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LESSON 44 ARHAT PART IX Ariya puggala Katthahāri Jātaka Pasenadi Vidūdabha 30 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
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ARHAT
· Katthahāri Jātaka (No.7)
Brahmadatta, king of Benares, while wandering about in a grove, seeking for fruits and flowers, came upon a woman merrily singing as she gathered sticks. He became intimate with her, and the Bodhisatta was conceived then and there. The king gave the woman his signet ring, with instructions that if the child was a boy, he should be brought to the court with the ring. When the Bodhisatta grew up his playmates nicknamed him “No-father.” Feeling ashamed, he asked his mother about it and, on hearing the truth, insisted on being taken to the king. When confronted with the child, the king was too shy to acknowledge his parentage, and the mother, having no witness, threw the child into the air with the prayer that he should remain there if her words were true. The boy, sitting cross-legged in the air, requested the king to adopt him, which request was accepted, his mother being made queen consort. On his father’s death he became king under the name of Katthavāhana.
The story was told to Pasenadi on his refusal to recognize the claim to the throne of Vidūdabha, his son by Vāsabha-Khattiyā (J.i.133ff; iv.148; DhA.i.349).
Perhaps the story has some connection with that of Dusyanta and Sakuntalā, as given in the Mahābhārata and later amplified by Kālidāsa in his drama.
· Pasenadi
King of Kosala and contemporary of the Buddha. He was the son of Mahā Kosala, and was educated at Takkasilā where, among his companions, were the Licchavi Mahāli and the Malla prince Bandhula. On his return home his father was so pleased with his proficiency in the various arts that he forthwith made him king. (DhA.i.338; for his genealogy see Beal: Records ii.2, n. 3).
As ruler, Pasenadi gave himself wholeheartedly to his administrative duties (*2) and valued the companionship of wise and good men (*3). Quite early in the Buddha’s ministry, (*4) Pasenadi became his follower and close friend, and his devotion to the Buddha lasted till his death.
(*2) E.g., S.i.74, 100; the Commentary (SA i.109f.) adds that the king tried to put down bribery and corruption in his court, but his attempt does not appear to have been very successful.
(*3) Thus he showed his favour to Pokkharasādi and Cankī, by giving them, respectively, the villages of Ukkatthā and Opasāda free of all taxes. It is said that his alms halls were always open to everyone desiring food or drink (Ud.ii.6). Even after becoming the Buddha’s follower, he did not omit to salute holy men of other persuasions (Ud.vi.2).
(*4) According to Tibetan sources, Pasenadi’s conversion was in the second year of the Buddha’s ministry (Rockhill, p.49). We find the king referring to the Buddha, at their first meeting, as being young in years (S.i.69). Their first meeting and conversation, which ended in Pasenadi’s declaring himself an adherent of the Buddha, are recorded in the Dahara Sutta.
But Pasenadi’s conversion did not prevent him from extending his favour, with true Indian toleration, to the members of other religious orders. Mention is even made of a great animal sacrifice which he once prepared, but which he abandoned on the advice of the Buddha, whom he sought at Mallika’s suggestion (*5). He frequently visited the Buddha and discussed various matters with him (*6). The whole of the Third Samyutta (Kosala Saipyutta), consisting of twenty five anecdotes, each with a moral bias, is devoted to him. The topics discussed are many and varied. The Buddha and Pasenadi were equals in age, and their talks were, therefore, intimate and frank (*7).
(*5) S.i.75; for details see the Mahāsupina and Lohakumbhi Jātakas. It is said (SA.i.111) that the king fell in love with a woman while riding round the city; on discovering that she was married, he ordered her husband to go, before sunset, and fetch clay and lilies from a pond one hundred leagues away. When the man had gone, the king ordered the gatekeepers to shut the gates early and not on any account to open them. The husband returned in the evening, and finding the gates shut, went to Jetavana, to seek protection from the king’s wrath. The king spent a sleepless night owing to his passion and had bad dreams. When the brahmins were consulted they advised a great animal sacrifice. The story is also found at DhA.ii.1ff., with several variations in detail.
(*6) It is said that he went three times a day to wait on the Buddha, sometimes with only a small bodyguard. Some robbers, knowing this, arranged an ambush in the Andhavana. But the king discovered the plot, of which he made short work.
(*7) Pasenadi was extremely attached to the Buddha, and the books describe how, when he saw the Buddha, he bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet, covering them with kisses and stroking them (M.ii.120). The Chinese records say (Beal,xliv) that when the Buddha went to Tāvatimsa, Pasenadi made an image of the Buddha in sandalwood, to which he paid honour. He was very jealous of the Buddha’s reputation, and put down with a firm hand any attempt on the part of heretics to bring discredit on him - e.g., in the case of Sundarī Nandā. In the Aggañña Sutta (D.iii.83f.), the Buddha explains why Pasenadi honours him. For Pasenadi’s own explanation as to why people honoured the Buddha even more than the king, see M.ii.123; see also A.v.65 ff. Pasenadi was also jealous of the reputation of the Order, and if anything arose which seemed likely to bring discredit on it, he took prompt steps to have the matter remedied - e.g., in the case of Kundadhāna and Kumāra Kassapa’s mother. Pasenadi’s palace overlooked the Aciravati, and when he once saw some monks sporting in the river in an unseemingly way, he made sure that the Buddha knew of it (Vin.iv.112). The story of the blind man and the elephant shows that he was anxious to justify the Buddha’s teaching as against that of other sects (SNA.ii.529).
On one occasion we find the Buddha telling him to eat less and teaching his nephew Sudassana (or Uttara) a verse on the advantages of moderation, to be repeated to the king whenever he sat down to a meal. This advice was followed and the king became slim.
S.i.81; DhA.iii.264f.; iv.6f.; the Samyutta Commentary (SA.i.136) states that the bowl out of which he ate (paribhogapāti) was the size of a cartwheel. Pasenadi was always conscious of his own dignity - e.g., the incident with Chattapāni; but see Vin.iv.157f., which probably refers to the same story.
Pasenadi’s chief consort was Mallikā, daughter of a garland maker (see Mallikā for details of her marriage with the king). He loved her dearly and trusted her judgment in all things. When in difficulty he consulted her, realizing that her wisdom was greater than his own (E.g., in the Asadisadāna). There is an account given (S.i.74) of Pasenadi seeking a confession from her that she loved him more than her own soul (attā) as a confirmation of their mutual trust. But the queen was pious and saw into the reality of things, and declared that nothing was dearer to her than her own soul. Piqued by this answer, Pasenadi sought the Buddha, who comforted him by explaining the true import of Mallikā’s words. On another occasion, Pasenadi expressed to the Buddha his disappointment that Mallikā should have borne him a daughter instead of a son; but the Buddha pointed out to him that there was much, after all, to be said for daughters (S.i.83).
Mallikā predeceased Pasenadi (A.iii.57); he had also other wives, one of them being the sister of Bimbisāra, (*14) and another Ubbirī. The Kannakatthala Sutta (M.ii.125) mentions two others who were sisters: Somā and Sakulā. (*16)
(*14) DhA.i.385; Pasenadi’s relations with Bimbisāra were very cordial. Bimbisāra had five millionaires in his kingdom - Jotiya, Jatila, Mendaka, Punnaka and Kākavaliya - while Pasenadi had none. Pasenadi therefore visited Bimbisāra and asked for one to be transferred to him. Bimbisāra gave him Dhanañjaya, Mendaka’s son, and Pasenadi settled him in Sāketa (DhA.i.385ff).
(*16) In the Samyutta Nikāya (v. 351), the king’s chamberlains, Isidatta and Purāna, speak of his harem. When he went riding in the park he took with him his favourite and lovely wives on elephants, one before and one behind. They were sweetly scented - “like caskets of scent” - and their hands were soft to the touch.
It is stated that Pasenadi wished to associate himself with the Buddha’s family so that their relationship might be even closer. For seven days he had given alms to the Buddha and one thousand monks, and on the seventh day he asked the Buddha to take his meals regularly at the palace with five hundred monks; but the Buddha refused the request and appointed Ananda to take his place. Ananda came daily with five hundred others, but the king was too busy to look after them, and the monks, feeling neglected, failed to come any more, only Ananda keeping to his undertaking. When the king became aware of this he was greatly upset, and determined to win the confidence of the monks by marrying a kinswoman of the Buddha. He therefore sent messages to the Sākiyan chiefs, who were his vassals, asking for the hand of one of their daughters. The Sākiyans discussed the proposition in their Mote-Hall, and held it beneath the dignity of their clan to accede to it. But, unwilling to incur the wrath of their overlord, they sent him Vāsabhakhattiyā, daughter of Mahānāma and of a slave woman, Nāgamundā. By her, Pasenadi had a son Vidūdabha. When the latter visited Kapilavatthu, he heard by chance of the fraud that had been practised on his father and vowed vengeance. When he came to the throne, he invaded the Sākiyan territory and killed a large number of the clan without distinction of age or sex (DhA.i.339ff.; J.i.133f.; iv.144ff). It is said that when Pasenadi heard of the antecedents of Vāsabhakhattiyā, he withdrew the royal honours, which had been bestowed on her and her son and reduced them to the condition of slaves. But the Buddha, hearing of this, related to Pasenadi the Katthahārika Jātaka, and made him restore the royal honours to the mother and her son.
Mention is made of another son of Pasenadi, named Brahmadatta, who entered the Order and became an arahant.
ThagA.i.460; the Dulva says that Jeta, owner of Jetavana, was also Pasenadi’s son (Rockhill, p.48).
Pasenadi’s sister, Kosaladevī, was married to Bimbisāra. Mahākosala gave her a village in Kāsi as part of her dowry, for her bath money. When Ajātasattu killed Bimbisāra, Kosaladevī died of grief, and Pasenadi confiscated the Kāsi village, saying that no patricide should own a village which was his by right of inheritance. Angered at this, Ajātasattu declared war upon his aged uncle. At first, victory lay with Ajātasattu, but Pasenadi had spies who reported to him a plan of attack suggested by the Thera Dhanuggaha Tissa, in the course of a conversation with his colleague Mantidatta, and in the fourth campaign Pasenadi took Ajātasattu prisoner, and refused to release him until he renounced his claim to the throne. Upon his renunciation, Pasenadi not only gave him his daughter Vajirā in marriage, but conferred on her, as a wedding gift, the very village in dispute (J.ii.237, 403; iv.342f).
Three years later, Vidūdabha revolted against his father. In this he was helped by the commander in chief, Dīghakārāyana, nephew of Bandhula. Bandhula, chief of the Mallas, disgusted with the treachery of his own people, had sought refuge with his former classmate, Pasenadi, in Sāvatthi. Bandhula’s wife, Mallikā, bore him thirty two sons, brave and learned. Pasenadi, having listened to the tales of his corrupt ministers, contrived to have Bandhula and all his sons killed while they were away quelling a frontier rebellion. Bandhula’s wife was a devout follower of the Buddha’s faith, and showed no resentment against the king for this act of treachery. This moved the king’s heart, and he made all possible amends. But Dīghakārāyana never forgave him, and once when Pasenadi was on a visit to the Buddha at Medatalumpa (Ulumpa), leaving the royal insignia with his commander in chief, Dīghakārāyana took advantage of this opportunity, withdrew the king’s bodyguard, leaving behind only one single horse and one woman servant, hurried back to the capital and crowned Vidūdabha king. When Pasenadi heard of this, he hurried on to Rājagaha to enlist Ajātasattu’s support; but as it was late, the city gates were closed. Exhausted by his journey, he lay down in a hall outside the city, where he died during the night.
When Ajātasattu heard the news, he performed the funeral rites over the king’s body with great pomp. He wished to march at once against Vidūdabha, but desisted on the advice of his ministers (M.ii.118; MA.ii.753ff.; DhA.i.353ff.; J.iv.150ff).
Pasenadi had a sister, Sumanā, who was present at his first interview with the Buddha and decided to enter the Order, but she delayed doing so as she then had to nurse their aged grandmother. Pasenadi was very fond of his grandmother, and was filled with grief when she died in her one hundred and twentieth year. After her death, Sumanā became a nun and attained arahantship (ThigA.22; S.i.97; A.iii.32). The old lady’s possessions were given over to the monks, the Buddha giving special permission for them to be accepted (Vin.ii.169).
Among the king’s most valued possessions was the elephant Seta (A.iii.345); he had two other elephants, Bhadderaka (or Pāveyyaka) (DhA.iv.25) and Pundarīka (Ibid., ii.1). Mention is also made (J.iii.134f ) of a pet heron which lived in the palace and conveyed messages. Tradition says (SA.i.115; J.i.382ff ) that Pasenadi had in his possession the octagonal gem which Sakka had given to Kusa. He valued it greatly, using it as his turban jewel, and was greatly upset when it was reported lost; it was, however, recovered with the help and advice of Ananda. The Jātaka Commentary records that Pasenadi built a monastery in front of Jetavana. It was called the Rājakārāma, and the Buddha sometimes stayed there (J.ii.15). According to Hiouen Thsang, Pasenadi also built a monastery for Pajāpati Gotamī (Beal, Records ii.2).
Pasenadi’s chaplain, Aggidatta had originally been Mahākosala’s chaplain. Pasenadi therefore paid him great respect. This inconvenienced Aggidatta, and he gave his wealth to the poor and renounced the world.
DhA.iii.241ff.; SNA. (580) says that Bāvarī was Mahākosala’s chaplain and Pasenadi studied under him. When Pasenadi came to the throne, Bāvarī declared his wish to leave the world. The king tried to prevent him but failed; he did, however, persuade Bāvarī to live in the royal park. Bāvarī, after staying there for some time, found life in a city uncongenial. The king thereupon detailed two of his ministers to establish a suitable hermitage for Bāvarī.
Pasenadi’s minister, Santati, who was once allowed to reign for a week in the king’s place as reward for having quelled a frontier dispute, gave his wealth to the poor and renounced the world like Aggidatta (DhA.iii.28ff). The king was always ready to pay honour to those who had won the praise of the Buddha, as in the case of Kānā (Ibid., ii.150ff), Culla Eka Sātaka (Ibid., iii.2ff ) or Angulimālā (M.ii.100); on the other hand, he did not hesitate to show his disapproval of those who disregarded the Buddha’s teaching - e.g., Upananda (S.i.153f).
Pasenadi liked to be the foremost in gifts to the Buddha and his Order. This was why he held the Asadisadāna under the guidance and inspiration of Mallikā; but he was hurt when the Buddha’s sermon of thanksgiving did not seem to him commensurate with the vast amount (fourteen crores) which he had spent. The Buddha then explained to him that this lack of enthusiasm was out of consideration for the king’s minister Kāla. When the king learned that Kāla disapproved of the lavish way in which money had been spent at the almsgiving, he banished him from the court, while he allowed the minister Junha, who had furthered the almsgiving, to rule over the kingdom for seven days (DhA.iii.188ff).
Pasenadi seems to have enjoyed discussions on topics connected with the Dhamma. Reference has already been made to the Kosala Samyutta, which records several conversations which he held with the Buddha when visiting him in Sāvatthi; even when Pasenadi was engaged in affairs of state in other parts of the kingdom, he would visit the Buddha and engage him in conversation if he was anywhere in the neighbourhood. Two such conversations are recorded in the Dhammacetiya Sutta (q.v.) and the Kannakatthala Sutta (q.v.). If the Buddha was not available, he would seek a disciple. Thus the Bāhitika Sutta (q.v.) records a discussion between Pasenadi and Ananda on the banks of theAciravatī. Once when Pasenadi was in Toranavatthu, midway between Sāketa and Sāvatthi, he heard that Khemā Therī was there, and went at once to visit and talk to her (S.iv.374ff). Rhys Davids thinks (Buddhist India, p.10) that Pasenadi was evidently an official title (*38) and that the king’s personal name was Agnidatta. He bases this surmise on the fact that in the Divyāvadāna (p. 620) the king who gave Ukkatthā to Pokkarasādi is called Agnidatta, while in the Digha Nikāya (i.87) he is called Pasenadi, and that Pasenadi is used, as a designation for several kings (*39). The evidence is, however, insufficient for any definite conclusion to be drawn.
(*38) The UdA. (104) explains Pasenadi as “paccantam parasenam jinātī ti = Pasenadi.” According to Tibetan sources he was so called because the whole country was illuminated at the time of his birth (Rockhill, p.16).
(*39) E.g., in Dvy. 369, for a king of Magadha and again in the Kathāsaritsāgara i.268, 298.
According to the Anāgatavamsa (J.P.T.S. 1886, p. 37), Pasenadi is a Bodhisatta. He will be the fourth future Buddha.
The Sutta Vibhanga (Vin.iv.298) mentions a Cittāgāra (? Art Gallery) which belonged to him.
· Vidūdabha
Son of Pasenadi and Vāsabhakhattiyā. On the birth of Vidūdabha, the king, glad at having a son, sent word to his own grandmother asking her to choose a name. The minister who delivered the message was deaf, and when the grandmother spoke of Vāsabhakhattiyā as being dear to the king, mistook “vallabha” for “Vidūdabha,” and, thinking that this was an old family name, bestowed it on the prince. When the boy was quite young, Pasenadi conferred on him the rank of senāpati, thinking that this would please the Buddha. It was for the same reason he married Vāsabhakhattiyā; both in the Piyajātika Sutta (M.ii.110) and the Kannakatthala Suttas (M.ii.127) Vidūdabha is spoken of as senāpati.
When Vidūdabha was seven years old, he wished to visit his maternal grandparents, hoping to be given presents, like his companions by theirs, but Vāsabhakhattiyā persuaded him against this, telling him that they lived too far away. But he continued to express this desire, and when he reached the age of sixteen she consented to his going. Thereupon, accompanied by a large retinue, he set out for Kapilavatthu. The Sākiyans sent all the younger princes away, there being thus none to pay obeisance to him in answer to his salute, the remaining ones being older than he. He was shown every hospitality and stayed for several days. On the day of his departure, one of his retinue overheard a contemptuous remark passed by a slave woman who was washing, with milk and water, the seat on which Vidūdabha had sat. This was reported to him, and, having discovered the deceit which had been practiced on his father, he vowed vengeance on the Sākiyans. Pasenadi cut off all honours from Vāsabhakhattiyā and her son, but restored them later, at the Buddha’s suggestion.
After Pasenadi’s death, which was brought about by the treachery of Dīghakārāyana in making Vidūdabha king (for details see Pasenadi), Vidūdabha remembered his oath, and set out with a large army for Kapilavatthu. The Buddha, aware of this, stood under a tree, with scanty shade, just within the boundaries of the Sākiyan kingdom. On the boundary was a banyan which gave deep shade. Vidūdabha, seeing the Buddha, asked him to sit under the banyan. “Be not worried,” said the Buddha, “the shade of my kinsmen keeps me cool.” Vidūdabha understood and returned home with his army. This exposure to the sun gave the Buddha a headache which lasted through out his life (UdA.265; Ap.i.300).
Three times he marched against the Sākiyans and three times he saw the Buddha under the same tree and turned back. The fourth time the Buddha knew that the fate of the Sākiyans could not be averted and remained away. In a previous existence they had conspired and thrown poison into a river.
The Sākiyans went armed into the battle, but not wishing to kill, they shot their arrows into Vidūdabha’s ranks without killing anyone. On this being brought to Vidūdabha’s notice, he gave orders that all the Sākiyans, with the exception of the followers of the Sākiyan Mahānāma, should be slain. The Sākiyans stood their ground, some with blades of grass and some with reeds. These were spared, and came to be known as Tinasākyā and Nalasākiyā respectively.*
The others were all killed, even down to the infants. Mahānāma was taken prisoner and went back with Vidūdabha, who wished him to share his meal. But Mahānāma said he wished to bathe, and plunged into a lake with the idea of dying rather than eating with a slave woman’s child. The Nāgas of the lake, however, saved him and took him to the Nāga world. That same night Vidūdabha pitched his camp on the dry bed of the Aciravatī. Some of his men lay on the banks, others on the river bed. Some of those who lay on the river bed were not guilty of sin in their past lives, while some who slept on the bank were. Ants appeared on the ground where the sinless ones lay, and they changed their sleeping places. During the night there was a sudden flood, and Vidūdabha and those of his retinue who slept in the river bed were washed into the sea. This account is taken from DhA.i.346 9, 357 61; but see also J.i.133 and iv.146f., 151f.
* According to Chinese records, Vidūdabha took five hundred Sākiyan maidens into his harem, but they refused to submit to him and abused him and his family. He ordered them to be killed, their hands and feet to be cut off, and their bodies thrown into a ditch. The Buddha sent a monk to preach to them, and they were reborn after death in heaven. Sakra collected their bones and burnt them (Beal, op. cit.ii.11f.).
The eleventh Pallava of the Avadānakalpalatā has a similar story. Vidūdabha killed seventy seven thousand Sākiyans and stole eighty thousand boys and girls. The girls were rude to him, and he ordered their death
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Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.
Hon’ble Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati ji calls an emergency meeting in connection of law and order after Supreme Court’s decision
Hon’ble Chief Minister appeals to people to maintain peace and harmony
No compromise on law and order issue
—Hon’ble Chief Minister
Lucknow : September 28, 2010
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Ms.
Mayawati ji called an emergency meeting of senior police
and administrative officers related to law and order after
Supreme Court’s decision by the bench of three judges
regarding Ayodhya controversy at her residence here
today. Reviewing law and order situation, the Hon’ble
Chief Minister directed the officers that the preparations
in the context of the decision to the given by the High
Court on September 24 earlier should be strictly
implemented with an immediate effect.
Hon’ble Chief Minister made it clear to senior police
and administrative officers that communal elements
should not be permitted to disturb law and order and
such elements be dealt with an iron hand. The Hon’ble
Chief Minister also said that directives were given to
implement the preparations made by police and
administrative officers in view of High Court decision on
September 24. The officers were directed that these
preparations should remain continued till September 28,
the date of hearing in the Supreme Court. Now, the
same directives should be followed by the police and
administrative officers and they should take action
accordingly to maintain law and order in the State.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati ji said that
her government was committed to maintain law and
order at all costs, for which action had been taken during
last two months continuously to ensure that law and
order could be maintained after the decision of the High
Court in Ayodhya case. She had also given detailed
directives on August 18 to all the officers in view of it,
and the same should be implemented strictly. She
directed that law and order should be ensured in view of
the decision of the High Court on September 30.
Complete security arrangements of Allahabad High Court
and its Lucknow bench should be made, she added.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister also directed the police
and administrative officers of all the districts to ensure
that anti-social elements could not disturb law and order
and communal harmony on the pretext of this sensitive
issue. She also directed the administrative and
intelligence machinery to keep complete vigil and ensure
the protection of all religious, social and historic places of
the State. She also directed the officers to ensure that
mischievous elements could not mislead the people by
spreading rumours.
In this emergency meeting Cabinet Secretary Mr.
Shashank Shekhar Singh, Principal Secretary Home Mr.
Kunwar Fateh Bahadur, DGP Mr. Karamveer Singh, ADG
law and order Mr. Brijlal were present besides, other
senior police and administrative officers.
*********
CM writes letter to PM requesting him again to release initial assistance amount of Rs. 2175 cr. for flood-affected districts of State
Government of India should immediately send Central team to assess loss caused by floods in U.P.
Lucknow: 29 September 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Hon’ble Ms. Mayawati Ji has again
requested the Prime Minister to provide Rs. 2175 cr. for the flood-affected
districts of the State. In a letter written to the Prime Minister today, she
said that this demand was based on initial estimates. She further said
that the detailed memorandum would be forwarded to the Centre once
the floods receded and the losses were estimated correctly. She
demanded from the Centre that a Central team should be sent to U.P. to
assess the losses caused by the floods and the assistance amount should
be provided at the earliest.
It is noteworthy that the Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji had conducted
aerial survey of the flood-affected districts of the State on 22 September
2010 to assess the loss caused by the floods. The districts of Western
U.P. were widely affected by floods caused by the huge release of water
from the dams of Uttarakhand. The State Government had declared the
districts of Western U.P. as disaster-affected area and demanded that an
assistance of Rs. 1000 cr. should be provided for the districts of Western
U.P. and another Rs. 1000 cr. should be provided for the other districts of
the State. In all, an assistance of Rs. 2000 cr. was demanded from the
Centre through her letter written to the Prime Minister recently. In her
letter written to the Prime Minister today, she said that on the basis of
the initial estimates, the Principal Secretary Revenue and Relief
Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh through a letter dated 27-9-2010 had
forwarded memorandum demanding Rs. 2175 cr. assistance to the Joint
Secretary, Disaster Management, Ministry of Home, Government of India.
She said that the letter had been received by the aforesaid ministry.
In this light, Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji requested the P.M. to release
Rs. 2175 cr. immediately. Giving details about the wide losses caused by
the floods in the State, she wrote in her letter that about 5969 villages of
the 33 districts had been affected by the floods since June till date and
2022 villages had been fully submerged in the water. Referring to the
deaths caused by the floods, she said that 96 persons had perished in
floods, while 330 persons had died in the incidents of house collapses.
Besides, a large number of cattle had also died. She said that about 8.08
lack hectares of sown crops had been damaged all over the State by the
floods, while a large number of infrastructure facilities had also been
damaged in the floods. A large number of roads, embankments, electric
poles and wires had also been damaged. Many houses had also been
damaged. She said that their reconstruction and repair was immediately
needed.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji requested the Government of India to
send a Central team immediately to assess the losses caused by the
floods. She again requested the Centre to release the amount
immediately so that the relief and rescue works could be carried out
properly.
*******
Ayodhya verdict: No curfew, no closure of schools, colleges, says Uttar Pradesh police
Uttar Pradesh police today released six phone numbers of the control room set up at the director general of police (DGP) office here to immediately report about any untoward incident taking place ater the pronouncement of the Ayodhya title suit verdict tomorrow.
“In case of any untoward incident or mischief, the people can call at these phone numbers so that the situation can be controlled immediately”, inspector general of PAC RK Singh toldnewspersons here.
Thee numbers are 0522 2206901, 9454402508, 9454402509,
9454402510, 9307100100 and 998410010, the IG said.
On the security arrangements and force deployment, the IG said the strategy has been worked out in a manner so as to ensure that general public faced minimum problems and anti-social elements are controlled effectively.
Districts have been asked to work out contingency plans and use the forces availabale with them as per requirement, the IG said.
Pointing out that there has been no closure of schools and colleges, state home secretary Anand Kumar said a government order has already been issued banning fire works and celebratory firing in the state in view of the court orders.
There would also be no restriction on movement of people nor has curfew been imposed anywhere in the state, he said.
Meanwhile, DGP Karamvir Singh, IG (law and order) AP Maheshwari, Lucknow district magistarate, DIG and several
judges had a meeting with the chief justice of the Allahabad
high court, FI Rebello here this evening to review the security arrangements in the court compound.
09/29/10
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Entire people including the media have the nature of Awakened-One with awareness. They see truth as truth and untruth as untruth. For truth ultimately trimphs. they all have calm, quiet, alert, attentive and equanimity mind with a clear understanding that everything is changing.
LESSON- 43 -ARHAT PART VIII - Ariya puggala -asekha -Suddhodana -Dasaratha- 29 -09 -2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship. – Buddha
EDUCATE (BUDDHA)! MEDITATE (DHAMMA)! ORGANISE (SANGHA)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
Using such an instrument
The Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies;
International Relations and Peace Studies;
Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;
Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University
Course Programs:
ARHAT
· asekha
(lit.: ‘not-learner’; s. sekha), a disciple ‘perfected in training’, one beyond training, an adept.
This is a name for the Arahat, the Holy One (s. ariya-puggala), since he has reached the perfection in higher moral training, higher mind training and higher wisdom training (s. sikkhā) and needs no longer to train himself therein.
http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/s/suddhodana.htm
· Suddhodana
A Sākiyan Rājā of Kapilavatthu and father of Gotama Buddha.
He was the son of Sihahanu and Kaccānā. His brothers were Dhotodana, Sakkodana, Sukkodana and Amitodana, and his sisters were Amitā and Pamitā.
Māyā was his chief consort, and, after her death her sister Pajāpatī was raised to her position (Mhv.ii.15f.; Dpv.iii.45; J.i.15, etc.).
When soothsayers predicted that his son Gotama had two destinies awaiting him, either that of universal sovereignty or of Buddha hood, he exerted his utmost power to provide the prince with all kinds of luxuries in order to hold him fast to household life. It is said (E.g., J.i.54) that when Asita, who was his father’s chaplain and his own teacher, visited Suddhodana to see the newly born prince, and paid homage to the infant by allowing his feet to rest on his head, Suddhodana was filled with wonder and himself worshipped the child. And when, at the ploughing ceremony, Suddhodana saw how the jambu-tree under which the child had been placed kept its shadow immoveable in order to protect him, and that the child was seated cross legged in the air, he again worshipped him (J.i.57f).
Later, when, in spite of all his father’s efforts, the prince had left household life and was practising austerities, news was brought to Suddhodana that his son had died owing to the severity of his penances. But he refused to believe it, saying that his son would never die without achieving his goal (J.i.67). When this was afterwards related to the Buddha, he preached the Mahādhammapāla Jātaka and showed that in the past, too, Suddhodana had refused to believe that his son could have died even when he was shown the heap of his bones.
When news reached Suddhodana that his son had reached Enlightenment, he sent a messenger to Veluvana in Rājagaha with ten thousand others to invite the Buddha to visit Kapilavatthu. But the messenger and his companions heard the Buddha preach, entered the Order, and forgot their mission. Nine times this happened. On the tenth occasion, Suddhodana sent Kāludāyī with permission for him to enter the Order on the express condition that he gave the king’s invitation to the Buddha. Kāludāyī kept his promise and the Buddha visited Kapilavatthu, staying in the Nigrodhārāma. There, in reference to a shower of rain that fell, he preached the Vessantara Jātaka. The next day, when Suddhodana remonstrated with the Buddha because he was seen begging in the streets of Kapilavatthu, the Buddha told him that begging was the custom of all Buddhas, and Suddhodana hearing this became a sotāpanna. He invited the Buddha to his palace, where he entertained him, and at the end of the meal the Buddha preached to the king, who became a sakadāgāmī (J.i.90; cf. DhA.iii.164f). He became an anāgāmī after hearing the Mahādhammapāla Jātaka(DhA.i.99; J.iv.55), and when he was about to die, the Buddha came from Vesāli to see him and preach to him, and Suddhodana became an arahant and died as a lay arahant (ThigA.141).
Nanda was Suddhodana’s son by Mahā Pajāpati, and he had also a daughter called Sundarī Nandā. When the Buddha ordained both Rāhula and Nanda, Suddhodana was greatly distressed lest other parents should be similarly afflicted, and persuaded the Buddha to establish a rule that none should be ordained without the permission of his parents (Vin.i.82f).
Suddhodana was the Bodhisatta’s father in numerous births, but he is specially mentioned as such by name in only a few Jātakas e.g.,
Dasaratha,
http://www.palikanon.com/english/pali_names/d/dasaratha_jat_461.htm
· Dasaratha Jātaka (No.461)
Dasaratha, king of Benares, had three children, Rāmapandita, Lakkhana and Sītā. On the death of his queen he took another queen and had by her a son, Bharata. When Bharata was seven years old his mother claimed the kingdom for him in accordance with a boon granted her by the king. The king was horrified and fearing that she would harm his elder children, sent them into the forest for twelve years, asking them to return after his death. In the forest Rāma lived the ascetic life while Lakkhana and Sītā provided him with food. Dasaratha died after nine years, and when the ministers refused to recognise Bharata as king, he went into the forest in search of Rāma. Rāma, however, refused to return until three more years had elapsed, and on Bharata refusing to occupy the throne, Rāma gave him his straw slippers to be placed on the throne in his absence. When cases were heard, if the decision given was wrong, the slippers would beat upon each other, but, if right, they would lie quiet. After three years Rāma returned and reigned from his palace of Sucandaka for sixteen thousand years, with Sītā as queen consort.
Dasaratha was Suddhodana, Bharata Ananda, Lakkhana Sāriputta, Sītā Rāhulamātā and Rāma the Bodhisatta.
The story was related to a man of Sāvatthi who greatly grieved at his father’s death and neglected all his duties. J.iv.123-30.
· Sokyā, Sakka, Sākiyā
A tribe in North India, to which the Buddha belonged. Their capital was Kapilavatthu. Mention is also made of other Sākyan settlements - e.g., Cātumā, Khomadussa, Sāmagāma, Devadaha, Sīlavatī, Nagaraka, Medatalumpa, Sakkhara and Ulumpa (q.v.). Within the Sākyan tribe there were probably several clans, gottā. The Buddha himself belonged to the Gotamagotta. It has been suggested (E.g., Thomas, op. cit., 22) that this was a brahmin clan, claiming descent from the ancient isi Gotama. The evidence for this suggestion is, however, very meagre. Nowhere do we find the Sākyans calling themselves brahmins. On the other hand, we find various clans claiming a share of the Buddha’s relics on the ground that they, like the Buddha, were khattiyas (D.ii.165). It is stated a that the Sākyans were a haughty people. Vin.ii.183; D.i.90; J.i.88; DhA.iii.163. Hiouen Thsang, however, found them obliging and gentle in manners (Beal, op. cit., ii.14).
When the Buddha first visited them, after his Enlightenment, they refused to honour him on account of his youth. The Buddha then performed a miracle and preached the Vessantara Jātaka, and their pride was subdued. They evidently fond of sports and mention is made of a special school of archery conducted by a Sākyan family, called Vedhaññā (D.iii.117; DA.iii.905). When the prince Siddhattha Gotama (later the Buddha) wished to marry, no Sākyan would give him his daughter until he had showed his proficiency in sport (J.i.58).
The Sākyans evidently had no king. Theirs was a republican form of government, probably with a leader, elected from time to time. The administration and judicial affairs of the gotta were discussed in their Santhāgāra, or Mote Hall, at Kapilavatthu. See, e.g., D.i.91; the Sākyans had a similar Mote Hall at Cātumā (M.i.457). The Mallas of Kusinārā also had a Santhāgāra (D.ii.164); so did the Licchavis of Vesāli (Vin.i.233; M.i.228).
Ambattha (q.v.) once visited it on business; so did the envoys of Pasenadi, when he wished to marry a Sākyan maiden (see below). A new Mote Hall was built at Kapilavatthu while the Buddha was staying at the Nigrodhārāma, and he was asked to inaugurate it. This he did by a series of ethical discourses lasting through the night, delivered by himself, Ananda, and Moggallāna. M.i.353f.; S.iv.182f; the hall is described at SA.iii.63; cf. UdA.409.
The Sākyans were very jealous of the purity of their race; they belonged to the ādiccagotta, (ādiccā nāma gottena, Sākiyā nāma jātiyā, SN. vs.423) and claimed descent from Okkāka (q.v.). Their ancestors were the nine children of Okkāka, whom he banished in order to give the kingdom to Jantukumāra, his son by another queen. These nine children went towards Himavā, and, having founded Kapilavatthu (q.v. for details), lived there. To the eldest sister they gave the rank of mother, and the others married among themselves. The eldest sister, Piyā, later married Rāma, king of Benares, and their descendants became known as the Koliyans (see Koliyā for details). When Okkāka heard of this, he praised their action, saying, “Sakyā vata bho kumārā, paramasakyā vata bho rājakumāra; hence their name came to be “Sakyā.”
SNA.i.352f.; cf. DA.i.258. Okkāka had a slave girl, Disā, her offspring were the Kanhāyanas, to which gotta belonged Ambattha (q.v.). The Mhv.ii.12ff gives the history of the direct descent of the Buddha from Okkāka, and this contains a list of the Sākyan chiefs of Kapilavatthu:
- Okkāmukha was Okkāka’s eldest son;
- Nipuna, Candimā, Candamukha, Sivisañjaya, Vessantara, Jāli, Sīhavāhana and Sīhassara were among his descendants.
- Sīhassara had eighty-two thousand sons and grandsons, of whom Jayasena was the last.
- Jayasena’s son was Sīhahanu, and his daughter Yasodharā.
- Sīhahanu’s wife was Kaccāna, daughter of Devadahasakka of Devadaha, whose son Añjana married Yasodharā.
- Añjana had two sons, Dandapāni and Suppabuddha, and two daughters,
- Māyā and Pajāpatī.
- Sīhahanu had five sons and two daughters: Suddhodana, Dhotodana, Sakkodana, Sukkodana, Amitodana, Amitā and Pamitā.
- Māyā and Pajāpatī were married to Suddhodana, and Māyā’s son was the Buddha.
- Suppabuddha married Amitā and they had two children, Bhaddakaccānā and Devadatta.
- The consort of the Bodhisatta was Bhaddakaccānā; their son was Rāhula.
From the very first there seems to have been intermarriage between the Sākyans and the Koliyans; but there was evidently a good deal of endogamy among the Sākyans, which earned for them the rebuke of the Koliyans in the quarrel between them “like dogs, jackals, and such like beasts, cohabiting with their own sisters. E.g., SNA.i.357; J.v.412 L; there were eighty two thousand rājās among the Koliyans and Sākyans (SNA.i.140).
A quarrel, which broke out in the Buddha’s lifetime, between the Sākyans and the Koliyans is several times referred to in the books. The longest account is found in the introductory story of the Kunāla Jātaka. The cause of the dispute was the use of the water of the River Rohinī (q.v.), which flowed between the two kingdoms. The quarrel waxed fierce, and a bloody battle was imminent, when the Buddha, arriving in the air between the two hosts, asked them, “Which is of more priceless value, water or khattiya chiefs?” He thus convinced them of their folly and made peace between them. On this occasion he preached five Jātaka stories - the Phandana, Daddabha, Latukika, Rukkhadhamma and Vattaka (Sammodamāna) - and the Attadanda Sutta.
To show their gratitude the Sākyans and Koliyans gave each two hundred and fifty young men from their respective families to join the Order of the Buddha. (J.v.412f.; for their history see also SNA.i.358f ) Earlier, during the Buddha’s first visit to Kapilavatthu, when he had humbled the pride of his kinsmen by a display of miracles, each Sākyan family had given one representative to enter the Order and to help their famous kinsman. The wives of these, and of other Sākyans who had joined the Order, were the first to become nuns under Pajāpatī Gotamī (q.v.) when the Buddha gave permission for women to enter the Order. Among the most eminent of the Sākyan young men, who now joined, were Anuruddha, Ananda, Bhaddiya, Kimbila, Bhagu and Devadatta. Their barber, Upāli, entered the Order at the same time; they arranged that he should be ordained first, so that he might be higher than they in seniority and thus receive their obeisance, and thereby humble their pride Vin.ii.181f.; according to DhA.i.133, eighty thousand Sākyan youths had joined the Order.
The Buddha states, in the Aggañña Sutta, that the Sākyans were vassals of King Pasenadi of Kosala. D.iii.83 (Sakyā . . . Pasenadi-Kosalassa anuyuttā bhavanti, karonti Sakyā rañño Pasenadimhi Kosale nipaccakāram abhivādanam paccupatthānam añjalikammam sāmīcikammam); cf. SN.vs 422, where the Buddha describes his country as being “Kosalesu niketino.”
Yet, when Pasenadi wished to establish connection with the Buddha’s family by marrying one of the daughters of a Sākyan chief, the Sākyans decided in their Mote Hall that it would be beneath their dignity to marry one of their daughters to the King of Kosala. But as they dared not refuse Pasenadi’s request, the Sākyan chieftain, Mahānāma, solved the difficulty by giving him Vāsabhakhattiyā (q.v.), who was his daughter by a slave girl, Nāgamundā. By her Pasenadi had a son, Vidūdabha. When Pasenadi discovered the trick, he deprived his wife and her son of all their honours, but restored them on the intervention of the Buddha. Later, when Vidūdabha, who had vowed vengeance on the Sākyans for the insult offered to his father, became king, he marched into Kapilavatthu and there massacred the Sākyans, including women and children. The Buddha felt himself powerless to save them from their fate because they had committed sin in a previous life by throwing poison into a river. Only a few escaped, and these came to be called the Nalasākiyā and the Tinasākiyā. The Mhv. Tīkā (p. 180) adds that, during this massacre, some of the Sākyans escaped to the Himālaya, where they built a city, which came to be called Moriyanagara because the spot resounded with the cries of peacocks. This was the origin of the Moriya dynasty, to which Asoka belonged (189). Thus Asoka and the Buddha were kinsmen.
Among the Sākyans who thus escaped was Pandu, son of Amitodana. He crossed the Ganges, and, on the other side of the river, founded a city. His daughter was Bhaddakaccānā (q.v.), who later married Panduvāsudeva, king of Ceylon. Thus the kings of Ceylon were connected by birth to the Sākyans. Mhv.viii.18ff. Six of her brothers also came to Ceylon, where they founded settlements: Rāma, Uruvela, Anurādha Vijita, Dīghāyu and Rohana (Mhv.ix 6ff.)
09/27/10
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LESSON - 42 -ARHAT -PART VII - Ariya puggala -Arahant -28 -09- 2010 -FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. - Buddha
EDUCATE (BUDDHA)! MEDITATE (DHAMMA)! ORGANISE (SANGHA)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
Using such an instrument
The Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies;
International Relations and Peace Studies;
Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;
Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University
Course Programs:
ARHAT
Arahat, Arahant
Ariya-puggala
Arahant comes from the Pali word arahati meaning ‘worthy’ or ‘noble’ and is a title given to someone who has attained awaken-ness as a result of listening to and practicing the teachings of a Buddha. Like a Buddha, an arahant has perfected wisdom and compassion and is no longer subject to rebirth. The Buddha describes the arahant as having transcended ‘the round of birth and death, they have destroyed the taints, lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the ultimate goal, destroyed the fetters and become completely free, liberated through final knowledge’ (Majjhima Nikaya 1. 141).
Attaining to the level of full awaken-ness is not to be taken lightly or as something easily attainable. It can take several decades of devoted practice and will more likely take several lifetimes to perfect the Paramitas,(
Theravāda Buddhism
Theravāda Buddhism’s teachings on the pāramitās can be found in late canonical books and post-canonical commentaries.
[edit]Canonical sources
In the Pāli canon’s Buddhavaṃsa[3] the Ten Perfections (dasa pāramiyo) are (original terms in Pāli):
- Dāna pāramī : generosity, giving of oneself
- Sīla pāramī : virtue, morality, proper conduct
- Nekkhamma pāramī : renunciation
- Paññā pāramī : transcendental wisdom, insight
- Viriya (also spelt vīriya) pāramī : energy, diligence, vigour, effort
- Khanti pāramī : patience, tolerance, forbearance, acceptance, endurance
- Sacca pāramī : truthfulness, honesty
- Adhiṭṭhāna (adhitthana) pāramī : determination, resolution
- Mettā pāramī : loving-kindness
- Upekkhā (also spelt upekhā) pāramī : equanimity, serenity
Two of the above virtues, metta and upekkha also comprise two of the four immeasurables (brahmavihāra)).
theJhanas,
(Stages of jhāna
The Rupa Jhānas
There are four stages of deep collectedness which are called the Rupa Jhāna (Fine-material Jhāna):
- First Jhāna - In the first jhana there are - “directed thought, evaluation, rapture, pleasure, unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence,mindfulness, equanimity & attention”
- Second Jhāna - In the second jhana there are - “internal assurance, rapture, pleasure, unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & attention.”
- Third Jhāna - In the third jhana, there are - “equanimity-pleasure, unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity & attention”
- Fourth Jhāna - In the fourth jhana there are - “a feeling of equanimity, neither pleasure nor pain; an unconcern due to serenity of awareness; unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity & attention”.[10]
[edit]The Arupa Jhānas
Beyond the four jhānas lie four attainments, referred to in the early texts as aruppas. These are also referred to in commentarial literature as immaterial/the formless jhānas (arūpajhānas), also translated as The Formless Dimensions:
- Dimension of Infinite Space - In the dimension of infinite space there are - “the perception of the dimension of the infinitude of space, unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & attention”
- Dimension of Infinite Consciousness - In the Dimension of infinite consciousness there are - “the perception of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, unification of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & attention”
- Dimension of Nothingness - In the dimension of nothingness, there are - “the perception of the dimension of nothingness, singleness of mind, contact, feeling, perception, intention, consciousness, desire, decision, persistence, mindfulness, equanimity, & attention”
- Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception - About the role of this jhana it is said: “He emerged mindfully from that attainment. On emerging mindfully from that attainment, he regarded the past qualities that had ceased & changed: ‘So this is how these qualities, not having been, come into play. Having been, they vanish.’ He remained unattracted & unrepelled with regard to those qualities, independent, detached, released, dissociated, with an awareness rid of barriers. He discerned that ‘There is no further escape,’ and pursuing it there really wasn’t for him.” [11]
In the suttas, these are never referred to as jhānas. According to the early scriptures, the Buddha learned the last two formless attainments from two teachers, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta respectively, prior to his enlightenment.[12] It is most likely that they belonged to the Brahmanical tradition.[13]
[edit]Cessation of feelings and perceptions
The Buddha himself discovered an attainment beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, the “cessation of feelings and perceptions”. This is sometimes called the “ninth jhāna” in commentarial and scholarly literature.[14][15]
About this, it is said: “Seeing with discernment, his fermentations were totally ended. He emerged mindfully from that attainment. On emerging mindfully from that attainment, he regarded the past qualities that had ceased & changed: ‘So this is how these qualities, not having been, come into play. Having been, they vanish.’ He remained unattracted & unrepelled with regard to those qualities, independent, detached, released, dissociated, with an awareness rid of barriers. He discerned that ‘There is no further escape,’ and pursuing it there really wasn’t for him.”[16]
Someone attaining this state is an anagami or an arahant.[17] In the above extract, the Buddha narrates that Sariputta became an arahant upon reaching it.[18])
and other advanced states. There are however, several other partially enlightened noble levels (see:
10 hindrances).(
There are ten hindrances to enlightenment (shown below) and four stages of realization (enlightenment) based on how many hindrances have been eliminated and / or the degree to which they have been eliminated.
A Buddha is someone who is fully enlightened. A person who is fully enlightened, but not the Buddha of our time, is called an Arahant in Pali. Such a person has eradicated all ten hindrances to enlightenment:
- The belief in a permanent personality, ego
- Doubt, extreme skepticism
- Attachment to rites, rituals, and ceremonies
- Attachment to sense desires
- Ill-will, anger
- Craving for existence in the Form world (heavenly realms)
- Craving for existence in the Formless world (heavenly realms)
- Conceit
- Restlessness
- Ignorance
(from Anguttara Nikaya 10.13)
An anagami (non-returner) has completely eradicated the first five hindrances and never returns to earth or any other world system (planet, solar system). Such a person is re-born to a heavenly realm and attains enlightenment from there.
A sakadagami (once-returner) has eradicated the first three hindrances and greatly weakened the fourth and fifth; attachment to sense desires and ill-will. Such a person will be re-born to either the human or heavenly realm and will attain enlightenment there.
A sotapanna (stream-entrant) has eradicated the first three hindrances and will be re-born no more than seven more times and re-birth will either be as a human or a deva in a heavenly realm)
Buddhism is unique among the major world religions in that followers can attain to the same level as the founder. For example, in Judaism, Abraham and Moses are considered the founders who made the covenant with God and provided the Law (Torah) and there cannot be another one to do so. In Christianity, there can only be one Christ. In Islam, Muhammad is considered the seal or final prophet. Whereas, in Buddhism, anyone can attain awaken-ness and reach the same wisdom and title as the Buddha, an awakened one.
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In the social transformation movement in our country, the great heroes of social revolution have played a particular important role. The humanitarian thoughts and deeds of those great heroes stirred and influenced the society a great deal. Our Sants, Gurus and other great men wagesd stupendous struggles and made countless sacrifices throughout their life for securing the right to vote and human right to equality that we enjoy today in the 21st century. All o0f you are aware that there is a long saga of relentless struggles and sacrifices by these great men in which names of great humanists, Tathagat Gautam Buddha, Sant Kabir, Guru Ravidas, Mahatma Jotiba Phule, Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj,the most revered Baba Saheb Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar and Bahujan Nayak Hon.Shri Kanshi Ram Ji in particular deserve mention. It is because of limitless love of these leading lights of India for the people , society and country that these great men are held in great esteem everywhere and all of them hold sway over hearts and minds of the people.
Establishment of a caste-less equalitarian social order based on humanism and equality in our country has been the great goal of these great men. At the time of attaining Independence of the country also, the architect of the Indian Constitution, the most revered Baba Saheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar had reminded all his countrymen, “ We have gained Political Independence, but there is no Social Equality in India. How long shall we continue to live the life of contradiction? If we continue to delay it for long, we will do so, only putting our Political Democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earlist possible moment…”
But even 62 years after Independence of the country, the casteist mindset and the social order based on it are destroying our country like white ants. This malady has continued to be a big hurdle in the development of both the country and the state because, as everyone knows it, the renouncing of the castiest mindset alone is true patriotism and without establishing a caste-less society India cannot become a humanitarian and developed country of the world.
It has always been my efforts that these high priests/great men who sacrificed their all for “Social Transformation” should get adequate honour in the society and our country, and their memories should be preserved as a valuable heritage and a source of inspiration. During my all the four tenures of power in Uttar Pradesh in the honour of these great men and in the direction of preserving their memorable heritage, efforts have been made to do the historic work of establishing new districts and building sthals, institutions, gr4and memorials, buildings, parks etc., for them.
In this very process, I am happy that a guide/album, “Certainly Towards an Equalitarian Society”, based on the works that mu government has got done in the honour of Tathagat Gautam Buddha is being published by the Information and Public Relations Department of the state. I am confident that this effort will certainly play a positive role in my government’s campaign to establish an” equalitarian social order”.
-sd-
(Mayawati)
Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh
Sant Kabir Das
Kabir was born in 1398 AD. He was a great poet and a weaver by profession. He was born to a Hindu but grew up in a Muslim weavers family. Ramananda was his guru from whom he took initiation.
< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />Guru Ravidass: Prophet of Untouchables Consciousness
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule was born on the 11th of April 1827 and died on the 28th of November 1890 at the age of 63. Punekar pays tribute to the reformer on the occasion of his 118th Death Anniversary.
Jyotiba Phule was a true believer in the saying, ‘charity begins at home’. As many of us are aware (especially girls), Jyotiba and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were the pioneers in starting schools for women. But Jyotiba took the step of starting a school only after imparting the necessary education to his wife. Married at the tender age of twelve, Jyotiba and Savitribai together walked the road less travelled.
They were the first Indians to promote the cause of female education and make India what it is today. As a woman, I feel immensely honoured to be able to write about the man who brought about a change because of which I am able to sit here and write about him and be independent.
Jyotiba and his wife were not only responsible for starting women’s education but were also one of the few to open their hearts and doors to the ‘Harijans’ or untouchables during the fight for freedom. Jyotiba carried with him an air of liberation as is evidenced in the works of his contemporaries like Raja Ram Mohun Roy who not only supported the cause of education for women but also worked hard to abolish the inhuman laws against the practice of ‘Sati’.
Jyotiba’s contribution did not end at planting the seed of women’s education. He also took efforts to go to people’s houses and convince the parents of the importance of educating the female child. He also, in many cases, took responsibility for the girls coming to his house. Savitribai Phule acted like a teacher and a mother to the girls who were allowed to attend school. Jyotiba and Savitribai did not discriminate on the grounds of caste or religion; they strived towards the selfless goal of imparting education to as many girls as possible.
Jyotiba was also amongst the founder members of the ‘Satyashodhak Samaj’. The aim of this society was to help eradicate the stigma attached with the ‘shudras’ and ‘ati-shudras’ and also to liberate them from the constant exploitation by the ‘Brahmin’ class. The Satyashodhak Samaj propounded rational thinking and rejected the need for a hierarchy in the society in the form of a caste system. His is the first name that comes to mind when mentioning The Social Reform Movement in Maharashtra.
There was more to the man just fighting for the cause of women’s education and eradicating the caste system. As well as being a reformer, he was an educated one. He not only put forth ideas but also explained them in the light of the good they would do to the society. He strongly believed that the ignorance in society cannot be fought without good education being provided to all classes and genders alike.
He also holds the credit for starting a house for widows to save them from the practice of ‘Sati’ and also an orphanage for girls to save them from female infanticide. Jyotiba Phule has truly contributed towards a better future for women and that too with the support of a strong woman, Savitribai.
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar(Babasaheb)
![BSP chief Kanshi Ram offers a piece of cake to Uttar Pradesh chief<br />
minister Mayawati on her 47th birthday, in New Delhi on January 15,<br />
2003.” src=”http://www.timescontent.com/tss/photos/preview/8539/Kanshi%20Ram-Mayawati.jpg”></p>
<p style=]()
![A portrait of mentor Kanshi Ram is seen as Bahujan Samaj Party<br />
president Mayawati, smiles during an election rally in Nuh, 75<br />
kilometers (47 miles) from New Delhi, India, in this, April 6, 2009<br />
photo. Mayawati, whose election symbol is an elephant, seeks national<br />
power as the larger parties…” src=”http://www.dlcache.indiatimes.com/imageserve/09g9d434zAe7f/500×350.jpg?center=0.5,0″></p>
<p style=]()
She pointed out that once the main Rs. 17 cr. Taj corridor case had come to an end and it was conclusively proved that she had no role to play in the case, the CBI should have dropped the case immediately.
The Supreme Court has asked the Union government to clearly spell out its stand whether it wanted to proceed against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in the disproportionate assets case or not.
A Bench, comprising Justices B. Sudershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar, gave six weeks to the Centre and the CBI to file their response to Ms. Mayawati’s petition that sought quashing of the proceedings.
