18 12 2011 LESSON 469 Dhammapada Verse 2
Matthakundali Vatthu
Dhammapada
Verse 2
Matthakundali Vatthu
Manopubbangama dhamma
manosettha manomaya
manasa ce pasannena
bhasati va karoti va
tato nam sukha1 manveti
chayava anapayini.
Verse 2: All mental phenomena have mind as their forerunner;
they have mind as their chief; they are mind-made. If one speaks or acts with a
pure mind, happiness (sukha) follows him like a shadow that never leaves
him.
With desire the world is tied down. With the subduing of desire it’s
freed. With the abandoning of desire all bonds are cut through.
Dhammapada
Verse 2
Matthakundali Vatthu
Manopubbangama dhamma
manosettha manomaya
manasa ce pasannena
bhasati va karoti va
tato nam sukha1 manveti
chayava anapayini.
Verse 2: All mental phenomena have mind as their forerunner;
they have mind as their chief; they are mind-made. If one speaks or acts with a
pure mind, happiness (sukha) follows him like a shadow that never leaves
him.
1. Sukham/sukha: in this context, happiness, satifactoriness,
fortune, etc., and rebirth in the three upper planes of happy existence.
The Story of Matthakundali
While residing at the Jetavana monastery in Savatthi, the Buddha
uttered Verse (2) of this book, with reference to Matthakundali, a young
Brahmin. Matthakundali was a young brahmin, whose father, Adinnapubbaka, was
very stingy and never gave anything in charity. Even the gold ornaments for his
only son were made by himself to save payment for workmanship. When his son
fell ill, no physician was consulted, until it was too late. When he realized
that his son was dying, he had the youth carried outside on to the verandah, so
that people coming to his house would not see his possessions.
On that morning, the Buddha arising early from his deep
meditation of compassion saw, in his Net of Knowledge, Matthakundali lying on
the verandah. So when entering Savatthi for alms-food with his disciples, the
Buddha stood near the door of the brahmin Adinnapubbaka. The Buddha sent forth
a ray of light to attract the attention of the youth, who was facing the
interior of the house. The youth saw the Buddha; and as he was very weak he
could only profess his faith mentally. But that was enough. When he passed away
with his heart in devotion to the Buddha he was reborn in the Tavatimsa
celestial world.
From his celestial abode the young Matthakundali, seeing his
father mourning over him at the cemetery, appeared to the old man in the
likeness of his old self. He told his father about his rebirth in the Tavatimsa
world and also urged him to approach and invite the Buddha to a meal. At the
house of Adinnapubbaka the question of whether one could or could not be reborn
in a celestial world simply by mentally professing profound faith in the
Buddha, without giving in charity or observing the moral precepts, was brought
up. So the Buddha willed that Matthakundali should appear in person;
Matthakundali soon appeared fully decked with celestial ornaments and told them
about his rebirth in the Tavatimsa world. Then only, the audience became
convinced that the son of the brahmin Adinnapubbaka by simply devoting his mind
to the Buddha had attained much glory.
Then the Buddha spoke in
verse as follows:
|
Verse 2: All mental phenomena have mind as their forerunner; |
At the end of the discourse Matthakundali and his father
Adinnapubbaka attained Sotapatti Magga and Sotapatti Phala. Adinnapubbaka also
donated almost all his wealth to the cause of the Buddha’s Teaching.
1. manopubbangama dhamma: All mental phenomena have Mind
as their forerunner in the sense that Mind is the most dominant, and it is the
cause of the other three mental phenomena, namely, Feeling (vedana),
Perception (sanna) and Mental Formations or Mental Concomitants (sankhara).
These three have Mind or Consciousness (vinnana) as their forerunner,
because although they arise simultaneously with Mind they cannot arise if Mind
does not arise. (The Commentary)
2. manasa ce padutthena (Verse 1) and manasi ce
pasannena (Verse 2): Manasa here means intention or volition (cetana);
volition leads one to the performance of volitional actions, both good and
evil. This volition and the resultant actions constitute kamma; and kamma
always follows one to produce results. Cakkhupala’s blindness (Verse 1) was the
consequence of his having acted with an evil intention in a previous existence
and Matthakundali’s happy existence in Tavatimsa celestial world (Verse 2) was
the result of his mental devotion (manopasada) to the Buddha.
3. dukkha: In this context, dukkha mens suffering,
or physical or mental pain, misfortune, unsatisfactoriness, evil consequences,
etc., and rebirth in the lower planes of existence or in the lower strata of
human society if born in the human world.
The Story of Thera Cakkhupala
While residing at the Jetavana monastery in Savatthi, the Buddha
uttered Verse (1) of this book, with reference to Cakkhupala, a blind thera.
On one occasion, Thera Cakkhupala came to pay homage to the
Buddha at the Jetavana monastery. One night, while pacing up and down in
meditation, the thera accidentally stepped on some insects. In the morning,
some bhikkhus visiting the thera found the dead insects. They thought ill of
the thera and reported the matter to the Buddha. The Buddha asked them whether
they had seen the thera killing the insects. When they answered in the
negative, the Buddha said, “Just as you had not seen him killing, so
also he had not seen those living insects. Besides, as the thera had already
attained arahatship he could have no intention of killing and so was quite
innocent.” On being asked why Cakkhupala was blind although he was an
arahat, the Buddha told the following story:
Cakkhupala was a physician in one of his past existences. Once,
he had deliberately made a woman patient blind. That woman had promised him to
become his slave, together with her children, if her eyes were completely
cured. Fearing that she and her children would have to become slaves, she lied
to the physician. She told him that her eyes were getting worse when, in fact,
they were perfectly cured. The physician knew she was deceiving him, so in
revenge, he gave her another ointment, which made her totally blind. As a
result of this evil deed the physician lost his eyesight many times in his
later existences.
Then the Buddha spoke in
verse as follows:
|
Verse 1: All mental phenomena have mind as their forerunner; |
At the end of the discourse, thirty thousand bhikkhus attained
arahatship together with Analytical Insight (Patisambhida).
SN 1.69
PTS: S i 40
CDB i 132
Iccha Sutta: Desire
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
[A deva:]
With what is the world tied down? With the subduing of what is it
freed? With the abandoning of what are all bonds cut through?
[The Buddha:]
With desire the world is tied down. With the subduing of desire it’s
freed. With the abandoning of desire all bonds are cut through.
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LESSON 469
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