PowerPoint presentation on Bhikkhu Bodhi’s recorded lectures on ‘Buddha’s Teaching As It Is’. Materials for the presentation are taken from the recorded lectures (MP3) posted at the website of Bodhi Monastery and the notes of the lectures posted at beyondthenet.net

Originally prepared to accompany the playing of Bhikkhu Bodhi’s recorded lectures on ‘Buddha’s Teaching As It is’ in the Dharma Study

Class at PUTOSI Temple, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.

This series of weekly study begins in November, 2010.

Buddha’s Teaching As It Is – Bhikkhu Bodhi

Bhikkhu Bodhi

Lecture 9

SOCIAL DIMENSION OF BUDDHA’S TEACHING

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa

Is Renouncing the World the Only Way?

In the past, Buddhism has often been viewed as an exclusively other-worldly religion, a doctrine directed solely to a transcendental goal without any concern for this world other than its abandonment. It is held by some writers that the only authentic way to follow the teaching of the Buddha is to renounce the world, become a monk, and retire to a forest in order to practice meditation. In the view of these writers Buddha does not offer any teaching that is of relevance to a person in the world for resolving difficulties of the social, economic and political life.

Theravada Buddhism in particular, has been depicted in this distorted way, as a teaching of other-worldly nature, as an austere monastic code which encourages each individual’s private pursuit of his/her own salvation.

Is renouncing the World the Only Way?All these charges involve serious misunderstandings and

misrepresentations. At the outset, we have to stress that the ultimate aim of the Buddha's teaching underline the transcending of the world. On this point there can be no hedging or compromise, nor is there any need for apologetics. The ultimate aim of the Dhamma is liberation from the realm of birth and death, deliverance from samsara – impermanent, suffering, without a substantial basis. Though the Buddha teaches that the transcendence of the world is the ultimate goal, he treats this goal in relation to the totality of human life in all its manifold aspects. Every aspect of human life is connected to the other aspects. No aspect can be treated in isolation from the whole. Life in the world is not opposed or unrelated to our spiritual quest. Life can become part of the path which leads to achievement of deliverance.

Dhamma for the Ordained and LaityThe Dhamma has two dimensions, a dimension of depth and a

dimension of breadth. In its dimension of depth, the Dhamma leads to the overcoming of the world. But in its dimension of breadth, it embraces all facets of human existence and shows how all these different sides of human life can be transformed, elevated and ennobled, and finally absorbed into the comprehensive path leading to liberation.

The life of Buddha illustrates important lessons. The quest for enlightenment has priority over all mundane social and political claims. It is the paramount duty of a man to seek and achieve his own freedom. After he attained enlightenment, the Buddha came back into the world to teach and proclaim the doctrines, to show the way to happiness.

Dhamma for the Ordained and Laity

In the course of his teaching mission, the Buddha associated with people from all walks of life. In his own words he said "Very often I dwell surrounded by monks and nuns, by laymen and laywomen, kings and princes, businessmen and merchants, brahmins and recluses.“ He lived and worked for the welfare and happiness of many folks, for the compassion of the entire world.

Further the Buddha says: "If my teaching could only be practiced by monks and nuns but could not be practiced by laymen and laywomen, then my teaching would be defective in these two respects, it would be an imperfect doctrine." But then he adds: "My doctrine can be practiced by monks, by nuns, by laymen and laywomen, therefore it is a completely perfect and pure doctrine.”

Threefold Benefits of the Teaching

The teaching of the Buddha is traditionally said to lead to three types of benefits:

1. the benefits in this present life;2. the benefits in future lives; and3. the ultimate good of human existence.

The benefits in the present life are personal well-being, happiness and peace of mind right here and now, and economic, political and social justice; to conduce to friendly and harmonious relations between people.

Threefold Benefits of the Teaching

The Dhamma conduces to future benefits because it shows us the way we can cultivate our kamma, our actions in body, speech and mind, while we are in samsara so that we will be able to advance to our future lives taking favourable forms of rebirth, forms which will aid us in our quest for final deliverance.

