(E15)-01-Is-Buddhist-Temple-similar-to-Taoist

Tonight the talk is about misconceptions about Buddhism. There's a lot of misconceptions about Buddhism. The first one concerns more of Malaysian temples. When I was young, actually, I went to a Catholic school for 12 years. And during my time, they had a lot of European brothers who came from Ireland, came from Canada, came here when they were very young, about 25, having taken their perpetual vows. And they came to teach their religion and spread education, and many of them died here. So I learned a lot about Catholic religion from them. My parents were supposed to be Buddhists, And whenever my mother had problems, and she had a lot of problems because she had to bring up eight children, so she would go to a Chinese temple and pray, pray for divine help. And I, as a small boy, I went along with her. And when you go to some of these Chinese temples, you find statues frightening looking statues, with long tongue, long hair. It didn't appeal to me at all. So I thought, if that is Buddhism, I don't want to be a Buddhist when I grow up. I want to be a Catholic. So that's one thing. A lot of people, they don't differentiate a Chinese temple or a Taoist temple from a Buddhist temple. If you go to a Buddhist temple, there should be very much less statues or no statue. But in these Taoist temples, they have a lot of spirits, these statues of spirits that people pray to. So that's the first thing in Malaysia. People mistake Chinese temples for Buddhist temples. Generally, we call these Chinese temples Taoist temples, but they are also not really Taoist temples. If you go to a real Taoist temple, as I've been to one in Petaling Jaya, Jalangasingh, you find on the altar nothing. There's an altar, but there's nothing on the altar. The Taoists, actually, they don't pray to statues. It's what we call nowadays Taoist temples. There is also a degeneration of Taoism. Just like nowadays, there is a lot of degeneration of Buddhism. And a lot of things that people think is the Buddha's teachings, is actually not the Buddha's teachings. So that's the first thing. You have to differentiate a Chinese or a Taoist temple from a Buddhist temple.

(E15)-02-Is-idol-worship-part-of-Buddhism

The second thing is a lot of people think that idol worship is part of Buddhism. Idol worship is not a part of Buddhism. It seems that for 500 years after the Buddha passed away, there were no statues. There were no idols. Nobody prayed to idols. Even a statue of the Buddha, nobody made because they understood the Dharma. They understood that the Dharma was to be practiced. Everything was inside. Everything depends on the inside, on your mind, not on external things. So a lot of so-called Buddhists come to the temple or the Buddhist society to pray, what in Chinese we call Pai for, right? Pai-hood. But that is not the practice of Buddhism, not to pray. but to swear for, right? Swear for is to study the Buddha's teachings, to walk the path that the Buddha walked and which the Buddha encouraged us to walk to minimize our suffering and if possible to end our suffering totally. So the statues that you find in a lot of temples like Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, Amitabha Buddha, I think here, Medicine, Master, Buddha, all these are not part of original Buddhism. They are part of Mahayana Buddhism and they are also part of Tibetan Buddhism, but they are not part of original Buddhism. Kuan Yin actually, what we call Kuan Yin in Sanskrit is Avalokitesvara. And this word, Avalokitesvara, the last word is Isvara. Nowadays, you look at proton cars, they put Isvara. Actually, the word means God. The word means God. So Avalokitesvara is the God who contemplates the sounds of the world. And the earliest statues of Avalokitesvara that came over to China was a statue of a man with a moustache, a bit of a beard. And then the Chinese people thought, this God is supposed to be very compassionate. A man's heart is not as compassionate as a woman's heart, right? So they changed Guan Yin from a man to a woman. And they created stories about how Guan Yin manifested in China, the daughter of a fisherwoman, a fisherman. So that's one story of Kuan Yin. Another one, another legend, that Kuan Yin was reborn as the princess in China. One of the princesses in China was supposed to be very compassionate, so they said she was a hua shen, Kuan Yin hua shen, manifestation of Kuan Yin. So that is all not part of original Buddhism. Amitabha Buddha, according to a Mahayana book I've seen, was supposed to be a Persian god, Persian sun god. So because the sun sets in the west, so they say that this Amitabha resides in the west. Every day, comes up in the east, will go back to the west, right? So that is why this Amitabha is known as the Buddha of Limitless Light. Amitabha, Amitayus, it means limitless light. So all these grew up later. It is not part of original Buddhism. Medicine master Buddha also. So you have to differentiate a lot of these later additions that came into Buddhism which were not part of the original Buddha's teachings. So actually, originally there were no statues, no idol worship. And this is what we are trying to do in our new monastery in Timo. We're not going to have any idols, not going to have any Buddha images. Because some of our supporters, they were astonished. They said, how can you have a temple, a monastery without a Buddha statue? This is what we are going to do.

