01-SN-Introduction-Devata-(Ch.1)-(2009-07-12).txt

We pay respect to the Buddha first. Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa. Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa. Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa Okay, today is the 12th of July 2009. We are starting on the Samyutta Nikaya Suttas. And you can see how many Suttas we can complete in this three months Vassa. Hopefully we can cover most of the suttas. But I will try to speak on these suttas every night. But the problem is, you know, when you talk one hour of the suttas, you need a few hours of preparation. So I don't know whether every day I can prepare or not. Last time when I did the Anguttara Nikaya, it was like one talk a week. So I had one week to prepare and now I have only a few hours every day to prepare. So anyway, we will try our best. The Samyutta Nikaya is one of the five Nikayas. Nikayas means collection of discourses of the Buddha. Okay, so now we start again. This Samyutta Nikaya is one of five Nikayas. Nikaya means collections of the Buddha's discourses. Sangyuta means yoke together or group together. So, Sangyuta, Nikaya can be said to be topically group discourses. All the five Nikayas are the Digha Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Samyutta Nikaya, Anguttara and Buddhaka Nikaya. Digha Nikaya are the long discourses of the Buddha. 34 Suttas are long discourses. Majjhima Nikaya are the middle length discourses of the Buddha. There are 152 discourses. The Sanyutta Nikaya consists of about 2000 discourses of the Buddha and they are short discourses. Most of them are short discourses. Similarly, the Anguttara Nikaya are short discourses, about 2000 of them. And the Kutaka Nikaya is a collection of discourses that were compiled later. It's called Kudaka means minor collection, but over the years it has grown with the addition of more and more books until it has become the major collection. The Samyutta Nikaya is sometimes said to be the oldest of the Nikayas and the most important. Why is it the most important? Because the Buddha's teachings are concerned with enlightenment or liberation. And actually there's only one path to liberation, the Noble Eightfold Path taught by the Buddha. Now this Noble Eightfold Path, if it is expanded, can be said to be the 37 Bodhipakya Dhammas. Bodhipakya Dhammas means the requisites of enlightenment. And the Buddha has stated in several discourses that the core of his teachings are found in these 37 Bodhipakya Dhammas. The essence of his teachings, the most important part of his teachings. What are these 37 Bodhipakya Dhammas? First, you have the four right efforts. Samapadana, then the four intense states of recollection, Satipatthana, the four bases of psychic power, Idipada, the five faculties, Indriya, the five powers, Bala, The Seven Factors of Enlightenment, Bojanga, and the Noble Eightfold Path, Arya Atangikam, Maga. So these numbers, if you add them up together, they become 37. That's why they are called the 37 Bodhipakya Dhammas. Unlike the Digha Nikaya and the Majjhima Nikaya, the Suttas in the Samyutta Nikaya do not have a proper name agreed by everyone. So sometimes the names given differ. Now the Samyutta Nikaya is divided into five books or five Vagas. And these Vagas books are divided into chapters called Sanyutas. And there's a total of 56 Sanyutas in the five books or the five Agas. And these Sanyutas are the main topics in the Sanyuta Nikaya. Now, all the Suttas within a Sanyuta and there are 56 of them. All the Suttas in one Samyutta concern the same topic. For example, the first one, Devata Samyutta, all the Suttas there are compiled, they have something to do with Devata. And then, for example, the 47th Samyutta is the Satipatthana Samyutta, And this Satipatthana Samyutta, all the suttas in this Satipatthana Samyutta have to do with Satipatthana. So the Satipatthana groups together all the discourses are of one particular topic. That is why a good translation of Sangyuta Nikaya is topically grouped discourses. At the moment there are two translations in English of this Sangyuta Nikaya. The first one was by the Pali Text Society and this one is about 100 years old already. And because it was the first translation, it was not very well done, not very accurate. But considering at that time, it was the best. Because now over the last 100 years, the understanding of the Dhamma has grown among English speaking people. And so now the most recent translation and the best we have now is by Wisdom Publication, by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, an American monk. And this was done in the year 2000. So if you order this book, you have to get it from Wisdom Publications. Now, so we will use the translation of Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi in these talks, because it's the best translation we have at the moment. I will read the suttas. I might not read all the suttas. I will try to read as many suttas as possible, or parts of them, and then explain as best as I can. Okay, now we come to the first sanyuta, or the first book first. We come to the first book. It's called the Saggatha Vaga. And according to the introduction in this book, the Saggatha Vaga is so called because all the suttas in this book contain verses. verses meaning gata, at least one usually more. The vaga is divided or the book is divided into 11 sanyutas containing a total of 271 suttas. Most of these sanyutas are subdivided into several sections usually of 10 suttas each. So in the Pali Text Society copy of this Sangyuta Nikaya, when they refer to the sutas, they also refer to these sections. But for this sutas that I'm going to read, I will not refer to the sections. I will only refer to the suta number in that sangyuta. For example, if I say Sutta number 25.49, that means it is the 25th Sanghuta in this Sanghuta Nikaya, 25th chapter, and 49 Suttas in that Sanghuta. So bear in mind that the Sutta numbers will be, the first number will be the Samyutta number, the second number will be the Sutta number in that whole Samyutta. Now we come to the first Samyutta, the Devata Samyutta. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi explains here, Devata is an extract noun based on Deva. But in the Nikayas, it is invariably used to denote particular celestial beings, just as the English word deity. Originally, an abstract noun, meaning the divine nature, is normally used to denote the supreme god of theistic religions or an individual god or goddess of polytheistic faiths. Though the word is feminine, the gender comes from the abstract suffix "-tar", and does not necessarily mean the devatas are female. The texts rarely indicate their sex, though it seems they can be of either sex, and sometimes perhaps beyond sexual differentiation. Okay, so now we will go into the first sutra. The first sutra, so the sutra number is 1.1. title here is Crossing the Flood. Thus have I heard. This translation, thus have I heard, the Pali is Evamme Sutang. Like when we chant the Mangala Sutta, we always start with Evamme Sutang. And in Chinese, the meaning is Ru Si Wo Wen. Thus have I heard. This phrase, the Buddha advised the monks to use whenever they quote a sutra that means, they have heard it from the Buddha, thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling in Savatthi, in Jeta's grove, Anathapindika's spa. Then when the night had advanced, a certain devata of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side and said to him, How, dear sir, did you cross the flood? And the Buddha said, By not halting, friend, and by not straining, I crossed the flood. Again he asked, But how is it, dear sir, that by not halting and by not straining, you crossed the flood? And the Buddha said, When I came to a standstill, friend, then I sank. But when I struggled, then I got strapped away. It is in this way, friend, that by not halting and by not straining, I cross the flood." And the Devata said, After a long time, at last, I see a Brahmin who is fully quenched, who by not halting, not straining, has crossed over attachment to the world. This is what the Devata said, the teacher approved. then that devata thinking the teacher has approved of me paid homage to the blessed one and keeping him on the right disappeared right there that's the end of the sutta now this deva asked the question how did you cross the flood this flood crossing the flood now means going over to the other shore sometimes they use this expression and it means becoming liberated. This shore is samsara, the mundane world, which is the cycle of birth and death. And the other shore is nibbana. So, to cross over to the other shore also means cross the flood. And the Buddha said, by not halting and by not straining, Another translation you can use is, by not standing still and not striving hard, I crossed the flood. And then he asked, how is it by not standing still and not striving hard? The Buddha said, when I came to a standstill or when I stood still, then I sank. But when I strove hard, then I got whirled about. This is another translation. world about. It is in this way, friend, that by not standing still and not striving hard, I crossed the flood. So what the Buddha means is that he practiced the Middle Path. In the beginning, when the Buddha used effort to struggle, to seek liberation, he used excessive effort. And he used excessive effort to the extent that he underwent various types of ascetic practices, extreme ascetic practices, like going naked. He said when he was practicing the ways of the naked ascetic, in the daytime, he would be scorched by the sun. Because in India, sometimes daytime is extremely hot, be burned by the sun. And at night, When the cold wind blows from the Himalayan mountains, he'll be shivering so much that his teeth will be chattering. So that was one extreme. And then another type of extreme was like he ate little, he practiced like eating one meal a day. Then later, two days, one meal. And then later, three days, one meal. and then 4 days 1 meal until I think 14 days he only took 1 meal of course when he took that 1 meal he would gorge himself as much as he could and after that he refuses to eat for 13 days so when he tried this type of practice and he found that it did not bring him enlightenment then he abandoned it then he tried something else then he tried like eating less eat everyday but eat less and eat less and less and less until he ate one grain of rice a day. Because his desire to become liberated was so strong. So, in the explanation of the Noble Eightfold Path, of the Four Noble Truths, it is said that the cause of suffering, dukkha, is craving and one of the cravings is craving for existence and craving for non-existence. So in this case, this craving for non-existence, that means to be liberated from this world, is excessive. So it is a cause for continued existence. Because if a person uses too much effort, then he is not cool. Nibbana is a state, a cool state. to reach Nibbana, the cultivator has got to be cool. So when you use too much effort, the mind is very agitated, the desire is too strong. So that's why he said when he stove too hard, he got whirled about. It's like in a whirlpool. But when he did not use any effort at all, then he sank. So without these two extremes of no effort and too much effort, he practiced the Middle Way. That means the path to liberation is by making effort, but not to have too much desire. It's always said that that when we practice the holy path, we make the effort but don't be too ambitious for the result. The result will come naturally when we practice the right way and we let go, let go of our attachments, which includes, of course, the desire to be liberated. Now, the second sutta, at Savatthi, When the night had advanced, a certain Devata of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side and said to Him, Do you know, dear Sir, emancipation, release, seclusion for beings? And the Buddha said, I know, friend, emancipation, release, seclusion for beings. But in what way, dear sir, do you know emancipation, release, inclusion for beings? And the Buddha said, by the utter destruction of delight in existence, by the extinction of perception and consciousness, by the cessation and appeasement of feelings, this thus friend that I know for beings, emancipation, release, inclusion. So here the Deva is asking the Buddha whether the Buddha knows the path to emancipation or liberation and the Buddha says he knows and the Deva asked him to explain and the Buddha said first the utter destruction of delight in existence but for you to achieve that you got to see dukkha in existence if you realize that existence is dukkha suffering unsatisfactory that is one condition And then the other one, the Buddha said, extinction of perception and consciousness, and cessation and appeasement of feelings. Normally in the Suttas, the Buddha talks about a state, Nirodha, cessation, which also means a cessation of perception and feeling. But when there is cessation of perception and feeling, it also means cessation of consciousness. Because all these come together. So, if a person can come to that state where consciousness, perception and feeling ceases, then that is liberation. Because this world is the world of the six consciousnesses. And our six consciousnesses, the seeing consciousness, the hearing, smelling, taste, touch and thinking consciousness, arises, then the world arises. So, Nibbana is a state where consciousness ceases, together with it, feeling and perception, so that the world ceases entirely. The third Sutta, 1.3, at Svabhati, standing to one side, the Devata recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. Life is swept along. Short is the lifespan. No shelters exist for one who has reached old age. Seeing clearly this danger in death, one should do deeds of merit that bring happiness." And the Buddha said, Life is swept along. Short is the lifespan. No shelters exist for one who has reached old age. Seeing clearly this danger in death, a seeker of peace should drop the world's bed. So here the Deva recited four verses and the Buddha in reply, the first three verses the Buddha copied him, but the last one the Buddha said the seeker of peace should drop the world's bed. Whereas the Deva said one should do deeds of merit that bring happiness. This Deva is saying that life, there's no security in life because all of us are swept along the stream of life and we grow old, we become sick and we die. So he said, seeing this danger that we have to die, that we should do deeds of merit that bring us to a good rebirth, bring us to a happy state of rebirth. But the Buddha said, if you can see that life is such that in every state of rebirth, you have to grow old, you have to become sick and die, then a real seeker of peace, that means permanent peace, should drop the world's bait. The world's bait means all the worldly pleasures that entice us to prolong our existence. want to exist in this world because there is happiness in this world. If there is no happiness, nobody would want to live in this world. But at the same time that there is happiness, there is also suffering in this world. So because there is suffering, that is the reason why we want to seek for liberation out of existence. But happiness and suffering is such that however much happiness you experience, is never going to be enough. You're never going to be satisfied. Whereas when we experience dukkha, suffering, even a little bit, we find it so hard to stand, hard to bear, we can't tolerate it. So because of that, that's why we seek liberation. And as we grow, through life, as we go to the round of rebirths, we become more spiritually mature until we one day, because of so much suffering, that one day we look for a way out of samsara, out of this round of rebirths. 4th Sutta, 1.4, at Savatthi also. Standing to one side, that Devata recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. Time flies by. time flies by, the night swiftly pass, the stages of life successively desert us, seeing clearly this danger in death, one should do deeds of merit that bring happiness. And the Buddha said, time flies by, the night swiftly pass, the stages of life successively desert us, seeing clearly this danger in death, the seeker of peace should drop the world's bay. So here again, Buddha replied to this Deva by imitating, copying the first three verses. And then the last one, the Buddha said something different. We find these Devas, they encourage people to do deeds of merit. For the very simple reason that in the previous life, they did a lot of merit, meritorious deeds. That's why they were reborn in heaven. So when they were reborn in heaven, they experienced so much bliss and happiness. That's why they think that's the best way that everybody should do deeds of merit and be reborn in heaven. But the Buddha, with higher wisdom, sees that even this happiness in heaven is impermanent, that it will pass away. You know, when we enjoy life, time goes by very fast. But when we suffer, time goes by very slowly. So, if being in heaven, after a lifetime of millions of years, that lifetime ends, he will think, oh my life is so short, still got this to do, that to do. But being in hell, when he's suffering, one day to go by is like eternity. Because during that one day, he's tortured so much, he suffers so much. So devas, they think the path to happiness is to do deeds of merit. But the Buddha, in the second sutta, he says that we should drop the world's bait. Don't be tempted by all the pleasures in the world. Because if you want to enjoy the pleasures in the world, you can never get out of the world. This world is unsatisfactory. The fifth sutta. At Savatthi, standing to one side, that Devata recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. How many must one cut? How many abandon? And how many further must one develop? When the Bhikkhu has surmounted, how many ties is he called a crosser of the flood? And the Buddha said, one must cut off five, abandon five, and must develop a further five. A Bhikkhu who has surmounted five ties is called a crosser of the flood. So here the Deva is asking, how many things must one cut? How many things must one abandon? And how many things further must one develop? Can you cross the flood? And the Buddha says, this one, we have to refer to the later books. And this is the explanation. One must cut off five lower fetters, and then one must abandon five other things, and one must develop the five faculties, and then you must amount five other ties. Now, what are these things? The five lower fetters that you have to cut off to be liberated, one is the identity view, That means you identify yourself as somebody. And another of the lower factors is doubt. And then the third is attachment to rules and rituals, Silabhata Paramahamsa. And the fourth is sensual desire. And the fifth is ill will. So if a person cuts off these five lower factors. This one that I just mentioned, identity, view, doubt, attachment to rules and rituals, and sure desire and ill will. He becomes an anagamin. An anagamin, the third fruit, ariya, has abandoned the five lower factors. Then the Buddha said, I must abandon five other things. Abandon lust for form, lust for the formless world, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance. These are the remaining factors. There are 10 factors that we have to eliminate to become liberated. So the first 5 are the 5 lower factors and the next 5 are the 5 higher factors. And then to achieve that, you have to develop the 5 faculties. These 5 faculties are very helpful. to enlightenment. The first one is faith, faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Then energetic effort, effort, making effort. Then recollection or sati. Then concentration, samadhi. Then wisdom, panna. These are the five faculties that we have to develop to attain liberation or enlightenment. Then the five ties that we have to surmount is lust, hatred, delusion, conceit and views. Five ties, the five Sangha, that's the NGA. So these are the things that we have to abandon and eliminate, develop, etc. to become liberated.

02-SN-Devata-(Ch.1)-(2009-07-12).txt

The Sixth Sutta, 1.6, Asavati, standing to one side, that Devakta recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. How many are asleep when others are awake? How many are awake when others are asleep? By how many does one gather dust? By how many is one purified? And the Buddha said, five are asleep when others are awake. Five are awake when others are asleep. By five things, one gathers dust. By five things, one is purified. So here, what does the Buddha mean? Five are asleep when others are awake. And five are awake when others are asleep. These refer to the five hindrances and the five faculties. When your five faculties are asleep, then your five hindrances are awake. Or when your five faculties are awake, Then your five hindrances are asleep. They are kind of opposite to each other. They are opposed to each other. And then, one gathers dust, means the dust of defilements, by five things. The five hindrances make us have this dust of defilements. And five things make us purified are the five faculties. Just now I mentioned the five faculties. Faith, energy, recollection, concentration, and wisdom makes one purified. The Seventh Sutta at Savatthi. Standing to one side, that Devata recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. Those who have not penetrated things, who may be led into others' doctrines, Fast asleep, they have not yet awakened. It is time for them to awaken. And the Buddha said, those who have penetrated things well, who cannot be led into others' doctrines, those awakened ones, having rightly known, fare evenly amidst the uneven. So, when the Buddha says, those who have penetrated things well, who cannot be led into others' doctrines, The Buddha refers to the Aryans, the eight Aryans, the four paths and the four fruitions. And the awakened ones, or the fully awakened ones, are the Buddhas and the Arahant disciples. But you can include the Aryans also. because they are on their way out of samsara. The 8th Sutta, at Svabhati, standing to one side, the Devata recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. Those who are utterly muddled about things, who may be led into others' doctrines, fast asleep, they have not yet awakened. It is time for them to awaken. And the Buddha said, those who aren't muddled about things, who cannot be led into others' doctrines, those awakened ones, having rightly known, fare evenly amidst the uneven. So the Deva is talking about ordinary beings, Kutujanas, and the Buddha is talking about Aryans. The 9th Sutta at Savatthi, standing to one side, that Devata recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. There is no taming here for one fond of conceit, nor is there sagehood for the unconcentrated. Though dwelling alone in the forest, heedless, one cannot cross beyond the realm of death. And the Buddha said, having abandoned conceit, well-concentrated, with lofty mind, everywhere released, while dwelling alone in the forest, diligent, one can cross beyond the realm of death. These devas, because they are in the forest, sometimes they see monks coming into the forest to practice. Sometimes they come alone. But some of them, Like here, the Deva says, the form of conceit still has the ego. So one cannot let go of the ego. One cannot cross beyond the realm of death. And then also one who is unconcentrated. So the Deva says, though dwelling alone in the forest heedless, one cannot cross beyond the realm of death. Sometimes certain monks, they go and live alone in the forest, but they are not using effort in the right way. So even though they seem to dwell alone, but they cannot attain liberation. But the Buddha says, if a person abandons conceit and cultivates concentration, then dwelling in the forest alone and diligence. Diligence is very important. Then only you can cross the realm of death. 10 Sutta at Savati. Standing to one side, the Devata recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. Those who dwell deep in the forest, peaceful, leading the holy life, eating but a single meal a day, why is their complexion so serene? And the Blessed One said, They do not sorrow over the past, nor do they hanker for the future. They maintain themselves with what is present, hence their complexion is so serene. Through hankering for the future, through sorrowing over the past, fools dry up and wither away, like a green wreath cut down. So here the Deva, he sees monks who dwell alone in the forest. and eat one meal a day, and leading a very hard life. And yet, they look so peaceful, so contented. And he asked, why? And the Buddha said, because they do not sorrow over the past. You know, many of us, we think of the past, and we have remorse, we have regret. We keep thinking of the past. Many people, for example, if a person you know, boyfriend, girlfriend, relationships break up, and then they keep thinking of the past, and they become so miserable, and sometimes they commit suicide. But among practicing the right way, you do not sorrow over the past, and you do not hanker for the future, you don't worry about the future. Those who are ambitious will think about the future. And the Buddha said, they maintain themselves with what is present, Hence the complexion is so serene. So a person who practices the holy path is always mindful of his object of meditation. He always has to bring his mind back to his object. In other words, he has to remember to contemplate his object of meditation. That's why the word sati is called recollection. Remembering your object of meditation. So sati is not general mindfulness, but always remembering to bring your mind back to your object of meditation. So if a person constantly has sati, bringing back his mind to his meditation object, then his mind is in the present. He does not think of the past, he does not think of the future. When you think of the past, you have sorrow, you have remorse. When you think of the future, you have a lot of worries. So without thinking of these two extremes, you are mindful of the here and now, then you'll be happy. Now we come to the second section, the 11th Sutta in the whole Sangita. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savati in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, because I'll stop here for a while. This Blessed One, normally is a translation for the word Bhagavata. Bhagavata or sometimes Bhagavan, in certain books, is a term of respect for a holy man. It's called Bhagavata. And this word Bhikkhu, Bhikkhu is a term for Buddhist monks. And it was coined by the Buddha. It comes from the word Bhikkha. Bhikkha became the English word back. So bhikkhu means a beggar. So that's why a lay person should never call a monk bhikkhu. Only the Buddha is qualified to call a monk bhikkhu. It's a way to discipline the monks, put down their ego, to remember that they are beggars. So lay people during the Buddha's time always referred to the monks as bante. And then we see in the suttas that even the monks called the Buddha Bhante, which means reverend or reverend sir. So here the Buddha addressed the monks Bhikkus. Sometimes it's translated as monks. And the monks replied, venerable sir, or Bhante. Bhante or Bhattanta. The blessed one said, once in the past, Bhikkus, amongst, a certain Devata of the Tavatimsa host was reveling in the Nandana Grove, supplied and endowed with the five hordes of celestial sensual pleasure, accompanied by a retinue of celestial nymphs. On that occasion, he spoke this verse, they do not know bliss who have not seen Nandana, the abode of the glorious male devas belonging to the host of 30. When this was said, monks, a certain Devata replied to that Devata in verse. Don't you know, you fool, that maxim or the saying of the Arahants, impermanent are all formations. Their nature is to arise and vanish. Having arisen, they cease. Their appeasement is blissful. This chant. Sometimes we chant, Anicca, Vata, Sanghara, Upada, Vaya, Dhammino, Upaditawa, Nirujanti, Tesang, Upasamo, Sukho. This especially, this chant is used in a funeral when somebody passes away. So this Tavatimsa heaven is the heaven of the 30 or 33 because there are 30 or sometimes they mention 30, sometimes they mention 33. The Deva Rajas there, number 30, like our Sultan. They are leaders, there are 30 or 33 of them. That's why it's called Tawak Timsah Heaven. And in this heaven, there is a very beautiful garden called the Nandana Grove. So, when you are reborn in that heaven, you enjoy all kinds of heavenly pleasures in that Nandana Grove. So this Deva says, anybody who has not seen Nandana Grove, they don't know what happiness is. But this, the other Deva, he's smarter. So he said, don't you know what the Arahants say? Then he quoted this, impermanent are all formations. All the things in the world are impermanent. The nature is to arise and vanish. Having arisen, they cease. Their appeasement is blissful. Their appeasement means The seizing of all formations, the seizing of all things in the world is real peace, because that peace is permanent peace. 1.12. At Savatthi, standing to one side, the Devata recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. One who has sons, delight in sons. One with cattle, delights in cattle. Acquisitions truly are a man's delight. Without acquisitions, one does not delight. And the Buddha said, one who has sons, sorrows over sons. One with cattle, sorrows over cattle. Acquisitions truly are a man's sorrows. Without acquisitions, one does not sorrow. So here you see, the Deva is saying that when you have property, you have sons and you have property, then you are a happy man. But the Buddha says the opposite. One who has sons, sorrows over sons. This one just reminds me, the other day, one of our samanera here came to ordain, he brought their brother along. So, the brother was in a hurry to go back, then asked why, he said, because the son has become a drug addict, so got caught by police. So you see, one who has sons, sorrows over sons, especially nowadays. One who has daughters also sorrows over daughters. Sometimes the daughter runs away from home. Then you have cattle, you have to worry about your cattle. You have property, you have to worry about your property. So, if a person does not have anything, nothing to worry about. Actually, we came into this world empty-handed, with nothing. We are going to go off empty-handed. So why do you want to have so much things? We do our duty, whatever our duty is. And then if we get Okay, we don't get, I said, okay, I leave everything to our karma. The 13th Sutta, at Savatthi, standing to one side, that Devata spoke this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. There is no affection like that for a son. No wealth equal to cattle. There is no light like the sun. Among the waters, the ocean is supreme. And the Buddha said, there is no affection like that for oneself. No wealth equal to grain. There is no life like wisdom. Among the waters, the rain is supreme. So you see, the Deva says there is no love like that for a son. But the Buddha says there is no love like that for oneself. Because even though whatever we like or whatever we love, the love for oneself is the greatest. Because of our ego, we love ourselves the most. If you say you love somebody more than yourself, you are hypocritical. And then he says there is no wealth equal to cattle, but the Buddha says there is no wealth equal to grain. Maybe because grain, I'm not sure why, can grow, you can sell, you can fill your stomach, everything. There's no light like wisdom. The Deva says there's no light like the sun. The sun is so bright, but the Buddha says there's no light like wisdom. Because people like the Buddha, when they're enlightened, their light shines forth from their head. And this light can illuminate many, many world systems. But ordinary beings cannot see. And then among the waters, the rain is supreme. When the rain comes, it gives life. Actually, in the Sutta, the Buddha says Life depends on water. Only now scientists know that actually, like they go to, they send a spacecraft to Mars and anywhere, they want to look for water. If there's any source of water, then they know that at one time there was life. So the Buddha, so long ago, 2,500 years ago, the Buddha already knew that. Now only scientists know. The 14th Sutra. The kathiya, a warrior, is the best of bipeds, two-legged beings. The ox, the best of quadrupeds. A maiden is the best of wives. The firstborn, the best of sons. And the Buddha said, the Buddha is the best of bipeds. A steed, the best of quadrupeds. An obedient woman is the best of wives. A dutiful son, the best of sons. Dear This Deva says the noble caste or the warrior is the best of two-footed beings. But the Buddha says the best of two-footed beings is the Buddha, the awakened one, the enlightened one. And then the Deva says the ox is the best of four-footed beings. The Buddha says the steed, the good horse, is the best of quadrupeds. And then The Deva says, a maiden is the best of wives. In other words, a young wife. But the Buddha says, obedient woman is the best of wives. And then the Deva says, the first born is the best of sons. But the Buddha says, a dutiful boy or obedient son is the best of sons. Some people, they have many children, but when they are old, not one of the children want to look after them. But if you have a good son or a good daughter, one is enough when you grow old. That obedient son or daughter will look after you. The 15th Sutta. When the noon hour sets in and the birds have settled down, the mighty forest itself murmurs. How fearful that appears to me, the Deva said. And the Buddha said, when the noon hour sets in, and the birds have settled down, the mighty forest itself murmurs, how delightful that appears to me. So here, the Deva is saying, in the noon, around noon time, all the birds have quietened down, and the forest is so quiet and still, he finds that fearful. But the Buddha says, at that time, the Buddha finds it so delightful, because it's so peaceful, nobody to disturb his meditation, his bliss, his peace. 1.16, the Deva said, drowsiness, lethargy, lazy, stretching, discontent, torpor after meals. Because of this, here among beings, the noble path does not appear. And the Buddha said, drowsiness, lethargy, Lazy stretching, discontent, torpor after meals. When one dispels this with energy, the noble path is cleared. So here the Deva must have seen some monks after eating a lot, they are very drowsy, their mind is lethargic, lazy, not inclined to motion, and torpor, sloth and torpor after meals. So because of that, eating too much, this monk does not see the noble path. But the Buddha says, if the monk is energetic, puts in a lot of effort, then all the drowsiness, lethargy, torpor, etc., will clear away. Then he sees the noble path clearly. 17th Sutta. The ascetic life is hard to practice and hard for the inept or unskillful to endure? How many are the obstructions there in which the fool founders? How many days can one practice the ascetic life if one does not rein in one's mind? One would founder with each step under control of one's intentions. And I think the Buddha replied, drawing in the mind's thoughts as a tortoise draws its limbs into its shell, independent, not harassing others, fully quenched, a bhikkhu would not blame anyone. So the Deva is saying that a monk who is unskillful will find the ascetic life, the holy life, very hard to practice. And there are many obstructions for him. For him to founder means to fail, to fall down. But the Buddha says that the monk should draw in the thoughts, just like a tortoise draws its limbs into its shell, and then it can be fully quenched. The 18th Sutta, the Deva says, is there a person somewhere in the world who is restrained by a sense of shame, one who draws back from blame, as a good horse does from the whip? And the Buddha says, few are those restrained by a sense of shame, who fare always mindful. Few, having reached the end of suffering, fare evenly amidst the uneven. So, the Deva is asking whether There's someone who has a sense of shame. And the Buddha says there are very few, very few who are collected. And then the 19th Sutta, the Deva says, don't you have a little hut? Don't you have a little nest? Don't you have any lines extended? Are you free from bondage? And the Buddha says, surely I have no little hut. Surely I have no little nest. Surely I have no lines extended. Surely I'm free from bondage. And the Deva asked, what do you think I call a little hut? What do you think I call a little nest? What do you think I call lines extended? What do you think I call bondage? And the Buddha replied, it's a mother that you call a little hut. A wife that you call a little nest. Sons you call lines extended. craving that you tell me is bondage. And the Deva said, it's good that you have no little hut, good that you have no little nest, good that you have no lines extended, good that you are free from bondage. So here, the Deva is asking a riddle, asking the Buddha whether he has a hut, nest, lines extended. And then the Buddha says, yes, none of these. Then the Deva tests him, asks him, do you know what I mean when I say a little hut, a nest, and the lines extended? And the Buddha says, yes. The Buddha says, hut refers to the mother. Once a person renounces, he's supposed to renounce the family. So he has no mother, no father. He doesn't have a wife, the nest. He doesn't have children, lines extended. And the Deva praised him. Now we come to the 20th Sutta. That is a bit long, so maybe tonight I stop here. You all have any questions? You see here in this Samyutta, all the Suttas have to do with experiences of the Buddha with these Devas. Later, maybe you will come across some other Sutas in the same Samyutta, where other monks also have experience with these Devas. Their experience is stated here. Yeah. I think normally when they say when the night is advanced, means the middle watch, which is between 10pm and 2am. Usually, devas in the heavenly realm, they are enjoying themselves so much that they don't think so much of making merit. But there are some who may have known the Dhamma in the previous life then they would want to do merit. For example, Sakadeva Raja, it seems, he liked to make offerings to the Arahant Mahakassapa. Mahakassapa was a very ascetic monk. So, being an Arahant, if you give food to him, it's very meritorious. So you have later books like the Dhammapada Commentary, where they may have made up some stories about this Sakadeva Raja always trying to make offering to these arahants, especially like Mahakasapa. There are some books which tell you how to tie Ajahn Maitreya. When you go to Muruganwala and you have problems, and you see the Deva to make himself as a person And after they help them, they just vanish. So? Very probably true, la. Very probably. Because in the Buddha, we see that he becomes a person. And then we see that he is always like, he says, you know, he's telling me, in the Buddha, Yeah, because these devas and also ghosts, they are psychic. So if they don't want us to see them, we don't see them. But when they want us to see them, then they will appear for us to see. You see, for a monk to go into the deep forest, it's a rare sight, you see. So these devas will all notice. They will immediately can gauge his mind, they can read his mind. So they will know immediately what type of person this is. So because of that, they will be protective. They know that it is a good person, a sincere cultivator. I have an experience also because I stayed in this cave in Penang Hill for seven years. So I'm sure there are devas around. One day a man came and He had, I think, had been practicing Taoism. So, you know, some people, they practice Taoism, they have some spirit inside of them. So when he came into this cave, immediately, like somebody strangled him, he could not breathe. Could not breathe. And he had to sit down, had to sit down. And after a while, he felt better. So maybe the Deva thought this was a bit of a threat. Giving my warning. So, these things happen. Any other thing? Okay, now we transfer merit.

03-SN-Devata-(Ch.1)-(2009-07-13).txt

Now we continue, this is the second night talk on the Samyutta Nikaya, topically group discourses. We had the first Samyutta, Devata Samyutta, and yesterday we finished 1.19, so today We start with 1.20, the 20th Sutta in the First Samhita, Samhiti Sutta. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha, in the hot springs park. Then the Venerable Samhiti, having risen at the first flush of dawn, went to the hot springs to bathe. Having bathed in the hot springs and come back out, he stood in one rope, drying his limbs. Then, when the night had advanced, a certain devata of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire hot springs, approached the Venerable Samyidi. I stop here for a while. This one, when the night had advanced, normally would mean like the middle watch. The night in the suttas is divided into three watch. The first watch is 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The second watch is 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. And the third watch is 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. So when the night had advanced, it would probably be after the first watch. First watch in Chinese is called Chu Fen Yue. Having approached, she stood in the air and addressed the verbal Samadhi in verse. You notice here, this one is a Devi. And she said, without having enjoyed, you seep alms, monk. You don't seep alms after you have enjoyed. First enjoy, monk, then seep alms. Don't let the time pass you by. And Rev. Sarmidhi said, I do not know what the time might be. The time is hidden and cannot be seen. Hence, without enjoying, I cede arms. Don't let the time pass me by. Let's stop here for a moment to explain a bit. This Devi said, first enjoy, then cede arms. Don't let the time pass you by. What he means is the time of youth. Now you're young, you should enjoy, enjoy sensual pleasures. And then he said, I don't know what the time might be. Now his time is different. Remember Samiti says, I don't know what the time might be. He means the time of death. any time I might pass away. Time is hidden and cannot be seen. Hence, without enjoying, I seek alms. Don't let the time pass me by. It was the time for cultivation. Don't let the time for practice of the Dhamma pass me by before death comes. So, this interpretation of time is different from the Devi. Then that Devata alighted on the earth and said to the Venerable Samhiti, You have gone forth while young, monk, a lad with black hair, endowed with the blessing of youth, in the prime of life, without having delved with sensual pleasures. Enjoy human sensual pleasures, monk. Do not abandon what is directly visible in order to pursue what takes time. And Rev. Samidi said, I have not abandoned what is directly visible, friend, in order to pursue what takes time. I have abandoned what takes time in order to pursue what is directly visible. For the Blessed One, friend, has stated that sensual pleasures are time-consuming, full of suffering, full of despair, and the danger in them is still greater. While this Dhamma is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise. I stop here again to explain. You see here, because this monk is young and probably very handsome, so the Devi has come to tempt him. Just like sometimes some young monks, when they stay alone, sometimes women also come to tempt them. And the reverse is also true. Sometimes nuns, during the Buddha's time, initially nuns, some of them stayed alone. And sometimes they also were tempted by some men and sometimes raped by men. So here, the Devi said, you are young, enjoy. sensual pleasures. Do not abandon what is directly visible to pursue what takes time. Probably what she means is what is directly visible is human sensual pleasures. It is visible for you to enjoy now. You want to pursue what takes time. That means you want to If you want to wait until you go to heaven and enjoy heavenly sensual pleasures, it's not necessary, he was trying to say. The monk says that he has not abandoned what is directly visible because he says that sensual pleasures are time-consuming. Because sensual pleasures, if we enjoy sensual pleasures, there is no end to it. So we will be in the round of rebirths. And samsara is never-ending. That takes a lot of time. So that's what he means by sensual pleasures. Time-consuming. But the Dhamma is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see. to be personally experienced by the wise. This one is when we chant, the Iti Piso chant. We say Swakato Bhagavata Dhammo Sanditiko Akaliko Ehipasiko Upanayiko Pachatamveditabhovinu Iti. This is the meaning, directly visible here and now, immediately. This is the result of cultivation of the holy path. Practicing Sila, Samadhi and Panna, the results are immediately visible. And the Dhamma invites you to come and see, to be experienced personally by the wise. And then the Devi said, but how is it, monk, that the Blessed One has stated that sensual pleasures are time-consuming, full of suffering, full of despair, and the danger in them is still greater? How is it that this Dhamma is directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise? And Venerable Samedi said, I am newly ordained friend, not long gone forth, just recently come to this Dhamma Vinaya. I cannot explain it in detail, but that blessed one, Arahant Sammasambuddha, is dwelling at Rajagaha in the Hot Springs Park. approached that blessed one and asked him about this matter. As he explains it to you, so should you remember it. And the Devi said, it isn't easy for us to approach that blessed one monk, as he is surrounded by other devatas of great influence. if you would approach him and ask him about this matter, we will come along too in order to hear the Dhamma. Stop here a moment. So here the Devi is saying that the Buddha is frequently surrounded by powerful Devas and Devis and she is not such a powerful Devi. She finds it difficult to approached the Buddha, and Venerable Samiti replied, Very well, friend. Then he approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and reported his entire discussion with that Devata, adding, If that Devata statement is true, Venerable Sir, then that Devata should be closed by. And this was said, that Devata said to the Venerable Samiti, Ask monk, ask monk, for I have arrived. You see, for the Venerable Samyidhi, to be able to see that Devi and talk to that Devi, shows that he has probably already attained the fourth jhāna. As the Buddha says, when a person has attained the fourth jhāna, quite likely that person can see Devas and Devis and talk to them. Then that Blessed One addressed the Devakaya Universe. Beings who perceive what can be expressed become established in what can be expressed, not fully understanding what can be expressed, become under the yoke of death. But having fully understood what can be expressed, one does not conceive one who expresses, for that does not exist for him by which one could describe him. If you understand Spirit, speak up. And the Devi said, I do not understand in detail, Venerable Sir, the meaning of what was stated in brief by the Blessed One. Please, Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One explain it to me in such a way that I might understand in detail the meaning of what He stated in brief. Let's stop here for a moment. You see, this Venerable Samyidi, like many of the monks, because the Buddha used to travel alone, The Dhamma they had heard is actually not so many, not so many suttas. Not like us actually, we are more lucky. We have many suttas available to us. And we can be actually, we can study the suttas. And we can know many suttas, much more than even the Arahants in the Buddha's time. So even Arahants, sometimes when they were approached to teach the Dhamma, they say just the same thing. They know very little Dhamma. They cannot explain in detail, because they actually have learned not many suttas. So in the same way, this Venerable Samyedi, he said that he does not know much Dhamma, asked the Devi to go and see the Buddha. Now the Buddha has spoken some Dhamma, and the Devi also finds it hard to understand. Even though heavenly beings, they should have a high intelligence, and yet they find it hard to understand. So here the Buddha says, beings who perceive what can be expressed become established in what can be expressed. What can be expressed is like what can be described. In the Majjhima Nikaya, the first sutta, the Buddha talks about people who conceive earth, water, fire, wind, eye, mind, beings around us, gods, etc. And when the person conceives, then he has a feeling that I conceive. And so that I arises, the I in mind. Here the Buddha says, those who perceive and don't understand, then they come under the yoke of death, in the round of rebirth. A one who understands, then there is no One who expresses love, there is no ego. So the Devi asked the Buddha to explain again. And the Buddha said, one who conceives I am equal, better or worse, might on that account engage in disputes or arguments. But one not shaken in the three discriminations does not think I am equal or better. If you understand spirit, speak up. And the Devi said, in this case too, Venerable Sir, I do not understand in detail what has been expressed in brief by the Buddha, sorry, by the Blessed One. Please, Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One explain to me in such a way that I might understand in detail. So here the Buddha says, one who still as an I, he does not conceive that he is equal to others, or better than others, or worse than others. Because he does not have that ego. And then the Buddha explained again, He abandoned reckoning, did not assume conceit. He cut off craving for name and form. Though devas and humans search for him, here and beyond, in the heavens and all abodes, they do not find the one whose knots are cut, the one untroubled, free of longing. If you understand spirit, speak up. And finally, the Devi said, I understand in detail, Venerable Sir, the meaning of what was stated in brief by the Blessed One thus. One should do no evil in all the world, not by speech, mind or body. Having abandoned sense pleasures, mindful and clearly comprehending, one should not pursue a cause that is painful and harmful. That's the end of the Sutta. Here, the Buddha says, he has abandoned reckoning. Reckoning means consideration. or regard. You can see he has abandoned reckoning, let me see, does not assume conceit, does not have an eye. You can see he has abandoned views also, reckoning, views about this and that. that does not have conceit. He has cut off craving for name and form. Nama Rupa here is phenomenal, object of consciousness. Because in the suttas, Nama Rupa always arises together with Vijnana. Vijnana is consciousness. So Nama Rupa is the object of Vijnana, object of consciousness. So Nama Rupa, name and form, mentality, materiality, is phenomenal, what we are conscious of. So, in other words, the world around us, so he has cut off craving for it. So he has cut off craving for the things in the world, then he's not born again. That's why the devas and humans search for him. They cannot find him when he has passed away. So that's the end of the Sutta. Now we go to 1.21. At Savatthi, standing to one side, that Devata recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. As if smitten by a sword, as if his head were on fire, a monk should wander mindfully to abandon sensual lust. And the Blessed One replied, as if smitten by a sword, As if his head were on fire, a monk should wander mindfully to abandon identity view. So here, the Devata is saying that a monk should be earnest, as though he is struck by a sword, or his head were on fire, or it's like his turban is on fire. So a monk should abandon sensual desire, sensual lust. But the Buddha says a monk should abandon identity view. Identity view is Sakaya Diti. It's one of the three factors that you have to eliminate to attain Sotapanna. So the meaning of identity view is that you identify yourself with the five aggregates. You take the five aggregates to be I or mine, or I am in the five aggregates or the five aggregates are inside me. So when you identify yourself with the five aggregates, you are still a kutujana. So Sotapanna, he has abandoned, he has eliminated Sakhya Aditi, identity view. So even though he still has a self, but he knows the body and the mind, this body is not the self. He can see this body is impermanent and beyond his control. So he knows that this body and this mind one day will pass away and the elements will scatter. But in spite of that, it's very hard to eliminate the I. Only the Arahant has eliminated the self. 1.22, the Devata said, it does not touch one who does not touch, but then will touch the one who touches. Therefore, it touches the one who touches, the one who wrongs an innocent man. And the Buddha replied, if one wrongs an innocent man, a pure person without blemish, the evil falls back on the fool himself, like fine dust thrown against the wind. So here, what does the devata mean? It says, the first line, it does not touch one who does not touch. It refers to the vipaka, the result of kamma. It does not touch. Vipaka does not touch the one who does not commit kamma. The second touch, who does not touch, is commit kamma. So one who does not commit kamma, the vipaka does not touch him. But then will touch the one who touches. The one who commits kamma, the vipaka will touch him. So one who wrongs an innocent man, the vipaka will come back to him. 1.23. The Devata said, a tangle inside, a tangle outside. This generation is entangled in a tangle. I ask you this, oh Gautama, who can disentangle this tangle? Can I explain a bit? This tangle or not? The first, the tangle inside, the mass of craving within us. The tangle outside is the mass of craving for external sense objects. We have a mass of craving within us and outside. Then he asked, who can disentangle this tangle? And the Buddha replied, a man established on virtue, wise, developing the mind and wisdom among ardent and discreet, he can disentangle this tangle. Those for whom lust and hatred, along with ignorance, has been expunged, got rid of, the arahants with asavas destroyed. For them, the tangle is disentangled. Their name and form ceases, stops without remainder, and also impingement and perception of form. Here this tangle is cut at the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha is saying The Arahants with Asavas destroyed. Arahant is called a Kinasava, one who has destroyed the Asavas. And the Asavas can be translated as uncontrolled mental outflows. And basically, this uncontrolled mental outflows is the flow of consciousness. Because when the sixth consciousness flows, then the world arises. Arahant is one who has destroyed the uncontrolled mental outflows and the tendency of consciousness to flow is destroyed in him. So when he passes away, consciousness does not continue to flow. Consciousness stops altogether. Again the Buddha says, where name and form ceases, nama-rupa ceases. And also, when nama-rupa ceases, Consciousness also ceases like Vinyana, because as I mentioned just now, consciousness and Nama Rupa And Vijnana, they are always together, they are always in a pair. When consciousness arises, Nama Rupa, the object, also arises. When consciousness ceases, Nama Rupa also ceases. So when name and form ceases, it means consciousness ceases. And also impingement, contact and perception of form. ceases. It is here that this tangle is cut. This is the state when a person enters, passes away and enters Nibbana, or Parinibbana. Then as described in the Kevada Sutta of the Jigna Nikaya, the sixth consciousness ceases. Then that is the ultimate state. The next Sutta, 1.24. For whatever one rains, from whatever one reigns in the mind. From that no suffering comes to one. Should one reign in the mind from everything, one is free from all suffering. So here the Devata is saying that we should control or discipline the mind If we control the mind from everything, then one is free from suffering. But the Buddha said, one need not rein in the mind from everything. When the mind has come under control, from whatever it is that evil comes, from this one should rein in the mind. So the Buddha says that initially we have to rein in the mind until it comes under control. Then when it has come under control, a disciplined mind, Basically a mind that is one-pointed. Then we should reign the mind, control the mind. What is evil? Anything unwholesome, if we indulge in it, it gives us suffering. Then we should not allow the mind to indulge in it. The next sutta, 1.25. If a monk is an arahant, consummate, that means perfect or pure, with asavas destroyed, one who bears his final body, would he still say, I speak? And would he say, they speak to me? Let's stop here for a moment. This devata is asking the Buddha, if a person has become enlightened, would he still say that I talk, or they talk? Would he still have that I? Then the Buddha said, if a monk is an arahant, consummate, with taste destroyed or asavas destroyed, one who bears his final body, he might still say, I speak, and he might say, they speak to me. Skillful, knowing the world's parlance, or expression, or way of speaking, he uses such terms as mere expressions. Then the devata, Again said, when a monk is an arahant consummate with asavas destroyed, one who bears his final body, is it because he has come upon conceit that he would say I speak, that he would say they speak to me? I'll stop here for a moment. So here this devata is doubting the Buddha's words. He thinks if that monk still says I speak or they speak to me, he still has conceit, he still has ego or self. Then the Buddha replied, no knots exist for one with conceit abandoned. From him, all knots of conceit are consumed. Though the wise one has transcended the conceived, he still might say, I speak. He might say, too, they speak to me. Skillful, knowing the world's parlance or expressions, he uses such terms as mere expressions. So the Buddha reiterates, says again that an arahant, he might still, the way he talks, you might still think that he has an I, a self, but he does not. He talks like an ordinary human being, because when you talk to people, you have to talk the normal way. 1.27. A devata asked, From where do the streams turn back? From where does the round no longer revolve? Where does name and form cease, stop without remainder? And the Buddha said, Where water, earth, fire and air do not gain a footing, it is from here that the streams turn back, here that the round no longer revolves. Here name and form ceases, stops without remainder. Here the Devata is asking where the streams turn back. This means a stream of life. The round no longer revolves, the round of rebirths. Where does phenomena, name and form cease? Then the Buddha says, the earth, water, fire and wind do not gain a footing, have no chance to come into existence. This earth, water, fire and wind are the four elements. It is the material world. This material world is just a perception of consciousness. Because consciousness, vinyana, is conscious of nama rupa. Rupa is the physical part of phenomena. So because the world exists in consciousness, so the four elements, even though they appear so real to us, it is actually just a perception that consciousness perceives. So it is just a behavior of the world. That water is supposed to be fluid, and it has a shape. And earth is something hard. Fire is something that has heat. and wind, something that moves. So it's a perception. So the physical world is actually a perception of consciousness. And when these elements do not have a chance to arise, then here Nama Rupa ceases. But as we mentioned, when Nama Rupa ceases, then Consciousness also ceases. So when consciousness ceases, then the stream of life does not flow anymore. The round of rebirth stops. The next sutra is 1.29. Devata said to the Buddha, having four wheels and nine doors, filled up and bound with greed, born from a bog, O great hero, how does one escape from it? And the Buddha replied, having cut the thong and the strap, having cut off evil desire and greed, having drawn out craving with its root, thus one escapes from it. So here I explain. Here the Devata is saying, the body has four wheels and nine doors. The four wheels are the four ways that we, our department, that means walking, standing, sitting, lying down, these four ways that we conduct our body, these are the four wheels. And the nine doors are the nine openings, the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, and one mouth, one genital, and one anus. So these nine holes the body has. And the Devata says this body is filled up with greed, bound with greed, born from a bog. A bog is a wet spongy ground, like a marsh. Then he says, how does one escape from it? How does one escape from this body? Because this body is full of greed, full of suffering. Then the Buddha said, having cut the thong and the strap. The thong is the halter of the rain. The meaning is hatred. And the strap is a binding material. And the Buddha refers to other defilements. So having cut off evil desire and greed, having drawn out craving with its root, the root of craving is delusion. Thus one escapes from it. So that's the way to not to come back with the body. We have to cut the hatred and the other defilements like greed, and then drawn out the root of delusion, then we don't come back into the body again.

04-SN-Devata-(Ch.1)-(2009-07-13).txt

1.30 The Devaka said, having approached you, we ask a question. Of the slender hero with antelope halves, greedless, subsisting on little food, wandering alone like a lion or Naga, without concern for sensual pleasures, how is one released from suffering? And the Buddha replied, five courts of sensual pleasure in the world, with mine declared to be the sixth. Having expunged desire here, one is thus released from suffering. It's the end of the sutta. So here the devata, he described the Buddha as a hero with antelope calves. Antelope calves means the leg, the calf is very thin. You see the ear. They have very thin calves, subsisting on little food, wandering alone like a lion or naga. Naga here refers to a big elephant or a big serpent. So he's asking the Buddha, he considers the Buddha a great hero. How do you say great hero? Ying Xiong in Chinese. Then he asks the Buddha, how is one released from suffering? So the Buddha says, We have to cut off desire for the five cause of sensual pleasure in the world. That means sights, sounds, smells, taste and touch. All these that give us pleasure in the world, we have to cut off desire for it. And also the mind. The mind also gives us the six type of pleasure we cut off. Then only we can be released from suffering. Now the next sutra is 1.32. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then, when the night had advanced, a number of Devatas belonging to the Satulaptha host of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side. Then one Devata, standing to one side, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. Through stinginess and negligence, a gift is not given. One who knows desiring merit should surely give a gift. Let's stop here for a moment. This Satu Lappa group of Devatas, According to the commentary, this word Satulapakayitta means belonging to the extolling of the good group. These devatas, they like to praise the doing of good deeds. So the first one said, through stinginess and negligence, a gift is not given. One who knows desiring marriage should surely give a gift. So he's saying we should do dana, offerings, charity. Then another Devata recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One. That which the miser fears when he does not give is the very danger that comes to the non-giver. The thirst and hunger that the miser fears afflict that fool in this world and the next. Therefore, having removed stinginess, the conqueror of the stain should give a gift. Deeds of merit are the support for living beings when they arise in the other world. I stop here for a moment. Here this second devata is saying, that which the miser fears when he does not give, is the hunger and thirst. He thinks if he gives, then he will be hungry and thirsty. He does not have. But the devata says, this is the very danger that comes back to him. Just because he does not give, in the next rebirth, he will experience hunger and thirst. Therefore, he should do dhāna, the conqueror of the stain. The stain is a stain of stinginess. Then, he says, deeds of merit are the support for living beings when they arise in the other world. When we are reborn, our kamma is the one that supports us. In fact, every day of our life, kamma is supporting us. If we lack, if we don't have sufficient kamma right now, we will pass away. and go down to the woeful pains of rebirth. It's just because our karma is still supporting us, that's why we continue to exist as human beings or as heavenly beings. Then another devata recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One. They do not die among the dead, who, like fellow travelers on the road, provide though they have but a little. This is an ancient principle. Some provide from the little they have. Others who are affluent don't like to give. An offering given from what little one has is worth a thousand times its value. So here the Devata is saying that some people they have very little but they still give. Whereas others who are affluent or rich, they are stingy. But when a person has little and he gives, that is worth a thousand times the value. What he's saying, the merit when you give, when you have little, is great. Whereas a person who is very rich, say a multi-millionaire, if he gives a thousand ringgit, it's nothing to him. In Cantonese it's called sap-sap-sui. For a person who is poor, maybe to take out five dollars or so is difficult. If he can do that, then the merit will be greater. Then another Devata recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One. The bad do not emulate the good. Who give what is hard to give, and do these hard to do. The Dhamma of the good is hard to follow. Therefore, their destination after death differs for the good and the bad. The bad go to hell. The good are bound for heaven. So here he's saying the bad do not emulate the good, the bad do not copy the good. The good people do what is hard to do. So they go to different destinations of rebirth, the good and the bad person. Then another devata said to the blessed one, which one, blessed one, has spoken well? And the Buddha said, you have all spoken well in a way, but listen to me too. If one practices the Dhamma, though getting on by gleaning, if while one supports one's wife, one gives from the little one has, then a hundred thousand offerings of those who sacrifice a thousand are not worth even a fraction of the gift of one like him. So here the Buddha says, if one practices the Dhamma, and then every day has to beg for his food. Gleaning is to collect food in small quantities. Sometimes, like in India, people are poor. So when you go and beg for your food, you get very small amounts. This was meant by gleaning. And while doing that, you still support your wife. And then you do charity. Then your charity is much more meritorious than a person who gives a thousand, for example, a thousand dollars a hundred thousand times. This one, what does it mean by one who supports his wife and begs for his food and practices the Dhamma, refers to the Brahmins. The Brahmins, the Brahmin caste, long time ago, they practiced the spiritual path. And even though they have a wife, they practice meditation and they support the wife. So if a person practices the spiritual path and does dhāna, even though he has little, then the merit is great. Then another devata addressed the Blessed One in verse, Why does their sacrifice, vast and grand, not share the value of the Righteous One's gift? Why are a hundred thousand offerings of those who sacrifice a thousand not worth even a fraction of the gift of one like Him? Then that Blessed One answered that Devata in verse, Since they give while settled in unrighteousness, having slain and killed, causing sorrow, their offering, tearful, fraught with violence, shares not the value of the righteous one's gift. That is why a hundred thousand offerings of those who sacrifice a thousand are not worth even a fraction of the gift of one like him." So here the Buddha says, if a person is unrighteous, that means he kills and breaks the precepts, and then causes others to suffer, to cry, then even though he does a lot of charity, his merit is very little. Whereas the person who practices the spiritual path is a pure, virtuous person, then his merit His charity does not harm others. His livelihood, his way of life does not harm others. Then, whatever good deed he does, it is much more meritorious. In some other suttas, the Buddha says, when somebody makes an offering, does charity, the merit of that offering depends on the person he gives to and also on the giver. So it is not always the merit depending on the recipient. If you give to a virtuous person who receives your gift, for example, you give to a virtuous monk, the merit is very great. But if you yourself, the giver, is virtuous, then it is much more meritorious. So in this case, the two persons who give, one does a lot of wholesome deeds, whereas the other one is virtuous and does wholesome deeds. So the one who does wholesome deeds is merit. The merit of the giver is much more. Now we come to the next sutra, 1.34. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then, when the night had advanced, a number of devatas belonging to the Satu Lapa host of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side. Stop here for a moment. You see, quite often the Sutra says that the Devatas are of stunning beauty. When you are reborn as a Deva or Devi, you are very beautiful and illuminating the entire Jeta's Grove. Their light is so powerful, it can shine. The whole monastery is lit up. And then when they paid homage to the Buddha, and then they stood to one side. This is the way of showing respect. Rather than sit down, they think they have to stand. It's more respectful. That's why Buddhist countries also, you have different traditions. For example, in Sri Lanka, it seems when lay people approach the monk, they pay respect and they stand. It's like the devas. Whereas in Thailand, standing is disrespectful. After paying respect to a monk, they have to sit lower than the monk. So different country, different custom. Then one devata standing to one side recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. There are among humans no permanent sensual pleasures. Here there are just desirable things. When a person is bound to these, heedless in their midst, from death's realm he does not reach the state of no more coming back. One moment, I'll just explain a bit. Here he is saying human sensual pleasures are not permanent. And if a human is bound to these sensual pleasures, then he does not get out of death's realm, samsara, the cycle of birth and death. Another Devata said, Misery is born of desire. Suffering is born of desire. By the removal of desire, misery is removed. By the removal of misery, suffering is removed. Then the Buddha said, They are not sense pleasures, the world's pretty things. Man's sensuality is the intention of lust. The pretty things remain as they are in the world, but the wise remove the desire for them. One should discard anger, cast off conceit, transcend all the fetters. No sufferings torment one who has nothing, who does not adhere to name and form. He abandoned reckoning, did not assume conceit. He cut off craving here for name and form. Though devas and humans search for him here and beyond, in the heavens and all abodes, they do not find the one whose knots are cut, the one untroubled, free of longing, If devas and humans have not seen the one thus, one moment, stop here. So here the Buddha is saying, the world's pretty things are not sense pleasures. Man's sensuality is the intention of lust. The pretty things remain as they are in the world, but the wise remove the desire for them. So here the Buddha is saying, the pretty things in the world, desirable things in the world, are not sense pleasures. It is our mind. It is our mind because of lust. Then we, when we indulge, we perceive sensual pleasures. So the thing is, Not that we have to get rid of the attractive things in the world. What we have to get rid of is the desire inside us, the unwholesome desire inside us. So there is an interesting case in the Vinaya books. When a monk, there was one monk at one time, he was very troubled by sensual desires. His lust was so strong, Very agitated. And he was so agitated, he took the knife and cut off his private part. So when this news came to the Buddha, the Buddha said that foolish fellow, he cut off one thing when he should cut off another. So he cut off the wrong thing. It is not the things in the world that are the problem. It is our mind that is the problem. That is why when we practice the holy path, we go back into our mind. Go back to the source of all the problems inside us. So somebody asked, if devas and humans have not seen the one thus liberated here and beyond, are they to be praised who venerate him, the best of men, fearing for the good of humans? And the Buddha said, those monks too become worthy of praise who venerate him, the one thus liberated. but having known Dhamma and abandoned doubt, those monks become even surmounters of Thais. So here, someone asked, maybe another devata or a monk, those who venerate the enlightened one, Are they to be praised? And then the Buddha said, if those monks, they venerate the enlightened being, then they also are worthy of praise. If a monk understands the Dhamma, abandons doubt, then they can even surmount Thais. Thais here, Sangha, refers to lust, hatred, delusion, conceit and views. So if a person understands the Dhamma and practices, then he can cut off lust, hatred, delusion, conceit and views himself. 1.35 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then when the night had advanced, a number of folk finding Devatas of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's Grove, approached the Blessed One and stood in the air. Then one Devata, standing in the air, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. If one shows oneself in one way, while actually being otherwise, what one enjoys is obtained by theft, like the gains of a cheating gambler. Then another devata said, one should speak as one would act. Don't speak as one wouldn't act. The wise clearly discern the person who does not practice what he preaches. Let's stop here for a moment. Here, these devatas are called fault-finding devatas because they like to find fault with others. A lot of people are like that and always look at other people's fault, never look at their own fault. So here, they are hinting that the Buddha, because they are talking to the Buddha, they are hinting that the Buddha, he says one thing and behaves in another way. They do not understand, even though they have psychic power, they do not understand that the Buddha was a holy person, an enlightened person. So they say, if a person behaves in one way and shows off himself in another way, what he enjoys is obtained by theft. What it means, if a monk begs for his food, and does not behave properly, then he is a cheat. He is not worthy of the alms food that he gets. And then the Buddha said, Not by mere speech, nor solely by listening, can one advance on this firm path of practice, by which the wise ones, the meditators, are released from the bondage of Mara, Truly, the wise do not pretend, for they have understood the way of the world. By final knowledge, the wise are quenched. They have crossed over attachment to the world. Then those devatas, having alighted on the earth, prostrated themselves with their heads at the Blessed One's feet and said to the Blessed One, The transgression overcame us, Venerable Sir, being so foolish, so stupid, so unskillful, that we imagined we could assail the Blessed One. Let the Blessed One pardon us for our transgression, seen as such, for the sake of restraint in the future." So when the Buddha told them plainly that He has crossed over the world to the other side. He does not pretend. Then they realize that the Buddha was a holy person. Then they pay respect to the Buddha and ask for forgiveness. And the Sutta continues. Then the Blessed One displayed a smile. Those devatas, finding fault to an even greater extent, then rose up into the air. One devata recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. If one does not grant pardon to those who confess transgression, angry at heart, intent on hate, one strongly harbors enmity. I'll stop here for a moment. So, when the Buddha smiled, they misunderstood. They thought the Buddha was playing a fool with them. lying to them. So they got even more angry. They flew up into the air and one of them said these verses that if a person confesses and the other person does not pardon him, then he has a lot of hate, a lot of anger. And the Buddha said, if there was no transgression, if here there was no going astray, and if enmities were appeased, then one would be faultless here. And then the devata said, for whom are there no transgressions? For whom is there no going astray? Who has not fallen into confusion? And who is the wise one ever mindful? I'll stop here for a moment. So the Buddha here is saying, if there is no wrongdoing and there is no hatred, then there is no fault here. And then this devata said, Who does not do anything wrong? Where can you find the wise one, ever-mindful one? And the Buddha said, the Tathagata, the enlightened one, full of compassion for all beings, for him there are no transgressions, for him there is no going astray. He has not fallen into confusion. He is the wise one, ever-mindful. If one does not grant pardon to those who confess transgression, angry at heart, intent on hate, one strongly harbors enmity. In that enmity I do not delight, thus I pardon your transgression." So the Buddha is telling them that he is the enlightened one and he is full of compassion and does not do anything wrong. that if somebody confesses, then we should pardon that person. So there is no hatred, no anger. So the Buddha directly told them that we pardon their wrongdoing. Then they were satisfied. The next sutta, one point. Oh, so fast. Okay, now we continue. Now we continue. Sutta 1.36. By the way, I forgot to mention, last night when I talked on the suttas, I did not skip any sutta. So I went through 19 suttas. But then I realized if I were to read every sutta, three months definitely cannot finish. One year also may not finish. So I think I have to be selective. Those that are not so interesting, I won't read. Or it's like a repetition, I won't read. So I will only read the more interesting suttas. Even that also is many, a lot. Out of 2,000, how many you can read within three months, I don't know. But I think we have to try to finish within three months, because after the Vassa, I don't think there'll be time and there'll be people. So 1.36 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi in Jeta's Grove on Nata-Pindika's path. Then when the night had advanced, a number of Devatas belonging to the Satu-Lapa host of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side. Then one Devata, standing to one side, recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. Faith is a person's partner. If lack of faith does not persist, fame and renown thereby come to him, and he goes to heaven on leaving the body. Then another Devata recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One. One should discard anger, cast off conceit, transcend all the fetters, no ties, torment one who has nothing, who does not adhere to name and form. You see these different Devas, say different things and quite often you see sometimes they praise certain qualities and it's quite likely they cultivated those qualities and so they were born in heaven. And because of that, they were so happy that they cultivated those particular qualities. So they praised and encouraged people to do the same thing. For example, the first one, he says, faith is very important. So probably he had a lot of faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. And so he was reborn in heaven. Another one says they should cut off anger. There are some they praise doing charity. Because of doing charity, they were born in heaven. Then the third one said, Foolish people devoid of wisdom devote themselves to negligence, but the wise man guards diligence as his foremost treasure. Do not yield to negligence, don't be intimate with sensual delight, for the diligent ones meditating attain supreme happiness. Deva's sayings are quite interesting. Foolish people, devoid of wisdom, devote themselves to negligence. But the wise man guards diligence as his foremost treasure. Diligence or energetic effort is very important. Buddha says that we should always examine ourselves and strive to improve ourselves. If you are negligent, You are careless and you don't improve yourself. You are wasting this human life. And if you waste your human life, at the end of life, you will regret terribly. A lot of people, sometimes we chase after worldly, material things in this world. There is no need actually to be so ambitious, to have so much money and all that. The middle path is the best. If you are middle class of society, actually you should be the happiest persons in the world. Some people they have too much money and all kinds of dangers come, kidnapping, robbery, etc. If a person is wise, then he is diligent to cultivate the spiritual path. Not necessarily to become a monk. Even a lay person can practice the spiritual path as much as he or she can. And holy men like the Buddha and Jesus, they always displace or criticize people who don't make any effort. Like Jesus says, they are like dead men. And the Buddha also says, a person who does not advance himself is as good as a corpse. Might as well die rather than continue to live. If you live another 20 years and you don't improve, you might as well die now. Instead of wasting all whatever blessings you have, the longer we live as human beings, the more of our blessings are used up. Because human being is one of the two happy destinations of rebirth. Whereas the three woeful destinations of rebirth await those who are careless. The Buddha already warned that most people after death will be reborn as ghosts, animals, and in the hell realm. And if they go to those rebirths, it's because they deserve it. They never make any effort. But it's hard to do. If it is worthwhile, then the Buddha says we should grit our teeth, even if our tears come down, our eyes or so, we should grit our teeth and bear and do it. Because it is worthwhile. For example, the Buddha says even if you have very little food and there is famine all around, Most people would be stingy at that time. If their neighbors need food, they want to keep it for themselves. But the Buddha says, if you know the result of giving, Then, even in those circumstances of famine, if you know that if you did that good deed, it will benefit you for so many lifetimes and you won't go hungry, then it's difficult to do what you do. But because you don't see the result of that good deed, then most people are selfish. In the same way, a lot of us, Because of not making an effort, you see many people, their minds are not peaceful, their minds are not happy, they are always troubled. That person who puts effort, then you will always be happy. Just like a student, puts a lot of effort to study and then he gets all straight A's in his results, all the subjects he gets straight A's, then he is very happy. and he deserves to be happy because he put in the effort. Whereas another student does not make any effort, and then when he fails, and then he has to do the lowest paid work, the hardest, the laborious job, then when he suffers, it's because he deserves it. In this world, we get exactly what we deserve. What we work for, we get. What we don't work for, we have to suffer for it. I think I'll stop here for tonight. Any questions? I mean, I told you, no? I mean, you challenged the Buddha rather than asking for why. You give your view and ask the Buddha. Yeah, see. Yeah, you see, yeah? Whenever we have power and influence, then our ego becomes bigger. So even human beings are also the same. When a person is poor, that person acts very humble. One day when a person becomes very rich, then his ego goes up many times. So in the same way, there are some devas when they were human beings probably they were virtuous you know good deeds and all that but after they became after they become devas or devis then because they are so powerful and the ego makes them change let me tell you now Because many of the devas, they have hatred, they have a lot of unwholesome qualities, because many of them are putu jana, they are not ariya. If their ariya is different, they may be very powerful in terms of psychic power and all that, but spiritually they may not be advanced. They are not ariya, as long as they are not ariya. If their ariya is different. That's why when a person spiritually advanced. Say for example a person is an ariya or a person is a real monk practicing the way of samsara. Then these devas who know, they will come and pay homage, they will come and pay respect. I think it's a good point, that it's not clear that the Tarakan's identity is that a Wajahat is an ex-Muslim, not related with another religion. Of course, the world. So, does it show that the Tarakan's identity is not reached? Yeah, I guess they can only read what the monk is thinking. But the actual depth of the mind, I think they cannot read. Oh, yes. In fact, That's why Sutta, at once some young men, they were from very rich families, so they were going on their horse carriage. And you know, because being from a very rich family, there will be some, they wear white, their horse is white, and they wear white, and everything is white. And another one, maybe brown, got a brown horse, and wear brown clothes, and everything is hat, everything is brown. Another one, maybe black, and all that. So they came to see the Buddha. So the Buddha told his disciples, the Buddha said, you look, look carefully. If any of you has not seen the Devas of the 33, you look at them, they look exactly like the Devas of the 33. So actually, we human beings, there are some of us, we have a lot of merit. Some of us come from the heavenly realm and we are going back to the heavenly realm. So, you don't have to look very far. If you know how to behave yourself, you are already a Deva or a Devi inside. We are not very much different. Humans, those of us who have merit, we have blessings. We are actually in a very happy world. Because not all Devas are happy. There are some who are born low, like the Naga and the Yakka and all that. They have to kill to chari makan, to get their food. like the mountain spirits, the river spirits, the snake spirits, the bird spirits, Garuda, etc. You have to kill. So, we are not so much different from them. Different level of heaven also different. Those low, low devas, they will eat flesh. That's why sometimes some people, they are careless, they wander into the forest and the jungle alone. After that, they are lost. I know of somebody who told me, their relative just moved into a new housing estate in Perak, and then they started walking up the hills. and the husband and wife and the daughter, about 10-year-old daughter walking in front. Actually it's a new housing estate and it's a new area and the hills seldom people go. So this couple went with their daughter and then after some time the daughter disappeared and they searched and searched, they could not find the daughter. And they made a police report and many hours later daughter was found quite a long distance away over two hills and found dead. And it seems the person who found her heard something dropping on the ground. Then went to see, saw this small girl like drop from heaven. So it verifies actually what the Buddha said because sometimes the Buddha meets some fierce devas and they give him a warning. The Deva tells the Buddha that he can make him mad, or he can pluck the heart from his body out, or he can catch him by the leg and throw him over the hill. So this is the third case of what happened to that small girl. Got thrown over the hill, over two hills, landed the other side dead. So, people, their karma is not very good. They have to be extremely careful. Your karma is very good, you go to such places, you'll be protected by other devas. These things rarely happen, that's why a lot of people don't know about them. Sometimes you read these things in the suttas, you may not believe or so, until it happens. That's one of the reasons. Another reason, if you want to progress in your meditation, you've got to have very good silat. Your karma must be very good. Sometimes unwholesome kamma is not only from doing unwholesome action. Sometimes it is neglect in doing what you should do. Sometimes many of us, we have certain responsibilities and we don't carry out our responsibilities well enough. We are careless, think I couldn't be bothered. So this kind of thing, small things prick our conscience. So when they prick our conscience, then we are troubled by it. When you are troubled by these things that give you remorse, then your mind is not happy. So when you meditate, you can never calm down. Just a few days ago, when the bus came, one lady came to ask me. She said she promised to do something a few years ago. But she did not do it. And up to today, she is very disturbed by the fact that she promised to do something and she did not do. But she won't tell me what it is. So you see, these kind of things, sometimes we feel to do what we should do, then it haunts us even up to our deathbed. We are dying or so, we are troubled. And we are troubled by it when you die, then it's no good. will bring you to a bad rebirth because your mind is disturbed. So always be very careful about kamas. Always examine ourselves. Examine our three kamas, whether we are thinking properly or not, whether we are speaking properly or not, whether we are acting properly or not. The Buddha said, what you are about to do, you reflect on it, whether it will harm you or harm others. And what you have already done also, you should reflect on it. And what you are going to do, the three kamas, past, present and future, always reflect on it. Then improve our kamas.

05-SN-Devata-(Ch.1)-(2009-07-14).txt

Tonight we are talking on the Samyutta Nikaya Suttas. We are still on the first Samyutta, Devata Samyutta. So now we come to Sutta number 1.41, the 41st Sutta in the Devata Samyutta. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then, when the night had advanced, a certain Devata of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side, and recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One. So the Devata said this, When one's house is ablaze, the vessel taken out is the one that is useful. not the one left burned inside. So when the world is ablaze with the fires of aging and death, one should take out one's wealth by giving. What is given is wealth salvaged or saved. What is given yields pleasant fruit, but not so what is not given. Thieves take it away, or kings. It gets burned by fire or is lost. Then in the end, one leaves the body along with one's possessions. Having understood this, the wise person should enjoy himself but also give. Having given and enjoyed as fits his means, blameless he goes to the heavenly state." That's the end of the Sutta. So here the Deva is saying, just like when a house is burning, you take out your goods, then you can, you have saved it, you can use it. So similarly, in this world, if we give, it's like saving our goods. What is given, we can make use of it in the future life. So a lot of people are selfish. They hold on to their property. And when they die, they can't even take one cent along with them. and it does not appear to them in their next life. But whatever we give away, kamma is such, all that we give away comes back to us in the next lifetime. So that's why charity, generosity is so important. 1.42, a devata said, giving what does one give strength? Giving what? Does one give beauty? Giving what? Does one give ease or happiness? Giving what? Does one give sight? Who is the giver of all? Being asked, please explain to me. So this Deva is asking the Buddha this question. To get strength, what should you give? To get beauty, what should you give? To get happiness or ease, what should you give? To get sight, what should you give, etc. And the Buddha said, Giving food, one gives strength. Giving clothes, one gives beauty. Giving a vehicle, one gives ease or happiness. Giving a lamp, one gives sight. The one who gives a residence, a lodging, is the giver of all. But the one who teaches the Dhamma, is the giver of the deathless. That's the end of the Sutta. So when we give food, we give strength. When we take food, we are strong, so the giver will get back strength. When we give clothes, we make somebody beautiful, we also become beautiful as a result. When we give happiness, I'm sorry, when we give a vehicle, then we give ease of happiness, ease of transport. According to the commentary here, a vehicle includes elephants, horses, umbrellas, sandals, walking sticks, palanquins, mending of roads, making of stairways, making of ships, causeways, etc. And then if a person gives a lodging, he gives all. Lodging is quite important. That's why of the material gifts that we can give, the highest is to build a monastery. Because when you build a monastery, you give lodging to the Sangha, to the Sangha of monks, and then the Sangha can continue, can perpetuate. And if there's Sangha around, then there's also the Dhamma. If you include immaterial things, then the highest gift is the gift of the Dhamma. And here it says that when you give Dhamma, you are giving the deathless. Because that is the way to the deathless state. There is no more self. There is no dying. You can only achieve that when you learn the Dhamma. Without learning the Dhamma, you can never achieve the deathless. The Buddha's Dhamma. Now we come to the next sutra, 1.46 Deva said to the Buddha, resounding with a host of nymphs, haunted by a host of demons, this grove is to be called deluding. How does one escape from it? There's a story, I'm not sure how true it is, according to the commentaries. This Deva was actually a monk in the previous life and because he heard that the Buddha was very ascetic, practiced all the austerities, so he also practiced extremely hard and as a result of being too ascetic, he passed away, he died. So after he passed away, he was reborn in this Heaven of the 33, Tavatimsa Heaven. And he found himself in the Nandana Grove, a grove of sensual delight, sensual pleasures. And he was surrounded by all these beautiful heavenly nymphs. And he was shocked. He thought, how come he was up here? He didn't know that he passed away. So the devis brought a big mirror for him to see. And he looked into the mirror, then he realized that he was a deva. But he was not happy because he was inside an ascetic monk. So instead of being happy there, he immediately flew down to find the Buddha. Then he said these verses. That Nandana Grove resounds with a host of nymphs, celestial nymphs. And then instead of finding it pleasurable, instead of calling it Nandana, he called it Mohana, from the word Moha, delusion. That's why he said this grove is to be called deluding. Then he asked the Buddha how to escape from it. Then the Buddha gave these verses. According to this Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation, I'll read for you. The straight way, that path is called, and fearless is its destination. The chariot is called unrattling, fitted with wheels of wholesome states. The sense of shame is its leaning board, mindfulness its upholstery. I call the Dhamma the charioteer. with right view running out in front. One who has such a vehicle, whether a woman or a man, has by means of this vehicle drawn close to Nibbana. But actually I will read for you the earliest translation by the Pali Text Society, because to me it sounds very beautiful. According to this Pali Text Translation, straight is the name that road is called. and free from fear the quarter whither thou art bound. Thy chariot is the silent runner named, with wheels of righteous effort fitted well. Conscience the leaning board, the drapery is heedfulness, the driver is the dhamma, I say, and right views they that run before. And be it woman, be it man, for whom such chariot doth wait, By that same car into Nibbana's presence shall they come. So this Pali Text Society, must remember these people who translated the books for the Pali Text Societies, most of them were professors. So their command of English was excellent. So that's why they could write these verses so well. So the Buddha is saying, this is the way to Nibbana. Straight way, free from fear. We use our righteous effort, energetic effort. And you need conscience, and you need heedfulness. The driver is the Dhamma. And right view is the one that sleeting, you could have a bright view in front. And then if you go by such a vehicle, you will come to Nibbana. 1.47 The Deva asks, for whom does merit always increase, both by day and by night? Who are the people going to heaven, established in Dhamma, endowed with virtue, And I guess the Buddha replied, those who set up a park or a grove, the people who construct a bridge, a place to drink and a well, those who give a residence, for them, merit always increases, both by day and by night. Those are the people going to heaven, established in Dhamma, endowed with virtue. So here, the Buddha is saying that if we do a lot of good deeds to benefit a lot of people, like in this case, setting up a park or a grove, construct a bridge, place for people to drink, residence for people. So this reminds us of Sakadeva Raja, because Sakadeva Raja mentioned that as a human being, he did all these good deeds. build roads for people, build bridge and all, helping people generally. So he was born as a Deva Raja. Of course he had a lot of other good qualities like never getting angry, appeal to the parents, respect for elders etc. Now 1.49 Devata said, those who are stingy here in the world, niggardly folk, who are rivalous, people who create obstacles for others, engage in giving alms. What kind of result do they reap? What kind of future destiny? We've come to ask the Blessed One this. How are we to understand it? So here, this Devata is asking, people who obstruct others from doing charity, what is the result? And the Buddha said, those who are stingy here in the world, niggardly folk, revilers, people who create obstacles for others engaged in giving alms, they might be reborn in hell, in the animal realm, or Yama's world. If they come back to the human state, they are born in a poor family, where clothes, food, pleasures, and sport are obtained only with difficulty. Whatever the fools may expect from others, even that they do not obtain. This is the result in this very life, and in the future, a bad destination." And then the Devata said, We understand thus what you have said. We ask, O Gautama, another question. Those here who, on gaining the human state, are amiable and generous, confident in the Buddha and Dhamma, and deeply respectful towards the Sangha, what kind of result do they reap? What kind of future destiny? We've come to ask the Blessed One this. How are we to understand it?" And the Buddha said, Those here who, on gaining the human state, are amiable and generous, confident in the Buddha and the Dhamma, and deeply respectful towards the Sangha, these brighten up the heavens where they have been reborn. If they come back to the human state, they are reborn in a rich family, where clothes, food, pleasures, and sport are obtained without difficulty. They rejoice like the devas who control the goods amassed by others. This is the result in this very life, and in the future, a good destination. So here, the Buddha is saying, if somebody obstructs people doing charity, then In this very life, what they want also they cannot get. And in the future life, they will be born into one of the three woeful realms, the ghost realm, animal, or hell realm. There's another person, he has faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, and follows the Dhamma. In this very life itself, what he makes an effort to get, he can get. And in the future lifetime, he's born in heaven. So where we are reborn, what we get, all depends on our karma. 1.52. What is good by not decaying? What is good when made secure? What is the precious gem of humans? What cannot be stolen by thieves? And the Buddha said, virtue is good by not decaying. Faith is good when made secure. Wisdom is the precious gem of humans. Merit cannot be stolen by thieves. So the Buddha here is saying, virtue does not decay if you have virtue. And then faith, if it is good faith, secure faith, then it is good for you, beneficial. And wisdom is the precious gem of humans. It's one very valuable thing that we should aim for, possess. And if you have merit from good karma, thieves cannot steal it away. They will bring it with you wherever you go, even in a future lifetime. 1.55. What is it that produces a person? What does he have that runs around? What enters upon samsara? What is his greatest fear? Samsara is, as you know, the round of rebirth, birth and death. And then the Buddha said, it is craving that produces a person. His mind is what runs around. A being enters upon samsara. Suffering is his greatest fear. So it is craving that causes, that produces a person. A person is born because of craving. And his person, his mind, is what is running all around. A being enters upon samsara. This round of rebirths is for putujana, ordinary beings, because you feel there is a self, there is a being. So you see yourself in your in your dreams, because existence is like a dream. Consciousness produces this world. So, when there is a being, then there is samsara. Being is bhava. Bhava, pacchaya, jati. There is a being, then it produces birth or rebirth. Suffering is the greatest fear of beings. All beings fear suffering. They only want happiness. 1.71. At Savatthi, standing to one side, that Devata addressed the Blessed One in verse, having slain one, does one sleep soundly? Having slain one, does one not sorrow? What is the one thing, O Gotama, whose killing you approve? And the Buddha said, Having slain anger, one sleeps soundly. Having slain anger, one does not sorrow. The killing of anger, O Devata, with its poison, root and honeyed tip. This is the killing the noble ones praise. For having slain that, one does not sorrow. So the Buddha recommends the killing of anger. If we have a lot of anger, we cannot sleep soundly. And if we have a lot of anger, we have a lot of sorrow or suffering. So the noble one prays the killing of anger. But this anger is very hard. to kill because this anger is connected with the ego as long as we have the ego and things don't go our way when we cannot get what we want then it is natural for anger to arise anger towards the people who obstruct you from getting what you want so one way to lessen your anger is to be more contented to have not to have too strong ambitions or desires. If you have very strong desires and ambitions, then if you cannot get it, then you get extremely frustrated. But if you are a contented person, What comes your way, you're happy. What does not come your way, also you're contented. Then, in which case, you won't have so much anger. The other way, in fact, the best way to kill anger is to practice meditation. And meditation in the Buddha's teachings is almost always Samatha, the cultivation of Samadhi. When a person attains even Upacara Samadhi, which is threshold concentration, or excess concentration. Just before you attain the first jhana, when you attain upacara samadhi, the mind already becomes tranquil and the five hindrances clear away and you will notice the anger drops drastically. Anger and lust. Anger and lust are the passions. So In the sutras, the Buddha says, even external ascetics, when they attain jhana, then they become passionless. Passionless meaning their anger and their lust has become very small, very low. So this is the best way to kill anger by samadhi, a tranquil mind, a calm mind. Because when you attain a calm mind, then you feel so nice. And even if you have reason to get angry, you don't feel like getting angry because you don't want to get into an agitated, disturbed, unhappy state. You want to maintain your bliss, you want to maintain your happiness. So you don't like to be, you don't want to be ruffled. So even if you have reason to get angry, you don't want to get angry. So that's why Samadhi is so helpful. The other thing is understanding the Dhamma. When we understand the Dhamma then we know that anger is not good for us. So there's a lot of disadvantages of anger. Anger is one of the poisons. Anger, then it upsets our system. We get migraine, we get headache, we get sick. A lot of sickness comes because of our mental condition. If we are mentally healthy, then we are also physically healthy. A lot of people are physically unhealthy because they are mentally unhealthy. So the mental happiness, the mental health is extremely important. 1.73 What here is a man's best treasure? What practice well brings happiness? What is really the sweetest of tastes? How lives the one whom they say lives best? And the Buddha replied, Faith is here a man's best treasure. Dharma practice well brings happiness. Truth is really the sweetest of tastes. One living by wisdom they say lives best. So faith here means faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. That is a good treasure to possess. And then if you practice the Dhamma well, then you are a happy person. Happy in this life and happy in the future lives. Dhamma is the extremely precious thing that we can get. Truth is the sweetest of tastes. If we are very truthful, we always don't have remorse. We have principles. The Buddha said, if a person is not truthful, if a person can lie, then he is a shameless person. He can do anything. If a person has a sense of shame, then he will not lie. One living by wisdom lives best. If we are guided by wisdom, whatever we do also, we do correctly, we make the right decisions because we have wisdom. If we don't have wisdom, then we make mistake after mistake and then we will have a miserable life. 1.76 The Deva asked, What decays? What does not decay? What is declared the deviant path? What is the impediment to wholesome states? What undergoes destruction night and day? What is the stain of the holy light? What is the bath without water? How many fissures are there in the world wherein the mind does not stand firm? We have come to ask the Blessed One this. How are we to understand it? So here he is asking a few questions. What is the impediment to wholesome states? What are the obstructions to wholesome states? How many fissures are there in the world? How many cracks, flaps are there in the world? Wherein the mind does not stand firm. Then the Buddha replied, the physical form of mortals decays. Their name and clan does not decay. Lust is declared the deviant path. greed, the impediment to wholesome states. Life undergoes destruction night and day. Women are the stain of the holy life. Here is where menfolk are enmeshed. Austerity and the holy life, that is the bath without water. There are six fissures in the world wherein the mind does not stand firm. laziness and negligence, indolence, lack of self-control, drowsiness and lethargy. Avoid these fishes completely. So here the Buddha says, the physical form of mortals decay. All beings have a body and this body must decay. But the name and the clan does not decay. Lust is the deviant path. excessive greed is a deviant path. Greed, the impediment to wholesome states. If we are greedy, greedy to satisfy our senses, that is obstruction to wholesome states. And life undergoes destruction night and day because life is impermanent. That is the strongest characteristic of the world, of the life, and each impermanence. So, life undergoes destruction night and day. Women are the stain of the holy life. So if a person wants to practice the holy life, the opposite sex has to go far away from the opposite sex. Otherwise, a person cannot practice the holy life. And then austerity and the holy life, that is bath without water. Bath without water means purification without needing water. We clean ourselves without using water by austerity, ascetic practice and practicing the holy life. Then there are six fissures or six cracks in the world which makes the mind unstable. Mind cannot stand firm. Laziness is one. Negligence, carelessness, another one. Indolence, no energy to act. Lack of self-control, that means undisciplined. A lot of people don't have discipline. Drowsiness and lethargy. Feeling sleepy, no energy. So the Buddha said, avoid these completely. If we want to progress, these are the six obstructions in the spiritual path. Laziness, carelessness, indolence, no discipline, drowsiness, lethargy. So the Buddha's advice is very practical. The last Sutta, 1.81 in the first Samyutta, in the first chapter. Who here in the world are blessed, peaceful? Whose mode of life is not squandered? Who here fully understands desire? Who enjoys perpetual freedom? Whom do parents and brothers worship when he stands firmly established? Who is the one of humble birth that even khatias or nobles are here to salute? And the Buddha replied, Ascetics are blessed in the world. The ascetic life is not squandered. Ascetics fully understand desire. They enjoy perpetual freedom. Parents and brothers worship an ascetic when he stands firmly established. Though an ascetic be of humble birth, even kathiyas or warriors, the warrior, the noble clan, here salute him. And that's the end of the sutta. So here, the Buddha said, ascetics or renunciants are peaceful people in the world. And the holy life, if one leads the holy life, then he's not squandered his life, he's not wasted his life. Actually, that is the best way to lead our life, practicing the holy path. And we put our life as the best use, instead of chasing after all the material things in the world that are impermanent, that we cannot bring along with us in the next rebirth. But if we practice the holy life and all the benefits that we get from it, we can bring along to our next rebirth. Ascetics fully understand desire. They enjoy perpetual freedom. So if a person practices a holy life, he understands that desire, craving is dangerous. So he tries to be free from desire. And then parents and brothers worship an ascetic when he stands firmly established. Here it's quite interesting. If a family has a son that goes forth, and then that son becomes a holy person, then the parents and the brothers also pay respect to him, worship him. This is very unlike the Mahayana, There's one sutta about filial piety where it starts off by saying the Buddha was wandering in the forest with his monks and then he came across a skeleton and then the Buddha bowed down to that skeleton and Ananda asked him, people in the world bow to you, Bhagavata, why do you bow to this skeleton? Then according to that sutta, that sutra, the Buddha said, oh Ananda, you have shallow wisdom. I don't understand. This skeleton could have been my mother or my father in the past life. So that kind of teaching is totally incompatible with the earliest teachings of the Buddha like here. Like the Buddha, after the Buddha has become enlightened, his parents worship him, pay respect to him. He does not go and worship his parents. person is worthy of respect when he is virtuous, not because of blood or something like that. So I think for tonight I stop here as far as the suttas are concerned because I've only prepared up to here. If you have any questions we can discuss

06-SN-Devata-(Ch.1)-QandA-(2009-07-14).txt

A person obstructs others from doing charity, when he discourages the person from doing charity, when he talks bad about doing charity, saying that it's useless, there is no good will come of your doing charity. And when he encourages people not to do charity, those ways he obstructs people from accepting charity. So he will suffer in this very life and in the future life. So like in the suttas, we find that the external ascetics, many of them were jealous of the Buddha because the Buddha became famous. So because the Buddha and his monks were famous, they had a lot of offerings. Whereas external ascetics, they did not practice so well. keep good seal, they did not meditate well, they did not have wisdom, so they had little offerings. So because of jealousy, they told the people that the Buddha always claims that you should only do offerings, offer things only to the Buddha and his disciples, don't offer to other ascetics. But the Buddha said he doesn't do that, because if a person does that, he obstructs others from doing charity, then you are doomed, this life and the future life. You will suffer for it. And in fact, in one of the suttas, there's a general Siha, he was a follower of the Niganthas, of the Jains. And after he came to see the Buddha and talk to the Buddha, he converted. converted and became a follower of the Buddha. Then the Buddha told him that he should still do charity towards these Niggantas. So he was very happy that the Buddha said that because he said that he heard the opposite, that the Buddha said that people should only do offerings, make offerings to the Buddha and his disciples. like to do that, very professional. Let me tell you about the problem. Every day you are here, you learn. And sometimes, yeah, at school, you start, but in the end, you just learn. Like, you take a job, job, or something, you just keep it. And in the end, you're like, OK, in the end, you learn. If a person does charity, the Buddha says that that dana or that charity that we do should not harm ourselves and should not harm others. You can advise that person this Dharma teaching of the Buddha, but you cannot tell that person not to give. Some people, they are generous to the extent that they overdo it. But actually, it is good for them. They have to suffer a bit. But it's good for them because the reward that will come to them will be a lot. For example, the Buddha talked about one sutta, because somebody asked the Buddha, if a person say, for example, does business, and then he expects to get, for example, like a thousand, just an example, a thousand dollars a month. There are various types of people. One type of person, when he does business, he expects to get one thousand dollars a month, he may feel miserably. he may not make any profit at all. Even his capital also he might lose. In other words, he does not make even $1. Or he makes a very small profit, $50 a month instead of the $1,000 he expected. And then on the other hand, there's another person. He expects to make $1,000 a month. He might make Less than that, but not too far away, like RM800 a month. Or RM500 a month, that's the second one. The third one, he expects to make $1,000 a month, and he gets $1,000 a month. And then the fourth one, although he expects $1,000, he makes much more than that. He might get $5,000 or $10,000 instead of $1,000 a month. So this man wanted the Buddha to explain why. The Buddha said, it might be that this person wanted to offer something to a virtuous monk, a virtuous ascetic. And the first type, he says he wants to offer something. Maybe ask the monk, what do you need? And the monk says he needs certain medicine or something. after saying that he wants to get something for that monk, that ascetic, he does not give anything. Such a person, because he promised to give and he does not give anything, then in the future, when he expects to make money, he fails miserably, he does not get at all. That is the result of making a promise and not fulfilling it. The second one, It's the person who promised to give a certain amount of offerings and then he gives less than what he promised. So the result is when he does business, he also gets less. Third one is he says he will give a certain amount and he gives exactly that amount. So he gets exactly what he expects to get. The fourth one, he says he wants to give something, then he gives much more. So he gets much more. So in this case, when you talk about this person, his financial situation is not too good and he gives more than what he should give. So next time, when karma comes back to him, maybe in a future rebirth or maybe even in this life later on, he will get more than what he expects. You know sometimes when we give advice also we have to be very careful. We can give in such a way but not obstruct him from giving. And not discourage him from giving also. Because if you obstruct him from giving or you discourage him from giving, you are creating bad karma. So what you can do is teach him the Dhamma. Tell him that the Buddha says when we do charity, it should not be to the extent when the giver suffers or he makes somebody else suffer. Because there are many instances in the Vinaya books. You know our Vinaya books are like lawyers' law cases. Lawyers' court cases. because there have been so many cases of monks breaking the discipline, so many different types of cases, it's all come up into the Vinaya books. So, for example, a person, a monk, in the Vinaya books, he saw some executioner going to execute somebody using the long sword, going to chop off his head. one monk maybe he saw somewhere else one executioner he chopped somebody's head but the head it was not a complete chop so this fellow chopped his head and his head was hanging there so he got to chop second time or third time before the head goes off So this busybody thought he wanted to be more compassionate. He told the executioner, you execute him one blow only. One blow, chop off his head. So this executioner chopped off the man's head with one blow. So when this was reported to the Buddha, the Buddha said, it's parajika. It's a party to the killing. It's a party to the killing. He asked the executioner to execute him with one blow. So we have to be very careful. So in this case, you want to help that person, to tell him, don't go beyond your means, but if you word it in such a way, then you are discouraging him from doing dana, you are creating bad kamma. That also when you tell your family member to be selective in their charity that they should only give to organizations who are worthy of receiving. Also, you have to be very careful, because sometimes we may not know the organization so well. So you can tell that family member to be careful. But you cannot tell him, you give to this one, don't give to that one, and all that, because he might not be making the right decision. Unless the person asks you. If the person asks you, then you get advice. So, you were stating that you would be able to find names and the names of the people that you would be able to get to know, and that it's not very much of a risk. Not necessary because in the monastery we try not to spend too much time cooking. so that you have more time to practice, one thing. Secondly, if you have many people in the kitchen cooking, very often there's friction. That is not desirable. But if you say you want to give away something that was given to the monastery, it's best to consult, to get the okay from the abbot first. mistake of on your own giving this away, giving that away. You ask the abbot for permission and the abbot says, okay, then you give away. It's okay. Like sometimes we have too much biscuits. So when the Ipoh people come on Saturday, we give them a lot of biscuits to give to orphanage and all that. But with permission, we don't give away things without permission. We can tell them, you know. We don't guarantee that we will use it. If they ask, if they don't ask, then just forget what they say. It's up to the women folk if they want to cook. But like this guy who offers organic veggie, that is good stuff. So good to keep. Not easy to get organic veggie. Once you make that offering, even you have the intention to offer already, you have the merit already. Not exactly, because sometimes you have to first talk but you don't do it. There are many steps to complete your charity. So if you fulfil all the steps, then you get the full merit. But if you do halfway, then you get halfway merit. In the same way, like in our Vinaya books, when it comes to committing a theft, the Buddha said, for example, if a monk goes into another monk's room to steal a watch, for example, the first intention he has to steal, that is already a small offense, small evil karma already. And then when he walks towards the room, that is more evil karma, but also small. Then when he opens the door, goes into the room, more evil come. When he touches the watch to take it away, that is more, even more evil come. But the theft is completed according to Vinaya when he lifts the watch from the base, from the table. Once you lift it up, that is considered complete theft already. But, for example, he touches the watch and wants to lift it up, suddenly he hears footsteps. Then he does not complete the task. Then he runs away. So that is not prājika. Prājika is the highest, heaviest penalty, heaviest offense for a monk, which he has to disrobe. So in this case, he has not competed. So every step along the way contributes to that evil karma. So like you say, you have the intention, but if you don't fulfill it, it's very small karma. Not as a monk. Once he has broken the four parajikas. The four parajikas are the heaviest offense for a monk. One, the first one is engaged in sexual intercourse. Second one is to steal something of value. Something of value nowadays would be, in the Buddha's days, there was a certain amount of gold. So now we'd say like 20 US dollars or something. Anything above 20 US dollars, like 100 ringgit or something like that. If you intentionally steal, that is a prajnaka. The third one is killing a human being or encouraging somebody else to kill a human being. For example, advising a woman to have an abortion. That also is considered And then the fourth one is lying that you have some supernormal attainment when you don't have. For example, lying that you have jhāna when you don't have jhāna. Lying that you are an ārya when you are not an ārya. Lying that you have psychic power. So if a monk breaks any one of these four offenses, he is no more considered a monk. Even though he refuses to disrobe, He's already defeated. The English translation is defeated. The Chinese translation is like his head is chopped off already. I don't know what's the word. So if the Sangha knows, the Sangha will force him to disrobe. But even if the Sangha does not know, he himself knows inside is no more monk. You see, teaching the Dhamma is one thing, practicing the Dhamma is another. A lot of people, they teach, but they don't practice. the person who actually practices. But whether he practices or not, you don't know. It takes some time to know. That also is hard to say. Whether they actually practice or not, we don't know. But if they really practice, then they can teach. Uphold all the Buddha's teachings, Sila, Samadhi, Pannaya. Arya has dreams, but probably not an Arahant. Because an Arahant has destroyed the Asavas. Asavas are uncontrolled mental outflows. Uncontrolled mental outflows where the consciousness flows without control. So a dream state It's a state where the consciousness flows without control. But in the Vinaya books, an Arahant has sati 24 hours a day. An Arahant has sati 24 hours a day. So because of that, I don't think an Arahant... Even if an Arahant's mind is like a dream, he will be aware, he will know that it's a dream. It's not like ordinary people. Most people, when we dream, we don't realize that we are dreaming. We think it's a real state. We get excited in the dream and all that. This Asavas is very interesting. Nowadays, hardly any monk explains. You have so many meditation teachers. Teaching meditation and meditation is supposed to be the way to enlightenment. And what is enlightenment? Enlightenment in the sutras is defined as destruction of the asavas. Destruction of the asavas. So my interpretation of asavas is uncontrolled mental outflows. That means basically uncontrolled flow of consciousness. It is this flow of consciousness which creates the world, which creates samsara. Once consciousness flows, then you see the world. The world exists for you. And in your conscious dream, you see yourself in that world. Just like when we dream at night. Whenever we dream at night, you see yourself in the dream. So in the same way, when consciousness flows, the world arises. This tendency for consciousness to flow is extremely strong. It's extremely strong. It is so strong that when you don't do anything, the mind starts to flow. You start to dream. You start to daydream. You start to think. Sometimes fantasizing and all that. So even at night, when you try to get some rest, the mind will not give you proper rest. It will start to flow and you dream and get excited and frightened and all that. So when we practice meditation, we are trying to discipline our mind, not allow it to flow. That's why in meditation we train our mind to focus on one object, that is Satipatthana. intense state of recollection, always bring it back to one object, always stay with one object. That's why the simile given in the Satipatthana Samyutta, later we will see how to practice Satipatthana. The Buddha gave a simile of the most beautiful girl of the land came out, and everybody clapped and shouted, the most beautiful girl of the land, and they asked her to sing and dance, and then more people came out to see her. And then an ordinary person came along and he was caught by these villagers and forced to carry a bowl of oil which was filled to the brim, filled to the top. And he was told that there's somebody walking behind him with an uplifted sword. If he spills the oil, even one drop of the oil, they will chop off his head. So he has to walk in between the crowd of people and he has to pay attention on the bowl of oil. So his mindfulness is on the ball is one-pointed attention. Cannot go elsewhere. He cannot afford to look left, look right. He cannot afford to look at the beautiful girl. He has to pay total attention on the bowl of oil. That is the way to practice satipatthana. If we can discipline our mind to contemplate on one object, for example, on anapanasati, mindfulness of the breath, always pulling it back to the breath, then we are training our mind to stay with one object. And if our mind can stay with one object, then it cannot flow. We have stopped the tendency of the mind to flow. So if we always train our mind to attain this state, this state of one When your mind dwells on one object without moving away, it's one-pointed attention, one-pointedness of mind, and that is called jhana. The first jhana, second jhana, third jhana, fourth jhana. So whenever we attain jhana, we are stopping the mind from flowing. That's why the way out of samsara, this is the way. If you cannot stop your mind from flowing even for a short while, You have absolutely no hope of stopping this tendency of the mind to flow. That's why the Buddha says that the steps to enlightenment are the first jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna. There's so many suttas. There's one sutta where the Buddha talks about the coral coral tree, coral flower in the heavens, how it blooms. And the Buddha talked about the various stages of the flower blooming until it's fully bloomed. And then the Buddha gave a simile of a monk attaining the first jhāna, second jhāna, third, fourth jhāna, and finally enlightenment. So the Buddha always calls the jhānas the footsteps of the Tathāgata. That is the way of them. So if you can train your mind to abide in jhana, then you have stopped the asava from flowing. Then there's a chance of stopping the asava permanently. And then when the asava, the tendency of the mind to flow, this tendency, not the flow itself, the tendency, is stopped completely, then the person attains enlightenment. So for an Arahant, it's not that he does not have consciousness. He still has consciousness, but it is controlled consciousness. If an Arahant thinks, it is controlled thinking. It is not scattered thinking. Yeah. I think you know that when a person is in Samadhi, strong Samadhi, he can hear his own story. Because he's a lot younger than me. And when he's asleep, totally asleep, everything rested. Through the heart he could see the believer. He sees from here. I was able to know. Usually, the knowing by knowing, before a person starts to talk, he knows what he is going to talk. Yeah, but these states are quite unusual. Only thing is, some of the states, we cannot trust completely. There are some people in certain states, they can see heaven, they can see hell and all that. But sometimes, it turns out to be imagination. So we can only trust the mind when the person is fully enlightened. So we have to be very careful. In the Hindu tradition, once a person attains Jhana, the mind becomes bright. He is supposed to go into seclusion for another 12 years. Sometimes a person, once you attain something, you are too eager to go and teach and all these things. You cannot make progress. So, any other thing? Ah yes, yes. Right view is the most important. Sotapanna is the most important. That's why you find in the case of Devadatta, he attained all the eight jhanas and he had psychic power. And his psychic power was really good, so good that the Prince Sajatasattu was totally fascinated, taken up by him. But in spite of that, even though he had all the eight jhanas, because of the ego, he lost all the jhanas and went to hell. So these states of mental clarity, psychic power and all that, they are not as important as the stages of Aryahood. Stages of the Aryahood, sometimes the Buddha says there are eight types of Aryans. In fact, there's a sutra where the Buddha says there are only nine types of beings in the world. Only nine types of beings in the world. The first one is a Putujana. That means an ordinary being, one who is still in the realm of the birds. And this includes the hell beings, the animals, the ghosts. and most human beings and most devas. So the first is this Putrajapta, ordinary beings. Then higher than, above that are the eight Aryan stages. The lowest is the first path attained. First path attained. A person attains the first path by entering the stream. And you enter the stream when you get right view. And the way to get right view is to listen to the Buddha's Dharma. When you listen to the Buddha's Dharma, and you understand the Dharma, basically the Four Noble Truths, and you understand that the world is impermanent, and because of that, it is unsatisfactory. There's no security in whatever rebirth realm you go to. Even if you go to the heavens, you're there for millions and millions of years, still you have to die. And when the Deva dies, he will think, why is my life so short? Because time is relative, there's nothing absolute. So that's why learning the suttas, hearing the Dhamma is extremely important. Because that is the way to attaining the first stage of Ariya-hood. And then according to the suttas, once you attain the first path, it takes some time before it turns to fruit. The fruit is Sotapanna. first fruit, Arya, is called Sotapanna. So, a person listens to the Dhamma and understands, so he attains dream entry, becomes the first path attainer. That's already an Arya. Okay, that's already an Arya. But it takes some time before it turns to fruit. When it turns, when it turns to... When the path turns to fruit, then the three factors drop away. When the three factors drop away, the three factors, the first one is Sakaya Diti. Sakaya Diti is identity view. If a person has identity view, then he thinks that the body and the mind is the self. He associates the body and the mind completely with the Self. That means he thinks that this body or this mind is I, or this mind belongs to me, or I am inside the body and mind, or the body and mind is inside me. This body and mind are the five aggregates. Body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. The last four is actually the mind. So if a person has eliminated this archaedity, then he sees that the body and the mind are ever-changing, impermanent. So he sees that this body and the mind is not the self, but he still has the self somewhere. He still has the self. Only the Arahant has no self. So once a person has become Sotapanna, and this path must turn to fruit within that lifetime. At the latest, according to Samyutta Nikaya 25.1, when he dies, the path person will become a fruit. But this is unlike the Abhidhamma. In the Abhidhamma teachings, they say when you attain the path, immediately it becomes fruit, but not in the Sutta. So, once a person becomes a Sotapanna, he has seven more existences left in the cycle of rebirth. Maximum seven. So after seven lifetimes, he must enter Nibbana. So you see, it's so important to attain extreme entry. Once you attain extreme entry, you are secure already. You have booked a place in Nibbana already. It's only a matter of time. Also, the other characteristic of an Arya is that you will never be reborn into the woeful planes. You will never be reborn as a ghost or an animal or in hell. But if you have not attained the stream entry, even if you attain psychic power like Devadatta, still can go to hell. That's why extremely important to study the Dhamma. So, that is the Sotapanna. Now, from Sotapanna to Sakadagamin, how to get? The difference between the two, Sotapanna and Sakadagamin. Sakadagamin is the second fruit area. The difference is that the Sakadagamin has reduced greed, hatred and delusion. To reduce greed, hatred and delusion, this greed, hatred and delusion is connected with the five hindrances. The five hindrances are sensual desire, ill will or anger, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry and doubt. Panca Nivarana. The way to reduce the five hindrances is Samadhi. When we attain Samadhi, tranquility of mind, calmness of mind, automatically the five hindrances are reduced. So, perfect Samadhi is defined as the four Jhanas in the Suttas. So if a person reduces greed, hatred and delusion to become a Sakka Degamin, he has to attain Samadhi which is not perfect. That means either Upacara Samadhi, or first Jhana, or second Jhana, or third Jhana. Once he attains any one of these, then he can attain Sakadagamin. Now, how to attain the third fruit, Anagamin? Anagamin, according to the Buddha, in the Majjhima Nikaya, you have to have the four jhanas. If you have the four jhanas, the Buddha says that the mind becomes very clear, so clear that it meets light. It meets light. The whole body, a person with the psychic eye will be able to see the whole body is bright and then the Buddha says when a person attains the fourth jhana he understands all the everything becomes clear to him the mind is so bright that everything becomes clear to him I can understand So such a person with four jhanas, when they listen to a relevant sutta, for example the Anatta-Lakkhana Sutta, the Buddha's earliest five disciples, they listen to the Anatta-Lakkhana Sutta and they attain Arahanthood. So you must have that condition of the four jhanas where the mind is so bright and everything is easy to understand. Then with listening of the Dhamma. That listening of the Dhamma is the Vipassana part. Samatha part is the Samadhi. Attaining the Jhanas is Samatha. And listening to the Suttas is the Vipassana. Because Vipassana means contemplation. Once you listen to the Dhamma, the mind contemplates, digests it immediately. The mind is the fastest. There's nothing faster than the mind in the whole world. Nothing faster than the mind. So once you hear the Dhamma, immediately it digests. And that is that contemplation, that Vipassana. That's why you find the earliest disciples of the Buddha, the Buddha went to these external ascetics who had already the four jhanas, and then sometimes even just spoke one sutta to them, that the Jatilas, there were 1,000 method hair ascetics, the Buddha impressed them so much that they shaved off their hair and became followers of the Buddha. Then after that, the Buddha taught them only one Sutta. Just hearing one Sutta, all 1,000 became Arahants. So you see how important the four Jhanas are. So the condition for the Anagamin and Arahant is four Jhanas. Once they have the four Jhanas, then if they listen enough of the Suttas, they will automatically become Arahants. You don't need. But if you have jhana, it helps lah. It helps. But it's not necessary. You see like in the case of our Buddha, the Buddha said in the suttas that in a previous life, he was born as a Brahmin by the name of Jyotipala. This is in the Gatikara Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya. And because he was a Brahmin, he had no desire to see the Buddha. He had no respect for the Buddha. But he had a very good friend who was a pot maker called Gatikara. And this man, Gatikara, brought the Buddha to, at that time, the Bodhisatta, Jyotipala, to see the Buddha Kasapa. and his friend Gatikara asked the Buddha Kassapa to teach this Jyotipala some Dhamma or compassion. So the Buddha Kassapa spoke the Four Noble Truths to this Brahmin Jyotipala. After hearing the Four Noble Truths, he must have entered the stream because after that he renounced his religion and followed the Buddha and became a monk. So definitely he must have attained the first stream entry, the first path. And during that lifetime, under the Buddha Kassapa, when he was a monk, he attained at least the first jhana. Because we know that, because the Buddha says, after that lifetime, he was reborn in the Tushita heaven. And from the Tushita heaven, he came down as Siddhartha Gautama. And Siddhartha Gautama, when he was about 10 years old, small boy, he could enter the first jhana under the Jambu tree. This was stated in the Suttas and the Vinaya. So that means he must have attained the first jhāna under the Buddha Kassapa. And if he had attained the first jhāna under the Buddha Kassapa, we can assume that he was a Sakka Degamin. He became a Sakka Degamin. That's why it is evident that a Sakka Degamin, when he comes back as a human being, that is his last lifetime. He must enter Nibbana. That's why even though Siddhartha Gautama had such a good life, he was born into a rich family, he was young, he had a beautiful wife, etc. He renounced everything to become an ascetic. That can only be because he was a Sakadagami. His time for enlightenment was due. So he struggled by himself to attain enlightenment. Okay, I think we can end here tonight.

07-SN-Devaputta-(Ch.2)-(2009-07-15).txt

Today, the 15th of July 2009. Now we come to the second chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya. This is the Devaputta Samyutta. Deva, you know, is a heavenly being, and Puta is son, son of the Deva. So this chapter concerns the sons of Devas, which means young Devas, Devas who have been reborn not so long in the heavens. Now the first chapter I will read is 2.6 Kamadha Sutta. At Savatthi, standing to one side, the young Deva Kamadha said to the Blessed One, hard to do, Blessed One, very hard to do, Blessed One. And the Buddha replied, they do even what is hard to do. The trainees endowed with virtue steadfast. For one who has entered the homeless life, contentment brings along happiness. And then the Deva Kamada again said, that is hard to gain, blessed one, namely contentment. And the Buddha replied, they gain even what is hard to gain, O Kamada. who delight in calming the mind, whose minds, day and night, take delight in development. And Kamada said, that is hard to concentrate, blessed one, namely the mind. And the Buddha said, they concentrate even what is hard to concentrate, who delight in calming the faculties. Having cut through the net of death, the noble ones, O Kamada, go their way. And Kamada said, the path is impassable and uneven, blessed one. And the Buddha said, though the path is impassable and uneven, the noble ones walk it, Kamada. The ignoble ones fall head down first, right there on the uneven path. The path of the noble ones is even, for the noble are even amidst the uneven. That's the end of the sutta. So according to the commentaries, this Kamada used to be a monk. He used to be a monk and he didn't succeed in the holy life because his mind was very disturbed. So after he passed away, he was reborn in heaven. And that's why he came to see the Buddha and said that this holy life is very hard to practice. But the Buddha said, even if it's hard to practice also, the trainees, they practice it. And the Buddha said, contentment brings along happiness. Then he said, it's very hard to get contentment. And Buddha said, even what is hard to get, they calm their mind, take delight in development. Development should be the word bhavana. Bhavana sometimes is taken to mean meditation, but the actual meaning of bhavana is development, development of the mind, because an ordinary mind is covered by the five hindrances, which make us what we call blur-blur. We don't see things clearly and we don't have wisdom. So when we practice meditation and we attain calm, the hindrances go away. The Buddha says the hindrances are eliminated when we attain the jhanas. Although the roots have not been plucked out, but the Buddha says they are eliminated. They don't trouble that person anymore. And so, meditation is a process of developing the mind, getting rid of the hindrances. And then, Kamada said, it's very hard to concentrate the mind. And then, the Buddha said, even though it's very hard, they concentrate the mind and calm the faculties. So, It's about a deva who was a monk and did not succeed, found the holy life so difficult. The next sutra, 2.8. Thayana Sutta at Savatthi. Then when the night had advanced, the young Deva Thayana, formerly the founder of a religious sect of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's Grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side and recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One. Having exerted oneself, cut the stream, dispel sensual desires, O Brahmana. Without having abandoned sensual desires, a sage does not reach unity. If one would do what should be done, one should firmly exert oneself. For a slack, wondrous life only scatters more dust. Better left undone is the misdeed. a deed that later brings repentance. Better done is the good deed, which when done is not repented. As Kusa grasps, wrongly grasps, only cuts one's hand, so the ascetic life, wrongly taken up, drags one down to hell. Any deed that is slightly done, any corrupted vow, a holy life that breeds suspicion, does not yield great fruit. This is what the young Deva Atayana said. Having said this, he paid homage to the Blessed One, and keeping him on the right, he disappeared right there. Then when the night had passed, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks, last night when the night had advanced, the young Deva Atayana, formerly the founder of a religious sect, approached me and in my presence recited these verses. And the Buddha repeated the verses. This is what the young Deva Tayana said. Having said this, he paid homage to me, and keeping me on the right, he disappeared right there. Learn Tayana's verses, monks. Master Tayana's verses, monks. Remember Tayana's verses, monks. Tayana's verses are beneficial, monks. They pertain to the fundamentals of the holy life. It's the end of the sutta. So you see this Thayana, formerly was the founder of a religious sect, that means he was also an ascetic or a monk. And having been a good monk probably, he was reborn in heaven. So here, He is giving some advice to the monks. So he is telling it to the Buddha so that the Buddha can tell the monks. So these verses are very good. It's very suitable for a monk. That's why normally these verses after the monks two-weekly Uposatha recitation. Every two weeks, the monks recite the precepts. So after reciting the precepts, generally, the monks will recite these verses. Here, I read the second line. Having exerted oneself, cut the stream, dispel sensual desires, O Brahmana. This word Brahmana means a religious man. Brahmana was formerly the priest, the priest sect. So nowadays, because a lot of these people who belong to the priest sect, they are no more practicing like priests. So nowadays they're called Brahmins. So here the translation is Brahmin. But actually it does not refer to the Brahmin caste. It refers to a religious person. So he says, without exerting oneself, having exerted oneself, cut the stream, stream I guess of, I can say, stream of life or stream of craving. He says, without abandoning sensual desires, a sage cannot attain one-pointedness of mind, jhanas. And then basically saying that a monk, if he does not lead a holy life properly, then he can go down to hell. A skusa grass, wrongly grasped, only cuts one's hand. So the ascetic life, wrongly taken up, drags one down to hell. Skusa grass is a bit like our lalang. If you pull the lalang, it can cut your hand. The next sutra is 2.10, at Savatthi. On that occasion, the young Deva, Surya, had been seized by Rahu, lord of the Asuras. Then recollecting the blessed one, the young Deva, Surya, on that occasion recited this verse. Let homage be to you, the Buddha. O hero, you are everywhere released. I have fallen into captivity, so please be my refuge. Then referring to the young Deva Surya, the Blessed One addressed Rahu, Lord of the Asuras, in verse, Surya has gone for refuge to the Tathagata, the Arahant. Release Surya, O Rahu. Buddhas have compassion for the world. While moving across the sky, O Rahu, do not swallow the radiant one, the maker of light in darkness, the dish of fiery might in the gloom. Rahu, release my child Surya. Then Rahu, Lord of the Asuras, release the young Deva Surya, and hurriedly approach Vepacitti, Lord of the Asuras. Having approached, shocked and terrified, he stood to one side. Then as he stood there, Vipacitti, Lord of the Asuras, addressed him in verse, Why, Rahu, do you come in a hurry? Why did you release Surya? Having come as if in shock, why do you stand there frightened? And he said, My head would have split in seven parts. While living, I would have found no ease if, when chanted over by the Buddha's verses, I had not let go of Surya. That's the end of the sutta. the biggest of the Asuras. It's a very huge deva. So sometimes there are drawings of Rahu swallowing the moon or swallowing the sun. Actually, that is symbolic. There are two similar suttas here. One is this Rahu, being a very huge size, he caught this moon god Chandima, and the same thing happened. Probably he wanted to kill this Chandima. So in this sutta, he caught the sun god Surya and wanted to kill him. But this Surya called out to the Buddha for help. Then the Buddha immediately shouted to Rahu to release this Surya, the sun god. And so he quickly released him and went back to his heaven, shaking like a leaf. So Vipacitti is one of the leaders of the Asuras. This Rahu is not actually a leader, but he is the biggest in size. So Vipacitti asked him, why are you trembling like a leaf? He said, if he had not released Surya, his head would have split in seven pieces. So, when the Buddha says something and you go against his word, it is possible that this would happen. Now, the next sutra. I'm going to read this. 2.15 Chandana Sutra. Standing to one side, the young Deva Chandana addressed the Blessed One in verse, Who here crosses over the flood? unwearying by day and night, who does not sink in the deep, without support, without a hold. One always perfect in virtue, endowed with wisdom, well-concentrated. One energetic and resolute, crosses the flood so hard to cross. One who desists from sensual perception, who has overcome the factor of thought, was destroyed the life in existence. He does not sink in the deep. That's the end of the sutta. Here, who crosses over the flood? The flood is the waters of samsara. It's symbolic. If a person is liberated, he crosses the flood and he goes over to the other shore. He's asking, who does not sing in the deep? The deep is the ocean of samsara, the ocean of the round of rebirths. So the Buddha said, one who is perfect in virtue, well-concentrated and endowed with wisdom, energetic and resolute will cross the flood. So here, the three things are important. Sila, Samadhi, and Panna. Virtue or moral conduct, That is the basic. If a person has moral conduct, then when he practices meditation, it's easier for him to gain the second step, which is concentration. And when he has concentration, then wisdom will come. But the Buddha says he has to be energetic and resolute. Very, very diligent and hardworking. Next Sutta is 2.17. Standing to one side, the young Deva Subrahma addressed the Blessed One in verse. Always frightened is this mind. The mind is always agitated about unarisen problems and about arisen ones. If there exists release from fear being asked, please declare it to me. And the Buddha said, not apart from enlightenment and austerity, not apart from restraint of the sense faculties, not apart from relinquishing all. Do I see any safety for living beings? This is what the Blessed One said. And the young Deva disappeared right there. So here this Deva apparently, his mind is always agitated and frightened. Problems have not come, he is worried about them. Present problems are also, he is fearful. And he asks the Buddha what to do. And the Buddha says, apart from relinquishing all, do I see any safety for living beings? So, the Buddha is saying, unless we let go, let go of everything, let go of the world, then there is no safety. There is no safety because we will experience aging, sickening, and dying. So only when a person has become enlightened that he attains the deathless. So when a person becomes enlightened, even though the body dies, he does not feel I die. He knows the body dies. There is no more I for him, no more self. So the Buddha says, you have to attain enlightenment, you have to practice austerities, restraint of the sense faculties, letting go of everything, then only you have security. Otherwise, as long as we have not attained any other stages, the woeful planes of existence are still waiting for us. We will definitely keep being reborn in the ghostly realm, the animal realm and the hell realm. 2.20 Anatta-Pindika Sutta Standing to one side, the young Deva Anatta-Pindika recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One. This indeed is the Jeta's road, the resort of the order of seers, of the Sangha of seers. dwelt in by the Dhamma King, Dhammaraja, a place that gives me joy. Action, knowledge, righteousness, virtue, and excellent life, by this are mortals purified. not by clan or wealth. Therefore, a person who is wise, out of regard for his own good, should carefully examine the Dhamma. Thus he is purified in it. Sariputta truly is endowed with wisdom, with virtue and with inner peace. Even a monk who has gone beyond, at best, can only equal him. This is what the young Deva Anattapindika said. Having said this, he paid homage to the Blessed One, and keeping him on the right way, disappeared right there. Then when the night had passed, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, last night, when the night had advanced, a young Deva approached me, and in my presence recited these verses, and the Buddha repeated the verses. This is what the young Deva said, Having said this, he paid homage to me, and keeping me on the right, he disappeared right there. When this was said, the Venerable Ananda said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, that young Deva must surely have been Anakapindika. For Anakapindika, the householder, had full confidence in the Venerable Sariputta. And the Buddha said, Good, good Ananda, you have drawn the right inference by reasoning. For that young Deva Ananda was Anakapindika. That's the end of the Sutta. So I'm reading this Sutta to you, just to let you know that Anathapindika, after he passed away, he was born in the heaven. According to the books, I think he was born in the Tusita heaven. This Anathapindika, he was a great admirer of Sariputta. Even when he spoke to the Buddha, he praised Sariputta, saying that any monk even has become enlightened can only at the best equal Sariputta, can never be better than Sariputta. A lot of lay people are like that. A lot of lay people have their favourite monk. 2.26 Rohitasa Sutta. It's a very interesting sutta. At Svati, standing to one side, the young Deva, Rohitasa said to the Blessed One, Is it possible, Venerable Sir, by travelling to know or to see or to reach the end of the world, where one is not born, does not age, does not die, does not pass away, and is not reborn, And the Buddha said, As to that end of the world, friend, where one is not born, does not age, does not die, does not pass away, and is not reborn, I say that it cannot be known, seen, or reached by travelling. And the Deva said, It is wonderful, Venerable Sir. It is amazing, Venerable Sir, how well this was stated by the Blessed One. Once in the past, Venerable Sir, I was a seer of an ascetic named Rohitasa, son of Bhoja. Possessed of spiritual power, able to travel through the sky. My speed was such, Venerable Sir, that I could move just as swiftly as a firm bowed archer. An archer who can hold the bow firmly. trained, skillful, practiced, experienced, would easily shoot past the shadow of a palmyra tree with a light arrow. My stride was such, Venerable Sir, that it seemed to reach from the Eastern Ocean to the Western Ocean. Then, Venerable Sir, a wish arose in me. I will reach the end of the world by travelling. Possessing such speed and such stride, and having a lifespan of a hundred years, living for a hundred years, I travel for a hundred years without pausing, except to eat, drink, take meals and snacks, to defecate and urinate, to sleep and dispel fatigue. Yet I dived along the way without having reached the end of the world. It is wonderful, Venerable Sir. It is amazing, Venerable Sir, how well this was stated by the Blessed One. As to that end of the world, friend, where one is not born, does not age, does not die, does not pass away, and is not reborn, I say that it cannot be known, seen, or reached by travelling." And the Buddha said, However, friend, I say that without having reached the end of the world, there is no making an end to suffering. It is, friend, in just this fathom-high carcass, endowed with perception and mind, that I make known to the world sorry, that I make known the world, the origin of the world, the cessation of the world, and the way leading to the cessation of the world. The world's end can never be reached by means of traveling, yet without reaching the world's end, there is no release from suffering. Therefore, truly, the world-knower, the wise one, gone to the world's end, fulfiller of the holy life, having known the world's end, at peace, longs not for this world or another. So here, this sutta is about Deva, who was formerly an ascetic with psychic power. And then he felt that this world was full of suffering, so he thought he wants to get out of this world of suffering, go to a place where there is no aging, where there is no sickening, and no dying, and no being reborn. So he thought with his great psychic power, he could fly so fast, Eventually, one day, he will come to the end of the world and get out of the world. So he said, for 100 years, he kept flying without much wasting time. Until he died, he could not find the end of the world. Actually, according to the Buddha, space, there is no limit to the ends of space. Space is boundless. No limitless. That's why if you keep flying, you can never reach the end of space. So the Buddha said, but without coming to the end of the world, you cannot get out of suffering. And then the Buddha says, in this body itself is the world. It's the beginning of the world, the end of the world. The way going to the end of the world is all within this body. Why? Because within our body is consciousness. Consciousness dwells within our body. And the world is in consciousness. The world only exists when there is consciousness. So to reach the end of the world, you have to reach the end of consciousness. And since consciousness is within us, we have to go inside us. find the origin of consciousness. If we can come to the state where consciousness ceases, that is the end of the world. So the end of the world is not out there somewhere. The only place, in fact, the world itself, the beginning of the world, the end of the world, everything is within us. 2.29, Sussima Sutta, the Svati. Then the verbal Ananda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, Do you too, Ananda, approve of Sariputta? And Ananda said, indeed Venerable Sir, who would not approve of the Venerable Sariputta unless he were foolish, full of hatred, deluded or mentally deranged. The Venerable Sariputta, Venerable Sir, is wise, one of great wisdom, of wide wisdom, of joyous wisdom, of swift wisdom, of sharp wisdom, of penetrative wisdom, The Venerable Sariputta, Pante, has few wishes. He is content, secluded, aloof, energetic. The Venerable Sariputta, Venerable Sir, is one who gives advice, one who accepts advice, a reprover, one who censures evil. Indeed, Venerable Sir, who would not approve of the Venerable Sariputta unless he were foolish, full of hatred, deluded, or mentally deranged? And the Buddha said, so it is, Ananda, so it is. Indeed, Ananda, who would not approve of Sariputta unless he were foolish, full of hatred, deluded, or mentally deranged? Sariputta, Ananda, is wise, et cetera. So the Buddha repeated exactly what Ananda said. Meanwhile, this praise of the meritorious Sariputta was being spoken. The young Deva Susima, accompanied by a great assembly of young Devas, approached the blessed one. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, stood to one side and said to him, So it is, Blessed One, so it is, Fortunate One, indeed, Venerable Sir, who would not approve of the Venerable Sariputta? And he also repeated exactly what Venerable Ananda said. In my case too, Venerable Sir, no matter what assembly of young Devas I have approached, I have often heard this same report, that Venerable Sariputta is wise, etc. etc. who would not approve of the Venerable Sarikutta unless he were foolish, full of hatred, deluded or mentally deranged. Let's stop here for a moment. So here this Deva is also praising the Venerable Sarikutta. And this Deva is saying whenever he meets other Devas, he hears other Devas also full of praise for the Venerable Sarikutta. This is quite the opposite of what the later Mahayana books say. The later Mahayana books always like to put down where it was already put down. Then, while this praise of the Venerable Sariputta was being spoken, the young devas in Susima's assembly, elated, gladdened, full of rapture and joy, displayed diverse, lustrous colors, just as a very gem, beautiful of fine quality, age-hesitant, of excellent workmanship, when placed on a brocade cloth, shines and beams and radiates. So too, the young devas in Susima's assembly displayed diverse lustrous colours. And just as an ornament of finest gold, very skilfully furnished in a furnace by an adroit goldsmith, when placed on a brocade cloth, shines and beams and radiates, so too the young devas in Susima's assembly. displayed diverse lustrous colours. And just as when the night is fading, the morning star shines and beams and radiates, so too the young devas in Susima's assembly displayed diverse lustrous colours. And just as in the autumn the sky is clear and cloudless, the sun descending in the sky dispels all darkness from space as it shines and beams and radiates. So too, the young devas in Susima's assembly, elated, gladdened, full of rapture and joy, displayed diverse, lustrous colours. Then, with reference to the Venerable Sariputta, the young deva Susima recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. He is widely known to be a wise man, Sariputta, who is free of anger, of few wishes, gentle, tame, the seer adorned by the teacher's praise. Then the Blessed One, with reference to the Venerable Sariputta, replied to the young Deva Susima in verse, He is widely known to be a wise man, Sariputta, who is free of anger. A few wishes, gentle, tame, developed, well-tamed, he awaits the time. End of the Sutta So here you see, even the Buddha also praises the verbal Sariputta. So in the end, the Buddha says, he's waiting his time. He's waiting his time to enter Nibbana. Sometimes, like the Buddha says, they have done their work. So just waiting to collect the salary like that. So in the original suttas, you find Sariputta is always praised by humans and devas because Sariputta is the monk with the highest wisdom and the Buddha says that Sariputta turns the dharma wheel exactly like the Buddha himself. 2.30, thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha, in the bamboo grove of the Swiroro Sanctuary. Then, when the night had advanced, a number of young devas, disciples of various sectarian teachers, Asama and Sahali, and Ninka and Akotaka, and Vitambari and Mana Vagamia, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire bamboo grove, approached the Blessed One. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and stood to one side. Then standing to one side, the young Deva Asama spoke this verse, referring to Purana Kasapa in the presence of the Blessed One. In enduring and killing here, in beating and extortion, Kasapa did not recognize evil, nor see any merit for oneself. He indeed taught what is worthy of trust, that teacher deserves esteem. Then the young Deva Sahali spoke his verse referring to Makali Gosala in the presence of the Blessed One. By austerity and scrupulousness, he attained complete self-restraint. He abandoned contentious talk with people, refrained from falsehood, a speaker of truth. Surely such a one does no evil. Then the young Deva Nyingkha spoke this verse referring to Niganta Nataputta in the presence of the Blessed One. A scrupulous, discerning monk, well restrained by the Four Controls, explaining what is seen and heard, surely he could not be a sinner. Then the young Deva Akhotaka spoke this verse referring to various sectarian teachers in the presence of the Blessed One. Pakudaka, Katiyana, and Niganta, along with Makali and Purana, teachers of companies, attained to ascetic stature. They were surely not far from superior men. Then the young deva, Vetambari, replied to the young deva, Pakodaka, in verse, Even by howling along, the wretched jackal remains a vile beast, never the lion's fear. So though he be the teacher of a group, the naked ascetic, speaker of falsehood, arousing suspicion by his conduct, bears no resemblance to superior men. Then Mara, the evil one, took possession of the young Deva, Pitambari, and recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. Those engaged in austerity and scrupulousness, those protecting their solitude, and those who have settled on four, delighting in the world of devas. Indeed, these mortals instruct rightly in regard to the other world. Then the Blessed One, having understood this is Mara the Evil One, replied to Mara the Evil One in verse, whatever forms exist here and beyond, and those of luminous beauty in the sky, all these indeed you praise, Namuci, like bait thrown out for catching fish. Then in the Blessed One's Presence, I'll stop here. This Namuji is another name for Mara. Mara is the Satan in Buddhism. So he's saying, all these beautiful things that you praise, Mara, they are all your bait for catching living beings. This world, the Buddha says, All the delightful things in the world are all Mara's bait to catch us. Beautiful sights, nice sounds, nice smells, taste, touch and thoughts. Then in the Blessed One's presence, the young Deva Manavagamiya recited these verses referring to the Blessed One. Vipula is called the best of mountains among the hills of Rajagaha. Seta, the best of snow-clad mountains. The sun, the best of travelers in the sky. The ocean is the best body of water. The moon, the best of nocturnal lights. But in this world, together with its devas, the Buddha is declared supreme. So, that's the end of the sutra. You see in this sutra that these devas Many of them were followers of external ascetic teachers who were famous during the Buddha's time. But the Buddha said their teachings were wrong. And in fact, in one Sutta, the Buddha called one of these external ascetic teachers a fool. Makkhaliko salaputta. The Buddha says that fool Makkhali is leading beings to the woeful planes of existence. Just like the fish trap, leads the fish along the trap and goes into the sticks and then can never come out. So the Buddha says in the same way. Makkhali is leading a lot of people to the woeful planes. And why? Because Makkhali is one of those who says there is no kamma vipaka There's no result of karma. You can do what you like. There's no merit. There's no sin. But you see, some of their followers, even though they follow the wrong teachers, but because they probably were good at heart, so they did good things, so they are reborn in heaven. Not because of the teacher's doctrine to help them to be born in heaven. So it doesn't matter what religion we follow, as long as our heart is good, we don't do evil, we don't harm others, we help others, then we can go to heaven.

08-SN-Kosala-(Ch.3)--(2009-07-15).txt

Now we come to the third Sangyutta, which is Kosala Sangyutta. Kosala is one of the two famous countries during the Buddha's time along the Ganges Valley. So the king of Kosala is Pasenadi, Raja Pasenadi. He was a follower of the Buddha also. The First Sutta. Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savati in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to the Blessed One, Does Master Gautama too claim, I have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment? Let's talk here for a while. So here it's obvious that this is probably the first or the second time that this King Pasenadi came to see the Buddha. So he doesn't really know the Buddha yet. So he's asking the Buddha, do you also claim to be enlightened? Just like some of the external teachers. Then the Buddha said, if great king, One speaking rightly could say of anyone, he has awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. It is of me that one should rightly say this, for I, Great King, have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment." So here, Buddha is stating very firmly that he is enlightened. If anyone in the world is enlightened at all, the Buddha said, I am enlightened. And then King Pasenadi said, Master Gautama, even those ascetics and brahmins who are the heads of orders and companies, the teachers of companies, well-known and famous founders of sects, considered by the multitude to be holy men, that is, Purana Kasapa, Makali Gosala, Nigantha Nataputta, Sanjaya Belati Putta, Pakuda Kaccayana, Ajita Kesa Kambali. Even these, when I asked them whether they had awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, did not claim to have done so. So why then should Master Gautama make such a claim when he is so young in years and has newly gone forth? I stop here for a moment. You see, the Buddha was enlightened at the age of about 35. So this must have been around that time when he was 36 or 37, still very young, black hair and all that. So this king is saying, you are so young, you have been a monk such a short time, how can you claim to be enlightened? These other teachers, they are so old, they have been monks for so long and so they never claim to become enlightened. And the Buddha said, there are four things great kings that should not be despised and disparaged as young. What four? A kathiya, or a warrior, noble, one from a royal family, noble family. A kathiya, great king, should not be despised and disparaged as young. A snake should not be despised and disparaged as young. A fire should not be despised and disparaged as young. And a monk should not be despised and disparaged as young. These are the four. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, One should not despise as young a Katia of noble birth, a high-born prince of glorious fame. A man should not disparage him. For it may happen that this Lord of men, this Katia, shall gain the throne, and in his anger thrash one harshly with a royal punishment. Therefore, guarding one's own life, one should avoid him. One should not despise as young a serpent one may see by chance in the village or a forest. A man should not disparage it, for as that fierce snake glides along, manifesting in diverse shapes, it may attack and bite the food, whether a man or a woman. Therefore, guarding one's own life, one should avoid it. One should not despise as young a blazing fire that devours much. A conflagration with blackened trail, a man should not disparage it, for if it gains a stalk of fuel, having become a conflagration, it may attack and burn the fool. Whether a man or a woman, therefore guarding one's own life, one should avoid it. When the fire burns down the forest, that conflagration, that blackened trail, it should there spring to life once more, as the days and nights pass by. But if a monk of perfect virtue burns one with his virtue's fire, one does not gain sons and cattle, nor do one's heirs acquire wealth. Childless and airless they become, like stumps of palmyra trees. Therefore a person who is wise, out of regard for his own good, should always treat these properly, a fierce serpent and a blazing fire, a famous khatia and a monk of perfect virtue. When this was said, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Venerable Sir, the Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by the Blessed One, as though He were turning upright but had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go for refuge to the Blessed One, and to the Dhamma, and to the Bhikkhu Sangha, From today, let the blessed one remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life. So this is the sutra where the Pasenadi first becomes a disciple of the Buddha. So the Buddha is telling him, don't look down on four things just because they are young or small. What are these four? The first one is somebody from the royal family. what we call a Tung Ku. Buddha says if you despise him, one day when he sits on the throne and becomes a king, he will remember and you will be in big trouble. The second one is a poisonous snake. Sometimes a poisonous snake may be small, but I don't think you can play the fool with him. Because when a poisonous snake bites you, the venom, the poison is the same as a big snake. Only thing, the baby snake has a smaller amount of poison. But then, that poison is enough to kill us. The third one is a fire. Even the fire is a small fire, if you neglect it, it can burn down your house. Then the fourth one is a virtuous monk. Sometimes when a monk is New in monkhood, some people they look down on the monk, they think the monk is not famous. Some lay people always like to chase after famous monks. So when the monk is not famous, sometimes they look down on the monk and they talk bad about the monk. So, later when the monk becomes a Arya, then they will be in big trouble. The kamma is very heavy. 3.2 Then King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said to Him, Remember, Sir, how many things are there which, when they arise within a person, arise for his harm, suffering and discomfort? The Buddha said, there are three things which, when they arise within a person, arise for his harm, suffering, and discomfort. What are the three? Greed, hatred, and delusion. These are the three things which, when they arise within a person, arise for his harm, suffering, and discomfort. Greed, hatred, and delusion, arisen from within oneself, endure the person of evil mind, as its own fruit destroys the reed. So here there are three poisons, three defilements that cause beings to suffer. Greed for pleasures in the world, worldly pleasures. The second one is hatred, intense anger, hatred. The third one is delusion. Delusion is very hard to see because when we are deluded, we can't see our own delusion. The delusion is due to the five hindrances, namely sensual desire, ill will, sloth and talker, restlessness and worry, and doubt. So these five things envelop us, because we don't see things clearly, so we have a lot of delusion. 3.3. At Sabbati, sitting to one side, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Blessed One, For one who has taken birth, is there anything other than to expect? Is there anything other than aging and death? And the Buddha said, for one who has taken birth, great thing, there is nothing other to expect than aging and death. Even in the case of those affluent kathiyas, those of the noble family, rich with great wealth and property, with abundant gold and silver, abundant treasures and commodities, abundant wealth and grain. Because they have taken birth, there is nothing other to expect than aging and death. Even in the case of those affluent Brahmins, affluent householders, rich with abundant wealth and grain, because they have taken birth, there is nothing other to expect than aging and death. Even in the case of those monks who are arahants, whose tents or asavas are destroyed, who have lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached their own goal, utterly destroyed the fetters of existence, and are completely liberated through final knowledge, even for them this body is subject to breaking up, subject to being laid down. The beautiful chariots of kings wear out, this body too undergoes decay. But the Dhamma of the good does not decay. So the good proclaims along with the good. That's the end of the sutta. So here the king is asking the Buddha, is there anyone who does not become old and die? The Buddha said, there is no being at all who does not age and die. So actually the cause of death is not when people die, people say, oh this cause of death was cancer. His cause of death was this sickness, his cause of death was that sickness. Actually, his cause of death was birth. Because he was born, he must die. What is not born will not die. 3.4 Asavati. Sitting to one side, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Blessed One, Here, Venerable Sir, while I was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in my mind thus, who now treat themselves as dear, and who treat themselves as a foe or enemy? Then, Venerable Sir, it occurred to me, those who engage in misconduct of body, speech and mind, treat themselves as a foe or enemy. Even though they may say, we regard ourselves as dear, still they treat themselves as a foe. For what reason? Because of their own accord, they act towards themselves in the same way that a foe might act towards a foe. Therefore, they treat themselves as a foe. But those who engage in good conduct of body, speech and mind, treat themselves as dear. Even though they may say, we regard ourselves as a foe, still they treat themselves as dear. For what reason? Because of their own accord, they act towards themselves in the same way that a dear person might act towards one who is dear. Therefore, they treat themselves as dear. And the Buddha said, so it is, great king, so it is, great king. And the Buddha repeated the entire statement of King Pasenadi and added the following, if one regards oneself as dear, one should not yoke oneself to evil, for happiness is not easily gained by one who does a wrongful deed. When one is seized by the end maker, that means death, as one discards the human state, What can one call truly one's own? What does one take when one goes? What follows one along like a shadow that never departs? Both the merits and the evil that a mortal does right here, this is what truly is one's own. This one takes when one goes. This is what follows one along like a shadow that never departs. Therefore, one should do what is good as a collection for the future life. Merits are the support of living beings when they arise in the other world. So, this wise king Pasenadi is saying that if we conduct ourselves well in body, speech and mind, then we are dear to ourselves. We are our best friend. But if we misconduct ourselves, we do evil karma to the body, speech and mind, then we are doing to ourselves what an enemy would like to do to you, make you go to the woeful place of existence. So if you don't want to harm yourself, You should conduct yourself virtuously, do good deeds to the body, speech and mind. Then you are treating yourself in the best way and you will bring yourself to heavenly rebirth. 3.6 At Savatthi, sitting to one side, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Blessed One, Here, Venerable Sir, while I was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in my mind thus. Few are those people in the world who, when they obtain superior possessions, do not become intoxicated and negligent, yield to greed for sensual pleasures, and mistreat other beings. Far more numerous are those people in the world, who when they obtain superior possessions, become intoxicated and negligent, yield to greed for sensual pleasures, and mistreat other living beings." And the Buddha said, so it is Great King, so it is Great King. And the Buddha repeated exactly what King Pasenadi said and added, Enamored with their pleasures and wealth, greedy, dazed by sensual pleasures, they do not realize they have gone too far, like deer that enter the trap laid out. Afterwards, the bitter fruit is theirs, or bad indeed is the result." That's the end of the sutra. So here, King Pasenadi is saying that he reflected, he came to the conclusion, most people in the world, become very wealthy, they become intoxicated and careless and then they become very greedy for sensual pleasures and mistreat other beings, like look down on other people and all that. Very, very few do not yield to greed for sensual pleasures and become intoxicated. So having great wealth is actually not good. You see many people who become very rich, they take second wife, third wife, and all that, and they misconduct themselves. At the end of life, they have used up all the good karma, all the good karma, vipaka, and they are bound for the woeful planes of existence. Very few, like now Bill Gates, who spent so much time Such a big portion of his wealth to do charity and help others. 3.8 at Savatthi. Now on that occasion, King Pasenadi of Kosala had gone together with Queen Mallika to the upper terrace of the palace. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala said to Queen Mallika, Is there Mallika, anyone more dear to you than yourself? And Mallika said, there is no one great king more dear to me than myself. But is there anyone great king more dear to you than yourself? You see, I stop here for a moment. So you see this King Pasnadi, I think his favorite wife, I don't know how many wives he has, but probably the favorite wife is Queen Mallika. And according to the commentaries, Queen Mallika was a poor girl selling flowers. And King Pasenadi, I think he went to war and he lost the fight, lost the battle. He had to go and hide. So when he was in hiding, I think he met this Mallika. And Mallika probably didn't know that he was a king. He took this Mallika as his wife when he went back to the throne. So probably he loved Queen Mallika so much, he wanted to know whether Queen Mallika loved him or not, that's why he asked. Is there anyone more dear to you than yourself? But this Mallika was a very devoted disciple of the Buddha. And being very wise, he said, no, there's nobody more dear to me than myself. Everyone now, because of our ego, we love ourselves the most. There's nobody we love more than ourselves. But some people, they think they love other people more than themselves. They're either silly or hypocritical. Then Queen Mallika was afraid that the King might get angry. He also asked the King, how about you? Is there anybody you love more than yourself? And the King said, for me too Mallika, there is no one more dear than myself. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala descended from the palace and approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, sat down to one side and related to the Blessed One his conversation with Queen Mallika. Then the Blessed One, having understood the meaning of this, on that occasion, recited this verse. Having traversed all quarters with the mind, one finds none anywhere dearer than oneself. Likewise, each person holds himself most dear. Hence, one who loves himself should not harm others. So the Buddha is saying, just like we love ourselves dearly, every living being also values his life, loves himself. So just as you don't want others to harm you, so you should not harm others. Just as you want others to be good to you, so you should be good to others. It's about one hour, so I think I'll stop here. If there are any questions, we can discuss. Okay. Last night we talked about the four pairs of aliens. And now the question is where do we place the Gotra Buddha? Uttarabhuva is supposed to be a person who would not fall into the woeful planes, isn't it? But he is not considered an Arya. Now in some other sutra I've come across, the Buddha says there are only nine types of beings in the world. the Putujana or ordinary being plus the 8 Aryans. The 8 Aryans are the 1st Path, 1st Fruit, 2nd Path, 2nd Fruit, 3rd Path, 3rd Fruit and 4th Path, 4th Fruit. Now in the Samyutta Nikaya 25.1 it is stated that when a person attains the 1st Path It takes some time before it becomes the first fruit, but definitely in that lifetime, it will turn from path to fruit. So my personal view is that it applies also for the second path, third path, and fourth path. When a person attains any one of these paths, it will automatically turn to fruit within his lifetime. As far as the Gotrabuddha is concerned, in some suttas, the Buddha talks about some people who have great faith in the Buddha, great faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. But because maybe they have not learned the Dhamma or the suttas enough, then they have not become an Ariya. But because they have great faith in the Buddha and love for the Buddha, will prevent them from going to the woeful plains. That's provided they don't do evil kamma. So I think this Gotrabu is that type of person that means a virtuous person but not yet an ariya. Maybe on the way to becoming an ariya. A layperson teaching a monk Now the Buddha says that whenever we want to look for a teacher, we should look for a teacher, one who is qualified to be our teacher. It's one whose sila, samadhi and panya, oral conduct, concentration and wisdom is higher than you. If these three things are not higher than you, then he's not qualified to be your teacher. So that's the way to judge. It's not easy to judge a person. The Buddha says to know a person well, you have to associate over a long period with that person and you've got to be very sharp. You've got to be able to notice his character. So it's not easy to judge a person in a short time. because she's defective, and therefore we have a great influence. And in some of them, they're not so willing to be with you that way. Even if they have a good amount of knowledge. So? So what does this mean? It's like a flywire, you know? It's like if you have some money in your pocket, and a microscope in your hand, and you come to see that, and you see that it needs to come more or less So your question is why do some people have good samadhi and why can't they accept the Buddha's teachings? Sometimes it is due to ego. Many of them are already famous teachers so they would not submit themselves to be a disciple of somebody else. Very few have the humility to do that. So unless they can be willing to really listen to the Dharma, because if that person is not keen to be a disciple, his ego will prevent him from really listening to the Dhamma. You got to pay thorough attention when the Buddha says the condition for right view. There are two conditions for right view. One, you got to hear the voice of somebody teaching the Dhamma to you. The second one is Yoniso Manasikara. Yoniso Manasikara is paying full attention A lot of people, when they come to listen to the Dhamma, for various reasons, one is their ego. They are not very interested to listen. They think they have already, like these external sect teachers, they think they have already attained something. They are not willing to really listen to the Dhamma. That's why if a person wants to learn from a teacher, that person, one of the conditions, then he has to humble himself. In one of the suttas, the Buddha admonished one of the monks, one of the Buddha's disciples, because probably he thought that there are a lot of people, when they come to learn with a teacher, they have a lot of views, they have a lot of fixed views. So sometimes they try to argue with the teacher and all that. So the Buddha says, told that monk, that when you learn from a teacher, you should have that view that the teacher knows more than me. Because when you are humble enough to think that the teacher knows more than you, then you will actually listen properly to what the teacher is trying to tell you. Because sometimes when the teacher is trying to tell you something, it takes time to get the message across. Sometimes he says something you don't understand, and then another day he has to put it in another way. And then if you don't understand again, he has to try to make you see by trying to explain in another way. But if you are not interested, you try to argue with him and you try to think otherwise, you can never learn. So that's why, you see, like for Christian renunciants, priests and brothers and all that, I always say they take three vows. One is the vow of cessity, the vow of poverty, and the third is the vow of obedience. to always be obedient to the teacher. A lot of people, they are not qualified to be a student because they don't have the attitude, the humility of a student. They keep judging the teacher, always having, trying to judge the teacher, trying to gauge the teacher, and all that. Not willing to submit themselves. Oh yes, definitely. When you say listen to the Dhamma from another person, that includes reading. When you read the books of the Buddha, the Buddha's words, it's as though the Buddha was sitting next to you and teaching you the Dhamma. So a lot of people, they are so foolish, they don't realize the value of the Nikayas. This Nikayas has been transmitted down to us over 2000 over years by so many monks and so many Arahants. And they have taken so much trouble to preserve these books down to us. And we are so foolish because it is so hard to meet the true Dhamma. The Buddha said he contemplated the last 91 world cycles. He only saw six Sammasambuddhas willing to teach the Dhamma. And out of these six Sammasambuddhas, three of them are on this earth in this world cycle. Which means in the last 90 world cycles, there were only three Sammasambuddhas willing to teach the Dhamma. Which means it takes about 30 world cycles to meet the true Dhamma. 30 world cycles. The Buddha said, one world cycle is so long, it's hard to imagine how long it is. And the Buddha said, to give you a simile, the Buddha said, you imagine a rock, a solid piece of rock, one yojana, which means 10 kilometers tall, 10 kilometers wide, and the breadth is also 10 kilometers. So a cube of solid rock, a cube, 10 kilometers by 10 kilometers by 10 kilometers. And then the Buddha said, imagine the time to weigh it down, weigh it down to nothing. And you have a soft cloth, like a silk cloth. You are only allowed to rub that rock once in a hundred years. Once in a hundred years, you rub it once. And then you have to wait for another hundred years before you can rub it again. How long before you can wear away that rock? That is how long a world cycle is. So the Buddha said, it's so hard to imagine how long it is. And it takes 30 world cycles before you can meet the Dhamma. So now that the Dhamma is in front of us, we don't want to take the trouble to go and study and attain the right view. After you pass away from here, you are not going to meet the Dhamma for extremely, extremely many, many, many rebirths. And when that happens, if you can remember, you'll regret it. I mean, this is my personal life. Especially the first year, when we were talking about this kind of thing. It's a lot of EWAs and all this. I mean, my only thing is somehow my mind rejected it because it's like, it's not real. I mean, to me, I can't comprehend it as real EWA and all this stuff. Today's one, when you're reading Kassata and all this, we know such a person exists. So, for me, it's at least difficult to accept that as a... Yeah, I can understand. I mean, my mind always thinks it's like a story. I can understand. You know why? Because probably, for the whole of your life, you're not going to meet any deva. But why is it in the suttas we meet so many devas? Because during the Buddha's time, there were so many arahants. It's because of the arahants, the devas are interested to come and see them and to talk to them. The devas are not interested to meet ordinary people. Why should they come and waste their time and visit you and talk to you? They got so many beautiful devis to play with. They have no time for you. Even you pray to them to come also, they won't come. These are different. These are arahants. They will come to the Arahants without invitation. You see, comparing the Suttas, there are some other Suttas. The Buddha says, you look at the Devas, they have come to pay respect to the Buddha. The Buddha says from the 10,000 world systems, they have come to pay respect to the Buddha. So it's because during the Buddha's time, there were so many Arahants that they keep coming. Nowadays, where do they want to come? Mara is very powerful, Satan. Even in the Suttas, we find some of the Devas in the Brahma Heavens, they are actually superior to him, higher level, and yet he can possess some of them, control their mind, influence their thinking. Because they cannot take possession of the mind of Harahan. Okay, we stop here.

