Kevatta
(Kevaddha) Sutta: To Kevatta

Then
Kevatta the householder approached the Blessed One and, on arrival,
having bowed down, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to
the Blessed One:
“Lord, this Nalanda is powerful, both prosperous and
populous, filled with people who have faith in the Blessed One. It
would be good if the Blessed One were to direct a monk to display a
miracle of psychic power from his superior human state so that Nalanda
would to an even greater extent have faith in the Blessed One.”   

When
this was said, the Blessed One said to Kevatta the householder,
“Kevatta, I don’t teach the monks in this way: ‘Come, monks, display a
miracle of psychic power to the lay people clad in white.’”    A second
time… A third time, Kevatta the householder said to the Blessed One: “I
won’t argue with the Blessed One, but I tell you: Lord, this Nalanda is
powerful, both prosperous and populous, filled with people who have
faith in the Blessed One. It would be good if the Blessed One were to
direct a monk to display a miracle of psychic power from his superior
human state so that Nalanda would to an even greater extent have faith
in the Blessed One.”   

A third time, the Blessed One said to
Kevatta the householder, “Kevatta, I don’t teach the monks in this way:
‘Come, monks, display a miracle of psychic power to the lay people clad
in white.’   

“Kevatta, there are these three miracles that I
have declared, having directly known and realized them for myself. Which
three? The miracle of psychic power, the miracle of telepathy, and the
miracle of instruction.

The Miracle of Psychic Power    “And what
is the miracle of psychic power? There is the case where a monk wields
manifold psychic
powers. Having been one he becomes many; having been
many he becomes one. He appears. He vanishes. He goes unimpeded through
walls, ramparts, and mountains as if through space. He dives in and out
of the earth as if it were water. He walks on water without sinking as
if it were dry land. Sitting cross-legged he flies through the air like a
winged bird. With his hand he touches and strokes even the sun and
moon, so mighty and powerful. He exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds.   

“Then
someone who has faith and conviction in him sees him wielding manifold
psychic powers… exercising influence with his body even as far as the
Brahma worlds. He reports this to someone who has no faith and no
conviction, telling him, ‘Isn’t it awesome. Isn’t it astounding, how
great the power, how great the prowess of this contemplative. Just now I
saw him wielding manifold psychic powers… exercising influence with his
body even as far as the Brahma worlds.’   

“Then the person
without faith, without conviction, would say to the person with faith
and with conviction: ‘Sir, there is a charm called the Gandhari charm by
which the monk wielded manifold psychic powers… exercising influence
with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds.’ What do you think,
Kevatta — isn’t that what the man
without faith, without conviction, would say to the man with faith and with conviction?”   

“Yes, lord, that’s just what he would say.”   

“Seeing
this drawback to the miracle of psychic power, Kevatta, I feel
horrified, humiliated, and disgusted with the miracle of psychic
power.   

The Miracle of Telepathy   

“Then
the person without faith, without conviction, would say to the person
with faith and with conviction: ‘Sir, there is a charm called the Manika
charm by which the monk read the minds… of other beings…’ What do you
think, Kevatta — isn’t that what the man without faith, without
conviction, would say to the man with faith
and with conviction?”   
“Yes, lord, that’s just what he would say.”   

“Seeing
this drawback to the miracle of telepathy, Kevatta, I feel horrified,
humiliated, and disgusted with the miracle of telepathy.   
The
Miracle of Instruction    “And what is the miracle of instruction? There
is the case where a monk gives instruction in this way:
‘Direct your
thought in this way, don’t direct it in that. Attend to things in this
way, don’t attend to them in that. Let go of this, enter and remain in
that.’ This, Kevatta, is called the miracle of instruction.   

“Furthermore, there is the case where a Tathagata appears in the world, worthy and rightly self-awakened.

He
teaches the Dhamma admirable in its beginning, admirable in its middle,
admirable in its end. He proclaims the holy life both in its
particulars and in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure.   

“A
householder or householder’s son, hearing the Dhamma, gains conviction
in the Tathagata and reflects: ‘Household life is confining, a dusty
path.

The life gone forth is like the open air. It is not easy
living at home to practice the holy life totally perfect, totally pure,
like a polished
shell. What if I were to shave off my hair and beard, put on the ochre
robes, and go forth from the household life into homelessness?’   

