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one’s desire or attachment to one’s body becomes extreme, it is very effective to meditate on the impure aspects of the body, particularly to reflect on its source, its constitution and its functions, so that one will have a more realistic and moderate outlook on the body.

      Similarly, when our attitude towards our material possessions and wealth is not proper, it can lead to an extreme attachment towards such things as our property, houses and belongings. This can lead to an inability to feel contented. If that happens, then one will always remain in a state of dissatisfaction, always wanting more. In a way, one is then really poor, because the suffering of poverty is the suffering of wanting something and feeling the lack of it. So even though one may have a lot of material possessions, if one is mentally poor, then one will always feel lacking and will always want more.

      On the other hand, material facilities are quite crucial for society, because when individuals acquire material possessions and develop materially, it contributes in a way to the well-being of the society and the community. For that you need a certain degree of what I would call healthy competition, because without competition perhaps there might not be such good progress and material development. But it is still quite important to be aware of what type of competition we need, which is a sort of friendly competition that would not seek the destruction or the downfall of rivals or other people, but rather would act as a stimulating factor for growth and progress.

      Personally, I can see some parallels to the need for competition in material development in spiritual development in Buddhism. In Buddhism, the foundation of the path is taking refuge in the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma and the sangha (the spiritual community). The Buddha, being a fully Enlightened being, is very difficult to emulate. You may draw inspiration from the example of the Buddha, but you can’t really compete with him, whereas when you take refuge in the sangha, the spiritual community, within the community there may be spiritual companions who are at the very beginning of the path to Enlightenment. When you reflect upon the qualities of the sangha, then you can get a sense of encouragement – you feel as if you can compete with the others. This is not really a negative competition; it is a healthy competition. Also, you can emulate the example of others ahead of you, with the confidence that you can reach their stage.

      Now when we talk about objects of enjoyment or desire and material well-being, Buddhist literature mentions five types of object of desire: form, sound, odours, tastes and tactile sensations. Whether or not these objects of enjoyment give rise to happiness, satisfaction and contentment, or, conversely, give rise to suffering and dissatisfaction depends very much on how you apply your faculty of intelligence.

      Similarly, just as in the case of material objects, one’s relations to one’s friends and companions have different potentials. In some cases, a certain type of interaction with one’s friends or companions could lead to additional suffering, frustration and dissatisfaction. A certain type of interaction can also lead to satisfaction, a sense of fulfilment and happiness. Again, the outcome of our interactions depends upon the application of intelligence.

      Another important issue is sexual relations. Sexual relations are part of nature and without them there would be no more human beings – that is clear. But to go to the extreme, to a sort of blind love, often creates problems and more misery. I think the main purpose of sexual relations is reproduction, the creation of beautiful new young babies. One must not have just the desire for sexual pleasure, but also a sense of responsibility, a sense of commitment. If we look at other species, I think some are very admirable. For example, certain birds, such as swans, base their relationships solely on a sense of responsibility and they mate for life. This is very beautiful! Some other animals, like dogs, do not have that kind of responsibility and just enjoy the sexual act, leaving the mother with the entire responsibility. This, I think, is awful!

      I think as human beings we must follow nature, but the more civilized manner for sexual relations is not to seek just temporary satisfaction. If one does not see the sense of responsibility and marriage, this is short-sighted. Sometimes people ask me about marriage. Of course I have no experience of it, but I am quite sure about one thing: marriage with too much haste is dangerous. First you must have a long period to examine one another and afterwards, when you have genuine confidence that you can live together, then you should marry. That is the proper way.

      It seems that many families in these modern times have problems. One reason is that sexual freedom is too extreme. Moreover, part of your modern culture promotes sex and sexual things and I think this is not very healthy. On the other hand, if we compare sex with violence, then I think sex is better! But often because of sex, violence is also created. I think in reality they are very interlinked.

      While the most important thing in family life is children, birth control is also extremely important. Of course, from the Buddhist viewpoint, each individual human life is very precious. From that viewpoint, birth control is not good. But at the same time, the world’s population is simply getting too great. Perhaps five billion people can be sustained if all the natural resources are utilized properly, and, according to some scientists, another two or three more billion may be acceptable. But I think it is better if we have a smaller number of people; this is more peaceful and more friendly. With this larger interest then, the conclusion is quite clear that we have to use birth control for the benefit of all humanity. Birth control is very necessary.

      So, to repeat, our behaviour in our daily lives is the key factor in determining whether all these facilities and relations really produce genuine, long-lasting satisfaction or not. Much depends on our own attitude. And for this mental factor, motivation is the key thing.

      In Buddhist literature, human life is seen as a favourable form of existence or rebirth. There are various factors that could complement the favourable existence as a human being, such as having a long life, good health, material possessions and eloquence so that one can relate to others in a more beneficial way. But as I pointed out earlier, whether or not these conditions can lead to a more beneficial existence or to a more harmful one depends very much on how you utilize them and whether or not you apply the faculty of intelligence.

      On that point, Buddhist literature mentions the practice of the Six Perfections. For instance, in the case of acquiring material possessions, according to Buddhism, generosity and the act of giving are seen as causes of wealth. But in order to practise generosity and giving successfully, one must first of all have a sound ethical discipline, a certain type of outlook and principles. And that ethical discipline or those principles can come about only if one has the ability to bear hardships and adverse circumstances when confronted with them. For that, you also need a certain degree of exertion or joyful effort. In order to practise the application of joyful effort successfully, one must have the ability to concentrate, to focus on events, actions or goals. That in turn depends on whether or not you have the ability to exercise your power of judgement, to judge between what is desirable and what is undesirable, what is negative and what is positive. So, in a way, all these Six Perfections are related to the acquisition of even one of the conditions, say, material wealth.

      How do we go about implementing in our daily lives these principles which are stipulated in the practice of the Six Perfections? Buddhism recommends living one’s life within the ethical discipline of observance of what are known as the Ten Precepts, or Avoidance of the Ten Negative Actions. Out of these Ten Negative Actions, one, known as ‘wrong views’ or ‘perverted views’, might make more sense within the context of a religious belief. Other than that, all the other nine Negative Actions are, I would say, common denominators of all religious traditions. They are seen as negative or undesirable for society in general, regardless of any religious point of view.

      To conclude, good conduct is the way in which life becomes more meaningful, more constructive and more peaceful. For this, much depends on our own behaviour and our own mental attitude.

       TWO FACING DEATH AND DYING WELL

      The issue of facing death in a peaceful manner is a very difficult

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