The highest benefit is final deliverance, liberation from samsara.

The emphasis on one or the other, especially the last of these benefits to the exclusion of the others leads to the distortions and misunderstandings referred to earlier. The aspects on present and future benefits are essential to the total structure of the teaching, they form the basis for the attainment of the ultimate aim.

Material Wellbeing – Foundation

The Buddha’s teaching leads to benefits here and now, to material and social well-being. All the benefits from the teaching are set out in graded order. Material and social well-being is not the final goal of the Buddha's teaching. The final and highest goal is the attainment of Nibbana.

From the Buddhist perspective, seeking material or economic welfare alone degrades human life to the level of animal life. To become concerned only with eating, sleeping, reproducing, gaining pleasures, living, comfort, etc., is to degrade the potential value of human life.

Material Wellbeing – Foundation

Therefore, the Buddha teaches that the economic and social stability that come from the application of this teaching should serve as the foundation for higher spiritual development – moral, spiritual and intellectual spheres. Though economic and social benefits are of secondary value, they are nevertheless important for the practice of the path.

In order to practice the Dhamma properly, a secure material foundation, a peaceful and beneficent government, and a free society are required.

Therefore material well-being and the pursuit of the spiritual goal are mutually supportive.

For the Good of Oneself and Others

Although Theravada Buddhism is often portrayed as a self-centered doctrine, the Buddha teaches that there are two types of good that we have to take into account, one's own good and the good of others. He says that there are four types of people:

1. There is the person concerned with neither his own good nor the good of others. This is the worst of the four types.

2. The person concerned with the good of others but not with his own good.

3. The person who is concerned with his own good but not with the good of others.

4. The person who is concerned with both his own good and the good of others. This fourth is the best.

For the Good of Oneself and Others

The Buddha pronounces the fourth person to be the most excellent. But he goes further to say that concern for the welfare of others has to be tempered by the recognition that we can only benefit others truly to the extent that we have benefited ourselves. A person who is himself stuck in the mud cannot help others to get out of the mud. If he tries to do so, both will sink down. Hence in order to assist others effectively we first have to establish ourselves on firm ground; that is, we have to first develop in ourselves pure spiritual qualities.

Buddhist Social Thought

In order to understand the social applications of Dhamma, we should examine how they are directly grounded in the Buddha's doctrine. The concepts for understanding the social thought of Buddhism are as follows:-

I The Concept of Dhamma

The word Dhamma means "that which upholds, that which sustains." In its broadest sense it signifies the cosmic law which supports all phenomena, the law of dependent origination; the Four Noble Truth; three characteristics of existence, etc. The concept of Dhamma also has an ethical dimension. It is the law of righteousness, the principle of virtue, of moral truth. Dhamma here is the moral law which protects us, which upholds and safeguards us against spiritual

Buddhist Social Thoughtdegeneration and from a fall into lower states of existence. It is the path of mundane and supramundane development. So the word Dhamma combines these two ideas, philosophical and ethical into the law of reality and virtue. Later we will see the particular applications of the concept of Dhamma to different types of human relationships and domains of human life.

II The Four Noble Truths

Another foundation for Buddhist social thought is the Four Noble Truths, particularly the second noble truth, that craving becomes the source of suffering and misery in our social existence. The Buddha says that "Because of the craving for sense pleasures, craving for sensual enjoyment, the father fights against the son, the

Buddhist Social Thoughtson fights against the father, the mother fights against the daughter, family fights with family, household with household, social group with social group, nation with nation. Because of desire and attachment for pleasures and for wealth, men put on armour, they take up their swords, they wield their weapons, they go into battle and fight each other, destroy and kill each other.’

