Teaching of the month - May 2025

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE AND PRACTICES OF THE SPIRITUAL PATH

OM MANI PADME HUM
Life has much to be contemplated upon. Its constant changes have brought about manifold experiences which, in turn, affects a person’s attitude. Many people have turned spiritual due to circumstances and events of life, they are fortunate; but there are just as many who abandoned the good way of life because they have been overwhelmed by attachment, anger, jealousy, greed and the worldly desires; they are unfortunate.

They have lost their directions and they will not take into consideration the reality of cause and effect. It is because people are so helplessly changing their minds and characteristics, that beings are classified into the six major categories and they are eventually born into these realms.

Samsara is called the Great Sea of Suffering because no matter which part of it a being is born into, suffering of change must always be experienced. There is no permanency in things samsaric but beings refuse to accept this truth and prefer to live in a dream, they therefore cling to sorrow like a precious gem. For such beings Samsara is almost permanent and suffering becomes a feature of life. The purpose of life is to try to wake up from this dream and to recognise reality. After that, it requires great effort to work oneself out of the grips of samsara. It will be a strenuous task because it seems so painful to have to renounce samsaric joys and it is so difficult to overcome the great temptations of life. It is easy to give up and that is why perseverance is such an important virtue. If it were left to beings to lift themselves from their ignorance, it would have been a hopeless task.

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas therefore, out of great compassion, take birth in the human realm to help to awaken people. They lived lives which are exemplary and They give Teachings which point the way out of samsara. They cause followers to experience the pure joys of virtue and They also show how virtues are to be practised.

Using suffering as the awakener, They transform it into a means of acquiring merit and wisdom. Through experiencing suffering and through witnessing it, compassion rises in the hearts of many and they are turned towards the practice which frees them from delusion. One begins as a worshipper or follower of the Spiritual Path and later develops into a practitioner of the Path. The Spiritual Path teaches one to be less worldly and to pay heed to life after death. It stresses on the need to discard harmful actions and to practise kindliness and generosity towards fellow beings. One has nothing to lose by being near and dear to others. Those who practise friendliness will enjoy a harmonious life.

One of the most important purpose of life is to learn to relate with others and that is done through cherishing others more than oneself. Why are there so many people in different states of suffering and why are some people so lucky in life? One always gets what one deserves, so it is wise to stop and think before one acts. By acting on what is beneficial for others, one is free from the pains of greed, hatred and delusion; by being selfish, one is shunned by society and one will never know what peace of mind is. Everyone knows that it is advantageous to think, speak and act purely but only a small minority of the people of the world will act according to their knowledge. One should contemplate on the evils of acting in a selfish manner in order to understand that ‘one is the victim of his or her own actions’.

The message of the Enlightened Beings is very clear - to live for the sake of benefitting others, to show love and respect and to be moral in character. The followers of religions are many but the practitioners are very few. It is easy to be a worshipper but this does not bring about the ultimate result. Prayers of petition are recited fervently in every home which knows suffering and although many a times such prayers are answered, yet the future is uncertain and suffering is once again experienced, then prayers are once more uttered. This really means that being a worshipper is not the answer to the great problems and sufferings of life, neither will it cut the fetters that bind one to the painful samsara.

What keeps a being in samsara? The forces of karma and the vast reservoir of karmic seeds, both good and evil. Life offers one the rare opportunity of ridding oneself of them but the conditions of the world are not very conducive towards this attainment. As a matter of fact, instead of being a ground for ridding karma, it is often a place where fresh karma is accumulated. Even though people are quite well informed of this fact, yet they are helpless because of their own inherent weaknesses.

Blessed are they who have found faith in their paths of practice and are striving to practise them. Although they may not be able to fully purify themselves from their defilements, they will, nevertheless, be doing their best to perform good deeds and they will become more aware of actions which are harmful to others. Restraint will be practised, and in time, right practice will set in naturally. It does not mean that having accepted a religion, one will at once receive all kinds of blessings. It is just the start of the process of purification which can be painful and unsavoury. It is always difficult and painful to adopt discipline to one’s life, it is not easy to learn detachment and to cast aside desires. In order to cut the links that bind one to the suffering worlds, one has to transform one’s ‘self’ through purification of the mind. To do this, knowledge is required and guidance from compassionate teachers are needed, so too are spiritual friends who give support and confidence. Until one has cleansed his mind from worldly attachments, one cannot attain to Nirvana. Many people long for happiness but they will not work honestly for it.

Many people aspire to attain Bodhi but they still cling to the world. Many people pray to the Buddha to accept them as His children and to deliver them to His Pure Land, but they cannot stop serving Mara and they are unwilling to leave samsara. Many people call themselves devotees of Buddha or Kuan Yin, but what devotion have they practised? Daily praying for blessings is not devotional practice. Having an altar at home or regular going to temples for prayers may not be due to true devotion. When one is truly devoted to Buddha, one practises the Buddhadharma joyfully and diligently.

Many people call themselves “practitioners” and claim to have love and devotion for Buddha yet they may not be ready to carry out the duties that are required of them. Until one has learned to surrender oneself to Buddha, one is not yet a true devotee. There are people who will kneel before the altar and fervently pray to Buddha to change them into good and virtuous persons, yet when the process of transformation has begun and their prayers have been answered, they will fear and cry out, “why, why is this happening to me?” This explains how foolish man can be and how insincere can their prayers be, it also explains the importance of contemplation, especially on the purpose of life and how one has lived it. Instead of spending precious time to accumulate causes of unhappiness, it is better to reflect on why one is what one is!

There is a great purpose in life and that is not just the attaining of wealth, honour, and position. If life was permanent, then such attainments are the most important. But life is impermanent and one has to live a very long series of lives, this means that it is more important to look beyond this lifetime. Impermanency is depicted very clearly for all to see in thousands of ways. When an incense is offered, it is a reminder of one’s own impermanency. Life must end in death - so too must the incense burns itself out. This tells one that ‘life is ebbing away - slowly but surely”. Of course there are more meanings to this. The lit part of the incense reminds one that the flame of purity must be used to burn off one’s defilements and while this is being done, one’s purity is represented by the fragrance that is emitted, to every direction.

A practitioner who is steadily working to free himself from his defilements thus brings joy and happiness to all. And as the incense is stood upright, so too must the practitioner be unbending in his disciplines, as long as he lives. The offering of an incense is like the offering of oneself to the Divinity. The highest offering that one can give to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is not the world or the universe, but one’s mind. It can freely be given, even by the poorest, but how many will give?

Monday, 8th August 1988 (6th Moon 26th Day)