The Buddha arose during a time in which a large number of thinkers were striving to find a way to end human suffering. Some proclaimed that the more one suffers in this life, the happier one will become in the next birth. Those who maintained this belief practiced self-modification–such practices as starvation and self-torture. They believed that the happiest place would exist beyond the human world, and they strived to go there after death.
Another group of thinkers seems to have thought that an utopia might exist in the human world itself. Rohita, a visitor to the Buddha, was confused about this teaching. He sought the Buddha’s wisdom to clear his mind.
“Venerable sir, is it possible to find the happiest place by traveling to the end of the world?” Rohita asked the Buddha. It seems that Rohita wanted to know whether a utopia-like place exists in the human world.
“No, friend,” the Buddha answered, “I would not say that you can find such a place by traveling to the end of the world.”
Rohita agreed and expressed his satisfaction at the Buddha’s answer, but the Buddha continued his conversation with a paradoxical term:
“Yes, Rohita, I do not say that the happiest place can be found by going to the end of the world, but at the same time, I say that, without going to the end of the world, one cannot find the happiest world.”
Buddha clarified his point with the following words:
“I claim that the world, the origin of the world, the end of the world, and the way to the end of the world all exist within oneself.”
By speaking thus, the Buddha meant that happiness and sadness both exist within oneself rather than in the external world. One can find happiness by shaping one’s own attitudes, thoughts, and feelings toward oneself, others, and the external world rather than by seeking for happiness blindly and greedily in the outside world.
On June 25 & 26, Ven. Satindriya Thero, founder of Triple Gem of the North in Minnesota, will conduct a two-day Sila and Bhavana program followed by his Dhamma talk on 26. The Dhama talk is sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. Sudharshana & Nirmalee Ponweera family.
Meditation at Willis Retreat on July 2
We have moved monthly meditation at Vipassana Meditation Retreat at Willis to July 2 from June 25. This is to facilitate the two day retreat at the Vihara on June 25 & 26. As usual, meditation session begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 2:30 p.m. More details will be sent separately.
Dhamma Article in the Newsletter Is in Sinhala As Well
From this month on, you will be able to read the Sinhala version of the English Dhamma article in this newsletter. The Sinhala article is not just a direct translation; rather, it discusses the same topic by maintaining the Sinhala style in writing.
http://www.hbvihara.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/chakra.jpg3232adminhttp://www.hbvihara.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/imgbin_dharmachakra-buddhism-buddhist-symbolism-hinduism-png-2-300x225.pngadmin2016-06-06 12:36:222016-06-06 12:36:52Newsletter – June 2016
Being Buddhist – By Janadhi Seneviratne