09-SN-Kosala-(Ch.3)-(2009-07-16).txt

Now we continue with the Samyutta, Nikaya Sutras, and we are on the third chapter, Kosala Samyutta. We've come to 3.10. On that occasion, a great mass of people had been put in bondage by King Vasanadi of Kosala, some with ropes, some with cloths, some with chains. Then in the morning, a number of monks dressed and said to the Blessed One, Dear Merciful Sir, a great mass of people have been put in bondage by King Pasenadi of Kosala, some with robes, some with cloaks, some with chains. Then the Blessed One, having understood the meaning of this, on that occasion recited these verses, That bond, the wise say, is not strong, made of iron, wood or rope, but infatuation with jewellery and earrings, anxious concern for wives and children. This, the wives say, is the strong bond, degrading, supple, hard to escape. But even this they cut and wander forth, unconcerned, having abandoned sensual pleasures." That's the end of the sutra. So here, The Buddha is saying that if you are tied up with chains of iron or wood or rope, that is not a strong chain. The strongest chain is infatuation with our property, infatuation with the family. Family ties are extremely strong. That's why it's very difficult for a person to renounce and become a monk. And even many after renouncing wearing the robes, they still go back to lay life because they cannot cut off that craving and attachment to family and sensual pleasures. 3.11 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in the Eastern Park. in the mention of Migara's mother. Migara's mother refers to this Visakha's father-in-law. Visakha married into this family that were not Buddhist and Visakha was a follower of the Buddha. So he helped to convert the father-in-law to become a devoted Buddhist. So the father-in-law was so grateful to her, the daughter-in-law, that the father-in-law called Visakha mother. So they referred to this man as Migara's, and they referred to this Visakha as Migara's mother. On that occasion in the evening, the Blessed One had emerged from seclusion and was sitting by the outer gateway. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, and sat down to one side. On that occasion, seven gatilas, seven nigantas, seven naked ascetics, seven one-robed ascetics, and seven wanderers with hairy armpits, long fingernails, and long body hairs, carrying their bundles of requisites, passed by not far from the Blessed One. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala rose from his seat, arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, knelt down with his right knee on the ground, and raised and raising his joined hands in reverential salutation towards the seven Jatilas, seven Nigantas, seven naked ascetics, seven one-robed ascetics, and seven wanderers, he announced his name three times. I am the king, venerable sirs, Pasenadi of Kosala. I am the king, venerable sirs, Pasenadi of Kosala. I am the king, venerable sirs, Pasenadi of Kosala. Let's stop here for a while. You see this King Pasenadi, when he saw these ascetics go by, he paid respect to them. These are the different classes of ascetics. And some of them, you see, they have hairy armpits, some with long fingernails, some with long body hairs, etc. Then not long after those Jatilas, etc., had departed, King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One. paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said to the Blessed One, Those, Venerable Sir, are to be included among the men in the world who are Arahants or who have entered upon the path to Arahantship. And the Buddha said, Great King, being a layman who enjoys sensual pleasures, dwelling in a home crowded with children, enjoying the use of Cassian sandalwood, wearing garlands, scents and anguans, receiving gold and silver. It is difficult for you to know these are Arahants or these have entered upon the path to Arahantship. Stop here for a while. Here the Buddha is saying, a lay person who dwells in the home, enjoying all these worldly pleasures. This Khaosin Sandalwood is Sandalwood from Khaosin, a famous city. So the Buddha said, it's difficult for you to know who are the holy men. Because this king assumed that all these ascetics, they look so ascetic. The king assumed that they were Arahants or holy men. Then the Buddha said, this by living together with someone great king, that his virtue is to be known. And that after a long time, not after a short time, By one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive. By one who is wise, not by a dullard or a fool. It is by dealing with someone great thing that his honesty is to be known. And that after a long time, not after a short time. By one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive. By one who is wise, not by a dullard. It is in adversities breaking that a person's fortitude is to be known, and then after a long time, not after a short time, by one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive, by one who is wise, not adult. It is by discussion with someone breaking that his wisdom is to be known, and then after a long time, not after a short time, by one who is attentive, not by one who is inattentive, by one who is wise, not by talent. And the King said, it is wonderful, Venerable Sir, it is amazing, Venerable Sir, how well this has been stated by the Blessed One. Great King, being a layman, who enjoys sensual pleasures, dwelling in a home crowded with children, enjoying the use of carcine, central wood, etc. It is difficult for you to know these are arahants, or these have entered upon the path to arahantship, etc. And how to know a person, it takes time, and you have to be very attentive, and you have to be wise. And then the king continued, these venerable sir are my spies, undercover agents, coming back after spying out the country. First information is gathered by them, and afterwards I will make them disclose it. Now venerable sir, when they have washed off the dust and dirt, and are freshly bathed and groomed, with their hair and beards trimmed, clad in white garments, they will enjoy themselves supplied and endowed with the five courts of sensual pleasure. Then the Blessed One, having understood the meaning of this, on that occasion recited these verses. A man is not easily known by outward form, nor should one trust a quick appraisal. For in the guise of the well-controlled, uncontrolled men move in this world, like a counterfeit earring made of clay. like a bronze half-pan coated with gold. Some move about in disguise, inwardly impure, outwardly beautiful. That's the end of the sutra. So the Buddha is saying, you want to know a person, it takes a long time. You have to associate closely with that person, either live with him or associate much with him. And then you have to be very attentive, You've also got to be a very wise person to judge another person. So, to know a person's heart, it's not so easy. A lot of people like to make quick judgments. After a quick look at a person, oh, this person is so mindful, this person is so impressive, and all that. Outwardly, he may show like that, but inwardly, he may not be. So that's why the king agreed. The king says, I have spies. I have a lot of spies. They go and spy. find out information for me. So they pretend to be ordinary citizens, but actually they come back and report everything to the king. Then those people who say things against the king will get into problems. So, you see, it's hard to know a person. It takes time. So it's not wise to judge a person, especially a person on the spiritual path. It's very foolish for some lay people to I judge certain monks and pass, I see remarks or something, I see remarks that I pass about monks and it gets circulated very fast. 3.12 That's about it. Now on that occasion, five kings, headed by King Pasenadi, were enjoying themselves, supplied and endowed with the five forms of sensual pleasure. When this conversation arose among them, what is the chief of sensual pleasures? Some among them said, forms are the chief of sensual pleasures. Some said, sounds are the chief. Some, odors are the chief. Some, tastes are the chief. Some, tactile objects. are the chief. Let's stop here for a moment. These five thoughts of sensual pleasure are forms, beautiful forms, like men like to see beautiful women, beautiful women like to see handsome men. And sounds, a lot of people like to enjoy music. And odours, nice perfumes, flowers and all that. And some people are caught by taste, can't resist good food. And some tactile objects, touch, sex and all that. Since those kings were unable to convince one another, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to them, come dear sirs, let us approach the blessed one and question him about this matter. As the blessed one answers us, so we should remember it. All right, dear sir," those kings replied. Then those five kings, aided by King Pasenadi, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side. King Pasenadi then reported their entire discussion to the Blessed One, asking, What now, Venerable Sir, is the chief of sensual pleasures? And the Buddha said, Great thing, Maharaja, I say that what is chief among the five courts of sensual pleasure is determined by whatever is most agreeable. Those same forms that are agreeable to one person, great thing, are disagreeable to another. When one is pleased and completely satisfied with certain forms, then one does not yearn for any other form higher or more sublime than those forms. For him, those forms are then supreme. For him, those forms are unsurpassed. Similarly with sounds, odours, tastes and tactile objects. When one is pleased and completely satisfied with certain tactile objects, then one does not yearn for others. On that occasion, the lay follower Chanda Nanggalika was sitting in that assembly. Then the lay follower Chanda Nanggalika arose from his seat, arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, and raising his joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, said to him, An inspiration has come to me, Blessed One. An inspiration has come to me, Fortunate One. And the Buddha said, Then express your inspiration, Chanda Nanggalika. Then the lay follower Candananggalika, in the presence of the Blessed One, extolled Him and praised Him with an appropriate verse. As the fragrant red lotus, Kukanada, blooms in the morning, its fragrance unspent, behold Angirasa, the Radiant One, like the sun beaming in the sky. Then those five kings bestowed five upper robes upon the lay follower Candananggalika. But the lay follower Candananggalika bestowed those five upper robes upon the blessed one. That's the end of the sutra. So here, the kings are asking, what is the best of the sensual pleasures? And the Buddha said, it is difficult to say, in the sense that different people have different tastes. For example, forms. Some people think a woman is the prettiest in the world. guide me, not think so. But if that person is satisfied with that particular form, then for him that's the best. He doesn't look for any other. Similarly with sounds, odours, taste and touch. Then this Chandanangalita priest, the Buddha. The Buddha is sometimes called Angirasa, the kinsman of the Sun. So because the Buddha is enlightened, person is often in deep meditation so if you look at the buddha often he will be like looking quite bright so when the this layman praise the buddha and the king agreed agreed the five kings are agreed and They presented their upper robe, all of them to this layman. And this layman took all the robes and presented it to the Buddha. 3.13, at Svarti. On that occasion, King Pasenadi of Kosala had eaten a bucket measure of rice and curries. Then, while still full, huffing and puffing, the King approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side. Then the Blessed One, having understood that King Pasenadi was full and was huffing and puffing, on that occasion recited this verse. When a man is always mindful, knowing moderation in the food he eats, his ailments then diminish. He ages slowly, guarding his life. On that occasion, the Brahmin youth Sudassana was standing behind King Vasanadi of Kosala. The king then addressed him thus, Come now, dear Sudassana, learn this verse from the Blessed One, and recite it to me whenever I am taking my meal. I will then present him daily with a hundred pahapanas as a perpetual grant." Let's talk here for a moment. This here, it says the Brahmin youth Sudarsana. In the earlier translation by the Pali Text Society, they referred to him as the Prince Sudarsana. And I think according to the commentaries, this young man Sudarsana was the nephew of the King Pasenadi. So, King Pasenadi, He has been enjoying his food so much, he must have been round and fat. So, he asked this young man to remind him, each time he takes his food, not to eat so much. He said, give him 100 Hapana. Hapana is a measure of money. Just like now, US dollar or ringgit or something. Yes, Sire, the Brahmin youth Sudarsana replied. Having learned this verse from the Blessed One, whenever King Pasenadi was taking his meal, the Brahmin youth recited, When a man is always mindful, knowing moderation in the food he eats, his ailments then diminish, he ages slowly, guarding his life. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala gradually reduced his intake of food to at most a pint-pot measure of boiled rice. At a later time, when his body had become quite slim, King Pasenadi of Kosala stroked his limbs with his hand and on that occasion uttered this inspired utterance, The Blessed One showed compassion towards me in regard to both kinds of good, the good pertaining to the present life and that pertaining to the future life. That's the end of the sutra. So here you see the Buddha The Buddha is called the greatest doctor, greatest physician in the world, both for our mental sickness and also for our physical. So here, the Buddha advised him, if you eat a lot, then you will have more sickness, and then you will age faster. So if you want to live long, don't eat so much. It is exactly what doctors are saying nowadays. If you read health books, They say if you are slim, if you are just like either the normal weight or slightly underweight, then you will live to a ripe old age. I have one devotee in Penang, now I think 95 years old. She's very thin, but because she's light, she can move about. When we are fat, it's very difficult to move about. For example, when we go up the hill, we go and service our, clean our the water reservoir up the hill. It takes one hour to climb up the hill. So I also noticed if I'm slightly, the weight is slightly more, it's more tiring. But nowadays it's slimmer, I can walk faster, I can carry weight, I can carry the bag. So the King Pasenadi was very grateful to the Buddha. He said the Buddha benefits him in this lifetime and also future lifetimes. 3.16. A Sabbath. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him and sat down to one side. Then a certain man approached King Pasenadi and informed him in a whisper, Sire, Queen Mallika has given birth to a daughter. When this was said, King Pasenadi was displeased. Then the Blessed One, having understood that King Pasenadi was displeased, on that occasion recited these verses. A woman, O Lord of the people, Raja, may turn out better than a man. She may be wise and virtuous. a devoted wife, revering her mother-in-law. The son to whom she gives birth may become a hero or lord of the land. The son of such a blessed woman may even rule the realm." That's the end of the sutra. So, in the olden days, men always liked to have sons instead of daughters. So when Queen Malika gave birth to a daughter, the king was not too happy. And the Buddha made him understand that sometimes a woman may turn out better than a man if she's wise and virtuous, etc. 3.17, at Savarti, sitting to one side in Vāsanādhi of Kosala, said to the Blessed One, he stared and rambled, Sir, one thing which secures both kinds of good, the good pertaining to the present life and that pertaining to the future life, And the Buddha said, there is one thing, great thing, which secures both kinds of good. The good pertaining to the present life, and that pertaining to the future life. But what Venerable Sir said, one thing, diligence is a great thing. just as the footprints of all living beings that walk fit into the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant's footprint is declared to be their chief by reason of its size. So, diligence is the one thing which secures both kinds of good, the good pertaining to the present life and that pertaining to the future life. For one who desires long life and health, beauty, heaven and noble birth, a variety of lofty delights, falling in succession. The wise prays diligence in doing deeds of merit. The wise person who is diligent secures both kinds of good, the good visible in this very life and the good of the future life. The steadfast one, by attaining the good, is called a person of wisdom. So here, the Buddha is giving very good advice. that there is one thing that is very important for all of us. Diligence. Energetic effort. Whatever we want, we have to make. Energetic effort. Diligence to work towards it. So for example, if a person wants to be rich, wealthy in this life, he has to work very hard. And then it's one of the most important factors. And then if you want to attain spiritual success, also you have to work very hard. Some of the suttas that Buddha mentions about those monks who are diligent to attain the deathless, they try not to sleep at night. When people are fast asleep, they are working very hard, trying to maintain their practice. So diligence is very, very important. A lot of us, we are overcome by laziness. That's a lot. And this is more so if we are fat. If you eat a lot, every time after a heavy meal, we tend to be drowsy. So some people have a bad habit. Immediately after the meal, they go and sleep. And in the Dhammapada verses, the Buddha likened that person to a pig. Pig, after eating a lot, will roll in the mud and go to sleep. 3.18 at Sabati. Sitting to one side, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Blessed One, Here, Venerable Sir, while I was alone in seclusion, the following reflection arose in my mind. The Dhamma has been well expounded by the Blessed One, and that is for one with good friends, good companions, good comrades, not for one with bad friends, bad companions, bad comrades. The Buddha said, so it is, great thing, so it is, great thing. The Dhamma has been well expounded by me, and that is for one with good friends, good companions, good comrades, not for one with bad friends, bad companions, bad comrades. On one occasion, great thing, I was living among the Satyans, where there is a town of the Satyans named Nagaraka. Then the monk Ananda approached me, paid homage to me, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, this is half of the holy life, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. This was said, great king. I told the monk Ananda, not so, Ananda, not so, Ananda. This is the entire holy life, Ananda, that is, good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. When a monk has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, it is to be expected that he will develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path. And how, Ananda, does a monk who has a good friend, good companion, a good comrade, develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path? Here, Ananda, a monk develops Right View, which is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, maturing and release. He develops right intention or right thoughts, then right speech, then right action, right livelihood, right effort, right recollection, right concentration. This is based upon seclusion, dispassion and cessation, perturbing and release. It is in this way, Ananda, that a monk who has a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade, develops and cultivates a noble eightfold path. Let's talk to you for a moment. The Buddha is confirming that good companions are very important. The Buddha says that our friends influence us a lot. If you mix with evil friends, you will tend to follow them and practice evil habits like drinking and womanizing and gambling and all that. But if you mix with good friends, then they will bring you to a good destination. So the Buddha also said that we live an ordinary life, and we are following the path that most people will go to, which is rebirth in the whole food planes. But we need effort to go against the stream of our tendencies. If we listen to the Dhamma, then we know what is good for us, what is not good for us, then we can guide ourselves. And here the Buddha is saying that friends are very important because they can bring us to walk the spiritual path and practice the Noble Eightfold Path. And in the description of the Noble Eightfold Path, you notice that the Buddha always starts with Right View. You must always get Right View, otherwise you have not entered upon the Noble Eightfold Path. A lot of people make the mistake of going into meditation first. Going into meditation without studying the Suttas, without hearing the Dhamma. And then they are practicing the last path of the Noble Eightfold Path instead of the first path, the first factor. So you have to go in that order I stated in the sutras. And then the Buddha continued. By the following method to Ananda, it may be understood how the whole, how the entire holy life is good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. By relying upon me as a good friend, Ananda, being subject to birth, are free from birth. Being subject to aging, are free from aging. Being subject to illness, are free from illness. Being subject to death, are free from death. Being subject to sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair, are free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. By this method, Ananda, it may be understood how the entire holy life is good friendship, good companionship, good comradeship. Therefore, great king, if you train yourself thus, I will be one who has good friends, good companions, good comrades. It is in such a way that you should train yourself. When, great king, you have good friends, good companions, good comrades, you should dwell with one thing for support, diligence in wholesome states. When, great king, you are dwelling diligently with diligence for support, the retinue of armed women will think thus, the king dwells diligently with diligence for support. Come now, let us also dwell diligently with diligence for support. When great king, you are dwelling diligently, with diligence for support. The retinue of Katia vessels, that means the warriors, warrior clan, will think thus. Your troops will think thus. Your subjects in town and countryside will think thus. The king dwells diligently, with diligence for support. Come now, let us also dwell diligently, with diligence for support. When Great King, you are dwelling diligently, with diligence for support, you yourself will be guarded and protected. The retinue of current women will be guarded and protected. The treasury and storehouse will be guarded and protected. For one who desires lofty riches, following in succession, the wise praise diligence in doing deeds of merit. The wise person who is diligent, secures both kinds of good. The good visible in this very life, and the good of the future life. The steadfast one, by attaining the good, is called a person of wisdom. That's the end of the sutra. So you see just now, remember Ananda said, half of the holy life has to do, that means half of the holy life, success in the holy life, half of it has to do with a good friend, a good teacher. But the Buddha said no, it's the whole of the holy life that we depend on a good teacher, a good person to guide us in the holy path. So in this case, the Buddha is our teacher because the Buddha has explained the Dhamma so well. Nobody can explain the Dhamma better than the Buddha. So if we study the suttas, rely on the suttas, then we have the best teacher in the world. A lot of people don't understand, they keep looking for teachers, they go overseas, work here, go there, and a lot of the teachers are not really qualified to be teachers at all, but people, because they don't study the Dhamma, they don't understand. So the Buddha, in the end, says that diligence is very important. Diligence is the way to success.

10-SN-Kosala-(Ch.3)-(2009-07-16).txt

3.19 at Savarthi. Then King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, where are you coming from, great king, in the middle of the day? Here, venerable sir, the financier, financier, in the Pali word is chetti. In Malaysia we say chetti. So this This Satya is like a financial person who lends money, money lender. They are the rich people. So the king said, Dear Venerable Sir, the financial householder in Savatthi has died. I have come after conveying his heirless fortune to the palace as he died intestate. There were eighty lakhs of gold, not to speak of silver. And yet, Mabuse, their financier, householder's meals were like this. He ate red rice along with sour gruel. His clothes were like this. He wore a three-piece hempen garment. His vehicle was like this. He went about in a dilapidated little cart with a leaf awning. Let's stop here for a moment. So here the king is saying that this rich man, he had 80 lakhs of gold. That's supposed to be a great amount of gold, a very, very rich person. And because he died without an heir, he had no children. So the king participated all his money. But the king was surprised, because the king said, he lived like a poor man. He ate his meals sour-brewed, that means left overnight. Food left overnight, he would eat. And then his clothes, he wore this hempen garment, coarse cloth, only got three pieces of clothing, got no more. And his horse carriage was a dilapidated little cart with a leaf awning. So his lifestyle was like a miserable, poor person. But in fact, he was such a stingy person, he hoarded his money, had so much money, never used to enjoy it himself or to give it to other people to enjoy. So the Buddha said, so it is great thing, so it is great thing, when an inferior man gains abundant wealth, he does not make himself happy and pleased, nor does he make his mother and father happy and pleased. nor his wife and children, nor his slaves, workers and servants, nor his friends and colleagues, nor does he establish an offering for ascetics and Brahmins, one leading upwards of heavenly fruit, resulting in happiness conducive to heaven. Because his wealth is not being used properly, kings take it away, or thieves take it away, or fire burns it, or water carries it away, or unloved heirs take it. Such being the case, great king, that wealth not being used properly goes to waste, not to utilisation. Suppose, great king, in a place uninhabited by human beings. There was a lotus pond with clear, cool, sweet, clean water, with good thoughts, delightful. But no people would take that water, or drink it, or bathe in it, or use it for any purpose. In such a case, great thing, that water not being used properly would go to waste, not to utilization. So too, great thing, when an inferior man gains abundant wealth, that wealth not being used properly goes to waste, not to utilisation. But great thing, when a superior man gains abundant wealth, he makes himself happy and pleased, he makes his mother and father happy and pleased, his wife and children, and his slaves, workers and servants, and his friends and colleagues, and he establishes an offering for ascetics and Brahmins, one leading upwards of heavenly fruit, resulting in happiness conducive to heaven. Because his wealth is used, Properly, kings do not take it away, thieves do not take it away, fire does not burn it, water does not carry it away, and unloved heirs do not take it. Such being the case, great king, that wealth, being used properly, goes to utilization, not to waste. Suppose, great king, not far from a village or a town, There was a lotus pond with clear, cool, sweet, clean water with good thoughts, delightful. And people would take that water and drink it and bathe in it and use it for their purposes. In such a case, great thing, that water being used properly would go to utilization, not to waste. So two great things. When a superior man gains abundant wealth, that wealth being used properly goes to utilisation, not to waste. As cool water in a desolate place evaporates without being drunk, so when a scoundrel acquires wealth, he neither enjoys himself nor gives. But when a wise man obtains wealth, he enjoys himself and does his duty. Having supported his kin, free from blame, that noble man goes to a heavenly state. This is the end of this sutra. So here, the Buddha is talking about a wise man and a fool. A fool when he becomes rich, he doesn't know how to make use of the money in a proper way. So it doesn't benefit him at all. But a wise person knows how to make use of his wealth properly, enjoys it himself, make others enjoy it. And then, because of doing charity, he goes to heaven to enjoy again in the future. The next sutra is connected to this one, 3.20. The Buddha said, so it is, great king, so it is, great king. Once in the past, great king, that financial householder provided a Pacheka Buddha named Tagarasikhi with alms food, having said, give alms to the ascetic, he rose from his seat and departed. But after giving, he later felt regret and thought, it would have been better if the slaves or workers had eaten that alms food. Moreover, he murdered his brother's only son for the sake of his fortune. Because that financial householder provided the Pacheka Buddha, Thakarasikhi, with alms food. As a result of that karma, he was reborn seven times in a good destination in the heavenly world. As a residual result of that same karma, he obtained the position of financier seven times in this same city of Savatthi. But because that financial householder later felt regret about giving, as a result of that karma, his mind did not incline to the enjoyment of excellent food, excellent clothing and excellent vehicles, nor to the enjoyment of excellent items among the five causes of sensual pleasure. And because that financial householder murdered his brother's only son for the sake of his fortune, As a result of that karma, he was tormented in hell for many years, for many hundreds of years, for many thousands of years, for many hundreds of thousands of years. As a residual result of that same karma, he has furnished the royal treasury with his seventh airless fortune. The old merit of that financial householder has been utterly exhausted, and he has not accumulated any fresh merit. But today, Great King, the financial householder is being roasted in the Great Roruba Hell. So, Venerable Sir, that financial householder has been reborn in the Great Roruba Hell? The Buddha said, Yes, Great King, that financial householder has been reborn in the Great Roruba Hell. grain, wealth, silver, gold, or whatever other possessions there are, slaves, workers, messengers, and those who live as one's dependents. Without taking anything, one must go. Everything must be left behind. But what one has done by body or by speech or mind, this is truly what is truly one's own. This one take when one goes, this is what follows one along, like a shadow that never departs. Therefore, one should do what is good as a collection for the future life. Marriage are the support of living beings when they arise in the other world. So here, the Buddha is explaining the background, the story of this financier. In the past, gave the permission to give food to the ascetic, but because later he regretted, he did not feel happy about it. So when the kamma ripened and wealth came to him, he did not know how to be happy, to enjoy it. So the Buddha says, it is best that if a person intends to do charity, do dana offerings, before doing it he should be happy while he's doing it also he should be happy and after doing it also he should be very happy so in that case they are very happy with doing the dana next time when the karma ripens he'll be very happy like enjoying it instead of being a stingy old fool so this person as a result of giving to that Pacheka Buddha was born seven times in the heavens, but probably as a result of killing the nephew to get the fortune, he went to hell first for a long time, and then after that he came back. He went to heaven seven times, and after that he was reborn in Savatthi as the richest man for seven lifetimes. But his lifetime also, he was a stingy old man, never enjoyed his wealth, or help others, make others enjoy his wealth. Because of killing the nephew, each time he came back as a human being, he did not have any son. He was childless. So there are some people, because of karma, they cannot have children. But because he did not know how to create new marriage, nearby charity or sila and all that, after he passed away, he went to the great hell to suffer for a very, very long time. A lot of people don't understand that human beings, if you lead a very ordinary life as a human being, without doing evil, after death, you will most likely be reborn as a ghost. A lot of people don't understand why. The reason is because in the five destinations of rebirth, two are happy destinations and three are woeful destinations. The happy destinations are heaven and human beings. The woeful destinations are ghosts, animals, and hell realms. So because we are born as human beings, we have the good karma to enjoy life. So as we live every day as a human being, we are using up our blessings. So it's very important to replenish our blessings. But a lot of people don't know the Dhamma, so they don't do that. So they just keep on enjoying their life. And at the end of their lifespan, they would have used up a lot of good karma. So they do not have enough blessings to come back as a human being. So they will naturally fall into the ghost realm. And then if they have hurt other beings, then they will be born in the animal realm. And they have done a lot of serious evil and they'll be born reborn in hell. So that's why it's very important that people do a lot of merit. 3.24. At Savatthi, sitting to one side, King Pasenadi of Kosala said to the Blessed One, Parable Sir, where should a gift be given? Where should charity be given? And the Buddha said, wherever one's mind has confidence waking, I think the Pali Text Society translation, they said, the Buddha said, when you are asked where should a gift be given, the Buddha said, give wherever you like. And then the king said, but Venerable Sir, where does what is given become of great fruit? Then the Buddha said, this is one question, great king, where should a gift be given? And this another, where does what is given become of great fruit? I'll stop here for a moment. So, Buddha is saying, the first question and the second question are two different things. They are not connected. But actually the king meant, where should a gift be given? It's where should I give so that I can get a lot of merit. Then the Buddha said, what is given to one who is virtuous great king is of great fruit. Not so what is given to an immoral person. Now then, great king, I will question you about this same point. Answer as you see fit. What do you think, great king? Suppose you are at war, and a battle is about to take place. Then a Qatiyah youth would arrive. Qatiyah youth is a warrior caste. One who is untrained, unskillful, unpracticed, inexperienced, timid, petrified, frightened, quick to flee. Would you employ that man? And would you have any use for such a man? And he said, surely not, Venerable Sir. Similarly, the Buddha said, suppose a Brahmin youth arrives, or a Vesa youth, a merchant class, or a Sudha youth, a laborer class, who is untrained, unskillful, unpracticed, inexperienced, timid, petrified, frightened, quick to flee. Will you employ that man? And then he said, surely not, Venerable Sir. What do you think, Great King? Suppose you are at war, and a battle is about to take place. Then a Katya youth would arrive, who is trained, skillful, practiced, experienced, brave, courageous, bold, ready to stand his place. Would you employ that man, and would you have any use for such a man?" Surely I would, rambled Sir. The Buddha said, similarly, suppose a Brahmin youth came, or a Vesa youth, or a Suddha youth, one who is trained, skillful, practiced, experienced, brave, courageous, bold, ready to stand his place. Would you employ such a man?" And he said, surely I would, Venerable Sir. Then the Buddha said, so too, Great King, when a person has gone forth from the household life into homelessness, no matter from what clan, if he has abandoned five factors and possesses five factors, then what is given to him is of great fruit. What five factors have been abandoned? Sensual desire has been abandoned. Ill will has been abandoned. Sloth and torpor have been abandoned. Restlessness and remorse have been abandoned. Doubt has been abandoned. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says This person, if you give to him, the merit is great, is a person who has abandoned five factors. These five factors are sensual desire, ill will or anger, sloth and topper, restlessness and remorse, and doubt. These five factors are called the five hindrances. These five hindrances envelop us so that we do not have wisdom. What five factors does he possess? He possesses the aggregate of virtue of one beyond training, the aggregate of concentration of one beyond training, the aggregate of wisdom of one beyond training, the aggregate of liberation of one beyond training, the aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation of one beyond training. He possesses these five factors. Thus, what is given to one who has abandoned five factors and who possesses five factors are of great fruit. As a king intent on waging war would employ a youth skilled with the bow, one endowed with strength and vigour, but not the coward on account of his birth. So even though he be of low birth, one should honour the person of noble conduct, the sagely man in whom are established the virtues of patience and gentleness. One should build delightful hermitages and invite the learned to dwell in them. One should build water tanks in the forest and cause waste over rough terrain. With a confident heart, one should give to those of upright character, give food and drink and things to eat, clothing to wear and beds and seats. As for the rain cloud thundering, breathed in lightning with a hundred crests, pours down its rain upon the earth, flooding both the plain and valley. So the wise man, faithful, learned, having had a meal prepared, satisfies with food and drink the mendicants or monks who live on alms. Rejoicing, he distributes gifts and proclaims, give, give. For that is his thundering, like the sky when it rains, that shower of merit so vast will fall down on the giver. So this is the end of the sutra. So here the Buddha is explaining to the king that the highest merit is to give to a person who has gone beyond training, that is the arahant, an enlightened person. Here the Buddha is talking about abandoning five factors and possessing the five other factors. Now the first five factors are if a person abandons that he has attained to concentration, samadhi, development of the mind, but that is not necessarily an enlightened person, not necessarily an enlightened person. But the second five factors, if he possesses that he is an enlightened person. The Buddha finally says that a wise person should do a lot of charity and encourage others to do charity. Then the merit will come back to him just like the rain raining down on the earth. This is the last sutra in the Kosala Samyutta, Chapter 3. Then in the middle of the day, King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One. The Blessed One said to him as he was sitting to one side, Now where are you coming from, great king, in the middle of the day? Just now, Venerable Sir, I have been engaged in those affairs of kingship typical for head-anointed Katya kings, who are intoxicated with the intoxication of sovereignty, who are obsessed by greed for sensual pleasures, who have attained stable control in their country, and who rule having conquered a great sphere of territory on earth. What do you think, Great King? Here a man would approach Here a man would come to you from the east, one who is trustworthy and reliable. Having approached, he would tell you, for sure a great thing, you should know this. I am coming from the east, and there I saw a great mountain, high as the clouds coming this way, crushing all living beings. Do whatever you think should be done, great king. Then a second man would come to you from the west, and similarly, a third man from the north, and a fourth man from the south. one who is trustworthy and reliable. Having approached, he would tell you, for sure a great king should know this. I am coming from the south, and there I saw a great mountain, high as the clouds coming this way, crushing all living beings. Do whatever you think should be done, great king. If great king, such a great peril should arise, such a terrible disruption of human life, the human state being so difficult to obtain, what should be done? So here are the Buddhas. When he talked to this king, he found that this king was so intoxicated with being a king. He said, we kings, we enjoy life. We are greedy for sensual pleasures because we have stable control of the whole country. So the Buddha saw that he was too complacent. So the Buddha brought up a simile. The Buddha said, suppose Four men from the four directions, north, south, east, west, came running to you and told you, this high mountain is coming and crushing everyone in its path. So when it comes to you, you will also be crushed under the mountain. So you better do what you think is best. So the Buddha asked him, in that case, what do you think should be done? Then the king replied, if, Venerable Sir, such a great peril should arise, such a terrible destruction of human life, the human state being so difficult to obtain, what else should be done but to live by the Dhamma, to live righteously, and to do wholesome and meritorious deeds? And the Buddha said, I inform you, great king, I announce to you, great king, aging and death are rolling in on you. When aging and death are rolling in on you, great king, what should be done? Then the king said, as aging and death are rolling in on me where I would serve, what else should be done but to live by the Dhamma, to live righteously and to do wholesome and meritorious deeds? There are, venerable sir, elephant battles fought by head-anointed Katia kings, who are intoxicated with the intoxication of sovereignty, who are possessed by greed for sensual pleasures, who have attained stable control in their country, and who rule having conquered a great sphere of territory on earth. But there is no place for those elephant battles, no scope for them when aging and death are rolling in. There are, venerable sir, Cavalry battles fought by head-anointed Katia kings. There are chariot battles, infantry battles, but there is no place for those infantry battles, no scope for them when aging and death are rolling in. I'll just stop here for a moment. Here the king is saying, I have a great army, I have great, strong elephants, and fast horses, and soldiers, and everything which I can use to fight battles. But when death, aging, sickness and death come crashing in, rolling in, you cannot use all these soldiers, all these elephants and all that to fight it. In this royal court, there are counsellors who, when the enemies arrive, are capable of dividing them by subterfuge. But there is no place for those battles of subterfuge, no scope for them when aging and death are rolling in. Here he says he has counsellors. These counsellors or advisers to the kings are Brahmins. These Brahmins are well known for their mantras. These mantras are very powerful. They can work miracles and sometimes can harm others. So he says when old age, sickness and death come rolling in. Even these brahmins, he cannot use to help him. In this royal court, remember sir, there exists abundant bullion and gold stored in vaults and depositories. And with such wealth, we are capable of mollifying the enemies when they come. But there is no place for those battles of wealth, no scope for them when aging and death are rolling in. So here it says, he has a lot of treasures, a lot of wealth. If enemies come, I can use the wealth to buy them. But in this case, when ageing, sickness and death come rolling in, all that wealth is useless. As ageing and death are rolling in on me, Venerable Sir, what else to be done but to live by the Dhamma, to live righteously and to do wholesome and meritorious deeds? And the Buddha said, so it is, great king, so it is, great king. As aging and death are rolling in on you, what else should be done but to live by the Dhamma, to live righteously, and to do wholesome and meritorious deeds? This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, just as mountains of solid rock, massive, reaching to the sky, might draw together from all sides, crushing all in the four quarters, so aging and death come, rolling over living beings, kathiyas, brahmins, vesas, sudas, chandalas and scavengers. They spare none along the way, but come crushing everything. There's no ground there for elephant troops or chariot troops. and infantry. One cannot defeat them by subterfuge, or buy them off by means of wealth. Therefore, a person of wisdom here, out of regard for his own good, steadfast, should settle faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. When one conducts oneself by Dhamma, with body, speech, and mind, they praise one here in the present life, and after death, one rejoices in heaven." That's the end of the sutra. So here, the Buddha is saying, every one of us, will be crushed by aging, sickness, and death. We are coming in from the four directions, so there's nothing for us to do except to live by the Dhamma and do good deeds, not to harm others, and to learn the Dhamma, meditate, et cetera. Get as much merit as we can so that when we close our eyes, we can carry along all this merit on our long journey in samsara. In fact, if you are smart, your journey in samsara will be very short. Any questions? I'm quite happy because last night and tonight, I finished two Samyuttas. Some of the later Samyuttas are tough going, like Satipatthana Samyutta, the five aggregates Samyutta, they are extremely long, I think many nights. Every Samhita I hope to cover. Yes, yes, this is a complete Samhita Nikaya. I'd like to go through everything if possible. I think the first time that you were attacked there, I believe, was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that that was the first time that you were attacked. So I can say to you that that that was the first If you state a fact, it's not that karma. What is important is the intention. If somebody asks you and you say the fact, it's not bad karma. But if you rumor mongering, talking bad to so many people about a certain monk, that is bad. So basically what the intention is, that's important. But as far as the merit of giving to monks, in the sutras the Buddha said that the highest merit is to give to the Sangha as a whole. If your intention is to support the Sangha, not a particular monk, that is the best merit. So it doesn't matter so much whether the monks practice or not, if your intention is to support. Of course, if there are many monasteries, then you can choose which monastery you want to go. Sometimes some people say, because the Sangha means four monks or more, so they think When they do dana, they must have four monks or more that is sangha dana. I don't think it's quite true. In fact, it cannot be true. Why? Because in the Vinaya books, the Buddha says if a gift is given to the sangha, say somebody offers 20 robes, and he says these 20 robes are for the monk sangha and the nun sangha. That means the bhikkhu sangha and the bhikkhuni sangha. Then the Buddha says, these 20 robes should be equally divided. That means 10 for the Bhikkhu Sangha, the monk Sangha, and 10 for the Bhikkhuni Sangha. And it doesn't matter if you have 30 or 40 monks, and you have one nun. Even if you have one nun, 20 robes should go to her. Because it is not actually to her, it is for the Bhikkhuni Sangha. So if she is alone, She cannot use 20 robes, doesn't matter, because it's for the future bhikkhunis who come. So that one nun can represent the entire bhikkhuni sangha. So sometimes if a monastery has only one monk, and you offer for the sake of the sangha, even though there's one monk, it still represents the sangha. Because whatever offerings he receives, he's going to keep it for the future monks who come. So a lot of people don't understand. They must have 4 months. Yes, it applies. They are married. But then, as I mentioned, the important thing is don't worry about that, whether the monk is virtuous or not. Just give for the sake of the Sangha. There are some people I've come across who are so greedy for merit that they only go after famous monks. Do you think the monks should be more friendly? Because we know there are a lot of famous monks in ASEAN. So we have to make sure that programs that avoid the stigma, avoid the discomfort and that kind of social and institutional discrimination, that we have to change. We have to change. And one of the classic goals is to persevere. So this is a new term. To create, to collect, to validate, to evaluate, I don't think so, because if certain monks or nuns are not good, then if you associate with them, either you get turned off and you might do something which is unwholesome. So it's best if we can to avoid them. You see in the Vinaya books initially the Buddha did not state what is the minimum age for novice monks So there was a time when very young boys came to the monastery. So in the middle of the night, because there was no dinner, they started crying because they were hungry. So after that, the Buddha said that they should be at least 15 years old before they are allowed to become novice. Otherwise, they cannot stand the hardship of a monk's life. So generally the standard is at least 15 years old, but there are always exceptions, because in the Theragatha, Therigatha, sometimes you find certain boys, like the Buddha could see that this person, even this young boy, seven years old, but he's destined for enlightenment. So it's mentioned in the Theragatha that such boys, they are Their hair is shaved in the morning, and they are given the robe to wear. By the evening, they already became enlightened. These are super breed of humans. So unless you have such exceptional cases, generally it's not advisable to accept those below 15 years. In fact, a few years ago, some parents wanted their children to become novice here, so we accepted them. Then there were, I think there were four, one was 16, one was 15, one was 13, and one was 12. And the 12 and the 13, they being quite young, they were childish and At night, they open the fridge and store some dark chocolate to eat. So after that, we decided that minimum age here, we accept 15. Transamerican.

11-SN-Mara-(Ch.4)-(2009-07-17).txt

Today is 17th July 2009 and we come to the fourth chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya, Mara Samyutta. I mentioned before, Mara is a Pali name for what they call Satan in Christianity. He is a Deva staying in the highest heaven, the sixth heaven of the sensual desire realm. And he frequently comes to disturb the Buddha and his disciples, those who are either enlightened or struggling to attain enlightenment. The first Sutta 4.1, Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Uruvela, on the bank of the river Naranjara, at the foot of the Goat Herd Spanien tree, just after He had become fully enlightened. Then while the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in His mind thus, I am indeed freed from that gruelling asceticism. It is good indeed that I am freed from that useless, gruelling asceticism. It is good that, steady and mindful, I have attained enlightenment. Then Mara the Evil One, having known with his own mind the reflection in the Blessed One's mind, approached the Blessed One and addressed him in verse. having deviated from the austere practice by which men purify themselves. Being impure, you think you are pure. You have missed the path to purity. Then the Blessed One, having understood that this is Mara, the evil one, replied to him in verses, having known as useless any austerity aimed at the immortal state, that all such penances are futile, like ores and rudder on dry land. By developing the path to enlightenment, virtue, concentration, and wisdom, I have attained supreme purity. You are defeated, end maker. Then Mara, the evil one, realizing the blessed one knows me, the fortunate one knows me, sad and disappointed, disappeared right there. That's the end of the sutta. So you see, the Buddha, just after enlightenment he was very happy and he claimed that he has become enlightened and he's freed from all that ascetic practices which he was practicing before enlightenment, wasting six years suffering and finally he found the path to enlightenment and tomorrow still after enlightenment still comes to try to fool the buddha by saying that the buddha has not become pure or enlightened but the buddha understood that he was mara so when the buddha identified him he went away the next sutta is 4.5 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Varanasi, or Varanasi, in the Deer Park at Isipatana. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks, Venerable Sir, or Bantei, those monks replied. The Blessed One said, Monks, I am free from all snares, or traps, both celestial and human. You too, monks, are free from all snares, both celestial and human. Wonderful are the homants for the welfare of the multitude, for the happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the good, welfare and happiness of devas and humans. Let not two of you go the same way. Teach, homants, the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, good in the end, with the right meaning and phrasing. Reveal the perfectly complete and purified holy life. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are falling away because they do not hear the Dhamma. There will be those who will understand the Dhamma. I too monks will go to Senanigama in Uruvela in order to teach the Dhamma. Stop here for a while. So here, this must be the time after 60 monks had become enlightened and the Buddha thought it is enough, just enough of them to go and spread the Dhamma. So he asked them to go all over India to teach the Dhamma to people and he told them, don't two of you go by the same road, all take different paths and all go and teach. So you see, actually, sometimes people don't understand. They say that the arahants are selfish. It is the arahants who spread the Dhamma. It is the arahants who memorize all the Dhamma. So that now, nowadays, 2,500 years after the Buddha's passing away, we still have the Dhamma with us. It is not the bodhisattvas who handed down the Dhamma to us. It is the arahants. Then Mara, the evil one, approached the blessed one and addressed him in verse. You are bound by all the snares, both celestial and human. You are bound by the great bondage. You won't escape me, ascetic. And the blessed one said, I'm free from all the snares, both celestial and human. I'm free from the great bondage. You are defeated, end maker. That's the end of the sutta. So here you see the Mara When the Buddha was struggling to become enlightened, he also came to disturb the Buddha, try to distract him so that he won't become enlightened. Now even after the Buddha has become enlightened, he still comes to endow the Buddha. And like here, you see, the Buddha wants his monks, his disciples to spread the Dhamma. Mara is not happy. If they spread the Dhamma, then more people know the Dhamma, more people get out of samsara, and Mara is not happy. So that's why, let's come again. 4.6. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha, in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. Now on that occasion, the Blessed One was sitting out in the open, in the thick darkness of the night, while it was drizzling. Then Mara, the evil one, manifested himself in the form of a giant king serpent and approached the blessed one. Its body was like a huge boat made from a single tree trunk. its hood like a large brewer's sieve, its eyes like the large bronze dishes of Kosala, its tongue darting out from its mouth like flashes of lightning emitted when the sky thunders, the sound of its breathing in and out like the sound of a blacksmith's bellows filling with air. Then the Blessed One, having understood this is Mara the Evil One, addressed Mara the Evil One in verses. He who resorts to empty huts for lodging, he is the sage well-controlled. He should live there, having relinquished all. That is proper for one like him. Though many creatures crawl about, many terrors, flies, serpents, the great sage gone to his empty hut stirs not a hair because of them. Though the sky might split, the earthquake, and all creatures be stricken with terror, Though men brandish a dart at their breasts, the enlightened take no shelter in acquisitions. This acquisition is the Bali's Upadi. You can also translate it as attachments. So the enlightened take no shelter in attachments. Then Mara, the evil one, disappeared right there. That's the end of the sutra. So here I'm just reading one of the suttas where Mara manifested himself in different forms to frighten the Buddha or the other monks. In this case, he took the form of a huge snake, a huge Naga. So if a person is not enlightened, you'll be frightened out of your mind in the darkness. Such a huge snake coming. But you see, like the Buddha and his Arahant disciples, their mind is always tranquil, so that even if something frightening occurs, their emotions are still not like unenlightened beings. Unenlightened beings, once a threat comes to your life, the fear will immediately rise. There is nothing more frightening than the occasion when our life is threatened In the case of the Buddha and the Arahants, they have no more self. So when their life is threatened, their emotions don't stir. There's some other sutra where the Buddha says, these Arahants, if you take a dagger and you want to stab him in the chest, he will not cry for help. There's no more self. So that's why people don't understand. People read the books and they say the Arahants are selfish. How can they be selfish when they have no more self at all? So here the Buddha is saying, he who resorts to empty hearts for lodging, he is the sage of self-control. He should live there, having relinquished all. So here, The real ascetics, they live in huts which are empty. Empty of a friend, empty of property. There's hardly anything in the hut. Just a place for him to rest. So the Buddha says, Buddha and his monks, they move from place to place just like birds. The birds don't carry anything with them. So the same for the monks. during the Buddha's time they just carry this one set of three ropes and the alms bowl that's all and that's enough for them to move all over India 4.7 I just mentioned here this this sutta is where the Mara took the form of a serpent on others in other suttas which I not going to read, sometimes Mara manifest himself as a huge elephant come to frighten the Buddha or the monks and sometimes he make the sound as though there is an earthquake and all that just to frighten the Buddha and his monks 4.7. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. Then when the night was fading, the Blessed One, having spent much of the night walking back and forth in the open, washed His feet, entered His dwelling, and lay down on His right side in the lion's posture, with one leg overlapping the other, mindful and clearly comprehending, having attended to the idea of rising. I'll stop here for a moment. You see, the Buddha and his monk disciples, you see here, when the night was fading, the Blessed One, having spent much of the night walking back and forth in the open, the night starts at about 6 p.m. So when the night was fading, probably it would be around the end of the first watch, about 10 p.m. So the Buddha spends much of the night walking back and forth. Most of us, when the night comes, we feel exhausted, we want to lie down and take a rest. But the Buddha and his disciples, they try to maintain their wakefulness for as long as possible. Until they are totally exhausted, they cannot stand, then only they go and lie down. This practice of maintaining the wakefulness in Pali is called Jagariya Nu Yoga. from the word jaga, so we jaga our mindfulness. Then, you see the Buddha, when he lies down, he lies down on his right side in the lion's posture. Chinese we call, what, si zi wo, lying on the right side, one leg overlapping the other. You see here, mindful and clearly comprehending Sati Sampajanya. That means even when the Buddha and his monk disciples, when they lie down, they don't fall asleep, they still practice Sati. They still practice Sampajanya. They are still mindful and they are still remembering their meditation subject. Sati is remembering your meditation subject. So like if they are meditating on the breath, even if he lies down or so, he still watch the breath. Try not to fall asleep. Then Mara, the evil one, approached the blessed one and addressed him in verse. What? You sleep? Why do you sleep? What's this? You sleep like a wretch. Thinking the heart's empty, you sleep. What's this? You sleep when the sun has risen. And the Buddha said, Within him, craving no longer lurks, entangling and binding, to lead him anywhere. With the destruction of all acquisitions or attachments, the awakened one sleeps. Why should this concern you, Mara?" Then Mara, the evil one, disappeared right there. So you see, Mara is always coming to disturb the Buddha. But once the Buddha says that the Buddha recognizes him, Then he will go away. 4.9. Thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks. I will serve, those monks replied. The Blessed One said this. Monks, this lifespan of human beings is short. One has to go on to the future life. One should do what is wholesome and lead the holy life. For one who has taken birth, there is no avoiding death. One who lives long months, lives a hundred years or a little longer." Then Mara the Evil One approached the Blessed One and addressed Him in verse. Long is the lifespan of human beings. The good man should not disdain it. One should live like a milk-sucking baby. Death has not made its arrival. And the Buddha said, short is the lifespan of human beings. A good man should live like one with head aflame. There is no avoiding death's arrival. Then Mara, the evil one, disappeared right there. So there are many instances like this, when the Buddha is trying to teach Dhamma to the monks or to some lay person, and the Mara comes to disturb them and sometimes try to control their minds so that they don't understand the Dhamma. Here he's trying to contradict the Buddha, but when the Buddha recognized him, then he left. The next sutra is 4.18. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Magadans at the Brahmin village of Panchasala. Now on that occasion, the gift festival of the young people was being held at the Brahmin village of Panchasala. Then in the morning, the Blessed One dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Panchasala for alms. On that occasion, Mara, the evil one, had taken possession of the Brahmin householders of Panchasala, inciting in them the thought, don't let the ascetic Gautama get alms. Then the blessed one left Panchasala with his bowl just as cleanly washed as it was when he entered it for alms. Stop here for a moment. That means the Buddha went into this village for alms, and this Mara, he possessed control of the people's minds so that they were not inclined to give the Buddha anything. So the Buddha came out of the village totally empty-handed. Then Mara, the evil one, approached the Blessed One and said to him, maybe you got alms or something? And the Buddha said, was it you, evil one, who saw to it that I didn't get alms? And Mara said, Then, Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One enter Pancasala a second time for alms. I will see to it that the Blessed One gets alms. And the Buddha said, You have produced demerit, Mara, having assailed the Tathagata. Do you really think, O evil one, my evil does not ripen? Happily indeed we live, we who own nothing at all. We shall dwell feeding on rapture, like the devas of streaming radiance. Then Mara, the evil one, disappeared right there. That's the end of the sutra. So the Buddha says, you have produced demerit Mara, having assailed the Tathagata. This word Tathagata means thus gone one. Thus gone one. Because he has gone already. But in the Mahayana translation, they say, Das Kham Wan Ru Lai, actually it's Ru Qi, gone, but they translate wrongly as Das Kham Wan. So the Buddha says that this Mara was trying to tempt the Buddha, saying, you enter the village a second time, I'll make sure you get alms food. The Buddha said, Happily we live, we shall dwell feeding on rapture, like the devas of streaming radiance. I think this refers to the devas in the second jhana heavens, who are so full of bliss, they don't think about eating food. So the Buddha is saying, even if he does not have any physical food, he will feed on rapture. He will enter the jhanas and dwell blissfully. So, you see, somebody like the Buddha, his meditation is so good that even he does not get food, he will just abide in bliss probably the whole day. 4.19 at Savatthi. On that occasion, the Blessed One was instructing, exhorting, inspiring and gladdening the monks with the Dhamma talk concerning Nibbana. And those monks were listening to the Dhamma with eager ears, attending to it as a matter of vital concern, applying their whole minds to it. I just remembered just now the previous sutra where Mara possessed the villagers so that they did not give any food to the Buddha. Now what do you think? Will they get demarried? Mara has influenced their mind so that they were not inclined to give alms food to the Buddha. So actually because of that, Actually, my view, my personal view is that they create bad karma. It's like sometimes somebody incites you, encourages you to do evil. But you have a free mind. You can decide yourself whether you want to do or you don't want. Just because somebody encourages you and then you use that excuse to do evil, you still have to be responsible for it. That's why in some other suttas, it is mentioned that people were influenced in this way. After they pass away, sometimes they go to a bad rebirth. So even though some people may think, put the blame on Mara, But it's true, Mara does get demerit. Mara does evil karma. But the person who refuses to give food to the Buddha, he also does evil karma. So that's why we are responsible for anything we do. We cannot put the blame on somebody else. So coming back to this 4.19. So the Buddha was teaching the Dhamma to the monks about Nibbana. Then it occurred to Mara the Evil One, this ascetic Gautama is instructing, exhorting, inspiring and gladdening the monks, who are applying their old minds to it. Let me approach the ascetic Gautama in order to confound them. Then Mara the Evil One manifested himself in the form of a farmer, carrying a large plough on his shoulder, holding a long goat stick. His hair disheveled, that means untidy, wearing hempen garments, rough garments. His feet smeared with mud. He approached the Blessed One and said to Him, Maybe you've seen oxen, ascetic. And the Buddha said, What are oxen to you, evil one? Then Maharaj said, the eye is mind, ascetic. Forms are mind. Eye contact and its base of consciousness are mind. Where can you go, ascetic, to escape from me? The ear is mind. Sounds are mind, etc. The nose is mind, ascetic. Odors are mind, etc. The tongue is mind, ascetic. Tastes are mind. The body is mind ascetic. Tactile objects are mind. The mind is mind ascetic. The first mind is MIND. The second mind is MIND. The mind is mind ascetic. Mental phenomena are mind. Mind contact and its base of consciousness are mind. Where can you go ascetic to escape from me? I'll stop here for a moment. So here, Maharaj is saying The Sixth Consciousness, which makes up the world, belongs to me. So you cannot escape from me as long as you exist. When we exist, we are in the world of the Sixth Consciousness. And the Sixth Consciousness is full of temptation. The six objects, six sense objects tempt us. Then the Buddha said, The I is yours, evil one. Forms are yours. Eye contact and the space of consciousness are yours. But evil one, where there is no I, no forms, no eye contact and the space of consciousness, there is no place for you there, evil one. The ear is yours, evil one. Sounds are yours. Ear contact and its base of consciousness are yours. But evil one, where there is no ear, no sounds, no ear contact and its base of consciousness, there is no place for you there, evil one. The nose is yours, evil one. Odours are yours. Nose contact and its base of consciousness are yours. But evil one, where there is no nose, no odours, no nose contact, and its base of consciousness. There is no place for you there, evil one. The tongue is yours, evil one. Taste are yours. Tongue contact and its base of consciousness are yours. But evil one, there is no tongue, no taste, no tongue contact and its base of consciousness. There is no place for you there, evil one. The body is yours, evil one. Tactile objects are yours. Body contact and its base of consciousness are yours. But Evil One, where there is no body, no tactile objects, no body contact and its base of consciousness, there is no place for you there, Evil One. The mind is yours, Evil One. Mental phenomena are yours. Mind contact and its base of consciousness are yours. But Evil One, where there is no mind, no mental phenomena, no mind contact and its base of consciousness, there is no place for you there, Evil One. Mara said, that of which they say is mine, and those who speak in terms of mine, M-I-N-E, if your mind, M-I-N-E, exists among these, you won't escape me, ascetic. And the Buddha said, that which they speak of is not mine. I'm not one of those who speak of mine. You should know thus, O evil one. Even my path you will not see. Then Mara, the evil one, disappeared right there. So you see, the Buddha replied, this sense, six sense, six senses, and the six sense consciousness and six sense basis and all that, is yours. But where there is no six sense, no six basis, no six sense consciousness, there's no place for you. Because the state of Nibbana, of Parinibbana, is out of these, out of these six sense, the world of the six senses. So the Buddha can dwell in that state called the cessation of perception and feeling which is also the cessation of consciousness. All the six consciousness stops and Arahant can abide for a maximum of seven days in that state. So that kind of state, Mara, cannot enter at all. That's why the Buddha said there's no place for you there. 4.20 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Kosalans. in a small forest hut in the Himalayan region. Then when the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in His mind thus, Is it possible to exercise rulership righteously, without killing and without instigating others to kill, without confiscating and without instigating others to confiscate, without sorrowing and without causing sorrow? Then Mara, the evil one, having known with his own mind the reflection in the blessed one's mind, approached the blessed one and said to him, Herbal Sir, let the blessed one exercise rulership righteously, without killing and without instigating others to kill, without confiscating and without instigating others to confiscate, without sorrowing and without instigating others to cause sorrow. And the Buddha said, But what do you see, evil one, that you speak thus to me? And he said, Venerable Sir, the Blessed One has developed and cultivated the four bases of spiritual power or psychic power, made them a vehicle, made them a basis, stabilized them, exercised Himself in them, and fully perfected them. And Venerable Sir, if the Blessed One wishes, He need only resolve that the Himalayas, the kingdom mountains, should become gold, and it would turn to gold. And the Buddha said, if there were a mountain made of gold, made entirely of solid gold, not double this would suffice for one, having known this fair evenly. How could a person incline to sensual pleasures who have seen the source when suffering springs? Having known acquisition or attachment as a tie in the world, a person should train for its removal. Let Mara, the evil one, realizing the blessed one knows me, the fortunate one knows me, sad and disappointed, disappeared right there. So here the Buddha, one day I was thinking, Is it possible for a king to rule according to Dhamma without hurting others? And then Mara came to tempt him, asked him, why don't you become a king? Then he also said, you have developed psychic power. If you want, the whole Himalaya mountains can turn into solid gold. And the Buddha said, even two Himalaya mountains made of solid gold, It's not sufficient if you are not contented, if you have desire and greed. So that's why the Buddha said a person should remove attachment, remove sensual desire. Actually, in the Bible, Jesus also was tempted by the Mara, because Jesus was meditating in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights. He did not take food, so he was meditating. So Mara was afraid that he was near to enlightenment and brought him up the hills, brought him up the mountains and asked him to become a king. Jesus also refused the temptation, so it's a bit similar to this sutra.

12-SN-Mara-(Ch.4)-(2009-07-17).txt

4.22. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans at Silawati. On that occasion, the Venerable Samyidi was dwelling not far from the Blessed One, diligent, ardent and resolute. Then while the Venerable Sammiti was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in his mind thus, It is indeed a gain for me, it is well gained by me, that my teacher is the Arahant, Sammasambuddha. It is indeed a gain for me, it is well gained by me, that I have gone forth in this well-expounded Dhammavinaya. It is indeed a gain for me, it is well gained by me, that my companions in the holy light a virtuous, a good character. Stop here for a moment. So here we see the Venerable Swami D. He realized that he was so lucky to have such a good teacher, Sama Sambuddha for his teacher. And his The Dhamma Vinaya of the Buddha is so good, and the Sangha, the companions in the holy life, are so virtuous. So he was very, very happy. Then Mara, the evil one, having known with his own mind the reflection in the mind of the Venerable Samyidi, approached him, and not far from him made a loud noise, frightful and terrifying, as though the earth were splitting open. Then the Venerable Samyidi approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and reported what had happened. The Blessed One said, That was not the earth splitting open, Samyidi. That was Mara, the evil one, who had come in order to confound you. Go back, Samyidi, and dwell diligent, ardent, and resolute. One moment. Maybe this Venerable Samyidi was not yet an Arahant. But he was practicing very hard to become enlightened. So maybe Mara came to disturb him, frighten him to stop his practice. Yes, Venerable Sir, the Venerable Samyidi replied that he rose from his seat, paid homage to the Blessed One and departed, keeping him on the right. The second time, while the Venerable Samyidi was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in his mind that he was that he was, as mentioned before, he had this thought, it is indeed a gain for me, it is well gained by me that my teacher is the Arahant Sammasambuddha. It is indeed a gain for me, it is well gained by me that I have gone forth in this well-expounded Dhamma Vinaya. It is indeed a gain for me, it is well gained by me that my companions in the holy life are virtuous or good character. Here he is thinking he was praising the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. And the second time Mara, the evil one, came and made a loud noise, frightful and terrifying, as though the earth was splitting open. Then the Venerable Samiti, having understood this is Mara, the evil one, addressed him in verse. I have gone forth out of faith from the home to the homeless life. My mindfulness and wisdom are mature and my mind well concentrated. conjure up whatever forms you wish, but you will never make me tremble. Then Mara, the evil one, realising the monk Samidhi knows me, sad and disappointed, disappeared right there. That's the end of the Sutta. So here it might be also that Samidhi was already in Arahant, not so sure. Because here he says his mindfulness and wisdom are mature, his mind well concentrated. Next Sutra, 4.23. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vajagaha in the Bamboo Grove, His Herald Sanctuary. Now on that occasion, the Venerable Gaudika was dwelling on the Black Rock on the Isigili Slope. Then while the Venerable Gaudika was dwelling diligent, ardent and resolute, He reached temporary liberation of mind, but he fell away from that temporary liberation of mind. A second time, while the Venerable Godika was dwelling, diligent, ardent and resolute, he reached temporary liberation of mind, but he fell away from that temporary liberation of mind. And a third time, and a fourth time, and a fifth time, and a sixth time, While the Venerable Bodhika was dwelling diligent, ardent and resolute, he reached temporary liberation of mind. But he fell away from that temporary liberation of mind. A seventh time, while the Venerable Bodhika was dwelling diligent, ardent and resolute, he reached temporary liberation of mind. Then it occurred to the Venerable Bodhika, six times already had fallen away from temporary liberation of mind. Let me use the knife. Then Mara, the evil one, having known with his own mind the reflection in the Verbal Godika's mind, approached the blessed one and addressed him with these verses. O great hero, great in wisdom, blazing forth with power and glory, I worship your feet, one with vision, who has overcome all enmity and fear. O great hero, who has vanquished death, your disciple is longing for death. He intends to take his own life. Restrain him from this, O Luminous One. How, O Blessed One, can your disciple, one delighting in the teaching, a trainee seeking his mind's ideal, take his own life, O Widely Famed? On that occasion, the Venerable Godika had just used the knife. Then the Blessed One, having understood this is Mara, the Evil One, addressed him in verse, Such indeed is how the steadfast act. They are not attached to life. Having drawn out craving with his root, Godika has attained final Nibbana. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, this Venerable Godika, he was practicing very diligently. And it's mentioned here that six times he tried to attain temporary liberation of mind. He attained it for a short while, but fell out of that state. Six times he fell out of that state. The seventh time, I think he attained that state. So after that, he decided to commit suicide. And Mara came to tell the Buddha to stop him. But the Buddha did not stop him. So after that, Ramakotika committed suicide. This temporary liberation of mind, according to the commentaries, refers to the mundane jhanas, states of concentration. He attained states of concentration, but fell out of it. But for him to commit suicide, and the Buddha did not restrain him, I feel that probably he had already attained Arahanthood. So if he had already attained Arahant-hood, it could be that the temporary liberation of mind is the cessation of perception and feeling. Cessation of perception and feeling also means the cessation of consciousness. The state of Parinibbana, when Arahant passes away, it is the state where all the consciousness ceases, the six consciousness. So, because probably his body was sick, he was not well, he could attain it for a while, but because he was not strong, he fell out of the state. So, there are a few instances of this in the Suttas and the Vinaya, where sometimes a monk is very sick and he decides to commit suicide, and the Buddha knows that he In Arahant, the Buddha does not restrain him from committing suicide because he has finished his work. And as the Buddha says here, they are not attached to life. Such indeed is how the steadfast act, they are not attached to life. Then the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Come, monks, let us go to the black rock on the Isigili slope, where the clansman Godika has used the knife. Yes, Venerable Sir, those monks replied. Then the Blessed One, together with a number of monks, went to the black rock on the Isigili slope. The Blessed One saw in the distance the Venerable Godika lying on the bed with his shoulder turned. On that occasion, a cloud of smoke, a swirl of darkness, was moving to the east, then to the west, to the north, to the south, upwards, downwards, and to the intermediate quarters. The Blessed One then addressed the monks thus, Do you see, monks, that cloud of smoke, that swirl of darkness, moving to the east, then to the west, to the north, to the south, upwards, downwards, and to the intermediate quarters? Yes, Venerable Sir," they replied. That monk is Mara the Evil One, searching for the consciousness of the clansman Godhika, wondering, where now has the consciousness of the clansman Godhika been established? However, monks, with consciousness unestablished, the clansman Godhika has attained final nirvana. Then Mara the Evil One, taking a lute of yellow velvet wood, approached the Blessed One and addressed Him in verse. Above, below and across, in the four quarters and in between, I have been searching but do not find where Goldika has gone." And the Buddha said, that steadfast man was resolute, a meditator always rejoicing in meditation, applying himself day and night, without attachment even to life, having conquered the army of death. Not returning to renewed existence, having drawn out craving with its root, Godika has attained final nibbana. So much was he stricken with sorrow that his lute dropped from his armpit. Thereupon, that disappointed spirit disappeared right on the spot. So here you see, after this Ara, remember Godika passed away, Mara was looking for his consciousness where he was reborn. He was going all over the place, but the Buddha said Mara cannot find his consciousness because his consciousness is unestablished. It's no more established anywhere, in any body. That is the state of an arahant after he passes away. The sixth consciousness stops. It's unlike the Mayan sutras which says that the arahants have not finished their work. They still have to come back. Such things in the earlier sutras, the Buddha, the arahant disciples, all when they pass away, their sixth consciousness ceases. They enter Nibbana. So this is an interesting sutra where a monk commits suicide. But the Buddha says there is no fault if a monk commits suicide provided he has finished his work. Even before he commits suicide, the Buddha tells him, whatever you want to do, don't worry, it's blameless. But, on the other hand, if a person has not attained enlightenment, has not finished his work, then the Buddha says that even if you are very sick, even if you have a lot of pain, bear it, because human life is very hard to get. So human life is the only realm of rebirth where we can practice hard to get out of samsara. So even if we are very sick, we should hold on to life because if we have life, then we still have time to practice to end this round of rebirth. 4.24. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Uruvela, on the bank of the river Neranjara, at the foot of the Goat Herd's bunion tree. On that occasion, Mara the Evil One had been following the Blessed One for seven years, seeking to gain access to Him, but without success. Then Mara the Evil One approached the Blessed One and addressed Him in verse. Is it because you are sunk in sorrow that you meditate in the woods? Because you have lost wealth or pined for it? Or committed some crime in the village? Why don't you make friends with people? Why don't you form any intimate ties? And the Buddha said, having dug up entirely the root of sorrow, guiltless, I meditate free from sorrow. Having cut off all greedy urge for existence, I meditate taintless, or asabha-less, or kinsman of the negligent. And Mara said, that of which they say it's mine, and those who speak in terms of mine, if your mind exists among these, you won't escape me ascetic. And the Blessed One said, that which they speak of is not mine. I am not one of those who speak of mine. You should know thus, O evil one, even my path you will not see. And Marat said, if you have discovered the path, the secure way leading to the Deathless, be off and walk that path alone. What's the point of instructing others? And the Buddha said, those people going to the far shore, ask what lies beyond death's realm. When asked, I explained to them the truth about acquisitions or attachments. I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see, Mara is saying, if you have discovered the path, the way leading to the deathless, You go and walk the path alone. Why do you want to instruct others? So Mara does not like the Buddha to teach the Dhamma to others. Then Mara said, suppose, Venerable Sir, not far from a village or a town, there was a lotus pond in which a crab was living. Then a group of boys and girls would leave the village or town and go to that pond. They would pull the crab out from the water and set it down on high ground. Then whenever that crab would extend one of its claws, those boys and girls would cut it off, break it, and smash it to bits with sticks and stones. Thus, when all its claws have been cut off, broken, and smashed to bits, that crab would be unable to return to that pond. So too, verbal Sir, all those distortions, maneuvers, and contortions of mind have been cut off, broken, and smashed to bits by the Blessed One. Now, Venerable Sir, I am unable to approach the Blessed One again, seeking to gain access to Him." Then Mara the Evil One, in the presence of the Blessed One, recited these verses of disappointment. There was a crow that walked around, a stone that looked like a lump of fat. Let's find something tender here, he thought. Perhaps there's something nice and tasty. But because he found nothing tasty there, the crow departed from that spot. Just like the crow that attacked the stone, we leave Gautama disappointed. That's the end of the sutta. So in this sutta, you see, Mara had been following the Buddha for seven years, trying to influence the Buddha's mind, but he was not successful. So after so many years of effort, he finally decided to give up. That's why he said, just like a crab, some children, they like to take delight in killing the crab. But before killing the crab, they smash all its feet. Anytime the crab extends a foot out, they will smash it. So in the same way, Mara said, each time he tried his tricks on the Buddha, the Buddha would smash his tricks. So finally he decided that enough. departed just like that crow, disappointed that there was no meat in that stone. The next sutra is connected to this one. 4.25. Then Mara, the evil one, having spoken these verses of disappointment in the presence of the Blessed One, went away from that spot and sat down cross-legged on the ground not far from the Blessed One, silent, dismayed, with his shoulders drooping, downcast, brooding, unable to speak, scratching the ground with a stick Then Mara's daughters, Tanha, Arati and Raga, approached Mara, the evil one, and addressed him in verse, Why are you despondent, father? Who is the man for whom you grieve? You will catch him with a snare of lust, as they catch the forest elephant. You will bind him tightly and bring him back, and he will be under your control. Stop here for a moment. These three daughters of Mara, because they come from the sixth heaven, The highest heaven in the sensual desire realm, they must be very beautiful. So they told the father, Mara, that if you can't catch the man, we will catch him for you, using lust. Make him have sensual desire, then we can catch him. And the Buddha said, the Arahant, the fortunate one in the world, is not easily drawn by means of lust. He has gone beyond Mara's realm. Therefore, I sorrow so bitterly." So Mara is saying that he is very bitter. He tried all ways to trick the Buddha, but was not successful. Then Mara's daughters, Tanha, Arati and Raga, approached the Blessed One and said to him, We serve at your feet, ascetic. But the Blessed One paid no attention, as He was liberated in the unsurpassed extinction of acquisitions or extinction of attachments. Then Mara's daughters, Tanha, Arati and Raga, went off to the side and took counsel and discussed. Men's stays are diverse. Suppose we each manifest ourselves in the form of a hundred maidens. Then Mara's three daughters, each manifesting herself in the form of a hundred maidens, approached the Blessed One and said to Him, We serve at Your feet, ascetic. But the Blessed One paid no attention, as He was liberated in the unsurpassed extinction of acquisitions or extinction of attachments. I'll stop here for a while. So here, Mara's three daughters They tried to tempt the Buddha, but the Buddha did not even bother to look at them, not interested. Then they decided, after discussing, that each one of them will transform into 100 young girls, all of different looks, so as to tempt the Buddha. So when they manifested in this way, Again, the Buddha did not bother to look at them, was not interested at all. An ordinary person is, as we say, tak boleh tahan, cannot bear all these beautiful girls. Then Mara's daughters went off to the side, and again took counsel. Men's tastes are diverse. Suppose we each manifest ourselves in the form of a hundred women who have never given birth. Then Mara's three daughters, each manifesting herself in the form of a hundred women who have never given birth. And then later, in the form of a hundred women who have given birth once, and later in the form of a hundred women who have given birth twice, and later in the form of a hundred women of middle age, and later in the form of a hundred old women, approached the Blessed One and said to Him, We serve at Your feet as epic. But the Blessed One paid no attention as He was liberated in the arms of past extinction of acquisitions or extinction of attachments. I'll stop here for a moment. So these Mara's three daughters, after manifesting themselves as young girls, they thought that the Buddha was not interested. Then they thought maybe he prefers older women. So they start to transform themselves in different shapes. Some are slightly older, some later given birth once, later given birth twice, middle age, old age, all forms also the Buddha was not interested. Then Mara's daughters Dhanha, Arati and Raga went off to the side and said, what our father said is true. The Arahant, the fortunate one in the world. They repeated what Mara said. If we had a sail with such tactics, any ascetic or Brahmana, a holy man, who was not devoid of lust, either his heart would have burst or he would have vomited hot blood from his mouth. or he would have gone mad, or become mentally deranged, or else he would have dried up and withered away and become shriveled, just as a green wreath that has been mowed down and dried up and withered away and become shriveled. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, they said if any other person who is not devoid of lust, who still has lust. If we tempt him in this way, his heart would have burst, or he would have vomited blood, or he would have become mad, etc. Then Mara's daughters, Tanha, Arati and Raga, approached the Blessed One and stood to one side. Standing to one side, Mara's daughter, Tanha, addressed the Blessed One in verse. Is it because you are sunk in sorrow that you meditate in the woods? Because you have lost wealth or pine for it, or committed some crime in the village, why don't you make friends with people? Why don't you form any intimate ties?" And the Buddha said, having conquered the army of the pleasant and agreeable, meditating alone, I discovered bliss, the attainment of the goal, the peace of the heart. Therefore, I don't make friends with people. nor will I form any intimate ties." Then Mara's daughter, Arati, addressed the Blessed One in verse, How does a monk here often dwell, that five floods crossed, he here has crossed the six? How does he meditate, so sensual perceptions are kept at bay, and fail to grip him? And the Buddha said, tranquil in body, in mind well liberated, not generating, mindful, homeless, knowing Dhamma, meditating thought free, he does not erupt or drift or stiffen. When a monk here often dwells thus, with five floods crossed, he here has crossed the six. When he meditates thus, sensual perceptions are kept at bay and fail to grip him. Then Mara's daughter Raga addressed the Blessed One in verse, he has cut off craving, faring with his group and order. Surely many other beings will cross. Alas, this homeless one will snatch many people and lead them away beyond the king of death. And the Buddha said, truly the Tathagatas, the great heroes, lead by means of the two Dhamma. When they are leading by means of the Dhamma, what envy can there be in those who understand? Then Mara's daughters, Tanha, Arati and Raga, approached the evil one. Mara saw them coming in the distance and addressed them in verses. Fools! You tried to batter a mountain with the stalks of lotus flowers, or to dig up a mountain with your nails, or to chew iron with your teeth. As if having lifted a rock with your head, you sought a foothold in the abyss. As if you struck a stump with your breast, you part from Gautama, disappointed. They had come to him, glittering with beauty, Tantra, Arati and Raga. But the teacher swept them away right there, as the wind, a fallen cotton tuft." So here, finally, after they failed to tempt the Buddha, then The three daughters of Mara asked him, the first one asked him, why do you live alone? Why don't you make friends with people? And the Buddha says, he has attained the bliss, the bliss of liberation. There's no need to make friends with people. Another daughter asked him, how to cross the floods, that means to go over to the other shore. to be liberated, and the Buddha says mindful, homeless, meditating thought-free. To meditate thought-free means to attain the state where thoughts stop, and that is the second jhana and above, where the mind is so concentrated that thoughts cannot arise. And then sensual perceptions are kept at bay and cannot grip that meditator. And the third one said that such an enlightened person like the Buddha was next to many people away from the king of death. The king of death can be said to be Mara. So the Buddha said, it's true that the Tathagatas lead by the Dhamma lead people over to the other show. Why should you be jealous? So, when the three daughters went back to Mara, then the Mara scolded them. You try to influence the Buddha. It's like trying to batter a mountain with lotus flowers, or to chew iron with your teeth. So, they were all disappointed. The Buddha and the Arahants, their mind is so steadfast, they cannot be influenced in this way. That's the end of the Mara Samyutta. So, I think we can stop here tonight. If you have anything to discuss, you can discuss. Yes, contradictory that the Mara can tempt the Buddha and other times show respect. Actually somebody like Mara, to be reborn as Mara, to be reborn in the sixth heaven, the sixth heaven in the sensual desire realm shows that his blessings are extremely high and I would I think that Mara must have been a cultivator, a monk or an ascetic in the past, that he can be reborn there. Probably he has attained one or two or three jhanas, but did not constantly abide in jhana. That's why he's reborn in the sensual realm. If a person attains jhana and constantly abides in that jhana, then he'll be reborn in the jhana planes, the form realm. But you know, people change after being reborn as Mara because he has so much power that the ego goes to his head. So when some ascetic or cultivator practices and is near to enlightenment, because of jealousy, he comes to disturb. But he has a lot of virtue to be reborn out there. So that's why there are times when he's not jealous, that he has respect for the Buddha. And other times, his jealousy gets the better of him and tries to obstruct the Buddha and his disciples. It's the same with most people, like most of us. We have good karma, we have evil karma. We have the good side of us and we have the evil side of us. So, the only thing is we are mindful and we watch and we try to get rid of our defilements. So far, the few sanghutas we have dealt with, we haven't come to solid dharma yet. Later we will come to a very solid Dhamma. These Suttas are in the Samyutta Nikaya only because they are grouped together. Like Devata Samyutta, all the Suttas concerning Devas, they are grouped together. In this one, all concerning Mara, so it's grouped together. So you only have a bit of Dhamma sometimes in the Suttas. Not much Dhamma yet, but later we will come to those Suttas which are heavy going. because all the sutras concerning the 37 bodhipakya dharmas, the important sutras, are all found inside here, the Samyutta Nikaya. Okay, if there's no question, we will transfer merit. Okay, I just want to say one last thing here, because we are on this Mara Samyutta. that quite often we are actually influenced by Mara. Not necessarily the Mara that comes from the 6th Heaven in the sensual desire realm, but the Mara inside us. Mara of greed, hatred and delusion very often influences our mind, especially if we don't If our meditation is not good, we don't meditate often. Our five hindrances are very strong. Sensual desire, anger, sloth and torpor, making us lazy, and restlessness, making us always restless, and doubt. So these five maras inside us are a great hindrance. And when they influence our mind, either we do unwholesome karma, or we fail to do wholesome karma. What we should do, we don't do. What we should not do, we do. For example, indulging in sensual pleasures, which are wrong, adultery and all that. or getting angry when we should not get angry having a big temper and because when we are angry we do the wrong things we say the wrong things etc and then sloth and topper making us lazy wasting our life, instead of living our life fruitfully. The Buddha says diligence, energetic effort is something that we should cultivate to obtain happiness in this lifetime and to obtain happiness in the next future lifetimes. Because of sloth and torpor, we are lazy. We don't put in effort where we should put in effort. And then restlessness, instead of being tranquil, we are restless, and because of restlessness, we use our energy in the wrong ways, and then doubt. So there are still others, for example, wanting to indulge in sights, wanting to see beautiful forms, wanting to go touring, wasting our time going Touring here, touring there, overseas, going for holidays, enjoying or want to indulge in nice sounds. Some people like to hear good music. spend a lot of their energy indulging in good music. Some people want to indulge in taste, want to eat good food, indulging in food so much that sometimes their body becomes unhealthy because they are overweight and all these things. So all these Amara tempting us, influencing our mind. As I mentioned just now, don't put the blame on all those factors. You have a free mind, you have volition, free will to exercise. And if we don't use our free will in the right way, then later we have to pay for it. As I read somewhere before that in life, Life is like a credit card. We enjoy, enjoy, and pay later with tears when we have to suffer. So don't put the blame elsewhere. Always remember, however much Mara tempts us in whatever way, the choice is up to us. If you use your wisdom factor more, then do what you should do. Don't do what you will regret later. So the Dhamma is our guide. We take the advice given to us by the Buddha and practice the right way, lead our lives skillfully instead of unskillfully. A lot of people lead their lives unskillfully and at the end of their life they regret so many things they should have done they did not do, so many things they should not have done they did. We live by the Dhamma, we will never regret. And always remember energetic effort, the Buddha says, will benefit you this life and future lifetimes. So always remember, don't put the blame on Mara or on anyone else. We have our own free will. That's all I want to say.

13-SN-Bhikkhuni-(Ch.5)-Brahma-(Ch.6)-(2009-07-18).txt

Today is the 18th of July, 2009. We are going through the Samyutta Nikaya Suttas. Now we come to the 5th Samyutta, which is the Bhikkhuni Samyutta. Bhikkhuni is nuns. The monks were called Bhikkhus, the nuns were called Bhikkhunis. So this chapter has all to do with the nuns. 5.4. Then in the morning, the Bhikkhuni Vijaya, dressed and taking bowl and robe, entered Savatthi for alms. Then she had walked for alms in Savatthi and had returned from her alms round. After her meal, she went to the blind man's grove for the days abiding. Doing plunge into the blind man's grove, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the days abiding. Then Mara, the evil one, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the Bhikkhuni Vijaya, Desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse. You are so young and beautiful, and I too am a youth in my prime. Come, noble lady, let us rejoice with the music of a fivefold ensemble. Then it occurred to the Bhikkhuni Vijaya, now who is this, that recited the verse, a human being or a non-human being? Then it occurred to her, This is Mara, the evil one, who has recited the verse desiring to arouse fear, trepidation and terror in me, desiring to make me fall away from concentration. Then the Bhikkhuni Vijaya, having understood this is Mara, the evil one, replied to him in verses. Forms, sounds, tastes, odours and delightful tactile objects, I offer them right back to you, for I, O Mara, do not need them. I am repelled and humiliated by this foul, putrid body, subject to break-up, fragile. I have uprooted sensual craving as to those beings who fare amidst form, and those who abide in the formless, and those peaceful attainments too. Everywhere darkness has been destroyed. Then Mara, the evil one, realizing the Bhikkhuni Vijaya knows me, sad and disappointed, disappeared right there at the end of the sutta. So this young beautiful nun, she was alone in the deep forest, and this Mara came to try to frighten her. During the Buddha's earlier days of the Buddha's ministry, when the Sangha was new, the Buddha allowed nuns to live alone and later many of the nuns were raped so after that the Buddha did not allow nuns to stay alone did not allow them to go into the forest alone and all that so this Bhikkhuni Vijaya was already an arahant when Mara came So that's why she said, I am repelled and humiliated by this foul putrid body. Most of us, we are very proud of our body. We think we are so beautiful or handsome. But in the case of this Arahant, she is repelled by her own body. You can see that the body is so dirty. And she says, this is uprooted sensual craving. as to those beings who bear mixed form and in the formless. That means she has no desire to be reborn in the form realm or the formless realm. So Mara left her alone. 5.5 Sutta is about Upalavana. The Buddha has two chief nun disciples, just like Sariputta and Moggallana, representing the monks. The two chief nuns are Khema and Upalavanna. Khema was foremost among the nuns in wisdom, and Upalavanna was foremost in psychic powers. In the suttas, sometimes we find Upalavanna, she comes to visit the Buddha in the middle of the night around midnight and she flies using her psychic power and sometimes when she comes she finds that the Buddha is occupied with devas then she stands in the mid-air waiting when the Buddha is free then she comes down to talk to the Buddha and generally the Buddha did not talk much to the nuns except to the arahants So at Sabati, in the morning, the Pooni Upalavanna dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Sabati for alms. Then after she had eaten, she came. went into the blind man's grove as before, and she stood at the foot of a sal tree in full flower. Then Mara, the evil one, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation and terror in the Bhikkhuni Upalavana, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse. Having gone to a sal tree with flowering top, you stand at its foot all alone, Bhikkhuni. There is none whose beauty rivals yours. Foolish girl, aren't you afraid of ropes? Then it occurred to the Bhikkhuni Upalavana, now who is this? And she realized, this is Mara, the evil one, desiring to make me fall away from concentration. Then the Bhikkhuni Upalavana, having understood this is Mara, the evil one, replied to him in verses, though a hundred thousand rogues just like you might come here, I stir not a hair, I feel no terror. Even alone, Mara, I don't fear you. I can make myself disappear, or I can enter inside your belly. I can stand between your eyebrows, yet you won't catch a glimpse of me. I am the master of my mind. The bases of psychic power are well-developed. I am free from all bondage. Therefore, I don't fear you, friend." Then Mara, the evil one, realizing that Bhikkhuni Upalavana knows me, sad and disappointed, disappeared right there. So you see what the Uparavana said, that she can disappear and enter Mara's stomach, belly, and stand between his eyebrows and all that. His psychic power was very great. So that's why she was not afraid of Mara. 5.9, at Svabhati. Then in the morning, the Bhikkhuni Saila dressed as before. She went on alms round, and after alms round, entered the deep forest. Then she sat down at the foot of a tree for the days abiding. Then Mara, the evil one, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the Pikuni Sela, desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse. By whom has this puppet been created? Who is the maker of the puppet? Where has the puppet arisen? Where does the puppet cease? Then it occurred to the Bhikkhuni Sela, now who is this? Then she realized, this is Mara the evil one, desiring to make me fall away from concentration. Then the Bhikkhuni Sela, having understood this is Mara the evil one, replied to him in verses, this puppet is not made by itself. Nor is this misery made by another. It has come to be dependent on a cause. With the causes break up, it will cease. As when a seed is sown in a field, it grows depending on a pair of factors. It requires both the soil's nutrients and a steady supply of moisture. Just so, the aggregates and elements and these six bases of sensory contact have come to be dependent on the cause. The causes break up, they will cease. Then Mara, the evil one, realizing that Bhikkhuni Sela knows me, sad and disappointed, disappeared right there. So this is another arahant. She says this puppet, this body is not made by anyone. It arises due to causes and conditions and it will cease due to causes and conditions. The next sutra 5.10 at Savatthi. Then in the morning, the Bhikkhuni Vajira dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Savatthi for alms. When she had walked for alms in Savatthi, and had returned from her alms round, after her meal she went to the blind man's grove for the days abiding. Having plunged into the blind man's grove, she sat down at the foot of a tree for the days abiding. Then Mara, the evil one, desiring to arouse fear, trepidation, and terror in the Bhikkhuni Vajira, Desiring to make her fall away from concentration, approached her and addressed her in verse. By whom has this being been created? Where is the maker of the being? Where has the being arisen? Where does the being cease? Then it occurred to the Bhikkhuni Vajira, now who is this that recited the verse? A human being or a non-human being? Then it occurred to her, this is Mara the Evil One, who has recited the verse desiring to arouse fear, trepidation and terror in me, desiring to make me fall away from concentration. Then the Bhikkhuni Vajira, having understood this is Mara the Evil One, replied to him in verses, Why now do you assume a being, Mara? This is your speculative view. Is that your speculative view? This is a heap of sheer formations. Here no being is found. Just as with the assemblage of parts, the word chariot is used. So when the aggregates exist, there is the convention of a being. This only suffering that comes to be, suffering that stands and falls away, nothing but suffering comes to be, nothing but suffering ceases. Then Mara the evil one, realizing the Bhikkhuni Vajira knows me, sad and disappointed, disappeared right there. So these verses of this Arahant Vajira are so interesting. He says, why do you assume that there is a being? Since there is no being, just like a chariot, a horse chariot, when all the parts are put together, you call it a chariot. But when you take apart all the parts of the chariot, there is no chariot. It's just a condition, a temporary condition. So in the same way, our body and our mind, the five aggregates, when you put them together, you think that there is a being, but one day, because it's a temporary condition, one day it will all fall apart. And so there is ultimately no being because everything is impermanent. There's no thing in our body or in our mind that does not change. So because it is a constant flux of conditions, there's no thing we can identify as ourself that doesn't change. That's why this principle of Anatta in Buddhism, sometimes it's translated as soul. It's not that there is no soul. It's that there is no permanent thing. that does not change. Everything is a flux. The next, we come to the next Sanghuta. Number six, Brahma Sanghuta. These Brahmas are heavenly beings. They are in the first jhana plane, the lowest of the form realm. And they have great psychic power. According to the sutras, the light they emit is so powerful it reaches 1,000 world systems and that is the minimum and sometimes it can reach 10,000 world systems and sometimes even more. So the first sutta Thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Uruvela on the bank of the river Niranjara, at the foot of the Goat Herd's bunion tree, just after He had become fully enlightened. Then, while the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in His mind thus, This Dhamma that I have discovered is deep. Hard to see, hard to understand. Peaceful and sublime. Not within the sphere of reasoning. Subtle, to be experienced by the wise. But this generation delights in adhesion. Here adhesion means clinging. takes delight in adhesion, rejoices in adhesion. For such a generation, this state is hard to see, that is, specific conditionality, dependent origination. And this state too is hard to see, that is, the stilling of all formations, the relinquishment of all acquisitions. Here acquisitions, also another translation is attachments. Linguishment of all attachments, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, nibbana. If I were to teach the Dhamma and if others would not understand me, that would be wearisome for me. That would be troublesome. Thereupon, these astounding verses, not heard before in the past, occurred to the Blessed One. Enough now with trying to teach. What I found, with so much hardship, this Dhamma is not easily understood by those oppressed by lust and hate. Those fired by lust, obscured by darkness, will never see this abstruse Dhamma, deep, hard to see, subtle, going against the stream. As the Blessed One reflected thus, His mind inclined to living at ease, not to teaching the Dhamma. Then Brahma Sahampati, having known with his own mind the reflection in the Blessed One's mind, thought, Alas, the world is lost. Alas, the world is to perish, in that the mind of the Tathagata, the Arahant, Sammasambuddha, inclines to living at ease, not to teaching the Dhamma. Then, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, Brahma Sahampati disappeared from the Brahma world and reappeared before the Blessed One. He arranged His upper robe over one shoulder, knelt down with His right knee on the ground, raised His joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, and said to Him, Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One teach the Dhamma, let the Fortunate One teach the Dhamma. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are falling away because they do not hear the Dhamma. There will be those who will understand the Dhamma. This is what Brahma Sahampati said. Having said this, he further said, In the past there appeared among the Magadans an impure Dhamma, devised by those still staying. Throw open this door to the deathless. Let them hear the Dhamma that the stainless one discovered. This as one standing on a mountain peak might see below the people all around. So, wise one, universal I, ascend the palace made of the Dhamma. being yourself free from sorrow. Behold the people submerged in sorrow, oppressed by birth and decay. Rise up, O hero, victor in battle. Caravan leader, that free one. Wander in the world, teach the Dhamma, blessed one. There will be those who will understand. Then the blessed one, having understood Brahma's request, out of compassion for beings, surveyed the world with the eye of a Buddha. As he did so, the Blessed One saw beings with little dust in their eyes and with much dust in their eyes, with keen faculties and with dull faculties, with good qualities and with bad qualities, easy to teach and difficult to teach, and a few who dwelt seeing blame and fear in the other world. just as in a pond of blue or red or white lotuses. Some lotuses might be born in the water, grow up in the water, and thrive while submerged in the water, without rising up from the water. Some lotuses might be born in the water, grow up in the water and stand at an even level with the water. Some lotuses might be born in the water and grow up in the water, but would rise up from the water and stand without being soiled by the water. So too, surveying the world with the eye of a Buddha, the Blessed One saw beings with little dust in their eyes and with much dust in their eyes, with keen faculties and with dull faculties, with good qualities and with bad qualities, easy to teach and hard to teach, and a few who dwelt seeing blame and fear in the other world. Having seen this, he answered Brahma Sahampati in verse, Open to them are the doors to the deathless. Let those who have ears release faith. Foreseeing trouble, Brahma, I did not speak. The refined sublime Dhamma among human beings. Then Brahma Sahampati, thinking, The Blessed One has given his consent to my request regarding the teaching of the Dhamma, paid homage to the Blessed One and disappeared right there. That's the end of the sutra here. So here you see, originally the Buddha did not want to teach the Dhamma because he realized that most beings will find it hard to understand the Dhamma because it just goes against the grain, goes against our natural tendencies, greed, hatred and delusion. But because Brahmacarambati, because his lifespan is so long, he has seen other Buddhas, So because he has seen other Buddhas, when he saw our Buddha, he realized this is someone who can bring the Dhamma to the world and benefit so many people. So when he appealed to the Buddha, the Buddha surveyed the world again and realized there are some people who would be interested to learn the Dhamma and progress. So for the sake of the few, with what he calls little dust in their eyes, then he decided to teach. So actually, you see, the Buddha originally wanted to be a Pacheka Buddha. So actually, a Pacheka Buddha and a Sammasambuddha, there is no difference between them, except the fact that one decides to teach and one does not want to teach. The next sutra, 6.2. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Uruvela, on the bank of the river Naranjara. at the foot of the Goat Herd's bunion tree, just after he had become fully enlightened. Then while the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in his mind thus, One dwells in suffering if one is without reverence and deference. Now what ascetic or Brahmin, actually what ascetic or Brahmana, holy man, can I honour and respect and dwell in dependence on? Stop here for a moment. You see, even after the Buddha was enlightened, he taught that if there is some holy man who is higher than him, then he should pay respect and become a student of that holy man. Then it occurred to the Blessed One, it would be for the sake of fulfilling an unfulfilled aggregate of virtue that I would honour, respect and dwell in dependence on another ascetic or Brahmana. However, in this world with its Devas, Mara and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and Brahmanas, its Devas and humans, I do not see another ascetic or Brahmana more perfect in virtue than myself, whom I could honour and respect and dwell in dependence on. It would be for the sake of fulfilling an unfulfilled aggregate of concentration that I would honour, respect and dwell in dependence on another ascetic or brahmana. However, I do not see another ascetic or brahmana more perfect in concentration than myself. It would be for the sake of fulfilling an unfulfilled aggregate of wisdom that I would honour, respect and dwell in dependence on another ascetic or brahmana. However, I do not see another ascetic or brahmana more perfect in wisdom than myself. It would be for the sake of fulfilling an unfulfilled aggregate of liberation that I would honour, respect and dwell in dependence on another ascetic or brahmana. However, I do not see another ascetic or brahmana more perfect in liberation than myself. It would be for the sake of fulfilling an unfulfilled aggregate of the knowledge and vision of liberation that I would honour, respect and dwell in dependence on another ascetic or brahmana. However, I do not see another ascetic or brahmana more perfect in the knowledge and vision of liberation than myself, whom I could honour and respect, and on whom I could dwell in dependence. Let me then honour, respect and dwell in dependence on this very Dhamma to which I have fully awakened. and having known with his own mind the reflection in the Blessed One's mind, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, Brahma Sahampati disappeared from the Brahma world and reappeared before the Blessed One. He rearranged His upper robe over one shoulder, raised His joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, and said to Him, So it is, Blessed One, so it is, Fortunate One. Remember, Sir, those who were arahants, the perfectly enlightened ones, sammasambuddhas in the past, those Blessed Ones too honoured, respected, and dwelt in dependence just on the Dharma itself. those who will be arahants, samasambuddhas in the future. Those blessed ones too will dwell, honor and respect and dwell in dependence just on the Dharma itself. Let the Blessed One too, who is at present the Arahant Samasambuddha, honour, respect and dwell in dependence just on the Dharma itself. This is what Brahma Sahampati said. Having said this, he further said, The Buddhas of the past, the future Buddhas, and he who is the Buddha now, removing the sorrow of many, all have dwelt, will dwell, and dwell, deeply revering the true Dhamma. For the Buddhas, this is a natural law. Therefore, one desiring his own good, aspiring for spiritual greatness, should deeply revere the true Dhamma, recollecting the Buddha's teaching." That's the end of the sutra. So here you see, The Buddha was thinking, if there is a teacher better than himself, he should be a student of that teacher. But when he looked around, he found there was none. So in some other sutra, the Buddha has said, if you want to select a teacher, you should look for one whose sila, samadhi and panna are higher than yours. meaning moral conduct, concentration and wisdom. If there is a teacher whose skill in these three things are higher than yours, then you can honour and respect him as a teacher. Otherwise, you should not. So here, the Buddha decided that the Dhamma will be his teacher. So, similarly for us, our real teacher is the Dhamma, the Dhamma of the Buddha. 6.3. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, a Nathapindika spa. Now on that occasion a certain Brahmin lady had a son named Brahmadeva who had gone forth from the household life into homelessness under the Blessed One. then dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and resolute, the venerable Brahmadeva, by realizing it for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life entered and dwelt in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life, for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness. He directly knew, destroyed his birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being. And the Venerable Brahmadeva became one of the Arahants. Then in the morning, the Venerable Brahmadeva dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Savatthi for alms. Walking on continuous alms round in Savatthi, he came to his own mother's residence. On that occasion, the Brahmin lady, the Venerable Brahmadeva's mother, had been offering a constant oblation to Brahma. Then it occurred to Brahma Sahampati, this Brahmin lady, the Venerable Brahmadeva's mother, has been offering a constant oblation to Brahma. Let me approach her and stir up a sense of urgency in her. Then just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, Brahma Sahampati disappeared from the Brahma world and reappeared in the residence of the venerable Brahma Deva's mother. Then standing in the air, Brahma Sahampati addressed the Brahmin lady in verse, Ah, from here, madam, is the Brahma world, to which you offer a constant oblation. Brahma does not eat such food, lady. So why mumble not knowing the path to Brahma? This Brahmadeva, madam, without acquisitions, without attachments, has surpassed the Devas, owning nothing, nourishing no other. The Bhikkhu has entered your house for alms. If worthy, knowledge master, inwardly developed, he deserves offerings from humans and Devas. Having expelled all evil, unsullied, untarnished, pure or clean, cool that heart, he comes seeking alms. For him there is nothing behind or in front, peaceful, smokeless, untroubled, wishless. He has laid down the rod towards frail and firm. Let him eat your oblation, the choice's alms. Aloof from the crowd, with peaceful mind, like a Naga he fares, tame, unstirred. A Bhikkhu of pure virtue, well liberated in mind, let him eat your oblation, the Choices Arms. With confidence in him, free from wavering, present your offering to one who deserves it. Having seen a sage who has crossed the flood, Madam, make merit leading to future bliss. Stop here for a while. So here you see, this Brahma is trying to tell this Arahant's mother, you pray to Brahma, everyday you offer food to Brahma, it's no use. Brahma does not eat your food. Why don't you offer to your son? He's Arahant. He deserves offerings. He says, for him there is nothing behind or in front. That means he does not cling to the past and he is not worried about the future. Peaceful, smokeless. Smokeless means he has no more fire, the fire of anger. There is no more in him. Untroubled, wishless. He has laid down the rod towards the frail and the firm. He does not beat or punish the weak and the strong. Like a Naga he fares. A Naga is a great big elephant or a huge serpent. Finally, with confidence in him, free from wavering, she presented her offering to one who deserved it. Having seen a sage who has crossed the flood, the lady made merit, leading to future bliss. That's the end of the sutra. Brahma here was very kind to come so far from the Brahma world to tell this lady that you should make offering to this Arahant, your son. So you see, like earlier we read, even like in the case of this mother of this Arahant, once that person, that monk has become a holy person, then he is worthy of even the mother paying respect to him. The mother will bow down to him because he deserves the respect and reverence. Unlike the, I mentioned, the Mayana Sutra, which talks about the feeling of piety towards parents, where they say the Buddha saw this skeleton on the roadside and the Buddha bowed to this skeleton. It's just the opposite. The next sutra is 6.4. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Nathapindika's path. Now on that occasion, the following evil speculative view had arisen in Brahma Bhakka. Stop here for a moment. This Brahma Bhakka, his name is Bhakka. He's a Brahma and he thought to himself, this is permanent, this is stable, this is eternal, this is complete, this is imperishable. Indeed, this is where one is not born, does not age, does not die, does not pass away, and is not reborn. And there is no other escape superior to this. Let's stop here for a moment. So here this Baka is so happy because he's in this Brahma heaven, enjoying life, experiencing bliss. And his life is so long that he thought this world is permanent, is eternal. He will not grow old, he will not become sick, he will not die. And he thinks there is no superior place than his heaven, because he doesn't see there are higher heavens than his. Then having known with his own mind the reflection in Brahma Bhakta's mind, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, the Blessed One disappeared from Jeta's grove and reappeared in that Brahma world. Brahma Bhakta saw the Blessed One coming in the distance and said to him, Welcome, dear sir. It has been a long time, dear sir, since you took the opportunity of coming here. Indeed, dear sir, this is permanent, this is stable, this is eternal, this is complete, this is imperishable. Indeed, this is where one is not born, does not age, does not die, does not pass away, and is not reborn. And there is no other escape superior to this. Then this was said, the Blessed One said to Brahmābhāka, Alas, sir, Brahmābhāka is immersed in ignorance, alas, sir, Brahmābhāka is immersed in ignorance, insofar as he will say of what is actually impermanent that it is permanent. and will say of what is actually unstable, that it is stable, and will say of what is actually non-eternal, that it is eternal, and will say of what is actually incomplete, that it is complete, and will say of what is actually perishable, that it is imperishable. And in reference to a realm where one is born, ages, dies, passes away and is reborn, we'll say that indeed this is where one is not born, does not age, does not die, does not pass away and is not reborn. And when there is another escape superior to this, we'll say there is no other escape superior to this. And Bhakka said, we 72 Gotama were merit makers. Now we wield power beyond birth and aging. This knowledge master is our final attainment of Brahma. Many are the people we yearn for us. Let's stop here for a moment. So here he says, there were 72 of them. This Brahma Bhakka, he had 71 friends. So 72 of them were merit makers. That means they did a lot of charity. And because of that, he was born as Brahma. Then the Buddha said, the lifespan here is short, not long. Though you, Bhakta, imagine it is long. I know, Brahma, your lifespan to be a hundred thousand Nira Buddhas. Let's stop here for a moment. This Nirabuddha is a length of time which is extremely, extremely long. Sometimes Buddha talks about the hells, also he talks in terms of this Buddha, Nirabuddha and all this extremely long spans of time. And Bhagavata said, Blessed one, you say I am the one of infinite vision who has overcome birth, aging and sorrow. What was my ancient practice of vow and virtue? Tell me this so I might understand." One moment. So here, this Brahma is trying to test the Buddha. He told the Buddha, you see, you have psychic vision and all that. Tell me about my past. What did I practice in the past to be born as Brahma? And the Buddha said, you gave drink to many people who were thirsty, afflicted by heat. That was your ancient practice of vow and virtue, which I recollect as if just waking up. When people were abducted at Antelope Bank to release the captives being led away, that was your ancient practice of vow and virtue, which I recollect just as if just waking up. When a ship was seized on the River Ganges by a fierce Naga longing for human flesh, You freed it forcefully by a valiant act. That was your ancient practice of vow and virtue, which I recollect as if just waking up. I was your apprentice named Kappa. You taught him intelligent and devout. That was your ancient practice of vow and virtue, which I recollect as if just waking up." And Bhakta said, Surely you know this lifespan of mine. The others too you know. Thus you are the Buddha. Thus this blazing majesty of yours illumines even the Brahma world. So that's the end of the sutta. So here you can understand why the Buddha went to this Brahma Bhakka because a long time ago this Brahma Bhakka was an ascetic with psychic power and he did a lot of good deeds, like saving people who were abducted, who were caught. Maybe bandits caught these people on Antelope Bank. And he led the captives away. Then another time, a ship was attacked by this Naga, this snake serpent, trying to make the ship capsize so that it can eat the humans. And then this according to this Dhammapada story, Dhammapada commentary, this ascetic, he transformed himself into a big, huge Garuda bird. Then he appeared to this Naga, and when the Naga, this serpent, he saw the Garuda bird, he was so frightened, he flew away. Because they are enemies, the serpent Naga and the Garuda. So the Buddha said, I was your disciple named Kappa. So you see that's the Buddha. Sometimes he goes to these people in the heavens, these devas, because of gratitude. Previously, they were his teacher. So now he has become enlightened, but they have not become enlightened. So he thinks he wants to help them. And then finally this Brahma believed him, and the Brahma said, this blazing majesty of yours illumines even the Brahma world. That means the Buddha's light is even much more brighter than the Brahma devas, that when the Buddha appeared in the Brahma, they could see his brightness overpowers them.

14-SN-Brahma-(Ch.6)-(2009-07-18).txt

6.5 at Savatthi. On that occasion, the following evil speculative view had arisen in a certain Brahma. There is no ascetic or Brahmana who can come here. That having known with his own mind the reflection in that Brahma's mind, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, the Blessed One disappeared from Jeta's grove and reappeared in that Brahma world. The Blessed One sat cross-legged in the air above that Brahma, having entered into meditation on the fire element. One moment here. So you see, this Brahma, he had this wrong view that no human being, no ascetic or holy man can come to this heaven of his, which is so far away from earth. He thought it's impossible for any humans, even if they have psychic power, to come to my heaven. Then the Buddha happened to reach his mind at that moment and flew to him immediately and sat cross-legged above this Brahma, meditating on the fire element. When he meditates on the fire element, the body becomes like fire, emitting fire. Then it occurred to the Venerable Mahamoggalana, where now is the Blessed One dwelling at present? With the divine eye which is purified and surpasses the human, the Venerable Maha Moggallana saw the Blessed One sitting cross-legged in the air above that Brahma, having entered into meditation on the fire element. Having seen this, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, the Venerable Maha Moggallana disappeared from Jeta's grove and reappeared in that Brahma world. Then the Venerable Mahamoggalana stationed himself in the eastern border and sat cross-legged in the air above that Brahma, though lower than the Blessed One, having entered into meditation on the fire element. Then it occurred to the Venerable Mahakassapa, where now is the Blessed One dwelling at present, and with the divine eye similarly the Venerable Mahakassapa saw the Blessed One sitting cross-legged in the air above that Brahma. Having seen this, the Venerable Maha Kasapa disappeared from Jeta's grove and reappeared in that Brahma world. Then the Venerable Maha Kasapa stationed himself in the southern quarter and sat cross-legged in the air above that Brahma, but lower than the Blessed One, having entered into meditation on the fire element. Then it occurred to the Venerable Maha Kapina Where now is the Blessed One dwelling at present? And with the divine eye, the Venerable Maha Kapina saw the Blessed One sitting cross-legged in the air above that Brahma. Having seen this, the Venerable Maha Kapina disappeared from this jaitous world and reappeared in that Brahma world. Then the Venerable Maha Kapina stationed himself in the western quarter and sat cross-legged in the air above that Brahma, though lower than the Blessed One, having entered into meditation on the fire element. Then it occurred to the Venerable Anuruddha, where now is the Blessed One dwelling at present? With the divine eye, the Venerable Anuruddha saw the Blessed One sitting cross-legged in the air above that Brahma. Having seen this, the Venerable Anuruddha disappeared from Jeta's grove and reappeared in that Brahma world. Then the Venerable Anuruddha stationed himself in the northern quarter and sat cross-legged in the air above that Brahma, though lower than the Blessed One, having entered into meditation on the fire element. Then the Venerable Maha Moggallana addressed the Brahma in verse, Today, friend, do you still hold that view, the view that you formerly held? Do you see the radiance surpassing that in the Brahma world? And this Brahma said, I no longer hold that view, dear sir, the view that I formerly held. Indeed, I see the radiance surpassing that in the Brahma world. Today, how could I maintain? I am permanent and eternal. Then having stirred up a sense of urgency in that Brahma, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm, or draw in his extended arm, the Blessed One disappeared from that Brahma world and reappeared in Jeta's grove. Stop here for a moment. So here you see, The Buddha has many disciples who have great psychic power, probably almost equal to the Buddha's psychic power. That's why immediately they sense that the Buddha went to this heaven and to show the support for the Buddha. They also appeared in that heaven, sitting cross-legged like the Buddha, but lower, and all emitting light. So here you see, the Buddha's disciples, they are great masters of meditation. They can meditate on many objects. So fire is one of them. Unlike nowadays, people say the Buddha's meditation is Vipassana. The Buddha's meditation is never Vipassana. The Buddha's meditation is all this, you see. meditation and the fire element and all his disciples are skilled in that. So, you must remember the Buddha was in India. In India, the background now, the Hindus, they practice these Kassina meditations. So, at that time, the Buddha was also considered one of the many teachers, one of the many Hindu teachers. Because the word Hindu comes from the word Indus, Indus Valley. India itself. So the Buddha's disciples would have known all the common meditation subjects during that time, including all the Asinas. When the Buddha and his disciples appeared in that world, Brahma was shocked because he thought no human being can come here. He also noticed that the light that the Buddha and his disciples emitted was much, much brighter than the Brahma devas. And then immediately he changed his view. He understood that whatever the Buddha said must be true because the Buddha's psychic power is much much more than the Brahma's. So he said, now how can I say that I am permanent and eternal? Actually they know, these devas, they know exactly what the Buddha is teaching. Because of their psychic power, they don't even have to come to earth. They can contemplate and they know Buddha is teaching the Dharma, saying that all beings are impermanent, that all beings, even their life is so long, will die one day. But they refuse to believe. So now when the Buddha came and he saw the Buddha was not just a preacher, just talk, but no action. He saw the Buddha was superior to him in every way. Then only he believed that one day he has to die. Then the sutta continues. Then that Brahma addressed one member of his assembly thus, Come now, dear sir, approach the venerable Mahamoggalana and say to him, Sir Moggalana, are there any other disciples of the Blessed One that are as powerful and mighty as masters Moggalana, Kasapa, Kapina and Anurudha? Yes, dear sir, that member of the Brahma assembly replied. Then he approached the Venerable Maha Moggallana and asked him, Sir Moggallana, are there any other disciples of the Blessed One that are as powerful and mighty as Masters Moggallana, Kasapa, Apina and Anuruddha? Then the Venerable Maha Moggallana addressed that member of Brahma's assembly in verse, Many are the disciples of the Buddha who are arahants with asavas destroyed, triple knowledge bearers with spiritual powers or psychic powers, skilled in the cause of others' minds, that means can read others' minds. Then that member of Brahma's assembly, having delighted and rejoiced in the Venerable Mahamoglana's statement, approached that Brahma and told him, Rambo Mahamogana speaks thus, many are the disciples of the Buddha who are arahants with asavas destroyed, triple knowledge bearers with psychic powers, skilled in the cause of others' minds. This is what that member of Brahma's assembly said, elated that Brahma delighted in his statement. So that's the end of the sutra. So here you see, Mahamoggalana told him, there are many, many of the Buddha's disciples with such great psychic power. In some other suttas, it is mentioned, it's not just 100 or 200 and 300, it's a few thousand during the Buddha's time. Now we come to the next sutta, 6.9, at Savatthi. Now on that occasion, the monk Kokalika was sick, afflicted, gravely ill. Stop here for a moment. This monk Gokalika was a supporter of this monk Devadatta. Devadatta was a disciple of the Buddha who broke away from the Buddha and formed his own Sangha. So there were a few monks who supported him. This Gokalika was one of his main supporters. So this Gokalika was sick. Then when the night had advanced, Here it says the independent Brahma Tudu. Actually the word is Pacheka, the Pacheka Brahma Tudu. Pacheka, maybe a better translation is solitary. Solitary Brahma, because most of the time they live alone. The heaven is so high, not many are reborn in that heaven. Also because they are unisex, they don't need a partner, they live alone. and they find happiness within themselves. Their mind is full of bliss. So they are called Pacheka Brahmas, solitary Brahmas. But here they translate as independent. Independent Brahma Tudu of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's grove, approached the monk Kukalika. Having approached, he stood in the air and said to the monk Kukalika, placed confidence in Sariputta and Moggallana Kokalika. Sariputta and Moggallana are well behaved. Stop here for a moment. Why does he come and tell this monk Kokalika to have trust, to have confidence in Sariputta and Moggallana? Because this Kokalika was a follower of Devadatta. And when Devadatta broke away from the Buddha, then this Sariputta and Moggallana went around telling people This Devadatta is no more a disciple of the Buddha. Whatever he says has nothing to do with the Buddha. He does not belong to the Buddha's Sangha and all that. So in effect, they were talking bad about this Sariputta and Moggallana was talking bad about Devadatta and his camp. So this Devadatta and his followers had a lot of hatred towards Sariputta and Moggallana. So this Kukalika was one of those who had a lot of hatred and talked bad about Sariputta and Moggallana. So this Brahma came to warn him. Why did the Brahma bother to come and warn him? Maybe they were friends before. Former friendship, come to warn him. And Kukalika asked him, who are you friend? And he said, I am the Pacheka Brahma Tudu. And then Kokaliska said, didn't the Blessed One declare you to be a non-returner, anagamin? Then why have you come back here? See how far you have transgressed. So he stopped for a moment. So here this Kokalika is saying, the Buddha said you are a non-returner, that you won't come back to the human world. Why you come back now to the human world? He's saying, I was trying to tell him, you see, I am at fault for criticizing Sariputta and Moggallana. You are at more fault than me. You were supposed to be in that heaven and you come back to the human world. Something like that. Then the Brahma Tudu said, when a person has taken birth, an axe is born inside his mouth, with which the fool cuts himself. uttering defamatory speech. He who praises one deserving blame, or blames one deserving praise, casts with his mouth an unlucky throw by which he finds no happiness. Crifling is the unlucky throw that brings the loss of wealth at dice, the loss of all, oneself included. Worst by far, this unlucky throw of harbouring hatred against the fortunate ones. For a hundred thousand Nira-Buddhas, and thirty-six more, and five Abuddhas, the maligner of noble ones goes to hell, having set evil speech and mind against them." That's the end of the Sutta. So here, the Brahma told him, every one of us is born with an axe in our mouth. If we simply wag our tongue, say the wrong things, we will cut ourselves. And here also warning him that if he has hatred against Arahants like Sariputta and Moggallana, he will go to hell for an extremely long time. Here it talks about Nirabuddha and Abuddha and all that. So why I mention this sutra is because of this verse, when a person has taken birth, an axe is born inside his mouth, with which the fool cuts himself, uttering defamatory speech. That means defames others, talk bad about others. Because sometimes a person doesn't realize, when you talk bad about somebody, the word goes around and spreads. One person goes to ten, ten goes to a hundred, a hundred goes to a thousand. Very soon, somebody may have a bad reputation because of your action. The next sutra, 6.10, at Savatthi. Then the monk Kukalika approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, Sariputta and Moggallana have evil wishes. They have come under the control of evil wishes. When this was said, the Blessed One said to the monk Kukalika, Do not speak thus, Kukalika. Do not speak thus, Kukalika. Place confidence in Sariputta and Moggallana, Kukalika. Sariputta and Moggallana are well behaved. The second time, the monk Kukalika said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, although the Blessed One has my faith and trust, all the same I say that Sariputta and Moggallana have evil wishes. They have come under the control of evil wishes. And the second time the Blessed One said to the monk Gokalika, do not speak thus Gokalika, etc. Sariputta and Moggallana have well behaved. Third time, the monk Gokalika said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, although the Blessed One has my faith and trust, all the same, I say that Sariputta and Moggallana have evil wishes. They have come under the control of evil wishes. And the third time, the Blessed One said to the monk Gokalika, Do not speak thus, Gokalika. Do not speak thus, Kokalika. Place confidence in Sariputta and Moggallana, Kokalika. Sariputta and Moggallana are well behaved. Then the monk Kokalika rose from his seat, paid homage to the Blessed One and departed, keeping him on his right. Not long after Monk Okalika had left, his entire body became covered with boils the size of mustard seeds. These then grew to the size of monk seeds, then to the size of chickpeas, then to the size of jujube stones, then to the size of jujube fruits, then to the size of myrobalans, then to the size of unripe beluva fruits, then to the size of ripe beluva fruits. When they had grown to the size of ripe beluva fruits, they burst open, exuding pus and blood. Then, on account of that illness, the monk Pokalika died. And because he had harboured animosity towards Sariputta and Moggallana, after his death, he was reborn in the Paduma Hell. Then, when the night had advanced, Brahma Sahampati, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Jeta's Grove, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, stood to one side, and said to Him, Venerable Sir, the monk Gokalika has died, and because he harbored animosity towards Sariputta and Moggallana, after his death he has been reborn in the Paduma Hell. This is what Brahma Sahampati said. Having said this, he paid homage to the Blessed One, and keeping him on his right, he disappeared right there. Then when the night had passed, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, last night, when the night had advanced, Brahma Sahampati approached me and said to me, Reverend Sir, the monk Pokalika has died, and because he harbored animosity towards Sariputta and Moggallana, after his death, he has been reborn in the Paduma Hell. Having said this, he paid homage to me, and keeping me on his right, he disappeared right there. When this was said, a certain monk said to the Blessed One, Rambusa, how long is the lifespan in the Paduma Hell? And the Buddha said, the lifespan in the Paduma Hell is long, monk. It is not easy to count it and say it is so many years, or so many hundreds of years, or so many thousands of years, or so many hundreds of thousands of years. And the monk said, then is it possible to give a simile when we'll serve? And the Buddha said, it is possible, monk. Suppose, monk, there was a Kosalan cartload of 20 measures of sesame seed. At the end of every 100 years, a man would remove one seed from there. That Kosalan cartload of 20 measures of sesame seed might, by this effort, be depleted and eliminated more than a single Abuddha hell would go by. 20 Abuddha Hells are the equivalent of 1 Nirabuddha Hell. 20 Nirabuddha Hells are the equivalent of 1 Ababa Hell. 20 Ababa Hells are the equivalent of 1 Atata Hell. 20 Atata Hells are the equivalent of 1 Ahaha Hell. 20 Ahaha Hells are the equivalent of 1 Kumuda Hell. 20 Kumuda Hells are the equivalent of 1 Sogandhika Hell. 20 Sogandhika Hells are the equivalent of 1 Upala Hell. 20 Upala Hells are the equivalent of 1 Pundarika Hell. And 20 Pundarika Hells are the equivalent of 1 Paduma Hell. Now, the monk Kokalika has been reborn in the Paduma Hell because he harbored animosity towards Sariputta and Moggallana. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher said this, when a person has taken birth, an axe is borne inside his mouth, with which the fool cuts himself, uttering defamatory speech. He who praises one deserving blame, or blames one deserving praise, cast with his mouth an unlucky throw, by which he finds no happiness. Trifling is the unlucky throw that brings the loss of wealth and dice, the loss of all, including oneself. Worst by far, the unlucky throw of harboring hatred towards the fortunate ones. For a hundred thousand Nira Buddhas, and thirty-six more, and five Abuddhas, the melina of noble ones goes to hell, having set the evil speech and mind against them. That's the end of the sutra. So here you see, because of hatred towards Sariputta and Moggallana, this monk, Kukalika, has gone to this deep hell, where he will be there for so long time, which reminds us that nowadays, if you look into some of the Mahayana sutras, they also try to put down the arahant, Sariputta. And so you can imagine that people who harbor hatred like that against Sariputta, they will also have to reap their karma vipaka. So I stop here. Anything to discuss? How do you get rid of karma avalokam? One that hurts Chana, next you get rid of all the non-karmas. No, no. Which chapter was this? Which scripture? What page? something wrong here because non-returner is Anagamin and Anagamin is either born in the 4th Jhana Heavens, the Suddhavasa, or he is reborn in the formless realm, Arupa realms. But if he is like one Sretana, then he can be reborn in the Brahma Heavens can explain why there is a discrepancy here. You know, dwelling alone is very much advised by the Buddha for his monks because it is very helpful to going into our mind. When we want to attain liberation, we want to get out of this world of the six senses and to get out of the world of six senses we have to go into deep meditation so if we dwell with others it's difficult because sometimes people want to talk to us even though we don't want to talk to others and if we dwell with others there are so many things going on that can distract us so Sometimes if a monk is serious about practicing, then even though he dwells with others, for example in a monastery, then he spends a lot of his time alone either in the kuti without seeing others or he goes to a quiet place to practice his meditation. Later on in the suttas, there is mentioned, I think, Venerable Ananda's preceptor Nekrodha Kappa, I think. He is one of the monks. He will go on alms round meditation, sorry, on alms round. After he gets his food, he comes back, he eats his food. After eating his food, he will go straight to his kuti and lock himself in the kuti the whole day. He only come out in the evening when there's a dharma discussion or the next morning when he goes on alms round again. So this person, so even though he dwells with others, Practically dwelling alone because he doesn't want to associate with others. He practices aloofness. This is Kaya Viveka. Kaya Viveka dwelling alone is helpful for us to attain Chitta Viveka. Chitta Viveka is mental seclusion. Mental seclusion, that means secluding ourselves from the six senses, the world of the six senses, and going back into our mind. Because that is the direction we have to go if we want liberation. If we want liberation, we have to go away from the world of the six senses. And that can only be achieved by going into our mind. So this dwelling alone is much advised by the Buddha for the monks who are serious, who want to attain liberation. I have practiced dwelling alone for many years and I find it's very suitable for meditation when there's nobody to talk to you and you have no duties and nothing to do except to meditate and to read the suttas and because you don't have a lot of, what you call, phanno, a lot of things to disturb our mind. then your meditation can come together very much easier and when you dwell with people. How would she be able to see the Brahma? How would she be able to see the Brahma? When the Deva wants you to see, then you can see. But on the other hand, if you have psychic power, like the Arahants, even though the Deva doesn't want you to see, you can see them. But in this case, they want you to see, that's why they appear. That's why sometimes ghosts want to disturb you. They appear to make you see. and they make you see what they want you to see, like frightening shapes and all that. So like in one of the sutras, the Majjhima Nikaya, this Mara came to disturb Mahamoggalana. He just finished his meal and he was doing walking meditation and Mara went into his stomach and he felt his stomach very heavy. Then he sat down in meditation and very quickly he saw Mara. They asked Mara, get out, why are you disturbing? And Mara came out of his stomach and then stood at the door with his hand leaning against the door and tried to use his psychic power to make himself invisible. But because Mahamudalana's psychic power was greater, then Mahamudalana could see him and told him, you are standing at the door and you think I can't see you, but I can see you. So it depends on whose psychic power is stronger. The other thing. It's just one of the problems that we have. And I don't think it's just one problem. It's a lot of problems that we have. And I think it's one of the things that we need to be aware of. Because we don't want to be a burden. It's true, as we grow older, our body becomes weaker. But then we have to use our wisdom, how to combat it. One thing, as we grow older, we don't physically exercise so much. So because we don't physically exercise so much, we can conserve some of our energy. And also because of that, we don't need to sleep so much. somebody who's young, who's very active, they need to sleep 8-9 hours a day. Many old people, they find about 2 or 3 hours of sleep is enough. But then if you're not used to it, we still feel quite tired. So, the one way is to sleep less and put our mind on, practice sati more, put our mind on our meditation object as often as we can. Sometimes, for example, if we are tired, we lay down. We lay down but try not to sleep. Because I think there is scientific evidence that if we sleep about two and a half hours every day, it is enough for the mind but the body is something else. So if we don't exhaust ourselves, as we grow older we find we have to lie down more. More often we have to lie down. You see even in the sutras and the Vinaya books, the Buddha sometimes talks with his disciples and he says, I have to lie down, my back is giving me pain. Then he asked one disciple to talk to the monks, to the Sangha, then he will lie down. But he lies down, he knows exactly what they are talking, he doesn't fall asleep. That's the way. It's true we have to lie down more, but then we try to maintain this awareness. That's why this Jagariya, no yoga, is striving to keep wakeful. In fact, in the Vinaya books, we find that the Buddha expected his monks not to fall asleep. Ask them to lie down, for example, at night. They should lie down for four hours. When we lie down, actually, the body gets rested. So if we can maintain our meditation object, then the mind is not so scattered. So you can maintain your concentration. That's very helpful. Because when our mind is very concentrated, we don't need to sleep so much. Just as an example, there was a time when my meditation was quite good. When I go to sleep, one hour automatically I get up. And after one hour, you feel quite refreshed. Whereas if your mind is not concentrated, you find you need to sleep a lot. So it's important to maintain our concentration as much as we can. We have to be patient. We have to be patient. We have to be patient. We have to be patient. There's a train that's always going to be on your back. You know that's not a big deal. It's a part of the goal. You're going to do what you're doing. You're going to do what you're doing. You have to make a difference. You will get there. But if we are meditating, we should not allow ourselves to nod. We must always maintain a very straight posture. But if you find yourself nodding, it could be that you are exhausted, physically exhausted. Then one way is to put your head down, put our head down, because when there is a chakra point here, when we put our head down, we get some rest. So if you do that and you still find you are very tired, it's best to go and lie down even for 5 minutes or 10 minutes. Okay, I think we have enough tonight.

