This is one of the many commendations that John D. Hughes has received over many years.
September 7, 1995
MESSAGE
of
The Supreme Patriarch of the Buddhists of Bangladesh. The Sangharaj of the Bangladesh, His Magnanimous Holiness Most Ven. Shilalankar Mahathero, from Mirzapore Shanti Dham Bihara, Chittagong, Bangladesh, on the Celebration of the 65th Birthday of:
Mr. John D. Hughes
Founder of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey), Australia.
My dear John D. Hughes,
You are one of the apostles of our New World Buddhist order in Australia, and one of the pioneers of Buddhism in the Australia - New Zealand region.
I pray for your attainment of ‘Bodhisatta Parami’ in this life and may you be happy all along with all your friends far and near working hand in hand with you for the spreading of Buddhism in your continent.
I would then offer to you bountiful merits for all the good things you have completed in your life and offer bountiful merits to your abbots, friend, upasaks and upasikas as well. I’m so happy and contented to know that Buddhism continues to flourish in every corner of the world unabated even for a moment, that the 21st Century to come will hopefully usher a New Buddhist Era for the benefit of all human beings living on this planet that ‘World Peace’ will one day in this process be achieved.
Finally, I congratulate you on the Celebration of your 65th Birthday and make a presentation to you of a ‘Sandalwood Buddha Image’ as a mark of my ‘Loving Kindness’ for you, the members of your family and your friends.
Sincerely yours,
Ven. Shilalankar Mahathero
The Sangharaj of the Supreme Sangha Council of Bangladesh.
(Rendition in English: By D. P. Mozumder)
FOUNDER’S COMMENDATION DAY ACTIVITIES
SATURDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2000
COMMENDATION BY JULIE O’DONNELL @ 12.30PM
Venerable Sirs, distinguished guests, honorable guests, new visitors, Members and friends.
I welcome you here today to join the celebration of our Founder’s 69th birth anniversary. As he enters his seventieth year, commendations from near and far come to our Teacher, the Founder of this Organisation.
My name is Julie O’Donnell. I have been a Member here for 16 years. During that time I have been privileged to serve this Organisation in many executive functions and have worked closely with our Teacher on many local and international projects.
On behalf of all past and present Members and friends, I wish to say some words of commendation to our Founder John D. Hughes.
The word ‘commendation’ has a long history.
This old word comes from the Latin ‘commendatio’, meaning ‘commit’ or ‘entrust’.
In ancient times, in the Christian Church, the word referred to a liturgical office, originally ending with the prayer ‘Tibi, Domine, commendamus’ (To You, Lord, we Commend), commending the souls of the dead to God, said before burial or cremation and at any subsequent memorial service.
Later it came to mean ‘an expression of approval’, or ‘a recommendation’, or in the plural ‘respects, compliments, greetings’.
Since our Founder, John David Hughes is not a Christian, we mean to use the word today in the latter sense.
Without doubt, this year’s outstanding commendation for our Founder took the form of a NOBLE offering of 69 Buddha relics that arrived at this Centre on Father’s Day (3 September 2000 CE).
This was a rare gift from a Bodhisattva Monk who commends our Founder for his life work in being kind and giving practical help to many persons in many countries.
If you like, you may offer gifts to John after food has been given to the Sangha, and the pigeons have been set free.
At 4.00 pm today, John will explain how he intends to develop his 40 year hobby of collecting geological specimens in the form of an on-line geological museum. This virtual museum ought arouse interest in Australia and elsewhere.
In your information kit you will find mention of UMLAUT, which stands for Upwey Museum Library All Uniting Think Tank. This online project is under the protection of the Dragon King.
As all UMLAUT notes will be published online, John is planning a type of e-education for his hobby with the hope that he will be able to create interest in formations in Australia.
Australia is a vast continent of great interest to geologists because most of it has been submerged under water many times.
Traveling from place to place across or over the geology of the land by car, taxi or plane is a common experience for many of you in the pursuit of business as a householder in Australia.
There are two things to note about this travel imperative: one, is that it is for wealth that this is done; and secondly, the nagas who protect the land over which the householder travels.
