Chattha Sangayana CD - Vipassana Research Institute
What Buddhism Is

by Thray Sithu Sayagyi U Ba Khin

In 1951, when Sayagyi was the Accountant General of Burma, he was requested by a religious study group to lecture on Buddhism. The study group was headed by the information officer and the economic and finance officer of the Special Technical and Economic Division of the U.S. government. Sayagyi presented a series of three lectures in Rangoon (at the Methodist Church, Signal Pagoda Road) which were later published as a booklet entitled "What Buddhism Is." The following is abridged.

Lecture No. 1 (23 September 1951)

 consider it a great privilege to be in your midst  	today and to have this opportunity of addressing you on the subject of "What Buddhism Is." At the outset, I must be very frank with you. I have not been to a university, and I have no knowledge of science except as a man on the street. Nor am I a scholar in the theory of Buddhism with any knowledge of the P±li language in which the Tipiµakas (known as, literally, the "Three Baskets" of Buddha Dhamma) are maintained. I must say, however, that I have read in Burmese to some extent the treatises of Buddhism by well-known and learned Buddhist monks. As my approach to Buddhism is more by practical than by theoretical means, I hope to be able to give you something of Buddhism which is not easily available elsewhere. I must admit, however, that for the time being I am just a student of practical Buddhism and also an experimentalist trying to learn through Buddhism the truth of the nature of forces. As this has to be done as a householder and within a limited time available amidst the multifarious duties of a responsible officer of government, the progress is rather slow, and I do not claim for a moment that what I am going to say is absolutely correct. I may be right or wrong. But when I say a thing, I assure you that it is with sincerity of purpose, with the best of intentions and with conviction.

Lord Buddha said in the K±¼±ma Sutta:

Do not believe in what ye have heard;

do not believe in the traditions, because they 	had been handed down for generations;

do not believe in anything because it is 	rumoured and spoken by many;

do not believe merely because a written 	statement of some old sage is produced;

do not believe in conjectures;

do not believe in that as truth to which you 	have become attached by habit;

do not believe merely the authority of your 	teachers and elders.

After observation and analysis, when it agrees 	with reason and is conducive to the good 	and gain of one and all, then accept it and 	live up to it.

Pray do not, therefore, believe me when I come to the philosophical issues until and unless you are convinced of what I say, either as a sequel to proper reasoning or by means of a practical approach.

To abstain from evil;

To do good;

To purify the mind:

These are the teachings of all the Buddhas.

This extract taken from the Dhammapada gives in brief the essence of Buddhism. It sounds simple but is so difficult to practise. One cannot be a true Buddhist unless he puts the doctrine of Buddha into practice. Buddha said:

Ye, to whom the truths I have perceived have been made known by me, make them surely your own; practise them, meditate upon them, spread them abroad; in order that the pure religion may last long and be perpetuated for the good and the gain and the weal of gods and men.

Before I take up the teachings of Buddha, which form the basic foundation of Buddhism, I propose to acquaint you, first of all, with the life story of Gotama Buddha. For this purpose, I feel it my duty to give you a background of certain Buddhist concepts which may be foreign to most of you. I propose, therefore, to give you a short and descriptive explanation of such concepts in Buddhism, as to the universe, the world system, the planes of existence, etc. These will, no doubt give you some food for thought. I would however, appeal to you to give a patient hearing and to pass over these matters for the time being, i.e., until we come to the question time for discussion.

Universe

The Buddhist concept of the universe may be summed up as follows:

There is the Ok±sa Loka (the universe of space) which accommodates n±ma and r³pa (mind and matter). In this mundane world it is n±ma and r³pa which predominate under the influence of the law of cause and effect. The next is the Saªkh±ra Loka (the universe of mental forces), creative or created. This is a mental plane arising out of the creative energies of mind through the medium of bodily actions, words and thoughts. The third and the last is the Satta Loka (the universe of sentient beings). These beings are the products of mental forces. We may rather call these three as a "three-in-one" universe, because one is inseparable from another. They are, so to say, interwoven and interpenetrating.

What will interest you most are the cakkav±las or world systems, each with its thirty-one planes of existence. Each world system corresponds to the human world with its solar system and other planes of existence. There are millions and millions of such world systems, simply innumerable. Ten thousand such world systems closest to us are within the J±ti-Khetta (or the field of origin) of a Buddha. In fact when the renowned sutta (or sermon) Mah± Samaya (meaning the "Great Occasion") was preached by Buddha in the Mah±vana (forest) near the town of Kapilavatthu, not only the brahm±s and devas of our world system, but of all of the ten thousand world systems were present to listen to the teachings of Buddha. Lord Buddha can also send his thought-waves charged with boundless love and compassion to the sentient beings of a hundred crores (thousand million) of such world systems within the An±khetta (or the field of influence). The remainder of the world systems are in the Visaya Khetta (or infinite space) beyond the reach of Buddha's effective thought waves. You can very well imagine from these concepts of Buddhism the size of the universe as a whole. The material insignificance of our world in the Ok±sa loka (universe of space) is simply terrifying. The human world, as a whole, must be just a speck in space.

Now I will give you an idea of the thirty-one planes of existence in our world system which, of course, is the same as in any of the other world systems. Broadly they are:

(i) Ar³pa Lokaimmaterial world of brahm±s;

(ii) R³pa Lokafine material world of brahm±s;

(iii) K±ma Lokasensuous world of devas, mankind and lower beings.

The Ar³pa Loka is comprised of four brahm± worlds of immaterial state, i.e., without r³pa or matter. The R³pa Loka is comprised of sixteen brahm± worlds of fine material state. The K±ma loka is comprised of:

(a) Six deva lokas (or celestial worlds), viz.:

(i) Catumah±r±jika

(ii) T±vati½sa

(iii) Y±m±

(iv) 	Tusita

(v) 	Nimm±ºarati

(vi) 	Paranimmita-vasavatti

(b) The human world

(c) The four lower worlds, viz:

 (i) 	Niraya 	(hell)

(ii) 	Tiricch±na 	(animal world)

(iii) Peta 	(ghost world)

(iv) 	Asura 	(demon world)

These planes of existence are pure or impure, cool or hot, luminous or dark, light or heavy, pleasant or wretchedaccording to the character of the mental forces generated by the mind or the volition (cetan±) of a series of actions, words and thoughts. For example, take the case of a religious man who suffuses the whole universe of beings with boundless love and compassion. He must be generating such mental forces as are pure, cooling, luminous, light and pleasantforces which normally settle down in the brahm± worlds. Let us now take the reverse case of a man who is dissatisfied or angry. As the saying goes, "Face is the indication of mind": the impurity, heat, darkness, heaviness and wretchedness of his mind are immediately reflected in the person, visible even to the naked eye. This is due, I may say, to the generation of the evil mental forces of dosa (anger) which go down to the lower world of existence. The same is the case with the mental forces arising out of lobha (greed) or moha (delusion). In the case of meritorious deeds such as devotion, morality and charity which have, at their base, attachment to future wellbeing, the mental forces generated are those that will normally be located in the sensuous planes of devas and of mankind. These, ladies and gentlemen, are some of the concepts in Buddhism relevant to the life story of Gotama Buddha which I will presently begin.