(E15)-03-Is-life-destined-by-Kamma

Okay, another thing, another misconception about Buddhism is that life is destined by, maybe in other religions they say destined by other things, but some people think that our life is destined by karma. What is karma? Karma, in Sanskrit it is karma, K-A-R-M-A. In Pali it is kamma, K-A-M-M-A. And karma means intentional action. If you do any action with intention, premeditated, then because you use your will, you have to answer for it. If you make others happy, then you will receive happiness in return. If you make others suffer, you will suffer in return. So that is basically the law of karma. In Christianity, they say, as you sow, so shall you reap. Right? So, now, there is a sutra, sutra means a discourse of the Buddha, called the Chula Kama Vibhanga Sutra. Somebody came and talked to the Buddha and asked the Buddha, why is it people in the world are all different? Some people are born handsome or beautiful. Some people are born ugly. Some people have a healthy body. Some people have a very sickly body. Some people have a short life. Some people have a long life. Some people are born intelligent. Some people are born stupid. Some people are born into a wealthy family, they seem to have a lot of blessings, and other people are born to a poor family where they are looked down, etc. So what is the cause why people are born differently? So the Buddha said it is because of past life kamma. If a person had a very bad temper, always gets angry easily, then that person is likely to be born ugly. Why? Because if you are always angry, then when you're angry, you're fierce, right? So your face becomes fierce. You contort your face with rage, with anger, each time you're angry. So you make it a habit. Every day you do it. So it's very logical that you will be born with an ugly face. But if a person is of a very sweet nature, if you try to annoy him, he doesn't lose his temper, he just smiles. So that person we say is very sweet. That kind of person, because he's very sweet, he or she will be likely to be born beautiful. We say beautiful, Beauty also, of course, depends on people's opinions. But generally, if a person is very sweet, we say that person is nice-looking, right? Now, if a person kills, say for example, a person likes to go hunting, kills unnecessarily, makes other beings' lives short, So the result is when the person is reborn, the life will be short. That's why you find some people, even when young, they get cancer. And if a person does not kill, then because you allow other beings to have long life, it is only natural that you will get long life when you come back again on the round of rebirth. And then if you harm other beings, for example, formerly, Like during my parents' time, my grandparents' time, they used to have slaves. And some people used to torture their slaves. Like in America, they used to have these Negroes as slaves. So some people would like to torture their slaves or torture their dogs or some other animals. If you make other beings' bodies painful, it is natural that next time you come back, you have a sickly body. This body will give you pain. This reminds me that somebody told me there was a lady many years ago in Johor. She used to mistreat the slave. And the slave was a lady, was hungry. She would force her to drink this latex instead of drink milk, you know, latex. And when she was about to die, she was, you know, people when about to die, they see visions because they're going to be reborn in a certain place. So whatever place they're going to be reborn in, they start to see that world coming up in their consciousness. So she saw herself being tortured, being forced to drink latex by other beings. So she would cry. So this karma sometimes you can see in this very life, before that person passes into the next life. So if you torture other beings, you will likely to have a sickly body. But if you don't harm other beings, then because you don't make the body suffer, you'll have a very healthy, strong body. Now, if you don't know something, you don't investigate, you don't ask, or if in addition to that you drink liquor, spoil your brain, then you're likely to be born not so intelligent, stupid. But if a person inquires, you know, if you don't know something, you ask, you investigate, you take the trouble to investigate, and then you don't take liquor to spoil your brain, and especially if you meditate, you clear your mind, you sharpen your mind, then the next time you come back, you will be born intelligent, wise. If a person is very respectful of elderly people, of teachers, of monks, etc., then those worthy of respect. Then, when the person comes back, the next birth, that person will have a good, born into a good family, where people would respect that person. For example, some people are born as a prince, son or daughter of a king or a sultan. And if a person is very Sombong, very proud, always look down on others and does not show respect to others at all. Then that person is likely to be born into a low family. For example, we have aborigines in this country. And if a person is very helpful towards others, very generous, very charitable, then next time when that person comes back, it's very likely that person either will be born wealthy or that person can become rich very easily. But conversely, if a person is very selfish, doesn't help others at all, then that person is not likely to be wealthy, if that person is not charitable. For example, you can see sometimes Two persons open the same type of shop down on the street. And one person's business is very good, another person's business is not very good. So you can think that person who used to help others, that person creates a good affinity with others. So when that person opens his shop, a lot of people come to him because he has this affinity with other people. So this is the law of karma. that a lot of our life is governed by our previous lives, but not everything is due to previous life. I give an example. Suppose you have three, you know, Form 5, all the students try to get 10 As in the exam. So suppose you have three types of students. The first type of student, he doesn't want to study at all. Maybe he goes here and there praying. But he doesn't want to make any effort to study. Can he get 10 As? Definitely not, right? Now the second type of student works very hard. Works very hard to get 10 As. But unfortunately, this second type of student is not very intelligent. Born not very intelligent. So he might get two or three A's, but he won't get ten A's. But the third type of student is born very smart, very intelligent, and he puts in the effort, burns the midnight oil, and he can get ten A's, right? So you see this third type of student that can get ten A's. Two things helps that person. The first one is being born intelligent. That is previous life karma, okay? And then working very hard is present life karma. So two things must work together. What you want, you must have that blessing from the previous life to help you. And in addition, you make the effort in this life. So then you only you can get what you want. So it doesn't mean that everything is destined from the previous life. Maybe 70% of our life is determined from previous lives, but another 30% is determined from this life. Now, in one sutra, one discourse of the Buddha in the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha said there are certain things in this world that everybody wants, but which is very hard to get. For example, to be born, beautiful or handsome, to be healthy, to be happy, to have a strong, to have a long life. And then after that to get a good rebirth. These are the things that everybody wants. But the Buddha said it's very hard to get. And the Buddha said these things are not to be got by vows or prayers. If you keep praying, or you make vows, or even you think about it every day, you are not going to get what you want. The Buddha said, if it were possible to get you what you wanted by prayers or vows or thinking about it every day, then why is there so much suffering in this world? Right? There's a lot of suffering in this world if you take the trouble to look around and you find that almost everybody prays, right? But the Buddha said, to get what you want, you must walk The path that will lead you to get what you want. And this path is determined by karma. For example, if you want long life, then don't kill. If you don't kill, then you don't have to pray for long life. You will get long life. If you want to be born handsome or pretty, then don't have a nasty temper. Don't always get angry. Then you'll be very sweet and you'll be born very sweet. If you want to be happy, have a very happy life, then give happiness to others. And that happiness will come back to you very naturally without having to pray for it. But if you give suffering to others, and then when suffering comes to you, you start calling heaven for help. No help is going to come. If it were possible that heaven is going to help us, why are those beings suffering in hell? So, the Buddha said, we have to understand the law of karma. What we sow, we will reap in return. So if we understand that, then we should be very careful of our actions. The Buddha is supposed to be the best doctor in the world, the best physician. And he's teaching us preventive medicine. Before you get sick, take the steps of not falling sick. After you get sick, it's too late. I have to take the bitter pill.

