10/31/07
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 9:13 am
Sarvajan Hitay Sarvajan Sukhay-For The Gain of The Many and For The Welfare of The Many
Online edition of India’s National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 31, 2007
Reservation needed for real equality, says Jethmalani
Legal Correspondent
| Centuries of injustice to backward classes still continuing |
Court must respect legislative judgment
Total population of country is irrelevant
New Delhi: Providing 27 per cent quota for the Other Backward Classes in higher educational institutions is a constitutional necessity to ensure not formal or technical equality but real and substantial equality, senior counsel Ram Jethmalani argued in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Appearing for the intervenor, the Rashtriya Janata Dal in support of the Centre, Mr. Jethmalani said providing reservation for the OBCs was a fundamental feature of the Constitution, and it could not be attacked on the ground of violation of Article 15 (1) (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, etc).
“Caste is also a class of citizens and if the caste as a whole is socially and educationally backward, reservation can be made in favour of such a caste on that ground,” the former Union Law Minister told a Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan.
“Caste is also a class”
“Caste is a class in which an innocent human is trapped by birth over which he has no control and from which he cannot freely exit because the exit is blocked by a cruel and arrogant society,” he said.
“Past injustice done to the backward classes for centuries is still continuing and that injustice is required to be remedied. What is wrong in providing reservation to them? The present generation must make some sacrifices for the injustice done by their ancestors.”
Ridiculing the petitioners’ contention that reservation would perpetuate the caste system, Mr. Jethmalani said that on the contrary, the OBC quota would help in removing the inferiority status of certain castes.
“To make the portals of higher education available to pupils of backward classes is to equip them for equal competition with the rest of the student world. This is a legitimate constitutional goal.”
“A complex concept”
Mr. Jethmalani said the OBC law could not be declared ultra vires the Constitution merely because backwardness was a complex concept and no precise definition was possible. “This is a field in which the apex court must scrupulously respect legislative judgment and adopt a policy of nearly total non-interference. In fact, this court is bound to assume that a state of facts existed at the time of enactment of the statute, which would validate the statute. The court may differ with the views of the Legislature, but it cannot set aside a law on that ground.”
On the contention that no OBC figure was available after the 1931 census, he said, “The total population of a country is irrelevant. What is relevant is the percentage of the backward classes in the total population. Even assuming that OBC population was only 36 per cent [as contended by some petitioners], what is provided is only 27 per cent, still short of 9 per cent to have proportional representation.”
The percentage of backward classes must have increased if at all and would not have gone down. Judicial management was not capable of identifying the backward classes, and the court must adopt a “standoff policy.”
Arguments will continue on Wednesday.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 6:26 am
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Vipers
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove. Then he addressed the monks, “Monks, suppose there were four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom.
Then a man would come along — desiring life, desiring not to die, desiring happiness, & loathing pain — and people would tell him: ‘Good man, these four vipers, of utmost heat & horrible venom, are yours. Time after time they must be lifted up, time after time they must be bathed, time after time they must be fed,
time after time put to rest. And if any of these vipers ever gets angered with you, then you will meet with death or death-like suffering. Do what you think should be done.’
Then the man — afraid of the four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom — would flee this way or that. They would tell him, ‘Good man, there are five enemy executioners chasing right on your heels, [thinking,] “Wherever we see him, we’ll kill him right on the spot.” Do what you think should be done.’
Then the man — afraid of the four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom, afraid of the five enemy executioners — would flee this way or that. They would tell him, ‘Good man, there is a sixth executioner, a fellow-traveler, chasing right on your heels with upraised sword, [thinking,] “Wherever I see him, I’ll kill him right on the spot.” Do what you think should be done.’
Then the man — afraid of the four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom, afraid of the five enemy executioners, afraid of the sixth fellow-traveling executioner with upraised sword — would flee this way or that. He would see an empty village. Whatever house he entered would be abandoned, void, & empty as he entered it. Whatever pot he grabbed hold of would be abandoned, void, & empty as he grabbed hold of it. They would tell him, ‘Good man, right now, village-plundering bandits are entering this empty village. Do what you think should be done.’
Then the man — afraid of the four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom, afraid of the five enemy executioners, afraid of the sixth fellow-traveling executioner with upraised sword, afraid of the village-plundering bandits — would flee this way or that. He would see a great expanse of water, with the near shore dubious & risky, the further shore secure & free from risk, but with neither a ferryboat nor a bridge going from this shore to the other. The thought would occur to him, ‘Here is this great expanse of water, with the near shore dubious & risky, the further shore secure & free from risk, but with neither a ferryboat nor a bridge going from this shore to the other. What if I were to gather grass, twigs, branches, & leaves and, having bound them together to make a raft, were to cross over to safety on the other shore in dependence on the raft, making an effort with my hands & feet?’ Then the man, having gathered grass, twigs, branches, & leaves, having bound them together to make a raft, would cross over to safety on the other shore in dependence on the raft, making an effort with his hands & feet. Crossed over, having gone to the other shore, he would stand on high ground, a brahman.
“Monks, I have made this simile to convey a meaning. Here the meaning is this: ‘The four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom’ stands for the four great existents: the earth property, the liquid property, the fire-property, & the wind property. ‘The five enemy executioners’ stands for the five clinging-aggregates: the form clinging-aggregate, the feeling clinging-aggregate, the perception clinging-aggregate, the fabrications clinging-aggregate, the consciousness clinging-aggregate. 
‘The sixth fellow-traveling executioner with upraised sword’ stands for passion & delight.
“‘The empty village’ stands for the six internal sense media. If a wise, competent, intelligent person examines them from the point of view of the eye, they appear abandoned, void, & empty. If he examines them from the point of view of the ear… the nose… the tongue… the body… the intellect, they appear abandoned, void, & empty. ‘The village-plundering bandits’ stands for the six external sense-media. The eye is attacked by agreeable & disagreeable forms. The ear is attacked by agreeable & disagreeable sounds. The nose is attacked by agreeable & disagreeable aromas. The tongue is attacked by agreeable & disagreeable flavors. The body is attacked by agreeable & disagreeable tactile sensations. The intellect is attacked by agreeable & disagreeable ideas.
“‘The great expanse of water’ stands for the fourfold flood: the flood of sensuality, the flood of becoming, the flood of views, & the flood of ignorance.
‘The near shore, dubious & risky’ stands for self-identification. ‘The further shore, secure and free from risk’ stands for Unbinding. ‘The raft’ stands for just this noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. ‘Making an effort with hands & feet’ stands for the arousing of persistence. ‘Crossed over, having gone to the other shore, he would stand on high ground, a brahman’ stands for the arahant.”
Mara Meets His Match
The nun Soma has entered Andhavana (Blind Man’s Grove) near Savatthi to practice meditation. Mara, the embodiment of delusion, sees her there and desires to make her waver and abandon her concentration. He addresses her with a verse:
That which can be attained by seers
— The place so hard to arrive at —
Women are not able to reach,
Since they lack sufficient wisdom.
[Soma replies:]
What difference does being a woman make
When the mind is well-composed,
When knowledge is proceeding on,
When one rightly sees into Dhamma?
Indeed for whom the question arises:
“Am I a man or a woman?”
Or, “Am I even something at all?”
To them alone is Mara fit to talk!
Translator’s note
This, in my view, is the definitive statement in the Buddhist tradition regarding the equality of the sexes. Whatever other words have crept into the literature — from ancient times to the present — whatever attitudes may have been expressed by Theras, Lamas, Roshis or Teachers over the ages, this position of thoroughgoing equality in light of the Dhamma is plainly stated by Soma, one of the Buddha’s contemporary nuns.
Soma was the daughter of the chief priest of King Bimbisara of Magadha, and was an early convert to the Buddha’s teaching. She spent many years as a lay supporter before eventually becoming a nun, and achieved awakening — like so many of her sisters — not long after joining the order.
In this exchange Mara is clearly trying to provoke and discourage Soma, but only reveals his delusion. The expression he uses literally means “two fingers’ [worth]” of wisdom. It may originally have been a reference to the domestic task of checking if rice is cooked by examining it between the fingers, but here it is obviously used pejoratively to impugn that women are less capable of liberation. Soma not only refrains from getting offended (perhaps remembering Buddha’s teaching to always “forebear the fool”), but calmly points out how ludicrous the statement is when viewed in light of the Buddha’s higher teaching about the nature of personhood.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 6:14 am
Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
The Wisdom of Everyday Experience
So it’s here that our practice of contemplation will lead us to understanding. Let us take an example, the example of a fisherman pulling in his net with a big fish in it. How do you think he feels about pulling it in? If he’s afraid that the fish will escape, he’ll be rushed and start to struggle with the net, grabbing and tugging at it. Before he knows it, the big fish has escaped — he was trying too hard.
In the olden days they would talk like this. They taught that we should do it gradually, carefully gathering it in without losing it. This is how it is in our practice; we gradually feel our way with it, carefully gathering it in without losing it. Sometimes it happens that we don’t feel like doing it. Maybe we don’t want to look or maybe we don’t want to know, but we keep on with it. We continue feeling for it. This is practice: if we feel like doing it, we do it, and if we don’t feel like doing it, we do it just the same. We just keep doing it.
If we are enthusiastic about our practice, the power of our faith will give energy to what we are doing. But at this stage we are still without wisdom. Even though we are very energetic, we will not derive much benefit from our practice. We may continue with it for a long time and a feeling will arise that aren’t going to find the Way. We may feel that we cannot find peace and tranquillity, or that we aren’t sufficiently equipped to do the practice. Or maybe we feel that this Way just isn’t possible anymore. So we give up!
At this point we must be very, very careful. We must use great patience and endurance. It’s just like pulling in the big fish — we gradually feel our way with it. We carefully pull it in. The struggle won’t be too difficult, so without stopping we continue pulling it in. Eventually, after some time, the fish becomes tired and stops fighting and we’re able to catch it easily. Usually this is how it happens, we practice gradually gathering it together.
It’s in this manner that we do our contemplation. If we don’t have any particular knowledge or learning in the theoretical aspects of the Teachings, we contemplate according to our everyday experience. We use the knowledge which we already have, the knowledge derived from our everyday experience. This kind of knowledge is natural to the mind. Actually, whether we study about it or not, we have the reality of the mind right here already. The mind is the mind whether we have learned about it or not. This is why we say that whether the Buddha is born in the world or not, everything is the way it is. Everything already exists according to its own nature. This natural condition doesn’t change, nor does it go anywhere. It just is that way. This is called the Sacca Dhamma. However, if we don’t understand about this Sacca Dhamma, we won’t be able to recognize it.
So we practice contemplation in this way. If we aren’t particularly skilled in scripture, we take the mind itself to study and read. Continually we contemplate (lit. talk with ourselves) and understanding regarding the nature of the mind will gradually arise. We don’t have to force anything.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 6:01 am
Spiritual Community of The Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Discernment
The Eightfold Path is best understood as a collection of personal qualities to be developed, rather than as a sequence of steps along a linear path. The development of right view and right resolve (the factors classically identified with wisdom and discernment) facilitates the development of right speech, action, and livelihood (the factors identified with virtue). As virtue develops so do the factors identified with concentration (right effort, mindfulness, and concentration). Likewise, as concentration matures, discernment evolves to a still deeper level. And so the process unfolds: development of one factor fosters development of the next, lifting the practitioner in an upward spiral of spiritual maturity that eventually culminates in Awakening.
The long journey to Awakening begins in earnest with the first tentative stirrings of right view — the discernment by which one recognizes the validity of the four Noble Truths and the principle of kamma. One begins to see that one’s future well-being is neither predestined by fate, nor left to the whims of a divine being or random chance. The responsibility for one’s happiness rests squarely on one’s own shoulders. Seeing this, one’s spiritual aims become suddenly clear: to relinquish the habitual unskillful tendencies of the mind in favor of skillful ones. As this right resolve grows stronger, so does the heartfelt desire to live a morally upright life, to choose one’s actions with care.
At this point many followers make the inward commitment to take the Buddha’s teachings to heart, to become “Buddhist” through the act of taking refuge in the Triple Gem: the Buddha (both the historical Buddha and one’s own innate potential for Awakening), the Dhamma (both the Buddha’s teachings and the ultimate Truth towards which they point), and the Sangha (both the unbroken monastic lineage that has preserved the teachings since the Buddha’s day, and all those who have achieved at least some degree of Awakening). With one’s feet thus planted on solid ground, and with the help of an admirable friend or teacher (kalyanamitta) to guide the way, one is now well-equipped to proceed down the Path, following in the footsteps left by the Buddha himself.
10/30/07
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 11:54 am
Sarvajan Hitay Sarvajan Sukhay-For The Gain of The Many and For The Welfare of The Many
Board also to display name of Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan, Airport and Railway Station
Lucknow : 29 October 2007 The U.P. Cabinet Secretary Mr. Shasank Shekhar Singh has strongly refuted the news item that appeared in a section of press today saying that the display board over Lohia Path was removed only to change its name. He said that the news was absolutely baseless and far from truth. He reiterated the Government’s stand that all saints, teachers and great personalities of all sections of the society were respectable. Thus, there was no question of changing the name of Lohia Path. Speaking to the media persons at Secretariat annexe today he said that the Government had not taken any decision to change the name of Lohia Path. He clarified that the board was taken off only to carry some corrections and add few more information. Informing about the corrections he said that the board would display Lohia Path as earlier at the Rajiv Chowk to the people going to Gomtinagar, while it would display Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan along with its distance, the distance of railway station and airport to the people coming from Gomtinagar. It is notable that earlier the board displayed Lohia Path at the Rajiv Chowk entry point and showed Mata Rama Bai Ambedkar Sthal on the opposite side, which is being amended. Mr. Singh said that a section of press had also published a news item saying that a film was going to be produced on Sri Kansiram ji, which is misleading. He made it evident that so far no such project had been approved by the Government. ******
C.M. Grieved
Lucknow : 29 October 2007 The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Km. Mayawati has expressed profound grief over the demise of renowned litterateur, poet and character artist Mr. Shail Chaturvedi. The 71-year-old poet passed away last night in Mumbai. He is survived by his family. In a message, the C.M. said that Chaturvediji was a sensitive litterateur. He promoted Hindi language through his writings and enriched the language. He also played some memorable roles in various T.V. serials and left indelible mark on the silver screen. She said that in his death the world of Hindi literature had suffered a great loss and it is a blow to his supporters and well wishers as well. The C.M. has conveyed her heartfelt condolences and deep sympathies to the family members of late Chaturvediji and prayed for peace to the departed soul. *******
Gujarat riots should be deeply probed by CBI: Mayawati
Lucknow: October 26, 2007 The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Km. Mayawati has reacted very sharply over the new facts coming to light through the Tehelka’s sting operation regarding the 2002 Gujarat riots. These facts are being aired by some electronic channels and have also published in today’s newspapers. She has severely criticised the role of the BJP, the then State Government and the organisations supporting the party. The C.M. said that the new facts indicate that the BJP Government in Gujarat with the help of its other organisations plotted massacre of the members of a particular minority community in the wake of Godhara incident. All these cruel activities were carried out with the help of the State Government. It may be recalled that Mr. Ehsan Jafri, a Congress M.P. had been burnt alive in front of his family members during the riots. The new facts disclosed by the Tehelka sting operation suggest that instead of controlling the riot, the State Government was sponsoring it. Km. Mayawati said that the entire episode had maligned the image of the country. She requested the Prime Minister to order a CBI inquiry into the matter. In a letter written to the Prime Minister she has demanded that considering the emergence of new facts now a CBI inquiry should be ordered into the Gujarat riots so that the culprits could be punished and it was also ensured that such incidents never repeated again. She said that it had become necessary to restore the confidence of the followers of all the religions, communities etc. This would also clear country’s image in the eyes of other countries. She also suggested that now the Centre should condemn the entire episode afresh. ********
http://neglected.blamfluie.com/2007/10/29/snap-polls-likely-after-n-deal-deadlock-mayawati-5388748.html
Neglected
Snap polls likely after N-deal deadlock: Mayawati
By IANS
Sunday October 28, 07:14 PM
Chandigarh, Oct 28 (IANS) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Sunday called upon her party cadres to be prepared for early general elections thanks to the deadlock between the Congress and the Left parties over the India-US nuclear deal.