Preparation

Gotama Buddha is the fourth of the five Buddhas to rise in the world cycle which is known as bhadda-kappa. His predecessors were Buddhas Kakusandha, Koº±gamana and Kassapa. There were also innumerable Buddhas who had arisen in earlier kappas (ages) and who had preached the self-same Dhamma which gives deliverance from suffering and death to all matured beings. Buddhas are all compassionate, glorious and enlightened.

A hermit by the name of Sumedha was inspired by Buddha D²paªkara; so much so, that he took the vow to make all the necessary preparations to become a Buddha in the course of time. Buddha D²paªkara gave him his blessings and prophesied that he would become a Buddha by the name of Gotama. From then onwards, existence after existence, the Bodhisatta, i.e., would-be Buddha, conserved mental energies of the highest order through the practice of ten p±ram²s, or virtues towards perfection, viz.:

1.  d±na	(virtue in alms-giving)

2.  s²la	(morality)

3.  nekkhamma	(renunciation)

4.  paññ±	(wisdom)

5.  viriya	(perseverance)

6.  khanti	(forbearance)

7.  sacca	(truthfulness)

8.  adhiµµh±na	(determination)

9.  mett±	(all-embracing love)

10.  upekkh±	(equanimity)

It is, therefore, a most enduring task to become a Buddha. Utmost strength of will-power is necessary to even think of it. The Bodhisatta's preparatory period came to an end with the life of King Vessantara who excelled any living being in alms-giving. He gave away his kingdom, his wife and his children and all his worldly possessions, for the consummation of his solemn vow taken before the D²paªkara Buddha. The next existence was in Tusita (one of the celestial planes) as glorious Setaketu Deva, until he got his release from that plane and took conception in the womb of M±y± Devi, the Queen of King Suddhodana of Kapilavatthu, a place near modern Nepal.

When the time was drawing nigh for her confinement, the Queen expressed her desire to go to the place of her own parents for the event. King Suddhodana accordingly sent her there with befitting retinues and guards. On the way, a halt was made at the Lumbin² s±la forest. She got down from the palanquin and enjoyed the cool breeze and fragrance of the s±la flowers. While holding out her right hand to a branch of the nearby s±la tree for a flower, all of a sudden and unexpectedly, she gave birth to a son who was to become the all-enlightened Buddha. Simultaneously, the natural order of things in the cosmos was revolutionized in many respects and thirty-two wonderful phenomena were vivified. All material worlds were shaken from the foundation. There were unusual illuminations in the solar system. All the beings of material planes could see each other. The deaf and dumb were cured. Celestial music was heard everywhere, and so on.

At that moment, K±¼a Devala, the hermit teacher of King Suddhodana, was having a discourse with celestial beings of T±vati½sa. He was a hermit of fame who had mastery of the eight sam±pattis (attainments) which gave him supernormal powers. Knowing of the birth of a son to the King due to the rejoicing in all the r³pa and k±ma worlds, he hurried back to the palace and desired the baby to be brought before him for blessings. When the King placed the baby before his teacher for the occasion, Devala at once understood that the baby was no other than the embryo Buddha. He smiled at this knowledge but cried almost immediately thereafter, because he foresaw that he would not live to hear his teachings, and that even after his death he would be in the ar³pa brahm± loka (immaterial plane of brahm±s) whence he would have no relationship with any of the material planes. He missed the Buddha and his teachings miserably.

On the fifth day, the child was named Siddhattha in the presence of renowned astrologer-palmists who agreed that the child had all the characteristics of a Buddha to come. The mother Queen, however, died a week after confinement and the child was taken care of by his maternal aunt, Paj±pat² Gotam².

Siddhattha spent his early years of life in ease, luxury and culture. He was acclaimed to be a prodigy both in intellect and strength. The King spared no pains to make the course of his life smooth. Three separate palaces were built to suit three seasons with all the necessities that would make the Prince sink in sensuality. That was because the King, out of paternal affection, desired his son to remain in worldly life as a king rather than as an enlightened Buddha. The King Suddhodana was overly watchful that his son be in such environments as would give him no chance of higher philosophical ideas. In order to make sure that the thought of the Prince never turned in this direction, he ordered that nobody serving him or in his association was ever to speak a single word about such things as old age, sickness or death. They were to act as if there were no unpleasant things in this world. Servants and attendants who showed the least sign of becoming old, weak or sickly were replaced. On the other hand, dancing, music and enjoyable parties were held right through, to keep him under a complete shade of sensuality.

The Great Renunciation

As days, months and years passed, however, the monotony of the sensual surroundings gradually lost hold of the mind of Prince Siddhattha. The mental energies of virtue conserved in all his innumerable earlier lives for the great goal of Buddhahood were automatically aroused. At times, when the world of sensuality lost control over his mind, his inner self worked its way up and raised his mind to a state of purity and tranquillity with the strength of sam±dhi. The war of nerves began.

An escape from sensuality and passion was his first consideration. He wanted to know what existed outside the walls of the palace beyond which he had not even once visited. He wished to see nature as it is, and not as man has made it. Accordingly he decided to see the royal park, oustide the palace walls. On the way to the park, in spite of precautions taken by the King to clear the roads of unpleasant sights, he saw in the very first visit an old man bent with age. Next he saw a sick person in the agony of a fatal malady. Thereafter he encountered a human corpse. On the last trip he came across a monk.

