Journal
of the
American
Buddhist Congress
Autumn, 2003
Scientific
and Spiritual Insights on the Essence of the Buddha's Teaching
Deepak Chopra
The
American Buddhist Congress Bodhi Award Presented to Deepak Chopra
Rev. Henry Shinn
From
the Executive President
Rev. Henry Shinn
From
the Editor
David N. Tool, Ph.D.
Toward
a Buddhist Liturgy in English: A Simple Wedding Ceremony
Liturgy Committee
Karma,
the Real You
Glenn Hughes
The
Three Poisons
Glenn Hughes
Report on the WFB School of Buddhism Founded by Ven Dr.
Havanpola Ratanasara
David N. Tool. Ph.D.
Crisis for Buddhism in Sri Lanka: The Need for
Dhammachariyas
Dhammachariya Committee
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Scientific
and Spiritual Insights on the Essence of the Buddha's Teachings
Gautama Buddha, 563
BC – 483 BC
Depak
Chopra
_________________________________________________________________________________________
These principles of The Buddha’s teachings may vary from strict scholastic interpretations. They are meant to address solutions to everyday challenges and, at the same time, be consistent with the understanding of spirituality in a contemporary framework. An attempt has also been made to find the universality in these teachings and how they complement the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the teachings of Vedanta and also Judaism.
The
Four Noble Truths
1. There is suffering.
2. The origins, the root cause, the nature and arising of suffering can be identified.
3. There is a way out of suffering.
4. The path to enlightenment (marga – from suffering to peace, joy and freedom) is the Eight-Fold Path.
The
Origins of Suffering (Dukkha)
Suffering arising out of pain.
Suffering arising out of pleasure.
Suffering arising out of impermanence.
Suffering arising from the Five Aggregates that constitute the constricted ‘I.’
The
Five Aggregates that Constitute the Constricted ‘I’
1. Form: the localization of Being.
2. Feeling: the localization of sensation.
3. Conception: this is ‘me’ or ‘mine’.
4. Disposition: conditioning to seek happiness through a series of behaviors that propagate ignorance.
5. Consciousness: of separate Self.
The
Five Aggregates
1. Form: this includes the body and physical objects. By practicing mindfulness there is insight and recognition of impermanence and the non-self nature of form (rupa).
2. Feelings (vedna): feelings are formations, impermanent and without substance. They come and go, they are not exclusively me or mine.
3. Perceptions (samjna): perceptions arise, stay for a period and then cease to be. They are transient and impermanent. All perceptions are projections.
Aggregate of perceptions include:
Noticing
Naming
Conceptualizing
Perceiver
Perceived
4. Mental Formations: arise, subside, are impermanent and the result of seeds in ‘store-consciousness’ (bijas).
5. The ground of all our mental formations – collective and individual.
There
are two categories of ‘store-consciousness’:
1. Seeds of anger, delusion and fear.
2. Seeds of
compassion, understanding and love.
Water the appropriate seeds in yourself and others.
The
Three Dharma Seals
1. The relative is impermanent.
2. The separate Self does not exist.
3. Nirvana is the ultimate reality.
The
Three Dharma Seals are inter-related:
Impermanence is from the point of view of
time.
Non-self is from the point of view of space.
Nirvana is from beyond space and time.
Impermanence: the existence of any single thing is only possible because of the existence of everything else.
From the point of view of time, impermanence is a transient pattern in the behavior of the Universe – an abstract field of pure potentiality.
From the point of view of space, non-self is the universe localized.
The
Eight-Fold Path
1. Right view Right perspective
2. Right thinking Spontaneous right thinking: Icha Shakti
3. Right speech Spontaneous right speech: Saraswati; para; pashyanti; madhyama; vaikhri
4. Right action Spontaneous right action: Kriya Shakti
5. Right livelihood Dharma
6. Right effort One-pointed intention
7. Right mindfulness Witnessing
8. Right concentration Attention
Right
View (Perspective)
1. All perspective as misleading.
2. Seeds in ‘store consciousness’ lead to thoughts, speech, action and behavior.
3. Mindfulness (witnessing) allows us to be aware of seeds in ‘store consciousness’ and put attention on wholesome seeds instead of unwholesome seeds.
4. All points of view are wrong.
5. Right view is absence of all views.
6. Right view allows ‘seeing’ instead of perception.
Right
Speech
1. Speak the truth.
2. Don’t speak with a forked tongue (saying one thing to one person and something else to another).
3. Don’t speak cruelly – do not shout, slander, curse, encourage suffering or hatred.
4. Don’t exaggerate or embellish.
5. Create happiness and bliss in the listener.
6. Listen deeply; deep listening is the
foundation of right speech. If we cannot listen mindfully, we cannot
practice right speech.
The Lotus Sutra states: “Look and listen with the eyes and ears of compassion”.
Right
Action
Reverence for life in all actions – do not
cause suffering.
Generosity and loving-kindness in all actions.
Mindful eating, drinking and consuming.
Helping others.
Right
Livelihood
Earning your living through nurturing the
Eco-system – the web of life.
Wrong livelihood:
Earning your living from harming the Eco-system.
Manufacturing weapons.
Depriving others in any way or causing them suffering.
Destroying the environment.
Exploiting nature or other people.
Producing toxins.
Right
Effort (Diligence)
Continuous practice.
Persistence in practice.
Attention to practice.
