What is the essence of human life?

One political analyst cum social activist recently condemned Sri Lankan Buddhist monks on his YouTube channel for not raising enough voice against the massive destruction taking place in the country. According to him, the main element of the current crisis is some foreign powers striving to unsettle the country for their geo-political needs. Many other Buddhists ask fervently: “Why are monks silent?”

The right-thinking Buddhists do not expect monks to take part in the struggle in a gross way that causes further deterioration of societal virtues. Some antagonists infiltrate hired goons dressed in yellow robes into violent protests, aimed at causing disgrace to Buddhist monks. Therefore, this question is actually about virtuous monks who are conscious of what they are doing. But why do they seem to be inactive?

Buddha demonstrated that everything happens due to multiple of reasons, and there are no sole-factor operations in the universe. It is a significant fact that comes in the teaching of Buddhist doctrine. Many analysts and their ilk, when tracing down to the roots of the problems, often fail to take some pertinent facts into consideration. The norm of Karma and Norm of Mind are two basic laws that govern this universe. I have observed that many laymen often conveniently forget the karmic aspect of this phenomenon.

The Buddha in many discourses like Aggañña sutta, Cakkawatti Sihanada sutta, etc., disclosed that, with the deterioration of virtue, human lives would become increasingly miserable, and even Mother Nature would be hostile towards them at such a stage. Virtue is getting increasingly neglected in our society. Electronic media takes the forefront in fanning the flames of delusion unrestrained for aggravating the situation, whatever it may be. They are concerned only about the popularity of their particular channel or stream, heedless of the grave damage they do in doing so. Heedlessness (pamaada) has become the norm of the current society. Even when slaughtering of animals is considered, the accrued evil karma would be massive, and it is only a matter of time before they come into fruition. One can earn a wealth of experience by careful observation of what unfolds around at present. First, the sweep of the pandemic claimed many lives. Subsequently, those who survived it had to deal with the new challenges that stemmed from the economic downfall that came in its wake. A global food crisis is in the offing, and the possibility of a third world war also cannot be ruled out. All these disasters prey on human lives!

The effects of evil karma can be eliminated to some extent by setting our mind on the spiritual path. This is known as tactfulness (payogasampatti) and it comes under the domain of the Norm of Mind. The right-thinking monks raised alarm long before these crises (See my article published in this newspaper titled “A lockdown like no other” on May 27, 2020). They emphasised the significance of spiritual tactfulness in mitigating them but many paid no heed. Some even went to the extent of ridiculing such monks of fear-mongering! Most of the people wanted to keep up with their fantasies. A saying of a scholar explains this situation: “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things.”

According to the Awakened One, there indeed is a gratification (assaada) in the world. That is why people get infatuated with it.  Then again, there is a danger (aadinawa) with regard to the world; that is why people become disappointed in this world. Not only gratification and danger, but there is also an escape (nissarana) from this world. That is how people get liberated and realize taking refuge in Nibbana. In an ultimate sense, there is no lasting permanent entity called a ‘person’ but just an empty phenomenon rolls on in a ’cause-and-effect’ relationship, creating the false impression of a ‘person’. This trio of ‘gratification’, ‘danger’ and ‘escape’ carry out their ‘legendary’ duty of binding, turning away and pointing towards the escape, respectively. In other words, if people do not see the futility and the pervasive unsatisfactoriness of the world, repeatedly, in many ways, they will never have true maturity in life. That is the bitter truth about the world! Unfortunately, there is no way to skip some steps of this learning process but erudite monks can help, only if you pay attention. Having seen this universal phenomenon, how come real monks impress you at this juncture like the heroes of the worthless films?

Corruption, cronyism, racism, etc., are actually outward manifestations of inner conflicts—i.e., defiled mental states. A real change should come from within, not without. Those who seek instant relief, quick satisfaction and fast fixes find it difficult to understand what is embodied in this Dhamma. As Ven. Achaan Cha of universal fame has so vividly stated, people behave like (obscenely) greedy men who gobble down a large amount of (unhealthy) food, not knowing where the toilet is! Should monks be held responsible for the discomfort?

As monks, our model of social activism should be based on a different life philosophy called Right View and our endeavours should fall into the category of ‘Right Effort’.  On the contrary, the majority of people have embraced Wrong Views and get entangled with Wrong Concepts, Wrong Actions, Wrong Livelihood etc. that entail it. Whether the culprit of the current crisis is a foreign intervention or not we have to set ourselves on the Right View to overcome, or at least to mitigate, the ill effects. If people are not ready to change their perspective and gain the much-needed sanity, popularizing the hypothesis of a foreign intervention by using media platforms only makes matters worse by adding fuel to the raging wrath. We were born into this world because of our previous ills – unfavorable karma, and if we keep on accruing more bad karma in our struggle of life, the vicious cycle would continue. “Whence are we going to close the bank account of our existence? Therefore, patience is of utmost importance to put an end to suffering”, said Buddha. In fact, Buddha admonished that the truth also should be uttered with restrain—otherwise we might do more harm than good (Chodana sutta– AN).

Way back in the 1950s, the legendary Buddhist scholar Venerable Rérukané Chandawimala Thero wrote that many people are jealous of monks, probably for getting certain benefits and respect from the faithful Buddhists. So, they criticise monks to their hearts’ content, not knowing the underlying thrust of negative emotions that dictate their behaviour! However, in a closer inspection, you will see that everybody is fighting a hard battle, and the monks are not exempted! Such mindful, non-judgmental observations give rise to compassion. If we are truly human, all our actions should spring from compassion—and it leads to constructive criticism and not to a blame-game widespread in the contemporary world.

You are not alone in your struggle of life—aspiring Buddhas, virtuous monks and compassionate gods too are with you, doing their best to lessen your suffering. However, the situation cries for an attitudinal and behavioural change on your part. Those who try to fulfill this requirement will at least leave this life somewhat wiser than they found it at their birth. Even before the onset of these catastrophes, the death rate was actually 100%. We were born to die, but many people forget it, which is another conducive factor for many morally destructive behaviors. Then, how can we make sense of this problem-ridden life? Learning to live a life of meaning, and helping fellow beings also to find progressively deeper meaning, is the essence of human life.We honor and appreciate the efforts of social activists who endeavor to protect our motherland. While doing it, one should not forget that he/she too needs to upgrade his/her own perspectives accordingly.

Ven. Matthumagala Chandananda Thero
Sri Vinayalankararamaya
Pokunuwita