Written by: Dr Jerome
During the retreat, one participant asked Ven. Phra Mana how she can spread the dhamma to your friends and family and let more people learn meditation. Ven. Phra Mana asked her to use herself as the example. Learning the dhamma means one can make do without a lot of things. One can have “no problem” with many things. A cultivator should have lesser aversion and attachment. For instance, one may have a habit of being upset over cleanliness in the house but now no longer do so after learning the dhamma. People around you can see the changes in you and the beauty of your character. They will be interested to know how you do so. People will be attracted to learn the dhamma through your example. This is the beauty of the dhamma.
It also dawned on me that we can share our benefits from learning meditation to other people when the appropriate opportunity arises. One has to have a certain degree of wisdom and intelligence when doing so. Different people are brought up in different cultures, religions and societal belief systems. Some people may be spiritually ready to accept the teachings but others may not. Some may have certain life experiences that may bring them close to the teachings but others may not. The way you express and introduce the teaching is also important. Some people from other religions may be unhappy when you say that Buddha is your teacher and may think you are converting or preaching something to them. Personally, I would share my benefits from learning meditation with them and the importance of doing so. Just as learning a skill would require a good teacher, Buddha or my meditation master is my teacher. Learning meditation has nothing to do with religion but has something to do with respect, trust and gratitude for the teacher.
Spreading and teaching the dhamma brings great benefit for yourself and to the people around you. As opposed to doing volunteer work (beach clean-up, going to old folk’s home to help out, etc), the merit of teaching the dhamma is far greater than the former. In doing mundane volunteer work, you may help a few people given a certain amount of time you invested in it. However, in spreading the dhamma, you help more people now and in future and you may in turn help their families. Why is this so? The Buddha teaches the way to end unhappiness and suffering in our lives by learning to reduce attachment and aversion. If everyone practice this, this world will be a better place. There will be no third World war, no more fighting, no more comparing and no more craving. Hence, the Buddha said in the Diamond sutra that whoever who explain a single verse of the sutra to another being does an immeasurable amount of merit. So given the same amount of time you have, will you invest your time in spreading the dhamma or doing mundane volunteer work? (Please don’t get me wrong! It is very meritorious to do volunteer work. But the magnitude of change and merits you bring to the world is greater and longer lasting if we help to spread the dhamma!) :)
Teachings from Sam Roi Yot meditation retreat (17 to 25 November 2018)
I am blessed to attend a meditation retreat organised by Brother Richard Chia teaching the meditation techniques of concentration (Samadhi) and vipassana (insight) in the lineage of late Ven. Amatha Gavesi Thera. Participants of retreat were even more fortunate to have visiting forest monks led by Abbot Ven. Phra Mana from Sunnataram Forest Monastery during the last 3 days of the retreat.
- Dr Jerome
Buddhism and Meditation courses by Brother Richard Chia: http://www.basicbuddhism.org/
Sunnataram Forest Monastery: