Tomorrow, and I'm afraid at least a few days if not longer, before you read this, it's All Fools Day; then a month later, the General Election; and about halfway between, Songkrahn, the Thai and Burmese New Year, better known as the Water Festival. None of these, of course, are Buddhist occasions, but like much else in life that isn't specifically Buddhist they still happen, we live through them, we might or might not participate in them and we'll probably survive them. And since they happen anyway, it seems to me we could try to use them and learn from them.
Take the second event first. Whatever the point of reference used to determine and count the revolutions of the earth around the sun and whatever the religious or cultural tradition involved, New Year is nearly always perceived as marking the death of what is past and over with a new beginning. At such times we are conscious of the passing of time and the opportunity that in fact is always with us, to try again. During the Thai and Burmese New Year it is traditional to attend the wat or temple and ceremonially bathe an image of the Buddha, then the monks, followed by one's parents and elders and then not quite so ceremonially, practically anyone who comes within range of one's bucket and dipper. The Buddha has said that to be able to respect that and those worthy of respect is a great blessing and in these Buddhist cultures there is a deeply ingrained tradition of respect that we see expressed on occasions like Songkrahn. No real Buddhist event is complete without the presence of the three factors of Giving, Virtue and Cultivation and on Songkrahn Day this year the practice of Giving will take the form of an Almsgiving to the Sangha which will be partly in aid of the very necessary repairs and resurfacing of our carpark. One of the advantages of having established a place like this is that it makes it possible for those who would ordain to do so without having to travel halfway round the world and struggle to embrace a new language and culture as well. Even so it's still relatively rare that anyone presents themselves here wishing to go forth into the homeless life but on Songkrahn Day one young man will ordain as a samanera, a novice monk. You are invited to witness this simple ceremony and wish him well. If you aren't able to be here you might be lucky and catch it when it goes out on TV, or better if you are able to be here and have been nursing a secret ambition to be a TV star you might be part of the action and later get to see yourself on the small screen after all. Central Television will be with us filming these special and unusual events for a programme about what happens in the countryside. I will have to dash off afterwards with them to Springhill Open Prison for a few shots there in the Buddha Grove. This looks set to be a full and exciting day and an excellent opportunity to let the people of this country know a bit more about Buddhism and the Buddhist culture of South-East Asia.
Now, back to All Fools Day. We all know this as a day when you try to have a bit of fun at other's expense - and at the expense of truth. Mostly it's what everyone thinks of as harmless fun but it's worth noting that it's just from such little acorns that vast oaks of delusion grow and grow. So be careful. And then of course it's not always such harmless fun anyway. Practical jokes are often quite vicious and can be the product of a rather nasty area of one's character. It's amazing the almost endless varieties of Greed, Hatred and Delusion that you find in yourself when you really get stuck into the practice of Buddhism. Things you thought were all right or necessary or natural or somehow justifiable, once seen under the spotlight of Buddhist practice are never the same again. Look carefully and you will see that that little practical joke on All Fools morning is an unambiguous untruth aimed at making someone look silly and that's nearly always unkind and hurtful. It's said that the person genuinely bent on Enlightenment cannot compromise on truth, even for fun.
Once, the Buddha called on his young son, Rahula, the first samanera, and stopped to give him some advice. Picking up the almost empty water dipper that Rahula had used to wash his feet, the Buddha commented that there was as little value in one unashamed to tell a deliberate lie as there was water in that dipper. Then throwing the water away he went on to say that just like that, one unashamed to lie had thrown away his vocation. Then turning the dipper upside down he said that someone unashamed to lie had overturned his vocation. Then turning the dipper upright and exposing its emptiness, the Buddha pointed to the vacancy in the vocation of one unashamed to tell a deliberate lie. And finally he advised Rahula to train himself never to tell a deliberate lie, not even in jest!
