01-DN-01-Brahmajala-(2011-07-16)-Part-A.txt

Okay, let's chant Namo Tassa together. Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa Tonight we are starting on the Digha Nikaya. Today also happens to be the first day of the Vassa 2011 and I hope within these three months of the Vassa to finish all the suttas in the Digha Nikaya plus the six books of the Kudaka Nikaya and So tonight we start with the Digha Nikaya. Now the Digha Nikaya means the long discourses of the Buddha. Digha means long and Nikaya means collections, collections of the discourses. According to the very much respected historian, Professor Akira Irakawa, in his book, The History of Buddhism, I think. He says that the true Dhamma existed for 500 years. Actually, this is what the Buddha says, that the true Dhamma will last for 500 years, meaning that after 500 years, the Buddha warned that it will be polluted. So within this 500 years, we see about 250 years after the Buddha's passing away, Emperor Asoka was the emperor in India, and he was a great supporter of Buddhism, so he erected this stone pillars where the carvings of the Buddha's words were made. And now that they have dug up these Asoka pillars, they find that during Asoka's time, there were five Nikayas. So this is the real Dhamma of the Buddha, the five Nikayas, the five collections of discourses. And I always stress that there's a very important sutta, Anguttara Nikaya 4.180, where the Buddha said, if any monk says that the Buddha thought in such and such a way, that the Buddha said such and such, the Buddha said not to accept it and not to reject it, but to compare it with the suttas and the Vinaya. But the Vinaya is the monastic discipline which concerns only monks and nuns. As far as the Dhamma is concerned, the Buddha says, refer only to the early suttas. So these five collections, Nikāyas, are actually the words of the Buddha. But unfortunately, the Kudakanikaya has been expanded over the years. And we see like in 1956, the Burmese added three books which everyone knows are not the words of the Buddha into the Kudakanikaya. And so from there, we know how this Kudaka Nikaya expanded. Actually, Kudaka Nikaya means a minor collection, but it has expanded to become a major collection, even more than the other four Nikayas. So, this Diga Nikaya is one of the major collections early nikayas which have not been added to. If you see there's some pollution, maybe a little bit, but not much. Now the Diga Nikaya, the English translation, was first done by the Pali Tech Society, the husband and wife team, T.W. Reece Davids and Catherine Reece Davids. And then the latest translation is by Dr. Maurice Walsh. So the Digha Nikaya consists of 34 suttas and three sections. The first one, the Silakanda Vagga, the Moralities, consists of sutta number one until number 13. And the second section, the Great Division of Mahavagga, is the suttas number 14 until 23, and then the third, or last, is the patika, division patika vaga, from suttas 24 up to 34. So I'll start with the first sutta, which is the Brahma Jala Sutta, the supreme net, or what the teaching is not. Some monks consider this to be a very important sutta, but to me a sutta is very important if people listen to it and become enlightened, or partially enlightened. But if no one becomes enlightened, either path or fruit, then to me it's not so important. Brahmajjala Sutta, it just tells us about the different views, the different wrong views that existed during the Buddha's time. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was travelling along the main road between Rajagaha and Nalanda, with a large company of some 500 monks. And the wanderer Supiya was also travelling on that road with his pupil, the youth Brahmadatta. And Supiya was finding fault in all sorts of ways with the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. Whereas his pupil Brahmadatta was speaking in various ways in their praise. And so these two, teacher and pupil, directly opposing each other's arguments, followed close behind the Lord and his Sangha of monks. Then the Lord stopped for one night with His monks at the Royal Park of Ambala Tikka. And Supya too stopped there for the night with his pupil Brahmadatta. And Supya went on abusing the Buddha, Dhamma and the Sangha, while his pupil Brahmadatta defended them. And thus disputing, they followed close behind the Buddha and his Sangha, or order of monks. Now in the early morning, a number of monks having got up, gathered together and sat in the round pavilion. And this was the trend of their talk. It is wonderful friends, it is marvelous how the blessed Lord Arahant, Sammasambuddha, knows, sees, and clearly distinguishes the different inclinations of beings. For here is the wanderer, Supya, finding fault in all sorts of ways with the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, while his pupil, Brahmadatta, in various ways defends them. And still disputing, they follow closely behind the Blessed Lord and His Sangha of monks. Then the Lord, being aware of what those monks were saying, went to the round pavilion and sat down on the prepared seat. Then he said, monks, what was the subject of your conversation just now? What talk have I interrupted? I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see the Suphya and his disciple following behind the Buddha and the monks, and they were arguing. One was praising the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. One was talking bad. And some of the monks know, so probably because the Buddha And many of his disciples, Arahant disciples, had psychic power, so they knew what the Supya and Brahmadatta were talking about, just as the Buddha here. He's aware of what his monks were saying, and he went to the pavilion to talk to them. And they told him. So they told him what was happening between Brahmadatta and his teacher, Supiya. And the Buddha said, monks, if anyone should speak in disparagement of me, of the Dhamma, or of the Sangha, you should not be angry, resentful, or upset on that account. If you were to be angry or displeased at such disparagement, that would only be a hindrance to you. For if others disparage me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, and you are angry or displeased, can you recognize whether what they say is right or not? No, Lord. If others disparage me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, then you must explain what is incorrect as being incorrect, saying that is incorrect, that is false, that is not our way, that is not found among us. But monks, if others should speak in praise of me, of the Dhamma or of the Sangha, you should not on that account be pleased, happy or elated. If you were to be pleased, happy or elated at such praise, that would only be a hindrance to you. If others praise me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, you should acknowledge the truth of what is true, saying, that is correct, that is right, that is our way, that is found among us. I'll stop you for a moment. So here the Buddha says, he's telling his monks not to be angry or not to be too happy because emotions, if you get Very happy one day, another day you're going to be very sad because you allow your emotions to sway. So the Buddha's teachings is to control our emotions. Don't be too happy so that you won't be too sad when sorrow comes. and to have a hold on our mind, don't let it move so much. And the Buddha continued, it is monks for elementary inferior matters of moral practice that the worldling would praise the Tathagata. And what are these elementary inferior matters for which the worldling would praise him? Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is going to go into the list of moral conduct that the Buddha and his disciples practice and which the Buddha says people praise him for it. But to the Buddha, praising this moral practice, moral practice, although it's necessary, the Buddha says it is inferior. There are higher things. Okay, the first part, the short section on morality. Abandoning the taking of life, the ascetic Gautama dwells refraining from taking life. Without stick or sword, scrupulous, compassionate, trembling for the welfare of all living beings. Thus the worldling would praise the Tathagata. Abandoning the taking of what is not given, the ascetic Gautama dwells refraining from taking what is not given. Living purely, accepting what is given, awaiting what is given without stealing. Abandoning unchastity, the ascetic Gautama lives far from it, aloof from the village practice of sex. Abandoning false speech, the ascetic Gautama dwells refraining from false speech. A truth speaker, one to be relied on, trustworthy, dependable, not a deceiver of the world. Abandoning malicious speech, he does not repeat there what he has heard here to the detriment of these, or repeat here what he has heard there. to the detriment of those. Thus He is a reconciler of those at variance, and an encourager of those at one, rejoicing in peace, loving it, delighting in it. One who speaks up for peace, abandoning harsh speech, He refrains from it. He speaks whatever is blameless, pleasing to the ear, agreeable, reaching the heart, obeying, pleasing and attractive to the multitude, abandoning idle chatter. He speaks at the right time, what is correct and to the point of Dhamma and Vinaya. He is a speaker whose words are to be treasured, seasonable, reason, well-defined and connected with the goal. Thus the worldling would praise the Tathagata. So here the Buddha is talking about the seven precepts, In the early discourses of the Buddha, the Buddha usually talks about these seven precepts. These seven precepts are also considered the Aryan Sila, Aryan moral conduct. In the Noble Eightfold Path, three factors comprise the sila component, right speech, right action, and right livelihood. Right speech consists of four precepts, not to lie, not to carry tales, to cause quarrel and fights. not to speak coarse or vulgar words, and not to engage in idle gossip. These are the four precepts under Right Speech. Under Right Action, you have three precepts, not to kill, not to steal, or here it says not to take what is not given, and not to engage in sexual misconduct. And then right livelihood, actually there are no precepts there because it is covered by right speech and right action. Right livelihood means you earn a livelihood without harming others. So these three together consist of seven precepts. So if a person upholds these seven precepts and he understands the Dhamma, then he can become an Arya. So these seven precepts are very important. The ascetic Gautama is a refrainer from damaging seeds and crops. He eats once a day and not at night, refraining from eating at improper times. He avoids watching dancing, singing, music and shows. He abstains from using garlands, perfumes, cosmetics, ornaments and adornments. He avoids using high and wide beds. avoids accepting gold and silver, in other words, money. He avoids accepting raw grain or raw flesh. He does not accept women and young girls, male or female slaves, sheep and goats, cocks and pigs, elephants, cattle, horses and mares, fields and plots, He refrains from running errands, from buying and selling, from cheating with false weights and measures, from bribery and corruption, deception and insincerity, from wounding, killing, imprisoning, highway robbery, and taking food by force. Thus the worldling would praise the Tathagata. So here, these are the other precepts which make up for the ten precepts of a Samana era. Okay, then the middle section on morality. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins feeding on the food of the faithful are addicted to the destruction of such seeds as are propagated from roots, from stems, from joints, from cuttings, from seeds, the ascetic Gautama refrains from such destruction. Thus the worldling would praise the Tathagata. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins feeding on the food of the faithful remain addicted to the enjoyment of stored up goods such as food, drink, clothing, carriages, beds, perfumes, meat. The ascetic Gautama refrains from such enjoyment. Rest of ascetics and Brahmins, etc., remain addicted to attending such shows as dancing, singing, music, displays, recitations, hand music, cymbals and drums, fairy shows, acrobatic and conjuring tricks, combats of elephants, buffaloes, bulls, goats, rams, cocks and quails. Fighting with staves, boxing, wrestling, sham fights, parades, manoeuvres and military reviews, the ascetic Gautama refrained from attending such displays. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins remain addicted to such games and idle pursuits as eight or ten row chess, chess in the air, hopscotch, spelikins, dicing, hitting sticks, hand pictures, ball games, blowing through toy pipes, playing with toy ploughs, turning somersaults, playing with toy windmills. measures, carriages and bows, guessing letters, guessing thoughts, mimicking deformities. The ascetic Gautama refrained from such idle pursuits. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins remain addicted to high and wide beds and long chairs, couches adorned with animal figures, fleecy or variegated coverlets, coverlets with hair on both sides or one side, silk coverlets embroidered with gems or without, elephant horns or chariot rugs, choice threads of antelope hide, couches with awnings, or with red cushions at both ends, the ascetic Gautama refrains of such high and wide beds. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins remain addicted to such forms, of self-adornment and embellishment as rubbing the body with perfumes, massaging, bathing in scented water, shampooing, using mirrors, ointments, garlands, scents, anguans, cosmetics, bracelets, headbands, fancy sticks, bottles, swords, sun shades, decorated sandals, turbans, gems, yuck-tail fans, long-fringe white robes. The ascetic Gautama refrained from such self-adornment. where some ascetics and Brahmins remain addicted to such unedifying conversation as about kings, robbers, ministers, armies, dangers, wars, food, drink, clothes, beds, garlands, perfumes, relatives, carriages, villages, towns and cities, countries, women, heroes, street and well, gossip, talk of the departed, desultory chat, Speculations about land and sea, talk about being and non-being. The ascetic Gautama refrains from such conversation. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins remain addicted to disputation such as, you don't understand this doctrine and discipline, Dhamma Vinaya. I do. How could you understand this doctrine and discipline? Your way is all wrong. Mine is right. I am consistent. You aren't. You said last what you should have said first, and you said first what you should have said last. What you took so long to think up has been refuted. Your argument has been overthrown. You are defeated. Go on, save your doctrine. Get out of that if you can. The ascetic Gautama refrains from such disputation, whereas some ascetics and Brahmins remain addicted to such things as running errands and messages, such as for kings, ministers, nobles, Brahmins, householders and young men who say, go here, go there, take this there, bring that from there. The ascetic Gautama refrained from such errand-running. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins remain addicted to deception, petter, hinting, belittling, and are always on the make for further gains, the ascetic Gautama refrained from such deception. Thus the worldling would praise the Tathagata. So for a moment, so here you see some of these conducts are expansion of the 10 precepts, luxurious living. And the last part, 1.20, this deception, patter, hinting, belittling on the make for further gains. This is considered wrong livelihood for the monk. Where some ascetics and brahmins, feeding on the food of the faithful, make their living by such base arts, such wrong means of livelihood as palmistry, divining by signs, portents, dreams, body marks, mouse gnawings, fire oblations, oblations from a ladle, of husks, rice powder, rice grains, ghee or oil, from the mouth or of blood, reading the fingertips, house and garden law, skill in charms, ghost law, earth house law, snake law, poison law, rat law, Bird law, crow law, for telling a person's lifespan, charms against arrows, knowledge of animals' cries, the ascetic Gautama refrains from such beast arts and wrong means of livelihood. Stop here for a moment. You see here, palmistry, fortune-telling, is not allowed for a monk. And divining by signs, meaning, what we call, also not allowed for a monk. Wrong livelihood for a monk. Where some ascetics and Brahmins make their living by such base arts as judging the marks of gems, sticks, clothes, swords, spears, arrows, weapons, women, men, boys. Girls, male and female slaves, elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls, cows, goats, rams, cocks, quail, iguanas, bamboo rats, tortoises, deer, the ascetic Gautama refrains from such base arts. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins make their living by such base arts as predicting the chiefs will march out, the chiefs will march back. Our chiefs will advance and the other chiefs will retreat. Our chiefs will win and the other chiefs will lose. The other chiefs will win and ours will lose. Thus there will be victory for one side and defeat for the other. The ascetic Gautama refrains from such base arts. where some ascetics and Brahmins make their living by such base arts as predicting an eclipse of the moon, the sun, a star, that the sun and moon will go on their proper course or will go astray, that a star will go on its proper course or will go astray. that there will be a shower of meteors, a blaze in the sky, an earthquake, thunder, a rising, setting, darkening, brightening of the moon, the sun, the stars, and such will be the outcome of these things. The ascetic Gautama refrains from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins make their living by such base arts as predicting good or bad rainfall, a good or bad harvest, security, danger, disease, health, or accounting, computing, calculating, poetic composition, philosophizing, the ascetic Gautama refrains from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins make their living by such base arts as arranging the giving and taking in marriage, engagements and divorces, declaring the time for saving and spending, bringing good or bad luck, procuring abortions, using spells to bind the tongue, binding the jaw, making the hands jerk, causing deafness, getting answers with a mirror, a girl medium, a deva, Worshipping the Sun or Great Brahma, breathing fire, invoking the Goddess of Luck, the ascetic Gautama refrains from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood. Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins, feeding on the food of the faithful, make their living by such base arts, such wrong means of livelihood, as appeasing the Devas and redeeming vows to them. making earth house spells, causing virility or impotence, preparing and consecrating building sites, giving ritual rinsings and bathings, making sacrifices, giving amethysts, purges, expectorants, and phlegm gorges. giving Ian eye, nose medicine, ointments and counter ointments, eye surgery, surgery, pediatry, using balms to counter the side effects of previous remedies. The ascetic Gautama refrained from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood. It is mount for such elementary inferior matters of moral practice that the worldling would praise the Tathagata. So here you see the different shaman practices, prediction, making predictions and all that. All this the Buddha says is wrong livelihood. But because the Buddha practices these things, he gets praised for not indulging all these predictions and wrong means of livelihood. But the Buddha still says these are inferior matters of moral practice. There are amongst other matters profound, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought, subtle, to be experienced by the wise, which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. And what are these matters? There are monks, some ascetics and brahmins who are speculators about the past, having fixed views about the past, and who put forward various speculative theories about the past in 18 different ways. I'll stop here for a moment. So here is, there are 18 different wrong views about the self and the world based on the past. On what basis, on what grounds do they do so? There are some ascetics and Brahmins who are eternalists, who proclaim the eternity of the self and the world in four ways. On what grounds? Here monks, a certain ascetic or Brahmin, has by means of effort, exertion, application, earnestness and right attention attained to such a state of mental concentration that he thereby recalls past existences, one birth, two births, three, four, five, ten births, a hundred, A thousand, a hundred thousand birds, several hundred, several thousand, several hundred thousand birds. There my name was so-and-so, my clan was so-and-so, my caste was so-and-so, my food was such-and-such. I experienced such-and-such pleasant and painful conditions. I lived for so long. Having passed away from there, I arose there. There my name was so and so, and having passed away from there, I arose here." Thus he remembers various past lives, their conditions and details. And he says, the self and the world are eternal, barren like a mountain peak, set firmly as a post. These beings rush around, circulate, pass away and re-arise. But this remains eternally. Why so? I have by means of effort, exertion, attained to such a state of mental concentration that I have thereby recalled various past existences. That is how I know the self and the world are eternal. That is the first way in which some ascetics and Brahmins proclaim the eternity of the self and the world. What is the second way? Here monks, as an ascetic or Brahmin, has by means of effort, exertion, etc., attained to such a state of mental concentration that he thereby recalls one period of contraction and expansion, two such periods, three, four, five, ten periods of contraction and expansion. There my name was so and so. That is the second way in which some ascetics and Brahmins proclaim the eternity of the self and the world. Stop here for a moment. Here a period of contraction expansion refers to a world cycle, a world cycle. There's a time when the world expands and a time when the world contracts. And this refers to the stars' expansion, means the stars go away from each other, the galaxy expands, the stars go away from each other, and after some time it will collapse, that is contraction, and the stars come closer and closer together until they they come together and burn, that would be the end of the world. And what is the third way? Here monks, ascetic or Brahmin, has by means of effort, et cetera, attained to such a state of mental concentration that he recalls 10, 20, 30, 40 periods of contraction and expansion. There, my name was so and so, et cetera. That is the third way in which some ascetics and Brahmins proclaim the eternity of the self and the world. And what is the fourth way? Here, a certain ascetic or Brahmin is a logician, a reasoner. Hammering it out by reason, following his own line of thought, he argues, the self and the world are eternal, barren like a mountain peak, set firmly as a post. These beings rush around, circulate, pass away and re-arise, but this remains forever. That is the fourth way in which some ascetics and Brahmins proclaim the eternity of the self and the world. These are the four ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins are eternalists and proclaim the eternity of the self and the world on four grounds. And whatever ascetics or Brahmins are eternalists and proclaim the eternity of the self and the world, they do so on one or other of these four grounds. There is no other way. This monk, the Tathagata, understands these few viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to will lead to such and such destinations in another world.

02-DN-01-Brahmajala-(2011-07-16)-Part-B.txt

This the Tathagata knows and more, but he is not attached to that knowledge. And being thus unattached, he has experienced for himself perfect peace, and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings, their attraction and peril, and the deliverance from them. the Tathagata is liberated without remainder. There are amongst other matters profound, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought, subtle to be experienced by the wise, which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. And what are these matters? There are monks, some ascetics and Brahmins, who are partly eternalists and partly non-eternalists, who proclaim the partial eternity and the partial non-eternity of the Self and the world in four ways. On what grounds? There comes a time, monks, sooner or later, after a long period, when this world contracts. At the time of contraction, beings are mostly reborn in the Abhashara Brahma world. And there they dwell, mind made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air, glorious, and they stay like that for a very long time. But the time comes, sooner or later, after a long period, when this world begins to expand. In this expanding world, an empty palace of Brahma appears. And then one being from exhaustion of his life span, or of his merits, falls from the Abhashara world and arises in the empty Brahma palace. And there he dwells, mind made, feeding on delight, self luminous, moving through the air, glorious. And he stays like that for a very long time." Stop here for a moment. This Abhashara Brahma world refers to the second jhāna heavens. When the world When the world ends, then the beings are reborn. They practice meditation and they are reborn in the second jhāna heaven. And after a long time, this being in the second jhāna heaven, he falls down from there to the first jhāna heaven, which is the Brahma world. Then in this being who has been alone for so long, there arises unrest, discontent and worry. And he thinks, oh, if only some other beings would come here. And other beings from exhaustion of their lifespan or of their merit fall from the Abhashra world and arise in the Brahma palace as companions for this being. And there they dwell, mind made, etc. And they stay like that for a very long time. And then monks, that being who first arose there thinks, I am Brahma, the great Brahma, the conqueror, the unconquered, the all-seeing, the all-powerful Lord, the maker and creator, ruler, appointer and orderer, father of all that have been and shall be. These beings were created by me. How so? Because I first had this thought, oh, if only some other beings would come here. That was my wish. And then those beings came into this existence. But those beings who arose subsequently think, this friend is Brahma, great Brahma, the conqueror, the unconquered, the all-seeing, the all-powerful, the Lord, maker and creator, ruler, appointer and orderer, father of all that have been and shall be. How so? We have seen that he was here first, and that we arose after him. And this being that arose first is longer lived, more beautiful and more powerful than they are. And it may happen that some being falls from that realm and arises in this world. Having arisen in this world, he goes forth from the household life into homelessness. Having gone forth, he by means of effort, exertion, application, earnestness and right attention attains to such a degree of mental concentration that he thereby recalls his last existence. But he recalls none before that. And he thinks that Brahma, he made us and he is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, the same forever and ever. But we who were created by that Brahma, we are impermanent, unstable, short-lived, fated to fall away, and we have come to this world. This is the first case whereby some ascetics and Brahmins are partly eternalists and partly non-eternalists. And what is the second way? There are monks, certain devas, called corrupted by pleasure. They spend an excessive amount of time addicted to merriment. play and enjoyment, so that their mindfulness is dissipated. And by the dissipation of mindfulness, those beings fall from that state. And it can happen that a being having fallen from that state arises in this world. Having arisen in this world, he goes forth from the household of life into homelessness. Having gone forth, he by means of effort, exertion, etc., recalls his last existence, but recalls none before that. He thinks, those reverend devas who are not corrupted by pleasure do not spend an excessive amount of time addicted to merriment, play and enjoyment. Thus their mindfulness is not dissipated, and so they do not fall from that state. They are permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, the same forever and ever. But we, who are corrupted by pleasure, spend an excessive amount of time addicted to merriment, play, and enjoyment. Thus we, by the dissipation of mindfulness, have fallen from that state. We are impermanent, unstable, short-lived, fated to fall away, and we have come to this world. This is the second case. And what is the third way? There are monks, certain devas, called corrupted in mind. They spend an excessive amount of time regarding each other with envy. By this means, their minds are corrupted. On account of their corrupted minds, they become weary in body and mind, and they fall from that place. And it can happen that a being, having fallen from that state, arises in this world. He recalls his last existence, but recalls none before that. He thinks, those reverend devas who are not corrupted in mind do not spend an excessive amount of time regarding each other with envy. They do not become corrupted in mind or weary in body and mind. And so they do not fall from that state. They are permanent, stable, eternal. But we, who are corrupted in mind, are impermanent, unstable, short-lived, fated to fall away, and we have come to this world. This is the third case. And what is the fourth way? Here, a certain ascetic or Brahmin is a logician, a reasoner. Hammering it out by reason, following his own line of thought, he argues, whatever is called eye or ear or nose or tongue or body, that is impermanent, unstable, non-eternal, liable to change. But what is called thought or mind or consciousness, that is a self that is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, the same forever and ever. This is the fourth case. These are the four ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins are partly eternalists and partly non-eternalists. Whatever ascetics and Brahmins proclaim the partial eternity, and the partial non-eternity of the self and the world. They do so on one or other of these four grounds. There is no other way. This monk, the Tathagata, understands. These viewpoints are grasped and adhered to will lead to such and such destinations in another world. This the Tathagata knows and more, but he is not attached to that knowledge. And being thus unattached, he has experienced for himself perfect peace. And having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings, their attraction and peril, and the deliverance from them, the Tathagata is liberated without remainder. These monks are those other matters, profound, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought, subtle, to be experienced by the wise, which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. Stop here for a moment. You see here under 2.15, the Buddha says the Tathagata, the Buddha knows this and much more, but he is not attached to that knowledge. And so he experiences perfect peace. He understands the arising and passing way of feelings, the attraction and peril and the delirium from them. So feelings is something that gives us a lot of suffering if we don't know how to control our feelings. All the dukkha, all the suffering in the world is only because of being unable to control our feelings. So if we cultivate our mind and have a strong mind, only then can we have a mind that is solid as a rock, that will not move. because external conditions always move our mind and emotions change. But if our mind is strong, then we are not moved by external conditions, especially what the Buddha calls the eight winds that try to move us. There are monks, some ascetics and brahmins, who are finitists and infinitists, and who proclaim the finitude and infinitude of the world on four grounds. What are they? Here a certain ascetic or brahmin has, by means of effort, etc., attained to such a state of concentration that he dwells perceiving the world as finite. He thinks, this world is finite and bounded by a circle. How so? Because I have attained to such a state of concentration that I dwell, perceiving the world as finite. Therefore, I know that this world is finite and bounded by a circle. This is the first case. And what is the second way? Here a certain ascetic or Brahmin has attained to such a state of concentration that he dwells perceiving the world as infinite. He thinks, this world is infinite and unbounded. Those ascetics and Brahmins who say it is finite and bounded are wrong. How so? Because I have attained to such a state of concentration that I dwell perceiving the world as infinite. Therefore, I know that this world is infinite and unbounded. This is the second case. And what is the third way? Here a certain ascetic or Brahmin has attained to such a state of consciousness that he dwells perceiving the world as finite, up and down, and infinite across. He thinks, the world is finite and infinite. Those ascetics and Brahmins who say it is finite are wrong, and those who say it is infinite are wrong. How so? Because I have attained to such a state of concentration that I dwell perceiving the world as finite, up and down. and infinite across. Therefore, I know that the world is both finite and infinite. This is the third case. And what is the fourth case? Here a certain ascetic or Brahmin is a logician, a reasoner. Hammering it out by reason, he argues, this world is neither finite nor infinite. Those who say it is finite are wrong, and those who say it is infinite, and so are those who say it is infinite, and those who say it is finite and infinite. This world is neither finite nor infinite. This is the fourth case. These are the four ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins are finitists and infinitists, and proclaim the finitude and infinitude of the world on four grounds. There is no other way. This monk, the Tathagata, understands. These viewpoints thus grasped and adhered to will lead to such and such destinations in another world. These monks are those other matters, profound, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought, subtle to be experienced by the wise, which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. There are monks, some ascetics and Brahmins who are eel-wrigglers. When asked about this or that matter, they resort to evasive statements and they wriggle like eels on four grounds. What are they? In this case, there is an ascetic or Brahmin who does not in truth know whether a thing is good or bad. He thinks, I do not in truth know whether this is good or whether it is bad. Not knowing which is right, I might declare that is good or that is bad, and that might be a lie, and that would distress me. If I were distressed, that would be a hindrance to me. Thus fearing to lie, abhorring to lie, it does not declare a thing to be good or bad. But when asked about this or that matter, he resorts to evasive statements and wriggles like an eel. I don't say this, I don't say that, I don't say it is otherwise, I don't say it is not, I don't say it is, I don't, I don't say it is not, I don't not say it is not. That is the first case. What is the second way? Here an ascetic or Brahmin does not in truth know whether a thing is good or bad. He thinks, I might declare that is good or that is bad. and I might feel desire, or lust, or hatred, or aversion. If I felt desire, lust, hatred, or aversion, that would be attachment on my part. If I felt attachment, that would distress me, and if I were distressed, that would be a hindrance to me. Thus, fearing attachment, abhorring attachment, resorts to evasive statements. This is the second case. What is the third way? Here an ascetic or brahmin does not in truth know whether a thing is good or bad. He thinks I might declare that is good or that is bad. But there are some ascetics and brahmins who are wise, skillful, practice debaters, like archers who can split. has, who go around destroying others' views with their wisdom, and they might cross-examine me, demanding my reasons and arguing, and I might not be able to reply. Not being able to reply would distress me, and if I were distressed, that would be a hindrance to me. Thus, fearing debate, abhorring debate, resorts to evasive statements. This is the third case. What is the fourth way? Here an ascetic or Brahmin is dull and stupid. Because of his dullness and stupidity, when he is questioned, he resorts to evasive statements and wriggles like an eel. If you ask me whether there is another world, if I thought so, I would say there is another world. But I don't say so. And I don't say otherwise. And I don't say it is not. And I don't say it. And I don't not say it is not. Is there another world? Is there both another world and no other world? Is there neither another world nor another world? Are there spontaneously born beings? Are there not? Are there both or neither? Does the Tathagata exist after death? Does he not exist after death? Does he both exist and not exist after death? Does he neither exist nor not exist after death? If I thought so, I would say so. I don't say it is not. This is the fourth case. These are the four ways in which those ascetics and Brahmins are ill-regulars, resort to evasive statements. There is no other way. These monks, the Tathāgata, understand. These viewpoints, thus grasped and adhered to, will lead to such and such destinations in another world. These monks are those other matters, profound, hard to see, which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. There are monks, some ascetics and Brahmins, who are chance-originationists, and who proclaim the chance origin of the world and the Self on two grounds. What are they? There are monks, certain devas, called unconscious, asanya. As soon as a perception arises in them, those devas fall from that realm. And it may happen that a being falls from that realm and arises in this world. He recalls his last existence, but none before that. He thinks, the self and the world have arisen by chance. How so? Before this, I did not exist. Now from not being, I have been brought to being. This is the first case. What is the second case? Here an ascetic or Brahmin is a logician, a reasoner. He hammers out his own opinion and declares, the self and the world have arisen by chance. This is the second case. These are the two ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins who are chance originists proclaim the chance origin of the self and the world. There is no other way. This monk, the Tathagata, understands. These monks are those other matters, profound, hard to see, which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. And these monks are the eighteen ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins are speculators about the past. There is no other way. These monks the Tathagata understands. There are monks, ascetics and Brahmins who are speculators about the future, having fixed views about the future, and who put forward various speculative theories about the future in 44 different ways. On what basis, on what grounds do they do so? There are monks, ascetics and Brahmins who proclaim a doctrine of conscious self-mortem survival. and do so in 16 different ways. On what basis? They declare that the self after death is healthy and conscious and material, or immaterial. Number three, both material and immaterial. Four, neither material nor immaterial. Five, infinite. Six, five, finite. Six, infinite. Seven, both. Eight, neither. 9. Of uniform perception. 10. Of varied perception. 11. Of limited perception. 12. Of unlimited perception. 13. Wholly happy. 14. Wholly miserable. 15. Both. 16. Neither. These are the 16 ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins proclaim the doctrine of conscious post-mortem survival. There is no other way. These monks the Tathagata understands. These monks are those other matters profound, hard to see, which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. There are monks, some ascetics and Brahmins who proclaim the doctrine of unconscious post-mortem survival, and they do so in eight ways. On what basis? They declare that the self after death is healthy and unconscious, and one, material, two, immaterial, three, both, four, neither, five, finite, six, infinite, seven, both, eight, neither. These are the eight ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins proclaim a doctrine of unconscious post-mortem survival. There is no other way. These monks, the Tathagata understands, these monks are those other matters profound, hard to see, which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. There are some ascetics and Brahmins who declare doctrine of neither conscious nor unconscious post-mortem survival, and they do so in eight ways. On what basis? They declare that the self after death is healthy and neither conscious nor unconscious, and one, material, two, immaterial, three, both, four, neither, five, finite, six, infinite, seven, both, eight, neither. These are the eight ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins proclaim a doctrine of neither conscious nor unconscious post-mortem survival. There is no other way. These monks, the Tathagata understands, these monks are those other matters profound, hard to see, which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. There are monks, some ascetics and brahmins who are annihilationists, who proclaim the annihilation, destruction and non-existence of beings, and they do so in seven ways. On what basis? Here a certain ascetic or brahmin declares and holds the view. Since this self is material, composed of the four great elements, the product of mother and father, At the breaking up of the body, it is annihilated and perishes and does not exist after death. This is the way in which this self is annihilated. That is how some proclaim the annihilation, destruction and non-existence of beings. Another says to him, Sir, there is such a self as you say, I don't deny it, but that self is not wholly annihilated. There is another self, divine, material, belonging to the sense sphere, fed on real food. You don't know, you don't know it or see it, but I do. It is this self that at the breaking up of the body perishes. Another says to him, Sir, there is such a self as you say, I don't deny it, but that self is not wholly annihilated. There is another self, divine, material, mind made, complete with all its parts, not defective in any sense organ. It is this self that at the breaking up of the body perishes. Another says to him, Sir, There is such a self as you say, there is another self, which by passing entirely beyond bodily sensations, by the disappearance of all sense of resistance, and by non-attraction to the perception of diversity, seeing that space is infinite, has realized the fear of infinite space. It is this self that at the breaking up of the body perishes. Another says to him, there is another self which by passing entirely beyond the sphere of infinite space, seeing that consciousness is infinite, has realized the sphere of infinite consciousness. It is this self that at the breaking up of the body perishes. Another says to him, there is another self which by passing entirely beyond the sphere of infinite consciousness, seeing that there is no thing, has realized the sphere of no thingness. It is this self that at the breaking up of the body perishes. Another says to him, Sir, there is such a self as you say, I don't deny it, but that self is not wholly annihilated. For there is another self, which by passing entirely beyond the sphere of nothingness and seeing. This is peaceful, this is sublime, as relies the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. You don't know it or see it, but I do. It is this self that at the breaking up of the body is annihilated and perishes, and does not exist after death. This is the way in which the self is completely annihilated. That is how some proclaim the annihilation, destruction and non-existence of beings. These are the seven ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins proclaim a doctrine of annihilation, destruction and non-existence of beings. And there is no other way. These monks that the Tathagata understands, these monks are those other matters, profound, hard to see, etc., which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims. about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. There are monks, some ascetics and Brahmins who are proclaimers of Nibbāna here and now, and who proclaim Nibbāna here and now for an existent being in five ways. On what grounds? Here, a certain ascetic or Brahmin declares and holds the view, In as far as this self, being furnished and endowed with the fivefold sense pleasures, indulges in them, then that is when the self realizes the highest Nibbāna here and now. So some proclaim it. Another says to him, Sir, there is such a self as you say, I don't deny it. But that is not where the self realizes the highest Nibbāna here and now. Why so? Because sense desires are impermanent, painful and subject to change. And from their change and transformation, there arise sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and distress. But when this self, detached from sense desires, detached from unwholesome states, enters and abides in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, and and the delight and happiness born of detachment. That is when the self realizes the highest Nibbana here and now. Another says to him, Sir, there is such a self as you say, but that is not when the self attains Nibbana. How so? Because on account of thought directed and sustained, that state is considered gross. But when the self, by the subsiding of thought, directed and sustained, enters and abides in the second jhāna, with inner tranquility and oneness of mind, or unity of mind, or one-pointedness of mind, which is free from thought directed and sustained, and is born of concentration, and is accompanied by delight and joy or happiness. That is when the self realizes the highest Nibbāna here and now. This refers to the second jhāna. Another says to him, Sir, there is such a self as you say, but that is not when the self attains Nibbāna. How so? Because on account of the presence of delight, there is mental exhilaration and that state is considered gross. But when the self with the waning of delight dwells in equanimity, mindful and clearly aware, experiencing in his own body, that joy which the noble ones say, happy dwells one who has equanimity and mindfulness. and so enters and abides in the third jhāna. That is when the self realizes the highest nibbāna here and now. Stop here for a moment. So this refers to the third jhāna. And you see, in this sutta, as in other suttas, in the third jhāna, there is equanimity and mindfulness. Unlike what some monks say, that in state of jhāna, there is no mindfulness. Here, there is equanimity and mindfulness. Another says to him, Sir, there is such a self as you say, I don't deny it, but that is not where the self experiences the highest Nibbana here and now. Why so? Because the mind contains the idea of joy and that state is considered gross. But when with the abandonment of pleasure and pain, with the disappearance of previous joy and grief, one enters and abides in the state beyond pleasure and pain, in the fourth jhāna, which has utter purification of equanimity and mindfulness. The Pali. is utter purification of equanimity and mindfulness. That is where the self realizes the highest Nibbana here and now. That is how some proclaim the highest Nibbana here and now for an existent being. I'll stop here for a moment. So here in this fourth jhana, the equanimity and the mindfulness is utterly purified. There is no higher equanimity and mindfulness than in the fourth jhāna. This is what the Sutta says. These are the five ways in which these ascetics and Brahmins proclaim the doctrine of Nibbāna here and now. There is no other way. These monks, the Tathāgata understands, etc., etc. These are the 44 ways in which those ascetics and Brahmins who are speculators about the future, having fixed ideas about the future, put forward various speculative views about the future. There is no other way. These monks that the Tathagata understands, etc. These are the 62 ways in which those ascetics and Brahmins who are speculators about the past, the future, or both, put forward views about these. There is no other way. This monk, the Tathagata, understands. These viewpoints, thus grasped and adhered to, will lead to such and such destinations in another world. This the Tathagata knows more, but he is not attached to that knowledge. And being thus unattached, he has experienced for himself the perfect peace, and having truly understood the arising and passing away of feelings, their attraction and peril, and their deliverance from them, the Tathagata is liberated without remainder. These monks are those other matters profound, hard to see, hard to understand, peaceful, excellent, beyond mere thought, subtle to be experienced by the wise, which the Tathagata, having realized them by his own super-knowledge, proclaims, and about which those who would truthfully praise the Tathagata would rightly speak. Thus, monks, when those ascetics and Brahmins who are eternalists proclaim the eternity of the Self and the world in four ways, that is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see, the worry and vexation of those immersed in craving. When those who are partly eternalists and partly non-eternalists proclaim the partial eternity and partial non-eternity of the Self and the world in four ways, That is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see, etc. When those who are finitists and infinitists proclaim the finitude and infinitude of the world on foreground, that is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see, etc. When those who are ill-regulars resort to evasive statements and wriggle like eels on foreground, that is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see, etc.

03-DN-01-Brahmajala-(2011-07-16)-Part-C.txt

When those who are chance originationists proclaim the chance origin of the self and the world on two grounds, that is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see, etc. When those who are speculators about the past, having fixed views about the past, put forward various speculative views about the past in 18 different ways, that is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see, the worry and vexillation of those immersed in craving. When those who proclaim a doctrine of conscious post-mortem survival do so in 16 different ways, there is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see, etc. When those who proclaim a doctrine of unconscious post-mortem survival do so in eight different ways. That is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see, etc. And those who proclaim the doctrine of neither conscious nor unconscious post-mortem survival, do so in eight ways. That is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see. And those who are annihilationists proclaim the annihilation, destruction, and non-existence of beings in seven ways. That is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see. And those who are proclaimers of Nibbāna here and now, Proclaim Nibbana here and now for an existent being on five grounds. That is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see. When those who are speculators about the future, in 44 different ways, speculate about the future, do not know and see. When those ascetics and Brahmins who are speculators about the past, the future, or both, having fixed views, put forward views in 62 different ways, that is merely the feeling of those who do not know and see, the worry and vexillation of those immersed in craving. And those ascetics and Brahmins who are eternalists proclaim the eternity of the self and the world in four ways, that is conditioned by contact. Similarly, for the eternalists, non-eternalists, finitists and infinitists, irregulars, chance originations, etc. Those ascetics and Brahmins who are speculators about the past, future, or both, having fixed views, put forward views in 62 different ways, that is conditioned by contact. Sorry for a moment. Conditioned by contact means contact at the sixth sense organs through seeing or hearing or smelling, taste, touch and thinking. That those, that all of these eternalists and the rest should experience that feeling without contact is impossible. With regard to all of these, they experience these feelings by repeated contact to the six sense bases, feeling conditions craving, craving conditions clinging, clinging conditions becoming or being. Being conditions birth, birth conditions aging and dying, sorrow, lamentation, sadness and distress. When monks, a monk understands as they really are, the arising and passing away of the six bases of contact, their attraction and peril, and the deliverance from them. He knows that which goes beyond all these views. Whatever ascetics and Brahmins who are speculators about the past, or the future, or both, having fixed views on the matter, and put forth speculative views about it, these are all trapped in the net with its 62 divisions, and wherever they emerge and try to get out, they are caught and held in this net. Just as a skilled fisherman or his apprentice might cover a small piece of water with a fine mesh net, thinking, whatever larger creatures there may be in this water, they are all trapped in the net, caught and held in the net. So it is with all these. They are trapped and caught in this net. Monks, the body of the Tathagata stands with with the link that bound it to becoming cut. As long as the body subsists, devas and humans will see him. But at the breaking up of the body and the exhaustion of the lifespan, devas and humans will see him no more. Monks, just as when the stalk of a bunch of mangoes has been cut, all the mangoes on it go with it, just so the Tathagata's link with becoming has been cut. As long as the body subsists, devas and humans will see him. But at the breaking up of the body and the exhaustion of the lifespan, devas and humans will see him no more. At these words, the Venerable Ananda said to the Lord, It is marvelous, Lord. It is wonderful. What is the name of this exposition of Dhamma? Ananda, you may remember this exposition of Dhamma as the net of advantage, the net of Dhamma, the supreme net, the net of views, or as the incomparable victory in battle. Thus the Lord spoke, and the monks rejoiced and were delighted at His words. And as this exposition was being proclaimed, the 10,000 world system shook. That's the end of the sutta. This last part I'd like to comment, it's quite interesting. 3.73. The body of the Tathagata stands with the link that bound it to becoming cut. That is, when a person becomes liberated, this being or becoming, bhava, is cut. And this bhava, in the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, there are different interpretations. But I think what bhava means is the I am. If a person has this view, I am or I exist, he is still in samsara. Only when you have let go the view that you have a self, so this becoming or this being is cut. So there is no There's no living being, because there is no self. So an enlightened being becomes like a tree, there is no self. He has consciousness, but of course he has more wisdom than the tree, but he has no self at all. But even though there is no self, he does not have mental dukkha, but he still has bodily dukkha. So here it says, as long as the body subsists, devas and humans will see him. But at the breaking up of the body, devas and humans will see him no more. And this is also mentioned in the Mahayana Diamond Sutra. But unfortunately, there are some Mahayana sutras that contradict this, like the Earth Store Bodhisattva Sutra, Shirdi Garbha Sutra, and in that sutra it says when the Buddha was about to speak, the Earth Store Bodhisattva Sutra, millions and millions of Buddhas came. The Buddhas have entered Nibbana, how can they come? And the Buddha also says in the sutras that you cannot find two Buddhas at the same time. Two sammasambuddhas. You can find many pacikabuddhas but never two sammasambuddhas together. So you can see this Diga Nikaya, very long sutta. Just reading it out with not much explanation took me already one hour. So we have to end here this sutta for tonight. Anything to discuss? Any comment? Otherwise, we can talk a bit about meditation in case some of you are not very familiar with meditation. If you're going to stay here for three months, you're going to have to spend a lot of time meditating. Yeah? Can I ask about worldview number 17, page 81? If there are problems, shouldn't there be all unconscious? And when that happens in other sutra, if five aggregates must come together, how long is one to know? Oh, uh, in the sutra, this, uh, you and me explain about the asanya sattva and, uh, Sannyā means without perception. Sannyā is perception. So these beings without perception. If a being has no perception, that means he has no consciousness. There's a sutta where the Buddha says in the, I think, Samyutta Nikaya, that when consciousness arises, it must come along with the five aggregates. There's no coming and going of consciousness without the five aggregates. So when you have a consciousness, that consciousness must reside in a body. But the other way around, the Buddha never said. The Buddha never said that if you have a body, you must have consciousness. No, the Buddha said when you have consciousness, you must have the five aggregates. But in this case, this being is supposed to be in the fourth jhana, And if you heard one of my previous talks, I mentioned that my guess is that this being was an ascetic in the previous life who had attained the fourth jhāna. And then he thought all our suffering comes from our consciousness. As long as we are conscious, as long as we are aware, we are aware of suffering. So if this consciousness were to stop completely, then there'll be no suffering. So they use their mind to crush the mind, which the Buddha also tried to do, but the Buddha was not successful. So if a person has fourth jhāna, his mind is so strong, he crushes the consciousness until the consciousness stops. So because he's in that state where there is no consciousness, there is body. So because he practices this for long, when he dies, he's born in that fourth jhāna realm, just body but no consciousness. And then he's there for a long time. When the consciousness arises, he passes away from there, maybe to the third jhāna plane. Okay? Okay. 1.21 in terms of life ... What page? What page? 1.21. 1.2. Page 71. Huh? Page 71? Yes. In terms of life, life is good. In terms of the helping of those ... and all these answers, consider the ... life is good. For a monk working as a shaman, curing black magic and all that is wrong livelihood. But there are certain exceptions. For example, the Buddha does not allow a monk to work as a doctor. But if he can cure those other monks, or those helpers in the monastery, those supporters in the monastery, like stewards, who are very close supporters, helping Dayakas, supporting the monks, then he's allowed to help. But not simply any Tom, Dick, and Harry. Because if he tries to help some person who don't have so much faith, then something goes wrong. Then they put the blame on the monk. Just now I mentioned already, the monk is not allowed to work as a doctor, only to very close except to very close monks and novices and Vihara supporters. There are some monks I know in Thailand, they do all these things. They help people get rid of ghosts. They help to cure people and all this. And you find there's a long queue of people waiting for him. Wherever he goes, all these sick people will be running after him. So he cannot practice at all. So that's why the Buddha don't allow monks to do all these things. I want to ask you a question. Here in the U.S. does it seem that there is no new respect as it is? For example, as you've seen on many magazines, radio broadcasts, that some of the producers, like Fortune Teller, and Jackie Chan, they describe that this is such an art. For us Vietnamese, we found a way for those kind of medicine that doctors would cure for us. But like those pharmaceuticals, When the Buddha says these are base practices, he means from the point of view of a monk. If a person is on the spiritual path, he doesn't want to spend his time doing all these things and have no time for practice. For lay people, it's different. One point on this topic that I would like to tell you is that in some new towns, schools now tend to build up embassies of various groups with quite a few views. But you can see here that the most important one is actually from the U.S. cities. Half of the towns describe the groups as Page 90. Previous. This is in... Oh, 3.71. The details in all these... in the views, they explain this even by the preferred contact. To the 6th sense, it's not to understand and to use it as a variation and passing away of the 6th sense. It's just for context. There are chapters below and he knows from them, he knows that he's supposed to know all these things. Page 81, page 89, page 471. I was thinking that page 43 is one of the most important parts of the views, which are the 62 views being described in the Old Testament. There's something I can't explain about the other views. Sometimes it's like a way of telling people to pay attention, trying to understand what all the others are doing, instead of really finding out what is the Buddha's emphasis in this meditation. I think I mentioned already in the beginning that if you study all these views, it's not going to make you become enlightened. It's not going to make you a Sotapanna or Sakadagamin and all that. So it's not important. What is important, the Buddha always says, is to see there is no self. And the self is always, the Buddha says, in the body and the mind. We always take the body and the mind to be the self. So to see that there is no self, you have to see there is no self in the body and the mind. So the five aggregates is one of the very important topics. The other one is the six bases. Six bases, six sense bases. Actually, if you look carefully, the six sense bases also refers to the body and the mind. Also body and the mind, because the six base is the mind base. The first five are all the body base. So the other one is dependent origination. If you know how suffering arises, then only you can get rid of suffering. So these are the three most important topics, the five aggregates, the six sense bases, and dependent origination. And like these views, the Buddha says views are not important at all. Buddha has gone beyond views. So why you want to study so much about views? So we can end here. Okay, I'm afraid we can continue. So I want to talk a bit about meditation because some of you are going to spend three months here and maybe you want to know something more about meditation. The Buddha's meditation, is given in the In the Majjhima Nikaya, when Venerable Ananda was asked, what type of meditation is praised by the Buddha? What type of meditation is not praised by the Buddha? And Venerable Ananda gave a very straightforward answer. The meditation that is praised by the Buddha is the first jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna, fourth jhāna. And the meditation that is not praised by the Buddha is the type of meditation when you practice the meditation, you cannot get rid of the five hindrances. This is very clear in the Sutta. So the only way to get rid of the five hindrances is to attain the jhanas. This is quite clear from the Sutta. So any meditation that we practice has to, the aim should be to attain the jhanas. Because when you attain the jhanas, then your mind becomes what is called bhavana, developed. When your mind is developed, then you see from a higher level, you know and see from a higher level. So initially the Buddha taught the first method of meditation, the Buddha taught was the 32 parts of the body, which for most people is hard to practice because first you have to learn to memorize the 32 parts of the body, like head, hair, body, hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinew, bone, bone, marrow, kidney, heart, liver, midriff, spleen, lung, et cetera. So after that you go forward, you go backward, and you chant slowly. That is a contemplation exercise to make you see the body is made out of these 32 parts. If you chant slowly and you think about these 32 parts frequently, then it sticks in your mind. So when you see a person, you think of the 32 parts. Normally, for most people, when you see somebody, we see beautiful or ugly, it's all skin deep only. As they say, beauty is only skin deep. We never think about the inside. So because of that, we have attraction to the body, a lust. So it's one of the reasons we remain in samsara. I was thinking, why did the Buddha teach the 32 paths of the body as a first meditation when he himself never practiced it? So I think all Buddhas, when they want to teach, all Sammasambuddhas, they would have contemplated the path, what other Buddhas thought. And then they teach the same thing. So probably other Buddhas also taught this. So the Buddha taught this. But then this meditation, if you practice it frequently, then you become disgusted with the body. So some of the monks committed suicide. Then after that, the Buddha was asked to teach another meditation. Then the Buddha taught Anapanasati. These are the two main meditations that the Buddha taught in the suttas and in the Vinaya. There were some others which were already popular even before the Buddha's time, like the kasinas, meditating on earth, meditating on color, meditating on fire, meditating on water, and all these things. But the two main meditations of the Buddha are these two. So as a shortcut to practicing the first one, instead of reciting the 32 parts of the body, you can chant something simpler, like Namo Buddhaya. If you just chant Namo Buddhaya, after a while, your mind will start roaming. So what you need to do is put another rope around the mind, and that is to, when you chant Namo, You can move one of your right fingers, any one of your right fingers, very subtly, nobody will notice. And then when you say buddhaya, you move your left finger, any one of your left finger. Because you have to synchronize the namo with the finger movement and the buddhaya with the finger movement, the mind doesn't run away so fast. Similarly, when you walk meditation, when your right foot touches the ground, you say namo. When your left foot touches the ground, you say buddhaya. Whether you want to walk fast or you want to walk slow, it's up to you. If you are sleepy, you walk faster. And also sleepy, you walk slower. So that is a simple thing. Now the other thing you need to know is meditation. If you are practicing one method of meditation, you are not making progress, you can switch. Switch to another method. So anapanasati is to watch the breath. The breath go in, go out. Also the same, as you are watching your breath, very soon your mind will run away. So you have to pull another rope. The other rope is to mentally chant. When the breath goes in, you say in. When the breath goes out, you say out. That also is not enough. So another thing to do is Make a bit of effort to pull the breath down to the abdomen. Because if you make a bit of effort to pull the breath down to the abdomen, it helps to relax your body. When we are very relaxed, we breathe, the abdomen goes up and down. When somebody is asleep, you watch, like a baby is asleep, deep sleep, you find the abdomen goes up and down. When we are tense, we tend to breathe shallowly, only up to the chest. To help yourself to relax, purposely pull your breath slightly. down to your abdomen. So you notice the breath going down to your abdomen. This breath meditation is called contemplation of the body because the Buddha said the breath body, you're supposed to contemplate the breath body. But later books like the Visuddhimagga, they say to meditate at a point, at the tip of your nose or the or your upper lip. This is not what the Buddha said. The Buddha said to contemplate the breath body. So you can follow the breath if you want and notice it come to the abdomen and then go out to your nostril. And sometimes for most people, this is still not enough. Their mind will still wander. So what you can do is When you say in, when the breath goes in, and you say in, you move one of your right fingers, move one of your right fingers slightly. And then when it goes out, you don't need to move any finger. When it goes in, you move one of your fingers. The Buddha said in the suttas that mindfulness of the body leads to the deathlessness, mindfulness of the body. And this body can be breath body, can be the physical body. But one thing you must notice, you know, when our mind strays, the mind starts to think, as we say in Hokkien, going east, going west. Then you forgot about yourself sitting in meditation, you know. You forgot you are here sitting in meditation, you are roaming here and there. The moment you remember you are here sitting in meditation, the thinking is cut straight away. So it helps if you move your finger. If you move your finger when the breath goes in, you move your finger slightly, then you are aware of your body and the mind does not run away. So you can try that. Whenever you're sleepy or what, you find it hard to concentrate, then you move your fingers slightly. When the breath goes in, you say in, and also try to pull it down to the tan tien, your abdomen. And so on the in-breath, you move fingers slightly. On the out-breath, no need to move. So these are different ways to putting more rope and rope around the mind. to prevent it jumping away. The mind is like a monkey always trying to jump away. Any question? Louder please. This loving kindness meditation nowadays, people teach, is to chant, may I be well and happy, may so and so be well and happy, may everybody be well and happy. This is not the Buddha's method. In the Buddha's method, in the suttas, the Buddha says, first you attain the jhana. Then after that, you radiate the loving kindness out, and other beings can feel it. But that is difficult, because most people don't have the first jhana. So another way, a simpler way to do, but which is effective, and the Buddha says for us to practice, is that to practice loving kindness to the body, speech, and mind. to our body actions, to our speech, and always to have kind thoughts. So body actions means like you shake hands with people, you give people a hug. That is body action. Not raise a stick or what. So that is body action. The other one is verbal action. Verbal action to your speech, especially to your people who work in the office, sometimes people are very stressed out. So you have used kind words, people appreciate. Don't raise your voice. The Buddha said a good speech has a few characteristics. First it must be truthful, then it must be beneficial, then it must be spoken gently, and then it must be spoken with a mind of love. And what else? One more. It must be timely. When a person is angry, don't give him advice. He doesn't want to hear your advice. When he's not angry, then you can give him advice if you want. So, especially body action and verbal language, body language and verbal language, that is the way to show loving kindness. Then mind also. The mind is to consider that everyone in this world is suffering. Sometimes a person is not nice to you. You think maybe he's got problems in the house, family problems. So he's stressed out, come to office. So if you think kind thoughts like this, then people can sense it. For example, if somebody is nasty to you, you don't retaliate, you just accept it. Maybe my karma, previous life, I created bad karma, now people are like that towards me. So whatever people bad give to you, you just accept. After some time, they see you are very special, you are different, then they are nice to you. Okay? Okay? So let me end with this question of education. You always mention that in the school, subah, when we meditate, we have to look at the eye, look at the eye of the teacher. Okay, generally, we close our eyes because if you open your eyes, you're not going to get into a deep state of concentration. If you want to get into a deep state of concentration, you have to close your eyes. But for a lot of beginners, when you close your eyes, you fall asleep, especially people who do a lot of physical work. So in that case, you have to half open your eyes. half open and look about six or ten feet away on the ground. Okay, let's end here.

04-DN-02-Samannaphala-(2011-07-17)-Part-A.txt

The second day of the Vassa, 17th of July, 2011. And we come to the second night of the talks on the Digha Nikaya. Now we come to Sutta number two, Samanya Paala Sutta. Samanya means recluse or ascetic, renunciant. Paala means fruits. So the fruit of the renunciant life, you can say, the fruits of the homeless life. Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was staying at Rajagaha in Jivaka, Komarabacha's mango grove, together with a large company of some 1250 monks. And at that time, King Ajatasattu, the Dehiputta of Magadha, having gone up to the roof of his palace, was sitting there surrounded by his ministers. On the 15th day, fast day, the full moon of the fourth month called Kamudi and the King Ajatasattu on that fast day gave vent to this solemn utterance. Delightful friends is this moonlit night. Charming is this moonlit night. Auspicious is this moonlit night. This moonlight night. Can we not today visit some ascetic or Brahmin to whom to visit whom would bring peace to our heart. I stop here for a moment. This King Ajatasattu, he killed his father because he wanted to become a king. He could not wait. So after that, his mind was very troubled. Night after night, he could not sleep. So he thought it'd be good if he could visit some Vinansin and that might give him some peace of heart. Because he killed his father, his vipaka was that he was also killed by his son and that happened for a few generations. Then one minister said to King Ajatasattu, Sire, there is Purana Kasapa who has many followers, a teacher of many, who is well known, renowned, the founder of a sect, highly honoured by the multitude, of long standing, long since gone forth, aged and venerable. May Your Majesty visit this Purana Kasapa. He may well bring peace to Your Majesty's heart. At these words, King Ajatasattu was silent. Another minister said, Saya, there is Makali Gosala, who has many followers, etc. He may well bring peace to Your Majesty's heart. At these words, King Ajatasattu was silent. Another minister said, Saya, there is Ajita Kesa Kambali, etc, etc. In the same way, we praise Ajita, at these words, King Ajatasattu was silent. Another minister said, Saya, there is Pakuda Kacayana, etc., etc. At these words, King Ajatasattu was silent. Another minister said, Saya, there is Sanjaya Balata Putta, etc., etc. At these words, King Ajatasattu was silent. Another minister said, Saya, there is the Niganta, Nataputta, who has many followers, a teacher of many, who is well known, etc., etc., aged and venerable. May Your Majesty visit the Niganta Nataputta. He may well bring peace to Your Majesty's heart. At these words, King Ajatasattu was silent." Stop here for a moment. These are the various ascetic, these external ascetic leaders. who were very famous during the time of the Buddha. And they were famous before the Buddha was enlightened, before the Buddha was known. So they already had an established reputation. But the king was not interested in them. All this time, Jivaka Kumarbaccha was sitting silently near King Ajatasattu. The king said to him, you friend Jivaka, why are you silent? And he said, Sire, there is this blessed Lord, Arahant, Sammasambuddha, staying in my mango grove with a large company of some 1250 monks. And concerning the blessed Gautama, this fair report has been spread about. This blessed Lord is an Arahant, a fully enlightened Buddha, Sammasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct. The well-farer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. May Your Majesty visit the Blessed Lord. He may well bring peace to Your Majesty's heart." And the king said, then Jivaka, have the riding elephants made ready. Very good, sire, said Jivaka. And he had 500 she-elephants made ready, and for the king, the royal tusker. Stop here for a moment. This Jivaka Kumara Bachcha is the personal physician of the king. In the Vinaya books, there is the real story how he became the king's physician. Then he reported, Sire, the riding elephants are ready. Now is the time to do as your majesty wishes. And King Ajatasattu, having placed his wives each on one of the 500 she-elephants, mounted the royal tusker and proceeded in royal state, accompanied by torchbearers from Rajagaha towards Jivaka's mango grove." Stop here for a while. You see this, here the king is going out and 500 of his wives, Following him, this reminds us of the Deva. Deva in heaven, they supposed to have at least 500 wives each. So this king, his karma is quite good. And when King Ajatasattu came near the mango grove, he felt fear and terror, and his hair stood on end. And feeling this fear and the rising of the hairs, the king said to Jivaka, Friend Jivaka, you are not deceiving me. You are not tricking me. You are not delivering me up to an enemy. How is it that from this great number of 1250 monks, not a sneeze, a cough, or a shout is to be heard? Stop here for a moment. So this king, because he heard Jivaka say there are 1250 monks staying there, but when he came, he found we were so silent and he became very suspicious. He thought this is a trap to kill him. Have no fear, Your Majesty. I will not deceive you or trick you or deliver you up to an enemy. Approach, sire. Approach. There are the lights burning in the round pavilion. So King Ajatasattu, having ridden on his elephant as far as the ground would permit, alighted and continued on foot to the door of the round pavilion. Then he said, Divaka, where is the Lord? And Jivaka said, that is the Lord Sire, that is the Lord sitting against the middle column with his order of monks in front of him. Then King Ajatasattu went up to the Lord and stood to one side. And standing there to one side, the king observed how the order of monks continued in silence like a clear lake. And he exclaimed, if only Prince Udayabhadra were possessed of such calm as this order of monks. And the Buddha said, do your thoughts go to the one you love, Your Majesty? And he said, Lord, Prince Udayabhadra is very dear to me. If only he were possessed of the same calm as this order of monks. Stop here for a moment. So the king was surprised that so many monks and they were so quiet. And suddenly he thought of his son. His son must have been very noisy and restless. And he thought it would be very good if his son were like this Sangha of monks. Then King Ajatasattu, having bowed down to the Lord and saluted the order of monks with joined hands, sat down to one side and said, Lord, I would ask something if the Lord would deign to answer me. Ask, Your Majesty, anything you like. Stop here for a moment. You see, so here, you see the king bows down to the Buddha, and he shows respect to the other monks by joint hands. So, in India, there is great respect for renunciants, so that's why the king bows down. And also, nowadays, in Buddhist countries like Thailand, even the king also bows down to the monks. And he said, Lord, just as there are these various craftsmen such as elephant drivers, horse drivers, chariot fighters, archers, standard bearers, adjutants, army caterers, champions and senior officers, scouts, heroes, brave fighters, Quiresias, slaves, sons, cooks, barbers, bathmen, bakers, garland makers, bleachers, weavers, basket makers, potters, calculators and accountants, and whatever other skills there are, they enjoy here and now the visible fruits of their skills. They themselves are delighted and pleased with this, as are their parents. children and colleagues and friends. They maintain and support ascetics and Brahmins, thus assuring for themselves a heavenly happy reward tending towards paradise. Can you, Lord, point out to such a reward visible here and now as a fruit of the homeless life?" Stop here for a moment. So this king is like many lay persons, ignorant lay persons. They think, why must a person become a monk? So the life of a monk is so hard, so much suffering. I have to live in the forest, beg for the food. I have not even a cent in the pocket and all these things. And so he wants to know what is the reason for becoming a renunciant, a homeless one. And the Buddha said, Your Majesty, do you admit that you have put this question to other ascetics and Brahmins? I admit it, Lord. Would Your Majesty mind saying how they replied? I do not mind telling the Lord or one like him. Well then, Your Majesty, tell me. Once, Lord, I went to see Purana Kasapa. Having exchanged courtesies, I sat down to one side and said, Good Kasapa, just as there are various craftsmen, etc., they enjoy here and now the visible fruits of their skills, etc., can you, Kasapa, point to such a reward visible here and now as a fruit of the homeless life? At this, Lord, Purana Kasapa said, Your Majesty, by the doer or instigator of a thing, by one who cuts or causes to be cut, by one who burns or causes to be burned, by one who causes grief and weariness, by one who agitates or causes agitation, who causes life to be taken, or that which is not given to be taken, commits burglary, carries off booty, commits robbery, lies in ambush, commits adultery and tells lies. No evil is done. If, with a razor-sharp will, one were to make of this earth one single mass and a heap of flesh, there would be no evil as a result of that. No evil would accrue. If one were to go along the south bank of the Ganges, killing, slaying, cutting or causing to be cut, burning or causing to be burned, there would be no evil as a result of that. No evil would accrue. or if one were to go along the north bank of the Ganges, giving and causing to be given, sacrificing and causing to be sacrificed, there would be no merit as a result of that. No merit would accrue in giving self-control, abstinence and telling the truth. There is no merit and no merit accrues. Thus, Lord, Puranakasapa, on being asked about the present fruits of the homeless life, explained non-action to me. Just as if on being asked about a mango, he were to describe a breadfruit tree, or on being asked about a breadfruit tree, he were to describe a mango. So Puranakasapa, on being asked about the present fruits of the homeless life, explained non-action to me. And Lord, I thought, how should one like me think despitefully of any ascetic or Brahmin dwelling in my territory. So I neither applauded nor rejected Purana Kasapa's words. But though displeased, not expressing my displeasure, saying nothing, rejecting and scorning speech, I got up and left. Stop here for a moment. So here you see this Puranakasapa, when you ask him a question, he does not answer your question. Instead, he's trying to explain his doctrine, his belief, his view. And his view is that if you kill all the people in this whole world, there's no evil. And if you do good deeds also, there's no merit. This is a very dangerous talk. He is saying there is no kamavipaka. So you can do all the evil you like, there is no result of that evil. And there is no use in doing good also, he is saying. So if his followers believe that, then they will not do any good and they will do a lot of evil. So this king, felt displeasure. In fact, he feels like despising this Purana Kasapa, but he thought he should not despise him. So without saying anything, he left. Once I visited Makali Gosala and asked him the same question. Makkali Gosala said, Your Majesty, there is no cause or condition for the defilement of beings. They are defiled without cause or condition. There is no cause or condition for the purification of beings. They are purified without cause or condition. There is no self power or other power. There is no power in humans, no strength or force, no vigor or exertion. All beings, all living things, all creatures, all that lives is without control, without power or strength. they experience the fixed cause of pleasure and pain through the six kinds of rebirth. There are 1,400,000 principal sorts of birth, and 6,000 others, and again 600. There are 500 kinds of karma, or five kinds, and three kinds, and half karma, 62 paths, 62 intermediary aeons, six classes of humankind, eight stages of human progress, 4,900 occupations, 4,900 wanderers, 4,900 abodes of Nagas, 2,000 sentient existences, 3,000 hells, 36 places of dust, seven classes of rebirth as conscious beings, seven as unconscious beings, and seven as beings freed from bonds, seven grades of devas, men, goblins, seven lakes, seven great and seven small protuberances, seven great and seven small abysses, seven great and seven small dreams, 8,400,000 aeons, during which fools and wise men fools and wise run on and circle round till they make an end of suffering. Therefore, there is no such thing as saying, by this discipline or practice or austerity or holy life, I will bring my unripened karma to fruition, or I will gradually make this ripened karma go away. Neither of these things is possible, because pleasure and pain have been measured out with a measure, limited by the round of birth and death. and there is neither increase nor decrease, neither excellence nor inferiority. This has a ball of string when thrown runs till it is all unraveled. So fools and wise run on and circle round till they make an end of suffering. Thus, Makkali goes along being asked about the fruits of the homeless life. Explain the purification of the round and the round of birth and death to me. So I neither applauded nor rejected Makkhali Gosala's words, but got up and left." Stop here for a moment. So here this Makkhali Gosala is saying, everything is destined and there's no use of effort. In the Sutta, one of the Suttas, the Buddha scolded this Makkhali Gosala and called him a fool. Because the Buddha said that He is leading people into the woeful planes of rebirth. Once I visited Ajita Kesar Kambali and asked him the same question. Ajita Kesar Kambali said, Your Majesty, there is nothing given, bestowed, offered in sacrifice. There is no fruit or result. of good or bad deeds. There is not this world or the next. There is no mother or father. There are no spontaneously arisen beings. There are in the world no ascetics or Brahmins who have attained, who have perfected who have perfectly practiced, who proclaim this world and the next, having realized them by their own super knowledge. This human being is composed of the four great elements. And when one dies, the earth part reverts to earth, the water part to water, the fire part to fire, the air part to air, and the faculties pass away into space. They accompany the dead man with four bearers and the buyer as fifth. Their footsteps are heard as far as the cremation ground. There the bones whiten. Their sacrifice ends in ashes. It is the idea of a fool to give this gift. The talk of those who preach a doctrine of survival is vain and false. Fools and wise, at the breaking up of the body, are destroyed and perish. They do not exist after death. Thus Ajita Kesar Kambali, on being asked about the fruits of the homeless life, explained the doctrine of annihilation to me, and I got up and left." Stop here for a moment. So here you find this Ajita Kesar Kambali, he has wrong view and does not believe in kamma, does not believe there are other planes of rebirth, does not believe that there are holy men, And he says when beings die, there is nothing left. Everything is destroyed. No more existence. So he's an annihilationist. So he's another famous teacher, when being asked a question, he talks about something else. Once I visited Pakuda Kacayana and asked him the same question. Pakuda Kacayana said, Your Majesty, these seven things are not made or of a kind to be made. uncreated, unproductive, barren, false, stable as a column. They do not shake, do not change, obstruct one another, nor are they able to cause one another pleasure, pain, or both. What are the seven? The earth body, the water body, the fire body, the air body, pleasure and pain, and the life principle. These seven are not made, etc. Thus there is neither slain nor slayer, neither hearer nor proclaimer, neither knower nor causer of knowing. And whoever cuts off a man's head with a sharp sword does not deprive anyone of life. He just inserts the blade in the intervening space between these seven bodies. Thus, Lord, Pakuda Kacayana on being asked about the fruits of the homeless life answered with something quite different, etc. I got up and left." Sorry for a moment. So here is another foolish teacher saying about seven things that he thinks exist. Also says there is no kamavipaka. I visited Niganthanathaputta and asked him the same question. The Niganthanathaputta said, Your Majesty, here Nigantha is bound by a fourfold restraint. What four? He is curbed by all curbs. enclosed by all curbs, cleared by all curbs, and claimed by all curbs. And as far as the Nigantha is bound by this fourfold restraint. Thus the Nigantha is called self-perfected, self-controlled, self-established. Thus Lord, the Nigantha Nataputta, on being asked about the fruits of the homeless life, explained the fourfold restraint to me, etc. I got up and left. I'll stop here for a moment. This Nikanta Nataputta, this was another famous teacher, but he's one of the few that his followers exist right up to now. They are also called the Jains. And he's one of three types of ascetics in India at the time of the Buddha who are naked ascetics. And they are very strict vegetarians, these Negantas. They are vegans. And not only vegans, even I think up to today, they will not take, for example, green vegetables. They say green vegetables have life. So they will only take yellow vegetables, which they say have no more life. Because I know a doctor who told me when he was young, he worked in India and he went to attend to one rich lady and found that she was suffering from malnutrition. And then realized that because they were Nigantas, they were not eating any meat, not taking any milk, etc. Once I visited Sanjaya Balathaputta and asked him the same question. Sanjaya Balathaputta said, if you ask me, is there another world? If I thought so, I would say so, but I don't think so. I don't say it is so, and I don't say otherwise. I don't say it is not, and I do not say it is not. If you ask, isn't there another world? of both or neither? Is that fruit or result of good and bad deeds? Isn't there both, neither? Does the Tathagata exist after death? Does he not, both, neither? I do not say it is not. Thus, Lord, Sanjaya Balataputra, in being asked about the fruits of the homeless life, replied by evasion, Just as if on being asked about a mango, he were to describe a breadfruit, etc. And I thought, of all these ascetics and Brahmins, Sanjaya Balataputta is the most stupid and confused. So I neither applauded nor rejected his words, but got up and left." Stop here for a moment. So this Sanjaya is one of those, last night we heard about eel wrigglers. He's an irregular. He doesn't say this, he doesn't say that. And he says he doesn't say that he doesn't say also. And so, Lord, I now ask the blessed one, just as there are these various craftsmen, et cetera, who enjoy here and now the visible fruits of their skills, assuring for themselves a heavenly happy reward, et cetera. Can you, Lord, point to such a reward visible here and now as a fruit of the homeless life? I can, Your Majesty. I will ask a few questions in return, and you, Sire, shall answer as you see fit. What do you think, Sire? Suppose there were a man, a slave, a labourer, getting up before you and going to bed after you, willingly doing whatever has to be done, well-mannered, pleasant spoken, working in your presence. And he might think, it is strange, it is wonderful, the destiny and fruits of meritorious deeds. This King Ajatasattu of the Dehi Putta of Magadha is a man, and I too am a man. The king is addicted to and indulges in the five four sense pleasures, just like a god. Whereas I am a slave, etc., working in his presence, I ought to do something meritorious. Suppose I were to shave off my hair and beard, don yellow robes and go forth from the household life into homelessness. And before long he does so. And he, having thus gone forth, might dwell with strain in body, speech and thought. satisfied with a minimum of food and clothing, content in solitude. And then if people were to announce to you, Sire, you remember that slave who worked in your presence and who shaved off his hair and beard and went forth into homelessness. He is living restrained in body, speech and thought, etc. in solitude. Would you then say, that man must come back and be a slave and work for me as before? And the king said, No indeed, Lord, for we should pay homage to him. We should rise and invite him and press him to receive from us robes, food, lodging, medicines for sickness and requisites, and make arrangements for his proper protection. What do you think, sire? Is that one fruit of the homeless life visible here and now? Certainly, Lord. Then that, sire, is the first such fruit of the homeless life. But Lord, can you show any other reward visible here and now as a fruit of the homeless life? I can, Sire. I will just ask a few questions in return, and you, Sire, shall answer as you see fit. What do you think, Sire, suppose there were a man, a farmer, a householder in your service, the steward of an estate? He might think, it is strange, it is wonderful, the destiny and fruits of meritorious deeds. This King Ajatasattu is a man, and I too am a man. The king is addicted to and indulges in the five wholesome pleasures, just like a god, whereas I am a farmer, the steward of an estate. I ought to do something meritorious. Suppose I were to go forth from the household life into homelessness, and before long he does so, and he having thus gone forth, might dwell in solitude, etc. And if people were to tell you this, would you then say, that man must come back and be a steward as before? No, indeed, Lord. For we should pay homage to Him. We should rise and invite Him and press Him to receive from us robes, food, lodging, medicines for sickness and requisites, and make arrangements for His proper protection. What do you think, Sire? Is that one fruit of the homeless life, visible here and now? Certainly, Lord. Then that, Sire, is the second such fruit of the homeless life. Let's stop here for a moment. So here you see the Buddha is asking the king, suppose you have a slave or a farmer working for you, and then suddenly one day he decides to become a renunciant, would you call him back to work for you? The king said no. is really practicing as a renunciant, restrained in body, speech, and thought, then the king said we would press him to receive requisites from us and protect him properly and even pay respect to him. So you see, Buddha very quickly shows to the king, this is a simple fruit of the homeless life. Once a person becomes a monk, even he's as low as a slave, but when he becomes a monk, even the king also pays homage to him. So it's so obvious that it's such a great benefit of becoming a renunciant. But Lord, can you show me any other reward visible here and now as a fruit of the homeless life that is more excellent and perfect than these? I can, Sire. Please listen, Your Majesty. Pay proper attention and I will speak. Yes, Lord, said King Ajatasattu, and the Lord went on. Your Majesty, it happens that a Tathagata rises in the world, an Arahant, Samasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, Welfarer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. He, having realized it by his own super knowledge, proclaims this world with his devas, maras and brahmas, its princes and people. He preaches the Dhamma, which is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending. in the spirit and in the letter, and displays a fully perfected and purified holy life. This Dhamma is heard by a householder or a householder's son, or one reborn in some family or other. Having heard this Dhamma, he gains faith in the Tathagata. Having gained this faith, he reflects, the household life is closed and dusty. The homeless life is free as air. It's not easy living the household life. to live the fully perfected holy life, purified and polished like a conch shell. Suppose I were to shave off my hair and beard, don yellow robes and go forth from the household life into homelessness. And after some time, he abandons his property, small or great, leaves his circle of relatives, small or great, shaves off his hair and beard, dons yellow robes and goes forth into the homeless life." Stop here for a moment. So here you see the Buddha says that when an arahant, some Buddha, arises in the world, then he having realized with his own super knowledge the state of the world, he proclaims this world with his Devas, Maharas, and Brahmas, etc. In other words, he teaches the reality about the world because People who are not enlightened, we only understand the world through our six senses. What we see, what we hear, smell, taste, touch and think. So our understanding is limited by our six senses. Whereas an enlightened person, he has transcended the six senses. And using the inner eye of wisdom as well as the heavenly eye, like the Buddha, his third eye or heavenly eye is open and he can see beings that normally we cannot see. So he can see heaven and hell, etc. So he explains all this to us that otherwise we would be ignorant of. And then because he teaches the Dhamma, you see, the Dhamma is heard by a householder or a householder's son. And then having heard the Dhamma, he gains faith in the Tathagata and then he goes forth. So you see, for a person to understand the Dhamma, he must listen to the Dhamma. If Buddha Sammasambuddha did not arise in the world, and there is no real Dhamma, then however much we meditate, however much we think about it, we can never attain the Aryan fruition. the real fruits of the holy life. So it is by listening to the Dhamma that we gain faith and then we decide to practice the holy life. So here you see this person, this lay person, having heard the Dhamma, he thinks as a lay person it's very difficult to practice the holy life. As a lay person, he says, The family life is closed and dusty, whereas the renunciation life is, how does it say here? Homeless life is free as air. So in other words, to practice the holy life only as a renunciation, it is more convenient, you have more freedom, free as air, freedom to practice the holy life. That's why people go forth. But unless you make some progress as a layperson, there's no point in going forth. If a person is not ready to go forth, you go forth too early, then you will never succeed. Only as a layperson, you have practiced enough, advanced enough, then you find that you are restricted in time, you are restricted in many ways. So if you really want to practice, then only you renounce. So a person who renounces, abandons his property, leaves his circle of relatives, small or great, and goes forth. A lot of people, they think they want to renounce, but they don't really understand what it means to renounce. So if a person doesn't really understand what it means to renounce, he should not renounce. You have to be very, very sure of yourself. Because when a person renounces, then he has to abandon his property, he has to leave his family, friends and relatives, etc. If you are not ready to do that, then you are not ready to renounce.

05-DN-02-Samannaphala-(2011-07-17)-Part-B.txt

And having gone forth, he dwells restrained by the restraint of the rules, persisting in right behaviour, seeing danger in the slightest force, observing the commitments he has taken on regarding body, deed and word, devoted to the skilled and purified life, perfected in morality with the sense doors guarded, and skilled in mindful awareness and content. And how Saya is among perfected in morality, abandoning the taking of life, he dwells refraining from taking life without stick or sword, scrupulous, compassionate. trembling for the welfare of all living beings. Thus he is accomplished in morality, abandoning the taking of what is given, abandoning anxiety, etc., and so on, through the three sections on morality as in Sutta 1, verses 1.8 to 1.27. A monk refrains from such base arts and wrong means of livelihood. Thus he is perfected in morality." Stop here for a moment. So here, he's going through all the different types of sila that is practiced when a person renounces. Last night we just heard basically the seven precepts, then went on to the ten precepts, then went on to not practicing the shaman practices, not making predictions, and all the different types of wrong livelihood for renunciation. It does not do all that. And then Sayadaw, that monk who is perfected in morality, sees no danger from any side, owing to his being restrained by morality. Just as the duly anointed Katya King, having conquered his enemies, by that very fact, sees no danger from any side. So the monk, on account of his morality, sees no danger anywhere. He experiences in himself the blameless bliss that comes from maintaining this Arin morality. In this way, Sire, he is perfected in morality. Stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is saying that if a monk keeps his sila, his moral conduct, purely, then he is blameless, totally blameless. He does not see any danger, nobody can fault him. So this is the first thing that a person having gone forth has to practice. There are some people who come into the homeless life, they wear the robe, but they don't follow a teacher. So if they don't follow a teacher, or at least study the Suttas and the Vinaya, then they don't know what is the sila they are expected to practice. And a lot of them misconduct themselves, so they get blamed. And so many people can blame them, but if a person, his moral conduct is perfect, then there's no danger, nobody can fault him. And how, sire, is he a guardian of the sense doors? Here a monk, on seeing a visible object with the eye, does not grasp at its major signs or secondary characteristics, because greed and sorrow, evil unskilled states, would overwhelm him if he dwelt leaving his eye-faculty unguarded. So he practices guarding it. He protects the eye-faculty, develops restraint of the eye-faculty. Similarly, on hearing a sound with the ear, smelling an odor with the nose, tasting a flavor with the tongue, feeling an object with the body, or thinking a thought with the mind. He does not grasp at its major science or secondary characteristics. He develops restraint of the mind faculty. He experienced within himself the blameless bliss that comes from maintaining this Aryan guarding of the faculties. In this way, sire, a monk is a guardian of the sense doors. Stop here for a moment. So there's a second thing a monk has to practice to guard the sense doors. not to pay attention too much to the six sense, external sense objects of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thoughts. Because the Buddha says this is Mara's ground, Satan's ground. Satan or Mara is trying to catch us with the bait, bait of beautiful sights, nice sounds, fragrant odors, good taste, nice touch and nice things to think about, nice thoughts. So if we start enjoying these things, then we get craving will arise and we get caught by mara. So because of that, the Buddha says that we should practice restraint. Here you see here, because greed and sorrow, evil, unskilled states would overwhelm him if he If he dwelt, leaving the faculties unguarded." So if a monk does not guard his sense faculties, either he becomes greedy for seeing, hearing, etc. Or if he cannot satisfy what he wants to see and hear and smell and taste, etc., then sorrow would arise. and various kinds of evil unskilled states like jealousy, selfishness, etc. And then we come to the third one. And how saya is a monk accomplished in mindfulness and clear awareness. Here a monk acts with clear awareness in going forth and back, in looking ahead or behind him, in bending and stretching, in wearing his outer and inner robe, and carrying his bowl, in eating, drinking, chewing and swallowing, in evacuating and urinating, in walking, standing, sitting, lying down, in waking, in speaking and in keeping silent. He acts with clear awareness. In this way, a monk is accomplished in mindfulness and clear awareness." Stop here for a moment. This mindfulness and clear awareness here is, you notice, whatever he does, he's mindful. And this is not yet meditation, you know. This is just basic mindfulness. We haven't come to the meditation part yet. A lot of people, they think this is meditation. Actually, for a lot of people, I notice that they come to this monastery. Being a forest monastery, sometimes you hear the nice sounds of birds or some animal cries and all that. Sometimes I ask people, have you heard this? And usually they say no. That shows their mind is somewhere else. We are so used to using our mind, thinking about this, thinking of that, that when you come here, your mind is still running all over the place, and this kind of sounds you don't hear. But when a person, when a monk stays in the forest long enough, and then he begins to notice all these things. Why? Partly because his mind doesn't go out. He stays in a quiet, secluded place. He doesn't think about seeing what the latest film shows in town, or Astro, or emails and all that. So the mind calms down naturally. That's why it's very conducive if a person wants to practice the holy life, to stay in a quiet, secluded place. And how is a monk contented? Here a monk is satisfied with a robe to protect his body, with arms to satisfy his stomach, and having accepted sufficient, he goes on his way. Just as a bird with wings flies hither and thither, burdened by nothing but its wings, so he is satisfied. In this way, sire, a monk is contented. Sorry for a moment. So here, a monk practices contentment, doesn't want more than the necessities for living. Then he, equipped with this Aryan morality, with this Aryan restraint of the senses, with this Aryan contentment, finds a solitary lodging at the root of a forest tree, in a mountain cave or gorge, a charnel ground, a jungle thicket, or in the open air. on a heap of straw." Stop here for a moment. So this is the fifth thing he practices, which is seclusion, solitary lodging. Then, having eaten after his return from the alms round, he sits down cross-legged, holding his body erect, and concentrates on keeping mindfulness established before him. Abandoning worldly desires, he dwells with the mind freed from worldly desires, and his mind is purified of them. Abandoning ill-will and hatred, and by compassionate love for the welfare of all living beings, his mind is purified of ill-will and hatred. Abandoning sloth and torpor, perceiving light, mindful and clearly aware, his mind is purified of sloth and torpor. Abandoning worry and flurry, and with an inwardly calm mind, his heart is purified of worry and flurry. Abandoning doubt, he dwells with doubt left behind, without uncertainty as to what things are wholesome. His mind is purified of doubt. Just as a man who had taken a loan to develop his business, and whose business had prospered, might pay off his old debts, and with what was left over could support a wife, might think, before this I developed my business by borrowing, but now it has prospered, etc., and he would rejoice and be glad about that. Just as a man who was ill, suffering, terribly sick, with no appetite and weak in body, might after a time recover and regain his appetite and bodily strength. And he might think, before this I was ill, etc. And he would rejoice and be glad about that. Just as a man might be bound in prison, and after a time he might be freed from his bonds without any loss, with no deduction from his possessions. He might think, before this, I was in prison, etc. And he would rejoice and be glad about that. Just as a man might be a slave, not his own master, dependent on another, unable to go where he liked. And after some time, he might be freed from slavery, able to go where he liked. might think, before this I was a slave, etc., and he would rejoice and be glad about that. Just as a man laden with goods and wealth might go on a long journey through the desert where food was scarce and danger abounded, and after a time he would get through the desert and arrive safe and sound at the edge of a village, might think, before this I was in danger, now I am safe at the edge of a village, and he would rejoice and be glad about that. As long as a monk does not perceive the disappearance of the five hindrances in himself, he feels as if in death, in sickness, in bonds, in slavery, on the desert journey. But when he perceives the disappearance of the five hindrances in himself, it is as if he were freed from death, from sickness, from bonds, from slavery, from the perils of the desert. Okay, we stop here for a moment. So here is the meditation part. So here the Buddha says, a monk wants to practice meditation, he goes to a secluded place, an aranya, and he sits down, cross-legged, and concentrates on keeping mindfulness established before him. This is satipatthana. For example, mindfulness of the breath. And then he keeps meditating and slowly the five hindrances are abandoned. So you look at all these similes given by the Buddha, it is meant to convey that this abandonment of the hindrances are quite permanent, not like some People say that you only abandon the five hindrances when you are in jhāna. But when you come out of jhāna, the hindrances come back. This is not true. One thing you must know, the five hindrances are things that obsess your mind. They are so strong. They are called five hindrances because they hinder you from thinking straight, from thinking clearly, so that you don't have the higher wisdom. So because they are strong, they are called hindrances. So when the hindrances are abandoned, it does not mean that they disappear entirely. There is still some of it left, but they are not strong. And because they are not strong, they are not strong enough to obsess your mind, they are not called hindrances. The difference, for example, with an arahant is that the roots have been plucked out. For an arahant, the roots have been plucked out. So even the little amount of hindrance is not there. But for a person who has not yet become an arahant, the roots of these five hindrances are still there. But because they are like lalang, when lalang is the grass, the grass is tall, then they obstruct us from walking properly. But when you cut it down, for example, to one inch or two inch, they don't obstruct you anymore, even though they are there, but they are very little. So in the same way, these five hindrances, when a person against the jhanas, they are cut away. That's why you see in this paragraph 74, it says, as long as a monk does not perceive the disappearance of the five hindrances in himself, so these five hindrances disappear. That means there are no more hindrances. Also you notice in paragraph 68, when a person just about to enter the first jhāna, he is in that state, what later books call the threshold concentration or excess concentration. Upacara Samadhi, that's the term that was coined later. You find when a person attains that state, you see their perceiving light, mindful and clearly aware. So, he experiences light and this light wells up from within his body from within his heart because the light wells up from within. So some people say the heart is in the chest. The heart is in the chest. But really the heart or the mind is everywhere. The whole world is the mind. So now we come to paragraph 75. And when he knows that these five hindrances have left him, gladness arises in him. From gladness comes delight. From the light in his mind, his body is tranquilized. And with a tranquil body, he feels joy. And with joy, his mind is concentrated. Delight is piti, and joy is sukha. Being thus detached from sense desires, detached from unwholesome states, he enters and remains in the first jhana, which is with Here is his thinking and pondering, but I think a better translation, which is, with thought directed and thought sustained, born of detachment, filled with delight and joy. And with this delight and joy born of detachment, he so suffuses, drenches, fills and irradiates his body that there is no spot in his entire body that is untouched by this delight and joy born of detachment. just as a skilled barman or his assistant. kneading the soap powder, which he has sprinkled with water, forms from it, in a metal dish, a soft lump, so that the ball of soap powder becomes one oleagenous mass, bound with oil, so that nothing escapes. So this monk suffuses, drenches, fills and irradiates his body, so that no spot remains untouched. This sire is a fruit of the homeless life, visible here and now, that is more excellent and perfect than the former ones. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, if you notice, the Buddha describes the first jhāna. And also the Buddha is telling us how to practice this first jhāna. When this state of first jhāna arises, the Buddha says, to make the piti and sukha fill the whole body. so that there's no part of the body that does not experience this piti and sukha. So you find in the Sutta there's a lot of practical instructions given by the Buddha. There's no need to look for other teachers. The Buddha has said, later we find in Sutta Digha Nikaya, Sutta 29, the Buddha says his teachings are utterly pure, perfect and complete. And if you think you want to add to his words, you don't understand the Dhamma. If you think you want to subtract from his words also, you don't understand the Dhamma. So a lot of people, because you don't understand the Buddha's Dhamma, you go around looking here and there for a famous teacher. You don't need to do that. The Buddha says all his Dhamma in the suttas is complete and perfect. No need to add to his words. Again, a monk with the subsiding of thinking and pondering, or thought directed and sustained, by gaining inner tranquility and oneness of mind, enters and remains in the second jhāna, which is without thinking and pondering. born of concentration, filled with delight and joy. And with this delight and joy, born of concentration, he so suffuses his body that no spot remains untouched, just as a lake fed by a spring with no inflow from east, west, north or south, where the rain god sends moderate showers from time to time. The water welling up from below, mingling with cool water, would suffuse, fill and irradiate that cool water, so that no part of the pool was untouched by it. So with this delight and joy, born of concentration, he so suffuses his body that no spot remains untouched. This saya is a fruit more excellent and perfect than the former ones. Again, a monk with a fading away of delight remains imperturbable, mindful and clearly aware, and experiences in himself that joy of which the Noble once said, Happy is he who dwells with equanimity and mindfulness, and he enters and remains in the Third Jhana. And with this joy devoid of delight, He so suffuses His body that no spot remains untouched. It is as if in a pond of blue, red or white lotuses, in which the flowers born in the water, grown in the water, not growing out of the water. are fed from the water's depths. Those blue, red or white lotuses would be suffused, etc. with the cool waters. So with this joy devoid of delight, the monk so suffuses his body that no spot remains untouched. This is a fruit of the homeless life, more excellent and perfect than the former ones. Again, a monk having given up pleasure and pain, and with the disappearance of former gladness and sadness, enters and remains in the fourth jhāna, which is beyond pleasure and pain. and purified by equanimity and mindfulness. Or you can also say with utter purity of equanimity and mindfulness. And he sits suffusing his body with that mental purity and clarification, so that no part of his body is untouched by it. Just as if a man were to sit wrapped from head to foot in a white garment, so that no part of him was untouched by that garment. So his body is suffused. This is a fruit of the homeless life, more excellent and perfect than the former ones." Let's stop here for a moment. So up to here, up to here, the Buddha is describing the Carana. Carana is the practice of the holy life. Sometimes it's usually translated as conduct. conduct of the holy life. And here you notice how many items are given. Six plus four. Seven items are given. The first one is sila. And then the second one is guarding the sense doors. Third is mindfulness and clear awareness, sati sampajñānya. Fourth is contentment. Fifth is seclusion or solitary lodging. Sixth is abandoning the five hindrances. And then seven is the four jhanas. So there are seven items. So you find people like Lady Saido in his book, he describes sarana as seven items. But if you look to other nikayas, including the Majjhima, and Sangyutta, and Gutra, you find there are three more items. which a lot of learned monks have missed out on. One is moderation in eating, Pujane Matani Utta. The second one is devotion to wakefulness, which is Jagariya New Yoga. And the third is seven good qualities, Satta Saddhamma, Saddhahiri Uttapa Bahu Satya Viriya Sati Bhanya. So the complete Charana practice or conduct of the holy life is actually 10 items. Here is 7 items. Missing is moderation in eating, devotion to wakefulness and 7 good qualities. Now we come to the second part which is Vijja. The Sammasambuddha is supposed to be perfectly endowed with conduct and knowledge and conduct. So just now we heard was conduct, now we come to knowledge, vijja. And so with mind concentrated, purified and cleansed, unblemished, free from impurities, malleable, workable, established, and having gained imperturbability, he dwells, he directs and inclines his mind towards knowing and seeing, and he knows This my body is material, made up from the four great elements, born of mother and father, fed on rice and gruel, impermanent, liable to be injured and abraded, broken and destroyed. And this is my consciousness, which is bound to it and dependent on it. It is just as if there were a gem, a barrel, pure, excellent, well cut into eight facets, clear, bright, unflawed, perfect in every respect. strung on a blue, yellow, red, white, or orange cord. A man with good eyesight taking it in his hand and inspecting it. would describe it as such. In the same way, Sire, a monk with mind concentrated, purified and cleansed, etc., directs his mind towards knowing and seeing, and he knows, this my body is material, made up of the four great elements, etc., and this is my consciousness, which is bound to it and dependent on it. This is the fruit of the homeless life, more excellent and perfect than the former ones. We'll stop here for a moment. So this is the first knowledge that this monk, after attaining the four jhanas, his mind being very concentrated, purified, cleansed, malleable and wealthy, he directs it to this part. It's called vipassana jnana, contemplation knowledge. So you see here, vipassana means contemplation. It's not insight. Vipassana jnana means Contemplation knowledge, he contemplates, he realizes this body, this self, has a material part and consciousness. And he with mind concentrated, etc., having gained imperturbability, applies and directs his mind to the production of a mind-made body. And out of this body he produces another body, having a form, mind made, complete in all its limbs and faculties. Just as if a man were to draw out a reed from its sheath. He might think, this is the reed, this is the sheath. Reed and sheath are different. Now the reed has been pulled from the sheath. Or as if a man were to draw a sword from the scabbard, he might think, this is the sword, this is the scabbard. Sword and scabbard are different. Now the sword has been drawn from the scabbard. Or as if a man were to draw a snake from its old skin, he might think, this is the snake, this is the skin. Snake and skin are different. Now the snake has been drawn from its skin. In the same way, a monk with mind concentrated, etc., directs his mind to the production of a mind-made body. He draws that body out of this body, having form, mind-made, complete with all its limbs and faculties. This is the fruit of the homeless life, more excellent and perfect than the former ones." Stop here for a moment. This is the second knowledge he acquires. Because of having attained the fourth jhāna, he's able to draw from the top of his head another body. Sometimes in the suttas, it's described as a golden body. It looks exactly like the physical body. This is called Mano Maya Idi, mind created body. It's a type of psychic power. Now we come to the third. And he with mind concentrated, et cetera, applies and directs his mind to the various supernormal powers. He then enjoys different powers. Being one, he becomes many. Being many, he becomes one. He appears and disappears. He passes through fences, walls, and mountains unhindered. as if through air. He sinks into the ground and emerges from it as if it were water. He walks on water without breaking the surface as if on land. He flies cross-legged through the sky like a bird with wings. He even touches and strokes with his hand the sun and moon, mighty and powerful as they are. And he travels in the body as far as the Brahma world. Just as a skilled potter or his assistant can make from well-prepared clay whatever kind of bowl he likes, or just as a skilled ivory carver or his assistant can produce from that well-prepared ivory any object he likes, or just as a skilled goldsmith or his assistant can make any gold article he likes, so the monk with mind concentrated, etc., enjoys various supernormal powers. This is the fruit of the homeless life. Stop here for a moment. This is the third knowledge he acquires. This is called psycho-kinesis. In Pali, it's I-D-V-I-D-A. These are the various types of psychic power that he can multiply his body. He can appear and disappear. He can go to the wall. He can sink into the ground and come up. He can walk on water. He can fly through the air. As far as the Brahma world, so you notice the human body, with the human body, a person with psychic power, the maximum he can fly with his human body is only up to the Brahma world, not higher. So he can even touch the sun and the moon. This type of psychic power nowadays you cannot find. Sometimes certain cultivators, they might have one, they might have two, but not all these psychic powers like the Buddha and his Arahant disciples have. So the Buddha describes this as the fruit of the homeless life. So it is something that comes naturally and it is It's something good, not like some people say that psychic powers are bad. It is bad if you don't have the Dhamma to support you, because people, if they don't understand the Dhamma, when they attain psychic power, their ego becomes very big, like Devadatta. So it's very important, the Buddha always says, when you practice the Eightfold Path, to attain Right View first. If you don't attain Right View, then you may go off the track, go wrong way like Devadatta. So it is always stressed that Right View is the most important. If you don't have Right View, you haven't entered the Noble Eightfold Path. So to enter the Noble Eightfold Path, you must start with Right View, then only it will lead you to the others. And Right View in the Suttas, in the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta 43, you see there are two conditions for Right View. One is the listening to the voice of another. Another person might teach you the Dhamma, the real Dhamma, the true Dhamma. Then you understand that is the first condition. The second one is proper attention or careful attention. You pay proper attention, then only you can understand

06-DN-02-Samannaphala-(2011-07-17)-Part-C.txt

Okay, now we come to the fourth knowledge. And he with mind concentrated, etc., applies and directs his mind to the divine ear. With the divine ear purified and surpassing that of human beings, he hears sounds both divine and human, whether far or near. Just as a man going on a long journey might hear the sound of a big drum, a small drum, a conch, cymbals, or a cattle drum, and he might think, That is a big drum, a small drum, etc., a kettle drum. So the monk with mind concentrated, etc., hears sounds, divine or human, far or near. This is the fruit of the homeless life, more excellent and perfect than the former ones. Talk here for a moment. So here you see, the Buddha is giving progressively higher and higher attainments. So each one, when the Buddha describes, the Buddha says, this is more excellent and perfect than the previous ones. So this one, the divine ear, is called Dibba Sota. In English, it's called clairaudience. So a person with this divine ear, he wants to hear ghosts talking, he can hear. He wants to hear devas talking, he can hear. He wants to hear us talking also, he can hear. And he with mind concentrated etc. applies and directs his mind to the knowledge of others' minds. He knows and distinguishes with his mind the minds of other beings or other persons. He knows the mind with passion to be with passion. He knows the mind without passion to be without passion. He knows the mind with hatred to be with hatred. He knows the mind without hatred to be without hatred. He knows the deluded mind to be deluded. He knows the undeluded mind to be undeluded. He knows the narrow mind to be narrow. He knows the broad mind to be broad. He knows the expanded mind to be expanded. He knows the unexpanded mind to be unexpanded. He knows the surpassed mind to be surpassed. He knows the unsurpassed mind to be unsurpassed. He knows the concentrated mind to be concentrated. He knows the unconcentrated mind to be unconcentrated. He knows the liberated mind to be liberated. He knows the unliberated mind to be unliberated. Just as a woman or a man or young boy, fond of his appearance, might examine his face in a brightly polished mirror or in water, and by examination will know whether there was a spot there or not. So the monk, with mind concentrated, etc., directs his mind to the knowledge of others' minds. This is the fruit of the homeless life. More excellent than the former ones. So this one, knowledge of others' minds, is called ceto-pariya-jnana. In Chinese it's called ta-xin-tong. Now we come to the sixth. And he with mind concentrated, etc. applies and directs his mind to the knowledge of previous existences, remembers many previous existences. One birth, two, three, four, five births, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty births, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand births, several periods of contraction, of expansion, of both contraction and expansion. There, my name was so-and-so, my clan was so-and-so, my caste was so-and-so, my food was such-and-such. I experienced such-and-such pleasant and painful conditions. I lived for so long. Having passed away from there, I arose there. There, my name was so-and-so, etc. And having passed away from there, I arose here. Thus he remembers various past births, their conditions and details. It is just as if a man were to go from his village to another, and from that to yet another, and then return to this home village. He might think, I came from my own village to that other one, where I stood, sat, spoke, or remained silent like this. And from that one, I went to another, where I stood, sat, spoke, or remained silent like this. And from there, I have just returned to my own village. So the monk with mind concentrated, et cetera, remembers past births. This is a fruit of the homeless life. more excellent and perfect than the previous ones. So here is remembering past lives. In Pali it's called Pubbenivasanusati. Now we come to number seven. And he with mind concentrated, et cetera, applies and directs his mind to the knowledge of the passing away and arising of beings. With the divine eye, purified and surpassing that of humans, he sees beings passing away and arising, base and noble, well-favored and ill-favored, to happy and unhappy destinations as karma directs them. And he knows these beings, on account of misconduct of body, speech, or thought, or disparaging the noble ones, have wrong view. and will suffer the karmic fate of wrong view. At the breaking up of the body after death, they are reborn in a lower world, a bad destination, a state of suffering, hell. But these beings, on account of good conduct of body, speech, or thought, of praising the noble ones, have right view and will reap the karmic reward of right view. At the breaking up of the body after death, they are reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world. Thus, with the divine eye, etc., he sees beings passing away and re-arising. This is as if there were a lofty building at a crossroads, and a man with good eyesight standing there might see people entering or leaving a house, walking in the street, or sitting in the middle of the crossroads, and he might think, These are entering a house, etc. Just so with the divine eye, it sees beings passing away and re-arising. This is a fruit of the homeless life, more perfect and excellent than the former ones." Here, it's talking about the divine eye or heavenly eye being able to see all types of beings and their arising and passing away. This is, in English, it's called clairvoyance. Pali, it's called Dibbacaku. And he with mind concentrated, purified and cleansed, unblemished, free from impurities, malleable, workable, established, and having gained imperturbability, applies and directs his mind to the knowledge of the destruction of the corruptions or asavas. Stop here for a moment. You see, when a person has attained the fourth jhāna, this state, the mind is concentrated, purified and cleansed, unblemished, totally purified, not a spot of impurity, free from impurities, malleable, workable, sometimes they say malleable, wieldy, established and gained imperturbability, cannot shake. So before a person can apply his mind to the various psychic powers, he must attain this fourth jhāna, so that the mind becomes purified, concentrated, malleable and workable, he can use it. in whatever way you want. He knows as it really is, this is suffering. He knows as it really is, this is the origin of suffering. He knows as it really is, this is the cessation of suffering. He knows as it really is, this is the path leading to the cessation of suffering. And he knows as it really is, these are the asavas. is the origin of the asavas, is the cessation of the asavas, is the path leading to the cessation of the asavas. And through his knowing and seeing his mind is delivered from the from the asava of sense desire, from the asava of becoming, from the asava of ignorance and the knowledge arises in him. This is deliverance and he knows birth is finished. The holy life has been led. Done is what had to be done. There is nothing further here. Just as if, Sire, in the midst of the mountains there were a pond, clear as a polished mirror, where a man with good eyesight, standing on the bank, could see oyster shells. gravel banks and the shoals of fish on the move or stationary. And he might think, this pond is clear, there are oyster shells, etc. Just so with mind concentrated, etc., he knows, birth is finished, the holy life has been led, done is what had to be done. There is nothing further here. This Sāyāt is the fruit of the homeless life, visible here and now, which is more excellent and perfect than the previous fruits. And Sāyāt, there is no fruit of the homeless life visible here and now that is more excellent and perfect than this. Stop here for a moment. So this is the last of the knowledges under Vijja. This is called Asavakaya Jnana, destruction of the Asavas and is equivalent to liberation or enlightenment. This Asavas Here it is translated as corruptions. I would like to translate it as uncontrolled mental outflows. It is the leakage of the mind, the tendency for consciousness to flow. And this tendency for the consciousness to flow is extremely strong. And when we are not doing anything, the mind will start flowing, we start thinking, we start daydreaming. And it's so strong that when we go to sleep, it flows again and we start dreaming at night. So the problem with this flow of consciousness is that it creates the world. The world is created by consciousness because the world is in seeing consciousness, hearing consciousness, smell, taste, touch, and thinking consciousness. The first five determines the outside world. The thinking consciousness is the inner world. So because the world is created by consciousness to to become liberated from the world of suffering, we have to end the flow of consciousness. So unless your mind is very strong, unless you have attained the fourth jhana, you are unable to stop the mind from flowing. So here you find that to attain liberation, this person on the holy path, he has to contemplate the Four Noble Truths. Having contemplated the Four Noble Truths and the Asavas, the flow of consciousness, then he becomes liberated. At this, King Ajatasattu exclaimed, Excellent Lord! Excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who got lost, or to bring a lamp to a dark place so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Blessed Lord has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. And I, Lord, go for refuge to the Blessed Lord, to the Dhamma and to the Sangha. May the Blessed Lord accept me from this day forth as a lay follower as long as life shall last. Transgression overcame me, Lord, foolish, erring and wicked as I was, in that I, for the sake of the throne, deprived my father, that good man and just king, of his life. May the Blessed Lord accept my confession of my evil deed, that I may restrain myself in future." And the Buddha said, Indeed, sire, transgression overcame you when you deprived your father, that good man and just king, of his life. But since you have acknowledged the transgression and confessed it as is right, we will accept it. For he who acknowledges his transgression as such and confesses it for betterment in future, will grow in the Aryan discipline. At this, King Ajatasattu said, Lord, permit me to depart now. I am busy and have much to do. Do now, Your Majesty, as you think fit." Then King Ajatasattu, rejoicing and delighting at these words, rose from his seat, saluted the Lord, and departed with his right side towards Him. As soon as the King had gone, the Lord said, The King is done for. His fate is sealed, monks. But if the king had not deprived his father, that good man and just king, of his life, then, as he sat there, the pure and spotless Dhamma-I would have arisen in him. Thus the Lord spoke, and the monks delighted and rejoiced at these words." That's the end of the sutta. So just now I forgot to say the last fruit of the holy life is the destruction of the asavas and that is the most excellent and perfect fruit of the holy life and there is no fruit of the holy life that is more excellent and perfect than attaining the destruction of the asavas which is equivalent to enlightenment or liberation So the king was very happy that the Buddha answered his question directly to the point and so detailed. And then he confessed to the Buddha that he did something very evil and wrong by killing his father. And the Buddha later told his monks that this king is done for. His fate is sealed. What do you mean by his fate is sealed? Because in the sutras, the Buddha said there are five very heavy, the five heaviest coming offenses. The first one is to shed the blood. of a Buddha, a Samasambuddha, purposely harm a Samasambuddha by shedding his blood. Secondly, killing an Arahant. Third one is killing your mother. Fourth is killing your father. And the fifth is splitting the Sangha into two Sanghas. a Sangha that is harmonious, you split the Sangha into two Sanghas. So once a person commits one of these five karmic offenses, hell is sure for him. There is no running away from hell. And he will go to hell for a long time. That's why the Buddha said his fate is sealed. And then the Buddha also said, if he had not killed his father, today I taught him the Dhamma, the Dhamma eye or the Dhamma vision would have arisen in him. That means he would have understood the Dhamma and attained stream entry. So you find it's always listening to the Dhamma that a person attains the Dhamma eye, attaining stream entry. So unfortunately, because his mind was so disturbed, that he listens to the dharma, he cannot sing in. When your sila is not pure, your mind is disturbed. There is remorse in you and the mind becomes very disturbed. And so when you listen to something, you cannot concentrate. A lot of people are like that. Sometimes you tell them something, to do something or not to do something, they say it. Later, as if they didn't hear what you said, they go and do what they're not supposed to do or not do what they're supposed to do. That shows their mind is so scattered. It's elsewhere. When you're talking to them, they don't even catch what you're saying. They're in the same way. So here, to recapitulate, the Buddha said, the fruits of the holy life, firstly, from the worldly point of view, if a person becomes a monk, even the king will pay respect to him, but from the spiritual From the spiritual point of view, first, it's the practice of a monk. He practices the morality first, then, as I mentioned, all the ten practices under Charana. And then, after that, he gains knowledge. result of his practice, he gains knowledge. The first one is contemplation knowledge, understanding that he's actually made out of the material body and the mental part, consciousness. And the second one is Mano Maya Idi, mind-created body. This is psychic power he can create from brought out from his body, another body. The third one is Iddivida, psychokinesis, the various types of psychic powers. He can fly, he can multiply his body, he can go through the wall, etc. Then the fourth is Clairaudience, the divine ear. The fifth is Ceto, Pariya, Jnana, knowledge of others' minds, able to read others' minds. The sixth is knowledge of previous lives, Pube, Nivasa, Nusati. And the seventh is clairvoyance, the divine eye or heavenly eye, Dibbacaku. The eighth is destruction of the Asavas, Asavakaya, Jnana. And that means liberation or enlightenment. So these are the eight knowledges under vijja. So I'll stop here. Anything to discuss? No, how can a person attain the first jhāna and not aware of it? It means he's not mindful. There are some monks who say that when you attain jhāna, you don't know. That when you come out of it, only you know. That means he was asleep. He was not in jhāna. Jhāna is a very mindful state. Very mindful. You cannot be more mindful than when you are in jhāna. Okay, um, the schools encourage the distribution of the Vietnamese on the tree, the root, or kind of ground and all that. But I see how many in practice. I don't know if it's true or false. You're saying that it is hardly practiced by monks staying in seclusion and under the tree and the charnel ground and all that. In the early part of the Buddha's ministry or teaching, The Buddha did not allow the monks to stay in monasteries. And the monks used to practice in seclusion. But later, as the Buddha was getting older, then he allowed lay people to build kutis for the monks to stay and establish monasteries. so that later monks used to practice in forest monasteries. During the Buddha's time, there were hardly any town monasteries. Most of the monasteries were forest monasteries. And the monks used to move from one monastery to another. And those monasteries, being forest monasteries, were large areas. Sometimes they were called avasas. They are translated as parks. So in those monasteries, the monks could meditate during the daytime under the trees or in the caves and all that. It is still being done in certain countries like Thailand. In fact, you find in the whole world, the most number of forest monks are found in Thailand. In Sri Lanka, you have some. But in Burma, you can hardly find, because Burma is, there's a lot of fighting between the Karen tribesmen and the government, so it's dangerous for monks to travel in the mountains or in the forest. So in Burma, you can hardly find forest monks. But formerly, maybe. So there still are forest monks. like in Sri Lanka, in Thailand. But those monks, you don't know them because they don't want to know you. They want to stay alone. Okay, and that's the first issue. I feel that they have gone astray, and they've given the company the prize, and that and all, and that, that it's not really been mentioned at all in the pamphlet, it's only been used in the pamphlet, and it's been used in the pamphlet, but to me, it really stands out. So, uh, we are going to say our goodbyes. God bless. Thank you. No, I mentioned that during the Buddha's time, most of the monasteries were forest monasteries, not town monasteries. Town monasteries, nowadays you call them temple because they cater more for chanting than practice of the holy life. Someone with more talent, is it they are actually capable of becoming a Dharma? No, not guaranteed. Those who don't understand the Dhamma, they won't even become a Sotapanna. You've got to understand the Dhamma. And if you understand the Dhamma and with the 4th Jhana, you might become liberated. Can a person seek out to receive the Srimad-Bhagavatam? Without what? Seeing the nimitta. Seeing the nimitta. This nimitta is something that comes from the Visuddhi Magga. And they talk about the light. And they associate the light with the object of meditation. For example, the breath. But as I mentioned just now, there are some monks whose experience is different, that it is not the light, it's not associated with the object of meditation, but as something that comes within you. People like The late Acharn Mahaprabhu, he also says that the light comes from within. So this concept of nimitta is something that is expanded by later monks. In the suttas there is mention of nimitta, but not in the sense that is explained in the Visuddhi Maga. The nimitta in the suttas is more like a sign or an object. Whatever you put your attention to, that is the nimitta, the samadhi nimitta, your object of concentration. That is what is meant in the suttas. So the problem nowadays with the monks who follow the books like the Visuddhimagga is that they might start with the breath meditation. They contemplate the breath. Later, they want to see the light. So they start seeing the light and then they change the object from the breath to the light. But that is no more the breath meditation. In the Buddha's teaching, it is concentration on the breath all the way until a person attains the first jhana. And then only... he can put his attention on the five jhāna factors. The five jhāna factors does not include light. So in the Buddha's suttas, in the Buddha's discourses, to attain jhāna, five things are extremely important. Only when you attain these five things, you have attained jhāna. The first one is thought-directed and sustained. The second is thought, sorry, the first one is thought-directed. The second is thought-sustained. These two are extremely important. Thought-directed means, for example, you are meditating on your breath. Every time your mindfulness goes away, you pull it back, direct it to your breath. That is thought-directed. And then to sustain it on your breath, that is thought-sustained. To keep your attention on your breath, that is thought-sustained. So if it runs away again, you pull it back. to your breath, that is vittaka, thought directed. And to sustain it on your thought is vichara. These are the two factors that you have to practice first. So you keep practicing these two, then slowly the mind becomes concentrated. And when it becomes one-pointed, the other three factors come. Piti, which is delight. Sukha, which is happiness or bliss. And Ekagatha, which is one-pointedness. So when you attain these five states, you enter the first jhana. So you see that these five states does not talk about nimitta, does not talk about the light. Alright? So the light is something that is just a passing thing, it comes and it goes. But the problem is if you pay too much attention on the light, it becomes imaginary. Then you keep thinking about light and then you see the light because you want to see the light, so you keep seeing the light. But that is not jhāna. Jhāna is these five jhāna factors. Okay? So that's why you have to be very familiar with the Buddha's words. Otherwise, you have thought something else and you believe in it. If jhāna were important, if the light were important, it would constitute one of the five jhāna factors. But because it is not in the five jhāna factors, it is not important in the Buddha's discourse. Only the five jhāna factors are important because only the five jhāna factors will bring you into jhāna. Okay? So shall we end here? We're getting late and tired.

07-DN-03-Ambattha-(2011-07-18)-Part-A.txt

Tonight is the third night we are talking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Now we come to Sutta number three, Ambatta Sutta. It's about Ambatta. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was touring Kosala with a large number of monks, some 500, and he came to a Kosalan Brahmin village called Ichanangala, and he stayed in the dense jungle of Ichanangala. At that time, the Brahmin Pokharasati was living at Ukata, a populous place full of grass, timber, water, and corn. which had been given to him by King Pasenadi of Kosala as a royal gift and with royal powers. And Pokhara Satti heard say, the ascetic Gautama, son of the Sakhyans who has gone forth from the Sakhyan clan, etc., is staying in the dense jungle of Ichannangala. And concerning that, blessed Lord, a good report has been spread about. This blessed Lord is an Arahant, a Samasambuddha, perfected in knowledge and conduct, a welfareer, knower of the worlds, unequal trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, a Buddha, a blessed Lord. He proclaims this world with its gods, Maras, Brahmas, the world of ascetics and Brahmins with its princes and people, having come to know it by his own knowledge. He teaches a Dhamma that is lovely in its beginning. lovely in its middle and lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and it displays the fully perfected, thoroughly purified holy life. And indeed, it is good to see such arahants. Now at that time, Pokhara Sati had a pupil, the youth Ambatta. who was a student of the Vedas, who knew the mantras perfected in the three Vedas, a skilled expounder of the rules and rituals, the law of sounds and meanings, and faithfully oral tradition, complete in philosophy and in the marks of a great man, admitted and accepted by his master. in the three Vedas with the words, what I know, you know, what you know, I know. And Pokhara Sati said to Ambatta, Ambatta, my son, the ascetic Gautama, is staying in the dense jungle of Ichanangala and concerning that, blessed Lord, a good report has been spread about, etc. Now you go to see the ascetic Gautama and find out whether this report is correct or not and whether the Reverend Gautama is as they say or not. In that way we shall put the Reverend Gautama to the test. Sir, how shall I find out whether the report is true or whether the Reverend Gautama is as they say or not? According to the tradition of our mantras, Ambattha, the great man who is possessed of the 32 marks of a great man has only two courses open to him. If he lives the household life, he will become a ruler, a wheel-turning righteous monarch of the law, conqueror of the four quarters, who has established the security of his realm and is possessed of the seven treasures. These are the wheel treasurer, the elephant treasurer, the horse treasurer, the jewel treasurer, the woman treasurer, the householder treasurer, and at seventh, the counsellor treasurer. He has more than a thousand sons who are heroes of heroic stature, conquerors of the hostile army. He dwells having conquered this sea-girt land without stick or sword by the law. But if he goes forth from the household life into homelessness, then he will become an arahant, samasambuddha, one who draws back the veil from the world, and ambaddha, I am the passer-on of the mantras, and you are the receiver. Stop here for a moment. So this Pokharasati is one of those well-known brahmins. well-versed in the Brahmin tradition, and his disciple is also very learned. All those things that a Brahmin is supposed to learn, he has learned. That's why the teacher tells him, what I know, you know. What you know, I know. And lastly, the last part, this Pokharasati told Ambata, I am the passer-on of the mantras and you are the receiver. In other words, I am the teacher and you are the pupil. So you go and find out whether this Samana Gautama or Ascetic Gautama is as enlightened as they say, and you judge him by the 32 marks of a great man. These 32 marks of a great man is a Brahmin tradition. Very good sir, said Ambatai Pokharasati's words, and he got up, passed by Pokharasati by his right side, got into his chariot drawn by a mare, and accompanied by a number of young men headed for the dense jungle of Ichanangala. He drove as far as the carriage would go, then alighted and continued on foot. At that time, a number of monks were walking up and down in the open air. Ambatta approached them and said, Where is the Reverend Gotama to be found just now? We have come to see the Reverend Gotama. The monks thought, this is Ambatta, a youth of good family and a pupil of the distinguished Brahmin Pokhara Sati. The Lord would not mind having a conversation with such a young man. And they said to Ambatta, that is his dwelling with the door closed. Go quietly up to it. Go on to the veranda without haste. Cough and knock on the boat. The Lord will open the door to you. Ambattha went up to the dwelling and on to the veranda, coughed and knocked. The Lord opened the door, and Ambattha went in. The young man entered, exchanged courtesies with the Lord, and sat down to one side. But Ambattha walked up and down while the Lord sat there, uttered some vague words of politeness, and then stood so speaking before the seated Lord. And the Lord said to Ambatta, Well now, Ambatta, would you behave like this if you were talking to verbal and learned Brahmins, teachers of teachers, as you do with me, walking and standing while I am sitting and uttering vague words of politeness? And he said, no, Reverend Gautama, a Brahmin should walk with a walking Brahmin, stand with a standing Brahmin, sit with a sitting Brahmin, and lie down with a Brahmin who is lying down. But as far as these shaven little ascetics, menials, black scouring from Brahma's foot, with them it is fitting to speak just as I do with the Reverend Gautama. Stop here for a moment. So you see this young Brahmin, Very arrogant, doesn't show any respect for the Buddha, even though he has come to the Buddha's kuti. And he says that the Buddha is one of those shaven little ascetics, menials, black scourings from Brahma's foot. These Brahmins, they believe that they are born from the Brahma's head, whereas other sects, the Katiya warrior clan, the merchant clan, the worker clan, all born from the foot of Brahma. Brahma is their god. Mahabrahma is the equivalent of god, creator of the world. And so, because they look down on other castes, they call them black scouring from Brahma's foot. In other words, other sects are black. They think they are fair. And the Buddha said, but Ambatta, you came here seeking something. Whatever it was you came for, you should listen attentively to hear about it. Ambatta, you have not perfected your training. Your conceit of being trained is due to nothing but inexperience. But Ambata was angry and displeased at being called untrained, and he turned on the Lord with curses and insults. Thinking, the ascetic Gautama bears me ill-will, he said, Reverend Gautama, the Sakyans are fierce, rough-spoken, touchy and violent. Being of menial origin, being menials, they do not honour, respect, esteem, revere or pay homage to Brahmins. With regard to this, it is not proper that they do not pay homage to Brahmins. This was the first time Ambatta accused the Sakyans of being menials. And the Buddha said, but Ambatta, what have the Sakyans done to you? And he said, Reverend Gautama, once I went to Kapilavatthu on some business for my teacher, the Brahmin Pokharasati, and I came to the Sakyans' meeting hall. And at that time, a lot of Sakyans were sitting on high seats in their meeting hall, poking each other with their fingers, laughing and playing about together. And it seemed to me that they were just making fun of me, and no one offered me a seat. With regard to this, it is not proper that they do not pay homage to the Brahmins." This was the second time Ambatta accused the Sakyans of being menials. And the Buddha said, but Ambatta, even the quail, that little bird, can talk as she likes on her own nest. Kapilavatthu is the Sakyan's home, Ambatta. They do not deserve censure for such a strifle. And Ambatta said, Reverend Gautama, there are four castes, the Katyas or warrior clan, the Brahmins, the merchants and the artisans. And of these four castes, three, the kathiyas, merchants and artisans, are entirely subservient to the Brahmins. With regard to this, it is not proper that they should not pay homage to the Brahmins. This was the third time Ambatta accused the Sakyans of being menials. Stop here for a moment. So this is only that Brahmin believe that they think they are the most superior caste and everybody else should pay homage to them. But other people don't think so. Then the Lord thought, this young man goes too far in abusing the Sakyans. Suppose I were to ask after his clan name. So he said, Ambatta, what is your clan? And Ambata answered, I am a Kanhayin, Reverend Gautama. And the Buddha said, Ambata, in former days, according to those who remember the ancestral lineage, the Sakyans were the masters, and you are descended from a slave girl of the Sakyans. For the Sakyans regard King Okaka as their ancestor. At one time, King Okaka, to whom his queen was dear and beloved, wishing to transfer the kingdom to her son, banished his elder brothers from the kingdom, Okamuka, Karandu, Hattinia, and Sinipura. And these, being banished, made their home on the flank of the Himalayas beside a lotus pond where there was a big grove of teak trees. And for fear of contaminating the stock, they cohabited with their own sisters. Then King Okaka asked his ministers and counsellors, where are the princes living now? And they told him. At this, King Okaka exclaimed, They are strong as teak, Saka. These princes, they are real Sakians. And that is how the Sakians got their well-known name. And the king was the ancestor of the Sakians. Now, King Okaka had a slave girl named Disa, who gave birth to a black child. The black thing, when it was born, exclaimed, Watch me, mother. Bathe me, mother. Deliver me from this dirt, and I will bring you profit. Because Ambatha, just as people today use the term hobgoblin, pisacha, as a term of abuse. So in those days, they said black, kanha. And they said, as soon as he was born, he spoke, he is born a kanha, a hobgoblin. That is how in former days, the Sakyans were the masters and you are descended from a slave girl of the Sakyans. On hearing this, the young man said, Reverend Gautama, do not humiliate Ambata too much with talk of his being descended from a slave girl. Ambata is well born of a good family. He is very learned. He is well spoken, a scholar, well able to hold his own in this discussion with the Reverend Gautama. Then the Lord said to the young man, If you consider that Ambatta is ill-born, not of a good family, unlearned, ill-spoken, no scholar, unable to hold his own in this discussion with the ascetic Gautama, then let Ambatta be silent and you conduct this discussion with me. But if you think he is able to hold his own, then you be quiet and let him discuss with me. And they said, Ambattha is well born, Reverend Gautama. We will be silent. We shall continue. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, actually, Ambattha, you are descended from a slave girl, and your ancestor was a black child. And these friends of Ambattha, they didn't believe it, so they said, They told the Buddha not to humiliate Ambatta. And then the Buddha told them, if you think Ambatta is not able to argue with me, then you argue with me. But if you think he is able, then let him argue with me and you keep quiet. I think in the Indian tradition, they argue one by one, one to one. Then the Lord said to Ambatta, Ambatta, I have a fundamental question for you, which you will not like to answer. If you don't answer or evade the issue, if you keep silent or go away, your head will split into seven pieces. What do you think, Ambatta? Have you heard from old and venerable Brahmins, teachers of teachers, where the Kanhayans came from, or who was their ancestor? At this, Ambattha remained silent. The Lord asked him a second time. Again, Ambattha remained silent. And the Lord said, Answer me now, Ambattha. This is not a time for silence. Whoever Ambattha does not answer a fundamental question put to him by a Tathagata, by the third asking, has his head split into seven pieces. And at that moment, Vajirapani, the yakka, holding a huge iron club, flaming, ablaze and glowing up in the sky just above Ambatha, was thinking, If this young man, Ambata, does not answer a proper question put to him by the Blessed Lord by the third time of asking, I'll split his head into seven pieces." The Lord saw Vajirapani, and so did Ambata. And at the sight, Ambata was terrified and unnerved. His hair stood on end. And he sought protection, shelter and safety from the Lord. Crouching down close to the Lord, he said, What did the Reverend Gautama say? May the Reverend Gautama repeat what he said. And the Buddha said, What do you think, Ambatta? Have you heard who was the ancestor of the Kanhayans? And he answered, yes, I have heard it just as the Reverend Gautama said. That is where the Kanhayans came from. He was their ancestor. Hearing this, the young man made a loud noise and clamor. So Ambata is ill-born, not of a good family, born of a slave girl of the Sakyans, and the Sakyans are Ambata's masters. We disparage the ascetic Gautama, thinking he was not speaking the truth. I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see the Buddha is protected by the devas and also the devas is always on hand to help the Buddha. Probably this Yakka, he He saw that this person needs to be taught a lesson, so he came with this big club, waiting to pound him into seven pieces. Then the Lord thought, it is too much the way these young men humiliate Ambata for being the son of a slave girl. I must get him out of this. So he said to the young man, Don't disparage Ambata too much for being the son of a slave girl. That Kanha was a mighty sage. He went to the south country, learned the mantras of the Brahmins there, and then went to King Okaka and asked for his daughter, Mother Rupi. And King Okaka, furiously angry, exclaimed, So this fellow, the son of a slave girl, wants my daughter, and put an arrow to his bow. but he was unable either to shoot the arrow or withdraw it. Then the ministers and counsellors came to the sage Kanha and said, spare the king, Reverend Sir, spare the king. And he said, the king will be saved, but if he loses the arrow downwards, the earth will quake as far as his kingdom extends. And they said, Reverend Sir, spare the king, spare the land. And Khan Ha said, the king and the land will be saved, but if he loses the arrow upwards, then as far as his realm extends, the gods will not let it reign for seven years. And they said, Reverend Sir, spare the king and the land, and may the god let it reign. And he said, the king and the land will be saved, and the god will let it reign, but if the king points the arrow at the crown prince, the prince will be completely saved. Then the ministers exclaimed, let King Okaka point the arrow at the crown prince. The prince will be perfectly safe. The king did so and the prince was unharmed. Then King Okaka, terrified and fearful of divine punishment, gave away his daughter, Mother Rupi. So young men, do not disparage Ambata too much for being the son of a slave girl. That Kanha was a mighty sage. Stop here for a moment. So this Kanha, he went to learn the mantras. And the mantras are actually very powerful things. Mantras are secrets handed down to the Brahmins, probably by the devas. And it is their secret. They don't want other caste to know. But later, because of greed, they sold away the secrets so that a lot of the mantras are now public knowledge. And the Buddha said that these mantras You can do many things with them that normally a person with psychic power only can do, but the mantras you can do. For example, if you know a certain mantra, you can walk through the wall. Maybe that's how David Copperfield walks through the wall. So this king got so angry that this black fellow wants his daughter. That's how he was thinking. So he took his bow and arrow. He wanted to shoot this Kanha to death. But this Kanha made him not able to shoot the arrow or to bring it down. And then, so finally, to make the king know how powerful he is, he said the king must point the arrow at his son whom he loves dearly, the crown prince. And so the king had no choice but to do that, but the prince was not harmed. And so the king got frightened, so gave away the daughter to him. So the Buddha said, don't look down on Kanha so much. He's the ancestor, this ancestor of the Ambatta, for he was a mighty sage. Then the Lord said, Ambatta, what do you think? Suppose the Katya youth were to wed a Brahmin maiden, and there was a son of the union. Would that son of a Katya youth and a Brahmin maiden receive a seed and water from the Brahmins? He would, Reverend Gautama. Would they allow him to eat at funeral rites, at rice offerings, at sacrifices, or as a guest? They would, Reverend Gautama. Would they teach him mantras or not? They would, Reverend Gautama. Would they keep their women covered or uncovered? Uncovered, Reverend Gautama. But would the Kātyā sprinkle him with the Kātyā consecration? No, Reverend Gautama. Why not? Because Reverend Gautama, he is not well-born on his mother's side. What do you think, Ambattā? Suppose a Brahmin youth were to wed a Kātyā maiden, and there was a son of the union. Would that son of a Kātyā youth and a Brahmin maiden receive a seed and water from the Brahmins? He would, Reverend Gautama. etc. etc. But would the kathiya spring him with the kathiya consecration? No, Rev. Gautama. Why not? Because Rev. Gautama, he's not well born on his father's side. So Ambatta, the kathiyas, through a man taking a woman or a woman taking a man, a senior to the Brahmins. What do you think, Ambatta? Take the case of a Brahmin who for, just stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is making this Ambatta see that if Brahmin and a Kātyā, a warrior caste, were to wed, then the offspring, the son, would be recognized totally by the Brahmins, but would not be recognized, accepted by the Kātyās, meaning that the Kātyās are one notch higher. They only recognize a pure kathiya. But if he has brahmin blood, they will not recognize him as a pure kathiya. Whereas the brahmins, since they recognize the offspring of a brahmin and a kathiya, that means they accept that the kathiyas are equal to them. So here the Buddha makes him see that actually the kathiyas are on a higher... So just now I was saying that the Buddha shows Ambatta that... If a Brahmin and a Kathia were to wed, their offspring is recognized by the Brahmins, but not recognized as equal by the Kathias, meaning that the Kathias consider themselves one notch higher than the Brahmin. Brahmins, although the Brahmins claim that they are higher, but the fact that they accept the offspring of a Kathia and a Brahmin as totally as a Brahmin on equal footing as a Brahmin, that means they look up to the Kathias, the warrior caste, because the Kathias, only the Kathia, the warrior caste, can become a king. Okay, to continue. What do you think, Ambatta? Take the case of a Brahmin who, for some reason, has had his head shaved by the Brahmins, has been punished with a bag of ashes, and banished from the country or the city. Would he receive a seed and water from the Brahmins? No, Reverend Gautama. Would they allow him to eat as a guest? No, Reverend Gautama. Would they teach him mantras or not? They would not, Reverend Gautama. Would they keep their women covered or uncovered? Covered, Reverend Gautama. What do you think, Ambata? Take the case of a kathiya who had his head, who for some reason has had his head shaved by the kathiyas and banished from the country or the city. Would he receive a seed and water from the Brahmins? He would, Reverend Gautama. Would they allow him to eat as a guest? They would, Reverend Gautama. Would they teach him mantras? They would. Would they keep their women covered or uncovered? They would keep them uncovered, Reverend Gautama. But then, Katya has so far reached the extreme of humiliation that he has been banished from the country or the city. So even if a Katya has suffered extreme humiliation, He is superior and the Brahmins are inferior. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is using another example, saying that if a Brahmin were to do some offence, commit some offence and he is punished, So the brahmins after that would not receive him as a brahmin. But if a kathiya, a warrior caste person, were to commit the same offence and banished by the kathiyas, still the brahmins would receive him. Meaning that the brahmins still accept that the kathiyas are actually superior to them. The Buddha said, Ambatta, this verse was pronounced by Brahma, Sanan, and Kumara, the kathiyas best among those who value clan. He with knowledge and conduct is best of gods and men. This verse was rightly sung, not wrongly, rightly spoken, not wrongly, connected with prophet, not unconnected. And Ambatta, I too say this, the kathiyas best among those who value clan. He with knowledge and conduct is best of gods and men.