But much interstate travel comes at a price for those middle-class professionals who, within their highly pressured and stressful lives look for the means to counteract the relentless strains of commuting demanded by modern work practices.
While we look very mindfully at the possibilities of Internet in education and teleconferencing, we should take time off to look at other indicators, such as the health of the indoor plants in some offices.
If you find your office plants are wilting, perhaps that is the signal to you to guard your own health.
Our Teacher has dedicated himself to time management principles, developing practices that are not only intellectually challenging but also emotionally satisfying for these professionals to try to help themselves.
When we look at our audience here today, we note that the audience is not made up mainly of Monks, Nuns or hermits, but laypersons.
We also happen to be blessed by the presence of the Monks here today.
But, in general, apart from the Monks, it is fair comment to note that the persons here today have not outwardly renounced the world, but maintain the duties of a householder.
For this reason, our Teacher has designed some secret ceremonies involving the Chief God of Wealth and the Dragon King which can be used for inner transformation in the privacy of work either in the office or while traveling for work activities.
Our Teacher is aware that many of you feel that you cannot afford the time to have nothing to do all day but formal Dhamma practice.
The most admired elegance is to find a satisfactory ritual for ceremonial actions. Of all footprints, that of the elephant is the most admired.
Our Teacher has already arranged that those persons who are not able to hear and see the secrecy of the Tantras would leave this place before I do the offerings of the painted eyes for the Dragon King’s attendants.
By offering the three sweets (white sugar, brown sugar and honey) he wishes these offerings to be the nutrient or food you need for use in your direct experience of Dharma knowledge.
May you come to afford to get more quality time to practice.
VAJRASATTVA PRACTICE WILL BE DONE IN A SPECIAL AFTERNOON SESSION at 3.30 pm in the Sariputta Room.
The Officiating Practitioner is Julie O’Donnell. She performs the THREE offerings as the Tantric form of VAJRAYOGINI.
1. OFFERINGS TO THE DRAGON KING
2. OFFERINGS TO THE BUDDHIST GODDESSES OF LEARNING, MUSIC AND POETRY IN THE FORM OF SARASVATI, THE COHORT OF MANJUSRI.
3. PRELIMINARY OFFERINGS TO THE GOD OF WEALTH VAISARAVANA.
Reference
1. Bunce, Prof. Fredrick W., An Encyclopaedia of Buddhist Deities Demigods, Godlings, Saints & Demons, Vol. 1, 1994, D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd., India, ISBN 81-246-0018-X, pp. 597, 574, 479.
Endnote
Sarasvati - (Skt) (Chin. Ta-pien-ts’ai-t’ien nu, Miao-yin mu; Jap.: Benten; Mon.: Kele-yin ukin tegri; Tib.: Nag-gi-lha-mo, dByangs-can-ma, [phon. Eng.] Yangchenma)(“the melodious lady” or “melodious voice”) A Hindu deity who Vajrayana Buddhism accepts into their pantheon. The deification of the river into the Goddess of Learning, Music and Poetry, she replaced Prajnaparamita as Goddess of Wisdom through tantric influence. Conferring learning, intelligence and memory, she is associated with Dhyani Bodhisattva Manjusri being his shakti. Face: one, calm; arms/hands: two, right hand in varada mudra, left holding a white lotus (padma), or holding a stringed instrument (vina); mudra: varada; legs: two; colour: yellow; vahana: lotus throne; shakti: of Dhyani Bodhisattva Manjusri. Sarasvati’s various forms/emanations are: Arya-Sarasvati, Caturbhuja-Sita-Sarasvati, dByangs-can-ma, Dvibhuja-Vajrasarasvati, Dvibhuja-Vajrasarasvati, Mahasarasvati, Rakta-Sarasvati, Rakta-Sarasvati (fo-mu), Sadbhuja-Sarasvati (fo-mu), Sadbhuja-Vajrasarasvati, Sarasvati (devi), Sita Sarasvati, Vajrasarasvati, Vajrasarada, Vajravina Sarasvati, Vina-Sarasvati. (Ramesh S. Gupte, Iconography of the Hindus, Buddhist and Jains; Antoinette K. Gordon, The Iconography of Tibetan Lamaism; Alice Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Their History, Iconography, and Progessive Evolution through the Northern Buddhist Countries; Walter Eugene Clark, Two Lamaistic Pantheons; Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, ed., Guhyasa-meaja tantra or Tatheagataguhyaka; Rene de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet: The Cult and Iconography of the Tibetan Protective Deities.)