During the resumed hearing on Monday, when counsel for the Centre pleaded for adjournment to file the response, Justice Reddy told him, “What is this? Every time, you seek time or an adjournment. Sometimes, you seek time for filing reply, then you say that you want to file a counter-affidavit then you say that you want to file an affidavit. If both of you [Centre and Ms. Mayawati] are together then let this petition go.”
“Political reasons”
In her petition, Ms. Mayawati accused the CBI of harassing her by filing the disproportionate assets cases. She said while the former Railway Minister, Lalu Prasad, was let off by the CBI without filing any appeal in the income-tax case, she was being targeted for political reasons.
She contended that the CBI had neither the authority nor the jurisdiction to initiate any proceedings, including filing of First Information Report, against her in the DA case.
She pointed out that once the main Rs. 17 cr. Taj corridor case had come to an end and it was conclusively proved that she had no role to play in the case, the CBI should have dropped the case immediately. However, in a most illegal and arbitrary manner, simply to harass and defame her, the CBI had illegally and under political pressure been continuing the DA case till date.
Ms. Mayawati said the CBI and income-tax authorities not only went ahead to investigate the income during 2002-2003 to which the Taj case related but even went back from the assessment years 1998-99 onwards for re-opening the assessment proceedings.
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LESSON 41 ARHAT PART VI Ariya puggala Anāgāmī 27 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
He is able who thinks he is able. - Buddha
EDUCATE (BUDDHA)! MEDITATE (DHAMMA)! ORGANISE (SANGHA)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
Using such an instrument
The Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
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Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University
Course Programs:
ARHAT
Arahat, Arahant
Ariya-puggala
http://www.scribd.com/doc/489460/Introducing-Buddhist-Abhidhamma
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Ariya-puggala
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Sotapanna
http://forums.sgclub.com/singapore/life_buddha_pictures_227095.html
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Sakadagami
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Anagami
Anāgāmī: The Non-Returner is a Noble Disciple Ariya-puggala on the 3rd stage of Nobility.
An anagami (non-returner) has completely eradicated the first five hindrances of the 10 hindrances (There are ten hindrances to enlightenment (shown below) and four stages of realization (enlightenment) based on how many hindrances have been eliminated and / or the degree to which they have been eliminated.
A Buddha is someone who is fully enlightened. A person who is fully enlightened, but not the Buddha of our time, is called an Arahant in Pali. Such a person has eradicated all ten hindrances to enlightenment:
1. The belief in a permanent personality, ego
2. Doubt, extreme skepticism
3. Attachment to rites, rituals, and ceremonies
4. Attachment to sense desires
5. Ill-will, anger
6. Craving for existence in the Form world (heavenly realms)
7. Craving for existence in the Formless world (heavenly realms)
8. Conceit
9. Restlessness
10. Ignorance )
to awaken-ness and never returns to earth or any other world system (planet, solar system). Such a person is re-born to a heavenly realm and attains enlightenment from there.
There are 5 classes of Non-Returners, as it is said e.g. Pug. 42-46:
A being, through the disappearing of the 5 lower mental chains samyojana, reappears in a higher world amongst the devas of the Pure Abodes, suddhāvāsa, and without returning from that world into the sense-sphere, he there reaches Nibbāna.
1. He may, immediately after appearing there in the Pure Abodes or before half of the life-time, attain the Noble path for the overcoming of the higher mental chains. Such a being is called one who reaches Nibbāna within the first half of the life antarā-parinibbāyī.
2. Or, while living more than half of the lifetime there, or at the moment of death, he attains the Noble path for the overcoming of the higher mental chains. Such a being is called one who reaches Nibbāna after crossing half the life-time upahacca-parinibbāyī.
3. Or, with effort he attains the Noble path for the overcoming of the higher mental chains. Such a being is called one who reaches Nibbāna with exertion sasankhāra-parinibbāyī.
4. Or, without effort he attains the Noble path for the overcoming of the higher mental chains. Such a being is called one who reaches Nibbāna without exertion asankhāra-parinibbāyī.
5. Or, after vanishing from the heaven of the Aviha-gods see: suddhāvāsa, he appears in the heaven of the unworried atappa gods. After vanishing from there he appears in the heaven of the clearly-visible sudassa gods, from there in the heaven of the clear-visioned sudassī gods, from there in the heaven of the highest akanittha gods. There he attains the Noble path for the overcoming of the higher mental chains. Such a being is called one who passes up-stream to the highest gods uddhamsota-akanittha-gāmī.
http://integral-options.blogspot.com/2010/05/kenneth-folk-and-joel-groover-power-of.html
The Power of Progress: The Four Paths of Awaken-ness
Stream-enterer
Main article: Sotāpanna
The first stage is that of Sotāpanna (Pali; Sanskrit: Srotāpanna), literally meaning “one who enters (āpadyate) the stream (sotas),” with the stream being the Noble Eightfold Pathregarded as the highest Dharma. The stream-enterer is also said to have “opened the eye of the Dharma” (dhammacakkhu, Sanskrit: dharmacakṣus).
A stream-enterer usually reaches enlightenment within seven successive rebirths upon opening the eye of the Dharma.
Due to the fact that the stream-enterer has attained an intuitive grasp of Buddhist doctrine (samyagdṛṣṭi or sammādiṭṭhi, “right view”), and has complete confidence or Saddha in the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, he will not be reborn in any of the unhappy states or rebirths (an animal, a preta, or inhell).
Once-returner
Main article: Sakadagami
The second stage is that of the Sakadāgāmī (Sanskrit:Sakṛdāgāmin), literally meaning “one who once (sakṛt) comes (āgacchati)”. The once-returner will return to the human world only one more time, and will attain Nirvana in that life.
Non-returner
Main article: Anāgāmi
The third stage is that of the Anāgāmī (Sanskrit: Anāgāmin), literally meaning “one who does not (an-) come (āgacchati)”. The non-returner does not come back into human existence, or any lower world, after death. Instead, he is reborn in one of the worlds of the Rūpadhātu called the Śuddhāvāsa worlds, or “Pure Abodes”, where he will attain Nirvāṇa; Pāli: Nibbana; some of them are reborn a second time in a higher world of the Pure Abodes.
An Anāgāmī has abandoned the five lower fetters that bind the mind to the cycle of rebirth. An Anāgāmī is thus partially enlightened, and on the way to perfect and completeEnlightenment.
Arahant
Main article: Arahant
The fourth stage is that of Arahant, a fully enlightened being who has abandoned all fetters, and who upon death (Sanskrit:Parinirvāṇa, Pāli: Parinibbāna) will not be reborn in any world, having wholly abandoned saṃsāra.[2] [3]
If you want more on each stage, go check out the main articles.
With that foundation, here is the discussion.
http://www.palikanon.com/english/intro-abhidhamma/chapter_i.htm
INTRODUCING BUDDHIST ABHIDHAMMA
The Buddha preaching Abhidhamma in the Tavatimsa
Buddha alighting from Tavatimsa to teach Abhidhamma to Sariputta, the Thai version
1 - Preliminaries
l. The Buddha
2. Ultimates (paramattha)
3. Ultimates in Matter
4. Consciousness
5. Mental Constituents (cetasika)
6. Conventional Truth (paññatti)
7. Ultimates in Mind and Matter
9. Three Spheres or Realms
10. Thirty-one Planes of Existence
11. Death and Rebirth
12. The Subjective Mind
13. Noble Ones
14. Mundane and Supramundane Wisdom.
Prince Siddartha was the eldest son of King Suddhodhana. His mother was Queen Mahāmaya, and on the night he was conceived, she had a wonderful dream. She related the dream to her royal husband, who summoned the Sage Asita to explain its meaning. He told the royal parents that the Queen had conceived a son who would one day become either a Universal Monarch or a Buddha.
The King wanted his son to become a Universal Monarch and did not like the idea of his son becoming a Buddha. With that aim, he surrounded his son with sensual pleasures.
Prince Siddartha was married to Princess Yasodhara. He was given 3 palaces to suit the 3 seasons. One day, whilst he was driving through the Park, he saw an aged person. On another occasion he saw a diseased person, and later a dead corpse.
All this is described in the Anguttara Nikāya, III, 35, as, ’Warnings’ regarding decay, disease, and death, and has been put in a rhetorical way.
Herewith :
Did you never see in the world a man, or a woman, eighty, or ninety, or a hundred years old, frail, crooked as a gable roof, bent down, resting on crutches, with tottering steps, infirm, youth long since fled, with broken teeth, gray and scanty hair, or bald headed, wrinkled, with blotched limbs? And did the thought never come to you that also you are subject to decay, that you cannot escape it?
Did you never see in the world a man, or a woman who, being sick, afflicted, and grievously ill, and wallowing in their filth, was lifted up by some people, and put to bed by others? And did the thought never come to you that also you are subject to disease, and also you cannot escape it?
Did you never see in the world the corpse of a man, or a woman, one or two or three days after death, swollen, blue black in color, and full of corruption? And did the thought never come to you that also you are subject to death, and that also you cannot escape it?
What he saw and the explanations he received no doubt made a great impression on this introspective young man.
At the age of 29, on the birth of a child, he renounced his kingdom, for the purpose of solving the riddle of birth and death.
For fully 6 years, he studied under the Greatest Teachers of the day, meditating, or what would be called concentration his mind. Finally, along with 5 companions, called the 5 Vaggi, he took to ascetic practices and achieved all the psychic powers that could be got.
He had obtained the 5 super intellections, called abhiññas, one of which was the seeing of past existences. He was a Hindu and had the preconceived idea that what he saw were the souls of the different beings transmigrating from existence to existence.
One day he fell down in a swoon for lack of strength. On his recovery he realized that he was not getting to the bottom of what he renounced his kingdom to find out, namely the problem of birth and death.
He began to eat again and finally on the full moon eve of May he sat down under the Bodhi tree to meditate. The time was now ripe for him to distinguish between ultimate realities and conventional concepts and ideas.
It was only by meditating on ultimate realities that he came to realize the illusions and delusions and hallucinations and perversions induced by Mind-Consciousness, allegorized as Māra, the King of Darkness, whom I have called the Great Magician. The Buddha achieved Enlightenment at the dawn of the next day.
He now understood that there was no transmigration of souls but results of deeds which brings about beings from one existence to another.
Water exists. However, a molecule of water can be subdivided into H2 O, namely, two atoms of hydrogen to one atom of oxygen; therefore, water, as such, cannot be regarded as an ultimate, for an ultimate, by definition, is something that cannot be subdivided.
Once again, an atom is not an ultimate unit, for it can be subdivided into protons, electrons and neutrons. These protons, electrons and neutrons are not ultimates either, for they can be subdivided into atomic particles and muons and quarks, and maybe these are the present ultimates in Science.
There are two kinds of truth, one is conventional truth, like our concept of water, (sammuti-sacca), and there is ultimate truth, like atomic particles (paramattha-sacca).
This book deals with ultimate realities in Buddhism. You cannot see an ultimate with the naked eye but only with the eye of wisdom, that can be called the “inner eye”, for it is abstract. Similarly, you cannot see an atom or a molecule except with the “inner-eye”.
Just pause for a moment to consider that the whole body of water in this universe, the lakes and rivers and oceans are not ultimates; they exist only in conventional language but they do not exist in terms of ultimates.
There are ultimates in Matter (materiality) and ultimates in Mind (mentality), and they are seen by the Buddhist inner eye as having or manifesting properties or qualities. But nothing exists apart form the ultimates.
Each of these ultimates has its individual essence, called sabhāva; sabhāva is also translated as intrinsic nature. One has to come to realize these individual essences by contemplation or meditation, both the individual essences of the ultimates in Matter and ultimates in Mind.
Mind and Matter can be likened to a Cripple and a Blind Man. The Cripple can’t walk, and the Blind Man can’t see. When the cripple is put on the shoulders of the blind man, the cripple can see and directs the blind man to go left and right.
Mind wants to eat but it cannot eat, and it is the body that eats, Mind wants to drink, but it cannot drink and it is the body that drinks. It is the Mind that controls and directs.
The categories of the ultimate realities in Buddhism are:
1. Consciousness; (citta)
2. Mind Constituents; (cetasikas)
3. Materiality; (rūpa)
4. Nirvana (Nibbāna).
The ultimates in Matter are 28, namely,
a. The 4 essential qualities or properties of
1. hardness, or softness; (pathavī)
2. cohesion or fluidity; (āpo)
3. heat or lack of heat; and (tejo)
4. motion or resistance to motion. (vāyo)
b. The 4 secondary qualities or properties of
1. colour; (vanna)
2. smell; (gandhā)
3. taste; (rasa)
4. nutriment (ojā)
These eight properties are inseparable and are called the Octad. They are explained more fully later, and also how to see each property or quality with the inner eye. The other 20 properties are listed in the Appendix.
We have mentioned about the ultimates in matter.
Matter is generated by :
1. Karma (Kamma),
2. Mind (citta),
3. Temperature (utu),
4. Nutriment (āhāra).
They are called:
1. Karma-produced matter,
2. Mind-produced matter,
3. Temperature-produced matter, and
4. Nutriment-produced matter.
Matter is being produced all the time by these 4 causes. At any instant, the karma-produced matter may be prominent, at other times mind-produced matter may be prominent or temperature-produced matter or nutriment-produced matter.
It must be remembered that these ultimate realities in matter are what can be visualised only by the inner eye. But the properties or qualities are reflected in the human body. When you are angry, even a child can sense that you are angry. Similarly for other emotions, your body will reflect your emotions and moods.
There are 5 sense-organs in the body, and if anyone is defective, for instance, if you are blind or deaf, people are not apt to accept you as a full human being. The inanimate body has no sentience.
You see something. There arises visual consciousness.
You hear something. There arises auditory consciousness.
You smell something. There arises smell or olfactory consciousness.
You taste something. There arises gustatory consciousness.
You touch something. There arises tactile consciousness.
You daydream or think of something, without the basis of any of the 5 senses. There arises ideational consciousness, or mind consciousness.
It is the function of the eye to see, the ear to hear, and the nose to smell, etc. The eye cannot hear or smell, and the ear cannot see or smell, and the nose cannot see or hear, etc.
Consciousness arises and disappears immediately. Only one consciousness can arise at a time and it immediately disappears for the next consciousness to arise.
5. Mental Constituents (cetasika)
Mind is consciousness plus something. Along with any consciousness, there arise certain mental constituents which are called cetasikas, like love, hate anger, disgust, disappointment, etc. These cetasikas are also translated as mental factors, mental concomitants, mental adjuncts, psychic factors, etc.
There are 52 cetasikas. When any consciousness arises, some appropriate cetasikas always arise. These cetasikas arise and disappear along with consciousness.
Some 7 cetasikas always arise with every unit of consciousness and they are called Universals. Some 6 others arise as a whole or in parts. The remainder are morally good or bad or neutral and they arise in different combinations.
When a consciousness disappears, all the cetasikas that had arisen along with it also disappear simultaneously.
Each cetasika has its own individual essence or sabhāva.
The 7 Univerals or Common Properties (sabbacitta): (in every consciousness)
1. phassa (Contact)
2. vedanā (Feeling)
3. saññā (Perception)
4. cetanā (Volition)
5. ekaggatā (One-pointedness of Mind)
6. jīvitindriya (Psychic Life)
7. manasikāra (Attention)
Consciousness is extremely swift. Commentators say that in the time taken by the twinkling of an eye or a flash of lightning, there are more than a billion consciousnesses. We can paraphrase it by saying that a consciousness takes about a billionth of a second to function.
In a course-of-cognition, which is called a thought-process by certain authors, there are 17 thought moments. In each thought moment there are 3 phases or khanas, namely: arising, development and cessation.
A thought-process always follows a certain sequence of consciousnesses; it is explained in more detail in the next chapter.
We receive information of the outside world through 5 sense doors. There is also a sixth door, called the mind door, through which we perceive our own ideas; this is ideational consciousness. We use our imagination here.
So far as a material object is concerned, it exists for 17 thought moments till a new material object takes its place existing for 17 thought moments.
You were told the distinction between ultimate truth (paramattha) and conventional truth. This conventional or relative truth is also called paññatti, which means concepts, ideas, notions, names or terms.
A paññatti either makes known or is made known.
The different kinds are given different names. There are collective concepts, general concepts, derivative concepts, formal concepts, concepts relating to locality, time and space, concepts of nothingness, and continuity, and conceptualized afterimages (in Samatha concentration) and conventional signs.
Some may be interested in the Pāli names:
· Santhāna paññatti are concepts of form, like land, mountains, etc.
· Samūha paññatti are collective concepts, corresponding to a collection or group of things, like chariot, table.
· Disā paññatti refer to concepts of locality.
· Kāla paññatti refer to concepts of time.
· ākāsa paññatti refer to space, like caves, wells.
· Nimitta paññatti refer to conceptualized images, visualized images.
The paramatthas are:
- citta 1
- cetasikas 52
- rūpa or matter 28
- Nirvana 1
- —
- ultimates 82
So all that is not a paramattha can be called a paññatti. This distinction between paramattha and paññatti is important A paramattha exists in reality. It is the bedrock of all existence. There are ultimates in matter and mind. They really exist, and what does not really exist is said not to exist. So such things as lakes, rivers, mountains, a human being, a person, a male, a female, do not exist in reality and are said not to exist. They are paññatti. It is called vohāra-sacca or spoken or relative truth. They are just words and ideas and names, and therefore conventional truth. They are not ultimate reality.
It was only under the Bodhi-Tree that the future Buddha came to understand the difference between paramattha and paññatti. Previously, his world was the world of paññatti; now it was the world of paramattha. Only on meditation on paramattha did he achieve Enlightment. Similarly you must meditate on paramattha in Vipassanā Meditation.
In Abhidhamma there is always a subject and an object, and they arise together simultaneously. The subject is called arammanika and the object is arammana, also called alambana. The subject is “I” in paññatti language. The object can be anything at all. In terms of paramattha, the arammanika is citta, cetasika and rūpa. When we turn the mind inwards and think of the immediately past mind, the arammanika becomes the arammana.
Mind is consciousness plus a few appropriate cetasikas (mental constituents). So when we speak of Mind, we can also say Consciousness.
The objects taken by the different Minds are either one of the 5 sense objects, or an ideational object. Mind is also regarded in Buddhism as one of the senses, making 6 senses in all.
Consciousness can get more and more exalted till it reaches the very heights. How exalted can your consciousness become? It can’t get very exalted if it is bogged down by immoral or evil thoughts or what is called craving (tanhā) or selfish desire or thirst. You will hear more about this tanhā.
In the universe, there are 3 Spheres or Realms, namely,
1. Sphere or Realm of sensuous desires (kāmā vacara or kāma-loka).
2. Sphere or Realm of Form (rūpāvacara or rūpa-loka)
3. Sphere or Realm of the Formless (arūpāvacara or arūpa-loka).
In the sphere of sensuous desires, there are morally good and morally bad consciousnesses and the neutral. Unless you have transcended your bad thoughts and inclinations, your consciousness cannot reach the sphere of Form and the Formless, where the consciousnesses are all good.
It is the function of mental development (bhāvanā) to get your consciousness more and more exalted. Eventually there is Nirvana (Nibbāna) which can be attained if tanhā, or craving, is permanently eliminated.
By Vipassanā Meditation, by methods of acquiring the required Wisdom, Nirvana is attained. Buddhism is the only Religion that promises to reach its highest goal during life time, and you do not have to wait till after death.
In this Universe, we talk of the “human world”, the “animal world”, the “plant world”, etc., but we do not think of them as different material worlds or different places.
There are 31 planes of existence. The human mind can descend to the lowest depths and also ascend to the highest regions. We reach the heights as the results of the states of concentration called jhāna.
Kāma-loka, the Realm of sensuous desire, is divided into 6 main planes according to their respective degrees of suffering. They are in ascending order:
The plane of Purgatory (Niraya)
The plane of animals (Tirachhāna-yoni)
The plane of beings in whom the desire outweighs the possibilities of satisfaction (Petti-visaya)
The plane of ghosts (Asura-kāya)
The human plane (Manussā)
The planes of Higher Beings within the sense world (Devā-loka)
The 4 lower planes are called the abodes of misery (Apāya-bhūmi).
The two higher ones, including the human plane, are the abodes of fortunate sense experience (kāma-sugati-bhūmi).
In the Realm of Pure Form (Rūpa-loka), the only senses are visual, aural (auditory), and the mental.
The intensity of consciousness, namely, in purity and in its light, increases. Here, we have Beings of radiant light, of limited or boundless aura, limited or infinite radiance, and Beings of the abodes of purity.
The description of the 4 planes of non-form (arūpa-loka) coincides with that of the 4 Stages of non-form consciousness.
The human Mind can reach all these planes, by practicing the methods for reaching them. The human Mind can attain all the jhānas as the result of which beings are reborn in all the planes.
The death consciousness (cuti-citta) of this existence occurs at the end of the dying process. The next consciousness is the Rebirth-linking consciousness, called the patisandhi citta, which is the moment of conception in the next existence.
It is explained in the Patthana, the last book of the Abhidhamma, that when death ceases, the force of proximity-condition brings about the next consciousness which is the Rebirth-linking Consciousness. It is further explained that the force left behind produces results. Although an asynchronous faultless or faulty volition arises for one thought moment and then ceases, this is not the end of it. For a special force is left behind in the mind’s successive continuity so that at some time in the future, the appropriate result of that volition will be produced when the proper conditions are satisfied. It is due to the presence of this force that results appear. However, this force does not manifest itself like the mind with its nascent, static and terminating phases but is present like the latent tendencies. And just as the latter are not concepts, so also this special force of asynchronous kamma is not a concept. It is a special force of the ultimate realities. It may be called a germinal force.
The patisandhi consciousness lasts for one thought moment only and is then called the bhavangha which lasts for 16 thought moments impelled by its craving for existence and then sinks into the passive state of mind.
It is at the moment of conception that the foetus gets its tactile sense organ and the heart basis (hadaya-vatthu), and its gender, whether it is going to be a male or a female, and all these are produced by its past karma.
At the end of each course-of-cognition, the bhavangas arise and cease successively till the next course-of-cognition occurs. But consciousnesses are so swift that the bhavangas in between are not detectable. How many thought moments your bhavanga takes between courses of cognition depends on the stage of your mind development. It is the aim of mind development to reduce the time of the bhavanga, and the shorter the time, the more alert is your mind. It determines the acuteness of your brain.
This death consciousness takes as its object one of three things. At the last moment, the person thinks of something that has been most prominent in his mind. A murderer may get an idea that he is going to commit a crime, whereas a pious man may think he is worshipping the Buddha or listening to a sermon. This is known as kamma or the “vision of action”.
Or he may see all article generally associated with his action. The murderer may see a knife whilst the pious man may see a yellow robe. This is vision as kamma-nimitta or the “vision of an article associated with the action”.
Or he may get a vision of hellfire or a vision of the higher regions. This is known as gati-nimitta, or the “vision of the sign of destiny”.
Your bhavanga of this existence has as its object what was the object of your last dying process.
After each course-of-cognition, the mind goes back to the bhavanga-state.
Life has been compared to a river, which has its beginning or source at birth and its mouth at death (cuti). It seems to have a constant form or identity but there is not a drop today of all the water that composed it yesterday.
This stream of life or being is also called the life-continuum by certain authors; it is the passive state of mind as in dreamless sleep.
The dividing line between Being and Thought is called the Mind Door (mano-dvāra); it is the threshold of consciousness. Below the threshold is subliminal consciousness and above the threshold is called supra-liminal consciousness.
One Indian author is of the opinion that a thought may be compared to a wave in the sea. The wave rises up from the surface and then sinks down again. Similarly, a thought rises up from the surface of the bhavanga and sinks back to its base; it sinks back between courses of cognition and after cognition is over before the start of any new course-of-cognition. However, this opinion is not universally accepted as it is said that the bhavanga is arrested before a thought commences.
For a vivid sense-object, there are 17 thought-moments in a course-of-cognition, after which bhavangas arise and cease successively for a few hundred thought-moments and then there arises the second course-of-cognition, followed by a few hundred more bhavangas.
Then there are thousands and thousands of more impressions, and course-of-cognitions, each followed at the end of each course by bhavangas, the duration of which are about 30,000 or 40,000 thought-moments. It is said that chief Disciple Sāriputta had such a great mind that there were only a few hundred bhavangas after each course-of-cognition.
It is the function of mind development to reduce the duration of the bhavangas between the course-of-cognitions. The quick mind has only a few thousand bhavangas after each course-of-cognition.
You cannot be born a human being, without some good karma in the sum total of previous existences. Nevertheless ignorance (avijjā) and craving (tanhā), of which you will hear a lot later, are pulling, like gravity, to bad deeds, to blindness of moral vision. Your education during all your childhood years, including your training, makes you a better and better boy changing your blindness to a better vision. The time will come when you will be more good than bad. Or, if you cannot profit from your education, you will be predominately bad.
All verbal and physical actions are motivated by the mind. If you raise your hand or you sit down or you walk, it is all mind-motivated action.
It is well known that old people cannot hear certain sounds that are audible to younger people. And humans cannot hear certain sounds heard by animals. It does not mean, however, that these sounds do not exist.
Moreover, if the Mind is absorbed in something else and attention is not paid to these sounds, the Mind does not hear these sounds. In these cases, the sounds do not exist for the Mind.
Only when the Mind takes these sounds as objects can a person hear them, and they exist for the Mind.
Things may exist in the world but they are not known to the Mind, if they are not objects of the Mind.
However, the Mind cannot take everything as objects at one and the same time. The Mind can take as an object only one thing at any one time, and the rest of the world is non-existent so far as the Mind is concerned.
The Minds that have already disappeared are no more existent, and the Minds that are not yet born are still non-existent. Mind Consciousness exists at the present moment only, though the object it takes can be of the past, present or future, real or imaginary.
There are 4 types of individuals, called the Noble Ones, who are near the Goal;
· one “who has entered the stream” (sotāpanna),
· the “once-returner” (sakadāgāmī),
· the “non-returner” (anāgāmī),
· the “Holy One” (arahat), who has realised the highest goal.
A definition of these Noble Ones is found in the fourth book of the Abhidhamma-Pitaka (Puggala-Paññatti 26-27):
He who has overcome the three fetters; such a man is called “one who has entered the stream” (sotāpanna).
He in whom sensual desire and anger are utterly reduced; such a man is called “once-returner” (sakadāgāmī).
He who has completely overcome sensual desire and anger; such a man is called “non-returner” (anāgāmī).
He who has completely overcome the craving or the world of Pure Form or of Non-Form as well as pride, restlessness, and ignorance; such a man is called a “Holy One” (arahat).
Of the ten fetters (samyojana) by which the ordinary human being (puthujjana) is bound to the world, the “stream winner” has overcome the first three:
· the belief in a permanent personality (sakkāya-ditthi)
· doubt (or scepticism) (vicikicchā)
· clinging to rules and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāsa)
The remaining seven fetters are:
· sensual desire (kāma-rāga)
· aversion or anger (patigha)
· craving for existence in the world of Pure Form (rūpa-rāga)
· craving for existence in the world of Non-Form (arūpa-rāga)
· pride (māna)
· restlessness (uddhacca)
· ignorance, delusion (avijjā)
The first five are called the lower fetters. The five higher fetters are only overcome by the arahat.
Here is a short summary:
ARIYA-PUGGALA SAMYOJANA
1. sotāpanna 1-3
2. sakadāgāmī 1-3; 4 and 5 partly
3. anāgāmī 1-5
4. arahat 1-10
14. Mundane and Supramundane Wisdom.
The whole world is using mundane or paññatti wisdom. All Western philosophers are using mundane, paññatti wisdom.
But there is another wisdom, called the Supramundane Wisdom. This Book will explain how you become a Noble One.
Say, you meet a pretty girl who wants to come and live with you. On making inquiries, you learn that she has a venereal disease, and that she tells lies and she is a habitual thief. You use paññatti wisdom to decide that she will cause you suffering, and you turn down the proposition.
The other Wisdom is called Vipassanā Wisdom leading to Magga Wisdom, which leads to Nirvana, our final goal. It is also called Lokuttara Wisdom.
Towards An Equalitarian Society Uttar Pradesh The Cradle of Buddhism
The land of Uttar Pradesh has the glory of having been blessed by the dust beneath the feet of the great humanitarian and epoch-making person like Gautam Buddha. Gautam Buddha undertook a journey across the country with a view to inculcating in the masses the feelings of humanity and universal brotherhood. Places like Kapilavattu, (Piprahwa), Saranath, Savatti, Kausambi, Sankisa and Kusinara etc., in the state had the pride of having been blessed by the foot prints by the kindness and compassion incarnate. As a result these places in Uttar Pradesh became venerable and worthy of visit by national and international tourists. This is the reason why devout tourists from not only India, but also from many other countries like Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea and Burma consider themselves fortunate in being able to come to these places and their floral tribute to Lord Buddha.
Named on the 5th day of the birth – Siddharth Gautam
(Gautam ws family name)
Birth -About 650 BC Father’s Name - Shuddhodhan
Mother’s name -Mahamaya Birth Place – Lumbini
Wife’s Name -Yashodhara
Mahaparinibbana -In Kusinara at the age of 81 years
Important and historic places of Buddhist pilgrimage located in Uttar Pradesh have an extremely glorious history….in memorials and remains here is reflected an unforgettable and indelible image of peace, devotion and faith.
09/25/10
Filed under:
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Posted by:
site admin @ 9:36 pm
LESSON 40 ARHAT PART V Ariya puggala life Sakadagami 26 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes. - Buddha
EDUCATE (BUDDHA)! MEDITATE (DHAMMA)! ORGANISE (SANGHA)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
Using such an instrument
The Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies;
International Relations and Peace Studies;
Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;
Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University
Course Programs:
ARHAT
Arahat, Arahant
Ariya-puggala
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Ariya-puggala
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Sotapanna
http://forums.sgclub.com/singapore/life_buddha_pictures_227095.html
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Sakadagami
Sakadāgāmī: ‘Once returner’
A sakadagami (once-returner) has eradicated the first three hindrances of the 10 hindrances to awaken-ness and greatly weakened the fourth and fifth; attachment to sense desires and ill-will. Such a person will be re-born to either the human or heavenly realm and will attain enlightenment there.
See: 10 hindrances and the Four stages of realization.
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=10_hindrances
There are ten hindrances to awaken-ness (shown below) and four stages of realization (awaken-ness) based on how many hindrances have been eliminated and / or the degree to which they have been eliminated.
A Buddha is someone who is fully awakened. A person who is fully awakened, but not the Buddha of our time, is called an Arahant in Pali. Such a person has eradicated all ten hindrances to enlightenment:
1. The belief in a permanent personality, ego
2. Doubt, extreme skepticism
3. Attachment to rites, rituals, and ceremonies
4. Attachment to sense desires
5. Ill-will, anger
6. Craving for existence in the Form world (heavenly realms)
7. Craving for existence in the Formless world (heavenly realms)
8. Conceit
9. Restlessness
10. Ignorance
(from Anguttara Nikaya 10.13)
An anagami (non-returner) has completely eradicated the first five hindrances and never returns to earth or any other world system (planet, solar system). Such a person is re-born to a heavenly realm and attains enlightenment from there.
A sakadagami (once-returner) has eradicated the first three hindrances and greatly weakened the fourth and fifth; attachment to sense desires and ill-will. Such a person will be re-born to either the human or heavenly realm and will attain enlightenment there.
A sotapanna (stream-entrant) has eradicated the first three hindrances and will be re-born no more than seven more times and re-birth will either be as a human or a deva in a heavenly realm.
http://www.tamqui.com/buddhaworld/Four_stages_of_enlightenment
http://wisdomquarterly.blogspot.com/2008/08/enlightenment-four-stages.html
Press Information Bureau
(Chief Minister’s Information Campus)
Information and Public Relations Department, U.P.
Hon’ble Chief Minister Grieved
Lucknow : 25 Sep 2010
The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,
Ms. Mayawati ji has expressed profound grief over
the death of senior journalist & litterateur Mr.
Kanhaiyya Lal Nandan. She has conveyed her
heartfelt condolences and deep sympathies to
bereaved family members and prayed for peace to
departed soul.
In a condolence message, Ms. Mayawati ji said
that Mr. Nandan was a sensitive, humanitarian and
talented journalist. In his death, the world of
journalism and literature had suffered an irreparable
loss, which is difficult to fulfil, she added.
********
09/24/10
Filed under:
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Posted by:
site admin @ 3:41 am
LESSON 39 ARHAT PART IV Ariya puggala life Buddha pictures 24 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. – Buddha
EDUCATE (BUDDHA)! MEDITATE (DHAMMA)! ORGANISE (SANGHA)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
Using such an instrument
The Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies;
International Relations and Peace Studies;
Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;
Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University
Course Programs:
ARHAT
Arahat, Arahant
Ariya-puggala
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Ariya-puggala
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Sotapanna
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/nga02.htm
http://forums.sgclub.com/singapore/life_buddha_pictures_227095.html
When ascetic Sumedha knew of the coming of Dipankara Buddha to the city of Rammavati, he took part in preparing the road for the Buddha. He was still repairing it when the Buddha arrived but he was determined to complete it by prostrating himself into the muddy hollow, in fulfillment of his vow to become a Buddha. Beside him was a young lady named Sumitta bearing eight stalks of lotus flowers. She gave the Ascetic five stalks and kept for herself three stalks for her own aspiration. When the Buddha Dipankara saw this, He omnisciently declared the Ascetic Sumedha a future Buddha, while He stated that the aspiring young lady Sumitta would be his constant companion and helpmate.
The Devas (Gods) imploring the Bodhisatta Santussita Deva (whose real name was Setaketu) in Tusita heaven to be reborn on earth to become a Buddha. He accepted their request after viewing the Five Great Considerations (Panca Maha Vilokana); which are appropriate time, Island-continent, country, clan and life-span of mother.
At Lumbini Park in Nepal, on Vesakha Full Moon Day, the newly born Prince walked seven steps on the lotus flowers and pointing to the North said, “AGGOHAM ASMI LOKASSA” meaning “Chief Am I in this world”. The birth of this baby Prince brought great joy to his royal parents, King Suddhodana and Queen Maha Maya as well as all beings!
The marriage of Prince Siddhattha and Princess Yasodhara (whose real name was BaddaCancana ) took place at the Golden Palace which was presented by his father, King Suddhodana. It was a luxurious palace full of comforts of life . The celebration lasted many days.
During his visit to the Royal park, Prince Siddhattha saw the Four Great Signs, namely — an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a serene mendicant. These made the Prince to realize the unsatisfactoriness of life and urged him to ponder deeply about renunciation.
Mara (the Evil One), with his host tried without success to prevent Prince Siddhattha from his Great Renunciation at midnight . Prince Siddhattha was riding on Kanthaka his favourite stallion and followed by Channa his loyal charioteer. Mara said that if the prince did not proceed on his renunciation, he would become a Universal Monarch on the seventh day.
Prince Siddhattha cut off his hair to renounce the worldly life at the bank of the Anoma River. Ghatikara Maha Brahma presented the Monk’s Eight Requisites to Ascetic Siddhattha, who commanded his charioteer Channa to take his royal chattels back to the palace.
His hair was received by Sakka, King of Gods and enshirned in CULAMANI CETI (pagoda) in his celestial abode in TAVATIMSA. Similarly, Ghatikara Maha Brahma bore his princely clothes to his higher celestial abode, Akanittha and enshrined them in the pagoda known as DUSSA CET
The ascetic Bodhisatta spent six years practising austerity and meditation with steadfastness as well as earnestness, prior to his attainment. Even though he was reduced to a mere skeleton, he did not give up practising.
The Bodhisatta was sitting on a Golden Throne under a Bodhi tree and being challenged by Mara (the Evil One) riding on the ferocious elephant Girimekhala. Mara with host tried to capture the Golen Throne just before the Bodhistta’s Awaken-ness.
On Vesakha Full Moon day, Bodhisatta Siddhattha seated under a Bodhi tree at Gaya, attained Supreme Awaken-ness. On the first watch of the night he gained knowledge by which He remembered past lives. On the second watch of the night he was able to see into the future including the birth and death of other beings. On the third watch of the night, He destroyed all defilements and became a Fully Awakened One (Samma-Sambuddha).
It was in the final week (7th week) after his Awaken-ness, when the two merchant brothers Tapussa and Bhallika from Ukkalapa passed by the spot and saw the Buddha. They offered the Buddha their own provision; then the Buddha gave eight strands of hairs from His head for them to worship as sacred objects of veneration.The hair relics are now enshrined in the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar.
It was in the final week (7th week) after his Awaken-ness, when the two merchant brothers Tapussa and Bhallika from Ukkalapa passed by the spot and saw the Buddha. They offered the Buddha their own provision; then the Buddha gave eight strands of hairs from His head for them to worship as sacred objects of veneration.The hair relics are now enshrined in the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar.
The Buddha exhorted His first sixty Arahant disciples to go forth in different directions to preach the Doctrine, using these famous words: – “Go ye, 0 bhikkhus and wander forth for the gain of many, for the welfare of the many, in compassion for the world, for the good, for the gain, for the welfare of the Devas (Gods) and men . Proclaim ye, 0 Bhikkhus! The Doctrine that is glorious and preach ye a life of holiness, perfect and pure!”
When the Bodhisatta visited Rajagaha, the capital of Magadha, King Bimbisara offered his Kingdom to the Bodhisatta. But He did not accept it because of the worldly pleasures. After listening to the preaching of Buddha, the King attained the first stage of Sainthood (Sotapanna). He then dedicated his Royal park known as Veluvana (Bamboo Grove) to the Buddha and His disciples.
The Buddha performed the Twin Miracles of emitting fire and water simultaneously from His body, to subdue the pride of his older relatives who had erroneously thought that the Buddha being the younger would have to show respects to them.
On the seventh day after his arrival in Kapilavatthu, Princess Yasodhara dressed up Prince Rahula and pointing to the Buddha said, “Behold, son, the great Ascetic of majestic appearance is your father. Go up to him and ask for your inheritance!”
As advised by his mother, young Rahula came to His presence and asked for his inheritance. Instead, the Buddha told Venerable Sariputta to ordain Prince Rahula , giving him a spiritual inheritance better than the one he asked for.
During a subsequent visit to Rajagaha City, the Buddha went for alms-round in the company of His Chief Disciples and other monks. Along the way King Bimbisara and his royal family paid repects to the Buddha and His disciples.
The Buddha delivering a sermon of peace to two powerful warning armies of Kapilavatthu and Koliya at the opposite banks of the Rohini river before the two countries started fighting for the water supply of the river, for pastoral use.
The Order of Nuns (Bhikkhuni Sasana) was founded in the fifth year of the Buddha’s Awaken-ness. After the death of King Suddhodana, Maha Pajapati Gotami , who was His former foster mother desirous of joining the Order, approached the Buddha who was then, residing at Kapilavathu and begged permission for women to be admitted into the Order. After hearing and turning down their pleas, Buddha returned to Vesali for the Rains Retreat . Undaunted by the rebuff, Maha Pajapati Gotami cut off her hair and wearing yellow garments went on foot to Vesali, accompanied by many other Sakyan ladies. They stood outside the porch of the Pinnacled Great Hall in Mahayana where the Buddha was residing. Interceded by Venerable Ananda , the Buddha finally consented to establish the Bhikkhuni Sasana when Maha Pajapati Gotami and other Sakyan ladies agreed to observe the Eight Disciplinary Rules for nuns. Henceforth Maha Pajapati Gotami and other Sakyan ladies were admitted into the Order.
Later, the Nuns Khema and Uppalavanna were appointed the two Chief female Disciples; as were Sariputta and Moggalana the two Chief Male Disciples.
After losing in lively debate, the haughty hermit Saccaka refused to answer accordingly when the Buddha asked a question. Only when he was threatened to be beaten up by a celestial demon for arrogance, only then did he finally realize his own folly and listened to the Buddha’s preaching meekly. This wholesome action of his would augur well for his future.
On the seventh year after His Awaken-ness, the Buddha preached the Abhidhamma (higher Doctrine) in Tavatimsa Heaven. As a fulfillment of gratitude to his former mother, now a Santussita deva, the Buddha then delivered a sermon on the Higher Doctrine to thousands of Devas (Gods) and Brahmas (higher celestial beings) who attained the various stages of Noble Sainthood.
The non Buddhist sectarians grudgingly wanted to ruin the Buddha’s reputation. They told Cinca Manvika , a beautiful girl to falsely accuse the Buddha for her shamed, pregnancy in a big and august assembly. King of Devas (Gods) dispatched some Deities disguised as mice to gnaw through the strings holding a block of wood under her garment. Her plot was exposed when the wood fell on her feet. When the people saw that, they threw stones and chased her away. As she was walking away, the earth spilt open and a flame sprang up to envelop and drag her down to Avici (deepest and worst) Hell.
On the sixteenth year of His Awaken-ness, the Buddha tamed the carnivorous Demon King , Alavaka who feasted on human flesh, to give up his habit on devouring at least one human being everyday. After hearing the Buddha’s Teaching, he henceforth gave up his habit, thus sparing the small child offered to him as food on that day.
There was a young harmless student at TAKKASILA University called Ahimsa. His jealous fellow students poisoned the mind of their teacher against him. As a result the teacher asked Ahimsa for a garland of one thousand right index fingers as tuition fee. Eager to discharge his obligation, he went into the Jalini forest in Kosala and started to waylay the passing travellers to collect an index finger from the right hand of each victim. The garland was almost completed except for one more single finger. Ahimsa decided to kill even his own mother for the sake of completing the one thousandth finger in the garland. However, Ahimsa was intercepted by the Compassionate Buddha who came to his aid. After listening to His preaching and being convinced, Ahimsa now known as Angulimala (garland of fingers ) joined the Sangha and became a Bhikkhu (monk) . The Angulimala Sutta, a discourse ascribed to this Thera (elder/monk) and connected to this event, is well-known in Buddhist countries and often used by pregnant ladies in travail for easy and safe delivery.
Once the Buddha and His Disciples went to Lake Anotatta passing by the mansion of Nandopananda the dragon king who was enjoying himself with his retinue. Angry at the apparent trespassing, Nandopananda coiled itself seven times round Mount Meru, covered the summit with its hood and spewing hot poisonous smoke to prevent the Buddha and his disciples from reaching lake Anotatta. Thereupon Maha Moggalana, (the second Chief Disciple) at once transformed himself into a dragon and likewise coiled round the mountain, crushing Nandopananda. Watched by the Buddha and His disciples, Maha Moggalana too began spewing hot poisonous smoke which greatly distressed Nandopananda who soon lost the challenge and upon realization of his folly, sought refuge in the Triple Gem of Buddhism.
The Buddha taking care of a sick monk, named Tissa who had been neglected by his unthoughtful fellow monks. By so doing, the Buddha wanted to foster mutual care and welfare amongst the Bhikkhus as well as others.
Baka Brahma, who was bitten by the snake of tenacious heresay (in believing that the Brahma Loka is the best and everlasting world in existence) , was duly defeated by the Buddha in a mutual contest to show power. On hearing the Buddha’s profound expounding of the Dhamma (Buddhist Doctrine), he became awakened along with many other Brahmas (higher celestial beings)
When the Buddha was on his way to the city of Rajagaha, Devadatta ordered the release of the fierce elephant, Nalagiri, to harm Him. As the elephant charged towards the Buddha, everyone ran away leaving a mother and her baby on the ground. The Buddha radiated His infinite Compassion to calm and subdued the elephant before it could trample the helpless baby.
1. The Buddha at Kusinara laid himself between two Sal trees with his head to the North, determined not to rise again. He them delivered his last admonition, “Behold, 0 Disciples! I exhort you ! Subject to change are all component things! Strive on with Diligence !” before He entered Maha parinibbana (attainment of Final Emancipation).
2. Dona , the Brahman divided the Buddha’s relics into eight equal portions and distributed each of them to the Rulers of the eight countries. Then Dona decided that the golden container be kept for himself as an object of respectful veneration.
* Courtesy of Dhammikarama Burmese Buddhist Temple, Penang, Malaysia
Namo tassa, bhagavato, arahato samma sambuddhasa
09/23/10
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LESSON 38 ARHAT PART III Ariya puggala Sotapanna 23 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
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The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
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Sotapanna
Sotāpanna: the ‘Stream-winner’ or ’stream-entrant’, is the lowest of the 8 Noble Disciples see: ariya-puggala Three kinds are to be distinguished: the one ‘with 7 rebirths at the utmost’ sattakkhattu-parama, the one ‘passing from one noble family to another’ kolankola the one ‘germinating only once more’ eka-bījī As it is said e.g. Pug. 37-39; A. III, 87:
1. If a man, after the disappearance of the 3 mental chains personality-belief, skeptical doubt, attachment to rules and ritual; see: samyojana has entered the stream to Nibbāna, he is no more subject to rebirth in lower worlds, is firmly established, destined to full enlightenment. After having passed amongst the divine and human beings only seven times more through the round of rebirths, he puts an end to suffering. Such a man is called ‘one with 7 births at the utmost’ sattakkhattu-parama.
2. If a man, after the disappearance of the 3 mental chains. is destined to full enlightenment, he, after having passed among noble families two or three times through the round of rebirths, puts an end to suffering. Such a man is called ‘one passing from one noble family to another’ kolankola.
3. If a man, after the disappearance of the 3 mental chains. is destined to full enlightenment, he, after having only once more returned to human existence, puts an end to suffering. Such a man is called ‘one germinating only once more’ eka-bījī See Sotāpatti-Samyutta S. LV.
Characteristics of a Sotapanna
§ The sotapanna has abandoned the first three of the lower fetters: personality view, doubt, misapprehension of precepts and vows. (Ratanasutta Sn. 233)
§ He is freed from the possibility of rebirth in the four lower realms. (Ratanasutta Sn. 234)
§ He is incapable of concealing any bodily, verbal or mental transgression. (Ratanasutta Sn. 235)
§ He has abandoned any lust, hate or delusion that would be strong enough to cause rebirth in the lower realms. (Abhabba Sutta AN. iii. 438)
§ He is incapable of nine actions: treating any sankhara as permanent, treating any sankhara as pleasurable, treating any dhamma as self, killing his mother, father or an arahant, causing bleeding in a Tathagata with evil intent, splitting the Sangha, or going over to another teacher. (Bahudhatuka Sutta MN. 115)
§ He is incapable of living without reverence for the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, and the training. Nor can he embrace any of the 62 wrong views or take an eighth birth. (Panhama-abhabbannhana Sutta AN. iii. 438-9)
§ He is incapable of seeking outside the Sangha for persons worthy of gifts. (Dutiya-abhabbannhana Sutta AN. iii. 439)
§ He cannot fall into the six wrong views that pleasure and pain are self-wrought, or wrought by another, or wrought by both oneself and another, or arise by chance without any act by self, or arise by chance without any act by another, or arise by chance without any act by either self or another. “For the one attained to right view sees well both causes and dhammas that are causally arisen.” (Catuttha-abhabbannhana Sutta AN. iii. 440)
§ He is fixed unshakably in the True Dhamma, is incapable of backsliding (to being a worlding), his future dukkha is finite, he has attained to knowledge not common to worldlings, cause and causally arisen dhammas are seen rightly by him. (Anisansa Sutta AN. iii. 441)
§ He possesses unshakable confidence in the Three Jewels and the unbroken virtue that is pleasing to the noble ones. (numerous Suttas)
Perfect sila (morality / precepts)
“One for whom these teachings are accepted thus after being pondered to a sufficient degree with wisdom is called a dhamma-follower, one who has entered the fixed course of rightness, entered the plane of superior persons, transcended the plane of the worldlings. He is incapable of doing any deed by reason of which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal realm, or in the domain of ghosts; he is incapable of passing away without having realized the fruit of stream-entry.” Samyutta Nikaya 25.10
“Bhikkhus, a noble disciple who possesses four things is a stream-enterer, . . . He possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken.” Samyutta Nikaya 55.2
“There are, O monks, these blessings in realizing the fruit of stream-entry: One is firm in the good Dhamma. One is unable to fall back.” Anguttara Nikaya 6.97
“Consider the person who is accomplished in the precepts, and is moderately successful in concentration, moderately successful in wisdom – by destroying the three hindrances, he becomes one, who will be reborn seven times at most [stream entrant]” Anguttara Nikaya 9.12
“The stream winner, with virtues dear to noble ones endowed, which are unbroken and without a rent, untarnished and without a blemish, purifying, praised by the wise, uncontaminated and conducive to concentration.” Anguttara Nikaya 9.27
Shortly after the death of a lay person named Sarakani, the Buddha identified him as a stream-entrant. Then some monks complained that Sarakani could not have been a stream-entrant as this lay person indulged in alcohol. But the Buddha remarked that, “Sarakani the Sakyan undertook the training at the time of his death.” Samyutta Nikaya 55.24 The lay person Sarakani practiced the moral precepts in full before his death, thus, confirming that one cannot be a stream-entrant or higher if one violates the moral precepts. In the more positive way, one who follows the precepts and practices diligently, stream-entry or higher can be attained
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/silananda/bl137.html
The Benefits of Walking Meditation
by
Sayadaw U Silananda
© 1996–2010
At our meditation retreats, yogis practice mindfulness in four different postures. They practice mindfulness when walking, when standing, when sitting, and when lying down. They must sustain mindfulness at all times in whatever position they are in. The primary posture for mindfulness meditation is sitting with legs crossed, but because the human body cannot tolerate this position for many hours without changing, we alternate periods of sitting meditation with periods of walking meditation. Since walking meditation is very important, I would like to discuss its nature, its significance, and the benefits derived from its practice.
The practice of mindfulness meditation can be compared to boiling water. If one wants to boil water, one puts the water in a kettle, puts the kettle on a stove, and then turns the heat on. But if the heat is turned off, even for an instant, the water will not boil, even though the heat is turned on again later. If one continues to turn the heat on and off again, the water will never boil. In the same way, if there are gaps between the moments of mindfulness, one cannot gain momentum, and so one cannot attain concentration. That is why yogis at our retreats are instructed to practice mindfulness all the time that they are awake, from the moment they wake up in the morning until they fall asleep at night. Consequently, walking meditation is integral to the continuous development of mindfulness.
Unfortunately, I have heard people criticize walking meditation, claiming that they cannot derive any benefits or good results from it. But it was the Buddha himself who first taught walking meditation. In the Great Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness, the Buddha taught walking meditation two times. In the section called “Postures,” he said that a monk knows “I am walking” when he is walking, knows “I am standing” when he is standing, knows “I am sitting” when he is sitting, and knows “I am lying down” when he is lying down. In another section called “Clear Comprehension,” the Buddha said, “A monk applies clear comprehension in going forward and in going back.” Clear comprehension means the correct understanding of what one observes. To correctly understand what is observed, a yogi must gain concentration, and in order to gain concentration, he must apply mindfulness. Therefore, when the Buddha said, “Monks, apply clear comprehension,” we must understood that not only clear comprehension must be applied, but also mindfulness and concentration. Thus the Buddha was instructing meditators to apply mindfulness, concentration, and clear comprehension while walking, while “going forward and back.” Walking meditation is thus an important part of this process.
Although it is not recorded in this sutta that the Buddha gave detailed and specific instructions for walking meditation, we believe that he must have given such instructions at some time. Those instructions must have been learned by the Buddha’s disciples and passed on through successive generations. In addition, teachers of ancient times must have formulated instructions based on their own practice. At the present time, we have a very detailed set of instructions on how to practice walking meditation.
Let us now talk specifically about the practice of walking meditation. If you are a complete beginner, the teacher may instruct you to be mindful of only one thing during walking meditation: to be mindful of the act of stepping while you make a note silently in the mind, “stepping, stepping, stepping,” or “left, right, left, right.” You may walk at a slower speed than normal during this practice.
After a few hours, or after a day or two of meditation, you may be instructed to be mindful of two occurrences: (i) stepping, and (ii) putting down the foot, while making the mental note “stepping, putting down.” You will try to be mindful of two stages in the step: “stepping, putting down; stepping, putting down.” Later, you may be instructed to be mindful of three stages: (i) lifting the foot; (ii) moving or pushing the foot forward; and (iii) putting the foot down. Still later, you would be instructed to be mindful of four stages in each step: (i) lifting the foot; (ii) moving it forward; (iii) putting it down; and (iv) touching or pressing the foot on the ground. You would be instructed to be completely mindful and to make a mental note of these four stages of the foot’s movement: “lifting, moving forward, putting down, pressing the ground.”
At first yogis may find it difficult to slow down, but as they are instructed to pay close attention to all of the movements involved, and as they actually pay closer and closer attention, they will automatically slow down. They do not have to slow down deliberately, but as they pay closer attention, slowing down comes to them automatically. When driving on the freeway, one may be driving at sixty or seventy or even eighty miles per hour. Driving at that speed, one will not be able to read some of the signs on the road. If one wants to read those signs, it is necessary to slow down. Nobody has to say, “Slow down!” but the driver will automatically slow down in order to see the signs. In the same way, if yogis want to pay closer attention to the movements of lifting, moving forward, putting down, and pressing the ground, they will automatically slow down. Only when they slow down can they be truly mindful and fully aware of these movements.
Although yogis pay close attention and slow down, they may not see all of the movements and stages clearly. The stages may not yet be well-defined in the mind, and they may seem to constitute only one continuous movement. As concentration grows stronger, yogis will observe more and more clearly these different stages in one step; the four stages at least will be easier to distinguish. Yogis will know distinctly that the lifting movement is not mixed with the moving forward movement, and they will know that the moving forward movement is not mixed with either the lifting movement or the putting down movement. They will understand all movements clearly and distinctly. Whatever they are mindful and aware of will be very clear in their minds.
