FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE WORLD BUDDHIST SANGHA COUNCIL
SRI LANKA, 1967
(at
the request of the founder secretary-general, the late venerable Panditha
Pimbure Sorata Thera, was presented a concise formula for the unification of Theravada
and Mahayana, which was unanimously accepted. (this formula is now printed as
appendix iv in my heritage of Bhikku, grove press, New York, 1974).
*WHATEVER OUR SECTS, DENOMINATIONS OR
SYSTEMS, AS BUDDHISTS WE ALL ACCEPT THE BUDDHA AS OUR MASTER WHO GAVE US THE
TEACHING.
*WE ALL TAKE REFUGE IN THE TRIPLE JEWEL
: THE BUDDHA, OUR TEACHER; THE DHAMMA, HIS TEACHING; AND THE SANGHA, THE
COMMUNITY OF HOLY ONES. IN OTHER WORDS, WE TAKE REFUGE IN THE TEACHER, THE
TEACHING AND THE TAUGHT.
*WHETHER THERAVADA OR MAHAYANA, WE DO
NOT BELIEVE THAT THIS WORLD IS CREATED AND RULED BY A GOD AT HIS WILL.
*FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF THE BUDDHA,
OUR TEACHER, WHO IS THE EMBODIMENT OF GREAT COMPASSION (MAHA-KARUNA) AND GREAT
WISDOM (MAHA-PRAJNA), WE CONSIDER THAT THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO DEVELOP
COMPASSION FOR ALL LIVING BEINGS WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION AND TO WORK FOR THEIR
GOOD, HAPPINESS AND PEACE; AND TO DEVELOP WISDOM LEADING TO THE REALIZATION OF
ULTIMATE TRUTH.
*WE ACCEPT THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS TAUGHT
BY THE BUDDHA, NAMELY, DUKKHA, THE FACT THAT OUR EXISTENCE IN THIS WORLD IS IN
PREDICAMENT, IS IMPERMANENT, IMPERFECT, UNSATISFACTORY, FULL OF CONFLICT; SAMUDAYA,
THE FACT THAT THIS STATE OF AFFAIRS IS DUE TO OUR EGOISTIC SELFISHNESS BASED ON
THE FALSE IDEA OF SELF; NIRODHYA, THE FACT THAT THERE IS DEFINITELY THE
POSSIBILITY OF DELIVERANCE, LIBERATION, FREEDOM FROM THIS PREDICAMENT BY THE
TOTAL ERADICATION OF THE EGOISTIC SELFISHNESS; AND MAGGA, THE FACT THAT THIS
LIBERATION CAN BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE MIDDLE PATH WHICH IS EIGHT-FOLD, LEADING
TO THE PERFECTION OF ETHICAL CONDUCT (SILA), MENTAL DISCIPLINE (SAMADHI) AND
WISDOM (PANNA).
*WE ACCEPT THE UNIVERSAL LAW OF CAUSE
AND EFFECT TAUGHT IN THE PATICCASAMUPPADA (SKT. PRATITYASAMUTPADA) (CONDITIONED
GENESIS OR DEPENDENT ORIGINATION) AND ACCORDINGLY WE ACCEPT THAT EVERYTHING IS
RELATIVE, INTERDEPENDENT AND INTERRELATED AND NOTHING IS ABSOLUTE, PERMANENT
AND EVERLASTING IN THIS UNIVERSE.
*WE UNDERSTAND, ACCORDING TO THE
TEACHING OF THE BUDDHA, THAT ALL CONDITIONED THINGS (SAMKHARA) ARE IMPERMANENT
(ANICCA) AND IMPERFECT AND UNSATISFACTORY (DUKKHA), AND ALL CONDITIONED AND
UNCONDITIONED THINGS (DHAMMA) ARE WITHOUT SELF (ANATTA).
