Ladies and Gentlemen,
I consider it a great honour to have been invited to speak at this conference. I must thank the organizers of this conference for inviting me and giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with you. I also consider it a privilege to be able to meet and make friends with followers of many different religions.

Although we have different labels attached to us, all of us, I am sure, have but one faith: it is the faith in "goodness," no matter how we define this word. As the theme of this conference implies, any religion that deserves our attention, must influence its followers to do good. I presume, all of us who are gathered here have faith in "goodness." Do we believe that goodness alone can save the world from disaster? Do we believe that goodness alone can bring peace and happiness to the world? If we do not, we are certainly not religious, at least from my point of view. It is because people have no faith in goodness that they kill, steal, commit adultery, and practice dishonesty and deception to solve their problems. I believe that religion is a matter of "means" rather than Aends.@ Both the criminal and the saint have but one end or goal: and that is "happiness." They differ only in the "means" they adopt to attain this goal.

I must mention at the outset that the religion I represent, which is Buddhism, has but one faith--that is the faith in "goodness." It is the belief that goodness will always win in the end. It is the belief that "right" is "might." Buddhism has been called, "the pursuit of goodness" (kusala gavesana). The aim of Buddhist scripture is to show its followers the way to "goodness." A well known verse in the Buddhist scripture sums up the Buddha's teaching:

Every evil leave behind
And enter into the Agood@
Purify your own mind
This is what Buddhas teach you should

- Dhammapada -
Here, in short, is the essence of the teaching of the Buddha, which is also the essence of the message of the Buddhist scripture. This little verse helps one judge the extent to which Buddhist scripture influences its followers to do good.

Buddhist scripture is the teaching of the Buddha. Therefore, its source is the Buddha. The scripture does not predate the Buddha. Buddhist scripture consists of the "Triple Texts" called Tipitaka. They are: the Formulations (Sutta), the Rules of the orders of monks and nuns (Vinaya), and the Metapsychology (Abhidhamma). This "Triple Texts" runs into many volumes. The Formulations (Sutta) consist of the words of the Buddha to be memorized as formulae. Because of the difficulty of adequately expressing the Buddhist concepts in words, and also because, only a "Harmoniously Awakened One" like Gothama the Buddha could adequately put these ideas into words, the Buddha had to formulate these ideas in words himself, and make his disciples memorize them. These formulations to be memorized are the Suttas. And they are in the form of prose as well as verse. They are mainly presented as dialogues.

The Rules of the orders (Vinaya) are found in story form, in order to describe the purpose for which the rules have been laid down.

The Metapsychology (Abhidhamma) is an effort, subsequent to the Buddha, to systematize His teachings. In doing so the Metapsychology became also an interpretation of the teachings of the Buddha found in the formulations. This led to the break up of the order into different schools, which interpreted the teachings differently. Each school had its own Metapsychology, which differed from that of others.

The "Triple Texts" have been carried down from generation to generation throughout the history of Buddhism, by rote as well as by writing. They have been preserved by the followers as sacred and holy words.

The role of scripture is to stimulate thinking, and to serve as a guide for students in the process of discovering the meaning and purpose of life. Each individual thinks for himself and formulates his own ideas.

The appearance of a variety of schools of Buddhism marked the entrance of dogmatism into Buddhism and dependence on authoritative interpretations. Today, different schools of thought have arisen in Buddhism due to the unquestioning acceptance of "authoritative@ interpretations of the scripture. This new dogmatism goes against the non-dogmatic spirit of early Buddhism, and is therefore the beginning of degeneration. It is important to emphasize that this dependence on authorities and belief rather than on understanding for oneself, is to be regarded as a degeneration of Buddhist practice rather than progress. It is a natural human weakness to depend on others rather than to rely on oneself. But the aim of Buddhism is to overcome this weakness through the practice of Buddhism. Dependence on authority is inconsistent with Buddhist scripture.

During the time of the Buddha, the teachings served only as a guide or aid to thinking and not as an authority to be believed on faith. Even now, the scripture is not meant to be believed on faith. It is a thing to be understood using one's own intelligence, and tested in the crucible of one's own experience. The Buddha said, "Live with yourself as lamp, yourself as refuge and no other refuge; live with Dhamma as lamp, Dhamma as refuge and no other refuge." The word "Dhamma@ here means, in a way, the teaching of the Buddha, but it also means one's own experience. This is because, the teaching of the Buddha only points to one's own experience. It is like flashing a light in the darkness, for those with eyes to see the path for themselves. It is not like giving a helping hand to a blind person who does not see where he is being led.

