Current Situation Paves way for
At
Magadhi Karnataka State
DO GOOD PURIFY MIND AND ENVIRONMENT
தம்மபதம்
எமது பரம குருவான பாக்கியமுள்ள புத்த பகவான் எம் மீது கொண்ட மகா கருணையினாலேயே இந்த உத்தம
தர்மத்தினை மொழிந்தருளினார். அந்த மகா வழிகாட்டியின் சாசனமாகவே இந்த தர்மம் விளங்குகிறது. சுத்த (சூத்திர
போதனைகள்), கெய்ய (போதனை மற்றும் செய்யுள் எனும் இரண்டும் உள்ளடங்கியவை), வெய்யாகரண (ஆரிய
சத்தியங்களை மென்மேலும் பகுத்து மொழிந்திருக்கும் போதனைகள்), காதா (செய்யுள்கள்), உதான (முயற்சியின்றி
சுயமாக உதிரும் வார்த்தைகள்), இதிவுத்தக (நிச்சயப்படுத்தி மொழிந்த போதனைகள்), ஜாதக (பகவானது முற்பிறப்பு
வரலாறுகள்), அப்பூததம்ம (ஆச்சரியமிக்க புதினமான விடயங்கள் கொண்ட பகுதி), வேதள்ள (வினா விடை
வடிவிலானவை) என இந்த மகா வழிகாட்டியின் சாசனம் ஒன்பது அங்கங்களை உடையதாக திகழ்கிறது.
தம்ம பதம் ‘காதா’ எனும் செய்யுள் வடிவிலான சாசனத்திற்கு உட்பட்டதாகும். இந்த உத்தம செய்யுள்களை மகா
வழிகாட்டியின் சாசனம் என்றழைப்பதற்கு காரணம் இந்தச் செய்யுள்களில் பொதிந்திருக்கும் விசேடமான
இயல்புகளினாலேயே. அதாவது, இந்த உத்தம செய்யுள்களின் பொருளை உணர்ந்து அதன்படி தமது வாழ்வினை
நல்வழிப்படுத்திக்கொள்ளும் ஓர் ஆரிய சீடனாலேயே இந்தத் துன்பப்பெருங்கடலான பிறப்பு இறப்பிலிருந்து மீண்டு
உன்னத மோட்சத்தினை உறுதி செய்ய முடியும். ஒரு சமயம் சஹம்பதீ எனும் மகா பிரம்மராஜன் பாக்கியமுள்ள
பகவான் முன் தோன்றி பாக்கியமுள்ள புத்த பகவானையும், பகவானது உத்தம தர்மத்தினையும், பகவானது ஆரிய
சங்கையரையும் புகழ்ந்து சில செய்யுள்களை உரைத்தார். அதன் ஒரு செய்யுளில் இவ்வாறு கூறப்படுகிறது.
”ஏகஸ்மிங் ப்ரஹ்மசரியஸ்மிங் – சஹஸ்ஸங் மச்சு ஹாயினங்”
”ஒரு தம்ம பதத்தில் மாறனை வென்று இருக்கும் ஆயிரம்
அரஹத் தேரர்கள் வீற்றிருக்கிறார்கள்”
(சம்யுக்த நிகாயம் 01)
அந்த உத்தம
தம்மபதத்தினை வகைகளின் அடிப்படையில் இங்கு ஒலிவடிவமாக வழங்கியுள்ளோம்.
தர்மச்சுவையை உணர விரும்புபவர்கள் இந்த தர்மத்தினை செவிசாய்த்து கேட்பீராக!
இரு செய்யுள்களை கொண்ட பகுதி
யமக வர்க்கம், இருபது செய்யுள்களை கொண்டதாகும்.
பல்வேறு சந்தர்ப்பங்களில் புத்த பகவான் மொழிந்தருளிய
இரு சோடிகளுடன் கூடிய செய்யுள்களே இப்பகுதியில்
தாமதமின்மை தொடர்பாக மொழிந்த பகுதி
இரண்டாவது வகை ‘அப்பமாத’ வகையாகும். அப்பமாத
என்றால் தாமதமின்மையாகும். அதாவது ஒருவர் குசல
தர்மதங்களை தோற்றுவித்துக் கொள்வதற்கு இருக்க
உள்ளம் தொடர்பாக மொழிந்த பகுதி
மனம் தொடர்பான அபூர்வ விடயங்களை நீங்கள் மூன்றாம்
பகுதிக்குரிய ‘சித்த’ எனும் பிரிவின் மூலம் அறிந்துகொள்ள
முடியும். இது பதினொரு செய்யுள்களைக் கொண்டது.
மலர்களை உவமைப்படுத்தி மொழிந்த பகுதி
நான்காவது பகுதி ‘புஷ்ப’ வகையாகும். பூக்களை
உவமைப்படுத்தி பகவான் மொழிந்தருளிய பதினாறு
செய்யுள்களை தர்மச்சுவை நனிச்சொட்ட சொட்ட கேட்கும்
அஞ்ஞான பாலன் தொடர்பாக மொழிந்த பகுதி
அடுத்தது ‘பால’ வகையாகும். இங்கு பாலகன் எனக்
குறிப்பிடப்படுவது சிறு குழந்தையை அல்ல. பகவானது
தர்மத்தில் பாலகன் எனக்கூறப்படுபவன்,
பண்டிதன் தொடர்பாக மொழிந்த பகுதி
மகா அரஹத் தேரர்கள் இந்த கீழ்த்தரமான பால குணம்
கொண்டவர்களை பற்றி கூறி முடித்த பின்னர் இடம்பெறும்
அடுத்த பகுதியில் மகா உன்னத குணங்களை கொண்ட
அரஹத் உத்தமர்கள் தொடர்பாக மொழிந்த பகுதி
மனக்கிலேசங்களை வேரறுத்த மகா சுந்தர குணங்கள்
கொண்ட உத்தமர்களை பற்றிக் கூறப்படும் பத்துச்
செய்யுள்களைக் கொண்டிருக்கும் ‘அரஹன்தக’
ஆயிரம் என்ற எண்ணிக்கை அடிப்படையில் மொழிந்த பகுதி
ஆயிரம் என்றவகையில் விடயங்கள் விபரிக்கப்படும்
பதினாறு செய்யுள்கள் கொண்டதே ‘சஹஸ்ஸ’ வகையாகும்.
அதுபோன்று நூறு என்ற எண்ணிக்கை அடிப்படையிலான
பாவங்கள் தொடர்பாக மொழிந்த பகுதி
‘பாவம்’ என்பது விலக்கி வைக்க வேண்டியதொன்றாகும்.
எல்லா பாவங்களில் இருந்தும் நீங்குவதற்காகவே அனைத்து
புத்தர்மார்களும் தர்மத்தினைப் போதித்தார்கள். பாவத்தின்
தண்டனைகள் தொடர்பாக மொழிந்த பகுதி
அடுத்தது ‘தண்ட’ பகுதியாகும். தண்ட என்றால்
தண்டனையாகும். துன்புறுத்தப் பயன்படுத்தும் கம்பு, கட்டை
என்பவையும் தண்ட என்றே அழைக்கப்படும். ஞானமற்ற
Bamboo: destroyed by its own fruit {evil}
The practice of those who live the Doctrine-True Practice of The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata,
worthy ones, noble:
whoever maligns it
— a dullard,
inspired by evil view —
bears fruit for his own destruction,
like the fruiting of the bamboo.
The Stone Sliver
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rajagaha at the Maddakucchi
Deer Reserve. Now at that time his foot had been pierced by a stone
sliver. Excruciating were the bodily feelings that developed within him —
painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable — but he
endured them mindful, alert, & unperturbed. Having had his outer
robe folded in four and laid out, he lay down on his right side in the
lion’s posture — with one foot placed on top of the other — mindful
& alert.
Then the Evil One went to the Blessed One and recited this verse in his presence:
Are you lying there in a stupor,
or drunk on poetry?
Are your goals so very few?
All alone in a secluded lodging,
what is this dreamer, this sleepy-face?
[The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata:]
I lie here,
not in a stupor,
nor drunk on poetry.
My goal attained,
I am sorrow-free.
All alone in a secluded lodging,
I lie down with sympathy
for all beings.
Even those pierced in the chest
with an arrow,
their hearts rapidly,
rapidly
beating:
even they with their arrows
are able to sleep.
So why shouldn’t I,
with my arrow removed?
I’m not awake with worry,
nor afraid to sleep.
Days & nights
don’t oppress me.
I see no threat of decline
in any world at all.
That’s why I sleep
with sympathy
for all beings.
Then the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “The
Blessed One knows me; the One Well-Gone knows me” — vanished right
there.
The practice of those who live the Doctrine-True Practice of The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, worthy ones, noble: whoever maligns it — a dullard, inspired by evil view — bears fruit for his own destruction, like the fruiting of the bamboo.
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rajagaha at the Maddakucchi
Deer Reserve. Now at that time his foot had been pierced by a stone
sliver. Excruciating were the bodily feelings that developed within him —
painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable — but he
endured them mindful, alert, & unperturbed. Having had his outer
robe folded in four and laid out, he lay down on his right side in the
lion’s posture — with one foot placed on top of the other — mindful
& alert.
Then the Evil One went to the Blessed One and recited this verse in his presence:
Are you lying there in a stupor, or drunk on poetry? Are your goals so very few? All alone in a secluded lodging, what is this dreamer, this sleepy-face?
[The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata:]
I lie here, not in a stupor, nor drunk on poetry. My goal attained, I am sorrow-free. All alone in a secluded lodging, I lie down with sympathy for all beings. Even those pierced in the chest with an arrow, their hearts rapidly, rapidly beating: even they with their arrows are able to sleep. So why shouldn’t I, with my arrow removed? I’m not awake with worry, nor afraid to sleep. Days & nights don’t oppress me. I see no threat of decline in any world at all. That’s why I sleep with sympathy for all beings.
Then the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “The
Blessed One knows me; the One Well-Gone knows me” — vanished right
there.
Spiritual Community of The Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
A Brief Summary of the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata ’s Teachings
The Four Noble Truths
Shortly after his Awakening, The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata delivered his first sermon, in which he laid out the essential framework upon which all his later teachings were based. This framework consists of the Four Noble Truths, four fundamental principles of nature (Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata ) that emerged from the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata ’s
radically honest and penetrating assessment of the human condition. He
taught these truths not as metaphysical theories or as articles of
faith, but as categories by which we should frame our direct experience
in a way that conduces to Awakening:
- Dukkha: suffering, unsatisfactoriness, discontent, stress;
- The cause of dukkha: the cause of this dissatisfaction iscraving (tanha) for sensuality, for states of becoming, and states of no becoming;
- The cessation of dukkha: the relinquishment of that craving;
- The path of practice leading to the cessation of dukkha: the Noble Eightfold Path of right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
Because of our ignorance (avijja) of these Noble Truths, because of our inexperience in framing the world in their terms, we remain bound to samsara,
the wearisome cycle of birth, aging, illness, death, and rebirth.
Craving propels this process onward, from one moment to the next and
over the course of countless lifetimes, in accordance with kamma,
the universal law of cause and effect. According to this immutable law,
every action that one performs in the present moment — whether by body,
speech, or mind itself — eventually bears fruit according to its
skillfulness: act in unskillful and harmful ways and unhappiness is
bound to follow; act skillfully and happiness will ultimately ensue. As
long as one remains ignorant of this principle, one is doomed to an
aimless existence: happy one moment, in despair the next; enjoying one
lifetime in heaven, the next in hell.
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
discovered that gaining release from samsara requires assigning to each
of the Noble Truths a specific task: the first Noble Truth is to be comprehended; the second, abandoned; the third, realized; the fourth, developed.