Addressing a rally here to mark the merger of a local party, Chandigarh Vikas Manch (CVM), with the BSP, she said: ‘BSP cadres and supporters should be ready for the next general elections as the nuclear deal is likely to lead to the fall of the government. The BSP will fight the elections on its own and the day is not far when we will rule the central government.
‘We will take the weaker sections and all other categories like upper castes and religious minorities with us to come to power at the centre,’ Mayawati declared.
The BSP leader, in her speech of nearly an hour, criticized the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for ignoring the needs of the common people.
‘These parties have done nothing for the common man. All they have done is to play to the gallery for capitalists and industrialists. They have contested all elections with the help of these capitalists. People should throw them out,’ Mayawati said.
She said a wrong impression had been created by vested interests that the BSP was a party only for the weaker and neglected sections of society.
‘We have shown in Uttar Pradesh that we are there not only for weaker sections but also for upper castes and religious minorities. We want to repeat this all over the country,’ the chief minister said.
Mayawati was presented with a gold crown and a sword by local BSP and CVM leaders. CVM president and former union minister Harmohan Dhawan announced the merger of his party with the BSP.
Mayawati declared that Dhawan will be the BSP candidate in any future Lok Sabha election for the Chandigarh seat.
Online edition of India’s National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 30, 2007
SC notice to Mulayam
Legal Correspondent
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh, on the CBI’s plea for permission to place on record its preliminary enquiry (PE) report on the allegations that he amassed assets disproportionate to the known sources of his income. The CBI also sought permission to proceed further by registering a proper case.
A Bench consisting of Justices C.K. Thakker and Altamas Kabir also issued notice to Mr. Singh’s sons, Akhilesh Yadav, MP, and Prateek Yadav; and Dimple Yadav, wife of Mr. Akhilesh Yadav, on the CBI application which cited them as respondents. The Bench granted them four weeks to file their response.
Acting on the PIL petition from Vishwanath Chaturvedi, the court in March this year directed the CBI to conduct the PE into the assets of Mr. Singh and others and if a case was made out, after scrutinising material, take further action.
‘Carve out Bundelkhand State’
Lucknow: A fortnight after Chief Minister Mayawati’s remarks favouring division of Uttar Pradesh in case the Centre agreed, the Bundelkhand Mukti Morcha on Monday stepped up its demand for a separate State.
“The development of Bundelkhand region can be ensured only by carving out a separate State comprising 29 districts of U.P. and M.P.,” Morcha chief Raja Bundela told reporters here.
He alleged the region had remained backward even after 60 years of independence owing to gross neglect by successive governments. The time had come for further division of U.P. into Poorvanchal, Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh, Mr. Bundela, a film actor, said. “Farmers, students, labourers, all want a separate State,” he said. — PTI
Mayawati eyes Maharashtra
Special Correspondent
| BSP planning a massive rally at Shivaji Park on November 25 |
Several Congress, NCP members have joined BSP
‘Shiv Sena men too keen on joining the party’
MUMBAI: After her unprecedented victory in Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati is now eyeing Maharashtra.
The BSP is planning a “record breaking” rally in Shivaji Park on November 25. Ahead of the rally, several members of the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Republican Party of India (RPI) (Athavale group) have reportedly joined the party.
“Deep inroads”
BSP Maharashtra president Vilas Garud told the press on Monday that the party had made deep inroads into the State and recruited over 10-lakh office-bearers. More people were expected to join the BSP on the day of the rally.
About 50 per cent of the organisational work had been completed and by the time of the 2009 elections the party would consolidate itself. He said people were from various parties, including the Shiv Sena, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and some film stars, had expressed interest in joining the BSP. Among the people who have reportedly cast their lot with the BSP are Anupchand Shah, former Congress MP, Dr. Madhukar Patil, former Congress MLA from Jalgaon, Dr. Pandurang Dhole, former Janata Dal MLA from Chandur Railway (Amravati), Gangadhar Gade, former Minister, Sangram Singh Gaikwad and Sadanand Shetty, vice-president Pune Congress Committee and ex-corporator from Pune.
There was some defection from the RPI (Athavale group) with Mahesh Tanna, vice-president, Kartar Singh and Gulabrao Nikam joining the BSP. Dilip Kamble from the Bharatiya Republican Party-Bahujan Mahasangh; Devidas Dolas, NCP’s Pimpri Chinchwad president; and Vidya Vastan from the MNS also have joined the BSP.
While the BSP did not win a seat in the last general and Assembly elections in Maharashtra, its candidates undermined the fortunes of other parties. It is expected to do better in the next elections with the social engineering formula involving the Original Inhabitants of Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath, the other backward classes, the upper castes and the Muslims. The party is also planning some meetings with the upper castes in various parts of the State.
After Ms. Mayawati’s victory in U.P., about 100 “vijay raths” or victory processions were taken out in the Dalit-dominated areas of Maharashtra. The BSP contested 272 of the 288 Assembly seats in 2004 and 46 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra.
Three dacoits killed in encounter
Lucknow: Three dacoits were gunned down by the police in an encounter near Anchur Neori village in Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh on Monday, a home department spokesman said here.
The dacoits were identified as Dwarka Kole, Preetam Kole and Munna Kole. While Dwarka and Preetam carried a cash reward of Rs. 20,000 on their heads, Munna carried a reward of Rs. 5,000, he said.
Amarmani’s disqualification sought
Lucknow: The sister of slain poetess Madhumita Shukla on Monday demanded disqualification of the membership of Samajwadi Party MLA Amarmani Tripathi from the Assembly in the wake of his conviction in the case.
Nidhi Shukla, in a letter to Governor T V Rajeswar and Speaker Sukhdev Rajbhar, said after the conviction, Tripathi should be disqualified from the membership of the Assembly. Later, Ms. Shukla told reporters that the CBI should appeal in the High Court for a death sentence to Tripathi, who along with three others were awarded life imprisonment by a Dehra Dun court on October 24.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 8:01 am
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Insight Knowledge
“With his mind thus concentrated, purified, & bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to knowledge & vision. He discerns: ‘This body of mine is endowed with form, composed of the four primary elements, born from mother & father, nourished with rice & porridge, subject to inconstancy, rubbing, pressing, dissolution, & dispersion. And this consciousness of mine is supported here and bound up here.’ Just as if there were a beautiful beryl gem of the purest water — eight faceted, well polished, clear, limpid, consummate in all its aspects, and going through the middle of it was a blue, yellow, red, white, or brown thread — and a man with good eyesight, taking it in his hand, were to reflect on it thus: ‘This is a beautiful beryl gem of the purest water, eight faceted, well polished, clear, limpid, consummate in all its aspects. And this, going through the middle of it, is a blue, yellow, red, white, or brown thread.’ In the same way — with his mind thus concentrated, purified, & bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability — the true Follower of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata directs & inclines it to knowledge & vision. He discerns: ‘This body of mine is endowed with form, composed of the four primary elements, born from mother & father, nourished with rice & porridge, subject to inconstancy, rubbing, pressing, dissolution, & dispersion. And this consciousness of mine is supported here and bound up here.’ When a disciple of a teacher attains this sort of grand distinction, Lohicca, that is a teacher not worthy of criticism in the world, and if anyone were to criticize this sort of teacher, the criticism would be false, unfactual, unrighteous, & blameworthy.
5. Bhikkhuni-samyutta — Nuns
Stories of the Evil One’s attempts to lure the nuns away from their meditation spots in the forest by asking them provocative questions. Without exception, these wise women conquer Mara decisively.
Sister Alavika
At Savatthi. Then, early in the morning, Alavika the nun put on her robes and, taking her bowl & outer robe, went into Savatthi for alms. When she had gone for alms in Savatthi and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the Grove of the Blind to spend the day. Having gone deep into the Grove of the Blind, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the day’s abiding.
Then the Evil One, wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in her, wanting to make her fall away from seclusion, approached her & addressed her in verse:
There’s no
escape
in the world,
so what are you trying to do
with solitude?
Enjoy sensual delights.
Don’t be someone
who later regrets.
Then the thought occurred to Alavika the nun: “Now who has recited this verse — a human being or a non-human one?” Then it occurred to her: “This is the Evil One, who has recited this verse wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in me, wanting to make me fall away from seclusion.”
Then, having understood that “This is the Evil One,” she replied to him in verses:
There is
an escape in the world,
well touched by me
with discernment —
something that you,
you Evil One,
kinsman of the heedless,
don’t know.
Sensual pleasures
are like swords & spears;
the aggregates,
their executioner’s block.
What you call sensual delight
is no delight for me.
![\"Stock](\"http://www.worldofstock.com/slides/TAN1572.jpg\")
![swords](\"http://zensekai.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/swords.gif\")
![spear](\"http://zensekai.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/spear.gif\")
Then the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “Alavika the nun knows me” — vanished right there.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 7:30 am
Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Reading the Natural Mind
(An informal talk given to a group of newly ordained monks after the evening chanting, middle of the Rains Retreat, 1978)
Our way of practice is looking closely at things and making them clear. We’re persistent and constant, yet not rushed or hurried. Neither are we too slow. It’s a matter of gradually feeling our way and bringing it together. However, all of this bringing it together is working towards something, there is a point to our practice.
For most of us, when we first start to practice, it’s nothing other than desire. We start to practice because of wanting. At this stage our wanting is wanting in the wrong way. That is, it’s deluded. It’s wanting mixed with wrong understanding.
If wanting is not mixed with wrong understanding like this, we say that it’s wanting with wisdom (Pañña). It’s not deluded — it’s wanting with right understanding. In a case like this we say that it’s due to a person’s Parami or past accumulations. However, this isn’t the case with everyone.
Some people don’t want to have desire, or they want not to have desires, because they think that our practice is directed at not wanting. However, if there is no desire, then there’s no way of practice.
We can see this for ourselves. The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata and all His Disciples practiced to put an end to defilements. We must want to practice and must want to put an end to defilements. We must want to have peace of mind and want not to have confusion. However, if this wanting is mixed with wrong understanding, then it will only amount to more difficulties for us. If we are honest about it, we really know nothing at all. Or, what we do know is of no consequence, since we are unable to use it properly.
Everybody, including The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata , started out like this, with the desire to practice — wanting to have peace of mind and wanting not to have confusion and suffering. These two kinds of desire have exactly the same value. If not understood then both wanting to be free from confusion and not wanting to have suffering are defilements. They’re a foolish way of wanting — desire without wisdom.
In our practice we see this desire as either sensual indulgence or self-mortification. It’s in this very conflict that our Practitioner, the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, was caught up, just this dilemma. He followed many ways of practice which merely ended up in these two extremes. And these days we are exactly the same. We are still afflicted by this duality, and because of it we keep falling from the Way.
However, this is how we must start out. We start out as worldly beings, as beings with defilements, with wanting devoid of wisdom, desire without right understanding. If we lack proper understanding, then both kinds of desire work against us. Whether it’s wanting or not wanting, it’s still craving (Tanha). If we don’t understand these two things then we won’t know how to deal with them when they arise. We will feel that to go forward is wrong and to go backwards is wrong, and yet we can’t stop. Whatever we do we just find more wanting. This is because of the lack of wisdom and because of craving.
It’s right here, with this wanting and not wanting, that we can understand the Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. The Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata which we are looking for exists right here, but we don’t see it. Rather, we persist in our efforts to stop wanting. We want things to be a certain way and not any other way. Or, we want them not to be a certain way, but to be another way. Really these two things are the same. They are part of the same duality.
Perhaps we may not realize that The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata and all of His Disciples had this kind of wanting. However The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata understood regarding wanting and not wanting. He understood that they are simply the activity of mind, that such things merely appear in a flash and then disappear. These kinds of desires are going on all the time. When there is wisdom, we don’t identify with them — we are free from clinging. Whether it’s wanting or not wanting, we simply see it as such. In reality it’s merely the activity of the natural mind. When we take a close look, we see clearly that this is how it is.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 6:54 am
Spiritual Community of The Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
The Eightfold Path and the Practice of Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Because the roots of ignorance are so intimately entwined with the fabric of the psyche, the unawakened mind is capable of deceiving itself with breathtaking ingenuity. The solution therefore requires more than simply being kind, loving, and mindful in the present moment. The practitioner must equip him- or herself with the expertise to use a range of tools to outwit, outlast, and eventually uproot the mind’s unskillful tendencies. For example, the practice of generosity (dana) erodes the mind’s habitual tendencies towards craving and teaches valuable lessons about the motivations behind, and the results of, skillful action. The practice of virtue (sila) guards one against straying wildly off-course and into harm’s way. The cultivation of goodwill (metta) helps to undermine anger’s seductive grasp. The ten recollections offer ways to alleviate doubt, bear physical pain with composure, maintain a healthy sense of self-respect, overcome laziness and complacency, and restrain oneself from unbridled lust. And there are many more skills to learn.
The good qualities that emerge and mature from these practices not only smooth the way for the journey to Nibbana; over time they have the effect of transforming the practitioner into a more generous, loving, compassionate, peaceful, and clear-headed member of society. The individual’s sincere pursuit of Awakening is thus a priceless and timely gift to a world in desperate need of help.
10/29/07
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 10:37 am
Dear Dhammachari Chandrashekar, < ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
You will have received my email (given below here), after my telephonic conversation with you… I feel very grateful you have accepted to speak to us on Nov 9th.Meanwhile, may I request you send me your bio-data. It could be sent by email to my ID above or by post to my address (Fr Ronnie
Prabhu, Fatima Retreat House, Kankanady, Mangalore 575 002).
Dear Dhammachari Chandrashekar,,
It was a joy to talk to you today and I am grateful you have accepted to speak to us on Friday 9 November, the second day of our three day Kristotsava festival. I am grateful also to Banthe Ananda for speaking to you about this.