The Buddhist scripture helps a person to lead a good life, because it helps a person to decide for himself what is good and bad, by laying the facts before him. But the scripture does more. It shows a person how to do good, and even how to become good, the two being not the same. "Doing good" means an external goodness whereas "becoming good" means an inner transformation.

Most religions teach the followers what is good and bad, but they do not teach them how to be good, other than, of course, praying to supernatural powers for help. Buddhism is unique in teaching a human technique of becoming good. This is why Buddhism has been called a humanistic religion, in contrast to theistic religions.

The place given to scripture in Early Buddhism becomes clear from the Kalama Sutta, a dialogue in the Buddhist scripture. In this dialogue, the Buddha says to the people of Kalama:

"Do not, oh! Kalamans, go by report, nor by tradition, nor by certainty, nor by authority of scripture, nor by reasoning, nor by logic, nor by inference from observation, nor by acceptance of mystical visions, nor by probability, nor by faith in a holy teacher. When you know for yourselves these experiences are unwholesome, these experiences are corrupt, these experiences are denounced by intelligent people, these experiences when cultivated and clung to, develop into detriment and pain, then should you abandon them.

"What do you think, Kalamans, when lust arises in a person, when hate arises in a person, when confusion arises in a person, is it for his profit or for his loss?"

"For his loss, Your Worship."

"Kalamans, the lustful individual overcome by lust, the hateful individual overcome by hate, the confused individual overcome by confusion, with an emotionally excited mind destroys life, takes what is not given, has extra-marital affairs, speaks what is false, and induces others to do the same. This would be for his detriment and pain for a long time."

"Yes, Your Worship."

"What do you think, Kalamans, are these experiences wholesome or unwholesome?"

"Unwholesome, Your Worship."

"Are they corrupt or not?"

"Corrupt, Your Worship."

"Are they denounced or extolled by intelligent people?"

“Denounced by intelligent people, Your Worship."

"When cultivated and clung to, do these experiences develop into detriment and pain, or could it be otherwise?"

"Your Worship, they develop into detriment and pain when cultivated and clung to: that is how it seems to us."

"Kalamans, the Extraordinary Hearer, free from lust, free from hate, free from confusion, intelligent and aware, abides covering the first quarter with a heart full of selfless love, compassion, joy and equanimity, and so does he the second, the third, and the fourth quarters; then above, below and in between, everywhere, in every way. The entire boundless cosmos he abides covering with a heart full of selfless love, compassion, joy and equanimity, broadened, and expanded, free from limitations, without enmity, without hatred."

"Kalamans, the Extraordinary Hearer, who abides in this way with a heart free from enmity, with a heart free of hatred, with a heart free of defilements, with a pure heart, by him is obtained here and now four satisfactions."

"Thinking, 'If there is a life after death, and if there are pleasant and unpleasant consequences of deeds, I should after death be heaven-bound,= he obtains the first satisfaction.

“Thinking, 'If, on the other hand, there is no life after death, and there are no pleasant and unpleasant consequences of deeds, in that case, I maintain myself happily here and now, free from enmity, free from hatred, and free from trouble,' he obtains the second satisfaction."

"Thinking, 'If evil is done by the free choice of the doer, I do not think evil towards anyone. If I do not do any evil, how can I suffer in consequence,' he obtains the third satisfaction.”

“Thinking, 'If evil is not done by the free choice of the doer, then I am pure in two ways (by not being responsible for my actions and by not doing any evil),' he obtains the fourth satisfaction."
- Kalama Sutta-Ang. II -

This extract from the Buddhist scripture explains clearly not only the position given to scripture in Buddhism but also the relation of scripture to the doing of good. Seven important facts are revealed in this passage:

1. Do not take anything as true under any condition.

2. Understand what is good, rather than what is true.

3. Use your own judgement. Scripture is only an aid to thinking.

4. Focus on the inner experiences and their consequences to oneself and others, rather than concepts of truth and falsehood.

5. It is possible to be good without the belief in dogmas or dependence on supernatural powers.

6. Good acts result from a good state of mind, which means that meditation is the way to the good life.
7. One who practices meditation does not have to worry about the next world nor depend on external powers.