“So
after some time he abandons his mass of wealth, large or small; leaves
his circle of relatives, large or small; shaves off his hair and beard,
puts on the ochre robes, and goes forth from the household life into
homelessness.   

“When he has thus gone forth, he lives
restrained by the rules of the monastic code, seeing danger in the
slightest faults. Consummate in his virtue, he guards the doors of his
senses, is possessed of mindfulness and alertness, and is content.

The Lesser Section on Virtue   

“And
how is a monk consummate in virtue? Abandoning the taking of life, he
abstains from the taking of life. He dwells with his rod laid down, his
knife laid down, scrupulous, merciful, compassionate for the welfare of
all living beings.

This is part of his virtue.   

“Abandoning
the taking of what is not given, he abstains from taking what is not
given. He takes only what is given, accepts only what is given, lives
not by stealth but by means of a self that has become pure.

This, too, is part of his virtue.   

“Abandoning
uncelibacy, he lives a celibate life, aloof, refraining from the sexual
act that is the villager’s way. This, too, is part of his virtue.   

“Abandoning
false speech, he abstains from false speech. He speaks the truth, holds
to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver of the world. This, too,
is part of his virtue.   

“Abandoning divisive speech he
abstains from divisive speech. What he has heard here he does not tell
there to break those people apart from these people here.

What he has heard there he does not tell here to break these people apart from those people there.

Thus
reconciling those who have broken apart or cementing those who are
united, he loves concord, delights in concord, enjoys concord, speaks
things that create concord.

This, too, is part of his virtue.   

“Abandoning
abusive speech, he abstains from abusive speech. He speaks words that
are soothing to the ear, that are affectionate, that go to the heart,
that are polite, appealing and pleasing to people at large. This, too,
is part of his virtue.   

“Abandoning idle chatter, he abstains
from idle chatter. He speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is
in accordance with the goal, the Dhamma, and the Vinaya. He speaks words
worth treasuring, seasonable, reasonable, circumscribed, connected with
the goal.

This, too, is part of his virtue.   

“He abstains from damaging seed and plant life.   

“He eats only once a day, refraining from the evening meal and from food at the wrong time of day.   

“He
abstains from dancing, singing, instrumental music, and from watching
shows.    “He abstains from wearing garlands and from beautifying
himself with scents and cosmetics.   

“He abstains from high and luxurious beds and seats.   

“He abstains from accepting gold and money.   

“He abstains from mutilating,
executing, imprisoning, highway robbery, plunder, and violence.   
“This, too, is part of his virtue.

The Intermediate Section on Virtue    “Whereas some priests and
contemplatives,
living off food given in faith, are addicted to damaging seed and plant
life such as these — plants propagated from roots, stems, joints,
buddings, and seeds — he abstains from damaging seed and plant life such
as these. This, too, is part of his virtue.       

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith, are
addicted to consuming stored-up goods such as these — stored-up food,
stored-up drinks, stored-up clothing, stored-up vehicles, stored-up
bedding, stored-up scents, and stored-up meat — he abstains from
consuming stored-up goods such as these.
This, too, is part of his virtue.   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith, are
addicted to watching shows such as these — dancing, singing,
instrumental music, plays, ballad recitations, hand-clapping, cymbals
and drums, magic lantern scenes, acrobatic and conjuring tricks,
elephant fights, horse fights, buffalo fights, bull fights, goat fights,
ram fights, cock fights, quail fights; fighting with staves, boxing,
wrestling, war-games, roll calls, battle arrays, and regimental reviews —
he abstains from watching shows such as these.
This, too, is part of his virtue.   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith, are
addicted to heedless and idle games such as these — eight-row chess,
ten-row chess, chess in the air, hopscotch, spillikins, dice, stick
games, hand-pictures, ball-games, blowing through toy pipes, playing
with toy plows, turning somersaults, playing with toy windmills, toy
measures, toy chariots, toy bows, guessing letters drawn in the air,
guessing thoughts, mimicking deformities — he abstains from heedless and
idle games such as these. This, too, is part of his virtue.   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith, are
addicted to high and luxurious furnishings such as these — over-sized
couches, couches adorned with carved animals, long-haired coverlets,
multi-colored patchwork coverlets, white woolen coverlets, woolen
coverlets embroidered with flowers or animal figures, stuffed quilts,
coverlets with fringe, silk coverlets embroidered with gems; large
woolen carpets; elephant, horse, and chariot rugs, antelope-hide rugs,
deer-hide rugs; couches with awnings, couches
with red cushions for
the head and feet — he abstains from using high and luxurious
furnishings such as these. This, too, is part of his virtue.   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith, are
addicted to scents, cosmetics, and means of beautification such as these
— rubbing powders into the body, massaging with oils, bathing in
perfumed water, kneading the limbs, using mirrors, ointments, garlands,
scents, creams, face-powders, mascara, bracelets, head-bands, decorated
walking sticks, ornamented water-bottles, swords, fancy sunshades,
decorated sandals, turbans,
gems, yak-tail whisks, long-fringed white
robes — he abstains from using scents, cosmetics, and means of
beautification such as these. This, too, is part of his virtue.   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith, are
addicted to talking about lowly topics such as these — talking about
kings, robbers, ministers of state; armies, alarms, and battles; food
and drink; clothing, furniture, garlands, and scents; relatives;
vehicles; villages, towns, cities, the countryside; women and heroes;
the gossip of the street and the well; tales of the dead; tales of
diversity [philosophical discussions of the past and future], the
creation of the world and of the sea, and talk of whether things exist
or not — he abstains from talking about lowly topics such
as these. This, too, is part of his virtue.   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith, engage
in scheming, persuading, hinting, belittling, and pursuing gain with
gain, he abstains from forms of scheming and persuading [improper ways
of trying to gain material support from donors] such as these. This,
too, is part of his virtue.   

