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THE TASKS AHEAD

My dear Dhamma sons and daughters:

You have gathered today with dedication and devotion to plan your work to help the spread of pure Dhamma. Twenty-eight years ago I doubted whether pure Dhamma would be accepted in this land—a land that has given rise to so many sects.

However, the experience of the last twenty-eight years has shown that, even though the number is small, there are people here who have no affinity for sects and are ready to devote their energy and abilities towards the re-establishment of the pure Dhamma. Even though such people are few, their number will increase and this country and the entire world will benefit.

During the last one thousand five hundred years we have reduced our country to a pitiable state; there is only adharma [anti-Dhamma] in the name of Dhamma. As soon as one reduces Dhamma to a sect, people stop the actual practice and become involved only in the outward aspects, the veneer. Rituals and traditions have their own importance but they have nothing to do with real Dhamma; they are mere social necessities. Dhamma is morality; and to live a moral life one has to gain mastery over the mind, then go to the depths and purify it at the root level in order to change the mental behaviour patterns. If one does not do this, one is only fooling oneself. Human life is so precious; do not waste it.

One who is really following sīla, practising samādhi, and generating one’s own paññā to purify one’s mind has nothing to do with any sect. One may call oneself by this name or that, it makes no difference. One’s goal is clear: To successfully use this human life to become proficient in sīla, samādhi and paññā, and to help to spread the message of Dhamma to humanity. This is the essence of Dhamma. To forget this is to forget the purpose of re-establishing Dhamma.

Keeping in mind the experience of the last twenty-eight years, let us now plan for the future. What work is to be done and how should it be done? Let us take slow but strong steps.

First, examine your sīla, samādhi and paññā, and if there are any shortcomings accept them and try to overcome them; only then will you make progress. If you refuse to accept your defects, you cannot make progress. Egotism can develop in the name of Dhamma, leading you to think, "Look, I believe in sīla, samādhi and paññā so I am a very Dhammic person." But you are only Dhammic to the extent to which you practise Dhamma. The goal of your life should be to make your Dhammic nature stronger and stronger. One who does not have this goal can never help others to develop in Dhamma. Accept your faults and work to overcome them. If somebody points out a fault in you, there is no need to feel disheartened: Check if you really have this fault; if so, the first thing you should do is to thank that person, then try to overcome the fault. If you do not have the fault you should feel compassion for the person, and think, "Poor man, perhaps he suffers from mental impurities so he can only see impurities all around him."

The many tasks we are here to assign today should be completed without inflating the ego. Don’t give importance to yourself; give importance to only Dhamma. Let every server bear this in mind when considering which task to contribute towards. One important factor to consider is how much time you can spare to serve. There may be a genuine desire to do Dhamma work but you may not have the time to devote to the task; in that case let someone else do it. Each one of you can only spare a certain amount of time; accept this fact honestly. If you take on a responsibility and cannot devote the necessary time to it, you will cause harm instead of helping.

Secondly, check whether you have the capability to complete the task. If out of overenthusiasm you volunteer for a task that is beyond your capability, you will again cause harm instead of helping.

Remember this third point now and in the future when I am not here: Nobody should be given a Dhamma task either to satisfy the ego or because of status. In social institutions someone’s name can be added to a committee for such reasons, and that is all right, but not in a Dhamma institution. The work should be given only to those who ask for it humbly, knowing fully well that they have the time and the capacity to complete the task. Bear this in mind, otherwise the Dhamma will be corrupted. It does not matter if progress is slow—maybe one or two more generations will be needed to complete the task—but let the Dhamma spread in its pure form. When you work in this way, devoting whatever time and energy you can spare for the benefit of others, you begin to progress on the path and to make the best possible use of this human life.

There are many tasks ahead of us. The year 1999 is important as it is the birth centenary of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. Understand that it is not enough to hold a celebration of his centenary; we have to keep in mind Sayagyi U Ba Khin’s mission in life—to spread Dhamma in its pure form. To try to fulfil that mission we must prepare a great deal.

One great task will be building the Grand Pagoda. A question now arises: Won’t the Pagoda become a symbol of yet another sect? Is this not a dangerous path to tread? There are several reasons why we should build the Grand Pagoda, and the first is to house some Buddha relics in such a way that many can benefit by meditating near them. I know from my own experience and the experience of others that if one meditates with the relics of the Buddha, which have such strong vibrations, one progresses more easily. It is our good fortune that we have been given some of those relics. They were originally found in the stūpa at Sanchi, and were then kept in a London museum. A Sri Lankan who visited that museum requested the British to return the relics to their proper home and the British government assented.

Before the Buddha attained parinibbāva, Ānanda asked him, "Master, what should we do with your body?" The Buddha replied, "Just as all bodies are burnt you may burn this body too. You may keep the bones that remain after cremation inside a stūpa in any large city. Those of you who meditate may do so beside them; those who do not know how to meditate will come and bow to them out of reverence." These were among the last words of the Buddha.

When the relics were sent to England, it was a great loss for our country. They should be kept with great respect in a place where students can meditate and non-meditators can at least express their devotion and gratitude to this great man who gave us this pure path. The relics will be kept in this Grand Pagoda, and a hall will be built where 10,000 people can sit and meditate at one time.

There is another reason for this stūpa: In the last 1,500 years, mostly because of ignorance and also for some selfish reasons, the Buddha has been defamed within India. The original words of the Buddha were lost, and the Buddha was described as the incarnation of a Hindu god who possessed both good and bad qualities. The Buddha was supposed to have arisen out of the bad qualities, and all his teachings were considered bad.

