Chan Sochun ចាន់ សុជន

14. Towards human dignity. Sunita was a scavenger born into a so called outcaste community. On meeting the Buddha on his almsround one day, the humble youth prostrated himself before the Master in adoration. Asking for ordination he is taken to the temple where he soon becomes worthy of the highest obeisance of both deva and brahma gods. Thus the Buddha teaches that a man becomes neither a Brahmin nor a low-caste by birth, but by deeds alone.  15. Equality of women. It was the Buddha who first gave women her rightful place in a society which had earlier ostracised her even to the extent of treating the birth of a girl as an inauspicious event. Knowing that being a woman was no bar to her attaining the highest fruition of Sainthood, the Buddha permitted the ordination of women as Bhikkhunis. Further, the establishment of a Bhikkhuni Sasana (Order of Nuns) by the Buddha was the first of its kind in the history of the world. In the picture, The Ven. Ananda, who has interceded on behalf of the Sakyan ladies including the step-mother Mahapajapati Gotami, stands by their side. 16. Human freedom. In the time of the Buddha it was common for both men and women to enter into services in rich households due to their extreme poverty. In fact this traffic in human slaves was very common at the time, even though it was contra indicated for a follower of the Buddha. The state of slavery that existed at the time is well illustrated by the story of the slave girl Rajjumala who worked for a very wicked mistress who treated her without any mercy even for the slightest fault. Here the Buddha admonished both servant and mistress and teaching them the Doctrine, bestows permanent peace on both of them. 17. Ministering to the sick. In spite of the fact that the study and practice of medicine and surgical science has advanced to a great extent by the Buddha's time, hardly any attention was paid to nursing or caring for the sick. Putigatta Tissa Thera was a monk who was stricken by a skin disease which spread covering his whole body with a mass of ulcerating matter. Lying unattended by the fellow monks his condition worsens. The Buddha going to the stricken monk who now lies dangerously ill, bathes him in warm water with the help of Ananda Thera, and cleans his robes. Having made him comfortable the Buddha expounds the Teaching to him, explaining the true nature of the human body. Enlightened by the discourse the Thera becomes an Arahant. The Buddha then addresses the other monks on the ennobling task of caring for the sick. Accepting the compassionate exhortation of the Master and following His noble example, the laity started to build wards for sick monks in all large monasteries. Later king Dhammasoka was to build hospitals not only for the public but also for sick animals. Hence the honour for the establishment of the first hospitals should be given to the Buddhists. 18. Psychic Therapy. The Buddha speaking on the mind, has also spoken on mental disorders and on the treatment of psychic ailments. The Buddha has traced sorrow as one of the chief causes leading to the arising of mental disturbances. On the death of her only son, Kisa Gotami loses control of her senses and in her madness goes in search of medicine for her dead child. Failing all else she appeals to the Buddha, who realising that nothing would convince her until her mental equilibrium has been restored, sends her on an errand to get him a few mustard seeds from a house where there has been no death. Unabl to accomplish the Master's request, she comes to the conclusion that death is inevitbale and that her only son too had succumbed to it. 19. Compassion to Animals. In the Buddha's time there were various animal sacrifices taking place in India. Innocent animals were killed as Offerings on sacrificial altars to appease the gods, for man's happiness both here and hereafter. The Buddha, however, showed man that it was impossible to obtain happiness for oneself by causing suffering to others, and that the followers of the Buddha if they were so, should avoid making animal sacrifices. At that time the King of Kosala had seen sixteen terrifying dreams in a single night, and was in great fear. To avert the evil influence of these dreams a great animal sacrifice with the killing of thousands of animals was arranged in accordance with the advice given by the Brahmins. Hearing of this, the Buddha advises the King against such a sacrifice, thus saving the lives of all those doomed creatures. From that day to this, no taking of life however small is involved in any ceremony of the Buddha's followers. 