All these set his mind to serious thinking. His mental attitude was changed. His mind became clear of impurities and tuned up with the forces of his own virtues conserved in the saªkh±ra loka (plane of mental forces). By then his mind had become freed from hindrances, and was tranquil, pure and strong. It all happened on the night when a son had been born to his queen, a new fetter to bind him down. He was, however, immune from anything which would tend to upset the equilibrium of his mind. The virtues of determination worked their way towards a strong resolve, and he made up his mind to seek the way of escape from birth, old age, suffering and death. It was midnight when the solemn determination was made. He asked his attendant Channa to keep his stallion Kanthaka ready. After a parting look at his wife and the newly-born babe, Prince Siddhattha broke away from all the ties of family and of the world and made the Great Renunciation. He rode across the town to the river Anom± which he crossed, never to return until his mission had been achieved.

The Search for Truth

After this Great Renunciation, Prince Siddhattha went around in the garb of a wandering ascetic with a begging bowl in his hand in search of possible teachers. He placed himself under the spiritual guidance of two renowned brahmin teachers, ¾¼±ra and Uddaka. ¾¼±ra laid stress on the belief in ±tman (soul) and taught that the soul attained perfect release when freed from material limitations. This did not satisfy the Prince. He next went to Uddaka who placed too much emphasis on the effect of kamma and the transmigration of soul. Both could not get out of the conception of "soul," and the Prince ascetic felt that there was something else to learn. He therefore left both of them to work out the way to emancipation on his own. By that time, of course, he had learned the eight sam±pattis and had become an adept in the exercise of all supernormal powers, including the ability to read events of many kappas to come, as well as a similar period from the past. These were all in the mundane field and they did not much concern the Prince ascetic, whose ambition was an escape from this mundane field of birth, suffering and death.

He was later joined by five ascetics, one of whom (Koº¹añña by name) was the astrologer-palmist who had foretold on the fifth day of his birth that Siddhattha would surely become a Buddha. These ascetics served him well throughout the six years, during which he was engaged in fasting and meditation, subjecting himself to various forms of rigorous austerities and discipline until he was reduced to almost a skeleton. One day, in fact, he fell down in a swoon through exhaustion. When he survived this condition, he changed his method, followed a middle course and found that the way for his enlightenment was clearer.

Attainment of Buddhahood

It was on the eve of the full moon of Ves±kha [equivalent to the month of May] just 2,562 years ago, that Prince Siddhattha, wandering ascetic, sat cross-legged beneath a bodhi tree on the bank of the river Nerañjar± in the forest of Uruvel± (near present-day Bodh Gay±), with the strongest of determinations not to rise from that posture on any account until he gained the truth and enlightenment, the Buddhahood, even if the attempt might mean the loss of his very life.

The great event was approaching. The Prince ascetic mustered up all his strength of mind to secure that one-pointedness of mind which is so essential for the discovery of truth. The balancing of the mind, the Prince found on this occasion, was not so easy as hitherto. There was not only the combination of the mental forces of the lower planes with those of the higher planes all around him, but also interferences strong enough to upset, off and on, the equilibrium of his mind. The resistance of the impenetrable masses of forces against the radiation of the light normally secured by him was unusual (perhaps because it was a final bid for Buddhahood and M±ra, the supreme controller of evil forces, was behind the scene). The Prince, however, worked his way through slowly but surely, backed up by the mental forces of virtues which must inevitably have come back to him at the right moment.

He made a vow and called upon all the brahm±s and devas who had witnessed the fulfillment of his ten great perfections to join hands with him in the struggle for supremacy. This done, the association with the transcendingly pure mental forces of the brahm±s and devas had a salutary effect. The thick masses of forces, which seemed impenetrable, broke away; and with a steady improvement in the control over the mind, they were wiped out once and for all. All the hindrances having been overcome, the Prince was able to raise his power of concentration and put the mind into a state of complete purity, tranquillity and equanimity. Gradually, the consciousness of true insight possessed him. The solution to the vital problems which confronted him made its appearance in his consciousness as an inspiration. By introspective meditation on the realities of nature in his own self, it came vividly to him that there is no substantiality, as there seems to be, in the human body, and that it is nothing but the sum total of innumerable millions of kal±pas (subatomic particles), each about 1/46,656th part of a particle of dust from the wheel of a chariot in summer. On further investigation, he realized that this kal±pa also is matter in constant change or flux; and, similarly, that the mind is a representation of the mental forces (creative) going out and the mental forces (created) coming into the system of an individual continually and throughout eternity.

Buddha then proclaimed that his eye of wisdom had arisen when he got over the substantiality of his "own self." He saw by means of the lens of sam±dhi the kal±pas on which he next applied the law of anicca (impermanence), and reduced them to non-entity or habitual behaviour patternsdoing away with what we in Buddhism call paññatti (apparent truth); and coming to a state of paramattha (nature of forces) or, in other words, "ultimate reality."

Accordingly, he came to a realization of the perpetual change of mind and matter in himself (anicca) and as a sequel thereto, the truth of suffering (dukkha). It was then that the egocentrism in him broke down into the void and he got over to a stage beyond "suffering," i.e., dukkha-nirodha (the extinction of suffering) with no more traces of att± (attachment to self) left behind. "Mind and matter" were to him but empty phenomena which roll on forever, within the range of the law of cause and effect and the law of dependent origination. The truth was realized. The inherent qualities of embryo Buddha then developed, and complete enlightenment came to him by the dawn of the Ves±kha day.

"Verily, Prince Siddhattha attained samm± sambodhi and became the Buddha, the Awakened One, the Enlightened One, the All-knowing One. He was awake in a way compared with which all others were asleep and dreaming. He was enlightened in a way compared with which all other men were stumbling and groping in the dark. His knowing was with the knowledge compared with which, what all other men know is but a kind of ignorance."

Ladies and gentlemen, I have taken so much of your time today. I thank you all for the patient listening. I must also thank the clergy of the church for their kind permission given to me for this address.

Lecture No. 2 (30 September 1951)

Last Sunday, I gave you a brief outlinea very brief one, tooof the life of our Lord Buddha up to the moment of his attainment of Buddhahood. I am going to tell you today what his teachings are.

Buddhist teachings are preserved in what we call the Tipiµakas, consisting of Suttas (discourses), Vinaya (laws of discipline for the Sangha (monks) and Abhidhamma (philosophical teachings). We have the Tipiµakas in P±li in several volumes which will require an intelligent P±li scholar some months just to read through. I propose, therefore, to confine myself today only to essentials, i.e., the fundamental truths of Buddhism.

