Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Buddhism - Three Dimensions 6/6

I would like to conclude with the following statements:

1 - Be mindful when you talk about Buddhism. It would reduce the conflicts or distortions if you know the dimension you are talking about.

2 - Be aware of the distortion that may occur in your description, judgment, argument... with the true essence of Buddhism when you use your intellect to discuss, research, debate on any Buddhist topic. Dhamma or Buddhism is not the product of the brain/mind/intellect. It is beyond that. The long discussion I have made here is also the intellectual product - I am mindful about the possible distortion. With this awareness, I will not be upset, or content if someone gives me different opinions. In contrast, I would be pleased to learn from him/her. Nonetheless, in my view, the intellectual discussion is still important as it is the outreach exercise for people to start knowing about Buddhism before they dedicate to practice VM and search for the essence of Buddhism.


3 - Be aware that Buddhist teaching or Dhamma is the spiritual product; so please use Buddha technique (Vipassana Meditation) if you want to learn about it or benefit from it. Without this technique, learning 84,000 dhammakhan of Buddha teaching would be exhausted and you understand it only with bias. If you want to learn less, it becomes incomplete - your view will be like the blind man who experiences only one part of the elephant body and describes "elephant" unrealistically based on the way he experienced. It will be more beneficial if you combine your theoretical learning of Buddhism with your VM practice. The two reinforce each other.

4 - Do not expect too much from the religious dimension of Buddhism, regardless how much you dedicate for it. At the end result, you will not be fully liberated as Buddha expected. But, do not ignore it since Buddhist religion already embedded into our civilization, culture, literature, ... for centuries. In addition, it also helps in your social life and helps reducing some burden in life, it will make you feel good about good deeds, ...


5 - Last, but not least, be aware that VM gives you immediate benefit, you don't need to wait until next life to collect that benefit. It helps you resolve from the deeper level of your mind (unwinding the subconscious records - that cause our reaction). Well, I know some of you don't want to go to Nirvana as you still love your beautiful wife, new villa and new car. Even though, VM is still good for you as it helps making your life happier, healthier, more effective in your work, less conflicts, more peace and harmony (see Lok Ok Serei Sopheak's message to Tayseng).

No comments: