363 LESSON 01 09 2011 Malunkyaputta
Sutta To Malunkyaputta F FREE ONLINE eNālandā
Research and Practice UNIVERSITY and BUDDHIST GOOD NEWS letter to VOTE for BSP
ELEPHANT to attain Ultimate Bliss-Through http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org- Free
Buddhist Studies for the students-UP CM Ms. Mayawati likely to win the
four-way contest in UP assembly elections again because of her highly promising
best and meritorious governance for sarvajan hitay sarvajan sukhay. Her SC/ST,
OBC, Minorities and poorer upper castes are intact.-Hon’ble Chief Minister ji greets people on
Eid-ul-Fitr
in UP assembly elections again
August 30, 2011
Uttar
Pradesh chief minister Mayawati remains a
perplexing political enigma even after ruling the country’s most populous state
for more than four years. In the past, political observers who had been
baffled by her incredible ascent up the ladder of power. But now that she has
lasted almost a full term in office there is still considerable bewilderment
about Mayawati’s trajectory.
Voices on
the ground suggest there is good reason
to believe that Mayawati, is clearly the frontrunner in a four-way contest
between the BSP, Samajwadi Party (SP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the
Congress.
Those who know grassroots politics in
Uttar Pradesh feel the BSP leader’s SC/ST vote bank remains intact and that
this provides her with a tactical advantage that her political rivals in the
state do not have.
In the
past, Mayawati has shown rare skill in mobilising three layers of electoral support
- a core SC/ST base with an inner rock solid nub of support from her own Chamar
sub-caste, the dominant SC/ST group in Uttar Pradesh; a subsidiary prop from
poorer backward castes and Muslims who have a shared grievance with SC/STs
against economic exploitation and social oppression from upper castes and
rising middle castes; and the additional backing from influential upper caste
and middle caste individuals lured with the promise of a seat in the assembly because of her highly promising
best and meritorious governance for sarvajan hitay sarvajan sukhay. Her SC/ST,
OBC, Minorities and poorer upper castes are intact.
Press Information Bureau
(C.M. Information Campus)
Information & Public Relations Department,
U.P.
Hon’ble Chief Minister ji greets people on
Eid-ul-Fitr
Lucknow: 30 August 2011
The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Hon’ble Ms.
Mayawati ji has greeted people of the State on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.
In a greetings message, Hon’ble Chief Minister ji
said that the festival of Eid symbolises peace and communal harmony. It also
strengthens the feeling of mutual brotherhood and coexistence in the society.
She said Eid brought message of happiness and joy to one and all after the Holy
month of Ramzan. It also symbolises social and national unity as well, she
added.
The Hon’ble Chief Minister has appealed to people
to celebrate the festival of Eid with gaiety and joy in an atmosphere of peace
and harmony.
SN 35.95
PTS: S iv 72
CDB ii 1175
Malunkyaputta Sutta: To
Malunkyaputta
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Alternate translation: Walshe
Then Ven. Malunkyaputta, who was ardent & resolute, went to
the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As
he was sitting there, he said to the Blessed One: “It would be good, lord,
if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief so that, having heard the
Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone in seclusion: heedful, ardent,
& resolute.”
“Here now, Malunkyaputta: What will I say to the young
monks when you — aged, old, elderly, along in years, come to the last stage of
life — ask for an admonition in brief?”
“Lord, even though I’m aged, old, elderly, along in years,
come to the last stage of life, may the Blessed One teach me the Dhamma in
brief! May the One Well-gone teach me the Dhamma in brief! It may well be that
I’ll understand the Blessed One’s words. It may well be that I’ll become an
heir to the Blessed One’s words.”
“What do you think, Malunkyaputta: the forms cognizable via
the eye that are unseen by you — that you have never before seen, that you
don’t see, and that are not to be seen by you: Do you have any desire or
passion or love there?”
“No, lord.”[1]
“The sounds cognizable via the ear…
“The aromas cognizable via the nose…
“The flavors cognizable via the tongue…
“The tactile sensations cognizable via the body…
“The ideas cognizable via the intellect that are uncognized
by you — that you have never before cognized, that you don’t cognize, and that
are not to be cognized by you: Do you have any desire or passion or love
there?”
“No, lord.”
“Then, Malunkyaputta, with regard to phenomena to be seen,
heard, sensed, or cognized: In reference to the seen, there will be only the
seen. In reference to the heard, only the heard. In reference to the sensed,
only the sensed. In reference to the cognized, only the cognized. That is how
you should train yourself. When for you there will be only the seen in reference
to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in
reference to the sensed, only the cognized in reference to the cognized, then,
Malunkyaputta, there is no you in connection with that.
When there is no you in connection with that,
there is no you there. When there is no you
there, you are neither here nor yonder nor between the two. This, just this, is
the end of stress.”[2]
“I understand in detail, lord, the meaning of what the
Blessed One has said in brief:
Seeing a form —
mindfulness lapsed — attending to the theme of ‘endearing,’ impassioned in
mind, one feels and remains fastened there. One’s feelings, born of the form,
grow numerous, Greed & annoyance injure one’s mind. Thus amassing stress,
one is said to be far from Unbinding. Hearing a sound… Smelling an aroma…
Tasting a flavor… Touching a tactile sensation… Knowing an idea —
mindfulness lapsed — attending to the theme of ‘endearing,’ impassioned in
mind, one feels and remains fastened there. One’s feelings, born of the idea,
grow numerous, Greed & annoyance injure one’s mind. Thus amassing stress,
one is said to be far from Unbinding. Not impassioned with forms — seeing a
form with mindfulness firm — dispassioned in mind, one knows and doesn’t remain
fastened there. While one is seeing a form — and even experiencing feeling — it
falls away and doesn’t accumulate. Thus one fares mindfully. Thus not amassing
stress, one is said to be in the presence of Unbinding. Not impassioned with
sounds… Not impassioned with aromas… Not impassioned with flavors… Not
impassioned with tactile sensations… Not impassioned with ideas — knowing an
idea with mindfulness firm — dispassioned in mind, one knows and doesn’t remain
fastened there. While one is knowing an idea — and even experiencing feeling —
it falls away and doesn’t accumulate. Thus one fares mindfully. Thus not
amassing stress, one is said to be in the presence of Unbinding.
“It’s in this way, lord, that I understand in detail the
meaning of what the Blessed One said in brief.”
“Good, Malunkyaputta. Very good. It’s good that you
understand in detail this way the meaning of what I said in brief.”
[The Buddha then repeats the verses.]
“It’s in this way, Malunkyaputta, that the meaning of what
I said in brief should be regarded in detail.”
admonished by the admonishment from the Blessed One, got up from his seat and
bowed down to the Blessed One, circled around him, keeping the Blessed One to
his right side, and left. Then, dwelling alone, secluded, heedful, ardent,
& resolute, he in no long time reached & remained in the supreme goal
of the holy life for which clansmen rightly go forth from home into
homelessness, knowing & realizing it for himself in the here & now. He
knew: “Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is
nothing further for the sake of this world.” And thus Ven. Malunkyaputta
became another one of the arahants.
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362 LESSON 31 08 2011 F
Bahiya Sutta About Bahiya FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and
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Bahiya Sutta: About
Bahiya
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Alternate translation: Ireland
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying
near Savatthi, in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s
monastery. Now at that time Bahiya of the Bark-cloth was
living in Supparaka by the seashore. He was worshipped,
revered, honored, venerated, given homage — a recipient of robes, almsfood,
lodgings, and medical requisites for the sick. Then, when he was alone in
seclusion, this line of thinking arose to his awareness: “Now, of those
who in this world are arahants or have entered the path of arahantship, am I
one?”
Then a devata who had once been a blood relative of Bahiya of
the Bark-cloth — compassionate, desiring his welfare, knowing with her own
awareness the line of thinking that had arisen in his awareness — went to where
he was staying and on arrival said to him: “You, Bahiya, are neither an
arahant nor have you entered the path of arahantship. You don’t even have the
practice whereby you would become an arahant or enter the path of
arahantship.”
“But who, living in this world with its devas, is an
arahant or has entered the path to arahantship?”
“Bahiya, there is a city in the northern country named
Savatthi. The Blessed One — an arahant, rightly self-awakened — is living there
now. He is truly an arahant and he teaches the Dhamma that leads to
arahantship. “
Then Bahiya, deeply chastened by the devata, left Supparaka
right then and, in the space of one day and night, went all the way to where
the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi, in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s
monastery. At that time, a large number of monks were doing walking meditation
in the open air. He went to them and, on arrival, said, “Where, venerable
sirs, is the Blessed One staying — the arahant, right self-awakened? We want to
see him.”
“He has gone into the town for alms.”
Then Bahiya, hurriedly leaving Jeta’s Grove and entering
Savatthi, saw the Blessed One going for alms in Savatthi — calm, calming, his
senses at peace, his mind at peace, tranquil and poised in the ultimate sense,
accomplished, trained, guarded, his senses restrained, a Great One
(naga). Seeing him, he approached the Blessed One and, on reaching him, threw
himself down, with his head at the Blessed One’s feet, and said, “Teach me
the Dhamma, O Blessed One! Teach me the Dhamma, O One-Well-Gone, that will be
for my long-term welfare and bliss.”
When this was said, the Blessed One said to him: “This is
not the time, Bahiya. We have entered the town for alms.”
A second time, Bahiya said to the Blessed One: “But it is
hard to know for sure what dangers there may be for the Blessed One’s life, or
what dangers there may be for mine. Teach me the Dhamma, O Blessed One! Teach
me the Dhamma, O One-Well-Gone, that will be for my long-term welfare and
bliss.”
A second time, the Blessed One said to him: “This is not
the time, Bahiya. We have entered the town for alms.”
A third time, Bahiya said to the Blessed One: “But it is
hard to know for sure what dangers there may be for the Blessed One’s life, or
what dangers there may be for mine. Teach me the Dhamma, O Blessed One! Teach
me the Dhamma, O One-Well-Gone, that will be for my long-term welfare and
bliss.”
“Then, Bahiya, you should train yourself thus: In reference
to the seen, there will be only the seen. In reference to the heard, only the
heard. In reference to the sensed, only the sensed. In reference to the
cognized, only the cognized. That is how you should train yourself. When for
you there will be only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in
reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, only the cognized
in reference to the cognized, then, Bahiya, there is no you in terms of that.
When there is no you in terms of that, there is no you there. When there is no
you there, you are neither here nor yonder nor between the two. This, just
this, is the end of stress.”
Through hearing
this brief explanation of the Dhamma from the Blessed One, the mind of Bahiya
of the Bark-cloth right then and there was released from the effluents through
lack of clinging/sustenance. Having exhorted Bahiya of the Bark-cloth with this
brief explanation of the Dhamma, the Blessed One left.
Now, not long after the Blessed One’s
departure, Bahiya — attacked by a cow with a calf — lost his life. Then the
Blessed One, having gone for alms in Savatthi, after the meal, returning from
his alms round with a large number of monks, saw that Bahiya had died. On
seeing him, he said to the monks, “Take Bahiya’s body and, placing it on a
litter and carrying it away, cremate it and build him a memorial. Your
companion in the holy life has died.”
“As you say, lord,” the monks replied. After placing
Bahiya’s body on a litter, carrying it off, cremating it, and building him a
memorial, they went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to
him, sat to one side. As they were sitting there, they said to him,
“Bahiya’s body has been cremated, lord, and his memorial has been built.
What is his destination? What is his future state?”
“Monks, Bahiya of the Bark-cloth was wise. He practiced the
Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma and did not pester me with issues related
to the Dhamma. Bahiya of the Bark-cloth, monks, is totally unbound.”
Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on
that occasion exclaimed:
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.
Please Forward the attachment on
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361 LESSON 30 08 2011 Loka
Sutta The World FREE ONLINE eNālandā
Research and Practice UNIVERSITY and BUDDHIST GOOD NEWS letter to VOTE for BSP
ELEPHANT to attain Ultimate Bliss-Through http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org- Free Buddhist Studies for the students- Cakkavatti Sutta: The
Wheel-turning Emperor-
Kutadanta Sutta- Majjhima Nikaya-Memoranda containing Views
from FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY andBUDDHIST GOOD NEWS LETTER
on the Lokpal Bill 2011of the AWAKENED ONES by the AWAKENED ONES for HIGHLY PROMISING BEST MERITORIOUS GOVERNANCE
for SARVAJAN HITAY SARVAJAN SUKHAY ie.,
FOR HAPPINESS AND WELFARE of EVERYONE
Loka Sutta: The World
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Then a certain monk went to the Blessed One and, on arrival,
having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he said to
the Blessed One: “‘The world, the world’[1]
it is said. In what respect does the word ‘world’ apply?
“Insofar as it disintegrates,[2]
monk, it is called the ‘world.’ Now what disintegrates? The eye disintegrates.
Forms disintegrate. Consciousness at the eye disintegrates. Contact at the eye
disintegrates. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at
the eye — experienced as pleasure, pain or neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too
disintegrates.
“The ear disintegrates. Sounds disintegrate…
“The nose disintegrates. Aromas disintegrate…
“The tongue disintegrates. Tastes disintegrate…
“The body disintegrates. Tactile sensations disintegrate…
“The intellect disintegrates. Ideas disintegrate.
Consciousness at the intellect consciousness disintegrates. Contact at the
intellect disintegrates. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on
contact at the intellect — experienced as pleasure, pain or
neither-pleasure-nor-pain — that too disintegrates.
“Insofar as it disintegrates, it is called the
‘world.’”
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360 LESSON 29 08 2011 Uttiya Sutta To Uttiya FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY and
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AN 10.95
PTS: A v 193
Uttiya Sutta: To Uttiya
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Then Uttiya the wanderer went to the Blessed One and, on
arrival, exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly
greetings & courtesies, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he
said to the Blessed One,
“Master Gotama, is it the case that ‘The cosmos is
eternal: Only this is true; anything otherwise is worthless’?”
“Uttiya, I haven’t declared that ‘The cosmos is eternal:
Only this is true; anything otherwise is worthless.’”
“Very well, then, Master Gotama, is it the case that: ‘The
cosmos is not eternal: Only this is true; anything otherwise is
worthless’?”
“Uttiya, I haven’t declared that ‘The cosmos is not
eternal: Only this is true; anything otherwise is worthless.’”
“Very well, then, Master Gotama, is it the case that ‘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’?”
“Uttiya, I haven’t declared that ‘After death a
Tathagata neither does nor does not exist: Only this is true; anything
otherwise is worthless.’”
