On the 24th of October 2003, on a Friday evening, Dr. Dharmadhara from the Western Buddhist Order (WBO) gave a talk on how one can awaken the Bodhi Heart within through compassion. A crowd of over 40 people turned up to listen to his talk which deals with his experiences on practicing loving- kindness as well as relating stories from the sutras.

Dr. Dharmadhara began his talk by relating a true incident which revolves around the parents’ love for their child. Though the talk was in English, Bro. Soo Cheng Guan was on hand to translate the talk word for word into Mandarin for the benefit of those who could not understand English. Dr. Dharmadhara also stressed on the important factors which could help to contribute towards overcoming our self-centered emotions, which prevent us from developing a true Bodhi Heart. He said that by practicing the precepts, meditations, studying the sutras, chanting and volunteering our services in temples are some of the good meritorious deeds which we should cultivate in our daily lives.

According to the doctor, our lives may seem like an impossible journey, like a flight of stairs which never ends. We have to overcome big obstacles through little steps, one at a time; to overcome our greed, hatred and delusion by using loving-kindness, stillness in mind, insight and wisdom.

Dr. Dharmadhara also imposes on the fact that the Buddha only taught one dharma, which is used to help people attain freedom from pain and suffering caused by their belief in a separate self. He stressed that for one to be kind and compassionate, one has to vibrate, to tremble with other beings, to feel their pain and to feel their happiness as well. He also brought to attention a book titled ‘Emotional Intelligence’ by David Bowman, a writer for the New York Times and a Buddhist practitioner, who dedicated a chapter on the subject of compassion and empathy. A research was conducted on why some people make better listeners and why some are more open to share other people’s difficulties. The author stresses on the importance of listening, especially when empathizing with another person’s dilemma.

The doctor closed his talk by explaining that for one to develop Bodhicitta, to attain a Bodhi heart, it is not something which is easily obtained from a shop. Rather it is a special jewel which one can find deep within one’s heart.

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About Dr. Dharmachari Dharmadhara
A member of the Western Buddhist Order (WBO)

Dharmadhara was born in the United Kingdom in 1951, and emigrated to New Zealand with his family in 1967. He received a B.Sc in zoology in 1973. He then went to East Timor and was trapped by the civil war just prior to the Indonesian invasion in 1975. He witnessed two weeks of heavy fighting as a result of which he became a Buddhist. He also had a short stay in a monastery in Thailand, and later returned to New Zealand to study medicine. He became fully involved with the Western Buddhist Order (WBO) in 1976, and was ordained in 1979 as Dharmadhara by Sangharakshita, the head of the WBO. When he completed his medical degree in 1980, he spent one-and-a-half years in India as a doctor between 1983-4, working with the Tibetans in exile in Dharamsala, northern India. During this period he also made contacts with HH The Dalai Lama and his family.

Between 1985-9 he was the personal secretary to Sangharakshita in England, and from 1990-2000 was the chairman of the Auckland Buddhist Centre, New Zealand. He is currently resident in Thames, New Zealand, doing part-time medicine and helping fund raise one-and-a-half million dollars to build a retreat center near Thames.

His specific areas of interest include Buddhism and death, Tibetan Buddhism, Bio-ethics and Buddhism, Buddhism and Art, and Buddhist philosophy. Dharmadhara was married in 1990 but his wife died of illness in 1998.

Dharmacari Dharmadhara’s visited Malaysia from September 1-11, 2002 at the invitation of the BGF. He spoke at various dharma centers on the topic of death and dying from a Buddhist perspective in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Ipoh, Teluk Intan, Taiping and Melaka, eliciting very positive response from the audience. Benny Liow, having also discussed with Dharmadhara on this topic, has reproduced an edited version of the answers to some of the more common questions that were asked of Dharmadhara during his recent visit to Malaysia.