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| Monday, 22 March 2004 |
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Evil can be erased by good Whoever, by a good deed, covers the evil done, such a one illumines
this world like the moon freed from clouds. Advice to girls from Buddhism - Part II Male and female aspects of existence complementary to each other In response to certain statements the present writer had made in the last article on the above subject in this series (DN 08.03.04) he has received both bouquets and brickbats. Bouquets for the general theme of the article and brickbats for a few sentences containing certain ideas. Let these brickbats be dealt with one by one. Girls' mission in life First is the following sentence" ... in a girls natural role as wife and mother, if she can fulfil these two roles satisfactorily, she can be content as having primarily fulfilled her mission in life." This statement, as pointed out by the critics, and quite correctly as well, can underestimate the value of so many career women who make vast contributions to society at large in diverse fields, while at the same time contributing their mite to the family budget as well. In the contemporary society the world over, educated career women also very often fulfil the wife-mother role as well in varying degrees of success. Some of them carry on valiant and admirable struggles in their eagerness to compromise the "home and employment" problem satisfactorily. There also may be some girls who can find the fulfilment of their life's mission by achieving full success in a public career alone. "Wife-mother" role appears "basic" as mother nature seems to have meant it. But that need not be the one and the only way towards a life's final mission for a girl. It depends on one's taste and temperament. Professional education The other brickbat- evoking sentence was an obvious error, a bona-fide mistake on the writer's part, where it was said ".... a girl's education is a must; it need not be professional...." The writer honestly admits that the second part of the sentence here should be amended as "it need not necessarily be professional" which was the sense the writer actually had in his mind here. It was a slip. All those girls employed as teachers, lawyers, doctors etc. today must have got offended and quite justifiably too. To them all the writer offers his apologies. Weaker sex The reference to girls as "the weaker sex" seems to offend at least some of them. Here, of course, the writer has to agree or disagree with them, because this is a fact of nature and is never an underestimation of them. This usage is based on Nature's own presentation of girls as weaker in the physical sense in comparison with men. In the linguistic usage of English the fair sex or simply the fair, the gentle, the second, the softer, the weaker sex or even the phrase 'weaker vessel' are all used to refer to girls, while the term 'sterner' or the 'stronger sex' is applied to men. Womankind as a whole, along with children, as conventionally classed as 'weak' and hence deserving of special care and treatment in general. Also, it has to be mentioned here that these phrases are used for euphony and hence are compliments to them and are never used derogatorily. Violence against women If girls were to claim equality with men even overriding this law of nature, the results of such an attitude may be unpleasant as indicated by the disappearance of the habit of offering them seats in public transport, a chivalrous habit observed till recent times. On the men's part the tendency among some of them to exploit the natural weakness of women is also a serious offence. Such a situation naturally provokes women also to protest against this abominable phenomenon called "violence against women", an impairing comment on men. This can lead to the "women's lib" movement which, if not properly handled can result in yet another problem in the sexual isolation of the men and women concerned. Even self-alienation can be another evil emanating from men a situation. As such the genuine solution should be a balanced unification of the sexes based on the complementary nature of man and woman. Euphony In the struggle between the sexes it would be for the benefit of the girls to be alive to the fact that the euphonous phrases listed above are all complimentary to them as they indicate their lovable, maternal and above all their romantic nature, without which this world would be dull, dry and dreary. Yet another risky element in this struggle is that if girls were to claim equality with boys in the absolute sense bypassing the afore-mentioned mutually complementary aspects between the two sexes, they would lose all those gifts from nature ending up as Tomboys and becoming dehumanized as well in the process. Generally speaking, girls should remain girls and boys should remain boys as Nature has created them, regardless of position they hold in society. Also, will not the empowerment of women in public life lead to an enfeeblement of the institution of family life? Yet today's position disregards it. Saree attractive However, it is to be seen that the majority of women employees in the professions such as teaching, law, medicine etc. in general preserve their femininity despite the rigours of full-time employment. In this respect the eastern woman, mainly the Indian and the Sri Lankan, seem to preserve this valuable asset of theirs more than their Western counterparts. But at the same time one fails to understand as to why some present day girls are developing an urge to dress like boys and thereby depreciate their romantic enchantment and femininity, in which aspects dress also plays a valuable role. Here the saree has some magic glamour in it, for when properly draped it not only fits in perfectly with the female anatomy but reveals the "curves and the bends" of the female figure quite attractively. Visakha Another objectionable point in that article comprised some of the maxims of advice given to Visakha by her father. It has to be noted here that some of those maxims were not general but personal to Visakha as for instance the special care that was recommended to be observed towards the two in-laws. This was because she was going to live with them in their household. The problems centring round the in-laws, specially in Sri Lanka, are too well known and this is not the place to discuss them. Leaving out those dealing with the two in-laws, the other maxims to Visakha can stand for all time. Agganna Sutta philosophically speaking, the Agganna Sutta of the Digha Nikaya (27th discourse) explains the problem of the sexes in a profoundly symbolic dimension. Accordingly, the universe is in a non-stop process of evolution and devolution alternately. Thus a time comes when it gets completely destroyed ending up as a single mass of water. After an inordinately long period it begins to re-evolve with spontaneously born beings from the Abhassara deva-world occupying the earth as its first inhabitants. Originally a very happy creature, a spiritual being "nourished by joy, mind-made, self-luminous, travelling in the air and of uncommon beauty" etc. and above all above sex in the sense that sexual dichotomy as man and woman was yet to come. He gradually degenerates into the present condition