2631 Fri 25 May LESSON
Awakened One With Awareness Buddha’s Teachings in 4 Words
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuOOmGfebV8&t=108s
5 Funny Buddhist Suttas That Have a Great Message
Mindah-Lee Kumar (The Enthusiastic Buddhist)
Published on Mar 5, 2017
You wouldn’t expect the Buddha’s teachings to include anything funny
would you? I mean, we’re talking about the serious business of purifying
our mind and becoming enlightened. But occasionally I’ve come across
some Buddhist suttas that have surprised me and made me chuckle. In this
video, I share with you five suttas from the Pali Canon that I’ve found amusing and also have a great message.
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Suttas used in this video:
“Gadrabha Sutta: The Donkey” (AN 3.81), translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 30 November
2013,
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipita….
https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.081.than.html
https://accesstoinsight.org/tipit…/…/an03/an03.081.than.html
AN 3.81 PTS: A i 229
Thai 3.83
Gadrabha Sutta: The Donkey
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
© 2001
“Monks, it is just as if a donkey were following right after a herd of
cattle, saying, “I too am a cow! I too am a cow!” Its color is not that
of a cow, its voice is not that of a cow, its hoof is not that of a cow,
and yet it still keeps following right after the herd of cattle,
saying, “I too am a cow! I too am a cow!” In the same way, there is the
case where a certain monk follows right after the community of monks,
saying, “I too am a monk! I too am a monk!” He doesn’t have the other
monks’ desire for undertaking the training in heightened virtue, doesn’t
have their desire for undertaking the training in heightened mind
(concentration), doesn’t have their desire for undertaking the training
in heightened discernment, and yet he still keeps following right after
the community of monks, saying, “I too am a monk! I too am a monk!”
“So you should train yourselves: ‘Strong will be our desire for
undertaking the training in heightened virtue; strong will be our desire
for undertaking the training in heightened mind (concentration); strong
will be our desire for undertaking the training in heightened
discernment.’ That is how you should train yourselves.”
it is just as if a donkey were following right after a herd of cattle,
saying, “I too am a cow! I too am a cow!” Its color is not that of a
cow, its voice is not that of a cow, its hoof is not that of a cow, and
yet it still keeps following right after the herd of cattle, saying, “I
too am a…
“Sedaka Sutta: At Sedaka” (SN 47.19), translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 30 November
2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipita….
https://www.wayofbodhi.org/sedaka-sutta-mindful-balance/
Sedaka Sutta – The Mindful Balance
O Bhikkhus, One takes care of oneself by practicing mindfulness.
One takes care of others by practicing mindfulness.
Taking care of oneself, one takes care of others.
Taking care of others, one takes care of oneself.
How does one take care of others by taking care of oneself?
By practicing (mindfulness), (mental) cultivation and through many actions.
Thus, by taking care of oneself, one takes care of others.
And how does one take care of oneself by taking care of others?
Through patience, non-harming, loving kindness and sympathy.
Thus, O Bhikhus, One takes care of oneself by practicing mindfulness.
One takes care of others by practicing mindfulness.
Taking care of oneself, one takes care of others.
Taking care of others, one takes care of oneself.
– Sedaka Sutta (The Sutra about the Acrobats)
The Buddha illustrated this point to a group of disciples using the
example of two street-acrobats who walk over a bamboo pole. A man
balances and walks on a bamboo pole installed horizontally at a height. A
girl balances herself by standing on his shoulders. If each of them
were to take care of oneself at the cost of not caring for the other,
both will fall down. If each were to take care of the other at the cost
of not caring of one’s own balance, again, both will fall. The right way
for the two acrobats is to balance mindfully in such a way that, by
taking care of oneself, one takes care of the other, and by taking care
of the other, one takes care of oneself.
Often, people confuse that taking care of oneself and taking care of
others are contradictory and mutually exclusive. In fact, when firmly
established on the mindfulness of body (kaya), feelings (vedana),
thoughts (citta) and phenomena (dharma), taking care of oneself is the
way to take care of others, and taking care of others is the way to take
care of oneself.
Just taking care of oneself and ignoring the concerns of others, one
remains careless of the interdependence that brings one’s own safety.
That is not the correct way to place one’s mindfulness.
Likewise, taking care of others and ignoring one’s own state of mind,
one lacks the ability to take care of others. If we let ourselves be
swayed by emotions such as attachment and aversion with respect to
others, we remain handicapped in actually benefiting others. One would
be like a doctor who is unable to do a critical surgery on her own
daughter because of attachment.