*WE ACCEPT THE THIRTY-SEVEN QUALITIES
CONDUCIVE TO ENLIGHTENMENT (BODHIPAKKHIYA-DHAMMA) AS DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE
PATH TAUGHT BY THE BUDDHA LEADING TO ENLIGHTENMENT, NAMELY :
FOUR FORMS OF PRESENCE OF MINDFULNESS
(PALI : SATIPATTHANA, SKT : SMRTYUPASTHANA);
FOUR RIGHT EFFORTS (P : SAMMAPPADHANA,
SKT : SAMYAKPRADHANA);
FOUR BASES OF SUPERNATURAL POWERS (P :
IDDHIPADA, SKT : RADDHIPADA);
FIVE FACULTIES (INDRIYA : P.SADDHA,
VIRIYA, SATI, SAMADHI, PANNA, SKT : SRADDHA, VIRYA, SMRTI, SAMADHI, PRAJNA);
FIVE POWERS (BALA, SAME FIVE QUALITIES
AS ABOVE);
SEVEN FACTORS OF ENLIGHTENMENT (P :
BOJJHANGA, SKT : BODHYANGA);
EIGHT-FOLD NOBLE PATH (P : ARIYAMAGGA,
SKT : ARYAMARGA).
*THERE ARE THREE WAYS OF ATTAINING BODHI
OR ENLIGHTENMENT ACCORDING TO THE ABILITY AND CAPACITY OF EACH INDIVIDUAL :
NAMELY, AS A SRAVAKA (DISCIPLE), AS A PRATYEKABUDDHA (INDIVIDUAL BUDDHA) AND AS
A SAMYAKSAMBUDDHA (PERFECTLY AND FULLY ENLIGHTENED BUDDHA). WE ACCEPT IT AS THE
HIGHEST, NOBLEST AND MOST HEROIC TO FOLLOW THE CAREER OF A BODHISATTVA AND TO
BECOME A SAMYAKSAMBUDDHA IN ORDER TO SAVE OTHERS. BUT THESE THREE STATES ARE ON
THE SAME PATH, NOT ON DIFFERENT PATH. IN FACT, THE SANDHINIRMO-CANA-SUTRA, A
WELL-KNOWN IMPORTANT MAHAYANA SUTRA, CLEARLY AND EMPHATICALLY SAYS THAT THOSE
WHO FOLLOW THE LINE OF SRAVAKA-YANA (VEHICLE OF DISCIPLE) OR THE LINE OF
PRATYEKABUDDHA-YANA (VEHICLE OF INDIVIDUAL BUDDHAS) OR THE LINE OF TATHAGATAS
(MAHAYANA) ATTAIN THE SUPREME NIRVANA BY THE SAME PATH, AND THAT FOR ALL OF
THEM THERE IS ONLY ONE PATH OF PURIFICATION (VISUDDHI-MARGA) AND ONLY ONE
PURIFICATION (VISUDDHI) AND NO SECOND ONE, AND THAT THEY ARE NOT DIFFERENT
PATHS AND DIFFERENT PURIFICATIONS, AND THAT SRAVAKAYANA AND MAHAYANA CONSTITUTE
ONE VEHICLE, ONE YANA (EKA-YANA) AND NOT DISTINCT AND DIFFERENT VEHICLE OR
YANAS.
*WE ADMIT THAT IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
THERE ARE DIFFERENCES WITH REGARD TO THE WAYS OF LIFE TO BUDDHIST MONKS,
POPULAR BUDDHIST BELIEFS AND PRACTICES, RITES AND RITUALS, CEREMONIES, CUSTOMS
AND HABITS. THESE EXTERNAL FORMS AND EXPRESSIONS SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH
THE ESSENTIAL TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA.
BUT TO THE MASSES OF LESS INSTRUCTED AND
LESS ADVANCED PEOPLE, SUPERFICIAL BELIEFS, EXTERNAL FORMS, PRACTICES AND
OBSERVANCES ARE PART OF THEIR RELIGION. THOSE BELIEFS AND PRACTICES SHOULD BE
APPRECIATED SYMPATHETICALLY ACCORDING TO THEIR RELATIVE VALUE. ATTACHMENT TO
EXTERNAL OBSERVANCES AND RITUALS (SILABBATA-PARA-MASA) IS A WEAKNESS, A
BONDAGE, A FETTER (SAMYOJANA) FROM WHICH ONE FREES ONESELF AS ONE PROGRESSES
ALONG THE PATH LEADING TO THE REALIZATION OF ULTIMATE TRUTH, NIRVANA.