15-SN-Brahma-(Ch.6)-Brahmana-(Ch.7)-(2009-07-19).txt

Okay, today we continue Isang Yudha Nikaya. Today is the 19th of July. Come to the 6th Isang Yudha, Brahma Isang Yudha. Now we come to 6.12. That's what I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha on Mount Vulture Peak, not long after Devadatta had left. Then when the night had advanced, Brahma Sahampati, of stunning beauty, illuminating the entire Mount Balchapit, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and stood to one side. Standing to one side, referring to Devadatta, he recited this verse in the presence of the Blessed One. As its own fruit brings destruction to the planted bamboo and reed, As its embryo destroys the mule, so do honors destroy the scoundrel. That's the end of the sutra. So, plantain planta is what we call the banana plant. So when the banana plant gives forth the fruit, people harvest it and chop down the banana tree. So the fruit destroys that the banana plant, similarly with bamboo and tree. So he says that honors destroy the scoundrel. Honors, that is fame, for a monk is very dangerous. That is why later we come across one Samyutta, Laba Sakara Samyutta. which is about gains and fame offerings and fame for a monk is extremely dangerous so yeah because of fame Devadatta destroyed himself 6.13 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Magadans at Anda, Kavinda. On that occasion, the Blessed One was sitting out in the open in the thick darkness of the night while it was drizzling. Then when the night had advanced, Brahma Sahampati approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him and stood to one side. Standing to one side, he recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One. One should resort to remote lodgings, practice for release from the factors. But if one does not find delight there, guarded and mindful, dwell in the Sangha, walking for alms from family to family, faculties guarded, discreet, mindful. One should resort to remote lodgings, free from fear, liberated in the fearless. where terrible serpents glide, where lightning flashes and the sky thunders. In the thick darkness of the night, there sits a monk devoid of terror. For this has actually been seen by me. It is not merely hearsay. Within a single holy light, a thousand have left death behind. There are 500 more trainees, and ten times a 10-4-10, all have entered the stream. never returning to the animal realm. As for the other people who remain, go to my mind for partake of merit. I cannot even number them from dread of speaking falsely." That's the end of the sutta. So here, this Brahma Sahampati praises a monk who dwells in remote ponds. about remote haunts. The translation in the Pali Text Society is also very beautiful. I'll read for you. Seek ye the lonely haunts remote from men. Practice the life of liberty from bonds. If there ye come not by your heart's desire, dwell with the Sangha, mindful and controlled. Seeking your alms among clansmen, house to house, prudent and heedful, guarded as to sense. Seek ye the lonely haunts remote from men, from fear released, in fearlessness set free, where dreadful serpents glide, and lightnings roam on high, and God's dark thunder in the night, the blinding blackness of the night. There sits the monk, rid of the bhikkhu, rid of all flesh-creeping fear. Devas, when they see monks practicing like that, living alone and having no fear, they are also full of respect. This Brahma Sahampati could have been ascetic in a previous life. So he talks like that. Then the last part, he says, within a single holy life, people who have become a monk, a thousand have left death behind them. It's a thousand have become Arahants. and many have entered the stream, and those who do merit, that means those who are not Arya, they do merit, that means supporters of the Buddha, cannot number them, that means they will go to heaven also. 6.14 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks, thus, Bhikkhus, or monks. Venerable Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said, Monks, once in the past, there was a king named Arunava, whose capital was Arunavati. The Blessed One Sikhi, the Arahant Sammasambuddha, dwelt in dependence on the capital Arunavati. The chief pair of disciples of the Blessed One Sikhi were named Abibu and Sambhava, an excellent pair. Then the Blessed One Sikhi addressed the monk Abibu, Come, Brahmana, let us go to a certain Brahma world until it is time for our meal. Yes, my noble sir, the monk Abibu replied. Then monks, as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm, or draw in his extended arm, so the Blessed One Sikhi, Arahant Sammasambuddha and the monk Abibu disappeared from the capital Arunavati and reappeared in that Brahma world. Then the Blessed One Sikhi addressed the monk Abibu thus, give a Dharma talk, Brahmana, to Brahma and Brahma's retinue and to Brahma's assembly. Yes, I will serve there, Mama Habibu replied. Then by means of a Dharma talk, he instructed, exalted, inspired and gladdened Brahma and Brahma's retinue and Brahma's assembly. Thereupon, Brahma and Brahma's retinue and Brahma's assembly found fault with this, grumbled and complained about it, saying, It is wonderful indeed, sir. It is amazing indeed, sir. How can a disciple teach the Dhamma in the very presence of the teacher? Then monks, the blessed ones, he addressed the monk Abhi Buddha, Brahmana, Brahma and Brahma's retinue and Brahma's assembly deplored this, saying, it is wonderful. It is indeed, sir. It is amazing indeed, sir. How can a disciple teach the Dhamma in the very presence of the teacher? Well then, Brahmana, stir up an even greater sense of urgency in Brahma and in Brahma's retinue and in Brahma's assembly. Yes, Venerable sir, the monk Habibu replied. Then he taught the Dhamma with his body visible. and with his body invisible, and with the lower half of his body visible, and the upper half invisible, and with the upper half of his body visible, and the lower half invisible. Thereupon Nams, Brahma and Brahma's retinue, and Brahma's assembly were struck with wonder and amazement, saying, It is wonderful indeed, sir! It is amazing indeed, sir! How the ascetic has such great power and might! Ten monks, the monk Abibu said to the Blessed One Sikhi, Arahant Sama Sambuddha, I recall, Venerable Sir, having made such a statement as this in the midst of the Bhikkhu Sangha. Friends, while standing in the Brahma world, I can make my voice heard throughout the thousand fold world system. And the Buddha Sikhi said, now is the time for that Brahmana. Now is the time for that Brahmana. While standing in the Brahma world, you should make your voice heard throughout the thousand-fold world system. Yes, my good sir," the monk Abibu replied. Then, while standing in the Brahma world, he recited these verses. Arouse your energy, strive on, exert yourself in the Buddha's teaching, sweep away the army of death as an elephant does a hut of weeds. One who dwells diligently in this Dhamma Vinaya, having abandoned the wandering on in birth, will make an end to suffering. Then monks, Having stirred up a sense of urgency in Brahma and in Brahma's retinue and in Brahma's assembly, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, the Blessed One Sikhi, Arhat, Samasambuddha and the Mount Abibu disappeared from that Brahma world and reappeared in the capital Arunavati. Then the Blessed One Sikhi addressed the monks thus, Monks, did you hear the verses that the monk Abibu recited while he was standing in the Brahma world? We did, Venerable Sir. What were the verses that you heard, monks? We heard the verses of the monk Abibu thus, Arouse your energy Strive on, exert yourself in the Buddha's teaching. Sweep away the army of death as an elephant dusts a hut of weeds. One who dwells diligently in this Dhamma Vinaya, having abandoned the wandering on in birth, will make an end to suffering. Such were the verses that we heard the Mount Abibu recite while he was standing in the Brahma world. Good, good monks. It is good that you heard the verses that the monk Abibu recited while he was standing in the Brahma world. This is what the Blessed One said, elated those monks delighted in the Blessed One's statement. That's the end of the sutta. So, you see, this pair, the Buddha, Sikhi and his disciple, it was too early to have their meal, so he thought, still got a lot of spare time. So they, both of them, flew to the Brahma world. And the monk Abibu was asked to give a Dhamma talk. So when he gave a Dhamma talk, the Brahma devas were unhappy. They thought, how can, the teacher is around, how can the disciple teach the Dhamma? Then the Buddha asked him to show them something. Then he made himself sometimes visible, sometimes invisible, and sometimes half of the body visible. So they were amazed how his psychic power is so great. You see, for him to make them see this, that means his psychic power is much greater than them. in a way, like control their mind so that they see what he wants them to see. So they were very impressed. Then the monk Abibu said, oh, this is nothing. I remember I mentioned to the Sangha that standing in the Brahma world, my voice, just speaking normally, can be made audible to the 1,000 fold world system. and then Buddha asked him to do that. So he just talked normally and 1000 world systems could hear his voice so clearly. So this shows how powerful the arahants are. 6.15. On one occasion the blessed one was dwelling at Kusinara in the Sal tree grove of the Malans, between the twin Sal trees on the occasion of his final Nibbana and the Blessed One addressed amongst us. Now I address you, monks. Formations are bound to vanish. Strive to attain the goal by diligence." This was the last utterance of the Tathagata. Then the Blessed One attained the first jhāna. Having emerged from the first jhāna, He attained the second jhāna. Having emerged from the second jhāna, He attained the third jhāna. Having emerged from the third jhāna, he attained the fourth jhāna. Having emerged from the fourth jhāna, he attained the base of the infinity of space. Having emerged from the base of the infinity of space, he attained the base of the infinity of consciousness. Having emerged on the base of the infinity of consciousness, he attained the base of nothingness. Having emerged on the base of nothingness, he attained the base of neither perception nor non-perception. Having emerged on the base of neither perception nor non-perception, he attained the cessation of perception and feeling. Having emerged from the cessation of perception and feeling, we attain the base of neither perception nor non-perception. Having emerged from the base of neither perception nor non-perception, we attain the base of nothingness. Having emerged from the base of nothingness, we attain the base of the infinity of consciousness. Having emerged from the base of the infinity of consciousness, we attain the base of the infinity of space. Having emerged from the base of the infinity of space, we attain the fourth jhana. Having emerged from the fourth jhāna, he attained the third jhāna. Having emerged from the third jhāna, he attained the second jhāna. Having emerged from the second jhāna, he attained the first jhāna. Having emerged from the first jhāna, he attained the second jhāna. Having emerged from the second jhāna, he attained the third jhāna. Having emerged from the third jhāna, he attained the fourth jhāna. Having emerged from the fourth jhāna, immediately after this the Blessed One attained final nirvāṇa. stop here for a moment so here you see the Buddha to attain Nibbana he went through one by one all the jhanas up to the eighth jhana then cessation of perception of consciousness and then down all the eight jhanas to number one and then after that number one up to number four and from number four as soon as he came out of number four immediately entered Nibbana And the Blessed One attained final Nibbāna simultaneously with His final Nibbāna. Brahma Sahampati recited this verse. All beings in the world will finally lay their body down. Since such a One as the Teacher, the purest person in the world, the Tathāgata endowed with the powers, the Buddha has attained final Nibbāna. And the Blessed One attained final Nibbāna simultaneously with His final Nibbāna. Śakadeva Rāja which Lord of the Devas recited this verse. Impermanent indeed are formations. Their nature is to arise and vanish. Having arisen, they cease. Their appeasement is blissful. These four verses normally we chant Anicca, Vata, Sankara, Upada, Vaya, Dhammino, Upajita, Nirujanti, Tesang, Upasamo, Sukho, and so on. When the Blessed One attained final Nibbāna, simultaneously with His final Nibbāna, the Venerable Ananda recited this verse. Then there was terror, then there was trepidation, when the One Perfect in all excellent qualities, the Buddha, attained final Nibbāna. When the Blessed One attained final Nibbāna, simultaneously with His final Nibbāna, the Venerable Anuruddha recited these verses. There was no more in and out breathing. In the stable one of steady mind, when unstirred, bent on peace, the one with vision attained final Nibbana. With unshrinking mind, he endured the pain, like the quenching of a lamp, was the deliverance of the mind. So this is how the Buddha entered Nibbana. Now we come to the seventh Sanghuta, Brahmana Sanghuta. discourses concerning the Brahmins. Here, this Brahmana does not refer to the holy man, but refers to the clan of Brahmins, these clan. Originally they were priests, now no more. The first Sutta, 7.1. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. On that occasion, the wife of a certain Brahmin of the Bharat Bhaja clan, a Brahmin lady named Dhananjani, had full confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Once, while the Brahmin lady Dhananjani was bringing the Brahmin Ismi, she stumbled, whereupon she uttered three times this inspired utterance, homage to the Blessed One, the Arahant, Perfectly Enlightened One, homage to the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One. Homage to the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One. This one in Pali would be Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa. This can be said to be one of the mantras we can use to, a meditation object we can use. to keep our mind from wandering. Whenever you are not doing anything, you just chant Namo Tassa. At the same time, you are praising the Buddha. At the same time, you are keeping your mind from running away. And this was said, the Brahmin of the Bharat Vajra clan said to her, for the slightest thing, this wretched woman spouts out praise of that shrivelling ascetic. Now, wretched woman, I'm going to refute the doctrine of that teacher of yours. And she said, I do not see any one Brahmin in this world with his Devas, Mara and Brahma, in this generation with his ascetics and Brahmins, its Devas and humans, who could refute the doctrine of the Blessed One, Arhat, Samasambuddha. But go, Brahmin. When you have gone, you will understand. Then the Brahmin of the Bharat Vajra clan, angry and displeased, approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. I'll stop here for a moment. It seems this Brahmin, because he was not a follower of the Buddha, and sometimes his friends come to his house, they are also Brahmins, but his wife was a follower of the Buddha. And since his wife was always saying, Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samasambuddhassa, he felt a bit embarrassed, because his Brahmin friends also did not like the Buddha, probably, just like him. That's why when the wife stumbled and said Namo Tassa again, he got angry. So he said he wanted to go and argue with the Buddha, prove the Buddha wrong. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and addressed the Blessed One in verse. Having slain one, does one sleep soundly? Having slain one, does one not sorrow? What is the one thing, O Gotama, whose killing you approve? The Buddha said, Having slain anger, one sleeps soundly. Having slain anger, one does not sorrow. The killing of anger, O Brahmin, with its poison root and honeyed tip, this is the killing the noble one prays, for having slain that, one does not sorrow. When this was said, the Brahmin of the Bhaja clan said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent Master Gautama, the Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by Master Gautama, as though he were turning upright what had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go for refuge to Master Gautama and to the Dhamma and to the Bhikkhu Sangha. May I receive the going forth under the Master Gautama. May I receive the higher ordination. I stop here for a moment. Here it is quite surprising because this guy, he had a lot of anger towards the Buddha. So he came to ask the Buddha. It was like a kind of riddle. He thought the Buddha would not be able to answer. What should you slay? So when the Buddha said, you should slay anger, then on the one hand, when he came, he had a lot of anger. So when the Buddha mentioned kill anger, he thought probably that the Buddha could read his mind. So he was so impressed by the Buddha. And he not only took refuge with the Buddha, he wanted to go off as a monk under the Buddha. One thing about Indians, their religion is very much a part of their culture, unlike us Chinese. Chinese business is very important, but the Indians, they value religion a lot. That's why when they see monks, they are full of respect. Then the Brahmin of the Bharat Vajra clan received the growing force under the Blessed One. He received the higher ordination. And soon, not long after his higher ordination, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and resolute, the Venerable Bharat Vajra, by realizing it for himself with direct knowledge, In this very life, entered and dwelt in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life, for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness. He directly knew, destroyed his birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. And the verbal Bharatvaja became one of the Arahants. So you see, generally for the Buddha's disciples to become an Arahant, this is the standard phrase that is soon, not long after his high ordination, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and resolute. So that's why the Buddha prays dwelling alone, because when a person dwells alone, he has to In a way, he has to cultivate diligently because in the deep forest, sometimes there are a lot of spirits around. If the monk is lazy, the spirits will come and disturb him. So he has nothing else to do, nobody to talk to. So he has all the time, undistracted attention to meditate. 7.2. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. The Brahmin Akosakha Bharadwaja, Bharadwaja the abusive, heard. It is said that the Brahmin of the Bharadwaja clan had gone forth from the household life into homelessness under the ascetic Gautama. Angry and displeased, he approached the Blessed One and abused and reviled Him with rude, harsh words. Stop here for a moment. You see, these Brahmins, they have their own religion, so they don't like the Buddha. And when they heard that one of their fellow Brahmins had gone forth, this fellow was very angry that the Buddha converted one of his Brahmins, so that Brahmin clan has become smaller, less people. But he had finished speaking, the Blessed One said to him, what do you think, Brahmin? Do your friends and colleagues, kinsmen and relatives as well as guests come to visit you? Sometimes they come to visit Master Gautama. Do you then offer them some food or a meal or a snack? Sometimes I do, Master Gautama. But if they do not accept it from you, then to whom does the food belong? If they do not accept it from me, then the food still belongs to us? And the Buddha said, so too, Brahmin, we who do not abuse anyone, who do not scold anyone, who do not rail against anyone, refuse to accept from you the abuse, the scolding and tirade you let loose at us. It still belongs to you, Brahmin. It still belongs to you, Brahmin. Brahmin, one who abuses his own abuser, who scolds the one who scolds, who rails against the one who rails at him. He is said to partake of the meal to enter upon an exchange. But we do not partake of your meal. We do not enter upon an exchange. It still belongs to you, Brahmin. It still belongs to you, Brahmin. So the Buddha says, you've given me all that anger. I don't accept it. You take it back. It belongs to you. And he said, the king and his retinue understand the ascetic Gautama to be an arahant, yet the master Gautama still gets angry. And the Buddha said, how can anger arise in one who is angerless? In the tame one of righteous living, in one liberated by perfect knowledge, in the stable one who abides in peace, one who repays an angry man with anger, thereby makes things worse for himself. Not repaying an angry man with anger, one wins a battle hard to win. He practices for the welfare of both his own and the others. When knowing that his foe is angry, he mindfully maintains his peace. When he achieves the cure of both his own and the others, the people who consider him a fool are unscathed in the Dhamma. And this was said, the Brahmin Akhosaka Bharadwaja said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent Master Gautama, in the same way. The Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by Master Gautama as though he were turning upright what had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go for refuge to Master Gautama, to the Dhamma and to the Bhikkhu Sangha. May I receive the going forth under Master Gautama. May I receive the higher ordination. Then the Brahmin of the Bharata Raja clan received the going forth unto the Blessed One. He received the higher ordination. And soon, not long after his higher ordination, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and resilient, the Venerable Bharata Raja became one of the Arahants. So this is another sutta which shows how this Brahmin so fast after arguing with the Buddha, he can just become a monk. It's interesting how the Buddha refute his anger. He was so impressed that he became a monk. 7.3. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, a squirrel sanctuary. The Brahmin Asurindakta Bharadwaja heard. It is said that the Brahmin of the Bharadwaja clan had gone forth from the household life into homelessness under the ascetic Gautama. Angry and displeased, he approached the Blessed One and abused and reviled Him with rude, harsh words. When he had finished speaking, the Blessed One remained silent. Then the Brahmin Surindakar Rajbhaja said to the Blessed One, you have beaten ascetic, you have beaten ascetic, you have lost. Then the Blessed One said, the fool thinks victory is won when by speech he bellows harshly. But for one who understands, patient endurance is a true victory. One who repays an angry man with anger, thereby makes things worse for himself. Not repaying an angry man with anger, one wins a battle hard to win. He practices for the welfare of both, his own and the others. When knowing that his foe is angry, he mindfully maintains his peace. When he achieves the cure of both his own and the others, the people who consider him a fool are unskilled in the Dhamma. When this was said, the Brahmin Asurindaka Bharadwaja said to the Blessed One, Master Gautama, in the same way, he took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and also asked to go forth. And a few years later, he also attained Arahant Buddha. So it's quite impressive how these Brahmins, once they see the light, see the truth, they can go forth. 7.8. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. On that occasion, milk rice with ghee had been set out for the Brahmin Adhika Bharadwaja, who had thought, I will offer a fire sacrifice. I will perform the fire oblation. oblation is offering them. Then in the morning, the Blessed One dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Raja Gaha for alms. Walking for alms on uninterrupted alms round in Raja Gaha, the Blessed One approached the residents of the Brahmin Aghika Bharat Bhaja and stood to one side. The Brahmin Aghika Bharat Bhaja saw the Blessed One standing for alms and addressed Him in verse. One endowed with the triple knowledge of proper birth, of ample learning, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, might partake of this milk rice meal. I'll stop here for a moment. So the Buddha came to his house to beg for food. But when he saw the Buddha, he said, one with triple knowledge, Te Bija, Brahmins, they consider themselves to have the triple knowledge of proper birth, that means Brahmin birth, of ample learning in the Vedas, their Brahmin books. When you see such a person, maybe you can take this meal. And the Buddha said, even though one mutters many chants, one does not become a Brahmana by birth. If one is rotten within and departs, with followers gained by fraudulent means, one who has known... I'll stop here for a moment. The Buddha is saying, because the Brahmins do a lot of chanting, they have a lot of mantras, secret mantras. So the Buddha said, not by chance, by chanting, does one become a Brahmana. Brahmana here, Although it is also used for the Brahmin clan, but originally, Brahmana means a holy man. So the Buddha is saying, you are not a holy man, it is because you chant many chants. Maybe you are rotten within. And the Buddha continued, one who has known his past abodes, who sees heaven and the plane of wars, planes of war, who has reached the destruction of birth, a sage consummate in direct knowledge. By means of these three kinds of knowledge, one is a triple-knowledge brahmana. This one, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, might partake of this prize meal." So the Buddha is saying, if one knows his past lives, he can see heaven and woeful planes. this is the buddha cause and reach the destruction of the round of rebirth then the buddha cause is the triple knowledge then the buddha said such a person is worthy of the meal then the brahmin Agikar Paragbhaja said let master Gautama eat the worthy is a brahmana or is a brahmin master Gautama is also like us, a brahmin And the Buddha said, food over which verses have been sung is not fit to be eaten by me. This, Brahmin, is not the principle observed by those who see. The Enlightened Ones reject such food over which verses have been sung. As such a principle exists, O Brahmin, this is their rule of conduct. Serve with other food and drink, consummate one, a great seer. with asavas or chains destroyed and remorse still, for he is the field for one seeking merit. When this was said, the Brahmin Adhikar Bharadwaja said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, magnificent. In the same way, he also took refuge and asked to go forth and later he also became an arahant. So you see, it's interesting here, the Buddha says, Buddhas don't chant verses for their meal. It's not like the Brahmins nowadays. Some monks, they do chanting to get the food, to earn a livelihood. The Buddha says real monks don't do that.

16-SN-Brahmana-(Ch.7)-(2009-07-19).txt

7.9. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Kosalans on the bank of the river Sundarika. Now, on that occasion, the Brahmin Sundarika Bharadwaja was offering a fire sacrifice and performing the fire oblation on the bank of the river Sundarika. Then the Brahmin Sundarika Bharadwaja, having offered the fire sacrifice and performed the fire oblation, rose from his seat and surveyed the four quarters all around, wondering, Who now might eat this sacrificial cake? Stop for a moment. So here, after praying and offering all that food, he's thinking, who can he give the food to? It's in a way like our Chinese and so on. We pray and pray to the gods and after that, either the Chinese, they eat the food themselves or they give it to others. And the Brahmin Sundarika Bharadwaja saw the blessed one sitting at the foot of a tree with his head covered. Having seen him, he took the sacrificial cake in his left hand and the water pot in his right hand, and approached the Blessed One. When the Blessed One heard the sound of the Brahmin's footsteps, he uncovered his head. Then the Brahmin Sundarika Bharadwaja, thinking, this worthy is shaven-headed, this worthy is a shaveling, wanted to turn back. But it occurred to him, some Brahmins here are also shaven-headed. Let me approach him and inquire about this bird. Let's stop here for a moment. You may have seen these Hare Krishna monks. They are bald except for a little tuft of hair at the back. So I think Brahmins are like that. So this guy, he wanted to offer his food to a Brahmin. But when he saw the Buddha clean-shaven, He didn't want to give, he wanted to go away. Then suddenly he thought, maybe some Brahmins are also like that. Then the Brahmin Sundarika Bharadvaja approached the Blessed One and said to him, what is the worthy one's birth? What clan do you belong to? And the Buddha said, ask not of birth, but ask of conduct. Fire is indeed produced by any wood. A resolute sage, though from low family, is a thoroughbred restrained by a sense of shame. The sacrificer should invoke this one, one tamed by truth, perfect by taming, who has reached the end of knowledge, a fulfiller of the holy life. Then he makes a timely oblation to one worthy of offerings. And the Brahmin said, Surely my sacrifice is well performed, as I have seen such a knowledge master, because I have not seen those like yourself, other people in the sacrificial cave. Let Master Gautama eat, the worthy is a Brahmin." And again the Buddha said in a similar way, food over which verses have been sung, he does not accept. Then the Brahmin said, then Master Gautama, could I give this sacrificial cake to someone else? And the Buddha said, I do not see anyone, Brahmin, in this world with his devas, Mara and Brahma, in this generation with his ascetics and Brahmins, his devas and humans, who could eat and properly digest this sacrificial cake, except the Tathagata or a disciple of the Tathagata. Therefore Brahmin throw away the sacrificial cake in a place where there is sparse vegetation or dispose of it in water where there are no living beings. Stop here for a moment. So the Buddha is saying, since this cake has been offered to the Buddha, nobody else is qualified to eat it except the Buddha and his disciples. So the Buddha asked him to throw it away in a place where there's little vegetation. Why? Because plants have fairies inside them. So if you throw food over plants, you dirty the plants and these fairies are not happy. And also, if you throw it in water where there's living beings, and if the food is oily, the living beings may die. So that's why the Buddha said this. Then the Brahmin Sundarika Bharadvaja disposed of that sacrificial cake in water where there were no living beings. When it was disposed of in the water, that sacrificial cake sizzled and hissed and gave off steam and smoke. Just as a ploughshare heated all day, sizzles and hisses and gives off steam and smoke, it plays in water. So too that sacrificial cake, when disposed of in the water, sizzled and hissed and gave off steam and smoke. Then the Brahmin Sundarika Bharadwaja, shocked and terrified, approached the Blessed One and stood to one side. The Blessed One then addressed him with verses. When kindling wood, Brahmin, do not imagine this external deed brings purity. For experts say no purity is gained by one who seeks it outwardly. Having given up the fire made from wood, I kindle, O Brahmin, the inner light alone. Always ablaze, my mind always concentrated, I am an arahant living the holy light. Conceit, O Brahmin, is your shoulder load. Anger the smoke, false speech the ashes. The tongue is the ladle, the heart the altar. A well-tamed self is the life of a man. The Dhamma is a lake with thoughts of virtue, limpid, praised by the good to the good, where the knowledge masters go to bathe, and dry limbs cross to the far shore. Truth, Dhamma, restraint, the holy light, attainment of Brahma based on the middle path. Pay homage, O Brahmin, to the upright ones. I call that person one impelled by Dhamma. That's how it says here, based on the middle. I just added the middle part. So when this was said, the Brahmin Sundarika Bharadwaja said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent Master Gautama. So in the same way, he took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and asked to go forth. And later, he became an Arahant also. So here you see, I don't know whether the Buddha used his psychic power or what, because when he threw the cake into the water, It was as though a hot metal piece had been dropped into water, paste and all that frightened him. So then he believed that the Buddha was actually a holy man, so he asked to go forth. The next Vita is quite interesting, 7.10. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. On that occasion, 14 oxen belonging to a certain Brahmin of the Bharat Bhaja clan had gotten lost. Then the Brahmin of the Bharat Bhaja clan, while searching for those oxen, went to the woodland thicket where the Blessed One was staying. There he saw the Blessed One sitting with His legs folded crosswise, holding His body erect. Having set up mindfulness in front of him, having seen him, he approached the Blessed One and recited these verses in the presence of the Blessed One. Surely this ascetic does not have fourteen oxen that have gotten lost, not seen now for the past six days. Hence this ascetic is happy. Surely this ascetic does not have a field of blighted sesame plants, some with one leaf, some with two. Hence this ascetic is happy. Surely this ascetic does not have rats inside an empty barn, dancing around merrily. Hence this ascetic is happy. Surely this ascetic does not have a blanket that for seven months has been covered with swarms of vermin. Hence this ascetic is happy. Surely this ascetic does not have seven daughters left for widows, some with one son, some with two. Hence this ascetic is happy. Surely this ascetic does not have a tawny wife with pockmarked face, who wakes him up with a kick. Hence this ascetic is happy. Surely this ascetic does not have creditors who call at dawn, chiding him, pay up, pay up. Hence this ascetic is happy." So when the Buddha heard him speak this, the Buddha replied, Surely, Brahmin, I do not have fourteen oxen that have gotten lost, not seen now for the past six days. Hence, Brahmin, I am happy. Surely, Brahmin, I do not have a field of blighted sesame plants, some with one leaf, some with two. Hence, O Brahmin, I am happy. Surely, Brahmin, I do not have rats inside an empty barn, dancing around merrily. Hence, O Brahmin, I am happy. Surely, Brahmin, I do not have a blanket that for seven months has been covered with swarms of vermin. Hence, O Brahmin, I am happy. Surely, Brahmin, I do not have seven daughters left for widows, some with one son, some with two. And so, Brahmin, I am happy. Surely, Brahmin, I do not have a tawny wife with pockmarked face who wakes me up with a kick. And so, Brahmin, I am happy. Surely, Brahmin, I do not have creditors who call at dawn, chiding me, pay up, pay up. And so, Brahmin, I am happy. This was said to the Brahmin of the Bharata Vajra clan, said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, magnificent. And he took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and asked to go forth. And later he also became an Arahant. So these verses here are quite amusing. It says that the Buddha is not like him now. All the fourteen cattle, this oxen lost. And then he planted these sesame plants and probably not enough water or what. They didn't sprout properly. Some only have one leaf, some two leaves. And then his barn or his store, his store is empty except for rats. Then his blanket, seven months, is covered with vermin. Maybe seven months he's not able to use it or what. Then he has seven daughters, whose husbands have died. So they all come back to him. He has to look after them. So because of that, every morning, the creditors, the alums, will come to him, asking him to pay up. So he got so much problems on his hands. So when he compared himself with the Buddha, I said, Buddha is so happy compared to him. So he decided to go forth and became a Karahan later. 7.11 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Magadans at Dakinagiri, near the Brahmin village of Ekanala. Now on that occasion, the Brahmin Pasi Bharadwaja, Bharadwaja the Clow Man, had 500 cloves fastened to their yokes at the time of sowing. Then in the morning, the Blessed One dressed, and taking bowl and robe, went to the place where the Brahmin Kasi Bharadwaja was at work. On that occasion, the Brahmin Kasi Bharadwaja's food distribution was taking place. Then the Blessed One approached the place of the food distribution and stood to one side. The Brahmin Kasi Bharadwaja saw the Blessed One standing for alms and said to him, I plough and sow, and when I have ploughed and sown, I eat. You too ascetic ought to plough and sow. Then when you have ploughed and sown, you will eat. I stop here for a moment. Brahmin must have been a rich man. He got 500 plows all ready to work, to sow seeds and all that. So all his workers must have been standing ready to work. So it was food time. So the Buddha came to ask for alms. Then he taught the Buddha, like a lot of people think monks are lazy people, only beg for their food and then go and sleep. So he told the Buddha, we have to work for our food. You also ought to work for your food. And the Buddha said, I too Brahmin, plough and sow, and when I have ploughed and sown, I eat. And he said, but we do not see Master Gautama's yoke, or plough, or ploughshare, or goat, or oxen. Yet Master Gautama says, I too Brahmin, plough and sow, and when I have ploughed and sown, I eat. Then the Brahmin Kasi Bharadwaja addressed the Blessed One in verse, You claim to be a man who works the plough, but I do not see your ploughing. If you are a ploughman, answer me, how should we understand your ploughing? And the Buddha said, Faith is the seed, Austerity the rain, Wisdom my yoke and plough, Shame the pole, Mind the yoke-tie, Mindfulness my plough-chair and boat, Guarded in body, guarded in speech, control in my appetite for food, I use truth as my weeding hook, and gentleness as my unyoking. Energy is my beast of burden, carrying me to security from bondage. It goes ahead without stopping, to where, having gone, one does not sorrow. In such a way, this ploughing is done, which has the deathless as its fruit, Having finished this work of ploughing, one is released from all suffering. And he said, Let Master Gautama eat. The worthy is a ploughman. Since Master Gautama does ploughing, that has given the deathless as its fruit. And the Buddha said, Food over which verses have been sung is not fit to be eaten by the Buddha and all that. When this was said, the Brahmin Kasi Bharadwaja said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent Master Gautama, the Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by Master Gautama. As though he were turning upright, one had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go for refuge to Master Gautama and to the Dhamma and to Bhikkhu Sangha. Let Master Gautama remember me as a lay follower who from today has gone for refuge for life. So in the end, he realized that the Buddha also works in a different way, works to attain the Deathless. So he was impressed, so he became a follower of the Buddha. But you see here, he didn't ask to go forth and become a monk, probably because he was a very rich man. 7.12 at Savatthi. Then in the morning, the Blessed One dressed and taking bowl and robe approached the residence of the Brahmin Udaya. Then the Brahmin Udaya filled the Blessed One's bowl with rice. The second time in the morning, that means the next day, the Blessed One dressed and taking bowl and robe approached the residence of the Brahmin Udaya. And the third time in the morning, that means on the third day, also the Buddha, the Blessed One dressed and taking bowl and robe approached the residence of the Brahmin Udaya. Then the third time the Brahmin Udaya filled the Blessed One's bowl with rice, after which he said to the Blessed One, this pesky ascetic Gautama keeps coming again and again. I'll stop here for a moment. You'll notice here, among the Suttas, that many of these Brahmins, they know who the Buddha is. They mention Master Gautama or Samana Gautama. But this guy, this last one, the Buddha came consecutively, consecutively, day after day for three days, and he was getting annoyed already. He kept coming again and again. And the Buddha said, again and again they sow the seed, again and again the sky god sends down rain, again and again the ploughmen plough the field, again and again the grain comes to the realm, again and again the mendicants beg the monks, again and again the donors give. When donors have given again and again, again and again they go to heaven. Again and again, the daily folk draw milk. Again and again, the calf goes to its mother. Again and again, one wearies and trembles. Again and again, the dope enters the womb, or the fool enters the womb. Again and again, one is born and dies. Again and again, they take one to the cemetery. When one has obtained the path, there leads to no more renewed existence. Having become broad in wisdom, One is not born again and again. When this was said, the Brahmin who died, I said to the blessed one, magnificent master Gautama, magnificent master Gautama, then he took the three refuges and asked to be a lay follower for the rest of his life. So, here the verses sound very nice. The Buddha is saying, life is like that. Everything repeats again and again, again and again. So if a person does charity again and again, so he goes to heaven again and again. 7.13. Now on that occasion, the Blessed One was afflicted by winds and the Venerable Upavana was his attendant. Then the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Upavana thus, come now Upavana, find some hot water for me. Let's stop here for a moment. You see here, it's mentioned that Upavana was the attendant of the Buddha. In our Buddhist tradition, a senior monk would have a junior monk who attends to him, who serves him. And in his later years, the Buddha chose Ananda to be his attendant. Because the Buddha taught for how long? 45 years. So the first half, the first about 20 years, the Buddha kept changing attendance only about the last 25 years. Remember Ananda served the Buddha. And remember Ananda was not young. Remember Ananda, if I'm not mistaken, at the same age as the Buddha. Then, so here in this sutra, the Buddha was afflicted with wind. So, why is this? Because, you know, the Buddha and his monks, they beg for their food. Sometimes they either they get poor food or sometimes they don't get enough to eat. So like the other day we read, there's even a case where the Buddha did not get any food for the whole morning he begged. So because of that, sometimes he has this gastric problem, flatulence or twin. So he asked this attendant Venerable Upavana to find some hot water. Yes Venerable Sir, the Venerable Upavana replied. Then he dressed and taking bowl and robe went to the residence of the Brahmin Devahita where he stood silently to one side. The Brahmin Devahita saw the Venerable Upavana standing silently to one side and addressed him in verse. You notice when our Buddhist monks beg for anything, we don't open our mouth, we just keep quiet. then normally people give food or in this case it's evening so probably evening so the man probably knew that there was something wrong like wanted something so the man asked silent the worthy one stands shaven headed clad in a stitch robe what do you want what do you see what have you come here to bring and the rebel Upawana said The Arahant, the fortunate one in the world. This fortunate one, I think, is the translation for Sugata. The sage is afflicted with winds. If there is any hot water, Brahmin, please give it for the sage. He is worshipped by those worthy of worship, honoured by those worthy of honour, respected by those worthy of respect. It is to him that I wish to take it. So the monk is telling this man that He's asking for water, hot water for a holy man. Then the Brahmin Devahita ordered a man to bring a carrying pole with hot water and presented a bag of molasses to the Venerable Upavana. Molasses is his sugar. Then the Venerable Upavana approached the Blessed One. He had the Blessed One bathed in the hot water and he mixed the molasses with hot water and offered it to him. Then the Blessed One's ailment subsided. Then the Brahmin Deva Ita approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him. After which he sat down to one side and addressed the Blessed One in verse. Where should one give a proper gift? Where does a gift bear great fruit? How for one bestowing alms does an offering bring success? Just how? So he's asking the Buddha, if a person wants to do charity, how to get a lot of merit? And the Buddha said, one who has known his past abodes, his past lives, who sees heaven and the plainness of war, who has reached the destruction of birth, a sage consummate in direct knowledge. Here one should give a proper gift. Here a gift bears great fruit. That's how for one bestowing alms, an offering brings success, just so. And this was said, the Brahmin Devahita said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent. Then in the same way, he took refuge and asked to be a lay follower of the Buddha. So I think I will stop here for tonight. These suttas have been quite interesting. Any questions? Anything to discuss? Yeah, the farmer with the pockmarked face, right? You see, a lot of these Vinaya rules were established after problems arose. So in the initial stages, there were no precepts. Then slowly the Buddha made all these rules as he went along. That's one thing. So it could be that this was a time when the rules were not there yet. Although these rules the Buddha made for the monks, but sometimes he, being the teacher, does not have to abide by the rules. So there are exceptions, especially like for the Buddha, he has the psychic ability to see who is worthy of going forth, who is not worthy of going forth. Also it may be because the Buddha has so much lay supporters, If necessary, he could probably ask some rich supporter to help pay off this man's debt and so on. Actually, the Buddha says that he has been to all the realms of existence, has been born in all the realms of existence, except in the Suddhavasa heavens, because the Suddhavasa heavens, only anagamins can be reborn there. And if you are born as an Anagamin, you will never go to any more rebirth. You only enter Nirvana from there. So that also shows that all of us, if we have come to the level of a human being, that means we have taken rebirth umpteen number of times. So we have also probably become monks many lifetimes already. So, that is for everybody. Because the round of rebirth is so long, Buddha says, the tears that we have shed in the round of rebirth is more than the four oceans, here referring to the four oceans in heaven, and the blood that we have spilled in the realm of samsara is also more than the waters of the four oceans in the heaven. So in other words, we have been in samsara for so long, that's why now we are mature to the extent that we are interested in the Dhamma. Any person is interested in the Dhamma, the truth, that means that person is spiritually very mature already. probably also have been ascetic and all that in the past. Not necessarily Brahmins. You see, those People whom the Buddha accepted as disciples, firstly they have the Buddha as their teacher. And they were surrounded by Arahant monks. There were a lot of Arahants during those days. So if you are surrounded by this company of holy men, you'll be ashamed if you are lazy. Because they can read your mind. Every night, if you go up and sleep early, they know. If after your meal, you go and sleep in the afternoon also, they know how to be lazy. Like the Reverend Maha Mogulana, he was an external ascetic before he became the Buddha's disciple. And after he became the Buddha's disciple, the Buddha taught him the Dhamma and taught him how to meditate. So he was practicing very hard. Every night he was trying not to sleep. Because that's the way the Buddha taught his disciples to maintain sati 24 hours a day. Mindfulness. So after a few nights of not sleeping, he was nodding his head already at night. Then the Buddha came to him. Usually it's mentioned the Buddha from the top of the head, a golden body will come out. Exactly like the flesh body, but golden in color. So the Buddha went to him and told him, Moggallana, don't be up asleep there, rousing. Use more energy. Then after the Buddha advised him, the Buddha went off. So how do you think he'll react? The Buddha can see me, the Buddha can hear me. I think, how to be lazy? So you put more effort, no? Within 7 days you became a Narayan. One of the fastest. Sariputta, 14 days. Mahakassapa, 8 days. So you see, because you have such a teacher, you dare not be lazy. And if you are diligent and you are practicing the right path, the Buddha says, it doesn't take so long to become enlightened. I mean during the meditation, sometimes it's difficult to put in more energy. Firstly, before you come for the meditation, you've got to be sure you're not too tired. If you're too tired, then however much energy you put also, you won't have a good meditation. and try to sleep the minimum that you require because if you oversleep then the mind runs so the asavasa, the uncontrolled mental outflows flow so strongly that when you sit in meditation it's very hard to discipline the mind so like the Buddha tells his disciples not to rest more than four hours. So if you want, you can try. If you normally sleep, say, seven hours, you try to sleep six hours. And then that one hour, instead of sleeping, if you feel very tired, then you lie down. But you try to keep awake that one hour. And if you can do it, then you reduce further. You try five and a half hours. of actual sleep, you put the alarm clock. After you get up, if you can do walking meditation, you do. If you are tired, you lie down, but you try to fight sleep. Try to do some chanting, namo tassa, or something, just to keep awake. So, you see, actually, scientific research has shown that the mind actually needs two and a half hours of sleep a night. but the mind is enough. The only thing is the body is a bit exhausted. So if the body is exhausted, if we lie down, it helps a lot. If we lie down, the body can relax. If we don't lie down, the heart has got to pump up and down, pump up and down. Even if you sit also, the heart has got to do quite a lot of work pumping pumping the blood. But when you lie down, then the heart is relaxed, it doesn't have to pump up and down, pump sideways, horizontally, it's much less work. And so all our limbs also, because we are resting, resting is on the bed or anything, then we feel very relaxed. So the trick is to do with your minimum sleep and rest. So that's why for a meditator, physical work is not compatible. If you do a lot of physical work or if you make yourself physically exhausted, then it's difficult to cultivate the mind. So the light work that you all do here is quite suitable. You sweep the floor and all that. You don't feel exhausted. So the trick is, when you are tired, to lie down. But try not to fall asleep. Once you fall asleep, the mind runs. And then to catch it back, it's very difficult. I mean, sometimes if you're lying down, you will become very tired. You have to experiment to see what is suitable for you. Now what I do is that I do the chan of 32 parts of the body. head, hair, body, hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh. And then I purposely have a clock in my kuti, which is a bit on the louder side, when it goes tick-tock, tick-tock, you can hear it. So I go head, hair, body, hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh. Then it's easier to not to fall asleep. If you, because you have to synchronize with that clock, then it helps. If I just chant it, everybody else, after a while also I fall asleep. Nothing to, tricks of the trade. So I didn't say statistics. I was just saying that the big one is the Chinese system. I read about it in the New York Times. I read about it in the New York Times. I saw it in the New York Times. Thank you. Dana and Sila are supporting factors. Not only that, there are other things like being friendly with other people, to get into arguments and quarrels with other people. If you are pleasant with other people, people are also pleasant to you. If you try to make yourself useful to others, like for example in the monastery, you see whatever the monastery needs to be done, make an effort to do, because all these wholesome deeds give you happiness when you reflect on it. This happiness will support your meditation, your mind can calm down easier. But some people, they are very petty, they don't like this, they have a lot of wants and likes and dislikes and all that. The mind is not happy. When the mind is not happy, it cannot calm down. You have to know how to make your mind. Actually, you want happiness, you've got to give happiness to others. When you give happiness to others, then you get back happiness. What is there to use our wisdom? So I think logically and humanly, it's very important. But emotionally, it's not the only problem. That's the problem. That's the problem. And we have to think about it. Kama also. Some people's kama is such that nobody likes. Now, of course, we have to use our wisdom. In the case of that old man, we don't throw him out. Some places might throw him out. In fact, we even tried to ask locally a few places, the old folks' home. But because his karma is no good, nobody wanted to help him. I can't hear you. Shout, shout.

17-SN-Brahmana-(Ch.7)-Vangisa-(Ch.8)-(2009-07-20).txt

is the 20th of July 2009 and continue with the Samyutta Nikaya Suttas. We are on Chapter 7, Brahmana Samyutta about Brahmins. All these Suttas in this chapter have to do with Brahmins. 7.14 At Savarthi, then a certain affluent Brahmin, Shabby, clad in a shabby robe, approached the Blessed One. and exchanged greetings with him. I'll just stop here to explain. This affluent Brahmin is a rich Brahmin, but he was dressed in a shabby cloak. All clothes are in need of repair. When he had concluded the greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side. And the blessed one then said to him, Why now, Brahmin, are you so shabby, clad in a shabby cloak? Dear Master Gautama, my four sons, instigated by their wives, have expelled me from the house." And the Buddha said, well then Brahmin, learn these verses and recite them when the multitude has assembled in the meeting hall with your son sitting together there. Those at whose birth I took delight and whose success I much desired, being instigated by their wives, chased me out as dogs chase swine. These evil fellows are indeed mean. Although they call me dead, dear dead, they are demons in the guise of sons, to abandon me when I've grown old. As an old horse of no more use is led away from its fodder, So the old father of those boys begs for alms at others' homes. Better for me is the staff I use than those disobedient sons. For the staff drives off the wild bull and drives away the wild dog. In the dark, it goes before me. In the deep, it gives me support. By the gracious power of the staff, if I stumble, I still stand firm. Then that affluent Brahmin, having learned these verses in the presence of the Blessed One, recited them when the multitude had assembled in the meeting hall, with his son sitting together there. Then the sons led that affluent Brahmin to their house, bathed him, and each gave him a pair of clothes. Then that affluent Brahmin, having taken one pair of clothes, approached the Blessed One, and exchanged greetings with him. Then he sat down to one side and said to the Blessed One, Master Gautama, we Brahmins seek a teacher's fee for our teacher. Let Master Gautama accept a teacher's fee from me. Blessed One accepted out of compassion. Then that affluent Brahmin said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent Master Gautama. And he took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and the Kusanga, and became a lay follower for the rest of his life. So here you see, this old man, when he was old, his sons did not have piety, So when the Buddha taught him these verses, he chanted in public before all the Brahmins. The sons were so embarrassed, they took him back, looked after him. So he was very grateful to the Buddha. So he presented his hair of clothes to the Buddha as a teacher's fee. As Brahmins, they have this tradition, where they have to offer something to the teacher, as it is an Indian tradition. Next Sutta is 7.15. At Savatthi, on that occasion, a Brahmin named Manattadha, stiff with conceit, was residing at Savatthi. That's the meaning of Manattadha, stiff with conceit, proud, arrogant. He did not pay homage to his mother or father, nor to his teacher or eldest brother. Stop here for a moment. You see here, they say that or to his teacher or elder brother. That means it was an Indian tradition for a person to bow to the mother and father, to the teacher and the elder brother and all that. And this tradition has come down to Buddhist countries. In Thailand, they also children bow to the parents and to the teachers. On that occasion, the Blessed One was teaching the Dhamma surrounded by a large assembly. Then it occurred to the Brahmin Manantada, this ascetic Gautama is teaching the Dhamma surrounded by a large assembly. Let me approach him. If the ascetic Gautama addresses me, then I will address him in turn. But if he does not address me, neither will I address him. Then the Brahmin Manantada approached the Blessed One and stood silently to one side. But the Blessed One did not address him. Then the Brahmin Manasthada thinking, this ascetic Buddha monk doesn't know anything, wanted to turn back. But the Blessed One, having known with his own mind the reflection in the Brahmin's mind, addressed the Brahmin Manasthada in verse, Fostering of conceit is never good for one keen on his welfare, Brahmin. You should instead foster that purpose because of which you have come here. Then the Brahmin Manasthada, thinking, the ascetic Gautama knows my mind, prostrated himself right there with his head at the blessed one's feet. He kissed the blessed one's feet, stroked them with his hands, and announced his name thus, I am Manasthada, Master Gautama. I am Manasthada, Master Gautama. Then that assembly was struck with amazement, and the people said, It is wonderful indeed, sir. It is amazing indeed, sir. This Brahmin Manathada does not pay homage to his mother and father, nor to his teacher or elder brother. Yet he shows such supreme honour towards the ascetic Gautama. Then the Blessed One said to the Brahmin Manathada, Enough Brahmin, get up and sit in your own seat, as your mind has confidence in me. Then the Brahmin Manath Dada sat down in his own seat and addressed the Vesakwan in verse. Towards whom should one boy conceive? Towards whom should one show reverence? To whom should one be ever respectful? Whom is it proper to venerate deeply? And the Buddha said, first one's own mother and father, then one's elder's family brother, then one's teacher as the fourth, Towards these, one should avoid conceit. Towards these, one should be reverential. These, should be well respected. These, it is good to venerate deeply. Having struck down conceit, humble, one should pay homage to the archons, to the school of art that trusts that the tasteless ones can't surpass. And this was said to the Brahmin Manantara, said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent Master Gautama. In the same way, he took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, and became a lay follower for the rest of his life. So you see, when you have a holy man like the Buddha, you can read somebody's mind. It's very easy to convert people, tell them what they are thinking, and then they become very frightened. 7.19 at Savarthi. And a Brahmin who supported his mother approached the blessed one and said to him, Master Gautama, I seek alms so righteously and thereby support my mother and father. In doing so, am I doing my duty? And the Buddha said, For sure, Brahmin. In doing so, you are doing your duty. One who seeks out true righteousness and thereby supports his mother and father, generates much merit. When a mortal righteously supports his parents, because of this service to them, the wise praise him here in this world, and after death he rejoices in heaven. And this was said, the Brahmin who supported his mother said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent Master Gautama, and he also took refuge in the Buddha Dhamma and Bhikkhu Sangha and became a lay follower. You see these Brahmins, it is the tradition, part of their life, they become ascetic and beg for their food. So in this case, this man, he used the food that he gets to and give it to his parents. 7.23 at Savarthi. Then a mendicant brahmin approached the blessed one and said to him, ask the uttama, I am a mendicant and you are a mendicant. What is the difference between us in this respect? And the Buddha said, it is not thus that one becomes a mendicant, just because one begs others for alms. If one has taken up a domestic practice, one still has not become a monk, a bhikkhu. A one here who leads the holy life, having expelled merit and evil, who fares in the world with comprehension, he is truly called a bhikkhu, a monk. When this was said, the medical Brahmin said to the blessed one, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent Master Gautama. And he also took refuge and became a lay follower for the rest of his life. So here the Buddha says, just because you beg for your food, doesn't mean you are a beggar monk. Because if one begs for the food, but practices domestic practice, and that means still not become a bhikkhu or a Buddhist monk. Like the Buddha said, having expelled merit and evil, who cares in the world with comprehension, he is truly called a bhikkhu. So here you see, a monk, if he leads a holy life, he does not do merit and evil. Some people think a monk can do merit or should do merit, but actually if a monk practice the holy life. Of course evil he should not do at all. Even laity should not do any evil. But merit here is like charity. Nowadays a lot of monks because they have a lot of excess funds, they use it for charity. But that is alright. But it should not be a charity. The priority of a monk is to practice the holy life and try to get out of samsara. That's the end of the chapter. Now we come to the next chapter, chapter 8. So far, all these chapters in this first book, they don't have so much dhamma. They are not so serious. Because this book is called the Sarkartha, Sarkartha Vagam. This book, all the 11 chapters come with verses, a lot of verses. So they don't have much dhamma compared to the later books. So this chapter number 8 is Bhangdisa Sangyuta. This course is connected with Bhangdisa, the monk. This monk Bhangdisa was famous for uttering inspired words. Sometimes he feels so inspired that he will say beautiful verses. Because Sutra 8.1 does record On one occasion, the Miracle of Bambisa was dwelling at Alavi in the Agalaba Shrine together with its preceptor, the Miracle Nibrodha Kappa. On that occasion, the Miracle of Bambisa, newly ordained, not long gone forth, had been left behind as a caretaker of the dwelling. Then a number of women, beautifully adorned, approached the Agalaba Kappa in order to see the dwelling. to see the Bihara. When the Venerable Wanggi saw those women, dissatisfaction arose in him. Lust infested his mind. Then he offered to him, it is a loss for me indeed. It is no gain for me. It is a mishap for me indeed. It is not well gained by me that dissatisfaction has arisen in me, that lust has infested my mind. How could anyone else dispel my dissatisfaction and arouse delight? Let me dispel my own dissatisfaction and arouse delight by myself." And the Venerable Longgisa, having dispelled his own dissatisfaction and aroused delight by himself, on that occasion recited these verses. Alas, though I am one who has renounced gone from home into homelessness. These thoughts still run over me, impudent thoughts from the Dark One. Even if mighty youths, brave archers, trained men, masters of the bow, a thousand such men who do not flee, should surround me on all sides, and if women were to come here, still more numerous than this, they would never make me tremble, for I stand firmly in the Dark One. I have heard this as a witness from of the sun. The path leading to nirvana, that is where my mind delights. If while I am dwelling thus, you approach me, evil one, I will act in such a way that you won't even see my path." The end of the sutra. So here, this verse about Isha, when a lot of beautiful women came, they had all these sensual thoughts. And then he realized that nobody can help him except himself. So he made a great effort to dispel those sensual thoughts. In the Majjhima Nikaya, there are some suttas that deal with this, how to dispel these asavasas, these uncontrolled mental outflows. So in the sutta, there are a few examples given. One is to think of something else. and another one is to think of the unwholesomeness of the post-sensual thoughts, the grand effects of post-sensual thoughts and various other ways. So because he understood the Dhamma, that's why understanding the Dhamma is very important. If we don't understand the Dhamma, then we don't have right view, and if we don't have right view, we are influenced by all this. If we have right view, then because we are, our foundation is based on Vibhigala, then we have attained this, we have entered the stream, once we have entered the stream, we are quite steady in spite of all these obstacles. 8.2 On one occasion, the Mirabal Bhangis, I was dwelling at Agave, at the Agalaba Shrine, together with his preceptor, the Mirabal Negroda Bapa, On that occasion, when the Venerable Nirodha Kappa returned from his alms round, after his meal, he would enter the dwelling and would come out either in the evening or on the following day. I'll stop here for a moment. You see this Venerable Ambisa's preceptor, Venerable Nirodha Kappa, was an arahant, so he constantly abides in meditation. So he puts out in the morning on his alms round, Then he comes back to have his meal, either alone or with the other monks. Then he will enter his kuti, his dwelling, and he will meditate the whole day. And he will only come out either in the evening, if there is a dharma discussion, or the next day. On that occasion, dissatisfaction has arisen in the Venerable Vangisa. Lust has infested his mind. Then it occurred to the Venerable Vangisa, it is a loss for me indeed. It is no gain for me. It is a mishap for me indeed. It is not well gained by me that dissatisfaction has arisen in me, that lust has infested my mind. How could anyone else dispel my dissatisfaction and arouse delight? Let me dispel my own dissatisfaction and arouse delight by myself. Then the Venerable Dambisa, having dispelled his own dissatisfaction and aroused delight by himself, on that occasion recited these verses. Having abandoned discontent and delight, and household thoughts entirely. One should not nurture lust towards anything. The lustless one, without delight, he is indeed a victim, a monk. Whatever exists here on earth and in space, comprised by thought, included in the world, everything impermanently decays. The sage's pair have been pierced with truth. People are tied to their acquisitions, their attachments, to what is seen, heard, sensed, and felt. His felt desire for this be unserved. They call him a sage who clings to nothing here. Then those caught in the sixties, led by their own thoughts, there are many such among the people who have settled on the wrong doctrine, who would not join their faction anywhere. or utter corrupt speech. He is the Bhikkhu, proficient, strong, trained in concentration, honest, discreet, without longing. The sage has attained a peaceful state, depending on which he buys his time, fully quenched within himself." So here, it's inspired verses. Very interesting. This one is on his own dedication, should have been quite young. not to be personally troubled by classical thoughts. 8.4 On one occasion, the Venerable Ananda was joining a savatthi in Jeta's grove, not up in Deepa's path. Then in the morning, the Venerable Ananda, dressed and taking bowl and robe, entered savatthi for alms to the Venerable Ranggisa as his companion. On that occasion, dissatisfaction had arisen in the Venerable Ranggisa, plus had infested his mind. Then the Venerable Ranggisa addressed the Venerable Ananda in verse, I am burning with sensual lust. My mind is engulfed by fire. Please tell me how to extinguish it out of compassion, O Gautama." The Venerable Ananda said, It is through an inversion of perception that your mind is engulfed by fire. Turn away from the sign of beauty, provocative of sensual lust. See formations as alien, a suffering not a self. Extinguish the great fire of lust. Don't burn up again and again. Develop the mind on powerless, one-pointed, well-concentrated. Apply a mindfulness to the body. Be engrossed in revulsion. Develop meditation on the signless and discard the tendency to conceive. Then, by breaking through conceit, you will be one who fares at peace. may have the same, probably have the same preceptor as this Nago Ranggisa and he is the Nago Niggoda Kappa. I think it was the preceptor of both of these monks, that's why they were living together. So Ananda being more senior was walking in front of this young monk and was asking Ananda to help him how to dispel his tantric lust. So whenever Ananda told him that it's a matter of perception, we see something as beautiful and then lust arises. But if you see something as unattractive, then there's no lust will arise, repulsion will arise. So Ananda also asked him to keep his mind one-pointed and well-concentrated. Actually, this central lust is a problem with a lot of people on the spiritual path. That's why when the Buddha taught the first type of meditation was the 32 parts of the body, what the Chinese call Puching Quan meditation on the unattractiveness of the body, to recite the body parts one by one and to contemplate the head, body, hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinew, bone, bone, marrow, kidney, heart, liver, midriff, spleen, lung, bowel, entrails, gorge, dung, brain, bowel, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tear, grease, because it's not all of the joint moving. So if you recite these 32 parts slowly and then you can contemplate them one by one. see a human being that's made up of all these parts, which are not so attractive after all. And if you want to practice concentration of mind, then you recite them fast. So this type of chanting is very useful. So, for example, when you lie down, you want to fall asleep, then you keep chanting. The next two times, eight, four, seven, On one occasion, the Blessed One was going to the Savatthi, in the eastern part, in the mansion of Arah's mother, together with the great Sangha of monks, with 500 monks, all of them Arahants. On that occasion, the Uposatha day of the 15th, the Blessed One was sitting in the open, surrounded by the Bhikkhu Sangha, in order to hold the Bhagavad-Gita. I'll stop here for a moment. The Uposatha day is the day when the monks recite the precepts. In the lunar calendar, it's the 50th day of the lunar calendar and also the 30th day of the lunar calendar. Or if there's no 30th day, it's the 59th day. But this is if we take the lunar calendar in terms of the months. I feel like in India, If it is a fortnight, then the 15th is the 15th, then the 30th is considered to be the 15th day of the fortnight. If it is the 29th day, then it is the 14th day of the fortnight. So this Pavarana is an invitation and this is only done once a year after the In India, there are three seasons. The rainy season, followed by the winter season, and which is followed by the summer season. And three seasons. Each season has four months. And during the rainy season, it is a tradition in India for ascetics and monks to stay in one place, to have a retreat in one place, to travel. And normally in the Buddhist tradition, for the first three months, the monks will stay in a place, one place, it's called the Vassa retreat. And then the last month, the fourth month of the rains, the monks look for ropes, and they look for ropes cloth, to make So, this Pabrana is held after the 300 rains retreat. This rains retreat begins the day after the full moon day in July. So, it lasts up to the full moon day of October. So, on the full moon day of October, they have this Pabrana. Instead of reciting the precepts, they recite which is an invitation. That means each monk will invite the other monks to criticize him if he has done anything wrong or they suspect him to have done anything wrong during the three months. It's a way of, it's a practice of humility and also goodwill among each other. Then having surveyed the silent bhikkhu sangha, the blessed one addressed the bhikkhus or the monks Come now, monks, let me invite you. Is there any deed of mine, either bodily or verbal, which you would censure, you criticize? When this was said, the Venerable Sariputta rose from his seat, arrayed his upper robe over one shoulder, and raising his joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, said to him, Venerable Sir, there is no deed of the Blessed One, either bodily or verbal, that we censure. For, Venerable Sir, the Blessed One is the originator of the path unarisen before, the producer of the path unproduced before, the declarer of the path undeclared before. He is the knower of the path, the discoverer of the path, the one skilled in the path, and his disciples now dwell following that path and become possessed of it afterwards. And I, therefore, sir, invite the Blessed One to present any deed of mine, either bodily or verbal, which the Blessed One would censure. stop you for a moment. So here this is how they do the paparana, how they invite us. They invite each other and say anything that I've done wrong which should be criticized. So when the Buddha invites of the Buddha and he represented the Sangha by saying there is nothing in the Blessed One and the Buddha that is worthy of sensual criticism. Then he in turn asked the Buddha whether he had done anything wrong and the Buddha said there is no need of your Sariputra either bodily or verbal that are sensual. For you Sariputra are wise, one of great wisdom. of penetrative wisdom. Just as the eldest son of a wheel-turning monarch properly keeps in motion the wheel of sovereignty set in motion by his father, so do you, Sariputta, properly keep in motion the wheel of Dharma set in motion by me." You see here how the Buddha praises Sariputta you are wide spun of great wisdom, wide wisdom, joyous wisdom, swift wisdom, sharp wisdom, penetrative wisdom. And also sees that the revered Sariputra keeps turning the wheel of Dhamma exactly like the Buddha himself. So you see the Buddha always praises the revered Sariputra Whereas in the later Mahayana books, it's the reverse. They try to be written in the verbal Sariputra, but here it represents the Arahant. In the verbal Sariputra it says, If Meraputsa, the Blessed One, does not censure any deed of mine bodily or verbal, does he censure any deed bodily or verbal of these 500 monks? And the Buddha said, there is no need, Sariputta, bodily or verbal, of these 500 monks that I censure. For of these 500 monks, Sariputta, 60 monks are triple knowledge bearers. 60 monks are bearers of the six direct knowledges. 60 monks are liberated in both ways, while the rest are liberated by wisdom. I'll stop here for a moment. So from here, you see, all these 500 paramahamsa Sixty are triple knowledge. They have the triple knowledge. Sixty have the six knowledges. So, which means that sixty are liberated in both ways. So, you see here, how this five hundred, hundred and twenty, 120 have the triple knowledge and the six knowledges. And 120 out of 500 is about a quarter. So maybe we can say of the arahants, one quarter of them have psychic power. Three quarters may not have psychic power. Then Venerable Gwang Gisa arose from his seat. The ring is upper rope over one shoulder. Raising his joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, said to him, An inspiration has come to me, Blessed One. An inspiration has come to me, Fortunate One, the Buddha said. Then express your inspiration, Ranggisa. Then the Venerable Ranggisa extolled the Blessed One to his face with suitable verses. Five hundred monks have gathered today, fifteen for purification, untroubled seers who have entered renewed existence. who have cut off all ties and bonds. Just as a king, a weak, turning monarch, accompanied by his ministers, travels all over this mighty earth, bounded by the deep, dark ocean, so the attempt on the victor in battle, the unsurpassed caravan leader, the disciples bearing the true knowledge, who have left death far behind, All are true sons of the Blessed One. Here no worthless child is found. I worship the punishment of the sun, destroyer of the dark of craving. That's the end of the sutra. So you see, this man called Ranggisa, sometimes he is so inspired as he comes up with these spontaneous verses. Actually in the next sutra, the Buddha asked him, Have you already thought out these verses from Giza? Or did they occur to you spontaneously? And he said, I have not already thought out these verses, but they occurred to me spontaneously. So these verses come out naturally, without thinking. So the Buddha praised him as one who is able to come out with people who are inspired by this.

18-SN-Vana-(Ch.9)-(2009-07-20).txt

Now we come to the next chapter, the ninth chapter, Vāna-saṃyutta. This course is connected. Vāna is the woods, the forest. These Vītās are concerned monks in the forest. 9.1. On one occasion, a certain monk was dwelling among the coarse lands in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion, while that monk had gone for his day's abiding, he kept on thinking evil, unwholesome thoughts connected with the household life. Then the devata that inhabited that wooden thicket, having compassion for that monk, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses. Desiring seclusion, you entered the woods. Yet your mind gushes outwardly, Remove, measure the desire for evil, then you will be happy, devoid of lust. You must abandon discontent, be mindful. Let us remind you of that way of the good. Hard to cross a leaf is the dusty abyss. Don't let central dust drag you down. Just as a bird glistens with soil, with the shade flicks off the sticky dust, so will a monk, strenuous and mindful. With a shake, he picks up the sticky dust. Then the monk, stirred up by the Nirvāka, acquires a sense of urgency. That's the end of the sutra. and it's very hard to shave properly. So when Deva came to give him this advice, it must have been a shock for him that somebody can read his mind so after that he has to practice hard and he knows that somebody is reading his mind. 9.2 On one occasion, a certain monk was dwelling among the co-settlers in a certain woodland thicket. Now on that occasion, when the monk had gone for his day's abiding, he fell asleep. Then the devata that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that monk, desired to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses. Get up, monk. Why lie down? What need do you have for sleep? What slumber can there be? stricken with fears by the dark. Mature in yourself that faith with which you left behind the home life and went forth into homelessness. Don't come under sloth's control. And the monk said, central pleasures are impermanent, unstable. Though the dullard is in charge with them, when it's free, detached among those bound, why trouble one's own thoughts? When by the removal of desire and lust, and the transcendence of ignorance, that knowledge has been cleansed, why trouble one gone forth? When by breaking ignorance with knowledge, and by destruction of the chains of asava, he is sorrowless beyond one from four. When he is energetic and resolute, always firm in his exertion, aspiring to attain nirvana, why trouble one from four?" That's the end of the sutra. So here, I'm not sure whether this monk is already an arahant or not. But if he's an arahant, if he takes a rest, then he still has sati, because the arahant has sati recollection 24 hours. Or it could be that he is practicing very hard, although he has not become an Arahant. He is practicing very hard, but maybe he just fell asleep. So that's why he told Deva, my trouble, my trouble me. He is energetic and resolute, always firm in his observation. So that is one of the reasons why monks alone there. You seem to be alone but actually there's a lot of spirits around. So if you are lazy, something will come and disturb you. So even though you're alone, you always sense that there are eyes looking at you. So you cannot be lazy. Especially like sleeping, resting in the cemetery. 9.3. On one occasion, the verbal Kasapa Gota was dwelling among the goslings in a certain woodland thicket. On that occasion, when he had gone for his day's abiding, the verbal Kasapa Gota disordered a certain hunter when he advised a certain hunter. Then the Devata that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for the verbal Kasapa Gota, desired his good, desired to stir up a sense of religiosity in him. approached him and addressed him in verses. The monk strikes me as a toad, a fool, who out of season absorbs thunder, roaming in the rugged mountains with little wisdom, devoid of sense. He listens, but does not understand. He looks, but does not see. Though the Dhamma is being spoken, the fool does not grasp the meaning. Even if he would bring ten lamps into his presence, Kasapa, still he would not see fogs, for he does not have eyes to see. Then the verbal Kasapa Gota, stirred up by the Devata, acquired a sense of urgency. That's the end of the sutra. So this Srimana, he went to the forest to practice, and he saw this hunter, but he advised the hunter, he should not do hunting, he would break the first precept, and blah, blah, blah. So that Devata thought that he is giving useless advice to this hunter, because this hunter is a seasoned hunter, he is not going to change his ways just because you advise him. So he told this to Venerable Pasapa. So Venerable Pasapa realized that somebody is watching him. So he put his attention on his own practice and instead of other people. 9.4. On one occasion, a number of monks were dwelling among the Kosala with a certain wooden ticket. Then, when they had spent the rains there, after the three months had passed, those monks set out on tour. Then, that Devadatta that inhabited that wooden ticket, not seeing those monks lamenting, on that occasion recited this verse. Today, this content appears to me when I see here so many vacancies. Where have they gone, Gautama's disciples, those splendid speakers, rich in learning? When this was said, another Devata replied in verse, They have gone to Magadha, gone to Kosala, and some are in the Vajrayana land, like deer that roam free from ties. The mount dwells without a goal. That's the end of the sutra. So you see, sometimes if a good monk stays in a certain place, and when they leave, they end up in the devas' misstep. In this case, this Deva is asking where have the monks gone? Those splendid speakers rich in learning. That means probably the monks either spoke a lot of Dhamma or discussed a lot of Dhamma. So this Deva, he appreciates hearing Dhamma. So he missed the monks. And another Deva said they have gone to so many different places, but they dwell without a fixable time. On one occasion, the Venerable Ananda was dwelling among the Kosalans in a certain woodland thicket. On that occasion, the Venerable Ananda was excessively involved in stalking laypeople. Then the Devaka that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for the Venerable Ananda, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verse. Having entered the ticket at the foot of a tree, having placed Nibbana in your heart, meditate in your Tama and don't be negligent. What will all this halabaloo do for you, for this uproar? Then the Venerable Ananda, stirred up by that deity, acquired a sense of urgency. So here, Venerable Ananda usually is quite compassionate towards lay people, so he was teaching the lay people too much, so at the expense of his cultivation, so the Devata advised him. That was helpful for him also. 9.6 On one occasion, the Venerable Aniruddha was dwelling among the goselers in a certain woodland thicket. Then a certain Devata of the Tharvathipusa host, named Jalini, A former consort of the Venerable Aniruddha approached him and addressed him in verse. I'll stop here for a moment. This Venerable Aniruddha was one of the arahants with great psychic power. He could see a thousand whole world systems like in the palm of his hand. His mind has expanded. so much that he could see a thousand worlds in the palm of his hand. So here, his former wife from the heaven of the 33, the vast Tavatimsa heaven, that means the second heaven in the sensual desire realm. So the former wife of Emperor Anuradha came to see him and addressed him in verse. direct your mind there to that realm where you dwelt in the past among the Tavatimsa Devas for whom all desires are fulfilled. You will shine forth highly honoured, surrounded by celestial maidens. I'll stop here for a while. So here you see the former Viceroy is telling him to direct his mind to the Tavatimsa Heaven. Why? Because if he directs his mind to the Taotipsa heaven, constantly thinks of the Taotipsa heaven, then it's likely that he will be reborn there again. This is what the wise wanted. Then he said, miserable are celestial mediums established in identity, and miserable too are those beings attached to celestial mediums. And the Devi said, they do not know bliss who have not seen Nandana, the boat of the glorious male Devas, belonging to the host of 13. This Nandana is the Nandana Grove where the Devas enjoy sensual pleasures. And Venerable Aniruddha said, don't you know, you fool, that maximum of the Arahants, impermanent are all formations One of the times we just did just now, Anicca, Vata, Sankara, Upada, Vaya, Dhammino, this one. And then finally, remember Anuruddha said, Now I will never again dwell among the deva-gods. The wandering on in birth is ended. Now there is no more renewed existence. disappointed to hear that he is not going to take rebirth anymore. Let us start 9.9. On one occasion, a certain monk, a Vajrayana prince, was dwelling at Vesali in a certain wood-den of decay. On that occasion, an all-night festival was being held in Vesali. Then that monk, lamenting as he heard the clamour of instruments, gongs and music coming from Vesali, on that occasion recited this verse, we dwelt in the forest all alone, like a drop rejected in the woods. On such a splendid night as this, who is there worse off than us? Then that devata that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that monk, desired his good, desired to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verse. As you dwell in the forest all alone, like a log rejected in the woods, many are those who envy you, as hell beings envy those going to heaven. Then that monk, stirred up by that devata, acquired a sense of urgency, is the end of the sutra. so you see here this monk he was trying to practice and he was struggling in his practice finding it so difficult and then suddenly he gets all these beautiful buildings in the distance that makes him even more disturbed so he was lamenting he was in sorrowful condition and then the deva came to ask him you are not in a sorrowful condition. Many envy your position, just like those hell beings who are bound for hell, who are going to hell, will see people like you who are going to heaven. This reminds me, many years ago, when I was in Thailand, I was practicing in a cave. I also had a similar experience like this. I was practicing and my mind was not coming together, my meditation was not quite miserable. And then I heard this taxi driving some people to the village, and they were blaring all this beautiful Thai sentimental music. That also disturbed me more. So I was thinking, what the bloody hell am I doing here, away from my home, away from my country? But then there was a shock warning. So I didn't think too long, and I was like, come on, give up. That disturbed me. 9.10. On an occasion a certain monk was dwelling among the poor servants in a certain woodland thicket. On that occasion, that monk had been excessively engrossed in recitation, chanting. But on a later occasion, he passed the time living at peace and keeping silent. Then that devata, that inhabited the wood and thicket, no longer hearing that monk recite the Dhamma, approached him, addressed him in verse, Monk, why don't you recite Dhamma stanzas, living in communion with other monks? Hearing the Dhamma, one gains confidence. With this very light, the reciter gains praise. Let's stop here for a moment. So here, this Deva, I'm so used to this monk chanting the Dhamma. It probably means chanting the Suttas. Because during the Buddha's time, they did not have books. So the monks would repeat the Suttas, keep chanting the Suttas. So when the monk stopped chanting, this devata didn't have a chance to hear the Dhamma, so he tried to persuade the monk to continue chanting. And the monk said, in the past I was born of Dhamma senses, so long as I have not achieved dispassion. But from the time I have achieved dispassion, I dwell in what the good men call the laying down by final knowledge of whatever is seen, heard, or sensed. This is the end of the sutra. So here, this monk became an arahant. So when he became an arahant, he says that he has put down all that is seen, heard and sensed and no more attached to whatever is seen, whatever is heard, whatever is sensed. So that's why he was no more interested in chanting. An arahant constantly dwells in his mind. He was no more interested in outside. 9.11. On one occasion, a certain monk was dwelling among the coastlands in a certain woodland thicket. On that occasion, when that monk had gone for the day's abiding, he kept on thinking He kept on thinking evil and wholesome thoughts, that his thoughts of sensuality, ill-will and harming, that that devata that inhabited that wooden thicket, having compassion for that monk, desiring his goods, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verses. Because of attending carelessly, you, sir, are eaten by your thoughts. Having relinquished the careless way, you should reflect carefully by basing your thoughts on the Teacher, on Dhamma, Sangha and your own virtues. You will surely attain to gladness and rapture and happiness as well. Then when you are subdued with gladness, you will make an end to suffering. Then that monk stirred up by that devata, quite a sense of urgency. So this is another competent devata come to help a monk who was a bit slack in his practice. I think that's enough for today. I try to go fast because these sutras, one can go fast because they don't have so much dhamma, anything like to discuss. What are the triple knowledge and the six knowledges? These are called the Abhinyas, the higher knowledges. The Buddha himself, he says in the sutra that he was a triple knowledge man. That means what are the triple knowledge? The first one has the deva eye. So when he has opened up his deva eye, then he can see devas, he can talk to devas, he can see hell and all other realms of existence. That is one. Then another one is recollection of past life. If you remember the suttas, when the Buddha was enlightened on the night of enlightenment. He attained to the fourth jhāna. Coming out from the fourth jhāna when the mind is so tranquil, he used the Deva Eye to look at beings being born and dying according to karma. So the first one was Deva Eye. Then after that he recollected his past lives. So the second one is recollection of past lives. The third one, when he recollected on the Dhamma, the whole Noble Truths, then he attained destruction of the Asavas. So the third one is the destruction of the Asavas. So these are the three knowledges. And then, later, the Buddha must have cultivated another three knowledges, because the maximum is the six knowledges. So the other three knowledges are the Deva here, the Divine here, the Faith here, This is Deva Sankos speaking, and then the reading another person's mind, reading other people's mind. And then the last one is Psychokinesis, various types of psychic powers, like walking through the wall, diving into the earth, like diving into water, sitting cross-legged, flying like a bird. And then another one is one body can manifest into hundreds of bodies or thousands of bodies. And then sitting here, his hand can reach out and touch the moon, touch the sun. This is the last one. So these are the six. higher knowledges. But out of these six, the most important is the destruction of the asavas. Once a person destroys the asavas, the uncontrolled mental outflows, he becomes liberated from samsara, no more reborn in samsara, in adversity, becomes enlightened. So when we practice the holy path, our aim is to destroy the asavas. That's the main aim. The psychic powers are secondary. So, like just now I read the sutra, approximately one quarter of the enlightened ones, the arahants, approximately one quarter of them, when they become enlightened, the psychic powers come naturally. And then, the three quarters of them don't have psychic power. Even though, like Venerable Sariputta, he has developed all the jhanas, and yet, he has no psychic power. And also, he had no desire to cultivate psychic powers because there is no more ego, no more self. So because of that, once they become enlightened, if they don't have psychic powers, they just let it be. They don't pray for psychic powers. So these are the six knowledges. So all arahants will have at least one of the knowledge which is the destruction of the asavas. Liberation in both ways and the rest are liberated by wisdom. This liberated both ways is also liberated by mind. Arahants are liberated two ways, either liberated by wisdom or liberated by mind. If you read my book, it is mentioned there, I think Samatha and Vipassana, my book is mentioned. This liberated by mind is also known as two ways liberated. Liberated by mind means liberated by mind as well as liberated by wisdom. Whereas the other one is only liberated by wisdom. And from studying the sutras and the Vinaya books, that is most probably, those who are liberated by mind or two ways liberated, they attain liberation during meditation during meditation when they enter into jhāna and then when they come out of jhāna and they use their jhāna or their psychic powers like the buddha the buddha is liberated by mind because he attained the jhāna and after that he used psychic power to see living beings dying and taking rebirth, dying away. Then after that, he used his psychic power to look into his past lives. And then he remembered all the dharma he learned before. And then on the third watch of the night, he contemplated on the four noble truths and attained liberation. So because he was using meditation, using jhana, so that arahant, when he's liberated, under those conditions is called liberated by mind. That means he is using the force of his mind. Whereas people like Venerable Sariputta are called liberated by wisdom. Venerable Sariputta has attained all the jhanas. But one day, when the Buddha was talking to an external ascetic, Venerable Sariputta being a new disciple of the Buddha, was standing beside the Buddha and fanning the Buddha. Just fanning the Buddha. and then when he heard the Buddha talking to the external ascetic and then he understood what the Buddha said and he contemplated and then he became enlightened and that is liberation by wisdom when he is not meditating so for example if somebody contemplates on the Dhamma or he reads the Sutta or he reflects on the Sutta then he becomes liberated that is liberated by wisdom, not during meditation. The first five disciples of the Buddha, are they liberated by wisdom? Yes, they are liberated by wisdom. The first five disciples, they have been following the Buddha for many years. So because the Buddha had attained jhāna, it would be logical to assume that he must have taught them the jhāna. So after the Buddha was enlightened, the Buddha is mentioned in the Vinaya books. When the Buddha came to look for his five disciples, he did not ask them to meditate. He just asked them to sit down. He said, sit down, I will teach you the Dhamma. And the first sutta, the Buddha discourse, was the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta. So when the five monks heard it, one of them attained stream entry, kundalini attained stream entry. The others had not attained. Then the Buddha kept teaching the Dharma over a number of days. During these few days, the monks would take turns. There were five monks plus the Buddha and six monks. Either two or three of them each day would go on alms round and bring back enough food for six of them. So over a number of days, the Buddha kept teaching the Dhamma to them. Finally, when the Buddha taught the Anatta Lappana Sutta, all of them became alive. So you see how important is the hearing of the Sutta. The meditation part, the purpose of the meditation is to sharpen our mind. So when our mind is sharpened, then when we listen to the Dhamma, we contemplate, that is Vipassana. So the meditation part is Samatha. Listening to the Dhamma is the Vipassana. That is why in the Sutta the Buddha says there are only five occasions when the Arahant becomes liberated. The first one when he is hearing the Dhamma. The second one when he is teaching the Dhamma. The third one when he is repeating the Dhamma. The fourth when he is reflecting on the Dhamma. And the last one is during meditation. So he is out of That's why we see in the Vinaya books, the first 1060 Arahants whom the Buddha helped to liberate, all of them, 1060 attained Arahanthood from listening to the Sutta. They listened to the Sutta and became liberated. So actually, there are fewer who meditate and attain enlightenment. There are much more who listen to the Dhamma and attain enlightenment. is the reality of the American people.

19-SN-Vana-(Ch.9)-Yakkha-(Ch.10)-(2009-07-21).txt

So we continue with the Samyutta Nikaya Suttas. Today is the 21st of July and we are on the 9th Samyutta, the 9th chapter, Vāna Samyutta. The verses have to do with the forest or the woods. Those monks who live in the woods, their experiences So now we come to 9.13. It's on page 302. On one occasion, a number of monks were dwelling among the coastlands in a certain woodland thicket. They were restless, puffed up, personally vain, rough-tongued, rambling in their talk, muddle-minded, without clear comprehension, unconcentrated, scatterbrained, loose in their sense faculties, then the devata that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for those monks, desiring their good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in them, approached them and addressed them in verses. In the past, the monks lived happily, the disciples of Gotama. Without wishes, they sought their alms. Without wishes, they used their lodgings. Having known the world's impermanence, they made an end to suffering. But now, like headmen in a village, they make themselves hard to maintain. They eat and eat and then lie down, infatuated in others' homes. Having reverently saluted the Sangha, I here speak only about some. They are rejected, without protector, become just like the dead. My statement is made with reference to those who dwell in negligence. As for those who dwell in diligence, to them I humbly pay homage." Then those monks, stirred up by that devata, acquired a sense of urgency. This is another one of the suttas where the deva, out of compassion for the lazy monks, come to stir them up so that they become more diligent. Because if they know that somebody is watching them, then they dare not become so lazy. 9.14 On one occasion, a certain monk was dwelling among the coastlands in a certain woodland thicket. On that occasion, when he had returned from his alms round, after his meal, that monk used to descend into a pond and sniff a red lotus. Then the devata that inhabited that woodland thicket, having compassion for that monk, desiring his good, desiring to stir up a sense of urgency in him, approached him and addressed him in verse. When you sniff this lotus flower, an item that has not been given, this is one factor of theft. You, dear sir, are a thief of scent. And the monk said, I do not take, I do not damage. I sniff the lotus from afar. So for what reason do you say that I am a thief of scent? One who digs up the lotus stalks, one who damages the flowers, one of such rough behaviour, why is he not spoken to? And the Deva said, when a person is rough and fierce, badly soiled like a nursing cloth, I have nothing to say to him, but it is to you that I ought to speak. For a person without blemish, always in quest of purity, even a mere hair's tip of evil appears as big as a cloud. And the monk said, surely spirit you understand me, and you have compassion for me. Please spirit, speak to me again whenever you see such a deed. And the deva said, we don't live with your support, nor are we your highest servant. You monk to know for yourself the way to a good destination. And that monk stirred by that devata acquired a sense of urgency. That's the end of the sutra. You see in our precepts, there is a precept that says, what is not given to us, we should not take. So here maybe that deva could have been ascetic or a monk before. He seems to know the precepts. So he advised this monk that what is not given to you, why do you steal the scent of the flower? And the monk said, I don't damage the flower. smell it. Why don't you go and criticize those who dig up the lotus stalks, who damage the flowers, etc. Then he said, those people are not worth speaking to. Probably he means that even if he speaks to them, they won't heed his advice. But he says, you are different now. You are quite pure. That's why I ought to speak to you. So the monk said, He appreciates that and asks the Deva to advise him again. But the Deva says, I'm not your servant. So it's interesting. So now we come to the next chapter, Yakasangitta. This course is connected with Yakas. Yakas are a type of Devas. They belong to the lowest seven and the second lowest seven. The lowest heaven is under the Chatu Maharajikas, the four great kings. So these Yakas, they might be mountain spirits, cave spirits, and all that. And they might also, even the Sakadevaraja, the Tavatimsa heaven, I think those devas are also sometimes called Yakas. 10.2, on one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha on Mount Voucher Peak. Then the Yakka, Sakka Namaka, approached the Blessed One and addressed Him in verse. Having abandoned all the knots, as one fully released, it isn't good for you, an ascetic, to be instructing others. Then the Buddha said, If, O Sakka, for some reason intimacy with anyone should arise, the wise man ought not to stir his mind with compassion towards such a person. But if with a mind clear and pure, he gives instructions to others, he does not become fettered by his compassion and sympathy. That's the end of the sutra. So here, this yakka, because they have psychic power, they can read the minds of human beings. What we think, our thoughts, they can read. don't have the ability to judge deeply. So like in this case, he doesn't know that the Buddha is enlightened. So he thinks the Buddha is an ascetic, he should be meditating all the while, he should not be a busybody and teach others the Dhamma. And the Buddha says, if a person like him, he does not become fettered by his teaching, then it's alright for him to teach. 10.3. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Gaya, at the Thangkita bed, the haunt of the Yakka, Suci Loma. Now on that occasion, the Yakka Kara and the Yakka Suci Loma were passing by, not far from the Blessed One. Then the Yakka Kara said to the Yakka Suci Loma, that is an ascetic. And the other replied, that is not an ascetic, that is a sham ascetic. a false ascetic. I'll soon find out whether he is an ascetic or a sham ascetic. Then the Yakka, Suchiloma, approached the Blessed One and bent over the Blessed One. The Blessed One drew back. Then the Yakka, Suchiloma, said to the Blessed One, Are you afraid of me, ascetic? And the Buddha said, I'm not afraid of you, friend. It's just that your touch is evil. I'll ask you a question, ascetic. If you won't answer me, I'll drive you insane or I'll split your heart or I'll grab you by the feet and hurl you across the Ganges. I'll stop here for a moment. Sometimes, like here, some of these devas, they threaten the Buddha or the Arahant monks. They say they can do three things. They can drive a human insane. Here it says I'll split your heart, but in other places they say I can pull your heart out from your body. And the third one, I can grab you by the feet and throw you across the mountain or here, throw you across the Ganges River. And the Buddha said, I do not see anyone in this world, friend, with its devas, Mara and Brahma, in this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, its devas and humans, who could drive me insane, or split my heart, or grab me by the feet and hurl me across the Ganges. Ask whatever you want, friend. And he asked, what is the source of lust and hatred? When spring discontent, delight and terror. Where does discontent, delight and terror arise from? Having arisen from what do the minds thoughts toss one around as boys toss up a crow. And the Buddha said, lust and hatred have their source here. From this, spring discontent, delight and terror. Having arisen from this, the mind's thoughts toss one around as boys toss up a crow. Sprung from affection, arisen from oneself, like the trunk-borne shoots of the banyan tree, manifold, clinging to sensual pleasures, like a maluva creeper stretched across the woods, Those who understand their source, they dispel it. Listen, O Yakka. They cross this flood so hard to cross, and crossed before, for no renewed existence. So, that's the end of the sutra. Yakka is asking, where does lust and hatred come from? And discontent, delight and terror. So the Buddha said, it arises from oneself. That means from inside us. Inside us means inside our mind. So, if we want to cut this lust and hatred, discontent and all that, we have to go back to the source, inside us. We come to the next sutra, 10.5. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savati in the Hs Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Now on that occasion, a certain female lay follower had a son named Sanu, who had been possessed by a yakka. Then that female lay follower, lamenting, on that occasion recited these verses. To those who lead the holy life, who observe the Uposatha days, complete in eight hectares, on the 14th or 15th, and on the 8th of the fortnight, and during special periods, the Yakas do not spot around. So I have heard from the Arahants, but now today I see for myself the Yakas spotting with Sanu, Stop here for a moment. According to the commentary, this lady whose son is named Sanu. This Sanu was a Samanera. He had ordained with the intention of becoming a monk long term. But then there was discontent had arisen in his heart. And he was thinking of disrobing. So he came back to the house to see the mother and had this intention of telling the mother that she wanted to disrobe. And then this Yakka who possessed him is supposed to be his mother from a previous life. So this Yakka thought that when Sanu wears the robe, she also gets the merit. But if Sanu disrobes, And it's also not good for her. So he wanted to discourage Sanu from disrobing. So he possessed Sanu and made him like crazy, like in a fit. Foam coming out of the mouth and all that. So the present life mother was alarmed. And then the present life mother exclaimed, Yakas normally do not possess monks to keep the Uposatha days. How is it today? She sees for herself this Yakka playing around with Sanu. And the Yakka replied, with those who lead the holy life, who observe the Uposatha days, complete in eight factors. Eight factors are the eight precepts. on the 14th or 15th and on the 8th of the 4th night. The 8th of the 4th night is in the lunar calendar. It is the 8th day and the 23rd day. And during special periods, the yakas do not spot around. But you heard from the arahants, it is good. When Sanu has awakened, tell him this injunction of the Yakas. Do not do an evil deed, either openly or in secret. If you should do an evil deed, or if you are doing one now, you won't be free from suffering, though you fly up and flee. And then the Yaka left. And after the Yaka left, Sanu woke up and she saw the mother crying. So he said, they weep, mother, for the dead, or for one living who isn't seen. When you see, mother, that I'm alive, why, mother, do you weep for me? And Sanu's mother said, they weep, oh, son, for the dead, or for one living who isn't seen. But when one returns to the home life after renouncing sensual pleasures, they weep for this one too, my son, although alive is really dead. Drawn out, my dear, from hot embers, you wish to plunge into hot embers. Drawn out, my dear, from an inferno, you wish to plunge into an inferno. Run forward, good luck be with you. To whom could we voice our grief? Being an item rescued from the fire, you wish to be burnt again. That's the end of the sutra. So the mother says, that she weeps because Sanu has already renounced sensual pleasures, but now he wants to go back to the home life. So although alive, he's really dead. In the Dhamma, if a person does not cultivate the holy path, the spiritual path, then he's like a dead person, as good as a dead person if he does not progress. So that's why the mother said, even though alive, he's really dead. Then the mother says, he already come out from the hot embers, come out from the inferno, the fire, he won't wish to go back again. So the mother is advising him not to disrobe. So according to commentaries, after that, he did not disrobe. So it's interesting here, sometimes, Not only monks, any person sometimes can be possessed for various reasons. 10.6 On one occasion, the Venerable Anuruddha was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's path. On that occasion, the Venerable Anuruddha, having risen at the first flush of dawn, was reciting stanzas of Dhamma. Then the female Yaka, Piyangkara's mother, hushed her little child thus. Do not make a sound, Piyangkara. A monk recites Dhamma stanzas. Having understood a Dhamma stanza, we might practice for our welfare. Let us refrain from harming living beings. Let us not speak a deliberate lie. We should train ourselves in virtue. Perhaps we will be freed from the goblin realm. So you see this Yaka, this Yaka because she, actually this Yaka, she was in a low, very low deva realm. Sometimes they are known as earthbound devas. So they live around us. So sometimes like what we call Dato Kong, the earth spirit, mountain spirit. So when the Dhamma is recited or the Dhamma is taught, some of them are interested to hear. So in this case, this Piyankara's mother, she asked her child to keep quiet, to listen to the Dhamma, so she knows about precepts and all that, not harming living beings, not to tell lies, etc. So that's why wherever monks or lay people practice the Dharma well, and these devas are happy, they will come and protect. The next sutra, 10.7. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. On that occasion, the Blessed One was instructing, exhorting, inspiring, and gladdening the monks with a Dhamma talk concerning Nibbana. And those monks were listening to the Dhamma with eager ears, attending to it as a matter of vital concern, applying their own mind to it. Then the female Yakha, Poonnabasu's mother, touched her little children thus. Be quiet, Uttarika. Be quiet, Poonavasu. I wish to listen to the Dhamma of the teacher, the Supreme Buddha. When the Blessed One speaks of Nibbana, released from all the knots, there has arisen within me a deep affection for this Dhamma. In the world, one's own son is dear. In the world, one's own husband is dear. But for me, the quest for this Dhamma has become even dearer than them. For neither one's own son nor husband, though dear, can release one from suffering, as listening to true Dhamma frees one from the suffering of living beings. In this world steeped in suffering, fettered by aging and death, I wish to listen to the Dhamma that he, the Buddha, fully awakened to. For freedom from aging and death, so be quiet, Gunabasu. And the child Poonabasu said, Mother dear, I am not talking. This Uttara is silent too. Pay attention only to the Dhamma. For listening to true Dhamma is pleasant. Because we have not known true Dhamma, we have been living miserably, Mother. He is the maker of light for bewildered devas and humans. Enlightened, bearing his final body, the one with vision teaches the Dhamma. So here you see the son is also quite smart and he says we have been living miserably because for the lower devas to find food also is not easy. So sometimes they have problem getting food and sometimes they have to kill to get food. But in this case, like this Devi, she has been following the Dhamma so she will keep that perception. So the mother, Poonabasu's mother, I replied, it is good that my son has become so wise. He whom I bore and nursed at my breast. My son loves the pure Dhamma of the supremely enlightened one. Kunavasu, be happy. Today I have emerged at last. Hear me too, O Uttara. The noble truths are seen. That's the end of the sutta. So here, she's telling the children, be happy. Today she has emerged, probably, what she means, she says, the four noble truths are seen. That means she has entered the stream. She believes that she has understood the Dhamma and become a stream enterer. So we see in the Suttas, it is said, Suttas and the Vinaya, quite often the Devas, they come to listen to the Dhamma. And Devas and Devis, they listen to the Dhamma They understand it and they have attained the stream entry. 10.8. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the cool grove. Now on that occasion, the householder, Nathapindika, had arrived in Rajagaha on some business. He heard a Buddha, it is said, has arisen in the world. He wanted to go and see the Blessed One immediately. But it occurred to him, it is not the right time to go and see the Blessed One today. I will go and see the blessed one early tomorrow morning. I stop here for a moment. Here, this Anathapindika, he had not met the Buddha yet. So he was doing business and he came to Rajagaha and heard that there is a Buddha, enlightened one around. So he wanted to see the Buddha, but he thought it's too late in the evening or in the afternoon, not a good time to disturb the Buddha. So he decided he'll go the next morning. He lay down with his mindfulness directed to the Buddha, and during the night he got up three times, thinking it was morning. Then the householder, Anathapindika, approached the gate of the charnel ground. Non-human beings opened the gate. Then as the householder, Anathapindika, was leaving the city, the light disappeared and darkness appeared. Fear, trepidation, and terror arose in him, and he wanted to turn back. But the Yaka, Sivaka, invisible, made the proclamation. A hundred thousand elephants, a hundred thousand horses, a hundred thousand mule-drawn chariots, a hundred thousand maidens adorned with jewelry and earrings are not worth a sixteenth part of a single step forward. Go forward, householder. Go forward, householder. Going forward is better for you, not turning back again. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, this Anathapindika, his actual name was Sudatta, but after he became a Buddha, he was called Anathapindika. That was his nickname. He was one who gave alms to the orphans. So he was so eager to see the Buddha that in the night he got up three times thinking that it was morning. So when he decided to go, it was still a bit dark. So when he went, I think the non-human beings approached, opened the gate and provided light for him. And then later the light disappeared and then he got fearful, fearful and then the Yakasivaka proclaimed to him, all these hundred thousand elephants, horses, maidens, etc, jewellery, etc, is not worth the 16th part of a single step forward. So encouraged him to go forward and see the Buddha. Then the darkness disappeared and light appeared to the householder Anakapindika. And the fear, trepidation and terror that had arisen in him subsided. Then the second time as he went, the light disappeared and darkness appeared and he got frightened. And when he was frightened, he wanted to turn back, the Deva, the Jataka, Sivaka, again proclaimed, asking to go forward. A third time this thing happened. The light disappeared and darkness appeared before the householder, Anathapindika. Fear, trepidation and terror arose in him and he wanted to turn back. But a third time, the Yakasivaka, invisible, made a proclamation. A hundred thousand elephants, a hundred thousand horses, a hundred thousand mule-drawn chariots, a hundred thousand maidens adorned with jewelry and earrings. are not worth a sixteenth part of a single step forward. Go forward, householder. Go forward, householder. Going forward is better for you, not turning back again. Then the darkness disappeared, and light appeared to the householder, Anathapindika, and the fear, trepidation, and terror that had arisen in him subsided. Then the householder, Anathapindika, approached the Blessed One in the cool grove. Let's stop here for a moment. Sometimes when we want to do something good, sometimes karmic obstructions seem to come. So it's like testing you, whether you are sincere or not. If you are sincere, especially in the holy path, when all these obstacles come, you are determined enough, all the obstacles will melt away. This stated somewhere, I remember reading that the Buddha says, If a person is determined enough, even the devas cannot block him, cannot obstruct him. So it's important that we know what we are doing. If you know what you are doing, it's worth doing however difficult it is, or however much obstacles come, to still persist. And then only we can achieve what we want. If we do things half-heartedly in this world, we can never succeed. get success. So determination, sincerity, all these are very very important. Always remember sometimes Mara or other karmic obstacles can come to obstruct you. Just to see whether you are sincere enough, whether you are determined enough. On that occasion, the Blessed One, having risen at the first flush of dawn, was walking back and forth in the open. The Blessed One saw the householder, Anathapindika, coming in the distance. He descended from the walkway, sat down in the seat that was prepared, and said to the householder, Anathapindika, come Sudatta. Then the householder, Anathapindika, thinking, the Blessed One has addressed me by my name. Thrilled and elated, prostrated himself right on the spot with his head at the Blessed One's feet and said to him, I hope, Honourable Sir, that the Blessed One slept well. And the Buddha said, Always indeed he sleeps well, the Brahmana who is fully quenched. who does not cling to sensual pleasures, cool at heart, without acquisitions or without attachments, having cut off all attachments, having removed care from the heart, the peaceful one sleeps well, having attained peace of mind. That's the end of the sutta. So here it describes how Natarapindika had the first meeting with the Buddha. So the Buddha says he always sleeps well. If we do not have remorse, if we keep our precepts well, and we do a lot of wholesome kamma, good deeds to help other beings, then we have a lot of happiness in our heart, nothing to disturb us, and we always sleep well. Next sutra, 10.12. That's what I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Pallavi, the haunt of the Yatha Pallavaka. Then the Yaka Alavaka approached the Blessed One and said to him, get out Ascetic. All right friend, the Blessed One said and he went out. Come in Ascetic. All right friend, the Blessed One said and he went in. The second time, Alavaka, the Yaka, asked the Blessed One to get out and he went out. Second time he asked him to come in and he came in. Third time the Yaka Alavaka said to the Blessed One, get out Ascetic. And the Buddha said, all right, friend, and he went out. Come in, Ascetic. All right, friend, the Blessed said, and he went in. The fourth time, the Yakka Alavaka said to the Blessed One, get out, Ascetic. And the Buddha said, I won't go out, friend. Do whatever you have to do. And the Yakka Alavaka said, I'll ask you a question, Ascetic. If you won't answer me, I'll drive you insane, or I'll split your heart, or I'll grab you by the feet. and early across the Ganges. Let's stop here for a moment. According to the commentaries, this Yakka Balavaka, he resided in a cave. On that particular occasion, he had gone away for some meeting, maybe with other Devas. So the Buddha happened to come by there, and this Alavaka's wife, they probably recognized the Buddha as a holy man. So they invited the Buddha into that cave, the home of this Alavaka, and asked the Buddha to teach them the Dhamma. So the Buddha taught them the Dhamma. So Alavaka came back, and he saw the Buddha with all his wives, and he was annoyed that the Buddha was talking to his wife, jealous. So that's why he asked the Buddha to get out and the Buddha complied. He asked the Buddha to come in and the Buddha also complied. After three times, the Buddha refused to comply and he threatened the Buddha. And the Buddha said, I do not see anyone in this world, friend, with these devas, Mara and Brahma. In this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, its devas and humans, who could drive me insane, or split my heart, or grab me by the feet and hurl me across the Ganges? But ask whatever you want, friend." And Alavaka asked, What here is a man's best treasure? What practice well brings happiness? What is really the sweetest of tastes? How lives the one who they say lives best? And the Buddha said, faith is here a man's best treasure. Dharma practice well brings happiness. Truth is really the sweetest of taste. One living by wisdom, they say, lives best. I stop here for a moment. The first line that Buddha says, faith is here a man's best treasure, probably refers to faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. And Alavaka asked again, how does one cross over the flood? I mean the sea of suffering. How does one cross the rugged sea? How does one overcome suffering? How is one purified? And the Buddha said, by faith one crosses over the flood, by diligence the rugged sea, by energy one overcomes suffering, by wisdom one is purified. Again Aravaka asked, how does one gain wisdom? How does one find wealth? How does one achieve acclaim? How bind friends to oneself? When passing from this world to the next, how does one not sorrow? And the Buddha said, placing faith in the Dhamma of the Arahants for the attainment of Nibbana, from desire to learn, one gains wisdom if one is diligent and astute. Doing what is proper, dutiful, one with initiative finds wealth. By truthfulness, one wins acclaim. Giving, one binds friends. That is how one does not sorrow when passing from this world to the next. The faithful seeker of the household life, in whom dwell these four qualities, truth, dhamma, steadfastness, generosity, does not sorrow when he passes on. Come now, ask others as well, the many ascetics and Brahmins, whether there is found here anything better than truth, self-control, generosity and patience." And Alavaka said, Why now should I ask this question of the many ascetics and Brahmins? Today I have understood the good pertaining to the future life. Indeed, for my sake, the Buddha came to reside at Alavi. Today I have understood where a gift bears great fruit. I myself will travel about from village to village, town to town, paying homage to the Enlightened One and to the excellence of the Dhamma." That's the end of the sutta. So here you see this yaka, alavaka, He threatened the Buddha, threatened to kill the Buddha if the Buddha could not answer his questions. He had probably asked other ascetics and he did not get a satisfactory answer from them. So having come to the Buddha, all his questions were answered and he understood what the Buddha said. So he said, why should I ask other Brahmins? I have all the answers from you. So after that, he became a disciple of the Buddha. and he went around praising the Buddha, and also protecting the Buddha. So, like in modern times, you have here, Achen Man, the Thai forest tradition. He also, according to the biography, he went to live in a certain cave, and this Yakka game, and it seems this Yakka had killed other monks who came to his cave. So he also threatened to kill this Achen Man, But then he saw that Achen Man was different. Achen Man emitted light from the head. So after talking to Achen Man, he also became a disciple.

20-SN-Sakka-(Ch.11)-(2009-07-21).txt

Now, it seems that we are coming to the last chapter. Sakka Samyutta. This course is connected with Sakka. Sakka here is Sakka Devaraja. Devaraja means king of the devas, king of the celestial beings. And Sakka Devaraja resides in the Tavatimsa heaven, the heaven of the 33 gods. And that is the second heaven in the sensual desire realm. It's supposed to be a very happy place where the devas and devis enjoy great sensual pleasure. And they have this grove called the Nandana Grove where they enjoy themselves. So I start with the Dikta 11. 3. At Savatthi, there the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks? Venerable Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said, Monks, once in the past, the Devas and the Asuras were arrayed for battle. I'll stop here for a moment. Here, the Devas and the Asuras arrayed for battle, ready to fight. This refers to the Devas and the Asuras who reside in the Tavatimsa Heaven. The Tavatimsa Heaven, they have these Devas who come under the Sakadeva Raja. And these Asuras, they come under Vipacitti. One of the main leaders of the Asuras is Vipacitti. And once a year, once a celestial year, they are sure to fight. There is a time when the coral flower tree in the Nandana Grove, once a year it blooms. And when it blooms, for three or four months, The devas will enjoy great sensual pleasure under this tree, because this tree is a very special tree. When the flower blooms, the smell, the fragrance is so nice, and it goes a long way. So these devas and asuras, they are enemies, because these asuras, even though they reside up in the heaven of the 33, they have some bad habits. They like to drink liquor, get drunk, they like to fight. So one day, it seems, when they were quite drunk, Sakadeva Raja and his devas caught them and threw them down from the Tavatimsa Heaven, and they fell into the great ocean in the heavens. So they reside in the oceans in the heavens. But once in a year, when they realize that it is time, the coral flower tree is blooming, They are annoyed. They are not enjoying themselves up there. They will go up there and fight with Sakka Deva Raja. But this is not the only time they fight. Sometimes other occasions when they meet each other also they fight. So this story of the Devas fighting is not only in Buddhism. It's also in Christianity. But then their interpretation there is that Michael the Archangel drove Satan out of heaven. It's also in the Hindu stories, Mahabharata, where these devas fight. So the Buddha said, monks, once in the past, the Devas and the Asuras were arrayed for battle. Then Sakka, Devaraja addressed the Tavatimsa Devas thus, Dear sirs, when the Devas are engaged in battle, if fear or trepidation or terror should arise, on that occasion you should look up at the crest of my standard, my banner. For when you look up at the crest of my standard, whatever fear or trepidation or terror you may have will be abandoned. Let's stop here for a moment. Why they should have fear? Because they are going to war and they are going to kill each other. So all beings, as long as you have the ego, you fear for your life. And then he continued. If you cannot look up at the crest of my standard, then you should look up at the crest of the Deva King, Bajapati's standard. For when you look up at the crest of his standard, whatever fear or trepidation or terror you may have will be abandoned. If you cannot look up at the crest of the Deva King, Pajapati standard, then you should look up at the crest of the Deva King, Varuna standard. If you cannot look up at the crest of the Deva King, Varuna standard, then you should look up at the crest of the Deva King, Pisana standard. For when you look up at the crest of his standard, whatever fear or trepidation or terror you may have will be abandoned. I stop here for a moment. So here, Sakka Deva Raja is telling all the Devas that when they go into the battle and fight, then if they feel fear, look at his banner, his standard, and then they will get courage again. If they happen to be in a place where they cannot see Sakka Deva Raja and his standard, look at some other Taikor carrying their standard. All these are great fighters of the Deva world. Monks, for those who look up at the crest of the standard of Sakka Devaraja, or of Pajapati Devaraja, or of Varuna Devaraja, or of Isana Devaraja, whatever fear, or trepidation, or terror they may have, may or may not be abandoned. For what reason? Because Sakka Devaraja is not devoid of lust, not devoid of hatred, not devoid of delusion. He can be timid, petrified, frightened, quick to flee. But monks, I say this, if you have gone to a forest, or to the foot of a tree, or to an empty hut, and fear or trepidation or terror should arise in you, on that occasion, you should recollect me thus. The Blessed One is an Arahant, perfectly enlightened, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate knower of the world, unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One. For when you recollect me, monks, whatever fear or trepidation or terror you may have will be abandoned. I stop here for a moment. So the Buddha says, if you have any fear, you think of the Deva Raja. It's not for sure that you will have confidence because Sakka Devaraja himself or the other Devarajas, they still have greed, hatred and delusion. They are not enlightened yet. So because of that, they still have fear. But if you think of the Buddha, when you are frightened, then you will not have fear because the Buddha is one without any fear. The Buddha has no more fear, has no more ego. So here this chant in Pali is the one that we sometimes do like Itipiso, Bhagawa, Arahang, Samma, Sambuddho, Vijacarana, Sampanno, Sugato, Lokavidu, Anuttaro, etc. Then the Buddha continued. If you cannot recollect Me, then you should recollect the Dhamma thus. The Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise. For when you recollect the Dhamma, monks, whatever fear or trepidation or terror you may have will be abandoned. If you cannot recollect the Dhamma, then you should recollect the Sangha thus. The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing the good way, practicing the straight way, practicing the true way, practicing the proper way. That is the four pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals. This Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of referential salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world. For when you recollect the Sangha, monks, whatever fear or trepidation or terror you may have will be abandoned. I stop here for a moment. So here the recollection of the Dhamma is the Pali chant we do. Swakato, Bhagavata, Dhammo, Sanditiko, Akaliko, Eipasiko, etc. And the third one, the recollection of the Sangha, is the Supatipanno, Bhagavato, Savakasangho, Ujjupatipanno, Bhagavato, Savakasangho, etc. And then the Buddha says, When you recollect the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, whatever fear or trepidation or terror you may have, will be abandoned. For what reason? Because monks, the Tathagata, the Arahant, Sammasambuddha, is devoid of lust, devoid of hatred, devoid of delusion. He is brave, courageous, bold, ready to stand his place. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortune One, the teacher, further said, In a forest, at the foot of a tree, or in an empty hut, monks, you should recollect the Buddha. No fear will then arise in you. But if you cannot recall the Buddha, best in the world, the bull of men, then you should recall the Dhamma, emancipating, well expounded. But if you cannot recall the Dhamma, emancipating, well-expounded, then you should recall the Sangha, the unsurpassed field of merit. For those who thus recall the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha monks, no fear or trepidation will arise, nor any grisly terror." That's the end of the sutra. So here, we receive this advice whenever we have any fear, we experience any fear, we just chant that Diti Piso Bhagava Haraham, et cetera. We keep chanting, keep chanting, and we don't think of the fear. Whenever fear arises, if we don't keep our mind occupied on something, then we start imagining all kinds of things, and the fear will keep rising. So one way to distract ourselves by this chanting Another way I found from experience is when the fear arises, you just watch the fear itself, just watch the emotion. The emotion of fear will keep arising, arising, arising, arising up to maximum. It will stay there for some time. Keep watching it because everything is impermanent. After some time, it will come down. Fear arises whenever we experience something that we cannot understand, that we have not experienced before. The last time I stayed in a cave, around midnight, I'd hear this scream. It sounds exactly like a ghost, a female ghost screaming in the middle of the night. All my hair would stand up. So this happened sometimes once a week, sometimes twice a week. So I thought it must have been a ghost. But because I was staying alone in that cave, I had nowhere else to go. I just watched my fear. And then, it took me nearly two years before I realized that it was an animal. Mosang. Mosang. Severed cat. A severed cat. This severed cat, it came because I was staying in this cave which was surrounded by a lot of huge boulders, big rocks. And in between the rocks, you have a lot of snakes and you have a lot of rats. So the snakes all constantly come to my cave. I'm not particularly afraid of snakes. And because of the rats, this civet cat, this mossang, used to come. It wants to eat the rats. And that's its way of getting the rats to come out. It will make this call. It's like a taunting call. It's calling and taunting them. Even laughing like that, like a ghost laughing, you know. So we humans, we hear, we are already so frightened. Rats are frightened out of their mind. So they panic, they run here and run there, and then this silver cat will pounce on them. So one night, I happened to record that sound. Then one day, one of our devotees came. He happens to be a person who has a fruit orchard. So when he heard this, I recognized it. I said, it's a moth sound. OK, the next sutra is 11.4. At Sabati, the Blessed One said this. Once in the past, monks, the Devas and Asuras were arrayed for battle. Then Vipacitti, Lord of the Asuras, addressed the Asuras thus, Dear Sirs, in the impending battle between the Devas and the Asuras, If the Asuras win and the Devas are defeated, bind Sakka Devaraja by his forelimbs and neck and bring him to me in the city of the Asuras. And Sakka Devaraja addressed the Tavatimsa Devas thus, in the impending battle between the Devas and the Asuras. If the Devas win, and the Asuras are defeated, bind Vipacitti, Lord of the Asuras, by his forelimbs and neck, and bring him to me in the Sudama Assembly Hall. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, these Devas and the Asuras are about to fight. So the Asura King told his followers, if we win, you catch this. Deva Raja, Saka Deva Raja tie him up by his forelimbs and his neck and bring him to the hall to the city of the Asuras and similarly Saka Deva Raja told his Devas if we win and we catch this Vipacitti we tie him by his forelimbs and the neck and drag him to the Sudama assembly hall In that battle, monks, the devas won and the asuras were defeated. Then the Tavatimsa devas bound Vipacitti by his forelimbs and neck and brought him to Sakka in the Sudama Assembly Hall. When Sakka was entering and leaving the Sudama Assembly Hall, Vipacitti, bound by his forelimbs and neck, abused and reviled him with rude, harsh words. Then monks, Matali the charioteer, the driver, address Sakadeva Raja in verse. When face to face with Vipacitti, is it Magaba from fear or weakness that you endure him so patiently, listening to his harsh words? Let's stop here for a moment. This Matali is the driver for Sakadeva Raja. Whenever Sakadeva Raja wants to go and Look around, Makan Angin, Matali will gather his horses, 1000 white horses and Matali will drive the chariot and bring Sakadeva around. Now Sakadeva Raja has many names, one of them is Magava. So here, Matali is asking him, is it because you fear him, you are frightened of him, that you tolerate his harsh words. And Sakadeva Raja said, it is neither through fear nor weakness that I am patient with Vipacitti. How can a wise person like me engage in combat with a fool? And Matali said, fools would vent their anger even more if no one would keep them in check. Hence, with drastic punishment, a wise man should restrain the fool. And Sakka Devaraja said, I myself think this alone is the way to check the fool. When one knows one's foe is angry, one mindfully maintains one's peace. And Matali said, I see this fault, O Vasava. Vasava is another name of Sakka Devaraja. I see this fault, O Vasava, in practicing patient endurance. When the fool thinks of you thus, he endures me out of fear. The dog will chase you even more, as a bull does one who flees. And Sakka said, Let it be, whether or not he thinks, he endures me out of fear. Of goals that culminate in one's own good, None is found better than patience. When a person endowed with strength patiently endures a weakling, they call that the supreme patience. The weakling must be patient always. They call that strength no strength at all, the strength that is the strength of folly. But no one can reproach a person who is strong because of being guarded by Dhamma. One who repays an angry man with anger thereby makes things worse for himself. Not repaying an angry man with anger, one wins a battle hard to win. He practices for the welfare of both his own and the others. When knowing that his foe is angry, he mindfully maintains his peace. When he achieves the cure of both his own and the others, the people who consider him a fool are unskilled in the Dhamma. So monks, if Sakka Devaraja, subsisting on the fruit of his own merit, exercising supreme sovereignty and rulership over the Tavatimsa Devas, will be one who speaks in praise of patience and gentleness, then how much more would it be fitting here for you who have gone forth in such a well-expounded Dhamma Vinaya to be patient and gentle. That's the end of the Sutta. So the Buddha is saying, if Sakka Devaraja can be so patient and gentle, all the more so that a monk who is practicing this Dhamma Vinaya of the Enlightened One, the Buddha, all the more so he should be patient and gentle. Later, we will read how Sakadeva Raja became Sakadeva Raja. And one of the factors that helped him to become Sakadeva Raja is this, that he never gets angry. It's very hard to do, not to get angry, made a fool. I think I'll stop here for tonight. Any questions? The Four Great Heavenly Kings? No, they are not a family. The Four Great Heavenly Kings are leaders of four different groups of devas. Are you talking about the 33 or the 4? 4 gate kings ah? But here we are talking about Savaka, Devaraja, 33. How previous? Uh huh, uh huh. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, four great heavenly kings, right? No, I mean the Devas itself would have families, but the four great heavenly kings refer to four different types of different divinities. Yeah, North, South, East, West. 33 Devas. Yes, there is a second heaven. There is a second heaven. Yeah, Tavatimsa heaven. So these 33, they could have been good friends in the past. They practiced together and they were born together. So they are like, in Malaysia, we have Sultans. Sultans in every state. So in the same way, they have 33 of them. But just as we have the king, so they acknowledge Devaraja as the overall king. Yeah, all devas, they have greats. They have a king. Under the king, they will have smaller rulers. So the Buddha says every area we come to, we have a leader, we can call a Deva Raja, what we call like Datto Kong and all this. They are the king in that area, just like the village headman. Because they differ from each other. It's just like in a country, you may have two different races or three different races, and because of this difference, they don't agree with each other. This is because of our discriminating mind. So here, the Asuras and the Devas that belong to Sakadevaraja, they look a bit different. Character is a bit different. Generally, devas and devis cannot practice because it is so pleasurable in heaven. They don't see dukkha. Dukkha is an incentive for us to practice. If there is no dukkha, why should we practice? Why would they be so interested in the Dhamma? Because they are intelligent enough when they hear the Dhamma. They are intelligent enough to know that what the Buddha says is true. So the most they can do, for most of them, is just to listen to the Dhamma. No, if they understand. So like Sakadeva Raja is mentioned later, in the Digha Nikaya, that after he came to see the Buddha, and asked the Buddha questions, and the Buddha answered him, that he became a stream enterer. So because like for devas, their mind is quite clear. So when they listen, they can understand more easily. The only thing is like in the Deva realm there is no monks, no Sangha of monks, so there is no incentive to practice. That means it is to be a human regular. Yes, that is why it is mentioned in the sutras, the arahants are only found in the human realm. could be that they did a lot of good deeds because it's a low heaven Not exactly. They don't have the right view. They must have had a worldly right view. Because there are two types of right view. One is worldly right view. One is Aryan right view. They may not have Aryan right view. But they may have worldly right view. Because if you have worldly right view, then your karma is good. You don't harm others. Then you can be reborn in heaven. If you don't even have worldly right view, you won't be doing good karma. You won't be reborn in heaven. Asura is better than a lot of other states of rebirth now. They enjoy life. They don't really do evil deeds. Fighting is not an evil deed. It's like their lifestyle is like that. There is one interpretation. We also don't know exactly who is Tingyikong. It's a concept in Chinese. Because in Chinese culture, when you talk about Tingyikong, in Chinese culture we cannot explain the different levels of heaven. Unlike the Buddha, the Buddha can explain the different levels. He can identify particular devas. So in Chinese, we just imagine there is some ruler there who rules over the earth and all that. We call him Ti Kong or Shang Ti or something like that. Shang Ti. We don't really know who it is. It's just a concept. Whereas the Buddha is different. The Buddha has seen, has talked to them. You see these devas, there are many levels of devas. So the lower levels, because especially in this sensual desire realm, all living beings are dominated by lust. You are male, you are female. So out of there, you have the sensual desire. Then when there's desire, there's jealousy, then there's fighting. But like the form realm, the jhana realms, they don't need outside things to make them happy. The mind itself makes them happy. So they don't have to do anything. They don't have to look for anything to be happy. They just abide in bliss. The happiness comes from within. Whereas for the sensual desire realm, they still want to look for outside things to satisfy their sensual desire. They want beautiful forms. They want beautiful music. That's why a lot of devas, sometimes you meet in the sutras, the devis make beautiful music. Better than our Michael Jackson and all this. In fact, there's one sutta in the Digha Nikaya. When Sakadeva Raja wanted to meet the Buddha, he sent a young Deva to go and introduce him first, before he actually comes. So this young Deva, he was in love with one Devi. But the Devi don't want him. So he came and played his music, and sang to the Buddha, and talked about his problem, how he loved this Devi, that Devi rejected him, and all these things. Then finally, he introduced Sakka Devarajah. So Sakka Devarajah got to know the Buddha, and meet the Buddha. And after finishing talking to the Buddha, Sakka Devarajah was so pleased, he asked the Devi to be his wife. So, you see, they still have problems in our human world. Jealousy, and love, and all these things. So once you have this, you have that. Then, do you have suffering? Okay, now I'm going to trust the Marine.

21-SN-Sakka-(Ch.11)-(2009-07-22).txt

Today is 22nd of July 2009 and we are on the 11th chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya, Sakka Samyutta, or the suttas that have to do with Sakka Devaraja. Now we come to 11.5. At Savatthi, the Buddha said, Monks, once in the past the Devas and the Asuras were arrayed for battle. Then Vipacitti, Lord of the Asuras, said to Sakadeva Raja, Lord of the Devas, let there be victory by well-spoken counsel. And Saka replied, Vipacitti, let there be victory by well-spoken counsel. Then monks, the Devas and Asuras, appointed a panel of judges, saying, these will ascertain what has been well spoken and badly spoken by us. Then Vipacitti, lord of the Asuras, said to Sakadevaraja, speak a verse, lord of the Devas. When this was said, Saka said to Vipacitti, you, Vipacitti, being the senior Deva here, speak a verse. And this was said when Pachitti, Lord of the Asuras, recited this verse. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the Asuras and the Devas were arrayed, ready to fight. And then this leader of the Asuras, he suddenly had an idea. He said, why don't we have a fight of words? We see who can speak better. So, Sakadewa Raja agreed. So now, Sakadewa Raja says, you are the elder Deva, so you speak first. And this was said when Pachitti, Lord of the Asuras, recited this verse. Fools would vent their anger even more if no one would keep them in check. Hence, with drastic punishment, The wise man should restrain the fool. When monks, Vipacitti, lord of the Asuras, spoke this verse, the Asuras applauded, but the Devas were silent. Then Vipacitti said to Saka, speak a verse, lord of the Devas. When this was said, Saka Devaraja recited this verse. I myself think this alone is the way to check the fool. When one knows one's foe is angry, one mindfully maintains one's peace. When monks, Sakka Devarajas, spoke this verse, the Devas applauded, but the Asuras were silent. Then Sakka said to Vipacitti, speak a verse, Vipacitti. And this was said, Vipacitti, Lord of the Asuras, recited this verse. I see this thought, O Vasava, in practicing patient endurance. When the fool thinks of you thus, he endures me out of fear. The dog will chase you even more, as a bull does one who flees." Let's stop here for a moment. This Vasava is another name of Sakadeva Raja. When monks, Vipacitti, lord of the Asuras, spoke this verse, the Asuras applauded, but the Devas were silent. Then Vepacitti said to Sakka, speak a verse, Lord of the Devas. When this was said, Sakka Devaraja recited these verses. Let it be whether or not he thinks he endures me out of fear of goals that culminate in one's own good, none is found better than patience. When a person endowed with strength, patiently endures a weakling. They call that the supreme patience. The weakling must be patient always. They call that strength no strength at all, the strength that is the strength of folly. But no one can reproach a person who is strong because guarded by Dhamma. But who repays an angry man with anger, thereby makes things worse for himself. Not repaying an angry man with anger, one wins a battle hard to win. He practices for the welfare of both his own and the others. When knowing that his foe is angry, he mindfully maintains his peace. When he achieves the cure of both his own and the others, the people who consider him a fool are unskilled in the Dhamma. When monks, these verses were spoken by Sakka Devaraja, the Devas applauded, but the Asuras were silent. Then the panel of judges appointed by the Devas and Asuras said this. The verses spoken by Vepacitti, lord of the Asuras, are in the sphere of punishment and violence. Hence they entail conflict, contention and strife. But the verses spoken by Sakka Devaraja are in the sphere of non-punishment and non-violence. Hence they entail freedom from conflict, freedom from contention, and freedom from strife. Sakka, lord of the Devas, has won the victory by well-spoken counsel. In this way mounts Sakka Devaraja won the victory by well-spoken counsel. So you see the character of these two Devarajas. The Vipacitti is more fierce, more violent type. He's quick to use violence, but the Sakadevaraja is very patient and does not allow himself to get angry or to vent his anger. That's the nature of the Asuras. They like to fight. 11.6 at Savatthi. Monks, once in the past, the Devas and the Asuras were arrayed for battle. In that battle, the Asuras won, and the Devas were defeated. In defeat, the Devas withdrew towards the north, while the Asuras pursued them. Then Sakka, lord of the Devas, addressed his charioteer Matali in verse, Avoid, O Matali, with your chariot-pole, the bird-nests in the silk-cotton woods. Let's surrender our lives to the Asuras, rather than make these birds nestless." Yes, your Lordship, Matali the charioteer replied, and he turned back the chariot, the chariot with its steam of a thousand thoroughbreds. Stop here for a moment. So here, Sakadeva Raja was in his chariot going full speed, being chased by the Asuras. But he saw ahead of him the bird nests on the trees. So he was afraid if they keep flying through the air like this, they may injure the bird nests. and maybe kill the young birds. So he told his driver Matali, the Deva Matali, to turn the thousand white horses around to avoid the bird nests. Then monks, it occurred to the Asuras, now Sakha's chariot with the steam of a thousand thoroughbreds has turned back. The Devas will engage in battle with the Asuras for a second time. Stricken by fear, they entered the city of the Asuras. In this way, monks, Sakka Devarajas, won a victory by means of righteousness itself. That's the end of the sutra. So here, when Sakka Devarajas' chariot turned back, made a U-turn, then the Asuras assumed that there must be a lot of Devas behind. That's why he is coming back to fight again. So they got frightened and they ran off back to their city. So here, Sakadeva Raja won because of righteousness. 11.9. At Savatthi, monks, once in the past, a number of seers who were virtuous and of good character had settled down in leaf huts in a tract of forest. At the moment, these seers are ascetics. I think the Sanskrit word is Rishi, Rishi. In Thailand, they call Rishi. Then Sakka Devaraja and Vepacitti, lord of the Asuras, approached those seers. Vepacitti, lord of the Asuras, put on his boots, bound his sword on tightly, and with a parasol, borne aloft, entered the hermitage through the main gate. Then having turned, his left side towards them. He walked past those seers who were virtuous and of good character. But Sakka Devaraja took off his boots, handed over his sword to others, lowered his parasol, his umbrella, and entered the hermitage through an ordinary gate or a small gate. Then he stood on the lee side raising his joined hands in reverential salutation, paying homage to those seers who were virtuous and of good character. Let's stop here for a moment. So you see, this Sakadeva Raja and this Vipacitti, sometimes they fight with each other, but sometimes they are friends, because Sakadeva Raja has many wives, and one of his favorite wives is I think Sujampati. And that is the daughter of Vipacitti, the lord of the Asuras. So actually Vipacitti is the father-in-law of Sakadeva Raja. So in this Uttara, they went together to see these ascetics in the forest. And Vipacitti, wearing his boots, and with his sword, and his umbrella, high up, he walked through the main gate, quite proud, and with his left side towards them. And his left side towards them shows not paying respect, because in the Indian tradition, and probably in the Deva tradition, if you respect somebody, your right side must always face that person. But here, he turned his left side towards them and walked past them. On the other hand, Sakadeva Raja took off his boots out of respect and even his sword he handed over to a lesser deva and then lowered his umbrella and entered the hermitage through a small gate. Then he stood on the lee side, the lower side of the wind, so that the wind goes first to the ascetics and then to him out of respect. Ten months, those seers addressed Saka in verse. The odor of the seers, long bound by their vows, emitted from their bodies, goes with the wind. Turn away from here, thousand-eyed god, for the seers' odor is foul, Deva Raja. And Saka Deva Raja said, Let the odor of the seers, long bound by their vows, emitted from their bodies, go with the wind. We yearn for this odour, venerable sirs. As for a garland of flowers on the head, the devas do not perceive it as repulsive. That's the end of the sutra. So here, the seers understood that this Thakka Devaraja was standing on the lee side. In other words, when the wind blows, the smell of the Ascetics, the human smell will go to this Devaraja. So they know that the human smell is very repulsive, very smelly to the Devas. So they ask him not to stand there. But he told them that he respected them so much that he yearns for their smell just like a garland of flowers on the head. So you see the character of Sakadeva Raja is very different from the Asura King. 11.11, at Savatthi. Monks, in the past, when Sakka Devaraja was a human being, he adopted and undertook seven vows, by the undertaking of which he achieved the status of Sakka. What were the seven vows? 1. As long as I live, may I support my parents. 2. As long as I live, may I respect the family elders. 3. As long as I live, may I speak gently. 4. As long as I live, may I not speak divisively. 5. As long as I live, may I dwell at home with a mind devoid of the stain of stinginess, freely generous, open-handed, delighting in relinquishment, devoted to charity, delighting in giving and sharing. 6. As long as I live, may I speak the truth. 7. As long as I live, may I be free from anger, and if anger should arise in me, may I dispel it quickly. In the past monks, when Sakka Devaraja was a human being, he adopted and undertook these seven vows, by the undertaking of which he achieved the status of Sakka. When a person supports his parents and respects the family elders, when his speech is gentle and courteous, and he refrains from divisive words, when he strives to remove meanness, is truthful and vanquishes anger, the Tavatimsa Devas call him truly a superior person. That's the end of the Sutta. So here, you see, The formula is given to you now to become a Devaraja. So if you aspire to be a Devaraja, making vows is no use. You have to follow this formula. Support parents. Number two, respect the elders. Number three, speak gently. Number four, not speak divisively. That means Don't speak words that divide people. For example, if you hear A talking bad about B, you don't go and tell B, you know, last night A said this and that, and then you cause A and B to quarrel. That is divisive speech. So you should speak in such a way as to make people unite and be in harmony. And number five is very generous. devoted to charity. Number six, he only speaks the truth. Number seven, he always does not allow himself to be angry. This is very difficult for most people, not to be angry. Unless you have a very calm mind from meditation, unless you have a very tranquil mind from that meditation, It's very difficult to suppress anger. So these are the seven good qualities to practice. Even if you can't practice all of it, you can practice a few. Hopefully you can become a Deva or a Devi from there. 11.12 at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove. There the Blessed One said to the monks, Monks, in the past when Sakadeva Raja was a human being, he was a Brahmin youth named Magha. Therefore he is now called Maghava. Monks, in the past, when Sakka Devaraja was a human being, he gave gifts in city after city. Therefore, he is called Purindada, the urban giver. Monks, in the past, when Sakka Devaraja was a human being, he gave gifts considerably. Therefore, he is called Sakka. Monks in the past, when Sakka Devaraja was a human being, he gave a rest house. Therefore, he is called Vatsava. Monks, Sakka Devaraja thinks of a thousand matters in a moment. Therefore, he is called Sahasakka, thousand eyes. You can also take it to mean that he has the psychic ability to see a thousand places in a moment. Monks, Saka's wife is the Asura maiden named Suja. Therefore, he is called Sujampati, Suja's husband. Monks, Saka Devaraja exercises supreme sovereignty and rulership over the Tavatimsa Devas. Therefore, he is called Lord of the Devas, Devaraja. Monks, in the past when Sakka Devaraja was a human being, he adopted and undertook seven vows, by the undertaking of which he achieved the status of Sakka. And these seven vows are as I read just now. As long as I live, may I support my parents. As long as I live, may I respect the family elders. As long as I live, may I speak gently. As long as I live, may I not speak divisively. As long as I live, may I dwell at home with a mind devoid of the stain of stinginess, freely generous, open-handed, delighting in relinquishment, etc. Number six, as long as I live, may I speak the truth. Number seven, as long as I live, may I be free from anger. And if anger should arise in me, may I dispel it quickly. So here we get to know why the Sakadeva Raja has these various names. 11.14. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrel Sanctuary. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks! Venerable Sir, those monks with light. The Blessed One said this. Monks! Once in the past, in this same Rajagaha, there was a poor man, a pauper, an indigent. He undertook faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom in the Dhamma Vinaya proclaimed by the Tathagata. Having done so, with the breakup of the body after death, he was reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world, in the company of the Tavatimsa Devas, where he outshone the other Devas in regard to beauty and glory. Thereupon the Tavatimsa Devas frowned forth with this, rumbled, and complained about it, saying, It is wonderful indeed, sir. It is amazing indeed, sir. For formerly, when this young Deva was a human being, he was a poor man, a pauper, an indigent. Yet with the breakup of the body after death, he has been reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world, in the company of the Tavatimsa Devas, where he outshines the other Devas in regard to beauty and glory. Then monks, Sakka Devaraja addressed the Tavatimsa Devas thus, Dear sirs, do not find fault with this young Deva. Formerly, when this young Deva was a human being, He undertook faith, virtue, learning, generosity and wisdom in the Dhamma Vinaya proclaimed by the Tathagata. Having done so, with the breakup of the body after death, he has been reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world, in the company of the Tavatimsa Devas, where he outshines the other Devas in regard to beauty and glory. Then monks, instructing the Tavatimsa devas, Sakka Devaraja on that occasion recited these verses. When one has faith in the Tathagata, unshakable and well-established, and good conduct built on virtue, dear to the noble ones and praised. When one has confidence in the Sangha, and one's view is straightened out, they say that one isn't poor, once life is not lived in vain. Therefore, the person of intelligence, remembering the Buddha's teaching, should be devoted to faith and virtue, to confidence and vision of the Dhamma." That's the end of the sutta. So here, you see, in this case, this man was very, very poor. But after passing away, he went up to Tavatimsa heaven and outshone the other Devas. So he thought, how can this be? So Sakadeva Raja said, don't envy him. When he was a human being, he had faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom in the Dhamma Vinaya. Also, he says, Sakadeva Raja in the last verses, he says, when one has faith in the Tathagata and the Buddha, unshakable and well-established. If one has unshakable faith in the Tathagata, that means one is already an Arya, a good conduct built on virtue dear to the noble ones. An Arya has virtue, has Aryan virtue. and then one has confidence in the Sangha and one's view is straightened out. That means one has the right view. If one has the right view, one has already entered the stream or is a Sotapanna. So, you see when a person understands the Dhamma, has attained the right view, then your blessings are very great. That's why this follower of the Buddha, he outshone the other Devas. so it's very good to get right view. Once you get right view, you will become an Ariya and you will never fall into the woeful planes again. You are either only born as a Deva or Devi or a human being and you have so much blessings. You go to heaven, so you outshine the Devas. You come to the human plane, so you will have A lot of luck, a lot of great fortune compared with other humans.

22-SN-Sakka-(Ch.11)-(2009-07-22).txt

11.15 at Savarthi in Jeta's Grove. Then Sakadeva Raja approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, stood to one side and said to Him, Merible Sir, what is a delightful place? And the Buddha said, Shrines in parks and woodland shrines, well-constructed lotus ponds, these are not worth a sixteenth part of a delightful human being. Whether in a village or forest, in a valley or on the plain, wherever the arahants dwell is truly a delightful place." That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha is telling Sakadeva Raja, wherever the arahants dwell, that place is a delightful place. Why? Because arahants the mind is very tranquil, very calm, very peaceful. So it influences the environment. Wherever you can find holy men, the environment becomes, in a way, holy because the devas and the devis will protect this holy person and the place around there will be very peaceful. That's why the Buddha said in the Mangala Sukta, it's good to see ariyas, noble ones, and to support holy men. If we live near holy men, then we also will have a good influence on them. 11.18, at Savatthi, There the blessed ones said this, monks. Once in the past, Sakadeva Raja addressed his charioteer, Matali Das. Harness the chariot with its team of a thousand thoroughbreds, friend Matali. Let us go to the park grounds to see the beautiful scenery. Yes, your lordship, Matali, the charioteer replied. Then he harnessed the chariot with its team of a thousand thoroughbreds and announced to Sakadeva Raja. The chariot has been harnessed, dear sir. You may come at your own convenience. Let's stop here for a moment. You see this Chakadevaraja, whenever he wants to go for a ride, makan angin, he will ask his charioteer, the driver, Matali, to get his horses. He has 1,000 white horses. So you see, in heavens also you have animals. In the sutras we find in the heavens we have many animals. We have, as mentioned, we have like Naga, snake spirits. We have Garuda, bird spirits. Then we have fishes also, Timingala. Mentioned huge fishes because in the heavens also got the ocean, big ocean. So, not to mention Ganesha, the Indian elephant god. Then monk Sakadevaraja, descending from the Vijayanta Palace, raised his joined hands in reverential salutation, and worshipped the different quarters, that means the north, south, east, west. Then Matali, the charioteer, addressed Sakai in verse, These all humbly worship you, those versed in the triple Veda, all the Kathiyas, nobles reigning on earth, the four great kings and the glorious 30, So who, O Sakka, is that spirit to whom you bow in worship? Stop here for a moment. So before Sakka Devaraja entered the chariot, he bowed to the four directions. And Matali was surprised. Matali, the Deva, he said, These who are versed in the Triple Vedas, that means the Brahmins, Brahmins worship you, and the noble caste, the warrior caste, the Kathiyas, they also worship you. And the four great heavenly kings also worship you. And the thirty Devarajas in the Tapatimsa heaven, they also worship you. So whom are you worshipping? And Sakhadeva Raja said, These all humbly worship me, those versed in the Triple Veda, all the kathiyas reigning on earth, the four great kings and the glorious thirty. But I worship those endowed with virtue, those long trained in concentration, those who have properly gone forth. with the holy life their destination. I worship as well, O Matali, those householders making merit, the lay followers possessed of virtue, who righteously maintain a wife." I'll stop here for a moment. So here, Sakadeva Raja says that firstly he worships those ascetics or the monks who lead the holy life, who truly lead the holy life. And then he also worships the householders, lay people, who are virtuous and do good deeds. And then Matali said, those whom you worship, my Lord Sakka, are indeed the best in the world. I too will worship them, those whom you worship, Vasava. So then the Buddha said, having given this explanation, having worshipped the different quarters, the Deva King Maghava, Suja's husband, the chief, climbed into his chariot. So he went to enjoy himself. So here you see, Devaraja, like this Saka, he also respects holy men, those who walk the holy path, and even virtuous lay people. So, hopefully, Sakhadeva Raja is keeping an eye on us. Actually, as long as a person is virtuous, there will be beings that protect you if you are virtuous. Just like Sakhadeva Raja here says, He respects those virtuous people. 11.22, at Sabati in Jeta's Grove. There, the Blessed One said this, Monks, once in the past, a certain ugly, deformed yakka sat down on the seat of Sakka Devaraja. Stop here for a moment. Yakka is a deva, is one of the heavenly beings. Those Devas in the Sakhadeva Raja's realm are also called Yakas. But this fellow is an ugly, deformed Yakala. So he went to sit on the king's Sakhadeva Raja, the king's throne. He went to sit there. Thereupon the Tavatimsa Devas found fault with this, grumbled and complained about it, saying, It is wonderful indeed, sir. It is amazing indeed, sir. This ugly, deformed Yakka has sat down on the seat of Sakka Devaraja. But to whatever extent the Tavatimsa Devas found fault with this, grumbled and complained about it, to the same extent that Yakka became more and more handsome, more and more comely, more and more graceful. Then monks, the Tavatimsa Devas approached Sakka and said to him, Here, dear sir, an ugly, deformed yaka has sat down on your seat." And then they explained that the more angry they got, the more beautiful the yaka became. And then they said, that must be anger-eating yaka. The more anger you have, it feeds on anger. Then monks, Sakka Devaraja, approached that anger-eating yaka. Having approached, He arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, knelt down with his right knee on the ground, and raising his joint hands in reverential salutation towards that yakha, he announced his name three times, I, dear sir, am Sakka Devaraja. I, dear sir, am Sakka Devaraja. To whatever extent, Sakka announced his name, to the same extent that Yakha became uglier and uglier, and more and more deformed, until he disappeared right there. Then monks, having sat down on his own seat, instructing the Tavatimsa Devas, Sakka Devaraja on that occasion recited these verses. I am not one afflicted in mind, nor easily drawn by anger's whirl. I never become angry for long, nor does anger persist in me. When I am angry, I don't speak harshly, and I don't praise my virtues. I keep myself well restrained, out of regard for my own good. So actually when the devas came to tell Sakka Devaraja that this is what happened, they saw this ugly yakka sitting on his throne and then the more they got angry, the more they grumbled, the more beautiful this yakka became. Then Sakka Devaraja realized that this must be an anger-eating yakka. So he knew what to do. He went to him and then paid respect to him, knelt down on his knee and all that, and announced his name. The more respect he gave to this ugly deva, the more uglier he became. And he continued doing this until that yakka disappeared. So when we reflect on this sutta, we can think perhaps This type of anger-eating yakka is also inside us. This demon is also inside us. Whenever we get more and more angry, the demon inside us becomes more and more powerful, more and more bigger, more and more beautiful. So the only way to defeat this demon inside us is not to get angry because it feeds on anger so every person we have this good and evil inside us so the evil inside us wants us to be angry wants us to be jealous wants us to do all the evil things to break the precepts and all that so if you listen to this the evil inside us, then it will become stronger. So the only way is to do the opposite, and then you will become smaller and smaller. That's the end of the suttas I'm going to read in this Sakka Samyutta, which means that I finished 11 Samyuttas, and that is the first book. Sagatavagga, the first book of the Samyutta Nikaya we have finished. So the next book starts with Nidana Samyutta. Nidana Samyutta, that is dependent origination. Actually Nidana means causation. So instead of doing it day, I think I will do it tomorrow night because it's a totally new subject. And also this Nidana book, this chapter is one of the tough nuts we have to crack to understand. So I'll only start on it tomorrow. So you have anything to discuss tonight that you can discuss? I guess if the deva is dying, just like us, we will be reborn according to our kamma. Yes, I would think so. It's only the higher devas that they don't fight. Lower devas fight with him. Ah, what page is that? 2, 3, 0 3, 3, 0 Which one? He gave gifts considerably Let's look at the footnote. I guess it means considerably, gives a lot. I think seldom. Because their character is such. They are not so interested in the Dhamma. They don't practice the Dhamma so well. Whereas Sakadeva Raja, he values the Dhamma. so he practices according to Dhamma, so he wants to learn Dhamma. There is one Sutta where one of the kings of the lowest heaven, four great heavenly kings, he came to tell the Buddha that many of the Devas under the four great heavenly kings, they don't like the Buddha and they don't like the Buddha's disciples because the Buddha encourages people not to kill, not to steal, not to commit adultery and all that and many of them they have to kill maybe to get their food and they find it difficult to keep the precepts so because they find it difficult to keep the precepts so they don't like the Buddha and the Buddha's disciples so this Deva Raja taught a chant to the Buddha and he asked the Buddha to teach the monks and this chant when you chant this this one we sometimes we chant at night like we start with we praise the six buddhas the seven buddhas And then after that, they recite the names of the Deva Rajas, all the Taikas, all the Tiger Generals of the Deva world. So when recite all the names of the fierce Devas, so if any Deva wants to harm you, when he hears you reciting all these names, then he gets frightened. So it is one of the protection chants. So from this, you can see that not all devas like monks. Some of them don't like monks. In fact, in the Vinaya books, it is mentioned that if there may be certain places where you have some fierce spirit which can harm a monk, the Buddha says monks should not go there unless the monk has got psychic power. And not all of them, it depends on their blessings. Just like in the human realm, In fact, the human realm is quite similar to the heavens. In the human realm, you have people who are very well-off. They have an extremely good life. On the other hand, you have people like in Africa or India who are very poor and suffer a lot. So it all depends on our karma. You can't, like, want to choose, like, oh I want to go here, and then be reborn here, reborn there. All depends on your karma. Is there a way to choose that you know you're going to be born in the same body? Is there a way to choose that you choose to be born in the same body? This is what people say, but I think it's not necessary. Not necessary to be after your human birth to come back as a human being because this heaven rebirth is like a rest before you come down and exert yourself again because if you look at our Buddha, our Bodhisatta he mentioned that when he met the Buddha Kassapa he was a Brahmin he was a brahmin and he didn't want to see the buddha kasapa even but his friend pulled him so he had to go and then his friend asked the buddha to teach some dhamma to this bodhisattva out of compassion and the buddha did and after hearing the dhamma this bodhisattva must have attained stream entry because He renounced the home life and became a monk under the Buddha Kassapa. And after that lifetime, he was reborn in the Tushita Heaven. And after Tushita Heaven, he came down to the human world as Siddhartha Gautama and became enlightened. So you see, he went to heaven. It was not time wasted. It's like go up there and recuperate. Get some inspiration, get some rest and calm down and then you have to strive. It's just like human beings, when human beings go to war to kill each other, but then No, it's not that, sometimes not that you like to do it, it's just that you have to go collectively, you have to defend your country, you have to defend your people, so the karma is not so heavy. I'm not sure. And it can change. Just like human beings. There are so many beautiful looking human beings and sometimes you get an ugly looking one. Yeah, they are in the heavenly world. You can't see because they are so far away. And secondly, they are in a different world. They are in a different realm. Just like if devas are around us, or ghosts are around us, we cannot see. Our human eye cannot see. But they are around us. So in the same way, so these heavens, they are up there, but if you use your telescope to look, you won't be able to see because they are in a different realm. I'm not sure. Because Chinese, we don't have so systematic. description of the heavens, like the Buddha has described. In Penang, normally, we follow what Manti Suvarno says. We call him Ti Kong, which probably the equivalent is Yog Wong Tai Tai. Yog Wong Tai Tai. Yog Wong Tai Tai. Okay, we stop here for tonight. Thanks for watching.

