Expressions are born of impressions

While growing up in Santiniketan, I was much inspired by Tagore’s poems on Buddha. 

Remembering Buddha’s consecration ceremony at Sarnath, Tagore dedicated this poem to him. “ O serene, O free in thy immeasurable mercy and goodness, wipe away all dark stains from the heart of this earth “. A big fresco painting of a meditative Buddha, surrounded by demonic figures (depicting anger, lust, greed, hate, etc.), was painted in the main hall of the Chinese study center (China Bhavan) of Santiniketan. My child mind questioned how one can retain calmness and serenity while being threatened by such demonic distractions. 

Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha and grew up in a luxurious life. But at a very young age, upon observing the harsh realities of sickness, aging, and death, he renounced his princely life and embraced the hard life of a monk to find out the truth of life. After becoming an enlightened soul, he prescribed the eightfold path for all to be happy. They are: Right view, Right thought, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right knowledge, and Right meditation.

To remember more easily, these eight steps are grouped in three categories, and they are as follows: Wisdom, ethical conduct, and Mental discipline. Wisdom tells us to see things as they are, to view their impermanence and interconnectedness. Secondly, ethical conduct focuses on right speech (not lying, no harsh words), right action (not stealing, not harming, no sexual misconduct), and it also prescribes right and honest actions to make a living. And lastly, mindfulness prescribes developing the power of concentration and mindfulness through meditation. Buddha’s formula prescribes that only we can save ourselves with our own efforts. 

Appreciating practical and rational approach of Buddhism, Einstein  rightly  said, “If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs, it would be Buddhism “

As a young girl, when I visited Bodh Gaya and was blessed to sit under the cool shade of the same Peepal tree (Bodhi Briksha), where Buddha became an enlightened soul thousands of years  before. The Peepal tree is a unique tree whose branches touch the ground to become secondary roots. The sun and the soil in a singular cycle of energy that powers the long life of the Peepal tree and the luxury of life it affords all in its shade. The universal principles of Buddhism are quite similar in that they can be applied to inner meditative states as much as the outward expression of how to live well in this world. 

These days when I open the morning news paper, or T.V, I find only disturbing news of violence, crimes and wars, which  tell me to open a chapter of Buddhism again. Though Science and technology has brought much comfort in modern life, it has failed to bring peace, harmony and good will. It is time to connect the founding principles of inner peace and clarity with external expressions of it.