---

Dhamma means understanding oneself. If you can understand yourself, it amounts to understanding the world. Therefore the main objective of understanding Dhamma is to understand oneself

We assume that what we think is reality.  However the truth is different. We have various concepts about the world which we have learnt from our parents, teachers and others, books and culture. We are influenced by them. We create our ‘reality’ based on the concepts we learnt
from them.

The Buddha pointed out that  Dhamma cannot be seen through you. But, Dhamma helps you to see The Buddha -
“Yo dhammam passathi, So man
passathi”.
Dhamma means understanding oneself. If you can understand yourself, it amounts to understanding the world. Therefore the main objective of understanding Dhamma is to understand
oneself.
Looking at reflections through the mirror of mindfulness
Understanding oneself or rather Dhamma, means understanding of one’s mind.

If we have read a lot of books on Dhamma we assume that we know enough Dhamma. However understanding Dhamma is different. It is an exercise. That exercise is- understating oneself. By looking at the reflection through a mirror, you get a clear idea about your face. In the same way, The Buddha has given us a mirror to understand our mind – that is mindfulness or attentive awareness.

The nature of the mind is that it continues to jump from one thought to another like a monkey. To sooth the mind one has to practise mindfulness or attentive awareness of thoughts. Here, we have to observe the thought as it emerges in the mind. Once you start practising mindfulness well, you gain the ability to see how thoughts arise. Concentration is an act that has to be regularly practised.
There are many Buddhist scholars and professors who have not practised mindfulness. They cannot therefore be Dhamma teachers.

Story of Upavana Thera

Once there was a Buddhist monk by the name of Upavana who thought of discarding the robe and going home. He met his teacher monk and told him of his intention. Seeing his mind, the teacher monk got the student monk to fan him with a dry palm branch to get rid of the heat. While Upavana Thera  was fanning his teacher, gradually forgot what he was doing and started day dreaming about the lay life he was going to enjoy. In that state he imagined that he was ploughing fields, reaping harvests and getting his wife to pound grain. However when he saw so many grains spilling on to the ground from the mortar due to his wife’s carelessness, he saw himself getting angry and hitting her. The young monk was so engrossed in His day dreaming that he hit the teacher monk with the palm branch thinking he was hitting his imaginary wife. Having realised the chaos his day dreaming had caused and the rush of emotions that arose within him, Upavana Thera became embarrassed and felt humiliated.

" Once we understand the oneness of nature, it is easy to develop the four key virtues or the Brahma Viharas. They are Metta- loving kindness, Karuna – compassion, Muditha –empathetic joy and Upekka - equanimity"

The teacher monk saw the entire thought process of his student and  delivered a sermon so that he could understand further the fickleness of the  mind. Having listened to him, Upawana Thera began to understand his mind better and was able to concentrate more and more on the nature of mind and achieve Arahathood.
We are like Upawana Thera. We don’t know how our mind works as we have not developed any control over it. As a result life has become so stressful, tiresome and a big burden. This is because we fail to understand thoughts as they arise in mind. If we can develop mindfulness or Sati then we can understand the nature of the thought flow and how one thought leads to another.

Who has made us slaves?

We are tied to this world as slaves and pushed through the passage of samsara or the cycle of life and death.
The Buddha had gone in search of the reason for the existence of these slaves in the circle of samsara. Even in his last birth he suffered for six long years to trace as to what makes this house of samsara that makes us slaves. At last, he found the maker– the carpenter of slaves – craving.
It is very easy to understand craving or Thanha because it is very simple. If I like to eat tasty food, it cannot be treated as attachment. The tasty food creates satisfaction; the previous experience of tasting food has been deposited in the mind. But when I am tempted to have a second, third serving of the food, that is Thanha.
In that instance experience was gained through the tongue. There are five sensory receptors like that. They are the eye, ear, tongue, nose and body.
We enjoy life through these five sensory receptors.Through them, we can gain experience.
There are various advertisements that appear on TV created for your entertainment prompting us to follow their messages. As a result, viewers become part of the rat race.