08-DN-03-Ambattha-(2011-07-18)-Part-B.txt

And then Ambattha asked, but Reverend Gautama, what is this conduct and what is this knowledge? I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, after showing Ambattha that the kathiyas actually are recognized as superior, and even the Brahma, Sanan, Kumara also say so, that the kathiyas is the best among the clans. And so he cannot dispute that. So now he humbles himself by asking the Buddha to explain what is this conduct and knowledge. That means conduct is Carana, knowledge is Vijja. which we went through yesterday. And the Buddha said, Ambatta, it is not from the standpoint of the attainment of unexcelled knowledge and conduct that reputation based on birth and clan is declared, nor on this conceit which says you are worthy of me, you are not worthy of me. For whatever there is a giving, a taking, or a giving and taking in marriage. There is always this talk and this conceit. But those who are enslaved by such things are far from the attainment of the unexcelled knowledge and conduct, which is attained by abandoning all such things. But Reverend Gautama, what is this conduct? What is this knowledge? And the Buddha said, Ambatta, a Tathagata arises in this world and Arahant, Samasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, welfareer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. He having realized it by his own super knowledge, proclaims this world with his Devas, Maras and Brahmas, its princes and people. He preaches the Dhamma, which is lovely, in its beginning, lovely in its end, lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully perfected and purified holy light. A disciple goes forth and practices the moralities, guards the sense doors, etc., and attains the Four Jhanas. Thus he develops conduct, All this is not explained here because it is already explained in the previous sutta. He attains various insights, etc., etc., and the cessation of the corruptions, or asavas. And beyond this, there is no further development of knowledge on conduct that is higher or more perfect. So here the Buddha goes through those various stages of these various parts of this charana, conduct or practice of the holy life. And then the different stages of knowledge. as we heard last night. But Ambattha, in the pursuit of this unexcelled attainment of knowledge and conduct, there are four parts of failure. What are they? In the first place, an ascetic or Brahmin who has not managed to gain this unexcelled attainment, takes his carrying pole and plunges into the depths of the forest, thinking, I will live on windfalls. But in this way, he only becomes an attendant on one who has attained. This is the first path of failure. Again, an ascetic or Brahmin being unable to live on windfalls takes a spade and basket thinking, I will live on tubers and roots. This is the second path of failure. Again, an ascetic or Brahmin being unable to live on tubers and roots makes a fire hearth at the edge of a village or small town. and sits standing the flame. This is the third path of failure. Again, an ascetic or Brahmin, being unable to tend the flame, erects a house with four doors at the crossroads, thinking, whatever ascetic or Brahmin arrives from the four quarters, I will honor to the best of my strength and ability. But in this way, he only becomes an attendant on one who has attained to unexcelled knowledge and conduct. This is the fourth path of failure. What do you think, Ambatta? Do you and your teacher live in accordance with this unexcelled knowledge and conduct? No, indeed, Reverend Sir. Who are my teacher and I in comparison? We are far from it. Well then, Ambattha, could you and your teacher, being unable to gain this, go with your carrying poles into the depths of the forest, intending to live on windfalls? No, indeed, Reverend Gautama. Well then, Ambata, could you and your teacher, being unable to gain this, live on tubers and roots, or sit tending the flame, or erect a house, erect a house and honor the ascetics and Brahmins who arrived. And he said, no, indeed, Reverend Gautama. And so Ambatta, not only are you and your teacher incapable of attaining this unexcelled knowledge and conduct, but even the four paths of failure are beyond you. And yet you and your teacher, the Brahmin Pokharasati, utter these words, these shaven little ascetics, menials, black scrapings from Brahma's foot. What converse can they have with Brahmins learned in the three Vedas? Even though you can't even manage the duties of one who has failed, see ambakta, how your teacher has let you down." So here the Buddha says, after explaining the various stages of attainment of this carana and vijja up to liberation or enlightenment, Then he says, even ascetic or Brahmin cannot attain all these things. Then, at least, firstly, he goes into the deep forest, thinking he will live on whatever the wind blows down from the trees, the ripe fruits that fall down, he will eat those, but still maintain an ascetic life in the forest. Being unable to attain the various stages, at least he does that. And if he is unable to do that, Then he takes a spade and basket and lives on tubers and roots. Also, he is a bit ascetic, like he still stays in the forest and lives on the tubers and roots. And if he cannot do that, then he lives at the edge of a village or small town, at least near a small town. It's more comfortable. And he sits standing in the flame. Why? Because this Indian tradition, they pray to the fire god, and they always keep the flame burning. They never let the fire go out. They pray to this fire. And if he can't do that, then he erects a house by the roadside and gives dana, makes offerings. to any ascetic or Brahmin, any cultivator of the holy life. He does dana so that at least he gets merit. So the Buddha asked Ambatta, do you and your teacher attain all these carana and vijja carana, the conduct and knowledges? And he said, no. Then do you do Do you go into the forest and live on windfalls? And he said, no. Or do you go into the forest and live on tubers and roots? Also, he said, no. Or do you live by the edge of a village and tend the flame? Again, he said, no. Or do you erect a house and do dana, offerings to ascetics? Again, he said, no. So he said, even the The four paths of failure also you cannot do. And yet you look down on ascetics and call them black scrapings from Brahma's foot. Ambattha, the Brahmin Pokhara Sati lives by the grace and favor of King Pasenadi of Kosala. And yet the king does not allow him to have audience face to face. When he confers with the king, it is through a curtain. Why should the king not grant audience face-to-face to one on whom he has bestowed a proper and blameless source of revenue? See how your teacher has let you down." I stop here again. So here, Pokhara Sati, he is given some land by the king, and yet, whenever he wants to see the king, the king will not see him face-to-face. He has to go behind a curtain. So you see this warrior caste, they treat the Brahmins really low and yet the Brahmins always claim that they are the superior caste. What do you think Ambatta? Suppose King Pasenadi was sitting on the neck of an elephant on horseback, or was standing on the chariot mat conferring with his ministers and princes about something. And suppose he were to step aside and some workman or workman's servant were to come along and stand in his place. And standing there he might say, this is what King Pasenadi of Kosala says. Would he be speaking the king's words as if he were the king's equal? No indeed, Reverend Gautama. Well then, Ambatta, it is just the same thing. Those who were, as you say, the first sages of the Brahmins, the makers and expounders of the mantras, whose ancient verses are chanted, pronounced and collected by the Brahmins of today. Ataka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vesamitta, Yamatagi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vaseta, Kasapa, Bhagu, whose mantras are said to be passed on to you and your teacher. Yet you do not thereby become a sage or want practice in the way of a sage. Such a thing is not possible. Stop here for a moment. So you see the Buddhas, because he knows the past, he can see the past so clearly. He can tell this Brahmin exactly who their former teachers were, those who handed down the mantras. But he says, just because you receive the mantras from these sages, don't think that you are a sage. Just like the worker, he stand in the king's chair and speaks like the king, but he's not the king. What do you think, Ambakta? What have you heard said by the Brahmins who are venerable, aged, the teachers of teachers, those first sages, Ataka, etc.? Did they enjoy themselves well bathed, perfumed, their hair and beards trimmed? adorned with garlands and wreaths, dressed in white clothes, indulging in the pleasures of the five senses, and addicted to them, as you and your teacher do now? No, Reverend Gautama. Or did they eat special fine rice with the black spots removed, with various soups and curries, as you and your teacher do now? No, Reverend Gautama. Or did they amuse themselves with women dressed up in flounces and fur bellows, as you and your teacher do now? No, Reverend Gautama. Or did they ride around in chariots drawn by mares with braided tails that they urged on with long gold sticks? No, Reverend Gautama. Or did they have themselves guarded in fortified towns with palisades and barricades by men with long swords? No, Reverend Gautama. So, Ambakta, neither you nor your teacher are a sage or one trained in the way of a sage. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, you claim you are masters of the three Vedas. You claim you are equal to those sages and look down on other ascetics. But did the sages of old practice as you do now? Did they enjoy luxurious living like you do now? All these things are mentioned here. And he said no, because in the olden days, those Brahmins were really ascetics, renunciants. They lived in the forest, they begged for their food and all that. They don't have wives or slaves to amuse them. And now, as for your doubts, and perplexities concerning me. We will clarify these by your asking me and by my answering your questions." Then descending from his lodging, the Lord started to walk up and down, and Ambattha did likewise. And as he walked along with the Lord, Ambattha looked out for the 32 marks of a great man. on the Lord's body, and he could see all of them except for two. He was in doubt and perplexity about two of these marks. He could not make up his mind or be certain about the sheathed genitals or the large tongue. And the Lord, being aware of his doubts, effected by his psychic power, that Ambatha could see his sheathed genitals, and then sticking out his tongue, he reached out to lick both ears and both nostrils, and then covered the whole circle of his forehead with his tongue. Then Ambata thought, the ascetic Gautama is equipped with all the 32 marks of a great man, complete with none missing. Then he said to the Lord, Reverend Gautama, may I go now? I have much business, much to do. And the Buddha said, Ambatta, do what you now think fit. So Ambatta got back into his chariot, drawn by mass and departed. I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see, after the conversation with the Buddha, now when the Buddha descended from his kuti and walked, Ambatta quickly walked along with the Buddha. Because like the Buddha said, Brahmins, when their teacher walk, they have to walk. When the teacher sits down, they have to sit down. Formerly, he was so arrogant, but now he quickly followed the Buddha, and then he observed the 32 marks in the Buddha. Meanwhile, the Brahmin Pokhara Sati had gone outside and was sitting in his park with a large number of Brahmins, just waiting for Ambatta. Then Ambatta came to the park. He rode in the chariot as far as it would go, and then continued on foot to where Pokhara Sati was, saluted him and sat down to one side. Then Pokhara Sati said, Well, dear boy, did you see the Reverend Gautama? I did, sir. And what was the Reverend Gautama? And was the Reverend Gautama such as he is reported to be and not otherwise? And is he of such nature and not otherwise?" And Ambata said, Sir, he is as he is reported to be, and he is of such nature and not otherwise. He is possessed of the 32 mouths of a great man, all complete with none missing. But was there any conversation between you and the ascetic Gautama? There was, sir. And what was this conversation about? So Ambatta told Pokkara Sati all that had passed between the Lord and himself. At this, Pokkara Sati exclaimed, Well, you are a fine little scholar, a fine wise man, a fine expert in the three Vedas. Anyone going about his business like that ought, when he dies, at the breaking up of the body, to go to the downfall, to the evil path, to ruin, to hell. You have heaped insults on the Reverend Gautama, as a result of which he has brought up more and more things against us. You are a fine little scholar. You are so angry and enraged that he kicked Ambata over and started to start out at once to see the Lord." But the Brahmins said, it is far too late, sir, to go to see the ascetic Gautama today. The Reverend Pokharasati should go to see him tomorrow. Then Pokharasati, having had fine, hard and soft food prepared in his own home, set out by the light of torches from Ukata or the jungle of Ichanangala, He went by chariot as far as possible, then continued on foot to where the Lord was. Having exchanged courtesies with the Lord, he sat down to one side." So here, he was so excited that the Buddha actually possesses all the 32 characteristics of a great man, which means that probably most probably the Buddha was enlightened, Sammasambuddha, as the rumors go. So he wanted immediately to go and see the Buddha, but it was already too late, already evening. So they asked him to go the next morning. So even before dawn, before the light of dawn, he had all the food prepared. Using torches, he set out to see the Buddha. And he said, Reverend Gautama, did not our pupil Ambatta come to see you? And the Buddha said, he did, Brahmin. And was there any conversation between you? There was. And what was this conversation about? Then the Lord told Pokharasati all that had passed between him and Ambatta. At this, Pokharasati said to the Lord, Reverend Gautama, Ambatta is a young fool. May the Reverend Gautama pardon him. And the Buddha said, Brahmin, may Ambatta be happy. Then Pokharasati looked out for the 32 marks of a great man on the Lord's body, and he could see all of them except for two, the chief genitals and the large tongue. But the Lord set his mind at rest about these by using psychic power to show him. And Pokhara Sati said to the Lord, May the Reverend Gautama accept a meal from me today, together with his order of monks. And the Lord consented by silence. Seeing his acceptance, Pokhara Sati said to the Lord, It is time, Reverend Gautama, the meal is ready. And the Lord, having dressed in the early morning and taken his robe and bowl, went with his order of Sangha of monks to Pokhara Sati's residence and sat down on the prepared seat. Then Pokhara Sati personally served the Lord with choice, hard and soft food, and the young men served the monks. And when the Lord had taken his hand from the bowl, Pokhara Sati sat down to one side on a low stool. And as Pokhara Sati sat there, the Lord delivered a graduated discourse on generosity. on morality and on heaven, showing the danger, degradation and corruption of sense desires, and the profit of renunciation. And when the Lord knew that Pokhara Sati's mind was ready, pliable, free from the hindrances, joyful and calm, then He preached a sermon on Dhamma in brief. on suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path. And just as a clean cloth from which all stains have been removed receives the dye perfectly, so in the Brahmin Pokharasati, as he said there, there arose a pure and spotless Dhamma-I, and he knew whatever things have an origin must come to cessation. And Pokhara Sati, having seen, attained, experienced and penetrated the Dhamma, having passed beyond doubt, transcended uncertainty, having gained perfect confidence in the teacher's doctrine without relying on others, said, Excellent Lord, excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Blessed Lord has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. I go with my son, my wife, my ministers and counsellors for refuge to the Reverend Gautama, to the Dhamma and to the Sangha. May the Reverend Gautama accept me as a lay follower who has taken refuge from this day forth as long as life shall last. And whenever the Reverend Gautama visits other families or lay followers in Ukkatha, may he also visit the family of Pokharasati. Whatever young men or maidens are there will revere the Reverend Gautama and rise before him, will give him a seat and water and will be glad at heart. And that will be for the welfare and happiness for a long time. Well said Brahmin, the Buddha said. That's the end of the sutta. So here is a very interesting sutta, a bit amusing how this arrogant young Brahmin was humbled by the Buddha. So you see the last part, the Buddha spoke the Dhamma to Pokhara Sati, explaining the Four Noble Truths, suffering, origin of suffering, cessation of suffering, and the Noble Eightfold Path. And just like a clean cloth will soak up the dye, so the Brahmin understood. and attain the spotless Dhamma-eye, Dhamma-chakku. Sometimes it's called the Dhamma-eye, sometimes it's called the Dhamma-vision. And he understood whatever things have an origin must come to cessation. Here the words are, having seen, attained, experienced, and penetrated the Dhamma, having passed beyond doubt, transcended uncertainty, having gained perfect confidence in the teacher's Dhamma. So here it means that Pokhara Sati attained stream entry. When Pokhara Sati attains the Dhamma vision, he attains stream entry. And stream entry means having attained the first path and after some time the path will turn to fruit after the wisdom matures. So you always see in the Suttas and the Vinaya that people attain stream entry always by listening to the Dhamma. Always by listening to the Dhamma, not by meditation. Never by meditation, because the Buddha says that stream entry is equivalent to attaining right view. And right view in the suttas, there's only two conditions. One is the voice of another. The second is yoniso manasikara, careful attention. So that being the case, only somebody else teaching you the Dhamma can you attain right view. Looks like we have time for, what's the time now? Hmm? Oh, then we don't have time. Okay, we'll stop here. And any questions? This is not very important, but I just want to point out that the Malaysians, if they are not considered as a case, are they? Because it's about something which is like a group of small people, they have got their own businesses. This, in India, there were four castes. I probably now still have. And first is the warrior caste. In Pali, it's called the Katya. Second is the Brahmin caste. In Pali, it's called Brahmana. and third is the merchant class, Vesas, and the fourth is the worker class called Sudas. Now, these Brahmins or Brahmanas originally were ascetics. Originally they were ascetics and it was in their tradition that every Brahmin must renounce. Must renounce. I think at the age of 48 or something like that, having learned all that they were supposed to learn, the Vedas, the mantras, et cetera, then they go forth. But later, because of greed, they serve the kings. They served the kings as advisors, chaplains, sometimes they said, in the suttas. And the king would give them land, give them slaves, give them wives, and all these things. So their lifestyle changed. So after that, even though the Pali word is still Brahmana, but actually because they live like ordinary folk, lay people, so they are called Brahmins. So the word Brahmana is nowadays reserved more for a holy man. But in the Pali text, the Brahmin caste is still called Brahmana. But sometimes it is used in two senses. One is either the Brahmin caste, the other sense is a holy man. So sometimes like the Buddha will refer to the Arahants as real Brahmanas, real holy men. So as are stated here on paragraph 2.9 up to 2.10, that nowadays, they enjoy themselves like well-bathed perfume, their hair and beards trimmed, adorned with garlands and wreaths, dressed in white clothes, indulging the pleasures of the five senses, and addicted to them. And they eat special fine rice with the black spots removed, with various soups and curries. And then they amuse themselves with women dressed up in flounces and fur bellows. And then they ride around in chariots drawn by mares with braided tails, and they urge the horses on with long goat sticks. And then they live guarded in fortified towns with palisades and barricades, with soldiers with long swords guarding them. So their lifestyle is totally changed, no more ascetics. Can you be brave to accept that you are very old and you have all these luxuries and dreams Yeah, so the Buddha is saying, you are not an ascetic, not only that, you have not attained the various stages of the holy life, not only that, even the four paths of failure also you don't practice. Instead, you live a luxurious life, indulging in all the sense pleasures. Would a teacher himself be like not having pride? Why does Buddha refer to himself as a maker, teacher of the gods? He has quite some name for himself. He has a whole paragraph on his title. These, there are 10 names of the Buddha in the Itipiso, the Chan Itipiso. Itipiso, Bhagava, Arahant, Samma, Sambuddho, Vijja, Carana, Sampanno, Sugato, Lokavidu, Anuttaro, Purisa, Dhammasa, Rati, Satta, Deva, Manusa, Nangbuddho, Bhagavati. These names are not coined by the Buddha. They're coined by other people. And the Buddha says that when he talks to people, he has to use the self, I, and all that. But his mind is unmoving. So that if people praise him or people scold him, his mind is unmoving, always thus. So, in everyday conversation, he has to use I and mine and all that. I have a question about the issue of masks. Is it part of the problem Yeah, it seems to be more of a Brahmin tradition. They always look for these 32 marks of a great man in somebody. Okay, let's end for now. It's been a long day.

09-DN-04-Sonadanda-(2011-07-19).txt

Today is the fourth night we are speaking on the Digha Nikaya. Tonight is the 19th of July, 2011 and we come to Digha Nikaya Sutta number 4, Sona Danda Sutta. About Sona Danda. qualities of a true Brahmin. This Sutta is about the qualities of a true Brahmin. Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was traveling among the Angas with a large company of some 500 monks and he arrived at Champa. At At Champa, he stayed by Gagara's lotus pond. At that time, the Brahmin Sona Danda was living at Champa, a populous place full of grass, timber, water and corn, which had been given to him by King Seniya Bimbisara of Magadha as a royal gift and with royal powers. And the Brahmins and householders of Champa heard say, The ascetic Gautama of the Sakyans, who has gone forth from the Sakyan clan, is traveling among the Angas and is staying at Gagara's Lotus Pool. And concerning that blessed Lord Gautama, a good report has been spread about. This blessed Lord is an Arahant, Sammasambuddha, perfected in knowledge and conduct, a welfareer, knower of the worlds. unequal trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, a Buddha, a blessed Lord. He proclaims this world with its gods, Maras, Brahmas, the world of ascetics and Brahmins with its princes and people, having come to know it by his own knowledge. He teaches a Dhamma that is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, and lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter. And he displays the fully perfected, thoroughly purified holy life. And indeed, it is good to see such arahants. Thereupon, the brahmins and householders of Champa, leaving Champa in great crowds in vast numbers, went to Gagara's lotus pond. Just then, the brahmin Sona Danda had gone up to his veranda for his midday rest. Seeing all the brahmins and householders making for Gagara's lotus pond, he asked his steward the reason. And the steward said, Sir, it is the ascetic Gautama of the Sakyans, etc. That is why they are going to see him. And Sona Danda said, well then, steward, go to the Brahmins and householders of Champa and say to them, please wait, gentlemen. The Brahmin Sona Danda will come to see the ascetic Gautama. And the steward conveyed this message to the Brahmins and householders of Champa. Now at that time, some 500 Brahmins from various provinces were in Champa on some business. And they heard that Sona Danda intended to visit the ascetic Gautama. So they called upon him and asked if this was true. So it is, gentlemen, I am going to visit the ascetic Gautama, he said. And they said, Sir, do not visit the ascetic Gautama. It is not fitting that you should do so. If the Reverend Sona Danda goes to visit the ascetic Gautama, his reputation will decrease and that of the ascetic Gautama will increase. This being so, it is not right that the Reverend Sona Danda should visit the ascetic Gautama, but rather the ascetic Gautama should visit him. The Reverend Sona Danda is well born on both the mother's and the father's side of pure descent to the seventh generation, unbroken, of irreproachable birth, and therefore he should not call on the ascetic Gautama, but rather the ascetic Gautama should call on him. The Reverend Sonananda is possessed of great wealth and resources. The Reverend Sonananda is a scholar, versed in the mantras, accomplished in the three Vedas, a skilled expounder of the rules and rituals and the law of sounds and meanings, and fifthly, oral tradition, an expounder, fully versed in natural philosophy and the marks of a great man. The Reverend Sona Danda is handsome, good looking, pleasing, of the most beautiful complexion, in form and countenance like Brahma, of no mean appearance. He is virtuous, of increasing virtue, endowed with increasing virtue. He is well spoken, of pleasing address, polite, of pure and clear enunciation, speaking to the point. He is the teacher's teacher of many, teaching the mantras to 300 youths. And many young men come from different districts and regions, seeking to learn the mantras in His presence, desirous to learn them from Him. He is aged, grown old, venerable, advanced in years, long past His youth, whereas the ascetic Gautama is youthful and newly gone forth as a wanderer. The Reverend Sonadanda is esteemed, made much of, honoured, revered, worshipped by King Seniya Bimbisara and by the Brahmin Pokhara Sati. He lives at Champa, a populous place full of grass, timber, water and corn, which has been given to him by King Seniya Bimbisara of Magadha as a royal gift and with royal powers. This being so, it is not proper that he should visit the ascetic Gautama, but rather the ascetic Gautama should visit him. Stop here for a moment. You see, as usual, these Brahmins, during the Buddha's time, they looked down on all other castes. So they thought he was below the dignity of this Reverend Sonananda. He calls him Reverend because he was very old and very well known. somebody who was revered. So these Brahmins told him not to go and see the Buddha Gautama because he's not of their clan. At this, Onodanda replied, Now listen, gentlemen, as to why it is fitting for us to visit the Reverend Gautama and why it is not fitting for him to visit us. The ascetic Gautama is well born on both sides of pure descent to the seventh generation, unbroken, of irreproachable birth. Therefore, it is fitting for us to visit him. He went forth, leaving a great body of kinsmen. In fact, he gave up much gold and wealth to go forth, both hidden away and openly displayed. The ascetic Gautama, while youthful, a black-haired youth, In the prime of his young days, in the first stage of life, went forth from the household life into homelessness, leaving his grieving parents weeping with tears stained faces. Having cut off his hair and beard and put on yellow robes, he went forth into homelessness. He is handsome, virtuous, well-spoken, the teacher's teacher of many. He has abandoned sensuality and dispelled vanity. He teaches action, or kamma, and the results of action, honoring the blameless Brahmana way of life. He is a wanderer of high birth, of a leading kathiya family. He is a wanderer from a wealthy family, of great wealth and possessions. People come to consult him from foreign kingdoms and foreign lands. Many thousands of devas have taken refuge with him. This good report has been spread about him. This blessed Lord is an Arahant, Sammasambuddha, perfected in knowledge and conduct, etc. He bears the 32 marks of a great man. He is welcoming, kindly of speech, courteous, genial, clear and ready of speech. He is attended by four assemblies, revered, honored, esteemed and worshipped by them. Many devas and humans are devoted to him. Whenever he stays in any town or village, that place is not troubled by non-human beings. He has a crowd, a multitude of followers, is a teacher of many. He is consulted by the chief of the various leaders of sects. It is not the way with the ascetic. It is not the way with the ascetic Gautama's reputation as it is with that of some ascetics and Brahmins about whom this or that is reported. The ascetic Gautama's fame is based on his achievement of unsurpassed wisdom and conduct. Indeed, King Senya bin Bissara of Magadha has gone for refuge to him, together with his son, his wife, his followers and his ministers. So have King Pasenadi of Kosala and the Brahmin Pokhara Sati. He is revered, honoured, esteemed and worshipped by them. The ascetic Gautama has arrived in Champa and is staying by Gagara's lotus pond, and whatever ascetics and Brahmins come to our territory are our guests, and we should revere, honour, esteem and worship guests. Having come to Gagara's lotus pond, the ascetic Gautama is such a guest and should be treated as such. Therefore, it is not proper that he should come to us, but rather we should go to him. However much I might praise the ascetic Gautama, that praise is insufficient. He is beyond all praise." On hearing this, the brahmin said to Sonadanda, Sir, since you praise the ascetic Gautama so much, then even if he were to leave a hundred yojanas from here, it would be fitting for a believing clansman to go with a shoulder bag to visit him. And so, Sir, we shall all go to visit the ascetic Gautama." And so Sona Danda went with a large company of Brahmins to Gagara's lotus spot. Stop here for a moment. A yojana is sometimes translated as a leap. And it's supposed to be about 10 kilometers. One yojana is 10 kilometers. So a hundred yojanas is a thousand kilometers. So they say even if he were a thousand kilometers away, we should walk with a shoulder bag to visit him. But when Sona Danda had traversed the jungle tickets, he thought, if I ask the ascetic Gautama a question, he might say to me, that Brahmin is not a fitting question. It is not at all a fitting question. And then the company might despise me saying, Sona Danda is a fool. He has no sense. He can't put a proper question to the ascetic Gautama. And if anyone were despised by this company, his reputation would suffer, and then his income would suffer, for our income depends on the gaining of a reputation. Or if the ascetic Gautama were to ask me a question, my answer might not satisfy him, and he might say, That is not the right way to answer this question. And then the company might despise me. And if, having come into the presence of the ascetic Gautama, I were to turn away without showing myself, this company might despise me. Then Sona Danda approached the Lord, exchanged courtesies with Him and sat down to one side. Some of the Brahmins and householders made obeisance to the Lord. Some exchanged courtesies with Him. Some saluted Him with joined palms. some announced their name and clan, and some sat down to one side in silence. So Sona Danda took his seat with many thoughts going through his mind. If I asked the ascetic Gautama a question, he might say to me, that Brahmin is not a fitting question, etc. If only the ascetic Gautama would ask me a question from my own field of the three Vedas, then I could give him an answer that would satisfy him. And the Lord, reading his mind, thought, This Sona Danda is worried. Suppose I were to ask him a question from his own field as a teacher of the three Vedas. So he said to Sona Danda, by how many qualities do Brahmins recognize a Brahmin? How would one declare truthfully and without falling into falsehood, I am a Brahmin? Then Sona Danda thought, now what I wanted, hoped for, desired and longed for has happened. Now I can give him an answer that will satisfy him. Straightening up and looking round the assembly, he said, Reverend Gautama, there are five such qualities. What are they? A Brahmin is well born on both the mother's and the father's side, of pure descent to the seventh generation. He is a scholar versed in the mantras. He is handsome, pleasing. He is virtuous. He is learned and wise, and is the first of second to hold the sacrificial ladle. These are the five qualities of a true Brahmin. But if one of these qualities were omitted, could not one be recognized as a true Brahmin, being possessed of four of these qualities? And he said, it is possible, Gautama, we could leave our appearance, for what does that matter? If a Brahmin had the other four qualities, he could be recognized as a true Brahmin. And the Buddha said, but could not one of these four qualities be omitted, leaving three whereby one could be recognized as a true Brahmin? And he said, it is possible, Gautama, we could leave out the mantras, for what do they matter? If he had the other three qualities, he could be recognized as a true Brahmin. And then the Buddha said, but could not one of these three qualities be omitted? And he said, it is possible, Gautama. We could leave out birth. But what does that matter? If a Brahmin is virtuous, of increasing virtue, and if he is learned and wise, and is the first or second to hold the sacrificial ladle, then he can be recognized as a true Brahmin and truthfully claimed to be so. At this, the Brahmin said to Sona Danda, don't say that Sona Danda, don't say the Reverend Sona Danda is decrying appearance, the mantras and birth. He's actually adopting the ascetic Gautama's own words. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is leading him to delete one by one of these things. And he left, first he left out appearance. It doesn't matter if a Brahmin is handsome or not. He said it's not so important. Then secondly, he left out the mantras. And thirdly, he left out the birth, which to a Brahmin is very important. Brahmin birth. So all the Brahmins got annoyed. saying, you are saying exactly what He wants you to say, you are saying His own words. Then the Lord said to the Brahmins, if you think the Brahmin Sona Danda is not concentrating on his task, is using wrong words, is lacking in wisdom, and is not fit to converse with the ascetic Gautama, let him cease and you talk to me. But if you think he is learned, speaks properly, is wise, and fit to converse with the ascetic Gautama, then you cease and let him speak. Then Sonananda said to the Lord, let that be, Reverend Gautama, and be silent. I will answer in this matter. So he said, let me handle the Brahmins. To the Brahmins, he said, do not say that Reverend Sonananda is decrying appearance and adopting the ascetic Gautama's own words. I do not decry appearance, mantras, or birth. Now at that time, Sonananda's nephew, a young man called Angaka, was sitting in the assembly. And Sonananda said, gentlemen, Do you see my nephew Angaka? Yes, sir. Angaka is handsome, good-looking, pleasing, of supremely fair complexion, in form and countenance like Brahma, of no mean appearance, and there is none in this assembly is equal except the ascetic Gautama. He is a scholar. I was his mantra teacher. He is well-born on both sides. I know his parents. But if Angaka were to take life, take what is not given, commit adultery, tell lies, and drink strong drink. What would good looks or mantras of birth profit him? But it is because a Brahmin is virtuous, because he is wise, on account of these two points that he can truthfully declare, I am a Brahmin. And the Buddha said, but Brahmin, if one were to omit one of these two points, could one truthfully declare, I am a Brahmin? And he said, No, Gautama, for wisdom is purified by morality, and morality is purified by wisdom. Where one is, the other is. The moral man has wisdom, and the wise man has morality. And the combination of morality and wisdom is called the highest thing in the world, just as one hand washes the other, or one foot the other. So wisdom is purified by morality. And this combination is called the highest thing in the world. Stop here for a moment. So you see this Sona Danda, people they respect him for a good reason. He's quite a smart guy. He can answer in this way. And the Buddha said, so it is, Brahmin. Wisdom is purified by morality, and morality is purified by wisdom. Where one is, the other is. The moral man has wisdom, and the wise man has morality. And the combination of morality and wisdom is called the highest thing in the world. But Brahmin, what is this morality and what is this wisdom? And he said, we only know this much, Gautama. It would be well if the Reverend Gautama were to explain the meaning of this. So he admits that he can only say so much, he cannot explain in detail what is this morality and this wisdom. And the Buddha said, then listen, Brahmin, pay proper attention and I will tell you. Yes, sir, said Sona Dandai in reply. And the Lord said, Brahmin, Tathagata arises in this world and Arahant, Sammasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, welfareer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. He, having realized it by his own super-knowledge, proclaims this world with his Devas, Maras and Brahmas, his princes and people. He preaches the Dhamma, which is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully perfected and purified holy life. A disciple goes forth and practices the moralities, etc. These are all described in Sutta No. 2, which we went through. He guards the sense doors, etc. This is the list of all the practices. in the holy life or the conduct in the holy life called Charana. That Brahmin is morality. He attains the four jhanas. He attains various insights and the cessation of the asavas. Thus he develops wisdom. These various insights refers to vijja. The other day we went through the suttas. We saw there were eight sections in this knowledge, under-knowledge, vijja. That Brahmin is wisdom. So here, we are not reading because you all can refer to that sutta number two. the long list of charana and vijja, conduct and knowledge. At these words, Sona Danda said, Excellent Lord, excellent. It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who got lost. or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Blessed Lord has expounded the Dhamma in various ways, and I go for refuge to the Blessed Lord Gautama, to the Dhamma and to the Sangha. May the Reverend Gautama accept me from this day forth as a lay follower as long as life shall last. And may the Reverend Gautama and his order of monks accept a meal from me tomorrow. The Lord ascended by silence. Then Sona Danda, seeing his ascent, rose, saluted the Lord, passed by to his right and departed. As day was breaking, he caused hard and soft food to be prepared in his own home. And when it was ready, he announced, Reverend Gotama, it is time. The meal is ready. And the Lord Having risen early, went with robe and bowl and attended by his monks to Sona Danda's residence and sat down on the prepared seat. And Sona Danda served the Buddha and his monks with the finest foods with his own hands until they were satisfied. And when the Lord had eaten and taken his hand away from the bowl, Sona Danda took a low stool and sat down to one side. Then he said to the Lord, Reverend Gotama, if when I have gone into the assembly, I were to rise and salute the Lord, the company would despise me. In that case, my reputation would suffer. And if a man's reputation suffers, his income suffers. So if on entering the assembly, I should join my palms in greeting, may the Reverend Gautama take it as if I had risen from my seat. And if on entering the assembly, I should take off my turban, may you take it as if I had bowed at your feet. Or if when riding in my carriage, I were to alight to salute the Lord, the company would despise me. So if, when I am riding in my carriage, I raise my goat, may you take it as if I had alighted from my carriage. And if I lower my hand, may you take it as if I had bowed my head at your feet. Then the Lord, having instructed Sona Danda with a talk on Dhamma, inspired him, fired him with enthusiasm, and delighted him, rose from his seat and departed." That's the end of the Sutta. So you see, this Sona Danda still has a lot of pride. He doesn't want to show so much respect to the Buddha because the other Brahmins would despise him, in which case his income would suffer. This happens with a lot of people who who are new to the Buddhasasana, who are new to the Buddhist religion, they find it very difficult to bow to a monk. A lot of people are like that. And then after they learn the Dhamma more, then they appreciate the Dhamma enough to willingly bow to monks. So it's a matter of progression and it takes time for a person to progress on the spiritual path. So you see this Buddha, to recapitulate, the Buddha asked him the qualities of a Brahmin and he talked about the five qualities. One is to be To be of pure descent, that means a Brahmin for seven generations, seven generations on the father and the mother side. Both sides also pure Brahmins, that's number one. Secondly, possess of great wealth and resources. Okay, paragraph 13. One is well born on the mother and father side now, pure descent for seven generations. Number two is a scholar averse in the mantras. Number three is handsome and pleasing. Number four is virtuous. Number five is learned and wise, so that he's the first or second to hold the sacrificial ladle. So when the Buddha asked him to reduce his qualities, to see what is the real, the essential qualities to be a Brahmin, he started reducing one by one until he came to two, that is morality and wisdom. And actually this morality and wisdom is actually the holy path itself. When you practice the holy path, the Charana, conduct or practice of the holy path is basically morality. And then the result of it is vijja. Vijja is the knowledge that arises from conduct, that arises from the practice of the holy life. So the wisdom is the end result. But there are very many levels, so all these are described. So basically, he's talking about the spiritual path and its result, but he cannot explain in detail because he has not attained all these levels. So the Buddha described in detail, then he was so impressed, became a disciple of the Buddha. And then later he told the Buddha that his reputation would suffer if he were to show too much respect to the Buddha. So he said, if I do this, then you take it that I do that.

10-DN-05-Kutadanta-(2011-07-19)-Part-A.txt

Now let's go to another sutta, Kuta Danta Sutta. It's about sacrifice. Sutta number five, Digha Nikaya. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was traveling through Magadha with a large company of some 500 monks and he arrived at a Brahmin village called Kanumata and there he stayed at the Ambalatika Park. Now at that time, the Brahmin Kuta Danta was living at Kanumata, a populous place full of grass, timber, water, and corn, which had been given to him by King Sinha Bimbisara of Magadha as a royal gift and with royal powers. And Kuta Danta planned a great sacrifice. 700 bulls, 700 bullocks, 700 hyphes, 700 she goats, and 700 rams were all tied up to the sacrificial posts. Stop here for a moment. This, he wants to get married. So he thought, I make a great sacrifice to heaven. I sacrifice all these animals, kill them and offer to heaven and then he will get a lot of blessings or merit. This also happens with our Chinese, those who follow the Taoist, they also like to kill animals and offer. Even up to today, Indians, they also kill animals and offer the blood and all that. And the Brahmins and householders of Kanumata heard say, the ascetic Gautama is staying at Ambalatika, and concerning that blessed Lord, a good report has been spread about. This blessed Lord is an Arahant, Samasambuddha, perfected in knowledge and conduct, well-farer and knower of the worlds, unequal trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, a Buddha, a blessed Lord. He proclaims this world with his gods, Maharas and Brahmas, the world of ascetics and Brahmins with its princes and people, having come to know it by his own knowledge. He teaches a Dhamma that is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, and lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter. And he displays the fully perfected, thoroughly purified holy life. Indeed, it is good to see such arahants." And at that, the Brahmins and householders leaving Kanu Mata in great numbers went to Ambalatika. Just then, Kuta Danta had gone up to his veranda for his midday rest. Seeing all the Brahmins and householders making for Ambalatika, he asked his steward the reason. The steward replied, Sir, it is the ascetic Gautama concerning whom a good report has been spread about. This blessed lord is an Arahant, Samasambuddha, etc. That is why they are going to see him. Then Kuta Danta thought, I have heard that the ascetic Gautama understands how to conduct successfully the triple sacrifice with its 16 requisites. Now I do not understand all this, but I want to make a big sacrifice. Suppose I were to go to the ascetic Gautama and ask him about the matter. So he sent his steward to the Brahmins and householders of Kanumata to ask them to wait for him. And at that time, several hundred Brahmins were staying at Kanumata, intending to take part in Kutadanta's sacrifice. Hearing of his intention to visit the ascetic Gautama, they went and asked him if this were true. So it is, gentlemen, I am going to visit the ascetic Gautama. And they said, Sir, do not visit the ascetic Gautama. And this is exactly as the previous sutra where they tried to discourage him from visiting the Buddha. Then Kutadanta said to the Brahmins, Now listen, gentlemen, as to why it is fitting for us to visit the Reverend Gautama and why it is not fitting for him to visit us. And here follows also exactly what we heard in the previous sutta. It gives all the reasons why he should go to the Buddha and not the Buddha come to him. On hearing this, the Brahmin said, Sir, since you praise the ascetic Gautama so much, then even if he were to lift a hundred yojanas from here, it would be fitting for a believing class man to go with a shoulder bag to visit him. And Sir, we shall all go to visit the ascetic Gautama. And so Kuta Danta went with a large company of Brahmins to Ambalatika. He approached the Lord, exchanged courtesies with Him, and sat down to one side. Some of the Brahmins and householders of Kanumata made obeisance to the Lord. Some exchanged courtesies with Him. Some saluted Him with joined palms. Some announced their name and clan. And some sat down to one side in silence. Sitting to one side, Kuta Danta addressed the Lord, Reverend Gautama, I have heard that you understand how to conduct successfully the triple sacrifice with its 16 requisites. Now I do not understand all this, but I want to make a big sacrifice. It would be well if the ascetic Gautama were to explain this to me." And the Buddha said, Then listen, Brahmin, pay proper attention, and I will explain. Yes, sir, said Kutadanta. And the Lord said, Brahmin, once upon a time there was a king called Mahavijita. He was rich of great wealth and resources, with an abundance of gold and silver, with possessions and requisites of money and money's worth, with a full treasury and granary. And when King Mahavijita was musing in private, the thought came to him, I have acquired extensive wealth in human terms. I occupy a wide extent of land, which I have conquered. Suppose now I were to make a great sacrifice, which would be to my benefit and happiness for a long time. And calling his minister chaplain, he told his thought, I want to make a big sacrifice. Instruct me, Reverend Sir, how this may be to my lasting benefit and happiness. This minister chaplain here refers to the Brahmin advisor. These kings, they like to have a Brahmin advisor because these Brahmins, they know very powerful mantras. So here is called the chaplain. The chaplain replied, your majesty's country is beset by thieves. It is ravaged. Villages and towns are being destroyed. The countryside is infested with brigands. If your majesty were to tax this region, that would be the wrong thing to do. Suppose Your Majesty were to think, I will get rid of this plague of robbers by executions and imprisonment, or by confiscation, threats and banishment. The plague would not be properly ended. Those who survived would later harm Your Majesty's realm. However, with this plan you can completely eliminate the plague. To those in the kingdom who are engaged in cultivating crops and raising cattle, let Your Majesty distribute grain and fodder. To those in trade, give capital. To those in government service, assign proper living wages. Then those people, being intent on their own occupations, will not harm the kingdom. Your Majesty's revenues will be great. The land will be tranquil and not beset by thieves. And the people with joy in their hearts will play with their children and will dwell in open houses. And saying, so be it, the king accepted the chaplain's advice. He gave grain and fodder, capital to those in trade. proper living wages, and the people with joy in their hearts dwelt in open houses. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, what is advised to the king is actually very good principles for a government, how a government should govern the people, those who are farmers, give them grain to plant and fodder to feed their cattle. And those who are doing business, give them money. Those who are working for the government, give them proper wages. etc. Then King Mahavijita sent for the chaplain and said, I have got rid of the plague of robbers. Following your plan, my revenue has grown. The land is tranquil and not beset by thieves, and the people with joy in their hearts play with their children and dwell in open houses. Now I wish to make a great sacrifice. Instruct me as to how this may be done. to my lasting benefit and happiness. For this, Sire, you should send for your kathiyas from town and country, your advisors and counselors, the most influential Brahmins and the wealthy householders of your realm, and say to them, I wish to make a great sacrifice. Assist me in this, gentlemen, that it may be to my lasting benefit and happiness. The king agreed and did so. Sire, let the sacrifice begin. Now is the time, your majesty. These four ascending groups will be the accessories for the sacrifice." Let's stop here for a moment. These four ascending groups must be these four types of people. The kathiyas, the brahmins, the wealthy householders, and the ordinary folk, I guess. And the Buddha said, King Mahavijita is endowed with eight things. He is well born on both sides, number one. Number two, he is handsome of no mean appearance. Number three, he is rich with a full treasury and granary. 4. He is powerful, having a four-branch army that is loyal, dependable, making bright his reputation among his enemies. 5. He is a faithful giver and host, not shutting his door against ascetics, Brahmins and wayfarers, beggars and the needy, a fountain of goodness. 6. He is very learned in what should be learned. 7. He knows the meaning of whatever is said, saying, this is what that means. 8. He is a scholar, accomplished, wise, competent to perceive advantage in the past, the future, or the present. King Mahavijita is endowed with these eight things. These constitute the accessories for the sacrifice. The Brahmin chaplain is endowed with four things. One, he is well-born. Number two, he is a scholar, versed in the mantras. Number three, he is virtuous, of increasing virtue, endowed with increasing virtue. Number four, he is learned, accomplished, and wise, and is the first or second to hold the sacrificial ladle. He has these four qualities. These constitute the accessories to the sacrifice. Then prior to the sacrifice, the Brahmin chaplain taught the king the three modes. It might be Your Majesty might have some regrets about the intended sacrifice. 1. I am going to lose a lot of wealth. 2. During the sacrifice, I am losing a lot of wealth. 3. After the sacrifice, thinking I have lost a lot of wealth. In such cases, Your Majesty should not entertain such regrets. Then prior to the sacrifice, the chaplain dispels the king's scorn with ten conditions for the recipient. Sire, there will come to the sacrifice those who take life and those who abstain from taking life. To those who take life, so will it be to them. But those who abstain from taking life will have a successful sacrifice and will rejoice in it, and their hearts may be calm within. There will be those who take what is not given, and those who refrain. Those who indulge in sexual misconduct, and those who refrain. Those who tell lies, and those who do not. Those who indulge in calumny, harsh and frivolous speech, and those who do not. Those who are covetous, and those who are not. Those who harbour ill will, and those who do not. Those who have wrong views, and those who have right views. To those who have wrong views, it will turn out accordingly. But those who have right views will have a successful sacrifice and will rejoice in it, and their hearts may be calm within." So the chaplain dispelled the king's doubts with ten conditions. These ten conditions refers to the ten good kamas, the three body kamas, to abstain from killing, from taking what is not given, and adultery. or sexual misconduct. And then the fourth speech is those who don't tell lies, who don't, the second is those here, it says calamni or slander. Actually it means not to carry tales. not to carry tales, cause disharmony. Number three, harsh speech, not to engage in harsh speech. Number four, not to engage in frivolous speech. And then three more are mental good karmas, not covertures, do not have ill will, and Thirdly, to have right view. Right view means believing in kamma, believing there are realms of rebirth and that there are holy men. So these are the 10 conditions. So the chaplain instructed the king who was making the great sacrifice with 16 reasons, urged him, inspired him, and gladdened his heart. Someone might say King Mahavijita is making a great sacrifice, but he has not invited his kathiyas, his advisors and counselors, the most influential Brahmins. and wealthy householders. So these four, earlier we talked about the four, what is this, the four assenting groups. These are the four assenting groups here. One is the warriors, the kathiyas, secondly advisors and counselors, three influential brahmins, and four householders, wealthy householders. So there are four things here. But such words would not be in accordance with the truth, since the king has invited them. Thus the king may know that he would have a successful sacrifice and rejoice in it, and his heart will be calm within. Or someone might say, King Mahavijita is making a great sacrifice, but he is not well-born on both sides. So these are the eight things that we went through just now. One is well-born on both sides for seven generations. Number two, handsome. Number three, rich. And number four, powerful with a big army. Number five, a faithful giver and host. Number six, very learned. Number seven, knows the meaning of what is said. Number eight, scholar. Competent to perceive advantage in the past, future, or present. These are the eight things. Or someone might say, his chaplain is not well-born, etc. So these are the four things about the chaplain. The chaplain is endowed with four things. He's well-born, he's a scholar. Number three is virtuous. Number four, he's learned. Thus the chaplain instructed the king with 16 reasons. These are the 16 reasons. Four is the four types of people to invite. Eight is the eight conditions that the king is endowed with. And the last four is the four things the chaplain is endowed with. In this sacrifice, Brahmin, no bulls were slain, no goats or sheep, no cocks or pigs, nor were various living beings subjected to slaughter, nor were trees cut down for sacrificial posts, nor were grasses mown for the sacrificial grass. And those who are called slaves or servants or workmen did not perform their tasks for fear of blows or threats, weeping and in tears. But those who wanted to do something did it. Those who did not wish to do, did not. They did what they wanted to do and not what they did not want to do. The sacrifice was carried out with ghee, oil, butter, curds, honey and molasses. stop here for a moment. So here in this sacrifice, which was advised by the great chaplain, there was no slaughter of animals, people were not forced to do, and basically the things that they carried, they offered were these things that were considered good, valuable things during the time, ghee, oil, butter, curds, honey, and molasses. These are also considered medicinal foods in the monks' Vinaya. Then Brahmin, the kathiyas, the ministers, and counselors, the influential Brahmins, the wealthy householders of town and country, having received a sufficient income, came to King Mahavijita and said, we have brought sufficient wealth, your majesty, please accept it. And the king said, But gentlemen, I have collected together sufficient wealth. Whatever is left over, you take away. At the king's refusal, they went away to one side and consulted together. It is not right for us to take this wealth back to our own homes. The king is making a great sacrifice. Let us follow his example. Then the khatias put their gifts to the east of the sacrificial pit. The advisors and counselors sent theirs to the South, the Brahmins to the West, and the wealthy householders to the North. And in this sacrifice, no bulls were slain, nor were living beings subjected to slaughter. Those who wanted to do something did it. Those who did not wish to, did not. The sacrifice was carried out with ghee, oil, butter, curds, honey and molasses. Thus there were the four ascending groups and King Mahavijita was endowed with eight things and the chaplain with four things in three modes. This Brahmin is called the sixteen successful sacrifice in three modes. Stop here for a moment. So you see, even the Brahmins themselves don't know this tradition that was handed down from Brahmins, but the Buddha can describe so well. By the way, next time your parents or your relatives want to pray to heaven, ask them to offer ghee, oil, butter, curds, honey and molasses. At this, the Brahmins shouted loudly and noisily, What a splendid sacrifice! What a splendid way to perform a sacrifice! But Kuta Danta sat in silence. And the Brahmins asked him why he did not applaud the ascetic Gautama's fine words. He replied, It is not that I do not applaud them. My head would split open if I did not. But it strikes me that the ascetic Gautama does not say, I have heard this or it must have been like this. But he says it was like this or like that at the time. And so, gentlemen, it seems to me that the ascetic Gautama must have been at that time either King Mahavijita, the lord of the sacrifice, or else the Brahmin chaplain who conducted the sacrifice for him. Does the Reverend Gautama acknowledge that he performed a cause to be performed such a sacrifice, and that in consequence at death, after the breaking up of the body, he was reborn in a good sphere, a heavenly state?" And the Buddha said, I do Brahmin. I was the Brahmin chaplain who conducted that sacrifice. Stop here for a moment. So you see, the Kuta Danta is suspected that the Buddha must have been either the king or the chaplain at that time, and the Buddha admitted. And Reverend Gautama, is there any other sacrifice that is simpler, less difficult, more fruitful and profitable than this threefold sacrifice with its 16 attributes? And the Buddha said, there is Brahmin. So here you see, this Kuta Danta, when he heard about this sacrifice, it seems to him very complicated. So many things, so many conditions must be fulfilled. Four and eight, and four and three more, some more. So he says, there's another way, more simple, and yet more fruitful. And he asked, what is it, Reverend Gautama? And the Buddha said, wherever regular family gifts are given to virtuous ascetics, these constitute a sacrifice more fruitful and profitable than that. Why, Reverend Gautama, and for what reason is this better? And the Buddha said, Brahmin, no arahants or those who have attained the arahant path will attend such a sacrifice. Why? Because there they see beatings and throttlings, so they do not attend. But they will attend a sacrifice, at which regular family gifts are given to virtuous ascetics. Because there are no beatings or throttlings, that is why this kind of sacrifice is more fruitful and profitable. Stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha is saying, instead of praying to heaven, you will get more blessings or merit if you give regularly to those monks or ascetics who pass by the house, who come and beg for their food. You give to them regularly. That is very meritorious. That's why you see in Buddhist countries like Thailand, They have such a tradition that when we go on alms round Pindabad, as soon as the sun breaks, the monks go around begging for their food. And you see these old ladies sitting outside their house waiting. Even before the sunlight comes up, they have a small table, they put their rice and their food, which they pack into small plastic containers, all wrapped up. and sometimes even flowers and candles. So when the monk comes, they will scoop one or two ladles of rice, and then each monk, they'll give one offering, one packet of food, and sometimes a flower to bring back to put on the altar. So it's a very good practice. If they do this long term, it's very meritorious. After all, when they do the sacrifice, they offer all this food to the devas. The devas don't eat, but the monks eat, at least they benefit. But Reverend Gautama, is there any other sacrifice that is more profitable than either of these? And the Buddha said, there is Brahmin. What is it, Reverend Gautama? Brahmin, if anyone provides shelter for the sangha coming from the four quarters, that constitutes a more profitable sacrifice. Stop here for a moment. So here, higher than the merit of giving food to the monks is to provide shelter, that means living quarters, in other words, like building a monastery. Of all the material offerings, building, giving land, or in some way providing shelter, that means living quarters, especially a monastery for monks coming from the four directions, north, south, east, west, that means long term. And if you build, for example, a monastery, if the monastery lasts for 500 years, then all the During that period of 500 years, all the monks and all the people who make use of the monastery are benefited. So that's why it's very meritorious. And besides, if there is the Sangha of monks, then the Dhamma will last in the world. If there is no Sangha, then slowly the Dhamma will also disappear. and then there will not be any holy men around. But Reverend Gautama, is there any sacrifice that is more profitable than these three? There is, Brahmin. What is it, Reverend Gautama? Brahmin, if anyone with a pure heart goes for refuge to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, that constitutes a sacrifice more profitable than any of these. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, if a person does not believe in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, they can still do dana, They can still offer land to a monastery, but the Buddha here says, more meritorious than these two is believing in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. For you to believe, take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, basically it means that you understand the Dhamma. If you don't understand some basic Dhamma, you will not take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. So that's why it's more meritorious. But Reverend Gautama, is there any sacrifice that is more profitable than these four? There is Brahmin. What is it, Reverend Gautama? Brahmin, if anyone with a pure heart undertakes the precepts to refrain from taking life, from taking what is not given, from sexual immorality, from lying speech, and from taking strong drink and sloth-producing drugs, that constitutes a sacrifice more profitable than any of these four. Stop here for a moment. So you can see here that keeping the precepts is more meritorious than the previous. The previous, you do good, you benefit people, but if you don't understand the Dhamma, then you might still go hunting. There's some people, they do a lot of philanthropy, good charity, a lot of charity, but still they go hunting and shoot wild boar and all that. But if you undertake the precepts, then you don't harm other living beings. That's why it's more meritorious.

11-DN-05-Kutadanta-(2011-07-19)-Part-B.txt

by Rev. Gautama, is there any sacrifice that is more profitable than these five? There is Brahmin. What is it, Rev. Gautama? Brahmin, Tathagata arises in this world, Arahant, Samasambuddha, etc. He having realized by his own super knowledge proclaims this world with his Devas, Maras and Brahmas. He preaches the Dharma which is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending. And disciple goes forth and practices the moralities. He is perfected in morality and attains the four jhanas. These are the various stages of the practice of the holy life, charana or conduct. That Brahmin is a sacrifice more preferable. Then he attains various insights, ending in the cessation of the corruptions or asavas. And this refers to the eight knowledges gained from the practice of the holy life, the various psychic powers, and culminating in the destruction of the ara, of the asavasla, meaning liberation or enlightenment. And the Buddha said, he knows there is nothing further in this world. That Brahman is a sacrifice that is simpler, less difficult, more fruitful, and more profitable than all the others. And beyond this, there is no sacrifice that is greater or more perfect." So here the Buddha is saying the highest you can, highest merit you can achieve is to practice the holy life. go through all the various practices of the holy life, and attain all the knowledges, and finally liberation or enlightenment, meaning destruction of the asavasla. And there is nothing greater or more perfect, more meritorious than this. And Kuta Danta said, Excellent, Reverend Gautama, excellent. It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into the dark place so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Reverend Gautama has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. May the Reverend Gautama accept me as a lay follower from this day forth, as long as life shall last. And Reverend Gautama, I set free the 700 bullocks. 700 heifers, 700 he goats and 700 rams. I grant them life. Let them be fed with green grass and be given cool water to drink and let cool breezes play upon them. Then the Lord delivered a graduated discourse to Kuta Danta on generosity, on morality and on heaven, showing the danger, degradation and corruption of sense desires and the profit of renunciation. And when the Lord knew that Kuta Danta's mind was ready, pliable, free from the hindrances, joyful and calm, then he preached a sermon on Dhamma in brief, on suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. And just as a clean cloth from which all stains have been removed receives the dye perfectly, so in the Brahmin Kuta Danta, as he sat there, there arose the pure and spotless Dhamma-I, and he knew whatever things have an origin must come to cessation. Then Kuta Danta, having seen, attained, experienced and penetrated the Dhamma, having passed beyond doubt, transcended uncertainty, having gained perfect confidence in the teacher's doctrine without relying on others, said, May the Reverend Gautama and his Sangha of monks accept a meal from me tomorrow." Stop here for a moment. So here you see, very often in the suttas, When a person listens to the Dhamma with proper attention or careful attention, which is the Oniso Manasikara, then he understands. When he understands, he has passed beyond doubt, transcended uncertainty, gained perfect confidence in the Buddha's Dhamma. So, which means he has attained stream entry. Stream entry, always in the suttas, is attained by this way. And I met a person who said, he read, somebody said, wrote that maybe when you listen to the Dhamma, you can attain stream entry, but not studying the books. But if you think carefully, I think studying the books, the suttas, are as good as listening to the Buddha talking to you, because these are the exact words of the Buddha. In fact, if you think about it, I think reading the book is even better. Why? Because if you listen to the Buddha's words, you just listen once, and if you don't catch it, the Buddha is already talking about something else. Whereas you read the book, you can read it over and over again. You take your time to digest. You can read it a thousand times, you can read it two thousand times if you like. And slowly, slowly, because you read slowly, you have more time to digest the words, rather than listen to the Buddha. The Buddha only speak once. What is past is past. So unless your mind is very sharp, your mind is very sharp, you just listen once, you can catch the meaning of what the Buddha says. Then you understand and you attain stream entry. But if you have the book in front of you, exactly the Buddha's words, you take your time to digest. Every sentence you read, you take your time to digest. Every word the Buddha says, you take your time to slowly understand. To me, reading the book is even better than listening to the Buddha just once. Unless nowadays you have the CD, you can listen again and again and again as many times as you want, in which case it's as good as reading the book. So it's not like some people say, some people they only talk about meditation, and then if you say you can attain stream entry by reading the book or listening to the suttas, they say that is only book knowledge. Yes, book knowledge, but that's how people attain stream entry. You look at the suttas and the Vinaya, they just listen to the Buddha once only, and they attain stream entry. That is book knowledge. The Lord assented by silence. Then Kuta Danta, seeing his consent, rose, saluted the Lord, passed by to his right and departed. As day was breaking, he caused hard and soft food to be prepared at his place of sacrifice. And when it was ready, he announced, Reverend Gautama, it is time. The meal is ready. And the Lord, having risen early, went with robe and bowl, and attended by his monks to Kuta Danta's place of sacrifice, and sat down on the prepared seat. And Kuta Danta served the Buddha and his monks with the finest foods with his own hands until they were satisfied. And when the Lord had eaten and taken his hand away from the bowl, Kutadanta took a low stool and sat down to one side. And the Lord, having instructed Kutadanta with the talk on Dhamma, inspired him, fired him with enthusiasm and delighted him, rose from his seat and departed." That's the end of the sutta. So here, this sutra is telling us how to make a proper sacrifice. If you want to pray to heaven, you do it with these 16 modes and all that. But if you want something more meritorious and simpler, then either you give food to wandering monks regularly, whatever ascetics come to your home, you give them. That is more beneficial. Or like some people, they go to the monastery to offer food regularly. The thing is, the notice here is regular. Regular family gifts are given to virtuous assets. If you give once in a blue moon, it's not so meritorious. This is very regular. Then, higher than this is providing shelter for the Sangha from the four directions. That means any monk can come, for example, to build a monastery. In Thailand, because people know this, many people want to offer land. In Malaysia, it's very hard to find somebody who wants to offer land to build a monastery. When I had intentions to build a monastery, nobody offered me. But in Thailand, once I went to this forest monastery, and this Deputy Abbott, I was talking to him. He told me they have, I don't know, five or 12 branch monasteries. And he said many people still want to offer land, but they dare not accept because their sangha will be spread too thin. too few monks, so they don't have so many monks to go around, so they don't want to accept all the land that is offered to them. Then higher than all these material gifts is to take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. And higher than that is to undertake the precepts, refrain from harming any beings. So you notice here carefully, dana is lower than sila. Dāna, first is the sacrifice. Higher than the sacrifice is regular giving of food to monks who go Pindapad. Higher than that is to provide land for a monastery. And then higher than that is going for refuge. And then higher than that is to keep the sila. So sila is much higher than dāna. But higher than all this is going forth, becoming a monk and practicing the Carana, the various stages of conduct or practice of the holy life and as a result attain the various knowledges that come under Vijja. The Buddha is called Vijja Carana Sampanno. perfect in conduct and knowledge. The Buddha has perfected the conduct of the holy life, the practice of the holy life, and also the knowledges. The Buddha has all the knowledges. So that is the highest. There is nothing higher than attaining Arahanthood. But even if you don't attain Arahanthood, if you read the Nikayas, listen to the Sutta talks again and again, constantly, and you understand, you attain stream-entry, that is good enough. You will no more be reborn in the woeful planes once you become an Ariya. then you are secure already, you are not afraid of samsara anymore, you are not afraid of rebirth anymore. A lot of people when they are dying at the last moment, full of fear because they are going to be reborn into a woeful plane of existence. Okay, we've taken about one hour. Anything to discuss? Very good, tonight we can cover two Digha Nikaya long discourses in one hour. But these two discourses are not very deep. Both also about Brahmins. I suggest you don't turn it off. Actually, in the Vinaya books, a layman can become an arahant, but it is very rare. If a layman becomes an arahant, it means in his previous life he had already attained the four jhanas. We find in the Vinaya books when the Buddha You know, after the Buddha was enlightened and he wanted to seek disciples, he would use his heavenly eye to look out for people. And I believe that he would look out for those who have attained the Four Jhanas first. So there was a man called Yasa. He was a family man. with at least four wives, very wealthy. And every night, the slave girls would dance for him, and sing and dance for him. And then he'll be enjoying himself, drinking liquor and all that, and watching them sing and dance until he falls asleep. And then when he falls asleep, those girls have danced for so long, they're so tired, they sleep on the floor. So one night this happened, and the Buddha used the psychic power to make him wake up in the middle of the night. So when he woke up, he saw all these sleeves. sleeping on the ground, half naked, their hair disheveled, and this saliva flowing and all these things. So it reminded him of corpses. Probably in his previous life, he had contemplated corpses. So when he saw, immediately struck him, dukkha, dukkha. So he didn't want to see her, walked out of the house. And the Buddha must have used the psychic power to attract him. So he kept walking, walking, walking up to the gate. Normally the city gates are closed at night, right? But when he reached the city gates, the city gates opened. And then he walked out of the city gates, continued walking until he came to the forest where the Buddha was waiting for him. So he came to the Buddha and also said, Dukkha, Dukkha. In the middle of the night, probably he was also blur-blur, half asleep. So the Buddha said, Yasa, sit down here. There is no Dukkha here. So when he heard the Buddha say there's no Dukkha here, happily he sat down. Then the Buddha taught the Dhamma to him. basically about the Four Noble Truths, what I've tried to copy in my book called The Message of the Buddha. So when he heard the Buddha's teaching on the Four Noble Truths, he attained stream entry. The next morning, the father came looking for him because the family is very wealthy. So the father was worried and might have been kidnapped or something. And the mother was worried sick. So the father walked, walked, walked and found his slippers halfway. So followed his sandals or slippers to the forest where the Buddha was waiting. And Yasa was sitting beside the Buddha. And the Buddha used a psychic power so that the father could not see the son. So the father came to ask the Buddha whether he had seen Yasa. And the Buddha said, you sit down. In a short while, you'll probably see Yasa. So when he heard the Buddha say, you'll be able to see Yasa in a short while, he quickly sat down. So the Buddha talked to him the same discourse about the Four Noble Truths. Hearing it for the first time, the father attained stream entry. And Yasa hearing it a second time attained Arahanthood. Then after that, the Buddha took away the shield. Then the father saw the son. Then the father told the son, your mother is pining for you. You better quickly go home. The mother is all upset. So the Buddha told the father, said, Yasa is a different person. He cannot go home anymore. Then the father realized. realized, since the father himself had attained the Dhamma-I, so the father realized, so the father accepted it. So after that, Yasa became a monk. So once a lay person attains Arahanthood, he will no more want to go home. That self, that lay self has died. That's why the Buddha says his disciples are born from his mouth. When a person renounces, the lay person has died. The lay person that he was has died. He's like reborn again, a different person. And the Buddha says, we are Sakyaputta, sons of the Sakyan. We are born from the Buddha's mouth. Why born from the Buddha's mouth? Because the Buddha from his mouth preached the Dharma to us and we listen to the Dharma from the Buddha's mouth and we become a totally different person, we are reborn. We renounce and reborn. So you see from there, a lay person can become an arahant. But after that, he does not go back to the lay life anymore. Okay. There are 10 things given to the Buddha, but the Buddha only used one, that is the kathāgata. What is the meaning of kathāgata and why he used the 10 things? Tata gata, gata is gone. And tata is thus, thus. The rule, ru, ru putong, the rule. So in Chinese, this tata gata, I think is, my opinion is thus gone one. But sometimes they say this gata, tata gata is So they say that's come one. So in Chinese they say that's come one. But I think that's gone one is more logical because the Buddha has gone. He's no more what he was. The self has gone. It depends. If a person has attained very strong Samadhi, then he rests in the Samadhi. Like the Buddha, the Buddha says that there are different types of postures. The lion posture is to lie down on your right side and sleep. Then to lie down on your left side and sleep is the luxurious posture. To lie flat and sleep is the ghost posture. And the Buddha said, the Buddha posture is to enter the jhanas. So the Buddha, when he enters the jhana, he charges himself. But even then, the Buddha has to lie down. Sometimes when he speaks to his disciples and he feels a bit tired, but the monks are still fresh, they're not sleepy, and he asks another disciple like Sariputta to take over and give a talk to the monks. He says, my back aches, I need to lie down. Then he will lie down. But when he lies down, he's still awake. In the monks' Vinaya, An arahant cannot be faulted at one. An arahant cannot be said, cannot be accused of doing any wrong. Why? Because an arahant is mindful 24 hours a day. An arahant has sati, 24 hours a day. So in other words, even when an arahant rests, He is mindful. So an arahant, to me, does not sleep like we do. An arahant does not dream. Why? Because an arahant has destroyed the flow of this uncontrolled mental outflows. That's why I call asava uncontrolled mental outflows. As long as you're not enlightened, you cannot control your asavas, your outflows of the mind. The mind tends to think, tends to daydream, tends to night dream, but an arahant has destroyed this flow. When an arahant thinks, it is purposeful, it is controlled outflow. An arahant can also think. An arahant also can have emotion, but all controlled. So he does not sleep like an ordinary person. So because an arahant, his mind is so strong that he does not sleep like ordinary people. He's mindful 24 hours a day. So unless you have attained the four jhanas, how can you be mindful 24 hours a day? Nowadays you find a lot of meditation teachers, they say sleep mindfully. How to sleep mindfully if you don't have four jhana? Once you sleep, you are no more mindful. Gone, don't know where. of my husband, Saint John the Baptist. He says to me, how can I know this well? He said, The scholars are saying that the young Thai lads are more for new figures or non-figures, more to bring them into the region, to get them to be, to build up a community of interest, to be Chinese Thai, and to learn more about the Vietnamese people. Yeah, I agree. That's why I spoke those three Nikayas first. The Anguttara Nikaya is short discourses and a lot of the discourses in the Anguttara Nikaya concern lay people. So that's why I generally encourage people to listen to the Anguttara Nikaya first. And then the two most important Nikayas to me are the Samyutta Nikaya and the Majjhima Nikaya. The Samyutta Nikaya has 56 chapters dealing with all the important topics of the spiritual path, the Bodhipakya Dhammas. A lot of people, for example, on Satipatthana, they say the Satipatthana Sutta is very important and they study the Satipatthana Sutta and they think they understand Satipatthana. From one Sutta, I don't believe they understand Satipatthana. But if you study the Satipatthana Samyutta, there are so many Suttas there describing Satipatthana from various viewpoints, you know. If you study that, all the suttas in the Satipatthana Samyutta, then you have a much better understanding of Satipatthana than just studying the Satipatthana Sutta. So the most, the deepest Samyutta, I believe is the, sorry, the Nikaya, is the Samyutta Nikaya. And the Majjhima Nikaya also is very, very beneficial for somebody who wants to practice the Noble Eightfold Path. It also goes into detail. The least important is this, of the Four Nikayas, is the Digha Nikaya. And Kudaka Nikaya, there are 15 books according to Sri Lanka and Thailand. and maybe Laos and Cambodia. But the Burmese, they added three more books in 1956 when they celebrated 2,500 years of the Buddha's asana. And they know, and everybody knows, that these three books they added are not the Buddha's words, and still they added That's why the other countries don't recognize. Other countries only recognize 15 books. But even then, out of the 15 books, only 6 are reliable because the 6 books in the Kudaka Nikaya, they do not contradict the earlier 4 Nikayas. And these 6 books, I hope to talk on these six books after the Digha Nikaya, this fasal, if possible I have to finish all these six books. The six books are the Dhammapada, the Suta Nipata, Udana, Iti Uttaka, the Theragatha and the Therigatha. So, only these six books are important in the Kudakanikaya. And some of them, like the Suttanipata, some of the suttas there are very, among the original suttas, very old suttas. And also very, very, It's not that they are very deep, but they are very good for renunciation, very inspiring. Even like the Theragatha, Theragatha and Therigatha, they are very inspiring to see how the Arahants struggle. You find that some of the Arahants were just like us, their mind was giving them a lot of trouble, very disturbed mind. Somebody like Talaputta, Talaputta he kept He kept reasoning with his mind. He said, mind, you asked me to renounce. You told me when you go up the hill, stay alone, you find happiness and all that. And now, you're giving me so much trouble. And he kept talking with his own mind. And finally, he attained the jhanas. Even these monks who became arahants, they had a hard time fighting with their mind to attain jhānas. But because of his good background of dhamma, understanding of dhamma, the moment he attained jhāna, he became enlightened. So this combination of jhāna plus understanding the dhamma is essential. Okay, here we end here.

12-DN-06-Mahali-07-Jaliya-(2011-07-20).txt

It's the 20th of July, 2011, and we're on the fifth night on the Digha Nikaya talks. And we come to Digha Nikaya Sutta number six, Mahali Sutta, about heavenly sights, soul and body. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying at Vesali, at the Gable Hall in the Great Forest. And at that time, a large number of Brahmin emissaries from Kosala and Magadha were staying at Vesali on some business. And they heard say, the ascetic Gautama, son of the Sakyans, who has gone forth from the Sakyan clan, is staying at Vesali at the Gable Hall in the Great Forest. And concerning that, blessed Lord, a good report has been spread about. This Blessed Lord is an Arahant, Sammasambuddha, perfected in knowledge and conduct, a well-farer, knower of the worlds, unequal trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, a Buddha, a Blessed Lord. He proclaims this world with his gods, Maras and Brahmas, the world of ascetics and Brahmins, with his princes and people, having come to know it by his own knowledge. He teaches a Dhamma that is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, and lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter. And he displays the fully perfected, thoroughly purified holy life. And indeed, it is good to see such arahants. And so these Brahmin emissaries from Kosala and Mangada went to the great forest to the Gable Hall. At that time, the Venerable Nagita was the Lord's personal attendant. So they approached the rebel Nagitha and said, Reverend Nagitha, where is Reverend Gautama now staying? We would like to see him. Friends, it is not the right time to see the Lord. He is in solitary meditation. But the Brahmins just sat down to one side and said, when we have seen the Lord Gautama, we will go. Just then, Uthada, the Licchavi came to the Gable Hall with a large company, saluted the Venerable Nagita and stood aside saying, where is the Blessed Lord staying, the Arahant, Sammasambuddha? We would like to see him, Mahali. This, then the humble Nagita said to this Uttarada, Mahali, it is not the right time to see the Lord. He is in solitary meditation. But Uttarada just sat down to one side and said, when I have seen the blessed Lord, the Arahant, fully enlightened Buddha, I will go. Stop here for a moment. Here this, These emissaries, they are people sent on a special mission, for example, to spy on anything. And this Othada, the Licchavi, remember Nagita calls him Mahali, that is the family name, surname. In India, the clan is very important, the caste. So, people like to know, who your caste is, your family name is, and then they can tell what caste you belong to. that the novice Sīhā came to the Venerable Nāgītā, stood aside and said, Venerable Kassapa, these many Brahmin emissaries from Kosala and Magadha have come here to see the Lord, and Oṭhāda the Licchavi too has come with a large company to see the Lord. It would be well, Venerable Kassapa, to allow these people to see him." Stop here for a moment. So you see, Nāgītā is addressed as Venerable Kassapa. That must be his clan name. And he said, well, then Siha, you announce them to the Lord. Yes, my noble sir, said Siha. Then he went to the Lord, saluted Him, stood aside and said, Lord, these Brahmin emissaries from Kosala and Magadha have come here to see the Lord and Uthada the Licchavi, likewise with a large company. It would be well if the Lord were to let these people see Him. And the Buddha said, then Siha, prepare a seat in the shade of this dwelling. Yes, Lord, said Siha and did so. Then the Lord came out of His dwelling place and sat down on the prepared seat. The Brahmins approached the Lord. Having exchanged courtesies with Him, they sat down to one side. But Uthada did obeisance to the Lord and then sat down to one side, saying, Lord, not long ago Sunakata the Licchavi came to me and said, Soon I shall have been a follower of the Lord for three years. I have seen heavenly sights, pleasant, delightful, enticing. But I have not heard any heavenly sounds that were pleasant, delightful, enticing. Lord, are there such heavenly sounds which Sunakata cannot hear? Or are there not?" And the Buddha said, there are such sounds, Mahali. Then Lord, what is the reason? What is the cause? Why Sunakata cannot hear them? And the Buddha said, Mahali, in one case, a monk facing east goes into one-sided samadhi and sees heavenly sights, pleasant, delightful, enticing, but does not hear heavenly sounds. By means of this one-sided samadhi, he sees heavenly sights, but does not hear heavenly sounds. Why is this? Because this samadhi only leads to the seeing of heavenly sights, but not to the hearing of heavenly sounds. Again, a monk facing south, west, north goes into a one-sided samadhi and facing upwards, downwards. or across, sees heavenly sights in that direction, but does not hear heavenly sounds. Why is this? Because this samadhi only leads to the seeing of heavenly sights, but not to the hearing of heavenly sounds. In another case, Mahali, a monk facing east, hears heavenly sounds, but does not see heavenly sights. Again, a monk facing southwest, north, facing upwards, downwards or across, hears heavenly sounds, but does not see heavenly sights. In another case, Mahali, A monk facing east goes into two-sided samadhi and both sees heavenly sights pleasant, delightful, enticing, and hears heavenly sounds. Why is this? Because this two-sided samadhi leads to both the seeing of heavenly sights and the hearing of heavenly sounds. Again, a monk facing south, west, north, facing upwards, downwards or across, sees heavenly sights and hears heavenly sounds. And that is the reason why Sunakata comes to see heavenly sights, but not to hear heavenly sounds. Stop here for a moment. There is a sutta, I forgot where, where the Buddha said, this probably either Anguttara Nikaya or Samyutta Nikaya, where the Buddha said when he was practicing meditation, there was a stage where he could see heavenly beings but not clearly, not clearly. Then he strove harder and he developed more samadhi, then he could see them more clearly. And then he continued, and then after that he can talk with them and all that. So this, when your samadhi is not sufficient, you develop certain psychic powers, but not others. So he has, the meditator has to keep on practicing, develop more samadhi, and more of these psychic powers arise. Well, Lord, is it for the realisation of such samadhi states that monks lead the holy life under the Blessed Lord? No, Mahali, there are other things higher and more perfect than these, for the sake of which monks lead the holy life under Me. What are they, Lord? Mahali, in one case, a monk having abandoned three factors becomes a stream-winner. Sotapanna, not liable to states of war, firmly set on the path to enlightenment. Again, a monk who has abandoned the three fetters and has reduced his greed, hatred and delusion becomes a Sakadagamin, once-returner, who having returned to this world once more will make an end of suffering. Again, a monk who has abandoned the five lower fetters makes a spontaneous rebirth in the highest sphere, and without returning from that world gains enlightenment. That is Anagamin. Again, a monk through the extinction of the Asavas, which is in this very life, the uncorrupted deliverance by mind, the deliverance by wisdom, which he has realized by his own insight. That is another thing higher and more perfect than these, for the sake of which monks lead the holy life under me." Stop here for a moment. So you see here very clearly, this Mahali is asking whether this states of Samadhi, which gives rise to psychic powers. Are there any things higher? And the Buddha said, yes. And what is higher are these Aryan stages. Aryan stages are always higher than any type of Samadhi, or any type of psychic powers. Because these psychic powers, these Samadhis, you can lose them. But once you attain these Aryan stages, Sotapanna, Sakadagamin, Anagamin, Arahanthood, it is permanent. You never lose them. And besides, you are forever unable to take rebirth in the woeful planes, to become a ghost, animal, or fall into hell. That being so, once you become an Arya, you are no more scared of samsara, no more scared of dying and being reborn because once you are an Arya, you can only be reborn as a human being or as a Deva or Devi. And even if you come back as a human being, you will have a very, very good life because an Aryan has a great merit The highest merit a person can attain is to become an Arahant. And lower than that is the Anagamin. And lower than that is the Sakadagamin. Lower than that is the Sotapanna. So all these Aryan stages are very meritorious. And a person is highly blessed. by having these Aryan stages. So we should strive for these Aryan stages, not so much the stage of Samadhi. There are some people, they don't understand. They keep striving for Jhana or Jnana and all that. They don't understand that the easier way is just to listen to the suttas. I studied the Nikayas again and again. When you understand, you attain Right View. Once you attain Right View, you have entered the stream, attained the first path. And the first path will turn into Sotapanna, first fruit, within a period before you die. Before the person dies, the path will definitely turn into fruit, and then you are secure. Lord, is there a path, is there a method for the realization of these things? That means these are in stages. There is a path, mahali, there is a method. And what, Lord, is this path? What is this method? And the Buddha said, it is a noble eightfold path, namely right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. This is the path. This is the way to the realisation of these things. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, the Buddha only taught one path, that is the noble eightfold path. And that is the way to liberation, the way to become an ariya. And there is no other path. Sometimes people say Satipatthana is the only way. Satipatthana is not the only way. Satipatthana is just part of the Noble Eightfold Path. And so sometimes also certain books say the Buddha taught 84,000 Dhamma doors. The Buddha never taught 84,000 Dharma doors, only taught one Dharma door, that is the Noble Eightfold Path. If you think the Buddha taught 84,000 Dharma doors, and then you practice all kinds of rubbish, and you will never attain liberation. Once, Mahali, I was staying at Kosambi in the Gosita Park, and two wanderers, Mandisa and Jalia, the pupils of the wooden bowl ascetic, came to me, exchanged courtesies with me and sat down to one side. Then they said, How is it, friend Gautama? Is the soul the same as the body? Or is the soul one thing and the body another? And the Buddha said, Well, now, friends, you listen, pay proper attention, and I will explain. Yes, friend, they said. And I went on. Friends, a Tathagata arises in the world, an Arahant, Sammasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, welfareer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed, He, having realized it by his own super-knowledge, proclaims this world with his Devas, Maras and Brahmas, its princes and people. He preaches the Dhamma, which is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully perfected and purified holy life. A disciple goes forth and practices the moralities, etc. On account of his morality, he sees no danger anywhere. He experiences in himself the blameless bliss that comes from maintaining this Aryan morality. In this way, he is perfected in morality. And then, subsequently, he practices the other factors under Carana, the practice of the holy life or the conduct of the holy life. and then he gets rid of the five hindrances. It is as if he were free from death, from sickness, from bonds, from slavery, from the perils of the desert. Then being thus detached from sense desires, detached from unwholesome states, he enters and remains in the first jhana, and so suffuses, drenches, fills and irradiates his body, that there is no spot in his entire body that is untouched by this delight and joy born of detachment. Now, of one who does knows and does sees, is it proper to say the soul is the same as the body, or the soul is different from the body? It is not friend. But I does know and see and I do not say that the soul is either the same or different from the body. And similarly, for the second jhana, third and fourth jhana. The mind bends and tends towards knowledge and vision. Now of one who does knows and thus sees, is it proper to say the soul is the same as the body, or the soul is different from the body? It is not friend. And he knows there is nothing further here. Now of one who thus knows and thus sees, is it proper to say the soul is the same as the body, or the soul is different from the body? It is not, friend. But I thus know and see, and I do not say that the soul is either the same or different from the body. Thus the Lord spoke. And Utthada the Licchavi rejoiced at his words, at the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha said, these external ascetics asked him this question, whether the soul is the same as the body or not. And instead of answering the question, which is not worth answering, the Buddha explained how to practice the holy life. all the practice of the holy life, the factors of charan, and then that results in vijal, the knowledges and the psychic powers, etc. And finally, that person on the holy path attains enlightenment. So, So a person who knows and sees, he does not say whether the soul is the same or the body or the soul is different. He just knows. And what these external aesthetics are saying is just a view, just an opinion. And the view, the opinion, or any opinion is not important at all. What is important is you practice the holy path and you know and see for yourself. A lot of people, they don't want to practice, they ask a lot of questions. No need to ask all these questions. You just practice and you will know. So the next sutta, Jhaliya Sutta, is quite the same. Sutta Diganikaya, Sutta number seven, about Jalya. Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was staying at Kosambi in the Gosita Park, and two wanderers, Mandisa and Jalya, the pupil of the wooden bowl ascetic, came to Him, exchanged courtesies with Him and sat down to one side. And then they asked Him this question. And the Buddha, instead of answering them, as before, the Buddha described Carana and Vijja. and the practice of the holy life and the results of the holy life, resulting finally in enlightenment. And the Buddha said, a person who knows and sees, he's not bothered to answer those questions. Thus the Lord spoke and the two wondrous rejoiced at his words.

13-DN-08-Mahasihanada-(2011-07-20)-Part-A.txt

Now we come to Sutta number eight, Maha Sihanada Sutta, The Great Lion's Roar. So it's a bit long. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying at Ujunniyaya, in the Deer Park of Kanna Katale. There the naked ascetic Kasapa came to him, exchanged courtesies with him and stood to one side. Then he said, friend Gautama or Samana Gautama. I've heard it said the ascetic Gautama disapproves of all austerities and censures and blames all those who lead a harsh life of self mortification. Now are those who say this telling the truth or do they not slander the Lord Buddha, Lord Gautama with lies? Do they explain the truth about his Dhamma and what pertains to it? Or does some fellow teacher of a different sect deserve to be blamed for this statement? We would like to see the Lord Gotama refute this charge." And the Buddha said, Kasapa, those who say this are not telling the truth. They slander me with lies. The situation occurs, Kasapa, that I see one practitioner of mortification. That means torturing oneself. And with the divine eye which is purified beyond the sight of humans, I see him arising after death at the breaking up of the body in a place of war, a baleful place, a place of destruction in hell. Again, I see one practicer of mortification arising after death in a good place, a heavenly state. Again, I see one who practices little austerity, arising in a state of woe. Again, I see one who practices little austerity, arising after death in a good place, a heavenly state. Since I can see, as it is, the arising, the destiny, the death, and re-arising of those ascetics, how could I disapprove of all austerities and censure and blame all those who lead a harsh life of self-mortification? Stop here for a moment. So here, this naked ascetic, Kasapa, is asking the Buddha that some people say that the Buddha disapproves of all ascetic practices, all austerities. The Buddha said, that is not true. The Buddha said, because he has seen some people practice a lot of austerities, they go to hell. But on the other hand, there are some people practice a lot of austerities and they go to heaven. Again, he has seen some people practice little austerities, go to hell, and some practice little austerities, go to heaven. So, he does not generalize. Just by practicing austerities is no good. Just by practicing austerities, you go to woeful pains of rebirth. The Buddha never says this. The Buddha is trying to say. So, in some other suttas, the Buddha says that Whether you should practice something or not, the Buddha says, if you practice something and it does not harm others, it does not harm yourself, then you can practice it. But if it harms others or harms yourself, you should not. So that is one criterion. Another criterion, the Buddha said, if you practice something, it leads to an increase in unwholesome states. or a decrease in wholesome states, then you should not practice it. But if you practice something and it leads to an increase in wholesome states or a decrease in unwholesome states, then you should practice it. So the Buddha himself has practiced all sorts of austerities before he became enlightened. He practiced so much, he suffered so much, the Buddha said, you cannot find another ascetic who suffered more than him on the spiritual path. Either the past ascetics or present ascetics or future ascetics, nobody suffered more than him on the spiritual path, the Buddha said. At the most, the Buddha said, they only equal him. He cannot have suffered more than him. That is the bodhisattva. And nowadays, people say the bodhisattva is just making vows. So easy, making vows and burning your hand and all that. And the Buddha, the real bodhisattva, like the Buddha, he went through all the ascetic practices. So the Buddha, having realized it, then he found that certain ascetic practices which are beneficial, we should practice. Those that are not beneficial, for example, in India, there's some, they hold up their hands for one year, for five years, for 10 years, for 20 years, hold their hand until their hand cannot come down. For what? Doesn't benefit anybody. But the Buddha, ascetic practice, he eats one meal a day. To a lot of people, that is very ascetic. A lot of people prefer to eat four meals or five meals a day. Siu Yeh and all that. But the Buddha only eats one meal a day. So, to some people, that is very ascetic. But to him, he doesn't consider that to be ascetic. He thinks that is ideal. Eating one meal a day doesn't become too fat, doesn't become too sleepy. But some people find it difficult. So nowadays a lot of monks take two meals. That the Buddha allowed also later. So not all ascetic practices the Buddha condemned. Those that are beneficial, the Buddha, encourage, for example, begging for food, encourage monks to beg for their food. A lot of monks don't beg for their food. They think that is an ascetic practice. But the Buddha thinks it's very good. Why? Because it helps to cut our ego. When you beg for your food, you cannot be proud. You have to depend on people for your food. So, the Buddha's austerities, only those that are beneficial. And the Buddha said, Kasapa, there are some ascetics and Brahmins who are wise, skilled, practice in disputation, splitters of hairs, acute, who walk cleverly along the paths of views. Sometimes their views are caught with mind, sometimes they do not. What they sometimes applaud, we sometimes applaud. What they sometimes do not applaud, we sometimes do not applaud. What they sometimes applaud, we sometimes do not applaud. And what they sometimes do not applaud, we sometimes applaud. What we sometimes applaud, they sometimes applaud. What we sometimes do not applaud, they sometimes do not applaud. What we sometimes applaud, they sometimes do not applaud. And what we sometimes do not applaud, they sometimes applaud. On approaching them, I say, in these things, there is no agreement. Let us leave them aside. In these things, there is agreement. There, let the wise take up cross-question and criticize these matters with the teachers or with their followers, saying, of these things that are unskillful, and reckoned as such, censurable, to be refrained from, unbefitting a noble one, black, and reckoned as such, who is there who has completely abandoned such things and is free from them? the ascetic Gautama or some other verbal teachers. It may be that the wise say, of those things that are unskilled, the ascetic Gautama has completely freed himself. but the other reverent teachers only in part. In this case, the wise give us the greatest share of praise. Or the wise may say, of those things that are skilled and reckoned as such, blameless to be practiced, fitting for a noble one, bright and reckoned as such, who is there who has completely mastered them, the ascetic Gautama or some other reverent teachers. What the wise may say, of these things, the ascetic Gautama has completely mastered them, but the other reverend teachers only in part. In this case, the wise give us the greatest share of praise, the order of the ascetic Gautama's disciples, or that of reverend teachers." So here the Buddha is saying, when they compare him with other external sect teachers, or they compare his disciples with the disciples of other external sect teachers. Then the Buddha and his disciples get the greatest share of the praise. more praise than the external ascetics. Kassapa, there is a path, there is a course of training whereby one who has followed it will know and see for himself. The ascetic Gautama speaks at the proper time. What is true, to the point, the Dhamma Vinaya. What is this path and this course of training? It is the Noble Eightfold Path. namely right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. This is the path whereby one may know and see for oneself. The ascetic Gautama speaks at the proper time, what is true to the point, the Dhamma Vinaya. At this, Kasapa said to the Lord, Gautama, these ascetic practices of certain practices of self-mortification are considered proper to them. A naked ascetic uses no polite restraints, licks his hands, does not come or stand still when requested. He does not accept food offered or prepared for him or an invitation to a meal. He does not accept food out of the pot or pan, nor on the threshold. among the firewood or the rice pounders, nor where two people are eating, from a pregnant or nursing woman, or from one living with a man, nor from gleanings, from where a dog is standing, or where flies are swarming. He eats no fish or meat, and drinks no rum or spirits or fermented rice gruel. He is a one-house man, or a one-piece man, a two-house man, up to a seven piece man or a seven house man. He exists on one, two or up to seven little offerings. He eats only once a day, once in two days, once in seven days. He takes to eating rice only twice a month, that means once in two weeks. These are considered proper practices. Stop here for a moment. So here, this Kasapa, being a naked ascetic, one who practices these ascetic practices, he's trying to tell the Buddha that all these practices are good. what these austerities are practiced by naked ascetics. For example, a naked ascetic uses no polite restraints. When people ask him to come, he refuses to come. Ask him to stand still, he refuses to stand still. Invite him to a meal, he does not. He wants to be very heroic, macho. Also, he has this sense of compassion which is not tempered with wisdom. For example, if a woman is nursing a baby or pregnant and wants to give him food, he thinks, if I take the food, then the baby will not have enough to eat. Then he refuses to take. Or if somebody offers him the food, then there are some dogs standing there. Then he thinks, if I take the food, then the dogs won't have enough to eat. Then he won't accept. Or somebody gives him food, then he sees a lot of flies. Then he thinks, if I take all this food, then the flies will have less food to eat. then he won't accept. And then here, see, he eats no fish or meat. This vegetarian practice also is an external sect practice, not the Buddha's practice. A lot of people think, in Chinese we say, Se Chai. Se Chai and Se Su is completely different. Se Chai is a Buddhist practice. Se Chai is the Bakwan Chai. That means we don't eat afternoon. After the sun, the highest, until the next dawn, we don't eat. That is Se Chai. Se Su is a Taoist practice. Se Su is a vegetarian practice. It's not a Buddhist practice. But this Taoist practice crept into Buddhism in China because the emperor Liang Wuti in the year 511, he commanded that all Buddhist monks and nuns must become vegetarians, just like Taoist priests. So, but all the time, the people know that the Buddhist monks and nuns are vegetarians. So, when they start to eat vegetarian food, they still call them siu chai. So that's why there's this confusion in China between siu chai and siu su. That means not eating afternoon and vegetarian practice. So you see here, external aesthetics, they don't eat fish, they don't eat meat. And also this, he begs for his food from one house, from two houses, up to a maximum of seven houses. And this has crept into Mahayana Buddhism. They say in Mahayana Buddhism, when you beg for your food, you must not beg more than seven houses. But in Theravada, original Buddhism, you can beg as many houses as you like until you get enough food. Okay, what a man becomes, this further the description of the ascetic practices. What a man becomes a herb eater, a millet eater, a raw rice eater, a wild rice eater, an eater of water plants, of rice husk powder, of rice scum. of the flowers of all seeds, grass or cow dung, of forest roots and fruits, eating windfalls. He wears coarse hemp or mixed material, shrouds from corpses, rags from the dust heap, garments of bark fibre, antelope skins, grass, bark, shavings, blankets of human hair or horse hair, the wings of owls. He is a plucker out of hair and beard, devoted to this practice. He is a covered thorn man, making his bed on them. sleeping alone in a garment of wet mud, living in the open air, accepting whatever seed is offered, living on filth and addicted to the practice. One who drinks no water and is addicted to the practice, or he dwells intent on the practice of going to bed three times before evening." Stop here for a moment. I see here, living on filth, on shit. The Buddha also practiced. At one time, the Buddha said he was eating cow shit. You follow the cows. You eat dry cow dung. You eat wet cow dung. And eventually, he even ate his own shit. Kasapa, a practicer of self-mortification, may do all these. all these things, but if his morality and his mind and his wisdom are not developed and brought to realization, then indeed he is still far from being a Samana or a Brahmana. Stop here for a moment. During the Buddha's days, renunciants were either called Samana or Brahmana. If they came from the Brahmin caste, they are called Brahmana. If they came from the other three castes, they are called Samana. The other three castes, meaning the kathiya caste, the warrior caste, or the merchant class, or the worker class. But Kasapa, when a monk develops non-enmity, non-ill-will, and a heart full of loving-kindness, and abandoning the arts of arts, realizes and dwells in the uncorrupted deliverance by mind, the deliverance by wisdom, having realized it in this very life by his own insight, then Kasapa, that monk, is termed a Samana and a Brahmana. At this Kasapa said to the Lord, Reverend Gautama, it is hard to be a Samana, it is hard to be a Brahmana. Stop here for a moment. So when the Buddha says that a real Samana or a real Brahmana is one who has developed his sila, his moral conduct, developed his mind. and develop his wisdom, and then to the extent of attaining liberation by mind or liberation by wisdom, that is a real Samana and a Brahmana. And then this Kasapa having heard that, he said, that is very difficult, very difficult to become a Samana or Brahmana. And the Buddha said, so they say in the world, Kasapa, it is hard to be a Samana, it is hard to be a Brahmana. If a naked ascetic were to do all these things, as before, and if this were the measure and practice of the difficulty, the great difficulty of being a Samana or Brahmana, it would not be right to say it is hard to be a Samana, it is hard to be a Brahmana. Because any householder or householder's son, even the slave girl who draws water could do this by saying, I will go naked, etc. But Kasapa, because there is a very different kind of asceticism besides this, therefore it is right to say it is hard to be a Samana, it is hard to be a Brahmana. But Kasapa, when a monk develops non-enmity, non-ill will and a heart full of loving kindness, and abandoning the asavas, realizes and dwells in the uncorrupted liberation by mind and liberation by wisdom, having realized it in this very life by his own insight. Then that monk is called a Samana and a Brahmana. Stop here for a moment. So the Buddha is saying, if you think the practice of the ascetics, the naked ascetics, as stated before, going naked, and begging for their food, but not accepting if there are flies, if there are dogs. And when somebody asks you to come, you don't want to come, ask you to stand still, you don't want to stand still. The Buddha said, this is not difficult. Anyone can do, even a slave girl also can do. But to develop your moral conduct, your mind, your wisdom, and attain enlightenment, that is really hard to do. At this, Kasapa said to the Lord, Reverend Gautama, it is hard to understand a Samana, it is hard to understand a Brahmana. And the Buddha said, so they say in the world, Kasapa, it is hard to understand a Samana, it is hard to understand a Brahmana. If a naked ascetic were to do all these things, and if this were the measure and practice of the difficulty, the great difficulty, of understanding Samana or Brahmana, it would not be right to say that because any householder son or any householders or even a slave girl could understand what it means to go naked, what it means to beg for your food. what it means not to stand still when people ask you to stand still, etc. But Kasapa, because there is a very different kind of Samanism and Brahmanism beside this, it is right to say it is hard to understand a Samana or a Brahmana. But Kasapa, when a monk develops non-enmity, non-ill-will, and heart full of loving-kindness, and abandoning the asavas, realizes and dwells in the uncorrupted liberation by mind, the liberation by wisdom, having realized it in this very life by his own insight, then Kasapa, that monk is called a Samana and a Brahmana. Then Kasapa said to the Lord, Reverend Gautama, what then is the development of morality, of the mind and of wisdom? So here after the Buddha explains to him that the real practice of a Samana and a Brahmana is to get rid of ill will, to get rid of enmity and to develop loving kindness and abandon the asavas and attain enlightenment. Then he asked the Buddha to explain how to practice all of this. Then the Buddha said, A Tathagata arises in the world, an Arahant, Samasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, well-farer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. He, having realized it by his own super-knowledge, proclaims this world with his Devas, Maras and Brahmas, its princes and people. He preaches the Dhamma, which is lovely in its beginning. lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully perfected and purified holy life. A disciple goes forth and practices the moralities, that is the perfection of morality. He guards the sense doors, etcetera, etcetera, and attains the four jhanas. That is the perfection of the mind. He attains various insights and the cessation of the corruptions. That is the perfection of wisdom. And kasapa, there's nothing further or more perfect than this perfection of morality, of the mind and of wisdom. Stop here for a moment. So you see the Buddhas, Sammasambuddha, before I came to Buddhism, I was studying Hinduism for four years. And I found some of these Hindu saints are very inspiring. But what I noticed when I came to Buddhism was the Sammasambuddha's explanation is so detailed. So clear compared to the other sages. So you see here, when the Kassapa asked him to explain the development of morality of the mind and of wisdom, the Buddha explains it so clearly. Development of morality, all those moral practices that we went through in Sutta Digha Nikaya number two, the verses 41 to 63. If you recall, the Buddha is talking about the seven precepts, the 10 precepts, not to practice the shaman practices, not to make predictions, all the different types of wrong livelihood, not to do that. That is the perfection of morality. Then the perfection of the mind is the Carana, the practice, the other practices under Carana, after the four Jhanas, practicing mindfulness, Sati Sampajanya, contentment, and all that, and finally attaining the four four jhanas, culminating in the four jhanas. When a person attains the four jhanas, the mind is fully developed, it's called the perfection of the mind. And then after that, he uses the Having attained the four jhanas, the Buddha says the mind is malleable, pliant and wealthy. You can use it to attain the various insights. So when he directs it to the various insights, then he gets the various insights under Vijja, which we went through in Sutta number two. the various psychic powers. Finally, the destruction of the asavasla, meaning liberation, and that is the perfection of wisdom. Now, when a person becomes fully liberated, here sometimes the Buddha calls it liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom, and that is the perfection of wisdom. There is nothing more perfect than this perfection of morality of the mind and of wisdom. Kasapa, there are some ascetics and Brahmins who preach morality. They praise morality in various ways. But as regards the highest Aryan morality, Kasapa, I do not see any who have surpassed me in this. I am supreme in this regard, in super morality. There are some ascetics and Brahmins who preach self-mortification and scrupulous austerity, which they praise in various ways. But as regards the highest Aryan self-mortification and austerity, Kasapa, I do not see any who have surpassed me in this. I am supreme in this regard, in super-austerity. There are some ascetics and Brahmins who preach wisdom. They praise wisdom in various ways. But as regards the highest Aryan wisdom, Kasapa, I do not see any who have surpassed me in this. I am supreme in this regard, in super-wisdom. There are some ascetics and Brahmins who preach liberation. They praise liberation in various ways. But as regards the highest Aryan liberation, Kasapa, I do not see any who have surpassed me in this. I am supreme in this regard, in super liberation." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying, there are other ascetics, external ascetics, who say they also practice the highest morality. But as far as the Aryan morality, Aryan morality means the morality of an Aryan, the type of morality you practice where you can become an Aryan. The Buddha says he is the highest and then the same with this Aryan self-motivation and austerity. As I mentioned before, Aryan austerity means the austerity practice by Aryans which are beneficial, which will help you to attain enlightenment, not those that are unbeneficial. In that regard, the Buddha says he has the highest austerity, Aryan austerity, and also similarly with regard to Aryan wisdom and liberation.

14-DN-08-Mahasihanada-(2011-07-20)-Part-B.txt

Kasapa, it may be that wanderers of other sects will say, the ascetic Gautama roars his lions roar, but only in empty places, not in company. They should be told that this is not true. The ascetic Gautama roars his lions roar, and he roars it in company. Or they may say, the ascetic Gautama roars his lions roar, and in company, but he does so without confidence. They should be told that this is not true. The ascetic Gautama roars his lions roar, in company and confidently. Or they may say, the ascetic Gautama roars his lions roar, and in company and confidently, but they do not question him. They should be told that this is not true. The ascetic Gautama roars his lions roar, and they question him. Or they may say, and they question Him, but He does not answer. Or they may say, He answers, but He does not win them over with His answers. Or they may say, but they don't find it pleasing. Or they may say, but they are not satisfied with what they have heard. Or they may say, but they don't behave as if they were satisfied. Or they may say, But they are not on the path of truth, all they may say, but they are not satisfied with the practice. They should be told that this is not true. The ascetic Gotama roars his lion's roar, in company and confidently. They question him and he answers. He wins them over with his answers. They find it pleasing and are satisfied with what they have heard. They behave as if they are satisfied. They are on the path of truth, and they are satisfied with the practice. That, kasapa, is what they should be told. Once, kasapa, I was staying at Rajagaha in the Vulture's Peak, and a certain practicer of mortification, called Nigrodha, consulted me about the practice of austerity, and he was delighted with my explanation beyond all measure. Lord, who on hearing Dhamma from you would fail to be delighted beyond all measure? I am delighted beyond all measure. Excellent Lord, excellent. It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Blessed Lord has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. Lord, may I receive the going forth at the Lord's hands. May I receive ordination. And the Buddha said, Kasapa, whoever has formerly belonged to another sect and wishes for the going forth or ordination in this Dhamma Vinaya must wait four months. And at the end of four months probation, the monks who are established in mind will give him the going forth. and monastic ordination. But there can be a distinction of persons in this. And he said, Lord, if such is the case, I will even wait four years. And at the end of that time, let the monks give me the going forth and the monastic ordination. Then Kasapa received the going forth from the Lord himself and the monastic ordination. And the newly ordained Venerable Kasapa, alone, secluded, unwearying, zealous and resolute, in a short time attained that for which young men of good birth go forth from the household life into homelessness, that unexcelled culmination of the holy life, having realized it here and now by his own super-knowledge, and dwelt therein knowing, birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had been done has been done, there is nothing further here. And the verbal kasapa became another of the arahants. It's the end of the sutta. So here, you see, he asks for the going forth and the ordination. The going forth is pabbajja, that means becoming a samanera. And the ordination refers to the Upasambhada, the higher ordination of a bhikkhu. So when he asked for the going forth, the Buddha said, somebody who comes from another sect, external sect, must wait four months. During the four months, the monks will observe him, whether he has got rid of his wrong views. He has got rid of his wrong views and he's practicing well, then only they ordain him. Then he said, if that is the case, he's willing to wait four years. That shows his sincerity. Nowadays, if you tell people, wait four months, they say, too long, cannot wait four months. But this man, he's willing to wait four years. So when the Buddha saw that he was so sincere, the Buddha immediately ordained him. and personally ordained him. And then after that he practiced very hard and in a short time, short time could mean a few years, and then he became an Arahant. So you see the Buddha, how the Buddha changed this man's thinking. This man, originally when he came to see the Buddha, he thought he was a real ascetic, practicing all the very hard ascetic practices of naked ascetic, going naked. Some of the things like sleeping on the thorns, eating only certain type of herb or millet or rice. water plants, all these things, using, instead of a cloth rope, they use ropes made of coarse hemp, rags from the dust heap, bark fiber, antelope skin, grass, human hair, horse hair, and all these things, and pluck the hair. Instead of shaving, they pluck the hair. and then sleep in the open air, eating shit, and all these things. So they think by doing all these things, they are real macho, real hero. But the Buddha said, these things are not difficult to practice, but to practice the real Arun way, to perfect, develop your morality, to develop your mind and to develop your wisdom, that is hard. Why? Because any lay person can practice all this as austerities. Even a slave girl can go naked and beg for the food and sleep in the open air and all that. But to develop the morality, the mind and the wisdom, that is really hard. Then So after the Buddha has shown him that the real Aryan practice is harder to achieve than the external austerities, then he asked the Buddha to explain how to develop the sila, the mind, citta, and the wisdom, paññā. Then the Buddha explained the Charana, Vijacarana, Lafaz Charana, the practice of the holy life. Various things like Sila, contentment, mindfulness and awareness, moderation in eating, devoted to wakefulness, seclusion, living in a secluded place and meditating until he attains the four jhanas. That is the practice of the charana, which is basically development of sila and citta, the mind. And then using the fourth jhana, use the mind to get various insights and to get various psychic powers, that is vijja, knowledge. And the highest knowledge is the destruction of the asavas, destruction of the flow of the mind, the continual flow of the mind, and become liberated. So after he heard all this explanation, he was so impressed that he asked to go forth to be a disciple of the Buddha. And the Buddha allowed him to go forth and he practiced very hard. He said, somebody like this external ascetics, they are willing to suffer, you know, they are very sincere. But sometimes the wisdom is insufficient. That's why they practice these austerities without getting real fruit for their hard practice. But when they come into, when they meet the real Dhamma, then they practice very hard. In a short time, they become enlightened. They're willing not to sleep. They're willing to practice all the time, not to go into town, live in a forest, beg for their food and all this thing. So okay, we stop here for tonight. Anything to discuss? Oh definitely not. This Kasapa is a clan name. There are many people who are called Kasapa. That is not his real name. That's his clan name. No, I don't think so. I don't think so. and many people still don't receive it. It's about that many people still feel depressed, discouraged, and they don't talk about what they feel, think, and feel. But maybe if you'd like to just discuss it. I found that many of them come from very good countries, and many people from good countries, they have nature to talk. We don't know if they are novices, because they are from Yangtze, so we don't know if they are here or not. But they are very much interested in that. And we don't know if they go to this practice. like most people, they can grasp the Dharma very fast. So let's say for nowadays we see, we live in a not-so-natural state where people, they won't talk, they won't lie, they won't do things, they won't do what they want. So when they come into contact with the Dharma, they can listen to the Dharma and they can believe. They do not believe that this is very bad. This one depends on the individual. Depends on past life. And so it's hard to say that there's no fixed rule. So it's hard to say. But you find many of these Brahmins because they understand morality and all that. So even though they have wrong view, when they listen to the Buddha's dharma, they attain stream entry. I wanted to ask one question. What kind of ascetic practices praised by the Buddha? In the ascetic practices praised by the Buddha, some of them are in the suttas, but they are called Dutangas, and 13 are mentioned in the Visuddhimagga. begging for your food, eating one meal a day, wearing rag ropes, that means ropes made from cloth picked up by the roadside or in a cemetery and all that. And of these 13 Dutangas, the hardest to practice is the last, which is to sleep sitting up. But I can tell you from experience that unless you have good samadhi, you should not practice it. If you try to practice this without good samadhi, you'll be sitting and sleeping, which is of no benefit. The aim of sitting, sleeping, or they call sitting sleeping, the aim is to stay awake. So if you have good samadhi, and you don't want to lie down, Then you just keep on nodding your head, but you're awake. But you don't have any samadhi in the beginning, in the very early stage you practice it. You'll be sitting and sleeping, and you don't get good sleep, because after two hours you'll wake up, because your stomach is all cramped when you're sleeping. So it's very uncomfortable position, so after two hours you get up. So it's not worthwhile. What is the name of this mountain? It's just a name. It's just a mountain here. As the sutra says, you can see, but you cannot hear. Or you can hear, but you cannot see the devas. And the sound of this downstream entry, It's a really no chance. I mean, you know, Boddhamma seems to say he's, uh, during the Buddha's time, he wasn't considered an African-American. Isn't that like, uh, the biggest karmic, karmic offence? Would that, even if he would have attained stream-entry, wouldn't that also send him to the world of hell? No. What, what is the karmic offence you mentioned? Killing the Buddha. Oh, killing the Buddha. If a person wants to kill the Buddha, then he cannot be a sotapanna, cannot be a person who has attained stream entry. Person who has attained stream entry would generally not kill out of hatred. He might kill accidentally. Once a person has become an Arya, then he has this Aryan morality. Aryan morality consists of seven precepts. Right action, which is he will not purposely kill or steal or commit adultery. And right speech, which means he will not lie purposely or carry tales to make people quarrel. use vulgar, coarse speech, or idle gossip. And these are the seven Aryan precepts. So once a person has become an Arya, stream-entry, he understands the Dhamma, he understands Kamavipaka, action and its result, so he will not do wrong. and follow our prayers. And if someone tries to kill the Buddha before he attains to Siddha Pranayama, would he have the result? Would he have to? And will he have to feel the result, feel the karma done to him? He did something wrong before Suttapanna. Yes, I guess he would. Because he still has an ego. If you have an ego, Kamavipaka will follow you. Yes, if he did something serious, he'll be like this. We heard that Sutta Samanya Pala Sutta, the king who killed the father. After he killed the father, the mind was very disturbed. So when he listens to Dhamma, he doesn't penetrate, doesn't sink in. So he cannot become a Sri Mentor. So somebody who has this intention to kill the Buddha, even if you don't succeed, you have a lot of hatred. And then later, if you realize that the Buddha was an enlightened being, you have this so much remorse, I don't think the mind can be at peace. Ah, yes, this one, there was This Angulimala, there's a sutra about Angulimala. He killed many people. Then after that, he came to the Dhamma and practiced very hard. He became a monk, practiced very hard and became enlightened. Actually, having killed so many people, his mind would have been very disturbed. For him to become an Arahant shows he has super determination. Because I had a devotee in Penang who told me that he had a friend who was a gangster, and this gangster killed two people in gang fights before. And later when he was older, maybe in his 50s, he tried to learn meditation, but the mind was so disturbed he could not calm down his mind, could not. His mind was just swirling around, became very frightened. So for him to overcome that, the determination must have been very, very strong. I'm sure when he tried to meditate, all these people he killed would have appeared to him, the ghosts and all that, to disturb him. But the Buddha went to show him the path, because I think the Buddha saw that this person is capable of enlightenment, must have very good, what we call good roots from past life. This kind of case is exception. Generally, a person who has killed even one man, even one person, I don't think you'll be able to find peace of mind. But exceptions. Just like generally, lay people cannot become arahant. But in the Vinaya books, we find a few. They listen to the Dhamma and become arahant. Very exceptional people. or you put it in the CD, put it on the base, download it on the computer, play it across the cloud, and download it into a Mac. And now, as I say, it's not just the CD. One of the qualities I want to know about is, let's say, it's something that you can enable to ask a question using the Java code, and ask immediately, get the answer via the CD. But you see, when you listen to the CD, whatever questions you wanted to ask, the people, the audience would have asked already. In the urban area, there are a lot of different sections. Correct. So there are different cases, right? Some people don't want to go to school. They don't need to go. So they said, if they are missing, they can go back to their family. They can ask their father. This is not allowed. They can't ask. Correct, but the fact that the question arises gives them an opportunity to ask in future. But if they attended the Dharma talk, probably since their mind is blur blur, being old, they would have forgotten to ask the question at that time. What I was trying to say about listening to the Dharma talk is you can listen again and again. Listen again and again. The more times you listen, the more you will catch, the more you will understand. Whereas you go to a dhamma talk, you only listen once only. If you miss, or you forgot to ask, you have lost the chance already. A lot of people, they go to dhamma talk, they don't know how to ask question. Even sometimes they come to me after dhāna. Then I asked them to ask questions. They said, I had a lot of questions, you know. I prepared a lot of questions. Then I come here, I forgot already. Yeah, like that. I would like to know, how was that before? I'm not sure if it's true. Because before, in the beginning, you have to learn a lot of thoughts. Possibly, he was following, he was supposed to be following one of these external sect teachers and some of these They want blood sacrifice for their god. So it seems he may have been one of those. He did the killing to offer to the gods. So not out of hatred. But still, whatever the reason, if you have killed a human being, the coming offense is very great and your mind will be very disturbed. The fact that he could become an arahant is surprising, very surprising, because I think out of a hundred people, probably, or a thousand people, only one will succeed. Yeah, Angulimala is in the sutra, Majjhima Nikaya. So she haven't listened to the Majjhima Nikaya. If you want to, you can. But when we sit down in meditation, we are supposed to practice meditation. And meditation in the Buddha's teaching refers to the jhanas. Because in the Majjhima Nikaya, Ananda, remember Ananda was asked what type of meditation is praised by the Buddha. And he said the first jhana, second jhana, third jhana, fourth jhana. So if you are sitting in meditation, your aim should be to attain the jhanas. That means you stick to, if you are practicing the breath meditation, you only focus on your breath and nothing else. Okay? If you want to contemplate on the Dhamma, you don't have to sit down. You can walk. with your eyes open and contemplate the Dhamma. When you're driving the car also you can think about the Dhamma that you have heard. So this contemplation is Vipassana. Vipassana is the seventh factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Meditation is the eighth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Real meditation is sitting with your eyes closed. Vipassana is contemplation. Contemplation means you put your attention on four things, or one of four things, your body, your feelings, your mind, and the Dhamma, the Buddha's Dhamma. So that can be done without sitting with your eyes closed. You can be walking, you can be standing still, you can be lying down also, you can think of Dhamma. So, if you are sitting, you want to contemplate on Dharma, you can. It's not that you cannot. Questioner 2 Some people are talking about killing human beings. What about, if you say, a butcher, if you are talking about race, chikkunis and what not. Now, if they, if they cannot, can be nice to them, or whether they cannot, When she really finds him to come out, there is no point talking to that man anymore. Who is he? Are you talking about the animals or are you talking about the man? The man. There is a lot of chicken, pig. A lot of animals. So? Then there is no point talking to that man anymore. We are supposed to talk Dhamma only to the people who want to listen. We are not selling medicine in the market, telling every Tom, Dick and Harry, you know. Dhamma has to be requested. People request for it, we speak Dhamma. So you must see whether people want to listen or not. Okay. If he's interested to listen, then it's good. So when he listens, he might change his way. For example, many years ago, I was giving a Dharma talk in Penang, the Penang Buddhist Association, and after the talk, one lady came to me. She says she sells chicken rice, and so has to slaughter the chicken. So I said, why don't you buy from the The what, how do you call it, the cold meat. From the freezer one, already slaughtered one. She said that one people don't want to eat. They want freshly slaughtered one, more tasty. So asked me whether got karmic offense. I say yes. So I said the best is you try to change your livelihood. And then about a year later she came to see me. She told me she changed her livelihood already. So you see, some people, after listening to the Dhamma, they can change. It's whether they want to listen or not. Most of them, if they're not willing to change, they will refuse to listen. They won't come near. Because they know after listening, they have to change. Many years ago or so, when I was staying in a cave on Penang Hill, On Sundays, usually people come to do dan, offer food and all that. So, there was a man who came and I heard from others that he's a butcher. He slaughters pigs. So I tried to talk to him, but no effect. He refused to change. Okay, shall we end here?