Again in explaining dependent arising, the Buddha gave an interesting variation on the formula:

1. In dependence on craving, there arises search (object of craving);

2. In dependence on search, there arises acquisition;

3. In dependence on acquisition, there arises discrimination (notions of ‘mine, not yours’, etc)

Buddhist Social Thought

4. In dependence on discrimination, there arises attachment and desires;

5. In dependence on attachment, there arises clinging and selfishness (sense of protectiveness; paranoia)

6. In dependence on the sense of protectiveness, men take up their swords, become involved in wrangling, quarrels, disputes, false accusations, and all unwholesome states.

These are all traced to craving as the basic cause. When craving is eliminated, then all the social problems are eliminated.

Buddhist Social ThoughtIII The Doctrine of Anatta

Buddhism teaches that the idea of self is the root of suffering, for it lies at the base of all our selfish emotions and defilements. Therefore to get free from the social turmoil that comes from the defilements, we have to uproot this sense of selfhood. We uproot this sense of selfhood by beginning to act in ways which contribute to diminishing the grip of the self idea. Ultimately the eradication of self comes through wisdom that arises out of meditation, but meditation cannot be sealed off in a compartment of its own separate from the rest of human life. True wisdom does not arise when we are living outwardly in a selfish manner. To generate wisdom in meditation, we have to cultivate selfless actions of body and speech – by observing precepts, giving, helping and assisting others and so forth. All these little acts will build up the momentum to diminishing the clinging to selfhood and provide the foundation for wisdom that realises the selflessness of all things to arise.

Buddhist Social ThoughtIV The Four Divine Dwellings - Brahmaviharas

The four sublime states to be developed to immeasurable extent to all sentient beings are as follows:

a) Loving kindness (Metta), the wish for the welfare and happiness of others.

b) Compassion (Karuna), feeling of empathy with others, the quality that makes the heart tremble with the suffering of others; a quality that makes us identify with others and their sufferings, and it arouses our desire to take away the sufferings of others.

c) Sympathetic joy (Mudita), rejoicing in the happiness and good fortune of others; this quality removes envy and jealousy.

d) Equanimity (Upekkha), attitude of impartial neutrality extended to all beings, non-discrimination between agreeable and disagreeable situations and persons.

The Four Sublime Abodes

These are four ethical attitudes to be developed in meditation, but which can come to expression in concrete action in the social economic and political spheres.

So far we have explained the theoretical foundations of Buddhist social thought. Now we will discuss the application of these to different areas of social concern.

ECONOMIC TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA

Economic Teachings

Certain modern schools of thought like Marxism regard the economic domain as the primary determinant of social existence and dismiss everything else as mere superstructure, a secondary overlay resting on the material substratum.

Contrary to this view, the Buddha recognizes that there are many interdependent spheres of human activity. These cannot be subjected to any simplistic reduction, but must be seen as interrelated and mutually efficacious. The Buddha took note of the importance of economics in human life and he held that for people to be capable of personal and spiritual progress, the economic foundation has to be secure.

Economic Teachings

In many sutta’s the Buddha has pointed out that poverty can lead to the decline of moral values, - to stealing, lying, murder, etc., and eventually to complete social chaos. He teaches not only that economics largely determines man’s moral condition, but also that the government has a responsibility to correct any extreme economic injustice. He advises the king to look after the economic well being of his subjects. He says that the king has to give seeds to the farmers for their crops and feed for their cattle; capital to the merchants and businessman to conduct their business; and jobs to the civil servants, etc. There will then be peace and harmony.

SOCIAL DIMENSION OF BUDDHA’S TEACHING – PART II

Generosity

The basic requisites that can be given:

• Food

• Clothing

• Dwelling places

• Medicine

Secondary objects:

• Vehicles

• Books

• Utensils, lights, seats etc.

Buddhism promotes economic well being in society by its stress on the virtue of generosity. The Buddha teaches all his disciples, whether monks or laymen, to practice giving, to be generous and bountiful towards others. The wealthy in particular have an obligation to give to the poor, to help and assist the poor.