“But, Master Gotama, on being asked, ‘Is it the case that “The
cosmos is eternal: Only this is true; anything otherwise is
worthless”?’ you inform me, ‘Uttiya, I haven’t declared that “The
cosmos is eternal: Only this is true; anything otherwise is
worthless.”‘ On being asked, ‘Is it the case that “The cosmos is
not eternal… 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”?’ you inform me, ‘Uttiya, I haven’t declared that “After
death a Tathagata neither does nor does not exist. Only this is true;
anything otherwise is worthless.”‘ Now is there anything you have
declared?”
“Uttiya, having directly known it, I teach the Dhamma to my
disciples for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow &
lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment
of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding.”
“And, Master Gotama, when having directly known it, you
teach the Dhamma to your disciples for the purification of beings, for the
overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain &
distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of
Unbinding, will all the cosmos be led [to release], or a half of it, or a
third?”
When this was said, the Blessed One was silent.
Then the thought occurred to Ven. Ananda:
“Don’t let Uttiya the wanderer acquire the evil viewpoint that, ‘When I
asked him an all-encompassing question, Gotama the contemplative faltered and
didn’t reply. Perhaps he was unable to.’ That would be for his long-term harm
& suffering.” So he said to Uttiya, “In that case, my friend, I
will give you an analogy, for there are cases where it is through the use of
analogy that intelligent people can understand the meaning of what is being
said.
“Uttiya, suppose that there were a
royal frontier fortress with strong ramparts, strong walls & arches, and a
single gate. In it would be a wise, competent, & knowledgeable gatekeeper
to keep out those he didn’t know and to let in those he did. Patrolling the path
around the city, he wouldn’t see a crack or an opening in the walls big enough
for even a cat to slip through. Although he wouldn’t know that ‘So-and-so many
creatures enter or leave the city,’ he would know this: ‘Whatever large
creatures enter or leave the city all enter or leave it through this gate.’
“In the same way, the Tathagata isn’t concerned with
whether all the cosmos or half of it or a third of it will be led to release by
means of that [Dhamma]. But he does know this: ‘All those who have been led,
are being led, or will be led [to release] from the cosmos have done so, are
doing so, or will do so after having abandoned the five hindrances — those
defilements of awareness that weaken discernment — having well-established[1]
their minds in the four frames of reference, and having developed, as they have
come to be, the seven factors for Awakening. When you asked the Blessed One
this question, you had already asked it in another way.[2]
That’s why he didn’t respond.”
1. S. v.
420; Vinaya (Mahavagga, i.
10. No. 17).
2. The Perfect One, one attained
to Truth. The Buddha used it when
referring to himself. For
details, see The Buddha’s Ancient Path,
Piyadassi Thera, Buddhist
Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, p
17, n.4.
3. For a very comprehensive
account of the Four Noble Truths read
The Buddha’s
Ancient Path, Piyadassi Thera, Buddhist Publication
Society. Kandy, Sri Lanka
(Ceylon).
4. As the previous paragraphs
indicate, there are three aspects of
knowledge with regard to each
of the Four Noble Truths: 1. The
knowledge that it is the
Truth (sacca-ñana). 2.
The knowledge that a
certain function with regard
to this Truth should be performed (kiccañana).
3. The knowledge that the
function with regard to this Truth
has been performed (kata-ñana). The twelve ways or modes are
obtained by applying these
three aspects to each of the Four Noble
Truths.
106
23
Notes
1. M. 141.
2. For a very comprehensive
account of the Four Noble Truths read
The Buddha’s
Ancient Path, Piyadassi Thera, Buddhist Publication
Society. Kandy, Sri Lanka
(Ceylon).
3. Literally ‘fruit’, ‘sotapatti phale’.
4. To train in the path of
stream-attainment is more difficult than to
train in the path of
arahantship for the reason that in the former case
113
one has to deal with
undeveloped beings, and in the latter case with
those who are already
developed, and who are, by virtue of their
development, not destined to
fall back.
5. This is another epithet of
the Buddha.
NOTES
Ahara, Food
or nutriment is of four kinds: 1. ordinary material food
(kabalinkarahara); 2.
contact (of sense organs with sense objects,
phassahara); 3.
consciousness (viññanahara); and
4. mental volition
(manasañcetanahara).
See The Four Nutriments of Life by
Nyanaponika Thera, Wheel No.
105/106, Buddhist Publication
Society, (BPS) Kandy, Sri
Lanka.
Asubha, Non-attractiveness,
foulness, literally non-beautifulness.
Vedana, Feeling
or sensation is of three kinds: pleasant, unpleasant,
and neutral feeling.
Pañca-upadanakkhandha,
The five aggregates subject to grasping:
matter, feeling or sensation,
perceptions, mental formations, and
consciousness.
Salayatana, The
internal six-fold base: the five physical sense organs
(eye, ear, nose, tongue,
body, and the mind base (see Dependent
Origination or Paticca samuppada, by Piyadassi Thera, Wheel No.
15, BPS).
Satta
Bojjhanga, Seven Factors of Enlightenment: 1. Mindfulness; 2.
Investigation of the dhamma;
3. Energy; 4. Rapture or happiness; 5.
Calm; 6. Concentration; and
7. Equanimity (see Seven Factors of
Enlightenment, by
Piyadassi Thera, Wheel No. 1, BPS).
The Noble Eightfold Path: see
Discourse on the Analysis of the
Truths.
114
The four pairs of persons constitute
the four kinds of noble disciples
who have attained the four
paths (or stages) and four fruits of sanctity
(magga and phala). The four stages are: sotapatti (‘Stream Entry’)
where self-illusion, doubt,
and ritualism are ended, sakadagami
(‘Once-return’) where
sensuality and ill-will are weakened, anagami
(‘Non-return’) where
sensuality and ill-will are ended, and arahattha
(‘Arahantship’) where craving
for form, craving for formless
phenomena, conceit,
restlessness, and ignorance are ended. (Ten
bonds or fetters (sanyojanas) that bind the mind to the cycle of
rebirths are in Pali: sakkaya ditti, vicikiccha, silabbata-paramasa,
kama-raga, vyapada,
rupa-raga, arupa-raga, mana, uddhacca and
avijja, respectively.
See Maha-parinibbana Sutta, D.16
(http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/digha/dn16.html);
also see
‘Buddhism in a Nutshell’ by
Narada Mahathera.)
Navasattavasa, Nine
abodes of beings: the abodes where beings such
as humans, animals, devas, ghosts,
and brahmas are born, and the
realms of the infinity of
space, infinity of consciousness, of nothiness,
and of neither perception and
non-perception (see Minor Readings
and Illustrator, by
Bhikkhu Ñanamoli, Pali Text Society, London,
p.92).
The ten attributes of an Arahant, or Asekha, one
who has
completed his moral and
spiritual training, i.e., the Consummate One:
1. Right Understanding, 2.
Right Thought, 3. Right Speech, 4. Right
Action, 5. Right Livelihood,
6. Right Effort, 7. Right Mindfulness, 8.
Right Concentration, 9. Right
Knowledge (Sammañana), 10.
Right
Deliverance (Samma vimutti) which is the fruit of
Arahantship.
Abbreviations
A. Books
All references to Pali texts
are to the editions of the PTS.
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359LESSON 28 08 2011 Vajjiya
Sutta About Vajjiya FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY and
BUDDHIST GOOD NEWS letter to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT to attain Ultimate
Bliss-Through http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org- Free Buddhist
Studies for the students- Discourse on The Analysis of the Truths (Saccavibhanga
Sutta[1])
AN 10.94
PTS: A v 189
Vajjiya Sutta: About
Vajjiya
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying
near Campa, on the shore of Gaggara Lake.
Then Vajjiya Mahita the householder left Campa in the
middle of the day to see the Blessed One, but the thought then occurred to him,
“Now is not the right time to see the Blessed One, for he is in seclusion.
And it is not the right time to see the monks who develop the mind, for they
are in seclusion. What if I were to visit the park of the wanderers of other
persuasions?” So he headed to the park of the wanderers of other
persuasions.
Now on that occasion the wanderers of other persuasions had come
together in a gathering and were sitting, discussing many kinds of bestial
topics,[1]
making a great noise & racket. They saw Vajjiya Mahita the householder
coming from afar, and on seeing him, hushed one another: “Be quiet, good
sirs. Don’t make any noise. Here comes Vajjiya Mahita the householder, a
disciple of Gotama the contemplative. He is one of those disciples of Gotama
the contemplative, clad in white, who lives in Savatthi.
These people are fond of quietude and speak in praise of quietude. Maybe, if he
perceives our group as quiet, he will consider it worth his while to come our
way.” So the wanderers fell silent.
Then Vajjiya Mahita 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, “Is
it true, householder, that Gotama the contemplative criticizes all asceticism,
that he categorically denounces & disparages all ascetics who live the
rough life?”
“No, venerable sirs, the Blessed One does not criticize all
asceticism, nor does he categorically denounce or disparage all ascetics who
live the rough life. The Blessed One criticizes what should be criticized, and
praises what should be praised. Criticizing what should be criticized, praising
what should be praised, the Blessed One is one who speaks making distinctions,
not one who speaks categorically on this matter.”
When this was said, one of the wanderers said to Vajjiya Mahita
the householder, “Now wait a minute, householder. This contemplative
Gotama whom you praise is a nihilist, one who doesn’t declare anything.”
“I tell you, venerable sirs, that the Blessed One
righteously declares that ‘This is skillful.’ He declares that ‘This is
unskillful.’ Declaring that ‘This is skillful’ and ‘This is unskillful,’ he is
one who has declared [a teaching]. He is not a nihilist, one who doesn’t
declare anything.”
When this was said, the wanderers fell silent, abashed, sitting
with their shoulders drooping, their heads down, brooding, at a loss for words.
Vajjiya Mahita 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.
I don’t say that all asceticism is to be pursued, nor do I say that all
asceticism is not to be pursued. I don’t say that all observances should be
observed, nor do I day that all observances should not be observed. I don’t say
that all exertions are to be pursued, nor do I say that all exertions are not
to be pursued. I don’t say that all forfeiture should be forfeited, nor do I
say that all forfeiture should not be forfeited. I don’t say that all release
is to be used for release, nor do I say that all release is not to be used for
release.
“If, when an asceticism is pursued, unskillful qualities
grow and skillful qualities wane, then I tell you that that sort of asceticism
is not to be pursued. But if, when an asceticism is pursued, unskillful
qualities wane and skillful qualities grow, then I tell you that that sort of
asceticism is to be pursued.
“If, when an observance is observed, unskillful qualities
grow and skillful qualities wane, then I tell you that that sort of observance
is not to be observed. But if, when an observance is observed, unskillful
qualities wane and skillful qualities grow, then I tell you that that sort of
observance is to be observed.
“If, when an exertion is pursued… a forfeiture is
forfeited…
“If, when a release is used for release, unskillful
qualities grow and skillful qualities wane, then I tell you that that sort of
release is not to be used for release. But if, when a release is used for
release, unskillful qualities wane and skillful qualities grow, then I tell you
that that sort of release is to be used for release.”
When Vajjiya Mahita the householder had been instructed, urged,
roused & 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 Vajjiya Mahita the
householder has done.”
Discourse on The Analysis of the Truths (Saccavibhanga
Sutta[1])
Thus have I heard:
On one occasion the Blessed
One was living in the Deer
Park at Isipatana (the Resort
of Saints) near Varanasi
(Benares). Then he addressed
the monks saying: “O
Monks.” “Venerable Sir”,
replied those monks in assent to
the Blessed One. Thereupon he
said:
“The matchless Wheel of
Dhamma set in motion by the
Tathagata, [2] the Consummate
One, the supremely
Enlightened One, in the Deer
Park at Isipatana near
Varanasi, cannot be set in
motion by a recluse or brahmana
or Deva or Mara or Brahma or
by anyone in the world.
That is to say, it was a
proclamation of the Four Noble
Truths, by way of teaching,
laying down, establishing,
opening up, analyzing, and
elucidating them.
“Of what four: It was a
proclamation of the Noble Truth of
suffering (dukkha), by way of teaching… (as before) and
elucidating it; of the Noble
Truth of the arising (cause) of
suffering… of the Noble
Truth of the cessation of
suffering… of the Noble
Truth of the Path leading to the
cessation of suffering. This
matchless Wheel of Dhamma,
monks, set in motion by the
Tathagata, the Consummate
One, the supremely
Enlightened One, in the Deer Park at
Isipatana near Varanasi,
cannot be set in motion by a
recluse… or by anyone in
the world. That is to say, it was a
proclamation of the Four
Noble Truths, by way of
teaching, laying down,
establishing, opening up, analyzing,
and elucidating them.
“Monks, follow Sariputta and
Moggallana; associate with
Sariputta and Moggallana.
Wise monks do help (materially
and spiritually) those who
live the holy life. Monks,
Sariputta is like unto a
mother, Moggallana is like unto a
foster-mother to a child.
Sariputta, monks, trains (beings)
in the path[3] of
stream-attainment. Moggallana in the
highest goal (arahantship)[4].
Sariputta, monks, is able to
proclaim, teach, lay down,
establish, open up, analyze, and
elucidate the Four Noble
Truths.”
This the Blessed One said,
and having said so, the
Welcome Being (sugata)[5] rose from his seat and entered
(his) abode. Not long after
the Blessed One had departed,
the Venerable Sariputta
addressed the monks, saying:
“Reverend friends.” “Your
reverence”, the monks replied
the Venerable Sariputta in
assent.
This the Venerable Sariputta
said:
“Your reverence, the matchless
Wheel of Dhamma set in
motion by the Tathagata, the
Consummate One, the
supremely Enlightened One, in
the Deer Park, at Isipatana
near Varanasi, cannot be set
in motion by a recluse or
brahmana… (as before) in
the world. That is to say, it was a
proclamation of the Four
Noble Truths, by way of
teaching, laying down,
establishing, opening up, analyzing,
and elucidating them.
“Of what four? It was a
proclamation of the Noble Truth of
suffering (dukkha) by way of teaching… elucidating it; of
the Noble Truth of the
arising of suffering… of the Noble
Truth of the cessation of
suffering… of the Noble Truth of
the Path leading to the
cessation of suffering.
“What, your reverence, is the
Noble Truth of suffering?
Birth is suffering; aging is
suffering; death is suffering;
grief, lamentation, bodily
pain, mental pain and despair are
suffering; not getting what
one desires, that too is
suffering: In brief the five
aggregates subject to grasping
are suffering.
“What is birth? It is the birth of beings in
the various
classes (planes) of beings;
the production, their conception,
coming into existence
(re-birth), the appearance of the
aggregates, acquiring of the
sense-bases. This is called
birth.
