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2007 Abbot's Message for Students
Venerable Ban Ruo
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Do you know what ambitions your parents had when they were your age, and the difficulties they had when they were young teenagers ? Do you know how much education your parents received when they were young, and what school they attended ? Have they told you about any of their favourite, or less favourite highschool teachers, and why they may still choose to remember some of them all these years later ? Do you know ? Can you tell me ?
At what age did your parents begin working ? What jobs did they have to do as teenagers ? What do your parents work as now ? Where do your parents work ? What responsibilities do your parents have at their place of work ? Must they supervise others, deal directly with customers, or provide special services ?
How many hours do your parents have to work during the week ? How much do your parents earn and pay in rent or mortgage fees for the place where you live ? How much does your mother have to spend on buying the family's shopping during the week ? Do you know ? Can you tell me ?
At most of your parents' places of work, there are three types of very important people. Firstly, there are the bosses who might supervise and review your parents' daily actions, and who might occasionally compliment or reprimand them.
Secondly there are the colleagues, subordinates, or suppliers who your parents might work with, and depend on, to help them provide their company's goods and services to the public.
Thirdly, there might be the important customers, who support your parents' businesses. These people might often place large or small, demanding or difficult, orders for your parents to action. Once again, these people might occasionally compliment your parents' services, or sometimes show dissatisfaction.
Do you know the individual names of any of these important groups of people who indirectly sustain your family, and the Ipod and mobile phone that you might be enjoying right now ? Can you tell me?
Life is very difficult and complex. Most of you will observe that sometimes individuals from one or more of these three groups may cause great anxieties for your parents. Perhaps they expect your parents to work longer, or harder, or cheaper ! Do you know ? Can you tell me ?
Most teenagers are very aware as to whether their parents are fulfilling their ambitions successfully, or whether their parents barely make enough money to cover the household expenses during the week.
For a small number of you, perhaps the battle may already have been lost, through sickness or misfortune, and you may feel pleased just to be surviving with older siblings, uncles or aunts, or foster parents.
What do you do, when you see parents being unsuccessful or failing ? Have you ever thought about this before ? Sometimes parents will come home in a very ugly mood when events have not been to their liking. Actually most parents will never admit to their children, the difficulties and loneliness they face in trying to look after their families, especially in a new country.
Like you, your parents must rise and wash themselves, and make themselves presentable to the outside world each day. Whether they are paid piece work, or a wage, most parents know that if they do the best they can, their bosses, and partners, and customers, will look forward to seeing them again.
For most parents, this is exactly the same virtue that they look for in their children. Is this right ? Do you know ? Can you tell me ?
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Some of you have asked me what I do as a monk at this monastery, and whether it would be so much nicer to be a monk or nun, and live away from such troublesome commercial endeavours !
We monks are continually asked to explain how our philosophy relates to all facets of human actions. For example, we provide moral guidance to devotees in weekly talks. We instruct and encourage those who want to find peace of mind through meditation techniques. We conduct chanting services for the surviving relatives of a deceased.
We give regular lectures to Sydney, Macquarie, and the University of NSW students on a range of subjects, including how our philosophy may be applied to career choices, poverty, wars, technology, health, education, or new (political) legislative initiatives. Sometimes we provide counselling to Police Officers who may have been involved in some gruesome crime.
The basis of the Buddha's Teachings is to try and help people to live their lives without suffering. Although we monks and nuns give many services and talks about the nature of suffering, and the eight ways in which all sentient beings suffer, we too, are subject to the same sufferings as everyone else !
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Some students have told me, that if they could only know the Buddha's secret Nibbana code, then they would be able to make their families, and their parents happy again ! Then they say their parents would never be troubled by their bosses, or co-workers, or customers, or suppliers again...
As you have been patient enough to read this article so far, perhaps I should share the Buddha's secret Nibbana code with you ! What do you think ? Do you know it ? Can you tell me ? What would you do if I told it to you ?
What does the Buddha's secret Nibbana code do? Can it bring us more friends ? Can it help us achieve higher marks at school ? Can it bring us a job where we earn five thousand times more than anybody else ? Can the Buddha's secret Nibbana code stop us from being sick, or from losing our loved ones, or from having to deal with unpleasant people ? Do you know ? Can you tell me ?