Before Lord Buddha took upon himself the task of spreading the Dhamma, he remained in silent meditation for a continuous period of forty-nine daysseven days under the bodhi tree, and seven days each in six other spots nearby, enjoying from time to time the peace of supreme nibb±na and at other times going deeper, in investigation, into the most delicate problems of paramattha dhamma (ultimate realities). On the complete mastery of the law of paµµh±na (the law of relations) in which infinite modes of relations between thought-moments are dealt with, there emerged from his body brilliant rays in six colours, which eventually settled down as a halo of six coloured rays around his head. He passed these seven-times-seven days of meditation without food. It is beyond us all to be without food for forty-nine days. The fact remains that throughout the period he was on a mental plane, as distinct from the physical plane wherein mankind normally resides. It is not the material food that maintains the fine material and life continuum of beings in the fine material worlds of brahm±s, but the jh±nic p²ti (rapture arising from deep meditation), which in itself is a nutriment. This was the case with the Buddha whose existence during this long period was on a mental rather than physical plane. Our experiments in this line of research have firmly convinced us that for a man of such high intellectual and mental development as the Buddha, this is a possibility.

It was at daybreak on the fiftieth day of his Buddhahood when he arose from this long spell of meditation. Not that he was tired or exhausted, but, as he was no longer in the mental plane, he felt a longing for food. At that time, two traders from a foreign land were travelling in several carts loaded with merchandise through the Uruvel± forest. A deva of the forest who was their relative in one of the previous existences advised them to take the opportunity of paying homage to the all-enlightened Buddha who had just arisen from his meditation. They accordingly went to the place where the Buddha was seated, illumined by the halo of six coloured rays. They could not resist their feelings. They lay prostrate in worship and adoration before Buddha and later offered preserved rice cakes with honey for the first meal of the Buddha. They were accepted as his lay disciples. Upon requesting that they might be given some tokens for their worship, Buddha presented them with eight strands of hair from his head.

You will be surprised to know that these two traders were Tapussa and Bhallika of Okkal±pa, which today is known as Rangoon where you are at this moment. And the renowned Shwedagon, which you have all probably visited, is the pagoda in which was enshrined all the eight hair relics of Buddha under the personal direction of the then ruler of Okkal±pa, 2,540 years ago. It has been preserved and renovated until now by successive Buddhist kings and devotees. Unfortunately, however, these two traders of Okkal±pa, who had the privilege of becoming the first lay disciples of the Buddha, were disciples only by faith, without a taste of the Buddha Dhamma in actual practice which alone could give them deliverance from suffering and death. Faith is, no doubt, a preliminary requisite; but it is the practice of the teachings which really counts. The Buddha therefore said:

The path must be trodden by each individual; Buddhas do but point the way.

Teachings of Buddha

Buddhism is not a religion according to its dictionary meaning because it has no centre in God, as is the case in all other religions. Strictly speaking, Buddhism is a system of philosophy coordinated with a code of morality, physical and mental. The goal in view is the extinction of suffering and death.

The Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha in his first sermon known as Dhamma-cakka-pavattana Sutta (the discourse to set in motion the Wheel of Dhamma) form the basis on which is founded this system of philosophy. In fact, the first three of the Four Noble Truths expound the philosophy of Buddha while the fourth (the Eightfold Noble Path, which is a code of morality-cum-philosophy) serves as a means for the end. This first sermon was given to the five ascetics, led by Koº¹añña, who were his early companions in search of truth. Koº¹añña was the first disciple of the Buddha to practise to become an arahat (a holy one gone beyond the limitations of all fetters).

Now we come to the Four Noble Truths. They are as follows:

1.  dukkha-sacca	(truth of suffering)

2.	samudaya-sacca	(truth of the origin of 	suffering)

3. 	nirodha-sacca	(truth of the extinction of 	suffering)

4. magga-sacca	(truth of the path leading to 	the extinction of suffering).

To come to a complete understanding of the fundamental concepts in the philosophy of Buddha, emphasis is laid on the need for the realization of the truth of suffering. To bring home this point, Lord Buddha tackled the problem from two different angles.

First, by a process of reasoning, he made his disciples understand that life is a struggle. Life is suffering; birth is suffering; old age is suffering; illness is suffering; death is suffering. The influence of sensuality, however, is so strong in mankind that they are normally apt to forget themselves, to forget what they will have to pay thereby. Just think for a moment how life exists in the prenatal period; how from the moment of birth the child has to struggle for existence; what preparations he has to make to face life; what he has to struggle with as a man until he breathes his last.

You can very well imagine what life is. Life is indeed suffering.

The more one is attached to self, the greater is the suffering. In fact, what pains and sufferings a man has to undergo are suppressed in favour of momentary sensual pleasures, which are but occasional spotlights in darkness. But for the moha (delusion), which keeps him away from the truth, he surely would have worked out his way for emancipation from the rounds of life, suffering and death.

Secondly, the Buddha made it known to his disciples that the human body is composed of kal±pas (subatomic units), each dying out simultaneously as it arises. Each kal±pa is a mass formed of the following nature-elements:

1.	paµhav²	extension	(lit., earth)

2.	±po	cohesion	(lit., water)

3.	tejo	radiation	(lit., heat and cold)

4.	v±yo	motion	(lit., air)

5.	vaººo	colour

6.	gandho	smell

7.	raso	taste

8.	oj±	nutritive essence

The first four are called mah±-bh³tas, i.e., essential material qualities which are predominant in a kal±pa. The other four are merely subsidiaries which are dependent upon and born out of the former. A kal±pa is the minutest particle noticeable in the physical plane. It is only when the eight nature-elements (which have merely a characteristic of behaviour) are together that the entity of a kal±pa is formed. In other words, the coexistence of these eight nature-elements of behaviour makes a mass, which in Buddhism is known as a kal±pa. These kal±pas, according to the Buddha, are in a state of perpetual change or flux. They are nothing but a stream of energies, just like the light of a candle or an electric bulb. The body (as we call it), is not an entity as it seems to be, but is a continuum of matter and life-force coexisting.

To a casual observer a piece of iron is motionless. The scientist knows that it is composed of electrons all in a state of perpetual change or flux. If this is so with a piece of iron, what will be the case with a living organism, say a human being? The changes taking place inside a human body must be more violent. Does man feel the rocking vibrations within himself? Does the scientist who knows that all the electrons are in a perpetual state of change or flux ever feel that his own body is but energy and vibration? What will be the repercussion on the mental attitude of the man who introspectively sees that his own body is mere energy and vibration?

To quench thirst one may easily just drink a glass of water from a village well. Supposing his eyes are as powerful as microscopes, he would surely hesitate to drink the very same water in which he must see the magnified microbes. Similarly, when one comes to the realization of perpetual change within himself (aniccaimpermanence), he must come to the understanding, as a sequel thereto, of the truth of suffering as a consequence of the sharp sense of feeling the radiation, vibration and friction of the atomic units within. Indeed life is suffering, both within and without, to all appearances and in ultimate reality.