“What is aging? It is the
aging of beings in the various
classes of beings, their
decay, broken teeth, graying hair,
wrinkled skin, the dwindling
of the life-span, the wearing
out of the sense-organs. This
is called aging.
“What is death? It is the
passing away of beings in the
various classes of beings;
the falling away, the breaking
up, the disappearance, the
death, making end of life, the
breaking up of the
aggregates, the laying down of the body.
This is called death.
“What is grief? It is the
grief, sorrow, sorrowfulness, the
state of being sorry, inward
sorrow, inward intense sorrow
visited by some calamity or
other, smitten by some kind of
ill or other. This is called
grief.
“What is lamentation? It is
the crying, the wailing, the act
of crying, the act of
wailing, the state of crying, the state of
wailing of one visited by
some calamity or other, smitten
by some kind of ill or other.
This is called lamentation.
“What is suffering? It is
bodily suffering, bodily
unpleasantness, the painful
and unpleasant feeling
produced by bodily contact.
This is called suffering.
“What is misery? It is mental
suffering, unpleasantness, the
painful and unpleasant
feeling produced by mental contact.
This is called misery.
“What is despair? It is
despondency, despair, the state of
despondency, the state of
despair of one visited by some
calamity or other. This is
called despair.
“What is meant by not getting what one
desires, that too is
suffering? To beings subject
to birth there comes desire: ‘O
might we not be subject to
birth, and birth not come to us.’
But this cannot be attained
by mere desiring. So not getting
what one desires, that too,
is suffering. To beings subject to
aging there comes the desire:
‘O might we not be subject to
aging, and aging not come to
us…’ (as before). To beings
subject to disease there comes
the desire: ‘O might we not
be subject to disease and
disease not come to us…’ To
beings subject to death there
comes the desire: ‘O might
we not be subject to death
and death not come to us…’ To
beings subject to sorrow,
lamentation, suffering, misery,
and despair there comes the
desire: ‘O might we not be
subject to sorrow,
lamentation, suffering, misery, and
despair, and sorrow,
lamentation, suffering, misery, and
despair not come to us.’ But
this cannot be attained by
merely desiring. So not getting
what one desires that too is
suffering.
“What, in brief, are the five
aggregates subject to grasping
that are suffering? These are
the aggregate of matter
subject to grasping, the
aggregate of feeling…, the
aggregate of perception…,
the aggregate of mental
(volitional) formations…,
the aggregate of consciousness
subject to grasping. These
are called, in brief, the five
aggregates subject to
grasping that are suffering. This is
called the Noble Truth of
suffering.
“What is the Noble Truth of
the arising of suffering? It is
this craving which produces
re-becoming (re-birth)
accompanied by passionate
greed, and finding delight now
here now there, namely the
craving for sense pleasures,
craving for existence and
craving for non-existence (selfannihilation).
This is called the Noble
Truth of the arising
of suffering.
“What is the Noble Truth of
the cessation of suffering? It is
the complete cessation of
that very craving, giving it up,
relinquishing it, liberating
oneself from it, and detaching
oneself from it. This is
called the Noble Truth of the
cessation of suffering.
“And what is the Noble Truth
of the Path leading to the
cessation of suffering? It is
this Noble Eightfold Path itself,
namely: right understanding,
right thought, right speech,
right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness, right
concentration.
“What is right understanding?
It is this knowledge of
suffering, knowledge of the
arising of suffering,
knowledge of the cessation of
suffering, knowledge of the
path leading to the cessation
of suffering — this is called
right understanding.
“What is right thought?
Thought of renunciation, thought
of goodwill, thought of not
harming — this is called right
thought.
“What is right speech?
Abstention from false speech,
abstention from tale-bearing,
abstention from harsh
(abusive) speech, abstention
from idle chatter (gossip), this
is called right speech.
“What is right action?
Abstention from killing, abstention
from stealing, abstention
from illicit sexual indulgence,
this is called right action.
“What is right livelihood?
Herein (in this dispensation) the
ariyan disciple avoiding
wrong livelihood, makes his living
by right livelihood, this is
called right livelihood.
“What is right effort? Herein
a monk puts forth will,
strives, stirs up energy,
strengthens his mind, exerts
himself to prevent the
arising of evil, of unwholesome
thoughts that have not yet
arisen; puts forth will… (as
before) to banish the evil,
unwholesome thoughts that have
already arisen; puts forth will…
to develop wholesome
thoughts that have not yet
arisen; and puts forth will,
strives, stirs up energy,
strengthens his mind, exerts
himself to maintain, to
preserve, increase, to bring them to
maturity, development, and to
complete the wholesome
thoughts that have arisen.
This is called right effort.
“What is right mindfulness?
Herein a monk lives practicing
body contemplation on the
body, ardent, clearly
comprehending and mindful (of
it), having overcome
covetousness and dejection
concerning the world (of the
body).
“He lives practicing
feeling-contemplation on the feelings,
ardent, clearly comprehending
and mindful (of it) having
overcome covetousness and
dejection concerning the world
(of feelings).
“He lives practicing
mind-contemplation on the mind,
ardent, clearly comprehending
and mindful (of it) having
overcome covetousness and
dejection concerning the world
(of the mind).
“He lives practicing
mind-object contemplation on the
mind objects, ardent, clearly
comprehending and mindful
(of it) having overcome
covetousness and dejection
concerning the world (of
mental objects). This is called
right mindfulness.
“And what is right
concentration? Herein a monk aloof
from sense desires, aloof
from unwholesome thoughts,
attains to and abides in the
first meditative absorption
(jhana) which
is detachment-born and accompanied by
applied thought, sustained
thought, joy, and bliss.
“By allaying applied and
sustained thought he attains to,
and abides in the second jhana which is inner tranquillity,
which is unification (of the
mind), devoid of applied and
sustained thought, and which
has joy and bliss.
“By detachment from joy he dwells in
equanimity,
mindful, and with clear
comprehension and enjoys bliss in
body, and attains to and
abides in the third jhana which
the
noble ones (ariyas) call:
‘Dwelling in equanimity,
mindfulness, and bliss.’
“By giving up of bliss and
suffering, by the disappearance
already of joy and sorrow, he
attains to, and abides in the
fourth jhana, which is neither suffering nor bliss, and
which is the purity of
equanimity-mindfulness. This is
called right concentration.
“This is called the Noble
Truth of the Path leading to the
cessation of suffering.
“Your reverence, the
matchless Wheel of Dhamma set in
motion by the Tathagata, the
Consumate One, the
supremely Enlightened One, in
the Deer Park, at Isipatana
near Varanasi, cannot be set
in motion by a recluse or
brahmana or deva or Brahma or
by anyone in the world.
That is to say, it was a
proclamation of the Four Noble
Truths, by way of teaching,
laying down, establishing,
opening up, analyzing, and
elucidating them.”
This the Venerable Sariputta
said. Those monks glad at
heart rejoiced at the words
of the Venerable Sariputta.
AWAKENED ONES and LOKPAL
From
Jagatheesan Chandrasekharan
FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY and BUDDHIST GOOD NEWS
letter
#668 5th A Main Road
8th Cross
HAL 3rd Stage
Bangalore-560075
Karnataka State
India
TO,
Respected Shri KP Singh,
Director, Rajya Sabha Secretariat,
201,Second Floor, Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi-110001
(Tel: 23034201, Fax: 23016784, E-mail: kpsingh@sansad.nic.in and rs-cpers@sansad.nic.in )
Respected Sir,
Sub: Memoranda containing Views from FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice
UNIVERSITY and BUDDHIST GOOD NEWS LETTER on the Lokpal Bill 2011
Following Views from FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY and
BUDDHIST GOOD NEWS LETTER on the Lokpal Bill 2011 is placed before
Parliamentary Standing Committee Chairman Abhishek Manu Singhvi for kind
perusal and favourable action.
Willing to appear before the Committee
with kind regards
your’s sincerly
J.Chandrasekharan
Memoranda
containing Views from FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice
UNIVERSITY and
BUDDHIST GOOD NEWS LETTER on the Lokpal Bill 2011
The Awakened One had gone beyond all
worldly affairs, but still gave advice on good governance
The
Awakened One came from a warrior caste and was naturally brought into
association with kings, princes
and
ministers. Despite His origin and association, He never resorted to the
influence of political power to
introduce
His teaching, nor allowed His Teaching to be misused for gaining political
power. But today, many
politicians
try to drag the Awakened One’s name into politics by introducing Him as a
communist, capitalist,
or
even an imperialist. They have forgotten that the new political philosophy as
we know it really developed
in the
West long after the Awakened One’s time. Those who try to make use of the good
name of the
Awakened
One for their own personal advantage must remember that the Awakened One was
the Supremely
Awakened
One who had gone beyond all worldly concerns.
There
is an inherent problem of trying to intermingle religion with politics. The
basis of religion is morality,
purity
and faith, while that for politics is power. In the course of history, religion
has often been used to give
legitimacy
to those in power and their exercise of that power. Religion was used to
justify wars and conquests,
persecutions,
atrocities, rebellions, destruction of works of art and culture.
When
religion is used to pander to political whims, it has to forego its high moral
ideals and become debased
by
worldly political demands.
The
thrust of the Awakened One’s Dhamma is not directed to the creation of new
political institutions and
establishing
political arrangements. Basically, it seeks to approach the problems of society
by reforming the
individuals
constituting that society and by suggesting some general principles through
which the society can
be
guided towards greater humanism, improved welfare of its members, and more
equitable sharing of
resources.
There is a limit
to the extent to which a political system can safeguard the happiness and
prosperity of its
people. No
political system, no matter how ideal it may appear to be, can bring about
peace and happiness as
long as the
people in the system are dominated by greed, hatred and delusion. In addition,
no matter what
political system
is adopted, there are certain universal factors which the members of that
society will have to
experience: the
effects of good and bad kamma, the lack of real satisfaction or everlasting
happiness in the
world
characterized by dukkha (unsatisfactoriness), anicca
(impermanence), and anatta (egolessness). To the
Buddhist,
nowhere in Samsara is there real freedom, not even in the heavens or the
world of Brahama.
Although a good
and just political system which guarantees basic human rights and contains
checks and
balances to the
use of power is an important condition for a happy in society, people should
not fritter away
their time by
endlessly searching for the ultimate political system where men can be
completely free, because
complete freedom
cannot be found in any system but only in minds which are free. To be free,
people will
have to look
within their own minds and work towards freeing themselves from the chains of
ignorance and
craving. Freedom
in the truest sense is only possible when a person uses Dhamma to develop his
character
through good
speech and action and to train his mind so as to expand his mental potential
and achieve his
ultimate aim of
awaken-ness.
While recognizing
the usefulness of separating religion from politics and the limitations of
political systems in
bringing about
peace and happiness, there are several aspects of the Awakened One’s teaching
which have
close
correspondence to the political arrangements of the present day. Firstly, the Awakened
One spoke
about the
equality of all human beings long before Abraham Lincoln, and that classes and
castes are artificial
barriers erected
by society. The only classification of human beings, according to the Awakened
One, is based
on the quality
of their moral conduct. Secondly, the Awakened One encouraged the spirit of
social -co-
operation and
active participation in society. This spirit is actively promoted in the
political process of
modern
societies. Thirdly, since no one was appointed as the Awakened One’s successor,
the members of the
Order were to be
guided by the Dhamma and Vinaya, or in short, the Rule of Law. Until today very
member
of the Order is
to abide by the Rule of Law which governs and guides their conduct.
Fourthly, the Awakened
One encouraged the spirit of consultation and the democratic process. This is
shown
within the
community of the Order in which all members have the right to decide on matters
of general
concern. When a
serious question arose demanding attention, the issues were put before the
monks and
discussed in a
manner similar to the democratic parliamentary system used today. This
self-governing
procedure may
come as a surprise to many to learn that in the assemblies of Awakened Ones in
India 2,500
years and more
ago are to be found the rudiments of the parliamentary practice of the present
day. A special
officer similar
to ‘Mr. Speaker’ was appointed to preserve the dignity of the Parliamentary
Chief Whip, was
also appointed
to see if the quorum was secured. Matters were put forward in the form of a
motion which was
open to
discussion. In some cases it was done once, in others three times, thus
anticipating the practice of
Parliament in
requiring that a bill be read a third time before it becomes law. If the
discussion showed a
difference of
opinion, it was to be settled by the vote of the majority through balloting.
The Awakened
Ones approach to political power is the moralization and the responsible use of
public power.
The Awakened One
preached non-violence and peace as a universal message. He did not approve of
violence
or the
destruction of life, and declared that there is no such thing as a ‘just’ war.
He taught: ‘The victor
breeds hatred,
the defeated lives in misery. He who renounces both victory and defeat is happy
and peaceful.’
Not only did the
Awakened One teach non-violence and peace, He was perhaps the first and only
religious
teacher who went
to the battlefield personally to prevent the outbreak of a war. He diffused tension
between
the Sakyas and
the Koliyas who were about to wage war over the waters of Rohini. He also
dissuaded King
Ajatasattu from
attacking the Kingdom of the Vajjis.
The Awakened One
discussed the importance and the prerequisites of a good government. He showed
how
the country
could become corrupt, degenerate and unhappy when the head of the government
becomes
corrupt and
unjust. He spoke against corruption and how a government should act based on
humanitarian
principles.
The Awakened One
once said, ‘When the ruler of a country is just and good, the ministers become
just and
good; when the
ministers are just and good, the higher officials become just and good; when
the higher
officials are
just and good, the rank and file become just and good; when the rank and file
become just and
good, the people
become just and good.’(Anguttara Nikaya)
In the Cakkavatti
Sihananda Sutta, the Awakened One said that immorality and crime, such as
theft,
falsehood,
violence, hatred, cruelty, could arise from poverty. Kings and governments may
try to suppress
crime through
punishment, but it is futile to eradicate crimes through force.
In the Kutadanta
Sutta, the Awakened One suggested economic development instead of force to
reduce crime.
The government
should use the country’s resources to improve the economic conditions of the
country. It
could embark on
agricultural and rural development, provide financial support to entrepreneurs
and
business,
provide adequate wages for workers to maintain a decent life with human dignity.
1)be liberal and
avoid selfishness,
2) maintain a high moral character,
3) be prepared to sacrifice one’s own pleasure for the well-being of the
subjects,
4) be honest and maintain absolute integrity,
5) be kind and gentle,
6) lead a simple life for the subjects to emulate,
7) be free from hatred of any kind,
8) exercise non-violence,
9) practice patience, and
10) respect public opinion to promote peace and harmony
Regarding
the behavior of rulers, He further advised:
- A
good ruler should act impartially and should not be biased and discriminate
between one particular
group
of subjects against another.
- A
good ruler should not harbor any form of hatred against any of his subjects.