(E15)-04-Just-Vows-and-prayers-are-useless

Now there is another sutra where the Buddha came to a certain place and those people there were Brahmins. And they told the Buddha, they said, there is a type of Brahmins, I don't know whether they were talking about themselves or another type of Brahmins. They said, when their relative passes away, these Brahmins will take out the corpse as soon as possible and they will all carry the corpse very high. and let the corpse face heaven, point towards heaven, and they shout the name of that person who died and ask him to go to heaven. So they think by showing him the direction to heaven, his soul will go to heaven. So these Brahmins, they told the Buddha, they said, Lord, because they know that the Buddha had all these psychic powers, So they said, now that we have an arahant samasambuddha in the world, an enlightened person, I think we don't have to shout to ask the relative to go to heaven. The Buddha can bring us all to heaven. This is something a lot of people like to know, whether the Buddha can bring us all to heaven. So the Buddha said, before I answer your question, I'll ask you a question first. You answer me first. The Buddha said, suppose some men came to the edge of a pond, a deep pond, and they took a stone, a heavy stone, and they threw it into the middle of the pond. And as the stone was sinking into the middle of the pond, they all shouted, praised the stone, and asked the stone to float up, to float to the land. Is it possible, the Buddha asked, for the stone to float up, to come up to land? just because they praised the stone. And they said it's not possible because the stone is heavy. The stone would sink. So the Buddha said in the same way, suppose a person has done a lot of evil and after his death, his evil karma is pulling him down to the woeful planes of rebirth. You have three woeful planes of rebirth. The worst is the hell realm. The second A little better than that is the animal realm, where beings eat each other alive. A little better than that is the ghost realm. And these are the three woeful planes. So the Buddha said, because of evil deeds, after death, this person's heavy karma is pulling him down to the woeful planes of rebirth. And then you all come along and shout and ask him to go to heaven. Is it possible? And after they thought about it, they said, it's not logical. If that person is an evil person, and that person can go to heaven, there must be something wrong somewhere. So the Buddha said, now, another time, this group of people came to the edge of the pond again, and they brought along a cup, half filled with oil. And they threw this cup, half filled with oil, into the middle of the pond. And as the cup was sinking, the oil would float up to the surface. And then these people shouted at the oil, cursed the oil and asked the oil to sink to the bottom of the pond. Is it possible? Then they said no, because the oil is light, oil will float up to the surface. So the Buddha said in the same way, if a person is a very good person, doesn't harm other beings, has done a lot of good. After death, the person's good karma will bring that person up to a good place of rebirth, either heaven or at least a human plane. And then people came along and cursed the soul of that person and asked him to go to hell, to go to the woeful rebirth. Is it possible? So after thinking for a while, that man said no. So in other words, the Buddha is saying, nobody can help you. It is all determined by your actions. What you do, you get back in return. What you give, you get back in return. So that is basically the Buddha's teachings. In the Pure Land, it's a later teaching. It's a later book. Of course, in Mahayana Buddhism, they say that is the Buddha's words. But in Theravada Buddhism, it is not accepted as the Buddha's words because it's a later teaching and it contradicts the earlier teachings. Now, in the Sixth Patriarch Sutra, Sixth Patriarch was a very famous monk in China, Hui Neng. They also asked him this question. They asked him, they say, people say, that by reciting the Buddha's name, you can be reborn in the Pure Land. Is it true?" And then how did he answer? He said, if your mind or your heart is pure, the Pure Land is very near. If your mind or your heart is impure or evil, the Pure Land is very far. Furthermore, he said, Deluded people recite the Buddha's name, hoping to be reborn in the West. But wise people purify their minds or purify their hearts. So what is most important in the Buddha's teachings is our mind, our heart. That is the basis for your rebirth.

(E15)-05-Is-blind-faith-part-of-Buddhism

Now another thing about, another misconception, that you need blind faith in Buddhism. In Buddhism we have a term called saddha. Saddha. And saddha means confidence or trust that the Buddha is enlightened, that the Dhamma is well, is well taught by the Buddha, is a good teaching, and that the Sangha, the Buddha's disciples, practice the good way. And this saddha comes from, this confidence, comes from understanding the Buddha's teachings. The Buddha never asked us to take his words for granted. There is a sutra called the Kalama Sutra, where the Buddha said that we should not take everything on hearsay, even if it is in the books. Or you hear, just because you hear it from somebody who is respectable, etc. But the Buddha said, investigate, think about it, and then if you see that it is true, then only accept it. So the Buddha encouraged inquiry, and the Buddha said, even his own words you have to inquire, don't just take it for granted. Possibly because the Buddha had the wisdom to see that in the future there'll be a lot of books claiming to be the Buddha's words. As far as Theravada Buddhism is concerned, the original teachings of the Buddha are found in the Four Nikayas, the earliest Four Nikayas. Nikayas are, the word Nikaya means collection, collection of the Buddha's discourses. Actually, there are five Nikayas, but the last one is a later addition. It's supposed to be a minor collection, Kutaka Nikaya is the fifth Nikaya, but it has grown to be the largest Nikaya. The first one is the Digha Nikaya, D-I-G-H-A, that's the long discourses of the Buddha. There are three books and all together there are 34 long discourses. And the second Nikaya is the Majjhima Nikaya, middle length discourses. There are also three books. and the total number of discourses is 152. The third one is the Samyutta Nikaya, collection of short discourses grouped according to the topic. Five books there, and you have about 2,000 suttas because they are short. The fourth one is the Anguttara Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya is the short discourses of the Buddha grouped numerically. So these are the four original discourses of the Buddha. If you study these four Nikayas, you will find that they are very consistent and they have They have everything to do with lessening our suffering in the world. And these books, two of them are available from the Polytech Society in London. They are the only people who have translated it. And the other two, we have new translations from wisdom publications in America and UK. So these are the original discourses of the Buddha. You have a lot of other books besides that, but they are, you'll find if you study them, like Abhidhamma, etc., there's some, there's always something that contradicts these four Nikayas or Mahayana Sutras.

(E15)-06-Is-Buddhism-a-religion

Now, in a way, Buddhism is not a religion like other religions. Buddhism is actually an investigation. Investigation into life. You can call it a way of life. You can even call it a science. Because nowadays, as science progresses, there are a lot of things that does not contradict the Buddha's teachings at all. In fact, it corroborates the Buddha's teachings. 2,500 years ago, the Buddha did not need a radio telescope to look into space. He saw and he described space to us. He called the galaxies Chakravala. Chakra is a Sanskrit word that means a disc, right? It's also a Malay word, right? That means a disc. So he could see that galaxies flat like a disc. And he talked about a thousand worlds. galaxy, thousand world system. Each world is supposed to consist of one sun, one sun. Whenever you see a star in the sky, that's one sun. And there's a possibility of human beings there. So the Buddha talked about a thousand world system. That's a small world system. Then the Buddha talked about a thousand thousand world system. A thousand of these, these clusters of a thousand world, a thousand of these make up a middle thousand thousand fold world. And then the Buddha talked about the great thousand thousand thousand fold world system. So Just now we had the middle thousand fold world system, a thousand of these again. The Buddha's psychic power was so great that he could see so far. In addition to this, the Buddha said that the space is infinite. He cannot find the limits of space. And the Buddha also said that time had no beginning and time will have no end. And these are the things that only now Professor Stephen Hawkins has verified. But in addition to this, the Buddha said something else which science has not verified. That consciousness can be developed, like the Buddha's consciousness can be developed to be boundless. So like these holy men, when they're conscious, becomes boundless, then they can know what happens in other parts of the world. Before I came into Buddhism, I went on a long spiritual search. So I was studying these Hindu books and I remember reading one Hindu holy man. He was talking to his disciples and suddenly he kept very quiet, closed his eyes for a few minutes. Later they asked him why. He said there's a boat somewhere in Japan sinking. Some fishermen are sinking in a boat. So because his mind is so sort of expanded, he can know what is happening. Now most religions ask us to avoid evil and do good. This you also have in Buddhism. But in addition to that, the third one, very important, is to purify our mind. Purify our mind. A lot of people don't understand why, but later perhaps you might know why mind is so important in Buddhism.