The full realization of the third Noble Truth paves the way for
Awakening: the end of ignorance, craving, suffering, and kamma itself;
the direct penetration to the transcendent freedom and supreme happiness
that stands as the final goal of all the Buddha’s teachings; the
Unconditioned, the Deathless, Unbinding — Nibbana .
A Rhinoceros Horn
Translator’s note: The refrain in this sutta
is a subject of controversy. The text literally says, “Wander alone like
a ’sword-horn,’ which is the Pali term for rhinoceros. The commentary,
however, insists that this term refers not to the animal but to its
horn, for the Indian rhinoceros, unlike the African, has only one horn.
Still, some scholars have noted that while the Indian rhinoceros is a
solitary animal, rhinoceros horns don’t wander, and that in other verses
in the Pali canon, the phrase “wander alone like…” takes a person or an
animal, not an animal part, for its object. Thus, for example, in Dhp
329 (repeated below), one is told to “wander alone like a king
renouncing his kingdom, like the elephant in the Matanga woods, his
herd.” It’s possible that the rhinoceros was chosen here as an example
of solitary wandering both because of its habits and because of its
unusual single horn. However, in a translation, it’s necessary to choose
one reading over the other. Thus, because wandering “like a rhinoceros”
sounds more natural than wandering “like a horn,” I have chosen the
former rendering. Keep in mind, though, that the singularity of the
rhinoceros’ horn reinforces the image.
As noted under I.1,
there is evidence suggesting that the verses here were originally
separate poems, composed on separate occasions, and that they have been
gathered together because of their common refrain.
Renouncing violence
for all living beings,
harming not even a one,
you would not wish for offspring,
so how a companion?
Wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
For a sociable person
there are allurements;
on the heels of allurement, this pain.
Seeing allurement’s drawback,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
One whose mind
is enmeshed in sympathy
for friends & companions,
neglects the true goal.
Seeing this danger in intimacy,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Like spreading bamboo,
entwined,
is concern for offspring & spouses.
Like a bamboo sprout,
unentangling,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
As a deer in the wilds,
unfettered,
goes for forage wherever it wants:
the wise person, valuing freedom,
wanders alone
like a rhinoceros.
In the midst of companions
— when staying at home,
when going out wandering —
you are prey to requests.
Valuing the freedom
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
There is sporting & love
in the midst of companions,
& abundant fondness for offspring.
Feeling disgust
at the prospect of parting
from those who’d be dear,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Without resistance in all four directions,
content with whatever you get,
enduring troubles with no dismay,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
They are hard to please,
some of those gone forth,
as well as those living the household life.
Shedding concern
for these offspring of others,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Cutting off the householder’s marks,1
like a kovilara tree
that has shed its leaves,
the prudent one, cutting all household ties,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
If you gain a mature companion,
a fellow traveler, right-living & wise,
overcoming all dangers
go with him, gratified,
mindful.
If you don’t gain a mature companion,
a fellow traveler, right-living & wise,
wander alone
like a king renouncing his kingdom,
like the elephant in the Matanga wilds,
his herd.
We praise companionship
— yes!
Those on a par, or better,
should be chosen as friends.
If they’re not to be found,
living faultlessly,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Seeing radiant bracelets of gold,
well-made by a smith,
clinking, clashing,
two on an arm,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros,
[thinking:]
“In the same way,
if I were to live with another,
there would be careless talk or abusive.”
Seeing this future danger,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Because sensual pleasures,
elegant, honeyed, & charming,
bewitch the mind with their manifold forms —
seeing this drawback in sensual strands —
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
“Calamity, tumor, misfortune,
disease, an arrow, a danger for me.”
Seeing this danger in sensual strands,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Cold & heat, hunger & thirst,
wind & sun, horseflies & snakes:
enduring all these, without exception,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
As a great white elephant,
with massive shoulders,
renouncing his herd,
lives in the wilds wherever he wants,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
“There’s no way
that one delighting in company
can touch even momentary release.”
Heeding the Solar Kinsman’s words,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Transcending the contortion of views,
the sure way attained,
the path gained,
[realizing:]
“Unled by others,
I have knowledge arisen,”
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
With no greed, no deceit,
no thirst, no hypocrisy —
delusion & blemishes
blown away —
with no inclinations for all the world,
every world,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Avoid the evil companion
disregarding the goal,
intent on the out-of-tune way.
Don’t take as a friend
someone heedless & hankering.
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Consort with one who is learned,
who maintains the Dhamma,
a great & quick-witted friend.
Knowing the meanings,
subdue your perplexity,
[then] wander alone
like a rhinoceros,
Free from longing, finding no pleasure
in the world’s sport, love, or sensual bliss,
abstaining from adornment,
speaking the truth,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Abandoning offspring, spouse,
father, mother,
riches, grain, relatives,
& sensual pleasures
altogether,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
“This is a bondage, a baited hook.
There’s little happiness here,
next to no satisfaction,
all the more suffering & pain.”
Knowing this, circumspect,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Shattering fetters,
like a fish in the water tearing a net,
like a fire not coming back to what’s burnt,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Eyes downcast, not footloose,
senses guarded, with protected mind,
not oozing — not burning — with lust,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Taking off the householder’s marks,2
like a coral tree
that has shed its leaves,
going forth in the ochre robe,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Showing no greed for flavors, not careless,
going from house to house for alms,
with mind unenmeshed in this family or that,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Abandoning barriers to awareness,
expelling all defilements — all —
non-dependent, cutting aversion,
allurement,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Turning your back on pleasure & pain,
as earlier with sorrow & joy,
attaining pure equanimity,
tranquillity,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
With persistence aroused
for the highest goal’s attainment,
with mind unsmeared, not lazy in action,
firm in effort, with steadfastness & strength arisen,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Not neglecting seclusion, absorption,
constantly living the Dhamma
in line with the Dhamma,
comprehending the danger
in states of becoming,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Intent on the ending of craving & heedful,
learned, mindful, not muddled,
certain — having reckoned the Dhamma —
& striving,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Unstartled, like a lion at sounds.
Unsnared, like the wind in a net.
Unsmeared, like a lotus in water:
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Like a lion — forceful, strong in fang,
living as a conqueror, the king of beasts —
resort to a solitary dwelling.
Wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
At the right time consorting
with the release through good will,
compassion,
appreciation,
equanimity,
unobstructed by all the world,
any world,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
Having let go of passion,
aversion,
delusion;
having shattered the fetters;
undisturbed at the ending of life,
wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
People follow & associate
for a motive.
Friends without a motive these days
are rare.
They’re shrewd for their own ends, & impure.
Wander alone
like a rhinoceros.
The Farmer
At Savatthi. Now at that time the Blessed One was
instructing, urging, rousing, & encouraging the True Followers of
The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata with a
Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown BY The Blessed,Noble,Awakened
One-The Tathagata talk concerning Unbinding. TheTrue Followers of The
Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata —
attentive, interested, lending ear, focusing their entire awareness —
were listening to the Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown BY The
Blessed,Noble
Then the thought occurred to the Evil One:
“Gotama the contemplative is instructing, urging, rousing, &
encouraging the True Followers of The Path Shown by The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata with a Doctrine-Practice of
The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata talk
concerning Unbinding. The monks — attentive, interested, lending ear,
focusing their entire awareness — are listening to the
Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened
One-The Tathagata. What if I were to go to Gotama the contemplative to
obscure his vision?”
Then the Evil One, taking on the form of a farmer with a
large plowshare over his shoulder, carrying a long goad stick — his hair
disheveled, his clothes made of coarse hemp, his feet splattered with
mud — went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, said, “Hey,
contemplative. Have you seen my oxen?”
“And what are your oxen, Evil One?”
“Mine alone is the eye, contemplative. Mine are forms, mine
is the sphere of consciousness & contact at the eye. Where can you
go to escape me? Mine alone is the ear… the nose… the tongue… the body…
Mine alone is the intellect, contemplative. Mine are ideas, mine is the
sphere of consciousness & contact at the intellect. Where can you go
to escape me?”
“Yours
alone is the eye, Evil One. Yours are forms, yours is the sphere of
consciousness of contact at the eye. Where no eye exists, no forms
exist, no sphere of consciousness & contact at the eye exists:
there, Evil One, you cannot go. Yours alone is the ear… the nose… the
tongue… the body… Yours alone is the intellect, Evil One. Yours are
ideas, yours is the sphere of consciousness & contact at the
intellect. Where no intellect exists, no ideas exist, no sphere of
consciousness of contact at the intellect exists: there, Evil One, you
cannot go.”
[Evil One:]
Of what they say,
‘This is mine’;
and those who say,
‘Mine’:
If your intellect’s here,
contemplative,
you can’t escape
from me.
[The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata:]
What they speak of
isn’t mine,
and I’m not one of those
who speak it.
Know this, Evil One:
you won’t even see
my tracks.
Then the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “The
Blessed One knows me; the One Well-gone knows me” — vanished right
there.
Spiritual Community of The Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
While meditating under the Bo tree in the forest at Gaya (now
Bodhgaya, India) during the full-moon night of May, the Bodhisatta
becomes the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata (age 36).
During the full-moon night of July, the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata delivers his first discourse near Varanasi, introducing the world to the Four Noble Truths
and commencing a 45-year career of teaching the religion he called
“Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata-vinaya.”
Setting the Wheel of in Doctrine-Practice of
The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The
Tathagata in Motion
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Varanasi in the Game Refuge at Isipatana. There he addressed the group of five monks:
“There are these two extremes
that are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two?
That which is devoted to sensual pleasure with reference to sensual
objects: base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is
devoted to self-affliction: painful, ignoble, unprofitable. Avoiding
both of these extremes, the middle way realized by the Tathagata —
producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct
knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
“And what is the middle way
realized by the Tathagata that — producing vision, producing knowledge —
leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding?
Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness,
right concentration. This is the middle way realized by the Tathagata
that — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct
knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
“Now this, True Followers of The Path
Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble
truth of stress: Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is
stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are
stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful, separation from
the loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted is stressful. In
short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
“And this, True Followers of The Path Shown by The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble truth of the
origination of stress: the craving that makes for further becoming —
accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there
— i.e., craving for sensual pleasure, craving for becoming, craving for
non-becoming.
“And this, True Followers of The Path Shown by The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble truth of the
cessation of stress: the remainderless fading & cessation,
renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very
craving.
“And this, True Followers of The Path Shown by The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble truth of the way
of practice leading to the cessation of stress: precisely this Noble
Eightfold Path — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action,
right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose,
illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
‘This is the noble truth of stress’… ‘This noble truth of stress is to
be comprehended’… ‘This noble truth of stress has been comprehended.’
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose,
illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
‘This is the noble truth of the origination of stress’… ‘This noble
truth of the origination of stress is to be abandoned’ … ‘This noble
truth of the origination of stress has been abandoned.’
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose,
illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
‘This is the noble truth of the cessation of stress’… ‘This noble truth
of the cessation of stress is to be directly experienced’… ‘This noble
truth of the cessation of stress has been directly experienced.’
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose,
illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
‘This is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation
of stress’… ‘This noble truth of the way of practice leading to the
cessation of stress is to be developed’… ‘This noble truth of the way of
practice leading to the cessation of stress has been developed.’
“And, True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened
One-The Tathagata, as long as this knowledge & vision of mine —
with its three rounds & twelve permutations concerning these four
noble truths as they actually are present — was not pure, I did not
claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled
in the cosmos with its devas, Maras, & Brahmas, with its
contemplatives & priests, its royalty & commonfolk. But as soon
as this knowledge & vision of mine — with its three rounds &
twelve permutations concerning these four noble truths as they actually
are present — was truly pure, then I did claim to have directly awakened
to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its devas,
Maras & Brahmas, with its contemplatives & priests, its royalty
& commonfolk. Knowledge & vision arose in me: ‘Unprovoked is my
release. This is the last birth. There is now no further becoming.’”