Mindfulness
“When we have a toothache, we know that not
having a toothache is happiness. But later, when we don’t have a
toothache, we don’t treasure our non-toothache. Practicing mindfulness,
we can treasure our happiness and make it last longer.” Thich Nhat Hanh
“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked” Kahil Gibran
Mindful walking
Mindful breathing
Mindful sitting
Mindful eating (tasting and smelling)
Mindful looking
Mindful listening
Mindfulness of feelings and thoughts
The
Seven Miracles of Mindfulness
Mindfulness (smriti) – remembering to come back to the present
moment
First Miracle: to be fully present on the moment.
Second Miracle: to make the other, the object of awareness (flower, beloved, sky, etc.) also fully present in the moment.
Third Miracle: nourish the object of your attention with full awareness.
Fourth Miracle: the desire to relieve suffering.
Fifth Miracle (vipassana): to look deeply into the nature of the Self and others.
Sixth Miracle: understanding and insight.
Seventh Miracle: transformation.
Right
Concentration, Right Attention
Two kinds of concentration or attention:
1. Active Attention - have your attention on what is and see its fullness in every moment, even as the moment changes.
Whatever comes, comes. We just dwell in the present moment with all our Being. When the object of our attention has passed, our mind remains clear like a calm lake.
2. Selective Attention – on a particular object to the exclusion of everything else.
Right attention reveals the impermanent, non-self and
inter-being nature of the phenomenal world. Earth, water, air, fire,
space, time, nothingness and perceptions inter-are. Nothing can be, by
itself alone.
Concentration Practices:
1. Concentration on impermanence – every time you look at your beloved or an object, see him/her/it as impermanent and do your best to make him/her/it happy.
2. Concentration
on non-self – touch the nature of inner being in everything you contact.
For example, a table is a forest, iron ore, earth, rain, sunshine, the void
of space, the dust of stars, a carpenter, the trials and tribulations, the
life and loves, hopes and dreams of the carpenter and all his/her relationships.
In other words, a table is the whole universe.
Right Concentration leads to appreciation of two truths – relative truth and absolute truth.
Relative Truth: a flower is a flower and I am a person.
Absolute Truth: a flower is the universe and I am the absolute Being.
The
Eight Limbs of Raja Yoga
Standard
Interpretation My Interpretation
1. Yama Shakti Rules of social conduct Spontaneous right action (Kriya)
a. Ahimsa Nonviolence Peace
b. Satya Truthfulness Love/truth
c. Brahmachary Celibacy Mastery of the creative energy of the universe
d. Asteya Non-stealing Absence of grasping and clinging
e. Anabhinivesha Non-clinging Absence of aversion
2. Niyama Rules of personal behavior Qualities of the evolutionary personality
a. Santosha Contentment Absence of addiction to power sensation and security
b. Shaucha Purity State of awareness that does not allow emotional or physical toxicity
c. Svadhyaya Self-study Self-referral. Who am I? What do I want? What is my purpose?
d. Tapas Discipline Transformation
e. Ishvara pranidhana Religion Surrender to the wisdom of uncertainty
3. Asana Physical postures Mind body integration
4. Pranayama Breath control Neurorespiratory integration
5. Pratyahara Control of the senses Directing the senses inward to awaken the tanmatras (subtle senses)
6. Dharana Mind control Mastery of attention and intention
7. Dhyana Meditation Meditation
8. Samadhi Absorption Settled in pure awareness – the Gap
Buddhist,
Judaic and Vedic Cognition - Some parallels
Realm
of reality
Universal Domain – Pure Potentiality
Dharmakaya Ein Sof Brahman/Theosphere
Causal Body – realm of archetypes, angels, higher beings
Sambhogakaya Atzilut Ananda Maya Kosha Atman/Theosphere
Subtle Body – realm of intellect, seeds of personal identity
Sambhogakaya Beriya Gyan Maya Kosha Noosphere
Subtle Body – realm of emotions
Sambhogakaya Yetzira Mano Maya Kosha Noosphere
Physical Domain – realm of time, space and causality
Nirmanakaya Assiya Anna Maya Kosha Biosphere
Nirvana
Nirvana: freedom that arises from dwelling in the ground of Being. It is therefore, freedom from fear, delusion, separation and freedom into love, understanding, and compassion.
A wave on the ocean has a beginning and an end. It is a pattern of behavior of the water. The water is the ground of Being of the wave. Similarly, the individual is the pattern of behavior of the ground of Being. The individual’s pattern arises and subsides, the ground of Being remains.
The wave does not have to attain wateriness, it is water. Similarly, the individual doesn’t have to attain the Nirvana of Being, it dwells in Nirvana or Being.
Inter-dependent
Co-arising
Cause and effect co-arise – everything is a
result of multiple cause and effect conditions. The whole universe
conspires to create every effect.
Everything that is of the nature to arise, is of the nature to cease.
Inter-dependent co-arising, inter-Being, inter-penetration and impermanence are the same phenomenon.
They are transient patterns in the behavior of a field of pure potentiality that displays acausal non-local quantum mechanical interrelatedness. When we experience our inter-beingness, we spontaneously feel compassion and practice loving kindness.
Acknowledgment:
My first exposure to the vocabulary of inter-beingness was through the writings of Thich Nhat Hahn to whom I remain enormously grateful.