The Great Section on Virtue   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith,
maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such lowly arts as:   
reading marks on the limbs [e.g., palmistry];
reading omens and signs;
interpreting celestial events [falling stars, comets];
interpreting dreams;
reading marks on the body [e.g., phrenology];
reading marks on cloth gnawed by mice;
offering fire oblations, oblations from a ladle, oblations of husks, rice
powder, rice grains, ghee, and oil;
offering oblations from the mouth;
offering blood-sacrifices;
making predictions based on the fingertips;
geomancy;
laying demons in a cemetery;
placing spells on spirits;
reciting house-protection charms;
snake charming, poison-lore, scorpion-lore, rat-lore, bird-lore, crow-lore;
fortune-telling based on visions;
giving protective charms;
interpreting the calls of birds and animals —    he abstains from wrong
livelihood, from lowly arts such as these.   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith,
maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such lowly arts as:
determining lucky and unlucky gems, garments, staffs, swords, spears,
arrows, bows, and other weapons; women, boys, girls, male slaves, female
slaves; elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls, cows,
goats, rams,
fowl, quails, lizards, long-eared rodents, tortoises, and other animals —
he abstains from wrong livelihood, from lowly arts such as these.   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith,
maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such lowly arts as
forecasting:   
the rulers will march forth;
the rulers will march forth and return;
our rulers will attack, and their rulers will retreat;
their rulers will attack, and our rulers will retreat;
there will be triumph for our rulers and defeat for their rulers;
there will be triumph for their rulers and defeat for our rulers;
thus there will be triumph, thus there will be defeat —    he abstains from wrong livelihood, from lowly arts such as these.   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith,
maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such lowly arts as
forecasting:   
there will be a lunar eclipse;
there will be a solar eclipse;
there will be an occultation of an asterism;
the sun and moon will go their normal courses;
the sun and moon will go astray;
the asterisms will go their normal courses;
the asterisms will go astray;
there will be a meteor shower;
there will be a darkening of the sky;
there will be an earthquake;
there will be thunder coming from a clear sky;
there will be a rising, a setting, a darkening, a brightening of the sun, moon, and asterisms;
such
will be the result of the lunar eclipse… the rising, setting,
darkening, brightening of the sun, moon, and asterisms —    he abstains
from wrong livelihood, from lowly arts such as these.   

“Whereas
some priests and contemplatives, living off food given in faith,
maintain themselves by wrong livelihood, by such lowly arts as
forecasting:   
therewill be abundant rain; there will be a drought;
there will be plenty; there will be famine;
there will be rest and security; there will be danger;
there will be disease; there will be freedom from disease;
or
they earn their living by counting, accounting, calculation, composing
poetry, or teaching hedonistic arts and doctrines —   
he abstains from wrong livelihood, from lowly arts such as these.   

“A monk thus consummate
in
virtue sees no danger anywhere from his restraint through virtue. Just
as a head-anointed noble warrior king who has defeated his
enemies
sees no danger anywhere from his enemies, in the same way the monk thus
consummate in virtue sees no danger anywhere from his restraint through
virtue.