We expect to have around a thousand Catholics from different part of Karnataka. Though educated, a good number of them will not be able to speak in English and we would appreciate you talking in Kannada, with a mixture of English!
It is our conviction that we will be helped in this if we can see ourselves also as others see us. So we are requesting a representative form each major religious community to give us a feedback covering the following questions:
What in the message of Jesus strikes a chord in you and what do you like about Christianity Where do you find the Christians and the Church in our times in India falling short of the teachings of Christ
You will necessarily have to do some plain speaking and the reason why we are approaching you is that you are one who can speak the truth with love.
The Kristostsava festival will be held in the Good Shepherd Convent Hall, < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Museum Road , Bangalore 560025, and the session will be on Friday Nov 9, 2007, at 10.00 am. The other speakers include Nidumamidi Swamiji, Dr Taha Mateen and hopefully Ham Pa Nagarajaiah.. You have half an hour for your talk with some clarifications. The whole session with other speakers will last two hours or so.
I know you are extremely busy with many concerns and I am happy and grateful you will still do this for us. This invitation comes to you from the Catholic Bishops of Karnataka, who are the organizers of this program. Writing on their behalf, I convey their great appreciation and gratitude to you.
Yours sincerely,
Ronnie Prabhu
With regards,
Ronnie Prabhu
ronnieprabhu@yahoo.com
Bio data
Dear Most Reverend Ronnie Prabhu
I am grateful to your Kind self and Venerable Ananda Bhante for asking me to do some plain speaking of truth with love to you on Friday 9th November 2007, the second day of the three day Kristotsava festival.
I informed Venerable Anand Bhante that I wish to present a prepared speech on that occasion. I have already started preparing the speech. Hence this delay in giving you my bio-data.
My prepared speech will be sent you your kind self and Venerable Anand Bhante.
In fact if all the speakers do the same and if I get a copy of the same I wish to publish in http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org.
I hope you are visiting that site.
Also I will be very grateful to your kind self if you can prepare a speech on
What is the message of The Buddha strikes a Chord in you and what do you like about Buddhism. Where do you find the Buddhists and Monasteries in our times in Jambudvipa that is The Great Prabuddha Bharath falling short of the Practice of the Doctrine of the Buddha.
The other speakers may also be asked to prepare on the above subject to enable me to publish the same in http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org on the occasion of completion 2550th Buddha Jayanthi.
Bio-data
A Peaceful Revolution
At the age of 65 Dhammachari Jagatheesan Chandrasekharan is one of the most senior members of Mahabodhi Society Bangalore. Here he looks back over a life, which spans of extraordinary change within Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath and particularly in the communities now known as ‘Original Inhabitants of The Great Prabuddha Bharath That is Jambydvipa’.
My parents followed some other culture out of ignorance of the fact that more than 98% were original inhabitants of Jambudvipa that is the Great Prabuddha Bharath. After visiting a slaughter house in childhood, the suffering of the animals those were slaughtered developed loving kindness and compassion. While human beings were cremated or buried in the grave yards. It was observed that the birds, fishes and domestic animals were in double trouble. They were cremated in the kitchen crematoriums, after storing them in refrigerator mortuaries and buried in the mobile human beings grave yards that are their stomachs.
Then step by step I started training my mind and started practicing abstaining from the taking of life that leads to longevity, abstaining from stealing to prosperity, abstaining from sexual misconduct to popularity, abstaining from false speech to a good reputation, and abstaining from intoxicants to mindfulness and wisdom.
Attended Pabajja and Vipassana and Zen Meditation Practice
To preserve the practice of the Triple Gem in the mind, the body is kept in a fit condition by daily cycling for 10 Km and swimming. Participated in State, National competitions and would participate in International events.
Practice to endure being contented and satisfied with little; eating little, sleeping little, speaking little and living in moderation. By doing this we can put an end to worldliness.
Retired as Senior Manger (Design) Aircraft Research and Design Centre, involved in designing passenger Aircrafts in HAL Bangalore.
Dear Most Reverend Ronnie Prabhu
Thank you very much for your mail.
I will come on my own.
If you prepare a talk on Buddha, kindly mail it to me.
Now many people are returning back to their own home i.e., Buddhism, after realizing the true fact that they are the original inhabitants of Jambudvipa i.e., The Great Prabuddha Bharath, since every one in this world are for the gain of the many and welfare of the many and wish to live a very happy and peaceful life.
We are all part of this one family of humankind and that is one reason that your kind self is able to bring all of us together. If this exercise continues, it will set an example to the whole world as how to live in peace. This is possible in this country since we originally belong to that one family. I also sincerely feel that if all the invited speakers could prepare talks on different religions and exchange amongst each other that will go a long way.
I have prepared the following presentation for 9th November 2007. I discussed with Venerable Anand Bhante and decided to send the same to your kind self for amendments if need be.
It was very easy for me to get the translation in English. But it will be very difficult to get it translated to any other languages including Kannada. Hence I would like to make this written presentation with any amendments you would like to make in the larger interest of mankind. I have no attachment to my presentation.
If I talk in Kannada or any other languages, the murder of the language will be keenly observed by the audience. But that will not happen when it is presented in English. Since it is a prepared presentation one can translate at leisure.
With Kind regards and
Lots of Metta
Jagatheesan Chandrasekharan
Presentation
Most Respected Reverend Ronnie Prabhu, Venerable Nidumamidi Swamiji, Dr Taha Mateen and Honourable < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Ham Pa Nagarajaiah
I am very grateful to Venerable Anand Bhante, Reverend Ronnie Prabhu, Catholic Bishops of Karnataka who are the organizers of this program on whose invitation this presentation is made for the benefit of this learned august house of Original Inhabitants of Jambudvipa that is The Great Prabuddha Bharath.
As the purpose of this get-together is to do some introspection as to
whether as a Christian community we are living up to expectations of our faith.
If faith is “the substance of things hoped for,” then worry is the substance of things dreaded (Hebrews 3:6). Worry is destructive. It fritters away time. It kills creativity and it often is a prophet of its own self-fulfilling doom. Most of all worry keeps us from claiming the blessings God has for us. It prevents us from living up to the fullness of our creation and finding joy in life. How do you fight worry and build faith?
Danema, 48, North Carolina says
I’ve come to stand on God’s word, “As a man thinketh, so is he”. Since God gave us the freedom of choice. Why is it so hard to “choose” not to worry? I’ve pondered this question many times, realizing as scripture reveals that all things are rooted in either fear or love. Since I know God is love and I believe God loves me…then I have to question any and all thoughts of doubt and negativity as to its root. I ask myself, is there truth to this thought of doubt or negativity? Is it based on love or fear? Exercising the power of choice, or should I say the gift of choice, is what I have to do daily. This goes along with the scripture that says, Examine each thought carefully. And also what the word says about meditating on the word, meditating on truth day and night… So therefore, I make a decision and choose to “meditate” on the positive, standing in faith using prayer as a tool and wait in expectation from my the best to come out of the situation, praising God all the way. And then I get up each morning and start all over again, exercising my muscles of faith. When I need more strength, I call on God even more
Try watching a spider. A spider spins its web in any convenient niche and then sits in the center, staying still and silent. Later, a fly comes along and lands on the web. As soon as it touches and shakes the web, “boop!” — The spider pounces and winds it up in thread. It stores the insect away and then returns again to collect itself silently in the center of the web.
Watching a spider like this can give rise to wisdom. Our six senses have mind at the center surrounded by eye, ear, nose, tongue and body. When one of the senses is stimulated, for instance, form contacting the eye, it shakes and reaches the mind. The mind is that which knows, that which knows form. Just this much is enough for wisdom to arise. It’s that simple.
Like a spider in its web, we should live keeping to ourselves. As soon as the spider feels an insect contact the web, it quickly grabs it, ties it up and once again returns to the center. This is not at all different from our own minds. “Coming to the center” means living mindfully with clear comprehension, being always alert and doing everything with exactness and precision — this is our center. There’s really not a lot for us to do; we just carefully live in this way. But that doesn’t mean that we live heedlessly thinking, “There is no need to do sitting or walking meditation!” and so forget all about our practice. We can’t be careless! We must remain alert just as the spider waits to snatch up insects for its food.
This is all that we have to know — sitting and contemplating that spider. Just this much and wisdom can arise spontaneously. Our mind is comparable to the spider, our moods and mental impressions are comparable to the various insects. That’s all there is to it! The senses envelop and constantly stimulate the mind; when any of them contact something, it immediately reaches the mind. The mind then investigates and examines it thoroughly, after which it returns to the center. This is how we abide — alert, acting with precision and always mindfully comprehending with wisdom. Just this much and our practice is complete.
This point is very important! It isn’t that we have to do sitting practice throughout the day and night, or that we have to do walking meditation all day and all night long. If this is our view of practice, then we really make it difficult for ourselves. We should do what we can according to our strength and energy, using our physical capabilities in the proper amount.
It’s very important to know the mind and the other senses well. Know how they come and how they go, how they arise and how they pass away. Understand this thoroughly! In the language of Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed, Noble, Awakened One we can also say that, just as the spider traps the various insects, the mind binds up the senses with impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, not-self. Where can they go? We keep them for food; these things are stored away as our nourishment. That’s enough; there’s no more to do, just this much! This is the nourishment for our minds, nourishment for one who is aware and understanding.
If you know that these things are impermanent, bound up with suffering and that none of it is you, and then you would be crazy to go after them! If you don’t see clearly in this way, then you must suffer. When you take a good look and see these things as really impermanent, even though they may seem worth going after, really they are not. Why do you want them when their nature is pain and suffering? It’s not ours, there is no self, and there is nothing belonging to us. So why are you seeking after them? All problems are ended right here. Where else will you end them?
Just take a good look at the spider and turn it inwards, turn it back unto yourself. You will see that it’s all the same. When the mind has seen impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, not-self, it lets go and releases itself. It no longer attaches to suffering or to happiness. This is the nourishment for the mind of one who practices and really trains himself. That’s all, it’s that simple! You don’t have to go searching anywhere! So no matter what you are doing, you are there, no need for a lot of fuss and bother. In this way the momentum and energy of your practice will continuously grow and mature.
[The Evil One]
Those with children
Delight
Because of their children.
Those with cattle
Delight
because of their cows.
A person’s delight
Comes from acquisitions,
Since a person with no acquisitions
doesn’t delight.
[The Blessed, Noble, Awakened One:] 
Those with children
Grieve
because of their children.
Those with cattle
Grieve
because of their cows.
A person’s grief
Comes from acquisitions,
Since a person with no acquisitions
Doesn’t grieve.
Then the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “The Blessed One knows me; the One Well-Gone knows me” — vanished right there.
Shot into the night {bad people}
If, by forsaking
A limited ease,
He would see
An abundance of ease,
The awakened man
Would forsake
The limited ease
For the sake
Of the abundant.
He wants his own ease
By giving others dis-ease.
Intertwined in the inter-
Action of hostility,
From hostility
He’s not set free.
In those who
Reject what should,
& do what shouldn’t be done
— Heedless, insolent —
Effluents grow.
But for those who
Are well-applied, constantly,
To mindfulness immersed in the body;
Don’t indulge
In what shouldn’t be done
& persist
In what should
— Mindful, alert —
Effluents come to an end.
Having killed mother & father,
Two warrior kings,
The kingdom & its dependency —
The invader, untroubled, travels on.
Having killed mother & father,
Two learned kings,
&, fifth, a tiger —
The invader, untroubled, travels on.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One’s disciples
Whose mindfulness, both day & night,
Is constantly immersed
In the Blessed, Noble, Awakened One’s.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One’s disciples
Whose mindfulness, both day & night,
Is constantly immersed
In the Doctrine-Practice of Path Shown by The Blessed, Noble, Awakened One.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One’s disciples
Whose mindfulness, both day & night,
Is constantly immersed
In the Spiritual Community of The True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed, Noble, Awakened One.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One-’s disciples
Whose mindfulness, both day & night,
Is constantly immersed
In the body.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One-’s disciples
Whose minds delight, both day & night,
In harmlessness.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One’s disciples
Whose minds delight, both day & night,
In developing the mind.
Hard is the life gone forth?
Hard to delight in.
Hard is the miserable
Householder’s life.
It’s painful to stay with dissonant people,
Painful to travel the road.
So be neither traveler
Nor pained.
The man of conviction
Endowed with virtue,
Glory & wealth:
Wherever he goes
He is honored.
The good shine from afar
Like the snowy Himalayas.
The bad don’t appear
Even when near,
Like arrows shot into the night.
Sitting alone,
Resting alone,
Walking alone,
Untiring.
Taming himself,
He’d delight alone —
Alone in the forest.
![\"Stock](\"http://www.worldofstock.com/thumbs/PCU1865.jpg\")
Whether we are truly followers of Christ and what steps we should take to revitalize ourselves in the path of Christ.
What in the message of Jesus strikes a chord in you and what do you like about Christianity Where do you find the Christians and the Church in our times in India falling short of the teachings of Christ
Buddhist views
Buddhism and Christianity (are two major religions that are compared and contrasted by scholars, with parallels between the two revolving around perceived similarities in the teachings and in the spiritual intent and practices. Given these correspondences, questions arise as to their origins, influences, and interaction. Scholars remain divided on whether the religious parallels are coincidental, or arising from separate but similar developments, or the result of a direct or indirect influence of Buddhism on early Christianity).
Buddhists’ views of Jesus differ, since Jesus is not mentioned in any Buddhist text. Some Buddhists, including Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama[124] regard Jesus as a bodhisattva ( are motivated by the wish to benefit other beings and to lead them to awakenment). who dedicated his life to the welfare of human beings. Both Jesus and Buddha advocated radical alterations in the common religious practices of the day. There are occasional similarities in language, such as the use of the common metaphor of a line of blind men to refer to religious authorities with whom they disagreed [125][126]. Some believe there is a particularly close affinity between Buddhism (or Eastern spiritual thought generally) and the doctrine of Gnostic texts such as The Gospel of Thomas[127]
Now, some people confuse the clay pot with the treasure. They think if the church and Christians aren’t perfect, they are not worth considering. Hey, wait a minute. The only way you can get into a church is to admit you are a sinner and you need help.
The church is a place
where people who are spiritually sick can get well,
where people who are unconnected with God can connect,
where folks who are ignorant of spiritual truth can learn,
and where self-centered people can learn to love and serve.
I mean, do you criticize a hospital because it has sick people in it?
Do you criticize a school because it has people in it who don’t know everything?
Paul says we are like earthen cookware. The reason we need to keep this image of ourselves, he says, is so that we remember the power and the glory is not in ourselves but in the treasure. Well, let’s talk about the treasure.
The Treasure 
Paul spends the rest of the chapter talking about the treasure we have in Christ. The Christ-treasure I will call it. It is completely differently from most human treasure. Like, most human treasures are in a specific location like a vault, or a lock box.
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island you may remember the story revolves around a crudely constructed map with directions written on the back of it… Some of the words were: Tall tree, Spyglass shoulder, Skeleton Island, Ten feet.
Like most hidden treasures it was buried in a specific place.