Deepak Chopra
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DEEPAK
CHOPRA, M.D. Director of Educational Programs, CEO and Founder
Acknowledged as one of the world's greatest leaders in the field of mind body medicine, Deepak Chopra, M.D. continues to transform our understanding of the meaning of health. Through his creation of The Chopra Center for Well Being in California in 1995, Chopra established a formal vehicle for the expansion of his healing approach using the integration of the best of western medicine with natural healing traditions. Dr. Chopra serves as the Director of Education at The Chopra Center, which offers training programs in mind body medicine (Journey into Healing). The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has granted continuing medical education credits for this program, which satisfies requirements for the American Medical Association Physician Recognition Award. Through his partnership with David Simon, M.D. and numerous health care professionals in both conventional and complementary healing arts, Chopra's work is changing the way the world-views physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social wellness.
What prompted Deepak Chopra to expand his view of conventional medicine to embrace complementary treatments from around the world?. He began to envision a medical system based upon the premise that health is a lively state of balance and integration of body, mind and spirit. He is widely credited with melding modern theories of quantum physics with the timeless wisdom of ancient cultures. In 1992, he served on the National Institutes of Health Ad Hoc Panel on Alternative Medicine.
Through The Chopra Center, Dr. Chopra is revolutionizing common wisdom about the crucial connection between body, mind, spirit, and healing. His mission of "bridging the technological miracles of the west with the wisdom of the east" remains his thrust as he and his colleagues conduct public seminars and workshops and provide training for health care professionals around the world. Dr. Chopra is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists.
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American Buddhist Congress Bodhi Award presented to Dr. Deepak Chopra
on April 28, 2003, Civic Arts Plaza, Thousand Oaks, California.
In honoring Dr. Chopra, ABC
Executive President Rev. Henry Shinn offered the following remarks:
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In Buddhism we learn that the essence of the Eightfold Path and the Six Paramitas is the practice of loving kindness and compassion. An individual who tries to follow such a Path is called a Buddhist, a person in search of enlightenment. Twenty-five hundred years ago, Prince Siddhartha Gautama sat beneath the Bodhi tree and became enlightened; he became a Buddha. Through his enlightenment he transcended suffering and was no longer subject to karma. If you are searching for enlightenment, and practicing loving kindness and compassion, then you too can be called a Buddhist, even if you are a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, or a practitioner of any of the world's great religions.
In 1987, the American Buddhist Congress was founded. Our goals and objectives are to encourage cooperation, appreciation, and understanding among the various Buddhist traditions; to address cultural, social and religious issues; and to cooperate with other religions and religious organizations in the promotion of peace, harmony and more kindness and compassion in America.
In order to assist the Congress in reaching its objectives, it was decided that whenever appropriate, we would select an individual to be recognized and honored for his or her exceptional, distinctive and effective contributions to the encouragement of enlightenment and the advancement of wisdom in America; an individual who exemplifies Buddhist ideals and who is dedicated to helping others follow the path of loving kindness and compassion leading to spiritual enlightenment. In 1999, the American Buddhist Congress presented it's first such award to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Today, Dr. Deepak Chopra is considered one of the world's great spiritual leaders. While he may not call himself a Buddhist, through his many books, personal appearances and activities, he reflects the basic Buddhist principals of loving kindness and compassion. We know, as does he, that to make this a better world, we must make a better society. In his book, "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success," Dr. Chopra defines success in life as "the continued expansion of happiness and the progressive realization of worthy goals." To help us do that, he teaches us - and I quote: "that there are saints living among us. When we meet them, we are reminded, not just of the presence of pure divinity right here on earth, but also of our own potential, and of the responsibility we have to try to live up to it, for our own sakes and for the very future of this planet."
Dr. Chopra, you have quoted the Buddha, who said about life, "This is a precious moment, but it is transient. It is a little parenthesis in eternity. If we share with caring, lightheartedness, and love, we will create abundance and joy for each other. And then this moment will have been worthwhile." That is what we are here to do tonight. Dr. Chopra, it is in this recognition and appreciation of your many outstanding contributions in the promotion of spiritual enlightenment, not only in the United States, but throughout the world, for your interpreting and exemplifying the characteristics of compassion, equanimity and loving kindness so central to Buddhist teachings, and for your efforts in leading us all toward the path of spiritual enlightenment, that we now present you with the American Buddhist Congress Bodhi Award.
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From the Executive President
Rev. Henry Shinn
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Like many other individuals and organizations, the American Buddhist Congress (ABC) seems always to be in transition and being forced to accommodate the new realities in our personal, corporate, and public lives. But it is in just such times as these that we are grateful for the path that the Buddha has shown us. Now, as ever, in these continuing times of local, national, and world confusion and uncertainty, we need the reassurance, the sure knowledge of the Eightfold path as a guide for our lives.
We would like to enlist the support of more dedicated, enthusiastic seekers for truth to join with us in the ABC to help promote the development of Buddhist values of loving-kindness, equanimity and ahimsa (doing no harm) in America and throughout the world. The world looks to America for leadership in many spheres of life. The values we embrace here are often copied especially by the youth of other countries who view anything American as “modern,” “scientific,” a pattern for success.
The world is very complex and the issues facing all of us are dire and greatly in need of people of compassion, understanding, intelligence and to work together for mutual understanding, mutual support and mutual encouragement.
There is much hate, suspicion and jealousy, caused in part by much arrogance, callousness, insensitivity, and greed. We need more understanding, more patience, more ability to empathize with those of differing opinions, more simple kindness and love to overcome these negatives and to work for world harmony.
We of the ABC call on all who share our concerns to join with us to help spread the Buddhist ideals throughout our land and make these the ideals that the youth of other countries in the world choose to follow as modern, effective, scientific, and as a pattern for true success.