Endowed with this noble aggregate of virtue, he is
inwardly sensitive to the pleasure of being blameless. This is how a
monk is consummate in virtue.

Sense Restraint   

“And how
does a monk guard the doors of his senses? On seeing a form with the
eye, he does not grasp at any theme or details by which — if he were to
dwell without restraint over the faculty of the eye — evil, unskillful
qualities such as greed or distress might assail him. On hearing a sound
with the ear… On smelling an odor with the nose… On tasting a flavor
with the tongue… On touching a tactile sensation with the body… On
cognizing an idea with the intellect, he does not grasp at any theme or
details by which — if he were to dwell without restraint
over the
faculty of the intellect — evil, unskillful qualities such as greed or
distress might assail him. Endowed with this noble restraint over the
sense faculties, he is inwardly sensitive to the pleasure of being
blameless.

This is how a monk guards the doors of his senses.

Mindfulness & Alertness   

“And
how is a monk possessed of mindfulness and alertness? When going
forward and returning, he acts with alertness. When looking toward and
looking away… when bending and extending his limbs… when carrying his
outer cloak, his upper robe, and his bowl… when eating, drinking,
chewing, and tasting… when urinating and defecating… when walking,
standing, sitting, falling asleep, waking up,
talking, and remaining silent, he acts with alertness.

This is how a monk is possessed of mindfulness and alertness.
Contentedness   

“And
how is a monk content? Just as a bird, wherever it goes, flies with its
wings as its only burden; so too is he content with a set of robes to
provide for his body and almsfood to provide for his hunger. Wherever he
goes, he takes only his barest necessities along. This is how a monk is
content.

Abandoning the Hindrances   

“Endowed with this
noble aggregate of virtue, this noble restraint over the sense
faculties, this noble mindfulness and alertness, and this noble
contentment, he seeks out a secluded dwelling: a forest, the shade of a
tree, a mountain, a glen, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a jungle
grove, the open air, a heap of straw. After his meal, returning from his
alms round, he sits down, crosses his legs, holds his body
erect, and brings mindfulness to the fore.   

“Abandoning covetousness with regard to the world, he dwells with an awareness devoid of covetousness.

He
cleanses his mind of covetousness. Abandoning ill will and anger, he
dwells with an awareness devoid of ill will, sympathetic with the
welfare of all living beings. He cleanses his mind of ill will and
anger. Abandoning sloth & drowsiness, he dwells with an awareness
devoid of sloth & drowsiness, mindful, alert, percipient of light.
He cleanses his mind of sloth & drowsiness. Abandoning restlessness
and anxiety, he dwells undisturbed, his mind inwardly stilled. He
cleanses his mind of restlessness and anxiety.

Abandoning
uncertainty, he dwells having crossed over uncertainty, with no
perplexity with regard to skillful mental qualities. He cleanses his
mind of uncertainty.   

“Suppose that a man, taking a loan, invests it in his business affairs. His business affairs succeed.

He
repays his old debts and there is extra left over for maintaining his
wife. The thought would occur to him, ‘Before, taking a loan, I invested
it in my business affairs. Now my business affairs have succeeded. I
have repaid my old debts and there is extra left over for maintaining my wife.’

“Now suppose that a man is bound in prison. As time
passes, he eventually is released from that bondage, safe and sound,
with no loss of property.

The thought would occur to him,
‘Before, I was bound in prison. Now I am released from that bondage,
safe and sound, with no loss of my property.’ Because of that he would
experience joy and happiness.

“In the same way, when these five
hindrances are not abandoned in himself, the monk regards it as a debt, a
sickness, a prison, slavery, a road through desolate country. But when
these five hindrances are abandoned in himself, he regards it as
unindebtedness, good health, release from prison, freedom, a place of
security.

Seeing that they have been abandoned within him, he
becomes glad. Glad, he becomes enraptured. Enraptured, his body grows
tranquil. His body tranquil, he is sensitive to pleasure. Feeling
pleasure, his mind becomes concentrated.

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 monk 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, too, is called the miracle of instruction.

“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 monk 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 called the miracle of instruction.

“And
furthermore, with the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous,
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 pleasant 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 called the miracle of instruction.

“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 monk sits, permeating
the body with a pure, bright awareness.

There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by pure, bright awareness.

