- The Dividends of the Dhamma

Quite often, Buddhists are accused of being passive by outsiders. But little do these people realise that there are two wondrous aspects of Buddhism:

1.  The cultivation of meditation that lays the groundwork for skilful action in society and the world, and

2.  The way Buddhists lead their lives can be cultivated by applying the Buddha’s teachings on qualities, like non-harming/loving-kindness, giving/generosity, empathy/compassion, rejoice/equanimity and mindfulness/wisdom, in line with the basic five ethical precepts of no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying and no intoxicants.

The Buddha was intensely practical as he was awakened to the truth of all phenomena. Such phenomena are beyond anyone’s control, such as:

1.  The fact that we grow old, can get sick, will die;

2.  The fact that everything keeps changing and will eventually degenerate/disintegrate; and

3.  Cyclic of the seasons, movement of the planetary system, among others.

In addition to the aforesaid, there are many problems that can happen to us which nobody wants them too: loss of jobs, family problems, workplace difficulties, difficulties in our relationships with others, separation from loved ones, the list can go on and on. So, everybody has problems, nobody is free of them – for whatever happiness we gain, very quickly its novelty will fade. When it happens, we start running after another goal again like a hamster getting back onto the hamster’s wheel; it is back to square one. That’s just part of life, isn’t it? And the fact about that is that these problems just go on and on in an endless cyclic pattern (coined as samsara), unless we choose to quit the game to become an Arhat.

To the Buddha, he saw that these problems come from causes. He further explained that things don’t happen just because of one cause, but from a multitude of causes and conditions that affect what happens, and so the world ended up an ‘inherently’ dissatisfied planet with crazy interfacing of causes and conditions. And although we could blame our problems on society, or world economics, or on our system of upbringing, very often these things are very difficult to change, especially if it’s talking about what has already happened in the past. In the circumstances, we need to move on!

The Buddha saw how much suffering we create fighting these facts, resisting and circumventing aging, illness, death and loss. So no matter how much healthy food we eat, we will die. All the vitamins/ supplements cannot keep us from getting cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis or catching cold. All skin creams cannot stop our aging.

The Buddha realised that clear understanding and acceptance was the key to letting go of that suffering. So what is that we can change? It is our attitude about our life, about the way we see things and about what’s happening to us, that we can change. Some claim that life is 10% of what happens to us and 90% of how we react or respond to it. Sometimes, we need to distance ourselves to see things clearly.

The Buddha’s teaching says that the deepest cause of our problems is our confusion, our delusion, our unawareness about the reality of life and what can be done about it. Indeed, the most valuable gift given to us is the Buddha’s teachings that allow us to have more control over our own mind that we have ever had.

“The Buddha’s Dhamma is pragmatic. It contains solution that solves life’s problems. When we embrace Dhamma and practise it judiciously, life will become better, happier, more fulfilling and more meaningful. The positive effects could be felt by anyone who makes the effort and practises it correctly. The returns are felt in this very life: there is no need to wait for after death to cash in.”

The dividends are all yours in this very life. The Dhamma is therefore, neither esoteric nor is it meant to be a mystical revelation of the world before or after death.