Contrast please with the treasure we have in Christ.
The Christ-treasure is buried not in a geographical location but in the minds of his disciples. Listen to the Apostle:
“We always carry around in our body . . . Jesus.” (2 Cor. 4:10) God has chosen us to “carry around” his treasure.
Maybe most important, we don’t find the Christ-treasure, the Christ treasure has already found us. In Christ’s eyes, we are the treasure. And we’ve been found. But we hold the key to the lock on your mind. You can say to the Lord, enter, or stay away.
Don’t miss this:
A human treasure is to be protected. Consider how rare jewels are placed in secure places. Bank vaults with security alarms paint the picture.
How different is the gift of our Lord. The Christ-treasure doesn’t seek to be protected at all. In fact, it prefers to lead us into the battles of life. It is more like an infantryman than a security officer. Listen as Paul describes how aggressive the Christ-treasure is.
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
Perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not abandoned;
Struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Cor. 4:8,9)
You see, we don’t so much push Christ into a safe place as Christ walks with us when life pushes us into a land mine. Christ is a treasure you can take with you in life, in suffering, and even in death and the resurrection.
“Therefore we do not lose mind. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2 Cor. 4:10-12)
There had been some difficult days as a church family recently. Eight times in the last two weeks they have stood at opened graves and grieved with those who are left behind. Their minds have been broken. Remember that we have no immunity from life as believers, only the infectious presence of the One who died on the cross and conquered death. When we are stripped of everything we expected, we discover He is there and our church is there. In the end the treasure and the earthen vessel remain.
The late Henri Nouwen, the Catholic Priest who taught as Yale and Notre Dame spent his last years at a Retreat center for handicapped adults near Toronto, Canada. One of his friends was named Trevor. He loved to walk in the fields and pick flowers. Often he would bring them to Henri. Then came the day when Trevor had to spend some time in a Mental Institution to take some psychological evaluations. Nouwen called up the chaplain to ask if he could visit Trevor. The Chaplain was a bit awed that Nouwen would be coming and asked if he could invite others of the religious community to join them for dinner. Not understanding what was involved Nouwen agreed.
When Nouwen arrived the Chaplain was waiting for him along with others who had been invited. “Where’s Trevor?” asked Henri. “You will see him after dinner explained the Chaplain. The patients are not allowed to eat with the guests…” “But I am here to see Trevor,” said Nouwen. “That is impossible,” said the Chaplain, “because you see we are having dinner in the Golden Room and patients are not allowed to eat there.”
Nouwen was completely taken by surprise and said, “If Trevor does not eat I will not eat. If Trevor can’t come to the Golden Room I will not be eating there either.” That brought on some serious whispering. Henri went looking for Trevor and found him as always looking for flowers. He saw Henri and ran to him and said, “Here, I brought you some flowers.” Finally they said, “Alright we will invite Trevor.”
Trevor sat by Nouwen. As is usual, drinks came first. Nouwen poured Trevor a coke. The mood was somewhat serious as guests became acquainted with one another. Suddenly Trevor stood up and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, a toast,” as he held his coke up. Everyone looked up partly anxious and partly embarrassed. Nouwen said later he could read their thoughts: “What in the heck is this patient going to do? Better be careful.”
Trevor, like a little child, seemed to have no worries. He began to sing, “When you’re happy and you know it, lift your glass, when you’re happy when you know it lift your glass.” As he sang, people’s faces relaxed and started to sing and not long after everyone was standing and singing under Trevor’s direction.
Trevor’s toast changed the whole mood in the Golden Room that day. He had brought strangers together and made them feel at home. His beautiful smile and fearless joy turned a place of sorrow and joy into a place of blessing.
Maybe the church is like Trevor, not invited to many Golden Rooms. But don’t count us out. At surprising times we wind up giving blessings to those who walk through difficult, difficult times.
We have this treasure in earthen vessels!
Kindly visit:
http://earthenvesselsweb.org/CMS/index.php
The Trap of the Senses
The THE BLESSED NOBLE AWAKENED ONE talked about desire and the six things by which desire is gratified: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects. Desire and lust for happiness, for suffering, for good, for evil and so on, pervade everything!
Sights… there isn’t any sight that’s quite the same as that of a woman. Isn’t that so? Doesn’t a really attractive woman make you want to look? One with a really attractive figure comes walking along, “sak, sek, sak, sek, sak, sek,” — you can’t help but stare! How about sounds? There’s no sound that grips you more than that of a woman. It pierces your mind! Smell is the same; a woman’s fragrance is the most alluring of all. There’s no other smell that’s quite the same. Taste — even the taste of the most delicious food cannot compare with that of a woman. Touch is similar; when you caress a woman you are stunned, intoxicated and sent spinning all around.
There was once a famous master of magical spells 
from Taxila in ancient Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath. He taught his disciple all his knowledge of charms and incantations. When the disciple was well-versed and ready to fare on his own, he left with this final instruction from his teacher, “I have taught you all that I know of spells, incantations and protective verses. Creatures with sharp teeth, 
Antlers or horns, 
and even big tusks, 
you have no need to fear. You will be guarded from all of these, I can guarantee that. However, there is only one thing that I cannot ensure protection against, and that is the charms of a woman. I can not help you here. There’s no spell for protection against this one, you’ll have to look after yourself.” 
Mental objects arise in the mind. They are born out of desire: desire for valuable possessions, desire to be rich, and just restless seeking after things in general. This type of greed isn’t all that deep or strong, it isn’t enough to make you faint or lose control. However, when sexual desire arises, you’re thrown off balance and lose your control. You would even forget those raised and brought you up — your own parents!
The THE BLESSED NOBLE AWAKENED ONE taught that the objects of our senses are a trap — a trap of the evil one’s. Evil One should be understood as something which harms us. The trap is something which binds us, the same as a snare. It’s a trap of the evil one’s, a hunter’s snare,
and the hunter is evil one.
If animals are caught in the hunter’s trap, it’s a sorrowful predicament. They are caught fast and held waiting for the owner of the trap snare springs and “boop” — caught by the neck! A good strong string now holds it fast. Wherever the bird flies, it cannot escape. It flies here and flies there, but it’s held tight waiting for the owner of the snare. When the hunter comes along, that’s it — the bird is struck with fear, there’s no escape!
_small.jpg)
The trap of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects is the same. They catch us and bind us fast. If you attach to the senses, you’re the same as a fish caught on a hook. When the fisherman comes, struggle all you want, but you can’t get loose. Actually, you’re not caught like a fish, it’s more like a frog — a frog gulps down the whole hook right to its guts, a fish just gets caught in its mouth.
Anyone attached to the senses is the same. Like a drunk whose liver is not yet destroyed — he doesn’t know when he has had enough. He continues to indulge and drink carelessly. He’s caught and later suffers illness and pain.
A man comes walking along a road. He is very thirsty from his journey and is craving for a drink of water. The owner of the water says, “You can drink this water if you like; the color is good, the smell is good, the taste is good, but if you drink it you will become ill. I must tell you this beforehand, it’ll make you sick enough to die or nearly die.” The thirsty man does not listen. He’s as thirsty as a person after an operation that has been denied water for seven days — he’s crying for water!
It’s the same with a person thirsting after the senses. The THE BLESSED NOBLE AWAKENED ONE taught that they are poisonous — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects are poison; they are a dangerous trap. But this man is thirsty and doesn’t listen; because of his thirst he is in tears, crying, “Give me water, no matter how painful the consequences, let me drink!” So he dips out a bit and swallows it down finding it very tasty. He drinks his fill and gets so sick that he almost dies. He didn’t listen because of his overpowering desire.
This is how it is for a person caught in the pleasures of the senses. He drinks in sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects — they are all very delicious! So he drinks without stopping and there he remains, stuck fast until the day he dies.
“Now, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones, when touched with a feeling of pain, does not sorrow, grieve, or lament, does not beat his breast or become distraught. So he feels one pain: physical, but not mental. Just as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and, right afterward, did not shoot him with another one, so that he would feel the pain of only one arrow. In the same way, when touched with a feeling of pain, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones does not sorrow, grieve, or lament, does not beat his breast or become distraught. He feels one pain: physical, but not mental.
“As he is touched by that painful feeling, he is not resistant. No resistance-obsession with regard to that painful feeling obsesses him. Touched by that painful feeling, he does not delight in sensual pleasure. Why is that? Because the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones discerns an escape from painful feeling aside from sensual pleasure. As he is not delighting in sensual pleasure, no passion-obsession with regard to that feeling of pleasure obsesses him. He discerns, as it actually is present, the origination, passing away, allure, drawback, and escape from that feeling. As he discerns the origination, passing away, allure, drawback, and escape from that feeling, no ignorance-obsession with regard to that feeling of neither-pleasure-nor-pain obsesses him.
“Sensing a feeling of pleasure, he senses it disjoined from it. Sensing a feeling of pain, he senses it disjoined from it. Sensing a feeling of neither-pleasure-nor-pain, he senses it disjoined from it. This is called a well-instructed disciple of the noble ones disjoined from birth, aging, & death; from sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs. He is disjoined, I tell you, from suffering & stress.
“This is the difference, this distinction, this the distinguishing factor between the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones and the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person.”
The discerning person, learned,
Doesn’t sense a (mental) feeling of pleasure or pain:
This is the difference in skillfulness
Between the sage & the person run-of-the-mill.
For a learned person
Who has fathomed the Doctrine-Practice of the Path Shown by the Blessed, Noble, Awakened One,
Clearly seeing this world & the next,
Desirable things don’t charm the mind,
Undesirable ones bring no resistance.
His acceptance
& rejection are scattered,
Gone to their end,
Do not exist.
Knowing the dustless, sorrow less state,
He discerns rightly,
Has gone, beyond becoming,
To the Further Shore.
“When embraced,
The rod of violence
Breeds danger & fear:
Look at people quarreling.
I will tell of how
I experienced
Dismay.
Seeing people floundering
Like fish in small puddles,
Competing with one another —
As I saw this,
Fear came into me.
The world was entirely
Without substance.
All the directions
Were knocked out of line.
Wanting a haven for myself,
I saw nothing that wasn’t laid claim to.
Seeing nothing in the end
But competition,
I felt discontent.
And then I saw
An arrow here,
So very hard to see,
Embedded in the heart.
Overcome by this arrow
You run in all directions.
But simply on pulling it out
You don’t run,
You don’t sink.
Whatever things are tied down in the world,
You shouldn’t be set on them.
Having totally penetrated
Sensual pleasures,
Sensual passions,
You should train for your own
Unbinding.
Be truthful, not insolent,
Not deceptive, rid
Of divisiveness.
Without anger, the sage
Should cross over the evil
Of greed & avarice.
He should conquer laziness,
Weariness,
Sloth;
Shouldn’t consort with heedlessness,
Shouldn’t stand firm in his pride —
The man with his mind set
On Unbinding.
He shouldn’t engage in lying,
Shouldn’t create a sense of allure in form,
Should fully fathom conceit,
And live refraining from impulsiveness;
Shouldn’t delight in what’s old,
Prefer what’s new,
Grieve over decline,
Get entangled in
What’s dazzling & bright?
I call greed
A ‘great flood’;
Hunger, a swift current.
Preoccupations are ripples;
Sensuality, a bog
Hard to cross over.
Not deviating from truth,
A sage stands on high ground
: A brahman.
Having renounced all,
He is said to be at peace;
Having clearly known, he
Is an attainer-of-wisdom;
Knowing the Doctrine-Practice of the True Path Shown by the Awakened One, he’s
Independent.
Moving rightly through the world,
He doesn’t envy
Anyone here.
Whoever here has gone over & beyond
Sensual passions —
An attachment hard
To transcend in the world,
Doesn’t sorrow,
Doesn’t fret.
He, his stream cut, is free
From bonds.
Burn up what’s before,
And have nothing for after.
If you don’t grasp
At what’s in between,
You will go about, calm.
For whom, in name & form,
In every way,
There’s no sense of mine,
And who doesn’t grieve
Over what is not:
He, in the world,
Isn’t defeated,
Suffers no loss.
To whom there doesn’t occur
‘This is mine,’
For whom nothing is others,’
Feeling no sense of mine-ness,
Doesn’t grieve at the thought
‘I have nothing.’
Not harsh,
Not greedy, not
Perturbed,
Everywhere
In tune:
This is the reward
— I say when asked —
For those who are free
From pre-
Conceptions.
For one unperturbed
— Who knows —?
There’s no accumulating.
Abstaining, unaroused,
He everywhere sees
Security.
The sage
Doesn’t speak of himself
As among those who are higher,
Equal,
Or lower.
At peace, free of selfishness,
He doesn’t embrace, doesn’t
Reject,”
The Blessed One said.
Thus abstaining from the taking of life leads to longevity, abstaining from stealing to prosperity, abstaining from sexual misconduct to popularity, abstaining from false speech to a good reputation, and abstaining from intoxicants to mindfulness and wisdom.
For one who desires
Long life, health,
Beauty, heaven, & noble birth,
— lavish delights, one after another —
The wise praise heedfulness
In performing deeds of merit.
When heedful, wise,
You achieve both kinds of benefit:
Benefits in this life,
& benefits in lives to come.
By breaking through to your benefit,
You’re called awakened,
Wise.
But one awakened & knowing,
On acquiring wealth,
Enjoys it & performs his duties.
He, a bull among men,
Having supported his kin,
Without blame
Goes to the land of heaven.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 5:04 am
Sarvajan Hitay Sarvajan Sukhay-For The Gain of The Many and For The Welfare of The Many
http://www.indiaenews.com/politics/20071028/77582.htm
Snap polls likely after N-deal deadlock: Mayawati
From correspondents in Punjab, India, 08:32 PM IST
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Sunday called upon her party cadres to be prepared for early general elections thanks to the deadlock between the Congress and the Left parties over the India-US nuclear deal.
Addressing a rally here to mark the merger of a local party, Chandigarh Vikas Manch (CVM), with the BSP, she said: ‘BSP cadres and supporters should be ready for the next general elections as the nuclear deal is likely to lead to the fall of the government. The BSP will fight the elections on its own and the day is not far when we will rule the central government.
‘We will take the weaker sections and all other categories like upper castes and religious minorities with us to come to power at the centre,’ Mayawati declared.
The BSP leader, in her speech of nearly an hour, criticized the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for ignoring the needs of the common people.
‘These parties have done nothing for the common man. All they have done is to play to the gallery for capitalists and industrialists. They have contested all elections with the help of these capitalists. People should throw them out,’ Mayawati said.
She said a wrong impression had been created by vested interests that the BSP was a party only for the weaker and neglected sections of society.
‘We have shown in Uttar Pradesh that we are there not only for weaker sections but also for upper castes and religious minorities. We want to repeat this all over the country,’ the chief minister said.
Mayawati was presented with a gold crown and a sword by local BSP and CVM leaders. CVM president and former union minister Harmohan Dhawan announced the merger of his party with the BSP.