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the group of five
True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The
Tathagata delighted at his words. And while this explanation was being
given, there arose to Ven. Kondañña the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye: Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.
And when the Blessed One had set the Wheel of Doctrine-Practice of
The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The
Tathagata in motion, the earth devas cried out: “At Varanasi, in the
Game Refuge at Isipatana, the Blessed One has set in motion the
unexcelled Wheel of Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Awakened
One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata that cannot be stopped
by priest or contemplative, deva, Mara or
God or anyone in the cosmos.” On hearing the earth devas’ cry, the devas
of the Four Kings’ Heaven took up the cry… the devas of the
Thirty-three… the Yama devas… the Tusita devas… the Nimmanarati devas… the Paranimmita-vasavatti devas… the devas of Brahma’s
retinue took up the cry: “At Varanasi, in the Game Refuge at Isipatana,
the Blessed One has set in motion the unexcelled Wheel of Dhamma that
cannot be stopped by priest or contemplative, deva, Mara, or God or
anyone at all in the cosmos.”
So in that moment, that instant, the cry shot right up to the Brahma
worlds. And this ten-thousand fold cosmos shivered & quivered &
quaked, while a great, measureless radiance appeared in the cosmos,
surpassing the effulgence of the devas.
Then the Blessed One exclaimed: “So you really know, Kondañña? So
you really know?” And that is how Ven. Kondañña acquired the name
Añña-Kondañña — Kondañña who knows.
Notes
1.
The Pali phrases for the four noble truths are grammatical anomalies.
From these anomalies, some scholars have argued that the expression
“noble truth” is a later addition to the texts. Others have argued even
further that the content of the four truths is also a later addition.
Both of these arguments are based on the unproven assumption that the
language The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata spoke was
grammatically regular, and that any irregularities were later
corruptions of the language. This assumption forgets that the languages
of The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s time were oral
dialects, and that the nature of such dialects is to contain many
grammatical irregularities. Languages tend to become regular only when
being used to govern a large nation state or to produce a large body of
literature: events that happened in India only after The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s time. (A European example:
Italian was a group of irregular oral dialects until Dante fashioned it
into a regular language for the sake of his poetry.) Thus the
irregularity of the Pali here is no proof either for the earliness or
lateness of this particular teaching.
2.
Another argument for the lateness of the expression “noble truth” is
that a truth — meaning an accurate statement about a body of facts — is
not something that should be abandoned. In this case, only the craving
is to be abandoned, not the truth about craving. However, in Vedic
Sanskrit — as in modern English — a “truth” can mean both a fact and an
accurate statement about a fact. Thus in this case, the “truth” is the
fact, not the statement about the fact, and the argument for the
lateness of the expression does not hold.
3.
The discussion in the four paragraphs beginning with the phrase,
“Vision arose…,” takes two sets of variables — the four noble truths and
the three levels of knowledge appropriate to each — and lists their
twelve permutations. In ancient Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha
Bharath philosophical and legal traditions, this sort of discussion is
called a wheel. Thus, this passage is the Wheel of Doctrine-Practice of
The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The
Tathagata from which the discourse takes its name.
Bodhgaya, India) during the full-moon night of May, the Bodhisatta
becomes the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata (age 36).
During the full-moon night of July, the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata delivers his first discourse near Varanasi, introducing the world to the Four Noble Truths
and commencing a 45-year career of teaching the religion he called
“Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata-vinaya.”
The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The
Tathagata in Motion
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Varanasi in the Game Refuge at Isipatana. There he addressed the group of five monks:
“There are these two extremes
that are not to be indulged in by one who has gone forth. Which two?
That which is devoted to sensual pleasure with reference to sensual
objects: base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unprofitable; and that which is
devoted to self-affliction: painful, ignoble, unprofitable. Avoiding
both of these extremes, the middle way realized by the Tathagata —
producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct
knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
“And what is the middle way
realized by the Tathagata that — producing vision, producing knowledge —
leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding?
Precisely this Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right resolve, right
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness,
right concentration. This is the middle way realized by the Tathagata
that — producing vision, producing knowledge — leads to calm, to direct
knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
“Now this, True Followers of The Path
Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble
truth of stress: Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is
stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair are
stressful; association with the unbeloved is stressful, separation from
the loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted is stressful. In
short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
“And this, True Followers of The Path Shown by The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble truth of the
origination of stress: the craving that makes for further becoming —
accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there
— i.e., craving for sensual pleasure, craving for becoming, craving for
non-becoming.
“And this, True Followers of The Path Shown by The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble truth of the
cessation of stress: the remainderless fading & cessation,
renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that very
craving.
“And this, True Followers of The Path Shown by The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, is the noble truth of the way
of practice leading to the cessation of stress: precisely this Noble
Eightfold Path — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action,
right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose,
illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
‘This is the noble truth of stress’… ‘This noble truth of stress is to
be comprehended’… ‘This noble truth of stress has been comprehended.’
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose,
illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
‘This is the noble truth of the origination of stress’… ‘This noble
truth of the origination of stress is to be abandoned’ … ‘This noble
truth of the origination of stress has been abandoned.’
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose,
illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
‘This is the noble truth of the cessation of stress’… ‘This noble truth
of the cessation of stress is to be directly experienced’… ‘This noble
truth of the cessation of stress has been directly experienced.’
“Vision arose, insight arose, discernment arose, knowledge arose,
illumination arose within me with regard to things never heard before:
‘This is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation
of stress’… ‘This noble truth of the way of practice leading to the
cessation of stress is to be developed’… ‘This noble truth of the way of
practice leading to the cessation of stress has been developed.’
“And, True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened
One-The Tathagata, as long as this knowledge & vision of mine —
with its three rounds & twelve permutations concerning these four
noble truths as they actually are present — was not pure, I did not
claim to have directly awakened to the right self-awakening unexcelled
in the cosmos with its devas, Maras, & Brahmas, with its
contemplatives & priests, its royalty & commonfolk. But as soon
as this knowledge & vision of mine — with its three rounds &
twelve permutations concerning these four noble truths as they actually
are present — was truly pure, then I did claim to have directly awakened
to the right self-awakening unexcelled in the cosmos with its devas,
Maras & Brahmas, with its contemplatives & priests, its royalty
& commonfolk. Knowledge & vision arose in me: ‘Unprovoked is my
release. This is the last birth. There is now no further becoming.’”
That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the group of five
True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The
Tathagata delighted at his words. And while this explanation was being
given, there arose to Ven. Kondañña the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye: Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.
And when the Blessed One had set the Wheel of Doctrine-Practice of
The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The
Tathagata in motion, the earth devas cried out: “At Varanasi, in the
Game Refuge at Isipatana, the Blessed One has set in motion the
unexcelled Wheel of Doctrine-Practice of The Path Shown by The Awakened
One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata that cannot be stopped
by priest or contemplative, deva, Mara or
God or anyone in the cosmos.” On hearing the earth devas’ cry, the devas
of the Four Kings’ Heaven took up the cry… the devas of the
Thirty-three… the Yama devas… the Tusita devas… the Nimmanarati devas… the Paranimmita-vasavatti devas… the devas of Brahma’s
retinue took up the cry: “At Varanasi, in the Game Refuge at Isipatana,
the Blessed One has set in motion the unexcelled Wheel of Dhamma that
cannot be stopped by priest or contemplative, deva, Mara, or God or
anyone at all in the cosmos.”
So in that moment, that instant, the cry shot right up to the Brahma
worlds. And this ten-thousand fold cosmos shivered & quivered &
quaked, while a great, measureless radiance appeared in the cosmos,
surpassing the effulgence of the devas.
Then the Blessed One exclaimed: “So you really know, Kondañña? So
you really know?” And that is how Ven. Kondañña acquired the name
Añña-Kondañña — Kondañña who knows.
Notes
1.
The Pali phrases for the four noble truths are grammatical anomalies.
From these anomalies, some scholars have argued that the expression
“noble truth” is a later addition to the texts. Others have argued even
further that the content of the four truths is also a later addition.
Both of these arguments are based on the unproven assumption that the
language The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata spoke was
grammatically regular, and that any irregularities were later
corruptions of the language. This assumption forgets that the languages
of The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s time were oral
dialects, and that the nature of such dialects is to contain many
grammatical irregularities. Languages tend to become regular only when
being used to govern a large nation state or to produce a large body of
literature: events that happened in India only after The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata’s time. (A European example:
Italian was a group of irregular oral dialects until Dante fashioned it
into a regular language for the sake of his poetry.) Thus the
irregularity of the Pali here is no proof either for the earliness or
lateness of this particular teaching.
2.
Another argument for the lateness of the expression “noble truth” is
that a truth — meaning an accurate statement about a body of facts — is
not something that should be abandoned. In this case, only the craving
is to be abandoned, not the truth about craving. However, in Vedic
Sanskrit — as in modern English — a “truth” can mean both a fact and an
accurate statement about a fact. Thus in this case, the “truth” is the
fact, not the statement about the fact, and the argument for the
lateness of the expression does not hold.
3.
The discussion in the four paragraphs beginning with the phrase,
“Vision arose…,” takes two sets of variables — the four noble truths and
the three levels of knowledge appropriate to each — and lists their
twelve permutations. In ancient Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha
Bharath philosophical and legal traditions, this sort of discussion is
called a wheel. Thus, this passage is the Wheel of Doctrine-Practice of
The Path Shown by The Awakened One-The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The
Tathagata from which the discourse takes its name.
Living With the Cobra
(A brief talk given as final instruction to an
elderly Englishwoman who spent two months under the guidance of Ajahn
Chah at the end of 1978 and beginning of 1979.)
This short talk is for the benefit of a new disciple
who will soon be returning to London. May it serve to help you
understand the Teaching that you have studied here at Wat Pah Pong. Most
simply, this is the practice to be free of suffering in the cycle of
birth and death.
In order to do this practice, remember to regard all the
various activities of mind, all those you like and all those you
dislike, in the same way as you would regard a cobra. The cobra is an
extremely poisonous snake, poisonous enough to cause death if it should
bite us. And so, also, it is with our moods; the moods that we like are
poisonous, the moods that we dislike are also poisonous. They prevent
our minds from being free and hinder our understanding of the Truth as
it was taught by the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata.
Clipart of a Poisonous Cobra Snake
Thus is it necessary to try to maintain our mindfulness
throughout the day and night. Whatever you may be doing, be it standing,
sitting, lying down, speaking or whatever, you should do with
mindfulness. When you are able to establish this mindfulness, you’ll
find that there will arise clear comprehension associated with it, and
these two conditions will bring about wisdom. Thus mindfulness, clear
comprehension and wisdom will work together, and you’ll be like one who
is awake both day and night.
These Teachings left us by the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened
One-The Tathagata are not Teachings to be just listened to, or simply
absorbed on an intellectual level. They are Teachings that through
practice can be made to arise and known in our minds. Wherever we go,
whatever we do, we should have these Teachings. And what we mean by “to
have these Teachings” or “to have the Truth,” is that, whatever we do or
say, we do and say with wisdom. When we think and contemplate, we do so
with wisdom. We say that one who has mindfulness and clear
comprehension combined in this way with wisdom, is one who is close to
the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata.
When you leave here, you should practice bringing everything
back to your own mind. Look at your mind with this mindfulness and
clear comprehension and develop this wisdom. With these three conditions
there will arise a “letting go.” You’ll know the constant arising and
passing away of all phenomena.