Now, let us see how to correctly take care of oneself and others through proper placement of mindfulness.
How does one takes care of others by taking care of oneself?
By practising mindfulness, cultivating correct attitude of mind, and
through engaging in many meaningful actions. In that way, one not only
remains composed with mental peace and clarity, but also remains
responsive to the concerns of others and has the skills for that through
clear-mindedness.
How does one takes care of oneself by taking care of others?
By practising patience, non-harming, loving kindness and sympathy.
One remains mindful of one’s mental attitude and one’s actions of body,
speech and mind with respect to others. Doing this, one also remains
composed, peaceful, and light at heart.
Thus, by being mindful of one’s mental attitude, thoughts, speech and
actions, one simultaneously looks after oneself and others. By, neither
being self-obsessed nor being emotionally worked up about others, one
balances with the right attitude, right thought, right speech and right
action. Thus, one achieves welfare for oneself and others.
“Punna Sutta: To Punna” (SN 35.88), translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 17 December
2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipita….
animated gifs of Puñña Sutta: To Pāli word of the day: Puñña
Translator’s note: In the following translation, the passage
in braces { } is contained in the Thai edition of the Pali canon, but
not in the PTS edition.
Then Ven. Punna went to the Blessed One and on
arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he
was sitting there he said to the Blessed One, “It would be good 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.”
“There are, Punna, forms cognizable via the eye — agreeable,
pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing. If a monk
relishes them, welcomes them, and remains fastened to them, then in him —
relishing them, welcoming them, and remaining fastened to them — there
arises delight. From the origination of delight, I tell you, comes the
origination of suffering and stress.
“There are sounds cognizable via the ear… aromas cognizable by the
nose… flavors cognizable via the tongue… tactile sensations
cognizable via the body…
“There are ideas cognizable via the intellect — agreeable, pleasing,
charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing. If a monk relishes
them, welcomes them, and remains fastened to them, then in him —
relishing them, welcoming them, and remaining fastened to them — there
arises delight. From the origination of delight, I tell you, comes the
origination of suffering and stress.
“There are forms cognizable via the eye — agreeable, pleasing,
charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing. If a monk does not
relish them, welcome them, or remain fastened to them, then in him — not
relishing them, not welcoming them, not remaining fastened to them —
there arises no delight. From the cessation of delight, I tell you,
comes the cessation of suffering and stress.
“There are sounds cognizable via the ear… aromas cognizable by the
nose… flavors cognizable via the tongue… tactile sensations
cognizable via the body…
“There are ideas cognizable via the intellect — agreeable, pleasing,
charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing. If a monk does not
relish them, welcome them, or remain fastened to them, then in him — not
relishing them, not welcoming them, not remaining fastened to them —
there arises no delight. From the cessation of delight, I tell you,
comes the cessation of suffering and stress. {By this means, Punna, you
are not far from this doctrine and discipline.”
When this was said, a certain monk said to the Blessed One, “Here is
where I am ill at ease, lord, for I don’t discern, as they actually are
present, the origination, the passing away, the allure, the drawback,
and the escape from the six spheres of contact.”
“Then what do you think, monk. Do you regard that ‘The eye is not mine. It is not my self. It is not what I am’?”
“Yes, lord.”
“Very good, monk. When it is well-seen by you with right discernment
that ‘The eye is not mine. It is not my self. It is not what I am,’ then
the first sphere of contact will be abandoned by you, for the sake of
no further becoming in the future.
“Do you regard that ‘The ear is not mine… The nose is not mine… The tongue is not mine… The body is not mine…
“Do you regard that ‘The intellect is not mine. It is not my self. It is not what I am’?”
“Yes, lord.”
“Very good, monk. When it is well-seen by you with right discernment
that ‘The intellect is not mine. It is not my self. It is not what I
am,’ then the sixth sphere of contact will be abandoned by you, for the
sake of no further becoming in the future.}
“Well then, Punna. Now that I have instructed you with a brief instruction, in which country are you going to live?”
“Lord, there is a country called Sunaparanta. I am going to live there.”
“Punna, the Sunaparanta people are fierce. They are rough. If they insult and ridicule you, what will you think?”
“If they insult and ridicule me, I will think, ‘These Sunaparanta
people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don’t hit me with
their hands.’ That is what I will think, O Blessed One. That is what I
will think, O One Well-gone.”