Mayawati declared that Dhawan will be the BSP candidate in any future Lok Sabha election for the Chandigarh seat.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 12:59 am
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
“Quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful mental qualities, he enters and remains in the first jhana: rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought and evaluation. He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal. Just as if a skilled bathman or bathman’s apprentice would pour bath powder into a brass basin and knead it together, sprinkling it again and again with water, so that his ball of bath powder — saturated, moisture-laden, permeated within and without — would nevertheless not drip; even so, the True Follower of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata permeates… this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of withdrawal. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal.
“This is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.
“Furthermore, with the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters and remains in the second jhana: rapture and pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought and evaluation — internal assurance. He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of composure. Just like a lake with spring-water welling up from within, having no inflow from the east, west, north, or south, and with the skies supplying abundant showers time and again, so that the cool fount of water welling up from within the lake would permeate and pervade, suffuse and fill it with cool waters, there being no part of the lake unpervaded by the cool waters; even so, the True Follower of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata permeates… this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of composure. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born of composure.
“This, too, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.
“And furthermore, with the fading of rapture, he remains in equanimity, is mindful & alert, and senses pleasure with the body. He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, ‘Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.’ He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the pleasure divested of rapture. Just as in a lotus pond, some of the lotuses, born and growing in the water, stay immersed in the water and flourish without standing up out of the water, so that they are permeated and pervaded, suffused and filled with cool water from their roots to their tips, and nothing of those lotuses would be unpervaded with cool water; even so, the monk permeates… this very body with the pleasure divested of rapture. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture.
“This, too, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.
“And furthermore, with the abandoning of pleasure and stress — as with the earlier disappearance of elation and distress — he enters and remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity and mindfulness, neither-pleasure nor stress. He sits, permeating the body with a pure, bright awareness. Just as if a man were sitting covered from head to foot with a white cloth so that there would be no part of his body to which the white cloth did not extend; even so, the True Follower of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata sits, permeating the body with a pure, bright awareness. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by pure, bright awareness.
“This, too, great king, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.
Rulership
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying among the Kosalans in a wilderness hut in a Himalayan district. Then, as he was alone in seclusion, this train of thought arose in his awareness: “Is it possible to exercise rulership without killing or causing others to kill, without confiscating or causing others to confiscate, without sorrowing or causing others sorrow — righteously?”
Then the Evil One, knowing with his awareness the train of thought in the Blessed One’s awareness, went to him and on arrival said to him: “Exercise rulership, Blessed One! Exercise rulership, O One Well-gone! — without killing or causing others to kill, without confiscating or causing others to confiscate, without sorrowing or causing others sorrow — righteously!”
“But what do you see in me, Evil One, that you say to me, ‘Exercise rulership, Blessed One! Exercise rulership, O One Well-gone! — without killing or causing others to kill, without confiscating or causing others to confiscate, without sorrowing or causing others sorrow — righteously!’?”
“Lord, the Blessed One has developed the four bases of power, pursued them, handed them the reins and taken them as a basis, given them a grounding, steadied them, consolidated them, and undertaken them well. If he wanted to, he could resolve on the Himalayas, king of mountains, as gold, and it would become a mountain of gold.”
[The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata :]
The entirety
of a mountain of gold,
of solid bullion:
even twice that
wouldn’t suffice
for one person.
Knowing this,
live evenly,
in tune with the contemplative life.
When you see stress,
and from where it comes,
how can you incline
to sensual pleasures?
Knowing acquisition
to be a bond in the world,
train for
its subduing.
Then the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “The Blessed One knows me; the One Well-gone knows me” — vanished right there.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 12:49 am
Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Living With the Cobra
(A brief talk given as final instruction to an elderly Englishwoman who spent two months under the guidance of Ajahn Chah at the end of 1978 and beginning of 1979.)
This short talk is for the benefit of a new disciple who will soon be returning to London. May it serve to help you understand the Teaching that you have studied here at Wat Pah Pong. Most simply, this is the practice to be free of suffering in the cycle of birth and death.
In order to do this practice, remember to regard all the various activities of mind, all those you like and all those you dislike, in the same way as you would regard a cobra. The cobra is an extremely poisonous snake, poisonous enough to cause death if it should bite us. And so, also, it is with our moods; the moods that we like are poisonous, the moods that we dislike are also poisonous. They prevent our minds from being free and hinder our understanding of the Truth as it was taught by the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata.
Clipart of a Poisonous Cobra Snake
Thus is it necessary to try to maintain our mindfulness throughout the day and night. Whatever you may be doing, be it standing, sitting, lying down, speaking or whatever, you should do with mindfulness. When you are able to establish this mindfulness, you’ll find that there will arise clear comprehension associated with it, and these two conditions will bring about wisdom. Thus mindfulness, clear comprehension and wisdom will work together, and you’ll be like one who is awake both day and night.
These Teachings left us by the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata are not Teachings to be just listened to, or simply absorbed on an intellectual level. They are Teachings that through practice can be made to arise and known in our minds. Wherever we go, whatever we do, we should have these Teachings. And what we mean by “to have these Teachings” or “to have the Truth,” is that, whatever we do or say, we do and say with wisdom. When we think and contemplate, we do so with wisdom. We say that one who has mindfulness and clear comprehension combined in this way with wisdom, is one who is close to the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata.
When you leave here, you should practice bringing everything back to your own mind. Look at your mind with this mindfulness and clear comprehension and develop this wisdom. With these three conditions there will arise a “letting go.” You’ll know the constant arising and passing away of all phenomena.
You should know that that which is arising and passing away is only the activity of mind. When something arises, it passes away and is followed by further arising and passing away. In the Way ofDoctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata we call this arising and passing away “birth and death”; and this is everything — this is all there is! When suffering has arisen, it passes away, and, when it has passed away, suffering arises again.There’s just suffering arising and passing away. When you see this much, you’ll be able to know constantly this arising and passing away; and, when your knowing is constant, you’ll see that this is really all there is. Everything is just birth and death. It’s not as if there is anything which carries on. There’s just this arising and passing away as it is — that’s all.
This kind of seeing will give rise to a tranquil feeling of dispassion towards the world. Such a feeling arises when we see that actually there is nothing worth wanting; there is only arising and passing away, a being born followed by a dying. This is when the mind arrives at “letting go,” letting everything go according to its own nature. Things arise and pass away in our mind, and we know. When happiness arises, we know; when dissatisfaction arises, we know. And this “knowing happiness” means that we don’t identify with it as being ours. And likewise with dissatisfaction and unhappiness, we don’t identify with them as being ours. When we no longer identify with and cling to happiness and suffering, we are simply left with the natural way of things.
So we say that mental activity is like the deadly poisonous cobra. If we don’t interfere with a cobra, it simply goes its own way. Even though it may be extremely poisonous, we are not affected by it; we don’t go near it or take hold of it, and it doesn’t bite us. The cobra does what is natural for a cobra to do. That’s the way it is. If you are clever you’ll leave it alone. And so you let be that which is good. You also let be that which is not good — let it be according to its own nature. Let be your liking and your disliking, the same way as you don’t interfere with the cobra.
So, one who is intelligent will have this kind of attitude towards the various moods that arise in the mind. When goodness arises, we let it be good, but we know also. We understand its nature. And, too, we let be the not-good, we let it be according to its nature. We don’t take hold of it because we don’t want anything. We don’t want evil, neither do we want good. We want neither heaviness nor lightness, happiness nor suffering. When, in this way, our wanting is at an end, peace is firmly established.
When we have this kind of peace established in our minds, we can depend on it. This peace, we say, has arisen out of confusion. Confusion has ended. The The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata called the attainment of final Awakenment an “extinguishing,” in the same way that fire is extinguished. We extinguish fire at the place at which it appears. Wherever it is hot, that’s where we can make it cool. And so it is with Awakenment. Nibbana is found in Samsara. Awakenment and delusion (Samsara) exist in the same place, just as do hot and cold. It’s hot where it was cold and cold where it was hot. When heat arises, the coolness disappears, and when there is coolness, there’s no more heat. In this way Nibbana and Samsara are the same.
We are told to put an end to Samsara, which means to stop the ever-turning cycle of confusion. This putting an end to confusion is extinguishing the fire. When external fire is extinguished there is coolness. When the internal fires of sensual craving, aversion and delusion are put out, then this is coolness also.
This is the nature of Awakenment; it’s the extinguishing of fire, the cooling of that which was hot. This is peace. This is the end of Samsara, the cycle of birth and death. When you arrive at Awakenment, this is how it is. It’s an ending of the ever-turning and ever-changing, an ending of greed, aversion and delusion in our minds. We talk about it in terms of happiness because this is how worldly people understand the ideal to be, but in reality it has gone beyond. It is beyond both happiness and suffering. It’s perfect peace.
So as you go you should take this Teaching which I have given you and contemplate it carefully. Your stay here hasn’t been easy and I have had little opportunity to give you instruction, but in this time you have been able to study the real meaning of our practice. May this practice lead you to happiness; may it help you grow in Truth. May you be freed from the suffering of birth and death.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 12:23 am
Spiritual Community of The Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
While meditating under the Bo tree in the forest at Gaya (now Bodhgaya, India) during the full-moon night of May, the Bodhisatta becomes the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata (age 36).
During the full-moon night of July, the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata delivers his first discourse near Varanasi, introducing the world to the Four Noble Truths and commencing a 45-year career of teaching the religion he called “Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata-vinaya.”
Setting the Wheel of in Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata in Motion
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Varanasi in the Game Refuge at Isipatana. There he addressed the group of five monks:
“There are these two extremes that are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two? That which is devoted to sensual pleasure with reference to sensual objects: base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is devoted to self-affliction: painful, ignoble, unprofitable. Avoiding both of these extremes, the middle way realized by the Tathagata — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
“And what is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding? Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
“Now this, True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble truth of stress: Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful, separation from the loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted is stressful. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
“And this, True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble truth of the origination of stress: the craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there — i.e., craving for sensual pleasure, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming.
“And this, True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble truth of the cessation of stress: the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving.
“And this, True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress: precisely this Noble Eightfold Path — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before: ‘This is the noble truth of stress’… ‘This noble truth of stress is to be comprehended’… ‘This noble truth of stress has been comprehended.’
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before: ‘This is the noble truth of the origination of stress’… ‘This noble truth of the origination of stress is to be abandoned’ … ‘This noble truth of the origination of stress has been abandoned.’
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before: ‘This is the noble truth of the cessation of stress’… ‘This noble truth of the cessation of stress is to be directly experienced’… ‘This noble truth of the cessation of stress has been directly experienced.’
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose, illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before: ‘This is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress’… ‘This noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress is to be developed’… ‘This noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress has been developed.’
“And, True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, as long as this knowledge & vision of mine — with its three rounds & twelve permutations concerning these four noble truths as they actually are present — was not pure, I did not claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its devas, Maras, & Brahmas, with its contemplatives & priests, its royalty & commonfolk. But as soon as this knowledge & vision of mine — with its three rounds & twelve permutations concerning these four noble truths as they actually are present — was truly pure, then I did claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its devas, Maras & Brahmas, with its contemplatives & priests, its royalty & commonfolk. Knowledge & vision arose in me: ‘Unprovoked is my release. This is the last birth. There is now no further becoming.’”
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the group of five True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata delighted at his words. And while this explanation was being given, there arose to Ven. Kondañña the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye: Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.
And when the Blessed One had set the Wheel of Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata in motion, the earth devas cried out: “At Varanasi, in the Game Refuge at Isipatana, the Blessed One has set in motion the unexcelled Wheel of Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata that cannot be stopped by priest or contemplative, deva, Mara or God or anyone in the cosmos.” On hearing the earth devas’ cry, the devas of the Four Kings’ Heaven took up the cry… the devas of the Thirty-three… the Yama devas… the Tusita devas… the Nimmanarati devas… the Paranimmita-vasavatti devas… the devas of Brahma’s retinue took up the cry: “At Varanasi, in the Game Refuge at Isipatana, the Blessed One has set in motion the unexcelled Wheel of Dhamma that cannot be stopped by priest or contemplative, deva, Mara, or God or anyone at all in the cosmos.”
So in that moment, that instant, the cry shot right up to the Brahma worlds. And this ten-thousand fold cosmos shivered & quivered & quaked, while a great, measureless radiance appeared in the cosmos, surpassing the effulgence of the devas.
Then the Blessed One exclaimed: “So you really know, Kondañña? So you really know?” And that is how Ven. Kondañña acquired the name Añña-Kondañña — Kondañña who knows.
Notes
1. The Pali phrases for the four noble truths are grammatical anomalies. From these anomalies, some scholars have argued that the expression “noble truth” is a later addition to the texts. Others have argued even further that the content of the four truths is also a later addition. Both of these arguments are based on the unproven assumption that the language The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata spoke was grammatically regular, and that any irregularities were later corruptions of the language. This assumption forgets that the languages of The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s time were oral dialects, and that the nature of such dialects is to contain many grammatical irregularities. Languages tend to become regular only when being used to govern a large nation state or to produce a large body of literature: events that happened in India only after The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s time. (A European example: Italian was a group of irregular oral dialects until Dante fashioned it into a regular language for the sake of his poetry.) Thus the irregularity of the Pali here is no proof either for the earliness or lateness of this particular teaching.
2. Another argument for the lateness of the expression “noble truth” is that a truth — meaning an accurate statement about a body of facts — is not something that should be abandoned. In this case, only the craving is to be abandoned, not the truth about craving. However, in Vedic Sanskrit — as in modern English — a “truth” can mean both a fact and an accurate statement about a fact. Thus in this case, the “truth” is the fact, not the statement about the fact, and the argument for the lateness of the expression does not hold.
3. The discussion in the four paragraphs beginning with the phrase, “Vision arose…,” takes two sets of variables — the four noble truths and the three levels of knowledge appropriate to each — and lists their twelve permutations. In ancient Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath philosophical and legal traditions, this sort of discussion is called a wheel. Thus, this passage is the Wheel of Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata from which the discourse takes its name.
10/28/07
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 11:34 am
Sarvajan Hitay Sarvajan Sukhay-For The Gain of The Many and For The Welfare of The Many
http://10venu55.blogspot.com/2007/10/mahatma-gandhi-divided-india-on-caste.html
Board Posts
Mahatma Gandhi divided India on caste lines: Mayawati
MSN India
Saturday, October 27, 200719:09 IST
Blog this storyChandigarh: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today caused a flutter by saying that Mahatma Gandhi had divided the nation on caste lines whereas Original Inhabitant of Jambudvipa That is Prabuddha Bharath leader B.R. Ambedkar had strived to unite all sections of society.
Addressing a meet-the-press programme at the Chandigarh Press Club on her maiden visit to the city as chief minister, Mayawati minced no words to say that the father of the nation, who is credited for leading India’s non-violent struggle to end the British rule in the country, had divided the country.
“It was him (Gandhi) who gave the name Harijan to people from Original Inhabitant of Jambudvipa That is Prabuddha Bharath and weaker sections of society. He divided Indian society into two categories - the
Original Inhabitant of Jambudvipa That is Prabuddha Bharath and Invaders Cult as High and Low Castes,” the chief minister said.