with every kind of suffering, as man and woman, owing to his own fault of craving or tanhaa, which gradually gathers momentum in him thereby losing all the facilities he originally had. Sexual difference In this process of evolution, it was with the beginning of the consumption of solid food that there began the differentiation of the sexes as man and woman along with the problems attendant on this new situation. This dichotomous nature of man and woman with their physical, intellectual and many other differences, is a fact of nature around which many of our problems are centred. It is owing to this philosophically evident truth that Buddhism places a high premium on the regulation of the sexual polarity in the religious life it recommends as its prescription for the human problem. The male and the female aspects of existence are complementary to each other and cannot be isolated absolutely, as they represent the positive and the negative or the active and the passive aspects of the life-principle. Every man has a woman within him and every woman a man within her. Perfection of the unification of this duality is the philosophical basis of the Buddhist teaching of brahmacariya, the chaste living. If any man also can bring about a perfect equilibrium between these two forces he would be a very happy man free from conflicts. The same applies to the woman who can do the same. Thus, as both aspects of the male and the female are present. Within every individual, the effort of the religious life should be to make a perfect coalition between the two aspects, thereby creating the state of sammaa-samaadhi as the culmination of the noble Eightfold path. Buddhism is growing in Scotland by Jenifer Johnston When the Dalai Lama visits Scotland this summer he will find fertile ground for his teachings. Experts believe the number of Buddhists in the country has risen past the 10,000 mark and is growing. The Glasgow Buddhist Centre has had to set up waiting lists for its meditation classes, informal Buddhist meditation and teaching groups have sprung up across the land and the Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery, in Dumfries, is expanding to accommodate the increase in visitor numbers. The Dalai Lama's visit in May is expected to encourage thousands more to take up one of the few booming faiths in the western world. The 2001 Census recorded 6800 Buddhists in Scotland but, according to Dr. Perry Schmidt-Leukel, an expert in Buddhism at Glasgow University, the true number is greater. "The Census was the first real statistic about the number of Buddhists in Scotland, but some wilder estimates put the number in the UK at around 500,000 people," he said. He believes that celebrity interest in Buddhism has prompted some people to join. "It is fashionable to flirt with the religion. It provides insights into the very questions of human existence and Buddhism gets a very good press through the media. "The Dalai Lama is a very symbolic and sympathetic figure to the media, as are the number of celebrities who are following the religion, including singer Tina Turner and actor Richard Gere." Dr. Brenda E Brasher, an expert in the sociology of religion at Aberdeen University, said Buddhism has lots of appeal for young Scots. "Because Buddhism is a way of understanding the self and the cosmos it is particularly attractive to young people who are not strong in believing in organised religion. The way Buddhism is practised in the West makes it viable for people who want to be spiritual without being religious, it suits a lot of people, it's easy to fit into the life you have, without denying yourself too much. Erik Cramb, convener of the Church of Scotland's committee on ecumenical relations, agreed that traditional faiths could seem grey compared to the lure of something new. "I think people can be turned off the religions of their childhood - it is a natural instinct for young people especially to venture away from what their parents practise. The church, if seen as something that represents your parents, can seem a bit boring, a reputation the church has probably lived up to an occasion. "Buddhism offers the chance to step back and think for a lot of people." Buddhism focuses on personal spiritual development, rather than worship of a deity. Followers formally join a community by being ordained. Hugh Green, who organises Buddhist meetings in Perth, said interest in the faith is growing. "There are 40 or 50 active Buddhists in the area, compared to a very small number three years ago," he said. "Lots of groups are popping up all over the place, and I can see a real acceptance of Buddhism happening all the time." Joyce Henderson, who has worked for the civil service and in public relations, has spent the past six years volunteering at the Glasgow Buddhist Centre. She said: "I was brought up in the Church of Scotland but Buddhism gives you the tools to change yourself. When I first became interested in Buddhism there weren't that many others in Scotland to learn from but that has certainly changed. I am quite conventional, but I've realised that it doesn't matter how many material things you have, it really doesn't satisfy you." Dr. Patrick Nicholson, a physicist at Glasgow University, began finding out more about Buddhism in 1998. "With hindsight I think I had been looking for something spiritual for a while. It has changed my life - five years ago I became a vegetarian, I meditate every day, and I keep in mind the ethics of Buddhism that have become part of my life." Sally Watson, a marketing officer at Strathclyde University, said that while she is not ready to be ordained into Buddhism, it is now a permanent part of her life. "When I first went to the Buddhist Centre in Glasgow 13 or 14 years ago it was quite hippy, but now there are a wide range of people and ages who go. It has definitely become a much more acceptable thing to be a part of." The Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery in Dumfries is in the middle of a major building programme to accommodate visitors. Ani Lhamo, a nun at the centre, said: "There is so much disillusionment with modern life and materialistic society. Twenty years ago it did tend to be the dreamy, hippy people coming, but now there are accountants, teachers, doctors and workers all looking for happiness and contentment." Cosmopolitan recently launched a new section to examine modern faiths. Section editor Hannah Borno said: "Young women seem not to be adopting Buddhism wholesale, but are extracting aspects of it that suit their lifestyle, for example doing 15 minutes of meditation in the morning and evening." Courtesy: Dhamma Times (BNN)
The story - Loka vagga The Dhammapada Angulimala, a notorious murderer, was converted by the Buddha. Later he not only became a very compassionate monk but also attained Arahantship and passed-away into Nibbana. The monks wished to know how such a murderer could have become an Arahant. In reply the Buddha uttered this verse. Matter, mind and detachment (from the Chabbisodhana Sutta) The Blessed One who knows and sees, * * * The three states of matter * * * Venerable Friend, how do you know, * * * Friends, in these six elements, * * * Concerning the three material states, U. KARUNATILAKE |
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