Within the ABC we are seeking to strengthen our number of dedicated, talented, devoted individuals willing to help us forward our noble effort. Please join us by contacting us at BuddhistCongress@aol.com and finding a role for yourself in this great effort.
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From the Editor
David N. Tool Ph. D.
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Some time has passed since the last edition of the Journal was published. This is partially due to my now residing in Beijing China, having left Los Angeles, in September of 2001. Fearing that I could not perform the duties of editor from this location, I gave up the duties of editor at that time. But in this rapidly changing age where the computer becomes more ubiquitous and makes communication so much easier, we now have gained the excellent services of Mr. Marc Don Vito of Entrance Graphics who serves as our webmaster; thus we have decided to issue the Journal on our website instead of in paper form, and under these circumstances, I have resumed duties as the editor. We of the ABC greatly appreciate Mr. Don Vito’s expertise, enthusiasm, carefulness, and dedication.
The ABC continues to strive to develop Buddhism in a form more accessible to the average American. Chanting in Pali and other languages is beautiful and mysterious but is beyond the understanding or the interest of many serious American Buddhists. Thus we continue to encourage the development of liturgies, which will be useful in the religious lives of Americans and have included a simple sample of a wedding ceremony. We would appreciate your comments and your recommendations. If you care to send your own suggestions for chants and ceremonies to me at dtool42@yahoo.com, I will be happy to pass them on to the liturgy committee and to others who contact us asking for such materials.
Dhammachariya training and their status and “employment” continue to be a great concern to the Dhammachariya committee which strives to encourage their training and active involvement in the life of the temples and their members. We again make an appeal for advice from you based on Dahmmachariya training programs at your own temples and are particularly interested in the functions they serve in your communities.
We also encourage you to send in your comments and advice about the Journal and on any other appropriate topic. We will be happy to post on our website appropriate announcements of upcoming events of general interest to our readers.
We earnestly encourage all Buddhists to be active in voicing their concerns and exercising their democratic rights in expressing those concerns relative to public interest and foreign policy issues, in any other forum or area where the voice of compassionate, selfless Buddhism could help bring about greater understanding and facilitate an atmosphere of trust, where problems on all levels could be better resolved.
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Karma, The Real You
By Glenn Hughes
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Karma is one of Buddhism’s most misunderstood concepts and truths. First off, karma is neither good nor bad; it is not the just result of action, and it isn’t one’s fate. Such misconceptions are obstacles in understanding the Buddha’s teaching concerning the continuing of the individual creation process through volition, intent and action.
Science’s law of cause and effect is a close parallel to the Buddhist “law” of karma, but it isn’t exactly the same. The biblical “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” isn’t it either, although its in the same ballpark. Perhaps the closest is Webster’ definition: “the sum and the consequences of a person’s actions during the successive phases of his existence, regarded as determining his destiny.”
In order to fully understand karma it is necessary to first understand Buddhism’s response to the age old question, “Who am I.” Five khandas or aggregates constitute a “human” or a “being,” according to the teaching. The first one is our body or form, with its four elements of solidity, fluidity, heat and motion, including sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, etc.). The second is our sensations or feelings about things. The third - our perceptions, and the fourth - our mental formations or the mulling over in our mind, the choosing and intent of the action we take. The fifth is our consciousness, our awareness.
These five “parts” of a being are constantly changing; none are permanent. Compare a current photo of yourself with your baby picture and you easily see how your body has changed. Your feelings and perceptions have changed, too, just as has your choices and the resulting actions. These ever-changing aggregates cause one’s self to evolve. Actually, there is no permanent “self,” only this unbroken, chain of aggregates, this evolutionary continuity of existence.
When the body “dies,” it is the first aggregate of organic matter that is dead. The other four cannot experience death, because they are not material. They are the unseen and intangible essences, sometimes called energy or spirit. Some religions might refer to them as the soul, but in Buddhism the idea of a permanent, unchanging soul or spirit, is rejected.
What causes us to change? It is our volition, intention and action. Just as the seed we plant and nourish grows into its intended and resulting flower or fruit, so we grow into the result of the seeds “inside” us that receive our nourishment. We have many kinds of both positive and negative seeds in our “store consciousness.” Some are inherited from our ancestors. Choosing which seeds to nourish creates who we are to become. Because we control our decisions and actions, we also determine our destiny. By deciding what we do we are deciding who we are to be.
This process of choosing and doing is called karma. Karma is not something that someone has, because there is no someone. According to Buddhist teachings, what is mistaken for a “someone” is this ever-changing process. In short, karma is who and what each of us is. It is the answer to the question, “Who am I?” - “I am karma.”
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The Three Poisons
By Glenn Hughes
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The cause of human suffering, as explained in Buddhist terms, is greed, anger and ignorance. These negative traits and fundamental evils are called the Three Poisons, because they are dangerous toxins in our lives. Not only are they the source of our unquenchable thirst for possessions, and the root cause of all of our harmful illusions, but they are painful pollutants, which bring sickness, both physical and mental.
Greed’s companions are desire and lust, and these passions and attachments cause us to want to “get hold of” things, and to have more and more of them. Anger’s friends are hatred, animosity and aversion, which cause us to reject what displeases us or infringes upon our ego. Ignorance, which is ”not knowing,” especially not knowing our true nature, paves the way for delusion or in our believing something that is false.
These poisons fill our lives with suffering, unhappiness and unsatisfactoriness. They cause us to make unskillful decisions, which affect our future. They cause us to have self-serving and dishonest intentions, which in turn cause us to act unethically and immorally. They are the roots of not only our own pain and misery, but those of our loved ones’ and of society’s. Fortunately, there is a way to eradicate this trio of contaminants. The practice of loving kindness and compassion is the medicine and enlightenment is the antidote.