As yogis carry on the practice, they will observe much more. When they lift their foot, they will experience the lightness of the foot. When they push the foot forward, they will notice the movement from one place to another. When they put the foot down, they will feel the heaviness of the foot, because the foot becomes heavier and heavier as it descends. When they put the foot on the ground, they will feel the touch of the heel of the foot on the ground. Therefore, along with observing lifting, moving forward, putting down, and pressing the ground, yogis will also perceive the lightness of the rising foot, the motion of the foot, the heaviness of the descending foot, and then the touching of the foot, which is the hardness or softness of the foot on the ground. When yogis perceive these processes, they are perceiving the four essential elements (in Pali, dhatu). The four essential elements are: the element of earth, the element of water, the element of fire, and the element of air. By paying close attention to these four stages of walking meditation, the four elements in their true essence are perceived, not merely as concepts, but as actual processes, as ultimate realities.
Let us go into a little more detail about the characteristics of the elements in walking meditation. In the first movement, that is, the lifting of the foot, yogis perceive lightness, and when they perceive lightness, they virtually perceive the fire element. One aspect of the fire element is that of making things lighter, and as things become lighter, they rise. In the perception of the lightness in the upward movement of the foot, yogis perceive the essence of the fire element. But in the lifting of the foot there is also, besides lightness, movement. Movement is one aspect of the air element. But lightness, the fire element, is dominant, so we can say that in the stage of lifting the fire element is primary, and the air element is secondary. These two elements are perceived by yogis when they pay close attention to the lifting of the foot.
The next stage is moving the foot forward. In moving the foot forward, the dominant element is the air element, because motion is one of the primary characteristics of the air element. So, when they pay close attention to the moving forward of the foot in walking meditation, yogis are virtually perceiving the essence of the air element.
The next stage is the movement of putting the foot down. When yogis put their foot down, there is a kind of heaviness in the foot. Heaviness is a characteristic of the water element, as is trickling and oozing. When liquid is heavy, it oozes. So when yogis perceive the heaviness of the foot, they virtually perceive the water element.
In pressing the foot on the ground, yogis will perceive the hardness or softness of the foot on the ground. This pertains to the nature of the earth element. By paying close attention to the pressing of the foot against the ground, yogis virtually perceive the nature of the earth element.
Thus we see that in just one step, yogis can perceive many processes. They can perceive the four elements and the nature of the four elements. Only those who practice can ever hope to see these things.
As yogis continue to practice walking meditation, they will come to realize that, with every movement, there is also the noting mind, the awareness of the movement. There is the lifting movement and also the mind that is aware of that lifting. In the next moment, there is the moving forward movement and also the mind that is aware of the movement. Moreover, yogis will realize that both the movement and the awareness arise and disappear in that moment. In the next moment, there is the putting down movement and so also the awareness of the movement, and both arise and disappear in that moment of putting the foot down on the ground. The same process occurs with the pressing of the foot: there is the pressing and the awareness of pressing. In this way, yogis understand that along with the movement of the foot, there are also the moments of awareness. The moments of awareness are called, in Pali, nama, mind, and the movement of the foot is called rupa,matter. So yogis will perceive mind and matter rising and disappearing at every moment. At one moment there is the lifting of the foot and the awareness of the lifting, and at the next moment there is the movement forward and the awareness of that movement, and so on. These can be understood as a pair, mind and matter, which arise and disappear at every moment. Thus yogis advance to the perception of the pairwise occurrence of mind and matter at every moment of observation, that is, if they pay close attention.
Another thing that yogis will discover is the role of intention in effecting each movement. They will realize that they lift their foot because they want to, move the foot forward because they want to, put it down because they want to, press the foot against the ground because they want to. That is, they realize that an intention precedes every movement. After the intention to lift, lifting occurs. They come to understand the conditionality of all of these occurrences — these movements never occur by themselves, without conditions. These movements are not created by any deity or any authority, and these movements never happen without a cause. There is a cause or condition for every movement, and that condition is the intention preceding each movement. This is another discovery yogis make when they pay close attention.
When yogis understand the conditionality of all movements, and that these movements are not created by any authority or any god, then they will understand that they are created by intention. They will understand that intention is the condition for the movement to occur. Thus the relationship of conditioning and conditioned, of cause and effect, is understood. On the basis of this understanding, yogis can remove doubt about nama and rupa by understanding that nama and rupa do not arise without conditions. With the clear understanding of the conditionality of things, and with the transcendence of doubt aboutnama and rupa, a yogi is said to reach the stage of a “lesser sotapanna. “
A sotapanna is a “stream-enterer,” a person who has reached the first stage of enlightenment. A “lesser sotapanna” is not a true stream-enterer but is said to be assured of rebirth in a happy realm of existence, such as in the realms of human beings and devas. That is, a lesser sotapanna cannot be reborn in one of the four woeful states, in one of the hells or animal realms. This state of lesser sotapanna can be reached just by practicing walking meditation, just by paying close attention to the movements involved in a step. This is the great benefit of practicing walking meditation. This stage is not easy to reach, but once yogis reach it, they can be assured that they will be reborn in a happy state, unless, of course, they fall from that stage.
When yogis comprehend mind and matter arising and disappearing at every moment, then they will come to comprehend the impermanence of the processes of lifting the foot, and they will also comprehend the impermanence of the awareness of that lifting. The occurrence of disappearing after arising is a mark or characteristic by which we understand that something is impermanent. If we want to determine whether something is impermanent or permanent, we must try to see, through the power of meditation, whether or not that thing is subject to the process of coming into being and then disappearing. If our meditation is powerful enough to enable us to see the arising and disappearing of phenomena, then we can decide that the phenomena observed are impermanent. In this way, yogis observe that there is the lifting movement and awareness of that movement, and then that sequence disappears, giving way to the pushing forward movement and the awareness of pushing forward. These movements simply arise and disappear, arise and disappear, and this process yogis can comprehend by themselves — they do not have to accept this on trust from any external authority, nor do they have to believe in the report of another person.
When yogis comprehend that mind and matter arise and disappear, they understand that mind and matter are impermanent. When they see that they are impermanent, they next understand that they are unsatisfactory because they are always oppressed by constant arising and disappearing. After comprehending impermanence and the unsatisfactory nature of things, they observe that there can be no mastery over these things; that is, yogis realize that there is no self or soul within that can order them to be permanent. Things just arise and disappear according to natural law. By comprehending this, yogis comprehend the third characteristic of conditioned phenomena, the characteristic of anatta, the characteristic that things have no self. One of the meanings of anatta is no mastery — meaning that nothing, no entity, no soul, no power, has mastery over the nature of things. Thus, by this time, yogis have comprehended the three characteristics of all conditioned phenomena: impermanence, suffering, and the non-self nature of things — in Pali, anicca, dukkha, andanatta.
Yogis can comprehend these three characteristics by observing closely the mere lifting of the foot and the awareness of the lifting of the foot. By paying close attention to the movements, they see things arising and disappearing, and consequently they see for themselves the impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self nature of all conditioned phenomena.
Now let us examine in more detail the movements of walking meditation. Suppose one were to take a moving picture of the lifting of the foot. Suppose further that the lifting of the foot takes one second, and let us say that the camera can take thirty-six frames per second. After taking the picture, if we were to look at the separate frames, we would realize that within what we thought was one lifting movement, there are actually thirty-six movements. The image in each frame is slightly different from the images in the other frames, though the difference will usually be so slight that we can barely notice it. But what if the camera could take one thousand frames per second? Then there would be one thousand movements in just one lifting movement, although the movements would be almost impossible to differentiate. If the camera could take one million frames per second — which may be impossible now, but someday may happen — then there would be one million movements in what we thought to be only one movement.
Our effort in walking meditation is to see our movements as closely as the camera sees them, frame by frame. We also want to observe the awareness and intention preceding each movement. We can also appreciate the power of the Buddha’s wisdom and insight, by which he actually saw all of the movements. When we use the word “see” or “observe” to refer to our own situation, we mean that we see directly and also by inference; we may not be able to see directly all of the millions of movements as did the Buddha.
Before yogis begin practicing walking meditation, they may have thought that a step is just one movement. After meditation on that movement, they observe that there are at least four movements, and if they go deeper, they will understand that even one of these four movements consists of millions of tiny movements. They see nama and rupa, mind and matter, arising and disappearing, as impermanent. By our ordinary perception, we are not able to see the impermanence of things because impermanence is hidden by the illusion of continuity. We think that we see only one continuous movement, but if we look closely we will see that the illusion of continuity can be broken. It can be broken by the direct observation of physical phenomena bit by bit, segment by segment, as they originate and disintegrate. The value of meditation lies in our ability to remove the cloak of continuity in order to discover the real nature of impermanence. Yogis can discover the nature of impermanence directly through their own effort.
After realizing that things are composed of segments, that they occur in bits, and after observing these segments one by one, yogis will realize that there is really nothing in this world to be attached to, nothing to crave for. If we see that something which we once thought beautiful has holes, that it is decaying and disintegrating, we will lose interest in it. For example, we may see a beautiful painting on a canvas. We think of the paint and canvas conceptually as a whole, solid thing. But if we were to put the painting under a powerful microscope, we would see that the picture is not solid — it has many holes and spaces. After seeing the picture as composed largely of spaces, we would lose interest in it and we would cease being attached to it. Modern physicists know this idea well. They have observed, with powerful instruments, that matter is just a vibration of particles and energy constantly changing — there is nothing substantial to it at all. By the realization of this endless impermanence, yogis understand that there is really nothing to crave for, nothing to hold on to in the entire world of phenomena.
Now we can understand the reasons for practicing meditation. We practice meditation because we want to remove attachment and craving for objects. It is by comprehending the three characteristics of existence — impermanence, suffering, and the non-self nature of things — that we remove craving. We want to remove craving because we do not want to suffer. As long as there is craving and attachment, there will always be suffering. If we do not want to suffer, we must remove craving and attachment. We must comprehend that all things are just mind and matter arising and disappearing, that things are insubstantial. Once we realize this, we will be able to remove attachment to things. As long as we do not realize this, however much we read books or attend talks or talk about removing attachment, we will not be able to get rid of attachment. It is necessary to have the direct experience that all conditioned things are marked by the three characteristics.
Hence we must pay close attention when we are walking, just as we do when we are sitting or lying down. I am not trying to say that walking meditation alone can give us ultimate realization and the ability to remove attachment entirely, but it is nevertheless as valid a practice as sitting meditation or any other kind of vipassana (insight) meditation. Walking meditation is conducive to spiritual development. It is as powerful as mindfulness of breathing or mindfulness of the rising and falling of the abdomen. It is an efficient tool to help us remove mental defilements. Walking meditation can help us gain insight into the nature of things, and we should practice it as diligently as we practice sitting meditation or any other kind of meditation. By the practice of vipassana meditation in all postures, including the walking posture, may you and all yogis be able to attain total purification in this very life!
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Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.
Hon’ble CM Ji conducts aerial survey of flood affected areas of Saharanpur, Muzaffar Nagar, Bijnore, Moradabad, Bareilly, Agra and Bahraich districts, reviews rescue and relief works as well
Hon’ble CM Ji also conducts aerial survey of Yamuna Nagar, Sonipat and Karnal districts of Haryana and Haridwar, Dehradoon and Udhamsingh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand
Western U.P. declared calamity affected area
Prime Minister requested to sanction Rs. 2000 Cr. package for flood affected people of State
Lucknow : September 22, 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Hon’ble Ms. Mayawati Ji today
conducted aerial survey of Saharanpur, Muzaffar Nagar, Bijnore,
Moradabad, Bareilly and Agra districts and reviewed the progress of
rescue and relief works being carried out in the flood affected areas
then and there. The aerial survey which began in the morning
continued late in the evening. The Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji also
conducted aerial survey of J.P. Nagar, Rampur, Barabanki, Gonda,
Shravasti districts as well besides surveying the flood affected districts
of Poorvanchal.
Thereafter, Hon’ble C.M. Ji reviewed the progress of flood relief
works being carried out in Bahraich district and sanctioned Rs. 1.8 cr.
for rehabilitation of villages completely drowned in floods. She also
inquired about the condition of embankments and the damage caused
in the flood affected areas. She declared western U.P. as calamity
affected area and requested the Prime Minister to sanction a package
of Rs. 2000 cr. to help the flood affected people of the State. Out of it,
Rs. 1000 cr. had been demanded for western U.P., while remaining Rs.
1000 cr. would be spent on the other flood stricken areas of the State.
Directing the officers of the affected districts to conduct rescue and
relief works on war-footing, she said that the State Government would
make all efforts to provide relief to the flood affected people.
Hon’ble C.M. Ji said that owing to the water released by the
dams situated in Uttarakhand from time to time, the major part of
western U.P. was affected by floods. She said that Bijnore district was
the most badly affected area of the western U.P. She assured that
paucity of funds would not be allowed to hamper the relief works.
Hon’ble C.M. Ji directed the officers to provide relief material and
other essential commodities to the flood affected people in a timely
manner. She said that there was a possibility of the outbreak of
diseases when the flood waters receded. She said that the Health
Officers should remain alert for any eventuality. Directing the officers
to make all arrangements to deal with any situation, she said that
special drive should be launched to prevent the outbreak of typhoid,
viral fever and other water-borne infectious diseases. She said that
bleaching powder should be sprayed in the water logged areas to
prevent the outbreak of infectious diseases. She said that proper
arrangements should be ensured in the hospitals to treat the patients.
After surveying the flood affected areas of Saharanpur, Muzaffar
Nagar, Bijnore, Moradabad, Bareilly and Agra districts, Hon’ble C.M. Ji
held review meeting with the senior administrative officers of these
districts to assess the progress of relief works. She asked the officers
to provide all possible help to the flood affected people and carry out
the rescue and relief works with full honesty. She warned that any
laxity in it would not be tolerated. She also directed them to make
arrangements to prevent spread of diseases among the cattle.
Hon’ble C.M. Ji directed the officers that restoration, repair and
re-construction of infrastructure facilities should be started on warfooting
as soon as the flood waters receded. Besides, the drinking
water supply and power supply should be restored at the earliest. She
directed the officers of the flood affected districts to assess all types of
losses at the earliest and the affected people should be provided
applicable financial assistance at the earliest.
Hon’ble C.M. Ji also conducted aerial survey of Yamuna Nagar,
Sonipat and Karnal districts of Haryana and Haridwar, Dehradoon and
Udhamsingh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand. She expressed her
concern over the huge loss to the crops of the farmers of the flood
affected Luxar and surrounding areas and other flood affected areas as
well.
On the directives of the Hon’ble C.M. Ji, the State Irrigation
Minister Mr. Naseemuddin Siddiqui conducted aerial survey of Mathura,
Farrukhabad and Kanshiram Nagar districts and reviewed the progress
of rescue and relief works being carried out in these districts. He also
gave necessary orders to the officers.
*********
Hon’ble CM Ji writes letter to Prime Minister, demands Rs. 2000 cr. for flood relief works immediately
Western U.P. declared ‘calamity affected’ area
Rs. 1000 cr. required for districts of eastern U.P.
Lucknow : September 22, 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Hon’ble Ms. Mayawati Ji today wrote a
letter to the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh drawing his attention towards
the unprecedented flood situation in the districts of western U.P. and demanded
an additional assistance of Rs. 2000 cr. immediately.
In her letter to the P.M., Hon’ble C.M. Ji said that owing to excessive
rains, the flood situation in various districts of the State remained critical since
last months. Owing to huge release of water from Kalagarh dam, Girijapuri,
Sharda, Gopia, Hathini Kund, Bijnore, Duni and Banbasa barrages, several
districts of western U.P. had been badly affected and on several places the
roads had been blocked because of flood waters. Besides, a large number of
villages had been inundated because of floods and the villagers were facing
difficulties.
Hon’ble C.M. Ji in her letter said that the public infrastructure such as
roads, bridges, embankments etc. had been widely damaged and the State
Government was making efforts to restore them on war-footing. She said that
she had herself conducted aerial survey of the flood affected districts of western
U.P. and owing to unprecedented situation of floods; this area had been
declared calamity affected area.
Hon’ble C.M. Ji said that thousands of villages had been seriously affected
by the floods and 83 people had drowned. As many as 173 people had died in
the house collapse and also because of other reasons. About 7 lakh hectares of
cultivable land and crops worth Rs. 3500 cr. had been estimated to be
damaged. Besides, restoration/repair of infrastructure facilities on large scale
was required.
Hon’ble C.M. Ji in her letter said that the DMs had been asked to submit
estimate of damages of their respective districts. On that basis, a memorandum
for necessary financial assistance would soon be sent to the Government of
India. On the basis of preliminary assessment, an additional financial assistance
of Rs. 2000 cr. was immediately needed. Out of it, Rs. 1000 cr. were needed
for western U.P. and the remaining Rs. 1000 cr. were needed for other flood
affected districts particularly those situated in eastern U.P.
Hon’ble C.M. Ji expressed the hope that the GOI would seriously consider
her request and provide the requisite help at the earliest.
*********
Hon’ble CM Ji to conduct aerial survey of flood affected areas of Saharanpur, Muzaffar Nagar, Bijnore, Moradabad and Bareilly districts, to review rescue and relief works as well
Lucknow : September 21, 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Hon’ble Ms. Mayawati Ji would
conduct aerial survey of the flood affected areas tomorrow. According
to the programme, the C.M. would leave Lucknow at 9 a.m. and
directly conduct aerial survey of Saharanpur district. She would also
review the progress of rescue and relief works there.
Thereafter, Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji would conduct aerial survey
of Muzaffar Nagar, Bijnore, Moradabad and Bareilly districts and their
adjoining areas. She would visit every district to review the progress of
rescue and relief works.
Besides, on the directives of the Hon’ble Chief Minister Ji, the
State Irrigation Minister Sri Naseemuddin Siddiqui would conduct aerial
survey of Aligarh, Mathura and Agra districts and their adjoining areas.
He would also review the progress of rescue and relief works.
*********
09/22/10
Filed under:
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Posted by:
site admin @ 3:37 am
LESSON 37 ARHAT PART II Ariya puggala 22 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
If a man’s mind becomes pure, his surroundings will also become pure. To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent. - Buddha
EDUCATE (BUDDHA)! MEDITATE (DHAMMA)! ORGANISE (SANGHA)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
Using such an instrument
The Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies;
International Relations and Peace Studies;
Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;
Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University
Course Programs:
ARHAT
Arahat, Arahant
http://www.dhammawiki.com/index.php?title=Ariya-puggala
From The Dhamma Encyclopedia
Ariya-puggala Noble Ones, noble persons: The 8, Ariya = Noble Ones are those who have realized one of the 8 stages of Nobility, i.e. the 4 supra-mundane paths magga and the 4 supra-mundane fruitions phala of these paths. There are thus these 4 pairs:
A1. The one realizing the path of Stream-winning sotāpatti-magga. A2. The one realizing the fruition of Stream-winning sotāpatti-phala.
A3. The one realizing the path of Once-return sakadāgāmi-magga. A4. The one realizing the fruition of Once-return sakadāgāmi-phala.
A5. The one realizing the path of Non-return anāgāmi-magga. A6. The one realizing the fruition of Non-return anāgāmi-phala.
A7. The one realizing the path of Nobility arahatta-magga. A8. The one realizing the fruition of Nobility arahatta-phala.
Summed up, there are 4 noble individuals ariya-puggala:
1. The Stream-winner Sotapanna,
2. The Once-Returner Sakadagami,
3. The Non-Returner Anagami,
4. The Worthy One Arahant.
In A. VIII,10 and A. IX, 16 the gotrabhū is listed as the 9th noble individual.
According to the Abhidhamma, the supra-mundane path, or simply path magga, is a designation of the moment of entering into one of these 4 stages of Nobility with Nibbana being the object, produced by intuitional insight vipassana into the impermanence, misery and impersonality of existence, flashing forth and forever transforming one’s life and nature. By fruition phala is meant those moments of consciousness which follow immediately thereafter as the result of the path, and which in certain circumstances may repeat for innumerable times during the life-time.
I: Through the path of Stream-winning sotāpatti-magga one becomes free whereas in realizing the fruition, one is freed from the first 3 mental chains samyojana, which bind beings to existence in the sense-sphere, to wit:
1: Personality-belief sakkāya-ditthi, see. ditthi, 2: Skeptical doubt vicikicchā, 3: Clinging upādāna to mere rules and rituals sīlabbata-parāmāsa. One has maximally 7 rebirth rounds before Awakening and cannot be reborn as animal, ghost, demon or hell-being.
II: Through the path of Once-return sakadāgāmi-magga one becomes nearly freed from the 4th and 5th mental chains, to wit:
4: Sense-desire kāma-cchanda = kāma-rāga rāga, and 5: Ill-will vyāpāda = dosa see: mūla.
III: Through the path of Non-return anāgāmi-magga one becomes fully freed from the above-mentioned 5 lower mental chains.
IV: Through the path of Nobility arahatta-magga one furthermore becomes free from the 5 higher mental chains, to wit:
6: Craving for fine material existence rūpa-rāga, 7: Craving for formless existence. arūpa-rāga, 8: Conceit and pride māna, 9: Restlessness uddhacca, and 10: Ignorance avijjā.
The stereotype Sutta text runs as follows:
Stream-enterer:
I: After the disappearance of the three mental chains, the Bhikkhu has won the stream to Nibbāna and is no more subject to rebirth in the lower worlds, is firmly established, bound for full enlightenment.
Once-returner:
II: After the disappearance of the three mental chains and the reduction of greed, hatred and confusion, he will return only once more; and having once more returned to this world, he will put an end to suffering.
Non-returner:
III: After the disappearance of the five mental chains he appears in a higher world, and there he reaches Nibbāna without ever returning from that world to the sense-sphere worlds.
Arahant:
IV: Through the ceasing of all mental fermentations āsava-kkhaya he reaches already in this very life the deliverance of mind, the deliverance through understanding, which is free from fermentations, and which he himself has understood and directly realized.
For the various classes of Stream-winners and Non-Returners, see: Sotāpanna, Anāgāmī.
B: The sevenfold grouping of the Noble Disciples is as follows:
1: The faith-devotee saddhānusārī, 2: The faith-liberated one saddhā-vimutta, 3: The body-witness kāya-sakkhī, 4: The both-ways-liberated one ubhato-bhāga-vimutta, 5: The Dhamma-devotee dhammānusārī, 6: The vision-attainer ditthippatta, 7: The one liberated by understanding paññā-vimutta.
This group of seven Noble Disciples is thus explained in Vis.M XXI, 73:
1-2: He who is filled with determination adhimokkha and, in considering the constructions as impermanent anicca, gains the ability of faith, he, at the moment of the path to Stream-winning A1 is called a faith-devotee saddhānusārī; 2: at the seven higher stages A2-A8 he is called a faith-liberated one saddhā-vimutta.
3: He who is filled with tranquillity and, in considering the constructions as miserable dukkha, gains the ability of concentration, he in every respect is considered as a body-witness kāya-sakkhī.
4: He who after reaching the absorptions of the formless sphere has attained the highest fruition of Nobility, he is a both-ways-liberated one ubhato-bhāga-vimutta.
5: He who is filled with understanding and, in considering the constructions as no-self anattā, gains the ability of understanding, he is at the moment of Stream-winning A1 a Dhamma-devotee dhammānusārī,
6: At the later stages A2-A7 a vision-attainer ditthippatta,
7: At the highest stage A8 a understanding-liberated one paññā-vimutta.
09/21/10
Filed under:
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Posted by:
site admin @ 7:29 am
LESSON 36-ARHAT -21-09 2010-FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
· All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else. – Buddha
EDUCATE (BUDDHA)! MEDITATE (DHAMMA)! ORGANISE (SANGHA)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
Using such an instrument
The Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies;
International Relations and Peace Studies;
Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;
Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā Research and Practice University
Course Programs:
ARHAT 
Arahat, Arahant
· The word is derived from the root arh, to deserve, to be worthy, to be fit, and is used to denote a person who has achieved the goal of religious life (in Theravada Buddhism). See ariya-puggala.
In its usage in early Buddhism the term denotes a person who had gained insight into the true nature of things (yathābhūtañana). In the Buddhist movement the Buddha was the first arahant. He was regarded as an arahant, along with other arahants, without any distinction. Thus, after the conversion of the group of five monks (pañcavaggiya), the first converts to the teachings of Gotama, it is stated that there were six arahants in the world at the time (Vin.I.14), the Buddha being reckoned one of them. At the outset, once an adherent realised the true nature of things, i.e., that whatever has arisen (samudaya-dhamma) naturally has a ceasing-to-be (nirodhā-dhamma), he was called an arahant, and with this realisation one is said to have put an end to repeated existence. The Buddha is said to be equal to an arahant in point of attainment, the only distinction being that the Buddha was the pioneer on the path to that attainment, while arahants are those who attain the same state having followed the path trodden by the Buddha.
The arahants are described as buddhānubuddhā, i.e., those who have attained awaken-ness after the Fully Awakened One (Thag. p.111). This is brought out very clearly by a simile in the Nidāna Samyutta (S.II.105-6). A man going about in the forest sees an old road used by the people of yore and, going along it, he sees the remains of an old kingdom. He comes back to the town and tells the people that in such and such a forest he had seen the ruins of a magnificent city, and the people, too, following the road-marks indicated by the man come to the ruined city and see it for themselves. Even so the Buddha was the pioneer on the Noble Eightfold Path (ariya-aţţhańgika-magga) and having followed this path he reached the city of Nibbāna. Later, coming amidst the people he revealed this path to them, and following this path they, too, attained the goal of Nibbāna. In this respect the Buddha as well as his disciples follow the same path and reach the same goal, and the distinction between the Buddha and the disciples who become arahants is not with regard to the attainment, but with regard to the fact that the Buddha rediscovered the age-old path (purānam añjasam) to the city of Nibbāna, while the disciples come to the same city having followed the path discovered by the Buddha. The Buddha is, therefore, called the revealer of the path (maggassa akkhātā). He is the teacher (satthā) who teaches the disciples to attain the same ideal as attained by him.
But, as time passed, the Buddha-concept developed and special attributes were assigned to the Buddha. A Buddha possesses the six fold super-knowledge (chalabhiññā); he has matured the thirty-seven limbs of awaken-ness (bodhipakkhika dhamma); in him compassion (karunā) and insight (paññā) develop to their fullest; all the major and minor characteristics of a great man (mahāpurisa) appear on his body; he is possessed of the ten powers (dasa bala) and the four confidences (catu vesārajja); and he has had to practise the ten perfections (pāramitā) during a long period of time in the past.
When speaking of arahants these attributes are never mentioned together, though a particular arahant may have one, two or more of the attributes discussed in connection with the Buddha (S.II.217, 222). In the Nidāna Samyutta (S.II.120-6) a group of bhikkhus who proclaimed their attainment of arahantship, when questioned by their colleagues about it, denied that they had developed the five kinds of super-knowledge—namely, psychic power (iddhi-vidhā), divine ear (dibba-sota), knowledge of others’ minds (paracitta-vijānana), power to recall to mind past births (pubbenivāsānussati) and knowledge regarding other peoples’ rebirths (cutū-papatti)—and declared that they had attained arahantship by developing wisdom (paññā-vimutti).
An attempt is made in the Nikāyas as well as in later works to define the content of the attainment of arahantship. The commonest and one of the oldest definitions of an arahant is that he has in him the threefold knowledge (tisso vijjā), namely, knowledge of his own previous births, knowledge of the rebirths of others and knowledge regarding the utter cessation of mental intoxicants (āsavakkhayañāna). Most of the poems in the Thera-, Theri-gāthās end with the statement “The threefold knowledge have I attained and I have done the bidding of the Buddha” (tisso vijjā anuppattā katam buddhassa sāsanam : e.g., Thag. p. 9). Other definitions of arahantship are: “Arahants are those in whom the mental intoxicants (āsava) are utterly waned” (khīnāsavā arahanto: S.I.13); one becomes an arahant by the utter waning of lust, hatred and ignorance (S.IV.252); arahants are those who have cut off completely the ten fetters (samyojana) that bind a man to samsāra (Vin. I, 183); an arahant is one in whom seven things, namely, belief in a soul (sakkāya-ditthi), sceptical doubt (vicikicchā), belief in vows and ceremonies (silabbataparamasa), greed, hatred, ignorance and pride are not found (A.IV.145) ; he is one who has crossed the sea of samsāra (pāragū). The word arahant is defined in a fanciful way in some places. For instance in the Majjhima Nikāya (I.280) it is said that an arahant is so called because all sinful evil things are remote (āraka) from him. The Vimanavatthu Atthakatha (105-6) defines the term in the following words: “An arahant is so called because he is remote (ārake) from sinful things; because he has destroyed the spokes (ara) of the wheel of samsāra ; because he deserves to receive the requisites: food, clothing, etc. (paccayānam arahattā), and because he does not sin even in secret (rahābhāva).
The attainment of arahantship is expressed in several formulas of which the commonest one says ‘destroyed is rebirth, lived is the higher life, done is what had to be done, after this present life there is no beyond’ (Vin.I.14, 35, 183; D.I.84). The declaration itself is called “the declaration of knowledge” (aññā byākarana: M.III.29). The Buddha has indicated a method of verifying the truth of a disciple’s statement when he declares that he has attained arahantship. A few questions have to be posed to him and if he answers them correctly then only should he be taken at his word. The first question is with regard to the four conventions (cattāro vohārā). A true arahant does not feel attracted to or repelled, by things seen (dittha), heard (suta), sensed (muta), or cognised (viññāta) and he is independent, not infatuated, and dwells with an open mind, and thus his mind is well freed with regard to the four conventions. The next question is connected with the five aggregates of grasping (upādānakkhandha). The true arahant understands their nature as dependently originated, and he is detached from them, and all the latent biases that arise through attachment to them are destroyed in him. The third question is regarding the six elements (dhātu). A true arahant has no notions of ‘I’ or ‘mine’ with regard to these elements and all biases that crop up through attachment to them are completely eradicated in him. The fourth question is connected with the internal and external sense spheres (ajjhattika, bāhira-āyatana). The mind of a true arahant is free from attachment, desire that is born of these sense spheres, the consciousness born thereof and the things that are known through the medium of this consciousness. The fifth question relates to the vision and insight through which all latent biases such as and ‘mine’ are completely cut off. A true arahant should be able to reveal how he attained supreme knowledge that is that everything has an origin, a cause to its origination, a cessation and a way that leads to its cessation, through which his mind becomes free from thirst for sense pleasure, becoming and ignorance (M.III.29-37).
The discipline of a Buddhist monk is aimed at the attainment of arahantship. There are four distinct stages of attainment as one pursues the discipline from the beginning, namely, the states of the stream-entrant (sotāpanna), the once-returner (sakadāgāmī), the non-returner (anāgāmī) and the arahant. A disciple by attaining the state of a stream-entrant does away completely with the mental intoxicant (āsava) of false views (ditthi) and the intoxicants of lust (kāma), becoming (bhava) and ignorance (avijjā) which produce birth in low states (apāya). By attaining the state of a once-returner he does away with mental intoxicants connected with gross (olārika) sense pleasures and some more cankers of becoming and ignorance. By attaining the state of a non-returner a disciple completely puts an end to all mental intoxicants connected with sense pleasures and also further alleviates the cankers of becoming and ignorance. By becoming an arahant a disciple completely puts an end to all mental intoxicants connected with becoming and ignorance (Ps.I.94).
In the Mahālī Sutta (D.6) a clearer and more precise description of the four attainments is given. According to it one becomes a stream-entrant by overcoming three fetters (samyojana), namely, belief in an enduring entity (sakkāyaditthi), doubt regarding the Buddha; the Dhamma and the Sangha, (vicikicchā) and belief in the efficacy of mere rule and ritual (silabbataparamasa). One becomes a once-returner by diminishing lust, hatred and illusion (raga-dosa-moha) in addition to overcoming the three earlier fetters, and such a being returns to this world once only and puts an end to the process of birth and death (samsāra). One becomes a non-returner by overcoming the first five of the ten fetters which belong to the sphere of the senses (pañca orambhāgiyāni samyojanāni), i.e., sensuous desire (kāmacchanda) and ill-will (vyapada) in addition to the three fetters mentioned in connection with the stream-entrant and the once-returner. One becomes an arahant by completely doing away with all mental intoxicants (āsavānam khayā) having attained the emancipation of heart (cetovimutti) and emancipation through wisdom (paññāvimutti).
The disciple who undertakes to pursue the path to the attainment of arahantship has to follow a graduated process. Arahantship is the result of understanding the true nature of things (yathā-bhūtta) and one can see the true nature of things only through a non-prejudiced mind. To develop a non-prejudiced mind one has to develop concentration of the mind, and this is possible only by a disciplined mind. So the process starts with the practice of virtue (sila) which leads to concentration of the mind (samādhi) which ultimately results in true wisdom (paññā). In the Devata Samyutta (S.I.13) a deity asks the Buddha how a person disentangles the tangle of samsāra and the Buddha replies that a wise man, established firmly on virtue, concentrates his mind and develops true wisdom by which he disentangles the tangle of samsāra.
In several suttas we find detailed descriptions of how a disciple initiates himself into the dispensation of the Buddha and gradually follows up the path. A son of a noble family (kulaputta) listens to the Dhamma preached by the Buddha and begets confidence in him and decides to follow his teaching. He enters the Order of monks, thereby cutting himself away from all family bonds and making himself free from all activities that keep a layman occupied. He refrains from sinful activities such as harming life, stealing, uttering falsehood, back-biting, slandering etc. and cultivates positive virtues such as loving and pitying all beings, speaking gentle and kind words, speaking the truth etc. He guards the doors of his senses so that his mind is not distracted when objects of sensation come in contact with the sense faculties. He is always alert and mindful with regard to all his activities. He lives content with whatever he gets by way of food etc. When he has cultivated these virtues his mind is ready to embark on concentration. He retires to a lonely spot in the forest or near a mountain cave and sits in a befitting posture to concentrate his mind. He now surveys his mind and cleanses it of all shortcomings and sees to it that all five hindrances to mental cultivation (nīvarana), namely, covetousness (abhijjhā), ill-will (vyāpāda), sloth and torpor (thīnamiddha), worry and flurry (uddhacca-kukkucca) and doubt (vicikicchā) are completely done away with.
When he sees himself completely freed of all these hindrances, he becomes delighted (pamujja) and this in turn leads to joy (piti) and this makes his body tranquil (passaddha) and he experiences happiness and his mind becomes concentrated. Now he proceeds from the first ecstasy (jhāna) gradually up to the fourth. When the mind is brought to a high state of concentration in this manner, in it could be developed the sixfold knowledge (see abhiññā), the sixth being the knowledge of the utter destruction of mental intoxicants (āsavakkhaya-ñāna). When the disciple has developed the knowledge of the utter destruction of these cankers he has completely understood the true nature of things and for him there will be no more becoming—he is an arahant (D.I.62-84). The arahant is also called asekha because his training is complete.
It should be stated that this peak of mental culture cannot be reached quickly. One has to cultivate virtues for a considerable length of time in order to clean the mind of its latent biases. The various methods adopted to purify the mind also vary according to the character of the individual concerned. There are several types of characters discussed in this respect, namely, the passion dominated man (raga-carita), the ill-will dominated man (dosa-carita), the ignorance dominated man (moha-carita), the faith dominated man (saddha-carita), the intelligence dominated man (buddhi-carita) and the reflection dominated man (vitakka-carita). The details of the training differ according to the character of the individual (Vim. p.82).
Though it is generally accepted that the path to the attainment of arahantship is a graduated one, there are instances of people who attained arahantship without following all the details, for instance, Suddhodana, Khemā, Mahā Aritthaand many others who attained arahantship even before they entered the Order of monks. There is recognised a type of arahants called the sukka-vipassaka and if we accept the view that sukka stands for Buddha (pure or mere) the term then denotes those who attain perfection without ever having attained any of the mental absorptions (jhāna). The Visuddhimagga (ch.xviii, 503) calls such persons suddha-vipassanā-yānika as distinguished from those with “tranquillity as vehicle” (samatha-yānika). The Milindapañha (trsl. 2, 254) discussing this problem says “there is no realisation of arahantship in one single life without keeping of the vows. Only on the utmost zeal and the most devoted practice of righteousness and with the aid of a suitable teacher is the realisation of arahantship attained.” It would thus not be incorrect to say that the Theravada view regarding arahantship is that the practice of virtue is essential and that even those who follow the suddha-vipassanā-yāna can do so because they have practised the virtues in previous births.
Lay life and arahantship. Though there are many instances of persons attaining spiritual development up to the third stage of non-returner, instances are not many of individuals attaining arahantship while yet being laymen. Yasa attained arahantship while being a layman, but he, too, entered the Order immediately afterwards (Vin.I.15-20). Khemā, chief of the Buddha’s women disciples, attained arahantship before she entered the Order, but she entered the Order with the consent of her husband Bimbisāra, probably on the same day (ThigA.126f). Suddhodana, the father of the Buddha, attained arahantship a little while before his death (DPPN. s.v. Suddhodana). The Mahāvamsa (chap. xvi, 10-11) records that fifty-five brothers headed by the chief minister Mahā Arittha attained arahantship in the tonsure hall, while their heads were being shaved prior to being admitted into the Order. In the Kathavatthu (157-8) the question whether a layman can become an arahant is discussed. The point maintained in it is that what matters is not the external characteristics of a recluse or a layman, and that anybody who is free from the mental fetters and lives a life of complete renunciation could attain arahantship. King Milinda, too, maintains this view and quotes the following words of the Buddha: “I would magnify, o brethren, the supreme attainment either in a layman or in a recluse. Whether he be a layman, o brethren, or a recluse, the man who has reached the supreme attainment shall overcome all the difficulties inherent therein, shall win his way even to the excellent condition of arahantship” (Man. trsl., SBE. vol.36, p.56), but so far this statement has not been traced in the Tipitaka. In the Milindapañha (ibid. p.57) again, a question is posed as to why a person should enter the Order if laymen, too, could attain arahantship. In reply it is shown that facilities and opportunities for cultivating the mind are greater if one enters the Order, since monks are not bound up with duties of laymen such as earning to maintain oneself, wife and children and looking after the needs of relatives. In the Subha Sutra (M.II.197) the Buddha says that a person, whether he be a layman or a recluse, who leads a virtuous life, ever striving to cleanse the mind of impurities, would progress in the path to liberation.
There is a current belief among the Buddhists that when a layman attains arahantship he should enter the Order the same day or else he would die before the end of that day. Nagasena, too, confirms this view. It is difficult to trace from canonical sources any evidence to substantiate this view.
Again, if we examine the connotation of the word anāgāmī (non-returner to the material world) we obtain more evidence to support the view that arahantship is attainable outside the Order of monks. If an anāgāmī does not attain arahantship in that very existence, he will pass away and will be reborn among the Suddhāvāsā deities, where he will put an end to reiterated existence (see anāgāmī).
Women and arahantship: The Buddha placed women on a par with men in the capacity of developing the mind to the highest level.. A few years after the inauguration of the Order of monks, an Order of nuns, too, was set up withMahapajapati Gotami, the Buddha’s foster-mother, as the first recruit. The Vinaya Pitaka contains a section of special rules laid down for the guidance of bhikkhunis. As is obvious, the purpose of the religious life is to attain arahantship. Women, like men, entered the Order in order to realise this state. Nowhere in Buddhist literature do we come across statements denouncing the capacity of women to develop their minds, and in this respect no distinction is shown between men and women. The Therīgāthā is full of instances of therīs who had attained arahantship (e. g., Thig. pp. 126, 129, 131 etc.). Mara once attempted to dissuade Somā, a therī, from attaining arahantship saying that she with little brains could not aspire to attain a noble state attained by sages with high mental powers. Soma’s reply was that if the mind is properly cultivated so as to develop true know-ledge by which one understands the real state of things, womanhood is no barrier to the attainment of arahantship (Thig. 129). Mrs. Rhys Davids in the Introduction (p. xxiv) to her translation of the Therīgāthā states that the instances of therīs declaring their attainment of arahantship are more in the Therīgāthā than of monks doing so in the Theragāthā.
Arahants and Society. When we study the life-history of the Buddha as well as those of his chief disciples who were arahants, it becomes abundantly clear that the Buddha did not expect his disciples to forsake society altogether, before or after the attainment of arahantship. During a period of forty-five years the Buddha was busy doing missionary work among the people. The better part of his day was spent in going about and meeting people and teaching them how to lead better lives. When he met people he did not always speak to them about the misery of life. When he met ordinary people he admonished them to refrain from anti-social activities and to do things which are for the benefit of the many (D. III, 180-93). When he met kings and higher ministers he spoke to them of ways and means of good government which would result in the happiness of all concerned. When he came across people who were grieved by various misfortunes, he spoke words of comfort to them (ThigA. 108-17). When he came across criminals he preached to reform them for the benefit of the criminals as well as for the benefit of society (ThagA. III, 54-64). He spoke of the duties of children towards their parents and vice versa, of the duties of a wife towards her husband and those of a husband towards his wife, and he also spoke of the mutual duties of all people for the better and smoother running of society. When he gathered round him his first group of disciples, sixty in number and all of them arahants, he dispersed them in all directions asking them to preach the Dhamma for the welfare of the many (Vin.I.21). Chief disciples like Sāriputta, Moggallāna, Kaccayana and others, following the example of the Buddha, spent all their lives in working for the spiritual upliftment of the masses. The Buddha as well as his disciples lived in society, but they were not of society. They lived lives of complete renunciation, though they depended on the generosity of the public for their sustenance, and worked for their spiritual upliftment. Theirs was a disinterested service. The life of a true disciple of the Buddha is compared to a lotus in the pond (A.II.39; Sn. p.101). The lotus bud grows in the mud in the pond, is nourished in it, but it grows through the water, comes above the surface, blossoms out, and is untouched by the water. Likewise the disciple develops into a fully-awakened man, while being in society, but he is not bound by the fetters of social life. He is not carried away by what takes place in it. In the Mahamangala Sutta (Sn.46-7) it is said that if one can stand unmoved (cittam yassa na kampati) when affected by the things of the world (phutthassa lokadhammehi) it would be a great blessing.
Though such is the general attitude of a disciple towards society, we see a parallel development in some texts admonishing the true sage (muni=arahant) to steer clear of society and make a quick escape from samsāra. Society is depicted as a very evil place, full of vicious people, the haunt of all viles, and hence the muni should have nothing to do with it. He should wander about all alone, far away from society, like the rhinoceros (Sn. pp.6-12).
The Mahayanists put forward the ideal of the bodhisattva - a being dedicated to the services of humanity, probably as a protest against this development.
W.G.Weeraratne
The Mahayanists accuse the arahat of selfishness because he strives only for his own liberation from sorrow instead of working for the liberation and happiness of all beings. They exert themselves only for their own complete Nirvana (ātma-parinirvana-hetoh: Sdmp. p.75). The sravakas (arahat) think only of their own good (svartha: Mahayanasutralankara, 53.4). The arahat saves no one but him-self. He is like one confined in a dungeon, who, having found a way of escape, hastens to set him-self at liberty, while callously leaving his fellow-prisoners in darkness and captivity.
The bodhisattva, on the other hand, is the embodiment of supreme unselfishness. He solemnly dedicates himself to the service of all beings who stand in need of succour, suffering the most atrocious tortures, if necessary, if thereby he may save others from pain and sorrow.
It must be stated, however, that this charge of selfishness made against the arahat, in contrast with the unselfishness of the bodhisattva, is not in accordance with fact. In the first place, the concept of the bodhisattva is not peculiar to Mahayana. In the second place, it would be quite incorrect to say that the arahat, as depicted in Hinayana, is entirely occupied with his own salvation and is callous of the salvation and sufferings of others.
As has been stated earlier, the word arahat means ‘one who is worthy’ and his worthiness is of a kind that cannot be reconciled with any form of selfishness. “Even as a mother watches over her only begotten child,” says the Sutta Nipata, one of the oldest texts of the Theravada, “so let his heart and mind be filled with boundless love for all creatures, great and small, let him practise benevolence towards the whole world, above, below, across, without exception, and let him set himself utterly free from all ill-will and enmity.” And, another text, the Itivuttaka (19), says “all the means that can be used as bases for doing right are not worth one-sixteenth part of the emancipation of the heart through love. That takes all those up unto itself, outshining them in radiance and glory.”
No selfish being could, therefore, become an arahat. Arahatship consists in a spiritual exaltation that transcends the limitations of temporal individuality. No system which aims at the elimination of the phenomenal ego can be accused of egoism or selfishness. Arahatship is the full realisation of the transcendental self and such self-realisation is far removed from selfishness and, indeed, involves self-sacrifice.
In charging the arahat, therefore, with being over-mindful of his own development and salvation and with ignoring the moral and spiritual well-being of his fellow-men, the Mahayanists were. hardly fair. The arahat, on the other hand, is one who acts in accordance with the principle that each man forms part of a spiritual whole of which all his fellow-men are also parts and that to serve them is to enrich and ennoble his own higher self, while to neglect them would be to impoverish it. Even at the lowest estimate, the arahat is one who seeks and attains an enlightenment for himself so that he might subtract at least himself from the vast burden of sorrow and pain that weighs upon the world. Having done this, he continues the good life for the gain and the welfare of the many, in benevolent activity, although it could add nothing to the reward which he has already won.
After he has won Arahatship, up to the time of his death, the arahat lives wishlessly, happy and con-tented, because his supreme achievement leaves no room for wishes of any kind. According to the Milindapañha (pp. 134 IT., 253) he is liable to suffer bodily pain, however, because he cannot control his body. But such pain he bears with equanimity which nothing can disturb.
According to the Theravadins, the acquisition of Nirvana is final and definite and can never again be lost. The Sammitiyas, Vajjiputtiyas, Sabbatthivadins and some Mahasanghikas, however, held that the arahat is liable to fall away. The Saddharmapundarika (v, 59—83) speaks of the nirvana of the arahats as a temporary repose and distinguishes it from the final Nirvana of the Buddha. The Theravadins regard the arahat as being of almost god-like stature but the Mahasanghikas maintained that he was human and he had many imperfections, e.g., that he could still be troubled by demons, have various doubts and be ignorant of many things. The Andhakas said that the arahat could be surpassed in knowledge by others, in opposition to the Vibhajjavadins in whose view the arahat has complete knowledge.
GP Malalsekara
Venerable Ananda
How Ananda became enlightened?
Ananda was the only one left at the time of the first council of Buddha’s own disciples who didn’t become an arhat. He was Buddha’s attendant. He heard every word that Buddha taught, and memorized them all, but he didn’t meditate much because he was too busy.
Some time after Buddha’s death, there was a meeting of all the arhats, but since Ananda wasn’t an arhat he couldn’t go. So he kept meditating, trying at the last minute to become awakened, and it got to be midnight, 2, 3 o’clock in the morning of the first council of Buddhist arhats, but still he couldn’t make it, even though he was the repository of all of Buddha’s words. All the other arhats wanted him to go, but he couldn’t since he wasn’t an arhat.
Finally it got to be 3:45 in the morning, 15 minutes before the 4:00 wakeup call. Finally,Ananda just gave up and said, “Oh ********, I’m not an arhat.” Then he got awakened, because he saw things as they were. It was the end of the struggle. No more trying to become an arhat, and he became an arhat.
Many Buddhist traditions teach this story. That says something that is being yourself, rather than to mere doing and self-improvement. It expresses clear vision, seeing things just as they are, rather than as we’d like them to be. It is a lovely, timeless story.
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Press information Bureau
(C.M. Information Campus)
Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.
Impending decision on Sri Ram Janmbhoomi- Babari Masjid case: Maintain law and order at all costs CM tells officers
My Government will not compromise on law and order
—Mayawati
CM appeals people to maintain peace and beware of mischievous elements
Lucknow: September 20, 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati has strictly directed
the officers to maintain law and order at all costs all over the State as the
decision on Sri Ram Janmbhoomi- Babari Masjid case was possible any
time. She directed them to implement an integrated plan to maintain peace
all over the State. She also appealed to the people of the State to maintain
peace and cautioned them to remain careful against the mischievous
elements.
The Chief Minister extensively reviewed the law and order of the
State at a meeting held at her official residence here today. She asked the
officers to take tough action against those who try to disturb the peace and
law and order of the State. Directing the administrative and intelligence
set-up of the State to remain alert and keep an eye on the situation all
over the State, she said that her government never compromised on the
issue of law and order. She asked them to control the spread of rumours.
The CM extensively reviewed the law and order of all the 72 district
of the State. She also reviewed the security of important religious, social
and historical places apart from other sensitive spots. She also discussed
the points which had emerged from the district-wise tours undertaken by
Principal Secretary Home, DGP and ADGP. It may be recalled that in the
light of the CM
’s order these senior officers toured all the districts of the
State and reviewed the law and order of every district with the senior
officers there.
The CM said that almost two months ago the government came to
know that decision on Ayodhya issue was possible in the Hon
’ble High
Court. Since then the government was making special efforts to maintain
law and order in the State. The Government was making all possible efforts
to ensure that the communal forces could not disturb the law and order of
the State. The State Government had been apprising the Central
Government of the entire situation continuously. In this light, it had sent
DGP to New Delhi to discuss the situation with the Union Home Secretary.
She said that her government was very serious towards maintaining the
law and order of the State and she was herself reviewing the situation form
time to time.
The officers, at the meeting, said that in the light of the impending
decision on Ayodhya issue, the State Government had been continuously
demanding Central Security Forces since 2 August 2010. They said that
458 companies of Central Security Forces had been demanded from the
Centre through a letter dated 6 August 2010, so that any untoward
situation could be handled. Another 143 companies of Central Security
Forces were demanded from the Centre from a letter dated 1 September
2010 to protect the disputed site at Ayodhya. About 29 companies of the
same were demanded through a letter dated 1 September 2010 for the
security of the Hon
’ble High Court campuses situated in Allahabad and
Lucknow. Twelve companies of RAF were also demanded through a letter
dated 6 September 2010 to maintain peace and order. A total of 642
companies had been demanded from the Centre.
They said that only 52 companies of Central Security Forces had
been allocated for Uttar Pradesh. They said that it was not enough to deal
with any possible difficult situation arising out of this sensitive issue.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister also reviewed the security of
High Court campuses situated in Allahabad and Lucknow. The officers said
that according to the orders of the Hon
’ble Supreme Court, the Central
Security Forces had been deployed at both the campuses of the Hon
’ble
High Court. It may be recalled that the State Government had requested
Centre to provide 29 companies of Central Security Forces for the security
of both the campuses of Hon
’ble High Court.
The Cabinet Secretary Mr. Shashank Shekhar Singh, Principal
Secretary Home Kunwar Fateh Bahadur, DGP Mr. Karam Veer Singh, ADGP
(law and order) Mr. Braj Lal and other senior officers were present at the
meeting.
*********
Irrigation Minister Mr. Naseemuddin Siddiqui conducts aerial survey and spot inspection of flood-affected
districts on directives of Hon
’ble C.M.
Rs. 20 crore additional amount immediately provided to flood-affected districts on directives of Hon
’ble C.M.
Lucknow : September 20, 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati Ji directed the
officers of Irrigation Department and district administration to carry out
relief works in the flood-affected areas of Bijnore, Rampur, Moradabad,
Shahjahanpur, Farrukhabad, Mathura, Bareilly and Muzaffar Nagar
districts on war-footing. The floods in western U.P. have been caused by
the release of huge quantity of water by Uttarakhand. She said that the
State Government would not allow paucity of funds to affect the rescue
and relief works. She said that the relief material should reach the floodvictims
quickly. She said that any laxity in relief works would not be
tolerated and the responsibility of the concerning officers would be fixed.
The Hon
’ble Chief Minister had held an emergency meeting at her
official residence here yesterday to review the implementation of rescue
and relief works and to discuss the ways to deal with the flood situation.
She had directed Irrigation Minister Mr. Naseemuddin Siddiqui to conduct
aerial survey and spot inspection of the relief works being carried out in
various flood-affected districts. In compliance with orders of the Hon
’ble
C.M., the Irrigation Minister undertook aerial survey of Bijnore, Rampur,
Jyotiba Phoole Nagar and Moradabad districts and held meetings with the
officers. After returning from the survey he apprised Hon
’ble C.M. of the
inferences of the trip.
Reviewing the flood situation, Hon
’ble Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati Ji
said that the flood victims should be taken to secured places and people
trapped in flood waters should be airlifted and taken to safer places.
Arrangement of their food, etc. should also be ensured. She said that the
officers of the Irrigation Department should keep a constant vigil on the
flood control structures. They should also ensure that embankments and
flood control structure were not damaged and if any damage was
detected then the district administration should be informed immediately.
The Hon
’ble C.M. Ji directed the concerning officers to ensure that
the flood affected families were kept in camps and proper arrangement of
their food was also ensured. She directed them to take people trapped in
flood waters to safer places through motor-boats and helicopters.
Besides, she directed the local bodies and medical and health department
to undertake vaccination drive to prevent the outbreak of infectious
diseases. She also directed the officers to ensure proper supply of fodder
in flood-affected areas.
Ms. Mayawati Ji directed the officers of the P.W.D. and Irrigation
Department to assess the damage caused to roads and embankments by
the floods and submit estimate for repairs at the earliest. She directed
them to repair the roads at the earliest, so that the traffic could ply
smoothly. She directed the D.M.s of the flood-affected districts to assess
the loss of crop because of floods and submit its report to the
Government. She directed the officers to ensure supply of clean drinking
water in the flood affected areas and ensure that the de-funct handpumps
were repaired.
The Hon
’ble C.M. Ji directed the officers to drop food packets and
tarpaulin from the helicopters in the areas where people had been
trapped in the flood waters.
On the directives of the Hon
’ble C.M. Ji, an additional amount of Rs.