- (2) - An “independent feminine bodhisattva’ as identified by Gordon. Face: one, calm; arms/hands: two, varada mudra, and holding a stringed instrument (vina); mudra: varada; legs: two; ornaments: a five leafed crown, earring, tight necklace, armlet, wristlet, bracelet, anklet, a wrap for the lower body and one for the upper, a garland to the thigh and one to the navel, a girdle (wide belt) and a sash; colour: white; vahana: lotus throne. (Antoinette K. Gordon, The Iconography of Tibetan Lamaism.)
- (3) - Face: one, calm; arms/hands: two, holding a stringed instrument (vina); legs: two; asana: ardhaparyankasana; colour: white; vahana: lotus throne. (Antoinette K. Gordon, The Iconography of Tibetan Lamaism.)
- (4) - Face: one, calm; arms/hands: two, right in varada mudra, left holds a lotus (padma); mudra: varada; legs: two; asana: standing; colour: white; vahana: lotus throne. (Antoinette K. Gordon, The Iconography of Tibetan Lamaism.)
- (5) - Face: one, calm; arms/hands: four, principle hands hold a stringed instrument (vina), other hands hold a lotus (padma) and manuscript (pustaka, sher-phyin) at shoulder level; mudra: varada; legs: two; asana: seated; colour: white; vahana: lotus throne. (Antoinette K. Gordon, The Iconography of Tibetan Lamaism.)
- (6) - tantric form. Face: three, andry; arms/hands: six, right hands hold manuscript, sword (khadga, ral-gri) and ritual chopper (karttrika, grig-gug), left hands hold Brahmakapala, prayer rolls (Tib.: mani) and wheel (chakra, hkhor-lo, hkhor-lo); body: warlike pose; legs: two; colour: red; vahana: lotus throne. (Ramesh S. Gupte, Iconography of the Hindus, Buddhist and Jains; Antoinette K. Gordon, The Iconography of Tibetan Lamaism.)
- (7) - (Tib.: dByangs-can-ma) (“melodious voice”) Companion goddess to rNam-sras-yang-gsang-phyag-mtshan-bzhi-pa. Her direction is South. Face: one, angry; arms/hands: two, right hand holds iron goad/hook (ankusha, lcags-kyu), left holds fly whisk (chamara or chauri, mga-yab); legs: two; ornaments: bone ornaments; colour: red; companion: to Tshogs-bdag-mgon-po-seng-ge’i-gdan-can. (Rene de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet: The Cult and Iconography of the Tibetan Protective Deities.)
- (8) - shakti of sPyod-pa’i-dbang-po. Whose direction is Northeast and is a companion to dPa’-bo-chig-grub-pa-las-byung-ba’i-jambhala-lha-mang a tantric form of Jambhala (Skt.). Face: one, calm, jeweled diadem; arms/hands: two, right holds varada mudra, left an ear of rice; body: rich silk garments; legs: two; ornaments: bejeweled; colour: yellow; shakti: of sPyod-pa’i-dbang-po; companion: to dPa’-bo-chig-grub-pa-las-byung-ba’i-jambhala-lha-mang. (Rene de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet: The Cult and Iconography of the Tibetan Protective Deities.)
The following speech will be delivered by John D. Hughes.
HOW UMLAUT MODES OF THOUGHTS WILL INDUCE SOUNDER PROJECTS
Venerable Sangha, distinguished guests, honourable guests, new visitors, Members and friends,
I welcome you here today and thank you for attending the Celebration of my 69th birth anniversary.
As I enter my 70th year, it is gratifying to receive the commendations from many beings.
These are the results of many past actions on sound projects that I have attended to in past times. Some of these past times were so long ago they could be called ancient times.
I venerate the great Teachers of ancient times and I have been inspired many times by reading/hearing/knowing of their heroic battles for more sound projects.
These great Teachers who inspired me to use UMLAUT modes of thought are called jina.