When I say "life is suffering," as the Buddha taught, please be so good as not to run away with the idea that, if it is so, life is miserable, life is not worth living and the Buddhist concept of suffering is a terrible concept which will give you no chance of a reasonably happy life. What is happiness? For all that science has achieved in the field of materialism, are the peoples of the world happy? They may find sensual pleasures off and on, but in their heart of hearts they are not happy when they realize what has happened, what is happening and what may happen next. Why? This is because, while man has mastery of matter, he is still lacking in mastery over his mind.

Pleasure born of sensuality is nothing compared with the p²ti (rapture) born of the inner peace of mind which can be secured through a process of Buddhist meditation. Sense pleasures are preceded and followed by troubles and pains as in the case of a rustic who finds pleasure in cautiously scratching the itches over his body, whereas p²ti is free from such troubles and pains either way. Looking from a sensual field, it will be difficult for you to appreciate what that p²ti is like. But, I know, you can also enjoy and have a taste of it for comparative valuation. There is therefore nothing to suppose that Buddhism teaches something which will make you feel miserable with the nightmare of suffering. But please take it from me that it will give you an escape from the normal conditions of life, a lotus as it were, in a pond of crystal water, immune from its fiery surroundings. It will give you that "peace within" which will satisfy you that you are getting beyond not only the day-to-day troubles of life, but slowly and surely beyond the limitation of life, suffering and death.

What, then, is the origin of suffering? The origin of it, the Buddha said, is taºh± (craving). Once the seed of desire is sown, it grows into greed and multiplies into craving or lust, either for power or material gains. The man in whom this seed is sown becomes a slave to these cravings; and he is automatically driven to strenuous labours of mind and body to keep pace with them until the end comes. The final result must surely be the accumulation of the evil mental force generated by his own actions, words and thoughts which are motivated by the lobha (desire) and dosa (aversion) inherent in him.

Philosophically speaking again, it is the mental forces of actions (saªkh±ra) which react in the course of time on the person originating them, which are responsible for the stream of mind and matter, the origin of suffering within.

Path Leading to the Extinction of Suffering

What, then, is the path leading to the extinction of suffering? The path is none other than the Noble Eightfold Path taught by the Buddha in his first sermon. This Eightfold Path is divided into three main stages, namely: s²la, sam±dhi and paññ±.

S²la   (precept)

1.	right speech

2.	right action

3.	right livelihood

Sam±dhi   (concentration of mind)

4.	right exertion

5.	right attentiveness

6.  right concentration

Paññ±   (wisdom-insight)

7.	right aspiration

8.	right understanding

S²la

The three characteristic aspects of s²la are as

follows:

1.	samm±-v±c±	(right speech)

2.	samm±-kammanta	(right action)

3.	samm±-±j²va	(right livelihood)

By right speech is meant: speech which must be true, beneficial and neither foul nor malicious.

By right action is meant: fundamentals of morality which are opposed to killing, stealing, sexual misconduct and drunkenness.

By right livelihood is meant: ways of living by trades other than those which increase the suffering of all beings (such as slave trading, the manufacturing of weapons, and traffic in intoxicating drugs).

These represent generally the code of morality as initially pronounced by the Buddha in his very first sermon. Later, however, he amplified it and introduced separate codes for monks and lay disciples.

I need not worry you with what has been prescribed for monks. I will just let you know what the code of morality (the precepts for a Buddhist lay disciple) is. This is called the Pañca S²la (Five Precepts). They are:

1.	 p±º±tip±t±abstention from killing any sentient beings. (Life is the most precious for all beings; and in prescribing this, Buddha's compassion extends to all beings.)

2.	adinn±d±n±abstention from taking what is not given. (This serves as a check against improper desire for possessions.)

3.	k±mesu-micch±c±r±abstention from sexual misconduct. (Sexual desire is dormant in man. It is irresistible to almost all. Unlawful sexual indulgence is therefore one which the Buddha prohibited.)

4.	mus±v±d±abstention from telling lies. (This precept is included to fulfil, by the way of speech, the essence of truth.)

5.	sur±merayaabstention from intoxication. (Intoxication causes a man to lose his steadfastness of mind and reasoning power so essential for the realization of truth.)

The Pañca S²la are therefore intended to control actions and words and to serve as a foundation for sam±dhi (concentration of mind).

Sam±dhi

Ladies and gentlemen, we now come to the mental aspect of Buddhism which I'm sure will greatly interest you. In the second stage of the Eightfold Noble Path (that is, sam±dhi) are included:

1.  samm±-v±y±ma	(right exertion)

2.  samm±-sati	(right attentiveness)

3.  samm±-sam±dhi	(right concentration)

Right exertion is of course the prerequisite for right attentiveness. Unless one makes a concerted effort to narrow down the range of thoughts of his wavering and unsteady mind, he cannot expect to secure that attentiveness of mind which in turn helps him bring the mind by right concentration to a state of one-pointedness and equanimity. It is here that the mind becomes freed from hindrances, pure and tranquil; illumined within and without. The mind in such a state becomes powerful and bright. Outside, it is represented by light which is just a mental reflex, with the light varying in degrees from that of a star to that of the sun. To be plain, this light which is reflected before the mind's eye in complete darkness is a manifestation of the purity, tranquillity and serenity of mind.

The Hindus work for it. To go from light into the void and come back to it, is truly Br±hmanic. The New Testament, in Matthew, speaks of "body full of light." We also hear of Roman Catholic priests meditating regularly for this very miraculous light. The holy Qur'an, too, gives prominence to the "manifestation of divine light."

This mental reflex of light denotes the purity of mind within, and the purity of mind forms the essence of a religious life whether one be a Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or Muslim. Indeed the purity of mind is the greatest common denominator of all religions. Love, which alone is the means for the unity of mankind, must be supreme, and it cannot be so unless the mind is transcendently pure. A balanced mind is necessary to balance the unbalanced minds of others: "As a fletcher makes straight his arrow, a wise man makes straight his trembling and unsteady thought, which is difficult to guard, difficult to hold back." So said the Buddha. Exercise of mind is as necessary as exercise of the physical body. Why not, then, give exercise to mind and make it strong and pure so that you may enjoy the jh±nic peace within? When inner peace begins to permeate the mind, you will surely progress in the knowledge of truth.