23-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-(2009-07-23).txt

Today is the 23rd of July 2009 and we finished the first book of the Samyutta Nikaya. Now we come to the second book. This second book is called the Nidana Vaga, the book of causation. And this book contains 10 Samyuttas and the first is the Nidana Samyutta. and Nidana Samyutta takes up almost half of the book. This is a very important topic in early Buddhism. So this Nidana, Nidana means cause or source or origin or condition and this has the same meaning as Paticca Samuppada, dependent origination. But instead of calling it the Paticca Samuppada Samyutta, which is maybe too long, they call it the Nidana Samyutta. Now there are many suttas concerning this topic. Most of it are in this book that we are going to go into in this particular chapter. But even in the Digha Nikaya, there is a The longest sutta on this topic, Paticca Samuppada, dependent origination, and it is called the Mahanidana Sutta. Now, I quote here from the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi's introduction of his translation of the Samyutta Nikaya. It says here, dependent origination is one of the central teachings of early Buddhism, so vital to the teaching as a whole that the Buddha is quoted as saying, In the Majjhima Nikaya, one who sees dependent origination sees the Dhamma, and one who sees the Dhamma sees dependent origination. So, if you understand dependent origination, this chapter, the suttas in this chapter that we are going to go through, then you would have seen the Dhamma, and when you have seen the Dhamma, you would have attained Shreem Entry. The ultimate purpose of the Teaching on Dependent Origination is to expose the conditions that sustain the round of rebirths, samsara, so as to show what must be done to gain release from the round. So this topic exposes the conditions that sustain samsara, actually goes step by step to unravel the origin of suffering. And there are twelve conditions. So the Pali formula we often chant is Abhijjapacchaya Sankara Sankarapacchaya Vinyanam Vinyanam Pacchayana Marupam nama, rupang, pacaya, salah, yatanang, up down to birth, jati, then all the other types of suffering. So when you recite in this way, ignorance gives rise to volition and volition gives rise to consciousness, etc. So finally it ends up with suffering. So this is called the origination forward sequence in Tali's Anuloma. Then the other way of reciting it, which we often do, is Abhijayatveva, Asesa, Viraga, Niroda, Sankara, Nirodo, Sankara, Niroda, etc. So the other way is the cessation or reverse sequence. That means we ignorance ceases, then volition ceases. And because of ignorance ceasing, then volition ceases. And when volition ceases, then consciousness ceases in that order. In the end, suffering ceases. So, at this point, we are going into the deeper part of the Dhamma, unlike the first book. So now, according to the traditional interpretation, these 12 links of dependent origination can be broken into three lifetimes, the past, the present, and the future. And they say it is because of the past ignorance and the past volition that in the present life we have consciousness, You have Nama Rupa, you have six sense bases, contact, feeling. These are the present effects. And then in the present life, craving, clinging and existence causes future birth. And future birth will come along with aging and dying. So they break it up into three lifetimes. But I've written a book on this subject, dependent origination, I have explained that there are certain suttas that the Buddha has spoken where the Buddha only considers two lifetimes present and the future lifetime and there are some monks also say that these 12 links You can refer to only one lifetime, the present lifetime, since the Buddha says that the Dhamma is Sanditiko, can be seen in this present lifetime. So all the twelve links, you should be able also to see in this present lifetime. But without explaining too much, we can go straight into the Suttas in the Nidana Samyutta. OK, now we go to the first sutta. Thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's path. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks? Venerable Sir, those monks replied. Blessed One said this. Monks, I will teach you dependent origination. Listen to that and attend closely. I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said this, and what monks is dependent origination. With ignorance as condition, avijja, volition comes to be. Here, Prabhupada Bodhi has translated as volitional formations, volitional formations. And later, you can see the traditional interpretation by the later monks is that volitional formation, sankara here means kamma. But as I have said in my book, Dependent Origination, I don't agree with it. Later you will see why. So here instead of translating it as volitional formations, which Vibhishana Bodhi uses, I will just say volition, sankara. In fact, in the five aggregates, You also have Sankara there in the five aggregates. Five aggregates means the five aggregates of a being. Body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. So that is also basically body and mind. So, because we take ourselves to be this body and this mind. So, inside the five aggregates, you notice the fourth one is volition. And it's the same word, sankara. So, there it's mentioned to be volition. So here, you can also call it volition. Same word, same meaning. So, ignorance has condition. Volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness comes to be. With consciousness as condition, name and form, Nama Rupa. Sometimes it is translated as mentality, materiality. With name and form as condition, the six sense bases, Salayatana. With six sense bases as condition, contact, Tasa. With contact as condition, feelings, Vedana. With feeling as condition, craving, tanha, with craving as condition, clinging, upadana, with clinging as condition, existence, bhava. Here it is translated as existence, but I think I prefer the word being. But never mind, for the moment we continue as, with existence as condition, birth, jati, with birth as condition, aging and death, Sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair come to be. In Pali, chara, maranam, soka, parideva, dukkha, domana, supayasa. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. This month is called dependent origination. I stop here for a moment. So here you see, This whole chain of twelve links, dependent origination, is actually explaining the dependent origination of suffering. Because to untangle this mess of suffering, we have to understand where suffering comes from. So these twelve links are trying to explain where suffering comes from you see the final link is called aging and dying sorrow lamentation pain displeasure and despair yeah so this is the whole mess of suffering aging and sickening and dying sorrow lamentation pain Displeasure, sometimes called grief, grief and despair. So all this is suffering. So later you'll see when they explain backwards, the Buddha will ask, where does this aging and dying, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair come from? Comes from birth. Once you have birth, you must have aging and dying, etc. So he traces it the other way. So this is called dependent origination. And you always must remember when we say dependent origination, in the Buddha's teachings, it's always dependent origination of suffering to continue. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volition. With the cessation of volition, cessation of consciousness. With the cessation of consciousness, cessation of name and form, namarupa or mentality and materiality. With the cessation of mentality and materiality, cessation of the six sense bases. With the cessation of the six sense bases, cessation of contact. With the cessation of contact, cessation of feeling. With the cessation of healing, cessation of craving, cessation of clinging, cessation of existence, of being, with the cessation of being, cessation of birth, with the cessation of birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. This is what the Blessed One said. elated, those mouths delighted in the blessed one statement. So here you see there are two ways of this dependent origination. The first one is the arising of suffering, and the other one, when he talks about cessation of each one of the links, is the cessation of suffering. Now we go into the second sutra, which explains each of these 12 conditions. At Savatthi, Monks, I will teach you dependent origination, and I will analyse it for you. Listen to that and attend closely. I will speak." Yes, Venerable Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said this, And what, monks, is dependent origination? With ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness, exactly as in the preceding Sutta, such is the origin of this whole mess of suffering. And what mounts is aging and death. The aging of the various beings in the various orders of beings. Their growing old, brokenness of teeth, grayness of hair, wrinkling of skin, decline of vitality, degeneration of the faculties. This is called aging. passing away of the various beings from the various orders of beings, their perishing, breakup, disappearance, mortality, death, completion of time, the breakup of the aggregates, the laying down of the carcass. This is called death. Thus, this aging and this death are together called aging and death. Let's stop here for a moment. So here we see the explanation of aging and death is like for human beings, how a person grows old and then loses a teeth, the hair becomes white, the skin becomes wrinkled, decline of the vitality, etc. But this is not necessarily true all the time because this dependent origination or suffering applies not only to human beings, but applies to all beings. So in the case of heavenly beings, you don't have this type of aging. Heavenly beings, they don't get white hair and broken teeth and wrinkled skin and all that. So this general explanation is not that it applies to every single being. Death also. And then what mounts is birth. The birth of the various beings into the various orders of beings that being born, descend into the womb, production, the manifestation of the aggregates, the obtaining of the sense bases. This is called birth. This also refers to like human birth and maybe like animal birth. But not necessarily all beings, because there are some beings that don't enter the womb, like here, descend into the womb. So, like heavenly beings, they are spontaneously born, what the Bible says, born of the Spirit, direct transformation. So, must remember, sometimes this explanation applicable to all beings. And what monks is existence of being. There are these three kinds of existence of being. Sense sphere, existence of being. Form sphere, existence of being. Formless sphere, existence of being. This is called existence. Now this word, existence bhava, is one of the hardest links to understand among these twelve links. So here, you see, here it says there are three types of beings, sense sphere being, form sphere being and formless sphere being. Because the Buddha says every world system, we have three levels. The lowest level is called the sensual desire realm. where you have male and female and all the beings are dominated by lust, sensual lust. And then slightly higher is the form realm. In the form realm, the beings have fine formula. and are reborn there because of having attained form jhāna, rūpa jhāna. They have attained one-pointedness of mind. So when they are reborn in the form realm, they experience great bliss and the bliss comes from within them, inside them. in their heart, in their mind, because of the state of their mind. So they are not dominated by lust. So there is no male and female. They are all unisex. Like Brahma. Brahma is only the lowest of the heavens. Then the higher heavens you go, the more bliss they experience. Then the third one is called the formless realm. This formless realm, some books say they are so-called because they have no form, but it cannot be true because in the suttas, Buddha says you cannot have consciousness without it being accompanied by the other of the five aggregates. These five aggregates, once you have consciousness, you have a being with consciousness, that consciousness must reside in the body. So you must have body, and when you have body and you have consciousness, the others must be there, namely feeling, perception, volition, together with consciousness. So the body is the physical part, the mental part are these four things, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. So it is called formless because it is so fine, their bodies are so fine that other beings cannot see them. Even the form beings Those who have attained Rupa Jhāna, they cannot see these beings in the Rupa Jhāna plane because Rupa Jhāna is a much higher Jhāna meditative state. So, because their bodies are so fine and so big, the other beings cannot see them. That's why they are called formless. But they have a form, a very fine form. So here, existence or being, it says there are three types of being. So very often people interpret this word bhava to mean existence, the world, the world, the sense sphere world, the form sphere world, the formless sphere world. But my understanding is a bit different. My understanding is this word bhava should be being. Being, meaning a being perceives that he exists. Because the suttas very often talks about the concept a being has that I am, I exist. Once you have this perception that I exist, then this will bring about the previous factor of birth. Once you feel you exist in the world, the moment you come into the world, that is the birth. So that's why existence, once there is existence, there is birth. So this existence is not the material world existence. It's the existence of that self, that ego, that feeling, I am, I exist. Once you have that I am or I exist, then you have a being, suddenly I am a being. For example, a tree may have consciousness, tree has a certain type of consciousness, but a tree does not have the perception I am or I exist, right? So because the tree does not have the perception I am or I exist, so it doesn't feel that it is born in the world, it doesn't feel that it suffers in the world. It's because we, all putujanas, all putujanas, all beings, except the arahant, because we have this perception of I am. In fact, this I am is the last, I think, to be eliminated before a person becomes liberated. One of the five higher factors is conceit, mana. Mana is a Pali word. The English translation is conceit. I think this conceit means that feeling of I am or I exist. So this word, bhava, Henceforth, I will try to remember to translate it as being, not existence. This is a very important word to understand, that once you have being only, then only you feel you exist in the world, you feel that you are born into the world. And what mounts is clinging. There are these four kinds of clinging. Clinging to sensual pleasures. Clinging to views. Clinging to rules and vows. Clinging to a doctrine of self. This is called clinging. These are the four types of clinging. The first one, clinging to sensual pleasures. Kamupadana. Clinging is upadana or attachment. The second one, clinging to views. The third one is clinging to rules and vows. Sila, batu, padana. Sila is rules. The other one is vata, vows. Clinging to the doctrine of a self. Atta, Vadu, Padana. So this is clinging. This one, there's no difficulty in understanding. And what mounts is craving. There are these six classes of craving. Craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for odors, craving for taste, craving for tactile objects, touch. Craving for mental phenomena, thoughts. This is called craving. So here we crave for the six sense objects. And what mounts is feeling. There are these six classes of feeling. Feeling born of eye contact. Feeling born of ear contact. Feeling born of nose contact, feeling born of tongue contact, feeling born of body contact, feeling born of mind contact. This is called feeling. So here feeling is like born of eye contact means you see something and then a feeling arises. Ear contact means you hear a sound, a certain sound and then a feeling arises, etc. And what monks is contact? There are these six classes of contact. Eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, body contact, mind contact. In the suttas, it is mentioned these six sense organs, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Any one of them, the condition that you have a sense organ and you have an object, then the consciousness will arise. And these three come together when they contact. That is contact. And following contact, you have feeling, perception, volition, and all that. So this is contact of the six senses. And what mounts are the six sense bases, the eye base, the ear base, the nose, tongue, body, mind. These are the six sense bases. And what mounts is name and form or mentality and materiality, feeling, perception, volition, contact, attention. This is called name. The four great elements and the form derived from the four great elements. This is called form. Thus this name and this form are together called name and form. This namarupa, name and form, another translation is mentality and materiality. And sometimes people translate this as body and mind. Namarupa, the Pali word here is namarupa, is not body and mind. Because you see here, nama is feeling, perception, volition, contact, attention. There is no consciousness here. And then form is the four great elements. And the form derived from the four great elements. So Nama Rupa is devoid of consciousness. So if there is no consciousness, it cannot be mind, body and mind. The body part is there, but not the mind part. So actually, this Nama Rupa is phenomenal. Phenomenal is the object of consciousness. The next link here is consciousness. And what mounts this consciousness? There are these six classes of consciousness. Eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, and mind consciousness. This is called consciousness. So this consciousness and Nama Rupa, they always come together according to the Buddha. They are like two sheaves of reed, standing, supporting each other, leaning against each other. If one of them falls, the other one also falls. If one of them stands, the other also stands. They depend on each other. So, vinyana, consciousness, and nama-rupa, mentality, materiality, always come together and seize together. They are one pair. You cannot separate them. They are like twins. You cannot separate them. So, from here, you can understand, since you cannot separate them, that Nama Rupa is actually the object of consciousness. When you are conscious, you have to be conscious of something. That something that you are conscious of is Nama Rupa. So, in English, it's called phenomena. What we are conscious of. So, we are conscious of two types of things. One is, we are conscious of mental activity. The other one is we are conscious of physical, physical object and mental object. So the mental object is Nama. Here it says feeling, perception, volition, contact and attention. So we are conscious, this is the mental part we are conscious of. And then the physical part we are conscious of is the four great elements and the form derived from the four great elements. These four elements designate the physical world. But the physical world, since the physical world only exists in consciousness, in a sense, it's not real. It's just a perception of consciousness. We perceive it. And because the physical world is a perception of consciousness, that's why it has four characteristics. One is the earth element. When you talk about the The four great elements, one is the earth element, means solidity. For example, I touch this table, it feels solid. But actually it's only a perception. If my mind is strong enough, like Arahant with psychic powers, I can perceive this as soft. It doesn't have to be hard. So this physical world is just a perception. And the other one is earth, water. The characteristic of water is that it coheres together. coheres together and forms a shape. So because we have water in our body, we see ourselves in a certain shape. If we dehydrate our body, take out all the water, the vapor from our body totally, the whole body becomes like a powder. It'll collapse like a powder. So that is the characteristic of water. It coheres things together to give it a form, a shape. Earth, water, fire. Fire is the heat element. Heat element. Suppose we touch something, we feel it hot or cold. So that is a perception. And then the last one is wind. Earth, water, fire, wind. Wind is a movement, characteristic of movement. So like in our body, we have the wind element. So things move in our body, like the blood moves. The air in our body moves, the food in our stomach moves, all because of the wind element. So you see, these physical qualities, earth, water, fire, wind, they are only a perception. So because of that, the mind is very important. If your mind is Pure, your mind, you have a good heart. The world, all this perception, all this perception in the world is comfortable to you. For example, you don't feel too hot, you don't feel too cold. But if your karma is so bad, you have an evil mind, you may perceive yourself in hell, where it's terribly cold or it's terribly hot, with the flames of hell burning you. All that is created by the mind. So the world actually is created by our mind. That's why our mind is so important. So let's talk about Nama Rupa. So Nama Rupa is mentality and materiality. What consciousness perceives. And after consciousness is volition. And what mounts is volition. There are these three kinds of volition. body volition, verbal volition, and mental volition. Here the word is Sankara. So in Pali, it is Kaya Sankara, Vaci Sankara, and Citta Sankara. So these three, Kaya, Vaci, and Citta Sankara, if you study the suttas, you will meet This is one set, one set of three Sankaras. Kaya, Vaci and Citta Sankara. You study the sutras, you will meet a second set called almost the same. Aya Sankara, Vaci Sankara and Mano Sankara. The last one is different, Mano Sankara. These two sets are used in different circumstances. In Paticca Sambuddhapada, dependent origination, you will find that the sankara is always these three, kaya, vaci and citta sankara. But in some other suttas, when they talk about kamma, creating kamma, then it is kaya vaci and mano sankara. So the problem is with the later monks, they seem to have confused the two. And in the traditional interpretation of this word sankara here, it says volitional formations or volition. They always associate volition with kamma, with creating kamma. They say because of ignorance in the past, we created kamma. So because of creating kamma, now we are reborn with consciousness. But I feel that's a mistake. If you read my book, Dependent Origination, I say this word volition has to do with the will to live. And because of ignorance, all beings have a very strong will to live. The will to live, not to die. So because of the will to live, the moment we die, our consciousness starts again. That is Sankara. And what mounts is ignorance, not knowing suffering, not knowing the origin of suffering, not knowing the cessation of suffering, not knowing the way leading to the cessation of suffering. This is called ignorance. Thus mounts, with ignorance as condition, volition, comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness. With consciousness as condition, nama rupa, mentality, materiality. With nama rupa as condition, the six sense bases come into existence. With six sense bases as condition, you have contact. With contact as condition, you have feeling. With feeling as condition, you have craving. Then clinging, being, birth, aging and death. So this is the origin of the whole mass of suffering. And similarly, when ignorance ceases, then volition ceases, and then consciousness ceases, and then mentality, materiality ceases one by one. Now, I just go through this again. Out of these twelve links, you find most of them we can understand. Two are stumbling blocks. One is Sankara. The other one is Bhava. Sankara I translate as volition. Here it says volitional formations. The other one is bhava. Bhava here says existence, but I think it is being. So keep in mind these two are sources of conflict in interpretation. So now I go to this again, how this suffering comes about. So the first condition is ignorance, not knowing the Four Noble Truths. When we don't understand the Four Noble Truths, we think the world is a nice place. So because of ignorance, we have volition. Volition is the will to live. It's only the Arahants, the Buddhas, they have understood the Four Noble Truths and then they have no more will to live. They let go of the will to live. Because all other beings, you have a very strong will to live, volition, sankara. And this will to live conditions consciousness. Because of sankara, the will to live, you have consciousness. Consciousness continues. And then when consciousness arises, it must always come together with phenomena, mentality, materiality, the object of consciousness. So this is a pair. And once you have this consciousness and mentality, materiality, then you must have a body. And this body has a six-sense basis. Okay? And then the sixth sense basis, once you have a body with six senses, then there must be contact. Contact is the sixth sense basis. And then once there is contact, either from seeing or hearing, etc., feeling arises. Okay? So this feeling, if it is a pleasant feeling, it gives rise to craving. Once you enjoy something, you crave for it. And once you crave for it, what are these things you crave for? Crave for forms, crave for sounds, crave for odours, crave for taste, crave for touch, crave for mental phenomena. So once you are craving, then you cling to it. Okay? You cling to it. And when you cling to it, when you enjoy something and you cling to it, you always have the feeling, I enjoy. I enjoy. That's why sensual pleasures in the world is It's a great obstacle to liberation. Once we enjoy life, we have a good life, we enjoy it, then we don't want to let go. Because you have the perception, I am enjoying life. Why should I let go of life? Suddenly when you have suffering that you want to find a way out of samsara. So once you have that clinging, then you have that I exist, that I am, that is the being bhava. So once you have the being, you have the feeling I have come into the world, that is birth. come to the world. Once you have birth, then you have aging, sickening, dying, and all different types of suffering. So this is how suffering comes about. This part, I have to take time to explain because this is the foundation. If you understand these 12 links fairly well, then you will understand the subsequent suttas. Otherwise, no point. You go too fast. You don't understand. Is there anything about these 12 links you want to ask?

24-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-(2009-07-23).txt

Okay, we go to the next sutta, 12.10. Monks, before my enlightenment, while I was still a Bodhisatta, not yet fully enlightened, it occurred to me. Alas, this world has fallen into trouble, in that it is born, ages and dies. It passes away and is reborn, yet it does not understand the escape from this suffering, hidden by aging and death. When now will an escape be discerned from this suffering aided by aging and death? Then monks, it occurred to me, when what exists, does aging and dying come to be? By what is aging and dying conditioned? Then monks, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is birth, aging and death or dying comes to be. Aging and death has birth as its condition. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha was trying to, the Bodhisatta, was trying to analyze why is there suffering in this world? Then he realized it's because we are born into this world, therefore we must suffer. If we are not born into this world, then there's no suffering. The cause of aging and dying, that means suffering, is birth. Then monks, it occurred to me, when one exists, does birth come to be? By what is birth condition? Then monks, to careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is being, Birth comes to be. Birth as existence, as being, as its condition. Then I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is thinking, why is there birth? Then he realized there is birth because there is this perception, I exist, I am. When you have the feeling I exist in this world, then you perceive that you are born into this world. Ten months it occurred to me when one exists or when one This word, bhava, can be exist. Does being come to be? When what exists, does being come to be? By what is being conditioned or existence conditioned? Then monks, by careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is clinging, being comes to be. clinging, being has clinging as its condition. Stop here a moment. As I explained just now, once you enjoy life, you cling to it, then you have that perception that I enjoy, I exist. So that's why the being comes into Then monks, it occurred to me, when what exists, does clinging come to be? By what is clinging condition? Then monks, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is craving, clinging comes to be. Clinging has craving as its condition. Then monks, it occurred to me, when what exists, does craving come to be? By what is craving condition? 10 months, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is feeling, craving comes to be. Craving has feeling for its condition. Stop here for a moment. So here, when there is pleasant feeling, because feeling, there is pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, and neutral feeling. So when you experience pleasure, when you have a pleasurable feeling, then the craving arises. Just like a small kid never tasted ice cream, you give him ice cream, when he tastes it, that pleasurable feeling makes him crave for it. Then monks, it occurred to me, when what exists, does feeling come to be? By what is feeling conditioned? Then, monks, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is contact, feeling comes to be. Feeling has contact as its condition. Then, monks, it occurred to me, when one exists, does contact come to be? By what is contact conditioned? Then, monks, through careful attention there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there are the six sense bases, contact comes to be. Contact has the six sense bases as its condition. Then, monks, it occurred to me, when what exists do the six sense bases come to be? By what are the six sense bases conditioned? 10 months, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is mentality, materiality, the six sense bases come to be. The six sense bases have mentality, materiality as their condition. Then monks, it occurred to me, when what exists does mentality and materiality come to be. But what is mentality and materiality condition? Then monks, to careful attention there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is consciousness, mentality and materiality comes to be. Mentality and materiality has consciousness as its condition. Stop here for a moment. These two, Nama Rupa and Vinyana, mentality, materiality and consciousness must always consider them as a pair because they arise together and cease together. Because they are twins, you have to see that when consciousness and mentality, materiality exist, that means there is consciousness, then that being comes into then the being must have the six senses. It's through the six senses that he perceives the world. So from there, when we have the six senses, then contact at the six senses occurs, which gives rise to feeling, et cetera. Then monks, it occurred to me, when what exists, does consciousness come to be? By what is consciousness conditioned? Then monks, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is volition, consciousness comes to be. Consciousness has volition as its condition. Ten monks, it occurred to me, when one exists, does volition come to be? By what is volition conditioned? Ten monks, to careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is ignorance, volition comes to be. Volition has ignorance as its condition. Thus, with ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness, etc., etc., such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. Now, origination. Origination, thus amounts in regard to things unheard. before there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge and light. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha's experience was that when he was considering this dependent origination he considered and he understood and the mind became bright because he basically his mind is already bright but when he applied his clear mind to contemplating dependent origination, then light arose. Just like on the night of enlightenment, when the Buddha was practicing hard to become enlightened, then when he attained enlightenment, the Buddha said light arose, knowledge arose. So it's the same here. So the rest of the Sutta is the reverse. Ten months it occurred to me. When what does not exist does aging and death not come to be. With the cessation of what does the cessation of aging and death, that means suffering, come about? Ten months to careful attention there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is no birth, Aging and death, that means suffering, does not come to be. With the cessation of birth, comes cessation of aging and death. 10 months it occurred to me, when what does not exist, does birth not come to be? By the cessation of what, does the cessation of birth come about? Then monks with careful attention, etc, he realized that when there is no being, birth does not come to be. The cessation of being comes cessation of birth, etc, etc. So I won't repeat the rest. The links, the twelve links are quite the same. So here you see, sometimes, like in this case, The Buddha comes to understanding, just through logic, just thinking clearly, why is there suffering? When he contemplates the reason for suffering, then he realizes it's because this world is a world of suffering. It's because we are born into this world that we suffer. If we are not born into this world, then we don't suffer. Then why are we born into this world? Because we have that feeling, I exist, I am. Once you have that I, then you see yourself in the world. Then why is there bhava, that being? Because of clinging. We cling. That's why at the moment of death, we refuse to die. We still cling to life. So that strength, that willpower brings us into the next birth. Okay, since these suttas are quite tough going, I won't go fast. I'll stop here for the moment. We can discuss. These types of suttas are not easy to understand, but if you take the trouble to understand, the Buddha says, he who sees dependent origination sees the Dhamma. So when you see the Dhamma, the Buddha says, you have attained the Dhammacaku. vision of the Dhamma that makes you a stream-enterer. That's why it's important to go to these suttas and try to digest it, try to understand. It will be easier to understand if you have a clear mind. That clear mind comes from meditation. Any questions? Mentality and materiality. There's name and form. Actually, it's not necessary these conditions, it can be the other way also. It's just convenience because in some other sutra it's explained that they come together. Just like some suttas, they explain, because of ignorance, you have asava. Asava is the mental uncontrol, mental outflows. And then some suttas, they have the reverse. Because of asava, you have ignorance. So you must see more suttas to understand, cannot be, what we call, see pan. Oh yeah, I mentioned the two arise together and cease together. They come in a pair, you cannot separate them. Because when you have consciousness, you must have an object of consciousness. As far as these six consciousnesses are concerned, they must always have an object. It's only in the state of parinibbana that the Buddha says that ultimate state is that type of consciousness without object. Yeah, sometimes some people have a coming obstacle and it's not right. No, I don't understand. That means they are not spiritually mature enough. When a person is spiritually mature, then your mind is such that you are ready to let go. There are some people, they come into the Dhamma, they still got a lot of clinging, so they cannot let go a lot of their bad habits, their bad character and all that. Yeah, we must always see our mind and admit our faults. There are some people who always refuse to see their faults. Even if you try to tell them, they get angry. then you have to change. If you see your fault, you have to change. Yes, that's why the Buddha says the spiritual path is a very gradual path. Just like the ocean slopes and becomes deeper very gradually, does not become deep suddenly. So in the same way, the spiritual path, we progress step by step. It takes many years to progress. Because of worries, because of obligations, and all that. That's why the Buddha encouraged people who want to practice the spiritual path to renounce the home life. If you have a business to worry about, a family to worry about, you don't have to do anything, I just pop up, keep popping up. I mean, if you stop at all the other things, the mind can stop. The third thing is the asavasya. of habit. Habit is one thing, another thing is because you always have all these worries, in fact like doing business is very bad for the mental cultivation for the spiritual path. People maybe who work for somebody else, they don't have so much worries. If you are the boss, you have so much worries. How to let go? How to stop worrying? Somebody told me that the spiritual part and the worrying part are one and the same. The Buddha said the holy path goes this way, spiritual path goes this way. Very hard to combine. Sincerity is the most important. Whether you are sincere to walk that path or not. A lot of people, they say only that they want to walk the spiritual path, but they cannot let go. If they cannot let go, then they cannot. They have to let go. It's not that sincerely they want just to do it. They want just to do it. That's it. If you want just to do it, you have to do it. If you want just to do it, you have to do it. If you want just to do it, you have to do it. If you want just to do it, you have to do it. If you want just to do it, you have to do it. If you want just to do it, you have to do it. Generally, people who have a good life, you have a lot of money and all that, generally it's more difficult to let go. But in the sutras, the Buddha, there's one sutra, I think in the Majjhima Nikaya, the Buddha says, that is not always the case. The Buddha quoted a case of a poor man, and his wife is ugly looking and old, and he's got an empty house, got nothing, owe people money and all that. Still, he asked him to let go, so he cannot let go. You see, not necessarily that he's poor, he can let go. On the other hand, you may have somebody from a very rich family, like Siddhartha Gautama. A wife is young and beautiful, and the family is rich. In spite of all that, also he let go and grew up. So, it's the time. Every one of us, we have a time. Whether your time has come or not. When your time has come, nobody can hold you back. Can you tell me when the time comes, is it regularly? If you let go too fast, then you will also go back. When we see the light of the Dhamma, it's not a physical light, it's an understanding of the Dhamma. Oh, you have to... You have to go through more suttas and then meditate more and then slowly slowly over the years you will slowly slowly digest. You cannot rush. It takes time. Also, you must know why we want to know this sequence. Because we want to break this chain. So you want to break this chain, you also have to understand where you can break. There are 12 links there. You cannot simply break at any point. Only one place only you can break. That one later you have to understand. Now you haven't studied enough Sutta, you don't know that. Not so easy. Not so easy. I know of one teacher of this particular meditation. He was practicing and teaching for many years and finally You realize it doesn't work. Just to see it, it's not enough. Just like the mindfulness, a lot of people think I practice mindfulness, see your defilements, then you can get rid of it. No, because the defilements are deep-rooted. Deep-rooted. You can see it, but you cannot pull out the roots. The only way to pull out the roots is to go down to the roots. And how to go down to the roots? Go deep into your mind. That's why Samadhi is so important. When we cultivate Samadhi, The deeper samadhi you get, the deeper you go into your mind. So when you go deeper into your mind, then only you are able to pull it up. Just mindfulness is not enough. Just like telling somebody, oh, somebody is a drunkard. You tell him, drinking is no good. You're harming yourself, you're harming your family, you're not working, your family is suffering and all that. He knows, he knows. But he cannot let go. He cannot throw away the bottle. It's his crutch. He's been using that crutch for so many years. You ask him to throw it away, he cannot. But if his mind is strong enough, it's different. If his mind is strong enough, then he realizes it's no good for him. He just chucks it off. Whether your mind is strong enough or not. There are some people where their mind is so strong that they can do it. There's one, I think in the Theragatha or somewhere, mentioned about one layman. He is a very rich man and every day he enjoys seeing his slaves dancing and singing for him and he'll drink liquor until he gets drunk, see all the slaves dancing and drinking for him. But because this person has what we call good roots, Former life he was an ascetic and the Buddha knew. So the Buddha came to him. So the Buddha just walked past his house. And he saw the Buddha. Something from the past struck him. Something from the past struck him. And he looked at the Buddha. His mind became one-pointed. When he looked at the Buddha, he focused his mind on the Buddha. His mind became one-pointed. All his drunkenness he shook off. Then he went to see the Buddha and paid respect to Buddha and everything, and then became a follower. So you see, if you have that strength of mind, that's why Samadhi is so important. If your mind is strong, when you focus it on something, it's like a laser beam. So that's why when we hear the Dhamma, for somebody who has a good Samadhi, when he hears the Dhamma, he just has to concentrate on it, he will understand. That's a person with a groggy mind, a blur mind. How many times he hears the sutra or so, he doesn't penetrate. He's like a drunk sloth and doctor. A lot of people don't understand the use of samadhi. Yeah? You have an internal voice talking to you. That probably is the mind is not concentrated enough. So you still have this talking in the mind. Just focus your attention on your object. Don't think about it. Just like sometimes when you are meditating, if your mind is not concentrated enough, you think, today very hot. The sand flies. biting my ear, my leg is painful, all these can be said to be stray thoughts. But if your mind is focused on your object, then even the sand fly bite you also you don't notice. Even your leg pain also you don't notice. All these things you don't know. So I'll do to you. Sorry, the Dhamma is so powerful. Like the bandit Angulimala. So many people tried to catch him. So many people tried to kill him. Nobody could fight with him. But the Buddha, just with words of Dhamma, changed him completely. Not much you have to understand exactly each link one by one. That's why we have to combine our study of the suttas with constant meditation. Meditation is to sharpen our mind. Then we study the suttas to give us that wisdom. If they want to recite, I think it would be better if they recite in their local language. At least they can understand. So, one thing we don't think about is how much is learning. So, let's say, I've got this type of attitude that I may not like it. So, after I take one or two shots of learning, so I listen to the TV, I listen to the TV. So, TV is teaching. So, the kids, when they're learning, they're automatically aware of it. And they push through with it. Come to the research and come out of it. So, that's without doubt. You have the interest in the Dhamma, so when you listen to it, it appeals to you. But some people who don't have the affinity for the Dhamma, they cannot listen. That's why you see people like Devadatta, with the Buddha as a teacher also, he goes to hell. In spite of all his jhanas and psychic power and all that, also he goes to hell. That's why you have to be very careful. The only way not to be reborn is to have dispassion. totally tired of the world. So if a person is a bit ridden and is sick of the body, he may be sick of his body, but he still cannot let go the grandson, the granddaughter, the son, the daughter and all that. So the attachment, there are many types of attachment, is it? So it's not just body only. So if you have any kind of attachment at all, you still cannot cannot get out of samsara. For example, there are some people, maybe their business goes bankrupt. And then they go and commit suicide. They don't want to live anymore. But they still come back. Because even though they don't want to live, actually, inside, they still want. That's why many years ago, I saw in the newspaper about one young man in Singapore. He jumped from a high building. The moment he jumped, he realized he doesn't want to die. He shouted, I forgot what he shouted. I want to live, or something like that. Too late, I realized. I also know somebody who, out of depression, he tried to commit suicide many times. He did not succeed. Finally, one day, he jumped into the mining pond. Then when he was drowning, he panicked and swam out of the pond. You think you want to die, but when you're actually about to die, then you realize you don't want to die. the clinging inside there the ego you haven't let go of that ego as long as you have the ego you want to live you want to protect the life the instinct to survive is a very strong will to live in fact later i'll explain that's the cause of this round this 12 links is because of this will to live oh yeah this Craving for existence and craving for non-existence, they bring us to rebirth. Craving for existence we understand because we want to live. But the craving for non-existence, there are two types. One is a person who wants to commit suicide because of seeing dukkha, he doesn't want to live anymore. So he will try many times until he succeeds, until he dies. But that person, his heart is burning, is very agitated. So when he dies, he cannot enter Nibbana. Nibbana is a cool state. You have to be totally cooled, let go of everything, then only you can enter Nibbana. So a person who commits suicide, he will definitely be reborn, even though he has that desire not to be reborn. The other one is ascetic. He's feeling so much dukkha that he wants to get liberated from rebirth. So he tries very hard, just like our Buddha. Before our Buddha was enlightened, he tried all ways, all kinds of ascetic practice. He sees all the different types of ascetics practicing. He just follows them. So all these ascetic practices, he does it with an extreme desire for liberation. So this extreme desire, because his mind is agitated, it's so strong, he cannot get liberation. That's why the first sutta I read in the Samyutta Nikaya, the Buddha said, when he strove too hard, he got whirled around. When he stood still, he sank. So without striving too hard and without standing still, you cross the flood. So the middle path, we put in the effort because it's necessary. But the desire to become liberated must not be too strong. Your desire to become liberated is too strong, your mind is agitated, not playing it cool. So you cannot attain cool state. Stop! Stop!

25-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-(2009-07-24).txt

Okay, today is the 24th of July and we are on the Nidana Samyutta. Nidana is concerned with dependent origination or specifically dependent origination of suffering. We come to the 11 Sutta in this Samyutta. Thus have I heard, on one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi, in Jeta's Grove, Natapindika's Park. And He said, Monks, there are these four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be, and for the assistance of those about to come to be. But for the nutriment edible food, gross or subtle, second contact, Third, mental volition. Fourth, consciousness. These are the four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be and for the assistance of those about to come to be. Let's stop here for a moment. So these are four things that act like food to maintain our bodies, to maintain our physical body and our mental body. So what are these four things? The first one is edible food. Edible food we know is necessary for our body to survive. We need food, physical food. Then the second is contact. read to you the footnotes from the commentary. It says, the nutriments are conditions, or conditions are called nutriments, ahara, because they nourish or bring forth their own effects. Although there are other conditions for beings, these four alone are called nutriments because they serve as special conditions for the personal life continuity. For edible food, is a special condition for the physical body of those beings who subsist on edible food. In the mental body, contact is a special condition for feeling, mental volition for consciousness, and consciousness for name and form. This one may be a bit hard to understand, so I try to explain. Physical food, edible food, we understand. The second is contact. Contact, once you have contact, then feeling arises, followed by perception, and then thinking, and then volition, deciding what to do. So, contact is the thing that triggers off the mental workings of the mind. So, that's why contact is a new treatment for our mental body. Now the third one is mental volition. Mental volition here the commentary says is food for consciousness. But I think another interpretation you can use is mental volition. The Pali word is Mano Sanchetana. I believe it has something to do with the will to live. Because the will to live is very important for us to survive, for us to continue to survive. If there's no will to live, then a being will die quite fast. So, mental volition. And the fourth is consciousness. Consciousness is more for those beings that are about to come to be. For example, if the male and the female mate, then the egg is fertilized. Now the egg is fertilized, it does not have consciousness yet. So this being that is due to be born in the womb, it will enter this fertilized egg. Then that consciousness descends into that fertilized egg. That is the condition, the nutriment for that being to come into life. Now I come back to this contact and mental volition. Without contact, you can see how contact is a food, is a necessary condition. For example, if a person is in prison, you put somebody in prison, and you cut him off from contact from other people, and you cut him off from contact even with the sunlight, put him in a dark room. with nobody to speak to, no contact altogether, very soon this person will die. So that's why contact, as you can see, how contact is a nutriment for the maintenance of a being. Because once you have contact, then you have interest in the world, a feeling arises. There are things in the world that you perceive through your six senses. All this is contact. the world is perceived through contact at the sixth sense doors. So because we have interest in the world, then we want to survive. The will to live is generated. On the other hand, you consider another prisoner under the same circumstances. He's put in isolation in a room. He's cut off from contact from everybody else and even the sunlight light and no sound, nothing. And although he should die very soon, there are some people who survive. Why? Because that person may be thinking of his family, thinking of his children, his wife. So when he thinks, this of course comes from his memory, it doesn't come from contact. It comes from his memory. So when this memory of the family is generated, the will to live is very strong. So because of the will to live, even though he should die, he will hold on to life. So this, I believe, is the third nutriment mentioned here. Mental volition is the will to live. And then consciousness must come into the womb for that being to come to life. So we can see here, Why are these four called nutriments? And the Buddha continued, monks, these four kinds of nutriment have what as their source? What as their origin? From what are they born and produced? These four kinds of nutriment have craving as their source, craving as their origin. They are born and produced from craving. I stop here for a moment. What craving is this? This craving, is craving for existence and craving for sensual pleasures because of this craving. So we want to continue with life. And the Buddha continues. And this craving has what as its source, what as its origin, from what is it born and produced? This craving has feeling as its source, feeling as its origin. It is born and produced from feeling. Stop it for a moment. Most specifically, this is feeling. We have pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling and neutral feeling. It is the pleasant feeling we experience that gives rise to craving to continue. And this feeling has what as its source? Feeling has contact as its source. And this contact has what as its source? Contact has the sixth sense basis as its source. And these six sense bases have what as their source? The six sense bases have mentality, materiality, phenomena as their source. And this mentality, materiality has what as its source? That's consciousness as its source. And consciousness has volition as its source. And volition has ignorance as its source. Thus, monks, with ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness, etc., etc., such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volition. With the cessation of volition, cessation of consciousness, etc., etc., such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. So here, So this sutra is about the four nutrients, how they feed our physical body and our mental body, and how they are necessary for beings to continue. The next sutra is 12.12. At Savatthi, the Buddha said, monks, there are these four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be and for the assistance of those about to come to be. What for? The nutriment edible food, gross or subtle. Second, contact. Third, mental volition. Fourth, consciousness. These are the four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be and for the assistance of those about to come to be. When this was said, The Venerable Molia Paguna said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, who consumes the nutriment consciousness? Because he thought consciousness is a nutriment, who consumes it? Then the Buddha said, not a valid question. I do not say one consumes. If I should say one consumes, in that case, this would be a valid question. Venerable Sir, who consumes? But I do not speak thus. Since I do not speak thus, if one should ask me, Venerable Sir, for what is the nutriment consciousness a condition? This would be a valid question. To this, the valid answer is, the nutriment consciousness is a condition for the production of future renewed existence. When that which has come into being exists, the six sense bases come to be, with the six sense bases as conditioned contact. Let's stop here for a moment. So here, you see, consciousness is a condition for the production of future renewed being or existence. So just like I mentioned just now, the egg in the womb is fertilized, then consciousness must come in into that fertilized egg and then it produces renewed existence. That being projects itself in that fertilized egg. And then once that consciousness has come into that egg, then slowly the six sense bases are produced. Now, if we think about it, this is not the only case of consciousness producing renewed existence. Because consciousness in the Buddha's teaching is not a constant flow. It's not a constant flow. Consciousness in the Buddha's teaching is momentary. Consciousness arises and passes away. Arises and passes away. Arises and passes away. Right? So, whenever consciousness arises, that being comes into existence. Right? That being is alive when consciousness arises. Then when consciousness ceases, momentarily that being dies. And then when consciousness arises again, that being is coming to life and then it dies. But because this consciousness arises and passes away so fast that it would seem as though this is a continued consciousness, a stream of continued consciousness. But it is not so. Now, if we think carefully about it, every time this consciousness arises and passes away, why does it arise again? Why does it arise again? I think it is the will to live. Because of the will to live, the moment consciousness dies out, It has come into life again because of the will to live. That's why you see the chain of dependent origination, avijja, pacchaya, sankara, ignorance, conditions, volition. And volition conditions consciousness, right? So this volition is the will to live. The will to live conditions consciousness to spring into life. Then it dies out in a short moment. And then because of the will to live, it arises again. So dependent origination can be considered like the traditional interpretation, three lives or two lives, but it can be considered right here and now, in this very life, moment to moment. You can consider it in that way. And then this verbal, Moliya Paguna asks, Verbal Sir, who makes contact And the Buddha said, not a valid question. I do not say one makes contact. If I should say one makes contact, In that case, this would be a valid question. P.S. Who makes contact? But I do not speak thus. Since I do not speak thus, if one should ask me, P.S. With what as condition does contact come to be? This would be a valid question. To this, the valid answer is, with the six sense bases as condition, contact comes to be. With contact as condition, feeling. I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see, Contact means contact at the six sense doors. So, in order that contact can arise, of course, you must have the six sense doors. That means you must have the six sense bases. And once there is contact at the six sense bases, then feeling arises. Therefore, sir, who feels? Not a valid question, the Blessed One replied. I do not say one feels. If I should say one feels, In that case, this would be a valid question. Verbal Sir, who feels, but I do not speak thus? Since I do not speak thus, if one should ask me, Verbal Sir, with what as condition does feeling come to be? This would be a valid question. To this, the valid answer is, with contact as condition, feeling comes to be. With feeling as condition, craving. So we stop here for a moment. So as we mentioned before, if you have pleasurable feeling, then craving arises. Who craves? Not a valid question, the Blessed One replied. I do not say one craves. If I should say one craves, in that case this would be a valid question. Venerable Sir, who craves? But I do not speak thus. Since I do not speak thus, if one should ask me, Venerable Sir, with what as condition does craving come to be? This would be a valid question. To this, the valid answer is, with feeling as condition, craving comes to be. With craving as condition, clinging. With clinging as condition, existence of being, etc. etc. Such is the origin of this whole mess of suffering. But paguna, with the remainderless failing away and cessation of the six senses, of the six bases for contact, comes cessation of contact. With the cessation of contact, cessation of feeling. With the cessation of feeling, cessation of craving. With the cessation of craving, cessation of clinging. With the cessation of clinging, cessation of being. With the cessation of being, cessation of birth. With the cessation of birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. That's the end of the Sutta. So here, this Sutta, the Buddha says, there is no being. It's what the Buddha implies. So because of that, you cannot say who consumes, or who feels, or who makes contact, etc. So it's just that these conditions arise naturally. It's just the perception of a being, it's just a perception in our mind. Now we come to the 15 Sutta in this Nidana Samyutta at Savatthi. Then the Venerable Kaccanagota approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said to Him, Venerable Sir, it is said, right view, right view. In what way, Venerable Sir, is there right view? And the Buddha said, this world, Kachana, for the most part depends upon the duality, upon the notion of existence and the notion of non-existence. Let's stop here for a moment. In India at that time, most people either believed in the idea of existence or the idea of non-existence. This is another word for it. A notion of existence, that means perpetual existence, that means eternalism view, that means when you die, you will continue to exist. And it's the same person who dies and is reborn. That is one extreme view. The other extreme view is non-existence. It's the annihilationist view, that once a person dies, there is no more rebirth, there is no more existence. These two views, the Buddha does not accept because it assumes or presumes that a self exists. So they argue whether after death that self continues to exist or the self does not continue to exist. In the Buddhist teaching, this self is just a concept in our mind that nature has planted in our mind to make us strive to fight for survival. Then the Buddha continued, but for one who sees the origin of the world as it really is with correct wisdom, there is no notion of non-existence in regard to the world. And for one who sees the cessation of the world as it really is with correct wisdom, there is no notion of existence in regard to the world. This world kacana is for the most part shackled by engagement, clinging and adherence. But this one with right view does not become engaged and cling through that engagement and clinging, mental standpoint, adherence, underlying tendency. He does not take a stand about myself. He has no perplexity or doubt. that what arises is only suffering arising, what ceases is only suffering ceasing. His knowledge about this is independent of others. It is in this way, kaccana, that there is right view. All exists, kaccana, this is one extreme. All does not exist, this is the second extreme. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata teaches the Dhamma by the middle. With ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness, etc. etc. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. But with the remainderless fading away, and cessation of ignorance, comes cessation of volition. With the cessation of volition, cessation of consciousness, etc. etc. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. So the Buddha says that The Buddha's way of seeing is not whether a self exists after death or not, but everything is due to conditions. This world, everything in this world is conditionally arisen, dependently arisen, dependent on conditions. 12.16, at Svati, then a certain monk approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, it is said, a speaker on the Dhamma, a speaker on the Dhamma. In what way, Venerable Sir, is one a speaker on the Dhamma? Monk, if one teaches the Dhamma for the purpose of revulsion towards aging and death, for its fading away and cessation, one is fit to be called a monk who is a speaker on the Dhamma. If one is practicing for the purpose of revulsion towards aging and death, for its fading away and cessation, one is fit to be called a monk who is practicing in accordance with the Dhamma. If through revulsion towards aging and death, Through its fading away and cessation, one is liberated by non-clinging. One is fit to be called a monk who has attained Nibbana in this very life. Monk, if one teaches the Dhamma for the purpose of revulsion towards birth, For the purpose of revulsion towards ignorance, for its fading away and cessation, one is fit to be called a monk who is a speaker on the Dhamma. If one is practising for the purpose of revulsion towards ignorance, for its fading away and cessation, one is fit to be called a monk who is practising in accordance with the Dhamma. If through revulsion towards ignorance, to its fading away and cessation, one is liberated by non-clinging, One is fit to be called a monk who has attained nirvana in this very life. It's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha is saying the speaker of the Dhamma should be one who teaches with the purpose of revulsion towards aging and death. To make people see that we should have revulsion towards birth, aging and death. 12.17. Thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. Then in the morning, the Blessed One dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Rajagaha for alms. The naked ascetic saw the Blessed One coming in the distance. Having seen Him, he approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with Him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, they stood to one side and said to him, We would like to ask Master Gautama about a certain point, if he would grant us the favor of answering our question. Stop here for a moment. You see the Buddha was going on alms round. And as the Buddha was going on alms round, this naked ascetic came and wanted to ask a question. So the Buddha said, this is not the right time for a question, Kasapa. We have entered among the houses. A second time and a third time, the naked ascetic said to the blessed one, we would like to ask Master Gautama about a certain point, if he would grant us the favor of answering our question. This is not the right time for a question, Kasapa. We have entered among the houses. Then the naked ascetic Kasapa said to the blessed one, We do not wish to ask Master Gautama much." Then the Buddha said, Then ask what you want, Kasapa. How is it, Master Gautama? Is suffering created by oneself? Not so, Kasapa, the Blessed One said. Then, Master Gautama, is suffering created by another? Not so, Kasapa, the Blessed One said. How is it then, Master Gautama? Is suffering created both by oneself and by another? Not so, Kassapa, the Blessed One said. Then Master Gautama has suffering arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another. Not so, Kassapa, the Blessed One said. How is it then, Master Gautama? Is there no suffering? It is not that there is no suffering, Kassapa. There is suffering. Then is it that Master Gautama does not know and see suffering? It is not that I do not know and see suffering, kasapa. I know suffering. I see suffering. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see this naked ascetic, he's not going to ask much, but he's asking a lot. And finally he said, Whether you are asked, how is it, Master Gautama, is suffering created by oneself or is it created by another? Or is it created by both? Or is it created by neither? In each case you say, not so, Kasapa. When you are asked, how is it then, Master Gautama, is there no suffering? You say, it is not that there is no suffering, Kasapa, there is suffering. When asked, then is it that Master Gautama does not know and see suffering? You say, it is not that I do not know and see suffering, Kasapa. I know suffering. I see suffering. Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One explain suffering to me. Let the Blessed One teach me about suffering. And the Buddha said, Kasapa, if one thinks the one who acts is the same as the one who experiences the result, Then one asserts with reference to one existing from the beginning. Suffering is created by oneself. When one asserts thus, this amounts to eternalism. Al-Kasapa If one thinks the one who acts is one, the one who experiences the result is another. Then one asserts with reference to one stricken by feeling. Suffering is created by another. When one asserts thus, this amounts to annihilationism. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata teaches the Dhamma by the middle. With ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness, etc., etc., such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance, comes cessation of volition. With the cessation of volition, cessation of consciousness, etc., such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. When this was said, the naked ascetic Kasapa said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Venerable Sir, Magnificent Venerable Sir, the Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by the Blessed One, as though He were turning upright what had been turned upside down, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms. I go for refuge to the Blessed One and to the Dhamma and to the Bhikkhu Sangha. May I receive the going forth under the Blessed One. May I receive the higher ordination. Stop here for a moment. See this Kasapa, after the Buddha replied, he seemed to have understood immediately. So he was so impressed that he wanted to be ordained under the Buddha. You notice here, normally in the Suttas, when they go for refuge, they go for refuge to the Buddha, to the Dhamma, and the Bhikkhu Sangha. Normally, we take refuge in the Bhikkhu Sangha, the monk Sangha. And then the Buddha said, Kasapa, one formerly belonging to another sect who desires the going forth and the higher ordination in this Dhamma Vinaya, lives on probation for four months. At the end of the four months, if the monks are satisfied with him, they may, if they wish, give him the going forth and the higher ordination to the state of a monk. But individual differences are recognized by me. And he said, if venerable sir, one formerly belonging to another sect, who desires the going forth and the higher ordination in this Dhamma Vinaya, lives on probation for four months, and if at the end of the four months, the monks being satisfied with him, may, if they wish him, give him the going forth and the higher ordination to the state of a monk, Then I will live on probation for four years. At the end of the four years, if the monks are satisfied with me, let them, if they wish, give me the going forth and the higher ordination to the state of a monk. Then the naked ascetic Kasapa received the going forth under the Blessed One, and he received the higher ordination. Let's stop here for a moment. So because this person was so sincere, he said, if normally people have to wait four months to be ordained, I'm willing to wait four years. So the Buddha saw that he was so earnest, so sincere, the Buddha immediately ordained him. And soon, not long after his higher ordination, dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, Venerable Kasapa, by realizing it for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, entered and dwelt in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life, for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness. He directly knew, destroyed his birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. And the Venerable Kassapa became one of the Arahants. It's the end of the Sutta. So here he was asking whether suffering is created by oneself or created by another person, another being. And basically the Buddha wanted to tell him that suffering is not created by anybody, but created by conditions. So I explained dependent origination to him and then he understood and decided to renounce.

26-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-(2009-07-24).txt

12.18 at Savatthi. Then the wanderer Thimbarukka approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with Him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said, How is it, Master Gautama, are pleasure and pain created by oneself? Not so, Thimbarukka, the Blessed One said. Then, Master Gautama, are pleasure and pain created by another? Not so, Thimbarukka, the Blessed One said. How is it then, Master Gautama, are pleasure and pain created both by oneself and by another? Not so, Thimbarukka, the Blessed One said. Then, Master Gautama, have pleasure and pain arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another? Not so, Thimbarukka, the Blessed One said. How is it then, Master Gautama, is there no pleasure and pain? It is not that there is no pleasure and pain, Thimbarukka. There is pleasure and pain. Is it that Master Gautama does not know and see pleasure and pain? It is not that I do not know and see pleasure and pain in Thimbarukka. I know pleasure and pain. I see pleasure and pain. Whether you are asked, how is it, Master Gautama, are pleasure and pain created by oneself, or are they created by another, or are they created by both, or are they created by neither? In each case you say, not so, Thimbarukkha. When you are asked, how is it then, Master Gautama, is there no pleasure and pain? You say, it is not that there is no pleasure and pain, Thimbarukkha, there is pleasure and pain. When asked, then is it that Master Gautama does not know and see pleasure and pain? You say, it is not that I do not know and see pleasure and pain, Thimbaruka. I know pleasure and pain. I see pleasure and pain. Rebel Sir, let the Blessed One explain pleasure and pain to me. Let the Blessed One teach me about pleasure and pain. And the Buddha said, Timbaraka, if one thinks the feeling and the one who feels it are the same, then one asserts with reference to one existing from the beginning, pleasure and pain are created by oneself. If, I do not speak thus, but Timbaraka, if one thinks the feeling is one, the one who feels it is another, then one asserts with reference to one stricken by feeling, pleasure and pain are created by another. Neither do I speak thus. Without veering towards either of these extremes, the Tathagata teaches the Dhamma by the middle. With ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness comes to be, etc. etc. Thus is the origin of this whole mess of suffering. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance, comes cessation of volition. the cessation of volition, cessation of consciousness, etc. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. On this was said, the naked ascetic Thimbarukka said to the Blessed One, Magnificent Master Gautama, Magnificent. And then he also took refuge with the triple gems, and then he became a lay follower of the Buddha. So here, it's quite similar. to the preceding one. The preceding one was talking about suffering. Here it's pleasure and pain. It's basically the same. 12.19 is Savatthi. Buddha said, monks, for the fool, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, this body has thereby originated. So there is this body, an external name and form, or external mentality, materiality. Thus this diet, dependent on the diet, of body and Nama Rupa, there is contact. There are just six sense bases, contacted through which, or through a certain one among them, the fool experiences pleasure and pain. Monks, for the wise men, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, this body has thereby originated. So there is this body and external Nama Rupa mentality, materiality. I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see, Buddha says we have this body and externally there is mentality and materiality. We have this body and this mentality and materiality is phenomenal. Phenomenal is what consciousness is conscious of, the object of consciousness. That's why here it said to be external. Dependent on the dial, both of them, there is contact. There are just six sense spaces, contacted through which, or through a certain one among them, the wise man experiences pleasure and pain. What mounts the distinction here? What is the disparity? What is the difference between the wise man and the fool? Venerable Sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, guided by the Blessed One, taking recourse in the Blessed One. It would be good if the Blessed One would clear up the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from Him, the monks will remember it. Then listen and attend closely, monks, I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir," the monks replied. The Blessed One said, "'Monks, for the fool, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, this body has originated. For the fool, that ignorance has not been abandoned, and that craving has not been utterly destroyed. For what reason? Because the fool has not lived the holy life for the complete destruction of suffering. Therefore, with the breakup of the body, the fool fares on to another body. Faring on to another body, he is not free from birth, aging, and death, not free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair, not free from suffering, I say. Monks, for the wise men, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving, this body has originated. For the wise man, that ignorance has been abandoned, and that craving has been utterly destroyed. For what reason? Because the wise man has lived the holy life for the complete destruction of suffering. Therefore, with the breakup of the body, the wise man does not carry on to another body. Not carrying on to another body, he is free from birth, aging, and death. Freed from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. Freed from suffering, I say. This monk is the distinction, the disparity, the difference between the wise man and the fool. That is the living of the holy life. That's the end of the sutra. So here, the Buddha says the difference between the wise man and the fool is that the wise man follows the Dhamma and practices the Dhamma to end suffering. Where's the fool? He's not interested in the Dhamma, continues with the normal, the life of a normal person and will continue on the round of rebirths, suffering for a long time. 12.20 at Svabhati. Monks, I will teach you dependent origination and dependently arisen phenomena. Listen and attend closely. I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir, the monks replied. And what, monks, is dependent origination? With birth as condition, aging and death comes to be. Whether there is an arising of the Tathagatas or no arising of the Tathagatas, that element still persists. The stableness of the Dhamma, the fixed course of the Dhamma, specific conditionality, A Tathagata awakens to this and breaks through to it. Having done so, he explains it, teaches it, proclaims it, establishes it, discloses it, analyses it, elucidates it. Then he says, See, with birth as condition mounts aging and death, with existence as condition birth, with clinging as condition existence, with craving as condition clinging. with feeling as condition craving, with contact as condition feeling, with the six sense bases as condition contact, mentality-materiality as condition the six sense bases, with consciousness as condition mentality and materiality, with volition as condition consciousness, with ignorance as condition volition, whether there is an arising of the Tathagatas or no arising of the Tathagatas, That element still persists, the stableness of the Dhamma, the fixed cause of the Dhamma, specific conditionality. The Tathagata awakens to this and breaks through to it. Having done so, he explains it, teaches it, proclaims it, establishes it, discloses it, analyses it, elucidates it, and he says, see, with ignorance as condition mounts volition. Thus monks, the actuality in this inerrancy, the not-otherwiseness, specific conditionality, this is called dependent origination. And what monks are the dependently arisen phenomena? Aging and death monks is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen, subject to destruction, vanishing, fading away and cessation. Similarly, birth is impermanent, existence is impermanent, clinging is impermanent, craving is impermanent, feeling is impermanent, contact is impermanent, sixth sense species are impermanent, mentality-materiality is impermanent, consciousness is impermanent, volition is impermanent, ignorance is impermanent, condition-dependently arisen, subject to destruction, vanishing, fading away in cessation. These monks are called dependently-arisen phenomena. When monks, a noble disciple has clearly seen with correct wisdom, as it really is, this dependent origination and these dependently-arisen phenomena, it is impossible that he will run back into the past, thinking, did I exist in the past? Did I not exist in the past? What was I in the past? How was I in the past? Having been what, what did I become in the past? Or that he will run forward into the future, thinking, Will I exist in the future? Will I not exist in the future? What will I be in the future? How will I be in the future? Having been what, what will I become in the future? Or that he will now be inwardly confused about the present thus, Do I exist? Do I not exist? What am I? How am I? This being, where has it come from? And where will it go? For what reason is this impossible? Because monks, the noble disciple, has clearly seen with correct wisdom, as it really is, this dependent origination and these dependently arisen phenomena. That's the end of the sutra. So here, the Buddha says, whether Buddhas arise in the world or Buddhas do not arise, the fixed law of Dhamma is always there. whether Buddha is here to explain it to us or Buddha is not here to explain it to us. We are all bound by these laws of the Dhamma. Dhamma is just about reality, the truth about existence. It's just that the Buddha has become enlightened, he has seen through all this, so he explains it to us. Whether he does explain or he does not explain, we are all bound by all these laws of the Dhamma, the laws of the universe. So among them is this dependent origination that suffering arises because of these conditions. And these conditions, the Buddha says, are all impermanent, dependently arisen. That means suffering itself, birth itself, being, clinging, craving, all this is impermanent. So because it is impermanent, it can change. So if we understand how to dismantle these twelve links, then we are freed from the realm of rebirth. So in the end, the Buddha says, if a person understands the Dhamma and sees that everything is independently arisen, then he will not speculate about himself in the past or in the future and all that. He's only concerned with the here and now. But most people, because we don't understand the Dhamma, we are concerned about the past, the present, and all our the future and all the things in the world that we think are I and mine, all the things that belong to us, we think we cannot let go. But actually, the Buddha says, nothing actually belongs to us. We came empty-handed and we will be going off empty-handed. Even this body does not belong to us. How can anything belong to us when the body itself doesn't belong to us? 12.22 At Savatthi, the Buddha said, monks possessing the ten powers and the four grounds of self-confidence, the Tathagata claims the place of the chief bull of the herd, draws his lines raw in the assemblies, and sets rolling the Brahma wheel thus. Such is form. Such is its origin, such is its passing away. Such is feeling, such is its origin, such is its passing away. Such is perception, such is its origin, such is its passing away. Such is volition, such is its origin, such is its passing away. Such is consciousness, such is its origin, such is its passing away. Thus, when this exists, that comes to be. With the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be. With the cessation of this, that ceases. That is, with ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness, etc. Such is the origin of this whole mess of suffering. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance, comes cessation of volition. With the cessation of volition, cessation of consciousness, etc. such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. Monks, the Dhamma has thus been well expounded by me, elucidated, disclosed, revealed, stripped of patchwork. When monks, the Dhamma has thus been well expounded by me, elucidated, disclosed, revealed, stripped of patchwork, this is enough for a clansman who has gone forth out of faith to arouse his energy thus. Willingly, let only my skin, sinews, and bones remain, and let the flesh and blood dry up in my body. But I will not relax my energy so long as I have not attained what can be attained by manly strength, by manly energy, by manly exertion. Monks, the lazy person dwells in suffering, soiled by evil unwholesome states, and greed is the personal good that he neglects. But the energetic person dwells happily, secluded from evil, unwholesome states. And great is the personal good that he achieves. It is not by the inferior that the supreme is attained. Rather, it is by the supreme that the supreme is attained." In other words, you want to attain the supreme results, you need supreme effort. Monks, this holy life is a beverage of cream. The teacher is present. Therefore, monks, arouse your energy for the attainment of the as-yet-unattained, for the achievement of the as-yet-unachieved, for the realization of the as-yet-unrealized with the thought In such a way, this going forth of ours will not be barren, but fruitful and fertile. And when we use the robes, alms food, lodgings, and medicinal requisites offered to us by others, these services they provide for us will be of great fruit and benefit to them. Thus, monks, should you train yourselves. Considering your own good, monks, it is enough to strive for the goal with diligence. Considering the good of others, it is enough to strive for the goal with diligence. Considering the good of both, it is enough to strive for the goal with diligence. That's the end of the Sutta. So the Buddha says he has the ten powers and the four grounds of self-confidence. So he claims the chief bull of the herd, roars his lion's roar, and starts rolling the Dhamma. Just now he was explaining the five aggregates, body, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. What it is, how it arises, how it passes away, and all that. And then the Buddha said, since the Dhamma is so well revealed by Sammasambuddha, we should put forth all our energy to practice the Buddha's words, even to the extent that only skin and bones remain, even then we should exert all our energy The lazy person dwells in suffering, swallowed by evil, unwholesome states. The energetic person dwells happily, secluded from evil, unwholesome states. It is not by the inferior that the supreme is attained. That means not by small effort that you can get big results. If you want big results, you need big effort. So this not only applies to monks, it also applies to lay people. Once you have heard the Dhamma, you don't practice it, you are what the Buddha calls a fool. He says the difference between the fool and the wise man. Fool, having heard the Dhamma, still doesn't want to practice. But the wise man, he knows if you practice the Dhamma, it's good for you, it's good for others, it's good for both. I think I'll stop here and continue the next day. The Buddha has put in a lot of effort to teach us the Dhamma. 45 years the Buddha went around preaching the suttas. And now we are so lucky, we have most of the Buddha's words in book form. So if we don't invest a little bit of money to buy this Nikaya and study it, The Buddha says we must be a fool. Anything to discuss? Yeah, the next sutta we're going to read tomorrow night is exactly this. The condition for seeing things as they really are is samadhi. So the deeper samadhi you have, the more clearly you see. The less samadhi you have, the less depth in your vision. So that's why if you don't have good samadhi, a person who listens to the Dhamma at most, he can become a suttapanna, first path or first fruit. But a person with the four Jhanas, when he listens to the same Dhamma, he can become liberated and become an Arahant. Yeah, in the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha talked about those things that are difficult to find in the world. One is like a person who is grateful, you've done him a favor. Another one is the Buddha. The Buddha is another rare person to find in the world. Another one, a person who can teach the Dhamma like the Buddha, can teach the Dhamma almost like the Buddha, also very rare to find. Yes, we are so fortunate to have the Buddha's words in black and white. So we just take the trouble to study it again and again. And then as we meditate and clear our mind, slowly we understand. Studying the Dhamma is not easy. When I first came to do the Dhamma, Maybe I have strong affinity with the Dhamma. When I came to the Dhamma, I was extremely happy to meet the Dhamma again. But in spite of that, when I started reading the Buddha's words, I found it very hard to understand. But then I continued studying, studying, then I realized slowly the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle slowly fit together and we begin to see the overall picture. In the beginning, you don't see the overall picture. you don't see what it looks like. Only after many pieces fall into place, then you begin to see clearer and clearer. In the same way as we study the suttas, in the beginning, many things we don't understand. But as we keep on plodding through the suttas, because each sutta explains the Dhamma in a different way, from a different angle. So as we read more suttas, then we see from more viewpoints, then we understand better. So that's why I always encourage people to study as many suttas as possible. And I always say it's not necessary to learn Pali. Because there are some people, they spend a lot of time learning Pali. And after they learn Pali, they go through the sutta, word by word, you know. They try to analyze each word and all that. And you find they haven't gone through many suttas. So because they haven't gone through many suttas, their knowledge of the Dhamma is not so good. That's another person, even though he does not know Pali, he goes through all the suttas and goes through many times. His understanding will be much better. The Buddha is a very straightforward person. He talks. It's not to curry favor, not to be popular or whatnot. The Buddha's words are very straightforward. Like just now, the sutra we read, the difference between a wise man and a fool. Fool doesn't want to practice the Dharma. It's very true. I think some people hear these kind of words, they're not happy. Okay. There's nothing. That's a merit.

27-SN-Nidana-(CH.12)-(2009-07-25).txt

Okay, today is the 25th of July, and this is the third night we're talking on the Nidana Samyutta of the Samyutta Nikaya. So now we come to 12.23. At Svati, the Buddha said, monks, I see that the destruction of the asavas, hence, is for one who knows and sees, not for one who does not know and does not see. For one who knows what? For one who sees thus, does the destruction of the ass of ass come about? Such is form, such its origin, such its passing away. Such is feeling, such its origin, such its passing away. Similarly, such is perception, such its volition, such its consciousness, such its origin, such its passing away. It is for one who knows thus, who sees thus, that the destruction of the ass of ass comes about. Talk to you for a moment. Destruction of the Asavas is actually enlightenment because when a person destroys the Asavas, he destroys the uncontrolled mental outflows which causes the round of rebirths because the world is made up of consciousness. So the uncontrolled mental outflows basically is a flow of consciousness, the sixth consciousness. So when one stops the uncontrolled outflows of consciousness, then the round of rebirth is stopped and one is liberated from the round of rebirth. One becomes an Arahant. And here the Buddha says to become liberated you must know and see five things. Form, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. These five are called the five aggregates. We will come to it later. I think it's chapter 22, the 22nd Sankhya Yuddha. And these five aggregates can also be said to be two things, body and mind. Form is body. The other four things comprise the mind. Feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. And this is body and mind. So we, all beings, we take the body and mind to be the self, or as belonging to the self, or the self is in the five aggregates, or the five aggregates are in the self. So these five aggregates we always associate with the self. So you have to understand these five aggregates and see that they are impermanent, subject to conditions. There's nothing permanent in them. So when one sees and knows these five aggregates, well, then one attains liberation. So to continue, I say monks that the knowledge of destruction in regard to destruction has approximate cause. It does not lack approximate cause. What is the approximate cause for the knowledge of destruction? It should be said liberation. Here destruction refers to the destruction of the asavas, liberation. So the knowledge of liberation is due to liberation. I say monks that liberation too has approximate cause. It does not lack approximate cause. And what is the approximate cause for liberation? It should be said, dispassion. The word is viraga. Raga is passion or lust, so lust for life. So now when one is dispassionate towards life, towards this world, then only one can attain liberation. But most of us, we are passionate about the world. I say amongst that dispassion too has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for dispassion? It should be said revulsion, Nibbida. Sometimes this is translated as disenchantment, no more enchanted with the world. I say to monks that revulsion has a proximate cause. It does not lack a proximate cause. And what is the proximate cause for revulsion? It should be said, knowledge and vision of things as they really are. Yatha bhuta jnana dastana, seeing things clearly as they really are. I say monks, that the knowledge and vision of things as they really are, too, has approximate cause. It does not lack approximate cause. And what is approximate cause for the knowledge and vision of things as they really are? It should be said, concentration, samadhi. So you see, to see things clearly as they really are, you need samadhi, a focused mind. Most people have a scattered mind, so they don't see things clearly. It's only by development of the mind, bhavana, attaining one-pointed mind, a focused mind, then only we can see clearly, just like the camera lens. I say to monks that concentration has an approximate cause. It does not lack an approximate cause. And what is the approximate cause for concentration? It should be said, happiness. Sukham. I say, monks, that happiness too has approximate cause. It does not lack approximate cause. And what is approximate cause for happiness? It should be said tranquility or serenity. Sadhi. I say, monks, that tranquility too has approximate cause. It does not lack approximate cause. And what is approximate cause for tranquility? It should be said rapture, pity. This pity, delight is maybe a better translation. Delight. I say, monks, that rapture too has approximate cause. It does not lack approximate cause. And what is the approximate cause for rapture? It should be said, gladness, pamoja. I say, monks, that gladness too has approximate cause. It does not lack approximate cause. And what is the approximate cause for gladness? It should be said, Faith. Faith here probably refers to the faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. I say monks that faith too has approximate cause. It does not lack approximate cause. And what is approximate cause of faith? It should be said suffering. I say monks that suffering too has approximate cause. It does not lack approximate cause. And what is approximate cause of suffering? It should be said birth. the birth gives rise to suffering. I say mounts that birth too has approximate cause, it does not lack approximate cause. And what is the approximate cause of birth? It should be said being or existence. I say mounts that being too has approximate cause, it does not lack approximate cause. And what is the approximate cause of being? It should be said clinging or attachment. I say mounts that clinging too has approximate cause, It does not lack approximate cause. And what is approximate cause for clinging? It should be said, craving. I say monks that craving too has approximate cause. It does not lack approximate cause. And what is approximate cause for craving? It should be said, feeling. Pleasant feeling. For feeling, it should be said, contact. For contact, the six sense bases. For the six sense bases, mentality and materiality. For mentality and materiality, The cause is consciousness. For consciousness, the cause is volition. I see monks that volition too has an approximate cause. It is not lack of approximate cause. And what is approximate cause for volition? It should be said ignorance. Thus monks, with ignorance as approximate cause, volition comes to be. With volition as approximate cause, consciousness. With consciousness as cause, mentality and materiality. Then the six sense bases. Then contact. Then feeling. then craving, then clinging, then existence or being, then birth, then suffering, then faith, then gladness, then delight, pity, and then tranquility, then happiness. And after happiness, you have concentration. And after concentration, you have knowledge and vision of things as they really are. And after that, revulsion. And after that, dispassion. And after that, liberation. And after that, knowledge of liberation or destruction. This is monks. When rain falls down in thick droplets on a mountaintop, the water flows down along the slope and fills the gullies and creeks. These being full, fill up the pools. These being full, fill up the lakes. These being full, fill up the streams. These, being full, fill up the rivers, and these, being full, fill up the great ocean. So to the ignorance as proximate cause, volition comes to be. With volition, consciousness, etc., etc., until liberation and knowledge of liberation. So here you see, the Buddha is joining the twelve links with liberation. how ignorance gives rise to suffering. And after suffering, a person goes searching for truth, goes searching for the truth, and then he comes across the Dhamma, teachings about reality, teachings about the world as it really is. Then he has faith, faith in the teachings, faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. And after having faith, then gladness arises when he practices the teachings. And after gladness arises, then he gets delight. And then he practices meditation, he achieves tranquility or serenity, then happiness, and then concentration, samadhi, one-pointedness of mind, jhanas, And because of the Jhanas, he attains Yatha, Bhuta, Jnana, Darsana, seeing and knowing things as they really are, clearly seeing. And seeing the condition of the world, seeing suffering, the reality of the world, he becomes disenchanted, Nibbida, or hears his revulsion. and after becoming disenchanted, it becomes dispassionate towards the world. So a person has to become dispassionate about the world, totally has no more interest in the world, see the world as suffering. Then only he can attain liberation. So that is the sequence of events that leads to liberation. So unless a person has has become disenchanted with the world and becomes dispassionate, there is no chance of liberation. So a lot of people still cannot let go of the world, don't think at all about liberation. Of course, the easiest way is if you don't get full liberation, at least try to get stream entry, that's the easiest. by studying the Dhamma, the Buddha says. By studying the Dhamma, the original teachings of the Buddha, we get right view. And when we get right view, we have entered the stream. Studying suttas like these in the Nidana Sanghuta, they are very important. There are a few topics in the Buddha's teachings which are core teachings. If you understand these few teachings well, then the chances of attaining stream entry are great. This one, Paticca Samuppada, dependent origination is one. Another one is the five aggregates just mentioned. Another one is the six sense bases, how the world arises at the six sense bases. So basically, these three are the most important. So now we are going to this first one, Nidhana. Okay, we come to the next sutta, 12.24. Then in the morning, Rajagaha, in the morning the Venerable Sariputta dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Rajagaha for alms. Then it occurred to him, it is still too early to walk for alms in Rajagaha. Let me go to the park of the wanderers of other sects." Stop here for the moment. This park is a forest monastery. During the Buddha's days, all the monasteries were forest monasteries. and sometimes they are called Rama, sometimes they are called Avasa. From the word Avasa, you have Awasa, and then they shorten it to Awad, and then they shorten it to Wad. So in Thailand, the monasteries are called Wad, actually it comes from the word Awasa. So these wondrous of other sects are the external ascetics, those ascetics of other religions. They are also like the Buddha's disciples. They stay in forest monasteries. So here, during the Buddha's time, the Buddha and his disciples, they maintain a friendship towards all other ascetics. They don't look down on them. or anything. So because if they are friendly with them, like here they can go and visit each other, and then they sometimes they ask Dhamma or they try to argue about Dhamma, then that's the way to convert them. Then the Venerable Sariputta went to the park of the wanderers of other sects. He exchanged greetings with those wanderers, and when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side. The wanderers then said to him, Friend Sariputta, Samasthetics and Brahmins, proponents of kamma, maintain that suffering is created by oneself. Samasthetics and Brahmins, proponents of kamma, maintain that suffering is created by another. Samasthetics and Brahmins, proponents of kamma, maintain that suffering is created both by oneself and by another. Some ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, maintain that suffering has arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another. Now, friend Sariputta, what does the ascetic Gautama say about this? What does he teach? How should we answer if we are to state what has been said by the ascetic Gautama, and not misrepresent him with what is contrary to fact? And how should we explain in accordance with the Dhamma so that no reasonable consequence of our assertion would give grounds for criticism? Let's stop here for a moment. This year, when they say Ascetic Gautama, they refer to the Buddha. The Buddha's surname was Gautama. Siddhartha Gautama. So they knew him as Gautama. And the word Ascetic is a translation from the Pali Samana. During the Buddha's days, there were two classes of Ascetics. Belonging to the Brahmin class, called Brahmanas. Nowadays we call Brahmins. And then all other ascetics or renunciants were called Samanas. Remember Sariputta said, Friends, the Blessed One has said that suffering is dependently arisen. Dependent on what? Dependent on contact. If one were to speak thus, one would be stating what has been said by the Blessed One. I would not misrepresent him with what is contrary to fact. one would explain in accordance with the Dhamma, and no reasonable consequence of one's assertion would give ground for criticism. Therein, friends, in the case of those ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, who maintain that suffering is created by oneself, that is conditioned by contact. Also, in the case of those ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, who maintain that suffering is created by another, that too is conditioned by contact. Also, in the case of those ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, who maintain that suffering is created both by oneself and by another, That too is conditioned by contact. Also in the case of those ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, who maintain that suffering has arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another. That too is conditioned by contact. Therein, friends, in the case of those ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, who maintain that suffering is created by oneself, it is impossible that they will experience anything without contact. That means it is impossible that they will experience suffering without contact. Contact means contact with the six sense bases like the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. Also in the case of those ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, who maintain that suffering is created by another, it is impossible that they will experience anything without contact. Also in the case of those ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, who maintain that suffering is created both by oneself and by another, it is impossible that they will experience anything without contact. Also in the case of those ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, who maintain that suffering has arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another, it is impossible that they will experience anything without contact. Let's stop here for a moment. So here, Sariputta is trying to tell them that in the Buddha's teachings we don't talk about self, we don't talk about suffering either created by ourself or created by somebody else that gives us suffering. like God or whatever, in the Buddha's teachings, everything arises to conditions and ceases to conditions. So any type of feeling, whether suffering or happiness, whatever, all also is due to conditions and principally through contact at the six sense doors, at the six sense organs, then Then only feeling arises. Venerable Ananda heard this conversation between the Venerable Sariputta and wanderers of other sects. Then when he had walked for alms in Rajagaha and had returned from the alms round, after his meal he approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, I reported to the Blessed One the entire conversation between the Venerable Sariputta and those wanderers of other sects. The Blessed One said, Good, good, Ananda. Anyone answering rightly would answer just as Sariputta has done. I have said, Ananda, that suffering is dependently arisen. Dependent on what? Dependent on contact. If one were to speak thus, one would be stating what has been said by me, and would not misrepresent me with what is contrary to fact. One would explain in accordance with the Dhamma, and no reasonable consequence of one's assertion would give grounds for criticism. Therein ananda, in the case of those ascetics and Brahmins, proponents of Dhamma, who maintain that suffering is created by oneself, And then he says exactly like Venerable Sariputta has said. And those who maintain their suffering has arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another. That too is conditioned by contact. Therein ananda, in the case of those ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, who maintain their suffering is created by oneself. And those who maintain their suffering has arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another. It is impossible that you will experience anything without contact. On one occasion, Ananda, I was dwelling right here in Rajagaha, in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. Then in the morning, I dressed, and taking bowl and robe, I entered Rajagaha for alms. Then it occurred to me, it is still too early to walk for alms in Rajagaha. Let me go to the park of the wondrous of other sects. Then I went to the park of the wondrous of other sects. I exchanged greetings with those Wanderers, and when we had concluded our greetings and cordial talk, I sat down to one side. The Wanderers then said to me as I was sitting down to one side, I hear the Wanderers ask exactly the same question. as they had asked Sariputta and received an identical reply. And then Venerable Ananda said, It is wonderful, Venerable Sir. It is amazing, Venerable Sir, how the entire meaning can be stated by a single phrase. Can this same meaning be stated in detail in a way that is deep and deep in implications? Then the Buddha said, Well then, Ananda, clear up that same matter yourself. In other words, you answer, then remember Ananda said, Venerable Sir, if you were to ask me, Friend Ananda, what is the source of aging and death? What is its origin? From what is it born and produced? Being asked thus, I would answer thus, Friends, aging and death has birth as its source, birth as its origin. It is born and produced from birth. Being asked thus, I would answer in such a way. If they were to ask me, Friend Ananda, what is the source of birth? What is its origin? From what is it born and produced? Being asked thus, I would answer thus. Friends, birth has existence as its source, existence as its origin. It is born and produced from existence of being. Being has clinging as its source. Clinging has craving as its source. Craving has feeling as its source. Feeling has contact as its source. contact the six sense bases and then with the remainderless fading away and cessation of the six bases for contact comes cessation of contact with the cessation of contact cessation of healing with the cessation of healing cessation of craving etc etc until the cessation of birth then the cessation of aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. Such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. Being asked thus, Venerable Sir, I would answer in such a way. That's the end of the sutra. So here you see, Venerable Sariputta, I first try to answer the wondrous of other sects, that in the Buddha's teachings, we don't say that suffering is due to anything except due to conditions. And these conditions, because suffering is a feeling, feeling arises from contact, and contact arises from six sense bases, and the six sense bases come from Nama Rupa, etc. So, remember Ananda at the end also said that if they were to ask him the source of aging and death, then he would say aging and death or suffering has birth as its source, and then birth has being as its source, et cetera. So this reminds me, sometimes we say somebody died, we say, oh, What is the cause of his death? Some people say he died because of cancer. Some people say he died because of old age. He died because of swine flu and all that. But actually the real reason we all die is because we are born. Because of birth, we have to die. Whether there is swine flu or there is no swine flu, we still have to die. So in the same way here, remember Ananda says, don't ask whether we created the suffering ourselves or somebody imposed suffering on us. It's not. It's all because we are born into a world that is a world of suffering. Because this world is also a world of suffering and happiness. Sometimes we experience happiness, sometimes we experience But the world is such, however much happiness you experience is never enough. You are never satisfied. But when suffering comes a little bit, you can't stand it. It's just like if you are given a delicious bowl of soup to drink, put a bit of shit inside there, a bit of excrement, a tiny bit. You don't want to drink the soup anymore. So in the same way, because this world is suffering. So when we are mature enough, then we realize that we want to get out of suffering.

28-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-(2009-07-25).txt

12.25 at Sabati. Then in the evening, the Venerable Bhumijja emerged from seclusion and approached the Venerable Sariputta. He exchanged greetings with the Venerable Sariputta and when they had concluded their greetings and audio talk, they sat down to one side. Stop here for a moment. Here you see, in the evening, when Venerable Bhumijja emerged from seclusion, he approached Venerable Sariputta. You see, during the Buddha's days, the monks sometimes, like they go into the forest to meditate. There might be two of them, or might be three of them, or might be four of them. So they go on alms round, and they come back, they eat their food. Then they each go off to a secluded spot to be alone, and they practice meditation. And then the whole day they will be meditating. But when the sun goes down, when the sun sets, they all come to the most senior monk. They come to the most senior monk and they discuss Dhamma. They have so much respect for Dhamma that every night they will discuss Dhamma. Even though they are Arahants also, they still discuss Dhamma because of respect for Dhamma. So in this case, the most senior monk there was Venerable Sariputta. So when Bhumija came to him, Rev. Bhumi just said, Friend Sariputta. This friend is a translation for avusor. During the Buddha's days, the monks called each other avusor. You can translate it as reverend or you can translate it as friend. Friend Sariputta, some ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, maintain that pleasure and pain are created by oneself. Some ascetics and brahmins, proponents of kamma, maintain that pleasure and pain are created by another. Some ascetics and Brahmins, proponents of kamma, maintain that pleasure and pain are created both by oneself and another, etc. Our friend Sariputta, what does the Blessed One say about this? What does he teach? How should we answer if we are to state what has been said by the Blessed One and not misrepresent him with what is contrary to fact? And how should we explain in accordance with the Dhamma so that no reasonable consequence of our assertion would give grounds for criticism? And Venerable Sariputta said, Friend, the Blessed One has said that pleasure and pain are dependently arisen. Dependent on what? Dependent on contact. If one were to speak thus, one would be stating what has been said by the Blessed One, and would not misrepresent Him with what is contrary to fact. One would explain in accordance with the Dhamma, and no reasonable consequence of one's assertion would give ground for criticism. Therein, friend, in the case of those ascetics and Brahmins, proponents of who maintain that pleasure and pain are created by oneself, and those who maintain that pleasure and pain are created by another, and those who maintain that pleasure and pain are created both by oneself and by another, and those who maintain that pleasure and pain have arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another. In each case, that is conditioned by contact. Telling friends, in each case it is impossible that they will experience anything without contact. The Venerable Ananda heard this conversation between the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Bhumija. He then approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and reported to the Blessed One the entire conversation between the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Bhumija. The Blessed One said, Good, good, Ananda. Anyone answering rightly would answer just as Sariputta has done. And then he repeated, just like just now. And then towards the end he said, Ananda, when there is a body, because of bodily volition, pleasure and pain arise internally. When there is speech, because of verbal volition, pleasure and pain arise internally. When there is the mind, because of mental volition, pleasure and pain arise internally, and with ignorance as condition. Either on one's own initiative ananda, one generates that bodily that body volition, conditioned by which pleasure and pain arise internally, or prompted by others, one generates that body volition, conditioned by which pleasure and pain arise internally. Either mindfully ananda, one generates that body volition, conditioned by which pleasure and pain arise internally, or unmindfully, one generates that body volition, conditioned by which pleasure and pain arise internally. Stop here for a moment. This last part, I said either mindfully or unmindfully, one generates the body volition. Here it translates as either deliberately or undeliberately. I think it's not quite correct because the Pali word is sampajano. Sampajano normally means mindfully, in full awareness. Because if you generate volition, if you generate karma, it's always deliberately. If there is no intention, there is no karma. So probably the better word is mindfully or unmindfully. Similarly, the Buddha says, either on one's own initiative or prompted by others, or mindfully or unmindfully, one generates verbal karma and then similarly, mental karma. And then the Buddha finally says, Ignorance is comprised within these states, but with the remainderless fading away, a cessation of ignorance, that body does not exist, conditioned by which the pleasure and the pain arise internally, that speech does not exist, conditioned by which pleasure and pain arise internally, that mind does not exist, conditioned by which pleasure and pain arise internally. That field does not exist. That site does not exist. That base does not exist. That foundation does not exist. Condition by which that pleasure and pain arise internally. That's the end of the sutra. The first part is similar to the previous sutra. But the last part here, the Buddha says that we create body volition, that means body kamma. Here the Pali word is kaya-sancetana. And then the second thing is verbal volition, paci-sancetana. The third one is mental volition, mano-sancetana. So because of creating this kamma, so pleasure and pain arise. Pleasure and Pain and Arise. Now what I'd like to mention here is these three sets. Kaya Sancetana, Vajji Sancetana and Mano Sancetana is concerned with doing kamma. And whenever kamma is involved, the last part is always Mano. Here is Mano Sancetana. As I have mentioned previously, when we talk about Sankara, also it's the same. If the Sankaras, the three Sankaras, Kaya Sankara, Vaci Sankara, and Mano Sankara, it has got to do with Kama, creating of Kama. It's always Mano, just like here. But when it concerns the dependent origination, It is the other set of three Sankaras that is involved. That means Kaya Sankara, Vaci Sankara, and Citta Sankara. So here I'd like to mention this because whenever we have Kamma, it's always Mano. Here it's Mano Sanchitana, sometimes Mano Sankara. The commentaries, they interpret this Sankara in the Paticca Samupada, dependent origination as Kama, creating of Kama. I think that is a mistake because they have confused Mano Sankara with the Citta Sankara. That's the end of that sutra. Now we come to 12.31. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi. There, the Blessed One addressed the verbal Sariputadas. Sariputta, in the questions of Ajita, in the Parayana, it is said, those who have comprehended the Dhamma, and the manifold trainees here, asked about their way of conduct, being discreet, tell me, dear sir, how should the meaning of this, stated in brief, be understood in detail? Let's stop here for a moment. This Parayana is a chapter from the Sutta Nipatthara. It is a book in the Kudaka Nikaya, the last Nikaya. But Sutta Nipata is considered one of the old books, one of the original teachings of the Buddha. So here the Buddha is asking the Venerable Sariputta, in this particular sutta concerning the questions of Ajita, there is a verse there that says, those who have comprehended the Dhamma and the many co-trainees here, asked about their way of conduct, being discreet, tell me, dear sir, So the Buddha is asking him, how do you explain this? And this was said, the Venerable Sariputta was silent. A second time and a third time, the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Sariputta thus, in the same way. Sariputta, in the questions of Ajita and the Parayana, it is said, etc. etc. How should the meaning of this stated in brief be understood in detail? A second time and a third time, the Venerable Sariputta was silent. So Sariputta was not sure how to answer, so he kept quiet. Then the Buddha said, Sariputta, do you see? This has come to be. Sariputta, do you see? This has come to be. So the Buddha prompted him. And he said, Remember sir, one sees as it really is with correct wisdom, this has come to be. Having seen as it really is with correct wisdom, this has come to be. One is practicing for the purpose of revulsion towards what has come to be. for its fading away and cessation. One sees as it really is with correct wisdom, its origination occurs with that as nutriment. Having seen as it really is with correct wisdom, its origination occurs with that as nutriment. One is practicing for the purpose of revulsion towards its origination through nutriment, for its fading away and cessation. One sees as it really is, with correct wisdom, with the cessation of that nutriment, what has come to be is subject to cessation. Having seen as it really is, with correct wisdom, with the cessation of that nutriment, what has come to be is subject to cessation. One is practicing for the purpose of revulsion towards what is subject to cessation, for its fading away and cessation. It is in such a way that one is a trainee. And how, Venerable Sir, has one comprehended the Dhamma? Venerable Sir, one sees as it really is with correct wisdom. This has come to be, having seen as it really is with correct wisdom. This has come to be through revulsion towards what has come to be, through its fading away and cessation. One is liberated by non-clinging. One sees as it really is with correct wisdom. Its origination occurs with that as nutriment. Having seen as it really is with correct wisdom, its origination occurs with that as nutriment, through revulsion towards its origination through nutriment, through its fading away and cessation. One is liberated by non-clinging. One sees as it really is with correct wisdom, with the cessation of that nutriment. What has come to be is subject to cessation. Having seen as it really is with correct wisdom, with the cessation of that nutriment, what has come to be is subject to cessation. Through revulsion towards what is subject to cessation, through its fading away and cessation, one is liberated by non-clinging. It is in such a way that one has comprehended the Dhamma. Thus, when it is said in the questions of Ajita in the Parayana, those who have comprehended the Dhamma and the many fore-trainees here asked about their way of conduct, being discreet, tell me, dear sir, it is in such a way that I understand in detail the meaning of this that was stated in brief. Good Good Sariputta and the Buddha repeats the entire statement of the Venerable Sariputta. It is in such a way that the meaning of this stated in brief should be understood in detail as the end of the Sutta. So here you see the Buddha asked him a question, asked Venerable Sariputta. Although he is a disciple with the highest wisdom, he also found it a bit difficult to answer. He didn't know exactly what the Buddha wanted him to say. So when the Buddha prompted him by saying, Shakyaputta, do you see? This has come to be. And then he caught the clue. So he answered the Buddha. First he explained about the trainee. That means the trainee here refers to the Pali word Sekha. Sekha is one who is still training. And it means the Aryans Below the Arahant, there are eight types of Aryans, noble ones, holy persons. The lowest is the first path, and then that first path, after some time, will automatically become the first fruit. And then the second path, attainer, and then the second fruit. Third path, attainer, third fruit. And fourth path, attainer, and fourth fruit. These are the eight types of holy men, Aryans. Out of these eight, only the Arahant, the fourth fruit person, or the Buddha. The Buddha and Arahant are both fourth fruit attainers. Only the fourth fruit attainer has completed his work. So he's called Aseka. One who does not need to train anymore. Whereas the other seven are called Seka, trainees. So here, the Venerable Sariputta is explaining What is the state of the trainee? The Venerable Sariputta says, a trainee, he will see with wisdom, this has come to be. Something that exists has come into existence. And then it originates because of certain conditions, which we call nutriment. Nutriment is a condition for that thing to come into existence. And then he also sees with the cessation of that nutriment, what has come to be is subject to cessation. Then, having seen this, the trainee is practicing for the purpose of revulsion towards what is subject to cessation. For example, the things in the world, for example, somebody that you love is subject to cessation, subject to aging, sickening, and dying. So you see that this person that you love because they subject to cessation and it is dependent on certain conditions to keep it alive and so the trainee is practicing for the purpose of revulsion. towards what is subject to cessation. This that we cling to, if we see that it is impermanent, it is subject to cessation. Then if you are practicing for the purpose of revulsion, disenchantment towards this that we we attach to then one is a trainee you are practicing to let go practicing to let go you are a trainee one who has seen but has not finished the work whereas the arhan he sees the same thing but he has revulsion. He already has achieved revulsion towards what has come to be, revulsion towards its origination through nutriment and so on. Through revulsion towards what is subject to cessation, through its fading away and cessation, one is liberated by non-clinging. It is in such a way that one has comprehended the Dhamma. So one who has comprehended the Dhamma fully, one who has finished his work, he has total revulsion towards all that is subject to cessation, all the things in the world being impermanent. If we cling to it, we will suffer. So the Arahant, he has totally become disenchanted with everything in the world and he lets go. So then he has comprehended the Dhamma. That's the difference. One is practicing Towards that state, the other one has already achieved revolution. 12.32 at Sabati. Then the monk Kalara the Katia approached the Venerable Sariputta and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to the Venerable Sariputta, Friend Sariputta, the monk Molya Bhaguna has abandoned the training and returned to the lower life. And Venerable Sariputta said, then surely that Venerable did not find solace or comfort in this Dhamma Vinaya. And this Venerable Kalara, he said, well then, has the Venerable Sariputta attained solace in this Dhamma Vinaya? And Venerable Sariputta said, I have no perplexity friend, means I have no doubt. But as to the future friend, Venerable Kalara asked again, And Venerable Sariputta replied, I have no doubt, friend. Then the monk Kalara the Kathia rose from his seat and approached the Blessed One. Let's stop here for a moment. So here, the Venerable Kalara informed Venerable Sariputta that this Moliya Bhaguna has disrobed. Then the Venerable Sariputta said, then it surely means that this person who disrobed He did not find comfort in this Dhamma Vinaya. Then this Venerable Kalara asked him, you mean to say, Venerable Sariputta, you have found comfort in this Dhamma Vinaya? Then Venerable Sariputta said, I have no doubt at all. Then he asked him more about the future. He also says he has no doubt. Then this Venerable Kalara went to see the Buddha. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, sat down to one side and said to him, Venerable Sir, the Venerable Sariputta has declared final knowledge thus, I understand, destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, This monk, Clara, he asked the Venerable Sariputta whether Sariputta has found comfort in the Dhamma Vinaya. And Venerable Sariputta says he has no doubt, that means he has found comfort in the Dhamma Vinaya. But this Kepo, this Venerable Clara, he went to tell the Buddha a different thing. instead of repeating exactly what the Venerable Sariputta said. He said, Venerable Sariputta says he has declared final knowledge. That means he has attained Arahanthood. So that's why a lot of people are like this. Sometimes you hear something and then you interpret something else and then you go and tell somebody else in a different way and misunderstandings arise. So this is what happened in this case also. Then the Blessed One addresses a certain monk thus, Come, monk, tell Sariputta in my name that the teacher calls him. Yes, Venerable Sir, that monk replied. Then he went to the Venerable Sariputta and told him, The teacher calls you, friend Sariputta. Yes, friend, the Venerable Sariputta replied. And he approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, Is it true, Sariputta, that you have declared final knowledge thus? I understand. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. I'll stop here for a moment. So in the Buddha's Vinaya, a monk, even if you have attained Arahanthood, liberation, you are not supposed to declare publicly. So the Buddha asked Venerable Sariputta, whether you said you already attained Arahanthood. And Venerable Sariputta said, Venerable Sir, I did not state the matter in those terms and phrases. That means I didn't say exactly that way. And then the Buddha said, in whatever way Sariputta, a clansman declares final knowledge, what he has declared should be understood as such. So the Buddha says, it doesn't matter how you say it, if you say you have finished your work, then you have declared that people that understand I understand that you have finished your work. And then Venerable Sariputta said, Venerable Sir, didn't I too speak thus? Venerable Sir, I did not state the matter in those terms and phrases. So you see, Venerable Sariputta also is quite tough. He has to stand up to the Buddha. He said, didn't I tell you? I didn't say like that. And then the Buddha said, if Sariputta, they were to ask you, friend Sariputta, how have you known? How have you seen? that you have declared final knowledge thus. I understand, destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. Being asked thus, how would you answer?" So here the Buddha kind of changes the topic, as in something else. And he said, if they were to ask me this, Venerable Sir, I would answer thus. With the destruction of the source from which birth originates, I have understood. When the cause is destroyed, the effect is destroyed. Having understood this, I understand. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. Being asked thus, Venerable Sir, I would answer in such a way. Let's stop here for a moment. So here you see, Venerable Sariputta also is quite blunt. If somebody asks me, how do you know you have finished your work? I will answer with the destruction of the source from which birth originates. I have understood. That means if I have destroyed the source of birth, then I have understood that I have destroyed the cause of birth. Then because I I've destroyed the cause of birth, that's all. Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived. What work had to be done, I've done. And then the Buddha said, but Sariputta, if they were to ask you, my friend Sariputta, what is the source of birth? What is its origin? From what is it born and produced? Being asked thus, how would you answer? If they were to ask me this, Venerable Sir, I would answer thus. Birth, friends, has being as its source, being as its origin. It is born and produced from being. Being asked thus, Venerable Sir, I would answer in such a way. And the Buddha said, but Sariputta, if they were to ask you, my friend Sariputta, what is the source of being? Being asked thus, how would you answer? If they were to ask me this, my noble sir, I would answer thus. Being, friends, has clinging or attachment as its source. But Sariputta, if they were to ask you, but friend Sariputta, what is the source of clinging or attachment? What is the source of craving? What is its origin? From what is it produced? From what is it born and produced? Being asked thus, how would you answer? If they were to ask me this, venerable sir, I would answer thus. Craving, friends, has feeling as its source, feeling as its origin. It is born and produced from feeling. Being asked thus, venerable sir, I would answer in such a way. But Sariputta, if they were to ask you, Friend Sariputta, how have you known, how have you seen that delight in feelings no longer remains present in you? Being asked thus, how would you answer? If they were to ask me this, Venerable Sir, I would answer thus. Friends, there are these three feelings. What three? Pleasant feeling, painful feeling, neither painful nor pleasant feeling. These three feelings, friends, are impermanent. Whatever is impermanent is suffering. When this was understood, delight in feelings no longer remained present in me. Being asked thus, Venerable Sir, I would answer in such a way. Good, good, Sariputta. This is another method of explaining in brief that same point. Whatever is felt is included within suffering. But Sariputta, if they were to ask you, Friend Sariputta, to what kind of deliverance have you declared final knowledge thus? I understand, destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. Being asked thus, how would you answer? If they were to ask me this, I would answer thus, Friends, through an internal deliverance, through the destruction of all clinging, I dwell mindfully in such a way that the asavas do not flow within me, and I do not despise myself. Being asked thus, I would answer in such a way. Good, good Sariputta. This is another method of explaining in brief that same point. I have no perplexity in regard to the Asavas spoken of by the ascetic. I do not doubt that they have been abandoned by me. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one rose from his seat and entered his dwelling. Then soon after the Blessed One had departed, the Venerable Sariputta addressed the monks thus, Friends, the first question that the Blessed One asked me had not been previously considered by me, thus I hesitated over it. But when the Blessed One approved of my answer, it occurred to me, if the Blessed One were to question me about this matter with various terms and with various methods for a whole day, For a whole day, I would be able to answer him with various terms and with various methods. If he were to question me about this matter with various terms and with various methods, for a whole night, for a day and night, or for two days and nights, or three, four, five, six, or seven days and nights, for seven days and nights, I would be able to answer him with various terms and with various methods. Then the monk Alara the Katia rose from his seat and approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, sat down to one side, and said to him, Venerable Sir, the Venerable Sariputta has wrought his lion's roar thus. Friends, the first question that the Blessed One asked me had not been previously considered by me, thus I hesitated over it. But when the Blessed One approved of my answer, it occurred to me, if the Blessed One were to question me about this matter for up to seven days and nights, for up to seven days and nights I would be able to answer Him with various terms and with various methods. And the Buddha said, Monk, the Venerable Sariputta has thoroughly penetrated that element of the Dhamma, by the thorough penetration of which, if I were to question him about that matter, with various terms and with various methods, for up to seven days and nights, for up to seven days and nights, he would be able to answer me with various terms and with various methods. That's the end of the sutra. So you see this kepo one, last. What Venerable Sariputra said again, he go and report to the Buddha. Since the Buddha has a high regard for the Venerable Sariputta, the Buddha agreed that if we were to question him for seven days and seven nights or so, he would be able to answer for seven days and seven nights. So this is quite an interesting sutta that shows that Sariputta is, because his knowledge, his wisdom, so high that he can, he can, he dares to answer the Buddha quite bluntly. I think we've gone through enough suttas tonight. Let's stop here.

29-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-QandA-(2009-07-25).txt

waiting to discuss. That means he's trying to say, I think, that he is equanimous. He does not love himself, like most people. And on the other extreme, he does not despise himself, like some ascetics who have not attained the equanimous state. They're practicing so hard, and they despise the body, despise themselves. They might commit suicide and all these things. But he says he does not despise himself, probably to show that he is equanimous, he has attained an equanimous state. You see, normally, the Buddha and the Arahant disciples, don't generally inform people that they have finished their work. It's only that when they have attained enlightenment, generally, they would go and see the Buddha and tell the Buddha that they have finished their work, but in such a way that there's no self. They don't say, oh, I've done my work. I already attained Arahanthood. They never talk like that because they have no more self. Instead, they will say, If a monk has finished his work, he would have such and such state. His character would be such and such. In that way, the Buddha knows that they are trying to say they have finished their work. Later, when the Buddha had entered Parinibbana, then the monks and nuns who had attained enlightenment, they would go and see, for example, Ananda. and declare to the Venerable Ananda that they have attained enlightenment. So that's one thing. The other thing is sometimes lay people ask the Buddha or the Arahants directly whether they have attained this state and attained that state, like attained psychic power or attained Arahanthood or something. And being confronted thus, sometimes if they don't say anything, then people will think they have not attained. So in that state, sometimes they are forced to say that they have already attained. So even the Buddha also, sometimes lay people ask him directly. Then he says that actually it's a rude way of asking. But he says nevertheless, he will satisfy them with an answer. Then he will say that he has finished his work. Another thing is sometimes like the Buddha, asked the monks, his disciples, not to show psychic power. But he himself, sometimes when he thought the situation, that situation is good to show, then he will show his psychic power, like some of the suttas, where this ascetic challenged him to a debate and all these things. And then the Buddha, after defeating the ascetic in front of a lot of people, then he will just fly off into the air and go back to his monastery. So just to show them how great the Buddha and the monks are, in case they have any doubt. Just now I mentioned it's from the Sutta Nibbata. And the Sutta Nibbata is one of the books in the Kudakka Nikaya. No, I mean now it's in book form, but in the Buddha's time it's just one of the suttas, one of the many suttas. Yes, it's the same. The only thing, consciousness, you can interpret it as sambhupada. There are two interpretations. One is that you can see, for example, Like the traditional interpretation, vijja paccaya sankara, sankara paccaya vinyanam. Vinyanam is consciousness. So because of ignorance, you have volition. And because of volition, that means the will to live. And because of the will to live, you have consciousness. Now, in that case, that consciousness, there are two ways to interpret it. One is, if you follow the traditional three lives interpretation, they say because of past life ignorance, but then the Sankara, they don't interpret as will to live, they interpret it as kamma, they create kamma in the past life. And because of that, in the present life, that consciousness is reborn, consciousness starts again. That's one way of saying that means that consciousness refers to the birth of a being. But another way of seeing is that you don't need to talk about the past. You can consider it as moment to moment. Every moment in our existence, we have ignorance. And because of ignorance, we have the will, the strong will to live. And because of the strong will to live, our consciousness arises. As I mentioned, consciousness is not a constant stream. Consciousness arises momentarily and passes away. And you need something to make it arise again before it passes away. And what is that something? That something is that will, will to live. So prolong that consciousness. When there is no more will to live, a person dies. Consciousness will stop. So you can consider it like that, moment to moment. No, there are different interpretations. I mean the will to live and the kamma is a different interpretation. But that sankara is interpreted by the traditional monks, follow the commentaries and all that as kamma. That is the condition, for sankara is the condition for kamma to arise. So here I'm saying that sankara is the will to live. There's a traditional interpretation, according to commentaries, is kamma. But then there is a fault with this, because if you say it is kamma, then if a person does not create kamma, it means he will stop existing. A person continues in samsara because of craving, not because of this kamma. So, for example, there's a type of beings that are born in the fourth jhana plane and they are unconscious, asanya-satta. The mind does not work, they only have a body. So in that case, they don't create any kamma. But does that mean, because they don't create any kamma, they will become liberated. No. Even if they don't create any kamma, after that, they are still reborn. On the other hand, somebody like Angulimala, he has created a lot of kamma. You think, okay, he has created so much kamma, he must go to hell, so he cannot get out of samsara. But no. Even though he has created so much heavy kamma, and he should go to hell, but because he understood the Dhamma and he practiced so hard, he let go of the will to live. Because when he let go of craving, let go of attachments, everything, everything he let go, including the craving for life, let go. So when he died, he is not reborn. Consciousness stops. So in this case, you can see that the consciousness stops. Vijnana does not come only when you let go, when you let go of craving, when you let go of attachment, when you let go of the will to live. Craving, of course, you have craving for existence, craving for non-existence, and craving for sensual pleasures. All these you let go. Then only, a person can stop the consciousness from arising again. Not to do with karma, does not have to do with karma, has to do with letting go of our craving. And then I found out that one of the women, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of my group, who was also a part of You see, in the Maha Parinibbana Sutta, when they describe how the Buddha attained Nibbana, he entered the fourth jhāna, and coming out of the fourth jhāna, he entered Nibbana. so it shows that the state of jhāna is a very high state where your mind has got to be tuned to the fourth jhāna then only you can enter so that's why the buddha says a person cannot become liberated without the four jhanas. In one of the suttas in the Majjhima Nikaya, the Buddha said that it is impossible to attain destruction of the five lower factors, which means the anagamin, and includes the arahant, without the four jhanas. So even if a person at that moment he does not enter the 4th jhāna. But when he dies, if he wants to enter Nibbāna, that state of mind at the last moment must be similar to that absolutely cool state of the 4th jhāna. Then only he should be able to enter the Nibbāna. Otherwise, without that state of mind, I think it's impossible. Your mind is a scattered mind, it's a very disturbed mind. How can he enter Nibbāna? You're not a focused mind. That is whether you have already attained it before. If you have already attained it before, the mind can revert to that. If it is your everyday mind, if the person constantly abides in the fourth jhāna, and when he is dying, even he dies of cancer, after a while he is no more conscious of the body. Then he goes back into his natural frequency, his everyday state. If his everyday state is abiding in that jhāna, then he can easily enter that jhāna. Consciousness creates the world, is not it? Consciousness... Oh no, consciousness continues. Basically it doesn't go anywhere, it's just that your mind, your consciousness will show you, you are in a certain realm or you are in a certain... so your consciousness is producing the world for you. It's not that your consciousness is in the world, it's your The world is inside your consciousness. At least when I saw a doctor come to me, to not practice what he did, what he did to me, then I know that the path is good, but the path that you are on is not good. But at the end of your previous life, you might die something bad. At least when you die, There is a sutra called the Mahakamavibhanga Sutra where the Buddha says There are some ascetics, they have developed psychic power, but their psychic power is quite limited. So they see a person living a good life. After living a good life, that person dies and is reborn in the woeful plane, either as a ghost or animal or maybe even in hell. then they see how come this person does good deeds in this life, does not harm people, and then he goes to the woeful plane, then they say there's no such thing as kamma. Kamma says if you do good, you should get good. You should be born in a happy destination of rebirth. But this fellow is born in a woeful destination. On the other hand, the opposite may also be true. Somebody leads evil life, doing harm to others and all that. After death, he's born in a happy destination, maybe as a human being or maybe even as a low deva. Then this ascetic says there is no karma. But the Buddha says it's not that. Buddha says if his psychic power were greater, he would look at many lifetimes. If he look at many lifetimes, that person may have done good, and evil in many past lifetimes. So when that person is dying, it depends on which karma comes to his mind. If he happens to think of good karma, then he goes for a good rebirth. If he happens to, his mind is fixed on evil karma, then he goes to a woeful pain of rebirth. So that's why taming the mind is very important. I mean, if you are old enough like me, you will know that some people, almost their whole life, they are very pleasant, you know, very pleasant nature. and quite good and all that. Towards the end, just before they die, their character change, you know, change into a very ugly person, into a very bad-tempered, nasty person, you know. So it shows that the previous life character has come back to him, because never disciplined the mind. So a lot of us, we have the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. We have two types of character in us. We have the angel in us. We also have the Satan, the Mara, the evil one inside us. So how, when you die, which one will take, will become greater? If you don't tame your mind, you don't cultivate good qualities, towards the end, all your unwholesome character come up. Then, too bad for you, you go to the animal realm or something like that. That's why, don't rest on your laurels. A lot of people, we think, I never do evil, Ma. I don't harm people, Ma. That's what you're saying, Ma. There's so much of background, I think, still getting liberated. Is there any condition or anything that you've done, somebody's done, that you have not There are five greatest offenses. If you commit any one of these five, after you die, you have to go to the hell realm. One is injuring a Buddha. Shedding the blood of a Buddha. You cannot kill the Buddha. His life is determined by his will to live. I forgot to mention, before the Buddha entered Nibbāna, it is mentioned in the Sutta, he let go of the will to live. If he did not let go of the will to live, he would not die. Mara was chasing after him to enter Nibbāna. So many times, Mara, Satan, asked him to enter Nibbana. He refused. He said he has not finished his work. Finally, when he finished his work, he said, OK, I agree. Three months time, I will enter Nibbana. At that moment, he let go of the will to live. Then seems the whole world quake. So even the Buddha has to let go of the will to live. So most people, we have to let go of the will to live. That's why it is the will to live that conditions consciousness. So coming back to this, Five offences, if you commit these five offences, you definitely have to go to hell the next lifetime. One is shedding the blood of the Buddha intentionally, harming the Buddha. Second one is killing an Arahant. Third one is killing your mother. Fourth one is killing your father. And the last one is causing the sangha of monks to split into two sanghas. That means you must have at least eight monks. So one side, at least four monks. The other side, at least four monks. You split the monks, the harmony of the monks. Then that is great evil karma. Even if you don't split them into two sanghas, which is called a schism, even if you do a lesser offense, say like there are four monks, and then you divide them into two monks and two monks, it's not called a schism. There's another word for it. But I feel that also is very bad karma. You may not go to hell, but it's still very bad karma. Within the law you can decide. unless that person has made a will. Some people, they are already given clear instructions not to put them on life-saving equipment or anything like that. Like Achen Buddhadasa, he saw Achen Cha suffer for so many years. So he told his disciples, when I become unconscious, I go into a coma, don't give me oxygen and all that thing to keep me alive. He said, just let me go. So if a person has given strict instructions like that, you have to follow his wish. Otherwise, the family decides. But the family also cannot do certain things like take his life. The most you can do is take away the life support equipment, the oxygen and all that. Then let him struggle. Whether he wants to live or not depends on his will. If his will to live is strong, he will continue to survive. Okay, can we stop here for tonight?

30-SN-Nidana-(CH.12)-(2009-07-26).txt

Today is the 26th of July. We continue with the Nidana Samyutta, 12th Chapter of Samyutta Nikaya. We are now at 12.37. At Svabhati, the Buddha said, monks, this body is not yours, nor does it belong to others. It is all karma. to be seen as generated and fashioned by volition as something to be felt. Therein mounts the instructed noble disciple attends carefully and closely to dependent origination itself thus. When this exists, that comes to be. With the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, Death does not come to be. With the cessation of this, death ceases. That is, with ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness etc, such is the origin of this whole mess of suffering. But with the remainderless fading away, and cessation of ignorance, comes cessation of volition. With the cessation of volition, cessation of consciousness, etc. Such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. That's the end of the Sutta. So, the Buddha said, this body is not yours, nor does it belong to others. This one, in this chapter on dependent origination, it does not explain so much why this body is not yours. But later, in the Khandasangita, when the Buddha talks about the five aggregates, then it is explained that we have no control over our body. That's why it's not ours. And here it says, it is old karma to be seen as generated and fashioned by volition as something to be felt. The translation in the Pali Text Society book is, it should be regarded as brought about by past karma, by plans, by volitions, by feelings. So this body, here it says, is a result of old karma. And not only that, is also generated and fashioned by volition. Volition can take it to be the will to live. Here in the Pali Text Society, it's his plans also, and even by feelings, according to the PTS. So, the instructor noble disciple, considers dependent origination. This formula here, when this exists, that comes to be. With the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be. With the cessation of this, that ceases. So you see this formula, it says when something exists, something else comes to exist. When something arises, something else arises. So one thing is to condition something else. When this does not exist, that does not come to be. The cessation of this, that ceases. So for example, when ignorance exists, then volition, the will to live, comes to be. with the arising of ignorance, there is the arising of volition. Similarly, when ignorance does not exist, then volition does not come to be. With the cessation of ignorance, volition also ceases. So, it is not that when something exists, something disappears. When something exists, something else comes to be. So we have to remember this. 12.38, that's about the Buddha said, monks, what one intends and what one plans and whatever one has a tendency towards, this becomes a basis for the maintenance of consciousness. When there is a basis for us, when there is a basis, there is a support for the establishing of consciousness. When consciousness is established and has come to growth, there is the production of future renewed existence. When there is the production of future renewed existence, future birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair come to be. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. If monks, one does not intend and one does not plan, but one still has a tendency towards something, this becomes the basis for the maintenance of consciousness. When there is a basis, there is a support for the establishing of consciousness. When consciousness is established, has come to grow, there is the production of future renewed existence. Such is the origin of this whole mess of suffering. But monks, when one does not intend, and one does not plan, and one does not have a tendency towards anything, no basis exists for the maintenance of consciousness. When there is no basis, there is no support for the establishing of consciousness. When consciousness is unestablished and does not come to growth, there is no production of future renewed existence. When there is no production of future renewed existence, future birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. So here the Buddha says there are three things that are nutrients for the maintenance of consciousness. Firstly, what we intend, the Pali word is ceteti, from the word Chetana, and what one plans, Pakapeti, and whatever one has a tendency towards, Anuseti, from the word Anusaya, tendency. So, these three things support consciousness. one intends, one plans and one has a tendency towards. So there are these three things. Then there is a support for the establishing of consciousness and that consciousness comes to grow. But the second part, if one does not intend and one does not plan, but one still has a tendency towards something, this also becomes the basis for the maintenance of consciousness. Even if you don't have a plan, you don't have an intention, but you still have a tendency towards something, meaning you still have a craving, a craving for something. Then consciousness still continues, is maintained. So these three things, what you intend, what you plan, this could be like sometimes when a person is dying, he still has unfulfilled ambitions, still wants to do this, still wants to do that. This is very common. In the suttas, it is stated that even devas having lifespan of millions of years, after such a long lifespan, when they are about to die, and then they panic, and then they think, oh, they still haven't done this, they still haven't done that. So this is the first part, what you intend, what you plan. However, if at the moment of dying, you don't have all this planning and intention, yet if you still have a tendency towards something, that means you still haven't let go of craving, then this consciousness is still maintained. You can see from here, it's not easy to become liberated from this flow of consciousness. And this flow of consciousness creates samsara, creates the world. So that's why one has to be totally cool, totally like earlier we read, you have to be disenchanted with the world, then you've got to have a revulsion for the world, then you've got to have viraga, dispassion towards the world, totally tired of the world, then only you can become liberated. So for most people, you have not come to that stage for most people. So the first stage is to attain stream entry. If you attain Stream Entry, then you have entered the path, the path of the Holy Ones, the Aryans. And then you have a maximum of seven more lifetimes. And as you go through these seven more lifetimes, you become more and more disenchanted with the world. And then you slowly become more and more dispassionate towards the world. And one day you'll enter Nirvana. 12.41, that's Sabati. Then the householder, Nata Bindika, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, Householder, when five fearful animosities have subsided in a noble disciple, and he possesses the four factors of stream entry, and he has clearly seen and thoroughly penetrated with wisdom the noble method, If he wishes, he could by himself declare of himself, I am one finished with hell, finished with the animal realm, finished with the domain of ghosts, finished with the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the netherworld. I am a stream enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as my destination. Let's stop here for a moment. So the Buddha says, if a person possesses these three factors, he should have the confidence to believe that he is a stream-enterer, the first stage ariya, first path ariya. And once you have become ariya, then The hell realm is closed for you, the animal realm and the ghost realm. You will never be born into these three woeful planes again. You notice here, these three realms are the three woeful planes of rebirth. Later books, they added one more. They added the Asura. This Asura is found in the later Mahayana books. generally in the Mahayana books and also in the Abhidhamma. So we show that the Abhidhamma and the Mahayana books were written much later. So here in the earliest suttas, they always talk about three realms of these woeful planes. So what are these three factors? Let me go into it. What are the five fearful animosities that have subsided? Householder, one who destroys life and genders on account of such behaviour. Fearful animosity. pertaining to the present life, and fearful animosity pertaining to the future life, and he experiences mental pain and displeasure. Thus, for one who abstains from destroying life, this fearful animosity has subsided. One who takes what is not given, one who engages in sexual misconduct, one who speaks falsely, one who indulges in wine, liquor and intoxicants that are a basis for negligence and genders on account of such behaviour, fearful animosity pertaining to the present life and fearful animosity pertaining to the future life, and he experiences mental pain and displeasure. Thus, for one who abstains from wine, liquor, and toxicants that are a basis for negligence, this fearful animosity has subsided. These are the five fearful animosities that have subsided. So here, I start over to explain. These five fearful animosities refer to the five precepts, that panchasila, that we are advised to uphold. Fearful animosity means that if you break the five precepts, you give fear to others because you kill, you steal, you commit sexual misconduct, you lie or cheat and you take intoxicants. So you give fear to others and also animosity. Animosity meaning hatred. They fear you as well as hate you. For example, if you kill and then these beings know that you can kill them, they fear you but at the same time they have a lot of hatred for you. So if there's a chance, they will take revenge on you. So because of that, you will have to suffer mental pain and displeasure either in this life or future life as a result of your killing karma. Similarly, for breaking the other precepts. Second, stealing. Third, sexual misconduct. Four, speak falsely. And five, indulging in liquor. Why indulging in liquor can give you this fearful animosity? Because when you indulge in liquor, you lose control of yourself. What you should not say, you say. What you should not do, you do. So because of that, you can also easily break the other precepts. So you also engender this fearful animosity. So this is the first condition. If you want to be a stream enterer, you've got to keep the precepts. And what are the four factors of stream entry that he possesses? Here, householder, the noble disciple possesses confirmed confidence in the Buddha Adas. The Blessed One is an Arahant, perfectly enlightened, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate knower of the world, unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Dhamma thus, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise. He possesses confirmed confidence in the Sangha thus. The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is practicing the good way, practicing the straight way, practicing the true way, practicing the proper way, that is, the four pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals. This Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world. He possesses the virtues dear to the noble ones, unbroken, untorn, unblemished, unmottled, freeing, praised by the wise, ungrasped, leading to concentration. These are the four factors of stream entry that he possesses. So these are the characteristics of stream entry. He has unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, three things. And then the fourth is he has the Arinsila. Arinsila, sometimes it is called perfect sila, Perfect Moral Conduct actually comprises three factors in the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Noble Eightfold Path, the eight factors can also be described as three things. Sila, Samadhi, Panna. Moral Conduct, Concentration and Wisdom. So the Sila part consists of three factors. Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood. Right speech consists of four precepts. Not to lie, not to engage in malicious speech, speech motivated by anger. Number three, not to speak coarse, vulgar words. And number four, not to engage in idle gossip. So right speech has four precepts. And then right action has three precepts. not to kill, not to take what is not given, and not to engage in sexual misconduct. And then right livelihood is earning your livelihood in a way that does not harm others. And that means you uphold the first two The first two factors, right speech and right action. So right livelihood in a way is covered by right speech and right action. So actually there are only seven precepts in the RNC comprising right speech and right action. And you can see right livelihood also, seven precepts. And what is the noble method that he has clearly seen and thoroughly penetrated with wisdom? Here, householder, the noble disciple attends closely and carefully to dependent origination itself thus. When this exists, that comes to be. With the arising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be. With the cessation of this, death ceases. That is, with ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness comes to be. With consciousness as condition, mentality, materiality, etc. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volition. With the cessation of volition, cessation of consciousness, etc. etc. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This is the noble method that he has clearly seen and thoroughly penetrated with wisdom. When householder, these five fearful animosities have subsided in the noble disciple, and he possesses these four factors of stream-entry. And he has clearly seen and thoroughly penetrated with wisdom the noble method. If he wishes, he could by himself declare of himself, I am one finished with hell, finished with the animal realm, finished with the domain of ghosts, finished with the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the nether world. I am a stream enterer, no longer bound to the nether world, fixed in destiny. with enlightenment as my destination, as the end of the sutta. So here, you see, if we want to become a stream-enterer, an ariya, so that we are no more going to be reborn in the woeful planes of existence, then three things here are important. One, you have to keep the five precepts, or as I mentioned just now, the seven precepts. And then the second is you have the four factors of stream entry. That means you have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, and you have the Arin seal. And the third one is you know this noble method, the Arin method, that means dependent origination. You can see that suffering is dependently originated. 12.43, that's Sabati. Monks, I will teach you the origin and the passing away of suffering. Listen to that and attend closely. I will speak. Yes, noble sir, the monks reply. Blessed one said, at what month is the origin of suffering? In dependence on the I and forms, I-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling comes to be. With feeling as condition, craving. This is the origin of suffering. In dependence on ear and sounds, independence on nose and odors, independence on tongue and taste, independence on the body and tactile objects. Similarly, this consciousness arises and then the meeting of the three, namely the sense organ, the sense object and the sense consciousness is contact. And with contact as condition, feeling arises. With feeling as condition, craving. This is the origin of suffering. Stop here for a moment. So here you see, for this, any one of the six consciousness to arise, there has to be this condition that the sense organ must be there. For example, for your eye consciousness to arise, you must have a good eye, and then there is form in front of the eye. So with these two as conditions, eye consciousness arises. But if you think carefully, this is not the only two conditions, because there has got to be other conditions like volition, the will to live, then consciousness can prolong because independent origination, consciousness arises dependent on Sankara, dependent on volition. So this is another two conditions for I consciousness to arise, you could have I in forms. So once you have eye and forms, say like something comes before your eye, the eye consciousness arises. And then the meeting of the three, that means the contact of the three will start the mind working. Feeling arises. Feeling is the first thing. And then after feeling, you have perception. After feeling, you have perception. Then after that, you may have thinking. Then after that, you may have intention. intending to do something, maybe you see something attractive, then you have this perception and then you intend to obtain it or something. So this starts the mind working. But once you have feeling, then if it's a pleasant feeling, then craving arises. Once you have craving, then this dependent origination goes. Craving leads to clinging or attachment, which leads to being, which leads to birth and suffering. So that's the origin of suffering. And what mounts is the passing away of suffering. In dependence on the I and forms, I-consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. With contact as condition, feeling comes to be. With feeling as condition, craving. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, comes cessation of clinging. With the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence, of being, with the cessation of being, cessation of birth, with the cessation of birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This is the passing away of suffering. Similarly, independence on the ear and sounds, and on the mind and mental objects, this consciousness arises. and the meeting of the three is contact. And with contact as condition, feeling comes to be. With feeling as condition, craving. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving comes cessation of clinging. And then leads to cessation of being, cessation of birth, et cetera. Such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. So here, this sequence, you can consider it that means if you have the six sense bases and then the six sense objects comes before your six sense bases then the consciousness arises and then there is contact and then healing comes about so this you can consider as this present life this present life and then if you breathe Because of feeling, your craving, that leads to attachment and being and birth. So birth refers to the next life. Birth and aging and dying and all that. So here we are talking about two lifetimes, present lifetime and the future lifetime. So it says if you want to stop that suffering, this With the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, comes cessation of clinging. So you have to stop the chain that leads to suffering at craving. If you stop your craving for all the things in the world, which also means you have to let go of your attachments, your clinging. and then slowly that leads to the cessation of being and then that will lead to the cessation of birth or rebirth so it's important to note that this has to come about with the cessation of craving but for you to cut craving You have to know enough Dhamma, have to practice enough Dhamma, so that you reduce your ignorance. With strong ignorance, you cannot stop this suffering.

31-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-(2009-07-26).txt

I come to the next sutra, 12.51. Thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savati in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's path. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks as, Monks, Rebel Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said this, Monks, When a monk is making a thorough investigation, in what way should he thoroughly investigate for the utterly complete destruction of suffering? Venerable Sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, guided by the Blessed One, taking recourse in the Blessed One. It would be good if the Blessed One would clear up the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from him, the monks will remember it. Then listen and attend closely, monks. I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir, the monks replied. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is asking the monks, how should a monk thoroughly investigate so that he can destroy suffering? So they asked the Buddha to explain. So the Buddha said, here monks, when he makes a thorough investigation, a monk thoroughly investigates the many diverse kinds of suffering that arise in the world, hidden by aging and death. What is the source of this suffering? What is its origin? From what is it born and produced? When what exists, does aging and death come to be? When what does not exist, does aging and death not come to be? As he thoroughly investigates, or he thoroughly contemplates, he understands thus, that many diverse kinds of suffering that arise in the world, headed by aging and death, this suffering has birth as its source, birth as its origin. It is born and produced from birth. When there is birth, aging and death comes to be. When there is no birth, aging and death does not come to be. He understands aging and death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading on that is in conformity with its cessation. He practices that way and conducts himself accordingly. This is called a monk who is practicing for the utterly complete destruction of suffering, for the cessation of aging and death. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, if a monk wants to destroy suffering, he should contemplate thoroughly. He contemplates what is the source of suffering. Then he understands that this world is suffering because of impermanence. The strongest characteristic of the world is impermanence. Everything in the world is impermanent. There's not a single thing in the world, in the universe, that is permanent. So that is why we talk about Anatta. Anatta, sometimes people translate as no soul. That's a wrong translation. It's not no soul. It means there is nothing that is permanent, that does not change according to conditions. If there is something that does not change, then you can say that is me. But if everything changes, then whatever you take yourself to be, in a while you will die. you will die off and then you change, change to something else. So because of that, this concept of no-self or not-self, the Buddha spoke, it's not that there is no soul, it's just that there is no thing that is unchanging. There is no essence core in us that is unchanging. Everything inside us is changing. So we are just a flux of conditions. a flux of conditions. So because of this impermanent nature of the world, there is suffering because whatever we experience that gives us pleasure, gives us happiness, we want to cling to it. We don't want it to change. But it is impossible. Anything that we are happy with, it must change. Even our happiness itself is not permanent. So because of that, when the happiness goes away, then suffering takes its place. So this world is a world of happiness plus suffering. So because of that, we generally say it is a world of suffering. And you cannot change the nature of the world. The only thing is, once you exist in the world, you must experience this characteristic of the world, which is impermanence leading to suffering. So if you don't want to have suffering, then you should not be born into the world. The moment you are born into the world, this is the world of suffering. So he understands that the origin of suffering is birth. If there's no birth, there's no suffering. It's because there is birth, there is suffering. So once he understands that, then he practices. for the complete destruction of suffering. How does he practice? That means he practices according to the Dhamma so that he is not born again. Then the Buddha continues. Then investigating further, he thoroughly investigates thus. What is the source of this birth? What is its origin? From what is it born and produced? What is the source of this being, this clinging, this craving? This Twelve Links considers what is the source. As he thoroughly investigates, he understands thus, volition has ignorance as its source, ignorance as its origin. It is born and produced from ignorance. When there is ignorance, volition comes to be. When there is no ignorance, volition does not come to be. He understands volition its origin, its cessation, and the way leading on that is in conformity with its cessation. He practices that way and conducts himself accordingly. This is called a monk who is practicing for the utterly complete destruction of suffering, for the cessation of volition. Stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is saying that when a monk considers thoroughly, then he begins to understand that there are these twelve links of dependent origination that gives rise to suffering. And the ultimate condition is ignorance. From ignorance, you have volition, and from volition, you have consciousness, etc. So he, understanding this, he practices to destroy all these twelve links. In that way, he can destroy suffering. Monks, if a person immersed in ignorance generates a meritorious volition, consciousness fares on to the meritorious. If he generates a demeritorious volition, consciousness fares on to the demeritorious. If he generates an imperturbable volition, consciousness fares on to the imperturbable. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is saying, if a person is out of ignorance, he generates meritorious volition, that means he generates good karma. If he generates good karma, the consciousness will bring him to a good rebirth. And then if he generates bad karma, evil karma, then the consciousness will bring him to this evil rebirth. woeful plane of rebirth. But he generates an imperturbable volition, probably meaning a high state of jhana, which is imperturbable, unshakable. Like the fourth jhana onwards is considered an imperturbable state. So he will be born in that realm called the imperturbable realm. That means the high jhana heavens there. And then the Buddha says, but when a monk has abandoned ignorance and aroused true knowledge, then with the fading away of ignorance and the rising of true knowledge, he does not generate a meritorious volition or a demeritorious volition. or an imperturbable volition. Since he does not generate a fashion volition, he does not cling to anything in the world. Not clinging, he is not agitated. Not being agitated, he personally attains Nibbana. He understands. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. The Buddha says if a person is practicing to be liberated, then he does not generate meritorious volition or demeritorious volition or imperturbable volition. Then he does not cling to anything in the world. He does not want anything in the world. If he feels a pleasant feeling, he understands it is impermanent. He understands it is not held on to. He understands it is not delighted in. If he feels a painful feeling, he understands it is impermanent. He understands it is not held on to. He understands it is not delighted in. If he feels neither painful nor pleasant feeling, he understands it is impermanent, he understands it is not held to, he understands it is not delighted in. If he feels a pleasant feeling, he feels it as detached. If he feels a painful feeling, he feels it detached. If he feels neither painful nor pleasant feeling, he feels it detached. So here the Buddha is saying that this monk, whatever feeling he experiences, he is detached from it. When he feels a feeling terminating with the body, he understands, I feel a feeling terminating with the body. When he feels a feeling terminating with life, he understands, I feel a feeling terminating with life. He understands, with the breakup of the body, following the exhaustion of life, all that is felt, not being delighted in, will become cool right here. Mere bodily remains will be left. Suppose monks, a man would remove a hot clay pot from a potter's kiln. and set it on smooth ground, its heat would be dissipated right there, and portraits would be left. So too, when he feels a feeling terminating with the body, terminating with life, he understands, with the breakup of the body, following the exhaustion of life, all that is felt not being delighted in, will become cool right here. Mere bodily remains will be left. Let's stop here for a moment. So here, This monk who has finished his work, when he knows that the end of life is coming, then he understands that following the death of the body, all the experiences of life will become cool, so only the body will remain. We have not become liberated. We are passionate about life. There are so many things we are concerned about in life. But then, a lot of people, when they are dying, they think of many unimportant things, and they think it's very important. They haven't done this. They worry about their son, who is not married. They worry about this. They worry about their property, worry about their young wife, and all these things that are not important at all. Because when the body dies, the life that we have led will become like a dream that has gone by. Every life we experience is one dream after another, one dream after another. And when it is finished, anything connected with that life actually is not important at all. It's just a dream gone by, not important at all. dream at night when we have a nightmare in the nightmare itself we are so frightened we are so excited and we strive with all our energy to either to to fight off the evil or to escape from being killed and all that and then when we wake up then we we think about it just now i'm so excited just now i'm so worried actually it's nothing to worry about right so in the same way Life, when we are alive, we think that everything in life is so important. But when we die, all the things are not important. What is important is where we are going for rebirth. That is important. So if we realize this earlier, we would have started our preparations for the next phase of our life, of people. They don't realize that to prepare for your rebirth takes many years. Many years. So, you can't last minute. They're going to die in a few days' time. They think what to do. Too late already. Need at least 10 years to prepare to get a reasonable, good rebirth. So, it's a thing to remember when we are dying. that has happened in life will grow cold. Not important at all. What do you think, monks? Can a monk whose asavas are destroyed create a meritorious volition or a de-meritorious volition or an imperturbable volition? No, Venerable Sir. When there are utterly no volitions, with the cessation of volitions, would consciousness be discerned, be seen? No, Venerable Sir. When there is utterly no consciousness, with the cessation of consciousness, would mentality, materiality be discerned, be seen? No, when there is utterly no mentality, materiality, there is no sixth sense basis, no contact, no feeling, no craving, no clinging, no being, no birth, and with the cessation of birth, there would be no aging and death. So the Buddha said, good monks, it is exactly so and not otherwise. Place faith in me about this, monks. Resolve on this. Be free from perplexity and doubt about this. Just this is the end of suffering. So the Buddha said, have faith in him. What he says is true. He is not lying to us. So in this sutta, the Buddha says, if we want to understand how to end suffering, we have to consider, contemplate these links one by one. That actually suffering comes about because we are in this world. But if we are not born into this world, then there is no suffering. And how not to be born in this world is to the source of birth, to stop the source of birth, which is being, then to understand that being comes from clinging or attachment, attachment comes from craving, etc. Then there is understanding how suffering originates and how suffering can end. If you are walking the path to be liberated, then you don't want to generate any volition, because you don't want to be attached to anything in the world, so you don't want anything at all. 12.52 at Savati. Monks, when one dwells contemplating gratification in things that can be clung to, craving increases. Let's stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha says, if you dwell contemplating gratification, that means satisfaction, satisfaction with things that you cling to, then craving increases. For example, if you have a big house, you have a big car, have a lot of property and wealth, then when you contemplate all your wealth, then you are very satisfied. But your craving will increase. With craving as condition, clinging comes to be. With clinging as condition, being. With being as condition, birth. With birth as condition, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair come to be. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. Suppose monks, a great bonfire was burning, consuming 10, 20, 30 or 40 loads of wood, and a man would cast dry grass, dry cow dung and dry wood into it from time to time. Thus sustained by that material, fueled by it, that great bonfire would burn for a very long time. So too, when one lives contemplating gratification in things that can be clung to, craving increases. From craving, you have all the other things, clinging, etc. Such is the origin of this whole mess of suffering. So here, the Buddha is saying, just like a big fire, if you keep throwing three things into it, dry grass, dry cow dung, and dry wood, the fire will continue to burn. It will not stop. So in the same way, our fire is fueled by three things, just like these three things. The three things within us is the greed, hatred, and delusion. So this greed, hatred, and delusion will keep the fire burning, the fire of this crown of rebirths, samsara. So that's because we are satisfied with life and our craving, instead of decreasing, our craving increases. Anything in the world that we enjoy, then our craving will increase and then our clinging also will increase. And then the Buddha said, monks, when one dwells contemplating danger in things that can be clung to, craving ceases. With the cessation of craving comes cessation of clinging. The cessation of clinging, cessation of being, cessation of birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. Suppose monks, a great bonfire was burning, consuming 10, 20, 30 or 40 loads of wood, and a man would not cast dry grass, dry cow dung or dry wood into it from time to time. Thus, when the former supply of fuel is exhausted, that great bonfire, not being fed with any more fuel, lacking sustenance, would be extinguished. So too, when one lives contemplating danger in things that can be clung to, craving ceases, and when craving ceases, clinging ceases, etc. Such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. That's the end of the sutta. So here, the second part is that when a person realizes danger in the things that he clings to, then craving ceases. And what is that danger? The danger is that it is impermanent, and because it is impermanent, it will give you suffering. I remember last year I was talking to one of our Buddhist supporters, devotees in Kuala Lumpur. He had a son who went overseas to study, and I think he went swimming, and he drowned and died. And because this man only had one son, I think one daughter, one son and two daughters or something like that. So when the son died, he and his wife felt so much pain, so much suffering. And then he told me something which just struck me. He told me after that experience, he dare not love the daughter so much. The more you love, When it goes away, the pain is unbearable. So because of that, they say they don't love the doctor so much now. It shows he's a smart fellow. Not many people will realize this. So here the Buddha is saying, when one contemplates the danger, of the clinging, that craving, that means that suffering will follow. Then he lets go of that craving. So actually, you see, the best teacher in the world is suffering. If we don't suffer, we don't realize. So we have to suffer. Just like A small kid, tell you not to play with fire, he won't listen to you, right? He will continue to play until he gets his fingers burned. Then you don't have to tell him, he will automatically stop playing with fire. So, the world is like that. When we are young, you want to experience all the pleasures in life. You want to be a macho, you want to be a great hero. Go into this and go into that. Then when we suffer, then we realize. But there are some people, their karma is good enough, they can get out of it. But there are some people, their karma is not so good, when they suffer, they don't get out of it. When I was young, I had a neighbor, young guy, young man. So he joined a bad company, ended up becoming a drug addict. Once you become a drug addict, it's almost impossible to get out of it. So I think he could be like one of those, just die on the right foot path on the roadside. So it's very pitiful. If he get caught by this state, he can't get out of it. You see, down at Naksang Yuta, quite a lot of sutras or something. Try to go to one more sutra. 12.60. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Kurus, where there was a town of the Kurus named Kamasadamma. Then the Venerable Ananda approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said to Him, It is wonderful, Venerable Sir, it is amazing, Venerable Sir, this dependent origination is so deep and so deep in implications. Yet to me it seems as clear as clear can be. Stop here for a moment. So whenever Ananda is disclosing to the Buddha that actually dependent origination is very deep, but to him it seems so clear, he understands it so clearly. Then the Buddha said, Not so, Ananda, not so, Ananda. This dependent origination is deep and deep in implications. It is because of not understanding and not penetrating this Dhamma, Ananda, that this generation has become like a tangled skin, like a knotted ball of thread, like matted weeds and rushes, and does not pass beyond the plane of misery, the bad destinations, the netherworld, samsara. Here the Buddha is saying, this generation of people have become like a tangled skein. It's a loosely coiled bundle of yarn or thread, all tangled up. The thread is all tangled up, knotted. So why is it that Ananda is supposed to be Sotapanna? He says he can see independent origination clearly, but the Buddha says no. Actually, we find in the Vinaya books, after the Buddha was Enlightened. Then even after enlightenment, he wanted to understand dependent origination and he stated that he spent the whole night from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. for 12 hours he was contemplating dependent origination, how suffering arises, how suffering ceases, and how suffering arises and ceases for 12 hours. Then only he fully understood. So you see, even Sammasambuddha To understand, it's not that the Sama Sambuddha knows everything, you know. But a Sammasambuddha or an Arahant, he can know if he takes the trouble to contemplate. So he has got to take the trouble to contemplate. So like the Buddha, his understanding of the dependent origination is much deeper than, remember Ananda, for the simple reason that the Buddha used his psychic power to see how beings die and pass away, how dependent origination works through many lifetimes. So because he could see clearly, contemplating the past, contemplating the present, contemplating the future, he understood thoroughly. But it took him 12 hours. Whereas Ananda, who would only understand superficially what is around, he could see. But Ananda did not have the psychic power to see the past, the present and the future. He couldn't have understood so deeply. And then the Buddha said, Ananda, when one dwells contemplating gratification in things that can be clung to, craving increases. With craving as condition, clinging comes to be. With clinging as condition, etc. Such is the origin of this whole mess of suffering. Suppose, Ananda, there was a great tree. and all its roots going downwards and across would send the sap upwards. Sustained by that sap, nourished by it, that great tree would stand for a very long time. So too, when one lives contemplating gratification in things that can be clung to, craving increases, and when craving increases, then clinging with craving as condition, clinging comes to be, etc. Such is the origin of this whole mess of suffering. So here the Buddha is saying, just like a big tree, its roots will take in all the nutrients and send it up to the tree so that it will survive for a very long time. So in the same way, We are fed, we continue to survive in this round of rebirths because of our nutriment of greed, hatred and delusion. As long as we have greed, hatred and delusion, this will sustain us in the round of rebirths. When ananda, one dwells contemplating danger in things that can be clung to, craving ceases. With the cessation of craving comes cessation of clinging, etc. Such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. Suppose ananda, there was a great tree. Then a man would come along, bringing a shovel and a basket. He would cut down the tree at its foot. He would winnow the ashes in the strong wind, or let them be carried away by the swift current of the river. Thus the great tree would be cut off at the root, made like a palm stump. obliterated so that it is no more subject to future arising. So too Ananda. When one dwells contemplating danger in things that can be clung to, craving ceases. With the cessation of craving comes cessation of clinging. With the cessation of clinging, cessation of being, and then cessation of birth, aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. That's the end of the sutta. So in the same way, the Buddha says, if we understand these 12 links, then we have cut off this ignorance. And when we have cut off this ignorance, then the whole chain slowly will break up. Ignorance. And this volition ceases, and then consciousness ceases, et cetera. So that's the way to end. So for us to do that, we've got to cut ignorance, we've got to understand the Dhamma, then we practice to cut our greed, hatred and delusion. So I'll stop here for tonight. This sutra that I just read is often quoted where Venerable Ananda says dependent origination to him is so clear, but the Buddha says not so, not so, that means you don't really understand

32-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-QandA-(2009-07-26).txt

You see, a person can take a bite of an egg and eat it. But you can't use the bite of an egg to control all the actions of a human being. Then, in a certain lifetime, the human brain will not function as a human brain. It is not stated clearly, this Sutpanna, how he enters Nibbana, But either he can come back to the human realm and practice and enter Nibbana or from one of the higher heavens. But since the state of Nibbana is a very high state, so the mind must eventually probably cultivate his mind to such a peaceful state that is near to the fourth jhana so that when he dies the mind will become so cool. There are some people, for example, anagamins, they don't attain arhanhood. Anagamins they have attained the third fruit. So they are born either in the fourth jhāna plane, Suddhāvāsāra heavens, or it is mentioned in the Sutta that if they have cultivated Arupa jhāna, then they are born into the formless realm, the formless jhāna heavens, which is higher. So from there, when they die, they don't attain Arahanthood but at the moment of dying because their mind is already used to entering the high state of Jhana so when they die their mind will just enter Nibbana Anagamin, non-returner Once-returner He's called a once-returner because he has got to come back to the human birth one more time. So, if a person comes back as a once-returner, Sakadagamin, he'll probably be like our Siddhartha Gautama. He will go forth on his own and practice until he attains Jhānas. Then his memory will come back. So the Dhamma knowledge will come back and from there he will attain Arahanthood. Yeah, there are different types of Sotapanna. Some take seven lifetimes, some take less. Non-returner anagamins must have attained the fourth jhana already. Understanding dependent origination. What is the difference between this Taoist school and those Arhats who understand it? The depth is different. Just like Ananda, he says that he has seen dependent origination very clearly, but the Buddha said not so, not so. So the one who understands it, what I mean to say is that because I know it as a formula, this leads to that, Knowing as a formula is not really understanding. You have to see one by one how it is true. That's why the Buddha said you have to contemplate thoroughly. That's why this is vipassana. Vipassana is contemplation. But then it also depends on the state of your mind. If your mind has attained to one-pointedness of mind, then when you contemplate, you will understand at a deeper level. Whereas a person who has not attained to one-pointedness of mind, he will understand at a shallower level. When you contemplate on the Dhamma, you can think about it, reflect on it, think about it. But how much you penetrate, it depends on the state of your mind. Just like, for example, you ask a few people to contemplate, say, a solution to an economic problem. Simple thing, solution to an economic problem. Different people will come up with different answers are depending on their wisdom or their intelligence. So in the same way, different people contemplate the Dharma, their understanding depends on the depth of their mind, how much wisdom they have. This is the time. Buddha is talking about cessation of craving. You were saying that the Buddha said if you experience a pleasant feeling, you should not take delight in it. If you experience a painful feeling also, you don't take delight in it. We're not supposed to take delight in jhana. Meditate, please. There is a sutra in the Majjhima Nikaya which says that when we have a pleasant feeling that comes from the normal worldly enjoyment, that means from seeing, hearing, smelling, taste and touch, there is a tendency to crave for it, to cling to it, but not with jhāna. With jhāna, although a person, when he experiences jhāna, it is very blissful, but actually there is a misinterpretation from the commentaries. A lot of vipassana monks, they say that you can be attached to jhāna and all these things. And the comments about jhana, piti and sukha are out now because they follow the commentary. For example, they say piti can be very strong and all that overpowering and all that. But if you look into the sutras, the Buddha says this piti and sukha is a subtle feeling. It's a subtle feeling. It's not a strong feeling. What is strong is the mind. The mind is so strong that no feeling can overpower the mind. The mind in the state of jhāna is extremely strong. And these piti and sukha, these bliss states, are subtle feelings. And there is no tendency to crave for it. In the sutta it is mentioned, in the states of meditative absorption, there is no tendency to crave for the meditative bliss. So, wrong opinions, wrong concepts, wrong views have been given by Vipassana monks to discourage people from enjoying the bliss of meditative absorption. Whereas in the sutras, the Buddha says, if people ask, do the sons of the Sakya indulge in meditative bliss, the Buddha says, yes. And then Buddha says he encourages his monks to indulge in this happiness of meditative absorption because he says there are four advantages. You constantly dwell in the jhanas. You can attain the Sotapanna, Sakadagamin, Anagamin and Arahant Buddha. So it is blameless pleasure. Wrong view. They don't understand Jhana. There's a famous Vipassana teacher who says Jhana is useless. He says when you are in Jhana, you don't know. It's like you are in a state of trance. You don't have mindfulness, he says. Then when you come out of it only, then you realize, oh, I was in jhāna. There's a complete misinterpretation of jhāna. When a person enters jhāna, the mind is very mindful, very alert. And that is also stated by the Buddha in the description of the third jhāna and the fourth jhāna. In fact, the Buddha says in the state of the fourth jhāna, the sati is perfect, perfect sati in the fourth jhāna. But this ignorant Vipassana teacher says that in jhāna you have no sati. In fact, in the Sutta, the Buddha said that there are a few reasons why the true Dharma will disappear. One of them is disrespect for the Buddha, disrespect for Dhamma, that means the Suttas, disrespect for the Sangha, disrespect for the training, and disrespect for Samadhi, belittling concentration, belittling Samadhi. Whereas the Buddha always pray Samadhi. Certain monks, because of their ignorance, they belittle Samadhi. This will lead to the disappearance of the true Dhamma. In fact, the Buddha says that the jhanas are the footprints of the Tathagata. If you want to follow the path that the Buddha walked, you have to go on the way of jhana. Otherwise, you are not walking the path of the Buddha. If you talk about the family, it will be just like that. It won't go like this. You cannot force yourself to let go. It comes from understanding. It comes from maturing of your mind. And you can help your mind to mature by studying more suttas. Listening to suttas like this. And practicing meditation. So you come more often and practice slowly. But anyway, usually I I say, if somebody wants to abandon the family, I have to make sure the family is financially sound. If the family is financially sound, it doesn't matter if your son is one year old, he can still go off like the Buddha. The Buddha, the son was just born. He never worried that, oh, he has to do his father's duty to bring up the child, no? This young kid has got the grandparents to look after him, has got the mother to look after him, got a lot of wealth to look after him. The Buddha just walked off. Wait, wait, one by one, don't ask. There is no clear cut distinction. The mind, there are three Pali terms for the mind, and they are citta, mano, and vinyana. Vijnana is very clearly defined by the Buddha to be six types of Vijnana. Seeing Vijnana, Seeing Consciousness. Vijnana is Consciousness. So you have Seeing Consciousness, Hearing Consciousness, Smelling Consciousness, Taste Consciousness, Touch Consciousness and Thinking Consciousness. So this Vijnana is very clear. Mano is the thinking faculty. Mano is actually one of the six sense organs. Just like the eye is an organ. So Mano is the thinking faculty. So that is Mano. That also is quite clear. Not only thinking, like Creating kamma, creating kamma also, intending, is also due to manu. But citta is not very clearly defined. Citta is generally the mind, mind as a whole. But you must remember these terms are not clear cut. Because when you talk about mind, Now, like in the five aggregates, the Buddha says, we take ourselves to be the five aggregates. We take ourselves to be this body and this mind. And in these five aggregates, you have body, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. The last four is supposed to be mind. Feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. These are supposed to be mind. Now, you look at feeling. Feeling is part of the mind. So just now we said three terms define the mind. Citta, Mano and Vijnana. How about feeling? Feeling is also part of the mind. You cannot say feeling is not the mind. You cannot say perception is not the mind. You cannot say volition is not the mind. So all these terms are related. So it's very difficult to pull one out and say this is that. They are all related. Without consciousness can you have feeling? You cannot. Without consciousness, can you have perception? So, feeling, perception, it comes together with consciousness. Otherwise, there's no feeling, there's no perception, there's no origin. So they're all interrelated. It's just that this mind, because we use it in different ways. When you use it for seeing, the Buddha says that it's consciousness, vijnana. When you use it for thinking, the Buddha says that is Mano, the thinking faculty. So when the consciousness descends in the womb, the Buddha calls it the citta. So they're all related. You cannot simply say this is this, this is that, no? They're all related. So no point to split hairs. Sometimes certain things, we want to be too defined too clearly, it's not possible. You see, firstly, the rebirth of a being, that person generally has no control. You cannot say, oh, I want to choose to be this, to be that. Generally, because when we are dying, you may think you want to be reborn here, you want to be reborn there. After some time, your six senses start to close. You won't be able to see, you won't be able to smell. After some time, people touch you also, you don't know. You won't be able to hear. And then, as you go deeper and deeper into that death state, after some time, you are no more breathing. Your breathing has stopped, and your heart also has stopped. then the doctor will come and examine and say, oh, this person is dead. When the doctor says this person is dead, he means this person is clinically dead. But in the Buddha's teaching, that person may not be dead, because the Buddha says, when a person actually dies, three things must stop. The vitality, maybe in Chinese we call the qi. The Qi has stopped. Secondly, the consciousness stops. Thirdly, the body heat stops. So, even when the doctor says somebody has died, his mind may still be working. Usually, the mind will still continue to work. And when you touch the body, it's still not yet cold. So for example, one Penang devotee told me a few years ago, the mother died of cancer. So at the last moment when the mother died of cancer, she was in pain. So when she died, you could see the face, very painful expression on her face. But one hour later, the daughter told me the face changed after she died. I mean after clinical death, the face changed and became very bright and happy and smiling and all that. That means during that one hour after the doctor pronounced her dead, the mind was still going, still doing that one hour. And those last thoughts, we have no control over our last thoughts. Those last thoughts are conditioned by our kamma. If your karma is good, you always think of helping people, always think of meditating, keeping sila and all that. Those last thoughts will be because your behavior is like a Deva or Devi. So your last thoughts or Deva or Devi thoughts will bring you to a heavenly rebirth. So, when you have those thoughts, and you probably may see devas or devis coming to welcome you, so you are happy, happy, so the face is smiling, happy. On the other hand, a person with an evil heart, always thinking of harming others, when he is dying, those last thoughts, he is fighting with people, chased by other beings and all that, Then he sees himself being reborn in the ghost realm, always chased by hell beings. So we don't have much control where we are going to be born. So no need to think so much. Important is to do our work now. Cultivate the mind so that our everyday thoughts are very important. our natural frequency. If you want to be reborn, for example, in heaven, right now your character has got to be like a Deva or Devi. So that is your natural frequency. So if you are behaving like a Deva or Devi, then you will go to that realm. But if your mind is muddled up, restless, full of greed and all that. It's very natural, either you are born in the ghost realm or in the animal realm, because your mind is like a ghost or like an animal. So that's why it's important to cultivate our mind. And to cultivate our mind, we need the theory from the Buddha's words. And the practice is our meditation. And not only that, you have to keep your sila, watch your mind every day. Control your mind. If you cannot control your mind and the mind controls you, the Buddha said, you are full of suffering. An undisciplined mind in the suttas, the Buddha said, an undisciplined mind is a source of great suffering. A disciplined mind is a source of great happiness. You look at the monks who attained the jhanas, because they have totally disciplined their mind until their mind becomes one-pointed, unmoving. Most of us, we have the monkey mind, but the person who can enter jhāna, the mind becomes so disciplined, totally immovable. But in that state, great bliss arises. So that when that being is born into the jhāna heavens, first jhāna or second or third jhāna or fourth jhāna, that being emits light brighter than the sun. Brighter than the sun according to the to even the lowest jhāna, the first jhāna, the Brahma, Devas, their light goes out to the minimum of 1,000 world systems. That means it's much brighter than the sun, goes up to 1,000. And some of them goes up to 100,000 worlds, because their light can reach 100,000 world systems. And those who attain the second jhāna, the sutta say, every day they are exclaiming, sukha, sukha, sukha, Millions and millions of years they are saying sukha. Much better than our ecstasy pill. Ecstasy pill only maybe half an hour, one hour. What is one hour, half? After one hour when you get out of the ecstasy bliss, you experience dukkha. The opposite will come. But this one, millions and millions and millions of sukha. And then the third jhāna, the Buddha says that being is so happy, citta-saṅga, cannot say anything. So you can consider becoming a monk. Good. Actually, according to statistics, monks and nuns live longer than other people. Okay, stop here for tonight.