15-DN-09-Potthapada-(2011-07-21).txt

Okay, tonight is the 21st of July and we are on the sixth night of the Digha Nikaya talks. Tonight we come to Sutta number nine, Boddha Pada Sutta. This Sutta is about states of consciousness. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying at Savati in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's park, and at that time the wanderer, Pothapada, was at the debating hall near the Tinduka tree, in the single-hall park of Queen Mallika, with a large crowd of about 300 wanderers. Then the Lord, rising early, took his robe and bowl and went to Savatthi for alms. But it occurred to him, it is too early to go to Savatthi for alms. Suppose I were to go to the debating hall to see the wanderer Potapada. And he did so. There Potapada was sitting with his crowd of wanderers, all shouting and making a great commotion, indulging in various kinds of unedifying conversation, such as about kings, robbers, ministers, armies, dangers, wars, food, drink. clothes, beds, garlands, perfumes, relatives, carriages, villages, towns and cities, countries, women, heroes, street and well gossip, talk of the departed, desultory chat, speculations about land and sea, talk about being and non-being. But Potapada saw the Lord coming from a distance. And so he called his followers to order, saying, Be quiet, gentlemen. Don't make a noise, gentlemen. That ascetic Gautama is coming, and he likes quiet and speaks in praise of quiet. If he sees that this company is quiet, he will most likely want to come and visit us. At this, the wanderers fell silent. Then the Lord came to Potapada, who said, Come, Reverend Lord. Welcome, Reverend Lord. At last, the Reverend Lord has gone out of his way to come here. We seated Lord, a seat is prepared. The Lord sat down on the prepared seat and Potapada took a low stool and sat down to one side. The Lord said, Potapada, what were you all talking about? What conversation have I interrupted? Potapada replied, Lord, never mind the conversation we were having just now. It will not be difficult for the Lord to hear about that later. In the past few days, Lord, the discussion among the ascetics and Brahmins of various schools, sitting together and meeting in the debating hall, has concerned the higher extinction of consciousness and how this takes place. Some said, one's perceptions arise and cease without cause or condition. When they arise, one is conscious. When they cease, one is unconscious. That is how they explained it. But somebody else said, no, that is not how it is. Perceptions are a person's self, which comes and goes. When it comes, one is conscious. When it goes, one is unconscious. Another said, that is not how it is. There are ascetics and Brahmins of great powers, of great influence. They draw down consciousness into a man and withdraw it. When they draw it down into him, he is conscious. When they withdraw it, he is unconscious. And another said, no, that is not how it is. There are deities of great powers, of great influence. They draw down consciousness into a man and withdraw it. When they draw it down into him, he is conscious. When they withdraw it, he is unconscious. It was in this connection that I thought of the Lord. Ah, surely the blessed Lord, the welfareer, He is supremely skilled about these matters. The Blessed Lord well understands the higher extinction of consciousness. What then, Lord, is this higher extinction of consciousness? In this matter, Boddhapada, those ascetics and Brahmins who say one's perceptions arise and cease without cause or condition are totally wrong. Why is that? One's perceptions arise and cease owing to a cause and condition. There are some perceptions arise through training and some pass away through training. What is this training, the Lord? What is this training? The Lord said, Putapada, a Tathagata arises in this world, an Arahant, Samasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, welfareer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed. teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. He having realized it by his own super knowledge, proclaims this world with his Devas, Maras and Brahmas, its princes and people. He preaches the Dhamma which is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully perfected and purified holy life. A disciple goes forth and practices the moralities, etc. This is as in Sutta number two, that for him is morality. And then Potapada, that monk who is perfected in morality, sees no danger from any side, etc. In this way, he is perfected in morality. He guards the sense doors, etc. as in also in Sutta 2, and goes through the various stages of charana, conduct, or practice of the holy life. And then having reached the first jhana, he remains in it, and whatever sensations of lust that he previously had disappear. At that time, there is present a true but subtle perception of delight and happiness, born of detachment, and he becomes one who is conscious of this delight and happiness. In this way, some perceptions arise through training. and some pass away through training. And this is that training, said the Lord. Stop here for a moment. This part is interesting. First, the Buddha says, when a person attains the first jhana, whatever sensations of lust that he previously had disappear. Now, we went through the Sutta number two, where the Buddha said that even before a monk attains the first jhana, the five hindrances disappear. But that state, that upacara samadhi, is very near to jhana. And so after that he enters the first jhāna and when he comes out of it also, the five induces are not there like we mentioned, but that is Criterion, some people say they have attained jhāna, but the anger is still very strong. The lust is also very strong. If they have attained the first jhāna, the five hindrances, even when they come out of it, the five hindrances are no more hindrances. As I mentioned, they are so low that they don't hinder a person anymore. They don't obsess the mind. When they obsess the mind, they are called hindrances. When they don't, they are not called hindrances. So that is a standard. Some people, you can judge. Some people, they go for retreat and then the teacher says they have attained four jhanas. Some even say they have attained eight jhanas. The teacher says so. But when we observe them, we find their anger is still very strong. Definitely, I don't think they have attained any jhana. Then the other thing interesting here, there is a true but subtle perception of delight and happiness. This piti and sukha is a subtle perception. A lot of people never study the suttas and believe what the later books say. The later books like the Visuddhimagga, they talk about different types of rapture, which is a translation for piti. Here it says delight. So they say there are strong, very strong Piti can overwhelm a person and all this thing. But you look here, the Buddha says, this piti and sukha actually is a very subtle perception. But even though it's very subtle, the monk who enters this first jhana, he's conscious of this piti and sukha, delight and happiness, which shows the state of the first jhana, that person when in the jhana, his mind is very mindful, he's very aware. It's not like some people say, what's the use of jhāna? When you enter jhāna, you're not mindful. But in jhāna, a person is never as mindful as when he is in jhāna. The mind is very sharp and very strong and fully aware of whatever is happening. So here, even the delight and happiness is subtle, he is very aware of it, very conscious of it. So here the Buddha is saying that some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training. The one that pass away is the, well, sensations of lust has passed away. And those that arise, it's like this piti and sukha, delight and happiness. Again, among the subsiding of this one is, here he's thinking of pondering, I prefer thought-directed and sustained. This is a vittaka and vichara. A monk with a subsiding of thought directed and sustained by gaining inner tranquility and unity of mind reaches and remains in the second jhana. This is free from thought directed and sustained. born of concentration, filled with delight and happiness. His former true but subtle perception of delight and happiness, born of detachment, vanishes. At that time, there arises a true but subtle perception of delight and happiness, born of concentration, and he becomes one who is conscious of this delight and happiness. In this way, some perceptions arise through training and some pass away through training. Stop here for a moment. So the perception that passed away is firstly the thought directed and sustained, and then also the subtle perception of delight and happiness born of detachment. And the one that arises is the subtle perception of delight and happiness born of concentration. Again, after the fading away of delight, he dwells in equanimity, mindful and clearly aware, and he experiences in his body that pleasant feeling of which the noble ones say, happy dwells the man of equanimity and mindfulness. And he reaches and remains in the third jhana. His former true but subtle sense of delight and happiness, born of concentration, vanishes. And there arises at that time, a true but subtle sense of equanimity and happiness. And he becomes one who is conscious of this true but subtle sense of equanimity and happiness. In this way, some perceptions arise through training and some pass away through training, again with the abandonment of pleasure and pain and with the disappearance of previous joy and grief. He reaches and remains in the fourth jhāna, a state beyond pleasure and pain. with utter purity of equanimity and mindfulness. His former true but subtle sense of equanimity and happiness vanishes, and there arises a true but subtle sense of neither happiness nor unhappiness, and he becomes one who is conscious of this true but subtle sense of neither happiness nor unhappiness. In this way, some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training. So this description up to the fourth journal. Again, by passing entirely beyond bodily sensations, by the disappearance of all sense of resistance, and by non-attraction to the perception of diversity, seeing that space is infinite, he reaches and remains in the sphere of infinite space. In this way, some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training. Stop here for a moment. As I mentioned before in my earlier talks, that when a person attains this first Arupajana, here it says, passing a tali beyond bodily sensations means that the five sense doors close. There is no seeing, there is no hearing, smell, taste, touch. These five senses close, that's why. Then only he enters the Arupas. Again, by passing entirely beyond the sphere of infinite space, seeing that consciousness is infinite, he reaches and remains in the sphere of infinite consciousness. In this way, some perceptions arise through training and some pass away through training. Again, by passing entirely beyond the sphere of infinite consciousness, seeing that there is no thing, he reaches and remains in the sphere of no-thingness, and he becomes one who is conscious of this true but subtle perception of the sphere of no-thingness. In this way, some perceptions arise through training, and some pass away through training. And this is that training, said the Lord." So here the Buddha describes up to the sphere of nothingness or no-thingness. And also you notice here, those perceptions are subtle, even this perception of no-thingness, of the subtle perception of the sphere of nothingness. Uttapada, from the moment when a monk has gained this controlled perception, he proceeds from stage to stage. till he reaches the limit of perception. When he has reached the limit of perception, it occurs to him, mental activity is worse for me. Lack of mental activity is better. If I were to think and imagine, these perceptions would cease. and coarser perceptions would arise in me. Suppose I were not to think or imagine, so he neither thinks nor imagines, and then in him just these perceptions arise, but other coarser perceptions do not arise. He attains cessation, and that puttapada is the way in which the cessation of perception is brought about by successive steps. I'll stop here for a moment. When a person attains cessation of perception, it also means that he attains cessation of consciousness. Because the sutra says, once a person has consciousness, it must come together with the other aggregates, making the five aggregates. And so, that's why when perceptions cease, consciousness, feeling, et cetera, cease. So, you look how the Buddha describes how to attain this cessation of perception. This monk, he attains to a high stage, reaches the limit of perception. He goes through the sphere of nothingness, And after that, this neither perception nor non-perception, and that is the very limit, and then he decides not to think or imagine. This, if you remember, dependent origination, the twelve links of dependent origination, avijja, pacchaya, sankara, sankara, pacchaya, vinyanam, ignorance conditions, sankara. Sankara I like to translate as volition and volition So if a person has any volition at all, consciousness will start. And this volition is the desire for anything, the desire to live. the desire to speak, the desire to think, etc. Just as like you want to move your hand. Before you can move your hand, you must have the desire to move your hand, right? The intention, right? And then only you can move your hand. So similarly, for anything to happen, there must be the volition and that is sankara. So once you have sankara, any desire at all, then consciousness will flow and samsara will continue. That's why when a person wants to attain liberation, he will give up desire for anything, even his life or so, he gives up. And then only the mind will stop working. So here, that's why the Buddha says, decides not to think or imagine, just don't want the mind to do anything, to act at all, then the perceptions do not arise. So the only perception he has is that he is aware that he doesn't want to think, doesn't want to move his mind. So when he doesn't want to move his mind, I guess after some time he attains cessation, the mind stops working. What do you think, Boddhapada? Have you heard of this before? No, Lord. As I understand it, the Lord has said, Boddhapada, from the moment when a monk has gained this controlled perception, he proceeds from stage to stage until he reaches the limit of perception. et cetera, et cetera. And that is the way in which the cessation of perception is brought about by successive steps. And the Buddha said, that is right, Potapada. Sorry for a moment. So you see here, Potapada has been paying careful attention that whatever the Buddha described, he can repeat exactly what the Buddha said. Lord, do you teach that the summit of perception is just one or that it is many? And the Buddha said, I teach it as both one and many. Lord, how is it one and how is it many? And the Buddha said, according as he attains successively to the cessation of each perception, so I teach the summit of that perception. Thus I teach both one summit of perception and I also teach many. Lord, does perception arise before knowledge, or knowledge arise before perception, or do both arise simultaneously? And the Buddha said, perception arises first, Uttapada, then knowledge. And from the arising of perception comes the arising of knowledge. And one knows, thus conditioned knowledge arises. In this way, you can see how perception arises first, and then knowledge. And that from the arising of perception comes the arising of knowledge. I'll stop here for a moment. So you must have perception or consciousness first, before you can have knowledge. Lord, is perception a person's self, or is perception one thing and self another? Well, Puttapada, do you postulate a self? Lord, I postulate a gross self material composed of the four elements and feeding on solid food. And the Buddha said, but with such a gross self, potapada, perception would be one thing and the self another. You can see that you can see that in this way, given such a gross self, certain perceptions would arise in a person and others pass away. In this way, you can see that perception must be one thing and the self another. Stop here for a moment. So here, Puttapara is asking the Buddha whether perception is self or not. And the Buddha said, you believe in a self. And he said, he believes in a gross self, a material self. Then the Buddha said, in that case, if that is the self you postulate, then perception must be one thing and self another. Then he changed his mind, then he says now, Lord, I postulate a mind-made self complete with all its parts, not defective in any sense organ. And the Buddha said, but with such a mind-made self, perception would be one thing and the self another. Then he says, Lord, I assume a formless self made up of perception. And the Buddha said, but with such a formless self, perception would be one thing and self another. But Lord, is it possible for me to know whether perception is a person's self, or whether perception is one thing and self another?" And the Buddha said, Puttapada, it is difficult for one of different views, of different faith, under different influences, with different pursuits and a different training, to know whether these are two different things or not. Stop here for a moment. So here, he's asking the Buddha whether he can know whether perception and self are the same or different. Then the Buddha said, you belong to another sect, you belong to a different training, and so it's difficult for you to know. Well, Lord, if this question of self and perceptions is difficult for one like me, tell me, is the world eternal? Is only this true and the opposite false? Puttapada, I have not declared that the world is eternal and that the opposite view is false. Well, Lord, is the world not eternal? And the Buddha said, I have not declared that the world is not eternal. Well, Lord, is the world infinite or not infinite? And the Buddha said, I have not declared that the world is not infinite or infinite and that the opposite view is false. Well, Lord, is the soul and the same as the body? Or is the soul one thing and the body another? Again, the Buddha says, I have not declared that the soul is one thing and the body another. Well, Lord, does the Tathagata exist after death? Is only this true and all else false? And the Buddha again says, I have not declared this. Well, Lord, does the Tathagata not exist after death, or both exist and not exist after death, or neither exist nor not exist after death? Do all these, the Buddha says, I have not declared that the Tathagata either exists or not exists, or in any other way. But Lord, why has the Lord not declared these things? Puttapada, that is not conducive to the purpose, not conducive to Dhamma, not the way to embark on the holy life. It does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to high knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. That is why I have not declared it. Stop here for a moment. So to all these questions, the Buddha says he has no answer, doesn't want to say yes or no. And when the Buddha asked him why, he said, because it doesn't help in the holy life. It's unbeneficial. Whether you believe in it or you don't believe in it, you don't get anything out of it. It's just a view only. But Lord, what has the Lord declared? Uttapada, I have declared this is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. And this is the path leading to the cessation of suffering. But Lord, why has the Lord declared this? Because Potapada, this is conducive to the purpose, conducive to Dhamma, the way to embark on the holy life. It leads to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. That is why I have declared it. So it is, Lord, so it is, Welfarer. And now is the time for the Blessed Lord to do as He sees fit. Then the Lord rose from His seat and went away. Then the wanderers, as soon as the Lord had left, reproached, sneered and jeered at Potapada from all sides, saying, Whatever the ascetic Gautama says, Potapada agrees with him. So it is, Lord, so it is, Welfarer. We don't understand a word of the Ascetic Gautama's whole discourse. Is the world eternal or not? Is it finite or infinite? Is the soul the same as the body or different? Does the Tathagata exist after death or not, or both or neither?" Pottapada replied, I don't understand either about whether the world is eternal or not, or whether the Tathagata exists after death or not, or both or either. But the ascetic Gautama teaches a true and real way of practice, which is consonant with Dhamma and grounded in Dhamma. And why should not a man like me express approval of such a true and real practice so well taught by the ascetic Gautama?" Stop here for a moment. So you see, his disciples could not follow the Buddha's Dhamma, could not follow the Buddha's argument at all. And they were annoyed that Potapada agrees with the Buddha. Two or three days later, Citta, the son of the elephant trainer, went with Potapada to see the Lord. Citta prostrated himself before the Lord and sat down to one side. Potapada exchanged courtesies with the Lord, sat down to one side and told him what had happened. And the Buddha said, Potapada, all those wanderers are blind and sightless. You alone among them are sighted. Some things I have taught and pointed out, Potapada, as being certain, others as being uncertain. What are the things I have pointed out as uncertain? The world is eternal. I have declared it to be uncertain. The Tathagata exists after death, etc. Why? Because they are not conducive to Nibbana. That's why I have declared them as uncertain. But what things have I pointed out as certain? This is suffering. This is the origin of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the path leading to the cessation of suffering. Why? Because they are conducive to the purpose. conducive to Dhamma, the way to embark on the holy life. They lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to higher knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. That is why I have declared them as certain. Pottapada, there are some ascetics and Brahmins who declare and believe that after death the self is entirely happy and free from disease. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, even nowadays, there are some people like to believe, as their religion says, that after death, they are in heaven and they're entirely happy, free from sickness and all kinds of dukkha. It's a promise which people like to believe. I approached them and asked if this was indeed what they declared and believed, and they replied, yes. Then I said, do you friends living in the world know and see it as an entirely happy place? And they replied, no. I said, have you ever experienced a single night or day or half a night or day that was entirely happy?" And they replied, no. I said, do you know a path or a practice whereby an entirely happy world might be brought about? And they replied, no. I said, Have you heard the voices of deities who have been reborn in an entirely happy world, saying, The attainment of an entirely happy world has been well and rightly gained, and we, gentlemen, have been reborn in such a realm? And they replied, No. What do you think, Botapada, such being the case, does not the talk of those ascetics and Brahmins turn out to be stupid? It is just as if a man were to say, I'm going to seek out and love the most beautiful girl in the country. They might say to him, well, as to this most beautiful girl in the country, do you know whether she belongs to the Kattiya, the Brahmin, the merchant or the artisan class? And he would say no. Then they might say, well, do you know her name, her clan? whether she is tall or short, or of medium height, whether she is dark or light complexion, or shallow skinned, or what village or town or city she comes from, and he would say no. And they might say, well then, you don't know or see the one you seek for and desire, and he would say no. Does not the talk of such a man turn out to be stupid? Certainly, Lord. So it is with those ascetics and Brahmins who declare and believe that after death, the self is entirely happy and free from disease. Does not that talk turn out to be stupid? Certainly not. It is as if a man were to build a staircase for a palace at a crossroads. People might say to him, well now, this staircase for a palace that you are building, do you know whether the palace will face east or west or north or south? or whether you'll be high or low or of medium height?" And he would say, no. And they might say, well then, you don't know or see what kind of a palace you are building the staircase for? And he would say, no. Don't you think that man's talk would turn out to be stupid? Certainly, Lord. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that there are some people who believe that after death they'll be entirely happy with no sickness whatsoever, 100% happy. Then the Buddha asked whether they know anything about that state. whether they have met anybody who came back from that place and all that. And they said no. So then the Buddha said, it's just stupid talk, just like a person claims to love the most beautiful girl in the country but never met her, doesn't know whether she's tall or short or fair or dark or anything. And similarly, a person who wants to build a staircase for a palace but he doesn't know what the palace looks like, where to put the staircase or so, he doesn't know. So the Buddha says all this is stupid talk. Puttapada, there are three kinds of acquired self or presumed self. The gross acquired self, the mind made acquired self, the formless acquired self. What is the gross acquired self? It has form, is composed of the four great elements, nourished by material food. What is the mind made self? It has form, complete with all its parts, not defective in any sense organ. What is the formless acquired self? It is without form and made up of perception. But I teach a doctrine for getting rid of the gross, acquired self, whereby defiling mental states disappear, and states tending to purification grow strong, and one gains and remains in the purity and perfection of wisdom here and now, having realized and attained it by one's own super-knowledge. Now, Potapada, you might think, perhaps these defiling mental states might disappear, and one might still be unhappy. That is not how it should be regarded. If defiling states disappear, nothing but happiness and delight develops, tranquility, mindfulness, and clear awareness, and that is a happy state. I also teach a doctrine for getting rid of the mind-made acquired self. I also teach a doctrine for getting rid of the formless acquired self. Putapada, if others ask us, what friend is this gross acquired self whose abandonment you preach? Being so asked, we should reply, this is that gross acquired self that is getting rid of which we teach a doctrine. If others ask us, what is this mind-made acquired self? Similarly, the Buddha says, this is that mind-made acquired self. If others ask us, what is this formless acquired self? What do you think, Boddhipada? Similarly, the Buddha says that this is that equine self. What do you think, Pottapada? Does not that statement turn out to be well-founded? Certainly, Lord. It is as if a man were to build a staircase for a palace which was below that palace, and they might say to him, well now, this staircase for a palace that you are building, do you know whether the palace will face east or west or north or south, or whether it will be high, low or of medium height, and he would say, this staircase is right under the palace. Don't you think that man's statement would be well founded? Certainly, Lord. In just the same way, Potapada, if others ask us, what is this gross acquired self? What is this mind made acquired self? What is this formless acquired self? We reply, this is that gross or mind made or formless acquired self, for the getting rid of which we teach a doctrine. whereby defiling mental states disappear, and states tending to purification grow strong, and one gains and remains in the purity and perfection of wisdom here and now, having realized and attained it by one's own super-knowledge. Don't you think that statement is well-founded? Certainly, Lord. At this, Citta, son of the elephant trainer, said to the Lord, Lord, whenever the gross acquired self is present, would it be wrong to assume the existence of the mind made acquired self or of the formless acquired self. Thus only the gross acquired self truly exists then. And similarly with the mind made acquired self and the formless acquired self. And the Buddha said, Citta, whenever the gross acquired self is present, we do not at that time speak of the mind made acquired self. We do not speak of a formless, acquired self. We speak only of a gross, acquired self. Whenever the mind-made, acquired self is present, we speak only of a mind-made, acquired self. And whenever the formless, acquired self is present, we speak only of a formless, acquired self. Citta, suppose they were to ask you, did you exist in the past or didn't you? Will you exist in the future or won't you? Do you exist now or don't you? How would you answer? Lord, if I were asked such a question, I would say, I did exist in the past. I did not not exist. I shall exist in the future. I shall not not exist. I do exist now. I do not not exist. That Lord would be my answer. Achitta if they ask, the past acquired self that you had, is that your only true acquired self, or are future and present ones false? Or is the one you will have in the future the only true one, and are the past and present ones false? Or is your present acquired self the only true one, and are the past and future ones false? How would you reply? Lord, if they ask me these things, I would reply, my past acquired self was at that time my only true one. The future and present ones were false. My future acquired self would then be the only true one. The past and present ones will be false. My present acquired self is now the only true one. The past and future ones are false. That is how I would reply. In just the same way, Chitta, whenever the gross acquired self is present, we do not at that time speak of a mind-made acquired self or of a formless acquired self. In just the same way, Chitta, from the cow we get milk, from the milk curds, from the curds butter. From the butter, ghee. And from the ghee, cream of ghee. And when there is milk, we don't speak of curds, of butter, of ghee, or of cream, or... of ghee, we speak of milk. When there are curds, we don't speak of butter, etc. When there is cream of ghee, we speak only of cream of ghee. So two, whenever the gross acquired self is present, we do not speak of the mind made or formless acquired self. Whenever the mind made acquired self is present, we do not speak of the gross or formless acquired self. Whenever the formless acquired self is present, we do not speak of the gross acquired self. or the mind-made acquired self. We speak of the formless acquired self. But citta, these are merely names, expressions, terms of speech, designations in common use in the world, which the Tathagata uses without misapprehending them. And at these words, Potapada, the wanderer, said to the Lord, Excellent Lord, excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had got lost. or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so the Blessed Lord has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. Lord, I go for refuge to the Lord, the Dhamma and the Sangha. May the Lord accept me as a lay follower who has taken refuge in him from this day forth, as long as life shall last." Bacchitta, son of the elephant trainer, said to the Lord, Excellent, Lord, excellent. It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down. or to point out the way to one who had got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so the Blessed Lord has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. Lord, I go for refuge to the Lord, the Dhamma and the Sangha. May I, Lord, receive the going forth at the Lord's hands. May I receive ordination. And Citta, son of the elephant trainer, received the going forth at the Lord's hands and the ordination, and the newly ordained Venerable Citta alone secluded, unwearying, zealous and resolute, in a short time attained to that for the sake of which young men of good birth go forth from the household life into homelessness, that unexcelled culmination of the holy life, having realized it here and now by his own super-knowledge, and dwelt therein, knowing, birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is nothing further here. And Reverend Chitta, son of the elephant trainer, became another of the arahants. That's the end of the sutta. So here we find that the Buddha explained how this perception can cease. through the various stages of the jhanas. Firstly, the rupa jhanas, and then the arupas. Then later the Buddha explains how people who have certain beliefs, like this belief of some ascetics and Brahmins, that after death, the self is entirely happy and free from disease. that they only believe there's no basis for it. Even in this present life, they can't attain what they think they are going to attain. So how can they attain it in the future? So after this, you see this Upadapada, He just took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Bacchitta not only took refuge, he requested the going forth and the Buddha accepted him. I don't know whether I have time for another sutta. This looks not too long. I will try.

16-DN-10-Subha-(2011-07-21).txt

We come to Sutta number 10, Subha Sutta, about Subha, morality, concentration and wisdom. Okay, Digha Nikaya Sutta number 10, Subha Sutta. Thus have I heard, once the Venerable Ananda was staying at Savatthi in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's park, shortly after the Lord's final passing. And at that time, the youth Suba, today's son, was staying at Savatthi on some business. Stop here for a moment. So from here, from this beginning, you can tell that this sutta was after the Buddha's parinibbana, after Buddha's passing away. And Suba said to a certain young man, go, my lad, to where the ascetic Ananda is. Ask him in my name if he is in good health, free from fatigue, strong, vigorous, and dwelling in comfort, and say, it would be good if the Reverend Ananda would, out of compassion, visit the dwelling of Suba, the son of Todeya. Very good, sir, replied the young man. Then he went to the verbal Ananda exchanged courtesies with him and sat down to one side. Then he delivered the message. Venerable Ananda replied, It is not the right time, young man. Today I have taken some medicine. Perhaps it will be possible to come tomorrow, when the time and the occasion are suitable. And the young man rose. returned to Suba and reported what had passed between him and the Reverend Ananda, adding, my mission has been thus far accomplished, that the Reverend Ananda would probably take the opportunity to come tomorrow." Stop here for a moment. So here you see this Suba, today's son, He wants to talk to Venerable Ananda and invited Venerable Ananda to come to his house. But that doesn't seem to be very polite. If he has the interest to speak to Venerable Ananda, he should go and visit Venerable Ananda instead of asking Venerable Ananda to come to him. Indeed, as that night was ending, the Venerable Ananda, dressed in the early morning, took his robe and bowl and accompanied by the Venerable Cetaka, came to Suba's dwelling and sat down at the prepared seat. Then Subba approached the rebel Ananda, exchanged courtesies with him, and sat down to one side." Stop here for a moment. You see, in the Suttas and the Vinaya, when we find that when a senior monk goes out, generally he will, or any monk goes out, generally he's accompanied by another monk. And usually if a senior monk goes out, he'll bring a younger, a new monk, a young monk to accompany him and to serve him. This is also the tradition in the forest monasteries of Thailand. Then Suba said, Reverend Ananda was for a long time the Reverend Gotama's personal attendant. dwelling in His presence and near Him. You, Rev. Ananda, would know what things the Rev. Gautama praised, and with which he aroused, exalted and established people. Which, Rev. Ananda, were those things?" And the Rev. Ananda said, "'Subha, there were three divisions of things which the Lord praised. and with which he aroused, exhorted, and established people. Which three? The division of Aryan morality, Sila, the division of Aryan concentration, Samadhi, and the division of Aryan wisdom, Panniya. These were the three divisions of things which the Lord praised and with which he aroused, exhorted, and established people. One moment, these three things, sila, samadhi, paññā, are also basically the divisions found in the Noble Eightfold Path. Under the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, the eight factors can be divided into three also, grouped into three. And he said, well, Reverend Ananda, what is the division of Aryan morality which the Reverend Gautama praised? And remember Ananda said, young sir, a Tathagata arises in the world, Arahant, Samasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, well-farer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. He, having realized it by his own super-knowledge, proclaims this world with his Devas, Maras and Brahmas, its princes and people. He preaches the Dhamma which is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully perfected and purified holy life. A disciple goes forth and practices the moralities. This description of the moralities are as in Sutta number 2, verses 41 to 63. Thus a monk is perfected in morality. That is the division of Aryan morality which the Lord praised. But something more remains to be done. It is wonderful, Reverend Ananda. It is marvelous. This division of Aryan morality is perfectly fulfilled, not left incomplete. And I do not see this division of Aryan morality fulfilled thus anywhere among the ascetics and Brahmins of other schools. And if any of them were to have found this perfection in themselves, they would have been so delighted that they would have said, We have done enough. The goal of our asceticism has been reached. There's nothing more to be done. And yet the Reverend Ananda declares that there is more to be done. Stop here for a moment. So what this Suba is saying is what nowadays also we find. There are certain monks, they're very sticky about the Vinaya, the moral conduct. They go into, sometimes they split hairs, go into very detail, and seem to be very fussy about certain rules and all that. And they stop there, just like this Suba says, they think they have perfected the holy life. and they don't go beyond Sila. But as Reverend Ananda says, there's more to be done. Reverend Ananda, what is the division of Aryan concentration which the Reverend Gautama prays? And then Reverend Ananda now goes into a description of the other factors under Charana, the practice or conduct of the holy life. Things like guarding the six sense doors, practicing Sati Sampajanya, mindfulness and clear awareness, contentment, moderation in eating, devoted to wakefulness, the seven good qualities, sattva saddhama, seclusion, aloofness from society, going to live in a secluded place in Aranya, and then practicing meditation and attain the abandonment of the five hindrances, and then after that attain the four jhanas. That is the division of Aryan concentration which the Lord prays, but something more remains to be done. So here, after explaining the process by which a monk practices Carana, the conduct or practice of the holy life, and attains the four jhanas, remember Ananda says, there's still more to be done. And Suba said, it is wonderful, Reverend Ananda, it is marvelous. This division of Aryan concentration is perfectly fulfilled, not left incomplete. and do not see this division of Aryan concentration fulfilled thus anywhere among the ascetics and Brahmins of other schools. And if any of them were to have found this perfection in themselves, they would have been so delighted that they would have said, we have done enough. The goal of our asceticism has been reached. There's nothing more to be done. And yet the Reverend Ananda declares that there is more to be done. This development of samadhi, in the earlier sutta we read, I think yesterday, it was Development of the mind. In the previous sutra we heard about development of morality, development of the mind, citta, and development of wisdom. So this samadhi is actually development of mind. Development of mind, the term is bhavana. bhavana, development, and development of mind, you find here, always culminates in the four jhanas. When a person attains the four jhanas, the mind becomes developed, because he has got rid of the five hindrances, and not only that, the mind is in such a high state that it becomes pliant, malleable, and wieldy. And in that state, after attaining that state, the mind is workable and you can use it in whichever way you want, just like some monks having attained the fourth jhāna, the psychic powers come and they can walk to the wall. If they want those psychic powers, they can acquire those psychic powers, like the heavenly eye, they can see heaven, they can see hell. The heavenly ear, they can listen to the sounds of ghosts and devas and all that. That is provided they want to develop it. And then memory of past lives, reading other people's minds, et cetera. So that is the development of the mind, which is basically attainment of the four jhanas. Reverend Ananda, what is the division of Aryan wisdom which the Reverend Gautama praised? So here, Reverend Ananda describes how a monk uses the four jhanas, attains contemplation knowledge, attains a mind-made body, attains a heavenly eye, attains a heavenly ear, attains a memory of past lives, attains the ability to read others' minds, and the various types of psychic powers, like flying through the air, passing through the wall, et cetera. And finally, attainment of the destruction of the asavas, destruction of the tendency of the mind to flow, which is basically liberation. And then, there is nothing further here than what Ananda says. That is the division of Aryan wisdom which the Lord praised, with which He aroused, exalted and established people. Beyond that, there is nothing to be done. And Suba said, it is wonderful, Reverend Ananda. It is marvelous. This division of Aryan wisdom is perfectly fulfilled, not left incomplete. And do not see this division of Aryan wisdom fulfilled thus anywhere among the ascetics and Brahmins of other schools. And there is nothing further to be done. Excellent, Reverend Ananda. Excellent. It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Reverend Ananda expounded the Dhamma in various ways. Reverend Ananda, I go for refuge to the Lord Buddha and Gautama, the Dhamma and the Sangha. May the Reverend Ananda accept me as a lay follower, who has taken refuge from this day forth, as long as life shall last. That's the end of the Sutta. You notice here in the last part, even though the Buddha has passed into Parinibbana, this Suba says he takes refuge in the Buddha, Gotama, in the Dhamma and the Sangha. And here it just says Sangha, but actually, I think the Pali is the Bhikkhu Sangha. When a person takes refuge in the three refuges, he takes refuge in the Bhikkhu Sangha, the Sangha of monks. So always remember, we take refuge only with these three, the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Bhikkhu Sangha. A lot of people nowadays, instead of taking refuge in the Buddha, which means listening to the Buddha's words, a lot of people, they just listen to the teacher's word, and that is taking refuge in their teacher, not in the Buddha. and the Buddha's Dhamma. So okay, we shall end here. Anything to discuss? This word consciousness in the Suttas, consciousness refers to generally the six consciousnesses, the seeing consciousness, the hearing consciousness, the smelling, taste, touch and thinking consciousness, the six consciousness at the six sense doors. And these six consciousness creates the world, the first five creates the outer world, the world of sights, sounds, smells, taste, touch. Sights means anything that you see, any form that you see. which is basically the physical world, the physical world that we see is the sights, sounds, all the sounds in the world, smells, taste, touch, touch other things that you touch. And then the last one, the mind is the inner world, inner world. So when we talk about consciousness in Jnana, normally we refer to the D6 consciousness. But there are another two terms used in Pali to describe the mind. One is citta, one is mano. Mano refers to the thinking mind. And mano is actually one of the six sense organs. The sixth one, the last one, the mind base is called mano. And mano is the thinking mind. And the other word is citta. Citta is a very wide word. It has many meanings. It can mean basically like the whole world is in citta. And also thoughts are also called citta. So these are the three words referring to the mind. Vijnana, mano, and citta. Buddha teaches that everything is impermanent. Why is everything impermanent? Oh, why is everything impermanent? Everything in the world is impermanent, okay? Because everything in the world is basically energy. All things in the world are basically atoms. Atoms are just energy, a form of energy. An atom itself does not cease to be moving. All the things inside an atom are always moving. The protons, electrons, neutrons, photons, mesons, everything. So because basically energy is, energy in the world is never stationary. It's always moving. So because of movement, there is change. There is change. So because of change, everything in the world is impermanent. But because our feelings make us like and dislike, those things that you like, you want it to remain as it is. But unfortunately, it cannot remain as it is. So when it goes away, you have suffering, you have dukkha. And those things that you dislike, you want it to go away immediately, like sickness. But things in the world are beyond our control. That's why the Buddha says, nothing in the world is the self. If anything in the world is the self, the Buddha says, you will have control over it. Just like if money is yours, you can spend it in any way you like. But if it's not yours, then it's beyond your desire to spend it any way you want, right? So even the body is not yours. When the body falls sick, you cannot decide you want to be well. You have to wait your time, right? Because everything is impermanent, even what is undesirable after some time will fade away, will go away. So if we understand this, then whatever happens, we know it is impermanent. It's going to change. So if it's something that you like, so you know you should not be too attached to it because it's going to go away from us. And if you are attached to it, it's going to give you suffering. And if any suffering comes to you, you also accept it that it is impermanent. So you know that it will go away and just have to wait for the time for it to go away. So if you have this understanding, whatever happens to you, your mind is not disturbed. The Buddha says there are two types of suffering, physical suffering and mental suffering. Physical suffering is something that no body can get rid of. Even the Buddha has physical suffering. Arahants also have physical suffering. That's the nature, because the nature of the body is to grow old, to become sick and to die. But mental suffering, the Buddha says, Aryans don't have mental suffering. Aryans understand the nature of the world, so whatever happens, they accept it. So then you don't have mental. Mental suffering comes from thinking. If you cannot accept something, then the mind starts to proliferate. One thought becomes 10, 10 becomes 100, 100 thoughts become 1,000. Then that suffering is prolonged. The other line? You have to wait. After you switch on, you wait a while. Sometimes, so the question is, what's the difference between consciousness and mindfulness? It's quite a good question. Because nowadays, a lot of people practice mindfulness meditation, and they think you have to be mindful. Whatever you do, you have to be mindful. That is true, but then they interpret this word sati as mindfulness, as general mindfulness. Actually, general mindfulness, we have all the time. We have that mindfulness all the time. anything impinges on your sixth sense doors, you are mindful. For example, the sound comes to you, you're mindful. Like now you're listening to a dhamma talk, you're mindful. Suddenly, if outside a car were to sound the horn very loudly, your attention will be pulled there, and you're also mindful of that. And if a mosquito bites you, even when you're listening to a dhamma talk, you feel the itch, you're mindful of that. So actually we are mindful all the time. But the problem is most of the time we are mindful of those things which are not of benefit to us. For example, here trying to meditate and your mind starts to think of your office, starts to think about your work. You have to think of your family and all that. So you are trying to train your mind to be one-pointed. You don't want to think of all these things. But unfortunately, because you don't have a good control of your mind, you are mindful of those things that you should not be mindful of. So sati is not general mindfulness. Sati is to train your mind to put attention on only four objects which are beneficial to you. These four objects are to be mindful of your body, or the nature of your body, your feelings, or the nature of your feelings, your mind, and the Buddha's Dharma. Because these are beneficial to you, helps you to reduce your suffering. But if you pay attention to beautiful sights, which people like to pay attention to, nice sounds, fragrant smells, good taste, and nice touch, then the Buddha says that is Mara's bed. Mara is always trying to catch us by putting out these beads at the Sixth Sense doors. If you pay attention to it, you get caught by Mara, your craving will arise. And if you can't get what you want, you crave for, then grief will follow. That's why the Buddha says always in the suttas you find not to guard the sense doors. In the practice of guarding the sense doors, it is always said that if you don't guard your sense doors, then covetousness and grief will arise. Covetousness means if you are not You're not guarding the six sense doors. You pay too much attention to sights, sounds, smells, and all that. Either you crave for those lovely things that attract you at the six sense doors, or if you cannot get them, then grief arises. So you don't want these two states, because they are unwholesome states. So the mindfulness that we practice is a specific mindfulness, to put your mindfulness on the right place, namely these four things. So is that what you ask? Mindfulness and consciousness. Consciousness is general mindfulness. You're conscious of whatever comes into your sixth sense basis. Mindfulness is how you can train yourself to direct your mindfulness. Does that answer your question? Yeah. This Buddha Shakyamuni shares with the Boddhafaya of the Dalai Lama that he advises that he has gained his control perception and the When the brain is not working and unable to think, once it begins to imagine, the causal perception will come in. So this is in consistence with the second jhāna, where thought can talk and sustain, talk is application of thought, ceases. But the third jhāna is our third jhāna already, and yet we are still thinking about In the second jhāna, you are still, in a sense, thinking because you are putting your attention on this Piti and sukha. And when you put your attention on piti and sukha, in the first jhana, you also have piti and sukha. But in the first jhana, the piti and sukha is born of seclusion. And in the first jhana, you have what the Buddha calls skillful thoughts, you still can have skillful thoughts, like trying to tell yourself to remember how to retrace your steps. But in the second jhana, the piti and sukha is born of concentration. And because it's born of concentration, the mind is much stronger. And because the mind is strong in the second jhāna, the thoughts cannot arise. But even though the thoughts cannot arise, that monk in that state is clearly aware, clearly mindful of whatever is happening. So, in this cessation of perception, then he decides not even to, here it says to think or imagine, not to move the mind in any way. But this... It's so funny that I was thinking, it's not so much of thinking, thinking so much positive thinking, but it's just the thinking. But you see, even a monk in the second jhāna, even though the thoughts have ceased, because the mind is in such a, he can feel the mind is so strong that the thoughts cannot arise, but the will is still there. The will, so because, for example, even in the second jhāna, even though the thoughts don't arise, he can decide he wants to move into the third jhāna and all this thing. So there is a movement of the mind. It is not thoughts, but there is movement of mind, which he finally decides not to have any will at all. That's why I said this is volition. As long as you have volition to do this, to do that, the mind is still active, is still mindful. So he doesn't want to exercise any volition at all, doesn't want to pay attention also, then slowly the mind will stop. So it is this volition I mentioned that is important. As long as you have any desire at all, any volition at all, the mind will continue to work. I don't remember the particular suita. It's more up to us whether to pre-terminate or end it. I cannot remember that particular suita. It's conditioned. No, I think that one is not the first or second jhana, but the state of cessation. Before he enters the state of cessation, he will decide how long he's going to enter the state of cessation. Just a quick question. Is Jhana controlled, like, controllable in the sense of, say, I would be, I would enter in first Jhana, would I, the next meditation session, would I be able to sit down and say, I want to enter in first Jhana, and then I immediately leave the Jhana, or would I go all the steps? Only if you have got that kung fu to be able to enter that first jhana or come out of it or enter another jhana. If you haven't trained your mind up to that level, you won't be able to. Even a person attains, for example, the first jhana or second jhana, if he has only just started to attain it, even though he wants to remain in that jhana, he cannot. He will fall out of it because the mind is not strong enough. after a while, it will all be controlled. Yes, yes. Yes, if he's so good at it. That's why in the suttas, the Buddha says the Arahant disciples, they can attain the four jhanas at will. And when they want to, they just sit down, but they have to sit down and concentrate their mind. So we find, for example, in the Maratha Jnana Sutta, in the Majjhima Nikaya, one day our Venerable Mahamoggalana, the monk with the greatest, the disciple with the greatest psychic power, he was practicing walking meditation, and suddenly he felt the stomach very heavy, as though something was in that stomach. So he decided to check it out. But even though he has great psychic power, he cannot just know. He has to sit down, sit down and enter Samadhi. Then very quickly he knows that Mara has gone into his stomach. These are the persons I'm talking about, the 8 jhanas, all 4 of them. From there, he goes into the light, he got all the wisdom inside. And then he, he actually, you see, he realized the 4 noble truths and so on. Except that he actually knew something about Dhamma, something to contemplate on the 4 noble truths, then he enlightened, and then The person uses satipatthana to enter the jhanas. You practice satipatthana. Satipatthana means intense state of mindfulness. Intense state. Then you attain the jhanas. And then after attaining the jhanas, he attains psychic powers. Buddha attains. And then on the night of enlightenment, the Buddha looked into the past life. Then he remembered that he was a disciple of the Buddha Kassapa. Then the last watch of the night, he contemplated the Four Noble Truths. Contemplated. Contemplating means thinking? In the normal sense, it's thinking. Using a concentrated mind? Yes, because he doesn't contemplate in jhāna. He has to come out of jhāna. Can you speak about the final step? What is the final step? Every kind of acquired self. This acquired self is a presumed self. You can say it's a presumed self, and it's also acquired in the sense that the Buddha says basically we have the gross self. But then from the gross self, if he meditates, he can acquire the mind-made self. Then he can acquire the formless self. Mind itself is already in the realm of super powerful power. Yes, yes. In the suttas, the Buddha described how he can make this mind-made self come out from his head, just like drawing a sword from the scabbard, this cover, pulling it out. So when he comes out, he is this mind-made self. So the body is lying there like a shell. So then he can travel with his mind-made self. I think that question is very compact, but let's start with the basic one. Commonly we blame their contact, what is basically the intermediate insect, one get. The other quality where we shifted from the past, I would like to ask something more on the quality that one requires, the quality that we require. Once you revise one's view, one gets closer and closer to yata'a, mu'alimah, and as-salam. That's when you have to get things out of you. So that's one of the attempts in the Aqa'an. There's one point in that sense, progress, the way we look at things become more and more detached. Is that because I don't... Do you not notice the qualities that you get from each other that will draw you in? Equanimity means not allowing the mind to move so much. Now, even an arahant, It doesn't mean Arhan is like a stone, does not have feelings. Arhan also has feelings. But in the Majjhima Nikaya, one of the last suttas, the Buddha talked about I forgot the title already, but basically the arahant, whatever feelings arise, they subside very fast. But that type of equanimity requires a very strong mind. A mind that has very strong samadhi, because a person has very strong samadhi, then only whatever feelings arise, it does not shake the mind, because the mind is solid like a rock. So feelings arise but very quickly they die down. So if you just practice Vipassana or you understand the Dhamma, if your mind is not backed up with good Samadhi, you can move easily. You got to have wisdom plus samadhi, concentration, to have good equanimity. But like in the state of the fourth jhāna, the Buddha describes that you have utter purity of equanimity and sati, mindfulness. So in that state of the fourth jhāna, the equanimity is very strong, utterly purified because there is no sukha and dukkha. Bodily sukha and bodily dukkha is not there. Even mental sukha and mental dukkha is not there. But when a person comes out of the fourth jhāna, the mind can still move. So depending on the wisdom, if the person has wisdom in addition to the fourth jhāna, then he does not allow the mind to move. But somebody like, for example, Devadatta, he has strong samadhi, but it's not balanced with wisdom. So he allows the mind to move, for example, hatred for the Buddha, and the Buddha calls him spittle. in front of everybody, then he got so annoyed, so the ego got the better of him. So it's whether you allow the mind to move or not. If you have the wisdom, you don't allow the mind to move. You know what you should do, you do. What you should not do, you don't do. But you don't have that wisdom, then you do what you should not do, like Devadatta. When a person gets to the fourth jhāna, there is the samādhi, or the summer samādhi. Then the next step is sannyāsa. When the mind is quite pliable, then actually you see there is absolutely no concentration on the formless truth. That's provided you already have a right view. Yeah. If you don't have, then you're like an external ascetic. They only acquire the psychic powers. They don't have right view. Then it's more interesting, I think, in the Vajrasattva Sutta, the second one, the last two factors in the Vajrasattva Sutta, it's not by accident that it's the last two, because you have the Samadhi, and then Upekkha, In the Bhojanga Sutta, I think the equanimity is like the other factors connected with Samadhi. Samadhi. In terms of tranquility, why Samadhi? In the past, the Vipassana community, Samadhi is said to be for the mind. You see, like the other factors, like tranquility, all that is also part of Samadhi, but they are separately. Okay, shall we end here?

17-DN-11-Kevaddha-(2011-07-22).txt

It's the 22nd of July and tonight is the seventh night. We're talking on the Digha Nikaya. Tonight we come to Sutta number 11, Kevada Sutta. This is quite an important sutta. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying at Nalanda in Paparika's mango grove, and the householder Kevada came to the Lord, prostrated himself before Him and sat down to one side. Then he said, Lord, This Nalanda is rich, prosperous, populous, and full of people who have faith in the Lord. It would be well if the Lord were to cause some monks to perform superhuman feats and miracles. In this way, Nalanda would come to have even more faith in the Lord. The Lord replied, Kivada, this is not the way I teach Dhamma to the monks by saying, go monks and perform superhuman feats and miracles for the white-clothed lay people. For a second time, Kivada said, Lord, I would not be importunate, but I still say this Nalanda is rich, prosperous, full of people who have faith in the Lord. It would be well if the Lord were to cause some monks to perform superhuman feats and miracles. In this way, Nalanda would come to have even more faith in the Lord. And the Lord replied as before. When Kivada repeated his request for a third time, the Lord said, Kivada, there are three kinds of miracles that I have declared, having realized them by my own insight. Which three? The miracle of psychic power, the miracle of telepathy, the miracle of instruction, What is the miracle of psychic power? Here, Kevada, a monk displays various psychic powers in different ways. Being one, he becomes many. Being many, he becomes one, etc, etc. And he travels in the body as far as the Brahma world. This description of the various psychic powers, as in Sutta number 2 previously. Then someone who has faith and trust sees him doing these things. He tells this to someone else who is sceptical and unbelieving, saying, it is wonderful, sir. It is marvellous, the great power and skill of that ascetic, etc. And that man might say, Sir, there is something called the Gandhara charm. It is by means of this that that monk becomes many, etc. What do you think, Kevada? Would not a skeptic say that to a believer? He would, Lord. And that is why, Kevada, seeing the danger of such miracles, I dislike, reject, and despise them. And what is the miracle of telepathy? Here a monk reads the minds of other beings, of other people, reads their mental states, their thoughts and ponderings, and says, that is how your mind is. That is how it inclines. That is in your heart. Then someone who has faith and trust sees him doing these things. He tells this to someone else who is skeptical and unbelieving, saying, It is wonderful, sir. It is marvelous, the great power and skill of that ascetic, etc. And that man might say, Sir, there is something called the Manika charm. It is by means of this that that monk can read the minds of others. And that is why, seeing the danger of such miracles, I despise them. Stop here for a moment. Here, the Buddha is saying, if his monks display psychic powers, those with faith in the Buddha and the disciples, they would be impressed by it. They would like it. If the believing lay person were to tell some other person who does not have faith in the Buddha and the disciples, then he would say that they are using these different types of charms. I think the Pali word is Vijja and this actually refers to the mantras. In India, these mantras were handed down from the Brahmins and mantras are words of power. There is no meaning in those words. but possibly it was handed down by the devas to the brahmins because a long time ago the brahmins they were ascetics and they practiced meditation until they could see and converse with devas and probably they learned these things. So these mantras can Allow a person to do those things that a person with psychic power can do, like fly through the air, multiply the body, walk through the wall, dive into the earth, like diving into water, walking on the surface of the water, etc. And similarly, with reading the minds of others. So the Buddha says, If the miracles were shown to people, those who are sceptical, they would not believe. And what is the miracle of instruction? Here, Kevada. A monk gives instruction as follows. Consider in this way, don't consider in that. Direct your mind this way, not that way. Give up that, gain this and persevere in it. That Kevada is called the miracle of instruction. Again, Kevada, a Tathagata arises in the world, an Arahant, Samasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, welfareer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. He, having realized it by his own super knowledge, proclaims this world with its Devas, Maras and Brahmas, its princes and people. He preaches the Dhamma which is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully perfected and purified holy life. A disciple goes forth and practices the moralities, as in Sutta 2, verses 41 to 63. He guards the sense doors and attains the four Jhanas. also found previously in Sutta 2. He attains various insights. He realizes the four noble truths, the path and cessation of the asavas and he knows there is nothing further here. That Kevada is called the miracle of instruction. Stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha says, the miracle of instruction is to teach a person, and then if that person practices the holy life, practices the, firstly by teaching that person, when the person hears the Dhamma, he has faith, has faith, then he goes forth. Having gone forth, then he practices the, conduct of the holy life, or the practice of the holy life, which I said was Charana. And from practicing Charana, which culminates in the four Jhanas, then he attains various knowledges, higher knowledges, and finally, liberation. And this is called the miracle of instruction. And I, Kevada, have experienced these three miracles by my own super knowledge. Once Kevada, in this order of monks, the thought occurred to a certain monk. I wonder where the four great elements, the earth element, water element, fire element, air element, cease without remainder. And the monk attained to such a state of mental concentration that the way to the Deva realms appeared before him. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, at one time a certain monk was thinking about these four great elements. These four great elements, earth, water, fire, wind, describes The physical world in Pali is rupa. Rupa consists of these four elements. The earth element means the hardness element. The water is the liquid things that cohere together. The fire element is the heat element. The air is the motion element. So the physical world can be described by these four elements. And this monk wanted to know where the four great elements cease without remainder. In other words, where does the world end? Because he thought this world is a world of suffering. It would be good if the world were to cease. So he attained a state of mental concentration that the way to the Deva realms appeared before him. So here you see this sentence is quite interesting. He meditated until his mind became so concentrated that the Deva realms appeared in front of him. So this confirms our Buddhist belief that the world actually exists in consciousness, in the mind. If you were to be able to develop your mind like this monk, then you are able to see and go and visit the various realms of existence like the Buddha and the Arahant disciples. So you want to go to the Deva realm, it's not by chanting the Buddha's name. It's by meditating until the Deva realms appear before you. Then coming to the realm of the devas of the four great kings, he asked those devas, friends, where do the four great elements, earth, water, fire, wind, cease without remainder? At this question, the devas of the four great kings said to him, monk, we don't know where the four great elements cease without remainder. But the four great kings are loftier and wiser than we are. They may know where the four great elements cease. So these devas, they could not reply, they say, you go and see our kings, the four kings, they should be wiser, they will know. So that monk went to the four great kings and asked the same question, but they replied, we don't know, but the 33 gods may know. So they say the higher gods may know. So that monk went to the 33 gods who said, we don't know, but Sakka Devaraja may know. Then he went to ask Sakka Devaraja and Sakka Devaraja also didn't know. He said the Yama Devas may know. Then this monk went to the Yama Devas and they also didn't know. They said maybe our king, Suyama, son of the Deva may know. Then when the monk asked Suyama, he also didn't know. He said the higher Tushita devas may know. Then the monk went to the Tushita devas and asked them. And they also didn't know. They said their king, Santushita, may know. And then when Santushita was asked, he also didn't know. So he said the fifth heaven, Nimana Rati devas may know. And when the monk asked them, they also didn't know. They said, go and ask our king, Sunimitta. And when he asked Sunimitta, Sunimitta also couldn't answer. He said, the six heavens, the devas called Parinimitta, Vassavati devas may know. So the monk went to them and asked them. They also didn't know. They said their king, Vassavati, may know. And then when the monk asked Vasavati, Devarajya, he also couldn't answer. He said maybe the devas of Brahma's retinue may know. Then that monk, by the appropriate concentration, made the way to the Brahma world appear before him. He went to the devas of Brahma's retinue and asked them. They said, We don't know, but there is Brahma, great Brahma, the conqueror, the unconquered, the all-seeing, all-powerful, the Lord, maker and creator, ruler, appointer and orderer. father of all that have been and shall be. He is loftier and wiser than we are. He would know where the four great elements cease without remain them." And where, friends, is this great Brahma now? And they said, monk, we do not know when, how and where Brahma will appear. But when the signs are seen, when a light appears and a radiance shines forth, then Brahma will appear. Such signs are an indication that he will appear. Then it was not before long, the great Brahma appeared. And that monk went up to him and said, friend, where do the four great elements, earth, water, fire, air, or wind, cease without remainder? Sorry for a moment. So you notice here in this sutta, it talks as far as the first jhana realm, the Brahma's heaven. Here the sutta talks about Brahma's retinue, and Maha Brahma, the great Brahma. But in later books, they added ministers of Brahma. So it is by adding a few things like this, they created the 31 planes of existence. This 31 planes of existence is very well known, but actually a lot of people don't know, it comes from later books. The Buddha never talked about 31 planes of existence. The Buddha only talked about five realms, of existence, the heavens which are the highest, then the human realm, and then below that the three woeful planes. As far as the heavens are concerned, he did mention a few heavens. So like in this Brahma realm, he only talked about two, Brahma's retinue and the great Brahma, but later books they added. So the Great Brahma replied, Monk, I am Brahma, Maha Brahma, the Conqueror, Unconquered, All-Seeing, All-Powerful, Lord, Maker and Creator, Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of all that have been and shall be. The second time the monk said, Friend, I did not ask if you are Brahma, Great Brahma, the conqueror, etc. I asked you where the four great elements cease without remainder. And the second time, the great Brahma replied as before, I am Brahma, Maha Brahma, conqueror, unconquered, all-seeing, all-powerful, etc. And the third time, the monk said, friend, I did not ask you that. I asked where the four great elements, earth, water, fire, air, cease without remainder. Then Kivada, Maha Brahma, the great Brahma, took that monk by the arm, laid him aside and said, monk, these devas believe there is nothing Brahma does not see. There is nothing he does not know. There is nothing he is unaware of. That is why I did not speak in front of them. But monk, I don't know where the four great elements cease without remainder. And therefore, monk, you have acted wrongly. You have acted incorrectly by going beyond the Blessed Lord and going in search of an answer to this question elsewhere. Now, monk, you just go to the Blessed Lord and put this question to Him, and whatever answer He gives, accept it. Then, so that monk, as swiftly as a strong man might flex or unflex his arm, vanished from the Brahma world and appeared in my presence. He prostrated himself before me, then sat down to one side and said, Lord, where do the four great elements, the earth, element water, element fire, element air, element seas, without remain there? Stop here for a moment. So you see, this monk, he has the greatest teacher in the world in front of him, and he doesn't realize, he goes looking for an answer elsewhere. This very often happens with disciples. They don't have enough faith in the teacher. And there's a saying, what's that? Familiarity breeds contempt, is it? So when the teacher is too familiar with the disciple, then the disciple does not respect. So here the greatest teacher, he has the greatest teacher in the world, but he goes to the heavens and asks all the devas, and not a single deva would answer him. And Mahabrahma asked him to go back to the Buddha. So he asked the Buddha, And the Buddha said, I replied, Monk, once upon a time, seafaring merchants, when they set sail on the ocean, took in their ship a land-sighting bird. When they could not see the land themselves, they released this bird. The bird flew to the east, to the south, to the west, to the north. It flew to the zenith and to the intermediate points of the compass. If it saw land anywhere, it flew there. But if it saw no land, it returned to the ship. In the same way, monk, you have been as far as the Brahma world, searching for an answer to your question and not finding it. And now you come back to me. But monk, you should not ask your question in this way. Where do the four great elements, the earth element, water element, fire, element air, element seas, without remainder. Instead, this is how the question should have been put. Where do earth, water, fire and air, no footing find? Where are long and short, small and great, fair and foul? Where are name and form, or nama-rupa, wholly destroyed? I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha said, the way you ask, first the Buddha said, you go everywhere looking for an answer to your question and you cannot find and now you come back to me, just like the bird in the ship. Then the Buddha said, you asked the question wrongly. The question the monk put, where do the four great elements cease without remainder? So the Buddha said, if you ask where the four elements cease without remainder, that means you think there is a place where you can get out of the world. But that is not the way to ask. Instead, the Buddha said, you should ask, where does earth, water, and fire, no footing find? That means have no opportunity to arise. Where are long and short, small and great, fair and foul, namarupa, holy, destroyed? Because in this world, there's always this duality. If you have long, you have short. If you have black, you have white. Small, great, fair, foul. Also, in this world, this world is made up of Nama Rupa. Nama Rupa is the counterpart of Vijnana. Vijnana is consciousness, and Nama Rupa is the object of consciousness. Whenever you have consciousness, you must have an object. As far as the world is concerned, you must have an object, so that object is Nama Rupa. And Nama Rupa means mentality and materiality. Materiality means the physical world that you are conscious of. And mentality is the mental part. Mental part, feelings, your own feelings, other people's feelings, your thoughts, other people's thoughts, etc. And the Buddha said, the answer is where consciousness is signless, anidasanam, boundless, anantam, all luminous, sabato paham. That's where earth, water, fire and air find no footing or no footing find. They're both long and short, small and great, fair and foul. Their Nama Rupa are wholly destroyed. With the cessation of consciousness, this is all destroyed. Thus the Lord spoke, and the householder, Kevada, delighted, rejoiced at his words." That's the end of the Sutta. So this last part is extremely important. Because there are some people say that when you enter Nibbana, Because this, where earth, water, fire and air have no chance to arise, no footing, it means the state of Nibbāna. The state of Nibbāna, there is no world, because the world is a world of suffering. When you have the world, then you have long and short, small and great, fair and foul, et cetera. So this state of Nibbāna, the Buddha says, consciousness is signless. Signless means no object, boundless, all luminous, extremely bright, everywhere bright. There, earth, water and air, the physical world cannot arise. And all the discrimination, long and short, fair and great, black and white, everything is not there. and Nama Rupa also not there, and cessation, there is cessation of consciousness, so all this is destroyed. So the last part, the last part talking about the cessation of consciousness is a different consciousness from the earlier one. This cessation of consciousness refers to the cessation of the sixth consciousness. Because I mentioned before that the sixth consciousness creates the world, seeing consciousness, hearing consciousness, smelling, taste, touch, consciousness creates the outer world and thinking creates the inner world. So the sixth consciousness creates the world of Nama Rupa, the world of discrimination, long and short, small and great, fair and foul, black and white, etc., good and bad, etc. So that is the sixth consciousness. But in this state of Nibbana or Parinibbana, consciousness is signless. There is no object, boundless and luminous. So this state of Parinibbana is a different type of consciousness. So a lot of people, they don't notice this sutta. So they say when you enter Nibbana, there's nothing and no consciousness whatsoever. But here you can see there is a type of consciousness which is has no object. So when it has no object, there is no self, there is no other. When there is an object, for example, when seeing consciousness arises, and you think you see, then you have an eye seeing something, seeing an object, right? There's always this subject and object, as far as the sixth consciousness is concerned. But in this Nibbāna state or final Nibbāna or parinibbāna, there is no object. So because there is no object, there is no subject, so there is no self. But even though there is no self, there is consciousness. So basically the whole world is consciousness, just that it looks like this consciousness can be divided in active consciousness and static consciousness, just like kinetic energy and static energy, right? So the static state is like the consciousness that is not active, but when it's active, then a being comes, a being arises.

18-DN-12-Lohicca-(2011-07-22).txt

Okay, now we come to Sutta number 12, Lohiccha Sutta. about good and bad features. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was touring Kosala with a large company of some 500 monks and coming to Sala Vatika, he stayed there. And at that time, the Brahmin Lohicha was living at Sala Vatika, a populous place full of grass, timber, water and corn, which had been given to him by King Pasenadi of Kosala as a royal gift and with royal powers. Just then this evil line of reasoning occurred to Lohitja. Suppose an ascetic or Brahmin were to discover some good doctrine. Having done so, he ought not to declare it to anyone else. For what can one man do for another? This is just as if a man, having cut through an old fetter, were to make a new one. I declare such a thing is an evil deed rooted in attachment. For what can one man do for another? Then Lohicha heard it said that the ascetic Gotama had arrived at Salavatika. and that concerning the blessed Lord Gautama, a good report has been spread about, etc., etc. And indeed it is good to see such arahants. And Lohicha said to Besika, the barber, Friend Besika, go to the ascetic Gautama, ask in my name after his health, and then say, may the reverend Gautama consent to take tomorrow's meal with his Sangha of monks from the Brahmin Lohicha. Very good, sir, said Basika and carried out the errand. The Lord signified his acceptance by silence. Then Basika, understanding the Lord's acceptance, rose from his seat and passed by with his right side to the Lord. He returned to Lohicha and told him of the Lord's acceptance. Stop here for a moment. So here this Lohicha, he has this wrong view that if some ascetic or brahmin were to discover some good dhamma, he should not teach it. For what can one man do for another? That is his thinking. Then after that, he heard that the Buddha had come to his place and invited Buddha for a meal, and the Buddha accepted by silence. That's the Buddha's way of accepting. Then the Basika, the Baba, having conveyed the message, he kept his right side to the Lord and departed. This is an Indian tradition, keeping your right side to somebody shows respect. Even in our country, if you want to give something to somebody, you give it with your right hand. If you give it with your left hand, it's impolite. Also in Thailand. And Lohicha, as the night was ending, had choiced hard and soft foods prepared at his own home. Then he sent Besika to tell the Lord that the meal was ready. And the Lord, having risen early and taken His robe and bowl, went with His order of monks to Salavatika. And Besika the barber followed the Lord close at hand. And he said, Lord, this evil thought has occurred to the Brahmin Lohicha. And he described the wrong view of Lohi Chah. Truly, Lord, this is what the Brahmin Lohi Chah has been thinking. And the Buddha said, It may well be so, Besika. It may well be so. So the Lord came to Lohi Chah's dwelling and sat down on the prepared seat. Lohi Chah personally served the Buddha and his Sangha of monks with choice, hard and soft food till they were contented and satisfied. Then, When the Lord had taken his hand from the bowl, Lohicha took a low stool and sat down to one side. Then the Lord said to him, Lohicha, is it true that an evil line of reasoning has occurred to you? Namely, suppose an ascetic or Brahmin were to discover some good doctrine. Having done so, he ought not to declare to anyone else, for what can one man do for another? It is just as if a man having cut through an old fetter were to make a new one. I declare that such a thing is an evil deed rooted in attachment. For what can one man do for another? And Lohicha said, yes, Reverend Gautama. What do you think, Lohicha? Don't you reside at Sala Vatika? Yes, Reverend Gautama. Well now, if anyone should say the Brahmin Lohicha resides at Sala Vatika and he should enjoy the entire fruits and revenues of Sala Vatika, not giving anything away to others, would not anyone who spoke like that be a source of danger to your tenants? And Lohitja said, he would be a source of danger, Reverend Gautama. And as such, would he be solicitous for their welfare or not? He would not, Reverend Gautama. And not being solicitous for their welfare, would he have a heart full of love for them or of hatred, of hatred, Reverend Gautama? And in a heart full of hatred, is there wrong view or right view? wrong view, Reverend Gautama. But Lohit Shah, I declare that wrong view leads to one of two destinies, hell or an animal rebirth. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is trying to show that Lohit Shah has wrong view. So he says, now, if following your line of thought, that whatever you obtain, you should not share with others, then you should not share your revenue to anyone else and even to those of your tenants. That being so, would it not be dangerous for your tenants? He said yes, he had to admit. And then finally the Buddha shows him that this is wrong view. And the Buddha said that wrong view leads to one of two destinies, either rebirth in hell or the animal realm. What do you think, Lohicha? Does King Pasenadi of Kosala reside at Kasi Kosala? He does, Reverend Gautama. Well, if anyone should say King Pasenadi of Kosala resides at Kasi Kosala, and he should enjoy the entire fruits and revenues of Kosala, not giving anything away to others. Would anyone who spoke like that be a source of danger to his tenants? Would he have a heart full of hatred? And would that not be wrong view? It would, Reverend Gautama. Then surely, if anyone were to say the same of the Brahmin, Lohicha, that would be wrong view. In the same way, Lohitja, if anyone should say, suppose an ascetic or Brahmin, stop here for a moment, so here the Buddha says, if using your view, then that means if an ascetic knows something he should not share with others, then King Pasenadi should not share his revenue and his land and wealth with anyone else, including even you. Then he realized that it's true. In the same way, Lohitja, if anyone should say, suppose an ascetic or Brahmin were to discover some good doctrine and thought he ought not to declare to anyone else, For what can one man do for another? He would be a source of danger to those young men of good family who following the Dhamma Vinaya taught by the Tathagata attained to such excellent distinction as to realize the fruit of stream entry, of once returning, of non-returning, of arahantship, and to all who ripen the seeds of a rebirth in the Deva world. Okay. So Heecha, these three kinds of teachers in the world are blameworthy. And if anyone blames such teachers, his blame is proper, true, in accordance with reality and faultless. Wishtree, here Lohitja, is a teacher who has gone forth from the household life into homelessness, but who has not gained the goal of asceticism. And without having gained this goal, he teaches his disciples a doctrine, saying, this is for your good, this is for your happiness. But his pupils don't wish to hear, they don't listen, they don't arouse the thought of enlightenment. and the teacher's instructions are flouted. He should be blamed, saying, this venerable one has gone forth, etc., etc., and his instructions are flouted. It is just as if a man were to persist in making advances to a woman who rejected him, and to embrace her though she turned away. This I declare to be an evil doctrine based on attachment, for what can one man do for another? This is the first teacher who is blameworthy. Stop here for a moment. So just now, Lohitja basically was saying, if some ascetic or Brahmin knows something, he should not teach to others. So Buddha at first showed him that not sharing anything with others is wrong. But now, the Buddha is trying to also show that there are certain teachers who should not try to teach others, who should not try to share what they know with others because of certain reasons. The first one is he has not gained the goal of asceticism. He has not gained the fruits of the holy life, and he has not attained the fruits of the holy life, then he teaches others. People will not listen to him, people have no respect for him. So this one, his first one is an unqualified teacher. For example, also there are some people, they are very good at preaching, but they don't practice what they preach. So what is the, he's talking about the goal of asceticism. What is the goal of asceticism? I think the goal of asceticism are those things said by the Buddha to be uttari manusa dhamma. Uttari manusa dhamma. Manusa is human beings. Uttari is higher than human being. Dhamma is states. States higher than the ordinary human being, in other words, supernormal states. And what are these supernormal states? In the Vinaya, one is jhāna. The four jhānas, any one of the four jhānas, also is uttare manuṣa dhamma, and then psychic powers that come with the attainment of the four jhānas. And then, including liberation, and then the paths and fruits of Aryahood. The first path, the first fruit, second path, second fruit, third path, third fruit, fourth path, fourth fruit. And only the fourth fruit is a liberated person. The others are partially liberated. So these are the goals of asceticism, goals of the holy life. The aim of the holy life is to achieve these states called Uttarimanusadamma, supernormal or higher than normal human attainments. So this person, he has not attained anything, probably just become a monk. There are some people like that, they just become a monk and they quickly want to teach, but they are not qualified to teach. So because they are not qualified to teach, people don't listen to him. Again, there is a teacher who has gone forth, but who has not gained the goal of asceticism. Without having gained this goal, he teaches his disciples a doctrine, saying, this is for your good, this is for your happiness. His pupils wish to hear, they listen, they arouse the thought of enlightenment, and the teacher's instructions are not flouted. It should be blamed, saying, this venerable one has gone forth, et cetera, et cetera. has not gained the goal of asceticism and without gaining the goal he teaches his disciples. It is as if leaving his own field, he should think that another's field is in need of weeding. I declare this to be an evil doctrine rooted in attachment." This is the second teacher who is blameworthy. I'll stop here for a moment. So here again, this second monk has not attained any of the fruits of the holy life, and he teaches. But people listen to him and heed his instructions. But then the Buddha says, this teacher is blameworthy. Because if the teacher has not cultivated himself, initially his followers may have a lot of faith in him, but later, because he has not cultivated himself, it's likely that he will do something wrong, break the precepts, or even break the major precepts, and then people lose faith in him, or he disrobes or something. In the suttas, the Buddha says that it is good for a monk to teach, but or to learn the Dhamma, but the Buddha says that it is important for a monk to allot a certain time to go into seclusion and practice meditation. So if a monk only teaches but does not practice himself, it's just like the Buddha says here, this farmer, instead of looking after his own field, he goes to tend to another person's field. Again, there is a teacher who has gone forth and who has gained the goal of asceticism. Having gone forth, he teaches, but his pupils don't wish to hear him. His instructions are flouted. He too should be blamed. Just as if having cut through an old fetter, one were to make a new one. I declare that this is an evil doctrine rooted in attachment. For what can one man do for another? This is the third teacher who is blameworthy. These are the three kinds of teacher that I spoke of as blameworthy. So this third teacher, he has gained a certain goal of asceticism, and he starts teaching, but maybe he has not prepared himself well enough, so people don't listen to him. So the Buddha says, but if he still insists on teaching, wants to teach, even though people don't welcome his teaching, then he's blameworthy. As far as the Dhamma is concerned, normally a monk should preach the Dhamma or teach the Dhamma when requested. If not requested, he should be careful because sometimes people might not appreciate. If sometimes even not invited, a monk gives advice. If it's appreciated, then it's okay, but not if it's not appreciated. So also we must realize, the Buddha says, very few people are interested in the true Dharma, because the true Dharma involves cultivating yourself, making effort, letting go of your faults, your bad habits and all that, which a lot of people are not willing to let go. A lot of people still want to enjoy the world and all these things. A lot of people are not interested in the true Dhamma. That's why Buddhas, 99.99% of Buddhas are Pācekabuddhas. The Buddha looked into the past 91 world cycles and he saw only 6 Sammasambuddhas, 6 Sammasambuddhas willing to teach the Dhamma to the world. Whereas the Buddha said at one time, outside Rajagaha, Wang Se Cheung, there is a mountain called Isigili Mountain, and the Buddha said at one time there were 500 Pachika Buddhas there. So you see, one time only you can find 500 Pacceka Buddhas. But 91 world cycles, you can only find 6 Sammasambuddhas. So 99.99% of Buddhas are Pacceka Buddhas. A lot of people don't realize this. They make vows to become Buddha and all that and want to teach the world. But actually when they become a Buddha, they don't want to teach. Then Lohitja said, Reverend Gautama, are there any teachers in the world who are not blameworthy? And the Buddha said, Here Lohitja, a Tathagata arises in the world, an Arahant, Sammasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, well-farer knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. He, having realized it by his own super knowledge, proclaims this world with his Devas, Maharas, and Brahmas, its princes and people. He preaches the Dhamma, which is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully perfected and purified holy life. A disciple goes forth and practices the moralities, guards the sense doors, etc., attains the first jhāna, And whenever the pupil of a teacher attains to such an excellent distinction, that is a teacher who is not to be blamed in the world. And if anyone blames that teacher, his blame is improper, untrue, not in accordance with reality and faulty. Similarly, he attains the other three jhanas and various insights, abhinya. And whenever the pupil of a teacher attains to such excellent distinction, that is a teacher who is not to be blamed in the world. He realizes the Four Noble Truths, the path, the cessation of the corruptions. the Asavas, et cetera. Whenever the pupil of a teacher attains to such excellent distinction, that is a teacher who is not to be blamed in the world. And if anyone blames that teacher, his blame is improper, untrue, not in accordance with reality and faulty. At this, the Brahmin Lohicha said to the Lord, Reverend Gautama, it is as if a man were to see someone by the hair who had stumbled and was falling into a pit, and to set him on firm ground. Just so, I, who was falling into the pit, have been saved by the Reverend Gautama. Excellent, Reverend Gautama, excellent. It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Reverend Gautama expounded the Dhamma in various ways. I go for refuge to the Lord Gautama, the Dhamma and the Sangha. May the Reverend Gautama accept me as a lay follower. who has taken refuge from this day forth for as long as life shall last. That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha says that If a teacher, teachers and the disciple can attain these uttari manusa dhamma, these states which are higher than the normal human being, namely the jhanas, the abhinyas or higher knowledges and liberation, then the teacher is not to be blamed. So, going back to the three teachers who are blameworthy, the first one has not attained any of this goal of the holy life. The second one also has not attained. The third one has attained, but people don't want to listen to him for various reasons. For example, maybe he has attained jhana, but there are some people who have a knack for teaching, some people have no knack for teaching. Some people, the way they speak, people don't like. The Buddha says in the suttas that a teacher should be able to speak very clearly so that people can understand. He should speak slowly. Not everybody is able to do that. So this teacher, this third one who is blameworthy, he has attained something, but he doesn't have the ability to teach. And so people don't want to listen to him. So that's why he's blameworthy. But if he can teach his disciple to attain, any teacher can teach the disciple to attain the jhanas or the abhinyas, various types of psychic power, and attain the paths and the fruits, then he is not blameworthy. So this is a very important point because nowadays in the world, there are many who disparage jhāna. Even so-called meditation teachers nowadays, they put down jhāna. I know a certain famous meditation teacher in his book. He said, what's the point of cultivating jhāna? He said, when you attain jhāna, You don't have mindfulness. Only when you come out of jhāna you have mindfulness. That shows he doesn't understand what is jhāna and also shows he has not attained jhāna. And yet he's a famous meditation teacher in the world. So a lot of people, because they don't listen to the Buddha's suttas, study the Buddha's words, then they don't know that a lot of teachers that they follow are teaching contradictory to what the Buddha says. That's why I always stress that it's very important to be familiar with the suttas. The Buddha said very clearly that if any monk sees the Buddha taught in such and such a way, the Buddha said not to accept and not to reject it, but to compare it with the suttas. Only if it follows the suttas can you accept it to be the Buddha's teachings. So the goal of the holy life, of the spiritual path, is basically the jhanas, the four jhanas, and the various knowledges. paths and fruits of Ariya-hood. The paths and fruits of Ariya-hood are the most important, more important than the jhanas and the psychic powers. Because once you attain the paths and fruits, you are an Ariya. And once you are an Ariya, you cannot go backwards, you cannot regress, you cannot fall, you cannot even be reborn into the woeful planes of existence. And you are sure of liberation. At the most, seven lifetimes, you will attain liberation. So here finally Lohitja said, just as if a man were to see someone by the hair who had stumbled and was falling into a pit and to set him on firm ground. Just so, I, who was falling into the pit, have been saved by the Reverend Gotama. So here, because the Buddha said, a person with wrong view will only have two types of rebirth, either hell or the animal realm. Then he realized he has been saved from the hell and the animal realm by the Buddha. show this appreciation. So, okay, I think we've gone through two suttas for tonight, and that's enough. Probably you have a lot of questions tonight. These two suttas are quite important. The Kevavada Sutta describes the state of cessation where consciousness ceases, which is basically the state of Parinibbana after the Arahant has passed on. And then the Lohiccha Sutta talking about teachers who are blameworthy and teachers who are not blameworthy. Any question? Yeah? there can only be one Buddha at a time. So does that mean in the world cycle or at the present moment? At the present moment, the Buddha says at any one time there can only be one Sammasambuddha at the present moment. So like in this world cycle on this present earth, the Buddha said there will be five Sammasambuddha. The first one was Kakusanda, then Konagamana, and then Kasapa, and then now the Buddha Gautama, and the future will be Mettiyabuddha or Maitreya Buddha. So only four ones in Sambuddha, and what about Vajrabuddha? There were ten at one month? Say again? Only one Vajrabuddha at one month? No, no. One Sammasambuddha. Some do it a lot of times. What about Pachinko? There can be 10 at a time? Oh, it can be 500, the Buddha said. It can be hundreds of them. You know that it can still be recommended to practice After 2 weeks, we have tested already. So far from 2.2, 2.2 has always been used as a director, step-by-step from the ARIA, CIFAR, up to the 4th conference. So in the 2.2, that is the the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path, that is, people who practice the Noble Eightfold Path, that is the Siddhas, the Dharmas, and the Dharmas' path. Then, coming to the Four Dharmas, that is how the person appears after purity, after purity of mind. Let's say we have an external ascetic, if they do not practice the Arya Siddha and the Jhāna, can they attain 4th Jhāna with the 4th Siddhi? They can. External ascetics, without practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, they can attain the 4th Jhāna. But the difference is that The jhāna they attain is the un-Aryan jhāna. The Buddha said the Aryan samādhi or Aryan jhāna is jhāna supported by the seven factors of the Noble Eightfold Path. So there's a difference between Aryan samādhi and un-Aryan samādhi. So un-Aryan Samadhi, because it is not supported by the seven factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, it does not lead to liberation. Whereas the Aryan Samadhi, which is the four jhanas, supported by the seven factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, leads to liberation. What the Buddha is trying to say is what can one man do for another is that if you are not qualified, how can you help another? The Buddha said if a person is in the mud, If a person is in the mud, how can he help another person out of the mud? He has to get out of the mud before he can help a person out of the mud. So the Buddha basically is saying that if a person is not qualified, what can he do for another? Who is speaking? Are you talking about Lohi Cha or are you talking about the Buddha? world's fear is that, uh, what if he discovers some good doctrine that is, that, uh, better to be done, but discover having a, a pain, and, uh, so he is, he doesn't teach, doesn't teach the next rule, is that, he is young, he doesn't teach, he can't do it. This is wrong view. This is, uh, Lohitja's wrong view, that if a person has discovered, uh, uh, good doctrine, uh, he should not teach. This is not the Buddha's words, this is Lohi Cha's words. They are very different from the Buddha's words. The Buddha is using his words, just using his words basically to say that there is a case, what can one man do for another if he is not qualified? So suppose you are not qualified in medicine, and then you try to heal another person, you are not qualified to heal him. So the Buddha is saying Lohitra has the wrong view. In the Dhammapada, the Buddha said, the giving of Dhamma is the highest gift. But here, Luhyccha is saying, if you have the Dhamma, you should not teach others. Do you mean by that? I was just remembering that this one is on the 6th term of, I think it's the 11th. What Brahma did he know? Now, when the monk said, survey through the four great elements, the earth element, the water element, the fire element, and the air element, he said, what do you think? He is asking about when the world is coming to an end. Because if I remember last year, we wrote a sutra about what we want to do, about what we want to express. I think that you were mentioning something about the world system as we know it. We'll come to an end with this. At the moment we have one song. Then the second year, two. Then three. By the time we come to the session, the system above has been known to explode. Is he referring to this? No. He's referring to where the world has no opportunity to arise. But this one, when you say end of the world, this world system ends. There are many other world systems. But here he's saying that totally there's no samsara, no universe at all. As I mentioned before, the world exists in consciousness, right? So to end the world, you must end the consciousness. Is this referring to Nama Rupa? Because the Buddha's death is in consciousness. Yeah, there it says where are Nama Rupa wholly destroyed. The four great animals also. No, when we say the world ends, we are talking about one world system. The Buddha says one world system consists of a sun. The sun. So every star that you see in the sky, every star is a world system. And every star will have human beings, I mean around the star. Just like our star is the sun. So there are planets around the sun. And there'll be human beings, so there'll be other world systems that have human beings, that have devas, similar devas and devis. So when that world ends, only that world ends, others will still be around. That is not Nibbana. As a Buddhist, is there any physical fitness exercises for one to do in Moscow? In India, there are two schools of thought. One is if you want to practice the spiritual path, you have to develop your body first and they do yoga exercises. So yoga, asanas and all these things to strengthen the body and they can control the breathing. They can even control the heartbeat and all these things. And the other line of thought is like the Buddha. The Buddha does not talk about the necessity to develop your body. He goes straight into the spiritual practice. But the Buddha says that walking meditation is good. And also, if you look into the life of the Buddha and the monks, you find that they go on arms around, beg for their food. So that is very healthy because they walk barefooted and you'll be stepping on pebbles and sand and all that. That's reflexology. And then not only that, the monks have to do work in the monastery. If you look into the Vinaya books, you find that at one time, during the three months of the Vassa, Venerable Mahamoggalana with a team of monks, they were building kutis. They were building many kutis. So a lot of people, they think monks should only meditate and not work. No, because if everybody meditates, then who's going to maintain the monastery? There are some monks, of course, they don't want to work. They only want to meditate. That's good. Then they have to live alone. If alone in a cave or something, then the cave can be very dirty. Last time I stayed in a cave, there's a lot of bats. In dark caves, there's a lot of bats. There'll be a lot of bat shit all around, so you just have to... Don't bother about the bat shit and the snakes and all that. Just meditate only. No, because I don't stay in an enclosed cave with all the smell. You've got to stay in a well-ventilated cave. Is there a reason why there are a lot of forest monsters that could be located on a hill? Located on a hill? A hill is a good place to have a monastery. Firstly, because it's not flooded. And secondly, because if there's a little hill, then it's more windy. Low ground is always, the air is stagnant. There's some monasteries on low ground, but it's very stagnant. And also, because if you want to go away from the town, then you go to the countryside. It's liable to have hills. I think the point is the mind and head goes up. 9th and 10th precepts for Samanera. The 9th precept is Malaganda, Vilepana, Dharana, Mandana, Vibhusanatana. That one is not seeing shows. Wait, wait, let me see. The first one is not seeing shows. The 8th one is Nachagita, Vadita, Visukha, Dasana, Malaganda, Vilepana, Dharana, Mandana, Vibhusanatana. The eighth one is not to see shows, listen to music, sing and dance and all this. The ninth one is not to adorn yourself, use perfume, makeup and all this thing. And the tenth one is not to possess money. That's the difference between the eight precepts and the ten precepts. In the eight precepts, the seventh precept consists of two precepts. Not to see shows, not to sing and dance and all these things. And also the other precept, not to adorn your body, use cosmetic and perfume and all these things. Two precepts are found in the seventh precept of the eight precepts. But these two precepts, in the 10 precepts, they are broken up into the, let me see, the 7 precept and the 8 precept. And then the 9 precept is the Ucchasayana, Mahasayana, not to sleep on luxurious bed. And then the 10 precept is not to possess money. First of all, these precepts, I don't know where to say it. But I say, Buddhist and Buddhist schools, they encourage people to sing and dance. But they are not taking the eight precepts, Ma? But there are monks that they do the show. They will attend all these meditations. The monks are singing, Ma? They will attend the monastery. Of course, they are fluent. In that case, sometimes it's for the purpose of supporting the Sunday school. They do it, it's different. No, no, no, no, no. That's why there is, you know when a person attains Sotapanna, Three factors are abandoned, okay? One is Sakkaya Diti, which is identity view. Identity view means identifying the body and the mind with the self. And then another one is doubt. Doubt about the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. The third one is sila, bhatta, paramassa. Attachment to rules and rituals. Actually, attachment to sila and rituals. If a person is attached to rules, even sila, and you don't understand that it's a purpose for sila, then you cannot be a sotapanna. You must understand what is the purpose of the sila. Don't be seipanna. So, we must understand, so don't be too rigid. There are some monks, small things, they're too fussy. Even water has got to be offered. But in the Vinaya books, water and toothpick don't have to be offered. Okay, shall we end here?

19-DN-13-Tevijja-(2011-07-23).txt

Okay, tonight is the 23rd of July. This is the 8th night we're talking of the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Now we come to Sutta number 13, Devijja Sutta, the threefold knowledge. Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was touring Kosala with a large company of some 500 monks. He came to a Kosalan Brahmin village called Manasakata and stayed to the north of the village in a mango grove on the bank of the river Achiravati. And at that time, many very well-known and prosperous Brahmins were staying at Manasakata, including Chanki, Taruka, Pokharasati, Janusoni, and Todeya. And Vaseta and Bharadvaja went strolling along the road. And as they did so, an argument broke out between them on the subject of right and wrong paths. The young Brahmin Vaseta said, this is the only straight path. This is the direct path. the path of salvation that leads one who follows it to union with Brahma, as is taught by the Brahmin Pokhara Sati. And the young Brahmin Bharadwaja said, this is the only straight path, etc., as taught by the Brahmin Taruka. And Vaseta could not convince Bharadwaja, nor could Bharadwaja convince Vaseta. Then Vaseta said to Bharadwaja, this ascetic Gautama, is staying to the north of the village. And concerning this, blessed Lord, a good report has been spread about, etc, etc. Let us go to the ascetic Gautama and ask him. And whatever he tells us, we shall accept." And Bharadwaja agreed. Stop here for a moment. This Two pupils of two famous teachers, two famous Brahmin teachers, they were arguing. One says that his teacher is teaching the right path to union with Brahma. You must remember that this Brahma, according to the Brahmins, is God, the creator God. So whenever you see them talking about Brahma, you just think that what they mean is God. So one is saying that his teacher is teaching the correct path to heaven, to God, whereas the other one says his teacher is teaching the right one. But they agreed that they should consult the Samana Gautama, the Buddha, because Buddha has a very good reputation and they believe that he's enlightened. So the two of them went to see the Lord. Having exchanged courtesies with Him, they sat down to one side. And Vasetha said, Reverend Gautama, as we were strolling along the road, we got to discussing right and wrong paths. I said, this is the only straight path, etc. As is taught, by the Brahmin Pokhara Sati. And Bharat Bhaja said, this is the only straight path, as is taught by the Brahmin Taruka. This is our dispute, our quarrel, our difference. And the Buddha said, So Vaseta, you say that the way to union with Brahma is that taught by the Brahmin Pokhara Sati. And Bharat Bhaja says that it is that taught by the Brahmin Taruka. What is the dispute, the quarrel, the difference all about? right and wrong paths, Reverend Gautama. There are so many kinds of Brahmins who teach different paths. The Dharia, the Tiriya, the Chandoka, the Chandava, the Brahmacharya Brahmins. Do all these ways lead to union with Brahma? just as if they were near a town or village, many different paths. Do all these come together at that place? And likewise, do the ways of the various Brahmins lead the one who follows them to union with Brahma?" And the Buddha said, You say they lead Vaseta? And he said, I say they lead Reverend Gautama. Second time the Buddha said, You say they lead Vaseta? And the second time Vasitha said, I say they lead Reverend Gautama. Third time the Buddha asked him, you say they lead Vasitha? And he said, I say they lead Reverend Gautama. So sometimes you see when the Buddha is arguing with some Brahmins, he makes them say three times what they profess. But Vaseta, is there then a single one of these Brahmins learned in the three Vedas who has seen Brahma face to face? No, Reverend Gautama. Then has the teacher's teacher of any one of them seen Brahma face to face? No, Reverend Gautama. Then has the ancestor seven generations back of the teacher of one of them seen Brahma face to face? No, Reverend Gautama. Well then, Vaseta, what about the early sages of those Brahmins, learned in the three Vedas, the makers of the mantras, the expounders of the mantras, whose ancient verses are chanted, pronounced and collected by the Brahmins of today and sung and spoken about, such as Ataka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vesa, Mita, Yamatagi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vaseta, Kasapa, Bagu. Did they ever say, we know and see when, how and where Brahma appears? No, Reverend Gautama. So Vaseta, not one of these Brahmins learned in the three Vedas has seen Brahma face to face, nor has one of their teachers or teacher's teachers nor even the ancestor, seven generations back, of one of their teachers. Nor could any of the early sages say, we know and see when, how and where Brahma appears. So what these Brahmins learned in the three Vedas are saying is, we teach this path to union with Brahma that we do not know or see. This is the only straight path leading to union with Brahma. What do you think, Vaseda? Such being the case, does not what these Brahmins declare turn out to be ill-founded? Yes, indeed, Reverend Gautama. Well, Vaseta, when these Brahmins, learned in the three Vedas, teach a path that they do not know or see, saying, this is the only straight path, this cannot possibly be right. Just as a file of blind men go on clinging to each other, and the first one sees nothing, the middle one sees nothing, and the last one sees nothing. So it is with the talk of these Brahmins, learned in the three Vedas. The first one sees nothing, The middle one sees nothing. The last one sees nothing. The talk of these Brahmins learned in the three Vedas turns out to be laughable, mere words, empty and vain." Stop here for a moment. So sometimes people who are not well read in the suttas, they think the Buddha is so compassionate that he won't criticize people. But here you can see the Buddha is indeed very blunt. He's saying that all these Brahmins, they claim to teach the way to union with Brahma, but they've never seen Brahma. They don't know where Brahma is going to appear, when he's going to appear, how he's going to appear, etc. And yet they say, they teach a path to be with Brahma. So the Buddha says, this is laughable, mere words, empty and vain. What do you think, Vaseta? Do these Brahmins learned in the three Vedas see the sun and moon just as other people do? And when the sun and moon rise and set, do they pray, sing verses, sing praises and worship with clasped hands? They do, Reverend Gautama. What do you think, Vaseta? These Brahmins learned in the three Vedas who can see the sun and moon just as other people do. Can they point out a way to union with the sun and moon, saying this is the only straight path that leads to union with the sun and moon? No, Reverend Gautama. So, Vaseta, these Brahmins learned in the three Vedas cannot point out a way to union with the sun and moon, which they have seen. And two, none of them has seen Brahma face to face, nor has even the ancestors seven generations back of one of their teachers. Now, could any of the early sages say, we know and see when, how and where. Brahma appears. Does not what these Brahmins declare turn out to be ill-founded?" Yes, indeed, Reverend Gautama. So here the Buddha is saying that even the sun and moon, which they can see, yet they cannot teach a path to union, to union with the sun and moon, to reach the sun and moon. So, Why talk about Brahma, which they even cannot see? So it's even the possibility of teaching a path to Brahma is even worse. What if they can already see? They can't teach you to reach the sun and moon. What more if they cannot see? But Seta, it is just as if a man were to say, I'm going to seek out and love the most beautiful girl in the country. They might say to him, do you know what caste she belongs to? And he says no. Well, do you know her name, her clan, whether she is tall or short, dark or light complexion, or where she comes from? And he says no again. And they might say, well then, you don't know or see the one you seek for and desire. And he would say, no, does not the talk of that man turn out to be stupid? Certainly, Reverend Gautama. Then Vaseta, it is like this. Not one of these Brahmins has seen Brahma face to face, nor has one of their teachers, even the early sages. Does not the talk of the Brahmins turn out to be stupid?" And he says, yes, indeed, Reverend Gautama. That is right, Vaseta. When these Brahmins learned in the three Vedas teach a path that they do not know and see, this cannot possibly be right. So here you see again that Buddha is so blunt, saying that these Brahmins are stupid. But Seta, it is just as if a man were to build a staircase for a palace at a crossroads. People might ask, might say, this staircase for a palace, do you know whether the palace will face east or west, north or south, or whether it will be high, low or one of medium height? And he would say no. And they might say, well then, you don't know or see what kind of a palace you are building the staircase for? and he would say no. Does not the talk of that man turn out to be stupid? Certainly, Reverend Gautama. Paseta, it is just as if this river Achiravati were brimful of water so that a crow could drink from it and a man should come along wishing to cross over to get to the other side, to get across. And standing on this bank were to call out, come here, other bank, come here. What do you think, Vaseta? Would the other bank of the river Achiravati come over to this side on account of that man's calling, begging, requesting or wheedling? No, Reverend Gautama. Well now, Vaseta, those Brahmins learned in the three Vedas who persistently neglect what a Brahmin should do and persistently do what a Brahmin should not do, declare, we call on Indra, Soma, Varuna, Isana, Pajapati, Brahma, Mahidi, Yama, But such Brahmins who persistently neglect what a Brahmin should do, will, as a consequence of their calling, begging, requesting or whittling, attain after death at the breaking up of the body to union with Brahma. That is just not possible." Stop here for a moment. It just reminds us how some people pray. pray to God and all these things. So, it's a bit similar here. For Seta, it is just as if this river Achiravati were brimful of water so that a crow could drink out of it and a man should come wishing to cross over. But he was bound and pinioned on this side by a strong chain with his hands behind his back. What do you think, Vaseta? Would that man be able to get to the other side? No, Reverend Gautama. In just the same way, Vaseta, in the Aryan discipline, these five strands of sense desire are called bonds and fetters. Which five? Forms seen by the eye which are agreeable, love, charming, attractive, pleasurable, arousing desire, sounds heard by the ear, smells smelled by the nose, tastes severed by the tongue, contacts felt by the body, which are agreeable, et cetera, arousing desire. These five in the Aryan discipline are called bonds and factors. And Vaseta, those Brahmins learned in the three Vedas are enslaved, infatuated by these five strands of sense desire, which they enjoy guiltily, unaware of danger, knowing no way out. But that such Brahmins, learned in the three Vedas, who persistently neglect what a Brahmin should do, who are enslaved by these five strands of sense desire, knowing no way out, should attain after death, at the breaking up of the body to union with Brahma, that is just not possible." So here the Buddha is saying that these Brahmins, enslaved by the five strands of sensual desire, which bind them to the sensual realm. But the Brahma in the form realm, he does not indulge in the sense pleasures, as the Buddha will see very soon. It is just as if this river Achiravati were brimful of water so that a crow could drink out of it and a man should come along wishing to cross over and were to lie down on this bank covering his head with the shore. What do you think, Vaseta? Would that man be able to get to the other side? No, Reverend Gautama. In the same way, Vaseta, in the Aryan discipline, these five hindrances are called obstacles, hindrances, coverings up, envelopings. Which five? The hindrance of sensuality, of ill will, of sloth and torpor, of worry and flurry, of doubt. These five are called obstacles, hindrances, coverings up, envelopings. And these Brahmins learned in the three Vedas are caught up, amped in, obstructed, entangled in these five hindrances. But that such Brahmins learned in the three Vedas, who persistently neglect what a Brahmin should do, and who are caught up, entangled in these five hindrances, should attain after death, the breaking up of the body to union with Brahma, That is just not possible. Stop here for a moment. This Brahma, the Buddha is saying, is not enveloped by the five hindrances. And we know from the suttas that Brahma is in the first jhana heaven. And if a person wants to be reborn in the first jhana heaven, he has to attain the first jhana. And when he attains the first jhana, then the five hindrances disappear. As we heard earlier in the earlier suttas, the Buddha gave many similes to make us understand that the five hindrances are permanently got rid of. This is as a man is freed from prison. or a man who was a slave, is free from the bonds of slavery, etc. What do you think, Vaseta? What have you heard said by Brahmins who are venerable, aged, the teachers of teachers? Is Brahma encumbered with wives and wealth or unencumbered? Unencumbered, Reverend Gautama. Is he full of hate or without hate? Without hate, Reverend Gautama. Is he full of ill will or without ill will? Without ill will, Reverend Gautama. Is he impure or pure? Pure, Reverend Gautama. Is he disciplined or undisciplined? Disciplined, Reverend Gautama. What do you think, Vaseta? Are the Brahmins learned in the three Vedas, encumbered with wives and wealth or unencumbered? Encumbered, Reverend Gautama. Are they full of hate or without hate? Full of hate, Reverend Gautama. Are they full of ill will or without ill will? full of ill will, Reverend Gautama. Are they impure or pure? Impure, Reverend Gautama. Are they disciplined or undisciplined? undisciplined, Reverend Gautama. So, Vaseta, the Brahmins learned in the three Vedas are encumbered with wives and wealth, and Brahma is unencumbered. Is there any communion, anything in common between these encumbered Brahmins and the unencumbered Brahma? No, Reverend Gautama. That is right, Vaseta, that these encumbered Brahmins learned in the three Vedas should after death, at the breaking up of the body, be united with the unencumbered Brahma. That is just not possible. Likewise, do these Brahmins learned in the three Vedas and full of hate, full of ill will, impure, undisciplined, Have any communion, anything in common with the disciplined Brahma? No, Reverend Gautama. That is right, Vaseta. That these undisciplined Brahmins should, after death, be united with Brahma is just not possible. But these Brahmins learned in the three Vedas, having sat down on the bank, sitting down despairingly, thinking maybe to find a dry way across. Therefore, the threefold knowledge is called the threefold desert, the threefold wilderness, the threefold destruction. Stop here for a moment. Again, here you see how blunt the Buddha is. He calls the threefold knowledge, the threefold desert, threefold wilderness, threefold destruction. So, as I mentioned, people would think the Buddha is so compassionate, cannot scold people, cannot criticize people. They have to learn the suttas again. So here, this passage about how the Brahmins are encumbered with wives, with wealth, etc., reminds me of the Christian Bible. In the Christian Bible, Jesus gave a simile. Jesus said, it's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God then for the camel to go through the eye of the needle. So, Jesus being a sage, a Vinansin, one on the holy path, he also understands that all these, if you want to attain a higher state, you cannot be encumbered with wives and wealth and be in discipline and all that. At these words, Vaseta said, Reverend Gautama, I have heard them say the ascetic Gautama knows the way to union with Brahma. What do you think, Vaseta? Suppose there were a man here born and brought up in Manasakata, and somebody who had come from Manasakata and had missed the road should ask him the way. Would that man born and bred in Manasakata be in a state of confusion or perplexity? No, Reverend Gautama. And why not? Because such a man would know all the paths. And the Buddha said, Vaseta, it might be said that such a man on being asked the way might be confused or perplexed. But the Tathagata on being asked about the Brahma world and the way to get there would certainly not be confused or perplexed. For Vaseta, I know Brahma, the world of Brahma, and the way to the world of Brahma, and the path of practice whereby the world of Brahma may begin. At this facet, I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see the Buddha is so sure of himself. He says, he not only knows Brahma, he knows the world of Brahma, and the way to the world of Brahma, and how to practice the path to attain the world of Brahma. At this, Vaseta said, Reverend Gautama, I have heard them say, the ascetic Gautama teaches the way to union with Brahma. It would be good if the Reverend Gautama were to teach us the way to union with Brahma. May the Reverend Gautama help the people to attain the way with Brahma. Then Vasetha, listen, pay proper attention. And I will tell you. Very good, sir, said Vasetha. The Lord said, Vasetha, a Tathagata arises in the world and Arhant, Samasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, welfareer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. He, having realized it by His own super-knowledge, proclaims this world with His Devas, Maras and Brahmas, its princes and people. He preaches the Dhamma, which is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending, in the spirit and in the letter, and displays the fully perfected and purified holy life. A disciple goes forth, practices the moralities, etc., as in the Sutta number two, the various factors of Charana, and attains the First Jhana. Then with his heart filled with loving kindness, he dwells, suffusing one quarter, the second, the third, the fourth. Thus he dwells, suffusing the whole world, upwards, downwards, across, everywhere, always with a heart filled with loving kindness, abundant, unbounded, without hate or ill will. just as if a mighty trumpeter were with little difficulty to make a proclamation to the four quarters. So, by this meditation, vaseta, by this liberation of loving kindness by the mind, he leaves nothing untouched, nothing unaffected in the sensuous sphere. This vasetta is the way to union with Brahma. Then with his heart filled with compassion, with joy, with equanimity, he dwells, suffusing one quarter, the second quarter, the third, the fourth quarter. Thus he dwells, suffusing the whole world, upwards, downwards, across, everywhere, always with a heart filled with compassion, joy, equanimity, abundant, unbounded, without hate or ill will. Just as if a mighty trumpeter were with little difficulty to make a proclamation to the four quarters, so by this meditation, vaseta, by this liberation of compassion by the mind, liberation of joy by the mind, liberation of equanimity by the mind. He leaves nothing untouched, nothing unaffected in the sensuous sphere. This faceta is the way to union with Brahma. Stop here for a moment. So here you see how the Buddha teachers to practice the radiation of loving kindness, radiation of compassion, of joy and equanimity. First, the Buddha's method. First, you must attain the first jhana. After you have attained the first jhana, you develop the jhana. as the Buddha described in the earlier suttas, to suffuse the whole body with this piti and sukha, so that not a part of the body is without this piti and sukha. Then, having developed the first jhana, then only a person can radiate this loving kindness out, first one quarter of the world, second, third, fourth quarter, the whole world radiates this. This is not the way that nowadays a lot of monks teach, but this is the real way taught by the Buddha to radiate loving-kindness. What do you think, Vaseta? Is a monk dwelling thus, encumbered with wives and wealth or unencumbered? Unencumbered, Reverend Gautama. Is he without hate or with hate? without hate, Reverend Gautama. Is he with ill will or without ill will? Without ill will, Reverend Gautama. Is he pure and disciplined or impure and undisciplined? He's pure and disciplined, Reverend Gautama. Then Vaseta, the monk is unencumbered and Brahma is unencumbered. Is that unencumbered monk anything in common with the unencumbered Brahma? Yes, indeed, Reverend Gautama. That is right, Vaseta. then that an unencumbered monk, after death, at the breaking up of the body should attain to union with the unencumbered Brahma. That is possible. Likewise, a monk without hate, without ill will, pure discipline, after death, at the breaking up of the body, should attain union with Brahma. That is possible. At this, the young Brahmins Vaseta and Bharadvaja said to the Lord, Excellent Reverend Gautama, excellent. It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Reverend Gautama has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. We take refuge in the Reverend Gautama, in the Dhamma and in the Sangha. May the Reverend Gautama accept us as lay followers, having taken refuge from this day forth as long as life shall last." That's the end of the Sutta. So you see how the Buddha can make the Brahmins see that all their talk about the threefold knowledge is all rubbish. And their claim to teach the way to union with Brahma is also utter rubbish. So because the Buddha is so blunt, a lot of Brahmins don't like the Buddha. Even up to today, I have met some Brahmins when they learned that when I was younger, before I renounced, my good friend's father-in-law, when he heard that I was very interested in Buddhism, he started to criticize the Buddha. I think tonight I'll stop here because the next sutta is fairly long, and also my voice is not so good. Anything to discuss? Can I ask any question? I'm curious as to whether you, as a sense of science, have seen various collections, but why? Actually, the Buddha means not to be attached to sense desires because the Buddha also sees forms, the Buddha also hears sounds and all that, but he knows the danger because any of the sense objects, when it is pleasant, then pleasant feelings arise. And the Buddha says there is a tendency to crave for it, to want to see again, to want to hear that beautiful sound again, smell, taste. and touch. So you crave for it, but this world, everything is impermanent. Sometimes you can get it, sometimes you can't get it. So when it goes away, if you are too attached to it, suffering will arise. So the point is not to be too attached to it. A very good example is like if people are very attached to their wealth, and then when their economy goes bad, and all their shares are worthless, and then their empire collapses, and then they commit suicide because they can't accept it. But they forget that life is more important than all the wealth in the world. If you have life, you can always build up your empire again. See again. Practice for many years. Not necessary, but if when in robes, He broke one of the major precepts, like sexual intercourse or stealing, stealing something worth money, valuable, or killing somebody. Then he will go to the woeful plane of rebirth. There are certain things when a person wears the robe, he cannot do. But when he disrobes, he can do. So if he keeps to that regulation, when he's wearing the robe, certain things he cannot do, he don't do. Then after that, if he disrobes and he does the things that a layman can do, then it's okay. But usually, if a monk has worn the robe for many years, and after he disrobes, he will realize his weakness and he'll regret it. I'm sorry to interrupt you in the middle of such a discussion. But before we move on, before the monk sharing, With an execution of the law, which I have not shared with others, he says that he told me that it is a matter of hatred. That was in fact, it was a person who, he put himself directly in the battle, that what he did to others is a matter of, It's a half-moon of nature. And then, um, and then you just invite the Buddha himself. So, uh, don't, I was thinking it's a little impractical to be very much attached to our ancestors and never really share with others, but here you can just be quiet and be free. Well, um, you can see that If a person does not want to give anything away, which is what the Buddha meant, then you can say he has hatred for people, because even an animal will share with other animals if they have enough. And if a person, even though he's selfish, even his close family members, he will share. But what the Buddha means is that if this person doesn't share anything at all, then he must have a lot of hatred. In the Buddha's teachings, it's not taught He was 18. Sutta 5? Sutta 12. 12, ah? He was 18. There was a teacher who was quite fat and he teaches mostly, he didn't need to know a group of students at centre who doesn't listen to his teaching. where the teacher is only allowed to do that until the teacher is admitted to the class or centre where the students are not able to speak. And this teacher falls into this trap. No, no, because if he knows that his pupils don't want to listen and he keeps trying to teach them, then he falls into that category. But if he goes there not knowing that they are not going to listen to him, then after that, he knows he should not go back there. What is the core of Mahayana? In a world like this, you will never have two or more of them at the same time. But also, when we live in a world like this, we need to reach out as far as we can, as far as we can connect to each other. In what? No, that is different because you're talking about everyday metta. This sutta is talking about radiating metta. Radiating metta and having everyday metta is different. What is the difference between radiating in the menta a 1st jhāna person with compared to a 4th jhāna person? A 4th jhāna person has a stronger jhāna so probably he can radiate much further away. A person just like a person who has newly developed the heavenly eye, he can see only a very limited distance. And then like the Buddha, he has developed until he is quite unlimited. In the same way, a person who has just developed a memory of past life, then he can recall one life, two lives. But if his concentration is strong, like the fourth jhāna, then he might be able to see much further, you know. How do you feel when you're surrounded? So, when you're surrounded, the strength, which strength is still not? Ah, not, not like a A person who has first jhāna and his radiation of metta cannot be like the Buddha. It should be different now because Arhat's concentration is much better. Oh yes, yes, yes. Yeah. You see, like not only Brahma, when the Buddha was enlightened, the Buddha said, O house builder, thou art seen. Thou will not build this house again. That means the maker of this body, the Buddha has seen. So the Buddha has, you can say, the Buddha has seen God face to face. Okay, there's no question, let's end here.

20-DN-14-Mahapadana-(2011-07-24)-Part-A.txt

Tonight is the 24th of July, 2011, and we're on the ninth night of the Digha Nikaya talks. Tonight we come to Sutta number 14, Mahapadana Sutta. This is the start of the second book of the Digha Nikaya. This second book is called The Great Division, Mahavagga. This Mahapadana Sutta is about the lineage of the Buddhas. If we study this sutta, we find that this is probably a later sutta, because there are certain things inside here. It's a bit hard to accept. And also, it uses some things from other suttas, piece them together, and make it appear like all Buddhas are the same. But in the Vinaya books, the Buddha was asked whether all Buddhas, there's asana, It's the same and the Buddha said no. Different Buddhas, the length of their sasana, their The Buddhist religion varies according to whether the Buddha teaches a lot of Sutta and Vinaya or little Sutta and Vinaya. Those Buddhas who teach a lot of Sutta and Vinaya, the Sāsana lasts a long time. Those who teach not much, then the Sāsana, the religion doesn't last so long. Okay. Sutta number 14, Mahapadana Sutta. Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was staying at Savati in Anathapindika's park in the Jeta Grove, in the Kareri hutment, and among a number of monks who had gathered together after their meal, after the alms round, sitting in the Kareri pavilion, there arose a serious discussion on former lives, as they said. This is how it was in a former life, or that was how it was. And the Lord, with a purified, divine ear-faculty, surpassing the powers of humans, heard what they were talking about. Getting up from His seat, He went to the Careri Pavilion, sat down on the prepared seat, and said, Monks, what was your conversation as you sat together? What discussion did I interrupt? And they told Him, Well, monks, would you like to hear a proper discourse on past lives? And they said, Lord, it is time for that. Well, Pharaoh, it is time for that. If the Lord were to give a proper discourse on past lives, the monks would listen and remember it. And the Buddha said, Well then, monks, listen, pay close attention and I will speak. Yes, Lord, the monks replied. And the Buddha said, monks, 91 aeons ago, aeons means world cycles, or kappa, the Lord Arhatsamasambuddha Vipassi arose in the world. 31 aeons ago, the Lord Buddha Sikhi arose in the world. In the same 31st aeon, before this Lord Buddha, Vesabhu arose. And in this present fortunate aeon, the Lords Buddha, Kakusanda, Konagamana and Kasapa arose in the world. And monks in this present fortunate aeon, I too have now arisen in the world as a fully enlightened Buddha, as a Sammasambuddha. Stop here for a moment. So, in another sutta, the Buddha mentioned that one night, he probably didn't sleep, he didn't rest, he contemplated the past, he looked for a very long time. One aeon or one world cycle is very, very long. The Buddha said hard to imagine how long it is. And for the Buddha to contemplate 91 world cycles, it probably took him the whole night. And he said, in the 91 world cycles that he contemplated, only six Sammasambuddhas appeared. But as I mentioned, there are many, many Pachekabuddhas. at any one time. Like in the Isigili Sutta, there were 500 Pacheka Buddhas at one time on the Isigili hill or mountain outside Rajagaha. So that's why I always say 99.99% of Buddhas are Pacheka Buddhas who refused to teach the Dharma to the whole world. The Lord Buddha Vipassi was born of Katya race and arose in a Katya family. The Lord Buddha Sikhi, likewise. The Lord Buddha Vesavu, likewise. The Lord Buddha Kakusanda was born of Brahmin race and arose in a Brahmin family. The Lord Buddha Kona Gamana, likewise. The Lord Buddha Kasapa, likewise. And I, monks, who am now the Arhant Sammasambuddha, was born of Katya race and arose in the Katya family. The Lord Buddha Vipassi was of the Kondanya clan. The Lord Buddha Sikhi, likewise. The Lord Buddha Vesabhu, likewise. The Lord Buddha Kakusanda was of the Kasapa clan. The Lord Buddha, Konagamana, likewise. The Lord Buddha, Kasapa, likewise. I, who am now the Arhatsamasambuddha, am of the Gotama clan. In the time of the Lord Buddha, Vipassi, the lifespan was 80,000 years. In the time of the Lord Buddha, Sikhi, 70,000. In the time of the Lord Buddha, Vesavu, 60,000. In the time of the Lord Buddha, Kakusanda, 40,000. In the time of the Lord Buddha, Kona, Gamana, 30,000. In the time of the Lord Kasapa, it was 20,000 years. In my time, the lifespan is short, limited and quick to pass. It is seldom that anybody lives to be a hundred. The Lord Buddha Vipassi gained his full enlightenment at the foot of a trumpet flower tree. The Lord Buddha Sikhi under a white mango tree. The Lord Buddha Vesavu under a sal tree. The Lord Buddha Kakusanda under an acacia tree. The Lord Buddha Konagamana under a fig tree. The Lord Buddha Kasapa under a banyan tree. And I became fully enlightened at the foot of an asata tree. The Lord Buddha Vipassi had the pair of noble disciples Khanda and Tissa. The Lord Buddha Sikhi had Abibu and Sambhava. The Lord Buddha Vesabu had Sona and Uttara. The Lord Buddha Kakusanda had Vidura and Sanjiva. The Lord Buddha Kona Gamana had Byosa and Uttara. The Lord Buddha Kasapa had Tisa and Bharadvaja. I myself now have the pair of noble disciples Sariputta and Moglana. The Lord Buddha Vipassi had three assemblies of disciples, one of 6,800,000. one of 100,000, and one of 80,000 monks. And these three assemblies were all arahants. The Lord Buddha Sikhi had three assemblies of disciples, one of 100,000, one of 80,000, and one of 70,000 monks, all arahants. The Lord Buddha Vesabhu had three assemblies, one of 80,000, one of 70,000, and one of 60,000 monks, all arahants. The Lord Buddha Kakusanda had one assembly, 40,000 monks, all arhats. The Lord Buddha Konagamana had one assembly, 30,000 monks, all arhats. The Lord Buddha Kasapa had one assembly, 20,000 monks, all arhats. I monks have one assembly of disciples, 1,250 monks, and this one assembly consists only of arhats. The Lord Buddha Vipassi's personal attendant was the monk Asoka. The Lord Buddha Sikhi's was Kemankara. The Lord Buddha Vesavu's was Upasanaka. The Lord Buddha Kakusanda was Vuddhija. The Lord Buddha Konagamana's was Sotija. The Lord Buddha Kasapa's was Sabamita. My chief personal attendant now is Ananda. The Lord Buddha Vipassi's father was King Banduma. His mother was Queen Bandumati. And King Banduma's royal capital was Bandumati. The Lord Buddha Sikhi's father was King Aruna. His mother was Queen Babavati. King Aruna's capital was Arunavati. The Lord Buddha, Vesabhu's father was King Supatita. His mother was Queen Yasavati. King Supatita's capital was Anupama. The Lord Buddha, Kakusanda's father was the Brahmin Aghidhata. His mother was the Brahmin Lady Visakha. The king at that time was called Kema. His capital was Kemavati. The Lord Buddha Konagamana's father was the Brahmin Yanyadatta. His mother was the Brahmin Lady Uttara. The king at that time was Sobha. His capital was Sobhavati. The Lord Buddha Kasapa's father was the Brahmin Brahmadatta. His mother was the Brahmin Lady Dhanavati. The king at that time was Kiki. His capital was Varanasi. And now monks, my father was King Suddhodana. My mother was Queen Maya, and the royal capital was Kapilavatthu. Thus the Lord spoke, and the well-farer then rose from his seat and went to his lodging." Stop here for a moment. So from here you can see that the facts here are a bit distorted, because the Buddha here in this sutta says that my father was King Suddhodana, Raja Suddhodana. His father was actually Raja Suddhodana, but not the king. because the term Raja is used for the royal family. Just like now in Malaysia, we have many Rajas who are not the king or the sultan. And we know from the Majjhima Nikaya Sutta, what's the name of that sutta? Dhamma... Monuments to the Dhamma. Dhammachitta, I forgot the name. But in that sutta, it was said that the Buddha was a citizen of Kosala, and the king of Kosala was Pasenadi, and there's only one king in the country. And the Buddha belonged to the Sakyan race. And the king of the Sakyans, the chieftain of the Sakyans, because the Sakyans were not the, they didn't have a king. Their king was this king, Pasenadi. But the clan, their chieftain was a man called, what's his name? Badi. Bhadia. This Bhadia, he renounced, became a monk because of his good friend Anuruddha persuaded him. And within a few months of renouncing, he became an arahant. It's mentioned in the Vinaya books. So Badia was the chieftain of the Sakyans. So the Buddha's father was not even the chieftain of the Sakyans. He was just one of the many rich warrior clan rajas. So that's why here, here it says the capital was Kapilavatthu, but we know from the Sutta that the capital of Kosala was not Kapilavatthu. Kapilavatthu was the place where the Buddha came from, the town of the Sakyans. Thus the Lord spoke. Soon after the Lord had gone, another discussion arose among the monks. It is marvelous, friends, it is wonderful, the Tathagata's great power and ability, the way he recalls past Buddhas who have gained parinibbana, having cut away the hindrances, cut off the road of craving, put an end to the round of becoming, overcome all suffering. He recalls their birth, their name, their clan, their lifespan, the disciples and assemblies connected with Him. Being born thus, these blessed lords were such and such. Such were their names, their clans, their discipline, their dharma, their wisdom, their liberation. Well now friends, how did the Tathagata come by the penetrative knowledge to which he remembers all this? Did some Deva reveal this knowledge to him? This was the conversation of those monks which came to be interrupted. Then the Lord, rising from the seclusion of the rest period, went to the Kareri pavilion and sat down on the prepared seat. He said, monks, what was your conversation as you sat together? What discussion did I interrupt? And the monks told him, And the Buddha said, the Tathagata understands these things by his own penetration of the principles of Dhamma. And Devas too have told him, well, monks, do you wish to hear still more about past lives? And they said, Lord, it is time for that. Well, Pharaoh, it is time for that. If the Lord were to give a proper discourse on past lives, the monks would listen and remember it. And the Buddha said, Well, then monks, listen, pay close attention, and I will speak. Yes, Lord, the monks replied. And the Buddha said, Monks, 91 aeons ago, the Lord Arhat Sammasambuddha Vipassi rose in the world. He was born of Kathia race and rose in a Kathia family. He was of the Kondanya clan. The span of his life was 80,000 years. He gained his full enlightenment at the foot of a trumpet flower tree. He had the pair of noble disciples, Kanda and Tissa, as his chief followers. He had three assemblies of disciples, one of 6,800,000, one of 100,000, and one of 80,000 monks, all Arahants. His chief personal attendant was the monk Asoka. His father was King Banduma and his mother was Queen Bandumati. The king's capital was Bandumati. And so, monks, the Bodhisatta Vipassi descended from the Tusita heaven, mindful and clearly aware, into his mother's womb. This, monks, is the rule. It is the rule, monks, that when a Bodhisatta descends from the Tusita heaven into his mother's womb, that appears in this world with his Devas, Maras and Brahmas, his ascetics and Brahmins, princes and people, an immeasurable splendid light surpassing the glory of the most powerful Devas. And whatever dark spaces lie beyond the world's end, chaotic, blind and black, such that they are not even reached by the mighty rays of sun and moon, are yet illumined by this immeasurable splendid light, surpassing the glory of the most powerful devas. And those beings that have been reborn there recognize each other by this light and know, other beings too have been born here. And this 10,000 world system trembles and quakes and is convulsed. And this immeasurable light shines forth. That is the rule. It is the rule that when a bodhisatta has entered his mother's womb, four devas come to protect him from the four quarters, saying, let no man, no human being, no thing, whatever harm this bodhisatta. or this Bodhisattva's mother. That is the rule. It is the rule that when a Bodhisattva has entered his mother's womb, his mother becomes by nature virtuous, refraining from taking life, from taking what is not given, from sexual misconduct, from lying speech, or from strong drink and sloth producing drugs. That is the rule. It is the rule that when a bodhisattva has entered his mother's womb, she has no sensual thoughts connected with a man, and she cannot be overcome by any man with lustful thoughts. That is the rule. It is the rule that when a bodhisattva has entered his mother's womb, she enjoys the fivefold pleasures of the senses and takes delight, being endowed and possessed of them. That is the rule." Stop here for a moment. This part is hard to believe, firstly, that the 10,000 world systems trembled and quaked, and immeasurable splendid light surpassing the glory of the most powerful devas shone. This is because before a Buddha is enlightened, he's like many ordinary beings or many Aryans. When Aryans are born, this doesn't happen. Because in this world, there are still many Aryans. And then the second one, that when the Bodhisatta has entered the mother's womb, four devas come to protect him. This also is a bit hard to believe. And then 1.18. It's all right. 1.18, 1.19. This 1.19 and 1.20 seem to contradict each other. 19 says that the mother has no sensual thoughts, but 20 says she enjoys the frightful pleasures of the senses and takes delight. It's the rule that when a Bodhisatta has entered his mother's womb, she has no sickness of any kind. She's at ease and without fatigue of body, and she can see the Bodhisatta inside her womb, complete with all his members and faculties. Monks, it's as if a gem, a barrel, Pure, excellent, well cut into eight facets. Clear, bright, flawless and perfect in every respect, was strung on a blue, yellow, red, white or orange cord. And a man with good eyesight, taking it in his hand, would describe it as such. Thus does the Bodhisattva's mother, with no sickness, see him complete with all his members and faculties. That is the rule. It is a rule that when the Bodhisattva's mother dies seven days after his birth, and is reborn in the Tusita heaven, that is the rule. It is a rule that whereas other women carry the child in their womb for nine or 10 months before giving birth, it is not so with the Bodhisattva's mother, who carries him for exactly 10 months before giving birth. That is the rule. It's a rule that whereas other women give birth sitting or lying down, it's not so with the Bodhisattva's mother who gives birth standing up. That is the rule. It's a rule that when the Bodhisattva issues from his mother's womb, devas welcome him first and then humans. That is the rule. It's a rule that when the Bodhisattva issues from his mother's womb, he does not touch the earth. Four devas receive him. and place him before his mother, saying, Rejoice, Your Majesty, a mighty son has been born to you." That is the rule. It's the rule that when the bodhisatta issues from his mother's womb, he issues forth stainless, not defiled by water, mucus, blood or any impurity, pure and spotless. Just as when a jewel is laid on muslin from Kasi, the jewel does not stain the muslin or the muslin the jewel. Why not? Because of the purity of both. It is the same. In the same way, the Bodhisatta issues forth stainless. That is the rule. It is the rule that when the Bodhisatta issues forth from his mother's womb, two streams of water appear from the sky, one cold, the other warm, which they ritually wash the Bodhisatta and his mother. That is the rule. It is the rule that as soon as he is born, the Bodhisatta takes a firm stance on both feet facing north and takes seven strides. And under a white sunshade, he scans the four quarters and then declares with a bull-like voice, I am chief in the world, supreme in the world, eldest in the world. This is my last birth. There will be no more re-becoming. That is the rule. It is the rule when the Bodhisatta issues from his mother's womb that appears in this world an immeasurable splendid light. etc. is the rule. I'll stop here for a moment. So here is another list which is quite far-fetched. I personally don't accept it. This one, like 1.21, says the mother can see the baby inside her, complete with all the members and faculties. So you must ask, what does she see it with? She hasn't developed the divine eye, the flesh eye, you can't see through the skin, see the baby inside. This one, after the Bodhisattva, 7 days after the Bodhisattva's birth, the Bodhisattva's mother dies and is reborn in the Tushita. This is supposed to be the case with our Bodhisattva, our Buddha Gautama or Sakyamuni Buddha. But it's doubtful whether this happens for every Buddha. And then he says, here the mother gave birth to the Bodhisatta standing up. It's also hard to accept. And also that when he's born, the devas welcome him first. And then also, so the devas, when he's born, the devas hold him so that he does not touch the earth, and put him before the mother. This also hard to understand, to accept. And also when he's born, he's stainless, not defiled by water or blood or anything. Also hard to understand. And this one, when he's born, two streams of water appear from the sky, one cold and the other warm. This is even harder to accept. This one, I think in the Dhammapada commentary, the story is there. One of the stories is that the Buddha is supposed to have shown this psychic power from his body. Cold and hot water came out. But this is just a story. And it looks like they have put it in here. Then 1.29, when the Bodhisatta is born, he can take seven steps and proclaim, I am chief in the world. That is very hard to accept. Monks, when Prince Vipassi was born, they showed him to King Banduma and said, Your Majesty, a son has been born to you. They desired to look at him. The king looked at the prince and then said to the Brahmins skilled in science, you gentlemen are skilled in science, examine the prince. The Brahmins examined the prince and said to King Banduma, Sire, rejoice for a mighty son has been born to you. This again for you, Sire. It is a great profit for you, Sire, that such a son has been born into your family. Sire, this prince is endowed with the 32 marks of a great man. To such only two courses are open. If he lives the household life, he will become a ruler, a wheel-turning righteous monarch of the law, conqueror of the four quarters who has established the security of his realm and is possessed of the seven treasures. These are the wheel treasure, elephant treasure, horse treasure, jewel treasure, woman treasure, householder treasure, and counselor-treasurer. He has more than a thousand sons who are heroes of heroic stature, conquerors of the hostile army. He dwells having conquered this sea-girt land without stick or sword by the law. But if he goes forth from the household life into homelessness, then he will become an arahant, sammasambuddha, one who draws back the veil from the world. And what sire are the thirty-two marks? 1. He has feet with level tread. 2. On the soles of his feet are wheels with a thousand spokes. 3. He has projecting heels. 4. He has long fingers and toes. 5. He has soft and tender hands and feet. 6. His hands and feet are net-like. 7. He has high-raised ankles. 8. His legs are like an antelope's. 9. Standing and without bending, he can touch and rub his knees with either hand. 10. His male organs are enclosed in a sheath. 11. His complexion is bright, the colour of gold. 12. His skin is delicate and so smooth that no dust adheres to it. 13. His body hairs are separate, one to each paw. 14. They grow upwards, bluish-black like collyrium, growing in rings to the right. 15. His body is divinely straight. 16. He has the seven convex surfaces. 17. The front part of his body is like a lion's. 18. There is no hollow between his shoulders. 19. He is proportioned like a bunion tree. His height is as the span of his arms. 20. His bust is evenly rounded. 21. He has a perfect sense of taste. 22. He has jaws like a lion's. 23. He has 40 teeth. 24. His teeth are even. 25. There are no spaces between his teeth. 26. His canine teeth are very bright. 27. His tongue is very long. 28. He has a Brahma-like voice, like that of the Karavika bird. 29. His eyes are deep blue. 30. He has eyelashes like a cow's. 31. The hair between his eyebrows is white and soft, like cotton down. 32. His head is like a royal turban. Sire, this prince is endowed with the 32 marks of a great man. To such, only two courses are open. If he lives the household life, he will become a ruler, a wheel-turning righteous monarch of the law. But if he goes forth from the household life into homelessness, then he will become an arahant, samasambuddha, one who draws back the veil from the world. Then King Banduma, having clothed these Brahmins in fresh clothes, satisfied all their wishes. And King Banduma appointed nurses for Prince Vipassi. Some suckled him, some bathed him, some carried him, some dandled him. A white umbrella was held over him night and day, that he might not be harmed by cold or heat or grass or dust. And Prince Vipassi was much beloved of the people. Just as everybody loves a blue, yellow or white lotus, so they all loved Prince Vipassi. Thus he was born from lap to lap. And Prince Vipassi had a sweet voice, a beautiful voice, charming and delightful. Just as in the Himalaya mountains, the Karavika bird has a sweet, has a voice sweeter, more beautiful, charming and delightful than all other birds. So too was Prince Vipassi's voice, the finest of all. And owing to the results of past karma, the divine eye was present to Prince Vipassi. which he could see for a league or yojana, day and night alike. And Prince Vipassi was unblinkingly watchful, like the 33 gods. And because it was said that he was unblinkingly watchful, the prince came to be called Vipassi. When King Banduma was trying a case, he took Prince Vipassi on his knee and instructed him in the case. Then putting him down from his knee, his father would carefully explain the issues to him. And for this reason, he was all the more called Vipassi. Then King Banduma caused three palaces to be built for Prince Vipassi, one for the rainy season, one for the cold season, and one for the hot season, to cater for all the fivefold sense pleasures. There, Prince Vipassi stayed in the rainy season palace for the four months of the rainy season. With no male attendance, surrounded by female musicians, he never left that palace." Stop here for a moment. So here, It describes 32 characteristics of a great man, 32 marks of a great man. This comes from the Indian tradition, the Brahmin tradition.