“With
his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free
from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to
imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to knowledge and vision. He
discerns: ‘This body of mine is endowed with form, composed
of the
four primary elements, born from mother and father, nourished with rice
and porridge, subject to inconstancy, rubbing, pressing, dissolution,
and 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, and bright,
unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained
to imperturbability — the monk directs and inclines it to knowledge and
vision. He discerns: ‘This body of mine is endowed with form, composed
of the four primary elements, born from mother and father, nourished
with rice and porridge, subject to inconstancy, rubbing, pressing,
dissolution, and dispersion. And this consciousness of mine is supported
here and bound up here.’

“This, too, is called the miracle of instruction.

The Mind-made Body

“With
his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free
from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to
imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to creating a mind-made
body. From this body he creates another body, endowed with form, made of
the mind, complete in all its parts, not inferior in its
faculties.

Just as if a man were to draw a reed from its sheath. The thought would occur to him: ‘This is the sheath, this is the reed.

The
sheath is one thing, the reed another, but the reed has been drawn out
from the sheath.’ Or as if a man were to draw a sword from its
scabbard.
The thought would occur to him: ‘This is the sword, this is the
scabbard. The sword is one thing, the scabbard another, but the sword
has been drawn out from the scabbard.’ Or as if a man were to pull a
snake out from its slough. The thought would occur to him: ‘This is the
snake, this is the slough. The snake is one thing, the slough another,
but the snake has been pulled out from the slough.’ In the same way —
with his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free
from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to
imperturbability, the monk directs and inclines it to creating a
mind-made body. From this body he creates another body, endowed with
form, made of the mind, complete in all its parts, not inferior in its
faculties.

“This, too, is called the miracle of instruction.

Supranormal Powers

“With
his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free
from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to
imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to the modes of supranormal
powers.

He wields manifold supranormal powers. Having been one
he becomes many; having been many he becomes one. He appears. He
vanishes. He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, and mountains as if
through space. He dives in and out of the earth
as if it were water. He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land.

Sitting
cross-legged he flies through the air like a winged bird. With his hand
he touches and strokes even the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful.

He exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds.

Just as a skilled potter or his assistant could craft from
well-prepared clay whatever kind of pottery vessel he likes, or
as a skilled ivory-carver or his assistant could craft from well-prepared
ivory any kind of ivory-work he likes, or as a skilled goldsmith
or
his assistant could craft from well-prepared gold any kind of gold
article he likes; in the same way — with his mind thus concentrated,
purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable,
steady, and attained to imperturbability — the monk directs and
inclines it to the modes of supranormal powers… He exercises influence
with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds.

“With
his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free
from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to
imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to knowledge of the
awareness of other beings. He knows the awareness of other
beings, other individuals, having encompassed it with his own awareness.

He
discerns a mind with passion as a mind with passion, and a mind without
passion as a mind without passion. He discerns a mind with aversion as a
mind with aversion, and a mind without aversion as a mind without
aversion.

He discerns a mind with delusion as a mind with
delusion, and a mind without delusion as a mind without delusion. He
discerns a restricted mind as a restricted mind, and a scattered mind as
a scattered mind. He discerns an enlarged mind as an enlarged mind, and
an unenlarged mind as an unenlarged mind.

He discerns an
excelled mind [one that is not at the most excellent level] as an
excelled mind, and an unexcelled mind as an unexcelled mind. He discerns
a concentrated mind as a concentrated mind, and an unconcentrated mind
as an unconcentrated mind.

He discerns a released mind as a released mind, and an unreleased mind as an unreleased mind.

Just
as if a young woman — or man — fond of ornaments, examining the
reflection of her own face in a bright mirror or a bowl of clear water
would know ‘blemished’ if it were blemished, or ‘unblemished’ if it were
not. In the same way — with his mind thus concentrated, purified, and
bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and
attained to imperturbability — the monk directs and
inclines it to
knowledge of the awareness of other beings. He knows the awareness of
other beings, other individuals, having encompassed it with his own
awareness.

He discerns a mind with passion as a mind with
passion, and a mind without passion as a mind without passion… a
released mind as a released mind, and an unreleased mind as an
unreleased mind.

“This, too, is called the miracle of instruction.

Recollection of Past Lives

“With
his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free
from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to
imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to knowledge of the
recollection of past lives (lit: previous homes).