Believe it or not, it is our experience that under a proper guide, this inner peace and purity of mind can be secured by one and all, irrespective of their religion or creed, providing they have sincerity of purpose and are prepared to submit to the guide for the period of trial.

When by continued practice, one has complete mastery over his mind, he can enter into jh±nic states (meditative states of deep absorption) and gradually develop himself to acquire sam±pattis (attainments) which will give him supernormal powers the same as those exercised by K±¼a-Devala, the hermit teacher of King Suddhodana. This, of course, must be tried in penance and away from human habitations, but is rather dangerous for those who still have traces of passion in them. Anyway, such a practice, which gives supernormal powers in this mundane field, was not encouraged by Buddha, whose sole object of developing sam±dhi was to have the purity and strength of mind essential for the realization of truth. We have in Buddhism forty different methods of concentration of which the most outstanding is Anapana, i.e., concentration on the incoming and outgoing breath, the method followed by all Buddhas.

Paññ±

Ladies and gentlemen, I will now take up the philosophical aspect of Buddhism in the third stage of the Noble Eightfold Path: paññ±  (insight).

The two characteristic aspects of paññ± are:

1.	samm±-saªkappa	(right aspiration)

2.	samm±-diµµhi	(right understanding)

Right understanding of the truth is the aim and object of Buddhism. Right aspiration is the analytical study of mind and matter, both within and without, in order to come to the realization of truth.

You have heard of n±ma and r³pa (mind and matter) so many times, I owe you a further explanation.

N±ma is so called because of its tendency to incline towards an object of the senses. R³pa is so called because of its impermanence due to perpetual change. The nearest terms in English to n±ma and r³pa therefore are mind and matter. I say "nearest" because the meaning is not exact.

N±ma, strictly speaking, is the term applied to the following:

1.	consciousness	(viññ±ºa)

2.	feeling	(vedan±)

3.	perception	(saññ±)

4.	volitional energies	(saªkh±ra)

These together with r³pa in the material state make what we call the pañca-khandhas (five aggregates). It is with the five aggregates that the Buddha summed up all the mental and physical phenomena of existence (which in reality is a continuum of mind and matter coexisting, but which to a layman is his personality or ego).

In samm±-saªkappa (right aspiration), the disciple who, by then, has developed the powerful lens of sam±dhi, focuses his attention into his own self and by introspective meditation makes an analytical study of the nature: first, of r³pa (matter) and then of n±ma (mind and mental properties). He feels (and at times he also sees) the kal±pas in their true state. He begins to realize that both r³pa and n±ma are in a constant state of changeimpermanent and fleeting. As his power of concentration increases, the nature of forces in him becomes more and more vivified. He can no longer get out of the impression that the pañca khandhas (five aggregates) are suffering within the law of cause and effect. He is now convinced that, in reality, all is suffering within and without, and that there is nothing such as ego. He longs for a state beyond suffering. So eventually getting out of the bonds of suffering, he moves from the mundane to the supramundane state and enters the stream of sot±panna, the first of the four stages of ariyas (noble ones). Then he becomes free from: (1) ego; (2) doubts; (3) attachment to rules and rituals. The second stage is sakad±g±mi, on coming to which, sensuous craving and ill will become attenuated. He ceases to have any passion or anger when he reaches the third stage of an±g±mi. The stage of arahat is the final goal.

Each of the ariyas can feel what nibb±na is like, even as a human being, for any number of times as he may choose, by going into the fruition stage of sot±panna, etc., which gives him the nibb±nic peace within.

This peace within which is identified with nibb±na has no parallel because it is supramundane. Compared to this, the jh±nic peace within (which I mentioned earlier in dealing with sam±dhi) is negligible because, while the nibb±nic peace within takes one beyond the thirty-one planes of existence, the jh±nic peace within will still keep him within these planesfor example, in the fine material world of the brahm±s.

Ladies and gentlemen, just a word more. What I have said here are just some of the fundamental aspects of Buddhism. With the time at my disposal, I hope I have given you my best.

To come to a state of purity of mind with a light before you; to go to the jh±nic state at will; to experience, for yourselves, nibb±nic peace within: these are all within your reach.

Why not, then, try for the first two at least which are within the confines of your own religion? I am prepared to give any help that you may require.

May I again express my gratitude to you all for the patient listening.

Lecture No. 3  (14 October 1951)

My talk on "What Buddhism Is" will not be complete without a reference, though in brief, to the law of paµicca samupp±da (the Law of Dependent Origination) and the law of paµµh±na (the law of relations, or cause and effect).

It will be recalled that in summing up my first lecture, I mentioned how Prince Siddhattha, the wandering ascetic, realized the truth and became Buddha. Lest you forget, I will repeat that portion again.

"Verily, Prince Siddhatta attained samm± sambodhi and became Buddha, the Awakened One, the Enlightened One, the All-knowing One. He was awake in a way compared with which all others were asleep and dreaming. He was enlightened in a way compared with which all other men were stumbling and groping in the dark. His knowing was with the knowledge compared with which, what all other men know is but a kind of ignorance."

All religions, no doubt, claim to show the way to truth. In Buddhism, as long as one has not realized the truth, i.e., the Four Noble Truths, he is in ignorance. It is this ignorance (avijj±) that is responsible for the generation of mental forces (saªkh±r±) which regulate the life continuum (viññ±ºa) in all sentient beings. Just as the life continuum is established in a new existence, mind and matter (n±ma and r³pa) appear automatically and correlatively. These, in turn, are developed into a vehicle or body with sense centres (sa¼±yatan±).

These sense centres give rise to contact (phassa); and the contact of these sense centres with sense objects gives rise to sense impressions [sensations] (vedan±) which have the effect of arousing desire (taºh±) followed closely by attachment or clinging to desire (up±d±na). It is this attachment or clinging to desire which is the cause of becoming (bhava) or existence, with the attendant birth, old age, illness, death, anxiety, agony, pains, etc., all of which denote "suffering." In this way Buddha traced the origin of suffering to ignorance.

The Buddha said:

Ignorance is the origin of mental forces;

mental forces, the origin of the life continuum;

life continuum, the origin of mind and matter;

mind and matter, the origin of sense centres;

sense centres, the origin of contact;

contact, the origin of impression [sensation];

impression [sensation], the origin of desire;

desire, the origin of attachment;

attachment, the origin of becoming (existence);

becoming (existence), the origin of birth;

birth, the origin of old age, illness, death, anxiety,

agony, pains, etc. (which are all suffering).