33-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-(2009-07-27).txt

Today is the 27th of July and we continue with the Nidana Sanghuta. Hope to finish it tonight at 12.61. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savati in Jeta's Grove, Nathapindika's path, and He said, Mounts, the uninstructed worldling, Putujana, might experience revulsion towards this body, composed of the four great elements. He might become dispassionate towards it and be liberated from it. For what reason? Because growth and decline is seen in this body composed of the four great elements. It is seen being taken up and laid aside. Therefore, the uninstructed worldling might experience revulsion towards this body composed of the four great elements. He might become dispassionate towards it and be liberated from it. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying, even an ordinary person, a worldling, puthujana, he might be, he might experience revulsion, dispassion towards this body because he can see that this body After it grows, then it will decline, it will age. So that's why even an ordinary person can see this and become dispassionate towards it. But monks, as to that which is called mind and mentality and consciousness, the uninstructed worldling is unable to experience revulsion towards it, unable to become dispassionate towards it and be liberated from it. For what reason? Because for a long time this has been held to by him, appropriated and grasped thus. This is mine, this I am, this is myself. Therefore the uninstructed worldling is unable to experience revulsion towards it, unable to become dispassionate towards it and be liberated from it. Stop there for a moment. This one that which is called mind and mentality and consciousness. The Pali word is citta, mano and vinyana. So here the Buddha says it's very difficult for an ordinary person to be dispassionate towards the mind. These three terms indicate the mind in its various ways of working. The mentality Mano here is more of the thinking faculty. The consciousness is more of the consciousness of the six sense doors. And the Buddha says because for a long time an ordinary person has grasped, is attached to the mind as this is mine, this I am, this is myself. You see this mind, our mind, is our self-defense system, our ego support system, because we have the mind. The mind is what supports our ego, because we protect ourselves by using the mind. Whenever there's any danger, we use our mind. When we want anything, we use our mind. You want to achieve success, so you have to use your mind a lot. So all the time we are using our mind, so it's very difficult to let go of this mind. And the Buddha continued, It would be better, monks, for the uninstructed worldling to take as self this body composed of the four great elements rather than the mind. For what reason? Because this body composed of the four great elements is seen standing for one year, for two years, for three, four, five, or 10 years, or 20, 30, 40, or 50 years, or 100 years, or even longer. But that which is called mind and mentality and consciousness arises as one thing and ceases as another by day and by night. This is a monkey roaming through a forest, grabs hold of one branch, lets that go and grabs another, then lets that go and grabs still another. So to that which is called mind and mentality and consciousness, rises as one thing and ceases as another by day and by night. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is saying that an ordinary person is there will be more reason to take this body as the self rather than to take the mind. But the only person who takes the mind more to be the self rather than the body, because he sees the body can grow old, can sicken, can die. But the Buddha says, in actual fact, he should take the body more to be the self rather than the mind. Why? Because the mind actually also changes, just like age and die, and even much faster. The Buddha says, whereas the body can last a hundred years or even more, but the mind is changing all the time. day and night it is changing and changing so fast just like the monkey grabbing a branch and let go and grab another branch so also the mind in fact there's nothing faster than the mind nothing works faster than the mind so even in one second the mind can be so active within one second so it's Changing all the time. It's grabbing one object and letting go and grab another mental object and let go and grab another mental object. That's why I like the monkey. So the Buddha says, actually the mind, because it's changing much faster, although we don't see it, we think that the mind is a stream of continuous consciousness, never stopping, but actually the mind arises and passes away, arises and passes away, arises and passes away, within one second itself. I don't know how many times it arises and passes away. But that being so, the Buddha is saying the mind is even more impermanent than the body, whereas the body can last hundred over years, and yet the mind cannot last even one second. Therein, monks, the uninstructed noble disciple attends closely and carefully to dependent origination itself thus. When this exists, that comes to be. With the rising of this, that arises. When this does not exist, that does not come to be. With the cessation of this, that ceases. That is, with ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. With volition as condition, consciousness, etc. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volition. With the cessation of volition, cessation of consciousness, etc. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. Seeing thus, monks, the instructed noble disciple, experiences revulsion towards form, revulsion towards feeling, revulsion towards perception, revulsion towards volition, revulsion towards consciousness. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge. It is liberated. It understands, destroys its birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. So towards the end, the Buddha says, the learned Aryan disciple, having understood dependent origination, that everything arises and ceases through conditions, then he feels dispassion towards five aggregates, namely form or body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. These five things, these five aggregates, also can be said to be body and mind, because we always take the body and mind to be the self, or as belonging to the self, or the self in the five aggregates, or the five aggregates in the self. So when he understands that the body and the mind is all conditionally arisen, then he experiences dispassion and revulsion, and so his mind becomes liberated. The main point about this sutta is that because we can see the body ages and sickens and dies, so it is easier to let go of the body rather than the mind. But the Buddha says in actual fact there is more reason to let go of the mind rather than the body because the mind At least the body stands longer than the mind. But you see, when a person becomes first stage ariya, when a person enters the stream, and then after that he becomes first fruit ariya, sotapanna, sotapanna eliminates three factors. attachment to rules and vows or rituals and then attachment, identity view, Sakaya Diti and Dautna. Now this Sakaya Diti If a person eliminates Sakha Aditi, identity view, it means he sees that the body and the self is not, there's no self, there's no permanent, there's nothing permanent in the body and the mind, the five aggregates. Yet, he still has a self. So this self, where is that self? It's somewhere in the mind. So he doesn't really understand where it is. So when a person becomes an ariya, but not yet an arahant, so he has let go of his body and the mind. He sees that the body and the mind is not the self, and yet he still has this self somewhere. 12.63 Medsavati Buddha said, amongst there are these four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be, and for the assistance of those about to come to be. But four, the nutriment edible food, gross or subtle. Second, contact. Third, volition. Fourth, consciousness. These are the four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be, and for the assistance of those about to come to be. And how amongst should the nutriment-edible food be seen? Suppose a couple, husband and wife, had taken limited provisions and were travelling through a desert. They have with them their only son, dear and beloved. Then, in the middle of the desert, their limited provisions would be used up and exhausted. while the rest of the desert remains to be crossed. The husband and wife would think our limited provisions have been used up and exhausted, while the rest of this desert remains to be crossed. Let us kill our only son, dear and beloved, and prepare dry and spiced meat. By eating our son's flesh, we can cross the rest of this desert. Let not all three of us perish. Then monks, the husband and wife, would kill their only son, dear and beloved, prepare dried and spiced meat, and by eating their son's flesh, they would cross the rest of the desert. While they are eating their son's flesh, they would beat their breasts and cry, Where are you, our only son? Where are you, our only son? What do you think, monks? Would they eat that food for amusement or for enjoyment, or for the sake of physical beauty and attractiveness? No, Venerable Sir. Wouldn't they eat that food only for the sake of crossing the desert? Yes, Venerable Sir. It is in such a way, monks, that I say the nutriment edible food should be seen. When the nutriment edible food is fully understood, lust for the five cause of sensual pleasure is fully understood. When lust for the five cause of sensual pleasure is fully understood, there is no factor bound by which a noble disciple may come back again to this world. Let's stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says we should consider the food we eat as though being the flesh of our only son, and then we won't be greedy for tasty food. That can be understood by thinking whether the food, whether we eat is meat, or even veggie, vegetables, it's still at the expense of some beings. Some beings have to die for us to survive. So if we eat meat, that is seen more clearly. But if we eat vegetarian food, still other beings have to die for it because the farmers who plant the crops, they will naturally kill all the Yes, they destroy their crops like in Malaysia you have monkeys and squirrels and rats and in other countries maybe rabbits and kangaroos and smaller creatures like worms, caterpillars. insects, etc. So whatever we eat is always at the expense of other beings. So if we consider that, we should not be greedy for good food. Just see that we have to consume the food. to survive. And our purpose of survival, we should have a purpose. There's no point if we survive at the expense of other living beings and waste our life. So in this case, this husband and wife, they have to cross the desert. And this is an analogy for the desert of samsara. If we want to cross the desert of samsara, we have to survive. and live the holy life, practice the Dhamma to get out of samsara. So the Buddha says food should be considered in that way. We owe that to others, other beings that we have to eat at the expense of their lives. So if we consider like that, then we are not greedy. And then also we make good use of our life to benefit ourselves and to benefit others. We live our life aimlessly. A lot of people, because they don't understand the Dharma, they live their life aimlessly and they never get out of samsara. Not to get out of samsara is not so bad. The only problem is you'll be falling to the woeful plains again and again to suffer. So the Buddha says, when you have understood the nutriment, edible food in this way, then the lust for the sensual pleasure, you will reduce your lust for sensual pleasure because you know the longer we live and enjoy life, the more we hurt others. As they say, it's a dog-eat-dog world. Each person survives at the expense of others. And how among should the nutriment contact be seen? Suppose there is a flayed cow, that means a skinned cow, a cow with the skin removed. The creatures dwelling in the wall would nibble at her. If she stands exposed to a tree, the creatures dwelling in the tree would nibble at her. If she stands exposed to water, the creatures dwelling in the water would nibble at her. If she stands exposed to the open air, the creatures in the open air would nibble at her. Whatever that clayed cow stands exposed to, the creatures there would nibble at her. It's in such a way, monks, that I say the nutriment contact should be seen. When the nutriment contact is fully understood, the three kinds of healing are fully understood. When the three kinds of healing are fully understood, I say there is nothing further that a noble disciple needs to do. Let's stop here for a moment. This cow is a cow with the skin removed. So if the skin is removed, the flesh, other creatures would like to bite the flesh, to eat the flesh. So whether she's standing, touching a wall, when she stands touching a wall, then the wall, the creatures in the wall would bite her. If she stands against a tree, creatures in the tree would bite her. If she stands in the water, creatures in the water would bite her. In the open air, creatures in the open air would bite her. This refers to our six sense bases. At the six sense bases, contact means contact with external sense object. That means for the eye, it forms. Forms will make contact with us. Sounds will make contact, smells, taste, touch and thoughts would make contact. And when it makes contact, then feeling arises. This feeling can be pleasant, can be unpleasant, can be neutral. But when the unpleasant feeling arises, then we feel pain. So each time unpleasant feeling arises, we feel pain. So in the same way, just like the contact touching us gives rise to painful feelings, So this cow with the skin removed every time the little creatures come into contact with her body and then she feels pain. So then the Buddha says that is how we should understand contact. So you see, this contact comes at the six sense doors. And these six sense doors, whenever the six sense consciousness arises, the world arises. The world, at the sixth senses, always gives us pleasant and unpleasant feelings, neutral feelings. The pleasant feelings, however much we experience, is never enough. But when the unpleasant feelings arise, cannot stand. So that's why the world is called a world of suffering. Sangsara is a world of suffering. So a liberated person, the arahant, does not like to dwell in the world of the six senses, in the world of the six consciousness. An arahant, if you look into the suttas, after they have become liberated, they constantly, every day, abide in jhāna. When a monk abides in jhāna, it goes into his mind. It withdraws from the world of the six senses. Because the world of the six senses is an unpleasant world. It's a world of suffering. So arhant constantly abides in his mind. So there are some people who don't understand. They say monks who like to abide in jhāna are not seeing reality. running away from reality, just like some people renounce and people who don't understand, worldly people say this person renounce to become a monk, he's running away from reality, not facing the world and all that. It's rubbish because the world is not a pleasant place at all. That's why the Buddha says even to exist for a moment more, he doesn't want, the Buddha says, the world to him is like shit. The excrement is stated in the suttas. So, wise men will go back into our mind. That is our original home, as Ajahn Chah says, bring back to our original home. At how mount should the nutriment mental volition be seen? Suppose there is a charcoal pit deeper than a man's height, filled with glowing coals without flame or smoke. A man would come along wanting to live. not wanting to die, desiring happiness and averse to suffering. Then two strong men would grab him by both arms and drag him towards the charcoal pit. The man's volition would be to get away. His longing would be to get away. His wish would be to get away, to get far away from the charcoal pit. For what reason? Because he knows, I will fall into this charcoal pit and on that account I will meet death or deadly suffering. It is in such a way, monks, that I say the nutriment mental volition should be seen. When the nutriment mental volition is fully understood, the three kinds of craving are fully understood. When the three kinds of craving are fully understood, I say there is nothing further that a noble disciple needs to do. I stop here for a moment. So here, The Buddha is saying, because of mental volition, whenever we exercise mental volition, mental volition can be exercised in various ways. We desire to do this, desire not to do that. In a way, when we exercise our mental volition, that is creating karma. And also, when we crave for something, there's also mental volition. We crave for sensual pleasure. We crave for existence. We crave for non-existence. Or the will to live. We have a strong will to live. There is also mental volition. But basically, the Buddha says, like this man falling into that pit. Falling into that pit means falling into samsara. falling to the round of rebirths. Once you fall into the round of rebirths, you will suffer. Suffer or die. But it's a continuous process. You suffer and die, suffer and die, suffer and die. Each time, each time. Every lifetime. So then the Buddha says we should see because of our mental volition that we are dragged into the realm of rebirth. But in the Buddha's teachings, the Buddha says that the realm of rebirth is primarily due to craving. So you can see that the mental volition is connected with craving. The Buddha always mentions three types of craving. Craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, which is also the will to live, and craving for non-existence. So when you understand the nutriment mental volition in this way, then the three kinds of craving are understood. So we have to let go of this mental volition, basically the craving, the various types of craving, then only we don't fall into that pit, that burning pit of rebirth. And how long should the nutriment consciousness be seen? Suppose they were to arrest a bandit, a criminal, and bring him before the king, saying, Sire, this man is a bandit, a criminal. Impose on him whatever punishment you wish. The king says to them, Go men, in the morning strike this man with a hundred spears. In the morning, they strike him with a hundred spears. Then at noon, the king asks, Man, how's that man? Still alive, sire. Then go at noon and strike him with a hundred spears. At noon, they strike him with a hundred spears. Then in the evening, the king asks, Man, how's that man? Still alive, sire. And he says, Then go, and in the evening strike him with a hundred spears. In the evening they strike him with a hundred spears. What do you think, monks? Would that man, being struck with three hundred spears, experience pain and displeasure on that account? Venerable Sir, even if he was struck with one spear, he would experience pain and displeasure on that account, not to speak of three hundred spears. And the Buddha said, It is in such a way, monks, that I say the nutriment consciousness should be seen. And the nutriment consciousness is fully understood. Name and form is fully understood. The name and form is fully understood. I say there is nothing further that a noble disciple needs to do." That's the end of the sutra. So here finally, the simile for the nutriment consciousness is like a criminal being struck with 300 spears each day. So my interpretation is that like the embryo, the consciousness descends into that embryo and then this being starts. So when he's conscious, the consciousness strikes him like this man being struck with 300 spears. Every time he's conscious in the womb, he experiences pain. Consciousness is always conscious of Nama Rupa, mentality, materiality. That's why when you understand consciousness, you will understand Nama Rupa, mentality and materiality. Let me see what the commentary says about this. Commentary says, the king represents karma, the criminal the whirling, the 300 spears the rebirth consciousness. The time the king gives his command is like the time the whirling is driven towards rebirth by king karma. Pain from being struck by the spears is like the resultant suffering. in the course of existence once rebirth has taken place so it's similar when the rebirth consciousness goes into the embryo so once he's that being in the embryo once he's come alive then the consciousness is painful to him. So because that being in the embryo, it's like half-alive. Like this man, this criminal is struck by the hundred spears each time, he's already half-dead. So in the same way, the embryo is half-dead, half-alive. So every time the consciousness comes to him, it's like being struck by spears. So that's the sutra. 12.64, at Savatthi. Monks, there are these four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be and for the assistance of those about to come to be. Part four, the nutriment edible food, gross or subtle. Second, contact. Third, mental volition or volition. Fourth, consciousness. These are the four kinds of nutriment for the maintenance of beings that have already come to be and for the assistance of those about to come to be. If monks, there is lust for the nutriment edible food, if there is delight, if there is craving, consciousness becomes established and comes to growth. Wherever consciousness becomes established and comes to growth, there is a descent of name and form or nama-rupa, mentality, materiality. Where there is a descent of mentality and materiality, there is the growth of volition. Where there is the growth of volition, there is the production of future renewed existence. Where there is the production of future renewed existence, there is future birth, aging and death. Where there is future birth, aging and death, I say that it is accompanied by sorrow, anguish and despair. Similarly, if there is lust for the nutriment contact, or for the nutriment mental volition, or for the nutriment consciousness, if there is delight, if there is craving, consciousness becomes established and comes to go. When the consciousness becomes established and comes to growth, I see that it is accompanied by sorrow, anguish and despair. Suppose monks, an artist or a painter, using dye or lacquer or turmeric or indigo or crimson, could create the figure of a man or a woman, complete in all its features, on a well-polished plank or wall or canvas. So too, if there is lust, For the nutriment edible food, or for the nutriment contact, or for the nutriment mental volition, or for the nutriment consciousness, if there is delight, if there is craving, consciousness becomes established there and comes to growth. Her consciousness becomes established and comes to growth. I say that it is accompanied by sorrow, anguish and despair. If monks, there is no lust for the nutriment edible food, or for the nutriment contact, or for the nutriment mental volition, or for the nutriment consciousness. If there is no delight, if there is no craving, consciousness does not become established there and come to growth. Where consciousness does not become established and come to growth, there is no descent of mentality, materiality. Where there is no descent of mentality and materiality, there is no growth or volition. Where there is no growth, abolition, there is no production of future renewed existence. Where there is no production of future renewed existence, there is no future birth, ageing and death. Where there is no future, birth, aging, and death, I say that it is without sorrow, anguish, and despair. Suppose amongst us there was a house or a wall, or a hall, with a peaked roof, with windows on the northern, southern, and eastern sides. When the sun rises and a beam of light enters through a window, where would it become established? On the western wall, where it would serve. If there were no western world, where would it become established? On the earth, venerable sir. If there were no earth, where would it become established? On the water, venerable sir. If there were no water, where would it become established? It would not become established anywhere, venerable sir. So, true monks, if there is no lust for the nutriment edible food, for the nutriment contact, for the nutriment mental volition, for the nutriment consciousness. Consciousness does not become established and come to growth. Where consciousness does not become established and come to growth, I say that it is without sorrow, anguish and despair. This is the end of the sutta. Earlier we read a sutta saying that if there is planning to do this and do that, or there is a tendency towards something, then the consciousness will be maintained. So it also says that if there is no planning and desire, but there is still a tendency, then consciousness will also continue to be maintained. So here in this case, this lasts for the various types of nutriments. will prolong the, prolong existence, prolong life. So if there is no lust for the various ultimates, as there's no condition for consciousness to become established, just like this beam of light, if there's no wall for it, no floor for it to become established, I would not become established anywhere.

34-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-(2009-07-27).txt

In Exhuta 12.65 by Savati, Monks, before my enlightenment, while I was still a Bodhisattva, not yet fully enlightened, it occurred to me, alas, this world has fallen into trouble, in that it is born, ages, and dies. It passes away and is reborn, yet it does not understand the escape from this suffering, aided by aging and death. When now would an escape be discerned from this suffering aided by aging and death? Then mounts it occurred to me, when what exists does aging and death come to be? By what is aging and death conditioned? Then mounts to careful attention there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is birth, aging and death comes to be. Aging and death has birth as its condition. Then mounts it occurred to me, when what exists does birth come to be? But what exists? Does existence come to be? Clinging, craving, feeling, contact is sense basis. Mentality, materiality, by what is it conditioned? Then monks, to careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom, and there is consciousness. Mentality, materiality comes to be. Mentality and materiality has consciousness as its condition. Then monks, it occurred to me. But what exists? Does consciousness come to be? But what is consciousness condition? Then mounts to careful attention that took place in me, breakthrough by wisdom. When there is mentality, materiality, Nama Rupa, consciousness comes to be. Consciousness has Nama Rupa as its condition. Then mounts it occurred to me. This consciousness turns back. It does not go further than Mentality, materiality, nama-rupa. It is to this extent that one may be born and age and die, pass away and be reborn. That is when there is consciousness with name and form, nama-rupa, as its condition. And mentality, materiality, nama-rupa, with consciousness as its condition. With nama-rupa as condition, the six sense bases, with six sense bases as condition, contact. etc. Such is the origin of this whole mess of suffering. Origination, origination, thus mounts in regard to things unheard before that arose in me, vision, knowledge, wisdom, truth, knowledge and light. I'll stop here for a while. So here the Buddha repeating what is stated in other suttas, that he considered carefully and he understood how suffering arises. And then he says here that consciousness turns back on this Nama Rupa, because as I mentioned before, consciousness vijnana and Nama Rupa, mentality, materiality, they arise together and cease together. They always come as a pair. You cannot have one without the other. So here it says that when you have Nama Rupa, then you have Vijnana. The condition for Nama Rupa is Vijnana. Similarly, the other way, the condition for Vijnana is Nama Rupa. So, Vijnana, consciousness, and Nama Rupa, mentality, materiality, and for here, name and form, they depend on each other. Ten months, it occurred to me, when one And what does not exist does aging and death not come to be? To the cessation of what does the cessation of aging and death come about? Then mounts to careful attention there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. And there is no birth, aging and death does not come to be. The cessation of birth comes cessation of aging and death. It occurred to me. And what does not exist does birth not come to be? And what does not exist, does existence not come to be? Clinging, craving, feelings, contacts, extends basis. Nama-rupa. The cessation of what? Does the cessation of Nama-rupa come about? Then mounts, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is no consciousness, mentality and materiality does not come to be. With the cessation of consciousness comes cessation of mentality and materiality. It occurred to me, when what does not exist as consciousness does not come to be, with the cessation of what does the cessation of consciousness come about? Then monks, through careful attention, there took place in me a breakthrough by wisdom. When there is no mentality and materiality, consciousness does not come to be. With the cessation of mentality and materiality comes cessation of consciousness. Then monks, it occurred to me, I have discovered this path to enlightenment that is the cessation of mentality and materiality comes cessation of consciousness. Cessation of consciousness comes cessation of mentality and materiality. With the cessation of mentality and materiality, cessation of the six sense bases, cessation of contact, etc. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. Cessation, cessation. Thus monks, in regard to things unheard before, there arose in me vision, knowledge, wisdom, true knowledge, and light. So similarly, here the Buddha says, by considering carefully, he understood how there is cessation of suffering. Suppose amongst a man wandering through a forest would see an ancient path, an ancient road, travelled upon by people in the past. He would follow it and would see an ancient city, an ancient capital that had been inhabited by people in the past, with parks, roads, ponds and ramparts. a delightful place. Then the man who informed the king or a royal minister sighed. Know that while wandering through the forest, I saw an ancient path, an ancient road, travelled upon by people in the past. I followed it and saw an ancient city. an ancient capital that had been inhabited by people in the past, with parks, groves, ponds and ramparts, a delightful place, renovate that city, sire. Then the king or the royal minister would renovate the city, and some time later that city would become successful and prosperous, well populated, filled with people, attained growth and expansion. So, two months, I saw the ancient path, The ancient road travelled by the perfectly enlightened ones of the past. And what is that ancient path, that ancient road? It is just this noble, hateful path that is right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort. right recollection, right concentration. I followed that path, and by doing so, I have directly known aging and death, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation. I have directly known birth, existence, clinging, craving, feeling, contact, sixth sense basis, mentality and materiality, consciousness, volition, their origin, their cessation, and the way leading to their cessation. Having directly known them, I have explained them, to the monks, the nuns, the male lay followers and the female lay followers. This holy life, monks, has become successful and prosperous, extended, popular, widespread, well-proclaimed among devas and humans. So here the Buddha says, just like somebody followed an ancient path and found an ancient city, so in the same way, the Buddha has rediscovered the Noble Eightfold Path practiced long ago by Sammasambuddhas, perfectly enlightened ones of the past. Similarly, he has established the kingdom of the Dhamma again. 12.66. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Kurus, where there was a town of the Kurus called Kamasadama. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks as monks. Venerable Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said this, Do you engage in inward exploration, monks? When this was said, one monk said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, I engage in inward exploration. How do you engage in inward exploration, monk? The monk then explained, but the way he explained did not satisfy the Blessed One. Then the Venerable Ananda said, Now is the time for this, Blessed One. Now is the time for this, Fortunate One. Let the Blessed One explain inward exploration. Having heard it from the Blessed One, the monks will remember it. Then listen and attend closely, Ananda. I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir, the monks replied. The Blessed One said this, Dear monks, when engaged in inward exploration, a monk explores thus, the many diverse kinds of suffering that arise in the world, headed by aging and death. What is the source of this suffering? What is its origin? From what is it born and produced? When one exists, does aging and death come to be? And what does not exist does aging and death not come to be. As he explores, he understands thus that many diverse kinds of suffering that arise in the world aided by aging and death. This suffering has Padi as its source, Padi as its origin. It is born and produced from Upadi. When there is Upadi, aging and death come to be. When there is no Upadi, aging and death does not come to be. Here the translation for Upadi is acquisition. Acquisition. This follows the common trees. But then the word Upadi means basis for rebirth. Sometimes they say substratum for rebirth. Another translation of Upadi in the Pali Sutta I checked is attachment, attachment, attachment. So this suffering has attachment as its source. Here it says acquisition. Acquisition doesn't seem to be such a good translation. This suffering has attachment as its source, attachment as its origin. It is born and produced from attachment. When there is When there is attachment, ageing and death comes to be. When there is no attachment, ageing and death does not come to be. He understands ageing and death, its origin, its cessation and the way leading on death is in conformity with its cessation. He practices in that way and conducts himself accordingly. This is called a monk who is practicing for the utterly complete destruction of suffering, for the cessation of ageing and death. Then, engaging further in inward exploration, he explores thus, what is the source of this attachment? What is its origin? From what is it born and produced? When what exists, does attachment come to be? When what is absent, does attachment not come to be? As he explores, he understands thus, attachment has craving as its source, craving as its origin. It is born and produced from craving. When there is craving, attachment comes to be. When there is no craving, attachment does not come to be. He understands attachment, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading on that is in conformity with its cessation. He practices in that way and conducts himself accordingly. This is called a monk who is practicing for the utterly complete destruction of suffering. for the cessation of attachment. So here you see the cause of attachment is craving. This is just like independent origination. It also says that craving leads to attachment or clinging. Then engaging further in inward exploration, he explores thus. When this craving arises, where does it arise? When it settles down, upon what does it settle? As he explores, he understands thus, whatever in the world has a pleasant and agreeable nature, it is here that this grieving arises when it arises. It is here that it settles when it settles down. And what if the world has a pleasant and agreeable nature? The I has a pleasant and agreeable nature in the world. It is here that this craving arises when it arises. It is here that it settles when it settles down. So too the ear, the nose, the tongue, the body and the mind have a pleasant and agreeable nature. It is here that this craving arises when it arises. It is here that it settles when it settles down. Monks, whatever ascetics and Brahmins in the past regarded that in the world with a pleasant, whatever ascetics and Brahmins in the past regarded that in the world with a pleasant and agreeable nature, as permanent, as happiness, as self, as healthy, as secure. They nurtured craving. In nurturing craving, they nurtured attachment. In nurturing attachment, they nurtured suffering. In nurturing suffering, they were not free from birth, eating and death. They were not free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. They were not free from suffering, I say. Whatever ascetics and Brahmins in the future will regard that in the world with a pleasant and agreeable nature, as permanent, as happiness, as self, as healthy, as secure, they will nurture craving. In Nurturing Craving, they will Nurture Attachment. In Nurturing Attachment, they will Nurture Suffering. In Nurturing Suffering, they will not be free from birth, aging, and death. They will not be free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. They will not be free from suffering, I say. Whatever ascetics and Brahmins at present regard that in the world with a pleasant and agreeable nature as permanent, as happiness, as health, as healthy, as secure, they are Nurturing Craving. In nurturing craving, they are nurturing attachment. In nurturing attachment, they are nurturing suffering. In nurturing suffering, they are not free from birth, aging, and death. They are not free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. They are not free from suffering, I say. So here the Buddha is saying that craving arises when whatever is pleasant and has an agreeable nature, craving arises. And where is that? the eye when we see pleasant forms, in the ear when we hear pleasant sounds, etc. Now the Buddha comes with a very interesting simile here. Suppose monks, there was a bronze cup of a beverage, having a fine color, aroma, and taste, but it was mixed with poison. Then a man would come along, oppressed and afflicted by the heat, tired, parched, and thirsty. They would tell him, good man, This beverage in the bronze cup has a fine colour, aroma and taste, but it is mixed with poison. Drink it if you wish. If you drink it, it will gratify you with its colour, aroma and taste. But by drinking it, you will meet death or deadly suffering. Suddenly, without reflecting, you will drink the beverage. You will not reject it. and thereby he would meet death or deadly suffering. So too monks, whatever ascetics and Brahmins in the past, or in the future, or at present, regard that in the world with a pleasant and agreeable nature, as permanent, as happiness, as self, as healthy, as secure. They are nurturing craving, in their churning craving they are not free from suffering I'd say. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see this this simile the Buddha gives is a very striking simile. Somebody comes along he's very he's very hot and he's very tired and he's very thirsty extremely thirsty. Then people give him a fine cup with an excellent drink inside. It has a very fine color, excellent smell and taste. But unfortunately it is mixed with poison like cyanide. So he stole. This is an extremely nice drink. It will satisfy your thirst. It will satisfy your taste buds, everything. But if you drink it, you are going to die. So this fellow, he is so tired and he is so thirsty, his mind is already blur blur, as we say. So, out of thirst, you just drink that thing. And after that, you will have to pay for it. You have to suffer. before he dies, and after he dies, don't know where will he go for rebirth. So a lot of people in this world, we are like that. We come into this world with all the craving for sense pleasures. We want to see beautiful forms. We want to hear beautiful sounds. Smell, taste. Taste is a very strong attachment. Food. Touch. Touch is sex. And mind is like taking drugs. Drugs. We feel happy, happy. So, a lot of people like that. We are attached to drugs or we are attached to liquor. We know liquor is bad, but because our mind is blur, blur, we still consume it. So, this is a very striking simile. We know that something is bad for us, it is poison to us, yet we drink it. Only yesterday, one of our supporters was telling me, the brother is a chain smoker, has for many years been chain smoking. But recently, his kidney is giving up, other parts of his body giving up. Recently, he went to the hospital, stayed one night, came out, still refused to let go of his cigarette. After a few days, went back into hospital, stayed one week. After staying one week, then he felt the suffering. When he came back, he threw away his cigarettes and gave up smoking. So that's the thing about many of us. We know that something is bad for us, and yet we cannot keep the habit because our mind is weak, because our mind is blur, blur. then when we experience enough suffering, then only we are willing to keep the habit. Monks, whatever ascetics and Brahmins in the past regarded that in the world with a pleasant and agreeable nature as impermanent, as suffering, as non-self, as a disease, as fearful, they abandoned craving. In abandoning craving, they abandoned attachment. In abandoning attachment, they abandoned suffering. In abandoning suffering, they were free from birth, aging and death. They were free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. They were free from suffering, I say. Whatever ascetics and Brahmins in the future will regard that in the world with a pleasant and agreeable nature as impermanent, as suffering, as non-self, etc. They will abandon craving. And abandoning craving, they will be free from suffering. Whatever ascetics and Brahmins at present also in the world regard whatever with a pleasant and agreeable nature as impermanent, as suffering, as non-self. They would abandon craving and abandon craving they are free from suffering. Suppose, monks, there was a bronze cup with a beverage having a fine colour, aroma and taste, but it was mixed with poison. Then a man would come along, oppressed and afflicted by the heat, tired, parched and thirsty. They would tell him, Good man, this beverage in the bronze cup has a fine colour, aroma and taste, but it is mixed with poison. Drink it if you wish. If you drink it, it will gratify you with its colour, aroma and taste. But by drinking it, you will meet death or deadly suffering. Then the man would think, I can quench my thirst with water, wheat, porridge or soup, but I should not drink that beverage, since to do so would lead to my harm and suffering for a long time. Having reflected, he would not drink the beverage, but would reject it, and thereby he would not meet death or deadly suffering. So true monks, whatever ascetics and Brahmins in the past, in the future, at present, regard that in the world with a pleasant and agreeable nature as impermanent, as suffering, as non-self, as a disease, as fearful, they are abandoning craving. In abandoning craving, They are abandoning attachment, etc. and they are free from suffering, I say. That's the end of the sutta. So here, this man also is very hot, and tired, and extremely thirsty, and they offer him this fine drink, extremely delightful drink, but with poison mix. Then he would think, instead of drinking this, which I have to suffer if I drink it, I can still quench my thirst with water or soup. So he refuses to drink that. He drinks something not so tasty. And so he does not have to suffer for it. So in life also, if we are smart enough, use our wisdom, sometimes we don't have to go for the best things in the world. We compromise because we see sometimes you overindulge yourself, you have to suffer for it. So we are willing to give up the enjoyment because we see that it's not worth it. The only person with the wisdom can do that. Time does not permit me I think to finish the other suttas in this Nidana Samyutta. There's only I think one There's only three suttas left in the Nidana Sanghita that I want to read, to go through, but we'll have to do it tomorrow. Anything to discuss? When you look into the suttas, you find that the Buddha has a tendency to repeat Probably if you use it by repeating, it will stick into our mind. Because if we listen to something once, it doesn't stick in our mind. Although it sounds a bit tedious, but the more we repeat, the more we remember. That's why during the Buddha's days, the Buddha's disciples had to memorize the suttas, had to keep chanting the suttas, this type of suttas. And they chant in their local language, so they understood exactly what they chanted. Because there were no books, they had to do this repetition. What page is that? This one is not very clear even to me. The commentary just says, it is the rebirth consciousness. Let me see, that's 168. It says, the king represents karma, the criminal, the worldling. The 300 spears rebirth consciousness. Now why does it say 300 spears represent rebirth consciousness? Because rebirth consciousness are supposed to be only one. The time the king gives his command is like the time the whirling is driven towards rebirth by King Karma. The pain from being struck by the spears is like the resultant suffering in the course of existence once rebirth has taken place. What I interpret this to be is that this embryo, the consciousness comes into the embryo. And then, once the embryo is conscious, then in the womb, it feels all kinds of sensations, like when the mother is moving, the embryo feels pain. When the mother is taking food, also, it might feel the food is hot. or the food is too cold, then you will also feel pain. So all kinds of sensations come because it is conscious. So this consciousness makes him suffer because he's conscious of all the surrounding. Eyes are being struck by the spears. And why is he a criminal? Because he's caught. So this consciousness is caught in the embryo. He cannot run away. He's caught in there. And he cannot do anything because just like the criminal tied up. So this consciousness is caught in the embryo. He cannot get out of the embryo. And the consciousness impinges on him like the spears poking him. So also, after being poked by the spears, the criminal is half dead. King sees, oh, is he still alive? Is he still alive? Poke him some more. So in the same way, this embryo is half asleep. He wants to sleep, but the consciousness keeps poking him. So he's like a semi-conscious. And the consciousness, each time the consciousness comes and pokes him, probably dead. Good of you to ask the question, so we explore it together. any other thing? yeah yeah Torch itself is the object of the mind organ okay But what is your object of meditation? Breathing. Breathing then you continue noting your breathing. You see, when we are meditating, in the Buddha's teachings, we meditate, our aim is to attain one-pointedness of mind. Because it is mentioned in the Majjhima Nikaya, the type of meditation praised by the Buddha is the first jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna, fourth jhāna. So it is not like nowadays, people say, in meditation you practice vipassana contemplation. Not really. In meditation, we try to sharpen our mind. When we are not meditating, then we can practice contemplation. For example, when you study the suttas and then you contemplate. But in meditation itself, you are trying to sharpen your mind, trying to attain the jhanas. So you go back to this object of meditation. But sometimes for some people, they cannot see that object of meditation. Maybe say like the breath, he's contemplating on the breath. After some time, the breath has become so fine and the mind has become tranquil that he does not see the object. He cannot see the breath. And the mind is in a tranquil state and he doesn't know what to do. In that case, you can change your object of meditation. to focus on this awareness itself. Because in that tranquil state, you have only this awareness, this knowing in your mind, nothing else. So you can examine this knowing, because this knowing is the source of that I. Whenever you feel I exist, It is in this knowing, this awareness in your mind. So you examine that awareness, that knowing mind. You can stay with it or you can try to examine where does it come from. Try to look for the origin of this knowing. This one I have to Look into the sutta, the Buddha has spoken a sutta, the Majjhima Nikaya, how to get rid of the asavas. So there are many ways, like thinking of something different, thinking of something pleasant. You can also do chanting. Chanting is keeping your mind collected. That's practicing sati. So if you do chanting like namo tassa, some people have a very scattered mind. So if a person has a very scattered mind, it's good to keep it concentrated by doing chanting. Chanting actually is a very good practice. Every time we chant, our mind has sati. It's not a scattered mind. So if you don't allow your mind to think of this and think of that, then it does not go back to your old habits. It's really, he knew he was good. He was a good man. He believed everything that I said. I was happy with him. You know, all the time. He was a tough guy, personally. Yes, but if a person has seen the Dhamma, then he understands how his behavior is different from others. So he will not associate so much with people who are too different, because they don't understand him or her. So he will associate with people with similar interests, who are similarly interested in the Dhamma. Of course, worldly people will think you have become queer. It's funny. You don't want to enjoy this, you don't want to enjoy that. That's the price we have to pay. Yeah, Arahant will not want to live with people. He will go and hide himself in the jungle. Even for a cultivator, you spend a lot of time in a cave, dwelling in a cave, people also think you are selfish. But then you see, there are many Arahants, having done their work, they either come back to teach, or they come, or they gather disciples and teach them the holy path, like the Buddhas, and many Arahants. But if a person has not cultivated himself and he thinks he wants to help others along the Bodhisattva path and all these things, if he has a lot of defilements, very soon people will have no respect for him. Because when a person does too much, it happens very often that the person becomes burned out. So when the person becomes burned out, anger rises, all these defilements arise because many years ago one of our devotees told me he used to follow one Mahayana monk and this Mahayana monk likes to do a lot of activities and the more the Mahayana monk The more activities he does, the more his defilements come up. So this lay person told me that he left the monk because he became disillusioned as a result. Unless we have cultivated ourselves to a certain extent, when we try to extend ourselves by doing this and doing that, it's risky. That's why in the Suttas, the Buddha always says, even if we spend time learning the Dhamma, or teaching the Dhamma, or repeating the Dhamma, we always must find time to meditate, to calm down our mind. Like our monastery, we always have at least four and a half hours of group meditation so that we can calm down our mind and maintain our tranquility.

35-SN-Nidana-(Ch.12)-(2009-07-28).txt

Today is 28th of July. We continue with the Nidana Samyutta. We come to Sutra 12.67. On one occasion the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Mahakottita were dwelling at Paranasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana. Then in the evening, the Venerable Maha Gautita emerged from seclusion and approached the Venerable Sariputta. He exchanged greetings with the Venerable Sariputta, and when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to him, How is it, friend Sariputta? Is aging and death created by oneself, or is it created by another? Or is it created both? by oneself and by another? Or has it arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another? Friend Kutitha, age and death is not created by oneself, nor is it created by another, nor is it created both by oneself and another, nor has it arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor another. but rather with birth as condition, age and death comes to be. This fortuitously is by chance. How is it, friend Sariputta, is birth created by one's self? Is existence clinging, craving, feeling, contact, the six senses, basis, name and nama-rupa? mentality and materiality created by oneself? Was it created by another? Was it created both by oneself and by another? Or has it arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another? Mentality and materiality, friend Kutita, is not created by oneself, nor is it created by another, nor is it created both by oneself and by another, nor has it arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another, but rather with consciousness as condition, mentality and materiality comes to be. How is it then, Sariputta, is consciousness created by oneself or is it created by another? Or is it created both by oneself and by another? Or has it arisen productively, being created neither by oneself nor by another? Consciousness when quotita is neither created by oneself nor is it created by another, nor is it created both by oneself and by another, nor has it arisen fortuitously, being created neither by oneself nor by another, but rather with mentality and materiality as condition consciousness comes to be. Now we understand the verbal sariputta statement thus. Mentality and materiality friend cotita is not created by oneself, but rather with consciousness as condition, mentality and materiality comes to be. Now we also understand the Venerable Sariputta's other statement thus, consciousness friend cotita is not created by oneself, etc., but rather with mentality and materiality as condition, consciousness comes to be. But how, friend Sariputta, should the meaning of this statement be seen? Well then friend, I will make up a simile for you, for some intelligent people here understand the meaning of a statement by means of a simile. Just as two sheaves of reeds might stand leaning against each other, so too with mentality and materiality as condition, consciousness comes to be. With consciousness as condition, mentality and materiality comes to be. With mentality and materiality as condition, the six sense bases come to be, with the six sense bases as condition, contact, etc. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. Rambho Sariputta continued, One were to remove one of those sheaves of reeds, the other would fall. And if one were to remove the other sheave, the first would fall. So too with the cessation of mentality and materiality comes cessation of consciousness. With the cessation of consciousness comes cessation of mentality and materiality. With the cessation of mentality and materiality comes cessation of the six sense bases. With the cessation of the six sense bases, cessation of contact, etc. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. Let's stop here for a moment. So here, Rambho Sariputta is trying to explain that mentality and materiality and consciousness, they are paired. They arise together and cease together. They stand supporting each other. So when one of them falls, the other also falls. One cannot exist without the other. So that's why he says in one place, he says, consciousness conditions mentality, materiality. And on the other hand, he also says that mentality, materiality conditions consciousness. So you can say it in either way. Although the Paticca Samuppada, the formula independent origination, I say is that consciousness conditions mentality and materiality. But as said here, you can also say that mentality and materiality conditions consciousness. Venerable Mahaputthita said, this wonderful friend Sariputta, this amazing friend Sariputta, how well this has been stated by the Venerable Sariputta. Rejoice in the Venerable Sariputta's statement on these 36 grounds. If friend, a monk teaches the Dhamma for the purpose of revulsion towards aging and death, for its fading away in cessation, he can be called a monk who is a speaker on the Dhamma. If a monk is practising for the purpose of revulsion towards ageing and death, for its fading away and cessation, he can be called a monk who is practising in accordance with the Dhamma. If through revulsion towards ageing and death, through its fading away and cessation, a monk is liberated by non-clinging, he can be called a monk who has attained Nibbana in this very life. Similarly, if a friend, a monk, teaches a dhamma for the purpose of revulsion towards birth or existence of clinging, craving, feeling, contact, sixth sense basis, mentality, immateriality, consciousness, volition, ignorance, whilst fading away in cessation, he can be called a monk who is a speaker on the dhamma. If a monk is practising for the purpose of revulsion towards ignorance or is fading away in cessation, he can be called a monk who is practising in accordance with the Dhamma. If through revulsion towards ignorance or is fading away in cessation, a monk is liberated by non-clinging, he can be called a monk who has attained Nirvana in this very life. That's the end of the Sutta. So in this second part, Venerable Mahakutthita said in the Venerable Sariputta's statement, He rejoices on 36 grounds. What are these 36 grounds? 36 reasons, according to the commentary, obtained by taking three cases in relation to each of the 12 terms. The first is the quality of being a speaker on the Dhamma. The second is the practice of the Dhamma. The third is the fruit of the practice of the Dhamma. So three times 12, because there are 12 links, so you get 36. Now here it says, if a monk teaches the Dhamma for the purpose of revolution towards aging and death, or for the purpose of revolution towards any one of these twelve links, then he is really called a speaker of the Dhamma. So the purpose of speaking the Dhamma is to teach people to have revulsion towards these conditions that give rise to suffering. So for letting go of the worldly pleasures, letting go of the realm of rebirth, Then if a monk is practicing for the purpose of revulsion towards suffering or any of the conditions giving rise to suffering, then he is called a monk who is practicing in accordance with the Dhamma. And if a person has already achieved revulsion towards suffering and all that, then he is liberated. So here, A real speaker of the Dhamma is one who teaches people to have revulsion towards suffering and all the conditions for suffering. Nowadays sometimes you get people who speak on the Dhamma and they speak a lot about worldly Dhamma. It has nothing to do with the Buddha's teachings. That is not called a speaker of the Dhamma. The next sutra is 12.68. On one occasion, the Venerable Musila, the Venerable Savitha, and the Venerable Narada, and the Venerable Ananda were living at Kosambi in Gosita's park. Then the Verbal Savita said to the Verbal Musila, Friend Musila, apart from faith, apart from personal preference, apart from oral tradition, apart from reasoned reflection, apart from acceptance of a view after pondering it, does the Verbal Musila have personal knowledge thus, with birth as condition, aging and death comes to be? And he said, Friend Savita, apart from faith, apart from personal preference, apart from oral tradition, apart from reasoned reflection, apart from acceptance of a view after pondering it, I know this, I see this, with birth as condition, ageing and death comes to be. Again he asks, Friend Musila, apart from faith, apart from acceptance of a view, after pondering it, does the rebel Musila have personal knowledge thus, with existence as condition, birth, etc., etc., with ignorance as condition, volition? And he replied, Friend Savitha, apart from faith, etc., apart from acceptance of a view, I know this, I see this, with ignorance as condition, volition, Again, Rev. Savita asks, Friend Musila, apart from faith, etc., apart from acceptance of the view, does Rev. Musila have personal knowledge with the cessation of birth comes cessation of aging and death, etc., with the cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volition? And he replies, Friend Savita, apart from faith, etc., I know this, I see this, with the cessation of birth comes cessation of aging and death. etc. With the cessation of ignorance comes the cessation of volition. Friend Musila, apart from praise, apart from personal preference, apart from oral tradition, apart from reasoned reflection, apart from acceptance of a view, after pondering it, does the Venerable Musila have personal knowledge thus Nibbana is the cessation of existence? And he replied, Friends of Ita, apart from faith, apart from personal preference, apart from oral tradition, apart from reasoned reflection, apart from acceptance of a view after pondering it, I know this, I see this, Nibbana is the cessation of existence. And then Venerable Savita said, then the Venerable Musila is an arahant, one whose asavas are destroyed. When this was said, the Venerable Musila kept silent. Stop here for a moment. So here you see, Venerable Savita is asking a series of questions to test the Venerable Musila whether he is an arahant. Venerable Moosila answered that he has personal experience of all these states, which implies that he is an arahant. So when Venerable Savitha said that Venerable Moosila must be an arahant, he kept silent. When he kept silent, it means that he is an arahant. Because when he is an arahant, he won't boast that he is an arahant. But if you were not an arahant, then you would have to deny it. Since he kept silent, that means he is implying that he is an arahant. Then the Venerable Narada said to the Venerable Savita, Friend Savita, it would be good if I would ask that series of questions. Ask me that series of questions and I will answer you. So the Venerable Narada here is inviting Venerable Savita to ask him the same questions. So Venerable Savitha asked Venerable Narada the same series of questions and he received the same replies as Venerable Moksila gave. And Venerable Savitha said, then the Venerable Narada is an arahant, one whose asavas are destroyed. And Venerable Narada replied, Friend, though I have clearly seen, as it really is, with correct wisdom, Nibbana is a cessation of existence. I am not an arhant, one whose asavas are destroyed. Suppose, friend, there was a well along a desert road, but it had neither a rope nor a bucket. Then a man would come along, oppressed and afflicted by the heat, tired, parched and thirsty. He would look down into the well, and the knowledge would occur to him that there is water, but he would not be able to make bodily contact with it. So too, friend, though I have clearly seen, as it really is with correct wisdom, Nibbana is the cessation of existence. I am not an Arahant, one whose asavas are destroyed. When this was said, the Venerable Ananda asked the Venerable Savita, when he speaks in such a way, friend Savita, what would you say about the Venerable Narada? When he speaks in such a way, friend Ananda, I would not say anything about the Venerable Narada, except what is good and favourable. That's the end of the Sutta. So here, Venerable Narada, although he says he's not an Arahant, But he has seen with wisdom, Nibbana is a cessation of existence and the other conditions. So it means that he is an anagamin, ascertain the third food. Just like this person, he has seen the water, but he cannot touch the water. Meaning that the Arhat can see the water and can touch the water. So that's the difference that he sees all these states. And yet he has not achieved the final condition. The difference between an Anagamin and the Arhat is that the Arhat has destroyed the five higher fetters. by Ayurveda. Let me see. It's attachment to the formless existence, conceit. Conceit is the ego, restlessness and ignorance. So this Anagamin, he has seen the Dhamma clearly and yet he still has the self. So he hasn't finished his work. I come to the final sutta that I'm going to talk in this Nidana Sanghuta, 12.17. Thus have I heard, on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove of the squirrel sanctuary. Now on that occasion, the Blessed One was honoured, respected, esteemed, venerated and revered, and He obtained robes, alms, food, lodgings and medicinal requisites. The bhikkhu sangha too was honoured, respected, esteemed, venerated and revered, and the bhikkhus or the monks too obtained robes, alms food, lodgings and medicinal requisites. But the wanderers of other sects were not honoured, respected, esteemed, venerated and revered, and they did not obtain robes, alms food, lodgings and medicinal requisites. On that occasion, the Wanderer Susima was residing in Rajagaha along with a large company of Wanderers. Then his company said to the wondrous Susima, Come, friend Susima, lead the holy life under the ascetic Gautama. Master his Dhamma and teach it to us. We will master his Dhamma and preach it to the lay people. Thus, we too will be honoured, respected, esteemed, venerated and revered, and we too will obtain robes, alms, food, lodgings and medicinal requisites. All right, friends, the wondrous Susima replied. He then approached the Venerable Ananda and exchanged greetings with him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to him, Friend Ananda, I wish to lead the holy life in this Dhamma Vinaya. Then the Venerable Ananda took the Wanderer Susima and approached the Blessed One. He paid homage to the Blessed One and then he sat down to one side and said to him, Venerable Sir, this Wanderer Susima says that he wishes to lead the holy life in this Dhamma Vinaya. Well then Ananda, give him the going forth. the wanderer Susima then received the going forth and the higher ordination under the Blessed One. Stop here for a moment. So you see this external sect, wanderers, they saw that the Buddha and his disciples were getting a lot of offerings, whereas they were getting very few offerings. So they thought it must be because the people like the Buddha's Dhamma, So if they also learn the Buddha's Dhamma, they will also get a lot of offerings. So they asked Susima to go and learn the Dhamma. On that occasion, a number of monks had declared final knowledge in the presence of the Blessed One, saying, We understand, destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. The rebel Susima heard about this, so he approached those monks, exchanged greetings with them, and then sat down to one side and said to them, Is it true that you, verbal ones, have declared final knowledge in the presence of the Blessed One, saying, We understand. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. Yes, friend, they replied. And then he said, Then knowing and seeing thus, do you, verbal ones, wield various kinds of spiritual psychic power, such that Having been one, you become many. That means one body, you multiply into many bodies. Having been many, you become one. You appear and vanish. You go unhindered through a wall, through a rampart, through a mountain as though through space. You dive in and out of the earth as though it were water. You walk on water without sinking as though it were earth. Seated cross-legged, you travel in space like a bird. With your hand, you touch and stroke the moon and sun, so powerful and mighty. You exercise mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world." I'll stop here for a moment. This exercise mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world means with the flesh body, they can fly as far as the Brahma world, the first jhana heavens, but not further. And then they replied, no friend. Nervous, they don't have all the psychic power. Then he said, Then knowing and seeing thus, do you, variable ones, with the divine ear element, which is purified and surpasses the human, hear both kinds of sounds, the divine and human, those that are far as well as near? And they said, No, friend. Then, knowing and seeing thus, do you, venerable ones, understand the minds of other beings and persons, having encompassed them with your own minds? Do you understand a mind with lust as a mind with lust? A mind without lust as a mind without lust? A mind with hatred as a mind with hatred? A mind without hatred as a mind without hatred? A mind with delusion as a mind with delusion? A mind without delusion is a mind without delusion, a contracted mind as contracted, and a distracted mind as distracted, an exalted mind as exalted. And an unexalted mind is unexalted. A surpassable mind is surpassable. And an unsurpassable mind is unsurpassable. A concentrated mind is concentrated. And an unconcentrated mind is unconcentrated. A liberated mind is liberated. And an unliberated mind is unliberated. And he said, no, friend. So here he is asking them, If you don't have all the various types of psychic powers, you have the divine ear, the heavenly ear, surely?" And they said, no. Then he said, if you don't have that, maybe you have the ability to read other people's minds. And they also said, no. Then, knowing a seeing thus, do you, venerable ones, recollect your manyfold past abodes, that is, one birth, two births, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred births, a thousand, a hundred thousand births, many aeons of world contraction, many aeons of world expansion? Many aeons of world contraction and expansion thus, there I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such was my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life span. Passing away from there, I was reborn elsewhere, and there too I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life span. Passing away from there, I was reborn here. Do you thus recollect your manifold past abodes with their modes and details? No, friend, they replied. So he's asking them whether they can see their past lives and still they say no. Then, knowing and seeing thus, do you, wearable ones, with the divine eye which is purified and surpasses the human, see beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and understand how beings fare on in accordance with their karma? Thus, these beings who engaged in misconduct of body, speech, and mind, who revile the noble ones, the Aryans, held wrong view, and undertook actions based on wrong view, with the breakup of the body after death, have been reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the netherworld, in hell. But those beings who engaged in good conduct of body, speech, or mind, who did not revile the noble ones, who held right view, and undertook action based on right view, with the breakup of the body after death, have been reborn in a good destination in a heavenly world. Thus, with the divine eye which is purified and surpasses the human, do you see beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and understand how beings fare on in accordance with their kamma? No, friend." So here, he's asking them whether they have the divine eye, heavenly eye, and they also said no. How come he's asking all these questions? Probably because one of the reasons the Buddha and the disciples have become so famous and received so much support is because people know they have all these psychic powers. Then he said, Then knowing and seeing thus, do you, verbal ones, dwell in those peaceful deliverances that transcend forms, the formless attainments, having touched them with the body? And they said, No, friend. Stop here for a moment. So here the last part is asking whether they have attained the states of meditation where the formless attainments, that means They have passed beyond form, the Arupa Jhana. They have attained the Arupa Jhanas, meaning the base of boundless space, the base of boundless consciousness, the base of nothingness, the base of neither perception nor non-perception. These are the four Arupa Jhanas, which are the three highest states of meditation. And they also said no. And then he said, here now venerable ones, this answer and the non-attainment of those states, how could this be, friends? And they said, we are liberated by wisdom, friends who see Ma. And he said, I do not understand in detail, friends, the meaning of what has been stated in brief by the venerable ones. It would be good if the venerable ones would explain to me in such a way that I could understand in detail what has been stated in brief. And they said, whether or not you understand, friends who see him, we are liberated by wisdom. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, he's asking them, you all claim that you have attained the goal of the holy life. You have become liberated from the round of rebirths and all that. But how is it when I ask you all these states, psychic powers and all that, do you say you don't have all these? Then they said, that's because we are liberated by wisdom. And he asked them to explain, and they refused to explain. Earlier, we read some sutta where it was mentioned there were a group of arahants. And the Buddha said, I think the group was 500 arahants. And the Buddha said, 60 of them have the threefold knowledge. 60 of them have the sixfold knowledge. 60 of them are liberated by mind. or two ways liberated, and the rest are all liberated by wisdom. So out of these 500, you see 120 have the threefold knowledge and the sixfold knowledge, which means psychic power. So 120 out of 500 is about one quarter. So about one quarter of Arahants, after they become liberated, Only one quarter have psychic power. Three quarters generally don't have psychic power. So here, they say they don't have psychic power and they are liberated by wisdom. It is suttas like this that the commentary makes a mistake. The commentary says that this refers to, this means that the arahants who are liberated by wisdom who don't have psychic power means that they don't have any jhana. They equate jhāna with psychic power. They think once a person attains jhāna, he must have psychic power. So these arhants don't have psychic power, therefore they don't have jhāna. But here, the last part that he asks, they have not attained the formless jhānas, rūpa jhānas. But in other suttas, the Buddha says to attain arhanthood, you must have at least the four jhānas. The four jhanas are enough to make a person an arahant, if he studies the dhamma also, in addition to the four jhanas. If he attains the arupa jhanas, it's a bonus, but it's not a necessary condition. That's the mistake the commentaries make. From here they talk about the pure vipassana arahant which does not need any jhāna. This totally contradicts the suttas that the Buddha said in the Majjhima Nikaya. It is impossible to destroy the five lower factors without the four jhānas. The person who destroys the five lower factors is the anagamin and the arahant. Then the Venerable Susima rose from his seat and approached the Blessed One. Having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One, sat down to one side and reported to the Blessed One the entire conversation he had had with those monks. The Blessed One said, First Susima comes knowledge of the stability of the Dhamma. Afterwards, knowledge of Nibbana. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying, first a person has knowledge of the stability of the Dhamma, basically means a person has knowledge of the Dhamma. Then, because of knowledge of the Dhamma, he has knowledge of Nibbana, that means liberation. And Susima said, I do not understand in detail, Venerable Sir, the meaning of what was stated in brief by the Blessed One. It would be good if the Blessed One would explain to me in such a way that I could understand in detail what has been stated in brief. And the Buddha said, whether or not you understand Susima, first comes knowledge of the stability of the Dhamma, afterwards knowledge of Nibbana. And the Buddha continued, what do you think Susima is, form or body, permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, Vampire Sir. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, Vampire Sir. Is what is impermanent suffering a subject to change, fit to be regarded thus? This is mine. This I am. This is myself. No, Vampire Sir. Similarly, is feeling permanent or impermanent? He answered as before. Is perception permanent or impermanent? Is volition permanent or impermanent? Is consciousness permanent or impermanent? He answered all in the same way, impermanent and both serve. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, Venerable Sir. Is what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus? This is mine, this I am, this is myself. No, Venerable Sir. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is teaching him some Dhamma. The Buddha is asking him about the five aggregates. Body, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. These five things are basically body and mind, which we take to be the self, or as belonging to the self, or the self is in these five aggregates, or the five aggregates are in the self. So the Buddha is trying to make him see that these five aggregates, which we take to be the self, is impermanent. So it is suffering, and it's not fit to be regarded as I or mine. And the Buddha continued, therefore, Susima, any kind of form whatsoever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all forms or bodies should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. So here when we talk about all forms, means our body, whether our body now, or body in the past, or our bodies in the future, or those bodies that we take to be mine, like my husband, my wife, my children, my parents, and all that. The Buddha said, All this you should see with wisdom, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Similarly, any kind of feeling whatsoever, any kind of perception, any kind of volition, any kind of consciousness whatsoever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near. All of these aggregates should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Seeing thus, Susima, the instructed noble disciple, experiences revulsion towards form, revulsion towards feeling, revulsion towards perception, revulsion towards volition, revulsion towards consciousness. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge. It is liberated. He understands, destroyed his birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. So here the Buddha makes him understand this Dhamma. And then the Buddha continues. You see Susima, with birth as condition, aging and death comes to be. Yes, my good sir. Do you see Susima with being as condition birth? He says yes. Do you see with clinging as condition existence etc? contact, six sense bases, etc. With ignorance as condition, volition comes to be. And he says, yes, my good sir, to all of this. Do you see, Susima, of the cessation of birth comes cessation of aging and death? Yes, my good sir. Do you see, Susima, of the cessation of being comes cessation of birth? Yes. Similarly, with the cessation of clinging, etc., cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volition. To all this, he says, yes, my good sir. So here, the Buddha is trying to make him see dependent origination of suffering and dependent ceasing of suffering. Basically, after he has stayed with the Buddha for some time, he would have learned all this stuff from the other monks. But here, the Buddha is explaining to him, to make him see all this basic Dhamma which makes a person become liberated. And then the Buddha said, knowing and seeing the Sushimak, do you wield the various kinds of spiritual power, such that having been one, you become many, etc., etc., and exercise bodily mastery as far as the Brahma world. So here the Buddha is saying, since you understand all this Dhamma, then do you have all these various types of psychic power, called psycho-kinesis. And he says, no one will serve. Then, knowing and seeing that Susima, do you, with the divine ear element which is purified and surpasses the human, hear both kinds of sounds, the divine and human, those that are far as well as near? And he said, No, Vavasa. Then, knowing and seeing that Susima, do you understand the minds of other beings and persons, having encompassed them with your own mind? No, Vavasa. Then, knowing and seeing that Susima, do you recollect your manifold past abodes with their modes and details? No, Vavasa. Then, knowing and seeing thus, Susima, do you, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, see beings passing away and beings be born, and understand how beings fare on in accordance with their karma? No, Venerable Sir. Then, knowing and seeing thus, Susima, do you dwell in those peaceful deliverances that transcend forms, the formless attainments, having touched them with the body? And he said, No, Venerable Sir. And then Buddha said, Hear now, Susima, This answer of yours and the non-attainment of those states, how could this be, Sushima? So, let's stop here for a moment. So, the Buddha is repeating exactly what he said earlier. He asked the Arahants, since they have understood the Dhamma and become liberated, how come they don't have all the psychic powers? So, the Buddha is also making him understand that having understood all this Dhamma, why is it that you also don't have any psychic power? Then the Venerable Susima prostrated himself with his head at the Blessed One's feet and said, Venerable Sir, I have committed a transgression, in that I was so foolish, so confused, so inept, that I went forth as a thief of the Dhamma in such a well-expounded Dhamma-vinaya as this. Venerable Sir, may the Blessed One pardon me for my transgression, seen as a transgression for the sake of future restraint. And the Buddha said, Surely, Susima, you have committed a transgression, in that you were so foolish, so confused, so inept, that you went forth as a thief of the Dhamma, in such a well-expounded Dhamma-vinaya as it is. Suppose, Susima, they were to arrest a bandit, a criminal, and bring him before the king, saying, Sire, this man is a bandit, a criminal. Impose on him whatever punishment you wish. The king would say to them, come men, bind this man's arms tightly behind his back with a strong rope, shave his head, and lead him around from street to street and from square to square, beating a drum. Then take him out through the southern gate and to the south of the city, cut off his head. What do you think, Susima, would that man experience pain and displeasure on that account? Yes, Venerable Sir. And the Buddha said, although that man would experience pain and displeasure on that account, going forth as a thief of the Dhamma in such a well-expounded Dhamma-vinaya as this has results that are far more painful, far more bitter, and further, it leads to the netherworld. But since you see your transgression as a transgression, and make amends for it in accordance with the Dhamma, we pardon you for it. For it is growth in the noble one's discipline when one sees one's transgression as a transgression, makes amends for it in accordance with the Dhamma, and undertakes future restraint. That's the end of the sutta. So here you see, this Susima, having learned the Dhamma, he realized that he did something very wrong and he asked for forgiveness. So he understood that when a person sees the Dhamma, it's not necessary that he has all these psychic powers. But you see, for him to confessed to the Buddha, shows that he has understood the Dhamma, shows that I believe he has at least attained stream entry. So having attained stream entry and realized how good the Dhamma is, then he admitted to the Buddha, he says, I have committed a transgression in that I was so foolish, so confused, I went forth as a thief of the Dhamma in such a well-expounded Dhamma Vinaya as this. So he realized that the Buddha's Dhamma Vinaya is so perfect, so good, and he is so bad. So at least he has become a stream-enterer, and he won't go back to his old friends in the external seng. And if he strove on, he could have become an Arahant. Now we come to That's the end of the Nidana Sanghuta. It took us how many talks? It took us about six talks, maybe five and a half.

36-SN-Abhisamaya-(Ch.13)-Dhatu-(Ch.14)-(2009-07-28).txt

Now we come to the second chapter of the Nidana book. It's the 13th chapter, the 13th Samyutta of the whole Samyutta Nikaya. It's called the Abhisamaya Samyutta. It's discourses connected to the topic on the breakthrough to the Dhamma. People who I have understood the Dhamma and attained stream-entry, how the benefit of it, the first sutta, 13.1. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, an atap in deeper spa. Then the Blessed One took up a little bit of salt in His fingernail and addressed the monks thus. That means just put a bit of salt on the fingernail, too little. And then he asked the monks, monks, what do you think, which is more, the little bit of salt that I have taken up in my fingernail or this great earth? And they said, remember sir, the great earth is more. The little bit of salt that the blessed one has taken up in his fingernail is trifling. It does not amount to a hundred part or a thousand part or a hundred thousand part of the great earth. And the Buddha said, So two monks, for a noble disciple, a person accomplished in view, that means who has attained right view, who has made the breakthrough, the suffering that has been destroyed and eliminated is more, while that which remains is trifling. The latter does not amount to a hundred part or a thousand part or a hundred thousand part of the former mass of suffering that has been destroyed and eliminated, as there is a maximum of seven more lives. Of such great benefit, monks, is the breakthrough to the Dhamma. Of such great benefit, is it to obtain the vision of the Dhamma." That's the end of the sutta. So here, the Buddha says, the person who has attained right view, who has obtained vision of the Dhamma, vision of the Dhamma is Dhammacaku. Sometimes they translate it as the eye of the Dhamma, but vision of the Dhamma is not correct. That means a person who has understood basically, basic understanding of the Four Noble Truths, and he has become a first path attainer. So such a person has a maximum of seven more lives before he enters Nibbāna. Cannot be more than seven more lifetimes. Whereas if a person has not attained right view or the vision of the Dhamma, then the lifetimes remaining is countless. Countless. So that's why a person with several more lifetimes, the suffering is very little. Because once he has become an Arya, a Sri Mentor, the blessing is so great, he will only be born either in heaven or in the human plane. And in both also, he will have a very good life. Because even he comes back as a human being, His blessing is so much that he will definitely have a very, very good life. So here, this is the benefit of understanding the Dhamma. It's not the same with attaining jhāna. Even if you attain jhāna and you have all the various types of psychic power, King Yama is still waiting for you. you are sure to meet up with King Yama as long as you have not understood the Dhamma. So understanding the Dhamma is much, much more important than getting all the various types of psychic power. Of course, the psychic power is advantageous if, in addition to psychic power, you learn the Dhamma. Because if you learn the Dhamma with your psychic power, having attained the four jhanas, you will understand the Dhamma very fast. But the aim of the holy life is to understand the Dharma, not to attain all the various types of psychic power. Those are just bonus issues. Most of the suttas in this chapter are all talking about the great benefit of obtaining the vision of the Dharma, different types of simile given. Now the other Sutta in this Abhisamaya Sutta I'm going to read is the last Sutta. At Savatthi, the Buddha said, monks, suppose that a man would place on Simeru, the king of mountains, seven grains of gravel the size of mountain beans. What do you think, monks? Sorry, stop here for a moment. This Simeru is supposed to be a huge mountain in heaven. So it should be much bigger than our Himalayan mountains. So the Buddha said, if you place seven grains of gravel the size of monk beans on Mount Sumeru, what do you think monks, which is more, the seven grains of gravel the size of monk beans that have been placed there, or Sumeru itself, the king of mountains? Prabhupāda said, Simarū, the king of mountains, is more. The seven grains of gravel the size of monk beans are trifling. They do not amount to a hundred pa or a thousand pa or a hundred thousand pa of Simarū, the king of mountains. And the Buddha said, so too monks. The achievement of ascetics, brahmins and wanderers of other sects do not amount to a hundred pa. or a thousand part, or a hundred thousand part, of the achievement of a noble disciple, a person accomplished in view, who has made the breakthrough. So great in achievement, monks, is a person accomplished in view. So great in higher knowledge, Maha Abhinaya. That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha says, all those external ascetics and Brahmins with all their psychic powers and all their other achievements are nothing compared to an Aryan disciple of the Buddha who has attained right view. Even if the noble disciple, the stream-enterer of the Buddha has only understood the Dhamma and even if he has not attained any psychic power, his achievement is much, much, much, much more beneficial than the achievement of all those external ascetics, even with their psychic powers. So that's how important it is to learn the Dhamma and understand the Dhamma. If you learn and understand the Dhamma, we say this book is worth its weight in gold, much more than its weight in gold. Now we come to Sanghuta number 14, Datu Sanghuta. Discourses are concerned with the elements. There are various types of elements. The first Sutta, 14.1, at Savatthi. Monks, I will teach you the diversity of elements. Listen to that and attend closely. I will speak. Yes, humble sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said this. And what, monks, is the diversity of elements? The eye element, form element, eye consciousness element, the ear element, sound element, ear consciousness element. The nose element, odor element, nose consciousness element. The tongue element, taste element, tongue consciousness element. The body element, tactile object element, body consciousness element. The mind element, mental phenomena element, mind consciousness element. This month is called the diversity of elements. So here the Buddha is talking about the 18 elements concerned with the six sense. Six sense organs. The six sense organs are the eye, the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. And here it mentions the sense organs and then the sense object. The sense object is form, sound, smell, taste, touch and thoughts. These objects are impinged on your senses. And then with the two conditions, the consciousness arises. For example, with the I and the form present, the I consciousness will arise. So the third thing is the consciousness. So these are the 18 elements. Now we go to another sutra that talks more about this. 14.4, at Savatthi, Buddha said, monks, it is in dependence on the diversity of elements that there arises the diversity of context. In dependence on the diversity of context that there arises the diversity of feelings. And what monks is the diversity of elements? Then here, the I element, he repeats the 18 elements, the I element, the form element, eye consciousness, and then the nose, smell, sorry, the second one is the ear, and the sound, and ear consciousness, and then the nose, odor, and nose consciousness element, etc. Just like just now, the 18 elements. This is called the diversity of elements. And how is it, monks, that in dependence on the diversity of elements, there arises the diversity of contacts? That in dependence on the diversity of contacts, there arises the diversity of feelings? In dependence on the I-element, there arises I-contact? In dependence on I-contact, there arises feeling born of I-contact? I stop here for a moment. Here we just consider one sense base. Here the Buddha is saying, first you must have the I element, and then having the I element and the form element, the object of the I. Because of these two conditions, the consciousness arises. And then when the three of them come into contact or meet, there is the I contact. And once you have the I contact, feeling arises, the mind starts to work. Feeling arises, and then later followed by other things that we will see later. Similarly, in dependence on the ear element, there arises ear contact. In dependence on ear contact, there arises feeling born of ear contact. And similarly for all the other senses. It is in this way, monks, that in dependence on the diversity of elements, there arises the diversity of contacts. That in dependence on the diversity of contacts, there arises the diversity of feelings. The next Uttara is 14.7, at Savatthi. Monks, it is in dependence on the diversity of elements that there arises the diversity of perceptions. In dependence on the diversity of perceptions that there arises the diversity of intentions. In dependence on the diversity of intentions that there arises the diversity of desires. In dependence on the diversity of desires that there arises the diversity of passions. Independence on the diversity of passions, that there arises the diversity of quests. And what mounts is the diversity of elements, the form element, etc., as we read just now, the 18 elements. And how is it mounts that independence on the diversity of elements, there arises the diversity of perceptions, etc. Independence on the form element, we consider one base, one organ, one sense base. Independence on the form element, there arises perception of form. Independence on perception of form, there arises intention regarding form. Independence on intention regarding form, there arises desire for form. Independence on desire for form, there arises passion for form. Independence on passion for form, there arises the quest for form. Stop here for a moment. You see, if you have the eye organ, a good eye organ, then form comes before your eye, then eye consciousness arises. Once eye consciousness arises, if the three of them make contact, then with contact as condition, feeling arises. And once feeling arises, it's followed by perception. Meaning, for example, suppose I see something and then immediately, because of contact, feeling arises, whether it's a pleasant sight or unpleasant sight. And then, after that, you have a certain perception, oh, this is a beautiful sight, or this is an ugly sight, or this is a frightening sight. So that is the perception. After the perception, there's intention. Once you have the perception, the intention is what you want to do. What you want to do. Then after intention, arises desire. Desire for it. Then after the desire, there's passion. Passion probably greater desire. And then there's the quest for it. You pursue it. So, after that, once you pursue it, probably you attain it. Similarly, for the other sense organs, independence on the last one here mentioned, independence on the mental phenomena element that arises perception of mental phenomena. Independence on perception of mental phenomena that arises intention. Regarding mental phenomena, independence on intention regarding mental phenomena, there arises desire for mental phenomena. Independence on desire for mental phenomena, there arises passion for mental phenomena. Independence on passion for mental phenomena, there arises the quest for mental phenomena. It is in this way amongst that independence on the diversity of elements There arises the diversity of perceptions. In dependence on the diversity of perceptions, there arises the diversity of intentions. In dependence on the diversity of intentions, there arises the diversity of desires. In dependence on the diversity of desires, there arises the diversity of passions. In dependence on the diversity of passions, there arises the diversity of quests. That's the end of the sutra. 11, here talks about the seven elements. Mounts, there are these seven elements. What seven? The light element, the beauty element, the base of the infinity of space element, the base of the infinity of consciousness element, the base of nothingness element, the base of neither perception or non-perception element, the cessation of perception and feeling element. These are the seven elements. And this was said, President Mount asked the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, as to the light element, et cetera, independence on what are these elements discerned or seen? And the Buddha said, monk, the light element is discerned independence on darkness. Because of darkness, then you can see the light. The beauty element is discerned independence on foulness or unattractiveness. The opposite of beauty is unattractiveness or foulness. So by comparison, you say something is beautiful. The base of the infinity of space element is discerned independence on form. The base of the infinity of consciousness element is discerned independence on the base of the infinity of space. The base of nothingness element is discerned independence on the base of the infinity of consciousness. The base of neither perception nor non-perception element is discerned independence on the base of nothingness. The cessation of perception and feeling element is discerned independence on cessation. But when observed as to the light element, etc., how is the attainment of these elements to be attained? The light element, the beauty element, the base of infinity of space element, the base of the infinity of consciousness element, and the base of nothingness element, these elements are to be attained as attainments with perception. The base of neither perception nor non-perception element, this element is to be attained as an attainment with a residue of volition. Sankara, the cessation of perception and feeling element. This element is to be attained as an attainment of cessation. Let's see another sutra. So here the Buddha is saying that the pursuit of light element, beauty, base of infinity of space, base of infinity of consciousness, base of nothingness, these are attainments with perception. It's a kind of perception. And the beast of neither perception nor non-perception, this is an attainment with a residue of volition. In this state of neither perception nor non-perception, the consciousness is almost going away. Sometimes there is perception, sometimes there is no perception. If you have perception, it means you have consciousness. Because the consciousness is about to cease, sometimes there is consciousness, sometimes there is no consciousness. So when there is consciousness, there is a residue of volition. You still can have this volition, you can exercise volition, but When there is no perception, then you cannot exercise. That's why it's a residue of volition. And then the cessation of perception and feeling, which is also the cessation of consciousness, is an attainment of cessation, where everything ceases. Consciousness ceases. All the six consciousness ceases. So tonight I'll stop here. Anything to discuss? Yes, they have done us. They don't want? On the what? Our phone over Twitch. The Jhanas are similar. Only thing is to find a teacher who is actually accomplished in Jhana is very hard to find. But in the Buddha's teachings, it is not necessary to look for a teacher. Because the Buddha, in the Suttas, we see, it's already said that the Dhamma taught by the Buddha is beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle, beautiful in the end. It explains the holy life perfectly, pure as a polished corn shell. And the Buddha also stated that there is nothing more to add to his words. and we should not subtract from his words. So if we study the Buddha's words enough, the definition of jhāna and all that, and how to attain jhāna, everything is there. The only thing is our practice, whether we are willing to let go. If you are not willing to let go, then you can never achieve. You see the Buddha's disciples, having learned the Dhamma, and the Buddha encouraged them to go into the deep forest and live alone. Those monks, they really let go, and there's nothing else to let go. Having let go everything, nothing else to let go, then there's nothing to disturb them. The only reason why we can't get into jhana is all our attachment, all these thoughts that arise in our mind. We look into it, it's basically all our attachment, all the thoughts that disturb us, all your worries. So if you don't have all these things to worry you, there's no reason why you cannot attain jhana. The only reason you cannot attain is you cannot let go. That's why the Buddha encouraged his disciples even after they have renounced their own life. That doesn't mean once a person renounce their own life, he has let go totally. Only on the external form, he has let go. Inside, the clinging is still very strong inside. So the Buddha understood that. So after that, the Buddha says, go off and live alone. Go and live alone and nobody for you to cling to. So the Buddha, in this one sutta, I think called the Nagaravindaya Sutta, where the Buddha was in a town, and at night, he wanted to give a Dharma talk. He asked the lay people, what type of monk is worthy of respect? What type of monk is not worthy of respect? And they didn't know how to answer. So the Buddha said, a monk who has attained the goal of the holy life, or one who is practicing to attain the goal of the holy life, he is worthy of respect. Then they said, how do we know which monk has attained the goal of the holy life? How do we know which monk is walking the path to attain the goal of the holy life? Then the Buddha said, if the monk lives in a forest area, instead of a town, instead of a city, then he's worthy of respect. Why? Because if a monk lives in a forest area, there's no forms for him to enjoy, no TV to watch, no sounds for him to indulge in, know, smells, good taste. If you have to beg for his food, he cannot choose his food. Taste and comforts of touch. So if the Buddha said, if a monk stays in the forest area, then he's willing to let go of all these five courts of sensual pleasure, then he's worthy of respect. The Buddha stated very clearly just now, if the Dharma is teaching you to have revulsion, to be dispassionate towards all the conditions that give rise to suffering, namely all the things that bring you to rebirth, If the Dhamma teaches you to let go of all these things that give you worldly pleasure, that hold you on to rebirth, you let go of them, then you are practicing the Dhamma. If the Dhamma does not teach you how to let go, then that is not the Buddha's Dhamma. No, they are considered worldly dharma because in the suttas we heard the Buddha says a monk who is practicing for the cessation of the realm of rebirth he does not do evil karma he also does not want to do meritorious karma because Evil kamma will bring you to evil rebirth. Meritorious kamma will bring you to meritorious rebirth. But if a monk does not want to go for rebirth, then he does not want to do all this kamma. This is different because when you say merit, it means merit in the worldly sense. Even though a monk teaches Dhamma, but in the Buddha's teachings, the priority for a monk is his own practice. It is stated somewhere in the suttas that if a monk spends a certain time of the day either to learn the Dhamma or to teach the Dhamma or to repeat the Dhamma, he has to find some time to practice tranquility of mind to meditate. So if he spends all his time teaching, then he's not practicing what the Buddha advised. He allocates some time to practice tranquility of mind and then he allocates some time to benefit others through the teaching of Dhamma because the Buddha says there are four types of people in the world. One, he does not benefit himself and he does not benefit others. That's the worst type of person. Slightly better than him is a person who benefits others but does not benefit himself. In other words, he does, for example, social work, and charity work, but he does not cultivate himself. That is the second type. And better than him is the person who benefits himself but does not benefit others. Benefit himself meaning benefit in the spiritual way. That means he cultivates himself and he does not bother about people. He cultivates himself first. That is the third, better than the second. A lot of people think helping others is more important. But here the Buddha is saying helping yourself is more important. Just like you are in the mud, you want to help people out of the mud. You are in the mud, how can you help another person out of the mud? You must get out of the mud first before you can help another person out of the mud. That's why the Buddha says the third person, better than the second, is the person who benefits himself but does not benefit others. But the best person is the person who benefits himself and benefits others. The best type of monk is one who practices himself and teaches others to practice. That is what the commentary says. Not what the Sutta says. The Sutta says definitely you must have four jhanas to become anagamin and arahant. For lay people, in fact even for monks, the priority is to understand the Dhamma. Just now we just read the Sutta. Understanding the Dhamma and attaining the vision of the Dhamma is much more important than getting all the psychic power. Once you understand the Dhamma, then the remaining suffering left for you is only seven more lifetimes. Whereas if you don't understand the Dhamma, then there's countless lifetimes left for you. You will have to fall into hell many times. So the priority is to study the suttas and understand. If you can meditate in addition, that's good. But the priority is to study the Dhamma. The Buddha's Dhammala, the Suttas, the earlier Suttas. Yes, obviously they don't practice. Yes, yes, yes. Yes, actually sometimes you look into this commentary, they do more damage than good. So it's very silly to take the commentary as though it was words of the Buddha. The Buddha already said, they explained the holy life in his teachings, perfect. And there's no need to add anymore. We just take the trouble to study all the suttas and we have a very complete vision of the Dhamma. Okay, how to avoid this pitfall of assuming your Sotapanna is not to assume, just to plot on, continue to do your work. We should not be greedy for results. We know that our goal is to understand the Dhamma. So we just study the suttas again and again and again. And we practice our meditation. These are the two cornerstones of the spiritual practice when we study the Buddha's words. again and again so that we understand. And the second one is to meditate and make our mind more and more calm. And in the process, of course, there are other factors which are very important. As we understand more and more Dhamma, we should let go, keep on letting go. The more we let go, the faster we move on the spiritual path. And then also other factors like keeping good seal. helping others so that we get some happiness, not to be selfish and all that. We should not look for people to help. If people come to us for help, then we help. If we go and look for people to help, there's no end. I know of some of our Buddhist friends, after meditating for many years, they don't seem to make progress, and they go and look for stray cats and stray dogs on the streets to help. I think it's a real waste of time when you have come across the true Dhamma, which is so hard to meet. The Buddha already said, look into the last 91 world cycles, he only saw six Buddhas who are willing to teach. Six Buddhas are only willing to teach. That means out of these six, three of them are in our world cycle. That means the last 90 world cycles, there are only three Sammasambuddhas, which means 30 world cycles before you meet one Sammasambuddha, before you meet the Dhamma. And one world cycle, one aeon or one kapha, is so long, the Buddha says, it's difficult to imagine how long it is. So if we haven't come across the true Dhamma and we don't appreciate it, instead we want to go and help cats and dogs. There is no end to this type of work. After you help cats and dogs, how about going and help the rats? How about going and help the insects? How about going and help the birds? Where is the end? All this is rubbish. All beings, basically, we cannot help because We, our life, we depend on our kamma. Every one of us, we are dependent on our kamma. Every moment we live, we continue to live as a human being because we have the good blessing to support us. The moment our blessings is used up, immediately we will die. So nobody actually can really help. We can help a little only by giving some food. But the most important thing is our kamma, how we lead our life, whether we lead a skillful life or we lead an unskillful life, right? So this helping cats and dogs is a very inferior type of charity that we are doing. The Buddha said the highest charity is the gift of the Dhamma. The gift of the Dhamma surpasses all gives because when you educate a person in the Dhamma, you benefit him this lifetime and you benefit that person many, many lifetimes to come. So if we, having known the Dhamma, then if we can learn the Dhamma and teach people the Dhamma, that is really helping. You help cats and dogs and they'll still come back as cats and dogs? How long can you help them? Yes, yes, yes. You see, because of our simple mind, which is blur-blur, people think, oh, beings in hell also we should help. You help the beings in hell to come out of hell. The first thing they do, they kill you first. And rape your daughter. That's why they are in hell. They have to go to hell to suffer before they can become better beings. So a stupid person only will think how to help a being in hell to come out. Both. Only thing is nowadays sometimes a lot of the books that we print are not really in accordance with the Buddha's teachings. So if you can print like the Nikayas and give to people, that's really good. That day, one of our devotees was telling me, how is it nobody is printing Nikayas? One last thing I want to say about helping people. You notice in the suttas, the Buddha said, I only teach tamable men. I only teach tamable men. The Buddha does not try to teach everybody. Only those that can be taught, only the Buddha will teach. That's why you remember when we read through the Devata Samyutta, Remember Ananda, I think, he met a hunter in the forest, and he tried to teach the hunter. The Deva came and scolded him, you're wasting your time. Why are you going to teach this fool? He's not going to listen to you. So you see, even human beings also, we cannot help everyone. How can we help animals? So that's why the Buddha's wisdom is such. We are followers of the Buddha. We walk the Buddha's path. We practice higher wisdom. We don't practice low wisdom. So all the Dhamma, the advice the Buddha has given is so clear in the Suttas. The Buddha did a lot of simple charity. The Buddha never asked us to do. Nowadays people do like liberation of what life? Pongsang, Pongsang and all that. That is It's not that it's bad, it's good, but then there are so many more worthwhile things to do. So a person with higher wisdom will think of higher things to do and people with lower wisdom will think of lower things to do. Come here.

37-SN-Dhatu-(Ch.14)-Anamatagga-(Ch.15)-(2009-07-29).txt

Okay, today is the 29th of July and we are on the 14th chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya, Tattva Samyutta. Today we come to Sutta 14.12, the 12th Sutta in the 14th Samyutta at Savatthi. Buddha said, monks, sensual thought arises with a source, not without a source. Thought of ill-will arises with a source, not without a source. Thought of harming arises with a source, not without a source. I'll stop here for a moment. These three things, sensual thoughts, thoughts of ill will and thoughts of harming are wrong thoughts. In the Noble Eightfold Path, the second factor is right thoughts. And right thoughts are the opposite of these three thoughts. So these are the three wrong thoughts, not the right thoughts. And the Buddha said, and how is this so? Independence on the sensuality element, there arises a sensual perception. Independence on sensual passion, there arises a sensual quest. Engaged in a sensual quest, the uninstructed worldling conducts himself wrongly in three ways, with body, speech, and mind. Stop here for a moment. So here it says, first, there must be this sensuality element. The sensuality element, according to the commentary, is the sensual thoughts. And all sense, fear, phenomena, you can say like sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, these are the sensual phenomena. So, after you have this sensual element, then you have perception of it. Perception gives rise to sensual intention, then that gives rise to desire, that gives rise to passion, that gives rise to a quest. And after the quest, you obtain what you want. Then to continue, independence on the ill will element arises perception of ill-will. In dependence on perception of ill-will there arises intention of ill-will. Independence on intention of ill-will that arises desire driven by ill-will. Independence on desire driven by ill-will that arises passion driven by ill-will. Independence on passion driven by ill-will that arises a quest driven by ill-will. Engage in a quest driven by ill-will. The uninstructed worldly conducts himself wrongly in three ways, with body, speech and mind. Similarly, for the harmfulness element, Independence on the harmfulness element, there arises perception of harming, then there gives rise to intention to harm, etc. and then conducts himself wrongly. Suppose monks, a man would drop a blazing grass torch into a thicket of dry grass. If he does not extinguish it quickly with his hands and feet, the creatures living in the grass and wood will meet with calamity and disaster. So too, if any ascetic or Brahmin does not quickly abandon, dispel, obliterate and annihilate the unrighteous perceptions that have arisen in him, he dwells in suffering in this very life, with vexation, despair and fever, and with the breakup of the body after death. a bad destination may be expected for him. Let's stop here for a moment. So, the Buddha says because of these three elements, let's see what the commentary says about this ill-will element. According to the commentary, it's thought of ill-will or ill-will itself hatred. And then, what is this? Harmfulness element, quite a common tree. Harmfulness element is the thought of harmfulness and harmfulness itself. So, you see like this sensuality element here, I say it's sensual thoughts. and sense fear phenomena. But the ill will element is something inside of us. The ill will inside us. And the harmfulness element also. So it could be also that this sexuality element is also something inside us. We have this tendency towards sensual desire. So that's why this could be the sensuality element that gives rise to sensual perception. And this sensual perception arises from, according to other suttas, arises from the feature of attractiveness. For example, you see something or you hear something and it appears attractive to you, maybe because of habit. then it gives rise to the sensual perception. But in the Sutta, it is also stated that this perception can be changed. For example, it is normal for a man to be attracted to a woman's body and vice versa for the woman to be attracted to a man's body. But with the cultivation of this unattractiveness of the body, meditation on the unattractiveness of the body means cultivate meditation on the 32 parts of the body, then instead of seeing a body just skin deep, just outside, then after you practice meditation on 32 parts of the body, then you will be able to see more clearly or perceive more clearly all the parts inside the body, in which case the body doesn't become so attractive anymore. So the sensual perception can be changed. It's only due to habit. So, that's something to note. And to continue, monks, thought of renunciation arises with a source, not without a source. Thought of non-ill arises with a source, not without a source. Thought of harmlessness arises with a source, not without a source. Let's stop here for a moment. These three things, renunciation, non-ill will, and harmlessness, is the opposite of the other three that we just read just now. And these three are the right thoughts. Thoughts of renunciation, thoughts of non-ill-will and thoughts of harmlessness. This non-ill-will can also be loving-kindness. And how is this so? Independence on the renunciation element that arises perception of renunciation. Independence on perception of renunciation that arises intention of renunciation. Independence on intention of renunciation, there arises desire for renunciation. Independence on desire for renunciation, there arises passion for renunciation. Independence on passion for renunciation, there arises a quest for renunciation. Engaged in a quest for renunciation, the instructed noble disciple conducts himself rightly in three ways, with body, speech and mind. And similarly, for the non-ill-will element and for the harmlessness element, arises the element itself and then the perception of it and then intention etc. Suppose monks, a man would drop a blazing grass torch into a thicket of dry grass. If he quickly extinguishes it with his hands and feet, the creatures living in the grass and wood will not meet with calamity and disaster. So too, if any ascetic or Brahmin quickly abandons, dispels, obliterates, and annihilates the unrighteous perceptions that have arisen in him, he dwells happily in this very life, without vexation, despair, and fever. And with the breakup of the body after death, a good destination may be expected for him." The end of the sutta. So here you can see, in the first case, if you have wrong thoughts, Then it leads you along that path until you conduct yourself wrongly in body, speech and mind. That means you create evil karma. And then if you understand that, then you should quickly try to dispel or obliterate the wrong perceptions that have arisen, the unrighteous perceptions or the evil unwholesome perceptions. Otherwise, if you follow those perceptions and you create wrong karma, then you will suffer in this lifetime and after this lifetime. On the other hand, if you cultivate right thoughts, then you will create wholesome karma and you will attain happiness in this life and in the future. 14.15 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha. on Mount Balchupi. On that occasion, not far from the Blessed One, the Venerable Sariputta was walking back and forth with a number of monks. Similarly, the Venerable Mahamoggalana, Venerable Mahakassapa, Venerable Anuruddha, Venerable Punamantaniputta, Venerable Upali, Venerable Ananda, were walking up and back and forth with a number of monks. And not far from the Blessed One, Devadatta too was walking back and forth with a number of monks. I'll stop here for a moment. These mentioned here are the great disciples of the Buddha, well-known disciples of the Buddha. Then the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Monks, do you see Sariputta walking back and forth with a number of monks? Yes, Merciful Sir. All those monks are of great wisdom. Do you see Moggallana walking back and forth with a number of monks? Yes, Merciful Sir. All those monks have great psychic power. You see Kasapa walking back and forth with a number of monks. All those monks are proponents of the ascetic practices. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, because the first one is Sariputta, Sariputta was walking back and forth with his disciples. And since, for example, Sariputta is of great wisdom, his disciples are also of great wisdom, because the teacher teaches the disciples what he knows. And similarly, for example, Moggallana has great psychic power, so those of his disciples also have great psychic power. For example, Kassapa is famous for ascetic practices, the Dutangas, and so his disciples are also the same. Do you see Anuruddha walking back and forth with a number of monks? Yes, Member Sir. All those monks possess the divine eye or heavenly eye. Do you see Poonam and Thaniputta walking back and forth with a number of monks? Yes, Member Sir. All those monks are speakers on the Dhamma. Do you see Upali walking back and forth with a number of monks? Yes, Member Sir. All those monks are upholders of the Vinaya, monastic discipline. I stop here for a moment. So here, after that we have Anuruddha. Remember Anuruddha is a divine eye, heavenly eye, so powerful. It seems he can see 1,000 world systems like in the palm of his hand. His mind has opened up so much that he can see 1,000 worlds. So small in the palm of his hand. And then Punamantaniputta is also a Sakyan and he's famous as a great speaker of the Dhamma. So his disciples are also like him. And then we have Upali. If I'm not mistaken, he used to be a barber for the famous for the knowledge of Vinaya and similarly his disciples. Do you see Ananda walking back and forth with a number of monks? Yes, Mahaprabhu said. All those monks are highly learned. Highly learned here means well, they have a good knowledge of the sutras, the discourses of the Buddha. Do you see Devadatta walking back and forth with a number of monks? Yes, Mahaprabhu said. All those monks have evil wishes. greedy monks. It is by way of elements that beings come together and unite. Those of an inferior disposition come together and unite with those of an inferior disposition. Those of a good disposition come together and unite with those of a good disposition. In the past they did so, in the future they will do so, and now at present they do so too. That's the end of the sutra. So like the English saying, birds of the same feather flock together. So people of the same character, they come together. Those wise people, they like to mix with wise people. Fools like to mix with fools, etc. Drinkers like to mix with drinkers. Jolly Jolly Cockies like to mix it. Jolly Jolly Cockies. Okay, now we come to the next Sankhyuta. It is the Anamatthaka Sankhyuta. It is discourses concerned with without discoverable beginning. What is without discoverable beginning? It's the time. Time, or the world itself, does not have a beginning. In other words, time has no beginning. Later, you'll see, the Buddha also says that time has no end, no limits to the beginning and the end of time. 15.1 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi in Jethas Grove, Natapindika Spa. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks? Venerable Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said this, Monks, this Samsara is without discoverable beginning. Samsara means the round of rebirths. The first point is not discern of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. Suppose monks, a man, would cut up whatever grass, sticks, branches and foliage there are in this Jambudipa and collect them together into a single heap. This Jambudipa is a land of the rose apple, the Jambu, meaning India. Having done so, he would put them down, saying for each one, this is my mother, this is my mother's mother. The sequence of that man's mothers and grandmothers would not come to an end. Yet the grass, wood, branches and forage in this Jambudipa would be used up and exhausted. For what reason? Because monks, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. The first point is not discern of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. For such a long time monks, you have experienced suffering, anguish and disaster, and swelled the cemetery. This is enough to experience revulsion towards all volitions, enough to become dispassionate towards them, enough to be liberated from them." That's the end of the sutra. So here, the Buddha is saying that if we collected the grass, the sticks, the branches, foliage, leaves and all that and we put them in a pile and for every pile we say this is our mother, this is our mother's mother, this is our grandmother's mother, this is our grandmother's mother's mother, etc. All the grass and sticks and branches and leaves in India would be used up and still you haven't finished counting your ancestors. So, the meaning here is that we have been in samsara for so long, it's hard to imagine how long we have been going on the round of rebirths. And yet, it seems like we are just born the first time into this world. So, our ignorance, our cake of ignorance, the layer of ignorance covering us is so deep, we can't even remember our past one lifetime. So the Buddha says it is enough to experience revulsion towards all volitions, enough to be dispassionate towards them. These volitions here he says formations, by the way it's Ankara. So you can say volitions are what conditions other things. Volitions, when we exercise volition, Then we continue on the round of rebirths. Volition is connected with our craving. Next, Sutta 15.3, Buddha said in Savatthi. Monks, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. The first point is not discern of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. What do you think, monks? Which is more? The stream of tears that you have shed as you roamed and wandered on through this long course, weeping and wailing because of being united with the disagreeable and separated from the agreeable. These are the waters in the four great oceans." These four great oceans, I guess, refers to the big ocean in the heavens, and the disciples said, as we understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, the stream of tears that we have shed as we roamed and wandered through this long course, weeping and wailing because of being united with the disagreeable and separated from the agreeable, this alone is more than the waters of the four great oceans. Good, good monks, It is good that you understand the Dharma taught by me in such a way. The stream of tears that you have shed as you roamed and wandered through this long course, weeping and wailing because of being united with the disagreeable and separated from the agreeable, this alone is more than the waters in the four great oceans. For a long time monks, you have experienced the death of a mother. As you have experienced this weeping and wailing, Because of being united with the disagreeable and separated from the agreeable, the stream of tears that you have shed is more than the waters of the four great oceans. For long time monks, you have experienced the death of a father, or the death of a brother or a sister or a son or a daughter, the loss of relatives, the loss of wealth, loss through illness. As you have experienced this weeping and wailing because of being united with the disagreeable and separated from the agreeable, the stream of tears that you have shed is more than the waters in the four great oceans. For what reason? Because, monks, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. It's enough to experience revulsion towards all volitions, enough to become dispassionate towards them, enough to be liberated from them. There have been a lot of reasons for us to cry sometimes because of the death of some relative. sometimes because we lose our property, because we did something wrong, we were tortured by the king, tortured by soldiers, tortured by enemies, and you cried and cried, and or you have been sick, the sickness so painful, maybe you cry. So all this, many reasons for us to cry, and we have cried so much, It's more than the waters in the oceans. But the thing about this Mara, Mara is very strong. Sometimes when we suffer, we feel so disgusted. For many people, they say, I want to give up everything. I want to practice the holy life. But Mara will tempt us. Very soon, we forgot about our suffering already. There are things to enjoy and we start laughing. And we forgot about our suffering. or sorrow. Just like sometimes, some man, the wife passes away, he feels so dejected, almost wants to commit suicide. Later, he becomes attracted to some other lady and gets married and forgot all about his sorrow already. It's very common. So, that's why the Buddha says, Mara is very strong. Mara also says, you cannot escape from me. So that's why we cry so much, and yet every time we come back, come back and still want to enjoy the world. 15.5, a savati. Then a certain monk approached the blessed one, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said to him, For example, sir, how long is an aeon? Aeon refers to a kappa, a world cycle. A world cycle has four stages. Firstly, like now, the world exists and will exist for a long time. This is one stage. Then after that, it will start to disintegrate. And this process of disintegrating takes a long time before it finally disintegrates. Then after it disintegrates, there'll be a period when there's no world. And then also it's a long time. And then after that, the formation of the world, what we call in the Bible Genesis, the world starts to form. That also takes a long time. until finally the world has come into existence. So these four stages is one world cycle. Here it says Aeon. In the Pali it is Kapal. In Sanskrit it is Kavapal. And the Buddha said, An aeon is long, monk. It is not easy to count it and say it is so many years, or so many hundreds of years, or so many thousands of years, or so many hundreds of thousands of years. And the monk asked, Then is it possible to give a simile, Venerable Sir? It is possible, monk, the Blessed One said. Suppose, monk, there was a great stone mountain, one yojana long, one yojana wide, and one yojana high, without holes or crevices, one solid mass of rock. Let's talk here for a moment. One yojana refers to a long length and it's supposed to be 10 kilometers, 10 kilometers or 10 miles. Say we assume it's 10 kilometers. So this solid rock is 10 kilometers high, 10 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide, a solid cube. At the end of Every 100 years, a man would stroke it once with a piece of Kasi or Kassian cloth. Let's stop here for a moment. Kasi is a city. It's a great trading center. So Kassian cloth is a very fine cloth, something like silk. So you take a very fine cloth, you are only allowed once in a 100 years to rub that solid rock. That great stone mountain might by this effort be worn away and eliminated, but the aeon would still not have come to an end. So long is an aeon, monk. And aeons of such length, we have wandered through so many aeons, so many hundreds of aeons, so many thousands of aeons, so many hundreds of thousands of aeons. For what reason? Because, monk, this samsara is without discoverable beginning, and it is enough to be liberated from them. So you see the simile given of a world cycle is so long. This solid rock is so huge you are only allowed to drop it only once only in 100 years. Only once and with a soft cloth. How long it would take to wear away that rock? And yet the Buddha says the rock would have finished wearing worn away and yet one eon has not passed. So it's almost impossible to count how long that eon is. So remember the Buddha said he contemplated the last 91 world cycles and saw only six Sammasambuddhas willing to teach the Dhamma. And then I mentioned also the last three Buddhas were on this world cycle. That means the last 90 world cycles, there were only three Sammasambuddhas. That means 30 world cycles before you meet one Sammasambuddha. Such a long time. So if we don't make use of this Dhamma now, we are not going to meet it. We'll have to suffer so much. Our tears will fill another four great oceans. 15.13, at Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove. Then 30 monks from Pava approached the Blessed One. All forest dwellers, alms food eaters, rag rope wearers, crippled rope users, yet all were still with fetters. Stop here for a moment. These 30 monks, if I'm not mistaken, this story I think is found in the Vinaya or somewhere. About these 30 monks, they are all very ascetic monks. They dwell in the forest, they only beg for their food, and they wear red robes, and they use only one set of robes. It's called the triple robe. Triple robe refers to only one set of robes. If I'm not mistaken, in the Vinaya books, it says they had come a long way, they wanted to see the Buddha. And then the rain season was coming, so they hurried, hurried, hurried. But because they walked from so far to come and see the Buddha, you know, in those days in India, they had to walk. So when the rain season started, they had not yet arrived at the Buddha's place. So they had to be content to stay in some place and spend the three months Vassa, rains retreat period there. So immediately after the rains retreat ended, they came to see the Buddha. So during the rains, they were longing to see the Buddha because probably either they have not seen the Buddha before or they haven't seen the Buddha for a long time. And these were all good monks, but they were still with fetters, meaning they have not attained Arahanthood. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Then it occurred to the Blessed One, these 30 monks from Parva, are all forest dwellers, alms food eaters, rag rope wearers, crippled rope users, yet all are still with fetters. Let me teach them the Dhamma in such a way that while they are sitting in these very seats, their minds will be liberated from the pain by non-clinging." So the Buddha pitied them. And since they had come so far away to see the Buddha, the Buddha appreciated them also because they are such ascetic monks. The Buddha very much appreciated ascetic monks because he himself was very ascetic. So he thought he wanted to help them to attain Arahant Buddha. Then the Blessed One addressed those monks thus. Monks, Venerable Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said this. Monks, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. The first point is not discern of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and petted by craving. What do you think, monks, which is more, the stream of blood that you have shed while when you were beheaded as you roamed and wandered on through this long course? This or the waters in the four great oceans? As we understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, the stream of blood that we have shed when we were beheaded as we roamed and wandered on through this long course, this alone is more than the waters in the four great oceans. Good, good monks, it is good that you understand the Dhamma taught by me in such a way. The stream of blood that you have shed when you were beheaded as you roamed and wandered on through this long course, this alone is more than the waters in the four great oceans. For a long time, monks, you have been cows, and when as cows you were beheaded, the stream of blood that you shed is greater than the waters in the four great oceans. For a long time, you have been buffalo, sheep, goats, deer, chickens, and pigs. For a long time, you have been arrested as burglars, highwaymen, and adulterers. And when you were beheaded, the stream of blood that you shed is greater than the waters in the four great oceans. For what reason? Because, monks, this samsara is without discoverable beginning, and is enough to be liberated from them. This is what the Blessed One said. Elated, those monks delighted in the Blessed One's statement. And while this exposition was being spoken, the minds of the thirty monks on Parva were liberated from the thanes, or asavas, by non-clinging. So when the monks realized that we have been in samsara for so long, our blood, we have shed so much that they experienced devotion, dispassion, and they just let go, let go of there and there. They are clinging and became arahants. 15.14 until 19, the Buddha said as a bhakti. Monks, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. It's not easy monks to find a being who in this long course has not previously been your mother, or your father, or your brother, your sister, your son, your daughter. For what reason? Because monks, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. It's enough to be liberated from them. Here, these few suttas, the Buddha says, it's very difficult to meet some being who has not previously been related to us in some way. Even the dogs, and the animals, and all other persons that we meet, even devas and devis and ghosts, if we meet them also, all have been related to us. It's very difficult to find a being that has not been related to us. So because of this, we should consider sometimes if we are angry with somebody, we should try to realize that we have all been related before and try to be kind to everybody. 15.20 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha, on Mount Balchepit. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks! Noble Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said, Monks, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. The first point is not discern of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. In the past, monks, this Mount Vepula was called Pachinavamsa. And at that time, these people were called Tiwaras. The lifespan of the Tiwaras was 40,000 years. They could climb Mount Pachinavamsa in four days and descend in four days. At that time, the Blessed One Kakusanda and Arahant Samasambuddha had arisen in the world. His two chief disciples were named Vidura and Sanjiva, an excellent pair. See monks, that name for this mountain has disappeared. Those people have died, and that blessed one has attained final nirvana. So impermanent are coalition monks, so unstable, so unreliable. It is enough monks to experience revulsion towards all coalitions. enough to become dispassionate towards them, enough to be liberated from them. At another time in the past monks, this Mount Vipula was called Vangkaka, and at that time these people were called Rohitasas. The lifespan of the Rohitasas was 30,000 years. They could climb Mount Mount Bangkaka in three days and descend in three days. At that time, the Blessed One Kona Gamana and Arahant Sammasambuddha had arisen in the world. These two chief disciples were named Byosa and Uttara, an excellent pair. See monks, that name for this mountain has disappeared. Those people have died. And that blessed one has attained final Nibbana. So impermanent are volitions, so unstable, so unreliable, etc. It is enough to experienced revulsion, experienced dispassion towards them enough to be liberated from them. Still another time in the past months, this Mount Vipula was called Supassa. At that time, these people were called Supiyas. The lifespan of the Supiyas was 20,000 years. They could climb Mount Supassa in two days and descend in two days. At that time, the Blessed One, Kasapa, Karahan, Samasambuddha, had arisen in the world. His two chief disciples were named Cisah and Bharadwaja, an excellent pair. See, monks, that name for this mountain has disappeared. These people have died. and that blessed one has attained final nirvana. So impermanent are our volitions, so unstable, so unreliable, etc. It is enough to be liberated from them. At present monks, this mount Vipulla is called Vipulla, and at present these people are called Magadans. The lifespan of the Magadans is short, limited, fleeting. One who lives long lives a hundred years or a little more. The Magadons climb Mount Vipula in an hour and descend in an hour. At present, I have arisen in the world an Arhant Samasambuddha. My chief two disciples are named Sariputta and Moggallana, an excellent pair. There will come a time, monks, when the name for this mountain would have disappeared, and these people would have died, and I would have attained final Nibbana. So impermanent are volition monks, so unstable, so unreliable. These enough monks to experience revulsion towards all volitions, enough to become dispassionate towards them, enough to be liberated from them. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said this. This was called Pachina Vangsa by the Tiwaras, and Vangkaka by the Rohitasas, Supasa by the Supiya people, Vipulla by the Maganan folk. Impermanent, alas, are volitions. Their nature is to arise and vanish. Having arisen, they cease. Their appeasement is blissful. This word I mentioned as volitions, another translation is conditioners. The things of the world, the things of the world condition each, condition others and they are also conditioned by others. So, in this hut, this very same mountain, a long time ago, you need four days to climb up. That means it used to be very high. Four days to climb up. At that time, the people's age was 40,000 years. Then later, that mountain became shorter and took three days to climb up. At that time, the people's age was 30,000. And then later still, when another Buddha appeared, it took only two days to climb up. And the people's age was 20,000 years. And now the Buddha says, you only need one hour to climb up. The people's age is only about 100 years. It shows the mountains can go shorter and shorter. So Buddha says that everything in the world passes away like a dream. So enough, not to cling to anything in the world.

38-SN-Kassapa-(Ch.16)-(2009-07-29).txt

Now we come to chapter 16, Kasapa Samyutta. This course is concerned with Venerable Kasapa, the ascetic, Arhat. 16.1 Asavati, the Buddha said, monks, this Kassapa is content with any kind of robe, and he speaks in praise of contentment with any kind of robe, and he does not engage in a wrong search in what is improper for the sake of a robe. If he does not get a robe, he is not agitated, and if he gets one, he uses it without being tied to it. uninfatuated with it, not blindly absorbed in it, seeing the danger in it, understanding the escape. Monks, this Kassapa is content with any kind of alms food, with any kind of lodging, with any kind of medicines. If he gets them, he uses them without being tied to them, uninfatuated with them, not blindly absorbed in them, seeing the danger in them, understanding the escape. Stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha is talking about the four requisites, the four essentials of a monk. It's the robe, food, lodging, and medicines. So the Buddha says, kasapa, if he gets them, okay. If he doesn't get them also, okay. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will be content with any kind of robe, and we will speak in praise of contentment with any kind of robe, and we will not engage in a wrong search in what is improper for the sake of a robe. If we do not get a robe, we will not be agitated, and if we get one, we will use it without being tied to it. uninfatuated with it, not blindly absorbed in it, seeing the danger in it, understanding the escape. Similarly, we will be content with any kind of arms, food, lodging, medicines, etc. Monks, I will exhort you by the example of Kasapa, or one who is similar to Kasapa. Being exalted, you should practice accordingly. That's the end of the sutra. So here the Buddha has a lot of respect for Kassapa and holds him as a standard, the model for other monks and asking other monks to follow him, to practice contentment like him. 16.2 On one occasion, the Venerable Mahakassapa and the Venerable Sariputta were dwelling at Varanasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana. Then in the evening, the Venerable Sariputta emerged from seclusion and approached the Venerable Mahakassapa. He exchanged greetings with the Venerable Mahakassapa, and when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side. Stop here for a moment. You see, during the Buddha's days, the monks, in the morning, they go on alms round. After alms round, they come back and they eat their food. Sometimes either they live together or they live close to each other. And after they have eaten their food, if there's any remainder, they will leave it for others in case the others did not get enough food to eat. And the Buddha allowed other monks to eat the leftovers of the other monks as long as it had not passed noon, not past the time when the sun was the highest. After eating the food, the monks will go and find a quiet place to meditate for the rest of the day until the sun sets. Then when the sun sets, they will go to usually the most senior monk and discuss Dhamma. So here actually you see, remember Sariputta is the right hand disciple of the Buddha. Remember Sariputta and Mahamoggalana is the left hand disciple of the Buddha. These two sit next to the Buddha. But actually they were not the most senior. There were already more than a thousand disciples of the Buddha. more than a thousand Arahants before Venerable Sariputta and Moggallana came. But here you see, Venerable Sariputta, in the evening, he went to look for Venerable Mahakassapa. It was not the other way around. So even though he was considered like the Ta Se Siong, the eldest disciple, and yet, He went to look for Mahakassapa because for two reasons. One is probably Mahakassapa was more senior to him, became a disciple of the Buddha before him. Secondly, Mahakassapa was most probably much older than him. Mahakassapa was even older than the Buddha. Also because Mahakassapa was such an ascetic monk, so strict that all the monks respected him. So Sariputta also out of respect went to see him. For example Sariputta said, It is said that one who is not ardent and who is unafraid of wrongdoing is incapable of enlightenment, incapable of Nibbāna, incapable of achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. For one who is ardent and afraid of wrongdoing is capable of enlightenment, capable of Nibbāna, capable of achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. In what way is this so, friend? So here, when Bodhisattva Puta is asking him a dharma question, Ma Kasapa said, Dear friend, a monk does not arouse ardour by thinking, if unarisen evil and wholesome states arise in me, this may lead to my harm, nor by thinking, if evil and wholesome states that have arisen in me are not abandoned, this may lead to my harm, nor by thinking, if unarisen wholesome states do not arise in me, this may lead to my harm. Nor by thinking, if wholesome states that have arisen in me cease, this may lead to my harm. Thus he is not ardent." Stop here for a moment. So here where Mahakasapa says, A monk is not diligent, not energetic. If he does not consider these four things, if un-arisen evil and wholesome states arise in me, this may lead to my harm. If evil and wholesome states that have arisen are not abandoned, this may lead to my harm, etc. These four things are called the four right efforts. It is the fifth factor. the sixth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Right effort leads to right recollection, sati, and usually to right concentration. So this right effort is firstly, if unwholesome states that have not arisen arise, then this is bad. And unwholesome states, if they arise, when they arise, they are not abandoned, then also this is harmful. And wholesome states, if they have not arisen and they do not arise, this also is no good. If wholesome states that have arisen cease, this is also no good. And how, friend, is he unafraid of wrongdoing? Dear friend, a monk does not become afraid at the thought, if un-arisen evil wholesome states arise in me, this may lead to my harm. Or if evil unwholesome states that have arisen in me are not abandoned, this may lead to my harm, etc. It is in this way, friend, that one who is not ardent and who is unafraid of wrongdoing is incapable of enlightenment, incapable of Nibbana, incapable of achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Stop here for a moment. So here, Brahma Kassapa is saying, a monk who is not diligent, he does not observe his own mind. We have to constantly observe our mind to see whether there are wholesome or unwholesome states in our mind. If there are unwholesome states, we should get rid of them quickly. If there are wholesome states, then we should prolong them or make them rise. arise. And how friend is one ardent. Dear friend, a monk arouses ardour by thinking, if unarisen evil wholesome states arise in me, this may lead to my harm. And by thinking, if evil unwholesome states that have arisen in me are not abandoned, this may lead to my harm. And he also thinks, if unarisen wholesome states do not arise in me, this may lead to my harm. And he also thinks, if wholesome states that have arisen in me cease, this may lead to my harm. Thus he is ardent. And how, friend, is he afraid of wrongdoing? Dear friend, a monk becomes afraid at the thought Similarly, the same four thoughts. It is in this way, friend, that one who is ardent and afraid of wrongdoing is capable of enlightenment, capable of nirvana, capable of achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. So, you see, these four considerations are very important. Mahakassapa is saying, if you do not practice this, you cannot be released from samsara. A lot of people, they practice meditation, they want to achieve this state and achieve that state, but they don't observe themselves. It's very important here to observe yourself, observe your mind. Don't observe other people's mind. It's a very common habit to look at other people and criticize other people. You don't see your own faults. When we practice spiritual path, we must always look within and look outside. 16.3, that's savati. Mom, you should approach families like the moon, drawing back the body and mind, always acting like newcomers, without impudence towards families, just as a man looking down an old well across Christ. or a steep river bank would draw back the body and mind. So too, monks, should you approach families. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying monks, how they should behave towards laypeople, families. The Buddha is saying monks should not be too familiar with laypeople drawing back the body and mind. Always acting like newcomers, without impudence, without being proud, arrogant. should realize the danger of associating too much with lay people. That's why it should draw back as though from a well or a precipice. So the Buddha said, approach families like the moon. The moon is always hiding behind the clouds. So monks also should not mix too much with lay people, but hide in the forest. Once in a while you come out like the moon. But then at other times I have to hide behind the clouds. Monks, Kasapa approaches families like the moon, drawing back the body and mind, always acting like a newcomer, without impudence towards families. What do you think, monks? What kind of monk is worthy to approach families? Rev. Sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, guided by the Blessed One, take recourse in the Blessed One. It would be good if the Blessed One would clear up the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from him, the monks will remember it. Then the Blessed One waved his hand in space and said, Monks, just as this hand does not get caught in space, is not held fast by it, is not bound by it, so when a monk approaches families, his mind does not get caught, held fast and bound amidst families, thinking, May those desiring gains acquire gains. May those desiring merits make merits. He is as elated and happy over the gains of others as he is over his own gains. Such a monk is worthy to approach families. Monks, when Kasapa approaches families, his mind does not get caught, held fast, or bound amidst families. Thinking, May those desiring gains acquire gains. May those desiring merits make merits. He is as elated and happy over the gains of others as he is over his own gains. What do you think, monks? How is a monk's teaching of the Dharma impure? And how is his teaching of the Dharma pure? P.S. Our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, etc. Then listen and attend closely, monks, I will speak. Yes, Mephusel, those monks replied. The Blessed One said this, A monk teaches the Dhamma to others with the thought, Oh, may they listen to the Dhamma from me. Having listened, may they gain confidence in the Dhamma. Being confident, may they show their confidence to me. Such a monk's teaching of the Dhamma is impure. But a monk teaches the Dhamma to others with the thought, This Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, directly, visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable to be personally experienced by the wise. Oh, may they listen to the Dhamma from me. Having listened, may they understand the Dhamma. Having understood, may they practice accordingly. Thus He teaches the Dhamma to others because of the intrinsic excellence of the Dhamma. He teaches the Dhamma to others from compassion and sympathy, out of tender concern. Such a monk's teaching of the Dhamma is pure. Kassapa teaches the Dhamma to others with the thought, the Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, directly visible, immediate, etc. May they listen to the Dhamma from me. Having listened, may they understand the Dhamma. Having understood, may they practice accordingly. He teaches the Dhamma to others because of the intrinsic excellence of the Dhamma. He teaches the Dhamma to others from compassion and sympathy, out of tender concern. Monks, I will exhort you by the example of Kasapa, or one who is similar to Kasapa. Being exhorted, you should practice accordingly. That's the end of the sutta. So finally the Buddha says that a monk teaches the Dhamma not to be famous or to get a lot of offerings but out of compassion for others and to make others see how excellent is the Buddha's Dhamma how helpful it is for us to lessen our suffering and to attain happiness in this life and future lifetimes. It's about an hour, so I'll stop here for the moment and continue tomorrow. If there's anything to discuss, you can discuss. Yeah. Yeah. If you look at other people's fall, If we want to say anything, we have to be very clear of our intentions. If our intentions are to help the other person, it's okay. It's okay if we speak to help the other person. A lot of people, they don't see their faults. But then we also have to use our wisdom, have to see whether that person will accept your criticism or not, will accept your advice or not. If that person will not accept and it is not worthwhile to speak to him. Buddha says when we speak, speech should have a few qualities, good speech. One is, it should be truthful. Another one, it should be motivated by kindness or compassion. We should speak gently and we should speak at the right time. We should speak words that are beneficial. These are the qualities. of good speech. So when we try to advise somebody or so, we try to see to speak that way. And if we are criticized by others, it is good to examine ourselves and see whether it is true or not. If somebody does criticize us, even if it is not 100% true, there should be a little truth in it. But the problem is, if we don't learn the Dhamma, for most ordinary people, when they get criticism, they flare up. A lot of people will not accept criticism. So that is the worldling, the putu jan, the ornery man in the street. A person who is walking the spiritual path should be different. If we criticize, actually it is good for us. Sometimes, just like medicine, medicine is bitter to the taste. but it is good for us. So in the same way, sometimes words of criticism, we don't like to listen, but it's good for us because we will improve much faster if people criticize us. So the Buddha says in the suttas, if you have a teacher who is willing to point out your faults, you should not run away from him, you should stay with him for the rest of your life. Hard to find a teacher who is bothered to look, to pinpoint your faults. Very often, the teacher does not do it because the disciple will not listen. Please, have your patience. Please, speak at the right time. From this topic for tonight we are going to do some work with John.

39-SN-Kassapa-(Ch.16)-(2009-07-30).txt

Okay, today is the 30th of July, and we are on the Kasapa Samyutta. We come to Sutta 16.4. At Savatthi, Buddha said, monks, what do you think? What kind of monk is worthy to be a visitor of families? And what kind of monk is not worthy to be a visitor of families? Humble Sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One. And the Blessed One said, Monks, a monk might approach families with the thought, May they give to me, not hold back. May they give me much, not a little. May they give me fine things, not shabby things. May they give me promptly, not slowly. May they give me considerably, not casually. When a monk approaches families with such a thought, if they do not give, he thereby becomes hurt. On that account, he experiences pain and displeasure. If they give little rather than much, or if they give shabby things rather than fine things, or if they give slowly rather than promptly, or if they give casually rather than considerably, he thereby becomes hurt. On that account, he experiences pain and displeasure. Such a monk is not worthy to be a visitor of families. Monks, a monk might approach families with a thought, when among others' families, how could I possibly think, may they give to me, not hold back, may they give me respectfully, not casually, etc. When a monk approaches families with such a thought, if they do not give, or if they give gradually, etc., he does not thereby become hurt. He does not, on that account, experience pain and displeasure. Such a monk is worthy to be a visitor of families. Monks. Kasapa approaches families with such a thought. When among others' families, how could I possibly think, may they give to me, not hold back, may they give respectfully, etc. If they do not give, or if they give casually, etc. He does not thereby become hurt. He does not on that account experience pain and displeasure. Monks, I will exhort you by the example of Kassapa, or one who is similar to Kassapa. Being exhorted, you should practice accordingly. It's the end of the sutta. You see here, the Buddha is quite detailed in his teaching. Things like this are most people would not think about it. The Buddha is very particular that the Sangha has a good reputation. So even small details like this, he teaches the monks that when they go and beg for their food or so on, what they think is important. If they have a greedy thought, if they have an arrogant thought, then they may become hurt when they should not So Buddha is teaching them to practice to the finest details. The Next Sutta, 16.5 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. Then the Venerable Maha Kasapa approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, You are old now, Kasapa, and those worn out hempen rag robes must be burdensome for you. Therefore, you should wear robes offered by householders, Kasapa. Accept meals on invitation. and dwell close to me. I'll stop here for a moment. This Honorable Maha Kasapa, when the Buddha I think was about 80 years old, I think Honorable Maha Kasapa according to some books was about 120 years old or something like that. He was much older than the Buddha. And he was very ascetic even up to the very end, which is quite rare. Normally monks are ascetic in their younger days. Then as they grow older, they can't stand it because the ascetic way is a bit Taxing, when your body is old, you find it very difficult to practice some of the ascetic practices, like sleeping in the forest. In my younger days, I also slept in the forest. We just put a plastic sheet, put your umbrella, you look for two branches to hang a rope. And after that, you put your umbrella. The height should be such that the top of the umbrella is just your eye level. For me, about five feet. So that when you sit under the umbrella, you just don't knock the top of your head. So you can sit in meditation. And then you want it to be low so that when you lie down to sleep at night, your mosquito net can stretch far. If you put it too high, when you sleep at night, your mosquito net cannot open up. You have to be careful to put it under the plastic sheet or material, otherwise the snake will crawl inside. When you are young, you can sleep on the bare floor like this. But after about 45 years old, you will find it a bit difficult. Because after 45 years old, my experience was that body heat becomes much less. So when the wind blows, it goes into your bones. But Maha Kasapa, so old, he was still staying in the forest and wearing red robes, refused to accept offerings of new robes by lay people. And also, he only ate his meal from alms round and refused to go to a house invitation or monastery to eat. And then he said, for a long time, I have been a forest dweller and have spoken in praise of forest dwelling. I have been an alms food eater and have spoken in praise of eating alms food. I have been a rank rope wearer and have spoken in praise of wearing rank ropes. I have been a triple rope user, that means one set only, and have spoken in praise of using the triple rope. I have been of few wishes, and have spoken in praise of fewness of wishes. I have been content, and have spoken in praise of contentment. I have been secluded, and have spoken in praise of solitude. I have been aloof from society, and have spoken in praise of aloofness from society. I have been energetic, and have spoken in praise of arousing energy. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, all these very good practices which Not many monks have the willpower to practice. Then the Buddha asked, considering what benefit kasapa, have you long been a forest dweller? Have you long been an alms food eater? Have you long been a rag rope wearer, et cetera? And spoken in praise of them. And then he said, considering two benefits, Venerable Sir, for myself, I see a pleasant dwelling in this very life. And I have compassion for later generations, thinking, May those later generations follow my example. For when they hear, the enlightened disciples of the Buddha were for a long time forest dwellers and spoke in praise of forest dwelling. For a long time, they have been alms food eaters and spoken in praise of eating alms food. For a long time, they have been rag rope wearers, etc. and spoken in praise of these practices. And then they will practice accordingly and that will lead to their welfare and happiness for a long time. Considering these two benefits, Venerable Sir, I have long been a forest dweller, etc., and have spoken in praise of these ascetic practices. And the Buddha said, Good, good, Kasapa. You are practicing for the welfare and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the good welfare and happiness of devas and humans. Therefore, Kasapa, Wear worn-out hempen rag robes, walk for hours, and dwell in the forest. That's the end of the sutta. You see here, the Venerable Kasapa says he sees two benefits of dwelling in the forest and practicing all these ascetic practices. He says, one, he has a pleasant dwelling in this very life. He feels comfortable. This staying in the forest, if you're not used to it, it takes a lot of effort to get used to it. Because initially if a monk stays alone, his mind may be distracted, disturbed by a lot of things. So he may not be used to having nobody to speak to and all that. So it takes some time to get used to it. But once the monk gets used to it, then he likes that type of life. And the second reason, he has compassion for later generations. He's showing this good example so that later generations, when they hear that the enlightened disciples of the Buddha were ascetic practices, were monks who practiced ascetic practices, then they will follow this example. In fact, there is another sutta, I've forgotten exactly where, where the Buddha says the same thing. The Buddha says, even after he has become enlightened, he still spends his time in secluded dwellings, secluded dwellings away from people, either in the forest or in a cave, etc. Just like our great Achan Man. So, he says, just because I constantly dwell in the forest, I don't think that I have not become enlightened. He says, even after enlightenment or so, He prefers to stay in the forest for two reasons. One is this one, the same reason. The first one, he has a very pleasant dwelling in this very life. And he gives an amusing example. He says, if he's alone in the forest and he's to answer the call of nature, it's very easy. Anytime he can answer the call of nature, nobody to embarrass him. And then also his compassion for later generations because he wants to set this example for people to see that if you want to become enlightened, you want to walk this path out of samsara, you have to go into seclusion as the Indian saying goes, the holy path is the path of the alone, to the alone, by the alone. So here I want to quote to you the Mahayana Bodhisattva precepts. I'm familiar with them because I also took the Mahayana Bodhisattva precepts before. So there are these major precepts and the minor precepts. And in the minor precepts, there's one number 37. This is the Mahayana Vinaya book by the monk Yen Kiat from Bangkok. So the translation is this. A monk who performs the Dutanga practice, living in the forest for religious contemplation or living or practicing Aranyaka, that means seclusion, and stays in a place full of wild animals or in a dangerous locality, commits lahu kapati sin, that means a light offense. So, which is in the Mariana Precepts, is contradictory to the Buddha's practice. The Buddha says that he himself likes to stay in secluded places and encourages his monks to stay in secluded places. whereas this Bodhisattva precepts is the opposite, not allowed to practice ascetic practices, not allowed to stay in the forest. So it is for this type of reasons that the Buddha always prays Mahakassapa because basically the Buddha is also of the same nature. The Buddha practiced all the ascetic practices until there were practically no more ascetic practice for him to practice. It's only Later, when he realized that many of them are unbeneficial, he gave them up. But still, in spite of so many ascetic practices, there are some that the Buddha encouraged. Actually, to many people, they seem ascetic practices, but to the Buddha, it is just the middle path, like eating one meal a day. To the Buddha, it is the middle path, because he has practiced not eating anything at all, or eating one grain of rice a day. So to him it's a middle path or like using one set of robes only. Triple robes means one set of three robes, the upper robe, the lower robe and the double layer robe which we use as a blanket. So that one set is the minimum and the Buddha says monks should be content with that. So for the Buddha, that is the middle path. But for a lot of people, it seems very ascetic. And then like begging for food, also the Buddha encouraged the monks to beg for food. But the ego, not to be fussy about food. Whatever we get, we eat. And also give lay people a chance to plant blessings. So, because in the Buddha's teachings, a monk is not allowed to stay alone in the deep forest, because if a monk stays alone in the deep forest, he does not beg for his food, so it does not give laypeople a chance to do merit. Like some of the external ascetics, they stay in the deep forest and they feed themselves on the roots and the leaves of plants and fruits and all that, which the Buddha also tried before. So later he says, they can stay in the forest as long as they can come out and beg for their food. The next sutra is 16.7. At Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, then the Venerable Mahakassapa approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, Exhort the monks, Kasapa, give them a Dharma talk. Either I should exhort the monks, Kasapa, or you should. Either I should give them a Dharma talk, or you should." And Venerable Maha Kasapa said, Venerable Sir, the monks are difficult to admonish now, and they have qualities which make them difficult to admonish. They are impatient and do not accept instruction respectfully. Venerable Sir, for one who has no faith in regard to wholesome states, no sense of shame, no fear of wrongdoing, no energy, and no wisdom. Whether day or night comes, only decline is to be expected in regard to wholesome states, not growth. Just as, during the dark fortnight, whether day or night comes, the moon declines in colour, circularity and luminosity, in diameter and circumference, so too, verbal sir, for one who has no faith in wholesome states, no sense of shame, no fear of wrongdoing, No energy and no wisdom. Whether day or night comes, only decline is to be expected in regard to wholesome states, not growth. A person without faith, Venerable Sir, this is a case of decline. A person without a sense of shame, this is a case of decline. A person who is unafraid of wrongdoing, who is lazy, unwise, angry, malicious, this is a case of decline. When there are no monks who are exhorters, this is a case of decline. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, even during the Buddha's time, there were a lot of rotten monks. So when the Buddha asked Rebel Maha Kasapa to teach the monks Dhamma, the Buddha said, either you should teach or I should teach. It shows that the Buddha considers him, if the Buddha is not around, he should take the Buddha's place. The Buddha had so much trust in him. But he says the monks now are not like before. They are very difficult to instruct. They are not respectful. They have no sense of shame, no fear of wrongdoing, no diligence. And so they keep declining. Then, he continued, Venerable Sir, for one who has faith in regard to wholesome states, a sense of shame, fear of wrongdoing, energy and wisdom, whether day or night comes, only growth is to be expected in regard to wholesome states, not decline, just as during the bright fortnight. This bright fortnight, in the Chinese calendar, is Chou Yat to Sab Ng Lat, the 1st to the 15th, day of the lunar calendar, when the moon waxes, becomes brighter and brighter and brighter, that is the bright fortnight. And the waning fortnight is the other one, from the 16th until the 30th day of the lunar calendar, when the moon becomes smaller and smaller, less and less bright. Just as during the bright fortnight, whether day or night comes, the moon grows in colour, circularity and luminosity, in diameter and circumference, so too will it serve for one who has faith in wholesome states, a sense of shame, fear of wrongdoing, energy and wisdom. Whether day or night comes, only growth is to be expected in regard to wholesome states, not decline. A person with faith, this is a A person with a face, this is a case of non-decline. A person with a sense of shame, this is a case of non-decline. A person who is afraid of wrongdoing, who is energetic, wise, without anger, without malice, this is a case of non-decline. Then there are monks who are exhorters, this is a case of non-decline. Good, good kasapa. And then the Buddha repeated the entire statement of the Noble Maha Kasapa. That's the end of the sutta. So towards the end, he says also that EW DAH! If there are monks who are exotists, that means if there are monks who teach the Dhamma, this is a case of non-decline, that means it's a state, it's a case of progress. So when no monks teach the Dhamma, then the Dhamma will decline. So it's interesting to see here, even when the Buddha was alive and so many Arahants were alive, could read the monks' minds and all that, still you have a lot of rotten eggs among the monks. 16.8, at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove. Then the Venerable Maha Kasapa approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, Exhort the monks, Kasapa, give them a Dharma talk. Either I should exhort the monks, Kasapa, or you should. Either I should give them a Dharma talk, or you should. And he said, Venerable Sir, the monks are difficult to admonish now. and they have qualities which make them difficult to admonish. They are impatient and do not accept instruction respectfully. And then the Buddha said, Just so, Kasapa. In the past, the elder monks were forest dwellers and spoke in praise of forest dwelling. They were alms food eaters and spoke in praise of eating alms food. They were rag-rope wearers, and spoke in praise of wearing rag-ropes. They were triple-rope users, and spoke in praise of using the triple-rope. They were of few wishes, and spoke in praise of fewness of wishes. They were content, and spoke in praise of contentment. They were secluded, and spoke in praise of solitude. They were aloof from society, and spoke in praise of aloofness from society. They were energetic, and spoke in praise of arousing energy. I'll stop here for a moment. So the Buddha also agreed with him. The Buddha said, formerly, the monks were forest dwellers and house food eaters and red rope wearers, etc. and praised these practices. Then the Buddha continued. Then when a monk was a forest dweller and spoke in praise of forest dwelling, When he was an alms food eater and spoke of alms food practice, when he was energetic and spoke in praise of arousing energy etc, the elder monks would invite him to a seat saying, What is this monk's name? This is an excellent monk. This monk is keen on training. Come monk, here is a seat, sit down. Then it would occur to the newly ordained monks. It seems that when a monk is a forest dweller and speaks in praise of forest dwelling, when he is an alms food eater and speaks in praise of eating alms food, when he is energetic and speaks in praise of arousing energy, etc., the elder monks invite him to a seat and praise him. They would practice accordingly and that would lead to their welfare and happiness. for a long time. But now, Kasapa, the elder monks are no longer forest dwellers and do not speak in praise of forest dwelling. They are no longer alms food eaters and do not speak in praise of eating alms food, etc. They are no longer energetic and do not speak in praise of arousing energy. Now, it is the monk who is well-known and famous, one who gains robes, alms food, lodgings, and medicinal requisites, that the elder monks invite to a seat, saying, Come, monk. What is this monk's name? This is an excellent monk. This monk is keen on the company of his brothers in the holy life. Come, monk. Here is a seat. Sit down. Then it occurs to the newly ordained monks. It seems that when a monk is well-known and famous, one who gains robes, arms, hood, lodgings and medicines, the elder monks invite him to a seat and praise him. And they practice accordingly, and that leads to their harm and suffering for a long time. If Kassapa, once speaking rightly, could say, Those leading the holy life have been ruined by those who lead the holy life. Those leading the holy life have been vanquished by those who lead the holy life. This just does that one could rightly say this. You see at the end, actually the book here They write, those leading the holy life have been ruined by the ruination of those who lead the holy life. Those leading the holy life have been vanquished by the vanquishing of those who lead the holy life. But I think this is wrong because there are other suttas which show that the decline of the sasana is due to the monks themselves. by showing bad examples and writing new sutras that never existed before and all these things. Later you'll see under this Sankhyuta, the Buddha talked about the false Dhamma that would appear. So actually it is the monks who bring down the sassana. It is also the monks who bring up the sassana. So good monks will bring up the sassana. Evil monks will cause the sassana to decline. In over the span of 2,500 years since the Buddha lived until now, some of our sutras, the discourses have disappeared. But there are some which are found in Theravada, which are not in Mahayana, and there are some, a small amount, which are found in Mahayana, but not found in Theravada. And there's one sutra seems to be one of the old sutras, which says that the king of the beast, the lion, is eaten by the worms on his body, meaning to say that our sasana, our Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, the sasana is ruined by the monks themselves, those who wear the robes and the behavior is not like the people who are supposed to wear the robes. So the Buddha is saying that because here in the first part of the Sutta, the Buddha They say formerly the monks were ascetic monks, they were forest dwellers, house food eaters and all that. But nowadays they are greedy. Instead of praising the ascetic monks, they praise the monks who are famous and get a lot of offerings. They want to know the monk's name and offer him a seat and all that. And then the younger monks, when they see this, that the elder monks respect a famous monk, they will also practice accordingly and want to become famous. So nowadays, you can see many monks are like that. Very few monks would want to live in the forest and practice the ascetic practices. So it's very good if more forest monasteries are formed for monks to practice according to original Buddhism. 16.9, at Savatthi, the Buddha said, monks, to whatever extent I wish, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I enter and dwell in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought, Here it says, accompanied by thought and examination. Actually, it should be accompanied by thought directed and sustained with rapture and happiness born of seclusion. The Sapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, enters and dwells in the first jhana. Monks, To whatever extent I wish, with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, I enter and dwell in the second jhāna, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought directed and sustained, and has delight and happiness born of concentration, piti and sukha. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, enters and dwells in the second jhāna. Monks, to whatever extent I wish, with a fading away as well of delight, I dwell equanimous and mindful and clearly comprehending. I experience happiness with the body. I enter and dwell in the third jhāna of which the noble ones declare. He is equanimous, mindful, one who dwells happily. Kasapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the third jhāna. Monks, to whatever extent I wish, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and displeasure, I enter and dwell in the fourth jhāna. which is neither painful nor pleasant, and includes the purification of mindfulness by equanimity. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the fourth jhāna. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying whenever he wishes, he can enter any one of the four rūpa jhānas, states of meditative absorption. And he says Kassapa is also like him. Whenever Kassapa wants, Kassapa also can enter any of the four rupa jhanas, form jhanas, the Buddha continued. Monks, to whatever extent I wish, with the complete transcendence of perceptions of forms, with the passing away of perceptions of sensory impingement, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that space is infinite, I enter and dwell in the base of the infinity of space. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the base of the infinity of space. Let's talk here for a moment. Here now the Buddha is saying that he can enter the first arupajhāna, which is called the base of bounded space. In this state, the mind opens up and becomes like a boundless space. And you see the description here is interesting. It says, to attain this state of Arupajana, he has to have the complete transcendence of perceptions of forms. That means no more paying attention to forms. With the passing away of perceptions of sensory impingement, that means there's no more sensory impingement. the five senses, he does not, there is no more, no more aware of the five senses. With non-attention to perceptions of diversity and then he enters that base of the boundless space. So sometimes some meditation teachers say that when you enter the Rupa Janas, The five senses close. Actually look at the definition here of the base or bounded space. It is only in Arupajana. In Arupajana only the five senses close. The seeing, seeing consciousness, hearing, smell, taste and touch. only closes at the Arupajana, base of boundless space. And then the Buddha continued, monks, to whatever extent I wish, by completely transcending the base of the infinity of space, aware that consciousness is infinite, I enter and dwell in the base of the infinity of consciousness. Kasapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the base of the infinity of consciousness. Monks, to whatever extent I wish, by completely transcending the base of the infinity of consciousness, aware that there is nothing, I enter and dwell in the base of nothingness. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the base of nothingness. Monks, To whatever extent I wish, by completely transcending the base of nothingness, I enter and dwell in the base of neither perception nor non-perception. Kasapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the base of neither perception nor non-perception. Monks, to whatever extent I wish, by completely transcending the base of neither perception nor non-perception, I enter and dwell in the cessation of perception and feeling. Kasapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the cessation of perception and feeling. I'll stop here for a moment. So now here, all the four Arupajanas, the Buddha says, anytime he wants to, he can enter Any of the Rupajana states of formless meditative absorption. Formless meaning the object is no more formed, bounded by forms. The mind opens up. And then even the last one, cessation of perception and feeling. When perception and feeling ceases, consciousness also ceases. Because perception and feeling always comes with consciousness. So when a person enters this state of cessation of perception and feeling, all the six senses stop. It's an extremely high state. If a monk can enter this state, I think it's hidden somewhere. When he comes out of it, he becomes either an Anagamin or an Arahant. because he realizes that the whole world is only within the six senses, six sense consciousness, like a dream. Monks, to whatever extent I wish, I wield the various kinds of psychic power. Having been one, I become many. Having been many, I become one. Stop here a moment. That means the body, one body can multiply into many bodies and many bodies can come back to one. I appear and vanish. I go unhindered through a wall, through a rampart, through a mountain as though through space. I dive in and out of the earth as though it were water. I walk on water without sinking as though it were earth. Stop here for a moment. This is what Jesus Christ also can do. In the Bible, it is stated that Jesus Christ walked on the water. So Jesus Christ also was a great meditator. Seated cross-legged, I travel in space like a bird. With my hand, I touch and stroke the moon and sun, so powerful and mighty. I exercise mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, wields the various kinds of psychic power. Here it says, exercise mastery with the body as far as the Brahma world, means that the physical human body, the flesh body, can fly as far as the Brahma world, as a maximum. Monks, to whatever extent, sorry, this just now what I just read, just now, the various types of psychic power, they are called this psycho-kinesis. Monks, to whatever extent I wish, with the divine ear element, which is purified and surpasses the human, I hear both kinds of sounds, the divine and human, those that are far as well as near. Kasapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, with the divine ear element, which is purified and surpasses the human, he hears both kinds of sounds. Monks, to whatever extent I wish, I understand the minds of other beings and persons, having encompassed them with my own mind. I understand a mind with lust as a mind with lust, a mind without lust as a mind without lust, a mind with hatred as a mind with hatred, a mind without hatred as a mind without hatred. A mind with delusion is a mind with delusion. A mind without delusion is a mind without delusion. The contracted mind is contracted and the distracted mind is distracted. An exalted mind is exalted and an unexalted mind is unexalted. A surpassable mind is surpassable, and an unsurpassable mind is unsurpassable. A concentrated mind is concentrated, and an unconcentrated mind is unconcentrated. A liberated mind is liberated, and an unliberated mind is unliberated. For Sapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, understands the minds of other beings and persons, having encompassed them with his own mind. I'll stop here for a moment. So, in addition to the various kinds of psychic power, the Buddha says, he and similarly Venerable Kassapa, they have the heavenly ear, can listen to the sounds of humans as well as spirits. heavenly beings or ghosts and all that. And also he can read other beings' minds, can encompass their minds and know what other beings are thinking. Monks, to whatever extent I wish, I recollect my manifold past abodes, that is, one birth, two births, three births, four births. 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 100,000 birds, many aeons of world contraction, many aeons of world expansion, many aeons of world contraction and expansion thus. There I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food. Such was my experience of pleasure and pain. Such was my life span. Passing away from there, I was reborn elsewhere. And there too, I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain. Such my life span. Passing away from there, I was reborn here. Thus I recollect my manifold past abodes with their modes and details. Kasapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, recollects his manifold past abodes with their modes and details. Monks, to whatever extent I wish, with the divine eye which is purified and surpasses the human, I see beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and I understand how beings fare on according to their kamma thus. These beings who engage in misconduct of body, speech, and mind, who revile the noble ones, Aryans. held wrong view, and undertook actions based on wrong view, with the breakup of the body after death, have been reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the netherworld, in hell. But these beings who engage in good conduct of body, speech, and mind, who did not revile the noble ones, who held right view, and undertook action based on right view, with the breakup of the body after death, have been reborn in a good destination in the heavenly world. Thus, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, I see beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and I understand how beings fare on according to their kamma. Kasapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, sees beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings fare on according to their karma. Monks, by the destruction of the Asavas, In this very life, I enter and dwell in the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for myself with direct knowledge. Kassapa too, by the destruction of the asavas, in this very life, enters and dwells in the taintless liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge. That's the end of the sutta. So here you see, the Buddha is praising the Venerable Maha Kasapa so much. He says that practically all the attainments that the Buddha has, Venerable Maha Kasapa also has. So he's one of the few monks that the Buddha praised so much.