20 crore had been provided to the flood-affected districts. On her
directives, the representatives of the State Government attended a
meeting convened by the Cabinet Secretary of the Government of India
and demanded that the Air Force should be directed to provide
helicopters whenever the D.M.s made a request to protect the people.
The State Government requested the Government of India to
provide police force to carry out rescue-relief works in flood-affected
districts. The GOI was informed that the districts of Uttar Pradesh were
affected by flood waters released by Uttarakhand. Therefore, the motorboats
of the NDRF should be provided for rescue works. The Principal
Secretary Mr. Kishan Singh Atoriya accompanied Mr. Naseemuddin
Siddiqui during the survey.
**********
Conduct relief works in flood-affected areas of western U.P. on war-footing
— C.M.
Rs. 65 crore released for flood-affected districts
C.M. directs officers to maintain constant vigil on dams, barrages and embankments
Lucknow : September 19, 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati directed the
officers of Irrigation Department and district administration to carry
out relief works in the flood-affected areas of Bijnore, Rampur,
Moradabad, Shahjahanpur, Farrukhabad, Mathura and Bareilly
districts of western U.P. on war-footing. The floods in western U.P.
have been caused by the release of huge quantity of water by
Uttarakhand and the C.M. seriously reviewed the flood situation of
the above districts in this light.
The Chief Minister held an emergency meeting at her official
residence here today to review the flood situation of western U.P.
She expressed her satisfaction that no loss of life had been reported
from the flood-affected areas so far. She directed the officers of the
Irrigation Department to monitor the security of all the barrages,
embankments etc. round-the-clock. She said that the affected
families should be taken to secured places and should be kept in
camps.
Ms. Mayawati said that the affected families should be
provided relief material immediately. Releasing Rs. 65 crore for all
flood-affected districts, she directed the D.M.s of Rampur and
Bijnore districts to airlift people trapped in the floods. She hoped
that the N.D.R.F. (National Disaster Relief Force) would provide
adequate number of motor-boats. She directed the D.G.P. to deploy
P.A.C. battalions in flood-affected districts. She said that diversions
should be immediately created at the roads which had been eroded
by floods, so that the traffic could pass through smoothly.
The Chief Minister directed Irrigation Minister Mr. Nasimuddin
Siddiqui to conduct survey of the flood-affected districts and review
the relief works as well.
It may be recalled that owing to heavy rains in Uttarkhand
huge amount of water overflowed from Bhim Goda barrage situated
on Ganga River in Haridwar, Kalagarh dam on Ramganga River and
Ram Nagar barrage constructed on Kosi River. Record 6.6 lakh
cusecs of water passed through Ganga in 1924. In 1978, about
4.58 lakh cusecs of water was released, while in year 2010 about
4.78 lakh cusecs of water has been released and Ganga had
crossed the danger mark and it had risen 2.30 meters above it.
Likewise, the water level of the Kalagarh dam, which had
been constructed in 1974-75, never crossed the danger level. About
1.98 lakh cusecs of water had been released in Ramganga River,
which is the highest amount of water released so far. A maximum
of 1.6 lakh cusecs of water was released from barrage situated at
Kosi River in Ram Nagar. Sharda River had also been causing floods
and about 3.80 lakh cusecs water had passed from Banbasa
barrage. The flood situation in Yamuna River had re-emerged as 06
lakh cusecs of water had been released in the river from
Hathinikund barrage.
The Cabinet Secretary Mr. Shashank Shekhar Singh, Chief
Secretary Mr. Atul Kumar Gupta, Additional Cabinet Secretary Mr.
Net Ram, Principal Secretary Irrigation Mr. K.S. Atoriya, Principal
Secretary Revenue Mr. K.K. Sinha and other senior officers were
present at the meeting.
**********
09/20/10
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DHAMMA
NIBBANA PART VI – The Thirty-one Planes of Existence
· The Thirty-one Planes of Existence
The inescapable law of kamma guarantees that each and every one of our actions — whether it be of body, speech, or mind — has consequences in line with the skillfulness or unskillfulness of that action. We can often witness this process first-hand in our own lives, even if the effects may not be immediately apparent. But the Buddha also taught that our actions have effects that extend far beyond our present life, determining the quality of rebirth we can expect after death: act in wholesome, skillful ways and you are destined for a favorable rebirth; act in unwholesome, unskillful ways and an unpleasant rebirth awaits. Thus we coast for aeons through samsara, propelled from one birth to the next by the quality of our choices and our actions.
The suttas describe thirty-one distinct “planes” or “realms” of existence into which beings can be reborn during this long wandering through samsara. These range from the extraordinarily dark, grim, and painful hell realms all the way up to the most sublime, refined, and exquisitely blissful heaven realms. Existence in every realm is impermanent; in Buddhist cosmology there is no eternal heaven or hell. Beings are born into a particular realm according to both their past kamma and their kamma at the moment of death. When the kammic force that propelled them to that realm is finally exhausted, they pass away, taking rebirth once again elsewhere according to their kamma. And so the wearisome cycle continues.
The realms of existence are customarily divided into three distinct “worlds” (loka), listed here in descending order of refinement:
· The Immaterial World (arupa-loka). Consists of four realms that are accessible to those who pass away while meditating in the formless jhanas.
· The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka). Consists of sixteen realms whose inhabitants (thedevas) experience extremely refined degrees of mental pleasure. These realms are accessible to those who have attained at least some level of jhana and who have thereby managed to (temporarily) suppress hatred and ill-will. They are said to possess extremely refined bodies of pure light. The highest of these realms, the Pure Abodes, are accessible only to those who have attained to “non-returning,” the third stage of Awakening. The Fine-Material World and the Immaterial World together constitute the“heavens” (sagga).
· The Sensuous World (kama-loka). Consists of eleven realms in which experience — both pleasurable and not — is dominated by the five senses. Seven of these realms are favorable destinations, and include our own human realm as well as several realms occupied by devas. The lowest realms are the four “bad” destinations, which include the animal and hell realms.
It is pointless to debate whether these realms are real or simply fanciful metaphors that describe the various mind-states we might experience in this lifetime. The real message of this cosmology is this: unless we take steps to break free of the iron grip of kamma, we are doomed to wander aimlessly from one state to another, with true peace and satisfaction forever out of reach. The Buddha’s revolutionary discovery came in finding that there is a way to break free: the Noble Eightfold Path, which equips us with precisely the tools we need to escape from this wearisome wandering, once and for all, to a true and unshakeable freedom.
The information on this page was assembled from a variety of sources. In the interests of economizing space I have not attributed each fact to its respective source.
I. The Immaterial World (arupa-loka)
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Realm
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Comments
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Cause of rebirth here
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(31) Neither-perception-nor-non-perception(nevasaññanasaññayatanupaga deva)
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The inhabitants of these realms are possessed entirely of mind. Having no physical body, they are unable to hear Dhamma teachings.
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Fourth formless jhana
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(30) Nothingness(akiñcaññayatanupaga deva)
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Third formless jhana
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(29) Infinite Consciousness(viññanañcayatanupaga deva)
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Second formless jhana
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(28) Infinite Space(akasanañcayatanupaga deva)
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First formless jhana
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II. The Fine-Material World (rupa-loka)
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Realm
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Comments
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Cause of rebirth here
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(27) Peerless devas (akanittha deva)
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These are the five Pure Abodes(suddhavasa), which are accessible only to non-returners (anagami) andarahants. Beings who become non-returners in other planes are reborn here, where they attain arahantship.
Among its inhabitants is Brahma Sahampati, who begs the Buddha to teach Dhamma to the world (SN 6.1).
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Fourth jhana. (See, e.g., AN 4.123.)
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(26) Clear-sighted devas (sudassi deva)
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(25) Beautiful devas (sudassa deva)
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(24) Untroubled devas (atappa deva)
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(23) Devas not Falling Away (aviha deva)
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(22) Unconscious beings(asaññasatta)
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Only body is present; no mind.
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(21) Very Fruitful devas (vehapphala deva)
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Beings in these planes enjoy varying degrees of jhanic bliss.
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(20) Devas of Refulgent Glory(subhakinna deva)
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Third jhana(highest degree). (See, e.g., AN 4.123.)
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(19) Devas of Unbounded Glory(appamanasubha deva)
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Third jhana(medium degree)
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(18) Devas of Limited Glory(parittasubha deva)
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Third jhana (minor degree)
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(17) Devas of Streaming Radiance(abhassara deva)
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Second jhana(highest degree). (See, e.g., AN 4.123.)
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(16) Devas of Unbounded Radiance(appamanabha deva)
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Second jhana(medium degree)
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(15) Devas of Limited Radiance(parittabha deva)
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Second jhana(minor degree)
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(14) Great Brahmas (Maha brahma)
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One of this realm’s most famous inhabitants is the Great Brahma, a deity whose delusion leads him to regard himself as the all-powerful, all-seeing creator of the universe (DN 11).
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First jhana(highest degree)
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(13) Ministers of Brahma (brahma-purohita deva)
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Beings in these planes enjoy varying degrees of jhanic bliss.
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First jhana(medium degree)
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(12) Retinue of Brahma (brahma-parisajja deva)
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First jhana (minor degree). (See, e.g., AN 4.123.)
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III. The Sensuous World (kama-loka)
HAPPY DESTINATIONS (SUGATI)
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Realm
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Comments
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Cause of rebirth here
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(11) Devas Wielding Power over the Creation of Others (paranimmita-vasavatti deva)
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These devas enjoy sense pleasures created by others for them. Mara, the personification of delusion and desire, lives here.
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· Ten wholesome actions (MN 41)
· Generosity
· The development of virtue andwisdom (AN 10.177)
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(10) Devas Delighting in Creation(nimmanarati deva)
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These devas delight in the sense objects of their own creation.
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(9) Contented devas (tusita deva)
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A realm of pure delight and gaiety. Bodhisattas abide here prior to their final human birth. This is where the bodhisatta Maitreya (Metteya), the next Buddha, is said to dwell.
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(8) Yama devas (yama deva)
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These devas live in the air, free of all difficulties.
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(7) The Thirty-three Gods (tavatimsa deva)
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Sakka, a devotee of the Buddha, presides over this realm. Many devas dwelling here live in mansions in the air.
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(6) Devas of the Four Great Kings(catumaharajika deva)
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Home of the gandhabbas, the celestial musicians, and the yakkhas, tree spirits of varying degrees of ethical purity. The latter are analogous to the goblins, trolls, and fairies of Western fairy tales.
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(5) Human beings (manussa loka)
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You are here (for now).
Rebirth as a human being is extraordinarily rare (SN 56.48). It is also extraordinarily precious, as its unique balance of pleasure and pain (SN 35.135) facilitates the development of virtue and wisdom to the degree necessary to set one free from the entire cycle of rebirths.
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· The development of virtue andwisdom (AN 10.177)
· The attainment of stream-entry(sotapatti)guarantees that all future rebirths will be in the human or higher realms.
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STATES OF DEPRIVATION (APAYA)
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Realm
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Comments
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Cause of rebirth here
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(4) Asuras (asura)
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The demons — “titans” — that dwell here are engaged in relentless conflict with each other.
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· Ten unwholesome actions (MN 10)
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(3) Hungry Shades/Ghosts(peta loka)
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Ghosts and unhappy spirits wander hopelessly about this realm, searching in vain for sensual fulfillment.
Read Ajaan Lee’s colorful description of this realm.
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· Ten unwholesome actions (MN 10)
· Lack of virtue, holding to wrong views (AN 10.177)
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(2) Animals(tiracchana yoni)
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This realm includes all the non-human forms of life that are visible to us under ordinary circumstances: animals, insects, fish, birds, worms, etc.
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· Ten unwholesome actions (MN 10)
· Lack of virtue, holding to wrong views. If one is generous to monks and nuns, however, one may be reborn as an “ornamented” animal (i.e., a bird with bright plumage; a horse with attractive markings, etc.;AN 10.177).
· Behaving like an animal (MN 57)
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(1) Hell (niraya)
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These are realms of unimaginable suffering and anguish (described in graphic detail in MN 129 and 130). Should not be confused with theeternal hell proposed by other religions, since one’s time here is — as it is in every realm — temporary.
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· Ten unwholesome actions (MN 10)
· Lack of virtue, holding to wrong views (AN 10.177)
· Murdering your parents, murdering an arahant, injuring the Buddha, or creating a schism in the Sangha (AN 5.129)
· Being quarrelsome and annoying to others (Snp II.6)
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Sources:
· Buddhist Dictionary, by Nyanatiloka Mahathera (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1980).
· The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction (fourth edition), by R.H. Robinson & W.L. Johnson (Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1997).
· The Long Discourses of the Buddha (Introduction), translated by Maurice Walshe (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1987).
· A Manual of Abhidhamma, by Ven. Narada Thera (Kuala Lumpur: Buddhist Missionary Society, 1979).
· The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha (Introduction), translated by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995).
· Teacher of the Devas (Wheel Publication 414/416), by Susan Elbaum Jootla (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1997).
· The Three Worlds (wall chart), compiled by Ven. Acaro Suvanno (printed for free distribution by devotees and Mr & Mrs Lim Say Hoe and family).
See also:
· Intentional Action (Kamma)
· Heavens (sagga)
· The Round of Rebirth (samsara)
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· “Nibbana,” by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
· “A Verb for Nirvana,” by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
· “Nibbana” in the General Index
· Peace Quotes
· There can be no peace without law.
· Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.
– Buddha (560-483 B.C.)
· Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. - Buddha
· Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill. - Buddha
· Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely. - Buddha
· Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure. – Buddha
· They are not following dhamma who resort to violence to achieve their purpose. But those who lead others through nonviolent means, knowing right and wrong, may be called guardians of the dhamma. Those who really seek the path to Awaken-ness.
· He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye. – Buddha
· In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves. - Buddha
· Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. = Buddha
· You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger. – Buddha
· A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden. - Buddha
· When one has the feeling of dislike for evil, when one feels tranquil, one finds pleasure in listening to good teachings; when one has these feelings and appreciates them, one is free of fear. - Buddha
· Whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings…that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide. - Buddha
· Peace is the marriage of the people and the planet, with all attendant vows.
· Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are.
· There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they grow up in peace.
· There is no time left for anything but to make peace work a dimension of our every waking activity.
· Democracy is an objective. Democratization is a process. Democratization serves the cause of peace because it offers the possibility of justice and of progressive change without force.
· Peace is the only battle worth waging.
· We know how to organize warfare, but do we know how to act when confronted with peace?
· Human Beings, indeed all sentient beings, have the right to pursue happiness and live in peace and freedom.
· If you want to make peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.
· Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
· I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.
· It is possible to live in peace.
· We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.
· Peace is every step.
· If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.
· Peace-making is a healing process and it begins with me, but it does not end there.
· Nothing is more precious than peace. Peace is the most basic starting point for the advancement of humankind.
· One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but that it is a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.
· If there is to be peace in the world,
· There must be peace in the nations.
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· If there is to be peace in the nations,
· There must be peace in the cities.
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· If there is to be peace in the cities,
· There must be peace between neighbors.
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· If there is to be peace between neighbors,
· There must be peace in the home.
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· If there is to be peace in the home,
· There must be peace in the heart.
· All we are saying is give peace a chance.
· Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.
· There is no way to peace; peace is the way.
· This is the way of peace: overcome evil with good, and falsehood with truth, and hatred with love.
· Five enemies of peace inhabit us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.
· To reach peace, teach peace.
· If you want peace, work for justice.
· Peace will be victorious.
· Peace is not the product of terror or fear.
Peace is not the silence of cemeteries.
Peace is not the silent revolt of violent repression.
Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution
of all to the good of all.
Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity.
It is right and it is duty.
· It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.
· The structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man or one party or one nation. It must be a peace which rests on the cooperative effort of the whole world.
· In the hearts of people today there is a deep longing for peace. When the true spirit of peace is thoroughly dominant, it becomes an inner experience with unlimited possibilities. Only when this really happens - when the spirit of peace awakens and takes possession of men’s hearts, can humanity be saved from perishing.
· Peace is always beautiful.
GOOD GOVERNANCE·
There can be no peace without law
Govt lends a helping hand to poor in state
LUCKNOW: In a latest bid to reach out to the masses and bring the poorest of poor within its fold, the Uttar Pradesh government has launched three schemes that are set to benefit construction workers in the state. Initiated by the department of Labour, the schemes will extend maternity benefits and accident insurance to construction labourers in the state.
The benefits, however, can only be availed by those construction workers who register themselves at the offices of labour departments at the city, tehsil or block levels. The labourers can apply for these schemes by filling the
application forms available in the district labour, block development and tehsil offices. An official from the Labour department said: “Most labourers are not registered or protected under any schemes. Their identities are not known and therefore, it is difficult to extend any benefits to them. With registration, it will be possible to protect their interests.'’
Under the scheme, women will be brought under a maternity benefit plan in which each beneficiary will be entitled to a payout of Rs 3,000. The money, however, will be released to the beneficiaries upon submission of birth certificates for their children at the offices concerned.
A compensation of Rs 40,000 will also be given to registered construction workers in case they meet with accidents that lead to permanent disability or death. Under this scheme, referred to as Accident Aide Scheme, in cases of partial disability, families will be given a sum of Rs 20,000.
The amounts paid out to labourers under these schemes, however, will over and above the benefits accrued by them from the existing Workers Compensation Act and Workers State Insurance Scheme.
Apart from the maternity benefits and labourer’s insurance against accidents, the government has also launched an infant benefit scheme for registered labourers. Under this scheme, women will be entitled to a payment of Rs 4,000 in case of a girl and Rs 3,000 for a male child. In order to regulate the number of births per family, the department has set an upper limit of two children, beyond which the benefits will not be extended. The payments will be made to families as one lump sum and will be applicable for two years.
http://sify.com/news/uttar-pradesh-mounts-vigil-ahead-of-ayodhya-verdict-news-national-kjttEdajfdb.html
Uttar Pradesh mounts vigil ahead of Ayodhya verdict
Lucknow: After the central government deputed around 3,500 paramilitary personnel against the 63,000 sought by Uttar Pradesh to boost security ahead of Sep 24 verdict on the Ayodhya dispute, the state government is doing its bit to mount vigil in 44 trouble-prone districts, an official said on Sunday.
The government has pooled all its resources to put in place an unprecedented security net around all sensitive places across the sprawling state, including capital Lucknow where a flag march was staged by security personnel Sunday evening, the official said.
This follows repeated high-level meetings both at the level of Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh as well as Principal Home secretary Kunwar Fateh Bahadur.
State police chief Karamveer Singh and his deputy Brij Lal have assessed the situation in Ayodhya as well as a number of other sensitive places across the state.
Unfazed by the unavailability of the central forces in accordance with the state’s requirements, the state has managed to put its security plans in place.
‘As against our requirement, the central government has sent just about 3,500 personnel of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Sep 16,’ Additional Director General of Police Brij Lal said.
After identifying 19 of the state’s 71 districts as ‘hyper-sensitive’ and 25 as ’sensitive’, the available force has been spread out in these areas. The state administration has already imposed restrictions on the assembly of five or more people in these areas.
‘Processions have been banned not only in and around Ayodhya and Faizabad, but also in each of the 44 hyper-sensitive and sensitive districts,’ he said.
A special contingent of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) undertook its first flag march in Ayodhya Saturday.
‘Foolproof arrangements have to be in place to keep an effective check on any adverse fallout of the court verdict,’ Lal said.
‘All available resources were being utilised and assistance of common citizens was also being taken to maintain peace and harmony…we are ready to face any law and order problem,’ Lal said.
‘By the time the CRPF arrived, we had already planned deployment of 150 companies of the state provincial armed constabulary (PAC),’ he said.
‘That excludes the CRPF and other paramilitary forces deployed permanently inside the precincts of the disputed Ramjanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid complex in Ayodhya,’ he said.
The remaining deployments included 82,000 police constables, 80,000 home guards and 20,000 personnel of the Pradeshik Raksha Dal (PRD).
‘Public address systems linked with wireless are being installed at 700 police stations in the state, which will help police to connect directly with the public,’ Lal said.
Besides the police deployment, the public is also being involved in maintaining peace and communal harmony.
‘Government employees including lekhpals, teachers, village development officers and health department staff have been roped in to interact and coordinate with people in villages,’ he said, adding that an extensive communication plan has also been chalked out.
09/19/10
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LESSON 34 DHAMMA NIBBANA PART V The Samsara 19 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
“Therefore your duty is the contemplation: ‘This is stress…This is the origination of stress…This is the cessation of stress…This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.’” — SN 56.48
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NIBBANA PART V-Samsara
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“Samsara”快樂少林
Sufferings In Cycles Of Rebirth
The Round of Rebirth
samsara
Elements of the Wheel
SAMSARA! I mean… samsaraah..
“Hi” - “Wait ’till I get you” - “Help!” - “Watch out!”
What emotional state is visible from this gesture? (source)
An ocean of tears
“Which is greater, the tears you have shed while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — or the water in the four great oceans?… This is the greater: the tears you have shed…
“Long have you (repeatedly) experienced the death of a mother. The tears you have shed over the death of a mother while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — are greater than the water in the four great oceans.
“Long have you (repeatedly) experienced the death of a father… the death of a brother… the death of a sister… the death of a son… the death of a daughter… loss with regard to relatives… loss with regard to wealth… loss with regard to disease. The tears you have shed over loss with regard to disease while transmigrating & wandering this long, long time — crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing, being separated from what is pleasing — are greater than the water in the four great oceans.
“Why is that? From an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by cravingare transmigrating & wandering on. Long have you thus experienced stress, experienced pain, experienced loss, swelling the cemeteries — enough to become disenchanted with all fabricated things, enough to become dispassionate, enough to be released.”
— SN 15.3
This precious human birth
“Monks, suppose that this great earth were totally covered with water, and a man were to toss a yoke with a single hole there. A wind from the east would push it west, a wind from the west would push it east. A wind from the north would push it south, a wind from the south would push it north. And suppose a blind sea-turtle were there. It would come to the surface once every one hundred years. Now what do you think: would that blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole?”
“It would be a sheer coincidence, lord, that the blind sea-turtle, coming to the surface once every one hundred years, would stick his neck into the yoke with a single hole.”
“It’s likewise a sheer coincidence that one obtains the human state. It’s likewise a sheer coincidence that a Tathagata, worthy & rightly self-awakened, arises in the world. It’s likewise a sheer coincidence that a doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world. Now, this human state has been obtained. A Tathagata, worthy & rightly self-awakened, has arisen in the world. A doctrine & discipline expounded by a Tathagata appears in the world.
“Therefore your duty is the contemplation: ‘This is stress…This is the origination of stress…This is the cessation of stress…This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.’”
— SN 56.48
Why do we wander in samsara?
“It’s because of not understanding and not penetrating four things that we have wandered & transmigrated on such a long, long time, you & I. Which four?
“It’s because of not understanding and not penetrating noble virtue that we have wandered & transmigrated on such a long, long time, you & I.
“It’s because of not understanding and not penetrating noble concentration that we have wandered & transmigrated on such a long, long time, you & I.
“It’s because of not understanding and not penetrating noble discernment that we have wandered & transmigrated on such a long, long time, you & I.
“It’s because of not understanding and not penetrating noble release that we have wandered & transmigrated on such a long, long time, you & I.
“But when noble virtue is understood & penetrated, when noble concentration… noble discernment… noble release is understood & penetrated, then craving for becoming is destroyed, the guide to becoming (craving & attachment) is ended, there is now no further becoming.”
— AN 4.1
See also:
· Heaven (sagga)
· Intentional action (kamma)
· The Four Noble Truths
· The Thirty-one Planes of Existence
· “Samsara,” by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
· “Samsara Divided by Zero,” by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
Protection Through Satipatthana
by
Nyanaponika Thera
Once the Buddha told his monks the following story (Satipatthana Samyutta, No. 19):
There was once a pair of jugglers who performed their acrobatic feats on a bamboo pole. One day the master said to his apprentice: “Now get on my shoulders and climb up the bamboo pole.” When the apprentice had done so, the master said: “Now protect me well and I shall protect you! By protecting and watching each other in that way, we shall be able to show our skill, make a good profit and safely get down from the bamboo pole.” But the apprentice said: “Not so, master! You, O master, should protect yourself, and I too shall protect myself. Thus self-protected and self-guarded we shall safely do our feats.”
This is the right way,” said the Blessed One and spoke further as follows:
“It is just as the apprentice said: ‘I shall protect myself’ — in that way the foundations of mindfulness (satipatthana) should be practiced. ‘I shall protect others’ — in that way the foundations of mindfulness should be practiced. Protecting oneself, one protects others; protecting others, one protects oneself.
“And how does one, in protecting oneself, protect others? By the repeated and frequent practice of meditation (asevanaya bhavanaya bahulikammena).
“And how does one, in protecting others, protect oneself? By patience and forbearance, by a non-violent and harmless life, by loving kindness and compassion.”
This sutta belongs to the considerable number of important and eminently practical teachings of the Buddha which are still hidden like buried treasure, unknown and unused. Yet this text has an important message for us, and the fact that it is stamped with the royal seal of satipatthana gives it an additional claim to our attention.
Individual and Society
The sutta deals with the relations between ourselves and our fellow beings, between individual and society. It sums up in a succinct way the Buddhist attitude to the problems of individual and social ethics, of egoism and altruism. The gist of it is contained in those two concise sentences:
“Protecting oneself, one protects others.” (Attanam rakkhanto param rakkhati.)
“Protecting others, one protects oneself.” (Param rakkhanto attanam rakkhati.)
These two sentences are supplementary and should not be taken or quoted separately. Nowadays, when social service is so greatly stressed, people may be tempted to support their ideas by quoting only the second sentence. But any such one-sided quotation would misrepresent the Buddha’s standpoint. It has to be remembered that in our story the Buddha expressly approved the words of the apprentice, that one has first to watch carefully one’s own steps if one wishes to protect others from harm. He who himself is sunk in the mud cannot help others out of it. In that sense, self-protection forms the indispensable basis for the protection and help given to others. But self-protection is not selfish protection. It is self-control, ethical and spiritual self-development.
There are some great truths which are so comprehensive and profound that they seem to have an ever-expanding range of significance that grows with one’s own range of understanding and practicing them. Such truths are applicable on various levels of understanding, and are valid in various contexts of our life. After reaching the first or second level, one will be surprised that again and again new vistas open themselves to our understanding, illumined by that same truth. This also holds for the great twin truths of our text which we shall consider now in some detail.
“Protecting oneself, one protects others” — the truth of this statement begins at a very simple and practical level. This first material level of the truth is so self-evident that we need say no more than a few words about it. It is obvious that the protection of our own health will go far in protecting the health of others in our environment, especially where contagious diseases are concerned. Caution and circumspection in all our doings and movements will protect others from the harm that may come to them through our carelessness and negligence. By careful driving, abstention from alcohol, self-restraint in situations that might lead to violence — in all these and many other ways we shall protect others by protecting ourselves.
The Ethical Level
We come now to the ethical level of that truth. Moral self-protection will safeguard others, individuals and society, against our own unrestrained passions and selfish impulses. If we permit the “three roots” of evil — greed, hate and delusion — to take a firm hold in our hearts, then their outgrowths will spread far and wide like a jungle creeper, suffocating much healthy and noble growth all around. But if we protect ourselves against these three roots, our fellow beings too will be safe. They will be safe from our reckless greed for possessions and power, from our unrestrained lust and sensuality, from our envy and jealousy; safe from the disruptive consequences of our hate and enmity which may be destructive or even murderous; safe from the outbursts of our anger and from the resulting atmosphere of antagonism and conflict which may make life unbearable for them.
The harmful effects our greed and hate have upon others are not limited to the times when they become passive objects or victims of our hate, or when their possessions become the object of our greed. Both greed and hate have an infectious power which vastly multiplies their evil effects. If we ourselves think of nothing else than to crave and to grasp, to acquire and possess, to hold and to cling, then we may rouse or strengthen these possessive instincts in others. Our bad conduct may become the standard of behavior for those around us — for our children, our friends, our colleagues. Our own conduct may induce others to join us in the common satisfaction of rapacious desires; or we may arouse in them feelings of resentment and competitiveness. If we are full of sensuality, we may also kindle the fire of lust in them. Our own hate may provoke them to hate and vengeance. We may also ally ourselves with others or instigate them to common acts of hate and enmity. Greed and hate are, indeed, like contagious diseases. If we protect ourselves against these evil infections, we shall to some extent at least also protect others.
Protection through Wisdom
As to the third root of evil, delusion or ignorance we know very well how much harm may be done to others through the stupidity, thoughtlessness, prejudices, illusions and delusions of a single person.
Without wisdom and knowledge, attempts to protect oneself and others will usually fail. One will see the danger only when it is too late, one will not make provision for the future; one will not know the right and effective means of protection and help. Therefore, self-protection through wisdom and knowledge is of the greatest importance. By acquiring true wisdom and knowledge, we shall protect others from the harmful consequences of our own ignorance, prejudices, infectious fanaticism and delusions. History shows us that great and destructive mass delusions have often been kindled by a single individual or a small number of people. Self-protection through wisdom and knowledge will protect others from the pernicious effect of such influences.
We have briefly indicated how our own private life may have a strong impact on the lives of others. If we leave unresolved the actual or potential sources of social evil within ourselves, our external social activity will be either futile or markedly incomplete. Therefore, if we are moved by a spirit of social responsibility, we must not shirk the hard task of moral and spiritual self-development. Preoccupation with social activities must not be made an excuse or escape from the first duty, to tidy up one’s own house first.
On the other hand, he who earnestly devotes himself to moral self-improvement and spiritual self-development will be a strong and active force for good in the world, even if he does not engage in any external social service. His silent example alone will give help and encouragement to many, by showing that the ideals of a selfless and harmless life can actually be lived and are not only topics of sermons.
The Meditative Level
We proceed now to the next higher level in the interpretation of our text. It is expressed in the following words of the sutta: “And how does one, by protecting oneself, protect others? By the repeated and frequent practice of meditation.” Moral self-protection will lack stability as long as it remains a rigid discipline enforced after a struggle of motives and against conflicting habits of thought and behavior. Passionate desires and egotistic tendencies may grow in intensity if one tries to silence them by sheer force of will. Even if one temporarily succeeds in suppressing passionate or egotistic impulses, the unresolved inner conflict will impede one’s moral and spiritual progress and warp one’s character. Furthermore, inner disharmony caused by an enforced suppression of impulses will seek an outlet in external behavior. It may make the individual irritable, resentful, domineering and aggressive towards others. Thus harm may come to oneself as well as to others by a wrong method of self-protection. Only when moral self-protection has become a spontaneous function, when it comes as naturally as the protective closing of the eyelid against dust — only then will our moral stature provide real protection and safety for ourselves and others. This naturalness of moral conduct does not come to us as a gift from heaven. It has to be acquired by repeated practice and cultivation. Therefore our sutta says that it is by repeated practice that self-protection becomes strong enough to protect others too.
But if that repeated practice of the good takes place only on the practical, emotional and intellectual levels, its roots will not be firm and deep enough. Such repeated practice must also extend to the level of meditative cultivation. By meditation, the practical, emotional and intellectual motives of moral and spiritual self-protection will become our personal property which cannot easily be lost again. Therefore our sutta speaks here of bhavana, the meditative development of the mind in its widest sense. This is the highest form of protection which our world can bestow. He who has developed his mind by meditation lives in peace with himself and the world. From him no harm or violence will issue. The peace and purity which he radiates will have an inspiring, uplifting power and will be a blessing to the world. He will be a positive factor in society, even if he lives in seclusion and silence. When understanding for, and recognition of, the social value of a meditative life ceases in a nation, it will be one of the first symptoms of spiritual deterioration.
Protection of Others
We have now to consider the second part of the Buddha’s utterance, a necessary complement to the first: “Protecting others one protects oneself. And how? By patience and forbearance, by a non-violent and harmless life, by loving-kindness and compassion (khantiya avihimsaya mettataya anuddayataya).”
He whose relation to his fellow-beings is governed by these principles will protect himself better than he could with physical strength or with any mighty weapon. He who is patient and forbearing will avoid conflicts and quarrels, and will make friends of those for whom he has shown a patient understanding. He who does not resort to force or coercion will, under normal conditions, rarely become an object of violence himself as he provokes no violence from others. And if he should encounter violence, he will bring it to an early end as he will not perpetuate hostility through vengeance. He who has love and compassion for all beings, and is free of enmity, will conquer the ill-will of others and disarm the violent and brutal. A compassionate heart is the refuge of the whole world.
We shall now better understand how those two complementary sentences of our text harmonize. Self-protection is the indispensable basis. But true self-protection is possible only if it does not conflict with the protection of others; for one who seeks self-protection at the expense of others will defile as well as endanger himself. On the other hand, protection of others must not conflict with the four principles of patience, non-violence, loving-kindness and compassion; it also must not interfere with their free spiritual development as it does in the case of various totalitarian doctrines. Thus in the Buddhist conception of self-protection all selfishness is excluded, and in the protection of others violence and interference have no place.
Self-protection and protection of others correspond to the great twin virtues of Buddhism, wisdom and compassion. Right self-protection is the expression of wisdom, right protection of others the expression of compassion. Wisdom and compassion, being the primary elements of Bodhi or Enlightenment, have found their highest perfection in the Fully Enlightened One, the Buddha. The insistence on their harmonious development is a characteristic feature of the entire Dhamma. We meet them in the four sublime states (brahmavihara), where equanimity corresponds to wisdom and self-protection, while loving-kindness, compassion and sympathetic joy correspond to compassion and the protection of others.
These two great principles of self-protection and protection of others are of equal importance to both individual and social ethics and bring the ends of both into harmony. Their beneficial impact, however, does not stop at the ethical level, but leads the individual upwards to the highest realization of the Dhamma, while at the same time providing a firm foundation for the welfare of society.
It is the writer’s belief that the understanding of those two great principles of self-protection and protection of others, as manifesting the twin virtues of wisdom and compassion, is of vital importance to Buddhist education, for young and old alike. They are the cornerstones of character building and deserve a central place in the present world wide endeavor for a Buddhist revival.
“I shall protect others” — thus should we establish our mindfulness, and guided by it devote ourselves to the practice of meditation, for the sake of our own liberation.
“I shall protect others” — thus should we establish our mindfulness, and guided by it regulate our conduct by patience, harmlessness, loving-kindness and compassion, for the welfare and happiness of many.
Time stands still
Help rebuild the paradise called Ladakh - the land where time stands still, the landscape against which any amateur photographer can return with images of a lifetime, finds itself at a crossroads.
A group of young monks lost in prayer, a string of prayer beads with the rudrakash contrasted by a rock of turquoise, a nomadic shepherd with mules, a kettle brewing warm tea, the frown lines of an elderly woman scripting its own tale of life and times in Ladakh… the photographs urge us to revisit the land that most of us would have or wanted to visit at least once in a lifetime.
Ladakh, the land where time stands still, the landscape against which any amateur photographer can return with images of a lifetime, finds itself at crossroads after incessant cloudbursts turned paradise to nightmare early August. The rocky terrains, glaciers, golden sands and crystal blue waters and most importantly its people are still gathering pieces of their lives, washed away by flash floods and mudslides that left behind a trail of destruction in villages.
Can we help?
Sure. One way to do it is to contribute, willingly, without checking if your contribution will help you save on tax. The other way is to bring home a photograph of Ladakh — its landscapes, people — from the ongoing exhibition at Kalakriti Art Gallery. SOS Ladakh Campaign, by NDTV Good Times, in association with the Hope Trust, has 118 photographs sourced from amateur and professional photographers, priced between Rs. 15,000 and 1.5 lakh rupees. The proceeds will go to the people of Ladakh.
The exhibition opened in New Delhi before coming to Hyderabad and will travel to Mumbai and Bangalore. Works of reputed photographers like Purkayastha Prabir, Amit Pasricha and Samar Jodha are juxtaposed with works of well-known personalities — director Kabir Khan, actors Arshad Warsi, Niel Nitin Mukesh, Deepti Naval and Purab Kohli.
Brick walled arches, moored boats that stand still against calm waters, a mirror image of barren branches against the blue waters, star trails and colonies nestled in a valley vividly tell us about the picturesque land. A work by Anu Malhotra is aptly titled ‘Road to Nirvana’. Anyone who has visited Ladakh will agree.
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Press Information Bureau
(C.M. Information Campus)
Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.
C.M. greets craftsmen and engineers on Vishwakarma Jayanti
Lucknow : September 16, 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ms.
Mayawati has greeted the craftsmen and engineers
of the State on the occasion of Vishwakarma
Jayanti.
In a greeting message, the Chief Minister said
that the technical experts had an important role in
the all-round development of the country and
society. Qualitative construction and development
is the symbol of prosperity, she added.
Ms. Mayawati has appealed to the engineers
to adopt latest techniques in construction works
and perform their duties with honesty and
commitment.
**********
Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.
– Buddha (560-483 B.C.)
Security stepped up in U.P.
According to a senior official of the U.P. police, the emphasis this time is on community policing and soliciting the cooperation of the public.
Security has been further intensified in sensitive places in Uttar Pradesh, including Ayodhya and Faizabad, in view of the verdict on the Babri Masjid title suit on September 24.
Forty companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been allotted to the Uttar Pradesh government and their deployment is almost complete. These are in addition to the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and the Rapid Action Force, civil police, village “chowkidars,” and government functionaries in the rural areas who have been pressed into service.
The maximum deployment of the Central forces and the PAC is in Faizabad, Lucknow, Meerut, Moradabad, Aligarh, Varanasi and Kanpur. The State had reportedly asked the Centre for 630 companies of Central forces, which means 6,300 personnel. But till now, only 40 companies of CRPF have been given.
According to a senior official of the U.P. police, the emphasis this time is on community policing and soliciting the cooperation of the public.
He said a comprehensive directory had been prepared containing the names and telephone numbers of the elderly and respected persons in the urban and rural areas. They would be in touch with the local police stations and conduct regular peace committee meetings in their areas.
“Although security measures are imperative, we don’t want to create panic among the people,” he said. The assistance of other government departments has also been sought by the police.
Reports suggested that some schools would be converted into makeshift jails in case of law and order problems.
U.P. police issue guidelines
KEEPING VIGIL: RAF personnel patrol a street in Ayodhya on Saturday as part of the tight security arrangements ahead of the court verdict.
Even as senior police officers tour various parts of Uttar Pradesh to assess the law and order situation ahead of the verdict on the Babri title suit this Friday, their colleagues at the police station-level are doing their bit to ensure that tensions do not rise in the days leading up to it.
At the police station here, a modest canopy shielded gun licence-holders from a harsh post-monsoon sun as the police station office-in-charge took the mike. His stentorian voice struggling to rise above the traffic flowing past on the national highway, the officer listed the dos and don’ts.
The first was for people to refrain from bringing out weapons from their houses. “No one from now on is going to display the weapons on the road or any kind of gathering you might choose to join. Also be wary of friends or relatives who wish to handle your firearm. Under no condition are you going to allow someone else to borrow your weapon.”
“Quash rumours”
The officer had more in store for them: become model citizens by quashing any rumours they might hear because, “after all many of you are from the armed forces.” And, count ammunition carefully and store it in a safe place. Inform police about taking weapon outside your area. “That way we can come to your aid if you are detained somewhere else. But let me tell you that we have been told not to listen to any sifarish [intercession] if you do not follow any of the points I have told you,” the officer rounded off.
The mood among the weapon licence-holders was introspective. “There will be people who will want to create trouble. It is up to us whether we join them or stay away from them,” said a bank security guard.
“The zeal of the previous stir is not there. Those who had participated in all this two decades ago are not going to come out this time. Nor are they going to allow their children to join them. Only a very few gained from the Ram Janam Bhoomi movement. The rest like us went back to our lives. The government here too is of a different type,” Jitender Singh Kundu of local daily Yug Karvat said.
The office-in-charge had the final word after seeing off the last of the gun licence-holders.
“We know they will not misuse their weapons. But when they are going to go back to their villages, they are going to tell others that we are serious about ensuring no incident takes place. Anyway, it is the media which is the most interested in the verdict. Apart from them no one is really bothered,” he said.
News channels to follow guidelines on Ayodhya
If the news broadcasters’ attempt to self-regulate themselves works, you will not be seeing endless footage of the Babri Masjid demolition playing on news bulletins this week.
The News Broadcasters’ Association (NBA) issued specific guidelines to its member-channels on their coverage of the Allahabad High Court’s judgment in the Ayodhya title suit, expected on September 24. In view of the “ultra-sensitive nature of the case…The telecast of any news relating to it should not be sensational, inflammatory or be provocative,” said the statement issued on Friday.
The guidelines on visuals made it clear that “no footage of the demolition of the Babri Masjid is to be shown in any news item relating to the judgment” and “no visuals need be shown depicting celebration or protest of the judgment.”
Similarly, there is to be no speculation about the judgment before it is pronounced, or of likely consequences after the verdict, which could be provocative. Instead, all related news “should be verbatim reproduction of the relevant part of the said judgment uninfluenced by any opinion or interpretation,” said the statement.
Editors have been asked to take extra care in vetting all reporting at the highest level. The NBA asked for “strict adherence,” warning that any violation “may attract strict action.” The heads of major channels said they would comply with the “spirit of the guidelines,” though it was up to each channel to decide the methods to implement them. Several channels have already carried special programming on the verdict, going over the history of the case and replaying the demolition footage.
These guidelines come after the Union Cabinet appealed for peace and order to be maintained in the aftermath of the judgment. Leaders of political parties and religious bodies have also been calling for a peaceful acceptance of the verdict.
However, channels emphasised that this was a voluntary initiative on their part and not in response to any governmental instruction. “It must be understood that this is compliance out of self-regulation, not due to any government pressure,” said Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief of Times Now. “It shows the immense maturity of the news channels today. It dispels any notion that they are irresponsible.”
“I don’t think this should be seen as censorship,” said Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief of the IBN18 network. “It simply means we must absorb the basic principle of self-restraint…one of the important lessons we have learnt.”
09/18/10
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LESSON 33 DHAMMA NIBBANA PART IV The Third Noble Truth 18 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
“And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of dukkha: the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving.”
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The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
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by genkaku on Wed Apr 15, 2009 10:45 pm
THERE IS SUFFERING
THERE IS A CAUSE OF SUFFERING
THERE IS AN END TO SUFFERING
THERE IS A WAY TO END SUFFERING
Just spitballing … make up your ownSmile just one smile.
There is suffering
There is a cause of suffering
There is an end to suffering
Noble Eightfold Path
DHAMMA
NIBBANA PART IV- The Third Noble Truth
· The Third Noble Truth
· The Noble Truth of the Cessation of dukkha
· dukkha nirodho ariya sacca
The definition
“And this, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of dukkha: the remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that verycraving.”
— SN 56.11
Dispassion is supreme
“Among whatever qualities there may be, fabricated or unfabricated, the quality of dispassion — the subduing of intoxication, the elimination of thirst, the uprooting of attachment, the breaking of the round, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, the realization of Unbinding — is considered supreme. Those who have confidence in the quality of dispassion have confidence in what is supreme; and for those with confidence in the supreme, supreme is the result.”
— Iti 90
Stilling: the hallmark of the goal
“This is peace, this is exquisite — the stilling of all fabrications, the relinquishment of all acquisitions, the ending of craving, dispassion, cessation, Unbinding.”
— MN 64
Unraveling the causes of suffering
“Monks, the ending of the effluents is for one who knows & sees, I tell you, not for one who does not know & does not see. For one who knows what & sees what is there the ending of effluents? ‘Such is form, such its origination, such its disappearance. Such is feeling, such its origination, such its disappearance. Such is perception, such its origination, such its disappearance. Such are fabrications, such their origination, such their disappearance. Such is consciousness, such its origination, such its disappearance.’ The ending of the effluents is for one who knows in this way & sees in this way.
“The knowledge of ending in the presence of ending has its prerequisite, I tell you. It is not without a prerequisite. And what is its prerequisite? Release… Release has its prerequisite, I tell you. It is not without a prerequisite. And what is its prerequisite? Dispassion… Disenchantment… Knowledge & vision of things as they actually are present…Concentration… Pleasure… Serenity… Rapture… Joy… Conviction… Stress… Birth… Becoming… Clinging… Craving… Feeling… Contact… The six sense media… Name-&-form… Consciousness… Fabrications… Fabrications have their prerequisite, I tell you. They are not without a prerequisite. And what is their prerequisite? Ignorance…
“Just as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops & crash thunder on the upper mountains: The water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the mountain clefts & rifts & gullies. When the mountain clefts & rifts & gullies are full, they fill the little ponds. When the little ponds are full, they fill the big lakes… the little rivers… the big rivers. When the big rivers are full, they fill the great ocean. In the same way:
fabrications have ignorance as their prerequisite,
consciousness has fabrications as its prerequisite,
name-&-form has consciousness as its prerequisite,
the six sense media have name-&-form as their prerequisite,
contact has the six sense media as its prerequisite,
feeling has contact as its prerequisite,
craving has feeling as its prerequisite,
clinging has craving as its prerequisite,
becoming has clinging as its prerequisite,
birth has becoming as its prerequisite,
stress & suffering have birth as their prerequisite,
conviction has stress & suffering as its prerequisite,
joy has conviction as its prerequisite,
rapture has joy as its prerequisite,
serenity has rapture as its prerequisite,
pleasure has serenity as its prerequisite,
concentration has pleasure as its prerequisite,
knowledge & vision of things as they actually are present has concentration as its prerequisite,
disenchantment has knowledge & vision of things as they actually are present as its prerequisite,
dispassion has disenchantment as its prerequisite,
release has dispassion as its prerequisite,
knowledge of ending has release as its prerequisite.”
— SN 12.23
Where neither pleasure nor pain can arise
“From the remainderless fading & cessation of that very ignorance, there no longer exists [the sense of] the body on account of which that pleasure & pain internally arise. There no longer exists the speech… the intellect on account of which that pleasure & pain internally arise. There no longer exists the field, the site, the dimension, or the issue on account of which that pleasure & pain internally arise.”
— SN 12.25
This/That Conditionality
“And what is the noble method that is rightly seen and rightly ferreted out by discernment? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones notices:
When this is, that is.
From the arising of this comes the arising of that.
When this isn’t, that isn’t.
From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that.
“In other words:
“From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications. From fabrications as a requisite condition comes consciousness. From consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-and-form. From name-and-form as a requisite condition come the six sense media. From the six sense media as a requisite condition comes contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair come into play. Such is the origination of this entire mass of stress and suffering.
“Now from the remainderless fading and cessation of that very ignorance comes the cessation of fabrications. From the cessation of fabrications comes the cessation of consciousness. From the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of name-and-form. From the cessation of name-and-form comes the cessation of the six sense media. From the cessation of the six sense media comes the cessation of contact. From the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling. From the cessation of feeling comes the cessation of craving. From the cessation of cravingcomes the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress and suffering.
“This is the noble method that is rightly seen and rightly ferreted out by discernment.”
— AN 10.92
See also:
· The Four Noble Truths
· The Second Noble Truth
· The Fourth Noble Truth
· “The Second and Third Truths” in The Wings to Awakening
GOOD GOVERNANCE
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100918/jsp/nation/story_12951819.jsp
Delhi trusts Maya to keep peace
- Heartland CM gets a pat for Ayodhya
ARCHIS MOHAN
|
 |
| Mayavati |
New Delhi, Sept. 17: The Centre is confident the Mayavati government will be able to maintain peace in Uttar Pradesh after the Ayodhya verdict on September 24.
In an indirect pat on the back for the state government, Union home ministry officials appear upbeat about her administration’s preparedness to handle law and order problems in the aftermath of the Allahabad High Court ruling.
The P. Chidambaram-headed ministry has taken note of Mayavati’s ability to handle the situation so far. Sources pointed out that she has refrained from making public statements or indulging in grandstanding in the run-up to next Friday’s verdict.
Mayavati’s silence and behind-the-scenes activities to push her administration into taking precautionary steps have also contributed to the confidence.
“We do not foresee any problems. The administration is on its toes. Local peace committees at the village and mohalla (neighbourhood) levels are continuously holding meetings,” said a senior official.
As a result of the meetings, an understanding between leaders and members of the two communities has gained ground that further legal avenues, such as an appeal in the Supreme Court, are open whichever way the verdict goes, the official said.
The Centre is sending 40 companies of paramilitary forces, less than a tenth of the 630 demanded by the state. The official said, however, that more forces could be dispatched two to three days before the verdict.
The ministry is considering an advisory to the media — similar to the one issued days before the threat by a US pastor to burn copies of the Quran on 9/11 — not to beam visuals or interviews that may inflame passions.
The verdict comes barely 10 days before the October 3 opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, a showpiece event tied to the country’s pride that could be besmirched if communal trouble erupts.
But Mayavati’s actions appear to have calmed such fears. Her public conduct is in sharp contrast to then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav’s grandstanding days before BJP leader L.K. Advani’s Rath Yatra was to reach Ayodhya in October 1990. Mulayam had boasted that not even a bird can enter the town, let alone kar sevaks.
Advani was put under house arrest by then Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad before he could reach Ayodhya, but Mulayam’s aggressive posturing provoked kar sevaks and polarised people. On October 30, 1990, Mulayam’s police opened fire on kar sevaks in Ayodhya, an action that helped the BJP win power in the state in 1991.
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http://sify.com/news/security-beefed-up-in-ayodhya-ahead-of-mosque-demolition-verdict-news-national-kjsqubjchcb.html
Security beefed up in Ayodhya ahead of mosque demolition verdict
With less than a week to go for the verdict on the Babri mosque demolition case, security has been beefed up in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya city.
Paramilitary forces have been deployed at various sensitive areas after a special meeting was called in Lucknow on Tuesday.
“We are enhancing the security arrangements. We have the force ready with us. The CRPF (Central Reserve Security Force), PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary), Civil Police, are being deployed,” said R. K. S. Rathor, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Ayodhya.
“The force is ample in number. And with the help of the people, we have conducted meetings, the people have cooperated, there is a good security arrangement and harmony,” he added.
Madan Mohan Das, a chief priest of the Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu religious school that is also one of the key parties in the Babri Mosque-Ram Janmabhoomi title suit, said they are hoping for a favourable verdict, and they get to construct the temple.
“Sri Ramanandi Nirmohi Akhara that has been fighting this case since ages, it is fighting with dignity, humility and patience. Since the beginning, Nirmohi Akhara’s stand has been that it (the disputed land) should remain with them. We hope the Nirmohi Akhara builds the temple with the support of our Hindu brothers and other people of faith,” said Das.
On Thursday, the Nirmohi Akhara, filed a fresh application seeking 10 days time to reach an out-of-court compromise on the Babri mosque case.
“We have been fighting this case since a very long time. We have always respected the judgments that have been given till now. Nirmohi Akhara is still talking about (out-of-court) settlement; it does not want any violence or any communal tension. We all are God’s creations and everyone prays in their own ways. Everybody is entitled to pray according to their principles,” said Das. By Amit (ANI)
http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/noida-park-environmental-clearance-not-required-up-to-sc/331724.html
Noida park: environmental clearance not required: UP to SC
PTI | 09:09 PM,Sep 17,2010
The apex court had on August 13 wanted to know from the Centre under which category of Environment Assessment Notification the project could be put. It is examining whether Uttar Pradesh government’s project falls under the category of Building and Construction Project or Township and Area Development Project. The project, which covers 20,000 sq meter, comes under the first category while those using 1,50,000 sq meter falls under the second. The apex court had also sought the Centre’s response to the suggestion that guidelines should be laid down for giving environmental clearance to projects in the vicinity of urban forests like Noida park and Siri Fort in the national capital. Uttar Pradesh government had said Noida authorities were ready to reduce the concrete area of the park where statues and memorials of Dalit leaders have been installed. It has come out with the proposal to reduce the concrete area to 35 per cent of the total park land area of 34 hectares used in the construction activities. The state government had said 65 per cent area would be planted with trees. Earlier, the Centre had said it could not grant environmental clearance for construction of statues and memorials for Dalit leaders at a park in Noida if Uttar Pradesh government does not take measures for the area’s ecological restoration. In an affidavit, MoEF had said that given the complex nature of the project and its adverse impact on surrounding biodiversity and its proximity to Okhla bird sancturay, it will not grant the clearance. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry, which reviewed the three environment impact assessment reports prepared by UP government, has also suggested certain measures to be taken by the state for getting clearance to the Rs 650-crore project. MoEF had, during the proceedings on July 21, sought time to examine the reports prepared by UP government saying they were not concurring with each other. The expert bodies appointed by the state government had conducted three studies after the apex court stayed construction work at the park. The UP government had claimed the stay on construction work was causing to it a loss of Rs three lakh everyday. PTI RKS
BJP had lost power to resurgent Bahujan Samaj Party while forming governments subsequently in collaboration with the BSP but each time it aligned with Mayawati’s party, its graph plunged.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article695270.ece?homepage=true
VIDYA SUBRAHMANIAM
A curious “low phase” has followed the announcement of September 24, 2010 as the date for the Allahabad (Lucknow bench) High Court decision on the consolidated Ayodhya title suit. While Muslims have consistently favoured judicial adjudication of the title dispute, the difference this time is the strikingly moderate tone adopted by the Hindutva parivar. Forget ratcheting up passions or revving into an overdrive on agitational or celebratory programmes, the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ideological mentor have consciously eschewed provocative postures.
The parivar could have used the run-up to the verdict to resurrect the fire-and-brimstone imagery of Ayodhya. The BJP has been in desperate need of something, anything, to stir up its dormant workforce. The party has been hankering for an issue that would sharpen its fighting reflexes and revive its electoral fortunes. It could have seized the upcoming verdict as just that issue.
