious men, while living of food provided by the faithful make their living by such low arts, such wrong means of livelihood as palmistry, divining by signs, interpreting dreams… bringing good or bad luck… invoking the goodness of luck… picking the lucky site for a building, the monk Gotama refrains from such low arts, such wrong means of livelihood.”

D.I, 9–12

QUESTION: Then why do people sometimes practice such things and believe in them?

ANSWER: Because of greed, fear and ignorance. As soon as people understand the Buddha’s teachings, they realize that a pure heart can protect them much better than bits of paper, bits of metal and a few chanted words and they no longer rely on such things. In the teachings of the Buddha, it is honesty, kindness, understanding, patience, forgiveness, generosity, loyalty and other good qualities that truly protect you and give you true prosperity.

QUESTION: But some lucky charms do work, don’t they?

ANSWER: I know a person who makes a living selling lucky charms. He claims that his charms can give good luck, prosperity and he guarantees that you will be able to pick three numbers. But if what he says is true then why isn’t he himself a multi-millionaire? If his lucky charms really work, then why doesn’t he win the lottery week after week? The only luck he has is that there are people silly enough to buy his magic charms.

QUESTION: Then is there such a thing as luck?

ANSWER: The dictionary defines luck as ‘believing that whatever happens, either good or bad, to a person in the course of events is due to chance, fate or fortune.’ The Buddha denied this belief completely. Everything that hap-pens has a specific cause or causes and there must be some relationships between the cause and the effect. Becoming sick, for example, has specific causes. One must come into contact with germs and one’s body must be weak enough for the germs to establish themselves. There is a definite relation-ship between the cause (germs and a weakened body) and the effect (sickness) because we know that germs attack the organisms and give rise to sickness. But no relationship can be found wearing a piece of paper with words written on it and being rich or passing examinations. Buddhism teaches that whatever happens does so because of a cause or causes and not due to luck, chance or fate. People who are interested in luck are always trying to get something — usually more money and wealth. The Buddha teaches us that it is far more important to develop our hearts and minds. He says:

Being deeply learned and skilled. Being well-trained and using well-spoken words; this is the best good luck. To support mother and father, to cherish wife and child and to have a simple livelihood; this is the best good luck. Being generous, just, helping one’s relatives and being blameless in one’s actions; this is the best good luck. To refrain from evil and from strong drink, and to be always steadfast in virtue; this is the best good luck. Reverence, humility, contentment, gratitude and hearing the good Dhamma; this is the best good luck.

Sn. 261–265 58

10. Becoming a Buddhist

QUESTION: What you said so far is very interesting to me. How do I become a Buddhist?

ANSWER: Once there was a man called Upali. He was the follower of another religion and he went to the Buddha in order to argue with him and try to convert him. But after talking to the Buddha, he was so impressed that he decided to become a follower of the Buddha. But the Buddha said: “Make a proper investigation first. Proper investigation is good for a well-known person like yourself.”

“Now I am even more pleased and satisfied when the Lord says to me: ‘Make a proper investigation first.’ For if members of another religion had secured me as a disciple they would have paraded a banner all around the town saying: ‘Upali has joined our religion.’ But the Lord says to me: ‘Make a proper investigation first. Proper investigation is good for a well known person like yourself.”

MII 379 In Buddhism, understanding is the most important thing and understanding takes time. So do not impulsively rush into Buddhism. Take your time, ask questions, consider carefully, and then make your decision. The Buddha was not interested in having large numbers of disciples. He was concerned that people should follow his teachings as a result of a careful investigation and consideration of facts.

QUESTION: If I have done this and I find the Buddha’s teaching acceptable, what would I do then if I wanted to become a Buddhist?

ANSWER: It would be best to join a good temple or Buddhist group, support them, be supported by them and continue to learn more about the Buddha’s teachings. Then, when you are ready, you would formally become a Buddhist by taking the Three Refuges.

QUESTION: What are the Three Refuges?

ANSWER: A refuge is a place where people go when they are distressed or when they need safety and security. There are many types of refuge. When people are unhappy, they take refuge with their friends, when they are worried and frightened, they might take refuge in false hopes and beliefs.

