246 LESSON 03 05 2011 Bhabba Sutta
Capable LESSON 244 BhΔra Sutta The Burden LESSON 243 Bankeis Song of Original Mind Free ONLINE eNΔlandΔ Research and Practice
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COURSE PROGRAMLESSON 246
Bhabba Sutta: Capable
“Monks,
one who hasn’t abandoned nine things is incapable of realizing arahantship.
Which nine? Passion, aversion, delusion, anger, resentment, arrogance,
insolence, envy, & stinginess. One who hasn’t abandoned these nine things
is incapable of realizing arahantship.
“One
who has abandoned nine things is capable of realizing arahantship. Which nine?
Passion, aversion, delusion, anger, resentment, arrogance, insolence, envy,
& stinginess. One who has abandoned these nine things is capable of
realizing arahantship.”
BhΔra Sutta: The Burden
“Monks, I
will explain to you the burden,[1] the
laying hold of the burden, the holding on to the burden,[2] the laying down of the burden. Listen.
“What,
monks, is the burden?
“‘The five
groups of clinging’[3] is the answer. Which five? They are: the
group of clinging to corporeality,… to feelings,… to perceptions,… to
mental formations,… to consciousness. This, monks, is called ‘the burden.’
“What is
the laying hold of the burden? The answer is that it is the person,[4] the
Venerable So-and-so, of such-and-such a family. This, monks, is called ‘the
laying hold of the burden.’
“What is
the holding on to the burden? The answer is that it is that craving which gives
rise to fresh rebirth and, bound up with lust and greed, now here now there
finds ever fresh delight. It is sensual craving,[5]
craving for existence,[6] craving for non-existence.[7] This, monks, is called ‘the holding on to
the burden.’[8]
“What is
the laying down of the burden? It is the complete fading away and extinction of
this craving, its forsaking and giving up, liberation and detachment from it.
This, monks, is called ‘the laying down of the burden.’”[9]
Thus said the
Blessed One, the Well-farer[10]
spoke thus; the Teacher then said:
The
five groups are the heavy load, The seizing of the load is man. Holding it is
misery, Laying down the load is bliss. Laying down this heavy load, And no
other taking up, By uprooting all desire, Hunger’s stilled, Nibbaana’s gained.[11]
LESSON 243
βSariputra, if there are people
who have already made the vow, who now make the vow, or who are about to make
the vow, βI desire to be born in Amitabhaβs country,β these people, whether
born in the past, now being born, or to be born in the future, all will
irreversibly attain to anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Therefore, Sariputra, all good
men and good women, if they are among those who have faith, should make the
vow, βI will be born in that country.ββ
~ Amitabha Sutra
When I obtain the Buddhahood, any being of the boundless and inconceivable
Buddha-worlds of the ten quarters whose body if be touched by the rays of my
splendour should not make his body and mind gentle and peaceful, in such a
state that he is far more sublime than the gods and men, then may I not attain
the awakenment.
~
Amitabha Buddha’s Thirty-Third Vow
Bankei YΕtaku
(1622-1693)
Unborn and imperishable
Is the original mind
Earth, water, fire and wind
A temporary lodging for the night
Attached to this
Ephemeral burning house
You yourselves light the fire, kindle the flames
In which you’re consumed
Keep your mind as it was
When you came into the world
And instantly this very self
Is a living “thus-come” one
Ideas of
What’s good, what’s bad
All due to
This self of yours
In winter, a bonfire
Spells delight
But when summertime arrives
What a nuisance it becomes!
And the breezes
You loved in summer
Even before the autumn’s gone
Already have become a bother
Throwing your whole life away
Sacrificed to the thirst for gold
But when you saw your life was through
All your money was no use
Clinging, craving and the like
I don’t have them on my mind
That’s why nowadays I can say
The whole world is truly mine!
Since, after all this floating world
Is unreal
Instead of holding onto things in
Your mind, go and sing!
Only original mind exists
In the past and in the future too
Instead of holding onto things in
Your mind, let them go!
Having created
the demon mind yourself
When it torments you mercilessly
You’re to blame and no one else
When you do wrong
our mind’s the demon
There’s no hell
To be found outside
Abominating hell
Longing for heaven
You make yourself suffer
In a joyful world
You think that good
Means hating what is bad
What’s bad is
The hating mind itself
Fame, wealth, eating and
drinking, sleep and sensual delight β
Once you’ve leaned the Five Desires
They become
Your guide in life
Notions of what one should do
Never existed from the start
Fighting about what’s right, what’s wrong
That’s the doing of the “I”
When your study
Of Buddhism is through
You find
You haven’t anything new
If you think the mind
That attains enlightenment
Is “mine”
Your thoughts will wrestle, one with the other
These days I’m not bothering about
Getting enlightenment all the time
And the result is
I wake up in the morning feeling fine!
Praying for salvation in the world to come
Praying for your own selfish ends
Is only piling on more and more
Self-centeredness and arrogance
Die β then live
Day and night within the world
Once you’ve done this, then you can
Hold the world right in your hand!
If you search for the Pure Land
Bent upon your own reward
You’ll only find yourself
despised
By the Buddha after all!
People have no enemies
None at all right from the start
You create them all yourself
Fighting over right and wrong
Clear are the workings of cause
and effect
You become deluded, but
don’t know
It’s something that you’ve done yourself
That’s what’s called self-centeredness
Though the years may creep ahead
Mind itself can never age
This mind that’s
Always just the same
Wonderful! Marvelous!
When you’ve searched
and found at last
The one who never will grow old
β “I alone!”
The Pure Land
Where one communes at peace
Is here and now, it’s not remote
Millions and millions of leagues away
When someone tosses you a tea bowl
β Catch it!
Catch it nimbly with soft cotton
With the cotton of your skillful mind!
(Zenshu, pp 519-522 β translated by Peter Haskel, Bankei Zen, pp 125-132 )
~End of Post~
Bankei’s Song of Original Mind