In Conversation With Venerable Thitadhammo -- by Jeffrey Po

Venerable Thitadhammo (Shih Fa Shan) was raised in a Christian environment in Singapore. As a youth, he already exhibited a strong affinity to religion, leading him to devote himself to religion. However, his continual search for the Truth and the meaning of life and the end to suffering led him to Buddhism. To attain a better understanding of Buddhism, he started by enrolling for a short term meditation retreat in Thailand. His fervent pursuit of Buddhism saw him taking his monastic vows and his ordination as a monk later.

Venerable Thitadhammo's meditation practice led him to study meditation under several meditation masters. His experience in various meditation techniques and his close involvement in the Vipassana Educational Foundation in Taiwan in meditation courses enable him to share some insights regarding meditation practices.

Regarding Meditation Practice

JPo: What problems do most meditators encounter and how can they be resolved?

Ven: Many meditators fail to follow through because they find it difficult for various reasons to connect their meditation practice to their everyday life and the issues that surface. To resolve this, I believe that they should not regard meditation practice as a regimen by itself but as part of their "life-style" from the onset. Once this insight is gained, meditators can reinforce it further at the cognitive level. After this, the meditator can approach the meditation master for a more precise and in-depth technique to strengthen the practice.

JPo: How would a meditator know the Jhannic stage that he has reached? This seems to be an issue with many meditators. What are your comments please?

Ven: Before one begins serious meditation practice, the meditator should find a meditation master who is able to teach, guide and enable him to grow in the meditation practice. To understand which Jhannic stage has been reached and how the next Jhannic stage can be reached, the meditator should discuss and relate his/ her experiences with the meditation master whose advice is usually taken as a reference point. Otherwise, by merely relying on the Buddhists texts, it will be a long process of trial and error and guesswork.

JPo: What happens if the meditation master conducts a short course then leaves the country?

Ven: A serious meditation practitioner needs the close guidance of a meditation master. As most courses are short, the course may end before the meditator can attain the appropriate level of awareness to fully comprehend what is going on. That is the greatest stumbling block for someone starting meditation practice. If the meditator finds it difficult to contact the meditation teacher by the normal means of communication such as telephone, email, faxes and so on, he/she may not have a reference point to aid in meditation practice. Left on his/her own, progress may be slow and arduous.

JPo: So do you suggest some understanding of Buddhist psychology would be useful to the meditator?

Ven: It will be good if the meditator has some appreciation of this subject, but it is not critical to the meditation practice. More importantly, the meditator should know the Dhamma that is common to all the three traditions well. For instance, the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Noble Path, the Three Characteristics of Existence, the Vicissitudes of Life, Kamma and Rebirth, the Law of Dependent Origination - which is foundational and must be applied constantly in practice. These laws, once understood in the proper perspectives, provide a very strong anchor to meditation practices (mental development). Without them as anchor, the ego may override the meditator and may lead the meditator astray.

JPo: It is noted that you are conducting many courses related to stress management and lifestyle of living. How are they related to traditional Buddhist practices?

Ven: For starters, there should be no difference between lifestyle practices and Buddhist practices. Lifestyle must incorporate the basic Dhamma and basic meditation practice. Buddhist teachings delve into the depth of human psyche, but beginners should be allowed to develop themselves gradually, before proceeding to the deeper aspects of the Dhamma. Moreover, today's material on lifestyle developments are bordering on the interpretations of Buddhist teachings as well as taking a load off the practice.

JPo: How does the modern person in the course of daily living and especially within the secular society that he lives in tries to maintain the Buddhist precepts?

Ven: In today's modern context, we have been conditioned to thrive and to be successful on the suffering of others. Put it this way, you won't have a million dollars in your bank account, if there aren't anyone out there with a million dollars worth of suffering! So the more suffering you create or cause, then the mega-bucks will come in, in business, even religion - all religions. Once we understand that by our actions others suffer, we will refrain from those unwholesome actions. It is with this understanding that we will become more careful of our actions and behaviors and try to maintain the Buddhist precepts and perspectives.

Being actively involved in World Fellowship of Buddhist Youths in Bangkok as well as Chinese Young Buddhist Association in Taiwan, Venerable Thitadhammo spoke to Jeffrey regarding Buddhist youth and leadership training.

Regarding Youth Dhamma

JPo: As a final wrap-up, what will your advice be to Buddhist organisations in Singapore on how to "attract" young people and "fence-sitters" to Buddhism?

Ven: Technically, we have two key issues. The first issue is from my experience in Malaysia and Thailand, most young people under the guidance of their parents receive their Dhamma education in Sunday schools and up to the age of 12 years. After that, in the absence of specific programs and lack of family support to engage the youths, the youths drop off. Also, youth development is the area that many Buddhist organizations have under-invested in. Buddhist organizations must adopt visions of looking ahead 10 years down the road and plan and do what is necessary now for returns in the longer term. The second issue focuses on the development of leadership in tertiary institutions, where there are such programs - we have to seek the wisdom behind the training because there are extremely few organizations that will be a receptacle to help further their skills and abilities after graduation. Training them is one part of the solution but the lack of follow - through opportunities to serve and help in Buddhist organizations nullifies all our efforts!

JPo: Thank you Venerable for your valuable time and for providing much food for thoughts.

Venerable Thitadhammo will be holding "Lifestyle Meditation" workshop on Oct. 15 with an introductory talk "Conditioning Lifestyle" on Oct. 14 at Tai Pei Buddhist Centre respectively. Admission is free. All are welcome.