(E15)-07-Is-rebirth-in-Heaven-a-guaranty

Another thing, becoming a Buddhist doesn't guarantee you rebirth in heaven. Some religions, they say that if you enter their religion, you are guaranteed a place in heaven. Not so in Buddhism. You cannot bribe heaven in Buddhism. You have to be a good person. Doesn't matter whether you're a Buddhist or a Hindu or an atheist or anything. If you have a good heart, The heaven is waiting for you. But if you are evil, also doesn't matter whether you are a Buddhist, you will go into the woeful plains of rebirth.

(E15)-08-Are-Heaven-and-Hell-eternal

The other thing in Buddhism is heaven and hell are not eternal. Heaven and hell are not eternal. But they are so long that they seem like eternal, especially hell. When you suffer, one day passes so slowly, so miserable, waiting for the day to end. Just like at night when you cannot sleep. If you cannot sleep at night, the hour seems to go by so slowly. So we have some descriptions of heaven and hell in our suttas. So even though a person goes to heaven or to hell, the time can be so long. For example, in the lowest heaven, The lowest heaven is the heaven of the four great heavenly kings. And the heaven of the four great heavenly kings, you have different types of beings. For example, Nagas. Nagas are snake spirits. Snake spirits. If they want, they can come down to our human plane. That's why sometimes you get stories of people killing some big snake in the forest. Then after that, they die in a short while. So you have these Nagas. Sometimes people can see them in the forest, in a very secluded forest. They see very, very huge snakes because they come down to sort of play in the human plane. And because they are heavenly beings, they can change their form. And then you have Gandabhas. Gandabhas are three spirits, three spirits. Sometimes we call them fairies or elves. They stay in the plants. And the Buddha said there are some that like to stay in the flowers, some like to stay in the leaves, some like to stay in the twigs, some like to stay in the bark of the tree, some like to stay in the hardwood, some like to stay in the roots. So in a tree, in a big tree, you can have many, many of them. That's why sometimes like our public works department, when they want to construct a road, they bring down the trees. But sometimes they come across a very huge tree, which is inhabited by these very powerful spirits. They don't allow you to bring down the tree. If you try to use a tractor or something, an accident happens and somebody is killed. Heaven of the four great heavenly kings, their lifespan is supposed to be 9 million human years. 9 million human years. And then the heaven above that is the Tavatimsa heaven, heaven of the 33 gods. In this heaven, the Devas always like to fight. You have Sakadevaraja and the angels fighting the Asuras. And this story you find not only in Buddhism, you find in Hinduism and you also find in Christianity. But in Christianity they say that Michael the Archangel chased Satan out of heaven. But in the Buddhism, it is the Sakhadevaraja, the devas fighting with the asuras. Asuras also belong to that same heaven, but they are violent and they like to drink liquor and they have a very nasty temper. So in that heaven, their lifespan is supposed to be 36 million human years. 36 million human years. So as you go higher, higher than the heavenly beings. The higher you go, then the less violent they become. They don't fight. These two especially, the four great heavenly kings and the Tavatimsa heaven, heaven of the 33 gods, there's a lot of fighting. As you go higher, they don't fight. And every world system consists of three levels. the sensual realm, the form realm and the formless realm. In the sensual realm, all beings have lust, sexual desire. So because of that, you have male and female, male and female. But in the form realm, those heavenly beings are what we call unisex. There is no male, no female. And to be reborn there, you have to attain jhāna. Jhāna is meditative absorption, where the mind becomes one-pointed. The mind becomes so strong, and the mind starts to emit light. So, when a being is reborn there, those devas, their body is full of light. And they're so blissful, some of them are always exclaiming, happiness, happiness. And the higher ones are so happy that they can't utter any word. They're utterly happy. It's all in the mind, you see, because they cultivate their mind to be so peaceful. But even then, as you go higher and higher, their lifespan, in terms of world cycles, One world cycle is an extremely, extremely long time. And the Buddha said, it's hard to imagine how long it is, but to give you a simile, the Buddha said, imagine a rock, a cube, a cube rock which is 10 kilometers high, 10 kilometers long, and 10 kilometers wide. And every 100 years, you take a soft cloth and wipe it once. They're only allowed to wipe it once in a hundred years. How long would you take before you wear down the whole rock? Extremely long time. That's how long a world cycle is, the Buddha said. So some of these heavenly beings, devas, their lifespan is so long in terms of world cycles. That is why some of them think that they are eternal, that they'll never die. And the Buddha, in our discourses, the Buddha has flown up to the heaven and taught some of them. Because of previous affinity, some of them were his teachers in the past. So because of gratitude, he went to teach them. At first, they didn't believe him. And then they thought that the psychic power is greater than the Buddha, like one of them. He said he will vanish from the Buddha. His psychic power is extremely powerful. So when he tried to vanish, because the Buddha was controlling him, he couldn't vanish. Then the Buddha said, I will vanish from you. Then he asked the Buddha to vanish. And the Buddha vanished. And he could hear the Buddha's voice, but he couldn't see the Buddha. Then only he realized the Buddha's psychic power was more powerful. Then only he wanted to believe the Buddha. Then the Buddha told him who he was in his past life. They were friends before, that's why the Buddha went to see him.

(E15)-09-Are-Buddhist-precepts-like-commandments

Another misconception about Buddhism, we have these precepts. Lay people are taught to keep the five precepts, panca sila. This is the basic moral conduct that a Buddhist has to keep. First one is not to intentionally kill any living being. If you can avoid it, you don't kill. Second one, It's not to take what is not given to you. That's a slightly better than stealing. If what is not given to you, you don't take it. The third one is not to commit adultery. The fourth is not to lie. The fifth is not to take intoxicants to the extent that you get intoxicated for a lay person. But for a monk, you're not supposed to take any intoxicant if there's any smell or taste of liquor. So these are the basic five precepts. Now these five precepts are not like commandments. In Christianity they have commandments, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal. You must not do this. But when we When we take the five precepts, we recite, pa-na-ti-pa-ta-ve-ra-ma-ni-si-ka-pa-dang-sa-ma-di-ya-mi. That means I undertake to train myself to abstain from killing living beings. So you don't say that you guarantee, you know, you don't say that you will not kill. You just say that you will train yourself, you undertake to train yourself. So normally people when they start off, they find it, this precept says I must not kill, but this stupid mosquito is killing. So initially they can't help it, they do that. And then some people say, Amitabha. Hoping you'll be reborn in the Pure Land. But then as you, over the years, as you practice further, then it becomes easier not to kill. But these precepts, because it is quite impossible to practice them a hundred percent, Quite impossible to practice that purely a hundred percent. That is why the Buddha said that we try, we undertake to train ourselves to keep the precepts. Whenever possible we try to keep the precepts.