21-DN-14-Mahapadana-(2011-07-24)-Part-B.txt

Ten monks, after many years, many hundreds and thousands of years had passed, Prince Vipassi said to his charioteer, ''Harness some fine carriages, charioteer. You will go to the pleasure park to inspect it.'' The charioteer did so, then reported to the prince, ''Your Royal Highness, the fine carriages are harnessed. It is time to do as you wish.'' And Prince Vipassi mounted a carriage and drove in procession to the pleasure park. And as was he being driven to the pleasure park, Prince Vipassi saw an aged man, bent like a roof beam, broken, leaning on a stick, tottering, sick. His youth all vanished. At the sight, he said to the charioteer, charioteer, what is the matter with this man? His hair is not like other men's. His body is not like other men's. And the charioteer said, Prince, that is what is called an old man. And the prince said, but why is he called an old man? And the charioteer said, he is called old prince because he has not long to live. Then the prince said, but am I liable to become old and not exempt from old age? The charioteer said, both you and I, Prince, are liable to become old and are not exempt from old age. Then the prince said, well then, charioteer, that will do for today with the pleasure park. Return now to the palace. Very good, Prince, said the charioteer, and brought Prince Vipassi back to the palace. Arrived there, Prince Vipassi was overcome with grief and dejection, crying, shame on this thing birth, since to him who is born, old age must manifest itself. Then King Banduma sent for the charioteer and said, Well, did not the prince enjoy himself at the pleasure park? Wasn't he happy there? And the charioteer said, Your Majesty, the prince did not enjoy himself. He was not happy there. And the king said, What did he see on the way there? So the charioteer told the king all that had happened. Then King Banduma thought, Prince Vipassi must not renounce the throne. He must not go forth from the household life into homelessness. The words of the Brahmins learned in science must not come true. So the king provided for Prince Vipassi to have even more enjoyment of the fivefold sense pleasures in order that he should rule the kingdom and not go forth from the household life into homelessness. Thus the prince continued to live, indulging in and addicted to the five-fold sense pleasures. After many hundreds of thousands of years, Prince Vipassi ordered his charioteer to drive to the pleasure park. And as he was being driven to the pleasure park, Prince Vipassi saw a sick man, suffering, very ill, fallen in his own urine and excrement. And some people were picking him up and others putting him to bed. At the sight, he said to the charioteer, what's the matter with this man? His eyes are not like other men's. His head is not like other men's. And the charioteer said, Prince, that is what is called a sick man. But why is he called a sick man? Prince, he is so called because he can hardly recover from his illness. And the prince said, But am I liable to become sick and not exempt from sickness? And the charioteer said, Both you and I, prince, are liable to become sick and not exempt from sickness. And the prince said, Well then, charioteer, return now to the palace. Arrived there, Prince Vipassi was overcome with grief and dejection, crying, Shame on this thing birth, since he who is born must experience sickness. Then King Banduma sent for the charioteer and told him, who told him what had happened. The king provided Prince Vipassi with even more sense pleasures in order that he should rule the kingdom and not go forth from the household life into homelessness. After many hundreds of thousands of years, Prince Vipassi ordered his charioteer to drive to the Pleasure Park. And as he was being driven to the Pleasure Park, Prince Vipassi saw a large crowd collecting, clad in many colours, and carrying a buyer. At the sight, he said to the charioteer, why are those people doing that? And the charioteer said, Prince, that is what they call a dead man. drive me over to where the dead man is. Very good prince, said the charioteer, and did so. And Prince Vipassi gazed at the corpse of the dead man. Then he said to the charioteer, why is he called a dead man? Prince, he is called a dead man because now his parents and other relatives will not see him again, nor he them. But am I subject to dying, not exempt from dying? And the charioteer said, both you and I, Prince, are subject to dying, not exempt from it. Well then, charioteer, that will do for today with the pleasure part. Return now to the palace. Arrived there, Prince Vipassi was overcome with grief and dejection, crying, shame on this thing birth, since to him who is born, death must manifest itself. Then King Banduma sent for the charioteer, who told him what had happened. The king provided Prince Vipassi with even more sense pleasures. After many hundreds of thousands of years, Prince Vipassi ordered his charioteer to drive to the pleasure park. And as he was being driven to the pleasure park, Prince Vipassi saw a shaven-headed man who had gone forth wearing a yellow robe. And he said to the charioteer, What is the matter with that man? His head is not like other men's, and his clothes are not like other men's. And the charioteer said, Prince, he is called one who has gone forth. Why is he called one who has gone forth? Prince, by one who has gone forth, we mean one who truly follows Dhamma, who truly lives in serenity, does good actions, performs meritorious deeds, is harmless, and truly has compassion for living beings. Charioteer, he is well called one who has gone forth. drive the carriage over to where he is. Very good prince, said the charioteer, and did so. And Prince Vipassi questioned the man who had gone forth, and the renunciant said, Prince, as one who has gone forth, I truly follow Dhamma. I live in serenity. does good actions, performs meritorious deeds, is harmless and truly has compassion for living beings. And the prince said, you are well called one who has gone forth. Then Prince Vipassi said to the charioteer, you take the carriage and drive back to the palace. But I shall stay here and shave off my hair and beard, put on yellow robes and go forth from the household life into homelessness. Very good, said the charioteer, and returned to the palace. And Prince Vipassi, shaving off his hair and beard and putting on yellow robes, went forth from the household life into homelessness. I stop here for a moment. So here is a legend. Even about our Buddha Sakyamuni, Buddha Gotama, the legend, the story is that the Buddha saw these four sides, a sick man, an old man, a dead man, and a renunciant, and that shook him up. But if you look at this story, it sounds a bit ridiculous. Why must he go out and see an old man, a sick man, a dead man? As he grows up, he will see his relatives growing old, You see his mother, his grandparents all growing old and becoming sick and dying, just like all of us. As we go through life, we see our relatives go through all these things. You don't have to go out and look for all these sights. So this is one of those things that sounds a bit ridiculous. And a great crowd from the royal capital city, Bandu Mati, 84,000 people, heard that Prince Vipassi had gone forth into homelessness. And they thought, this is certainly no common teaching and discipline, no common going forth, for which Prince Vipassi has shaved off hair and beard, donned yellow robes and gone forth into homelessness. If the prince has done so, why should not we? And so monks, a great crowd of 80,000, having shaved off their hair and beards and donned yellow robes, followed the Bodhisattva Vipassi into homelessness. And with this following, the Bodhisattva went on his rounds through villages, towns and royal cities. Then the Bodhisattva Vipassi, having retired to a secluded spot, had this thought, it is not proper for me to live with a crowd like this. I must live alone, withdrawn from this crowd. So after a while, he left the crowd and dwelt alone. The 84,000 went one way, the Bodhisatta another. Then when the Bodhisatta has entered his dwelling alone in a secluded spot, he thought, this world, alas, is in a sorry state. There is birth and ageing or decay. There is death and falling to other states and being reborn. And no one knows any way of escape from this suffering, this ageing and death. When will deliverance be found from this suffering, this ageing and death? And then monks, the Bodhisatta thought, with what being present does ageing and death occur? What conditions ageing and death? And then monks, as a result of the wisdom born of profound consideration, the realization dawned on him. Birth being present, ageing and death occurs. Birth conditions ageing and death. Then he thought, what conditions birth? And the realization dawned on him. Being or becoming conditions birth. What conditions being? Clinging or attachment conditions being. Craving conditions clinging or attachment. Feeling conditions craving. Contact conditions feeling. The six sense bases condition contact. Now mentality and materiality conditions the six sense bases. Consciousness conditions mentality and materiality. And then the Bodhisattva thought, the Bodhisattva Vipassi thought, with what being present does consciousness occur? What conditions consciousness? And then as a result of the wisdom born of profound consideration, the realization dawned on him. mind and body, or mentality and materiality conditions consciousness. Then monks, the Bodhisattva Vipassi thought, this consciousness turns back at mentality and materiality. It does not go any further. To this extent, there is birth and decay. There is death and falling into other states and being reborn, namely, Mentality and materiality conditions consciousness. Consciousness conditions mentality and materiality. Mentality and materiality conditions the six sense bases. The six sense bases conditions contact. Contact conditions feeling, feeling conditions craving, craving conditions clinging, clinging conditions being, being conditions birth, birth conditions ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and distress. And thus this whole mess of suffering takes its origin. And at the thought, origin, origin, there arose in the Bodhisattva Vipassi with insight into things never realized before, knowledge, wisdom, awareness and light. Then he thought, what now, being absent, does ageing and death not occur? With the cessation of what comes the cessation of ageing and death? Then as a result of the wisdom born of profound consideration, the realisation dawned on him, birth being absent, ageing and death does not occur. With the cessation of birth comes the cessation of ageing and death. With the cessation of what comes the cessation of birth? With the cessation of being comes the cessation of birth. With the cessation of clinging comes the cessation of being. With the cessation of craving comes the cessation of clinging. With the cessation of feeling comes the cessation of craving. With the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling. With the cessation of the six-sense basis comes the cessation of contact. With the cessation of mentality and materiality comes the cessation of the six-sense basis. With the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of mentality and materiality. With the cessation of mentality and materiality comes the cessation of consciousness. Stop here for a moment. So here is the dependent origination of suffering. But here we find that only 10 links, only 10 links instead of the usual 12. And according to the commentary, it says here, only one lifetime is meant. If only one time is meant, then even with the 12 links also, One lifetime can be meant. Then the Bodhisattva Vipassana thought, I have found the Vipassana way to enlightenment, namely by the cessation of body and consciousness, cessation of mentality and materiality, consciousness ceases. By the cessation of consciousness, mentality and materiality ceases. Stop here for a moment. So here it says, I found the Vipassana way. This also shows that this is probably a later edition because later monks, they always like to talk about the Vipassana way. By the cessation of the six sense bases, contact ceases. By the cessation of contact, feeling ceases. By the cessation of feeling, craving ceases. By the cessation of craving, clinging ceases. By the cessation of clinging, being ceases. By the cessation of being, birth ceases. By the cessation of birth, ageing and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and distress cease. And thus this whole mess of suffering ceases. And at the thought, cessation, cessation, there arose in the Bodhisattva Vipassi with insight into things never realized before, knowledge, vision, awareness, and light. Then monks, at another time, the Bodhisattva Vipassi dwelt, contemplating the rise and fall of the five aggregates of clinging. such is body, such is arising, such is passing away, such is feeling, such is perception, such is volition, such is consciousness, such their arising, such their passing away. And as he remained contemplating the rise and fall of the five aggregates of clinging, before long his mind was freed from the asavas without remainder." I'll stop here for a moment. So here he's saying that by contemplating the five aggregates of attachment, this Bodhisattva Vipassi attained enlightenment, which is the destruction of the asavasya. Then monks, the Blessed Lord Arahant Sammasambuddha Vipassi thought, suppose now I were to teach Dhamma, and then he thought, I have attained to this Dhamma, which is profound, hard to see, hard to grasp, peaceful, excellent, beyond reasoning, subtle, to be apprehended by the wise. But this generation delights in clinging, rejoices in it and revels in it. But for those who so delight, rejoice and revel in clinging, this matter is hard to see, namely the conditioned nature of things or dependent origination. Equally hard to see would be the calming of all the volitions, the abandonment of all the substrates, rebirth, the waning of craving, dispassion, cessation, nibbana. And if I were to teach Dhamma to others and they did not understand me, that would be a weariness and a trouble to me. And to the Lord Buddha Vipassi, there occurred spontaneously this verse never previously heard. This that I've attained, why should I proclaim? This, those full of lust and hate can never grasp it. Leading upstream this Dhamma, subtle, deep, hard to see, no passion-blinded folk can see it. And as the Lord Buddha Vipassi pondered thus, his mind was inclined to inaction rather than to teaching the Dhamma. And monks, the Lord Vipassi's, the Lord Buddha Vipassi's reasoning became mentally known to a certain great Brahma. And he thought, alas, the world is perishing, it will be destroyed because the mind of Vipassi, the Blessed Lord, Arahantsama Sambuddha is inclined to inaction rather than to teaching the Dhamma. So this great Brahma, as swiftly as a strong man might stretch his flexed arm or flex it again, disappeared from the Brahma world and reappeared before the Lord Buddha Vipassi, arranging his upper robe over one shoulder and kneeling on his right knee, saluted the Lord Buddha Vipassi with joined hands and said, Lord, may the blessed Lord teach Dhamma May the well-farer teach Dhamma. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are perishing through not hearing Dhamma. They will become knowers of Dhamma. Then the Lord Buddha Vipassi explained why he inclined to inaction rather than to teaching the Dhamma. And the great Brahma appealed a second and a third time to the Lord Buddha Vipassi to teach. Then the Lord Buddha Vipassi, recognizing Brahma's appeal and moved by compassion for beings, surveyed the world with his Buddha eye. And he saw beings with little dust in their eyes and with much dust, with faculties sharp and dull, of good and bad disposition, easy and hard to teach, and few of them living in fear of transgression and of the world. of the next world. And just as in a pool of red, blue or white lotuses, some are born in the water, some grow in the water and not leaving the water, thrive in the water. Some are born in the water and reach the surface, while some are born in the water and having reached the surface, grow out of the water and are not polluted by it. In the same way, monks, the Lord Buddha Vipassi, surveying the world with his Buddha eyes, saw some beings with little dust in their eyes, etc. Then, knowing his thought, the great Brahma addressed the Lord Buddha Vipassi in these verses. As on a mountain peak, a watcher sees the folk below. So, man of wisdom, seeing all, look down from Dhamma's heights. Free from war, look on those who are sunk in grief, oppressed with birth and age. Arise, hero, victor in battle, leader of the caravan. Traverse the world, teach, O Lord, the Dhamma, and they will understand. And the Lord Buddha Vipassi replied to the great Brahma in verse, open to them are the doors of the deathless. Let those that here now put forth faith, for fear of trouble I did not preach at first the excellent Dharma for men, Brahma. Then that great Brahma thinking have been the cause of the Lord Buddha Vipassi's preaching Dhamma, made obeisance to the Lord Buddha and passing by to his right, vanished there and then. Stop here for a moment. So this part about how the Buddha Vipassi decided not to teach. And then later the Mahabrahma came to appeal to him and he thought, this is just a quite the same as what happened to our Buddha, Gautama. So it looks like they just copied the whole thing from the from the Suttas and the Vinaya concerning the Buddha Gautama or the Buddha Vipassi. Then the Lord Buddha Vipassi thought, to whom should I first teach this Dhamma? Who would understand it quickly? Then he thought, there are Khanda, the king's son, and Tissa, the chaplain's son, living in the capital city of Bandumati. They are wise, learned, experienced, and for a long time have had little dust in their eyes. If now I teach Dhamma first to Khanda and Tissa, they will understand it quickly. And so the Lord Buddha Vipassi swiftly as a strong man might stretch out his legs down or flex it again, vanish there and then from the root of that tree of enlightenment and reappear in the royal capital of Bandumati in the Deer Park of Kema. And the Lord Buddha Vipassi said to the park keeper, Keeper, go to Bandumati and say to Prince Kanda and the chaplain's son Tissa, My Lords, Vipassi, the Blessed Lord, Arhats, Samasambuddha has come to Bandumati and is staying in the dear park of Kema. He wishes to see you. Very good, Lord, said the park keeper, and went and delivered the message. Then Khanda and Tissa, having harnessed some fine carriages, drove out of Bandumati, making for the dear park of Kema. They took the carriages as far as they could go, then alighted and continued on foot till they came to the Lord Buddha Vipassi. When they reached Him, they made obeisance to Him and sat down to one side. And the Lord Buddha Vipassi delivered to them a graduated discourse on generosity, on morality, on heaven, showing the danger, degradation and corruption of sense desires, and the profit of renunciation. And when the Lord Buddha Vipassi knew that the minds of Khanda and Tissa were ready, pliable, free from the hindrances, joyful and calm, then he preached the Buddha's special sermon in brief. on suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path. And just as a clean cloth from which all stains have been removed, receives the dye perfectly. So in Prince Khanda and Tissa, the chaplain's son, as they sat there, there arose a pure and spotless Dhamma eye, and they knew, whatever things have an origin must come to cessation. And they, having seen, attained, experienced, and penetrated the Dhamma, having passed beyond doubt, Having gained perfect confidence in the teacher's doctrine, without relying on others, said, Excellent Lord, excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there. So the Blessed Lord has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. We go for refuge to the Lord, to the Dhamma. May we receive the going forth at the Lord's hands. May we receive ordination." Some people for a moment, at that time there was no Sangha yet, so they did not take the triple refuge. They took the double refuge. And so Prince Khanda and Tissa, the chaplain's son, received the going forth at the hands of the Lord Buddha Vipassi, and they received ordination. Then the Lord Buddha Vipassi instructed them with the discourse on Dhamma, inspired them, fired them and delighted them. showing the danger, degradation and corruption of conditioned things, and the Prophet of Nibbana, and through their being inspired, fired and delighted with this discourse, it was not long before their minds were freed from the asavas without remainder." That means they became enlightened. And a great crowd of 84,000 people from Bandumati heard that the Lord Buddha Vipassi was staying in the Deer Park of Kema, and that Khanda and Tissa had shaved off their hair and beards, donned yellow robes and gone forth from the household life into homelessness. And they thought, This is certainly no common teaching and discipline, for which Prince Kanda and Tissa, the chaplain's son, have gone forth into homelessness. If they can do this in the presence of the Lord Buddha Vipassi, why should not we? And so this great crowd of 84,000 left Bandhu Mati for the Deer Park of Kema that the Lord Buddha Vipassi was. When they came to him, they made obeisance to him and sat down to one side. And the Lord Buddha Vipassi delivered to them a graduated discourse on generosity, on morality and on heaven, showing the danger, degradation and corruptions of corruption of sense desires, and the profit of enunciation. And just as a clean cloth receives the dye perfectly, so in those 84,000, as they sat there, there arose a pure and spotless Dhamma-I, and they knew whatever things have an origin must come to cessation. And those 84,000 received the going forth at the hands of the Lord Buddha Vipassi. They received ordination. The Lord Buddha Vipassi instructed them with the discourse on Dhamma. And it was not long before their minds were freed from the asavas without remainder. Then the first 84,000 who had gone forth heard, the Lord Buddha Vipassi has come to Bandumati and is staying in the Deer Park teaching Dhamma. And all happened as before. And it was not long before their minds were freed from the asavas without remainder. At that time, the royal capital of Bandu Mati, there was a vast gathering of 6,800,000 monks. And when the Lord Buddha Vipassi had withdrawn into seclusion, he thought, there is now this great gathering of monks here in the capital. Suppose I were to give them permission, wonder brought monks for the good of the many. for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare happiness of devas and humans. Do not two go together, monks, but to teach the Dhamma, but teach the Dhamma that is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, and lovely in its ending, both in the letter and in the spirit, and display the holy light, fully complete and perfect. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are perishing through not hearing Dhamma. They will become knows of Dhamma. But at the end of six years, precisely, you are to come together to the royal capital of Bandumati to recite the disciplinary code. Then a great Maha Brahma having divine the Lord Buddha Vipassi's thought as swiftly as a strong man might stretch his flex arm or flex it again, vanish from the Brahma world and appeared before the Lord Buddha Vipassi. Arranging his robe over one shoulder and saluting the Lord with joint palms, he said, Just so, O Lord, just so, O Welfarer. Let the Lord give permission to this great gathering to wander abroad for the good of the many, out of compassion for the world. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are perishing through not hearing Dhamma. They will become knowers of Dhamma, and we too will do the same as the monks. At the end of six years, we will come together to the royal capital of Bandumati to recite the disciplinary code. the Patimokkha. Having spoken thus, the Brahma made obeisance to the Lord Buddha and passing by to his right vanished there and then. And so the Lord Vipassi, emerging from the seclusion of his rest period, told the monks what had occurred. I allow you monks to wander abroad for the good of the many, for the welfare and happiness of devas and humans. Do not, too, go together, monks, but teach the Dhamma that is lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending, both in the letter and in the spirit. And display the holy life, fully complete and perfect. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are perishing through not hearing Dhamma. they will become knowers of Dhamma. But at the end of six years, precisely, you are to come together to the royal capital of Bandumati to recite the disciplinary code. And the majority of those monks that left that very day to wonder about the country, And at that time, there were 84,000 religious residences in Jambudipa. At the end of one year, the devas would proclaim, gentlemen, one year has passed, five remain. At the end of five years, you are to return to Bandhu Mati to recite the disciplinary code. And similarly, at the end of two, three, four, five years, and when six years had passed, the devas announced, gentlemen, six years have passed, it is now time to go to the royal capital of Bandumati to recite the disciplinary code. And those monks, some by their own psychic powers, and some by that of the devas, all in one day came to Bandumati to recite the disciplinary code. And then the Lord Buddha Vipassi gave to the assembled monks the following precepts. Patient forbearance is the highest sacrifice. Supreme is Nibbana, so say the Buddhas. He is not one gone forth who hurts others, nor ascetic he who harms another. not to do any evil, but cultivate the good, to purify one's mind. This is the Buddha's teaching. Not insulting, not harming, restraint according to the rule, moderation in food, seclusion of dwelling, devotion to high thinking. This the Buddha's teach. One month, once month, I was staying at Ukata in the Subaga group at the foot of a great salt tree. And as I dwelt there in seclusion, it occurred to me, there is no abode of beings easily accessible that has not been visited by me for so long as that of the devas of the pure abodes. Suppose I were to visit them now, and then as swiftly as a strong man might stretch his flexed arm or flex it again, I vanished from the Ukata and appeared among the Avihara devas. And many thousands of them came to me, saluted me and stood to one side. Then they said, Sir, it is 91 aeons since the Lord Buddha Vipassi appeared in the world. The Lord Buddha Vipassi was born of Kathia race and arose in the Kathia family. He was of the Kondanya clan. In his time, the lifespan was 80,000 years. He gained his full enlightenment under a trumpet flower tree. He had a pair of noble disciples, Kanda and Tissa. He had three assemblies of his disciples, one of 6,800,000, one of 100,000, and one of 80,000 monks, all of whom were Arahants. His chief personal attendant was the monk Asoka. His father was King Banduma. His mother was Queen Bandumati, and his father's royal capital was Bandumati. The Lord Buddha we pass his renunciation was like this, his going forth like this, his striving like this, his full enlightenment like this, his turning of the wheel like this. And we, sir, who live the holy life under the Lord Buddha we pass, having freed ourselves from sense desires, have arisen here. In the same way, many thousands of devas came. Referring similarly to Sikhi and other Buddhas, as in verse 1.12, they said, Sir, in this fortunate aeon, now, the Lord Buddha has arisen in the world. He is born of a Katya race. He is of the Gautama clan. In his time, the lifespan is short, limited, and quick to pass. It is seldom that anybody lives to be a hundred. He gained his full enlightenment under an Asata tree. He has a pair of noble disciples, Sariputta and Mogulanna. He has one assembly of disciples, 1,250 monks, who are all Arahants. His chief personal attendant is Ananda. His father is Raja Sudhodana. His mother is Queen Maya, and his royal capital is Kapilavatu. Such was the Lord's renunciation, such is going forth, such is striving, such is full enlightenment, such is turning of the wheel. And we, sir, who have lived a holy life under the Lord, having freed ourselves from sense desires, have arisen here. Then I went with the other Bihar Devas to see the Atapa Devas, and with these to see the Sudasa Devas, and with these to see the Sudasi Devas. and with all of these to see the Akanita devas. And there many thousands of devas came, saluted me and stood to one side, saying, Sir, it is one aeon since the Lord Buddha Vipassi appeared in the world, etc. And so it is, monks, that by his penetration of the fundamentals of Dhamma, the Tathagata remembers the past Buddhas who have attained final Nibbana, cutting through multiplicities, blazing a trail, have exhausted the round, have passed by all suffering. He recalls their births, their names, their clan, their lifespan, their twin disciples, their assemblies of disciples, These blessed Lords were born thus, were called thus, thus was their clan, thus was their morality, their dharma, their wisdom, their dwelling, thus was their liberation. Thus the Lord spoke, and the monks delighted, rejoiced at His words." That's the end of the Sutta. This last part about the devas and the avihā devas, atapa devas, sudasa devas, sudasi devas and akhanita devas refers to the five levels of the pure abodes, the pure abodes. Suddhavasa heavens. The Suddhavasa heavens are the pure boats and only the Anagamins, those who have attained third fruition, Arya, can be reborn in that heaven. So this Sutta, as I mentioned, is not an important Sutta. It's one of those Suttas that try to praise the Buddhas. every religion you find that they tend to abuse their the founder of the religion, and they very often go overboard. Just like in the Christian religion, they say that Jesus' mother was a virgin who gave birth to Jesus. So in the early Mahayana books also you find, they also say that the Buddha's mother was a virgin. So here also the other things are all a bit Airy-fairy, as you see. How do you say in Chinese? What's the term in Chinese? More, higher than normal. Hmm? No. What's the term? Hmm. Something to do with pool. Putong. Putong more than, higher than Pu. What do you call that? Hm? No, no, no. Hm? Ah, Lipu. Lipu. Lipu. Lipu. Yeah, yeah.

22-DN-14-Mahapadana-(2011-07-24)-Part-C-QnA.txt

Anything to discuss? Yes, yes. All the time, like in India, you have what they call renunciants. Different types of renunciants. Some don't wear robe at all. Some are naked. Naked ascetics. Some will wear robes. Different, different styles. It's a tradition because to dye the ropes, normally ascetics, they collect the rag ropes from corpses from the roadside and all that. Then they need to dye it a certain color to identify themselves. So they use the wood of trees, like the jackfruit tree. In Thailand they still do, they cut the jackfruit wood, jackfruit tree wood into pieces, they boil it, boil it until it becomes thick, then they soak the cloth in there, it will soak the color. So that is the, sometimes they call it the ochre color, ochre robes instead of yellow robes. It's not really yellow, it's like this, brownish. Yes, that's why you have to study more. When you study more, then you will find that, like this sutta, talking about the 32 marks of a great man, you know it's not important. It doesn't help you to become enlightened. So you just ignore it. What is helpful is part of the Noble Eightfold Path. Then we take notice. Tutors like this, you find that you can tell if you are experienced enough. If you are not experienced enough, then you can't judge. So you have to study the suttas again and again, then when you can understand the suttas, then you know what is essential. Yes, even though it's recognized because it's passed through different hands for thousands of years, 2,500. So like this, the percentage of it is very low. So, I don't get your point He says he enjoys the life of peace and he always opens his heart up. He tells about his relationship with his grandson. I think that's the spirit. Actually, as far as other Buddhas are concerned, you find in the other suttas, the Buddha does not talk in detail about other Buddhas. So from this sutta, you find that many things are actually from the Buddha's life story. So they have taken it from there and put it inside here. That's why certain things Also certain things you find it's hard to believe that the baby is just born and can take seven steps and proclaim that he's highest in the world and all these things are just logic. So as far as life of luxury, it's in the Vinaya books. The Buddha said when he was young, his father was rich and Not only the Buddha, even other disciples of the Buddha, I think like Anuruddha, also described that his parents were very rich and built three mansions for him. So the Buddha also the same, the father built three mansions for him for the three different seasons. So it's just like some people come from a very rich family nowadays, that's all. Because you don't need it now. During the Buddha's time were there any Buddha statues? There are no Buddha statues. And Buddha statues appeared in India, starting in Gandhara, 500 years after the Buddha's passing away. And the Buddha foretold that his true Dhamma will last for 500 years, meaning it is unpolluted for 500 years. And after 500 years, you find the Mahayana books appeared. and also the Hinayana books like Abhidhamma and commentaries and later books like Visuddhimagga and all these things. So because of wrong view that people instead of the Buddha's teaching is that we must strive ourselves. You can't pray to somebody for help. So the purpose of Buddha statues is for you to pray for help. So we don't pray for help, so why should we need Buddha statues? To pray to Buddha statues shows wrong view. Then it's because of India. The Buddhas are supposed to be born in India, and that is a special place. So we face that direction when we bow down. To me, it's better to face India and bow than to face a statue and bow. At the beginning of the talk, you mentioned that 99.9% is Pachinko Buddha and only a very small amount would like to be a Sammasambuddha. And from your own talk, you mentioned that the only difference between a Sammasambuddha and a Pachinko Buddha is that a Pachinko Buddha does not teach, but he knows exactly the same. as the Sammasambuddha. Is there any support for that in the Sutta? Because I heard some others say that the Bhikkhu Buddha does not know exactly as the Sammasambuddha and he cannot teach. Is there any support for that in the Sutta? But in the suttas and the Vinaya books, we find that the Buddha, our Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, he, as this last sutta mentioned, when he contemplated the beings in the world, he found that we beings, the beings in the world, we like to follow our tendencies, our tendencies. meaning our greed, hatred, and delusion. And to cultivate the spiritual path, you are going against your natural tendencies. Just like to swim upstream. To swim upstream the river is extremely difficult. To follow the stream and flow along the river and go downstream is very easy. So most beings, we want to choose the easy path. We just follow our tendencies and let the stream of life carry us. We don't know where we are going, we just keep going. But the spiritual path is to swim upstream, to go to the source. And that is very difficult. So even our Buddha Sakyamuni, in the Vinaya books, it is mentioned that he determined not to teach. And then this Mahabrahma, came down and pleaded with him because this Maha Brahma was a monk in the previous life, under the previous Buddha Kasapa. So he could recognize when the Samasambuddha appeared. So he pleaded with the Buddha. three times. Then the Buddha contemplated again, and then decided to teach. That shows if the Buddha did not teach, he would have become a Pacheka Buddha. So he's the same person whether he teaches or he doesn't teach. Just that one moment he decides not to teach, another moment he decides to teach. So isn't it the same? How come the previous Buddhas from the 91, 804 were the same? They were Brahmins as well. How come? No, according to the sutra we just read, some of them were from the Katya clan, the warrior caste, and some of them were from the Brahmin caste. That is hard to say. It might not be true. Since we already said that a lot of things in this Sutta cannot be believed, so probably that was just a conjecture. If there was a development, and I've done a lot of the work, sort of in the sense that I've been in the prime minister's room today, and I've heard a lot from your peers about how that's been applied in the future. If there were to have those effects, then what we're seeing is that we get pretty harmonized by various things Yes, he knows, but he also knows that every person has his time. Every person has his time. And there's an Indian saying, when the disciple is ready, Master will appear. So, because each person has our own time. When your time is due, you will meet the teacher. We all progress in stages. You see, even the Buddha taught the Dhamma. How many people became enlightened? How many people became Arya? How many people interested in his teaching? Not many. Like nowadays, you have the Buddha's words in the Nikayas. How many people bother to read and understand? Very few. So it's because very few people are interested, that most Buddhas, even though they know there are some people are interested, but then to go around looking for disciples, it's not easy. Never mind, one day when you become enlightened, then you tell me whether you should teach or you should not teach. It will be like 99.9% of them, no, you won't teach, no. What is the Buddha's insight? You mentioned that the Buddha was 16 years old when he was born from the same family as you. So he's not very much of a Buddha. Say again. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, I mentioned that it's ridiculous that he has to go out to see an old man, to see a sick man and all that. You don't have to go anywhere. You can see it in your own family. Yeah. Contradiction. Yeah it's okay. Together with the teacher, there are so many experiences. It was a chance to talk to our leaders, and to develop the observable needs of the leaders. Probably one thing that we set out to do was to inform the fresh students on the history of the young people in the United States. You see, these contradictions, they only appear in such suttas which try to praise the Buddha or the Bodhisattva and put it up on a high seat. But as far as the Dhamma is concerned, there's not much contradiction when it comes to, how do you say, the hardcore Dhamma. There's hardly any contradiction you can find. It's only these praises of the Buddha and all that. These stories, these are stories. So you find this type of contradiction. So you can tell if you are well-read in the suttas that this is so. Anyway, people who have listened to my dharma talks, some of them They wake up and then they realize that Sunday school teachers are teaching all the children that when the Buddha was born, he took seven steps and proclaimed he's the highest in the world and all this is a bit ridiculous. But then it's in their syllabus. They're asked to teach like that, so it's very hard. Do you find that the people who draft all these syllabus for the children and all that, they are not knowledgeable about the suttas? They wrote about 500 years after the Buddha's death. And the Buddha said that 500 years after his death, there will be food. So how much food are they? How? How much food are they? As I just mentioned just now, the pollution is mainly in the stories. As far as the Dhamma is concerned, there is not much pollution, except in the later books like Abhidhamma commentaries. You find in the later books, we know that the Abhidhamma and the commentaries are later. Because if you look at this period, the 500 years after the Buddha's passing away, we find within this 500 years, you have this King Ashoka in India. And King Ashoka, he was a great supporter of the Dhamma. So he wanted people to know the Buddha's words. So he made this stone pillars. like every kilometre by the roadside, he'll have these stone pillars. And he got these workmen to carve on the pillars, the words of the Buddha. And it's mentioned now that they have dug up these pillars in India. It is mentioned that during Emperor Ashoka's time, there were five Nikayas, Diga Nikaya, Majima Nikaya, Sangyuta Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya, and the Kudaka Nikaya. Kudaka means the minor collection or the small collection. So during the Emperor Asoka's time, it was a small collection. But from Emperor Asoka's time until now, they have added books to it. It has become a major collection. So, In this Kudaka Nikaya, we find six books do not contradict the earlier Nikaya, so we accept six books as reliable, but not the other books in the Kudaka Nikaya. So, this Japanese scholar, professor, Akira Hirakawa, he has done a lot of research and he says that our Pali suttas, among all the suttas, our Pali suttas are the most pure, from the Emperor Asoka's time until now, it's the most pure. Then if you study the suttas, then you find that there are some little pollutions like this sutta, All those that have stories, you don't bother about. Things like the 32 marks of a great man, not important at all, doesn't help us to become enlightened. So we don't have to believe whether it's true or not. Even if it's true or so, we don't bother to remember it because it doesn't help us on the spiritual path. Shall we end here?

23-DN-15-Mahanidana-(2011-07-25)-Part-A.txt

Okay, tonight is the 25th of July, and this is the 10th night we are speaking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Tonight we come to an important sutta on dependent origination called the Mahanidana Sutta, Sutta number 15, Mahanidana Sutta. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying among the Kurus, there is a market town there called Kamasadama, and the verbal Ananda came to the Lord, saluted Him, sat down to one side and said, It is wonderful, Lord, it is marvellous, how profound this dependent origination is, and how profound it appears. And yet it appears to me as clear as clear." And the Buddha said, do not say that Ananda, do not say that. This dependent origination is profound and appears profound. It is true not understanding, not penetrating this Dhamma, that this generation has become like a tangled ball of string, covered as with a blight, tangled like coarse grass, unable to pass beyond states of woe, the ill destiny, ruin, and the round of births and deaths." Stop here for a moment. So here Venerable Ananda at that time was supposed to be a Sotapanna and he says dependent origination is supposed to be profound and yet it appears to him as clear as daylight. But the Buddha said, don't say that. The Buddha said, origination is profound and appears profound. Why does the Buddha say it is profound? Actually, in the suttas we find that even before enlightenment, the Buddha said, he considered what is the cause of suffering. What is the cause of suffering means basically what's the cause of being born, aging, sickening and dying. And when he considered like that, then he worked backwards. Then he realized the cause was being born because it's the nature of the world. Once you are born into the world, the world is a world of impermanence. Everything must change. So you will grow old and become sick and die. Similarly, he asked, what is the cause of birth? So he retraced the steps. He understood basically dependent origination, like what Venerable Ananda understands. But to really understand dependent origination, we find in the Vinaya books, after the Buddha was enlightened, He spent the whole night contemplating dependent origination, how dependent origination arises and how it ceases, and how it arises and ceases. So he spent 12 hours the whole night from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. contemplating dependent origination. And during that time, he used his psychic powers probably to look at how beings arise and all these things. So having contemplated for 12 hours, then he understood that dependent origination is profound But even if you have a basic understanding of dependent origination, like Venerable Ananda, you can be a Sotapanna, an Arya. And the Buddha continued, if Ananda, you are asked, has aging and death a condition for its existence? You should answer, yes. If asked, what conditions aging and death? You should answer, aging and death is conditioned by birth. What conditions birth? Being or becoming or existence, conditions birth. Clinging, conditions being. Craving, conditions clinging or attachment. Feeling, conditions craving. Contact, conditions feeling. Mentality and materiality, nama rupa. Conditions contact. Consciousness conditions mentality and materiality. If asked, has consciousness a condition for its existence? You should answer, yes. If asked, what conditions consciousness? You should answer, mentality and materiality conditions consciousness. Thus Ananda, Mentality and materiality conditions consciousness and consciousness conditions mentality and materiality. Mentality and materiality conditions contact. Contact conditions feeling. Feeling conditions craving. Craving conditions clinging or attachment. Clinging conditions being or existence or becoming. Being conditions birth, birth conditions aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and distress. Thus this whole mess of suffering comes into existence. Stop here for a moment. So here you see the Buddha talks about ten links of dependent origination of suffering. Normally you find in other suttas the Buddha talks about 12 links, but here you find the Buddha talks about 10. The two links that are left out here is Sankara, volition, and avijja, ignorance. So you have ten here. Normally we chant the, chant on dependent origination. Avijja Pachaya Sankara Sankara Pachaya Vijnanam Vijnana Pachaya Nama Rupang Nama Rupa Pachaya Salayatanam Salayatanam Pachaya Paso etc. So Here looks like there's only nine, not ten. Even the salayatana, the six sense bases are not here. So it looks like you can consider this dependent origination of suffering by these nine links instead of twelve. Further on. Okay, we continue and see. I have said, birth conditions, ageing and death. And this is the way that should be understood. If Ananda, there were no birth at all, anywhere, of anybody or anything, of devas to the deva state, of gandabas, of yakas, of ghosts, of humans, of quadrupeds, of birds, of reptiles to the reptile state. If there were absolutely no birth at at all of all these beings. Then with the absence of all birth, the cessation of birth, could aging and death appear? No, Lord. Therefore Ananda, just this is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition for aging and death, namely birth. I have said being conditions birth. If there were absolutely no being or existence in the world of sense desires of form, or the formless world, could birth appear? No, Lord. Therefore, justice is the condition of birth, namely being. Clinging conditions being. If there were absolutely no clinging, sensuous clinging, clinging to views, to rules and rituals, to identity view, could being appear? Craving conditions clinging. If there were absolutely no craving for sight, sound, smell, taste, tangibles, mind, objects, could clinging appear? Feeling conditions craving. If there were absolutely no feeling, feeling born of eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, body contact, mind contact, in the absence of all feeling, with the cessation of feeling, could craving appear? No, Lord. Therefore, Ananda, just this is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition for craving, namely feeling. And so, Ananda, feeling conditions craving, craving conditions seeking, seeking conditions acquisition, acquisition conditions decision making, decision making conditions lustful desire, lustful desire conditions attachment, attachment conditions appropriation, appropriation conditions avarice, avarice conditions guarding of possessions. And because of the guarding of possessions, there arise the taking up of stick and sword, quarrels, disputes, arguments, strife, abuse, lying, and other unskilled states." I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha makes us understand how biological thinking, he could untangle these conditions of dependent origination of suffering. And then, so at the bottom, the Buddha says, feeling conditions, craving, craving conditions, seeking, seeking is pariyasana. And seeking conditions, acquisition, labha. Acquisition conditions, decision making, vinichaya. Decision making conditions, lustful desire, chandaraga. Lustful desire conditions, attachment, ajosana. attachment conditions, appropriation, parigaha. Appropriation conditions, avarice, macharya. Avarice conditions, guarding of possessions, araka. So, because of that, to protect your possessions, then you take up the stick and sword, and quarrels and disputes, arguments, strife, abuse, lying and other unskillful states arise. I have said all these evil unskilled states arise because of the guarding of possessions. For if there were absolutely no guarding of possessions, would there be the taking up of stick or sword, quarrels, disputes, etc. No, Lord. Therefore, Ananda, the guarding of possessions is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition for all these evil, unskilled states. I have said, avarice conditions the guarding of possessions, etc. Appropriation conditions avarice. Attachment conditions appropriation. Lustful desire conditions attachment. Decision-making conditions lustful desire. Acquisition conditions decision-making. Seeking, conditions, acquisition. I have said craving, conditions, seeking. If there were no craving, would there be any seeking? No, Lord. Therefore, Ananda, craving is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition for all seeking. Thus these two things become united in one by feeling. Stop here for a moment. How do these two things become united in one? By feeling. Because of feeling, craving arises. And because of craving, why craving arises? Because of pleasant feeling. Feeling here refers to pleasant feeling. When you have unpleasant feeling, then you feel repulse, aversion. But when you have pleasant feeling, whether because of sights, or sounds, or smells, or taste, or touch, or thoughts, then there's a tendency to crave for it, to want it again and again, and that condition seeking, etc. I have said, contact conditions feeling. Therefore, contact is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition for feeling. Mentality and materiality conditions contact. But whatever properties, features, signs or indications, the mind factor is conceived of. This mind factor is namakaya or mentality body, you can say. The mentality body is conceived of. Would there, in the absence of such properties, features, signs or indications pertaining to the mentality body? Would there manifest any grasping at the idea of the materiality body? No, Lord. Or in the absence of any such properties, features, signs or indications pertaining to the materiality body, would there be any grasping at sensory reaction on the part of the mentality body. No, Lord. I'll stop here for a moment. So he is saying whether it is the mentality body, that means mental factor, something occurring in the mind, or the materiality body, outside. Outside means materiality body can refer to form, can refer to sounds, sounds also is part of the materiality, and smells, taste and touch. So these five senses refers to the rupa, rupakaya. So whether it's the because of pleasant forms or sound, sight, smell, taste, touch, and the mental part, anything in the thoughts, would there be any grasping? Because the sensory reaction here occurs when a sense object impinges on the sense base, meaning form or sound or sights or smells, smells, taste, touch, impinges on the sense base, the eye, ear, nose, et cetera. So by whatever properties the mental materiality body and the mentality body are designated. In their absence, is there manifested any grasping at the idea or at sensory reaction? No, Lord. By whatever properties, features, signs or indications the mentality body is conceived of, in the absence of these, is there any contact to be found? No, Lord. Then Ananda, just this, namely mentality and materiality is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition for all contact. I have said consciousness conditions mentality and materiality. If consciousness were not to come into the mother's womb, would mentality and materiality develop there? No, Lord. Or if consciousness, having entered the mother's womb, were to be deflected, would mentality mentality and materiality come to birth in this life? No, Lord. And if the consciousness of such a tender young being, boy or girl, were thus cut off, would mentality and materiality grow, develop and mature? No, Lord. Therefore, Ananda, just this, namely consciousness, is the root, the cause, the origin, the condition of mentality and materiality. Stop here for a moment. For a fetus in the mother's womb to grow, consciousness must come into it. In other words, the being to be born goes into the womb. the egg, this consciousness develops in that egg, that fetus, and then from there the mentality and materiality of that fetus will grow. So the other thing you must bear in mind is mentality and materiality and consciousness a counterpart, they always come together and they cease together. When there is consciousness, mentality and materiality must come, must be present. And when there's no consciousness, there's no mentality and materiality. Mentality and materiality are the objects of consciousness. So we must always come together with consciousness. I have said mentality and materiality conditions consciousness. If consciousness did not find a resting place in mentality and materiality, would there subsequently be an arising and coming to be of birth, aging, death and suffering? No, Lord. Therefore, Ananda, just this, namely mentality and materiality, is the root, the cause, the condition of consciousness. Thus far then, Ananda, we can trace birth and decay, death and falling into other states and being reborn. Thus far extends the way of designation of concepts. Thus far is the sphere of understanding. Thus far the round goes, as far as can be discerned in this life. namely to mentality and materiality together with consciousness. In what ways, Ananda, do people explain the nature of the self? Some declare the self to be material and limited, saying myself is material and limited. Some declare to be material and unlimited. Some declare to be immaterial and limited. Some declare to be immaterial and unlimited, saying myself is immaterial and unlimited. Whoever declares the self to be material and limited considers it to be so either now or in the next world, thinking, though it is not so now, I shall acquire it there. That being so, that is all we need say about the view that the self is material and limited. And the same applies to the other theories. So much ananda for those who prefer an explanation of the self. How is it with those who do not explain the nature of the self etc etc as in verses 23 and 24 but negated In what ways, Ananda, do people regard the self? They equate the self with feeling. Feeling is myself, or feeling is not myself. Myself is impercipient. Feeling is not myself, but myself is not impercipient. It is of a nature to feel. Now, Ananda, one who says feeling is myself should be told, there are three kinds of feeling, friend. Pleasant, painful, and neutral. Which of the three do you consider to be yourself? When a pleasant feeling is felt, no painful or neutral feeling is felt, but only pleasant feeling. When a painful feeling is felt, no pleasant or neutral feeling is felt, but only painful feeling. And when a neutral feeling is felt, no pleasant or painful feeling is felt, only neutral feeling. Pleasant feeling is impermanent, conditioned, dependently arisen, bound to decay, to vanish, to fade away, to cease. So too are painful feeling and neutral feeling. So anyone who on experiencing a pleasant feeling thinks, this is myself, must at the cessation of that pleasant feeling think, myself has gone. And the same with painful and neutral feelings. Thus whoever thinks, feeling is myself, is contemplating something in this present life that is impermanent, a mixture of happiness and unhappiness, subject to arising and passing away. Therefore, it is not fitting to maintain. Feeling is myself." Stop here for a moment. This self, atta, refers to something that is there all the time. If it appears and disappears, it cannot be the self, the concept of the self. or the Indian concept of the self is something that is permanent and which you can identify as myself and it's always there. If you say feeling is yourself, one moment feeling is there, another moment feeling is not there, then when feeling has disappeared, then where is yourself? You must remember, this is the concept of the self. So when the Buddha talks about anatta, no self, and talks about emptiness, sunyata, it does not mean that there is nothing. What it means is that there is nothing permanent. If there's something permanent, then you can identify that with yourself. But because there is nothing in the world that is permanent, so there's nothing in the world that is self. But anyone who says, feeling is not myself, myself is impercipient, should be asked. If friend, no feelings at all were to be experienced, would there be the thought, I am, to which he would have to reply, no, Lord. Therefore, it is not fitting to maintain. Feeling is not myself. Myself is impercipient. Or anyone who says, feeling is not myself, but myself is not impercipient. My nature, myself is of a nature to feel, should be asked. Well, friend, if all feelings absolutely and totally ceased, could there be the thought, I am this, as I am this feeling? To which he would have to reply, no, Lord. Therefore, it is not fitting to maintain. Feeling is not myself, but myself is not impercipient. Myself is of a nature to feel. From the time Ananda, when a monk no longer regards feeling as the self, or the self as being impercipient, or as being percipient and of a nature to feel, by not so regarding, he clings to nothing in the world. Not clinging, he is not excited by anything. And not being excited, he gains personal liberation. And he knows, birth is finished. The holy life has been led. Done was what had to be done. There is nothing more here. So I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that some people say they have no, they have feeling. But if they have feeling, then when the feeling has disappeared, then where is the self gone? Or if he says there's no feeling. So the Buddha says, if you say there is no feeling, how can you have a self. So if he understands that feeling is not the self, but the self has a nature to feel, but that is by not regarding the feeling to be the self, then he does not cling to feeling. Feeling is the cause of clinging, because when pleasant feelings arise. It's only because we identify ourselves with feelings, that we attach to feelings. So when pleasant feeling arises, we tend to crave for it and want it again and again. And craving gives rise to attachment, which gives rise to being. But if we recognize that feeling is not the self, or belonging to the self, that feeling is impermanent, And whatever feelings arise, we don't attach to it. And if we don't attach to feelings, then there's nothing in the world we attach to. Because all the things in the world that we attach to is basically because it gives us pleasant feeling. So when you're not attached to anything, then you are not excited by anything. Then only the mind is equanimous, then you can attain liberation. And if anyone were to say to a monk whose mind was thus freed, that the Tathagata exists after death, that would be seen by him as a wrong opinion and unfitting. Likewise, the Tathagata does not exist, both exist and does not exist, neither exists nor does not exist after death. Why so? As far as Nanda, as designation and the range of designation reaches, as far as language and the range of language reaches, As far as concepts and the range of concepts reaches, as far as understanding and the range of understanding reaches, as far as the cycle reaches and revolves, that monk is liberated from all that by the higher knowledges. Super-knowledge is Abhinaya. And to maintain that such a liberated monk does not know and see would be a wrong view and incorrect. So as we mentioned before, when a monk knows and sees, then he does not have opinions because he knows.

24-DN-15-Mahanidana-(2011-07-25)-Part-B.txt

Ananda, there are seven stations of consciousness and two realms. Which are the seven? There are beings different in body and different in perception, such as human beings, some devas and some in states of woe. That is the first station of consciousness. There are beings different in body and alike in perception. such as the devas of Brahma's retinue, born there on account of having attained the first jhana, that is the second station. There are beings alike in body and different in perception, such as the Abhashara devas, that is the third station. There are beings alike in body and alike in perception, such as the Subha, Kina, Devas. That is the fourth station. There are beings who have completely transcended all perception of matter by the vanishing of the perception of sense reactions and by non-attention to the perception of variety, thinking space is infinite. They have attained to the sphere of infinite space. That is the fifth station. There are beings who, by transcending the sphere of infinite space, thinking consciousness is infinite, have attained to the sphere of infinite consciousness. That is the sixth station. There are beings who, having transcended the sphere of infinite consciousness, thinking there is no thing, have attained the sphere of no-thingness. That is the seventh station. The two realms are the realm of unconscious beings and secondly the realm of neither perception nor non-perception. Now Ananda has regarded this first station of consciousness with difference of body and difference of perception as in the case of human beings and so on. If anyone were to understand its origin, its cessation, its attraction and its peril, and the deliverance from it, would it be fitting for him to take pleasure in it? No, Lord. And as regards the other stations and the two spheres likewise? No, Lord. Ananda, insofar as a monk, having known as they really are, these seven stations of consciousness and these two spheres, Their origin and cessation, their attraction and peril is freed without attachment. That monk, Ananda, is called one who is liberated by wisdom. So here the Buddha talking about seven stations of consciousness. First one is different in body and different in perception. Second is different in body and alike in perception. Third is alike in body and different in perception. The fourth is alike in body and alike in perception. The fifth is attained to the sphere of infinite space. The sixth is attained to the sphere of infinite consciousness. Seven is attained to the sphere of nothingness. And then the two realms are realm of unconscious beings and neither perception or non-perception. There are ananda, these eight liberations. What are they? Possessing form, one sees forms. That is the first liberation. Two, not perceiving material forms in oneself. One sees them outside. This is the second liberation. Three, thinking it is beautiful, one becomes intent on it. That is the third. Four, by completely transcending all perceptions of matter, by the vanishing of the perception of sense reactions and by non-attention to the perception of variety thinking. Space is infinite. One enters and abides in the sphere of infinite space. That is the fourth. Five. By transcending the sphere of infinite space, thinking consciousness is infinite, one enters and abides in the sphere of infinite consciousness. That is the fifth. Six. By transcending the sphere of infinite consciousness, thinking there is no thing, one enters and abides in the sphere of no thingness. That is the sixth. By transcending the seventh, by transcending the sphere of no-thingness, one reaches and abides in the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. That is the seventh. Eighth, by transcending the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, one enters and abides in the cessation of perception and feeling. That is the eighth liberation. Ananda, when once a monk attains these eight liberations in forward order, in reverse order, and in forward and reverse order, entering them and emerging from them as and when and for as long as he wishes, and as gained by his own super knowledge here and now, both the destruction of the corrupt, of the as of us, and the uncorrupted liberation by mind and liberation by wisdom. That monk is called both ways liberated. And Ananda, there is no other way of both ways liberation that is more excellent or perfect than this. Thus the Lord spoke, and the Venerable Ananda rejoiced and was delighted by his words." So these eight liberations refers to these eight things. One, seeing forms. Number two, sees forms outside. The third one is meditation on the beautiful, like a beautiful colour. And then the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh refers to the arupas or arupajanas. And the eighth refers to cessation of perception and feeling. So sometimes there are some arahants, they have not attained the eight liberations. And later books, they say that those arahants are wisdom liberated and that if they have not attained the eight liberations, it means they have not attained any jhāna. But that is not true because here, There's no mention of the four rupa jhanas, the four form jhanas. So it only mentions the four formless jhanas and cessation. And the first three refers to seeing forms. This might be referring to seeing forms inside. Then the second one refers to seeing forms outside. And the third one is meditation on the beautiful object, like a beautiful color. So there's nothing here about the Rupa Janas. There are some monks who attain the four Rupa Janas and become liberated. But they have no psychic power, so because they have no psychic powers, they don't have the first liberation, they don't see forms inside, they don't have the second, see forms outside, and they don't meditate on a beautiful color or something like that, because they might be meditating on their breath. And also, all the others, they don't have the four arupas or rupajanas, and they also don't have cessation of perception and feeling. And yet, because they have the four jhanas, they can become an arahant. So it is a misconception to think if a person has not attained the eight liberations, that he does not have the four rupajanas. So, now I want to come back to the explanation of the links of dependent origination. Actually, the links of dependent origination in other suttas, especially the Nidana Sanghuta of the Sanghuta Nikaya, there are many suttas there concerning dependent origination. Later books like the Abhidhamma and the commentaries, they talk about dependent origination of suffering in terms of three lifetimes. And I think that is wrong because when they talk about three lifetimes, they talk about the first two, namely ignorance. which conditions sankara. They say that because of ignorance in the past life, in your past life, sankara they say is creating kamma. So because of creating kamma, and then the third link is consciousness. So in this life you are born, they say. And then once you are born, then you have mentality, materiality, then you have six sense bases, and then you have contact at the six sense bases, then you have feelings, and then you have feelings, condition, craving, and craving, conditions, attachment, and attachment conditions becoming. So they say after that you have birth in the future life. So they talk about three lifetimes. But it's not necessary because when they explain like this in terms of three lifetimes, they talk about rebirth consciousness, and the dying consciousness, the last consciousness, and then the relinking consciousness. But then, that gives the impression as though consciousness is continuous for your lifetime. Actually, in the Buddha's teachings, consciousness is arising and passing away extremely fast. Nothing is faster than the arising and passing away of consciousness. So in one second, you might have, I don't know how many times consciousness arises and passes away, but extremely, a great number of times, maybe hundreds of times or thousands of times, even in one second. So because it arises and passes away so fast, we think it's continuous. It gives us the impression, for example, you see something, You think it's there all the time, but actually your consciousness sees and then dies away. And then you might hear a sound, and then your consciousness, seeing consciousness arises and passes away, and then arises again and passes away. So you think you're seeing all the time, but actually it's not. This, we don't need to talk about the past life. We don't need to talk about future life. It is enough to see dependent origination in one lifetime. So here, this Mahanidana Sutta, you find they don't talk about ignorance in the past life. They don't talk about creating kamma in the past life. So that is already eliminated the past already. So actually, It is because of, if you talk in terms of one lifetime and you use 12 links, it's because of ignorance in this present lifetime that we have sankara. Ignorance refers to ignorance of the dhamma, ignorance of suffering. Ignorance of impermanence in the world. Ignorance of non-self or no-self. So because of ignorance, ignorance conditions sankara, which is volition. Volition is the will to live, basically. And in dependent origination, sankara, there are three sankaras under sankara. Kaya Sankara, Bachi Sankara, and citta-sankara. But there is another set of sankara in the suttas. It's almost similar. It is kaya-sankara, vaci-sankara, and mano-sankara. When you have mano-sankara, then it is a creation of kamma. There are certain suttas in the five nikayas, you find when they talk about one set of sankaras and when they talk about the other set. So this set concerning dependent origination, the bodhisankara, verbal sankara, and mental sankara, refers to independent origination. They always talk about kaya-sankara, vaci-sankara, and citta-sankara. This refers to the will to live. Because of the will to live, because of the will to function, Sankara is basically volition because we want to function, we want to exist through the body, through the speech and through the mind. So we have these three sankaras. Because of body sankara we want to function or live or exist. by body, so we breathe. So Kaya Sankara refers to breathing. And then Pachi Sankara refers to thinking, because you must have thought first before you can break into speech. So if you want to speak, first you must think. So that's why Vajisankara is thinking. And then Cittasankara is feeling and perception. The mind must start working first. Then only your mind can exist. So it is not like the other one, the other one is Mano, is referring to this creation of karma. So because of the will to live, Cankara conditions Consciousness, here we have consciousness. Consciousness refers to the consciousness of a being. And once you have consciousness, then you have the object of consciousness, the counterpart of consciousness, which is namarupa, mentality and materiality. And because of these two, you also have the six sense bases, because consciousness must lodge itself in the body with the six sense bases. So the six sense bases come next. And then because of the six sense bases, you have contact at the six sense bases, passa. And then contact at the six sense bases gives rise to feeling. When you have unpleasant feelings, you think you are suffering. When you have pleasant feelings, you think you are enjoying life. So, because we want to enjoy life, we keep chasing after pleasant feelings. So you find the world, if you can market anything, you can sell anything, which gives people pleasant feelings, people will buy. Whether it's through the sights, or through the sounds, or through the smells, taste, touch, people will buy. Even through the mind, like nowadays, people sell computer games. People play computer games just to amuse the mind. So forms means seeing beautiful forms. That's why everybody likes to make up, like to look attractive. And then sounds, like nowadays you have a lot of rock bands. We were just talking just now with Kevin about Justin Bieber being very popular. with the young girls. So, if you can make nice sounds, people want, and then smells, people sell perfumes, and then taste, taste, everybody wants to eat good food. and then touch is basically sex and all these things. So because of pleasant feelings, craving arises, the Buddha says, This sight, sound, smell, taste and touch gives rise to pleasant feelings. There's always an underlying tendency to crave for it. You want it again and again. Once you experience something that gives you pleasant feeling, then when you When you don't have it, the memory makes you crave for it. Attach, that is called attachment. So craving gives rise to attachment. And because of attachment, being comes, arises. This being, although it always talks about the sensual desire beings, form beings and formless beings, it is the, the concept I am, once you attach to something, that I arises. For example, a baby, when a baby is born, it does not have much of a notion of the self. But you give it something like ice cream or chocolate or something, and then he craves for it as a result and is attached to it, then the self arises. So as we grow older, you find most people in the world, as you gather more and more property, more wealth and all that, the ego becomes bigger and bigger. So that is being, the feeling that I exist, that I am. So this being, once you have the I am, then you realize you have been born into the world. That gives rise to birth. You just know that in this lifetime you had come into being. You were born from your mother's womb, although you don't remember yet, you know that you were born. And then from birth, you identify yourself with the body. And then there is aging. As the body ages, you think, I age. When the body becomes sick, you think, I am sick. When the body dies, you think, I die. And all the different types of suffering, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair, all this. So that is basically the twelve links of dependent origination. Here it does not explain very much. That's why I always say one sutta you cannot get much. You have to study many suttas to understand. That's why I like to understand. dependent origination, you have to study the many suttas in the Nidana chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya. Just as to understand Satipatthana, you don't understand Satipatthana just by reading one Satipatthana sutta. You have to study the many suttas under the Satipatthana chapter of the Samyutta Nikaya. So I think that's all I want to say here for now. You probably have some questions that we can discuss. You said the six senses are operating. How does one release himself from the six senses? How do you get up when you catch yourself? You mean have no six senses? You cannot have no six senses? Yes. So the trick is not to have no six senses, but to be very observant of the feelings that arise. and don't allow the feelings to carry you away. So if you understand that feelings are impermanent, that whatever pleasant feelings you feel, if you attach to it, there's a danger. The danger is that you attach to it, and when it goes away, because in this world, everything is impermanent, it is only there for some time. So when it goes away, you're going to suffer. have a lot of grief. So if you're understanding that, understanding especially the impermanence of the world, then even when you enjoy something, you can enjoy, but not to be over-attached to it. Then you won't suffer. So these 12 links of dependent origination of suffering, we can only break the link at feeling. only at feeling. You have to understand that feeling is the cause of all suffering. I think we read from page 226 that there is a consciousness coming to the mind And I'm wondering, how about this conscious, is there any Naga Rupa of this, or it's just a conscious itself? But we know that it cannot prosper, it must have Naga Rupa. Then what is the Naga Rupa of this consciousness? This consciousness, in the Suttas, in the Majjhima Nikaya, the Buddha called it Gandaba. And in other later books, they call it intermediate body. It's a temporary body. And in Chinese books, they call it zhong yin sen. So there is a body, but it is a temporary body. Does it belong to any of the five worlds? No, definitely not, because it exists for a very short time, so the Buddha does not classify it. But it's as real as any of the five realms. Sometimes I meet people who study the Abhidhamma, and their way of thinking is the Abhidhamma, and they cannot accept this. They say that it's, basically they say that it's a soul. It is a soul, but the soul in Buddhism and the soul in other religions like Christianity is different. In Buddhism, any being itself is impermanent. So even the soul also is impermanent, right? So in the Abhidharma books, their thinking is that when a being dies, the consciousness stops here. And then the consciousness starts somewhere else. There's nothing that travels from here to there. That's the Abhidhamma concept. But in the suttas, we find the Buddha says that if a being is to be reborn in the womb, then this being enters the womb. It's very different. Also, if a being is to be reborn in hell, in the suttas it says, the hell beings come up and drag him down to hell. So what do they drag? He's not yet in hell. They drag that soul. That soul is the intermediate body. Then it goes down to hell. That's why like in Chinese belief, this ngau tau ma min, guu tau be bin, namely horse face and buffalo head. A lot of people... A lot of people don't believe in things they have not seen. For example, a lot of people don't believe in ghosts. A lot of people don't believe in tree spirits. But I have a supporter who says that a few days before the father passed away, as he was eating dinner, he saw the horse face and buffalo head waiting outside the main door. Let's end here.

25-DN-16-Mahaparinibbana-(2011-07-26)-Part-A.txt

Okay, tonight is the 26th of July. This is the 11th night we are talking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Tonight we come to Sutta number 16, Mahaparinibbana Sutta. Of all the suttas recorded, the longest is this one, Mahaparinibbana Sutta. And there are many incidents inside here mentioned concerning the last days of the Buddha. So it's not like other suttas where it's just one talk. This one is not. This one is many, many days. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying at Rajagaha, on the mountain called Voucher's Peak, Gijakuta. Now just then, King Ajatasattu, the Dehiputta of Magadha, wanted to attack the Vajras. He said, I will strike the Vajras who are so powerful and strong. I will cut them off and destroy them. I will bring them to ruin and destruction. And King Ajatasattu said to his chief minister, the Brahmin Vassakara, Brahmin, go to the blessed Lord, worship Him with your head to His feet in my name. Ask if He is free from sickness or disease, if He is living at ease, vigorously and comfortably, and then say, Lord, King Ajatasattu Vadehiputta of Magadha wishes to attack the Bhajans and says, I will strike the guardians who are so powerful and strong. I will cut them off and destroy them. I will bring them to ruin and destruction. And whatever the Lord declares to you, report that faithfully back to me, for the Tathagatas never lie." Stop here for a moment. So you can see from here, this King Ajatasattu is a very ambitious king. He's not content with his own kingdom. He wants to seize the Vajrayana kingdom. And he's not sure whether he can succeed, so he wanted to know what the Buddha has to say. "'Very good, sire,' said Vasakara. And having had the state carriages harnessed, he mounted one of them and drove in state from Rajagaha to Vouchers Peak, riding as far as the ground would allow, then continuing on foot to where the Lord was. He exchanged courtesies with the Lord, then sat down to one side and delivered the king's message. Now the Venerable Ananda was standing behind the Lord, fanning Him. And the Lord said, Ananda, have you heard that the Vajras hold regular and frequent assemblies? And Venerable Ananda said, I have heard, Lord, that they do. Ananda, as long as the Vajras hold regular and frequent assemblies, they may be expected to prosper and not decline. Have you heard that the Vajans meet in harmony, break up in harmony, and carry on their business in harmony? I have heard, Lord, that they do. Ananda, as long as the Vajras meet in harmony, break up in harmony, and carry on their business in harmony, they may be expected to prosper and not decline. Have you heard that the Vajras do not authorize what has not been authorized already, and do not abolish what has been authorized, but proceed according to what has been authorized by their ancient tradition? I have, Lord. Have you heard that they honor, respect, revere, and salute the elders among them and consider them worth listening to? I have, Lord. That they do not forcibly abduct others' wives and daughters and compel them to live with them. Again, Reverend Ananda said, I have, Lord. That they honor, respect, revere, and salute the Vajrasana shrines at home and abroad, not withdrawing the proper support made and given before. Again, Reverend Ananda said, yes, Lord. that proper provision is made for the safety of Arahants, so that such Arahants may come in future to live there, and those already there may dwell in comfort. I have a lot. Ananda, so long as such proper provision is made, etc., the Vajras may be expected to prosper and not decline. So here, when the Buddha was asked whether this King Ajatasattu will succeed in conquering the Vajras, the Buddha indirectly gave the answer, whether they follow these conditions of harmony and unity, and if they do, then they will prosper and they cannot decline. Then the Lord said to Brahmin Vasakara, Once Brahmin, when I was at the Sarandada shrine in Vesali, I taught the Vajjans these seven principles for preventing decline. And as long as they keep to these seven principles, as long as these principles remain in force, the Vajjans may be expected to prosper and not decline. At this, Vassakara replied, Reverend Gautama, if the Vajras keep to even one of these principles, they may be expected to prosper and not decline, far less all seven. Certainly, the Vajras will never be conquered by King Ajatasattu by force of arms, but only by means of propaganda and setting them against one another. And now, Reverend Gautama, may I depart. I am busy and have much to do. And the Buddha said, Brahmin, do as you think fit. Then Vasakara, rejoicing and delighted at the Lord's words, rose from his seat and departed. Soon after Vasakara had gone, the Lord said, Ananda, go to whatever monks there are round about Rajagaha and summon them to the assembly hall. Very good, Lord," said Ananda, and did so. Stop here for a moment. You see, during the Buddha's time, the monks who lived dependent on a particular town, like Rajagaha, they might be living in the hills, in the valleys, in the caves and all that. And around Rajagaha, there were several hills. as several hills are mentioned in the suttas. So in the Vinaya, if they all come to Rajagaha for their alms round, they are considered one Sangha. So the Sima is the boundary. around that area where all the monks constitute one Sangha. So that is the real meaning of Sima, the boundary. But later monks, they want to exclude other monks, they start to shrink the Sima. Shrink, shrink, until now they talk about Sima Hall. But in fact, there's no such thing as Sima Hall during the Buddha's time. During the Buddha's time, what is considered Sima Hall now was called Uposatha Gara. That means the hall where people do the Uposatha, chant the precepts and carry out ordination and all that. So the real name is Uposatha Gara. Nowadays people keep talking about Sima Hall, Sima Hall. It's a wrong term to use. So that's the meaning of Sima. Very good, Lord, said Ananda, and did so. Then he came to the Lord, saluted Him, stood to one side, and said, Lord, the Sangha of monks is assembled. Now is the time for the Lord to do as He sees fit. Then the Lord rose from His seat, went to the assembly hall, sat down on the prepared seat, and said, Monks, I will teach you seven things that are conducive to welfare. Listen, pay careful attention, and I will speak. Yes, Lord, said the monks. And the Lord said, As long as the monks hold regular and frequent assemblies, they may be expected to prosper and not decline. As long as they meet in harmony, break up in harmony, and carry on their business in harmony, they may be expected to prosper and not decline, as long as they do not authorise what has not been authorised already, and do not abolish what has been authorised, but proceed according to what has been authorised by the rules of training, as long as they honour, respect, revere, and salute the elders of long standing, who are long ordained, fathers and leaders of the Sangha, as long as they do not fall prey to desires which arise in them and lead to rebirth, as long as they are devoted to forest lodgings, as long as they preserve their personal mindfulness so that in future, the good among their companions will come to them, and those who have already come will feel at ease with them. So long as the monks hold to these seven things and are seen to do so, they may be expected to prosper and not decline. Stop here for a moment. So just now earlier we heard about the seven conditions for a particular community of people, a certain race, a certain country. If they practice those seven conditions, they will prosper. Nobody can conquer them. Now the Buddha modifies the seven conditions for the Sangha of monks and enumerates these seven conditions. These seven conditions are very important. If any group of people, they want to prosper and not have this downfall or be conquered by others, then they should practice these seven conditions. I will tell you another seven things conducive to welfare. As long as the monks do not rejoice, delight and become absorbed in works." It's too much, working too much, in chattering, talking too much. I see some of you come here, supposed to practice the holy life. Some of you talk too much. Eating time, breakfast, you're talking. Lunch, you're talking. Outside in the veranda, you're talking. As long as they do not rejoice, delight, and become absorbed in sleeping, in company, keeping too much company, in evil desires, in mixing and associating with evil friends, as long as they do not rest content with partial achievements, as long as the monks hold to these seven things and are seen to do so, they may be expected to prosper and not decline. I will tell you another seven things conducive to welfare. As long as monks continue with faith, with modesty, with fear of wrongdoing, with learning, with aroused vigor, with established mindfulness, with wisdom, so long they may be expected to prosper and not decline. I will tell you another seven things conducive to welfare. As long as monks develop the enlightenment factors of mindfulness, of investigation of Dhamma, of energy, of delight, tranquility, concentration, equanimity. so long they may be expected to prosper and not decline. I will tell you another seven things conducive to welfare. As long as the monks develop the perception of impermanence, of no self or non-self, of loathsomeness, of the danger of overcoming, of dispassion, cessation, they may be expected to prosper and not decline. So as far as the Sangha is concerned, first Buddha said that they should meet regularly. And then when they meet, they should not quarrel with each other, but meet in harmony and end in harmony. And then do not change what has been authorized already. And then honor and respect the seniors, elders of longstanding. And then do not fall prey to desires. And then devoted to forest lodgings, seclusion, which nowadays a lot of monks don't practice. Seclusion means staying in secluded places, away from the cities and towns. As long as they preserve their personal mindfulness, Then another seven things, as long as they do not indulge too much in work, talking, sleeping, mixing with company, evil desires, associating with evil friends, content with their attainments, then they will prosper. These seven conditions, as long as they have faith, modesty, Modesty includes humility. A lot of people, when they are new to the monastery, they are modest, they are humble. Sometimes people stay in the monastery too long and they become arrogant with fear of doing wrong. with learning, with aroused vigor, with mindfulness, with wisdom. And as long as they practice the seven enlightenment factors, they may prosper. As long as they develop the perception of impermanence, always aware that life is impermanent. Anything can happen to your body. Anything can happen to your life. Don't be too sure of yourself. of no self, of loathsomeness of the body, of the danger. Danger can mean danger to life, danger to your whatever you are content with, all your property, et cetera. Dispassion, cessation, et cetera. Monks, I will tell you six things that are conducive to communal living. As long as monks, both in public and in private, show loving kindness to their fellows in acts of body, speech, and thought, Share with their virtuous fellows whatever they receive as rightful gift, including the contents of their almsbowl, which they do not keep to themselves. Keep consistently unbroken and unaltered those rules of conduct that are spotless leading to liberation, praised by the wise, unstained, and conducive to concentration, and persist therein with their fellows, both in public and in private. continue in that noble view that leads to liberation, to the utter destruction of suffering, remaining in such awareness with their fellows both in public and in private. As long as monks hold to these six things and are seen to do so, they may be expected to prosper and not decline. So here, when people live together, they should practice these few things. I find some people don't know how to practice loving kindness towards others in body, speech, and mind. And share whatever, this one is for monks, share whatever they receive with other monks. And then the sila, those rules of conduct, to keep purely. And then the right view, to have that right view, so that you don't act wrongly. So these are the six things that are conducive to harmony, to communal living, living together. Everyone must practice these six things. And then the Lord, while staying at Valses Peak, gave a comprehensive discourse. This is morality, this is concentration, this is wisdom. Concentration, when imbued with morality, brings great fruit and profit. Wisdom, when imbued with concentration, brings great fruit and profit. The mind imbued with wisdom becomes completely free from the asavas, that is, from the asava of sensuality, of becoming, of false views and of ignorance. And when the Lord had stayed at Rajagaha as long as he wished, he said to the venerable Ananda, Come, Ananda, let us go to Ambalatika. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And the Lord went there with a large company of monks. And the Lord stayed in the Royal Park at Ambalatika. And there he delivered a comprehensive discourse. This is morality, this is concentration, this is wisdom, etc. Having stayed at Ambalatika as long as he wished, the Lord said to Ananda, let us go to Nalanda. And they did so. At Nalanda, the Lord stayed at Pavarika's mango grove. Then the venerable Sariputta came to see the Lord, saluted him and sat down to one side and said, it is clear to me, Lord, that there never has been, will be, or is now another ascetic or Brahmin who is better or more enlightened than the Lord. And the Buddha said, You have spoken boldly with the bull's voice, Sariputta. You have wrought the lion's roar of certainty. How is this? Have all the Arahant Buddhas of the past appeared to you? And were the minds of all those lords open to you, so as to say, These lords were of such virtue, such was their teaching, such their wisdom, such their way, such their liberation. No, Lord. And have you perceived all the Arhat Buddhas who will appear in the future? No, Lord. Well, then Sariputta, you know me as the Arahant Buddha. And do you know the Lord is of such virtue? Such is his teaching, such is wisdom, such is way, such is liberation. No, Lord. So, Sariputta, you do not have knowledge of the minds of the Buddhas of the past, the future or the present. Thus, Sariputta, have you not spoken boldly with a bull's voice and wrought the lion's roar of certainty with your declaration? Stop here for a moment. So this is Venerable Sariputta. He has so much faith in our Buddha Gautama that he says there cannot be another Buddha better than our Buddha Gautama. So the Buddha asked him, do you have the psychic power to read the minds of the past Buddhas or of the future Buddhas or of my mind? And he said no. Lord, the minds of the Arhat Buddhas of the past, future and present are not open to me, but I know the drift or the way of the Dhamma. Lord, it is as if there were a royal frontier city with mighty bastions and a mighty encircling wall at which was a gatekeeper, wise, skilled and clever, who kept out strangers and let in those he knew. and he, constantly patrolling and following along a path, might not see the joints and clefts in the bastion, even such as a cat might creep through. But whatever larger creatures entered or left the city, all must go through this very gate. And it seems to me, Lord, that the drift of the Dhamma is the same. All those Arahant Buddhas of the past attain to supreme enlightenment by abandoning the five hindrances, defilements of mind that weaken the understanding, having firmly established the four intense states of mindfulness in their minds. I realize that seven factors of enlightenment as they really are. All the Arahant Buddhas of the future will do likewise. And you Lord, who are now the Arahant Sammasambuddha have done the same. Stop here for a moment. So here, remember what Sariputta is saying, whatever Buddhas of the past and the future, they all attain enlightenment, just like our Buddha Gautama, abandoning the five hindrances. And having practiced the four intense states of mindfulness, seven factors of enlightenment, etc. So they cannot be better than our Buddha. At the most, they can just equal him since they practice the same thing. Then while staying at Nalanda in Pavarika's mango grove, the Lord gave a comprehensive discourse to the monks. This is morality, this is concentration, this is wisdom, etc. And having stayed at Nalanda as long as he wished, the Lord said to Ananda, let us go to Pataligama. And they did so. At Pataligama, they heard say, the Lord has arrived here. And the lay followers of Patali Gamma came to the Lord, saluted Him, sat down to one side and said, May the Lord consent to stay at our rest house. And the Lord consented by silence. Understanding His consent, they rose from their seats, saluted the Lord, and passing Him by to the right, went to the rest house, and strewed the floor, prepared seats, provided a water pot and filled the oil lamp. Then they went to the Lord, saluted Him, stood to one side and said, All is ready at the rest house, Lord. Now is the time to do as the Lord wishes. Then the Lord dressed took his robe and bowl, and went with his monks to the rest house, where he washed his feet, went in and sat down facing east, with his back against the central pillar. And the monks, having washed their feet, went in and sat down with their backs to the west wall, facing east, and with the Lord sitting in front of them. And the lay followers of Pataligama, having washed their feet, went in and sat down with their backs to the east wall, facing west, and with the Lord before them." Stop here for a moment. So you see, the Buddha, when he sits, he likes to sit facing east. This is the Hindu and yoga tradition. When these yogis, they meditate, they like to face east. where the sun rises. And I guess it's because the direction of rotation of the earth, you are facing east, it's like you're sitting in a car, facing the front, the car is moving, you're facing the front, it's more comfortable. Then the Lord addressed the lay followers of Patali Gama. Householders, there are these five perils to one of bad morality, of failure in morality. What are they? In the first place, he suffers great loss of property through neglecting his affairs. In the second place, he gets a bad reputation for immorality and misconduct. In the third place, whatever assembly he approaches, whether of kathiyas, brahmins, householders or ascetics, he does so diffidently and shyly. In the fourth place, he dies confused. In the fifth place, after death, at the breaking up of the body, he arises in an evil state, a bad fate in suffering and hell. These are the five perils to one of bad morality. In householders, there are five advantages to one of good morality and of success in morality. What are they? In the first place, through careful attention to his affairs, he gains much wealth. In the second place, he gets a good reputation for morality and good conduct. In the third place, whatever assembly he approaches, whether of Kathiyas, Brahmins, householders or ascetics, he does so with confidence and assurance. In the fourth place, he dies unconfused. In the fifth place, after death, at the breaking up of the body, he arises in a good place, a heavenly world. These are the five advantages to one of good morality and of success in morality. Then the Lord instructed, inspired, fired, and delighted the lay followers of Pataligama with talk on Dhamma until far into the night. Then He dismissed them, saying, Householders, the night is nearly over. Now it is time for you to do as you think fit. Very good, Lord, they said. And rising and saluting the Lord, they passed him by to the right and departed. And the Lord spent the remainder of the night in the rest house, left empty by their departure." Stop here for a moment. So you see, the Buddha, having attained enlightenment, he used to walk from place to place in India. And each place he went, he would teach the Dhamma so that people would understand. But you notice like in Pataligama here that night, he only talked about morality, the five advantages and disadvantages of practicing or not practicing sila, moral conduct. If a person does not have sila, practice moral conduct, then he will kill, steal, engage in sexual misconduct, lie and cheat. So if he does that, firstly, he will lose his wealth. For example, if a person spends his time drinking away, getting drunk all the time, going out at night to all the joints to take drugs and all this. Then he neglects his duties, so he will lose all his wealth. Secondly, you get a bad reputation. If somebody has bad morals, then everybody wants to marry him. Nobody wants to do business with him also because they know he cannot be trusted. If he drinks, if he gambles too much, etc. And then the third place, because of not keeping his seal properly, he's shy to meet a lot of people. For example, if a person is a drug peddler, then he knows he's doing something that he's not supposed to do. He doesn't like people to know, and he doesn't like to meet people. The fourth place, he dies confused. When he's dying, the mind is very disturbed. Sila is very important. If we don't practice sila, then we harm other living beings. And when we are dying, this guilty conscience will prick us. Those people that you, or those beings that you kill, animals and all that, you probably see them coming to you when you are dying. And then the fifth place, after dying, you get a bad rebirth for not keeping seal. Now at this time, Sunida and Vasakara, the Magadan ministers, were building a fortress in Pataligama as a defense against the Vajans. And at that time, a multitude of thousands of devas were taking up lodging at Pataligama, and in parts, And in the paths where powerful devas settled, they caused the minds of the most powerful royal officials to pick those sites for their dwellings. And where middle and lower ranking devas settled, so too they caused the minds of royal officials of corresponding grade to pick those sites for their dwellings. And the Lord, with His divine eyes surpassing that of humans, saw the thousands of devas taking up residence in Pataligama, And getting up at break of day, he said to the Venerable Ananda, Ananda who is building a fortress at Pataligama, Ananda replied, Lord, Sunida and Vasakara, the Magadan ministers, are building a fortress against the Vajins. And the Buddha said, Ananda, just as if they had taken counsel with the 33 gods, Sunida and Vasakara are building a fortress at Patalikama. I have seen with my divine eye how thousands of devas were taking up lodging there. And then the Buddha explained, where powerful devas settle, they cause powerful humans to go there also. Where middle-ranking devas settle, stay, they also cause middle-ranking humans to stay there. And low-ranking devas will cause low-ranking humans to stay together.

26-DN-16-Mahaparinibbana-(2011-07-26)-Part-B.txt

Ananda, as far as the Aryan realm extends, as far as its trade extends, this will be the chief city, Pataliputta, scattering its seeds far and wide. And Pataliputta will face three perils, from fire, from water, and from internal dissension. Stop here for a moment. So the Buddha foresaw that this town that they are building called Pataligama in future will be a big prosperous city called Pataliputta. I think even up to today it's a big city. Then Sunida and Vasakara called on the Lord, and having exchanged courtesies, stood to one side and said, May the Reverend Gotama accept a meal from us tomorrow with his Sangha of monks. And the Lord consented by silence. Understanding his consent, Sunida and Vasakara went home, and there had a fine meal of hard and soft food prepared. When it was ready, they reported to the Lord. Rev. Gautama, the meal is ready. Then the Lord, having dressed in the morning, took his robe and bowl, went with the sangha of monks to the residence of Sunida and Vasakara, and sat down on the prepared seat. Then Sunida and Vasakara served the Buddha and his sangha of monks with choice soft and hard foods till they were satisfied. And when the Lord took his hand away from the bowl, they sat down on low stools to one side. And as they sat there, the Lord thanked them with these verses. In whatever realm the wise man makes his home, he should feed the virtuous leaders of the holy life. Whatever devas there are who report this offering, they will pay him respect and honour for this. They tremble for him as a mother for her son. And he for whom devas tremble, ever happy is. Then the Lord rose from His seat and took His departure. Sunida and Vasakara followed closely behind the Lord, saying, Whichever gate the ascetic Gautama goes out by today, that shall be called the Gautama Gate. And whichever fort he uses to cross the Ganges, that shall be called the Gautama Fort. And so the gate by which the Lord went out was called the Gautama Gate." I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, That if a family or certain person makes constant offerings of food, etc., to holy men, to those who lead the holy life, ascetics, monks, etc., then the devas will protect him. So it is by our actions that we are blessed. And it's by our evil actions that we are cursed. Nobody can bless another, nobody can curse another. It's our actions that decide. Good actions will bless us, evil actions curse us. And then the Lord came to the river Ganges, and just then the river was so full that a crow could drink out of it. And some people were looking for a boat, some were looking for a raft, some were binding together a raft of reeds to get to the other side. But the Lord, as swiftly as a strong man might stretch out his flexed arm or flex it again, vanished from this side of the Ganges and reappeared with His Sangha of monks on the other shore. And the Lord saw those people who were looking for a boat, looking for a raft, and binding together a raft of reeds to get to the other side. And seeing their intentions, He uttered this verse on the spot. When they want to cross the sea, the lake or pond, people make a bridge or raft. The wise have crossed already. The Lord said to Ananda, let us go to Koti Gama. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And the Lord went with a large company of monks to Kothigamma and stayed there. Then the Lord addressed the monks thus. Monks, it is through not understanding, not penetrating the four noble truths that I as well as you have for a long time run on and gone round the cycle of birth and death. What are they? By not understanding the noble truth of suffering, we have fared on. By not understanding the noble truth of the origin of suffering, of the cessation of suffering and of the path leading to the cessation of suffering, we have fared on round the cycle of birth and death. And by the understanding, penetration of the same noble truth of suffering, of the origin of suffering, of the cessation of suffering, and of the path leading to the cessation of suffering, the craving for becoming has been cut off. The support for becoming or being has been destroyed. There is no more re-becoming. The Lord having said this, the welfarer having spoken, the teacher said, not seeing the four noble truths as they are, having long traversed around from life to life, these being seen, becoming supports pulled up, sorrows root cut off, rebirth is done. So here the Buddha says, we keep on the round of rebirth, samsara, because we don't understand, don't really understand the Four Noble Truths. When a person really understands the Four Noble Truths, then he becomes tired of this long round of existence. The Buddha says, we have been on this long round of existence for so long, we don't realize, so long that If we accumulated, for example, the blood that was shed when we were slaughtered as animals and we were beheaded because we did something wrong, etc., the blood is more than the four great oceans. And similarly, for the tears that we shed on the round of rebirth is more than the four great oceans. So it is only by understanding the Four Noble Truths, really understanding. To understand the Four Noble Truths, we also have to understand, for example, the Five Aggregates of Attachment, the Six Sense Bases, or Dependent Origination. So for some people to understand, they think Four Noble Truths is just elementary Dhamma, but it's not elementary Dhamma, it's the ultimate Dhamma. If you really understand the Four Noble Truths, then you become an Arya, one of the eight types of Arya, or you attain liberation. Then the Lord, while staying at Kothi Gama, gave a comprehensive discourse. This is morality, this is concentration, this is wisdom. Concentration, when imbued with morality, brings great fruit and profit. Wisdom, when imbued with concentration, brings great fruit and profit. The mind, imbued with wisdom, becomes completely free from the asavas, that is, from the asava of sensuality. of becoming, of false views, of wrong views, and of ignorance. Then the Lord had stayed at Kothigamma as long as he wished. He said, Ananda, let us go to Nadika. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And the Lord went with a large company of monks to Nadika, where he stayed at the brick house. And the Venerable Ananda came to the Lord, saluted Him, sat down to one side and said, Lord, the monk Salha and the nun Nanda have died at Nadika. What rebirth have they taken after death? The lay followers Sudatta and the lay woman followers Sujata, the lay followers Kakuda, Kalinga, Nikata, Katisabha, Tuta, Santuta, Bada and Subada have all died at Nadika. What rebirths have they taken? And the Buddha said, Ananda, the monk Salha, by the destruction of the asavas, attained in this life, through his own super knowledge, the uncorrupted liberation by mind, liberation by wisdom. The nun Nanda, by the destruction of the five lower fetters, has been spontaneously reborn, and will gain Nibbana from that state without returning to this world. The lay followers Sudatta, by the destruction of three fetters, and the reduction of greed, hatred and delusion is a once-returner who will come back once more to this world and then make an end of suffering. The laywoman follower Sujata, by the destruction of three fetters, is a stream-winner, incapable of falling into states of woe, certain of attaining Nibbana. The lay follower Kakuda, by the destruction of the five lower fetters, has been spontaneously reborn, and will gain Nibbāna from that state without returning to this world. Likewise, Kalinga, Nikāta, Katisabha, Tutta, Santutta, Bādha and Subbādha. Ananda, in Nādika, more than fifty lay followers have, by the destruction of the five lower factors, been spontaneously reborn, and will gain Nibbāna from that state without returning to this world. Rather, more than 90 by the destruction of three fetters and the reduction of greed, hatred and delusion are once returners, Sakadagamin, who will come back once more to this world and then make an end of suffering. And well over 500 by the destruction of three fetters are stream-winners, incapable of falling into states of woe, certain of attaining Nibbana. Ananda, it is not remarkable that that which has come to be as a man should die, but that you should come to the Tathagata to ask the fate of each of those who have died. That is a weariness to him. Therefore, Ananda, I will teach you a way of knowing Dhamma, called the Mirror of Dhamma, whereby the Aryan disciple, if he so wishes, can discern of himself. I have destroyed hell, animal rebirth, the realm of ghosts, all downfall evils, fates, and sorry states. I am a stream-winner, incapable of falling into states of woe. certain of attaining Nibbana. And what is this mirror of Dhamma by which he can know this? Here, Ananda, this Aryan disciple, is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Buddha thus. This blessed Lord is an Arahant, samasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct. Well-farer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed. He is possessed of unwavering faith in the Dhamma thus. Well-proclaimed by the Lord is the Dhamma, visible here and now, timeless, inviting inspection, leading onward to be comprehended by the wise, each one for himself. He is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Sangha thus. Well directed is the Sangha of the Lord's disciples, of upright conduct, on the right path, on the perfect path, that is to say, the four pairs of persons, the eight kinds of humans. The Sangha of the Lost Disciples is worthy of offerings, worthy of hospitality, worthy of gifts, worthy of veneration, and unsurpassed field of merit in the world. And he is possessed of morality dear to the noble ones, unbroken, without defect, unspotted, without inconsistency, liberating, uncorrupted, and conducive to concentration. This Ananda is the mirror of Dhamma, whereby the Aryan disciple can discern of himself. I have destroyed hell. I'm a stream-winner, certain of attaining Nibbana." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says, is telling Ananda, if you keep asking me where each each disciple is reborn, that will be very, very similar. But I'll teach you how to see whether you have become an ariya. Buddha says the minimum is the stream-winner. Here referring to the Sotapanna, the Sotapanna has these four qualities, has unwavering faith, unwavering confidence or saddha in the Buddha, in the Dhamma, in the Sangha, and he has the Aryan Sila, Aryan morality, This Arun morality, as I mentioned before, consists of the three factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, right speech, right action, and right livelihood, and basically consists of seven precepts, three body precepts, not to kill, not to steal, and not to engage in sexual misconduct, and four verbal precepts not to lie, not to carry tales to cause disharmony, not to engage in coarse vulgar words, and fourthly, not to engage in idle gossip. So these seven precepts are extremely important. If you have these seven precepts and you learn the Dhamma, then there's a good chance you can understand and become an Ariya. Then the Lord, staying at Nadika in the brick house, gave a comprehensive discourse to the monks. This is morality, this is concentration, this is wisdom, etc. And when the Lord had stayed at Nadika as long as he wished, he went with a large company of monks to Vesali, where he stayed at Ambapali's grove. And there the Lord addressed the monks, monks, a monk should be mindful and clearly aware. This is our charge to you. And how is a monk mindful? Here a monk abides contemplating the body in the body, earnestly, clearly aware and mindful, and having put away all hankering and fretting for the world. And likewise with regard to feelings, mind and dhamma, that is how a monk is mindful." So this here, mindful refers to the sati, sati sampajanya. Here it says mindful and clearly aware. So here sati is a practice of contemplating the body in the body, contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, and dhamma in dhamma. Having put away all, here it says hankering and fretting. In other translation, they say coveting and dejection. That means don't covet, don't crave for the things in the world. If you crave for things in the world and you cannot get it, and then you experience dejection, here they say fretting. So it's a practice of sati. Then the next one is a practice of sampajjana, which is general mindfulness, general awareness. And how is a monk clearly aware? Sampajjana, sampajjano. Here a monk, in going forward or backward, is aware of what he is doing. In looking forward or back, he is aware of what he is doing. In bending and stretching, he is aware of what he is doing. In carrying his inner and outer robe and bowl, he is aware of what he is doing. In eating, drinking, chewing and savouring, he is aware of what he is doing. In passing excrement or urine, he is aware of what he is doing. In walking, standing, sitting or lying down, in keeping awake, in speaking or in staying silent, he is aware of what he is doing. That is how a monk is clearly aware. A monk should be mindful and clearly aware. This is our charge to you." So here, Buddha is telling the monks that all the time you should practice mindfulness of these four objects of sati. Don't let the mind stray. To help you practice that, you should practice general mindfulness. Whatever you are doing, put your mind there instead of allowing the mind to stray and think of this and that. A lot of people, as I mentioned before, don't have even this basic mindfulness being present. The mind is always going off somewhere. Now Amba Pali, the courtesan, heard that the Lord had arrived at Vesali and was staying at her grove. She had the best carriages made ready and drove from Vesali to her park. She drove as far as the ground would allow, then alighted and went on foot to where the Lord was. She saluted the Lord and sat down to one side. And as she sat, the Lord instructed, inspired, fired, and delighted her with a talk on Dhamma. And being thus delighted, Amba Pali said, Lord, may the Lord consent to take a meal from me tomorrow with His Sangha of monks. The Lord consented by silence, and Amba Pali, understanding his acceptance, rose from her seat. saluted the Lord, and passing Him by the right, departed. And the Licchavites of Vesali heard that the Lord had arrived at Vesali, and was staying at Ambapali's grove. So they had the best carriages made ready, and drove out of Vesali. And some of the young Licchavites were all in blue, with blue makeup, blue clothes and blue adornment, while some were in yellow, some in red, some in white, with white makeup, white clothes and white adornment. And Amba Pali met the young Licchavis axle to axle, wheel to wheel, yoke to yoke. And they said to her, Amba Pali, why do you drive up against us like that? And she said, because, young sirs, the Blessed Lord has been invited by me for a meal with His Sangha of monks. And they said, Amba Pali, give up this meal for a hundred thousand pieces of money. And she said, young sirs, if you were to give me all Vesali with its revenues, I would not give up such an important meal. Then the Licchavi snapped their fingers, saying, We've been beaten by the mango woman, Amba woman. We have been cheated by the mango woman. And they set out for Amba Pali's grove. And the Lord, having seen the Licchavi from afar, said, Monks, any of you who have not seen the 33 gods, Just look at this group of Licchavites. Take a good look at them and you will get an idea of the 33 gods. Then the Licchavites drove in their carriages as far as the ground would allow. Then they alighted and went on foot to where the Lord was, saluted Him and sat down to one side. And as they sat, the Lord instructed, inspired, fired and delighted them with a talk on Dhamma. And being thus delighted, they said, Lord, May the Lord consent to take a meal from us tomorrow with his Sangha of monks." But the Buddha said, But Licchavi, I have already accepted a meal for tomorrow from the courtesan Ambapali. And the Licchavi snapped their fingers, saying, We've been beaten by the mango woman. We've been cheated by the mango woman. Then having rejoiced and delighted in his talk, they rose from their seats, saluted the Lord, and passing him by the right departed. Stop here for a moment. So here you see, these young men from Le Chavis, these Le Chavis young men, they have a lot of blessings and they look very good and they are very wealthy and So they dressed up very well. And the Buddha said, if you haven't seen the 33 gods, look at them. They look exactly like the 33 gods. So this shows that some human beings, we have much blessing from the past. We have been reborn from the heavens down here. So we still retain some of this blessing. So the looks, everything. And Amba Pali, when night was nearly over, having had choice hard and soft food prepared at her home, announced to the Lord that the meal was ready. Having dressed and taken robe and bowl, the Lord went with the order of monks to Amba Pali's residence and sat down on the prepared seat. And she served the Buddha and his monks with choice hard and soft food till they were satisfied. And when the Lord had taken his hand from the bowl, Amba Pali took a low stool and sat down to one side. So seated, she said, Lord, I give this path to the order of monks with the Buddha as its head. The Lord accepted the path and he instructed, inspired, fired and delighted her with the talk on Dhamma, after which he rose from his seat and departed. Then whilst Then while staying at Vesali, the Lord delivered a comprehensive discourse to the monks. This is morality, this is concentration, this is wisdom, et cetera. I stop here for tonight. So here you see, this Amba Pali, she had a lot of faith in the Buddha. And so she donated this piece of land. Here it's called a park. It's like a... how do you say, botanical garden like that. I don't know what trees are inside there, but she donated it to the Buddha and the Buddha accepted it on behalf of the Sangha. This Amba Pali is here said to be a courtesan. Courtesan is like a geisha. to be more costly, like a high-class prostitute. In those days, it was a respectable profession, just like the geisha girls of Japan. So, we find in the Therigata, there are some verses by this Hambapali, which shows, because she became an arahant, it shows that later she became a nun. became a nun and practiced very hard and became an arahant. This is a very long sutta, so it will take a few days, so we stop here.

27-DN-16-Mahaparinibbana-(2011-07-26)-Part-C-QnA.txt

Anything to discuss? I received it from a visitor. He said that the Buddha is going to die on this night. And I... The beginning of it, I have already renounced... There is no indication given in the Suttasla. So we don't know. And this particular part, how close it is to the Buddha's final days also we're not sure because when they compiled this sutta, they just collected certain incidents and put it inside here. In the Vinaya books also we have this incident and it's never mentioned that it was at the last stage of the Buddha's life. That one, hard to tell. And we find some of these parts, different parts of the Sutta here, they're repeated elsewhere. So it could be that they compile certain incidents and just put them into the Sutta. Hard to tell whether there's any sequence or not. Okay, let's move on to the next question. You can see there are a lot of differences, I think, about how to invite the Buddha for a meal. And I received in our previous survey also, many people are aware of the Middle East, I see a lot of young men and women coming to Thailand, but still we feel a lot of selfishness and ignorance when it comes to friends and people who are not family members. This is true. We find many people, their development is not balanced. They strive for certain practices, certain things, but certain other things they neglect. So it's very important to always look inwards. A lot of people are always looking outside, looking at other people's fault, but never see their own fault. but other people can see in them. So all this stems from the ego. So it's very important to reduce our ego. I find many of our lay followers, after many years or so, their ego does not go down. Very important to reduce the ego, otherwise you're not making progress on the spiritual path. It's easier for a monk to reduce the ego, because having given up everything, a monk has no property, no name, so he has to beg for his food some more. So it's much easier for a monk to reduce the ego. For lay people, especially, if you think you have wealth, you have property and all that, then they cling to the ego. And so I find sometimes the people, they can't tolerate each other. So that's very bad. You must always remember that if you don't make progress while you can, later on you'll regret. In the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha mentions, there are some lay people, when they see a monk, they don't get up from their seat. And then another type of lay people, when they see a monk, they show respect, probably by standing up and inviting the monk to sit down or something. And then there's another type who's a bit more advanced, not only stand up, invite the monk to sit down, He'd go and find something to offer to the monk. But he didn't do this up to there. Then another type, he not only offers something to the monk, for example, he might ask some Dhamma questions. And then there's another type, having asked the Dhamma question, they don't retain the Dhamma teaching. But another type, having heard the Dhamma, they keep it in mind. Another type, they not only keep it in mind, they reflect on it and try to understand it better. So the Buddha said, these people, when they are reborn in heaven, they are at different levels. Those who make less effort, they are at a lower level. And then they regret, oh, last time I had the chance to do this and do that, I didn't make the effort. And I see my friends now at a higher level. Those who practice more and they are reborn in a higher level, then they are very happy that they did all those things that they were supposed to do and follow the Buddha's words. So it's the same on the spiritual path. I see a lot of lay people that are willing to do dana, but they're not willing to practice sila well. There are some people that practice dana and sila, but still are very arrogant, cannot put down their ego, cannot put up their jealousy, cannot put down their selfishness towards each other, backbiting, and all these things. So next time when you're reborn, in whatever place, you will regret. Just like some ghosts, they have the opportunity to learn the Dhamma and practice generosity and see, they don't want. And when they are reborn in the ghost realm, then they regret very much. We know, for example, there are certain beings, they possess some, especially like some old ladies whose minds are not very strong, and make these old ladies go into a trance and help other people. And so, of course, people not understanding, they say all these gods come to help. But to me, they can only be ghosts or very low beings. Otherwise, when you summon them, how can they so immediately happily go into a human body, wish to a deva or a devi. The human body is thinking. full of shit, and blood, and pus, and urine, etc. Only low beings, like the ghosts, will come when you summon them. So a lot of people don't understand. If you want to hear more, I can tell you more about this. But in this Dharma talk, I won't talk about it. So I think I've said enough for now. Is that the best way to do it? How do you control it? Buddha said, a wise man can recognize a fool. A fool cannot recognize a wise man. So you won't be able to recognize. If you are not an Arya also you won't be able to recognize an Arya. You cannot ask him also. Because firstly, that is bad manners. Secondly, in the monk's vinaya, when a monk is asked about his attainment, he is not supposed to talk about it. you can only disclose it to another monk. Because in the Vinaya books, there was some time when there was a famine, and the monks were having difficulty getting sufficient food. So a group of monks, a small group of monks, they thought up this great idea. Why don't I start praising you, that you are an arahant, and you start praising me as an arahant. And then when the lay people get to know, they will make us a lot of offerings. So they did this, and then the lay people started to give a lot of offerings to them. So this is wrong livelihood. So after that, the Buddha said, you're not supposed to talk about your attainment. I see some lay people always chasing for this type of monks who are highly attained. And many, very often, I find they get cheated. If any monk claims that he has psychic power, you better run away, because a good monk will never tell you that he has psychic power. There are some monks who not only say some monks hint they have psychic power, some monks say quite directly that they have psychic power. So if you are a fool enough to chase after these monks, then you get cheated. If there's an arahant in the world, I don't think he will prefer to spend his time in the forest meditating. In the first place, nowadays it's hard to find an arahant. It's also very hard to find an anagamin, because an arahant and an anagamin, you need four jhanas. And people who attain four jhanas, they go into seclusion, hide themselves, don't talk to people, meditate all the time. Then only they can get the four jhanas. It's not easy to attain the four jhanas. It's a very deep state where the breathing stops. You say that someone in certain part of the world is involved Even the Buddha cannot prevent somebody from falling into the woeful plains. Where we go for rebirth is our responsibility. But the Buddha said, those that we love, And if you want to meet them again in the next life, you try to teach them four things. One is to have faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Secondly, to teach them to practice charity, generosity. I love to practice charity and generosity. The third, to uphold the sila, moral conduct. And basically, the sila, moral conduct, refers to the seven precepts, as I mentioned. And lastly, help them to get wisdom, and to get wisdom basically is to hear the dhamma. So these are the four things that if you want to meet somebody else, these four things you have to be similar. You gotta have a similar faith, have a similar generosity or stinginess. And the third is the same moral conduct or immorality. And the fourth is the same wisdom or same stupidity. You'll be reborn together. Also, these are the four things the Buddha said. If you want to repay our parents' kindness, you should teach them these four things. If you don't switch off the mic, you turn it away from the, turn it away. If you are facing the speaker, it's always making some noise. Say again, how can a person be mindful? Maybe don't speak too close to the mic, I can't hear very well. How can a person attain mindfulness by meditation? How can a person attain mindfulness by meditation? Firstly, you have to make the effort to be mindful. That means you don't sleep so much. In the Buddha's teaching, the Buddha's disciples are not even allowed to sleep. They're allowed to rest. Of course, if they can't help themselves, they fall asleep. But the Buddha wants his disciples to remain mindful all the time. That's why there's one practice called Jagāryā-nū-yoga, what's devoted to wakefulness. Devoted to wakefulness means not sleeping. So there was a time when some young monks were in the hall, in the Dhammasala. This is known as the Dhammasala, where the Dhamma is taught. And then after the teaching finished, the senior monks all went to the kutis. So these young monks, probably they sat there talking and then fell asleep in the hall. Then in the middle of the night, the Buddha came to them. and rebuke them for sleeping without mindfulness. So the Buddha's standard is very high. You want to be mindful, you have to practice mindfulness as much as you can. Even if you are very sleepy also, the Buddha's standard is that you try to take a rest without falling asleep. That's why you find if you have a good afternoon sleep, and then when you meditate in the evening, you are not able to meditate, because you allow your mind to run, run, run, run, run. So if you are very tired, it's good to get a cat nap. After 10 minutes, 15 minutes, quickly get up. If you're not able to do that, some people put a timer, put a timer, then you get up. But it also depends on how physically exhausted you are. If you are more physically exhausted, then you need to rest more. So you have to judge what is the minimum you can do with. So the general mindfulness is not to allow the mind to run, thinking of this and thinking of that. One simple way to do that is to do chanting. The Buddha taught his disciples to chant the 32 parts of the body. Head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinew, bone, bone, marrow, kidney, heart, liver, midriff, spleen, lung, like that. So if you can't do that, then you chant something simple like Namo Buddhaya. namo buddhaya, namo buddhaya, namo buddhaya, namo tasa bhagavato arhato samasambuddhasa, like that, no? You keep chanting, not to allow the mind to run. When you don't allow, when you don't do some work, you don't, with your mind, then the mind will start running. That's why they say an idle mind is a devil's workshop. So you have to keep the mind working all the time. Chanting is a very good way. You're sweeping the floor, you chant. You're cutting vegetables, you chant. So that is practicing mindfulness. And then practicing sati is different. Practicing sati is putting your mind on one object. For example, your breathing. But that is more difficult. So it's easier to do chanting. Chanting also is a type of meditation, just to constantly chant the same thing over and over again and allow the mind to run. So if you practice satipatthana, but satipatthana means intense state of mindfulness. Intense means you don't allow the mindfulness to run. You keep your mindfulness on one object, for example, on the breath. You keep your mindfulness on the breath all the time. If you are able to do this all the time, then the mind will become one-pointed when you attain jhana. Some people think you meditate only when you sit down and meditate. No. When you're not sitting down also, you don't allow the mind to run. Yeah. That is a kind of psychic power, you know, to be able to radiate that metta. It's a kind of psychic power. In the sutras we read that you practice that after you attain the first jhāna. After you attain the first jhāna, then only you can start radiating out. The second question is, earlier you were talking about wakefulness. Sometimes when we go to sleep, we talk a lot, we couldn't get sleep, and yet, Our mind is very calm and tranquil. So when we wake up, we don't feel as if we are going to sleep all day again. It's like sometimes I feel like resting. Is that what? Is that what it means? No, no, no. That is falling asleep and dreaming a lot. So when you dream a lot, you know that. When you don't dream at all, somehow you feel like you are dreaming. You feel like you didn't sleep a whole night, but somehow No, you know, scientists have found out that dreams are short-lived. Normally, when we wake up, we will have forgotten the dream. But there are times when we remember, when you are suddenly woken up, for example, the alarm clock suddenly sounds, and then you wake up, ah, you know what you were dreaming about. Or when you are sleeping, and suddenly lightning, thunder, strong thunder, and then you wake up, then you know what you were dreaming about. Otherwise, you keep dreaming the whole night, but you wake up, you've forgotten what you dreamt. That's proven by scientists. But I must make sure that from the development which takes place on the journey, can one communicate with the animal. For example, you know when I was at the retreat, the place where a lot of these things took place. In the first year, when we were meditating, there was absolute chaos. The monkeys were jumping all around the place, and in general, they were making all sorts of noise, so we couldn't meditate at all. But the next day, and he was more quiet. So we asked our teacher. He said, last night, I met with him. He told me what should I tell. And I told him that I was free, and please go somewhere else to play with some of your friends. I'd rather believe that the monkeys went off on their own. because I know the nature of monkeys. They go from place to place looking for food. They stay in a place and they eat whatever they can find. After that, they will move and move and after a long time, they come back to the same place. That's the nature of monkeys because I've observed them. Sometimes after this group of monkeys goes away, after a few days, another group of monkeys come. Because this group of monkeys, they travel in packs. They always have a leader. And they move from place to place, place to place. and they used thousands of people and subjects for their research and they learned after that that the optimum hours of sleep they were able to get is 8 and over hours. So, here I ask you to know more about this and how do you reconcile that? If you sleep eight and a half hours, then that is optimum from the worldly point of view. So a normal person is a busy person. When you work nine to five, and you have a lot of frustration in the office and all that, so you need that number of hours of work. But the Buddha and his disciples, they don't have that type of stress, and also because they are pushing themselves to the limit. That's why they try not even to sleep. Because why? Their object is to be mindful 24 hours a day. That is when you become an Arahant. If you are able to maintain your mindfulness 24 hours a day, you can become an arahant. Because an arahant is said in the Vinaya books to be mindful 24 hours a day. And you cannot fault an arahant for anything, because he cannot do anything wrong because he is mindful 24 hours a day. So if your object is to be mindful 24 hours a day, You can't hope to do that by sleeping eight and a half hours a night. See? So what is your object? Your object is to be a normal human being, then you sleep eight and a half hours a night. If your object is to be an arahant, it's completely different. How do you deal with loneliness? How do you get rid of that loneliness? Loneliness. It's not just loneliness. It's being happy. You know, the Buddha, In the suttas, it is said, what is difficult to do in the Buddhist religion? Somebody asked this Arahant, and he said, what is difficult to do in the Buddhist religion is to renounce, because we are attached to the family. There's a sutta given with a very beautiful simile of the elephant, the wild elephant in the forest. If you want to tame a wild elephant, firstly you've got to catch him and pull him out of the forest. And when you pull him out of the forest, he's very ill at ease. He wants to go back to the forest. So he'll try to rebel and all this thing. So you have to speak nice words to that elephant and slowly give him food and all that. So in the same way, if somebody is used to the lay life and he comes to wear the robe, for example, he feels very uncomfortable. I used to maybe watching TV show until 12 o'clock at night, playing with your computer until 3 a.m. or something. When you come here, you have to go to sleep at 9 a.m., 9 p.m., and wake up at 3.30 or 4 a.m., when a lot of people, they are used to sleeping at 3.30 or 4 a.m. So then after that, the Arahant was asked, so if a person can renounce, what is difficult to do? And then the Arahant said, after a person has renounced, it is difficult to be happy. Why is it difficult to be happy? In the sutra it's not explained, but unless you can tame your mind, you can attain tranquility of mind, calmness of mind. The mind will disturb you. So if you are able to tame your mind, then you can live alone. Then you can find happiness living alone. And after you are used to living alone, meditating, and you don't like to have a lot of people talk to you, They don't enjoy talking, enjoy quiet. You see a lot of lay people, they enjoy talking, spend all their time talking. And they're so used to it, even when they come to a monastery, they find if they don't have somebody to talk to, they find it very difficult to pass the days. Even this happens with some monks I've seen. Now he's looking for somebody to chat. Okay shall we end here for tonight?

28-DN-16-Mahaparinibbana-(2011-07-27)-Part-D.txt

Okay, tonight is the 27th of July. It's the 12th night we're talking of the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Yesterday we started on Digha Nikaya number 16. So we continue today on page 244. And when the Lord had stayed at Amba Pali's grove as long as he wished, he went with a large company of monks to the little village of Beluva where he stayed. Then the Lord said to the monks, you monks should go to anywhere in Vesali where you have friends or acquaintances or supporters and spend the rains there. I shall spend the rains here in Beluva. Very good, Lord, replied the monks. And they did so. But the Lord spent the rains in Beluva. And during the rains, the Lord was attacked by a severe sickness with sharp pains, as if he were about to die. But he endured all this mindfully, clearly aware and without complaining. He thought, it is not fitting that I should attain final Nibbana without addressing my followers and taking leave of the Sangha of monks. I must hold this disease in check by energy and apply myself to the force of life. He did so, and the disease abated. Then the Lord, having recovered from his sickness, as soon as he felt better, went outside and sat on a prepared seat in front of his dwelling. Then the Venerable Ananda came to him, saluted him, sat down to one side and said, Lord, I have seen the Lord in comfort, and I have seen the Lord's patience enduring. And Lord, my body was like a drunkard's. I lost my bearings, and things were unclear to me. because of the Lord's sickness. The only thing that was some comfort to me was the thought, the Lord will not attain final Nibbana until he has made some statement about the Sangha of monks. And the Buddha said, But Ananda, what does the Sangha of monks expect of me? I have taught the Dhamma, Ananda, making no inner and outer, that the Tathagata has no teacher's fist in respect of Dhamma. If there is anyone who thinks I shall take charge of the Sangha, or the Sangha should refer to me, let him make some statement about the Sangha. But the Tathagata does not think in such terms, so why should the Tathagata make a statement about the Sangha? Ananda, I am now old, worn out, wearable, one who has traversed life's path. I have reached the term of life. which is 80, just as an old card is made to go by being held together with straps. So the Tathagata's body is kept going by being strapped up. It is only when the Tathagata withdraws his attention from outward signs, and by the cessation of certain feelings, enters into the signless concentration of mind, that his body knows comfort. Therefore, Ananda, you should live as islands unto yourselves, being your own refuge, with no one else as your refuge. With the Dhamma as an island, with the Dhamma as your refuge, with no other refuge. And how does a monk live as an island unto himself with no other refuge? Here, Ananda, a monk abides contemplating the body in the body, earnestly, clearly aware, mindful, and having put away all hankering and fretting for the world. And likewise with regard to feelings, mind, and dhamma, that Ananda is how a monk lives as an island unto himself with no other refuge. And those who now in my time or afterwards live thus, they will become the highest if they are desirous of learning." Stop here for a moment. This part is quite important. You see, the Buddha says, I have taught the Dhamma, Ananda, making no inner and outer. The Tathagata has no teacher's face in respect of Dhamma." So here he's saying there's no inner and outer circle of disciples. Just like when you compare with the Chinese tradition, they have, what do they say? Lai Sun, Guo Sun. Roisin are inner grandchildren and outer grandchildren. The inner one is closer to them, namely the son's children, while the daughter's children are considered outer. So there's a discrimination. or the Chinese regarding the male and the female. But here the Buddha says there is no inner and outer circle of disciples. Also, there is no teacher's fist in respect of Dhamma. In other words, he does not hold back something in his fist. But in the Mahayana teachings, they contradict this. They say that the Buddha did not teach the Mahayana Dhamma to his disciples, to his Savaka disciples, because they didn't have the wisdom to understand the Mahayana teachings. So the Buddha, they claim, the Buddha hid the Mahayana teachings in the ocean. And then, after 500 years, this Lungsupusa, his Pali name is Nagajuna. He claimed he went to the Dragon Palace underneath the sea and took out all the Mahayana sutras. But there's no such thing. The Buddha says he does not hold back some of his teachings and he does not discriminate inner and outer circle of disciples. Would he not want to teach Mahayana teachings? If it was the Buddha's teachings, he would have taught his disciples then. Also, you see, when the Buddha is 80 years old, it's come to a life's end. The Buddha, every now and then, he feels discomfort and pain. So he has to go into the signless concentration. Then only he knows some comfort. This last part, in some other suttas, they translate it as, be a lamp unto yourself. Be a refuge unto yourself with no other refuge. Take the Dhamma as your lamp. Take the Dhamma as your refuge with no other refuge. So here, basically, the Buddha is saying, rely on yourself and rely on Dhamma. Only these two. Not like nowadays, a lot of people, they don't study the Buddha's words. They don't know that there's so much the Buddha has said. The Buddha says his teachings are complete, perfect and complete. There's no need to add to his words. But nowadays, a lot of monks go all over the world looking for a famous teacher. If the teacher can guide you to the Buddha's original words, then you should take heed. If he teaches his own Dhamma, then you don't need to take heed. Any monk who teaches should only teach the Buddha's Dhamma, not his own Dhamma, not his own views. Okay, then the Lord, rising early, dressed, took his robe and bowl and entered Vesali for alms. Having eaten on his return from the alms round, he said to the verbal Ananda, bring a mat, Ananda. We will go to the Chapala shrine for the siesta. Very good, Lord. For the rest. And getting a mat, he followed behind. Then the Lord came to the Chapala shrine and sat down on the prepared seat Ananda saluted the Lord and sat down to one side, and the Lord said, Ananda, Vesali is delightful, the Udena shrine is delightful, the Gautamaka shrine is delightful, the Satambaka shrine is delightful, the Bahuputta shrine is delightful, the Chapala shrine is delightful. Ananda, whoever has developed the four Here it says, four roads to power. Other places they translate it as the four bases of psychic power. Practice them frequently, made them his vehicle, made them his base. Establish them, become familiar with them and properly undertaken them. Could undoubtedly live for a kappa, a world aeon, or the remainder of one. Here they translate a century, but the real Bali word is kappa, meaning an aeon, world cycle, or the remainder of one. The Tathagata has developed these powers, properly undertaken them, and he could, Ananda, undoubtedly live for a kappa, or the remainder of one. But the verbal Ananda, failing to grasp this broad hint, this clear sign, did not beg the Lord, Lord, may the blessed one stay for a kappa, or world, for aeon. May the welfare stay for aeon, for the benefit and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit and happiness of devas and humans. So much was his mind possessed by Mara. And a second time, the Buddha said, and a third time, the Buddha said the same thing. Then the Lord said, Ananda, go now and do what seems fitting to you. Very good, Lord," said Ananda. And rising from his seat, saluted the Lord, passed by on the right and sat down under a tree some distance away. So here for a moment, so here the Buddha is telling Ananda that whoever has developed fully the four Idi Padas, the four Idi Pada. Idi is psychic power, Pada is path. the four paths or basis to attain psychic power and practice them frequently. If he wanted to, he could live for a kappa, a world cycle. And he said, the Buddha says, he has developed this Idipada and he can do that. And he dropped this hint and Ananda did not beg him to live for this world cycle. A lot of people I find it unacceptable that the Buddha says he could live for a world cycle. So either they modify it to Ayukapa, which is a life aeon. Life aeon meaning at that time if people lived during the Buddha's time, if the people at that time generally could live up to a hundred years, then the Buddha was, the Buddha meant according to these people who interpreted that the Buddha said he could live on for another 20 years until he was a hundred. That's one interpretation. Then here is, that's why it says here is a century, a hundred years. When I say I'm saying a century, what they meant is actually a ayukapa, a life, aeon, a life. because the Buddha says in Samatha Sutta that human beings' lifespan can vary from 80,000 years, which is the maximum, down to 10 years. That's why when I was young and I studied the Bible in school, I remember that they said the ages of some of these early sages like Moses and Abraham, or something in terms of like 25,000 years and all that. But nowadays, because they think the figure is so ridiculous, they don't understand that lifespan can go so high. They have reduced all those. If you look at the modern Bibles, all the ages have been reduced. So this Nanda, he did not ask the Buddha to stay on. And this was one of the things the Arahants found fault with him after the Buddha passed away. They found fault with Ananda over a few things. This was one of them. Soon after Ananda had left, Mara, the evil one, came to the Lord, stood to one side and said, Lord, may the blessed Lord now attain final Nibbana. May the well-farer now attain final Nibbana. Now is the time for the blessed Lord's final Nibbana. Because the blessed Lord has said this, Evil One, I will not take final Nibbana till I have monks and disciples who are accomplished, trained, skilled, learned, knowers of Dhamma, trained in conformity with Dhamma, correctly trained and walking the path of the Dhamma, who will pass on what they have gained from their teacher, teach it, declare it, establish it, expound it, analyze it, make it clear, till they have till they shall be able by means of the Dhamma to refute false teachings that have arisen and teach the Dhamma of wondrous effect. And now, Lord, the Blessed Lord has such monks and disciples. May the Blessed Lord now attain final Nibbana. May the well-farer now attain final Nibbana. Now is the time for the Blessed Lord's final Nibbana. And the Blessed Lord has said, I will not take final Nibbana till I have nuns and female disciples who are accomplished, etc. or till I have lay men followers who are accomplished, etc., till I have lay women followers who are accomplished, etc. May the Blessed Lord now take final Nibbana. And the Blessed Lord has said, Evil one, I will not take final Nibbana till this holy life has been successfully established and flourishes, is widespread, well known far and wide, well proclaimed among mankind everywhere. And all this has come about May the Blessed One now attain final Nibbana. May the Welfarer now attain final Nibbana. Now is the time for the Blessed Lord's final Nibbana. At this, the Lord said to Mara, you need not worry, evil one. The Tathagata's final passing will not be long delayed. Three months from now, the Tathagata will take final Nibbana. And so the Lord at the Chapala Shrine, mindfully and in full awareness, renounced the life principle. And when this occurred, there was a great earthquake, terrible air raising and accompanied by thunder. And when the Lord saw this, he uttered this verse, gross or fine, things become. The sage abjured, sworn, calm, composed, he burst becoming shell." Stop here for a moment. So here, Mara has been pursuing the Buddha to enter Nibbana many times. At one time, the Buddha said he would not enter Nibbana until the monks and the disciples are well trained. And then another time when Mara asked the Buddha to enter Nibbana, the Buddha said he would not enter Nibbana until the nuns and the female disciples are accomplished and well trained, etc. Then another time when Mara came, The Buddha said he will not enter Nibbana until the lay men followers are accomplished. Then another time he said until the lay women followers are accomplished. Then another time he said he will not enter final Nibbana until the Sasana, the Buddhist religion is established and widespread, etc. So now the Buddha This last time when Mara came to ask the Buddha to enter Nibbana, then the Buddha said okay, three months time he will enter Nibbana. So this Mara keeps asking the Buddha to enter Nibbana because he doesn't want the Buddha to continue teaching the Dhamma and lead more people across to the other shore to enter Nibbana and leave this round of rebirths. So, you see, when the Buddha decided to enter Nibbana, he renounced the life principle, the volition, the Sankara. Actually, this one should be Ayu Sankara, the will to live. So the Buddha renounced the will to live. Then only the Buddha can enter Nibbana. That's why I say in the dependent origination, Sankara always refers to the will to live. If you don't let go of the will to live, you will still live on. And the Venerable Ananda thought, it is marvelous, it is wonderful how this great earthquake arises, this terrible earthquake. so dreadful and hair-raising, accompanied by thunder. Whatever can have caused it? He went to the Lord, saluted him, sat down to one side and asked him that question. And the Buddha said, Ananda, there are eight reasons, eight causes for the appearance of a great earthquake. This great earth is established on water, the water on the wind, the wind on space. And when a mighty wind blows, this stirs up the water, and through the stirring up of the water, the earth quakes. That is the first reason. In the second place, there is an ascetic or brahmin who has developed psychic powers, or a mighty and powerful deva whose earth consciousness is weakly developed and his water consciousness is immeasurable, and he makes the earth shudder and quake and violently quake. That is the second reason. When the Bodhisatta descends from the Tusita heaven, mindful and clearly aware, into his mother's womb, then the earth shudders and shakes and violently quakes. This is the third reason. Again, when the Bodhisatta emerges from his mother's womb, mindful and clearly aware, then the earth shudders and shakes and violently quakes. This is the fourth reason. Again, when the Tathagata gains unsurpassed enlightenment, then the earth shudders and shakes and violently quakes. This is the fifth reason. Again, when the Tathāgata sets in motion the wheel of the Dhamma, then the earth shudders and shakes and violently quakes. This is the sixth reason. Again, when the Tathāgata, mindful and clearly aware, renounces the will to live, then the earth shudders and shakes and violently quakes. Again, when the Tathāgata gains a Nibbāna element without remainder, then the earth shudders and shakes and violently quakes. This is the eighth reason. These and under are the eight reasons, the eight causes for the appearance of a great earthquake. You see the first one the Buddha says, the earth is established on water, water on wind, wind on space. This one people find it a bit hard to see, but it reminds me because our water source is up on the hill, very high up. a few hundred feet high, and the water comes out from the ground. And surprisingly, even though this water trickles out from the ground, you have small fish coming out, and small crabs and small prawns coming out from the ground, up in the mountain, up in the hill. So evidently, this water comes from a source underneath. And this underneath, there must be a lot of water prawns and crabs and fish and all that come out. So it reminds me because the Buddha here says that the earth is established on water. The water is below the earth. It's a layer, probably a layer down there. Ananda, there are these eight kinds of assemblies. What are they? They are the assembly of kathiyas or noble, the warrior clan, assembly of Brahmins, assembly of householders, assembly of ascetics, assembly of devas of the realm of the four great kings, assembly of the 33 gods, assembly of Maras, assembly of Brahmas. Remember well, Ananda, many hundreds of assemblies of Kathiyas that I have attended. And before I sat down with them, spoke to them or joined in their conversation, I adopted their appearance and speech, whatever it might be. And I instructed, inspired, fired and delighted them with a discourse on Dhamma. And as I spoke with them, they did not know me and wondered, who is it that speaks like this? A Deva or a man? And having thus instructed them, I disappeared, and still they did not know. He who has just disappeared, was he a Deva or a man? I remember well many hundreds of assemblies of Brahmins, of householders, of ascetics, of devas of the realm of the four great kings, of the 33 gods, of Maras, of Brahmas. And the same thing happened. The Buddha joined them in their conversation and taught them the Dhamma. And still they did not know. He who has just disappeared, was he a deva or a man? Those Ananda, the eight assemblies. Ananda, there are eight stages of mastery. What are they? Perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms, limited and beautiful or ugly. And in mastering these, one is aware that one knows and sees them. This is the first stage. Perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms, unlimited and beautiful or ugly, etc. That is the second stage. Not perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms, limited and beautiful or ugly, etc. This is the third stage. Not perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms, unlimited and beautiful or ugly. And in mastering these, one is aware that one knows and sees them. This is the fourth stage. Not perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms that are blue, a blue color, a blue luster, just as a flax flower, which is blue, a blue color, a blue luster, or a Bonares cloth, smooth on both sides, that is blue. So one perceives external forms that are blue, and in mastering these, one is aware that one knows and sees them. This is the fifth stage. Not perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms that are yellow, just as a Kanikara flower which is yellow, or a Benares cloth which is yellow. So one perceives external forms that are yellow. This is the sixth stage. Not perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms that are red, just as a Hibiscus flower which is red, or a Benares cloth which is red. So one perceives external forms that are red. This is the seventh stage. Not perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms that are white, of white color, of white luster. Just as the morning star, Usadi, is white, or a Banaras cloth, smooth on both sides, that is white. So not perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms that are white. And in mastering these, one is aware that one knows and sees them. This is the eighth stage of mastery. Stop here for a moment. These four colors mentioned here, part of the casinas. If you meditate on colours, these are the four colours, white, red, yellow, blue. There are Ananda, these eight liberations, what are they? Possessing form, one sees forms, this is the first. Not perceiving material forms in oneself, one sees them outside, this is the second. Thinking it is beautiful, one becomes intent on it, this is the third. By completely transcending all perception of matter, thinking space is infinite, One enters and abides in the sphere of infinite space. That is the fourth. By transcending the sphere of infinite space, thinking consciousness is infinite, one enters and abides in the sphere of infinite consciousness. That is the fifth. By transcending the sphere of infinite consciousness, thinking there is no thing, one enters and abides in the sphere of no-thingness. This is the sixth. By transcending the sphere of no-thingness, one reaches and abides in the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. That is the seventh. By transcending this fear of neither perception nor non-perception, one enters and abides in the cessation of perception and feeling. That is the eighth liberation." Stop here for a moment. This one, the eight liberations, we went through them in the previous sutra, number 15. Ananda, once I was staying at Uruvela on the bank of the river Naranjara, under the goat herd's bunion tree, when I had just attained supreme enlightenment. And Mara, the evil one, came to me, stood to one side and said, May the blessed one now attain final Nibbana. May the well-farer now attain final Nibbana. Now is the time for the blessed Lord's final Nibbana. At this I said to Mara, Evil one, I will not take final Nibbana till I have monks and disciples who are accomplished, trained, skilled, learned, knowers of the Dhamma, etc. Till I have nuns, laymen followers, laywomen followers, who will teach the Dhamma of wondrous effect. I will not take final Nibbana till this holy life has been firmly established and flourishes. It is widespread, well-known, far and wide, well-proclaimed among mankind everywhere. And just now today, Ananda, at the Chapala Shrine, Mara came to me, stood to one side and said, Lord, may the Blessed One now attain final Nibbana. Now is the time for the blessed Lord's final Nibbana. And I said, You need not worry, evil one. Three months from now, the Tathagata will take final Nibbana. So now today, Ananda, at the Chapala Shrine, the Tathagata has mindfully and in full awareness renounced the will to live. At this, the Venerable Ananda said, Lord, may the blessed one stay for a Kappa or Aeon. May the welfare stay for aeon for the benefit and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit and happiness of devas and humans. And the Buddha said, enough Ananda, do not beg the Tathagata. It is not the right time for that. And the second time and the third time, the Venerable Ananda made the same request. And the Buddha said, Ananda, have you faith in the Tathagata's enlightenment? Yes, Lord. Then why do you bother the Tathagata with your request up to three times? But Lord, I have heard from the Lord's own lips, I have understood from the Lord's own lips, whoever has developed the four bases of psychic power could undoubtedly live for an aeon, or for the remainder of one. And the Buddha said, have you faith, Ananda? Yes, Lord. Then Ananda, yours is the fault, yours is the failure, that having been given such a broad hint, such a clear sign by the Tathagata, you did not understand and did not beg the Tathagata to stay for an aeon. If Ananda you had begged him, the Tathagata would twice have refused you, but the third time he would have consented. Therefore, Ananda, yours is the fault, yours is the failure. Once, Ananda, I was staying at Rajagaha, at the Vulture's Peak, and there I said, Ananda, Rajagaha is delightful, the Vulture's Peak is delightful. Whoever has developed the four bases of psychic power could undoubtedly live for us for an aeon. But you, Ananda, in spite of such a broad hint, did not understand and did not beg the Tathagata to stay for a century. Once, I was staying at Rajagaha in the Banyan Park, at Robber's Cliff, at the Satapani Cave on the side of Mount Vibhara, at the Black Rock on the slope of Mount Isigili, at the slope by the Snake's Pool in Coolwood, at the Thapoda Park, at the Squirrel's Feeding Ground in Veluvana, in Jivaka's Mango Grove, and also at Rajagaha in the Madakuchi Deer Park. At all these places, I said to you, Ananda, this place is delightful, etc. Whoever has developed the four bases of psychic power could undoubtedly live for an aeon. Once I was at Vesali in the Udena shrine. Once I was at Vesali in the Gautamaka shrine, at the Satambaka shrine, at the Bahuputta shrine, at the Sarandada shrine. And now today at the Chapala shrine, I said, these places are delightful, Ananda. Whoever has developed the four bases of psychic power will undoubtedly live for an aeon or the remainder of one. The Tathagata has developed these powers and he could, Ananda, undoubtedly live for an aeon or the remainder of one. But you, Ananda, failing to grasp this broad hint, this clear sign, did not beg the Tathagata to stay for an aeon. If, Ananda, you had begged him, the Tathagata would twice have refused you, but the third time He would have consented. Ananda, have I not told you before, all those things that are dear and pleasant to us must suffer change, separation and alteration? How could this be possible? Whatever is born become compounded, is liable to decay. That it should not decay is impossible. And that has been renounced, given up, rejected, abandoned, forsaken, The Tathagata has renounced the will to live. The Tathagata has said once and for all, the Tathagata's final passing will not be long delayed. Three months from now, the Tathagata will take final Nibbana. That the Tathagata should withdraw such a declaration in order to live on is not possible. Come now, Ananda, we will go to the Gable Hall in the great forest. Very good, Lord. Stop here for a moment. So here, Venerable Ananda appealed to the Buddha to stay on for an aeon. But it was too late. He already told Mara that three months from now, he will enter Nibbana. And the Lord went with the Venerable Ananda to the Gable Hall in the Great Forest. When he got there, he said, Ananda, go and gather together all the monks living in the vicinity of Vesali and get them to come to the Assembly Hall. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And he did so. He then returned to the Lord, saluted Him, stood to one side and said, Lord, the order of the Sangha of monks is gathered together. Now is the time for the Lord to do as He wishes. Then the Lord entered the assembly hall and sat down the prepared seat. Then He said to the monks, monks, for this reason, those matters which I have discovered and proclaimed should be thoroughly learned by you, practiced, developed and cultivated, so that this holy life may endure for a long time, that it may be for the benefit and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit and happiness of devas and humans. And what are those matters? They are the four intense states of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five spiritual faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path. Then the Lord said to the monks, and now monks, I declare to you, all conditioned things are of a nature to decay, strive on untiringly, The Tathagata's final passing will not be long delayed. Three months from now, the Tathagata will take his final Nibbana. Thus the Lord spoke. The welfarer, having thus spoken, the teacher said this, Ripe I am in years, my life spans determined. Now I go from you, having made myself my refuge. Monks, be untiring, mindful, disciplined. guarding your minds with well-collected thought. He who tireless keeps to Dhamma and Vinaya, leaving birth behind, will put an end to war." So here the Buddha is telling his disciples that the most important parts of his teaching are in these 37 Bodhipakkha Dhammas. The four Satipatthana, the four Vajrayana, the four Idi Pada, the five Indriya, the five Bala, the seven Bojanga and the Arya Atangika Maga. 37 if you add them all together.