Upadana or attachment

There is another aspect of the nature of the mind according to Buddhism. That is known as attachment or Upadana. That means holding on to something strongly. The attachment is created due to Thanha or craving. We think in terms grabbing almost everything. We want to display our possessions and properties to society and the world at large.
The ordinary man has an inherent weakness – Maana or measuring. Everywhere this Maana is visible. We compare ourselves with others and attempt to stand out among the rest of people. One is bent on creating one’s own world with one’s possessions and positions. Throughout our life we tire ourselves, suffer immensely to climb up the social ladder to make sure that we are above others. This is Upadana or attachment to one’s standing in society.

Suffering for comfort

Let us take a bed as an example. There are various kinds of beds. Some with price tags of even one million rupees. Although we buy them with the hope of gaining comfort, what is the use  if we cannot sleep soundly? When it comes to thinking of comfort, it is nothing but an illusion.
King Kosala a contemporary king during The Buddha’s time could not sleep although he lived in the lap of luxury. His sleep was disturbed by various thoughts arising from his attachment to kingship. He lived in fear that somebody would usurp him to take the throne.
 The Buddha who had reached a state of ‘desirelessness’ and slept on sand dunes and under tress on the roadside told the king that he had become a person who slept soundly and peacefully by giving up attachment. He explained to King Kosala how one’s attachments make one restless.
The craving to own people and things make it difficult for us to see ourselves as a part of the universe. We see ourselves as isolated entities and feel helpless. Once we understand the oneness of nature it is easy to develop the four key virtues or the Brahma Viharas. They are Metta- loving kindness, Karuna – compassion, Muditha –empathetic joy and Upekka - equanity.

The Buddha is known as an epitome of kindness and compassion. He suffered all through samsara to make sure that he could show the path to enlightenment to as many people as possible. It must be realised that The Buddha got many opportunities in his previous births to gain enlightened and shorten his passage in Samsara. However he did not take those opportunities as he was more concerned about fellow human beings and wanted them to achieve enlightenment too.  

Becoming the richest person

Muditha means happiness derived by seeing the wellbeing of others. Upekka on the other hand is equanimity or accepting everything in life -good or bad – with aplomb or composure.
If one can cultivate these four virtues, he can be the richest person in the world.
When The Buddha preached tens of thousands of people entered the Buddhist order. These Bhikkhus formed an exemplary society where there was no division based on social status, caste or ethnicity. They sacrificed their entire life for Dhamma. Besides, there were others who wanted to lead virtuous lives while leading a lay life with their families. These were the lay followers of Dhamma. They were called Upasaka (male) and Upasika (female). They helped the Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis to practise Dhamma by providing them with alms (food and medicine) and infrastructures.

The Buddhist clergy formed a formidable force during the time of kings. They were able to convince even Emperor Ashoka to give up violence. After understanding Dhamma, the emperor started sending the peaceful message of Dhamma across Asia. His son Arahat Mahinda (Arahat Mihindu) created the Sangha society in Sri Lanka. The association of the Buddhist clergy made kings virtuous and righteous.  Chronicles say that by the 5th century AD there were about 10,000 monks in the three main temples in the city of Anuradhapura- Maha Viharaya, Abhayagiriya and Jethawanaramaya. The power of the Dhamma exerted a benign influence among the kings and as a result kings were compelled to adhere to spiritual principles and act accordingly.
The kings, who ruled in the past, did not have large palaces.  But, they built tanks while monks helped the people to lead virtuous lives. These people led very simple lives. They were kind to others and compassionate towards animals.

Though we are unableto go back to that society today, we still can revive  Dhamma in this society by giving the right guidance to people. Therefore, let us gather around the flag of Dhamma and look inwards, to examine our minds through mindfulness and see Dhamma for ourselves.