He recollects
his manifold past lives, i.e., one birth, two births, three births,
four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, one hundred, one
thousand, one hundred thousand, many aeons of cosmic contraction, many
aeons of cosmic expansion, many aeons of cosmic contraction and
expansion, [recollecting], ‘There I had such a name, belonged to such a
clan, had such an appearance.

Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the end of my life.

Passing
away from that state, I re-arose there. There too I had such a name,
belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such
my experience of pleasure and pain, such the end of my life.

Passing
away from that state, I re-arose here.’ Thus he recollects his manifold
past lives in their modes and details. Just as if a man were to go from
his home village to another village, and then from that village to yet
another village, and then from that village back to his home village.

The thought would occur to him, ‘I went from my home village to that village over there.

There
I stood in such a way, sat in such a way, talked in such a way, and
remained silent in such a way. From that village I went to that village
over there, and there I stood in such a way, sat in such a way, talked
in such a way, and remained silent in such a way. From that village I
came back home.’ In the same way — with his mind thus concentrated,
purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable,
steady, and attained to imperturbability — the monk
directs and inclines it to knowledge of the recollection of past lives.

He recollects his manifold past lives… in their modes and details.

“With his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished,
free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to
imperturbability, the monk directs and inclines it to the knowledge of
the ending of the mental fermentations. He discerns, as it has come to
be, that ‘This is stress… This is the origination of stress… This
is the cessation of stress… This is the way leading to the cessation of
stress…  These are mental fermentations…

This
is the origination of fermentations… This is the cessation of
fermentations… This is the way leading to the cessation of
fermentations.’ His heart, thus knowing, thus seeing, is released from
the fermentation of sensuality, the fermentation of becoming, the
fermentation of ignorance. With release, there is the knowledge,
‘Released.’
He discerns that ‘Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task
done. There is nothing further for this world.’ Just as if there
were
a pool of water in a mountain glen — clear, limpid, and unsullied —
where a man with good eyesight standing on the bank could see shells,
gravel, and pebbles, and also shoals of fish swimming about and resting,
and it would occur to him, ‘This pool of water is clear, limpid, and
unsullied.

Here are these shells, gravel, and pebbles, and also
these shoals of fish swimming about and resting.’ In the same way — with
his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free
from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to
imperturbability — the monk directs and inclines it to the knowledge of
the ending of the mental fermentations. He discerns, as it has come to
be, that ‘This is stress… This is the origination of stress… This is the
cessation
of stress… This is the way leading to the cessation of
stress… These are mental fermentations… This is the origination of
fermentations…
This is the cessation of fermentations… This is the
way leading to the cessation of fermentations.’ His heart, thus knowing,
thus seeing, is released from the fermentation of sensuality, the
fermentation of becoming, the fermentation of ignorance. With release,
there is the knowledge, ‘Released.’ He discerns that ‘Birth is ended,
the holy life fulfilled, the task done.

There is nothing further for this world.’

“This, too, is called the miracle of instruction.

“These are the three miracles that I declare, Kevatta, having directly known and realized them for myself.

Conversations with the Gods

“Once,
Kevatta, this train of thought arose in the awareness of a certain monk
in this very community of monks: ‘Where do these four great elements —
the earth property, the liquid property, the fire property, and the wind
property — cease without remainder?’ Then he attained to such a state
of concentration that the way leading to the gods appeared in his
centered mind. So he approached the gods of
the retinue of the Four
Great Kings and, on arrival, asked them, ‘Friends, where do these four
great elements — the earth property, the liquid property, the fire
property, and the wind property — cease without remainder?’

“When
this was said, the gods of the retinue of the Four Great Kings said to
the monk, ‘We also don’t know where the four great elements… cease
without remainder. But there are the Four Great Kings who are higher and
more sublime than we.

They should know where the four great elements… cease without remainder.’

“So
the monk approached the Four Great Kings and, on arrival, asked them,
‘Friends, where do these four great elements… cease without remainder?’

“When
this was said, the Four Great Kings said to the monk, ‘We also don’t
know where the four great elements… cease without remainder. But there
are the gods of the Thirty-three who are higher and more sublime than
we. They should know…’

“So the monk approached the gods of the
Thirty-three and, on arrival, asked them, ‘Friends, where do these four
great elements… cease without remainder?’

