Ghandi's 140th Anniversary

This blog is a Buddhism and Dhamma blog - Dhamma does not mean Buddhist. The Dhamma and the practise of Dhamma can apply to anyone of any Religion.

It was the 140th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi would be 140 years old now, if he had not been assassinated in 1948.Gandhi may not be physically here with us anymore but his legacy and his message lives on.He has always been a great example of Ahimsa and Humility, and lived a life within the Dhamma giving an example to all Humans of how to live without harming others - The importanc e of the lessons which Mahatma Gandhi had to teach us in terms of Buddhist practise is this; If we are to attain many of the abilities and conditions necessary for us to become Enlightened, enter Nibbana and be released from the endless cycle of rebirth, then as a first pre requisite to those attainments, on must have firm practise in keeping the Moral Precepts.
Mahatma Gandhis' life was permeated by his maintaining of his Moral precepts of not lying, stealing, killing or hurting other beings, etc.
If we cannot keep such precepts well, then it is pointless to attain the many factors and levels of psychic and spiritual wisdom, Jhanas powers etc. In Buddhist Vipassana practise, one cannot enter Nibbana without contemplation of the various 40 aspects of Kammathana meditation and subsequent realisation of the truths that are contained and to be found therein.
So the example of Mahatma Gandhi's life is to show us that we must master our own hearts and minds in not hating, cheating or abusing others in any way; be it for selfish reasons or not.
If we can practise this in our lives, then that is the base for beginning any higher forms of meditational and consciousness related advancements.

What i mean by all this, is that even if you are a Buddhist and hold to the teachings of a realised master or even the Buddhist Suttas, Jhana Meditation, Vipassana etc, it doesn't mean that a non-Buddhist such as Gandhi (who is a Hindu) cannot be seen as a Dhamma master with a teaching for us. If any one of us can say with our dying breath that we lived such as Gandhi,, then we will surely be able to die peacefully contented in knowing we have woven no webs of negative Karma in harming others, and have kept our precepts. The clear conscience brings ease to the mind and it becomes easy to meditate with stilled thought. This is the base for beginning one's higher forms of practise in attaining the self realized knowledge of the world and "Waking Up"
Look to Gandhi as an example, and keep the precepts, for they will protect you in doing so

The 4 Jhanas

The Jhanas and the practise of Jhana Access Meditation techniques is in the present day rather largely misunderstood and has grown to be less promoted as a path of practise in many Buddhist lineages. However, the Suttas display evidence of the Lord Buddha repeatedly mentioning and recommending the use of Jhana Absorbtion meditation methods as an access route to Nibbana. To Explain the Jhanas in their basic conceptual meaning, I find there is till now no better teaching to recommend for those seeking an understanding of what Jhana Meditation is, and what it entails in order to be able to practise this form of mental absorbtion method, than that of Henepola Gunaratana (Lovingly known by his devotees as "Bhante G"), of the Bhavana Society
You can read his concise and easy to grasp explanation here; The Jhanas - Henepola Gunaratana