Buddha’s voice still makes people wise and noble

S.M. Wijayaratne
Kurunegala Daily News Corr.

The voice of the Buddha has comforted the bereaved and helped the suffering poor. It has ennobled the lives of the deluded and purified the corrupted lives of criminals. It has encouraged the feeble, united the divided, enlightened the ignorant, elevated the base and dignified the noble.

Many people are unable to understand the value of blessings that we have gained to be born as a human being on this noble earth. The Buddha highly admired the humanity and hence He always preached his followers to be diligent in realising his noble teachings that paved the way for emancipation from endless suffering due to ignorance.

About 2600 years ago, a great prince, dressed in the simplest of saffron robes gained Enlightenment under the Bodhi tree at Buddha Gaya, India. His soft and melodious voice announced the Ultimate Truth for the first time at Isipathana Deer Park, Benares. On that momentous occasion, there were only five disciples privileged to listen to the voice of the Enlightened One. Yet, today one fifth of the world’s population acknowledges the Truth announced by this Voice and many more admire and appreciate it.

Human voice

This was not the heavenly voice of a divine power, but a very human voice which called on men to seek final emancipation through mental purification and enlightenment. Even today, this voice echoes in our ears and reminds us that we can understand the Truth revealed by Him, if only we exercise our will and concentration. The voice of the Buddha is a message of hope, confidence and courage. It tells us that hatred never ceases through hatred but only by loving kindness. This vibrant voice emanated from a great personality, who was once a warrior, a royal prince, a yogi, a mendicant and finally a Fully-Awakened One.

This holy man whose only possession was the bowl in his hand, was designated the happiest and most contented person in the world. He was the gentlest of all voices. Yet, in the Truth that it proclaimed, it was a lion’s roar, motivated by the confidence of realizing the Absolute Truth.

Persuasive voice

Kings, ministers and multi-millionaires approached Him to pay their homage and seek guidance. But He Himself used His persuasive voice to enlighten sweepers, cobblers, thieves, gangsters, murderers and many others who were leading hard, wicked and immoral lives to mend and lead noble lives.

The voice of the Buddha has comforted the bereaved and helped the suffering poor. It has ennobled the lives of the deluded and purified the corrupted lives of criminals. It has encouraged the feeble, united the divided, enlightened the ignorant, elevated the base and dignified the noble.

Here is a voice that never tried to frighten people by talking about hell fires to tempt them by promising everlasting heavenly bliss to introduce a religion. It was a voice that never attempted to convert people, but only to enlighten them to understand the facts of life and the universal truth.

Radiant voice

Here was a radiant voice, calling on the weak and the desperate not to run away from the battle of life but to face facts in a realistic way.

It was the Buddha’s voice that gave the world a new concept or wider explanation of the universe. It gave a new vision of eternal happiness, the achievement of perfection in Buddhahood. It pointed the way to a permanent state beyond all impermanency, the way to Nibbana, the final deliverance from the misery of existence. The message is basically simple and meaningful: “To put an end to evil, to do good, to purify the mind”.

Cause and effect

IT revealed to us the law of cause and effect to which every component thing is subjected. The purpose of life is to seek ways and means to be free from this endless cycle of birth and death, cause and effect.

The teachings of the Buddha are the richest spiritual resources of mankind because they lift human effort to a higher level than mere dedication to man’s insatiable needs and appetites.

Due to its completeness, the Buddha’s vision of life has attracted the attention of intellectuals who may have otherwise exhausted themselves by studying meaningless theories and concepts. However, the fruit of the Buddha;s vision is something more than intellectual gymnastics of solace for the intellectually effete Buddhism is practical and offers a realistic view of life. Though the Buddha is no longer in this world, the gentle vibration of His voice has spread far and wide.

The most important and meaningful thing that we, as noble human beings, have to do is to utilize our brain and human power to the utmost to realise his noble teachings that surely take us to the eternal bliss. May all beings be well and happy.