Buddhist Ethisc

 The world has never experienced such phenomenal material progress as it is realising in this age.However,despite this wonderful progress,it is most unfortunate that mankind tends to neglect its spiritual well being.

Mankind appears to have been blinded by material achievements thinking that materialism is the end- all of everything.mankind has forgotten that materialism alone does not provide the true happiness or spiritual well-being sought after by mankind.

Men must seek true happiness and spiritual well-being through their respective religions as an additional adjunct to materialism. Spiritual solace and material is must go hand and hand to provide true happiness for all.

Moral degradation exists everywhere. with increased efficiency of modern mass communication. We have become much more aware of man”s inhumanity to man on ascale unheard of  hitherto.individual tend to forget or completely ignore their obligation and duties to the society in which they live.

Business organization in their ruthless mad scramble for profits and material gain are pursuing their efforts without any sense of human decency. They have forgotten that there is such a thing as human dignity.

In the light of such a catastrophic situation. Many people concerned with the upholding of human dignity and ethical practices, are tempted to throw up their hands in sheer despir of ever finding a solution to curb man”s inordinate greed and to steer him along the path of human decency coupled with spiritual solace.

Man has conquered space.man is even trying to elevate himself to a super being but man has not been capable of conducting himself as a decent human being with spiritual love and compassion for others.

This sad state of affairs prevails today because man has chosen to take the wrong path in developing  modern civilization.man has deified materialism in the mistaken belief that materialism alone can bring happiness.that is a fallacy.

Man has gone wrong  because he has willfully chosen to ignore the invaluable advice given by our spiritual leaders over the centuries.whilst it is admitted that science can produce quick results and a measure of material gain, the resultant benefits from such material gain are illusory and short-lived.

As against such illusory and short-lived gains,the benefits that we derive by fllowing the noble teachings of our noble religious leaders are those of real lasting happiness  and not illusory.

Material gain without spiritual solace does not provide true and lasting happiness.spiritual backing is absolutely necessary for man”s spiritual upliftment,leading to tranquility of mind and everlasting happiness.

If we study world  history conceening man”s behaviour in the past. We will readily agree that modern man”s moral conduct is no better than that of his ancestors although we tend to glorify our civilization.

Some modern thinkers are of the opinion that evil is a natural part of man”s make-up and trying to make him good and pure is simply an impractical and futile task. They point to the terrifying evil actions of murder,violence, rape, pillage, carried out by all types of people.

They argue that inspite of efforts to cilivize man.we have continued to witness the horrors of persecution in almost every country.sometimes we wonder how the small element of goodness has prevailed for so long in the face of so much evil.

While some thinkers are giving up hope of ever improving the human race.Religious people have a completely different point of view. They talk about kings like Charlemagne. Asoka , and Akbar whose deep understanding of religion has helped them to do so much good for mankind.

Buddhism accepts that there is evil in man. But it teaches that this evil can be eradicated by understanding and determination.Bceause people, especially government leaders and education sts,fail to understand the true nature of life,they do not attempt to teach their young the right values.in this century, education is based on the Darawinian concept of the survival of the fittest and of couse this philosophy tends to lead the young to be suspicious, greedy, aggressive and self-seeking.

In a lovely book Island by Aldous Huxley we are shown that there is an alternative to the present education syatem where we are shown that survival is not guaranteed by selfishness but by sharing and giving.

Our modern education system which aims at material progress is responsible for the turning of the youngto be aggressive and self-seeking .what we urgently need today is a code of ethics and morility which will guide people not to blindly seek  material progress alone but to look for spiritual enlightenment, not just for self aggrandizement but for the common weal.

Buddhism teaches man to live in peace and harmony.The Buddha exhorted his followers not to take his teachings on blind faith but to accept them only after close investigation and enquiry as to whether the teachings are really acceptable according to one”s  own intelligence and experience.

Even though the Buddha wanted hie followers to absorb the Dhamma, he did not want them to accept it without clarity of mind and complete understanding.

          

 The Buddha wanted all human being to lead ideal lives – to be kind,compassionate and considerate to one another and to exercise patience,tolerance and understanding in all activities and relationships.

The Buddha, with His supreme wisdom, realized that there were weaknesses and pit-falls in human society. He introduced the Buddha Dhamma in order to enlighten, emancipate and reform mankind to lead a meaningful life. His teachings were clear and comprehensive- they covered the existence of a human being, from birth to the grave.

Those who were unable to comprehend His teachings or were not prepared to accept His Teachings. would rate His Teachings as too idealistic and incapable of achievement. Despite such assertions, His teachings, if reduced to the simplest of terms, could be contained in just a few word:’Do good, SHUN EVIL AND PURIFY THE MIND”.

These Words were true during the Buddha”s times. These Words are just as true and applicable for the present and future. If everyone does what is good for oneself and for othersas well and completely shuns evil, that would affect others as well as oneself and the world would definitely be a better place to live in.

Buddhist Teachings are designed to enable men and women to achieve fulfilment and satisfaction in this life through their own sustained efforts and to encourage them to create a social order conducive to the benefit and welfare of mankind.

It develops unselfish moral codes, generosity, concern and a spirit of real discipline for the good and well-being of relations, friends and acquaint-ances.

Human life is a great,precious thing. Therefore the Buddha constantly teaches the dhamma called “five Dullabo”that is, “five Rarities” or “Rare things” among which the attainment of human life is a rare and precious thing.

Rare is the brith of a human being So a thinking person should understand and use his or her life that is worthy of the present life. Wise use of life must be made everyday, befitting a human being.

This fact is basically important because life must be guided the true and noble teaching called “Dhamma”. A person without Dhamma culture, living a life of negligence, living in ignorance of Dhamma, cannot be termed “a human being”in the best sense of the word.

He only wastes his precious time and glorious life Hence sale U Ponnya,   the old poet of king Min don, in his “hibbit Jataka” warns:-

                  In these noble days teachers are not lacking to give guidance of noble conduct of life, leading to nibbãnic peace, at every available opportunity. Today the Buddha’s Noble Teaching shines like the sun in midday sky and the way to the Deathlessness can be obtained in many contexts of instruction. Yet if one dislikes and negates the Dhamma by following the path of evil, one becomes the greatest fool on earth, the weakest and the most useless. Moreover,such a heedless person. Will fall into the four woeful states, sinking deeper and deeper in the ocean of samsãra,  the rounds of existence. Hence many human beings lower their human status by following the way of foolishness.Be careful.”

  

 In order to avoid the lower states of life and other samsaris sufferings, everyone should perform good deed to promote one’s welfare and other’s too in the present life while the sãsana shines brightly.

            

Human life must be used for the maintenance of peace, harmony and moral progress. in this noble way both welfare of the present life as well as the next one can be attained by having good lives in samsãra till finally Nibbãna, the superme and purest reality, is achieved. Anyhow one must follow, in this present life, a way of moral and insightful life.Morality is ethics and it is one’s live. so we should keep it . as it is one’s own live.

           May the teaching of the Buddha spread all over the world.

                                                                                   ဓမၼစမ္းေရ ေသာက္သံုးနိဳင္ပါေစ။။