This chain of origination is called the Law of Dependent Origination. The root cause for all these is therefore avijj± or ignorance, i.e., ignorance of the truth. It is true superficially that desire is the origin of suffering. This is so simple. When you want a thing, desire is aroused. You have to work for it or you suffer for it. But this is not enough. The Buddha said, "The five aggregates which are nothing but mind and matter also are suffering." The truth of suffering in Buddhism is complete only when one realizes the truth by seeing mind and matter as they really are (both within and without) and not as they seem to be.

The truth of suffering is therefore something which must be experienced before it can be understood. For example, we all know from science that everything that exists is nothing but vibration caused by the whirling movement of an infinite number of electrons. But how many of us can persuade ourselves to believe that our own bodies are subject to the same law? Why not then try to feel them as they really are, in so far as it relates to yourself? One must be above the mere physical condition for this purpose. He must develop mental energy powerful enough to see things in their true state. With developed mental power, one can see through-and-through, more than what one can see with the help of the latest scientific instruments. If that be so, why should one not see what is happening precisely in his own selfthe atoms, the electrons and whatnotall changing fast and yet never ending. It is, of course, by no means easy.

In reality our "suffering within" is a sequel to the keen sense of feeling the vibration, radiation and friction of the atomic units experienced through the process of introspective meditation called Vipassana, with the aid of the powerful lens of sam±dhi. Not knowing this truth is indeed ignorance. Knowing this truth in its ultimate reality means destruction of the root cause of suffering: that is, ignorance, with all the links in the chain of causation ending with what we call "life," with its characteristics of old age, illness, anxiety, agony, pains, and so on.

So much for the Law of Dependent Origination and the root cause of suffering.

Let us now turn our attention to the causal law of relations as expounded by the Buddha in the law of Paµµh±na of the Abhidhamma Piµaka. This is the law, in the course of the analytical study of which, six coloured rays emerged from the person of Buddha during his uninterrupted meditation for forty-nine days (soon after the attainment of Buddhahood). We have five volumes of about five hundred pages of P±li text on this very delicate subject. I will give here only just an idea of the law.

There are twenty-four types of relations on which the fundamental principles of cause and effect in Buddhism are based. These are as follows:

1.  	condition 	(hetu)

2.  	object 	(±rammaºa)

3.  	dominance 	(adhipati)

4. 	contiguity 	(anantara)

5. 	immediate contiguity 	(samanantara)

6. 	coexistence 	(sahaj±ta)

7.  	reciprocity 	(aññamañña)

8.  	dependence 	(nissaya)

9. 	sufficing condition 	(upanissaya)

10. 	antecedence 	(purej±ta)

11. 	consequence 	(pacch±j±ta)

12.	succession 	(±sevana)

13.	action 	(kamma)

14. 	effect 	(vip±ka)

15. 	support 	(±h±ra)

16. 	control 	(indriya)

17. 	ecstasy 	(jh±na)

18. 	means 	(magga)

19.	association 	(sampayutta)

20.	dissociation 	(vippayutta)

21. 	presence 	(atthi)

22. 	absence 	(natthi)

23. 	abeyance 	(vigata)

24. 	continuance	(avigata)

I will explain to you now about the correlation of hetu (condition) and kamma (action) and the effect produced by their causes as I understand them.

Hetu is the condition of the mind at one conscious moment of each kamma action, whether physical, vocal or mental. Each kamma therefore produces a condition of mind which is either moral, immoral or neutral. This is what in Buddhism we call kusala dhamma, akusala dhamma and aby±kata dhamma. These dhammas are mere forces (i.e., mental forces), which collectively create the universe of mental forces.

Moral (kusala) forces are positive forces generated from kammas (actions, words and thoughts) motivated by such good deeds as alms-giving, welfare work, devotion, purification of mind, and so on.

Immoral (akusala) forces are negative forces generated from kammas (actions, words and thoughts) motivated by desire, greed, lust, anger, hatred, dissatisfaction, delusion, and so on.

Neutral (aby±kata) forces are neither moral nor immoral, as in the case of an arahat who has got rid of all traces of ignorance (avijj±). In the case of an arahat, contact (phassa) of sense objects with sense centres produces no sense impressions (vedan±) whatsoever, just as no impression is possible on flowing water which is ever-changing. To him, the whole framework of the body is but an ever-changing mass and any impression thereon automatically breaks away with the mass.

Let us now address the moral and immoral forces generated by conditioned actions with the planes of existence. For this purpose, I will classify the planes of existence roughly as follows:

Ar³pa and R³pa Brahm± Planes

These are beyond the range of sensuality. Supreme love, supreme compassion, supreme joy at the success and greatness of others, and supreme equanimity of mind are the four qualities of mind which generate transcendently pure, brilliant and extremely pleasing, cool and light mental forces which find their location in the highest of the planes of existence. This is the reason why in these planes matter is superfine and there is nothing but radiance. The vehicles or bodies of the brahm±s cannot be identified with matter, but with radiation or light.

Sensuous Planes

These consist of:

1.	planes of celestial beings

2.	human world

3.	planes of lower forms of existence

Planes of Celestial Beings

All good or meritorious deeds, words or thoughts which have a taint of desire for future well-being create moral mental forces which are considerably pure, luminous, pleasant and light. These find their location in the higher planes of celestial beings where matter is fine, luminous, pleasant and light. These celestial beings therefore have astral bodies varying in fineness, luminosity and colour according to the planes to which they belong. Ordinarily they live in heavenly bliss until their own moral mental forces are consumed; then they revert to the lower planes of existence.

Planes of the Lower Forms of Existence

(I will come to the human world last.)

All malicious, evil, demeritorious actions, words and thoughts create mental forces which are by nature impure, dark, fiery, heavy and hard. The most impure, dark, fiery, heavy and hard mental forces should therefore find their place in hell, the lowest of the four planes of existence.

The matter in these planes must therefore be hard, crude, unpleasant and hot. The human world is just above the concentration of these forces, which are meant for consumption (to be experienced) by those beings destined for the lower forms of existence. These beings, with the exception of those in the animal world, are invisible to the ordinary human eye but visible to those who have developed the higher powers of sam±dhi and secured the divine eye. Here sufferingboth physical and mentalpredominates. This is just the reverse of what happens in the planes of celestial beings.

 Human World

Now I come to the human world, this half-way house between heaven and hell. We experience pleasure and pain mixed together in degrees, as determined by our own past kamma. From here, we can, by developing our mental attitude, draw in our own mental forces from the higher planes. It is also from here that we can go down to the depths of depravity and tune up with the forces of the lower order.