- A
good ruler should show no fear whatsoever in the enforcement of the law, if it
is justifiable.
- A
good ruler must possess a clear understanding of the law to be enforced. It
should not be enforced just
because
the ruler has the authority to enforce the law. It must be done in a reasonable
manner and with
common
sense. — (Cakkavatti Sihananda Sutta)
In the Milinda
Panha,it is stated: ‘If a man, who is unfit, incompetent, immoral,
improper, unable and
unworthy of
kingship, has enthroned himself a king or a ruler with great authority, he is
subject to be
tortured‚ to be
subject to a variety of punishment by the people, because, being unfit and
unworthy, he has
placed himself
unrighteously in the seat of sovereignty. The ruler, like others who violate
and transgress
moral codes and
basic rules of all social laws of mankind, is equally subject to punishment;
and moreover, to
be censured is
the ruler who conducts himself as a robber of the public.’ In a Jataka story,
it is mentioned
that a ruler who
punishes innocent people and does not punish the culprit is not suitable to
rule a country.
The king always
improves himself and carefully examines his own conduct in deeds, words and
thoughts,
trying to
discover and listen to public opinion as to whether or not he had been guilty
of any faults and
mistakes in
ruling the kingdom. If it is found that he rules unrighteously, the public will
complain that they
are ruined by
the wicked ruler with unjust treatment, punishment, taxation, or other
oppressions including
corruption of
any kind, and they will react against him in one way or another. On the
contrary, if he rules
righteously they
will bless him: ‘Long live His Majesty.’ (Majjhima Nikaya)
The
Awakened One’s emphasis on the moral duty of a ruler to use public
power to improve the welfare of the
people
had inspired Emperor Asoka in the Third Century B.C. to do likewise. Emperor
Asoka, a sparkling
example
of this principle, resolved to live according to and preach the Dhamma and to
serve his subjects and
all
humanity. He declared his non-aggressive intentions to his neighbors, assuring
them of his goodwill and
sending
envoys to distant kings bearing his message of peace and non-aggression. He
promoted the energetic
practice
of the socio-moral virtues of honesty, truthfulness, compassion, benevolence,
non-violence,
considerate
behavior towards all, non-extravagance, non-acquisitiveness, and non-injury to
animals. He
encouraged
religious freedom and mutual respect for each other’s creed. He went on
periodic tours preaching
the
Dhamma to the rural people. He undertook works of public utility, such as
founding of hospitals for men
and
animals, supplying of medicine, planting of roadside trees and groves, digging
of wells, and construction
of
watering sheds and rest houses. He expressly forbade cruelty to animals.
Sometimes
the Awakened One is said to be a social reformer. Among other things, He
condemned the caste
system,
recognized the equality of people, spoke on the need to improve socio-economic
conditions,
recognized
the importance of a more equitable distribution of wealth among the rich and
the poor, raised the
status
of women, recommended the incorporation of humanism in government and
administration, and
taught
that a society should not be run by greed but with consideration and compassion
for the people.
Despite
all these, His contribution to mankind is much greater because He took off at a
point which no other
social
reformer before or ever since had done, that is, by going to the deepest roots
of human ill which are
found
in the human mind. It is only in the human mind that true reform can be
effected. Reforms imposed by
force
upon the external world have a very short life because they have no roots. But
those reforms which
spring
as a result of the transformation of man’s inner consciousness remain rooted.
While their branches
spread
outwards, they draw their nourishment from an unfailing source — the
subconscious imperatives of
the
life-stream itself. So reforms come about when men’s minds have prepared the
way for them, and they
live
as long as men revitalize them out of their own love of truth, justice and
their fellow men.
The
doctrine preached by the Awakened One is not one based on ‘Political
Philosophy’. Nor is it a doctrine
that
encourages men to worldly pleasures. It sets out a way to attain Nibbana. In
other words, its ultimate
aim is
to put an end to craving (Tanha) that keeps them in bondage to this
world. A stanza from the
Dhammapada
best summarizes this statement: ‘The path that leads to worldly
gain is one, and the path that
leads
to Nibbana(by leading a religious life)is another.’
However,
this does not mean that Awakened Ones cannot or should not get involved in the
political process,
which
is a social reality. The lives of the members of a society are shaped by laws
and regulations, economic
arrangements
allowed within a country, institutional arrangements, which are influenced by
the political
arrangements
of that society. Nevertheless, if a Awakened One wishes to be involved in
politics, he should not
misuse
religion to gain political powers, nor is it advisable for those who have
renounced the worldly life to
lead a
pure, religious life to be actively involved in politics.
“As
you are, so is the world.”
Abiding
by a set of higher ethics makes them anxious that they will be prey to anyone
who is stronger, less
moral,
and capable of using violence without any sense of guilt or remorse. - Dukkha
But
Abiding by a set of higher ethics whose basis is compassion for other people
and reverence for life. –
Dukkha
Nirodha
Seeking
un-attachment makes people think they will be giving up worldly success and
comfort. Un-attaching
from
materialism has little appeal when people everywhere are pursuing materialism
with every breath. –
Dukkha
Becoming
un-attached from the self and realizing that the individual self is an illusion.
- Dukkha Nirodha
Pluck
out the seed of illusion, do not feed the mind with new ideals that would
succumb to corruption in the
inexorable
working of time.
Aim
for nothing less than an “inner revolution” . Coming in from the cold, people
yearn for this inner
revolution
because there is a hole inside them where god used to be. But in many ways that
god was only an
image.
Most people fail to find what they want from spirituality because they remove
one image of god only to
fill
in another (they even turn Buddha into a god, the very thing he denied).Inner
revolution, opening a path
to
liberation. Nothing less will cure the human disease.
If people could see that the human disease is temporary, the
whole world would be transformed. Despite the
burden of past beliefs that underlie a horrific conflict
like the one in the Middle East, Awakened One’s cure is
taking hold, although we don’t know on what scale. Secular
spirituality forms a separate subculture in every
country where people have begun to seek a new way and a new
set of beliefs. Their way doesn’t have to travel
under the name of Awakened
One.
The essence is about moving ahead, not about labels. Where the growth of
consciousness is being nourished anywhere in the world, the
following trends are evident:
- Meditation
will become mainstream. - Healing,
both physical and psychological, will become commonplace. - Prayer
will be seen as real and efficacious. - Manifestation
of desires will be talked about as a real phenomenon. - People
will regain a connection to spirit. - Individuals
will find answers inwardly to their deepest spiritual questions. They will
believe in their private answers and live accordingly. - Communities
of belief will arise. - Gurus
and other spiritual authorities will wane in influence. - A
wisdom tradition will grow to embrace the great spiritual teachings at the
heart of organized religion. - Faith
will no longer be seen as an irrational departure from reason and science.
- Wars
will decline as peace becomes a social reality. - Nature
will regain its sacred value.
There is no spiritual path that can succeed without
confronting the here and now. Awakened One wanted us
to be mindful of who were are at this moment because in the
midst of disorder and confusion, which
dominates every moment, there is the seed of Awakened One nature, of awakening.
If you notice these seeds and give them value, they will
expand, and in time they will fill the holes of isolation
and meaninglessness. The path is subtle but natural, and
open to everyone. To notice who you are is simple,
not difficult. You can be gentle with yourself. There is no
timetable, no need for rigor or discipline.
Your job is to notice that there is light within you,
however small. A small candle is only different from the
blazing sun by a matter of degree. Both are light by nature.
Whatever makes your light grow will serve you.
Meditation will not be a practice set apart in your day; it
will become the normal state of self-awareness, of
being awake instead of asleep. For two thousand years nature
has held the cure for aloneness in its heart.
When you realize yourself as Awakened
One,
you are still alone, but your aloneness fills every corner of
creation as far as the eye can see.
This
society had only adopted such innocuous dogmas like ‘ahimsa’ from Awakened One while
rejecting the
essence
of his philosophy of ‘equality’. Ahimsa
is a social structure based on inequality and enslavement of
the
‘Shudra’ and the women, amounted to
hinsa and this was sought to be camouflaged by the Hindu
adoption
of Awakened One’s Ahimsa.
Bills may include ministers, MPs for
any action outside Parliament, and Group A officers (and equivalent) of
the government. The bill may
include a sitting prime minister.
May include any act of an MP in
respect of a speech or vote in Parliament (which is now protected by Article
105 of the Constitution). May
include judges.
May include all government
officials, while the government bill including junior (below Group A) officials.
Bill may include officers of NGOs
who receive government funds or any funds from the public.
The bill may have a chairperson and members belonging to
SC/STs OBCs, Minorities and general categories
50% of them having judicial background.Chairperson and Members with any allegations may not be
included in the Lokpal.
A search committee mayshortlist potential candidates. The
search committee may have members belonging to
SC/STs OBCs, Minorities and general categories 50% of them having
judicial background.
Bill may require the judicial member to be a supreme court
judge or a high court chief justice. For other
members, the government bill requires at least 25 years
experience in anti-corruption policy, public
administration, vigilance or finance. There must be a
combination of members belonging to SC/STs OBCs,
Minorities and general categories 50% of them having
judicial background.
Bill may permit the president to make a reference to the
Supreme Court for an inquiry, followed by removal
if the member is found to be biased or corrupt. The
reference may be made by the president (a) on his own,
(a) on a petition signed by 100 MPs,or (c) on a petition by
a citizen if the President is then satisfied that it
should be referred. The President may also remove any
member for insolvency, infirmity of mind or body, or
engaging in paid employment.
Bill may deal with offences under the Prevention of
Corruption Act, in addition, may include offences by
public servants under the Indian Penal Code, victimization
of whistleblowers and repeated violation of
citizen’s charter.
Bill may provide for an investigation wing under the Lok Pal
and that the CBI will be under the Lok Pal
while investigating corruption cases.
Bill may provide for a prosecution wing of the Lok Pal.And
the CBI’s prosecution wing under Lokpal may
conduct this function.
The process for prosecution in the bill, the Lok Pal may
initiate prosecution in a special court. A copy of the
report may be sent to the competent authority. No
prior sanction is required. Prosecution of the prime
minister, ministers, MPs and judges of supreme court and
high courts may be initiated as per the
Constitution of India.
May deal with grievance redressal of citizens, in addition
to the process for prosecuting corruption
cases. Every public authority may publish citizen’s
charters listing its commitments to citizens.
All the above mentioned points may be included in the bill as
laid in the Constitution of India, since the
Constitution has stood the test of time.
-ooOoo-
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358 LESSON 27 08 2011 Cula Malunkyovada Sutta The Shorter Instructions to
Malunkya FREE ONLINE eNālandā
Research and Practice UNIVERSITY and BUDDHIST GOOD NEWS letter to VOTE for BSP
ELEPHANT to attain Ultimate Bliss-Through http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org- Free
Buddhist Studies for the students- Setting In Motion the Wheel of Truth (Dhammacakkappavattana
Sutta [1])-AWAKENED ONES and LOKPAL
To day the 27-08-2011 Mr.D Balasunder MD (BC) HAL unveiled
LORD BUDDHA STATUE & celebrated 120th Babasaheb Dr.Ambedkar anniversary at
@HAL SC/ST E&O Association. Beautiful statue of Lord Buddha was gifted by
Dr. Balakrishna, Mr.Lingiah, Mr.Shivaram, Mr.Gangadhar, Nr.Muthuswamy, Mohan
and others who were felicitated. Mahabodhi Society, Bangalore Dhammacharis were
led by Ven. Bodhi Datta in the chantings.President BN Shivalinga and his team
performed a sarvajan event inviting the trade Union President Mr. Manohar, HOAG
President Mr. Gunasekaran and the entire HAL employees and Officers made the
function a grand success.
Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar(Babasaheb): 
An Indian nationalist, jurist, Dalit political leader and a Buddhist revivalist. (April 14, 1891 - December 6, 1956)
He was also the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. Born into
a poor Untouchable family, Ambedkar spent his whole life fighting
against social discrimination, the system of Chaturvarna - the Hindu
categorization of human society into four varnas - and the Indian caste
system. He is also credited with having sparked the Dalit Buddhist
movement. Ambedkar has been honoured with the Bharat Ratna, India’s
highest civilian award.
Overcoming numerous social and financial obstacles, Ambedkar became
one of the first “untouchables” to obtain a college education in India.
Eventually earning law degrees and multiple doctorates for his study and
research in law, economics and political science from Columbia
University and the London School of Economics, Ambedkar returned home a
famous scholar and practiced law for a few years before publishing
journals advocating political rights and social freedom for India’s
untouchables.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born in the British-founded town and
military cantonment of Mhow in the Central Provinces (now in Madhya
Pradesh). He was the 14th and last child of Ramji Maloji Sakpal and
Bhimabai Murbadkar. His family was of Marathi background from the town
of Ambavade in the Ratnagiri district of modern-day Maharashtra. They
belonged to the Hindu Mahar caste, who were treated as untouchables and
subjected to intense socio-economic discrimination. Ambedkar’s ancestors
had for long been in the employment of the army of the British East
India Company, and his father served in the Indian Army at the Mhow
cantonment. He had received a degree of formal education in Marathi and
English, and encouraged his children to learn and work hard at school.
Belonging to the Kabir Panth, Ramji Sakpal encouraged his children to
read the Hindu classics. He used his position in the army to lobby for
his children to study at the government school, as they faced resistance
owing to their caste. Although able to attend school, Ambedkar and
other Untouchable children were segregated and given no attention or
assistance by the teachers. They were not allowed to sit inside the
class. Even if they needed to drink water somebody from a higher caste
would have to pour that water from a height as they were not allowed to
touch either the water or the vessel that contained it. This task was
usually performed for the young Ambedkar by the school peon, and if he
could not be found Ambedkar went without water.[2] Ramji Sakpal retired
in 1894 and the family moved to Satara two years later. Shortly after
their move, Ambedkar’s mother died. The children were cared for by their
paternal aunt, and lived in difficult circumstances. Only three sons -
Balaram, Anandrao and Bhimrao - and two daughters - Manjula and Tulasa -
of the Ambedkars would go on to survive them. Of his brothers and
sisters, only Ambedkar succeeded in passing his examinations and
graduating to a bigger school. His native village name was “Ambavade” in
Ratnagiri District so he changed his name from “Sakpal” to “Ambedkar”
with the recommendation and faith of Mahadev Ambedkar, a Deshasta
Brahmin teacher who believed in him.
