Such a hurry!
We inhabit a world that is moving rapidly. I’m not referring to the 107,000 km/hr speed at which the Earth orbits the sun or the 1,600 km/hr speed at which the equator rotates around its axis. What I mean here is that technology has been advancing at an unprecedented pace in recent years, and our lives have naturally and, in some cases, forcefully had to adapt. Long gone are the days when smartphones were a novelty inasmuch as even making such a reference makes me sound ancient. Even five-year-olds can be seen sporting a smartphone these days. Possessing the latest flagship smartphone has been a burgeoning trend over the last decade, and unlike some that rise and fall over a few years, this one looks like it will stick. Since the inception of the internet back in the early 90s, the invention of smartphones in the naughties (00s), self-driving cars in the 2010s, and space tourism, this decade seems to be the way the world has been advancing over the past few decades. We are witnessing unprecedented rapid development in virtually every field of human endeavour, and for the foreseeable future, it seems each generation to come will continue to enjoy exponential growth in technological advancement at a degree not experienced by the generation before it. Undoubtedly, this has brought about a plethora of positive impacts on our lives. Modern technology has made our lives more convenient, efficient, safer and connected. This is all well and good, but there’s just one paradox: If all of these technological advancements are supposed to free us from the monotonous drudgery of daily life, why do we all feel so pressed for time? Why are increasing numbers of our workforce taking time out from work due to stress-related mental issues? Did you know that globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity? Moreover, depression and anxiety are major contributors to suicide, which is one of the leading causes of death among 15-29 year olds. Astonishingly, in the US alone, which many consider the most technologically advanced nation on the planet, a smorgasbord of comforts and conveniences offered by the modern lifestyle has failed to do much at all to curb the suicide-related deaths occurring at a rate of 1 life lost every 10 minutes. On the contrary, the shocking reality is that this modern lifestyle is often accused of being the culprit behind this menace, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to vindicate it. The toll on valuable human life doesn’t stop there. We have become dangerously distractable. We are crashing our cars in record numbers because we find it impossible to wait until we get to our destination or even pull up by the roadside to interact with the non-stop flow of messages and updates which compete for our attention. Unfortunately for us, they always win; we always lose. Why do we feel we have to answer that text right away? We think it rude to keep someone waiting for a few minutes, but even more so, we feel the need to have everything we desire in an instant. Hence, even our coffee is marketed as ‘instant coffee’. Instant coffees and takeaways have become indispensable components of our lives. That’s another one that won’t go away anytime soon, very likely, never! We tend to tear our hair out if a website takes over three seconds to load. Shouldn't life in the fast lane feel a little more fun and a little less anxious? The Germans call this cultural phenomenon "Eilkrankheit." In English, that translates to "hurry sickness." 

When we have to make fast decisions, the autopilot brain kicks in, and we rely on our learned behaviours, reflexes, and cognitive biases to help us perceive and respond quickly. This is a natural phenomenon which is essential for our physical safety. It is responsible for the fight or flight response and, in most cases, can save our lives. However, an inherent weakness of this reaction pathway is that it features very little, if any at all, logical reasoning or contemplative analysis. Therefore, it is hardly reliable when the situation demands prudence and discernment. When we start tapping into this natural self-defence mechanism for purposes other than our physical safety, we risk misusing it, potentially leading to harmful long-term consequences. As we become increasingly dissatisfied with any delay to mental gratification, we become increasingly reliant on our autopilot mechanism to achieve it. This poses a significant risk as the choices we make in this mode of reaction are typically irrational, emotional and sometimes downright nonsensical. Here’s where Buddhism can help.

