Golden Peacock - Culture and Morality

Culture and ethics

East and West comparison

Last year, in a column in the local newspaper titled “My Experience and Thoughts,” I wrote about young people wearing sandals and pumps entering the living room with a waxed cloth spread near the pagoda in my home. An uneducated old man came to me and discussed the following with me.

“ I like the article you wrote about the rudeness of today’s youth. You seem to place more emphasis on Eastern culture. Is that right, sir?”

" I am just one person. Whether it's in culture or in morals, I don't consider myself Eastern or Western. If I see something from the West that I think is good, I want to take it."

" It's true that our country is superior in terms of culture, isn't it, Master?"

" I don't want to say that they are better or worse. I can admit that I like them more. In terms of morals, they are not bad either."

" I'm not bad. But if we compare, we're better, aren't we?"

" Let's do this. Let's discuss this issue in two parts. (1) Culture, (2) Morality, okay?"

" Leave it, sir."

“ First, let’s discuss culture. As for culture, we Burmese people are Buddhists, so I like the influence of Buddhist culture. I like the things in the Dhamma, such as respecting those who deserve respect. However, there are some things about Burmese culture that I don’t like.”

" How are you?"

“ Since it’s a very minor issue, let me give you just one example. Let’s say girls riding bicycles. If they are big men, it’s a violation of Burmese culture. They want to say that it’s not appropriate for girls.”

" Does the teacher agree?"

“ I would like to accept the fact that the Buddhist culture you mentioned has not been destroyed, but rather its usefulness in the context of changing times. Even though it is ugly to have to ride a bicycle, you should consider its usefulness. How far is it from here?”

" What does it take to pave the way for girls, teacher?"

" In the old days, yes or no. In this day and age, we have to go to school, shop, and go out. However, in this kind of matter, I am only expressing my preference. It is not a matter of right or wrong. Please do not deny it, sir."

" Teacher, I like the idea of ​​progress."

" I don't want to accept it when people say it's progress. For example, in Russia, a father drinks alcohol and his children discipline him."

" If you come, how do you discipline me, Master?"

" It's like this. A worker used to go to a liquor store and drink after work. He came home at the height of the rain. His son told him not to. One day, his son took his friends and surrounded the liquor store and humiliated his father. When his father came out, they followed him and shouted, "You drunkard." What's the difference?"

" Is your father sober?"

" I don't think it's completely over. But I think I'll go home early."

" Please, Master."

“So, whatever you like. I think you should apologize to the father who provided for you. I don’t like this kind of humiliation. A father is the one who has to take care of his children and his wife, so he should have the freedom. If a wife has something to say, she should say it quietly. When it comes to children, even whispering is too much. I can’t accept humiliating and disciplining them in any way. That’s what I don’t like. I’m not saying it’s wrong. When it comes to a developed country, there are people who will do anything for development.”

“ I liked what you wrote about how young people in Myanmar have become less respectful towards their elders, parents, and teachers.”

" I am a person who thinks about a matter from different perspectives. When you are an adult, I will support you. I don't know if the younger generation will say that these things are confusing. But the important thing is that girls want to ride bicycles. They want to wear thin shirts. I would like to say that the Buddhist culture in the Mingalar Dharma is preserved."

" I like it, Master. Tell me about your morals, sir."

“ I would also like to divide morality into two categories. (1) Metaphysical morality. (2) Worldly morality. Metaphysical morality does not exist in the West at all. It exists only for the world.”

" They also have a connection with heaven and God, so it must be said, Master."

" It's difficult. Aren't there nine worldly things? The four auspicious things, the four phallus, and Nibbana. Do they have these?"

" If there is a heaven, Master"

" You people think of the afterlife as a worldly matter. They say that giving charity to reach heaven is also a worldly matter. In fact, as I said, there are only nine worldly matters. Without these, it is just a worldly matter."

" What if you give charity with the intention of attaining the path of enlightenment?"

" Don't talk about it like that. Even meditation is still worldly."

" Why?"

" You people are mixing up words and expressions, and the meaning is confusing. Let me ask you something. Let's say a person works to earn money. Can you call work money?"

" I can't say it, Master."