“When this was said,
the gods of the Thirty-three said to the monk, ‘We also don’t know where
the four great elements… cease without remainder. But there is Sakka,
the ruler of the gods, who is higher and more sublime than we. He should
know… ‘

“So the monk approached Sakka, the ruler of the gods,
and, on arrival, asked him, ‘Friend, where do these four great elements…
cease without remainder?’

“When this was said, Sakka, the ruler
of the gods, said to the monk, ‘I also don’t know where the four great
elements… cease without remainder. But there are the Yama gods who are
higher and more sublime than I. They should know…’…

“The Yama gods said, ‘We also don’t know… But there is the god named Suyama… He should know…’…

“Suyama said, ‘I also don’t know… But there is the god named Santusita… He should know…’…

There is nothing that the Great Brahma does not see.

There is nothing of which the Great Brahma is unaware.

There
is nothing that the Great Brahma has not realized.” That is why I did
not say in their presence that I, too, don’t know where the four great
elements… cease without remainder.

So you have acted wrongly, acted incorrectly, in bypassing the
Blessed
One in search of an answer to this question elsewhere. Go right back to
the Blessed One and, on arrival, ask him this question. However he
answers it, you should take it to heart.’

“Then — just as a
strong man might extend his flexed arm or flex his extended arm — the
monk disappeared from the Brahma world and immediately appeared in front
of me. Having bowed down to me, he sat to one side. As he was sitting
there he said to me, ‘Lord, where do these four great elements — the
earth property, the liquid property,
the fire property, and the wind property — cease without remainder?’

King Ashoka’s gift of life for trees

And
the exemplar who has made officialdom take a relook at at its
chopping-happy ways is none other than fabled Mauryan emperor Ashoka.The
whole world will incorporate Ashokan principles in nurturing and
safeguarding roadside fruit-bearing saplings/trees in urban and
non-urban areas.Mauryan emperor was the first to promote and champion
the concept of roadside trees.“At a time when we are losing our trees on
an everyday basis,we should go back and observe what he did.

Taking
a cue from Ashoka, If you look at the areas which once covered by the
Mauryan kingdom, or Delhi, world will appreciate the importance of
roadside trees,”“Ashokan principles will help the forest department in
conserving trees for longer periods.

He deliberately chose one
species for each road. Mixing of species at close intervals can affect
the survival of trees. We will focus on a single species for an entire
stretch.”

“Ashoka vested the ownership of roadside trees in the
local people. While the government will oversee the nurturing of the
sapling, the ownership of the tree at a later stage will be given over
to the locals.”

“It is not possible to completely ban cutting of
trees, but (with the new measures) it will be minimised to a great
extent.”Forests provide the basic life support system to all the living
beings of mother earth including mankind.

Forest ecosystems
provide fresh air, water resources, fertile soil for sustenance of
agriculture, bio-diversity, climate change mitigation and numerous other
ecosystem services.

Vast sections of rural society, including a majority of the tribals, are directly dependent on forests for their livelihood.

World
Forest Departments have the primary mandate of protecting the forests
and wildlife, conserving the rich biodiversity of the world and ensuring
that the ecological balance of the forest eco-systems is maintained.

All the world forest Departments must be headed by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Head of Forest Force(HOFF).

The Departments must have working strength including World Forest Service Officers and officers/ field staff of various cadres.
The
world a network of Protected Areas with Tiger Reserves, Wildlife
Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and 1 Community Reserve.

The
work carried out by the Departments can be broadly classified into the
following categories: regulatory, protection, conservation and
sustainable management.

As part of the regulatory functions, the
departments must enforce provisions of various legislations such as
World Forest Act, Wildlife Protection Act, Forest (Conservation) Act,
World Preservation of Trees Act, etc. and corresponding rules.
Protection functions include, boundary consolidation, protection of
forest areas from encroachment, illicit-felling, mitigation of
human-wildlife conflict, undertaking fire prevention and control
measures etc.

The conservation functions include taking up of
plantation works, soil-moisture conservation and watershed development
works for water security, conservation of rare, endangered and
threatened (RET) species and conducting awareness activities to
sensitize all sections of the society on the importance of forests,
wildlife and biodiversity. In territorial areas, the departments must
also be involved in sustainable extraction and marketing of timber and
other forest produce as per the specifications of the Working Plans.

Humans
are unique in their ability to acquire language. But how? A new study
published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences shows
that we are in fact born with the basic fundamental knowledge of
language, thus shedding light on the age-old linguistic “nature vs
nurture” debate.

While languages differ from each other in many ways, certain aspects appear to be shared across languages.