Many of us are apt to be dominated by one of the poisons. Even when one dominates the other two are always lying dormant, like dry seeds that can sprout whenever nourished. If one is dominated by anger, one tends to be depressed or obsessed over political views, real or imagined enemies, or any of life’s negative realities.
If the dominating poison is greed, then it can be manifested by stinginess, lack of compassion, hoarding or self-indulgence. One tends to be attached to material things, thinking that more is better and that getting things will bring happiness.
When we are ignorant, we are not realizing our potential for true happiness, which is our true nature, our Buddha nature. Ignorance causes insecurity and a feeling of weakness, powerlessness and apathy.
Buddhist teachings tell us that because of our connectedness, these personal poisons are reflected in our society. Greed, for example, is reflected in the destruction of the environment. Such reflections, however, are impermanent, changeable and transitory. They can be transformed for good. Anger, for instance, can cause us to rally against intolerance, injustice and immorality.
If we are aware of the Three Poisons, their causes and their cures, we can bring about a wonderful metamorphosis. Through the practice of loving kindness and compassion, these bitter poisons can be changed into sweet nectars, from which will evolve true happiness, replacing the fakes and counterfeits we have become used to. When we realize our interdependence, our connectedness and oneness, we rid ourselves of the poisons that keep making us sick. Let us echo what the wise Buddhist monk said when visiting Dodger Stadium and ordered his first hot dog: “Make me one with everything.”
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Glenn Hughes (Anagarika Vimalakirti) is a Dharma Teacher, ordained by the 71st Patriarch, the Most Venerable Jiekwang Pomyun, whose Theravada and Mahayana lineages include the Honored Maha-Kasyapa, 1st Patriarch, the Honored Ananda, 2nd Patriarch, and the Most Venerable Bodhidharma from West India, who first brought the Dharma to East China and initiated Zen Buddhism.
Rev. Glenn, as he is called by his students, studied Buddhism at the College of Buddhist Studies under the late Venerable Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara, and with venerable masters in Buddhist institutions in the United States, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Korea and Taiwan. Currently he is the Co-President of American Buddhist Congress, and founder of the World Institute for Social Enlightenment (WISE, Inc.).
A world traveler and authority in international relations focusing on Asian cultures, he has taught practical and basic Buddha Dharma for the past decade in the United States, and has taught both American and Korean youth in Los Angeles, Bengali villagers in Bangladesh, and Chinese youth in Taiwan. His column on Buddhist concepts and Dharma appears frequently in the Thousand Oaks Star, a daily newspaper in Southern California.
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A Simple Wedding Ceremony
The Liturgy Committee
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(We use the abbreviation for “Reverend” in this liturgy, but it could be either a monk, dhammachariya or other person legally sanctioned to perform official wedding ceremonies. If this is to be simply a religious ceremony when the actual legal “marriage” has already been performed, the officiating person could be virtually anyone of the couples choosing. We also use the terms “bride” and “groom” only as a matter of convenience, because this suggested ceremony is envisioned for any two people regardless of gender who wish to publicly declare their union. The Liturgy Committee.)
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MINISTER: Family members and friends, on behalf of ___ and ___, I welcome you. ___ and ___ have invited us to share in the celebration of their marriage and to be a part of their wedding ceremony. We have come to recognize a bond that already exists. There are many varieties of love and this marriage is one of those expressions.
___ and ___, because we live in a world of both joy and fear, we search for meaning and strength in the seeming disorder of things. We discover the truest guideline to this quest of ours, when we realize love in all its magnitudes. After all, love is an abiding force of life that allows us to face fear and uncertainty with courage.
But we need to take good care of love for the giving of one’s self in love is not easy. We must learn to give of our love without total submission. Therefore, in your giving, give your joy, your sadness, your interest, your understanding, and your knowledge. These are all expressions that make up life. But in this giving, remember to preserve yourself – your integrity and your individuality. This is the challenge of the kind of love that is within marriage.
Each one of you here today makes up the selected company chosen as witnesses to the sharing of the vows to be taken by ___ and ___. We have gathered here to join this couple in a relationship in which the independence is equal, the dependence mutual, and the obligation reciprocal.
Marriage is the joining of two people, mind to mind, body to body, and true nature to true nature. You give up your small selves and trust each other. Yet, although marriage symbolizes the intimate sharing of the two lives, this sharing must not diminish, but rather enhance, the opportunity for the growth and development of each partner. Marriage represents a mutual covenant in which each partner is entrusted to being the guardian of the other’s rights and solitude.
In affirming this trust, each is affirming the dignity, the friendship, and the love each has for the other. As a chain is no stronger than its weakest link, the success of a marriage depends on the strength of the partners.
With love, trust, equality and continued effort, your marriage will give confidence to others. This is the way to live your life.
Groom: Take a lump of clay, wet it, pat it, make a statue of yourself and a statue of me,
Then shatter them, clatter them into a statue of you and a statue of me,
Then in mine there are bits of you and in you there are bits of me.
Nothing ever shall keep us apart. (Kuan Tao-Sheng)
Bride: I want you to do your thing as I do mine. I understand that I am not in this world to live up to your expectations and you are not in this world to live up to mine, but we have found each other and it’s beautiful. (Henry David Thoreau)
MINISTER: ___ and ___ you are marrying
because you enjoy each other’s company and because you want to be
together. You are marrying because each of you can grow in humanity and
in love more fully while touching the other. You are marrying because you
can be more trusting of life as life mates. You are marrying because you
understand that with your love comes an overwhelming and deep desire to reduce
each other’s unhappy moments and enhance one another’s happiness. Please
keep this understanding of your marriage fresh and alive in the years
ahead.