You should know that that which is arising and passing away
is only the activity of mind. When something arises, it passes away and
is followed by further arising and passing away. In the Way
ofDoctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened
One-The Tathagata we call this arising and passing away “birth and
death”; and this is everything — this is all there is! When suffering
has arisen, it passes away, and, when it has passed away, suffering
arises again.There’s just suffering arising and passing away. When you
see this much, you’ll be able to know constantly this arising and
passing away; and, when your knowing is constant, you’ll see that this
is really all there is. Everything is just birth and death. It’s not as
if there is anything which carries on. There’s just this arising and
passing away as it is — that’s all.
This kind of seeing will give rise to a tranquil feeling of
dispassion towards the world. Such a feeling arises when we see that
actually there is nothing worth wanting; there is only arising and
passing away, a being born followed by a dying. This is when the mind
arrives at “letting go,” letting everything go according to its own
nature. Things arise and pass away in our mind, and we know. When
happiness arises, we know; when dissatisfaction arises, we know. And
this “knowing happiness” means that we don’t identify with it as being ours. And likewise with dissatisfaction and unhappiness, we don’t identify with them as being ours. When we no longer identify with and cling to happiness and suffering, we are simply left with the natural way of things.
So we say that mental activity is like the deadly poisonous
cobra. If we don’t interfere with a cobra, it simply goes its own way.
Even though it may be extremely poisonous, we are not affected by it; we
don’t go near it or take hold of it, and it doesn’t bite us. The cobra
does what is natural for a cobra to do. That’s the way it is. If you are
clever you’ll leave it alone. And so you let be that which is good. You
also let be that which is not good — let it be according to its own
nature. Let be your liking and your disliking, the same way as you don’t
interfere with the cobra.
So, one who is intelligent will have this kind of attitude
towards the various moods that arise in the mind. When goodness arises,
we let it be good, but we know also. We understand its nature. And, too,
we let be the not-good, we let it be according to its nature. We don’t
take hold of it because we don’t want anything. We don’t want evil,
neither do we want good. We want neither heaviness nor lightness,
happiness nor suffering. When, in this way, our wanting is at an end,
peace is firmly established.
When we have this kind of peace established in our minds, we
can depend on it. This peace, we say, has arisen out of confusion.
Confusion has ended. The The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
called the attainment of final Awakenment an “extinguishing,” in the
same way that fire is extinguished. We extinguish fire at the place at
which it appears. Wherever it is hot, that’s where we can make it cool.
And so it is with Awakenment. Nibbana is found in Samsara. Awakenment
and delusion (Samsara) exist in the same place, just as do hot and cold.
It’s hot where it was cold and cold where it was hot. When heat arises,
the coolness disappears, and when there is coolness, there’s no more
heat. In this way Nibbana and Samsara are the same.
We are told to put an end to Samsara, which means to stop
the ever-turning cycle of confusion. This putting an end to confusion is
extinguishing the fire. When external fire is extinguished there is
coolness. When the internal fires of sensual craving, aversion and
delusion are put out, then this is coolness also.
This is the nature of Awakenment; it’s the extinguishing of
fire, the cooling of that which was hot. This is peace. This is the end
of Samsara, the cycle of birth and death. When you arrive at Awakenment,
this is how it is. It’s an ending of the ever-turning and
ever-changing, an ending of greed, aversion and delusion in our minds.
We talk about it in terms of happiness because this is how worldly
people understand the ideal to be, but in reality it has gone beyond. It is beyond both happiness and suffering. It’s perfect peace.
So as you go you should take this Teaching which I have
given you and contemplate it carefully. Your stay here hasn’t been easy
and I have had little opportunity to give you instruction, but in this
time you have been able to study the real meaning of our practice. May
this practice lead you to happiness; may it help you grow in Truth. May
you be freed from the suffering of birth and death.
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
(The Four Jhanas)
“Quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful
mental qualities, he enters and remains in the first jhana: rapture and
pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought and
evaluation. He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body
with the rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal. Just as if a skilled bathman
or bathman’s apprentice would pour bath powder into a brass basin and
knead it together, sprinkling it again and again with water, so that his
ball of bath powder — saturated, moisture-laden, permeated within and
without — would nevertheless not drip; even so, the True Follower of The
Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata permeates…
this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of withdrawal. There
is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born
from withdrawal.
“This is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.
“Furthermore, with the stilling of directed thoughts &
evaluations, he enters and remains in the second jhana: rapture and
pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed
thought and evaluation — internal assurance. He permeates and pervades,
suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture and pleasure born of
composure. Just like a lake
with spring-water welling up from within, having no inflow from the
east, west, north, or south, and with the skies supplying abundant
showers time and again, so that the cool fount of water welling up from
within the lake would permeate and pervade, suffuse and fill it with
cool waters, there being no part of the lake unpervaded by the cool
waters; even so, the True Follower of The Path Shown by The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata permeates… this very body with
the rapture and pleasure born of composure. There is nothing of his
entire body unpervaded by rapture and pleasure born of composure.
“This, too, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.
“And furthermore, with the fading of rapture, he remains in
equanimity, is mindful & alert, and senses pleasure with the body.
He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones
declare, ‘Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.’ He
permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the
pleasure divested of rapture. Just as in a lotus pond,
some of the lotuses, born and growing in the water, stay immersed in
the water and flourish without standing up out of the water, so that
they are permeated and pervaded, suffused and filled with cool water
from their roots to their tips, and nothing of those lotuses would be
unpervaded with cool water; even so, the monk permeates… this very body
with the pleasure divested of rapture. There is nothing of his entire
body unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture.
“This, too, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.
“And furthermore, with the abandoning of pleasure and stress
— as with the earlier disappearance of elation and distress — he enters
and remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity and mindfulness,
neither-pleasure nor stress. He sits, permeating the body with a pure,
bright awareness. Just as if a man
were sitting covered from head to foot with a white cloth so that there
would be no part of his body to which the white cloth did not extend;
even so, the True Follower of The Path Shown by The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata sits, permeating the body with
a pure, bright awareness. There is nothing of his entire body
unpervaded by pure, bright awareness.
“This, too, great king, is a fruit of the contemplative
life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and
more sublime.
Rulership
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying among the Kosalans in a wilderness hut in a Himalayan
district. Then, as he was alone in seclusion, this train of thought
arose in his awareness: “Is it possible to exercise rulership without
killing or causing others to kill, without confiscating or causing
others to confiscate, without sorrowing or causing others sorrow —
righteously?”
Then the Evil
One, knowing with his awareness the train of thought in the Blessed
One’s awareness, went to him and on arrival said to him: “Exercise
rulership, Blessed One! Exercise rulership, O One Well-gone! — without
killing or causing others to kill, without confiscating or causing
others to confiscate, without sorrowing or causing others sorrow —
righteously!”
“But what do you see in me, Evil One, that you say to me,
‘Exercise rulership, Blessed One! Exercise rulership, O One Well-gone! —
without killing or causing others to kill, without confiscating or
causing others to confiscate, without sorrowing or causing others sorrow
— righteously!’?”
“Lord, the Blessed One has developed the four bases of
power, pursued them, handed them the reins and taken them as a basis,
given them a grounding, steadied them, consolidated them, and undertaken
them well. If he wanted to, he could resolve on the Himalayas, king of
mountains, as gold, and it would become a mountain of gold.”
[The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata :]
The entirety
of a mountain of gold,
of solid bullion:
even twice that
wouldn’t suffice
for one person.
Knowing this,
live evenly,
in tune with the contemplative life.
When you see stress,
and from where it comes,
how can you incline
to sensual pleasures?
Knowing acquisition
to be a bond in the world,
train for
its subduing.
Then the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “The
Blessed One knows me; the One Well-gone knows me” — vanished right
there.
Filed under: General
Posted by: site admin @ 10:37 am
Dear Dhammachari Chandrashekar, < ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” />
You
will have received my email (given below here), after my telephonic
conversation with you… I feel very grateful you have accepted to speak
to us on Nov 9th.Meanwhile, may I request you send me your bio-data. It
could be sent by email to my ID above or by post to my address (Fr
Ronnie
Prabhu, Fatima Retreat House, Kankanady, Mangalore 575 002).
Dear Dhammachari Chandrashekar,,
It
was a joy to talk to you today and I am grateful you have accepted to
speak to us on Friday 9 November, the second day of our three day Kristotsava festival. I am grateful also to Banthe Ananda for speaking to you about this.
We
expect to have around a thousand Catholics from different part of
Karnataka. Though educated, a good number of them will not be able to
speak in English and we would appreciate you talking in Kannada, with a
mixture of English!
It is our conviction that we will be helped
in this if we can see ourselves also as others see us. So we are
requesting a representative form each major religious community to give
us a feedback covering the following questions:
What in the message
of Jesus strikes a chord in you and what do you like about Christianity
Where do you find the Christians and the Church in our times in India
falling short of the teachings of Christ
You will necessarily have to do some plain speaking and the reason
why we are approaching you is that you are one who can speak the truth
with love.
The Kristostsava festival
will be held in the Good Shepherd Convent Hall, < ?xml:namespace
prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Museum Road , Bangalore
560025, and the session will be on Friday Nov 9, 2007, at 10.00 am.
The other speakers include Nidumamidi Swamiji, Dr Taha Mateen and
hopefully Ham Pa
Nagarajaiah.. You have half an hour for your talk with some
clarifications. The whole session with other speakers will last two
hours or so.
I know you are extremely busy with many
concerns and I am happy and grateful you will still do this for us.
This invitation comes to you from the Catholic Bishops of Karnataka, who
are the organizers of this program. Writing on their behalf, I
convey their great appreciation and gratitude to you.
Yours sincerely,
Ronnie Prabhu
With regards,
Ronnie Prabhu
Bio data
Dear Most Reverend Ronnie Prabhu
I am grateful to your Kind self and Venerable Ananda Bhante for asking me to do some plain speaking of truth with love to you on Friday 9th November 2007, the second day of the three day Kristotsava festival.
I
informed Venerable Anand Bhante that I wish to present a prepared
speech on that occasion. I have already started preparing the speech.
Hence this delay in giving you my bio-data.
My prepared speech will be sent you your kind self and Venerable Anand Bhante.
In fact if all the speakers do the same and if I get a copy of the same I wish to publish in http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org.
I hope you are visiting that site.
Also I will be very grateful to your kind self if you can prepare a speech on
What
is the message of The Buddha strikes a Chord in you and what do you
like about Buddhism. Where do you find the Buddhists and Monasteries in
our times in Jambudvipa that is The Great Prabuddha Bharath falling
short of the Practice of the Doctrine of the Buddha.
The other speakers may also be asked to prepare on the above subject to enable me to publish the same in http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org on the occasion of completion 2550th Buddha Jayanthi.
Bio-data
A Peaceful Revolution
At the age of 65 Dhammachari Jagatheesan Chandrasekharan is one of the most senior members of Mahabodhi Society Bangalore.
Here he looks back over a life, which spans of extraordinary change
within Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath and particularly
in the communities now known as ‘Original Inhabitants of The Great
Prabuddha Bharath That is Jambydvipa’.
My
parents followed some other culture out of ignorance of the fact that
more than 98% were original inhabitants of Jambudvipa that is the Great
Prabuddha Bharath. After visiting a slaughter house in childhood, the
suffering of the animals those were slaughtered developed loving
kindness and compassion. While human beings were cremated or buried in
the grave yards. It was observed that the birds, fishes and domestic
animals were in double trouble. They were cremated in the kitchen
crematoriums, after storing them in refrigerator mortuaries and buried
in the mobile human beings grave yards that are their stomachs.
Then step by step I started training my mind and started practicing abstaining
from the taking of life that leads to longevity, abstaining from
stealing to prosperity, abstaining from sexual misconduct to popularity,
abstaining from false speech to a good reputation, and abstaining from
intoxicants to mindfulness and wisdom.