29-DN-16-Mahaparinibbana-(2011-07-27)-Part-E.txt

Then the Lord, having risen early and dressed, took his robe and bowl and went into Vesali for alms. Having returned from the alms round and eaten, he looked back at Vesali with his elephant look and said, Ananda, this is the last time the Tathagata will look upon Vesali. Now we will go to Bandhagama. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And the Lord proceeded with a large company of monks to Bandhagama and stayed there. And there the Lord addressed the monks. These monks, through not understanding, not penetrating, four things that I, as well as you, have for a long time fed on round the cycle of rebirths. What are the four? Through not understanding the Aryan morality, through not understanding the Aryan concentration, through not understanding the Aryan wisdom, through not understanding the Aryan liberation, I, as well as you, have for a long time fared on round the cycle of rebirths. And it is by understanding and penetrating the Aryan morality, the Aryan concentration, the Aryan wisdom, and the Aryan liberation, that the craving for becoming has been cut off. The tendency towards becoming has been exhausted, and there will be no more rebirth. Thus the Lord spoke. The well-farer, having thus spoken, the teacher said this. Morality, concentration, wisdom, and final release. These glorious things Gotama came to know. The Dhamma he discerned, he taught his monks. He whose vision ended war to Nibbana is gone. Stop here for a moment. This Sila, Samadhi, Panniya, moral conduct, concentration, Saying this Sila, Samadhi and Panniya, moral conduct, concentration and wisdom basically means the Noble Eightfold Path. Eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path can be also divided into three factors. And the last one is liberation. Then the Lord, while staying at Bandhagama, delivered a comprehensive discourse. This is Morality, this is concentration, this is wisdom. Concentration, when imbued with morality, brings great fruit and profit. Wisdom, when imbued with concentration, brings great fruit and profit. The mind, imbued with wisdom, becomes completely free from the asavas, that is, from the asava of sensuality, of becoming, of wrong views and of ignorance. And when the Lord had stayed at Bandhagama for as long as He wished, He said, Ananda, let us go to Hathigama, and then to Amba Gama and then to Jambu Gama, giving the same discourse at each place. Then he said, Ananda, let us go to Boganagara. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And the Lord went with a large company of monks to Boganagara. At Boganagara, the Lord stayed at the Ananda shrine. And here he said to the monks, monks, I will teach you four criteria. Listen, pay close attention, and I will speak. Yes, Lord, replied the monks. Suppose a monk were to say, friends, I heard and received this from the Lord's own lips. This is Dhamma. This is Vinaya. This is the Master's teaching. Then monks, you should neither approve nor disapprove his words. Then without approving or disapproving, his words and expressions should be carefully noted and compared with the Suttas and reviewed in the light of the Vinaya. If they, on such comparison and review, are found not to conform to the Suttas or the Vinaya, the conclusion must be, assuredly, this is not the word of the Buddha. It has been wrongly understood by this monk and the matter is to be rejected. But where on such comparison and review they are found to conform to the Suttas or the Vinaya. The conclusion must be, assuredly, this is the word of the Buddha. It has been rightly understood by this monk. This is the first criterion. Suppose a monk were to say, in such and such a place, there is a community of elders, theeras, and distinguished teachers. I have heard and received this from that community. Then monks, you should neither approve nor disapprove his words. but compared with the Sutta and Vinaya. This is the second criterion. Suppose a monk were to say, in such and such a place there are many elders who are learned, bearers of the tradition, who know the Dhamma, the Vinaya, the code of rules, etc. Then their word is not to be accepted or rejected, but compared to the Suttas and the Vinaya. This is the third criterion. Suppose a monk were to say, in such and such a place there is one elder, Thera, who is learned. I have heard and received this from that elder, but where on such... His words should not be accepted or rejected, but compared to the Sutta and Vinaya, where on such comparison and review, they are found to conform to the Suttas and Vinaya. then the conclusion must be, assuredly, this is the word of the Buddha. It has been rightly understood by this monk. Stop here for a moment. So here, this is a very important part. The Buddha says, if any monk claims that the Buddha taught this and the Buddha taught that, you should not accept, you should not reject, but you must compare it with the suttas and the Vinaya. You see here the Buddha in the first part, 4.8. Suppose a monk were to say, friends, I have heard and received this from the Lord's own lips. This is Dhamma, this is Vinaya, this is the Master's teaching. You find in the Suttas and in the Vinaya books, whenever the Buddha refers to his words, he always says Dhamma and Vinaya. And later books, they added a third one, which is Abhidhamma. That's why the word Tripitaka came into use. The Buddha never used the word Tripitaka or Tipitaka. The Buddha doesn't even know this word. It was coined by later monks. So in the Suttas and the Vinaya, we always find, the Buddha says, Buddha's teaching is Dhamma Vinaya. And here you can see very clearly, Dhamma refers to the Suttas. is the monastic discipline meant for monks and nuns. So for lay people, your only teacher is the suttas. This is very clear. And this part is also found in the Anguttara Nikaya, Sutta 4.180. There also the same thing is said. So always remember, any monk teach anything, must always compare it with the suttas. And if you are a monk or nun, you can compare it with the Vinaya also. It does not conform to the Suttas and the Vinaya, then it is not the Buddha's words. So when you use this criterion, you find, for example, the Abhidhamma. There are many things in the Abhidhamma that contradict the Suttas. So from there, we know it is not the Buddha's words. Similarly, with other later books, for example, Visuddhimagga. Although Visuddhimagga is quite a good book, Unfortunately, there are certain things in Visuddhimagga which contradict the Buddha's words. One of them is, for example, in the suttas, the Buddha says if you practice mindfulness of breathing, anapanasati, you can attain all the four rupa jhanas and all the four arupas, or arupa jhanas, plus the cessation of perception and feeling, all the states of samadhi can be attained just by practicing anapanasati. But in the Visuddhimagga, it says that if you practice Anapanasati, at the most you can get four Rupajanas. So there are many other contradictions. For example, in the Abhidhamma, they talk about six destinations of rebirth, whereas the Buddha talked about five destinations of rebirth. Five destinations of rebirth are heaven, the human realm, and the three woeful planes, ghost, animal, and hell realm. And then the Abhidhamma added the Asura realm under the woeful planes, just like the later Mahayana books did, the Mahayana books. So you can know from this that the Abhidhamma arose around the same time as the Mahayana books, which is 500 years after the Buddha's passing on So always remember, must compare with the Suttas and the Vinaya. Then the Lord, while staying at Bhoganagara, delivered a comprehensive discourse. This is morality, this is concentration, this is wisdom. And when the Lord had stayed at Bhoganagara for as long as he wished, he said, Ananda, let us go to Pava. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And the Lord went with a large company of monks to Pava, where he stayed at the mango grove of Chunda the smith. And Chunda heard that the Lord had arrived at Pava. was staying at his mango grove. Then he went to the lord, saluted him and sat down to one side and the lord instructed, inspired, fired and delighted him with the talk on dhamma. Then Chunda said, May the Lord accept a meal from me tomorrow with the Sangha of monks. And the Lord consented by silence. And Chunda, understanding his consent, rose from his seat, saluted the Lord, and passing by to the right, departed. And as the night was ending, Chunda had a fine meal of hard and soft food, prepared with an abundance of pig's delight. And when it was ready, he reported to the Lord, Lord, the meal is ready. Then the Lord, having dressed in the morning, took his robe and bowl and went with the Sangha of monks to Chunda's dwelling, where he sat down on the prepared seat and said, serve the pig's delight that has been prepared for me and serve the remaining hard and soft food to the Sangha of monks. Very good, Lord, said to Chunda and did so. Then the Lord said to Chunda, whatever is left over of the pig's delight, you should bury in the pit because Chunda I can see none in this world with his Devas, Maras and Brahmas, in this generation with his ascetics and Brahmins, his princes and people, who, if they were to eat it, who could thoroughly digest it, except the Tathagata. Very good, Lord, said Chunda. And having buried the remains of the pig's delight in a pit, he came to the Lord, saluted Him and sat down to one side. Then the Lord, having instructed inspired, fired and delighted him with a talk on Dhamma, rose from his seat and departed. And after having eaten the meal provided by Chunda, the Lord was attacked by a severe sickness with bloody diarrhoea and with sharp pains as if he were about to die. But he endured all this mindfully and clearly aware and without complaint. Then the Lord said, Ananda, let us go to Kusinara. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. Having eaten Chunda's meal, this I've heard, he suffered a grave illness, painful, deadly. From eating a meal of pig's delight, grave sickness assailed the teacher. Having purged, the Lord then said, now I'll go to Kusinara's town." Stop here for a moment. This pig's delight here is translated as according to the Pali, pig's delight. But then the Mahayanis, They could not accept that the Buddha ate meat, so they gave a different translation, that it was something to do with some vegetarian food, mushroom something. So here, the Buddha knew that after this meal, he was going to pass away. And this meal is a very special meal, so the Buddha said nobody else can digest this meat because actually for somebody to offer, later the Buddha will say, for somebody to offer the last meal to the Buddha is as meritorious as the person who offers the meal to the Buddha just before enlightenment is a highly meritorious offering. So nobody else had the merit to receive this, so the Buddha asked him to bear it. Then turning aside from the road, the Lord went to the foot of a tree and said, Come, Ananda, hold a rope in four for me. I am tired and want to sit down. Very good, Lord, said Ananda, and did so. The Lord sat down on the prepared seat and said, Ananda, bring me some water. I am thirsty and want to drink. Ananda said, Lord, five hundred carts have passed this way. The water is churned up by their wheels and is not good. It is dirty and disturbed. But Lord, the river Kakuta nearby has clean water, pleasant, cool, pure, with beautiful banks, delightful. There the Lord shall drink the water and cool his limbs. A second time the Lord said, Ananda, bring me some water. I am thirsty and want to drink. Ananda replied as before. Third time, the Lord said, Ananda, bring me some water. I am thirsty and want to drink. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And taking his bowl, he went to the stream. And that stream whose water had been churned up by the wheels and was not good, dirty and disturbed, as Ananda approached it, began to flow pure, bright and unsullied. And the verbal Ananda thought, Wonderful, marvellous are the Tathagata's great and mighty powers. This water was churned up by the wheels and was dirty, and at my approach it flows pure, bright and unsullied. He took water in his bowl, brought it to the Lord, and told Him of his thoughts, saying, May the Lord drink the water, may the well-farer drink, and the Lord drank the water." Stop here for a moment. Be the devas' work. made the water clean, the dirty water clean. At that moment, Pukusa, the Mala, a pupil of Alara Kalama, was going along the main road from Kusinara to Pava. Seeing the Lord sitting under a tree, he went over, saluted him and sat down to one side. Then he said, it is wonderful, Lord. It is marvelous how calm these wanderers are. Once, Lord, Alara Kalama was going along the main road, and turning a side, he went and sat down under a nearby tree to take his siesta. And 500 carts went rumbling by very close to him. A man who was walking along behind them came to Alara Kalama and said, Lord, did you not see 500 carts go by? And he said, no, friend, I did not. But didn't you hear them, Lord? And he said, no, friend, I did not. Well, were you asleep, Lord? And he said, No, friend, I was not asleep. Then, Lord, were you conscious? And he said, Yes, friend. So, Lord, being conscious and awake, you neither saw nor heard 500 carts passing by close to you, even though your outer robe was bespattered with dust. And he said, That is so, friend. And that man thought, It is wonderful, it is marvellous. These wanderers are so calm, that though conscious and awake, a man neither saw nor heard five hundred cards passing close by him, and he went away praising Alarak Kalama's lofty powers. And the Buddha said, Well, Pukusa, what do you think? What do you consider is more difficult to do or attain to, while conscious and awake not to see or hear 500 carts passing nearby, or while conscious and awake, not to see or hear anything when the rain god streams and splashes, when lightning flashes and thunder crashes. And he said, Lord, how can one compare not seeing or hearing five hundred cards with that? Or even six, seven, eight, nine or ten hundred or hundreds of thousands of cards to that? To see or hear nothing when such a storm rages is more difficult. And the Buddha said, Once, Pukusa, when I was staying at Atuma, at the threshing floor, The rain got streamed and splashed, lightning flashed and thunder crashed, and two farmers' brothers and four oxen were killed. And a lot of people went out of Atuma to where the two brothers and the four oxen were killed. And Pukusa, I had at that time gone out of the door of the threshing floor and was walking up and down outside. And a man from the crowd came to me, saluted me and stood to one side, and I said to him, Friend, why are all these people gathered here? And he said, Lord, there has been a great storm, and two farmers, brothers, and four oxen have been killed. But you, Lord, where have you been? And the Buddha said, I have been right here, friend. But what did you see, Lord? And the Buddha said, I saw nothing, friend. Or what did you hear, Lord? The Buddha said, I heard nothing, friend. Were you sleeping, Lord? The Buddha said, I was not sleeping, friend. Then, Lord, were you conscious? And the Buddha said, yes, friend. So, Lord, being conscious and awake, You neither saw nor heard the great rainfall and floods and the thunder and the lightning." And the Buddha said, that is so, friend. And Pukusa, that man thought, it is wonderful, it is marvelous. These wondrous are so calm that they neither see nor hear when the rain got streams and splashes, lightning flashes and thunder crashes. Proclaiming my lofty powers, he saluted me, passed by to the right and departed. At this, Pukusa the Mala said, Lord, I reject the lofty powers of Alara Kalama, as if they were blown away by a mighty wind, or carried off by a swift stream or river. Excellent, Lord, excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had got lost. or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Blessed Lord has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. And I, Lord, go for refuge to the Blessed Lord, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. May the Blessed Lord accept me from this day forth as a lay follower as long as life shall last. Then Pukusa said to one man, Go and fetch me two fine sets of robes of cloth of gold, burnished and ready to wear. Yes, Lord, the man replied, and did so. And Pukusa offered the robes to the Lord, saying, Here, Lord, are two fine sets of robes of cloth of gold. May the blessed Lord be graciously pleased to accept them. Well then, Pukusa, the Buddha said, Clothe me in one set, and Ananda in the other. Very good, Lord, said Pukusa, and did so. Then the Lord instructed, inspired, fired and delighted Pukusa the Mala with a talk on Dhamma. Then Pukusa rose from his seat, saluted the Lord, passed by to the right and departed." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that he was in Samadhi and there was lightning and thunder and all that. The trees came crashing down and two people died and four oxen died and the Buddha didn't hear a single sound. was in very deep samadhi. And this last part, where this Bukkusa offered this set of robes, cloth of gold, and the Buddha accepted. We find when the Buddha was younger, he was very ascetic. He practiced the austerities. When he was younger, he probably would not accept this set of robes with cloth of gold. But now, he was old already, then he accepted it and even asked Bukkusa to offer the other to Ananda. So this is quite normal for monks. When we are young, monks are young, we are very inspired to practice and to be very strict. Sometimes go overboard also with the strictness. Later, as we mellow, we know what is important, what is not important. Soon after, Pukusa had gone. Actually, this Buddha, he accepts these robes, not because he wants to use them, but out of compassion for Pukusa, so that he can get the merit. Probably after Pukusa has left, he'll probably put the robe on one side and give it to somebody else. Soon after Pukusa had gone, Ananda, having arranged one set of the golden robes on the body of the Lord, observed that against the Lord's body it appeared dull. And he said, it is wonderful, Lord, it is marvellous, how clear and bright the Lord's skin appears. It looks even brighter than the golden robes in which it is clothed. And the Buddha said, just so, Ananda, there are two occasions which the Tathāgata skin appears especially clear and bright. Which are they? One is the night in which the Tathāgata gains supreme enlightenment. The other is the night when he attains the Nibbāna element without remainder at his final passing. On these two occasions the Tathāgata skin appears especially clear and bright. Tonight, Ananda, in the last watch in the salt grove of the Malas near Kusinara, between two salt trees, the Tathagata's final passing will take place. And now, Ananda, let us go to the river Kakuta." Very good, Lord," said Ananda. Two golden robes were Pakusa's offering, brighter shone the teacher's body than his dress. Stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha says there are two times when the Buddha's skin is especially clear and bright. One is on the night of enlightenment, the other is when he's passing away, on the night of his passing away. In some other sutra we had read that when the Buddha was old, Ananda observed that the Buddha looked old and his skin was wrinkled and he did not have the brightness that he used to have. But now that he's entering Nibbana, this brightness comes back again. It's very different with certain monks. Certain monks, I've heard when they are younger, they have very good samadhi and some people say they even have psychic powers and all that. But some of them, When they are old, unfortunately, it seems they even lose their memory. Not the Buddha. When the Buddha was very old, the Buddha said, you can question, even though the Buddha was about 80 years old, the Buddha said, his body has deteriorated, but don't think that his mind has deteriorated. Buddha said you can continue to ask him questions for another hundred years and he can still answer everything clearly. So here the Buddha said in the last watch, meaning from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., every night is divided into three watches. The first watch, Chu Fen Yue in Chinese, is 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The middle watch is 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. The last watch is 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. Then the Lord went with a large number of monks to the river Kakuta. He entered the water, bathed and drank, and emerging, went to the mango grove, where he said to the Venerable Chundaka, Come, Chundaka, fold a robe in four for me. I am tired and want to lie down. Very good, Lord, said Chundaka, and did so. Then the Lord adopted the lion posture, lying on his right side, placing one foot on the other, mindfully and with clear awareness, bearing in mind the time of awakening. And the Venerable Chundaka sat down in front of the Lord, the Buddha having gone to Kakuta the river with its clear, bright and pleasant waters. Therein the teacher plunged his weary body, Tathagata, without an equal in the world, surrounded by the monks whose head he was, the teacher and lord, preserver of Dhamma, to the mango grove the great sage went. And to Chundaka, the monk, he said, on a four-fold robe I'll lie down. And thus adjured by the great adept, Chundaka placed the four-fold robe. The teacher laid his weary limbs to rest while Chundaka kept watch beside him. Then the lord said to the rebel Ananda, it might happen, Ananda, that Cunda the smith would feel remorse thinking it is your fault friend Cunda it is by your misdeed that the Tathagata gained final Nibbana after taking his last meal from you but Cunda's remorse should be expelled in this way that is your merit Cunda that is your great deed that is your good deed that the Tathagata gained final Nibbana after taking his last meal from you. For friend Chunda, I have heard and understood from the Lord's own lips that these two almsgivings are of very great result, more fruitful and advantageous than any other. Which two? The one is the almsgiving after eating which the Tathagata attains supreme enlightenment. the other, that after which he attains the Nibbāna element without remainder at his final passing. These two almsgivings are more fruitful and profitable than all others. Cunda's deed is conducive to long life, to good looks, to happiness, to fame, to heaven and to lordship. In this way Ananda, Cunda's remorse is to be expelled. Then the Lord, having settled this matter, at that time uttered this verse, By giving, merit grows. By restraint, hatred's checked. He who's skilled, abandons evil things. As greed, hate, and folly wane, Nibbana's gain." So here, the Buddha told Ananda to inform Chunda that he should not blame himself for offering the food that caused the Buddha to pass on. The Buddha said that it is actually very meritorious. So I'll stop here for tonight. Anything to discuss? Before the Buddha's Nibbana, During the Buddha's time, the suttas were transmitted from teacher to disciple, and the monks had to recite the suttas, firstly to memorize it themselves, and secondly to pass it on. So many thousands of monks knew the sutras. So it was a very good way actually to transmit the Buddha's words because then you cannot create something new. Because it's easy to create a false sutra by writing in a book some new sutra and claim it's the words of the Buddha. But if it is transmitted by word of mouth, and you start to teach a new sutra which the Buddha did not teach, maybe you and your friends stand of you, but there are thousands, tens of thousands of the Buddha's disciples who know the sutras by heart. The Buddha said that there are eight locations where the earth quakes very hard. Now, that just reminded me about the earthquake in Japan. Is that something like that? Because they explained it in science, but you're going to put that as 8 reasons. Does that mean anything? I'm not sure how reliable this part about the 8 reasons for the earthquake But sometimes in the suttas, the Buddha says certain things which a person, a normal person would find it hard to accept. An example is, like the Buddha says, if humans are full of greed, hatred and delusion, and because of greed, hatred and delusion, they do a lot of evil things. When humans do a lot of evil things, the devas get annoyed. When the devas get annoyed, the rain gods will not allow it to rain when it's supposed to rain. And then, because the rain does not come in time, then the crops do not grow well, and then there is famine, and a lot of people die. So this type of explanation by the Buddha, A lot of normal people find it hard to accept because they can't see the devas. But the logic behind it is that because the world is created by our mind, if our mind is defiled, if our mind is unwholesome, then the world changes, changes according to karma and a lot of obstacles arise. But if we act with a very pure mind, actions are wholesome and not harmful to others, then the world changes in a way that makes us happy. Even heaven and hell are created by our mind. This part, you didn't read the whole thing. It's just like the monk part. The first, the Buddha said, I will not take final Nibbana till I have monks and disciples who are accomplished, trained, skilled, learned, knowers of the Dhamma, trained in conformity with the Dhamma, correctly trained and walking in the path of Dhamma, who will pass on what they have gained from their teacher, teacher declared, etc. So in the same way, the Buddha said, I will not take final Nibbana till I have nuns and female disciples who are accomplished, trained, skilled, learned, knows of the Dhamma, et cetera. Because at that time, there were nuns, but now there are no nuns, so now you cannot use that part. But anyway, there is no Buddha to take Nibbana now. Okay, shall we end here?

30-DN-16-Mahaparinibbana-(2011-07-28)-Part-F.txt

Okay, tonight is the 28th of July. It's the 13th night. We're talking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. We were doing Sutta number 16 for two nights. Now this is the third night. We come to page 262. The Lord said, Ananda, let us cross the Hiranyavati River and go to the Mala Sal Grove in the vicinity of Kusinara. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And the Lord, with a large company of monks, crossed the river and went to the Sal Grove. There the Lord said, Ananda, bear me a bed between these twin Sal trees with my head to the north. I am tired and want to lie down. Very good, Lord, said Ananda, and did so. And the Lord lay down on his right side in the lion posture, placing one foot on the other, mindful and clearly aware. And those twin salt trees burst forth into an abundance of untimely blossoms, which fell upon the Tathagata's body, sprinkling it and covering it in homage. Divine coral tree flowers fell from the sky. Divine sandalwood powder fell from the sky, sprinkling and covering the Tathagata's body in homage. Divine music and songs sounded from the sky in homage to the Tathagata. And the Lord said, Ananda, these salt trees have burst forth into an abundance of untimely blossoms. Divine or heavenly music and songs sound from the sky in homage to the Tathagata. Never before has a Tathagata Tathagata being so honored, revered, esteemed, worshipped and adored. And yet Ananda, whatever monk, nun, male or female lay follower, dwells practicing the Dhamma properly and perfectly fulfills the Dhamma way. He or she honors the Tathagata, reveres and esteems him and pays him the supreme homage. Therefore, Ananda, we will dwell practicing the Dhamma properly and perfectly fulfill the Dhamma way. This must be your watchword. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, whatever homage we pay to the Buddha, the highest is to practice his words in the suttas and do as much as we can to fulfill the way of the Dhamma. Then we really paid homage to the Buddha. That's why when the Arahants attained liberation, they say that they have paid the highest homage to the Buddha because they have totally fulfilled the Buddha's instructions and attained liberation. Just then the Venerable Upavana was standing in front of the Lord, fanning him, and the Lord told him to move. Move aside, monk. Do not stand in front of me. And the Venerable Ananda thought, this Venerable Upavana has long been the Lord's attendant, keeping close at hand, at his back and called. And now in his last hour, the Lord tells him to stand aside and not stand in front of him. Why ever does he do that? And he asked the Lord about this. And the Buddha said, Ananda, The devas from 10 world spheres have gathered to see the Tathagata for a distance of 12 yojanas around the Mala Sal Grove near Kusinara. There is not a space you could touch with the point of a hair that is not filled with mighty devas and they are grumbling. We have come a long way to see the Tathagata. It is rare for a Tathagata, a Sammasambuddha, to arise in the world. And tonight, in the last watch, the Tathagata will attain final Nibbana. And this mighty monk is standing in front of the Lord, preventing us from getting a glimpse of the Tathagata. And Ananda asked, But Lord, what kind of devas can the Lord perceive? And the Buddha said, Ananda, there are sky devas whose minds are earthbound. They are weeping and tearing their hair, raising their arms, throwing themselves down and twisting and turning, crying. All too soon, the blessed Lord is passing away. All too soon, the welfarer is passing away. All too soon, the eye of the world is disappearing. And there are earth devas whose minds are earthbound, who do likewise. But those devas who are free from craving, and Dhyo patiently saying, all compounded things are impermanent. What is the use of this? Lord, formerly monks who had spent the rains in various places used to come to see the Tathagata and we used to welcome them so that such well trained monks might see you and pay their respects. But with the Lord's passing, we shall no longer have a chance to do this. And the Buddha said, Ananda, There are four places the sight of which should arouse emotion in the faithful. Which are they? Here the Tathāgata was born is the first. Here the Tathāgata attained supreme enlightenment is the second. Here the Tathāgata set in motion the wheel of Dhamma is the third. Here the Tathāgata attained the Nibbāna element without remainder is the fourth. and Ananda, the faithful monks and nuns, male and female lay followers, will visit those places. And any who die while making the pilgrimage to these shrines with a devout heart will, at the breaking up of the body after death, be reborn in a heavenly world." I'll stop here for a moment. So here The Buddha is saying that these four places, many people will go, even like nowadays. And if you go there with a very devout heart, then if you happen to die there, you will probably be reborn in heaven. But if you have a devout heart, you die anywhere, also you'll be reborn in heaven, not necessarily there. And Ananda asked, Lord, how should we act towards women? Do not see them, Ananda. But if we see them, how should we behave, Lord? Do not speak to them, Ananda. But if they speak to us, Lord, how should we behave? Practice mindfulness, Ananda. Stop here for a moment. This part also is very important. When someone practices the spiritual path, he should keep a distance from the opposite sex. So that's why the Buddha says, do not, try not to see women. And then if we have to see them, try not to speak. And we have to speak, practice mindfulness. So it's the same, men towards women and women towards men. And Ananda asked again, Lord, what shall we do with the Tathagata's remains? And the Buddha said, do not worry yourselves about the funeral arrangements, Ananda. You should strive for the highest goal. Devote yourselves to the highest goal and dwell with your minds tirelessly, zealously devoted to the highest goal. There are wise kathiyas, brahmins and householders who are devoted to the Tathagata. They will take care of the funeral. But Lord, what are we to do with the Tathagata's remains? And the Buddha said, Ananda, they should be dealt with like the remains of a wheel-turning monarch. And how is that, Lord? And the Buddha said, Ananda, the remains of a wheel-turning monarch are wrapped in a new linen cloth. This they wrap in teased cotton wool. and this in a new cloth. Having done this five hundred times each, they enclosed the king's body in an oil vat of iron, which is covered with another iron pot. Then having made a funeral pyre of all manner of perfumes, they cremate the king's body and they raise a stupa at the crossroads. That, Ananda, is what they do with the remains of a wheel-turning monarch. And they should deal with the Tathagata's body in the same way. A stupa should be erected at the crossroads for the Tathagata, and whoever lays, reads, or puts sweet perfumes and colors there with a devout heart will reap benefit and happiness for a long time. Ananda, there are four persons worthy of a stupa. Who are they? A Tathagata, Arahant Sammasambuddha is one. A Pacheka Buddha is another. A disciple of a Tathagata, is another, and a wheel-turning monarch is another. And why is each of these worthy of a stupa? Because, Ananda, at the thought, this is the stupa of a Tathagata, or of a Pacheka Buddha, or of a disciple of the Tathagata, or of a wheel-turning monarch, people's hearts are made peaceful. And then at the breaking up of the body after death, they go to a good destiny and re-arise in a heavenly world. That is the reason, and those are the four who are worthy of a stupa. Stop here for a moment. So here, as far as the funeral arrangements, the Buddha said monks should not worry about how to arrange a funeral for the Buddha. He said, leave it to the lay people. A monk's duty is to practice, devoted to the highest goal. And then at the bottom of this section, the Buddha talks about four persons worthy of a stupa. One is Sammasambuddha. Second is Pacheka Buddha. Third, here is his disciple, but I think elsewhere they say Aryan disciple of the Buddha. One who has attained Sotapanna, Sakadagamin or Anagamin or Arahant. And then the fourth is a Wheel-Turning Monk or Universal Monk. You notice here, there's no mention of bodhisatta or bodhisattva. In the Buddha's teachings, a bodhisatta can be putujana or can be ariya. So if it's an ariya, it's already under the third category. Later books only, they put the Bodhisattva on such a high pedestal and say that there are 53 levels of Bodhisattva. And Arahant is only somewhere in the middle. Arahant is even lower than the Bodhisattva. But in fact, Arahant is the highest stage of Ariya-hood. In fact, these three, Sammasambuddha, Pacekabuddha, and Arahant, all three are Arahants. The word Arahant comes from the word arahata. And arahata consists of two words, ara and hatta. Ara is the spokes of the wheel, meaning here the wheel of samsara. Hatta is broken. So one who has broken the wheel of samsara is liberated. So, a liberated arahant, there are three types. One is an arahant disciple of the Buddha, and then the Pacceka Buddha. Pacceka Buddha, Buddha means a self-enlightened arahant. One in his last life, there's no dhamma around, and he strives very hard by his own effort. He attains enlightenment, that is a Buddha. So Buddhas, there are two types. One is Pacceka, who does not want to teach, which consists of 99.9% percent of the Buddhas and some are some Buddha, one who wants to teach the Dhamma to the whole world. That is a very rare thing to find. And the Venerable Ananda went into his lodging and stood lamenting, leaning on the doorpost. Alas, I am still a learner, a seeker with much to do, and the teacher is passing away, who was so compassionate to me. Stop here for a moment. At that time, remember Ananda was supposed to be at Sotapanna, first fruit area. Then the Lord inquired of the monks where Ananda was and they told him. So he said to a certain monk, go monk and say to Ananda for me, friend Ananda, the teacher summons you. Very good Lord, said the monk, and did so. Very good friend. Ananda replied to that monk, and he went to the Lord, saluted Him and sat down to one side. And the Lord said, Enough, Ananda, do not weep and wail. Have I not already told you that all things that are pleasant and delightful are changeable, subject to separation and becoming other. So how could it be, Ananda, since whatever is born, become, compounded, is subject to decay? How could it be that it should not pass away? For a long time, Ananda, you have been in the Tathāgata's presence, showing loving kindness in acts of body, speech, and mind, beneficially, blessedly, wholeheartedly, and unstintingly. You have achieved much merit, Ananda. Make the effort, and in a short time, you will be free of the asavas." Then the Lord addressed the monks, monks, all those who were arahants, samasambuddhas in the past, have had just such a chief attendant as Ananda, and so too will those blessed lords who come in the future. Monks, Ananda is wise. He knows when it is the right time for monks to come to see the Tathagata, when it is the right time for nuns, for male lay followers, for female lay followers, for kings, for royal ministers, for leaders of other schools, and for their pupils. Ananda has four remarkable and wonderful qualities. What are they? If a company of monks comes to see Ananda, they are pleased at the sight of him. And when Ananda talks dhamma to them, they are pleased. And when he is silent, they are disappointed. So it is too with nuns, with male and female lay followers. And these four qualities apply to a wheel-turning monarch. If he is visited by a company of kathiyas, of brahmins, of householders or of ascetics, they are pleased at the sight of him. And when he talks to them, and when he's silent, they are disappointed. And so too it is with Ananda." I'll stop here for a moment. So you see the Buddha, he prays Ananda to all the other monks, because remember Ananda has faithfully served the Buddha for 20 or 25 years. So that's why the Buddha was quite fond of him. After this, the Venerable Ananda said, Lord, may the Blessed Lord not pass away in this miserable little town of waterland dog, right in the jungle in the back of beyond. Lord, there are other great cities such as Champa, Rajagaha, Savatthi, Saketa, Kosambi or Varanasi. In those places there are wealthy kathiyas, brahmins and householders. who are devoted to the Tathagata, and they will provide for the Tathagata's funeral in proper style." And the Buddha said, Ananda, don't call it a miserable little town of wattle and daub, right in the jungle in the back of beyond. Once upon a time, Ananda, King Mahasudasana was a wheel-turning monarch, a rightful and righteous king who had conquered the land in four directions. and ensured the security of his realm, and who possessed the seven treasures, and Ananda, this King Maha Sudassana had this very Kusinara under the name of Kusavati for his capital. And it was 12 Yojanas, or 120 kilometers long from east to west, and seven Yojanas, or 70 kilometers wide from north to south. Kusavati was rich prosperous and well-populated, crowded with people and well-stocked with food. Just as the Deva city of Alakkamanda is rich, prosperous and well-populated, crowded with yakas and well-stocked with food, so was the royal city of Kusavati. And the city of Kusavati was never free of ten sounds by day or night. The sound of elephants, horses, carriages, cattle drums, side drums, lutes, singing, cymbals, and gongs with cries of eat, drink, and be merry as ten." Eat, drink, and be merry nowadays would be yam sing. So this one, you see the Buddha chose to come to this place to pass away. And Venerable Ananda said, this is such a what we call a Ulu place in the back of beyond. Why do you come here? You go to some rich city and pass away there and the rich lay people will give you a proper funeral. Buddha said, don't look down on this place. This place used to be the capital of a wheel-turning king. And actually, the Buddha was the wheel-turning king. So it looks like the memory of such a beautiful life when he was a wheel-turning monarch brought him back to that place. That's why, you see, a lot of people, if you look like last night, yesterday, today, you saw the VCD on children who remember their past lives. These children, when they remember their past lives, they want to go back to where they were before. And when they go back and the memory comes back to them, sorrow wells up. They feel a lot of sorrow, all the attachment from the previous life. So in a way, the Buddha, still all that memory of the beautiful life, Even though maybe you can't say he's attached to it, but the memory of it brings him back to that place, to pass away there. And now Ananda, go to Kusinara and announce to the malas of Kusinara. Tonight, Vasetas, in the last watch, the Tathagata will attain final Nibbana. Approach him, Vasetas, approach him, lest later you should regret saying, The Tathagata passed away in our parish, and we did not take the opportunity to see him for the last time. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And taking robe and bowl, he went with a companion to Kusinara. Just then, the malas of Kusinara were assembled in their meeting hall on some business. And Ananda came to them and delivered the Lord's words. And when they heard Ananda's words, the malas, with their sons, daughters-in-law, and wives, were struck with anguish and sorrow. The minds were overcome with grief, so that they were all weeping and tearing their hair. Then they all went to the salt grove where the verbal Ananda was. And Ananda thought, if I allow the Malas of Kusinara to salute the Lord individually, the night will have passed before they have all paid homage. I had better let them pay homage family by family, saying, Lord, the Mala so and so with his children, his wife, his servants and his friends pays homage at the Lord's feet. And so he presented them in that way. And that's allowed all the Mahalas of Kushinara to pay homage to the Lord in the first watch. I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see, Ananda is a very intelligent attendant of the Buddha. So he always finds the best thing to do. But this person got to be intelligent and got to be mindful, got to observe. How you say in Cantonese? Sang sang. And at that time a wanderer called Subadda was in Kusinara and he heard that the ascetic Gotama was to attain final Nibbana. in the final watch of that night. And he thought, I've heard from venerable wanderers advanced in years, teachers of teachers, that a Tathagata Sammasambuddha only rarely arises in the world. And tonight in the last watch, the ascetic Gautama will attain final Nibbana. Now a doubt has risen in my mind and I feel sure that the Ascetic Gautama can teach me a doctrine to dispel that doubt. So Subbada went to the Mala Sal Grove to where the Venerable Ananda was and told him what he had thought. Reverend Ananda, may I be permitted to see the Ascetic Gautama? But Ananda replied, Enough friend Subbada, do not disturb the Tathagata. The Lord is weary. and Subbada made his request a second and a third time, but still Ananda refused it. But the Lord overheard this conversation between Ananda and Subbada, and He called to Ananda, Enough Ananda, do not hinder Subbada, let him see the Tathagata, for whatever Subbada asks, he will ask in quest of enlightenment, and not to annoy Me. And what I see, reply to his questions, he will quickly understand. Then Ananda said, go and friend Subhadra, the Lord gives you leave. So you see here, I'll stop here for a moment. If somebody comes to discuss Dhamma with the Buddha, even on his deathbed, he is willing to discuss, even though he's tired and weary. That's how much people who understand the Dhamma, value the Dhamma. Then Subadha approached the Lord, exchanged courtesies with Him, and sat down to one side, saying, Venerable Gautama, all those ascetics and brahmins who have orders and followings, who are teachers, well-known and famous as founders of schools, and popularly regarded as saints, like Puranakasapa, Makali Gosala, Ajita Kesa Kambali, Pakuda Kacayana, Sanjaya Balathaputta, and the Nigantha Nataputta. Have they all realized the truth as they all make out? Or have none of them realized it? Or have some realized it and some not? And the Buddha said, Enough Subbada, never mind whether all or none or some of them have realized the truth. I will teach you Dhamma Subbada. Listen, pay close attention and I will speak. Yes, Lord, says Subbada. And the Lord said, in whatever Dhamma Vinaya, the Noble Eightfold Path is not found. No ascetic is found of the first, second, third or fourth grade, meaning the first fruit, second fruit, third fruit and fourth fruit are real. But such ascetics can be found of the first, second, third and fourth grade in a Dhamma Vinaya where the Noble Eightfold Path is found. Now Subbada in this Dhamma Vinaya, or this Buddhist religion, the Noble Eightfold Path is found, and in it are to be found ascetics of the first, second, third, and fourth grade. Those other schools are devoid of true ascetics, but if in this one the monks were to live their life to perfection, the world would not lack for Arahants. 29 years of age I was when I went forth to seek the good. Now over 50 years have passed since the day that I went forth to roam the realm of wisdom's law, outside of which no ascetic is. Other schools of such are bare, but if here monks live perfectly, the world won't lack for Arahants." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying, As long as people practice the Noble Eightfold Path fully, then arahants can still be found. So to practice the Noble Eightfold Path perfectly, we have to take the Buddha's words in the suttas as our best guide. At this, the wanderer Subbada said, Excellent Lord, excellent. It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down. or to point out the way to one who had got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Blessed Lord has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. And I, Lord, go for refuge to the Blessed Lord, the Dhamma and the Sangha. May I receive the going forth in the Lord's presence. May I receive ordination." Stop here for a moment. So here you see, the Buddha is dying already. This man is asking for ordination. at the last moment when the Buddha is dying. And the Buddha said, Subhadra, whoever coming from another school or sect seeks the going forth and ordination in this Dhamma Vinaya must wait four months on probation. And at the end of four months, those monks who are established in mind may let him go forth and give him ordination to the status of a monk. However, there can be a distinction of persons. And he said, Lord, If those coming from other schools or sects must wait four months on probation, I will wait four years, and then let them give me the going forth and the ordination. But the Lord said to Ananda, Let Subbada go forth. Very good, Lord, said Ananda. And Subbada said to a very humble Ananda, Friend Ananda, it is a great gain for you all. It is very profitable for you that you have obtained the consecration of discipleship in the teacher's presence. Then Subhadra received the going forth in the Lord's presence and the ordination. And from the moment of his ordination, the rebel Subhadra, alone, secluded, unwearying, zealous and resolute, in a short time attained to that for which young men of good family go forth from the household life into homelessness, that unexcelled culmination of the holy life, having realized it here and now by his own insight and dwelt therein. Birth is destroyed. The holy life has been lived. What had to be done has been done. There is nothing further here. And the verbal subadha became another of the arahants. He was the last personal disciple of the Buddha. So he was the very last person to be ordained in the presence of the Buddha.

31-DN-16-Mahaparinibbana-(2011-07-28)-Part-G.txt

And the Lord said to Ananda, Ananda, it may be that you will think, the teacher's instruction has ceased. Now we have no teacher. It should not be seen like this. Ananda, for what I have taught and explained to you as Dhamma and Vinaya, will at my passing be your teacher. And whereas the monks are in the habit of addressing one another as avuso or friend, this custom is to be abrogated or cancelled after my passing. Senior monks shall address more junior monks by their name, their clan, or as avuso, friend. Whereas more junior monks are to address their seniors either as bante or as venerable sir." Let me see, what is 448 and 449? 448 is bante, 449 is ayasma. So, these are the two terms of respect. If they wish, the order may abolish the minor rules after my passing. After my passing, the monk Jhana is to receive the Brahma Danda, Brahma penalty. And Venerable Ananda asked, but Lord, what is the Brahma penalty? Whatever the monk Jhana wants or says, he is not to be spoken to. admonished or instructed by the monks. Then the Lord addressed the monks saying, it may be monks that some monk has doubts or uncertainty about the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha or about the path or about the practice. Ask monks, do not afterwards feel remorse thinking the teacher was there before us and we failed to ask the teacher, the Lord face to face. At these words, the monks were silent. The Lord repeated His words a second and a third time, and still the monks were silent. Then the Lord said, Perhaps monks, you do not ask out of respect for the teacher. Then monks, let one friend tell it to another. But still they were silent. And the Venerable Ananda said, It is wonderful, Lord. It is marvelous. I clearly perceive that in this assembly, there is not one monk who has doubts or uncertainty. And the Buddha said, you, Ananda, speak from faith. But the Tathagata knows that in this assembly, there is not one monk who has doubts or uncertainty about the Buddha, Dhamma, or Sangha, or about the path or the practice. Ananda, at least one of these 500 monks, the least one of these 500 monks is a stream-winner, incapable of falling into states of woe, certain of nibbana. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that all the 500 monks are Ariyas. You see the Buddha left four instructions as he was about to pass away. The first one, the Buddha said, what I have taught and explained to you as Dhamma and Vinaya, in other words, Suttas. and the Vinaya books, will at my passing be your teacher. So now that the Buddha is not with us, our real teacher is the Suttas and the Vinaya. But the Vinaya is only for monks, since now we don't have nuns. So the Suttas will be the teacher for everyone. So we have to remember this. instead of a lot of people running around looking for a teacher here and there. And the second one, that after the Buddha passed away, a senior monk can address a junior monk by his name, or a vuso, or clan. But the junior monks must address the senior monks as Bhante or Ayasma. And thirdly, the Sangha may abolish the minor rules. Minor rules, generally, the, how do you say, the gross The major rules, you can see the major rules are of two classes. One is parajika, one is sangha disesa. Parajika, there are four precepts under parajika. If a monk breaks any one of the four precepts, he's automatically no more a monk, even though he wears the robe. And second class, sangha disesa, if a monk breaks one of the precepts, of the 13 precepts under sangha disesa, then he's half way out of monkhood, and he has to confess and undergo the penance, and it takes 20 months to reinstate him. So these two are serious precepts or rules. Then the rest are generally considered as minor. But the Buddha here did not say which minor rules can be abolished by the Sangha for a very good reason. The Buddha generally does not want the Sangha to abolish any minor rule unless it is necessary, unless the Sangha considers necessary. So it is up to the Sangha to decide. So for example, in Asian countries, monks go on arms around barefoot. That is a general practice. But if in Germany or Switzerland or UK, you go on arms around barefoot, you won't be able to stand it. So the Sangha decides they can wear shoes and go Pindabad. Or in Asia, it's generally enough for a monk to sleep with one set of robes, and if necessary, maybe a sleeping bag or a blanket. But in Europe, where it's very cold during the winter, the monks will have to wear long john and sweater and all this when they sleep, since it's necessary. So these are modified, these rules are modified where it's necessary. The Buddha purposely did not say, so that it is up to the Sangha to decide. Only when it's necessary. And the fourth one, the Buddha said, you have to take action against this jhana. Jhana is a monk who has been very stubborn. He has never listened to advice. So the Buddha told the monks not to speak to him. Then later, after the monk stopped speaking to him, then he realized, then he changed his ways. So these are the four instructions left by the Buddha. Then the Lord said to the monks, now monks, I declare to you, all conditioned things are of a nature to decay, strive on untiringly. These were the Tathagata's last words. Then the Lord entered the first jhana. And leaving that, he entered the second, third and fourth jhāna. Then leaving the fourth jhāna, he entered the sphere of infinite space, then the sphere of infinite consciousness, then the sphere of nothingness, then the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. And leaving that, he attained the cessation of feeling and perception. Then the Venerable Ananda said to the Venerable Anuruddha, Venerable Anuruddha, the Lord has passed away. And Venerable Anuruddha said, No, friend Ananda, the Lord has not passed away. He has attained the cessation of feeling and perception. Then the Lord, leaving the attainment of the cessation of feeling and perception, entered the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. From that, He entered the sphere of nothingness, the sphere of infinite consciousness, the sphere of infinite space. From the sphere of infinite space, He entered the fourth jhāna. From there, the third, second and first jhāna. Leaving the first jhāna, He entered the second, the third and the fourth jhāna. After leaving the fort Jhana, the Lord finally passed away. And at the Blessed Lord's final passing, there was a great earthquake, terrible and hair-raising, accompanied by thunder. And Brahma Sahampati uttered this verse, All beings in the world, all bodies must break up. Even the teacher, peerless in the human world, the mighty Lord and perfect Buddhas passed away. And Sakka Devaraja uttered this verse, Impermanent are all compounded things, prone to rise and fall. Having risen, they are destroyed. They are passing through us bliss. This one we just chanted, I think, today. Anicca vata sankhara Upada vaya dhammino Upajitva nirujanti tesam upasamo sukho And the Venerable Anuruddha uttered this verse, No breathing in and out, Just with steadfast heart, the sage who's free from lust has passed away to peace. With mind unshaken, he endured all pains. By Nibbana, the illumined mind is freed." And the Venerable Ananda uttered this verse, Terrible was the quaking, man's hair stood on end, when the all-accomplished Buddha passed away. I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see, the Buddha went to the various jhanas and to attain the final nibbana, he entered parinibbana or final nibbana from the fourth, after leaving the fourth jhana. So this is, you notice, after leaving the fourth jhana. Why the fourth jhana? I think because the fourth jhana is an extremely Buddha says imperturbable state, a very peaceful and unshakable state. So that when the Buddha comes out of it, he's still in that state. But he has to come out of it to enter Nibbana because he has to make that volition to enter Nibbana. So if a person has not attained the fourth jhāna, if you're not be able to enter the fourth jhāna easily and at will, I think it would be very difficult to enter, to pass away into Nibbāna like the Buddha. And those monks who had not yet overcome their passions, wept and tore their hair, raising their arms, throwing themselves down and twisting and turning, crying. All too soon, the Blessed Lord has passed away. All too soon, the welfarer has passed away. All too soon, the eye of the world has disappeared. But those monks who were free from craving endured mindfully and clearly aware, saying, All compounded things are impermanent. What is the use of this? Then the Venerable Anuruddha said, Friends, enough of your weeping and wailing. Has not the Lord already told you that all things that are pleasant and delightful are changeable, subject to separation and to becoming other. So why all these friends? Whatever is born become compounded, is subject to decay. It cannot be that it does not decay. The Deva's friends are grumbling. And they ask, Venerable Aniruddha, what kind of Devas are you aware of? And he said, Friend Ananda, there are sky devas whose minds are earthbound. They are weeping and tearing their hair. And there are earth devas whose minds are earthbound. They do likewise. But those devas who are free from craving endure patiently, saying, all compounded things are impermanent. What is the use of this? Then the Venerable Anuruddha and the Venerable Ananda spent the rest of the night in conversation on Dhamma. And the Venerable Anuruddha said, Now go, friend Ananda, to Kusinara and announce to the Malas, Vasetas, the Lord has passed away. Now is the time to do as you think fit. Yes, Bhante, said Ananda. And having dressed in the morning and taken his robe and bowl, he went with a companion to Kusinara. At that time, the malas of Kusinara were assembled in their meeting hall on some business. And the Venerable Ananda came to them and delivered the Venerable Anuruddha's message. And when they heard the Venerable Ananda's words, the malas were struck with anguish and sorrow. Their minds were overcome with grief so that they were all tearing their hair, etc. Then the malas ordered their men to bring perfume and wreaths and gather all the musicians together. And with the perfumes and wreaths and all the musicians, and with the 500 sets of garments, they went to the South Grove where the Lord's Buddha was lying. And there they honored, paid respects, worshipped and adored the Lord's body with dance and song and music, with garlands and scents, making awnings and circular tents in order to spend the day there. And they thought, it is too late to cremate the Lord's body today. We shall do so tomorrow. And so, paying homage in the same way, they waited for a second, third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth day. And on the seventh day, the malas of Kusinara thought, We have paid sufficient honour with song and dance, etc., to the Lord's body. Now we shall burn his body after carrying him out by the south gate. Then eight mala chiefs, having washed their heads and put on new clothes, declared, Now we will lift up the Lord's body. but found they were unable to do so. So they went to the Venerable Anuruddha and told him what had happened. Why can't we lift up the Lord's body? And Venerable Anuruddha said, Vasetas, your intention is one thing, but the intention of the Devas is another. And they asked, Bhante, what is the intention of the Devas? And Venerable Anuruddha said, Vasethas, your intention is, having paid homage to the Lord's body with dance and song, etc., to burn His body after carrying Him out by the south gate. But the Devas' intention is, having paid homage to the Lord's body with heavenly dance and song, etc., to carry Him to the north of the city, bring Him in through the north gate, and bear Him through the middle of the city, and out through the eastern gate, to the Mala shrine of Makuta Bandana and there to burn the body. And they said, Bhante, if that is the Deva's intention, so be it. At that time, even the sewers and rubbish heaps of Kusinara were covered knee high with coral tree flowers. And the Devas as well as the Malas of Kusinara honored the Lord's body with divine and human dancing song, etc. And they carried the body to the north of the city. brought it in through the north gate, through the middle of the city and out through the eastern gate to the Mala shrine of Makuta. And here they set the body down. Stop here for a moment. You notice here, in India, this is their tradition, when somebody dies, they show respect by singing and dancing and all that. and bringing garlands and scents to celebrate. So many years ago when I went to India to the holy places for the one and only time, we passed a funeral procession on the road and we found that people were singing and dancing. So we inquired of the bus driver what is happening. He said somebody passed away and we found it a bit strange. In Malaysia, when somebody passes away, they'll be crying and weeping and all that. But there they are singing and dancing and so happy. So totally different. Then they asked the Venerable Ananda, Lord, how should we deal with the body of the Tathagata? And he replied, Vasetas, you should deal with the Tathagata's body as you would then of a wheel-turning monarch. And they asked, and how do we deal with that, Pante? And he said, Vasetas, the remains are wrapped in a new linen cloth. This they wrap in teased cotton wool, et cetera, et cetera. And having made a funeral pyre of all manner of perfumes, they create the king's body and they raise his stupa at the crossroads. Then the malas ordered their men to bring the tea's cotton wool and it dealt with the Tathagata's body accordingly. Stop here for a moment. This tea's means are separated into separate fibers, so the cotton separated into fibers. Now just then the Venerable Kasapa, the great Mahakasapa, was traveling along the main road from Pawa to Kusinara with a large company of about 500 monks. And leaving the road, the Venerable Mahakasapa sat down under a tree. and a certain Ajivaka chanced to be coming along the main road towards Bhava, and he had picked a coral tree flower in Kusinara. The Venerable Kasapa saw him coming from afar and said to him, Friend, do you know our teacher? And he said, Yes, friend, I do. The ascetic Gautama passed away a week ago. I picked this coral tree flower there. And those monks who had not yet overcome their passions, wept and tore their hair, etc. But those monks who were free from craving endured mindfully and clearly aware, saying, All compounded things are impermanent. What is the use of this? And sitting in the group was one Subhadra, who had gone forth late in life, and he said to those monks, Enough, friends, do not weep and wail. We are well rid of the great ascetic. We were always bothered by His saying, it is fitting for you to do this, it is not fitting for you to do that. Now we can do what we like and not do what we don't like. But the Venerable Mahakassapa said to the monks, Friends, enough of your weeping and wailing. Has not the Lord already told you that all things that are pleasant and delightful are changeable, subject to separation and becoming other? or becoming otherwise. So why all these friends, whatever is born become compounded, is subject to decay. It cannot be that it does not decay. Stop here for a moment. So you see, when the monks heard that the Buddha passed away, most of them were upset. But there was this Subbaddha who had gone forth when he was old and he was very happy. I said, now the the great ascetic is gone, then we can do as we like. It's something you notice, people when they renounce late in life, it's very hard to change their habits. So, like in Thailand, if the monastery they have a lot of people wanting to renounce, Then they prefer young people. They don't like old people to renounce because it's harder to change their ways. Meanwhile, four Mala chiefs, having washed their heads and put on new clothes, said, we will light the Lord's funeral pyre. But they were unable to do so. They went to rebel Anuruddha and asked him why this was. And he said, Vasetas, your intention is one thing, but that of the Devas is another. And they said, well Lord, what is the intention of the Devas? And he said, Vasetas, the Deva's intention is this. The verbal Kasapa or Mahakasapa is coming along the main road from Pawa to Kushinara with a large company of 500 monks. The Lord's funeral pyre will not be lit until the verbal Mahakasapa has paid homage with his head to the Lord's feet. And they said, Vanti, if that is the Deva's intention, so be it. Then the Venerable Mahakassapa went to the Mahala Shrine at Makuta Bandhana to the Lord's Funeral Pyre and covering one shoulder with his robe, joined his hands in salutation, circumambulated the pyre three times and uncovering the Lord's feet, paid homage with his head to them. And the 500 monks did likewise. And when this was done, the Lord's Funeral Pyre ignited of itself. Stop it for a moment. So you see here, The devas, even though they are unseen by human beings, they influence our life. So it is good to be respectful of the devas around. The Buddha said wherever we stay, there are earth devas, there are tree devas and all that. So we have to be respectful to them. And if we come to a new place, it's good to burn incense and all that to show our respect and appreciation of them and then they will become our protectors, they'll take care of us. And when the Lord's body was burned, what had been skin, under skin, flesh, sinew or joint fluid, all that vanished and not even ashes or dust remains, only the bones remain. Just as when butter or oil is burned, no ashes or dust remain. So it was with the Lord's body, Only the bones were left, and all the 500 garments, even the innermost and the outermost cloth, were burnt up. And when the Lord's body was burnt up, a shower of water from the sky and another which burst forth from the salt trees extinguished the funeral pyre. And the malas of Kusinara poured perfume water over it for the same purpose. Then the malas honored the relics for a week in the assembly hall. having made a latticework of spears and an encircling wall of bows, with dancing, singing, garlands and music. And King Ajatasattu of the Dehiputta of Magadha heard that the Lord had passed away at Kusinara, and he sent a message to the Malas of Kusinara. The Lord was a Katia, and I am a Katia, and worthy to receive a share of the Lord's remains. I will make a great stupa for them. The Licchavis of Vesali heard, and they sent a message. The Lord was a kathiya and we are kathiyas. We are worthy to receive a share of the Lord's remains and we will make a great stupa for them. The Sakyas of Kapilavatthu heard and they sent a message. The Lord was the chief of our clan. Here they must have altered this a bit because the Buddha was not the chief of their clan. We are worthy to receive a share of the Lord's remains and we will make a great stupa for them. The Bhulayas of Alakappa and the Kholiyas of Ramagama replied similarly. The Brahmin of Vethadeepa heard and he sent a message. The Lord was a Katia and I am a Brahmin. And he also requested a share. And the Malas of Pava sent a message. The Lord was a Katia, we are Katia. We are worthy to receive a share of the Lord's remains, and we will make a great stupa for them. On hearing all this, the Malas of Kusinara addressed the crowd, saying, The Lord passed away in our parish. We will not give away any share of the Lord's remains. At this, the Brahmin Drona addressed the crowd in this verse, Listen, Lords, to my proposal. Forbearance is the Buddha's teaching. It is not right that strife should come. from sharing out the best of men's remains. Let's all be joined in harmony and peace, in friendship, sharing out portions eight. Let's two paths far and wide be put up, that all may see and gain in faith. Well then, Brahmin, you divide up the remains of the Lord in the best and fairest way." "'Very good, friend,' said Dona, and he made a good and fair division into eight portions, and then said to the assembly, Please give me the urn, and I will erect a great stupa for it. So they gave Dona the urn. Now the Mauryas of Pipalavana heard of the Lord's passing, and they sent a message. The Lord was a Kathia, and we are Kathias. We are worthy to receive a portion of the Lord's remains, and we will make a great stupa for them. And they answered, there is not a portion of the Lord's remains left. They have all been divided up. So you must take the embers. And so they took the embers. Then King Ajatasattu of Magadha built a great stupa for the Lord's relics at Rajagaha. The Licchavis of Vesali built one at Vesali. The Sakyans of Kapilavatthu built one at Kapilavatthu. The Bulayas of Alakappa built one at Alakappa. The Koliyas of Ramagama built one at Ramagama. The Brahmin of Vethadhipa built one at Vethadhipa. The Malas of Pava built one at Pava. The Malas of Kusinara built a great stupa for the Lord's relics at Kusinara. The Brahmin Dona built a great stupa for the urn. And the Mauryas of Pipalavana built a great stupa for the embers at Pipalavana. Thus eight stupas were built for the relics, a ninth for the urn, and a tenth for the embers. That is how it was in the old days. Eight portions of relics there were of him, the all-seeing one. Of these, seven remained in Jambudipa with honour, the eight in Ramagamas kept by Naga kings. One tooth the thirty gods have kept, Kalinga's kings have won, the Nagas too. They shed their glory over the fruitful earth, thus the seers honoured by the honour. Gods and Nagas, kings, the noblest men, clasp their hands in homage, for hard it is to find another. such for countless aeons." That's the end of the Sutta. When the various kings and the various clans asked for a share of the relics, and the Malas at first refused, then this Brahmin donor, he told them, Forbearance is the Buddha's teaching. It is not right that strife should come from sharing out the best of man's remains." So he was afraid because these powerful kings, they demanded a share of the relics. If they were not given a share of the relics, probably they'll march with their army into this Kushinara and get their share. So they'll be fighting. So this Brahmin, he foresaw all this, so he said, The Buddha said to practice forbearance, so give everyone a share. And so the Buddha's remains will go to many places and people will erect stupas in many places for all to have more faith. So that's a good advice which they took. So that's the end of this sutta. It's the longest sutta in the Nikayas. We have managed to finish it in how many nights? Three nights. Very good. Anything to discuss? Nowadays, there's a lot of claims that a lot of people go around exhibiting what they call relics, and they claim Buddha's relics and the Arahant's relics and all that, but it's very hard to believe. The real relics, I think somebody has told me he has seen in the museum at New Delhi, and they were excavated by geologists, and it's kept in the museum, and he has seen, and those are bone relics, really bones. But this Chinese has got this funny concept that relics means something very beautiful, and very small, and colored, and all this. That's not true. Relics actually, in the Buddha's teachings, the Pali word is sarira. And sarira means the bone relics after cremation, what remains are called the relics. Kwat Fui in Cantonese. Kut Hu in Hokkien. It's buried all over the place. After 2,500 years, you need a Deva to find it. But many years ago, they did dig and found Sariputta and Mahamoggalana's relics. India is one country because Buddhism was flourishing, flourished one time in India. So there are many Buddhist temples buried underground over time. It's covered already because with the decay of Buddhism and Buddhism died out. So those Buddhist temples were abandoned. Some of them were taken over by Hindus. but many were abandoned. So over time, being neglected, they fell down, fell up, fell down and broke up and slowly covered over. So there are certain states, like for example, there's a state in India called Bihar. This word Bihar comes from the word Bihara. Bihara is the same as Vihara. So it's called Bihar because there are thousands and thousands of Viharas in that state. But all of them are buried and now India is mostly a Hindu country and so they don't make the effort to dig up. And not only Bihar, even like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, all these places, even probably Iran. You have Buddha statues and temples buried underground, but now many of them are Muslim countries, so they don't want to dig up all this. In the previous year, the OECD Committee for the Development of Social Justice talked to me Relics means the remains after cremation, so everybody after cremation, those are called relics. But as mentioned in the Sutta, only four persons are worthy of the relics, worthy of veneration. Sammasambuddha, Pacekabuddha, Arya, and Universal Monarch. So like a lot of Buddhists in Malaysia, Mother or father pass away and after cremation, they keep the relics in the temple to pray. Actually, not necessary. Just dump it into the sea or into the river. After all, the person has passed on. It's not going to stay in the bones, the relics. In Buddhist countries like Thailand, after somebody has passed away and they cremate, out of attachment, they still keep the relics and they put, for example, a farmer in his land, there'll be small stupas where their family remains are kept. So each person has passed away, they will have one stupa. I'm not sure, the stupa might be two feet high, like that, two or three feet high. Thank you. I'm going to pass that on now really. It's easier to start with really, because you don't do this, you don't look at borders as a key to identity. There's more opportunities in America and politics than in these countries, and that's what the big part of the world is. Yeah, yeah, all that is useless. Some monks, they give some relics and they claim that it's the Buddha's relics. How can there be so many of the Buddha's relics around? See, the light is on. You wait a while. After switching on, you have to wait a while. What to do with them? You can give to some temple which wants. Otherwise give to some devotees who want. There'll be some devotees who want. Okay, shall we end here?

32-DN-17-Mahasudassana-(2011-07-30).txt

Okay, tonight is the 30th of July, and this is the 14th night we are talking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. And we come to Sutta number 17, Mahasuddhasana Sutta. This Sutta is about a past life of the Buddha. It's not an important Sutta because it's, but it's interesting. There's not so much Dhamma inside. That's why I say it's not so important. Once the Lord was staying at Kusinara in the Malasal Grove, shortly before His final Nibbana, between the twin sal trees, the Venerable Ananda came to the Lord, saluted Him, sat down to one side and said, Lord, may the blessed Lord not pass away in this miserable little town of Wattle-and-Dob, right in the jungle in the back of beyond. Lord, there are other great cities such as Champa, Rajagaha, Savati, Saketa, Kosambi or Varanasi. In those places there are wealthy kathiyas, brahmins and householders who are devoted to the Tathagata and they will provide for the Tathagata's funeral in proper style." And the Buddha said, Ananda, don't call it a miserable little town of wattle and daub, right in the jungle in the back of beyond. Once upon a time, Ananda, King Mahasudasana, was a wheel-turning monarch, a rightful and righteous king who had conquered the land in four directions and ensured the security of his realm. And this King Mahasudasana had this very Kusinara under the name of Kusavati for his capital. And it was twelve yojanas long from east to west and seven yojanas wide from north to south. Stop here for a moment. So here we hear again what the Buddha said in the previous sutta, in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta. Kusavati is so long. Twelve Yojanas means 120 kilometers from east to west and seven Yojanas means 70 kilometers from north to south. Kusavati was rich, prosperous and well populated, crowded with people and well stocked with food, just as the Deva city of Alakamanda is rich Prosperous and well populated, crowded with yakas and well stocked with food. So was the royal city of Kusavati. And the city of Kusavati was never free of ten sounds by day or night. The sound of elephants, horses, carriages, cattle drums, side drums, lutes, singing, cymbals and gongs. With cries of eat, drink and be merry astent. The royal city of Kusavati was surrounded by seven encircling walls. One was of gold, one silver, one beryl, one crystal, one ruby, one emerald and one of all sorts of gems. And the gates of Kusavati were of four colors, one gold, one silver, one beryl, one crystal. And before each gate were set seven pillars, three or four times a man's height. One was of gold, one silver, one beryl, one crystal, one ruby, one emerald, and one all sorts of gems. Kusavati was surrounded by seven rows of palm trees of the same materials. The gold trees had gold trunks with silver leaves and fruit. The silver trees had silver trunks with gold leaves and fruit. The beryl trees had beryl trunks with crystal leaves and fruit. The crystal trees had crystal trunks with beryl leaves and fruit. The ruby trees had ruby trunks and emerald leaves and fruit. The emerald trees had emerald trunks and ruby leaves and fruit. All the trees of all sorts of gems were the same as regards trunks, leaves and fruit. The sound of the leaves stirred by the wind was lovely, delightful, sweet, and intoxicating, just like that of the five kinds of musical instruments played in concert by well-trained and skillful players. And Ananda, those who were libertines and drunkards in Kusavati had their desires assuaged by the sound of the leaves in the wind. King Mahasudassana was endowed with the seven treasures and the four properties. What are the seven? Once on a fast day of the 15th, when the king had washed his head and gone up to the veranda on top of his palace to observe the fast day, the divine real treasure appeared to him. Thousands spoke, complete with fellow, hub and all appurtenances. On seeing it, King Mahasudassana thought, I have heard that when a duly anointed Katia king sees such a wheel on the fast day of the 15th, he will become a wheel-turning monarch. May I become such a monarch. Then rising from his seat, covering one shoulder with his robe, the king took a gold vessel in his left hand, sprinkled the wheel with his right hand and said, May the noble wheel-treasure turn. May the noble wheel-treasure conquer. The wheel turned to the east and King Maha Sudassana followed it with his fourfold army. And in whatever country the wheel stopped, the king took up residence with his fourfold army. And those kings who faced him in the eastern region came and said, Come, your majesty, welcome. We are yours, your majesty. Rule us, your majesty. And the king said, Do not take life. Do not take what is not given. Do not commit sexual misconduct. Do not tell lies. Do not drink strong drink. Be moderate in eating. And those who had faced him in the eastern region became his subjects. And when the wheel had plunged into the Eastern Sea, it emerged and turned south. And King Maha Sudassana followed it with his fourfold army. And those kings became his subjects. Having plunged into the Southern Sea, he turned west. Having plunged into the Western Sea, he turned north. And King Mahasudasana followed it with his fourth world army. And those who had faced him in the various regions became his subjects. Then the wheeled treasure, having conquered the lands from sea to sea, returned to the royal capital of Kusavati and stopped before the king's palace, where he was trying a case, as if to adorn the royal palace. And this is how the wheeled treasure appeared to King Mahasudasana. Then the elephant treasure appeared to King Mahasudasana, pure white of seven-fold strength, with the wonderful power of traveling through the air, a royal tusker called Uposatha. Seeing him, The king thought, what a wonderful riding elephant, if only he could be brought under control. And this elephant treasure submitted to control just like a thoroughbred that had been trained for a long time. And once the king, to try him, mounted the elephant treasure at crack of dawn and rode him from sea to sea, returning to Kusavati in time for breakfast. And that is how the elephant treasure appeared to King Mahasudasana. Then the horse treasure appeared to King Mahasudasana with a crow-shaped head, dark mane, with the wondrous power of traveling through the air, a royal stallion called Vallahaka. And the king thought, what a wonderful mount, if only he could be brought under control. This And this horse treasure submitted to control, just like a thoroughbred that had been trained for a long time. And that is how the horse treasure appeared to King Maha Sudassana. Then the jewel treasure appeared to King Maha Sudassana. It was a barrel, pure, excellent, well cut into eight facets. Clear, bright, unflawed, perfect in every respect. The luster of this jewel treasure radiated for an entire Yojana roundabout. that means 10 kilometres. Once the king to try went on night manoeuvres on a dark night with his whole army with the jewel treasure fixed on the top of his standard and all who lived in the villages round about started their daily work thinking it was daylight and that is how the jewel treasure appeared to King Maha Sudarsana. Then the woman treasure appeared to King Maha Sudarsana, lovely, fair to see, charming, with a lotus-like complexion, not too tall or too short, not too thin or too fat, not too dark or too fair, of more than human deva-like beauty. And the touch of the skin of the woman treasure was like cotton or silk, and her limbs were cool when it was hot and warm when it was cold. Her body smelled of sandalwood and her lips of lotus. This woman treasure rose before the king and retired later, and was always willing to do his pleasure, and she was pleasant of speech. And this woman treasure was not unfaithful to the king even in thought, much less in deed. and that is how the woman treasure appeared to King Mahasuddhasana. Then the householder treasure appeared to King Mahasuddhasana with the divine eye which as a result of kamma he possessed. He saw where treasure owned and ownerless was hidden. He came to the king and said, have no fear your majesty, I will look after your wealth properly. And once the king to try him, went on board a ship and had it taken to the current in the middle of the Ganges. Then he said to the householder treasurer, treasurer, householder, I want some gold coin. And the householder treasurer said, well then, sire, let the ship be brought to one bank. And the king said, I want the gold coins here. Then the householder touched the water with both hands and drew out a vessel full of gold coins, saying, is that enough, sire? Will that do, sire? And the king said, that is enough, householder. That will do. You have served me enough. And that is how the householder treasurer appeared to King Mahasudasana. Then the Counsellor Treasurer appeared to King Mahasudasana. He was wise, experienced, clever and competent to advise the King on how to proceed with what should be proceeded with, and to withdraw from what should be withdrawn from, and to overlook what should be overlooked. He came to the King and said, Have no fear, Your Majesty, I shall advise you. And that is how the Counsellor Treasurer appeared to King Mahasudasana. and how he was equipped with all the seven treasures. Again Ananda, King Mahasudasana was endowed with the four properties. What are they? Firstly, the king was handsome. good to look at, pleasing, with a complexion like the finest lotus, surpassing other men. Secondly, he was long-lived, outliving other men. Thirdly, he was free from illness, free from sickness, with a healthy digestion, less subject to cold and heat than that of other men. Fourthly, he was beloved and popular with Brahmins and householders. just as a father is beloved by his children, so he was with Brahmins and householders, and they were beloved by the king as children are beloved by their father. Once the king set out for the pleasure park with his fourfold army, and the Brahmins and householders came to him and said, pass slowly by, sire, that we may see you as long as possible. And the king said to the charioteer, drive the chariot slowly so that I can see these Brahmins and householders as long as possible. Thus King Maha Sudassana was endowed with these four properties. This reminds me a bit of the King of Thailand. He is much loved by his people. When he comes out, they all love to see him and pay respect. And he loves to see his people. Then King Maha Sudassana thought, Suppose I were to construct lotus ponds between the palm trees, a hundred bow lengths apart. And he did so. The lotus ponds were lined with four colored tiles, gold, silver, beryl, and crystal, each pond being approached by four staircases, one gold, one silver, one beryl, and one crystal. And the gold staircase had gold posts with silver railings and banisters. The silver had silver poles with gold railings and banisters and so on. And the lotus ponds were provided with two kinds of parapet, gold and silver. The gold parapets having gold poles, silver railings and banisters, and the silver parapets having silver poles. gold railings and banisters. Then the king thought, suppose I were to provide each pawn with suitable flowers for garlands, blue, yellow, red and white lotuses, which will last through all seasons without fading. And he did so. Then he thought, suppose I were to place bath men on the banks of these ponds to bathe those who come there. And he did so. Then he thought, suppose I were to establish charitable posts on the banks of these ponds so that those who want food can get it. Those who want drink can get it. Those who want clothes can get it. Those who want transport can get it. Those who want a sleeping place can get it. Those who want a wife can get one. and those who want gold coin can get can get it and he did so. Then the brahmins and householders took great wealth and went to the king saying sire here is wealth that we have gathered together especially for your majesty please accept it And the king said, Thank you, friends, but I have enough wealth from legitimate revenues. Let this be yours and take away more besides. Being thus refused by the king, they withdrew to one side and considered, it would not be right for us to take this wealth back home again. Suppose we were to build a dwelling for King Mahasudasana. So they went to the king and said, Sire, we would build you a dwelling and the king accepted by silence. And Sakka Devaraja, knowing in his mind King Mahasudasana's thought, said to the attendant Deva, Visakama, come friend Visakama and build a dwelling for King Mahasudasana, a palace called Dhamma. Very good Lord, Visakama replied. And as swiftly as a strong man might stretch his flexed arm, or flex it again, he at once vanished from the heaven of the thirty-three, and appeared before King Mahasudasana and said to him, Sire, I shall build you a dwelling, a palace called Dhamma. The king assented by silence, and Visakhama built him the palace of Dhamma. The palace of Dhamma, Ananda, was a yojana in length, from east to west, and half a yojana wide, from north to south. That means 10 kilometers in length and 5 kilometers wide. The whole palace was faced up to three times a man's height with tiles of four colors, gold, silver, beryl, and crystal, and it contained 84,000 columns of the same four colors. It had 24 staircases of the same four colors, and the gold staircases had gold posts with silver railings and banisters, et cetera. It also had 84,000 chambers of the same colours. In the gold chamber was a silver couch. In the silver chamber, a gold couch. In the beryl chamber, an ivory couch. And in the crystal chamber, a sandalwood couch. On the door of the gold chamber, a silver palm tree was figured. with silver stem, gold leaves and fruit, etc. On the door of the silver chamber, a golden palm tree was figured with golden trunk, leaves and fruit. On the door of the barrel chamber, On the door of the barrel chamber, a crystal palm tree was figured with crystal trunk and barrel leaves and fruit. On the door of the crystal chamber, a barrel palm tree was figured with crystal leaves and fruit. Then the king thought, suppose I were to make a grove of palm trees all of gold by the door of the great gable chamber where I sit in the daytime. And he did so. Surrounding the Dhamma Palace were two parapets, one of gold, one of silver. The gold one had gold poles, silver railings and banisters, and the silver one had silver poles, gold railings and banisters. The Dharma Palace was surrounded by two nets of tinkling bells. One net was gold with silver bells, the other silver with gold bells. When these nets of bells were stirred by the wind, the sound was lovely, delightful, sweet and intoxicating, just like that of the five kinds of musical instruments. played in concert by well-trained and skillful players. And those who were libertines and drunkards in Kusuvati had their desires assuaged by the sound of those nets of bells. And when the Dhamma Palace was finished, it was hard to look at, dazzling to the eyes, just as in the last month of the rains in autumn, when there is a clear and cloudless sky. The sun breaking through the mist is hard to look at. So was the Dhamma Palace when it was finished. Then the king thought, suppose I were to make a lotus lake called Dhamma in front of the Dhamma Palace. So he did so. This lake was a yojana long from east to west and half a yojana wide from north to south and lined with four kinds of tiles, gold, silver, beryl and crystal. There were 24 staircases to it of four different kinds, gold, silver, beryl and crystal. The gold staircases had gold posts with silver railings and banisters. The silver had gold railings and banisters and so on. The Dhamma Lake was surrounded by seven kinds of palm trees. The sound of the leaves stirred by the wind was lovely, delightful, sweet and intoxicating, just like that of the five kinds of musical instruments played in concert by well-trained and skillful players. And Ananda, those who were libertines and drunkards in Kusavati had their desires assuaged by the sound of the leaves in the wind. When the Dhamma Palace and Dhamma Lake were finished, the King Mahasuddhasana, having satisfied every wish of those who at the time were ascetics or Brahmins, or revered as such, ascended into the Dhamma Palace." I'll stop here for a moment. This description of the sounds of the trees and the lakes and all that, I suspect This Mahayana, this Amitabha Sutra, the description of the pure land, they took a bit from here, because many of the things in the Amitabha Sutra seem to be similar to what is mentioned here. But this sutra is much earlier, about 500 years earlier. Then King Mahasuddhasana thought, Of what kamma is it the fruit? Of what kamma is it the result that I am now so mighty and powerful? Then he thought, it is the fruit, the result of three kinds of kamma, of giving, self-control, and abstinence. Let's stop here for a moment. So you see, giving is dana. Self-control is like sila, morality, and maybe higher than sila. And similarly with abstinence. So self-control also has to do with meditation. When we meditate and our mind is strong, we can control ourselves and also abstain from what we should not indulge in, et cetera. So it's dana, sila, and bhavana, the three kinds of kamma that gives us great merit. Then the king went to the gable chamber, to the great gable chamber, and standing at the door exclaimed, May the thought of lust cease. May the thought of ill will cease. May the thought of cruelty cease. Thus far and no further the thought of lust, of ill will, of cruelty. These are the three wrong thoughts. Then the king went into the great gable chamber, sat down cross-legged on the golden couch, and detached from all sense desires, detached from unwholesome mental states, entered and remained in the first jhana, which is with thought directed and sustained, born of detachment. filled with delight and joy. And with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, by gaining inner tranquility and oneness of mind, he entered and remained in the second jhana, which is without thought directed and sustained, born of concentration, filled with delight and joy, and with the fading away of delight, remaining imperturbable, mindful and clearly aware. He experienced in himself that joy of which the noble ones say, happy is he who dwells with equanimity and mindfulness. He entered and remained in the third jhāna. And having given up pleasure and pain, and with the disappearance of former gladness and sadness, he entered and remained in the fourth jhāna, which is beyond pleasure and pain, with utter purity of equanimity and mindfulness. I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see, these states of jhana, like the third jhana is mentioned here, mindful and clearly aware. And the fourth jhana, there is utter purity of equanimity and mindfulness, unlike what some monks say. The monks, they don't understand. They say, what's the use of jhana? When you are in jhana, you have no mindfulness. This just contradicts what the Buddha says. Then the king, emerging from the great gable chamber, went to the golden gable chamber and seated cross-legged on the silver couch, stayed pervading first one quarter, then the second, the third, and the fourth quarter, with a mind filled with loving-kindness. Thus he stayed, spreading the thought of loving-kindness above, below, and across, everywhere, always with a mind filled with loving-kindness, abundant, magnified, unbounded, without hatred or ill-will. And he did likewise with compassion, joy, and equanimity. I'll stop here for a moment. So as I mentioned before, this is the way the Buddha teaches us to practice radiation of loving kindness, to enter the jhana, come out of it, then only with a strong mind to be able to radiate the loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Of King Mahasudasana's 84,000 cities, his capital, Kusavati, was the chief. Of his 84,000 palaces, Dhamma was the chief. Of his 84,000 gable halls, the great gable chamber was the chief. His 84,000 couches were of gold, silver, ivory, sandalwood, covered with fleece, wool spread with dahlia deer hide, with head covers, with red cushions at both ends. Of his 84,000 elephants adorned with gold ornaments, with gold banners and spread with gold nets. Uposatha, the royal tusker, was chief. Of his 84,000 carriages, covered with lion skins, tiger skins, leopard skins, or with orange-colored cloth, adorned with gold ornaments, gold banners, and spread with gold nets, the chariot Vejayanta was the chief. Of his 84,000 jewels, the jewel treasure was the chief. Of his 84,000 wives, Queen Subadha was the chief. Of his 84,000 householders, the householder treasure was the chief. Of his 84,000 kathiyas retainers, The Councillor Treasurer was the Chief. His 84,000 cows had tethers of fine jute and milk pails of silver. His 84,000 bales of clothing were of the finest linen, cotton, silk and wool. His 84,000 rice offerings were there for the taking by those in need, evening and morning. And at that time, King Maha Sudassana's 84,000 elephants waited on him evening and morning. And he thought, these 84,000 elephants wait on me evening and morning. How if at the end of each century, 42,000 elephants were to wait on me, turn and turn about? And he gave instructions accordingly to his counselor treasure. And so it was done. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see this universal monarch, his blessings is so much that he has so much of everything. And Ananda, after many hundred, many hundred thousand years, Queen Subhadra thought, it is a long time since I saw King Mahasudasana. Suppose I were to go and see him. So she said to her women, come now, wash your heads and put on clean clothes. It is long since we saw King Mahasudasana. We shall go to see him. Yes, Your Majesty, they said. and prepared themselves as ordered. Then returned to the Queen, and Queen Subadda said to the Counsellor Treasurer, Friend Counsellor, draw up the Fourfold Army. It is long since we saw King Mahasuddhasana. We shall go and see him. Very good, Your Majesty, said the Counsellor Treasurer, and having drawn up the Fourfold Army, he reported to the Queen, Now is the time to do as Your Majesty wishes. Then Queen Subadda went with the Fourfold Army and her womenfolk to the Dhamma Palace and entering, went to the Great Gable Chamber and stood leaning against the doorpost. And King Maha Sudassana, thinking, what is this great noise as of a crowd of people, came out of the door and saw Queen Subadha leaning against the doorpost and he said, stay there Queen, do not enter. Then King Mahasudasana said to a certain man, Here fellow, go to the great gable chamber, bring the gold couch out and lay it down among the gold palm trees. Very good, sire, said the man, and did so. Then King Mahasudasana adopted the lion posture on his right side, with one foot on the other, mindful and clearly aware. Then King Subadda thought, King Maha Sudassana's faculties are purified. His complexion is clear and bright. Oh, I hope he is not dead." Then she said to him, "'Sire, of your 84,000 cities, Kusavati is the chief. Make a wish. Arouse the desire to live there.'" Now, similarly, of the other things, his palaces, his halls, et cetera. At this, King Mahasudasana said to the Queen, for a long time, Queen, you spoke pleasing, delightful, attractive words to me. But now, at this last time, your words have been unpleasing, undelightful, unattractive to me. And she said, Sire, how then am I to speak to you? And he said, this is how you should speak. All things that are pleasing and attractive are liable to change, to vanish, to become otherwise. Do not sire, die filled with longing. To die filled with longing is painful and blameworthy. Of your 84,000 cities, Kusavati is the chief. Abandon desire, abandon the longing to live with them. Of your 84 palaces, Dhamma is the chief. Abandon desire, abandon the longing to live there." Etc. He said to tell him to abandon desire for all these things. At this, Queen Subadda cried out and burst into tears. Then wiping away her tears, she said, Sire, all things that are pleasing and attractive are liable to change. Do not, Sire, die filled with longing. To die filled with longing is painful and blameworthy. Of your 84,000 cities, Kusavati is the chief. Abandon desire, abandon the longing to live with them. Of your 84,000 palaces, Dhamma is the chief. Abandon desire, abandon the longing to live there, etc. Soon after this, King Maha Sudassana died. and just as a householder or his son might feel drowsy after a good meal, so he felt the sensation of passing away, and he had a favorable rebirth in the Brahma world. King Maha Sudassana indulged in boyish sports for 84,000 years. For 84,000 years, he exercised the Viceroyalty. For 84,000 years, he ruled as king. And for 84,000 years as a layman, he lived the holy life in the Dhamma Palace. And having practiced the four divine abidings, the breaking up of the body, he was reborn in the Brahma world. Now Ananda, you might think that King Mahasudasana at that time was somebody else, but you should not regard it so, for I was King Mahasudasana then. Those 84,000 cities of which Kusavati was the chief were mine. Of the 84,000 palaces, all were mine, etc. And of those 84,000 cities, I dwell in just one, Kusavati. of the 84,000 wives I had, just one looked after me and she was called Katiyani or Vellami Kani. 84,000 bales of cloth, I had just one. The 84,000 rice offerings, there was just one measure of choice curry that I ate. See, Ananda, how all those conditioned states of the past have vanished and changed. Thus, Ananda, conditioned states are impermanent. They are unstable. They can bring us no comfort. And such being the case, Ananda, We should not rejoice in conditioned states. We should cease to take an interest in them and be liberated from them. Six times, Ananda, I recall discarding the body in this place. And at the seventh time, I discarded it as a wheel-turning monarch, a righteous king who had conquered the four quarters and established a firm rule and who possessed the seven treasures. But, Ananda, I do not see any place in this world with his devas and maras and brahmas. or in this generation with its ascetics and Brahmins, princes and people, where the Tathagata will for an eighth time discard the body. So the Lord spoke. The well-farer having said this, the teacher said, impermanent are all compounded things, prone to rise and fall. Having risen, they are destroyed. They are passing through us bliss." That's the end of the Sutta. So you see it's quite moving. There are some other Suttas. where, not sutra, maybe stories, like Jataka stories, where the Buddha said in his past life, when he was, he told his barber, every time the barber cuts his hair, he said, if you see one white hair, you must tell me. Then one day, after a long time, the barber saw one white hair. Then he told the barber to pluck it out carefully and put it in my hand. So the barber did that, and he had a look, actually white hair. Then he told the barber, From this day onwards, he's got to renounce his kingship. Then he handed over the kingdom to his son. Then he locked himself in the palace and meditated until he attained the Jhanas, just like here. Then he's reborn in heaven. So it's a good advice for us. When we see white hair on our head, we must be prepared to take the long journey already. I must tell your wife like here, like the King Mahasudasana. For a long time your words have been pleasing to me, but now you must speak to me like this.

33-DN-18-Janavasabha-(2011-07-30)-Part-A.txt

Let's try to finish another sutta, not too long. Janavasabha Sutta. This Janavasabha must be one of the Buddha's disciples who died and was reborn as a deva. I think this is King Bimbisara of Magadha, I think. Okay. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying at Nadika, at the brick house, and at that time the Lord was explaining the rebirths of various devotees up and down the country who had died and passed away. Kasis and Kosalans, Vadyans and Malas, Chetis and Vangsas, Kurus and Panchalas, Machas and Surasenas, saying, This one was reborn there, and that one there. More than 50 Nadikan devotees, having abandoned the five lower factors, were reborn spontaneously and would attain Nibbana without returning to this world. Over 90 of them, having abandoned three fetters and weakened greed, hatred and delusion, were once-returners who would return to this world once more and then make an end of suffering. And more than 500, having abandoned three fetters, were stream-winners, incapable of falling into states of woe, certain of Nirvana. This news reached the ears of the devotees in Nadika, and they were pleased, delighted, and filled with joy to hear the Lord's replies. And the Venerable Ananda heard of the Lord's report and the Nadikans' delight, and he thought, there were also Magadhan disciples of long standing who have died and passed away. One would think Anga and Magadha contain no Magadhan disciples who had died. Yet they too were devoted to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, and they observed disciplined perfectly. The Lord has not stated their destiny. It would be good to have a declaration about this. It would make the multitude have faith and so attain a good rebirth." So the Venerable Ananda continued thinking. Now King Sinha Bimbisara of Magadha was a righteous and lawful king, a friend of Brahmins, householders, town and country dwellers, so that his fame was spread abroad. That righteous king of ours is dead, who gave us so much happiness. Life was easy for us who dwelt under his righteous rule. And he was devoted to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, and observed the discipline perfectly, or sila. Thus people say, King Bimbisara, who praised the Lord to his dying day, is dead. The Lord has not declared his destiny, and it would be good to have a declaration. Besides, it was in Magadha that the Lord gained His enlightenment. Since the Lord gained His enlightenment in Magadha, why does He not declare the destinies of those who have died there? For the Lord not to make such a declaration would cause unhappiness to the Magadans. Such being the case, why does not the Lord make such a declaration? And after thus reflecting in solitude on behalf of the Magadan devotees, the Venerable Ananda rose at the crack of dawn, went to the Lord and saluted Him. Then sitting down to one side, he said, Lord, I have heard what has been declared concerning the inhabitants of Nadika, etc. They were all devoted to the Buddha, Dhamma and the Sangha, and they observed the Sila discipline perfectly. The Lord has not stated their destiny. Why does not the Lord make such a declaration? Then having thus spoken to the Lord on behalf of the Magadan devotees, he rose from his seat, saluted the Lord, passed him by to the right and departed. As soon as Ananda had gone, The Lord took His robe and bowl, and went into Nadika for alms. Later on His return, after His meal, He went to the brick house, and having washed His feet, He went in, and having thought over, considered, and given His whole mind to the question of the Magadan devotees, He sat down at the prepared seat, saying, I shall know their destiny and future, Lord, whatever it is. And then He perceived the destiny and fate of each one of them. And in the evening, emerging from meditative seclusion, the Lord came out of the brick house and sat down on the prepared seat in the shade of his lodging." Stop here for a moment. So here, remember Ananda is asking the Buddha to talk about the Magadan devotees who have passed away, where they are reborn. So you see here, the Buddha, to consider this, he sat down in meditation. Then he considered, then only he knew. The Buddha says in the suttas that he does not know everything automatically. What he wants to know, he has to contemplate. And sometimes he must contemplate for many hours. Then only he gets to know what he wants to know. Like for dependent origination, the Buddha mentioned to understand dependent origination, 12 hours from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. The whole night he was sitting in meditation and contemplating and using his psychic eye also to see and understand dependent origination. So the Buddha does not know everything automatically. He has to contemplate to know. Then the Venerable Ananda came to the Lord, saluted him, sat down to one side and said, Lord, the Lord's countenance looks bright and shining, showing that the Lord's mind is at ease. Has the Lord been satisfied with today's lodging? Ananda, after you spoke to me about the devotees of Magadha, I took my robe and bowl and went into Nadika for alms. Later on, I went to the brick house and considered the question of the Magadhan devotees, and I perceived the destiny and fate of each one of them. Then the voice of a Yakka who had passed over cried out, I am Jana Vasabha, Lord, I am Jana Vasabha, well-farer. Well, Ananda, do you know anyone who formerly bore the name of Jana Vasabha? And remember Ananda said, I must admit, Lord, that I have never heard such a name. And yet on hearing the name Janavasabha, my hair stood on end. And I thought, he whose name is Janavasabha will not be such a low-ranking yakka. Ananda, immediately after I heard this voice, the Yaka appeared to me as a noble vision and uttered a second cry, I am Bimbisara, Lord. I am Bimbisara, Welfarer. I have now for the seventh time been reborn into the entourage of the Lord Vesavana. Thus, having passed away as a king of humans, I have now become among the Devas, a king of non-human beings. Seven states here and seven there. Fourteen births. That's the tally of lives I can recall. Stop here for a moment. So this King Bimbisara is the king who was killed by his son. The son Ajatasattu wanted to become king. As we heard in the second Diga Nikaya Sutta, Samanya Pala Sutta, This King Ajatasattu, to become king, he killed his father. This is the father, King Bimbisara. Now he's reborn as a Yakka. And in the Deva world, there are many Devarajas. Many Devarajas, just like we have many Sultans. So he was reborn as one of the Devarajas, but under the Yakka king called Vesavana. The name of this one. That's another name. Forgot. For a long time, Lord, I have known myself to be exempt from states of war. And now the desire arises in me to become a once returner. What he means here is that he has been a Sotapanna. Now he wants to become a Sakadagamin. I said, it is amazing, it is astonishing that the Reverend Yakha Jana Vasava should say this. On what grounds can he know of such an august specific attainment? And this Yakka said, not otherwise, Lord, not otherwise well fairer than through your teaching. From the time when I became fully committed and gained complete faith, then from then on, Lord, for a long time, I have known myself to be exempt from states of war. And the desire has arisen in me to become a once returner. And here, Lord, having been sent by King Vesavanna on some business to King Virulhakka, I saw the Lord entering the brick house and sitting down and considering the question of the Magadan devotees. And since I had only just heard King Vesavana announce to his assembly what those folks' faiths were, it is no wonder that I thought I will go and see the Lord and report this to him. And these, Lord, are the two reasons why I came to see the Lord." So here he says he was sent by this King of the Yakas, King Vesavana. to pass a message to King Virudhaka. He's another one of the four great heavenly kings. He's the lord of the Gandapas, I quite forgot. And Janavasabha continued. In earlier days, long ago, on the fast day of the 15th, at the beginning of the rains, in the full moon night, all the 33 gods were seated in the Sudamma Hall, a great congregation of divine beings or heavenly beings. And the four great kings from the four quarters were there. There was King Dattaratha, he's the king of the Gandharvas, from the east, at the head of followers facing east. The great king Virudhaka from the south, he's the king of the Kumbhandas facing north. And the great king Virupaka from the west is the king of the Nagas facing east. And the great king Vesavana is the king of the Yakas from the north facing south. These are the four great kings. King Datrata is the king of the Gandabas. Virulhaka Devaraja is in charge of the Kumbhandas. Virupaka Devaraja is in charge of the Nagas, the snake spirits. And Vesavana Devaraja is in charge of the Yakas. On such occasions, that is the order in which they are seated. And after that came our seats. And those Devas who having lived the holy life under the Lord, had recently appeared in the heaven of the thirty-three, outshone the other devas in brightness and glory. And for that reason the thirty-three gods were pleased, happy, filled with delight and joy, saying, The devas' holes are growing, the asuras' holes are declining. Then Lord Sakha, ruler of the gods, seeing the satisfaction of the thirty-three, uttered these verses of rejoicing. The gods of thirty-three rejoiced, the leader too, praising the Tathagata, and Dhamma's truth. Seeing new come devas, fair and glorious, who have lived the holy life, now well reborn, outshining all the rest in fame and splendor. The mighty sages' pupils singled out. Seeing this, the 33 rejoiced, the leader too, praising the Tathagata and the Dhamma's truth." Stop here for a moment. These 33 gods in the heaven of the 33, Tavatimsa heaven, they are always at war with the Asuras. The Asuras are another type of heavenly beings in the heaven of the 33, but they are very undisciplined. These Asuras, they like to drink liquor and get drunk and fight, and they have a very bad temper. We consider for a moment, how come these Asuras, they are of such character and reborn in heaven. Probably like now among human beings, we have two categories of people doing good. One is those who practice the Dhamma, understand the Dhamma and become Sotapanna and all that. And another category is worldly people, people in the business line and who have a desire to create blessings for themselves. So they do philanthropy, they are charitable, but they have a lot of faults. Because they don't understand the Dhamma, they don't know how to get rid of their faults. So these people, worldly people, probably with blessings, they are reborn as these Asuras in the 33 Heavens. Whereas people who practice the Dhamma as well as do good, they are reborn as the Sakadeva Rajas following. So Sakadeva Raja, he saw that the Buddha's disciples are reborn in the Heaven with him, he was very happy. And you notice that these who were followers of the Buddha, they outshone the other devas. Their blessings are more, maybe because of their meditation, because of their virtue, so they have more blessings. These devas, they judge each other by their light. The more light they emit, the more powerful and more great their psychic power and all that. At this the thirty-three gods rejoiced still more, saying, The Devas' hoes are growing, the Asuras' hoes are declining. And then they consulted and deliberated together about the matter concerning which they had assembled in the Sudamma Hall. And the four great kings were advised and admonished on this matter, as they stood by their seats unmoving. The kings instructed, marked the words they spoke, standing calm, serene, beside their seats. Stop here for a moment. So you see here, When the 33 gods meet in the Sudama Hall, and the four great kings of a lower rank, they have to be there. And when the 33 gods sit discussing, the four great kings have to stand in attention, out of respect. They don't have the enough blessings to sit now on the same level with the 32 egos. They must stand in attention, even though in their own realm, they are very mighty and powerful. And then, Lord, a glorious radiance shone forth from the north, and a splendor was seen greater than the sheen of the devas. And Sakka said to the thirty-three gods, Gentlemen, when such signs are seen, such light is seen, and such radiance shines forth, Brahma will appear. The appearance of such radiance is the first sign of Brahma's approaching manifestation. When they see these signs, Brahma will soon appear. This is Brahma's signs, radiance vast and great. Then the thirty-three gods sat down, each in his proper place, saying, Let us find out what comes of this radiance, and having found the truth of it, we will go towards it. The four great kings, sitting down in their places, said, the same. Thus they were all agreed. Lord, whenever Brahma, Sanan, Kumara appears to the 33 gods, he appears having assumed a grosser form because his natural appearance is not such as to be perceptible to their eyes. Stop here for a moment. So when Brahma comes to visit the 33 gods, if he assumes his normal form, they can't see him because he's a higher Deva. His body is more fine than theirs. Just like we cannot see the devas of the four great kings. The devas of the four great kings and the 33 gods cannot see Brahma because he is higher level. So when Brahma comes to them, he has to make his body gross body, then only they can see him. When he appears to the thirty-three gods, he outshines other devas in radiance and glory, just as a figure made of gold outshines a human figure. And Lord, when Brahma, Sanankumara appears to the thirty-three gods, not one of them salutes him or rises or offers him a seat. They all sit silently with palms together, cross-legged, thinking he will sit down on the couch of that God from whom he wants something. and the one on whose couch he sits down is as thrilled and delighted as a duly anointed Katya king on assuming his royal office. Then, Lord Brahma Sanankumara, having assumed a grosser form, appeared to the thirty-three gods in the shape of the youth Panchasika. Rising up in the air, he appeared floating cross-legged, just as a strong man might sit down. on a properly spread couch or on the ground, and seeing the delight of the thirty-three gods, he uttered these verses of rejoicing. The gods of thirty-three rejoiced, the leader too, praising the Tathagata and the Dhamma's truth. Seeing new-come devas, fair and glorious, who have lived a holy life, now well reborn, outshining all the rest in fame and splendour, the mighty sages' pupils singled out Seeing this, the 33 rejoiced, their leader too, praising the Tathagata and the Dharma's truth." So here he is saying that those who were reborn as powerful devas, they have lived the holy life under the Buddha. So they are the monks and nuns under the Buddha. They are reborn and outshine the 33 gods. to the matter of Brahma Sanankumara's speech, and as for the manner of his speech, his voice had eight qualities. It was distinct, intelligible, pleasant, attractive, compact, concise, deep, and resonant. And when he spoke in that voice to the assembly, its sound did not carry outside. Whoever has such a voice as that is said to have the voice of Brahma." So his voice has these eight qualities. And Brahma, Sanankumara, multiplying his shape by thirty-three, sat down cross-legged on each individual couch of the thirty-three, and said, What do my lords, the thirty-three, think, since the Lord, out of compassion for the world and for the benefit and happiness of the many, has acted to the advantage of devas and mankind. Those, whoever they may be, who have taken refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and the Sangha, and have observed the moral precepts, have at death and the breaking up of the body, arisen in the company of the Parinimitta-Vassavati devas, or the Nimanarati devas, or the Tusita devas, or the Yama devas, or in the retinue of the 33 gods, or of the four great kings, or at the very least in the company of the Gandabas. Stop here for a moment. So these are the six heavens in the sensual desire realm. The highest is the Parinibbita, Vasavati, and then after that, Nimana, Rati. These two, their blessings are so great, when they think of anything they want, it just appears automatically. Then after that is Tusita, and then Yama, then Tavatimsa, and then Catumaharajika. And then the Gandhabas are like servants. They serve the four great kings and the 33 gods. That's why, at the very least, the company of the Gandhabas. This was a burden of Brahma, Sanan, Kumara's speech. And every one of the gods he spoke to thought, He is sitting on my couch, he is speaking to me alone. All the forms assumed with one voice speak, and having spoken, all at once are silent. And so the thirty-three, their leader too, each thinks he speaks to me alone. Then Brahma Sanankumara assumed a single form. Then he sat down on the couch of Sakka and said, What do my lords, the 33, think? This lord, Arahant Samasambuddha, has known and seen the four bases of psychic power and how to develop perfect and practice them. What for? Here a monk develops concentration of intention accompanied by effort of will, concentration of energy, concentration of mind, concentration of investigation accompanied by effort of will. These are the four bases of psychic power. And whatever ascetics or Brahmins have in the past realized such powers in different ways, they have all developed and strongly practiced these four ways. And the same applies to all who may in the future or who do now realize such powers. Do my Lord, Sir 33, observe such powers in me? Yes, Brahma. Well, I too have developed and strongly practiced these four ways. I'll stop here for a moment. This Brahma Sanankumara was also a former monk in some other sutta. I think in the Samyutta Nikaya he mentioned this one. This was the burden of Brahma's Sanankumara speech. He went on, What do my Lords of the 33 think? There are three gateways to the bliss proclaimed by the Lord who knows and sees. What are they? In the first place, someone dwells in association with sense desires, with unwholesome conditions. At some time, he hears the Aryan Dharma. He pays close attention and practices in conformity with it. By so doing, he comes to live dissociated from such sense desires and unwholesome conditions. As a result of this dissociation, pleasant feeling arises, and what is more, gladness. This as pleasure might give birth to rejoicing. So from pleasant feeling, he experiences gladness. In the second place, there is someone in whom the gross tendencies of body, speech and thought are not allayed. At some time he hears the Aryan Dhamma and his gross tendencies of body, speech and thought are allayed. As a result of this allaying, pleasant feeling arises and what is more, gladness arises. In the third place, there is someone who really does not know what is right and what is wrong, what is blameworthy and what is not, what is to be practiced and what is not, what is base and what is noble. What is foul, fair, or mixed in quality? At some time he hears the Arindama. He pays close attention and practices in conformity with it. As a result, he comes to know in reality what is right and wrong, what is blameworthy and what is not, what is to be practiced and what is not, what is base and what is noble, what is foul, fair, or mixed in quality. In him who knows and sees thus, ignorance is dispelled and knowledge arises. With the waning of ignorance and the arising of knowledge, pleasant feeling arises. And what is more, gladness. His pleasure might give birth to rejoicing. So from pleasant feeling he experiences gladness. These are the three gateways to the bliss proclaimed by the Lord who knows and sees." Stop here for a moment. So here, Brahma is saying there are three types of people in this world and after they have listened to the Dhamma, they change their ways. The first one gives up his sense pleasures and he practices the Dhamma, probably means he meditates also. And then the second place, somebody who has gross tendencies, is a gross person. what we say, gu khe, ngau cheng, gross tendencies of body, speech and mind. But after he hears the Dhamma, then he understands, he pays close attention, and then he practices the Dhamma, then he changes his tendencies, and then he meditates, a pleasant feeling arises. Then the third one is an ignorant person, he doesn't know what is right, what is wrong, what is blameworthy, what is not blameworthy. This is like a lot of people in the world. We do a lot of things, we don't realize it is wrong. For example, hunting and fishing and all that. We think we're not harming anybody. These animals were made for us to eat. So it's because of ignorance we do these things. Later when we suffer and then We are shocked. Some people, after they die, they go to hell. They are shocked. They thought they didn't do anything wrong. So only when you hear the Dhamma, then you understand what is right, what is wrong, and all these things. And so you have to listen to the Dhamma. Here it says, we listen to the Dhamma, we close attention, and then we understand. Then we practice in conformity with it. This was the burden of Brahma, Sanankumara's speech. He went on, What do my Lords of the 33 think? How well has the Lord Buddha, who knows and sees, pointed out four intense states of mindfulness for the attainment of that which is good? What are they? Here a monk abides contemplating the body in the body, earnestly, clearly aware, mindful, and having put away all hankering and fretting for the world. As he thus dwells contemplating, the body in the body internally, he becomes perfectly concentrated and perfectly serene. Being thus calm and serene, he gains knowledge and vision externally of other bodies. He abides contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, earnestly, clearly aware, mindful and having put away all hankering and fretting for the world. As he thus dwells contemplating dhamma in dhamma, he becomes perfectly concentrated and perfectly serene. Being thus calm and serene, he gains knowledge and vision of other bodies, of other dharmas. These are the four intense states of mindfulness well pointed out by the Lord Buddha who knows and sees for the attainment of that which is good. Stop here for a moment. These four Satipatthana, you practice them skillfully, correctly, according to the satipatthana saṅyutta, you must attain jhāna, must attain one-pointedness of mind. That's why here it says, he becomes perfectly concentrated and perfectly serene. Perfectly concentrated means to attain sama-samādhi. Sama-samādhi is the four jhānas. This was the burden of Brahma, Sanat Kumara's speech. He went on, What do my Lords of the 33 think? How well has the Lord, who knows and sees, pointed out the seven requisites of concentration for the development of perfect concentration and the perfection of concentration? What are they? They are right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness. That one pointedness of mind that is produced by these seven factors is called the Aryan Right Concentration with its basis and requisites. From right view arises right thought, from right thought arises right speech, from right speech arises right action, from right action arises right livelihood, from right livelihood arises right effort, from right effort arises arises right mindfulness, from right mindfulness arises right concentration, from right concentration arises right knowledge, from right knowledge arises right liberation. If anyone truthfully declaring, well proclaimed by the Lord is Dhamma, visible here and now, timeless, inviting inspection, leading onward, to be comprehended by the wise, each for himself, were to say, Open are the doors of the deathless. He would be speaking in accordance with the highest truth. For indeed, my Lords, the Dhamma is well proclaimed by the Lord, visible here and now, timeless, inviting inspection, leading onward to be comprehended by the wise, each one for himself or herself. And two, the doors of the deathless are open." Stop here for a moment. So you see, this great Brahma, he also knows the Dhamma so well. because he was a monk before. So some people, they want to be reborn in the pure land. If you go to the pure land, the Dhamma you learn is still this type of Dhamma that Brahma is so familiar with. Because it's only this type of Dhamma that will lead you to liberation. No other Dhamma. All other dhammas are low quality. The highest teaching of the Brahma, the Buddha said, are in these 37 bodhipakya dhammas. The four Satipatthana, the four Vayama, the four Idipada, the five Indriya, the five Bala, the seven Bhojanga, and the Arya Atangika Magala. These add up to four, four, four, five, five, seven, and eight, add to 37. This is Bodhipakya Dhamma. So you see, the Brahma is so familiar with the suttas. He can describe all these higher dhamma so flawlessly. And he continue. Those who have unshakable faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha are endowed with the virtues pleasing to the noble ones. Those beings who have arisen here on account of their Dhamma training, amounting to more than 2,400 Magadan followers who have passed over, have by the destruction of three fetters become stream-winners, incapable of falling into states of war. and certain of enlightenment and indeed there are once returners here too but of that other race indeed that means the anagamins, of greater merit still, my mind can make no reckoning at all, for fear that I should speak untruth. Stop here for a moment. So here, this Mahabrahma, he says that the Magadan followers, 2400 Magadan followers have becomes three winners, Sotapanna. And there are also Sakadagamins, once returners here. But Anagamins, he says he cannot talk about them. Why? Because Anagamins are reborn in the fourth jhāna plane. And also in the Arūpa realm, Arūpa jhāna realm. But since our Brahmā is only in the first jhāna heaven, he can't see the fourth jhāna devas, so he says he cannot talk about them. This was the burden of Brahma, Sananda Kumara's speech. And in connection with this, the great king Vaisavana reflected in his mind, it is marvellous, it is wonderful that such a glorious teacher should arise, that there should be such a glorious proclamation of Dhamma, and that such glorious paths to the sublime should be made known. Then Brahma, Sananda Kumara Reading King Vaisavana's mind, said to him, What do you think, King Vaisavana? There has been such a glorious teacher in the past, and such a proclamation, and such paths made known, and there will be again in the future. Such was the burden of what Brahma, Sanat Kumara proclaimed to the thirty-three gods. And the great king Vesavana, having heard and received it in person, related it to his followers. And the yakha Jana Vasava, having heard it himself, related it to the Lord. And the Lord, having heard it himself and also come to know it by his own super-knowledge, related it to the noble Ananda, who in turn related it to the monks and nuns, male and female lay followers. And so the holy life waxed mighty and prospered and spread widely as it was proclaimed among mankind. We stop here. So this is an interesting sutta, what the devas talk among themselves. They also discuss Dhamma. That's why it's not surprising when there's a Dhamma teaching that devas and devis come to listen.

34-DN-18-Janavasabha-(2011-07-30)-Part-B-QnA.txt

Anything to discuss? Maybe I can, anything? Yeah. Yeah. When a person is about to pass away, I think it is automatic that this life that passed before you, you will think of all the things that you did. all the major things, the good you did and also the wrong things that you did. And the wrong things will weigh down on us heavily. So that's why it's very important to understand the Dhamma and to practice the Dhamma and not do unwholesome things. Sometimes it might not be really evil things, but even neglecting to do your duty, sometimes can be a great burden. You feel very guilty. For example, some people, they don't take enough good care of their parents. And then after the parents pass away, then they regret all what they didn't do, what they should have done. to repay the parents' kindness and all these things. So before the deathbed comes, you have to prepare for it. On your deathbed, there's nothing much you can do because the karma vipaka is already run. You already created the karma. You have to pay for it. There is no way. It's not like other religions, you see, you make a confession and then all your sins are gone. In the Buddhist religion, there's no such thing. You can feel remorse, you can say you're sorry for it, but you still have to pay for whatever you did, all the good and the bad. You will still be accountable. The other thing you must remember, whatever we think at the last moment, it does not matter so much. Why? Because even you can think of all the good things. After some time, the doctor will say, oh, this person is dead. So when the doctor certifies that the person has died, that is only clinical death. Clinical death and the death according to the Buddha is different. The Buddha says when a person really dies, three things stop. One is the life principle, in Chinese we say the qi, the life principle. the mind stops working. Thirdly, the body heat stops. Out of these three, we can only feel the body heat. So sometimes it happens like a few years ago, one of our Penang devotees told me the mother died of cancer. At the last moment when she was dying, she was in great pain because of the cancer. And then when she died, the face was like suffering. But one hour later, the daughter told me the mother's face changed, changed to be very bright and very happy, smiling like that. So, you see, when a person is pronounced clinically dead, as long as the body is still warm, he has not died. And generally, it takes another one or two hours before the person really dies. In this one or two hours, the mind is still working. And whatever that person thinks, he has no control. It's just like dreaming. So what the last thoughts the person has depends on your karma. If your nature is like what they say, animal nature, gau cheng, gu ke, then the thoughts you have will be violent thoughts. You'll be fighting with people and all that, trying to defend your life and all this thing. And that will bring you to the animal realm. But if you have been practicing the Dhamma, then probably the last one hour after your clinical death, the mind is working, you're thinking of Dhamma, you're thinking of all the good things. Then you'll be reborn probably like this Sutta says, in the heaven of the 33, where you outshine the other Devas. So if you have attained jhāna, then probably when you are dying, the mind will go into that jhāna state and then you will be reborn. Say you attain the first jhāna, then you will be reborn as one of the Brahmas in the Brahma heaven. You will attain the second jhāna, then the mind will incline to that second jhāna and you are reborn in the second jhāna heaven where you will be enjoying life for a long time. But the most important thing is to understand the Dhamma. If we understand the Dhamma, learn the Suttas, listen to the Nikaya talks more, and we have a basic understanding, then we have attained Right View. And as this Sutta says, Brahma, Sanankumara knows, there he says in the paragraph 27, he says, from right view arises right thought, from right thought arises right speech, etc. So the most important is right view. If you haven't attained right view, you have not entered the Noble Eightfold Path. And the suttas, to attain right view, there are only two conditions. One is somebody else teaching you the Dhamma. That means either the Buddha teaching you the Dhamma through the suttas, or you listen to some Dhamma teacher who teaches the Dhamma according to the original teachings of the Buddha. Then the second condition is careful attention. You pay careful attention, then you understand, then you get right view. Once you get right view, you've entered the stream. And you enter the stream, before you die, you attain the fruit, you'll be Sotapanna. So then you can be reborn in the company of Sakka Devaraja and outshining Sakka Devaraja also. You have enough blessings. So what is important is not what you should do on your deathbed. Whatever you do on your deathbed is not important. It's what you do now, between now and your death. Whatever number of years you have, you don't know how many years you have. Just a few weeks ago, One Buddhist come here, he's dying of cancer. So then he comes to the monastery to practice. So some people are like that. When you are healthy, you don't think of coming to the monastery. And when suddenly you know you have cancer, you have not much time left, and you come. Sometimes it might be too late, you might not have enough time to practice and attain right view. Okay? This afternoon, our Victor asked me the same question. Where does everything come from? You go backwards. How do you know that everything exists? You know everything exists because of your six senses. You see the world, so you say the world exists, right? You hear the sounds of the world, you smell the smells of the world, you taste the taste of the world, and you touch the things of the world, and you're thinking. The first five senses create the outer world. The sixth sense creates the mind, the inner world, okay? So these six senses, actually, is basically consciousness. When you have consciousness working, you think, Everything exists. When you have no consciousness, nothing exists. So everything is in your consciousness. So you've got to go backwards. You want to be delivered, you want to see the creator, you go backwards, which means into your mind, into your consciousness. Go to the source of your consciousness. Then you know where everything arises. Somebody sent me a letter, Chua Sun Ait from Kulim. He said, Dear Bhante, I hope Bhante is in good health. I have some questions that I hope Bhante can help answer during any of Bhante's Dharma talks. Last Saturday, there was a freakish accident at a traffic light junction in Kulim. A lorry that was transporting sand apparently lost control, jumped a divider and overturned, dumping its load onto a car that had stopped at the red light. The sheer weight of sand crushed the car, killing one of its occupants, a pregnant lady, and seriously injuring the others. Other religions may refer to this accident as fate, while Buddhism may call it karma. But both fate and karma seem the same thing to me. If I take God out of the equation, without the concept of God, wouldn't karma and fate be just laws of nature, occurrences that happen as they were meant to happen? If my assumptions are wrong, can Bhante please explain why? Okay, this karma and fate, Faith is actually not kamma, faith is the vipaka. Kamma is the intentional action that we do. And this law we call the law of kamma-vipaka. Kamma is the action and vipaka is the result. So faith you can say is the result. But the thing is in the Buddhist religion, Fate is what was determined by our karma, not only in the previous life, but also the present life. So because we can create karma in this pleasant life, we can actually change our fate. So if we go to a fortune teller, an expert fortune teller, If you reach your palm, he can tell you there are some, he can tell you very clearly, for example, a lot of things about your life, whether you'll be a very successful man, how long is your life roughly, etc. But if we practice the holy path, the spiritual path, we change our character. We create a lot of new karma to overturn the past karma, the karma of the past life. So if we create a lot of strong karma, now for example, a good example is for example this bandit called Angulimala. He killed apparently hundreds of people. So having killed hundreds of people, his fate or his vipaka is to be reborn in hell. and suffer for thousands and thousands of years, maybe even millions of years. But the Buddha went to him, taught him the Dhamma so that he became a monk. Then he understood that there are realms of rebirth like hell where he will go if he didn't do anything about his situation because he has already created a very heavy evil karma. So having understood that, he strove very hard and became an Arahant. So he changed his fate. He didn't have to be reborn in hell anymore. So in Buddhism, Fate is not sure, it's not something that is determined. We can change our fate. Here it says occurrences that happen as they were meant to happen. They are meant to happen because of past conditions. We created the past conditions. For example, if a person in the past life, His karma was not, didn't have so much good karma. He's reborn into a poor family. But if he works very hard, if he works very hard and he's honest and he proves himself, then he might succeed in life and become very rich. A good example is our Lo Bun Siew. Lo Bun Siew in Penang was born not from a rich family, so he was a mechanic, just a foreman who repaired cars and motorcycles and all that. And because he was extremely hardworking and very honest, the Japanese gave him the dealership of these Nissan cars, Honda cars. So he became very rich, multi-millionaire. So in Buddhism, this kamavipaka can be changed. The Buddha said in one sutta that to overcome the obstructions from past life, in other words, our destiny is not so good, We have to create a lot of good karma now. The Buddha gave a simile of salt and water. The Buddha said, in the Buddha's time, salt was lumps and lumps of salt, not fine salt. You take a lump of salt, you put in a cup of water and you stir. You drink, it's very salty. You take the same size lump of salt, you put in the river, you stir and you drink, it's not salty. Why? Because there's a lot of water. So the water represents the good karma. The salt represents the bad karma. So we have to create a lot of good karma, then it overweighs the bad karma from the past life. That's how we overcome obstructions. The other thing, in the suttas, the Buddha said, when we suffer, it is not always due to karma. Like in this case, the lorry overturned, and this pregnant woman was in the car and the whole load of sand crushed the car and the woman died. That can be due to accident. So if it's accident, then if that person's karma as a human being is not finished, then because of accident that person dies, then he likely, that person is likely to be reborn as a human being again, because his karma as a human being Not finished. Another thing the Buddha said, sometimes we suffer, might be due to the weather. The weather is not good and maybe it's too hot or too cold and then we get sick. Or there's no rain and then there's famine. Also the Buddha said it can be due to your own body. unbalanced, too much flame or too much wind or all these things, too much heat and all this. And Buddha has talked about a few conditions to give us suffering and not all is kamavipaka. The second question, a lot of authors describe Nibbana as a blissful or peaceful state. To me, bliss and peace are feelings subject to arising and cessation. From my understanding, Nibbana is not subject to arising and cessation. Can we really describe Nibbana in terms of feelings or any other sensation? How did the Buddha describe Nibbana in the Suttas? In the Suttas, the Buddha says, Nibbana is the greatest bliss. But in the state of Nibbana, it is like cessation of perception and feeling. Nirodha, Samapatti also, where there is no consciousness, there is no perception, there is no feeling. And yet, the Buddha says, Nibbanam paramam sukham, because the Buddha says, he does not describe bliss only in terms of feelings. He says wherever bliss is found, there is bliss. In the state of Jhana, the Buddha describes, of all feelings, jhana is the greatest, greatest, is the most pleasant feeling. Why? Because in the state of jhana, the Buddha says, there is no dukkha, absence of dukkha. Absence of dukkha means bliss. For example, when we sleep at night, there are two types of sleep. One is the dream state, and that is not so pleasant when you're dreaming. You might be frightened in your dreams like a nightmare. There's another type of sleep which is a very deep, very deep sleep where you don't know anything at all. You don't even know that you exist. When there is no self, then it's very blissful so that when you wake up in the morning, you don't feel like waking up. You want to sleep some more. So when you have a self, then you have to worry about the self. You have to protect the self. Always trying to protect the self. From the moment we are born until we die, we do everything every day just to protect the self, I and mine. Protect myself, protect my family, protect my loved ones and all these things. So we are struggling all because of the self. If there was no self, then we would be like the tree. Free and easy, nothing to worry. So the So here the Buddha says Nibbāna is not only in terms of feelings. Whenever there is bliss, then the Buddha says he recognizes it. Now that you said that you know that if you know this being Buddha can go to Nibbāna, can he come down to earth and teach the Dhamma again? Once the Buddha enters Nibbana, he has left the world, so he does not come back. It is just like in your dream at night. In your dream at night, you see many people, you talk to many people and all that. When you wake up in the morning, can you go back to the dream and talk to the people? Cannot. So life is like a dream. Now we have not woken up from the dream, to us is real. When you wake up, then you realize it's a dream. So you must wake up, then only you know. The Buddha is called the awakened one. We are all still dreaming. Okay? All those past Buddhas attained to enlightenment, what? They are not anywhere. You must listen to the Dhamma more. You must finish studying, listening to the Anguttara Nikaya. After that you go to the Samyutta Nikaya and Majjhima Nikaya, then you will understand. Everything, this world, as I just mentioned just now, this whole world is like a dream in consciousness. We only know the world exists because our consciousness is working, yeah? No. You have to understand the Dhamma. The Buddha says we only think that we exist. I asked you in your dream last night. You dreamt last night. Now you have woken up. What happened to that person in your dream? Disappeared. He never existed, Ma. You only thought he existed. Yes or not? Yeah. Can I just ask, a lot of those animals, rats, mostly those, they are victims of diseases. So, a lot of times people have to kill them because of the way the disease is being used. If you have an intention to kill, it is considered wrong. But sometimes it is unavoidable in the sense that you want to protect life. So, for example, we don't like to kill ants, but when your house, the wood is all eaten up by termites, what do you do? You have to decide whether your sila is more important or your house is more important. So, sometimes we have to use our wisdom to see how to avoid killing. For example, cockroaches in the house, they come because there is food, okay? And also they like to hide in dark places, dark and damp places, okay? If you put the dustbin inside your house and there's food inside the dustbin, they will try to go inside the dustbin and eat. So ants also, if you bring dustbin inside your house, the cockroaches and the ants will multiply. So you have to put the dustbin as far away as possible, say like at the gate of your house or outside the gate. That's one way. So, other things, for example, like mosquito, you try to put mosquito netting on your house so that they don't come in. Or in the evening, you burn some mosquito coil before sunset, then they will not come. There is a time for mosquitoes to come, 2 hours before sunset and 2 hours before dawn, say like 5 to 7 in the evening and 5 to 7 in the morning, that's the time when they are the most. So if at 5 o'clock you start burning the mosquito coil, from far they sense they won't come. They are attracted, from what I read, mosquitoes are attracted by our breath, when we breathe out there is carbon dioxide. So they come. So if we burn the mosquito coil, the wind will carry it, just like the wind carries our breath. So downwind, they get this mosquito coil smell, they won't come. So we have to think of ways how to avoid. For example, here we have a lot of rats. So we put traps, once in a while we put traps, and then we catch them and take it far away to throw away. The rats here are very fierce, they'll bite through the mosquito netting. He cannot gain anything. The Buddha said when somebody passes away, we can only help if they are reborn in the ghost realm. All other realms cannot help. If they are born in heaven, they don't need also. Born as human also cannot help. Born as animal also cannot help. Born in hell also cannot help. Only ghost realm. And the Buddha did not explain why, but I believe because only ghosts can come back. That's why many people, if their mother or father passes away, sometimes when the The dead person comes back, sometimes you can hear somebody walking in the house, you don't see. Or the door will open and close, the light will open and close. Why does he do this? Because he wants you to know that he's born as a ghost. And when they are born as a ghost, they need help. I have people telling me of experiences like a friend of mine, the mother passed away. After he buried the mother, the mother entered the sister's body and came to talk to my friend. The mother said, I have something very important to say, that's why I borrowed the daughter's body. She said that she knows the daughter will become very tired, but she can't help it. She says she must speak now, later she has no opportunity to speak. So she says she's suffering, and she's hungry, and she comes back to her own home, she cannot enter the house. But my friend, being a Mahayanist Buddhist, he didn't know what to advise. So he told the mother, Mopin. I told the mother, you go where it's bright, where it's dark, don't go. But in the ghost world, where got bright? In the ghost world, all is dark. So the mother realized that the son cannot help her at all, the mother left. So only ghosts can be helped, and then only limited help. By giving, what do ghosts need? You cannot bring them out of the ghost realm. The most you can do is give them the essentials like food and clothing. Either you offer food by the roadside, or like some people, Buddhists like to do, we go to the monastery or go to old folks' home, you offer food and inform them. Best is beforehand, before you do the dhāna. You inform a few knights in a row. You inform them they are going to do dana on a certain day and you offer food and if you want some cloth. Because basically these two things are important to a ghost. The most important is food. The Buddha says all beings survive on food. Even devas need food. Even hell beings need food. All beings need food. Question inaudible Even the word mind, what do you mean by mind? Mind is just anything that is mental. So sometimes the Buddha talks about perception, feeling, volition, consciousness. These are all different aspects of the mind. So feeling is just an aspect of the mind, just like perception. Perception, this is beautiful, this is ugly. This is your perception, this is yellow, this is red. Somebody who is colorblind will see a different color from you. So perception is another thing. So feelings are generally pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feelings. So for an arahant, the same feelings arise. But because the arahant's mind is solid like a rock, the feelings arise and then subside very fast. Oh yeah, there are many aspects of it. Sankara is volition. Sannyā is perception. Consciousness, the word consciousness, viññāna, refers more specifically to the six sense bases. Seeing consciousness, hearing, smelling, taste, touch and thinking consciousness. So these are all different aspects of the mind. In some of the books, they actually translated Medana as sensations instead of feelings. So it seems like the term feelings is more related to those mental sensations rather than physical sensations. Rather than what we normally associate feelings with, emotions, right? Like experiencing heavy things, right? So, in terms of this, what reminds us to try out more Buddhist methods in terms of this and the different kinds of movements and aspects? These feelings, the Buddha says, the suttas, when there is an external sense object, for example, a form impinging on the eye, or a sound impinging on the ear, or a smell impinging on the nose, or a taste impinging on the taste buds, or tangible thing impinging on the body, touch, and thoughts. When there is contact, at the sense door, a feeling automatically arises, pleasant or unpleasant. Then it is followed by perception, volition, all these things. So, because these The mind works so fast, the feeling arises and passes away and then other things follow and then later again the feeling arises and passes away. So generally when we say emotion, it's a combination of a lot of feelings. I have a question. This is in regards to the Shifu. You think that this system in regards to the game, what I think is one part is I think to manage the hands or anything is very precious. So if you choose one hand means you have to choose another hand, that is a very bad part. I think everybody has done that. And that is how do you manage that? In the Buddha's teachings and the Vinaya books, there are many levels of wrongdoing. many levels. So like killing a human being is considered a major offense. For a monk, for a monk to kill a living being, a human being, he's broken one of the heaviest offenses, heaviest precepts. Then he's not considered a monk anymore, even though he wears a robe. But if a monk kills a bird, An animal is a different category altogether. It's a minor precept. So there's a difference. And even among animals, if you kill an ant, because the suffering you engender, the cause is not so much. If you kill the buffalo, then it feels more pain. Probably like you kill a mosquito also, it's not so much suffering as Kill a dog, for example. So, there is a difference. So, what we have done in the past, we don't worry. What you know of the evil you have done is only this life. But that is negligible compared to the karma you have created in the past. So many lifetimes of karma, we are still not paid up. But even this killing human being, killing the mother and father is a different class again. There are five heaviest offenses. If you do, it will immediately bring you to hell and there's no way you can prevent, even the Sammasambuddha also cannot prevent you from going to hell for a long time. One is killing, intentionally hurting Sammasambuddha and causing him, Buddha, causing him to shed blood. Second is to kill an Arahant. Third is to kill your mother. Fourth is to kill your father. Fifth is to, when there's a group of monks in harmony, you batu api, you make them divide, split into two sangha. So these are the five heaviest offences. So you see, even human beings also, killing your mother and your father is different again from killing another person. So like in the case of the bandit Angulimala, he killed hundreds of people, but because it was not his mother and his father, He could still become, because of super effort in his striving, he became an Arahant and didn't have to go to hell. So there are different categories. You cannot just think, oh, I killed so many ants, I'll go to hell. Don't worry, you won't go to hell. So as I mentioned just now, what evil kamma we have done, forget about it. Now do as much good as you can to overcome not only this present life evil kamma, also past life evil kamma. And the best way is to become an Arya, study the Dhamma and understand the Buddha's words and you have entered the stream, you got right view. Once you have right view, all the three woeful planes are close to you. Forever you'll never be born as a ghost or an animal or go to hell. Then you are no more scared of samsara already. You can take a slow boat out of samsara. I think people see that I come from a very smart family. Since I was a child, I've always, you know, I've always found it impossible to talk to other people. I feel afraid. And in a physical state where I often was, I didn't know who to talk to. So a lot of the time, I don't talk to a lot of people, I just hang out with other girls and I don't know which one. This is a natural thing to do. self-defense. At that time, when you're excited, you don't think, what should I do? What is the Buddhist? You just do what is automatic. So in defending yourself, if you happen to kill him also, you have not done wrong. As long as your intention is not to kill him. For example, if he He's got a gun in his hand or something. If you can find a chopper cut off his hand or something, he cannot shoot you. But don't kill him. Well, let's take a look at the situation. I went back to Paris to see you. My father told me that your parents are very sick. They think that after the coup, So the parents are giving quite a bit of power, but the parents are good about it. So they are asking your opinion, whether you should, whether they actually want to add the parents one, how do you think parents are going to, how the parents are going to behave, and do you think they should stop, and we want to inform you. So, what was your response? It was both the mental part of you, not just the stomach. The effort is for this group to do harm. So, you made a decision that, I think you can count that as, okay, I agree that you should both have it on, the same thing that you have an accomplice in making it difficult to have this child. There's a difference between euthanasia and removing the life support. Euthanasia is like killing somebody, like injecting. The law doesn't allow, doesn't it? But there are certain countries where they approve self-euthanasia, where the person is dying of cancer and he cannot stand the pain anymore because he's dragged on for 10 years or 15 years and he can't stand it anymore. Then he presses a button. Then he has to press twice. Then the drug will go into his body. That in Buddhism is not advisable. It's not to say not allowed. not advisable because if we are suffering it might be due to our kamma and it's good to pay off whatever kamma we have to pay so that in the next life we don't pay for it. The other thing The other thing is from the Buddhist point of view, we have a right to choose, to choose what we want. Every person has a right to choose. So if a person, like when I was in Australia in 1996 for six months, during that time there was a big case in Australia in Darwin, I think, Darwin somewhere, there was a man who had was suffering of cancer for many years. He had been operated on, injected, and all these things, and he did not get well, even though the doctor said he would recover, but he didn't recover. So he didn't have bowel control also. In the middle of the night, he'd have bowel movement and all these things, and his suffering was intensified, seeing the wife having to look after him, and suffer along with him. So he said, enough is enough. And he wanted to commit suicide. At that time, the Northern Territory of Australia, they were the only state that had allowed euthanasia. So he did it with the help of a doctor, with the help of a computer specialist. They rigged up this equipment for him to press. And then if he's nervous, if he changes his mind, that the drug won't go into his vein, but he was very sure he has to press a second time. So he died from that. So he has a right to choose, but the only thing is whether it's the right decision or not. But you know, everyone, we have a threshold of pain. Beyond a certain threshold of pain, you cannot stand. Then whatever During the war, they use torture to torture somebody for information. They torture you a little bit. You are stubborn. You don't want to give information. But when they torture you too much, you cannot stand. You have to spill out all the beans because the pain is too intense. You cannot stand it. So in that sense, that person has to choose. You cannot stand it anymore. It's his decision. Bearing in mind what I said just now, we have to think whether we should want to suffer or not. Secondly, this life support equipment. In our Buddhist teaching, our life depends on our will to live. As long as we hold on to will to live, we will not die. You see in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, the Mara came to ask Buddha to enter Nibbana so many times, the Buddha refused. until the Sāsana, the Buddhist religion as well, established, then the Buddha agreed. And when the Buddha agreed, he let go of the will to live. When he let go of the will to live, then he had three months more to live. So this will to live can be very strong. If we hold on to the will to live, we won't die. So when a person, what you mentioned just now, that the parent, the doctor says he's hopeless already, may also spend a lot of money already. So if you take away the life support equipment, you are not killing him. You are making him decide whether he wants to live or he doesn't want to live. If he wants to live, he will struggle on. Even without the life support, he will struggle on. But if the pain or something is too intense, after some time, the person will give up, let go. Old people dying is just like that. Old people, when they die, they refuse to die, they hold on to life, hold on to life, until the pain becomes unbearable because the aggregates, the body is breaking up. When the pain, they suffer, day after day they suffer, they still hold on to life because of attachment. Until the suffering is too long and too intense, then they give up. The moment they let go of the will to live, they will go. So there's nothing wrong in taking off the life support. But the family has to decide. It's better not to one person to decide. If one person decides, later you might regret. But if you make a collective agreement, then everybody takes responsibility. And whatever happens later, you won't feel so bad. OK, shall we stop here?