According to Buddhism, truth and falsehood are concepts derived from logical thinking. What is logical is considered to be true, and what is illogical is considered to be false. Although the conclusions, "true@ or "false," should follow the process of logical thinking, we tend to decide that our beliefs are true, before we use logic to prove that they are true. In other words, we become emotionally attached to beliefs first and then use logic to justify them. This use of logic to justify emotionally held beliefs is called rationalization of beliefs. Therefore we tend to emotionally believe first and then rationalize. This emotional attachment to beliefs is called, "personalization@ of beliefs (ditthi upadana), in Buddhism. To "personalize@ beliefs is to identify oneself with beliefs and think, "this is my belief," or "this belief is me."

When we personalize beliefs this way, what results is conflict and disharmony. When we cling to a view-point and say, "this is my view and this is the truth," we are in conflict with those who hold the opposite view. This leads to argumentation, dispute and quarrelling. The unhappy consequence of this is that we lose our "goodness." That is, by trying to claim any view as "true, " we lose our "goodness." This is why the Buddha advises his followers not to accept anything as "true." Instead of seeking truth, his advise is to seek Agoodness.@ This fact is illustrated by the story of the elephant and the blind men as follows:

Once upon a time there was a king who thought of an interesting way of amusing himself. He ordered the royal elephant to be brought before him and invited some blind men, blind from birth, to come and touch the elephant and describe it. One touched a leg and said, "the elephant is like a tree." One touched the tail and said, the elephant is like a broom.@ One touched the abdomen and said, Athe elephant is like a wall." One touched an ear and said, "the elephant is like a fan." Each descried the elephant in a different way and believed that he had direct experience of the truth. Then they started quarrelling with each other maintaining that each was in possession of the complete truth.

This, the Buddha said, was the way people quarrel about beliefs and lose their "goodness" as a result. To be good one has to be able to respect the other person's point of view and to refrain from saying that the other person is wrong or that one's own point of view alone is right.

Beliefs are beliefs, not truths or falsehoods. No matter how strongly we may believe that a statement is true, it could still be proved false. Often we take a statement to be true not because we know that it is true, but because we like it, or because our family believes it, or because it is found in a holy book, or because of any such reason other than logic. It is interesting to note that we need to believe a statement, only when we do not know that it is true. If we know that it is true, we do not need to believe it. We believe only the unknown; the known we do not have to believe. We also find that if we want to maintain a belief, we call it the truth; but, on the other hand, we find that if we want to maintain the truth, we have to call it a belief. A belief should be judged not in terms of its truthfulness, but in terms of its goodness. That is, in terms of how far it makes people good and happy. Therefore, in Buddhism, there are good views and bad views, not true views and false views.

In deciding what is good, the Buddha advises, we should think of the consequences. If the consequences of a belief are harmful to oneself or others, it is not good. If they are beneficial to oneself or others, it is good. This way, one decides for oneself what is good and bad, instead of depending on others. What is accepted on faith in another, is not understood by oneself, and therefore it tends to be believed, that is, accepted as a truth emotionally. If we accept a statement as a truth emotionally, we come in conflict with others. Therefore, acceptance on faith leads to conflict. What is understood by oneself is not emotionally held as truth, and therefore does not lead to conflict with others.

This is why the Buddhist scripture is not meant to be believed or accepted as true on faith, but to be understood. In understanding, one forms one's own ideas. Therefore, the Buddhist scripture is only an aid to thinking; it helps one form one's own ideas about good and bad.

This means that, it is possible to be good without belief in dogmas. In fact, according to Buddhism, dogmatism has the opposite effect. It makes people evil. We might recall that this Buddhist teaching is supported by history. I refer to the religious wars that have been fought in the name of dogmas, in defence as well as offence. Even today, we constantly hear of religious conflicts in the world. Isn't this religious dogmatism propagating the very evils the religions are supposed to eliminate? It is not the fault of the good principles taught by religions; it is the fault of the insistence on the importance of dogmas above the good principles. It is the insistence on belief rather than on good works.

Faith in Buddhism is not the belief in dogmas but the trust in goodness, which is the trust that goodness can overcome all evil and therefore is superior to everything else. To the Buddhist, "goodness" is the saviour, and "goodness" is the refuge. Actually, "goodness" is the "God" of Buddhism. "Goodness" is the "Divinity" within a human being, and "evil" is the "Devil." The aim of Buddhism is to cast away the "Devil" within the human being and to develop the "Divinity." When the human being has achieved the perfection of "Divinity" within him, he has become one with "God,@ he has become "God,@ which is the same thing as becoming "Buddha." In other words, "Buddha@ is "man become God." "Buddha," therefore, may be called the "God" of the Buddhist; but he is not a supernatural almighty Creator or the infinite soul that pervades the universe. Because the essence of divinity, according to Buddhism, is Agoodness,@ not power.