Ramji Sakpal remarried in 1898, and the family moved to Mumbai (then
Bombay), where Ambedkar became the first untouchable student at the
Government High School near Elphinstone Road. Although excelling in his
studies, Ambedkar was increasingly disturbed by the segregation and
discrimination that he faced. In 1907, he passed his matriculation
examination and entered the University of Bombay, becoming
one of the first persons of untouchable origin to enter a college in
India. This success provoked celebrations in his community, and after a
public ceremony he was presented with a biography of the Buddha by his
teacher Krishnaji Arjun Keluskar also known as Dada Keluskar, a Maratha
caste scholar. Ambedkar’s marriage had been arranged the previous year
as per Hindu custom, to Ramabai, a nine-year old girl from Dapoli. In
1908, he entered Elphinstone College and obtained a scholarship of
twenty five rupees a month from the Gayakwad ruler of Baroda, Sahyaji
Rao III for higher studies in the USA. By 1912, he obtained his degree
in economics and political science, and prepared to take up employment
with the Baroda state government. His wife gave birth to his first son,
Yashwant, in the same year. Ambedkar had just moved his young family and
started work, when he dashed back to Mumbai to see his ailing father,
who died on February 2, 1913.
Fight against untouchability:
As a leading Indian scholar, Ambedkar had been invited to testify before
the Southborough Committee, which was preparing the Government of India
Act 1919. At this hearing, Ambedkar argued for creating separate
electorates and reservations for Dalits and other religious communities.
In 1920, he began the publication of the weekly Mooknayak (Leader of
the Silent) in Mumbai. Attaining popularity,
Ambedkar used this journal to criticize orthodox Hindu politicians and a
perceived reluctance of the Indian political community to fight caste
discrimination. His speech at a Depressed Classes Conference in Kolhapur
impressed the local state ruler Shahu IV, who shocked orthodox society
by dining with Ambekdar . Ambedkar established a successful legal
practise, and also organised the Bahishkrit Hitakarini Sabha to promote
education and socio-economic uplifting of the depressed classes. In
1926, he became a nominated member of the Bombay Legislative Council. By
1927 Dr. Ambedkar decided to launch active movements against
untouchability. He began with public movements and marches to open up
and share public drinking water resources, also he began a struggle for
the right to enter Hindu temples. He led a satyagraha in Mahad to fight
for the right of the untouchable community to draw water from the main
water tank of the town.
He was appointed to the Bombay Presidency Committee to work with the
all-European Simon Commission in 1928. This commission had sparked great
protests across India, and while its report was ignored by most
Indians, Ambedkar himself wrote a separate set of recommendations for
future constitutional reformers.
Poona Pact:
By now Ambedkar had become one
of the most prominent untouchable political figures of the time. He had
grown increasingly critical of mainstream Indian political parties for
their perceived lack of emphasis for the elimination of the caste
system. Ambedkar criticized the Indian National Congress and its leader
Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, whom he accused of reducing the untouchable
community to a figure of pathos. Ambedkar was also dissatisfied with the
failures of British rule, and advocated a political identity for
untouchables separate from both the Congress and the British. At a
Depressed Classes Conference on August 8, 1930 Ambedkar outlined his
political vision, insisting that the safety of the Depressed Classes
hinged on their being independent of the Government and the Congress
both:
We must shape our course ourselves and by ourselves… Political
power cannot be a panacea for the ills of the Depressed Classes. Their
salvation lies in their social elevation. They must cleanse their evil
habits. They must improve their bad ways of living…. They must be
educated…. There is a great necessity to disturb their pathetic
contentment and to instill into them that divine discontent which is the
spring of all elevation.
In this speech, Ambedkar criticized the Salt Satyagraha launched by
Gandhi and the Congress. Ambedkar’s criticisms and political work had
made him very unpopular with orthodox Hindus, as well as with many
Congress politicians who had earlier condemned untouchability and worked
against discrimination across India. This was largely because these
“liberal” politicians usually stopped short of advocating full equality
for untouchables. Ambedkar’s prominence and popular support amongst the
untouchable community had increased, and he was invited to attend the
Second Round Table Conference in London in 1931. Here he sparred
verbally with Gandhi on the question of awarding separate electorates to
untouchables. A fierce opponent of separate electorates on religious
and sectarian lines, Gandhi feared that separate electorates for
untouchables would divide Hindu society for future generations.
When the British agreed with Ambedkar and announced the awarding of
separate electorates, Gandhi began a fast-unto-death while imprisoned in
the Yeravada Central Jail of Pune in 1932. Exhorting orthodox Hindu
society to eliminate discrimination and untouchability, Gandhi asked for
the political and social unity of Hindus. Gandhi’s fast provoked great
public support across India, and orthodox Hindu leaders, Congress
politicians and activists such as Madan Mohan Malaviya and Palwankar
Baloo organized joint meetings with Ambedkar and his supporters at
Yeravada. Fearing a communal reprisal and killings of untouchables in
the event of Gandhi’s death, Ambedkar agreed under massive coercion from
the supporters of Gandhi to drop the demand for separate electorates,
and settled for a reservation of seats, which although in the end
achieved more representation for the untouchables, resulted in the loss
of separate electorates that was promised through the British Communal
Award prior to Ambedkars meeting with Gandhi which would end his fast.
Ambedkar was later to criticise this fast of Gandhi’s as a gimmick to
deny political rights to the untouchables and increase the coercion he
had faced to give up the demand for separate electorates.
Political career:
In 1935, Ambedkar was appointed principal of the Government Law College,
a position he held for two years. Settling in Mumbai, Ambedkar oversaw
the construction of a large house, and stocked his personal library with
more than 50,000 books. His wife Ramabai died after a long illness in
the same year. It had been her long-standing wish to go on a pilgrimage
to Pandharpur, but Ambedkar had refused to let her go, telling her that
he would create a new Pandharpur for her instead of Hinduism’s
Pandharpur which treated them as untouchables. His own views and
attitudes had hardened against orthodox Hindus, despite a significant
increase in momentum across India for the fight against untouchability.
and he began criticizing them even as he was criticized himself by large
numbers of Hindu activists. Speaking at the Yeola Conversion Conference
on October 13 near Nasik, Ambedkar announced his intention to convert
to a different religion and exhorted his followers to leave Hinduism.
He would repeat his message at numerous public meetings across India.
In 1936, Ambedkar founded the Independent Labour Party, which won 15
seats in the 1937 elections to the Central Legislative Assembly. He
published his book The Annihilation of Caste in the same year, based on
the thesis he had written in New York. Attaining immense popular
success, Ambedkar’s work strongly criticized Hindu religious leaders and
the caste system in general. He protested the Congress decision to call
the untouchable community Harijans (Children of God), a name coined by
Gandhi. Ambedkar served on the Defence Advisory Committee and the
Viceroy’s Executive Council as minister for labour.
Between 1941 and 1945, he published a large number of highly
controversial books and pamphlets, including Thoughts on Pakistan, in
which he criticized the Muslim League’s demand for a separate Muslim
state of Pakistan. With What Congress and Gandhi Have Done to the
Untouchables, Ambedkar intensified his attacks on Gandhi and the
Congress, charging them with hypocrisy. In his work Who Were the
Shudras?, Ambedkar attempted to explain the formation of the Shudras
i.e. the lowest caste in hierarchy of Hindu caste system. He also
emphasised how Shudras are separate from Untouchables. Ambedkar oversaw
the transformation of his political party into the All India Scheduled
Castes Federation, although it performed poorly in the elections held in
1946 for the Constituent Assembly of India. In writing a sequel to Who
Were the Shudras? in 1948, Ambedkar lambasted Hinduism in the The
Untouchables: A Thesis on the Origins of Untouchability:
Architect of India’s constitution:
Upon India’s independence on August 15, 1947, the new Congress-led
government invited Ambedkar to serve as the nation’s first law minister,
which he accepted. On August 29, Ambedkar was appointed chairman of the
Constitution Drafting Committee, charged by the Assembly to write free
India’s new Constitution. Ambedkar won great praise from his colleagues
and contemporary observers for his drafting work. In this task
Ambedkar’s study of sangha practice among early Buddhists and his
extensive reading in Buddhist scriptures was to come to his aid. Sangha
practice incorporated voting by ballot, rules of debate and precedence
and the use of agendas, committees and proposals to conduct business.
Sangha practice itself was modelled on the oligarchic system of
governance followed by tribal republics of ancient India such as the
Shakyas and the Lichchavis. Thus, although Ambedkar used Western models
to give his Constitution shape, its spirit was Indian and, indeed,
tribal.
The text prepared by Ambedkar provided constitutional guarantees and
protections for a wide range of civil liberties for individual citizens,
including freedom of religion, the abolition of untouchability and the
outlawing of all forms of discrimination Ambedkar argued for extensive
economic and social rights for women, and also won the Assembly’s
support for introducing a system of reservations of jobs in the civil
services, schools and colleges for members of scheduled castes and
scheduled tribes, a system akin to affirmative action. India’s lawmakers
hoped to eradicate the socio-economic inequalities and lack of
opportunities for India’s depressed classes through this measure, which
had been originally envisioned as temporary on a need basis. The
Constitution was adopted on November 26, 1949 by the Constituent
Assembly. Speaking after the completion of his work, Ambedkar said:
Ambedkar resigned from the cabinet in 1951 following the stalling in
parliament of his draft of the Hindu Code Bill, which sought to expound
gender equality in the laws of inheritance, marriage and the economy.
Although supported by Prime Minister Nehru, the cabinet and many other
Congress leaders, it received criticism from a large number of members
of parliament. Ambedkar independently contested an election in 1952 to
the lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha but was defeated. He was
appointed to the upper house of parliament, the Rajya Sabha in March
1952 and would remain a member until his death.
Conversion to Buddhism:
In the 1950s, Ambedkar turned his attention to Buddhism and travelled to
Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to attend a convention of Buddhist scholars and
monks. While dedicating a new Buddhist vihara near Pune, Ambedkar
announced that he was writing a book on Buddhism, and that as soon as it
was finished, he planned to make a formal conversion to Buddhism.
Ambedkar twice visited Burma in 1954; the second time in order to attend
the third conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in Rangoon.
In 1955, he founded the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha, or the Buddhist
Society of India. He completed his final work, The Buddha and His
Dhamma, in 1956. It was published posthumously.
After meetings with the Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Hammalawa Saddhatissa,
Ambedkar organised a formal public ceremony for himself and his
supporters in Nagpur on October 14, 1956. Accepting the Three Refuges
and Five Precepts from a Buddhist monk in the traditional manner,
Ambedkar completed his own conversion. He then proceeded to convert an
estimated 500,000 of his supporters who were gathered around him.
Taking the 22 Vows, Ambedkar and his supporters explicitly condemned and
rejected Hinduism and Hindu philosophy. He then traveled to Kathmandu
in Nepal to attend the Fourth World Buddhist Conference. He completed
his final manuscript, The Buddha or Karl Marx on December 2, 1956.
Death / Mahanirvana:
Since 1948, Ambedkar had been suffering from diabetes. He was bed-ridden
from June to October in 1954 owing to clinical depression and failing
eyesight.[7] He had been increasingly embittered by political issues,
which took a toll on his health. His health worsened as he furiously
worked through 1955. Just three days after completing his final
manuscript The Buddha and His Dhamma, it is said that Ambedkar died in
his sleep on December 6, 1956 at his home in Delhi.
Since the Caste hindus denied the cremation at Dadar crematorium, A
Buddhist-style cremation was organised for him at Chowpatty beach on
December 7, attended by hundreds of thousands of supporters, activists
and admirers.
Ambedkar was survived by his second wife Savita Ambedkar, born as a
caste Brahmin and converted to Buddhism with him. His wife’s name before
marriage was Sharda Kabir. Savita Ambedkar died as a Buddhist in 2002.
Ambedkar’s grandson, Prakash Yaswant Ambedkar leads the Bharipa Bahujan
Mahasangha and has served in both houses of the Indian Parliament.
A number of unfinished typescripts and handwritten drafts were found
among Ambedkar’s notes and papers and gradually made available. Among
these were Waiting for a Visa, which probably dates from 1935-36 and is
an autobiographical work, and the Untouchables, or the Children of
India’s Ghetto, which refers to the census of 1951.
A memorial for Ambedkar was established in his Delhi house at 26 Alipur
Road. His birthdate is celebrated as a public holiday known as Ambedkar
Jayanti. He was posthumously awarded India’s highest civilian honour,
the Bharat Ratna in 1990. Many public institutions are named in his
honour, such as the Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University in Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh, B. R. Ambedkar Bihar University, Muzaffarpur, the other
being Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur, which was
otherwise known as Sonegaon Airport. A large official portrait of
Ambedkar is on display in the Indian Parliament building.
On the anniversary of his birth (14 April) and death (6 December) and on
Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din, 14th Oct at Nagpur, at least half a
million people gather to pay homage to him at his memorial in Mumbai.
Thousands of bookshops are set up, and books are sold.
His message to his followers was ” Educate!!!, Organize!!!, Agitate!!!”.
Memories of Baba Sahab Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar
To name the few of these include pen case, a conch shell, some
chinaware, a kettle and a cup and saucer, a lamp, a statue of the Buddha
and an ashtray. Babasaheb used to like having his tea in British Style,
with tea in a kettle, milk and sugar separate, a habit he had picked up
while he was abroad. In the same enclosure we also see a colourful
Japanese umbrella presented to Babasaheb during his visit to Rangoon.
Marble Bust of Dr. Ambedkar and
Personal belongings of Dr. Ambedkar
The chair on which Dr.Ambedkar sat when he handed over
the
Constitution of India & Resting Chair of Dr. Ambedkar
Clothes of Dr. Ambedkar
Violin & Shoes of Dr. Ambedkar
Dining table
A bed on which Dr. Ambedkar breathed his last
All photos provided by: Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Musseum & Memorial
MN 63
PTS: M i 426
Cula-Malunkyovada Sutta:
The Shorter Instructions to Malunkya
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying
near Savatthi at Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s
monastery. Then, as Ven. Malunkyaputta was alone in seclusion, this train of
thought arose in his awareness: “These positions that
are undeclared, set aside, discarded by the Blessed One — ‘The cosmos is
eternal,’ ‘The cosmos is not eternal,’ ‘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 exists & does not exist,’
‘After death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist’ — I don’t approve,
I don’t accept that the Blessed One has not declared them to me. I’ll go ask
the Blessed One about this matter. If he declares to me that ‘The cosmos is
eternal,’ that ‘The cosmos is not eternal,’ that ‘The cosmos is finite,’ that
‘The cosmos is infinite,’ that ‘The soul & the body are the same,’ that
‘The soul is one thing and the body another,’ that ‘After death a Tathagata
exists,’ that ‘After death a Tathagata does not exist,’ that ‘After death a
Tathagata both exists & does not exist,’ or that ‘After death a Tathagata
neither exists nor does not exist,’ then I will live the holy life under him.