In marriage two families come together and as one family it expands.
Please be joyful in your family. Bring to it an appreciation of the beauty of each other. Bring to your family a sense of comfort and strength, a joy and thankfulness for being together.
For a happy and prosperous marriage, the Buddha advised couples to observe these practices:
To respect and cherish each other,
To be faithful and to take care of each other,
To join all their resources and manage them wisely,
To respect and be friendly to each other’s friends and relatives, and
To show their love by remembrances and gifts.
Bridesmaid: ___ and ___ have asked us to serve as the witnesses to their marriage – a marriage that they themselves make today. Their vows are their own and they have been spoken in their hearts before they are now spoken before us, their witnesses.
MINISTER
(To Groom): ____, please express your vow and share it with us.
Groom: ____, I want to live with you just as you are. I choose you above all others; to share my life with me, and that is sure evidence that I love you. I want to love you for yourself, in the hope you will become all that you can be. I promise to have and to hold you from this day through all the days to come, for better or for worse, whether we are rich or poor, ill or in good health, and to love and cherish you until death parts us.
MINISTER
(To Bride): ____, please express your vow and share it with us.
Bride: ___, I want to live with you just as you are. I choose you above all others; to share my life with me, and that is sure evidence that I love you. I want to love you for yourself, in the hope you will become all that you can be. I promise to have and to hold you from this day through all the days to come, for better or for worse, whether we are rich or poor, ill or in good health, and to love and cherish you until death parts us.
MINISTER: It is a great and joyful occasion when two people whole-heartedly join together, accepting the fullness and the limitations of each other forever. And this benefit extends to everyone. To vow to be and help others to be all that they can be is both a worthy challenge and goal for each of us. To help one another overcome life’s obstacles, which are bound to cause us unhappiness, is not only human, but is of the highest moral value.
The Buddha, who was an enlightened human, told us that although there is much joy and happiness to be experienced in life, for the unenlightened it is filled with too much suffering, sadness and unsatisfactoriness. He said that these unwanted qualities are caused by our ignorance, our desiring too much, and our attachment to the things we already have. He taught that we can rid our lives of these undesirable conditions and their causes by simply being kind, loving, and compassionate to each other.
To help us do that, we can pledge to follow five precepts that can help us to speak, act and diligently live in such a way that our lives are more joyful and happy. An enlightened way of living one’s life in such a manner is not only valuable for you, but valuable for each of us as well. Each guest was given a copy of these precepts and we ask of you to join ___ and ___ in embracing them.
(Chime)
All: We vow to protect and encourage each other and all life, to be generous to each other and take less than we give, to speak truthfully and helpfully to each other, to nourish and to keep our bodies and minds healthy, and to treat each other with loving kindness and compassion.
(Chime)
MINISTER: When we treat others as we wish to be treated, we recognize our connectedness, our oneness. But in acknowledging our oneness we need always to also recognize our individuality. In this passage from The Prophet, poet-philosopher Gibran tells us that partners who are getting married should not lose their individuality after their marriage:
“Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your hearts.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone ‘though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not unto each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
Best Man: ___ and ___ wish to exchange rings as symbols of their vows. From the earliest times, the circle has been a symbol of completeness, a symbol of committed love that is also never ending.
MINISTER: Exchanging rings is fitting, because the ring is an ancient symbol of the vows taken by ___ and ___, and because in ancient traditions the ring is the most perfect of all nature’s forms.
MINISTER
(To Groom): ___, as you place the ring on _____’s finger, express your love and your intention.
Groom: I love you, ____. With this ring I marry you.
MINISTER
(To Bride): ___, as you place the ring on ___’s finger, express your love and your intention.
Bride: I love you, ___. With this ring I marry you.
MINISTER: Representing the ties that bind you together, may the love ___ and ___ have for each other, and which they feel for the rest of you, grow stronger and richer.
As part of this ceremony, we would like to offer the Buddha's words on loving. Loving-kindness is known as metta in the ancient languages of Pali and Sanskrit. It means not just feeling love, but acting upon it. This famous offering by the Buddha is called the Metta Sutta, and although in Asia it is usually chanted in Pali, even in English this traditional blessing is most meaningful, especially when given and received on happy occasions such as this. The message of the Metta Sutta is to take the love, warmth and caring felt by the couple and all of us here and mentally disperse those feelings to those not here and to our fellow humankind and all living beings throughout the world. To emphasize this togetherness, this connectedness, please hold onto the cord of unity that is now being passed among you.
(Pause while unity cord is being passed, then sound chime.)
MINISTER: As we are linked together with this cord of unity, we offer these words on what should be done if we want to attain peace and happiness:
Let us be honest and upright, straightforward and gentle in speech, humble and not conceited, contented and easy to satisfy, not over-busy, but simple in living.
Let us be peaceful, with senses calmed, without coveting,
and without being
carried away by the emotions of the majority. Let us refrain from unwise
actions.
Let us regularly think this thought: whatever living
creatures there may be, whether
big or little, strong or weak, seen or unseen, living near or far, whether
already born or waiting to be born, may all beings be happy, may all be safe,
and may all be filled with joy.
Let us who wish peace neither deceive another, nor do harm or wish harm on another living creature.