(E15)-10-Are-Buddhists-vegetarians

Now the other thing, another misconception is some people think that if you are a Buddhist, you must be a vegetarian. Not necessary in the original Buddha's teachings. But the Buddha differentiated between a type of meat which is allowable and a type of meat which is not allowable. And the Buddha said the type of meat which is not allowable is When you see, hear, or suspect, that is, when you see that the animal was purposely or specifically killed for you, or when you hear that the animal was purposely or specifically killed for you, or when you suspect that the animal was purposely or specifically killed for you. Now with these three conditions, then you'd have the direct karma of killing. Okay? Because karma is concerned with intention. If you have the intention to kill, then you are guilty of that killing. But if you don't have the intention, then you are not guilty of that killing. Now a lot of people say, but because you eat meat, people have to kill the animal for you. Yes and no. From the worldly point of view, yes. But You must remember you didn't ask him to kill. If you ask him to kill, then that meat is not allowable. Or if that person kill purposely for you, also not allowable. So this indirect karma, we cannot avoid it as long as we live in this world. This world is a world of survival of the fittest. And we survive, we live at the expense of other living beings. That is always the case. Just like the trees in the forest, you see those that grow faster, they come up, and then when the leaves spread out, those trees below, they don't get enough sunlight, they will die. Just for example, you go for an interview, 100 people, there's only one vacancy, one job. Especially now recession, when you are graduate, there'll be very few jobs. So you go for an interview, 100 people queuing up for that job, only one job. If you get that job, it costs 99 other people to have no job. So that's the way the world is. Now this indirect karma, even if you're a vegetarian, you also cause the killing of animals, right? You know that for the farmer to grow the crops, he has to clear the land. And our land is not like in Europe, you know. Our land is full of forest. Tropical land is full of forest. If you start clearing the forest, a lot of animals die, right? And then after the farmer plants the crops, then when the tupai squirrel comes to eat, he'll shoot. When the monkey comes to eat, he'll shoot. When the insects come, he'll spray the insecticide. When the snails come, also he'll kill. So a lot of beings die because you want to eat vegetables and these fruits. Now, in addition, for example, we want to stay in a house. Because we want to stay in a house, a lot of land has to be cleared to make housing estates. So in the same way, a lot of beings die because we want to live in a house. And then because we want to use electricity, the government has to make dams. Whenever they make a dam, the river level goes up and floods a lot of areas. So a lot of beings die also. And because you want to use household goods, cups and clothing and pots and pans and furniture, etc., they have to make factories. In the same way, to make factories, they have to clear a lot of land, and a lot of beings die. Also you know, every day the government employs people to go and shoot dogs without license. Why? Because if the dogs multiply, these stray dogs, there'll be disease, right? So they might become rabid and if they bite people, people may die. So every day stray dogs are shot in Malaysia. And then like in Australia, every day they shoot thousands of kangaroos and rabbits. Why? Because they eat the crops, right? They eat the crops. So these people, they don't eat the kangaroos or the rabbits, but they just kill and throw it away. So imagine if all of us became vegetarians and we let all the animals multiply. It will multiply so fast, right? To produce one human being, you've got to wait nine months. But you see the pig, when it gives birth, so many in a short while. So very soon, our highway will be crowded with these animals, plus got a lot of work to do. So the government will still employ people to kill these animals. So there is no way you can prevent this indirect killing. Another thing people say is because we eat meat, then we indirectly cause more slaughter of the animals. But if that actually is the case, then we also cannot drive a car. Because if you drive a car, you're encouraging the car industry to make more cars. And every day on the road, 2,000 human beings are killed by cars every day, and countless animals. So you cannot drive a car, you cannot sit in a car. Cannot sit in a bus also. These of us are encouraging more cars to be manufactured. So basically the Buddha is telling us, as long as we don't have the karma of killing, that's most important. Indirectly, because we are trying to survive, we will cause other beings' lives. But of course, you must remember, if you want to take meat, there must be these three conditions. You don't kill, you don't ask somebody to kill, you don't see and you don't hear.

