INDIA SECULAR

The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata

Abhaya (Thag 1.26) {v. 26}

Hearing the well-spoken words
of the Awakened One,
Kinsman of the Sun,
I pierced what is subtle —
as if, with an arrow,
the tip of a horse-tail hair.

(Qualities of) the World

At Savatthi. As he was sitting to one side, King Pasenadi Kosala said to the Blessed One: “How many qualities of the world that, when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort?”

“Three qualities of the world, great king, when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort. Which three? Greed, great king, is a quality of the world that, when arising, arises for harm, stress, & discomfort. Aversion… Delusion is a quality of the world that, when arising, arises for harm, stress, & discomfort. These are the three qualities of the world, great king, that when arising, arise for harm, stress, & discomfort.”

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:

Greed, aversion, & delusion
— born from oneself —
destroy
the person of evil awareness,
as its own fruit, the reed.

Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata

The Empty Flag

I once read a book about Zen. In Zen, you know, they don’t teach with a lot of explanation. For instance, if a True Follower of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata is falling asleep during meditation, they come with a stick and “whack!” they give him a hit on the back. When the erring disciple is hit, he shows his gratitude by thanking the attendant. In Zen practice one is taught to be thankful for all the feelings which give one the opportunity to develop.

One day there was an assembly of True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata gathered for a meeting. Outside the hall a flag was blowing in the wind. There arose a dispute between two True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata as to how the flag was actually blowing in the wind. One of theTrue Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata  claimed that it was because of the wind while the other argued that it was because of the flag. Thus they quarreled because of their narrow views and couldn’t come to any kind of agreement. They would have argued like this until the day they died. However, their Teacher intervened and said, “Neither of you is right. The correct understanding is that there is no flag and there is no wind.”

This is the practice, not to have anything, not to have the flag and not to have the wind. If there is a flag, then there is a wind; if there is a wind, then there is a flag. You should contemplate and reflect on this thoroughly until you see in accordance with Truth. If considered well, then there will remain nothing. It’s empty — void; empty of the flag and empty of the wind. In the great Void there is no flag and there is no wind. There is no birth, no old age, no sickness or death. Our conventional understanding of flag and wind is only a concept. In reality there is nothing. That’s all! There is nothing more than empty labels.

If we practice in this way, we will come to see completeness and all of our problems will come to an end. In the great Void the King of Death will never find you. There is nothing for old age, sickness and death to follow. When we see and understand in accordance with Truth, that is, with Right Understanding, then there is only this great emptiness. It’s here that there is no more “we,” no “they,” no “self” at all.

Spiritual Community of The Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata

VII. The Similes for Sila

The texts illustrate the qualities of sila with numerous similes, but as with the three refuges we must again limit ourselves to only a few. Sila is compared to a stream of clear water, because it can wash off the stains of wrong actions which can never be removed by the waters of all other rivers. Sila is like sandalwood, because it can remove the fever of the defilements just as sandalwood (according to ancient Indian belief) can be used to allay bodily fever. Again sila is like an ornament made of precious jewels because it adorns the person who wears it. It is like a perfume because it gives off a pleasant scent, the “scent of virtue,” which unlike ordinary perfume travels even against the wind. It is like moonbeams because it cools off the heat of passion as the moon cools off the heat of the day. And sila is like a staircase because it leads upwards by degrees — to higher states of future existence in the fortunate realms, to the higher planes of concentration and wisdom, to the supernormal powers, to the paths and fruits of liberation, and finally to the highest goal, the attainment of nibbana.