26 05 2012 SATURDAY LESSON 620 FREE ONLINE eNālāndā Research And Practice UNIVERSITY And THE BUDDHISTONLINE GOOD NEWS LETTER by ABHIDHAMMA RAKKHITA through http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org
Dhammapada: Verses and Stories
Dhammapada
Verse 178 Being Stream-Winner Is
Supreme
VOICE OF SARVAJAN
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- Dr Rahul
Verse
178. Being Stream-Winner Is Supreme
Than o’er the earth sole sovereignty,
than going to heaven,
than lordship over all the worlds:
better the Steam-winner’s fruit.
Explanation: The achievement of the stream-winner is the
primary stage in the attainment of spiritual success. The state is greater than
being a universal monarch, or reaching heaven.
Dhammapada
Verse 178
Anathapindikaputtakala Vatthu
Pathabya
ekarajjena
saggassa gamanena va
sabbalokadhipacce na
sotapattiphalam varam.
Verse
178: Far better than sovereignty over the earth, or far better than going to
the abodes of the devas, or far better than ruling supreme over the entire
universe, is (the attainment of) Sotapatti Fruition.
The
Story of Kala, son of Anathapindika
While
residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (178) of this
book, with reference to Kala, son of Anathapindika, the well renowned rich man
of Savatthi.
Kala,
son of Anathapindika, always kept away whenever the Buddha and his company of
bhikkhus came to their house. Anathapindika was afraid that if his son kept on
behaving in this way, he would be reborn in one of the lower worlds (apayas).
So, he enticed his son with the promise of money. He promised to give one
hundred if the youth consented to go to the monastery and keep sabbath for one
day. So, the youth went to the monastery and returned home early the next day,
without listening to any religious discourses. His father offered him rice
gruel, but instead of taking his food, he first demanded to have the money.
The
next day, the father said to his son, “My son, if you learn a stanza of
the Text from the Buddha I will give you one thousand on your return.” So,
Kala went to the monastery again, and told the Buddha that he wanted to learn
something. The Buddha gave him a short stanza to learn by heart; at the same
time he willed that the youth would not be able to memorize it. Thus, the youth
had to repeat a single stanza many times, but because he had to repeat it so
many times, in the end, he came to perceive the full meaning of the Dhamma and
attained Sotapatti Fruition.
Early
on the next morning, he followed the Buddha and the bhikkhus to his own house.
But on that day, he was silently wishing, “I wish my father would not give
me the one thousand in the presence of the Buddha. I do not wish the Buddha to
know that I kept the sabbath just for the sake of money.” His father
offered rice gruel to the Buddha and the bhikkhus, and also to him. Then, his
father brought one thousand, and told Kala to take the money but surprisingly
he refused. His father pressed him to take it, but he still refused. Then,
Anathapindika said to the Buddha, “Venerable Sir, my son is quite changed;
he now behaves in a very pleasant manner.” Then he related to the Buddha
how he had enticed the youth with money to go to the monastery and keep sabbath
and to learn some religious texts. To him the Buddha replied, “Anathapindika!
Today, your son has attained Sotapatti Fruition, which is much better than the
riches of the Universal Monarch or that of the devas or that of the
brahmas.”
Then
the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
|
Verse 178: |
End
of Chapter Thirteen: The World (Lokavagga)
Research on
Buddhist Suttas translation
http://www.tipitaka.net/pali/strans/
|
Sutta Translation |
In this project, we strive to translate suttas from the
Pali Tipitaka with elegance, clarity and accuracy. It is in our best interest
they reflect the importance and relevance of Buddha’s message in our time.
These words of wisdom and compassion, we hope, are able to warm the hearts and
enlighten the minds of many as they did in the last twenty five centuries.
The work of translation is by no means an easy one.
However, it is a task we will diligently undertake to accomplish. We provide a
full word list for every sutta we translate to share the precious moments of
delight and joy in getting each word correct. By doing so, we take you through
the translation process word by word, and sentence by sentence instead of you
having to reinvent the wheel. These have proven to be valuable assets to
students of the Tipitaka and Pali language. We hope you enjoy this active learning
approach. Should you have any comments, kindly forward it to the Pali discussion
group. Thank you.