And yet the responses of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh suggest a definite shying away from the kind of reckless, fire-spewing politics that has been their hallmark up until now. The decision as of now is that any programme that follows from the verdict will be spearheaded by the sants and mahants, with the BJP conspicuously taking a backseat. The BJP has refused to be rushed into making comments or announcements. Sushma Swaraj’s single refrain thus far has been “all comments after the judgment.”
The RSS has similarly avoided inflammatory rhetoric. At a recent meet with Delhi-based women journalists, the Sangh chief, Mohan Bhagwat, went through the motions, said the expected things about a “grand temple” at the Ram Janmabhoomi and so forth but, very significantly, added that either way the aggrieved party would appeal to the Supreme Court. As the countdown to the verdict began, the parivar further softened its stand. “There will be no knee-jerk reaction if the decision goes against us. We will decide on the future course of action while respecting the court judgment,” said a senior RSS functionary.
The phrases and words used here — “no knee-jerk reaction,” “respect for court verdict,” etc. — would be unfamiliar to those who have tracked the parivar’s evocative vocabulary through the tortuous course of the Ayodhya movement. Indeed, in the past, if anyone so much as uttered the word “court”, parivar affiliates, including the BJP, would erupt in rage, arguing that there was no question of the court deciding on the whys and wherefores of the Ram temple. This, despite the contrarian position held by parties to the dispute.
Reacting to applications in the High Court for the deferment of the verdict, the Hindu Mahasabaha, one of the parties to the dispute, said earlier this week: “It appears that the present application [for deferment] has been filed by some disgruntled elements who do not believe in the majesty of law for their personal gains.”
No longer a political weapon
To the Sangh, it did not matter that other Hindu organisations held a different view. It held steadfastly to the “no-interference-by-the-court” position, which only suggests that within the larger parivar, there has been a more realistic re-appraisal of the pros and cons of taking the Ayodhya movement forward. The decision to go easy on the melodrama appears to be rooted in the following reasons. With the protagonists of the Ayodhya cause badly dispersed and some going into virtual oblivion, the movement has lost its fire. Secondly, while Ayodhya may still have a certain resonance with the Sangh rank and file, it has long since ceased to be a political weapon that the BJP can exploit. Finally, the BJP has to reckon with allies who are increasingly impatient with its temple pro-activism. It just cannot lose more members from the already haemorrhaging National Democratic Alliance.
Consider the current status of the Ayodhya warriors. At age 83, Lal Krishna Advani, who flagged off the movement with his rousing “do or die” speeches from atop the Ram rath is a shadow of his fiery Ayodhya persona. His authority and powers have drastically diminished after he led the BJP to defeat in 2009. Kalyan Singh, the “hero” of December 6, 1992, is a parody of himself, having waltzed in and out of the BJP, and repeatedly altered and re-altered his position on the temple. There cannot be a more clinching evidence of his irrelevance than the monumental flopping of his September 16 “show of strength” in the temple town.
Sadhvi Rithambhara of the ek dhakka aur do (give another push to the Babri Masjid) fame is languishing in an ashram somewhere. Uma Bharti whose joyous pose with Murli Manohar Joshi became the piece-de-resistance of December 6, 1992, has to be hunted with a microscope. Vinay Katiyar, the irrepressible founding chief of the “forever-in-battle mode” Bajrang Dal, has moved to a senior position in the BJP and has acquired an elegant facebook profile. His last entry in this unrecognisable avatar was an earnest appeal for a negotiated settlement outside the court, with “respect for the court judgment” added as a bonus. “We would respect the court judgment. The party in whose favour the verdict comes would sit quiet while the other moves the Supreme Court,” he said.
An entire generation has grown up since the Babri Masjid was brutally torn down in 1992. This generation has no institutional memory of the movement, its muscular build-up and its cataclysmic end. Liberalisation and high-tech have sharpened the entrepreneurial instincts of the merchant class that formed the BJP’s core vote. It would want a grand Ram temple but not at the cost of its flourishing businesses. At the Haridwar Khumbh Mela in January-February this year, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad drew up a blue-print for a programme of mass participation ahead of the title suit verdict. Under the plan, VHP and RSS workers were to drum up support for the Ram Mandir through signature collection, visits to individual homes and recitation of the Hanuman chalisa at 8,000 selected temples across the country.
Muted support
This writer visited a sample temple in Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh to find almost no interest in the VHP’s programme. Devotees were at prayer as usual, most of them unaware that there was a sub-text to the Hanuman chalisa they were chanting. A gentleman introduced by a VHP office-bearer ended up praising Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. There was broad support for the mandir but it was muted and it was clear enough that nobody had the stomach for another “fight to the finish” war.
Even assuming there is a re-awakening of Hindu passions post the verdict, the question arises: Who will lead the mass movement? Ms Swaraj and Arun Jaitley are superb parliamentarians, with an unmatched ability to argue their case and demolish their opponents. But it is difficult to see either of them wade through the slush in Ayodhya and recreate the heady days of the rath yatra. It is even more difficult to picture the gregarious Nitin Gadkari in the role of a Ram champion waging a righteous war.
This is besides the waning political appeal of Ayodhya, demonstrated in election after election. The BJP won its last State election in Uttar Pradesh in 1991 — 19 years ago. Within a year of the homicidal 1992 attack on the Babri Masjid, BJP had lost power to resurgent Bahujan Samaj Party while forming governments subsequently in collaboration with the BSP but each time it aligned with Mayawati’s party, its graph plunged.
Ayodhya continued to matter in the Lok Sabha elections until 1998 — when the BJP reached its peak. However, 1998 was a watershed year for the party in another respect too. It formed a government at the Centre with a dozen or so allies who insisted that the BJP put Ayodhya on the back burner. With Ayodhya gone into hibernation, the BJP took a further tumble in U.P. In the 2009 general election, it finished last in its favourite State.
Passions can get out of hand, and one would have to be very brave to predict with any certainty that the parivar cadre will restrain their emotions when the verdict is actually delivered. Violence on that day cannot be ruled out. But equally the BJP must be aware that each time it experiments with sectarianism, it gains a few hardline supporters but loses far more of the electorally crucial middle ground.
The party was badly isolated in December 1992. It watched half of the NDA walk out in the years after Gujarat 2002. And post Kandhamal, it lost the support of the valued Biju Janata Dal, and came close to losing the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United), currently its largest partner. The JD(U) and the BJP are jointly fighting the Bihar elections scheduled to start next month. And if there is one thing Mr. Kumar will absolutely not have, it is any kind of adventurism on Ayodhya. He said as much to Mr. Jaitley: “The court verdict must be accepted. Any aggrieved party can move the higher court.”
Since the BJP and the RSS are talking the same language today, they have an added responsibility to keep Ayodhya and India trouble free in the coming days.
09/17/10
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LESSON 32 DHAMMA NIBBANA PART III Stream Entry Part 2 The way to Stream entry and after
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Whatever phenomena arise from a cause: Their cause & their cessation. Such is the teaching of the Tathagata, the Great Contemplative.
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DHAMMA
NIBBANA PART III -Stream Entry Part 1: The way to Stream-entry
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca3/nibbana.html
· Stream Entry
· Part 2: Stream-entry and After
Contents
· Introduction
· The Arising of the Dhamma Eye
· The Three Fetters
· The Character of the Stream-winner
· Rewards
· Advice
Introduction
The Pali canon recognizes four levels of awakening, the first of which is called stream-entry. The practices leading up to stream-entry are already discussed in the first part of this study guide. This second part covers the experience of stream-entry together with its results. The canonical passages treating the experience and its results use all three modes of discourse generally employed in the Canon: the narrative mode — stories about people who have attained stream-entry; the cosmological mode — descriptions of the after-death destinations awaiting those who have attained stream-entry; and what might be called the “emptiness” mode, which describes mental states in and of themselves as they are directly experienced as absent or present, both during and after stream-entry.
The material in this part of the study guide is presented in five sections. The first section,The Arising of the Dhamma Eye, discusses the experience of stream-entry, and concludes with a passage indicating why the experience is described in terms of the faculty of vision. The second section, The Three Fetters, discusses the three fetters of renewed existence that are cut with the arising of the Dhamma eye: self-identity views, uncertainty, and grasping at precepts and practices. The third section, The Character of the Stream-winner, discusses the personal characteristics of a stream-winner that flow directly from the cutting of the first three fetters. This section focuses on three lists of the four factors of stream-entry, which are not to be confused with the four factors for stream-entry discussed in the first part of this study guide. The fourth section, Rewards, discusses the rewards of stream-entry that come both in this life and in future lives. The final section, Advice, echoes the Buddha’s last words to his disciples before entering total nibbana. The discourse reporting those words — DN 16 — also reports that the most backward of the monks present at the Buddha’s passing away were stream-winners. The fact that his last words to them stressed the need for heedfulness underlies the fact that even stream-winners have to be wary of heedlessness. This is especially true in the present day, when many different meditation schools define the attainment of stream-entry in such different terms, raising the question of whose certification of stream-entry is valid and whose is not. The safest course of action for all meditators — whether certified as stream-winners or not, and whether that certification is valid or not — is to maintain an attitude of heedfulness with regard to all mental qualities.
The term “stream” in “stream-entry” refers to the point where all eight factors of the noble eightfold path come together.
“Sariputta, ‘The stream, the stream’: thus it is said. And what, Sariputta, is the stream?”
“This noble eightfold path, lord, is the stream: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.”
“Very good, Sariputta! Very good! This noble eightfold path — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration — is the stream.”
— SN 55.5
“And what, monks, is right view? Knowledge with regard to stress, knowledge with regard to the origination of stress, knowledge with regard to the stopping of stress, knowledge with regard to the way of practice leading to the stopping of stress: This, monks, is called right view.
“And what is right resolve? Being resolved on renunciation, on freedom from ill will, on harmlessness: This is called right resolve.
“And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, abstaining from divisive speech, abstaining from abusive speech, abstaining from idle chatter: This, monks, is called right speech.
“And what, monks, is right action? Abstaining from taking life, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from unchastity: This, monks, is called right action.
“And what, monks, is right livelihood? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones, having abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going with right livelihood: This, monks, is called right livelihood.
“And what, monks, is right effort? (i) There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen. (ii) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the abandonment of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen. (iii) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen. (iv) He generates desire, endeavors, activates persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen: This, monks, is called right effort.
“And what, monks, is right mindfulness? (i) There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world. (ii) He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world. (iii) He remains focused on the mind in & of itself — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world. (iv) He remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, aware, & mindful — putting away greed & distress with reference to the world. This, monks, is called right mindfulness.
“And what, monks, is right concentration? (i) There is the case where a monk — quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful (mental) qualities — enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. (ii) With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of concentration, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance. (iii) With the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, 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 pleasant abiding.’ (iv) With the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. This, monks, is called right concentration.”
— SN 44.8
The coming-together of these factors is called the stream because it leads inevitably to two things, just as the current of a tributary will lead inevitably to a major river and then to the sea. In the immediate present, the stream leads directly to the arising of the Dhamma eye, the vision that actually constitutes this first awakening. Over time, the stream ensures that — in no more than seven lifetimes — one will be totally Unbound.
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The Arising of the Dhamma Eye
What does the Dhamma eye see when it arises?
Then Ven. Assaji gave this Dhamma exposition to Sariputta the wanderer:
Whatever phenomena arise from a cause:
Their cause
& their cessation.
Such is the teaching of the Tathagata,
the Great Contemplative.
Then to Sariputta the wanderer, as he heard this exposition of Dhamma, there arose the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye: Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.
— Mv 1.23.5
This standard formula — it is repeated throughout the Canon — may not seem that remarkable an insight. However, the texts make clear that this insight is not a matter of belief or contemplation, but of direct seeing. As the following passages show, belief and contemplation may be conducive to the seeing — and an undefined level of belief and discernment may actually guarantee that someday in this lifetime the seeing will occur — but only with the actual seeing does there come a dramatic shift in the course of one’s life and one’s relationship to the Dhamma.
“Monks, the eye is inconstant, changeable, alterable. The ear… The nose… The tongue… The body… The mind is inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“Forms… Sounds… Aromas… Flavors… Tactile sensations… Ideas are inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“Eye-consciousness… Ear-consciousness… Nose-consciousness… Tongue-consciousness… Body-consciousness… Intellect-consciousness is inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“Eye-contact… Ear-contact… Nose-contact… Tongue-contact… Body-contact… Intellect-contact is inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“Feeling born of eye-contact… Feeling born of ear-contact… Feeling born of nose-contact… Feeling born of tongue-contact… Feeling born of body-contact… Feeling born of intellect-contact is inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“Perception of forms… Perception of sounds… Perception of smells… Perception of tastes… Perception of tactile sensations… Perception of ideas is inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“Intention for forms… Intention for sounds… Intention for smells… Intention for tastes… Intention for tactile sensations… Intention for ideas is inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“Craving for forms… Craving for sounds… Craving for smells… Craving for tastes… Craving for tactile sensations… Craving for ideas is inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“The earth property… The liquid property… The fire property… The wind property… The space property… The consciousness property is inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“Form… Feeling… Perception… Fabrications… Consciousness is inconstant, changeable, alterable.
“One who has conviction & belief that these phenomena are this way is called a faith-follower: one who has entered the orderliness of rightness, entered the plane of people of integrity, transcended the plane of the run-of-the-mill. He is incapable of doing any deed by which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal womb, or in the realm of hungry shades. He is incapable of passing away until he has realized the fruit of stream-entry.
“One who, after pondering with a modicum of discernment, has accepted that these phenomena are this way is called a Dhamma-follower: one who has entered the orderliness of rightness, entered the plane of people of integrity, transcended the plane of the run-of-the-mill. He is incapable of doing any deed by which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal womb, or in the realm of hungry shades. He is incapable of passing away until he has realized the fruit of stream-entry.
“One who knows and sees that these phenomena are this way is called a stream-winner, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening.”
— SN 25.1-10
To Upali the householder, as he was sitting right there, there arose the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye: Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation. Then — having seen the Dhamma, having reached the Dhamma, known the Dhamma, gained a footing in the Dhamma, having crossed over & beyond doubt, having had no more questioning — Upali the householder gained fearlessness and was independent of others with regard to the Teacher’s message.
— MN 56
Part of what makes the arising of the Dhamma eye such a powerful experience is that the realization that “Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation” must follow on a glimpse of what stands in opposition to “all that is subject to origination,” i.e., a glimpse of the Unconditioned — deathlessness.
[Immediately after attaining the stream] Sariputta the wanderer went to Moggallana the wanderer. Moggallana the wanderer saw him coming from afar and, on seeing him, said, “Your faculties are bright, my friend; your complexion pure & clear. Could it be that you have attained the Deathless?”
“Yes, my friend, I have…”
— Mv 1.23.5
The connection between Ven. Assaji’s verse above, discussing causation, and the arising of the Dhamma eye in Sariputta suggests that realization conveyed by the Dhamma eye is not just an insight into the fleeting, impermanent nature of ordinary experience. Instead, it extends also to a realization of the conditioned, dependent nature of that experience. Other passages describing in more detail the knowledge of a stream-winner — one who has entered the stream — show that this is in fact the case. The Dhamma eye sees that things arise and pass away in line with a particular type of causality, in which the effects of causes are felt immediately or over the course of time.
“And which is the noble method that he has rightly seen & rightly ferreted out through discernment?
“There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones notices:
“When this is, that is.
From the arising of this comes the arising of that.
When this isn’t, that isn’t.
From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that.
“In other words:
“From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications.
From fabrications as a requisite condition comes consciousness.
From consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-&-form.
From name-&-form as a requisite condition come the six sense media.
From the six sense media as a requisite condition comes contact.
From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling.
From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving.
From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance.
From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming.
From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth.
From birth as a requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair come into play. Such is the origination of this entire mass of stress & suffering.
“Now from the remainderless fading & cessation of that very ignorance comes the cessation of fabrications. From the cessation of fabrications comes the cessation of consciousness. From the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of name-&-form. From the cessation of name-&-form comes the cessation of the six sense media. From the cessation of the six sense media comes the cessation of contact. From the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling. From the cessation of feeling comes the cessation of craving. From the cessation of craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress & suffering.
“This is the noble method that he has rightly seen & rightly ferreted out through discernment.”
— AN 10.92
“When a disciple of the noble ones has seen well with right discernment this dependent co-arising & these dependently co-arisen phenomena as they have come to be, it is not possible that he would run after the past, thinking, ‘Was I in the past? Was I not in the past? What was I in the past? How was I in the past? Having been what, what was I in the past?’ or that he would run after the future, thinking, ‘Shall I be in the future? Shall I not be in the future? What shall I be in the future? How shall I be in the future? Having been what, what shall I be in the future?’ or that he would be inwardly perplexed about the immediate present, thinking, ‘Am I? Am I not? What am I? How am I? Where has this being come from? Where is it bound?’ Such a thing is not possible. Why is that? Because the disciple of the noble ones has seen well with right discernment this dependent co-arising & these dependently co-arisen phenomena as they have come to be.”
— SN 12.20
The insight of a stream-winner into the truths of causality on the one hand, and of the Deathless on the other, is accurate as far as it goes, but it does not equal the intensity of the insight of the arahant — one who has reached the final level of awakening. The differences between the two are suggested in the following simile.
“My friend, although I have seen properly with right discernment, as it actually is present, that ‘The cessation of becoming is Unbinding,’ still I am not an arahant whose fermentations are ended. It’s as if there were a well along a road in a desert, with neither rope nor water bucket. A man would come along overcome by heat, oppressed by the heat, exhausted, dehydrated, & thirsty. He would look into the well and would have knowledge of ‘water,’ but he would not dwell touching it with his body. In the same way, although I have seen properly with right discernment, as it actually is present, that ‘The cessation of becoming is Unbinding,’ still I am not an arahant whose fermentations are ended.”
The Three Fetters
The four levels of Awakening are defined by the extent to which they cut the ten fetters by which the mind binds itself to conditioned experience.
“And which are the five lower fetters? Self-identity views, uncertainty, grasping at precepts & practices, sensual desire, & ill will. These are the five lower fetters. And which are the five higher fetters? Passion for form, passion for what is formless, conceit, restlessness, & ignorance. These are the five higher fetters.”
— AN 10.13
“In this community of monks there are monks who are arahants, whose mental fermentations are ended, who have reached fulfillment, done the task, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, totally destroyed the fetter of becoming, and who are released through right gnosis…
“In this community of monks there are monks who, with the total ending of the five lower fetters, are due to be reborn [in the Pure Abodes], there to be totally unbound, never again to return from that world…
“In this community of monks there are monks who, with the total ending of [the first] three fetters, and with the attenuation of passion, aversion, & delusion, are once-returners, who — on returning only one more time to this world — will make an ending to stress…
“In this community of monks there are monks who, with the total ending of [the first] three fetters, are stream-winners, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening…”
— MN 118
For the stream-winner, the arising of the Dhamma eye — with its insight into the causal principles underlying the origination and cessation of stress — is what cuts through the first three fetters.
“He attends appropriately, This is stress… This is the origination of stress… This is the cessation of stress… This is the way leading to the cessation of stress. As he attends appropriately in this way, three fetters are abandoned in him: self-identity view, doubt, and grasping at precepts & practices.”
— MN 2
The Canon contains passages that amplify what it means to cut these three fetters. First,self-identity views:
“But, lady, how does self-identity come about?”
“There is the case, friend Visakha, where an uninstructed, run-of-the-mill person — who has no regard for noble ones, is not well-versed or disciplined in their Dhamma; who has no regard for men of integrity, is not well-versed or disciplined in their Dhamma — assumes form (the body) to be the self, or the self as possessing form, or form as in the self, or the self as in form.
“He assumes feeling to be the self…
“He assumes perception to be the self…
“He assumes (mental) fabrications to be the self…
“He assumes consciousness to be the self, or the self as possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in the self, or the self as in consciousness. This is how self-identity comes about.”
“But, lady, how does self-identity not come about?”
“There is the case where a well-instructed disciple of the noble ones — who has regard for noble ones, is well-versed & disciplined in their Dhamma; who has regard for men of integrity, is well-versed & disciplined in their Dhamma — does not assume form to be the self, or the self as possessing form, or form as in the self, or the self as in form.
“He does not assume feeling to be the self…
“He does not assume perception to be the self…
“He does not assume fabrications to be the self…
“He does not assume consciousness to be the self, or the self as possessing consciousness, or consciousness as in the self, or the self as in consciousness. This is how self-identity does not come about.”
— MN 41
“‘The origination of self-identity, the origination of self-identity,’ it is said, lady. Which origination of self-identity is described by the Blessed One?”
“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: This, friend Visakha, is the origination of self-identity described by the Blessed One.”
“‘The cessation of self-identity, the cessation of self-identity,’ it is said, lady. Which cessation of self-identity is described by the Blessed One?”
“The remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very craving: This, friend Visakha, is the cessation of self-identity described by the Blessed One.”
“‘The way of practice leading to the cessation of self-identity, the way of practice leading to the cessation of self-identity,’ it is said, lady. Which way of practice leading to the cessation of self-identity is described by the Blessed One?”
“Precisely this noble eightfold path — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration: This, friend Visakha, is the way of practice leading to the cessation of self-identity described by the Blessed One.”
— MN 44
[Ananda:] “What is the noble liberation?”
[The Buddha:] “There is the case, Ananda, where a disciple of the noble ones considers this: ‘Sensuality here & now; sensuality in lives to come; sensual perceptions here & now; sensual perceptions in lives to come; forms here & now; forms in lives to come; form-perceptions here & now; form-perceptions in lives to come; perceptions of the imperturbable; perceptions of the dimension of nothingness; perceptions of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception: that is an identity, to the extent that there is an identity. This is deathless: the liberation of the mind through lack of clinging/sustenance.’”
— MN 106
“Magandiya, it is just as if there were a blind man who couldn’t see black objects… white… blue… yellow… red… the sun or the moon. Now suppose that a certain man were to take a grimy, oil-stained rag and fool him, saying, ‘Here, my good man, is a white cloth — beautiful, spotless, & clean.’ The blind man would take it and wear it.
“Then suppose his friends, companions, & relatives took him to a doctor, and the doctor treated him with medicine: purges from above & purges from below, ointments & counter-ointments, and treatments through the nose. And thanks to the medicine his eyesight would appear & grow clear. Then together with the arising of his eyesight, he would abandon whatever passion & delight he felt for that grimy, oil-stained rag. And he would regard that man as an enemy & no friend at all, and think that he deserved to be killed. ‘My gosh, how long have I been fooled, cheated, & deceived by that man & his grimy, oil-stained rag! — “Here, my good man, is a white cloth — beautiful, spotless, & clean.”‘
“In the same way, Magandiya, if I were to teach you the Dhamma — this freedom from Disease, this Unbinding — and you on your part were to understand that freedom from Disease and see that Unbinding, then together with the arising of your eyesight, you would abandon whatever passion & delight you felt with regard for the five aggregates for sustenance. And it would occur to you, ‘My gosh, how long have I been fooled, cheated, & deceived by this mind! For in clinging, it was just form that I was clinging to… it was just feeling… just perception… just mental processes… just consciousness that I was clinging to. With my clinging as condition, there is becoming… birth… aging & death… sorrow, lamentation, pains, distresses, & despairs all come into play. And thus is the origination of this entire mass of stress.’”
— MN 75
In the following passage, Khemaka — a monk who has attained the level of non-returner, and so has cut the first five fetters — indicates how self-identity views may be cut even though the mind has yet to cut the conceit, “I am,” which ends only at the level of full awakening.
[Khemaka:] “Friends, it’s not that I say ‘I am form,’ nor do I say ‘I am something other than form.’ It’s not that I say, ‘I am feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness,’ nor do I say, ‘I am something other than consciousness.’ With regard to these five clinging-aggregates, ‘I am’ has not been overcome, although I don’t assume that ‘I am this.’
“It’s just like the scent of a blue, red, or white lotus: If someone were to call it the scent of a petal or the scent of the color or the scent of a filament, would he be speaking correctly?”
“No, friend.”
“Then how would he describe it if he were describing it correctly?”
“As the scent of the flower: That’s how he would describe it if he were describing it correctly.”
“In the same way, friends, it’s not that I say ‘I am form,’ nor do I say ‘I am other than form.’ It’s not that I say, ‘I am feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness,’ nor do I say, ‘I am something other than consciousness.’ With regard to these five clinging-aggregates, ‘I am’ has not been overcome, although I don’t assume that ‘I am this.’”
— SN 22.89
The fetter of uncertainty is defined as doubt in the Awakening of the Buddha, the truth of his Dhamma, and the practice of his noble disciples. What this uncertainty boils down to is doubt as to whether there is a Deathless dimension, and whether one can realize it through one’s own efforts. The experience of the Deathless — following on the practice of the Dhamma to the point of entering the stream — cuts this fetter by confirming the possibility of a human being’s awakening to the Deathless, the correctness of the Buddha’s teaching as a guide to entering the stream, and the worthiness of those who have reached the stream.
“There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Awakened One: ‘Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine & human beings, awakened, blessed.’
“He is endowed with verified confidence in the Dhamma: ‘The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, to be seen here & now, timeless, inviting verification, pertinent, to be realized by the wise for themselves.’
“He is endowed with verified confidence in the Sangha: ‘The Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples who have practiced well… who have practiced straight-forwardly… who have practiced methodically… who have practiced masterfully — in other words, the four types of noble disciples when taken as pairs, the eight when taken as individual types [1] — they are the Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples: worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, the incomparable field of merit for the world.’”
— AN 10.92
Note
1.
The four pairs are (1) the person on the path to stream-entry, the person experiencing the fruit of stream-entry; (2) the person on the path to once-returning, the person experiencing the fruit of once-returning; (3) the person on the path to non-returning, the person experiencing the fruit of non-returning; (4) the person on the path to arahantship, the person experiencing the fruit of arahantship. The eight individuals are the eight types forming these four pairs.
The fetter of grasping at precepts and practices is often described in the Pali canon with reference to the view that one becomes pure simply through performing rituals or patterns of behavior. This view in turn is related to the notion that one’s being is defined by one’s actions: if one acts in accordance with clearly defined precepts and practices, one is ipso facto pure. Although the Canon recognizes the importance of precepts and practices in the attaining the stream, the experience of the Deathless shows the person who has attained the stream that one cannot define oneself in terms of those precepts and practices. Thus one continues to follow virtuous practices, but without defining oneself in terms of them.
“Now where do skillful habits cease without trace? Their cessation, too, has been stated: There is the case where a monk is virtuous, but not fashioned of (or: defined by his) virtue. He discerns, as it actually is, the awareness-release & discernment-release where his skillful habits cease without trace.”
— MN 78
[The awakened person] doesn’t speak of purity
in terms of view,
learning,
knowledge,
precept & practice.
Nor is it found by a person
through lack of view,
of learning,
of knowledge,
of precept or practice.
Letting these go, without grasping,
one is independent,
at peace.
— Sn 4.9
The Character of the Stream-winner
A standard formula in the Canon describes a stream-winner in terms of four factors. The first three of these four factors of stream-entry are directly related to the cutting of the fetter of uncertainty. The fourth is related to the cutting of the fetter of grasping at precepts and practices.
“There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Awakened One… verified confidence in the Dhamma… verified confidence in the Sangha… He/she is endowed with virtues that are appealing to the noble ones: untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered, liberating, praised by the wise, untarnished, leading to concentration.”
— AN 10.92
Although this is the standard list of the four factors of stream-entry, there are other lists that replace the fourth factor with other factors.
SN 55.32 defines the fourth factor as follows: “Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones lives at home with an awareness cleansed of the stain of stinginess, freely generous, openhanded, delighting in being magnanimous, responsive to requests, delighting in the distribution of alms.”
SN 55.33 defines it as follows: “Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones is discerning, endowed with discernment of arising & passing away — noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress.”
When these lists are collated, we arrive at four qualities that describe a stream-winner: conviction, virtue, generosity, and discernment. AN 8.54 describes these as “four qualities that lead to a lay person’s happiness and well-being in lives to come.” Other passages in the Canon explore the implications of each of these four as embodied in a stream-winner’s behavior.
Conviction in the Triple Gem of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha is not simply a matter of belief or devotion. It forces one to place trust in the principle of kamma — the principle of action and result in line with which one first gained entry to the stream.
“Endowed with these five qualities, a lay follower is a jewel of a lay follower, a lotus of a lay follower, a fine flower of a lay follower. Which five? He/she has conviction; is virtuous; is not eager for protective charms & ceremonies; trusts kamma, not protective charms & ceremonies; does not search for recipients of his/her offerings outside (of the Sangha), and gives offerings here first.”
— AN 5.175
Virtue, as practiced by the stream-winner, is also a function of a deep trust in the principle of kamma, and of a sympathy for others that arises from that trust. Although stream-winners may still break the minor rules of training, the depth of insight that informs their virtue ensures that their adherence to the basic principles of morality is unshakable.
“There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones reflects thus: ‘I love life and don’t love death. I love happiness and abhor pain. Now if I — loving life and not loving death, loving happiness and abhorring pain — were to be killed, that would be displeasing & disagreeable to me. And if I were to kill another who loves life and doesn’t love death, who loves happiness and abhors pain, that would be displeasing & disagreeable to the other. What is displeasing & disagreeable to me is displeasing & disagreeable to others. How can I inflict on others what is displeasing & disagreeable to me?’ Reflecting in this way, he refrains from taking life, gets others to refrain from taking life, and speaks in praise of refraining from taking life. In this way his bodily behavior is pure in three ways.
“Furthermore, he reflects thus: ‘If someone, by way of theft, were to take from me what I haven’t given, that would be displeasing & disagreeable to me… If someone were to commit adultery with my wives, that would be displeasing & disagreeable to me… If someone were to damage my well-being with a lie, that would be displeasing & disagreeable to me… If someone were to divide me from my friends with divisive speech, that would be displeasing & disagreeable to me… If someone were to address me with harsh speech, that would be displeasing & disagreeable to me… If someone were to address me with idle chatter, that would be displeasing & disagreeable to me. And if I were to address another with idle chatter, that would be displeasing & disagreeable to the other. What is displeasing & disagreeable to me is displeasing & disagreeable to others. How can I inflict on others what is displeasing & disagreeable to me?’ Reflecting in this way, he refrains from idle chatter, gets others to refrain from idle chatter, and speaks in praise of refraining from idle chatter. In this way his verbal behavior is pure in three ways.”
— SN 55.7
“Monks, more than 150 training rules come up for recitation every fortnight, in reference to which clansmen desiring the goal train themselves. There are these three trainings under which they (the training rules) are all gathered. Which three? The training in heightened virtue, the training in heightened mind, the training in heightened discernment. These are the three trainings under which they are all gathered…
“There is the case where a monk is fully accomplished in virtue, partially accomplished in concentration, and partially accomplished in discernment. With reference to the lesser and minor training rules, he falls into offenses and rehabilitates himself. Why is that? Because it is not said to be disqualification (for the noble attainments). But as for the training rules that are basic to the holy life and proper to the holy life, his virtue is permanent, his virtue is steadfast. With the total ending of [the first] three fetters, he is a stream-winner, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening.”
— AN 3.87
Generosity is actually a characteristic that must precede stream-entry. However, the attainment of stream-entry gives generosity a distinctive integrity.
“Monks, there are these five forms of stinginess. Which five? Stinginess as to one’s monastery [lodgings], stinginess as to one’s family [of supporters], stinginess as to one’s gains, stinginess as to one’s status, and stinginess as to the Dhamma. These are the five forms of stinginess. And the meanest of these five is this: stinginess as to the Dhamma…
“Without abandoning these five things, one is incapable of realizing the fruit of stream-entry.”
— AN 5.254, 257
“Without abandoning these five things, one is incapable of realizing the fruit of stream-entry. Which five? Stinginess as to one’s monastery [lodgings], stinginess as to one’s family [of supporters], stinginess as to one’s gains, stinginess as to one’s status, and ingratitude.”
— AN 5.259
“These five are a person of integrity’s gifts. Which five? A person of integrity gives a gift with a sense of conviction. A person of integrity gives a gift attentively. A person of integrity gives a gift in season. A person of integrity gives a gift with an empathetic heart. A person of integrity gives a gift without adversely affecting himself or others.”
— AN 5.148
Discernment is the character trait of the stream-winner that is most directly related to the cutting of the fetter of self-identity views. However, its implications spread to other facets of right view as well. In fact, “consummate in view” is one of the epithets for a stream-winner. The impact of being consummate in view extends, not only to one’s intellectual life, but also to one’s emotional life as well.
“There is the case where a monk, having gone to the wilderness, to the root of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, considers thus: ‘Is there any internal enthrallment unabandoned in me that, enthralled with which, my enthralled mind would not know or see things as they actually are?’ If a monk is enthralled with sensual passion, then his mind is enthralled. If he is enthralled with ill will, then his mind is enthralled. If he is enthralled with sloth and torpor, then his mind is enthralled. If he is enthralled with restlessness and anxiety, then his mind is enthralled. If he is enthralled with uncertainty, then his mind is enthralled. If a monk is absorbed in speculation about this world, then his mind is enthralled. If a monk is absorbed in speculation about the other world, then his mind is enthralled. If a monk is given to arguing and quarreling and disputing, stabbing others with weapons of the mouth, then his mind is enthralled.
“He discerns that, ‘There is no enthrallment unabandoned in me that, enthralled with which, my enthralled mind would not know and see things as they actually are. My mind is well directed for awakening to the truths.’ This is the first knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, not held in common with run-of-the-mill people.
“Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones considers thus: ‘When I cultivate, develop, and pursue this view, do I personally obtain serenity, do I personally obtain Unbinding?’
“He discerns that, ‘When I cultivate, develop, and pursue this view, I personally obtain serenity, I personally obtain Unbinding.’ This is the second knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, not held in common with run-of-the-mill people.
“Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones considers thus: ‘Is there, outside of this [Dhamma and discipline], any other priest or contemplative endowed with the sort of view with which I am endowed?’
“He discerns that, ‘There is no other priest or contemplative outside [the Buddha’s Dispensation] endowed with the sort of view with which I am endowed.’ This is the third knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, not held in common with run-of-the-mill people.
“Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones considers thus: ‘Am I endowed with the character of a person consummate in view?’ What is the character of a person consummate in view? This is the character of a person consummate in view: although he may commit some kind of offence for which a means of rehabilitation has been laid down, still he immediately confesses, reveals, and discloses it to the Teacher or to wise companions in the holy life; having done that, he undertakes restraint for the future. Just as a young, tender infant lying on his back, when he has hit a live ember with his hand or his foot, immediately draws back; in the same way, this is the character of a person consummate in view: although he may commit some kind of offence for which a means of rehabilitation has been laid down, still he immediately confesses, reveals, and discloses it to the Teacher or to wise companions in the holy life; having done that, he undertakes restraint for the future.
“He discerns that, ‘I am endowed with the character of a person consummate in view.’ This is the fourth knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, not held in common with run-of-the-mill people.
“Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones considers thus: ‘Am I endowed with the character of a person consummate in view?’ What is the character of a person consummate in view? This is the character of a person consummate in view: although he may be active in the various affairs of his companions in the holy life, he still has a keen regard for training in heightened virtue, training in heightened mind, & training in heightened discernment. Just as a cow with a new calf watches after her calf all the while she is grazing on grass, in the same way, this is the character of a person consummate in view: although he may be active in the various affairs of his companions in the holy life, he still has a keen regard for training in heightened virtue, training in heightened mind, & training in heightened discernment.
“He discerns that, ‘I am endowed with the character of a person consummate in view.’ This is the fifth knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, not held in common with run-of-the-mill people.
“Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones considers thus: ‘Am I endowed with the strength of a person consummate in view?’ What is the strength of a person consummate in view? This is the strength of a person consummate in view: when the Dhamma and Discipline proclaimed by the Tathagata is being taught, he heeds it, gives it attention, engages it with all his mind, hears the Dhamma with eager ears.
“He discerns that, ‘I am endowed with the strength of a person consummate in view.’ This is the sixth knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, not held in common with run-of-the-mill people.
“Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones considers thus: ‘Am I endowed with the strength of a person consummate in view?’ What is the strength of a person consummate in view? This is the strength of a person consummate in view: when the Dhamma and Discipline proclaimed by the Tathagata is being taught, he gains understanding in the meaning, gains understanding in the Dhamma, gains gladness connected with the Dhamma.
“He discerns that, ‘I am endowed with the strength of a person consummate in view.’ This is the seventh knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, not held in common with run-of-the-mill people.
“A disciple of the noble ones thus possessed of seven factors has well examined the character for the realization of the fruit of stream-entry. A disciple of the noble ones thus possessed of seven factors is endowed with the fruit of stream-entry.”
— MN 48
“There is a manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is a learner, standing at the level of a learner, can discern that ‘I am a learner,’ and whereby a monk who is an adept [i.e., an arahant], standing at the level of an adept, can discern that ‘I am an adept.’
“And what is the manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is a learner, standing at the level of a learner, can discern that ‘I am a learner’? There is the case where a monk is a learner. He discerns, as it actually is, that ‘This is stress… This is the origination of stress… This is the cessation of stress… This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.’ This is a manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is a learner, standing at the level of a learner, can discern that ‘I am a learner.’
“Furthermore, the monk who is a learner reflects, ‘Is there outside of this [doctrine & discipline] any priest or contemplative who teaches the true, genuine, & accurate Dhamma like the Blessed One?’ And he discerns, ‘No, there is no priest or contemplative outside of this doctrine & discipline who teaches the true, genuine, & accurate Dhamma like the Blessed One.’ This too is a manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is a learner, standing at the level of a learner, can discern that ‘I am a learner.’
“Furthermore, the monk who is a learner discerns the five faculties: the faculty of conviction… persistence… mindfulness… concentration… discernment. He sees clear through with discernment their destiny, excellence, rewards, & consummation, but he does not touch them with his body. This too is a manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is a learner, standing at the level of a learner, can discern that ‘I am a learner.’
“And what is the manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is an adept, standing at the level of an adept, can discern that ‘I am an adept’? There is the case where a monk who is an adept discerns the five faculties: the faculty of conviction… persistence… mindfulness… concentration… discernment. He touches with his body and sees clear through with discernment what their destiny, excellence, rewards, & consummation are. This is a manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is an adept, standing at the level of an adept, can discern that ‘I am an adept.’
“Furthermore, the monk who is an adept discerns the six sense faculties: the faculty of the eye… ear… nose… tongue… body… intellect. He discerns, ‘These six sense faculties will disband entirely, everywhere, & in every way without remainder, and no other set of six sense faculties will arise anywhere or in any way.’ This too is a manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is an adept, standing at the level of an adept, can discern that ‘I am an adept.’”
— SN 48.53
Then Anathapindika the householder went to where the wanderers of other persuasions were staying. On arrival he greeted them courteously. After an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the wanderers said to him, “Tell us, householder, what views Gotama the contemplative has.”
“Venerable sirs, I don’t know entirely what views the Blessed One has.”
“Well, well. So you don’t know entirely what views Gotama the contemplative has. Then tell us what views the monks have.”
“I don’t even know entirely what views the monks have.”
“So you don’t know entirely what views Gotama the contemplative has or even that the monks have. Then tell us what views you have.”
“It wouldn’t be difficult for me to expound to you what views I have. But please let the venerable ones expound each in line with his position, and then it won’t be difficult for me to expound to you what views I have.”
When this had been said, one of the wanderers said to Anathapindika the householder, “The cosmos is eternal. Only this is true; anything otherwise is worthless. This is the sort of view I have.”
Another wanderer said to Anathapindika, “The cosmos is not eternal. Only this is true; anything otherwise is worthless. This is the sort of view I have.”
Another wanderer said, “The cosmos is finite…”…”The cosmos is infinite…”…”The soul & the body are the same…”…”The soul is one thing and the body another…”…”After death a Tathagata exists…”…”After death a Tathagata does not exist…”…”After death a Tathagata both does & does not exist…”…”After death a Tathagata neither does nor does not exist. Only this is true; anything otherwise is worthless. This is the sort of view I have.”
When this had been said, Anathapindika the householder said to the wanderers, “As for the venerable one who says, ‘The cosmos is eternal. Only this is true; anything otherwise is worthless. This is the sort of view I have,” his view arises from his own inappropriate attention or in dependence on the words of another. Now this view has been brought into being, is fabricated, willed, dependently originated. Whatever has been brought into being, is fabricated, willed, dependently originated, that is inconstant. Whatever is inconstant is stress. This venerable one thus adheres to that very stress, submits himself to that very stress.” (Similarly for the other positions.)
When this had been said, the wanderers said to Anathapindika the householder, “We have each & every one expounded to you in line with our own positions. Now tell us what views you have.”
“Whatever has been brought into being, is fabricated, willed, dependently originated, that is inconstant. Whatever is inconstant is stress. Whatever is stress is not me, is not what I am, is not my self. This is the sort of view I have.”
“So, householder, whatever has been brought into being, is fabricated, willed, dependently originated, that is inconstant. Whatever is inconstant is stress. You thus adhere to that very stress, submit yourself to that very stress.”
“Venerable sirs, whatever has been brought into being, is fabricated, willed, dependently originated, that is inconstant. Whatever is inconstant is stress. Whatever is stress is not me, is not what I am, is not my self. Having seen this well with right discernment as it actually is present, I also discern the higher escape from it as it actually is present.”
When this was said, the wanderers fell silent, abashed, sitting with their shoulders drooping, their heads down, brooding, at a loss for words. Anathapindika the householder, perceiving that the wanderers were silent, abashed… at a loss for words, got up & went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he told the Blessed One the entirety of his conversation with the wanderers.
[The Blessed One said:] “Well done, householder. Well done. That is how you should periodically & righteously refute those foolish men.” Then he instructed, urged, roused, and encouraged Anathapindika the householder with a talk on Dhamma. When Anathapindika the householder had been instructed, urged, roused and encouraged by the Blessed One with a talk on Dhamma, he got up from his seat and, having bowed down to the Blessed One, left, keeping the Blessed One on his right side. Not long afterward, the Blessed One addressed the monks: “Monks, even a monk who has long penetrated the Dhamma in this Doctrine & Discipline would do well, periodically & righteously, to refute the wanderers of other persuasions in just the way Anathapindika the householder has done.”
— AN 10.93
Rewards
Many of the passages describing the rewards of stream-entry focus on the stream-winner’s fate after death: He/she will never be reborn on a plane lower than the human, and will tend to experience exceptional happiness wherever reborn. As for the number of rebirths remaining for the stream-winner before total Unbinding, the texts distinguish three levels of attainment.
“[Some,] with the destruction of the three fetters, are ‘one-seed-ers’ (ekabijin):after taking rebirth only one more time on the human plane, they will put an end to suffering & stress.
“Or, not breaking through to that, not penetrating that, with the destruction of the three fetters they are ‘family-to-family-ers’ (kolankola): after transmigrating & wandering on through two or three more families (according to the Commentary, this phrase should be interpreted as ‘through two to six more states of becoming’), they will put an end to suffering & stress.
“Or, not breaking through to that, not penetrating that, with the destruction of the three fetters they are ’seven-times-at-most-ers’ (sattakkhattuparama): after transmigrating & wandering on among devas & human beings, they will put an end to stress.”
— AN 3.89
[The Buddha is speaking to Nandaka, the chief minister of the Licchavis, concerning the factors of stream-entry:] “A disciple of the noble ones endowed with these four qualities is a stream-winner, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening.
“Furthermore, a disciple of the noble ones endowed with these four qualities is linked with long life, human or divine; is linked with beauty, human or divine; is linked with happiness, human or divine; is linked with status, human or divine; is linked with influence, human or divine.
“I tell you this, Nandaka, not having heard it from any other brahman or contemplative. Instead, I tell you this having known, seen, and realized it for myself.”
When this was said, a certain man said to Nandaka, the chief minister of the Licchavis, “It is now time for your bath, sir.”
[Nandaka responded,] “Enough, I say, with this external bath. I am satisfied with this internal bath: confidence in the Blessed One.”
— SN 55.30
The Canon often places great importance on the power of the last mental state before death in determining one’s future plane of existence. However, the power of stream-entry is so great that it can overcome even a muddled state of mind at death, ensuring that the next rebirth will be a good one.
As he was sitting there, Mahanama the Sakyan said to the Blessed One, “Lord, this Kapilavatthu is rich & prosperous, populous & crowded, its alleys congested. Sometimes, when I enter Kapilavatthu in the evening after visiting with the Blessed One or with the monks who inspire the mind, I meet up with a runaway elephant, a runaway horse, a runaway chariot, a runaway cart, or a runaway person. At times like that, my mindfulness with regard to the Blessed One gets muddled, my mindfulness with regard to the Dhamma… the Sangha gets muddled. The thought occurs to me, ‘If I were to die at this moment, what would be my destination? What would be my future course?”
“Have no fear, Mahanama. Have no fear. Your death will not be a bad one, your demise will not be bad. If one’s mind has long been nurtured with conviction, nurtured with virtue, nurtured with learning, nurtured with relinquishment, nurtured with discernment, then when the body — endowed with form, composed of the four primary elements, born from mother & father, nourished with rice & porridge, subject to inconstancy, rubbing, pressing, dissolution, & dispersion — is eaten by crows, vultures, hawks, dogs, hyenas, or all sorts of creatures, nevertheless the mind — long nurtured with conviction, nurtured with virtue, learning, relinquishment, & discernment — rises upward and separates out.
“Suppose a man were to throw a jar of ghee or a jar of oil into a deep lake of water, where it would break. There the shards & jar-fragments would go down, while the ghee or oil would rise upward and separate out. In the same way, if one’s mind has long been nurtured with conviction, nurtured with virtue, nurtured with learning, nurtured with relinquishment, nurtured with discernment, then when the body… is eaten by crows, vultures, hawks, dogs, hyenas, or all sorts of creatures, nevertheless the mind… rises upward and separates out.”
— SN 55.21
[Ven. Ananda is speaking to Anathapindika:] “A well-instructed disciple of the noble ones, when endowed with these four qualities [the factors of stream-entry], has no terror, no trepidation, no fear at death with regard to the next life.”
— SN 55.27
“Then there is the case of the person who has no doubt or perplexity, who has arrived at certainty with regard to the True Dhamma. Then he comes down with a serious disease. As he comes down with a serious disease, the thought occurs to him, ‘I have no doubt or perplexity. I have arrived at certainty with regard to the True Dhamma.’ He doesn’t grieve, isn’t tormented; doesn’t weep, beat his breast, or grow delirious. This, too, is a person who, subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of death.”
— AN 4.184
“Just as it’s not easy to take the measure of the water in the great ocean as ‘just this many pails of water or hundreds of pails of water or thousands of pails of water or hundreds of thousands of pails of water.’ It’s reckoned simply as a great mass of water that is unreckonable, immeasurable. In the same way, when a disciple of the noble ones is endowed with these four bonanzas of merit, bonanzas of skillfulness [the factors of stream-entry], it’s not easy to take the measure of the merit as ‘just this much bonanza of merit, bonanza of skillfulness, nourishment of bliss, heavenly, ripening in bliss leading to heaven, leading to what is agreeable, pleasing, charming, happy, & beneficial.’ It’s reckoned simply as a great mass of merit that is unreckonable, immeasurable.”
— SN 55.41
“Monks, even though a wheel-turning emperor, having exercised sovereign lordship over the four continents, on the break-up of the body, after death, reappears in the good destination, the heavenly world, in the company of the devas of the Thirty-three, and enjoys himself there in the Nandana grove, surrounded by a consort of nymphs, supplied and endowed with the five strings of heavenly sensual pleasure, still — because he is not endowed with four qualities — he is not freed from [the possibility of going to] hell, not freed from the animal womb, not freed from the realm of hungry shades, not freed from the plane of deprivation, the bad destinations, the lower realms.
“And even though a disciple of the noble ones lives off lumps of almsfood and wears rag-robes, still — because he is endowed with four qualities — he is freed from hell, freed from the animal womb, freed from the realm of hungry shades, freed from the plane of deprivation, the bad destinations, the lower realms.
“And what are the four? There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Awakened One… verified confidence in the Dhamma… verified confidence in the Sangha… He/she is endowed with virtues that are appealing to the noble ones… He/she is endowed with these four qualities.
“And between the gaining of the four continents and the gaining of these four qualities, the gaining of the four continents is not equal to one sixteenth of the gaining of these four qualities.”
— SN 55.1
Sole dominion over the earth,
going to heaven,
lordship over all worlds:
the fruit of stream-entry
excels them.
— Dhp 178
Then the Blessed One, picking up a little bit of dust with the tip of his fingernail, said to the monks, “What do you think, monks? Which is greater: the little bit of dust I have picked up with the tip of my fingernail, or the great earth?”
“The great earth is far greater, lord. The little bit of dust the Blessed One has picked up with the tip of his fingernail is next to nothing. It’s not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth — this little bit of dust the Blessed One has picked up with the tip of his fingernail — when compared with the great earth.”
“In the same way, monks, for a disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to stream-entry], the suffering & stress totally ended & extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it’s not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, when compared with the previous mass of suffering. That’s how great the benefit is of breaking through to the Dhamma, monks. That’s how great the benefit is of obtaining the Dhamma eye.”
— SN 13.1
“Suppose, monks, that there were a pond fifty leagues wide, fifty leagues long, & fifty leagues deep, filled to overflowing with water so that a crow could drink from it, and a man would draw some water out of it with the tip of a blade of grass. What do you think? Which would be greater: the water drawn out with the tip of the blade of grass or the water in the pond?”
“The water in the pond would be far greater, lord. The water drawn out with the tip of the blade of grass would be next to nothing. It wouldn’t be a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth — the water drawn out with the tip of the blade of grass — when compared with the water in the pond”…
— SN 13.2
“Suppose, monks, that the great ocean were to go to extinction, to its total end, except for two or three drops of water. What do you think? Which would be greater: the water in the great ocean that had gone to extinction, to its total end, or the two or three remaining drops of water?”
“Lord, the water in the great ocean that had gone to extinction, to its total end, would be far greater. The two or three remaining drops of water would be next to nothing. They wouldn’t be a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth — the two or three remaining drops of water — when compared with the water in the great ocean that had gone to extinction, to its total end.”
“In the same way, monks, for a disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to stream-entry], the suffering & stress totally ended & extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it’s not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, when compared with the previous mass of suffering. That’s how great the benefit is of breaking through to the Dhamma, monks. That’s how great the benefit is of obtaining the Dhamma eye.”
— SN 13.8
Not all of the rewards of stream-entry concern one’s fate at death. Many of them pertain also to the here-and-now.
Then Anathapindika the householder went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him, “When, for a disciple of the noble ones, five forms of fear & animosity are stilled; when he is endowed with the four factors of stream-entry; and when, through discernment, he has rightly seen & rightly ferreted out the noble method, then if he wants he may state about himself: ‘Hell is ended; animal wombs are ended; the state of the hungry shades is ended; states of deprivation, destitution, the bad bourns are ended! I am a stream-winner, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening!’
“Now, which five forms of danger & animosity are stilled?
“When a person takes life, then with the taking of life as a requisite condition, he produces fear & animosity in the here & now, produces fear & animosity in future lives, experiences mental concomitants of pain & despair; but when he refrains from taking life, he neither produces fear & animosity in the here & now nor does he produce fear & animosity in future lives, nor does he experience mental concomitants of pain & despair: for one who refrains from taking life, that fear & animosity is thus stilled.
“When a person steals… engages in illicit sex… tells lies…
“When a person drinks distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness, then with the drinking of distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness as a requisite condition, he produces fear & animosity in the here & now, produces fear & animosity in future lives, experiences mental concomitants of pain & despair; but when he refrains from drinking distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness, he neither produces fear & animosity in the here & now nor does he produce fear & animosity in future lives, nor does he experience mental concomitants of pain & despair: for one who refrains from drinking distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness, that fear & animosity is thus stilled.
“These are the five forms of fear & animosity that are stilled.”
— AN 10.92
“These are the five rewards of conviction in a lay person. Which five?
“When the truly good people in the world show compassion, they will first show compassion to people of conviction, and not to people without conviction. When visiting, they first visit people of conviction, and not people without conviction. When accepting gifts, they will first accept those from people with conviction, and not from people without conviction. When teaching the Dhamma, they will first teach those with conviction, and not those without conviction. A person of conviction, on the break-up of the body, after death, will arise in a good destination, the heavenly world. These are the five rewards of conviction in a lay person.
“Just as a large banyan tree, on level ground where four roads meet, is a haven for the birds all around, even so a lay person of conviction is a haven for many people: monks, nuns, male lay followers, & female lay followers.”
A massive tree
whose branches carry fruits & leaves,
with trunks & roots
& an abundance of fruits:
There the birds find rest.
In that delightful sphere
they make their home.
Those seeking shade
come to the shade,
those seeking fruit
find fruit to eat.
So with the person consummate
in virtue & conviction,
humble, sensitive, gentle,
delightful, & mild:
To him come those without effluent –
free from passion,
free from aversion,
free from delusion —
the field of merit for the world.
They teach him the Dhamma
that dispels all stress.
And when he understands,
he is freed from effluents,
Whatever phenomena arise from a cause:
totally unbound.
— AN 5.38
Advice
Although it would be pleasant to conclude this study guide with the above passages of encouragement, we would probably do better to follow the example of the Buddha, who directed his last words to his stream-winner disciples, encouraging them not to rest content with the rewards awaiting them, but to maintain instead an attitude of heedfulness.
