| 28. |
What is the real meaning of dana (giving)? |
|
Giving is an expression of generosity. It is
one of the three means of merit making: Giving (Dana), Morality (Sila) and Development of
Meditation (Bhavana), which is of two kinds: development of tranquillity (Samatha-bhavana)
and that of insight (Vipassana-bhavana). There are three kinds of giving, as follows: |
|
1. |
Giving to the needy, e.g. helping the poor, giving to
orphans, etc. |
|
2. |
Giving to equals, e.g. giving to our friends or neighbours
to build up friendship. |
|
3. |
Giving to people to whom we want to show our gratitude
or respect, such as parents, monks, etc. |
|
In the real sense, a Buddhist should give
without expectation of return. In other word, to give is to lessen one’s own
selfishness. Hence giving is a way of decreasing craving and attachment. |
| 29. |
What does it mean when a Buddhist take refuge in the Triple
Gem ? |
|
A basic requirement for a person to become a
Buddhist is to take refuge in the Triple Gem, namely the Buddha,
the Dhamma, and the Sangha. |
|
There are levels of taking refuge in the
Buddha. At one level the Buddha simply means the Buddha image
which may be taken as a reminder or indicator of the historical Buddha who provides
inspiration for all Buddhists to follow the path he has taken to enlightenment. The Buddha
at a deeper level would mean Buddhahood, the highest spiritual
quality which is available to all of us, if we follow the path the Buddha has shown. |
|
Dhamma also may be understood at different
levels. It is often understood to mean the canonical body of the teachings of the Buddha.
However, more profoundly, it means the highest truth realized by the Buddha, who said that
“One who sees Dhamma sees me, and one who sees me sees Dhamma”.
That is to say, when a person realizes Dhamma one becomes enlightened. |
|
The Sangha could again be understood in
different levels, generally it means ordained Buddhists: monks and nuns. In a deeper
sense, it means the enlightened persons, ordained or lay, who
are spiritual guides for human beings. |
|
To take refuge in the Triple Gem is to accept
the qualities embodied in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha and to try to develop such
qualities within one’s life. |
| 30. |
What
are the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha? |
|
To be a Buddhist, one is expected primarily to
take refuge in the Triple Gem: the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. |
|
Buddha means the Enlightened One. |
|
Dhamma means Truth
realized and taught by the Buddha. |
|
Sangha means the Buddha’s
disciples who behave and practise righteously. The ideal Sangha means those
who attain the four states of Noblehood. |
|
The meaning of the Triple Gem or the Buddha,
Dhamma and Sangha may be understood in three different levels as follows: |
|
1. |
The First Level |
|
|
The Buddha : the Enlightened One
represented by his replica or Buddha image. |
|
|
Dhamma : Truth realized and taught by the
Buddha, represented by Tripitaka or the Buddhist scripture. |
|
|
Sangha : the Buddha’s noble disciples
represented by Buddhist bhikkhus (monks) and bhikkhunis (nuns) in general, who have not
yet attained the Four States of Noblehood. The Sangha in this level is called Conventional
Sangha or Sammati Sangha. |
|
2. |
The Second Level |
|
|
The Buddha : The Enlightened One, who was
formerly Prince Siddhattha of the Sakya clan. He renounced the worldly life in search of
Truth and after His Enlightenment established Buddhism. |
|
|
Dhamma : Truth realized and taught by the
Buddha, learned and put into practice by the Buddhists, both ordained and lay people. |
|
|
Sangha : the Buddha’s noble disciples
who have attained the Four States of Noblehood. |
|
3. |
The Third Level |
|
|
The Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha become one. The Buddha in
this level is identical with Dhamma as it was stated by Him that “One who
sees Dhamma sees me; one who sees me sees Dhamma.” This shows that
Buddhahood is Dhamma and Dhamma is Buddhahood. The ideal Sangha is the embodiment of the
realized Dhamma. |
| 31. |
What does going to the monastery mean? |
|
There are two kinds of monasteries: the
external and the internal. |
|
The external monastery means a place where
monks live as a community under religious vows and lay people go to attend a sermon or