“But if they hit you with their hands, what will you think?”
“…I will think, ‘These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don’t hit me with a clod.’…”
“But if they hit you with a clod…?”
“…I will think, ‘These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don’t hit me with a stick.’…”
“But if they hit you with a stick…?”
“…I will think, ‘These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very civilized, in that they don’t hit me with a knife.’…”
“But if they hit you with a knife…?”
“…I will think, ‘These Sunaparanta people are civilized, very
civilized, in that they don’t take my life with a sharp knife.’…”
“But if they take your life with a sharp knife…?”
“If they take my life with a sharp knife, I will think, ‘There are
disciples of the Blessed One who — horrified, humiliated, and disgusted
by the body and by life — have sought for an assassin, but here I have
met my assassin without searching for him.’ [1] That is what I will think, O Blessed One. That is what I will think, O One Well-gone.”
“Good, Punna, very good. Possessing such calm and self-control you
are fit to dwell among the Sunaparantans. Now it is time to do as you
see fit.”
Then Ven. Punna, delighting and rejoicing in the
Blessed One’s words, rising from his seat, bowed down to the Blessed One
and left, keeping him on his right side. Setting his dwelling in order
and taking his robe and bowl, he set out for the Sunaparanta country
and, after wandering stage by stage, he arrived there. There he lived.
During that Rains retreat he established 500 male and 500 female lay
followers in the practice, while he realized the three knowledges and
then attained total (final) Unbinding.
Then a large number of monks 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, “Lord, the clansman named Punna, whom
the Blessed One instructed with a brief instruction, has died. What is
his destination? What is his future state?”
“Monks, the clansman Punna was wise. He practiced the Dhamma in
accordance with the Dhamma and did not pester me with issues related to
the Dhamma. The clansman Punna is totally unbound.”
Note
- 1.
- In the origin story to Parajika 3 (see The Buddhist Monastic Code),
a group of monks search for an assassin after becoming disgusted with
their bodies when taking the unattractiveness of the body as their
meditation theme. The Buddha, on learning of this, convenes the
remaining monks and recommends that if they find such unskillful,
aversive attitudes arising in their meditation, they should switch to
the breath as their theme. Thus — contrary to some interpretations of
this discourse — it seems unlikely that Punna is here extolling the act
of searching for an assassin as a skillful approach toward death.
Instead, the gist of his statement is that if he died under the
circumstances described here, death would have found him without his
having sought for it through aversion. This would parallel the attitude
toward death that the Theragatha frequently attributes to arahants:
I don’t delight in death,
don’t delight in living.
I await my time
like a worker his wage.
I don’t delight in death,
don’t delight in living.
I await my time
mindful, alert.
This may not be life affirming in the American sense of the word, but
it does affirm that the arahants have awakened to a release that
transcends life and death. And that is the whole point of Dhamma
practice. If there were nothing more important than life, then life
itself would be pointless.
“Akkosa Sutta: Insult” (SN 7.2), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro
Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipita….
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/…/sn/sn07/sn07.002.than.html
SN 7.2 PTS: S i 161
CDB i 255
Akkosa Sutta: Insult
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
© 1999
Alternate translations: Buddharakkhita | Walshe
Alternate format: [SuttaReadings.net icon]
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near
Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Sanctuary. Then the brahman
Akkosaka[1] Bharadvaja heard that a brahman of the Bharadvaja clan had
gone forth from the home life into homelessness in the presence of the
Blessed One. Angered & displeased, he went to the Blessed One and,
on arrival, insulted & cursed him with rude, harsh words.
When this was said, the Blessed One said to him: “What do you think,
brahman: Do friends & colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to
you as guests?”
“Yes, Master Gotama, sometimes friends & colleagues, relatives & kinsmen come to me as guests.”
“And what do you think: Do you serve them with staple & non-staple foods & delicacies?”
“Yes, sometimes I serve them with staple & non-staple foods & delicacies.”
“And if they don’t accept them, to whom do those foods belong?”
“If they don’t accept them, Master Gotama, those foods are all mine.”
“In the same way, brahman, that with which you have insulted me, who is
not insulting; that with which you have taunted me, who is not
taunting; that with which you have berated me, who is not berating: that
I don’t accept from you. It’s all yours, brahman. It’s all yours.