Attended Pabajja and Vipassana and Zen Meditation Practice
To
preserve the practice of the Triple Gem in the mind, the body is kept
in a fit condition by daily cycling for 10 Km and swimming. Participated
in State, National competitions and would participate in International
events.
Practice
to endure being contented and satisfied with little; eating little,
sleeping little, speaking little and living in moderation. By doing this
we can put an end to worldliness.
Retired as
Senior Manger (Design) Aircraft Research and Design Centre, involved in
designing passenger Aircrafts in HAL Bangalore.
Dear Most Reverend Ronnie Prabhu
Thank you very much for your mail.
I will come on my own.
If you prepare a talk on Buddha, kindly mail it to me.
Now
many people are returning back to their own home i.e., Buddhism, after
realizing the true fact that they are the original inhabitants of
Jambudvipa i.e., The Great Prabuddha Bharath, since every one in this
world are for the gain of the many and welfare of the many and wish to
live a very happy and peaceful life.
We
are all part of this one family of humankind and that is one reason
that your kind self is able to bring all of us together. If this
exercise continues, it will set an example to the whole world as how to
live in peace. This is possible in this country since we originally
belong to that one family. I also sincerely feel that if all the invited
speakers could prepare talks on different religions and exchange
amongst each other that will go a long way.
I have prepared the following presentation for 9th
November 2007. I discussed with Venerable Anand Bhante and decided to
send the same to your kind self for amendments if need be.
It
was very easy for me to get the translation in English. But it will be
very difficult to get it translated to any other languages including
Kannada. Hence I would like to make this written presentation with any
amendments you would like to make in the larger interest of mankind. I
have no attachment to my presentation.
If
I talk in Kannada or any other languages, the murder of the language
will be keenly observed by the audience. But that will not happen when
it is presented in English. Since it is a prepared presentation one can
translate at leisure.
With Kind regards and
Lots of Metta
Jagatheesan Chandrasekharan
Presentation
Most
Respected Reverend Ronnie Prabhu, Venerable Nidumamidi Swamiji, Dr Taha
Mateen and Honourable < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
“urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />Ham Pa Nagarajaiah
I
am very grateful to Venerable Anand Bhante, Reverend Ronnie Prabhu,
Catholic Bishops of Karnataka who are the organizers of this program on
whose invitation this presentation is made for the benefit of this
learned august house of Original Inhabitants of Jambudvipa that is The
Great Prabuddha Bharath.
As the purpose of this get-together is to do some introspection as to
whether as a Christian community we are living up to expectations of our faith.
If
faith is “the substance of things hoped for,” then worry is the
substance of things dreaded (Hebrews 3:6). Worry is destructive. It
fritters away time. It kills creativity and it often is a prophet of its
own self-fulfilling doom. Most of all worry keeps us from claiming the
blessings God has for us. It prevents us from living up to the fullness
of our creation and finding joy in life. How do you fight worry and
build faith?
Danema, 48, North Carolina says
I’ve
come to stand on God’s word, “As a man thinketh, so is he”. Since God
gave us the freedom of choice. Why is it so hard to “choose” not to
worry? I’ve pondered this question many times, realizing as scripture
reveals that all things are rooted in either fear or love. Since I know
God is love and I believe God loves me…then I have to question any and
all thoughts of doubt and negativity as to its root. I ask myself, is
there truth to this thought of doubt or negativity? Is it based on love
or fear? Exercising the power of choice, or should I say the gift of
choice, is what I have to do daily. This goes along with the scripture
that says, Examine each thought carefully. And also what the word says
about meditating on the word, meditating on truth day and night… So
therefore, I make a decision and choose to “meditate” on the positive,
standing in faith using prayer as a tool and wait in expectation from my
the best to come out of the situation, praising God all the way. And
then I get up each morning and start all over again, exercising my
muscles of faith. When I need more strength, I call on God even more
Coming to the Center
< ?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml” />
Try
watching a spider. A spider spins its web in any convenient niche and
then sits in the center, staying still and silent. Later, a fly comes
along and lands on the web. As soon as it touches and shakes the web,
“boop!” — The spider pounces and winds it up in thread. It stores the
insect away and then returns again to collect itself silently in the
center of the web.
Watching
a spider like this can give rise to wisdom. Our six senses have mind at
the center surrounded by eye, ear, nose, tongue and body. When one of
the senses is stimulated, for instance, form contacting the eye, it
shakes and reaches the mind. The mind is that which knows, that which
knows form. Just this much is enough for wisdom to arise. It’s that
simple.
Like
a spider in its web, we should live keeping to ourselves. As soon as
the spider feels an insect contact the web, it quickly grabs it, ties it
up and once again returns to the center. This is not at all different
from our own minds. “Coming to the center” means living mindfully with
clear comprehension, being always alert and doing everything with
exactness and precision — this is our center. There’s really not a lot
for us to do; we just carefully live in this way. But that doesn’t mean
that we live heedlessly thinking, “There is no need to do sitting or
walking meditation!” and so forget all about our practice. We can’t be
careless! We must remain alert just as the spider waits to snatch up
insects for its food.
This
is all that we have to know — sitting and contemplating that spider.
Just this much and wisdom can arise spontaneously. Our mind is
comparable to the spider, our moods and mental impressions are
comparable to the various insects. That’s all there is to it! The senses
envelop and constantly stimulate the mind; when any of them contact
something, it immediately reaches the mind. The mind then investigates
and examines it thoroughly, after which it returns to the center. This
is how we abide — alert, acting with precision and always mindfully
comprehending with wisdom. Just this much and our practice is complete.
This
point is very important! It isn’t that we have to do sitting practice
throughout the day and night, or that we have to do walking meditation
all day and all night long. If this is our view of practice, then we
really make it difficult for ourselves. We should do what we can
according to our strength and energy, using our physical capabilities in
the proper amount.
It’s
very important to know the mind and the other senses well. Know how
they come and how they go, how they arise and how they pass away.
Understand this thoroughly! In the language of Doctrine-True Practice of
The Path Shown by The Blessed, Noble, Awakened One
we can also say that, just as the spider traps the various insects, the
mind binds up the senses with impermanence, unsatisfactoriness,
not-self. Where can they go? We keep them for food; these things are
stored away as our nourishment. That’s enough; there’s no more to do,
just this much! This is the nourishment for our minds, nourishment for
one who is aware and understanding.
If
you know that these things are impermanent, bound up with suffering and
that none of it is you, and then you would be crazy to go after them!
If you don’t see clearly in this way, then you must suffer. When you
take a good look and see these things as really impermanent, even though
they may seem worth going after, really they are not. Why do you want
them when their nature is pain and suffering? It’s not ours, there is no
self, and there is nothing belonging to us. So why are you seeking
after them? All problems are ended right here. Where else will you end
them?
Just
take a good look at the spider and turn it inwards, turn it back unto
yourself. You will see that it’s all the same. When the mind has seen
impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, not-self, it lets go and releases
itself. It no longer attaches to suffering or to happiness. This is the
nourishment for the mind of one who practices and really trains himself.
That’s all, it’s that simple! You don’t have to go searching anywhere!
So no matter what you are doing, you are there, no need for a lot of
fuss and bother. In this way the momentum and energy of your practice
will continuously grow and mature.
[The Evil One]
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 Blessed, Noble, Awakened One:]
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
the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “The Blessed One knows
me; the One Well-Gone knows me” — vanished right there.
Shot into the night {bad people}
If, by forsaking
A limited ease,
He would see
An abundance of ease,
The awakened man
Would forsake
The limited ease
For the sake
Of the abundant.
He wants his own ease
By giving others dis-ease.
Intertwined in the inter-
Action of hostility,
From hostility
He’s not set free.
In those who
Reject what should,
& do what shouldn’t be done
— Heedless, insolent —
Effluents grow.
But for those who
Are well-applied, constantly,
To mindfulness immersed in the body;
Don’t indulge
In what shouldn’t be done
& persist
In what should
— Mindful, alert —
Effluents come to an end.
Having killed mother & father,
Two warrior kings,
The kingdom & its dependency —
The invader, untroubled, travels on.
Having killed mother & father,
Two learned kings,
&, fifth, a tiger —
The invader, untroubled, travels on.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One’s disciples
Whose mindfulness, both day & night,
Is constantly immersed
In the Blessed, Noble, Awakened One’s.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One’s disciples
Whose mindfulness, both day & night,
Is constantly immersed
In the Doctrine-Practice of Path Shown by The Blessed, Noble, Awakened One.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One’s disciples
Whose mindfulness, both day & night,
Is constantly immersed
In the Spiritual Community of The True Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed, Noble, Awakened One.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One-’s disciples
Whose mindfulness, both day & night,
Is constantly immersed
In the body.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One-’s disciples
Whose minds delight, both day & night,
In harmlessness.
They awaken, always wide awake:
Blessed, Noble, Awakened One’s disciples
Whose minds delight, both day & night,
In developing the mind.
Hard is the life gone forth?
Hard to delight in.
Hard is the miserable
Householder’s life.
It’s painful to stay with dissonant people,
Painful to travel the road.
So be neither traveler
Nor pained.
The man of conviction
Endowed with virtue,
Glory & wealth:
Wherever he goes
He is honored.
The good shine from afar
Like the snowy Himalayas.
The bad don’t appear
Even when near,
Like arrows shot into the night.
Sitting alone,
Resting alone,
Walking alone,
Untiring.
Taming himself,
He’d delight alone —
Alone in the forest.
Whether we are truly followers of Christ and what steps we should take to revitalize ourselves in the path of Christ.
What
in the message of Jesus strikes a chord in you and what do you like
about Christianity Where do you find the Christians and the Church in
our times in India falling short of the teachings of Christ
Buddhist views
Buddhism and Christianity
(are two major religions that are compared and contrasted by scholars,
with parallels between the two revolving around perceived similarities
in the teachings and in the spiritual
intent and practices. Given these correspondences, questions arise as
to their origins, influences, and interaction. Scholars remain divided
on whether the religious parallels are coincidental, or arising from
separate but similar developments, or the result of a direct or indirect
influence of Buddhism on early Christianity).
Buddhists’ views of Jesus differ, since Jesus is not mentioned in any Buddhist text. Some Buddhists, including Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama[124] regard Jesus as a bodhisattva (
are motivated by the wish to benefit other beings and to lead them to
awakenment). who dedicated his life to the welfare of human beings. Both
Jesus and Buddha advocated radical alterations in the common religious
practices of the day. There are occasional similarities in language,
such as the use of the common metaphor of a line of blind men to refer
to religious authorities with whom they disagreed [125][126].
Some believe there is a particularly close affinity between Buddhism
(or Eastern spiritual thought generally) and the doctrine of Gnostic texts such as The Gospel of Thomas[127]
Now,
some people confuse the clay pot with the treasure. They think if the
church and Christians aren’t perfect, they are not worth considering.
Hey, wait a minute. The only way you can get into a church is to admit
you are a sinner and you need help.
The church is a place
where people who are spiritually sick can get well,
where people who are unconnected with God can connect,
where folks who are ignorant of spiritual truth can learn,
and where self-centered people can learn to love and serve.
I mean, do you criticize a hospital because it has sick people in it?
Do you criticize a school because it has people in it who don’t know everything?
Paul
says we are like earthen cookware. The reason we need to keep this
image of ourselves, he says, is so that we remember the power and the
glory is not in ourselves but in the treasure. Well, let’s talk about
the treasure.
The Treasure
Paul
spends the rest of the chapter talking about the treasure we have in
Christ. The Christ-treasure I will call it. It is completely differently
from most human treasure. Like, most human treasures are in a specific
location like a vault, or a lock box.
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island you
may remember the story revolves around a crudely constructed map with
directions written on the back of it… Some of the words were: Tall tree, Spyglass shoulder, Skeleton Island, Ten feet.