20. Buddhist Economic System. Many who are not familiar with the Buddha's Teaching classify it as a religion for the next world, or for a future life. They are completely mistaken in this, because eighty percent of the objectives included in the Buddha's Teaching are for the world of today. According to the Buddha all except one of the five blessings that accrue to the virtuous are available in this life itself; ten of the eleven benefits obtainable through the development of Metta (loving-kindness) are immediate. One who leads a good life in this world is certain to be happy in the next. The Buddha emphasises this in His Teachings. Thus the Buddha who taught the way to the cessation of suffering also pointed out the path to a highly satisfactory way of life on earth. One aspect of this mundane progress refers to an economic system based on Buddhist principles with the objective of economic development together with the elimination of poverty. The Buddha defines righteous employment as engagement in agriculture, trade, dairy farming, defence services, government services and professional services. He prohibited trade in weapons, in slaves, in rearing animals for slaughter, in liquor, and in poisons, drugs and narcotics. 21. Buddhist Education. It is a method of teaching that is based on the mental development of the individual: The primary object of Buddhist Education is to produce a cultured disciplined and educated society. With that object in view the first university to be established in the world was at Nalanda in India. It is reported that over ten thousand well disciplined, cultured and law abiding students had their education there in addition to the numerous lecture halls found there classes were also held in the open air under the cooling shade of trees. 22. Administration of Justice. Certain statutes regarding the administration of justice, were set up by the Buddha for the benefit of bhikkhus, in order to facilitate the dispensation of moral justice according to sound judgment, whenever the occasion arose. By this act the Buddha ensured that the spirit of moral justice which enables us to interpret laws correctly, unlike the imperfect expression of certain aspects of our present day legal administration. At the time of the Buddha and even later, there were kings who took advantage of, and made use of these laws to supplement their own. The judicial procedure adopted by the Buddha is clearly illustrated in the case of the Arahant Theri Kumara-Kassapa's mother, who unaware of her pregnant condition, with her husband's consent left her home and entered the Bhikkuni order. Later, finding her in an advanced state of pregnancy, the bhikkuni was charged with a serious allegation of misconduct and summoned before a religious court of appeal. The Buddha ordered Upali Thera, foremost among His Arahant disciples in knowledge of Vinaya matters, (and thus equal to that of the Chief Justice of to-day), to preside, try the innocent victim and to deliver judgment on her. The audience consisted of bhikkhus, bhikkunis and laymen, including the lay-woman Visakha. She screened the victim from the presence of the Buddha and the rest, after careful examination and intimate questioning declared that she was quite innocent. The Arahant Upali on hearing the evidence absolved the bhikkuni of any transgression. 23. World Peace. In the Buddha's Teaching the highest emphasis is laid on the law of cause and effect, or the conditionality of all mundane phenomena. Greed, hatred and delusion are the chief causes that lead to unsatisfactoriness in the world. If one seeks to escape from this state of dissatisfaction one should try to get rid of the underlying craving and anger or hatred due to ignorance of the true nature of things. War is diametrically opposed to peace. Conflict is due to the various malignant motives stagnating in the minds of men. The control of such thoughts as greed, jealousy, hate and so on will certainly lead to peace. Permanent peace will only come when one has completely eradicated these mental defilements. Wars will cease and peaceful dialogue between individuals will lead to a world of peaceful and harmonious living. Petty squabbles arose between the farmers on both sides of the river Rohini which served as the boundary between the Sakyan and the Koliyan Kingdoms, as each side tried to divert as much water as possible to their fields. Finally these led to a major confrontation of the two armies. The Buddha arriving on the scene exhorts them on the calamitous results of war and the advantage of arriving at a peaceful settlement. Thus war is averted and peace restored. It should be mentioned that the Buddha has been the only religious teacher to have visited a battlefront in person and acted as a true mediator in averting war. 24. The Maha Parinibbana. The Buddha was born as a prince under a tree, gained Supreme Enlightenment under a tree and wandered about India for 45 years giving, His Teaching to the world, and finally passed away at the age of eighty at Kusinara under a tree as a human being