Opening Remarks of The President, Universal Wisdom Foundation, on the occasion of the Blessing and Inauguration of the New UWF Building and Theatre, 4th Floor, Gilmore I.T. Center, New Manila, Quezon City, Philippines, February 21, 2009

The Venerable Khedrup Rinpoche, Venerable Dharma Masters, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Board Members, Honored Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:

On behalf of the Universal Wisdom Foundation, Inc., we welcome you to the blessing and inauguration of our newly renovated building and theatre.

It is related in the Digha Nikaya that shortly before the Buddha left this world, Ananda, his most devoted attendant, requested his Teacher not to pass away until he had left instructions concerning the Order of the Sangha, because the Bikkhus were thinking: “We will have no teacher now, how shall we proceed?”

To which the Buddha answered: “The Doctrine and the Discipline which I have taught you and counseled you to follow while I was with you, these will be your teacher when I am gone.” In the Mahaparinibbana-sutta the Buddha is documented to have said further: “Therefore, Ananda, dwell making yourselves your island… making the Dharma your island, the Dharma your refuge, nothing else your refuge.”

Distinguished guests, it is our sincere hope that this building and this theatre may serve as one humble center of Dharma study and Dharma dissemination in this part of the world. With the guidance of the Sangha, represented today by the joyous presence of the Venerable Rinpoche, may this day be marked as seed planted on fertile soil, seed that may hopefully sprout and grow and bring forth fruits to benefit all who come here.

For in this hall, everybody is welcome—all religions, all sects, all schools of Buddhism. Our aim is neither to proselytize nor to convert, but to study and to disseminate. Buddhism is not a religion. It is non-sectarian and non culture-bound. The Four Noble Truths apply to all sentient beings regardless of race, creed, sex, caste, or religion.

In Buddhism, we do not say “come and believe.” In Buddhism, the catchphrase is “come and see.” Our passion and responsibility is to remain faithful to the one foundational concern of Buddhism, which is to help relieve the sufferings of sentient beings. The promotion of Buddhism is of secondary concern.

Sakyamuni said he taught only two things: suffering and the cessation of suffering. That is why even when he was predicted to be a world emperor in the same breath that he would be a Buddha, he chose the latter path because he knew that even a universal monarch could not protect his people from the real enemies—the enemies of birth, old age, sickness, and death.

The First Noble Truth of dukkha is a universal characteristic. It is not just the experience of one nation or one people. When we suffer from illness or anger, for example, we do not call it Christian suffering or Hindu suffering or Islamic suffering or Jewish suffering. Suffering is suffering. It is a universal, not a national, characteristic. The remedy must also be universal.
Nowadays, we hear the word “change” ballyhooed by world leaders. That, too, is our catchword.
But we believe in a different kind of change, a change that springs from an understanding of the whole process of living. To our limited understanding, we may see suffering and its solution in terms of political and socio-economic dimensions. Yet if we look deeper, we will see that our suffering is a consequence of the poisons of greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and jealousy. We believe that none of the external restructurings of society—revolution, regime change, capitalism, communism—can truly eradicate suffering at the root. Suffering is mental experience, born of the poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance. These poisons defile and confuse the mind and lead it to wrong goals: abuse of power, control, exploitation, graft and corruption, murder, war. In short, suffering.

We believe that change must come through rational evolution, through wisdom.

The core idea is that suffering is the problem and Buddhism is a tool to be used to eliminate that suffering. The good news is that there is a doctor and there is a medicine. The Buddha is the Supreme Physician and the Dharma the Supreme Medicine. In the wasteland of birth and death, we know no better refuge than the Triple Gem. I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha.

Buddhism is not a religion; it is education. Today, as we inaugurate our new building and theatre, we rejoice at the opportunity to help in our humble way spread the Dharma which we believe is the greatest of gifts, which surpasses all gifts. Our passion is to study and share, to share and study the Dharma. More than that, to live the Dharma, to allow the Dharma to manifest fully in us and through us: by being kind, truthful, compassionate; by keeping the precepts: not to kill, not to steal, not to lie, not to engage in sexual misconduct, not to take intoxicating substances.

We are absolutely delighted to reopen the Universal Wisdom Foundation lecture series and share with you this remarkable and lively way of life we have been privileged to practice. It will be our pleasure to introduce to you the astounding vitality and adaptability of a tradition that is a source of endless joy for us, and we look forward to sharing that joy with you in the hope that you will find it joyful to you as well, as we join each other in changing our destiny.

Once again, welcome to the Universal Wisdom Foundation.