In Mangalatthadipani, there are comments about the chaos that arose from people seeking blessing and then being confounded by believing in three men who had proclaimed that seeing is a blessing, sharing is a blessing, and a mixture of smelling, tasting, touching is a blessing. Some of them followed the first man who said that seeing is a blessing, some Followed the second man who said that hearing is a blessing, and some followed the third man that said that a mixture of smelling, tasting, and touching is a blessing. Different adherence was the cause of unrest not only in this human world but also up to the divine, Mara, and Brahma worlds. That unrest continued for twelve years. After the Lord Buddha expounded the thirty-eight sublime blessings in the discourse of blessings, the unrest appeased. The superstitions that cause unrest in this world are not only of three kinds as mentioned above but also many more. All forms of superstitions always exist because people are thoughtless, lacking proper knowledge and consideration, keep accepting terrifying interpretations from some selfish persons who want profit only for themselves, and formulate rites and rituals as the remarks of blessings and progression to deceive people for money and things to consume for themselves.
As Buddhists, we must not adhere to anything without taking into account cause and effect in any way. Buddhism is a religion of cause and effect because the Exalted One announced that every phenomenon arises from cause. For instance, in the blessing discourse, the first blessing is not to associate with the evil one is a transcendent blessing which means that if someone associates with the evil one, he will be directed to commit evils such as stealing and robbing and the like, then will suffer punishments such as being imprisoned, cuffed and shackled or will be captured and tortured to die or nearly die and so forth; in contrast, if he does not associate with the evil one, he will not encounter all sorts of such punishments. This is the cause and effect of not to associate with the evil one; therefore, he expounded that such an action is a blessing. In the second blessing, he illustrated that
The association with the wise man is a magnificent blessing which means when someone associates with the wise man, he will be guided by the wise man to perform merits, to study much harder and all that; then will run across many special fortunes. This is the cause and effect of association with the wise man. Not only the two blessings are rational, but even all the blessings in the discourse of blessings are also particularly rational.
The Exalted One stated that “so many people. When crushed by fear, always take some mountains, some forests, and some trees or shrines as their refuges. Those refuges are not refuges of bliss, are not sublime refuges, one has never been free from all sorts of suffering on account of those refuges. Whoever takes the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha as their refuges and realizes the four noble truths, i.e. suffering is one, Samudaya -the simultaneous cause of suffering is one, Nirodha -the place of stepping over sufferings is one, noble eightfold paths that lead beings to nirvana -a place of extinguishment of sufferings is one by right wisdom. Those refuges are refuges of bliss, are sublime refuges, constantly, one has been free from all sorts of sufferings on account of those refuges.”
The above-mentioned Buddha’s teaching is the evidence to give you an idea about what the real weakness of human beings is. Human beings, whenever sadness, calamities, and desolation come about, always call for assistance, call for refuges and the lack of proper knowledge and irrationality are the factors leading human beings to seek assistance and refuges which are unreal and insignificant, bring about only wasting of time, money, and other properties. Sometimes, such a seeking can also lead to many other dangers or in all probability lead to great harm as far as the loss of life.
Holding different orthodoxies such as pleading for happiness and prosperity from this figure and that figure which they accept as the powerful, accept as a god; from this thing and that thing which they accept as the most magical thing, accept as an almighty thing that can fulfill their expectation and that can bring about happiness, prosperity, worldly goods, and the like are not the acts in which
Buddhists must perform, because in Buddhism there are neither powerful figures nor gods nor any magical things that can make the expectations of somebody come true. The Buddhas are not the powerful ones who could complete the desires of human beings, The Buddhas’ statues as well as many other places of shrines are also not magical things that can complete the desires of human beings; they are only the ones who know the causes leading to desirous completion and introduce those causes to human beings, while Buddhas’ statues and different places of shrines are only the things for us to see and make our minds clear and delighted in an attempt to make proper sacrifices such as salutation or offering many different kinds of sacrificial objects which are the causes leading to mental satisfaction and bringing out many other different merits.
Not only in Buddhism there are no powerful figures and magical objects, even in all states of existence, i.e. human world, divine world, Mara world, and Brahma world None of them exist; because all creatures living in these worlds without exception are under the influence of decay, different kinds of diseases and death the same as each other, no exemption for a single person.
Taking the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha as refugees is only the reliance for pointing out the right way, the straight way to practice towards glee and opulence, not the reliance on making jollity and richness. All the Buddhas come into being in the world for harmony, sumptuousness, and for the sake of sentient beings; however, sentient beings do not acquire interest from them as they bless, but from practice as their teaching without exemption.
The individual who grants happiness to others always gains happiness; not the individual who prays and pleads for happiness gains happiness.
Buddhism is a religion of reason rely on yourself, rely on ears, nose, tongue, body mind.