“And what is heedfulness? There is the case where a monk guards his mind with regard to [mental] fermentations and mental qualities accompanied by fermentations. When his mind is guarded with regard to fermentations and mental qualities accompanied by fermentations, the faculty of conviction goes to the culmination of its development. The faculty of persistence… mindfulness… concentration… discernment goes to the culmination of its development.”
— SN 48.56
“And how, Nandiya, does a disciple of the noble ones live heedlessly? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Awakened One… Content with that verified confidence in the Awakened One, he does not exert himself further in solitude by day or seclusion by night. For him, living thus heedlessly, there is no joy. There being no joy, there is no rapture. There being no rapture, there is no serenity. There being no serenity, he dwells in pain. When pained, the mind does not become centered. When the mind is uncentered, phenomena do not become manifest. When phenomena are not manifest, he is reckoned simply as one who dwells heedlessly.
“Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Dhamma… verified confidence in the Sangha… virtues that are appealing to the noble ones: untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered, liberating, praised by the wise, untarnished, leading to concentration. Content with those virtues pleasing to the noble ones, he does not exert himself further in solitude by day or seclusion by night. For him, living thus heedlessly, there is no joy. There being no joy, there is no rapture. There being no rapture, there is no serenity. There being no serenity, he dwells in pain. When pained, the mind does not become centered. When the mind is uncentered, phenomena do not become manifest. When phenomena are not manifest, he is reckoned simply as one who dwells heedlessly…
“And how, Nandiya, does a disciple of the noble ones live heedfully? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Awakened One… Not content with that verified confidence in the Awakened One, he exerts himself further in solitude by day or seclusion by night. For him, living thus heedfully, joy arises. In one who has joy, rapture arises. In one who has rapture, the body becomes serene. When the body is serene, one feels pleasure. Feeling pleasure, the mind becomes centered. When the mind is centered, phenomena become manifest. When phenomena are manifest, he is reckoned as one who dwells heedfully.
“Furthermore, the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Dhamma… verified confidence in the Sangha… virtues that are appealing to the noble ones: untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered, liberating, praised by the wise, untarnished, leading to concentration. Not content with those virtues pleasing to the noble ones, he exerts himself further in solitude by day or seclusion by night. For him, living thus heedfully, joy arises. In one who has joy, rapture arises. In one who has rapture, the body becomes serene. When the body is serene, one feels pleasure. Feeling pleasure, the mind becomes centered. When the mind is centered, phenomena become manifest. When phenomena are manifest, he is reckoned as one who dwells heedfully.”
— SN 55.40
“Therefore, Dighavu, when you are established in these four factors of stream-entry, you should further develop six qualities conducive to clear knowing. Remain focused on inconstancy in all fabrications, percipient of stress in what is inconstant, percipient of not-self in what is stressful, percipient of abandoning, percipient of dispassion, percipient of cessation. That’s how you should train yourself.”
— SN 55.3
See also: Part 1: The Way to Stream-entry
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is not leaving anything to chance and full-scale security measures are taken to ensure law and order.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ayodhya-verdict-Centre-to-decide-on-UPs-demand-for-extra-security/articleshow/6532473.cms
Ayodhya verdict: Centre to decide on UP’s demand for extra security
NEW DELHI: The Centre will next week take a call on Uttar Pradesh’s demand of deploying over 63,000 central paramilitary personnel for stepping up security in the state in view of the court verdict on Ayodhya title suits, which is to be pronounced on September 24.
Government sources here said though the home ministry would try to send as many paramilitary personnel to the state as possible before September 24, it does not appear at this juncture that the Centre would be able to send as many as 630 companies (over 63,000 personnel) demanded by the UP government.
“The final decision on this front will be taken by Wednesday. The ministry will have to factor in demands of paramilitary personnel elsewhere as well before taking any decision,” said a senior official.
Apprehending law and order problem in many areas after the court verdict, the state has already identified 19 districts as hyper-sensitive and 25 others as sensitive for deployment of additional forces days before the verdict.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Babri-Masjid-demolition-HC-refuses-to-defer-verdict/articleshow/6570859.cms
Babri Masjid demolition: HC refuses to defer verdict
NEW DELHI: The Allahabad High Court has rejected plea for deferring the judgement in the Ramjanambhoomi-Babrimasjid title suit. A three-judge special bench of the court rejected the application of one Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, a defendant, for reaching an amicable settlement through reconciliation and deferment of the judgement slated for September 24.
Meanwhile, with the date of the Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid judgement drawing near, religious leaders and scholars of both the communities have appealed for peace and communal harmony.
Leading Muslim religious leaders, including Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Jawwad, naib imam of Idgah and member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangimahli besides Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband have asked Muslims to respect the verdict of the court and maintain communal harmony .
“Peace is of prime importance and we have made the Muslims aware of it at every level in discourses and appeals that communal harmony should be maintained, so as to check vested interests from taking advantage of the situation,” Firangimahli told PTI.
Kalbe Jawwad asked community members to be weary of political leaders who would try to take advantage of the situation to serve their ulterior motives.
Darul Uloom Deoband had yesterday appealed to the people to respect the verdict of the court and maintain peace and communal harmony in the country .
The main pujari of the Ram Janmbhoomi temple in Ayodhya, Acharya Satyendra Das Mahraj and Mahant of Janki Ghat in Ayodhya, Janmey Sharan have also asked the community to remain calm and accept the verdict of the court.
Satyendra Das, appointed main pujari by the court, had also taken part in the roza iftar function recently to strengthen communal amity.
“In case the verdict is against the aspirations of any individual or party in the case, he is free to approach the Supreme Court,”, Firangimahli said, adding there should not be any reaction to it in society or on streets.
Four-phase panchayat elections in UP to begin on October 11
The notification for the four- phase elections of pradhan, gram, kshetra and district panchayats in Uttar Pradesh was issued today.
The polls will start from October 11.
“The election will be held in four phases - October 11, 14, 20 and 25. The nomination process will start from September 23. In all around 11 crore voters will elect 7,60557 representatives across the state”, State Election Commissioner (Panchayat and Local Bodies) Rajendra Bhownwal told reporters here.
Over 1.80 lakh polling booths will be marked for the polls that shall be held in all the districts except Etah and Kanshiram Nagar due to High Court orders.
Asked whether the polls could be conducted smoothly in view of Ayodhya title suit verdict on September 24, Mr. Bhownwal said that notification had been issued and it would not be withdrawn now.
“The orders have been issued only after reviewing the situation and there is no problem in holding the elections,” he said.
State police will ensure smooth conduct of these polls, the officer said, adding the process of identifying sensitive booths will be completed by the end of this month.
Two observers - each of special secretary rank - will be deployed in all districts to ensure free and fair polls.
There were 71 district panchayats, 2622 district panchayat wards, 821 kshetra panchayats, 63,710 kshetra panchayat wards, 51,921 village panchayats, 6,41,441 village panchayat wards in the state, Mr. Bhownwal said.
The counting will take place on October 28 and 30.
CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW THIS PHOTOGRAPH HAS BEEN TAKEN……..????????
Thank You n Regards,
Anand Bhandare
09/16/10
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LESSON 31- DHAMMA-NIBBANA PART II -Stream Entry Part 1-The way to Stream entry
16 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
Sole dominion over the earth, going to heaven, lordship over all worlds:
the fruit of stream-entry excels them.-Buddha
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Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
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The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
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DHAMMA
NIBBANA Stream Entry Part 1: The way to Stream-entry
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca3/nibbana.html
Stream Entry
Part 1: The Way to Stream-entry
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
· Introduction
· Association with People of Integrity
· Listening to the True Dhamma
· Appropriate Attention
· Practice in Accordance with the Dhamma
o Mindfulness & Alertness
o Restraint of the Senses
o The Three Forms of Right Conduct
o The Four Frames of Reference
o The Seven Factors for Awakening
o Clear Knowing & Release
Introduction
Sole dominion over the earth,
going to heaven,
lordship over all worlds:
the fruit of stream-entry
excels them.
— Dhp 178
The Pali canon recognizes four levels of Awakening, the first of which is called stream entry. This gains its name from the fact that a person who has attained this level has entered the “stream” flowing inevitably to nibbana. He/she is guaranteed to achieve full Awakening within seven lifetimes at most, and in the interim will not be reborn in any of the lower realms.
This study guide on stream entry is divided into two parts. The first deals with the practices leading to stream entry; the second, with the experience of stream entry and its results.
The practices leading to stream entry are encapsulated in four factors:
Association with people of integrity is a factor for stream-entry.
Listening to the true Dhamma is a factor for stream-entry.
Appropriate attention is a factor for stream-entry.
Practice in accordance with the Dhamma is a factor for stream-entry.
— SN 55.5
[Kapadika Bharadvaja:] “To what extent is there an awakening to the truth? To what extent does one awaken to the truth? We ask Master Gotama about awakening to the truth.”
[The Buddha:] “There is the case, Bharadvaja, where a monk lives in dependence on a certain village or town. Then a householder or householder’s son goes to him and observes him with regard to three mental qualities — qualities based on greed, qualities based on aversion, qualities based on delusion: ‘Are there in this venerable one any such qualities based on greed that, with his mind overcome by these qualities, he might say, “I know,” while not knowing, or say, “I see,” while not seeing; or that he might urge another to act in a way that was for his/her long-term harm & pain?’ As he observes him, he comes to know, ‘There are in this venerable one no such qualities based on greed… His bodily behavior & verbal behavior are those of one not greedy. And the Dhamma he teaches is deep, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. This Dhamma can’t easily be taught by a person who’s greedy.
“When, on observing that the monk is purified with regard to qualities based on greed, he next observes him with regard to qualities based on aversion… based on delusion: ‘Are there in this venerable one any such qualities based on delusion that, with his mind overcome by these qualities, he might say, “I know,” while not knowing, or say, “I see,” while not seeing; or that he might urge another to act in a way that was for his/her long-term harm & pain?’ As he observes him, he comes to know, ‘There are in this venerable one no such qualities based on delusion… His bodily behavior & verbal behavior are those of one not deluded. And the Dhamma he teaches is deep, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. This Dhamma can’t easily be taught by a person who’s deluded.
“When, on observing that the monk is purified with regard to qualities based on delusion, he places conviction in him. With the arising of conviction, he visits him & grows close to him. Growing close to him, he lends ear. Lending ear, he hears the Dhamma. Hearing the Dhamma, he remembers it. Remembering it, he penetrates the meaning of those dhammas. Penetrating the meaning, he comes to an agreement through pondering those dhammas. There being an agreement through pondering those dhammas, desire arises. With the arising of desire, he becomes willing. Willing, he contemplates (lit: “weighs,” “compares”). Contemplating, he makes an exertion. Exerting himself, he both realizes the ultimate meaning of the truth with his body and sees by penetrating it with discernment.
“To this extent, Bharadvaja, there is an awakening to the truth. To this extent one awakens to the truth. I describe this as an awakening to the truth. But it is not yet the final attainment of the truth.”
[Kapadika Bharadvaja:] “Yes, Master Gotama, to this extent there is an awakening to the truth. To this extent one awakens to the truth. We regard this as an awakening to the truth. But to what extent is there the final attainment of the truth? To what extent does one finally attain the truth? We ask Master Gotama about the final attainment of the truth.”
[The Buddha:] “The cultivation, development, & pursuit of those very same qualities: to this extent, Bharadvaja, there is the final attainment of the truth. To this extent one finally attains the truth. I describe this as the final attainment of the truth.”
— MN 95
Association with People of Integrity
“With regard to external factors, I don’t envision any other single factor like friendship with admirable people as doing so much for a monk in training, who has not attained the goal but remains intent on the unsurpassed safety from bondage. A monk who is a friend with admirable people abandons what is unskillful and develops what is skillful.”
A monk who is a friend
to admirable people
– who’s reverential, respectful,
doing what his friends advise —
mindful, alert,
attains step by step
the ending of all fetters.
— Iti 17
As he was seated to one side, Ven. Ananda said to the Blessed One, “This is half of the holy life, lord: having admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues.”
“Don’t say that, Ananda. Don’t say that. Having admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues is actually the whole of the holy life. When a monk has admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues, he can be expected to develop & pursue the noble eightfold path.
“And how does a monk who has admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues, develop & pursue the noble eightfold path? There is the case where a monk develops right view dependent on seclusion, dependent on dispassion, dependent on cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops right resolve… right speech… right action… right livelihood… right effort… right mindfulness… right concentration dependent on seclusion… dispassion… cessation, resulting in letting go. This is how a monk who has admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues, develops & pursues the noble eightfold path.
“And through this line of reasoning one may know how having admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues is actually the whole of the holy life: It is in dependence on me as an admirable friend that beings subject to birth have gained release from birth, that beings subject to aging have gained release from aging, that beings subject to death have gained release from death, that beings subject to sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair have gained release from sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair.”
— SN 45.2
“And what does it mean to have admirable people as friends? There is the case where a lay person, in whatever town or village he may dwell, spends time with householders or householders’ sons, young or old, who are advanced in virtue. He talks with them, engages them in discussions. He emulates consummate conviction in those who are consummate in conviction, consummate virtue in those who are consummate in virtue, consummate generosity in those who are consummate in generosity, and consummate discernment in those who are consummate in discernment. This is called having admirable people as friends…
“And what does it mean to be consummate in conviction? There is the case where a noble disciple has conviction, is convinced of the Tathagata’s Awakening: ‘Indeed, the Blessed One is pure and rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge and conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine and human beings, awakened, blessed.’ This is called being consummate in conviction.
“And what does it mean to be consummate in virtue? There is the case where a noble disciple abstains from taking life, abstains from stealing, abstains from illicit sexual conduct, abstains from lying, abstains from taking intoxicants that cause heedlessness. This is called being consummate in virtue.
“And what does it mean to be consummate in generosity? There is the case of a noble disciple, his awareness cleansed of the stain of miserliness, living at home, freely generous, openhanded, delighting in being magnanimous, responsive to requests, delighting in the distribution of alms. This is called being consummate in generosity.
“And what does it mean to be consummate in discernment? There is the case where a noble disciple is discerning, endowed with discernment of arising and passing away — noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress. This is called being consummate in discernment.”
— AN 8.54
“For the person who transgresses in one thing, I tell you, there is no evil deed that is not to be done. Which one thing? This: telling a deliberate lie.”
The person who lies,
who transgress in this one thing,
transcending concern for the world beyond:
there’s no evil
he might not do.
— Iti 25
“A friend endowed with these three qualities is worth associating with. Which three? He/she gives what is hard to give, does what is hard to do, endures what is hard to endure. A friend endowed with these three qualities is worth associating with.”
— AN 3.130
“These three things have been promulgated by wise people, by people who are truly good. Which three? Generosity… going-forth [from the home life]… & service to one’s mother & father. These three things have been promulgated by wise people, by people who are truly good.”
— AN 3.45
“Now what is the level of a person of no integrity? A person of no integrity is ungrateful, does not acknowledge the help given to him. This ingratitude, this lack of acknowledgment is second nature among rude people. It is entirely on the level of people of no integrity. A person of integrity is grateful & acknowledges the help given to him. This gratitude, this acknowledgment is second nature among admirable people. It is entirely on the level of people of integrity.”
— AN 2.31
“A person endowed with these four qualities can be known as ‘a person of integrity.’ Which four?
“There is the case where a person of integrity, when asked, doesn’t reveal another person’s bad points, to say nothing of when unasked. Furthermore, when asked, when pressed with questions, he is one who speaks of another person’s bad points not in full, not in detail, with omissions, holding back…
“Then again, a person of integrity, when unasked, reveals another person’s good points, to say nothing of when asked. Furthermore, when asked, when pressed with questions, he is one who speaks of another person’s good points in full & in detail, without omissions, without holding back…
“Then again, a person of integrity, when unasked, reveals his own bad points, to say nothing of when asked. Furthermore, when asked, when pressed with questions, he is one who speaks of his own bad points in full & in detail, without omissions, without holding back…
“Then again, a person of integrity, when asked, doesn’t reveal his own good points, to say nothing of when unasked. Furthermore, when asked, when pressed with questions, he is one who speaks of his own good points not in full, not in detail, with omissions, holding back…
“Monks, a person endowed with these four qualities can be known as ‘a person of integrity.’”
— AN 4.73
[1] “‘It’s through living together that a person’s virtue may be known, and then only after a long period, not a short period; by one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive; by one who is discerning, not by one who is not discerning’: Thus it was said. And in reference to what was it said?
“There is the case where one individual, through living with another, knows this: ‘For a long time this person has been torn, broken, spotted, splattered in his actions. He hasn’t been consistent in his actions. He hasn’t practiced consistently with regard to the precepts. He is an unprincipled person, not a virtuous, principled one.’ And then there is the case where one individual, through living with another, knows this: ‘For a long time this person has been untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered in his actions. He has been consistent in his actions. He has practiced consistently with regard to the precepts. He is a virtuous, principled person, not an unprincipled one.’
“‘It’s through living together that a person’s virtue may be known, and then only after a long period, not a short period; by one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive; by one who is discerning, not by one who is not discerning’: Thus it was said. And in reference to this was it said.
[2] “‘It’s through dealing with a person that his purity may be known, and then only after a long period, not a short period; by one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive; by one who is discerning, not by one who is not discerning’: Thus it was said. And in reference to what was it said?
“There is the case where one individual, through dealing with another, knows this: ‘This person deals one way when one-on-one, another way when with two, another way when with three, another way when with many. His earlier dealings do not jibe with his later dealings. He is impure in his dealings, not pure.’ And then there is the case where one individual, through dealing with another, knows this: ‘The way this person deals when one-on-one, is the same way he deals when with two, when with three, when with many. His earlier dealings jibe with his later dealings. He is pure in his dealings, not impure.’
“‘It’s through dealing with a person that his purity may be known, and then only after a long period, not a short period; by one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive; by one who is discerning, not by one who is not discerning’: Thus it was said. And in reference to this was it said.
[3] “‘It’s through adversity that a person’s endurance may be known, and then only after a long period, not a short period; by one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive; by one who is discerning, not by one who is not discerning’: Thus it was said. And in reference to what was it said?
“There is the case where a person, suffering loss of relatives, loss of wealth, or loss through disease, does not reflect: ‘That’s how it is when living together in the world. That’s how it is when gaining a personal identity (atta-bhava, literally “self-state”). When there is living in the world, when there is the gaining of a personal identity, these eight worldly conditions spin after the world, and the world spins after these eight worldly conditions: gain, loss, status, disgrace, censure, praise, pleasure, & pain.’ Suffering loss of relatives, loss of wealth, or loss through disease, he sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. And then there is the case where a person, suffering loss of relatives, loss of wealth, or loss through disease, reflects: ‘That’s how it is when living together in the world. That’s how it is when gaining a personal identity. When there is living in the world, when there is the gaining of a personal identity, these eight worldly conditions spin after the world, and the world spins after these eight worldly conditions: gain, loss, status, disgrace, censure, praise, pleasure, & pain.’ Suffering loss of relatives, loss of wealth, or loss through disease, he does not sorrow, grieve, or lament, does not beat his breast or become distraught.
“‘It’s through adversity that a person’s endurance may be known, and then only after a long period, not a short period; by one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive; by one who is discerning, not by one who is not discerning’: Thus it was said. And in reference to this was it said.
[4] “‘It’s through discussion that a person’s discernment may be known, and then only after a long period, not a short period; by one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive; by one who is discerning, not by one who is not discerning’: Thus it was said. And in reference to what was it said?
“There is the case where one individual, through discussion with another, knows this: ‘From the way this person rises to an issue, from the way he applies [his reasoning], from the way he addresses a question, he is dull, not discerning. Why is that? He does not make statements that are deep, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. He cannot declare the meaning, teach it, describe it, set it forth, reveal it, explain it, or make it plain. He is dull, not discerning.’ Just as if a man with good eyesight standing on the shore of a body of water were to see a small fish rise. The thought would occur to him, ‘From the rise of this fish, from the break of its ripples, from its speed, it is a small fish, not a large one.’ In the same way, one individual, in discussion with another, knows this: ‘From the way this person rises to an issue, from the way he applies [his reasoning], from the way he addresses a question… he is dull, not discerning.’
“And then there is the case where one individual, through discussion with another, knows this: ‘From the way this person rises to an issue, from the way he applies [his reasoning], from the way he addresses a question, he is discerning, not dull. Why is that? He makes statements that are deep, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. He can declare the meaning, teach it, describe it, set it forth, reveal it, explain it, & make it plain. He is discerning, not dull.’ Just as if a man with good eyesight standing on the shore of a body of water were to see a large fish rise. The thought would occur to him, ‘From the rise of this fish, from the break of its ripples, from its speed, it is a large fish, not a small one.’ In the same way, one individual, in discussion with another, knows this: ‘From the way this person rises to an issue, from the way he applies [his reasoning], from the way he addresses a question… he is discerning, not dull.’
“‘It’s through discussion that a person’s discernment may be known, and then only after a long period, not a short period; by one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive; by one who is discerning, not by one who is not discerning’: Thus it was said. And in reference to this was it said.”
— AN 4.192
In addition to requiring time and clear powers of observation, the ability to recognize a person of integrity requires that you be a person of integrity as well.
“Monks, could a person of no integrity know of a person of no integrity: ‘This is a person of no integrity’?”
“No, lord.”
“Good, monks. It’s impossible, there’s no way, that a person of no integrity would know of a person of no integrity: ‘This is a person of no integrity.’
“Could a person of no integrity know of a person of integrity: ‘This is a person of integrity’?”
“No, lord.”
“Good, monks. It’s impossible, there’s no way, that a person of no integrity would know of a person of integrity: ‘This is a person of integrity.’”…
“Now, monks, could a person of integrity know of a person of no integrity: ‘This is a person of no integrity’?”
“Yes, lord.”
“Good, monks. It is possible that a person of integrity would know of a person of no integrity: ‘This is a person of no integrity.’
“Could a person of integrity know of a person of integrity: ‘This is a person of integrity’?”
“Yes, lord.”
“Good, monks. It is possible that a person of integrity would know of a person of integrity: ‘This is a person of integrity.’
“A person of integrity is endowed with qualities of integrity; he is a person of integrity in his friendship, in the way he wills, the way he gives advice, the way he speaks, the way he acts, the views he holds, & the way he gives a gift.
“And how is a person of integrity endowed with qualities of integrity? There is the case where a person of integrity is endowed with conviction, conscience, concern; he is learned, with aroused persistence, unmuddled mindfulness, & good discernment. This is how a person of integrity is endowed with qualities of integrity.”
“And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in his friendship? There is the case where a person of integrity has, as his friends & companions, those priests & contemplatives who are endowed with conviction, conscience, concern; who are learned, with aroused persistence, unmuddled mindfulness, & good discernment. This is how a person of integrity is a person of integrity in his friendship.
“And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the way he wills? There is the case where a person of integrity wills neither for his own affliction, nor for the affliction of others, nor for the affliction of both. This is how a person of integrity is a person of integrity in the way he wills.
“And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the way he gives advice? There is the case where a person of integrity gives advice neither for his own affliction, nor for the affliction of others, nor for the affliction of both. This is how a person of integrity is a person of integrity in the way he gives advice.
“And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the way he speaks? There is the case where a person of integrity is one who refrains from lies, refrains from divisive tale-bearing, refrains from harsh speech, refrains from idle chatter. This is how a person of integrity is a person of integrity in the way he speaks.
“And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the way he acts? There is the case where a person of integrity is one who refrains from taking life, refrains from stealing, refrains from illicit sex. This is how a person of integrity is a person of integrity in the way he acts.
“And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the views he holds? There is the case where a person of integrity is one who holds a view like this: ‘There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. There is this world & the next world. There is mother & father. There are spontaneously reborn beings; there are priests & contemplatives who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.’ This is how a person of integrity is a person of integrity in the views he holds.
“And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the way he gives a gift? There is the case where a person of integrity gives a gift attentively, with his own hand, respectfully, not as if throwing it away, with the view that something will come of it. This is how a person of integrity is a person of integrity in the way he gives a gift.
“This person of integrity — thus endowed with qualities of integrity; a person of integrity in his friendship, in the way he wills, the way he gives advice, the way he speaks, the way he acts, the views he holds, & the way he gives a gift — on the break-up of the body, after death, reappears in the destination of people of integrity. And what is the destination of people of integrity? Greatness among devas or among human beings.”
— MN 110
Regard him as one who
points out
treasure,
the wise one who
seeing your faults
rebukes you.
Stay with this sort of sage.
For the one who stays
with a sage of this sort,
things get better,
not worse.
— Dhp 76
Listening to the True Dhamma
The opportunity to listen to the Dhamma is considered valuable both because it is rare and because it yields great benefits.
Hard the chance to hear the true Dhamma.
— Dhp 182
“There are these five rewards in listening to the Dhamma. Which five?
“One hears what one has not heard before. One clarifies what one has heard before. One gets rid of doubt. One’s views are made straight. One’s mind grows serene.
“These are the five rewards in listening to the Dhamma.”
— AN 5.202
To obtain these benefits, one must come to the Dhamma both with the right karmic background and with the right attitude.
“Endowed with these six qualities, a person is capable of alighting on the lawfulness, the rightness of skillful mental qualities even while listening to the true Dhamma. Which six?
“He is not endowed with a (present) kamma obstruction, a defilement obstruction, or a result-of-(past)-kamma obstruction; he has conviction, has the desire (to listen), and is discerning.
“Endowed with these six qualities, a person is capable of alighting on the lawfulness, the rightness of skillful mental qualities even while listening to the true Dhamma.”
— AN 6.86
“With what virtue,
what behavior,
nurturing what actions,
would a person become rightly based
and attain the ultimate goal?”
“One should be respectful
of one’s superiors[1]
& not envious;
should have a sense of the time
for seeing teachers;[2]
should value the opportunity
when a talk on Dhamma’s in progress;
should listen intently
to well-spoken words;
should go at the proper time,
humbly, casting off stubborness,
to one’s teacher’s presence;
should both recollect & follow
the Dhamma, its meaning,
restraint, & the holy life.
Delighting in Dhamma,
savoring Dhamma,
established in Dhamma,
with a sense of how
to investigate Dhamma,
one should not speak in ways
destructive of Dhamma,[3]
should guide oneself
with true, well-spoken words.
Shedding
laughter, chattering,
lamentation, hatred,
deception, deviousness,
greed, pride,
confrontation, roughness,
astringency, infatuation,
one should go about free
of intoxication,
steadfast within.
Understanding’s the heartwood
of well-spoken words;
concentration, the heartwood
of learning & understanding.
When a person is hasty & heedless
his discernment & learning
don’t grow.
While those who delight
in the doctrines taught by the noble ones,
are unexcelled
in word, action, & mind.
They, established in
calm,
composure, &
concentration,
have reached
what discernment & learning
have as their heartwood.”[4]
— Sn 2.9
Notes
1.
According to the Commentary, one’s superiors include those who have more wisdom than oneself, more skill in concentration and other aspects of the path than oneself, and those senior to oneself.
2.
The Commentary says that the right time to see a teacher is when one is overcome with passion, aversion, and delusion, and cannot find a way out on one’s own. This echoes a passage in AN 6.26, in which Ven. Maha Kaccana says that the right time to visit a “monk worthy of esteem” is when one needs help in overcoming any of the five hindrances or when one doesn’t yet have an appropriate theme to focus on to put an end to the mind’s fermentations.
3.
The Commentary equates “words destructive of the Dhamma” with “animal talk.” See the discussion under Pacittiya 85 in The Buddhist Monastic Code, Volume I.
4.
The heartwood of learning & discernment is release. — Sn 2.9
[Ven. Yasadatta:]
Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror’s teaching.
He’s as far from the True Dhamma
as the ground is from the sky.
Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror’s teaching.
He wanes from the True Dhamma,
like the moon in the dark half of the month.
Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror’s teaching.
He withers away in the True Dhamma,
like a fish in next to no water.
Intent on quibbling,
the dullard hears the Conqueror’s teaching.
He doesn’t grow in the True Dhamma,
like a rotten seed in a field.
But whoever hears the Conqueror’s teaching
with guarded intent,
doing away with effluents — all —
realizing the unshakable,
attaining the foremost peace,
is — free from effluent —
totally unbound.
— Thag 5.10
It’s also important to understand clearly the standards for distinguishing true Dhamma from false. These standards come down to a pragmatic test: How does one behave, and what results come from one’s behavior, when one puts the Dhamma into practice?
As they were sitting to one side, the Kalamas of Kesaputta said to the Blessed One, “Venerable sir, there are some priests & contemplatives who come to Kesaputta. They expound & glorify their own doctrines, but as for the doctrines of others, they deprecate them, revile them, show contempt for them, & disparage them. And then other priests & contemplatives come to Kesaputta. They expound & glorify their own doctrines, but as for the doctrines of others, they deprecate them, revile them, show contempt for them, & disparage them. They leave us simply uncertain & doubtful: Which of these venerable priests & contemplatives are speaking the truth, and which ones are lying?”
“Of course you are uncertain, Kalamas. Of course you are doubtful. When there are reasons for doubt, uncertainty is born. So in this case, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are unskillful; these qualities are blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the wise; these qualities, when undertaken & carried out, lead to harm & to suffering’ — then you should abandon them…
“What do you think, Kalamas: When greed arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?”
“For harm, lord.”
“And this greedy person, overcome by greed, his mind possessed by greed: Doesn’t he kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person’s wife, tell lies, and induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term harm & suffering?”
“Yes, lord.”
(Similarly for aversion & delusion.)
So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?”
“Unskillful, lord.”
“Blameworthy or blameless?”
“Blameworthy, lord.”
“Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?”
“Criticized by the wise, lord.”
“When undertaken & carried out, do they lead to harm & to suffering, or not?”
“When undertaken & carried out, they lead to harm & to suffering…”
“…Now, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when undertaken & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness’ — then you should enter & remain in them.
“What do you think, Kalamas: When lack of greed arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?”
“For welfare, lord.”
“And this ungreedy person, not overcome by greed, his mind not possessed by greed: He doesn’t kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person’s wife, tell lies, or induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term welfare & happiness — right?”
“Yes, lord.”
(Similarly for lack of aversion & delusion.)
So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?”
“Skillful, lord.”
“Blameworthy or blameless?”
“Blameless, lord.”
“Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?”
“Praised by the wise, lord.”
“When undertaken & carried out, do they lead to welfare & to happiness, or not?”
“When undertaken & carried out, they lead to welfare & to happiness…”
— AN 3.65
“Gotami, the qualities of which you may know, ‘These qualities lead to passion, not to dispassion; to being fettered, not to being unfettered; to accumulating, not to shedding; to self-aggrandizement, not to modesty; to discontent, not to contentment; to entanglement, not to seclusion; to laziness, not to aroused persistence; to being burdensome, not to being unburdensome’: You may categorically hold, ‘This is not the Dhamma, this is not the Vinaya, this is not the Teacher’s instruction.’
“As for the qualities of which you may know, ‘These qualities lead to dispassion, not to passion; to being unfettered, not to being fettered; to shedding, not to accumulating; to modesty, not to self-aggrandizement; to contentment, not to discontent; to seclusion, not to entanglement; to aroused persistence, not to laziness; to being unburdensome, not to being burdensome’: You may categorically hold, ‘This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teacher’s instruction.’”
— AN 8.53
“Upali, the qualities of which you may know, ‘These qualities do not lead to utter disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, nor to Unbinding’: You may categorically hold, ‘This is not the Dhamma, this is not the Vinaya, this is not the Teacher’s instruction.’
“As for the qualities of which you may know, ‘These qualities lead to utter disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding’: You may categorically hold, ‘This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teacher’s instruction.’”
— AN 7.80
The test for the true Dhamma being pragmatic, this means that even when you are convinced that you have heard the true Dhamma, you must be careful to realize that simply hearing the truth is not enough to know it for sure.
[The Buddha:] “There are five things that can turn out in two ways in the here-&-now. Which five? Conviction, liking, unbroken tradition, reasoning by analogy, & an agreement through pondering views. These are the five things that can turn out in two ways in the here-&-now. Now some things are firmly held in conviction and yet vain, empty, & false. Some things are not firmly held in conviction, and yet they are genuine, factual, & unmistaken. Some things are well-liked… truly an unbroken tradition… well-reasoned… Some things are well-pondered and yet vain, empty, & false. Some things are not well-pondered, and yet they are genuine, factual, & unmistaken. In these cases it isn’t proper for a knowledgeable person who safeguards the truth to come to a definite conclusion, ‘Only this is true; anything else is worthless.”
[Kapadika Bharadvaja:] “But to what extent, Master Gotama, is there the safeguarding of the truth? To what extent does one safeguard the truth? We ask Master Gotama about the safeguarding of the truth.”
[The Buddha:] “If a person has conviction, his statement, ‘This is my conviction,’ safeguards the truth. But he doesn’t yet come to the definite conclusion that ‘Only this is true; anything else is worthless.’ To this extent, Bharadvaja, there is the safeguarding of the truth. To this extent one safeguards the truth. I describe this as the safeguarding of the truth. But it is not yet an awakening to the truth.”
— MN 95
Appropriate Attention
Having heard the Dhamma, it is important to bring appropriate attention — seeing things in terms of cause and effect — both to what you have heard and to your experiences in general, for this one factor can make all the difference in the success or failure of your practice.
“With regard to internal factors, I don’t envision any other single factor like appropriate attention as doing so much for a monk in training, who has not attained the goal but remains intent on the unsurpassed safety from bondage. A monk who attends appropriately abandons what is unskillful and develops what is skillful.
Appropriate attention
as a quality
of a monk in training:
nothing else
does so much
for attaining the superlative goal.
A monk, striving appropriately,
attains the ending of stress.
— Iti 16
I have heard that on one occasion a certain monk was dwelling among the Kosalans in a forest thicket. Now at that time, he spent the day’s abiding thinking evil, unskillful thoughts: i.e., thoughts of sensuality, thoughts of ill will, thoughts of doing harm.
Then the devata inhabiting the forest thicket, feeling sympathy for the monk, desiring his benefit, desiring to bring him to his senses, approached him and addressed him with this verse:
From inappropriate attention
you’re being chewed by your thoughts.
Relinquishing what’s inappropriate,
contemplate
appropriately.
Keeping your mind on the Teacher,
the Dhamma, the Sangha, your virtues,
you will arrive at
joy,
rapture,
pleasure
without doubt.
Then, saturated
with joy,
you will put an end
to suffering & stress.
The monk, chastened by the devata, came to his senses.
— SN 9.11
Appropriate attention is essentially the ability to frame your understanding of experience in the right terms. In many cases, this means framing the right questions for gaining insight into suffering and its end.
“This is the way leading to discernment: when visiting a priest or contemplative, to ask: ‘What is skillful, venerable sir? What is unskillful? What is blameworthy? What is blameless? What should be cultivated? What should not be cultivated? What, having been done by me, will be for my long-term harm & suffering? Or what, having been done by me, will be for my long-term welfare & happiness?’”
— MN 135
“There is the case where an uninstructed, run-of-the-mill person… does not discern what ideas are fit for attention, or what ideas are unfit for attention. This being so, he does not attend to ideas fit for attention, and attends [instead] to ideas unfit for attention. And what are the ideas unfit for attention that he attends to? Whatever ideas such that, when he attends to them, the unarisen effluent of sensuality arises, and the arisen effluent of sensuality increases; the unarisen effluent of becoming… the unarisen effluent of ignorance arises, and the arisen effluent of ignorance increases… This is how he attends inappropriately: ‘Was I in the past? Was I not in the past? What was I in the past? How was I in the past? Having been what, what was I in the past? Shall I be in the future? Shall I not be in the future? What shall I be in the future? How shall I be in the future? Having been what, what shall I be in the future?’ Or else he is inwardly perplexed about the immediate present: ‘Am I? Am I not? What am I? How am I? Where has this being come from? Where is it bound?’
“As he attends inappropriately in this way, one of six kinds of view arises in him: The view I have a self arises in him as true & established, or the view I have no self… or the view It is precisely by means of self that I perceive self… or the view It is precisely by means of self that I perceive not-self… or the view It is precisely by means of not-self that I perceive self arises in him as true & established, or else he has a view like this: This very self of mine — the knower that is sensitive here & there to the ripening of good & bad actions — is the self of mine that is constant, everlasting, eternal, not subject to change, and will endure as long as eternity. This is called a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views. Bound by a fetter of views, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill person is not freed from birth, aging, & death, from sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair. He is not freed, I tell you, from stress.
“The well-instructed noble disciple… discerns what ideas are fit for attention, and what ideas are unfit for attention. This being so, he does not attend to ideas unfit for attention, and attends [instead] to ideas fit for attention… And what are the ideas fit for attention that he attends to? Whatever ideas such that, when he attends to them, the unarisen effluent of sensuality does not arise, and the arisen effluent of sensuality is abandoned; the unarisen effluent of becoming… the unarisen effluent of ignorance does not arise, and the arisen effluent of ignorance is abandoned… He attends appropriately, This is stress… This is the origination of stress… This is the cessation of stress… This is the way leading to the cessation of stress. As he attends appropriately in this way, three fetters are abandoned in him: identity-view, doubt, and grasping at precepts & practices. These are called the effluents that are to be abandoned by seeing.”
— MN 2
Appropriate attention can also mean framing the way you understand events as they occur.
[MahaKotthita:] “Sariputta my friend, which things should a virtuous monk attend to in an appropriate way?”
[Sariputta:] “A virtuous monk, Kotthita my friend, should attend in an appropriate way to the five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. Which five? Form as a clinging-aggregate, feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness as a clinging-aggregate. A virtuous monk should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. For it is possible that a virtuous monk, attending in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant… not-self, would realize the fruit of stream-entry.”
[MahaKotthita:] “Then which things should a monk who has attained stream-entry attend to in an appropriate way?”
[Sariputta:] “A monk who has attained stream-entry should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. For it is possible that a monk who has attained stream-entry, attending in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant… not-self, would realize the fruit of once-returning.”
[MahaKotthita:] “Then which things should a monk who has attained once-returning attend to in an appropriate way?”
[Sariputta:] “A monk who has attained once-returning should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. For it is possible that a monk who has attained once-returning, attending in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant… not-self, would realize the fruit of non-returning.”
[MahaKotthita:] “Then which things should a monk who has attained non-returning attend to in an appropriate way?”
[Sariputta:] “A monk who has attained non-returning should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. For it is possible that a monk who has attained non-returning, attending in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant… not-self, would realize the fruit of arahantship.”
[MahaKotthita:] “Then which things should an arahant attend to in an appropriate way?”
[Sariputta:] “An arahant should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. Although, for an arahant, there is nothing further to do, and nothing to add to what has been done, still these things — when developed & pursued — lead both to a pleasant abiding in the here-&-now and to mindfulness & alertness.”
— SN 22.122
On one occasion the Blessed One was staying among the Ayojjhans on the banks of the Ganges River. There he addressed the monks: “Monks, suppose that a large glob of foam were floating down this Ganges River, and a man with good eyesight were to see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a glob of foam? In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any form that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in form?
“Now suppose that in the autumn — when it’s raining in fat, heavy drops — a water bubble were to appear & disappear on the water, and a man with good eyesight were to see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a water bubble? In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any feeling that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in feeling?
“Now suppose that in the last month of the hot season a mirage were shimmering, and a man with good eyesight were to see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a mirage? In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any perception that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in perception?
“Now suppose that a man desiring heartwood, in quest of heartwood, seeking heartwood, were to go into a forest carrying a sharp ax. There he would see a large banana tree: straight, young, of enormous height. He would cut it at the root and, having cut it at the root, would chop off the top. Having chopped off the top, he would peel away the outer skin. Peeling away the outer skin, he wouldn’t even find sapwood, to say nothing of heartwood. Then a man with good eyesight would see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a banana tree? In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any fabrications that are past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing them, observing them, & appropriately examining them — they would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in fabrications?
“Now suppose that a magician or magician’s apprentice were to display a magic trick at a major intersection, and a man with good eyesight were to see it, observe it, & appropriately examine it. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in a magic trick? In the same way, a monk sees, observes, & appropriately examines any consciousness that is past, future, or present; internal or external; blatant or subtle; common or sublime; far or near. To him — seeing it, observing it, & appropriately examining it — it would appear empty, void, without substance: for what substance would there be in consciousness?
“Seeing thus, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones grows disenchanted with form, disenchanted with feeling, disenchanted with perception, disenchanted with fabrications, disenchanted with consciousness. Disenchanted, he grows dispassionate. Through dispassion, he’s released. With release there’s the knowledge, ‘Released.’ He discerns that ‘Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.’”
That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, said further:
Form is like a glob of foam;
feeling, a bubble;
perception, a mirage;
fabrications, a banana tree;
consciousness, a magic trick —
this has been taught
by the Kinsman of the Sun.
However you observe them,
appropriately examine them,
they’re empty, void
to whoever sees them
appropriately.
Beginning with the body
as taught by the One
with profound discernment:
when abandoned by three things
— life, warmth, & consciousness —
form is rejected, cast aside.
When bereft of these
it lies thrown away,
senseless,
a meal for others.
That’s the way it goes:
it’s a magic trick,
an idiot’s babbling.
It’s said to be
a murderer.
No substance here
is found.
Thus a monk, persistence aroused,
should view the aggregates
by day & by night,
mindful,
alert;
should discard all fetters;
should make himself
his own refuge;
should live as if
his head were on fire —
in hopes of the state
with no falling away.
— SN 22.95
Practice in Accordance with the Dhamma
In developing dispassion for the clinging-aggregates, appropriate attention is an important first step in practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma.
“For a monk practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, this is what accords with the Dhamma: that he keep cultivating disenchantment with regard to form, that he keep cultivating disenchantment with regard to feeling, that he keep cultivating disenchantment with regard to perception, that he keep cultivating disenchantment with regard to fabrications, that he keep cultivating disenchantment with regard to consciousness. As he keeps cultivating disenchantment with regard to form… feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness, he comprehends form… feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness. As he comprehends form… feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness, he is totally released from form… feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness. He is totally released from sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs. He is totally released, I tell you, from suffering & stress.”
“For a monk practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, this is what accords with the Dhamma: that he keep focused on inconstancy… stress… not-self with regard to form, that he keep focused on inconstancy… stress… not-self with regard to feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness. As he keeps focusing on inconstancy… stress… not-self with regard to form… feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness, he comprehends form… feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness. As he comprehends form… feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness, he is totally released from form… feeling… perception… fabrications… consciousness. He is totally released from sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs. He is totally released, I tell you, from suffering & stress.”
— SN 22.39-42
“If a monk teaches the Dhamma for the sake of disenchantment, dispassion, & cessation with regard to aging & death… birth… becoming… clinging/sustenance… craving… feeling… contact… the six sense media… name & form… consciousness… fabrications… ignorance, he deserves to be called a monk who is a speaker of Dhamma. If he practices for the sake of disenchantment, dispassion, & cessation with regard to aging & death… ignorance, he deserves to be called a monk who practices the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma. If — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, and lack of clinging/sustenance with regard to aging & death… ignorance — he is released, then he deserves to be called a monk who has attained Unbinding in the here-&-now.”
— SN 12.67
The practice leading to disenchantment, dispassion, and release follows a stepwise path of cause and effect.
“Now, I tell you, clear knowing & release have their nutriment. They are not without nutriment. And what is their nutriment? The seven factors for awakening… And what is the nutriment for the seven factors for awakening? The four frames of reference… And what is the nutriment for the four frames of reference? The three forms of right conduct… And what is the nutriment for the three forms of right conduct? Restraint of the senses… And what is the nutriment for restraint of the senses? Mindfulness & alertness… And what is the nutriment for mindfulness & alertness? Appropriate attention… And what is the nutriment for appropriate attention? Conviction… And what is the nutriment for conviction? Hearing the true Dhamma… And what is the nutriment for hearing the true Dhamma? Associating with people who are truly good…
“Just as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops & crash thunder on the upper mountains: The water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the mountain clefts & rifts & gullies… the little ponds… the big lakes… the little rivers… the big rivers. When the big rivers are full, they fill the great ocean, and thus is the great ocean fed, thus is it filled. In the same way, when associating with truly good people is brought to fulfillment, it fulfills [the conditions for] hearing the true Dhamma… conviction… appropriate attention… mindfulness & alertness… restraint of the senses… the three forms of right conduct… the four frames of reference… the seven factors for awakening. When the seven factors for awakening are brought to fulfillment, they fulfill [the conditions for] clear knowing & release. Thus is clear knowing & release fed, thus is it brought to fulfillment.”
— AN 10.61
Mindfulness & Alertness
“Stay mindful, monks, and alert. This is our instruction to you all. And how is a monk mindful? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings… mind… mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. This is how a monk is mindful.
“And how is a monk alert? There is the case where feelings are known to the monk as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside. Thoughts are known to him as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside. Discernment (vl:perception) is known to him as it arises, known as it persists, known as it subsides. This is how a monk is alert. So stay mindful, monks, and alert. This is our instruction to you all.”
— SN 47.35
Restraint of the Senses
“And how does a monk guard the doors of his senses? On seeing a form with the eye, he does not grasp at any theme or details by which — if he were to dwell without restraint over the faculty of the eye — evil, unskillful qualities such as greed or distress might assail him. On hearing a sound with the ear… On smelling an odor with the nose… On tasting a flavor with the tongue… On touching a tactile sensation with the body… On cognizing an idea with the intellect, he does not grasp at any theme or details by which — if he were to dwell without restraint over the faculty of the intellect — evil, unskillful qualities such as greed or distress might assail him. Endowed with this noble restraint over the sense faculties, he is inwardly sensitive to the pleasure of being blameless. This is how a monk guards the doors of his senses.”
— DN 2
The Three Forms of Right Conduct
“Now, Cunda, there are three ways in which one is made pure by bodily action, four ways in which one is made pure by verbal action, and three ways in which one is made pure by mental action.
“And how is one made pure in three ways by bodily action? There is the case where a certain person, abandoning the taking of life, abstains from the taking of life. He dwells with his rod laid down, his knife laid down, scrupulous, merciful, compassionate for the welfare of all living beings. Abandoning the taking of what is not given, he abstains from taking what is not given. He does not take, in the manner of a thief, things in a village or a wilderness that belong to others and have not been given by them. Abandoning sensual misconduct, he abstains from sensual misconduct. He does not get sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who entail punishments, or even those crowned with flowers by another man. This is how one is made pure in three ways by bodily action.
“And how is one made pure in four ways by verbal action? There is the case where a certain person, abandoning false speech, abstains from false speech. When he has been called to a town meeting, a group meeting, a gathering of his relatives, his guild, or of the royalty, if he is asked as a witness, ‘Come & tell, good man, what you know’: If he doesn’t know, he says, ‘I don’t know.’ If he does know, he says, ‘I know.’ If he hasn’t seen, he says, ‘I haven’t seen.’ If he has seen, he says, ‘I have seen.’ Thus he doesn’t consciously tell a lie for his own sake, for the sake of another, or for the sake of any reward. Abandoning false speech, he abstains from false speech. He speaks the truth, holds to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver of the world. Abandoning divisive speech he abstains from divisive speech. What he has heard here he does not tell there to break those people apart from these people here. What he has heard there he does not tell here to break these people apart from those people there. Thus reconciling those who have broken apart or cementing those who are united, he loves concord, delights in concord, enjoys concord, speaks things that create concord. Abandoning abusive speech, he abstains from abusive speech. He speaks words that are soothing to the ear, that are affectionate, that go to the heart, that are polite, appealing & pleasing to people at large. Abandoning idle chatter, he abstains from idle chatter. He speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is in accordance with the goal, the Dhamma, & the Vinaya. He speaks words worth treasuring, seasonable, reasonable, circumscribed, connected with the goal. This is how one is made pure in four ways by verbal action.
“And how is one made pure in three ways by mental action? There is the case where a certain person is not covetous. He does not covet the belongings of others, thinking, ‘O, that what belongs to others would be mine!’ He bears no ill will and is not corrupt in the resolves of his heart. [He thinks,] ‘May these beings be free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, and may they look after themselves with ease!’ He has right view and is not warped in the way he sees things: ‘There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. There is this world & the next world. There is mother & father. There are spontaneously reborn beings; there are priests & contemplatives who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.’ This is how one is made pure in three ways by mental action.
“These, Cunda, are the ten courses of skillful action.”
— AN 10.176
The Four Frames of Reference
“[1] Now, on whatever occasion a monk breathing in long discerns that he is breathing in long; or breathing out long, discerns that he is breathing out long; or breathing in short, discerns that he is breathing in short; or breathing out short, discerns that he is breathing out short; trains himself to breathe in… &… out sensitive to the entire body; trains himself to breathe in… &… out calming bodily fabrication: On that occasion the monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. I tell you, monks, that this — the in-&-out breath — is classed as a body among bodies, which is why the monk on that occasion remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world.
“[2] On whatever occasion a monk trains himself to breathe in… &… out sensitive to rapture; trains himself to breathe in… &… out sensitive to pleasure; trains himself to breathe in… &… out sensitive to mental fabrication; trains himself to breathe in… &… out calming mental fabrication: On that occasion the monk remains focused on feelings in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. I tell you, monks, that this — close attention to in-&-out breaths — is classed as a feeling among feelings, which is why the monk on that occasion remains focused on feelings in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world.
“[3] On whatever occasion a monk trains himself to breathe in… &… out sensitive to the mind; trains himself to breathe in… &… out satisfying the mind; trains himself to breathe in… &… out steadying the mind; trains himself to breathe in… &… out releasing the mind: On that occasion the monk remains focused on the mind in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. I don’t say that there is mindfulness of in-&-out breathing in one of confused mindfulness and no alertness, which is why the monk on that occasion remains focused on the mind in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world.
“[4] On whatever occasion a monk trains himself to breathe in… &… out focusing on inconstancy; trains himself to breathe in… &… out focusing on dispassion; trains himself to breathe in… &… out focusing on cessation; trains himself to breathe in… &… out focusing on relinquishment: On that occasion the monk remains focused onmental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He who sees clearly with discernment the abandoning of greed & distress is one who oversees with equanimity, which is why the monk on that occasion remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world.
“This is how mindfulness of in-&-out breathing is developed & pursued so as to bring the four frames of reference to their culmination.
The Seven Factors for Awakening
“And how are the four frames of reference developed & pursued so as to bring the seven factors for awakening to their culmination?
“[1] On whatever occasion the monk remains focused on the body in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world, on that occasion his mindfulness is steady & without lapse. When his mindfulness is steady & without lapse, then mindfulness as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.
“[2] Remaining mindful in this way, he examines, analyzes, & comes to a comprehension of that quality with discernment. When he remains mindful in this way, examining, analyzing, & coming to a comprehension of that quality with discernment, then analysis of qualities as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.
“[3] In one who examines, analyzes, & comes to a comprehension of that quality with discernment, unflagging persistence is aroused. When unflagging persistence is aroused in one who examines, analyzes, & comes to a comprehension of that quality with discernment, then persistence as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.
“[4] In one whose persistence is aroused, a rapture not-of-the-flesh arises. When a rapture not-of-the-flesh arises in one whose persistence is aroused, then rapture as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.
“[5] For one who is enraptured, the body grows calm and the mind grows calm. When the body & mind of an enraptured monk grow calm, then serenity as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.
“[6] For one who is at ease — his body calmed — the mind becomes concentrated. When the mind of one who is at ease — his body calmed — becomes concentrated, then concentration as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.
“[7] He oversees the mind thus concentrated with equanimity. When he oversees the mind thus concentrated with equanimity, equanimity as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.
(Similarly with the other three frames of reference: feelings, mind, & mental qualities.)
“This is how the four frames of reference are developed & pursued so as to bring the seven factors for awakening to their culmination.
Clear Knowing & Release
“And how are the seven factors for awakening developed & pursued so as to bring clear knowing & release to their culmination? There is the case where a monk develops mindfulness as a factor for awakening dependent on seclusion… dispassion… cessation, resulting in relinquishment. He develops analysis of qualities as a factor for awakening… persistence as a factor for awakening… rapture as a factor for awakening… serenity as a factor for awakening… concentration as a factor for awakening… equanimity as a factor for awakening dependent on seclusion… dispassion… cessation, resulting in relinquishment.
“This is how the seven factors for awakening, when developed & pursued, bring clear knowing & release to their culmination.”
— MN 118
The ability to follow this path to completion is not just a matter of mastering technique. It also depends on the ability to develop strong character traits.
“Now, what are the eight thoughts of a great person? This Dhamma is for one who is modest, not for one who is self-aggrandizing. This Dhamma is for one who is content, not for one who is discontent. This Dhamma is for one who is reclusive, not for one who is entangled. This Dhamma is for one whose persistence is aroused, not for one who is lazy. This Dhamma is for one whose mindfulness is established, not for one whose mindfulness is confused. This Dhamma is for one whose mind is centered, not for one whose mind is uncentered. This Dhamma is for one endowed with discernment, not for one whose discernment is weak. This Dhamma is for one who enjoys non-complication, who delights in non-complication, not for one who enjoys & delights in complication.
“‘This Dhamma is for one who is modest, not for one who is self-aggrandizing.’ Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said? There is the case where a monk, being modest, does not want it to be known that ‘He is modest.’ Being content, he does not want it to be known that ‘He is content.’ Being reclusive, he does not want it to be known that ‘He is reclusive.’ His persistence being aroused, he does not want it to be known that ‘His persistence is aroused.’ His mindfulness being established, he does not want it to be known that ‘His mindfulness is established.’ His mind being centered, he does not want it to be known that ‘His mind is centered.’ Being endowed with discernment, he does not want it to be known that ‘He is endowed with discernment.’ Enjoying non-complication, he does not want it to be known that ‘He is enjoying non-complication.’ ‘This Dhamma is for one who is modest, not for one who is self-aggrandizing.’ Thus was it said. And with reference to this was it said.