Majjhima Nikaya � Collection of
Middle Length Discourses
MN62: Maharahulovada Sutta [ Completed ]
Anguttara Nikaya � Collection of
Numerically Grouped Discourses
AN07-068: Aggikkhandopama Sutta - The Mass of Fire Comparison [
Completed ]
contributed by the good folks at the Pali discussion group
[ http://www.tipitaka.net/maillist.htm ]
Inaugurated on 1, August 2002
Maintained by Ong Yong
Peng
http://www.suttareadings.net/faq.html
Frequently asked Questions
About SuttaReadings.net
- What is this
website? - How can I contact
you? - What’s the relationship
between SuttaReadings and
Access to Insight? - Why don’t
you have such-and-such a sutta? - Why don’t you
have any readings by so-and-so? - May I send you a
recording to put on the website? - Why isn’t the reader
reading the text exactly as it is printed in the book? - Where can I find more
audio Dhamma recordings? - How do I download the
sound files so I can play them later? - May I copy these
sound files and redistribute them? - What is the RSS
newsfeed (
)
and how do I use it? - I sometimes hear
little clicks, pops, or dropouts while listening with my web browser.
What’s wrong? - I have a question
about Buddhism. Can you help me? - I’d like to get in
touch with one of the readers. How do I do that? - How did you prepare
the sound files?
SuttaReadings.net is a library of free audio recordings of English
translations of Pali suttas, selected and read aloud by respected Dhamma
teachers within the Theravada Buddhist tradition.
SuttaReadings.net is one person’s website, and is not affiliated
with any organization or institution.
My goal here is not to build a
comprehensive archive of sutta readings. Instead, I hope to assemble a modest
collection of outstanding suttas that teachers — our wise Dhamma elders, our
learned kalyanamittas — have singled out from among thousands of others
as being most worthy of attention and most expeditious in instilling Right View
and in guiding the listener further along the Path. To that end, I have begun
inviting teachers to choose a few suttas that they believe to be especially
significant and useful, and to read them aloud for others to hear.
As this collection slowly grows over time,
I hope it will become representative of the broad spectrum of voices — both
literal and figurative — within Theravada Buddhism: male and female; old and
young; monastic and lay; Western and Asian; well-known and reclusive. Our
voices may differ, but in the words of the suttas we find a common tongue.
The Dhamma has always been essentially an
oral tradition. Since the Buddha’s day, generations of teachers have passed
down the teachings to their students by way of the spoken word and through
their living example. Although written sutta translations are invaluable in the
careful study of Dhamma, rich new layers of meaning often emerge when hearing
those same suttas read aloud. I am often astounded at how immediately and
deeply the meaning of a sutta — even one I’ve read many times before — can
penetrate my stubborn heart when I finally make the time to listen to
it.
I invite you to download these readings,
settle down in a quiet place with your laptop or iPod, close your eyes, rest
your attention lightly on your breath, and open your ears. Imagine yourself in
a peaceful forest setting on a warm day, sitting under the cooling shade of a
tree, as the Buddha himself takes a breath and begins to speak…
See also:
- » “What is Theravada Buddhism?”
- »
Sutta Pitaka - »
Tipitaka - » Kalyanamittata (admirable friendship)
- »
Samma-ditthi (right view)
You can reach me (John Bullitt), via e-mail
at:
(john [AT] suttareadings [DOT] net)
or via postal mail at:
John Bullitt
P.O. Box 37
Milbridge, ME 04658
USA
Or you can visit 
my website.
What’s
the relationship between SuttaReadings
and Access to Insight? ![[go up]](file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CHOME%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image002.gif){kind=small}
Although I manage both websites, they are
two separate projects. »
Access to Insight is devoted to the printed word; SuttaReadings to the spoken.
May I
send you a recording to put on this website?
At the moment, I am collecting recordings
by invitation only. This is both to keep the focus of the project clear and to
keep it to a manageable scale.
Why don’t you have such-and-such a sutta?
It is up to the readers (the teachers) to
decide which suttas should be included here. That’s what makes this project
unique.
If you’d like to explore more suttas,
you’ll find plenty more to choose from at »Access to Insight.
Why don’t you have any readings by so-and-so?
It’s much easier to maintain a high
standard of quality when a project like this is allowed to grow slowly. So
please be patient.
If you are a senior English-speaking
Dhamma teacher and you haven’t heard from me yet, please be patient: you may be
hearing from me soon. 
I’d
like to get in touch with one of the readers. How do I do that?
On the The Readers
page, you’ll find website URLs and other publicly available information that
can help you locate the reader. I do not give out e-mail addresses or other
private contact information.
Why
isn’t the reader reading the text exactly as it is printed in the book?
Occasionally a reader omits small portions
of the text that, in his or her opinion, would distract from the key teaching
of the sutta or interfere with the flow of the text to the modern listener’s
ears. This is the teachers’ prerogative. Similarly, readers may sometimes
replace the translation of a word with an alternative one that they believe
better captures the intended meaning of the sutta. Remember that translation is
an art, not a science — especially when the texts concern ineffable aspects of
the human heart.
Where
can I find more audio Dhamma recordings?
There are many websites that offer
downloadable audio Dhamma. For a partial list of such sites, see »Access to
Insight’s “Audio recordings and streams” page.
