Society in general is better educated now than it has ever the past, but in sprite of vast advances achieved in the field of scientific knowledge, many people still suffer from fear, suspicion and insecurity. The root cause of these states of mind stems from ignorance, uncertainly and craving.
Because of our ignorance of the non-existence of a permanent self, we believe in our ego and this belief gives rise to craving. We fear that we will be of losing that which we posses. We fear that we will be harmed or that we will face bad luck. So what do we do ? We turn instinctively to our animistic past and depend on special talismans and amulets to protect us.
The Buddha has clearly stated that external object are not strong enough to protect those whose mind are weak and confused. Our only security is to take refuge in our knowledge of the true nature of self and other phenomena. Once we understand that there is no reality in a self that, can be harmd, we becme secure and confident. No harmcan come to him who is unafraid, unselfish or undeluted. However, it does not mean that Buddhism condemns the use of certain religious object like a pendant of Buddha image to give us a sence of security. Many gerat men had found solace and comfort by contemplating on the serene and calm image of Buddha.
The first Prime Minister of India, Mr Nehru said that when he has imprisoned by the British his only source of comfort was a tiny Buddha image had no magical power. But what it symbolized itself was great qualities of Buddha who had himself remained calm and unaffected by attacks made against him by his enemies and it was this symbol that reminded Nehru of his own strength with which he could face adversity calmly. We too can carry image of the Buddha or inscriptions of the suttas around with us to give us confidence.
Many suttas around with us to gave us confidence:- By the power of this truth, may victory be mine or may happiness be mine. This shows that as Buddhist we do not believe in animistic power of images or talismans, but that they are be regarded as mere aids which could help us to gain confidence in ourselves.
In the same way some Buddhist also go to temples, to collect bottles of holy water and pieces of string over which the suttas have been recites with great concentration. These also give psychological strength and confidence to the user because they remind him of the truth which was uttered in the sutta and which recall the words of the Buddha.
From The Buddhist Way By Dr K Sri Dhammananda