If he does not declare to me that ‘The cosmos is eternal,’… or that ‘After
death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist,’ then I will renounce the
training and return to the lower life.”
Then, when it was evening, Ven. Malunkyaputta arose from
seclusion and went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down, he sat to
one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One, “Lord, just
now, as I was alone in seclusion, this train of thought arose in my awareness:
‘These positions that are undeclared, set aside, discarded by the Blessed
One… I don’t approve, I don’t accept that the Blessed One has not declared
them to me. I’ll go ask the Blessed One about this matter. If he declares to me
that “The cosmos is eternal,”… or that “After death a
Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist,” then I will live the holy
life under him. If he does not declare to me that “The cosmos is
eternal,”… or that “After death a Tathagata neither exists nor does
not exist,” then I will renounce the training and return to the lower
life.’
“Lord, if the Blessed One knows that ‘The cosmos is
eternal,’ then may he declare to me that ‘The cosmos is eternal.’ If he knows
that ‘The cosmos is not eternal,’ then may he declare to me that ‘The cosmos is
not eternal.’ But if he doesn’t know or see whether the cosmos is eternal or
not eternal, then, in one who is unknowing & unseeing, the straightforward
thing is to admit, ‘I don’t know. I don’t see.’… If he doesn’t know or see
whether after death a Tathagata exists… does not exist… both exists &
does not exist… neither exists nor does not exist,’ then, in one who is unknowing
& unseeing, the straightforward thing is to admit, ‘I don’t know. I don’t
see.’”
“Malunkyaputta, did I ever say to you, ‘Come,
Malunkyaputta, live the holy life under me, and I will declare to you that ‘The
cosmos is eternal,’ or ‘The cosmos is not eternal,’ or ‘The cosmos is finite,’
or ‘The cosmos is infinite,’ or ‘The soul & the body are the same,’ or ‘The
soul is one thing and the body another,’ or ‘After death a Tathagata exists,’
or ‘After death a Tathagata does not exist,’ or ‘After death a Tathagata both
exists & does not exist,’ or ‘After death a Tathagata neither exists nor
does not exist’?”
“No, lord.”
“And did you ever say to me, ‘Lord, I will live the holy
life under the Blessed One and [in return] he will declare to me that ‘The
cosmos is eternal,’ or ‘The cosmos is not eternal,’ or ‘The cosmos is finite,’
or ‘The cosmos is infinite,’ or ‘The soul & the body are the same,’ or ‘The
soul is one thing and the body another,’ or ‘After death a Tathagata exists,’
or ‘After death a Tathagata does not exist,’ or ‘After death a Tathagata both
exists & does not exist,’ or ‘After death a Tathagata neither exists nor
does not exist’?”
“No, lord.”
“Then that being the case, foolish man, who are you to be
claiming grievances/making demands of anyone?
“Malunkyaputta, if anyone were to say, ‘I won’t live the
holy life under the Blessed One as long as he does not declare to me that
“The cosmos is eternal,”… or that “After death a Tathagata
neither exists nor does not exist,”‘ the man would die and those things would
still remain undeclared by the Tathagata.
“It’s just as if a man were wounded with
an arrow thickly smeared with poison. His friends & companions, kinsmen
& relatives would provide him with a surgeon, and the man would say, ‘I
won’t have this arrow removed until I know whether the man who wounded me was a
noble warrior, a priest, a merchant, or a worker.’ He would say, ‘I won’t have
this arrow removed until I know the given name & clan name of the man who
wounded me… until I know whether he was tall, medium, or short… until I
know whether he was dark, ruddy-brown, or golden-colored… until I know his
home village, town, or city… until I know whether the bow with which I was
wounded was a long bow or a crossbow… until I know whether the bowstring with
which I was wounded was fiber, bamboo threads, sinew, hemp, or bark… until I
know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was wild or cultivated… until
I know whether the feathers of the shaft with which I was wounded were those of
a vulture, a stork, a hawk, a peacock, or another bird… until I know whether
the shaft with which I was wounded was bound with the sinew of an ox, a water
buffalo, a langur, or a monkey.’ He would say, ‘I won’t have this arrow removed
until I know whether the shaft with which I was wounded was that of a common
arrow, a curved arrow, a barbed, a calf-toothed, or an oleander arrow.’ The man
would die and those things would still remain unknown to him.
“In the same way, if anyone were to say, ‘I won’t live the
holy life under the Blessed One as long as he does not declare to me that ‘The
cosmos is eternal,’… or that ‘After death a Tathagata neither exists nor does
not exist,’ the man would die and those things would still remain undeclared by
the Tathagata.
“Malunkyaputta, it’s not the case that when there is the
view, ‘The cosmos is eternal,’ there is the living of the holy life. And it’s
not the case that when there is the view, ‘The cosmos is not eternal,’ there is
the living of the holy life. When there is the view, ‘The cosmos is eternal,’
and when there is the view, ‘The cosmos is not eternal,’ there is still the
birth, there is the aging, there is the death, there is the sorrow,
lamentation, pain, despair, & distress whose destruction I make known right
in the here & now.
“It’s not the case that when there is the view, ‘The cosmos
is finite,’ there is the living of the holy life. And it’s not the case that
when there is the view, ‘The cosmos is infinite,’ there is the living of the
holy life. When there is the view, ‘The cosmos is finite,’ and when there is
the view, ‘The cosmos is infinite,’ there is still the birth, there is the
aging, there is the death, there is the sorrow, lamentation, pain, despair,
& distress whose destruction I make known right in the here & now.
“It’s not the case that when there is the view, ‘The soul
& the body are the same,’ there is the living of the holy life. And it’s
not the case that when there is the view, ‘The soul is one thing and the body
another,’ there is the living of the holy life. When there is the view, ‘The
soul & the body are the same,’ and when there is the view, ‘The soul is one
thing and the body another,’ there is still the birth, there is the aging,
there is the death, there is the sorrow, lamentation, pain, despair, &
distress whose destruction I make known right in the here & now.
“It’s not the case that when there is the view, ‘After
death a Tathagata exists,’ there is the living of the holy life. And it’s not
the case that when there is the view, ‘After death a Tathagata does not exist,’
there is the living of the holy life. And it’s not the case that when there is
the view, ‘After death a Tathagata both exists & does not exist,’ there is
the living of the holy life. And it’s not the case that when there is the view,
‘After death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist’ there is the living
of the holy life. When there is the view, ‘After death a Tathagata exists’…
‘After death a Tathagata does not exist’… ‘After death a Tathagata both
exists & does not exist’… ‘After death a Tathagata neither exists nor
does not exist,’ there is still the birth, there is the aging, there is the
death, there is the sorrow, lamentation, pain, despair, & distress whose
destruction I make known right in the here & now.
“So, Malunkyaputta, remember what is undeclared by me as
undeclared, and what is declared by me as declared. And what is undeclared by
me? ‘The cosmos is eternal,’ is undeclared by me. ‘The cosmos is not eternal,’
is undeclared by me. ‘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 exists & does not exist’…
‘After death a Tathagata neither exists nor does not exist,’ is undeclared by
me.
“And why are they undeclared by me? Because they are not
connected with the goal, are not fundamental to the holy life. They do not lead
to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, calming, direct knowledge,
self-awakening, Unbinding. That’s why they are undeclared by me.
“And what is declared by me? ‘This is stress,’ is declared
by me. ‘This is the origination of stress,’ is declared by me. ‘This is the
cessation of stress,’ is declared by me. ‘This is the path of practice leading
to the cessation of stress,’ is declared by me. And why are they declared by
me? Because they are connected with the goal, are fundamental to the holy life.
They lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, calming, direct knowledge,
self-awakening, Unbinding. That’s why they are declared by me.
“So, Malunkyaputta, remember what is undeclared by me as
undeclared, and what is declared by me as declared.”
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, Ven. Malunkyaputta
delighted in the Blessed One’s words.
Setting In Motion the Wheel of Truth (Dhammacakkappavattana
Sutta [1])
(The First Sermon of the Buddha)
For seven weeks immediately
following the enlightenment, the
Buddha spent his time in
lonely retreat. At the close of this period he
decided to proclaim the
doctrine (dhamma), he had realized, to those
five ascetics who were once
struggling with him for enlightenment.
Knowing that they were living
at Isipatana (modern Sarnath), still
steeped in the unmeaning
rigours of extreme asceticism, the master
left Gaya, where he attained
enlightenment, for distant Varanasi,
India’s holy city. There at
the Deer Park he rejoined them.
Thus have I heard:
On one occasion the Blessed
One was living in the Deer
Park at Isipatana (the Resort
of Seers) near Varanasi
(Benares). Then he addressed
the group of five monks
(bhikkhus):
“Monks, these two extremes
ought not to be practiced by
one who has gone forth from
the household life. (What are
the two?) There is addiction
to indulgence of sensepleasures,
which is low, coarse, the way
of ordinary
people, unworthy, and
unprofitable; and there is addiction
to self-mortification, which
is painful, unworthy, and
unprofitable.
“Avoiding both these
extremes, the Tathagata (The Perfect
One)[2] has realized the
Middle Path; it gives vision, gives
knowledge, and leads to calm,
to insight, to enlightenment
and to Nibbana. And what is
that Middle Path realized by
the Tathagata…? It is the
Noble Eightfold path, and nothing
else, namely: right
understanding, right thought, right
speech, right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right
mindfulness and right
concentration. This is the Middle
Path realized by the
Tathagata which gives vision, which
gives knowledge, and leads to
calm, to insight, to
enlightenment, and to
Nibbana.
“The Noble Truth of Suffering
(dukkha), monks, is this:
Birth is suffering, aging is
suffering, sickness is suffering,
death is suffering,
association with the unpleasant is
suffering, dissociation from the
pleasant is suffering, not to
receive what one desires is
suffering — in brief the five
aggregates subject to
grasping are suffering.
“The Noble Truth of the
Origin (cause) of Suffering is this:
It is this craving (thirst)
which produces re-becoming
(rebirth) accompanied by
passionate greed, and finding
fresh delight now here, and
now there, namely craving for
sense pleasure, craving for
existence and craving for nonexistence
(self-annihilation).
“The Noble Truth of the
Cessation of Suffering is this: It is
the complete cessation of
that very craving, giving it up,
relinquishing it, liberating
oneself from it, and detaching
oneself from it.
“The Noble Truth of the Path
Leading to the Cessation of
Suffering is this: It is the
Noble Eightfold Path, and
nothing else, namely: right
understanding, right thought,
right speech, right action,
right livelihood, right effort,
right mindfulness and right
concentration. [3]
“ ‘This is the Noble Truth of
Suffering’: such was the
vision, the knowledge, the
wisdom, the science, the light
that arose in me concerning
things not heard before. ‘This
suffering, as a noble truth,
should be fully realized’: such
was the vision, the
knowledge, the wisdom, the science,
the light that arose in me
concerning things not heard
before. ‘This suffering, as a
noble truth has been fully
realized’: such was the
vision, the knowledge, the wisdom,
the science, the light that
arose in me concerning things not
heard before.
“ ‘This is the Noble Truth of
the Origin (cause) of
Suffering’: such was the
vision, the knowledge, the
wisdom, the science, the
light that arose in me concerning
things not heard before.
‘This Origin of Suffering as a
noble truth should be
eradicated’: such was the vision, the
knowledge, the wisdom, the
science, the light that arose in
me concerning things not
heard before. ‘This Origin of
suffering as a noble truth
has been eradicated’: such was
the vision, the knowledge,
the wisdom, the science, the
light that arose in me
concerning things not heard before.
“ ‘This is the Noble Truth of
the Cessation of Suffering’:
such was the vision, the
knowledge, the wisdom, the
science, the light that arose
in me concerning things not
heard before. ‘This Cessation
of suffering, as a noble truth,
should be realized’: such was
the vision, the knowledge,
the wisdom, the science, the
light that arose in me
concerning things not heard
before. ‘This Cessation of
suffering, as a noble truth
has been realized’: such was the
vision, the knowledge, the
wisdom, the science, the light
that arose in me concerning
things not heard before.
“ ‘This is the Noble Truth of
the Path leading to the
cessation of suffering’: such
was the vision, the
knowledge, the wisdom, the
science, the light that arose in
me concerning things not
heard before. ‘his Path leading to
the cessation of suffering,
as a noble truth, should be
developed’: such was the
vision, the knowledge, the
wisdom, the science, the
light that arose in me concerning
things not heard before.
‘This Path leading to the cessation
of suffering, as a noble
truth has been developed’: such
was the vision, the
knowledge, the wisdom, the science,
the light that arose in me
concerning things not heard
before.
“As long as my knowledge of
seeing things as they really
are, was not quite clear in
these three aspects, in these
twelve ways, concerning the
Four Noble Truths[4], I did
not claim to have realized
the matchless, supreme
Enlightenment, in this world
with its gods, with its Maras
and Brahmas, in this
generation with its recluses and
brahmanas, with its Devas and
humans. But when my
knowledge of seeing things as
they really are was quite
clear in these three aspects,
in these twelve ways,
concerning the Four Noble
Truths, then I claimed to have
realized the matchless,
supreme Enlightenment in this
world with its gods, with its
Maras and Brahmas, in this
generation with its recluses
and brahmanas, with its Devas
and humans. And a vision of
insight arose in me thus:
‘Unshakable is the
deliverance of my heart. This is the last
birth. Now there is no more
re-becoming (rebirth).’ ”
This the Blessed One said.
The group of five monks was
glad, and they rejoiced at
the words of the Blessed One.
When this discourse was thus
expounded there arose in the
Venerable Kondañña the
passion-free, stainless vision of
Truth (dhamma-cakkhu; in other words, he attained
sotapatti, the
first stage of sanctity, and realized:
“Whatever has the nature of
arising, has the nature of
ceasing.”
Now when the Blessed One set
in motion the Wheel of
Truth, the Bhummattha devas
(the earth deities)
proclaimed: “The Matchless
Wheel of Truth that cannot be
set in motion by recluse,
brahmana, deva, Mara, Brahma,
or any one in the world, is
set in motion by the Blessed
One in the Deer Park at
Isipatana near Varanasi.”
Hearing these words of the
earth deities, all the
Catummaharajika devas
proclaimed: “The Matchless
Wheel of Truth that cannot be
set in motion by recluse,
brahmana, deva, Mara, Brahma,
or any one in the world, is
set in motion by the Blessed
One in the Deer Park at
Isipatana near Varanasi.”