NOT ONLY ATTACHMENT TO OBSERVANCES,
RITES AND RITUALS, BUT ALSO ATTACHMENT TO IDEAS, IDEALS, CONCEPTS, BELIEFS,
THEORIES (DHAMMATANHA) OBSTRUCTS ONE'S MIND FROM SEEING THINGS AS THEY ARE
(YATHABHUTA). THIS IS A HINDRANCE NOT ONLY TO THE REALIZATION OF TRUTH, BUT
ALSO TO ACHIEVING HARMONY AND PEACE AMONG PEOPLE.
BUDDHISM IS NOT AN ETHNOCENTRIC
RELIGION. IT TRANSCENDS ALL ETHNIC TRIBAL OR NATIONAL BOUNDARIES AND LIMITS. IT
DOES NOT CARRY WITH IT ANY ETHNIC CUSTOMS, HABITS OR PRACTICES FROM ONE COUNTRY
OR ONE NATION TO ANOTHER.
BUDDHISM, WHILE EXERCISING A PROFOUND
INFLUENCE OVER THOSE COUNTRIES THROUGHOUT ASIA WHERE IT SPREAD AND WAS
ESTABLISHED, NATURALLY AND GRACIOUSLY ADAPTED ITSELF TO THE CULTURES OF THOSE
COUNTRIES AND NATIONS. HENCE THE VARIETIES OF BUDDHIST CULTURE - VARIETIES OF
ART AND ARCHITECTURE, VARIETIES OF THE STATUE OF THE BUDDHA, VARIETIES OF THE
GARB OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SANGHA, VARIETIES OF OBSERVANCES AND CEREMONIES -
FROM TIBET IN THE NORTH TO SRI LANKA IN THE SOUTH, FROM INDIA IN THE WEST TO
JAPAN IN THE EAST. YET THE UNITY OF THE ESSENTIAL DHARMA RUNS THROUGH ALL THESE
EXTERNAL VARIETIES LINKING THEM TOGETHER LIKE A SILK THREAD RUNNING THROUGH THE
BEADS OF DIFFERENT COLOURS OF A NECKLACE. THE DHARMA, TRUTH, IS ONE AND THE
SAME. EXTERNAL FORMS ARE MANY AND DIFFERENT.
THE MEMBERS OF THE BUDDHIST SANGHA
SHOULD NOT BE INFLUENCED BY AGGRESSIVE, FANATICAL TENDENCIES PREVAILING IN SOME
PARTS OF THE WORLD TODAY. THE SANGHA SHOULD PRESERVE WITH DIGNITY AND COURAGE
THE LONG-ESTABLISHED GLORIOUS TRADITION OF BUDDHIST UNDERSTANDING AND
TOLERANCE.
IN THE LONG HISTORY OF 2500 YEARS OF
BUDDHISM THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANY WAR OR PERSECUTION TO CONVERT PEOPLE.
BUDDHIST MONKS PROPAGATED THE TEACHING OF THE BUDDHA THROUGHOUT ASIA, AND NOW
THEY DO IT IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD AS WELL, ALWAYS PEACEFULLY, THROUGH THE
FORCE OF THEIR TEACHINGS, TOLERANCE, INOFFENSIVE, BENEVOLENT, GENTLE ATTITUDE.
THE MEMBERS OF THE SANGHA CAN SET AN EXAMPLE TO THE WORLD IN THIS RESPECT.
TODAY HUMANITY IS THREATENED WITH THE
POSSIBILITY OF A NUCLEAR WAR, THAT MEANS UNIMAGINABLE AND UNPRECEDENTED
DESTRUCTION AND SUFFERING THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. TWO SUPER-POWERS ARE
THREATENING EACH OTHER AND ARE BRANDISHING THE LATEST WEAPONS OF ANNIHILATION.
THOSE WHO WIELD POWER IN THE WORLD SEEM TO BE DEVOID OF MENTAL HEALTH.