40-SN-Kassapa-(Ch.16)-(2009-07-30).txt

16.10 On one occasion, the Venerable Mahakassapa was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Nathapindika's Park. Then in the morning, the Venerable Ananda dressed, and taking bowl and robe, he approached the Venerable Mahakassapa and said, Come, Venerable Kassapa, let us go to the nun's quarters. And the Venerable Mahakassapa said, You go, friend Ananda, you are the busy one with many duties. I stop here for a moment. You see, the Buddha, after he allowed nuns, allowed women to go forth as nuns, he made certain rules. One of the rules was, every two weeks, they have to be given some instructions by a senior monk. The senior monk generally in the Vinaya has to be the possible one with 20 vassal, at least, who has taken the higher ordination, 20 years or more. So Venerable Ananda wanted to go and give teaching instructions to the nuns and he invited Venerable Kasapa to accompany him because monks cannot go to the nuns' quarters alone. They have to be accompanied by another So, remember Kassapa said, you go, you are the one with many duties. He doesn't like to do all this. He likes to meditate only, remember Maha Kassapa. He doesn't like to do this and do that. The second time, the Venerable Ananda said to the Venerable Mahakassapa, Come, Venerable Kassapa, let us go to the nun's quarters. You go, friend Ananda, you are the busy one with many duties. The third time, the Venerable Ananda said to the Venerable Mahakassapa, Come, Venerable Kassapa, let us go to the nun's quarters. Then in the morning, the Venerable Mahakassapa, dressed and taking bowl and robe, went to the nun's quarters with the Venerable Ananda as his companion. So let's stop here for a moment. You see, so here, Venerable Kassapa, even though he didn't want to go, but because Venerable Ananda asked him three times, then only he complied. When he arrived, he sat down on the appointed seat. Then a number of nuns approached the Venerable Maha Kasapa, paid homage to him, and sat down to one side. As they were sitting there, the Venerable Maha Kasapa instructed, exhorted, inspired, and gladdened those nuns with a Dharma talk, after which he rose from his seat and departed. Then the nun, Tula Kisa, being displeased, expressed her displeasure thus, How can Master Mahakassapa think of speaking the Dhamma in the presence of Master Ananda, the Videhan Sage? For Master Kassapa to think of speaking on the Dhamma in the presence of Master Ananda, the Videhan Sage, this is just as if a needle peddler would think he could sell a needle to a needle maker. I'll stop here for a moment. So this Nanna to Lathisa, She was a fan of this rebel Ananda. She thought highly of rebel Ananda, but didn't like rebel Mahakassapa. Later you see, why not? Because rebel Mahakassapa is one of those monks who are very blunt. Doesn't speak in Siwak, doesn't speak sweet words. Very to the point sometimes, so much to it. Sometimes it hurts people. It's very blunt. So, Rabbi Ananda is different. Rabbi Ananda is very popular with a lot of women. He's like a very gentleman type. So this nun says, Master Ananda is supposed to be the most knowledgeable on the Dhamma because Venerable Ananda is a personal attendant of the Buddha. So wherever the Buddha goes, Venerable Ananda is the one who is with the Buddha most of the time, the second half of the Buddha's ministry. So he has heard most of the suttas more than other monks. So because of that, this nun thought This Venerable Ananda should be the Dharma preacher, not Venerable Kassapa. So he passed a nasty remark. He said, just like a needle peddler, a person selling needle, things want to sell the needle to the needle category. The Venerable Mahakassapa overheard the nun, Tulatissa, making this statement, and he said to Venerable Ananda, How is it, friend Ananda? Am I the needle peddler and you the needle maker? Or am I the needle maker and you the needle peddler? Then Ananda was very embarrassed. I said, be patient, Kasapa. Women are foolish. And then, so we'll stop here for a moment. You see, this man was Mahakassapa because his psychic powers were very great. He said somewhere else, I said, his psychic power is so great that he cannot hide his psychic power. To hide his psychic power, it'd be like a big elephant trying to hide behind a coconut tree. He gave an example somewhere else. So maybe because of his great psychic power, when this nun uttered this statement, immediately he could hear. He got the heavenly ear. He even can hear ghosts speaking. Why can't he hear the nun speaking? So you see the statement he made to the Venerable Ananda, very blunt, he said, Friend Ananda, are you the needle peddler or am I the needle peddler? So then after Ananda said, be patient, he said, hold it friend Ananda, don't give the Sangha occasion to investigate you further. Stop here for a moment. However he said, don't give the Sangha occasion to investigate you further. This must have been the time after the Buddha passed away. because when the Buddha passed away, the Arahants, 500 Arahants, held a meeting to repeat exactly what the Buddha taught so that they can agree on the words of the Buddha as far as the Suttas and the Vinaya are concerned. And after that, they taught other monks to memorised according to this standard format. So on that first Sangha meeting, when the 500 Arahants met, they took the opportunity to criticise Ananda. Why? Because they said a few things. The Buddha did not want to form the order of nuns and Venerable Ananda persuaded, pleaded with the Buddha three times to form the order of nuns and the Buddha usually after three times he would accept. In this case, even three times the Buddha refused, and Rev. Ananda was very stubborn. After that, he again pleaded with the Buddha, quoting this Maha Pajapati, this lady, the foster mother of the Buddha, who asked the Buddha to start the order of nuns. He said, Rev. Ananda said, this is not an ordinary woman. When your mother died, she looked after you like her own son and all these things. You owe a lot to her. So because of all that, Then the Buddha allowed the order of nuns to form. So that was one of the things they found fault with rebel Ananda. So that's why he said they investigate him. So here this rebel Kasapa is giving him a warning. Don't give the Sangha occasion to investigate you, Samu. What do you think, friend Ananda? Was it you that the Blessed One brought forward in the presence of the Bhikkhu Sangha, saying, monks, to whatever extent I, I wish, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I enter and dwell in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained with delight and happiness born of seclusion. Ananda too, to whatever extent he wishes, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, enters and dwells in the first jhāna. So you see, it's a bit sarcastic here. The Buddha says, Kasapa too can enter and dwell by sage. Did the Buddha say Ananda too can dwell in the first jhāna? No, remember sir. I was the one friend that the Blessed One brought forward in the presence of the monk Sangha saying, Monks, to whatever extent I wish, enter and dwell in the first jhāna. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the first jhāna." Similarly, he quoted the rest of the other attainments which the Buddha said he can attain and so can remember Kassapa. I was the one friend that the Blessed One brought forward in the presence of the Bhikkhu Sangha, saying, By the destruction of the Asavas, in this very life, I enter and dwell in the painless liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for myself with direct knowledge. Kasapa too, by the destruction of the Asavas, in this very life, enters and dwells in the painless liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge. Friend, one might just as well think that a bull elephant seven or seven and a half cubits high could be concealed by a palm leaf, as think that my six direct knowledges could be concealed. Then the nun, Tulatissa, fell away from the holy life." That means she eventually disrobed. So actually it's very silly for her because knowing that This Venerable Maha Kasapa is an Arahant. He should not be critical of Arahants. Because she got bad karma, she cannot wear the robe long. So you see the way Venerable Maha Kasapa speaks is very blunt. You're not used to him and you don't know that he's an Arahant. You get annoyed with him. Maybe I can go one more sutra. 16.11. On one occasion, the Venerable Mahakassapa was dwelling in Ratakaha in the bamboo grove of the squirrel sanctuary. On that occasion, the Venerable Ananda was wandering on tour in Dakhinagiri together with a large sangha of monks. On that occasion, 30 monks, pupils of the Venerable Ananda, most of them youngsters, had given up the training and had returned to the lower life. Stop here for a moment. That means 30 monk disciples of Venerable Ananda had disrobed. Venerable Ananda brought a large group of monks touring around. Venerable Ananda had wandered on tour in Dakinagiri as long as he wanted. He came back to Rajagaha to the Bamboo Grove, the Spirit Sanctuary. He approached the Venerable Mahakasapa, paid homage to him and sat down to one side. And the Venerable Maha Kasapa said to him, Friend Ananda, for how many reasons did the Blessed One lay down the rule that monks should not take meals among families in groups of more than three? I'll stop here for a moment. You see, there is a Vinaya rule that the Buddha laid down that Monks should, when they go on alms round, generally, should not have more than three monks on alms round, because you have too many monks on alms round. When lay people come to give food, they find so many monks, they find it difficult to give to so many monks. If they can't give to all the monks, they may feel a bit embarrassed. So the Buddha asked the monks to go on alms round, generally three, groups of three or less, not more than three. And then Venerable Ananda said, the Blessed One laid down this rule for three reasons, Venerable Kasapa. For restraining ill-behaved persons and for the comfort of well-behaved monks with the intention, may those of evil wishes by forming affection not create a schism in the Sangha and out of sympathy towards families. It is for these three reasons, Venerable Kasapa, that the Blessed One laid down this rule. So here, You see, there are three reasons. One is, I mentioned just now, our sympathy towards families, not making it difficult for them. Second one, for restraining ill-behaved persons. That means the monks, if there are too many of them, they tend to misbehave. And for the comfort of well-behaved monks, may those of evil wishes not create. You see, when you have A group of 4 monks or more than 4 monks is considered a Sangha. So when you have too many monks, living together, if there's a disagreement and they break up, then you may have more than four monks on one side and more than four monks on the other side. If this happens, this is called a schism. And when a schism happens, whoever caused that schism creates the most heavy kamma, one of the five heaviest kammas. He must go down to hell. So that's why the Buddha says for the comfort of well-behaved monks so that they don't have schism. Then Bhagavad Gita said, Then why, friend Ananda, are you wondering about with these young monks who are unguarded in their sense faculties, immoderate in eating, and not devoted to wakefulness? One would think you were wondering about trampling on crops. One would think you were wondering about destroying families. Your retinue is breaking up, friend Ananda. Your young followers are slipping away, but still this youngster does not know his measure." And Venerable Ananda said, Three hairs are growing on my head, Venerable Kasapa. Can't we escape being called a youngster by the Venerable Maha Kasapa? Stop here for a moment. So here, Venerable Kasapa is in a way like scolding Venerable Ananda, saying, you're bringing all these young monks who don't know how to guard their science faculties, they are not moderate in eating, they are not devoted to wakefulness, that means they are not practicing very hard. And going around trampling other people's crops, people's veggie and all that. And you are destroying families, meaning you are making it very difficult for families to support the monks because you have such a big group of monks, maybe a few hundred. So, he also said, your group is breaking up. Your young fellows are slipping away. And then he called Venerable Ananda, this youngster does not know his measure. Actually, so Venerable Ananda said, grey hairs are growing on my head already. You still call me a youngster? Because at this time, the Buddha had passed away. So the Venerable Ananda is of the same age as the Buddha. So the Buddha passed away at the age of 80. The Venerable Ananda was 80 or more than 80 years old already. And yet, Venerable Kassapa called him Samanjaya. Ginakia, small boy like that. Friend Ananda, it is just because you wander around with these young monks who are unguarded in their sense faculties, immoderate in eating and not devoted to wakefulness. One would think you were wandering around trampling on crops. One would think you were wandering about destroying families. The retinue is breaking up, friend Ananda. Your young followers are slipping away, but still this youngster does not know his measure. So whenever Ananda Objected, he purposely said the same thing again. Then the nun Tulananda heard, oh this is another nun, Tulananda heard, Master Mahakassapa has disparaged Master Ananda, the Vidyayan sage, by calling him a youngster. Then being displeased at this, she expressed her displeasure thus, how can Master Mahakassapa, who was formerly a member of another sect, think to disparage Master Ananda, the Videhan sage, by calling him a youngster. Stop here for a moment. Here he says that Venerable Mahakassapa formerly belonged to another religious sect. Actually, this is not true. The Venerable Maha Kasapa overheard the nun Tulananda making this statement and said to the Venerable Ananda, Surely, friend Ananda, the nun Tulananda made that statement rashly, without consideration. For since I shaved off my hair and beard, put on saffron robes, and went forth from the home life into homelessness, I do not recall ever having acknowledged any other teacher except the Blessed One, Arahant Samasambuddha. In the past, friend, when I was still a householder, it occurred to me, household life is confinement, a path of dust. Going forth is like the open air. It is not easy for one living at home to lead the perfectly complete, perfectly purified holy life, which is like a polished conch. Let me then shave off my hair and beard, put on saffron robes, and go forth from the household life into homelessness. Some time later, I had an outer robe made from patches of cloth. Then, acknowledging those who were arahants in the world as mortals, I shaved off my hair and beard, put on saffron robes, and went forth from the household life into homelessness. When I had thus gone forth, I was travelling along a road when I saw the Blessed One sitting by the Bapu Putta shrine between Rajagaha and Nalanda. Having seen him, I thought, if I should ever see the Teacher, it is the Blessed One Himself that I would see. If I should ever see the Fortunate One, it is the Blessed One Himself that I would see. If I should ever see the Perfectly Enlightened One, it is the Blessed One Himself that I would see. Then I prostrated myself right there at the Blessed One's feet and said to Him, Venerable Sir, the Blessed One is my Teacher. I am His disciple. Remember, sir, the Blessed One is my teacher, I am his disciple. When I had said this, the Blessed One said to me, Kasapa, if one who does not know and see should say to a disciple so single-minded as yourself, I know, I see, his head is split But knowing Kassapa, I say I know. Seeing, I say I see. I stop here for the moment. So when the Buddha saw Venerable Mahakassapa, he saw that this Venerable Mahakassapa was very How do you say? Very advanced person. He says, so single-minded as yourself. So he said, if I'm to a disciple like you, if I'm not enlightened and I say I am enlightened, my head also will split open. But he says, but I am enlightened, so I say I am enlightened. Therefore, Kasapa, you should train yourself thus. I will arouse a keen sense of shame and fear of wrongdoing towards elders, the newly ordained, and those of middle status. Thus should you train yourself. Therefore, Kasapa, you should train yourself thus. Whenever I listen to any Dhamma connected with the Wholesome, I will listen to it with eager ears, attending to it as a matter of vital concern, applying my whole mind to it. Thus should you train yourself. Therefore, Kassapa, you should train yourself thus. I will never relinquish mindfulness directed to the body, associated with joy. Thus should you train yourself. Then, having given me this exhortation, the Blessed One rose from His seat and departed. For seven days, friend, I ate the country's alms food as a debtor. But on the eighth day, final knowledge arose. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, when he told the Buddha that he wanted to be the Buddha's disciple, the Buddha immediately accepted him and gave him three instructions. One is, to respect the other monks, the elders, the newly ordained and those of middle status, to have a sense of shame towards them. Secondly, if you hear any Dhamma, you should listen to it attentively. Thirdly, keep your mindfulness directed to the body. Having given three instructions, the Buddha left. So he said, after receiving the instructions from the Buddha, he practiced very hard. For seven days, he was not enlightened, but on the eighth day, he became enlightened. Then, friend, the Blessed One descended from the robe and went to the foot of a tree. I folded in four my outer robe of patches and said to Him, Remember, Sir, let the Blessed One sit down here. This will lead to my wealth and happiness for a long time. The Blessed One sat down on the appointed seat and said to me, Your outer robe of patches is soft kasapa. Remember, Sir, let the Blessed One accept my outer robe of patches out of compassion. Then will you wear my worn-out hempen rag robes? I will, Rambo sir. Thus I offered the Blessed One my outer robe of patches, and received from Him His worn-out hempen rag robes. Dear friend, one speaking rightly could say of anyone, he is the son of the Blessed One. born of his breast, born of his mouth, born of the Dhamma, created by the Dhamma, an heir to the Dhamma, a receiver of worn-out, hampen-wrapped robes. It is of me that one could rightly say this. Friend, to whatever extent I wish, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I enter and dwell in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, etc. And similarly, he says he can enter into all the other jhāna states, and psychic powers, etc. Friend, by the destruction of the Aspas in this very life, I enter and dwell in the cageless liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for myself with direct knowledge. Friend, one might just as well think that a bull elephant, seven and a half cubits high, could be concealed by a palm leaf. I think that my six direct knowledges could be concealed. But the nun, Tulananda, fell away from the holy life. That's the end of the sutra. So here, you see, the verbal Mahakasapa, he is so blunt. He says again, all these things. If you don't understand him, you think he's a boaster. Boaster of his attainments. But he has no more self. He's just stating a fact. So at the end of the sutra it says that this nun, because she had bad feelings towards the Arahant, she also could not lead the holy life. She also disrobed. So that's all I have to say for tonight. We'll continue tomorrow. Anything to discuss? It means if a person has not become an arahant or an ariya, Then, when a monk receives alms and other offerings from laypeople, it is like a credit card, kotang. Don't deserve it, really. That's why it's very important for a person who wears the robes to practice. A lot of monks don't realize. They think just they wear the robe, they are worthy of all that offering. According to here, you are not worthy until you have become an arahant or at least an ariya. Because once you become an ariya, you are on the way out of saṃsāra, you definitely become enlightened. Right? Because it comes from within. No, I don't think so. I don't think so. He is saying, at that time when the Buddha mentioned this, at that time when the Buddha mentioned this, Ananda was not yet an arahant. At that time when the Buddha mentioned this statement, praising Mahakassapa, Remember Ananda was not yet an arahant, so it could be he had not attained all the jhanas and psychic power. It could have been that Ananda could have attained one or two jhanas, but the Buddha wants to praise a monk who has all the attainments, just like the Buddha. That's why the Buddha brought Mahakassapa in front of the monks and told them to praise him in front of all the monks. I mean, there are many monks who have partial attainments, but this Mahakassapa is one of those who has complete attainment. What the Buddha has, he has. Mahamoggalana is another one. Brahma Mahakapina, another one. Aniruddha, another one. There are many great arahants. You see, like the sutta we read about the time when the Buddha wanted to teach the Brahma, The Buddha flew to the Brahma world and emitted bright light. Immediately, many of his chief disciples knew. And they also came using their psychic power. And they all were floating and emitted light, just like the Buddha. Yes, yes, last time. And I thought... So actually it shows that even after a person becomes enlightened, our nature, our character, we still bring along with us. So even the Buddha himself, he has a certain character, although the books try to say, later books try to say that the Buddha is different, the Buddha is so perfect that he has no more any of his old habits. It's not true. Because you find in the sutra, there's one sutra, where the Buddha really castigated the Brahmins, saying, compare them to dogs, saying that dogs are even better than Brahmins. That's one. Another thing, Sometimes the Buddha likes to joke in a certain way. There's one sutta where the Buddha came to Kapilavatthu in the evening and then he asked his cousin Mahanama to look for a place for him to stay. Mahanama went around and could not find any place except the hermitage of an external ascetic. So probably he knows that the Buddha knows this external ascetic. Years ago they could have practiced together under the same teacher. So Mahanama brought the Buddha to stay with this ascetic. At night, Mahanama came to see the Buddha and the Buddha wanted to discuss Dhamma with Mahanama. So asked him a question. Before Mahanama could reply, this ascetic told Mahanama to answer in such a way. I think the Buddha was annoyed. The Buddha purposely told Mahanama to answer in a different way. Then this ascetic thought, it must be wrong. Then he asked Mahanama to answer in the second way. And then surprisingly, the Buddha asked Mahanama to answer back the first way. I did this three times and this ascetic was so embarrassed. Each time he was wrong. So he malu lah, no face. He left and never came back again. So in a way, the Buddha still has his old character. These sutras on the Kassapa Sangyutta, although they don't have much dhamma, but they are very interesting because he shows you the character of the arahants. Each arahant is different in character. So you don't understand that they are Arahants. Somebody like Kasapa, if you meet him, you think this fellow is behaving like an uneducated fellow. No, no, no. You cannot say that because of him the nun disrobed. No, no, no. And because of having bad thoughts against Narayan, so she cannot continue with the holy life, thoughts will disturb her. What page? 12.1? 12.38? what about? yeah yes Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yes, yes. I think we read one of the suttas. It says that if you do demeritorious deeds, then you go to a demeritorious rebirth. If you do meritorious deeds, then you go to a meritorious rebirth. But if you don't do any deeds and you let go, then you don't go for rebirth. But this doing deeds is only one of the conditions. The other one is like ignorance. The other one is like letting go of craving, clinging, and all that. So actually you see here, this tree, what one intends, what one plans, and whatever one has a tendency towards, this is a basis for the maintenance of consciousness. But remember in the underdependent origination, What conditions, vinyana, consciousness, isankara, volition. So these three things are the different aspects of volition. Ceteti, the first one, intending, that is also a kind of volition. What you plan, pakapeti, is also another type of volition. And the tendency towards something, that means anusaya, tendency, is a kind of like a craving, that is also a kind of volition. So basically it is volition, you use your mind in any way. So eventually you have to stop using your mind if you want to become liberated. As I said before, it is very difficult to stop using your mind because as long as you have a self, you want to protect the self. If you want to protect the self, you keep using your mind. That's only the person who is so advanced spiritually that he has no more desire to live, no more desire for anything, then he is willing to stop using his mind. Determination. Determination and also because his mind is not like ordinary people. His mind is so strong. Just like the Buddha. The Buddha says when he's about, just before he passed away, he's 80 years old. The Buddha says his body is like a worn out horse carriage. That needs to, you want it to keep going, you have to repair it here, repair it there. But the Buddha said, I don't think that my mind is like that. Buddha said his mind has never deteriorated. The Buddha said if two monks were to ask him questions for 100 years, and even to the extent that he cannot get up, he must lie on the bed, he can still answer them for 100 years or more. So in other words, his mind has never deteriorated, it's only the body that deteriorates. But most of us, because our mind is not so strong, so our body can influence our mind a lot.

41-SN-Kassapa-(Ch.16)-Labhasakkara-(Ch.17)-(2009-07-31).txt

Tonight is the 31st of July, 2009. We are coming to the last Sutta I'm going to read, the Kasapa Sangyutta, Sutta number 16.13. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then the Venerable Maha Kasapa approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said, Venerable Sir, what is the reason, what is the cause? Why formerly there were fewer training rules, but more monks were established in final knowledge? While now there are more training rules, but fewer monks are established in final knowledge? I'll stop here for a while. The meaning here is that formerly more monks attained arahant hoodna even though there were fewer precepts. But now there are so many precepts, but less monks are attaining liberation. And the Buddha said, that's the way it is, Kassapa. When beings are deteriorating and the true Dhamma is disappearing, there are more training rules, but fewer monks are established in final knowledge. Kassapa, the true Dhamma does not disappear so long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world. But when a counterfeit of the true Dharma arises in the world, then the true Dharma disappears. Stop here for a moment. So here, Buddha is saying that the true Dharma is disappearing. Even when the Buddha was alive, true Dharma also started to disappear. The monks, when too many monks come into the Sangha, many of them, their aim of wearing the robe is not noble. So they don't practice as they should practice. So that is one of the reasons the true Dhamma is disappearing. And the second part, the Buddha says, the true Dhamma does not disappear so long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world. That means there is such a thing as counterfeit Dhamma. Although we think that it is the Buddha's teachings, it comes under the name of Buddhism and the Buddha's teachings and all that, but it is counterfeit stuff. It is not the real original teachings of the Buddha. A lot of people don't realize this. Buddha continued, just as Kasapa, gold does not disappear so long as counterfeit gold has not arisen in the world. But when counterfeit gold arises, then true gold disappears. So the true Dharma does not disappear so long as a counterfeit of the true Dharma has not arisen in the world. But when a counterfeit of the true Dharma arises in the world, then the true Dharma disappears. It is not the earth element, Kasapa, that causes the true Dhamma to disappear, nor the water element, nor the heat element, nor the air element. It is the senseless people who arise right here, who cause the true Dhamma to disappear. Stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is saying, just like there is counterfeit gold, so there is counterfeit Dhamma. The world does not cause the Dhamma to disappear. The earth element, water, heat and air element does not cause the Dhamma to disappear. But it is the senseless people who arise here who cause the true Dhamma to disappear. What the Buddha means is that monks, monks who arise in the Sangha, senseless monks who cause the true Dhamma to disappear. I'll explain here a bit. What do you mean by counterfeit Dhamma? Counterfeit Dhamma is the writings of later monks who say a lot of things that are contradictory to what the Buddha said in his original teachings. So that's why it causes the people to be confused and so causes the true Dhamma to disappear. In the Suttas, you find the Buddha said that if any monk says that such and such is the Buddha's teachings, you have to compare them with the Suttas and the Vinaya. Meet, meaning the original Suttas and the original Vinaya. So, and the Suttas, generally, most people accept that the original, the earliest discourses of the Buddha are found in the four Nikayas, the Diga Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Samyutta Nikaya, and Anguttara Nikaya. And the last Nikaya, the Kudaka Nikaya, only about six books there out of the 15 are reliable in that they do not contradict the earlier four Nikayas. So this is the true Dhamma that Buddha means. And the Vinaya is more applicable to monks and nuns. So the Buddha said somewhere in one of the discourses that we should not add to his words and we should not subtract from his words. His teachings are perfect. It is always said that the Buddha's teaching of the Dhamma is perfect and there is no reason to add to it or subtract from it. But unfortunately, as the Buddha calls these senseless people, later disciples who write later books. And what are these later books? Firstly, we have the Mahayana Sutras. Mahayana Sutras, generally, everybody knows that they appeared 500 years after the Buddha passed away. and the monks who started these sutras are like this Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Aspaghosa and in the biography of this Nagarjuna, he admitted that he was asked, how is it that formerly there were no such sutras and now you claim that these are the words of the Buddha? And he said he went into the ocean, into the deep ocean, into the Dragon Palace and took out all these books which the Buddha had hidden away. But then we know during the Buddha's time there were no books. So how could the Buddha have hidden away his teachings in books? Secondly, the Buddha said that his teachings, true Dharma, is open for everybody to investigate. Only deviant Dharma is hidden away, is secretive. The true Dharma, there's no reason to hide it. So we do not accept that these later sutras are the words of the Buddha. That's one source of counterfeit Dhamma. Another one is the Abhidhamma. Abhidhamma, although there are seven books there, some of them can be said to agree with the earliest teachings of the Buddha. But there are a few books out of the seven that have new concepts. In the Abhidhamma, there are a lot of new teachings which the Buddha never taught, like Kalapa, Javana, rebirth consciousness and all these things which are never mentioned by the Buddha in the earliest discourses and some of the things in the Abhidhamma they do not quite agree with the earliest suttas but for this you have to investigate before you realize that Some of the contradictions are mentioned in my book Samatha and Vipassana. Another source of counterfeit dharma is the commentaries. Commentaries are supposed to help us understand the Buddha's suttas. They are supposed to explain difficult points. But the problem is a lot of the comments and the commentaries are simply out. They not only don't help us, but they give us contradictory teachings. For example, after you find out, you'll see that the Buddha said one of the causes for the disappearance of the true Dhamma is disrespect for Samadhi. And nowadays, in the commentaries, it is said that you can attain liberation, arahanthood, without the four jhanas. In fact, without any jhana at all. This simply contradicts the suttas. In the Majjhima Nikaya, the Buddha said it is impossible to eliminate the five lower factors meaning either anagamin or arahan without attaining the four jhanas so these are some of the books in addition to this there are some other later books although they contain some dhamma there is a sprinkling of Adhamma, what is contradictory to the earliest teachings. So unless you are familiar with the earliest discourses of the Buddha, you are going to be led astray. That's why the Buddha calls his later disciples senseless people who arise in the Sangha. Afterwards, there's more of this to come. The Buddha continued, the true Dhamma does not disappear all at once in the way a ship sinks. There are Kasapa, five detrimental things that lead to the decay and disappearance of the true Dhamma. What are the five? Here monks, here the monks, nuns, the male lay followers, the female lay followers dwell without reverence and deference towards the teacher. They dwell without reverence and deference towards the Dhamma. They dwell without reverence and deference towards the Sangha. They dwell without reverence and deference towards the training. They dwell without reverence and deference towards concentration. These kasapa are the five detrimental things that lead to the decay and disappearance of the true Dhamma. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says there are five things, five main causes for the disappearance of the true Dhamma. One is people have no respect. The community of monks and nuns and lay people have no respect towards the Buddha. How is it they have no respect towards the Buddha? Maybe instead of being respectful towards the Buddha, they talk about other Buddhas, which there is no point in talking about other Buddhas because we already have a Buddha now in our time. And then the second one, no reverence for Dhamma. Dhamma meaning the Suttas and the Vinaya. So instead of studying and investigating, Later we will come to one chapter where the Buddha said that because people do not investigate the suttas, instead they listen to the words of disciples, meaning later monks, and so that will cause the suttas to disappear. So this is disrespect for the Dhamma. They dwell without respect for the Sangha. This one also, there is probably a reason for it, that the Sangha of monks, they do not behave properly, do not practice according to the Dhamma and the Vinaya, so people lose respect. And when people lose respect, the support for the Sāsana, the religion, decreases and that causes the disappearance of the true Dhamma. The fourth, they have no reverence for training. The training generally refers to the training of sila, samadhi and panna. So in this, the teachings of the Buddha, we are supposed to study the words of the Buddha and train in them. But some people, they have no interest to train in the teachings of the Buddha. This training is especially more important for renunciants, for monks and nuns. Lastly, they have no reverence for concentration samadhi. Samadhi in the Buddha's teachings always refers to the four jhanas. always refer to the four jhanas. In fact, in the Majjhima Nikaya, there's one sutta where Ananda was asked, what type of meditation is praised by the Buddha? And Ananda said, the first jhana, the second jhana, the third and the fourth jhana. So, from here you can see, Buddhist meditation are the four jhanas. But nowadays, people say that Buddhist meditation is vipassana. But vipassana in the suttas has nothing to do with meditation. In the suttas, vipassana is contemplation. That means listening to the Dhamma and digesting it. When you understand the Dhamma, that is vipassana, contemplation. Both of these conditions are necessary. Samatha and Vipassana, concentration and contemplation, both are necessary for liberation. He says, this last reason for the disappearance of the true Dharma is people have no respect for jhāna, concentration. So you find nowadays some monks saying, what's the use of jhāna? When you dwell in jhāna, you have no mindfulness. This utter rubbish shows a total ignorance of the suttas. Okay, then to continue. There are five things, Kasapa, that lead to the longevity of the true Dharma, to its non-decay and non-disappearance. What are the five? Here the monks, the nuns, the male lay followers and the female lay followers dwell with reverence and deference towards the teacher. That is the Buddha. They dwell with reverence and deference towards the Dhamma. They dwell with reverence and deference towards the Sangha. They dwell with reverence and deference towards the training. They dwell with reverence and deference towards concentration. These Kassapa are the five things that lead to the longevity of the true Dhamma, to its non-decay and non-disappearance. That's the end of the Sutta. In Vinaya books, there is a section where the Buddha was asked Do all the Buddhas teach the same? And do the Buddhist religion, the sasana, all last the same length of time? Something like that. And the Buddha said, no. There are certain Buddhas who teach a lot of suttas and vinaya. There are certain Buddhas who teach little suttas and vinaya. And the Buddha said, those that teach much sutta and vinaya, then the sasana, the Buddhist religion, lasts a long time. whereas some Buddhas, when they don't teach much suttas and vinaya, then the sasana does not last so long. The other point he mentioned was that after a Buddha has passed on into Nibbana, then it is up to the monks to turn the dharma wheel. So if the monks are diligent and they practice according to the sutras and the Vinaya and they teach the dharma and they spread the dharma, then the sasana lasts long. So in the absence of the Buddha himself, the sasana's life depends on the monks. So either the monks can prolong the sasana or the monks themselves shorten the life of the sasana. So this is an excellent sutra. One we have to keep in mind. Out of these five things that cause the disappearance of the true Dhamma, the last two are very important. We should have respect for the training and respect for concentration. And of course, if we have respect for the Dhamma, that means we have respect for the sutras. And if we practice according to the sutras, then the Sangha also is respected and the Dhamma will last long. Now we come to the next Sanghuta, number 17, Labasakara Sanghuta. These discourses are connected with gains and honor. Actually, it's another way of saying is fame, fame and offerings. If a monk has fame and a lot of offerings, it's a great danger to him. So these suttas here are all connected with that. 17.3. At Savatthi, the Buddha said, monks, dreadful again, honor and praise, bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will abandon the arisen gains, honour and praise, and we will not let the arisen gains, honour and praise persist obsessing our minds. Thus should you train yourselves. Once in the past, there was a large family of turtles that had been living for a long time in a certain lake. Then one turtle said to another, Dear turtle, do not go to such and such a region. But that turtle went to that region, and the hunter struck him with a corded harpoon. Then that turtle approached the first one. When the first turtle saw him coming in the distance, he said to him, I hope, dear turtle, that you didn't go to that region. I did go to that region, dear. I hope you haven't been hit or struck, dear. I haven't been hit or struck, but there is this cord constantly following behind me. Indeed, you have been hit, dear turtle. Indeed, you have been struck. Your father and grandfather also met with calamity and disaster on account of such a chord. Go now, dear turtle. You are no longer one of us. Hunter monks, this is a designation for Mara, the evil one. Chorded harpoon, this is a designation for gains, honors, and praise. Chord is a designation for delight and lust. Any monk who relishes and enjoys the arisen gains, honour and praise is called a monk who has been struck with a corded harpoon, who has met with calamity and disaster, and the evil one can do with him as he wishes. So dreadful monks are gains, honour and praise. so bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will abandon the arisen gains, honours and praise, and we will not let the arisen gains, honours and praise persist, obsessing our minds. Thus, you should train yourselves." That's the end of the sutta. So here, This turtle, even though he was warned not to go to that particular region, but he still went. And he got struck by a corded harpoon. I didn't even realize it. He went back. Of course, when the hunter decides to pull the cord, then only this turtle will realize that he stuck fast to the cord. here in particular this sutra is referring to some monks some monks because of becoming famous and getting a lot of offerings and then they take delight in that and they crave for name and offerings so they are struck with this quote by Mara and they don't even realize it they only realize it when death comes and then they see they're going off to a bad rebirth. But then this sutra does not only apply to monks, it also applies to lay people. Sometimes you are attached to a crave, is craving for certain things, sensual desire, the six senses, the five senses. So just like for example somebody who is a drunkard, he is appooned by this liquor. So he cannot escape this craving for liquor or a drug addict. So he will not suffer until What he craves for is missing. He cannot get drugs. And then it's as though Mara is pulling the cord for when he dies. And he dies because of the craving for, for example, drugs. Then he will be born as a hungry ghost, always craving. Hungry for this, hungry for that. 17.5. Asavati, the Buddha said. Monks, dreadful are gains, honours and praise. Bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will abandon the arisen gains, honours and praise, and we will not let the arisen gains, honours and praise persist obsessing our minds. Thus should you train yourselves. Suppose there was a beetle, a dung eater, stuffed with dung, full of dung, and in front of her was a large dung hill. Because of this, she would despise the other beetles, thinking, I am a dung eater, stuffed with dung, full of dung, and in front of me there is a large dung hill. So too monks. A monk here whose mind is overcome and obsessed by gains, honors, and praise, dresses in the morning, and taking bowl and robe, enters a village or town for alms. There he would eat as much as he wants. He would be invited for the next day's meal, and his alms food would be plentiful. When he goes back to the monastery, he boasts before a group of monks, I have eaten as much as I want. I have been invited for tomorrow's meal, and my alms food is plentiful. I am one who gains robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicinal requisites. But these other monks have little merit and influence, and they do not gain robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicinal requisites. Thus, because his mind is overcome and obsessed by gains, honors, and praise, he despises the other well-behaved monks. That will lead to the harm and suffering of this senseless person for a long time. So dreadful monks are gains, honors, and praise. the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha likens a person who has a monk who has a lot of offerings to this dung beetle who's stuffed with dung shit. In one of the suttas, the Buddha said that before he was enlightened, he had five dreams, like prophesying what was going to happen. One of these dreams, he dreamt that he walked on a hill full of dung. Even though he was walking on this hill full of dung, he was not dirtied by all this dung around him. Then when he woke up, then he realized that in the future he will become famous and he will get a lot of offerings and all that. But he was not attached, he would not be attached to it. So if he's not attached to it, then he's not dirtied by all the offerings. So he likened all the offerings to shit, to dung. If you attach to it, then you become dirty, just like the dung. 17.8 at Savatthi. Monks, dreadful are gains, honours and praise, etc. Did you hear an old jackal howling when the night was fading? Yes, Venerable Sir, that old jackal is afflicted with a disease called mange. He cannot feel at ease whether he goes into a cave, or to the foot of a tree, or into the open air. Wherever he goes, wherever he stands, wherever he sits, wherever he lies down, there he meets with calamity and disaster. So two monks, a monk here whose mind is overcome and obsessed with gains, honours and praise, does not feel at ease whether he goes into an empty hut, or to the foot of a tree, or into the open air. Wherever he goes, wherever he stands, wherever he sits, wherever he lies down, there he meets with calamity and disaster. So dreadful monks are gains, honours and praise. The end of the sutta. So here, this old jackal, has got this skin disease, mange, which makes him very itchy. He's so itchy that he is so troubled. His mind is so troubled by this itch. Wherever he goes, he's not comfortable. So also, if a monk is obsessed with name, fame, and offerings, then he's always thinking about this. And he is always conscious whether he is famous or not, and whether his offerings are a lot or not. So wherever he goes, his mind cannot stop thinking about all this rubbish. 17.11, at Savatthi. Monks, dreadful against honours and praise, etc., like before. Monks, I have known of a certain person here, whose mind I have encompassed with my own mind. This venerable one would not tell a deliberate lie, even for the sake of a golden bowl filled with powdered silver. Just some time later, I see him, his mind overcome and obsessed by gains, honors, and praise, telling a deliberate lie. So dreadful monks are gains, honors, and praise. So here, the Buddha is saying, there's a certain monk, he's a very good monk. He would not lie, even for a lot of money. Yet, later when he becomes famous and gets a lot of offerings, he becomes a very different person. then he starts to lie and all these things. So a person can change. So if you allow these, what we call the eight winds, praise and blame, fame and insignificance and all these things, if you are worried about these things, then it affects you, the person's character can be affected. So it's good for a monk to stay in a forest monastery away from town. If a monk stays in town, he gets to become famous. He gets a lot of offerings and all this can change him. 17.23 at Savatthi. Monks dreadful against honours and praise etc. A faithful female lay follower, rightly imploring her only son, dear and beloved, might implore him thus, Dear, you should become like Citta, the householder, and Ataka of Alavaka. For this is the standard and criterion for my male disciples who are lay followers, that is, Citta, the householder, and Ataka of Alavaka. But if, dear, you go forth from the household life into homelessness, you should become like Sariputta and Moggallana. For this is the standard and criterion for my male disciples who are monks, that is, Sariputta and Moggallana. While, dear, you are a trainee, one who has not yet reached his mind's ideal, may gains, honours and praise not come upon you. Monks, against honours and praise, come upon a monk while he is a trainee, one who has not yet reached his mind's ideal. This is an obstacle for him. So dreadful monks, against honours and praise. Bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage, etc. So, the Buddha is saying, a layperson, a layman, should try to emulate, to follow the example of citta, the householder, and hatakka, or alavaka. And if a person goes forth and becomes a monk, then he should try to become like Sariputta or Moggallana. And in the end, the Buddha says, if a monk is a trainee, that means has not attained arahanthood, then This fame and offerings are an obstacle. That's why a monk should not allow this fame and offerings to affect him, especially fame. Once a monk becomes famous, it's very, very difficult to practice. That's why That's why sometimes people ask me whether there are arahants in the world. So I usually tell them, even if there are arahants in the world, they don't want to be famous. If they become famous, they'll be so busy. They have no time to enjoy the bliss of jhana. There's another sutra that the Buddha actually said this. 17.24 at Sabbathi. monks, grateful, are gains, honors and praise, etc. A faithful female lay follower, rightly imploring her only daughter, dear and beloved, might implore her thus, Dear, you should become like Kujuttara, the lay follower, and Velu Kandakya, Nanda's mother, Nandamata. For this is the standard and criterion for my female disciples who are lay followers, that is, Kujuttara, the lay follower, and Velu Kandakya, Nanda's mother. But if, dear, you go forth from the household life into homelessness, you should become like the nuns Kema and Upalavana, for this is the standard and criterion for my female disciples who are nuns, that is, Kema and Upalavana. While, dear, you are a trainee, one who has not yet reached her mind's ideal, may Gain's honors and praise not come upon you. Monks, against honours and praise, come upon a nun while she is still a trainee, one who has not yet reached her mind's ideal. This is an obstacle for her. So dreadful monks, against honours and praise. That's the end of the Sutta. So similarly, the Buddha says for lay women, they should try to follow Kujuttara and Velukandakya. And if they become a nun, then they should try to follow, to be like Kema and Upalavana. 17.30, at Savatthi. Monks, gains honours and praise, I say, are an obstacle even for a monk who has an arahant, one with asavas destroyed. When this was said, the Venerable Ananda asked the Blessed One, Why, Venerable Sir, are gains, honours and praise an obstacle even for a monk with asavas destroyed? And the Buddha said, I do not say Ananda that gains, honours and praise are an obstacle to his unshakable liberation of mind, but I say they are an obstacle to his attainment of those pleasant dwellings in this very life, which are achieved by one who dwells diligent, ardent and resolute. So dreadful, Ananda, are gains, honors, and praise, so bitter, vile, obstructive to achieving the unsurpassed security from bondage. Therefore, Ananda, you should train yourselves thus. We will abandon the arisen gains, honors, and praise, and we will not let the arisen gains, honors, and praise persist, obsessing our minds. Thus should you train yourselves." That's the end of the sutta. So here, the Buddha says, even for an arahant, Fame and offerings are an obstacle even for an arahant because that will affect his abiding in jhana. An arahant of course can easily abide in jhana, but if he becomes famous and people want to offer him all the time, then he has got to spend a lot of time with lay people and so you will not have time to abide in jhana. So good monks who are really good meditation monks, they don't spend too much time with lay people. They try to spend more time in their meditation. 17.36. While dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary, Now on that occasion, Prince Ajatasattu was going to attend upon Devadatta morning and evening with 500 carts. Then offering of food was conveyed to him in 500 pots. Then a number of monks approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and reported this matter to the Blessed One. I'll stop here for a moment. So this one, at that time, this Ajatasattu was just a prince, had not become a king yet. And Devadatta, at that time, because of his good practice, Devadatta had attained all eight jhanas, four rupa jhanas and four arupa jhanas. And because of that, he had great psychic power. So he could turn himself, at one time, he turned himself into a snake and manifested this to this prince, Jatasattu. So the prince was so impressed with him, this prince, was offering him, morning and evening, 500 carts of food. At that time, the Buddha had not made this rule, probably, that a monk can only eat in the morning. So, since the Buddha had not made this rule, a monk could eat as many times as he wanted. So here, he was getting his morning meal and his dinner. So, Then a number of monks approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side and reported this matter to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said, Monks, do not be envious of Devadatta's gains, honours and praise. As long as Prince Sajatasattu goes to attend upon Devadatta morning and evening with 500 carts and with an offering of food, and an offering of food is conveyed to him in five hundred pots. Only decline can be expected of Devadatta in regard to wholesome states, not growth. Just as a wild dog becomes even wilder when they sprinkle bhaal over its nose, so too monks. As long as Prince Ajatasattu goes to attend upon Devadatta, morning and evening with 500 casks and an offering of food is conveyed to him in 500 pots. Only decline can be expected of Devadatta in regard to wholesome states, not growth. So dreadful monks are against honours and praise. That's the end of the sutta. So you can see here this Devadatta Because he attained psychic power and he got all these offerings. You see, one meal he gets 500 pots. One meal. That's a lot of food. 500 pots. Even one or two pots or three pots is enough to fill your stomach. But he gets 500 pots. And he got the gold. He got the chip to accept all these offerings. So that's why The other day when we read the sutra about the Buddha saying those of the same kind come together, then the Buddha mentioned, you see, Devadatta, he and all his disciples are all greedy, evil desires. So you see, there are some people like Devadatta, even though the Buddha is his teacher, the Buddha found it impossible to teach him. Probably even if the Buddha advised him, he would not listen to the Buddha. So that's why there are only some people we can help, not everybody we can help. So the Buddha already saw for a long time that this Devadatta had evil desires. That's why the Buddha predicted Don't be jealous of him. He keeps accepting these offerings. He will only decline. He is not going to progress. So sure enough, later, when this Devadatta's ego was getting bigger and bigger, then one day he told the Buddha, Bhagavata, you are so old already. Why don't you step down? Let me take over the Sangha. He wanted to become the leader. So the Buddha was so annoyed with him. The Buddha said, who do you think you are? You want to take over my place. I don't even ask Sariputta or Moggallana to take over the Sangha. You want to take over the Sangha. So the Buddha said, you are like spittle, you spit out. So because the Buddha said he's like spittle, something unwanted. So he got so angry with the Buddha, he wanted to kill the Buddha. So he planned to kill the Buddha. And because he tried to kill the Buddha, all his psychic powers all disappeared. He lost all his psychic power. That's why all these psychic powers is not much use. The most important is right view. You have right view, you won't have all these evil desires, and you won't go to hell. And finally this Devadatta has got to go to hell.

42-SN-Rahula-(Ch.18)-Lakkhana-(Ch.19)-(2009-07-31).txt

Now we come to the next Sangyutta, Rahula Sangyutta. Rahula was the son of the Buddha. Before the Buddha renounced, he had a son. So when Rahula was seven years old, the Buddha asked, I think, Sariputta to ordain him. So seven years old, he became a samanera, a novice. And after that, he did not disrobe, he continued. So, of course, the Buddha probably paid some special attention to Rahula being his son. So that's why there are certain discourses connected with Rahula, where the Buddha taught Rahula some Dhamma. So the first sutra, 18.1. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove. Anathapindika's path. Then the Venerable Rahula approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and said to Him, Venerable Sir, it would be good if the Blessed One would teach me the Dhamma in brief, so that, having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed One, I might dwell alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent and resolute. What do you think, Rahula? Is the I permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, Venerable Sir. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, venerable sir. Is what is impermanent suffering a subject to change, fit to be regarded thus? This is mine, this I am, this is myself. No, venerable sir. Similarly, is the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, Sir. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, Venerable Sir. Is what is impermanent suffering and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus, this is mine, this I am, this is myself? No, Venerable Sir. Seeing thus, Rahula, the instructed noble disciple experiences revulsion towards the eye. revulsion towards the ear, revulsion towards the nose, revulsion towards the tongue, revulsion towards the body, revulsion towards the mind. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge it is liberated. He understands. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. That's the end of the sutta. You see this, the teaching of the Buddha here, that because the sense organs are impermanent, this that we take to be the self is impermanent. And because it is impermanent, it is a source of suffering. And because it is a source of suffering, it is not fit to regard it as I or mine. So this kind of instruction, this is the core, the essence of the Dhamma is basically this. So this kind of teaching you find in several suttas. When the Buddha taught this to several of his disciples who had already attained the fourth jhāna, just listening to this, they attained liberation, became arahant. But for most of us, when we listen to this sutta, We understand a bit, but because we don't see it so clearly, because of the hindrances in us, so we don't become arahant. Actually, the point of this sutta is that this that we take to be the self, our body and our mind, seem permanent. And this impermanence, because we don't contemplate much on it, We don't think, but we think actually that one day this body will grow old, will become ugly, will die, become sick and die. So if it's going to die one day, why you cling on to it? If you cling on to it, it will give you suffering. So the faster we let go of it, the faster we don't suffer so much. Later you see in one of the suttas, Buddha says contemplation of this impermanence is very important. If we keep contemplating impermanence, then we'll see the real nature of the world and the real nature of our body and mind. 18.21, at Savatthi, then the Venerable Rahula approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him and sat down to one side and said, This is one of the suttas that are repeated. It is also found in the Anguttara Nikaya 3.32 and also in the Samyutta Nikaya in another place, Sutta 22.71 and 22.76. Parable Sir, how should one know, how should one see, so that in regard to this body with consciousness and in regard to all external signs, eye-making, mind-making and the underlying tendency to conceive no longer occurs within? Stop here. for a moment. So here whenever Rahula is asking the Buddha, how should we contemplate so that we can get rid of this conceit, this tendency to think that I am, I exist. Once you have the I, then you have the mine, my family, my relations and all that. So if you can really see clearly, then you can attain liberation. Then the Buddha said, Any kind of form whatsoever, Rahula, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, one sees all forms as it really is with correct wisdom thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Similarly, any kind of feeling whatsoever, any kind of perception, any kind of volition, any kind of consciousness whatsoever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, one sees all of these aggregates as it really is with correct wisdom thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. When one knows and sees thus, Rahula, then in regard to this body with consciousness and in regard to all external signs, eye-making, mind-making and the underlying tendency to conceit no longer occurs within. at the end of the Sutta. So this Sutta is concerned with the five aggregates. That's why this Sutta is repeated in the Samyutta about the five aggregates. So the Buddha is saying that these five aggregates are basically the body and the mind. We should see clearly that they are impermanent. Because they are impermanent, they are a source of suffering. And because there is also suffering, we should not take it to be I or mine. So for this Rahula Sankyuta, I am only reading these two suttas. Now we come to Sankyuta number 19, Lakkhana Sankyuta. Lakkhana is a monk. His discourses concern questions that he asks. 19.1 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrel Sanctuary. On that occasion, the Venerable Lakkhana and the Venerable Mahamoggalana were dwelling on Mount Valchupi. Then in the morning, the Venerable Mahamoggalana dressed, and taking bowl and rope, he approached the Venerable Lakkhana and said to him, Come friend Lakkhana, let us enter Rajagaha for alms. So they wanted to go on Pindapatna, Armstrong. All right friend, the Venerable Lakkhana replied. Then as he was coming down from Mount Balchepi, the Venerable Maha Moggallana displayed a smile in a certain place. The Venerable Lakkhana said to him, for what reason, friend Moggallana, did you display a smile? This is not the time for that question, friend Lakkhana. Ask me that question when we are in the presence of the Blessed One. Stop here for a moment. So the two monks, they were walking down the hill to go on alms round very early in the morning. Then Venerable Mahamoggalana, because he got psychic power, he saw some spirit. And then when he contemplated the spirit, usually it was a ghost. Then he smiled and then Venerable Lakkhana asked him, because Venerable Lakkhana probably didn't have the psychic power to see. So Venerable Lakkhana asked him, why did you smile? He said, wait until later, you ask me in front of the Buddha. Then when the Venerable Lakkhana and the Venerable Mahamoggalana had walked for alms in Rajagaha and returned from their alms round, after their meal they approached the Blessed One. Having paid homage to the Blessed One, they sat down to one side, and the Venerable Lakkhana said to the Venerable Mahamoggalana, Here, as he was coming down from Mount Vulture Peak, the Venerable Mahamoggalana displayed a smile in a certain place. For what reason, Friend Moggalana, did you display that smile?" Venerable Maha Moggalana said, Dear friend, as I was coming down from Mount Vulture Peak, I saw a skeleton moving through the air. Vultures, crows and hawks following it in hot pursuit were pecking at it between the ribs, stabbing it and tearing it apart while it uttered cries of pain. It occurred to me It is wonderful indeed, it is amazing indeed, that there could be such a being, that there could be such a spirit, that there could be such a form of individual existence. Then the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, monks, there are disciples who dwell having become vision, having become knowledge, in that a disciple can know, see, and witness such a sight. In the past monks, I too saw that being, but I did not speak about it, for if I had spoken about it, others would not have believed me, and if they had not believed me, that would have led to their harm and suffering for a long time. That being monks used to be a cattle butcher in this same Rajagaha, having been tormented in hell for many years, for many hundreds of years, for many thousands of years, for many hundreds of thousands of years, as a result of that karma. As a residual result of that same karma, he is experiencing such a form of individual existence. It's the end of the sutta. So here, Venerable Mahamoggalana saw a ghost with a skeleton body flying through the air. And these vultures and crows and hawks were chasing it and pecking at it. And he was crying and flying and crying and flying and crying. So the Buddha said he used to be a cattle butcher. He used to slaughter. cows. So after that he went to hell for a long time and after coming out of hell he's still suffering as a ghost. Then all the other suttas in this Samyutta follow the same pattern and only thing is the different things that Venerable Maha Moggallana saw. The second sutta he said after being asked. He said, Dear friend, as I was coming down from Mount Bauchepi, I saw a piece of meat moving through the air. Bauches, crows, and hawks, following it in hot pursuit, were stabbing at it and tearing it apart as it uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, That being monks, was a cattle butcher in this same Rajagaha. So this second one, he was also a cattle butcher, But instead of being a ghost with a skeleton, he was a ghost full of meat. Maybe the first guy was always cutting the meat of the skeleton, so he was always thinking of the skeleton, so he was born as a skeleton. This one was always chopping the meat. And the third sutta also saw a lump of meat. And the Buddha said, that being was a poultry butcher in this same Rajagaha. He used to slaughter chickens. The fourth one, I saw a flayed man. The flayed man means a ghost with all the skin removed. That being was a sheep butcher in the same Rajagaha. The Fifth Sutta, I saw a man with body hairs of swords moving through the air. Those swords kept on rising up and striking his body while he uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that being was a hog butcher in this same Rajagaha. He used to slaughter pigs. The Sixth Sutta. I saw a man with body hairs of spears moving through the air. Those spears kept on rising up and striking his body while he uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that being was a deer hunter in this same Rajagaha. The Seventh Sutta. I saw a man with body hairs of arrows moving through the air. Those arrows kept on rising up and striking his body while he uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that being was a torturer in this same Rajagaha. That means he worked for the king. So when any criminal was to be tortured, he used to torture people. But now he's in pain. The eighth sutta. I saw a man with body hairs of needles moving through the air. Those needles kept on rising up and striking his body while he uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that being was a horse trainer in this same Rajagaha. You see, when they train horses, they have to beat the horses, they have to poke the horses, so make the horses suffer, to discipline the horse, make the horse got to do what the trainer wants him to do. And usually a new horse is very stubborn, so they have to poke and all that. The 9th Sutta. I saw a man with body hairs of needles moving through the air. Those needles entered his head and came out from his mouth. They entered his mouth and came out from his chest. They entered his chest and came out from his belly. They entered his belly and came out from his thighs. They entered his thighs and came out from his calves. They entered his calves and came out from his feet while he uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that being was a slanderer in the same Rajagaha. Amazing, because see how much a person who slanders other people, talk bad about other people, then you create a lot of harm to that person. Even for monks, you know, sometimes assembly people, they don't like a particular monk. They will talk bad about that monk, and then he goes around. And then, so it does a lot of harm to his reputation. So this person, he was this type of person. So if you slander a virtuous person, then the kamavipaka, the result is much worse. So in this case, I don't know how many people he slandered, so he is born like that. Then the 10 Sutta. I saw a man whose testicles were like pots moving through the air. When he walked, he had to lift his testicles onto his shoulders, and when he sat down, he sat on top of his testicles. Waltzes, crows, and hawks following him in hot pursuit were stabbing at him and tearing him apart while he uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that being was a corrupt magistrate in this same Rajagaha. So you see, this corrupt magistrate, he does a lot of shameful things which he doesn't want people to know, doesn't want people to see. But when he's born as a ghost, then what is shameful is exposed. The 11th Sutra, I saw a man with head submerged in a pit of dung. And the Buddha said, that being was an adulterer in the same Rajagaha. You see, when a person commits adultery, he dirties the body. So here, the result is living in a shithole full of shit. The Twelfth Sutra. I saw a man submerged in a pit of dung, eating dung with both hands. And the Buddha said, that being monks was a hostile Brahmin in this same Rajagaha. In the time of the Buddha Kassapa's dispensation, he invited the Bhikkhu Sangha to a meal. Having had rice pots filled with dung, he said to the monks, eat, sirs, eat as much as you want from this and take away the rest with you. So here, this hostile Brahmin, he didn't like the Buddha and the monks. So he knew that if you invite them to a house for a meal, they will come for a meal. So he had all the shit put in the pots. So when the monks came, I invited them to eat shit. So he thought it was a big joke, but now his joke backfired. So he's eating shit for a long time. 13 Sutta. I saw a flayed woman moving through the air, vultures, crows, and hawks following her in hot pursuit, stabbing at her and tearing her apart while she uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that woman was an adulteress in this same Rajagaha. So this woman, having committed adultery, maybe did it often with a lot of men. So she was born as this ghost with all the skin removed. No skin, so when the birds attacked her, she was in great pain. 19.14 I saw a woman, foul-smelling and ugly, moving through the air. Vultures, crows and hawks following her in odd pursuit were stabbing at her and tearing her apart while she uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that woman was a fortune teller in the same rajagaha. You see, fortune tellers usually to make money, they will lie. Cheat people. So she was born as an ugly and bad-smelling ghost. 15. I saw a woman, her body roasting, sweltering, sooty, moving through the air while she uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that woman was the chief queen of the king of Kalinga. Of a jealous character, she poured a brazier of coals over one of the king's consorts. So this formerly, this chief queen, she was jealous of another wife. So this red-hot coal, she poured over the other woman. So now she's born as a ghost, the body roasted, burnt in pain. 19.16. I saw a headless trunk moving through the air. Its eyes and mouth were on its chest. Vultures, crows and hawks following it in hot pursuit were stabbing at it and tearing it apart while it uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said that being was an executioner named Harika in the same Rajagaha. So this executioner used to chop off people's head. So now he's born as a ghost without a head. But he still has eyes and his mouth on his chest. Sometimes people see ghosts also without the head executed. 19.17 I saw a monk moving through the air. His outer robe, bowl, waistband and body were burning, blazing and flaming while he uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that monk had been an evil monk in the Buddha Kassapa's dispensation. And then 18, I saw a nun moving through the air. Her outer robe, bowl, waistband, and body were burning, blazing, and flaming while she uttered cries of pain. And the Buddha said, that nun had been an evil nun in the Buddha Kassapa's dispensation. So these last two refers to monks and nuns. Monks and nuns who, they wear the robe, but they don't behave like a monk. They are corrupt, full of evil desires and all that. When they pass away, they have to suffer for a long time to pay up their credit card. I think I'll stop here. We went through a lot of suttas today. Anything to discuss? It's one of the reasons, people always like to find a shortcut. Just like some people say, oh, you recite the name of the Buddha, you can be born in heaven. But whereas the Buddha says, you have to behave like a heavenly being, then only you can be reborn in the heaven, not just recite the name. It's always the case, people always like to find a shortcut. You see, we learn the Dhamma. In Chinese, we say, swear for all. We follow the Buddha's footsteps. That is the proper way. But a lot of people, they think they come to Buddhism to pray, to pray to the Buddha for help, pray to the Buddha to fulfill their wishes. That is not what Buddhism is about. Buddhism is a do-it-yourself religion. where we have to do everything ourselves. So because of that, a lot of people, they are lazy, they are not, they don't want to put the effort, so they try to find an easy way out. Pray to Kuan Yin and all that. One of the costs of climbing to the Buddha Mount is to order a train, sometimes for a month. The lay people are greedy for merit so they like to make offerings to famous monks. Because if the monk has got some wisdom, he knows some certain things are not good for him, he should not accept. And he should not go around behaving like a movie queen, movie king, superstar, and all that. So a monk should know how to behave as a monk, not like some monks nowadays. Go around with the TV crew, following them everywhere. 688? What are the qualities of the... These Citta and Hattaka, they are Anagamin disciples of the Buddha. Anagamin disciples. And they are very exemplary in that they can be very good in their meditation and they are strong supporters of the Sangha. Monks come to the house on alms round and they support the Sangha. And yet, they are very humble. Even though the Anagamins have attained Third Fruit, third foot of the Aryan stage. Yet they are not proud. Even an ordinary monk comes to their house, they will pay respect, because they pay respect to the Sangha, not to the individual. And like this Chittam and Hathaka, because they are so knowledgeable in the Dharma, whenever they have a group of monks, they invite a group of monks for dana, they will ask dharma questions of the monks. And if the monks don't know how to teach dharma, they will teach dharma to the monks. They are so good. So among the lay people, they are the cream. So whereas this Kujjutara and Velu Kandakya, what we know is they are also anagamins. about them there is not much spoken of in the suttas first in the suttas they are more about this citta and hatakka so probably they are in the same standard yeah so like this this lay woman i think this velu kandakya or maybe both of them they they are psychic they have psychic powers so like one night there's one sutta where this Velu Pandakya, Nanda Mata, in the night she was doing some chanting. Then the Yakka king flew by and then heard her chanting and then descended and spoke to her like her chanting. And then also this Yakka Deva Raja told her, in a few hours time, Reverend Sariputta and I think Moggallana and a few Arahant monks, they are coming here. You please do offer food to them. And you say, it is in my name. That means he wants the merit. So this lady said, I will make the offerings on your behalf. So the next morning when the monks came, She sent somebody to go and invite them to her house for a meal. And then they were surprised. How do you know? You never inform anybody that we came. How do you know that we came? And she said, this Deva Raja told me. And so also told me to make this offering on his behalf. So you see, devas also want merit. So it's up to you, if you are more familiar with the suttas then you would know more precisely what the Buddha is trying to say. But during the Buddha's time, it was not so bad. Like here now, the Buddha says, when he sees gains and fame, he's talking about the monk who goes to the, on alms round, he gets a lot of food and becomes very proud. But nowadays, the gains that the monks get is so many more times more than during the Buddha's time. They drive around in Mercedes, they buy shares, they have property. All this is horrible compared to the Buddha's time. Okay, shall we transfer merit?

43-SN-Opamma-(Ch.20)-(2009-08-01).txt

Okay, today is the 1st of August 2009, and we come to a new Sanyuta, number 20, 20th chapter of the Sanyuta Nikaya called Upama Sanyuta. This Upama means simile, and this word Upama is Pali. You see our Malay word is Umpama. Umpama probably that's derived from the Sanskrit. It's the same meaning, 20.1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savati in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There, the Blessed One said this, Mounts, this is all the rafters of a big house lead to the roof beam and converge upon the roof beam and all are and converge upon ignorance, and all are uprooted when ignorance is uprooted. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will dwell diligently, thus should you train yourselves." That's the end of the sutra. So, as the Buddha is saying, all unwholesome states and all evil karma that we do, it's all because of ignorance. People who have They do evil deeds and suffer for it later. So it's very important to remove ignorance by learning the Dhamma. And the Dhamma means the original suttas, discourses of the Buddha in the Nikayas. 20.3 Atsavati monks to assail those families that have many women and few men. So too it is easy for non-human beings to assail a monk who has not developed and cultivated, here it says, liberation of mind by loving-kindness. But I think probably a better translation is liberation of loving-kindness by the mind or or correctly, radiation of loving-kindness by the mind. Just as it is difficult for burglars to assail those families that have few women and many men, so too it is difficult for non-human beings to assail a bhikkhu, a monk, who has developed and cultivated a radiation of loving-kindness by mind. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will develop and cultivate Radiation of loving-kindness by mind. Make it our vehicle. Make it our basis. Stabilize it. Exercise ourselves in it and fully perfect it. Thus should you train yourselves. It's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha says, if a monk or even anybody does not develop loving-kindness metta, radiation of loving-kindness by the mind, that means your mind has to be quite strong and so that you can radiate loving-kindness. If you are able to do that, then it is typical beings to assail a monk. Assail a monk means to attack a monk. So elsewhere, somewhere else, the Buddha says that there are a lot of unseen beings around us and if we develop metta, loving-kindness, then that is how protection, they will not harm us. Firstly, those beings, deviant beings like ghosts and all that, their minds are very disturbed. They are very disturbed minds, very agitated minds. If a person can develop loving-kindness to the extent that it can radiate it, that means the mind is very calm, very calm. If your mind is very calm, then these beings, ghosts and all that, with agitated minds, they won't be able to come near you, because you are at a different frequency from them. So developing metta, loving-kindness, is very good. 20.4, at Savati, the Buddha said, monks, if someone were to give away 100 pots of food as charity in the morning, 100 pots of food as charity at noon, and 100 pots of food as charity in the evening. And if someone else were to develop a religion of loving kindness by mind, or develop a mind of loving kindness here, even for the time it takes to pull a cow's udder, either in the morning, at noon, or in the evening, This would be more fruitful than the former. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will develop and cultivate radiation of loving-kindness by mind, make it our vehicle, make it our basis, stabilize it, exercise ourselves in it, and fully perfect it, thus should you train yourselves. So what the Buddha says, if we practice loving kindness, even for a short moment, it is more fruitful than doing a lot of charity. If someone does a lot of charity, but he has a lot of anger or hatred, then his merit or the blessings from that charity is not so great. But if he has a lot of loving kindness, even if he does not give charity, It is more fruitful, more meritorious. 20.5. Monks, suppose there was a sharp-pointed spear and a man would come along thinking, I will bend this sharp-pointed spear with my hand or fist, twist it out of shape and twirl it around. What do you think, monks? Would it be possible for that man to do so? No one will serve. For what reason? back that sharp-pointed spear with one's hand or fist, to twist it out of shape or to twirl it around. That man would only experience fatigue and vexation. So, to monks, when a monk has developed and cultivated radiation of loving-kindness by mind, made it a vehicle, made it a basis, stabilized it, exercised himself in it, and fully perfected it, if an all-human being thinks he can overthrow his mind, let an all-human being That non-human being would only experience fatigue and vexation. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will develop and cultivate radiation of loving-kindness by mind. Make it our vehicle, make it our basis. Stabilize it, exercise ourselves in it, and fully perfect it, thus should you train yourselves." That's the end of the sutta. So here again, the Buddha is saying, if we can radiate loving-kindness, then our mind is very strong. A non-human being would not be able to overpower our mind. 20.6. The Buddha said, monks, suppose there were four firm bowed arches. trained, dexterous, experienced, and standing in each of the four directions. Then a man would come along, thinking, I will catch the arrows shot by these four archers in each of the four directions before they reach the ground, and then I will bring them back. What do you think, monks? Would this be enough to say, that man is a speedster endowed with supreme speed? The monk said, Rebel sir, even if if he could catch the arrow shot by one archer before it reached the ground and could bring it back, that would be enough to say, that man is a speedster endowed with supreme speed. There is no need to speak about the arrow shot by all four archers." And the Buddha said, monks, as swift as that man is, Still swifter are the sun and moon, as swift as that man is, and as swift as are the sun and moon, and as swift as are the deities that run before the sun and moon. The vital energies perish even more swiftly than that. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. You will dwell diligently, thus should you train yourselves." That's the end of the Sutta. So here the Buddha says that this vital energy that I translate here. Here the book says vital formations. The word is Ayu Sankara. Ayu is life. Sankara can be said to be conditioners, life conditioners. Life conditioners is our vitality, our vital energy. So the Buddha is saying Swifter than that man who can catch the arrows are the sun and the moon when they move in the sky. But swifter than the sun and the moon are the deities or the devas that fly before the sun and the moon. And faster than all of them is life passing by. one life after another lifetime. It's like a dream going by so fast. We think about it, we think about our childhood. When we think about childhood, I think that it's yesterday only I was a small boy or a small girl, 10 years old. And suddenly now I'm old already, white hairs on my head. and all that, not much time left. So just like that, that's why when the Buddha recalled his many past lives, so many thousands of lives, so many world cycles, then he realized that he had been through so many stages of life, so many existences and all the different type of existences he had gone through and he had been a world universal monarch, king that rules the whole world a few times and that was among human beings the best life. and so he was a bit sentimental about it also when he thought about that life which was so pleasant and he was so sentimental about it then when the Buddha was about to pass away he purposely went to that spot where he used to be the king of the whole world and he passed away there. Then Ananda asked him, Bhagavan, there are so many devotees in the cities, to be very glad to see you. Why you come to this way out place to pass away? And the Buddha said, don't say this is a way out place. Long time ago, there was a wheel-turning king, Wheel-turning monarch, king of the whole world, universal monarch. This was his capital. He used to be that king. So, you consider, actually, life passes by very fast. That's why the Buddha says in the Suttas that there are devas and devis whose lifespan is millions and millions and millions of years. But when it's time for them to die, and they think, oh, my life is so short. Still haven't enjoyed enough. That's why the Buddha says, life goes by so fast. 20.7 at Savatthi, Buddha said, Monks, once in the past, the Dasarahas had a kettle drum called the Samana. When the Samana became cracked, the Dasarahas inserted another pack. Eventually, the time came when the Samana's original drum head had disappeared. and only a collection of facts remain. So too monks. The same thing will happen with the monks in the future. And those discourses spoken by the Tathagata that are deep, deep in meaning, supramundane, dealing with emptiness, are being recited. They will not be eager to listen to them, nor lend an ear to them, nor apply their minds to understand them. And they will not think those teachings should be studied and mastered. But when those discourses that are mere poetry, composed by poets, beautiful in words and phrases, created by outsiders, spoken by disciples, are being recited, they will be eager to listen to them, will lend an ear to them, will apply their minds to understand them, and they will think those teachings should be studied and mastered. In this way, monks, those discourses spoken by the Tathagata, that are deep, deep in meaning, supramundane, dealing with emptiness will disappear. Therefore monks, you should train yourselves thus. And those discourses spoken by the Tathagata that are deep, deep in meaning, supramundane, dealing with emptiness are being recited. we will be eager to listen to them, will lend an ear to them, will apply our minds to understand them, and we will think those teachings should be studied and mastered. Thus should you train yourselves. That's the end of the Sutta. It's a very important Sutta. The Buddha gave a warning. In the future, just like the drum, when the drum starts to crack, they put a peg. over it. And then later they put another pack. Eventually the packs surround the drum and you can't recognize the drum. You only see packs all around. So in the same way, the Buddha is saying Right now, the suttas are available. This is the true Dhamma. But in the future, disciples, disciples meaning later monks, disciples of the Buddha, later monks, they will write other books which are beautiful sounding, interesting and all that. Then people will be interested in those, instead of the suttas, the original discourses of the Buddha. And then the Dhamma becomes impure, then the true Dharma will not be recognized. People will think the Dharma is what is in the commentaries in the later books like the Mahayana Sutras, the Abhidharma, the Jataka stories and all that. So that will conceal the true Dhamma. So here the Buddha says, this is created by outsiders. But the translation, the Pali text society is not created by outsiders, it is alien. Alien, that means it has nothing to do with the Dhamma, that is outside the Dhamma. Those later books are outside the real Dhamma and they are spoken by disciples. We know those later books, Abhidhamma and Visuddhimagga and Jataka stories and all that. Although there is some use in them, but unless you are familiar with the original teachings of the Buddha, then you may be led astray, you may be given wrong views. Right now, people think that jhanas, samadhi is not important. Vipassana is more important. This is totally contradictory to what the Buddha says. The Buddha always says that the jhanas are the footprints of the Buddha. In one of the suttas, the Buddha said that if a person wants to be enlightened, the various stages to attain enlightenment are the jhanas. just like a coral tree flower blooming at various stages. So too, when a person progresses to enlightenment, he must go through the various stages of jhana. So the Buddha is saying that we should take the trouble to study the suttas that are deep, deep in meaning. supramundane, transcending the world, dealing with emptiness. So Buddha is telling us that we should put importance on the suttas. In other books, just like nowadays, a lot of people instead of going to study the suttas, they are going to study all kinds of other related books. 20.8. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Sevesali in the great wood in the hall with the peak roof. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks, Venerable Sir, those monks replied. The Blessed One said, Monks, now the licharists dwell using blocks of wood as cushions. They are diligent and ardent exercisers. King Ajatasattu of Magadha, the Videhan's son, does not gain access to them. He does not get a hold on them. But in the future, the licharists will become delicate. with soft and tender hands and feet. They will sleep until sunrise on soft beds with pillows of cotton wool. Then King Ajatasattu of Magadha will gain access to them. Then he will get a hold on them. Monks Now the monks dwell using blocks of wood as cushions. They are diligent and ardent in striving. Mara, the evil one, does not gain access to them. He does not get a hold on them. But in the future, the monks will become delicate, with soft and tender hands and feet. They will sleep until sunrise on soft beds, with pillows of cotton wool. Then Mara the Evil One will gain access to them. you will get a hold on them. Therefore monks, you should train yourselves thus. Using blocks of wood as cushions, you will dwell diligent and ardent in striving. Thus should you train yourselves." So here the Buddha is saying that just as the lichabees, when they sleep, they use blocks of wood to sleep as cushions. So because it's not so comfortable, they can't sleep very long, they get up early. but later when they become luxurious then they want to sleep on soft bed and soft pillows and all that and then when they enjoy life too much then King Ajatasattu, their enemy, the neighbor will conquer their country, conquer them, overpower them. So in the same way, the Buddha is warning that monks, if they are ascetic, they strive hard, they don't sleep so much, they're not luxurious, then Mara cannot overpower them. But when the monks become luxurious, backslide, and become to enjoy life too much, then they will be overcome by Mara, the evil one. So the Buddha says that monks should be diligent, and always striving. 20.9 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's farm. Now on that occasion, a certain newly ordained monk was approaching families excessively. The other monks told him, the Venerable One should not approach families excessively. But when he was being admonished by them, he said, These elder monks think they can approach families, so why can't I stop you for a moment? So this new monk, he saw a lot of old monks, elder monks, going to visit lay people. So he thinks he also is entitled to visit the lay people frequently. Then a number of monks approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and reported this matter to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said, just now I forgot to say, in the previous Sutta, it was mentioned Tathagata, that is one of the names of the Buddha, Tathagata, thus gone one. In Chinese they translate it as Rulai, thus come one. But the actual meaning is just gone when Buddha is gone and won't come back. Then the Buddha said, monks, once in the past there was a great lake in a forest with bull elephants dwelling in its vicinity. Those elephants would plunge into the lake, pull up lotus stalks with their trunks, and having washed them thoroughly, would chew them and swallow them free from mud. This increased their beauty and strength, and on that account they did not meet death or deadly suffering. Their young offspring, emulating those great bull elephants, would plunge into the lake and pull up lotus stalks with their trunks. But without washing them thoroughly, without chewing them, they would swallow them along with the mud. This did not increase their beauty and strength. And on that account, they met death or deadly suffering. Stop here for a moment. So these big elephants, their experience, they jump into the pond, and then they pluck the lotus stalks, they clean them before they eat them. But these silly young elephants, they didn't notice carefully, they tried to copycat the Old elephants, they just took up the lotus stalks and ate them with mud and everything. So they became very sick or they died. So two monks, here the elder monks, rest in the morning and taking bowl and robe, enter a village or town for alms. There they speak on the Dhamma and the lay people show their confidence to them. They use their gains without being tied to them. uninfatuated with them, not blindly absorbed in them, seeing the danger in them, and understanding the escape. This increases their beauty and strength, and on that account they do not meet death or deadly suffering. The newly ordained monks, emulating the elder monks, dress in the morning, and taking bowl and robe, enter a village or town for alms. There they speak on the Dhamma, and the lay people show their confidence to them. They use their gains while being tied to them, infatuated with them, blindly absorbed in them, not seeing the danger in them, and not understanding the escape. This does not increase their beauty and strength, and on that account they meet death or deadly suffering. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will use our gains without being tied to them, uninfatuated with them. not blindly absorbed in them, seeing the danger in them, and understanding the escape. Thus should you train yourselves. That's the end of the sutra. So here, this sutra is about young monks. They see older monks doing something, and they think they're entitled to it also. That's a problem sometimes. New monks are a bit arrogant. So they think whatever the elder monks do, they also can or can't. And sometimes they don't ask for advice, they don't ask for permission, they just do as they like. So here, sometimes I see this also. So there is an example given, 20.10, a Svati. Now on that occasion, a certain monk was socializing with family successively. The other monks told him, Just now I wanted to say, there is a Zen story about a Zen monk and he was supposed to be a very experienced monk. So he had a lot of disciples and he told his disciples to be very mindful whatever they do. to do slowly, eat their food slowly, walk slowly, do everything slowly. So the disciples did that. But after some time, they complained to him. They said, Master, you asked us to do everything slowly, but we see you do everything so fast. Then the Master said, how can you compare with me? What the Master is trying to say. is that even though he does things fast, he is mindful because his mind is developed. He is mindful. He doesn't have to show that he is mindful. His mind is very sharp. Whereas these young monks, their minds are not trained, are not developed, so they think They have a right also to what their master does. They don't realize that their standard is different. 20.10 Naisavati. On that occasion, a certain monk was socializing with family successively. The other monks told him, the Venerable One should not socialize with family successively. But though he was admonished by them, he did not desist. Then a number of monks approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and reported this matter to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said, Monks, once in the past, a cat stood by an alley or a drain or a rubbish bin, watching for a little mouse, thinking, when this little mouse comes out for food, right there I will grab it and eat it. Then that mouse came out for food. and the cat grabbed it and swallowed it hastily without chewing it. Then that little mouse ate the cat's intestines and misandry. And on that account, the cat met with death and deadly suffering. Stop here for a moment. So this mouse, because of greed, without chewing the rat, swallowed it. Then the rat seems that it was still alive, went into the intestines and the big intestines and started to chew there. This reminds me about a year ago or something, we saw in the newspaper about the anaconda, one of the big snakes in South America. So it swallowed the alligator, crocodile. So it swallowed the crocodile and the crocodile went into its body and then the crocodile inside was half dead and then he gave one final kick, gave one final kick and tore the skin of this anaconda. So the anaconda body pierced, the anaconda died. Topo also died. It's a bit similar. Then the Buddha said, so too monks. Here some monk dresses in the morning, and taking bowl and robe, enters a village or town for alms, with body, speech and mind unguarded, without setting up mindfulness, unrestrained in his sense faculties. He sees women there, lightly clad or lightly attired, and lust invades his mind. With his mind invaded by lust, he meets death or deadly suffering. For this monk is dead in the noble one's discipline. That one gives up the training and returns to the lower life. This is deadly suffering, that one commits a certain defiled offence of a kind that allows for rehabilitation. That is the Sangha Dishesa. Therefore monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will enter a village or town for alms, with body, speech and mind guarded, with mindfulness set up, restrained in our sense faculties. Thus should you train yourselves. That's the end of the Sutta. Buddha says that when a monk goes or comes round, he has to guard his senses and be very mindful. Whatever you see, whatever you hear, you have to be equanimous. Otherwise, like here, some monks, they us full torch. But then in our arms round, we seldom see that. But if you're not mindful, then the common thing is that he will step on shin. Dog shin, he will step on glass. So that will teach you to be mindful.

44-SN-Bhikkhu-(Ch.21)-(2009-08-01).txt

Now we come to the next Sanghuta, 21. Bhikkhu Sanghuta. Bhikkhu are monks. Monks who are fully ordained. 21.1. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Savati in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. There, the Venerable Mahamoggalana addressed the monks thus, Friends, monks, Friend, those monks replied, the Venerable Mahamoggalana said this, Dear friends, while I was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in my mind thus. It is said, Noble silence, noble silence. What now is noble silence? Then friends, it occurred to me, here with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, a monk enters and dwells in the second jhana, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought directed and sustained, and has rapture and happiness, delight and happiness born of concentration. This is called noble silence. Then friends, With the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, I entered and dwelt in the second jhana, which has delight and happiness born of concentration. While I dwelt therein, perception and attention accompanied by thought assailed me. This sutra refers to the time before the Venerable Maha Moggallana was enlightened. Venerable Moggallana was formerly an ascetic with an external sect. He and Venerable Sariputta became disciples of the Buddha. Venerable Maha Moggallana, after becoming a disciple of the Buddha, Then he learned meditation, he learned the Dhamma and he strove so hard that after seven days he became enlightened. So for him to become enlightened in seven days, that means he actually didn't sleep, kept on striving. So this is that time. So here he's talking about Noble Silence. Noble Silence means the mind is totally silent. Our normal mind is always chattering, there's always like a conversation in our mind, thinking about this, thinking about that. But it's not a dialogue, it's a monologue. We are talking to ourselves. So, in the first jhana, you still have this, what is called skillful thoughts. You still have some skillful thoughts. Thoughts connected with your meditation. For example, when you enter the first jhana, then you think, ah, this is a very nice state. I must remember to retrace my steps. how to achieve this again. That kind of thought is not ordinary thoughts. But when a person enters the second jhana, the mind is so strong that thoughts cannot arise, arise at all. It feels like you have stabbed the energy in the world. So this rebel Mahamogana says on that occasion he attained the second jhāna. But after entering the second jhāna, then perception and attention accompanied by thought assailed me and thought started to rise again. Then, friends, the Blessed One came to me by means of psychic power and said this, ìMogllana, Mogllana, do not be negligent regarding noble silence, Brahmin. Steady your mind in noble silence. Unify your mind in noble silence. Concentrate your mind on noble silence. Then, friends, on a later occasion, with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, I entered and dwelt in the second jhana, which has in turn confidence and unification of mind, is without thought directed and sustained, and has delight and happiness born of concentration. If, friends, one speaking rightly could say of anyone He is a disciple who attained to greatness of direct knowledge with the assistance of the teacher. It is of me that one could rightly say this." End of the sutta. So here, when the rebel Muglana, he had difficulty staying in the second jhana, then the Buddha came to him. So because he was very sleepy so his concentration was not so good because the mind was not so strong yet then because he knew that the Buddha was looking at him with psychic power observing him so he dare not slack so he concentrated very hard he saw his energy and within seven days he became enlightened So he says, if anyone can see that he attained greatness with the assistance of the teacher, it's him. 21.2, at Savatthi, there the Venerable Sariputta addressed the monks thus. Friends, monks, friends, those monks replied. The Venerable Sariputta said, Dear friends, when I was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in my mind thus. Is there anything in the world through the change and alteration of which sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair might arise in me? Then it occurred to me, there is nothing in the world through the change and alteration of which sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair might arise in me." Stop here for a moment. So here he is saying that he could not find anything anything in the world or any person where because of impermanence there is change and alteration that it could give him suffering. Normally if you see like we are attached to our spouse or or they are attached to their children and something happens to them that means change and alteration either they get sick or they die or what not and you will suffer greatly but he says he could find nothing that could make him suffer and this was said remember Ananda said to the verbal Sariputta Friend Sariputta, even if the teacher himself were to undergo change and alteration, wouldn't sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair arise in you? I'll stop here for a moment. So here, Venerable Ananda wanted to test him. He said, because Venerable Ananda knows that there's nobody Venerable Sariputta loves and respects more than the Buddha. So he says, what if something happened to the Buddha? Would you feel any sorrow? And Venerable Sariputta said, Friend, Even if the Teacher Himself were to undergo change and alteration, still sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair would not arise in me. However, it would occur to me. The Teacher, so influential, so powerful and mighty, has passed away. If the Blessed One had lived for a long time, that would have been for the welfare and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the good welfare and happiness of devas and humans." And then, remember, Ananda said, it must be because eye-making, mind-making, and the underlying tendency to conceit have been thoroughly uprooted in the verbal Sariputta for a long time, that even if the teacher himself were to undergo change and alteration, Still, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair would not arise in him. It's the end of the sutta. So here, Ananda is praising Sariputta that he has uprooted that ego, the conceit. to think that I am, I exist, has been uprooted. So that's why he would not feel any sorrow. 21.3 On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Savarthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Now on that occasion the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Mahamoglana were dwelling at Rajagaha in a single dwelling in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. Then in the evening, the Venerable Sariputta emerged from seclusion and approached the Venerable Maha Moggallana. He exchanged greetings with the Venerable Maha Moggallana, and when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said to him, Friend Moggallana, your faculties are serene, your facial complexion is pure and bright. Has the Venerable Maha Moggallana spent the day in a peaceful dwelling? And he said, I spent the day in a gross dwelling, friend. But I did have some dharma talk." And Venerable Sariputta asked, With whom did the Venerable Mahamuglana have some dharma talk? And Venerable Mahamuglana said, I had some dharma talk with the Blessed One, friend. And Venerable Sariputta said, But the Blessed One is far away, friend. He is now dwelling at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Did the Venerable Maha Moggallana approach the Blessed One by means of psychic power, or did the Blessed One approach the Venerable Maha Moggallana by means of psychic power? And Venerable Maha Moggallana said, I did not approach the Blessed One by means of psychic power, friend, nor did the Blessed One approach me by means of psychic power. Rather, the Blessed One cleared His divine eye and divine ear element to communicate with me. and I cleared my divine eye and divine ear element to communicate with the blessed one. I stop here for a moment. So here, Maha Mughalana said that he did not fly to the Buddha and the Buddha did not fly to see him. But because they have the heavenly eye and the heavenly ear, even though so far away, they could see each other and they could talk to each other. What kind of Dharma talk did the Venerable Maha Mughalana have with the blessed one? And he said, Dear friend, I said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, it is said one with energy aroused. One with energy aroused. In what way, Venerable Sir, does one have energy aroused? The Blessed One then said to me, Dear Mughlana, a monk with energy aroused dwells thus. Willingly, let only my skin, sinews and bones remain. and let the flesh and blood dry up in my body. But I will not relax my energy so long as I have not attained what can be attained by manly strength, by manly energy, by manly exertion. It is in such a way, Moggallana, that one has aroused energy. Such friend is the Dhammatalk that I had with the Blessed One." So here the Buddha says, a monk who is energetic will think, body wither away, but I will not relax my energy until I have attained what can be attained by medley exertion. And then Venerable Sariputta said, compared to the Venerable Mahamuglana, We are like a few grains of gravel compared to the Himalayas, the king of mountains. For the Venerable Maha Moggallana is of such great psychic power and might that if he so wished, he could live on for an eon. Let's stop here for a moment. So here the Venerable Sariputta says that Venerable Maha Moggallana, his psychic power is so great that if he wanted to, he could live for Aeon is a life cycle, not a world cycle. Life cycle means like during the time of the Buddha, the average lifespan was supposed to be 100 years. So he could, if he wanted, live up to 100 years. Let's see what the notes here say. It seems it's actually a kappa, but the commentary says Ayukappa, the full human lifespan of 120 years. So here, it seems that the sutra says it is a kappa, a world cycle. I don't think that anybody can do it for a world cycle. So it could be that it means was supposed to be 120 years. Then, to Venerable Sariputta, praised the Venerable Mahamoggalana. Then Venerable Mahamoggalana said, Friend, compared to the Venerable Sariputta, we are like a few grains of salt compared to a barrel of salt. For the Venerable Sariputta has been extolled, ordered and praised in many ways by the Blessed One. As Sariputta is supreme in wisdom, virtue and peace, so a monk who has gone beyond at best can only equal him. In this manner, both these great Nagas rejoiced in what was well stated and well declared by the other. Agama means a great being, so these two chief disciples, they praise each other. Arunmaha Moggallana, his psychic power is the greatest among all the monk disciples of the Buddha. Remember Sariputta, his wisdom is the greatest among all the monks. 21.4, a Sabbati. On that occasion, a certain newly ordained monk, after returning from the alms round, would enter his dwelling after the meal and pass the time living at ease and keeping silent. He did not render service to the monks at the time of making robes. Then a number of monks approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side and reported this matter to Him. Then the Blessed One addressed a certain monk thus, come monk, tell that monk in my name that the teacher calls him. Yes, noble sir, the monk replied. And he went to the monk and told him, the teacher calls you friend. Let's talk here for a moment. You see, monks, when we, when monks live in a monastery, and there's something to be done, generally, all the monks should come together and help. That is expected, because we live together, we should cooperate and help each other. But if a monk does not come, sometimes the other monks are not happy with him. So like in this case, his friend, that monk replied, and he approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, Is it true, monk, that after returning from the alms-round, you enter your dwelling after the meal and pass the time living at ease and keeping silent, and you do not render service to the monks at the time of making robes? And he said, I am doing my own duty, Venerable Sir. Then the Blessed One, having known with his own mind the reflection the monk's mind addressed the monk thus, Monks, do not find fault with this monk. This monk is one who gains at will, without trouble or difficulty, the four Jhanas that constitute the higher mind, and provides a pleasant dwelling in this very life. And he is one who, by realizing it for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life enters and dwells in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life, for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, not by means of slack endeavour, not by means of feeble effort, is this Nibbana to be achieved, released from all suffering. This young monk, He's a supreme man indeed. He carries about his final body, having conquered Mara at his mouth. That's the end of the sutra. So here, the Buddha, after reading the mind of this monk, realized that he was already an Arahant. Then the Buddha told the other monks, no need to fight with him. So if a monk does not join the others in doing physical work, then he should be at least doing spiritual work. That means he should be practicing hard. So, that's the only time a monk has an excuse when he's actually meditating very hard or he's already attained Arahanthood. Otherwise, he's expected to join the other monks in work. 21.6 at Savatthi. Then the Venerable Lakhun Thakha Bhadia approached the Blessed One. The Blessed One saw him coming in the distance and addressed the monks thus, Monks, do you see that monk coming, ugly, unsightly, deformed, despised among the monks? Yes, Venerable Sir, that monk is of great psychic power and might. It is not easy to find an attainment which that monk has not already attained. And he is one who, by realizing it for himself, with direct knowledge, in this very life, enters and dwells in the unsurpassed goal of the holy life. for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness. This is what the Blessed One said, and He further said, Ye sherins and peacocks, elephants and spotted deer, all are frightened of the lion, regardless of their body size. In the same way, among human beings, the small one endowed with wisdom, he is the one that is truly great. Not the fool with a well-built body, the end of the sutra. So here the Buddha is saying, don't judge monk from his outside looks. So this monk, Lakuntakabodhi is ugly looking form and yet he is a great Narahana with great psychic power. So that's why when you look at suttas like this, or like in the case of Angulimala, who killed so many people yet could attain Arahanthood, then you realize actually all this talk about Paramisa is not valid. You don't need Paramisa. Paramisa is perfection. of character where they stated that the Buddha cultivated his paramis over a long period of time. Four Asankeya Kapas and 100 Maha Kapas meaning an eternity of time to perfect himself before he could become enlightened. But you find a case like this even though this person If you look at his ugly body, you think that he doesn't have much parami. Or if you look at Angulimala, who killed hundreds of people, then definitely he doesn't have much parami. And yet, they could become enlightened because they strove very hard. And they have the Dhamma to guide them. So that's why they become enlightened, not because of parami, but because of practicing the right path, namely the Noble Eightfold Path. 21.8. Then the Venerable Nanda, the Blessed One's maternal cousin, put on well-pressed and well-ironed robes, painted his eyes, took a glazed bowl, and approached the Blessed One. Having paid homage to the Blessed One, he sat down to one side, and the Blessed One said to him, Nanda, this is not proper for you, a clansman who has gone forth out of faith from the household life into homelessness, that you wear well-pressed and well-ironed robes, paint your eyes, and carry a glazed bowl. This is proper for you, Nanda. a clansman who has gone forth out of faith from the household life into homelessness, that you be a forest-dweller, an alms-wood eater, a rag-robes wearer, and that you dwell indifferent to sensual pleasures. This is what the Blessed One said, and he further said, When shall I see Nanda as a forest-dweller, wearing robes stitched from rags, subsisting on the scraps of strangers, indifferent towards sensual pleasures? Then sometime later, the Venerable Nanda became a forest dweller, an alms food eater, a rank robes wearer, and he dwelt in different two sensual pleasures. That's the end of the sutta. So you see this Nanda was the half, sometimes you say he's the half-brother of the Buddha. No, he's actually the cousin because Nanda was supposed to be the son of Mahapajapati, The Buddha's mother passed away seven days after giving birth to the Buddha and then the sister, the mother's sister was Maha Padapati. She looked after the Buddha as though his own her own son. At the same time she gave birth to Nanda. So and the way they grew up together. So after the Buddha became enlightened, Buddha managed to persuade Nanda to renounce. But Nanda was not very keen to renounce, to become a monk. He was engaged to a beautiful girl, supposed to get married. And then the Buddha led him to the forest and ordained him. So because he was not eager to become a monk, he was still very worldly. His robes also were iron. and put paint to his eyes, this thing, like some monks nowadays. But because he mixed with ascetic monks, and the Buddha criticized him, so he felt ashamed. then he changed his ways and became an ascetic monk and also realized enlightenment. So actually a lot of people in a way are like that. They come into monkhood with a lot of worldly habits and very delicate. There are some people who come and wear the robe very delicate, very sissy like that. But over the years if they live in the right environment, like in a forest monastery, they have to climb up the hill to clean the water source, they have to do all kinds of work, repairing the water pipe, sweeping the floor, and all that. Years later, they become tough. 21.9 at Sabati. Then the Venerable Tissa, the Blessed One's paternal cousin, approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him and sat down to one side, miserable, sorrowful, with tears streaming down. Then the Blessed One said to him, Tissa, why are you sitting there, miserable, sorrowful, with tears streaming down? Venerable Sir, the monks have attacked me on all sides with sharp words. And the Buddha said, that Tisa is because you admonish others but cannot bear being admonished yourself. Tisa, this is not proper for you, a clansman who has gone forth out of faith from the household life into homelessness, that you admonish others but cannot accept admonition in return. This is proper for you, Tisa, a clansman who has gone forth out of faith on the household life into homelessness, that you admonish others and accept admonishment in return. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, Why are you angry? Don't be angry. Non-anger is better for you, Thisa. It is to remove anger, conceit and scorn that the holy life is lived, Thisa. This is the end of the sutra. This Thisa, he likes to criticize others. It is very easy to see other people's fault. So he criticized others, but when other people saw his fault and they criticized him, he was not happy, could not take it. So the Buddha said, the holy life is lived to remove anger, conceit and scorn. So as we progress in the holy life, slowly our anger should reduce, our ego should reduce. If people practice the wrong way, you find their ego increase, they think they have some attainment. Instead of being more humble, they become more arrogant. So also their temper don't go down. So we are practicing the right way. Definitely your ego and your temper should go down. So the Buddha advised him, if you advise others, you should accept advice from other people also. We live the holy life to cut our ego. So it is proper that we accept criticism whenever we think it's coming from somebody who's sincere. So we stop here for tonight. Questions? How to cultivate Radiation of loving-kindness by the mind is stated in the Sutta that first you have to develop the first jhāna. After you develop jhāna, then your mind is strong. Then only you can radiate loving-kindness. That is the way taught in the suttas. But a lot of people, they don't have the ability to attain jhāna. So they just try to show their loving kindness to others. And you can do this in two ways. One is through your body language. The other is through your verbal language. So if you are kind to others, you practice loving kindness to others, you show it through your body action. When somebody comes, you stand up or something, or you invite them to take a seat or something. And then you show it through your verbal language. You speak kind words to people, you don't shout at people. So people can sense that you have loving kindness. So that is the initial part. But the higher, more advanced part is to be able to make your mind so strong that you can radiate it and other beings can know. I think that won't help so much because when you chant that one firstly you got to know what you're chanting because these spirits, these devas and ghosts they can read your mind so if you chant something that you don't understand it's not much point you have to know what you're chanting then they read your mind and they know what you are trying to say. So if they, some of them, when they listen to the chanting and they understand what you are saying, then they may react positively. But some of them, if they are too fierce, then words will not help. They may still attack you or something. It depends on the person. Generally, it does help. It does help if you repeat this, then you think about it, then you try to practice it more. It's like you're reminding yourself. Then you show to your body language and your verbal language to others that you have made the heart. No. but what is true is that just now you talk about boundless metta that is a very advanced stage if you can have boundless metta that means you are able to radiate metta boundless then you have achieved the rupa jhana state but most people even if you don't achieve that if you are able to radiate that means you have some jhana and you have some jhāna according to the suttas you are no more you don't you have overcome the passions when you say passions generally refer to anger and lust so if a person has attained jhāna these two go down considerably your lust and your anger will go down considerably But not the ego. The ego has to be eliminated by wisdom, by understanding the Dhamma, which is the Vipassana in the Buddha's teachings. Vipassana is contemplation of the Dhamma. After hearing the Dhamma or reading the Dhamma, then you contemplate and you understand and you have wisdom. The depth of wisdom also depends on your jhāna. If you have more samādhi, then you have deeper wisdom. If you don't have samādhi, you don't have concentration, then you have shallow wisdom. So like in the case of Devadatta, he had strong jhāna, but the ego was still very strong, so he had evil desires. Anagamin has overcome lust. But Anagamin, because he has come to that stage which is quite advanced, he has almost finished his work. So his selfishness is very small. He has only five higher factors remaining and that five higher factors are attachment to the form realm, attachment to the formless existence, formless rebirth and then ignorance and then conceit and restlessness. So this conceit is that I am, I exist. So it's not that strong selfishness. It's just a minute ginge of ego. Yes, that's why effort is important. There are some people who do charity but they are very greedy for merit. So they're very selective who they give their charity to. On the other hand, there are some people who are really generous. They help everybody that they can. My old devotee in Penang, Tao Yi, she supports any monk that comes to her house. She doesn't choose, speak and choose, and doesn't criticize monks like some people. People, they're very selective who they give dana to, and they don't like a particular monk, they'll talk bad about the monk and all that. It's not a good practice. Because I think Metta is, you can say, loving kindness is the root to a lot of wholesome actions. If you have Metta, then you have charity, generosity in your heart, you want to help others. And also you have Metta, loving kindness, you don't want to harm others. So you don't want to kill, you don't want to steal, you don't want to break up people's families by committing adultery, you don't want to lie and cheat people. So metta is the root of a lot of wholesome actions and conduct. That's why metta, loving kindness, is so important. Yes. Yes. If you have strong jhana, then you can radiate. It's not easy to radiate. It's almost like a kind of psychic power. Because if you are able to radiate out metta, then all beings around can You can feel your metta. Just like when I was young, I was in a Catholic school. They used to give me, the Christian brothers used to give me holy pictures. Sometimes you see this scene with birds on his shoulder and on his head and a deer comes to him and animals come to him because he can feel his love. So all beings want to come to you because they know you cannot harm them. If you have that kind of ability to radiate loving-kindness, then you can affect the area around you. The whole area around you will be very peaceful. Those beings with very disturbed minds, they won't be able to come near, because when they come near, they feel like the peaceful vibrations are just burning them. They said in the sutras that wherever an arahant dwells, that place is very peaceful. So all the arahants, maybe the anagamins around, because their mind has attained the four jhanas, then even anagamins, the place will be peaceful. So you find a place which is, you have a lot of violence, a lot of killing and all that. It shows there are no holy men around. Maybe most of them are in the north. Shall we end here?

45-SN-Bhikkhu-(Ch.21)-Introduction-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-02).txt

Okay, today is the 2nd of August and we are on the 21st Sang Yuta, Bhikkhu Sang Yuta. Now we come to 21.10. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. On that occasion, a certain monk named Elder was a lone dweller and spoke in praise of dwelling alone. He entered the village for alms alone. He returned alone. He sat alone in private. He undertook walking meditation alone. Then a number of monks, of course the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said to him, Here, Venerable Sir, there is a certain monk named Elder who is a lone dweller and who speaks in praise of dwelling alone. Then the Blessed One addressed a certain monk thus, Come, monk, tell the monk Elder in my name that the teacher calls him. Yes, Venerable Sir, that monk replied. And he went to the Venerable Elder and told him, The teacher calls you friend Elder. "'Yes, friend,' the venerable elder replied. And he approached the blessed one, paid homage to him, and sat down to one side. The blessed one then said to him, "'Is it true, elder, that you are a lone dweller, and speak in praise of dwelling alone?' "'Yes, venerable sir.' "'But how, elder, are you a lone dweller, and how do you speak in praise of dwelling alone?' Here, my humble sir, I enter the village for alms alone. I return alone. I sit alone in private. And I undertake walking meditation alone. It is in such a way that I am a lone dweller. I speak in praise of dwelling alone. And the Buddha said, that is a way of dwelling alone, elder. I do not deny this. But as to how dwelling alone is fulfilled in detail, listen to that. and attend closely, I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir. And how, Elder, is dwelling alone fulfilled in detail? Here, Elder, what lies in the past has been abandoned, what lies in the future has been relinquished, and desire and lust for present forms of individual existence has been thoroughly removed. It is in such a way, Elder, that dwelling alone is fulfilled in detail. This is what the blessed one said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said this. The wise one, all conqueror, all knower, among all things unsullied, the all cast off, liberated in the destruction of craving, I call that person one who dwells alone. That's the end of the sutta. So here, this monk by the name of Helder, he kept to himself. And so he claimed to be a lone dweller. But the Buddha said, that is true, but that is not fulfilled in detail. And the Buddha said, dwelling alone, actually, is to relinquish the past and don't crave for future rebirth, future existence. And even the present one, present forms of individual existence has been thoroughly removed. Desire and lust for it has been thoroughly removed. In other words, one has totally let go all desire for existence. Then there's nothing to occupy the mind. Then the Buddha says that is dwelling alone. So the Buddha is trying to say, dwelling alone is not so much the physical aspect, although the physical aspect is one aspect, but the Buddha says the mind, being alone in the mind, not having a mind that is occupied with this or that, that is really dwelling alone. This dwelling alone, sometimes, the Bali word is viveka, seclusion, and the buddha and the suttas talk about kaya viveka and citta viveka kaya viveka is like this monk bodily secluded he lives in a secluded place for example in a cave or high up in the hills or in the forest alone that is kaya viveka or even if he's stays in the monastery with other monks. He does not socialize with other monks. He keeps aloof. That is Kaya Viveka. But Citta Viveka is a higher standard. Citta Viveka is mental seclusion. That means your mind is detached. Detached from what? Detached from the world of the six senses. So because the world of the six senses is Dukkha, it's also a source of a lot of contact. If you have eye contact, you have ear contact, you have nose contact, tongue, body and mind contact. And because of contact, feelings arise and then thoughts and all that. The mind keeps going. So mental seclusion is meditating and going deep into your mind, attaining Samadhi. When you attain Samadhi, then slowly the world of the six senses withdraws away from you. So you are going back, as Ajahn Chah says, going back to our original home, going back deep into our mind. And arahants constantly abide in that, In that way, Citta Viveka secluded from the world. So the Buddha says that is more superior. 21.11, at Svabhati. Then the Venerable Maha Kapina approached the Blessed One. The Blessed One saw him coming in the distance and addressed amongst us. Monks, do you see that monk coming, fair-skinned, thin, with a prominent nose? Yes, Honourable Sir, that monk is of great psychic power and might. It is not easy to find an attainment which that monk has not already attained. And he is one who, by realising it for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life, enters and dwells in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life, for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the household life into homelessness. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, the Katia is the best among people. Katia is the warrior clan, noble clan. Katya is the best among people, for those whose standard is the clan, for one accomplished in knowledge and conduct, is best among devas and humans. The sun shines by day, the moon glows at night. The Katya shines clad in armor, the meditative Brahmana shines, the holy man shines. But all the time, day and night, the Buddha shines with glory. That's the end of the sutra. So in this Sutta, the Buddha is telling his disciples, look at this Mahakapina, he's one of the great arahants with mighty psychic power. This one, Mahakapina, is fair-skinned, he's thin with a prominent nose. So he's one of the four monks, if you remember, when we read the Sankhya Sutta about the Brahma, how the Buddha flew to the Brahma Heavens and emitted light, and four of his disciples came and sat in mid-air below the Buddha, who were then Mahamoggalana, Anuruddha, Mahakapina, Mahakassapa. These are the most powerful Arahants. Now we have just finished the second book of the Samyutta Nikaya. Now we are coming into the The third book of the Samyutta Nikaya, one of the most important books in all the Nikayas, is called the Khanda Vaga, the book of the aggregates. Khanda stands for aggregates, meaning the five aggregates. Five aggregates are the body, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. And these five aggregates, we associate with the self, either as I or mine, or I'm in the aggregates, or the aggregates are inside me. Now this Khandavagga, the name of the book is the Khandavagga. It's named after the first Samyutta, which dominates the entire collection The Bhaga contains this book, 13 Sankhyutas, but none of the minor ones even approaches the length of the Khanda Sankhyuta. The first Sankhyuta is the Khanda Sankhyuta, occupies in the Pali text 188 pages out of the total 278 pages of the book, which means two-thirds of this book is taken up by one Sangyutta itself, the Khandavagga. And then not only that, there are three other Sangyuttas inside this book which also have to do with the five aggregates. So practically this whole book has to do with the five aggregates, Khanda Sangyutta. This Khanda Sangyutta contains 159 suttas. And these suttas on the five aggregates are the most important of all the Buddha's discourses. Because the best way to see Anatta, to attain liberation, is to contemplate on the five aggregates. Another two ways is to contemplate on the six sense bases. Another one is to contemplate on paticca-samuppada, dependent origination. But generally, the Buddha says that contemplating the five aggregates is the most important. That's why I say that the suttas here are the most important of all the Buddha suttas. And inside this Khanda Samyutta, the first Samyutta, we find the Anattalakkhana Sutta. Anattalakkhana Sutta was spoken by the Buddha to his earliest five disciples. And when he spoke this sutta, Anattalakkhana Sutta, about the non-self characteristics of the five khandhas, then all of them attain liberation. So you see that's how important it is. And if we understand the five aggregates, we will at least, even if we don't become arahants, we will become a stream, etc. These five aggregates are called panca-kanda. Panca meaning five, kanda is aggregates. And generally, we also refer to them as the panca-upadana-kanda. Panca is five, upadana is clinging or grasping or attachment, and kanda is aggregates. So panca-upadana-kanda is the five aggregates of attachment. because generally we attach to these five aggregates. Now, in this note by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, he says, examination of the five aggregates plays a critical role in the Buddha's teaching for at least four reasons. First, because the five aggregates are the ultimate reference of the first noble truth, the noble truth of suffering. And since all four truths revolve around suffering, understanding the Abhigyeśa is essential for understanding the Four Noble Truths as a whole. You must remember, in the suttas, it is mentioned that when the Buddha attained enlightenment, he contemplated on the Four Noble Truths and attained enlightenment. And the Buddha also mentioned in one of the suttas that it is because of not understanding the Four Noble Truths that he had been going through the round of rebirths again and again. And only when you understand the Four Noble Truths do you get out of samsara, the round of rebirths. So understanding the Four Noble Truths is Very, very important. Now, in the First Noble Truth, in the description of suffering, the Buddha said, what is suffering? If I remember correctly, it's something like this. It says, birth is suffering, aging is suffering, dying is suffering. Not to get what one wants is suffering. To be separated from our loved ones is suffering. To associate with those we dislike is suffering. And then ultimately he says, in brief, the five aggregates of attachment are suffering. So these five aggregates are the source of suffering. So when you understand the five aggregates, then you understand the first noble truth of suffering. And remember Bhikkhu Bodhi continues. Second, because the Five Aggregates are the objective domain of clinging, and as such contribute to the causal origination of future suffering. So here he's saying that the object of clinging is the Five Aggregates. And they are the cause of future suffering. So if you understand the Five Aggregates, then you understand the cause of future suffering, which refers to the Second Noble Truth. Third, because the removal of clinging is necessary for the attainment of release, and clinging must be removed from the objects around which its tentacles are wrapped, namely the Five Aggregates. So here he is saying, the object of clinging is the five aggregates. So if you want to remove the clinging, you've got to understand the five aggregates. And fourth, because the removal of clinging is achieved by wisdom, and the kind of wisdom needed is precisely clear insight into the real nature of the aggregates. So you need wisdom to remove clinging. And wisdom here means understanding the nature of the five aggregates. Remember when we went through the dependent origination or suffering, the first cause was ignorance. And ignorance is not understanding the cause of suffering. and the cause of suffering is these five aggregates. So when you understand the five aggregates, then you eliminate that ignorance, and that is the start of eliminating the chain of suffering. Now these five aggregates, the first one is the body. What is the body? The body is a whole grid elements and the form derived from them. When we say body, we mean our body and we mean other bodies external to us. For example, my son, my daughter, my wife, my husband, I and mine. And then the condition for the continuation of the body is nutriment, edible food. And then the second aggregate is feeling. Feeling refers to the six classes of feeling. Feeling born of contact to the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. And the origin of feeling is contact. Contact is the condition for feeling to arise. Third one is perception. Perception means perception of form, sounds, odors, taste, tactile and mental phenomena. So perception is like you see something and you say this is yellow color. That is your perception of it. And then you may see that is blue. But somebody else who might be colorblind will perceive differently. So perception is not absolute. For example, I perceive a certain person to be very pleasant, but his enemy will perceive him to be a very nasty person. Or somebody perceives somebody else as beautiful or handsome, but another person looking may not perceive him or her as beautiful or handsome. So that is perception. Now the condition for arising of perception is also contact. When you have contact at the six sense doors, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind, feeling arises followed by perception and later followed by volition. So the fourth one is volition. The six classes of volition. Volition regarding forms, sounds, odours, tastes, touch sounds and mental phenomena. That means there is contact at the six sense doors and then As I explained just now, feeling, perception and later volition arises. So the condition for volition is also contact. And the fifth one is consciousness. The six classes of consciousness. Eye, consciousness, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind consciousness. And the condition for arising of consciousness is mentality and materiality, Nama Rupa. Because when Nama Rupa arises, Vijnana, consciousness also arises. And the same the other way. When consciousness arises, mentality and materiality also arises. Now, this ordinary people, ordinary people of the world, We have this Sakaya Diti. Sakaya Diti. And this Sakaya Diti is eliminated when you become an Arya, when you attain Sotapanna. When you attain Sotapanna, there are three factors that are eliminated. One of them is Sakaya Diti. What is Sakaya Diti? Sakaya Diti is translated as Identity View. That means you identify yourself with the body and the mind. You take the body and the mind to be I, the self, or mind. So, when you, here it says, This is the difference between the uninstructed, worldly or ordinary person, asuttava putujana, and the instructed noble disciple, suttava kariyasavaka. Suttava means instructed or learned. So an ordinary person who does not learn the Dhamma is still an ordinary person, but a person who listens to the Dhamma and understands the Dhamma, then he becomes an instructed noble disciple. So, to break this identity view and become an Arya, you have got to understand the nature of this The five aggregates, as I mentioned just now, are basically body and mind. The first one, body, is body. And then the other four are the mind, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. Sometimes some people make the mistake of thinking that Nama Rupa is body and mind. Nama Rupa is not body and mind. Nama Rupa is the object of consciousness. Because when consciousness arises, it must be conscious of an object. And that object is Nama Rupa. And it consists of two parts. One is the physical part and one is the mental part. So the physical phenomena is Nama. And the, sorry, the physical phenomena is Rupa. and the mental phenomena is normal. So that's why I mentioned that because of the perception that there is a self, so we feel that I exist or I am. And this perception of I am or I exist is that link called bhava, independent origination. At that time we went through the dependent origination. Bhava is translated as being. That means you have this perception that I am a being, I exist. In the dependent origination, we find that bhava conditions jati, birth or rebirth. So once you have the perception that I exist, then you see yourself coming into the world that is birth. So to eliminate bhava, we have to see how that I exist comes about. And we will slowly see when you read the suttas that they are connected with the five epic gates. Now, if you attain right view, then you are on the way to become a Sotapanna. When you attain right view, you have entered the stream. And to attain Right View, the Sutta Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta 43, tells us that the condition for Right View is to hear the voice of another. That means to hear the voice of a teacher teaching you the Dhamma. So actually we need a good teacher to guide us to attain Right View. Now the best teacher in the world is the Sammasambuddha. And lucky for us, fortunately for us, his voice is recorded in all these suttas, which have been transmitted 2,500 years down to us. So we are so fortunate that these words of the Buddha are here to guide us. So if we take the trouble to investigate these suttas, listen carefully and try to understand, then the chances of attaining Right View and becoming a Sutta Panna are very great. Now, this note by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi says that clinging to the five aggregates occurs in two principal modes. which we might call appropriation and identification. In clinging to the aggregates, one either grasps them with desire and lust, chanda raga, and assumes possession of them, or one identifies with them, taking them as the basis for conceit, or for views about one's real self. In a phrase often met with in the Kandasang Yuta, we are prone to think of the LPAs as, this is mine, this I am, this is myself. Here, the notion this is mine represents the act of appropriation, a function of craving. The notions this I am and this is myself represent two types of identification, the former expressive of conceit and the latter of views. So now, briefly, I will talk a bit about these five aggregates. Why is it that we associate the five aggregates with the self? First one is body. If your body is beautiful, you say, I am beautiful. If your body is tall, you say, I am tall. If the body is sick, you say, I am sick. So you see, we tend to associate the body with that I or mine. For example, my son. Your offspring, you say my son. This body is my son. This daughter, this is my daughter. So we either associate the body with the I or mine. The second one is feeling. When a pleasant feeling arises, you say I am happy. When unpleasant feeling arises, you say, I'm suffering, or I'm angry, etc. So it's very easy, you can see easily how feelings also, we associate with the self. That perception, like, I perceive this to be yellow, I perceive this person to be a nasty person, I perceive this man to be handsome or whatever. So this is also the perception also, we identify with my perception. And then the fourth one is volition. Volition is using your free will to decide to do this or not to do that. So when a decision is made, our mind works like a computer because of certain conditions and then The volition is created. So we think that I decided to do this, I decided to do that. But actually, the Buddha says there's no I inside. Just like Buddha gives the example of a banana tree. We start peeling the leaves of the banana tree trunk. In the end, you find there's nothing inside, no core. So similarly, the Buddha says when a decision is made, you think I Want this eye, don't want that. Actually, there's no eye in sight. So, that is well-wishing. And then the fifth, consciousness. Consciousness, the Buddha says, is like a conjurer. Conjures up one dream after another. One lifetime, you see yourself as a human being, and then if you lead a life skillfully, the next, you see yourself in the rebirth as a deva or a devi, et cetera. So, consciousness. This conjurer conjures up all these magic shows. So later, as we go through the suttas, you find these mentioned. So basically, that is about the five khandhas. So always remember, the five khandhas refers to the body, And the last four is the mind, body and mind. And we always associate the body and the mind to be I or mine. Whenever we refer to ourself in a past life, we say, oh, that person, that Indian man, was me in the past life. So you associate that body to be yourself. In that lifetime I experience happiness or I experience suffering. That feeling also you associate with yourself. Similarly for the other aggregates. Or when you refer to yourself now, or when you refer to yourself in the future life, you always refer to this body and the mind as I or mind as a self.

46-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-02).txt

Now we come to the first sutra of the Khanda Samyutta, chapter 22 of the Samyutta Nikaya, 22.1. Thus have I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the bhagas at Sumara Gira in the Besakala Grove, the Deer Park. Then the householder, by the way this is page 853, then the householder Nakula Pitta approached the blessed one, paid homage to him and sat down to one side. I'll stop here for a moment. This man Nakula Pitta is an old man and his wife is called Nakula Mata. Pitta and Mata means father and mother. So the son is called Nakula. So he is known as Nakula's father. His wife is known as Nakula's mother. And both of them, husband and wife, are a very loving couple. And according to the later books, they say that Nakula Pitta and Nakula Mata had been parents of the Buddha for many lifetimes. This is just a speculation. Then Akula Bita said to the Buddha, I am old, Venerable Sir, aged, burdened with years, advanced in life, come to the last stage, afflicted in body, often ill. I rarely get to see the Blessed One and the monks worthy of esteem. Let the Blessed One absorb me, Venerable Sir. Let Him instruct me, since that would lead to my wealth and happiness for a long time. The Buddha said, so it is, householder, so it is. This body of yours is afflicted, weighed down and encumbered. If anyone carrying around this body were to claim to be healthy even for a moment, what is that? Due to other than foolishness. Therefore, householder, you should train yourself thus. Even though I am afflicted in body, that means sick in body, my mind will not be my mind will be unafflicted. Thus should you train yourself. I'll stop here for a while. So here the Buddha says, yeah, it's true, your body is old and weak, often ill and all that. But the Buddha said, if anybody can claim that he is healthy, he is a fool. Because actually, our body is so unreliable, When you think that you are healthy, maybe cancer is already starting in your body. Ten years later only, it breaks out into a lump, then only you realize. So nobody is healthy, because anytime we can die. Then the Buddha said, you should train yourself in this way. Even though I am sick in body, my mind will not be sick. So you see, there are two aspects in us, the body and the mind. The body, we don't have much control. The body grows old, we cannot stop it from growing old. And then when it becomes sick, we also cannot stop it from becoming sick. But, Buddha says, your mind is within your control. So don't allow your mind to be sick. Then the householder Nakula Pitta, having delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One's statement, rose from his seat and having paid homage to the Blessed One, keeping him on his right, he approached the Venerable Sariputta. Stop here for a moment. You see this Indian tradition, whenever he wants to take leave of the Buddha, he keeps the Buddha on his right side as a mark of respect. In the Indian tradition, when we listen to the Dhamma, we wear our robe covering the left shoulder, but we expose our right shoulder as a mark of respect. Also, when we sit in line with the monks, you see the right side is always towards a more senior monk out of respect. So that's why the senior monk always sits on the right. So when he wants to take leave of the Buddha also, he always keeps the Buddha on his right hand and slowly walks away. He doesn't turn around with his back facing the Buddha. Having paid homage to the Venerable Sariputta, he sat down to one side. And the Venerable Sariputta then said to him, Householder, your faculties are serene. Your facial complexion is pure and bright. Did you get to hear a Dharma talk today in the presence of the Blessed One? Why not, Venerable Sir? Just now, I was anointed by the Blessed One with the Ambrosia of the Dhammatalk. Sometimes it's Ambrosia, it's translated as the Nectar of the Dhammatalk. With what kind of Ambrosia of the Dhammatalk did the Blessed One anoint you, householder? And then, here, Venerable Sir, I approached the Blessed One, and the householder, Nakula Pitta, repeats his entire conversation with the Buddha. It was with the ambrosia of such a Dharma talk, Venerable Sir, that the Blessed One anointed me." And Venerable Sariputta asked him, "'Did it occur to you, householder, to question the Blessed One further as to how one is afflicted in body and afflicted in mind, and how one is afflicted in body but not afflicted in mind?' And he said, we would come from far away, Venerable Sir, to learn the meaning of this statement from the Venerable Sariputta. It would be good indeed if the Venerable Sariputta would clear up the meaning of this statement. Let's stop here for a moment. So, Venerable Sariputta asked him, why didn't you ask the Buddha to explain what you mean by sick in body and sick in mind? And then secondly, sick in body but not sick in mind. Then he said, He admitted he forgot to ask. He said he would be willing to walk a long way to listen to Venerable Sariputta's explanation. And Venerable Sariputta said, Then listen and attend closely, householder. I will speak. Yes, Venerable Sir. The householder, Nakula Pitta replied. Venerable Sariputta said this, How, householder, is one afflicted in body and afflicted in mind? Here, householder, the uninstructed worldling, who is not a seer of the noble ones, and is unskilled and undisciplined in their dharma, who is not a seer of superior persons, and is unskilled and undisciplined in their dharma, regards form or body as self, or self as possessing form, or form as in self, or self as in form. Let's stop here for a moment. So here, Venerable Sariputta says, the instructed or unlearned ordinary person, the unlearned ordinary person is the Putujana, who is not the seer of the noble ones. Unlearned, only worldly, he does not like to associate with Aryans, noble ones. And so, because of that, he is unskilled in the Aryan Dhamma. He is not trained in the Aryan Dhamma. So he regards the body as the self, or self as possessing body, that means I am body, or body is mine, or I am in the body, or the body is inside me. He lives obsessed by the notions I am form. I think I use the word body, it's more meaningful. He lives obsessed by the notions, I am body, body is mind. As he lives obsessed by these notions, that body of his changes and alters. With the change and alteration of body, there arise in him sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. Similarly, regards feeling as self. perception as self, etc, volition as self, consciousness as self, etc. In other words, he regards these aggregates as the self, or self as possessing any one of these aggregates, or the aggregate is in the self, or the self is in the aggregates. Then he lives obsessed by the notions, I am the aggregates, the aggregates are mine. As he lives obsessed by these notions, to those aggregates of his changes and alters, to the change and alteration of the aggregates that arise in him, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. It is in such a way, householder, that one is afflicted or sick in body and sick in mind." Let's stop here for a moment. So here, the only person, he associates the five khandhas, the body and the mind, with the self. He thinks, ah, these five aggregates are me. or mind, or I am in the five aggregates, or the five aggregates are inside me. But these five aggregates, body and mind, are in the world, and everything in the world is changing. I think it is mentioned somewhere that we can see the body changing very fast, but we don't see the mind changing even faster. So when the body changes, for example, we grow old, we look at ourselves in the mirror, year by year we grow older, become uglier, the body becomes weaker, become sick more often. We are very lucky already, we don't get major sickness like cancer. So many people are getting cancer nowadays. So because of change in the body, and not only your own body, those you associate with yourself, like my son, my daughter. If anything happens to your son or your daughter because of impermanent nature of the world, then you suffer. For example, your son gets cancer, or your daughter gets cancer, or your mother gets cancer, and then you suffer because you associate that body, that other person, to be mind, I and mind. So there's the only worldly, only worldly regards, the body and the mind, whether his own or his beloved ones, to be I and mind. So when change comes and change must come, In this world, nothing ever stands still. It's constantly changing. That's the nature of the world. So when change comes and we want to hold on to happiness, we want it to change. And then when change comes, we suffer. That is how a person is sick in body and sick in mind. Sick in body is like your body changes or somebody else's body changes. And sick in mind is when you think about it, then you have mental suffering. In addition to the body suffering, you have mental suffering. For example, say your son last night went to the karaoke or somewhere and got into a fight and got killed. And then you suffer mental pain. When you think about it, one thought becomes ten thoughts. Ten thoughts become a hundred thoughts. A hundred thoughts becomes a thousand thoughts. This is the nature of the mind. The Buddha calls it Papancha, the tendency for proliferation of the mind. So, when you think so much, then the suffering becomes unbearable. Some people, because somebody they love has passed away, they become even mad. go out of their mind, deranged. On the other hand, say like somebody becomes sick, suddenly realizes that he got cancer. Then the cancer, the sickness of the body gives him physical pain that is sick in the body. And then when he thinks about it, that his life, the doctor says it's only six months more, he has six months more to live. And he thinks about it, then he gets mental suffering also. So that is being sick in the body and sick in the mind. But for, after this I will tell you about the ariya. And how householder is one afflicted in body but not afflicted in mind, or sick in body but not sick in mind. Here householder, the instructed noble disciple who is a seer of the noble ones and is skilled and disciplined in their dhamma, who is a seer of superior persons and is skilled and disciplined in their dharma, does not regard form as body as self. or self as possessing body, or body as in the self, or self as in the body. He does not live obsessed by the notion, I am body, body is mine. As he lives unobsessed by these notions, that body of his changes and alters, with the change and alteration of body, there do not arise in him sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. He does not regard feeling as self, or self as possessing feeling, or feeling as in self, or self as in feeling. Similarly, in regards to perception and volition and consciousness, he does not regard the aggregates as the self, or self as possessing the aggregates, or the aggregates as in the self, or self as in the aggregates. He does not live obsessed by the notion I am the aggregates, or aggregates are mine. As he lives unobsessed by these notions, those aggregates of his changes and alters, with the change and alteration of the aggregates, there do not arise in him sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. It is in such a way, householder, that one is sick in body, but not sick in mind. This is what the verbal Sariputta said. Elated the householder and Apulapita, delighted in the verbal Sariputta statement. That's the end of the sutta. So here, the learned Aryan disciple who sees Ahrims and learns the Ahrim Dhamma and trains himself in the Ahrim Dhamma, then he realizes that the body and the mind is something that is impermanent. And because it is changing all the time, it is not the Self. It is beyond our control. So how can it be our Self? It does not even belong to us. Because if something belongs to us, we have control over it. If money is mine, I can use it as I wish. But this body is not yours. Because the Buddha says you have no control over it. When it is aging, can you ask it to stop aging? When you're sick, can you ask if you get well? You cannot. Beyond your control. Even the mind also. The mind works in a way. Sometimes those thoughts that you don't want, you don't think you should be thinking certain thoughts, you start thinking those thoughts out of habit. Sometimes you don't want to be angry, but you get angry because you find it difficult to control your mind. So the Buddha says that's why the body and mind is not It's not yours. So the Aryan disciple, he dissociates himself from the body and the mind. He does not associate, he does not identify himself with the body and the mind, although he still has a self. He has the feeling that the self exists, but he can see clearly because the body and the mind is changing all the time. It cannot be I or mine. So he does not identify with the body and the mind as the self, but he still has the self. But at least when he can do that, then he becomes an Ariya. Then when the body changes or the mind changes, the body is sick, but the mind, he does not grieve, he does not affect his mind, because once a person understands the Dhamma, then he understands that the world goes in a certain pattern. You cannot change the world. You cannot change the world. So we have to accept whatever that comes, we just accept. and do the best that we can. Whatever comes now is a result of the past. The past karma, the past conditions have created the conditions today. That we cannot do anything about. What we can do is to live skillfully so that the future is better. Right? So understanding that whatever comes now, we cannot change. That is a result of past conditions. Then we just accept it. When we accept it, then there is no mental dukkha. The mental dukkha comes from thinking. When you don't accept it, then you keep thinking, thinking, thinking, and your suffering multiplies. But you accept whatever comes as something that you cannot change due to previous conditions. So you accept whatever comes along and then you realize that you can only try to condition the future. So now you change your life to lead a very skillful life so that tomorrow and the day after you become a happier person. Whatever we do now will influence our future. So because of that, because we don't refuse to accept, we accept whatever comes, then we don't have that mental torture that comes from thinking about it. It's only when we don't accept, then we start thinking and we start regretting and we start all that. And then it multiplies and multiplies until you cannot sleep, until you go out of your mind. The second sutta, 22.2. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakians, where there was a town of the Sakians named Devadaha. Then a number of westward-bound monks approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and said to Him, Venerable Sir, we wish to go to the western province in order to take up residence there. And the Buddha said, have you taken leave of Sariputta monks? No, Venerable Sir. Then take leave of Sariputta monks. Sariputta is wise. He is one who helps his brothers in the holy life. Yes, Venerable Sir, those monks replied. Stop here for a moment. You see these monks, they are leaving, so they came to inform the Buddha. And because the Buddha has so much respect for Venerable Sariputra, considers Venerable Sariputra as his right-hand disciple, so he told the monks, have you informed Venerable Sariputra that you are leaving? They said not yet. He said you better go and inform Venerable Sariputra. On that occasion, the Venerable Sariputta was sitting not far from the Blessed One, in a cassia bush. Then those monks, having delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One's statement, rose from their seats and paid homage to the Blessed One. Then keeping him on their right, they approached the Venerable Sariputta. They exchanged greetings with the Venerable Sariputta, and when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, they sat down to one side and said to him, Friend Sarikutta, we wish to go to the western province in order to take up residence there. We have taken leave of the teacher." Stop here for a moment. So you see, Venerable Sarikutta is what we call the Tai Si Heng, elder Dharma brother, eldest Dharma brother. And here they call him friend, Avu So. During the Buddha's time, all the monks addressed each other as Avu So. It's translated as friend or reverend. But later, when the Buddha was about to enter Nibbana, then he saw that in the future, monks would not have respect for each other. So he instructed the Sangha that junior monks should call senior monks as Bante. And senior monks can address junior monks either as Avuso, or just call them directly by their name. Then Venerable Sariputta told them, friends, there are wise kathiyas, kathiyas are the warrior caste, wise brahmins, wise householders, and wise ascetics who question a monk when he has gone abroad. For wise people, friends, are inquisitive. What does your teacher say? What does he teach? I hope that you, Venerable Ones, have learned the teachings well, grasped them well, attended to them well, reflected on them well, and penetrated them well with wisdom, so that when you answer, you will state what has been said by the Blessed One, and will not misrepresent Him in what is contrary to fact, so that you will explain in accordance with the Dhamma, and no reasonable consequence of your assertion would give grounds for criticism. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the Venerable Sariputta asked them, in case other people ask you, what does your teacher say? What does your teacher teach? I hope you can answer. Just putting it in a nice way, instead of telling them. People ask you, what is the Buddha's teachings? Do you know how to explain or not? So when a monk goes away from the teacher, he's on his own. So he's representing the Sangha. So he should be able to project a good image. That's why in the Vinaya rules, if a monk has not attained five vasa, he's considered a novice monk. new monk. So, according to the Vinaya rules, a new monk is not allowed to go here, go there by himself. He is supposed to go with a senior monk, more than 10 years old. Because if a junior monk goes here, goes there by himself, he does not behave well, then he will project a bad image of the Sangha, and especially of his teacher. People will say, oh, this fellow is such and such a verbal disciple. See how he behaves. That's the way his teacher teaches him. So in strict monasteries, if a junior monk wants to go, for example, to visit his parents, even if he goes overseas, a senior monk will accompany him. A lot of monks are not learned in the Vinaya. So sometimes when you try to train them in this way, they get annoyed. Earlier we read the sutra about the monks. The senior monks can go and associate with lay people. I also can go and associate with lay people. And then they said, you would come from far away, friend, to learn the meaning of this statement from the verbal Sariputta. It would be good, indeed, if the verbal Sariputta would clear up the meaning of this statement. Then listen and attend closely, friends. I will speak. Yes, friend, those monks replied. The Venerable Sariputta said this. There are friends, wise kathiyas, wise brahmins, wise householders, and wise ascetics who question a monk when he has gone abroad. For wise people, friends are inquisitive. What does your teacher say? What does he teach? Being asked thus, friends, you should answer. Our teacher, friends, teaches the removal of desire and lust. When you have answered thus, friends, there may be wise kathiyas, etc., who will question you further, for wise people are inquisitive. In regard to what does your teacher teach the removal of desire and lust? Being asked thus, friends, you should answer, Our teacher, friends, teaches the removal of desire and lust for body, the removal of desire and lust for feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, Sariputta says, if anybody asks, you should say, the Buddha teaches the removal of desire and lust for body, feeling, perception, volition, and mind. That means not to be attached to body and mind. When you have answered thus, friends, there may be wise kathiyas, et cetera, who will question you further, for wise people are inquisitive. Having seen what danger does your teacher teach the removal of desire and lust for body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness? Being asked thus, friends, you should answer thus. If, friends, one is not devoid of lust, desire, affection, thirst, passion and craving in regard to body, then when the change and alteration of body that with the change and alteration of body, there arises in one sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. Similarly, dear friends, one is not devoid of lust, desire, affection, thirst, passion, and craving in regard to feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. Then with the change and alteration of the aggregates, there arises in one sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. Having seen this danger, our teacher teaches the removal of desire and lust for body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. I'll stop here for a moment. So here Sariputta further explains that the Buddha teaches the removal of desire for the five aggregates, because the five aggregates are going to change, because they are impermanent, their nature is to change. So when they change and you are attached to them, then you will experience suffering. When you have answered thus, friends, there may be wise khatias, etc. Who will question you further? For wise people are inquisitive. Having seen what benefit does your teacher teach the removal of desire and lust for body, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness? Being asked thus, friends, you should answer thus. If, friends, one is devoid of lust, desire, affection, thirst, passion, and craving in regard to body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, then with the change and alteration of the aggregates, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair do not arise in one. Having seen this benefit, our teacher teaches the removal of desire and lust for body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness." Stop here again. So here he says, he should explain to them, the benefit is if we don't attach to the five aggregates, then when they change, then we will not experience suffering. If, friends, one who enters and dwells amidst unwholesome states could dwell happily in this very life, without vexation, despair and fever, and if, with the breakup of the body after death, he could expect a good destination, then the Blessed One would not praise the abandoning of unwholesome states. But because one who enters and dwells amidst Unwholesome states dwells in suffering in this very life, with vexation, despair and fever. And because he can expect a bad destination with the breakup of the body after death, the Blessed One praises the abandoning of unwholesome states." Stop here for a moment. So here he explains further. He says the Buddha tells us to abandon unwholesome states because They give us suffering in this very life and the future life. If friends, one who enters and dwells amidst wholesome states could dwell in suffering in this very life, with vexation, despair and fever, and if, with the breakup of the body after death, he could expect a bad destination, then the Blessed One would not praise the acquisition of wholesome states. But because one who enters and dwells amidst wholesome states, dwells happily in this very life, without vexation, despair and fever, and because he can expect a good destination with the breakup of the body after death, the Blessed One praises the acquisition of wholesome states. This is what the Venerable Sariputta said, elated those monks delighted in the Venerable Sariputta's statement. So in the end the Venerable Sariputta says that the Buddha encourages us to cultivate wholesome states because we will not suffer, instead we will experience happiness in this life and in the future life. The Buddha is teaching us to cultivate those things that will give us happiness in this life and the future life, and to avoid those things that will give us suffering in this life and the future life. That is the standard. So sometimes people don't understand. They think the Buddha says don't attach to anything. Attach to anything, it will give you suffering. So meditation, the bliss of jhana also you should not enjoy. The Buddha never said that. The Buddha said if it leads to suffering, then you should not enjoy it. The Buddha says there are two types of happiness. The Buddha says very clearly in the Sutta. There are two types of happiness. One happiness is the happiness from sensual pleasures, from sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch and thoughts. And those happiness that you experience from sensual contact through the six senses, whenever you enjoy them, there's a tendency to crave for it. There's always a tendency to crave for it. So when you crave for it and you can't get it because everything is impermanent, one day you may not get it, then you will suffer. But on the other hand, the Buddha says that the bliss from meditation encourages his disciples to enjoy it because firstly, Those states, the mind is so strong that there is no tendency to crave for that bliss of jhāna, of meditative absorption. And furthermore, the Buddha says, when you constantly dwell in the states of meditative absorption, you will gain four advantages, the four stages of ārya-hood, the four fruits of ārya-hood. So the Buddha never said that you should not attach to anything. If you attach to something and it leads to suffering, don't attach. But if you attach to something and it gives you happiness, go ahead. Any questions or remarks? That is from seeing the Dhamma clearly, when you see, when you study the Dhamma more. And then when we study the Dhamma, unfortunately, you may not be able to understand because your mind is clogged, covered by five hindrances. So if you clear your mind of the five hindrances, then when we learn the Dhamma, we can understand much better. For example, I mentioned before, like the Anathalakkhana Sutta. Those monks, because they had attained the four jhanas, and they listened to the Anathalakkhana Sutta, all five monks, disciples of the Buddha, all attained Arahanthood. But for most of us, because we have not attained the four jhanas, when we listen to that same sutta, we are not going to become an arahant. But you can become a stream-enterer, that is excellent already. That's excellent. So, coming back to your question, if you don't want to become sick in mind, then you have to go through this training in the spiritual path, training in the Noble Eightfold Path is basically a training in Sila, Samadhi and Panya, oral conduct, means keeping your precepts, concentration from meditation and wisdom from learning the Suttas. And it takes time, I expect you study it for three months and you're going to become liberated. I mean, OK, I talk to myself, you know, when you take some medication, it comes, there are some, you know, when we, other times, we see, we cannot get it, there's some, how we can get it, if there is still craving for that piece that comes. So, when we are, you know, when we are tested, we get COVID-19, or a piece that comes, we get COVID-19. Yes, that is craving and that is putting your mind in the past already. When you think of the past and you want to repeat that state, that means your mind is going to the past. But in meditation, your mind should be in the present. Stay with your object. Don't go and think about the past. If you go and think about the past, you are not in the present. So how can you progress? You must not think of the past and you must not think of the future. Now, because of thinking of the past, you think, oh, in the future, I want to get this state again. So you are going between your past and the present and the future. So the Buddha says, only stay with the present. Don't have any ideas, any concepts. Just stay with the present, with your object. One thing you must realize, meditation is very difficult. So it takes many years of practice to tame the mind. And even many years of practice, for most people, you still can't tame the mind because you haven't let go. As you meditate, if you want to progress, you must let go. Let go of your attachments. Because those things that come up to disturb you in your mind are all your attachments. If they were not attachments, they would not surface in your mind. For example, you had that experience, then you are attached to it, so you want to repeat it. So it's a disturbance to your mind. So it's a path of renunciation, a path of letting go. But one thing I wanted to mention is that when you look through the suttas, you find that the Buddha stress on mindfulness of the body and for quite some time I could not understand why the Buddha taught about mindfulness of the body and then recently I come to the opinion that when you are mindful of your body then the mind does not run away For example, when we are sitting in meditation, the mind starts to wander, go here, go there. You forgot that you are sitting in meditation. The moment you remember you are sitting here in meditation, your mind stops wandering, comes back. So the point is to, if you want your mind not to wander, the Buddha says, you've got to be mindful of the body. When we are sitting, it's hard to be mindful of the body. For example, the Buddha says, Anapanasati, mindfulness of the breath, is actually a meditation on mindfulness of the body. Because the breath is considered a breath body. The breath goes in and the breath goes out. That is considered a body. But as you meditate slowly, the breath becomes finer and finer and finer. So that it's very hard to observe the breath. Then your mind will start to wonder. Now, one way to bring it back is to move your fingers. Move your fingers lightly. Say, for example, your right finger, and then your left finger, and your right finger, and your left finger. At the same time, if you want, you can do chanting. Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa. Namo tassa, like that. So you synchronize your chanting with your movement of your thumb. And this movement of the thumb will keep you, your mind, from straying. The moment you stop moving your thumb, because the mind is weak, if you continue chanting, chanting, very soon it gets pulled away already. So it's a good practice. For example, when you lie down, you feel you're very tired in the afternoon. You need to lie down. But you're afraid if you lie down, you're going to sleep for a long time. You can do the same thing. You move. For example, if you lie down near a clock, and you hear the clock going tick-tock, then you can synchronize your finger movement with the tick-tock. Tick, right finger, tock, left finger. Tick, right finger, tock, left finger. As long as you're conscious with your body, the mind does not slide off into a dream state. Because our mind, as we grow older, the mind becomes weaker and weaker. So the moment we lie down, it's very easy to fall asleep. So if you're mindful of the body in this way, then... So if you're doing Anapanasati and you find you're not progressing, you can switch to this movement of your thumb. And you coordinate it with chanting. If you don't want to chant Namo Tassa, you can chant any other thing. For example, Araham, Araham, Araham, Araham. Or Buddho, Buddho. This is one of the things to try out. Those of you who have the book, I suggest when you go back either at night or the next day, whenever you find some free time, go through the suttas. Those that we went through today, If you don't understand, you go through. And then tomorrow, you can ask. Then tomorrow, you try to read the suttas that are coming up. That's coming up at night, so that you are prepared. So that when I go through the suttas, if there's something you don't understand, you can question. So it's the best time to understand the suttas. And you're lucky you have the book. Try to read it as much as you can. I have to do homework every day, so you also should do some homework. How many times have I read it?