“Whoever returns insult to one who is insulting, returns taunts to one
who is taunting, returns a berating to one who is berating, is said to
be eating together, sharing company, with that person. But I am neither
eating together nor sharing your company, brahman. It’s all yours. It’s
all yours.”
“The king together with his court know this of Master
Gotama — ‘Gotama the contemplative is an arahant’ — and yet still
Master Gotama gets angry.”[2]
[The Buddha:]
Whence is there anger
for one free from anger,
tamed,
living in tune —
one released through right knowing,
calmed
& Such.
You make things worse
when you flare up
at someone who’s angry.
Whoever doesn’t flare up
at someone who’s angry
wins a battle
hard to win.
You live for the good of both
— your own, the other’s —
when, knowing the other’s provoked,
you mindfully grow calm.
When you work the cure of both
— your own, the other’s —
those who think you a fool
know nothing of Dhamma.
When this was said, the brahman Akkosaka Bharadvaja said to the Blessed
One, “Magnificent, Master Gotama! Magnificent! Just as if he were to
place upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show
the way to one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that
those with eyes could see forms, in the same way has Master Gotama —
through many lines of reasoning — made the Dhamma clear. I go to the
Blessed One for refuge, to the Dhamma, & to the community of monks.
Let me obtain the going forth in Master Gotama’s presence, let me obtain
admission.”
Then the brahman Akkosaka Bharadvaja received the
going forth & the admission in the Blessed One’s presence. And not
long after his admission — 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 so
Ven. Bharadvaja became another one of the arahants.
Note
1.
= “Insulter.”
2.
Akkosaka thinks that the Buddha is cursing him — and thus angry —
when actually the Buddha is simply stating a fact in line with the law
of kamma.
have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near
Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels’ Sanctuary. Then the brahman
Akkosaka[1] Bharadvaja heard that a brahman of the Bharadvaja clan had
gone forth from the home life into homelessness in the presence of the
Blessed One. Anger…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wuTWM0HLeU
SN 7.2 Akkosa Sutta - Insult
MyanmarSutta
Published on Jul 19, 2014
သန ၇.၂: အေကၠာသသုတ္ -
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Category
Nonprofits & Activism
“Nanda Sutta: About Nanda” (Ud 3.2), translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 30 August 2012, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipita….
Category
Education
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu7LTNZlSy4
Nanda Sutta: Nanda
HAPPY LOTUS
Published on Apr 21, 2014
Nanda Sutta: Nanda
Category
People & Blogs
Prince
Nanda was the younger half-brother of the Buddha. He shared the same
father as the Buddha, King Śuddhodana, and his mother, Mahapajapati
Gotami, was the Buddha’s mother’s younger sister. en.wikipedia.org
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.3.02.than.html
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I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near
Sāvatthī at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. And on that
occasion Ven. Nanda — the Blessed One’s brother, son of his maternal
aunt — announced to a large number of monks: “I don’t enjoy leading the
holy life, my friends. I can’t keep up the holy life. Giving up the
training, I will return to the common life.”
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 told the
Blessed One: “Lord, Ven. Nanda — the Blessed One’s brother, son of his
maternal aunt — has announced to a large number of monks: ‘I don’t enjoy
leading the holy life, my friends. I can’t keep up the holy life.
Giving up the training, I will return to the common life.’”
Then the Blessed One told a certain monk, “Come, monk. In my name, call Nanda, saying, ‘The Teacher calls you, friend Nanda.’”
Responding, “As you say, lord,” to the Blessed One, the monk went to
Ven. Nanda, on arrival he said, “The Teacher calls you, friend Nanda.”
Responding, “As you say, my friend,” to the monk, Ven. Nanda went to
the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one
side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him, “Is it true,
Nanda, that you have announced to a large number of monks: ‘I don’t
enjoy leading the holy life, my friends. I can’t keep up the holy life.
Giving up the training, I will return to the common life’?”
“Yes, lord.”
“But why, Nanda, don’t you enjoy leading the holy life? Why can’t you
keep up the holy life? Why, giving up the training, will you return to
the common life?”
“Lord, as I was leaving home, a Sakyan girl — the envy of the
countryside — glanced up at me, with her hair half-combed, and said,
‘Hurry back, master.’ Recollecting that, I don’t enjoy leading the holy
life. I can’t keep up the holy life. Giving up the training, I will
return to the common life.”