ONLY THE VOICE OF THE WELL-ORGANIZED
MASSES OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE WORLD MAY BRING THEM BACK TO SANITY. THERE ARE MORE
THAN ONE MILLION MEMBERS OF THE BUDDHIST SANGHA IN THE WORLD TODAY, BOTH
THERAVADA AND MAHAYANA. THEY HAVE A TREMENDOUS INFLUENCE OVER THE MASSES. IT IS
THE BOUNDED DUTY OF THE BUDDHIST SANGHA TO SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF COMPASSION AND
WISDOM AMONG ALL PEOPLE IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE WORLD PEACE. THE GREATEST RELIGIOUS
SERVICE IS TO PROMOTE UNDERSTANDING, HARMONY, PEACE AND HAPPINESS AMONG PEOPLE,
AND NOT TO FIX LABELS OF RELIGION ON EACH OTHER'S BACKS.
Source : the young buddhist, singapore :
buddha yana organization, 1982, p.161 -163.
THE WORLD BUDDHIST SANGHA COUNCIL
SRI LANKA 1966
(Was
attended by Leading Monks, from many countries and sects, Mahayana as well as Theravada,
The
following, written by Ven. Walpola Rahula was approved unanimously).
1. THE BUDDHA IS OUR ONLY MASTER.
2. WE TAKE REFUGE IN THE BUDDHA, THE
DHAMMA AND THE SANGHA.
3. WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THIS WORLD IS
CREATED AND RULED BY A GOD.
4. FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF THE BUDDHA,
WHO IS THE EMBODIMENT OF GREAT COMPASSION (MAHAA-KARU.NAA) AND GREAT WISDOM
(MAHAA- PRAJ~NAA), WE CONSIDER THAT THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS TO DEVELOP
COMPASSION FOR ALL LIVING BEINGS WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION AND TO WORK FOR THEIR
GOOD, HAPPINESS, AND PEACE; AND TO DEVELOP WISDOM LEADING TO THE REALIZATION OF
ULTIMATE TRUTH.
5. WE ACCEPT THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS,
NAMELEY DUKKHA, THE ARISING OF DUKKHA, THE CESSATION OF DUKKHA, AND THE PATH
LEADING TO THE CESSATION OF DUKKHA; AND THE UNIVERSAL LAW OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
AS TAUGHT IN THE PRATIITYA-SAMUTPAADA (CONDITIONED GENESIS OR DEPENDENT
ORIGINATION).
6. WE UNDERSTAND, ACCORDING TO THE
TEACHING OF THE BUDDHA, THAT ALL CONDITIONED THINGS (SA.MSKAARA) ARE
IMPERMANENT (ANITYA) AND DUKKHA, AND THAT ALL CONDITIONED AND UNCONDITIONED
THINGS (DHARMA) ARE WITHOUT SELF (ANAATMA).
7. WE ACCEPT THE THIRTY-SEVEN QUALITIES
CONDUCIVE TO ENLIGHTENMENT (BODHIPAK.SA-DHARMA) AS DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE
PATH TAUGHT BY THE BUDDHA LEADING TO ENLIGHTENMENT.
8. THERE ARE THREE WAYS OF ATTAINING
BODHI OR ENLIGHTENMENT, ACCORDING TO THE ABILITY AND CAPACITY OF EACH
INDIVIDUAL: NAMELY AS A DISCIPLE (SRAAVAKA), AS A PRATYEKA-BUDDHA AND AS A
SAMYAK-SAM-BUDDHA (PERFECTLY AND FULLY ENLIGHTENED BUDDHA). WE ACCEPT IT AS THE
HIGHEST, NOBLEST, AND MOST HEROIC TO FOLLOW THE CAREER OF A BODHISATTVA AND TO
BECOME A SAMYAK-SAM-BUDDHA IN ORDER TO SAVE OTHERS.
9. WE ADMIT THAT IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
THERE ARE DIFFERENCES WITH REGARD TO THE LIFE OF BUDDHIST MONKS, POPULAR
BUDDHIST BELIEFS AND PRACTICES, RITES AND CEREMONIES, CUSTOMS AND HABITS. THESE
EXTERNAL FORMS AND EXPRESSIONS SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED WITH THE ESSENTIAL
TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA.
Source: Walpola Rahula; the Heritage of
the Bhikkhu; (New York, grove press, 1974); pp. 100, 1137-138.R
