Введение
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Preface
When Ven. Dr K. Sri Dhammananda first came to this country fifty years ago, on January 2 1952, Malaya1 had barely emerged from the devastation of the Second World War and was embroiled in the communist emergency, which had begun some years earlier. The economic and social conditions were far from satisfactory and the practice of Buddhism was practically non-existent, although large numbers of Chinese professed to be Buddhists. The Thai and Burmese communities in the north, the Singhalese in Taiping, Kuala Lumpur and Melaka practiced their religion in almost exactly the same way as was done in their respective countries of origin but they did not encourage locals to join their activities.
There were however, small numbers of western educated Chinese who were aware that what was passed for Buddhism within their community was largely a hodge podge of debased Taoism, folk religion and elementary Confucianism. There was a need and a desire among them to discover what the Buddha really taught. In the past this need had been satisfied by a very small number of English educated Theravadian monks in Malaya. The names that immediately come to mind are Ven. K. Gunaratana, Ven. Narada, Ven. Mahaveera, Ven. Ananda Mangala all from Sri Lanka and two Englishmen, Ven. Anoma Mahinda and Ven. Sumangala. The Chinese educated Buddhists, had to rely on well-known Chinese monks like Ven. Chuk Mor, Ven. Kim Beng and others.
In 1952 Ven. K Sri Dhammananda, then only 34 years old, was invited to become the chief incumbent of the Buddhist Temple in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. He immediately recognized the enormous potential that existed for the propagation of the Dharma among the Chinese in the country. He embarked on a teaching and writing career which has now spanned half a century and has transformed the image of Buddhism so effectively that today it is practiced by growing numbers of Malaysians. This is because he has steadfastly stood his ground in declaring that Buddhism can only be correctly practiced if one returns to the original teachings of the Buddha. At the same time he has supported the spread not only of Theravada Buddhism, but also of Mahayana and of Vajrayana because he maintained that all these schools are a part of the ekayana, the One Way.
While serving the spiritual and cultural needs of the members of the Sasana Abhiwurdhi Wardhana Society, Ven. Dhammananda also founded the Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia which continues to publish and distribute his numerous writings as well as other books all over the world. One of the Venerable’s books, WHAT BUDDHISTS BELIEVE, was first published in 1962 as a collection of down to earth responses to questions regarding how the Buddha’s teachings can help people cope with contemporary problems. The book immediately gained a wide readership which amply proved that it satisfied a long felt need among Buddhists. It was revised in 1973 and again in 1982 after which it began to be translated into other languages. Today it is available in Spanish, Dutch, Singhalese, Nepali, Parshi, Burmese, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian.
On one occasion a Christian delegation visited Ven Dhammananda to have a dialogue. A member of the delegation saw the book on his desk and asked, “Venerable, What do Buddhists believe?” He replied, “Buddhists do not believe anything!” Puzzled, the man asked, “ Then why did you write this book?” Ven Dhammananda smiled and said, “Well, read the book and see for yourself whether there is anything in Buddhism simply to believe.” The man then asked “Alright then, what do Buddhists do?” Ven Dhammananda replied, “Well, first they study, then they practice and finally they experience” (pariyatti, patipatti, pativedha).
Yes, WHAT BUDDHISTS BELIEVE does not tell you what to believe. It is a book that opens up our eyes to see for ourselves the reality of life. The book, written in simple English, in a rather non-conventional manner, has proven to be very effective in clearing the doubts of many readers, who are not able to comprehend textual, academic works written by scholars. Ever since its publication, many English educated people have come to know what Buddhism is all about after reading this book.
This fourth expanded edition of WHAT BUDDHISTS BELIEVE is an expanded version published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Dhammaduta service in Malaysia by Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda. The two societies found that the best way to express our gratitude and appreciation to the Ven. Dr K Sri Dhammananda for his yeoman service, is to support him in bringing the message of the Buddha to the masses, i.e. by publishing this edition, it is our hope that all readers, Buddhists and non-Buddhists, will lead a more enriching life after reading this book. We wish to express our sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr Vijaya Samarawickrama, Dr Victor Wee Eng Lye, Mr Goh Seng Chai, Miss Foo Pau Lin and Miss Than Lai Har for editing, typing, proofreading and for their useful suggestions which helped to bring this book to its present form. We also like to thank Mr Hor Tuck Loon for the cover design and the layout of this book. Without their assistance and cooperation the book would not have been possible.
IR. ANG CHOO HONG, KSD, PPT
President BUDDHIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY MALAYSIA
SARATH W. SURENDRE
President SASANA ABHIWURDHI WARDHANA SOCIETY
March 15, 2002
Translator's note
Translator's note p-01
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