Just as a loving mother shields her child from harm, even with her own body, let us cultivate boundless love for all living creatures.
At all times, let us who wish peace and happiness radiate loving kindness over the entire cosmos and sustain this recollection, which is the noble way of living.
In this way, freed from wrong views, greed and attachment,
we who practice
boundless love will transcend samsara--the suffering and unsatisfactoriness of
life.
May you, ___ and ___, and each friend and family member now connected by the unity cord, and all sentient beings connected by the unifying cord of life be blessed by Enlightenment, Truth and Love.
(Chime)
MINISTER: This is a time of celebration. Let it also be a time of dedication. The world does a good job of reminding us of how fragile we are. Individuals are fragile; relationships are fragile, too. Every marriage needs the love, nurture and support of a network of friends and family. On this wedding day, I ask you to be a part of this relationship. In the moment of silence that follows, I ask each of you, in your own way, to confer a silent prayer, a blessing, a wish or a hope upon this wedding.
(Pause for a moment of silence. (Chime at beginning and end.)
___ and ___, may the challenges of your life together be met with courage and optimism. May you learn from your failures and grow in your achievements. May you be blessed, as well as your family and friends, in a wide network of mutual support and enjoyment. May you face pain, toil and trouble with a stout but light heart. May you share with others the radiance of your seasons of joy and pleasure. May you always remember that laughter is a soothing medicine. Now, before our final prayer, please seal your marriage with a kiss.
(The couple kiss.)
These closing words are from an American Indian wedding prayer:
Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now you will feel no loneliness, for each of you will be a companion to the other. Now you are two bodies, but there is only one life before you. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter the days of your life together. And may your days be good, and long upon the earth.
___ and ___, in the presence of these witnesses, I now announce that you are husband and wife (or partners in life).
Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present (Mr. and Mrs. ___.) or (___ and ___, Partners in Life.)
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Report on the WFB School of Buddhism Founded by Venerable Havanpola Ratansara, Ph. D.
David N. Tool, Ph. D.
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In 1994 the World Fellowship of Buddhism unanimously passed a resolution calling on Ven. Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara to establish a WFB School of Buddhism at his temple in Iriyawetiya, Sri Lanka under the umbrella of his Buddhist Studies International (BSI) organization to provide Dhamma training to monks from Bombay, India. With a generous donation from the Taiwan Buddhist Association, Ven Guang Hsin, Abbot, the building to house the monks, library, classes, and offices, was built on the grounds of the Sri Ratna Vihara in Iriyawetiya, Sri Lanka. The first five monks arrived in the summer of 1995 and the program began. Though no financial assistance was ever received from the WFB, Dr. Ratanasara was able to find a director for the program who earned money to fund the program by teaching English to monks and nuns from Singapore, China, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong. There were from time to time other grants of money from monks and nuns, most especially, Ven. Panilla Ananda of Sri Lanka.
Because of lack of the anticipated support from the WFB and the political climate in Sri Lanka, Dr. Ratanasara was unable to get accreditation in Sri Lanka for the school, because the necessary resolution in the Sri Lankan parliament was blocked by persons unfriendly to him because of the support he had given years before to the assassinated former president of Sri Lankan, Mr. Bandaranayake. This caused a necessary shift in operations. Instead of providing the planned accredited Buddhism degrees at the school, the monks were sent to Kelaniya University and to the Buddhist and Pali University in Colombo to pursue their academic degrees. The young monks lived at the WFB School/BSI and followed a program of morning yoga training and mediation, English classes, Vinaya training and evening chanting, but took their degree program elsewhere. The loss of the director and the death of Dr. Ratanasara in 2001 led to the Indian monks moving to other temples to finish their academic training.
Before his death, Dr. Ratanasara brought two Nepalese monks to the BSI and provided support for them while they underwent Buddhist training at Sri Lanka’s Vidiyalankara. They will receive higher ordination in 2004 and undergo more training. This program will be expanded in January 2004, when six more monks -- two each from Nepal, Bangladesh and Mongolia -- are brought to the BSI.
Even though the academic degrees the four Indian monks have received are not from Dr. Ratanasara’s WFB School of Buddhism, it was his energy and planning that made this all possible for them. Now a new expansion of the program to house and support monks from other countries is helping to train monks to teach the Dhamma upon their return to their homelands, which was the real intent of Ven. Dr. Ratanasara. Though one of the original five Indian monks received by the school in 1995 was sent back for unsuitability and later disrobed, three have now received the Master’s degree in Buddhist studies and one has completed the BA degree. Two have already returned to India where they have temples of their own. One more will be returning this fall to help at his teacher’s temple in Bombay.
Though the Indian monks’ diplomas do not carry the name of the WFB School of Buddhism, it was certainly the work of Dr. Ratanasara that has made their educational achievements possible. These monks, and all those now at and yet to come to the BSI/WFB School of Buddhism for training owe thanks to him for the initiation of this program.
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The Crisis for Buddhism in Sri Lanka – The Need of a Greater Role for Dhammachariyas.
The Dhammachariya Committee
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Some of us on the Dhammachariya Committee are Westerners who have lived in Sri Lanka for a number of years. Others are natives of that beautiful country. We have had long talks with many Sri Lankan Christians, lay Buddhists, Sri Lankan monks, as well as many foreign monks studying at various educational institutions in Sri Lanka. We are concerned about the future of Buddhism there in the face of the competition posed not only by the active proselytizing by the Catholic and Protestant Christians, but by the Buddhists’ lack of a more or less formal, supportive community network, which the Christians traditionally have within each local congregation.
