What
Buddhists Believe
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera
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Man is
Responsible for Everything
When a man has learned how to live as
a real human being without disturbing others, he can live peacefully
without any fear in his heart.
According
to the Buddha, man himself is the maker of his own destiny. He has none to
blame for his lot since he alone is responsible for his own life. He makes
his own life for better or for worse.
The Buddha says: man
creates everything. All our griefs, perils and misfortunes are of our own
creation. We spring from no other source than our own imperfection of
heart and mind. We are the results of our good and bad actions committed
in the past under the influence of greed and delusion. And since we
ourselves brought them into being, it is within our power to overcome bad
effects and cultivate good natures.
The human mind,
like that of an animal, is something governed by animal instinct. But
unlike the animal mind, the human mind can be trained for higher values.
If man's mind is not properly cultured, that uncultured mind creates a
great deal of trouble in this world. Sometimes man's behavior is more
harmful and more dangerous than animal behavior. Animals have no religious
problems, no language problems, no political problems, no social and
ethical problems, no colour-bar problems. They fight only for their food,
shelter and sex. But, there are thousand of problems created by mankind.
Their behavior is such that they would not be able to solve any of these
problems without creating further problems. Man is reluctant to admit his
weaknesses. He is not willing to shoulder his responsibilities. His
attitude is always to blame others for his failure. If we become more
responsible in our actions, we can maintain peace and happiness.
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Source: Buddhist
Study and Practice Group, http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/
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Layout: Chan Duc - Nguyen Thao
Update : 01-11-2002
