Sunday, March 22, 2009

Sharing dharma appropriately?

I was invited as a guest to read poems at the UNESCO's World Poetry Day yesterday. I read 2 poems entitled "Al-Bukhary" and "Dream World" (refer my posting dated 18 Mar). The audience comprised of persons of different religions and faith. In the 2nd poetry, I shared with the audience some teachings on emptiness without actually using the word "emptiness" nor "Buddha" or any obviously dharmic words/terms. I send the message of emptiness across at an appropriate level that they can understand. I think that that's important. It's no point to teach sophisticated dharma to persons who are not receptive. Not only useless, in fact, teaching dharma inappropriately could be detrimental. With these in mind, this is what I said in my speech: -

The second poem is about not taking things at face value 100% all the time. I wrote this when I was in their age - pointing to 2 secondary school students. All of us have our own ideas, expectations, prejudices, biasness and other emotional afflictions, which we often project to the external world. Therefore, this world that we experience on the mere face of it, is coloured and created by all these layers of illusory projections and emotions that come from inside us. It's like living in an illusory world. So, this poem should be understood from that perspective.

And I went on to read my composition. Hopefully I have shared the dharma appropriately. I think that this is a quality that is desirable of a person who hopes to be a good Bodhisattva. If dharma can be shared in a non-dharmic traditional "Buddhist way", more people can certainly be reached and eventually brought across the great ocean of samsara. The dharma then becomes a living dharma and not act like a cloth we wear and be confined to it. You get what I mean? I hope so.

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