Then, taking Ven. Nanda by the arm — as a strong man might flex his
extended arm or extend his flexed arm — the Blessed One disappeared from
Jeta’s Grove and reappeared among the devas of the heaven of the
Thirty-three [Tāvatiṃsa]. Now on that occasion about 500 dove-footed
nymphs had come to wait upon Sakka, the ruler of the devas. The Blessed
One said to Ven. Nanda, “Nanda, do you see these 500 dove-footed
nymphs?”
“Yes, lord.”
“What do you think, Nanda? Which is lovelier, better looking, more
charming: the Sakyan girl, the envy of the countryside, or these 500
dove-footed nymphs?”
“Lord, compared to these 500 dove-footed nymphs, the Sakyan girl, the
envy of the countryside, is like a cauterized monkey with its ears
& nose cut off. She doesn’t count. She’s not even a small fraction.
There’s no comparison. The 500 dove-footed nymphs are lovelier, better
looking, more charming.”
“Then take joy, Nanda. Take joy! I am your guarantor for getting 500 dove-footed nymphs.”
“If the Blessed One is my guarantor for getting 500 dove-footed
nymphs, I will enjoy leading the holy life under the Blessed One.”
Then, taking Ven. Nanda by the arm — as a strong man might flex his
extended arm or extend his flexed arm — the Blessed One disappeared from
among the devas of the heaven of the Thirty-three and reappeared at
Jeta’s Grove. The monks heard, “They say that Ven. Nanda — the Blessed
One’s brother, son of his maternal aunt — is leading the holy life for
the sake of nymphs. They say that the Blessed One is his guarantor for
getting 500 dove-footed nymphs.”
Then the monks who were companions of Ven. Nanda went around
addressing him as they would a hired hand & a person who had been
bought: “Venerable Nanda, they say, has been hired. Venerable Nanda,
they say, has been bought.[1] He’s leading the holy life for the sake of nymphs. The Blessed One is his guarantor for getting 500 dove-footed nymphs.”
Then Ven. Nanda — humiliated, ashamed, & disgusted that the monks
who were his companions were addressing him as they would a hired hand
& a person who had been bought — went to dwell alone, secluded,
heedful, ardent, & resolute. He in no long time entered &
remained in the supreme goal of the holy life for which clansmen rightly
go forth from home into homelessness, knowing & realizing it for
himself right 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. Nanda became another one of the arahants.
Then a certain devatā, in the far extreme of the night, her extreme
radiance lighting up the entirety of Jeta’s Grove, approached the
Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to him, she stood to one
side. As she was standing there, she said to the Blessed One, “Lord,
Ven. Nanda — the Blessed One’s brother, son of his maternal aunt —
through the ending of the effluents, has entered & remains in the
effluent-free awareness-release & discernment-release, directly
knowing & realizing them for himself right in the here-&-now.”
And within the Blessed One, the knowledge arose: “Nanda, through the
ending of the effluents, has entered & remains in the effluent-free
awareness-release & discernment-release, directly knowing &
realizing them for himself right in the here-&-now.”
Then, when the night had passed, Ven. Nanda 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, “Lord, about the Blessed
One’s being my guarantor for getting 500 dove-footed nymphs: I hereby
release the Blessed One from that promise.”
“Nanda, having comprehended your awareness with my own awareness, I
realized that ‘Nanda, through the ending of the effluents, has entered
& remains in the effluent-free awareness-release &
discernment-release, directly knowing & realizing them for himself
right in the here-&-now.’ And a devatā informed me that ‘Ven. Nanda,
through the ending of the effluents, has entered & remains in the
effluent-free awareness-release & discernment-release, directly
knowing & realizing them for himself right in the here-&-now.’
When your mind, through lack of clinging, was released from the
effluents, I was thereby released from that promise.”
Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:
In whom the mire of sensuality is crossed over,[2]
the thorn of sensuality crushed,
the ending of delusion reached:
He doesn’t quiver
from pleasures & pains
: a monk.
Note
- 1.
- The monks here address Ven. Nanda as “āyasmant.” According to DN 16,
they did not normally address one another in this formal way while the
Buddha was still alive. Thus there is an element of sarcasm in the way
they use the term here. - 2.
- Reading yassa tiṇṇo kāmapaṅko with the Thai edition. The Burmese, Sri Lankan, and PTS editions read, yassa nittiṇṇo paṅko: “In whom the mire is crossed over.” The parallel passage in the Udānavarga (32.2) essentially agrees with this latter version.