(E15)-11-Is-the-world-mind-made

Now, another misconception, this one is more, this coming to the end, so this is more profound, is that most of us, all of us, we see ourselves as a human being in this world, right? I am this body here, by the name of so-and-so, studying in USM, and then the world is out there, right? This is what we think. But then, to a holy man, some of these Hindu sages, they say, the ordinary person sees himself as a being in the world, but a holy man sees the world in himself. Very strange. A holy man sees the whole world in himself. Why? Because if you really investigate, when you say there is a world, how do you perceive the world? You perceive the world because of seeing, right? You say you see the world because of hearing. You hear the sounds of the world, you smell the smells of the world, you taste the taste of the world and you touch the things in the world. So these five senses, make up the world, the exterior world. If you include the interior world, then the six senses, the world of the mind also. So these six senses is actually the working of consciousness. Normally we think the eye sees the world. Not really. Because when you go to sleep and you have a dream, when you have a dream at night, you're dreaming, you see another world, right? and you are in that dream, and during that dream, it's as real as now. Right? So actually it is the consciousness that makes you see. When the seeing consciousness arises, you see. When the hearing consciousness arises, you hear. If all these six consciousnesses stop, where is the world? So, in other words, this world, is in a way of a nature of a dream. That's why when you think about what happened to you 10 years or 20 years ago, or 30 or 40 years ago, it's just like a dream that went by. So, you find that is why in Buddhism mind is so important. The type of sights that you see, the type of sounds that you hear, the smells, taste, touch, etc. is determined by your mind. For example, now we see each other. It is because of past affinity that we have seen each other in a previous life, that we meet again. So, you're built up by your mind. depends on what? Just like a computer. What comes out on the computer depends on the program you put in, right? So in the same way, what comes up in your mind, the kind of world that is conjured up by your mind, depends on your program, which is the kamma. So because of your kamma, your actions, if you have a good heart, a good mind, so you have been doing good deeds, After you pass away, a beautiful world is conjured up for you. And if you have done a lot of evil deeds, your mind conditions that you see yourself in hell suffering. So that is why in Buddhism, mind is very, very important. The whole world is conjured up by mind. Now if you were to explain it scientifically, we can also explain it scientifically. For example, you consider your body. You think that you are this body. What is this body made up of? When you think carefully, this body is made up of cells. Millions and millions of cells, right? The dead cells constitute your hair, your nails, your teeth, your outer skin, your bones. These are your dead cells. And then your live cells are your flesh, your blood, etc. Most of it is live cells. So your body is basically consists of millions and millions of cells. Now when you analyze these cells again, what do you have? Every cell consists of Molecules and atoms, right? Molecules and atoms. Molecules are also basically atoms. So, your whole body is made up of atoms, right? Because your cells are made up of atoms. So your whole body is made up of atoms. Now you consider an atom, you look into an atom in detail, You find that the atom is no different from the sky. When you look into the sky at night, you find that it is 99.9999999% void, empty, right? And here and there you see a star moving, a star. So in the same way, an atom is 99.9999999% void. And inside you have particles of energy moving to and fro. And these particles of energy now, scientists say, they're not even solid. There are different theories, like the wave theory, the quantum theory, and all that. So, our body, if you think carefully, is 99.99999% void, you know, emptiness. No different from the air around you. This is the truth. No different from the air around you. That is why in Buddhism we talk about sunyata, emptiness, kong in Chinese. Now, only now scientists are beginning to realize that this void inside us is not really void. It is consciousness. Consciousness. That is why nowadays doctors say most of our sickness, if not 100% of our sickness comes from our mind. If you are happy, you are not liable to get cancer and all that. If you are depressed, you got too much stress, too much pressure and all that, then you develop sickness. So, because we are 99.999% void or consciousness. So whatever we think affects the whole body. So how is it that even though you are 99.9999% emptiness, you see yourself as a solid human mass. This consciousness inside you is projecting yourself as a human being. So you act like a, you act like a cow or a bull. So you're very likely, in your next dream, you see yourself as a cow or a bull. You see, gu ke, Hokkien, they say gu ke. Ngau ching, acting like an animal. So you'll be born as an animal. So when you consider that life is like a dream, so it's not difficult to imagine how a being can see itself as an animal. One moment a human being, another lifetime an animal. So I suppose I should end here and I invite questions and comments.

(E15)-12-What-is-correct

The other thing is I'd like to say tomorrow the talk on the eight worldly conditions. I won't talk so much because there's not very much to talk about. So I would prefer that you ask questions either verbally or put it down in writing. You can write if you want tonight you can think of all the questions or tomorrow morning. You can think about your questions, write them on pieces of paper and give it to me and tomorrow afternoon I'll try to answer them. How do we judge whether what we read or study is correct? different people will come to different conclusions. The conclusion that a wise man comes to is likely to be different from what a foolish person will conclude. So in the Sutas, the Buddha said, There are five things that block us from seeing things clearly and these are called panca nivarana. Panca means five. Nivarana means hindrances, five hindrances. The first one is sensual desire, sensual desire or lust. The second one is ill will or anger. The third one is sloth and topper. Sloth and topper. Sleepy. Fourth one is restlessness. Restlessness and remorse. When you are remorseful, you are restless inside. The fifth one is doubt. Doubt. And these, Five hindrances envelop all of us. But the degree of these five hindrances is different for different people. That's why you see some people their IQ is very high, some people IQ is very low. Now when we meditate, we reduce these five hindrances provided You practice tranquility meditation. When we practice Samatha or tranquility meditation, we try to get a hold of our mind. It's not easy to get a hold of our mind. An uncontrolled mind is a source of great suffering, a source of great misery. A controlled mind is a source of great happiness. So, you see, all of us, the mind is always flowing. This flowing of the mind is called asava, uncontrolled mental outflows. The mind is the nature of the mind to flow. This tendency of the mind to flow is so fierce that normally we are always thinking of something. Right? Either we have stray thoughts, or we daydream, or we fantasize. And when we go to sleep, this circuit inside won't turn off. It will make you dream. And what you dream depends on yourself. If that person is very sensual, he will dream of sensual thoughts. If that person is violent, that person will dream of violent thoughts. So, it is because of this that people like a story. People like to watch TV, watch videotapes, because they like a story. Because you like to imagine, you like these stories. So it's basically because of this that life goes on. You want to be somebody. You want to do something. So you come back again and again to achieve something. Some people come back to be a rich man. Some people come back because they're still in love with a certain person. So we want to come back and marry that person. So we come back again and again for various reasons. So when we meditate and we practice tranquility meditation, we try to Get a hold of our mind. Try to control our mind. Stop it from flowing. And it's not easy to do. So the Buddha said, one meditation object is to watch the breath. Watch the breath. So when the breath goes in, and then goes out, you know that it goes in, goes out. Just don't do anything except sit straight and watch the breath go in and go out. But as you watch the breath, after a while, you start thinking again. Then you remember, you pull it back to the breath again. You watch the breath. But in order to make it easier for you to watch the breath consistently, normally we do counting. We do two things. Say, for example, when the breath goes out, you count one. When it goes in, you don't count. When it goes out, again, you count 2 mentally inside. When it goes in, goes out, then 3. Goes in, goes out, 4. Goes in, goes out, 5, up to 10. Then after that, back to 1. And then 2, and 3, 4, up to 10, and then 1, 2, 3, 4. Now if you start thinking, start daydreaming, then when you come to 10, You forget, then you go 11, 12, 13, 14, then you suddenly you notice, you go back to 1 again. So in this way, you keep on doing this. Initially, you find two of the hindrances very strong. One is the restlessness. The restlessness will make it very difficult for you to stay with your object of meditation, just watching the breath. You find it difficult because the mind is restless. It will pull you, you think about your studies or for a person working, you think about office problems. For a person with a family, you think of family problems. So the first obstacle in meditation is restlessness. The second one is sloth and topper. Either you're sleepy or you cannot see your breath clearly. So you keep on practicing. Actually, in meditation, if you want to progress, you have to let go of your attachments, let go of many worldly things. That is why people wear the robe and become a monk, so that they can practice meditation full time. So as you keep on practicing, meditation is something that you cannot see the progress in a short while. It's just like a child growing. You see the child every day, you don't see the growth. But after one, two years, then you see. So in the same way, meditation, after one, two years, then probably you might see some progress. So you keep on practicing until you're able to follow your breath. without thinking stray thoughts. And then, if you are able to do that, then, because the mind is not scattered, normally the mind is scattered because your energy goes out through your eyes, goes out through your ears, through your nose, your tongue, your body and your thinking mind. So because our energy, the mental energy is scattered, when you close your eyes, everything is dark, right? But if we are able to focus on this meditation, so that all your energy, all your attention is only on your breathing, nothing else. As you are able to do this, slowly, slowly the world recedes from you. The world you will find, slowly you will realize, It's so real because your eyes are open, your ears are open, etc. It's so real. But when you go into your mind, slowly it recedes away from you, this world. And then, if you are able to focus only on your breathing, slowly the mind will light up, the mind will become bright. Why? Because originally the mind was bright, but it's only because the mind is scattered that it's become dark. So when the mind becomes bright, then the bliss arises, a bliss which is not like ordinary worldly happiness. So if you are able to practice in that way consistently, then the mind becomes charged with energy, and then your hindrances reduce. When your hindrances reduce, because you are able to bring your mind to a focus, so next time when you have any, you study anything or you consider any problem, you are able to focus your mind very sharp, and then you can see things very clearly. If you have a very wishy-washy scattered mind, it's not much use to you. So meditation is the way.