47-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-03).txt

is the 3rd of August on the Khanda Samhita, Chapter 22 of the Samhita Nikaya. Now we come to Sutra 22.3. On one occasion, the rebel Mahakacana was dwelling among the people of Avanti on Mount Apatha at Kuraragara, and the householder, Halid Dakhani, approached the Venerable Mahakacana, paid homage to him, sat down to one side and said to him, Venerable Sir, this was said by the Blessed One in the questions of Magandya in the Ataka Vagga. Stop here for a moment. This Ataka Vagga is found in the Suta Nipata. Suta Nipata is one of the books in the Kudaka Nikaya. But the Sutta Nibbhaka is supposed to be one of the very old, earliest books, supposed to be quite reliable. So in that book, the Buddha said, having left home to roam without a boat in the village, the sage is intimate with none, rid of sensual pleasures, without expectations, he would not engage people in dispute. How, Venerable Sir, should the meaning of this stated by the Blessed One in brief He understood in detail. I'll talk here for a moment. This Venerable Mahakacana is supposed to be very good in explaining the suttas. This verse is by the Buddha. Having left home to roam without an abode, the dwelling in the village, the sage is intimate with none, rid of sensual pleasures, without expectations, do not engage people in dispute. Then the Venerable Mahakacana explained. The form element householder is the home of consciousness. One whose consciousness is shackled by lust for the form element is called one who roams about in a home. The feeling element is the home of consciousness. The perception element, the volition element, is the home of consciousness. One whose consciousness is shackled by lust for these aggregates is called one who roams about in a home. This in such a way that one roams about in a home. And how, householder, does one roam about homeless? The desire, lust, delight and craving, the engagement and clinging, the mental standpoints, appearances and underlying tendencies regarding the form element, these have been abandoned by the Tathagata, the Buddha. struck off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. Therefore, the Tathagata is called one who roams about homeless. The desire, lust, delight and craving, the engagement and clinging, the mental standpoints, adherences, and underlying tendencies regarding the feeling element, perception element, volition element, consciousness element, these have been abandoned by the Tathagata. cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. Therefore, the Tathagata is called one who roams about homeless. This is in such a way that one roams about homeless. Let's stop here for a moment. So, in the verses, the Buddha said, having left home to roam without a boat, without a dwelling. Here, remember, Mahakacana is explaining that without an abode, without a dwelling, if you are in a dwelling, you are imprisoned in that dwelling. So here, if a person roams about in a home, remember Mahakacana says that he's imprisoned by lust for form, feeling, perception, volition, and even consciousness. And one who roams about homeless has left, has cut off the desire and lust for form or body. Feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. So his explanation is that home and homeless is not the physical home, but the mentally being imprisoned. Now to continue. And how, householder, does one roam about in and about? Just now I was talking about home. By diffusion and confinement in the abode, consisting in the sign of forms, one is called one who roams about in an abode. By diffusion and confinement in the abode, consisting in the sign of sounds, odours, tastes, tactile objects, mental phenomena, one is called one who roams about in an abode. And how, householder, does one roam about without abode? Diffusion and confinement in the abode consisting in the sign of forms. These have been abandoned by the Tathagata, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. Therefore, the Tathagata is called one who roams about without abode. Diffusion and confinement in the abode consisting in the sign of sounds, odours, tastes. tactile objects, mental phenomena. These have been abandoned by the Tathagata, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated so that they are no more subject to future arising. Therefore the Tathagata is called one who roams about without a boat. It is in such a way that one roams about without a boat. So here he is explaining that If the mind is diffused and confined in the abode, it's a dwelling in the sign of forms, the sign of sounds, odours, etc., the six senses. So if our attention is always going out to these six senses, then our mind becomes diffused and confined. Roaming without a boat is not safe. being diffused and confined in the mind because of these six senses. And how, householder, is one intimate in the village? Here, householder, someone lives in association with lay people. He rejoices with them and sorrows with them. He is happy when they are happy and sad when they are sad. And he involves himself in their affairs and duties. It is in such a way that one is intimate in the village. And how, householder, is one Intimate with none in the village. Dear householder, a monk does not live in association with lay people. He does not rejoice with them or sorrow with them. He is not happy when they are happy and sad when they are sad. And he does not involve himself in their affairs and duties. It is in such a way that one is intimate with none in the village. Let's stop here for a moment. A monk is said to be intimate in the village if he associates too much with lay people. And how, householder, is one not rid of sensual pleasures? Here, householder, someone is not devoid of lust, desire, affection, thirst, passion, and craving in regard to sensual pleasures. This in such a way that one is not rid of sensual pleasures. And how, householder, is one rid of sensual pleasures? Here, householder, someone is devoid of lust, desire, affection, thirst, passion, and craving in regard to sensual pleasures. This in such a way that one is rid of sensual pleasures. This one you can understand. And how, householder, does one entertain expectations? Here, householder, someone thinks, may I have such form or body in the future, may I have such feeling in the future, may I have such perception in the future, volition, consciousness in the future. It is in such a way that one entertains expectations. And how, householder, is one without expectations? Here, householder, someone does not think, may I have such a body in the future, such a feeling, perception, volition and consciousness in the future. It is in such a way that one is without expectations. And how, householder, does one engage people in dispute? Here, householder, someone engages in such talk as this. You don't understand this Dhamma Vinaya. I understand Dhamma Vinaya. What? You understand this Dhamma Vinaya? You are practicing wrongly and practicing rightfully. What should have been said before, you said after. What should have been said after, you said before. I am consistent. You are inconsistent. What you took so long to think out has been overturned. Your thesis has been refuted. Go off to rescue your thesis or you are defeated. Or disentangle yourself if you can. This in such a way that one engages people in dispute. And how, householder, does one not engage people in dispute? Here, householder, someone does not engage in such talk as this. You don't understand this Dhammavinaya, etc. This is in such a way that one does not engage people in dispute. Thus, householder, when it was said by the Blessed One in the questions of Magandya, in the Atthakavagga, Having left home to roam without a boat, in the village that sage is intimate with none, rid of sensual pleasures, without expectations, he would not engage people in dispute. It is in such a way that the meaning of this, stated in brief by the Blessed One, should be understood in detail." So you see, four lines from Hark and Chana can explain in such Long length and detail. 22.5 Asavati. There the Blessed One said, monks develop concentration. A monk who is concentrated understands things as they really are. And what does he understand as it really is? The origin and passing way of form. The origin and passing way of feeling. The origin and passing way of perception, volition, consciousness. I'll stop you for a moment. So here, Buddha says, that we should develop concentration so that we can understand things as they really are. And what is it important for us to understand? Here the Buddha says the five aggregates. How the five aggregates originate and pass away. What, monks, is the origin of body or form? What is the origin of feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness? Here, monks, one seeks delight, one welcomes, one remains holding, And what is it that one seeks delight in? What does one welcome? To what does one remain holding? One seeks delight in form or body, welcomes it, and remains holding to it. As a consequence of this, delight arises. Delight in form is clinging, with one's clinging as condition. Being comes to be, with being as condition, birth, with birth as condition, ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair come to be. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. Similarly, one seeks delight in feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, welcomes it and remains holding to it. As a consequence, delight arises, etc. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering. This mount is the origin of fall, the origin of healing, perception, volition and consciousness. I'll stop here for a moment. The Buddha says the origin of body, feeling, perception, and volition, consciousness, that means the origin of body and mind, is that one is attached to the five aggregates. When one is attached to the five aggregates, being arises. You remember the other day we read the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination. Upadana is attachment or clinging. Upadana is the condition for bhava, bhava to arise. Bhava is this being, this perception that I am or I exist. So, with being as condition, then jati, birth or rebirth takes place. With jati as condition, then you have jara, marana, aging and death, and all the different types of suffering. This is the origin of suffering. So, similarly, one is attached to feeling, perception, volition and cons. and consciousness, so being attached to it, then this attachment, upadana, gives rise to bhava. Similarly, that is how the five aggregates arise. The five aggregates arise from attachment and attachment brings about being and then rebirth. And what mounts is a passing away of body, what is a passing away of feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. Dear monks, one does not seek delight, one does not welcome, one does not remain holding. And what is it that one does not seek delight in? What doesn't one welcome? To what doesn't one remain holding? One does not seek delight in body, does not welcome it, does not remain holding to it. As a consequence of this, delight in body ceases. With the cessation of delight comes cessation of clinging. With the cessation of clinging, cessation of being, etc., such is the cessation of this whole mess of suffering. Similarly, one does not seek delight in feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. One does not welcome it, does not remain holding to it. As a consequence of this, delight in the aggregates ceases, and so such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering. This mount is the passing away of body, is the passing away of feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. So this last part, the Buddha says, how does the body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness cease? They cease when we do not delight in the five aggregates. It can be represented by craving. So if you have no craving, then the next link in the chain of dependent origination, Upadana, the clinging, also stops. When clinging stops, then bhava, being, stops. When being stops, then jati, rebirth, stops. When jati, rebirth, stops, then aging and dying and the whole mass of suffering ceases. This is how body and mind, the five aggregates cease. So remember the first part, the Buddha says, if you want to understand the five aggregates you have to develop concentration that's when you develop concentration samadhi especially the buddha says perfect samadhi is the four jhanas if you have the four jhanas then the mind becomes so clear and then mind becomes bright then only you can see things as they really are and if they understand the five aggregates you understand the five aggregates then suffering will cease 22.6 at savati the buddha said monks Make an exertion in seclusion. A monk who is secluded understands things as they really are. And what does he understand as it really is? The origin and passing away of body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. mounts is the origin of body etc. The rest of the Sutta is exactly the same as the previous one. The only difference here is that instead of the Buddha asking us to develop concentration, here the Buddha is asking us to practice seclusion. And seclusion, as I mentioned before, there are two types of body seclusion, kaya viveka, and mental seclusion, citta viveka. Kaya viveka is being physically secluded from others. Either you live alone or if you live with others in a monastery, then you are aloof from them. You don't associate, you don't talk too much with people. And then citta viveka is mental seclusion. Your mind is secluded from the world of the six senses. you go into deep meditation and that is a higher form of seclusion. So here the Buddha is also stressing seclusion. So two things are important. Concentration and seclusion. 22.7 at Savathi. Monks, I will teach you agitation through clinging. and non-agitation to non-clinging. Listen to that and attend closely, I will speak. Yes, my noble sir, those monks replied, the blessed one said. And how, monks, is there agitation to clinging? Here, monks, the unlearned, ordinary person who does not see arihants, noble ones, is unskilled and untrained in their dhamma, who does not see superior persons, and is unskilled and untrained in their dhamma, regards body as self, or self as possessing body, or body as in the self, or self as in the body. That body of his changes and alters. With the change and alteration of body, his consciousness becomes preoccupied with the change of body. Agitation and a constellation of mental states born of preoccupation with the change of body, remain obsessing his mind. Because his mind is obsessed, he is frightened, distressed, anxious, and through clinging, he becomes agitated. Similarly, with feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, all these change, and then he becomes agitated, and all the different mental states arise out of his preoccupation with the change. So it becomes frightened, distressed, etc. It is in such a way monks that there is agitation through clinging. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that the ornery, unlearned person, he attaches to body, feeling, perception, volition as self or as belonging to self. or self is in the aggregates or the aggregates are in the self but then when the aggregates change because it is their nature to change then he becomes mentally occupied with this change that means he becomes agitated and he thinks about it when he thinks about it the mind proliferates all his worries multiply and then he becomes more agitated So it becomes frightened, distressed and all that. This is how there is agitation because of clinging. And how, monks, is there non-agitation to non-clinging? Here, monks, the unlearned, sorry, the learned noble disciple who sees noble ones and is skilled and trained in the Dhamma, who sees superior persons and is skilled and train in the Dhamma, does not regard body as self, or self as possessing body, or body as in the self, or self as in that body. Then that body of his changes and alters. Despite the change and alteration of body, his consciousness does not become preoccupied with the change of form, and he is not worried. No agitation and constellation of mental states born of preoccupation with the change of body remain obsessing his mind. Because his mind is not obsessed, he is not frightened, distressed or anxious, and through non-clinging he does not become agitated. Similarly, for feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. This is in such a way monks that there is non-agitation through non-clinging. So in the second case, the person, the Aryan disciple who is learned in the Aryan Dhamma, who is trained in the Aryan Dhamma, he does not regard the five aggregates as the self or as belonging to self or the aggregates being in the self or the self as being in the aggregates. So when the five aggregates change, because it is their nature to change, then he does not worry about it. Because he is not worried about it, he does not become agitated and obsessed with all these thoughts. Then he is not frightened, not distressed. That is how there is no No agitation because of non-clinging. So it is the clinging that gives us suffering. If there is no clinging, there is no suffering. Now we come to 22.18, that's on page 870. At Savatthi, Buddha said, monks, body is impermanent, body of form. The cause and condition for the arising of form or body is also impermanent. As body has originated from what is impermanent, how could it be permanent? Feeling is impermanent. Similarly, perception, volition, consciousness is impermanent. The cause and condition for the arising of the aggregates is also impermanent. As the aggregates have originated from what is impermanent, how could it be permanent? Seeing thus, The learned, noble disciple, experiences revulsion towards form or body, revulsion towards feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge it's liberated. He understands, destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. there is no more for this state of being. So here the Buddha is saying that the aggregates are impermanent and the cause and condition for the arising of the aggregates is also impermanent. So because the aggregates have arisen from what is impermanent, how can we take it to be permanent? What does this mean? This means, for example, one day suppose you walk along the path and then you see a beautiful flower. When you see a beautiful flower, because it's beautiful, you think you want to preserve it. But then this flower came about because of certain conditions, because of the plant that was there, because of rainfall, because of sunlight, because of fertilizer and all that, the air and all that. emerge one day. But because the flower is dependent on so many conditions and those conditions that the flower is dependent on are also impermanent. So how can the flower itself be permanent? So for example the flower depends on the plant itself and the plant being a small plant one day is going to die. So when the plant dies how can the flower not die? In the same way For example, a shadow. One day, when the sun rises in the morning, you see the shadow of a tree. That shadow was cast because of the sun being at an angle. It was cast because of the tree being solid. Then you see that shadow. But the condition for that shadow, namely the sun and the tree, are impermanent. So very soon, the sun is going to shift. When the sun shifts, then that shadow is not going to be there. So since the shadow is impermanent and the condition for it to arise is also impermanent, so the shadow is even more impermanent than the condition for it to arise. So in the same way, our body and our mind is dependent on so many conditions and all these conditions are impermanent. So because all these conditions that support our body and mind is impermanent, then our body and mind is even more impermanent since it's dependent on so many conditions. So that's how you should not want it to be permanent because it can never be permanent. So without being permanent, we should not attach to it, because very soon it will disappear. 22.22, that's Savatthi. There the Blessed One said, monks, I will teach you the burden, the carrier of the burden, the taking up of the burden, and the laying down of the burden. Listen to that. And what, monks, is the burden? It should be said, the five aggregates of clinging, of attachment. What five? The four of body aggregate, The body aggregate is subject to clinging or attachment. The feeling aggregate of attachment. The perception, volition and consciousness aggregate of attachment. This is called the burden. Stop here for a moment. These aggregates are called Panchakanda. Panchakanda, five aggregates. And normally we refer to them as Pancha Upadana Kanda. Pancha Upadana Kanda. The five aggregates of attachment. Five aggregates of attachment. Five aggregates of attachment. These three words, five aggregates attachment. The most important is the word attachment. It is because of attachment that suffering arises. If there is no attachment to the aggregates, then there is no suffering. If we behave like the tree, the tree is not attached to its body, the tree is not attached to its leaf, its fruit and all that, so the tree does not suffer. We are attached to our head, to our nose, to our fingers, all the parts of us which are impermanent. So the suffering comes about because of attachment. So these five aggregates are a burden. When you have the five aggregates We are carrying a burden. We are carrying the burden of this body and the mind. So the burden is the five aggregates, the body and the mind. And what monks is a carrier of the burden? It should be said the person. This is variable one of such a name and clan. This is called the carrier of the burden. Stop here for the moment. The carrier of the burden is the person. Who is this person? This person is the fellow who thinks, I am, I exist, I am this body, I am this mind. Once you have that I, then you think that you are a being in the world. So you think that you exist in the world. So when you think you exist, You have the notion that you exist because of the body and the mind. You take the body and the mind to be you. So the moment you think I exist, you carry the burden of this body and mind. And what mounts is the taking up of the burden. It is this craving that leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there. That is craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for non-existence. This is called the taking up of the burden. So, stop here for a moment. So, we take up the burden when we have craving. This craving is seeking delight here, seeking delight there. You see, most people in the world, they live their lives like that. Always trying to find enjoyment and happiness. Watching TV, playing with the computer, going touring overseas, trying to buy a big Porsche or Maserati sports car and all this. So always trying to find happiness here, happiness there. But unfortunately that happiness cannot be satisfied. If you get all the things in the world, you're not contented, you still don't have happiness. That happiness is only momentary. It's not the deep happiness that most people want. So the taking of the burden is due to the craving. And what monks is the laying down of the burden. It is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving. the giving up, the relinquishing of it, freedom from it, non-reliance on it. This is called the laying down of the burden. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, five aggregates are truly burdens. The burden carrier is the person. Taking up the burden is suffering in the world. Laying the burden down is blissful. Having laid the heavy burden down, without taking up another burden, Having drawn out craving with its root, one is free from hunger, fully quenched. So because of craving, we take this body and the mind to be the self so that we can enjoy life. We think this body and this mind gives us enjoyment. It's only when we decide, after a lot of suffering, we decide to put down this burden, put down this craving, then only we lay down the burden.

48-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-03).txt

22.26 at Savatthi, months before my enlightenment while I was still a Bodhisatta, not yet fully enlightened, it occurred to me, what is the gratification, what is the danger, what is the escape in the case of form or body? What is the gratification, what is the danger, what is the escape in the case of feeling, perception, volition and consciousness? Then, monks, it occurred to me, pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on form or body. That is the gratification in form or body. That body is impermanent, suffering and subject to change. This is the danger in body. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for body. This is the escape from body. Similarly, the pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. That is the gratification that the aggregates are in permanent suffering and subject to change. That is the danger in the aggregates. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust. for the aggregates. This is the escape from the aggregates. So long months as I did not directly know as they really are the gratification, the danger and the escape in the case of these five aggregates subject to clinging. I did not claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world with its devas, maras and brahmas. In this generation with its ascetics and brahmins, devas and humans. But when I directly knew all this, As it really is, then I claim to have awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in this world. The knowledge and vision arose in me. Unshakable is my liberation of mind. This is my last birth. Now there is no more renewed existence. This sutta, there is a more detailed explanation of it, I think in the Majjhima Nikaya. So here the Buddha is saying, what is the gratification, like in the case of body, that means what is the satisfaction in the case of body. He says, the pleasure and joy that arise independence on the body, that is the gratification. So in the other more detailed sutta, it talks about gratification of body, it's like because the body gives you pleasure, so they say that imagine a young girl, 15 or 16 years old, in the prime of life, looking at the most beautiful, that is the gratification of form. What is the danger? The danger is that the same beautiful girl, after a few more years, she's 80 or 90 years old, and you see she's hunchbacked, all the hair turned white, maybe with a bald patch at the top, the hair also, sorry, the teeth also gone, skin wrinkled, and looking so ugly looking. That is the danger of form, the Buddha said. Another example, the Buddha said, suppose this girl, even before she's old, maybe at the age of 40 years old, she got cancer. And then she's stricken on the bed, cannot help herself, seriously sick with cancer. She's lying on the bed, urinating on the bed, sitting on the bed. She's got to be helped up to take her meal. You need people to wash her, clean her and all that. So at that time, she is still that beautiful young girl. No more. So that's again a danger. Or the Buddha said, after some time, she will die. Then if she is three or four days dead, the body will be bloated, blue-black. smelly and all the liquids oozing out from the nose, from the ears, from the eyes, from the mouth, from the anus and all that. And she's still that beautiful 16-year-old girl, no more. So very soon all of us, our body also like that. At one time when you're young, you look beautiful, handsome. As you grow older and older, becomes more and more ugly. One day you will become sick, you will die. So that is the danger. So the only escape is to remove the desire and lust for the body. Then only you will not suffer. So similarly for the other advocates. 22.28 Asavati, the Buddha said, monks, if there were no gratification or satisfaction in body, beings would not become enamoured with it. But because there is gratification in body, beings become enamoured with it. If there were no danger in body, beings would not experience revulsion towards it. But because there is danger in body, beings experience revulsion towards it. If there were no escape from body, beings would not escape from it. But because there is an escape from body, beings escape from it. Similarly, Monks, if there were no gratification in feelings, perception, volition, consciousness, beings would not become enamored with it, but because there is escape, beings escape from it. So long, monks, as beings have not directly known as they really are, the gratification as gratification, the danger as danger, and the escape as escape. In the case of the five Abhige subject to clinging, they have not escaped from this world with its Devas, Mara and Brahma, from this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, its Devas and humans. They have not become detached from it, released from it, nor do they dwell with the mind rid of barriers. For when beings have directly known all this as it really is, then they have escaped from this world. They have become detached from it, released from it, dwell with the mind with no barriers. So this sutta is basically, the Buddha is saying, if there was no satisfaction with the body and the mind, then we would not become enslaved, delight in our body and our mind. But because there is gratification or satisfaction or enjoyment to be found, with our body and our mind, so we become enslaved by it. But also, if there were no danger in the body and the mind, then we would not experience revulsion towards it. But because there is danger, so one day we wake up and we become We have a devotion towards the body and the mind. All of us in the world, we are like children. Children, when we are young, we are greedy for all the nice things. Ice cream, all the things that we can play with and enjoy in the world. But as we grow up slowly, then we find certain things, if we enjoy too much, it makes us sick. For example, we take too much ice cream. and we become sick. If we play too much, then we fail in our exam. So slowly we become wise, as they say, become street wise. So similarly, in the world also, a lot of things, we are not careful. We suffer if we are not careful. So slowly as we mature, then we understand the world. There is enjoyment in the world, but there's also suffering in the world. 22.33, that's a Vati, the Buddha said. Monks, whatever is not yours, abandon it. When you have abandoned it, that will lead to your welfare and happiness. And what is it, monks, that is not yours? Body is not yours, abandon it. When you have abandoned it, that will lead to your wealth and happiness. Feeling is not yours, perception is not yours, volition, consciousness is not yours. Abandon it. When you have abandoned it, that will lead to your wealth and happiness. Suppose monks, people were to carry off the grass, the sticks, the branches and foliage in this Jeta Grove, or to burn them, or to do with them as they wish. Would you think People are carrying us off, or burning us, or doing with us as they wish. No, Venerable Sir. For what reason? Because, Venerable Sir, that is neither our self, nor what belongs to our self. So too monks, body is not yours. Feeling, perception, volition, consciousness is not yours. Abandon it. When you have abandoned it, that will lead to your welfare and happiness. So that's the end of the Sutta. So here the Buddha says, just like the grass, the branches, the sticks and foliage, it's not you, it's not yours. Similarly, this body and this mind, it's not you and it's not yours. How come? Because without your choosing it, this body came into the world. After you are born, you have no control over it. It grows up naturally. When you are young, you want the body to grow faster so that you want to become an adult. But it won't listen to you. It will grow slowly. After you become an adult and you start to become old, at that time you panic. Then you want the body to slow down. But you also have no control. Before you know it, suddenly, oh, you're 40 years old. You cannot read the newspaper anymore. You have to put on glasses. Very fast, isn't it? When you're 20 years old or 20-something, you still think you haven't grown up fully yet. Then when you're 30-something, you think, ah, just mature. And before you know it, Lu Fang has come already and your eyes are telling you that you are growing old already. So that's why life goes by so fast. Okay, 22.43. Page 882, at Savatthi. This translation, I don't like so much. It says, a monk dwells with yourselves as an island, with yourselves as a refuge, with no other refuge. With the Dhamma as an island, with the Dhamma as a refuge, with no other refuge. The old translation from the Pali Text Society, maybe because we are used to it, it sounds nicer to me. There, it says, monks be a lamp unto yourselves be a refuge unto yourselves with no other refuge take the dharma as your lamp take the dharma as your refuge with no other refuge when you when you dwell with yourself as a refuge as a lamp as a refuge and with no other refuge With the Dhamma as your lamp, with the Dhamma as your refuge, no other refuge. The basis itself should be investigated thus. From what are sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair born? How are they produced? Let's stop here for a moment. Before I go further, you see this first opening sentence is very important. Be a lamb unto yourselves or be an island unto yourselves. Be a refuge unto yourselves with no other refuge. That means the Buddha is saying depend on yourself. Don't go and depend on some famous teacher and all that. Don't depend on any other person. Even if we live in the same room as an Arahant, we cannot become enlightened if we don't depend on ourselves. Just like the simile, if you take a spoon to drink soup or to eat your meal, you enjoy the meal, you enjoy the soup. Does the spoon enjoy? The spoon doesn't know the taste of the soup or the food, right? In the same way, we have to practice the spiritual path, then only we will taste the fruit of the spiritual path. So that's why the Buddha says that we have to depend on ourselves, we don't depend on anybody else. But the Buddha at the same time says, take the Dhamma as your lamp, take the Dhamma as your refuge with no other refuge. So we only have to depend on two things. One is to depend on ourselves, and secondly to depend on the Buddha's Dhamma. Not some teacher's Dhamma, not any other teacher, but the Buddha's Dhamma. The original Dhamma of a Sammasambuddha, which is found in the earliest Nikayas like this. So here the Buddha says, you should investigate from what sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair are born. How are they produced? That is where the suffering comes from. And monks, from what are sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair born? How are they produced? Here monks, the unlearned, ordinary person who does not see ariens, is unskilled and untrained in their dhamma, who does not see superior persons and is unskilled and untrained in their dhamma, he regards the body as the self, or self as possessing body, or body as in the self, or self as in the body. body of his changes and alters, with the change and alteration of body, there arises in him sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. Similarly with feeling, perception, volition as consciousness. So here the Buddha says the origin of sorrow, lamentation, pain, despair, and all that comes because a person, an ornery person, does not associate with Aryans, does not know the Aryan Dharma, does not train in the Aryan Dharma. So because of that, he regards the Five Aggregates as the Self, or as belonging to the Self. all as being in the self, all the self as being in the five aggregates. But the five aggregates must change because it's the nature of everything in the world to change. So when the five aggregates change and he is too attached to the five aggregates, then when they change he cannot accept it. So sorrow, lamentation, pain, pain, displeasure and despair arise. That is how suffering comes about. But monks, when one has understood the impermanence of body, this change fading away and cessation, when one sees as it really is with correct wisdom thus, in the past and also now, all bodies are impermanent, suffering and subject to change. Then sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair are abandoned. With their abandonment, one does not become agitated. Being unagitated, one dwells happily. The monk who dwells happily is said to be quenched in that respect. Similarly, when one has understood the impermanence of healing, perception, volition and consciousness, one sees, as it really is, with correct wisdom, in the past and also now, All aggregates are impermanent suffering and subject to change. So if he sees that, then he is not attached to it. Then sorrow, lamentation, pain and despair and all are abandoned. And with the abandonment, he does not become agitated. He dwells happily. It's the end of the sutta. So you see, sorrow and lamentation, all this suffering is born from attachment to the five aggregates, which we take to be the self, or as belonging to the self. 22.47. Savatthi, monks, those ascetics and brahmins who regard anything as self in various ways, or regard as self the five aggregates subject to clinging, or a certain one among them. But five, hear monks, the unlearned, ordinary person who does not see noble ones, and is unskilled and untrained in the Dharma, who does not see superior persons, and is unskilled and untrained in the Dharma, regards body as self, or self as being, as belonging, or body as belonging to self, or body as in the self, or self as in the body. Similarly, regards feeling, perception, volition and consciousness as self or as belonging to self or as being in the self or the self as being in the aggregates. Thus in this way of regarding things and the notion I am have not vanished in him as I am has not vanished that takes place the descent of the five faculties of the I faculty, the ear, faculty, the nose, tongue, body, faculty. There is mouth, the mind, there are mental phenomena. There is the element of ignorance, when the unlearned, ordinary person is contacted by feeling born of ignorance contact. I am occurs to him. I am this occurs to him. I will be and I will not be and I will consist of body and I will be bodiless and I will be percipient or I will be non-percipient and I will be neither percipient or non-percipient. These occur to him. The five faculties remain right there amongst, but in regard to them, the instructed or the learned, noble disciple abandons ignorance and arouses true knowledge. With the fading away of ignorance and the arising of true knowledge, I am does not occur to him. I am this does not occur to him. I will be, I will not be, and I will consist of form or body, I will be forms, etc. All these do not occur in him. That's the end of the sutta. The important part about this sutta I want to mention here is this part where it says, Does this way of regarding things and the notion I am have not vanished in him? As I am has not vanished, there takes place a descent of the five faculties. I mentioned before, bhava. gives rise, conditions birth, right? Bhava is this I am here, and this descent of the five faculties is the birth. So this sutta, in a way, proves that bhava means this perception we have that I exist, I am, because You feel that you exist, so you see yourself being born in the world and coming into the world. That is birth. I think I'll stop here for tonight. So far most of these suttas are short. Later we'll come across some longer suttas on this part that we did. Anything to discuss? That means seeing very clearly. When we listen to these words of the Buddha, there is this five hindrances blocking us. These five hindrances being sensual, desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry and doubt. Because they hinder us, when we listen to the sutta, we don't see it so clearly, we don't understand it so clearly. For example, the Buddha says these aggregates are impermanent. and because they are impermanent, they give rise to suffering. That we can see. Then the Buddha says, since these aggregates are impermanent and give rise to suffering, then is it worthwhile to accept it as I and mine? It is not worthwhile, it is not fit to be regarded as I and mine. So when the Buddha says, when a noble disciple sees this clearly, then he is disenchanted with the five aggregates, he is dispassionate towards the five aggregates, then he does not attach to them. and then it becomes liberated. So the first part, for most people, you can understand that they are impermanent, so they are a source of suffering. But because you don't see clearly enough, you cannot let go. So it's only a person who can see very clearly that you hold on to it, it will only give you pain. and suffering. So why should I hold on to it and just let it go? So one thing, it's not seeing clearly because we don't see clearly. We are deluded. And this delusion is something very hard to see. A fool does not see himself as a fool. A wise man can see another person, can recognize a person who is a fool, but a fool cannot see himself as a fool. No, no, it applies to all beings. It is something that nature has implanted in all beings so that you will struggle to survive now. Oh yeah, yeah, all the Brahmas and Devas also. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why in one of the suttas, I think in the Majjhima Nikaya Magandhya Sutta, the Buddha said, we have been tricked by the mind. For a long time, we have been cheated by the mind. We keep believing the mind. The mind is a very cunning, cunning thing. What are we? What do you object to? Yes, you see because for most people This is all we know. Just like for most people in the world, the only happiness they know is through sensual pleasure. Eat, drink and be merry. That's all they know. So of course, naturally they will want to enjoy this because they don't know of anything more superior. But when you know of something more superior, for example, you are given the chance to enjoy heavenly bliss. Then when you enjoy heavenly bliss, then earthly bliss you don't want. So in the same way, we attach to this world of the external world of the five senses and we take this body and the mind to be the self because we know no other self so we have to go meditate into our mind when we go and meditate and we go deeper into our mind, slowly the body and the six consciousnesses start to fade away. Then the mind and the body and the six consciousnesses start to fade away, the world starts to fade away. Then only you realize, oh this body and this mind that I took it as self, it's not the self. It's just like when you're in the dream, when you're in the dream, you take that person in the dream to be yourself, and then you are running for your life because somebody wants to murder you, or you see a ghost or something, you're so scared. And then after that, you wake up from the dream. And when you are woken up from the dream, then you tell yourself, oh, that was just a dream only. No reason for me to be scared. That was just a dream. Now I've woken up. So in the same way, we have not woken up from samsara, so we take this body and the self to be mine now, because that's all we know. So only when we meditate, the Buddha says, we go deeper, deeper, and then the world slowly melts away. Then we realize there is something else. So the truth about life, reality, can only be achieved first through the theory part, the Dhamma that the Buddha teaches. The Dhamma teaches us how to practice. And then, with the Dhamma as our guide, we make the effort. We make the effort, then we go into ourselves. When we go into ourselves, But you cannot go into yourself without the proper instructions. That's why all the instructions are given in the suttas. Because it's not so simple to just let go and meditate. There are so many conditions. You have to keep your sila. You have to fulfill your obligations before you go and practice. You do your family duties and all that. Then after you've done all your duties, Do the duty to yourself. Because you want to help other people, you have to help yourself. If you think you want to help everybody but you don't help yourself, you are also a fool. Nothing remaining. Even all the attachments, they're given up. No more, no more totally, no more attachment, no more clinging. That one you can only understand when you go into your mind. It's not so simple, it can be explained by words. It can be explained by words. The Buddha explained, everybody become enlightened already. Okay, at the end.

49-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-04).txt

Today is the 4th of August, so we continue with the Kandasang Yuta, the aggregates, 22.49. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. Then Sona, the householder's son, approached the Blessed One. The Blessed One then said to Sona, the householder's son, Sona, when any ascetics and Brahmins on the basis of form, which is impermanent, suffering and subject to change, regard themselves thus, I am superior, or I am equal, or I am inferior. What is that? Due to, apart from not seeing things as they really are. When any ascetics and Brahmins, on the basis of feeling, on the basis of perception, volition, consciousness, which are in permanent suffering and subject to change, regard themselves thus, I am superior, I am equal, or I am inferior. What is that? Due to, apart from not seeing things as they really are. So now, when any ascetics and Brahmins do not, on the basis of form, Feeling, perception, and volition, volition and consciousness, which are in permanent suffering and subject to change, regard themselves thus, I am superior, I am equal, or I am inferior. What is that due to, apart from seeing things as they really are? So here the Buddha is saying, if a person does not see things as they really are, that means he still has the self. So because he has the self, and so he considers that there are others. So he has the views, I am superior, or I am equal, or I am inferior when compared to others. But if a person knows the Dhamma, and his mind is very clear on obtaining Samadhi, then he will see things clearly, and he will have obtained the vision of the Dhamma, and then the Buddha would say that he would not have views such as this, like I'm superior, or equal, or inferior. What do you think, Sona? Is form permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, verbal serve. Is what is impermanent, suffering or happiness? Suffering, verbal serve. Is what is impermanent, suffering and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus? This is mine, this I am, this is myself. No, verbal serve. Similarly, is feeling, perception, volition and consciousness permanent or impermanent? Impermanent Vampire Serf is what is impermanent, suffering, or happiness. Suffering Vampire Serf is what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus. This is mine. This I am. This myself. No Vampire Serf. Therefore, Sona, any kind of form whatsoever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all form or bodies should be seen as it really is, with correct wisdom thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Similarly, any kind of feeling whatsoever, any kind of perception, volition, consciousness, Whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all such aggregates should be seen as it really is with correct wisdom. This is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Seeing thus, O Na, the instructor noble, Disciple experiences revulsion towards body, revulsion towards feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge. It's liberated. He understands, destroyed, is birthed. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. This last few paragraphs that I've read is quite standard. The Buddha will say, here he's talking about the five aggregates. So he will ask whether the aggregates are permanent or impermanent. And the disciple will say it's impermanent. And then he'll ask, what is impermanent? Does that give happiness or suffering? And then they say suffering. Then he'll say, what is impermanent suffering and subject to change? Is it fit to regard it as this is mine, this I am, this is myself? And they say, no. Then the Buddha will say, therefore, any kind of aggregate, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, etc. All these aggregates, these five aggregates, should be seen with correct wisdom, thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. So normally when the Buddha gives such teachings, if the disciple's mind is very clear, then they will experience disenchantment with the aggregates and dispassion and they let go the clinging in the mind and they will become liberated. So this teaching actually is very helpful to a disciple to become enlightened provided the disciple is ready for enlightenment. The next Vitta is 22.53, at Savatthi. Monks, one who is engaged is unliberated. This word disengaged, disengaged is upaya. And then the Pali Dictionary is page 890. The Pali Dictionary gives upaya, the translation as attachment. So, it sounds better. Monks, one who has attachment is unliberated. One who has no attachment is liberated. Consciousness monks, while standing, might stand attached to form, based upon form, established upon form. With a sprinkling of delight, it might come to growth, increase and expansion. Our consciousness, while standing, might stand attached to feeling, linked, attached to perception, attached to volition, and based upon volition, established upon volition, with a sprinkling of delight, consciousness might come to growth, increase and expansion. Monks, though someone might say, apart from body, apart from feeling, apart from perception, apart from volition, I will make known the coming and going of consciousness, its passing way and rebirth, its growth, increase and expansion. That is impossible. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that the consciousness is attached to the body, feeling, perception and volition. And then if there is delight in this or that, then consciousness will come to growth, increase and expansion. And then this last part is very important. The Buddha says, if someone says, apart from body, feeling, perception, volition, I will make known the coming and going of consciousness. It's passing away and rebirth. That is impossible. In other words, you cannot separate consciousness from the other aggregates. These five aggregates must always come together. So if you don't understand this, you might think there is a being which is formless. It has no body. It's just pure consciousness. Like some people think, the concept of Kuan Yin Zhi Chai. Kuan Yin has no body, so Kuan Yin has no suffering. There's no such being. Because any being, if you have consciousness, the consciousness must rest in the body. must rest in her body. You must have this body for consciousness to dwell in. So because of this, so you see like this, the highest realm, the formless realm, the beings there, their bodies are so fine that they are not seen by other beings. So they are called formless. But some people think that they have no form. They only appear to have no form because all other beings cannot see them, even other devas cannot see them. But according to this Uttara, you cannot have consciousness without the other aggregates. So even the formless realm, the beings there, they also have form, but their form is so fine that other beings cannot see them. Monks, if a monk has abandoned lust for the for the form or body element. With the abandoning of lust, the basis is cut off. There is no support for the establishing of consciousness. If he has abandoned lust for the feeling element, abandoned lust for the perception, abandoned lust for volition, for the consciousness element. With the abandoning of lust, the basis is cut off. There is no support for the establishing of consciousness. And that consciousness is unestablished, not coming to growth, Generative, it is liberated. By being liberated, it is steady. By being steady, it is content. By being content, he is not agitated. Being unagitated, he personally attains Nibbana. He understands, destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. That's the end of the Sutta. So here the Buddha says, if a monk has abandoned lust for the five aggregates, then there is no support for the establishing of consciousness. And when the consciousness is unestablished, not established anywhere, not coming to growth, it's non-generative, it is liberated. Being liberated, it is steady, it is content and it is not agitated. This unagitated state is a cool state. Nibbana is a cool state. So when a being is unagitated, the mind is cool, then he attains Nibbana. So if a person's mind is agitated, he can never attain Nibbana, even if he wants to attain. For example, there are some ascetics, they strive so hard to attain Nibbana. The desire to become liberated is too strong, so the mind is agitated. That's why when we strive, the desire to become liberated must not be too strong. If you are looking forward to result, you are expecting results, then your mind is dwelling in the future. Your mind is not dwelling in the present. The Buddha says you must leave behind the past and you must forget about expecting anything in the future. Then only your mind is cool. So a lot of people make the mistake because in the worldly Life, we always want results, right? Success is shown by results. But in the spiritual life, it's the other way. In the spiritual life, we let go. Keep letting go. Keep letting go until there's no more to let go. Even yourself, also you let go. So if there's no self, what is there to gain? So, you must always remember, don't be greedy for results. If you're practicing, you do your work. If you're not making progress, that means your time is not ready yet. Don't become agitated. Oh, I practiced so hard, I'm not getting results. So, because your mind is agitated, if your mind is agitated, then of course you don't get results. So here you see an interesting thing is when there is no lust for the five aggregates and the basis of consciousness, no support for the establishment of consciousness. So it does not grow, it is liberated, it is content. and then it's unagitated. There are states of consciousness which are very high, like in the suttas, they say about signless concentration. There's no sign, like no object. So, and then there's a state called cessation of perception and feeling, where the sixth consciousness stops. And although the sixth consciousness stops, When a monk dwells in that state, he's still alive, although the breath has stopped, the consciousness has stopped, the heart has stopped. So if a person does not know, you go and examine him, you think he's dead. The only difference between him and a dead person is that a person who enters this nirodha state, cessation, the body is still warm, he still has body heat, meaning he still has life. So if it still has life, there's probably some other kind of consciousness in the body. So that's why here it says, even though that consciousness is unestablished, it is liberated, it is steady, it is content and all that. If there's no consciousness, how can the consciousness be steady and content? and unagitated. The next sutta is 22.54. There are these five kinds of seeds. What five? Root seeds, stem seeds, joint seeds, cutting seeds and germ seeds as the fifth. And if these five kinds of seeds are unbroken, unspoiled, undamaged by wind and sun, fertile, securely planted, but there is no earth or water, would these five kinds of seeds come to growth, increase and expansion? No, I will say." According to the commentaries, they have some interpretation about these five seeds, but it seems to be wrong. At the bottom of the sutta, The Buddha explains what these five seeds mean. If these five kinds of seeds are broken, spoiled, damaged by wind and sun, unfertile, not securely planted, but there is earth and water, would these five kinds of seeds come to growth, increase, and expansion? No, Bambal Sir. If these five kinds of seeds are unbroken, unspoiled, undamaged by wind and sun, fertile, securely planted, and there is earth and water, would these five kinds of seeds come to growth, increase, and expansion? Yes, Venerable Sir. Monks, the four stations of consciousness should be seen as like the earth element. Delight and lust should be seen as like the water element. Consciousness together with its nutriment should be seen as like the five kinds of seeds. Stop here for a moment. So here the five kinds of seeds represent consciousness together with its nutriment. It's four stations of consciousness. Sometimes the Pali word is vinyana, titi. Sometimes it's called abodes of consciousness. But in the Pali dictionary, they always talk about seven abodes of consciousness. The first one, where beings are different in body, different in perception, like the human plane and devas, some devas, and some beings in the woeful planes. And the second one, different in body, but equal in perception, meaning the Brahma realms. And then the third is the Abhashara Devas, those in the second Jhana realm. The fourth is the Subakinha Devas, I think they are in the third Jhana realm. And then the fifth is the first Arupa Devas, and then the sixth is the second Arupa Jhana Devas, and the seventh is the third Arupa Jhana Devas. So the four stations of consciousness or the four abodes of consciousness should be seen like the earth element, just like the seed resting on the earth. So consciousness resides in these different beings. Delight and lust should be seen like the water element, because water, if you have water, that's the catalyst for consciousness to grow. So delight and lust is the catalyst. If we delight in this and that in the world, then consciousness continues to grow. Consciousness, together with its nutriment, should be seen like the five kinds of seeds. Consciousness, it has different types of nutriment, I think earlier we read. So all of these are considered as the five kinds of seeds that will sprout. Consciousness monks, while standing, might stand, attached to form of body. Based upon body, established upon body, with the sprinkling of delight, it might come to growth, increase, and expansion. A consciousness while standing might stand attached to feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, sorry, volition. And based upon these other aggregates, with the sprinkling of delight, it might come to growth, increase, and expansion. Monks, though someone might say, apart from body, apart from feeling, apart from perception, apart from volition, I will make known the coming and going of consciousness, its passing away and rebirth, its growth, increase and expansion. That is impossible. So here the Buddha stressed this point again, that the five aggregates, they come together. Monks, If a monk has abandoned lust for the body element, with the abandoning of lust the basis is cut off. There is no support for the establishing of consciousness. If he has abandoned lust for the feeling, perception, volition, Consciousness element. With the abandoning of lust, the basis is cut off. There is no support for the establishing of consciousness. And that consciousness is unestablished, not coming to growth, non-generated. It is liberated. By being liberated, it is steady. By being steady, it is content. By being content, he is not agitated. Being unagitated, he personally attains Nibbana. He understands, destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. So here the point of this Sutta is that if we let go, the desire for the five aggregates, which is basically body and mind, then there's no support for consciousness, because consciousness resides in the body and in the mind. So when there's no lust for this body and mind, then consciousness will not continue to grow. The other point I want to say here, just now I said that the five aggregates come together that is on condition that there is consciousness. Once you have consciousness, the other aggregates must be there, body, feeling, perception, and volition. But there is another state, which is, there's a type of beings called the Asaniya Sattva. In the four jhana realm, there's a type of beings which have body, but no consciousness. They have body but no consciousness. Without consciousness, so there's no feeling, there's no perception, there's no volition. It's just like a block of wood. They just exist for a long time in the four jhana realm. And the moment consciousness starts, they will die from there. This state, I've never seen any book talk about this state. But I'd like to make a guess about this state. Because in the Vinaya books, the Buddha described how he was practicing very hard to attain liberation, and how he tried all various ways to end suffering. In other words, end his existence. And one of the ways he tried was to use his mind to force the mind to stop. So because his mind was very strong, because he had attained even the Arupa Jhanas, so his concentration, his mind was extremely disciplined. So he used the strength of his mind to press down on his mind and make the mind stop working, because he thought the source of suffering is the mind. As long as the mind is running, as long as we are conscious, as long as we are aware, then we are aware that we are suffering. If there is no awareness, then there is no suffering. So he used his mind and exerted his mind to stop the mind from functioning. But although he tried quite hard, he did not succeed, luckily for us. So after that, he gave up that method. But since he had tried that method, I would assume that there are other ascetics who have also tried it. So if they had succeeded, their mind would have stopped working and become unconscious. Unconscious for a certain while, for a certain period. And after that, consciousness would come back. So because they have trained their mind to do that now when they die, I think they are born in that realm. But that shows since that realm is in the four jhāna plane, that shows you can only do that if your mind is at least you have attained the four jhānas. Because when you have attained the four jhānas, the mind is very, very strong. So that was just a passing remark. Our next sutra is 22.55, a sabbati. There the Blessed One uttered this inspired utterance. Here he says, it might not be for me, it will not be, and it will not be for me. Resolving thus, a monk can cut off the lower fetters. When a monk cuts off the five lower fetters, he becomes an anagamin, a third fruition ariya, which is also translated as a non-returner, meaning he does not come back to the human rebirth anymore. But this translation doesn't seem to be very good. The previous one in the Pali Text Society, It sounds better. In the previous translation, it was, were I not then, it would not now be mine. It shall not be, and mine it shall not be. So, I try to explain this a bit from my understanding, my interpretation. Were I not then, probably means, were I not then, that means if in a previous life, I did not exist. That means I did not have the perception of I am. I exist. If my self was not there, it would not now be mine. This body and mind would not now be mine. This present body and mind would not now be mine. It shall not be. This it shall not be. This it is the I am, the ego, the self. shall not be." That means he's determined to cut off the self. And mind, it shall not be. When that happens, even if there is a body and mind, then he does not consider it to be mind anymore. It is just body and mind. So I think that is the explanation. And this was said, a certain monk said to the Blessed One, but how, Venerable Sir, can a monk resolving thus Were I not then, it would not now be mine. It shall not be, and mine it shall not be. Resolving thus, how can he cut off the lower factors? And then the Buddha said, Dear monk, the unlearned, ordinary person who does not see noble ones regards body as self. or body as belonging to self, or body as in the self, or self as in the body. Similarly for the other aggregates, perception, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. He does not understand as it really is, impermanent body as impermanent, impermanent feeling as impermanent, impermanent perception, impermanent volition, impermanent consciousness as impermanent. He does not understand as it really is, painful body as painful, painful feeling as painful feeling, painful perception, painful volition, painful consciousness. He does not understand as it really is, selfless body as selfless, anatta, selfless, selfless feeling as selfless, selfless perception, selfless volition, selfless Consciousness. I'll stop here for a moment. This selfless, what's the meaning of anatta? Anatta, sometimes it translates as no soul. That's not correct. Anatta means there is no core, something inside that is unchanging. If there's something inside us that does not change, then we can identify that to say that is me, because it does change. But if everything in the world is changing, changing meaning arises and passes away, arises and passes away. Everything in this world has a birth, has a continuation and ceasing. So if you identify anything in the world as I or mine, in a short while it will cease to exist. So where did that I go? Where did that mine go? Right? So that's the meaning of Anatta. There is no thing that is permanent, that does not change. There is no such thing in the world. Everything in the world is arising and passing away according to conditions. So because everything is arising and passing away, there is nothing you can identify as yourself because whatever you identify is going to cease to exist. So it's the same with the aggregates. All the five aggregates are selfless because they are impermanent and always changing and will cease. He does not understand as it really is, condition, body as condition, condition, feeling as condition, condition, perception, volition, consciousness. He does not understand as it really is. Body will be exterminated. will die, will pass away. Feeling will be exterminated. Perception, volition, consciousness will be exterminated. Stop here for a moment. This one, conditioned body, because in the world everything is arising and passing away according to conditions. So everything in the world is conditioned. Conditioned by certain conditions. It comes into existence because of certain conditions. That's why it's called condition. And since everything arises and will pass away, so here it says the body and the other aggregates will be exterminated, will cease. The learned noble disciple monk who sees noble ones, etc., does not regard body as self, does not regard body, feeling, perception, consciousness as self or as belonging to the self, etc. He understands that as it really is, impermanent body as impermanent, impermanent feeling perception, volition, consciousness as impermanent. He understands, as it really is, painful body as painful, painful feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as painful. He understands, as it really is, selfless body as selfless, selfless feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as selfless. He understands, as it really is, conditioned body as conditioned. He understands, as it really is, conditioned feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as condition. He understands as it really is, body will be exterminated, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, all will be exterminated. With the extermination of body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, that monk resolving thus, were I not then, it would not now be mine, it shall not be, and mine it shall not be. Resolving thus, Venerable Sir, a monk can cut off the five lower factors, but how should one know, how should one see for the immediate destruction of the asavas to occur? Let's stop here for a moment. So just now the Buddha was saying, for a monk to destroy the five lower factors and become an anagamin, He has to understand that the five aggregates are impermanent, that they are painful, that it is a source of suffering, that there is no self in them, nothing permanent. He understands that they are all conditioned. He understands that they will all cease. And so understanding that the five aggregates are impermanent and a source of suffering, He resolves this saying, were I not then, it would not now be mine. It shall not be, and mine it shall not be. The last sentence, that this I shall not be, he will exterminate the I, the self, so that this body and mind will also not be anymore. So finally the monk asked him, how to attain immediate destruction of the asavas? That means immediately to become liberated. The Buddha said, Dear monk, the unlearned ordinary person, ordinary worldling, becomes frightened over an unfrightening matter. For this is frightening to the unlearned worldling. were I not then, it would not now be mine. It shall not be, and mine it shall not be. But the instructed noble disciple, or the learned noble disciple, does not become frightened over an unfrightening matter, for this is not frightening to the noble disciple. Were I not then, it would not now be mine. It shall not be, and mine it shall not be. Stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is saying, for the ordinary person, he's saying that the self will be no more. It's frightening to him. But for the learned, noble disciple, it is not frightening to give up the self. Then the Buddha continued. Consciousness monks, while standing, might stand attached to form, attached to feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. Based upon these advocates, consciousness may, with the sprinkling of delight, come to growth, increase and expansion. Though someone might say, apart from body, apart from feeling, perception, volition, I would make known the coming and going of consciousness, its passing away and rebirth, its growth, increase and expansion. That is impossible. If a monk has abandoned lust for the body element, with the abandoning of lust the basis is cut off. There is no support for the establishing of consciousness. If he has abandoned lust for the feeling, perception, volition, consciousness element, with the abandoning of lust the basis is cut off. There is no support for the establishing of consciousness. When that consciousness is unestablished, not coming to growth, non-generative, it is liberated. By being liberated, it is steady. By being steady, it is content. By being content, he is not agitated. Being unagitated, he personally attains Nibbana. He understands he destroyed his birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for the state of being. It is, monk, for one who knows thus, for one who sees thus, that the immediate destruction of the asavas occurs. So here the Buddha is saying that a monk abandons desire for the five heavy gifts and then consciousness does not become established and then finally he attains liberation.

50-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-04).txt

Now we come to 22.57, a Savatthi. Monks. A monk who is killed in seven cases and a triple investigator is called in this Dhammavinaya a consummate one, one who has fully lived the holy life, the highest kind of person. And how monks is a monk killed in seven cases? Here monks A monk understands body, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation. He understands the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of body. He understands feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, their origin, cessation, and the way leading to cessation. He understands the gratification, danger, and escape in the case of body. of the aggregates. Stop here for a moment. So here, when the Buddha talks about seven cases, it means first the element, the aggregate. That means either body or feeling or perception, volition or consciousness. So the aggregate then, how it originates, how it ceases, and the way leading to its cessation. So there are four cases already. And then the gratification, danger, and escape. Another 3 cases, so the 4 plus 3 becomes 7. And what mounts his body? four great elements and the form derived from the four great elements that is called form or body. With the arising of nutriment there is the arising of body. With the cessation of nutriment there is the cessation of body. This noble eightfold path is the way leading to the cessation of body. That is right view, right thoughts, etc. are done to the right concentration. Stop here for a moment. So here When you say body, you refer to the four great elements and the form derived from the four great elements. And then body arises from nutriment. When there is a nutriment for the body, the body will arise. Then when there is no nutriment, then the body will cease. But that is temporary ceasing. Permanent ceasing is the Noble Eightfold Path leading to the permanent ceasing of body. The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on body, that is the gratification in body. that body's impermanent suffering and subject to change is the danger in body. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for body is the escape from body. Let's stop here for a moment. Here, as we discussed one or two nights ago, gratification in body is the joy, the pleasure you get from seeing the body. For example, seeing a 16-year-old girl at the height of her beauty, And then the danger in body is that it is impermanent and it is suffering. How? As I quoted in the suttas, the Buddha said, imagine the beautiful 16-year-old girl, after some time when she becomes sick, then she lies on the bed, cannot move, cannot get up from the bed. passing urine and shit on the bed and she cannot help herself, got to be lifted up by some, got to be fed by others, got to be bathed by others and then looking so weak and all that. And then all the loveliness has disappeared. Or the Buddha says, imagine when she's 80 or 90 or 100 years old, all the hair has turned white or bald, and the teeth has gone, and the skin is all wrinkled and blotchy, and she might be hunchbacked, and walking with a stick, shivering, so weak. So that also, you see the danger, the Buddha says. And then finally, she will die and turn into a corpse. And the corpse will be smelly and bloated and blue-black and oozing liquid from the nine openings. So there is a danger in the body. And then the escape is to remove desire and lust for the body. That is the escape of having a body again. Buddha continued, whatever ascetics and Brahmins, having thus directly known body, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, having thus directly known the gratification, danger, the escape in the case of body, are practising for the purpose of revulsion towards body, for its fading away and cessation. They are practising well. Those who are practising well have gained a foothold in this Dhamma Vinaya. Stop here for a moment. So if we understand the Dhamma, so even though we have not let go of attachment to the body and the mind, but we slowly try to see more clearly how the body and the mind is a source of suffering. So we are practicing towards letting go. So if we are practicing towards letting go of the body and mind and the world, then we are practicing well, understood the Dharma Vinaya. And whatever ascetics and Brahmins, having thus directly known body, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, having thus directly known the gratification, danger, and escape in the case of body, through revulsion towards body, through its fading away and cessation, are liberated by non-clinging, they are well liberated. Those who are well liberated, are consummate ones. As to those consummate ones, there is no round for describing them. So if a person has totally let go of this body, then he becomes liberated, then he does not go on the round of rebirths anymore. And what mounts his feeling? There are these six classes of feeling. Feeling born of eye contact, feeling born of ear contact, feeling born of nose contact, feeling born of tongue contact, feeling born of body contact, feeling born of mind contact. This is called feeling. With the arising of contact, there is the arising of feeling. With the cessation of contact, there is the cessation of feeling. This Noble Eightfold Path is the way leading to the cessation of feeling. Stop here for a moment. So feeling arises because of contact at the six sense doors. Our eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind are the six sense organs and when the object of these six sense bases come close by and then we sense them, there is contact. So with the contact, feeling arises. The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on feeling, this is the gratification in feeling. That feeling is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change. This is the danger in feeling. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for feeling. This is the escape from feeling. Whatever ascetics and brahmins, having thus directly known feeling, its origin, cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, having thus directly known the gratification, danger, and escape in the case of feeling, are practicing for the purpose of revulsion towards feeling. For its fading away and cessation, they are practicing well. Those who are practicing well have gained a foothold in this Dhamma Vinaya. So, similarly, the Buddha says, if a person understands these things, the aggregate, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to cessation, and understands gratification, danger, and escape, then we are practicing for the purpose of revulsion, letting go. Whatever ascetics and brahmins, having thus directly known feeling, etc., Those are consummate ones. So those who are totally let go of feeling, then they become liberated. And what monks is perception? There are these six classes of perception. Perception of forms, perception of sounds, perception of smells, perception of taste, perception of touch, perception of thoughts. This is called perception. With the arising of contact, there is the arising of perception. With the cessation of contact, there is the cessation of perception. This Noble Eightfold Path is the way leading to the cessation of perception. Let's stop here for a moment. So just now we said that with contact, feeling arises. After feeling, now you have perception. That means you perceive, like for example, you see something, you perceive that it's yellow or blue or white, whatever. The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on perception, that is the gratification in perception. That perception is impermanent suffering and subject to change. This is the danger in perception. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for perception, that is the escape from perception. Similarly, whatever ascetics, Brahmins, understand this and they let go, they are consummate ones. And what monks are volitions? There are six classes of volition. Volition regarding forms, sounds, smells, taste, touch and thoughts. This is called volition. With the arising of contact, there is a rising of volition. With the ceasing of contact, there is a ceasing of volition. The noble hateful path is the way leading to the cessation of volition. The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on volition, this is the gratification in volition. That volition is impermanent suffering and subject to change, is the danger in volition. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for volition, that is the escape from volition. And what is consciousness? There are these six classes of consciousness. Eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, mind consciousness. This is called consciousness. The arising of Mentality and materiality, Nama Rupa, there is the arising of consciousness. With the cessation of Nama Rupa, there is the cessation of consciousness. This Noble Eightfold Path is the way leading to the cessation of consciousness. Stop here for a moment. Consciousness is said to arise because of Nama Rupa. Because as I mentioned before, consciousness and Nama Rupa. Consciousness, the Pali is Vijnana. Nama Rupa, the translation is mentality, materiality. And you can consider that to be phenomenal. What consciousness is conscious of. When consciousness arises, it must be conscious of something. That something is Nama Rupa. So in English we call that phenomenal. So these two, consciousness and mentality, materiality, they always rise together and cease together. They cannot exist one by itself. They must always exist together and cease together. They are a pair. Siamese twins joined to each other. The pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on consciousness, that is the gratification in consciousness, that consciousness is in permanent suffering and subject to change. This is the danger in consciousness. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for consciousness, that is the escape. Whatever ascetics and brahmins, having thus directly known consciousness, its origin, cessation, way leading to its cessation, having thus directly known that gratification, danger and escape, the gate of consciousness, are practising for the purpose of revulsion towards consciousness, for its fading away and cessation, they are practising well. Those who are practising well have gained a foothold in this dharma-vinaya. Whatever, ascetics and Brahmins, having thus directly known consciousness, its origin, cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, having thus directly known gratification, danger, and escape in the case of consciousness, through revulsion towards consciousness, through its fading away in cessation, are liberated by non-clinging. They are well liberated. Those who are well liberated are consummate ones. As to those consummate ones, there is no round for describing them. This in such a way that a monk is killed in seven cases. And how monks is a monk a triple investigator? Here monks, a monk investigates by way of the elements, by way of the sense bases, and by way of dependent origination. It is in such a way that a monk is a triple investigator. Monks, a monk who is killed in these seven cases and a triple investigator is called in this Dharma Vinaya a consummate one, one who has fully lived the holy life, the highest kind of person. So here, finally, the Buddha says we should investigate by three ways. One is by way of the elements. The elements are the dhatus. We went through the sanghuta, called the dhatu sanghuta. I think it was chapter 14. And then the sense bases, we haven't come. That is chapter 35, salayatthana sanghuta. And then the third one is dependent origination. That one we went through already. Chapter 12, Nidana Samyutta. So although it does not mention, since it has already gone through just now, another way of investigating is the five aggregates. In fact, the five aggregates are the most important. And if we investigate the five aggregates, then we can become an ariya. So that's the end of this sutta. So here the Buddha is saying, the five aggregates, we have to understand the aggregate itself, how it arises, how it ceases, and the way leading to its cessation. And also you have to understand the gratification, the satisfaction that comes from that aggregate, the danger in that aggregate, the escape from that aggregate. So these are the seven cases. In Exhortise 22.58, the Buddha said, Monks, the Tathagata, Arahant, Sammasambuddha, liberated by non-clinging through revulsion towards body, through its fading away and cessation, is called a perfectly enlightened one. A monk liberated by wisdom, liberated by non-clinging to revulsion towards body, towards fading away and cessation, is called one liberated by wisdom. The Tathagata Arahant, Perfectly Enlightened One, or Samasambuddha, liberated by non-clinging to revulsion towards feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. through their fading away and cessation, is called a Sammasambuddha. A monk liberated by wisdom, liberated by non-clinging to revulsion towards feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, through their fading away and cessation, is called one liberated by wisdom. Therein, monks, what is the distinction? What is the disparity? What is the difference between the Tathagata Arahant Sammasambuddha and a monk liberated by wisdom? Stop here for a moment. This is also one important sutra. So the Buddha is saying that a Buddha is liberated because of revulsion, revulsion of the five aggregates. And he does not cling to the five aggregates. And the disciple, the Arahant disciple, becomes liberated in the same way by understanding the aggregates and then becoming disenchanted with the aggregates, seeing revulsion and then stop clinging to them and then he also becomes liberated. So here the Buddha is saying, what's the difference between a Buddha and his disciple liberated? You see, during the Buddha's time, the Buddha is called the Arahant. Tathagata, Samasambuddha. The monk disciples are not called arahants. The monk disciples are called monk liberated by wisdom or a monk liberated by mind or a monk liberated both ways. Both ways means liberated by wisdom as well as liberated by mind. The Buddha only is called the Arahant and then later people don't understand and they differentiate between the Buddha and the Arahant and say the Arahant has not finished his work, whereas the Buddha has finished his work. But we find in the Suttas that the Buddha says, after you see the rest of the Sutta, there is practically no difference between the Buddha and the Arahant disciple. And then the disciple said, Venerable Sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, guided by the Blessed One. Take recourse in the Blessed One. It would be good if the Blessed One would clear up the meaning of this statement. Having heard it from him, the monks will remember it. So here the Buddha is asking them, what's the difference between the teacher, the Buddha, and his disciple, liberated by wisdom? And they could not explain, so they asked the Buddha to kindly explain. Then listen and attend closely, monks, I will speak." Yes, Mabu Sir, the monks replied. The Blessed One said, The Tathagata monks, arahants, samasambuddha, is the originator of the path unarisen before, the producer of the path unproduced before, the declarer of the path undeclared before. He is the knower of the path, the discoverer of the path, the one skilled in the path, and his disciples now dwell following that path and become possessed of it afterwards. This monk is the distinction, the disparity, the difference between the Tathagata, Arahant, Samasambuddha and a monk liberated by wisdom. That's the end of the sutra. So here the Buddha is saying that the Buddha is the one who first discovered the path. The path here means the Noble Eightfold Path. So the Noble Eightfold Path is a path that is practiced by all Buddhas and all Arahants. Anyone who wants to become liberated must practice this Noble Eightfold Path. This is the one and only way for liberation. Nowadays, people confuse learners by saying there are 84,000 Dharma doors. The Buddha never mentioned Even once, there are 84,000 Dharma doors. The Buddha always says there's only one path to Nibbana, one path to liberation, only one and no other path, and that is the Noble Eightfold Path. So here the Buddha says that he is the one who has rediscovered the Noble Eightfold Path. He is the first to bring it back to this world. And he's very familiar with the path. He teaches the path. and he teaches his disciples the same path, and his disciples also follow him, practicing the same path. In other words, the path that the Buddha walks and his Arahant disciples walk is no different at all, since the Buddha is the first Arahant, and the others are later Arahants. So the Buddha said that is the only distinction, the difference between Arahant as Buddha and his disciples liberated by wisdom. So you see here, in the Buddha's own words, he says actually there's no difference between him and his disciples. Only he's the first Arahant and they are later Arahants. Nowadays people don't understand. They make such a big distinction between the Buddha and Arahant disciples and they come up with a lot of things that the Buddha never said before, all that rubbish which the Buddha said. It's not found in the original suttas. Those are the words of disciples. Things like paramis, that the Buddha cultivated paramis for such a long time. Four asankhya kapas and one hundred maha kapas. When you look into the suttas, there's not a single sutta where the Buddha spoke about parami. The Buddha also never heard the word parami. We are so smart, we are smarter than the Buddha. We talk about parami. The Buddha doesn't understand what is parami. So it's very misleading when you talk about parami and that you have to cultivate parami over such a long time. And then when you look closely, where do you find these teachings about the parami? They come from the Jataka stories. The Jataka stories are so childish and yet so many people believe in them. The deer can speak. The rabbit can talk like a human being. The rabbit can behave smarter than a human being. The story, the Jataka about the rabbit, he saw the hunter hunting the whole day in the forest. He could not kill any animal. So he was boiling the water, very hungry and nothing to eat. And according to the Jataka story, our Bodhisatta in the previous life was this rabbit. He saw this poor hunter, nothing to eat. He jumped into the boiling water, committed suicide for the hunter to eat. Such childish stories, a lot of people believe. And even the stories about the Buddha, Vesantara Jataka, because he wanted to perfect his parami of giving, he gave away his wife and two children to a heartless beggar. He knows the beggar will beat them, will make them suffer and all that. Still, he gave them away, which contradicts the Buddha's teachings. The Buddha says, a wise man's Charity must not harm himself, must not harm others. So in the case of this Vesantarajataka, he harms his wife, he harms his two children, and he harms himself. All for what? So it's very silly. A lot of silly teachings now taught. In fact, talking about cultivating the paramita over four asankhya kapas and 100 maha kapas, we find in the suttas that the Buddha only took three lifetimes to get out of samsara. Not even one world cycle, three lifetimes. The Buddha said in a previous life, in this kapha, in this world, in this present earth, he met the Buddha Kassapa. And when he met the Buddha Kassapa, he was a Brahmin, so he had no interest to see the Buddha Kassapa. His friend, his good friend, the pot maker, Gatikara, asked him to go. Many times he refused until Gatikara pulled him by the hair. Then only he had to go. Then when he went to see the Buddha Kassapa, he refused to pay respect to the Buddha Kassapa. But the Buddha Kassapa, because Gatikara pleaded with the Buddha to teach his friend, the Bodhisatta, some Dhamma, then the Buddha Kassapa taught him some Dhamma. After hearing the Dhamma, he must have attained Shreem Entry because he changed completely and became a monk. After becoming a monk, he must have attained at least the first Jhana because according to the Suttas, after that birth, he went up to the Tusita Heaven for a long time. But he came back to this same earth, that means within this same world cycle, he was born as Siddhartha Gautama. After being born as Siddhartha Gautama, as a small boy, about 10 years old, he could attain the first jhāna under the jambu tree. So that shows he had probably attained the first jhāna. And if he had already attained the first jhāna under the Buddha Kassapa, I'm quite sure he would have become a Sakadagamin. Sakadagamin. So Sakadagamin, his time to enter Nibbana is ripe. Sakadagamin is called a once-returner. He comes back to the human rebirth only one more time. He must enter Nibbana. From there we can understand why Siddhartha Gautama with such a rich, wealthy, happy family. He gave up everything and went into the jungle and lived an ascetic life until he became enlightened. That can only happen because he's a Sakadagami. An ordinary person cannot do that. People will say you've gone out of your mind. Such a happy family you live and you go off and become a beggar. So So you see, a lot of things in the sutras, if you study carefully, it's completely different from later books like the Jatakas and the Abhidhamma and the commentaries and all that. Okay, I think I'll stop here. I think I'll discuss. I find it a bit strange, you know, some people, they listen to my talks and then they are shocked. You see, all the Sunday schools are teaching the children about the Jataka stories and the Paramis and all that. Nobody pointed out that all these are not the Buddha's teachings. We read the suttas about Mara, Mara Samyukta. Mara is very powerful. So you cannot escape from me, you cannot escape from Samsara. Yeah, what page? When you practice the Noble Eightfold Path, you are practicing Sila, Samadhi and Panya. So when you have Samadhi, you will see things as they clearly, as they truly are. So you will understand the five aggregates as they truly are. So when you understand the five aggregates as they truly are, then you will let go of the five aggregates. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Not necessary. But then generally, if you study the Dhamma, then you study all, you will study the elements, you will study the six senses, you will study dependent origination, you will study the five aggregates, everything. But if you specialize in one, for example, five aggregates, you understand it and it's enough. Yes. Yes, you can use your own Korean combination. But one thing you have to bear in mind that they are quite related. Yeah. All right. Yes, yeah. Yeah, that's it. There are many people to go for, and also to stop. And then, I'm thinking that I want to pick up the activities out there, of course, but I think it's not worth it. So what is the reason? I'm supposed to make the time to do this and that. So that will make me happy and full of compassion and hope. Even though during the Buddha's time, disciples of the Buddha disrobed, but I'm quite sure the percent is much less than now. Now because the teacher is not Sammasambuddha who can read your mind, so more people disrobed. During the Buddha's time, those who disrobed, I think they don't have wisdom. Because if you look into the cases, there was one, after he disrobed, he was talking bad about the Buddha. And he said, according to the sutra, it seems one of the reasons why he disrobed was that he kept asking the Buddha to show him psychic power. And the Buddha refused to show him psychic power, so he assumed that the Buddha had no psychic power. And then he said, those external ascetics are so ascetic, they practice all kinds of what we call ku xing, ascetic practices. austerities, whereas the Buddha never practiced. What he didn't realize was the Buddha had gone through all the austerities, more than the ascetics, other ascetics. But because the Buddha found that they were quite useless, then the Buddha only adopted those that were beneficial, like eating one meal a day, going on alms round, wearing only one set of robes. That the Buddha calls the middle path. But to some people, it's already very ascetic. So, if a person has got some Buddha as your teacher, and you still fail to make the grade, then there must be something wrong with you, not the teacher. Sometimes, you find... In the case I just mentioned just now, that guy had no wisdom at all. On the other hand, there are some like Devadatta, it was because of the ego and the greed for fame, for offerings. So it's mentioned in the Sutta, because he showed his psychic power to the prince, the prince was so impressed, every day offered him two meals, breakfast and dinner, and each meal, 500 dishes were offered to him. If he had any decency in him, I mean, if he was really a monk, he would not want to accept 500 dishes every meal. For him to accept 500 dishes every meal shows that the ego is so big, he thinks he deserves it. So such a person, even before he left the Buddha, the Buddha already foresaw, that's why in that, there's one sutta about the Buddha saying, The different disciples, the various monks, they are the same type. Like those that follow Venerable Sariputta are all of great wisdom. Those that follow Mahamoggalana are all have great psychic power. Those that follow Mahakassapa are all very ascetic. But the Buddha said all those that follow Devadatta are all very greedy, evil desires. So that's why our Motive in wearing the robe is very important. Different people come to wear the robe for different reasons. Because nowadays, I find many, they come to cari makan because they think it's very hard life, you have to slog, get scolded by the boss and all that, get a lot of pressure and all that. Here, You just go on alms round and come back, do a bit of sweeping and then you can sleep, eat and sleep. Some people think like that. They don't know that all this is taking on a credit card. As one of the Sutta say, Brother Uy pointed out, you haven't become an Arya, you don't deserve. Yeah, much dust in their eyes. Actually during the Buddha's time also, because it's mentioned in the sutra that The Buddha taught the Dhamma, and then those people who have suffering in the world, when the Buddha explains, then they see there's a way out. There's a way out of their suffering. Because unless you go out into the world and experience suffering, you don't know what suffering is. After you experience suffering, then you come and wear the robe. If you wear it for the purpose of ending your suffering, that is good. Then you will strive. But like nowadays, you mentioned the Buddhist countries, the poor Buddhist countries. Nowadays, you find because some Buddhist families, they are very poor, they send their children to become monks and nuns. At the age of 8 years old or 10 years old, they send them to wear the robe, and they wear the robe for the rest of their life. And these people, they did not come into monkhood to cultivate, to practice, to get out of samsara. They come into monkhood to cari makan, to have a means of livelihood. Such people, they're not going to strive generally. That's why you find a lot of Buddhist countries, over a period of time, then Buddhism deteriorates. Because the people who come into monkhood, their purpose is not to strive. And sometimes people come into monkhood too young. Later, they don't see suffering. They still think they want to enjoy some more. So then they need this robe. But if, say, they come into life, I mean, come into the robes after 30, then it's the best, I think. Unless they are very gifted people. There are some, they come and within a short while, they attain Ariya-hood or Arahant-hood. But those are exceptions. Generally, I think if a person has already worked for some time, has enjoyed some of the worldly pleasures, and then he comes and wears the robe, then he is normal. I mean, he doesn't have false ideas about the outside world. Whatever that needs to be enjoyed, he has already enjoyed it. then he won't be easily attracted to the outside world. I see some Westerners, they come into monkhood very early. They go hitchhiking and they go to Thailand. They know about Buddhism suddenly. At the age of 20-something, very young, early 20s, they become a monk. That's very dangerous because maybe they have not tasted enough of the world. And later, at the age of 50, many of them disrobe. So it's best to taste the world first. Because you come to monkhood too late in life, also very difficult. Because you have very fixed habits, you know. And then you're also, your ego is also quite fixed already. So it's very difficult to change. Like the sutra say, old monk, young monk, but more senior, ask him to do this, you cannot do that, and all that, they get annoyed. This fellow can be my grandson, teaching me how to do this, not to do that, and all that. This forest tradition, there are good and bad points about it. The good point is that it encourages a monk to live in the forest monastery, which is quite ideal for practice. But if a monk wants to progress, he must study the suttas. Definitely must study the suttas, otherwise he does not get the right view. Recently I've heard about some very respected Thai Ajaan, with respect to some lay ascetics, which is quite surprising. The danger is if you don't study the suttas, then you don't get Right View. But Right View is the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path that you must attain. Because the suttas, there's one sutta, Majjhima Nikaya Sutta 117, where the Buddha says the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path must start with Right View. After you attain Right View, that will bring you to Right Thoughts, which will bring you to Right Speech, which will bring you to Right Action, which will bring you to Right Livelihood, which will bring you to Right Effort, which will bring you to Right Recollection, which will bring you to Right Concentration. So it has to be practiced in that order. So if a person does not study the Buddha's words, then he follows his teacher. And his teacher does not have Right View, so his disciple also does not have Right View. And the danger I see nowadays, some of them are too proud of their tradition. Just because their teacher is famous, they rely on the name of their teacher. They don't understand, our real teacher is not such a particular Achan or a particular Saido, but the Buddha himself. The Buddha is our real teacher. So, we must always go back to the Buddha. And also I see some monks in the forest tradition, sometimes they make a show of being ascetic. But sometimes some of their practice is actually wasting time. They go here, going there. They stay on two domes. But it's more like a sightseeing tour. They go here, they go all over the forest. I know one of our Malaysian monks, he stayed many years with the famous Thay Acharn. Then when he came back, I asked him what method of meditation the teacher taught him. He said, no, no method. So we say, if the teacher doesn't teach you to meditate well, let's not teach you the Dhamma, follow such a teacher. traveling in the forest and all that, just to show how ascetic you are, there is no point, that is not what the Buddha taught. So, to practice the Dhamma Vinaya, you must understand what is in the Dhamma, what is in the Vinaya. If you don't understand the Buddha's words in the Dhamma and Vinaya, then you are not practicing the Buddha's Dhamma Vinaya. We are practicing the Achan Stamavinaya or the Sayadaw's Dhammavinaya which is not the Buddha's Dhammavinaya. So we must always go back to the Buddha. Amitabha Sir.

51-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-05).txt

Today is the 5th of August. We are on the Khanda Sangyutta, Chapter 22 of the Sangyutta Nikaya. Now we come to Sutra 22.59. This is a very important sutra. It's called the Anatta Lakkhana Sutra. This was the sutra that the Buddha spoke to his earliest five disciples. And after hearing this sutra, all five of them attained Arahant Udana. see whether anyone of us here can attain Arahanthood. That's what I heard. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Paranasi. in the Deer Park at Isipatana. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks of the group of five thus, Monks, have us serve those monks, replied. The Blessed One said, Monks, body is not self, for if monks' body were self, this body would not lead to affliction, and it would be possible to have it of body. Let my body be thus. Let my body not be thus. But because body is not self, Body leads to affliction and it is not possible to have it of body, let my body be thus, let my body not be thus. Similarly, feeling is not self, perception, volition, consciousness are not self, for if mounts These aggregates were the self, then these aggregates would not lead to affliction, and it would be possible to have rid of the aggregates. Let my aggregates be thus. Let my aggregates not be thus. But because the aggregates are not self, the aggregates lead to affliction, and it is not possible to have rid of the five aggregates. Let my aggregate be thus. Let my aggregate not be thus. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says that the five aggregates, body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, which are basically body and mind, the last four being components of mind. So the Buddha says that these aggregates are not self. If the aggregates were our self, then we would have control over it and they would not become sick. But because They are not the self, so they constantly become sick and we have no control over them. What do you think monks? Is body permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, Venerable Sir. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, venerable sir, is what is impermanent, suffering and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus. This is mine, this I am, this is myself. No, venerable sir. Similarly is feeling, permanent or impermanent, is perception. Volition, consciousness, permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, Venerable Sir. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, Venerable Sir. Is what is impermanent suffering and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus? This is mine. This I am. This is myself. No, Venerable Sir. Stop here for a moment. You see here how the Buddha asked these questions. He goes one by one, he goes through form and then he has a set of questions. Is body permanent or impermanent? And then they say impermanent. What is impermanent? Does it give rise to suffering or happiness? And then they say it gives rise to suffering. So what is impermanent and gives you suffering and always subject to change? Is it fit to regard it as I and mine? and they say no. Henry repeats the same questions for each of the other aggregates. That means all the five aggregates. He goes through one by one to drive home the point that these aggregates are a source of suffering. So since they are a source of suffering and we have no control over them, it is not fit to assume they are I and mine because when you cling on to them as I and mine, they give rise to suffering. So you see a lot of the Buddha's discourses are like that. He repeats the point to make it clearer. Therefore, monks, any kind of body whatsoever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all bodies should be seen as they really are with correct wisdom thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Similarly, any kind of healing whatsoever, any kind of perception, volition, consciousness, whatsoever, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, interior or superior, far or near. All aggregates should be seen as they really are, with wisdom thus. This is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Seeing thus mounts the The learned, noble disciple experiences revulsion towards body, revulsion towards feeling, revulsion towards perception, revulsion towards volition, revulsion towards consciousness. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge it is liberated. He understands. Destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. This is what the Blessed One said. He elated those monks delighted in the Blessed One's statement. And while this discourse was being spoken, the minds of the monks of the group of five were liberated from the Asavas by non-clinging. That's the end of the sutra. So you see, since the Buddha makes them see very clearly, and they can see very clearly when they listen to the Buddha's words because they have attained the Jhanas and they see things as they really are, as the Buddha says, the condition of seeing things as they really are is a focused mind. So the Buddha drives home the point that these aggregates are a source of suffering and we have no control over them. And it is not fit to cling on to them as this is I and mine. Then the Buddha is urging them to let go. And so they see the point and they let go inside. Let go and they become liberated. 22.60 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Vesali in the great wood in the hall with the big roof. Then Mahali the Licchavi approached the Blessed One and etc. and said to him, Remember Sir, Purana Kasapa speaks thus, There is no cause or condition for the defilement of beings. Beings are defiled without cause or condition. There is no cause or condition for the purification of beings. Beings are purified without cause or condition. What does the Blessed One say about this? Stop here for a moment. This Purana Kassapa mentioned here is one of six leaders of external sects, other religious groups, and they have different teachings. Some of them, like Makaliko Salaputta, say there's no such thing as kamma. You can kill a lot of people and there's no sin and all that. so this one says there's no cause or condition for things to happen it just happened by themselves just happened by chance or something like that so this man is asking the buddha what is the buddha's opinion and the buddha said There is, mahali, a cause and condition for the defilement of beings. Beings are defiled with cause and condition. There is a cause and condition for the purification of beings. Beings are purified with cause and condition. But, Venerable Sir, what is the cause and condition for the defilement of beings? How is it that beings are defiled with cause and condition? And the Buddha said, If mahali, this form were exclusively suffering, immersed in suffering, steeped in suffering, and it were not also steeped in pleasure, beings would not become enamored with it. But because form is pleasurable, immersed in pleasure, steeped in pleasure, and is not steeped only in suffering, beings become enamored with it. By being enamored with it, they are captivated by it, and by being captivated by it, they are defiled. This mahali is a cause and condition for the defilement of beings. It is thus that beings are defiled with cause and condition. If mahali, this feeling were exclusively suffering, immersed in suffering, steeped in suffering, and similarly if perception, volition, consciousness were exclusively suffering, beings would not become enamored with it. But because all the aggregates are pleasing, are pleasurable, beings become enamored with them. By being enamored with them, they are captivated by them, and by being captivated by them, they are defiled. This Mahali is a cause and condition for the defilement of beings. It is thus that beings are defiled with cause and condition. So here the Buddha says, beings are said to be defiled because they are captivated by body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. And being captivated, they crave for these five aggregates, so they are said to be defiled. For what, Venerable Sir, what is the cause and condition for the purification of beings? How is it that beings are purified with cause and condition? And the Buddha said, if Mahali, this body were exclusively pleasurable, immersed in pleasure, steeped in pleasure, and it were not also steeped in suffering, beings would not experience revulsion towards it. But because body is suffering, immersed in suffering, steeped in suffering, and it's not steeped only in pleasure, beings experience revulsion towards it. Experiencing revulsion, they become dispassionate. Through dispassion, they are purified. This mahali is a cause and condition for the purification of beings. It is thus that beings are purified with cause and condition. Similarly, if mahali, this feeling, were exclusively pleasurable, this perception, volition and consciousness were exclusively pleasurable, beings would not experience revulsion towards them. But because The Aggregates are suffering also. Beings experience revulsion towards them. Experiencing revulsion, they become dispassionate. And through dispassion, they are purified. These two Mahalis are cause and condition for the purification of beings. It is thus that beings are purified with cause and condition. That's the end of the Sutta. So here the Buddha says, the five Aggregates, they are a source of suffering. At the same time, they are also a source of pleasure. So those beings who see them more pleasurable than suffering, they would crave for these five aggregates, the body and the mind, and so they become defiled. But people who are more mature, they feel that the aggregates are more suffering than pleasurable. And so because of that, they feel revulsion for the five aggregates. feeling revulsion, they become dispassionate, they no more crave for them. So that is the purification of beings. So it depends on how mature, spiritually mature the being is. If the being is spiritually immature, then they want to crave for all the worldly pleasures, sensual pleasures. But beings who are mature, spiritually mature, and they see that it is not worth it. The suffering that we derive from clinging to these worldly things is It's so much, it's not worthwhile, the pleasure is not worthwhile, then we let go. Come to the next sutra, 22.78, at Savatthi, page 913. Monks, in the evening, the lion, the king of beasts, comes out from his lair. Having come out, he stretches himself, surveys the four quarters all around, and roars his lion's roar three times. Then he sets out in search of game. When the lion, the king of beasts, roars, whatever animals hear the sound are for the most part filled with fear, a sense of urgency and terror. Those who live in holes enter the holes. Those who live in the water enter the water. Those who live in the woods enter the woods. And the birds fly up into the air. Even those royal bull elephants, bound by strong thongs in the villages, towns and capital cities, burst and break their bones asunder, frighten, they urinate and defecate, and flee here and there. So powerful, monks, is the lion, the king of beasts among the animals, so majestic and mighty. So too, monks, when the Tathagata arises in the world, an Arahant, Sammasambuddha, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate knower of the world, unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the enlightened one, the blessed one. He teaches the Dhamma thus, such is form, such is origin, such is passing away. Similarly, such is feeling, perception, volition, their origin and their passing away, and consciousness too. Then monks, when those devas who are long-lived, Beautiful, abounding in happiness, dwelling for a long time in lofty palaces, hear the Tathagata's teaching of the Dhamma, they are for the most part filled with fear, a sense of urgency and terror, saying, It seems, sir, that we are impermanent, though we thought ourselves permanent. It seems, sir, that we are unstable, though we thought ourselves stable. It seems, sir, that we are non-eternal, though we thought ourselves eternal. It seems, sir, that we are impermanent, unstable, non-eternal, included within identity. So powerful, monks, is the Tathāgata over this world together with its devas, so majestic and mighty. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the fortunate one, the teacher, further said, When the Buddha, through direct knowledge, sets in motion the wheel of Dhamma, The peerless teacher in this world, with its devas, makes this known, the cessation of identity and the origin of identity, also the noble eightfold path that leads to suffering's appeasement. Then those devas with long lifespans, beautiful, ablaze with glory, are struck with fear, filled with terror, like beasts who hear the lions' roar. We have not transcended identities. It seems we are impermanent. So they say, having heard the utterance of the Arahant, the released, stable one. so here the buddha is saying just like the lion when the lion roars it's raw all the animals panic including even the royal bull elephants which are supposed to be so brave and can fight in the wars and all that can withstand arrows and blows and all that but when they hear the sound of the lion they panic and they so frightened that they urinate and defecate and run here and there. In the same way, the Buddha says that when the Buddha arises in the world and similarly roars his lion's roar, that means sets forth the Dhamma, teaches the Dhamma, even those powerful devas and devis who live for a long time, when they hear the Dhamma, because they have psychic power, they can know when they contemplate what the Buddha is teaching. Then they realize suddenly that they are not eternal, that they are not immortal. They thought they would never die because their life is so long, millions and millions of years. And suddenly they realize that they have to die and they know when they die there are are woeful planes of rebirth awaiting them. So they get very frightened, they panic. So powerful is the Buddha. The next sutra, 22.79, that's Sabati, the Buddha said. Monks, those ascetics and Brahmins who recollect their manifold past abodes, that means past lives, all recollect the five aggregates of clinging, or a certain one among them. What five? When recollecting thus, monks, I had such a body in the past. It was just body that one recollects. When recollecting, I had such a feeling in the past. It is just feeling that one recollects. When recollecting, I had such a perception in the past. It is just perception that one recollects. When recollecting, I had such volitions in the past. It is just volitions that one recollects. When recollecting, I had such consciousness in the past. It was just consciousness that one recollects. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha says, the ascetics who are able to see their past lives, those who have psychic power, when they look into their past lives, when they refer to themselves in the past life, they always refer to themselves as that body, that feeling, that perception, volition and consciousness. So they always refer to the five abbegates as themselves. And why monks do you call it body? It is affected. Here it says, why do you call it form? It says it is deformed monks. Therefore it is called form. Deformed by what? Deformed by cold, deformed by heat, deformed by hunger, deformed by thirst, deformed by contact with flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, and serpents. It is deformed, monks, therefore it is called form. Let's stop here for a moment. The Pali word for uh form or body is rupa and here it says it is deformed or affected is rupati so body is so called because it is affected by the environment can be changed by the environment that's why it's called body But another way of defining body is that which the seeing consciousness is aware of. It is the body, it is the object of the eye organ, the external object, the eye organ. What the eye consciousness is aware of is is body or form. And why monks do you call it feeling? It feels monks, therefore it is called feeling. And what does it feel? It feels pleasure. It feels pain. It feels neither pain nor pleasure. It feels monks, therefore it is called feeling, Vedana. And why monks do you call it perception? Sannyā. It perceives monks, therefore it is called perception. And what does it perceive? It perceives blue, it perceives yellow, it perceives red, it perceives white. It perceives monks, therefore it is called perception. Stop here for a moment. This word perception, sannyā, it means perception means we have a certain conception. For example, we think the color is blue or yellow or red. But somebody else who might be colour blind, would perceive it differently. So, for example, you perceive that this lady is beautiful or that man is handsome, but somebody else may have a different opinion. But the Chinese translation is xiang. Xiang is more of thought, right? So it's not a very good translation. Because here it says it perceives blue, yellow, red, white. So you can understand that it's perception rather than a thought. And why monks do you call them volition? conditioners. They condition the conditioned monks, therefore they are called volition or conditioners. This word, they condition the condition, isangkatang abisangkaroti. Sangkata is the condition. Everybody agrees that the word sangkata is condition. This abisangkaroti is to condition the condition. You see why I say so? And what is the condition that they condition? They condition form as form. They condition feeling as feeling. They condition Perception is perception. They condition volition as volition. They condition consciousness as consciousness. They condition the conditioned monks, therefore they are called conditioners. Now this word sankhara, here they translate as volitional formations, which I generally translate as volition. This word sankhara, in the five aggregates, sankhara always means volition or free will. but this term has a general meaning here they talk about the general meaning is that it is a conditioner because it conditions other things so like volition is also a conditioner because when we use our willpower we condition something right we use your mind to do what you want to change whatever you want or to So the mind is a form of conditioner, I mean the volition is a form of conditioner. But I always remember in the 5 Aghigis, the word Sankara refers specifically to volition, not like here here they're talking about a general conditioner. Why monks do you call it consciousness? It cognizes monks, therefore it is called consciousness. And what does it cognize? It cognizes sour, it cognizes bitter, it cognizes pungent, it cognizes sweet, it cognizes sharp, it cognizes mild, it cognizes salty, it cognizes bland. It cognizes monks, therefore it is called consciousness. This one I think you can understand. There in monks, the learned noble disciple reflects thus, I am now being devoured by body. In the past too I was devoured by body in the very same way that I am now being devoured by present body. If I were to seek delight in future body, then in the future too I shall be devoured by body in the very same way that I am now being devoured by present body. Having reflected thus, he becomes indifferent towards past body. He does not seek delight in future body, and he is practicing for revulsion towards present body, for its fading away and cessation. I stop here for a moment now. Here he says, I am being devoured by form. are devoured by body. What it means, you are being eaten, you're being scourged, you're being irked, you're being vexed, you're being annoyed by body. So body gives you a lot of suffering. That's why it says I'm being devoured by body, eaten up by body, eaten here and there. So what it's trying to mean is body It's a source of suffering. Similarly, he reflects, I am being devoured by feeling, by perception, volition and consciousness. In the past too, I was devoured by these aggregates in the very same way that I am now being devoured by present aggregates. If I were to seek delight in future aggregates, Then in the future too I shall be devout by the aggregates in the very same way that I am being devout by present aggregates. Having reflected thus, he becomes indifferent towards past aggregates. He does not seek delight in the future aggregates, and he is practicing for revulsion towards the present five aggregates, for their fading away and cessation. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, remember that day we read that if a person is practicing for revulsion towards the five aggregates, he is a learner. He's a learner. He's an Aryan disciple. He understands the Dhamma that we should practice for revulsion of the aggregates. What do you think, monks? Is body permanent or impermanent? similarly they say impermanent what is impermanent suffering or source of happiness, and they say it's a source of suffering. And then, what is impermanent suffering, and subject to change? Is it fit to be regarded as this is mine, this I am, this is myself? And they say no verbal self. So the Buddha goes through the same process of asking each one of the aggregates the answer in the same way. Then the Buddha says, therefore monks, any kind of body whatsoever, any kind of feeling, perception, volition and consciousness whatsoever, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near. All the aggregates should be seen as they really are, with correct wisdom thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. This is called monks, a noble disciple who dismantles and does not build up, who abandons and does not cling, who scatters and does not amass, who extinguishes and does not kindle. And what is it that he dismantles and does not build up? He dismantles body and does not build it up. He dismantles feeling, perception, volition, consciousness and does not build it up. Stop here for a moment. Dismantle and not build up means he practices towards the cessation of the five aggregates, not the building up of the five aggregates in a future life, in a future body and mind. And what is it that he abandons and does not cling to? He abandons body and does not cling to it. He abandons feeling, perception, volition and consciousness and does not cling to it. And what is it that he scatters and does not amass? He scatters body and does not amass it. He scatters feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. and does not amass it. And what is it that he extinguishes and does not kindle? He extinguishes form and does not kindle it. He extinguishes body and does not kindle it. He extinguishes feeling, perception, volition, consciousness and does not kindle it. Seeing thus, Monks, the instructed or the learned noble disciple, experiences revulsion towards body, revulsion towards feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge. It is liberated. He understands, destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for this state of being. It is called monks a noble disciple who neither builds up nor dismantles, and who abides having dismantled, who neither abandons nor clings, but who abides having abandoned, who neither scatters nor amasses, but who abides having scattered, who neither extinguishes nor kindles, but who abides having extinguished. And what is it, monks, that he neither builds up nor dismantles, but abides having dismantled? He neither builds up nor dismantles, body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, but abides having dismantled them. And what is it that he neither abandons nor clings to, but abides having abandoned? He neither abandons nor clings to body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, but abides having abandoned them. And what is it that he neither scatters nor amasses, but abides having scattered? He abides, he neither scatters nor amasses body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, but abides having scattered them. And what is it that he neither extinguishes nor kindles, but abides having extinguished? He neither extinguishes nor kindles body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, but abides having extinguished them. When monks, a monk is thus liberated in mind, the devas, together with Indra, Brahma and Bajapati, pay homage to him from afar. Homage to you, O thoroughbred man! Homage to you, O highest among men! we ourselves do not directly know, dependent upon what you meditate. That's the end of the Sutta. So, a lot of these Suttas are quite similar, except that here, this Sutta, it defines, it explains what you mean by body, what you mean by feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. At the end, it says, if a monk has become liberated and become an Arahant, even from far away, the devas will pay respect to this arahant.

52-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-05).txt

82.80 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling among the Sakyans at Kapilavatthu in Nigrodha Spa. Then the Blessed One, having dismissed the monks for a particular reason, dressed in the morning and taking bowl and robe, entered Kapilavatthu for alms. When He had walked for alms in Kapilavatthu and had returned from the alms round, after His meal He went to the great wood for the days abiding. Having plunged into the great wood, He sat at the foot of a beluva sapling for the days abiding. Then, while the Blessed One was alone in seclusion, a reflection arose in His mind thus, The Sangha of monks has been dismissed by me. There are monks here who are newly ordained, not long gone forth, recently come to this Dhammavinaya. If they do not see me, there may take place in them some alteration or change. Just as when a young calf does not see its mother, there may take place in it some alteration or change. So too, there are monks here who are newly ordained, not long gone forth, recently come to this Dhammavinaya. If they do not see me, there may take place in them some alteration or change. Just as when young seedlings do not get water, there may take place in them some alteration or change. So too, there are monks here who are newly ordained, not long gone forth, recently come to this Dhamma Vinaya. If they do not see me, there may take place in them some alteration or change. Let me assist the Sangha of monks now, just as I have assisted it in the past. stop here for a moment. So in this sutta, the Buddha was not happy with the monks, so he dismissed them. He went for alms round and after his meal, he went into the forest and spent the day alone. And then he reflected that maybe he should not leave the Sangha because there are a lot of new monks. Without a leader, the new monks are not steady yet. They may have a change of heart many times. The abbot of a monastery is not around. Sometimes the young monks, they disrobe. So the Buddha reflected on this, then he thought he should go back to them. Then Brahma Sahampatti, having known with his own mind the reflection in the Blessed One's mind, just as quickly as a strong man might extend his drawn-in arm or draw in his extended arm, disappeared from the Brahma world and reappeared before the Blessed One. He arranged His upper robe over one shoulder, raised His joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, and said to Him, So it is, Blessed One, so it is, Fortunate One. The Sangha of monks has been dismissed by the Blessed One. There are monks here who are newly ordained. Not long gone forth, recently come to this Dharma-Vinaya. If they do not see the Blessed One, there may take place in them some alteration or change. Just as when a young calf does not see its mother, there may take place in it some alteration or change. So too, there are monks here who are newly ordained. Not long gone forth, recently come to this Dharma-Vinaya. If they do not see the Blessed One, there may take place in them some alteration or change. This is when young seedlings do not get water, there may take place in them some alteration or change. So too there are monks here who are newly ordained, not long gone forth, recently come to this Dhamma Vinaya. If they do not see the Blessed One, there may take place in them some alteration or change. Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One take delight in the Sangha of monks. Let the Blessed One welcome the Sangha of monks. Let the Blessed One assist the Sangha of monks now just as He has assisted it in the past. The Blessed One consented by silence. Then Brahma Sahampatti, having understood the Blessed One's consent, paid homage to the Blessed One, and keeping him on his right, he disappeared right there. Stop here for a moment. You see, this Brahma Sahampatti is quite helpful. Sometimes he feels that his presence is needed, he will come. So his Brahma Heaven is so far away, but because of his great psychic power, he can just fly down here. so fast, just as you can draw in your arm or extend your arm so fast. And the Arahant disciples of the Buddha, including the Buddha, are also like that. They have also such great psychic power. think they want to go to the Brahma Heavens, immediately their body can fly there. So in this case, this is Brahma Sahampati. Brahma Sahampati is the one when the Buddha was enlightened and then decided not to teach the Dhamma, he came to beg the Buddha to teach the Dhamma and set the wheel rolling. So here he has come again. Actually, holy men like the Buddha, they are always watched after by the Devas. Then, in the evening, the Blessed One emerged from seclusion and went to Nigrodha's path. He sat down in the appointed seat and performed such a feat of psychic power that the monks would come to Him alone and in pairs, in a timid manner. Then those monks approached the Blessed One alone and in pairs, in a timid manner. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. Let's stop here for a moment. So the Buddha used his psychic power to make the monks decide to come to him. So they came, sometimes they came alone, sometimes they came in pairs and all that. The Blessed One then said to them, monks, this is the lowest form of livelihood, that is gathering alms. In this world, In this world, this is a term of abuse. You alms gatherer or alms beggar, you roam about with a begging bowl in your hand. And yet monks, clansmen intent on the good, take up that way of life for a valid reason. It is not because they have been driven to it by kings that they do so, nor because they have been driven to it by thieves, nor owing to that, nor from fear, nor to earn a livelihood. But they do so with the thought, I am immersed in birth, aging, and death, in sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair. I am immersed in suffering, oppressed by suffering. Perhaps an ending to this entire mess of suffering might be discerned." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is telling them, You monks, you are beggars and this is the lowest form of livelihood. Sometimes we read the ten contemplations that a monk has to make. The first contemplation is, I've now come to the state of being an outcast. This outcast is, you know, in India, they have the caste system. So in the caste system, they have four castes. The highest is supposed to be either the warriors, kathiya, or the brahmins, the priest caste, and then followed by the merchants. the Vesa, followed by the workers, Suddha. So, these are the four castes. Now, there are some that are so low that they are considered out of this class. And monks are supposed to be like that. They have no caste. They are out of the caste. That's why they are outcast. So here the Buddha says a monk's livelihood is the lowest form of livelihood. But Buddha says still people take up monkhood for a good reason and not because they are forced by kings or forced by death. or because of fear or anything, but because they realize that there is suffering, there is earth, there is birth, aging and dying, and all kinds of suffering. So to end all that suffering, that's why we wear the robe. It is in such a way, monks, that this clansman has gone forth. Yet he is covetous, inflamed by lust for sensual pleasures, with a mind full of ill-will, with intentions corrupted by hate, muddle-minded, lacking clear comprehension, unconcentrated, scatterbrained, loose in his sense faculties, just as a bran from a funeral pyre. burning at both ends and smeared with excrement in the middle, cannot be used as timber either in the village or in the forest. In just such a way do I speak about this person? He has missed out on the enjoyments of a householder, yet he does not fulfil the goal of asceticism. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that there are some monks, they have gone forth with a good intention, but after going forth, they are not able to practice correctly. They still have a lot of greed, a lot of lust, a lot of anger, muddle-minded. scatterbrained, and all that. So the Buddha said, it's neither here nor there. Just like the wood from the funeral pyre, it is burned at both ends, and in the middle you have all the excrement. So you cannot use it as timber in the village to put up a house. And you cannot even use it in the forest. to make a fire. So, in other words, neither a good lay person or a good monk. There are amongst these three kinds of unwholesome thoughts. Sensual thoughts, thoughts of ill will, thoughts of harming. And where amongst do these three unwholesome thoughts cease without remainder? For one who dwells with a mind well established in the four satipatthana, the four intense states of recollection, or for one who develops the silent concentration, This is reason enough monks to develop the scientist concentration. When the scientist concentration is developed and cultivated, monks, it is of great fruit and benefit. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that the three kinds of unwholesome thoughts will cease without remainder when the mind is well-established in the four Satipatthana or in the signless concentration. Meaning to say, these two are quite equivalent. In the Satipatthana Sanghuta that we will come to later, you will find that the Buddha says, if a person practices Satipatthana correctly, he must attain Samadhi. must attain the jhanas, one-pointedness of mind. So also like remember Anuruddha, when they asked him what he practiced to get such great psychic power, he said the four satipatthana. So satipatthana is always equivalent to jhana. If you practice it correctly, it leads to jhana, it leads to samadhi. So here the Buddha says all the signless concentration must be a very high state where there is no sign or no object. So he says this is a good reason to practice the signless concentration because then all the unwholesome thoughts cease without remainder. There are amongst these two views, the view of existence or eternalism and the view of extermination or annihilationism. Therein amongst, the learned noble disciple reflects thus, is there anything in the world that I could cling to without being blameworthy? He understands thus, there is nothing in the world that I could cling to without being blameworthy. For if I cling, it is only body that I would be clinging to, only feeling, perception, volition and consciousness that I would be clinging to. With that clinging of mind as condition, there would be being. bhava with being as condition birth jati with birth as condition aging and death sorrow lamentation pain displeasure and despair would come to be such would be the origin of this whole mass of suffering stop here for a moment so here the buddha says if we cling in the world it means that we cling to this body and mind And if we cling to the body and mind, then this being, I am, comes into existence. You have this concept or this perception that I am or I exist. And once you have the perception I exist, then you have birth. The moment you think you come into this world, that is your birth. And once you have birth, then you must have aging, and sickening, and dying, and all kinds of suffering. What do you think, moms? Is body permanent or impermanent? Similarly, is feeling, perception, volition, consciousness permanent or impermanent? I say impermanent, Wembley sir. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, Wembley sir. Is what is impermanent suffering and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus? This is mine. This I am. This is myself. No, Wembley sir. Seeing thus, he understands and then he becomes liberated. You see this last part, the Buddha always stresses this point. Are the five aggregates permanent or impermanent? And they always say impermanent. And then what is impermanent? A source of suffering or happiness? And they say suffering. So what is impermanent? Suffering and subject to change. Why do you continue to cling to it as this is mine, this I am, this is myself? so when they realize this and they let go and become liberated so this teaching the buddha gave to these monks as they came to him is like a wake-up call Telling them, you have taken up the ropes already. Don't be careless, don't be negligent, don't be lazy. If you are lazy, you are neither a good layman nor a good monk. You are neither here nor there. Also asking them to develop the 4 Satipatthana or the Sightless Concentration. 22.81 On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Kosambi in Gosita's Park. Then in the morning, the Blessed One dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Kosambi for alms. When He had walked for alms in Kosambi and had returned from the alms round, after His meal, He set His lodging in order Himself. put in order, took his bowl and roll, and without informing his personal attendants, without taking leave of the Bhikkhu Sangha, he set out on tour alone, without a companion. Let's stop here for a moment. This sutra says that the Buddha was at Kosambi. At that time, the Kosambi monks split because of a big quarrel. The Sangha split into two factions. There was a schism of the Sangha. It was a very serious thing. The monks were behaving very badly towards each other, shouting and sometimes fighting with each other and all that. So the Buddha tried to tell them to stop the quarreling. He tried so many times, they refused to listen to him. So he finally got fed up. So he swept his kuti, put everything in order, took his bowl and robe, and left without informing the monks. Then not long after the Blessed One had departed, a certain monk approached the Venerable Ananda and told him, Friend Ananda, the Blessed One has set his lodging in order himself, taken his bowl and robe, and without informing his personal attendants, without taking leave of the Bhikkhu Sangha, he has set out on tour alone, without a companion. Venerable Ananda said, Friend, Whenever the Blessed One sets out like that, He wishes to dwell alone. On such an occasion, the Blessed One should not be followed by anyone. Then the Blessed One, wandering by stages, arrived at Parilayaka. There, at Parilayaka, the Blessed One dwelt at the foot of an auspicious Sal tree. Let's stop here for a moment. There's a story here that when the Buddha went to this place to live, that the elephant and the monkey came to attend to the Buddha. They served the Buddha and all that. I don't know whether it's true or not. It's just a story. Then a number of monks approached the Venerable Ananda and exchanged greetings with him. And when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, they sat down to one side and said to the Venerable Ananda, Friend Ananda, it has been a long time since we heard a Dharma talk in the presence of the Blessed One. We should like to hear such a talk. Friend Ananda, stop here for a moment. These monks, there are supposed to be 500 monks who have just arrived after the Vassa. They wanted to see the Buddha and they found that he was not around. So they said they want to hear a Dharma talk from the Buddha. told Venerable Ananda, probably he wanted Venerable Ananda to bring them to see the Buddha. Then the Venerable Ananda, together with those monks, approached the Blessed One at Pariliyaka, at the foot of the auspicious salt tree. Having approached, they paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then instructed, exhorted, inspired, and gladdened those monks with a Dharma talk. On that occasion, a reflection arose in the mind of a certain monk thus, How should one know, how should one see for the immediate destruction of the Asavas to occur? Stop here for a moment. So this monk was thinking, how can one know and see so that one can immediately become liberated in Arahanthood and destroy the Asavas? The Blessed One, having known with his own mind the reflection in that monk's mind, addressed the monks thus, This Dhamma has been taught by me discriminately. The four Satipatthanas have been taught by me discriminately. The four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, Idipada, the five spiritual faculties, Indriya, the five powers, Bala, the seven factors of enlightenment, Bhojanga, the Noble Eightfold Path, Vāryā-aṭṭhāṅgika-māgha has been taught by me discriminately. Monks, in regard to the Dhamma that has been taught by me discriminately, a reflection arose in the mind of a certain monk thus. How should one know, how should one see, for the immediate destruction of the Asavas to occur? And how should one know, how should one see for the immediate destruction of the asavas to occur? I'll stop here for a moment. Just now the Buddha mentioned all these practices, the four satipatthana, the four right efforts, idipada, the four samagayama, the four right efforts, and then the four idipada, 5 Indriya, the 5 Bala, the 7 Bhojanga, the Ariyatangika Maga, all these. If you add them up, these 4 and 4 and 4 and 5 and 5 and 7 and 8, they add to 37. They are called the 37 Bodhipakya Dhammas. This is the core of the Buddha's teachings because if you practice These things will lead to enlightenment. So the Buddha says that he has taught these things and yet a certain monk is asking how to attain enlightenment. Then the Buddha continued, and how monks should one know, how should one see for the immediate destruction of the asavas to occur? Here monks, the unlearned ordinary person who does not see noble ones and is unskilled and untrained in their Dhamma, who does not see superior persons and is unskilled and untrained in their Dhamma, regards body as self. That regarding monks, is a volition, sankhara. That volition, what is its source, what is its origin, from what is it produced, from what is it born? When the unlearned, only person is contacted by a feeling born of ignorance contact, craving arises, hence that volition is born. Thus, monks, that volition is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen. That craving is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen. That feeling is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen. That contact is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen. That ignorance is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen. When one knows and sees thus, monks, the immediate destruction of the asavas occurs. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, an ordinary worldling, he regards the body as the self, and that is a volition. And then the Buddha says, when feeling arises, when feeling arises from contact, craving arises. It is a pleasant feeling. There's a tendency to crave for pleasant feelings. So that is how volition is born. But that volition is impermanent. And that volition comes from craving. Craving is also impermanent. The craving comes from feeling. Feeling also is impermanent. The feeling comes from contact, which again is impermanent. And the contact comes from ignorance. It's also impermanent. If you understand this chain of dependent origination, then you will immediately attain liberation. Then Buddha continued, he may not regard body as self. but he regards self as possessing body. Again, that regarding is a volition and all the rest above is repeated. One knows and sees thus, monks, the immediate destruction of the asavas occurs. For he may not regard body as self or self as possessing body, but he regards body as in-self. or regards self as in body. And similarly, that braving and all that leads to, if he understands the chain of dependent origination, then he attains disruption of the asavasla. Or he may not regard body as self, self as in consciousness, et cetera, but he holds such a view, that which is the self in the world. Having passed away, then I shall be permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change. That eternalist view is volition. And similarly, volition comes from all the conditions, comes from craving and even comes from feeling, etc. If he understands all that chain, then he can also become immediately enlightened. Or he may regard body as self, etc., or hold such an eternalist view. But He holds the annihilationist view, which is, were I not then, it would not now be mine. I shall not be. To me, it shall not be. That means after death, there is nothing anymore. Even then, if he understands that it is a volition and that chain of volitions that leads to suffering, if he understands the whole chain, then he becomes enlightened. But he does not regard all that above, but he is perplexed, doubtful, indecisive in regard to the true Dhamma. That perplexity, doubtfulness, indecisiveness in regard to the true Dhamma is a volition. That volition, what is its source, its origin? When the unlearned only person is contacted by a feeling born of ignorance-contact, craving arises, hence that volition is born. So that volition mounts its impermanent condition dependently arisen, that craving is impermanent, that feeling is impermanent, contact is impermanent, ignorance is impermanent, etc. If one knows and sees thus mounts, the immediate destruction of the asavas occurs. That's the end of the suite tile. So here... The Buddha has given this quite a long dharma talk to these monks who came to see him. Basically, it's a bit similar, the pattern, like the other side. But here, it incorporates the teachings on the five aggregates, plus the teachings on dependent origination, paticca samuppada. So I'll stop here for tonight. Anything to discuss? You notice, these suttas are all quite heavy going, like the first book. Compared to some of the longer ones, yeah. No, no, no. They cannot be in jhana when they are listening to the dharma talk. But in the suttas it is mentioned, if a monk attains the jhanas, the five hindrances are permanently eliminated. I mean, are eliminated, although the roots have not been pulled down, but they are eliminated, so that anytime the mind is very clear. But there is another issue, that how does achieving clarity and unity of our spirit carry in nature? How to cultivate the spirit, the maturity in the spirit? And my question is, does those ascetic practices that are used by the orders of the monks fasten the process or This maturing on the spiritual path is a natural process for everybody. And when you are more mature, then you make greater effort. When you are not mature, even though the Buddha is around, you will still not be interested process of maturing on the spiritual path is a very natural process. If you make the effort, it's only because it's natural that you do it. For example, our Siddhartha Gautama, because he had already attained Sakadagamin in his previous life. Then even he had such a good family, such a wealthy and happy life, still he gave up and went forth, renounced everything to be a homeless beggar and suffer so much. So, if your time is not up, you can't force yourself to do it. There's no such thing as forcing yourself. What they are doing is trying to get the devotion towards the five aggregates. And then that can become dispassionate and others will get enlightened. You see the Dhamma is leading us in that way to understand the nature of the five aggregates or the nature of dependent origination of suffering and all that. And if we understand that, then we practice according to the advice of the Buddha to become enlightened. So there are some people who prefer to go to the forest. On the other hand, there are some people who can practice even without becoming a monk. During the Buddha's time, there were a few laymen. They still remain as laymen, but they practiced until they became anagamins. That means they attained at least the four jhanas. When you look into the description about them, even though they stayed in the house, They behave like a monk in the sense that they don't associate with people, they've given up their business, they let their wives look after their business, and then they let go of everything. One of them even called the four wives and told the wives that I intended to practice the spiritual path. If any of you wants to get married to another man, just let me know, I will give you away. And the first wife said, oh yeah, yeah, I want to get married to such and such a man. So he immediately called for that man and gave the wife away. So even though he does not go and stay in a cave, but to him his room is like a cave. He stays in that room and practices without going out. Practices day and night until he attains the jhanas. and becomes an anagamin. So whether a person becomes a monk or a layman, it's up to that person. And also, even after becoming a monk, not all monks will become forest dwellers. Not all monks will beg for their food. So it depends on the person. All people are different. Firstly, there are cases of lay people like Yassa in the Vinaya books. Yassa is one man who comes from a very rich family. The Buddha made him come out of the house in the night and go to the forest where the Buddha was. The Buddha spoke the Dhamma to him and he attained stream entry. The next morning, the father went looking for him. and then came to where the Buddha was, and the Buddha taught the same Dharma to the father. The father also attained stream-entry. Yasa, hearing the same Dharma the second time, attained arahanthood as a layman. But after attaining arahanthood, he does not go back to the house. That old Yasa has died. There is no more of the yasa in him. He has died. Looking here, dhamma cannot fold up your legs like that. So a lay person can become an arahant, but after becoming an arahant, he is totally a different person already. He cannot go back to the home. And this is pure speculation that he does not renounce He will die within one day. There's no such thing mentioned in the Sutta or the Vinaya. It's just that he will not go back home. It's impossible for a person once they become enlightened. That old lay person has died. He's no more that lay person, so he cannot go back to the home. He will either become a monk or an ascetic. He will go to the forest. I don't know whether that... That was a true story, but I don't know whether because of that people say that if a layperson after becoming an Arahant does not attain, he will die. But in this case, he did not die because he did not attain. He died because he got caught by a cow. But in the case of this man, Bahia Darujiriya, I think he was not an Arahant. I think he may have attained Anagamin or something. Not sure. In the monk's discipline, the Buddha at first said that a monk should eat one meal a day. Actually, initially he did not specify how many meals and then the monks could eat as many times as they wanted and could go on alms round as many times as they wanted a day. Later, because more monks came in, and many of them were careless, then the Buddha started to make more and more precepts. Finally, the Buddha said that monks should eat one meal a day. But there were some monks who were not happy. They complained to the Buddha. Then the Buddha said, OK, you can only go on alms round once a day. And after coming back from alms round, you take your main meal. But if you want, you can leave some food to eat later, but as long as it's not past noon. In Malaysia, noon is about 1pm. In other words, the Buddha is saying we can eat two meals, breakfast and lunch, which is generally the standard. So the Buddha said also that we practice that we should know moderation in eating, not eat too much. So we should, if possible, we should try to everybody eat at the same time, breakfast and lunch at the same time. because it's not nice, it doesn't look nice if somebody wants to eat at his own sweet time. Because it's a monastery, it's not a household, it's a monastery, it's a disciplined place and everybody trains himself in the spiritual discipline. So there are certain allowables that are allowed afternoon like herbs, dark chocolate, olive, this... ginger, tea, coffee and all that, and even cheese in the Thai tradition. But then you should know that these things are generally for us, like our monastery, disciplined monasteries, we don't simply buy some of these things as and when we like. We generally depend on donations. So if people give us dark chocolate, we eat dark chocolate. People give us prunes, we eat prunes. And generally we don't buy these things unless we feel it's really necessary. So you have to bear this in mind when we take out certain things that are supposed to last for some time. Don't gobble them up in one day like that. Also have to think that it's meant for everybody in the monastery and don't take too much, other people don't have enough. So that is practicing moderation because you have to understand According to the Buddha's teachings, our mind is the forerunner of all states. If your mind is trained, disciplined, then your feelings and all that come according to your mind. In other words, if you think you are constantly hungry, it is because your mind thinks so. If your mind is weak and you think you cannot stand, it follows that you will feel more hungry than other people. Just like when you want to strive hard, a person who is more disciplined because he makes a determination, then is able to do it but if a person does starts with the mind half-hearted half-hearted then When a little bit of obstacles come, you give up already. So always remember that you have to be very clear that the mind determines the world we live in, determines the conditions. For example, if a person is always craving for, for example, a person is always craving for drugs, he's a drug addict, it's very natural that he always feels hungry, he's always craving for that, hungry for that drug. So the moment he dies, he will be reborn as a hungry ghost because his mind has conditioned him. I personally know one or two persons, even now, they have not died. They are already behaving a bit like a hungry ghost because they were drug addicts before. When they eat, they gorge themselves as much as they can. They eat 2 or 3 persons share. They can eat as much as 2 or 3 persons. After 5 or 10 minutes, they vomit out everything. And then, after that, of course, they feel hungry again. After 2 hours or so, 3 hours, they eat like a hungry ghost. Eat 2 or 3 persons amount. 10 minutes later, they vomit out everything again. So it already shows, they're already going to be like that. They'll be a hungry ghost already. So we have to be very clear that we have to train our mind to be strong. If you don't train your mind to be strong, then you will never be strong because you never make the determination. That's why the volition, always the Buddha mentioned volition is very important. Your determination is your volition. In this monastery, all lay people are supposed to keep the eight precepts. If you keep the eight precepts, you are not allowed to eat ornery food after one. Or in the house. In the house. It depends whether you are keeping the eight precepts or not. If you are keeping the eight precepts, you are not allowed to eat after one. If you are keeping the eight precepts, you cannot say, oh, I'm keeping eight precepts. Two meals is allowed, so I take breakfast and dinner. No, no, no. Eight precepts means you only eat in the morning after the sun comes up. That means after 7 a.m. and up to the sun, when the sun is the highest, one o'clock or one something. Can you talk about, like, sometimes they came to say that Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Always remember, on that day we read in the suttas, unless you become an Arya, you take monastery, monastery food also is on credit card. Oh.

53-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-06).txt

Today is the 6th of August and we are continuing with the Khanda Samyutta, 22nd chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya. Now we come to Sutta 22.82. This Sutta is also found in the Majjhima Nikaya. The same Sutta It's Majjhima Nikaya Sutta 10909, called the Mahapunama Sutta. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Selvati, in the eastern park, in the mansion of Migara's mother. Migara's mother is a nickname for Visakha, together with a great sangha of monks. On that occasion, the Uposatha day of the 15th, a full moon night, the Blessed One was sitting out in the open, surrounded by the Sangha of monks. Let's stop here for a moment. It so happens that today is also a full moon night, so we are also seated here. And a certain monk rose from his seat. arranged his upper robe over one shoulder, raised his joined hands in reverential salutation towards the Blessed One, and said to Him, Venerable Sir, I would ask the Blessed One about a certain point, if the Blessed One would grant me the favour of answering my question. And the Buddha said, Well then, monk, sit down in your own seat and ask whatever you wish. Yes, Venerable Sir, the monk replied. Then he sat down in his own seat and said to the Blessed One, Aren't these the five aggregates subject to clinging, or the five aggregates of attachment, Namo Sir? That is, the body aggregate of clinging, of attachment, the feeling aggregate of attachment, the perception aggregate of attachment, the volition aggregate of attachment, the consciousness aggregate of attachment. And the Buddha said, Those are the Five Aggregates of Attachment, that is the Form Aggregate of Attachment, the Feeling Aggregate of Attachment, the Perception Aggregate of Attachment, the Volition Aggregate of Attachment, the Consciousness Aggregate of Attachment. saying, Good Venerable Sir, that monk delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One's statement. Then he asked the Blessed One a further question. But, Venerable Sir, in what are these five aggregates of attachment rooted? These five aggregates of attachment, monk, are rooted in desire. Venerable Sir, is that attachment the same as these five aggregates of attachment, or is the attachment something apart from the five aggregates of attachment?" And Buddha said, monks, that attachment is neither the same as these five aggregates of attachment, nor is the attachment something apart from the five aggregates of attachment, but rather the desire and lust for them, that is the attachment there. Sorry for a moment. Here the Buddha is saying, that the Five Aggregates, the attachment is not the Five Aggregates, but it is also not apart from the Five Aggregates. It is the desire and lust for them, that is the attachment. Saying, That monk asked the Blessed One a further question. But, Prabhu Sir, can there be a diversity in the desire and lust for the Five Abbey Gates of Attachment? There can be, monk, the Blessed One said. Here, monk, it occurs to someone May I have such body in the future. May I have such feeling in the future. May I have such perception in the future. May I have such volition in the future. May I have such consciousness in the future. Thus monk, there can be diversity in the desire and lust for the five aggregates of attachment. Stop here for a moment. So here, the diversity in the desire and lust, maybe like somebody thinks, oh, in the future, may I be reborn and have a deva body or a devi body. Or in the future, in my future life, may I have pleasant feelings all the time, no suffering, et cetera. St. Good Venerable Sir, that monk asked the Blessed One a further question. In what way does the designation of aggregates apply to the aggregates? And Buddha said, whatever kind of body there is now, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, this is called the body or form aggregate. Whatever kind of feeling there is, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, this is called the Feeling Aggregate. Whatever kind of perception there is, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, this is called the Perception Aggregate. Whatever kind of volition there are, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, this is called the volition aggregate. Whatever kind of consciousness there is, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, this is called the consciousness aggregate. It is in this way, monk, that the designation Aggregates applies to the Aggregates. Saying, Good Venerable Sir, that monk asked the Blessed One a further question. What is the cause and condition, Venerable Sir, for the manifestation of the body Aggregate? What is the cause and condition for the manifestation of the feeling Aggregate? For the manifestation of the perception Aggregate, volition consciousness Aggregate? And the Buddha said, the four great elements, monks, are the cause and condition for the manifestation of the body aggregate. Contact is the cause and condition for the manifestation of the feeling aggregate. Contact is the cause and condition for the manifestation of the perception aggregate. Contact is the cause and condition for the manifestation of the volition aggregate. Nama-rupa or mentality and materiality is a cause and condition for the manifestation of the consciousness aggregate. I'll stop here for a moment. This one I think earlier we read in some other sutra saying that where these aggregates come from, the origin, and we read that the body comes from the four great elements. and feeling perception and volition comes from contact at the six sense doors at any of the six sense doors if external sense object comes in contact with the sense base then feeling arises followed by perception and thinking and volition And then consciousness always comes together with Nama Rupa, mentality and materiality. They are Siamese twins. They exist together and die together, inseparable. And then this monk asked again, Venerable Sir, how does identity view come to be? And the Buddha said, The unlearned ordinary person who does not see noble ones and is unskilled and undisciplined in their Dhamma, who does not see superior persons and is unskilled and undisciplined or untrained in their Dhamma, regards body as self or self as possessing body or body as in self or self as in body, similarly for feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. That is how identity view comes to be. Stop it for a moment. This identity view is Sakkaya Ditti. And Sakkaya Ditti is stated here. That means we identify ourselves with the body and mind. Which is also the body and mind is also the five aggregates. So we regard the aggregates as the self or as belonging to the self or as being in the self or the self as being in the aggregates. So because we identify the body and the mind with the self, so we have this identity view. But how does identity view come not to be? Here, monk, the learned, noble disciple who sees noble ones and is skilled and trained in their Dhamma, who sees superior persons and is skilled and trained in their Dhamma, does not regard body as self, or self as possessing body, or body as in the self, or self as in the body, similarly for feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. That is how identity view does not come to be. Stop it for a moment. So here, when a person, a noble disciple, he understands Dhamma, then he dissociates himself from the five aggregates. He can see that the five aggregates, the body and mind, are impermanent, subject to change, subject to conditions. So because of that, it cannot be the Self. does not even belong to the self. So that's how identity viewer sees this. What, Venerable Sir, is the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of body? What is the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness? And the Buddha replied, The pleasure and joy among that arise in dependence on body, that is the gratification in body. I'll stop it for a moment. This one we related earlier, how when you see a beautiful girl in the prime of her beauty when she's 16 years old, that is gratification in body. And that body is in permanent suffering and subject to change. This is the danger in body. I'll stop here for a moment. That day we also said, because of impermanence, the same body, the same beautiful 16-year-old girl, after some time when she gets cancer, you see her lying on the bed, terminal cancer, and she's passing out urine and excrement on her bed, and her whole body becomes weak and yellowish and pale. and she's near death already. Then you can see the beauty is all gone. That is the danger in the form of all the same beautiful girl. When she's 80 or 90 years old, then she looks ugly old woman. That is the danger in the body. The removal and abandonment of desire and lust for body. This is the escape from body. The pleasure and joy, similarly, the pleasure and joy that arise in dependence on feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, that is the gratification. And then the fact that these aggregates are impermanent, suffering and subject to change, that is the danger in them. And the removal and abandonment of desire and lust for the aggregates, that is the escape from the aggregates. saying, Good Venerable Sir, that monk delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One's statement. Then he asked the Blessed One a further question, Venerable Sir, how should one know, how should one see, so that in regard to this body with consciousness and in regard to all external signs, eye-making, mind-making, and the underlying tendency to conceive no longer occurs within. Sorry for a moment. So here is asking how can we eliminate this tendency to think I am, I exist, this perception, this conceit in us, that ego making, how to get rid of it? And the Buddha said, any kind of body whatsoever, monk, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, one sees all bodies as they really are with correct wisdom thus, this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Stop here for a moment. So here, we understand that because of impermanence, all bodies, whether you consider as your body, or your daughter, or your son, etc., because of impermanence, they will all leave us. They will all be separated from us. So if we attach to them, they give us suffering. So, if we let go, then we can see that this is not mine, this I am not, this is not myself. Similarly for feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. When one knows and sees the Asmang, then in regard to this body with consciousness and in regard to all external signs, I-making, mind-making and the underlying tendency to conceit no longer occurs within. On that occasion, the following reflection arose in the mind of a certain monk. So it seems that body is non-self, feeling is non-self, perception is non-self or not-self, volition is not-self, consciousness is not-self. What self then will deeds done by what is not-self affect. And the Blessed One, knowing with his own mind the reflection, the mind of that monk, addressed the monk thus, It is possible, monks, that some senseless man here, obtuse and ignorant, with his mind dominated by craving, might think that he can outstrip the teacher's teaching thus. So it seems that form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness is not self. What then? What self then will this done by what is not self affect? Now monks, you have been trained by me through interrogation here and there in regard to diverse teachings. What do you think, monk? Is body permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, my good sir. Is what is impermanent? Suffering or happiness, and they say suffering when we are served. It is what is impermanent, suffering and subject to change, fit to be regarded thus, this is mine, this I am, this is myself, know when we are served. Similarly, is feeling, permanent or impermanent, perception, volition, consciousness, Permanent or impermanent? And they say impermanent, where will serve? Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, where will serve? Is what is impermanent suffering and subject to change? Fit to be regarded thus? This is mine, this I am, this is myself. No, where will serve? Therefore, seeing thus, the noble disciple, he becomes disenchanted, and he becomes dispassionate, then he becomes liberated. These are the ten questions the monk came to ask, two about the aggregates, whether the same can there be destination and the cause, two about identity, one each on gratification and this body with consciousness. So the Buddha towards the end is driving home the point that all the aggregates, which basically are body and mind, are impermanent and a source of suffering, subject to change, not fit to regard them as I or mine. So he's answering that monk who has that thought indirectly. Because this monk, after hearing all the talk about not-self, he still cannot let go of that self. So you see, the Buddha, sometimes he has disciples like this who Like the first one who asks intelligent questions, then the Buddha will answer him. Not only for him, it's for all the other monks also in the assembly. So you see from here, generally the teaching is the same. It's only whether hearing the teaching we can let go or not. If our mind is not clear enough and our attachment is too strong, then we cannot let go. It's only when our mind is clear and that we can let go. 22.83. At Savatthi, there the Venerable Ananda addressed amongst us. Friends, monks, friends of those monks replied. The Venerable Ananda said this. Friends, the Venerable Punamantaniputta was very helpful to us when we were newly ordained. Stop here for a moment. This Punamantaniputta was one of the great Dhamma teachers, and he belonged to the Sakyan clan. There's a place I saw, I think in some sutra, where the Buddha was asking the monks, was asking like in his homeland among the Sakyans, who is a good Dhamma preacher? And they told him, Punamantaniputta. And Punnamantaniputta, here Ananda was saying, was his teacher who brought him to attain the vision of the Dhamma. That means attain stream entry. You can see through here. This Punnamantaniputta, when I was in practicing Mahayana Buddhism, we used to do chanting. And I think, if I'm not mistaken, the name is Phulono Manthalonice. Sounds the same. And then remember Ananda continued. He exhorted us with the following exhortation. It is by clinging Ananda that the notion I am occurs, not without clinging. And by clinging to what does I am occur, not without clinging. It is by clinging to form that I am occurs, not without clinging. is by clinging to feeling, to perception, to volition, to consciousness, that I am occurs, or I exist occurs, not without clinging. Suppose friend Ananda, a young woman or a man, youthful and fond of ornaments, would examine her own facial image in a mirror or in a bowl filled with pure, clear, clean water. She would look at it with clinging, not without clinging. So too, it is by clinging to form or body that I am occurs, not without clinging. It is by clinging to feeling, to perception, to volition, to consciousness that I am occurs, not without clinging. What do you think, friend Ananda? Is body permanent or impermanent? Then Ananda says, impermanent. And then he says, what is impermanent, suffering or happiness? And he says, suffering. is what is impermanent, suffering, subject to change, unfit to be regarded as this is mine, this I am, this is myself. So it says, if a noble disciple understands this, then he becomes disenchanted, the five aggregates, and becomes dispassionate, and he becomes liberated. Friends, the Venerable Punamantaniputta was very helpful to us when we were newly ordained. He exhorted us with that exhortation. And when I heard his Dhamma teaching, I made the breakthrough to the Dhamma. So here he is saying, he attained the vision of the Dhamma, stream and tree, because of Punamantaniputta. So, it's very helpful. to have a good monk teacher to help the others attain stream entry by explaining the Dhamma in the right way. 22.84, at Savatthi. On that occasion, the Venerable Tissa, the Blessed One's paternal cousin, informed a number of monks, friends, my body seems as if it has been dropped. I have become disoriented. The teachings are no longer clear to me. Sloth and topper persist, obsessing my mind. I am leaving the holy life dissatisfied, and I have doubt about the teachings." Stop here for a moment. Sometimes some monks are like that, and they are not practicing well. Then sloth and topper It's always controlling their mind and they start to have doubt. Doubt about the teacher, doubt about the place, doubt about this and doubt about that. They are unhappy when they think about outside world. They miss their friends, they miss their relatives and all that. Then they think of disrobing. Then a number of monks approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and reported this matter to Him. The Blessed One then addressed a certain monk thus, Come, monk, tell the monk Tissa in my name that the teacher calls him. Yes, Venerable Sir, the monk replied. And he went to the Venerable Tissa and told him, The teacher calls you, friend Tissa. Yes, friend, the Venerable Tissa replied. And he approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, and sat down to one side. The Blessed One then said to him, Is it true, Tissa, that you inform a number of monks thus? Friends, my body seems as if it were drugged. I have become disoriented. The teachings are no longer clear to me. Sloth and torpor persist, obsessing my mind. I am leaving the holy life dissatisfied, and I have doubt about the teachings. Yes, Venerable Sir. What do you think, Thisa? If one is not devoid of lust for body, not devoid of desire, affection, thirst, passion and craving for it, then with the change and alteration of that body, do sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair arise within? Yes, my good sir. Good, good, Thisa. So it is, Thisa. With one who is not devoid of lust for body, If one is not devoid of lust for feeling, similarly for perception, volition, consciousness, not devoid of desire, affection, thirst, passion, and craving for them, then with the change and alteration of those aggregates, do sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair arise within? Yes, Member Sir. Good, good, Thisa. So it is, Thisa, with one who is not devoid of lust for the aggregates. If one is devoid of lust for body, devoid of desire, affection, thirst, passion, and craving for it, then with the change and alteration of that form, do sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair arise within? No, Venerable Sir. Good, good, Thisa. So it is, Thisa, with one who is devoid of lust for body. Similarly, if one is devoid of lust for feeling, for perception, for volition, for consciousness, devoid of desire, affection, thirst, passion, and craving for them, then with the change and alteration of the aggregates to sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure, and despair arise within, no one will serve. Good, good, tissa. So it is, tissa, for one who is devoid of lust for the aggregates. Let's stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is trying to explain the Dhamma very clearly for this Tissa, knowing that Tissa is still very much attached to the five aggregates. That's why he has doubts about the teaching. He's thinking of disrobing. So the Buddha is trying to make him see very clearly that if you continue to attach to the five aggregates, you will suffer. What do you think, Tissa? Is body permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, where will it serve? Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, where it was impermanent, subject to change, fit to be regarded as this is mine, this I am, this is myself. No, where it was seen thus, noble disciple becomes dispassionate and tears liberation. Similarly for the feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. Suppose, Jisa, there were two men, one unskilled in the path and the other skilled in the path. The man unskilled in the path would ask the skilled man a question about the path, and the latter would say, Come, good man, this is the path. Go along it a little way, and you will see a fork in the road. Avoid the left-hand branch, and take the right-hand branch. Go a little further, and you will see a dense thicket. Go a little further and you will see a vast marshy swamp. Go a little further and you will see a steep precipice. Go a little further and you will see a delightful expanse of level ground. I have made up this simile, Itissa, in order to convey a meaning. This here is the meaning. The man unskilled in the path. This is a designation for the ordinary worldly. The man skilled in the path, this is a designation for the Tathagata, Arahant, Samasambuddha. The forked road, this is a designation for doubt. The left-hand branch, this is a designation for the wrong, hateful path. The right-hand branch, this is a designation for the noble, hateful path, that is right view, right thoughts, etc. The dense thicket, this is a designation for ignorance. The vast marshy swamp, this is a designation for sensual pleasures. The steep precipice, this is a designation for despair due to anger. The delightful expanse of level ground, this is a designation for nibbana. Rejoice, Tisa! Rejoice, Tisa! I am here to exhort, I am here to assist, I am here to instruct. This is what the Blessed One said. elated, the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh delighted in the Blessed One's statement. You see, towards the end, the Buddha says, you have to go through this spiritual path. You have to come to a forked road now where you have doubt. Then if you take the right turn, you practice the Noble Eightfold Path correctly, then you must cross the dense thicket, the dense forest area, which is ignorance. If you walk the right path, you must go past ignorance. You have knowledge. And then after that, you have to go through sensual pleasures, the vast marshy swamp. Sensual pleasures will disturb you on the spiritual path. Then the steep precipice is despair due to anger. Anger also will disturb you. Then if you go through this, go through ignorance, go through sensual pleasures, go through anger, and finally you reach the delightful expanse of level ground. That is Nibbana. So everybody who walks the spiritual path also has the same problems. It's not easy to walk the spiritual path. In the beginning you have a lot of doubts, whether you are ready to walk the spiritual path or not, whether you are willing to walk, whether the family will let you go or not, and all these things. And then if you make the determination, then you still have to struggle with yourself. You think you let go already, you wear the robes, but inside you still haven't let go. So still a lot of kilesa. defilements within you, you have to fight the sensual pleasures, temper and all these things. Then if you make the effort, you plot on, you go to the jungle thicket, you go to the swamp, marshy swamp, then you have to climb up the steep precipice, finally only you reach the top, the upper ground. So, it's only If you have the good fortune to have a good teacher, then it becomes a bit easier. Otherwise, a lot of people, they don't have a good teacher.

