It is clear that knowledge means a lot to us while we are heading for a better way of living because it is the light to break up the darkness of life we have to face and overcome. It doesn’t matter what types of knowledge you have pursued in order to grasp at what you are chasing after, but how much effort and good-will you have put into it to do for the sake of people around and beyond you, that matters most. No way is there to leave out this fact that knowledge ranges over lots of information about many a thing obtained by either experience or education or more. This is because different people from different places have different kinds of knowledge, for instance, common, medical, scientific, social, educational, religious knowledge and so forth. It should be clearly borne in mind that just as a little knowledge is very dangerous, so too much knowledge is also if we don’t understand how to apply it. It can’t be denied that with the aid of it people, preparing and struggling for a better of future in accordance with demands of modern society, are able to achieve aim and object of life and do what is good and beneficial for all walks of life.
Knowledge without practice is nothing but the burden of brain. When you say you know something without putting it into action, that doesn’t mean you understand it clearly. It is so evident that just knowing is nothing, but doing is something to do with a high standard of living and education. With regard to this, what I would like to share with you is one of the most important and interesting points in the education standard of Sri Lanka, that we all are to take it into account. Nothing under the sun is more fascinating than this right. To tell the truth, many a monk studying in Sri Lanka finds it worthy of following. Monks in Sri Lanka are able to keep abreast of all the latest educational developments together with lay-people because they have rights to follow all modern subjects lay-people are studying. In this way, apart from monastic education, they go to schools at their early ages and then join Universities, thus obtaining respective degrees. There is no doubt at all that they become teachers, lecturers, professors, deans according to their educational qualifications. You will find it very amazing that they earn the same salary as lay-people, at the time of doing their duties as school teachers, lecturers and so on, without dealing with this fact that whether they are still monks or change into lay-life. There is a lifelong guarantee for every educated monk. Where there is no guarantee, there is no accountability. In regard to this, Lay people, who, after having attended and obtained a certain degree from religious Universities, take an interest in Buddhist Scriptures, also can apply for a job at any University in their own soil. What’s more, there are MP monks and president-counsellors. What we need to note here is that these are not because they are trying to get involved in the worldly things but because they are just trying to handle all perils and stand for what is right for the benefit of people. They know exactly what to do and how to deal with all kinds of problem not only in religious affairs but also in environmental, social ones or more. Apart from the latest education system, they are capable of teaching and preaching people the teachings of the Buddha. Having known that monks have ability to sort out difficult situations, devotees can’t help looking up to them. The reason for that is they have a lot of knowledge in both current education and religious text. People either young or old usually pay due respect to the monks for the former grew up under the guidance of the latter through learning Buddhist Scriptures at Sunday Schools, that play an important role on the way of building a good character. It is that Sunday Schools that pave the way for the young and the old to learn, note and understand the Buddhist way of thinking and living, and that help them communicate with monks out of a great veneration and cultivate their spiritual development step by step whenever and wherever they are. What is very important and noteworthy fact is that these ideal tasks come to fruition on account of the considerable strength of monks and lay-teachers, helping each other as much as they can. That is why it is said that unity is power, which brings happiness to all of us. How lay-people usually offer the places to monks in Sri Lanka in any case is a good model that Buddhist people should follow and exercise. Supposing that many people are in the queue waiting for their turn at the Immigration or Embassy, even though it is very restricted place, there is no doubt that the monks will be called and served first. Where there is a public transportation, there are two seats reserved for clergy. No one is allowed to sit down on them at the presence of monks. What you will not think here is this: people nearby will instantly ask you to extend that place to the monks if you occupy and hesitate to get up from them. What impresses me so much is that only two monks take the same bus once while they go out for fear of disturbing lay-people who will have their seats take every monk on it. In this way, they value and teach one another, doing their best hand in hand in order that they can stand in comparison with all demands in this very challenging world.
Now you can clearly see how they are doing and then you can definitely think it over whether it is an urgent need for your society. No wonder is there that it is because monks in Sri Lanka, generally speaking, have more knowledge at many aspects than lay-people that they (lay-people) get on right side of them and keep on going on and on. If so, it is needless to say that it becomes only after they have studied both modern education and the Buddha’s Teachings that they both can stand together for the wellbeing of all. There might be a voice in your head saying we know too much and can memorize the teaching of the Buddha more than others and so forth. It seems to be fair enough to some extent, but when all’s said and done, it is obvious that the time is ripe for us to escape from the shadow of self-importance. What we actually need to ponder is to find out who we are and where we are, and what and why we really want and how we should try to seize it through right knowledge. Those who have understood that doing something effective for all is better than knowing a lot of things left ever undone, should take delight in the applied knowledge, reflecting on this fact that knowing is just for as much doing and sharing as possible. We people simply know a beautiful flower, lacking in fragrance, can yield only fruitless. Storing knowledge only in our heads is merely holding a lot of extra information like a heap of rubbish so long as it isn’t put into action. Our Lord Buddha never praised those who fail to practise what they know and preach. The Buddha expounded that the fool knowing his foolishness can, due to his awareness of it, become a wise man someday, but the fool who is under the impression that he is wise, in fact, is called a fool. This is factually food for thought for all of us. In order not to be so much naïve that we are quite far from what is happening around the world, let’s do what we have got to do for the better of future. Now is our turn; let’s do it now. Today is your gift. Everything comes to those who believe in themselves. Your belief is your inner strength. Love your neighbor and associate with them out of compassion but take care of them, by noticing that even an eagle that lives together with chickens from birth is unable to fly up owing to its effortlessness, regardless of its strength of inborn nature for it was told and taught that it couldn’t fly up like a flying bird in the sky by his companions.
You deserve nothing but praise for your great social spirit and far-sighted action. You can’t neglect that you shouldn’t leave this very world full of things to do, without doing anything beneficial for the welfare of people. Learning is, from my standpoint, not for keeping in mind only but for sharing whatever is good with the youth, our future. Today is very different from yesterday. This means we monks and you lay-people, should go hand in hand on the strength of our knowledge of education and that of religion, based on the mutual understanding and respect. Who is responsible for all is the one who knows the value of noble work. All of us know the noble man has a noble idea and does a noble task. There’s no denying the fact that according to the degree of our knowledge, not only education standard but also social status becomes significantly different from one country to another. To the best of my belief, of what has been mentioned, no knowledge can steadfastly stand in comparison with that of education and of religion, that are the pivots on which we have to build a better society or future, doing our best to keep up with up-to-date demands in day to day life. It should be understood that the things we believed and accepted before are not the ones in demand at present. What’s more, we are to make a great deal of effort to change our negative attitudes, narrow-mindedness, useless orthodoxies into positive ones, broad-mindedness as well as heterodoxies with the help of far-sightedness, even though it is said that old habits die hard.
There is no reason to suppose we can expect our generations to become well-rounded and well-trained students by only memorizing and bearing all things in mind and doing follow-suit without having any critical thinking or creative way of thinking. We will understand something important for us from this following outlook. Albert Einstein said, ‘‘Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything learned in school’’. Quantity cannot stand in fair comparison with quality. We have many things to consider and do to keep up with others. It is true that we have a lot of knowledge concerning with the biggest challenges in day to life, we are, on the other hand, dropping out of meeting that interesting challenges of this very world. This is nothing but something that knowledge and practice don’t go together. I am firmly convinced that our dream will come true at the moment we combine our knowledge with our down-to-earth practice. Having understood that knowledge and practice must go together, let’s apply what we know and start it now if we really want to see the fruitful future. We know and believe in this: Nothing is impossible to the man who has a burning desire and free will to do.
(My Article in S.P.S.U Magazine in 2010)