35-DN-19-Mahagovinda-(2011-07-31).txt

Tonight is the 31st of July and this is the 15th night. We are talking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Tonight we come to Sutta number 19, Maha Govinda Sutta. This is another of the suttas about the past life of our Buddha. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying at Rajagaha on Vulture's Peak And when the night was nearly over, Pancasikha of the Gandhabas, lighting up the entire vulture's peak with a splendid radiance, approached the Lord, saluted Him, stood to one side and said, Lord, I wish to report to You what I have personally seen and observed when I was in the presence of the thirty-three gods. And the Buddha said, Tell me then, Pancasikha, Lord, in earlier days, long ago, on the fast day of the fifteenth, at the end of the rains, the thirty-three gods assembled and rejoiced that the devas' hoes were growing, the asuras' hoes declining." Just as in the last Sutta we read, Sutta number 18. Then Sakka uttered the verse, the gods of thirty-three rejoiced the leader too, praising the Tathagata and Dhamma's truth, seeing new- come devas, fair and glorious, who have lived the holy life, now well reborn, outshining all the rest in fame and splendour, the mighty sages' pupils singled out. Seeing this, the thirty-three rejoiced, the leader too, praising the Tathagata and Dhamma's truth. At this, Lord, the thirty-three gods rejoiced still more, saying the Deva's holes are growing, the Asura's holes are declining." Then Sakka, seeing their satisfaction, said to the thirty-three gods, Would you like, gentlemen, to hear eight truthful statements in praise of the Lord? And on receiving their assent, he declared, What do you think, my lords of the thirty-three? As regards the way in which the Lord has driven for the welfare of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare and happiness of devas and humans, we can find no teacher endowed with such qualities, whether we consider the past or the present other than the Lord. Well proclaimed truly is this Lord's teaching, visible here and now, timeless, inviting inspection, leading onward, to be realized by the wise, each one for himself. And we can find no proclaimer of such an onward leading doctrine, either in the past or in the present, other than the Lord. That was one and two. Now number three. The Lord has well explained what is right and what is wrong. what is blameworthy and what is blameless, what is to be followed and what is not to be followed, what is base and what is noble, what is foul, fair and mixed in quality. And we can find none who is a proclaimer of such things other than the Lord." Again, the Lord has well explained to His disciples the path leading to Nibbana and their coalesce. Nibbana and the path, just as the waters of the Ganges and the Yamuna coalesce and flow on together. And we can find no proclaimer of the path leading to Nibbana other than the Lord. Number five. And the Lord has gained companions, both learners and those who, having lived the life, have abolished the asavas. And the Lord dwells together with them, all rejoicing in the one thing. And we can find no such teacher other than the Lord. Number six. The gifts given to the Lord are well bestowed. His fame is well established, so much so that I think the kathiyas will continue to be attached to him. Yet the Lord takes his food offering without conceit. And we can find no teacher who does this other than the Lord. Number seven. And the Lord acts as He speaks, and speaks as He acts. And we can find no teacher who does likewise in every detail of doctrine other than the Lord. Number eight. The Lord has transcended doubt, passed beyond all how and why. He has accomplished His aim in regard to His goal and the supreme holy life. And we can find no teacher who has done the like, whether we consider the past or the present other than the Lord. And when Sakka had thus proclaimed these eight truthful statements in praise of the Lord, the thirty-three gods were even more pleased, overjoyed, and filled with delight and happiness at what they had heard in the Lord's praise. Then certain gods exclaimed, O, if only four fully enlightened Buddhas were to arise in the world and teach Dhamma just like the Blessed Lord, that would be for the benefit and happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit and happiness of devas and humans� And some said, never mind four fully enlightened Buddhas, three would suffice. And others said, never mind three, two would suffice. At this Sakka said, this impossible gentleman, it cannot happen that two fully enlightened Buddhas should arise simultaneously in a single world system. That cannot be. May this blessed Lord continue to live long, for many years to come, free from sickness and disease. That would be for the benefit and happiness of the many. Out of compassion for the world, it would be for the benefit and happiness of devas and humans. Then the 33 gods consulted and deliberated together about the matter concerning which they had assembled in the Sudama Hall. And the four great kings were advised and admonished on this matter as they stood by their seats unmoving. The kings instructed, marked the words they spoke, standing calm, serene, beside their seats." Stop here for a moment. As I mentioned yesterday, when the 33 gods addressed the four great kings, and they stand up out of respect. A great radiance was seen, heralding the approach of Brahma. All took their proper seats, each etc. etc. just like in the previous sutta, number 18. Each hoping Brahma would sit on his couch. Then Brahma, Sanan, Kumara, having descended from his heaven and seeing their pleasure, uttered these verses. The gods of 33 rejoiced, their leader too, etc. Brahma Sanankumara's voice had eight qualities, as mentioned in the previous sutta. Then the thirty-three gods said to Brahma, Sanankumara, it is well, Brahma, we rejoice at what we have heard. Sakha, Devaraja, has also declared eight truthful statements to us about the Lord, at which we also rejoice. Then Brahma said to Sakha, it is well, Lord of the Devas, and we too would like to hear those eight truthful statements about the Lord. Very well, great Brahma or Mahabrahma, said Sakka. And he repeated those eight statements. And Brahma Sanankumara was pleased, overjoyed and filled with delight and happiness at what he had heard in the Lord's praise. Then Brahma Sanankumara assumed a grosser form and appeared in the shape of Pancasikha. And sitting thus cross-legged, he said to the thirty-three gods, For how long has the blessed Lord been one of mighty wisdom? Once upon a time, there was a king called Disampati. His chaplain of Purohita, means the advisor, was a Brahmin called Govinda, the steward. The king's son was a youth called Renu, and the steward's son was called Jyotipala. Prince Renu and Jyotipala, together with six other kathiyas, formed a band of eight friends. In the course of time, the steward died, and King Disampatis mourned him, saying, Alas, at the very moment when we had entrusted all our responsibilities to the steward and were abandoning ourselves to the pleasures of the five senses, the steward has passed away. Hearing this, Prince Renu said, Sire, do not mourn the steward's death overmuch. His son Jyotipala is cleverer than his father. was and has a better eye for what is advantageous. You should let Jyotipala manage all the business you entrusted to his father." And the king said, Is that so, my boy? And he said, Yes, sire. Then the king called the man and said, Come here, my good man. Go to the youth Jyotipala and say, May the Reverend Jyotipala be well. King Disampati sends for you. He would like to see you. "'Very good, Your Majesty,' said the man, and delivered the message. On receiving the message, Jyotipala said, "'Very good, sir,' and went to see the king. On entering the royal presence, he exchanged courtesies with the king, then sat down to one side. The king said, "'We wish the Reverend Jyotipala to manage our affairs. Do not refuse. I will install you in your father's place and consecrate you as steward.' "'Very good, Lord,' replied Jyotipala. So King Disampati appointed Jyotipala as steward in his father's place. And once installed, Jyotipala carried out the business his father had carried out, not doing any business his father had not done. He accomplished all the tasks his father had accomplished and no others. And people said, this Brahmin is truly a steward. Indeed, he is a great steward. And that is how the young Brahmin Jyotipala came to be known as the great steward of Maha Govinda. And one day, the great steward went to the group of six nobles and said, King Disampatti is aged, decrepit, stricken with age. His life is near its end. and he cannot last much longer. Who can tell how long people will live? When King Disampati dies, the kingmakers are bound to anoint Prince Renu as king. You should go, gentlemen, to Prince Renu and say, We are the beloved, dear and favoured friends of the Lord Renu, sharing his joys and his sorrows. Our Lord King Disampati is aged. When he dies, the kingmakers are bound to anoint Lord Renu as king. If the Lord Renu should gain the kingship, let him share it with us. Very good, sir, said the six nobles. And they went to Prince Renu and spoke to him as the great steward had proposed. And he said, Well, gentlemen, who apart from myself ought to prosper, but you, if gentlemen, I gain the kingship, I will share it with you. In due course, King Disampati died, and the kingmakers anointed Prince Renu king in his place. And having been made king, Renu abandoned himself to the pleasures of the five senses. Then the great steward went to the six nobles and said, Gentlemen, now King Disampati is dead. The Lord Renu, who has been anointed in his place, has abandoned himself to the pleasures of the five senses. Who knows what will come of this? The sense pleasures are intoxicating. We should go to him and say, King Disampati is dead, and the Lord Renu has been appointed king. You remember your word, Lord? They did so, and the king said, Gentlemen, I remember my word. Who is there to divide this mighty realm of earth, so broad in the north and so narrow like the front of a cart in the south, into seven equal parts? Who indeed, Lord, if not the great steward? Stop here for a moment. It's so broad in the north and narrow in the south. It's India. India tapers towards the south. So King Renu sent a man to the great steward to say, My lord, the king sends for you. The man went and the great steward came to the king. exchanged courtesies with him and sat down to one side. Then the king said, My lord, steward, go and divide this mighty realm of earth so broad in the north and so narrow like the front of a cart in the south into seven equal parts. Very good, sire, said the great steward. And he did so. And King Renu's country was in the center. Dantapura to the Kalingas, Potaka to the Asakas, Mahisati to the Avantis, Ruruka to the Suviras, Mithila to the Videhas, Champa to the Angasgos, Benares to the Kasi. Thus did the steward dispose. The six nobles were delighted with their respective gains and at the success of the plan. What we wanted, desired, aimed at, and strove for, we have got. Satavu, Brahmadatta, Vesavu and Bharata, Renu and two Dattaratas. These are the seven Bharat kings. Then the six nobles came to the great Stuart and said, Reverend Stuart, just as you were a beloved, dear and faithful friend to King Renu, so you have been to us. Please manage our affairs. We trust you will not refuse. So he administered the realms of seven anointed kings, and he also taught the mantras to seven distinguished Brahmins and 700 advanced pupils. In course of time, good reports were spread about concerning the great steward. The great steward can see Brahma with his own eyes, talks with him face to face, and consults with him. And he thought, now this good report is being spread about concerning me, that I can see Brahma with my own eyes. But it is not true. However, I have heard it said by aged and respectable Brahmins, the teachers of teachers, that anyone who withdraws into meditation for the four months of the rains, developing the absorption on compassion, can see Brahma with his own eyes, talk with him face to face and consult with him. Suppose I were to do this. So the great steward went to King Renu and told him of the report and of his wish to go into retreat and develop the absorption on compassion. And nobody is to come near me except to bring me food. And the king said, Reverend Stewart, do as you think fit. The six nobles likewise replied, Reverend Stewart, do as you think fit. He went to the seven Brahmins and the 700 pupils and told them of his intentions, adding, so gentlemen, you carry on with reciting the mantras you have heard and learned and teach them to each other. And they said, Reverend Stewart, do as you think fit, they replied. Then he went to his 40 equal-ranking wives and they said, Reverend Stuart, do as you think fit. So the great Stuart erected a new lodging to the east of the city and withdrew there for the four months of the rains, developing the absorption on compassion. And nobody came near him except to bring him food. But at the end of four months, he felt nothing but dissatisfaction and weariness, as he thought. I heard it said, that anyone who withdraws into meditation for the four months of the rains, developing the absorption on compassion, can see Brahma with his own eyes. But I cannot see Brahma with my own eyes, and cannot talk, discuss, or consult with him. Now Brahma Sanan Kumara read his thoughts, and as swiftly as a strong man might stretch out his flexed arm or flex it again, he disappeared from the Brahma world and appeared before the great steward. And the great steward felt fear and trembling, and his hair stood on end at such a sight as he had never seen before. And thus fearful, trembling, with hair standing on end, he addressed Brahma, Sanan, Kumara in these verses, O splendid vision, glorious and divine, who are you, Lord? I fain would know your name. And the Brahma said, In highest heaven I am known by all. Brahma, Sanan, Kumara, know me thus. And the steward said, a seed and water for the feet and cakes are fitting for a Brahma. Let the Lord decide what hospitality he would. And Brahma said, we accept the gift that's offered. Now declare what it is you wish from us, a boon of profit in this very life or in the next. Say, Lord Steward, what it is you'd have. Then the great steward thought, Brahma Sanankumara offers me a boon. What shall I choose, benefits in this life or in that to come? Then he thought, I'm an expert in matters of advantage in this life, and others consult me about this. Suppose I have to ask Brahma Sanankumara for something of benefit in the life to come. And he addressed Brahma in these verses. I ask Brahma Sanankumara this, doubting him who has no doubts I ask. By doing what can mortals reach the deathless Brahma world? And Brahma replied, that man who spurns all possessive thoughts, alone, intent, compassion-filled, aloof from stench, free from lust, established thus and training thus, can mortals reach the deathless Brahma world? And the steward said, I understand spurning possessive thoughts. This means that one renounces one's possessions small or great, leaves one's relatives, few or many, and shaving off hair and beard goes forth from the household life into homelessness. This is how I understand spurning possessive thoughts. I understand alone intent. That means that one goes off on one's own and chooses a lodging in the forest at the foot of a tree in a mountain glen, in a rocky cave, a charnel ground, in the jungle, or on a heap of grass in the open. I understand compassion-filled. That means one dwells suffusing one quarter with a mind filled with compassion, then a second, then a third, and a fourth quarter. Thus one abides suffusing the whole world, up, down, and across, everywhere, all around, with a mind filled with compassion, expanded, immeasurable, free from hatred and ill-will. That is how I understand compassion filled. But the Lord's words about aloof from stench, I do not understand. What do you mean, Brahma, by stench among men? Pray lighten my ignorance, O wise one, on this. What hindrance causes man to sting and fester, heading for hell, from Brahma realm cut off? And Brahma replied, anger, lying, fraud and cheating, avarice, pride and jealousy, coveting, doubt and harming others, greed and hate, stupor and delusion, the loathsome stench that these give out hits man for hell from Brahma realm cut off. And the steward said, As I understand the Lord's words about the stench, these things are not easy to overcome if one lives the household life. I will therefore go forth from the household life into the homeless state." And the Brahma said, Reverend Stewart, do as you think fit. Stop here for a moment. So here, you see, Brahma is telling him how to be reborn in the Brahma world, to become a Brahma, to renounce one's possessions, small or great, leaves one's relatives, shaving off hair and beard, go forth into homelessness, and then alone in tent, staying in a secluded place, an aranya, and meditating and practicing the compassion, radiating compassion all around. And then also to refrain from anger, lying, fraud and cheating, avarice, pride, jealousy, coveting, doubt, harming others, greed and hate, stupor and delusion. When Brahma mentioned all these things, he said it's very difficult to practice all this in the household life. I have to go forth. So the great steward went to King Renu and said, My lord, please appoint another minister to manage your affairs. I wish to go forth from the household life into homelessness. After what Brahma has told me about the stench of the world, which cannot easily be overcome by one living the household life, I am going forth into homelessness. King Renu, lord of this realm, I declare, you yourself must rule. I will counsel you no more. And the king said, If anything you lack, I'll make it good. If any hurt you, my royal arms shall guard you. You, my father. I, your son. Steward, stay. And the steward said, I lack nothing. None there is who harms me. No human voice I heard. At home I cannot stay. Then the king said, non-human, what's he like who calls that you at once abandoned home and all of us? And the steward said, before I went on this retreat, I thought of sacrifice, lighting the sacred fire, strewing kusa grass, but now eternal Brahma from Brahma's realms appeared. I asked, he answered, I now can stay no more. And the king said, Reverend Stuart, in your words I trust. Such words, once heard, you had no other cause. We will follow. Stuart, be our master. Like a barrel gem, clear of finest water, so purified, we will follow in your wake. If the Reverend Stuart goes forth from the household life into homelessness, I will do the same. Wherever you go, we will follow. Then the great steward went to the six nobles and said to them, My lords, please appoint another minister to manage your affairs. I wish to go forth from the household life into homelessness, etc. The six nobles went aside and consulted together. These Brahmins are greedy for money. Perhaps we can win the great steward round with money. So they came back to him and said, Sir, There is plenty of wealth in these seven kingdoms. Take as much as you like." And he said, Enough, gentlemen. I have received plenty of wealth from my lords already. That is the very thing that I am renouncing in order to go forth from the household life into homelessness, as I have explained. Then the six nobles went aside again and consulted together. These Brahmins are greedy for women. Perhaps we can win the great steward round with women. So they came to him and said, Sir, there are plenty of women in these seven kingdoms. Take your pick. And he said, Enough, gentlemen. I already have forty equal wives, and I am leaving them in order to go forth from the household life into homelessness, as I have explained. And they said, if the Reverend Stuart goes forth from the household life into homelessness, we will do likewise. Wherever you go, we will follow. If you renounce those lusts that bind most men, exert yourselves, be strong and patiently endure. This is the path that's straight, the peerless path, the path of fruit, guarded by the good to Brahma's realm. I think maybe this is spoken by the steward. He's telling them, if you renounce like me, then you must be strong, exert yourselves and endure all the suffering. And then they said, And so, Lord Stewart, just wait seven years, and then we too will go forth into homelessness. Wherever you go, we will follow." And he said, "'Gentlemen, seven years is far too long. I cannot wait for seven years. Who can tell how long people will live? We have to go on into the next world. We must learn by means of wisdom. We must do what is right and live the holy life, for nothing that is born is immortal. Now I am going forth as I have explained." And they said, well, Reverend Stewart, just wait six years. And he said, too long. Five years, too long. Four years, three years, two years, one year. And then we will follow you into homelessness. Wherever you go, we will follow. And still he said, gentlemen, one year is far too long. Then they said, then wait seven months. And then he said, gentlemen, seven months is far too long. And then they said, six months, he said, too long. Five months, four months, three months, two months, one month, half a month. Then he said, gentlemen, half a month is far too long. Then they said, then Reverend Stewart, just wait seven days while we make over our kingdoms to our sons and brothers. At the end of seven days, we will go forth into homelessness. Wherever you go, we will follow. And he said, seven days is not too long, gentlemen. I agree, my lords, to seven days. So because they have to hand over their duties and their kingdom to their brothers and sons and all that. So at least they need a few days. So he said, okay, seven days I will wait. Then the great steward went to the seven Brahmins and their seven hundred advanced pupils and said to them, Now, your reverences, you must seek another teacher to teach you the mantras. I mean to go forth from the household life into homelessness. After what Brahma has told me about the stench of the world, which cannot be easily overcome by one living the household life, I am going forth into homelessness. And they said, Reverend Stewart, do not do so. There is little power and profit in the homeless life and much power and profit in the life of a Brahmin. It shows they are quite greedy. And he said, do not say such things, gentlemen. Besides, who has greater power and profit than I have? I have been like a king to kings, like Brahma to the Brahmins, like a deity to householders, and I'm giving up I am giving all this up in order to go forth from the household life into homelessness, as I have explained. And they said, if the Reverend Stewart goes forth from the household life into homelessness, we will do likewise. Wherever you go, we will follow. Then the great Stewart went to his 40 equal wives and said, whichever of you ladies wishes to may go back to her own family and seek another husband, I mean to go forth into homelessness. And they said, you alone are the kinsman we could wish for, the only husband we want. If the Reverend Stuart goes forth into homelessness, we will do likewise. Wherever you go, we will follow. And so the great Stuart, at the end of the seven days, shaved off his hair and beard, donned yellow robes, and went forth from the household life into homelessness. And with him went the seven anointed Katya kings, the seven wealthy and distinguished Brahmins with their 700 advanced pupils, his 40 equal wives, several thousand Katyas, several thousand Brahmins, several thousand householders, even some Haram women. And so, followed by this company, the great steward wandered through villages, towns, and royal cities. And wherever he came to a village or town, He was like a king to kings, like Brahma to the Brahmins, like a deity to householders. And in those days, whenever anyone sneezed or stumbled, they used to say, praise be to the great steward, praise be to the minister of seven. And the Great Stewart dwells suffusing one quarter with a mind filled with lovingkindness, then a second, then a third, and a fourth quarter. It dwells suffusing the whole world, up, down, and across, everywhere, all around, with a mind filled with compassion, with a mind filled with joy, with a mind filled with equanimity, free from hatred and ill-will. And thus he taught his disciples the way to union with the Brahma world. And all those who had at that time been the great Stuart's pupils and had fully mastered his teaching were, after death, at the breaking up of the body, reborn in a happy sphere in the Brahma world. And those who had not fully mastered his teachings were reborn either among the Paranimita Vasavati Devas, among the Nimanarati Devas, among the Tusita devas, among the Yama devas, among the devas of the 33, among the devas of the four great kings, and the very lowest realm that any of them attained was that of the Gandabas. Thus the going forth of all those people were not fruitless or barren, but productive of fruit and profit." Stop here for a moment. So those who fully mastered the great student's instructions. They were reborn with him in the Brahma world. Those who did not fully master, then they took their respective place in the different heavens below. And then Pancasikha asked the Buddha, do you remember this Lord? And the Buddha said, I do, Pancasikha. At that time, I was the Brahmin, the great steward, and I taught those disciples the path to union with the Brahma world. However, Pancasikha, that holy life does not lead to this enchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace. to super-knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana, but only to birth in the Brahma world. Whereas my holy life leads unfailingly to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to super-knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. That is the Noble Eightfold Path, namely Right View, Right Thoughts, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, in the previous lives of the Buddha, he said he was a Brahmin and he used to teach mantras and all that. But now he only teaches the Noble Eightfold Path. Mantras crept into Buddhism, but it is not the Buddha's teachings. And Pancasikha, those of my disciples who have fully mastered my teaching, have by their own super-knowledge realized, by the destruction of the asavas in this very life, the uncorrupted liberation by mind and liberation by wisdom. And of those who have not fully mastered it, some by the destruction of the five lower factors, will be reborn spontaneously, attaining thence to Nibbana without returning to this world. Some, by the destruction of tree fetters and the reduction of greed, hatred and delusion, will become once-returners who will return once more to this world before making an end of suffering. And some, by the destruction of tree fetters, will become stream-winners, Sotapanna, incapable of falling into states of war, assured of enlightenment. Thus the going forth of all these people was not fruitless or barren, but productive of fruit and profit. Thus the Lord spoke, and Pancasikha of the Gandabas was delighted and rejoiced at the Lord's words. And having thus saluted him, he passed him by on the right and vanished from the spot." That's the end of the Sutta. So here, this Brahma Sanankumara, he remembered because Brahma has a very long life. I think Brahma was the a monk under the previous Buddha. So having a long life, he could see our Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, Buddha Gautama's previous life. So he spoke all this and Pancasikha related this to the Buddha and asked the Buddha whether the Buddha remembered and the Buddha said, yes, he remembered.

36-DN-20-Mahasamaya-(2011-07-31).txt

Okay, now we come to Sutta number 20, Mahasamaya Sutta. This is about the great gathering of devas who come to pay homage to the Buddha. Once the Lord was staying among the Sakyans in the great forest at Kapilavatthu with the large company of some 500 monks, all Arahants, and devas from ten world systems frequently came there to visit the Lord and His Sangha of monks. And it occurred to four devas of the pure abodes. Devas of the pure abodes are Anagamins. Only Anagamins are reborn in the pure abodes, the Suddhavasa heavens. So it occurred to the four devas of the Pure Boats, the Blessed Lord is staying at Kapilavatthu with a large company of some 500 monks, all Arahants. What if we were to approach him and each recite a verse? Then those devas, as swiftly as a strong man, might stretch his flexed arm or flex it again, vanished from the pure boats and appeared before the Lord. Then they saluted him and stood to one side, and one of them recited this verse. Great the assembly in the forest here the devas have met, and we are here to see the unconquered brotherhood. Another said, the monks with concentrated minds are straight. They guard their senses as the driver does his reins. Another said, Bars and barriers broken, the threshold stone of lust torn up. Unstained, the spotless seers go, like well-trained elephants." And another said, who takes refuge in the Buddha? No downward path will go. Having left the body, he'll join the Deva host. Then the Lord said to his monks, monks, it has often happened that the Devas from ten world systems have come to see the Tathagata. and his Sangha of monks. So it has been with the Supreme Buddhas of the past, and so it will be with those of the future, as it is with me now. I will detail for you the names of the groups of Devas, announce them and teach them to you. Pay close attention and I will speak." Yes, Lord, said the monks, and the Lord said, I'll tell you them in verse to which realm each belongs. But those who dwell composed and resolute, like lions in mountain caves, have overcome hair-raising fear and dread, their minds white and pure, unstained and calm. So here he's probably talking about the Arahants. In Kapilavatthu's wood, the Lord perceived 500 of his Arahants and more, lovers of his word. His lovers of his word is savakas, hearers or listeners. To them, he said, monks observed the deva host approach, and the monks strove eagerly to see. With superhuman vision thus arising, some saw a hundred gods, a thousand some, while some saw 70,000. Others saw gods innumerable all around. And he who knows with insight was aware of all that they could see and understand. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is asking his 500 arahants to use their psychic power and strive to see the devas who have come to pay respect. Those with limited psychic powers, they could see limited number of gods. But those with unlimited psychic power, they could see unlimited numbers of gods. And to the lovers of His Word, the Lord, turning, said, The Devahos approach, look and see to know them, monks. In turn, as I declare their names to you in verse. Seven thousand yakas of Kapila's realm, well endowed with power and mighty skills, fair to see, with splendid train, have come, rejoicing to this wood to see such monks. and 6,000 yakas from Himalaya of varied hue and well-endowed with powers, fair to see with splendid train, have come rejoicing to this wood to see such monks. From Sata's mount, 3,000 yakas more of varied hue have come, etc. The sum is 16,000 yakas all of varied hue. Of Vesamitha's host, 500 more of varied hue. Kumbira too from Rajagaha comes. whose dwelling place is on Vepula Slopes. A hundred thousand Yakas follow him. King Datrata, ruler of the East, the Gandabas lord, a mighty king. has come with retinue. Many sons are his, who all bear Indra's name, all well endowed with mighty skills. King Virulha or Virulhaka, ruler of the south, the Kumbhanda's lord, a mighty king. Virupaka, ruler of the west, lord of Nagas, and a mighty king. King Kuvera, ruler of the north, lord of Yakas, and a mighty king." Sometimes it is King Kuvera. It's also called King Vesavanna. It has two names. From the east, King Dattaratha shone. From south, Virulhakka. And from the west, Virupakka. Kubera or Vesavanna from the north. Thus ranged in Kapilavatthu's wood, the four great kings in all their splendor stood. With them came their vessels, versed in guile, skilled deceivers all. Kutendu first, then Vetendu, Vitu and Vitucha, Candana and Kamaseta next, Kinugandu and Nigandu these, Panada, Upamanya, Matali who was the Deva's charioteer. Nala, Cittasena of the Gandabas, Raja Janesaba, Pancasika, Timbaru with Suryavacasa, his daughter. These and more rejoicing came to that wood to see the Buddha's monks. From Nabassa, Vesali, Tacaka came Nagas, Kambalas, Asataras, Payagas with their kin. From Yamuna, Dattaratha came with splendid hosts. Eravana too, the mighty Naga chief, is the elephant god, to the forest meeting place has come. And the twice-born, winged and clear of sight, fierce Garuda birds, the Nagas' foes, have come. Flying here, Chitra and Supana, but here the Naga kings are safe. The Lord has imposed a truce. With gentle speech, they and the Nagas share the Buddha's peace." Stop here for a moment. These twice born is the birds. Birds are called twice born because first they are born into the egg, the shell. And then when they break the egg and come out, they are born a second time. So that's why they're called twice born. So here referring to the Garudas, the type of heavenly birds which enemies of the Nagas. They like to attack the Nagas and kill them. Asuras too, whom Indra's hand once struck. Indra I guess refers to the Sakadeva Raja. Ocean dwellers now in magic skill, Vasava's resplendent brothers came, the Kalakanjas, terrible to see, Dana Vegasas, Vepachiti, Suchiti, and Paharada too, fell Namuchi and Bali's hundred sons, who were all called Virocha, with a band of warriors who joined their master Rahu, who had come to wish their meeting well. Stop here for a moment. Here you see the Kalakanjas, are a type of Asuras and they are Devas. Later we will meet this word Kalakanja again, I think in Sutta 24, where it is said that the lowest type of Asuras are called Kalakanja Asuras. And since here we see that The Kalakanja asuras are devas. So the lowest asuras are also devas. But later books like the commentaries, Abhidhamma and all that, they put the asuras in the woeful plains and they claim that the asuras are also ghosts and also hell beings. But from here you see the lowest of the asuras are the Kalakanjas. This is stated in a later sutta. But from here you see Kalakanjas are definitely devas. not ghosts and not hell beings. Gods of water, earth and fire and wind, the Varunas and the Retainers, Soma and Yasa too, they was born of love and compassion, with a splendid train. These ten, with tenfold varied hosts, endowed with mighty powers and fair to see, rejoicing, came to see the Buddha's monks. When who too, This Venhu, I guess in Hindu is Vishnu. Venhu too with his Sahalis came, the Asamas, the Yama twins and those Devas who attend on moon and sun, constellation gods, sprites of clouds, cloud spirits. Saka, the Vasu's lord, ancient giver, these ten with tenfold varied hosts. The Sahabus, radiant, bright, came next, fiery crested, Aritakas, Rojas, Cornflower Blue with Varuna and Sahadamma, Achuta, Anejaka, Suleya, Ruchira, the Vasavannesis, these ten with tenfold varied O's, the Samanas and Mahasamanas both, beings man-like and more than man-like came, the pleasure-corrupted and mind-corrupted gods, green Devas and red ones too, Paragas, Mahaparagas with train, These ten, with tenfold varied hosts, Sukas, Karumhas, Arunas, Veganasas, follow in the Odatta-Gehas way. Vichakanas, Saddamatas, Haragajas, these gods called mixed in splendor, and Pajuna, the thunderer, who also causes rain. These ten, with tenfold varied hosts. The Kemiyas, the Tusitas and Yamas, Katakas with rain, Lampitakas, the Lama chiefs, and the gods of flame, the Asavas, those who delight in shapes they have made, and those who seize on others' world. These ten, with tenfold varied hosts, these sixty devahosts of varied kinds, all came arranged in order of their groups, and others too in due array. They said, he whose transcended birth, he for whom no obstacle remains, whose crossed the flood, him Canculus will see the Mighty One traversing free without transgression as it were the moon that passes through the clouds. So Brahma next and with him Paramatta, Sanankumara, Tissa who were sons of the Mighty One. These also came. Maha Brahma, who ruled a thousand worlds, in the Brahma world supreme, arisen there, shining bright and terrible to see, with all his train, ten lords of his who each ruled a Brahma world, and in their midst Harita, who ruled a hundred thousand. And when all these had come in vast array, with Indra and the host of Brahma too, then too came Mara's host, And now observe that black ones folly, for he said, Come on, seize and bind them all. With lust we'll catch them all. Surround them all about. Let none escape, whoever he may be. Thus the warlord urged his murky troops. With his palm he struck the ground and made a horrid din, as when a thunder cloud bursts with thunder, lightning, and with heavy rain. and then shrank back, enraged but powerless. And he who knows by insight saw all this and grasped its meaning. To his monks he said, the hosts of Mara come, monks, pay good heed. They heard the Buddha's words and stayed alert. And Mara's hosts drew back from those on whom neither lust nor fear could gain a hold. Victorious, transcending fear they have won. His followers rejoiced with all the world. It's the end of the sutta. So here, this sutta, there's not much dhamma, just that it tells you about all the different types of devas. Okay, I think we stop here for tonight. Anything to discuss? Yasunga, any question? Okay, now we can stop here.

37-DN-21-Sakkapanha-(2011-08-01)-Part-A.txt

Okay, tonight is the 1st of August, 2011. This is the 16th night. We're talking on the Diga Nikaya Suttas. Now we come to Sutta number 21, Sakkapanasutta. This is about Sakkadevaraja, who came to ask questions to the Buddha. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying in Magadha, to the east of Rajagaha by a Brahmin village called Ambasanda, to the north of the village on Mount Vedia in the Indasala cave. And at that time, Sakka, Devaraja, felt a strong desire to see the Lord. And Sakka thought, where is the blessed Lord, Sammasambuddha, now staying? Then perceiving where the Lord was, Sakka said to the 33 gods, gentlemen, The Blessed Lord is staying in Magadha, etc., in the Indasala cave. How would it be if we were to go and visit the Lord? Very good, Lord, and may good fortune go with you, replied the thirty-three gods. Then Sakka said to Panchasikha of the Gandabas, The Blessed Lord is staying in Magadha, in the Indasala cave. I propose to go to visit him. Very good, Lord, said Pancasikha, and taking his yellow beluva wood lute, he followed in attendance on Sakka. And just as swiftly as a strong man might stretch forth his flexed arm, or flex it again, Sakka, surrounded by the thirty-three gods and attended by Pancasikha, vanished from the heaven of the thirty-three and appeared in Magadha on Mount Vediya. Then a tremendous light shone over Mount Wedi, illuminating the village of Ambasanda. So great was the power of the gods, so that in the surrounding villages they were saying, look, Mount Wedi is on fire today. It's burning. It's in flames. What is the matter that Mount Wedi and Ambasanda are lit up like this? And they were so terrified that their hair stood on end. Then Sakka said, Pancasikha, it is hard for the likes of us to get near the Tathagatas when they are enjoying the bliss of meditation. and therefore withdrawn. But if you, Pancasikha, were first to attract the ear of the Blessed Lord, then we might afterwards be able to approach and see the Blessed Lord, Sammasambuddha." "'Very good, Lord,' said Pancasikha, and taking his yellow beluver wood lute, he approached the Indra Sala cave. Thinking, as far as this is neither too far nor too near to the Lord, and he will hear my voice, he stood to one side. Then to the strains of his lute, he sang these verses, extolling the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Arahants, and love. He said, Lady, your father Thimbaru greet, O sunshine fair, I give him honour due. By whom was I made as fair as you, who are the cause of all my heart's delight. Delightful as the breeze to one who sweats, or as a cooling draught to one who thirsts. Your radiant beauty is to me as dear as the Dhamma is to the Arahants. Just as medicine to him who's ill, or nourishment to one who's starving still. Bring me, gracious lady, sweet release with water cooled from my consuming flames. The elephant, oppressed by summer heat, seeks out a lotus pool upon which float petals and pollen of that flower. So into your bosom, sweet, I'd plunge as an elephant urged by the goat. Pays no heed to pricks of lance and spear, So I, unheeding, know not what I do, Intoxicated by your beauteous form. By you my heart is tightly bound in bonds, All my thoughts are quite transformed, And I can no longer find my former cause. I'm like a fish that's caught on baited hook, Come embrace me, maiden fair of thighs, Seize and hold me with your lovely eyes, Take me in your arms is all I ask, My desire was slight at first, O maid, of waving tresses, but it grew apace, as grow the gifts that Arahants receive. Whatever merit I have gained by gifts to those noble ones, may my reward, when it ripens, be your love, most fair. As the Sakyan sun in Jhana rept, intent and mindful, seeks the deathless goal, thus intent I seek your love, my son. Just as that sage would be rejoiced if he were to gain supreme enlightenment, So I rejoice to be made one with you. If Sakka, lord of 33 gods, were perchance to grant a boon to me, it's you I'd crave, my love for you so strong. Your father, made so wise, I venerate, like a salt tree fairly blossoming, for it is offspring's sake so sweet and fair. Help here for a moment. So you see, these devas and devis, they also fall in love. and sometimes what they want also they cannot get. When he heard this, the Lord said, Pancasikha, the sound of your strings blends so well with your song, and your song with the strings that neither prevails excessively over the other. When did you compose these verses on the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Arhats, and love? And he said, Lord, it was when the Blessed One When the Blessed Lord was staying on the bank of the River Naranjara, under the Goat Herd's bunion tree, prior to His Enlightenment, at that time I fell in love with the Lady Bada, bright as the sun, the daughter of King Timbaru of the Gandabas. But the lady was in love with somebody else. It was Sikkadi, the son of Matali, the charioteer, whom she favoured. And when I found that I could not win the lady by any manner of means, I took my yellow Beluva wood lute and went to the home of King Timbaru of the Gandabas, and there I sang these verses. And Lord, having heard the verses, the Lady Bada Suryavacasa said to me, Sir, I have not personally seen that Blessed Lord, though I heard of Him when I went to the Sudama Hall of the 33 Gods to dance. And since, Sir, you praise the Blessed Lord so highly, that is me today. And so, Lord, I met the Lady, not then, but later. Then Sakka thought, Pancasikha and the Lord are in friendly conversation. So he called to Pancasikha. My dear Pancasikha, salute the Blessed Lord for me, saying, Lord, Sakkadevaraja, together with his ministers and followers, pays homage at the feet of the Blessed Lord. Very good, Lord, said Pancasikha, and did so. And the Buddha said, Pancasikha, may Sakka, Devaraja, his ministers and followers be happy. For they all desire happiness. Devas, humans, Asuras, Nagas, Gandabas, and whatever other humans and whatever other groups of beings there are. For that is the way that the Tathagatas greet such mighty beings. After this greeting, Sakka entered the Indasala cave, saluted the Lord, and stood to one side, and the thirty-three gods with panchasikha did the same." I'll stop here for a moment. So you see just now at the paragraph 1.7, so these devas and devis, they also dance in the hall, just like human beings. Then in this Indasala cave, the rough passages became smooth, the narrow paths became wide, and in the pitch-dark heaven it became bright, owing to the power of the devas. And the Lord said to Sakka, It is wonderful, it is marvellous that the Venerable Kosia, with so much, so many things to do, should come here. And Sakadeva Raja said, Lord, I have long wished to visit the Blessed Lord, but I have always been so busy on behalf of the 33 that I was unable to come. Once the Blessed Lord was staying at Savati in the Salalah Hut, and I went to Savati to see the Lord. I'll stop here for a moment. So you see, Sakadeva Raja being the Devaraja, king of the Devas, he's also got a lot of responsibilities, very busy, just like human beings. At that time, the Blessed Lord was seated in some form of meditation. and King Vesavana's wife, Bunjati, was waiting on him, venerating him with palms together. I said to her, Lady, please salute the Blessed Lord for me and say, Sakhadevaraja, with his ministers and followers, pays homage at the Lord's feet. But she said, Sir, it is not the right time to see the Blessed Lord. He is in retreat. Well then, Lady, when the Blessed Lord rises from His meditation, please tell Him what I have said. Lord, did the lady salute you on my behalf? And does the Lord remember what she said?" And the Buddha said, she did salute me, Deva Raja, and I remember what she said. I also remember that it was the sound of your reverence chariot wheels that roused me from my meditation. I'll stop here for a moment. So when Sakka Deva Raja left in his chariot, the sound of the chariot wheels made the Buddha get up from his get out of his meditation. Lord, those gods who arose in the heaven of the 33 before I did, have told me and assured me that whenever a Tathagata, a Sammasambuddha, Arahant arises in the world, the ranks of Devas increase and those of the Asuras decline in numbers. In fact, I have witnessed this myself. There was Lord right here in Kapilavatthu, a Sakyan girl called Gopika, who had faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha and who observed the precepts scrupulously. She rejected the status of a woman. and developed the thought of becoming a man. Then after her death, at the breaking up of the body, she went to a happy destination, being reborn in a heaven state among thirty-three gods as one of our sons, becoming known as Gopaka, the Deva's son. Also, there were three monks who, having observed the holy life under the Blessed Lord, had been reborn in the inferior condition of Gandabas. They lived indulging in the pleasures of the five senses as our attendants and servants." I'll stop here for a moment. So you see these Gandabas in the heaven of the 33, they are attendants and servants to the 33 gods, the devas of the Tavatimsa heaven. At this, Gopaka rebuked them, saying, What were you about, sirs, that you did not listen to the Blessed Lord's teaching? I was a woman who had faith in the Buddha. I rejected the status of a woman and was reborn among the thirty-three gods, and and am known as Gopaka, the Deva's son. But you, after having observed the holy life under the Blessed Lord, have been reborn in the inferior condition of Gandabas. It is a sorry sight for us to see our fellows in the Dhamma reborn in the inferior condition of Gandabas. And being thus rebuked, two of the Devas immediately developed mindfulness and so attained to the realm of the retinue of Brahma. but one of them remained addicted to sensual pleasures." Stop here for a moment. So when this Gopaka rebuked the three ex-monks who were born as Gandabas, two of them felt ashamed and they meditated. They meditated and attained the jhana, first jhana and was reborn in the Brahma realm. But the other one, He was enjoying life as a Gandabha, sensual pleasures, so he refused to practice sadhana. Gopaka spoke, disciple once of him who sees, the name I bore then, Gopika. In Buddha Dhamma firmly trusting, I served the Sangha cheerfully. For loyal service paid to him, see me now, a Sakka son, Sakyaputta, mighty in the threefold heaven, resplendent, Gopaka my name. Then former monks I saw who had reached no higher than Gandabha's rank, who before had human birth and led the life the Buddha taught. We supplied them food and drink and waited on them in our homes. Had they no ears that they thus blessed, still could not grasp the Buddha's Dhamma. Easy for himself Each for himself must understand that Dhamma taught by him who sees, and well proclaimed, I serving you heard the noble one's good words, and so I am born a Sakha son, mighty in the threefold heaven, and resplendent, whereas you, though you serve the prince of men and led the matchless life he taught, have reappeared in humble state, and not attained your proper rank. A sorry sight it is to see, once Dharma fellows sung so low, that Gandaba spirits, you but come to wait upon the gods. While as for me, I am transformed, from household life and female, I am now reborn a male, a god, rejoicing in celestial bliss." Probably for a moment, so here you see, he rebuked them, he said, that they thus blessed still could not grasp the Buddha's Dhamma. So you see, listening to the Dhamma is extremely important. Just meditating, just by meditation and you don't understand the Dhamma, you can't get a high state. If you do both, it's the best. Thus rebuked by Gopaka, disciple true of Gautama, in sore distress they all replied, Alas, let's go and strive amain, and be no longer other slaves. And of the three, two struggled hard, and bore in mind the teacher's word. They purified their hearts of lusts, perceiving peril in desires. And like the elephant that bursts all restraining bonds, They broke the fetters and the bonds of lust, those fetters of the evil one, so hard to overcome. And thus the very gods, the thirty-three, with Indra and Bajapati, who sat enthroned in council hall, these two heroes' passions purged, outstripped, and left them far behind. On seeing which Vasava, dismayed, chief amidst that throng of gods, cried, see how these of lesser rank outstrip the gods, the thirty-three. Then hearing of his ruler's fears, Gopaka said to Vasava, Lord Indra, in the world of men, a Buddha called the Sakyan Sage has gained the mastery of lust, and these his pupils who had failed in mindfulness when claimed by death, have now regained it with my help. Though one of them is left behind and still among Gandabha's dwells, these two, on highest wisdom set, in deep absorptions, burn the gods. Let no disciple ever doubt that truth may yet be realized by those who dwell in these abodes. To him who crossed the flood and made an end of doubts, our homage due, the Buddha, victor, Lord, we give. Even here they gain the truth and so have passed beyond to greater eminence. Those two have gained a higher place than this in realms of Brahma's retinue. And we have come, O Lord, in hope that we may gain that truth. And if the Lord will give us leave to put our questions to the blessed Lord." So you see, these two devas, they practice hard in their meditation and they gave up this lust. In the heavens, it's very difficult to give up lust, sensual pleasures, because there's so much sensual pleasures. But they felt ashamed, so they practiced hard and attained the Jhanas. Then the Lord thought, Saka has lived a pure life for a long time. Whatever questions he may ask will be to the point and not frivolous, and he will be quick to understand my answers. So the Blessed Lord replied to Saka in this verse, Ask me, Saka, all that you desire. On what you ask, I'll put your mind at rest. Being thus invited, Sakka Devaraja put his first question to the Lord. By what factors, sir, are beings bound—gods, humans, asuras, nagas, gandabhas, and whatever other kinds there may be—whereby, although they wish to live without hate, harming, hostility, or malignity, and in peace, yet they live in hate, harming one another, hostile and malign? This was Saka's first question to the Lord. And the Lord replied, Ruler of the gods, it is the bonds of jealousy and avarice, isamacharya, that bind beings so that though they wish to live without hate, they yet live in hate, arming one another. Hostile and malign, this was the Lord's reply. And Saka, delighted, exclaimed, So it is, Lord, so it is, Welfarer. Through the Lord's answer I have overcome my doubt and got rid of uncertainty." Stop here for a moment. So Sakka Devaraja says, most beings, we want peace, we don't want to fight and quarrel with each other. And yet we do. Why? At the end the Buddha said, because of greed and jealousy. Because of greed, we want this, we want that. And when we see that other people have more than us, we are jealous. This is quite obvious in the world. You can see all around you, people are greedy. And when they have less than what you have, they are jealous of you and try to harm you in some way. Then Sakka, having expressed his appreciation, asked another question, but Sir, what gives rise to jealousy and avarice? What is their origin? How are they born? How do they arise? Owing to the presence of what do they arise? Owing to the absence of what do they not arise? And the Buddha said, jealousy and avarice, devaraja, take rise from like and dislike. This is their origin. This is how they are born, how they arise. When these are present, they arise. When these are absent, they do not arise. So it's because of liking and disliking that this desire arises and when you, cannot get what you want, then there is dislike and there is jealousy. This like is piya, dislike is apiya. But sir, what gives rise to like and dislike? And the Buddha said, owing to the presence, no, he continued. What gives rise to like and dislike? Owing to the presence of what do they arise? Owing to the absence of what do they not arise? And the Buddha said, they arise, Devaraja, from desire. Owing to the presence of desire, Chanda, they arise. Owing to the absence of desire, they do not arise. And then again he asked, but sir, what gives rise to desire? And the Buddha said, desire, devaraja, arises from thinking, vittaka. When the mind thinks about something, desire arises. When the mind thinks about nothing, desire does not arise. But sir, what gives rise to thinking? Thinking, devaraja, arises from the tendency to proliferation, papanca. When this tendency is present, thinking arises. When it is absent, thinking does not arise. And he asked, well, sir, what practice has that monk undertaken who has reached the right way which is needful and leading to the cessation of the tendency to proliferation? And the Buddha said, Deva Raja, I declare there are two kinds of happiness, the kind to be pursued and the kind to be avoided. The same applies to unhappiness and equanimity. Why have I declared this in regard to happiness? This is how I understood happiness. When I observed that in the pursuit of such happiness, unwholesome factors increased and wholesome factors decreased, then that happiness was to be avoided. But when I observed that in the pursuit of such happiness, unwholesome factors decreased and wholesome ones increased, then that happiness was to be sought after. Now of such happiness as is accompanied by thinking and pondering, and of that which is not so accompanied, the latter is the more excellent. The same applies to unhappiness and equanimity. And this ruler of the gods, or Devaraja, is the practice that monk has undertaken, who has reached the right way, leading to the cessation of the tendency to proliferation. And Sakha expressed his delight at the Lord's answer. Stop here for a moment. So the Buddha is saying here that there are two kinds of happiness. One is accompanied by thinking and pondering, which is worldly happiness. And that which is not accompanied, that happiness which is not accompanied by thinking and pondering, is jhana, especially the second jhana, where there is no more vittaka and vicara. So for normal people, ordinary people, there is this tendency to proliferation because they have not tasted the happiness of jhana. So not knowing the happiness, the bliss of jhana, they like to think So there's this tendency to proliferation. So they think a lot. A lot of people like to think a lot. So because of thinking, because of the tendency to proliferate the mind, to proliferate, that means one thought becomes 10, 10 becomes 100, 100 becomes 1,000. So one is always thinking. And then because of thinking, there is desire. And because of desire, there is like and dislike. And because of like and dislike, there is avarice and jealousy. Avarice means strong greed. And if you cannot get your greed satisfied, then you have jealousy because of like and dislike. But somebody who has attained jhana and he knows of a bliss which is not accompanied by thinking and pondering, then he prefers not to think. And when he does not think, you don't have the tendency of the mind to proliferate. So you don't have all this. You don't have thinking, you don't have desire, you don't have like and dislike, you don't have avarice and jealousy.

38-DN-21-Sakkapanha-(2011-08-01)-Part-B.txt

Then Sakka, having expressed his appreciation, asked another question, well sir, what practice has that monk undertaken who has acquired the restraint required by the patimokkha or the monk's rules? And the Buddha said, Devaraja, I declare that there are two kinds of bodily conduct, the kind to be pursued and the kind to be avoided. The same applies to conduct of speech and to the pursuit of goals. Why have I declared this in regard to bodily conduct? This is how I understood bodily conduct. When observed that by the performance of certain actions, unwholesome factors increase, and wholesome factors decreased, then that form of bodily action was to be avoided. And when I observed that by the performance of such actions, unwholesome factors decreased and wholesome ones increased, then such bodily action was to be followed. That is why I make this distinction. The same applies to conduct of speech and the pursuit of goals. And this Devaraja is the practice that monk has undertaken who has acquired the restraint required by the rules and Sakka expressed his delight at the Lord's answer. So here this is a criterion the Buddha gives on bodily conduct or verbal conduct. and the pursuit of goals, whether you want something, whether it's good or not for you, it depends on this law. If unwholesome states increase and wholesome states decrease, then it is no good. to be avoided. But if wholesome states increase and unwholesome states decrease, then it is desirable you should perform that action or achieve that goal that you want. So you see in the case of Jhana, Some people, they make the mistake, they say that it is wrong to indulge in jhāna. Jhāna is a kind of happiness, a kind of pleasure. It is wrong to indulge in. But the Buddha, he says very clearly in the suttas that there are two types of happiness. the happiness that comes from enjoying sensual pleasures and the happiness of jhanic bliss. And the happiness of sensual pleasures, the Buddha says, he discourages his disciples to enjoy. Why? Because it increases unwholesome states and decreases wholesome states. And also it ends in sorrow. Worldly happiness when we enjoy, in the end we will suffer, we become addicted to it. And because everything is impermanent in the world, it will go away. When it goes away, then we can't stand it because our mind is not cultivated, it's not strong. But Janak bliss, the Buddha says, he encourages his disciples to enjoy because he gives four benefits. What are the four benefits? The four fruits of the four Aryan stages. First fruit, which is Sotapanna. Second fruit, which is Sakadagamin. Third fruit, which is Anagamin. And fourth fruit, which is Arahant. This is a very good criterion. If you want to do something or not to do something, you see whether wholesome states increase or decrease, and wholesome states decrease or increase. Then Sakka asked another question. Well, sir, what practice has that monk undertaken who has acquired control of his sense faculties? And the Buddha said, Devaraja, I declare that things perceived by the eye are of two kinds, the kind to be pursued and the kind to be avoided. The same applies to things perceived by the ear, the nose, tongue, body and mind. At this Sakha said, Lord, I understand in full the true meaning of what the blessed Lord has outlined in brief. Lord, whatever object perceived by the eye, if its pursuit leads to the increase of unwholesome factors and the decrease of wholesome ones. That is not to be sought after. If its pursuit leads to the decrease of wholesome states and the increase of wholesome ones, such an object is to be sought after. And the same applies to things perceived by the ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Thus I understand in full the true meaning of what the Blessed Lord has outlined in brief. And thus, through the Lord's answer, I have overcome my doubt and got rid of uncertainty." Now stop here for a moment. So here is the same as the previous one. They use the same criterion. If you see something and unwholesome states increase and wholesome states decrease, then you should not see it, like seeing shows and listening to music and all these things. But if unwholesome states decrease and wholesome states increase, then you can see or hear, etc. Then Sakka asked another question, But then, of course, you might understand the criterion for monks and for lay people is quite different, because lay people, you're not willing to walk the path to liberation, so lay people expect to enjoy life a bit, so they indulge in these things. Only thing is, if you know, then at least, you know the Dhamma, then at least you put on your brakes, you don't go overboard. Then Sakka asked another question, Sir, do all ascetics and Brahmins teach the same Dhamma, practice the same Vinaya, want the same thing and pursue the same goal? And the Buddha said, No, Devaraja, they do not. But why, sir, do they not do so? The Buddha said, The world, Devaraja, is made up of many and various elements. Such being the case, beings adhere to one or other of these various things, and whatever they adhere to, they become powerfully addicted to and declare. This alone is the truth. Everything else is false. Therefore, they do not all teach the same Dhamma, practice the same Vinaya, want the same thing, pursue the same goal." I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying, beings are all different, and such being the case, adhere or they follow different opinions and whatever they want, they're addicted to, they say this is the best, this alone is the truth. And then again, Sakka Devaraja asked, Sir, are all ascetics and Brahmins fully proficient, free from bonds, perfect in the holy life? Have they perfectly reached the goal? And the Buddha said, No, Devaraja. Why is that, Sir? The Buddha said, Only those Devarajas who are liberated by the destruction of craving are fully proficient, free from the bonds, perfect in the holy life, and have perfectly reached the goal." And Sakka rejoiced at the answer as before. Then Sakka said, "'Passion, sir, is a disease, a boil, a dart. It seduces a man, drawing him into this or that state of becoming, so that he is reborn in high states or low. Stop here for a moment. So you see here, the Buddha says, a person can only be liberated or enlightened by destroying craving. So this craving, as Sakka says, is a disease, a dart, a boil, it seduces a man, seduces a woman also. So craving, passion is something that makes us enjoy life. So it's something that's very, very difficult to give up. That's why very few people want to walk the spiritual path because it means giving up all that you enjoy. But they don't understand that when you give up all that you enjoy, you attain a different kind of happiness, a higher kind of happiness, that even the low gods, the low devas, those in the sensual realm, sensual desire realm, they have no chance to enjoy. They don't understand. Only those in the Brahma realm, upwards, who have attained jhana, then only they know of a higher bliss. When you can attain that kind of higher bliss, the bliss of jhāna, then you can be reborn in a very high state, in the form realm or formless realm. At that time, the happiness surpasses the happiness of sensual pleasures. And Śakadeva Rāja continued, Whereas other ascetics and Brahmins of differing viewpoints gave me no chance to ask these questions, the Lord has instructed me at length, and thus removed the dart of doubt and uncertainty from me. And the Buddha said, Dear Varāja, do you admit to having asked the same question of other ascetics and Brahmins? And he said, Yes, Lord. And the Buddha said, Then if you don't mind, please tell me what they said. And he said, I do not mind telling the blessed Lord or one like him. Then tell me, Devaraja. And he said, Lord, I went to those I considered to be ascetics and Brahmins because of their solitary life in the woods, and I put these questions to them. But instead of giving me a proper answer, they asked me in return, who are you, verbal sir? I replied that I was Saka Devaraja, and they asked me what had brought me there. Then I taught them the Dhamma as far as I had heard it and practiced it, but they were very pleased with even that much, and they said, We have seen Sakka Devaraja, and he has answered the questions we put to him, and they became my pupils instead of my becoming theirs. But I, Lord, am a disciple of the Blessed Lord. A stream-winner am I, not subject to rebirth in states of woe, firmly established and destined for enlightenment. And the Buddha said, Devarajah, do you admit to having ever previously experienced rejoicing and happiness such as you now experience? And he said, yes, Lord. And what was that about? In the past, Lord, War had broken out between the gods, the devas and the asuras, and the gods had defeated the asuras. And after the battle, as victor, I thought, whatever is now the food of the gods and what is the food of the asuras, henceforth we shall enjoy both. But Lord, such happiness and satisfaction which was due to blows and wounds does not conduce to dispassion. detachment, cessation, peace, higher knowledge, enlightenment, Nibbana. But that happiness and satisfaction that is obtained by hearing the Dhamma from the Blessed Lord is not due to blows and wounds, thus conduced to dispassion, detachment, cessation, peace, higher knowledge, enlightenment, Nibbana." Stop here for a moment. So here, see this Sakadeva Raja, he went to these ascetics, living alone in the forest and try to ask them some Dhamma. And these people, like some people, they only want to meditate. They don't want to learn the Dhamma. So they could not teach the Dhamma to Sakadeva Raja. And then when Sakadeva Raja taught them the Dhamma, they became a disciple of Sakadeva Raja. But Sakadeva Raja thought he wanted to become their disciple. Instead, they become his disciple. The other thing you notice that these devas and asuras when they fight, there are blows and wounds. So it's not that they are just chasing each other and making a show. They actually really fight. That's why when they fight, before the fight, they can be very scared. The devas, tai ko, they would carry up their banner, and those others see their banner, they get some courage. The tai ko is with us. The warlord. But the Buddha says, instead of seeing the warlord's banner, you think of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, that is more reliable. And then the Buddha said, And Devaraja, what things do you call to mind when you admit to experiencing such satisfaction and happiness as this? And he said, Lord, at such time, six things come to mind at which I rejoice. I, who merely as a god exist, have gained the chance by kamma of another earthly life. That, Lord, is the first thing that occurs to me. Leaving this non-human realm of gods behind, unerringly I'll seek the womb I wish to find. That, Lord, is the second thing. My problems solved, I'll gladly live by Buddha's Dhamma, controlled and mindful, with clear awareness filled. Lord, this is the third thing. And should enlightenment arise in me, as one who knows, I'll dwell, and there await my end. That, Lord, is the fourth thing. Then when I leave the human world again, I'll be once more a god and one of highest rank. That Lord is the fifth thing. More glorious than Devas are the peerless gods, Akanita, among whom dwelling I shall make my final home. That Lord is the sixth thing that occurs to me, and these are the six things at which I rejoice. Long I wandered, unfulfilled in doubt, in quest of the Tathagata, I thought Hermits who live secluded and austere must surely be enlightened. I'll seek them. What must I do to gain success, and what cause but leads to failure? But thus asked, they could not tell me how to tread the path. Instead, when they found that I am Devaraja, or King of the Gods, they asked me why I'd come to them. And I, it was, who taught them what I knew of Dhamma. And at that, rejoicing, they cried, It's Vasava, the Lord we have seen. But now, I've seen the Buddha, and my doubts are all dispelled, my fears are allayed. And now, to the Enlightened One, I pay homage due. To Him who's drawn the dart of craving, to the Buddha, peerless Lord, mighty hero, kinsman of the sun, Just as Brahmas worshipped by the gods, so likewise today we worship you, enlightened one and teacher unsurpassed, whom none can equal in the human world or in the heavens dwelling of the gods. Then Sakka Devaraja said to Panchasika of the Gandabas, I'll stop here for a moment. So here you see, Sakka Devaraja, because of his psychic power, his great psychic power, He realized six things. One was that he'll be reborn as a human being again. And then secondly, when he's going to be reborn as a human being, he'll seek the womb that he wants to be reborn in. This shows that some of these gods, they have the power to seek the family they want to be reborn into. Then thirdly, he lives by the Dhamma, controlled and mindful. And then, fourthly, should enlightenment arise in me, I think he will become an anagamin, because the fifth thing, He says, when I leave the human world again, it will be a god, one of the highest rank. And then the sixth, that he will be reborn in the Akanitta heaven. This Akanitta is one of the five levels of heaven in the Suddhavasa. Suddhavasa or pure boats is the heaven where only anagamins, third fruition, ariyas are reborn. So he could foresee that one day he'll become an Anagamin and be reborn in the Sutavasa heavens. Then Sakka Devaraja said to Pancasikha of the Gandhabas, My dear Pancasikha, you have been of great help to me for gaining the ear of the Blessed Lord. For it was through your gaining his ear that we were admitted to the presence of the Blessed Lord, Arahant Samasambuddha. I will be a father to you, and you shall be king of the Gandabas, and I will give you Bada Suryavacasa, whom you desired." And then Sakha Devaraja touched the earth with his hand and called out three times, Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sama Sambuddhassa, called three times. Homage to the Blessed One, Arahant Sama Sambuddha. And while he had been speaking in this dialogue, the pure and spotless Dhamma eye or Dhamma vision arose within Sakka Deva Raja. And he knew whatever things have an origin must come to cessation. And the same thing happened to 80,000 Devas as well. Such were the questions which Sakka Devaraja was desirous to ask and which the Lord answered for him. Therefore, this discourse is called Sakka's questions." That's the end of the sutta. So you see, because this Pancasikha did his job very well and introduced Sakka Devaraja to the Buddha, So he said he'll make this Pancasikha the king of the Gandhabas. Previously, the father of this Bada whom Pancasikha desired, the father was the king. But now, Sakadeva Raja being so powerful, he made this Pancasikha the king of the Gandhabas so that he could have any maiden he wished among the Gandhabas. So you see, like in many suttas, you find from listening to the Dhamma, the spotless Dhamma vision arose within Sakka Devaraja. That means he attained stream entry, attained the first path, which must become fruit within the same lifetime. And not only him, 80,000 devas also attained the Dhamma vision, became stream, attain Shreem Entry. So it's always by listening to the Dhamma and getting right view that we attain Shreem Entry, no other way. So we stop here for tonight. It's quite an interesting Sutta. Anything to discuss? From this Sutta you find life in the heaven of the 33 is a bit like the human realm. You have dancing in the hall, You have falling in love and sometimes cannot get the, the, the, the, the, your choice. Then you have heartache. But if there is a different Shifa, then what is the temptation behind the Mahayana coming to teach that kind of thing? It says that we treat Buddha with all the other forms of love, to be close to the others. But if you take a closer look at the Shifa and follow Mahayana, you can still have this lust to be true. No, definitely not. Even all these Aryan stages, they are not reversible. Because to his monks he said, the hosts of Mara come, monks, pay good heed. So it is not only the Arahants, he is talking about all the monks. A person can attain arahanthood as a layman, but once he becomes an arahant, he will never go back to home. He has lost the old self, he has died. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. What, uh, what happened is that in 625, there was, there was a time when people, people gave up their bones, their deaths, their monies, from 50 by 50 points, which had fallen much lower than even, much lower than 50 by 50, at that time. So after at least two or three months, they take it from the youth and they tie it up, put it, and they enter the Dharma circle. So the people here, they don't have to reach further. They want to stay the same. After they are in the Dharma, they can go back to the Dharma. Not for sure because it doesn't say here how long they took to be reborn in the Brahmas realm. It is not stated immediately. True also. I don't know how to explain this. Maybe when they attain the Jhanas, then with their psychic power, they attain the state of Brahma. The other thing is that Sakka, Sakka's own prophecy, that he thinks that he will be born one of the time as a human. So can you believe that he is? Because of the endowments and everything in the Vedas, he thinks he will be born as a human one of the time as a human, so that he will be born. Yes, because generally in the Deva realm, the conditions are not conducive to striving. Like him, he is so busy, even he wanted to see the Buddha so many times also he could not find the time to see the Buddha. So how to practice? Thousands of, he's got thousands of wives following him everywhere. Thank you. Um, the Sangha Deva Vajra can choose, um, where to go. Mm-hmm. And I wonder if, if all the Buddhist people also has this ability to join Dharmasangha, to interact with the Dharmasangha. I don't think so because in the intermediate, what you're talking about is the intermediate state, where that being is, is conditioned by kamma. So he can only, you know, whatever human he can find, he will go into the womb. He cannot think, oh, I'm now in Malaysia. I want to go to Hong Kong to be reborn. Sometimes, sometimes our buddhists will make a belief that in the next life, even though this life I do not attain any good, then in the next time, in the next life, he may be the Buddha, Dhamma, or Sangha. So it is not that possible. I don't think so, because the Buddha says for a person to be reborn together, four things must be equal. The faith, and then the sila, morality, then the generosity, then the wisdom. So, for example, if a person thinks he wants to be reborn as a Buddhist, But if all these four conditions are not there, then he might not be able to. But if he understands the Dhamma, attains the Dhamma vision and he becomes an Ariya, then even wherever he is reborn, he will automatically look for the Dhamma. Or if there is no Dhamma, he will by himself practice. Yes, but I'm not sure if that is complete. Because, for some states, are states that lead to peace and happiness. And unwholesome states are states that lead to unhappiness, restlessness and all that. So they are a bit linked to the five hindrances because the five hindrances are the source of our unhappiness and frustration also. Okay, shall we stop here?

39-DN-22-Mahasatipatthana-(2011-08-02)-Part-A.txt

Tonight is the 2nd of August, 2011 and this is the 17th night we are talking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Tonight we come to Sutta 22, Maha Satipatthana Sutta, the greater Satipatthana discourse. In the Digha Nikaya, this is one of the more technical suttas. Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was staying among the Kurus. There is a market town of theirs called Kamasadamma, and there the Lord addressed the monks. Monks? Lord, they replied. And the Lord said, there is monks, this one way path to the purification of beings for the overcoming of sorrow and distress. for the disappearance of pain and sadness, for the gaining of the right path, for the realization of Nibbāna, that is to say, the four intense states of mindfulness. What are the four? Dear monks, a monk abides contemplating body in the body. Arden, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside hankering and fretting for the world. Hereby is contemplating feelings in feelings. Hereby is contemplating mind in mind. Hereby is contemplating dhamma in dhamma. Arden, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside hankering and fretting for the world." Stop here for a moment. There are some books, they translate, there is monks, the only way, there is the only way to the purification of beings. The Pali word is Ekayano Mago. And the more correct translation, the Herbal Bhikkhunyanamoli, English monk who has passed on, he translated as the path leading one way only. That's the meaning. This Satipatthana, it leads only to the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and distress. It is not the only way, because the only way is actually the Noble Eightfold Path. And inside the Noble Eightfold Path, you have the 37 Buddhipakya Dhammas. And Satipatthana comprises the four Satipatthana inside there. So four out of 37, so it is not the only way. There's also the Idipada, there's also the right Vayama, the four bases of psychic power, the four right efforts, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Bojangas, and the Noble Eightfold Path, these make up the 37 Bodhipakya Dhammas. So Satipatthana is one of the several things you need to practice. So it is not the only way. It is the path leading one way only, or here you can say one way path. And a monk abides contemplating body in the body. Kaya kaya nu pasi viharati, dwells contemplating, or abides contemplating the body in the body. This is the literal translation, the body in the body. So what it means is, you see, for example, one of the bodies I mentioned later is the breath body. So when you contemplate the breath body, you notice the breath going in and the breath going out, going in, going out. But the mind, our mind is a very efficient thing. So while you are contemplating your breath, thoughts can come in. You can be thinking about your office, you can be thinking about your family and all that, and yet you are still mindful of your breathing. So that is not contemplating the breathing in the breathing. You are contemplating the breathing among many thoughts. So here it says, contemplating the breathing in the breathing, devoid of other things. That's why it says, abides contemplating the body in the body, not any other thing. Ardent, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside anchoring and fretting for the world. This anchoring and fretting is sometimes translated as covetousness and grief for the world. And how monks, does a monk abide contemplating the body in the body? Here a monk, having gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty place, sits down cross-legged, holding his body erect, having established mindfulness before him. Mindfully, he breathes in. Mindfully, he breathes out. Breathing in a long breath, he knows that he breathes in a long breath. And breathing out a long breath, he knows that he breathes out a long breath. Breathing in a short breath, he knows that he breathes in a short breath. and breathing out a short breath. He knows that he breathes out a short breath. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, what do you mean by having established mindfulness before him? When you have mindfulness before you, that means you are in full view of mindfulness. Practicing in full view of mindfulness. You are not seeing any other thing. having mindfulness in front of you. He trains himself thinking I will breathe in conscious of the whole body. He trains himself thinking I will breathe out conscious of the whole body. He trains himself thinking I will breathe in calming the whole bodily volition. This one is Kaya Sankara. He trains himself, thinking, I will breathe out, calming the whole bodily volition. Just as a skilled turner or his assistant, in making a long turn, knows that he's making a long turn, and in making a short turn, knows that he's making a short turn. So too a monk, in breathing in a long breath, knows that he breathes in a long breath, and so trains himself, thinking, I will breathe out, calming the whole bodily volition. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, when he talks about the whole body, it's the whole breath body. So you're conscious of the breath body. But later books like the Visuddhimagga, they tell you to be conscious of your tip of your nose or of your upper lip. But that is not conscious of the breath body. Here the Sutta says conscious of the breath body. So if you want, you can follow the breath. in and out. There's nothing wrong with falling the breath in and out. And then, or some people, they want to notice the breath, say, inside the nostril, the breath going in. I can feel the breath going to the nostril and going out like that. Whichever is obvious to you, you have to make it very natural. You must not, what do you say? Sipan. Sipan. Because each person in meditation, each person's particular technique might suit one person, it might not suit another. So you have to experiment and find out what is natural to you. So he is conscious of the breath body and then he calms the bodily volition. This bodily volition, kaya-sankara, is the breathing. In the independent origination, when they talk about volition or sankara, sankara there is volition, and they talk about three types of sankara, kaya-sankara, vaci-sankara, and citta-sankara. That is in dependent origination. And Kaya Sankara, it is mentioned, it is specifically breathing. Vaci Sankara is thinking because when you want to speak, you must think. Then only you start speaking. And citta sankara is perception and feeling. When you have perception and feeling, it means also that you have consciousness. Only when you have consciousness, the mind can start to work. So for the body to live, for the body to function, you got to have breathing. If there's no breathing, the body will die. So the volition, the body volition, for the body to exist, for the body to function, the breath starts, without the breath the body cannot function. That's why the body volition is the breathing. So he calms the breathing, and then if he If he breathes in short, he knows it's a short breath. If he breathes in long, he knows it's a long breath. Just like a skilled turner. So hereby is contemplating body in the body internally. Contemplating body in the body externally. Contemplating body in the body both internally and externally. He abides contemplating arising factors in the body. He abides contemplating vanishing factors in the body. He abides contemplating both arising and vanishing factors in the body. Or else, mindfulness that there is a body is present to him just to the extent necessary for knowledge and awareness. And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. And that, monks, is how a monk abides contemplating body in the body. Stop here for a moment. So here, contemplating the body in the body internally is contemplating your own breath. Here we are talking about breath, our own body. And contemplating body in the body externally is other people's body, is other people's breath. And these arising factors, the Pali is Samudaya Dhamma. and vanishing factors is Vaya Dhamma. Samudaya Dhamma, you can see is arising states in the body and vanishing states in the body. But the great translator Bhikkhunyanamoli, he has translated it as arising factors in the body and vanishing factors in the body. In other words, the factors that make for the arising of the body and the factors that make for the vanishing of the body. Okay. Again, a monk, when walking, knows that he is walking. When standing, knows that he is standing. When sitting, knows that he is sitting. When lying down, knows that he is lying down. In whatever way his body is disposed, he knows that that is how it is. So, he abides contemplating body in the body internally, externally, and both internally and externally. And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. And that, monks, is how a monk abides contemplating the body in the body. Stop here for a moment. So this last part is about the four postures, to be aware or mindful of the four postures. Now we come to Sampajañña, clear awareness. Again, a monk, when going forward or back, is clearly aware of what he's doing. or mindful of what he is doing. In looking forward or back, he is clearly aware of what he is doing. In bending and stretching, he is clearly aware of what he is doing. In carrying his inner and outer robe and his bowl, he is clearly aware of what he is doing. In eating, drinking, chewing and savouring, he is clearly aware of what he is doing. In passing excrement or urine, he is clearly aware of what he is doing. In walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep and waking up. In speaking or in staying silent, he is clearly aware of what he is doing. So, he abides contemplating the body in the body internally, externally, and both internally and externally. And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. And that monks is how a monk abides contemplating body in the body. So here, another practice is mindfulness, general mindfulness. Whatever you are doing, you are aware, you are in the here and now. As I mentioned the other day, a lot of people, they are not in the here and now. Their minds are elsewhere. So for example, they are cutting the vegetable. If their mind goes elsewhere, they'll cut their finger. So it's dangerous. If you're walking in the road and you're thinking of this and that, then you might fall into the drain by the roadside. Or get knocked down by a car because you're not mindful of what's going on around you. So this Sampad Janiya. But Sampad Janiya, general mindfulness, is not so important as Sati. Sati is being aware of only four objects, the body, feelings, mind, or dhamma. You can only be aware of one thing at a time. So either you're aware or mindful of the body or of feelings or of the mind or of dhamma. Sati is a specific Mindfulness, it is not general mindfulness. Whereas here, Sampajañña is general mindfulness. General mindfulness is more basic, is more elementary, just like you have to go to elementary school before you can go to university. So you notice that sati is a factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Because it is important, it is a factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. But general mindfulness here, Sampajañña, is not a factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Sampajñānya or general mindfulness is something that you have to start with. After you learn to be mindful generally, then only you direct your mindfulness to a specific object, one of the four objects of sati. Only then you are practicing the Noble Eightfold Path. You are practicing general mindfulness, you are not practicing the Noble Eightfold Path because it's not a factor in there. So these are the various things you can practice concerning the body. One is the breath body, another one is the four postures of your body, whether you're walking, standing, sitting or lying down. And then general mindfulness of what you are doing. Now we come to the 32 parts of the body. Again, the monk reviews this very body from the soles of the feet upwards and from the scalp downwards, enclosed by the skin and full of manifold impurities. In this body, There are head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone, marrow, kidney, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lung, mesentery, bowels, stomach, excrement, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, phthalo, saliva, snot, synovic fluid, urine. It is as if there were a bag open at both ends, full of various kinds of grains, such as hill rice, paddy, green gram, kidney beans, sesame, husk rice. And the man with good eyesight were to open the bag and examine them, saying, this is hill rice, this is paddy, this is green gram, these are kidney beans, this is sesame, this is husk rice. So too a monk reviews this very body, In this body, there are head, hairs, et cetera, et cetera. So he abides contemplating body in the body internally, externally, and both internally and externally. And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. And that monk is how a monk abides contemplating the body in the body. So here, this is also called the asubha, this meditation on the impurities or the unattractiveness of the body. We are so used to seeing a body only externally. And as they say, beauty is skin deep. When you see somebody and you think she's very beautiful, or he's very handsome, you're only talking about the outer outer skin, skin deep. But when you contemplate all these parts inside the body, then that person is no more so beautiful or so handsome. All these unpleasant things inside the body. Here, I think there's no brain. Sometimes they put the brain inside here, making 32 parts. Sometimes they don't put the brain, so there is 31 parts. Now we come to the four elements. Again, a monk reviews this body, however it may be placed or disposed, in terms of the elements. There are in this body the earth element, water element, fire element, air element or wind element. Just as if a skilled butcher or his assistant, having slaughtered a cow, were to sit at a crossroads with a carcass divided into portions. So, Amang reviews this very body in terms of the elements. There are in this body the earth element, water element, fire element, air element. So, he abides contemplating body in the body internally, etc. And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. And that monks is how a monk abides contemplating the body in the body. So here, this is contemplating the body in terms of the four elements. In the suttas, rupa, the physical world is composed of four things, earth element, water, fire and wind element. The earth element, represents hardness, hardness or softness. When anything is hard, you say that is the earth element. The water element is anything that's liquid. Liquids tend to cohere together. So anything liquid, call it the water element. The fire element is the heat element. Anything that is hot, or cold, lacking heat, that is the fire element. The air or wind element is anything that moves. Because there is the air element inside us, so our blood moves, and our winds inside us move either out to our mouth and nose as we burp, or out to the anus, and the breathing also. So all this is the wind element. So this physical world being composed of these four elements, if you think carefully, these four elements are just a perception. For example, hot or cold is just a perception. Hard or soft is also a perception. Movement is also a perception. So this perception is a kind of consciousness. It's a kind of consciousness. So actually, if you consider carefully, the physical world is also in consciousness. It's only a movement of the mind that you think there is a physical world. Now we come to the cemetery or the corpse contemplations. Again, a monk, as if he were to see a corpse thrown aside in the charnel ground or in the cemetery, one, two or three days dead, bloated, discoloured, festering, compares this body with that thinking. This body is of the same nature. That means my body is same as this corpse. It will become like that. It is not exempt from that fate. So he abides contemplating body in the body internally, externally, and both internally and externally. And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. But that monks is how a monk abides contemplating the body in the body. So here, We are contemplating the corpse. So the first type of corpse is one, two or three days dead and is bloated and discoloured and festering, smelly and all that. So when you look at this corpse, you think one day my body also will be like that. Nothing to be vain about the body. The second type of corpse, again amongst, as if he were to see a corpse in a charnel ground, thrown aside, eaten by crows, hawks or vultures, by dogs or jackals, or various other creatures, compares this body with that, thinking this body is of the same nature, it will become like that, it is not exempt from that fate. So this second type of corpse is being eaten by crows, hawks, or vultures. They are tearing it apart because after a few days, the flesh becomes soft, rotten, and the dogs and jackals, et cetera, are eating it up. So we think carefully. One day, all of us, our bodies also will become like that. When we are young, we are very vain. We think our body is so beautiful. We think we are so strong and all that. But in a short time, he'll be old and he'll become a corpse and he'll be exactly like this. Again among, as if he were to see a corpse in a charnel ground thrown aside, a skeleton with flesh and blood connected by sinews. This is the third one. And then a fleshless skeleton smeared with blood connected by sinews. This is the fourth. And then the skeleton detached from the flesh and blood, connected by sinews, this is the fifth. And then randomly connected bones scattered in all directions, a hand bone here, a foot bone there, a shin bone here, a thigh bone there, a hip bone here, a spine here, a skull there, compares his body with that. This is the sixth state of decay of the corpse. Again the monk, as if he were to see a corpse in a charnel ground, thrown aside, the bones whitened, looking like shells. This is the seventh. And then the bones piled up a year old. This is the eighth. And then the bones rotted away to powder. This is the ninth. Compares this body with that, thinking this body is of the same nature. It will become like that. It is not exempt from that fate. So he abides contemplating the body in the body internally. Contemplating body in the body externally. Abides contemplating body in the body both internally and externally. He abides contemplating arising factors in the body. contemplating vanishing factors in the body. He abides contemplating both arising and vanishing factors in the body, or else mindfulness that there is body is present to him just to the extent necessary for knowledge and awareness. And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. And that, monks, is how a monk abides contemplating the body in the body." Stop here for a moment. So here, We consider the corpse going through the various stages of decay. First it is one or two or three days dead, then later it is being torn apart by these animals who are eating up the flesh. Then it becomes a skeleton with flesh and blood, flesh sticking here and there, and blood, and still there are sinews. And then the fourth, there's no more flesh, it's just a skeleton smeared with blood, but you still have sinews. And then the fifth is a skeleton detached from the flesh and blood connected by sinews. And then randomly connected bones are scattered in all directions. The bones are all scattered already. And then later, the bones become white, looking like shells, scattered bones. And then a year later, the bones are all piled up. Somebody has piled up the bones. And then later, much later, the bones rotted away to become powder. You don't see the flesh, you don't see the skeleton, you don't see the sinews, nothing left, just the powder which is mixed with the sand and the earth. You can't recognize it also. So that is the various stages of decay of the body, our body, how later our body will go through all these things. And how monks, does a monk abide contemplating feelings in feelings? Here a monk feeling a pleasant feeling knows that he feels a pleasant feeling. Feeling a painful feeling, he knows that he feels a painful feeling. Feeling a feeling that is neither painful nor pleasant, He knows that he feels a feeling that is neither painful nor pleasant. Feeling a pleasant sensual feeling, he knows that he feels a pleasant sensual feeling. Feeling a pleasant non-sensual feeling, he knows that he feels a pleasant non-sensual feeling. Feeling a painful sensual feeling, feeling a painful non-sensual feeling, feeling a sensual feeling that is neither painful nor pleasant. Feeling a non-sensual feeling that is neither painful nor pleasant. He knows that he feels a non-sensual feeling that is neither painful nor pleasant. So he abides contemplating feelings in feelings internally, he abides contemplating feelings in feelings externally, he abides contemplating arising factors in feelings, vanishing factors and both arising and vanishing factors in feelings or else mindfulness that there is feeling is present to him just to the extent necessary for knowledge and awareness. And he abides independent, not clinging to anything in the world. And that, monks, is how a monk abides, contemplating feelings in feelings." Stop here for a moment. So here, we are contemplating feelings, so you are aware of these feelings. But you can also try to practice equanimity and you can also ask why you feel so. Sometimes, for example, somebody says something unpleasant to us and then we don't like it and then we get angry, for example. Then you ask yourself, why am I angry? Is it because of hatred in me? ill will? Is it because of greed? I couldn't get something I wanted, so I'm very angry. So is it because of my ego? Somebody says something I can't stand. So if you contemplate, then you find who is angry. It's the ego that's angry. The ego cannot stand. the ego, then you consider the ego is not me. So you have to examine why you react in a certain way. Why can't you just be happy? Don't let your feelings move you. We are much moved by our feelings. It causes a lot of dukkha. So if you allow the feelings to move you, then you are not in control of your feelings, then you suffer a lot. You find people who are emotional, they suffer a lot.

40-DN-22-Mahasatipatthana-(2011-08-02)-Part-B.txt

Now we come to contemplation of mind. And how monks, does a monk abide contemplating mind in the mind? Here a monk knows a lustful mind as lustful, a mind free from lust as free from lust, a hating mind as hating, mind free from hate as free from hate. A deluded mind is deluded. An undeluded mind is undeluded. A contracted mind is contracted. A distracted mind is distracted. A developed mind is developed. An undeveloped mind is undeveloped. A surpassed mind is surpassed. An unsurpassed mind is unsurpassed. A concentrated mind is concentrated. an unconcentrated mind as unconcentrated, a liberated mind as liberated, an unliberated mind as unliberated. So he abides contemplating mind in mind internally, he abides contemplating mind in mind externally, or he abides contemplating arising practice in the mind. etc. or else mindfulness that there is mind is present just to the extent necessary for knowledge and awareness. And he abides detached, not grasping at anything in the world. But that monks is how a monk abides contemplating mind in mind." You see this partner, or else mindfulness that there is mind is present just to the extent necessary for knowledge and awareness. For example, sometimes when we are doing the breath meditation, watching your breath go in and out, go in and out, later the mind either becomes, the breath becomes very fine, you don't see the breath, or The sloth and topper is very strong. Because of sloth and topper, you cannot see the breath at all. Then, as though there is no object, then you can practice this. Mindfulness that there is mind, there is awareness, is present just to the extent necessary for knowledge and awareness. You just know even there is no object, You have this knowing mind, what Achan Man, they call, Puru, the knowing one. Always be aware of the knowing one. So, when there's no object at all, then you just contemplate that, the knowing. This knowing is always there. And this knowing we take to be the self. So this contemplation of the mind, the state of the mind, you try to be aware of the state of the mind. And not only that, sometimes thoughts also, because we have a lot of thoughts in our mind. So whatever thoughts arise in your mind, also you have to look at the thoughts. For example, look at the motive of your thoughts. Why do I think in a certain way? For example, say you have a certain hatred for somebody, like consider somebody as your enemy or something, and then you ask yourself, why, why I think in this way? Or you want something, then you ask yourself, why? So you always look at your motive. Because when we contemplate our motive, then we understand ourself better. Then when you understand yourself better, then you can see what is stronger in you. Is it the lust that is stronger? Or is it the hatred that is stronger? Or is it the blur blur, the delusion that is strong? So when we understand ourselves, then only we can correct our faults. If you don't understand yourself, then you don't see your faults. How can you correct your faults? A lot of people never look inside. A lot of people, we always see other people's fault. And when we see other people's fault, we try to criticize people. But other people can see our faults. So if somebody tells you your fault, you should Try to look whether it's true or not instead of getting angry. A lot of people get angry because they never look inside. When you don't look inside and somebody tells you your fault, you think you are perfect, you don't have that kind of fault. So you don't accept it and then you blow your top and all these things. But the Buddha says in the Sutta that if you have a teacher who can point out your faults and correct you, That is the best teacher. You must stay with him the rest of your life. Because if somebody points out your faults, then only you can improve. If nobody points out your faults, then you can never improve. Because it's hard to see your own fault. So it's important always to look inwards, not look outwards. Look inwards into our mind. Why we think in a certain way, why we react in a certain way, why we cannot accept something, why we get angry, and all these things. Now we come to Dhamma. And how monks, does a monk abide contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma? This here, the translation, mind objects, sometimes they translate as phenomena, but the actual meaning is the Buddha's Dhamma. The contemplation of the Buddha's Dhamma is extremely important. In fact, of all these four objects, the contemplation of the Buddha's Dhamma should be the most important because the Buddha says in the Anguttara Nikaya, there are five occasions when a person becomes liberated, when a person becomes an Arahant. One, when he's listening to the Sutta, that means the Buddha's Dhamma. Secondly, when he's teaching the Buddha's Dhamma or Sutta. And then number three, when he's reflecting on the Buddha's Dhamma. Number four, when he's repeating the Buddha's Dhamma. As you repeat the Buddha's Dhamma, you understand and you bring it to, recall it to mind. So these are the four occasions. And the fifth one is during meditation. So you see, to become liberated, Four occasions have to do with understanding the Dhamma. So here, the Dhamma is the Buddha's Dhamma. Buddha's Dhamma is the most important of all the four objects of Satipatthana. Okay, here a monk abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma, in respect of the five hindrances. How does he do so? Here monks, if sensual desire is present in himself, a monk knows that it is present. If sensual desire is absent in himself, a monk knows that it is absent. And He knows how unarisen sensual desire comes to arise. And He knows how the abandonment of arisen sensual desire comes about. And He knows how the non-arising of the abandoned sensual desire in the future will come about. If ill-will is present in himself, a monk knows that it is present, etc. And he knows how the non-arising of the abandoned ill-will in the future will come about. Similarly, if sloth and torpor is present in himself, a monk knows that it is present, etc. If worry and flurry, sometimes they translate it as restlessness and worry. is present in himself, a monk knows that it is present, etc., etc. If doubt is present, a monk knows that it is present, etc., etc. So here, let me finish. So he abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma internally, etc. Then he abides contemplating arising factors in Dhamma. or else mindfulness that there is Dhamma is present just to the extent necessary for knowledge and awareness. And he abides detached, not grasping at anything in the world. And that, monks, is how a monk abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma in respect of the five hindrances." So here, the first Dhamma he contemplates, is the five hindrances. The five hindrances are sensual desire, ill will, sloth and topper, restlessness and worry and doubt. And in the suttas the Buddha says we are not wise or intelligent because of these five hindrances. somebody who has very low IQ, the five hindrances will be very strong. And when the five hindrances are very strong, they are called hindrances because they obsess our mind. obsess our mind and they hinder us, that's why they are called hindrances. But if these five things are at a very low level and they don't hinder you, they don't obsess your mind, then they are not called hindrances. They are only called hindrances when they are strong and obsess your mind and hinder you. So this sensual desire is very strong. You find the newspaper sometimes that an old man may rape the daughter or the granddaughter. because he cannot control the sensual desire. And ill will is very strong. Sometimes I've seen the newspaper, a son arguing with the father and then he lost his temper. He took the machete, the parang, and slashed the father to death. This is ill will or anger is very strong. And if sloth and topper is very strong, then that person is half asleep most of the time. blur blur as we say. And if restlessness and worry is strong, then a person cannot sit still. I see a lot of young people, they ask them to meditate or to stay quiet. They cannot, they always must go out of the house. If doubt is strong, then a person finds it hard to make a decision. Like some people, they want to They have three or four or five or six boyfriends, some girls they want to marry, they can't choose which one. Similarly for a boy choosing a girl or a person wants to choose a job, he's got a few jobs in hand, he doesn't know which one to decide. The doubt is very strong. So these five hindrances, when he contemplates the five hindrances, the Dhamma internally I guess probably refers to the five hindrances in himself. When he contemplates it externally, it probably means the five hindrances in other people. Again monks, a monk abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma in respect of the five aggregates of attachment or grasping. How does he do so? Here a monk thinks, such is form or body, such the arising of form, such the disappearance of form, such is feeling, such is the arising of feeling, such is the disappearance of feeling, such is perception, such the arising of perception, such the disappearance of perception. Such is volition, such the arising of volition and the disappearance of volition. Such is consciousness, the arising of consciousness and the disappearance of consciousness. So he abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma, internally, externally, internally and externally. And he abides detached, not grasping at anything in the world. But that monks is how a monk abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma, in respect of the five aggregates of attachment. Stop here for a moment. Here we are talking about Panchu, Padana, Khanda, the five aggregates of attachment. These five aggregates of attachment are also called body and mind. The first one is body, the other four comprises mind, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. So we take these five aggregates to be I or mind. everybody takes these five aggregates to be I or mine. And because we take the five aggregates to be I or mine, we fight for survival, we fight for I and mine, all your possessions, all your relatives, etc. So instead of seeing the five aggregates are just body and mind, So because we are attached to the five aggregates, so when the body becomes sick, then we think we are sick. When your son dies, then you think my son dies and you suffer a lot. But if you think that is just body, then you won't suffer so much. So the Buddha is trying to tell us that these five aggregates, it's not I, it's not mine. We have no control over them. They came into the world and then they arise and they age and they become sick and they die. We have no control. That's why the Buddha says it's not I and mine. Again monks, a monk abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma in respect of the six internal and external sense bases. How does he do so? Here a monk knows the I, knows I objects or sight objects, and he knows whatever factor arises dependent on the two, and he knows how an unarisen factor comes to arise, and he knows how the abandonment of an arisen factor comes about. And he knows how the non-arising of the abandoned factor in the future will come about. He knows the ear and knows sound, etc. He knows nose and smells, etc. He knows tongue and taste, etc. He knows body and tangibles, etc. He knows mind and mind objects, etc. So he knows how an un-arisen factor comes to arise. And he knows how the abandonment of an arisen factor comes about. And he knows how the non-arising of the abandoned factor in the future will come about. So he abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma internally, etc. And he abides detached, not grasping at anything in the world. And that monks is how a monk abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma in respect of the six internal and external sense bases. Stop here for a moment. This six sense basis, salayatana, is another very important teaching, dhamma teaching, that we need to contemplate because to attain liberation from suffering, we have to understand what we take to be I and mine. And this six sense basis is another that we need to understand. If you contemplate, Analyse the six sense bases, eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. It's also basically body and mind because the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body is the body part and then the mind is the mind part. So it's a little similar to the five aggregates. Again monks, a monk abides contemplating dhamma in dhamma in respect of the seven factors of enlightenment. That's the bojangas. How does he do so? Here monks, if the enlightenment factor of mindfulness is present in himself, a monk knows that it is present. If the enlightenment factor of mindfulness is absent in himself, he knows that it is absent. This word mindfulness is not the sampajjana, you know. This word is sati. This refers to sati and sati, a better translation is recollection. That means you are mindful of a specific object, not general mindfulness. It's a specific mindfulness, sati. And he knows how the unarisen enlightenment factor of mindfulness comes to arise. And he knows how the complete development of the enlightenment factor of mindfulness comes about. If the enlightenment factor of investigation of dhamma is present in himself, etc. The enlightenment factor of energy, enlightenment factor of delight, enlightenment factor of tranquility, enlightenment factor of concentration, enlightenment factor of equanimity is present. The monk knows that it is present, et cetera. So, yabba is contemplating dhamma in dhamma, in respect of the seven factors of enlightenment. Stop here for a moment. These seven factors of enlightenment, if we practice it thoroughly, then we can become enlightened and they are very important factors that can bring about enlightenment. The first one is sati. Sati is specific mindfulness. Actually, the practice of these seven factors of enlightenment is explained very well, very detailed in the Bhojanga Samyutta of the Samyutta Nikaya. which I went through those suttas two years ago, and I'd explained that very clearly. So if you want to understand more about the seven factors of enlightenment, you must listen to those suttas. There are many suttas in the Bhojanga Samyutta concerning the seven factors of enlightenment. Again monks, a monk abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma in respect of the Four Noble Truths. How does he do so? Here a monk knows as it really is, this is suffering. He knows as it really is, this is the origin of suffering. He knows as it really is, this is the cessation of suffering. He knows as it really is, this is the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering. At what mounts is the noble truth of suffering? Birth is suffering. Aging is suffering. Dying is suffering. Sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering. Being attached to the unloved is suffering. Being separated from the loved is suffering. Not getting what one wants is suffering. In short, the five aggregates of attachment are suffering. And what monks is birth? In whatever beings of whatever group of beings there is birth, coming to be, coming forth, the appearance of the aggregates, the acquisition of the sense bases, that monks is called birth. And what is aging? In whatever beings of whatever group of beings there is aging, decrepitude, broken teeth, grey hair, wrinkled skin, shrinking with age, decay of the sense faculties, that monks is called aging. And what is dying? In whatever beings, of whatever group of beings, there is a passing away, a removal, a cutting off, a disappearance, a death, a dying, an ending, a cutting off of the aggregates, a discarding of the body. That, monks, is called death or dying. And what is sorrow? Whenever, by any kind of misfortune, anyone is affected by something of a painful nature, sorrow, mourning, distress, inward grief, inward woe, that month is called sorrow. And what is lamentation? Whenever, by any kind of misfortune, anyone is affected by something of a painful nature, and there is crying out, lamenting, making much noise for grief, making great lamentation, that month is called lamentation. And what is pain? Whatever bodily painful feeling, bodily unpleasant feeling, painful or unpleasant feeling, results from bodily contact, that month is called pain. And what is sadness, whatever mental painful feeling, mental unpleasant feeling, painful or unpleasant sensation resulting from mental contact, that monks is called sadness. And what is distress? Whenever by any kind of misfortune, anyone is affected by something of a painful nature, distress, great distress, affliction with distress, with great distress, that monks is called distress. And what monks is being attached to the unloved. Here, whoever has unwanted, disliked, unpleasant sight, objects, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, or mind objects, or whoever encounters ill wishes, wishes of harm, of discomfort, of insecurity, with whom they have concourse, intercourse, connection, union, that monks is called being attached to the unloved. is being separated from the loved. Here, whoever has what is wanted, like pleasant sight, objects, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, or mind objects, or whoever encounters well wishes, wishes of good, of comfort, of security, mother or father, or brother or sister, or younger kinsmen, or friends or colleagues, or blood relation, and then is deprived of such concourse, intercourse, connection, or union. That monks is called being separated from the loved. And what is not getting what one wants? In being subject to birth monks, this wish arises. Oh, that we were not subject to birth, that we might not come to birth, but this cannot be gained by wishing. That is not getting what one wants. In being subject to aging, to sickness, to death, to sorrow, lamentation, pain, sadness and distress. This wish arises. Oh, that we were not subject to aging, etc., etc., that we might not come to these things. But this cannot be gained by wishing. That is not getting what one wants. And how monks, in short, are the five aggregates of attachment suffering. They are as follows. The aggregate of attachment that is body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. These, in short, These are, in short, the five aggregates of attachment that are suffering. And that, monks, is called the Noble Truth of Suffering. Stop here for a moment. So this is a long list of what is meant by suffering. You can slowly go through that. And what, monks, is the noble truth of the origin of suffering? It is that craving which gives rise to rebirth, bound up with pleasure and lust, finding fresh delight now here, now there. That is to say, sensual craving, craving for existence and craving for non-existence. And where does this craving arise and establish itself? Wherever in the world there is anything agreeable and pleasurable, there this craving arises and establishes itself. And what is there in the world that is agreeable and pleasurable? The eye in the world is agreeable and pleasurable, the ear, nose, tongue, body and mind in the world is agreeable and pleasurable, and there this craving arises and establishes itself. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, mind, objects in the world are agreeable and pleasurable, and there this craving arises and establishes itself. Eye, consciousness, ear, consciousness, nose, consciousness, tongue, consciousness, body, consciousness, mind, consciousness in the world is agreeable and pleasurable, and there this craving arises and establishes itself. Eye, contact, ear, contact, nose, contact, tongue, contact, body contact, mind contact in the world is agreeable and pleasurable, and there this craving arises and establishes itself. Feeling born of eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, body contact, mind contact in the world is agreeable and pleasurable, and there this craving arises and establishes itself. The perception of sight, sound, smell, taste, Tangibles, mind-objects in the world is agreeable and pleasurable, and there this craving arises and establishes itself. Volition in regard to sight, sound, smell, taste, tangibles, mind-objects in the world is agreeable and pleasurable, and there this craving arises and establishes itself. The craving for sight, sound, smell, taste, tangibles, mind-objects in the world is agreeable and pleasurable, and there this craving arises and establishes itself. Thinking of sight, sound, smell, taste, etc. Pondering of sight, sound, smell, taste, etc. And that, monks, is called the noble truth of the origin of suffering. Stop here for a moment. So this origin of suffering is the craving, and craving arises because there's something agreeable and pleasurable. In other words, something that gives us pleasant feeling, we crave for it. Because it gives us pleasant feeling, we want it again and again, so craving and attachment arises. But if you delight in something, after a while, you'll see an early, you'll get tired of it. For example, if you listen to a new music, then you think it's very nice. But if somebody plays it too often, then you get tired of it. But if somebody plays it non-stop, then you get sick and tired of it, and you can't stand it. So that's why you see here, it says, finding fresh delight now here, now there. So when you enjoy something, you delight in something, it's only for a certain period. After a while, you jelak already. You don't want it anymore. You want to find something else. After a while, you get tired of it. For example, you are given, you like to eat Kentucky chicken. But every day, they serve you with Kentucky chicken. After a while, you get sick and tired of it. So you want to, Find fresh delight now here, now there, somewhere else. So you keep changing, changing. That's the problem with life. Life can never be satisfied. You enjoy worldly things. You can never find satisfaction. Only for a short while you find satisfaction. But then you want something else. What, monks, is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering? Is the complete fading away and extinction of this craving? Is forsaking and abandonment, liberation from it, detachment from it? And how does this craving come to be abandoned? How does its cessation come about? Wherever in the world there is anything agreeable and pleasurable, there its cessation comes about. And what is there in the world that is agreeable and pleasurable? The I in the world is agreeable and pleasurable. The ear, nose, tongue, body, mind. Eye, consciousness, ear, consciousness, nose, consciousness, etc. Sight, sound, smell, taste, tangibles, mind, objects. Eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, etc. Volition in regard to sight, sound, smells, etc. Thinking of sight, sound, smells, etc. Pondering on sight, sound, smells, etc. And there this craving comes to an end. There cessation comes about. That monk is called the noble truth of the cessation of suffering. Stop here for a moment. So the cessation of suffering is to cut off the craving. forsaking and abandonment of that craving. So wherever the craving arises in the world, from sight, sound, smell, taste, etc., or other things, we have to make it extinct, forsake it, abandon it, detach from it. That is how cessation of suffering comes about.

41-DN-22-Mahasatipatthana-(2011-08-02)-Part-C.txt

And what monks is the noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering. It is just this noble eightfold path, namely right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. And what monks is right view. It is monks, the knowledge of suffering, the knowledge of the origin of suffering, the knowledge of the cessation of suffering, the knowledge of the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering. This is called right view. And what monks is right thought? The thought of renunciation, thought of non-ill will, thought of harmlessness, this monks is called right thoughts. And what monks is right speech? Refraining from lying, refraining from slander or carrying tales to cause disharmony, refraining from that. Refraining from harsh speech or coarse speech, refraining from frivolous speech or gossip, this is called right speech. And what monks is right action? Refraining from taking life, refraining from taking what is not given, refraining from sexual misconduct. This is called right action. And what monks is right livelihood? Here monks, the Aryan disciple, having given up wrong livelihood, keeps himself by right livelihood. And what monks is right effort? Stop here for a moment. This right livelihood is to find your livelihood in a way that does not harm oneself and others. What mounts his right effort? Here mounts a monk arouses his will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts his mind, and strives to prevent the arising of unarisen evil unwholesome mental states. Similarly, he arouses his will to overcome evil unwholesome mental states that have arisen. Thirdly, arouses his will to produce un-arisen wholesome mental states, for he arouses his will to maintain wholesome mental states that have arisen. This is called Right Effort. And what monks is Right Mindfulness or Right Recollection. Here monks, a monk abides contemplating the body in the body, ardent, clearly aware and mindful. Similarly, abides contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma. This is called Right Mindfulness. What monks is right concentration. Here a monk detached from sense desires, detached from unwholesome mental states, enters and remains in the first jhāna, similarly with the second jhāna, third jhāna, fourth jhāna. This is called right concentration. And that, monks, is called the way of practice leading to the cessation of suffering. So he abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma internally, contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma externally, both internally and externally. He abides contemplating arising factors in Dhamma, vanishing factors in Dhamma, arising and vanishing factors in Dhamma, or else mindfulness that there is Dhamma. is present just to the extent necessary for knowledge and awareness. And he abides detached, not grasping at anything in the world. That monks is how a monk abides contemplating Dhamma in Dhamma, in respect of the Four Noble Truths. Whoever monks should practice these four intense states of mindfulness for just seven years may expect one of two results, either arahantship in this life or if there should be some substrate left, the state of non-returner or anagamin. Let alone seven years, whoever should practice them for six years, five years, four years, three years, two years, One year may expect one of two results, similarly. Let alone one year, whoever should practice them for seven months, six months, five, four, three months, one month, half a month, let alone half a month, whoever should practice these four intense states of mindfulness for just one week or seven days may expect one of two results, either arahantship in this life or if there should be some substrate left, the state of non-returner, anagamin. It was said, there is monks this one way path to the purification of beings for the overcoming of sorrow and distress, for the disappearance of pain and sadness, for the gaining of the right path, for the realization of Nibbana, that is to say the four intense states of mindfulness. And it is for this reason that it was said. Thus the Lord spoke and the monks rejoiced and were delighted at his words. That's the end of the Sutta. So here you see the last part the Buddha says, you really practice the four satipatthanas for one week you can become an arahant. So you think carefully, if you just practice mindfulness for one week can you become an arahant? No. But because it is intense state of mindfulness, intense means unremitting mindfulness on one object. Unremitting, not even for a second, your mindfulness slips. That means you don't really sleep. So you see, somebody like Mahamoggalan, he became enlightened in seven days, the shortest period for any arahant, any of the Buddha's disciples. How did he do it in seven days? He didn't sleep. That's why in the suttas, we find he He was able to enter the first jhana. Then after that, the sloth and topper came and he started to nod his head. Then the Buddha was watching him from afar using psychic power. Then the Buddha came out of his body in a golden body out to the head and went to him and told him, Moggallana, Moggallana, be mindful, don't be drowsy. Then he He got a shock, he didn't expect the Buddha to come all the way from so far to in the middle of the night to tell him to be mindful. So, then immediately he drove harder. So, for seven nights like that, he didn't sleep. So, he knew the Buddha was watching him all the time. So, he practiced extremely hard. So, seven days and seven nights, he became enlightened. That is what I mean by intense states of mindfulness. Normally you see like here they translate it on the foundations of mindfulness. You practice the foundations of mindfulness, you won't become enlightened in seven days. But you can become enlightened in seven days if you practice intense state of mindfulness, which means unremitting mindfulness, unslipping mindfulness on one object. Say for example, the breathing. You're mindful of the breathing without slipping. And then you can attain the jhanas one by one, up to the four jhanas. And when a person attains the four jhanas, the mind is very strong. When the mind is very strong, then you have cut down the five hindrances to a very low level, which means the sloth and topper is very low. Then only you can maintain your mindfulness without sleeping. If your mindfulness is not cut to a very low level, how can you stop yourself from sleeping? That's why the four jhanas are extremely important in the Buddha's teaching. Only by attaining the four jhanas, the Buddha says that you can become an anagamin or an arahant. Without the four jhanas, there is no way you can become an anagamin or an arahant. I will stop here. Okay, we just talked about, I mean, we think of one option. Can we take the body as one object? Maybe we can calculate the... Take what? Take the body as a whole. I mean, in the sutra, how can we take the body as a whole, even objects, right? Can we take the body as a whole, as one object? Yes, yes. and which means we can contemplate quickly at what time and the 32 parts at what time. Yes, the point of this satipatthana or unremitting mindfulness or intense state of mindfulness, the object, the motive is to attain the jhanas. And after you attain the jhanas, you have to attain up to the four jhanas, according to the Buddha's words. And after you have attained the four jhanas, then you come out of the four jhanas, and then you contemplate, for example, the four noble truths, and then you will understand, and then you can attain enlightenment. So in the suttas, the Buddha always says, enlightenment, you need both samatha and vipassana. The Samatha partner is to attain the four jhanas. The Vipassana partner is to contemplate the Buddha's Dhamma. I don't quite understand what the Buddha explained to all of the five communities. which is said to know what you are in the hell world. Oh no, no, no. That is just contemplating the five hindrances. But to get rid of the five hindrances, in some other suttas, it says that you have to attain jhana. When you attain jhana, then the five hindrances disappear. disappear or are eliminated, it means it is cut down to a very low degree so that it is no more a hindrance to you. So the only way is to attain the jhanas. When a person attains the jhanas, it is reversible. So a person has to keep practicing But because that person has attained the jhāna, it is not too difficult for him to regain it if he loses it. In the suttas, there was a disciple of the Buddha. He attained quite a high state of jhāna. And then he mixed with a lot of people. And I think one of the arahants, rebuked him and one of the Arahants foresaw that he would lose his jhana. And sure enough, after some time, he lost his jhana. But later, he practiced again and he regained it. For example, Devadatta is a good example. He attained all the four rupa jhanas and four arupas and had psychic power, but because of the ego and not attaining right view, He became very vain and wanted to take over the Buddha's place. And when the Buddha refused him and scolded him in front of everybody, he got so angry he wanted to kill the Buddha. Then he lost all his psychic powers and he lost his jhana. Both your own body and both outside other people's body. Both at the same time. Both. One, sometimes you are contemplating, if you are contemplating your body internally, that means you only contemplate your body and not contemplate other people's body, okay? Then when you are contemplating externally, you are contemplating other people's body and not yours at all. When you are contemplating both, sometimes you contemplate yours, sometimes you contemplate outside. How do you switch from the body to the mind? How do you switch? I don't visualize it. Eyes are closed when you are contemplating. Whether you open your eyes or your eyes are closed, is it a form of visualization, contemplating? Or contemplating in words? Or in a way? Is it breathing? Contemplate means thinking about it, thinking about it. Reuse means recapitulate, to go through again. Then I read one book, it seems to say about the nine jhāna, jhāna contemplation. It actually advises to go to the nine bodhis. Say again? Nine, nine corpses, bodhis, because it isn't a real corpse only to see the whole. Oh, no, no. This is Buddha's time. They contemplate the corpse. They really go and see. So the book says, you know, using the bodhis is not correct. Here the Sutta doesn't say use photo. I have some photos. Probably Sri Lanka. They brought a corpse into a cave. and they left into the cave for the monks to contemplate. So this photo shows the monk sitting there contemplating for many days. Of course, he, mealtime, he'll go and eat, and then he'll come back, and then look at the corpse again, stay there many hours looking at the corpse. Must be very smelly, but he stayed there just to see the various stages of decay, the worms and all that, maggots and all that. Four elements. Four elements, I guess, because I mentioned just now, these four elements, they are just a perception So if you contemplate, not only your body, all physical things in the world are characterized by these four things. And these four things, because they are perceptions, they are just a movement of the mind. Just a movement of the mind. So everything that is physical is also in the mind, in consciousness. That's, I mean, probably some other teachers will tell you another way. What other way is it better? Well, you have to decide. Master, if we learn the contemplation of what we are learning and what is going to be, You also don't know your own body? That's not what it means. What it means is to consider the nature of your body, like head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, all this. Then you consider yourself in terms of the four elements, you have the heat in you, you have the hardness in you or softness, different parts of your body. There are some parts are hard, there are some parts that are soft, isn't it, in your body. There are some parts that are warm, there are some parts that are not so warm. And there is movement of air in your body, the different types of air in your body that makes your blood move, that makes your wind move, and all these things that make your tears flow and all these things. And then the liquids, there are so many types of liquids in your body. You can contemplate the blood, urine, pus, phlegm, snot, mucus, oil, oil of the joints, et cetera, grease that comes out from your skin, all this sweat and all this thing. So all these things in your body, you can contemplate in this sense. And then if you think of other people's also, you can think other people's sweat is just as smelly as mine. Other people's body is just as ugly as mine. Pleasant, non-sensual feeling. Okay. Sensual and non-sensual. Sensual, I guess, refers to the five senses. That means from the eye, ear, nose, tongue and body. the feeling arises because of seeing, because of hearing a sound, a pleasant feeling arises because of seeing, because of hearing a sound, because of smell, taste and touch or contact, body contact, pleasant feeling arises, that is a pleasant sensual feeling. And then a pleasant non-sensual feeling is something from the mind, Because you think of something and then you're happy. It's a pleasant, non-sensual feeling. In other words, the best way is actually nothing for Mark Lewis, of course, but I'm very confident. It should be the president and the leaders. Of the mental state? You see, we contemplate the mental state for I think a different reason, we contemplate the mental state, we contemplate feelings to understand yourself better, so that you can reduce your defilements. If you contemplate your mind, your mental state, then you are more aware of your defilements, then you can reduce it. But if you contemplate your mental state, can you attain jhāna? You cannot? You wait a while, wait a while. Okay, you watch your mind also. That is just to make you understand yourself, to see your defilements, right? but it will not bring you into jhana. So if you want to attain jhana, then you have to contemplate your body. Yeah, if you want to attain jhana, because it depends on what you want. As a layman, probably you think jhana is not important for you. So as a layman, you want to watch your mind to see your defilements. so that you don't have too much defilements, don't make you suffer so much, and don't make people around you suffer so much. Then you contemplate your mind and your feelings. But if you are a serious monk who wants to attain liberation, then he wants to attain the jhanas. And to attain the jhanas, then he wants to go into a cave, a quiet place, and meditate on his breath, and only his breath. until he attains one-pointedness of mind and enter the first jhāna. And from the first jhāna, he goes to the second jhāna and all these things. So, that is for a monk. I have one more question. Those of you that have been going to the site, in the temple, after the Bodhisattva walking path, after the prayer, they put their head towards the sun. So, in the past, and so on and so forth, those are actually the insight, which is not really the thinking about life. This is the insight. That's why you put your head inside. You cannot think. The inside part probably is he wants to understand, so he contemplates, for example, arising factors in the body, vanishing factors in the body, to understand what factors cause the body to arise, what factors cause the body to deteriorate, to die and all that. So arising factors, for example, what sustains the body? What caused the body to arise in the first place and what sustains the body? For example, the body is dependent on food, on good weather, on clothing and all that. And then vanishing factors is like the body one day must grow old, must become sick before it dies. If you don't have the supporting conditions, that will cause the body to disappear. So this is like to understand more the nature of the body. Are you talking about the page 336? because it seems that after each and every day of the month, the next month, because I thought my first year of high school, most of the things I learned inside, I thought it was a device, a phone, probably 2000 years ago, it's an in-size, a big phone, and I thought it was for camera, you know, and then it would come out, that is what it's like, I thought that is the meaning of this device inside, that is not the case. No, no, no, no, no. When you are contemplating the breath, you're only mindful of the breath going in and going out. You don't want to think. But this one, when he's not, this one like to, when he's not trying to attain jhana, then he can consider what is it that supports the breath What is it that causes the breath to disappear and all these things? To understand better. That understanding part is not to attain jhāna. One more question. The Dhammakaya theory nowadays also has its base in the Satipatthana Sutta and do you think they misunderstand the Sutta and what will it be? The present interpretation of the Satipatthana Sutta by the people who practice Vipassana, you see this Vipassana method that is taught now comes from the commentaries. And in the commentaries they say that a person, there are five types of persons who become Arahant, which is contradictory to the Suttas. So that being the case, their interpretation of the Satipatthana is also contradictory to the real intent of the Buddha. Because in the Buddha's words, there is a sutta, the Majjhima Nikaya. The Buddha says, to eliminate the five lower factors, you need to attain the four jhanas. In other words, to become an anagamin. or an arahant, you need to attain the four jhanas. So the condition to become an arahant or anagamin is the four jhanas. But in the commentaries they say there are five types of arahants. One is, there is one who has attained four jhanas. There's one who has attained three jhanas, this is not possible. There's one who has attained two jhanas, also not possible. There's one who has attained one jhana, also not possible. And then there's one that has no jhana. And then they use this last one, they call it the pure vipassana arahant. And then they use this to say that you can practice pure vipassana meditation without any jhana. So they interpret the practice of satipatthana in terms of kanika samadhi, momentary concentration, which is not mentioned by the Buddha at all because it's such an ordinary samadhi. Everybody has momentary concentration. That means you are mindful of one object after another, mindful object after another, which everybody has. They use that to say you can practice satipatthana by this way, using only momentary concentration, no need to attain jhana. But you look here, when he talks about the four noble truths, let me see, under page one. Okay, page three, four, nine. What is right concentration? Here, right concentration is first jhana, second jhana, third and fourth jhana. So how can you practice satipatthana without the four jhanas? Here it's very clear, it says the four jhanas, isn't it? So what do you think? You think the interpretation that you can practice satipatthana without the four jhanas is correct or not? Also, if you listen to the Samyutta Nikaya talks or read the Samyutta Nikaya, you find that in the Satipatthana Samyutta, there is one sutta where the Buddha gave a simile of the cook. And in that sutta, the Buddha says, a skillful monk, if he practices Satipatthana, You must end up with concentration, must attain the jhanas. But another unskillful monk, he practices satipatthana and then he does not end up with concentration, he does not get the jhanas. That is the unskillful way of practicing. So the skillful way of practicing, it must end up with jhana. That's why I say it is intense state, unremitting mindfulness. That's why I always say that it's important to study many suttas. Some people, they just study Satipatthana Sutta and they say, oh, no need jhana. Even this Mahasatipatthana Sutta, it says that you need the four jhanas. But in the shorter one, the Satipatthana Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya, it does not talk about the Four Noble Truths. Because it does not talk about the Four Noble Truths, it doesn't mention about right concentration. But here when it mentions about right concentration, then definitely four jhanas are necessary. Otherwise, a person, if he does not attain the four jhanas, then he's practicing the un-noble sevenfold path. The noble path is the noble eightfold path. The ignoble path is the sevenfold path. Okay. And to cultivate Jhana using Satipaṭṭhāna. Yeah. One of the key important, one of the most important factors is that we have to be holy as the world. Yeah. Being as being mindless master is very important. Body in the body. Body in the body. So especially the body, if you want to attain Jhāna, you must contemplate the body. Anapanasati or the 32 parts of the body. Shall we end here tonight?

