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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 31

It is often said that there are 84000 Dhamma doors We see the great wisdom of the Buddha who when
through which one may access the Truth ie via the many pressed as to who will lead the Sangha after His death
traditions and lineages. What is very important and insisted that NO Human being would but that the
never to be forgotten is that these doors have a common Dhamma and the Vinaya will be our “leader”.
denominator.
If we look at core teachings, see the wholesome acts, feel
8 for the 8 fold path. the love and compassion of the various Buddhists of the
4 for the 4 Noble Truths and the various traditions, there is seen only the Teachings of
000 for the 3 universal characteristics of the Buddha actualised in life.
Impermanence, Suffering and Non Self!
Our actions speak so LOUD that no one can hear our
All doors ultimately open to something; these core sermons, and our sermons become meaningless sounds
teachings of the Buddha is that inner sanctum. The when we do Not actualise the teachings.
Nikayas and The Agamas is the very centre of the
beautiful lotus, all other commentaries, Thesis and life Similarly the words of the Nikayas or Agamas are mere
stories of the Buddha are the outer petals. words trapped in some dusty cabinet if we do not apply
the teachings to all aspects of our lives.
There is much that we can learn from each other when
we open our eyes and realise that there is no patent I do not find it important to know how much theory a
right on Truth. To illustrate, we learnt from young that Buddhist knows, or which tradition he is from or under
Samma Samadhi is Right Concentration and almost all whom he trained! I find it much more meaningful to
English translations right from the days of Prof Rhys see how he had become a better person because of the
David had used this word. Dhamma.

However the Chinese translation found in the Mahayana The Buddha taught a Noble way of life; is this ‘Buddhist’
texts meaning Right STILLNESS 正定 is a far more living a harmless Noble life keeping the Precepts and
accurate translation of Samma Samadhi. Similarly there Training his mind at his personal level, and interacting
is much about meditation that one can learn from the with others with Compassion, Wisdom, Love and Virtue?
Chan/Zen dialogs and stories.
Then he is a true Buddhist, a true student of the Buddha
No tradition is ever perfect because the people now Dhamma no matter what his tradition.
manning it are imperfect people. Organised religion is
often flawed because many of its elders and leaders are Our uniting factor is the unchanging nature of the
flawed imperfect beings. Dhamma, the Truths of Life, which are timeless.