“It was Ambedkar who tried to unite all sections of society. I don’t want to undermine Gandhi’s contribution to the freedom struggle but that also led to the division of Indian society,” Mayawati asserted.
She said her Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would continue with its ideology to bring the Original Inhabitant of Jambudvipa That is Prabuddha Bharath and neglected sections of society to the forefront and also to unite all categories - from weaker sections to religious minorities to upper castes - through its social engineering process.
Mayawati said the BSP, which this year romped home to power with a clear majority in the Uttar Pradesh assembly, would expand its base and try its social engineering campaign of uniting various sections of society in other states and at the centre.
“As and when the occasion arises and my party workers want me to take control (of power) in Delhi, I must tell you, I will not disappoint them,” Mayawati said with a big smile on her face when asked about her prime ministerial ambitions.
K.Venugopal - Mumbai on 10/27/2007 9:07:53 PM
It is Mayawati who is a Original Inhabitant of Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath. Mahatma Gandhi divided the nation when he acquiesced to Islamic communalism and, at a time when the Original Inhabitant of Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath were looked down upon by the Invaders Cult, Mahatma Gandhi saw God (Hari) in them also and called them Harijans (God’s people) as if they were not born to Human Beings. But Hari is of Invaders connotation. Thus calling them Harijans is opposed by those who are anti-Invaders. Ambedkar had ridiculed Rama. And today Mayawati wants to install statutes of Periyar, another person who excelled in insulting Rama and all Invaders Cult. However, Ambedkar eventually saw merit in Buddhism which is not the Invders Cult and refused to convert outside it. Mayawati’s mentor Kanshiram proffered a toilet to a mandir at Invaders Cult bhumi, which gives a clue of what Mayawati herself thinks about Invaders Cult. Till the only truly nationalist party in India, the BSP, gets its act together, fissiparous caste and communal politics will seem to be gaining the upper hand.
And now on Friday comes further bad news for its principle party, Congress and the influential Gandhi-Nehru dynasty.
Whatever hopes it may have had to regain ground in Uttar Pradesh (UP), the country’s biggest and most politically important state, have been dashed. In fact it has lost ground in UP again.
Since 2004, Congress has lost power state elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Kerala.
It has also done badly in municipal elections in states it rules, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Delhi.
Friday’s poor showing in UP provides more evidence for those predicting further reverses for Congress in Gujarat later this year.
‘Reforms stalled’
So what does this mean for the central government’s ambitious economic reform programme, based on a prediction of 10%+ economic growth?
There was a sombre mood at Congress offices
|
Does the economist Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, have political space to push for further reforms?
The editor of one of India’s leading business dailies, The Business Standard, AK Bhattacharya, is among the pessimists. He argues that the reform process “had in any case stalled. The problem for reforms in India is not outside the (governing) UPA but inside the UPA. A defeat in UP will see the situation worsen further”.
Mr Bhattacharya says crucial reforms will suffer. These include:
- Pension changes that would benefit millions of workers in the unorganised (non-unionised) sector besides those in the organised (unionised) sector
- Amendments to the Insurance Bill
- Several policy decisions dealing with the rehabilitation of people displaced by economic projects such as Special Economic Zones
- Banking sector and legal reforms
- The implementation of VAT at state level.
The basic problem facing the ruling Congress Party has been its inability to widen its electoral base in the country, three years since coming to power with the support of several regional parties and the communists.
A coalition of social groups that the Congress forged after Independence in 1947 helped the party retain power in UP and at the national level for over four decades.
But that has now been hijacked by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Led by the populist Mayawati, the BSP is a party that was formed to champion the cause of Original Inhabitants of Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath, who are shown right at the bottom by The Invaders Cult.
However, the BSP has now succeeded in winning the support of all social groups including Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.
And that is reason enough for Congress to worry.
http://www.timpu.com/2007/10/27/mayawati-seeks-cbi-probe-in-gujarat-riots/
Timpu
Chandigarh, Oct 27 (UNI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati today demanded a CBI probe into the Gujarat riots in the light of the recent Tehelka expose on the matter.
Online edition of India’s National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 28, 2007
Charge against Mahatma
Sarabjit Pandher
CHANDIGARH: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and president of the Bahujan Samaj Party Mayawati has said that though her party respected Mahatma Gandhi for leading the country’s freedom struggle, he actually divided society along caste lines.
Ms. Mayawati was responding to a query at a “Meet the Press” programme organised by the Chandigarh Press Club on Saturday. She refused to accept that her social engineering experiment reflected a shift in her stance from being a pungent critic of “Manuvad” to following “Gandhivad.”
She asserted that her social engineering formula, which catapulted her to power for the fourth time in her State, was based on the ideology formulated by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who had sought a casteless society free of all inequalities.
The BSP chief said that Gandhi had used an “unconstitutional term” to describe Original Inhabitants of Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath or the Scheduled Castes, which actually contributed to dividing society into Invaders Cult and Original Inhabitants of Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath.
This further fuelled various manifestations of social tension, she claimed.
Elaborating on her endeavour to further the cause of Dr. Ambedkar and the founder of the BSP, Kanshi Ram, she said that the party had rallied the Original Inhabitants of Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath and the religious minorities, who were motivated to carry on the process of social reforms as enshrined in the Constitution.
The second phase of the process included changing the mindset of the invaders cult.
Mayawati: Manmohan is being non-responsive
Sarabjit Pandher
| “No positive response on issues relating to the poor” |
CHANDIGARH: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Mayawati on Saturday accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of being non-responsive to issues related to the downtrodden and underprivileged sections of the society raised by her time and again.
Participating in a “Meet the Press” programme organised by the Chandigarh Press Club, where she was conferred an “honorary lifetime membership,” Ms. Mayawati said that on separate occasions in the recent past, through letters and personal meetings, she had appealed to the Prime Minister to amend the Constitution to allow reservation for the economically depressed sections of the Invaders Cult, a reservation policy in the private sector and 50 per cent reservation for women. She had also sought a special financial package for her State, which had faced political instability for over a decade and a half. She said despite reminders from her end, Dr. Singh had not given any “positive response.”
Ms. Mayawati, who was recently rated among the eight most powerful women in the world, used the opportunity to announce that on being voted to power at the Centre, the BSP would amend the Constitution to ensure reservation for the economically weaker sections of the Invaders Cult.
She said her formula “to create social equality and a casteless society” already being implemented in Uttar Pradesh would be replicated across the country.
Responding to recent media expose of the Gujarat riots, the BSP supremo demanded that the Union Government order a fresh probe to bring out the truth. For the coming polls to the Assemblies of Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, Ms. Maywati announced that the BSP would go it alone. She said that though the organisation process was delayed, the BSP was confident of good results in both States.
Commenting on the possibility of mid-term polls for Parliament, Ms. Mayawati said the BSP would continue to forge social alliances instead of aligning with political parties whose economic policies at the Centre as well as in the States since Independence had contributed to increasing the levels of poverty and social inequality. Responding to another query, she said the BSP would unfold its stance and strategy about the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal issue during the discussion in the forthcoming session of Parliament.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 10:10 am
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
spreading {solitude in the wilderness}
A Rhinoceros Horn
Translator’s note: The refrain in this sutta is a subject of controversy. The text literally says, “Wander alone like a ’sword-horn,’ which is the Pali term for rhinoceros. The commentary, however, insists that this term refers not to the animal but to its horn, for the Indian rhinoceros, unlike the African, has only one horn. Still, some scholars have noted that while the Indian rhinoceros is a solitary animal, rhinoceros horns don’t wander, and that in other verses in the Pali canon, the phrase “wander alone like…” takes a person or an animal, not an animal part, for its object. Thus, for example, in Dhp 329 (repeated below), one is told to “wander alone like a king renouncing his kingdom, like the elephant in the Matanga woods, his herd.” It’s possible that the rhinoceros was chosen here as an example of solitary wandering both because of its habits and because of its unusual single horn. However, in a translation, it’s necessary to choose one reading over the other. Thus, because wandering “like a rhinoceros” sounds more natural than wandering “like a horn,” I have chosen the former rendering. Keep in mind, though, that the singularity of the rhinoceros’ horn reinforces the image.
As noted under I.1, there is evidence suggesting that the verses here were originally separate poems, composed on separate occasions, and that they have been gathered together because of their common refrain.
Renouncing violence
for all living beings,
harming not even a one,
you would not wish for offspring,
so how a companion?
Wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
For a sociable person
there are allurements;
on the heels of allurement, this pain.
Seeing allurement’s drawback,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
One whose mind
is enmeshed in sympathy
for friends & companions,
neglects the true goal.
Seeing this danger in intimacy,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Like spreading bamboo,
entwined,
is concern for offspring & spouses.
Like a bamboo sprout,
unentangling,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
As a deer in the wilds,
unfettered,
goes for forage wherever it wants:
the wise person, valuing freedom,
wanders alone
like a rhinoceros.
In the midst of companions
— when staying at home,
when going out wandering —
you are prey to requests.
Valuing the freedom
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
There is sporting & love
in the midst of companions,
& abundant fondness for offspring.
Feeling disgust
at the prospect of parting
from those who’d be dear,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Without resistance in all four directions,
content with whatever you get,
enduring troubles with no dismay,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
They are hard to please,
some of those gone forth,
as well as those living the household life.
Shedding concern
for these offspring of others,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Cutting off the householder’s marks,1
like a kovilara tree
that has shed its leaves,
the prudent one, cutting all household ties,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
If you gain a mature companion,
a fellow traveler, right-living & wise,
overcoming all dangers
go with him, gratified,
mindful.
If you don’t gain a mature companion,
a fellow traveler, right-living & wise,
wander alone
like a king renouncing his kingdom,
like the elephant in the Matanga wilds,
his herd.
We praise companionship
— yes!
Those on a par, or better,
should be chosen as friends.
If they’re not to be found,
living faultlessly,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Seeing radiant bracelets of gold,
well-made by a smith,
clinking, clashing,
two on an arm,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros,
[thinking:]
“In the same way,
if I were to live with another,
there would be careless talk or abusive.”
Seeing this future danger,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Because sensual pleasures,
elegant, honeyed, & charming,
bewitch the mind with their manifold forms —
seeing this drawback in sensual strands —
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
“Calamity, tumor, misfortune,
disease, an arrow, a danger for me.”
Seeing this danger in sensual strands,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Cold & heat, hunger & thirst,
wind & sun, horseflies & snakes:
enduring all these, without exception,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
As a great white elephant,
with massive shoulders,
renouncing his herd,
lives in the wilds wherever he wants,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
“There’s no way
that one delighting in company
can touch even momentary release.”
Heeding the Solar Kinsman’s words,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Transcending the contortion of views,
the sure way attained,
the path gained,
[realizing:]
“Unled by others,
I have knowledge arisen,”
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
With no greed, no deceit,
no thirst, no hypocrisy —
delusion & blemishes
blown away —
with no inclinations for all the world,
every world,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Avoid the evil companion
disregarding the goal,
intent on the out-of-tune way.
Don’t take as a friend
someone heedless & hankering.
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Consort with one who is learned,
who maintains the Dhamma,
a great & quick-witted friend.
Knowing the meanings,
subdue your perplexity,
[then] wander alone
like a rhinoceros,
Free from longing, finding no pleasure
in the world’s sport, love, or sensual bliss,
abstaining from adornment,
speaking the truth,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Abandoning offspring, spouse,
father, mother,
riches, grain, relatives,
& sensual pleasures
altogether,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
“This is a bondage, a baited hook.
There’s little happiness here,
next to no satisfaction,
all the more suffering & pain.”
Knowing this, circumspect,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Shattering fetters,
like a fish in the water tearing a net,
like a fire not coming back to what’s burnt,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Eyes downcast, not footloose,
senses guarded, with protected mind,
not oozing — not burning — with lust,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Taking off the householder’s marks,2
like a coral tree
that has shed its leaves,
going forth in the ochre robe,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Showing no greed for flavors, not careless,
going from house to house for alms,
with mind unenmeshed in this family or that,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Abandoning barriers to awareness,
expelling all defilements — all —
non-dependent, cutting aversion,
allurement,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Turning your back on pleasure & pain,
as earlier with sorrow & joy,
attaining pure equanimity,
tranquillity,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
With persistence aroused
for the highest goal’s attainment,
with mind unsmeared, not lazy in action,
firm in effort, with steadfastness & strength arisen,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Not neglecting seclusion, absorption,
constantly living the Dhamma
in line with the Dhamma,
comprehending the danger
in states of becoming,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Intent on the ending of craving & heedful,
learned, mindful, not muddled,
certain — having reckoned the Dhamma —
& striving,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Unstartled, like a lion at sounds.
Unsnared, like the wind in a net.
Unsmeared, like a lotus in water:
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Like a lion — forceful, strong in fang,
living as a conqueror, the king of beasts —
resort to a solitary dwelling.
Wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
At the right time consorting
with the release through good will,
compassion,
appreciation,
equanimity,
unobstructed by all the world,
any world,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Having let go of passion,
aversion,
delusion;
having shattered the fetters;
undisturbed at the ending of life,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
People follow & associate
for a motive.
Friends without a motive these days
are rare.
They’re shrewd for their own ends, & impure.
Wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
The Farmer
At Savatthi. Now at that time the Blessed One was instructing, urging, rousing, & encouraging the True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata with a Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown BY The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata talk concerning Unbinding. TheTrue Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata — attentive, interested, lending ear, focusing their entire awareness — were listening to the Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown BY The Blessed,Noble
Then the thought occurred to the Evil One: “Gotama the contemplative is instructing, urging, rousing, & encouraging the True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata with a Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata talk concerning Unbinding. The monks — attentive, interested, lending ear, focusing their entire awareness — are listening to the Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. What if I were to go to Gotama the contemplative to obscure his vision?”
Then the Evil One, taking on the form of a farmer with a large plowshare over his shoulder, carrying a long goad stick — his hair disheveled, his clothes made of coarse hemp, his feet splattered with mud — went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, said, “Hey, contemplative. Have you seen my oxen?”
“And what are your oxen, Evil One?”
“Mine alone is the eye, contemplative. Mine are forms, mine is the sphere of consciousness & contact at the eye. Where can you go to escape me? Mine alone is the ear… the nose… the tongue… the body… Mine alone is the intellect, contemplative. Mine are ideas, mine is the sphere of consciousness & contact at the intellect. Where can you go to escape me?”
“Yours alone is the eye, Evil One. Yours are forms, yours is the sphere of consciousness of contact at the eye. Where no eye exists, no forms exist, no sphere of consciousness & contact at the eye exists: there, Evil One, you cannot go. Yours alone is the ear… the nose… the tongue… the body… Yours alone is the intellect, Evil One. Yours are ideas, yours is the sphere of consciousness & contact at the intellect. Where no intellect exists, no ideas exist, no sphere of consciousness of contact at the intellect exists: there, Evil One, you cannot go.”