“‘This Dhamma is for one who is content, not for one who is discontent.’ Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said? There is the case where a monk is content with any old robe cloth at all, any old almsfood, any old lodging, any old medicinal requisites for curing sickness at all. ‘This Dhamma is for one who is content, not for one who is discontent.’ Thus was it said. And with reference to this was it said.
“‘This Dhamma is for one who is reclusive, not for one who is entangled.’ Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said? There is the case where a monk, when living in seclusion, is visited by monks, nuns, lay men, lay women, kings, royal ministers, sectarians & their disciples. With his mind bent on seclusion, tending toward seclusion, inclined toward seclusion, aiming at seclusion, relishing renunciation, he converses with them only as much is necessary for them to take their leave. ‘This Dhamma is for one who is reclusive, not for one in entanglement.’ Thus was it said. And with reference to this was it said.
“‘This Dhamma is for one whose persistence is aroused, not for one who is lazy.’ Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said? There is the case where a monk keeps his persistence aroused for abandoning unskillful mental qualities and taking on skillful mental qualities. He is steadfast, solid in his effort, not shirking his duties with regard to skillful mental qualities. ‘This Dhamma is for one whose persistence is aroused, not for one who is lazy.’ Thus was it said. And with reference to this was it said.
“‘This Dhamma is for one whose mindfulness is established, not for one whose mindfulness is confused.’ Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said? There is the case where a monk is mindful, highly meticulous, remembering & able to call to mind even things that were done & said long ago. ‘This Dhamma is for one whose mindfulness is established, not for one whose mindfulness is confused.’ Thus was it said. And with reference to this was it said.
“‘This Dhamma is for one whose mind is centered, not for one whose mind is uncentered.’ Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said? There is the case where a monk, quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful mental qualities, enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed thoughts & evaluations, he enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation — internal assurance. With the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, 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 pleasant abiding.’ With the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. ‘This Dhamma is for one whose mind is centered, not for one whose mind is uncentered.’ Thus was it said. And with reference to this was it said.
“‘This Dhamma is for one endowed with discernment, not for one whose discernment is weak.’ Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said? There is the case where a monk is discerning, endowed with discernment of arising & passing away — noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress. ‘This Dhamma is for one endowed with discernment, not for one whose discernment is weak.’ Thus was it said. And with reference to this was it said.
“‘This Dhamma is for one who enjoys non-complication, who delights in non-complication, not for one who enjoys & delights in complication.’ Thus was it said. With reference to what was it said? There is the case where a monk’s mind leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & firm in the cessation of complication. ‘This Dhamma is for one who enjoys non-complication, who delights in non-complication, not for one who enjoys & delights in complication.’ Thus was it said. And with reference to this was it said.”
— AN 8.30
“A monk endowed with these seven qualities is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, an unexcelled field of merit for the world. Which seven? There is the case where a monk is one with a sense of Dhamma, a sense of meaning, a sense of himself, a sense of moderation, a sense of time, a sense of social gatherings, & a sense of distinctions among individuals.
“And how is a monk one with a sense of Dhamma? There is the case where a monk knows the Dhamma: dialogues, narratives of mixed prose and verse, explanations, verses, spontaneous exclamations, quotations, birth stories, amazing events, question & answer sessions [this is a list of the earliest classifications of the Buddha’s teachings]. If he didn’t know the Dhamma — dialogues, narratives of mixed prose and verse, explanations, verses, spontaneous exclamations, quotations, birth stories, amazing events, question & answer sessions — he wouldn’t be said to be one with a sense of Dhamma. So it’s because he does know the Dhamma — dialogues… question & answer sessions — that he is said to be one with a sense of Dhamma. This is one with a sense of Dhamma.
“And how is a monk one with a sense of meaning? There is the case where a monk knows the meaning of this & that statement — ‘This is the meaning of that statement; that is the meaning of this.’ If he didn’t know the meaning of this & that statement — ‘This is the meaning of that statement; that is the meaning of this’ — he wouldn’t be said to be one with a sense of meaning. So it’s because he does know the meaning of this & that statement — ‘This is the meaning of that statement; that is the meaning of this’ — that he is said to be one with a sense of meaning. This is one with a sense of Dhamma & a sense of meaning.
“And how is a monk one with a sense of himself? There is the case where a monk knows himself: ‘This is how far I have come in conviction, virtue, learning, liberality, discernment, quick-wittedness.’ If he didn’t know himself — ‘This is how far I have come in conviction, virtue, learning, liberality, discernment, quick-wittedness’ — he wouldn’t be said to be one with a sense of himself. So it’s because he does know himself — ‘This is how far I have come in conviction, virtue, learning, liberality, discernment, quick-wittedness’ — that he is said to be one with a sense of himself. This is one with a sense of Dhamma, a sense of meaning, & a sense of himself.
“And how is a monk one with a sense of moderation? There is the case where a monk knows moderation in accepting robes, almsfood, lodgings, & medicinal requisites for curing the sick. If he didn’t know moderation in accepting robes, almsfood, lodgings, & medicinal requisites for curing the sick, he wouldn’t be said to be one with a sense of moderation. So it’s because he does know moderation in accepting robes, almsfood, lodgings, & medicinal requisites for curing the sick, that he is said to be one with a sense of moderation. This is one with a sense of Dhamma, a sense of meaning, a sense of himself, & a sense of moderation.
“And how is a monk one with a sense of time? There is the case where a monk knows the time: ‘This is the time for recitation; this, the time for questioning; this, the time for making an effort [in meditation]; this, the time for seclusion.’ If he didn’t know the time — ‘This is the time for recitation; this, the time for questioning; this, the time for making an effort; this, the time for seclusion’ — he wouldn’t be said to be one with a sense of time. So it’s because he does know the time — ‘This is the time for recitation; this, the time for questioning; this, the time for making an effort; this, the time for seclusion’ — that he is said to be one with a sense of time. This is one with a sense of Dhamma, a sense of meaning, a sense of himself, a sense of moderation, & a sense of time.
“And how is a monk one with a sense of social gatherings? There is the case where a monk knows his social gathering: ‘This is a social gathering of noble warriors; this, a social gathering of priests; this, a social gathering of householders; this, a social gathering of contemplatives; here one should approach them in this way, stand in this way, act in this way, sit in this way, speak in this way, stay silent in this way.’ If he didn’t know his social gathering — ‘This is a social gathering of noble warriors; this, a social gathering of priests; this, a social gathering of householders; this, a social gathering of contemplatives; here one should approach them in this way, stand in this way, act in this way, sit in this way, speak in this way, stay silent in this way’ — he wouldn’t be said to be one with a sense of social gatherings. So it’s because he does know his social gathering — ‘This is a social gathering of noble warriors; this, a social gathering of priests; this, a social gathering of householders; this, a social gathering of contemplatives; here one should approach them in this way, stand in this way, act in this way, sit in this way, speak in this way, stay silent in this way’ — that he is said to be one with a sense of social gatherings. This is one with a sense of Dhamma, a sense of meaning, a sense of himself, a sense of moderation, a sense of time, & a sense of social gatherings.
“And how is a monk one with a sense of distinctions among individuals? There is the case where people are known to a monk in terms of two categories.
“Of two people — one who wants to see noble ones and one who doesn’t — the one who doesn’t want to see noble ones is to be criticized for that reason, the one who does want to see noble ones is, for that reason, to be praised.
“Of two people who want to see noble ones — one who wants to hear the true Dhamma and one who doesn’t — the one who doesn’t want to hear the true Dhamma is to be criticized for that reason, the one who does want to hear the true Dhamma is, for that reason, to be praised.
“Of two people who want to hear the true Dhamma — one who listens with an attentive ear and one who listens without an attentive ear — the one who listens without an attentive ear is to be criticized for that reason, the one who listens with an attentive ear is, for that reason, to be praised.
“Of two people who listen with an attentive ear — one who, having listened to the Dhamma, remembers it, and one who doesn’t — the one who, having listened to the Dhamma, doesn’t remember it is to be criticized for that reason, the one who, having listened to the Dhamma, does remember the Dhamma is, for that reason, to be praised.
“Of two people who, having listened to the Dhamma, remember it — one who explores the meaning of the Dhamma he has remembered and one who doesn’t — the one who doesn’t explore the meaning of the Dhamma he has remembered is to be criticized for that reason, the one who does explore the meaning of the Dhamma he has remembered is, for that reason, to be praised.
“Of two people who explore the meaning of the Dhamma they have remembered — one who practices the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma, having a sense of Dhamma, having a sense of meaning, and one who doesn’t — the one who doesn’t practice the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma, having a sense of Dhamma, having a sense of meaning, is to be criticized for that reason, the one who does practice the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma, having a sense of Dhamma, having a sense of meaning is, for that reason, to be praised.
“Of two people who practice the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma, having a sense of Dhamma, having a sense of meaning — one who practices for both his own benefit and that of others, and one who practices for his own benefit but not that of others — the one who practices for his own benefit but not that of others is to be criticized for that reason, the one who practices for both his own benefit and that of others is, for that reason, to be praised.
“This is how people are known to a monk in terms of two categories. And this is how a monk is one with a sense of distinctions among individuals.
“A monk endowed with these seven qualities is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, an unexcelled field of merit for the world.”
— AN 7.64
To practice the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma not only makes one worthy of respect, it also is a way of showing respect and gratitude to the Buddha for his admirable friendship in creating the opportunity for hearing the true Dhamma.
Then the Blessed One [on his death-bed] said to Ven. Ananda, “Ananda, the twin sal-trees are in full bloom, even though it’s not the flowering season. They shower, strew, & sprinkle on the Tathagata’s body in homage to him. Heavenly coral-tree blossoms are falling from the sky… Heavenly sandalwood powder is falling from the sky… Heavenly music is playing in the sky… Heavenly songs are sung in the sky, in homage to the Tathagata. But it is not to this extent that a Tathagata is worshipped, honored, respected, venerated, or paid homage to. Rather, the monk, nun, male lay follower, or female lay follower who keeps practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, who keeps practicing masterfully, who lives in accordance with the Dhamma: that is the person who worships, honors, respects, venerates, & pays homage to the Tathagata with the highest homage. So you should train yourselves: ‘We will keep practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, we will keep practicing masterfully, we will live in accordance with the Dhamma.’ That’s how you should train yourselves.”
— DN 16
See also:
· “‘When you know for yourselves…’: The Authenticity of the Pali Suttas”, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
· Stream Entry Part 2: Stream-entry and After
09/14/10
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LESSON 30- DHAMMA -NIBBANA -PART I-DHUKKHA -14 -09-2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
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The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
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DHAMMA
NIBBANA PART I–Dukkha
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca3/nibbana.html
Nibbana names the transcendent and singularly ineffable freedom that stands as the final goal of all the Buddha’s teachings.
Defined in terms of what it is…
“This is peace, this is exquisite — the resolution of all fabrications, the relinquishment of all acquisitions, the ending of craving; dispassion; cessation; Nibbana.”— AN 3.32
There’s no fire like passion,
no loss like anger,
no pain like the aggregates,
no ease other than peace.
Hunger: the foremost illness.
Fabrications: the foremost pain.
For one knowing this truth
as it actually is,
Unbinding
is the foremost ease.
Freedom from illness: the foremost good fortune.
Contentment: the foremost wealth.
Trust: the foremost kinship.
Unbinding: the foremost ease.
— Dhp 202-205
The awakened, constantly
absorbed in jhana,
persevering,
firm in their effort:
they touch Unbinding,
the unexcelled safety
from bondage.
— Dhp 23
…and in terms of what it is not
“There is that dimension where there is neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind; neither dimension of the infinitude of space, nor dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, nor dimension of nothingness, nor dimension of neither perception nor non-perception; neither this world, nor the next world, nor sun, nor moon. And there, I say, there is neither coming, nor going, nor stasis; neither passing away nor arising: without stance, without foundation, without support [mental object]. This, just this, is the end of stress.”
“There is, monks, an unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated. If there were not that unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated, there would not be the case that emancipation from the born — become — made — fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an unborn — unbecome — unmade — unfabricated, emancipation from the born — become — made — fabricated is discerned.”
— Ud 8.3
Where water, earth, fire, & wind have no footing:
There the stars do not shine,
the sun is not visible,
the moon does not appear,
darkness is not found.
And when a sage,
a brahman through sagacity,
has known [this] for himself,
then from form & formless,
from bliss & pain,
he is freed.
— Ud 1.10
One’s first breakthrough to Nibbana puts an end to so much suffering
Then the Blessed One, picking up a little bit of dust with the tip of his fingernail, said to the monks, “What do you think, monks? Which is greater: the little bit of dust I have picked up with the tip of my fingernail, or the great earth?”
“The great earth is far greater, lord. The little bit of dust the Blessed One has picked up with the tip of his fingernail is next to nothing. It’s not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth — this little bit of dust the Blessed One has picked up with the tip of his fingernail — when compared with the great earth.”
“In the same way, monks, for a disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to stream-entry], the suffering & stress that is totally ended & extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it’s not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, when compared with the previous mass of suffering. That’s how great the benefit is of breaking through to the Dhamma, monks. That’s how great the benefit is of obtaining the Dhamma eye.”< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />
— SN 13.1
[Aggivessana Vacchagotta:] “But, Master Gotama, the monk whose mind is thus released: Where does he reappear?”
[The Buddha:] “‘Reappear,’ Vaccha, doesn’t apply.”
“In that case, Master Gotama, he does not reappear.”
“‘Does not reappear,’ Vaccha, doesn’t apply.”
“…both does & does not reappear.”
“…doesn’t apply.”
“…neither does nor does not reappear.”
“…doesn’t apply.”
“How is it, Master Gotama, when Master Gotama is asked if the monk reappears… does not reappear… both does & does not reappear… neither does nor does not reappear, he says, ‘…doesn’t apply’ in each case. At this point, Master Gotama, I am befuddled; at this point, confused. The modicum of clarity coming to me from your earlier conversation is now obscured.”
“Of course you’re befuddled, Vaccha. Of course you’re confused. Deep, Vaccha, is this phenomenon, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. For those with other views, other practices, other satisfactions, other aims, other teachers, it is difficult to know. That being the case, I will now put some questions to you. Answer as you see fit. What do you think, Vaccha: If a fire were burning in front of you, would you know that, ‘This fire is burning in front of me’?”
“…yes…”
“And suppose someone were to ask you, Vaccha, ‘This fire burning in front of you, dependent on what is it burning?’ Thus asked, how would you reply?”
“…I would reply, ‘This fire burning in front of me is burning dependent on grass & timber as its sustenance.’”
“If the fire burning in front of you were to go out, would you know that, ‘This fire burning in front of me has gone out’?”
“…yes…”
“And suppose someone were to ask you, ‘This fire that has gone out in front of you, in which direction from here has it gone? East? West? North? Or south?’ Thus asked, how would you reply?”
“That doesn’t apply, Master Gotama. Any fire burning dependent on a sustenance of grass and timber, being unnourished — from having consumed that sustenance and not being offered any other — is classified simply as ‘out’ (unbound).”
“Even so, Vaccha, any physical form by which one describing the Tathagata would describe him: That the Tathagata has abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. Freed from the classification of form, Vaccha, the Tathagata is deep, boundless, hard to fathom, like the sea. ‘Reappears’ doesn’t apply. ‘Does not reappear’ doesn’t apply. ‘Both does & does not reappear’ doesn’t apply. ‘Neither reappears nor does not reappear’ doesn’t apply.
“Any feeling… Any perception… Any mental fabrication…
“Any consciousness by which one describing the Tathagata would describe him: That the Tathagata has abandoned, its root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. Freed from the classification of consciousness, Vaccha, the Tathagata is deep, boundless, hard to fathom, like the sea.”
— MN 72
The victory cry of the arahants
“Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.”
— SN 22.59
Some are born in the human womb,
evildoers in hell,
those on the good course go
to heaven,
while those without effluent:
totally unbound.
— Dhp 126
See also:
· The Third Noble Truth
Samsara
· The Thirty-one Planes of Existence
· (STRESS=Dukkha
· No single English word adequately captures the full depth, range, and subtlety of the crucial Pali term dukkha. Over the years, many translations of the word have been used (”stress,” “unsatisfactoriness,” “suffering,” etc.). Each has its own merits in a given context. There is value in not letting oneself get too comfortable with any one particular translation of the word, since the entire thrust of Buddhist practice is the broadening and deepening of one’s understanding of dukkha until its roots are finally exposed and eradicated once and for all. One helpful rule of thumb: as soon as you think you’ve found the single best translation for the word, think again: for no matter how you describe dukkha, it’s always deeper, subtler, and more unsatisfactory than that.
· The definition
· “Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, & despair are dukkha; association with the unbeloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha.”
· — SN 56.11
· Sariputta’s elaboration
· [Ven. Sariputta:] “Now what, friends, 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 what is birth? Whatever birth, taking birth, descent, coming-to-be, coming-forth, appearance of aggregates, & acquisition of [sense] spheres of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called birth.
· “And what is aging? Whatever aging, decrepitude, brokenness, graying, wrinkling, decline of life-force, weakening of the faculties of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called aging.
· “And what is death? Whatever deceasing, passing away, breaking up, disappearance, dying, death, completion of time, break up of the aggregates, casting off of the body, interruption in the life faculty of the various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called death.
· “And what is sorrow? Whatever sorrow, sorrowing, sadness, inward sorrow, inward sadness of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a painful thing, that is called sorrow.
· “And what is lamentation? Whatever crying, grieving, lamenting, weeping, wailing, lamentation of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a painful thing, that is called lamentation.
· “And what is pain? Whatever is experienced as bodily pain, bodily discomfort, pain or discomfort born of bodily contact, that is called pain.
· “And what is distress? Whatever is experienced as mental pain, mental discomfort, pain or discomfort born of mental contact, that is called distress.
· “And what is despair? Whatever despair, despondency, desperation of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a painful thing, that is called despair.
· “And what is the stress of association with the unbeloved? There is the case where undesirable, unpleasing, unattractive sights, sounds, aromas, flavors, or tactile sensations occur to one; or one has connection, contact, relationship, interaction with those who wish one ill, who wish for one’s harm, who wish for one’s discomfort, who wish one no security from the yoke. This is called the stress of association with the unbeloved.
· “And what is the stress of separation from the loved? There is the case where desirable, pleasing, attractive sights, sounds, aromas, flavors, or tactile sensations do not occur to one; or one has no connection, no contact, no relationship, no interaction with those who wish one well, who wish for one’s benefit, who wish for one’s comfort, who wish one security from the yoke, nor with one’s mother, father, brother, sister, friends, companions, or relatives. This is called the stress of separation from the loved.
· “And what is the stress of not getting what is wanted? In beings subject to birth, the wish arises, ‘O, may we not be subject to birth, and may birth not come to us.’ But this is not to be achieved by wanting. This is the stress of not getting what is wanted. In beings subject to aging… illness… death… sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair, the wish arises, ‘O, may we not be subject to aging… illness… death… sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair, and may aging… illness… death… sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair not come to us.’ But this is not to be achieved by wanting. This is the stress of not getting what is wanted.
· — MN 141
· A contemporary definition:
· Dukkha is:
· Disturbance, irritation, dejection, worry, despair, fear, dread, anguish, anxiety; vulnerability, injury, inability, inferiority; sickness, aging, decay of body and faculties, senility; pain/pleasure; excitement/boredom; deprivation/excess; desire/frustration, suppression; longing/aimlessness; hope/hopelessness; effort, activity, striving/repression; loss, want, insufficiency/satiety; love/lovelessness, friendlessness; dislike, aversion/attraction; parenthood/childlessness; submission/rebellion; decision/indecisiveness, vacillation, uncertainty.
· — Francis Story in Suffering, in Vol. II of The Three Basic Facts of Existence(Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1983)
· Only dukkha
· “Both formerly & now, it is only dukkha that I describe, and the cessation of dukkha.”
· — SN 22.86
· Three kinds of dukkha
· “There are these three forms of stressfulness, my friend: the stressfulness of pain, the stressfulness of fabrication, the stressfulness of change. These are the three forms of stressfulness.”
· …
· [Jambukhadika the wanderer:] “What is the path, what is the practice for the full comprehension of these forms of stressfulness?”
· “Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path, my friend — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is the path, this is the practice for the full comprehension of these forms of stressfulness.”
· — SN 38.14
· See also: First Noble Truth)
GOOD GOVERNANCE
[humanrightsactivist] PILs for deferring Babri verdict filed
PILs for deferring Babri verdict filed
Lucknow: Sep 13, DHNS:
Barely 10 days before the pronouncement of verdict in the Babri Masjid-Ram
Janambhoomi title suits, a spate of public interest litigations (PIL) were
filed in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday for
deferring the judgment and settling the issue through mutual negotiations.
Three PILs were filed before Justice Dharam Veer Sharma, one of the three
judges of the special bench which concluded hearing in the matter and has
said that it will pronounce its judgment on September 24.
The PILs contended that the order of the court might not be accepted by the
party if the judgment went against it.
“Besides it (verdict) may also lead to communal violence and riots in the
country at a time when the country is going to host the Commonwealth Games,”
the PILs contended further.
The PILs may come up for hearing after two other judges of the bench, who
were currently in Allahabad, returned to Lucknow, the lawyers said here on
Monday.
Significantly, the court had also kept alive the chances of an out-of-court
settlement of the vexed issue and held closed door discussions with the
lawyers of the concerned parties in this regard soon after reserving its
verdict in July.
DH News Service
Judges’ security beefed up:
Security of the three judges of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High
Court has been enhanced. According to officials here on Monday, security was
beefed up after one of the three judges wrote a letter to the UP government
seeking special security cover owing to security reasons and also extension
of the allotment of his official residence after his retirement on October 1
next. State home department sources said though only Justice Dharam Veer
Sharma had written the letter, the government has decided to beef up the
security cover of all the three judges.
Massive security for Lucknow Bench ahead of Ayodhya verdict
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Six companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), Central forces and around 1,500 policemen will guard the Allahabad High Court and its Bench in Lucknow ahead of the September 24 verdict on the Babri title suit. Adequate security is also being provided at the residences of three judges who will pronounce the judgment in Lucknow.
Additional Director-General (Law and Order) Brij Lal told journalists here on Monday that security at the Lucknow Bench would be taken care of a Superintendent of Police, six Assistant SPs, 22 Deputy SPs, 17 inspectors, 144 sub-inspectors, 104 head constables and 860 constables.
The Allahabad High Court would have two ASPs, 16 Deputy SPs, six inspectors, 30 sub-inspectors and 200 constables on duty.
Four PAC companies would be deployed in the Allahabad High Court, and two companies in its Lucknow Bench. The deployment of Central forces in Lucknow and Allahabad would begin on their arrival.
The residences of the judges on the Special Bench would be guarded by one platoon each of the PAC. Each judge would be provided one personal security officer and five CRPF jawans, apart from a pilot and an escort. One deputy SP would monitor the security at the judges’ residence.
Mr. Lal said water cannon and fire brigades will be kept in readiness and closed circuit television installed in the court building.
09/13/10
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LESSON 29 DHAMMA13 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
We are the same as plants, as trees, as other people, as the rain that falls. We consist of that which is around us, we are the same as everything.-Buddha Quote
EDUCATE (BUDDHA)! MEDITATE (DHAMMA)! ORGANISE (SANGHA)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
Using such an instrument
The Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies;
International Relations and Peace Studies;
Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;
Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā University-
Course Programs:
DHAMMA
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/
A Gradual Training
The Dhamma, the truth taught by the Buddha, is uncovered gradually through sustained practice. The Buddha made clear many times that Awakening does not occur like a bolt out of the blue to the untrained and unprepared mind. Rather, it culminates a long journey of many stages:
Just as the ocean has a gradual shelf, a gradual slope, a gradual inclination, with a sudden drop-off only after a long stretch, in the same way this Doctrine and Discipline (dhamma-vinaya) has a gradual training, a gradual performance, a gradual progression, with a penetration to gnosis only after a long stretch.
— Ud 5.5
Monks, I do not say that the attainment of gnosis is all at once. Rather, the attainment of gnosis is after gradual training, gradual action, gradual practice. And how is there the attainment of gnosis after gradual training, gradual action, gradual practice? There is the case where, when conviction has arisen, one visits [a teacher]. Having visited, one grows close. Having grown close, one lends ear. Having lent ear, one hears the Dhamma. Having heard the Dhamma, one remembers it. Remembering, one penetrates the meaning of the teachings. Penetrating the meaning, one comes to an agreement through pondering the teachings. There being an agreement through pondering the teachings, desire arises. When desire has arisen, one is willing. When one is willing, one contemplates. Having contemplated, one makes an exertion. Having made an exertion, one realizes with the body the ultimate truth and, having penetrated it with discernment, sees it.
— MN 70
The Buddha’s teachings are infused with this notion of gradual development. His method of “gradual instruction” (anupubbi-katha), which appears in various forms in countless suttas, always follows the same arc: he guides newcomers from first principles through progressively more advanced teachings, all the way to the fulfillment of the Four Noble Truths and the full realization of nibbana:
Then the Blessed One, having encompassed the awareness of the entire assembly with his awareness, asked himself, “Now who here is capable of understanding the Dhamma?” He saw Suppabuddha the leper sitting in the assembly, 
and on seeing him the thought occurred to him, “This person here is capable of understanding the Dhamma.” So, aiming at Suppabuddha the leper, he gave a step-by-step talk, i.e., a talk on giving, a talk on virtue, a talk on heaven; he declared the drawbacks, degradation, & corruption of sensual passions, and the rewards of renunciation. Then when he saw that Suppabuddha the leper’s mind was ready, malleable, free from hindrances, elated, & bright, he then gave the Dhamma-talk peculiar to Awakened Ones, i.e., stress, origination, cessation, & path. And just as a clean cloth, free of stains, would properly absorb a dye, in the same way, as Suppabuddha the leper was sitting in that very seat, the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye arose within him, “Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.”
— Ud 5.3
At each stage of this “gradual training” (anupubbi-sikkha), the practitioner discovers a new and important dimension of the law of cause-and-effect — kamma, the cornerstone of Right View. It is thus a very useful organizing framework with which to view the entirety of the Buddha’s teachings.
The gradual training begins with the practice of generosity, which helps begin the long process of weakening the unawakened practitioner’s habitual tendencies to cling — to views, to sensuality, and to unskillful modes of thought and behavior. This is followed by the development of virtue, the basic level of sense-restraint that helps the practitioner develop a healthy and trustworthy sense of self. The peace of mind born from this level of self-respect provides the foundation for all further progress along the path. The practitioner now understands that some kinds of happiness are deeper and more dependable than anything that sense-gratification can ever provide; the happiness born of generosity and virtue can even lead to rebirth in heaven — either literal or metaphorical. But eventually the practitioner begins to recognize the intrinsic drawbacks of even this kind of happiness: as good as rebirth in wholesome states may be, the happiness it brings is not a true and lasting one, for it relies on conditions over which he or she ultimately has no control. This marks a crucial turning point in the training, when the practitioner begins to grasp that true happiness will never be found in the realm of the physical and sensual world. The only possible route to an unconditioned happiness lies in renunciation, in turning away from the sensual realm, by trading the familiar, lower forms of happiness for something far more rewarding and noble. Now, at last, the practitioner is ripe to receive the teachings on the Four Noble Truths, which spell out the course of mental training required to realize the highest happiness: nibbana.
Many Westerners first encounter the Buddha’s teachings on meditation retreats, which typically begin with instructions in how to develop the skillful qualities of right mindfulnessand right concentration. It is worth noting that, as important as these qualities are, the Buddha placed them towards the very end of his gradual course of training. The meaning is clear: to reap the most benefit from meditation practice, to bring to full maturity all the qualities needed for Awakening, the fundamental groundwork must not be overlooked. There is no short-cutting this process.
Here is the Buddha’s six-stage gradual training in more detail:
1. Generosity (dana)
2. Virtue (sila)
o The 5 Precepts
o The 8 Precepts
o The 10 Precepts
o Uposatha observance days (including this year’s calendar of Uposatha days)
3. Heaven (sagga)
o The Thirty-one Planes of Existence
4. Drawbacks (adinava)
5. Renunciation (nekkhamma)
6. The Four Noble Truths (cattari ariya saccani)
A. The Noble Truth of Dukkha (dukkha ariya sacca)
§ Dukkha
§ The round of rebirth (samsara)
B. The Noble Truth of the Cause of Dukkha (dukkha samudayo ariya sacca)
§ Craving (tanha)
§ Ignorance (avijja)
C. The Noble Truth of the Cessation of Dukkha (dukkha nirodho ariya sacca)
§ Nibbana
D. The Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Dukkha (dukkha nirodha gamini patipada ariya sacca) — The Noble Eightfold Path. The Commentaries group the eight path factors into three divisions:
III. Discernment (pañña):
§ 1. Right View (samma-ditthi)
§ Intentional action (kamma)
§ Admirable friendship (kalyanamittata)
§ 2. Right Resolve (samma-sankappo)
I. Virtue (sila):
§ 3. Right Speech (samma-vaca)
§ 4. Right Action (samma-kammanto)
§ 5. Right Livelihood (samma-ajivo)
II. Concentration (samadhi):
§ 6. Right Effort (samma-vayamo)
§ 7. Right Mindfulness (samma-sati)
§ 8. Right Concentration (samma-samadhi)
§ Jhana
Notes
1.
Countless students over the centuries have invested their time and energy grappling with the question, “Is Enlightentment ’sudden’ or is it ‘gradual’?” These and other passages from the Canon make the Buddha’s own view on the matter quite clear: The mind develops gradually, until it is ripe to make that sudden leap to Awakening.
See also: Refuge: An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Ms.MayawatiJi Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh
Committed to the prosperity of the farmers
Hon’ble Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh
Ms. Mayawati Ji
Announces the most progressive
Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation
Deal ever for the farmers.
Epoch-making decisions in the best interest of the farmers.
After giving deep and sincere consideration to problems of farmers in regard to land acquisition and rehabilitation, and with the objective of fully protecting affected farmers’ future in case of acquisition of their land, Ms. Mayawati Ji, Honourable Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh, has announced the best rehabilitation policy in the country, under which the following additional facilities will be provided to farmers with immediate effect:-
· Payment of a lump-sump, which is at present Rs.1.85,000 equivalent to the daily agricultural wages over a period of five years, to each of the families of farmers being rendered landless because of land acquisition by the UP Government.< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />
· Under the new policy, each farmer whose land is to be acquired, shall receive ab annuity of Rs.20,000 per acre, for 33 years in addition to the compensation amount.
· Assured increase at the rate of Rs.60 per acre per annum on annuity of Rs.20,000 per acre per annum, payable every year in the month of July.
· In the case of a farmer unwilling the annuity, he/she shall be given a lump-sump Rehabilitation Grant at the rate of Rs.2,40,000 per acre.
· In the event of loand acquisition for a company, the farmer shall have the option of a share in the company equivalent to 25% of the lunp-sump rehabilitation grant payable to him.
· If land is being acquired under any ‘Land for Development scheme’, the affected farmers shall be allotted 7% of the acquired land for residential purposes. The issued plot shall have a minimum land area of 120 sq.meters and maximum area limit shall be set by related Authority.
· One member from each of the families to be rendered landless completely, due to land acquisition under the “land for development” project, will be provided with employment, consistent with his/her qualification, in the concessionaire company.
· Provision of 17.5% reservation in the allotment of plots, on the acquired land to the affected farmers, in the event of any land acquisition by the development authority for its housing schemes.
· Land acquisition shall be done under the “Karar Niyamavali”.
The Hon’ble Chief Minsiter is fully alive and sensitive to the problems of the farmers, whose well being has always been her top priority.
· Under the guidance of the Hon’ble Chief Minister, the state government has always been protective of the interests of the farmers and taken all possible measures to address their problems.
· The Hon’ble Chief Minister is clearly of the view that the development of the country is not possible without the prosperity of the farmers. With this end in view she has initiated many important and positive steps.
The new policy of land acquisition by Uttar Pradesh Government, conceived with regard to the good of farmers, is decidedly the best and the most forward looking in the country.
Undoubtedly, no other state in the country has got such a forward looking policy for the relief and rehabilitation of the families affected by the process of land acquisition, as has been done in the state of Uttar Pradesh under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister of the state Ms.Mayawati Ji.
Every policy of the Uttar Pradesh Govt. is based on
‘Sarvajan Hitay & Sarvajan Sukhay’
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_up-police-to-take-help-of-community-policing-post-ayodhya-suit_1436629
UP police to take help of community policing post Ayodhya suit
The Uttar Pradesh police is banking on community policing to nip any possible communal flare up post September 24 Allahabad high court verdict on Ayodhya title suit.
“There is no Naxal activity in the state in the past five years due to success of community policing formula. For the first time, we are going to experiment it in the entire state by involving all the sections of the society to maintain law and order after high court verdict on Ayodhya title suit,” additional director general law and order Brij Lal told PTI.
During meetings to review security arrangements across the state by principal secretary home, director general of police and the ADG, officials in districts have been asked to bank on peoples’ support as police cannot reach “everywhere everytime”.
“There are government employees, teachers, retired persons in every area and with their support we can check occurrence of any anti-social activities,” the ADG said.
A communication diary has been prepared in every district having number of credible and responsible persons of the area, who can help police, he said.
The senior officers randomly make a call to these persons and remind them of their duty to help police and maintain communal harmony, he said, adding that the support they were getting was enthusiastic.
The diary also included name of local “dharm gurus” including maulanas and pujaris of temples and village heads to issue appeals to maintain peace and communal brotherhood, the ADG said, claiming that the idea would certainly click.
The civil security committees have also been constituted at all the village and mohalla level for keeping an eye on the situation and alert the force in case of any trouble, he added.
“Besides, we have also prepared a list of suspicious people, including those having criminal background, and put them on scanner. All of them are on our radar,” Brij Lal said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Hindu-Muslim-peace-marches-ahead-of-Ayodhya-verdict/articleshow/6537118.cms
Hindu-Muslim peace marches ahead of Ayodhya verdict
LUCKNOW: In a unique show of communal harmony, a large number of Muslims and Hindus have joined hands in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district to take out peace marches ahead of the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit verdict Sep 24.
Under the banner of Sarvadharma Ekta Parishad, over 100 members from both the communities are carrying out peace marches in parts of the district.
“The main objective behind such marches is to give a social message of unity among the masses in view of the upcoming verdict in the Ayodhya case,” Mufti Shamoom Qasmi told IANS on telephone from Bijnor, some 300 km from Lucknow.
“The peace marchers intend to ease the tension related to the judgment which in any case should not affect Hindu-Muslim relations. Taking this into account, we are carrying out the marches and appealing to members of both the communities to maintain peace after the verdict,” he added.
People from all walks of life have come forward to join the parishad which has already organised two peace marches this week in Binjor.
“Teachers, journalists, businessmen, college students, house wives, retired government officials and people from other fields joined the marches,” said Naveen Kumar, a local journalist in Bijnor.
“Till now we have carried out peace marches at Shastri Chowk and Qasibaada area and would cover several other areas of the district in the coming days,” he added.
Members of the parishad believe that the peace marches would go a long way in fostering Hindu-Muslim relations.
“We definitely feel privileged after getting associated with such a noble mission. If residents of other districts in Uttar Pradesh too carry out such an exercise, the bonding between the two communities will grow stronger,” said Jai Narain Arun, a resident of Naangal area.
09/12/10
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LESSON 28 THUS COME ONE-12 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY
All living beings have the Buddha nature and can become Buddhas.-Buddha Quote
EDUCATE (BUDDHA)! MEDITATE (DHAMMA)! ORGANISE (SANGHA)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
Using such an instrument
The Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies;
International Relations and Peace Studies;
Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;
Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-NālandāResearch and Practice University
Course Programs:
The Buddhas, saviors of the world, abide in their great transcendental powers,and in order to please living beings they display immeasurable supernatural powers.
Their tongues reach to the Brahma heaven, their bodies emit countless beams of light. For the sake of those who seek the Buddha way they manifest these things that are rarely seen.
The sound of the Buddhas coughing, the sound of them snapping their fingers, is heard throughout the lands in the ten directions and the earth in all those lands moves in six ways.
Because after the Buddha has passed into extinction there will be those who can uphold this sutra, the Buddhas are all delighted and manifest immeasurable supernatural powers.
Because they wish to entrust this sutra,
they praise and extol the person who accepts and upholds it,
and though they should do so for immeasurable kalpas
they could never exhaust their praises.
The benefits gained by such a person
are boundless and inexhaustible,
like the vast sky in the ten directions
that no one can set a limit to.
One who can uphold this sutra has in effect already seen me, and likewise has seen Many Treasures Buddha and the Buddhas that are emanations of my body.
And he also sees me today
as I teach and convert the bodhisattvas.
One who can uphold this sutra
causes me and my emanations,
and many Treasures Buddha who has already
entered extinction,
all to be filled with joy.
The Buddhas who are present in the ten directions
and those of past and future ages– he will see them too, offer alms to them and cause them to be filled with joy.
The secret essentials of the Law gained by the Buddhas who sat in the place of practice– one who can uphold this sutra
will gain them too before long.
One who can uphold this sutra
will delight in endlessly expounding
the principles of the various doctrines
and their names and phrases,
like a wind in the open sky
moving everywhere without hindrance or block.
After the Thus Come One has passed into extinction,
this person will know the sutras preached by the Buddha,
their causes and conditions and their proper sequence,
and will preach them truthfully in accordance with principle.
As the light of the sun and moon
can banish all obscurity and gloom,
so this person as he passes through the world
can wipe out the darkness of living beings,
causing immeasurable numbers of bodhisattvas
in the end to dwell on the single vehicle.
Therefore a person of wisdom,
hearing how keen are the benefits to be gained,
after I have passed into extinction
should accept and uphold this sutra.
Such a person assuredly and without doubt
will attain the Buddha way.
Kindly visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoTST0aB_M
for video on
Maitreya Project
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kR3bzZHbhY
for video on
Great Compassion Mantra (High Definition)
http://www.daitangvietnam.com/Sutras/glossary.html
Buddhist Multimedia Glossary
Tue Quang Wisdom Light Foundation - June 2009
From the Lotus Sutra- The Supernatural Powers of the Thus Come One
The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra
Chapter Twenty-One: “The Spiritual Powers of the
Thus Come One”
Sutra:
At that time the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas equal in number to the motes of dust in a thousand worlds, who had welled forth out of the earth, in the presence of the Buddha, single-mindedly, with palms joined, gazed up at the Buddha and spoke to him, saying, “World Honored One, after the Buddha’s passing, in countries where there are division bodies of the Buddha, in places where he has passed into stillness, we shall extensively speak this Sutra. Why? Because we also wish to obtain this true, pure, and great Dharma; to receive, uphold, read and recite, explain, write out, and make offerings to it.”
Commentary:
This chapter is called The Spiritual Powers of the Thus Come One. “Thus Come One” is one of the Buddha’s ten titles. “Thus” is stillness. “Come” is movement. “Thus” means “still and silent.” “Come” means “able to be humane”-able to do the kind and humane work of the Buddha. “Still and silent” represents the comfortable spiritual powers enabling one to become a Buddha.
“Spiritual” means natural, not artificial. “Spiritual” refers to an inner quality. “Power” refers to external function. When there is spirituality inside, then there is power outwardly. If you have no spirituality, then there can be no power. “The spiritual powers of the Thus Come One” refers to the inconceivable, wonderful function of the Buddha’s spiritual powers, an inconceivable state.
Even though we have discussed it at length, some people still don’t understand the concept of spiritual power. I will now speak of it in general terms. It’s like the previous appearance of Shakyamuni Buddha’s division bodies of the ten directions. Where did they come from? They came from the spiritual power of Shakyamuni Buddha.
The Thus Come One Many Jewels came to the Way-place to certify the Dharma Flower Sutra, and this also was through the spiritual power of the Thus Come One. The Bodhisattvas who welled forth out of the earth also did so through the spiritual power of the Thus Come One. The purification of the six sense organs in the chapter “The Merit and Virtue of a Dharma Master” also came through the spiritual power of the Thus Come One. Thus, the spiritual power of the Thus Come One is limitless and boundless. If you speak of it in detail, everything is a creation of the spiritual power of the Thus Come One.
At that time, when the chapter “Never-Slighting Bodhisattva” was finished, the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas equal in number to the motes of dust in a thousand worlds, who had welled forth out of the earth-these were all Bodhisattvas whom the Buddha in former lives had taught and transformed-in the presence of the Buddha, single-mindedly, with palms joined, reverent in body, gazed up at the Buddha with his fine marks and spoke to him, saying, “World Honored One, after the Buddha’s passing, in countries where there are division bodies of the Buddha, in places where he has passed into stillness, regardless of which world or which country, wherever the World Honored One has manifested a division-body Buddha and then entered Nirvana, we shall extensively speak this Sutra. We will propagate the Dharma Flower Sutra. Why? Because we also wish to obtain this true, pure, and great Dharma.” Bodhisattvas also wish to obtain this true, pure, and great Dharma. “True” represents the real Dharma. “Pure” represents the provisional Dharma. The real and the provisional are nondual-this is the great Dharma. The provisional is the real and the real is the provisional. This is the great Dharma of the nonduality of the provisional and the real.
“We wish to receive, uphold, read and recite, explain, write out, and make offerings to it, to the Dharma Flower Sutra.”
Sutra:
At that time, in the presence of Manjushri and the others, limitless hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas who had long resided in the Saha world, as well as the Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Upasakas, Upasikas, gods, dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, people, nonpeople, and so forth, the World Honored One manifested great spiritual powers.
Commentary:
At that time, in the presence of Manjushri, Wonderfully Auspicious Bodhisattva, and the others, limitless hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas who had long resided in the Saha world-these were Shakyamuni Buddha’s old disciples, the great Bodhisattvas-as well as the Bhikshus; Bhikshunis; Upasakas; Upasikas; gods; dragons; yakshas; gandharvas, musical spirits; asuras, the ugly ones; garudas, the great golden-winged peng birds; kinnaras, also musical spirits; mahoragas, big snakes; people; nonpeople; and so forth, the World Honored One manifested great spiritual powers.
Sutra:
He put forth his vast and long tongue which reached upward to the Brahma worlds. From all of his hair pores, he emitted lights of limitless, countless colors, all of which pervasively illuminated the worlds of the ten directions. In the same way, all the Buddhas seated on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees also put forth their vast and long tongues and emitted limitless lights.
When Shakyamuni Buddha and the Buddhas beneath the jeweled trees had manifested their spiritual powers for a full hundred thousand years, they withdrew their tongues.
Commentary:
He put forth his vast and long tongue, which reached upward to the Brahma worlds. The Buddha’s tongue reaches all the way up to his hairline. People with great blessings and virtue can touch their nose with their tongue. The tongue of the Perfect, Full Reward Body Buddha reaches all the way up to the Brahma Heaven. Here the Buddha is manifesting his great spiritual powers and putting forth his vast and long tongue. From all of his hair pores, he emitted lights of limitless, countless colors, all of which pervasively illuminated the worlds of the ten directions.
In the same way, all the Buddhas seated on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees also put forth their vast and long tongues and emitted limitless lights.
When Shakyamuni Buddha and the Buddhas beneath the jeweled trees, the division body Buddhas, had manifested their spiritual powers for a full hundred thousand years, they withdrew their tongues.
Sutra:
Then they coughed and snapped their fingers, and those two sounds pervaded the Buddha worlds of the ten directions.
Commentary:
Then they coughed, very softly, to show they were thinking of living beings, to let them know they were there. This represents calling out and getting living beings’ attention. The Buddhas of the ten directions all made this coughing sound at the same time.
And they then snapped their fingers; this represents alerting beings with sound. For example, if someone has entered samadhi and you want to awaken him from his state of concentration, you can snap your fingers three times next to his ear, and he will arise from his state. And those two sounds pervaded the Buddha worlds of the ten directions.
Sutra:
The earth quaked in six ways and the living beings in those worlds-the gods, dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas, people, nonpeople, and so forth-by means of the Buddha’s spiritual powers all saw in the Saha world the limitless, boundless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of Buddhas seated on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees. They also saw Shakyamuni Buddha, together with the Thus Come One Many Jewels, seated on the lion throne within the jeweled stupa.
They further saw limitless, boundless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas, as well as the four assemblies, reverently circumambulating Shakyamuni Buddha. Having seen this, they greatly rejoiced, having gained what they had never had.
Commentary:
The earth quaked in six ways-banging, roaring, cracking, shaking, rising, and surging-throughout the ten directions. The first three ways refer to sound; the second three refer to movement. This also represents the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, the six sense organs functioning in mutual interpenetration.
Each of the six types of earthquakes divides into three varieties: banging, universal banging, and equal universal banging. This applies to the other five kinds of quaking, thus making eighteen kinds in all, representing the eighteen realms.
And the living beings in those worlds-the gods, dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras.Kinnaras are music spirits in the court of the Jade Emperor. They can also dance. Their music is millions of times better than music in the human realm. If people ever heard this music, they would fly. Their thoughts would fly off into heaven. Mahoragasare big pythons. They turned into snakes because, although they cultivated, they didn’t keep the precepts. There were people, nonpeople, and so forth, who by means of the Buddha’s inconceivable spiritual powers all saw in the Saha world the limitless, boundless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of Buddhas seated on lion thrones beneath jeweled trees. The lion thrones were five yojanas high. They also saw Shakyamuni Buddha, together with the Thus Come One Many Jewels, seated on the lion throne within the jeweled stupa.
They further saw limitless, boundless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas, as well as the four assemblies, reverently circumambulating Shakyamuni Buddha. Having seen this,through the Buddha’s great spiritual powers, they greatly rejoiced, having gained what they had never had. They had never witnessed such an inconceivable state before.
Sutra:
Just then the gods in empty space called out in a loud voice: “Passing from here through limitless, boundless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of asamkhyeyas of worlds, there is a country called Saha. Within it is a Buddha named Shakyamuni who now, for the sake of all the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas, proclaims a Great Vehicle Sutra by the name of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower, a Dharma for teaching Bodhisattvas, of whom the Buddha is protective and mindful. You should all rejoice deep within your hearts, bow, and make offerings to Shakyamuni Buddha.
Commentary:
Just then the gods. Having just seen Shakyamuni Buddha in the Saha world being circumambulated by all the Bodhisattvas and other beings in the Saha world, the gods manifested great spiritual powers and spoke in space. The gods, dragons, and eightfold division passed on the word and in empty space called out in a loud voice. The voice sounded like thunder; all could hear it. It came through clearer than radio or television. And it said, “Passing from here through limitless, boundless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of asamkhyeyas of worlds, now hear this! Now hear this! There is a country called Saha.” Saha means “able to be endured,” because the living beings in that world really know how to cultivate patience. It’s so bitter, and still they can take it. So we are pretty good, hanging in here in the Saha world practicing the Bodhisattva path. It’s so much suffering, but we can still stand it. Within it is a Buddha named Shakyamuni who now, for the sake of all the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas and the Arhats, too, proclaims a Great Vehicle Sutra by the name of Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower, the great Dharma of the real mark, the wonderful Sutra of the Great Vehicle. The Dharma is wonderful and the vehicle is great. It is the Great Vehicle’s Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. The Wonderful Dharma is as beautiful and immaculate as a lotus flower, which grows up out of the mud but is not defiled. This king of Sutras is a Dharma for teaching Bodhisattvas, of whom the Buddhas are protective and mindful. The Buddhas are protective of this Sutra, and if you recite it, they are protective and mindful of you. If you recite the Dharma Flower Sutra, the Buddhas of the ten directions will be protective and mindful of you. If you obtain the wonderful doctrine of the Dharma Flower Sutra you will develop wisdom and your stupidity will disappear. If it weren’t that the Buddhas were being protective and mindful of you, how could you get so intelligent? It’s because you recite the Dharma Flower Sutra that you gain this kind of wisdom, wisdom like the sea. Wouldn’t you say this is wonderful? You should all rejoice deep within your hearts. All of you should bring forth the great Bodhi resolve, bring forth the mind of true Prajna and rejoice in the merit and virtue of this Sutra, bow, and make offerings to Shakyamuni Buddha in the Saha world.
Sutra:
Hearing this sound in empty space, all the living beings placed their palms together, faced the Saha world, and said, “Namo Shakyamuni Buddha! Namo Shakyamuni Buddha!”
Commentary:
Hearing this sound in empty space, this amazing voice booming in empty space, all the living beings placed their palms together. The Bodhisattvas and Arhats may have spiritual powers, but common folks don’t. This sound, however, was heard not only by the Bodhisattvas and Arhats, but by the common people as well. All the living beings thought, “This is truly inconceivable. They are telling us from empty space that Shakyamuni Buddha has appeared in the Saha world. Let’s put our palms together and face that world which is ‘worthy of being endured’.” And from such a long distance away they faced the Saha world and said, “Namo Shakyamuni Buddha! Namo Shakyamuni Buddha!” Shakyamuni Buddha is our teacher. After this, if someone asks you who your teacher is, just say, “Shakyamuni Buddha,” because that’s correct. If they say you are being evasive, you can say, “You just don’t understand the Buddhadharma.”
Sutra:
And then from afar, they scattered all kinds of flowers, incense, beads, banners, canopies, ornaments for the body, and precious and rare objects on the Saha world. The objects they scattered came from the ten directions like clouds gathering, and turned into jeweled canopies, completely covering the Buddhas in that region.
Commentary:
And then from afar, they scattered all kinds of flowers, incense, beads, millions of banners, canopies, ornaments for the body, and precious and rare objects on the Saha world. They sent down caps and clothing, all very nice-looking. They did not follow the current American custom of making your clothes look old when they are new. That’s really stupid. People like this are just too confused. The young people start a fad, competing to cut holes in their clothes, wouldn’t you say that was stupid? You shouldn’t wear clothing that is too expensive, but you shouldn’t for no good reason destroy your clothes either. The objects they scattered came from the ten directions like gathering clouds, and turned into jeweled canopies completely covering the Buddhas in that region. They covered Shakyamuni Buddha, the division-body Buddhas, and Many Jewels Buddha.
Sutra:
Then the worlds of the ten directions interpenetrated without obstruction, as if they were one Buddhaland.
Commentary:
Then the worlds of the ten directions, the other limitless worlds, interpenetrated without obstruction. The worlds of the ten directions joined into one world; one world was just the worlds of the ten directions. In this world, we don’t know the situation in other worlds. But at that time, when Shakyamuni Buddha was speaking the Dharma Flower Sutra, the worlds of the ten directions united into one world. One world and the ten direction worlds had no distinction. They penetrated one another without impediment, as if they were one Buddhaland. Shakyamuni Buddha appeared in the Saha world, and the Saha world and the worlds of the ten directions became one world.
Sutra:
At that time the Buddha told Superior Conduct and all the great assembly of Bodhisattvas, “The spiritual power of all the Buddhas is limitless, boundless, and inconceivable like this. If, using these spiritual powers, I were to speak of the meritorious virtues of this Sutra for limitless, boundless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of asamkhyeya eons by way of entrustment, I could not finish.”
Commentary:
At that time the Buddha told Superior Conduct Bodhisattva and all the great assembly of Bodhisattvas, all the Bodhisattvas who had welled forth out of the earth and the Bodhisattvas who came with the division-body Buddhas, “The spiritual power of all the Buddhas is limitless, boundless, and inconceivable like this. If, using these spiritual powers, I were to speak of the meritorious virtues of this Sutra for limitless, boundless, hundreds of thousands of myriads of kotis of asamkhyeya eons by way of entrustment, I could not finish.”
Sutra:
“In general, all the Dharmas of the Thus Come One, all the sovereign spiritual powers of the Thus Come One, all the secret storehouses of the Thus Come One, all the extremely profound deeds of the Thus Come One are all proclaimed and revealed in this Sutra.”
Commentary:
In general, all the Dharmas of the Thus Come One, all the sovereign spiritual powers of the Thus Come One, all the secret storehouses of the Thus Come One. The Dharma Flower Sutra is the secret storehouse and contains all of the Buddha’s Dharmas. All the extremely profound deeds of the Thus Come One are all proclaimed and revealed in this Sutra. All the Dharma I did not speak for over forty years of my teaching is contained in this final Dharma Flower Sutra. No one had ever understood this Dharma, and now it’s plainly revealed. I am revealing it to you all. It’s not like before when I held back the Wonderful Dharma and did not speak it. Now I am proclaiming it.
Sutra:
“Therefore, all of you, after the passing of the Thus Come One, should with a single mind receive, uphold, read, recite, and explain it, write it out, and cultivate it as spoken. In any land if there is a person who receives, upholds, reads, recites, explains, writes out, and cultivates it as spoken, whether in a place where Sutras are kept, in a garden, in a forest, or beneath a tree; in a Sangha dwelling; in the dwelling of the white-robed; in a palace or hall; or in the mountains, valleys, or wilderness-in all these places-one should build a stupa and make offerings.”
Commentary:
Therefore, all of you, after the passing of the Thus Come One, should with a single mind receive, uphold, read, recite, and explain it, write it out, and cultivate it as spoken. In cultivation the most important thing is to be single-minded. No matter what you do, you should turn to one. Do not have two minds. If you have two minds, there is no response. Those who believe in the Buddha should do so with one mind and have no doubts. You shouldn’t think, “Is there really a Buddha? Wouldn’t it be better to be a Catholic or some kind of Christian?” If you are that scattered, no matter what you do, you won’t gain merit and virtue or accomplishment. So you must turn your mind to one.