These words were heard in the
upper deva realms, and from
Catummaharajika it was
proclaimed in Tavatimsa…
Yama… Tusita…
Nimmanarati…
Paranimmita-vasavatti… and the Brahmas
of Brahma Parisajja… Brahma
Purohita… Maha Brahma…
Parittabha… Appamanabha…
Abhassara… Parittasubha…
Appamana subha…
Subhakinna… Vehapphala… Aviha…
Atappa… Sudassa…
Sudassi… and in Akanittha: “The
Matchless Wheel of Truth that
cannot be set in motion by
recluse, brahmana, deva,
Mara, Brahma, or any one in the
world, is set in motion by
the Blessed One in the Deer Park
at Isipatana near Varanasi.”
Thus at that very moment, at
that instant, the cry (that the
Wheel of Truth is set in
motion) spread as far as Brahma
realm, the system of ten
thousand worlds trembled and
quaked and shook. A boundless
sublime radiance
surpassing the effulgence
(power) of devas appeared in the
world.
Then the Blessed One uttered
this paeon of joy: “Verily
Kondañña has realized; verily
Kondañña has realized (the
Four Noble Truths).” Thus it
was that the Venerable
Kondañña received the name,
‘Añña Knondañña’ –
Kondañña who realizes.
With the proclamation of the
Dhamma, for the first time, and with the
conversion of the five
ascetics, the Deer Park at Isipatana became the
birth place of the Buddha’s
Dispensation (Buddha-sasana), and the
Sangha, the community of
monks, the ordained disciples.
Emperor Asoka, 281 years
after the event, came on pilgrimage to this
holy spot and caused a series
of monuments and a commemorative
pillar with the lion capital
to be erected. This capital with its four
magnificent lions upholding
the “Dhamma Cakka”, the “Wheel of
Dhamma” now stands in the
museum of Sarnath, and is today the
official crest of India. The
“Dhamma-Cakka” festival is still
maintained in Sri Lanka
(Ceylon).
Jawaharlal Nehru, the late
prime Minister of India, writes: “At Sarnath
near Benares, I would almost
see the Buddha preaching his first
sermon, and some of his
recorded words would come like a distant
echo to me through
two-thousand five hundred years. Asoka’s pillars
of stone with their
inscriptions would speak to me in their magnificent
language and tell me of a man
who, though an emperor, was greater
than any king or emperor.” –
The Discovery of India (The Signet
Press, Calcutta), p. 44.
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357 LESSON 26 08 2011 Cula
viyuha SuttaThe Lesser Array FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY and
BUDDHIST GOOD NEWS letter to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT to attain Ultimate
Bliss-Through http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org- Free Buddhist
Studies for the students- Banner Protection (Dhajagga Paritta [1])-
Narayan Guru Jayanti celebration today the
26-08-2011 at BSP Head Quarters Bangalore at 11AM. -
You are invited for the unveiling of LORD
BUDDHA STATUE by Mr.D Balasunder MD (BC) HAL & Ambedkar Jayanti on 27-8-2011@8AM@HAL
SC/ST E&O Assn.-President BN Shivalinga- Please attend with family and
friends
UP govt to set up research centre in
Narayana Guru’s name
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said that she would set up
a research centre in the name of Kerala’s social reformer Sree Narayana Guru,
in her state.
Inaugurating the 75th pilgrimage to the Guru memorial at
Sivagiri mutt here, Mayawati said a statue of ‘Guru’ has been installed at the
‘Parivarthan Centre’ in Lucknow along with those of other social reformers.
The Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) leader said after her taking over
power in Uttar Pradesh, her government has taken steps to accord due respect to
prominent social reformers of the country.
She said the ideals preached by Narayana Guru, among others,
guided her policies.
Sree Narayana Guru is one of the greatest social reformers from
the state who coined the famous line ‘One caste, One Religion, One God for
All’.
Narayana Guru not only worked for the uplift of the backward
castes, but also for the downtrodden in the state, she added.
Mayawati also donated Rs 10 lakh to the mutt, managed by Sree
Narayana Dharma Sangham.
Sn 4.12
Cula-viyuha Sutta
The Lesser Array
Translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
“Dwelling on
their own views,
quarreling,
different skilled people say:
‘Whoever knows this, understands Dhamma.
Whoever rejects this, is
imperfect.’
Thus quarreling, they dispute:
‘My opponent’s a fool & unskilled.’
Which of these statements is true
when all of them say they are skilled?”
“If, in not accepting
an opponent’s doctrine,
one’s a fool, a beast of inferior discernment,
then all are fools
of inferior discernment —
all of these
who dwell on their views.
But if, in siding with a view,
one’s cleansed,
with discernment made pure,
intelligent, skilled,
then none of them
are of inferior discernment,
for all of them
have their own views.
I don’t say, ‘That’s how it is,’
the way fools say to one another.
They each make out their views to be true
and so regard their opponents as fools.”
“What some say is true
— ‘That’s how it is’ —
others say is ‘falsehood, a lie.’
Thus quarreling, they dispute.
Why can’t contemplatives
say one thing & the same?”
“The truth is one,1
there is no second
about which a person who knows it
would argue with one who knows.
Contemplatives promote
their various personal truths,
that’s why they don’t say
one thing & the same.”
“But why do they say
various truths,
those who say they are skilled?
Have they learned many various truths
or do they follow conjecture?”
“Apart from their perception
there are no
many
various
constant truths
in the world.2
Preconceiving conjecture
with regard to views,
they speak of a pair: true
& false.
Dependent on what’s seen,
heard,
& sensed,
dependent on precepts & practices,
one shows disdain [for others].
Taking a stance on his decisions,
praising himself, he says,
‘My opponent’s a fool & unskilled.’
That by which
he regards his opponents as fools
is that by which
he says he is skilled.
Calling himself skilled
he despises another
who speaks the same way.
Agreeing on a view gone out of bounds,
drunk with conceit, thinking himself perfect,
he has consecrated, with his own mind,
himself
as well as his view.
If, by an opponent’s word,
one’s inferior,
the opponent’s
of inferior discernment as well.
But if, by one’s own word
one’s an attainer-of-wisdom, enlightened,
no one
among contemplative’s
a fool.
‘Those who teach a doctrine other than this
are lacking in purity,
imperfect.’
That’s what the many sectarians say,
for they’re smitten with passion
for their own views.
‘Only here is there purity,’
that’s what they say.
‘In no other doctrine
is purity,’ they say.
That’s how the many sectarians
are entrenched,
speaking firmly there
concerning their own path.
Speaking firmly concerning your own path,
what opponent here would you take as a fool?
You’d simply bring quarrels on yourself
if you said your opponent’s a fool
with an impure doctrine.
Taking a stance on your decisions,
& yourself as your measure,
you dispute further down
into the world.
But one who’s abandoned
all decisions
creates in the world
quarrels no more.”
Banner Protection (Dhajagga
Paritta [1])
Thus have I heard:
On one occasion the Blessed
One was living near Savatthi
at Jetavana at the monastery
of Anathapindika. Then he
addressed the monks saying,
“O monks.” – “Venerable
Sir”, said the monks by way
of reply to the Blessed One.
Thereupon he spoke as
follows:
“Monks, I shall relate a
former incident. There arose a
battle between the Devas
(gods) and Asuras. Then Sakka,
the Lord of the devas,
addressed the devas of the
Tavatimsa heaven thus:
“ ‘Happy ones, if the devas
who have gone to the battle
should experience fear or
terror or suffer from hair
standing on end, let them
behold the crest of my own
banner. If you do so, any
fear, terror or hair standing on
end arising in you will pass
away.
“ ‘If you fail to look up to
the crest of my banner, look at
the crest of the banner of
Pajapati, King of gods. If you do
so, any fear, terror or hair
standing on end arising in you
will pass away.
“ ‘If you fail to look up to
the crest of Pajapati, King of the
gods, look at the crest of
the banner of Varuna, King of the
gods. If you do so, any fear,
terror or hair standing on end
arising in you will pass
away.’
“Monks, any fear, terror or
hair standing on end arising in
them who look at the crest of
the banner of Sakka… The
Lord of the gods, of
Pajapati… of Varuna… of Isana, the
King of the gods, any fear
terror or hair standing on end,
may pass away, or may not
pass away. What is the reason
for this?
98
“Sakka, the Lord of gods, O
monks, is not free from lust,
not free from hate, not free
from delusion, and is therefore
liable to fear, terror,
fright, and flight. I also say unto you
O monks — if any fear,
terror or hair standing on end
should arise in you when you
have gone to the forest or to
the foot of a tree, or to an
empty house (lonely place), then
think only of me thus:
‘Such Indeed is the Blessed
One, Arahant (Consummate
One), supremely enlightened,
endowed with knowledge
and virtue, welcome being,
knower of worlds, the peerless
trainer of persons, teacher
of gods and men, the Buddha,
the Blessed One.’ Monks, if
you think of me, any fear,
terror, or standing of hair
on end, that may arise in you,
will pass away.
“If you fail to think of me,
then think of the Dhamma (the
Doctrine) thus: ‘Well
expounded is the Dhamma by the
Blessed One, a Dhamma to be
realized by oneself and
gives immediate results, a
Dhamma which invites
investigation and leads up to
Nibbana, a Dhamma to be
understood by the wise each
for himself.’ Monks, if you
think of the Dhamma, any
fear, terror or hair standing on
end, that may arise in you,
will pass away.
“If you fail to think of the
Dhamma, then think of the
Sangha (the Order) thus: ‘Of
good conduct is the Order of
Disciples of the Blessed One,
of upright conduct is the
Order of Disciples of the
Blessed One, of wise conduct is
the Order of Disciples of the
Blessed One, of dutiful
conduct is the Order of
Disciples of the Blessed One. This
Order of Disciples of the
Blessed One — namely those four
pairs of persons, [2] the
eight kinds of individuals[3] — is
worthy of offerings, is
worthy of hospitality, is worthy of
gifts, is worthy of
reverential salutations, is an
incomparable field of merit for
the world.’ Monks, if you
think of the Sangha, any
fear, terror or hair standing on
end, that may arise in you,
will pass away. What is the
reason for this? The
Tathagata, O monks, who is Arahant,
supremely enlightened, is
free from lust, free from hate, is
free from delusion, and is
not liable to fear, terror, fright or
flight.”
So said the Blessed One.
Having thus spoken, the teacher,
the “Welcome Being” (Sugata), further said:
i. Whether in forest or at
foot of tree,
Or in some secluded spot, O
monks,
Do call to mind that Buddha
Supreme;
Then will there be no fear to
you at all.
ii. If you think not of the
Buddha, O monks,
That Lord of the world and
Chief of men,
Then do think, O monks, of
that Dhamma;
So well preached and leading
to Nibbana.
iii. If you think not of the
Dhamma, O monks
Well preached and leading to
Nibbana;
Then do think, O monks, of
that Sangha,
That wonderful field of merit
to all.
iv. To those recalling the
Buddha supreme,
To those recalling the Dhamma
sublime,
And to those recalling the
Sangha,
No fear, no terror will make
them quiver.
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356 LESSON 25 08 2011 Ditthi
Sutta Views FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice
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AN 10.93
PTS: A v 185
Ditthi Sutta: Views
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying
near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. Then Anathapindika the householder
left Savatthi in the middle of the day to see the Blessed One, but the thought
then occurred to him, “Now is not the right time to see the Blessed One,
for he is in seclusion. And it is not the right time to see the monks who are
developing their minds [in meditation], for they are in seclusion. What if I
were to visit the park of the wanderers of other persuasions?” So he
headed to the park of the wanderers of other persuasions.
Now on that occasion the wanderers of other persuasions had come
together in a gathering and were sitting, discussing many kinds of bestial
topics,[1]
making a great noise and racket. They saw Anathapindika the householder coming
from afar, and on seeing him, hushed one another: “Be quiet, good sirs.
Don’t make any noise. Here comes Anathapindika the householder, a disciple of
Gotama the contemplative. He is one of those disciples of Gotama the contemplative,
clad in white, who lives in Savatthi. These people are fond of quietude and
speak in praise of quietude. Maybe, if he perceives our group as quiet, he will
consider it worth his while to come our way.” So the wanderers fell
silent.
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 had been 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 where the Blessed
One was staying. On arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, he sat to
one side. As he was seated 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 refute those foolish men with the
Dhamma.” 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 and Discipline would do well to refute
the wanderers of other persuasions with the Dhamma periodically in just the way
Anathapindika the householder has done.”
Discourse on Loving-kindness (Karaniya Metta
Sutta [1])
While the Buddha was staying
at Savatthi, a band of monks, having
received subjects of
meditation from the master, proceeded to a forest
to spend the rainy season (vassana). The tree deities inhabiting this
forest were worried by their
arrival, as they had to descend from tree
abodes and dwell on the
ground. They hoped, however, the monks
would leave soon; but finding
that the monks would stay the vassana
period of three months,
harassed them in diverse ways, during the
night with the intention of
scaring them away.
Living under such conditions
being impossible, the monks went to the
Master and informed him of
their difficulties. Thereon the Buddha
instructed them in the Metta
sutta and advised their return equipped
with this sutta for their
protection.
The monks went back to the
forest, and practicing the instruction
conveyed, permeated the whole
atmosphere with their radiant
thoughts of metta or
loving-kindness. The deities so affected by this
power of love, henceforth
allowed them to meditate in peace.
The discourse gets divided
into two parts. The first detailing the
standard of moral conduct
required by one who wishes to attain Purity
and Peace, and the second the
method of practice of metta. [2]
1. “He who is skilled in
(working out his own) well being,
and who wishes to attain that
state of Calm (Nibbana)
should act thus: he should be
dexterous, upright,
exceedingly upright,
obedient, gentle, and humble.
2. “Contented, easily
supportable, with but few
responsibilities, of simple
livelihood, controlled in the
senses, prudent, courteous,
and not hanker after association
with families.
96
3. “Let him not perform the
slightest wrong for which wise
men may rebuke him. (Let him
think:) ‘May all beings be
happy and safe. May they have
happy minds.’
4.& 5. “Whatever living
beings there may be — feeble or
strong (or the seekers and
the attained) long, stout, or of
medium size, short, small,
large, those seen or those
unseen, those dwelling far or
near, those who are born as
well as those yet to be born
– may all beings have happy
minds.
6. “Let him not deceive
another nor despise anyone
anywhere. In anger or ill
will let him not wish another ill.
7. “Just as a mother would
protect her only child with her
life even so let one
cultivate a boundless love towards all
beings.
8. “Let him radiate boundless
love towards the entire world
– above, below, and across
– unhindered, without ill will,
without enmity.
9. “Standing, walking,
sitting or reclining, as long as he is
awake, let him develop this
mindfulness. This, they say, is
‘Noble Living’ here.
10. “Not falling into wrong
views — being virtuous,
endowed with insight, lust in
the senses discarded — verily
never again will he return to conceive in a womb.”