[Evil One:]
Of what they say,
‘This is mine’;
and those who say,
‘Mine’:
If your intellect’s here,
contemplative,
you can’t escape
from me.
[The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata:]
What they speak of
isn’t mine,
and I’m not one of those
who speak it.
Know this, Evil One:
you won’t even see
my tracks.
Then the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “The Blessed One knows me; the One Well-gone knows me” — vanished right there.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 8:44 am
Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
The Training of the Mind
(A talk given to a group of Western True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata from Wat Bovornives, Bangkok, March 1977)9
In the time of Ajahn Mun and Ajahn Sao life was a lot simpler, a lot less complicated than it is today. In those days True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata had few duties and ceremonies to perform. They lived in the forests without permanent resting places. There they could devote themselves entirely to the practice of meditation.
In those times one rarely encountered the luxuries that are so commonplace today, there simply weren’t any. One had to make drinking cups and spittoons out of bamboo and laypeople seldom came to visit. One didn’t want or expect much and was content with what one had. One could live and breathe meditation!
The True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata suffered many privations living like this. If someone caught malaria and went to ask for medicine, the Teacher would say, “You don’t need medicine! Keep practicing.” Besides, there simply weren’t all the drugs that are available now. All one had were the herbs and roots that grew in the forest. The environment was such that True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata had to have a great deal of patience and endurance; they didn’t bother over minor ailments. Nowadays you get a bit of an ache and you’re off to the hospital!
Sometimes one had to walk ten to twelve kilometers on almsround (pindapad). You would leave as soon as it was light and maybe return around ten or eleven o’clock. One didn’t get very much either, perhaps some glutinous rice, salt or a few chilis. Whether you got anything to eat with the rice or not didn’t matter. That’s the way it was. No one dared complain of hunger or fatigue; they were just not inclined to complain but learned to take care of themselves. They practiced in the forest with patience and endurance alongside the many dangers that lurked in the surroundings. There were many wild and fierce animals living in the jungles and there were many hardships for body and mind in the ascetic practice of the Dhutanga or Forest-Dwelling True Follower of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata . Indeed, the patience and endurance of the True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata in those days was excellent because the circumstances compelled them to be so.
In the present day, circumstances compel us in the opposite direction. In ancient times, one had to travel by foot; then came the oxcart and then the automobile. Aspiration and ambition increased, so that now, if the car is not air-conditioned, one will not even sit in it; impossible to go if there is no air-conditioning! The virtues of patience and endurance are becoming weaker and weaker. The standards for meditation and practice are lax and getting laxer, until we find that meditators these days like to follow their own opinions and desires. When the old folks talk about the old days, it’s like listening to a myth or a legend. You just listen indifferently, but you don’t understand. It just doesn’t reach you!
As far as we should be concerned about the ancient True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata ‘ tradition, a monk should spend at least five years with his Teacher. Some days you should avoid speaking to anyone. Don’t allow yourself to speak or talk very much. Don’t read books! Read your own heart instead. Take Wat Pah Pong for example. These days many university graduates are coming to ordain. I try to stop them from spending their time reading books about Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed.Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, because these people are always reading books. They have so many opportunities for reading books, but opportunities for reading their own minds are rare. So, when they come to ordain for three months following the Thai custom, we try to get them to close their books and manuals. While they are ordained they have this splendid opportunity to read their own minds.
Listening to your own mind is really very interesting. This untrained mind races around following its own untrained habits. It jumps about excitedly, randomly, because it has never been trained. Therefore train your mind! Meditation is about the mind; to develop the mind, to develop your own mind. This is very, very important. This training of the mind is the main emphasis. It is the religion of the mind. Only this! One who practices to develop the mind is one who practices The Doctrine.
This mind of ours lives in a cage, and what’s more, there’s a raging tiger in that cage. If this maverick mindof ours doesn’t get what it wants, it makes trouble. You must discipline it with meditation, with Samadhi. This is called “Training the mind.” At the very beginning, the foundation of practice is the establishment of moral discipline (Sila). Sila is the training of the body and speech. From this arises conflict and confusion. When you don’t let yourself do what you want to do, there is conflict.
Eat little! Sleep little! Speak little! Whatever it may be of worldly habit, lessen them, go against their power. Don’t just do as you like, don’t indulge in your thought. Stop this slavish following. You must constantly go against the stream of ignorance. This is called “Discipline.” When you discipline your mind, it becomes very dissatisfied and begins to struggle. It becomes restricted and oppressed. When the mind is prevented from doing what it wants to do, it starts wandering and struggling. Suffering (Dukkha) becomes apparent to us.
This Dukkha, this suffering, is the first of the Four Noble Truths. Most people want to get away from it. They don’t want to have any kind of suffering at all. Actually, this suffering is what brings us wisdom; it makes us contemplate Dukkha. Happiness (Sukha) tends to make us close our eyes and ears. It never allows us to develop patience. Comfort and happiness make us careless. Of these two defilements, Dukkha is the easiest to see. Therefore we must bring up suffering in order to put an end to our suffering. We must first know what Dukkha is before we can know how to practice meditation.
In the beginning you have to train your heart like this. You may not understand what is happening or what the point of it is, but when the Teacher tells you to do something, then you must do it. You will develop the virtues of patience and endurance. Whatever happens, you endure, because that is the way it is. For example, when you begin to practice Samadhi you want peace and tranquillity. But you don’t get any. You don’t get any because you have never practiced this way. Your mind says, “I’ll sit until I attain tranquillity.” But when tranquillity doesn’t arise, you suffer. And when there is suffering, you get up and run away! To practice like this can not be called “developing the mind.” It’s called “desertion.”
Instead of indulging in your moods, you train yourself with the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata of the Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. Lazy or diligent, you just keep on practicing. Don’t you think that this is a better way? The other way, the way of following your moods, will never reach the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. If you practice the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, then whatever the mood may be, you keep on practicing, constantly practicing. The other way of self-indulgence is not the way of The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata . When we follow our own views on practice, our own opinions about the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata , we can never see clearly what is right and what is wrong. We don’t know our own heart. We don’t know ourselves.
Therefore, to practice following your own teachings is the slowest way. To practice following the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata is the direct way. Lazy you practice; diligent you practice. You are aware of time and place. This is called “developing the mind.”
If you indulge in following your own views and try to practice accordingly, then you will start thinking and doubting a lot. You think to yourself, “I don’t have very much merit. I don’t have any luck. I’ve been practicing meditation for years now and I’m still unenlightened. I still haven’t seen the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata.” To practice with this kind of attitude can not be called “developing the mind.” It is called “developing disaster.”
If, at this time, you are like this, if you are a meditator who still doesn’t know, who doesn’t see, if you haven’t renewed yourself yet, it’s because you’ve been practicing wrongly. You haven’t been following the Teachings of theThe Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata . The The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata taught like this: “Ananda, practice a lot! Develop your practice constantly! Then all your doubts, all your uncertainties, will vanish.” These doubts will never vanish through thinking, nor through theorizing, nor through speculation, nor through discussion. Nor will doubts disappear by not doing anything. All defilements will vanish through developing the heart, through right practice only.
The way of developing the heart as taught by the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata is the exact opposite of the way of the world, because his Teachings come from a pure mind. A pure mind, unattached to defilements, is the Way of the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata and His Disciples.
If you practice the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, you must bow your heart to the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. You must not make the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata bow to you. When you practice this way. suffering arises. There isn’t a single person who can escape this suffering. So when you commence your practice suffering is right there.
The duties of meditators are mindfulness, collectedness and contentment. These things stop us. They stop the habits of the minds of those who have never trained. And why should we bother to do this? If you don’t bother to train your heart, then it remains wild, following the ways of nature. It’s possible to train that nature so that it can be used to advantage. This is comparable to the example of trees. If we just left trees in their natural state, then we would never be able to build a house with them. We couldn’t make planks or anything of use in building a house. However, if a carpenter came along wanting to build a house, he would go looking for trees such as these. He would take this raw material and use it to advantage. In a short time he could have a house built.
Meditation and developing the mind are similar to this. You must take this untrained mind, the same as you would take a tree in its natural state in the forest, and train this natural heart so that it is more refined, so that it’s more aware of itself and is more sensitive. Everything is in its natural state. When we understand nature, then we can change it, we can detach from it, we can let go of it. Then we won’t suffer anymore.
The nature of our mind is such that whenever it clings and grasps there is agitation and confusion. First it might wander over there, then it might wander over here. When we come to observe this agitation, we might think that it’s impossible to train the mind and so we suffer accordingly. We don’t understand that this is the way the mind is. There will be thought and feelings moving about like this even though we are practicing, trying to attain peace. That’s the way it is.
When we have contemplated many times the nature of the mind, then we will come to understand that this mind is just as it is and can’t be otherwise. We will know that the heart’s ways are just as they are. That’s its nature. If we see this clearly, then we can detach from thoughts and feelings. And we don’t have to add on anything more by constantly having to tell ourselves that “that’s just the way it is.” When the heart truly understands, it lets go of everything. Thinking and feeling will still be there, but that very thinking and feeling will be deprived of power.
This is similar to a child who likes to play and frolic in ways that annoy us, to the extent that we scold or spank him. We should understand that it’s natural for a child to act that way. Then we could let go and leave him to play in his own way. So our troubles are over. How are they over? Because we accept the ways of children. Our outlook changes and we accept the true nature of things. We let go and our heart becomes more peaceful. We have “Right Understanding.”
If we have wrong understanding, then even living in a deep, dark cave would be chaos, or living high up in the air would be chaos. The mind can only be at peace when there is “Right Understanding.” Then there are no more riddles to solve and no more problems to arise.
This is the way it is. You detach. You let go. Whenever there is any feeling of clinging, we detach from it, because we know that that very feeling is just as it is. It didn’t come along especially to annoy us. We might think that it did, but in truth it is just that way. If we start to think and consider it further, that too, is just as it is. If we let go, then form is merely form, sound is merely sound, odor is merely odor, taste is merely taste, touch is merely touch and the heart is merely the mind. It’s similar to oil and water. If you put the two together in a bottle, they won’t mix because of the difference in their nature.
Oil and water are different in the same way that a wise man and an ignorant man are different. The The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagatalived with form, sound, odor, taste, touch and thought. He was an arahant (Awakened One), so He turned away from rather than toward these things. He turned away and detached little by little since He understood that the mind is just the mind and thought is just thought. He didn’t confuse and mix them together.
The heart is just the heart; thoughts and feelings are just thoughts and feelings. Let things be just as they are! Let form be just form, let sound be just sound, let thought be just thought. Why should we bother to attach to them? If we think and feel in this way, then there is detachment and separateness. Our thoughts and feelings will be on one side and our heart will be on the other. Just like oil and water — they are in the same bottle but they are separate.
The Buddha and His Awakened Disciples lived with ordinary, unawakened people. They not only lived with these people, but they taught these ordinary, unawakened, ignorant ones how to be Noble, Awakened, Wise Ones. They could do this because they knew how to practice. They knew that it’s a matter of the mind, just as I have explained.
So, as far as your practice of meditation goes, don’t bother to doubt it. If we run away from home to ordain, it’s not running away to get lost in delusion. Nor out of cowardice or fear. It’s running away in order to train ourselves, in order to master ourselves. If we have understanding like this, then we can follow the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. The Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata will become clearer and clearer. The one who understands the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, understands himself; and the one who understands himself, understands the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. Nowadays, only the sterile remains of the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata have become the accepted order. In reality, the Dhamma is everywhere. There is no need to escape to somewhere else. Instead escape through wisdom. Escape through intelligence. Escape through skill. don’t escape through ignorance. If you want peace, then let it be the peace of wisdom. That’s enough!
Whenever we see theDoctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, then there is the right way, the right path. Defilements are just defilements, the heart is just the heart. Whenever we detach and separate so that there are just these things as they really are, then they are merely objects to us. When we are on the right path, then we are impeccable. When we are impeccable, there is openness and freedom all the time.
The Buddha said, “Listen to me, Tue Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. You must not cling to any Doctrines-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata.” What are these Doctrines-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata? They are everything; there isn’t anything which is not Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. Love and hate are Doctrines-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, happiness and suffering are Doctrines-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, like and dislike are Doctrines-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata; all of these things, no matter how insignificant, are Doctrines-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. When we practice the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, when we understand, then we can let go. And thus we can comply with the Buddha’s Teaching of not clinging to any Doctrines-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata.
All conditions that are born in our mind, all conditions of our mind, all conditions of our body, are always in a state of change. The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata taught not to cling to any of them. He taught His Disciples to practice in order to detach from all conditions and not to practice in order to attain to any more.
If we follow the Teachings of the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, then we are right. We are right but it is also troublesome. It’s not that the Teachings are troublesome, but it’s our defilements which are troublesome. The defilements wrongly comprehended obstruct us and cause us trouble. There isn’t really anything troublesome with following the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s Teaching. In fact we can say that clinging to the Path of the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagatadoesn’t bring suffering, because the Path is simply “let go” of every single Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata!
For the ultimate in the practice of Meditation, the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata taught the practice of “letting go.” don’t carry anything around! Detach! If you see goodness, let it go. If you see rightness, let it go. These words, “let go,” do not mean that we don’t have to practice. It means that we have to practice following the method of “letting go” itself. The The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata taught us to contemplate all The Doctrines-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, to develop the Path through contemplating our own body and mind. The Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata isn’t anywhere else. It’s right here! Not someplace far away. It’s right here in this very body and mind of ours.
Therefore a meditator must practice with energy. Make the heart grander and brighter. Make it free and independent. Having done a good deed, don’t carry it around in your heart, let it go. Having refrained from doing an evil deed, let it go. The Buddha taught us to live in the immediacy of the present, in the here and now. Don’t lose yourself in the past or the future.
The Teaching that people least understand and which conflicts the most with their own opinions, is this Teaching of “letting go” or “working with an empty mind.” This way of talking is called “Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata language.” When we conceive this in worldly terms, we become confused and think that we can do anything we want. It can be interpreted this way, but its real meaning is closer to this: It’s as if we are carrying a heavy rock. After a while we begin to feel its weight but we don’t know how to let it go. So we endure this heavy burden all the time. If someone tells us to throw it away, we say, “If I throw it away, I won’t have anything left!” If told of all the benefits to be gained from throwing it away, we wouldn’t believe them but would keep thinking, “If I throw it away, I will have nothing!” So we keep on carrying this heavy rock until we become so weak and exhausted that we can no longer endure, then we drop it.
Having dropped it, we suddenly experience the benefits of letting go. We immediately feel better and lighter and we know for ourselves how much of a burden carrying a rock can be. Before we let go of the rock, we couldn’t possibly know the benefits of letting go. So if someone tells us to let go, an unawakened man wouldn’t see the purpose of it. He would just blindly clutch at the rock and refuse to let go until it became so unbearably heavy that he just had to let go. Then he can feel for himself the lightness and relief and thus know for himself the benefits of letting go. Later on we may start carrying burdens again, but now we know what the results will be, so we can now let go more easily. This understanding that it’s useless to carry burdens around and that letting go brings ease and lightness is an example of knowing ourselves.