Buddhism in a Nutshell

Most of our readers are likely to be from a Buddhist background or at least grew up in and around Buddhist communities where Buddhist rituals, customs, ideals and beliefs were not alien to them. So, for most of you, the question ‘What is Buddhism?’ might sound trivial and redundant. But I like to challenge our readers: if you had to introduce Buddhism to a friend, a colleague, or even a foreign visitor on a journey of spiritual tourism who’s never come across Buddhism, what explanation would you offer them? If I had to encapsulate the whole essence of Buddhism into one word, that would be ‘kindness’. It’s a virtue upon which most religions and philosophies place great value. The bedrock of Buddhism is about being kind to each other and being a noble companion. If you ever get a chance to visit our monastery, you will get to experience this quality in full effect. From the moment you step foot through the gate, where you will be greeted by a full-hearted ‘Theruwan Saranai!’ from an Anagarika mahaththaya (someone who is undergoing training to be a monk), which is about the most powerful blessing one can receive, many options are made available for you to generate merits to your heart's content. How many opportunities have you had to serve alms to over a hundred Buddha puthras? This is in addition to the one-on-one counselling sessions, Dhamma discussions and group sermons, all available as free services, all while your parked cars are guarded. Plus, none leave the premises on an empty stomach.

Another common question that often pops up during conversations about Buddhism is, what is Nibbana or Nirvana, referred to as the end goal or destination one’s mind can reach in Buddhism? The instant answer is that Nibbana is a state of mind where you are okay with anything.

Pleasure & Happiness
Humans with untrained minds have desires and are constantly susceptible to urges. When we get a craving or a desire for something, we give into temptation, not knowing that the opposite of this is the initial step of what we ought to do to address this problem. Such individuals are only left with two options: fall into temptation or suppress it. 

Let us imagine you enjoying your day off, scrolling through social media feeds when you scrolled past a few posts relating to food items. Then your stomach starts to rumble, and a thought manifests: “I fancy a bit of cake”. The angel on your left shoulder says, “That’s not necessary; you just had dinner”, while the devil on your right shoulder says, “This is not dinner; it’s dessert, and there’s always room for dessert”. This reminds me of a famous fable in Sri Lankan folklore about Andare. Andare became the court jester by performing comical acts, hilarious poems and witty banter. He once proved to the king that his ever-present appetite for dessert was justified by stuffing a room with people, and when he escorted the king to the room, people somehow managed to squeeze the king into it. Similarly, the devil on your left shoulder channelled his inner Andare and convinced you to have a piece of cake. You came up with a few seemingly valid reasons to justify your motive and acquired a piece of cake. Convincing you to take that action was a piece of cake for the devil, no pun intended. This is why the Buddha described the mind as an illusionist. It creates an extravagant future based on ideas that manifest in your mind. When one’s mind becomes possessed and consumed with a thought, it becomes unbearable, and you relieve that vexation like a pressure cooker that lets off steam when it becomes uncontainable. This method is flawed because no matter how much cake you consume, while it does cure your hunger, as all food items do, it will never satisfy a mind-desiring cake. If it contains happiness, the more you consume, the happier you should become. Would you not agree? But what happens next? The pleasure generated by each bite diminishes in reverse proportion to the number of bites. In other words, it gives diminishing returns. If you really think cake has a “happiness” it can offer you, why not make cake the only item of food you consume? See how that’ll work out for you. If a cake is so-called ‘delicious’, how come there are people who are not fans of it? Whenever desires and wants arise in your minds, these are the questions I want our readers to debate, and with further practice, ask yourselves these questions even before such thoughts arise. On the other hand, suppressing them is also not the answer because, eventually, there will come a point when the pressure becomes unbearable; you will then feel as if an inner monster has seized control over your mind, and it won’t stop until you feed it; that is by consuming the cake. Until you slay this monster, you will not know peace. Hence, the Lord Buddha uttered, 

Tanhaya jayati soko
Tanhaya jayati bhayan
Tanhaya vippamuttassa
Natthi soko kuto bhayam.

