What
Buddhists Believe
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera
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Moral
and Spiritual Development
Without a spiritual background man
has no moral responsibility: man without moral responsibility poses a
danger to society.
Buddhism
has been an admirable lighthouse for guiding many a devotee to the
salvation of eternal bliss. Buddhism is especially needed in the world
today which is riddled with racial, economic and ideological
misunderstandings. These misunderstandings can never be effectively
cleared until the spirit of benevolent tolerance is extended towards
others. This spirit can be best cultivated under the guidance of Buddhism
which inculcates an ethical moral co-operation for universal good.
We know that it is easy to
learn vice without a master, whereas virtue requires a tutor. There is a
very great need for the teaching of virtue by precepts and examples.
Without a spiritual
background, man has no moral responsibility; man without moral
responsibility poses danger to society.
In the Buddha's Teaching,
it is said that the spiritual development of man is more important than
the development of material welfare. History has taught us that we cannot
expect to gain both worldly happiness and everlasting Happiness at the
same time.
The lives of most people
are generally regulated by spiritual values and moral principles which
only religion can effectively provide. The governmental interference in
the lives of people is made comparatively unnecessary if men and women can
be made to realize the value of devotion and can practise the ideals of
truth, justice and service.
Virtue is necessary to
attain salvation, but virtue alone is not enough. Virtue must be combined
with wisdom. Virtue and wisdom are like the pair of wings of a bird.
Wisdom can also be compared to the eyes of a man; virtue, to his feet.
Virtue can be likened to a vehicle that brings man up to the gate of
salvation. But wisdom is the actually key that opens the gate. Virtue is a
part of the technique of skillful and noble living. Without any ethical
discipline, there cannot be a purification of the defilements of sentient
existence.
Buddhism is not mere
mumbo-jumbo, a myth told to entertain the human mind or to satisfy the
human emotion, but a liberal and noble method for those who sincerely want
to understand and experience the reality of life.
-ooOoo-
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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