To the Buddhist, "God" is not some external or supernatural person. To the Buddhist, AGod@ and his kingdom is within him. The Buddhist does not seek help in external supernatural powers to solve his problems. Instead, he develops the natural goodness within him and develops himself into "God.@ The Buddhist solution to human problems is through the development of the human being. And this development is through the pursuit of perfection in "Goodness."

The way to become good, is not through the help of supernatural powers but through the help of a human psychological technique of growth and transformation, which is also a process of evolution of the human consciousness from the normal human state to a superhuman state called the divine state (brahma vihara). Through this technique man transcends the human state and becomes God (brahma bhuto).

The Buddhist human technique of transformation of man to God is a gradual process of growth or evolution of the human consciousness. It is called the Sublime Eight-fold Way (ariya attangika magga), which consists of the following eight factors:

1. Harmonious Perspective (samma ditthi)
2. Harmonious Orientation (samma sankappa)
3. Harmonious Speech (samma vaca)
4. Harmonious Action (samma kammanta)
5. Harmonious Living (samma ajiva)
6. Harmonious Practice (samma vayama)
7. Harmonious Attention (samma sati), and
8. Harmonious Equilibrium (samma samadhi)

This Sublime Eight-fold Way is not a set of rules of living but the description of the gradual process of transformation. The transformation of the character of an individual does not involve only a change in behaviour. It involves the change in the way one thinks and feels. Buddhism begins by first changing a person's perspective on life, which leads to a change in the direction of life and the way one feels. This change in the direction and the way one thinks and feels leads to a change in the behaviour pattern. This way, the life is reorganized to reach a different goal. The change of character is achieved through a change in perspective.

The purpose of the Buddhist scripture is to help followers find their way through life in the pursuit of goodness. It is like giving a tourist guide or map to a visitor to a country, which helps find the way. Therefore, the Buddhist guidance has been described as:

1. Setting upright what has been overturned
2. A revelation of what has been hidden
3. A pointing of the way to one who is lost, and
4. Bringing a light into the darkness for those with eyes to see.

Buddhism is a humanistic religion which has its own humanistic definition of God and religion. Buddhism is not atheistic, it is anthropotheistic, recognizing the divinity of man. "Divinity," however, is a human potential to be developed; the human being is God potentially. "God,@ in Buddhism, is the ideal of perfection that man conceives and struggles to realize through the practice of religion, and does realize in becoming a "Buddha." "Buddha@ is not the name of a person but the state of perfection which is called "God.@ The term "Buddha@ is used in Buddhism to distinguish this humanistic "God" of Buddhism from the supernatural creator "God" of theistic religion. Yet, it may be said that, the "Buddha@ is the "God" of the Buddhist. This anthropomorphic God of Buddhism is not "God become man" as in Christianity, but "man become God" (brahma bhuto). Buddhism may be seen as the worship of the Buddha, the humanistic God, in contrast to the worship of the supernatural Creator, the theistic God, in theistic religion. Worship of the Buddha is the worship of goodness, in contrast to the worship of power.

The aim of Buddhism is to develop the human being to a higher level of being. This development makes him perfect in goodness and thereby "God.@ "God" is not someone to pray to, according to Buddhism; "God" is someone to become. To the Buddhist, religion is not prayer, but development "bhavana." The practice of religion, for the Buddhist, is therefore not a static state of being good and obedient to God, but a dynamic process of growth, which is becoming "God.@

Buddhist scripture is the word of the Buddha that instructs and inspires the human being on his way to goodness. It does not contain what is true; it contains what is good. Buddhist scripture is the story of the victory of good over evil (dhamma vijaya). Its aim is the establishment of the kingdom of goodness (Dhamma Rajja) on earth, not through war but through peace. The Buddha has been called the "king of goodness" (Dhamma Raja) and also the "victor" (Jina), because he defeated the "Devil" (Mara). The victory of good over evil is expressed in a verse from the Buddhist scripture as follows:
Win over hate by love
Win over evil by good
Win over stint by gift
Win over deceit by truth

- Dhammapada -