(E15)-13-What-is-Pureland

What is the Pure Land? Pure Land is the teaching in Mahayana sutra or discourse. By the way, maybe some of you may not know, in Buddhism we have two main schools. These two main schools are Theravada and Mahayana. Theravada countries are like Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia. And we wear this type of robe. Monks wear this type of robe. This is the original Buddha's robe. And then Mahayana Buddhism started 500 years after the Buddha's passing away. Mahayana Buddhism. So you find that these Mahayana texts, Mahayana books, what they call sutras, discourses, are later, 500 years later. And because they were later, they always talk about small vehicle and big vehicle. They call themselves Mahayana, which means big vehicle. And they call us Hinayana, small vehicle. So their books always have this kind of differentiation. But our discourses, the Four Nikāyas, we don't have this kind of differentiation because during the Buddha's time, the monks were united. The monks were not split into Mahāyāna and Theravāda. Mahāyāna countries are like China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam. And then an offshoot of Mahayana Buddhism, which started 1,200 years after the Buddha's passing away, is Tibetan Buddhism. Sometimes they call it Lamaism. They have Dalai Lama and all that. That started much later. So they have other things which also is not found in original Buddhism, like mantras. Mantras are words that have no meaning. But they have a certain power. But the Buddha did not encourage us to practice that. So this Amitabha Sutra is one of the sutras that appeared later. And in this sutra, the teaching is that if you recite Amitabha Buddha's name, you will be reborn in the pure land, which is a kind of heaven. And they claim that it is possible because of the vow made by Amitabha Buddha. Of course, in Theravada Buddhism, we don't believe it. We don't believe that it's possible.

(E15)-14-Why-respect-for-the-elders-not-found-in-Precepts

The question is why isn't this relationship that children respect parents not included in the five precepts. This respect for elders is found in the Mangala Sutta. Mangala Sutta is a discourse. What happened Here is that one night, you know the Buddha, because of his developed mind, the Buddha slept very little every day. He slept only one or two hours every night. So quite often, twelve o'clock at night, these devas, heavenly beings, will come and visit the Buddha and talk to the Buddha. And when they come, they emit light. But only people with psychic power can see, ordinary people cannot see. So one night, one of these devas came to ask the Buddha, what is the highest blessing? How do you get the highest blessing? And then the Buddha spoke this Mangala Sutra. The Buddha said, the first one, he said, ase vanacabala nampandita nanchasevana, which means not to associate with fools. To associate with the wise, this is the highest blessing. In other words, don't mix with foolish people. Mix with wise people. This will bring you the highest blessing. Foolish people are people who have no moral conduct, who are practicing, who are walking the wrong path that will bring them to the woeful planes of rebirth. Wise people are those who are practicing the good path who will bring them to a good place of rebirth. And then another, there is much advice given in this Mangala Sutta. For example, to stay in a suitable place. In our context, a suitable place is one where you can get to know the teachings of the Buddha. You can practice the teachings of the Buddha. You walk the peaceful way. And then other things like to respect our parents, to support our parents, to take care of wife and children. In other words, take care of the family. to listen to the Buddha's discourses, to discuss the Buddha's teachings, to practice meditation, to have gratitude. Gratitude, the first people we should have gratitude to are our parents, because our parents took care of us when we were helpless. So they are the first persons we should have gratitude to. In Buddhism, support, gratitude towards our parents is very, very important. If you cannot have gratitude towards your parents, you are not a good person. I mean that it's pretty fundamental to be grateful to somebody you should be grateful to. And then a lot of advice given in the Mangala Sutta if you just study it. So that is not included in the five precepts because the five precepts are At the very minimum, we should keep to avoid harming others. This five precepts is so important that in most religions you have it. And it's even in the laws of a country. For example, if you kill a human being, you will get hauled up to court, right? And sentenced to be hanged or something. And then if you steal your neighbor's things, also you get brought to the court. And if you seduce your neighbor's wife, also you'll be hauled up to the court. If you lie and cheat people, also you'll be brought to the court. So these are pretty fundamental moral conduct. That's why this is the basic. And in addition to that, the Buddha advised that lay people should keep the, nowadays they call it the Sabbath. In Christianity they call it the Sabbath. But actually many of you don't know that this was practiced during the Buddha's time before Christianity. In Christianity they practice it on the Sunday. But in the Buddha's teachings it's on the 8th of the month. 8th day of the lunar calendar, the 15th, the 23rd and the 30th. In Theravada Buddhism, it's the 30th or 29th, but in Mahayana Buddhism, they made it the first lunar day. So once a week, basically once a week, you're supposed to keep the 8 precepts and practice. Because when you keep the 8 precepts, the extra Basically, the eight precepts, the first is the same, not to kill, not to steal. But the third one, instead of not to commit adultery, in the eight precepts, it is not to engage in sexual conduct. That means if a person is married, then he abstains from sexual conduct. The fourth one is not to lie. The fifth one is not to take intoxicants. The sixth one is not to eat. a meal half between noon and the next morning, dawn of the next morning. That means not to eat food, means you can eat twice. You can take breakfast and you can take lunch. The reason is to not to sort of to practice the eating minimal, not to be a glutton. But in some monasteries, like in our monastery, we allow beverage drink at night. So if you want to make a milo or milk drink at night, it's alright. So that's the sixth precept. The seventh precept actually consists of two precepts. One is not to adorn the body, not to use cosmetics, Perfume, etc. Or flowers, or garland, etc. And then another thing is not to see shows, to watch TV, or to listen to music, etc. So that is the seventh precept. The eighth precept is not to sleep on a high and a large bed, a very comfortable bed. That's the Eight Precepts. So these are the Eight Precepts. So by keeping the Eight Precepts once a week, you are in effect practicing like a monk or a nun for one day of the week. So the Buddha said that is very beneficial. At least you see that you realize that life is impermanent, that we all end up in the grave. in the not very distant future. So seeing the urgency, you at least strive spiritually at least once a week.