These aspects might stem from linguistic principles that are active in all human brains.

A natural question then arises: are infants born with knowledge of how the human words might sound like?

Are
infants biased to consider certain sound sequences as more word-like
than others? “The results of this new study suggest that, the sound
patterns of human languages are the product of an inborn biological
instinct, very much like birdsong,” said Prof. Iris Berent of
Northeastern University in Boston, who co-authored the study with a
research team from the International School of Advanced Studies in
Italy, headed by Dr. Jacques Mehler.

The study’s first author is
Dr. David Gómez.BLA, ShBA, LBAConsider, for instance, the
sound-combinations that occur at the beginning of words.

While
many languages have words that begin by bl (e.g., blando in Italian,
blink in English, and blusa in Spanish), few languages have words that
begin with lb. Russian is such a language (e.g., lbu, a word related to
lob, “forehead”), but even in Russian such words are extremely rare and
outnumbered by words starting with bl. Linguists have suggested that
such patterns occur because human brains are biased to favor syllables
such as bla over lba.

In line with this possibility, past
experimental research from Dr. Berent’s lab has shown that adult
speakers display such preferences, even if their native language has no
words resembling either bla or lba. But where does this knowledge stem
from? Is it due to some universal linguistic principle, or to adults’
lifelong experience with listening and producing their native language?
The Experiment
These
questions motivated our team to look carefully at how young babies
perceive different types of words. We used near-infrared spectroscopy, a
silent and non-invasive technique that tells us how the oxygenation of
the brain cortex (those very first centimeters of gray matter just below
the scalp) changes in time, to look at the brain reactions of Italian
newborn babies when listening to good and bad word candidates as
described above (e.g., blif, lbif).Working with Italian newborn infants
and their families, we observed that newborns react differently to good
and bad word candidates, similar to what adults do.

Young
infants have not learned any words yet, they do not even babble yet, and
still they share with us a sense of how words should sound.

This
finding shows that we are born with the basic, foundational knowledge
about the sound pattern of human languages.It is hard to imagine how
differently languages would sound if humans did not share such type of
knowledge. We are fortunate that we do, and so our babies can come to
the world with the certainty that they will readily recognize the sound
patterns of words-no matter the language they will grow up with.

How many languages are there in the world?

7,117 languages are spoken today.

That
number is constantly in flux, because we’re learning more about the
world’s languages every day. And beyond that, the languages themselves
are in flux.
 
They’re living and dynamic, spoken by communities whoselives are shaped by our rapidly changing world.
This is a fragile time:
Roughly
40% of languages are now endangered, often with less than 1,000
speakers remaining. Meanwhile, just 23 languages account for more than
half the world’s population.

When a just born baby is kept
isolated without anyone communicating with the baby, after a few days it
will speak and human natural (Prakrit) language known as Classical
Magahi Magadhi/Classical Chandaso language/Magadhi Prakrit, Classical
Hela Basa (Hela Language), Classical Pāḷi which are the same. Buddha
spoke in Magadhi.

All the 7111 languages and dialects are off
shoot of Classical Magahi Magadhi. Hence all of them are Classical in
nature (Prakrit) of Human Beings, just like all other living speices
have their own naturallanguages for communication. 116languages are
translated by https://translate.google.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_language

Language origin hypotheses

Early speculations

 I
cannot doubt that language owes its origin to the imitation and
modification, aided by signs and gestures, of various natural sounds,
the voices of other animals, and man’s own instinctive cries.
 — Charles Darwin, 1871. The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex.

In
1861, historical linguist Max Müller published a list of speculative
theories concerning the origins of spoken language: Bow-wow. The bow-wow
or cuckoo theory, which Müller attributed to the German philosopher
Johann Gottfried Herder, saw early words as imitations of the cries of
beasts and birds. Pooh-pooh. The pooh-pooh theory saw the first words as
emotional interjections and exclamations triggered by pain, pleasure,
surprise, etc. Ding-dong. Müller suggested what he called the ding-dong
theory, which states that all things have a vibrating natural resonance,
echoed somehow by man in his earliest words. Yo-he-ho.

The
yo-he-ho theory claims language emerged from collective rhythmic labor,
the attempt to synchronize muscular effort resulting in sounds such as
heave alternating with sounds such as ho. Ta-ta.

This did not feature in Max Müller’s list, having been proposed in 1930 by Sir Richard Paget.