What are the humane qualities which give rise to dignity and nobility? They are based on the moral, ethical, intellectual and spiritual norms which we human beings uphold and treasure in our day-to-day relationships with one another. As human beings we have minds which we can develop to such an extent that we can differentiate between what is right and what is wrong, between what we should be proud of and what we should be ashamed of.
A human being who is worthy of respect, would be one who has the attributes of Fear and Shame, who is kind, compassionate and sympathetic to others, who is afraid to cause harm to others but is ever prepared to lend a helping hand when in need. These are ordinary human values which we should all cherish and uphold. We should develop our humane qualities and not violate them.
One of the golden rules to lead a good life is to have a balanced livelihood – without in any way going into extremes. The Buddha does not advise us to torture our body or our mind in the cause of religion. We can practice our religion as rational beings. Do not overdo things. Do not forget the most important aspect of life – your spiritual development. The teaching of the Buddha can be categorised in three ways: happiness for this life, happiness for the hereafter and happiness for the ultimate achievement – Nibbana. In the pursuit of these three kinds of happiness, a man can achieve dignity and nobility.
[pdf]http://www.dhammikaweb.com/pdfs/Human-Dignity-In-Buddhism-edited.pdf[/pdf]
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Reminds me of Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar’s quote ” No lady can be loyal at the cost of her chastity,No country can be loyal at the cost of Liberty,& No Humanbeing can be loyal at the cost of Digninty” even if it is to Religion.
Dr.Vasant Mhaske
[…] are many books to his credit. I stumbled across this one titled, “Human Dignity in Buddhism,” which you can read or download for […]