Generosity - Dana

The Buddha especially praises, the giving of food. He says that if people knew the benefits of giving food, they would not sit down to a single meal without sharing it with someone if there is an opportunity for them to do so. He says one who gives food gives the following five things and in return receives these five as its karmic result in this or other life times.

He gives and obtains in return :

1. Life (long life )

2. Beauty (good complexion)

3. Happiness

4. Strength (physical health)

5. Intelligence (mind is able to function properly)

Specific Advice to Lay People

The Buddha gave the following advice to a group of lay people as conducive to their happiness here and now.

(a) Energy and diligenceYou have to be energetic and diligent in performing your job whether it is farming, a trade, business or a profession.

(b) SecurityYou have to protect your wealth.

(c) Good friendshipAssociate with true friends, with wise and virtuous people who will help you and protect you, and guide you in Dhamma.

Specific Advice to Lay People

(d) Balanced livelihoodYou should not be too bountiful, spending more than your means allow, and you should not be niggardly, clinging to your wealth. Avoid these extremes and spend in proportion to your income.

Then he gave them advice for their long term benefit:

1. faith and confidence in spiritual values,

2. generosity,

3. moral discipline and

4. wisdom.

Right LivelihoodThe Buddha laid down four standards of right livelihood to which a lay follower should conform.

• He should acquire wealth only by legal means.

• He should acquire it without violence.

• He should acquire it honestly.

• He should require it in ways which do not harm others.

Use of one’s wealthThe Buddha says that having acquired wealth by the proper means one should spend it for five purposes.

• To provide for one’s own household, one’s relatives and children, and so on.

• To make gifts to friends, to entertain them, to give them presents.

• To protect and repair one’s property and dwelling.

• To pay taxes and make oblations to the deities.

• To offer alms and requisites to the monks and brahmins.

Specific Social Teachings

These are teachings that are designed to mould and transform society. From the Buddhist point of view society itself is an abstraction, not a reality. Society is a collective whole made up of individuals, and the quality of society reflect the individuals who compose it. If the individuals are corrupt the society will be corrupt and if the individuals are noble society will be noble. Since society merely reflects individuals, the Buddha aimed at transforming society by giving individuals new standards of conduct, new ideals and patterns of behaviour that can elevate and transform their conduct. Then changes in the social order would follow as a matter of course.

SPECIFIC SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA

Society

The specific social teachings of Buddha are designed for molding and transforming society. From the Buddhist viewpoint, society itself is an abstraction, a collective whole made up of individuals. The quality of the society reflects the quality of the individuals who compose it. If the individual members are corrupt, the society will be corrupt. If the individuals are noble and pure, the society will be noble and pure. Since society merely reflects its individual members, the Buddha aimed at transforming society by giving individuals new standard of conduct, new ideals and patterns of behavior which will elevate their and transform their conduct. Then changes in social order would follow as a matter of course.

Specific Social Teachings

There are various codes of conduct taught by the Buddha which fulfil these requirements. These were originally designed for individual observance. When put into practice, they bring about far-reaching changes in the social order. They are:

a) five precepts. - The abstinence from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech and intoxications.

b) Ten courses of wholesome action.

c) Ten bases of merit.

d) The Noble Eightfold Path, etc

Family

The unit of society upon which the Buddha places the greatest emphasis is the family. He regards the family as especially important because the family is the intermediary between the individual and society. Therefore, sound relationships have to be established between the members of the family in order for those who are raised in that family to become responsible members of society. The Buddha deals with family relations under two major headings:

1. the relations of husband and wife, and

2. the relations of parent and child.

Husband and Wife

The Buddha emphasises that marriage is not only a means to economic security, companionship and sensual gratification. While all these things enter into the marriage relationship, they do not exhaust it. Ideally the relationship of marriage should promote the moral and spiritual development of both husband and wife. Therefore husband and wife, while performing their respective duties towards each other, should be generous towards others, should observe the precepts, should support religious teachers and monks, and should cultivate their own spiritual practice.

