The Message Of The Buddha

Republished as part of K. N. Jayatilleke, Facets of Buddhist Thought: Collected Essays; Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, 2008. ISBN: 9789552403354.

Draws parallels between different religious faiths by presenting side-by-side comparisons of four leaders' teachings on topics such as knowledge, suffering, death, and liberation, along with commentaries for each topic.

Leaf Talks Peace takes the reader back in time to the Bodhi tree where Buddha is meditating. He observes how a Peepal leaf gives a message of interdependent origination of life. He sees the Sun, the Earth, clouds, time, space, and consciousness in a leaf. There is a peaceful co-existence of all. A leaf cannot survive without any of these different elements. He finds the entire universe breathing happily in a leaf. The leaf, a symbol of human well-being, comes from interdependence and not from coercion.The objective of Leaf Talks Peace is to inculcate a sense of harmony and care in young readers. Harmony can happen in the world when there is peace between humans, peace with nature, and peace within ourselves. It can happen when differences are respected, when everyone acknowledges interdependent origination of life, and when there are no absolute dogmas but constant evolution of thoughts.