In todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;Interconnectedness and the Awakening Heartand#8221; Parami explores the theme of the Buddhaand#8217;s compassionate action and how ultimately it came from beyond self, beyond other and#8211; it emerged from his realisation of and#8216;Emptinessand#8217;. The Buddha realised full well how hard it was going to be to communicate what he had discovered to other people and#8211; to us. He knew that the grip of greed, hatred and delusion is very strong. He could imagine how vexatious it might be to teach. Fortunately for us, he could also see our potential. And so out of compassion he taught.
FBA Dharmabyte from the full talk, and#8220;Out of Compassion for the World,and#8221; given at the Triratna International Retreat at Taraloka, May 2008
[music] Dharma Vites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for real life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, come and join us at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. Thank you and happy listening. [music] And I'd like to read you a quote from Banti before I conclude, which talks of this interconnectedness and in a very particular and very beautiful way. In 1983, Banti gave a talk called Buddhism World Peace and Nuclear War. I was reading this last year, I think it was because there was a debate going on about Trident Missiles here in the UK. And I'd wanted to remember what Banti had said in that talk, which had had a great impact on me when I was there listening to it. And when I reread it, it again had an enormous impact. And I went to just share a little bit of that talk with you just now before I conclude. So this is the quote that begins for the translators, "Peace has become a seamless garment." I wouldn't read all of it. "Peace has become a seamless garment, and the world has either to wear the whole garment or go naked to destruction." There can no longer be any question of a scrap of peace covering one part of the world's nakedness and not another. This makes it impossible for us to think in merely geo-political terms. We have also to think in geo-ethical terms. Since peace is indivisible, the stark choice before us is either world peace or no peace, one world or no world. And we shall be able to achieve this only if we realize that humanity too is indivisible. And if we consistently act on that realization, we must regard ourselves as citizens of the world. We have to identify ourselves more closely with all living beings and love them with a more ardent and selfless love. We shall have to be a louder and clearer voice of sanity and compassion in the world. Above all, we shall have to intensify our commitment to the great ethical and spiritual principle of non-violence, both in relations between individuals and in respect to relations between groups. So that was in 1983 when to give that talk 25 years of past. My own feeling is that the world is not in a better place. He concludes that talk by saying, "The situation in which we find ourselves today is dangerous in the extreme. Perhaps more dangerous for humanity than any other period in history, and time is running out." So 25 years have passed since that talk. Perhaps time is still running out. I don't want to end on a note of, you know, worry and oh my goodness, it's all in a terrible state and everything. But nevertheless, for our heartbeat to be open, for us to really create the conditions for the awakening heart, we need to know the world in which that heart will awaken. It doesn't awaken away from the world, it awakens within the world. And I believe the world needs this more and more. One way we can do this is to really try and see the world through the eyes of the Bodhisattva. And when Avalakiteshva looked at the world, the archetypal Bodhisattva who symbolized his compassion looked at the world, he wept. And sometimes that's their only response. But that weeping gave rise to Tara. That weeping gave rise to another figure of compassion, and that figure of compassion had one leg in meditation, and one leg stepping into the world. It was active compassion, but compassion based on peace and clarity and kindness. When inner peace, meditative states, the fusion, the marriage if you like, of inner peace and outer activity. So perhaps that's what we can take away from here. Perhaps we can open our eyes to the world, open our ears to the cries of the suffering of the world. And within that, remember that we do have clear ethical principles. We do have meditation practices that help us live in the world, and that the extent that we're able to gain that inner peace. Although that might be a poor reflection of the Buddha's enlightenment experience, nevertheless it is a reflection. And so as we move outwards and we act in the world, let us do that with the Buddhist peace in our heart. Let us do it with Avalokiteshra and Tara's compassion in our heart. We're a realization that we too are part of the conditions of the world. And as we step back into the world, let us do that with love, with compassion and with peace. And I'd like to finish by just dedicating any meager merits gained by me talking this morning and by us being here this morning to peace in the world. May our teachers be healthy and have long life. May our efforts for practice heal ourselves, heal our world. And may the Bodhi Chitta arise where it has not yet arisen, where it has arisen, may it flourish, and where it flourishes, may it never die. Thank you. [Applause] We hope you enjoyed the talk. Please come and help us keep this free at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. And thank you. [Applause] [Applause] [BLANK_AUDIO]