Parents and Children

The Buddha emphasizes the reciprocal duties of both. The parents have the duty to educate their children, to bring them up properly and to steer them away from wrong, to guide them towards what is right etc. The children also have a duty to respect their parents and to attend to their needs. The Buddha says: "There are two people that you can never repay - your mother and your father. They give birth to you, nourish you, bring you up, teach you, educate you, introduce you to the world, etc. Therefore you can never repay them even if you carry them on your shoulder for the rest of their life."

Parents and Children

However, the Buddha says, "There is one way to repay your mother and father. If they don't have faith in Dhamma, establish them in faith. If they don't observe the precepts, teach them the precepts: If they are stingy, teach them to be generous. If they are deluded and lack wisdom, help them to develop their wisdom. This way you can repay your parents."

Monk and Layman

Turning to society at large, the Buddha sets out basic social relationships in terms of different classes of people, such as between friends, between employer and employee, teacher and pupil, and monk and layman.

The Buddha places special emphasis on the relationship between the Buddhist monk and householder. The bhikkhu or the Buddhist monk is not an intermediary between the laity and a higher spiritual being such as a god or a deity. The monk is a person who has left the household life to practice the teaching of the Buddha and to help to sustain the teaching, to keep it alive in the world.

Monk and Layman

The Buddhist community consists of the monastic order (sangha) and the householders. The Buddha teaches that these two have to co-operate to preserve and to propagate the Dhamma, to make the liberating truth available in the world. For this, each has a set of obligations to the other.

The laity should provide the material needs of the Sangha. The monks do not work at a secular job; they are not expected to be earning money and buying things. They live in dependence on others for their material requisites. Hence the householders are advised to provide them with their material needs, to show them respect and encourage them in their effort to practice and teach Dhamma.

Monk and Layman

The monks in turn, on the basis of their knowledge and experience, should teach the laity, guide them and advise them to practice the Dhamma in their day-to-day life. The monk also has a duty to give the lay people opportunities for more intensive practice of Dhamma, e.g. meditation retreat.

The Buddha says that the two divisions of the Buddhist community, the monks and the laity, should help each other so that both will be able to cross Samsara and reach the safe shore of Nibbana.

POLITICAL TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA

Political Teachings of Buddha

According to traditional account, the Buddha was originally destined to be a king. He renounced his right to the throne to become a spiritual seeker, and eventually became a spiritual teacher. He had many kings who were his disciples, King Bimbisara of Magadha, King Pasenadi of Kosala, King Ajatasattu of Magadha, King Udena and others. Also at the time of Buddha there were a number of republican states in northern India in which the Buddha taught. He gave counsel and advice to these leaders, especially the Licchavis who lived in the area of Vesali. The Buddha had disciples from both types of political rule, the republicans and the monarchical. Buddha did not advocate one form of government over another.

Political Teachings

For whatever form of government, the Buddha taught that the guiding principle of the state should be Dhamma, the law of righteousness. To rule in accordance with the Dhamma, the government must provide for the material welfare of its citizens and establish conditions that promote their moral and spiritual development.

The Buddha laid down specific ways for the ruling powers to substantiate Dhamma in the administration. One formula is the avoidance of four evil motives: Partiality or favoritism; anger or hatred; delusion; and fear. The other formula on the positive side, Buddhism teaches the king or government should observe ten royal virtues. These ten are as follows:

Political Teachings – Ten Royal Virtues

1. generosity, distribute wealth and make sure the citizens have the basic necessities of life – foods, clothings, shelter, etc;

2. Well disciplined in conduct – observe the five precepts;

3. Self-sacrifice for the good of the kingdom, for the benefits of the subjects

4. Justice – administer with equality and justice

5. Gentleness – rule with gentleness and kindness

6. Austerity – rulers should be austere and simple in livelihood

7. Free from enmity, hatred and illwill

8. Rule with non-violence

9. Patience

10. Non-opposition to the will of the people when in accords with what is right

Political Teachings

The four bases of popularity are generosity; kind speech; benevolent conduct; and impartial conduct and treatment of others