Attachment begets sorrow, attachment begets fear. For him who is free from attachment, there is no sorrow; whence fear?
I want our viewers to realise you have desires and wants due to the wrong views or misguided knowledge placed in your minds over time by your acquaintances and media. The more you contemplate this while going through life as you usually would, the more you will eventually come to realise this is true. How many trips have I been on, how many movies have I watched, how many songs have I listened to? How come I still want more of the same? Why am I still not satisfied? A bucket filled to the brim can’t take on any more water. This is what the Lord Buddha realised at the root of the Asatu Bo-tree. He was enlightened already, he was happy already, and there was no need to go searching elsewhere. All that was required was to come to this understanding, to become aware!

Story of the Weaver-girl 
This is a story of girl who benefitted from the Buddha’s teaching despite being in a hurry. While residing at the monastery near Aggavala shrine in the country of Alavi, the Buddha and his disciples were invited to an alms-giving ceremony. At the conclusion of this ceremony, the Buddha gave a discourse on the true nature of the aggregates. The main points the Buddha stressed on that day are as follows:

"Life and death are manifestations that occur when the respective causes align. I must certainly die; my life ends in death. Life is not permanent; death is permanent."

The Buddha also exhorted the audience to be always mindful and to strive to perceive the true nature of the aggregates. He also said, "As one who is armed with a stick or a spear is prepared to meet an enemy (e.g. a poisonous snake), so also, one who is ever mindful of death will face death mindfully. He would then leave this world for a good destination (sugati)." Many people did not take the above exhortation seriously, but a sixteen-year-old weaver girl clearly understood the message. After giving the discourse, the Buddha returned to the Jetavana monastery.

After a lapse of three years, one day, as the Buddha surveyed the world through his absorption of infinite compassion, a faculty unique to a Supreme Buddha, he saw the young weaver through his divine eye. He knew the time was ripe for the girl to attain Sotapatti Fruition. So, the Buddha came to the country of Alavi to expound the dhamma for the second time. When the girl heard that the Buddha had come again with five hundred bhikkhus, she wanted to go and listen to the discourse given by the Buddha. However, her father had also asked her to wind some thread spools, which he needed urgently, so she promptly wound them and took them to her father. On the way to her father, she stopped for a moment at the outer fringe of the audience, who had come to listen to the Buddha.

Meanwhile, the Buddha knew that the young weaver would come to listen to his discourse; he also knew that the girl would die when she got to the weaving shed. Therefore, it was paramount that she should listen to the Dhamma on her way to the weaving shed, not on her return. So, when the young weaver appeared on the fringe of the audience, the Buddha looked at her. Seeing Him looking at her, she dropped her basket and respectfully approached the Buddha. Then, He asked her these four questions, and she answered all of them in dialogue.

“Where have you come from?” 
“I do not know.” 
“Where are you going?” 
“I do not know.” 
“Don't you know?” 
“Yes, I do know.” 
“Do you know?” 
“I do not know, Venerable Sir.”

The Buddha was satisfied with her explanation and said to the audience, "Most of you will not have understood clearly the meaning of the answers given by the young weaver. Those who are ignorant are in darkness; they are just like the blind."

The Buddha then spoke in verse: Blind are the people of this world: only a few see clearly with insight. Just as only a few birds escape from the net, only a few get to Nibbana. 

Andhabhuto ayan loko
Tanuke'ttha vipassati
Sakuno jalamuttova
Appo saggaya gacchati.

At the end of the discourse, the young weaver attained Sotapatti Fruition. 

A Vast Ocean 
The Dhamma is so profound and is as infinitely vast as it is deep. It’s a subject that is only comprehensible by a Supreme Buddha. Though it might seem impossible, hope is not lost. Luckily for mere mortals such as us, the Dhamma we need to realise to achieve our salvation is equivalent to a fraction of a water droplet from this ocean. We can do this! Let’s put the effort in and soldier on towards our salvation! 

In part two of this article, we will delve deeper into more of the salient teachings of the Buddha and introduce you to even more techniques to practise the Dhamma in your fast-paced, busy day-to-day lives. So do out watch for part 2 of this article’s namesake, and may the Noble Triple Gem bless you all!