Now returning to those three events, I suspect that for the majority of my readers it'll be the third, the General Election, that's likely to be the least popular. Many of you Westerners have come to Buddhism deeply disillusioned with your traditional institutions, religious and secular, and you're likely to think most politicians to be at best inept and at worst corrupt. Well, I don't think politics, ultimately, can provide the solutions we need either, but I do recognise that every community whether family, monastic, national or international needs to organise itself properly and even when we do try and opt out we're still affected by the decisions of the majority. I am also mindful of what Edmund Burke said, "All that is needed for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." And you should remember that the Buddha himself was not above advising rulers how they might govern justly and wisely. Perhaps you could make this election business a useful exercise in the discussion and application of Buddhist principles. For a start, there's attachment to views and habits and prejudice to be overcome. Never mind about how you and your parents and their parents and Great Aunt Agatha have always voted. What do you think now about the way things are and what needs to be done and above all, what is right? Then when those candidates anxious to please appear on your doorstep let them know that there are still people of substance and principle at large and question them about their principles. And in such debates keep referring back in your mind to what the Buddha taught - to things like morality, harmlessness, generosity and kindness. This is how to bring the Dhamma into your daily life and make it live for you. This is similar to more advice the Buddha gave Rahula on that same occasion mentioned earlier. He said to him then that whatever he did he must consider before, during and afterwards whether what he was doing or saying was likely to bring harm to himself or others or both or not. If it was likely to be harmful then he must stop, otherwise he could continue. This the Buddha said is how to purify your actions. And it's an example of bringing the Dhamma into your immediate, active, daily life. If you can do this, whatever you decide to do on Polling day, your decision will be well considered and well founded. And by then too I suspect your awareness of the Buddha's First Noble Truth, that all conditioned things - political parties included - are Unsatisfactory and bound up with Suffering will have been considerably reinforced.
At the beginning of March we had an especially active Sunday here when a crowd gathered to busy themselves under Francis' expert guidance with the planting of hundreds of admittedly fairly junior trees and bushes. Already the entrance is looking better and when they're eventually established and growing up the effect should be quite impressive. It was a great pleasure to see so many here working so well together and I'm very grateful to everyone who contributed - ANUMODANA!
The arrival of these new, succulent plants and our wish to see them mature has driven us at last to take action against the rabbits and muntjac deer that over the past couple of years have done so much damage to our lovely garden. This wat has therefore been enmeshed with chicken wire and declared a rabbit-free zone, apart from William of course, my big silver chinchilla.
On the following Saturday it was the turn of another ANGULIMALA Workshop, one of the quarterly meetings held for Buddhist prison chaplains. This one was very well attended and after the morning meditation we were treated to an interesting, very informative and very amusing talk on Prison Security by William Bloxidge, an officer at HMP Springhill. I have decided that these workshops should contain three key topics: one should be to do with the prison system so that our members can get to know it and understand it better; another should be the 'Report-In' when ideas and problems can be shared; and lastly, but by no means least, there should be something on the Dhamma and the presentation of Buddhism in the gaols. I did manage to tape most of Will Bloxidge's talk and I hope soon there will be an edited transcript available. For the next workshop on June 7th I have arranged for Andy Mann, a Buddhist who works in Broadmoor, to talk to us about Broadmoor, the most well-known of the Special Hospitals, and what it means to be a Buddhist in Broadmoor. Incidentally, I think we will keep to the format of the recent workshop with the talk by the guest speaker in the morning immediately following on after meditation. Broadmoor incidentally boasts one of the most spectacular of the Buddha Groves. I'm sorry, the picture of it on the cover hardly does it justice but it's the best I could do.
To finish up here's a little story of Ajahn Chah.
Invited by the King on some important occasion or other to eat
at the palace, Ajahn Chah who always ate from his almsbowl, entered
bowl in hand. Seeing this a smart city monk looked him up and
down and asked him if he wasn't ashamed with that bowl before
the King. To which Luangpor Chah retorted by asking whether he,
the smart monk, wasn't ashamed before the Buddha without one!
Take care, enjoy the Spring and stay happy!
P.S. Please don't forget to come and help with
erecting the Airshelter and other preparations on Saturday, the
12th from 1 pm - Thanks.