Our pride, our sense of self that we depend on, is the same as that heavy rock. Like that rock, if we think about letting go of self-conceit, we are afraid that without it, there would be nothing left. But when we can finally let it go, we realize for ourselves the ease and comfort of not clinging.
In the training of the heart, you mustn’t cling to either praise or blame. To just want praise and not to want blame is the way of the world. The Way of the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata is to accept praise when it is appropriate and to accept blame when it is appropriate. For example, in raising a child it’s very good not to just scold all the time. Some people scold too much. A wise person knows the proper time to scold and the proper time to praise. Our heart is the same. Use intelligence to know the heart. Use skill in taking care of your heart. Then you will be one who is clever in the training of the mind. And when the heart is skilled, it can rid us of our suffering. Suffering exists right here in our hearts. It’s always complicating things, creating and making the mind heavy. It’s born here. It also dies here.
The way of the mind is like this. Sometimes there are good thoughts, sometimes there are bad thoughts. The mind is deceitful. Don’t trust it! Instead look straight at the conditions of the heart itself. Accept them as they are. They’re just as they are. Whether it’s good or evil or whatever, that’s the way it is. If you don’t grab hold of these conditions, then they don’t become anything more or less than what they already are. If we grab hold we’ll get bitten and will then suffer.
With “Right View” there’s only peace. Samadhi is born and wisdom takes over. Wherever you may sit or lie down, there is peace. There is peace everywhere, no matter where you may go.
So today you have brought your disciples here to listen to the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. You may understand some of it, some of it you may not. In order for you to understand more easily, I’ve talked about the practice of meditation. Whether you think it is right or not, you should take and contemplate it.
As a Teacher myself, I’ve been in a similar predicament. I, too, have longed to listen to Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata talks because, wherever I went, I was giving talks to others but never had a chance to listen. So, at this time, you really appreciate listening to a talk from a Teacher. Time passes by so quickly when you’re sitting and listening quietly. You’re hungry for Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata so you really want to listen. At first, giving talks to others is a pleasure, but after awhile, the pleasure is gone. You feel bored and tired. Then you want to listen. So when you listen to a talk from a Teacher, you feel much inspiration and you understand easily. When you are getting old and there’s hunger for Dhamma, its flavor is especially delicious.
Being a Teacher of others you are an example to them, you’re a model for other bhikkhus. You’re an example to your disciples. You’re an example to everybody, so don’t forget yourself. But don’t think about yourself either. If such thoughts do arise, get rid of them. If you do this then you will be one who knows himself.
There are a million ways to practice Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. There’s no end to the things that can be said about meditation. There are so many things that can make us doubt. Just keep sweeping them out, then there’s no more doubt! When we have right understanding like this, no matter where we sit or walk, there is peace and ease. Wherever we may meditate, that’s the place you bring your awareness. Don’t hold that one only meditates while sitting or walking. Everything and everywhere is our practice. There’s awareness all the time. There is mindfulness all the time. We can see birth and death of mind and body all the time and we don’t let it clutter our minds. Let it go constantly. If love comes, let it go back to its home. If greed comes, let it go home. If anger comes, let it go home. Follow them! Where do they live? Then escort them there. Don’t keep anything. If you practice like this then you are like an empty house. Or, explained another way, this is an empty heart, a heart empty and free of all evil. We call it an “empty heart,” but it isn’t empty as if there was nothing, it’s empty of evil but filled with wisdom. Then whatever you do, you’ll do with wisdom. You’ll think with wisdom. You’ll eat with wisdom. There will only be wisdom.
This is the Teaching for today and I offer it to you. I’ve recorded it on tape. If listening toDoctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata makes your heart at peace, that’s good enough. You don’t need to remember anything. Some may not believe this. If we make our mind peaceful and just listen, letting it pass by but contemplating continuously like this, then we’re like a tape recorder. After some time when we turn on, everything is there. Have no fear that there won’t be anything. As soon as you turn on your tape recorder, everything is there.
I wish to offer this to every bhikkhu and to everyone. Some of you probably know only a little Thai, but that doesn’t matter. May you learn the language of the Doctrine-Practice the Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. That’s good enough!
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 8:18 am
Spiritual Community of The Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Shortly after his Awakening, The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata delivered his first sermon, in which he laid out the essential framework upon which all his later teachings were based. This framework consists of the Four Noble Truths, four fundamental principles of nature (Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata ) that emerged from the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata ’s radically honest and penetrating assessment of the human condition. He taught these truths not as metaphysical theories or as articles of faith, but as categories by which we should frame our direct experience in a way that conduces to Awakening:
- Dukkha: suffering, unsatisfactoriness, discontent, stress;
- The cause of dukkha: the cause of this dissatisfaction iscraving (tanha) for sensuality, for states of becoming, and states of no becoming;
- The cessation of dukkha: the relinquishment of that craving;
- The path of practice leading to the cessation of dukkha: the Noble Eightfold Path of right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
Because of our ignorance (avijja) of these Noble Truths, because of our inexperience in framing the world in their terms, we remain bound to samsara, the wearisome cycle of birth, aging, illness, death, and rebirth. Craving propels this process onward, from one moment to the next and over the course of countless lifetimes, in accordance with kamma, the universal law of cause and effect. According to this immutable law, every action that one performs in the present moment — whether by body, speech, or mind itself — eventually bears fruit according to its skillfulness: act in unskillful and harmful ways and unhappiness is bound to follow; act skillfully and happiness will ultimately ensue. As long as one remains ignorant of this principle, one is doomed to an aimless existence: happy one moment, in despair the next; enjoying one lifetime in heaven, the next in hell.
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata discovered that gaining release from samsara requires assigning to each of the Noble Truths a specific task: the first Noble Truth is to be comprehended; the second, abandoned; the third, realized; the fourth, developed. The full realization of the third Noble Truth paves the way for Awakening: the end of ignorance, craving, suffering, and kamma itself; the direct penetration to the transcendent freedom and supreme happiness that stands as the final goal of all the Buddha’s teachings; the Unconditioned, the Deathless, Unbinding — Nibbana .
10/27/07
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 2:35 am
Sarvajan Hitay Sarvajan Sukhay-For The Gain of The Many and For The Welfare of The Many
Bodhi tree branch cut three years ago: report
From correspondents in Bihar, India, 03:34 PM IST
A scientific report has vindicated allegations by Buddhists that one of their most sacred religious symbols — the Bodhi tree at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya — had a branch cut off three years ago.
The Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute (FRI), in its detailed report submitted to the Bihar government, said a branch of the sacred Bodhi tree was cut three years ago.
‘The report has proved that a branch of the Bodhi tree was cut three years ago instead of last year as claimed,’ home secretary Afzal Amanullah said Friday.
In June, the state government had ordered an inquiry by a team of FRI scientists after a monk, Arup Brahmachari, filed a criminal complaint against officials of the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee for allegedly cutting a branch of the tree.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inspected the Bodhi tree after the controversy surfaced.
A team of scientists from FRI visited Bodh Gaya in June to make a preliminary assessment of the Bodhi tree.
It was widely reported in July last year that some miscreants had cut off a branch of the Bodhi tree but the Nitish Kumar government was quick to issue a denial.
However, after a worldwide hue and cry over the incident, the Bihar government got samples collected from the affected part of the tree and sent it to a Pune-based laboratory to ascertain the truth. Nearly 14 months have passed but the laboratory report is yet to be made public.
Buddhist monks have been demanding a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the cutting of the tree branch.
Amanullah said a team of experts from FRI would now look after the tree. ‘The FRI was formally handed over the responsibility of proper conservation of the Bodhi tree,’ he said.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed Thursday between the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee and the FRI for upkeep and maintenance of the tree. The state government has also given Rs.700,000 to FRI for maintaining the sacred tree, Amanullah said.
The government has also decided to install surveillance cameras at strategic points to keep round-the-clock vigil on the Bodhi tree and the Mahabodhi temple.
Millions of Buddhists around the world consider the Bodhi tree to be sacred because it has grown from the original Bodhi tree under which Lord Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment about 2,550 years ago.
An official of the Mahabodhi temple, which the Unesco has declared a World Heritage Site, said the Bodhi tree is the sixth regeneration of the original banyan tree.
Online edition of India’s National Newspaper
Saturday, Oct 27, 2007
Biometric identification system draws flak
Swathi Shivanand
| ‘Plan proposed only for slum-dwellers is discriminatory’ |
System recommended by Centre as part of BSUP
‘It has been suggested to ensure that only the beneficiaries gain from housing projects’
BANGALORE: Would you be comfortable if your fingerprints were recorded or your retina scanned for identification?
Would you consider it an important identifier even if there were other non-intrusive options such as a ration card or voter identity card?
Many mandatory “reforms” that the States have to implement as part of e-governance to be eligible for funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) have raised alarm among civil society groups, but the proposed biometric identification system for slum-dwellers has generated the most heat.
For reference
Under this system, a person’s fingerprints and some other physiological characteristic, usually the retina of the eye is recorded, stored in a database and put away for future reference.
This identification system has been recommended by the Centre as part of Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP), which envisions housing rights and basic amenities to the urban poor. In this, certain physiological characteristics of entire families of economically weaker sections are being recorded so as to “create a database.”
Process started
Activists brand this identification system proposed only for slum-dwellers as “discriminatory” and “intrusive”. The process has been started in five slums in the city, including Jasma Bhavan slum in Austin town Sampangiramanagar slum and Kalyani slum.
“When there are other identification mechanisms such as voter identity card and ration card, why are people living in slums being subjected to this? Why is it important to create a database of only slum-dwellers?” asks Isaac Arul Selva of Slum Jagatthu.
He likens it to the practice of the British identifying and branding certain tribes as “criminal” during the Raj.
Kshithij Urs of Action Aid says: “We do not yet have a law that protects the information created in such a database. It could be dangerous if misused.”
Misuse of information has been one of the most important sociological concerns raised worldwide about the use of biometric strategies.
“Biometric identification was recommended as a fool-proof measure to ensure that only beneficiaries gain from the housing projects,” Jawaid Akthar, managing director, Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), the nodal agency for JNNURM projects in Karnataka told The Hindu.
This was also to ensure that the urban poor did not sell their houses before the lock-in period of 20 years ended, he added.
Activists place this form of identification in the larger context of the “anti-poor” aspect of the JNNURM.
‘Why the restraint?’
At a seminar on the various aspects of the mission held on Friday, R. Padmini of Civic Bangalore said: “Why should the urban poor not sell their houses? If they get a better job in some other city, why should they hold onto this property? When other sections of the society can sell their property when they want to, why should the urban poor be restrained?”
CBI: preliminary probe against Mulayam over
Legal Correspondent
| Files affidavit in apex court |
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday filed in the Supreme Court an affidavit saying it had completed a preliminary enquiry (PE) against the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav; his sons Akhilesh Yadav, MP, and Prateek Yadav; and Dimple Yadav, wife of Mr. Akhilesh Yadav, into the allegations of their amassing assets disproportionate to the known sources of their income.
Acting on a public interest litigation petition from Vishwanath Chaturvedi, the court in March this year directed the CBI to conduct the PE into their assets and after scrutinising the material, if a case was made out, take further action.
On completion of the PE, the CBI should submit a report to the Union government.
In its affidavit, the CBI said, “After a PE is registered, verifications/enquires are undertaken and if they indicate commission of offence(s) by the persons concerned, a regular case is registered and further investigation and action are taken in the matter in accordance with the law. In the matter of registration of a case, the CBI does not make a reference to either the Central government or the State government.”
The affidavit said the Supreme Court Registry had made available all documents to the CBI and the enquiry was conducted as per directions.
The CBI was willing to place a status report in the court, if necessary.
It sought a direction to proceed in the matter in accordance with the law without any further reference to the Union or State government.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 1:48 am
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Bamboo: destroyed by its own fruit {evil}
The practice of those who live the Doctrine-True Practice of The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata,
worthy ones, noble:
whoever maligns it
— a dullard,
inspired by evil view —
bears fruit for his own destruction,
like the fruiting of the bamboo.
The Stone Sliver
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rajagaha at the Maddakucchi Deer Reserve. Now at that time his foot had been pierced by a stone sliver. Excruciating were the bodily feelings that developed within him — painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable — but he endured them mindful, alert, & unperturbed. Having had his outer robe folded in four and laid out, he lay down on his right side in the lion’s posture — with one foot placed on top of the other — mindful & alert.
Then the Evil One went to the Blessed One and recited this verse in his presence:
Are you lying there in a stupor,
or drunk on poetry?
Are your goals so very few?
All alone in a secluded lodging,
what is this dreamer, this sleepy-face?
[The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata:]
I lie here,
not in a stupor,
nor drunk on poetry.
My goal attained,
I am sorrow-free.
All alone in a secluded lodging,
I lie down with sympathy
for all beings.
Even those pierced in the chest
with an arrow,
their hearts rapidly,
rapidly
beating:
even they with their arrows
are able to sleep.
So why shouldn’t I,
with my arrow removed?
I’m not awake with worry,
nor afraid to sleep.
Days & nights
don’t oppress me.
I see no threat of decline
in any world at all.
That’s why I sleep
with sympathy
for all beings.
Then the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “The Blessed One knows me; the One Well-Gone knows me” — vanished right there.
Filed under:
General
Posted by:
site admin @ 1:37 am
Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Escape
This momentum of practice leads us towards freedom from the cycle of birth and death. We haven’t escaped from that cycle because we still insist on craving and desiring. We don’t commit unwholesome or immoral acts, but doing this only means that we are living in accordance with the Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata of morality: for instance, the chanting when people ask that all beings not be separated from the things that they love and are fond of. If you think about it, this is very childish. It’s the way of people who still can’t let go.
This is the nature of human desire — desire for things to be other than the way that they are; wishing for longevity, hoping that there is no death or sickness. This is how people hope and desire, then when you tell them that whatever desires they have which are not fulfilled cause suffering, it clobbers them right over the head. What can they say? Nothing, because it’s the Truth! You’re pointing right at their desires.
When we talk about desires we know that everyone has them and wants them fulfilled, but nobody is willing to stop, nobody really wants to escape. Therefore our practice must be patiently refined down. Those who practice steadfastly, without deviation or slackness, and have a gentle and restrained manner, always persevering with constancy, those are the ones who will know. No matter what arises, they will remain firm and unshakable.
%2BBandits%2B%255Bwww.dvdquorum.es%255D.torrent&h=593&w=400&sz=50&tbnid=jMXdS_r108h7sM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=91&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpictures%2Bof%2Bbandits%26um%3D1&start=2&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=2 "http://www.torrentportal.com/details/942833/(Q)+Bandits+%5Bwww.dvdquorum.es%5D.torrent")
![\"\"](\"http://www.fotosearch.com/thumb/CSK/CSK002/ks79364.jpg\")
.jpg)
![](\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Moraine_lake.jpg\"){kind=link}
![](\"http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0511/Mountains_spitzer_f.jpg\"){kind=link}