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355 LESSON 24 08 2011
Kokanuda Sutta To Kokanuda FREE
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AN 10.96
PTS: A v 196
Kokanuda Sutta: To
Kokanuda
(On Viewpoints)
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
On one occasion Ven. Ananda was staying near Rajagaha, at Tapoda monastery. Then, as
night was ending, he got up & went to the Tapoda Hot Springs to bathe his
limbs. Having bathed his limbs and having gotten out of the springs, he stood
wearing only his lower robe, drying his limbs. Kokanuda
the wanderer, as night was ending, also got up & went to the Tapoda Hot
Springs to bathe his limbs. He saw Ven. Ananda from afar, and on seeing him
said to him, “Who are you, my friend?”
“I am a monk, my friend.”
“Which kind of monk?”
“A son-of-the-Sakyan contemplative.”
“I would like to ask you about a certain point, if you
would give me leave to pose a question.”
“Go ahead and ask. Having heard [your question], I’ll
inform you.”
“How is it, my friend: ‘The cosmos is eternal. Only
this is true; anything otherwise is worthless.’ Is this the sort of view you
have?”
“No, my friend, I don’t have that sort of view.”
“Very well, then: ‘The cosmos is not eternal. Only
this is true; anything otherwise is worthless.’ Is this the sort of view you
have?”
“No, my friend, I don’t have that sort of view.”
“Very well, then: ‘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.’ Is this the sort of view you have?”
“No, my friend, I don’t have that sort of view.”
“Then in that case, do you not know or see?”
“No, my friend. It’s not the case that I don’t know, I
don’t see. I do know. I do see.”
“But on being asked, ‘How is it, my friend: “The
cosmos is eternal. Only this is true; anything otherwise is
worthless.” Is this the sort of view you have?’ you inform me, ‘No, my
friend, I don’t have that sort of view.’ On being asked, ‘Very well then: “The
cosmos is not eternal… 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.” Is this the sort of view you have?’ you inform
me, ‘No, my friend, I don’t have that sort of view.’ But on being asked, ‘Then
in that case, do you not know, I don’t see?’ you inform me, ‘No, my friend. It’s
not the case that I don’t know or see. I do know. I do see.’ Now, how is the
meaning of this statement to be understood?”
“‘The cosmos is eternal. Only this is true;
anything otherwise is worthless,’ is a viewpoint. ‘The cosmos is not
eternal… 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,’ is a viewpoint. The extent to which there are viewpoints,
view-stances, the taking up of views, obsessions of views, the cause of views,
& the uprooting of views: that’s what I know. That’s what I see. Knowing
that, I say ‘I know.’ Seeing that, I say ‘I see.’ Why should I say ‘I don’t
know, I don’t see’? I do know. I do see.”
“What is your name, my friend? What do your fellows in the
chaste life call you?”
“My name is Ananda, my friend, and that’s what my fellows
in the chaste life call me.”
“What? Have I been talking with the great teacher without
realizing that it was Ven. Ananda? Had I recognized that it was Ven. Ananda, I
would not have cross-examined him so much. May Ven. Ananda please forgive
me.”
The Jewel Discourse (Ratana Sutta [1])
The occasion for this
discourse, in brief, according to the commentary,
is as follows: The city of
Vesali was afflicted by a famine, causing
death, especially to the poor
folk. Due to the presence of decaying
corpses the evil spirits
began to haunt the city; this was followed by a
pestilence. Plagued by these
three fears of famine, non-human beings
and pestilence, the citizens
sought the help of the Buddha who was
then living at Rajagaha.
Followed by a large number of
monks including the Venerable
Ananda, his attendant
disciple, the Buddha came to the city of Vesali.
With the arrival of the
Master, there were torrential rains which swept
away the putrefying corpses.
The atmosphere became purified, the
city was clean.
Thereupon the Buddha
delivered this Jewel Discourse (Ratana sutta
[2]) to the Venerable Ananda,
and gave him instructions as to how he
should tour the city with the
Licchavi citizens reciting the discourse as
a mark of protection to the
people of Vesali. The Venerable Ananda
followed the instructions,
and sprinkled the sanctified water from the
Buddha’s own alms bowl. As a
consequence the evil spirits were
exorcised, the pestilence
subsided. Thereafter the Venerable Ananda
returned with the citizens of
Vesali to the Public hall where the
Buddha and his disciples had
assembled awaiting his arrival. There
the Buddha recited the same
Jewel Discourse to the gathering: [3]
1. “Whatever beings
(non-humans) are assembled here,
terrestrial or celestial, may
they all have peace of mind,
and may they listen
attentively to these words:
2. “O beings, listen closely.
May you all radiate lovingkindness
to those human beings who, by
day and night,
bring offerings to you (offer
merit to you). Wherefore,
protect them with diligence.
3. “Whatever treasure there
be either here or in the world
beyond, whatever precious
jewel there be in the heavenly
worlds, there is nought
comparable to the Tathagata (the
perfect One). This precious
jewel is the Buddha.[4] By this
(asseveration of the) truth
may there be happiness.
4. “That Cessation, that
Detachment, that Deathlessness
(Nibbana) supreme, the calm
and collected Sakyan Sage
(the Buddha) had realized.
There is nought comparable to
this (Nibbana) Dhamma. This
precious jewel is the
Dhamma.[5] By this
(asseveration of the) truth may there
be happiness.
5. “The Supreme Buddha
extolled a path of purity (the
Noble Eightfold Path) calling
it the path which unfailingly
brings concentration. There
is nought comparable to this
concentration. This precious
jewel is the Dhamma. By this
(asseveration of the) truth
may there be happiness.
6. “The eight persons
extolled by virtuous men constitute
four pairs. They are the
disciples of the Buddha and are
worthy of offerings. Gifts
given to them yield rich results.
This precious jewel is the
Sangha.[6] By this (asseveration
of the) truth may there be
happiness.
7. “With a steadfast mind,
and applying themselves well in
the dispensation of the
Buddha Gotama, free from
(defilements), they have
attained to that which should be
attained (arahantship)
encountering the Deathless. They
enjoy the Peace of Nibbana
freely obtained.[7] This
precious jewel is the Sangha.
By this (asseveration of the)
truth may there be happiness.
8. “As a post deep-planted in
the earth stands unshaken by
the winds from the four
quarters, so, too, I declare is the
righteous man who comprehends
with wisdom the Noble
Truths. This precious jewel
is the Sangha. By this
(asseveration of the) truth
may there be happiness.
9. “Those who realized the
Noble Truths well taught by
him who is profound in wisdom
(the Buddha), even though
they may be exceedingly
heedless, they will not take an
eighth existence (in the
realm of sense spheres).[8] This
precious jewel is the Sangha.
By this (asseveration of the)
truth may there be happiness.
10. “With his gaining of
insight he abandons three states of
mind, namely self-illusion,
doubt, and indulgence in
meaningless rites and
rituals, should there be any. He is
also fully freed from the
four states of woe, and therefore,
incapable of committing the
six major wrongdoings.[9]
This precious jewel is the
Sangha. By this (asseveration of
the) truth may there be
happiness.
93
11. “Any evil action he may
still do by deed, word or
thought, he is incapable of
concealing it; since it has been
proclaimed that such
concealing is impossible for one who
has seen the Path (of
Nibbana).[10] This precious jewel is
the Sangha. By this
(asseveration of the) truth may there be
happiness.
12. “As the woodland groves
though in the early heat of
the summer month are crowned
with blossoming flowers
even so is the sublime Dhamma
leading to the (calm) of
Nibbana which is taught (by
the Buddha) for the highest
good. This precious jewel is
the Buddha. By this
(asseveration of the) truth
may there be happiness.
13. “The Peerless Excellent
one (the Buddha) the Knower
(of Nibbana), the Giver (of
Nibbana), the Bringer (of the
Noble Path), taught the
excellent Dhamma. This precious
jewel is the Buddha. By this
(asseveration of the) truth may
there be happiness.
14. “Their past (kamma) is
spent, their new (kamma) no
more arises, their mind to
future becoming is unattached.
Their germ (of
rebirth-consciousness) has died, they have
no more desire for re-living.
Those wise men fade out (of
existence) as the flame of
this lamp (which has just faded
away). This precious jewel is
the Sangha. By this
(asseveration of the) truth
may there be happiness.
15. “Whatever beings
(non-human) are assembled here,
terrestrial or celestial,
come let us salute the Buddha, the
Tathagata (the perfect One),
honored by gods and men.
May there be happiness.[11]
16. “Whatever beings are
assembled here terrestrial or
celestial, come let us salute
the perfect Dhamma, honored
by gods and men. May there be
happiness.
17. “Whatever beings are
assembled here terrestrial or
celestial, come let us salute
the perfect Sangha, honored by
gods and men. May there be
happiness.”
Notes
1. Khp. No.
6; Sn. 39
2. Ratana means
precious jewel. Here the term is applied to the
Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha.
3. KhpA. 161.
4. Literally, in the Buddha is
this precious jewel.
5. Literally, in the Dhamma is
this precious jewel.
6. Literally, in the Sangha is
this precious jewel.
7. Obtained without payment; ‘avyayena’, KhpA. I., 185.
8. The reason why it is stated
that there will be no eighth existence for
a person who has attained the
stage of sotapatti or
the first stage of
sanctity is that such a being
can live at the most for only a period of
seven existences in the realm
of sense spheres.
9. Abhithanani; i.
matricide, ii. patricide, iii. the murder of Arahants
(the Consummate Ones), iv.
the shedding of the Buddha’s blood, v.
causing schism in the Sangha,
and vi. pernicious false beliefs (niyata
micca ditthi).
10. He is a sotapanna, stream-enterer, one who has attained the first
stage of sanctity. Also see
Notes at the end of the book.
11. The last three stanzas were
recited by Sakka, the
chief of Devas
(gods), KhpA. 195.
VOICE of SARVAJAN
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354 and 353 LESSONS 22 and 23 08 2011
Nandana Sutta Delight Pañhapuccha Sutta On Asking Questions
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AN 5.165
PTS: A iii 191
Pañhapuccha Sutta: On
Asking Questions
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Then Ven. Sariputta addressed the monks: “Friend
monks.”
“Yes, friend,” the monks responded to him.
Ven. Sariputta said: “All those who ask questions of
another do so from any one of five motivations. Which five?
“One asks a question of another through stupidity &
bewilderment. One asks a question of another through evil desires &
overwhelmed with greed. One asks a question of another through contempt. One
asks a question of another when desiring knowledge. Or one asks a question with
this thought,[1]
‘If, when asked, he answers correctly, well & good. If not, then I will
answer correctly [for him].’
“All those who ask questions of another do so from any one
of these five motivations. And as for me, when I ask a question of another,
it’s with this thought: ‘If, when asked, he answers correctly, well & good.
If not, then I will answer correctly [for him].’
The Fourfold Reflection of a Monk
(Paccavekkhana [1])
1. Wisely reflecting do I
wear the robe, only in order to
protect myself from cold,
heat, gadflies, mosquitoes, wind,
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and sun and from snakes; and
also as a constant covering
for my modesty.
2. Wisely reflecting I will
partake of food not for pleasure
of it, not for the pride
(resulting from physical strength
obtainable), not for
adornment, not for beautifying the
body, but merely to maintain
this body, to still the hunger,
and to enable the practice of
the holy life; also to resist the
pangs of hunger (due to
previous want of food), and to
resist the pain (resulting
from excess of food). Thus will
my life be maintained free
from wrong doing and free from
discomfort.
3. Wisely reflecting I will
make use of lodgings only in
order to rotect myself from
cold and heat, from gadflies
and mosquitoes; from wind and
sun, from snakes, and also
as a constant protection
against the rigours of climate, and
in order to realize that
ardent desire for seclusion (which
begets mental concentration).
4. Wisely reflecting I will
make use of medicine only as an
aid to eliminate bodily pains
that have arisen, and also to
maintain that important
condition, freedom from disease.
SN 4.8
PTS: S i 107
CDB i 200
Nandana Sutta: Delight
translated from the Pali
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Translator’s note:
In this discourse, Mara and the Buddha are speaking different languages. By
“acquisitions” Mara means one’s family and physical possessions. The
Buddha uses the same word to mean a sense of possession for anything — physical
or mental — at all.
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying
near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. Then Mara
the Evil One went to the Blessed One and recited this verse in his presence:
Those with children
delight because of their children. Those with cattle delight because of their
cows. A person’s delight comes from acquisitions, since a person with no
acquisitions doesn’t delight.
[The Buddha:]
Those with children
grieve because of their children. Those with cattle grieve because of their cows.
A person’s grief comes from acquisitions, since a person with no acquisitions
doesn’t grieve.
Then Mara the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing,
“The Blessed One knows me; the One Well-Gone knows me” — vanished
right there.
Discourse on Blessings (Maha-mangala
Sutta [1])
Thus have I heard:
On one occasion the Blessed
One was living near Savatthi
at Jetavana at
Anathapindika’s monastery. Now when the
night was far advanced, a
certain deity, whose surpassing
radiance illuminated the
whole of Jetavana, approached the
Blessed One, respectfully
saluted him, and stood beside
him. Standing thus, he
addressed the Blessed One in verse:
1. “Many deities and men
longing for happiness have
pondered on (the question of)
blessings. Pray tell me what
the highest blessings are.
2. “Not to associate with the
foolish, but to associate with
the wise, and to honor those
worthy of honor — this is the
highest blessing.
3. “To reside in a suitable
locality, to have performed
meritorious actions in the
past, and to set oneself in the
right direction — this is
the highest blessing.
4. “Vast learning, skill in
handicrafts, well grounded in
discipline, and pleasant
speech — this is the highest
blessing.
5. “To support one’s father
and mother; to cherish one’s
wife and children, and to be
engaged in peaceful
occupations — this is the
highest blessing.
6. “Liberality, righteous
conduct, rendering assistance to
relatives, and performance of
blameless deeds — this is the
highest blessing.
7. “To cease and abstain from
evil, to abstain from
intoxicating drinks, and be
diligent in performing righteous
acts — this is the highest
blessing.
8. “Reverence, humility,
contentment, gratitude, and the
timely hearing of the Dhamma,
the teaching of the Buddha,
– this is the highest
blessing.
9. “Patience, obedience,
meeting the Samanas (holy men),
and timely discussions on the
Dhamma — this is the highest
blessing.
90
10. “Self-control, chastity,
comprehension of the Noble
Truths, and the realization
of Nibbana — this is the highest
blessing.
11. “The mind that is not
touched by the vicissitudes of
life,[2] the mind that is
free from sorrow, stainless, and
secure — th