Like most hidden treasures it was buried in a specific place.
Contrast please with the treasure we have in Christ.
The Christ-treasure is buried not in a geographical location but in the minds of his disciples. Listen to the Apostle:
“We always carry around in our body . . . Jesus.” (2 Cor. 4:10) God has chosen us to “carry around” his treasure.
Maybe
most important, we don’t find the Christ-treasure, the Christ treasure
has already found us. In Christ’s eyes, we are the treasure. And we’ve
been found. But we hold the key to the lock on your mind. You can say to
the Lord, enter, or stay away.
Don’t miss this:
A
human treasure is to be protected. Consider how rare jewels are placed
in secure places. Bank vaults with security alarms paint the picture.
How
different is the gift of our Lord. The Christ-treasure doesn’t seek to
be protected at all. In fact, it prefers to lead us into the battles of
life. It is more like an infantryman than a security officer. Listen as
Paul describes how aggressive the Christ-treasure is.
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;
Perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not abandoned;
Struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Cor. 4:8,9)
You
see, we don’t so much push Christ into a safe place as Christ walks
with us when life pushes us into a land mine. Christ is a treasure you
can take with you in life, in suffering, and even in death and the
resurrection.
“Therefore
we do not lose mind. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly
we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles
are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (2
Cor. 4:10-12)
There
had been some difficult days as a church family recently. Eight times
in the last two weeks they have stood at opened graves and grieved with
those who are left behind. Their minds have been broken. Remember that
we have no immunity from life as believers, only the infectious presence
of the One who died on the cross and conquered death. When we are
stripped of everything we expected, we discover He is there and our
church is there. In the end the treasure and the earthen vessel remain.
The
late Henri Nouwen, the Catholic Priest who taught as Yale and Notre
Dame spent his last years at a Retreat center for handicapped adults
near Toronto, Canada.
One of his friends was named Trevor. He loved to walk in the fields and
pick flowers. Often he would bring them to Henri. Then came the day
when Trevor had to spend some time in a Mental Institution to take some
psychological evaluations. Nouwen called up the chaplain to ask if he
could visit Trevor. The Chaplain was a bit awed that Nouwen would be
coming and asked if he could invite others of the religious community to
join them for dinner. Not understanding what was involved Nouwen
agreed.
When
Nouwen arrived the Chaplain was waiting for him along with others who
had been invited. “Where’s Trevor?” asked Henri. “You will see him after
dinner explained the Chaplain. The patients are not allowed to eat with
the guests…” “But I am here to see Trevor,” said Nouwen. “That is
impossible,” said the Chaplain, “because you see we are having dinner in
the Golden Room and patients are not allowed to eat there.”
Nouwen
was completely taken by surprise and said, “If Trevor does not eat I
will not eat. If Trevor can’t come to the Golden Room I will not be
eating there either.” That brought on some serious whispering. Henri
went looking for Trevor and found him as always looking for flowers. He
saw Henri and ran to him and said, “Here, I brought you some flowers.”
Finally they said, “Alright we will invite Trevor.”
Trevor
sat by Nouwen. As is usual, drinks came first. Nouwen poured Trevor a
coke. The mood was somewhat serious as guests became acquainted with one
another. Suddenly Trevor stood up and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, a
toast,” as he held his coke up. Everyone looked up partly anxious and
partly embarrassed. Nouwen said later he could read their thoughts:
“What in the heck is this patient going to do? Better be careful.”
Trevor,
like a little child, seemed to have no worries. He began to sing, “When
you’re happy and you know it, lift your glass, when you’re happy when
you know it lift your glass.” As he sang, people’s faces relaxed and
started to sing and not long after everyone was standing and singing
under Trevor’s direction.
Trevor’s
toast changed the whole mood in the Golden Room that day. He had
brought strangers together and made them feel at home. His beautiful
smile and fearless joy turned a place of sorrow and joy into a place of
blessing.
Maybe
the church is like Trevor, not invited to many Golden Rooms. But don’t
count us out. At surprising times we wind up giving blessings to those
who walk through difficult, difficult times.
We have this treasure in earthen vessels!
Kindly visit:
http://earthenvesselsweb.org/CMS/index.php
The Trap of the Senses
The THE
BLESSED NOBLE AWAKENED ONE talked about desire and the six things by
which desire is gratified: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and
mind-objects. Desire and lust for happiness, for suffering, for good,
for evil and so on, pervade everything!
Sights…
there isn’t any sight that’s quite the same as that of a woman. Isn’t
that so? Doesn’t a really attractive woman make you want to look? One
with a really attractive figure comes walking along, “sak, sek, sak,
sek, sak, sek,” — you can’t help but stare! How about sounds? There’s no
sound that grips you more than that of a woman. It pierces your mind!
Smell is the same; a woman’s fragrance is the most alluring of all.
There’s no other smell that’s quite the same. Taste — even the taste of
the most delicious food cannot compare with that of a woman. Touch is
similar; when you caress a woman you are stunned, intoxicated and sent
spinning all around.
There was once a famous master of magical spells 
from
Taxila in ancient Jambudvipa That is The Great Prabuddha Bharath. He
taught his disciple all his knowledge of charms and incantations. When
the disciple was well-versed and ready to fare on his own, he left with
this final instruction from his teacher, “I have taught you all that I
know of spells, incantations and protective verses. Creatures with sharp
teeth, 
Antlers or horns, 
and even big tusks, 
you
have no need to fear. You will be guarded from all of these, I can
guarantee that. However, there is only one thing that I cannot ensure
protection against, and that is the charms of a woman. I can not help
you here. There’s no spell for protection against this one, you’ll have
to look after yourself.” 
Mental
objects arise in the mind. They are born out of desire: desire for
valuable possessions, desire to be rich, and just restless seeking after
things in general. This type of greed isn’t all that deep or strong, it
isn’t enough to make you faint or lose control. However, when sexual
desire arises, you’re thrown off balance and lose your control. You
would even forget those raised and brought you up — your own parents!
The THE BLESSED NOBLE AWAKENED ONE
taught that the objects of our senses are a trap — a trap of the evil
one’s. Evil One should be understood as something which harms us. The
trap is something which binds us, the same as a snare. It’s a trap of
the evil one’s, a hunter’s snare, and the hunter is evil one.
If
animals are caught in the hunter’s trap, it’s a sorrowful predicament.
They are caught fast and held waiting for the owner of the trap snare
springs and “boop” — caught by the neck! A good strong string now holds
it fast. Wherever the bird flies, it cannot escape. It flies here and
flies there, but it’s held tight waiting for the owner of the snare.
When the hunter comes along, that’s it — the bird is struck with fear,
there’s no escape!
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The
trap of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects is the
same. They catch us and bind us fast. If you attach to the senses,
you’re the same as a fish caught on a hook. When the fisherman comes,
struggle all you want, but you can’t get loose. Actually, you’re not
caught like a fish, it’s more like a frog — a frog gulps down the whole
hook right to its guts, a fish just gets caught in its mouth.
Anyone
attached to the senses is the same. Like a drunk whose liver is not yet
destroyed — he doesn’t know when he has had enough. He continues to
indulge and drink carelessly. He’s caught and later suffers illness and
pain.
A
man comes walking along a road. He is very thirsty from his journey and
is craving for a drink of water. The owner of the water says, “You can
drink this water if you like; the color is good, the smell is good, the
taste is good, but if you drink it you will become ill. I must tell you
this beforehand, it’ll make you sick enough to die or nearly die.” The
thirsty man does not listen. He’s as thirsty as a person after an
operation that has been denied water for seven days — he’s crying for
water!
It’s the same with a person thirsting after the senses. The THE BLESSED NOBLE AWAKENED ONE taught
that they are poisonous — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and
mind-objects are poison; they are a dangerous trap. But this man is
thirsty and doesn’t listen; because of his thirst he is in tears,
crying, “Give me water, no matter how painful the consequences, let me
drink!” So he dips out a bit and swallows it down finding it very tasty.
He drinks his fill and gets so sick that he almost dies. He didn’t
listen because of his overpowering desire.
This
is how it is for a person caught in the pleasures of the senses. He
drinks in sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch and mind-objects — they
are all very delicious! So he drinks without stopping and there he
remains, stuck fast until the day he dies.
“Now,
the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones, when touched with a
feeling of pain, does not sorrow, grieve, or lament, does not beat his
breast or become distraught. So he feels one pain: physical, but not
mental. Just as if they were to shoot a man with an arrow and, right
afterward, did not shoot him with another one, so that he would feel the
pain of only one arrow. In the same way, when touched with a feeling of
pain, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones does not sorrow,
grieve, or lament, does not beat his breast or become distraught. He
feels one pain: physical, but not mental.
“As
he is touched by that painful feeling, he is not resistant. No
resistance-obsession with regard to that painful feeling obsesses him.
Touched by that painful feeling, he does not delight in sensual
pleasure. Why is that? Because the well-instructed disciple of the noble
ones discerns an escape from painful feeling aside from sensual
pleasure. As he is not delighting in sensual pleasure, no
passion-obsession with regard to that feeling of pleasure obsesses him.
He discerns, as it actually is present, the origination, passing away,
allure, drawback, and escape from that feeling. As he discerns the
origination, passing away, allure, drawback, and escape from that
feeling, no ignorance-obsession with regard to that feeling of
neither-pleasure-nor-pain obsesses him.
“Sensing
a feeling of pleasure, he senses it disjoined from it. Sensing a
feeling of pain, he senses it disjoined from it. Sensing a feeling of
neither-pleasure-nor-pain, he senses it disjoined from it. This is
called a well-instructed disciple of the noble ones disjoined from
birth, aging, & death; from sorrows, lamentations, pains,
distresses, & despairs. He is disjoined, I tell you, from suffering
& stress.
“This
is the difference, this distinction, this the distinguishing factor
between the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones and the
uninstructed run-of-the-mill person.”
The discerning person, learned,
Doesn’t sense a (mental) feeling of pleasure or pain:
This is the difference in skillfulness
Between the sage & the person run-of-the-mill.
For a learned person
Who has fathomed the Doctrine-Practice of the Path Shown by the Blessed, Noble, Awakened One,
Clearly seeing this world & the next,
Desirable things don’t charm the mind,
Undesirable ones bring no resistance.
His acceptance
& rejection are scattered,
Gone to their end,
Do not exist.
Knowing the dustless, sorrow less state,
He discerns rightly,
Has gone, beyond becoming,
To the Further Shore.
“When embraced,
The rod of violence
Breeds danger & fear:
Look at people quarreling.
I will tell of how
I experienced
Dismay.
Seeing people floundering
Like fish in small puddles,
Competing with one another —
As I saw this,
Fear came into me.
The world was entirely
Without substance.
All the directions
Were knocked out of line.
Wanting a haven for myself,
I saw nothing that wasn’t laid claim to.
Seeing nothing in the end
But competition,
I felt discontent.
And then I saw
An arrow here,
So very hard to see,
Embedded in the heart.
Overcome by this arrow
You run in all directions.
But simply on pulling it out
You don’t run,
You don’t sink.
Whatever things are tied down in the world,
You shouldn’t be set on them.
Having totally penetrated
Sensual pleasures,
Sensual passions,
You should train for your own
Unbinding.
Be truthful, not insolent,
Not deceptive, rid
Of divisiveness.
Without anger, the sage
Should cross over the evil
Of greed & avarice.
He should conquer laziness,
Weariness,
Sloth;
Shouldn’t consort with heedlessness,
Shouldn’t stand firm in his pride —
The man with his mind set
On Unbinding.
He shouldn’t engage in lying,
Shouldn’t create a sense of allure in form,
Should fully fathom conceit,
And live refraining from impulsiveness;
Shouldn’t delight in what’s old,
Prefer what’s new,
Grieve over decline,
Get entangled in
What’s dazzling & bright?