Beyond these the Buddha also mentioned some uncodified obligations of the rulers/governments/kings:

1. protect all habitants of the land, human and animals (rulers of Buddhist countries in the past built animal hospitals and sanctuaries)

2. Inspire people in virtue

3. Provide wealth to the poor;

4. Learn from the wise or sages – monks, recluses, Brahmins, and sages distinguished by their wisdom.

Political Teachings

On the problem of war, the Buddha teaches to rule in accordance with Dhamma, the rulers have to avoid aggressiveness and conquer by violence. The Buddha once prevented a war over water (river) between the Koliya and the Sakyan.

Buddha teaches time and again that violence must be avoided, that peace can never be established by force and conquest. The conqueror only breeds resentment in those conquered while he himself has to live in constant anxiety worrying that he himself will be defeated in turn.

The Buddha says that peace can only be found outside the vicious circle of conquest and violence.

Political Teachings

For the Buddha, the real conqueror is not the one who conquers other men, other nations or other society, but one who conquers himself. If there is a warrior who conquers 1000 men 1000 times, his conquest is very slight compared to the conquest of a man who conquers one man, himself. The man who conquers himself, his desires, cravings, anger and delusion, he is the supreme victor in battle.

The Buddha teaches that there are four kids of conquests his followers should make:

1. Conquer the evil person by means of goodness;

2. Conquer the liar by truth

3. Conquer the stingy by giving generously

4. conquer the hostile person by love and goodness.

Political Teachings

The Buddha taught:

For it is only by love, never by violence that hatred can be brought to cease;

For it is only by peace, by patience, by kindness and compassion that the cycle of violence and revenge can be brought to a stop.

Appendices

RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIPS AND DUTIES

Husband towards wife

1. Be courteous towards her.

2. Respect her.

3. Be faithful to her.

4. Give her authority in

management of

household.

5. Provide her with gifts.

Wife towards husband

1. Perform her duties well.

2. Be cordial to husband's

relations.

3. Be faithful to him.

4. Protect his earnings.

5. Be skilful and diligent in

management of

household.

Parent towards child

1. Restrain them from evil.

2. Encourage them to do good.

3. Train them for a profession.

4. Arrange a suitable marriage for them.

5. Hand over their inheritance to them at proper time.

Child towards parent

1. Support them in old age.

2. Do their duties.

3. Keep the family tradition.

4. Be worthy of their

inheritance.

5. Offer alms in honour of

them when they depart.

Monk towards layman

1. Restrain him from evil.

2. Persuade him to do good.

3. Love him with a kind heart.

4. Teach him what he has not learned before.

5. Clarify what is not clear to him.

6. Point out the path to a heavenly state.

Layman towards monk

1. Do lovable deeds.

2. Speak lovable words.

3. Think lovable thoughts.

4. Be hospitable towards

them.

5. Supply their material

needs.

Pupil towards Teacher

1. Rise politely from seat.

2. Attend on him.

3. Be eager to learn.

4. Render him personal

service.

5. Listen respectfully when

receiving instructions.

Teacher towards Pupil

1. Train them in their discipline.

2. See that they understand the lessons.

3. Instruct them in arts & sciences

4. Introduce them to their friends

5. Provide for their safety in all quarters.

You towards Friend

1. Protect him when he is

heedless.

2. Protect his property.

3. Be a refuge for him when

he is in danger.

4. Do not forsake him in time

of trouble.

5. Show consideration for his

family.

Friend towards you

1. Be generous towards

them.

2. Be courteous in speech.

3. Be helpful.

4. Be impartial.

5. Be sincere.

Employer towards employee

1. Assign work according to

ability.

2. Supply them with food

and wages.

3. Tend them in sickness.

4. Share delicacies with

them.

5. Grant them periodic

vacations.

Employee towards employer

1. Rise before him.

2. Go to bed after him.

3. Take only what is given.

4. Perform their duties well.

5. Spread his good name

and fame..