Respected Venerables and Distinguished Guests. It is an honour for me to
be here today.
I was born a Christian, was educated in Christian schools, and I even sang in
the local church choir. But when I read my first book on Buddhism, at the age
of 16, I immediately knew I was a Buddhist. I was moved by the compassion, the
wisdom, and the freedom that shone more brilliantly in the Lord Buddha's Teachings
than in anything else I had met before. Experiences similar to my own are being
repeated hundreds of thousands of times, in the lives of the people of this
21st century. When ordinary people in non-Buddhist countries encounter the pure
Teachings of Buddhism, presented in a clear and reliable manner, then they quickly
recognize it as the most fragrant of all paths, the most precious of all truths,
and the best of all religions. They only wonder why such liberating wisdom is
not made more widely known.
In my own land, Australia, the number of Buddhists was insignificant in 1983,
when I first arrived from Thailand. By 1991, the proportion of Buddhists grew
to 0.8%. In 1996, that had increased to 1.1%. Recently, in the Australian Census
of August 2001, the number of Buddhists had grown by 75% to 1.9% of the population.
That is almost one in fifty Australians declaring themselves to be Buddhists.
As the Christian religion declines in the West, Buddhism has become the fastest
growing religion in Australia and many other developed countries.
That is good news and bad news. It is good news in that more Australians are
benefiting from the world's most peaceful religion. It is bad news in that it
means monks like me have to work so much harder with more disciples to look
after!
I would now like to suggest why I think Buddhism is growing so well in the West.
I will use the acronym PURE to summarize four key strategies that have helped
extend the spread of Buddhism:
1. Presentation -- in ordinary language
2. User friendly -- inviting and accessible
3. Relevant -- concerned with everyday problems
4. Examples -- monks leading by example
1. Presentation
If we want the wonderful Teachings of Buddhism to reach our modern generation,
then it needs to be presented in a modern way. It is not the essence of the
Dharma that needs to be changed, it is the presentation that needs continual
adjustment. The generations of tomorrow are not going to listen to boring monks
droning on, giving irrelevant sermons.
We all know that the Lord Buddha said to teach the Dharma in ordinary language
(e.g. Aranavibhanga Sutra). Let me give an example of what I think this means.
Last century, Western priests and scholars dismissed Buddhism as pessimistic,
saying that it only focuses on suffering. This was even repeated by Pope John
Paul II in his controversial book on world religions. To avoid this misunderstanding
one may rearrange the central Dharma Teaching of the Four Noble Truths as Happiness
(Dukkhanirodho); the Cause of Happiness (the Eight-Fold Path); the Absence of
Happiness (Dukkha); and the Cause for the Absence of Happiness (Craving). This
shifts the focus onto happiness.
This is a simple re-packaging of the Dharma that retains the essence while being
more attractive to modern audiences. It is justified by the Lord Buddha's statement
that "Nirvana is the highest happiness" (Dhammapada 203, 204). When
I present the Four Noble Truths in such a way, I find all generations listen
and come back for more.
2. User Friendly
Presenting the Dharma in ordinary language is the first step to making Buddhism
user friendly. However, I have found many cases of people, in the West and in
the East, who want to learn about Buddhism but are too afraid to come into the
temple or monastery because they are not familiar with the traditional customs,
or even because they are scared of scowling monks! When Buddhist temples are
more welcoming to their visitors, and more accommodating to newcomers, when
the monks are more approachable, then the temple is user friendly.
In these modern times, though, people are so busy that they rarely have time
to visit the temple. So the temple should go to the people with books, audio
cassettes, CDs and, of course, the Internet. Our Buddhist Society of Western
Australia has a large web-site that loads weekly spoken Dharma talks in English
so that anyone, anywhere in the world can listen to Dharma in the comfort of
their own homes at a time convenient to them. This has been highly successful
with a large audience of regular disciples all over the world, with no need
for expensive and extravagant buildings.
3. Relevant
Religions like Christianity are declining in the West because they are seen
as irrelevant to most people's lives. Few are concerned about abstract philosophy,
rituals with no apparent meaning, or with speculations that go against reason.
However, they are very concerned about how to find more happiness amid the common
problems of life.
I have found it easy to explain that keeping moral precepts raises one's average
level of happiness, just as a rising tide lifts the average level of the sea.
The result is that many of my audience keep the Five Precepts. It is also not
difficult to illustrate that kindness to your colleagues, family and to yourself,
brings much more comfort into your life. So my disciples become less angry and
more forgiving. There is so much medical evidence to prove that traditional
Buddhist meditation practices ease the stress of modern life and relieve so
many other related problems. So the members of my temple are all keen meditators.
These three central Buddhist trainings -- morality, kindness and meditation
-- when framed in the context of personal growth in happiness, attract so many
to Buddhism. They relate to what many people consider as important to them.
When we focus on what is relevant to ordinary people, then Buddhism becomes
important to them. They might begin with interest in solving their worldly problems,
but that soon leads to the Path that liberates one from all suffering.
4. Examples
All this means nothing to the modern generation without high quality leaders
to provide the inspiration. The growth of Buddhism relies crucially on living
examples of virtuous, compassionate, wise and peaceful monks. People of the
21st century are sceptical. They withhold their belief until they see some evidence
that it will benefit them. Does Buddhism help? Does it really lead to virtue,
compassion, contentment and freedom? They are looking at us monks for examples
of where Buddhism leads, before they will follow. How can we expect to inspire
the questioning modern generation when monks live in luxury, more wealthy that
the common person, when we are slack in our precepts and know little of serenity?
The Dharma is spread mostly by example, much more powerfully than by any sermon.
As one well educated Australian wrote in her recent book, before becoming a
Buddhist she observed the monks in Perth for many months. When she saw that
they were very frugal, kept their precepts, worked hard and were very happy,
only then did she go for refuge and start calling herself a Buddhist. Actions
speak louder than words.
So, for example, in Western Australia we have established monasteries for training
Sangha leaders of both genders, what I call a 'monk factory' and a 'nun factory'.
By putting many resources into training high quality Sangha leaders we will
be ensuring the supply of high quality examples for the next generation.
These are some of the strategies that have worked in Australia to make Buddhism
the fastest growing religion there. We do not need to change the message of
the Lord Buddha, nor do we need to change the monastic rules. We may fulfil
our duty to the Greatest Teacher, our Lord Buddha, and spread the delightful
Dharma throughout all parts of our modern world, by making Buddhism PURE. That
is Presented in ordinary language, User friendly, Relevant, and with us monks
as the inspiring Examples.
Thankyou.
Ajahn Brahmavamso
Bodhinyana Monastery
Western Australia.
September 2002