religious practice. |
|
The internal monastery means one’s serene
mind. If one tries to make his or her mind clean, calm and clear with morality,
concentration, and wisdom, one may also be considered as regularly going to the monastery. |
|
Buddhists should aim at both external and
internal monasteries in accordance with the appropriate occasion. |
| 32. |
Is it compulsory for lay Buddhists to go to the monastery
regularly? |
|
There are no strict rules or regulations for
lay Buddhists to go to the monastery regularly. If spiritual progress is needed it is
suggested that Buddhists should go to the internal monastery (see question and answer
No.31) even for a short moment. If any Buddhist tries to diffuse loving-kindness,
compassion or other benevolent wishes to living beings or to clean, calm, and clear
one’s mind then he or she is considered a good Buddhist and regarded as going to the
monastery regularly. |
| 33. |
In Buddhism, can women attain enlightenment? |
|
The Buddha was the first religious leader to
accept equal spiritual potentiality of men and women. The nature of enlightenment
transcends gender difference, which otherwise tends to limit women in their social
contexts. For this reason women were accepted into the Order (Sangha), and proved
themselves worthy of the Buddha’s recognition. Some of them were individually praised by
the Buddha, such as Bhikkhuni Patacara who was foremost in Vinaya, and Bhikkhuni Khema who
was foremost in wisdom. Among laywomen, Visakha was foremost in offering dana and Samavati
was foremost in loving-kindness. In brief, women showed equal capability in practicing and
propagating Buddhism in early Buddhist history. Even now both men and women who practise
the Buddhist teachings can undoubtedly attain enlightenment. |
| 34. |
Is it true that in some countries women can be ordained? |
|
The Buddha allowed women full ordination in
his time. They were called Bhikkhuni (Bhikshuni in Sanskrit). The Bhikkhuni lineage in
India itself lasted more than a thousand years and disappeared together with the Bhikkhu
Sangha when India was invaded in Century A. D. 11th. |
|
A group of Bhikkhunis from India led by
Sanghamitta Theri, King Asoka’s daughter, were invited by King Devanampiyatissa of Sri
Lanka to establish the Bhikkhuni lineage in B.E. 236. This Bhikkhuni Sangha in Sri Lanka
also lasted for more than a thousand years before they were uprooted by foreign invasion. |
|
However, a group of Sri Lanka Bhikkhunies were
invited over to China in B.E. 976 where they established a Bhikkhuni lineage. This lineage
has been kept alive until today. |
|
Afterward, they spread to many neighbouring
countries, i.e. Japan, Korea, etc. Bhikkhuni strongholds can now be found in Taiwan and
Korea. In B.E. 2531 (1988) Hsi Lai Temple, a Chinese monastery in Los Angeles, U.S.A.,
provided ordination for 200 women from various traditions and countries to strengthen the
institution of fully ordained Buddhist women. In 1997 an international ordination for
Bhikkhunis was organized in Bodh Gaya by Taiwanese tradition. In the last two decades,
Buddhist women have expressed clearly their desire to participate at all levels in
Buddhism. Considering that women from half of the world population, this trend should have
a positive effect towards the development of Buddhism. |
| 35. |
What is the Buddhist attitude towards prostitutes? |
|
Since Buddhists are taught to extend their
good wishes to human and other living beings, Buddhists should sympathize with prostitutes
and should not despise them, whether they may be compelled or voluntary. It is an
appropriate deed to help release them from the status of being looked down upon. |
|
The procedure to solve this problem might be
carried out through the educational system, economic management, social welfare, etc., as
the case may be. |
| 36. |
Is
the Buddha’s teaching dynamic? |
|
The Buddha’s words in THE GRADUAL
SAYINGS, THE BOOK OF TENS clarify this as follows: |
|
“I do not speak in praise of the stand still
in righteousness, not to say about the decline therein. I do, monks, speak in praise of
the prosperity, not of the stand still, not of the decline in righteousness.” |
|
From this passage we can say that the
Buddha’s teaching is dynamic, which is the moral force that produces activity or change. |