The Buddha's secret Nibbana code can guide us to the place of no suffering. Would you like to go to such a place ? Do you feel suffering now ? Do you know what suffering is ? Are you aware of the incessant suffering we all experience ?
Let me test you. How do you feel, when you can't get what you want ? When you are separated from your family or loved ones, are you happy ? How do you feel when you have to associate with unpleasant people and conditions ? Is birth a time when there is no trouble for your mother and her baby ?
Is anyone able to avoid sickness at some time in their life ? Can any of us avoid old age, when our body deteriorates, and our social situation changes ? Can any of us, or our family members, avoid death ? Is anyone able to avoid the sufferings of the Five Aggregates of attachment ? (We sense something and desire either to be near or far away from it.)
Do these situations cause you to be upset, dissatisfied, frustrated, or angry ? These eight conditions cause unhappiness, dissatisfaction, pain, or suffering to all of us, at some time in our lives. But do you know the causes of these conditions that cause us so much unhappiness, and trouble in our lives ? Do you know ? Can you tell me ?
Our desire, and ignorance, are the causes to this suffering. By stopping our desire, and ignorance, we can end our suffering. Does this sound logical ? Would it work for you ? Is the Buddha's secret Nibbana code any good ? You have to test it and see for yourself !
A large contributor to our suffering, is impermanence. Although we can only develop and educate ourselves through the passing of time, our attachments to what has happened in the past, often causes us great grief. Through ignorance, we may expect that our family, our friends, our material possessions, our clothes, our fashion items, our computers and our Ipods will always remain sympathetic to us, and help us in our lives. But just like our family, friends, and possessions, we grow old, and change, and disintegrate. We cannot prevent or control this.
Consider how impermanent our civilization is. We are told that Aborigines have lived in Australia for 40,000 years. Just 220 years ago, the Wangal clan of the Darug tribe lived in Strathfield. Little remains of the former Aboriginal occupation of this area, as they trod so softly on this earth. The Wangal clan called this area the "Wanne" and it extended from the suburbs of Birchgrove and Balmain in the east, to Silverwater and Auburn in the west, to the Parramatta River in the north.
Just because there are no stone buildings, no castles, no written history and no agrarian culture developed by the Wangal clan, does not mean they were an inferior civilization, and did not contribute to our modern culture. Despite the regular oscillation of Pacific Ocean temperatures causing El Nino (drought), and La Nina (higher rainfall) weather variations, they knew how to find and survive on natural water sources in Australia's tough climate. They also had great awareness of the habits of the animals, the fish, and the fruiting of plants, to collect food.
Aboriginal concepts of "affinity to the land," and the need be in "harmony" with it continue to grow within our modern mainstream culture, especially since the recognition of global warming as a significant environmental issue. This "harmony" concept includes managing our biological, botanical, soil, river, ocean, and water resources properly, so that we may all continue to survive and prosper.
Two hundred years ago, Australia became known throughout the world as the great southern "Convict Country." How have even these convicts contributed to the progress of our modern culture and attitudes ? Do you know ? Have your teachers taught you about these things ? Can you tell me ?
Perhaps we might say that the "Mono Tutor clan" inhabit this part of the Strathfield/Wanne area now ! So it is your turn to develop and pass on your concepts of a "Dreamtime" to the next generation and the community. Will your "Dreamtime" incorporate the Buddha's secret Nibbana code ?
Every generation hopes that they may contribute positively to our civilization. They hope that they might somehow leave this world a better place, with less conflict, and a safer, healthier, cleaner environment, with reliable food, water, and shelter resources. What will you do with your lives ? How will you leave this earth, that we all share for such a short time ?
My congratulations to graduating students. Many more challenges await you. You must continue to apply yourself to reach the next goal.
I would like to thank our Tuition Classes teachers for all their good efforts. The results of the students, and the comments from parents, continue to highlight the valuable contribution you make. Many thanks also to Venerable Neng Rong as the Tuition Class Co-ordinator, to Mr Chong Jin Chew as BOE Chairman and HTM Executive Member, who has helped lead and encourage all the teachers. Many thanks also to Dr Ian Paterson, and Mr Bill Hilliard and the Homebush Boys' High School for their support and the kind use of their facilities. Many thanks as well to the Mayor of Strathfield, Strathfield Councillors, and Council Bush-Regeneration staff.
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Updated March 2008 |
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