(E15)-15-Contradictions-between-Kamma-and-Pureland

Yes, they also believe in karma. That's why there is this contradiction. If you really believe in karma, then how can you believe in rebirth in the Pure Land? Because if you totally believe this Amitabha Sutra, then even if you are an evil person, then just recite, then you can be reborn there. It doesn't compute.

(E15)-16-What-is-Trance

This is going into a trance. This going into a trance is something that is practiced in some of these Chinese temples. And basically what happens is that they embody. So when this spirit goes into this person's body, then that person can do certain things. For example, you see in some of these Chinese temple celebrations, they put a lot of charcoal. red hot fiery charcoal, and they walk barefooted on it, and they don't get hurt. And sometimes they take the knife, cut themselves, and they don't get hurt. Sometimes like for the Indian temple, they poke themselves with these spears and all that, and it's because the spirit is inside them that they don't get hurt. But this is a practice that from our point of view is not good. Because when you invite a spirit into your body, then it seems that that spirit will be usually inside there, very hard to get it out. So sometimes, but sometimes some of these spirits seem to be quite helpful. They invite the spirit into their body, and then they hold, the two men, they hold a Y-shaped fork, and then this fork can write a prescription prescription for medicine, medicinal prescription for somebody who's sick. And usually when they take that medicine, they get well. So some of these spirits do help, do help people.

(E15)-17-What-is-Buddhist-view-of-Soul

What is the point of view of Buddhism concerning the soul? This soul is something in the Buddha's teachings, when we say soul, it means, actually the word is anatta. The word that is spoken by the Buddha is anatta. Anatta means no-self or not-self. And actually it means that there is no one thing that is permanent, everlasting, that doesn't change. Everything in this world is impermanent. Everything in this world is impermanent. And when we investigate ourselves, Who are you? You find that generally we say we are either this body or this mind. And when you investigate deeper, you find that both of these are changing all the time. For example, our human body consists of cells. And these cells, new cells are being formed and old cells are dying every moment. And every seven years or so, all the cells in your body will change, right? So the mind is also changing due to conditions. So there is not a single thing that stays the same. You know, even iron, which is so hard. If you make an iron bridge, after a hundred years or so, the thing may collapse, right? Because of the rust. So even such a hard thing will crumble. More so the human body. But there is some kind of energy inside us that sort of goes from one lifetime to another lifetime. In Chinese, sometimes they call it linghun, lingfen, which is something some people interpret it as a soul. It's a kind of a bundle of energy, energy of our habits and our memories that we carry from one lifetime to another. But what the Buddha is saying is that everything is changing, even this bundle of energy is changing all the time. And it is, how do you say, a wrong perception for us to see ourselves as this body here, as dissociated from other bodies. Because this whole world around us, all these beings, are actually all in our consciousness. And so, like you, this person that you consider yourself to be, is part of my mind. You are actually part of me and I am part of you. And it's because of that, that if I hurt you, that my conscience pricks me, I'm actually hurting myself. If I harm you, I'm actually harming myself. You are in my world and I'm in your world, or in your mind. So either you can say there is no self, or all beings is part of yourself. But this kind of thing is very hard to speak in words. You have to meditate and slowly investigate the Buddha's words. Somebody like the Buddha who is fully enlightened, who explained things so well for our benefit, that slowly you will come to understand. A lot of things, for example, a newcomer or somebody who is not familiar with the Buddha's teachings, sometimes in the, like this for example, like mind, like in Buddhism we say mind is so important, but somebody who is new to the Buddha's teachings, I think it's ridiculous. Why is mind so important? But when you investigate deeper, then you find that it's actually your mind that conjures up the whole world. that this whole world exists only because of your consciousness.

(E15)-18-How-come-monks-committed-suicide-as-mentioned-in-the-Sutta

Actually, it's mentioned in our Vinaya disciplinary books for monks and nuns that there was a person who was possessed by one of Satan's, how do you say, Satan's friends. So because he was possessed, he went around asking the monks whether they wanted to die soon. So because of that, and also because Many of them, during the Buddha's time, they didn't have medical facilities as we have now. So if you are sick, you very often had to bear your sickness. There wasn't tranquilizers and painkillers and all that. So many of them, they were very miserable and they wanted to die. So this person took their lives. So in a way that is true. But generally the Buddha did not encourage people to take their lives unless they were already arahant. If they are already arahant and they have already finished their work, they have already finished the round of rebirth, they will not be reborn. And if they have physical pain which is quite unbearable, Then the Buddha indicated to them that it was blameless if they took their own lives. And there were two or three of them who were very sick. And they, I don't know whether they cut their wrists or they cut their throat. But if you are an Arahant, it's all right.

(E15)-19-What-is-Asuba-practice

Actually, this word, asubha, the Pali word is asubha, sometimes they translate it as contemplation of loathsomeness of the body, but maybe it should be translated as unattractiveness of the body, because subha means attractive or beautiful, and asubha means unattractive or not so beautiful. So the aim of that meditation is to cut our lust. Because normally, nature has made us to have this lust. So when a man sees a woman's body, he is excited by a woman's body and vice versa. And normally we see a body only skin deep, we only contemplate the outside of a body. So in this meditation on the 32 parts of the body, We are supposed to recite the 32 parts of the body. Head, hair, body, hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone, marrow, kidney, heart, liver, midriff, spleen, lung, bowel, entrails, etc. So you recite the 32 parts of the body forwards and backwards and you contemplate each one by one. So if you practice it often, then you realize the body in its entirety, inside and outside. So when you contemplate a body, you not only see the outside, you also see the inside. Then that will help you to cut glass. Then when you see Miss Universe in front of you, then you contemplate the inside, how if the body was turned inside out, Yeah, it won't be attractive as Miss Universe anymore if all the organs were hanging outside instead of inside.