As they approach death, they might take refuge in the belief in an eternal heaven. But, as the Buddha says, none of these are true refuges because they do not give comfort and secu- rity based on reality.

Truly these are not safe refuges, not the refuge supreme. Not the refuge whereby one is freed from all sorrow But to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha and to see with real understanding the Four Noble Truths, Suffering, the cause of suffering, the transcending of suffering and the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to the transcending of suffering, This indeed is a safe refuge, it is the refuge supreme. It is the refuge whereby one is freed from all suffering.

Dp. 189–192 Taking Refuge in the Buddha is a confident acceptance of the fact that one can become fully enlightened and perfected just as the Buddha was. Taking Refuge in the Dhamma means understanding the Four Noble Truths and basing one’s life on the Noble Eightfold Path. Taking Refuge in the Sangha means looking for support, inspiration and guidance from all who walk the Noble Eightfold Path. Doing this one becomes a Buddhist and thus takes the first step on the path towards

Nirvana.

QUESTION: What changes have taken place in your life since you first took the three refuges?

ANSWER: Like countless millions of others over the last 2,500 years, I have found that the Buddha’s teachings have made sense out of a difficult world, they have given meaning to what was a meaningless life, they have given me a humane and compassionate ethics with which to lead my life and they have shown me how I can attain a state of purity and perfec-tion in the next life. A poet in ancient India once wrote of the

Buddha:

To go to him for refuge, to sing his praise, to do him honor and to abide in his Dhamma is to act with understanding.

I agree with these words completely.

QUESTION: I have a friend who is always trying to con- vert me to his religion. I am not really inter-ested in his religion and I have told him so but he won’t leave me alone. What can I do?

ANSWER: The first thing you must understand is that this person is not really your friend. A true friend accepts you as you are and respects your wishes. I suspect that this person is merely pretending to be your friend so he can convert you. When people try to impose their will on you they are cer-tainly not friends.

QUESTION: But he says he wants to share his religion

with me.

ANSWER: Sharing your religion with others is a good thing.

But I suggest that your friend doesn’t know the difference between sharing and imposing. If I have an apple, I offer you half and you accept my offer, then I have shared with you. But if you say to me “Thank you, but I have already eaten” and I keep insisting that you take half the apple until you finally give in to my pressure, this can hardly be called sharing. People like your ‘friend’ try to disguise their bad behavior by calling it ‘sharing’, ‘love’ or ‘generosity’ but by what- ever name they call it, their behavior is still just rude, bad manners and selfish.

QUESTION: So how can I stop him?

ANSWER: It is simple. Firstly, be clear in your mind what you want. Secondly, clearly and briefly tell him so. Thirdly, when he asks you questions like “What is your belief on this matter” or “Why don’t you wish to come to the meeting with me”, clearly, politely and persistently repeat your first statement. “Thank you for the invitation but I would rather not come”. “Why not?” “That is really my business. I would rather not come.” “But there will be many interesting people there.” “I am sure there will be but I would rather not come.” “I am inviting you because I care about you.” “I am glad you care about me but I would rather not come.” If you clearly, patiently and persistently repeat yourself and refuse to allow him to get you involved in a discussion he will eventually give up. It is a shame that you have to do this, but it is very important for people to learn that they cannot impose their beliefs or wishes upon others.

QUESTION: Should Buddhists try to share the Dhamma with others?

ANSWER: Yes, they should. And I think most Buddhists understand the difference between sharing and imposing. If people ask you about Buddhism, tell them. You can even tell them about the Buddha’s teachings without their asking. But if, by either their words or their actions, they let you know that they are not interested, accept that and respect their wishes. It is also important to remember that you let people know about the Dhamma far more effectively through your actions than through preaching to them. Show people the Dhamma by always being considerate, kind, tolerant, upright and honest.

Let the Dhamma shine forth through your speech and actions.

If each of us, you and I, know the Dhamma thoroughly, prac-tice it fully and share it generously with others, we can be of great benefit to ourselves and others also.

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