54-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-06).txt

22.85. On one occasion, the Venerable Sariputta was dwelling at Savati in Jeta's Grove, Natapindika's Park. On that occasion, the following pernicious view had arisen in a monk named Dhyamaka. As I understand the Dharma taught by the Blessed One, a monk whose asavas are destroyed, is annihilated, and perishes with the breakup of the body, and does not exist after death. A number of monks heard that such a pernicious view had arisen in the monk Yamaka. Then they approached the Venerable Yamaka and exchanged greetings with him, after which they sat down to one side and said to him, Is it true, friend Yamaka, that such a pernicious view as this has arisen in you? As I understand the Dharma taught by the Blessed One, a monk whose asavas are destroyed is annihilated and perishes with the breakup of the body, and does not exist after death. But he said, exactly so, friends, as I understand the dharma taught by the Blessed One, a monk whose asavasas are destroyed, is annihilated, and perishes with the breakup of the body, and does not exist after death. And they said, Friend Yamaka, do not speak thus. Do not misinterpret the Blessed One. It is not good to misrepresent the Blessed One. The Blessed One would not speak thus. A monk whose asavas are destroyed, is annihilated, and perishes with the breakup of the body, and does not exist after death. We stop here for a moment. So here, this monk, Yamaka, he has this view, an arahant, When he dies, he is destroyed and does not exist anymore. Actually, this is partly true, but the way he has said it is wrong, because he says a monk is annihilated when he dies. A monk who has finished his work is destroyed, is annihilated, does not exist anymore after death. It is partly true in the sense that when Arahant enters Nibbana, he does not exist anymore. But the Dhamma is teaching us that even before he dies, actually he does not exist. The self does not exist. There is no such thing as the Arahant, the person. After we go to the Sutta, you will understand Because a person is just a collection of five aggregates. And this collection of five aggregates are impermanent. So when the five aggregates come together, you say there is a person, there is a being, right? But it's just a temporary condition. In the first place, there's no such thing. It's like a flower. When you plant a flowering plant, initially there's no flower. And then you put water, you put fertilizer. After some time, the flower comes into existence. Then, after some time, the flower will wilt. Then you ask, where did the flower go? The flower is just a condition, just a temporary condition. Basically, there's no such thing as a flower. It's a temporary manifestation. A being is also a temporary manifestation. Yet although he was admonished by the monks in this way, the Venerable Yamaka still obstinately grasped that pernicious view, adhered to it, and declared, as I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, a monk whose asavas are destroyed, is annihilated, and perishes with the breakup of the body, and does not exist after death. Since those monks were unable to detach the Venerable Yamaka from that pernicious view, they rose from their seats, approached the Venerable Sariputta and told him all that had occurred, adding, it would be good if the Venerable Sariputta would approach the monk Yamaka out of compassion for him. The Venerable Sariputta consented by silence. Then in the evening, the Venerable Sariputta emerged from seclusion. He approached the Venerable Yamaka and exchanged greetings with him, after which he sat down to one side and said to him, Is it true, friend Yamaka, that such a pernicious view as this has arisen in you? As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, a monk whose asavas are destroyed, is annihilated and perishes with the breakup of the body, and does not exist after death. And he said, exactly so, friend. And remember, Sariputta asked him, what do you think, friend Yamaka, is body permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, friend, is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering is what is impermanent suffering, subject to change, fit to be regarded as this is mine, this I am, this is myself. And he said, no, friend. And so the Noble Sariputta said, seeing thus the noble Aryan disciple, he becomes disenchanted with body, becomes dispassionate, and becomes liberated. Similarly for feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. So here, the Noble Sariputta is making the point that the bhagavad-gita is impermanent and a source of suffering, not fit to be regarded as I and mine. What do you think, friend Yamaka? Do you regard body as the Tathagata, the Buddha? No, friend. Do you regard feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as the Tathagata? No, friend. So here, he's saying that the body, the five aggregates, by themselves, is not the Buddha. What do you think, friend Yamaka? Do you regard the Tathagata as in the body? No, friend. Do you regard the Tathagata as apart from body? No, friend. Do you regard the Tathagata as in feeling? Yes, he says no. No, friend. As apart from feeling, etc. Volition consciousness. So here, Venerable Sariputta is asking him, Do you think the Buddha is inside the aggregates? And he says no. Because the aggregates are impermanent, how can the Buddha be inside the aggregates? Then do you think the aggregates have nothing to do with the Buddha? Again, he says no. You cannot say the aggregates have nothing to do with the Buddha. What do you think, friend Yamaka? Do you regard body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness? taken together as the Tathagata. It says no friend. These five aggregates also, even if you put them together, it cannot be the Tathagata because they are all impermanent. What do you think, friend Yamaka? Do you regard the Tathagata as one who is without body, without feeling, without perception, without volition, without consciousness? No, friend. But friend, when the Tathagata is not apprehended by you as real and actual here in this very life, is it fitting for you to declare, as I understand the Dharma taught by the Blessed One, a monk whose asavas are destroyed, is annihilated and perishes with the breakup of the body and does not exist after death? So here, Saiputra finally makes the point that Even in this very life, the Buddha, we cannot say, is real and actual here. You can only describe him as the temporary aggregates, but that aggregate also is not him. So how can he be annihilated after he passes away? Then Venerable Yamaka said, Formerly a friend of Sariputta, when I was ignorant, I did hold that pernicious view. But now that I have heard this Dhamma teaching of the Venerable Sariputta, I have abandoned that pernicious view and have made the breakthrough to the Dhamma. He has seen the Dhamma as a mainstream entry. If friend Yamaka, they were to ask you, friend Yamaka, when a monk is an arahant, one whose asavas are destroyed, what happens to him with the breakup of the body after that? Being asked thus, what would you answer? If they were to ask me this, friend, I would answer thus. Friends, body is impermanent. What is impermanent is suffering. What is suffering has ceased and passed away. Similarly, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness are impermanent. What are impermanent are suffering. What is suffering have ceased and passed away. Being asked as friend, I would answer in such a way. Good, good friend, Yamaka. So, actually this monk Yamaka He has cultivated, has probably been the monk for many years. So when Venerable Sariputta explained this, very quickly he grasped, understood the Dhamma. So he said he has seen the Dhamma. So Venerable Sariputta, to confirm that he understood, asked him, when Arhat passes away, What happens to him? Then he says, if people ask me this, then I will say the five aggregates are suffering. And the five aggregates, when a person dies, the five aggregates have ceased and passed away. Suffering has passed away. Good, good, friend Yamaka. Now, friend Yamaka, I will make up a simile for you in order to convey this same meaning even more clearly. Suppose, friend Yamaka, there was a householder or a householder's son, a rich man with much wealth and property, protected by a bodyguard. Then some man would appear who wanted to ruin him, to harm him, to endanger him, to take his life. It will occur to that man, this householder or householder's son is a rich man with much wealth and property, protected by a bodyguard. It will not be easy to take his life by force. Let me get close to him and then take his life. Then he would approach that householder or householder's son and say to him, I would serve you, sir. Then the householder or householder's son would appoint him as a servant. The man would serve him, rising up before him, retiring after him, doing whatever he wants, agreeable in his conduct, endearing in his speech. The householder or householder's son would consider him a friend, a bosom friend, and he would place trust in him. But when the man becomes aware that the householder or householder's son has placed trust in him, then finding him alone, he would take his life with a sharp knife. What do you think, friend Yamaka? When that man had approached that householder or householder's son and said to him, I would serve you, sir, wasn't he a murderer even then, though the other did not recognize him as my murderer? And when the man was serving him, rising up before him, retiring after him, doing whatever he wants, agreeable in his conduct, endearing in his speech, wasn't he a murderer then too, though the other did not recognize him as my murderer? And when the man came upon him while he was alone and took his life with a sharp knife, wasn't he a murderer then too, though the other did not recognize him as my murderer? Yes, friend, So too, friend Yamaka, the unlearned ordinary worldling who does not see noble ones and is unskilled and untrained in their dharma, who does not see superior persons and is unskilled and untrained in their dharma, regards body as self, or self as possessing body, or body as in self, or self as in body. Similarly, he regards feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as self, or self as possessing the aggregates, or the aggregate as in the self, or self as in the aggregates. He does not understand as it really is, impermanent body as impermanent, impermanent feeling as impermanent, impermanent perception, volition, consciousness as impermanent. He does not understand as it really is painful body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as painful. He does not understand as it really is selfless body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness as selfless. He does not understand as it really is conditioned body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as conditioned. He does not understand as it really is murderous body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as murderous aggregates. He becomes engaged with body, clings to it, and takes a stand upon it as myself. Similarly, he becomes engaged with feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. clings to them and takes a stand upon them as myself. These same five aggregates of clinging to which he becomes engaged and to which he clings to, lead to his harm and suffering for a long time. But friend, the learned noble disciple who sees noble ones, etc., does not regard body as self, or self as possessing body, or body as in self, or self as in body. Similarly, he does not regard feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as self, or self as possessing the aggregates, or the aggregates as in the self, or self as in the aggregates. He understands that it is really as they really are, impermanent body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness as impermanent. He understands as they really are, painful body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as painful aggregates. He understands, as they really are, selfless body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as selfless aggregates. He understands, as they really are, conditioned body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as conditioned aggregates. He understands, as they really are, murderous body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as murderous aggregates. He does not become engaged with body, cling to it, and take a stand upon it as myself. He does not become engaged with feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, cling to them and take a stand upon them as myself. These same five aggregates of attachment to which he does not become engaged and to which he does not attach, lead to his wealth and happiness for a long time. And then Venerable Yamaka said, So it is, friend Sariputta, for those venerable ones who have such compassionate and benevolent brothers in the holy life, to admonish and instruct them. And now that I have heard this Dharma teaching of the Venerable Sariputta, my mind is liberated from the asavas by non-clinging. This is what the Venerable Sariputta said. Elated, the Venerable Yamaka delighted in the Venerable Sariputta's statement. That's the end of the Sutta. So you see, in our earliest discourses of the Buddha, always praise Venerable Sariputta as the disciple with the highest wisdom. That's why you see, in several discourses, he can teach the other monks until they attain Shreem Entry. Or like in this case, he taught this monk until this monk became an Arahant. So the Buddha says that the Venerable Sariputta turns the Dhamma Wheel exactly like the Buddha himself. That's why the Buddha But later, Mahayana books always try to belittle this Marble Sariputra. So, you see the last part. Venerable Sariputta made this simile for this Venerable Yamaka that just like a murderer wants to murder somebody, he comes disguised as a servant and serves that man very well. But one day when the man is alone, he kills him. So in the same way, our five aggregates serve us very well. We get pleasure from the five aggregates and we are very pleased with the five aggregates. But Venerable Sariputta says actually they are murderers. Because when we cling to them, we attach to them as I and mine. Then when the five aggregates cease, when the body dies, then we feel I die. That means I am murdered. Murdered by who? By these five aggregates, the same five aggregates that we cling to. We thought was our good friend, our source of happiness. But it turns out that because we cling to them, so when they die, we feel I died. But for somebody like an Arahant, Although he has the same aggregates, he does not cling to the aggregates. He sees them as not-self. He sees them as impermanent, a source of suffering. So because he does not cling to them, when the body dies, he just knows the body, being impermanent, has lived its shell life. The time has come, so it is dying. It does not attach to it, so it does not suffer. We suffer because we attach to the aggregates as I and mine. So here the teaching is to see them as murderers, not something to cling to, to attach to. So that's quite an interesting sutra, how he changed this monk from a wrong view to attain stream entry and further after teaching him that simile, the monk attained liberation and became an Arahant. The next sutra is 22.87. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. On that occasion, the Venerable Vakali was dwelling in a potter's shed, sick, afflicted, gravely ill. Then the Venerable Vakali addressed his attendants. Come, friends, approach the Blessed One, pay homage to Him in my name, with your head at His feet, and say, Venerable Sir, the monk Vakhali is sick, afflicted, gravely ill. He pays homage to the Blessed One with his head at His feet. Then say, it would be good, Venerable Sir, if the Blessed One would approach the monk Vakhali out of compassion. Yes, friend," those monks replied. As they approached, the Blessed One paid homage to him, sat down to one side and delivered their message. The Blessed One consented by silence. Then the Blessed One dressed, and taking bowl and robe, approached the Venerable Vakhali. The Venerable Vakhali saw the Blessed One coming in the distance and stirred on his bed. The Blessed One said to him, Enough, Vakhali, do not stir on your bed. There are these seats ready. I will sit down there, stop here for a moment. This Venerable Vakhali was one of the monks who had great respect for the Buddha. So when the Buddha came to see him, even though he was actually dying, so sick, he was dying, he tried to get up. But the Buddha told him, no need to get up. You have seats here. I will sit down. The Blessed One then sat down on the appointed seat and said to the Venerable Vakali, I hope you are wearing up, Vakali. I hope you are getting better. I hope that your painful feelings are subsiding and not increasing, and that the subsiding, not the increase, is to be discerned, to be seen. Vembul Sir, I am not bearing up, I am not getting better. Strong, painful feelings are increasing in me, not subsiding. And their increase, not their subsiding, is to be discerned. I hope then, Bakali, that you are not troubled by remorse and regret. Indeed, Vembul Sir, I have quite a lot of remorse and regret. I hope, Bakali, that you have nothing for which to reproach yourself in regard to virtue. And he said, I have nothing, Venerable Sir, for which to reproach myself in regard to virtue. Then Bhakali, if you have nothing for which to reproach yourself in regard to virtue, why are you troubled by remorse and regret? And he said, for a long time, Venerable Sir, I have wanted to come and see the Blessed One, but I haven't been fit enough to do so. And the Buddha said, enough, Vakali. Why do you want to see this foul body? One who sees the Dhamma sees me. One who sees me sees the Dhamma. For in seeing the Dhamma, Vakali, one sees me. And in seeing me, one sees the Dhamma. Stop here for a moment. So he said, he has remorse and regret. Why? Not because he had broken the precepts. But because he wanted to see the Buddha for a long time, that he has been so sick, he has not been able to walk to see the Buddha. And now that the Buddha has come near to him, he asked the other monks to call the Buddha to come and see him. Then the Buddha said, why do you want to see this smelly body? If you see the Dhamma, you have seen me. If you see me, you have seen the Dhamma. So now that we are studying the Dhamma, we are seeing the Dhamma, so we are seeing the Buddha also. What do you think, Vakhali? Is body permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, we have observed. Similarly, is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? And it says suffering. Is what is impermanent subject to change, fit to be regarded as this is mine, this I am, this is myself? And he says, no, I will serve. So similarly for feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. So seeing thus, a noble disciple becomes disenchanted and then dispassionate and becomes liberated. Then the Blessed One, having given this exhortation to the Venerable Vakhali, rose from his seat and departed from Mount Balchupi. Then not long after the Blessed One had left, the Venerable Vakhali addressed his attendants thus, Come, friends, lift me up on this bed and carry me to the black rock on the Isigili slope. How can one like me think of dying among the houses? Yes, friend, those monks replied. And having lifted up the Venerable Vakhali on the bed, they carried him to the black rock on the Isigili slope. Stop here for a moment. This Venerable Vakhali, because he was sick, They had put him in the potter's shed. He was dwelling in the potter's shed. But now that he knew that he was going to die, during the Buddha's time, almost all the monks were forest monks. So he had been living in the forest a long time. Now that he was approaching death, he thought if he dies in the potter's shed, it's like dying in a house. Shameful. So he wanted to die in the open air. So he asked them to carry him to the Black Rock to die there. The Blessed One spent the rest of that day and night on Mount Balchupi. Then when the night was well advanced, two devatas of stunning beauty approached the Blessed One, illuminating the whole of Balchupi. Standing to one side, one devata said to the Blessed One, Paramount Sir, the Mount Bakali is intent on deliverance. The other devata said, surely my good sir, he will be liberated as one well liberated. This is what those devata said. Having said this, they paid homage to the blessed one and keeping him on their right, they disappeared right there. I'll give a moment. So here you see, In the middle of the night, two devas came to inform the Buddha that the Venerable Vakali was striving with all his energy to attain liberation, to attain enlightenment, Arahanthood. And then the other one said, definitely he will attain. These devas, because they are psychic, they know what they are saying. So, this also shows sometimes, Sometimes the Buddha doesn't know something, they will come and inform the Buddha. Sometimes because the Buddha doesn't know, because the Buddha doesn't contemplate, sometimes he is deep in Samadhi. Then when the night had passed, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus, Come, monks, approach the monk Vakhali and say to him, Friend Vakhali, listen to the words of the Blessed One and two devatas. Last night, friend, when the night was well advanced, two devatas of stunning beauty approached the Blessed One. One devata said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, the monk Vakhali's intent on deliverance, the other devata said, surely, Venerable Sir, he will be liberated, as one well liberated. And the blessed one says to you, friend Vakhali, do not be afraid, Vakhali, do not be afraid. Your death will not be a bad one. Your demise will not be a bad one. Let's stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is asking the monks to inform the Venerable Vakali that the Deva said that he would attain liberation, which is also an encouragement for him to press on and attain liberation. And also, probably the Buddha foresaw that he was going to commit suicide. So the Buddha told him, don't be afraid. Your death will not be evil. When you die, there will be nothing wrong with it. I think that's a hint to him that whatever he does, don't worry. It's not evil. Yes, my good sir, those monks replied. And they approached the Venerable Vakhali and said to him, Friend Vakhali, listen to the words of the Blessed One and two devas. Then the Venerable Vakhali addressed his attendants. Come, friends, lower me from the bed. How can one like me think of listening to the Blessed One's teaching while seated on a high seat? Yes, friend, those monks replied, and they lowered the Venerable Vakhali from the bed. Stop here for a moment. You see, this Venerable Vakhali has so much respect for the Buddha that when they wanted to pass a message to him from the Buddha, immediately he said to put him on the ground. He doesn't want to listen to the Buddha sitting on the bed. And they told him, Last night, friend, two devatas of stunning beauty approached the Blessed One. One devata said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, the Mount Vakhali is intent on deliverance. The other Devata said, Surely, Venerable Sir, he will be liberated as one well liberated. And the Blessed One says to you, friend Vakali, do not be afraid, Vakali, do not be afraid. Your death will not be a bad one. Your demise will not be a bad one. And he said, Well then, friends, pay homage to the Blessed One in my name with your feet at His head, and say, Venerable Sir, the monk Akali is sick, afflicted, gravely ill. He pays homage to the Blessed One with his head at His feet. Then say, Body is impermanent. I have no doubt about this, Venerable Sir. I do not doubt that whatever is impermanent is suffering. I do not doubt that in regard to what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, I have no more desire, lust, or affection. Similarly, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness are impermanent. I have no perplexity about this. I do not doubt that whatever is impermanent is suffering. I do not doubt that in regard to what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, I have no more desire, lust, or affection. Yes, friend, those monks replied, and then they departed. Stop here for a moment. So here he's asking them to inform the Buddha that he has no more doubt that he has cut off desire and lust for the five aggregates. In other words, probably he has already attained Arahanthood. He's trying to tell them to tell the Buddha that he has no doubt about his attainment. So the monks departed. Then not long after those monks had left, the Venerable Vakali used a knife. That means he committed suicide with a knife. Then those monks approached the Blessed One and delivered their message. The Blessed One then addressed the monks thus, Come monks, let us go to the black rock on the Isig Vili slope where the clansman Vakali has used a knife. Yes, Venerable Sir," those monks replied. Then the Blessed One, together with a number of monks, went to the black rock on the Isigili Slope. The Blessed One saw in the distance the Venerable Vakhali lying on the bed with his shoulder turned. On that occasion, a cloud of smoke, a swirl of darkness, was moving to the east, then to the west, to the north, to the south, upwards, downwards, and to the intermediate quarters. The Blessed One then addressed the monks thus, Do you see, monks, that cloud of smoke, that swirl of darkness, moving to the east, then to the west, then to the north, to the south, upwards, downwards, and to the intermediate waters? Yes, Venerable Sir. That monk is Mara, the evil one, searching for the consciousness of the clansman Vakali, wondering, where now has the consciousness of the clansman Vakali been established? However, monks, with consciousness unestablished, the clansman Vakali has attained final nirvana." That's the end of the sutra. So here, at the end, you see Mara is looking to find out where did Vakali take rebirth, where did his consciousness go to. But the Buddha says his consciousness is no more. He will not take rebirth. He has attained Nibbana. So this confirms that all the arahants have finished their work. Not like the Mahayana books say, they have not finished their work. Just like the Buddha, when they enter Nibbana, their consciousness or the sixth consciousness ceases. So you see this monk, he was in great pain, his body, he was dying. And he knew he was dying, that's why he put all his effort to attain liberation. So that's why the devas realized that he was putting so much effort, he surely would attain liberation. So the Buddha also foresaw that he would attain liberation. So the Buddha told him, whatever you do, don't be afraid. So maybe with that comforting words of the Buddha, he committed suicide. Because for an arahant to commit suicide, there's nothing wrong with it. He does not kill a cell because there's no more cell to kill. And although an arahant is liberated, the Buddha says he still has body suffering. All Aryans, all noble ones have eliminated mental suffering, but they still have body suffering. So because of this great body suffering, at that time they did not have painkillers like we have now. So they used the knife as a painkiller. I'll stop here. I think to discuss a few important suttas here. Yes, the Buddha said that for lay person, you practice the 8 precepts once a week. During the Buddha's time, they practiced on the 8th day of the lunar calendar, the 15th, 23rd and the 30th day. So either you can follow that or you choose one day of the week that is convenient. For example, Sunday or Saturday or whatever. Makka is the one with the wrong view. I think it's stated in the Sutta that after Venerable Sariputta explained, he said he made the breakthrough to the Dhamma. From the Sutta itself, it appears like the same day. The method is the same as what is stated in the suttas. We keep our sila, we practice meditation to strengthen the mind and study the suttas to get wisdom. And then also other conditions. For example, if a person can practice aloofness, associating with others, so that he can put more effort. And other things like, there's a list on the Charana, conduct or practice for a monk, contentment, practicing contentment, and moderation in eating. Jagariyan Yoga, trying to keep awake, not to sleep so much and guarding the sense doors, don't expose yourself to these sense doors. You see the sense doors are quite important because the guardians whether we allow certain things to come into our senses or not. Because if the wrong things come into our senses, then it stirs up our passions and all that. So it's helpful to restrict yourself. You know certain things, for example, the internet is not good, then you don't try to cut off the internet. Watching TV and all that, try to for lay people, not to indulge in them. For a monk, because a monk, we stay in a forest monastery, all these actually are already cut off. So, you can have a look at the Karana that comes out. But you see, like that day we read the sutras on the monk, what's his name? The one who uttered inspired verses. Vangisa, I remember Vangisa being a young monk, he was always disturbed by sensual thoughts. But because of his understanding of the Dhamma, his determination was very strong to Like in the first sutta we read, all the monks had left the monastery. He was alone guarding the monastery. And then these beautiful girls came in, well-dressed and all that. Then all his previous habits all came up, all the thoughts. So then he decided, who can help him? Nobody can help him because his thoughts are inside. So he decided to fight, fight his own thoughts inside. That's why last night I mentioned that the mind is a forerunner of all states. If you think you are weak, then you will be weak. If you think you are strong and you make a determination to be strong, then you are strong. So, whether you allow yourself to be weak or to be strong also depends on your understanding. If you have a good understanding of the Dhamma, then you will realize that even though it's difficult also, die also I'll do it. Just like the Buddha says, having known the Dhamma, you should make the determination, let my body waste away, let only the bones and the skin remain. But I will not slack in my energetic striving until attain what can be attained by manly effort, manly striving. So understanding the Dhamma is very important. If you understand, then we know difficult also. We have to do it in our mind. We have to make the resolve. If you don't have the resolve, you can never do anything. If you start off by only thinking, I can't, I can't, I can't, then definitely you can't. Restlessness is something quite difficult because if you look at the five higher factors, actually the restlessness is eliminated only by the Arahant. So the only thing is as we grow older, we don't become so restless. It's like temper also. When we are young, our temper is very great. As we grow older, slowly, slowly, our fire cools down. Also, whether it's physical age or spiritual age, if you are spiritually mature, you listen a lot to the Buddha's words, then you become old spiritually. Then it's faster to let go of all these things. Yes. Yes. So you have to observe your own self. Each person is different. There is something in the Sutta about balancing. When you put too much effort, then restlessness arises. Then in that case, you must concentrate harder to attain tranquility, to attain Samadhi. And if you find that sitting is difficult, When you're restless, then you do walking. Walking. This one you have to see the consequences of your action. See whether it's at the expense of your practice or not. If it affects your practice, then you have to consider again not to spend so much time in the kitchen. A lot of things, sometimes we have to reflect and consider. Like the Buddha says, whatever we do, before doing it, we must reflect. That's the consequences. And then while we are doing also, we must reflect. Whether it's beneficial or it's harmful. And after we have done it also, we must reflect. So we constantly reflect on our actions, then our actions become more and more pure, purified. and more skillful.

55-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-07).txt

Okay, today is the 7th of August and we continue with the Kandasang Yutta. Now, today we come to 22.89. This sutta is quite interesting and a bit amusing. On one occasion, a number of elder monks were dwelling at Kosambi in Gositha's park. On that occasion, the Venerable K. Maka was living at Jujubee Free Park. sick, afflicted, gravely ill. Then in the evening, those elder monks emerged from seclusion and addressed the verbal Dasaka thus, Come, friend Dasaka, approach the monk Kemaka and say to him, The elders say to you, friend Kemaka, we hope that you are bearing up, friend. We hope that you are getting better. We hope that your painful feelings are subsiding and not increasing, and that their subsiding, not their increase, is to be discerned." His friends, the Venerable Dasaka, replied. And he approached the Venerable K. Maka and delivered his message. Stop here for a moment. So, the elder monks, they sent this. He must be a junior monk, Venerable Dasaka, to I'll go ahead and send the greetings to the Venerable K. Maka. The Venerable K. Maka answered, I am not bearing up, friend. I am not getting better. Strong painful feelings are increasing in me, not subsiding. And the increase, not the subsiding, is to be discerned. Then the rebel Dasaka approached the elder monks and reported what the rebel Kemaka had said. They told him, Come, friend Dasaka, approach the monk Kemaka and say to him, The elders say to you, friend Kemaka, these five aggregates of attachment, friend, have been spoken of by the Blessed One, that is, the form or body aggregate. attachment, the feeling aggregate of attachment, the perception aggregate of perception of attachment, the volition aggregate of attachment, the consciousness aggregate of attachment. Does the verbal Kemaka regard anything as self? or as belonging to self among these five aggregates of attachment?" His friend, the Venerable Dasakha, replied. And he approached the Venerable Khemaka and delivered his message. The Venerable Khemaka replied, These five aggregates of attachment have been spoken of by the Blessed One, that is, the body aggregate of attachment, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness aggregates of attachment. Among these five aggregates of attachment, I do not regard anything as self or as belonging to self. Then the Venerable Dasaka approached the elder monks and reported what the Venerable Kemaka had said. They replied, Come friend Dasaka, approach the monk Kemaka and say to him, The elders say to you, friend Kemaka, these five abbegates subject to clinging friend have been spoken of by the Blessed One. i.e. the body aggregate of attachment, the feeling, perception, volition, consciousness aggregate of attachment. If the verbal Kammaka does not regard anything among these five aggregates subject to clinging as self or as belonging to self, then he is an arahant, one whose asavas are destroyed. Stop here for a moment. So the verbal Khemaka, he says he does not regard the aggregates as self or as belonging to self. So they asked him whether he was an Arahant. Not necessarily that he should be an Arahant. He can be a Sotapanna if he has discarded this If he is a Sotapanna, he would have eliminated Sakkayaditti, identity view, in which case he does not regard the aggregates as self or as belonging to self or Sakkadagamin or Anagamin. So here they asked him whether he is Arahant. He has friends, the verbal Dasaka replied and he approached the verbal Kemaka and delivered his message. The Venerable Khemaka replied, these five aggregates of attachment have been spoken of by the Blessed One, that is, the body aggregate of attachment, the feeling, perception, volition, consciousness aggregates of attachment. I do not regard anything among these five aggregates of attachment as self, or as belonging to self. Yet, I am not an Arahant, one whose asavas are destroyed. Friends, the notion I am has not yet vanished in me in relation to these five aggregates of attachment. But I do not regard anything among them as this I am." Here he is saying that he does not have this Then the Venerable Dasakha approached the elder monks and reported what the Venerable Kemaka had said. They replied, Come friend Dasakha, approach the monk Kemaka and say to him, The elders say to you, friend Kemaka, friend Kemaka, when you speak of this I am, what is it that you speak of as I am? Do you speak of body as I am? Or do you speak of I Am apart from body. Similarly, do you speak of feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as I Am, or do you speak of I Am apart from these aggregates? When you speak of this I am, friend Kemaka, what is it that you speak of as I am? Yes, friends, the Venerable Dasaka replied. And he approached the Venerable Kemaka and delivered his message. And the Venerable Kemaka said, Enough friend Dasaka, why keep running back and forth? Bring me my staff friend. I'll go to the elder monks myself. Then the Venerable Kemaka, leaning on his staff, approached the elder monks. I exchanged greetings with them and sat down to one side. He took his tongkat, his walking stick, and made a great effort and walked to them. The other monks then said to him, Friend Kemaka, when you speak of this I Am, what is it that you speak of as I Am? They repeated the question as before. And he said, Friends, I do not speak of body as I am, nor do I speak of I am apart from body. I do not speak of feeling as I am, nor do I speak of I am apart. from feeling, similarly with perception, volition and consciousness. Friends, although the notion I am has not yet vanished in me in relation to these five aggregates subject to clinging, still I do not regard anything among them as this I am. Suppose, friends, there is the scent of a blue, red or white lotus. Could one be speaking rightly if one would say the scent belongs to the petals, Or the scent belongs to the stock? Or the scent belongs to the pistols? No, friend. And how, friends, should one answer, if one is to answer rightly? And the elder said, Answering rightly, friend, one should answer, the scent belongs to the flower. So, two friends, I do not speak of body as I am, nor do I speak of I am apart from body. Similarly, I do not speak of feeling as I am, nor do I speak of I am apart from feeling. Similarly, with perception, volition and consciousness. Friends, although the notion I am has not yet vanished in me, in relation to these five aggregates of attachment. Still I do not regard anything among them as this I am. Friends, even though a noble disciple has abandoned the five lower factors, still in relation to the five aggregates of attachment that lingers in him, a residual conceit I am, a desire I am. an underlying tendency, I am, that has not yet been uprooted. Sometime later, he dwells contemplating rise and fall, or rise and cessation, or birth and death, of the five aggregates of attachment. such is body, such is origin, such is passing away. Similarly, such is feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, such their origin, such their passing away. As he dwells thus contemplating rise and fall in the five aggregates of attachment, the residual conceit, I am, the desire, I am, the underlying tendency, I am, that had not yet been uprooted. This comes to be uprooted. Suppose, friends, a cloth has become soiled and stained, and its owners give it to a laundry man. The laundry man would scour it evenly with cleaning salt, lye or cow dung, and rinse it in clean water. Even though that cloth would become pure and clean, it would still retain a residual smell of cleaning salt, lye or cow dung that had not yet vanished. The laundryman would then give it back to the owners. The owners would put it in a sweet-scented casket, and the residual smell of cleaning salt, lye or cow dung that had not yet vanished would vanish. So too, friends, even though a noble disciple has abandoned the five lower factors, still in relation to the five aggregates of attachment, there lingers in him a residual conceit, I am, a desire, I am, an underlying tendency, I am, that has not yet been uprooted. As he dwells, contemplating rise and fall in the five aggregates of attachment, The residual conceit, I am. The desire, I am. The underlying tendency, I am. They have not yet been uprooted. This comes to be uprooted. Stop here for a moment. So here he is saying that he is actually an anagamin. because he has abandoned the five lower factors. And yet he still has this residual conceit, this mana, I am, that has not been uprooted. So he says he has to continue observing or contemplating the five aggregates, their nature and how they originate and how they pass away, contemplating impermanence in the five aggregates. Then slowly, slowly, one day, the I am is uprooted. And it gives a very good simile, a dirty piece of cloth. It's sent to a laundry man. The laundry man cleans it and gives it back to the owner. And when the owner receives it, it still has a little bit of smell. So he puts it in a box with a lot of sweet smelling flowers and perfume and all that. and then it closes the box. And then over a period of time, the cloth would imbibe, would soak up the sweet smell, the perfume, and later its nasty odor would go away. So in the same way, this IM is that nasty odor that slowly, slowly will disappear. The elder monk said to the Venerable K. Maka, we did not ask our questions in order to trouble the Venerable K. Maka, but we thought that the Venerable K. Maka would be capable of explaining, teaching, proclaiming, establishing, disclosing, analysing and elucidating the Blessed One's teaching in detail. And the Venerable K. Maka has explained, or proclaimed, established, disclosed, analysed, and elucidated the Blessed One's teaching in detail. This is what the Venerable K. Maka said. Elated, the elder monks delighted in the Venerable K. Maka's statement. And while this discourse was being spoken, the minds of 60 elder monks and of the Vibhukti Maka who were liberated from the Asavas by non-clinging. So this Vibhukti Maka is a great anagamin. He can explain so well that the 60 of the elder monks, they also attained Arahanthood. So possibly They had also attained some stage of Arahanthood, but when they heard this teaching, then they were liberated. This is where the book came out. You notice that among 60 of them who heard the teaching, they attained Arahanthood. and Venerable Khemaka who taught the teaching, he also attained Arahanthood. Because in the Suttas, the Buddha says there are five occasions, only five occasions when a monk attains liberation. One is when he's listening to the Dhamma, pure Dhamma. And second is when he's teaching the Dhamma. Third is when he's repeating the Dhamma. Fourth is when he is reflecting on the Dhamma and fifth only during meditation. So you see out of five occasions when an Arhat attains liberation, four have to do with the Dhamma. It shows how important the Dhamma is. In fact you find in the Suttas and the Vinaya, most of the monks who attain liberation, they attain it when they listen to the Dhamma. But according to the Buddha's discourse, the precondition is that they must have the four jhanas. If they already have the four jhanas, their mind is very clear, then they listen to this type of discourse. or like what we read yesterday, the Anathalakkhana discourse, then they will attain liberation. So this sutra is a bit amusing actually. These elder monks, they had a lot of respect for this Venerable K. Markar. They wanted to learn from him because he's so good at explaining the Dhamma. So they sent this young monk to go and ask him all these questions. Probably they thought because there's so many of them and they are all senior monks, it's not proper that they go to him. So they send the young monk. The young monk kept going back and forth so many times until this very working monk got fed up. Bring my walking stick, I go by myself. So the next sutra is... 22.93. This sutra also gives a very beautiful simile. A savati in the Buddha said, monks, suppose there was a mountain river sweeping downwards, flowing into the distance with a swift current. If, on either bank of the river, Khasa grass or Khusa grass were to grow, it would overhang it. If russias' reeds or trees were to grow, they would overhang it. If a man, being carried along by the current, should grasp the Khasa grass, it would break off, and he would thereby meet with calamity and disaster. If he should grasp the kusa grass, it would break off and he would thereby meet with calamity and disaster. If he should grasp the rashes, reeds or trees, they would break off and he would thereby meet with calamity and disaster. So too monks, the uninstructed ordinary folk, who does not see Aryans, etc., who is not learned, or train in the Ahrim Dhamma, regards body as self, or self as possessing body, or bodhi as in the self, or self as in the body. That body of his disintegrates, and he thereby meets with calamity and disaster. He regards feeling, similarly perception, volition, consciousness as self, or self as possessing the aggregates, or the aggregates as in the self, or self as in the aggregates. The aggregates of his disintegrates and he thereby meets with calamity and disaster. What do you think, monks? Is body permanent or impermanent? They say impermanent. What is impermanent? Suffering or happiness? They say suffering. What is suffering? are subject to change, impermanent, fit to be regarded as this is mine, this I am, this is myself. And they say no. Similarly, with feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, I ask them one by one and then they say the answer is before. Then he says when an Aryan disciple sees this understands this then he becomes disenchanted and from being disenchanted becomes dispassionate with the five aggregates and he becomes liberated. So the simile here is a very beautiful simile. This man is swept along the river and in desperation he is drowning. So he grasps at anything by the bank of the river. So what happens, there are five things there, the Khasa grass, the Kusa grass, the rushes the reeds and trees. But all of these are fragile. When he pulls at them, they just give away. He is swept along by the current and he drowns. So this simile is a very good simile because we are swept along by the current of life. we flow in the stream of light and we also in the same way we hold on to our five aggregates just like this man trying to grasp the five things so we are grasping at our five aggregates hoping they will be maintained hoping that they give us happiness, but instead, because they are impermanent, just like the weeds will break off, grass will break off, so as we hold on to the five aggregates, they slowly disintegrate, they become sick and die. Just like the man is drowned, so we will also die. Lifetime after lifetime we hold on to the five aggregates and we swept along the river of life. So this is a very beautiful simile to make us understand how we are swept along this river of life. 22.94 Like sabbati, Buddha said, monks, I do not quarrel with the world. Rather, it is the world that quarrels with me. A proponent of the Dhamma does not quarrel with anyone in the world. Of that which the wise in the world agree upon as not existing, I too say that it does not exist. And of that which the wise in the world agree upon as existing, I too say that it exists. And what is it, monks, that the wise in the world agree upon as not existing, of which I too say that it does not exist? Body that is permanent, stable, eternal. not subject to change. This the wise in the world agree upon as not existing, and I too say that it does not exist. Similarly, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change. This the wise in the world agree upon as not existing, and I too say that it does not exist. That monk is what the wise in the world agree upon as not existing, and of which I too say that it does not exist." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that firstly he does not quarrel with the world. The world quarrels with him. One who teaches the Dhamma does not quarrel with anyone in the world. So from this sutta you can understand because there were a lot of external sects in India at that time. So when the Buddha became enlightened, there were already at least six famous teachers. And when the Buddha taught the Dhamma, it was very different from what they were teaching. So because they could not understand Then it's Dhamma, they criticize him, they talk bad about him, they were jealous of him and all this. So because of all that backbiting, he says that they quarrel with him, but he does not quarrel with them. So you can see actually... All holy men, if they start to teach actually, and what they teach is different, so it's very dangerous. Like Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, he taught, his teachings were quite good, but because he was different from what was being taught at that time, a lot of people could not accept what he taught. So in the end, they crucified him. He died. They had to teach something good. So in the same way, the Buddha also, a lot of people talked bad about him, were jealous of him and all that. So that's the risk when you try to teach the true Dhamma and it is contradictory to what others teach. And sometimes, like the Buddha when he teaches the Dhamma, he has to contradict what the other teachers say and he has to criticize what the others say and he has to point out. There's one sutta where the Buddha says that full makkhaliko salaputta, he leads so many people to the woeful plains of rebirth. Just like a fish trap, what do you call it? Bukkak now. Where they have all these stakes, bamboo, and the fish go along and they are led along until they go into a trap. and they enter the trap and they cannot come out. So in the same way the Buddha said this Makaliko Salaputta, that fool is bringing a lot of people into the woeful plains and they won't be able to come out from there for a long time. So a lot of people don't study suttas enough. They think the Buddha is such a nice person, doesn't criticize people, doesn't talk bad and all that. But it's not. The Buddha is so straightforward, he dares to call a fool a fool. That's why he says he does not quarrel with people, but people quarrel with him. So he says the wise people in the world agree that you cannot find a being with the five aggregates that are eternal, that will live forever. And he says he agrees with that. And what is it, monks, that the wise in the world agree upon as existing, of which I too say that it exists? Body that is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change. This the wise in the world agree upon as existing, and I too say that it exists. Similarly, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness that is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change. This the wise people in the world agree upon as existing, and I too say that it exists. That mount is what the wise in the world agree upon as existing, and of which I too say that it exists. So here the Buddha is saying, he agrees with the wise people in the world, that the five aggregates, that means a being, body and mind, all of them will change. They give us suffering. They depend on conditions. There is amongst a world phenomenon in the world to which the Tathagata has awakened and broken through. Having done so, he explains it, teaches it, proclaims it, establishes it, discloses it, analyses it, elucidates it. And what is it that world phenomenon in the world to which the Tathagata has awakened and broken through? Body mounts is a world phenomenon in the world to which the Tathagata has awakened and broken through. Having done so, he explains it, teaches it, proclaims it, establishes it, discloses it, analyses it, elucidates it. When it is being thus explained and elucidated by the Tathagata, if anyone does not know and see, how can I do anything with that foolish worldling, blind and sightless, who does not know and does not see? Similarly, with feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, is a world phenomenon in the world to which the Tathagata has awakened and broken through. Having done so, he explains it, teaches it, proclaims it, establishes it, discloses it, analyses it, elucidates it. When it is being thus explained and elucidated by the Tathagata, if anyone does not know and see, how can I do anything with that foolish worldling, blind and sightless, who does not know and does not see. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying he teaches the five aggregates to the world. But there are some people who are foolish, blind and sightless. They have much dust in their eyes and they do not understand, they don't see, they don't know. So he says he cannot do anything with them. It's not true that the Buddha can teach everyone, can help everyone to become enlightened. No. The Buddha says he only teaches tameable men. Only wise men, people who are not wise enough, when they hear the Dharma, they cannot understand because their hindrances are too thick, the five hindrances. The Buddha says, we are foolish, we are stupid because of the five hindrances. And when we eliminate the five hindrances through meditation, when we attain one-pointedness of mind, when our mind becomes focused, then the five hindrances melt away. Then we see things as they clearly are. Then we can understand the Dhamma. So the Buddha says foolish people cannot understand the Dhamma. Monks, this is a blue, red or white lotus. It is born in the water and grows up in the water. But having risen up above the water, it stands unsullied by the water. So too the Tathagata was born in the world and grew up in the world. But having overcome the world, he dwells unsullied by the world. So the Buddha gives a simile, like the lotus flower. He was an ordinary person in the world, but having become enlightened, he has transcended the world. So this sutta, the beginning part is quite interesting. It says that the world quarrels with him, the Buddha says. But he does not quarrel with the world. So that's why a lot of teachers, they don't have the courage to speak the truth. Because when you speak the truth, you antagonize people who speak differently. So some monks, they like to be popular. They just teach those things that people like to hear.

56-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-07).txt

The next sutra is 22.95. On one occasion, the Blessed One was dwelling at Ayodhya, on the bank of the river Ganges. There, the Blessed One addressed the monks thus. Monks, suppose that this river Ganges were carrying along a great lump of foam. A man with good sight would inspect it, ponder it, and carefully investigate it, and it would appear to him to be void, hollow, insubstantial. For what substance could there be in a lump of foam? So two monks, whatever kind of body there is, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, a monk inspects it, ponders it, and carefully investigates it, and it would appear to him to be void, hollow, insubstantial. For what substance could there be in body? Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is giving a simile for our body. You must remember the Buddha spoke this sutta about 2,500 years ago when science was not much, was not advanced. Yet the Buddha, because of his psychic power, he could see that our body is made up of what? Cells. Sipao. Cells. And these cells are born and die, born and die. Very quickly they pass away. So they're very similar to this lump of foam. When you put fat into water, you stir it, you get a lot of foam. But when you look carefully, these bubbles in the foam, they burst. And new ones are formed and old ones will burst. they keep bursting and new ones will form. So in the same way, our body, the cells, there are trillions of cells in our body, and they are dying and being born, dying and being born. As we eat food, as we take nutriment, then it makes new cells, and the old cells will die. And then we keep eating and we sustain our body. That's why the Buddha says that the body is sustained by food. Without food, the body will die. The old cells will die and no new cells are created. So we have to keep on taking food. And the interesting thing is the Buddha says all beings subsist on food. Not only human beings. Devas also have to eat. Ghosts also have to eat. Animals have to eat. Hell beings also have to eat. All beings have to eat to sustain the body. And all beings have a body. It's just that there are certain spirits we cannot see. But the fact that we cannot see doesn't mean they don't have a body. They have a body. It's only that their body is fine, so we cannot see with the human eyes. So this simile is a very good simile for the body. The body is just like a foam. If you look into the body, you cannot find anything solid inside the body, just like in the foam. Can you find anything that's permanent, that's unchanging? You cannot find. So our body also. It's made up of all these cells, ce-pao, dying and new ones arise. There's nothing inside there that is permanent or unchanging. Suppose, monks, that in the autumn, when it is raining and big raindrops are falling, a water bubble arises and bursts on the surface of the water. A man with good sight would inspect it, ponder it, and carefully investigate it. and it would appear to him to be void, hollow, insubstantial. For what substance could there be in a water bubble? So to monks, whatever kind of feeling there is, whether past, future or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, a monk inspects it, ponders it, and carefully investigates it, and it would appear to him to be void, hollow, insubstantial. For what substance could there be in feeling? This is another classic example. The Buddha says, feeling is just like the water bubble that arises on the surface of a pond or a lake when the raindrops fall on it. Why this example is so good is because when the raindrops fall on the water and the bubble forms, it is very similar to what happens at our six senses. The six senses, we are in pinch. by contact from the six external sense objects. For example, sights will impinge on our eyes. And when the form impinges on our eye, there is contact and then a feeling arises. Similarly, a sound comes to our ear when somebody says something to us and then we hear that sound, that sound contacts our ear, then a feeling arises. Similarly, with smell, taste, touch and thoughts. So whenever there is contact, a feeling arises. So that's why this simile is so good. When the water contacts, when the raindrop contacts the water surface, immediately a bubble forms, just like the feeling. The Buddha wants us to understand that this feeling only lasts for a short while and then it will burst. Similarly, our feelings actually last for a short while. But sometimes it appears long to us. Why? Because we think about it. For example, if somebody says something nasty to us, immediately the unpleasant feeling arises. If we don't think about it, it will just subside. But the problem with many of us is that we start thinking about it, then we get annoyed. Why should he say such a thing to me? I have been so good to him. I did him so many favors and all that. And you keep thinking and it multiplies. These thoughts multiply. So the feeling persists. And if you continue thinking about it, at night it will still persist until you cannot sleep. You have a sleepless night because you are angry. So, actually feeling, if you don't think about it, it just arises and passes away. Suppose monks, that in the last month of the hot season, at high noon, a shimmering mirage appears. A man with good sight would inspect it, ponder it, and carefully investigate it, and it would appear to him to be void, hollow, insubstantial. For what substance could there be in a mirage? So, to monks, whatever kind of perception there is, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, a monk inspects it, ponders it, and carefully investigates it, and it would appear to him to be void, hollow, insubstantial, for what substance could there be in perception? and stop here for a moment so here the buddha gives a simile of the hot season during the hot season during noon time it's very hot and somehow the conditions make a mirage appear and then you look at the mirage this mirage is like a It's like an example I can think of. It's like a person, he's in the desert, he's lost in the desert. And he's walking for many days without water, without food. So his mind becomes overheated. So he's looking for a place where there is water, where there's an oasis with trees and all that. So he starts imagining. He starts imagining, oh, he sees an oasis a lake and trees and all that. And then he rushes towards it. When he reaches it, he finds it disappeared. It's been created by the mind. So in this way, this mirage, this mind created. So, in the same way, when there is contact at our six sense doors, feeling arises, followed by perception. And this perception is created by habit. For example, If a person sees somebody of the opposite sex who is attractive, then firstly when you see, a nice feeling arises, followed by the perception that this person is very attractive. But this perception of somebody being attractive is not necessarily true to somebody else who sees that person may not look attractive. Or you perceive a certain colour, but it's not necessary that somebody else will see the same colour as you, especially if one of you is colourblind. So it is somehow, it is insubstantial, it is not absolute. Suppose monks that a man needing hardwood, seeking hardwood, wandering in search of hardwood, would take a sharp axe and enter a forest. There he would see the trunk of a large plantain tree, straight, fresh, without a fruit bud core. He would cut it down at the root, cut off the crown, and unroll the coil. As he unrolls the coil, he would not find even soft wood, let alone hard wood. A man with good sight would inspect it, ponder it, and carefully investigate it, and it would appear to him to be void, hollow, insubstantial. For what substance could there be in the trunk of a plantain tree? So too monks, whatever kind of volition there are, at the past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, a monk inspects it, ponders, ponders it and carefully investigates it. As he investigates it or them, it appears to him to be void, hollow and substantial. For what substance could there be in volition? Story for a moment. So here Buddha is giving the simile of a banana tree. Plantain plant here is a banana tree with volition. You know when we exercise volition, we make a decision to do this or not to do that and you have the feeling, I want this. I don't want this. You think there is an I inside that makes the decision, but actually there is no I. It's just like a robot. If you make a robot, you have a good computer inside so that it automatically responds to certain situations. And if somebody doesn't understand, he thinks there's a being inside that robot. So we are quite a perfect robot. Our computer works automatically. So the Buddha gives this simile of this banana tree. If any one of you is a kampong boy like me, you know when you chop down a banana tree, usually after you harvest the fruit, we chop down the banana tree, right? So when you chop down the banana tree, you have banana trees here. You will find, if you don't understand, this man is looking for hardwood and he sees this banana tree. He doesn't understand. He is looking for hardwood in the banana tree. So he starts peeling the layers of the banana tree because the banana tree is quite peculiar. It has got layers, layers. So when he peels a banana tree right to the center, he doesn't find any wood at all. There's no wood. Don't talk about hardwood. So in the same way, the Buddha says, when we examine either our body or our mind, when we make a decision, we think, I make a decision. When we start investigating whether the mind or the body, there is nothing inside us that is permanent. that there's unchanging, that you can call that I. So the Buddha says in the same way, just like inside the banana tree there's no hardwood, so in the same way there's no person inside, no something solid you can call a self that makes a decision. Suppose, monks, that a magician or a magician's apprentice would display a magical illusion at a crossroads. A man with good sight would inspect it, ponder it, and carefully investigate it, and it would appear to him to be void, hollow, insubstantial. For what substance could there be in a magical illusion? So too, monks, whatever kind of consciousness there is, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, grows so subtle. far or near, a monk inspects it, ponders it, and carefully investigates it, and it would appear to him to be void, hollow, insubstantial. For what substance would there be in consciousness? I'll stop here for a moment. So here, consciousness conjures up a dream. Every time we see ourselves, one lifetime after another lifetime, like Tai Hei, a show, just like our dreams. Every time we dream, we see ourselves in that dream. Only when we wake up, then we realize that it was only a dream. So in the same way, consciousness conjures up these dreams of us, lifetime after lifetime after lifetime. So the Buddha gives the simile of a magician. He creates an illusion. And if you don't understand, If you don't know, it's a magician. You think it's real. The only thing, it takes some time to realize that it's just an illusion. So the Buddha says life is also an illusion, just like a dream, one lifetime after another. It's only that when we are inside the dream, we don't realize. So now we are in the dream of life. We don't realize that it's actually just a play of consciousness, what the Hindus call maya. illusion. Seeing thus monks, the learned noble disciple experiences revulsion towards towards feeling, revulsion towards perception, revulsion towards volition, revulsion towards consciousness. Experiencing revulsion, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, his mind is liberated. When it is liberated, there comes the knowledge it is liberated. He understands, destroyed is birth. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is no more for the state of being. This is what the Blessed One said. Having said this, the Fortunate One, the Teacher, further said, Form is like a lump of foam, feeling like a water bubble. Perception is like a mirage. Volition is like a banana tree, and consciousness like an illusion. So I explain the kinsmen of the sun. Kinsmen of the sun is an angirasa. However one may ponder it and carefully investigate it, it appears but hollow and void when one views it carefully. With reference to this body, the one of broad wisdom has taught that with the abandoning of three things, one sees this body discarded. When vitality, heat and consciousness departs from this physical body, then it lies there cast away, fooled for others, without volition. Such is this continuum. Regiler of fools, it is thought to be a murderer. Here no substance can be found. A monk with energy aroused should look upon the aggregates thus, whether by day or at night, comprehending, ever mindful. He should discard all the factors and make a refuge for himself. Let him fare as with head ablaze, yearning for the imperishable state." That's the end. So here the Buddha says, when the body is discarded, three things leave the body. Vitality, vital energy, heat, body heat, and consciousness. So sometimes the doctor says a person has died. He has not died as long as the body is warm. When a person really dies, then the body becomes cold. So here the Buddha says that Life is an illusion. Fools are tricked. These five aggregates are like murderers. The problem is with most people, our minds are muddled up. Our minds are not focused. Blur, blur as they say. So we go through life not seeing things clearly. And because our mind is strictest, we have these natural tendencies towards greed, hatred and delusion. and we don't see the consequence clearly. But when we learn the Dhamma, and then we train our mind to focus, when our mind becomes focused, then we see differently. A person with a focused mind, he sees things very clearly. Then things become plain, so evident that we see things clearly, then we know what to do. And we have the strength of mind to do it. If your mind is blur-blur, you don't have the strength. Not only that you can't see clearly, you don't have the strength to do what you should do also. Okay, the sutra, 22.96 S.R.R.T. Buddha and then sitting to one side, that monk said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, is there any body that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change and that will remain the same just like eternity itself? Is there, Venerable Sir, any feeling, perception, volition or consciousness that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, and that will remain the same just like eternity itself?" And the Buddha said, stable, eternal, not subject to change, and that will remain the same just like eternity itself. There is no feeling, no perception, no volition, no consciousness that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, and that will remain the same just like eternity itself. Let's stop here for a moment. A lot of us, a lot of people, out of ignorance, we like to believe that there is a Kuan Yin Bodhisattva who is permanently there, that will help us when we need help. Or any Master Medicine Buddha, or Amitabha Buddha, or any god, or anything that is any being, some super being, that will help us when we need help. But the Buddha says, that all beings will have to die one day. You cannot find a being that is eternal. Then the Blessed One took up a little lump of cow dung in His hand and said to that monk, Mom, there is not even this much individual existence that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, and that will remain the same just like eternity itself. If there was this much individual existence that was permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, this living of the holy life for the complete destruction of suffering could not be discerned. But because there is not even this much individual existence that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, thus living of the holy life for the complete destruction of suffering it is stopping for a moment. So the Buddha is saying that there is nothing that is unchanging, even a little lump of cow dung, so small you cannot find any type of being or what, even so small that has eternal life. The Buddha says if there is then there would not be this holy life that is taught for us to get out of samsara, for us to get out of the world, because the world is full of suffering. There is nothing in the world that you can find permanent happiness. If there is something or something even so small that would give you permanent happiness, then there's no need to get out of the world, because there isn't. That's why the Buddha says this holy life is lived to get out of this samsara. And the Buddha said, in the past month, I was a head-anointed Katya king. I had 84,000 cities, the chief of which was the capital, Kusavati. I had 84,000 palaces, the chief of which was the palace named Dhamma. I had 84,000 halls with peak roofs, the chief of which was the hall named the Great Parade. I had 84,000 couches made of ivory, of hardwood, of gold and silver, decked with long hair coverlets, embroidered with flowers, with choice spreads made of enveloped hides, with red awnings overhead and red cushions at both ends. I had 84,000 bull elephants with golden ornaments and golden banners covered with nets of golden thread, the chief of which was the royal bull elephant named Uposatha. I had 84,000 steeds with golden ornaments and golden banners covered with nets of golden thread, the chief of which was the royal steed named Valahaka. I had 84,000 chariots with golden ornaments and golden banners, covered with nets of golden thread, the chief of which was the chariot named Vejayanta. I had 84,000 jewels, the chief of which was the jewel gem. I had 84,000 women, the chief of which was Queen Subadda. I had 84,000 vessels of the Katia caste, the chief of whom was the Commander Jem. I had 84,000 cows with tethers of fine jute and milk pails of bronze. I had 84,000 courtes of garments made of fine linen, of fine silk, of fine wool, of fine cotton. I had 84,000 plates on which my meals were served both in the morning and in the evening. Of those 84,000 cities, monk, there was only one city in which I resided at that time, the capital Kusavati. Of those 84,000 palaces, there was only one palace in which I resided at that time, the palace named Dhamma. Of those 84,000 ores, with peaked roof. There was only one hall with peaked roof in which I resided at that time. The hall named the Great Array. Of those 84,000 couches, there was only one couch that I used at that time, one made either of ivory or of hardwood. or of gold or of silver. Of those 84,000 elephants, there was only one elephant that I rode at that time, the royal bull elephant named Upasatha. Of those 84,000 steeds, there was only one steed that I rode at that time, the royal steed named Valahaka. Of those 84,000 chariots, there was only one chariot that I rode at that time, the chariot named Vijayanta. Of those 84,000 women, there was only one woman who waited on me at that time, either a Katia maiden or a Vela Mika maiden. This Vela Mika is a maiden born of a Katia royal family. warrior clan and a Brahmin. Of those 84,000 coaties of garments, there was only one pair of garments that I wore at that time. One made either of fine linen, or of fine silk, or of fine wool, or of fine cotton. Of those 84,000 plates, there was only one plate from which I ate at most. a measure of rice with a suitable curry. Thus, monk, all these conditioners have passed, ceased, changed. So impermanent are conditioners monks. Conditioners say sankara, so unstable, so unreliable. It is enough monks to feel revulsion towards all conditioners, enough to become dispassionate towards them, enough to be liberated from them. The end of the sutta. This conditioners here refers to things in the world. All the things in the world are conditioners as well as conditioned things. So here, the Buddha, sometimes he likes to think back about this life when he was a wheel-turning king. He was a universal monarch. He was king of the whole earth. And that life was a very beautiful life. He enjoyed it so much. So he sometimes was a bit sentimental about it. Think about it. So much so, that when the Buddha was about to pass away, he went to a particular place, and Ananda didn't understand why he went to such a ulu, way out place. And the Buddha says, it's because this used to be his capital when he was a universal monarch, king of the whole earth. This was his capital, called Kusavati. He resided there, so he wanted to go back there and pass away. Life is so impermanent. Such a beautiful life has gone by like a dream. So in the same way, if one day we have this psychic ability to know our past lives, then we look at our past lives, it's just like one dream after another, one dream after another. But when you are in a particular life, you think it's so important. Everything in that life is so important. But when it goes by, then you realize that there was nothing that was important. All has to become cold. Everything has to become cold. So I think I'll stop here for a moment. Anything to discuss? Empty or what? Self, calm? Oh, kong. Oh, this word, kong, comes from the Sanskrit word sunyata. This word sunyata, when the Buddha says empty, it means just like the concept of anatta, that there is no thing that is unchanging. Because everything is in a state of flux and keep changing and keep changing. So it is empty of a self, empty of something that is permanent, that is unchanging, that is a core. So since there is no such thing, that's why I say that it is empty. Oh, it's the Indian way of speaking. It's like they shake their head. It's their way of speaking. Sometimes they say 500. Sometimes they say 84,000. Yeah, yeah, because it's an Indian tradition to use this way of describing meaning a lot. Meaning many thousands, not necessarily 84,000, many thousands. Now we are asking to permit all the components of the world to be dispensed with. I think the Buddha is saying that because there is nothing that is unchanging, that is eternal, so everything must go by. So when he talked about everything has to be impermanent, everything has to go by, then maybe it was a bit sentimental. Then he talked about his life where he was so happy and he was so famous and all that. Still, that also has to go by. Imagine if you Look into your past life, and then you realize at one time you were a great king. Of course, it will stand up in your mind. Everything must go by. Even at that time, I was such a great king. All that also had to go by. A few similes that we've gone through just now are actually very striking. Very, very good. But if you didn't have a teacher to explain to you, or if you read the book yourself, it will be difficult to catch the meaning so clearly, like the context. When I started learning the suttas, reading the suttas, many things also I didn't understand. But then I read through them, I think maybe 10 times I've gone through the suttas, so that's why I become more familiar. And each time you read, you sort of Make some notes, make some notes. Those important points you underline. It's good to underline in pencil rather than pen, because sometimes in things you underline, you thought it was important. Later you realize it's not so important. Then you can delete with a rubber. So when you listen like this, you have the advantage of a lot of years of experience. So you save on your time. I think for the Anagamin and Arahanna, because they have attained 4 jhanas, their mind is very clear. Greed normally is Identify with sensual pleasure, but not only sensual pleasure, because like greed to be reborn in the formless world, greed to be born in the form realm, that is in the higher factors, that is still greed. Yes. So, that's why they are called the five lower factors. It's not a higher greed, it's a lower greed. Greed for the sensual pleasures, worldly pleasures. For example, if a person has a temper, if our mind is not developed, we have a big temper, it flares up easily. So when a person becomes Sakadagamin, The reduction is so much that it's very noticeable. He himself notices it, and other people also notice it. It does not flare up anymore. But he still has some anger inside, and it's not like the anagamin. Anagamin has totally suppressed it, or eliminated it. Once a person has become an Arya, he becomes a changed person, he becomes a humble person. He must become humble because he does not see himself in the five aggregates. Whereas although generally a person who has attained jhāna, the Buddha says he has cut the passions, in other words anger and lust he does not possess. But because the root is still there, so when the conditions are right, actually This anger can come up, just like Devadatta. When the Buddha scolded him in front of all the assembly of monks, saying, I liken him to spittle. Who do you think you are? You want to take my place as the leader of the Sangha? You are like spittle. People spit out. Nobody wants. He got so angry that he decided to want to kill the Buddha. So he tried various ways to kill the Buddha. So you see the anger can arise. Also in the Sutta is mentioned that there are certain places the Buddha mentioned that he was all burnt out. But the Buddha said that was burnt down because a long time ago there was an ascetic who cultivated until he had psychic power. And then the villagers did something that made him totally angry and he used his psychic power to burn the whole village and killed all of them. So you see, even though you attain jhāna and psychic power and all that, if you are not in ārya, it's still very dangerous. That's why there are some teachers, they say if their disciple has attained psychic power, they ask him to stop it, get rid of it, because the wisdom level has not come up yet. and then the psychic power comes up, the ego will come up. When the ego comes up, it's very dangerous. A lot of people just like they practice mantras, practice mantras and then they find that there's some power and the ego will arise. Similarly with meditation also, if the wisdom factor is not balanced, then they have some psychic power, the ego instead of decreasing or increasing, It's not exactly that he broke his precept, it's because of the ego. So when the Prince Ajatasattu offered him 500 dishes every morning and night, he accepted. So that was one contributory factor. Another one was when he asked to become the leader of the Sangha and the Buddha told him off. So he got so annoyed. I think when he decided to kill the Buddha, I think he must have lost all his psychic power because the mind starts working at that time. His mind becomes agitated as he has to plan how to kill the Buddha and all that. For a person to remain with his psychic power, his mind has to be very tranquil. comes from here, the Buddha's words. That's why I constantly have to study the Buddha's words. A lot of people make the mistake, they only want to meditate, they don't want to study the Buddha's words. So they can't handle the ego. This is the wisdom factor here. This is actually studying the Buddha's words is the vipassana. Vipassana, contemplation of the Buddha's words. That will bring you wisdom. Of course, the higher the wisdom, If you have more samadhi, the more samadhi you have, combined with vipassana, contemplation of the Buddha's words, then it will give you more wisdom. Okay, we stop here for tonight.

57-SN-Khandha-(Ch.22)-(2009-08-08).txt

Today is the 8th of August and we are coming to the last part of the Khanda Sangyutta. This next chapter we are going to read is 22.99 at Savatthi. The Buddha said that, monks, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. The first point is not discern of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. There comes a time, monks, when the great ocean dries up and evaporates and no longer exists. But still I say, there is no making an end of suffering for those beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. There comes a time, monks, when Simaru, the king of mountains, burns up and perishes, and no longer exists. But still I say, there is no making an end of suffering for those beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. There comes a time, monks, when the grey earth burns up and perishes and no longer exists. But still I say, there is no making an end of suffering for those beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. Stop here for a moment. So the first part the Buddha says, time has no beginning. This second part is really saying that time has no end. Unless you get rid of ignorance and craving, you will continue to wander on the round of rebirths and there will be no end to it. So if you understand the Dhamma, then you will make an effort to practice the spiritual path and get out of samsara. Unlike some people who are ignorant, they think they want to stay on in samsara and help other beings. In the Buddha's teachings, all the beings are in our mind, basically, like a dream. So unless you wake up, you will continue to suffer endlessly. Suppose monks, a dog tied up on a leash is bound to a strong post or pillar. It would just keep on running and revolving around that same post or pillar. So to the unlearned, ordinary worldling regards body as self, regards feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as self, etc. or as belonging to self, or self as being in the aggregates, or the aggregates as being in the self. He just keeps running and revolving around body, around feeling, around perception, around volition, around consciousness. As he keeps on running and revolving around them, he is not free from body, not free from feeling, not free from perception, not free from volition, not free from consciousness. He is not free from birth, aging and death. Not free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. Not free from suffering, I say. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is giving Very good simile, just like a dog tied to a pillar. You keep running around and around that pillar. So too, we run around the round of rebirths. And the pillar represents the five aggregates. We are chained to the five aggregates. And what is this chain? The chain is the chain of desire and lust for the five aggregates, because we have desire and lust for the five aggregates. Wherever we go, it's only around these five aggregates, namely body and mind. But the learned, noble disciple does not regard body as self, nor feeling, perception, volition, consciousness as self. He no longer keeps running and revolving around body, around feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. As he no longer keeps running and revolving around them, he is free from body, free from feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. He is free from birth, aging and death. Free from sorrow, lamentation, pain, displeasure and despair. Free from suffering, I say. So, that's the end of the sutta. Only when we know the Dhamma, and we eliminate ignorance, and we cut off the craving for the five aggregates, which we take to be the self, or as belonging to the self, or as being in the self, or the self as being in the five aggregates. So when we cut off the craving for the five aggregates, then we are no longer tied to this pillar of the five aggregates, and we also stop running around samsara. The next sutra, 22.100. Monks, this samsara is without discoverable beginning. The first point is not discern of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. Suppose monks, a dog tied up on a leash, was bound to a strong post or pillar. If it walks, it walks close to that post or pillar. If it stands, it stands close to that post or pillar. If it sits, it sits close to that post or pillar. If it lies down, it lies down close to that post or pillar. So, to monks, the unlearned, ordinary worldling regards body thus, this is mine, this I am, this is myself. Regards, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, thus, this is mine, this I am, this is myself. If he walks, he walks close to those five aggregates of attachment. If he stands, he stands close to those five aggregates of attachment. If he sits, he sits close to those five aggregates of attachment. If he lies down, he lies close to those five aggregates of attachment. Stop here for a moment. So this simile is very similar to the previous one. It's always close to the pillar of the five aggregates. Therefore, monks, one should often reflect upon one's own mind thus. For a long time, this mind has been defiled by lust, hatred and delusion. Through the defilements of the mind, beings are defiled. With the cleansing of the mind, beings are purified. Monks, have you seen the picture called Faring On? Yes, Venerable Sir. Even that picture called Faring On has been designed in its diversity by the mind. Yet the mind is even more diverse than that picture called Faring On. Stop here for a moment. This picture is supposed to be used by some people. And they go around carrying this picture. And this picture is supposed to be very complicated. I say it's very diverse. But the mind that designed that picture has to be more diverse to design that picture. Therefore, monks, one should often reflect upon one's own mind-dust. For a long time, this mind has been defiled by lust, hatred and delusion. Through the defilements of the mind, beings are defiled. With the cleansing of the mind, beings are purified. Monks, I do not see any other order of living beings so diversified as those in the animal realm. Even those beings in the animal realm have been diversified by the mind. Yet the mind is even more diverse than those beings in the animal realm. Stop here for a moment. The Buddha is saying the animal realm has such a great variety of beings. And all of them are created by the mind. For example, in one sutra, the Buddha says there are some people who are very sly. They do things secretly, stealthily, and all that. And then they end up being born as a cat, or a rat, or a snake. Those type of beings that go secretively. They don't even go straight. Sometimes they go bent like that. Therefore, monks, one should often reflect upon one's own mind-dust. For a long time, this mind has been defiled by lust, hatred and delusion. Through the defilements of the mind, beings are defiled. With the cleansing of the mind, beings are purified. Suppose monks and artists or a painter, using dye or lacquer or turmeric or indigo or crimson, would create the figure of a man or a woman, complete in all its features. on a well-polished plank, or wall, or canvas. So, too, when the unlearned, ordinary worldling produces anything, it's only body that he produces, only feeling that he produces, only perception, volition, consciousness that he produces. What do you think, monks? Is body permanent or impermanent? Impermanent, we'll pursue. Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness? Suffering, remember, sir. Is what is impermanent suffering subject to change, fit to be regarded as this is mine, this I am, this myself? No, remember, sir. Seeing thus, noble disciple, becomes disenchanted. the body and similarly for feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. And being dispassionate towards them, then it becomes liberated. The interesting part about this sutta is that it is our mind that creates our world. So people with an evil mind see themselves reborn in an evil world. They suffer. 22.101 at Savarthi and the Buddha said, monks, I say that the destruction of the asavas is for one who knows and sees, not for one who does not know and does not see. For one who knows what, who sees what, that the destruction of the asavas come about. such is body, such is origin, such is passing away. Similarly, such is feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, such their origin, such their passing away. It is for one who knows thus, for one who sees thus, that the destruction of the asavas comes about. stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that if we want to destroy the asavas and become liberated, attain arahanthood, we have to understand the five aggregates. Because it is the five aggregates that we cling to, that we crave for, namely the body and the mind. So if you understand the five aggregates, and you understand how they arise and how they pass away, that they are impermanent, a source of suffering, and always changing. And because you have no control over it, it is not yours. So it's not fit to regard the five aggregates as I or mine. So if a person understands all this, then he knows and sees the five aggregates, and then he would attain liberation. Monks, when a monk does not dwell devoted to development, this word development is bhavana, even though such a wish as this might arise in him, oh, that my mind might be liberated from the asavas by non-clinging, yet his mind is not liberated from the asavas by non-clinging. For what reason? It should be said because of non-development, because of not developing one. Because of not developing the four intense states of recollection, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path. Stop it for a moment. These, if you count them up, there are 37 total. They are called the 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas. And the Buddha says when you practice the Noble Eightfold Path fully, then you automatically cultivate all these 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas. So here the Buddha is saying that to attain liberation, you must develop this 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas or develop this Noble Eightfold Path fully. Without developing the Noble Eightfold Path fully, it is impossible to attain liberation, enlightenment. Suppose monks, there was a hen with 8, 10 or 12 eggs that she had not covered, incubated and nurtured properly. Even though such a wish as this might arise in her, O that my chicks might pierce their shells with the points of their claws and beaks, and hatch safely! Yet the chicks are incapable of piercing their shells with the points of their claws and beaks, and hatching safely. For what reason? Because that hen with eight, ten, or twelve eggs had not covered, incubated, and nurtured them properly. In other words, the hen has not sat on the eggs, just makes a wish that the eggs will hatch. So two monks, when a monk does not dwell devoted to development, even though such a wish as this might arise in him, oh, that my mind might be liberated from the ass of ass by non-clinging. Yet his mind is not liberated from the ass of ass by non-clinging. For what reason? It should be said, because of non-development. Because of not developing what? because of not developing what we read just now, the four intense states of recollection, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path, and they are all called the 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas. I'll stop here for a moment. So just like the hen, that fowl, that hen, she does not do her work of sitting on the eggs, and wants the eggs to hatch, it is not possible. So in the same way, a monk, he does not do his work and cultivate the 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas, then it is impossible for him to attain liberation, even though he makes the wish. That's why the Buddha said in another sutta that what we want in this world cannot be attained by prayers, cannot be attained by vows, cannot be attained by thinking of what you want, making a wish and all that. You have to work for it. And the Buddha said, monks, when a monk dwells devoted to development, even though no such wish as this might arise in him, oh that my mind might be liberated from the asavas by non-clinging. Yet his mind is liberated from the asavas by non-clinging. For what reason? It should be said, because of development. Because of developing what? because of developing the four intense states of recollection, the four right efforts, the four pieces of psychic power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path. Suppose monks, there was a hen with eight, ten or twelve eggs that she had covered, incubated and nurtured properly. Even though no such wish as this might arise in her, O that my chicks might pierce their shells with the points of their claws and beaks, and hatch safely. Yet the chicks are capable of piercing their shells with the points of their claws and beaks, and of hatching safely. For what reason? Because that hen with eight, ten, or twelve eggs had covered, incubated, and nurtured them properly. So to monks, when a monk dwells devoted to development, even though no such wish as this might arise in him, O that my mind might be liberated from the asavas by non-clinging. Yet his mind is liberated from the asavas by non-clinging. For what reason? It should be said, because of development. Because of developing what? Because of developing the 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas. Now I'll stop here for a moment. So you see the point here, this simile actually is a very famous simile. The point here is that you must do your work. No need to make a wish. You just do your work, the results will come automatically. But a lot of people, they haven't finished doing their work, they keep wishing. Why I cannot get into Jhana? Why I cannot get Sutta Panna and all these things? Very simple. According to this Sutta, you haven't finished doing your work. So just keep doing your work. No need to make that wish. When you finish doing your work, the results will come automatically. That's a very important point. So next time you practice, don't hope for this, don't hope for that. Just hope that you do your work. When monks, a carpenter or a carpenter's apprentice, looks at the handle of his axe, he sees the impressions of his fingers and his thumb. But he does not know so much of the axe handle has been worn away today, so much yesterday, so much earlier. But when it has worn away, the knowledge occurs to him that it has worn away. So too monks. When a monk dwells devoted to development, even though no such knowledge occurs to him, so much of my asavas have been worn away today, so much yesterday, so much earlier. Yet when they are worn away, the knowledge occurs to him that they have been worn away. I stop here for a moment. This axe is an instrument for planing the wood. Nowadays, of course, everything is electric. But when I was young, they used to hold the axe with two hands and play in the wood. But it looks like during the Buddha's days, they used one hand only. They hold it, one hand like that, and they play in the wood. Because they keep on doing this, after many years, their fingers are etched into the wood. An impression of the fingers gone into the wood. This process of wearing away the wood takes a long time. And the carpenter doesn't know how much, any time he wears away. But after many years, when the finger marks are very prominent, then he knows that he has definitely worn away the wood. So it seems like this sutra implies that when you are doing your work on the spiritual path, you are not sure what stage you are at, not absolutely sure, until you have become enlightened, become arahant, you finish your work, then only you are sure. Suppose, monks, there was a sea-faring ship bound with rigging that had been worn away in the water for six months. It would be hauled up on dry land during the cold season, and its rigging would be further attacked by wind and sun. Inundated by rain from a rain cloud, the rigging would easily collapse and rot away. So too mounts. When a mount dwells devoted to development, his fetters easily collapse and rot away. So this last simile is saying that when we do our work of developing the mind, slowly the fetters, the chalazas, the defilements, automatically get worn away. So this is a very good sutra, saying very plainly, don't expect results when we practice the spiritual path. Don't be greedy for results. If you don't, you have not arrived at your result, it simply means you have not done enough work. So just keep doing the work, that's important. Don't keep thinking of the result. If you keep thinking of the result, that's an impediment Your mind is going to the future. Your mind is not in the present. Going backwards into the past, that's a mistake. You start thinking of your past, all the things you used to enjoy now you cannot enjoy after wearing the robe. And you look into the future, also a mistake. Expecting this, expecting that. We read some other suttas that we should not go to the past and go to the future. So we just stay with the present moment. Sutra 22.102, at Savati, the Buddha said, monks, and the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated. It eliminates all sensual lust. It eliminates all lust for existence. It eliminates all ignorance. It uproots all conceit, I am. Let's stop here for a moment. So you see, this perception of impermanence, Reflecting about impermanence, thinking about impermanence, seeing impermanence is very fruitful. It is the most important thing because it eliminates so many things. It eliminates lust, sensual lust. It eliminates lust, craving for existence. It eliminates ignorance, all ignorance. And it uploads the conceit, the ego, I am. So if we constantly see impermanence, and we read the earlier suttas, see impermanence where? See impermanence in our five aggregates, our body, our feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. Because this is what we cling to. And if we realize that it's impermanent, constantly changing, If you cling to it, it's going to give you sakit hati. It's going to give you a lot of pain. So you have to practice to see impermanence of the five aggregates and slowly we will let go. This says monks, in the autumn, a plough man, ploughing with a great plough share, cuts through all the rootlets as he ploughs. So too, when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lust, all lust for existence, all ignorance, and the conceit I am. This says monks, a rush cutter would cut down a rush, kind of bush, grab it by the top and shake it down and shake it out and thump it about. So too when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lust, it eliminates all lust for existence, it eliminates all ignorance, it uproots all conceit I am. Just as monks, when the stalk of a bunch of mangoes has been cut, all the mangoes attached to the stalk follow along with it. So too, when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lust, it eliminates all lust for existence, it eliminates all ignorance, it uproots all conceit, I am. Just as monks, All the rafters of a house with a peaked roof lead to the roof-peak, slope towards the roof-peak, and converge upon the roof-peak, and the roof-peak is declared to be their chief. So too, when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lust, it eliminates all lust for existence, it eliminates all ignorance, it uproots all conceit, I am. Just as monks, among fragrant roots, black porous is declared to be their chief, so too, when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lusts, all lusts for existence, all ignorance, and all conceit, I am. Just as monks, among fragrant hardwoods, red sandalwood is declared to be their chief. So too, when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lusts, all lusts for existence, all ignorance, and all conceit in I Am. Just as monks among fragrant flowers, jasmine is declared to be their chief, so too when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lust, all lust for existence, all ignorance, all conceit, I am. Just as monks, all petty princes are the vessels of a wheel-turning monarch. And the real turning-point now is declared to be that G. So too, when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lust, all lust for existence, all ignorance, all conceit, I am. Since as monks, the radiance of all the stars does not amount to a sixteenth part of the radiance of the moon, and the radiance of the moon is declared to be their chief. So too, when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lusts, all lusts for existence, all ignorance and all conceit, I am. Just as, monks, in the autumn, when the sky is clear and cloudless, the sun, ascending in the sky, dispels all darkness from space as it shines and beams and radiates, so too, when the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, it eliminates all sensual lust, it eliminates all lust for existence, it eliminates all ignorance, it uproots all conceit, I am. And how, monks, is the perception of impermanence developed and cultivated, so that it eliminates all sensual lust, eliminates all lust for existence, eliminates all ignorance, and uproots all conceived I Am? such is body, such is origin, such is passing away. Similarly, such is feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, such their origin, such their passing away. That is how the perception of impermanence is developed and cultivated, so that it eliminates all sensual lust, eliminates all lust for existence, eliminates all ignorance, and uproots all conceit, I am. That's the end of the sutta. Sutta has given so many similes to stress the point that the perception of impermanence is chief. When we reflect on a lot of other things, reflection on impermanence is the most important. But then you have to specifically see the impermanence of the five aggregates. how they exist, dependent on what conditions, how they come into being, how they pass away. Then you see the results are so good, it eliminates all sensual lust, all lustful existence, all ignorance and all conceit. Now it looks like I'm coming to the last sutta That is 22.122 on page 970. On one occasion, the Venerable Sariputta and the Venerable Mahakottita were dwelling at Varanasi in the Deer Park at Visipatthana. Then in the evening, the Venerable Maha Potita emerged from seclusion, approached the Venerable Sariputta, exchanged greetings, and said to him, Friend Sariputta, what are the things that a virtuous monk should carefully attend to? Stop here for a moment. You see, during the Buddha's time, sometimes you have two or three monks, they stay together. Maybe they go to a forest, like here at the Deer Park. and they stay together, and then they go on alms round together, come back together, so they are friends. But generally, like in the morning, they go on alms round, then they eat their meal, and after eating their meal, each of them will go and find a secluded place where they can meditate alone. Then when the sun goes down, they will come to the most senior monk to discuss Dhamma. They have so much respect for Dhamma that every night they will discuss Dhamma. Even after they have become enlightened, they will still discuss Dhamma. Their love and respect for Dhamma is very great. So here, Venerable Sariputta is more senior. So Venerable Mahakottita went to him and asked him, what are the things that a good monk should attend to, pay attention to? whoever Sariputta said. Friend Kutitha, a virtuous monk should carefully attend to the five aggregates of clinging, of attachment, as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a tumor, as a dart, as misery, as an affliction, as alien, as disintegrating, as empty, as not-self. What five? the body aggregate of attachment, the feeling aggregate, perception, volition, consciousness aggregate of attachment. A virtuous monk should carefully attend to these five aggregates of attachment as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a tumour, as a dark, as misery, as an affliction, as alien, as disintegrating, as empty, as not-self. When friend, a virtuous monk, carefully attends thus to these five aggregates of attachment, it is possible that he may realize the fruit of stream entry." Stop here for a moment. So here you see, Venerable Sariputta says that we should reflect on the five aggregates of attachment as impermanent. They keep changing. Because they keep changing, they are a source of suffering. And they can be considered like a disease, a sickness. Why is it a sickness? Because it's changing and it's getting older and disintegrating, like our body. And also, a disease gives us pain, gives us annoyance. So our five aggregates also give us annoyance. For example, feelings, unpleasant feelings, annoyance. As a tumor, as a tumor, like a cancer, our body and our mind is like a cancer. Anytime I can die. As a dart, as a dart is something that pokes us, gives us pain. As misery, it is a source of misery and also pleasure. But how much pleasure we enjoy from our body and our mind is never enough. When the misery comes, oh, a little bit or so, we cannot stand already. as an affliction, as alien. This one is interesting, as alien. Why is the body and mind alien? We think the body and mind is I and mind. But you only realize it is alien when we meditate and we go into our mind. When we go deeper and deeper into our mind, slowly you realize that the body fades away from you. The world fades away from you. Actually, the world and the body, everything is all in consciousness, in the Sixth Consciousness. And as we go deeper into our mind, the Sixth Consciousness fades away from us. We are not paying attention to the Sixth Consciousness. So that's why, because the body and the mind can fade away, so it's alien, it's actually alien to our internal It's disintegrating, it's breaking up, especially as we grow old. It's empty of itself. There is no core inside our body and our mind that we can identify, this is me, because it's not changing. But everything within our body and mind keeps changing and keeps changing. If you identify anything in your body and mind as This is I or this is mind. Very soon it will disintegrate and pass away. So where did that I and mind go to? So that's why it's empty of a self. That's not self or non-self. No self to be found. So Venerable Sariputta says, an ordinary monk, a good monk, if he contemplates the five aggregates carefully, with all these characteristics, basically that it's impermanent, and it's a source of suffering, and it's not self, these three characteristics. So if you see that in the five aggregates, then that monk, he is likely to attain Sotapanna, Fruit of Stream Entry. But friend Sariputta, what are the things that a monk who is a stream-enterer should carefully attend to? One who has attained Sotapanna, what should he contemplate next? Friend Kottita, a monk who is a stream-enterer should carefully attend to these five aggregates of attachment as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, etc. When a friend, a monk who is a stream-enterer or a sotapanna, carefully attends thus to these five aggregates of attachment, it is possible that he may realize the fruit of one's returning." That means if he contemplates the five aggregates carefully in the same way as impermanent, as suffering, as not-self, then it is possible that he may attain Sakadagamin. fruit of once-returner. But friend Sariputta, what are the things that a monk who is a once-returner should carefully attend to? Friend Kotita, a monk who is a once-returner should carefully attend to these five aggregates of attachment as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a tumour, as a dart, etc. When a friend, a monk who is a once-returner, carefully attends thus to these five aggregates of attachment, it is possible that he may realize the fruit of non-returning." So here, Rev. Sariputta says that Asakadagamin should also contemplate the five aggregates of attachment in the same way, and if he does so, that he may become an anagamin. But friend Sariputta, what are the things that a monk who is a non-returner should carefully attend to? Friend Potita, a monk who is a non-returner should carefully attend to these five aggregates of attachment, as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a tumor, as a dart, etc. And friend, a monk who is a non-returner carefully attends thus to these five aggregates of attachment, it is possible that he may realize the fruit of arahantship. So here, even Anagamin should contemplate these five abidings of attachment carefully as impermanent suffering and not-self, and he may attain Arahanthood. My friend Sariputta, what are the things that a monk who is an Arahant should carefully attend to? Friend Pratita, a monk who is an arahant should carefully attend to these five aggregates of attachment as impermanent, as suffering, as a disease, as a tumour, as a dart, as misery, as an affliction, as alien, as disintegrating, as empty, as not-self. For the arahant friend, there is nothing further that has to be done, and no repetition of what he has already done. However, when these things are developed and cultivated, they lead to a pleasant dwelling in this very life and to recollection and awareness. So that's the end of the sutta. So here, the point that Venerable Sariputta is stressing is that contemplation of the five aggregates is very important for everybody. From the ordinary puttu jhana, whirling right up to the Arahant also. You should all constantly contemplate the five aggregates of attachment. They will lead you higher and higher until Arahant. So, we have finished the very important Khanda Samyutta. Just to summarize, We recollect the basic teachings in the Khanda Samyutta is that we always attach to the body and mind, which can be called the five aggregates, as eye and mind. So when we attach to the five aggregates, they must change because everything in the world will change. So when they change and we attach to them, we don't want them to change and they give us suffering. So we have to see that they are impermanent and they are a source of suffering and they are not self because we have no control over them. They must disintegrate and break up and die. So we should not attach to them. And there are so many suttas in this Khandasang Yuta, as explained so clearly, the very clear similes. And so if we go again through the suttas, we will understand these five aggregates. You see, the five aggregates, because they are the source of our, they are the object of our attachment. So, if we want to end suffering, we have to cut craving, because craving is the source of suffering. Craving is the reason for repeated rebirth. So craving attaches itself to the five aggregates. So if we want to cut the craving, we have to understand the five aggregates well. Then only we are willing to release our attachment to the five aggregates. That's why it's very important to understand the five aggregates very well. Earlier we studied the dependent origination, how suffering is dependent on many factors. Understanding that, we know that to end suffering, we also have to cut the links in dependent origination. Later, we'll come to Another very important section of the Buddha's teachings are dealing with the 6 sense bases. The 6 sense bases we have to consider from a different angle. Why? Because our feelings, which is our source of suffering, arises because of contact at the 6 sense bases. There is contact at the eye, the ear, the nose, tongue, body and mind. Feeling arises. So if we don't want suffering, we have to limit the contact. If you have too much contact, then a lot of feelings arise, so more suffering arises. So for example, if a person is very busy, It's very difficult to limit your contact. You have to contact so many people. You have to think of this, think of that. You have to be so busy. So because of more contact, you have more chances of suffering. That's why a person on the spiritual path renounces the world. He doesn't want to have so much contact. with the world. So when you limit your contact at the sixth sense basis, and then you limit your chances of suffering, so later we will go to that aspect, the sixth sense basis.

58-SN-Radha-(Ch.23)-Ditthi-(Ch.24)-Okkanti-(Ch.25)-(2009-08-08).txt

Now we come to the 23rd Samyutta, called the Radha Samyutta. This Venerable Radha is supposed to be a monk who came into monkhood at an old age, the first Sutta, 23.1, at Savatthi. Then the Venerable Radha approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and said to him, Rebel Sir, that he said, Mara, Mara. In what way, Rebel Sir, might Mara be? Mara here refers to Satan in the English translation. But here, in this sutra, Mara refers more to Marana. Marana means death. Death. Pali word Marana means death. And the Buddha said, when there is body Radha, there might be Mara, or the killer, or the one who is killed. Therefore, Radha, see the body as Mara. See it as the killer. See it as the one who is killed. See it as a disease, as a tumour, as a dart, as misery, as real misery. Those who see thus, see rightly. We'll stop here for a moment. That day we read one sutra about Yamaka, who had the wrong view, that when an Arahant dies, he passes away and is totally annihilated. Then towards the end, Herbal Sariputta gave a simile of a rich man. Somebody wanted to kill this rich man, so he planned, he schemed, and went to work as a servant for this rich man and served him very well until the rich man had total trust in him. So when he was together with this rich man in a lonely place, he took the opportunity to stab and kill the rich man. So the Venerable Sariputta says in the same way, these five aggregates, we have trusted Five aggregates, so much, just like the rich man trusting that servant. So one day, when we are old, then the five aggregates will kill us, just like the killer killing that rich man. So that's why Buddha says, see body as the killer, or the other hand, you can also see as the one who is killed. Similarly, when there is feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, Radha, there might be Mara or the killer or the one who is killed. Therefore, Radha, see the aggregates as Mara. See them as the killer. See them as the ones who are killed. See them as a disease, tumour, as a dart, as misery, as real misery. Those who see thus see rightly. Then he asked, What, Venerable Sir, is the purpose of seeing rightly? The purpose of seeing rightly, Radha, is revulsion. Seeing rightly also can be said to be seeing clearly as they really are. So when you see the five aggregates really clearly as they really are, then you experience revulsion or disenchantment. And what, Venerable Sir, is the purpose of revulsion? The purpose of revulsion is dispassion. And what, Venerable Sir, is the purpose of dispassion? The purpose of dispassion is liberation. And what, Venerable Sir, is the purpose of liberation? The purpose of liberation is Nibbāna. And what, Venerable Sir, is the purpose of Nibbāna? And the Buddha said, You have gone beyond the range of questioning Rādhā. You weren't able to grasp the limit to questioning. For Rādhā, the holy light is lived with Nibbāna as its ground, Nibbāna as its destination, Nibbāna as its final goal, as the end of the sutta. In the sutra, the Buddha said, Nibbanam paramam sukham. Nibbana is the greatest bliss. When we attain Nibbana, we have no suffering. So that's why we want to attain Nibbana, because there's no suffering. If there's suffering, why do we want Nibbana? The next sutra. So here, you see, this sutra, what we just read, also concerns the five aggregates. So when I first introduced the book, I said that the Khandasang Yuta occupied two-thirds of the book. And furthermore, another three Sang Yutas have something to do with the five Khandas also. 23.2, at Savatthi. Sitting to one side, the Venerable Radha said to the Blessed One, Venerable Sir, it is said a being, a being, In what way, Venerable Sir, is one called a being? And here the translation is, one is stuck, Prada, tightly stuck in desire, lust, delight and craving for body. Therefore one is called a being. Stuck is not a very good translation. It is attached. You see this word being, actually there's a play of words here. The Pali word for being is sattva. In Sanskrit, it is sattva. Sattva happens to be a past participle of sajjati. The word sajjati means attached or stuck. So, sattva being a past participle of sajjati, it also means attached or stuck. It also means being. So the Buddha says, a being is so-called because It is attached, tightly attached, in desire, lust, delight and craving for body. Therefore, one is called a being. One is attached, tightly attached, in desire, lust, delight and craving for feeling, for perception, for volition, for consciousness. Therefore, one is called a being. Suppose, rather, some little boys or girls are playing with sand castles. So long as they are not devoid of lust, desire, affection, thirst, passion, and craving for those hand castles, they cherish them, play with them, treasure them, and treat them possessively. For when those little boys or girls lose their lust, desire, affection, thirst, passion, and craving for those sand castles, then they scatter them with their hands and feet, demolish them, shatter them, and put them out of play. So too, Radha, scatter body, demolish it, shatter it, put it out of play, practice for the destruction of craving. Similarly, Scatter feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. Demolish them, shatter them, put them out of play. Practice for the destruction of craving. For the destruction of craving, Radha is Nibbana. That's the end of the sutta. So the simile given here is also a famous simile. Children are playing with sand castles. As long as they are interested in these sand castles, they are very attached to them. But after playing for a long time, they get tired of them. And then they use their hands and feet and demolish them. So in the same way, as we go on the round of samsara, we treasure our five khandhas, our five aggregates. And we like to play with them because they are the source of enjoyment, the source of happiness. But unfortunately, because they are also a source of pain, suffering. And then, when we go through the round of rebirth, every time we come, we suffer. We suffer. And slowly, we become spiritually mature. And one day, when we are mature enough, just like these children scattering all the sand castles, we will also lose our interest in the five aggregates. And we will practice to let go of them, demolish them. So the other suttas in this Samyutta are a bit similar, so I won't go through the other suttas. Now I come to chapter 24, Diti Samyutta, Discourses Concerning Views. Diti means views. You can have right views, samaditi, or you can have wrong views, micchaditi. 24.2, at Savatthi, Buddha said, monks, when one exists, by clinging to one, by adhering to one, there is such a view as this arise. This is mine, this I am, this is myself. And they said, reverend sir, our teachings are rooted in the blessed one. And the Buddha said, when there is body, monks, by clinging to body, by adhering to body, such a view as this arises, this is mine, this I am, this is myself. Similarly, when there is feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, by clinging to these aggregates, by adhering to these aggregates, such a view as this arises, this is mine, this I am, this is myself. When monks and noble disciples have abandoned perplexity, In these six cases, he is then called a noble disciple, who is a stream-enterer, has abandoned perplexity in these six cases. And then further, he has abandoned perplexity about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering. He is then called a noble disciple, who is a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. So actually, because we attach to the five aggregates as I and mine, so we have a perception that I am or I exist. And once you have the perception that I exist, then you have many, many views, and then it becomes a proliferation of views. 24.5, that's about it. Monks, when one exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise? There is nothing given, nothing offered, nothing presented in charity, no fruit or result of good and bad actions, no this world, no other world, no mother, no father, no beings who are reborn spontaneously, no ascetics and Brahmins, caring and practicing rightly in the world, who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others. This person consists of the four great elements. When one dies, earth returns to and merges with the earth body. Water returns to and merges with the water body. Fire returns to and merges with the fire body. Air returns to and merges with the air body. The faculties are transferred to space. Four men, with the buyer as fifth, carry away the corpse. The funeral orations last as far as the jungle ground. The bones whiten. Burnt offerings end with ashes. Giving is a doctrine of fools. When anyone asserts the doctrine that there is giving and the like, it is empty, false, brittle. Fools and the wise are alike, cut off and perish with the breakup of the body. After death, they do not exist. Let's stop here for a moment. Buddha is asking, this view, this is one of the wrong views that existed. among the external sects, the other religions during the Buddha's time, that there is no charity, there is no point of doing charity, that there is no karma, that when you pass away, everything comes to an end, there is no other world, etc. So the Buddha is asking his disciples, how is it that such a view comes about? And they said, Venerable Sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One. And then the Buddha said, when there is body amongst, when there is feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, by clinging to these five aggregates, by adhering to these five aggregates, such a view as this arises. When monks, a noble disciple, has abandoned perplexity in these six cases, and when further he has abandoned perplexity about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering, he is then called a noble disciple who is a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. So basically, the Buddha says, because of our attachment to the five aggregates, we have all these many types of views. There's another type mentioned in another sutra, 24.6. I'll just read the view just for your knowledge. is one of the wrong views. When one acts or makes others act, when one mutilates or makes others mutilate, when one tortures or makes others inflict torture, when one inflicts sorrow and makes others inflict sorrow, when one oppresses and makes others inflict oppression, When one intimidates or makes others inflict intimidation, when one destroys life, takes what is not given, breaks into houses, plunders wealth, commits burglary, ambushes highways, seduces another's wife, utters falsehood, no evil is done by the doer. If with a razor-rimmed wheel one were to make the living beings of this earth into one mass of flesh, into one heap of flesh. Because of this, there would be no evil and no outcome of evil. In one word, to go along the south bank of the Ganges, killing and slaughtering, mutilating and making others mutilate, torturing and making others inflict torture. Because of this, there would be no evil and no outcome of evil. So you see, this is a stupid teaching, but At that time people were ignorant and they had many followers also. There were at that time six famous external sect teachers and they had all these type of wrong views. So no point to go through all these silly views. We go to the next Samyutta, chapter 25, Upanti Samyutta. discourses about entering. Entering is a stream entry. The first sutra, quite an important sutra, 25.1 Svati. The Buddha said, monks, the eye is impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. The ear, similarly the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind are impermanent, changing, becoming otherwise. One who places faith in these teachings, resolves on them, thus is called a faith follower, one who has entered the fixed course of rightness, entered the plane of superior persons, transcended the plane of the worldlings, putujana. He is incapable of doing any deed by reason of which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal realm, or in the domain of ghosts. He is incapable of passing away without having realized the fruit of stream entry. One for whom these teachings are accepted thus, after being bonded to a sufficient degree with wisdom, is called a Dhamma follower, one who has entered the fixed course of rightness, entered the plane of superior persons, transcended the plane of the worldlings. He is incapable of doing any deed. by reason of which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal realm, or in the domain of ghosts. He is incapable of passing away without having realized the fruit of stream-entry. One who knows and sees these teachings thus is called a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the netherworld, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination. This sutra is quite interesting. I didn't realize it past one hour. This guitar is quite interesting and important. He's talking about two types of persons who attain stream entry, the first fruit. One is because of faith. He has, having heard the Dhamma, he has faith in the Dhamma. And this faith, saddha, comes from understanding the Dhamma. So because he has seen the Dhamma and he has faith, there's one type of stream entry. The other type is The first one is called the Faith Follower. The second one is called the Dhamma Follower. This Dhamma Follower is also the same in the sense that he has listened to the Dhamma and seen the Dhamma, understood the Dhamma. Because of his wisdom, he is called a Dhamma follower. So the first one, even though he also has wisdom, but he has more faith, that's why the first one is called a faith follower. The second one, he has more wisdom, that's why he is called a Dhamma follower. Now, once he has attained stream-entry from having heard the Dhamma and understood the basic Dhamma on the Four Noble Truths, then he has transcended the plane of the ordinary worldlings. That means he is on the way out of samsara, on the way out of the realm of rebirth. And it is impossible for him to be reborn in the three woeful planes. In the earliest suttas, the Buddha always talked about three woeful planes. Hell, animal, and ghost realm. Later books added one more, the Asuras. This adding of the Asuras, you can find in Mahayana books, and you can also find in Abhidhamma, and also in commentaries. So that means those are all later books. So also here it says, another important point, that once you attain stream entry, you must attain the fruit of stream entry, and the latest is when a person passes away. So after he attains the path, it takes some time to change to fruit, and the latest is when he dies. So although Here, he's talking about the first path person automatically becoming the first fruit at the latest when he dies. From my understanding of the suttas, I think it also applies to the second path, the third path, and the fourth path. When a person attains the path, after some time, it turns to fruit. So I have to stop here for today because We have got nine minutes past one hour, I think, to discuss. It might interest you to know that this chapter on the Kandasang Yuta, the five aggregates, have taken about six nights to explain. Six nights. Previously, when I gave this talk in Penang a few years ago, it took me Three nights, three hours. Now it's six hours. More detail. No, no. When he hears the Dhamma, he understands. At that time, he becomes a stream-enterer. I know. After you understand, you attain stream-entry. But after the understanding, you will automatically cultivate. There are cases where a person never met the Buddha before. and then he met the Buddha and the Buddha taught him the Four Noble Truths and then he attained Shreementry. Then after that only he practices. You're referring to who? Yeah, but how many people listen to the Suttas? Ah, that one is possible. If they take the trouble to go and listen to the Samyutta Nikaya and the Anguttara Nikaya the chances of them attaining Shreementry is quite good. That's why the Buddha says, all the giving, the giving of Dhamma surpasses all types of giving. It gives the greatest benefit. Yeah, so the later books, they put the Buddha on such a high pedestal that they say Buddha does not have these human characteristics. Okay, shall we stop here for tonight? Go.

59-SN-Uppada-(Ch.26)-Kilesa-(Ch.27)-Sariputta-(Ch.28)-Naga-(Ch.29)-Supanna-(Ch.30)-(2009-08-0.txt

Today is the 9th of August, and we've just come to the 26th chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya. So the first chapter I'll read is 26.1. This chapter 26 is called Upada Samyutta. Upada is arising, arising of the elements. So 26.1, that's Savati, the Buddha said, monks, The arising, continuation, production and manifestation of the eye is the arising of suffering, the continuation of disease, the manifestation of ageing and death. Similarly, the arising, continuation, production and manifestation of the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind is the arising of suffering, the continuation of disease, the manifestation of ageing and death. The cessation, subsiding and passing away of the eye is the cessation of suffering, the subsiding of disease, the passing away of aging and death. Similarly, the cessation, subsiding and passing away of the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind is the cessation of suffering, the subsiding of disease, the passing away of aging and death. That's the end of the sutra. In the Buddha's Dhamma, the five aggregates and the six senses are suffering. So when they arise, they arise to our suffering. And the continuation of this is aging and death. So the Buddha says that in these aggregates and the six senses, that is permanent, that you can identify to be the self, unchanging. So, Buddha sees when a person is born, it's just suffering that is born and continues. And when a person dies, it's just suffering that passes away. So the other sutras are also a bit similar. The second sutra is the rising of forms, sounds, odours, tastes, touch and thoughts. And the third sutra is the rising of the six consciousnesses. Then the fourth sutta is the arising of contact, the six types of contact, eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, etc. And then the fifth sutta is about the arising of feeling, feelings born of eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, etc. And the sixth sutta is the arising of perception, I read the 8th Sutta, 26.8, that's of Ati. Mounts, the arising, continuation, production, and manifestation of craving for forms, craving for sounds, craving for smells, taste, touch, and thoughts. Is the arising of suffering, the continuation of disease, and manifestation of aging and death. The cessation of subsiding and passing away of craving for forms, craving for sounds, smells, taste, touch, and thoughts is the cessation of suffering, the subsiding of disease, the passing away of aging and death. So the Sutta says that when craving arises, it means suffering arises. But when craving ceases, then suffering ceases. 26.10. The arising, continuation, production and manifestation of body is the arising of suffering, the continuation of disease, the manifestation Similarly, the arising, continuation, production and manifestation of feeling, of perception, volition, consciousness is the arising of suffering, the continuation of disease, the manifestation of aging and death. But the cessation, subsiding and passing away of body, is the cessation of suffering, the subsiding of disease, the passing away of aging and death. Similarly, the cessation, subsiding, and passing away of feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness is the cessation of suffering, the subsiding of disease, the passing away of aging and death. So this Sutta is all about this arising of The five repugnates, the six senses, and their contact and all that. Now we come to the next chapter, chapter 27. Kilesa Samyutta. Kilesa means defilements. Defilements refer to the defilements in the mind. 27.2, at Svabhati, the Buddha said, monks, desire and lust for body is a corruption of the mind. Desire and lust for sounds, for odours, for tastes, for touch, for thoughts is a corruption of the mind. When a monk has abandoned the mental corruption in these six cases, his mind inclines to renunciation. The mind fortified by renunciation becomes wieldy in regard to those things that are to be realised by direct knowledge. Wuli means easily used or controlled or handled. So a mind fortified by renunciation becomes easily controlled in regard to those things that are to be realized by direct knowledge. Then we can easily attain direct knowledge. So desire and lust or the sense objects corruption of the mind. When we abandon this desire and lust for the six sense objects, then the mind is suitable to be used to realize direct knowledge. And the others are also quite similar. Desire and lust for the six sense bases, desire and lust, for the six types of consciousness, for the contact, for feeling, perception, volition, craving. The next sutta I'll read is the last one here, 27.10. Monks, the desire and lust for body, for feeling, for perception, for volition, for consciousness, is a corruption of the mind. And a monk has abandoned the mental corruption in these five cases. His mind inclines to renunciation. A mind fortified by renunciation becomes wieldy in regard to those things that are to be realized by direct knowledge. So here, if a person has desire and lust for the five aggregates, then that is a corruption of the mind. But when he abandons the desire and lust for the five aggregates, then the mind inclines to renunciation and becomes very suitable to realize direct knowledge. Now we come to chapter 28. Sariputta Samyutta discourses concerning the Venerable Sariputta, 28.1. On one occasion, the Venerable Sariputta was dwelling at Savati in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's Park. Then in the morning the Venerable Sariputta dressed, and taking bowl and robe, entered Savatthi for alms. Then when he had walked for alms in Savatthi, and had returned from the alms round, after his meal he went to the blind man's grove for the days abiding. Having plunged into the blind man's grove, he sat down at the foot of a tree for the days abiding. Then in the evening, the Venerable Sariputta emerged from seclusion and went to Jeta's Grove, another Pindika's path. The Venerable Ananda saw the Venerable Sariputta coming in the distance and said to him, Friend Sariputta, your faculties are serene, your facial complexion is pure and bright. In what dwelling has the Venerable Sariputta spent the day? And when Sarputa replied, Dear friend, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I entered and dwelt in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained with delight and happiness born of seclusion. Yet friend, it did not occur to me I am attaining the first jhāna, or I have attained the first jhāna. or I have emerged from the first jhana. And Venerable Ananda said, it must be because I-making, mind-making, and the underlying tendency to conceit have been thoroughly uprooted in the Venerable Sariputta for a long time, that such thoughts did not occur to him. That's the end of the sutta. So here, Sariputta, like a lot of Arahants, they spend their day meditating, abiding in the jhāna. So for him, in this sutra, it says that the whole day, most of the day, he was abiding in the first jhāna. But because he is arahant with no self, he does not think, I am attaining the first jhāna, or abiding in the first jhāna, or have emerged from the first jhāna. He has no self. So Herbal Ananda praised him that for a long time he has cut the conceit, the I am. That's why he can be like that. So the other suttas are similar to this. It's that Herbal Sariputta spends the day in the different types of jhana. In the second sutta, he spent the whole day in the second jhana. In the third sutta, he spent the day in the third jhana. In the fourth, Sutta, he spent the day in the fourth jhāna, fourth rūpa jhāna. The fifth one, fifth sutta, Venerable Sariputta spent the day in the base of infinity of space, bounded space, which is the first rūpa jhāna. And the sixth sutta, he spent the day in the second rūpa jhāna. The seventh sutta, he spent the day in the third rūpa jhāna, the base of nothingness. In the 8th Sutta, we spend the day in the 4th Rupajana, the phase of neither perception nor non-perception. In the 9th Sutta, we spend the day in the cessation. I'll read this 9th Sutta, similar as before. Venerable Sariputta replied to Venerable Ananda, Here, friend, by completely transcending the base of neither perception nor non-perception, I entered and dwelt in the cessation of perception and feeling. Yet, friend, it did not occur to me I am attaining the cessation of perception and feeling, or I have attained the cessation of perception and feeling, or I have emerged from the cessation of perception and feeling. and Venerable Ananda similarly praised him. It must be because eye-making, mind-making and the underlying tendency to conceit have been thoroughly uprooted in the Venerable Sariputta for a long time that such thoughts did not occur to him. So you see, all these suttas up to this number 9, you find Venerable Sariputta abiding in all the different types of jhana, including the highest, the state of cessation of perception and feeling, which also means cessation of consciousness. Now, the later books, they say that the Venerable Sariputta was liberated by wisdom. And the understanding of liberation by wisdom is that the monk did not attain any jhāna. But you can see from here that even though Sariputta attained liberation by wisdom, he has all the jhānas. Only thing is, even though he has all the jhānas, he does not have psychic power, unlike some of the other monks. 28. On one occasion, the Venerable Sariputta was dwelling at Rajagaha in the bamboo grove, the squirrel sanctuary. Then in the morning, the Venerable Sariputta dressed and taking bowl and robe entered Rajagaha for alms. Then when he had walked for alms on continuous alms round in Rajagaha, he ate that alms food leaning against a certain wall. Stop here for a moment. You see, he walked This is mentioned here, he walked for alms on continuous alms round. Continuous alms round means he goes from house to house. He does not select houses. Or this rich guy, when he goes to his house to get good food, he doesn't think like that. It doesn't matter whether the house is rich or poor. He goes house to house. But later books, like Mahayana books, They say that a monk is only supposed to pray from a maximum of seven homes. But this is mentioned in the Theravada books as an external ascetic practice. This is not a Buddhist practice. It is a practice by external ascetics. In the Buddha's Vinaya, a monk can go to any number of houses until he gets enough food for his meal. So Venerable Sariputta was eating his food by the side of a wall. Then the female wanderer, Suchi Mukhi, approached the Venerable Sariputta and said to him, Ascetic, do you eat facing downwards? And he said, I don't eat facing downwards, sister. Then, Ascetic, do you eat facing upwards? And he said, I don't eat facing upwards, sister. Then, Ascetic, do you eat facing the four quarters? I don't eat facing the forequarters, sister. Then ascetic, do you eat facing the intermediate directions? I don't eat facing the intermediate directions, sister. And the female wanderer asked it. When you are asked, ascetic, do you eat facing downwards? Do you eat facing upwards, et cetera? You reply, I don't eat thus, sister. Then how do you eat, ascetic? Venerable Sariputta replied, Sister, those ascetics and brahmins who earn their living by the debased art of jomancy, wrong means of livelihood, these are called ascetics and brahmins who eat facing downwards. Those ascetics and brahmins who earn their living by the debased art of astrology, wrong means of livelihood, those are called ascetics and brahmins who eat facing upwards. Those ascetics and Brahmins who earn their living by undertaking to go on errands and run messages, a wrong means of livelihood. These are called ascetics and Brahmins who eat facing the four quarters. Those ascetics and Brahmins who earn their living by the debased art of palm street, fortune-telling, a wrong means of livelihood. These are called ascetics and Brahmins who eat facing the intermediate directions. Sister, I do not earn my living by such wrong means of livelihood as the debased art of geomancy, or the debased art of astrology, or by undertaking to go on errands and run messages, or by the debased art of palmistry. I seek alms food righteously, and having sought it, I eat my alms food righteously. Then the female wanderer, Suchi Mukhi, went from street to street and from square to square in Rajagaha announcing, the ascetics following the Sakyin-san eat righteous food. They eat blameless food. Give alms food to the ascetics following the Sakyin-san. That's the end of the sutra. Sakyin-san is Sakyaputta. That means referring to the Buddha. So here you can see that In the original Buddha's teachings, all these are wrong means of livelihood. That means practicing jomancy, feng shui, hong shui, or practicing astrology, or running errands for laypeople, or fortune-telling. All these are wrong means of livelihood. A monk practices right livelihood when he practices the Noble Eightfold Path according to the Buddha's teachings and not eating food in these wrong ways. But unfortunately, nowadays, some monks do some of these things. So the female wanderer was so impressed by Venerable Sariputta, he went around asking lay people to give food to the Buddha's disciples. Now we come to chapter 29, Naga Samyutta. This word Naga, during the Buddha's time, had two meanings. One is like here, it refers to the snake spirits, the devas or devis who have the snake body. And there's another meaning of Naga, it's like a great being, like a huge elephant, or a huge snake spirit, or a great hero. That's the other meaning of Naga. But here, this chapter is referring to the snake spirits. The snake spirits belong to the lowest heaven, that is under the four great heavenly kings. 29.2. At Savatthi, the Buddha said, monks, there are these four modes of generation, that means four modes of birth of Nagas. What four? Nagas born from eggs, Nagas born from the womb, Nagas born from moisture, and Nagas of spontaneous birth. These are the four modes of birth of Nagas. The monks, Nagas born from the womb, from moisture and born spontaneously, are superior to Nagas born from eggs. Nagas born from moisture and born spontaneously are superior to Nagas born from eggs and from the womb. Nagas born spontaneously are superior to Nagas born from eggs, from the womb and from moisture. These monks are the foremost of birth of Nagas. Stop here for a moment. So the Buddha says these Nagas are born from four different ways. The lowest is the egg-born. Egg-born is the lowest, that means like those snakes that we see around our Earth, most of them are egg-born. But higher than that is the womb-born, that means instead of giving birth to the egg, the egg-born is also sometimes called the plea-born, born twice, because they are first born into the egg, and after that they come out of the egg, It's the second birth, so they are born twice. But I think in our earth here also we have womb born, isn't it? There are some snakes, they don't give birth to the egg, but straight away the babies come out. That is a womb born, supposed to be higher. And then higher than that is naga born from moisture that we don't see in our earth. Those may be spiritual beings that we can't see with our eye and then the highest is spontaneously born that means they suddenly appear just like some devas and devis in heaven they suddenly appear out of nowhere they spontaneously appear now this is interesting because from here you can see probably that the nagas born of moisture and spontaneously born. They take birth in the heavens. So that's why you see there is in the Bible, I remember it's a gospel according to Saint John, Jesus Christ was approached one night by a priest and was asked, why is it true you say that beings have to be reborn And Jesus Christ said, unless a man be born of water and of spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. So now the interpretation, born of water means baptized, born of spirit means when you go for Mass, Holy Communion, you take the wine as a spirit. But if you go according to the Buddha's words, To be born in heaven is two types of birth. Moisture born and spontaneously born is born of the Spirit. And the next Gita is 29.3, that's Savatthi. A certain monk approached the Blessed One, paid homage to Him, sat down to one side, and said to Him, Venerable Sir, what is the cause and reason why some egg-born Nagas here observe the Uposatha and relinquish concern for their bodies? And the Buddha said, Here, monks, some egg-born Nagas think thus. In the past, we acted ambivalently in body, speech, and mind. Having done so, With the breakup of the body after death, we were reborn in the company of egg-born Nagas. If today we practice good conduct in body, speech and mind, then with the breakup of the body after death, we shall be reborn in a happy destination, in a heavenly world. Come now, let us practice good conduct of body, speech and mind. This monk is the reason, the cause, why some egg-born Nagas here observe the Uposatha and relinquish concern for their bodies. So it looks from here that there are some heavenly Nagas, they are also egg-born. So Since they possess a snake body, because they are psychic, they can see other beings higher than them with the beautiful heavenly bodies like human beings, whereas they have to be like a snake. So they are ashamed of their bodies, and they realize, here it says, in the past we acted ambivalently, that means we did good deeds as well as evil deeds, because having done both good and evil, because of their good karma they are born in the heavenly birth, but because of their good karma was not so strong, so they became a very low heavenly being with a snake body. So because of that, they decided that they will keep the eight precepts on the Uposatha days and then hope to have a better rebirth. And then the following suttas, number four to number six, is the same as this one, except that instead of egg-borne dhaga, you also have the womb-borne, moisture-borne, and born spontaneously type. 29.11, 11 to 20. The monk asked the Buddha, Rambu Sir, what is the cause and reason why someone here with the breakup of the body after death is reborn in the company of eight-born Nagas? And the Buddha says, Dear monk, someone acts ambivalently in body, speech, and mind. He has heard, egg-born Nagas are long-lived, beautiful, and abound in happiness. He thinks, oh, with the breakup of the body after death, may I be reborn in the company of egg-born So, he gives food, he gives drink, he gives clothing, he gives vehicles, he gives garlands, he gives fragrance, he gives ointments, he gives bed, he gives dwelling, he gives lamps. Then, with the breakup of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of egg-born Nagas. This mount is the cause and reason why someone here, with the breakup of the body after death, is reborn in the company of egg-born Nagas. So the Buddha says that people are born as Nagas firstly because they have good and bad karma. And their good karma is more than bad karma so that they have this heavenly rebirth, this low heavenly rebirth. Their good karma is from doing dana. They did a lot of dana, hoping to be reborn as a naga. Some people, especially Chinese, they say naga long. Ling is something very great. But in the range of heavens, they are very low. So the following other suttas also are similar, except that instead of the egg-born, refer to the womb born and the moisture and born spontaneously in our guts. I will come to the next chapter, chapter 30, Supana Samyutta. Discourses about Supanas. Supanas are these bird spirits. Another name for them is Garuda. In Chinese we call it Ta-Hung-Chin-Chun-Niao. and they are supposed to be very huge, heavenly birds, and they are enemies of these Nagas because they attack and eat these Nagas. And these Nagas, we heard earlier some other sutra about the Brahma, chapter on the Brahmas, the Buddha was talking to one Brahma and the Buddha said in a previous life he used his psychic power to save some Some humans were in the ship and some Naga wanted to eat them. So it caused a storm to arise to make them drown. So you see some Nagas, they feed on humans and these Nagarudas feed on them. 30.2, that's Svati. There are these four modes of birth of Suparnas or Garudasa. What four? Suparnas born from eggs, Suparnas born from the womb, born from moisture. Suparnas of spontaneous birth. These are the four modes of birth of Suparnas. Therein monks, egg-born Suparnas carry off only Nagas that are egg-born, not those that are womb-born, moisture-born or spontaneously born. Womb-born Suparnas carry off Nagas that are egg-born and womb-born, but not those that are moisture-born or spontaneously born. Moisture-born Suparnas carry off Nagas that are Egg-born, Womb-born and Moisture-born, but not those that are spontaneously born. Spontaneously-born Suparnas carry off Nagas that are Egg-born, Womb-born, Moisture-born and Spontaneously-born. These monks are the four modes of birth of Suparnas. So you see from here, you can know that these Suparnas are Garudas. they eat these Nagas, they carry off these Nagas. So because these four types of rebirth, they have a system, the egg-born being the lowest, and then followed by higher is the womb-born, and higher is the moisture-born, and the breast is the spontaneously-born. So those Suparnas that are egg-born can only attack and carry off those Nagas that are egg-borne. Whereas the womb-borne can carry off both the egg-borne and the womb-borne. And then the moisture-borne can carry off three types. And the spontaneously-born Suparnas can carry off, attack and carry off all four types of Nagas. 30.3. At Savatthi, the monk asked the Buddha, Venerable Sir, what is the cause and reason why someone here, with the breakup of the body after death, is reborn in the company of egg-born Suphanas? And the Buddha said, Here, monk, someone acts ambivalently in body, speech and mind. He has heard Egg-born Suparnas are long-lived, beautiful and abound in happiness. He thinks, Oh, with the breakup of the body after death, may I be reborn in the company of egg-born Suparnas. Then with the breakup of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of egg-born Suparnas. This mount is the cause and reason why someone here with the breakup of the body after death is reborn in the company of egg-born Suparnas. at the end of the sutra. So this one is similar to the Nagas. A person, he has good and bad karma. And he's always thinking of these Garudas, hoping to be reborn as these egg-born Garudas. So that's why he's reborn there. What we think is a bit dangerous, sometimes we keep we like something, we keep thinking about something, then we create the affinity. So similarly for the other three types of Supanas, the womb born, moisture born and spontaneously born also are similar. Then 30.7 And the monk asked the Buddha again, Venerable Sir, what is the cause and reason why someone here with the break-up of the body after death is reborn in the company of egg-born Suparnas? The Buddha said, Dear monk, someone acts ambivalently in body, speech and mind. He has heard, egg-born Supanas are long-lived, beautiful and abound in happiness. He thinks, Oh, with the breakup of the body-death, may I be reborn in the company of egg-born Supanas. So he gives food, he gives drink, he gives clothing, he gives vehicles, he gives garlands, he gives fragrance, he gives amulets, he gives beds, he gives dwellings, he gives lamb, etc. Then with the break-up of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of egg-born Suparnas. This monk is the cause and reason why someone here with the break-up of the body after death is reborn in the company of egg-born Suparnas. So similarly for the other three types of birth, they also are like this, they have done good and bad deeds, and because they did a lot of charity offerings, and because they aspired to be born in the Suparnas, so they are reborn there. Sometimes we make an aspiration, to be reborn somewhere. But if we don't have the good karma, then it cannot be fulfilled. Only if we have the good karma, the karma is the condition, then only we can be reborn. Nagas and Suparnas, you see, their karma is good and bad.

60-SN-Gandhabba-(Ch.31)-Valahaka-(Ch.32)-Vacchagotta-(Ch.33)-Jhana-(Ch.34)-(2009-08-09).txt

Now we come to chapter 31, Gandaba Samyutta. Gandabas are fairies that live in trees. They also come under these four great heavenly kings, the lowest heaven. 31.1 Asavati, the Buddha said, monks, I will teach you about the devas of the Gandaba order. Listen. Pay attention. And what monks are the devas of the Gandapa order? There are monks, devas dwelling in fragrant roots, devas dwelling in fragrant hardwood, devas dwelling in fragrant softwood, devas dwelling in fragrant bark, devas dwelling in fragrant shoots, devas dwelling in fragrant leaves, devas dwelling in fragrant flowers, devas dwelling in fragrant fruits. Devas dwelling in fragrant scent. These monks are called the Devas of the Gandabha order. that in a tree, you can have a lot of devas, especially it's a huge tree, a big tree. There are some living in the roots, some prefer to live in the hardwood, some prefer to live in the softwood, some live in the bark, some live in the shoots, some live in the leaves, some live in the flowers, some live in the fruits, some live in the sap, and some live in the sands. 31.2. Among us, the Buddha, I am not sure what is the cause and reason why someone here, with the break-up of the body after death, is reborn in the company of the devas of the Gandapa order. And the Buddha said, Dear monk, someone practices good conduct of body, speech and mind. He has heard the Devas of the Gandapa Order are long-lived, beautiful and abound in happiness. He thinks, Oh, with the breakup of the body after death, may I be reborn in the company of the Devas of the Gandapa Order. Then with the break-up of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of the Devas of the Gandabha order. This monk is the cause and reason why someone here with the break-up of the body after death is reborn in the company of the Devas of the Gandabha order. So you see here, the difference between this Gandabhas and the previous Nagas and Supanas is that Practice good kundalga, your body, speech and mind. Unlike the previous two, they also had bad kundalga. This one has much more good kundalga than bad kundalga. 31.13 among our Sabudana. Venerable Sir, what is the cause and reason why someone here, with the breakup of the body after death, is reborn in the company of the Devas who dwell in fragrant roots? And the Buddha said, here, monk, someone practices good conduct of body, speech, and mind. He has heard that devas who dwell in fragrant roots are long-lived, beautiful, and abound in happiness. He thinks, oh, with the breakup of the body after death, may I be reborn in the company of the devas who dwell in fragrant roots. He gives food. He gives drink, clothing, vehicles, garlands, fragrance, anguans. beds, dwellings, land, etc. Then with the break-up of the body after death, he is reborn in the company of the devas who dwell in fragrant roots. This monk is the cause and reason why someone here with the break-up of the body after death is reborn in the company of the devas who dwell in fragrant roots. So, similarly for the devas who dwell in the hardwood, or in the softwood, or in the bark, or in the flowers, etc. One thing you notice also, one thing different of these Gandharvas from the previous two, is that they don't have the four classes of birth. The previous one had four classes, egg-born, womb-born, and all that, but not for the Gandharvas. I come to the next chapter, Valahakka Samyutta. Valahakka refers to the cloud of devas. I don't know if you remember in the previous sutra we read that the Buddha said a long time ago when he was in that birth, he was a universal king. He ruled the whole earth and he said, His treasure elephant was called Uposatha. And his favorite steed or favorite horse was called Valahaka. Valahaka can fly like the cloud. Cloud devas are so fast. 32.1. Monks, I will teach you about the devas of the cloud-dwelling order. Listen. And what monks are the devas of the cloud-dwelling order? There are monks, cool cloud devas, warm cloud devas, storm cloud devas, wind cloud devas, and rain cloud devas. These monks are called the devas of the cloud dwelling order. So you see, even the cloud devas also got different types. There are some clouds that are cool clouds, some are warm clouds, some are storm clouds, some are wind clouds, some are rain clouds. And then the 32.2, the monk asked, similar to the previous one, what is the cause and reason that someone is born as a cloud deva? And the Buddha answered that it is similar to the Gandhabhasla. a person practices good body, speech and mind and he aspires to be reborn as a cloud deva so after that he is born as a cloud deva and then sutta 32.3 is similar to the previous chapter. Somebody asked the Buddha, how is it that someone is born as a cloud deva? And the Buddha said, that person practices good conduct of body, speech and mind, and he does a lot of charity. He gives food, drinks, clothing, vehicles, garment, fragrance, etc. And then he aspires, makes the wish to be reborn as a cloud deva. So because of his good karma, he's born as a cloud deva. And there are many suttas here for the different types of cloud devas. You have one sutta for the cool cloud devas. You have another sutta for the warm cloud devas. You have another sutta for the storm cloud devas. You have another one for the wind cloud devas and another one for the rain cloud devas. So you have so many suttas. 32.56. What is the cause and reason why it sometimes becomes windy? And the Buddha said, there are monks what are called wind cloud devas. When it occurs to them, let us revel in our own kind of delight. Then in accordance with their wish, it becomes windy. This monk is the cause and reason why it sometimes becomes windy. So the Buddha says, When there's a strong wind, these wind cloud devas, they like to play. So they come out to play. So these clouds that move very fast, look at the wind, cause that wind. Because if you go by scientific Because science cannot see the devas, so they don't believe in this. But it's alright, whether we believe or not. And then the rain cloud devas also. Someone asked, what is the cause and reason why it sometimes rains? And the Buddha said, there are monks that are called rain cloud devas. When it occurs to them, let us revel in our own kind of delight. Then in accordance with their wish, it reigns. This monk is the cause and reason why it sometimes reigns." This one, although we find it sometimes for some people hard to believe, but sometimes when our karma is very bad, some people, they don't keep the precepts and all that, and the majority of the people, committing a lot of evil karmas, a lot of evil deeds, then the devas are unhappy, like the Buddha says. And when the devas are unhappy, they refuse to allow it to rain. So that's why it doesn't rain. And sometimes when they are annoyed also, they cause storms and all that. That's the Buddhist explanation. to kamma and probably because of the devas. Now we come to chapter 33, Vacca Gota Samyutta. This Vacca Gota is an external ascetic. It's called wanderer. 33.1. at Savatthi. Then the wanderer Vachagota approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with Him. When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk, he sat down to one side and said, Master Gautama, what is the cause and reason why these various speculative views arise in the world? The world is eternal, or the world is not eternal, or the world is finite, or the world is infinite. Or the soul and the body are the same. Or the soul is one thing, the body another. Or the Tathāgata exists after death. Or the Tathāgata does not exist after death. Or the Tathāgata both exist and does not exist after death. Or the Tathāgata neither exists nor does not exist after death. And the Buddha said, Vācāra, it is because of not knowing body, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation, that those various speculative views arise in the world. This Vācāra is the cause and reason why various speculative views arise in the world. So the Buddha says, cause of non- understanding the body, how the body arises, how it ceases and the way leading to its cessation. So we don't see that The body is impermanent, that it gives us suffering, that it is anatta, not self. So because of that, most people, we desire and cling to the body. So when you desire and cling to the body, this conceit, the ego arises. You have this I am. Once you have this I am, then you start thinking about the world and thinking about yourself. After death, where am I going? It's the world, where did the world come from and all these things. So you have a lot of views, all because of that ego. The next sutta is the same question the Vajra Gautama asked and the Buddha answered. Instead of body, here the Buddha says, Vajra, it is because of not knowing feeling, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation. that all those various speculative views arise in the world. This Vajra is the cause and reason why those various speculative views arise in the world. Similarly, in the third Sutta, the Buddha says, it's because of not understanding perception, the origin cessation and the way leading to the cessation of perception, that's why all the views arise. And the fourth Sutta is because of not understanding volition. And the fifth sutta is because of not understanding consciousness. So you see, the Buddha is saying basically, we group them together, that means because of not understanding the five aggregates, that we cling to a self. When we cling to a self, then all the various speculative views arise in the world, the mind starts thinking, one thought becomes ten, ten becomes a hundred thoughts, a hundred thoughts becomes a thousand thoughts. Now we come to the last sutta, of this third book called the Jhana Samyutta. Jhana is a state, I would translate it as a state of mental incandescence, a state of mental brightness. When the mind becomes focused, becomes one-pointed, isin, that the mind starts to become bright. The higher the jhana, the more bright the mind becomes. This mind can only become bright when the mind is totally focused. An ordinary mind is scattered. Our energy goes out to the six senses, to seeing, hearing, smelling, taste, touch and thinking. So because of that, our mind is scattered, it is not strong. But when it is focused, it becomes comes, all the energy is concentrated, and then it begins to become bright. So the Buddha says that for most people, we are sick, mentally sick, because our mind is so scattered. Only the Arahant is sane. We are all tigasuku, deranged. 34.1, that's savatthi, the Buddha said. Monks, there are these four kinds of meditators. What for? Here monks, a meditator is skilled in concentration, regarding concentration, but not skilled in attainment regarding concentration. Second, here a meditator is skilled in attainment regarding concentration, but not skilled in concentration regarding concentration. 3. Here a meditator is skilled neither in concentration regarding concentration nor in attainment regarding concentration. 4. Here a meditator is skilled both in concentration regarding concentration and in attainment regarding concentration. Therein, monks, the meditator who is skilled both in concentration regarding concentration and in attainment regarding concentration, is the chief, the best, the foremost, the highest, the most excellent of these four kinds of meditators. It says, monks, from cow comes milk, from milk comes cream, from cream comes butter, from butter comes ghee, and from ghee comes cream of ghee, which is reckoned the best of all these. So too, the meditator who is skilled both in concentration, regarding concentration, and in attainment, regarding concentration, is the chief, the best, the foremost, the highest, the most excellent of these four kinds of meditators. So this one, skill in concentration regarding concentration. Not sure, maybe it's about the knowledge about concentration, what are the states of concentration, what are the characteristics and all that. And skill in attainment is being able to attain these various states of concentration. In the second sutta, the Buddha said, monks, there are these four kinds of meditators. What for? Here monks, a meditator is skilled in concentration regarding concentration, but not skilled in maintenance regarding concentration. Number two, here a meditator is skilled in maintenance regarding concentration, but not skilled in concentration regarding concentration. Here a meditator is skilled neither in concentration nor in maintenance regarding concentration. 4. Here a meditator is skilled both in concentration and in maintenance regarding concentration. Therein, monks, the meditator who is skilled both in concentration and in maintenance regarding concentration is the chief, the best, the foremost, the supreme, the most excellent of these four kinds of meditators. So here it says maintenance regarding concentration probably means being able to maintain your state of jhana, your state of samadhi, your state of concentration. Because if you don't have the kung fu, even though you enter a particular jhana, you won't be able to abide in it for long. You will simply come out of it in a short while. So being able to prolong your stay in that jhāna, that is maintaining your concentration. So the other suttas are a bit similar, talking about the various types of meditators. The third one is skilled in maintenance and skilled in emergence, being able to come out quickly from that jhāna. And then the fourth one, pliancy, skilled in pliancy in relation to concentration. The fifth, Skill in the object of concentration. Sixth, skill in the range of concentration. Seventh, skill in resolution of concentration. Number eight, thorough worker regarding concentration. Number nine, a persistent worker regarding concentration. Number ten, one who does what is suitable regarding concentration. So, all the suttas here are all about this, all the different types of states concerning concentration. It's not very interesting, so I don't think we want to go any further. So, that's the end of this third book of the Samyutta Nikaya, the Khanda Samyutta. Tomorrow, we'll go into the fourth book called the Salayatana Vaga. Another very important topic. So we are proceeding quite fast. After one month, about one month, we finished three books. So it looks like before the end of the Vassa, we would have finished. I thought we might not be able to finish. So we finished early and we have time. I consider doing the next Nikaya. It's the Majjhima Nikaya. Okay. I think to discuss. Yes, but you must have the supporting karma. If you don't have the supporting karma, then there is no point in making So the most important actually is the supporting karma. Yeah you can make, but whether it will succeed or not, you don't want to go for holiday in the Deva realm first. Like the Buddha, after becoming a monk with the Buddha Kassapa. Then he went to Sita Heaven and enjoyed a long time before he came down to struggle so hard. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. In the sutras, the Buddha did not give very detailed description of the meditation. I think probably for a good reason, because if you give too detailed instructions, like what is being given nowadays, then our mind is very cunning. We like to believe that we have already attained it. Some Vipassana students, are supposed to see Nama Rupa arising and passing away. And very soon, they believe that they can see Nama Rupa arising and passing away. And similarly, for those who practice Samatha, the teacher tells them they are supposed to see the light. And after a short while, they believe that they see the light. So the Buddha never gave detailed instructions. The Buddha gave the basic instructions, which is sufficient. The rest, if you go and do the work, When you do the work and then based on your own experience and your own wisdom to guide you, it's not difficult. The difficult part is whether you are willing to let go or not. When you let go, you go faster. Just like a ship, if you carry a lot of goods on your ship, how can you go like a speedboat? You must throw away all that extra load. Then only your boat will go faster and faster. So like this, prolonging the jhāna and all that, is from constant abiding. The more you abide in that jhāna, then the more you can prolong it. I mean, it's not difficult to understand that. The more you abide in it, and then you get used to that state, then you can easily prolong. The only thing is that, like the sutta about the hen making the wish for the chicks to hatch, to do the work. to sit on the eggs and then the chickens will hatch. So we keep doing the work and that's the way to become good at it. But it doesn't mean that you can't sit long, right? Right. Yeah, it doesn't mean that. But sitting long is helpful if you want to attain Samadhi. There's one teacher from the Himalayas One organisation, one swami, he tells his disciples, you have to sit a minimum of 3 hours to get results. Because the longer you sit, the mind tends to calm down. But because you don't have the kung fu also, it's very difficult to sit long. So it's from constant practice, and then the mind calms down. So a lot of conditions to succeed. So we have to guide ourselves, using our wisdom, as the Buddha says, be a lamp unto yourselves. Be a refuge unto yourselves, you know other as your refuge. And take the Dharma as your lamp, take the Dharma as your refuge, you know other refuge. Sitting posture is important in the sense that your spine has got to be straight. But whether you cross your leg or not, it's not important. And not so important. If you sit straight, there are some people, maybe their legs are a bit fat, and they have to sit on a chair. It's also OK, as long as your spine is straight. If you sit on a chair, it's best not to use one with a backrest. If there's a backrest, you tend to relax into it. Actually, if a person attains good samadhi, the anger drops very suddenly. If a person attains excess concentration, even some of our Buddhist supporters have told me, they practice, practice, and then one day they suddenly, the temper suddenly gone down, and the children also notice. So it is mentioned in the suttas that this is excess concentration. When you attain excess concentration, the mind lights up. The mind lights up and the anger and the lust goes down very much. So that people notice it and you notice it also. Not that you don't have temper, you still have anger, but it's reduced very much. But I noticed that anger is generally connected with ego. When we have ego and some things don't go our way, then we get very angry. There are some old ladies and all that, they don't have much ego, so they don't have much anger also. In a way, they are related. Understanding the suttas is very important. When we read the suttas or listen to the suttas, then we have a better understanding. We know the danger of anger, we know the danger of the ego, then we learn to cut it. My one supporter is a businessman. He has been listening to the Dharma talks and has the wisdom to understand much of it. He told me before he heard the suttas and all that, he had a bad temper. If somebody says something that he doesn't like, immediately he'll clap. Now after learning the Dhamma, he realizes it's not good for his ego. So immediately he doesn't allow himself to get angry. So understanding the Dhamma is also important, helpful. Yeah. Letting go of your attachments. When you meditate and you find the mind is very difficult to calm down because a lot of thoughts. You analyze the thoughts. What are those thoughts? Those are your attachments. Those things that you worry about. You keep worrying about those things because you are very attached to those things. Just keep coming, I need to do this, I need to do that, the whole session, but just so in the pushing power. How do I put a stop to it? One way is do chanting. Chanting. Like namo tassa bhagavato arhato sammasambuddhassa. Just keep chanting. Or arhang, arhang, arhang, arhang. Something to occupy our mind. Just have something to occupy your mind and you won't wonder. As they say, idle mind is a devil's workshop. Chanting is a long Indian tradition. They like to chant mantras. But it's not necessary to chant mantras. We chant our namo tassa, araham, buddho, buddho, whatever you like. Namo buddhaya, namo buddhaya, namo buddhaya, non-stop. Very helpful. The moment you keep chanting, your mind doesn't stray. Just now I think he was mentioning sewing. No, he's not sitting down. He's trying to sow something and all the thoughts. Oh, I see, I see, I see. Then it's the chap chok. Is there any attachment to the problem because it's not solved? Because the problem is not solved, so we might just want to change some of the problems But it also shows actually that you are a very responsible person, that you have something that you want to do it, finish it, you want to do it well and all this. Like some people, tidak apartheid, never bother, never worry. I think especially we have China genes. Today's sutras we went through, not so much dharma. You mean engage in sexual intercourse? It depends. Firstly, if he engages in sexual intercourse, firstly he should be expelled. But if he does it with a nun, then he's not allowed to re-ordain. Yeah, I should apply, because when a person wears the robe, he takes himself to be a Samanera, and other people take him to be a Samanera, so he's expected to behave like a Samanera. No, the Buddha didn't say that. You have more of a characteristic of a man, then you are born as a man. You have more of a woman, you are born as a woman. But sometimes, It happens that somebody who has been a woman many lifetimes, then he's born as a man, then he behaves a bit what we call pondan. I guess his character is more... And also your environment also influences a person. If say like you have one family, you have five daughters and one son, Then that son is influenced by all the sisters, so he becomes a bit feminine. On the other hand, if you have five boys and one girl, then that girl becomes tomboy. Whether you are a man or a woman is not so important. It's your karma that's important, because your karma will determine where you're going to be reborn. And the important point is, that we don't want to be reborn in the woeful plains, right? So we have to be very careful about our karma so that we don't, and now even if you're born as a male, you're born as a male dog, it's no good, ma. Or born as a male ghost also is no good, ma. Better to be a female Devi, ma. For those people who don't believe in this Devas, it's a good reason to believe. Actually, it means, to my interpretation, it's the first step The first step is to set up mindfulness. Not like physically in front. First thing when you meditate, first thing to do is to set up mindfulness. Sometimes some of these expressions, like this is a translation from the Bali Indian language. Surprisingly, Indian language has one or two things similar to our Chinese language. In the Vinaya books, they said, that say you have a certain sima, a certain boundary. If you reside outside that boundary, you are not considered a member of the Sangha. So, like in Hokkien, we say, lu kia hati telok. Actually, we are asking, where do you stay? But literally, where do you stand? Isn't it? Where do you stand? In Hokkien, lu kia hati telok, is where do you live? literally is where you stand. And the Indian language also is the same. In our Vinaya book, it says, if you stand outside the boundary, you are not a member of the Sangha. But I believe it means if you recite outside the boundary. So sometimes these words, you have to know the meaning. Like when you say, what we say, idle gossip, don't engage in idle gossip. And in the sutra it says, don't talk animal talk. Don't talk animal talk. Animal talk, to an Indian, animal talk, talking about all kinds of rubbish, all kinds of nonsense. It's mentioned they're fragrant, maybe they prefer fragrant trees. There's so many trees to choose from, why do you want to choose the smelly trees? In fact, some people believe that some fragrant trees are haunted. They can't differentiate between a deva and a ghost. Because it's spirit, they say it's haunted, meaning ghost, actually. Right? Oh. Oh. Yeah, yeah. We might make friends with them, whether they are ghosts or devas, so we make friends. Live and let live. I may transfer merit.