Peace and harmony rarely descend on Parliament, but this week a delegation of monks and nuns brought the teachings of Buddha to New-Zealand politicians.
About 35 Buddhist monks and nuns and 25 laypeople from across New Zealand attended a ceremony to gift Dhammapada – a book of teachings – to the Clerk of the House, Mary Harris.
The scripture – more than 400 short sayings attributed to Buddha – was blessed by the Dalai Lama in December and then sent to 30 temples and centres around New Zealand before being presented at Parliament’s Maori Affairs select committee room on Monday.
Among those who took part in the prayers were Ajahn Tiradhammo, abbot and founder of Bodhinyanarama Buddhist Monastery in Stokes Valley, Tibetan monk Geshe Wangchen, and Bhante Jinalankara, the Sri Lankan abbot at Tawa’s Dhamma Gavesi Meditation Centre.
“The Buddhist community of New Zealand felt it was important that there was a text for the people to use,” said Joan Buchanan, of the New Zealand Buddhist Council. “Buddha was a teacher, not a god, and these are his teachings for someone to follow for peace of mind and happiness.”
The idea stemmed from a similar gift to politicians in Australia, where the book was presented to the Federal Parliament in Canberra and added to the despatch box last year, she said..
Three translations of the text – Pali, the original language of Buddhist scriptures, Chinese and English – were bound into one book for the New Zealand Parliament. The English translation was done by Ajahn Munindo, a respected abbot who was born in Te Awamutu and now teaches in Britain. There are a few practising Buddhist MPs, including Labour’s Darien Fenton.
Source: stuff.co.nz
