by Venerable Sen (Sopheangphil) Then, abbot at Wat Khmer, Springvale South
What is Buddhism?
Buddhism is the teaching of all the Buddhas.
To sum up the teaching of the Buddha in one verse:
1. To cease from all evil
2. To attain virtue.
3. To cleanse one’s own heart.
This is the religion of the Buddhas.
We have the Four Noble Truths – all our Buddhist religion is based on what we call “The Four Noble Truths”.
In plain language they are:
1. All life knows sorrow (unhappiness).
2. This sorrow has a cause.
3. Sorrow can be brought to an end.
4. The way to bring sorrow to an end.
1. Even a baby knows sorrow.
If the baby is hungry or thirsty or too warm or too cold, it cries. That is its way of expressing unhappiness.
Children at play soon find there is no game that does not have some disappointment.
If there are winners, then there must be losers.
No one can be a winner always.
Sooner or later, we are all losers in one way or another.
When we are sick, that is sorrow.
When we are disappointed, that is sorrow.
There are so many ways to be unhappy.
Even when we are happy, we know that the happiness will not last forever.
2. Nothing happens by accident.
There is a reason for everything.
The cause of sorrow is our ignorance which leads to stupid desires.
By “ignorance” we mean not knowing the true nature of life and not understanding the right way to live. 3. Sorrow (unhappiness) can be brought to an end.
Lord Buddha taught us that whatever has a beginning must also have an ending.
Until the Buddha came to teach us how to become free from ignorance, no one knew the real cause of unhappiness or how to overcome it.
The way to overcome sorrow and find true happiness is found in the fourth point.
4. The way to find happiness is like a road or pathway.
In fact, it is called “The Noble Eightfold Path”.
Everyone knows a road or pathway is meant to be used for travelling on. A path that cannot be used is of no value to us.
Lord Buddha’s Noble Path is for our use every day of our lives.
It is called the “Eightfold Path” because we must always remember eight things as we walk on this road of life.
Everyone who is trying to follow Lord Buddha’s teaching ought to know these eight points by heart.
They are not hard to memorise and, if we begin to use all eight of these points while we are still very young, we find that travelling on Lord Buddha’s Noble Path is ever so much easier than it will be if we wait until we are older.
Let us all try to memorise these eight points, to understand them and use them.
Here they are:
1. Right Understanding. 2. Right Aims. 3. Right Speech. 4. Right Actions. 5. Right Livelihood. 6. Right Effort. 7. Right Mindfulness. 8. Right Meditation.
Enquiries about the Interfaith Network of Greater Dandenong: executive@interfaithnetwork.org.au or 8774 7662.
