What is Human Life?
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About this ebook
Human life is the most wonderful creation of the universe. There is nothing better than human life. We may come across great inventions but there is nothing superior to human life in the three worlds. As we are not aware of the value of human life we use this supreme creation to invent suffering, sadness, loneliness, monotony, restlessness and stress. Animals have problems that they inherited at birth such as hunger, thirst and safety. They keep on looking for solutions for their problems. They do not invent problems. The Dhamma says that human begins have only four needs, which are physical needs such as foods, shelter, clothes and medicine. Hunger and foods are not mental but physical things. No suffering is associated with hunger as the solution is simple, which is to feed us with rice, bread etc. Most people suffer not because of hunger but because of the involvement of the mind, which projects questions/thoughts associated with hunger. What is to be eaten? What is to be eaten to suit the social status, profession, economic status? What is eaten by those around me? What is going to be bought by others from this shop? All these are mental complications. Even at the time of cooking, similar thinking arises. How to cook? What to cook? Look for variety in each meal etc. All this makes cooking a complex process. If the mind is complex, all the thoughts are also complex. Even though only four basic needs exist, human begins suffer a lot unlike animals, because of the involvement of their craving mind which cannot be satisfied easily.
Upul Nishantha Gamage
Upul Nishantha Gamage, present resident meditation teacher, has been guiding thousands of people from different backgrounds who come to Nilambe to practice meditation. According to the article titled “Mistakes” published in Dhammaja (Nilambe Buddhist Meditation centre Newsletter-Volume 2, Jan 2009), he started meditation in 1977, at 13 years of age. At that time, he was instrumental in establishing a Youth Society at a Buddhist Temple near his parents’ house and got involved in many activities as the Secretary of the Society. In late 80’s, he had offered to help Godwin at a point where someone’s assistance with the activities at the Meditation Centre was vital. Subsequently, he had been introduced to those at the Centre by Godwin as the “new boss” of Nilambe. Ever since he has been a very dear friend and an outstanding Dhamma teacher for thousands of people who attend programs conducted by him, also many others who are yet to attend his programs and a counselor for those who are in need of counseling. Besides teaching at Nilambe, Upul conducts programs at prisons, schools, monasteries, private residences etc. He is regularly invited to conduct meditation retreats in Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. According to his teaching, practice of Meditation paves the path to help ourselves, to understand ourselves and to change ourselves for better as we are becoming more and more mindful about all our day-to-day activities. Moreover, Upul’s great ability to speak to our hearts and practical and philosophical way of presenting Dhamma has enormous power to make us practice Meditation in a joyful manner.
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What is Human Life? - Upul Nishantha Gamage
Meditation is the only activity that is possible to produce limitless results upon cultivation. Therefore, meditation is considered a spiritual cultivation which is capable of producing limitless fruitful results. Another reason for getting unlimited harvest in agriculture is the ability of not just one branch, but all the branches of a tree to bear fruits and thereby making the whole area of cultivation fruitful. Similarly, meditation can make one's life overflow with freedom, peacefulness, liberation and happiness. One can experience such a life through meditation, not only today but also tomorrow, not only this year but also next year, not only in this life but also next lives. If you rank all the activities that can make your life fruitful, meditation falls on the top of the list. Not only meditation, but other also other activities can make your life fruitful. However, we are aware that it is the meditation, among all those activities, that can make our lives most fruitful. So meditation is worthy of praising and valuing. As we praise meditation from the bottom of our heart, we come for meditation, practise meditation and spend time on meditation.
Dear Dhamma Friends, we sacrifice our lives for many things. Just think how many things we have sacrificed our lives for and keep on sacrificing our lives for. We all got a life at birth. As soon as we were born in this world, we were offered with human lives free of charge, for which we may have probably paid earlier.