The main practice in Buddhism evolves around transformation of one's own
mind. The main means to accomplish this is via meditation as
one needs to know the 'enemy' inside before one can efficiently subdue it.
However, without the causes for positive results in terms of karma,
spiritual progress is impossible. For example, if you plan to do a meditation
retreat, but you fall sick instead because of some negative karma ripening, no
retreat will happen at all. Hence, the practice of ethics prevents us from
creating negative karma and will enable our spiritual progress.
Ethical behaviour is said to be at the basis of any spiritual path. A life
filled with killing, stealing and lying is certainly not very conducive to inner
peace and the generation of compassion. The Buddha explained the 8-Fold
Noble Path (correct thought, speech, actions, livelihood, understanding, effort,
mindfulness and concentration) as a guideline to proper conduct. If you
desire to achieve Buddhahood in order to help all others, then you can also try
the practices of a Bodhisattva: the 6 Perfections ( the perfection
of giving, ethics, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom).
In other pages of this website more details can be found on the various sets
of Buddhist vows (see Refuge,
Compassion,
Mahayana
Precepts, Tantra and Sangha).
Vows are intended to keep ones' mind focussed on mindfulness of our mental and
physical actions. Moreover, keeping to vows creates a large store of positive
energy (karma) which allows progress on the spiritual path. For example, if one
does not kill without having taken a vow, one simply does not create any
karma. However, when one has taken a vow not to kill, one accumulates
positive karma 24 hours a day, as long as one does not kill.
The bottom line for all these practices is to control our behaviour so we do
not harm others, but help them instead.
BUT I NEVER DO TERRIBLE THINGS...
"Please don't hurt others... Please try to work with
people and be helpful to them. A fantastically large number of people need
help. Please try to help them, for goodness sake, for heaven and earth.
Don't just collect Oriental wisdoms one after the other. Don't just
sit on an empty zafu, an empty meditation cushion. But go out and try to
help others, if you can. That is the main point... Your help doesn't have
to be a big deal. To begin with, just work with your friends and work with
yourself at the same time. It is about time we became responsible for this
world."
Chogyam Trungpa, from "Great Eastern Sun: The Wisdom of
Shambhala"
Please take some time to reflect on a famous scientific experiment done in
1963 by Stanley Milgram: Test persons came after an advertisement: "Join a
memory experiment, one hour for 4 dollars". It was explained that the people
were the "Master" of the experiment, and the "real" test person was in another
room, connected to electroshock equipment. The research was to verify if people
learn better when being punished. Whenever the other gave a wrong answer to a
question, the Master should push a button to give a shock. To clarify what the
other person was undergoing, the Master was given an very unpleasant shock of 45
volts. Every time when the other person would answer wrongly, shock must be
given, 15 Volts higher than the previous one, from 15 to 450 Volts. The other
person could be heard, and would be screaming and banging the walls at shocks
over 300 volts. The crux of the experiment: the "other person" in the room
next door was an actor, not receiving any shocks at all, the real test persons
were the masters giving the shocks and the experiment was about how far they
would be prepared to go.
The truly shocking about this experiment was that 2/3rd of the test persons
would continue (though sweating and nervous) after some simple assurances from
the test leader that they should continue in order to make the test work, until
the maximum shock of 450 Volts was given. This means that as much as two-thirds
of people are potential torturers who merely need a little encouragement and 4
dollars per hour! The experiment did not clarify if people are really bad, or
just easily convinced by a man in a white coat, but it does make one think....
If you think the above is not representative of normal human behaviour;
please reflect on the following equally disturbing experiment. (Recently a
German movie; 'Experiment' was made on the basis of the findings of this experiment.)
About 30 years ago, Professor Philip Zimbardo carried out this experiment in
Stanford University. 24 Students were put in a fictional prisonward (set up
in the university) and divided into two groups. The 'guards' became a uniform, a
batton, handcuffs and dark sunglasses. The 'prisoners', merely dressed in short
pants were put into cells. The professor intends to observe them for 2 weeks via
videocameras. However, already after 6 days the experiment needs to be stopped,
as the guards treat the prisoners too dreadful - the experiment has become
dreadfully serious. To quote from the conclusion:
"We had created an overwhelmingly powerful situation -- a situation in
which prisoners were withdrawing and behaving in pathological ways, and in
which some of the guards were behaving sadistically."
Apart from the above, the practice of trying to avoid the "Eight Worldly
Dharmas" is quite important. These describe the ceaseless activities we develop
towards short-term pleasures, which often prove not even to be pleasures.
The Eight Worldly Dharmas are being concerned with:
Getting what you want, and avoiding getting what you do not want
Wanting (instant) happiness, and not wanting unhappiness Wanting
fame, and not wanting to be unknown Wanting praise, and not wanting
blame.
From the point of view of karma, we usually behave contrary to our goals,
because in order to receive what we want, we need to give others
what they want. To avoid getting what we do not want, we should avoid giving
others what they do not want and so on. This is a very good subject for
meditation; you can ask yourself for example: - Do I often give others
happiness or unpleasant experiences? - Do I help others who are unhappy?
- How often do I blame people instead of praising them? - What can I do
with fame, what will it really bring me? - What will be useful when I am
about to die?