42-DN-23-Payasi-(2011-08-03)-Part-A.txt

Tonight is the 3rd of August and it's the 18th time we are talking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Tonight we come to Sutta number 23, Payasi Sutta. It's about Payasi. Thus have I heard. Once the Venerable Kumara Kasapa was touring around Kosala with a large company of about 500 monks. And he came to stay at a town called Setavia. He stayed to the north of Setavia in the Singsapa forest. And at that time, Prince Bayasi was living at Setavia, a populous place full of grass, timber, water and corn, which had been given to him by King Pasenadi of Kosala as a royal gift and with royal powers. And Prince Bayasi develop the following evil opinion. There is no other world. There are no spontaneously born beings. There is no fruit or result of good or evil deeds. Stop here for a moment. This view is called worldly wrong view. That there is no kamavipaka. That there are no other worlds of rebirth. The third thing not mentioned here is there are no holy men. Meanwhile, the Brahmins and householders of Setavia heard the news. The ascetic Kumarakasapa, a disciple of the ascetic Gautama, is touring around Kosala with the large company of about 500 monks. He has arrived at Setavia and is staying to the north of Setavia in the Singsapa forest. And concerning the Reverend Kasapa, a good report has been spread about. He is learned, experienced, wise, well-informed, a fine speaker, able to give good replies, venerable, and arahant. And it's good to see such arahants. And so the Brahmins and householders of Siddhāviyā, leaving Siddhāviyā by the North Gate in large numbers made for the Singsapa forest. And just then, Prince Payasi had gone up to the veranda for his midday rest, seeing all the Brahmins and householders making for the Singsapa forest. He asked his steward, why? The steward said, Sir, it is the ascetic Kumara Kasapa, a disciple of the ascetic Gautama, et cetera, et cetera. And concerning him, a good report has been spread about. That is why they are going to see him. And he said, well then, Stuart, you go to the Brahmins and householders of Setavia and say, gentlemen, Prince Bayasi says, please wait, the prince will come to see the ascetic Kumara Kasapa. Already this ascetic Kumara Kasapa has been teaching these foolish and inexperienced Brahmins and householders of Setavia that there is another world, that there are spontaneously born beings and that there is fruit and result of good and evil deeds. But no such things exist. And the steward said, very good, sir, and delivered the message. So, sorry for a moment. So here, he knows what the Buddha and the Buddha's disciples teach. And to him, the Buddha's disciples teach wrong view. So he wanted to go and probably have a debate. Then Prince Payasi, accompanied by the Brahmins and householders of Sitavya, went to the Singsapa forest, where the Venerable Kumarakasapa was. Having exchanged courtesies with the Venerable Kumarakasapa, he sat down to one side. And some of the Brahmins and householders saluted the Venerable Kumara Kasapa and then sat down to one side, while some first exchanged courtesies with him. Some saluted him with joined palms, some announced their name and clan, and some silently sat down to one side. Then Prince Bayasi said to the Venerable Kumara Kasapa, Reverend Kasapa, I hold to this standard and this view. There is no other world. There are no spontaneously born beings. There is no fruit or result of good or evil deeds. And Venerable Kumara Kasapa said, well Prince, I have never seen or heard of such a tenet of you as you declare. And so Prince, I will question you about it, and you shall reply as you think fit. What do you think, Prince? Are the sun and the moon in this world or another? Are they gods or humans? And he replied, Reverend Kasapa, they are in another world, and they are gods, not humans. Then Venerable Kasapa said, in the same way, Prince, you should consider there is another world. There are spontaneously born beings. There is fruit and result of good and evil deeds. Stop here for a moment. So here he says, there is no other world. But immediately, this Venerable Kumara made him acknowledge that the When he says the sun and the moon, he refers to the sun and the moon god. Since the sun can be seen and the moon can be seen, and the Indian belief is that they have gods there. So, and he acknowledges that they are gods, and they are in another world. So immediately, his argument is refuted by Ravanakasapala. But he was quite stubborn. Continue, whatever you may say about that, Reverend Kasapa, I still think there is no other world. There are no spontaneously born beings and there is no fruit or result of good and evil deeds. And the Venerable Kasapa asked, have you any reasons for this assertion, Prince? And he said, I have, Reverend Kasapa. How is that, Prince? Reverend Kasapa, I have friends, colleagues, and blood relations who take life, take what is not given, commit sexual offenses, tell lies, use abusive, harsh, and frivolous speech. who are greedy, full of hatred and hold wrong views. Eventually they become ill, suffering, diseased, and when I am sure they will not recover, I go to them and say, there are certain ascetics and Brahmins who declare and believe that those who take life, etc., hold wrong views, will after death at the breaking up of the body, be born in a state of war, an evil place, a place of punishment in hell. Now you have done these things. And if what these ascetics and Brahmins say is true, that is where you will go. Now if after death you go to a state of war, to hell, come to me and declare that there is another world. There are spontaneously born beings, there is fruit and result of good and evil deeds. You gentlemen, are trustworthy and dependable. And what you have seen shall be as if I had seen it myself, so it will be. But although they agreed, they neither came to tell me nor did they send a messenger. That, Reverend Kasapa, is my reason for maintaining. There is no other world. There are no spontaneously born beings. There is no fruit or result of good or evil deeds. And Arahant said, As to that, Prince, I will question you about it, and you shall reply as you think fit. What do you think, Prince? Suppose they were to bring a thief before you, caught in the act, and say, This man, Lord, is a thief caught in the act. Sentence him to any punishment you wish. And you might say, Bind this man's arms tightly behind him with a strong rope. Shave his head closely and lead him to the rough sound of a drum through the streets and squares. and out through the southern gate, and there cut off his head. And they saying, very good in accent, in accent, might lead him out through the southern gate and there cut off his head. Now if that thief were to say to the executioners, good executioners, in this town or village, I have friends, colleagues and blood relations. Please wait till I have visited them. Would he get his wish? Or would they just cut off that talkative thief's head?" And Bayasi said, he would not get his wish, Reverend Kasapa. They would just cut off his head. So Prince, this thief could not even get his human executioners to wait while he visited his friends and relations. So how can your friends, colleagues and blood relations who have committed all these misdeeds, having died and gone to a place of war, prevail upon the waters of hell saying, Good warders of hell, please wait till we report to Prince Payasi that there is another world. There are spontaneously born beings. There is fruit and result of good and evil deeds. Therefore, Prince, admit that there is another world." Stop here for a moment. So here, this Venerable Kasapa, he gives a very good example. Because this Payasi says, Those people who have broken all the precepts, they expect to go to hell, and he asked them to come back. But this Ramana Kassapa shows him that even in this human world, when somebody is to be executed, he has no chance to inform his relatives or friends. Whatever you may say about that, Reverend Kasapa, I still think that there is no other world. Have you any reason for this assertion, Prince? I have, Reverend Kasapa. What is that, Prince? Reverend Kasapa, I have friends, etc., who abstain from taking life, from taking what is not given, from committing sexual offences, from telling lies or using abusive, harsh and frivolous speech. who are not greedy or full of hatred and who have right views. Eventually they become ill, etc. And when I'm sure they will not recover, I go to them and say, there are certain ascetics and Brahmins who declare and believe that those who abstain from taking life, etc., and have right views, will after death at the breaking up of the body, be born in a happy state, a heavenly world. Now, you have refrained from doing all these evil things. And what if these ascetics and Brahmins say is true, that is where you will go. Now, if after death, you go to a happy state, a heavenly world, come to me and declare that there is another world. You, gentlemen, are trustworthy and dependable, and what you have seen shall be as if I had seen it myself. So it will be. But although they agreed, they neither came to me nor did they send a messenger. That, Reverend Kasapa, is my reason for maintaining. There is no other world, etc." Kasapa said, well then Prince, I will give you a parable because some wise people understand what is said by means of parables. Suppose a man had fallen head first into a cesspit, that means a shithole, and you were to say to your men, pull that man out of the cesspit, and they would say, very good, and did so. Then you would tell them to clean his body thoroughly of the filth with bamboo scrapers, and then to give him a triple shampoo with yellow loam. Then you would tell them to anoint his body with oil, and then to clean him three times with fine soap powder. Then you would tell them to dress his hair and beard, and to adorn him with fine garlands, ointments, and clothes. Finally, you would tell them to lead him up to your palace, and let him indulge in the pleasures of the five senses, and they would do so. What do you think, Prince? Would that man, having been washed having been well-washed, with his hair and beard dressed, adorned and garlanded, clothed in white, and having been conveyed up to the palace, enjoying and reveling in the pleasures of the five senses, want to be plunged once more into that cesspit. No, Reverend Kasapa, why not? Because that cesspit is unclean and considered so, evil-smelling, horrible, revolting, and generally considered to be so. And Reverend Kasapa said, in just the same way, Prince, human beings are unclean, evil-smelling, horrible, revolting, and generally considered to be so by the devas. So why should your friends, et cetera, who have not committed any of the offenses and who have after death been born in a happy state, a heavenly world, come back and say, there is another world, there is fruit, of good and evil deeds. Therefore, Prince, admit that there is another world." Stop here for a moment. So here is another very good argument. This is the third argument, that the person has gone to heaven. Why should he come back to the human world? He's enjoying himself, just like that man pulled out of the shithole, enjoying himself in the palace. Why should he go back to the human world? So here you see this example, when you consider, you see some people, they go into a trance, and then they see this God and that God has come. So in the same way, when you look at this, the God is enjoying himself in heaven. Why should he come into the human body, which is so smelly and revolting to him? So what comes is some very low spirits. Whatever you may say about that, Reverend Kasapa, I still think there is no other world. Have you any reason for this assertion, Prince? I have, Reverend Kasapa. What is that, Prince? Reverend Kasapa, I have friends who abstain from telling lies, from strong drink and sloth-inducing drugs. Eventually they become ill. There are certain ascetics and Brahmins who declare and believe that those who abstain from taking life and sloth-producing drugs, etc., would be born in a happy state in a heavenly world as companions of the 33 gods. But although they agreed, they neither came to me nor did they send a messenger. That, Reverend Kasapa, is my reason for maintaining there is no other world, etc." As to that, Prince, I will question you about it, and you shall answer as you think fit. That which is for human beings, Prince, a hundred years, is for the 33 gods one day and night. 30 of such nights make a month, 12 such months a year, and a thousand such years are the lifespan of the 33 gods. Now suppose they were to think, after we have indulged in the pleasures of the five senses, For two or three days, we will go to Payasi and tell him there is another world. There are spontaneously born beings. There is fruit and result of good and evil deeds. Would they have done so? And he said, no, Reverend Kasapa, because we should be long since dead. But Reverend Kasapa, who has told you that the 33 gods exist and that they are so long lived? I don't believe the 33 gods exist or are so long lived. Prince, imagine a man who was blind from birth and could not see dark or light objects, or blue, yellow, red, or crimson ones, could not see the smooth and the rough, could not see the stars and the moon. He might say, there are no dark and light objects, and nobody can see them. There is no sun or moon, and nobody can see them. I am not aware of this thing, and therefore it does not exist. Would he be speaking rightly, Prince? no reverend kasapa there are dark and light objects etc there is a sun and a moon And anyone who said, I am not aware of this thing, I cannot see it, and therefore it does not exist, would not be speaking rightly. Well, Prince, it appears that your reply is like that of the blind man when you ask how I know about the 33 gods and their longevity. Prince, the other world cannot be seen the way you think with the physical eye. Prince, those ascetics and Brahmins who seek in the jungle thickets and the recesses of the forest for resting place that is quiet with little noise. They stay there unwearied, ardent, restrained, purifying the divine eye. And with that purified divine eye that exceeds the powers of human sight, they see both this world and the next, and spontaneously born beings. That, Prince, is how the other world can be seen, and not the way you think with the physical eye. Therefore, Prince, admit that there is another world, that there are spontaneously born beings, and that there is fruit and result of good and evil deeds." Stop it for a moment. So here, if a person has gone to the 33 gods, and he's enjoying life there. He won't think of coming back for at least two or three days until he's enjoyed a bit more. By the time he wants to come back, his friends would have died. Whatever you may say about that, Reverend Kasapa, I still think there is no other world. Have you any reason for this assertion, Prince? I have, Reverend Kasapa. What is that, Prince? Well, Reverend Kasapa, I see here some ascetics and Brahmins who observe morality and are well conducted and who want to live, who do not want to die, who desire comfort and hate suffering. It seems to me that if these good ascetics and Brahmins who are so moral and well conducted know that after death they will be better off, that these good people would now take poison take a knife and kill themselves, hang themselves or jump off a cliff. But though they have such knowledge, they still want to live, do not want to die. They desire comfort and hate suffering. And that, Reverend Kasapa, is my reason for maintaining there is no other world. Well then, Prince, I will give you a parable because some wise people understand what is said by means of parables. Once upon a time, Prince, a certain Brahmin had two wives. One had a son 10 or 12 years old, while the other was pregnant and nearing her time when the Brahmin died. Then this youth said to his mother's co-wife, Lady, whatever wealth and possessions Silver or gold, there may be, is all mine. My father made me his heir. At this the Brahmin lady said to the youth, Wait, young man, until I give birth. If the child is a boy, one portion will be his, and if it is a girl, she will become your servant. The youth repeated his words a second time and received the same reply. When he repeated them a third time, the lady took a knife and, going into an inner room, cut open her belly, thinking, if only I could find out whether it is a boy or a girl. And thus she destroyed herself and the living embryo, and the wealth as well, just as fools do who seek their inheritance unwisely, heedless of hidden danger. In the same way, Prince, you will foolishly enter on hidden dangers, but unwisely seeking for another world. This as the Brahmin lady did in seeking her inheritance. But Prince, those ascetics and Brahmins who observe morality and are well conducted do not seek to hasten the ripening of that which is not yet ripe. but rather they wisely await its ripening. Their life is profitable to those ascetics and Brahmins. For the longer such moral and well-conducted ascetics and Brahmins remain alive, the greater the merit that they create. They practice for the welfare of the many, for the happiness of many, out of compassion for the world, for the profit and benefit of devas and humans. Therefore, Prince, admit that there is another world. I'll stop here for a moment. So here, this Prince Payasi is also quite smart, saying if there is another world, then this ascetics and Brahmins, they should commit suicide so that they can go to heaven faster. But this Arahant is smarter, so he gave a very good example of this pregnant woman. And this last part, you see, is quite interesting. The longer an ascetic or brahmin lives, the more merit he creates. Because in the human world, we can create a lot of merit or evil. In the human world, we create more kamma than other places of rebirth. Whatever you may say about that, Reverend Kasapa, I still think there is no other world. Have you any reason for this assertion, Prince? I have, Reverend Kasapa. What is that, Prince? Reverend Kasapa, take the case that they bring a thief before me, caught in the act, and say, Here, Lord, is a thief caught in the act. Sentence him to whatever punishment you wish. And I say, Take this man and put him alive in a jar. Seal the mouth and close it with a damp skin. give it a thick covering of damp clay, put it in an oven and light the fire. And they do so. When we are sure the man is dead, we remove the jar, break the clay, uncover the mouth and watch carefully. Maybe we can see his soul escaping. But we do not see any soul escaping. And that is why, Reverend Kasapa, I believe there is no other world. As to that, Prince, I will question you about it, and you shall reply as you think fit. Do you admit that when you have gone for your midday rest, you have seen pleasant visions of parks, forests, delightful country, and lotus ponds? That means in your dreams. I do, Reverend Kasapa. And at that time, are you not watched over by hunchbacks, dwarfs, young girls and maidens? I am, Reverend Kasapa. And do they observe your soul entering or leaving your body? No, Reverend Kasapa. So they do not see your soul entering or leaving your body, even when you are alive. Therefore, how could you see the soul of a dead man entering or leaving his body? Therefore, Prince, admit that there is another world." So here, this is another good example and argument they put forth. This Payasi, probably he has write this. He put this man alive in a jar and lighted the fire until the man is dead. Whatever you may say about that, Reverend Kasapa, I still think there is no other world. Have you any reason for this assertion, Prince? I have, Reverend Kasapa. What is that, Prince? Reverend Kasapa, take the case that they bring a thief before me, and I say, weigh this man on the scales alive, then strangle him and weigh him again. And they do so. As long as he was alive, he was lighter, softer, and more flexible. But when he was dead, he was heavier, stiffer, and more inflexible. And that, Reverend Kasapa, is my reason for maintaining there is no other world. Well then, Prince, I will give you a parable. Suppose a man weighed an iron ball that had been heated all day, blazing, burning, fiercely glowing. And suppose that after a time when it had grown cold and gone out, he weighed it again. At which time would it be lighter, softer, or more flexible? When it was hot, burning, and glowing, or when it was cold and extinguished? When that ball of iron is hot, burning and glowing with the elements of fire and air, then it is lighter, softer and more flexible. When without those elements it has grown cold and gone out, it is heavier, stiffer, and more inflexible. Well then, Prince, it is just the same with the body. When it has life, heat, and consciousness, it is lighter, softer, and more flexible. But when it is deprived of life, heat, and consciousness, it is heavier, stiffer, and more inflexible. In the same way, Prince, you should consider there is another world. Stop here for a moment. This Prince Bayasi, he caught a thief and he weighed this thief. And then after they killed the thief, and maybe after some time, the corpse become stiff already and then he weighed it again. Then he found that it was heavier. But his reasoning is that if there's a soul inside the body, then when the person dies, the soul would leave the body. So the dead corpse should be lighter. So he said, but it's not true, it's heavier. So the Arahant gave him a very good example. Whatever you may say about that, Reverend Kasapa, I still think there is no other world. Have you any reason for this assertion, Prince? I have, Reverend Kasapa. What is that, Prince? Reverend Kasapa, take the case of a thief that they bring before me, and I say, kill this man without wounding his cuticle, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, or marrow. And they do so. That means they skin him alive. When he's half dead, I say, now lay this man on his back and perhaps we shall be able to see his soul emerging. They do so, but we cannot see his soul emerging. Then I say, turn him face downwards on his side, on the other side, stand him up, stand him with his head, stand him on his head, thump him with your fist, stone him, hit him with sticks, strike him with swords, shake him this way and that, and perhaps we shall be able to see his soul emerging. So he's telling the people to do all kinds of things to frighten the soul so that the soul will come out and they can see. And they do all these things. But although he has eyes, he does not perceive objects or their spheres. Although he has ears, he does not hear sounds. Although he has a nose, he does not smell smells. Although he has a tongue, he does not taste taste. Although he has a body, he does not feel tangibles or their spheres. And that is why, Reverend Kasapa, I believe there is no other world.

43-DN-23-Payasi-(2011-08-03)-Part-B.txt

Well then, Prince, I will give you a parable. Once there was a trumpeter who took his trumpet and went into the border country. On coming to a village, he stood in the village centre, blew his trumpet three times, and then putting it down on the ground, sat down to one side. Then Prince, these border folk thought, where does that sound come from that is so delightful, so sweet, so intoxicating, so compelling, so captivating? They addressed the trumpeter and asked him about this. Friends, this trumpet is where those delightful sounds come from. So then they laid the trumpet on his back, crying, Speak, Mr. Trumpet, speak! But the trumpet never uttered a sound. Then they turned it face downwards, on his side, on his other side, stood it up, stood it on his head, thumped it with their fists, stoned it, beat it with sticks, struck it with swords, shook it this way and that, crying, Speak, Mr. Trumpet, speak! But the trumpet never uttered a sound. The trumpeter thought, What fools these border folk are, how stupidly they search for the sound of the trumpet. And as they watched him, he took the trumpet, blew it three times and went away. And those border folk thought, it seems that when the trumpet is accompanied by a man, by effort and by the wind, that it makes a sound. But when it is not accompanied by a man, by effort and by the wind, then it makes no sound. In the same way, Prince, When this body has life, heat, and consciousness, then it goes and comes back, stands and sits and lies down, sees things with its eyes, hears with its ears, smells with its nose, tastes with its tongue, feels with its body, and knows mental objects with its mind. But when it has no life, heat, or consciousness, it does none of these things. In the same way, Prince, you should consider there is another world. Stop here for a moment. So this is the eighth argument. So this prince has given this example what he did with the thief. Skin him alive and then try to see the soul come out. And when he does not see the soul emerging, he does everything to force the soul to come out and still he does not see. So this Arahant gave him an excellent argument about the trumpet. Whatever you may say about that, Reverend Kasapa, I still think there is no other world. Have you any reason for this assertion, Prince? I have, Reverend Kasapa. What is that, Prince? Reverend Kasapa, take the case of a thief they bring before me, and I say, strip away this man's outer skin, and perhaps we shall be able to see his soul emerging. Then I tell them to strip away his inner skin, his flesh, sinews, bones, bone marrow, but still we cannot see any soul emerging. And that is why, Reverend Kasapa, I believe there is no other world. Well then, Prince, I will give you a parable. Once there was a matted-hair fire worshipper who dwelt in the forest in a leaf hut. And a certain tribe was on the move, and its leader stayed for one night near the fire worshipper's dwelling, and then left So the fire worshipper thought he would go to the site to see if he could find anything he could make use of. He got up early and went to the site, and there he saw a tiny, delicate baby boy lying abandoned on his back. At the site he thought, it would not be right for me to look on and let a human being die. I had better take this child to my hermitage, take care of him, feed him and bring him up. So he did so. When the boy was 10 or 12, the hermit had some business to do in the neighborhood. So he said to the boy, I want to go to the neighborhood, my son. You look after the fire and don't let it go out. If it should go out, here is an ax, here are some sticks, here are the fire sticks, so you can relight the fire and look after it. Stop here for a moment. These fire worshipers, they worship the fire god, so they never allow the fire to go out. So he's telling the boy that if the fire should go out, you must light the fire again. Having thus instructed the boy, the hermit went into the neighborhood. But when the boy being absorbed in his games, let the fire go out, then he thought, father said, such and such. Relight the fire and look after it. Now I better do so. So he chopped up the fire sticks with the axe, thinking, I expect I'll get a fire this way. But he got no fire. He cut the fire sticks into two, into three, into four, into five, ten, a hundred pieces. He splintered them. He pounded them into a mortar. He winnowed them in the great wind, thinking, I expect I'll get a fire this way. But he got no fire. And when the hermit came back, having finished his business, he said, son, why have you let the fire go out? And the boy told him what had happened. The hermit thought, how stupid this boy is, how senseless, what a thoughtless way to try to get a fire. So while the boy looked on, he took the fire sticks and rekindled the fire, saying, son, that's the way to rekindle a fire, not the stupid, senseless, thoughtless way you tried to do it. Just the same way, Prince, you are looking foolishly, senselessly, and unreasonably for another world. Prince, give up this evil viewpoint. Give it up. Do not let it cause you misfortune and suffering for a long time. Suffer for a moment. So this boy doesn't know how to make this fire. The fire sticks, you got to put a bit of, how do you say, fine material. Fine wood, then they got to rub the two fire sticks with the fine material until the fire stick becomes very hot. And the fine material will kindle and start a fire. But this boy didn't know how to do it. In the same way, this prince, he was trying to find the soul, and he did all these things, cutting the skin, cutting the flesh, etc., but could not find the soul. Even though you say this, Reverend Kasapa, still I cannot bear to give up this evil opinion. Prince Pasenadi of Kosala knows my opinions, and so do kings abroad. If I give it up, they will say, what a fool Prince Payasi is, how stupidly he graphs at wrong views. I will still stick to this view out of anger, contempt and spite. Well then, Prince, I will give you a parable. Once, Prince, a great caravan of a thousand carts was travelling from east to west, and wherever they went, they rapidly consumed all the grass, wood and green stuff. Now this caravan had two leaders, each in charge of 500 carts. And they thought, this is a great caravan of a thousand carts. Wherever we go, we use up all the supplies. Perhaps we should divide the caravan into two groups of 500 carts each. And they did so. Then one of the leaders collected plenty of grass, wood and water and set off. After two or three days' journey, he saw a dark, red-eyed man coming towards him, wearing a quiver and a wreath of white water lilies, with his clothes and hair all wet, driving a donkey chariot whose wheels were splashed with mud. On seeing this man, the leader said, Where do you come from, sir? And he said, From such and such a place. And where are you going to such and such a place? Has there been much rainfall in the jungle ahead? And he said, Oh, yes, sir, there has been a great deal of rain in the jungle ahead of you. The roads are well watered, and there is plenty of grass, wood and water. Throw away all the grass, wood and water you already got. You will make rapid progress with lightly laden carts, so do not tire your draft oxen." The caravan leader told the carters what the man had said, throw away the grass, wood and water, and they did so. But at the first camping place, they did not find any grass, wood, or water, nor in the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh, and thus they all came to ruin and destruction. And whatever there was of them, men and cattle, they were all gobbled up by that yakka spirit, and only their bones remained. And when the leader of the second caravan was sure the first caravan had gone far enough, he stocked up with plenty of grass, wood, and water. After two or three days, journey, this leader saw a dark, red-eyed man coming towards him, who advised him to throw away his stocks of grass, wood and water. Then the leader said to the carters, this man told us that we should throw away the grass, wood and water we already have, but he is not one of our friends and relatives, so why should we trust him? So do not throw away the grass, wood, and water we have. Let the caravan continue on its way with the goods we have brought, and do not throw any of them away." The carters agreed and did as they said. At the first camping place, they did not find any grass. did not find any grass, wood, or water, nor at the second, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh. But there they saw the other caravan that had come to ruin and destruction, and they saw the bones of those men and cattle that had been gobbled up by the Yaka spirit." Then the caravan leader said to the carters, that caravan came to ruin and destruction through the folly of its leader. So now let us leave behind such of our goods as are of little value and take whatever is of greater value from the other caravan. And they did so. And with that wise leader, they passed safely through the jungle. In the same way, Prince, You will come to ruin and destruction if you foolishly and unwisely seek the other world in the wrong way. Those who think they can trust anything they hear are heading for ruin and destruction, just like those carters. Prince, give up this evil viewpoint. Give it up. Do not let it cause you misfortune and suffering for a long time." Probably for a moment, this is a very classic example this Arahant has given. not to trust any person you're not familiar with. It's very good advice. And it brings to my mind that nowadays there are many so-called Dhamma teachers and meditation teachers who teach all kinds of things different from what the Buddha says. So if people trust them, these people come from foreign countries, different places, you don't know them, but many of our Malaysians, similarly with other people in the world, you just trust these people instead of trusting the Buddha. The Buddha said that we should only follow his suttas and the Vinaya, not any other teacher. But a lot of people, instead of following the Buddha, they go and follow all these other teachers who are teaching wrong things, wrong view. So they end up just like this caravan leader, the caravan gobbled up by the yaka. Red-eyed man is the yaka. Yaka is red eyes. So don't trust anybody you're not familiar with. Only somebody you know for a long time. The Buddha says it's very hard to judge a person. You must associate with him for a long time and you must be very observant. Then only you know a person's heart. Even though you say this, Reverend Kasapa, still I cannot bear to give up this evil opinion. If I give it up, they will say, what a fool Prince Payasi is. Well then, Prince, I will give you a parable. Once there was a swine herd who was going from his own village to another. There he saw a heap of dry dung that had been thrown away, and he thought, there's a lot of dry dung somebody's thrown away. That would be food for my pigs. I ought to carry it away. And he spread out his cloak, gathered up the dung in it, made it into a bundle, and put it on his head and went on. But on his way back, there was a heavy shower of unseasonable rain. And he went on his way, bespattered with oozing, dripping dung to his fingertips, and still carrying his load of dung. Those who saw him said, you must be mad, you must be crazy. Why do you go along carrying that load of dung that's oozing and dripping all over you down to your fingertips? And he said, you are the ones who are mad. You are the ones that are crazy. This stuff is food for my pigs. Prince, you speak just like the dung carrier in my parable. Prince, give up this evil viewpoint. Give it up. Do not let it cause you misfortune and suffering for a long time. I stop here for a moment. So this prince refused to give up the view that he's carrying. So this Arahant gave in the parable of this guy who breeds swine, pigs, and he's carrying all this dung on his head. Even though it's raining, he still refused to give up the dung. Even though you say this, Reverend Kasapa, still I cannot bear to give up this evil opinion. If I give it up, they will say, what a fool Prince Payasi is. Well then, Prince, I will give you a parable. Once there were two gamblers using nuts as dice. One of them, whenever he got the unlucky dice, swallowed it. The other noticed what he was doing and said, Well, my friend, you are the winner, all right. Give me the dice and we'll make an offering of them. All right, said the first and gave them to him. Then that one filled the dice with poison and then said, Come on, let's have a game. The other agreed. They played again, and once again the one player, whenever he got the unlucky dice, swallowed it. The second watched him do so, and then uttered this verse. The dice is smeared with burning stuff, though the swallower doesn't know. Swallow cheat and swallow well, bitter it will be like hell. Prince, you speak just like the gambler in my parable. Prince, give up this evil viewpoint. Give it up. Do not let it cause you misfortune and suffering for a long time." This is another good argument. Even though you say this, Reverend Kasapa, still I cannot give up this evil opinion. If I give it up, they will say, what a fool Prince Bayasi is. Well then, Prince, I will give you a parable. Once the inhabitants of a certain neighborhood migrated, and one man said to his friend, come along, let's go to that neighborhood. We might find something valuable. His friend agreed. So they went to that district and came to a village street, and there they saw a pile of hemp that had been thrown away. and one said, here's some hemp, you make a bundle, I'll make a bundle, and we'll both carry it off. The other agreed, and they did so. Then coming to another village street, they found some hemp thread, and one said, this pile of hemp thread is just what we wanted the hemp for. Let's each throw away our bundle of hemp, and we'll go on with a load of ham thread each." And the other friend said, I brought this bundle of ham a long way and it's well tied up. That will do for me. You do as you like. So his companion threw away the ham and took the ham thread. Coming to another village street, they found some ham cloth and one said, This pile of hem cloth is just what we wanted the hem or hem thread for. Throw away your load of hem, and I'll throw away my load of hem thread, and we'll go on with the load of hem cloth each." But the other replied as before. So the one companion threw away the hem thread and took the hem cloth. And in another village, they saw a pile of flax, something more valuable, in another linen thread. in another linen cloth, in another cotton, in another cotton thread, in another cotton cloth, in another iron, in another copper, in another tin, in another lead, in another silver, in another gold. Then the one said, this pile of gold is just what we wanted, the hem, the hem thread, the hem cloth, the flax linen thread, linen cloth, cotton, cotton thread, cotton cloth, iron, copper, tin, lead, silver for. You throw away your load of hem and I'll throw away my load of silver and we'll both go on with the load of gold each. Again his friend said, I brought this load of ham a long way and it's well tied up. That will do for me. You do as you like." And this companion threw away the load of silver and took the load of gold. Then they came back to their own village. And there the one who brought a load of ham gave no pleasure to his parents. nor to his wife and children, nor to his friends and colleagues, and he did not even get any joy or happiness from it himself. But the one who came back with a load of gold pleased his parents, his wife and children, his friends and colleagues, and he derived joy and happiness from it himself as well. Prince, you speak just like the ham-bearer in my parable. Prince, give up this evil view. Give it up. Do not let it cause you misfortune and suffering for a long time. So this is the last 13 argument the Arahant gave to this Prince Payasi. This last one is very good. Just like this stupid man, he found a pile of hemp and he refused to change it for any other thing. Even though they keep meeting more and more valuable things, he refused to change. just carry on the same pile of hemp. And his friend, each time his friend saw something more valuable, he threw what he was carrying away and carried something more valuable. And finally, the most valuable thing he could find was gold, and he brought back a lot of gold. But his friend brought back only this hemp. So in the same way, this Prince Parsi refused to change his view, carrying that useless, wrong view. And then finally, this Prince Pius, he said, I was pleased and delighted with the Reverend Kasapa's first parable, and I wanted to hear his quick-witted replies to questions, because I thought he was a worthy opponent. Excellent, Reverend Kasapa, excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so has the Reverend Kasapa expounded the Dhamma in various ways, and I, Reverend Kasapa, go for refuge to the Blessed Lord, to the Dhamma and to the Sangha. May the Reverend Kasapa accept me From this day forth, as a lay follower, as long as life shall last. And Reverend Kasapa, I want to make a great sacrifice. Instruct me, Reverend Kasapa, how this may be to my lasting benefit and happiness." Stop here for a moment. So here, finally, he acknowledged that he was wrong, that this Reverend Kasapa is pointing out the way to him, He was lost, so he became a lay disciple and he asked for instructions on how to make a great sacrifice. Prince, when a sacrifice is made at which oxen are slain, or goats, fowls, or pigs, or various creatures are slaughtered, and the participants have wrong view, wrong thought, wrong speech, wrong action, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong mindfulness and wrong concentration. Then that sacrifice is of no great fruit or profit, but is not very brilliant and has no great radiance. Suppose, Prince, a farmer went into a forest with plough and seed, and there in an untilled place with poor soil from which the stumps had not been uprooted, were to sow seeds that were broken, rotting, ruined by wind and heat, stale and not properly embedded in the soil, and the rain god did not send proper showers at the right time. Would those seeds germinate, develop and increase, and would the farmer get an abundant crop? No, Reverend Kasapa. Well then, Prince, it is the same with the sacrifice at which oxen are slain. etc. where the participants have wrong view etc. But when none of these creatures are put to death and the participants have right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. then that sacrifice is of great fruit and profit. It is brilliant and of great radiance. Suppose, Prince, a farmer went into the forest with a plough and seed, and there in a well-tilled place with good soil from which the stumps had been uprooted, were to sow seeds that were not broken, rotting, ruined by wind and heat, or stale, and were firmly embedded in the soil, and the rain god were to send proper showers at the right time, would those seeds germinate, develop and increase, and would the farmer get an abundant crop? he would, Reverend Kasapa. In the same way, Prince, at a sacrifice at which no oxen are slain, et cetera, where the participants have right view, et cetera, then that sacrifice is of great fruit and profit. It is brilliant and of great radiance. I'll be here for a moment. So here, the first thing Reverend Kasapa is teaching him, making a sacrifice not to kill any creatures and to have the Noble Eightfold Path, to understand the Noble Eightfold Path. Then Prince Bayasi established a charity for ascetics and Brahmins, wayfarers, beggars and the needy. And there such food was given out as broken rice with sour gruel and also rough clothing with ball fringes. And a young Brahmin called Uttara was put in charge of the distribution. Referring to it, he said, through this charity, I have been associated with Prince Pius C in this world, but not in the next. And Prince Pius C heard of his words. So he sent for him and asked him if he had said that. Yes, Lord. But why do you say such a thing? Friend Uttara, don't we who wish to gain merit expect a reward for our charity? And Uttara said, but Lord, the food you give, broken rice with sour gruel, you would not care to touch it with your foot, much less eat it. And the rough clothes and with bald fringes, you would not care to set foot on them, much less wear them. Lord, you are kind and gentle to us. So how can we reconcile such kindness and gentleness with unkindness and roughness? And the prince said, Well then, Utara, you arrange to supply food as I eat, and clothes such as I wear. Very good, Lord, said Utara, and he did so. And Prince Bayasi, because he had established his charity grudgingly, not with his own hands, and without proper concern, like something casually tossed aside, was reborn after his death, at the breaking up of the body, in the company of the four great kings, in the empty Sri Saka mansion. But Uttara, who had given the charity ungrudgingly, with his own hands and with proper concern, not as something tossed aside, was reborn after death, at the breaking up of the body, in a good place, a heavenly realm, in the company of the thirty-three gods." And probably surrounded by a lot of devis. Now at that time, the Venerable Gavampati was accustomed to go to the empty Sri Sarkar Mansion for his midday rest. And Payasi of the Devas went to the Venerable Gavampati, saluted him and stood to one side. And the Venerable Gavampati said to him as he stood there, who are you friend? And he said, Lord, I am Prince Payasi. And the Arahant said, Friend, are you not the one who used to say, there is no other world, there are no spontaneously born beings, there is no fruit or result of good or evil deeds? And he said, Yes, Lord, I'm the one who used to say that. But I was converted from that evil view by the noble Kumara Kasapa. And the Arahant asked him, But where has the young Brahmin, Uttara, who was in charge of the distribution of your charity has been reborn? And the prince said, Lord, he who gave the charity ungrudgingly was reborn in the company of the 33 gods. But I, who gave grudgingly, have been reborn here in the empty Seri Sakha mansion. Lord, please, when you return to earth, tell people to give ungrudgingly and inform them of the way in which Prince Payasi and the young Brahmin Uttara have been reborn. And so the Venerable Gavampati, on his return to earth, declared, you should give ungrudgingly, with your own hands, with proper concern, not carelessly. Prince Payasi did not do this, and at death, at the breaking up of the body, he was reborn in the company of the four great kings in the empty Seri Sakha mansion, whereas the administrator of his charity, The young Brahmin Uttara, who gave ungrudgingly, with his own hands, with proper concern and not carelessly, was reborn in the company of the 33 gods. That's the end of the sutta. So you see this Arahant, remember Gavampati, he used to spend the afternoon up in the heaven, in the heavenly mansion. Good to have psychic power, when it's very hot, go to heaven. So this Prince Payasi, actually, he was quite selfish. So when he did charity also, he gave not very good things. So because this Uttara criticized this, so he asked Uttara to go and do the charity. So he was not Not so happy to do it, that's why he didn't do it himself. He asked Utthara to do it, because he gave grudgingly. So when the fruit ripened, he was born in heaven, but his palace was empty. He was the only one staying there, I think. Big palace, but empty. That's why the Arahant used to go and rest there. So this, you see from this sutta, the wit of this Arhankumara Kasapa, each time the Prince Payasi gave a reason, he would answer with a very excellent simile to show him he's wrong.

44-DN-23-Payasi-(2011-08-03)-Part-C.txt

Okay, anything to discuss? I read this article. It was in 1991. We were gang-raped in a train and in a bus. And we contacted him and he gave us the order. Firstly, for a nun to be raped in India is quite common, especially like long ago during the Buddha's time. But in the Vinaya books, we find even one Arahant nun called Upalavana, she was also raped. She used to stay alone in the forest kuti and there was a young man who fell in love with her because she was very beautiful. So followed her to the kuti and hid under the bed. So when she came back after Pindabad and was alone, then he raped her. But we find the Vinaya books that when this happens, because the nun was forcefully raped, so she did not break any precept. So she does not have to disrobe. But in this case of this nun in Nepal, isn't it? Because she comes from a low caste, In India, Nepal, these countries, if you belong to a low caste, sometimes the high caste people treat them like animals. So there is very much, very strong discrimination, very unfair to them. So you see, like she's asked to disrobe, it's not proper, not according to the Buddha's teachings. You have to wait a while, wait a while. So the Arhat is giving an arrow of around two winds. One at the time of birth, 10 o'clock in the morning. So that is expected in a year at the most for a new birth. Okay. And he said, suppose the second one will be 5 o'clock in the morning. The third one will be 4 o'clock in the morning. Then that one will destroy the thing at birth as well. So I don't understand how that will destroy the birth. Not really destroy the wealth, destroy the wealth for the son. Suppose now the son to be, the embryo to be born is actually a boy. Then by doing what she did, then the boy being killed, he would not inherit the wealth, so he has destroyed his wealth. The well for this baby, because by slitting her belly, she has killed herself, killed the embryo, and the well for the boy is also killed, is also destroyed. Provided it's a boy. I would like to correct the last comment that was made by one of the people from the former group. We would like to discuss on one of the questions that was raised by Mr. Smith. How was Mr. Smith inspired to or dividing, dividing, digging back here and there. And because of the breathing, you tend to to be very respectful of him, he's coming back. For many people, we tend to be sick and tired, or cold, or broken hearted. But when we try to take this more seriously, that's my observation, and I may be wrong, but I find that gay people, and many of them, they seem very respectful, they tend to be open, When you say craving, normally we refer to craving for sensual pleasures. But, or the will to live. But in this case, it is plain restlessness. The fact that you cannot stay put in one place is plain restlessness. What about, I come over to experience that I was thinking of more of praying to be somewhere or not to be somewhere. For example, if I want to be in this monastery, you know, after a while, I get tired. I want to go to another monastery, experience new things, get a new experience. Is that a thing? Would it help my meditation? Oh, it definitely does not help because a lot of people don't realize. that our real teacher is the Buddha. And now that the Buddha is gone, the suttas, our real teacher, that was stated very clearly by the Buddha in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, when the Buddha said, take the Dhamma and the Vinaya as your teacher after I'm gone. And the Dhamma refers to the Suttas as stated in Anguttara Nikaya 4.180. And Vinaya is only for monks and nuns. So for lay people, the real teacher is the Suttas. So going here and there looking for a teacher is not the right thing to do. Because the Buddha also said, be a lamb unto yourself, be a refuge unto yourself with no other refuge. That means no other person. Take the Dhamma as a lamb, take the Dhamma as a refuge with no other refuge. So we should depend on ourselves and on the Buddha's teachings. So all the instructions are in the Suttas. If we study the Suttas enough, then we should strive on our own. And the problem is, instead of staying in one place and fighting with our defilements as we should do, some people, they run here, run there. That means you are just running away from your defilements. In fact, very often, the cause of your running away is actually the defilements. The defilements itself is causing a person to run here and run there. But he doesn't see it because I always see we have a lawyer burro inside here, a lawyer in our mind always giving reasons for our actions. So you can see from the Buddha's disciples that during the Buddha's time, the monks after they renounce, they have to follow a teacher for five years. And actually during these five years, the aim of following the teacher is to study the suttas and the Vinaya. to get a good grounding on the suttas and the Vinaya. Not so much on meditation, although they can meditate, but the foundation should be on suttas and Vinaya. After five years, then the Buddha encouraged these monks to go off and live alone. When they live alone, then they strive in meditation. Already with a good background, with a good foundation in the suttas and the vinaya, then they go and strive. And when they go and strive, then they don't have to study the suttas and the vinaya anymore because they should be very familiar with it already. Then they do meditation 24 hours a day. But nowadays a lot of people are not willing to put the effort to master the Sutta and the Vinaya, and they put the cart before the horse. Instead of studying, getting the foundation first, they want to meditate, they want to do other things. There are a lot of other things that a new monk has to do. If you have a good monastery, like some of the Thai forest monasteries, they stress a lot on, for example, duties in the monastery, to learn to serve the senior monks, to learn to do all the work that's necessary in the monastery. But nowadays you find a lot of lay people, they go to meditation centers, where they do nothing but meditate. Then one day when they decide to become a monk, they expect once they wear the robe, they do nothing but meditate. They can, either they go to the meditation center and stay there, don't come to a place like a forest monastery. Forest monastery is more of a complete training, just like in the Buddha's time. In the Buddha's time, the monks had to build the kutis, It's not that the monks don't do anything. If they stay together in a monastery, they have to do all the work that is necessary to upkeep the monastery, to keep the monastery running. But if they really are serious and want to practice, then they go alone, go and stay alone. Don't mix with other people. So coming back to this, these monks running here and there, they can, they run here and there. But then, if they don't belong to a monastery, when they are old, then they find they have no monastery to turn to. Monks, when we live together, there is, how do you say, camaraderie, there is a friendship that is built up after many years, so that we develop this friendship over the years, and then we have this inclination to look after each other. But we find, like in Malaysia, some Mahayana monks, they take disciples, but they don't train the disciples, the disciples don't live with them. And then we can see very clearly, some of these old Mahayana monks, when they are very old, none of the disciples look after them, because they have always been independent. And what happens? These old monks are looked after by lay people. The lay people, when the old monk cannot bathe for himself, cannot look after himself. The lay people, be it the old monk, look after him. But after some time, they also get tired of doing it. They don't want to do it all the time. Then they have to end up like an old folks home like that, or a nursing home. So a lot of people new in the Dhamma, they are not experienced. They don't know all these things. How to overcome restlessness? The only way, just like the best way, just like some people ask how to overcome anger. The best way to overcome anger and restlessness is to work very hard to calm the mind. If you can develop tranquility, one-pointedness of mind, then the restlessness will go down, the anger also will go down, the lust also will go down, all these hindrances will go down. But it's not easy to able to attain one-pointedness of mind. Just now I forgot to mention, even like this Zen school which is famous for meditation like the China, the Chan Chong, the original Zen school before it moved to Japan and became Zen. They have a tradition, in the first five years, when a person becomes a monk, he has to chop wood, he has to plant vegetables, and learn the suttas and the Vinaya. He's not allowed to meditate for five years. in the original Chan Chong meditation school. After five years, then he meditates and does nothing else. So there is a training, a time of training, and a time of practice. A lot of people don't know. Just like some people, they learn Kung Fu. Straight away, they want to kick here, kick there, and want to learn all the moves. But I've met an old man, a layman, who came from China, who was trained in the in the real Shaolin Kung Fu. And he told me for one year when he went to learn Shaolin Kung Fu, he was not asked to do anything except Ma Po, what do you call it? The horse stance. Just that. Of course, a lot of people, They think, what's the use of all this? So one day while he was doing his horse stance, the master came from behind and kicked him just behind the knee, and then he went down. So told him, if your stand is not strong enough and you fall down, you cannot fight anymore. You've got to be able to stand all the time, whatever happens, whatever blows. So this basic foundation, you see, real Kung Fu, one year you do nothing except just marble or stand. Foundation is not there how to kick, how to do all the other moves. In the same way, if you want to practice meditation and all that, without the proper foundation in the suttas, the knowledge of what the Buddha taught, the proper Noble Eightfold Path, how to practice, everything is in the suttas. But you don't want, you want to go straight into meditation. Then you'll never become an expert. Half baked, neither here, neither there. I don't quite understand the level of the Tathagata. Where? The basic form of the true consciousness of the Tathagata. Three, six, four. I think what it means is that if you hold on to this wrong view and you don't give it up, it's going to harm you. Just like this person, he wants to cheat all the time. He keeps cheating and then when people get to know it, then he will die like this. You can cheat once in a blue moon. What did Abraham Lincoln say? You can fool some people some of the time. And you can fool all the people some of the time or some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. So here, like this man, he wants to cheat all the time, then he will suffer for it. Once people know that he cheat, then this is the result, put poison in that thing. So you hold on to the wrong view without changing it. He didn't force his wife. He didn't hit her. Everything was all right. He gave her a nice hug and said, please let me visit. He didn't seem to let her go far in terms of the most basic charitable things that a man should do. I thought he let her go far and that man was supposed to be the most basic man. This whole sutta is about changing his wrong view. Okay. So, but that wrong view of his is worldly wrong view. It's not Aryan. When he changed his wrong view, he got worldly right view. But it is not Aryan right view. So he's still a very worldly person. He's not somebody who's practicing the Noble Eightfold Path. Only a monk wants to practice the Noble Eightfold Path. People like this Arahant, because their mind is very clear, get totally rid of the hindrances. They think very sharp. You can think very sharp, you can answer and give similes like this to the point. Similarly, you find the Buddha, when the Buddha gives parables, it's also like this, straight to the point. Not all, not all. Is there a job for the Gandharvas? No, no. Yakas are like mountain spirits. You know, we have heard of fierce mountain spirits. There are some people, they climb the mountains and the mountains seldom climb and sometimes they get into serious problems. Sometimes they go to these kind of places, then they get lost. A few days later, people find them dead. There is a Sutta called the Atanatiya Sutta, I think we haven't come to it, where the king of the Yakas came to teach the Buddha protection. a Chan, and he said that many of these Yakas, they don't like the Buddha and they don't like the Buddha's disciples because their way of finding food is to kill. Like these Nagas, snake spirits, Garudas, because they are low spirits, to find their food, they have to kill, to eat. Just like human beings, a lot of human beings, we hunt, to get our food. So this Atanatiya Sutta, the Yakka King, taught the Buddha Chan to teach to other monks so that when they go to lonely places and they meet these fierce Yakkas, if they do this Chan, there are the names, you call out the names of many of these Yakka chiefs, Tiger generals, warlords. So when these yakas here, they get scared. Taiko, they're calling the name of the taiko. Charles Tolkien, the old English scientist, came up with the evolution theory of death, which says that humans are the descendants of apes and monkeys and stuff. Now, animals are seen as a lower rebirth. It's said that the humans are the descendants of animals. will have to make somebody say, we are animals. What is the human realm? Human realm is supposed to be higher than animals. But among humans also, you find a great difference. Those in European countries and America, you find that because their blessings are higher. and they have a better life. And those with lower blessings, like in African countries, then they suffer more. Or like today, you went to this mentally retarded children's home, you find these children, their level is like an animal. But generally, humans are supposed to be higher than animals. Okay, one more question, and let me ask one thing on the topic of love. In Vietnamese dramas, the aim of the ending of the movie is this. It's by touching into a situation that most of us suffer from trauma and comfort. Especially on a cold morning, most of us will tend to be very drowsy and will be in awe. How did you overcome sloth and torpor? The only way is a super will even you see like Mahamoggalana when he was practicing he also had sloth and torpor and the Buddha had to come in to him in the middle of the night to urge him on and then because of his super will He managed to strive in seven days to become an Arahant. So, that's all. There's no other way. A lot of effort. Yes, yes. You must not form a habit. So you have to be observant and use your own wisdom. There is no straight and fast rule. You notice in the suttas that Buddha, when it comes to meditation, the Buddha gave some basic instructions on meditation. That's all. And that is enough. No need to say too much because for each person is different. So you cannot say because you use a certain method, it was good for you, that is applicable to everybody else. It is not. You have to find your own way. So, they're very happy that they can pop up six times in one week. So that's good. What are you trying to do with it? Do it? Do you need to sit in a comfortable position in a living, upright position? What we have, we make do with. You must realize like nowadays, we have so many things. You have bangku, the stool for you to sit. Words come to words, you can sit on the chair to meditate. But you imagine during the Buddha's time, they didn't have all this. They sat under the tree in the forest and they make do with all that. So must not pamper ourselves too much. Let's end here.

45-DN-24-Patika-(2011-08-04)-Part-A.txt

Tonight is the 4th of August, 2011. And this is the 19th night. We're talking on the Diga Nikaya Suttas. Tonight we come to Sutta 24, Patikasutta. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying among the Malas. Anupiya is the name of a Mala town. And the Lord, having dressed in the early morning, and taken his robe and bowl, went to Anupia for alms. Then he thought, it's too early for me to go into Anupia for alms. Suppose I were to visit the hermitage of the wanderer, Bhagavad Gota. And he did so. And the wanderer Bhagavad Gota said, Come, blessed Lord. Welcome, blessed Lord. At last, the blessed Lord has gone out of His way to come here. Be seated, Lord. A seat is prepared. The Lord sat down on the prepared seat and Bhagava took a low stool and sat down to one side. Then he said, Lord, a few days ago Sunakata the Licchavi came to me and said, Bhagava, I have left the blessed Lord. I am no longer under his rule. Is that really so, Lord? It is true, Bhagavan. A few days ago, Sunakata came to me, saluted me, sat down to one side and said, Lord, I am leaving the Blessed Lord. I am no longer under the Lord's rule. So I said to him, Well, Sunakata, did I ever say to you, Come, Sunakata, be under my rule? No, Lord. Or did you ever say to me, Lord, I will be under your rule? No, Lord. So, Sunakata, if I did not say that to you, and you did not say that to me. You foolish man, who are you and what are you giving up? Consider foolish man, how far the fault is yours." Stop here for a moment. So you see, that's why sometimes like here we generally don't invite a monk to come here or invite a layman to become a monk, be a disciple, because if something happens, it doesn't work out, then it's like, since we never invited him to come, so if he leaves, it's not a problem. But if you invite somebody, then it's, what do you say, Not so nice, embarrassing if he leaves. Well, Lord, you have not performed any miracles. And did I ever say to you, come under my rule, sunakata, and I will perform miracles for you? No, Lord. Or did you ever say to me, Lord, I will be under your rule if you will perform miracles for me? No, Lord. Then it appears, Sunakata, that I made no such promises and you made no such conditions. Such being the case, you foolish man, who are you and what are you giving up? What do you think, Sunakata, whether miracles are performed or not? Is it the purpose of my teaching, Dhamma, to lead whoever practices it to the total destruction of suffering? It is Lord. So Sunakata, whether miracles are performed or not, purpose of my teaching Dhamma is to lead whoever practices it to the total destruction of suffering. Then what purpose would the performance of miracles serve? Consider, you foolish man, how far the fault is yours. Well, Lord, You did not teach the beginning of things. And did I ever say to You, come under my rule, sunakata, and I will teach You the beginning of things? No, Lord. Such being the case, You foolish man, who are You and what are You giving up? Sunakata, You have in many ways spoken in praise of me among the Vajjans, saying, This Blessed Lord is an Arahant, Sammasambuddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, welfareer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, the Buddha, the Blessed Lord. You have in many ways spoken in praise of the Dhamma, saying, Well proclaimed by the Blessed Lord is the Dhamma, visible here and now, timeless, inviting inspection, leading onward to be realized by the wise, each one for himself. You have in many ways spoken in praise of the Sangha of monks, saying, Well trained is the Sangha of the Lord's disciples, trained in uprightness, methodically trained, excellently trained is the order of the Lord's disciples. That is the four pairs of men, the eight classes of individuals. This is the Sangha of the Lord's disciples, worthy of respect, worthy of homage, worthy of gifts, worthy of salutation, an unsurpassed field in the world for marriage. In these ways, you have spoken in praise of me, of the Dhamma and of the Sangha among the Svajans. And I say to you, I declare to you Sunakata. There will be those who will say, Sunakata the Licchavi was unable to maintain the holy life under the ascetic Gautama. And being thus unable, he abandoned the training and reverted to the base life. That Sunakata is what they will say. And Bhagavata, at my words, Sunakata left this Dhamma Vinaya like one condemned to hell. Sorry for a moment. So here the Buddha is telling him, telling him, at one time you were praising the Buddha, praising the Dhamma, praising the Sangha. Now you are leaving the training and people will say, you were not up to the standard to lead the holy life. They will criticize you, but still he left. Once, Bhagawa, I was staying among the Kulus at a place called Uttarakka, a town of theirs. In the early morning, I went with rope and bowl into Uttarakka for alms, with Sunakata as my attendant. And at that time, the naked ascetic Korakattiya, the dog man, was going round on all fours, sprawling on the ground and chewing and eating his food with his mouth alone. Seeing him, Sunakarta thought, now that is a real arahant ascetic who goes round on all fours, sprawling on the ground and chewing and eating his food with his mouth alone. And I, knowing his thought in my own mind, said to him, you foolish man, you claim to be a follower of the Sakyan. And he said, Lord, what do you mean by this question? And the Buddha said, Sunakarta, did you not on seeing that naked ascetic going round on all fours, thinking, now that is a real Arahant ascetic who goes round on all fours, sprawling on the ground and chewing and eating his food with his mouth alone. And he said, I did, Lord. Does the Blessed Lord begrudge others their Arahantship? And the Buddha said, I do not begrudge others their Arahantship, you foolish man. It is only in you that this evil view has arisen. Cast it aside, lest it should be to your harm and sorrow for a long time. This naked ascetic, Kurakatiya, whom you regard as a true arahant, will die in seven days from indigestion. And when he is dead, he will appear among the Kalakanja Asuras, who are the very lowest grade of Asuras. And when he is dead, he will be cast aside on a heap of birana grass in the charnel ground. If you want to Sunakata, you can go to him and ask him if he knows his fate. And it may be that he will tell you, friend Sunakata, I know my fate. I have been reborn among the Kalakanja Asuras, the very lowest grade of Asuras. Stop here for a moment. So this dog duty ascetic, Kurakati, he imitates the dog. He goes naked. and then goes on all his four limbs and walk like a dog. And also when people offer him food, he will not accept it with his hand. He will ask people to throw it on the ground and he will eat the food like a dog. So maybe eating all the dog food, he's going to get indigestion and the Buddha said he's going to pass away. You notice here, The Buddha says that the Kalakanja Asuras are the very lowest grade of Asuras. I remember I mentioned a few days ago in the Mahasamaya Sutta, one of these suttas, where the Mahasamaya Sutta, number 20, Diganikaya, number 20, when the devas came to see the Buddha, and the Buddha described the devas to the monks, And he mentioned that the Kalakanja Asuras are among the devas there. But here it is said that Kalakanja Asuras are the very lowest grade of Asuras. So there cannot be any lower type of Asuras. And even the lowest grade of Asuras are devas. But later books like the Abhidhamma and the Mahayana books, they say Asuras belong to the woeful planes. The reasoning being, like in the sub-commentary, it is said that Asuras are three types. One is devas, one is ghosts, and one is hell beings. So because of the ghost grade and the hell beings, they say Asuras belong to the woeful planes. That's why in the Abhidhamma and in the Mahayana books, both of which are later books, they say that there are six destinations of rebirth, what in Chinese is called Liu Tao Lun Hui. But actually the Buddha Only talk about five destinations of rebirth. So you can see from these two suttas, number 20 and 24, that these people, when they say that the Asuras belong to the woeful plains, it shows that they are not familiar with the suttas. Then to continue, then Sunakata went to Korakati and told him what I had prophesied, adding, therefore, friend, Korakathia, be very careful what you eat and drink, so that the ascetic Gautama's words may be proved wrong. And Sunakatha, also sure that the Tathagata's words would be proved wrong that he counted up the seven days one by one. But on the seventh day, Kurakathia died of indigestion. And when he was dead, he reappeared among the Kalakanja Asuras. And his body was cast aside on a heap of birana grass in the charnel ground. And Sunakata heard of this. So he went to the heap of birana grass. in the charnel ground where Korakatia was lying, struck the body three times with his hand and said, friend Korakatia, do you know your fate? And Korakatia sat up and rubbed his back with his hand and said, friend Sunakata, I know my fate. I have been reborn among the Kalakanja Asuras, the very lowest grade of Asuras. And with that, he fell back again. Then Sunakata came to me, saluted me and sat down to one side. And I said to him, Well, Sunakarta, what do you think? Has what I told you about the dog-man Korakathia come true or not? And he said, It has come about the way you said, Lord, and not otherwise. And the Buddha said, Well, what do you think, Sunakarta? Has a miracle been performed or not? And he said, Certainly, Lord, this being so, a miracle has been performed, and not otherwise. And the Buddha said, well, then you foolish man, do you still say to me after I have performed such a miracle? Well, Lord, you have not performed any miracles. Consider you foolish man, how far the fault is yours. And at my words, Sunakata left this Dhamma Vinaya like one condemned to hell. You see this Sunakata, even after the Buddha made the prophecy, he didn't believe the Buddha. He believed the externalistic ascetic more, and he went to warn the externalistic ascetic what the Buddha said, just to prove the Buddha wrong. Once, Bhagawa, I was staying at Vesali at the Gable Hall in the Great Forest. And at that time, there was a naked ascetic living in Vesali called Kalaramuthaka, who enjoyed great fames. great gains and fame in the Vajan capital. He had undertaken seven rules of practice. As long as I live, I will be a naked ascetic and will not put on any clothes. As long as I live, I will remain chaste and abstain from sexual intercourse. As long as I live, I will subsist on strong drink and meat, abstaining from boiled rice and sour milk. As long as I live, I will never go beyond the Udena shrine in to the east of Vesali, the Gautamaka shrine to the south, the Sattamba shrine to the west, nor the Bahuputta shrine to the north. And it was through having undertaken these seven rules that he enjoyed the greatest gains and fame of all in the Vajin capital. Now Sunakata went to see Kalaramuthaka and asked him a question which he could not answer. And because he could not answer it, He showed signs of anger, rage and petulance. Then Sunakata thought, I might cause this real Arahant ascetic offence. I don't want anything to happen that would be to my lasting harm and misfortune. Then Sunakata came to me, saluted me and sat down to one side. I said to him, you foolish man, do you claim to be a follower of the Sakyan? And he said, Lord, what do you mean by this question? And the Buddha said, Sunakata, did you not go to see Kalaramutaka and ask him a question he could not answer? And did he not thereupon show signs of anger, rage, and petulance? And did you not think I might cause this real arahant ascetic offense? I don't want anything to happen that would be to my lasting harm and misfortune. And he said, I did, Lord. Does the Blessed Lord begrudge others their Arahantship? And the Buddha said, I do not begrudge others their Arahantship, you foolish man. It is only in you that this evil view has arisen. Cast it aside, lest it be to your harm and sorrow for a long time. This naked ascetic, Kalaramuttaka, whom you regard as a true Arahant, will before long be living clothed and married subsisting on boiled rice and sour milk. He will go beyond all the shrines of Vesali and will die, having entirely lost his reputation. And indeed, all this came about. Then Sunakata, having heard what had happened, came to me. And I said, Well, Sunakata, what do you think? Has what I told you about Kalaramuthaka come about or not? Has a miracle been performed or not? And at my word, Sunakata left this Dhammavinaya like one condemned to hell. Once, Bhagava, I was staying at Vesali in the Gable Hall in the great forest. And at that time, there was a naked ascetic living in Vesali called Patikaputta, who enjoyed great gains and fame in the Vajan capital. And he made this declaration in the assembly of Vesali. The ascetic Gotama claims to be a man of wisdom. and I make the same claim. It is right that the man of wisdom should show it by performing miracles. If the ascetic Gautama will come halfway to meet me, I will do likewise. Then we can both work miracles. And if the ascetic Gautama performs one miracle, I will perform two. If he performs two, I will perform four. And if he performs four, I will perform eight. However many miracles the ascetic Gautama performs, I will perform twice as many. Then Sunakata came to me. saluted me, sat down to one side and told me what Patikaputta had said. I said, Sunakata, that naked ascetic Patikaputta is not capable of meeting me face to face unless he takes back his words, abandons that thought and gives up that view. And if he thinks otherwise, his head will split in pieces. And Sunakata said, Lord, Let the blessed Lord have a care what he says. Let the welfare have a care what he says. And the Buddha said, what do you mean by saying that to me? And Sunakata said, Lord, the blessed Lord might make an absolute statement about Patigaputta's coming, but he might come in some altered shape and thus falsify the blessed Lord's words. Stop here for a moment. So you see this useless disciple, there's no faith in the Buddha. has faith more in the external ascetics. Then the Buddha said, but Sunakata, would the Tathagata make any statement that was ambiguous? And he said, Lord, does the Blessed Lord know by his own mind what would happen to Patikaputta? Or has some Deva told the Tathagata? The Buddha said, Sunakata, I know it in my own mind, and I have also been told by a Deva. For Ajita, the general of the Licchavis, died the other day, and has been reborn in the company of the thirty-three gods. He came to see me and told me, Lord, Patikaputta, the naked ascetic, is an impudent liar. He declared in the Vajayan capital, Ajita, the general of the Licchavis, has been reborn in the great hell. But I have not been reborn in the great hell, but in the company of the 33 gods. He is an impudent liar. Thus, Sunakata, I know what I have said by my own mind, but I have also been told by a deva. And now, Sunakata, I will go into Vesali for alms. On my return, after I have eaten, I will go for my midday rest to Patikaputta's park. You may tell him whatever you wish. Then having dressed, I took my robe and bowl and went into Vesali for alms. On my return, I went to Patikaputra's park for my midday rest. Meanwhile, Sunakata rushed into Vesali and declared to all the prominent Licchavis, Friends, the Blessed Lord has gone into Vesali for alms, and after that, he has gone for his midday rest to Patikaputra's park. Come along, friends, come along. The two great ascetics are going to work miracles. And all the prominent Licchavis thought, the two great ascetics are going to work miracles. Let us go along. And he went to the distinguished and wealthy Brahmins and householders, and to the ascetics and Brahmins of various schools, and told them the same thing. And they too thought, let us go along. And so all these people came along to Patikaputta's park, hundreds and thousands of them. Stop here for a moment. So you see this Kepoji. Publicize all this radio Malaysia. And Patikaputta heard that all these people had come to his park, and that the ascetic Gautama had gone there for his midday rest. And at the news, he was overcome with fear and trembling, and his hair stood on end. And thus terrified and trembling, his hair standing on end, he made for the Tinduka lodging of the wanderers. When the assembled company heard that he had gone to the Tinduka lodging, he instructed a man to go there to Patikaputta and say to him, friend Patikaputta, come along. All these people have come to your park. and the ascetic Gautama has gone there for his midday rest. Because you declared to the assembly of Vesali, the ascetic Gautama claims to be a man of wisdom and I make the same claim, etc. However many miracles he performs, I will perform twice as many. So now come halfway. The ascetic Gautama has already come halfway to meet you and is sitting for his midday rest at your reverend's park." Stop here for a moment. So this Buddha took up this boaster's challenge and went halfway to meet him. More than halfway, the Buddha went up to his park, to his forest park. But when he heard the Buddha came, he quickly ran away. The man went and delivered the message, and on hearing it, Patikaputta said, I'm coming friend, I'm coming, but wriggled as he might, he could not get up from his seat. Then the man said, what's the matter with you, friend Patikaputta? Is your bottom stuck to the seat, or is the seat stuck to your bottom? You keep saying, I'm coming, friend, I'm coming. But you only wriggle and can't get up from your seat. And even at these words, Patikaputta still wriggled about but could not rise. And when that man realized that Patikaputta could not help himself, he went back to the assembly and reported the situation. Then I said to them, Patikaputta, the naked ascetic, is not capable of meeting me face to face unless he takes back his words, abandons that thought and gives up that view. And if he thinks otherwise, his head will split in pieces. Then Bhagawa, one of the ministers of the Licchavis, rose from his seat and said, Well, gentlemen, just wait a little till I have been to see whether I can bring Patigaputta to the assembly. So he went to the Tinduka lodging and said to Patigaputta, Come along, Patigaputta. It is best for you to come. All these people have come to your park and the ascetic Gautama has gone there for his midday rest. If you come, we will make you the winner and let the ascetic Gautama be defeated." And Patikaputta said, I'm coming friend, I'm coming. But wriggled as he might, he could not get up from his seat. So the minister returned to the assembly and reported on the situation. Then I said, Patikaputta is not capable of meeting me face to face unless he takes back his words, etc. Even if the good Licchavi were to think, let us bind him with thongs and try to drag him with yoke oxen, he would burst the thongs. He is not capable of meeting me face to face, unless he takes back his words, etc. Then Jalya, a pupil of the wooden bowl ascetic, rose from his seat, went to the Tinduka lodging and said to Patikaputta, come along, Patikaputta, if you come, We will make you the winner and let the ascetic Gautama be defeated." And Patikaputta said, I'm coming, friend, I'm coming, but wriggled as he might, he could not get up from his seat. Then when Jalya realized the situation, he said, Patikaputta, once long ago, the lion, king of beasts thought, suppose I were to make my land near a certain jungle, then I could emerge in the evening, yawn, survey the four quarters, roar my lion's roar three times, and then make for the cattle pasture. I could then pick out the very best of the herd for my kill, and having had a good feast of tender meat, returned to my lair, and he did accordingly. Now there was an old jackal who had grown fat on the lion's leavings, and he was proud and strong, and he thought, what difference is there between me and the lion, king of beasts? Suppose I were to make my lair near the jungle, So he chose a lair accordingly, and emerging in the evening, he surveyed the four quarters and then thought, now I will roar a lion's roar three times. And he gave out the howl of his kind, a jackal howl. For what has the wretched howl of a jackal in common with the lion's roar? In just the same way, Patikaputta will live off the achievements of the welfarer and feed on the welfarer's leavings. Imagining you can set yourself up beside the Tathagatas, Arahants, Samasambuddhas, what have you? Wretched Patikaputas in common with them. Then being unable, even with the aid of this parable, to get Patikaputa to rise from his seat, Jalya uttered this verse, thinking himself a lion. The jackal says, I'm the king of bees and tries to roar a lion's roar, but only howls instead. Lion is lion and jackal, jackal still. In just the same way, Patikaputta, you are living off the achievement of the welfare etc. And being unable even with the aid of this parable to get Patikaputta to rise from his seat, Jalya uttered this verse. Following another's tracks and fed on scraps, his jackal nature he forgets. Thinking I'm a tiger, tries to roar a mighty roar, but only howls instead. Lion is lion and jackals jackals still. In just the same way, Patikaputta, you are living off the achievements of the well-farer, etc. And being unable even with this parable to get Patikaputta to rise from his seat, Jalya uttered this verse, gorged on frogs and mice from threshing floors and corpses cast aside in charnel grounds. In lonely forest, while the jackal thinks, I am the king of beasts and tries to roar a lion's roar, but only howls instead. Lion is lion and jackals jackal still. In just the same way, Patikaputta, you are living off the achievements of the welfarer, feeding on the welfarer's livings. Imagining you can set yourself up beside the Tathagatas, Arhats, and Sammasambuddhas. But what have you, wretched Patikaputtas, in common with them? Then being unable, even with this parable, to get Patikaputta to rise from his seat, Daliya returned to the assembly and reported on the situation. Then I said, Bhattikaputta is not capable of meeting me face to face unless he takes back his words, abandons that thought and gives up that view. Even if the good Licchavis were to think, that is, bind him with thongs and try to drag him here with yoke oxen, he would burst the thongs. He is not capable of meeting me face to face unless he takes back his words, etc. If he thinks otherwise, his head will split in pieces. Then Bhagavan, I instructed, inspired, fired, and delighted that assembly with a talk on Dhamma. And having thereby delivered that company from the great bondage, thus rescuing 84,000 beings from the great path of peril, I entered into the fire element and rose into the air to the height of seven palm trees and projecting a beam for the height of another seven so that it blazed and shed fragrance. I then reappeared in the Gable Hall in the great forest." Stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha in leaving showed them a miracle because they all came in thousands hoping to see miracles. And there Sunakata came to me, saluted me and sat down to one side. I said, what do you think, Sunakata? Has what I told you about Patikaputta come about or not? And he said, It has, Lord. And has a miracle been performed or not? It has, Lord. Well, then, you foolish man, do you still say to me after I have performed such a miracle? Well, Lord, you have not performed any miracles. Consider, you foolish man, how far the fault is yours. And Bhagavata, at my words, Sunakata left this Dhammavinaya like one condemned to hell. Bhagava, I know the first beginning of things, and I know not only that, but what surpasses it in value. And I am not under the sway of what I know, and not being under its sway, I have come to know for myself that quenching, by the realization of which the Tathagata cannot fall into perilous paths. There are Bhagawas, some ascetics and Brahmins, who declare as their doctrine that all things began with the creation by a God or Brahma. I have gone to them and said, Reverend Sirs, is it true that you declare that all things began with the creation by a God or Brahma? Yes, they replied. Then I asked, in that case, how do the reverend teachers declare that this came about? But they could not give an answer. And so they asked me in return. And I replied, There comes a time, friends, sooner or later, after a long period, when this world contracts, etc. etc. As in Sutta number one. Beings are born in the Abhassara Brahma world and stay there for a long time. When this world expands, one being falls from there and arises in an empty Brahma palace. He longs for company and other beings appear and he and they believe he created them. That, Reverend Sirs, is how it comes about that you teach that all things began with the creation by a God or Brahma. And they said, we have heard this, Reverend Gautama, as you have explained. But I know the beginning of things. And I do not come under its sway. I'm not being under the sway of what I know. I've come to know that quenching by the realization of which the Tathagata cannot fall into perilous ways. There are some ascetics and Brahmins who declared that the beginning of things was due to corruption by pleasure. I went to them and asked them if this was their view. Yes, they replied. I asked them how this came about. And when they could not explain, I said, there are friends, certain devas called corrupted by pleasure. They spend an excessive amount of time addicted to merriment. Their mindfulness lapses and they fall away. Also as in Sutta 1. That, reverend sirs, is how it comes about. that you teach that the beginning of things was due to corruption by pleasure." And they said, We have heard this, Reverend Gautama, as you have explained. And the Buddha continued, There are some ascetics and Brahmins who declare that the beginning of things was due to corruption of mind. I went to them and asked them if this was their view. Yes, they replied. I asked them how this came about. And when they could not explain, I said, There are friends, certain devas called corrupted in mind. They spend an excessive amount of time regarding each other with envy, etc. And the minds become corrupted and they fall away, also as in Sutta No. 1. That, Reverend Sirs, is how it comes about that you teach that the beginning of things was due to corruption of mind. And they said, we have heard this, Reverend Gautama, as you have explained. There are Bhagawas, some ascetics and Brahmins who declare that the beginning of things was due to chance. I went to them and asked them if this was their view. Yes, they replied. I asked them how this came about. And when they could not explain, I said, there are friends, certain devas called asaniya satta, unconscious beings. As soon as a perception arises in them, these devas fall from that realm, remembering nothing, also as in Sutta 1. And they think, Now from non-being, I have been brought to being. That, Reverend Sirs, is how it comes about, that you teach that the beginning of things was due to chance. And they said, we have heard this, Reverend Gautama, as you have explained. But I know the first beginning of things. And I know not only that, but what surpasses it in value. I am not under the sway of what I know, and not being under its sway, I have come to know for myself that quenching by the realization of which the Tathagata cannot fall into perilous paths. And I, Bhagavata, who teach this and declare this, am wrongly, vainly, lyingly, and falsely accused by some ascetics and brahmins who say, the ascetic Gautama is on the wrong track, and so are his monks. He has declared that whoever has attained to the stage of deliverance, called the beautiful, finds everything repulsive. But I do not say this. What I say is that whenever anyone has attained to the stage of deliverance, called the beautiful, he knows that it is beautiful. And this Bhagavata said, Indeed, Lord, they are on the wrong track themselves who accuse the Lord and His monks of error. I'm so delighted with the Lord that I think the Lord is able to teach me to attain and remain in the deliverance called the beautiful. And the Buddha said, it's hard for you, Bhagavata, holding different views, being of different inclinations, and subject to different influences, following a different discipline, and having had a different teacher to attain and remain in the deliverance called the beautiful. You must strive hard, putting your trust in me, Bhagavata. And he said, Lord, Even if it is hard for me to attain and remain in the deliverance called the beautiful, still I will place my trust in the Lord. Thus the Lord spoke, and Bhagavata the wanderer was delighted and rejoiced at the Lord's words." This is the end of the Sutta. This last part, the Buddha hinted to him that he must strive hard and put his trust in the Buddha. But he did not take the hint that he should become a monk disciple of the Buddha, then the Buddha can teach him. I think we'll stop here.

46-DN-24-Patika-(2011-08-04)-Part-B-QnA.txt

Anything to discuss? I have a question. As I'm seeing you use the word Dhamma in various contexts, what kind of meanings does it have? The first meaning of Dhamma is the Buddha's Dhamma. The Buddha's Dhamma is the Buddha's teachings. And the Buddha's teachings refers to reality, the truth about the world. Because the Buddha said that having become enlightened, he knows the world with his devas and maras, ascetics, etc. And he teaches the reality about the world. that the world is an unsatisfactory place, a dangerous place with different kinds of planes of rebirth. If you're not careful, you can go into woeful planes of rebirth. And then he teaches a path out of this round of rebirths because the round of rebirths is unsatisfactory, is suffering. A lot of people find it hard to accept the Buddha's teaching that the world is dukkha, suffering. Basically, because people are not aware of the ghost realm, not aware of the hell realm. Because we don't see, we don't quite believe. That's why and also because the human realm is a place, is a happy destination of rebirth. So life in the human realm is good. That's why most people when we die, we're not willing to die. We want to cling on to life. So when they hear that Buddha says life is suffering, they don't accept it. But when a person is dying, whether he's happy to die or not. Most of the time, you find people when they are dying, they are crying. They don't want to go. Why? Because two or three days before they die, they can see another world coming up. And when they see another world coming up, most of the time, it's a frightening world. And you ask them to let go, they cannot let go. How to let go? Because what they see is so frightening. The worst suffering we have in the human realm is nothing, nothing compared to the ghost realm, nothing compared to the hell realm. So you ask them to let go, they will never let go because it's so frightening. You see people who are suffering at the last moment, some just because of old age, some because of sickness. And the body is giving them so much pain and they prefer to cling on to life, cling on and suffer day by day, suffer day by day until they just can't bear it anymore. You know, we have a threshold of pain. Beyond the threshold of pain, we can't stand it anymore. But even beyond the threshold of pain, because of the fear of being reborn in death, woeful plane of rebirth, they still cling to life, cling, cling, cling until they cannot cling anymore. Then only they will let go. So a lot of people, they don't believe in the Buddha's teachings, but at the last moment, then all this comes true. Too late, they find out. Many of them, they have been promised, when they die, they will go to heaven and all that. But when they are dying, they don't see heaven. So that's the first meaning of Dhamma, about reality, about the world. The second meaning of Dhamma is states, states, mental states, also mental objects. What else? Anybody remember any other meaning of Dhamma? Dhamma has several meanings. Nature. Nature is like reality. At the moment, can you think of these three? Yeah. All of us think that the human realm is in a happy world for existence. And we always think that being in the ghost realm and the animal realm are suffering. The worst of course is the animal realm. But you see, yesterday we went into the hole of who are the evil people. When you see all these young people, some of them young, some of them are old, when you look at them, help to me is like help in this human realm. Yes, in the human realm also we have different levels. You think you're happy, but there are also other people happier than you, humans who are happier than you. And some are worse than you. What you saw, those mentally retarded people, they are a bit like animals, a bit like in the ghost realm. So even with the deva realm, you find also there are some extremely happy, so happy they cannot utter a word. And those are in the third jhana realm. And those in the second jhana realm, they're so happy, they keep saying happiness, happiness. Every day, they're like blissed out after ecstasy pill or something, but much higher. Their happiness is much higher than what they get from ecstasy pill. It lasts for millions and millions of years. And yet, there are lower devas who have difficulty finding their food, snake spirits. bird spirits, river spirits. These are low devas. So they are a bit like human beings. To get food, they have to kill. They have to hunt and kill to get food. That's why some of them, when they hear the Buddha's teachings, they are not happy. Because they cannot practice it. But then, generally, devas have a good life. And humans also have a good life, that's why the Buddha classified these two as a happy destination of rebirth. And the other three as a woeful destination of rebirth. The Buddha did not allow his disciples, so-called cultivators, To what? To not allow his disciple, monk, to work miracles. To work miracles. Yeah. But at the same time, we see that he will involve him as involved him. Yeah. Because you think he established them as this. What is the reason? He's the teacher, so he makes rules for his monks. Most of the time he keeps, but sometimes when he finds it useful to work miracles, then he does so. That's why the Buddha said, don't have sila bata paramassa. Sila, Bhatta, Paramassa is too attached to Sila rules. And rituals refers to all the religious things that we do. Chanting, even Acharya Vata, duty to the teacher, that also is a Vata. And many things, anything concerning religion is vata. So the Buddha said, it has its use, but don't be too attached to it. You must always know what is the purpose of the sila, what is the purpose of that vata. So even though the Buddha said that some of his disciples, they would rather die than break his And yet, when the Buddha was about to pass away, the Buddha said, if the Sangha decides, the Sangha can abolish certain minor rules. So in the Patimokkha of a monk, 227 precepts, only two classes of precepts are considered major. The Parajika, consisting of four precepts, And the Sangha dishes are consisting of 13 precepts, which adds to 17. So the balance, 200 over precepts are considered minor. But at the same time, I mentioned that the Buddha did not say which of the minor precepts can be abolished. So he left it to the Sangha to decide. If it's necessary, then they can abolish it. So, like in this case, the Buddha, although he says generally not to show psychic power, but when he finds it useful, then he shows. I think, and if you could explain a little bit more, why the Buddha does not allow his disciples to exercise? He did say, he said firstly, it's shameful, it's like a striptease act like that. Secondly, the Buddha said there are such things as mantras and mantras also can work miracles. If you chant certain mantras, if you know those mantras, they can work miracles. So the Buddha says that if you work miracles, people who have faith will have more faith. But those who have no faith, which is the maybe majority, they will say that this is dabbling in black magic, dabbling in mantras and all these things. So instead of having a good effect, I may have a bad effect. I wonder if it is a part of the human realm, because there are so many other realms of the man. Is it a part of the human realm? How do you get to there, for example, In the suttas, the Buddha says that all beings, generally, after passing away, the chances of going into the woeful planes are more than to the happy destinations of rebirth. So you take, for example, human beings. Actually, in the human realm, we create a lot of kamma compared to the devas who enjoy themselves. most of the time and then compared to the like animals and ghosts and hell realm where they suffer most of the time and unable to do much about their situation. So in the human realm, we create a lot of kamma and a lot of people don't understand the dhamma. don't understand the law of kamavipaka, don't understand that there are realms, frightening realms of rebirth. So we follow our tendencies and our natural tendency is greed, anger, hatred and ignorance or delusion. So when we follow our natural tendencies, we are selfish, we fight. from the moment we are able to, then we fight for survival and we want to get the best of everything. So, in the course of struggling to survive, and not only survive for yourself, survive for those you consider to be yours, your family and all that. So sometimes we create evil karma. And most of the time, for worldly people, they don't realize it. And so after they die, they go into a woeful plane. And the surprising thing is even people who don't do really evil, I mean ordinary people live an ordinary life. When they pass away, most of them will go into the ghost realm. Why? Because as a human being, we are in a good situation. So we are able to enjoy the good food that we can get and go and touring around the world and enjoy rock music et cetera, all the pleasures of the senses. So when we indulge in the pleasures of the senses, we use up our merit, use up our blessings. So by the time we are about to pass away, our blessings has reduced, reduced below the qualifying mark to become a human being. So we naturally fall into the ghost realm. That's why a lot of people after dying, after dying a few days, they come back. People can sense that they come back. You can hear somebody walking, footsteps, but you don't see. So you mentioned that a lot of Indian immigrants going down to the border is greater than cross-border immigrants. So over time, to round immigrants, there should be some more immigrants left than US immigrants? Because everyone has either gone down or they have immigrated to Iran, and the same thing happens here. Actually, the Buddha says the world is created by our consciousness. So it's like a dream. So hell is unlimited accommodation. All the realms are unlimited. So the Our world is made by our mind. Each person's world is made by his mind. So, it's like a dream. You can't think in terms of calculating how many human beings. Calculate how many. Okay. You said most things in the world All in your mind. Actually, the sutra says that a long time ago, There was this world was so well populated with people that towns and cities were just next to each other all over the place. And a cockerel could just walk from one town to another town. So now you think the population is exploding, there's a population explosion. Nothing, used to be a lot more. I don't think like Moon Ching, in terms of numbers and all that, because when we dream, in our dreams, the numbers, whatever numbers, when we wake up from the dream, they all disappear. So the Buddha, like in Mahayana, they say when you become a Buddha, you have liberated all the beings in the world. When a person becomes a Buddha and enters Nibbana, all the beings in his world have all disappeared. His mind stopped, his consciousness stopped, so all the beings in his world disappeared. But all the beings in your world has not disappeared. They will all be, they will all enter Nibbana with you, when you enter Nibbana. When you look directly at it, you will find that the leaves that held him, held him on his feet, his knees in the ground, it's like water, it's hard on the legs, and on his feet, it was shivering. And they don't believe that they actually have a right to do that. Take the country, America, for instance. They don't accept that they can do more than that. They want to discover the truth of human rights themselves. That kind of view is a bit different from what the Buddha says. If you consider that in this human realm there is also hell and there is also heaven, it is only true to a small degree because In the human realm, the happiest humans, the happiest humans, however happy we can be, is only equivalent to the very low heavens, to the low heavens. But there are much higher heavens where the happiness is much, much higher. And the most unhappy beings in the human realm, those who are suffering, for example, Africa or some starving nation. At the very worst, also cannot compare to like the ghost realm or the hell realm. Cannot compare at all to the hell realm. But you can see like some people they go out of their mind, they're crazy. Maybe their karma is so bad, thrown out of the house by the children and they walk on the streets. Sometimes you can see this in Asia. They walk on the streets and babbling and crying and all these things. So you can imagine the mind is utterly miserable and suffering, but still it's nothing compared to the hell realm where they are. pork and their skin alive and thrown into the boiling pot and forced to climb up a thorny tree and some in the hell of excrement, swimming about among excrement and all this. So it's nothing. So a lot of people like this, because they don't see, they don't quite believe, but because they are supposed to be Buddhist, so they say, yeah, heaven and hell is all here. It shows that they doubt what the Buddha says about realms of existence. The only thing is that it is not possible to be involved as a human, as an animal, and to be described as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as a ghost, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to be considered as an animal, and to So your question is, how do people fall in hell? The Buddha says, he taught us the precepts. So the first precept is not to kill. So if you kill a lot, you kill a lot, that's the first way to go to hell. For example, people who hunt, who hunt and kill a lot of animals or people who slaughter animals as a livelihood. So that's the first. Secondly, if you cheat, cheat, for example, cheat a lot of people. How to cheat a lot of people? One way you can see nowadays is politicians. Corrupt politicians. Corrupt politicians, they cheat. They cheat a lot of people and they get filthy rich. That's another way. Then the third way is sexual misconduct. People who engage in sexual misconduct and cause families to break up. It's not only they do it once, they do it very often and with a lot of people. Fourthly, lying. Lying involves cheating also. Cheating people. Also, it can be similar to corrupt officials and all that, who cheat a lot. Also people who, in the business world, they cheat. For example, like this scandal in China, tainted milk and all these things. Just to make money, they cause people to die. So, there's lying. And then, Then, like selling drugs and all this. Selling drugs to cause hardship to a lot of people, dealing in drugs. And then also people who sell weapons. You know that the weapons, for example, arms dealers, they sell to different sites, both sites. So cause people to kill each other. So all this wrong livelihood. So these are the ways. It's not that the present is very bad. Buddha said most human beings will fall today. But what I think around me, people don't really work against the five precepts as much as he said. But then Buddha still said that most people will fall tomorrow. So I still cannot realize that. Hell is very different from the ghost realm. So, I mentioned that a lot of people, even without doing evil, they will fall into the ghost realm because they have used up their blessings. They don't have to kill, they don't have to cheat people and all these things, they still fall into the ghost realm. How do I help to engage a saint? A deranged person. You better call the doctor. Doctor cannot help him. How can you help him? You cannot help everybody in the world. Even the Buddha also cannot help everybody in the world. You feel so desperate because you let them do it. So you keep thinking about that. I think today you still cannot do it. And you still burdened with this burden. And you still don't... the person who is responsible for that. Because you feel that you can't even help yourself. You don't know how to follow the right path. And how are you... But still, I still want an answer from you someday. The family members, those close to us, are very difficult to help. Close family members are hard to help because they are used to seeing you, the old person. So, unless they see you change yourself, You got to change yourself first before you can change somebody else. You got to improve yourself so much that they are impressed by you. And then only they can change. So it's not easy. The Buddha says, if a person is in the mud, cannot help another person out of the mud. You got to get out of the mud, then only you can help another person get out of the mud. I think what you're talking about is what these people who believe in Abhidhamma, they teach that when a person is dying, you must tell him to have a good thought, then he will go to a good rebirth. This is too simplistic, too simplistic. In the Sutta, we find sometimes when some of the Buddha's lay disciples are dying, then the monks go to them and advise them to think of the heavens or to think of something very lofty. And then some of them are reborn in the high heaven. But that's provided they have good karma, okay? And then there's one sutta where the Buddha's cousin, Mahanama, came to ask the Buddha. He said, Bhagavata, I was thinking one day I might have a violent death. I mean, he didn't say it in exactly those words, but his meaning was he might have a violent death where he might be run over by a horse carriage, or by a bullock cart, or he might be killed by some bandits and all these things, something like that. So having, dying in a very frightening situation, they asked the Buddha whether he would get a bad rebirth, because he thought the last thought is frightening, last thought is fearful. So the Buddha said, don't worry, Mahanama, for a long time you have practiced the Dhamma. and the stream of Dhamma will bring you upwards to a good rebirth. Now when you consider this, if you listen to my talks, you will know that I say a person pronounced dead by the doctor is only clinically dead. It may not be really dead. The Buddha says that when a person really dies, three things will stop. One is the life. force itself, secondly is the consciousness, the thoughts, third is the body heat. So usually when a person is dying, after some time the doctor finds that his heart has stopped and the breathing has stopped, then the doctor says this person is dead. That is clinical death. But usually, that person will live on for another one or two hours, sometimes even longer. So during this one or two hours, the mind is still running. And those are real last thoughts, and those real last thoughts are beyond anybody's control. It is by habit, what you think. But what you think in those very last moments is your habitual thoughts. That's why it's important to cultivate our mind. When we cultivate our mind by meditation and all that, we train our mind to be disciplined, to think wholesome thoughts, or if possible, not think at all. So, those thoughts will determine where we are reborn. For example, one lady told me, one lady in Penang, she told me that the mother died of cancer. And when the mother was pronounced dead by the doctor, she died in pain. So the face was contorted in pain, you can see. But the daughter told me one hour later, the face changed, changed and became so happy and cheerful and bright. So evidently, she had a good heart. If you have a good heart, you're thinking of good thoughts. So, because you think of good thoughts, you see good things. Your place of rebirth, you can see it's a happy destination, so you're so happy. Okay? As my grandmother just passed away, and when she passed away, my father invited some buddhists to come to the world. And they think that after chanting for 8 hours, then the physical, let's say, pleasure will be very bright and delightful. So I wondered if This is possible. If after my grandmother died, can we give her chanting? Will this affect her destination? If it will help, the Buddha would advise us to do all the chanting when somebody dies. I don't believe that it can help. When the person is pronounced dead, he probably won't be able to hear anything anymore. What's the use of all the chanting? Oh yes, where we go for rebirth depends on our kamma. So if a person has accumulated a lot of good kamma that person would have the confidence that he's going to a good place. So when he dies also, I don't think he'll be scared. He knows that he's going to a good place. Okay, can we stop here?

47-DN-25-Udumbarika-Sihanada-(2011-08-05).txt

Okay, tonight is the 5th of August, 2011, and this is the 20th night we're speaking on the Diga Nikaya Suttas. Tonight we come to Sutta number 25, Udambarikasi Hanada Sutta. The great lines roar to the Udambarikansa. Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was staying in Rajagaha at the Voucher's Peak. And at that time, the wanderer Nigrodha was staying at the Udambarika lodging for wanderers, with a large company of some 3,000 wanderers. And one morning early, the householder Sandana came to Rajagaha in order to see the Lord. Then he thought, it is not the proper time to see the Blessed Lord. He is in retreat. It is not the proper time to see the meditating monks. They are in retreat. Perhaps I should go to the Udambarika Lodging for Wanderers and call on Nigrodha." And he did so. And just then, Nigrodha was sitting in the midst of a large crowd of wanderers who were all shouting and screaming and making a great clamor and indulging in various kinds of unedifying conversation. about kings, robbers, ministers, armies, dangers, war, food, drink, clothes, beds, garlands, perfumes, relatives, carriages, villages, towns and cities, countries, women, heroes, street and well gossip, talk of the departed, desultory chat, speculation about land and sea, talk of being and non-being. Then Igroda saw Sandana approaching from a distance, and he called his followers to order, saying, Be quiet, gentlemen. Don't make a noise, gentlemen. The householder Sandana, a follower of the ascetic Gautama, is approaching. He is one of the number of white-robed householder followers of the ascetic Gautama in Rajagaha. And these good folk are fond of quiet. They are taught to be quiet and speak in praise of quiet. If he sees that this company is quiet, he will most likely want to come and visit us. At this, the Wanderers fell silent. Then Sandana approached Nigrodha and exchanged courtesies with him, and then sat down to one side. Then he said, Reverend Sirs, the way the Wanderers of another faith conduct themselves when they come together is one thing. They make a great clamor and indulge in all manner of unedifying conversation, etc. The Blessed Lord's way is different. He seeks a lodging in the forest, in the depths of the jungle, free from noise, with little sound, far from the madding crowd, undisturbed by men, well fitted for seclusion." Then Igoroda replied, Well now, householder, do you know whom the ascetic Gautama talks to? Whom does he converse with? From whom does he get his lucidity of wisdom? The ascetic Gautama's wisdom is destroyed by the solitary life. He is unused to assemblies. He is no good at conversation. He is right out of touch, just as bison, circling round, keep to the fringes. So it is with the ascetic Gautama. In fact, householder, If the ascetic Gautama were to come to this assembly, we would baffle him with a single question. We would knock him over like an empty pot. Now the Lord, with His divine ear faculty, purified and surpassing human range, heard this exchange between Sandana and Igroda. And descending from Vulture's Peak, He came to the peacock's feeding ground beside the Sumagada tank and walked up and down right and walked up and down there in the open air. Then the Groda caught sight of him and called his company to order, saying, gentlemen, be quiet, be less noisy. The ascetic Gautama is walking up and down beside the Sumagada tank. He is fond of quiet and speaks in praise of quiet. If he sees that this company is quiet, he will most likely want to come and visit us. If he does so, we will put this question to him. Lord, what is this doctrine in which the Blessed Lord trains His disciples, and which those disciples whom He has so trained as to benefit from it, recognize as their principal support and the perfection of the holy life? At this, the wanderers were silent. Then the Lord approached Negroda, and Negroda said, Come, Blessed Lord. Welcome, Blessed Lord. At last, the Blessed Lord has gone out of His way to come here. Be seated, Lord. A seat is prepared. The Lord sat down on the prepared seat, and Negroda took a low stool and sat down to one side. Then the Lord said to him, Negroda, what was the subject of your conversation just now? What talk have I interrupted? Negroda replied, Lord, we saw the blessed Lord walking up and down at the peacock's feeding ground by the Sumagada tank, and we thought, if the ascetic Gautama were to come here, we could ask him this question. What is this doctrine in which the Blessed Lord trains His disciples, and which those disciples whom He has so trained as to benefit from it, recognize as their principal support and the perfection of the holy life? And the Buddha said, Nigrodha, it is hard for you, holding different views. being of different inclinations and subject to different influences, following a different teacher, to understand the doctrine which I teach my disciples. Come on then, Negroda, ask me about your own teaching, about your extreme austerity. How are the conditions of austerity and self-mortification fulfilled, and how they are not fulfilled? At this, the wanderers made a great commotion and noise, exclaiming, It is wonderful. It is marvelous. How great are the powers of the ascetic Gautama in holding back with his own theories and in inviting others to discuss theirs. Silencing them, Nigrodha said, Lord, we teach the higher austerities. We regard them as essential. We adhere to them. Such being the case, what constitutes their fulfillment or non-fulfillment? And the Buddha said, suppose, Nigrodha, A self-mortifier goes naked, uses no polite restraints, licks his hand, does not come or stand still when requested. He does not accept food out of the pot or pan, etc., as in Sutta 8, verse 14. He wears coarse hemp or mixed material, shrouds from corpses, rags from the dust heap. He is a plucker out of hair and beard, devoted to this practice. He is a cupboard-torn man, making his bed on them, sleeping alone in a garment of wet mud, living in the open air, accepting whatever seat is offered, one who drinks no water and is addicted to the practice. Or he dwells intent on the practice of going to bed three times before evening. What do you think, Nigrodha? Is the higher austerity thereby fulfilled or not? And Nigrodha said, indeed, Lord, it is fulfilled. And the Buddha said, but Nigrodha, I maintain that this higher austerity can be faulted in various ways. Stop here for a moment. You see these self mortifiers, they go naked, and then they pluck their hair and the beard out. Instead of shaving it, they pluck it out, which is more painful. And then, He sleeps on the thorns, covered thorns. And then sleep in a garment of wet mud or in the open air. Some of them drink no water. And then some of them, when the sun goes down, they go and submerge themselves in the river three times to wash away their sins. All these austerities just to just to punish the body. They think that's the way to purify themselves by cultivating all sorts of these ascetic practices. Then Nigrodha asked, In what way, Lord, do you maintain that it can be faulted? And the Buddha said, Take the case, Nigrodha, of a self-mortifier who practices a certain austerity. As a result, He is pleased and satisfied at having attained his end. And this is a fault in that self-mortifier. Or else in so doing he elevates himself and disparages others. And this is a fault in that self-mortifier. Or else he has become intoxicated with conceit, infatuated and therefore careless. And this is a fault in that self-mortifier. Again, a self-mortifier practices a certain austerity. And this brings him gains, honors, and fame. As a result, he is pleased and satisfied at having attained his end. Or else he elevates himself and disparages others. Or else he becomes intoxicated with conceit, infatuated, and therefore careless. And this is a fault in that self-mortifier. Again, a self-mortifier practices a certain austerity, and he divides his food into two heaps, saying, this suits me. That doesn't suit me. And what does not suit him, he eagerly rejects. While what suits him, he eats up greedily, recklessly and passionately, not seeing the peril, with no thought for the consequences. And this is a fault in the self-mortifier. Again, a self-mortifier practices a certain austerity for the sake of gains, honors and fame, thinking, kings and their ministers will honor me, kathiyas and brahmins and householders and religious teachers. And this is a fault in their self-mortifier. Again, a self-mortifier disparages some ascetic or Brahmins, saying, See how he lives in abundance, eating all sorts of things, whether propagated from roots, from stems, from joints, from cuttings, or fifthly, from seeds. He chews them all up with the thunderbolt of a jaw of his, and they call him an ascetic. And this is a fault in the self-mortifier. Or he sees another ascetic or Brahmin being made much of by families, being honoured and respected and worshipped. And he thinks, they make much of that rich liver, they honour him, respect him and worship him. Whereas I, who am a real ascetic and self mortifier, gets no such treatment. Thus he is envious and jealous because of those householders. And this is a fault in that self mortifier. Again, A self-mortifier sits in a prominent position and this is a fault in that self-mortifier. Or he goes round ostentatiously, I mean showing off, among the families as if to say, see this is my way of renunciation and this is a fault in that self-mortifier. Or he behaves in an underhand way on being asked, do you approve of this? Although he does not approve, he says, I do. Or although he does approve, he says, I do not. In this way, he becomes a conscious liar. And this is a fault in that self mortifier. Again, a self mortifier When the Tathagata or a disciple of the Tathagata presents the Dhamma in a way that should command his ascent, withholds that ascent, and this is a fault in that self-mortifier. Or he is angry and bad-tempered, and this is a fault in that self-mortifier. Or he is mean and spiteful, envious and jealous, crafty and deceitful, obstinate and proud, with evil desires and under their sway. with wrong views and given to extremist opinions. He is tainted with worldliness, holding on firmly, unwilling to give up. And this is a fault in that self-mortifier. What do you think, Nigrodha? Are these things faults in the higher austerity or not?" And Nigrodha said, "'Certainly they are, Lord. It could happen that a single self-mortifier was possessed of all these faults, not to speak of just one or the other.'" And then the Buddha continued. Now Nigrodha, take the case of a certain self-mortifier who practices a certain austerity. As a result, he is not pleased and satisfied at having attained his end. This being so, in this respect, he is purified. Again, he does not elevate himself and disparage others. Similarly, with the other examples given before. Thus, he does not become a conscious liar. In this respect, he is purified. Again, a self-mortifier when the Tathagata or a disciple of the Tathagata presents the Dhamma in a way that should command his ascent, gives his ascent. In this respect, he is purified, and he is not angry or bad-tempered. In this respect, he is purified, and he is not mean and spiteful, envious and jealous, crafty and deceitful, obstinate and proud. He is without evil desires and not under their sway. without wrong views and not given to extremist opinions. He is not tainted with worldliness, does not hold on firmly, and is not unwilling to give up. In this respect, he is purified. What do you think, Nigrodha? Is the higher austerity purified by these things or not?" And Nigrodha said, "'Certainly it is, Lord. It attains its peak there, penetrating to the pith,' and the Buddha said, No, Nigrodha, it does not attain its peak there, penetrating to the pith. It has only reached the outer bark." And then the Nigrodha asked, Well then, Lord, how does austerity attain its peak, penetrating to the pith? It would be good if the Blessed Lord were to cause my austerity to attain its peak to penetrate to the pit. Stop here for a moment. As you see, the Buddha is leading this nigrodha to ask him these questions. And then the Buddha slowly teaches him what he wants to know, what the Buddha teaches his disciples, the higher path. And the Buddha said, Nigrodha, take the case of a self-mortifier who observes the fourfold restraint. And what is this? Here, a self-mortifier does not harm a living being, does not cause a living being to be harmed, does not approve of such harming. He does not take what is not given. or cause it to be taken, or approve of such taking. He does not tell a lie, or cause a lie to be told, or approve of such lying. He does not crave for sense pleasures, cause others to do so, or approve of such craving. In this way, a self-mortifier observes the fourfold restraint, and through this restraint, through making this his austerity, he takes an upward course, and does not fall back into lower things." Stop here for a moment. Here basically the Buddha is talking about the four precepts, not to kill, not to take what is not given, not to commit sexual misconduct, and not to lie. But you see the Buddha put it in a way that he suits this aesthetic. The Buddha calls it the fourfold restraint. Because for these ascetics, they have a lot of restraints. They use the word restraint instead of precept. Then he finds a solitary lodging at the root of a forest tree. in a mountain cave or gorge, a charnel ground, a jungle ticket, or in the open air on a heap of straw. Then having eaten after his return from the alms round, he sits down cross-legged, holding his body erect, having established mindfulness before him. Abandoning hankering for the world, he dwells with a mind free from such hankering, and his mind is purified of it. Abandoning ill will and hatred, he dwells with a mind free from them. And by compassionate love for the welfare of all living beings, his mind is purified of them. Abandoning sloth and torpor by the perception of light, mindful and clearly aware, his mind is purified of sloth and torpor. Abandoning restlessness and worry, and with an inwardly calm heart, his mind is purified of restlessness and worry. Abandoning doubt, he dwells with doubt left behind, without uncertainty as to what things are wholesome. His mind is purified of doubt. Having abandoned these five hindrances, and in order to weaken by insight the defilements of mind, he dwells, letting his mind, filled with loving kindness, pervade one quarter, then a second, then a third, then a fourth quarter. And so he continues to pervade the whole wide world, above, below, across, and everywhere, with a mind filled with loving kindness, extensive, developed, measureless, free from hatred and ill will. And he dwells, letting his mind filled with compassion, with joy, with equanimity, pervade one quarter, second, third, fourth quarter, extensive, developed, measureless, free from hatred and ill will. What do you think, Negroda? Is the higher austerity purified by these things or not? And Negroda says, certainly it is, Lord. It attains its peak there, penetrating to the pit. And the Buddha said, no, Nigrodha, it does not attain its peak there. That's only penetrated to the inner bark. And Nigrodha asked, well then, Lord, how does austerity attain its peak, penetrating to the pit? It would be good if the blessed Lord were to cause my austerity to attain its peak, to penetrate to the pit. Stop here for a moment. You can see from here, the Buddha is very skillful. Basically, the Buddha wants to teach this Nigrodha the real holy path, which is the charana, the practice of the holy life, the conduct of the holy life. But if he were to tell him straight away, this ascetic won't accept it so easily. He's so used to the ascetic practices, torturing himself, he thinks that's the highest. So the Buddha leads him to see that Even you practice all these austerities, there are certain faults in it. And from there, the Buddha tells him how to go to a higher stage, and then a higher stage. So now the Buddha is leading him into the real holy path. Nigrodha, take the case of a self-mortifier who observes the fourfold restraint. Free from hatred and ill will, he recalls various past lives. There my name was so and so, my caste was so and so. I experienced such and such painful conditions, pleasant and painful conditions, having passed from there. Sorry for a moment. So here actually, as mentioned in Sutta number one, verse 131, it must be the charanan, the conduct, the various stages, practicing sila, contentment, seclusion, satisampajanya, mindfulness, and clear awareness, then the other things, and then abandoning the five hindrances, attaining the four jhanas, and then come to this psychic powers, remembering past lives. Having passed from there, arose here. Thus he remembers various past lives, their conditions and details. What do you think, Nigrodha? Is the higher austerity purified by these things or not? And Nigrodha said, certainly it is, Lord. It attains its peak there, penetrating to the pit. And the Buddha said, no, Nigrodha, it only reaches the fibers surrounding the pit. Stop here for a moment. A lot of people think in the holy path, once you attain psychic power, that's the highest. But to the Buddha, it is not. And then Nigrodha asked, well then, Lord, how does austerity reach its peak, penetrating to the pit? It would be good if the blessed Lord were to cause my austerity to attain its peak, to penetrate to the pit." And the Buddha said, Well, Nigrodha, take the case of a self-mortifier who observes the fourfold restraint, etc, etc. And then free from hatred and ill will, he remembers various past lives, their conditions and details. And then with the purified divine eye, he sees beings passing away and arising, base and noble, well-favored and ill-favored. to happy and unhappy destinations as karma directs them. What do you think, Nigrodha? Is the higher austerity purified by these things or not?" And he said, "'Certainly it is, Lord. It attains its peak there, penetrating to the pit.'" And then the Buddha said, "'So indeed it is, Nigrodha, that that austerity is so purified as to reach its peak and penetrate to the pit.'" I think here they miss out, must be another one, is that after this seeing beings taking rebirth according to kamma, then the destruction of the asavas, contemplating the four noble truths, and destroying the asavas, which also means enlightenment or liberation from the round of rebirths. Then only it has penetrated to the pit, reached its peak, And so, Nigrodha, when you ask, what, Lord, is this doctrine in which the Blessed Lord trains His disciples, and which those disciples whom He has so trained as to benefit from it, recognize as their principal support and the perfection of the holy life? I say that it is by something far more reaching and excellent that I train them, through which they recognize as their principal support and the perfection of the holy life. At this, the wondrous made a great commotion and noise, exclaiming, We and our teacher are ruined. We know of nothing higher or more far-reaching than our teaching. And when the householder Sandana realized these wondrous of other views are actually listening and attending to the Lord's words and inclining their minds to the higher wisdom, he said to Reverend Nigrodha, You said to me, come now, householder, do you know whom the ascetic Gautama talks to, etc., etc.? His wisdom is destroyed by the solitary life. He is no good at conversation. He is right out of touch, etc. So now that the Blessed Lord has come here, why don't you baffle him with a single question and knock him over like an empty pot? And at these words, Nigrodha was silent and upset. His shoulders drooped. He hung his head and sat there downcast and bewildered." Stop here for a moment. So you see, the Buddha was explaining all this in great detail from the practice of simple self-torture, austerities, and slowly leading up to the sila, precepts, and then the other factors of charana, the holy life. culminating in the four jhanas, and then the psychic powers, and then liberation from samsara. And these, these Negroda's disciples, these other wanderers, they said, we and our teacher are ruined. We know of nothing higher and more far reaching than our teaching. You know why they say this? Because then they realize, that the Buddha's teaching is so high, so many steps more to go, but they are only at the bottom, only cultivating, self-torture, haven't even started the holy life. Then they said, then they realized, we are ruined. We know nothing more than only what our teachers have told us. So this Sandhana was very happy to realize that these wanderers are really listening to the Buddha. Seeing the state he was in, the Lord said, Is it true, Nigrodha, that you said that? And he said, Lord, it is true that I said that foolishly, mistakenly, and wickedly. And the Buddha said, What do you think, Nigrodha? Have you ever heard it said by wanderers who were aged, venerable, the teachers of teachers, that those who in the past were arahants, sammasambuddhas, used to talk when they came together, by shouting and screaming and making a great clamour and indulging in unedifying conversation, the way you and your teachers do? Or did they not say rather that those blessed ones sought lodging in the forest, in the depths of the jungle, free from noise, with little sound, far from the madding crowd, undisturbed by men, well fitted for seclusion, just as I do now?' And Negroda said, I have heard it said that those who were Arahants, Sammasambuddhas, did not indulge in loud talk, etc., but sought lodging in the forest, just as the Blessed Lord does now." And the Buddha said, Nigrodha, you are an intelligent man of mature years. Did it never occur to you to think the Blessed Lord is enlightened and teaches a doctrine of enlightenment? He is self-restrained and teaches a doctrine of self-restraint. He is calm and teaches a doctrine of calm. He has gone beyond and teaches a doctrine of going beyond. He has gained Nibbana and teaches a doctrine for the gaining of Nibbana. At this, Nigrodha said to the Lord, Transgression overcame me, Lord, foolish, blind and evil as I was, that I spoke thus of the Lord. May the Lord accept my confession of this fault. that I may restrain myself in future." And the Buddha said, Indeed, Nigrodha, transgression overcame you when through folly, blindness and evil you spoke thus of me. But since you recognize the nature of your transgression and make amends as is right, we accept your confession. For Nigrodha, it is a mark of progress in the discipline of the noble ones if anyone recognizes the nature of his transgression and makes amends as is right. is training himself for the future. But Nigrodha, I tell you this, let an intelligent man come to me who is sincere, honest and straightforward, and I will instruct him. I will teach him Dhamma. If he practices what he is taught, then within seven years he will attain in this life to that unequaled holy life and goal, for the sake of which young men of good family go forth from the household life into homelessness. by his own knowledge and realization and he will abide therein, let alone seven years, in six years, five, four, three, two, one year, let alone one year, in eleven months, ten months, seven months, six months, five, four, three, two, one month, half a month, let alone half a month, in seven days he can gain that goal. You may think the ascetic Gautama says this in order to get disciples, but you should not regard it like that. Let him who is your teacher remain your teacher. Or you may think he wants us to abandon our rules, but you should not regard it like that. Let your rules remain as they are. Or you may think He wants us to abandon our way of life, but you should not regard it like that. Let your way of life remain as it was. Or you may think He wants to establish us in the doing of things that according to our teaching are wrong and are so considered among us. But you should not regard it like that. Let those things you consider wrong continue to be so considered. Or you may think it wants to draw us away from things that according to our teaching are good and are so considered among us. But you should not regard it like that. Let whatever you consider right continue to be so considered. Negroda, I do not speak for any of these reasons. There are nigrodha, unwholesome things or unwholesome states that have not been abandoned, tainted, conducive to rebirth, fearful, productive of painful results in the future, associated with birth, decay and death. It is for the abandonment of these things that I teach Dhamma. If you practice accordingly, these tainted states will be abandoned and the states that make for purification will develop and grow and you will and you will all attain to and dwell in this very life by your own insight and realization in the fullness of perfected wisdom.' At these words, the wanderers sat silent and upset, their shoulders drooped. They hung their heads and sat there downcast and bewildered. So possessed were their minds by Mara. Then the Lord said, Every one of these foolish men is possessed by the evil one. so that not a single one of them thinks. Let us now follow the holy life proclaimed by the ascetic Gautama, that we may learn it. For what do seven days matter? Then the Lord, having uttered his lines raw in the Udambarika Park, rose up in the air and alighted on the Vulture's Peak. And the householder, Sandana, also returned to Rajagaha." That's the end of the sutta. So you see this last part, the Buddha is hinting to them, if you are an honest, let an intelligent man come to me who is sincere, honest and straightforward and I will instruct him, I will teach him Dhamma. So the Buddha is inviting them to come to be his disciples and he is telling them in seven days if they strive hard they can become enlightened. But their minds were overcome by Mara and they did not take the hint that the Buddha dropped. So the Buddha flew off the air just to show them. He didn't realize if they followed the Buddha, they can also fly off like the Buddha. Okay, I think we have time for another sutta.

48-DN-26-Cakkavatti-Sihanada-(2011-08-05)-Part-A.txt

Sutta number 26, Cakkavati Sihanada Sutta, the lion's roar on the turning of the wheel. Cakka is the wheel. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying among the Magadans at Mathula. Then he said, monks, Lord, they replied, And the Lord said, monks, be islands unto yourselves, or be a lamp unto yourself. Be a refuge unto yourselves with no other refuge. Let the Dhamma be your island or your lamp. Let the Dhamma be your refuge with no other refuge. And how does a monk dwell as an island unto himself? As a refuge unto himself with no other refuge. With the Dhamma as his island, with the Dhamma as his refuge, with no other refuge. Here a monk abides contemplating body in the body, ardent, clearly aware and mindful, having put away hankering and fretting for the world. He abides contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside hankering and fretting for the world. Keep to your own preserves, monks, through your ancestral horns. If you do so, then Mara will find no lodgement, no foothold. It is just by the building up of wholesome states that this merit increases." Stop here for a moment. Now that I come to here, I just remembered I forgot to comment that the Buddha said, let me see. This last part of the previous sutta, under paragraph 23, on page 394, the Buddha said, Nigrodha, I do not speak for any of these reasons, but there are Nigrodha, unwholesome states that have not been abandoned, tainted, conducive to rebirth. fearful, productive, or painful results in the future associated with birth, decay, and death. It is for the abandonment of these things that I teach the Dhamma. If you practice accordingly, these tainted things will be abandoned, and the things that make for purification will develop and grow. And you will all attain to and dwell in this very light by your own insight and realization in the fullness of perfected wisdom. So the Buddha is saying, as long as we have not become an arahant, all of us have unwholesome states in us. It is these unwholesome states that drag us down to rebirth and to the woeful planes of rebirth. So we practice the Dhamma to get rid of these unwholesome states. A lot of people come into the Dhamma, always think of trying to get jhana, trying to get jnana, and all these things. They forget that actually you have to abandon all these unwholesome states before you can get. It's just like your hand is full with a lot of rubbish. Somebody wants to give you something better. Unless you throw away the rubbish, how can you have a free hand to take something better? So we have to get rid of all these unwholesome states. And we have to always examine ourselves and also to rely on the Sutta, the Buddha's words. Just like in this Sutta 26, the Buddha said, be a lamb unto yourselves, be a refuge unto yourselves with no other refuge. Let the Dhamma be your lamb, let the Dhamma be your refuge with no other refuge. So we have to depend on ourselves to make the effort But to depend on the Buddha's words to be our guide, we need a guide. And the best guide is the Buddha, instead of looking for some Sayadaw, some Achan, or some Hamdru, or some Sifu. So the best teacher is with us, that is the Buddha. Now that the Buddha has entered Nibbana, his words in the Suttas, in the five Nikayas, is our refuge, our real refuge. So we take the Buddha's words as our guide and we strive. So one half of the practice is to get rid of unwholesome states, the other half is to, but only after we get rid of the unwholesome states that we can achieve the Jhanas and the higher states and all that. So the Buddha's words are the theory and then meditation and getting rid of unwholesome states, the Carana part is all there. So the Buddha says, keep to your own preserves, keep to your ancestral horns. What he means is that we should keep to the four objects of sati or satipatthana. We should put our attention on these four objects instead of Mara's playground. Mara's playground is the world of the sights, sounds, smells, taste and touch, and also the mind. But worldly people, we want to indulge in all these worldly pleasures. That is Mara's bait. Just as a fisherman, he wants to catch the fish, he puts a nice bait there for the fish to eat. And the greedy fish will gulp it, not knowing there's a hook inside. So in the same way, the sensual pleasures in the world, they have a hook in there. Once we swallow the sensual pleasures, later we have to pay with tears. Once monks, there was a wheel-turning monarch named Dalhanemi, a righteous monarch of the law, maybe the Dhamma, conqueror of the four quarters, who had established the security of his realm and was possessed of the seven treasures. These are the wheel treasure, elephant treasure, horse treasure, jewel treasure, woman treasure, householder treasure, and a seventh, counsellor treasure. He has more than a thousand sons who are heroes of heroic stature, conquerors of the hostile army. He dwells having conquered this sea-girt land without stick or sword, by the law or dharma, etc. As in Sutta 3, verse 1.5. And after many hundreds and thousands of years, King Dalhanemi said to a certain man, My good man, whenever you see that the sacred wheel treasure has slipped from its position, reported to me. Yes, sire," the man replied. And after many hundreds and thousands of years, the man saw that the sacred wheel treasure had slipped from its position. Seeing this, he reported the fact to the king. Then King Dalhanemi sent for his eldest son, the crown prince, and said, The sacred wheel treasure has slipped from its position, and I have heard say that when this happens to a wheel-turning monarch, he has not much longer to live. I have had my fill of human pleasures. Now is the time to seek heavenly pleasures. You, my son, take over control of this ocean-bounded land. I will shave off my hair and beard, don yellow robes, and go forth from the household life into homelessness. And having installed his eldest son in due form as king, King Dal Hanemi shaved off his hair and beard, donned yellow robes, and went forth from the household life into homelessness. And seven days after the royal sage had gone forth, the sacred wheel treasure vanished. Then a certain man came to the anointed Katya king and said, Sire, you should know that the sacred wheel treasure has disappeared. At this the king was grieved and felt sad. He went to the royal sage and told him the news. And the royal sage said to him, My son, you should not grieve or feel sad at the disappearance of the wheeled treasure. The wheeled treasure is not an heirloom from your fathers. But now, my son, you must turn yourself into an Aryan wheel-turner. And then it may come about that if you perform the duties of an Aryan wheel-turning monarch on the fast day of the 15th, when you have washed your head and gone up to the veranda on top of your palace for the fast day, The sacred wheel treasure will appear to you, thousands spoke, complete with fellow hub and all appurtenances. And he asked, but what, sire, is the duty of an Aryan wheel-turning monarch? And the royal sage or chaplain said, It is this, my son, yourself depending on the Dhamma, honouring it, revering it, cherishing it, doing homage to it and venerating it, having the Dhamma as your badge and banner, acknowledging the Dhamma as your master. You should establish guard, ward and protection according to Dhamma for your household, your troops, your nobles and vessels, for Brahmins and householders, town and country folk. ascetics and Brahmins, for bees and birds. Let no crime prevail in your kingdom. And to those who are in need, give property. And whatever ascetics and Brahmins in your kingdom have renounced the life of sensual infatuation and are devoted to forbearance and gentleness, each one taming himself, each one calming himself, each one striving for the end of craving, From time to time, you should go to them and consult them as to what is wholesome and what is unwholesome, that what is blameworthy and what is blameless, what is to be followed and what is not to be followed, and what action will in the long run lead to harm and sorrow, and what to welfare and happiness. Having listened to them, you should avoid evil and do what is good. That, my son, is the duty of an Aryan wheel-turning monarch." Stop here for a moment. This part is also quite interesting. He's telling this new king that he has to conduct himself like a wheel-turning monarch. Then the wheel will appear. And how to do it? Have to use the Dhamma as the guide. Using Dhamma to protect all the people, including animals. And then those who give them whatever they need so that they don't have to steal and kill and all that. And then to seek advice from ascetics and brahmins who have renounced the life of sensual infatuation. There's a real monk, a real recluse, a real ascetic, is one who has renounced the life of sensual infatuation. and then devoted to forbearance and gentleness, striving for the end of craving. Only those type of ascetics or monks are worthy of being teachers, worthy of being a guide to the king. This chaplain told him to listen to such real recluses, ascetics. Yes, sire, said the king. And he performed the duties of an Aryan wheel-turning monarch. And as he did so, on the fast day of the 15th, that means the full moon day, when he had washed his head and gone up to the veranda on top of his palace for the fast day, the sacred wheel treasure appeared to him, thousands spoke, complete with fellow and all appurtenances. Then the king thought, I have heard that when the duly anointed Katya king sees such a wheel on the fast day of the fifteenth, he will become a wheel-turning monarch. May I become such a monarch. Then rising from his seat, covering one shoulder with his robe, the king took a gold vessel in his left hand, sprinkled the wheel with his right hand, and said, May the noble wheel-treasure turn, may the noble wheel-treasure conquer. The wheel turned to the east, and the king followed it with his fourfold army. And in whatever country the wheel stopped, the king took up residence with his fourfold army. And those who opposed him in the eastern region came and said, Come, your majesty, welcome. We are yours, your majesty, rulers, your majesty. And the king said, Do not take life. Do not take what is not given. Do not commit sexual misconduct. Do not tell lies. Do not drink strong drink. Be moderate in eating. And those who had opposed him in the eastern region became his subjects. Then the wheel turned south. And similarly, the same thing happened in west and north. Then the wheeled treasure, having conquered the land from sea to sea, returned to the royal capital and stopped before the king's palace as he was trying a case, as if to adorn the royal palace. And the second wheeled turning monarch did likewise. And a third, a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh king also." So this happened, one king after another for seven generations. And then the wheel slipped from its position. And seven days after the royal sage had gone forth, the wheel disappeared. Then a man came to the new king and said, Sire, you should know that the sacred wheel treasure has disappeared. At this, the king was grieved and felt sad, but he did not go to the royal sage and ask him about the duties of a wheel-turning monarch. Instead, he ruled the people according to his own ideas. and being so ruled, the people did not prosper as well as they had done under the previous kings who had performed the duties of a wheel-turning monarch. Then the ministers, councillors, treasury officials, guards and all keepers and chanters of mantras came to the king and said, Sire, as long as you rule the people according to your own ideas and differently from the way they were ruled before under previous wheel-turning monarchs, the people do not prosper so well. Sire, there are ministers in your realm, including ourselves, who have preserved the knowledge of how a wheel-turning monarch should rule. Ask us, Your Majesty, and we will tell you. Then the king ordered all the ministers and others to come together, and he consulted them. And they explained to him the duties of a wheel-turning monarch. And having listened to them, the king established guard and protection. But he did not give property to the needy. And as a result, poverty became rife. With the spread of poverty, a man took what was not given, thus committing what was called theft. They arrested him and brought him before the king, saying, Your Majesty, this man took what was not given, which we call theft. The king said to him, Is it true that you took what was not given, which is called theft? And he said, It is, Your Majesty. And the king asked, Why? And he answered, Your Majesty, I have nothing to live on. Then the king gave the man some property, saying, With this, my good man, you can keep yourself, support your mother and father, keep a wife and children, carry on a business, and make gifts to ascetics and Brahmins, which will promote your spiritual welfare and lead to a happy rebirth with pleasant results in the heavenly sphere. And he said, Very good, Your Majesty, replied the man. And exactly the same thing happened with another man. Then people heard that the king was giving away property to those who took what was not given, and they thought, suppose we were to do likewise. And then another man took what was not given, and they brought him before the king. The king asked him why he had done this, and he replied, Your Majesty, I have nothing to live on. Then the king thought, if I give property to everybody who takes what is not given, this theft will increase more and more. I had better make an end of him. finish him off once for all and cut his head off. So he commanded his men, bind this man's arms tightly behind him with a strong rope, shave his head closely and lead him to the rough sound of a drum through the streets and squares and out through the southern gate and there finish by inflicting the capital penalty and cutting off his head. and they did so. Hearing about this, the people thought, now let us get sharp swords made for us and then we can take from anybody what is not given and we will make an end of them, finish them off once for all and cut off their heads. So having procured some sharp swords, they launched murderous assaults on villages, towns and cities and went in for highway robbery, killing their victims by cutting off their heads. Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy, poverty became rife. From the growth of poverty, the taking of what was not given increased. From the increase of theft, the use of weapons increased. From the increased use of weapons, the taking of life increased. And from the increase in the taking of life, people's lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased. And as a result of this decrease of lifespan and beauty, the children of those The children of those whose lifespan had been 80,000 years lived for only 40,000. Stop here for a moment. So you can see from here how important the ruler or the government of a country is. If the ruler or the government of a country doesn't take care of the people, doesn't ensure that all the people are not poor, then they have to steal. because they have nothing to live on. And then if you punish them, then the crime will increase instead of decrease. So if you rule by dhamma, it's a different affair to everybody. Take care of everybody, even including animals, then everybody will prosper. And a man of the generation that lived for 40,000 years took what was not given, He was brought before the king, who asked him, Is it true that you took what was not given, what is called theft? And he said, No, your majesty, he replied, thus telling a deliberate lie. Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy, the taking of life increased, and from the taking of life, lying increased. From the increase in lying, people's lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been 40,000 years, lived for only 20,000. So this man, when he was caught, he thought if he admitted that he stole, they would kill him, they would cut off his head, so he started to lie. And a man of the generation that lived for twenty thousand years took what was not given. Another man denounced him to the king, saying, Sire, such and such a man has taken what was not given, thus speaking evil of another. Thus from the not giving up property to the needy, the speaking evil of others increased, and in consequence people's lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result The children of those whose lifespan had been 20,000 years lived for only 10,000. And of the generation that lived for 10,000 years, some were beautiful and some were ugly. And those who were ugly, being envious of those who were beautiful, committed adultery with others' wives. Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy, sexual misconduct increased, and in consequence, people's lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result, The children of those whose lifespan had been 10,000 years lived for only 5,000. And among the generation whose lifespan was 5,000 years, two things increased, harsh speech and idle chatter, in consequence of which people's lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased. And as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been 5,000 years lived some 2,500 years, and some for only 2,000. And among the generation whose lifespan was 2,500 years, covetousness and hatred increased, and in consequence, people's lifespan decreased, their beauty decreased, and as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been 2,500 years lived for only 1,000. Among the generation whose lifespan was 1,000 years, false opinions increased, And as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been a thousand years lived for only 500. And among the generation whose lifespan was 500 years, three things increased, incest, excessive greed and deviant practices. And as a result, the children of those whose lifespan had been 500 years lived some for 250 years, some for only 200. And among those whose lifespan was 250 years, To these things increased lack of respect for mother and father, for ascetics and Brahmins, and for the head of the clan. Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy, the lack of respect for mother, etc., for ascetics and Brahmins, for the head of the clan, increased. And in consequence, people's lifespan and beauty decreased. And the children of those whose lifespan had been two and a half centuries lived for only a hundred years. Monks, a time will come when the children of these people will have a lifespan of ten years, and with them, girls will be marriageable at five years old, and with them, these flavors will disappear, ghee, butter, sesame oil, molasses, and salt. Among them, kudrusa grain will be the chief food, just as rice and curry are today, and with them, the ten causes of moral conduct will completely disappear, and the ten causes of evil will prevail exceedingly. For those of a ten-year lifespan, there will be no word for moral. So how can there be anyone who acts in a moral way? Those people who have no respect for mother and father, for ascetics and Brahmins, for the head of the clan, will be the ones who enjoy honour and prestige, just as it is now the people who show respect for mother and father, for ascetics and Brahmins, for the head of the clan, who are praised and honoured. So it will be with those who do the opposite. Stop here for a moment. So you see, because of greed and hatred and all these unwholesome states multiply, and when unwholesome states, unwholesome actions increase, then the world changes accordingly, according to karma. The world, including lifespan of people, keep decreasing down to a minimum of 10 years. The Buddha's teachings, human lifespan can vary from 10 years up to a maximum of 80,000 years. So when he's 10 years old, a lot of the nice things would have disappeared. At that time, people will do the 10 evils. What are the 10 evils? Breaking all the 10 precepts, all the unwholesome actions they do. First one, concerning the body, there are three, they will kill, they will steal, they will have sexual misconduct, and then four are verbal, they will lie, they will carry tales to cause disharmony, they will speak coarse or vulgar words, they will engage in idle gossip, 3. Concerning the mind, they have excessive greed. 2. Excessive ill will, a lot of anger and hatred. 3. They have wrong view, don't believe in karma vipaka, don't believe that there are destinations of rebirth, that they are holy men.