Now we’re having a Gwan Yin Session. You could say that this is a Dharma hard to meet in a hundred thousand myriad eons. You shouldn’t think that it’s so simple to recite “Namo Gwan Shr Yin Pu Sa.” For every line you recite, there is one line of advantage gained. The “Universal Door Chapter” says, “If a person has much desire and always recites, reverently, the name of Gwan Yin Bodhisattva, he will be separated from desire.” Isn’t that a great advantage? If you have a lot of desire and lust, then your mind will not be peaceful. How do you leave desire? By reciting the name of Gwan Yin Bodhisattva.
“If a person has much hatred and always recites, reverently, the name of Gwan Yin Bodhisattva, he will be separated from hatred.” Let’s say there’s a person who gets mad all the time and rages with the fire of ignorance, like a tiger-very fierce. It’s said,
The fire of ignorance,
The spirit of a tiger,
Are the results of offenses
Done in the past.
If you always recite Gwan Yin Bodhisattva’s name, your hatred will decrease.
I’ll tell you something. I used to have a bigger temper than anyone. I was always getting mad at people. If I wasn’t beating them, then I was yelling at them. I’ve told you this many times. When I was very young I loved to hit and scold people. No matter who you were, you had to be under my control. Anyone who refused to follow my orders got clobbered. Now I no longer like to hit or scold people. I don’t know how I got rid of my anger, but it’s gone.
“Sure, we know, we know,” you say. “He’s still got a big temper!”
You never saw it when it was really big! It would have scared you to death. I got rid of my temper by reciting the name of Gwan Yin Bodhisattva.
“If a person is very stupid but always recites reverently the name of Gwan Yin Bodhisattva, he will be separated from stupidity.” Now we are having a Gwan Yin Session and everyone-left-home people and laypeople-should recite if you have time. You shouldn’t not participate. If you are especially busy or tied up with some business, that’s one thing. Otherwise, laypeople who are not working should come and recite. If you recite one sentence, it’s better than earning a hundred dollars a day. You shouldn’t think, “What use is reciting Gwan Yin Bodhisattva’s name?” It’s very useful.
“But if I earn a hundred dollars, I can buy things to eat. If I recite Gwan Yin Bodhisattva’s name, that’s not going to fill me up when I’m hungry.”
That’s because you don’t have a true heart. If you had a true heart, you would automatically become full. Not only would you be full, but when Gwan Yin Bodhisattva gave you some sweet dew, you would recite and feel it was sweeter than honey. If you don’t recite, you won’t attain that state; but if you do recite, it will happen naturally. It’s for sure I am not cheating you. If you are sincere and recite Gwan Yin Bodhisattva’s name, it’s sweeter than eating grape sugar. You don’t know about the good points, and you think you can goof off or make phone calls or do other things. You are just wasting precious time and not turning to one. Turning to one, you forget everything else. You forget about eating; you forget about wearing clothes: all that remains is that one sentence, “Namo Gwan Shr Yin Pu Sa.” If you can be like that, then Gwan Shr Yin Bodhisattva will pour sweet dew on your crown, pat you on the head, and say, “You are really a good kid. Good boy! Good girl! Bring forth the great resolve for Bodhi. I’ll help you. Cultivate the true, and you’ll get a share and make progress in the Way, free from demons.”
Then your cultivation will be successful. But you have to be sincere. And so the present Sutra passage says, “with a single mind receive it, uphold it, read it, recite it, explain it, and write it out, and cultivate it as spoken.” You cultivate in accord with the doctrines in the Dharma Flower Sutra.
“What doctrine is that?” you ask.
I’ve told you a million times! It’s a doctrine wonderful beyond words. You forgot it? Never-Slighting Bodhisattva bowed whenever he met anyone, saying, “I dare not slight you, for you will all become Buddhas.” Note that he said, “Youwill become Buddhas.” He did not say, “I am a Buddha.” He forgot himself. He was cultivating according to the doctrines in the Dharma Flower Sutra.
In any land, if there is a person who receives, upholds, reads, recites, explains, writes out, and cultivates it as spoken, whether in a place where Sutras are kept, in a garden or a pavilion, in a forest, or beneath a tree; in a Sangha dwelling; in the dwelling of the white-robed, that is, at a layperson’s home; in a palace or hall; or in the mountains, valleys or a desolate wilderness-in all these places-one should build a stupa made of the seven jewels and make offerings.
Sutra:
“What is the reason? You should know that this place is a Way-place wherein all Buddhas gain Anuttarasamyaksambodhi, wherein all Buddhas turn the Dharma-wheel, and wherein all Buddhas enter Nirvana.”
Commentary:
What is the reason? You should know that this place is a Way-place wherein all Buddhas gain Anuttarasamyaksambodhi, wherein all Buddhas turn the Dharma-wheel, and wherein all Buddhas enter Nirvana.“Wherein” here refers not to a place, but to the Dharma Flower Sutra. It was just in the Dharma Flower Sutra that the Buddhas gained Unsurpassed, Proper and Equal, Right Enlightenment. It was just because all the Buddhas received, upheld, read, recited, explained, and wrote out the Dharma Flower Sutra that they turned the Dharma-wheel. Lecturing the Dharma Flower Sutra is turning the Dharma-wheel. The Buddhas of the ten directions, within theDharma Flower Sutra, turn the great Dharma-wheel and enter Nirvana, obtaining the four virtues of Nirvana: permanence, bliss, true self, and purity.
Sutra:
At that time the World Honored One, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke verses, saying,
The Buddhas, ones who save the world,
Dwelling in great spiritual penetrations,
In order to delight living beings,
Manifest limitless spiritual powers.
Their tongues reach to the Brahma Heavens,
Their bodies emit countless lights.
They make appear these rare events
For the sake of those who seek the Buddha Way.
The sounds made when the Buddhas cough
And the sounds made when they snap their fingers
Are heard throughout the lands of the ten directions
As the earth quakes in six ways.
Because after the Buddha’s passing
One can uphold this Sutra,
All Buddhas rejoice
And display limitless spiritual powers.
Commentary:
At that time the World Honored One, being very compassionate and wishing to restate this meaning in a very simple form, spoke verses, saying, “The Buddhas, ones who save the world, who are greatly kind and compassionate and rescue all from suffering and difficulty, wish to save all living beings.” Dwelling in great spiritual penetrations. The Buddhas have great spiritual powers, and so they are able to rescue living beings. If they were just like ordinary people, what would they use to rescue living beings with? So they use the power of great spiritual penetrations.
In order to delight living beings, they manifest limitless spiritual powers. / Their tongues reach to the Brahma Heavens. They put forth their vast and long tongues, which reach all the way up to the Great Brahma Heaven.Their bodies emit countless lights, light of countless colors. Theymake appear these rare events, / For the sake of those who seek the Buddha Way.
The sounds made when the Buddhas cough / And the sounds made when they snap their fingers. The Buddhas make these sounds to wake living beings up. They clear their throats or snap their fingers, signaling to living beings that they shouldn’t remain asleep, living drunk and dying in a dream.
These kinds of sounds are heard throughout the lands of the ten directions / As the earth quakes in six ways.All the lands in the ten directions quake in six ways-banging, roaring, shaking, cracking, surging, rising-which are auspicious portents.
Because after the Buddha’s passing / One can uphold this Sutra, the Dharma Flower Sutra, all Buddhas, World Honored Ones, rejoice / And display limitless spiritual powers.
Sutra:
In order to bequeath this Sutra,
He praises those who receive and hold it.
Doing so throughout limitless eons,
Still he cannot finish.
The merit and virtue of these people
Is boundless and infinite,
Like empty space in the ten directions,
Without any boundary.
Commentary:
In order to bequeath this Sutra, Shakyamuni Buddha wanted to hand on the teaching to the Bodhisattvas and living beings, exhorting them to receive and uphold this Sutra. “Bequeath” means to pass on some work, to appoint someone to a job. Shakyamuni Buddha is appointing all the Bodhisattvas as keepers and propagators of the Dharma Flower Sutra.
He praises those who receive and hold it. / Doing so throughout limitless eons, / Still he cannot finish. / The merit and virtue of these people / Is boundless and infinite and eternal, like empty space in the ten directions. Where are the boundaries of empty space? You can’t find them. The merit and virtue of reciting the Dharma Flower Sutra is also like empty space-it is without any boundary.
Someone says, “Empty space is empty! There’s nothing there. Is our merit and virtue also empty and nonexistent?”
Empty space is nonexistent. However, if you can understand this “nonexistence” then you can understand “all of existence.” Besides, this analogy isn’t comparing the merit and virtue to empty space by its nonexistence, but rather because it is boundless and infinite. Basically, within true emptiness, there is wonderful existence. Wonderful existence cannot be seen, but you cannot presume that because you cannot see it, it doesn’t exist. It truly exists; you just don’t understand it.
Sutra:
Those who can uphold this Sutra
Have already seen me
And also seen the Buddha Many Jewels
And all of the division bodies.
They also see me on this day
Teaching and transforming the Bodhisattvas.
Commentary:
Those who can uphold this Sutra-who can receive, uphold, read, recite, write out, and explain the Dharma Flower Sutra-have already seen me. They have seen my true body and also seen the Buddha Many Jewels / And all of the division bodies, the Buddhas who are division bodies of Shakyamuni Buddha. They also see me on this day, here with Many Jewels Thus Come One in the jeweled stupa, teaching and transforming the Bodhisattvas.
Sutra:
Those who can uphold this Sutra
Cause me and my division bodies
And the extinct Buddha, Many Jewels,
To all rejoice.
They shall also see and make offerings
To the Buddhas of the ten directions in the present,
The past, and the future,
Causing them to rejoice as well.
Commentary:
Those who can uphold this Sutra / Cause me and my division bodies / And the extinct Buddha, Many Jewels, / To all rejoice. / They shall also see and make offerings / To the Buddhas of the ten directions in the present, / The past, and the future, / Causing them to rejoice as well. The Buddhas throughout the ten directions will be happy.
Sutra:
The secret and essential Dharma obtained
By the Buddhas seated in their Way-places
Will also be gained before too long
By those who can uphold this Sutra.
Commentary:
The secret and essential Dharma-their secret treasuries-obtained / By the Buddhas seated in their Way-places / Will also be gained before too long / By those who can uphold this Sutra. Why? Because they read and recite the Dharma Flower Sutra.
Sutra:
Those who can uphold this Sutra
Will take delight in speaking, without end,
The meaning of the Dharmas,
Their names and expressions,
Like the wind blowing through space,
Without obstacle.
After the Thus Come One’s passing,
They will understand the Sutras spoken by the Buddha,
The causes and conditions in sequence,
And speak them truly, according with their meanings.
Like the light of the sun and moon
Dispelling all darkness,
These people walk through the world
Dispersing the darkness of living beings,
Teaching limitless Bodhisattvas
Ultimately to dwell in the One Vehicle.
Commentary:
Those who can uphold this Sutra, who can read, recite, explain, and write out the Dharma Flower Sutra, will take delight in speaking, without end, / The meaning of the Dharmas, / Their names and expressions, / Like the wind blowing through space, / Without obstacle. He will gain the Four Kinds of Unobstructed Eloquence: Unobstructed Eloquence of Expression, Unobstructed Eloquence of Meaning, Unobstructed Eloquence of Dharma, and Unobstructed Eloquence of Delight in Speech. He shall speak with unobstructed eloquence like the wind in space, blowing where it will, without obstacle.
After the Thus Come One’s passing, / They will understand the Sutras spoken by the Buddha. They will deeply enter the Sutra store and gain wisdom like the sea. They will understand the causes and conditions in sequence, and speak them truly, according with their meanings-according with the doctrine of the real mark.
Like the light of the sun and moon / Dispelling all darkness, / These people walk through the world / Dispersing the darkness of living beings, helping living beings get rid of their stupidity. Basically living beings don’t understand; they are confused. They take day to be night, sleeping during the day and running around at night. I’ve seen a lot of people like this. They are like cats prowling around at night. They are also like mice that hide in their holes during the day and run around at night looking for food. But a person who upholds the Dharma Flower Sutra is intent on teaching limitless Bodhisattvas / Ultimately to dwell in the One Vehicle and attain Buddhahood.
Sutra:
Therefore, those with wisdom,
Hearing the advantages of this merit and virtue,
Should, after my passing,
Receive and uphold this Sutra.
These people most certainly
Will be unobstructed in the Buddha Way.
Commentary:
Therefore, those with wisdom, / Hearing the advantages of this merit and virtue, / Should, after my passing,-after I enter Nirvana, receive and uphold this Sutra. / These people most certainly / Will be unobstructed in the Buddha Way.They will certainly attain Buddhahood. There is no doubt about it.
09/11/10
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11 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY BUDDHA LESSON 27
LESSON – 27
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
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The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
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C.M. greets people on Eid-Ul-Fitar
Lucknow: September 10, 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati has greeted the
people of the State on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Fitar.
In a greetings message, Ms. Mayawati said the festival of Eid
symbolises peace and communal harmony. It also strengthens the
feeling of mutual brotherhood in the society. She said Eid brought
message of happiness and joy to one and all after the holy month of
Ramzan. It symbolised social and notional unity as well.
The Chief Minister has appealed to the people to celebrate the
festival of Eid with gaiety and joy in an atmosphere of peace and
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India out of global best campus list
Four Chinese universities figure in the list of the world’s best 50 educational institutions, even as India’s sole representative in the top 200 - IIT Bombay - has slipped 24 places from its 2009 position.
The University of Cambridge has replaced Harvard as the world’s best university in the prestigious QS World University Rankings, 2010, published in London yesterday. Six of the top 10 universities in the world are American, the other four are in the UK. The US and UK share positions 1 through 17 among themselves.
The QS rankings, earlier published in collaboration with Times Higher Education, are an annual ranking of the top 500 universities in the world, based on an academic reputation index, employer reputation index, institution inclusion, and research among other criteria.
Among Asian countries, Japan has 10 universities in the top 200; China and Korea have six and five respectively. India has one - IIT Bombay at No. 187, down from No. 163 in 2009.
IIT Guwahati has crashed 100 places from No. 401 to No. 501, University of Delhi is down 80 places from 291 to 371, IIT Delhi is down 21 from 181 to 202, and IIT Kanpur is down 12 from 237 to 249. The Universities of Mumbai and Pune are in the 450-500 bracket, comparable to Tehran.
In contrast, three of the four Chinese universities in the top 50 have improved their positions since last year. At No. 23, the University of Hong Kong is up one place, and on top of the Asian pile. The Chinese University of Hong Kong is up to 42 from 46, and Peking University is up to 47 from 52.
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is at No. 40, down from No. 35 last year.
Beijing’s Tsinghua University is the fifth Chinese institution in the top 100, coming in at No. 54.
Martin Ince, convener of the Academic Advisory Board for the QS World University Rankings, said that the poor performance by the IITs apart, “the real story is the very modest showing of all other Indian higher education in our rankings”.
“Delhi University scores well in our assessment of academic and employer opinion but very poorly on our other measures - faculty/student ratio, citations, international staff, international students,” Ince wrote in an email to The Indian Express.
“This is a very modest performance for the flagship university of a very significant nation… Note too that many universities around the world are investing heavily and want to be prominent in this and other rankings. So universities need to improve just to stand still.”
IIT Guwahati director, Prof Gautam Barua, expressed surprise and disappointment over the steep fall in the institute’s rank and said he would examine the issue. IIT Kanpur director Sanjay G Dhande, however, said that wide disparities in the budgetary structures of Indian and Western institutions - even though faculty and student profiles may be comparable - make it unfair to measure them by the same yardstick.
Indian government policymakers argue that international ranking criteria are based largely on western models and do not take into account several other indicators. The University Grants Commission is in fact, in the process of developing its own ranking system based on “Indian indicators of performance”.
Ince, however, argued that “the much more prominent position of Chinese universities than Indian ones proves that we are not simply being nice to western institutions”. He added, “In fact, India’s tradition of the English language ought to give it a big advantage over China in world higher education, but we do not see this effect at work.”
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, though, struck an optimistic note.
“In the next ten years several of our institutes will be among the top 100 in international rankings. Without commenting on the merits and demerits of these rankings, with the reform in education systems, we should see more Indian institutes figuring on them. It should also be thought what should be adopted as a global criteria… not necessary it has to be western-style”, Sibal told The Indian Express.
A Cabinet of crorepatis
Folklore may ascribe immeasurable wealth to India’s Cabinet Ministers, but going by what they have officially filed – and now made public — many of them fall way short of the anticipated riches.
Nonetheless, it is a Cabinet predominantly of crorepatis. The first among equals, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not the richest member of his Cabinet, but even he reports a total asset value of Rs. 4.30 crore.
Surprisingly, Finance Minister and the presumed number two, Pranab Mukherjee, is some distance away from Dr. Singh with his total assets valued at around Rs.1 crore. This is apart from the assets held by Mr. Mukherjee’s wife estimated at just under Rs. 1.5 crore. With a total asset value of around Rs.1 crore, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna also falls behind the Prime Minister. Mr. Krishna’s wife, Prema, owns assets worth another Rs.1 crore.
Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar’s statement shows him in possession of assets worth Rs. 3.9 crore with his wife Pratibha holding assets worth another Rs. 2.16 crore. Union Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal holds assets worth around Rs. 14 crore while his wife owns property worth Rs. 7 crore.
Strikingly, many of the Ministers are poorer than their spouses, among them. Home Minister Chidambaram and Petroleum Minister Murli Deora. Mr. Chidambaram has movable (shares, bank deposits, cash, jewellery etc.) and immovable assets worth Rs. 5 crore while the assets of his wife, Nalini, add up to over Rs. 7 crore. At approximately Rs. 15 crore, Mr. Deora’s assets are considerably lower than Hema Deora’s pegged at around Rs. 31 crore.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath holds movable and immovable assets worth around Rs. 3 crore.
His wife Alka’s assets are valued at Rs. 1.5 core. Mr. Kamal Nath and his family have business interest in at least 22 firms.
The total assets of Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Anand Sharma are valued at Rs. 2.5 crore. He has not reported the assets held by his wife. Union Minister for Chemical and Fertilizers M.K. Alagiri has movable and immovable assets worth about Rs. 9 crore.
This is apart from the holdings of his wife and son worth about Rs. 6 crore.
One of the richest members of the Council of Ministers, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel holds immovable assets worth nearly Rs. 35 crore.
This is besides assets totalling Rs. 40 crore in the name of his wife Varsha. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia has assets estimated at over Rs. 30 crore which excludes inherited property worth crores from the royal Scindia family.
This exclusive club also has its poor members, among them Union Minister for Railways Mamata Banerjee (Rs. 6 lakh), Union Minister for Defence A.K. Antony (Rs. 1 lakh) and, surprisingly, Union Minister for Communications and IT A. Raja (Rs. 88 lakh).
The information was compiled from data obtained under the Right to Information Act by S.C. Agrawal and election affidavits filed by the Ministers.
09/10/10
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10 09 2010 FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY BUDDHA LESSON 26
LESSON – 26
You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.
– Buddha
EDUCATE (BUDDHA)! MEDITATE (DHAMMA)! ORGANISE (SANGHA)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Ultimate Bliss
Anyone Can Attain Ultimate Bliss Just Visit:
http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
Using such an instrument
The Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
§
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
COMPUTER IS AN ENTERTAINMENT INSTRUMENT!
INTERNET!
IS
ENTERTAINMENT NET!
TO BE MOST APPROPRIATE!
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies;
International Relations and Peace Studies;
Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;
Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā University-
Course Programs:
Buddha pays a visit
Four-ton jade statue here to promote peace
[Great Buddha of Kamakura]
Animated Meditating Buddha
Animated Buddha Yoga Pose
Animated Buddha Face in Lotus
[Torii gates at Inari shrine, Kyoto]
[Buddhist priest in full dress]
Illuminating Prince’s Path That Led to Awaken-ness
Published: April 6, 2010
David Grubin, a prolific maker of television documentaries, specializes in profiles of American presidents and other prominent Westerners: Lincoln, both Roosevelts, Truman, Napoleon, Freud. For his latest PBS project, making its debut on Wednesday night, he has headed East, offering a two-hour introduction to an Asian with a large Western fan base.
“The Buddha,” in keeping with its unadorned title, is a simple, straightforward introduction to the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Written and directed by Mr. Grubin, it’s broken into roughly equal parts covering the Prince Siddhartha story — decadence, despair and deprivation leading to enlightenment under a fig tree — and the subsequent history and precepts of Buddhism.
The cast of talking heads includes, on the one hand, theDalai Lama (projecting irascibility) and several other Buddhist monks, and, on the other, a larger and more prominently featured group of Western writers and scholars. Among them are the poets W. S. Merwin (compelling) and Jane Hirshfield (oddly intense) and the ubiquitous Columbia scholar and father of Uma, Robert Thurman.
The experts are often upstaged by the simple, slightly druggy animations used to tell the Siddhartha story and to illustrate concepts like the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Sometimes these explications, like a passage about the three poisons that cause human suffering, can run on a bit long, as if the two hours proved more difficult to fill than Mr. Grubin had foreseen.
We also get a lot of pretty footage of the Indian countryside and various Buddhist pilgrimage spots, as well as Buddhist art. Little if any of the art is identified or explained, reflecting a larger tendency not to put what we’re seeing or hearing in a specific context. And it’s never clear whether the narrator, Richard Gere, is reading Mr. Grubin’s words or excerpts from an unnamed Buddhist text.
This can lead, despite the erudition of everyone involved, to a slight “Buddhism for Dummies” feeling — it seems unlikely that anyone who has even a slight acquaintance with the Buddha and his teachings will learn much here. And those already inclined to see Buddhism as a loosey-goosey religion that attracts Western space cadets probably won’t have their minds changed by “When this is, that is,” and Ms. Hirshfield’s wide-eyed statement on the miraculousness of drinking coffee from a mug.
For the sympathetic and uninitiated, though, “The Buddha” should prove a diverting couple of hours, whether they see the man’s legacy in terms of philosophy and ethics or in terms of lifestyle, aesthetics and exotic tourism.
THE BUDDHA
On PBS stations on Wednesday night (check local listings).
Written and directed by David Grubin; Mr. Grubin, producer; Anna Bowers, associate producer; Deborah Peretz, editor; James Callanan, cinematography; Michael Bacon, composer; Asterisk Animation, animation; Richard Gere, narrator. Produced by David Grubin Productions.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, enigmatic photographer T. Enami (1859-1929) captured a number of 3D stereoviews depicting life in Meiji-period Japan.
[Sumo wrestlers]
A stereoview consists of a pair of nearly identical images that appear three-dimensional when viewed through a stereoscope, because each eye sees a slightly different image. This illusion of depth can also be recreated with animated GIFs like the ones here, which were created from Flickr images posted by Okinawa Soba. Follow the links under each animation for the original stereoviews and background information.
[Meeting at gate]
[Buddhist ornament dealer]
[Geisha washing their hands in the garden]
[Chujenji Road, Nikko]
[Geisha playing music]
[Firewood dealers]
[Geisha girls with flowers and cat]
[Traveler in the mountain fog near Chujenji]
[Clam diggers having lunch]
[Tokyo Industrial Exposition, Ueno Park, 1907]
[Campfire on the peak of Mt. Myogi, Nakasendo]
Geisha in a tearoom]
[Kitano temple, Kyoto]
Road along the Fuji river]
[Geisha drinking beer in the park]
[Geisha looking at stereoviews]
http://moviesnepal.com/first-animation-film-in-nepali-gautam-buddha/
We had seen some animation in Nepali movies lately but there is not a single fully animated movie in Nepali movie history.
Tulsi Ghimire is planning to make a new record by producing a fully animated movie name Gautam Buddha. Ghimire has brought in students from Lalitkala Campus in a studio in Thapathali to start drawing the characters of the movie.
Ghimire told that the works for the movie has been going on for the last seven months and it is expected that the movie will take another six months to finish. The movie is targeted to the foreign audience and will feature the life of Gautam Buddha.
पछिल्ला नेपाली चलचित्रमा अभाव खडकिरहेको पूर्ण एनिमेसन् फिल्म अब केहि समयमा पुरा हने भएको छ | अहिले निर्देशक तुलसी घिमिरे ‘गौतम बुद्ध’ नाम राखिएको सो पहिलो नेपाली एनिमेसन फिल्म बनाउन जोडतोडका साथ लागेका छन् । सो एनिमेसन फिल्मका लागि ललितकलाका विद्यार्थीहरु थापाथली स्थित एउटा स्टुडियोमा ब्यस्त छन् ।
निर्देशक घिमिरेका अनुसार यो फिल्मका सबै पात्र, दृश्य एनिमेटेड हुनेछन् । यस फिल्म ले नेपाली विभूति गौतम बुद्धको जीवनगाथा, त्यतिबेलाको समाजलाई चलचित्रमा उतार्नेछ । बुद्धकालिन समाजलाई यथार्थ दृश्यमा देखाउन एनिमेसन बाट मात्र सम्भव देखिएकोले एनिमेसनको सहारा लिनुपरेको निर्देशक घिमिरे ले बताए | उनले उक्त फिल्म को लक्षित वर्ग भने विदेशी
Buddha for kids: Dharmapala Buddhist Center
Send us your religion news Your Community, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, VA 24010 or e-mail yourcommunity@roanoke.comParents say the meditation techniques of the Buddhist tradition are helpful for their kids.
Katie Clifton-Wright was looking for a spiritual center for her family when she began meditating at Roanoke’s Dharmapala Buddhist Center last summer.
The Roanoke mother enjoyed the peace that the practice gave her and wanted to share it with her two children, Harrison, 5, and Tallulah, 18 months. But there were no local programs for kids.
Buddhist children’s programs aren’t as easy to find as Sunday school for Christian children, Koranic school for Muslim kids or Hebrew school for Jewish children.
So Clifton-Wright, a teacher at Community School, decided to start one herself.
Last September, she began Dharma for Kids, a program that takes place on the third Saturday of each month at the Dharmapala Buddhist Center.
“Buddhism is really fun for children,” she said. “There’s so much love and joy and giving in Buddhism, and that’s what children are about.”
The type of Buddhism practiced at the Dharmapala Buddhist Center — the New Kadampa Tradition — has several programs for children worldwide.
The center’s educational program coordinator, Sherri Spain, said the Kadampa tradition is well suited for children because it’s accessible and geared to the West, and it focuses on simple instructions such as how to be kind or patient.
“I think this is pretty unique to our tradition,” Spain said about Kadampa’s number of children’s programs.
During each session, Clifton-Wright includes a brief meditation, teaching, story and art activity.
Clifton-Wright began a recent session by leading five children through a meditation about seeing and appreciating the things you have.
Then she read “Peach and Blue,” a children’s book about an adventurous peach who teaches a big blue-bellied toad how to appreciate the beauty of his home.
She likened the tale to how Buddha teaches people to see the joy and beautiful things around them.
Then she pulled out some bright foam glasses and glitter and asked the kids to make “Buddha glasses” to help them see the world through his eyes.
Parents send their children to Clifton-Wright’s program for a variety of reasons.
Some practice Buddhism and want their children to as well. Others are looking for other options for spiritual training besides formal religion and want their children to explore life’s big, universal questions.
Others send their children because of meditation’s power to relax and calm them.
Tracie Berra described meditation’s wonderful calming effect on kids and said she’ll ask her son Brian, 7, to breathe in and out when he has a temper tantrum.
Another mother, Traci Bitrick, said the program was good to introduce Buddhist concepts to children and said meditation helped calm her hyperactive son Eli, 10.
“When kids get quiet, they can realize that all the strength they need is inside them,” Clifton-Wright said.
She also believes that Buddhism has made her a better, stronger mother, especially after she separated from her husband seven months ago.
“I just think it saved my sanity and grounded me,” Clifton-Wright said. “Thank goodness for Buddha.”
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Press Information Bureau
(C.M. Information Campus)
Information & Public Relations Department, U.P.
C.M. reviews conclusions of Principal Secretaries/Secretaries meeting
Lucknow: 09 September 2010
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ms. Mayawati has directed the officers
to ensure all necessary arrangements for record kharif production this year.
She said that seeds which needed less water should be made available under
alternative arrangement in those districts, where sowing had become affected
due to less rains. Similarly, where the crops had been damaged owing to
floods, arrangement of seeds for late crops should be made available to
farmers, after the flood water recedes, she added.
The Chief Minister gave these directives, when Cabinet Secretary Mr.
Shashank Shekhar Singh, Chief Secretary Mr. Atul Kumar Gupta and
Additional Cabinet Secretary Mr. Netram apprised the Chief Minister of the
conclusions of Principal Secretaries/ Secretaries review meeting held at Yojana
Bhawan today.
Reviewing the works of agriculture department, Ms. Mayawati said that
availability of fertilizers should be maintained during kharif season at all costs.
Referring to the smuggling of fertilizers at Nepal Border, she directed the
officers to prevent it strictly and ensure that fertilizers should not remain
available more than the demand in the bordering districts of Nepal. She said
there was a large difference between soil testing and soil health card data,
which made it clear that farmers were not getting soil testing reports timely.
She directed that soil health card should be made available to farmers after a
certain period of time after soil testing. She said though 50 per cent more
crop loans had been distributed to farmers this year in comparison to last
year, but much improvement was needed. She said that Kisan Credit Cards
should be distributed to farmers according to target fixed by organising
camps.
Reviewing the State Government
’s Scheme to double the income of
farmers, the Chief Minister directed the officers to estimate that how much
the income of farmers had been increased. Necessary parameters should be
fixed for it. She directed the Principal Secretary for agriculture to visit the
villages twice in a week to monitor the progress and the implementation of
the schemes being run for farmers. Directing the officers to get the amount of
money from the Central Government according to the recommendations of
Vaidyanathan Committee to strengthen co-operative societies, she said that
facilities of necessary agriculture inputs should be made available to farmers
through these co-operative societies. She also directed that effective
arrangement should be made for paddy purchase and all necessary
arrangements should be completed timely. She said that farmers should get
remunerative prices for their produce. The harassment of farmers would not
be tolerated during paddy purchase, she warned.
The Chief Minister said that a new rehabilitation policy had been
announced by the State Government for farmers regarding land acquisition
cases. She said that farmers should get proper benefit under this policy. She
also directed that all details should be collected about the farmers being
affected by land acquisition.
Reviewing the situation of flood affected areas, the Chief Minister
directed the officers to estimate the loss due to the floods on priority basis.
Distribution of financial assistance should be made soon as per rules. Besides,
repair of damaged roads and basic facilities should be made in flood affected
areas. She directed the medical and animal husbandry departments to take
immediate action for prevention of any disease in flood affected areas. She
said that Additional Director Health would be held directly responsible for
spreading of disease in flood affected areas.
Reviewing the functioning of hospitals, the Chief Minister said that there
was a lot of scope in its improvement. Directing the officers to improve the
conditions of operations being carried out in the hospitals, she said that there
was shortage of nurses in the government hospitals, so the vacancies should
be filled at the earliest. Asking the officers to exploit all the health facilities
available in the hospitals to the maximum, she said that the people should be
provided good health facilities.
Assessing the progress of U.P. Mukhya Mantri Mahamaya Garib Arthik
Madad Yojana, Ms. Mayawati said that the time table formulated for this
ambitious scheme should be strictly adhered to. She warned that any
discrepancy in the selection of beneficiaries would not be tolerated. She said
that on the spot review of this scheme should be conducted through
government-level officers from time to time.
Discussing the shortage of teachers in Basic and Secondary schools, the
C.M. directed that the vacancies should be filled at the earliest. Considering
the problems of the students living in the flood affected areas, she directed
the Secondary Education Department to give enough time to the board
students for registration. She directed the officers to improve the quality of
basic education. Reviewing the progress of Mid-Day-Meal Scheme, she said
that its quality should not be compromised. She said that the paucity of edible
articles should not occur under this scheme in any part of the state. She
directed the officers to review the stock in timely manner at all costs.
Reviewing the progress of the Rural Development Department and
MNREGA, Ms. Mayawati said that the beneficiaries of the schemes should get
all the benefits in qualitative manner. She warned that any corruption in the
implementation of schemes related with the poor people would not be
tolerated. She said that solar street lights should be installed in Ambedkar
Gram Sabhas. Asking the officers to ensure de-silting of the canals, she said
that the Irrigation Department should prepare a detailed work plan for it and
inform the Government about it. She said that the senior officers of the
government should carry out surprise inspections of the de-silting work.
Regarding plantation, she said that this work should be done with full
seriousness. She said that for Bundelkhand a plantation scheme for planting
about 21 lakh saplings at an area of 7,000 hectares had been prepared. A
similar scheme should be prepared for Vindhya region as well, she said. She
directed the officers to fill all the vacancies created in the new districts.
The C.M. directed the officers that action taken, on the pending matters
referred to by her, should be sent to her immediately. She said that any laxity
in it would not be tolerated. She directed the senior officers of the
Government that while carrying out surprise inspections to check out on-thespot
progress of various schemes, they should not confine themselves to the
district and tehsil HQ only; instead they should also visit the interior rural
areas for inspection and meet the beneficiaries of various schemes to take
their firsthand feedback.
********
09/09/10
Filed under:
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Posted by:
site admin @ 3:54 am
I.
AWAKEN-NESS
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
with
Level I: Introduction to Buddhism
Level II: Buddhist Studies
TO ATTAIN
Level III: Stream-Enterer
Level IV: Once - Returner
Level V: Non-Returner
Level VI: Arhat
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
mathematics,
astronomy,
alchemy,
and
anatomy
Philosophy and Comparative Religions;
Historical Studies;
International Relations and Peace Studies;
Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;
Languages and Literature;
and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Welcome to the Free Online e-Nālandā University-
Course Programs:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2321732_place-buddha-statue.html
How to Place a Buddha Statue
By Ryn Gargulinski, eHow Contributor
updated: July 20, 2010
From a fat, happy camper to a thin, pensive meditating figure, Buddha statues come in many forms. Likewise, there are just as many places you can put him around your home. You can place a Buddha statue in a number of areas, to get the best boost of your Buddha’s awaken-ness, awareness and kindness.
InstructionsThings You’ll Need:
· Buddha statue
1. Gauge your home’s layout. The main rule for placing a Buddha properly is to give him a lofty perch, such as a mantle, raised platform or tall shelving unit. He should also not be surrounded by meaningless clutter and geegaws. He’d be upset if he were stuck next to your owl-shaped salt and pepper shakers.
2. 2
Give him a place of honor in your personal altar. Buddha can be the main focus of your own shrine, surrounded by smaller, meaningful objects like a crow’s feather, sacred candles and your lucky penny.
3. 3
Keep out evil spirits by putting Buddha in your home’s front room facing the front door. Anyone who enters will immediately note Buddha checking him out and will flee if they are filled with evil.
4. 4
Enhance your thinking by placing Buddha on a desk where you normally do your writing, reporting, creating or other brain activity. He can sit on a raised platform near your printer, next to your computer or in your artist’s studio, as long as you don’t paint on him.
5. 5
Give your garden a boost with your Buddha statue gazing out over your lawn and flowers. Your Buddha statue can bring enhanced growth by channeling the positive energy of the universe throughout your landscaping. Make sure, however, that your Buddha is an outdoor version if you choose this option so he doesn’t crack and rot in the sun.
6. 6
Have your whole house swirling with positive Buddha energy by giving him a throne in the middle of your home. Any central area will do, as long as he’s not obstructing any pathways, which will block the flow of energy and may make you stub your toe, or is crammed off to the side so he’s not properly honored.
Tips & Warnings
· Wherever you place your Buddha statue, you can enhance his vibrancy by having him face east, if possible, into the sunrise.
· Don’t put him on top of the TV. The tinny din will annoy him.
· Never put your Buddha statue in the bathroom, bedroom or kitchen. It’s rude to use the toilet in front of Buddha, nor does he want to see you engaged in a passionate act or eating deadanimals.
Web sites
Interpreting music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6XSaYhl_kI
Metta Sutta (Loving Kindness) Pali/English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOXXRCE3hI8&feature=related
Metta Song in Pali
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6wDNE75YB8&feature=related
Metta Song in Pali
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-DxwyeNA34&feature=related
The Timeless Wisdom Of Buddha
http://wn.com/The_Timeless_Wisdom_of_Buddhamangala
mangala sutta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuSN7GCLoyc&feature=related
Awakened One
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha
§ We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
§ Dhammapada, as translated by T. Byrom (1993), Shambhala Publications.
§ No one saves us but ourselves, no one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path but Buddhas clearly show the way.
§ Dhammapada Ch. 165
§ But truly, Ananda, it is nothing strange that human beings should die.
§ Digha Nikaya (DN) 16
§ Whatever is felt is within suffering.
§ Samyutta Nikaya 36.11
§ “Can there be joy and laughter When always the world is ablaze? Enshrouded in darkness Should you not seek a light?”
§ Dhammapada
§ This is deathless, the liberation of the mind through lack of clinging.
§ Majjhima Nikaya (MN) 106
§ To cease from evil, to do good, and to purify the mind yourself, this is the teaching of all the Buddhas.
§ Dhammapada verse 183
§ Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.
§ MN 74 Dighanaka Sutta (this saying is also in many other suttas as well)
§ Behold now, Bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to decay. Strive with diligence!
§ Last words, as quoted in DN 16 Mahaparinibbana Sutta 6:8
§ Variant translation:
§ Mendicants, I now impress it upon you, the parts and powers of man must be dissolved; work out your own salvation with diligence.
§ As quoted in Present Day Tracts on the Non-Christian Religions of the World (1887) by Sir William Muir, p. 24
Exertion
Full text online, as translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
§ Sensual passions are your first enemy.
Your second is called Discontent.
Your third is Hunger & Thirst.
Your fourth is called Craving.
Fifth is Sloth & Drowsiness.
Sixth is called Terror.
Your seventh is Uncertainty.
Hypocrisy & Stubbornness, your eighth.
Gains, Offerings, Fame, & Status wrongly gained,
and whoever would praise self
& disparage others.
That, Namuci, is your enemy,
the Dark One’s commando force.
A coward can’t defeat it,
but one having defeated it
gains bliss.
· I spit on my life.
Death in battle would be better for me
than that I, defeated, survive.
This statement is made in reference to his battle against the personification of temptation to evil, Mara.
· That army of yours,
that the world with its devas can’t overcome,
I will smash with discernment
· I will go about, from kingdom to kingdom,
training many disciples.
They — heedful, resolute
doing my teachings —
despite your wishes, will go
where, having gone,
there’s no grief.
§ Sn 3.2, Buddha’s Purpose
After Awaken-ness
§ Open are the doors to the Deathless
to those with ears.
Let them show their conviction.(SN 6.1 Ayacana Sutta)
§ In a world become blind,
I beat the drum of the Deathless.’(MN 26 Ariyapariyesana Sutta)
Friends
Nothing is as intractable as an untamed heart.
The untamed heart is intractable.
Nothing is as tractable as a tamed heart.
The tamed heart is tractable.
Nothing tends toward loss as does an untamed heart.
The untamed heart tends towards loss.
Nothing tends toward growth as does a tamed heart.
The tamed heart tends towards growth.
Nothing brings suffering as does
the untamed, uncontrolled unattended and unrestrained heart.
That heart brings suffering.
Nothing brings joy as does a
tamed, controlled, attended and restrained heart.
This heart brings joy.
Everything changes, nothing remains without change….
Online Translations
Samyutta Nikaya
Soma and Mara
An adaptation of a translation by C.A.F. Rhys-Davids
Once Soma, having returned from her alms round
and having eaten her meal, entered the woods to meditate.
Deep in the woods, she sat down under a tree.
The tempter Mara, desirous and capable of arousing fear, wavering and dread,
and wishing her to interrupt her focused meditation, came to her and said,
Your intent is difficult, even for the sages;
Completion cannot be reached by a woman regardless the wisdom reaped.”
Then Soma thought, “Who is this speaking, human or nonhuman?
Surely it is evil Mara desiring to interrupt my focused meditation.”
Knowing that it was Mara, she said,
“What does gender matter with regard to a well-composed mind,
which experiences insight in the light of the dhamma?”
The evil Mara thought, “Soma knows me”
and sorrowful for the evil, instantly vanished into darkness.
Bamboo Acrobats An adaptation of a translation by John Ireland.
In protecting oneself, others are protected; In protecting others, oneself is protected.
An adaptation of a translation by John Ireland.
The Exalted One was dwelling in the Sumbha country,
in a location of the Sumbhas called Sedaka
There He addressed the monks:
“Once upon a time, a bamboo-acrobat set up his pole
and called to his pupil, Medakathalika, saying,
‘Come my lad Medakathalika,
climb the pole and stand on my shoulders!’
‘All right master,’
replied the pupil to the bamboo-acrobat.
The student then climbed the pole
and stood on the master’s shoulders.
Then the bamboo-acrobat said to his pupil:
‘Now Medakathalika, protect me well and I shall protect you.
Thus watched and warded by each other,
we will show our tricks, get a good fee and
come down safe from the bamboo pole.’
At these words Medakathalika the pupil
Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom
said to the bamboo-acrobat,
‘No, no! That won’t do master!
Look after yourself and I’ll look after myself.
Thus watched and warded each by himself,
we’ll show our tricks and get a good fee and
come down safe from the bamboo-pole.’”
“In the synthesis is the right way,”
said the Exalted One,
“Just as Medakathalika the pupil said to his master,
‘I shall protect myself,’
by this the Foundation of Mindfulness is practiced.
‘I shall protect others,’
by this the Foundation of Mindfulness is practiced.
In protecting oneself, others are protected;
In protecting others, oneself is protected.”
And how does one in protecting oneself, protect others?
By frequent practice, development and
making much of the Foundation of Mindfulness.
Thus in protecting oneself, others are protected.
And how does one, in protecting others, protect oneself?
Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world
By forbearance and nonviolence,
By loving kindness and compassion.
Thus in protecting others, one protects oneself.
With the intention, ‘I shall protect myself,’
the Foundation of Mindfulness is practiced.
With the intention, ‘I shall protect others,’
the Foundation of Mindfulness is practiced.
In protecting oneself, others are protected;
In protecting others, oneself is protected.”
·
And this, monks, is the noble truth of the origination of dukkha: 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.
· 56.11 Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
The Gospel of Buddha (1894)
The Gospel of Buddha is a compilation from ancient records by Paul Carus
Neither fire, nor moisture, nor wind can destroy the blessing of good deeds, and blessings enlighten the whole world.
Ch. 58 The Buddha Replies to the Deva
On a certain day when the Blessed One
dwelt at Jetavana, the garden of Anathapindika,
a celestial deva came to him in the shape of a Brahman
enlightened and wearing clothing as white as snow.
The deva asked,
What is the sharpest sword?
What is the deadliest poison?
What is the fiercest fire?
What is the darkest night?”
The Blessed One replied,
The sharpest sword is a word spoken in wrath;
the deadliest poison is covetousness;
the fiercest fire is hatred;
the darkest night is ignorance.
The deva said,
What is the greatest gain?
What is the greatest loss?
Which armour is invulnerable?
What is the best weapon?
The Blessed One replied,
The greatest gain is to give to others;
the greatest loss is to greedily receive without gratitude;
an invulnerable armor is patience;
the best weapon is wisdom.
The deva said,
Who is the most dangerous thief?
What is the most precious treasure?
Who can capture the heavens and the earth?
Where is the securest treasure-trove?
A saviour has a greater right over the saved one than killer
The Blessed One replied,
The most dangerous thief is unwholesome thought;
the most precious treasure is virtue;
the heavens and the earth may be captured by the mind’s eye;
surpassing rebirth locates the securest treasure-trove.
The deva asked,
What is attraction?
What is repulsion?
What is the most horrible pain?
What is the greatest enjoyment?
The mind is everything. What you think you become.
The Buddha replied,
Attraction is wholeness;
repulsion is unwholesomeness;
the most tormenting pain is bad conscience;
the height of bliss is redeemed awakening.
The deva asked,
What causes ruin in the world?
What breaks off friendships?
What is the most violent fever?
Who is the best physician?”
The Blessed One replied,
Ruin in the world is caused by ignorance;
friendships are broken off by envy and selfishness;
the most violent fever is hatred;
the best physician is the Buddha;
The deva continued,
Now I have only one doubt to resolve and absolve:
What is it fire cannot burn,
nor moisture corrode,
nor wind crush down,
but is able to awaken the whole world.
To conquer oneself is a greater task than conquering others.
The Buddha replied,
Blessing!
Neither fire, nor moisture, nor wind
can destroy the blessing of good deeds,
and blessings awaken the whole world.
Hearing these answers,
the deva was overflowing with joy.
Then clasping hands, bowed down in respect and
disappeared suddenly from the presence of the Buddha.
True charity occurs only when there are no notions of giving, giver, or gift.
David Ross, 1,001 Pearls of Wisdom, 2006, p. 26
We forgive principally for our own sake, so that we may cease to bear the burden of rancour.
David Ross, 1,001 Pearls of Wisdom, 2006, p. 30
Rather than continuing to seek the truth, simply let go of your views.
David Ross, 1,001 Pearls of Wisdom, 2006, p. 39
Disputed
These quotes are unsourced and their authenticity as sayings of the Gautama Buddha has been questioned.
Life is no more than a dewdrop balancing on the end of a blade of grass
§
Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.
§ Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Just as the candle won’t be shortend, one’s happiness never decreases by being shared.
§ The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.
§ Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.
§ If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.
§ Let us all be thankful for this day, for we have learned a great deal; if we have not learned a great deal, then at least we learned slightly; if we did not learn slightly, then at least we did not become sick; if we did become sick, then at least we did not die. So, let us all be thankful.
§ On life’s journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.
§ Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.
§ Desire is the cause for all your sickness and misery.
§ It is your mind that creates this world.
§ When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.
Quotes about Buddha
To understand everything is to forgive everything.
§
The age in which true history appeared in Jambudipa,i.e, the Great PraBudha Bharath was one of great intellectual and spiritual ferment. Mystics and sophists of all kinds roamed through the Ganga Valley, all advocating some form of mental discipline and asceticism as a means to salvation; but the age of the Buddha, when many of the best minds were abandoning their homes and professions for a life of asceticism, was also a time of advance in commerce and politics. It produced not only philosophers and ascetics, but also merchant princes and men of action.
§ A. L. Basham in The Wonder that was Jambudipa,i.e, the Great PraBudha Bharath
§ For the first time in human history, the Buddha admonished, entreated and appealed to people not to hurt a living being, and it is not necessary to offer prayer, praise or sacrifice to gods. With all the eloquence at his command the Buddha vehemently proclaimed that gods are also in dire need of salvation themselves.
§ Thomas William Rhys Davids
§ Jambudipa,i.e, the Great PraBudha Bharath was the motherland of our race, and Pali the mother of Europe’s languages: she was the mother of our philosophy; mother, through the Arabs, of much of our mathematics; mother, through the Buddha, of the ideals embodied in Christianity; mother, through the village community, of self-government and democracy. Mother India is in many ways the mother of us all.
§ Will Durant,prolific American writer, historian, and philosopher in (The Case for Jambudipa,i.e, the Great PraBudha Bharath (1931)
§ If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism…A human being is part of the whole, called by us “Universe”; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely but striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.
§ Albert Einstein
§ I have no hesitation in declaring that I owe a great deal to the inspiration that I have derived from the life of the Awakened One. Asia has a message for the whole world, if only it would live up to it. There is the imprint of Buddhistic influence on the whole of Asia, which includes, Jambudipa,i.e, the Great PraBudha Bharath China, Japan, Burma, Ceylon, and the Malay States. For Asia to be not for Asia but for the whole world, it has to re-learn the message of the Buddha and deliver it to the whole world. His love, his boundless love went out as much to the lower animal, to the lowest life as to human beings. And he insisted upon purity of life.
§ Mahatma Gandhi
§ The Buddha is a being who is totally free of all delusions and faults, who is endowed with all good qualities and has attained the wisdom eliminating the darkness of ignorance. The Dhamma is the result of his awaken-ness. After having achieved awaken-ness, a Buddha teaches, and what he or she teaches is called the Dhamma. The Sangha is made up of those who engage in the practice of the teachings given by the Buddha. . . . One of the benefits of refuge is that all of the misdeeds you have committed in the past can be purified, because taking refuge entails accepting the Buddha’s guidance and following a path of virtuous action.
§ Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama, in The Way to Freedom’.
§ Now in this realm Buddha’s speeches are a source and mine of quite unparalleled richness and depth. As soon as we cease to regard Buddha’s teachings simply intellectually and acquiesce with a certain sympathy in the age-old Eastern concept of unity, if we allow Buddha to speak to us as vision, as image, as the awakened one, the perfect one, we find him, almost independently of the philosophic content and dogmatic kernel of his teachings, a great prototype of mankind. Whoever attentively reads a small number of the countless speeches of Buddha is soon aware of harmony in them, a quietude of soul, a smiling transcendence, a totally unshakeable firmness, but also invariable kindness, endless patience. As ways and means to the attainment of this holy quietude of soul, the speeches are full of advice, precepts, hints. The intellectual content of Buddha’s teaching is only half his work, the other half is his life, his life as lived, as labour accomplished and action carried out. A training, a spiritual self training of the highest order was accomplished and is taught here, a training about which unthinking people who talk about “quietism” and “Hindu dreaminess” and the like in connection with Buddha have no conception; they deny him the cardinal Western virtue of activity. Instead Buddha accomplished a training for himself and his pupils, exercised a discipline, set up a goal, and produced results before which even the genuine heroes of European action can only feel awe.
§ Herman Hesse
§ For natures such as Jesus of Nazareth, Mohammed and Gautama Buddha is already the capacity of its openness for a world vision part of its application documents. With its virtues, experiences and abilities they belong to each post written out in the world with each interview to the most promising candidates and easy are erhalten.
James Redfield, in the MANUAL of the tenth prophecy of CELESTINE, part of I: The threshold; Heyne publishing house Munich, German-language edition 1997,ISBN 3-453-11809X
Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.
§ If we ask, for instance, whether the position of the electron remains the same, we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether the electron’s position changes with time, we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether the electron is at rest, we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether it is in motion, we must say ‘no’. The Buddha has given such answers when interrogated as to the conditions of a man’s self after his death; but they are not familiar answers for the tradition of seventeenth and eighteenth century science.
§ J. Robert Oppenheimer
§ Buddha conquered the lands of China, Japan, entire South-east Asia, Burma, Indonesia, Java, Sumatra, Lanka and other countries without sending out even one soldier; he spread the message of karuna (mercy), prema (compassion), samanata (equality) and atmasanyam ( tolerance) throughout the world many centuries before Jesus and Mohammad; even today the flame of his sandesha ( message) lights up the whole world and entire humanity with the soft glow of manavatavadi (humanitarian), vaidhnyanik (scientific) and addhatmik(spiritual) message of India.
§ J. K. Verma
§ The fundamental teachings of Gautama, as it is now being made plain to us by study of original sources, is clear and simple and in the closest harmony with modern ideas. It is beyond all disputes the achievement of one of the most penetrating intelligence the world has ever known. Buddhism is the advance of world civilization and true culture than any other influence in the chronicles of mankind.
§ H. G. Wells
§ The Buddha Is Nearer to Us You see clearly a man, simple, devout, lonely, battling for light, a vivid human personality, not a myth. Beneath a mass of miraculous fable I feel that there also was a man. He too, gave a message to mankind universal in its character. Many of our best modern ideas are in closest harmony with it. All the miseries and discontents of life are due, he taught, to selfishness. Selfishness takes three forms — one, the desire to satisfy the senses; second, the craving for immortality; and the third the desire for prosperity and worldliness. Before a man can become serene he must cease to live for his senses or himself. Then he merges into a greater being. Buddha in a different language called men to self-forgetfulness five hundred years before Christ. In some ways he was near to us and our needs. Buddha was more lucid upon our individual importance in service than Christ, and less ambiguous upon the question of personal immortality.
§ H. G. Wells, in The Outline of History Ch. 25
I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.
§
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
§ Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Supreme Court upholds Mayawati’s land acquisition policy
NDTV Correspondent, Updated: September 08, 2010 13:15 IST
New Delhi: Dismissing an appeal by a farmer body, the Supreme Court today upheld the Uttar Pradesh government’s land acquisition policy for development of projects alongside the Yamuna Expressway connecting the national capital with Agra.
The court did not agree with the contention of the farmers that the land was acquired for a private purpose and not for a public purpose.
It dismissed an appeal filed by some farmers challenging the Allahabad High Court decision which had upheld the policy of the Mayawati government.
Uttar Pradesh state government is preparing to step up security for Babri title suit verdict on September 24
Allahabad: In two weeks, a court will decide one of India’s most divisively and destructively-argued debates - which came first - Ram Janmbhoomi or the Babri Masjid.
The verdict by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court will end a lawsuit that began sixty years ago.
For most Indians, however, the brutal moment of awareness came on December 6, 1992, when thousands of kar sevaks, led by BJP and RSS leaders, demolished the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, in what they described as their fight to reclaim the birthplace of Lord Ram.
In 1949, an idol of Lord Ram was furtively placed inside the mosque at Ayodhya. The unrest that followed forced the government to confiscate the site. Then came a series of lawsuits.
The first, by Gopal Singh Visharad, a member of the Hindu Mahasabha, petitioned that the idol of Lord Ram should not be removed from the premise. In 1959 came a second law suit from Nirmohi Akhara, a Hindu religious group, who asked to be given charge of the site. In 1961 came a third suit filed by the UP Sunni Waqf Board, asking the site be declared as Babri Masjid. The final case was filed in 1989, in the name of Bhagwan Shree Ram Lalla Virajman, asking that the disputed site be declared Ram Janmabhoomi.
All these lawsuits were clubbed together and the court then asked the Archaeological Survey of India to excavate the site to understand if a temple existed before Emperor Babar built Babri Masjid in 1528.
Uttar Pradesh state government is preparing to step up security.
