Respected mahāSangha, headed by the Most Venerable Dr. Wei Wu, founder and the Council Chairman of IBC, Dear Prof. Charles Willemen, Rector of IBC, Deans of the faculties, both Academic and Administrative staff members, distinguished guests, dear students, ladies and gentlemen.
It is an honour and a privilege to me to have this opportunity to address this distinguish gathering in this memorable occasion. I would like to take this opportunity to draw your attention to a valuable aspect to which we do not normally pay much attention. That is none other than the students’ responsibility and commitment after their graduation.
Though the education is a lifelong process, graduation of the students normally supposed to be the culmination of their education. During the education, students are given chance to study the subjects, arts and crafts. As the results, they obtain knowledge and skills which are the necessary conditions for them to become full-fledged human beings. It should be emphasized here that the religious education more precisely, Buddhist education goes somewhat far beyond the normal education in its purpose. The primary aim of education is to enable the students to be resourceful in the solution of the problems connected with their own needs. In addition to produce good citizens who are capable of solving their own problems, Buddhist education expects to create the citizens who are endowed with the altruistic spirit.
The aim of education in the fullest and deepest sense of the word is to foster natural human psychological growth and development for personal maturity of moral consciousness or 'conscience' in conjunction with the unfolding of human potentials. Mature rational conscience as the 'human spirit' provides the acute sense of responsibility to oneself and to others. Buddhist education more particularly concern the value of the moral sense and tries to refine the moral sense in the mind of the students. Without refined moral sense, nobody can have altruistic spirit which is the driving force of work for oneself and others.
Today some of our students completed their education in IBC and received their certificate as a permission to go to the society and to carry on their duties. As the students of Buddhism, they have to bear in mind their proper responsibility entrusted on them by their education. In this respect it comes to my mind how the master of Buddhism, the Buddha advised his first batch of students after their training period. The Buddha led them to engage in the activities for the good of the many. Our IBC motto is also the same. Therefore, work for the good of the many is the prime duty and responsibility of our students.
In this respect, it is very important to understand what we can do for the good of the many. When we critically look at the world today, it is not difficult for us to understand what kind of things we can do for the benefit of others. The world of today is rapidly evolving to a place where people cannot live happily and peacefully due to the immoral activities taking place everywhere in the world. Those activities cannot be considered as the random events happening in the world without the knowledge of people. It is quite evident from the different types of barbarous activities which can cause severe damage to entire human society that people are ready to do any harm to others for the sake of their selfish motivations. Excessive desire for wealth and power seem to be the driving forces lying behind all those unethical and unrighteous activities.In such a social environment, it is not difficult for us to decide our responsibility towards the good of the many.
It is quite evident that people are involving such unethical activities due to the lack of refined ethical or moral sense. The people who have developed moral sense will never involve in an activity which is harmful to others. Therefore, while being morally motivated beings, if we can place others in morality, that is the highest duty and responsibility that we have to be committed for the sake of the good of the many.
We are accustom with the saying of the Buddha that giving the dhammaexcels all other offerings - Dhammadānamsabbadānamjināti. Here dhamma means none other than the principle of righteousness or ethical norms. Giving the principle of righteousness means implanting moral sense in the mind of others. It should be insisted here that the implanting moral consciousness in others’ mind can be done only by the people who have the developed moral sense. That is what the Buddha said:
Attānamevapaṭhamam – patirupenivesaye
Athaññamanusāseyya – nikilesseyyapanḍito
It means that first of all one should be in a proper position before one asks others to be good. That is why Buddhism takes every passible attempt to assure individual moral purity. All the Buddhist doctrines are based on the morality. On the other hand according to Buddhism knowledge and moral must go together. The Buddha said:
yatthasilamtatthapaññā, yattapaññātatthasilam”. Those two aspects namely wisdom and moral come to refine mutually: silaparidhovitāpaññā, paññāparifhovitamsilam”.
Implanting the moral sense effectively can be done particularly by the social leaders because they get the opportunity to lead the people. Those who finish their education and assume their duties in the society become the social leaders. Our students who have been awarded the degree certificates today are going to the society with the leading capacities and there is no doubt that they have sharpen their moral consciousness which should be one of the main qualities of the social leaders. As a teacher of IBC, I am sure that our students keep alive IBC motto that “ For the Good of The Many” in their activities in the society.
Last but not least, I wish you all the best. Thank you all for the attention shown to me.