I call greed
A ‘great flood’;
Hunger, a swift current.
Preoccupations are ripples;
Sensuality, a bog
Hard to cross over.
Not deviating from truth,
A sage stands on high ground
: A brahman.
Having renounced all,
He is said to be at peace;
Having clearly known, he
Is an attainer-of-wisdom;
Knowing the Doctrine-Practice of the True Path Shown by the Awakened One, he’s
Independent.
Moving rightly through the world,
He doesn’t envy
Anyone here.
Whoever here has gone over & beyond
Sensual passions —
An attachment hard
To transcend in the world,
Doesn’t sorrow,
Doesn’t fret.
He, his stream cut, is free
From bonds.
Burn up what’s before,
And have nothing for after.
If you don’t grasp
At what’s in between,
You will go about, calm.
For whom, in name & form,
In every way,
There’s no sense of mine,
And who doesn’t grieve
Over what is not:
He, in the world,
Isn’t defeated,
Suffers no loss.
To whom there doesn’t occur
‘This is mine,’
For whom nothing is others,’
Feeling no sense of mine-ness,
Doesn’t grieve at the thought
‘I have nothing.’
Not harsh,
Not greedy, not
Perturbed,
Everywhere
In tune:
This is the reward
— I say when asked —
For those who are free
From pre-
Conceptions.
For one unperturbed
— Who knows —?
There’s no accumulating.
Abstaining, unaroused,
He everywhere sees
Security.
The sage
Doesn’t speak of himself
As among those who are higher,
Equal,
Or lower.
At peace, free of selfishness,
He doesn’t embrace, doesn’t
Reject,”
The Blessed One said.
Thus
abstaining from the taking of life leads to longevity, abstaining from
stealing to prosperity, abstaining from sexual misconduct to popularity,
abstaining from false speech to a good reputation, and abstaining from
intoxicants to mindfulness and wisdom.
For one who desires
Long life, health,
Beauty, heaven, & noble birth,
— lavish delights, one after another —
The wise praise heedfulness
In performing deeds of merit.
When heedful, wise,
You achieve both kinds of benefit:
Benefits in this life,
& benefits in lives to come.
By breaking through to your benefit,
You’re called awakened,
Wise.
But one awakened & knowing,
On acquiring wealth,
Enjoys it & performs his duties.
He, a bull among men,
Having supported his kin,
Without blame
Goes to the land of heaven.
Spiritual Community of The Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
The Eightfold Path and the Practice of Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Because the roots of ignorance are so intimately entwined
with the fabric of the psyche, the unawakened mind is capable of
deceiving itself with breathtaking ingenuity. The solution therefore
requires more than simply being kind, loving, and mindful in the present
moment. The practitioner must equip him- or herself with the expertise
to use a range of tools to outwit, outlast, and eventually uproot the
mind’s unskillful tendencies. For example, the practice of generosity (dana)
erodes the mind’s habitual tendencies towards craving and teaches
valuable lessons about the motivations behind, and the results of,
skillful action. The practice of virtue (sila) guards one against straying wildly off-course and into harm’s way. The cultivation of goodwill (metta) helps to undermine anger’s seductive grasp. The ten recollections
offer ways to alleviate doubt, bear physical pain with composure,
maintain a healthy sense of self-respect, overcome laziness and
complacency, and restrain oneself from unbridled lust. And there are
many more skills to learn.
The good qualities that emerge and mature from these
practices not only smooth the way for the journey to Nibbana; over time
they have the effect of transforming the practitioner into a more
generous, loving, compassionate, peaceful, and clear-headed member of
society. The individual’s sincere pursuit of Awakening is thus a
priceless and timely gift to a world in desperate need of help.
Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Reading the Natural Mind
(An informal talk given to a group of newly ordained monks after the evening chanting, middle of the Rains Retreat, 1978)
Our way of practice is looking closely at things and making
them clear. We’re persistent and constant, yet not rushed or hurried.
Neither are we too slow. It’s a matter of gradually feeling our way and
bringing it together. However, all of this bringing it together is
working towards something, there is a point to our practice.
For most of us, when we first start to practice, it’s
nothing other than desire. We start to practice because of wanting. At
this stage our wanting is wanting in the wrong way. That is, it’s
deluded. It’s wanting mixed with wrong understanding.
If wanting is not mixed with wrong understanding like this,
we say that it’s wanting with wisdom (Pañña). It’s not deluded — it’s
wanting with right understanding. In a case like this we say that it’s
due to a person’s Parami or past accumulations. However, this isn’t the
case with everyone.
Some people don’t want to have desire, or they want not to
have desires, because they think that our practice is directed at not
wanting. However, if there is no desire, then there’s no way of
practice.
We can see this for ourselves. The Blessed,Noble,Awakened
One-The Tathagata and all His Disciples practiced to put an end to
defilements. We must want to practice and must want to put an end to
defilements. We must want to have peace of mind and want not to have
confusion. However, if this wanting is mixed with wrong understanding,
then it will only amount to more difficulties for us. If we are honest
about it, we really know nothing at all. Or, what we do know is of no
consequence, since we are unable to use it properly.
Everybody, including The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The
Tathagata , started out like this, with the desire to practice — wanting
to have peace of mind and wanting not to have confusion and suffering.
These two kinds of desire have exactly the same value. If not understood
then both wanting to be free from confusion and not wanting to have
suffering are defilements. They’re a foolish way of wanting — desire
without wisdom.
In our practice we see this desire as either sensual
indulgence or self-mortification. It’s in this very conflict that our
Practitioner, the The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata, was
caught up, just this dilemma. He followed many ways of practice which
merely ended up in these two extremes. And these days we are exactly the
same. We are still afflicted by this duality, and because of it we keep
falling from the Way.
However, this is how we must start out. We start out as
worldly beings, as beings with defilements, with wanting devoid of
wisdom, desire without right understanding. If we lack proper
understanding, then both kinds of desire work against us. Whether it’s
wanting or not wanting, it’s still craving (Tanha). If we don’t
understand these two things then we won’t know how to deal with them
when they arise. We will feel that to go forward is wrong and to go
backwards is wrong, and yet we can’t stop. Whatever we do we just find
more wanting. This is because of the lack of wisdom and because of
craving.
It’s right here, with this wanting and not wanting, that we
can understand the Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The
Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata. The Doctrine-True Practice of
The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata which we
are looking for exists right here, but we don’t see it. Rather, we
persist in our efforts to stop wanting. We want things to be a certain
way and not any other way. Or, we want them not to be a certain way, but
to be another way. Really these two things are the same. They are part
of the same duality.
Perhaps we may not realize that The Blessed,Noble,Awakened
One-The Tathagata and all of His Disciples had this kind of wanting.
However The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata understood
regarding wanting and not wanting. He understood that they are simply
the activity of mind, that such things merely appear in a flash and then
disappear. These kinds of desires are going on all the time. When there
is wisdom, we don’t identify with them — we are free from clinging.
Whether it’s wanting or not wanting, we simply see it as such. In
reality it’s merely the activity of the natural mind. When we take a
close look, we see clearly that this is how it is.
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Insight Knowledge
“With his mind thus concentrated, purified, & bright,
unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, &
attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to knowledge
& vision. He discerns: ‘This body of mine is endowed with form,
composed of the four primary elements, born from mother & father,
nourished with rice & porridge, subject to inconstancy, rubbing,
pressing, dissolution, & dispersion. And this consciousness of mine
is supported here and bound up here.’ Just as
if there were a beautiful beryl gem of the purest water — eight
faceted, well polished, clear, limpid, consummate in all its aspects,
and going through the middle of it was a blue, yellow, red, white, or
brown thread — and a man with good eyesight, taking it in his hand, were
to reflect on it thus: ‘This is a beautiful beryl gem of the purest
water, eight faceted, well polished, clear, limpid, consummate in all
its aspects. And this, going through the middle of it, is a blue,
yellow, red, white, or brown thread.’ In the same way — with his mind
thus concentrated, purified, & bright, unblemished, free from
defects, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability —
the true Follower of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened
One-The Tathagata directs & inclines it to knowledge & vision.
He discerns: ‘This body of mine is endowed with form, composed of the
four primary elements, born from mother & father, nourished with
rice & porridge, subject to inconstancy, rubbing, pressing,
dissolution, & dispersion. And this consciousness of mine is
supported here and bound up here.’ When a disciple of a teacher attains
this sort of grand distinction, Lohicca, that is a teacher not worthy of
criticism in the world, and if anyone were to criticize this sort of
teacher, the criticism would be false, unfactual, unrighteous, &
blameworthy.
5. Bhikkhuni-samyutta — Nuns
Stories of the Evil One’s attempts to lure the nuns away
from their meditation spots in the forest by asking them provocative
questions. Without exception, these wise women conquer Mara decisively.
Sister Alavika
At Savatthi.
Then, early in the morning, Alavika the nun put on her robes and,
taking her bowl & outer robe, went into Savatthi for alms. When she
had gone for alms in Savatthi and had returned from her alms round,
after her meal she went to the Grove of the Blind to spend the day.
Having gone deep into the Grove of the Blind, she sat down at the foot
of a tree for the day’s abiding.
Then the Evil One, wanting to arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in her, wanting to make her fall away from seclusion, approached her & addressed her in verse:
There’s no
escape
in the world,
so what are you trying to do
with solitude?
Enjoy sensual delights.
Don’t be someone
who later regrets.
Then the thought occurred to Alavika the nun: “Now who has
recited this verse — a human being or a non-human one?” Then it occurred
to her: “This is the Evil One, who has recited this verse wanting to
arouse fear, horripilation, & terror in me, wanting to make me fall
away from seclusion.”
Then, having understood that “This is the Evil One,” she replied to him in verses:
There is
an escape in the world,
well touched by me
with discernment —
something that you,
you Evil One,
kinsman of the heedless,
don’t know.
Sensual pleasures
are like swords & spears;
the aggregates,
their executioner’s block.
What you call sensual delight
is no delight for me.
![\"\\"](\"http://sarvajan.ambedkar.org/\")
Then the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, “Alavika the nun knows me” — vanished right there.
Spiritual Community of The Followers of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Discernment
The Eightfold Path is best understood as a collection of
personal qualities to be developed, rather than as a sequence of steps
along a linear path. The development of right view and right resolve
(the factors classically identified with wisdom and discernment)
facilitates the development of right speech, action, and livelihood (the
factors identified with virtue). As virtue develops so do the factors
identified with concentration (right effort, mindfulness, and
concentration). Likewise, as concentration matures, discernment evolves
to a still deeper level. And so the process unfolds: development of one
factor fosters development of the next, lifting the practitioner in an
upward spiral of spiritual maturity that eventually culminates in
Awakening.
The long journey to Awakening begins in earnest with the
first tentative stirrings of right view — the discernment by which one
recognizes the validity of the four Noble Truths and the principle of
kamma. One begins to see that one’s future well-being is neither
predestined by fate, nor left to the whims of a divine being or random
chance. The responsibility for one’s happiness rests squarely on one’s
own shoulders. Seeing this, one’s spiritual aims become suddenly clear:
to relinquish the habitual unskillful tendencies of the mind in favor of
skillful ones. As this right resolve grows stronger, so does the
heartfelt desire to live a morally upright life, to choose one’s actions
with care.
At this point many followers make the inward commitment to
take the Buddha’s teachings to heart, to become “Buddhist” through the
act of taking refuge in the Triple Gem: the Buddha (both the historical Buddha and one’s own innate potential for Awakening), the Dhamma (both the Buddha’s teachings and the ultimate Truth towards which they point), and the Sangha
(both the unbroken monastic lineage that has preserved the teachings
since the Buddha’s day, and all those who have achieved at least some
degree of Awakening). With one’s feet thus planted on solid ground, and
with the help of an admirable friend or teacher (kalyanamitta) to guide the way, one is now well-equipped to proceed down the Path, following in the footsteps left by the Buddha himself.