Our aim with the Grand Pagoda is to present the Buddha’s teaching in its pure form, and to give some information about the type of person he was. A gallery will be built in the stūpa where the important events of his life and the salient facts of his teaching will be depicted. Only this and nothing else will be shown. Thousands of people will be attracted to this large monument, and as they pass through the gallery some will be inspired to take a Vipassana course. If even ten people out of 10,000 visitors take a course, those ten will benefit, and the others will at least learn of his teaching.

It must be remembered in the future that the Pagoda should never be used for any sectarian work. No priest will be allowed to officiate there. Nobody should be allowed to earn any money from it; otherwise a great sin will be committed and all those who help in committing such a sin will share the fruit of that great sin. Meditators may go there for the purpose of meditating; others may go there to learn about the Buddha and his teaching. Apart from this, nothing else will be allowed; no sect will be allowed to form.

There is yet another reason for the stūpa: Vipassana is now slowly spreading in the countries where people call themselves Buddhists but where the practice of Vipassana has been lost. This stūpa will play a major role in helping Vipassana to spread to these countries. Just as the devotees of the Buddha visit Gaya, Sarnath, and other places in India, so they will come to the Grand Pagoda to pay respects to the relics of the Buddha. They will arrive as pilgrims and will be awakened here. They will learn for themselves what the real message of the Buddha was: They do not become his followers just by bowing to a statue of him, or by lighting some lamps for him. Slowly these people will begin to realize that to really follow the Buddha they have to awaken their own paññā. Inspired by this Grand Pagoda, many will start to walk on the Dhamma path, and they will inspire the others to also follow this path. Building the Grand Pagoda is a huge task, and it will certainly cost a great deal. I feel the financing should be a global project, and non-meditators from India and the rest of the world can contribute to it. As far as the Vipassana centres are concerned, they will continue to accept only money donated by Vipassana students. Let this rule always be remembered in the future: Donations for Vipassana centres and non-centre courses may be made with a pure mind only by old students; only then will Dhamma remain pure and spread. But anybody can donate for activities to inform people about Vipassana such as the CD-ROM project, the publication of the Tipitaka and the Grand Pagoda.

But it is indeed a great task. Even if the money can be collected, organizing the construction will be difficult. Even when we build a small centre we have to face many problems, and people have to devote much time to it; and this is a huge project. Many people will have to be dedicated and contribute their time.

Once the Grand Pagoda is standing, we must invite scholars from communities all over the world to visit so they can receive the message of this pure path. We will have to receive them graciously, and that will be a further responsibility for us. During the last twenty-eight years, people around the world have been accepting the practical aspect of the teaching, now it is time to throw light on the theoretical aspects. In 1985 the Vipassana Research Institute was set up with the objective of spreading the theoretical aspects of Buddha’s teaching in its pure form to all mankind, and the result was that all the teachings are now being published in various volumes and they are also available on a CD-ROM disk. Similarly, translations into other languages will be presented in their pure form. Previous translations have been corrupted either deliberately or by oversight—one cannot say—but soon these correct translations will be available. All this is a major enterprise.

Of course there will be opposition, I expect that; but we should learn to face it without fear, with mettā and compassion. We will continue to practise and to teach Dhamma in its pure form; we will not allow it to be corrupted. Dhamma belongs to everyone; it is not limited to any particular sect. The theoretical aspect of Vipassana should spread amongst all mankind, and for this purpose there should be a seminar in India to which Pāli scholars from around the world are invited so that they can see for themselves the pure teaching of the Buddha. Another task is to publish more Dhamma books to ensure that more people have the opportunity to practice true samādhi.

Another important task I wish to see completed in the next two years is the building of facilities at all the places where land has been purchased for a centre, even if only for a small number of students. This is especially important at places like Bodhagayā, Sārnāth, Kuśhīnagar and Lumbini, which have very strong Dhamma vibrations. People might have sat a number of courses at other places, yet they will benefit so much more from one course at one of these places. People should have the opportunity to benefit from meditating there. Visitors from around the world go to those places on pilgrimage and feel that they have done a great Dhamma act, but if they have the opportunity to meditate there and take advantage of the vibrations left by the Buddha they would benefit enormously.

The year 1999 is important because it will be the birth centenary of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, the thirtieth anniversary of the return of this teaching to India. Also, we will be preparing to start the next millennium with Dhamma, keeping in mind the mistakes that have been made in the last thousand years. We have to ensure that Dhamma is kept in its pure form in the new millennium and does not become another sect; otherwise it will be lost. How can we ensure that Dhamma remains pure? Let people call themselves by any name, be it Hindu, Christian, Jain, Muslim or Buddhist, as long as they follow sīla, samādhi and paññā. In the next century, let Dhamma spread in the entire world and let all those religions also remain.

My mettā is with you, but the work has to be done by you. I am now an old man, how much can I do? You may consult me; I will give you mettā; the rest is up to you. Form a committee for each task and, as I said, before volunteering for any task two criteria should be considered: Let every person come forward of one’s own volition according to one’s capacity and the amount of time one can spare.

I suggest that each committee have one head and three or four others to help. Work with the understanding that you are only the medium and that Dhamma will do the work. We have to make efforts and then Dhamma will definitely help us. It has done so until now, and so much has been achieved, and it will continue to do so in the future. These tasks will benefit many, and whatever efforts you make will increase your own Dhamma strength.

We are all householders, we have to look after our dependants and ourselves. But is it enough just to care for our families, to earn a name in society? Is this the only purpose of human life? We should also think how we could best serve others so that they really benefit, and then one will spend this human life really usefully. May all the Dhamma sons and daughters here today progress in Dhamma and become a shining example for others. May you all benefit, and help others to benefit.

Bhavatu sabba mangalam

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