Jina is a sanskrit word meaning “a conqueror. One of the many terms used to describe the Buddha, though more usually applied to the Jains who have adopted it as a special title for their own leaders”. (1)
One jina was Naropa.
He had heard much and read much and this was the basis for his scholarship.
This scholarship enabled him to have the clarity to see that what is important in the worldly sense and to extend the seven yogas.
These seven yogas were explained by Naropa who was Marpa’s teacher.
The seven yogas are the excellent activities achieved in a harmonious fashion.
These are;
1. Eating food,
2. Wearing clothes,
3. Sleeping,
4. Walking,
5. Talking,
6. Bathing and
7. Offering torma. (2)
They are not the property of anyone in particular and can be applied and practiced by lay persons.
By becoming mindful of these practices that every human being does, we do not need a classroom situation. So, when you are walking, you know you are walking only.
If, as you walk, you daydream that you are sitting down at the football grand final in Melbourne or attending the Olympic Games in Sydney or fighting your enemies, and do not abort such baby thoughts, you are not a jina.
If, when this was being written, you had the privilege of sitting alongside the author, it would be a form of daydream if you chose to read an earlier draft of this speech instead of helping the author and learn what is being taught in real time. You would not be a jina.
If, as you walk, you see the changing landscape far from centres of human population as if it was a history lesson having the equivalent of geological poetry, then you have the possibility of understanding the thinking of those nagas or devas of mountains who guard such places.
If you know how to, these long life beings will tell you of their version of the history of the place for tens, hundreds, thousands of years, and, if you are quiet enough, for millions of years.
Does not this type of history knowledge sound similar to the historical dating stuff that is coming from geology and kindred related sciences?
The well-disciplined studious geological scientists are the new (but not original) story tellers of the history of the land.
For those of you living in this dhamma-ending age, I am going to write a popular pathway to help you.
You have not yet aroused that burning desire needed to profit from studying and learning from the ancient texts and practicing the ancient disciplines.
However, I have created an online path for you and your children that can build on your natural desire to devote a little of your time in becoming interested in the rocks and minerals of your home town, wherever that may be.
Perhaps, you may care to think of a time when you thought it might be fun to explore the scientific study of crust formation of the earth with its rocks, minerals, ores, and so on.
This idea is so very ancient in humankind thinking, that it generates a certain sense of awe.
For too many past lives, we worked hard to afford the luxury of daubing our bodies with special colored expensive pigments that were dug from the earth, sometimes being too poor to afford colored feathers so you wore a colored metal headdresses like a popinjay, been envious of other’s mineral jewels or their collected alabaster vases.
In many lives, you labored for masters who practiced pottery manufacture with coloring from rare chemicals for glazes.
Each of these trades generates our gods and gives us many, many versions of religions.
By viewing geological specimens with the right view you can remember those lives.
Then you are ready to overcome your objections held in the present time to study.
Your study minds are not yet strong enough this time for direct study (without a Teacher).
The UMLAUT PROJECT ONLINE will not mention the fact that I am interested in holding the full teachings of the Buddha, both the Sutras and Tantras by means of which you have been taught by me many times.
The aim of the project is to teach you to build good study minds, make you comfortably rich within a reasonable time and perhaps at a later date you will want to know more.
This path is UMLAUT but to follow it I need your help.
The rarer products of geology discovery are the ingredients for offerings to the God of Wealth.
Vaisaravana is the God of Wealth.
In ancient times, a ritual of fire sacrifice was done to this God. In this place at Upwey, Victoria, we live in a rain forest which is very susceptible to damage by fire.
Therefore, we do not do fire offerings in this location.
According to the Buddhist Yoga C.M. Chen, the Chief God of Wealth is praised with the following stanza:
“You have achieved the Bodhisattva unmoveable stage.
None can compare with it even pratyeka or sage.
You have ten kinds of sovereigns like Life and Wealth.
Please give me your Great Compassion and all advantage.” (3)
By offering the powers of the five kinds of gems today, our Teacher hopes you may get the realisation which is useful to save beings from the lower states to pure kingdom.
Today, you may view these five types of gem offerings that are from my hobby museum collection.
It is intended that these groups of the five types of gems are to be digitally photographed and placed on a proposed Museum website.
