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Vesak and Happiness
The Daily Mirror, May 9, 2009
Colombo, Sri Lanka --
It is not every
hour that one is reminded of the impermanence of life. Sometimes for days
people forget that we are here for a short period. They flow with the ups
and downs of life as they are to live forever.
.jpg) People
loathe reflecting on the transience of life for the fear that it will make one
feel miserably helpless. Buddhists who believe in rebirth try to console
themselves thinking that there’s life after death while those from other faiths
prefer to reason that death will give them an opportunity to meet the maker. All
these groups more often than not engage in various feel-good rituals which give
them comfort and a sense of security.
As Buddhists all over the world - including those in Sri
Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, India,
Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore - observe the birth, enlightenment and the
passing away of Buddha on the full moon day of May in grand style, rituals and
celebrations dominate the season.
Happiness and peace of mind derived from religious rituals
have never been looked down upon in Buddhism. However it has always emphasized
the fact that self-improvement, by way of trying to understand the reality of
life, is far better than engaging in rites and customs.
This does not necessarily mean that the religion or
philosophy is all about giving up lay life and taking into robes. It’s about
controlling one’s mind and treading on the middle path.
Those who have the strength of the character derived from the
fact that they have led noble lives enjoy a self confidence that cannot be
shaken by anybody or anything. The knowledge that one hasn’t brought misery to
another’s life, one has been kind, helpful and modest bring out a certain degree
of serenity that can be noticed by having one look at a person. Even in the
hustle bustle of the stressful life, the confident, honorable people enjoy
their peace of mind while the others, the vulnerable, continue to look for
short cuts to happiness and end up feeling miserable.
A fallacy about all religions is that one is expected to be
heavy headed, dogmatic and prudish if one is to practice a religion. The truth
however is otherwise. Religion makes one feel light and happy. One becomes easy
going and his or her confidence derived from the knowledge that one is
leading an honest life, becomes infectious. It is up to the individuals to make
full use of the flexibility of a religion and apply that to life rather than
wearing it on the sleeve.
Religion is about treating others how you want to be treated.
It’s also about realizing that good and bad exist in life and we are fortunate
to know the difference. It is to be understanding of those who may hold
resentment towards you and think that it’s part of their journey and not yours.
I n short religion is about being
the best person one can be, everyday.
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