DHARAMSHALA, May 16: Tibetan Spiritual leader Dalia Lama on Monday greeted people with good health and spirit on the auspicious occasion of Vesak, the Buddhist celebration of Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death.
The Dalia Lama said in a video message released by his office, “We are celebrating Vesak, which commemorates Lord Buddha’s attainment of enlightenment after six years of austerity.
“On the basis of his own experience, Buddha advised, O monks and scholars, just as gold is tested by heating, cutting and rubbing it, so likewise, you should thoroughly examine my teaching and only then accept it-not merely out of respect for me. This point of view reveals a special quality of Buddha.
“I respect all traditions. They are all of great value because they all teach compassion. However, only the Buddha asks us to examine his teachings in the way that a goldsmith tests the purity of the gold. Only the Buddha commends us to do that,” he added.
The Tibetan spiritual leader further said that another of Buddha’s principle instructions was that Sages do not wash away unwholesome deeds with water, nor do they remove the sufferings of sentient beings with their hands, neither do they transplant their own realisations into others, it’s only by teaching the truth of suchness that they liberate beings.
As per the Dalai Lama, “Lord Buddha, the Enlightened one, who is by nature compassionate, says that he cannot simply transfer his own spiritual experience and realisation into his disciples out of love and compassion for sentient beings.
“He said that disciples must develop their own spiritual experiences by reflecting on the truth of suchness as the Buddha explained it therefore, I find his three turnings of the wheel of Dharma to be very significant.
“Lord Buddha said the first turning of the wheel teaches the four noble truths ? true suffering, true origin of suffering, the true cessation of suffering, and the true path that leads to that cessation. This serves as the basic framework of the teachings of Buddha.
“If we pay more attention to the true cessation of suffering, the question arises, ‘How is it brought about?’ The answer to this question involves an explanation of the ultimate nature of the mind,” he added.
The Dalai Lama said, “We learn that all mental afflictions such as desirous attachment, hatred and ignorance are rooted in our misconception of the way self and (other) things exist. For this reason, the Bhagwan gave the Perfection of Wisdom teachings at Vulture’s Peak.
“He propounded the fourfold emptiness described in the Heart Sutra: Form is emptiness, emptiness is form, emptiness is not other than form; and form too is not other than emptiness. The most powerful antidote to our grasping at an independently existing self is the wisdom that realises everything lacks an absolute identity.
“It’s because of this that it is possible to achieve the true cessation taught in the First turning of the Wheel. We need to find out whether there is a counter force to our misconception of the absolute self or not, and if there is, whether we can fully acquaint ourselves with that counter force or not. If we can, then we can eliminate the misconception of an absolute self. So, it is quite scientific,” he added.
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