Then the image on screen (like those real gems here today in the glass display case ) can be offered by our online UMLAUT site viewers.
The five colors of the gems on display today are:
- white - coweries or pearls or silver or crystal
- blue - blue gem of sapphire
- yellow - amber or gold
- red - red agate or red coral
- green - green jade (Yu-nan jade)
By the power of the offerings proscribed, I wish that present UMLAUT helpers increase their spiritual foods of endurance and diligence, samadhi and longevity.
May they help us to attain perfect merits.
You can take my word, it is not easy to assemble these correct offerings for this practice.
I obtained these rare things only by sustained effort over many years of collecting.
Yet, you can soon view online what most of you cannot yet own for yourself - these five types of gems.
Can you get a result equal to the merit made with offering real gems by offering an image of these gems on a screen?
Here are words to encourage you.
Once in Calcutta, India, there was a girl who wondered if she could offer artificial gold or silver foil to the God of Wealth. Her mother asked Yoga Chen who gave instructions and gifts of how to do it.
These poor business persons in Calcutta became inspired and got some help from the God of Wealth.
But a rich person should always use genuine gold foil, as he or she will get no results if he or she tries to cheat the God of Wealth.
If you offer freely gifts to my collection, I can use them to make digital photographs online.
In this Dhamma-ending age, some incorrect offerings have been done by stingy persons with very little result.
These persons then come to slander the God of Wealth which unfortunately brings them to poverty.
Yoga Chen prayed to the northern God Vaisaravana who appeared in the northern direction of his hermitage in Kalimpong, India.
Yoga Chen gives credit to the God of Wealth who lives to propagate the Dhamma throughout the whole world.
ONE OF MY MAIN FUNCTIONS HERE TODAY IS TO ENSURE THAT THE DHAMMA TEACHINGS FOLLOW THE ORDER OF PROCEEDINGS OF KNOWING THE TIME, KNOWING THE PLACE, KNOWING THE ASSEMBLY, KNOWING THE RITUAL.
Julie O’Donnell will now perform the gem offerings according to the secret forms.
May your minds follow this practice in the near future.
There is a certain elegance that comes with a private display on a special occasion by following these forms.
This elegance is a secret form that comes from combining Ch’an (Zen) of the “Way of the Mountains” in the distinguished - or even idiosyncratic - performance of collecting and cataloguing my geological specimens as ceremonial actions - to help others along the path.
On behalf of you all, I wish to thank you to Julie O’Donnell for performing the five gems offerings.
Thank you to the devas and devatas for assisting her in performing her duty with these offerings.
SADDHU SADDHU SADDHU.
To assist you with your understanding, I would like to advise you of THE TYPE OF TAXES THAT DESTROY WEALTH.
Today, I want to introduce a couple of ideas that are not likely to be very popular in the hearts and minds of most tax collectors.
The Offering Ritual just performed by Julie O’Donnell was on advice received by her Teacher who needs to get more correct wealth so that he can increase the output of Dhamma and good advice that we can place online with servers from this place.
For quite a time into the future, we plan to add to our websites, information that helps the proper generation of your wealth.
There are a few things you think are O.K. but they need checking to see if they may be in error.
For example, what do you think about raising taxes on alcohol?
In particular, our Teacher wishes to warn persons that the net result of certain types of taxes causes wealth to diminish in the country that imposes such taxes.
So today, on his 69th birth anniversary, as he enters his 70th year, he wishes to repeat a few lines from Yoga Chen who stated it is not the right way to wealth to: “produce and sell secret harmful drugs to cheat the youth, or get tax from prostitutes or opium sellers, or tax the liquor and tobacco in pretext of stop(ing its use).”
References
1. Humphreys, Christmas, A Popular Dictionary of Buddhism, Curzon Press, London, pp. 99-100.
Trungpa, Chogyam (translator of Tsang Nyon Heruka), The Life of Marpa The Translator - Seeing Accomplishes All, 1986, Shambala, Boston & London, ISBN 0-87773-377-5, p. 98.
3.Chen, C.M., A Systematized Collection of Chenian Booklets, Nos. One - One Hundred, Vol. Two Nos. 63-100, Booklet No. 80, USA, p.1326.