In the Christian tradition, the pastors are expected to visit the shut-in’s, the sick in the hospitals, or just to pay caring visits to the homes of its members. Often lay Christian congregational organizations like the Methodist Women’s Society of Christian Service and the Men’s Club, or their Christian Outreach Committees, take on the duty of visiting all the sick or hospitalized members of the church. In many Christian churches, members are divided into informal telephone or visiting groups based on their geographic locations and if a member of the group does not come to church on a given Sunday, the other members will call or visit the absent member to make sure they are OK. All these activities give members a feeling of community and that some one cares about them. More importantly, it serves a very valuable method to ensure elderly and shut-in members are checked on frequently, their meals are prepared, that they have a way to get to the doctor for checkups, etc.
The difference in the way the individual members of a Buddhist congregation and a Christian congregation are cared for is very obvious in many places in Sri Lanka. Take the example of two elderly widows in poor health living next door to each other. A regular observer would see that the Christian widow is visited regularly by either a pastor, assistant pastor, member of the church women’s group or a “designated” member who lives near by. The Buddhist widow may be visited at random by friends depending on how large or dedicated her circle of friends is, but there will probably not be any formal representation from the temple of which she is a member. A chanting by the monks for the Buddhist widow may be arranged by a family member or, more unlikely, by a friend. But generally speaking there is little formal representation from the temple to help the widow with problems, provide friendly conversation from time to time, to make her feel that “someone” cares, or to deal with minor problems that need to be fixed as they arise in the average home. The Christian widow feels more supported, cared for, and is more likely to be less worried, less lonely and feel much more consciously glad that she is a Christian than the relatively neglected Buddhist widow is to feel glad that she is a Buddhist.
There are several reasons for this lack of involvement in the lives of the Buddhist temple members. First of all, Buddhism is more of an individualistic kind of religion, which depends more on one’s own personal development in meditation and discipline and finding one’s own path. Buddhism is less structurally organized. The role of the monk is not nearly as important in the exercise of this personal religion as the priest or pastor is in Christianity. The concept that “by one’s self is one saved, by one’s self is one condemned” puts the emphasis on the individual’s religious activity rather than a supportive congregation or pastor/priest. This is especially true also in the West where the connection with a formal temple is much less defined.
One reason why the Buddhist widow is more likely to be “on her own” is because in countries like Sri Lanka it is considered improper for a monk to visit the home of a woman alone; even a monk’s going to see a woman in the hospital would raise the eyebrows of some and bring criticism on his and the woman’s head.
Another reason the Buddhist widow may feel no one cares is that most Buddhist temples do not usually have a network of lay people specifically charged with the responsibility to report to the monk and other members of the temple when someone is ill or in distress. The Christians are very well organized in these matters and visits are made to the sick, money is collected from among the congregation when there is some sudden financial crises, and the pastor is immediately notified when a son has been killed in a distant battlefield. Also, good news travels fast in the Christian church congregation: the pastor is usually the first outsider to see the new born baby; on Sunday morning, the pastor is sure to congratulate the parents on their teenager’s acceptance into the college of their choice, or the winning of some scholarship; and the high school quarterback is sure to get the pastor’s congratulations during the after-service handshake at the church door. By contrast, we have seen situations in Sri Lanka where active members of temples have lingered near death for weeks without the monks in the temple being aware of it.
A senior monk at one of the largest, most historic temples in Sri Lanka, who asked not to be identified, told us that he thought that primarily because of these factors, Buddhism would be a minority religion in Sri Lanka within 20 years. The average person who is a Buddhist by cultural upbringing and who may not have made the intellectual decision to choose Buddhism for objective reasons, is very likely to be drawn away from Buddhism in the face of the obvious caring and attention given to them by the Christians, especially when faced with some personal crisis or simple loneliness
It is the opinion of the ABC’s Dhammachariya Committee that Dhammachariyas have a critical role to play in this context. We need to encourage more Buddhists to become Dhammachariya and to take on the role of compassionate care giver to temple members; they must organize temple networks to help them identify the burdens and joys that should be shared with other members and they must serve to represent the personification of Buddhism’s compassionate lovingkindness so as to confirm each member in their beliefs in Buddhism. Monks need not resent or feel threatened by a greater role for Dhammachariyas, but must encourage them for the sake of Buddhism. Monks should actively work to help educate the Dhammachariya in this valuable duty. Dhammachariya are much less restricted by the taboos of visiting or even speaking to women. Dhammachariya need training in counseling and in simply learning what to say to encourage and comfort those in stress, sick, or dying. They should coordinate with the monks and arrange formal chanting as appropriate and with other lay members of the temple to provide food preparation and care giving when necessary. The ABC Liturgy Committee stresses that we should develop modern, specific, “tailored” chants that directly and specifically address the issues at hand and are not lost in historic, cultural or linguistic ambiguity, thus providing little comfort other than the restful cadence of their chanting voices to those who are suffering.
We call on all temples to encourage more Dhammachariyas, to increase their numbers, to improve their religious and organizational training, to organize people (and systems) from among their temple members to watch out for their fellow members and to work with the Dhammachariya to strengthen the sense of belonging and the evidence of mutual lovingkindness among members. We believe this is essential in places like Sri Lanka where, on this single factor of attention to the members, Buddhism there is waning. We also believe that this appropriate use of Dhammachariyas in the West would spread Buddhism and help develop and encourage a greater “connectedness” among Buddhists.