Doctrine-True Practice of The Path Shown by The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
The Wisdom of Everyday Experience
So it’s here that our practice of contemplation will lead us
to understanding. Let us take an example, the example of a fisherman
pulling in his net with a big fish in it. How do you think he feels
about pulling it in? If he’s afraid that the fish will escape, he’ll be
rushed and start to struggle with the net, grabbing and tugging at it.
Before he knows it, the big fish has escaped — he was trying too hard.
In the olden days they would talk like this. They taught
that we should do it gradually, carefully gathering it in without losing
it. This is how it is in our practice; we gradually feel our way with
it, carefully gathering it in without losing it. Sometimes it happens
that we don’t feel like doing it. Maybe we don’t want to look or maybe
we don’t want to know, but we keep on with it. We continue feeling for
it. This is practice: if we feel like doing it, we do it, and if we
don’t feel like doing it, we do it just the same. We just keep doing it.
If we are enthusiastic about our practice, the power of our
faith will give energy to what we are doing. But at this stage we are
still without wisdom. Even though we are very energetic, we will not
derive much benefit from our practice. We may continue with it for a
long time and a feeling will arise that aren’t going to find the Way. We
may feel that we cannot find peace and tranquillity, or that we aren’t
sufficiently equipped to do the practice. Or maybe we feel that this Way
just isn’t possible anymore. So we give up!
At this point we must be very, very careful. We must use
great patience and endurance. It’s just like pulling in the big fish —
we gradually feel our way with it. We carefully pull it in. The struggle
won’t be too difficult, so without stopping we continue pulling it in.
Eventually, after some time, the fish becomes tired and stops fighting
and we’re able to catch it easily. Usually this is how it happens, we
practice gradually gathering it together.
It’s in this manner that we do our contemplation. If we
don’t have any particular knowledge or learning in the theoretical
aspects of the Teachings, we contemplate according to our everyday
experience. We use the knowledge which we already have, the knowledge
derived from our everyday experience. This kind of knowledge is natural
to the mind. Actually, whether we study about it or not, we have the
reality of the mind right here already. The mind is the mind whether we
have learned about it or not. This is why we say that whether the Buddha
is born in the world or not, everything is the way it is. Everything
already exists according to its own nature. This natural condition
doesn’t change, nor does it go anywhere. It just is that way. This is
called the Sacca Dhamma. However, if we don’t understand about this
Sacca Dhamma, we won’t be able to recognize it.
So we practice contemplation in this way. If we aren’t
particularly skilled in scripture, we take the mind itself to study and
read. Continually we contemplate (lit. talk with ourselves) and
understanding regarding the nature of the mind will gradually arise. We
don’t have to force anything.
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata
Vipers
I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove. Then he addressed the monks, “Monks, suppose there were four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom.
Then a man would come along — desiring life, desiring not to die,
desiring happiness, & loathing pain — and people would tell him:
‘Good man, these four vipers, of utmost heat & horrible venom, are
yours. Time after time they must be lifted up, time after time they must
be bathed, time after time they must be fed,
time after time put to rest. And if any of these vipers ever gets
angered with you, then you will meet with death or death-like suffering.
Do what you think should be done.’
Then the man —
afraid of the four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom — would
flee this way or that. They would tell him, ‘Good man, there are five
enemy executioners chasing right on your heels, [thinking,] “Wherever we
see him, we’ll kill him right on the spot.” Do what you think should be
done.’
Then the man — afraid of the
four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom, afraid of the five
enemy executioners — would flee this way or that. They would tell him,
‘Good man, there is a sixth executioner, a fellow-traveler, chasing
right on your heels with upraised sword, [thinking,] “Wherever I see
him, I’ll kill him right on the spot.” Do what you think should be
done.’
Then the man —
afraid of the four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom, afraid of
the five enemy executioners, afraid of the sixth fellow-traveling
executioner with upraised sword — would flee this way or that. He would
see an empty village. Whatever house he entered would be abandoned,
void, & empty as he entered it. Whatever pot he grabbed hold of
would be abandoned, void, & empty as he grabbed hold of it. They
would tell him, ‘Good man, right now, village-plundering bandits are entering this empty village. Do what you think should be done.’
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Then the man — afraid of the
four vipers of utmost heat & horrible venom, afraid of the five
enemy executioners, afraid of the sixth fellow-traveling executioner
with upraised sword, afraid of the village-plundering bandits — would
flee this way or that. He would see a great expanse of water, with the
near shore dubious & risky, the further shore secure & free from
risk, but with neither a ferryboat nor a bridge going from this shore
to the other. The thought would occur to him, ‘Here is this great
expanse of water, with the near shore dubious & risky, the further
shore secure & free from risk, but with neither a ferryboat nor a
bridge going from this shore to the other. What
if I were to gather grass, twigs, branches, & leaves and, having
bound them together to make a raft, were to cross over to safety on the
other shore in dependence on the raft, making an effort with my hands
& feet?’ Then the man, having gathered grass, twigs, branches, &
leaves, having bound them together to make a raft, would cross over to
safety on the other shore in dependence on the raft, making an effort
with his hands & feet. Crossed over, having gone to the other shore,
he would stand on high ground, a brahman.
“Monks, I have made this simile to convey a meaning. Here
the meaning is this: ‘The four vipers of utmost heat & horrible
venom’ stands for the four great existents: the earth property, the
liquid property, the fire-property, & the wind property. ‘The five
enemy executioners’ stands for the five clinging-aggregates: the form
clinging-aggregate, the feeling clinging-aggregate, the perception
clinging-aggregate, the fabrications clinging-aggregate, the
consciousness clinging-aggregate. 
‘The sixth fellow-traveling executioner with upraised sword’ stands for passion & delight.
“‘The
empty village’ stands for the six internal sense media. If a wise,
competent, intelligent person examines them from the point of view of
the eye, they appear abandoned, void, & empty. If he examines them
from the point of view of the ear… the nose… the tongue… the body… the
intellect, they appear abandoned, void, & empty. ‘The
village-plundering bandits’ stands for the six external sense-media. The
eye is attacked by agreeable & disagreeable forms. The ear is
attacked by agreeable & disagreeable sounds. The nose is attacked by
agreeable & disagreeable aromas. The tongue is attacked by
agreeable & disagreeable flavors. The body is attacked by agreeable
& disagreeable tactile sensations. The intellect is attacked by
agreeable & disagreeable ideas.
“‘The great expanse of water’ stands for the fourfold flood:
the flood of sensuality, the flood of becoming, the flood of views,
& the flood of ignorance.
‘The near shore, dubious & risky’ stands for
self-identification. ‘The further shore, secure and free from risk’
stands for Unbinding. ‘The raft’ stands for just this noble eightfold
path: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
‘Making an effort with hands & feet’ stands for the arousing of
persistence. ‘Crossed over, having gone to the other shore, he would
stand on high ground, a brahman’ stands for the arahant.”
Mara Meets His Match
The nun Soma has entered Andhavana (Blind Man’s Grove) near
Savatthi to practice meditation. Mara, the embodiment of delusion, sees
her there and desires to make her waver and abandon her concentration.
He addresses her with a verse:
That which can be attained by seers
— The place so hard to arrive at —
Women are not able to reach,
Since they lack sufficient wisdom.
[Soma replies:]
What difference does being a woman make
When the mind is well-composed,
When knowledge is proceeding on,
When one rightly sees into Dhamma?
Indeed for whom the question arises:
“Am I a man or a woman?”
Or, “Am I even something at all?”
To them alone is Mara fit to talk!
Translator’s note
This, in my view, is the definitive statement in the
Buddhist tradition regarding the equality of the sexes. Whatever other
words have crept into the literature — from ancient times to the present
— whatever attitudes may have been expressed by Theras, Lamas, Roshis
or Teachers over the ages, this position of thoroughgoing equality in
light of the Dhamma is plainly stated by Soma, one of the Buddha’s
contemporary nuns.
Soma was the daughter of the chief priest of King Bimbisara
of Magadha, and was an early convert to the Buddha’s teaching. She spent
many years as a lay supporter before eventually becoming a nun, and
achieved awakening — like so many of her sisters — not long after
joining the order.
In this exchange Mara is clearly trying to provoke and
discourage Soma, but only reveals his delusion. The expression he uses
literally means “two fingers’ [worth]” of wisdom. It may originally have
been a reference to the domestic task of checking if rice is cooked by
examining it between the fingers, but here it is obviously used
pejoratively to impugn that women are less capable of liberation. Soma
not only refrains from getting offended (perhaps remembering Buddha’s
teaching to always “forebear the fool”), but calmly points out how
ludicrous the statement is when viewed in light of the Buddha’s higher
teaching about the nature of personhood.
from COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
now responsible for more than 200,000 deaths worldwide, was synthesised
by the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), based in the city where the
disease was first identified.
Coronavirus Cases:
Deaths:
485,122
from COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
from COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic
Countries and territories without any cases of COVID-19
1. Comoros,2. North Korea,3. Yemen,4.
The Federated States of Micronesia,5. Kiribati,6. Solomon Islands,7.
The Cook Islands,8. Micronesia,9. Tong,10. The Marshall Islands
Palau,11. American Samoa,12. South Georgia,13. South Sandwich
Islands,14.SaintHelena,Europe,15. Aland Islands,16.Svalbard,17. Jan
Mayen Islands,18. Latin America,19.Africa,20.British Indian Ocean
Territory,21.French Southern
Territories,22.Lesotho,23.Oceania,24.Christmas
Island,25. Cocos
(Keeling) Islands,26. Heard Island,27. McDonald Islands,28. Niue,29.
Norfolk Island,30. Pitcairn,31. Solomon Islands,32. Tokelau,33. United
States Minor Outlying Islands,34. Wallis and Futuna Islands,35.Tajikistan,
36. Turkmenistan,37. Tuvalu,38. Vanuatu
as they are following the original words of the Buddha Metteyya Awakened One with Awareness:
1. Dasa raja dhamma, 2. kusala 3. Kuutadanta Sutta dana, 4.
priyavacana,5. artha cariya ,6. samanatmata, 7. Samyutta
Nikayaaryaor,ariyasammutidev 8. Agganna Sutta,9. Majjima Nikaya,10.
arya” or “ariy, 11.sammutideva,12. Digha Nikaya,13. Maha
Sudassana,14.Dittadhammikatthasamvattanika-dhamma ,15. Canon Sutta ,16. Pali Canon and Suttapitaka ,17. Iddhipada ,18. Lokiyadhamma and Lokuttaradhamma,19. Brahmavihàra,20. Sangahavatthu ,21. Nathakaranadhamma ,22. Saraniyadhamma ,23. Adhipateyya Dithadhammikattha,24. dukkha,25. anicca,26. anatta,27. Samsara,28. Cakkamatti Sihananda Sutta,29.Chandagati,30.Dosagati, 31. Mohagati,32.Bhayagati,33.Yoniso manasikara,34. BrahmavihàraSangaha vatthu,35. Nathakaranadhamma,36.SaraniyadhammaAdhipateyya,37. Dithadhammikatth38.Mara,39.Law of Kamma,40. dhammamahamatras, 41.IV. Observation of Dhammas,42.Assamedha,43.Sassamedha,44.Naramedha,45.Purisamedha,46.Sammapasa,47.Vajapeyya,48.Niraggala,49.Sila,50.Samadhi, 51.Panna, 52.Samma-sankappa,53.Sigalovada Sutta,54.Brahmajala Sutta,55.Vasettha Sutta in Majjhima Nikaya,56.Ambattha Sutta in Digha Nikaya
The Blessed,Noble,Awakened One-The Tathagata