There are very few teachers, leaders and individuals who impart their knowledge free of charge without expecting anything in return. Late Venerable Kirinde Sri Dhammananda (popularly known as K. Sri Dhammananda) occupies a special place.
Being a Buddhist I used to read his books which gave an unbiased view while his books and sermons always acted as a panacea for the inquisitive mind. I would always recommend his book ‘How to live without Fear and Worry’ to anyone who is in a state of distress or looking for a self help book on Positive Thinking.
When I was a student in School I got the oppertunity of corresponding with him through mail to clear my doubts on Buddhist Dhamma, and he was always generous enough to reply me whenever I had doubts. Unfortunately I had the oppertunity of mailing him only on Three occasions and apparently he passed away. May he attain Nibbana for the valuable service he has rendered.
If you want to learn more about him or download some of his free ebooks you can do by visiting his website by clicking here and you can listen to lot of his video sermons in Youtube (simply be typing his name in the search box)
The questions I asked from him and the answers he gave are as follows
Q: Is Dhammapada a section in the Tripitaka or a separate book on Buddhism ?
A: The Tripitaka consists of three baskets namely,
The Vinaya Pitaka
The Sutta Pitaka
The Abhidhamma Pitaka
The Sutta Pitaka consists of 5 Nikayas, namely
Digha Nikaya
Majjhimma Nikaya
Samyutta Nikaya
Anguttara Nikaya
Khuddhaka Nikaya
The Dhammapada is one of the books in the Khuddaka Nikaya.
Q: Are you happy with the way the Srilankan monks an layman’s effort in propagating Buddhism ?
A: I wish our Sri Lankan monks and laymen could do more than currently being done. It is a shame that we are the
Dhammadipa but yet we do not do an excellent job in propagating the Dhamma. Our prominence in the Buddhist world is diminishing and we become poor comparisons to the great Buddhist leaders of the yesteryears such as Ven.Narada, Ven. Piyadassi, Dr. Malasekara, etc
We should be translating into many languages and publishing many free booklets on the Dhamma and sending it throughout the world. We should train our monks to meet devotee requirements and to serve overseas, acquire one of the major 10 languages of the world, learn Buddhist apologetics, inter-religious studies, PR, counselling, meditation, public speaking, socio-welfare service, etc…There is just too many to list. In short, I wish they could do much more.
Q: Should a Buddhist be a Vegetarian ?
A: There are various views on this subject. Most important however is how we treat this as part of our practise. As a layperson, we have an easier choice to be a practical vegetarian understanding how to complement our food accordingly to meet all nutritional requirements without even touching meat for our protein needs. However, remember it is only one small ingredient of a bigger practise, i.e. the threefold practice of avoidance of evil, doing good and the purification of our mind, which should be the foremost priority. There is no point if we are a vegetarian, but we do not follow the threefold practise. It is not the content of our diet which is more important, but rather the content of our heart (ie.mind). We must throw away the defilements in ourselves such as our greed, jealousy, ill-will, conceit, etc and suffuse ourselves with loving-kindness, generosity, egolessness, etc. Throwing away meat from our diet alone is not good enough. Being vegetarian is a personal practice which one chooses to follow is good in terms of medical studies conducted thus far. We have a lesser chance of getting heart diseases and other diseases. In terms of land cultivated to feed us, it is more economical to grow vegetation to feed us than to feed to poultry & cattle which
tend feeds us.
Q: I have heard that Buddhist Monks should avoid taking Money, Is this true and Practical ?
A: Yes, the monks’ rules disallow it. In practical sense, monks who are able to follow it should do so supported by kappiyas who can hold the money on their behalf for purchases of necessities for their spiritual cultivation. But sometimes in practical sense it is not possible. For example student monks who use public transportation need to carry money to pay for their transportation- they cannot afford to have a kappyiya to bring them along. There are
monks who strictly follow this Vinaya rule with the support of one or two kappya’s
Q: Is it alright for a Buddhist to have Patriotism feelings about his race or Country ?
A: Ideally we should be equanimous towards all. We should know our mental state when we are proud of our race or
patriotic. Does it build to a point to become more egoistic, looking down on others, building hatred, etc? If that is so,
then we should be more mindful to be tolerant of others. The Buddha pointed out in the Parabhave Sutta; overly conceited of one’s race could be one of the causes that lead to the downfall of oneself. Moderation is important.
Q: I read the Rathana Sutta from the Piruwana Book, could you explain me the importance and the usefulness of these sutta because I could not understand the importance of this sutta ?
A: The Ratana Sutta is an important protective Sutta. With a combination of various other such suttas e.g. Karaniya Metta Sutta, Dhajagga Sutta, etc it can help to ward off fear and sicknesses. Its efficacy has been proven to this very
modern times too. In the Buddha’s time, this Sutta was first chanted at Vesali which was undergoing huge hardships from a massive famine, uncertainty which has resulted in huge number of deaths. Its chanting helped to bring rain and
clear the city of the encertainty engulfing it. By invoking the power of Truth, Devas also protected the people and they
too gained by the chanting and advise by the Buddha.
On a personal level of analysis, reading its translation gives us some understanding of the true qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and allows us to reflect on its relevance. So when the chanting is conducted in Pali, we recite it with great faith and understanding, not like aparrot who just utters sentences with no understanding.
There are many other true stories of how such protective Suttas have saved many people.
I hope these Questions and Answers would be helpful for any individual who had similar doubts in thier minds.
Have a nice day !