There is no such constancy as in the other planes of existence. One may be a saint today, but he can be a rogue thereafter. He may be rich today, but he may soon become poor. The vicissitudes of life here are very conspicuous. There is no man who is stable, no family which is stable, no community which is stable, no nation which is stable.

All are subject to the law of kamma. As this kamma comes out of "mind" which is ever-changing, the effects of kamma must necessarily also be changing.

As long as man has inherent impurities in him and dies with the mental attitude tuned up with the mental forces of a plane of lower existence; then, at the last moment of his death, the next existence is automatically in that lower plane (to clear, one might say, his debit account of mental forces there).

On the other hand if, at the moment of death, his mental attitude is associated with the forces in the human world, the next existence can be in the human world again. If, however, his mental attitude at the last moment of death is associated with the reminiscence of his good deeds, the next existence will normally be in the celestial world (where one enjoys the credit balance of his own mental forces in that plane). One goes to the brahm± world, if at the moment of death his mind is not sensual, but is pure and tranquil.

This is how kamma plays its role in Buddhism with mathematical precision.

These, ladies and gentlemen, are the essential teachings of Buddha. How these teachings affect the individual depends on how one takes them.

The same applies to the family, the community or the people in general. We have Buddhists in faith and Buddhists in practice. Yet there is another class of Buddhists who are simply labelled "Buddhists" at birth. Only Buddhists in actual practice can secure the change in mental attitude and outlook. Let them only observe the five precepts; they are the followers of the teachings of Buddha. If this were followed by all the Buddhists in Burma, there would be no internecine strife such as we are having here in Burma. But there is another disturbing factor: that is, the bodily requirements. One must have the bare necessities of life. Life is more precious to him than anything else. The tendency therefore is to break the laws of discipline, whether religious or governmental, for one's self-preservation and for the preservation of others depending on him.

What is most essential is the generation of pure and good mental forces to combat the evil mental forces which dominate mankind. This is by no means easy. One cannot rise to the level of pure mental attitude without the help of a teacher. If we want effective power to combat these forces, we must work for it according to Dhamma. Modern science has given us, for what it is worth, the atomic bomb, the most wonderful and yet at the same time the most dreadful product of man's intelligence. Is man using his intelligence in the right direction? Is he creating good or bad mental forces, according to the spirit of Buddhism? It is our will that decides how and upon what subject we shall use intelligence. Instead of using intelligence only for the conquest of atomic energy in matter without, why not use it also for the conquest of atomic energy within?

This will give us the "peace within" and enable us to share it with all others. We will then radiate such powerful and purified mental forces as will successfully counteract the evil forces which are all around us. Just as the light of a single candle has the power to dispel darkness in a room, so also the light developed in one man can help dispel the darkness in several others.

To imagine that good can be done by the means of evil is an illusion, a nightmare. The case in point is that of Korea. For all the loss of lives on both sides, now over one million, are we nearer to, or further away, from peace? These are the lessons which we have learned. Change of mankind's mental attitude through religion alone is the solution. What is necessary at the moment is mastery over the mind and not only mastery over matter.

In Buddhism we differentiate between loka dh±tu and dhamma dh±tu. By dh±tu is meant the nature-elements or forces. Loka dh±tu is therefore matter (with its nature-elements) within the range of the physical plane. Dhamma dh±tu, however, comprises mind, mental properties and some aspects of nature-elements which are not in the physical but in the mental plane. Modern science deals with what we call loka dh±tu. It is just a base for dhamma dh±tu in the mental plane. A step further and we come to the mental plane; not with the knowledge of modern science, but with the knowledge of Buddha-Dhamma in practice.

At least Mr. H. Overstreet, author of The Mature Mind (W.W. Norton & Co., Inc., New York) is optimistic about what is in store for mature minds. He writes:

The characteristic knowledge of our century is psychological. Even the most dramatic advances in physics and chemistry are chiefly applications of known methods of research. But the attitude toward human nature and human experience that has come in our time is new.

This attitude could not have come earlier. Before it came, there had to be long preparation. Physiology had to be a developed science; for the psychological person is also physiological. His makeup, among other things, is a matter of brain tissue, of nerves, of glands, of organs of touch, smell and sight. It was not until about seventy years ago that physiology was sufficiently developed to make psycho-physical research possible, as in the laboratories of the distinguished German psychologist, William Wundt. But before physiology there had to be a developed science of biology. Since brain, nerves, glands and the rest depend upon all processes, the science of the living cell had to have its maturing before a competent physiology could emerge.

But before biology, there had to be chemistry; and before chemistry, physics; and before physics, mathematics. So the long preparation goes back into the centuries.

There is, in short, a time clock of science. Each science has to wait until its hour strikes. Today, at least, the time clock of science strikes the hours of psychology, and a new enlightenment begins.

To be sure, the interests explored by this latest of the sciences are themselves old; but the accuracy of research is new. There is, in brief, a kind of iron logic that is in control. Each science has to wait for its peculiar accuracy until its predecessor has supplied the data and tools out of which its accuracy can be made.

The time clock of science has struck a new hour: a new insight begins to be at our service.

May I say that it is the Buddha Dhamma which should be studied by one and all for a new insight into the realities of human nature. In Buddhism we have the cure for all the mental ills that affect mankind. It is the evil forces of the mind, past and present, that are responsible for the present state of affairs all over the world.

Nowadays, there is dissatisfaction almost everywhere. Dissatisfaction creates ill feeling. Ill feeling creates hatred. Hatred creates enmity. Enmity creates war. War creates enemies. Enemies create war. War creates enemies, and so on. It is now getting into a vicious cycle. Why? Certainly because there is lack of proper control over the mind.

What is man? Man is after all mental forces personified. What is matter? Matter is nothing but mental forces materialized, a result of the reaction of the moral (positive) and immoral (negative) forces.

Buddha said: Cittena niyate loko (the world is mind-made). Mind therefore predominates everything. Let us then study the mind and its peculiar characteristics and solve the problem that is now facing the world.

There is a great field for practical research in Buddhism. Buddhists in Burma will always welcome whoever is anxious to have the benefit of their experience.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have made an attempt to give you the best of what I know about Buddhism. I shall be glad to give any interested person further explanation on any point that he may wish to discuss. I am grateful to you for the kind attendance and the interest taken in my lectures. May I again thank the clergy of the church for the permission so kindly given for this series of lectures.

Peace to all beings.