" Work is work, money is money. This is what meditation is all about. Even though it is said for the sake of the path, in the sense of work there is only the world. It should be called the world. Even if you can, you can go to the Buddha's house while practicing meditation, and you still have the world." The Buddha said that there is only the world.

" I heard you heard me"

" I've heard, you guys are mixing things up and making a mess. Even the Christian heaven is called metaphysics."

" This is my mistake, Master."

" Our discussions have gone to the sidelines. You have drawn a comparison between the morals of Westerners and the morals of our Buddhist Burmese people, haven't you?"

" Yes, of course, Master."

" They don't have the path to Nibbana, so they don't have the practice. They also have the practice to become a good person in the world."

" What is the difference between our practice and our practice?"

"What do you think?"

"Ha, we are better, Master."

"Are we the people better? Are our practices better?"

" I think both the person and the practice are good, Master."

" Okay. First, let's compare people. How many Westerners have you met?"

" I haven't seen many of you before."

"So how do we make a comparison?"

"You must have heard a lot about their country, sir."

" You must have seen a few of them yourself. Weren't there any ICS officers from the British government? How are we doing with Burmese officers?"

" They're charging high salaries, Master."

" Oh, you mean the salaries are high? In this day and age, Burmese people are earning high salaries, so are they equal to their standards?"

" I don't think that's enough, Master."

" Okay. Look at the elections. There must be some corruption in them too. But where else is there a country with as much protest as we have in Myanmar?"

" This is probably because they don't want to lose, so they may object, Master."

" I think about this too. But what I'm saying is that if people are dirty, there are many who want to be dirty."

"The fact that the rules and regulations are being torn apart and destroyed to the point of becoming so dirty is the very foundation of morality that U Nu spoke of. The foundation of morality is worldly morality."

" The teacher said that Westerners are better morally than us. So why do you want to expand?"

“ When it comes to Westerners, we can only talk about class. In England, there are upper, middle, and lower classes. The middle class is the most intelligent. It was the upper class who wanted to colonize. In terms of morality, it was the middle class (in my opinion). In this era, it can be said that the middle class is the dominant class in England. We should also take their moral standards as a model.”

" Everyone drinks alcohol, right, Master?"

" Are you saying that people who drink alcohol have no morals?"

"I have to say it, Master."

“I think you are a member of the U Nu gang.”

"We are five-precept followers"

“Have you ever drunk alcohol?”

"I don't even eat a donkey, Master."

"It's hard to discuss with you."

"Why, Master?"

"Why don't you drink alcohol? Is it because these people are bad?"

" God said so, sir."

" You and I have different hobbies. I have a hobby of exploring. It costs money. People also criticize me. I often want to know what kind of taste it is because I buy and drink from it."

" That's what the teacher tried."

"Ha...don't tell me you've tried it, it's perfect."

" Have you tried all the bad things, Master?"

" Did I say I was a kind of person? As long as I didn't hurt anyone, I would have tried it."

" All the crimes are tried?"

" Sin is bad because it hurts others. So I can't try it. I avoided it as much as I could."

" Isn't drinking alcohol a sin?"

" That's difficult. You people haven't studied the Buddha's teachings very well. The Buddha said that there are ten vices. Among those ten, drinking alcohol is not allowed. I have written extensively about this in the magazine Sumava. You are not one of those people who read magazines, so you have not read it. Okay... I don't want to talk about this anymore. Let's talk about morality."

" Isn't drinking alcohol moral, teacher?"

" I understand morality to be limited to doing or not doing harm to others, being kind to others, and not doing so."

" I mean the morality of human relations. The way to attain Nibbana is something else."

" Does the teacher not believe in the Dhamma of attaining Nibbana?"

“ It’s hard. You’re just going to go out on a limb. I’ll tell you. You can believe it or not. I’d say there’s no one in Myanmar who believes more in the Buddha’s Nibbana than I do. If it’s the same, it’s the same. I don’t think anyone can believe more than me.”

" Is that a teacher?"

" I'm saying this because you seem to doubt my beliefs. There seem to be many adults who think like you. Okay, let's stop talking about this. Let's talk about the morality of Westerners." "The teacher said that they are better than us."