I
have a question about Buddhism. Can you help me?
Unfortunately, I have neither the time nor
the expertise to field questions about Buddhist teachings or practice. A good
place to start is Access to Insight’s »”Frequently
Asked Questions About Buddhism”. Or consider contacting one of the
teachers listed on the The Readers
page.
May I
copy these sound files and redistribute them?
Absolutely, yes — provided you give them
away free of charge. Any commercial use of these recordings is strictly
a no-no.
What is
the RSS newsfeed () and how do I use it?
RSS (”Rich Site Summary” or
“Really Simple Syndication”) is a simple yet powerful technology
widely used by news organizations (e.g., the » BBC and » The New York Times) to keep their online readers
up-to-date. The same technology can also alert you when new recordings appear
on SuttaReadings, without you
actually having to keep checking the website.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Get an RSS
newsreader
A
newsreader is a small, easy-to-use program that runs on your computer, in the
background, while you go about your business. Its job is to quietly keep track
of RSS websites that you like and to alert you when they post announcements to
RSS subscribers like you. In SuttaReadings’s
case, you will be alerted whenever I add a new recording to the website. Once
alerted, you can get the full story either by following a link from the
newsreader itself or by visiting SuttaReadings.
Which newsreader
should you get? I can’t tell you. There are dozens of them. Some are free, some
are shareware. I can’t possibly evaluate them all and make intelligent
recommendations. Of the various newsreaders I’ve tried for the Macintosh (OS
X), two stand out as particularly easy to use: NetNewsWire Lite (free) and » NewsFire (alas, no longer free).
Also, the » Firefox web browser
supports “live bookmarks” that allow you to subscribe to RSS sites
with a single click. For help finding a newsreader, try this » Google search.
2. Subscribe
Follow
your newsreader’s instructions on subscribing. This is very simple. Depending
on which reader you have, you may either have to (a) visit the SuttaReadings
home page and click a button on your newsreader; (b) visit the home page and click the RSS
icon (); (c) type in the SuttaReadings
URL (http://www.suttareadings.net) by hand; or (d) some other equally simple
procedure. Either way, it’s easy.
3. Sit back and relax
Your
newsreader will let you know when anything new appears on SuttaReadings.
How do I
download the sound files so I can play them later?
When you click on a link to a sound file
(indicated by ![[Loudspeaker icon]](file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CHOME%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_image005.gif){kind=small}
), your
browser will probably start playing it immediately, using its mp3 plugin (for
example, QuickTime). If you’d prefer to save the sound file for later use,
simply right-click (Windows) or control-click (Macintosh) on the link and
follow your browser’s prompts to save the file to your hard disk. Once the mp3
file has finished downloading to your hard disk, you can use your favorite mp3
software to play the file. Not sure how to do that? Just double-click on the
mp3 file and your computer should launch the appropriate sound player program.
I
sometimes hear little clicks, pops, or dropouts while listening with my web
browser. What’s wrong?
Fortunately, there’s nothing wrong with
the sound files. It’s a common problem that occurs when you play an mp3 file in
a web browser before the file has finished loading into the browser. If you
find it annoying, you can either wait for the file to load completely or
download the sound file to your hard disk and play it using some other mp3
player program (such as iTunes).
See also: How
do I download the sound files so I can play them later?
How
did you prepare the sound files?
Note to techies: If you have any suggestions for how the recordings
or mp3 files could be improved, please let me know!
Recording
In
those readings that I personally recorded1 I used a »Sennheiser MKH 418S P48
mid-side stereo shotgun mic pointed at the reader’s mouth, about 6″ away,
and about 30° off-axis. I used a »Marantz PMD670
solid state digital recorder, saving the audio as uncompressed (44.1kHz/16 bit)
.wav files. (This all may be overkill for mp3 speech files, but I prefer to
start with the cleanest signal possible.) Files that are sent to me are
typically recorded direct to mp3, using a home PC or MD recorder, using
whatever mic is available.
Editing
I
edit the audio (mono) using »ProTools LE 7.0 on a Macintosh. After
editing out the glitches, I generally apply a high-pass rumble filter (60Hz @
6dB/octave) and a low-pass filter (~ 6kHz @ 6dB/octave) to soften the high end
for cheapo computer speakers. Some recording environments, of course, demand
more creative EQ (e.g., the carpet cleaner upstairs in MN 131). I
apply a little (a little!) compression before normalizing.
MP3 conversion
22.05kHz@48kHz
bitrate (constant) seems to give a reasonable tradeoff between file size and
sound quality. I hope Sennheiser will forgive me.
Note:
1.
Recordings on the The
Suttas page that say “recorded by jtb” are by me.