49-DN-26-Cakkavatti-Sihanada-(2011-08-05)-Part-B.txt

Among those of a ten-year lifespan, no account will be taken of mother or aunt, of mother's sister-in-law, of teacher's wife, or of one's father's wife, and so on, who are all will be promiscuous in the world, like goats and sheep, fowl and pigs, dogs and jackals. Among them, fierce enmity will prevail one for another, fierce hatred, fierce anger, and thoughts of killing Mother against child and child against mother, father against child and child against father, brother against brother, brother against sister. Just as the hunter feels hatred for the beast he stalks. And for those of a ten-year lifespan, there will come to be a sword interval of seven days, during which they will mistake one another for wild beasts. Sharp swords will appear in their hands, and thinking there is a wild beast, they will take each other's lives with those swords. But there will be some beings who will think, let us not kill or be killed by anyone. Let us make for some grassy thickets, or jungle recesses, or clumps of trees, for rivers hard to fort or inaccessible mountains, and live on roots and fruits of the forest. And this they will do for seven days. Then at the end of the seven days they will emerge from their hiding places and rejoice together of one accord, saying, Good beings, I see that you are alive. And then the thought will occur to those beings, It's only because we became addicted to evil ways that we suffered this loss of our kindred. So let us now do good. What good thing can we do? Let us abstain from the taking of life. That will be a good practice. And so they will abstain from the taking of life. And having undertaken this good thing, will practice it. And through having undertaken such awesome things or states, they will increase in lifespan and beauty. And the children of those whose lifespan was 10 years will live for 20 years. Stop here for a moment. So, when people's lifespan is 10 years old, there are certain times when there is a short interval of 7 days when they think, that other human beings are wild beasts, they kill each other. This reminds me of some people, they go hunting, they go shooting wild boar very often. Those who go hunting very often, after some time, something will happen. Sometimes when they mistake their friends for the wild boar and they shoot their friend, they honestly see their friend as a wild boar. and they shoot and kill their friend. It's because of karma, because this world is all created by consciousness, so it can change according to the mind, because the mind creates the world. So if the mind is evil, then these things can happen. So in the same way, these people, for seven days they kill each other, and then there are some people who get frightened and then run off to hide. After hiding, they come out from from the hiding place, then they see their friends are still alive, then they are very happy, and then they realize that they did not kill, so they are alive, so they keep the precept of not taking life. Then it will occur to those beings, it is through having taken to wholesome practices that we have increased in lifespan and beauty. So let us perform still more wholesome practices. Let us refrain from taking what is not given, from sexual misconduct, from lying speech, from slander, from harsh speech, from idle chatter, from covetousness, from ill will, from wrong views. Let us abstain from three things, incest, excessive greed and deviant practices. Let us respect our mothers and fathers, ascetics and Brahmins. and the head of the clan, and let us persevere in these wholesome actions." Stop here for a moment. So just now we just heard these things that they want to do, actually the 10 wholesome practices. First one, not to kill. Second, not to take what is not given. Three, not to engage in sexual misconduct. Number four, not to lie. Number five, not to slander. Number six, not to use harsh speech. Number seven, refrain from idle chatter. Number eight, from covetousness. Number nine, from ill will. And number ten, from wrong views. And so they will do these things. And on account of this, they will increase in lifespan and in beauty. The children of those whose lifespan is 20 years will live to be 40. Their children will live to be 80. Their children to be 160. their children to be 320, their children to be 640. The children of those whose lifespan is 640 years will live for 2,000 years, their children for 4,000, their children for 8,000, their children for 20,000. The children of those whose lifespan is 20,000 years will live to be 40,000, and their children will attain to 80,000 years. Among the people with an 80,000 year lifespan, girls will become marriageable at 500, and such people will know only three kinds of disease, greed, fasting, and old age. And in the time of those people, this continent of Jambudipa, probably this referring to the earth or to India, will be powerful and prosperous and villages, towns and cities will be but a cock's flight one from the next. I mean so near a cock can fly across. This Jambudipa, like Avici, will be as thick with people as the jungle is thick with reeds and rushes. At that time, Varanasi of today will be a royal city called Ketumati, powerful and prosperous, crowded with people and well supplied. In Jambudipa, there will be 84,000 cities headed by Ketumati as the royal capital. And in the time of the people with an 80,000-year lifespan, there will arise in the capital city of Kethumati a king called Sangka, a wheel-turning monarch, a righteous monarch of the Dhamma, conqueror of the four quarters, etc. And in that time of the people with an 80,000-year lifespan, there will arise in the world a blessed Lord, Arahant Sammasambuddha, named Maitreya, endowed with wisdom and conduct, a welfareer, knower of the worlds, incomparable trainer of men to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened and blessed, just as I am now. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is predicting that the next Buddha will appear, When people's lifespan is 80,000 years long. In Pali, his name is Metia. In Sanskrit, it's Maitreya. He will thoroughly know by his own super knowledge and proclaim this universe with his Devas and Maras and Brahmas, his ascetics and Brahmins, and this generation with his princes and people, just as I do now. He will teach the Dhamma, lovely in its beginning, lovely in its middle, lovely in its ending. in the spirit and in the letter, and proclaim, just as I do now, the holy life in its fullness and purity. He will be attended by a company of thousands of monks, just as I am attended by a company of hundreds. Then King Sangka will re-erect the palace once built by King Mahapanada, and having lived in it, will give it up and present it to the ascetics and Brahmins, the beggars, wayfarers, the destitute. Then shaving off hair and beard, he will don yellow robes and go forth from the household life into homelessness under the supreme Buddha Maitreya. Having gone forth, he will remain alone in seclusion, ardent, eager and resolute, and before long he will have attained in this very life by His own super-knowledge and resolution, that unequal goal of the holy life, for the sake of which young men of good family go forth from the household life into homelessness and will abide therein. Monks, be islands unto yourselves, be a refuge unto yourselves, with no other refuge. Let the Dhamma be your island, let the Dhamma be your refuge, with no other refuge. And how does a monk dwell as an island unto himself? Here a monk abides contemplating body in body, ardent, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside hankering and fretting for the world. He abides contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside hankering and fretting for the world. Keep to your own preserves, monks, to your ancestral haunts. If you do so, your lifespan will increase, your beauty will increase, your happiness will increase, your wealth will increase, your power will increase. And what is the length of life for a monk? Here a monk develops the basis of psychic power, which is concentration of intention accompanied by effort of will. And then concentration of energy, concentration of consciousness, concentration of investigation, all accompanied by effort of will. By frequently practicing these four bases of psychic power, he can, if he wishes, live for kappa, aeon, or world cycle, or the remaining part of kappa. That is what I call length of life for a monk. And what is beauty for a monk? Here a monk practices right conduct, is restrained according to the Vinaya, is perfect in behavior and habits, sees danger in the slightest thought, and trains in the rules of training he has undertaken. That is beauty for a monk. And what is happiness for a monk? Here, a monk, detached from sense desires, enters the first jhāna, second, third, fourth jhāna. That is happiness for a monk. And what is wealth for a monk? Here a monk, with his heart filled with loving kindness, dwells suffusing one quarter, the second, the third, the fourth. Thus he dwells suffusing the whole world, upwards, downwards, across, everywhere, with the mind filled with loving kindness. Mettā, abundant, unbounded, without hate or ill will. Similarly, he dwells, suffusing the world with compassion, joy and equanimity. That is wealth for a monk. And what is power for a monk? Here a monk, by the destruction of the asavas, enters and abides in that corruption-less liberation by mind and liberation by wisdom, which he has attained in this very life by his own super-knowledge and realization. That is power for a monk. Monks, I do not consider any power so hard to conquer as the power of Mara. It is just by this building up of wholesome states that this merit increases. Thus the Lord spoke, and the monks were delighted and rejoiced at his words." That's the end of the Sutta. So this last part, the Buddha says, I do not consider anything so hard to conquer as the power of Mara. This Mara, I think, does not refer to Mara in heaven, but Mara, referring to the Mara inside us, the defilements inside us, greed, hatred, and delusion. and all other states associated with that. So, in this sutta, a lot of it is a worldly dhamma, but there's some very good advice, like be a lamb unto yourself, be a refuge unto yourself with no other refuge. Take the dhamma as your lamb, take the dhamma as your refuge with no other refuge. Always remember this. depend on your own efforts and depend on the Buddha's words as the guide. The previous sutta that what the Buddha said to Nigrodha also extremely good. Buddha said, he teaches the Dhamma, there are Nigrodha unwholesome states that have not been abandoned, tainted, conducive to rebirth, fearful, productive of painful results in the future. associated with birth, aging, and dying. It is for the abandonment of these states that I teach the Dhamma. If you practice accordingly, these tainted states will be abandoned, and the states that make for purification will develop and grow, and you will attain to and dwell in this very life by your own insight and realization in the fullness of perfected wisdom. Such good advice from the Buddha. Anything to discuss? You said that only enlightenment is a momentary story, unknown to us, but it does not have to be second chance. 2nd Jhana is called the state of Aryan silence because the thoughts do not arise, the mind is so concentrated, the thoughts do not arise. But all the unwholesome states, the roots are all still there, they have not pulled out the roots yet. So only the Arahant has pulled out all the roots. So the question is whether rebirth, When a person dies, rebirth is immediate or not. In the Buddha's teachings, there are five destinations of rebirth. So it depends on where that person is going for rebirth. In the Sutta, the Buddha says that if a person's kamma is such, that he's going to be reborn as a human being, then he has to wait for the right time to enter the womb of the mother. And what is the right time? Firstly, the mother and father must come together. Secondly, the mother is in the right season. That means the mother is fertile. There's an egg there. And then, Thirdly, this being, also called the Gandabha, in some books call it the intermediate body, is present, waiting to enter the womb. So, a person who is going to be reborn as a human being has to wait. How long is not stated in the suttas? Maybe a few weeks. and then that person, that being will enter the womb and is considered reborn. Since that is the case for human beings, it's probably the case for animal rebirth also, because the person is going to be reborn as an animal, has to go into the womb of an animal, so he also has to wait. As for the other three, it should be immediate. There is a sutta, where it is mentioned that if being's karma is so bad that on dying he has to go to hell, then the hell beings will come up and drag him down to hell. So that is immediate. Hell beings are not going to wait for him to take a holiday. So I have met Somebody told me that the father saw these beings waiting for him just a few days before dying. So that is hell rebirth. And rebirth in the ghost realm should also be immediate. I've heard from some devotee that the relative auntie, two days before dying, the Dracula teeth appeared. And immediately after dying, the Dracula teeth disappeared, which means two days before her actual death, she had already taken the form of a ghost, but still in the human body. And then once the person died, then the ghost form also disappeared. And then heaven rebirth, there are some people who are reported to have to remember their previous life. And then they said when they were dying, they saw this chariot from heaven come down to bring them up to heaven. So that would also be immediate. For heaven rebirth is immediate, for ghost and for hell rebirth, these three are immediate. Whereas for human rebirth and animal rebirth, they have to wait. In the Sutta it's called Gandapa. That's a different Gandapa. It seems that you say that he's kind of a silenced person. The desire to attain jhāna is not unwholesome. But if the desire is too strong, then the person cannot get. You got to balance it, balance it with equanimity, balance it with wisdom. There is one, the first sutta of the Samyutta Nikaya, the Buddha said, I forgot his exact words but he said something when he strove too hard he was swirled around and when he stood still he sank and then without striving too hard and without resting he crossed to the other shore. What he meant was too much effort is no good. Too much effort defeats the purpose. When he practiced the austerities for much of the six years before enlightenment, he practiced too hard, nearly killed himself. Then only he realized, then he he stopped practicing so hard. But if he didn't practice at all, also it makes no progress. He said he sinks. So you got to practice hard, but the mind must be equanimous. This one I mentioned before, the Buddha says, he's telling the monks to keep to your ancestral hones, referring to the ancestor refers to the sangha, the monks before them. The monks before practiced always by paying attention only to four things. These four objects of sati. Not to stray out from these four objects of sati. If you stray out of these four objects of sati, that is Mara's ground. Mara will catch you. This part is also very good. The Buddha said monks. I do not consider any power so hard to conquer as the power of Mara. It is just by this building up of wholesome states that this merit increases." So Mara is extremely strong. When you want to practice, you find a lot of obstacles come up. When you don't practice, don't seem like there's any obstacles. The more you want to practice, the more obstacles come up. So it's a test of sincerity. There are some people, they want to renounce. And when they start telling people, telling their relatives or friends, more obstacles come up. So from my experience, when I wanted to renounce, I kept it very quiet. Never done it. And then it is by the building up of wholesome states that your merit increases. In other words, if you build up a lot of wholesome states. Even dana, sila, humility, diligence, being helpful to others, having metta, having compassion, helping others in any way you can. then all this is building up your blessings, so that when you practice, it's much easier to progress. You find, I noticed, those people who come to the monastery to meditate, those who have a very good heart, they practice easily, they get into concentration easily. Whereas those who have not taken the trouble to build up all these good states, they don't have enough blessings, their mind is very disturbed. Because in the Suttas, the Buddha says a precondition for concentration is a happy mind. If you do a lot of good things to help people and all this, then your mind is always happy. And when your mind is happy, it can easily calm down. If you don't build up all these good states, then you are not happy with yourself, you have remorse, you regret you didn't do this, you regret you did something wrong, you regret you didn't do enough, and all these things, then your mind is not happy, your meditation cannot take off. Okay, shall we end here?

50-DN-27-Agganna-(2011-08-06).txt

Okay, tonight is the 6th of August, 2011, and this is the 21st night we're speaking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Tonight, we come to Sutta 27, Aghanya Sutta, about the beginning of the world. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying at Savati, at the mansion of Migara's mother, in the East Park, And at that time, Vaseta and Bharadvaja were living among the monks, hoping to become monks themselves. And in the evening, the Lord rose from His secluded meditation and came out of the mansion and started walking up and down in its shade. Stop here for a moment. This Vaseta and Bharadvaja we met before in Sutta Diga Nikaya number 13, these two were young Brahmin students of two different famous Brahmin teachers and they were arguing and then they came to the Buddha to settle their argument. So now they have decided to become monks. Vasseta Vaseta noticed this and he said to Bharadvaja, friend Bharadvaja, the Lord has come out and is walking up and down. Let us approach him. We might be fortunate enough to hear a talk on Dhamma from the Lord himself. Yes, indeed, said Bharadvaja. So they went up to the Lord, saluted him and fell into step with him. Then the Lord said to Vaseta, Vaseta, You too are Brahmins, born and bred, and you have gone forth from the household life into homelessness from Brahmin families. Do not the Brahmins revile and abuse you?" And Vaseta replied, Indeed, Lord, the Brahmins do revile and abuse us. They don't hold back with their usual flood of reproaches. The Buddha said, Well, Vaseta, what kind of reproaches do they fling at you? And he said, Lord, what the Brahmins say is this. The Brahmin caste is the highest caste. Other castes are base. The Brahmin caste is fair. Other castes are dark. Brahmins are purified. Non-Brahmins are not. The Brahmins are the true children of Brahma, born from his mouth, born of Brahma, created by Brahma, heirs of Brahma. And you, you have deserted the highest class and gone over to the base class of shrivelling petty ascetics, servants, dark fellows, born of Brahma's foot. It's not right, it's not proper for you to mix with such people. That is the way the Brahmins abuses, Lord." Then Vaseta, the Buddha said, the Brahmins have forgotten their ancient tradition when they say that. Because we can see Brahmin women, the wives of Brahmins, who menstruate and become pregnant, have babies and give suck, and yet these And yet these womb-born Brahmins talk about being born from Brahma's mouth. These Brahmins misrepresent Brahma, tell lies and earn much demerit. Stop here for a moment. So you see, people tend to believe what they like to believe. Although the fact is very clear, yet they keep believing what they like to believe. And the Buddha continued, there are vasettas, these four castes, the kathiyas, the brahmins, the merchants and the artisans. And sometimes a kathiya takes life, takes what is not given, commits sexual misconduct, tells lies, indulges in slander, harsh speech or idle chatter. is grasping, malicious, or of wrong views. Thus such things as are immoral and considered so, blameworthy and considered so, to be avoided and considered so, ways unbefitting and aryan and considered so, blank with blank result and blamed by the wise, are sometimes to be found among the kathiyas, and the same applies to brahmins, merchants, and artisans. Sometimes too, a kathiya refrains from taking life, etc., refrains from other wrong actions. It's not grasping. malicious or of wrong views. Thus such things as are moral and considered so, blameless and considered so, to be followed and considered so, ways befitting an Aryan and considered so, bright with bright results and praised by the wise, are sometimes to be found among the Kathiyas and likewise among Brahmins, merchants and artisans. Now since both dark and bright qualities which are blamed and praised by the wise are scattered indiscriminately among the four castes, the wise do not recognize the claim about the Brahmin caste being the highest. Why is that? Because Vaseta, anyone from the four castes who becomes a monk and Arahant who has destroyed the Asavas, who has lived the life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the highest goal, destroyed the fetter of becoming and become emancipated through super knowledge. He is proclaimed supreme by virtue of Dhamma and not of non-Dhamma. Dhamma is the best thing for people in this life and the next as well. This illustration will make clear to you how Dhamma is best in this world. and in the next. King Pasenadi of Kosala knows the ascetic Gautama has gone forth from the neighboring clan of the Sakyans. Now the Sakyans are vassals of the king of Kosala. They offer him humble service and salute him, rise and do him homage and pay him fitting service. And just as the Sakyans offer the king humble service etc. So likewise does the king offer humble service to the Tathagata thinking. If the ascetic Gautama is well-born, I am ill-born. If the ascetic Gautama is strong, I am weak. If the ascetic Gautama is pleasant to look at, I am ill-favored. If the ascetic Gautama is influential, I am of little influence. Now it is because of honoring the Dhamma, making much of the Dhamma, esteeming the Dhamma, doing reverent homage to the Dhamma, that King Pasenadi does humble service to the Tathagata. and pays him fitting service. Dhamma is the best thing for people in this life and the next as well. Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha makes it plain how Dhamma is more important. King Pasenadi is the king of the country of Kosala and the Sakyans live in the country of Kosala. So the Sakyans pay homage to the king But even though the Buddha is a Sakyan, just like the other Sakyans, but the king pays homage to the Buddha. So big drops of Dhamma. That's why the Buddha says Dhamma is the most important. And the Buddha continued, Vaseta, all of you, though of different birth, name, clan and family, who have gone forth from the household life into homelessness, if you are asked who you are, you should reply, we are Samanas or ascetics, sons of the Sakyan, Sakya Putta. He whose faith in the Tathagata is settled, rooted, established, solid, unshakable by any ascetic or Brahmin. Any Deva or Mara or Brahma or anyone in the world can truly say, I am a true son of the Blessed Lord, born of His mouth, born of Dhamma, created by Dhamma, an heir of Dhamma. Why is that? Because Vaseta, this designates the Tathagata, the body of Dhamma, Dhammakaya, the body of Brahma, Brahmakaya, or Dhamma become Dhammabhuta, That is Brahma become, Brahma Buddha. I can't stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says that he is basically the Dhamma body or Dhamma become. And Brahma to the Indians is God. So he has become God body. body of God or become God. Because the Buddha has attained, the Deathless has attained the unconditioned, the uncreated. He is one with the uncreated. There comes a time, Vaseta, when sooner or later, after a long period, this world contracts. At the time of contraction, beings are mostly born in the Abhashara Brahma world. That means the second jhana, heaven. And there they dwell, mind-made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air, glorious. And they stay like that for a very long time. But sooner or later, after a very long period, this world begins to expand again. At the time of expansion, the beings from the Abhassara Brahma world, having passed away from there, are mostly reborn in this world. Here they dwell, mind made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air, glorious, and they stay like that for a very long time. At that period, Vasetha, there was just one mass of water and all was darkness, blinding darkness. Neither moon nor sun appeared, no constellation or stars appeared. Night and day were not distinguished, nor months and fortnights, no years or seasons, and no male and female, beings being reckoned just as beings. And sooner or later, after a very long period of time, savoury earth spread itself over the waters where those beings were. It looked just like the skin that forms itself over hot milk as it cools. It was endowed with color, smell, and taste. It was the color of fine ghee or butter, and it was very sweet, like pure, wild honey. Then some being of a greedy nature said, I say, what can this be? And tasted the savory earth on its finger. In so doing, it became taken with the flavor, and craving arose in it. Then other beings, taking their cue from that one, also tasted the stuff with their fingers. They, too, were taken with the flavor, and craving arose in them. So they set to with their hands, breaking off pieces of the stuff in order to eat it. And the result of this was that their self-luminance disappeared. And as a result of the disappearance of their self-luminous, the sun and moon appeared, night and day was distinguished, months and fortnights appeared, and the year and its seasons. To that extent, the world re-evolved. And those beings continued for a very long time, feasting on this savory earth. feeding on it, and being nourished by it. And as they did so, their bodies became coarser, and a difference in looks developed among them. Some beings became good-looking, others ugly. And the good-looking ones despised the others, saying, We are better than they are. And because they became arrogant and conceited about their looks, the savoury earth disappeared. At this they came together and lamented, crying, O that flavour! O that flavour! And so nowadays, when people say, oh, that flavor, when they get something nice, they are repeating an ancient saying without realizing it. And then, when the savory earth had disappeared, a fungus cropped up in the manner of a mushroom. It was of a good color, smell, and taste. It was the color of fine ghee or butter, and it was very sweet, like pure wild honey. And those beings said to and ate the fungus. And this lasted for a very long time. And as they continued to feed on the fungus, so their bodies became coarser still. And the difference in their looks increased still more. And the good-looking ones despised the others. And because they became arrogant and conceited about their looks, the sweet fungus disappeared. Next, creepers appeared, shooting up like bamboo. And they too were very sweet, like pure wild honey." Stop here for a moment. So according to this sutta here, when the Earth started to be formed, probably just after the Big Bang and all the stars were scattered and everything was still dark, or maybe that was even before the Big Bang, everything was blinding darkness. And then after that, the earth spread over the waters. By that time I think the earth would have formed. And then these beings were flying about and then they saw this earth and came down to eat the earth. So from this it appears that we descended from heavenly beings, not from the apes. So and then After eating the earth, they ate more and more of it. Then it became heavy. Their bodies became coarser. And then because of that, their self luminance disappeared. And then as their bodies became coarser, they started to notice that they Their bodies were different, so those more beautiful despised the others. In the meantime, the sun and the moon appeared. And then later, because of the unwholesome mental states, the earth started to change. The layer of earth disappeared and fungus came up. And then, because of more arrogance, then still it changed. And creepers grew up, etc. And those beings sat too and fed on those creepers. And as they did so, their bodies became even coarser, and the difference in their looks increased still more, and they became still more arrogant. And so the creepers disappeared too. At this they came together and lamented, crying, Alas, our Creeper's gone, what have we lost? And so now today, when people, on being asked why, they are upset, say, Oh, what have we lost? They are repeating an ancient saying without realising it. And then after the creepers had disappeared, rice appeared in open spaces, free from powder and from husks, fragrant and clean grain. And what they had taken in the evening for supper had grown up again and was ripe in the morning. And what they had taken in the morning for breakfast was ripe again by evening, with no sign of reaping. And these beings sat to and fed on this rice, and this lasted for a very long time. And as they did so, their bodies became coarser still, and the difference in their looks became even greater. And the females developed female organs, and the males developed male organs. And the women became excessively preoccupied with men, and the men with women. Owing to this excessive preoccupation with each other, passion was aroused and the bodies burned with lust. And later, because of this burning, they indulged in sexual activity, but those who saw them indulging threw dust, ashes or cow dung at them, crying, Die, you filthy beasts! How can one being do such things to another? Just as today, in some districts, when a daughter-in-law is let out, some people throw dirt at her, some ashes and some cow dung, without realising that they are repeating an ancient observance. What was considered bad form in those days is now considered good form, and those beings who in those days indulged in sex were not allowed into a village or town for one or two months. Accordingly, those who indulged for an excessively long period in such immoral practices began to build themselves dwellings so as to indulge undercover. Now it occurred to one of those beings who was inclined to laziness. Well, now, why should I be bothered to gather rice in the evening for supper and in the morning for breakfast? Why shouldn't I gather it all at once for both meals? And he did so. Then another one came to him and said, Come on, let's go rice gathering. And he said, No need, my friend, I've gathered enough for both meals." Then the other, following his example, gathered enough rice for two days at a time, saying, that should be about enough. Then another being came and said to the second one, come on, let's go rice gathering. And he said, no need, my friend, I've gathered enough for two days. And the same happened for four days, eight days. However, when those beings made a store of rice and lived on it, husk powder and husk began to envelope the grain, and where it was reaped, it did not grow again. And the cut place showed, and the rice grew in separate clusters. And then those beings came together, lamenting, wicked ways have become rife among us. At first we were mind made, feeding on delight, et cetera, and the rice, And then the rice grows in separate clusters now. So let us divide up the rice into fields with boundaries. And they did so. Then Vaseta, one greedy natured being, while watching over his own plot, took another plot that was not given to him and enjoyed the fruits of it. So they seized hold of him and said, you have done a wicked thing, taking another's plot like that. Don't ever do such a thing again. I won't, he said, but he did the same thing a second and a third time. Again he was seized and rebuked, and some hit him with their fists, some with stones, and some with sticks. And in this way Vaseta, taking what was not given, and censuring, and lying, and punishment, took their origin. Then those beings came together and lamented the arising of these evil things among them, taking what was not given, censuring, lying, and punishment. And they thought, suppose we were to appoint a certain being who would show anger where anger was due, censure those who deserved it, and banish those who deserve banishment. And in return, we would grant him a share of the rice. And so, So they went to the one among them who was the handsomest, the best looking, the most pleasant and capable, and asked him to do this for them in return for a share of the rice. And he agreed. The people's choice is the meaning of Maha Samatha, which is the first regular title to be introduced. The first king. Lord of the fields is the meaning of Katya, the second such title. and he gladdens others with Dhamma, is the meaning of Raja, the third title to be introduced. This then, Vaseta, is the origin of the class of Kathiyas, in accordance with the ancient titles that were introduced for them. They originated among these very same beings, like ourselves, no different, and in accordance with Dhamma, not otherwise. Dhamma's the best thing for people, in this life and the next as well. Then some of those beings thought, evil things have appeared among beings, such as taking what is not given, censuring, lying, punishment and banishment. We ought to put aside evil and unwholesome states. And they did so. They put aside evil and unwholesome states is the meaning of Brahmin or Brahmana in Pali, which is the first regular title to be introduced for such people. They made leaf huts in forest places. and meditated in them, with the smoking fire gone out, with pestle cast aside, gathering alms for their evening and morning meals. They went away to a village, town, or royal city to seek their food, and then they returned to their leaf huts to meditate. People saw this and noted how they meditated. They meditate is the meaning of jayaka, which is the second regular title to be introduced. However, some of those beings not being able to meditate in leaf huts settled around towns and villages and compiled books. People saw them doing this and not meditating. Now, these do not meditate is the meaning of ājāyaka. which is the third regular title to be introduced. At that time it was regarded as a low designation, but now it is the higher. This then, Vaseta, is the origin of the class of Brahmins in accordance with the ancient titles that were introduced for them. Their origin was from among these very same beings like themselves, no different. and in accordance with Dhamma, not otherwise. Dhamma is the best thing for people in this life and the next as well. And then Vaseta, some of those beings having paired of adopted various traits and this various is the meaning of Vesa which came to be the regular title for such people. This then is the origin of the class of Vesas in accordance with the ancient titles that were introduced for them. Their origin was from among these very same beings. Kvesa is the merchant class. And then Vaseta, those beings that remain went in for hunting. They are base who live by the chase and that is the meaning of Suddha, the worker class, which came to be the regular title for such people. This then is the origin of the class of Suddhas in accordance with the ancient titles that were introduced for them. Their origin was from among these very same beings. And then Vaseta, he came about their Sankathya, dissatisfied with his own Dhamma, went forth from the household life into homelessness, thinking, I will become an ascetic. And the Brahmin did likewise. A Vesa, likewise. And so did a Suda. And from these four classes, the class of ascetics came into existence. Their origin was from among these very same beings, like themselves, no different, and in accordance with the Dhamma, not otherwise. Dhamma's the best thing for people in this life and the next as well. And Vaseta, a kathiya who has led a bad life in body, speech, and mind. and who has wrong view, will, in consequence of such wrong views and deeds, at the breaking up of the body after death, be reborn in a state of loss and ill-fate, the downfall, the hell state. So too will a Brahmin, a Vesa or a Suddha. Likewise, a Kātyā who has led a good life in body, speech and mind, and who has right view, will, in consequence of such right view and deeds, at the breaking up of the body after death, be reborn in a good destiny, in a heaven state. So too will a Brahmin, a Vesa or a Suddha. And a Kātyā who has performed deeds of both kinds, in body, speech and mind, and whose view is mixed, will, in consequence of such mixed views and deeds, at the breaking up of the body after death, experience both pleasure and pain, so too will a Brahmin, a Vesa or a Suddha. And a kathiya who is restrained in body, speech, and mind, and who has developed the seven requisites of enlightenment, will attain to parinibbana in this very life. And so too will a brahmin, a vesa, or a suddha. And vaseta, whoever of these four castes, as a monk, becomes an arahant, who has destroyed the asavas, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, attained to the highest goal, completely destroyed the fetter of being. and become liberated by the highest insight. He is declared to be chief among them in accordance with Dhamma and not otherwise. Dhamma is the best thing for people in this life and the next as well. Paseta, it was Brahma, Sanan, Kumara who spoke this verse. The kathiyas best among those who value clan. He with knowledge and conduct is best of gods and men. This verse was rightly sung, not wrongly. Rightly spoken, not wrongly. Connected with prophet, not unconnected. I too say, Vaseta, the Kathiyas best among those who value clan. He with knowledge and conduct is best of gods and men. Thus the Lord spoke, and Vaseta and Bharadvaja were delighted and rejoiced at his words. That's the end of the Sutta. So here the Buddha goes to show these two young Brahmins that in so many instances the Dhamma is the most valued. That's why somebody who practices the Dhamma is the most respected.

51-DN-28-Sampasadaniya-(2011-08-06)-Part-A.txt

Okay, let's go to the next sutta. Sampasadanya Sutta. It's about supreme, serene faith. Thus have I heard. This is Sutta 28. Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was staying at Nalanda in Pavarika's mango grove. And the verbal Sariputta came to see the Lord, saluted Him, sat down to one side and said, It is clear to me, Lord, that there never has been, never will be, and is not now another ascetic or Brahmin who is better or more enlightened than the Lord. And the Buddha said, You have spoken boldly with a bold voice, Sariputta. You have wrought the lion's roar of certainty. How is this? Have all the Arhat Buddhas of the past appeared to you? And were the minds of all those lords open to you, so as to say, These Lords were of such virtue, such was their teaching, such their wisdom, such their way, such their liberation. And he replied, No, Lord. And the Buddha said, And have you perceived all the Arhat Buddhas who will appear in the future? And he said, No, Lord. And the Buddha continued, Well then, Sariputta, you know me as the Arhat Buddha, and you know the Lord is of such virtue, such is teaching, such is wisdom, such is way, such is liberation. Again he said, No, Lord. The Buddha said, So Sariputta, you do not have knowledge of the minds of the Buddhas of the past, future or present. Then Sariputta, have you not spoken boldly with a bull's voice and wrought the lion's roar of certainty with your declaration? And Venerable Sariputta said, Lord, the minds of the Arhat Buddhas of the past, future and present are not open to me, but I know the drift of the Dhamma, Lord. Lord, it is as if there were a royal frontier city with mighty bastions and a mighty encircling wall in which was a single gate, at which was a gatekeeper, wise, skilled, and clever, who kept out strangers and let in those he knew. And he, constantly patrolling and following along a path, might not see the joints and clefts in the bastion, even such as a cat might creep through. But whatever larger creatures entered or left the city must all go through this very gate. And it seems to me, Lord, that the drift of the Dhamma is the same. All those Arhat Buddhas of the past attained to supreme enlightenment by abandoning the five hindrances, defilements of mind which weaken understanding, having firmly established the four foundations of mindfulness in their minds, and realized the seven factors of enlightenment as they really are. All the Arhat Buddhas of the future will do likewise, and you, Lord, who are now the Arhat Samasambuddha, have done the same. So the Venerable Sariputta says that there cannot be another Sammasambuddha which is more enlightened than the Buddha. And when the Buddha asked him, how do you know that? Can you read the minds of the Buddha's past, present and future? And he said no. But he explained that He knows that all Buddhas attain enlightenment the same way by abandoning the five hindrances, practicing the four intense states of mindfulness, satipatthana, the seven bojjhanga, just like the present Buddha. So at the most, he's saying, they can only equal our Buddha Sakyamuni, Buddha Gautama. They cannot be higher. And he continued, Venerable Sariputta. So I came once to the Blessed Lord to listen to Dhamma. And the Blessed Lord taught me Dhamma most excellently and perfectly, contrasting the dark with the light. And as He did so, I gained insight into that Dhamma. And from among the various things, I established one in particular, which was serene confidence in the teacher, that the Blessed Lord is a fully enlightened Buddha, that the Dhamma is well taught by the Blessed Lord, and that the Sangha of monks is well trained. So here he is saying that from the Dhamma teaching of the Buddha, he has serene confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Also, Lord, the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to the wholesome factors is unsurpassed. That is to say, the four intense states of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five spiritual faculties, the five mental powers, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, and the Noble Eightfold Path. By these, a monk, through the destruction of the asavas, can, in this very life, by his own super-knowledge, realize and attain the corruption-free liberation by mind and liberation by wisdom, and abide therein. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to the wholesome factors. This the Blessed Lord fully comprehends, and beyond it lies nothing further to be comprehended. And in such understanding, there is no ascetic or Brahmin who is greater or more enlightened than the Blessed Lord, as regards the wholesome factors." Similarly, here he is saying that all the Buddhas also attain these four intense states of mindfulness, for our efforts, etc., just like the Buddha. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to the elucidation of the sense spheres. There are the six internal and external sense bases, eye and visible objects, ear and sounds, nose and smells, tongue and taste, body and tactiles, mind and mind objects. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to the sense spheres. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to the modes of rebirth in four ways thus. One descends into the mother's womb unknowing, stays there unknowing, and leaves it unknowing. That is the first way. Or one enters the womb knowing, stays there unknowing, and leaves it unknowing. This is the second way. Or one enters the womb knowing, stays there knowing, and leaves it unknowing. That is the third way. Or one enters the womb knowing, stays there knowing, and leaves it knowing. That is the fourth way. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to the modes of rebirth. Stop here for a moment. So here, what the Venerable Sariputta is saying is, like what the Buddha said, that there is a being that enters the womb, and it doesn't matter what you call it, whether you call it the soul or you call it intermediate body, or you call it a gandaba, they all mean the same thing. And it's just, how do you say, a transitory body, transition state, where this being exists for a short while before it enters the womb. Once it enters the womb, then it's born as a human. So because it's a very temporary state, the Buddha has not designated it as another destination of rebirth. That is all, just because it's a very short time there. So of course in the Abhidhamma they don't acknowledge that there is such a thing that enters the womb. They say nothing enters the womb, the consciousness just starts. But from here it's very clear that something clearly enters the womb. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to the telling of thoughts in four ways. Thus, one tells by a visible sign, saying, this is what you think, this is in your mind, your thought is like this. And however much one declares, it is so and not otherwise. That is the first way. Or one tells not by a visible sign, but through but through hearing a sound made by humans, non-humans or devas. This is the second way. Or one tells not by a sound uttered, but by applying one's mind and attending to something conveyed by sound. This is the third way. Or one tells not by any of these means. When one has attained a state of mental concentration without thought directed and sustained, by divining another's thoughts in one's mind, and one says, As far as so and so's mind force is directed, so his thoughts will turn to that thing. And however much one declares it, it is so and not otherwise. This is the fourth way. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to the telling of thoughts in four ways. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to the attainment of vision in four ways. He is semi-static of Brahmin by means of ardour, endeavour, application, vigilance and due attention, reaches such a level of concentration that he considers just this body, upwards from the soles of the feet and downwards from the crown of the head, enclosed by the skin and full of manifold impurities. In this body there are head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bones, bone, marrow, kidney, heart, liver, pleura, spleen, lung, mesentery, bowel, stomach, excrement, bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tear, phthalo, saliva, snot, synovic fluid, urine. That is the first attainment of vision. Again, having done this and gone further, he contemplates the bones covered with skin, flesh and blood. This is the second attainment. Again, having done this and gone further, he comes to know the unbroken stream of human consciousness as established both in this world and in the next. That is the third attainment. Again, having done this and gone still further, he comes to know the unbroken stream of human consciousness that is not established either in this world or in the next. That is the fourth attainment of vision. This is the answer path's teaching in regard to the attainment of vision. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching dhamma in regard to the designation of individuals. There are these seven types. The both ways liberated, ubato bhagavimutta. The wisdom liberated, ceto, wisdom, panyavimutta. The body witnessed, kayasakhin. The vision attained, ditipatta. The faith liberated, saddhavimutta. The Dhamma follower or devotee, Dhammanussarin. The faith devotee or faith follower, Saddhanussarin. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to the designation of individuals. Let's stop here for a moment. These last seven types of individuals mentioned are the seven types of Aryans. This is mentioned in the Kitagiri Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya No. 70. And according to Anguttara Nik, let me see, the first two, Ubbato bhagavimutta, the both ways liberated, is similar to the mind liberated. Liberation by mind, ceto vimutta. It's an arahant. The second one is also an arahant, panya vimutta. Wisdom liberated. The third, Kayasakhin, fourth and fifth, Kayasakhin, Dittipatta and Saddhavi, Muta, according to the Anguttara Nikaya 3.21, they are either the second fruit, third fruit or fourth path attainer. And then the last two are the first path attainers. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to the exertions. There are these seven factors of enlightenment, mindfulness, investigation of Dhamma, energy, delight, tranquility, concentration and equanimity. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to the exertions. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma. in regard to the modes of progress, which are four, painful progress with slow comprehension, painful progress with quick comprehension, pleasant progress with slow comprehension, pleasant progress with quick comprehension. In the case of painful progress with slow comprehension, progress is considered poor on account of both painfulness and slowness. In the case of the painful progress with quick comprehension. Progress is considered poor on account of painfulness. In the case of pleasant progress with slow comprehension, progress is considered poor on account of slowness. In the case of pleasant progress with quick comprehension, progress is considered excellent on account of both pleasantness and quick comprehension. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to the modes of progress. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to proper conduct in speech. How one should avoid not only any speech involving lying, but also speech that is divisive or sneeringly triumphant, but should use wise words, words to be treasured, words in season. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to proper conduct in speech. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to a person's proper ethical conduct. One should be truthful and faithful, not using deception, patter, hinting or belittling, not always on the make for further gains, but with sense doors guarded, esteemius." That means moderate, not self-indulgent. peacemaker, given to watchfulness, active, strenuous in effort, a meditator, mindful, a fitting conversation, steady going, resolute and sensible, not hankering after sense pleasures, but mindful and prudent. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to a person's proper ethical conduct. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to modes of receptivity to instruction, of which there are four. The Blessed Lord knows by His own skilled observation that one will, by following instructions, by the complete instruction of three factors, become a stream-winner, no more subject to rebirth in lower worlds, firmly established destined for full enlightenment. That one will, by following instructions, by the complete destruction of three fetters, and the reduction of greed, hatred, and delusion, become a once-returner, and having returned once more to this world, will put an end to suffering. That one will, by following instructions, by the complete destruction of the five lower fetters, be spontaneously reborn, and there will reach Nibbana without returning from that world. That one will, by following instructions, by the destruction of the asavas, gain in this very life the deliverance by mind, the deliverance by wisdom, which is uncorrupted and which one has understood and realized by one's own super-knowledge. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to the modes of receptivity to instruction. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma. in regard to the knowledge of the liberation of others. The Blessed Lord knows by His own skilled observation that one will, by the complete destruction of three fetters, become a stream-winner. That one, with the reduction of greed, hatred and delusion, will become a once-returner. By the complete destruction of the five lower fetters, that one will be spontaneously reborn. By the destruction of the Asavas, he will gain in this very life the liberation by mind, the liberation by wisdom which is uncorrupted. Also unsurpassed is the blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to the doctrine of eternalism. There are three such theories. Here some ascetic or Brahmin by means of ardour, endeavour, etc., recall various past existences up to several hundred thousand births. as in Sutta number one. In this way he remembers the details of his various past lives and he says, I know the past, whether the universe was expanding or contracting, but I do not know the future, whether it will expand or contract. The self and the world are eternal, barren, steady as a mountain peak, rooted like a pillar. Beings run on, transmigrate, pass away and re-arise, yet these persist eternally. Number two, again some ascetic or Brahmin recalls various existences up to 20 aeons. Number three, again some ascetic or Brahmin recalls various existences up to 10, 20, 30, 40 aeons. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to the doctrine of eternalism. These are all mentioned in Digha Nikaya Sutta number one. Also unsurpassed is the blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to past lives. Here some ascetic or Brahmin recalls various past existences. One birth, two births, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a thousand, a hundred thousand lives. Many aeons of contraction, of expansion, of contraction and expansion. Then I was called so and so. This was my clan, my caste. I ate this, had these happy and unhappy experiences, lived for so long, and when I passed away from there, I was reborn in such and such circumstances. Passing away from there, I was reborn here. In this way he remembers the details of his various past lives. There are devas whose lifespan is not to be reckoned. by counting or computation. Yet whatever existence they have previously experienced, whether in the world of form or in the formless world, whether conscious, unconscious, or neither conscious nor unconscious, they remember the details of those past lives. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to remembrance of past lives. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma. in regard to the knowledge of the death and rebirth of beings. Here some ascetic or Brahmin attains to such concentration of mind that he sees with the divine eye, purified and surpassing that of humans, beings passing away and arising, base and noble, well-favoured and ill-favoured, to happy and unhappy destinations as kamma directs them, and he knows These beings, on account of misconduct of body, speech, or thought, or disparaging the noble ones, have wrong view, and will suffer the coming fate of wrong view. At the breaking up of the body after death, they are reborn in a lower world, a bad destination, a state of suffering, hell. But these beings, on account of good conduct of body, speech, or mind, or praising the noble ones, have right view, and will reap the coming reward of right view. at the breaking up of the body after death, they are reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world. Thus with the divine eye, purified and surpassing that of humans, he sees beings passing away and re-arising. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to knowledge of the death and birth of beings. Also unsurpassed is the Blessed Lord's way of teaching Dhamma in regard to the supernormal powers. These are of two kinds. There is the kind that is bound up with the asavas and with attachment which is called unaryan. And there is the kind that is free from the asavas and not bound up with attachment which is called aryan. What is the unaryan supernormal power? Here some ascetic or brahmin enjoys various supernormal powers. Being one he becomes many. Being many he becomes one. He appears and disappears. He passes through fences, walls and mountains. unhindered as if through air. He sinks into the ground and emerges from it as if it were water. He walks on the water without breaking the surface as if on land. He flies cross-legged through the sky like a bird with wings. He even touches and strokes with His hand the sun and moon, mighty and powerful as they are. And He travels in the body as far as the Brahma world. That is the un-Aryan supernormal power, or psychic power. And what is the Aryan supernormal power? Hear a monk, if he wishes, let me abide with the disgusting, not feeling disgust, can so abide. And if he wishes, let me abide with the non-disgusting, feeling disgust, he can so abide. Also feeling either disgust or non-disgust in the presence of both, or ignoring both the disgusting and the non-disgusting, may I abide in equanimity, mindful and clearly aware, he can so abide. That is the Aryan supernormal power. that is free from the asavas and not bound up with attachment. This is the unsurpassed teaching in regard to the supernormal powers. This the blessed Lord fully comprehends and beyond it lies nothing further to be comprehended. And in such understanding there is no other ascetic or Brahmin who is greater or more enlightened than the blessed Lord as regards the supernormal powers. Stop here for a moment. So here The Buddha says the un-Aryan supernormal power is psychokinesis, being able to multiply the body, being able to pass through walls, to sink into the ground and come up, to walk on water, to fly cross-legged through the sky, to touch the sun and moon, to fly with the human body as far as the Brahma world. This is all the Buddha calls un-Aryan supernormal power. But the Aryan supernormal power to the Buddha is the full control of the feelings. So if you are with something disgusting, the Arahant, for example, he's sitting among all corpses, smelly and bloated and rotting, all disgusting corpses. If he decides they are not disgusting at all, then he can feel that they are all so nice around him. On the other hand, if he is with something non-disgusting, for example, with all the Miss Universe around him, with all the devis around him, he can feel disgust if he wants to. And then in the presence of both, he can feel disgust or non-disgust. He can feel equanimous without the feelings moving at all. So full control of the feelings to the Buddha is Aryan supernormal power. Because if we are moved by our feelings, then we suffer. But if we are master of our feelings, then nothing can make us suffer.

52-DN-28-Sampasadaniya-(2011-08-06)-Part-B.txt

Whatever, Lord, it is possible for a clansman endowed with confidence to achieve by putting forth effort and by persistence, by human effort, human exertion and human endurance, that the blessed Lord has achieved. For the blessed Lord gives himself up neither to the pleasures of the senses, which are base, vulgar, for worldlings, and not for the noble and unprofitable. nor to self-torment which is painful, ignoble and unprofitable. The Blessed Lord is able, here and now, to enjoy the surpassing happiness of dwelling in the Four Jhanas. Lord, if I were asked, well now, friend Sariputta, have there ever been in the past any ascetics and brahmins more exalted in enlightenment than the Blessed Lord, I should say no. If asked, will there be any such in the future? I should say no. If asked, is there any such at present? I should say no. Again, if I were asked, have there been any such in the past equal in enlightenment to the Blessed Lord? I should say yes. If asked, will there be any such in the future, I should say yes. But if I were asked, are there any such at present, equal in enlightenment to the Blessed Lord, I should say no. And if I were then asked, Venerable Sariputta, why do you accord this highest recognition to one and not the other? I should say, I have heard and received it from the Blessed Lord's own lips. There have been in the past and there will be in the future Arahant Buddhas equal in enlightenment to myself. I've also heard and received it from the Blessed Lord's own lips that it is not possible. It cannot be that in one and the same world system, two Arahant Sammasambuddhas should arise simultaneously. No such situation can exist. Lord, if I were to reply thus to such questions, would I be speaking in conformity with the blessed Lord's word and not misrepresenting Him by departing from the truth? Would I be explaining Dhamma correctly so that no fellow follower of the Dhamma should contest it or find occasion for censure? And the Buddha said, Certainly, Sariputta, if you answer like this, you would not misrepresent me. You would be explaining Dhamma correctly and not laying yourself open to censure. At this, the Venerable Uday said to the Lord, It is wonderful, Lord. It is marvelous how content the Blessed Lord is, how satisfied and restrained. When being endowed with such power and influence, He does not make a display of Himself. If the wanderers professing other doctrines were able to discern in themselves even one of such qualities, they would proclaim it with a banner. It is wonderful that the Blessed Lord does not make a display of himself." And the Buddha said, Well then, Udayi, just observe. So it is. If such wanderers were able to discern in themselves even one of such qualities, they would proclaim it with a banner. But the Tathagata is content. he does not make a display of himself. Then the Lord said to Sariputta, and therefore you, Sariputta, should frequently speak about this matter to monks and nuns, to male and female lay followers, and any foolish people who have doubts or queries about the Tathagata will, by listening to such talk, have their doubts and queries resolved. This is how the Venerable Sariputta proclaimed his confidence in the Lord. And so one name for this exposition is the supreme, the serene faith. Sampassadanya Sutta. That's the end of the Sutta. Anything to discuss? Is that similar to the story of the cave in the leaf of Solomon? No, it is not similar. The Bible, it says that Adam and Eve were expelled from heaven. because they ate the forbidden fruit. But here, the devas were flying around and when they saw earth, they came down to explore it and then they found this chocolate-like thing. So they tasted it and it tasted good. So they thought, why should we go anywhere else? So they enjoyed themselves there and as they ate, They became heavier and they could not fly after some time. It's not stated. So... I don't know. But anyway, since the world is mind made, so you can't say that there were so many beings before the world was destroyed and there will be the same number of beings after that. So the Buddha did not elaborate because probably it's not important. So in the suttas, what is important, what we can use, we keep it in mind and use it. What is not answered in the suttas is usually not important. If the answer is not there, don't crack your mind too much about it. It's not worth knowing. I don't know why, but nobody talks about it. how the 37 Bodhipakkha Dhammas are connected to the Noble Eightfold Path. The Buddha has stated that when one fully perfects the Noble Eightfold Path, one also fully perfects the 37 Bodhipakkha Dhammas. So, you see, Take for example the four edipada. The four edipada are the four bases of psychic power. And if you practice the four edipada, it's very easy to get supernormal powers or psychic powers. So, however, not all arahants have psychic power. So psychic powers come to some people when they attain the four jhanas. Some people, even after they attain the four jhanas, they don't have psychic power. But if they take the trouble to develop the psychic powers, then they can. So in the suttas, we find the Buddha says some of his disciples have the six abhinyas, the six higher knowledges comprising of five psychic powers, five types of psychic powers, plus the destruction of the asavas, which basically means enlightenment. So the Buddha described how he became enlightened and the way the Buddha practiced to become enlightenment shows that he actually attained three abhinyas. On the first watch of the night, he remembered his past lives. He recalled his past lives for many, many thousands of years, I think for eons or so, world cycles. And that was for four hours, from 6 to 10 p.m. basically. From 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., the Buddha used the divine eye, the heavenly eye, to look at beings, what karma they created, and as a result, where they took rebirth, and then again, what karma they created, and where they went for rebirth. So he understood the working of karma determines our rebirth, how beings migrate to the realms of rebirth, according to the kamma they create. Then the last watch of the night, since he had remembered his past lives, he recalled that he was a monk disciple of the previous Buddha, Kasapa. So all the dhamma came back to him, which was not taught to him by any teacher in his last life. He only recalled all the dhamma from the previous life. So he used that Dhamma in the last watch of the night from 2 to 6 a.m. to contemplate on the Four Noble Truths. And from there he attained destruction of the Asavasya. So basically the Buddha is a three knowledges arahant. The Buddha is a three knowledges arahant. But some of his disciples are six knowledges arahant. So you see, for the Buddha to teach his disciples, when he decided to become a Sammasambuddha, proclaim the Dhamma in the world, I think he would have normally, I mean, I guess he would have recalled the previous Buddhas, what they taught, how they taught and all this. So then probably he recalled that there are some Arahants who have six higher knowledges. So probably he developed the other three higher knowledges, so that he's able to teach his disciples. And also you notice from the suttas that the Buddha himself did not practice the meditation on the 32 parts of the body. But when he decided to teach, the first meditation subject he taught was the 32 parts of the body. Only later, when some of his disciples committed suicide, that he was persuaded to teach another method of meditation, then he taught Anapanasati. And in teaching Anapanasati, I declared that he himself practiced Anapanasati before enlightenment. And even after enlightenment, he continues to practice Anapanasati, which is basically a Samatha meditation to attain the Jhanas. But nowadays you find some Vipassana teachers, they claim that the Buddha practiced Vipassana meditation. But in the Suttas, it's very clear, the Buddha said, told his disciples, if anybody asks what meditation the Tathagata practice, he said, he told them to tell that the Tathagata practice Anapanasati before enlightenment and even after enlightenment. So, so basically, a Buddha, he So okay, coming back to your 37 Bodhipakkiya Dhammas. So some Arahants, after they have become enlightened, they have attained four jhanas. And after they have become enlightened, they have no more the self. So because they have no more the self, unless they have something that they need to do with psychic power, And then like Rambho Sariputta, he has no psychic power and he has no desire to attain psychic power also, because he has no desire to show psychic power to people. But on the other hand, if he were asked maybe to do something by the Buddha with psychic power, then probably he would develop it. So the Noble Eightfold Path, If you practice the Noble Eightfold Path, it is enough for enlightenment. But if you develop it fully, then all the psychic power can come, and then all the 37 Bodhipakya Dhammas also can be complete. I have a question. How do you become bored when you are waiting for the bus to change the flight? If we let our mind idle, there's an English saying, an idle mind is a devil's workshop. So when your mind is idle, unwholesome states can arise, like boredom is an unwholesome state. So you have to keep the mind occupied. And one easy way is to chant. In the Buddha's teachings, we don't chant mantras because mantras are words of power. We are not seeking for power. So we chant either Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa Or we chant Namo Buddhaya, Namo Buddhaya, Namo Buddhaya. Or we chant the 32 parts of the body, which is much longer. So whatever chant you like to chant, you just chant it continuously, non-stop. And if you develop the ability to chant it constantly, then the mind can calm down, the mind can feel very pleasant, very pleasant. Another way is to recall the Dhamma that you have learned, reflect on it, then you might understand it better. See, like the 32 parts of the body, I think why the Buddha taught the 32 parts of the body is because it is easy to practice the chant of the 32 parts of the body. You just keep chanting. And then also because the Buddha wants his disciples to maintain their mindfulness non-stop. So when you take a rest, you can also keep chanting it. I'm not sure, but I think probably you can attain the first jhana, only the first jhana from chanting. If you practice to the state that it keeps, this jhana goes non-stop in your mind. And if you can maintain your mindfulness most of the time with that jhana, from another student, he said that the Buddha refused to answer many questions raised by the world leaders and the reason why he refused is that the world states are not conducive to the path to the end of suffering but here, we see that I think the Buddha sees the person whether he is capable of understanding and only the Buddha will explain In one of the suttas, one external sect ascetic asked the Buddha about non-self. And the Buddha kept quiet. And then after asking a few questions which the Buddha did not answer, this wanderer, external sect ascetic left. And after that, for example, Ananda asked the Buddha, why didn't you explain Bhagavata? And the Buddha said, If I say there is a self, that will contradict the Dhamma. And if I say there is no self, then this person will be, this wanderer will be confused. All the time I have a self, now I have no self. So he is not able to understand, especially external sect, wanderers, ascetics. The Buddha said they are not trained in the way the Buddha's disciples are trained. They're not familiar with the Dhamma that the Buddha's disciples are familiar with. So because their background is different, their teaching is different, their training is different, everything is different. To teach them, they have to firstly throw away all what they have learned, all the things they have learned before, throw it away. And then start from the bottom, slowly teach them. to tell them the higher Dhamma immediately, they will not be able to grasp it. Then, the teaching of the new university is not confusing to the water, the headwater, but is confusing to this new problem. Can I see it? Okay, you see, the Buddha, I think, talked about this beginning of the world because the Brahmins claim that they were born from Brahma's head and all the other castes were born from Brahma's feet. But that was not how the world originated. So the Buddha is trying to tell them actually how the world originated, how beings originated. Not from Brahma, but from devas flying, flying and settling down on the earth. So here, it is useful to explain to them, because they are unclear how the beginning of the world came about. And the Brahmins tell them it is this way, and the Buddha don't explain to them, then you only got one side telling you the truth. the beginning of the world is explained by these Brahmins in one way. So they probably want to know what is the Buddha's explanation of how the world came about. If it's not made by God, then where did it come from? So here the Buddha is trying to explain. The six knowledges, five of them have to do with psychic power. The first one is psychokinesis. As mentioned here, one body multiplying into many bodies and then can be able to pass through the wall can dive into the earth and come out as though it is water, can walk on the surface of the water, can touch the sun and the moon, can fly with the human body, sitting cross-legged, up to the Brahma heavens, which is very far. This is the first one. The second one is the heavenly eye, being able to see heavenly beings, and then the ghost realm, and see hell, and all these things. Third one is heavenly ear. You can hear spirits talking, you can hear human beings from far talking, all this stuff, divine ear. That's how many are there, that's three. And then another one is to be able to recall your past lives, up to thousands of lifetimes or world cycles. And then the fifth one, to be able to read the minds of other beings. what other people are thinking, what the deva is thinking, what the ghost is thinking. Then the last one is destruction of the asavas, which means enlightenment. So you imagine, if you are striving to attain all these psychic powers, don't you think the ghost and all that will be frightened? If you attain the divine eye, you can see them. You attain the divine ear, you can hear what they are talking. Then they try to block you from attaining all these psychic powers. So that's why when you develop yourself up to that stage, when you're nearing that stage, they come and disturb you. That's why Mara comes to disturb the Jesus Christ, Mara comes to disturb the Buddha, the Arahant, disciples and all that. Okay, shall we? in here.

53-DN-29-Pasadika-(2011-08-07)-Part-A.txt

Okay, tonight is the 7th of August, 2011, and this is the 22nd night we are talking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. And tonight we come to Sutta number 29, Pasadika Sutta, the Delightful Discourse. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying among the Sakyans at the building in the mango grove, belonging to the Vedanya family. At that time, the Niganta Nataputta had just died at Parva. And at his death, the Nigantas were split into two parties, quarreling and disputing, fighting and attacking each other with worthy warfare. You don't understand this doctrine and discipline or Dhamma Vinaya. I do. How could you understand this Dhamma Vinaya? Your way is all wrong. Mine is right. I am consistent. You aren't. You said last what you should have said first, and you said first what you should have said last. What you took so long to think up has been refuted. Your argument has been overthrown. You are defeated. Go on, save your doctrine. Get out of that if you can." He would have thought the Nigantas, Nataputta's disciples, were bent on killing each other. Even the White Robe lay followers were disgusted, displeased and repelled when they saw that their Dhamma Vinaya was so ill-proclaimed. so unedifyingly displayed, and so ineffectual in calming the passions, having been proclaimed by one not fully enlightened, and now with its support gone, without an arbiter. Now the novice Cunda, who had spent the rains at Pava, came to Sama-Gama to see the Venerable Ananda. Saluting him, he sat down to one side and said, Sir, the Niganta Nataputta has just died at Pawa. And he related what had happened. Venerable Ananda said, Chunda, that is something that ought to be reported to the Blessed Lord. Let us go and tell him. Very good, sir, said Chunda. So they went to the Lord and told him. He said, Chunda, here is a Dhammavinaya that is ill-proclaimed, unedifyingly displayed, and ineffectual in calming the passions because its proclaimer was not fully enlightened. Such being the case, Chunda, a disciple cannot live according to that doctrine and maintain proper conduct, nor live by it, but deviates from it To him one might say, Friend, this is what you have received, and you have your opportunity. Your teacher is not fully enlightened. You cannot live according to that doctrine, but deviate from it. In this case, Chunda, the teacher is to be blamed, the doctrine is to be blamed, but the pupil is praiseworthy. And if anyone were to say to that pupil, come now reverend sir, practice according to the doctrine proclaimed and given out by your teacher, then the one who urged this, the thing urged and the one who so practiced would all gain much demerit. Why? Because the doctrine is ill-proclaimed. But here Chunda is a teacher who is not fully enlightened. And a disciple lives according to that doctrine and conforms to it. One might say to him, friend, what you have received is no good. Your opportunity is a poor one. Your teacher is not fully enlightened. His teaching is ill-proclaimed, but yet you continue to live according to it. In this case, the teacher, the doctrine and the disciple are all to blame. And if anyone were to say, well, Reverend Sir, by following that system, you will be successful. The one who so recommended it, that which was recommended, and the one who on hearing such recommendation should make still greater efforts would all gain much demerit. Why? Because the doctrine is ill-proclaimed. Let's stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is talking about a teacher who is not enlightened, and some people follow him, and they are blamable, unless they don't follow that teaching. So this brings to mind nowadays, even within Buddhism, you have so many later books written by people who are not fully enlightened. So it's a mistake to follow those books. Buddha says, then you are blamable. But here now is a teacher who is fully enlightened. His doctrine is well proclaimed, edifyingly displayed, effectual in calming the passions because of that enlightened teacher. But the disciple does not live up to the doctrine, but deviates from it. In that case, one might say to him, friend, you have failed. You have missed your opportunity. Your teacher is fully enlightened. His doctrine is well proclaimed, but you do not follow it, you deviate from it. In this case, the teacher and the doctrine are praiseworthy, but the pupil is to blame. And if anyone were to say, Well, Reverend Sir, you should follow the teaching proclaimed by your teacher. Then the one who urged this, that which was urged, and the one who so practiced, would all gain much merit. Why? because the doctrine is well-proclaimed. But now, Chunda, here is a teacher who is fully enlightened, his doctrine is well-proclaimed, and the disciple, having taken it up, follows it, practicing it properly and keeping to it. Someone might say to him, Friend, what you have received is good. Here is your opportunity, and you are following the doctrine of your teacher. In this case, the teacher and the doctrine are praiseworthy, and the pupil is also praiseworthy. And if anyone were to say to such a disciple, well, Reverend Sir, by following that system, you will be successful. Then the one who does recommended it and that which was commended and the one who on hearing such commendation should make still greater efforts would all gain much merit. Why? Because that is so when the doctrine, when the Dhamma and Vinaya, doctrine and discipline are well proclaimed. edifyingly displayed and effectual in calming the passions because of the fully enlightened teacher and supreme Buddha." Stop here for a moment. So here the teacher is fully enlightened, a Buddha. And if disciple follows his teacher's words, then he is praiseworthy. But if he deviates from it, then he is blamable. But now, Cunda, suppose a teacher has arisen in the world and Arahant, Sammasambuddha, and his doctrine is well proclaimed, effectual in calming the passions because of that teacher. But His disciples have not fully mastered that true Dhamma. The full purity of the holy life has not become clear and evident to them in the logic of its unfolding, and has not been sufficiently grounded among them. being still in course of being well-proclaimed among humans, at the time of the teacher's passing from among them. That way, Chunda, the teacher's death would be a sad thing for his disciples. Why? They would think, our teacher rose in the world for us, and Arahant, Sammasambuddha, whose doctrine was well-proclaimed, But we did not fully master the true Dhamma as long as it was well proclaimed among humans. And now our teacher has passed away from among us. That way the teacher's death would be a sad thing for his disciples." Stop here for a moment. You notice here that the Dhamma taught by the Arahant, Sammasambuddha, If the disciple did not master the true Dhamma, mastering the true Dhamma means being extremely familiar with his words in the suttas. Otherwise, if they are not extremely familiar with the suttas, then they have not mastered the Dhamma. But suppose a teacher has arisen in the world, and His disciples have fully mastered the true Dhamma, the full purity of the holy life has become clear and evident to them in the logic of its unfolding, and has been sufficiently grounded among them while being thus well proclaimed among humans by the time of the teacher's passing from them. That way, the teacher's death would not be a sad thing for His disciples." Why? They would think our teacher arose in the world for us and we have fully mastered the true Dhamma. While it was thus proclaimed among humans and now our teacher has passed away from among us. That way the teacher's death would not be a sad thing for his disciples. If the holy life is so circumstantial and there is no teacher who is senior, of long standing, long ordained, mature and advanced in seniority, then in such a case the holy life will be imperfect. But if such a teacher exists, then the holy life can be perfected in such a case. If in such a case there is such a senior teacher, but if there are no senior disciples among the monks who are experienced, trained, skilled, who have attained peace from bondage, who are able to proclaim the true Dhamma, able to refute any opposing doctrines that may arise by means of the true Dhamma, and having done so, give a rounded exposition of Dhamma, then the holy life is not perfected. In such cases, If there are such senior teachers and such senior disciples, but there are no monks of middle standing with these qualities, or despite the presence of these, no junior monks with these qualities, or no senior disciples among the nuns, or no middle ranking or junior nuns, or no white robe lay followers, male or female, celibate or otherwise, or if the teaching does not prosper and flourish, is not widespread, widely known, proclaimed far and wide, or even if these conditions are fulfilled, has not gained the first place in public support, then the holy life is not perfected. If, however, all these conditions are fulfilled, then the holy life is perfected. But Chunda, I have now arisen in the world as an Arahant, Samasambuddha. The Dhamma is well-proclaimed. My disciples are proficient in the true Dhamma. The full purity of the holy life has become clear and evident to them in the logic of its unfolding. But now I am an aged teacher of longstanding who went forth a long time ago, and my life is coming to its close. However, there are senior teachers among the monks who are experienced, trained, skilled, who have attained peace from bondage, able to proclaim the true Dhamma, able to refute by means of the Dhamma any opposing doctrines that may arise, and having done so, give a grounded exposition of Dhamma. And there are middle-ranking monks who are disciplined and experienced. There are novices who are disciples. There are senior middle-ranking and novice nuns who are disciples. There are white-robed lay followers, male and female, celibate and non-celibate. And the holy life I proclaim prospers and flourishes. It is widespread, widely known, proclaimed far and wide. well-proclaimed among humans. Among all the teachers now existing in the world, Chunda, I see none who has attained to such a position of fame and following as I have. Of all the orders and groups in the world, I see none as famous and well-followed as my Sangha of monks. If anyone were to refer to any holy way of life as being fully successful and perfect, with nothing lacking and nothing superfluous, well-proclaimed in the perfection of its purity. It is this holy life they would be describing." It was Udaka Ramaputta who used to say, he sees but does not see. I'll stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha is saying that his sāsana, religion is perfect because the teacher is enlightened, the disciples fully understand his teaching, and he has senior disciples who can teach what he has taught, and there are middle-ranking disciples and junior disciples and lay followers, all who know his teaching well and his teaching is widespread, widely known and all that. That's why he says it is perfect. It was Uddhaka Ramaputta who used to say, he sees but does not see. What is it that seeing one does not see? You can see the blade of a well-sharpened razor, but not its edge. That is what he meant by saying, he sees but does not see. He spoke in reference to a low, vulgar, worldly, ignoble thing of no spiritual significance, a mere razor. But if one were to use that expression properly, he sees but does not see, it would be like this. What he sees is a holy way of life, which is fully successful and perfect. with nothing lacking and nothing superfluous, well proclaimed in the perfection of its purity. If he were to deduct anything from it, thinking, in this way it will be purer, he does not see it. And if he were to add anything to it, thinking, in this way it will be more complete, then he does not see it. That is the meaning of the saying, he sees but does not see. Therefore, Chunda, if anyone were to refer to any holy way of life as being fully successful and perfect, it is this holy life they would be describing. Let's stop here for a moment. This is an extremely important paragraph the Buddha is saying here. The Buddha first, he says, his holy way of life is perfect. Secondly, there is nothing lacking, nothing superfluous. In other words, it is complete. Complete. Guan zhuan, guan moa. Perfect is guan moa, isn't it? In Hokkien. Complete is guan zhuan. and then utterly pure, perfection of its purity. So there are three characteristics of the Buddha's teaching. One is it is perfect, the other one it is complete, the third one it is utterly pure. So the Buddha says, if anybody thinks he wants to deduct anything from the Buddha's words, he does not understand, he does not see it, that means he does not see the Dhamma, does not understand the Dhamma. And he wants to add anything to the Buddha's words, thinking it will be more complete, then also he does not see the Dhamma, he does not understand the Dhamma. Which means that those later monks who added to the Buddha's words, wrote the later suttas and they wrote the later books like the commentaries and the Abhidhamma and all that, Visuddhimagga and all that. According to the Buddha, they don't understand the Dhamma because if they understand the Dhamma, then they will know that the Buddha's words are perfect and complete and utterly pure. You don't need to add to his words. What he has said is already enough. Why must you add to his words? Even things like about meditation, what the Buddha has explained is complete, perfect. You don't need to add to his words about meditation or so. Because certain things like the Buddha didn't say, it's purposely because he didn't say. Not that he doesn't know how to say. Purposely doesn't say certain things because why? Because meditation is something, each person is different. You got to practice it yourself and find the way. that is suitable for you. The basic teaching, for example, about noticing the breath coming in and out, that is the basic principle. Where you want to notice the breath, how you want to notice the breath, each person is different. That's why a lot of things the Buddha did not say because it's not necessary. On the other hand, you find some teachers, they say so much about meditation, so that you find those Disciples following the teacher who have said so many things, they have a si pan view of that meditation. Their meditation must go exactly according to that way. Otherwise, it's not correct. So they want it so badly that they start to see those things that they want to see. Just like some people want to see the light, then they see the light. Because it's very easy to imagine what you like to imagine. To continue, the Buddha said, These truths that I have realized by super knowledge should come together and recite them, setting meaning beside meaning and expression beside expression, without dissension, in order that this holy life may continue and be established for a long time, for the profit and happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, and for the benefit, profit and happiness of devas and humans. And what are the things that you should recite together? They are the four intense states of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five spiritual faculties, the five mental powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Eightfold Path. These are the things you should recite together. And thus you must train yourselves, being assembled in harmony and without dissension. If a fellow in the holy life quotes Dhamma in the assembly, and if you think he has either misunderstood the sense or expressed it wrongly, you should neither applaud nor reject it, but should say to him, Friend, if you mean such and such, you should put it either like this or like that, which is the more appropriate? Or if you say such and such, you mean either this or that, which is the more appropriate? If he replies, this meaning is better expressed like this than like that, or the sense of this expression is this rather than that, then his words should be neither rejected nor disparaged, but it should explain to him carefully the correct meaning and expression. Again, Cunda, if a fellow in the holy life quotes Dhamma in the assembly, and if you think he has misunderstood the sense, though he has expressed it correctly, you should neither applaud nor reject it, but should say to him, Friend, these words can either mean this or that. Which sense is the more appropriate? And if he replies, they mean this, then his words should be neither rejected nor disparaged. But you should explain to him carefully the correct meaning. And similarly, if you think he has got the right meaning but expressed it wrongly, you should explain to him carefully the correct meaning and expression. But Sunda, if you think he has got the right meaning and expressed it correctly, you should say good. and should applaud and congratulate him, saying, we are lucky, we are most fortunate to find in you, friend, a companion in the holy life who is so well versed in both the meaning and the expression." I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the Buddha, firstly, at the top, the Buddha says, there are certain teachings which are very important, which the monks should constantly focus on, recited. What are these? These are the 37 bodhipakya, the four intense states of mindfulness, satipatthana, the four right efforts, vayama, the four bases of psychic power, idipada, the five faculties, indriya, the five powers, bala, the seven factors of enlightenment, bhojanga, the noble eightfold path, Arya Atambika Maga. You add 4 plus 4 plus 4 plus 5 plus 5 plus 7 plus 8, you get 37. So these are called the 37 Bodhipakkha Dhammas. When you practice these 37 Bodhipakkha Dhammas and perfect them, then you have perfected the Noble Eightfold Path also. So after that, the Buddha says that if some monk teaches the Dhamma and the meaning is not so clear, then it should be discussed and made clearer. Chunda, I do not teach a Dhamma for restraining the asavas that arise in the present life alone. I do not teach a Dhamma merely for their destruction in future lives, but one for their restraining in this life as well as for their destruction in future lives. Accordingly, Chunda, let the robe I have allowed you be simply for warding off the cold, for warding off the heat, for warding off the touch of gadfly, mosquito, wind, sun and creeping things, just so as to protect your modesty. At the arm's foot, I have allowed you be just enough for the support and sustenance of the body, for keeping it unimpaired. for the furtherance of the holy life with the thought, thus I shall eliminate the former feeling without giving rise to a new one. In that way, I shall live without fault and in comfort. Let the lodging I have allowed you be simply for warding off the cold, for warding off the heat, for warding off the touch of gadfly, mosquito, wind, sun and creeping things, just for allaying the perils of the seasons and for the enjoyment of seclusion. Let the provision of medicines and necessities for the treatment of sickness that I have allowed you be just for warding off feelings of sickness that have arisen and for the maintenance of health." Stop here for a moment. So here the Buddha says his teaching is for the restraining or destruction of the asavas, the uncontrolled mental outflows, not only this life, but future lives as well. And then the rope is only for protecting us from the cold and heat and insects and the creeping things. And then the food is for the support and sustenance of the body so that we can practice the holy life, continue to practice the holy life. Thus I shall eliminate the former feeling. The former feeling should refer to the feeling of hunger. When we eat the food, we eliminate the hunger without giving rise to a new one. without giving rise to greed, greed for good food, then that way I shall live without fault, blameless and in comfort. So the lodging also is for protecting us from the cold, the heat, insects, and the sun and wind, and for seclusion, and then the medicines and all that for warding off sickness.

54-DN-29-Pasadika-(2011-08-07)-Part-B.txt

It may be, Chunda, that wanderers of other sects might say, the ascetics who follow the Sakyan are addicted to a life of devotion to pleasure. If so, they should be asked, what kind of a life of devotion to pleasure, friend? For such a life can take many forms. There are, Chunda, four kinds of life devoted to pleasure which are low, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, and not conducive to welfare, not leading to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to tranquility, to realization, to enlightenment, to nibbana. What are they? Firstly, a foolish person takes pleasure and delight in killing living beings. Secondly, someone takes pleasure and delight in taking what is not given. Thirdly, someone takes pleasure and delight in telling lies. Fourthly, someone gives himself up to the indulgence in and enjoyment of the pleasures of the five senses. These are the four kinds of life devoted to pleasure which are low, vulgar, not leading to disenchantment, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. And it may be that those of other sects might say, are the followers of the Sakyan given to these four forms of pleasure seeking? They should be told, no. for they would not be speaking correctly about you. They would be slandering you with false and untrue statements. There are cunda, these four kinds of life devoted to pleasure, which are entirely conducive to disenchantment. to dispassion, to cessation, to tranquility, to realization, to enlightenment, to nibbana. What are they? Firstly, a monk detached from all sense desires, detached from unwholesome mental states, enters and remains in the first jhāna, which is with thought directed and sustained, born of detachment, filled with delight and happiness, and with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, by gaining inner tranquility and oneness of mind, he enters and remains in the second jhāna, which is without thought-directed and sustained, born of concentration, filled with delight and happiness. Again, with the fading of delight, remaining imperturbable, mindful and clearly aware, he experiences in himself that joy of which the noble ones say, Happy is he who dwells with equanimity and mindfulness. He enters and remains in the third jhāna. Again, having given up pleasure and pain and with the disappearance of former gladness and sadness, he enters and remains in the fourth jhāna, which is beyond pleasure and pain and with utter purity of equanimity and mindfulness. These are the four kinds of life devoted to pleasure, which are entirely conducive to disenchantment. to dispassion, to cessation, to tranquillity, to realisation, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. So, if wanderers from other sects should say that the followers of the Sakyan are addicted to these four forms of pleasure-seeking, they should be told, yes, for they would be speaking correctly about you. They would not be slandering you with false or untrue statements. Then such wanderers might ask, well then, those who are given to these four forms of pleasure-seeking, how many fruits, how many benefits can they expect? And you should reply, they can expect four fruits, four benefits. What are they? The first is when a monk by the destruction of three fetters has become a stream-winner, Sotapanna, no more subject to rebirth in lower worlds, firmly established, destined for full enlightenment. The second is when a monk by the complete destruction of three fetters and the reduction of greed, hatred and delusion has become a once-returner, Sakadagamin, and having returned once more to this world will put an end to suffering. The third is when a monk by the complete destruction of the five lower fetters has been spontaneously reborn and there will reach Nibbana without returning from that world as the Anagamin. The fourth is when a monk by the destruction of the asavas in this very life has by his own knowledge and realization attained to arahantship, to the liberation by mind and liberation by wisdom. Such are the four fruits and four benefits that one given to these four forms of pleasure seeking can expect." Stop it for a moment. So here the Buddha says that his disciples are not addicted to worldly pleasures, which refers to the pleasure from killing, taking what is not given, lying, and pleasures of the senses. But there are another four kinds of pleasures which conducive to enlightenment, to Nibbana. That is the first jhāna, second jhāna, third jhāna, and fourth jhāna. And Buddha here says that the sons of the Sakyan, that means the Buddhist monks, are addicted to the four forms of pleasure seeking. So why? Does the Buddha say his disciples are addicted to these four forms of pleasure-seeking? The Buddha says, because there are four good fruits, benefits. What are the four? Attaining the four stages of Ariya-hood, the four fruits. So, tepanna, sakadagamin, anagamin, and arahan-hood. So, this contradicts some of these monks who teach that jhana is not good, jhana is not beneficial, there is no mindfulness in jhana. The Buddha says, He not only allows his monks to practice the Jhanas, but he even encouraged them to become addicted to these Jhanas because they have four benefits, the four Aryan fruits. Then such wanderers might say, the doctrines of the Sakyan sons are not well founded. They should be told, friend, The Lord who knows and sees has taught and proclaimed to His disciples principles which are not to be transgressed as long as life shall last. Just like a locking post or an iron post which is deep-based, well-planted and unshakable, immovable are these doctrines He has taught. And any monk who has an arahant whose asavas are destroyed, who has lived the life, done what was to be done, laid down the burden, gained the true goal, who has completely destroyed the factor of being or becoming, and is liberated by supreme insight, is incapable of doing nine things. One, is incapable of deliberately taking the life of a living being. Two, He is incapable of taking what is not given, so as to constitute theft. 3. He is incapable of sexual intercourse. 4. He is incapable of telling a deliberate lie. 5. He is incapable of storing up goods for sensual indulgence, as he did formerly in the household life. 6. He is incapable of acting wrongly through attachment. 7. He is incapable of acting wrongly through hatred. is incapable of acting wrongly through folly. Nine, is incapable of acting wrongly through fear. These are the nine things which an arahant, whose asavas are destroyed, cannot do. Stop here for a moment. So here it's very clear, an arahant is not capable of killing, of taking what is not given, sexual intercourse, lying, storing up goods for sensual indulgence. and acting wrongly. In the Vinaya books, the arahant is said to be incapable of doing anything wrong. Why? Because he has mindfulness 24 hours a day. Every second of the day and night, the arahant is mindful. It's not like us. Most of us, when we go to sleep, we are not mindful. So the Arahant, even when he takes his rest, he's still mindful. That's one thing. Secondly, the important thing here, he's not capable, he's not given to sexual intercourse. This contradicts some of the Mahayana teachings, especially like in the Vajrayana. They say some of their enlightened beings can indulge in this what they call tantric Buddhism, tantra. This tantra is one of their secret teachings that the disciple can make love to, the master can make love to the disciple. And they say they use this to attain enlightenment. This is sheer folly, sheer contradiction of the Buddha's teachings. Even during the Buddha's time, they had this kind of practice. And there were some external ascetics, because they were naked ascetics, and they had male and female. So when they look at each other's bodies, then lust arose. And they say there's nothing wrong indulging in these sensual pleasures. They don't harm anybody. The Buddha said it's foolishness. Even though they don't harm anybody, they harm themselves. So the Buddha says it's not possible to engage in sexual intercourse without lust. Not possible. Whereas in the Mahayana, some of these Mahayana teachings, they say their aim is to to indulge in it without lust, but it's simply not possible. Or such wanderers might say, as regards past times, the ascetic Gautama displays boundless knowledge and insight, but not about the future, as to what will be and how it will be. That would be to suppose that knowledge and insight about one thing are to be produced by knowledge and insight about something else, as fools imagine. As regards the past, the Tathagata has knowledge of past lives. He can remember as far back as he wishes. As for the future, this knowledge born of enlightenment arises in him. This is the last birth. There will be no more becoming. If the past refers to what is not factual, to fables, to what is not of advantage, the Tathāgata makes no reply. If it refers to what is factual, not fabulous, but which is not of advantage, the Tathāgata makes no reply. But if the past refers to what is factual, not fabulous, and which is of advantage, then the Tathāgata knows the right time to reply. The same applies to the future and the present. Therefore, The Tathagata is called the one who declares the time, the fact, the advantage, the Dhamma, and the Vinaya. That is why he's called Tathagata. Stop here for a moment. So here you see, the Buddha says he can recall the past lives as far back as he wishes. In other words, there's no limit. And then if you ask him about the past, If it is something that is not factual, he won't answer. And if it is factual but it is not advantageous also, he won't answer. Only if it is factual and it is advantageous. Advantageous means it is of use to the spiritual life. It will help somebody on the spiritual path. Then only he will reply. Similarly, concerning the future and the present. Chunda, whatever in this world with its Devas and Maras and Brahmas, with its ascetics and Brahmins, its princes and people, is seen by people, heard, sensed, cognized, whatever was ever achieved, sought after or mentally pondered upon, all that has been fully understood by the Tathagata. That is why he is called Tathagata. Between the night in which the Tathāgata gains supreme enlightenment, Cunda, and the night in which he attains the Nibbāna element without remainder, whatever he proclaims, says or explains is so, and not otherwise. That is why he is called Tathāgata, and of this world with his devas and māras and brāhmās, with his ascetics and brāhmaṇas, his princes and people, The Tathagata is the unvanquished conqueror, the seer and ruler of all. That is why he is called Tathagata. So here you notice the Buddha says that whatever he says is factual. So sometimes you read certain books, you see the Buddha say something here, and then you read some other books, they say the Buddha says the opposite. Then two of them cannot be the truth. Only one of them must be the truth. So you have to investigate now. For example, there's some contradiction between Mahayana teachings and Theravada early suttas. There's some contradiction between the Abhidhamma and the early suttas. There's some contradiction between the Visuddhimagga and the early suttas. There's some contradiction between some things in the commentary and the suttas. So you have to investigate and find out. Or such wanderers might say, does the Tathagata exist after death? Is that true and any other view foolish? It should be told, friend, this has not been revealed by the Lord. Or does the Tathagata not exist after death? Or does he both exist and not exist after death? Does he neither exist nor not exist after death? They should be told, friend, this has not been revealed by the Lord. Then they may say, why has the ascetic Gautama not revealed this? They should be told, friend, this is not conducive to welfare or to dhamma or to the higher holy life or to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, tranquillity, realisation, enlightenment, nibbana. That is why the Lord has not revealed it. All they may say, well friend, what has the ascetic Gautama revealed? They should be told, this is suffering has been declared by the Lord. This is the arising of suffering. This is the cessation of suffering. This is the path leading to the cessation of suffering. These have been declared by the Lord. Then they may say, then they may say, why has this been declared by the ascetic Gautama? They should be told, friend, this is conducive to welfare, to Dhamma, to the higher holy life, perfect disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to tranquility, to realization, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. That is why the Lord has revealed it. Stop here for a moment. So if people ask the Buddha certain things that do not pertain to the Dhamma, does not help us to end suffering, the Buddha will keep quiet. He won't answer. Only if it has something to do with the Dhamma, with the Four Noble Truths, the ending of the round of rebirth, then the Buddha will answer. Chunda, those bases of speculation about the beginnings of things which I have explained to you as they should be explained, should I now explain to you as they should not be explained? And likewise about the future, what are the speculations about the past? There are ascetics and Brahmins who say and declare, the self and the world are eternal. This is true and any other view is erroneous. The self and the world are not eternal. The self and the world are both eternal and not eternal. The self and the world are neither eternal nor not eternal. The self and the world are self-created. They are created by another. They are both self-created and created by another. They are neither self-created nor created by another, but have arisen by chance, and similarly with regard to pleasure and pain." I go to those ascetics and Brahmins who hold any of these views and if being asked, they confirm that they do hold such views, I do not admit their claims. Why not? Because Chunda Different beings hold different opinions on such matters, nor do I consider such theories equal to my own, still less superior. I am the superior in regard to the higher exposition. As for those bases of speculation about the beginning of things which I have explained to you as they should be explained, why should I now explain them to you as they should not be explained? And what about those speculators about the future? There are some ascetics and Brahmins who say, The self after death is material and healthy, or immaterial, or both, or neither. The self is conscious after death, or unconscious, or both, or neither. The self perishes, is destroyed, ceases to be after death. This is true and any other view is erroneous. I go to those ascetics and Brahmins who hold any of these views, and if being asked, they confirm that they do hold such views, I do not admit their claims. Why not? Because, Chunda, different beings hold different opinions on such matters, nor do I consider such theories equal to my own, still less superior. I am the superior in regard to the higher exposition. As for those bases of speculation about the future, which I have explained to you, as they should be explained. Why should I now explain them to you as they should not be explained? And Chunda, for the destruction of all such views about the past, future, for transcending them, I have taught and laid down the four intense states of mindfulness. What are the four? Here, Chunda, a monk dwells contemplating body in the body, ardent, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside hankering and fretting for the world. He dwells contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, ardent, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside hankering and fretting for the world. That is how, Chunda, for the destruction of such views about the past and future, and for transcending them, I have taught and laid down the four intense states of mindfulness." During this time, the Venerable Upavana was standing behind the Lord, fanning Him. And he said, It is wonderful, Lord. It is marvelous. Lord, this exposition of Dhamma is delightful, highly delightful. Lord, what is the name of this discourse?" And the Buddha said, Well, Upavana, you can remember it as a delightful discourse. Thus the Lord spoke, and the verbal Upavana rejoiced and was delighted with his words. You see this last part, the Buddha says, to transcend all the views about the past, present and the future, he has taught the four intense states of mindfulness. Why? Because these four intense states of mindfulness means to put your mindfulness on one object, unremitting mindfulness on one object. So if you put your attention only on one object all the time, How can you have views about this present and future and past and all these things? So if you continue that unremitting mindfulness on one object, it must end up with one-pointedness of mind, which is the jhanas. Then when a person attains the jhanas, all that thinking, all the views will automatically stop. All these views come from too much thinking. Because our mind has a tendency to proliferate, papanca, this tendency to proliferate in an undisciplined mind, untrained mind. Okay, anything to discuss? You said that some people think that the only reason Donald got down is because of that thing. What's your idea of the reason this is about animals? Do you want me to interpret it? Is it something to share? Can you repeat the question? I heard you say some people say can reach Nibbāna without jhāna. Yeah, they say that jhāna is quantum involved jhāna. What is the idea of reaching Nibbāna otherwise? What do you think? Oh, they teach that you don't need Jhana to attain Nibbana. They say you cultivate wisdom. That is the path of pure vipassana. And that is not what the Buddha says. As I mentioned the other day, they are making use of these commentaries which were written several hundred years after the Buddha passed away by later monks. These later monks, they did not practice and attain the jhanas, so they think that the jhanas are not necessary. They think they can attain wisdom just by contemplation. Actually, the word vipassana means contemplation, but they have sometimes changed it to insight. So they say the vipassana meditation It's the meditation that gives you insight, that gives you wisdom. But in the Buddha's teachings without jhana, there's no higher wisdom. Does that answer your question? I want to know about your childhood. What was it like growing up? Because, you know, you found a way to invite yourself to a place where you don't have to much money to go around. What to worship who? Omaitreya Buddha. I think this is sheer foolishness. It's just like some people talk about the Pure Land. They want to be reborn in the Pure Land to be with the Amitabha Buddha. So there are some people who want to be with Amitabha Buddha, some people want to be with Maitreya Buddha. But if they are really Buddhas and you are reborn either with Amitabha Buddha or Maitreya Buddha, the teaching that you are going to get is exactly what a Sakyamuni Buddha is teaching. So there is no point, just sheer foolishness, using the mind too much. Also proliferation of mind and they start thinking good to be to be born with that Buddha and this Buddha and all that. Veda Wang. Can you tell me some points about how you know you're not able to attain the balance of this life, so you want to take the future and go back to that one, and you want to do the preparation for how to be here, to be involved with the camera, etc. I think this is wishful thinking to be reborn with Maitreya Buddha. If you have not met Maitreya Buddha in the past, you don't have strong affinity with Maitreya Buddha, how can you be reborn with him? Right? So what is important is the Dhamma is here with us. So make use of the Dhamma. and try to at least attain some stage of Ariahood. If you can attain some stage of Ariahood, you have entered the stream that will flow towards Nibbana. You're sure of enlightenment. Even with the lowest Aryan stage, which is Sotapanna, within seven lifetimes after that, maximum of seven lifetimes, a person will become enlightened. That is guaranteed by the Buddha. stated by the Buddha. So that being the case, it doesn't matter where you are reborn, who you are reborn with. Once you are an Ariya, either you will meet the Dhamma again or if you don't meet the Dhamma, you will strive until you can remember your past lives like our Buddha Sakyamuni. When he was in his last life, Siddhartha Gautama, there was no Buddha Dhamma in the world. And yet, he just knew that he has to strive. So he strove so hard until he could remember his past lives. And then all the Dhamma came back to him. What is important is the Dhamma. It's not the person that is important. The Dhamma is important. So whether we recall the Dhamma of Buddha Shakyamuni or Buddha Kasapa or Buddha Konagamana or Buddha Kakusanda or some other Buddha, it doesn't matter which Buddha. What is important is the Dhamma. So it is not important to meet the Buddha in person. What is important is to meet the Dhamma. meet the Dhamma. And once you're an Arya, you will either meet the Dhamma or you will recall the Dhamma. Somehow you will enter Nibbana. That is important. Who you meet is not important. It's only worldly thinking. When you love somebody, you think you want to meet him again or her again in the future. That is pure Pure, the flow of us of us, this uncontrolled mental outflows, thinking too much. How do we sustain our life? Sustain what? keep ourselves motivated and stay close to the government. Because I think that's one of the people who have to be out at the same time. So with this situation, we will have a little bit of time, a little while to move on to something else. And in the meantime, for those who stay home, This one, I think it depends on the individual. If the person understands the Dhamma, then he will always keep the Dhamma close to him. Either Every day he will study the suttas and meditate. But if a person does not have the affinity, you can advise him all you want, but he will not be able to follow it. So it depends on our blessings. That's why the Buddha says we have to cultivate our blessings. Some of these things we have more control. It's entirely up to the individual. If a person's time is not due, he can give a thousand and one reasons why he has to be distracted in doing this and doing that. Okay. In this world, there are a lot of ways not to follow the Dharma. And some people nowadays, even though they do not completely get that, No, definitely not. Okay, shall we end here?

55-DN-30-Lakkhana-(2011-08-08).txt

Tonight is the 8th of August and this is the 23rd night. We're talking of the Digha Nikaya Suttas. We come to Sutta number 30, Lakkhana Sutta. Lakkhana means the marks, marks of a great man. This is one of the most unimportant Suttas because I'm trying to go through all the Suttas in the Digha Nikaya. So I'll be reluctant to go through this one. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying at Savati in Jetavana, Nathapindika's park. Monks, he said. And the monks replied, Lord, the Lord said, there are monks, these 32 monks peculiar to a great man. And for that great man who possesses them, only two careers are open. If he lives the household life, he will become a ruler, a wheel turning righteous monarch of the law. conqueror of the four quarters, who has established the security of his realm and is possessed of the seven treasures. These are the wheel treasure, elephant treasure, horse treasure, jewel treasure, woman treasure, householder treasure, and a seventh, the counsellor treasure. He has more than a thousand sons who are heroes of heroic stature, conquerors of the hostile army. He dwells having conquered this sea-girt land without stick or sword by the law. But if he goes forth from the household life into homelessness, he will become an Arahant, a Sammasambuddha who has drawn back the veil from the world. And what are these 32 marks? One, he has feet with level tread. This is one of the marks of a great man. Two, on the soles of his feet are wheels with a thousand spokes, complete with fellow and hub. This one is a bit hard to believe, that's why I say reluctant to go through this Sutta. Three, he has projecting heels. Four, he has long fingers and toes. Five, he has soft and tender hands and feet. Six, his hands and feet are net-like. Seven, he has high-raised ankles. Eight, his legs are like an antelope's. Nine, standing and without bending, he can touch and rub his knees with either hand. Ten, his male organs are enclosed in a sheet. 11. His complexion is bright, the colour of gold. 12. His skin is delicate and so smooth that no dust can adhere to his body. 13. His body hairs are separate, one to each pore. 14. His body hairs grow upwards, each one bluish black like collyrium, curling in rings to the right. 15. His body is divinely straight. 16. He has the seven convex surfaces. 17. The front part of his body is like a lion's. 18. There is no hollow between his shoulders. 19. He is proportioned like a bunion tree. The height of his body is the same as the span of his outstretched arms. And conversely, 20. His bust is evenly rounded. 21. He has a perfect sense of taste. 22. He has jaws like a lion's. 23. He has 40 teeth. 24. His teeth are even. 25. There are no spaces between his teeth. 26. His canine teeth are very bright. 27. His tongue is very long. 28. He has a Brahma-like voice, like that of the Karavika bird. 29. His eyes are deep blue. 30. He has eyelashes like a cow's. 31. The hair between his eyes is white and soft like cotton down. 32. His head is like a royal turban. This is one of the marks of a great man. These monks are the 32 marks peculiar to a great man. And for that great man who possesses them, only two courses are open. And sages of other communions know these 32 marks, but they do not know the karmic reasons for the gaining of them. Monks, in whatever former life, former existence or dwelling place, the Tathagata, being born a human being, undertook mighty deeds to good purpose, unwavering in good conduct of body, speech, and mind, in generosity, self-discipline, observance of the fast day, in honoring parents, ascetics, and Brahmins, and the head of the clan, and in other highly meritorious acts. By performing that karma, heaping it up lavishly and abundantly, At the breaking up of the body after death, he was reborn in a happy state in a heavenly world where he was endowed beyond other devas in 10 respects. In length of heavenly life, beauty, happiness, splendor, influence, and in heavenly sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and contacts. Falling away from there and coming to be reborn here on earth, he acquired this mark of the great man. One, feet with level tread, so that he places his foot evenly on the ground, lifts it evenly, and touches the ground evenly with the entire soul. Being endowed with this mark, if he keeps to the household life, he will become a wheel-turning monarch, conquering without stick or sword. But by justice, he rules over this earth as far as its ocean-bound boundaries, as far as its ocean boundaries, a land open, uninfested by brigands, free from jungle, powerful, prosperous, happy, and free from perils. As a ruler, how does he benefit? He cannot be impeded by any human foe with ill intent. That is his benefit as a ruler. And if he goes forth into homelessness, he will become a fully enlightened Buddha. As such, how does he benefit? He cannot be impeded by any enemy or adversary from within or without, of greed, hatred or delusion, or by any ascetic or Brahmin, any Deva, Mara or Brahma, or any being in the world. That is his benefit as a Buddha. This was what the Lord declared. About this it was said, truthful, righteous, tamed and stilled, pure and virtuous, keeping fast, generous, farming none at peace. He undertook this mighty task and at his end to heaven went to dwell in joy and happiness. Returned from there to earth, his feet with level tread did touch the ground. Assembled august then declared, For him who has level treads the ground, who level treads the ground, no obstacles can bar his path if he leads the household life or if he leaves the world behind. This the monk does clearly show. If a layman, no adversary, no foe can stand before him. No human power exists that can deprive him of his karma's fruit. Or if the homeless life's his choice, on renunciation bent and clear of vision, chief of men he'll be. Fearless, nevermore reborn, this the law shall be for him. Monks, in whatever former life, the Tathagata, being born a human being, lived for the happiness of the many, as a dispeller of fright and terror, provider of lawful protection and shelter, and supplying all necessities by performing that karma, was reborn in a happy state. heavenly world, falling away from there and coming to be reborn here on earth. He acquired this mark of the great man. 2. On the soles of his feet are wheels of a thousand spokes, complete with fellow and hub. Being endowed with this mark, if he keeps to the household life, he will become a wheel-turning monarch. As a ruler, how does he benefit He has a great retinue. He is surrounded by Brahmin householders, citizens and villagers, treasurers, guards, doorkeepers, ministers, tributary kings, tenants-in-chief and pages. That is his benefit as a ruler. And if he goes forth into homelessness, he will become a fully enlightened Buddha. As such, how does he benefit? He has a large retinue. He is surrounded by monks, nuns, male and female lay followers, devas and humans, asuras, nagas and gandabas. That is his benefit as a Buddha. This was what the Lord declared. About this it was said, in times gone by, in former births, as men, to many doing good, dispelling fright and panic fear. eager to guard and give defense. He undertook this mighty task, and at his end to heaven went, to dwell in joy and happiness. Returned from there to earth, his feet are found to bear the mark of wheels. Each a thousand spoke, complete. Assembled augurs then declared, seeing these many marks of merit, great will be his following. All his foes he will subdue. This is the wheel marks clearly show. If he does not renounce the world, he will turn the wheel and rule the earth. The nobles will be his vessels, all in attendance on his power. But if the homeless lives his choice, on renunciation bent and clear of vision, men and devas, asuras, sakas, rakkasas, gandabas, nagas, garudas, four-footed beasts will serve him too, unrivaled by devas and by men, alike revered in all his glory. monks in whatever former life, the Tathagata, being born a human being, rejecting the taking of life and abstaining from it, and laying aside stick and sword, dwelt kind and compassionate, having friendship and sympathy for all living beings. By performing that kamma, was reborn in a happy state. Falling away from there and coming to be reborn on earth, he acquired these three marks of the great man. Three, projecting Eels, four, long fingers and toes. And fifteen, a divinely straight body. Being endowed with these marks, if he keeps to the household life, etc. As a ruler, how does he benefit? He is long lived, long enduring, attaining a great age. And during that time, no human foe can possibly take his life. As a Buddha, how does he benefit? He is long lived, no foe, whether an ascetic or Brahmin, a Deva, Mara or Brahma. or anyone in the world can possibly take his life. That is his benefit as a Buddha. This was what the Lord declared. About this it was said, knowing well the dread of death, beings he forbore to kill. His goodness earned him heavenly birth, where he rejoiced in marriage's fruit. Returning thence to earth he bore on his person these three marks. His heels are full and very long, Brahma-like he's straight of form, fair to see and shapely limbed, his fingers tender, soft and long. By these three marks of excellence, it's known the youth will be long-lived. Long he'll live in household life, longer still as a homeless one, practicing the noble powers, so the three marks indicate. Monks, in whatever form of life that the Tathagata became a giver of fine food, delicious and tasty, hard and soft, and of drinks. By performing that kamma, he was reborn in a heavenly world. Falling away from there and being reborn here on earth, he acquired this mark of the great man. 16. The seven convex surfaces on both hands, both feet, both shoulders, and his trunk, being endowed with this mark. As a ruler, how does he benefit? He receives fine food and drinks. As a Buddha, likewise. This was what the Lord said. About this it was said, dispenser of delicious foods and finest tasting drinks he was. This goodness brought him happy birth and long he dwelt in Andhana, that's the grove in the Tavatimsa heaven. To earth return, the seven signs on gently swelling limbs he bore. Assembled augurs then declared, fine food and drink he would enjoy, not merely in the household life, although he should renounce the world. and cut the bonds of worldly living, delicious food he'd still receive. Monks, in whatever form of life the Tathagata made himself, beloved through the four bases of sympathy, generosity, pleasing speech, beneficial conduct, and impartiality. On returning to this earth, he acquired these two marks of the great man, soft and tender hands and feet, and net-like hands and feet. Being endowed with these two marks, as a ruler, how does he benefit? All his retinue are well disposed to him. Brahmin householders, citizens and villagers, treasurers, guards, doorkeepers, pages. As a Buddha, how does he benefit? All his followers are well disposed to him. Monks, nuns, male and female lay followers, devas and humans, asuras, nagas, gandabas. That is his benefit as a Buddha. This is what the Lord said. About this it was said, through giving and through helpful acts, pleasing speech and evenness of mind, of benefit to all. He at death to heaven went. When he thence returned to earth, his hands and feet were soft and tender, his toes and fingers nightwise spread. Very fair he was to see, thus the infant was endowed. He'll be ruler of the people, surrounded by a faithful flock, fair of speech, to good deeds given, in conduct virtuous and wise. But if the joys of sense he spurns, a conqueror, he will teach the path, and delighted by his words, all those who hear will follow him in Dhamma's great and lesser ways." Monks, in whatever former life, the Tathagata became a speaker to the people about their welfare, about Dhamma, explaining this to people, and being a bearer of welfare and happiness to beings, a dispenser of Dhamma. On returning to this earth, he acquired these two marks of the great man, high raised ankles and upward growing body hairs. Being endowed with these marks, as a ruler, how does he benefit? He becomes the chief, foremost, highest, supreme among the unrenounced. As a Buddha, he becomes the chief, foremost, highest, supreme among all beings. That is his benefit as a Buddha. This is what the Lord declared. About this it was said, One time he spoke of all that's good, preaching loud to all mankind, bringing blessings to all beings, liberal dispenser of the law. For such conduct and such deeds, heavenly birth was his reward. Here returned, two marks were his, marks of happiness supreme, upward growing body hairs, ankles high above the foot, built up beneath the flesh and skin, well formed above and beautiful. If he leads the household life, the greatest riches will be his. no greater man will be found. As Jambudvipa's lord, he'll rule. If supremely strong, he leads the world. He will be the chief of beings. No man greater will be found. As lord of all the world, he'll rule." Monks, in whatever former life The Tathagata became a skilled exponent of a craft, a science, a way of conduct or action, thinking. What can I learn quickly and then acquire, quickly practice without undue weariness? On returning to earth, he acquires this mark of the great man, eight legs like an antelope. Being endowed with this mark, as a ruler, he quickly acquires whatever things befit a ruler. The things that pertain to a ruler, delight him and are appropriate to him. As a Buddha likewise, this was what the Lord declared. About that it was said, arts and sciences, ways and deeds, let me learn with ease, he says. Skills that harm no living thing, fast he learned, with little toil. From such deeds, skilled and sweet, graceful and fair his limbs will be. While fairly set in spiral curves, from tender skin the hair stand up. Antelope Legate is such a man, Wealth, they say, will soon be his. Each single hairlet brings him luck if he maintains the household life. But should he choose to leave the world on renunciation's set, clear-eyed, all things he'll quickly find befitting such a lofty cause. Monks, in whatever former life, the Tathagata approached an ascetic or Brahmin and asked, Sir, what is the good? What is the bad? What is blameworthy? What is not? What cause is to be followed? What is not? What, if I do, it will be to my lasting sorrow and harm? What to my lasting happiness? On returning to this earth, he acquired this mark of the great man. Twelve, his skin is so delicate and smooth that no dust can adhere to his body. Being endowed with this mark, as a ruler, he will be very wise. And among the unrenounced, there will be none equal or superior to him in wisdom. As a Buddha, he will have great wisdom, extensive wisdom, joyous wisdom, swift wisdom, penetrative wisdom, discerning wisdom. And among all beings there will be none equal to him or superior to him in wisdom. This is what the Lord declared. About this it was said, in former days, in former births, eager to know, a questioner, he waited on the homeless ones. Keen to learn the truth, he would heed their words about life's goal. The fruit of this, when born again, as man, his skin was soft and tender. Assembled august dust declared, subtle meanings he'll discern. If he does not leave the world, he'll be a wheel revolving king. Wise to know all subtleties, equaled or surpassed by none. But should he choose to leave the world, a renunciation said, highest wisdom will be his, enlightenment supreme and vast. Stop here for a moment. This one I'm talking about. His skin is so delicate and smooth that no dust can adhere to His body, this contradicts the Vinaya books. In the Vinaya books, the Buddha said he never bathed for so long that all the dirt, all the dhaki, the dirt accumulated on his flesh and he never bothered to rub it off. It grew so thick that it just flaked off by itself. Monks, in whatever former life the Tathagata lived, without anger, perfectly unruffled, and even after many words had been uttered, was not abusive or agitated or wrathful or aggressive, displaying neither anger nor hatred nor resentment, but was in the habit of giving away fine soft rugs, cloaks, fine linen, cotton, silk, and woolen stuffs on returning to this earth. He acquired this mark of the great man, 11, a bright complexion, the color of gold. Being endowed with this mark, as a ruler, he will receive such fine stuffs as a Buddha likewise. This was what the Lord declared. About this it was said, Established in goodwill, he gave gifts of clothing, fine and soft. In former lives he does dispense, as the rain God pours down showers. This goodness brought him heavenly birth, where he rejoiced in marriage's fruit. That time passed like fine wrought gold. His body is more fair than all. the gods he seems, great Indra's like. If he lives the household life, he'll regulate this wicked world. And for what he's done, receive clothes of finest quality, rugs and coverlets of the best. And should he choose to leave the world, such things likewise he'll receive. Virtues fruit cannot be lost. Monks, in whatever former life that the Tathagata reunited those long lost with relatives, friends, and companions who had missed them, Reunited mother with child and child with mother, father with child and child with father, brother with brother, brother with sister and sister with brother, making them one again with great rejoicing. On returning to earth, he acquired this mark of the great man. 10. His male organs are enclosed in a sheath. Being endowed with this mark, as a ruler, he will have numerous sons, more than a thousand sons, powerfully built heroes, crushers of the enemy host. As a Buddha, likewise, this is what the Lord declared. About this it was said, in former days, in former births, long lost friends and relatives, companions too he brought together, thus uniting them in joy. His good deed brought heavenly birth, bliss and joy were his reward. When he thence returned to earth, sheathed and clothed his organs were. Numerous children such will have, more than a thousand sons are his, hero-champions, conquerors, and filial to the layman's joy. But if he leaves the world, still more with children he will be endowed. Those who depend upon his word, and so renounce or not, design such benefits as this portends. Monks in whatever former life at the Dāgata, considering the welfare of people, knew the nature of each, knew each one himself, and knew how each one differed. This one deserves such and such, that one deserves so and so. So he distinguished them. On returning to earth, he acquired these two marks of the great man. Nineteen, his proportion like a bunion tree, and nine, Standing without bending, He can touch and rub His knees with both hands. Being endowed with these marks, as a ruler, He will be rich of great wealth and resources, having a full treasury of gold and silver, all sorts of goods, and His granary will be full of corn. As a Buddha, He will be wealthy and rich, and these will be His treasures, faith, morality, moral shame, moral dread, learning, renunciation, and wisdom. This is what the Lord declared. About this it was said, weighing in the balance, noting, seeking people's benefit, seeing this one that deserves and that one this. He judged them. Now he can, unbending, stand and touch his knees with both his hands. And his tree-like girth and height is the fruit of virtuous deeds. Those who read the marks and signs, experts in such law, declare things that suit the household life. As a child, he'll get in plenty. much worldly wealth as this world's lord, as befits a layman, shall be his. But should he worldly wealth renounce, he'll gain the wealth that's unsurpassed. Monks, in whatever form of life the Tathagata desired the welfare of the many, their advantage, comfort, freedom from bondage, thinking how they might increase in faith, morality, learning, renunciation, in Dhamma, in wisdom, in wealth and possessions, in bipeds and quadrupeds, in wives and children, in servants, workers and helpers, in relatives, friends and acquaintances. On returning to earth, he acquired these three marks of the great man. 17. The front part of his body is like a lion's. 18. There is no hollow between his shoulders. And 20. His bust is evenly rounded. being endowed with these marks. As a ruler, he cannot lose anything, wealth and possessions, bipeds and quadrupeds, wives and children, losing nothing. He will succeed in all things. As a Buddha, he cannot lose anything, faith, morality, learning, renunciation or wisdom. Losing nothing, he will succeed in all things. This was what the Lord declared. About this it was said, faith, morality, learning, wisdom, restraint and justice, much good else. Wealth, possessions, wives and sons, flocks, kin, friends, colleagues, strength, good looks and happiness. These things he wished for others that they might keep and never lose. So lion-fronted he was born, not hollow-backed and round before. Through past good karma well stored up, with such birthmarks spared all loss. In household life he's rich in goods, in wife and sons and quadrupeds, or if renounced, possessing Supreme enlightenment is His, where no failure enters in. Monks, in whatever former life, the Tathagata was one who avoided harming beings by hand, by stone, stick, or sword. On returning to earth, he acquired this mark of the great man, 21, as a perfect sense of taste. Whatever he touches with the tip of his tongue, he tastes in his throat, and the taste is dispersed everywhere. Being endowed with this mark, as a ruler, he will suffer little distress or sickness, His digestion will be good, being neither too cold nor too hot. As a Buddha likewise, He is also equable and tolerant of exertion. This is what the Lord declared. About this it was said, harming none by hand, stick, stone, causing death to none by sword, calmness, threatening none with bonds. With happy birth, He gained the fruit of these good deeds and then reborn erect his taste buds and well-set. Those who know the marks declare, great happiness will be his lot, as layman or as wanderer. That's the meaning of this sign. Monks, in whatever former life that the Tathagata was accustomed to look at people, not askance, obliquely or furtively, but directly, openly and straightforwardly, at a kindly glance. On returning to earth, he acquired these two marks of the great man. 29. Deep blue eyes. 30. Eyelashes like a cow's. Being endowed with these marks, as a ruler, he will be looked upon with love by the common people. He will be popular and loved by Brahmin householders, citizens and villagers, treasurers, guards, doorkeepers, pages. As a Buddha, he will be popular with and loved by monks, nuns, male and female lay followers, devas and humans, asuras, nagas, and gandabas. This is what the Lord declared. About this it was said, not looking askance, or bleakly, or turning aside his glance, he looks direct and openly at folk, with candor and with kindly eye. In happy place reborn, he there enjoys the fruits of his good deeds. Reborn here, his lashes are like a cow's, his eyes are blue. Those who know such things declare, as a child with such fine eyes will be, once was looked upon with joy. If a layman does, he'll be pleasing to the sight of all. As ascetic he becomes, if ascetic he becomes, then loved as healer of folks' woes. Monks, in whatever form of life, the Tathagata became the foremost in skilled behavior, a leader in right action of body, speech, and mind, in generosity, virtuous conduct, observance of vows, in honoring father and mother, ascetics and Brahmins, and the head of the clan, and in various other proper activities. On returning to earth, he acquired this mark of the Great Man, 32, a head like a royal turban. Being endowed with this mark, as a ruler, he will receive the loyalty of Brahmin householder citizens. As a Buddha, he will receive the loyalty of monks, nuns, etc. This is what the Lord declared. About this it was said, he led the way in conduct then, intent on living righteously. Thus folk were loyal to him here, and heavenly reward was his. And after that reward was done, he reappeared with turban head. Those who know the signs declared, he will be the first of men, all will serve him in this life, just as was the case before. If a noble man of wealth, he'll gain the service of his folk. But should he leave the world, this man of doctrine will a master be, and all the folk will flock to hear the teaching that he will proclaim. Monks, in whatever former life, the Tathagata, rejecting false speech, put away lies and became a truth speaker, wedded to the truth, reliable, consistent, not deceiving the world. On returning to earth, he acquired these two marks of the great man. Thirteen, his body hair separate, one to each paw, and 31, the hair between his brows white and soft like cotton down. Being endowed with these marks, as a ruler, he will be obeyed by Brahmin householders, etc. As a Buddha, he will be obeyed by monks, etc. This is what the Lord declared. About this it was said, true to his promise in past births, sincere of speech, he shunned all lies, breaker of his word to none. He pleased by truth and honesty. white and bright and soft as down, the hair appeared between his brows. From one paw, no two hairs grew, but each one separate appeared. Assembled augurs thus declared, with such a mark between the brows and such hairs, he'll be obeyed by all. And if a layman still, they'll respect him for past deeds. If renounced, possessionless, as Buddha, they will worship him. monks, in whatever life the Tathagata, rejecting slander, abstained from it, not repeating there what he had heard here, to the detriment of these, or repeating what he had heard there to the detriment of those. Thus he was a reconciler of those at variance, and an encourager of those at want, rejoicing in peace, loving it, delighting in it, one who spoke up for peace. On returning to earth, he acquired these two marks of the great man. 23, 40 teeth and 25, no spaces between the teeth. Being endowed with these marks, as a ruler, his followers, Brahmin, householder, citizens, etc. will not be divided among themselves. Likewise, as a Buddha, his followers, monks, nuns, etc. will not be divided among themselves. So is what the Lord declared. About this it was said, He is no speaker of wicked words that cause dissension or increase it. prolonging strife and bitterness, leading to good friendships end. What he spoke was all for peace and relinking severed bonds. His power he used to end all strife. Harmony was his delight. In happy realm reborn, he there enjoyed the fruits of his good deeds. Return to earth, his teeth grew close, 40 of them firmly set. If a noble man of wealth, gentle will be his subjects. If a recluse free from taint, well set up his flock will be. Monks, in whatever former life, the Tathagata, rejecting harsh speech, abstained from it, spoke what was blameless, pleasing to the ear, agreeable, reaching the heart, obeying, pleasing and attractive to the multitude. On returning to earth, he acquired these two marks of the great man. Twenty-seven, his tongue was very long, and twenty-eight, He had a Brahma-like voice, like the Karavika bird. Being endowed with these marks, as a ruler, he would have a persuasive voice. All Brahmin householders, citizens, etc. would take his words to heart. As a Buddha too, he would have a persuasive voice. All monks, nuns, etc. would take his words to heart. This was what the Lord declared. About this it was said, he is no speaker of abuse, harsh and painful, hurting folk, His voice was gentle, kind, and sweet, appealing to the hearts of folk, and delightful to the ears. In happy realm reborn, he there enjoyed the fruits of his good deeds, having tasted this reward. With Brahma voice endowed, to earth he returned, and longed his tongue. And what he says will carry weight. If layman, he will prosper much. But if this man should leave the world, folk will take his words to heart. and set great store by all he says. Monks, in whatever former life, the Tathagata, rejecting idle chatter, spoke at the right time, what was correct and to the point of Dhamma and Vinaya, and what was bound up with profit. On returning to earth, he acquired this mark of the great man, jaws like a lion's. Being endowed with this mark as a ruler, he cannot be overcome by any human foe or opponent. As a Buddha, he cannot be overcome by any foe or hostile thing, from within or without, by lust, hatred or delusion, by any ascetic or Brahmin, Deva, Mara, Brahma, or anything in the world. This was what the Lord declared. About this it was said, No idle talk or foolishness. Fruit of scatterbrain was his. Harmful things he put aside, speaking only all men's good. And so at death he went to heaven. to taste the fruit of deeds well done, return to earth once more. His jaw resembles that of him that's Lord of all twice two-footed things. He will be a king unbeaten, Lord of men of mighty power, like the Lord of threefold heaven, like the greatest of all of the gods. Gandabas, Sakkas, Asuras will strive in vain to cast him down. As layman does, he'll be throughout all the quarters of the world. Monks, in whatever form of life, the Tathagata, rejecting wrong livelihood, lived by right livelihood, refraining from cheating with false weights and measures, from bribery and corruption, deception and insincerity, from wounding, killing, imprisoning, highway robbery and taking goods by force, or returning to earth, he acquired these two marks of the great man, 24, even teeth and 26, very bright canine teeth. Big and dull with these marks, if he keeps to the household life, he will be a wheel-turning monarch. As a ruler, his followers, Brahmin householders, etc., will be pure. But if he goes forth from the household life into homelessness, as a Buddha, his followers, monks, nuns, etc., will be pure. This is what the Lord declared. About this it was said, wrongful living He gave up, and took a pure and righteous course. Harmful things He cast aside, working only for folk's good. Heaven brings Him sweet reward for deeds He's done that earn the praise. Of those who are wise and skilled, He shares in all delights and joys, like the Lord of threefold heaven. Falling thence to human state, as residue of virtuous fruit, He gains evenness of teeth, purity and brightness too. assembled augurs thus declared, will be the wisest of mankind, and pure his followers will be, whose even teeth like birds' plumes shine, as king his pure retainers will bow to his, their lord's command. Not oppressed by force, they will strive for general will and joy. But if he dwells a wanderer, free from evil, all lust-quenched, drawing back the veil, with pain and weariness all gone. He'll see this world and the next, and there lay folk and renowns who flock to cast aside, as he has taught, those impure evil things he blames. Thus his followers are pure, for he drives out from their hearts evil and corrupting states." That's the end of the sutta. I think we'll stop here for tonight. This is one of the suttas where they try to praise the Buddha. And in praising the Buddha, they, how do you say, go over the hill. And besides, all these marks are not important. They are only important maybe to the Brahmins at that time. Hard to believe that this sutra was spoken by the Buddha because it has nothing to do with the Four Noble Truths. The one that was put out by Japanese looks like Japanese. Just like Buddha statues. Buddha by Chinese look like Chinese. The one put up by Indians look like Indians. I think this topic goes to the most profound, profound voice, the most profound, profound person that I've ever talked to, which is my mom. Does it have anything to do with what you do with your dad? Do you deny him? Do you at least, don't seem to be prejudiced? Do you know him somewhere? Going to all of those discussions, Yes, in the Buddha's time, the nuns, they live separately. Only during the Vassa, they're supposed to stay in a monastery where there are monks. So at other times they live separately and they only came to the monks for dhamma teaching once in two weeks during the Uposatha. And probably the monk only teach them for about an hour. So most of the time the Buddha was not with them. That's why the dhamma talks, they were not there. And also we noticed from the Suttas and the Vinaya, the Buddha seldom talked to the nuns. He seemed to talk generally only to the Arahant nuns and these Arahant nuns, some of them with psychic power, sometimes they would come and see the Buddha in the middle of the night when the Buddha was more free because during the daytime the Buddha would be quite busy. People come to see the Buddha, disciples come to ask questions and all these things. and also the Buddha wanted to be alone to meditate. But at night, when people were sleeping, the Buddha was quite active. Sometimes devas would come to visit the Buddha in the middle of the night and ask questions and all that. And sometimes the Buddha would spend the night contemplating Dhamma, for example, like not long after he was enlightened, he wanted to understand the dependent origination, but teach us some Upada in more detail. I spent the whole night contemplating dependent origination. I think when the nuns teach the nuns to take meditation, we know the nuns' purpose to teach, we say that the nuns go to the nuns for teaching, but not about the teachings, the preceptors, I mean the teachings, it has to be the preceptors, the preceptors will be guiding them, That is day-to-day guidance. The nun, acharya and the upajaya, the teachers and the preceptors will guide them day-to-day. But this dhamma teaching that once in two weeks on the Uposatha days, the Buddha asked what we call maha-teras, those who have been ordained with the higher ordination for 20 or more years, and their experience, then they are the ones, in other words, the most senior monks will teach the nuns. In Vietnam, on the basis of their faith and their experience, who are they supposed to get instruction from? From their disciples or nuns? Maechis actually are not nuns. Maechis are aid preceptors. Maechis are aid preceptors just because they want to stay long in the monastery, they shave their head. So in the Thai tradition, Maechis are not considered as nuns, as equivalent to lay people. So, there are some forest monasteries in Thailand, they don't accept, they don't allow, not say don't allow, they don't ordain Meche, but they have quarters for lay people to stay. So, whether it's lay people, eight preceptors, they can stay. So because if the monks want to practice, then they don't want to be burdened with looking after the Mechi and all that. Actually, from experience, we have seen Mechis who come here, they can cause a lot of trouble. So, especially if they think they are going to stay long, then they become too smug. They think they are the long-time residents here, or they are somebody, because they wear the robe. To be frank, my personal attitude is also I'm very reluctant to ordain Meche. Only if somebody is very, very up to the mark, very, very sincere, then only I will ordain. Otherwise, I'm very reluctant to ordain. Anybody can stay here as an aid preceptor, whether men or women. Yeah, of course, there is recognition as Meiji. They are recognized as Mecci, that means they are eight preceptors, but they are dedicated to staying in the monastery. Whereas those who don't shave their head, even though they are eight preceptors, they can come in and go out and all this thing. But once you shave their head and you ordain under a teacher, there are obligations. You're not so free to run here, run there. So it's more convenient for men and women to remain as eight preceptors without shaving their head. Then they can go here, go there. Yeah, something like that. So they are not free to go here and go there. If they go without the teacher's permission, then the teacher doesn't recognize them as a disciple anymore. Yes, yes. Actually, if a person practices well, whether layman or laywoman, and is diligent, does his duty, doesn't create problems, then generally any monastery will welcome that person. So, the woman don't really have to become a Maechi, as long as of good behavior, can be welcome anywhere, don't have to renounce. Okay, we'll end here.

56-DN-31-Sigalaka-(2011-08-09).txt

Tonight is the 9th of August and this is the 24th time we are speaking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Now we come to Sutta 31, Sigalaka Sutta or Sigalovada Sutta. It's about this man Sigala or Sigalaka. Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was staying at Rajagaha, at the squirrel's feeding place in the bamboo grove. And at that time, Sigalaka, the householder's son, having got up early and gone out of Rajagaha, was paying homage with wet clothes and hair, and with joined palms to the different directions, to the east, the south, the west, north, nadir, and zenith. And the Lord, having risen early and dressed, took his robe and bowl, and went to Rajagaha for alms. And seeing Sri Galaka paying homage to the different directions, he said, householder son, why have you got up early to pay homage to the different directions? And he said, Lord, my father, when he was dying, told me to do so. And so Lord, out of respect for my father's words, which I revere, honour and hold sacred, I've got up thus early to pay homage in this way to the six directions. And the Buddha said, But householder's son, that is not the right way to pay homage to the six directions according to the Aryan discipline. And he asked, Well, Lord, how should one pay homage to the six directions according to the Aryan discipline? It would be good if the Blessed Lord were to teach me the proper way to pay homage to the six directions according to the Aryan discipline. And the Buddha said, Then listen carefully, pay attention, and I will speak. Yes, Lord said to see Galacca. And the Lord said, young householder, it is by abandoning the four defilements of action or the four defiling actions, by not doing evil from the four causes, by not following the six ways of wasting one substance, through avoiding these 14 evil ways, that the Aryan disciple covers the six directions, and by such practice becomes a conqueror of both worlds, so that all will go well with him. in this world and the next, and at the breaking up of the body after death, he will go to a good destination, a heavenly world. So this Sigala, just because his father asked him to pay homage to the six directions for security, for blessings from the devas and all that, so he followed. But the Buddha said, that is not the way to do it. And so here Buddha is going to explain. What are the four defilements of action that are abandoned? Taking life is one. Taking what is not given is one. Sexual misconduct is one. Lying speech is one. These are the four defiling actions that he abandons. Thus the Lord spoke. And the well-farer having spoken, the teacher added, taking life and stealing, lying, adultery, the wise disprove. the wise reproof. What are the four causes of evil from which he refrains? Evil actions springs from desire, chanda. It springs from ill will or anger, dosa. It springs from delusion, moha. It springs from fear, bhaya. If the Aryan disciple does not act out of desire, anger, delusion or fear. He will not do evil from any one of the four causes. Thus the Lord spoke. And the well-farer, having spoken, the teacher added, Desire and anger or hatred, fear and delusion. He who breaks the law through these, loses all his fair repute, like the moon at waning time. Desire and hatred, fear and delusion. He who never yields to these, grows in goodness and repute. like the moon at waxing time. Stop here for a moment. So here, the basic four defiling actions are not to kill, not to steal, not to engage in sexual misconduct, and not to lie. And we do evil because of four reasons, four causes, because of desire. Sometimes we desire something, then we steal, We commit sexual misconduct and all that. And because of anger, sometimes we may kill our hatred. And because of delusion, we may also do something wrong. And because of fear, sometimes some people, they see the snake come into their house. Out of fear, they kill the snake first. So these are the four causes of doing wrong. And which are the six ways of wasting one substance that he does not follow? Addiction to strong drink and sloth-producing drugs is one way of wasting one's substance. Haunting the streets at unfitting times is one. Attending fairs is one. Being addicted to gambling is one. Keeping bad company is one. Habitual idleness is one. There are these six dangers attached to addiction to strong drink and sloth-producing drugs. present waste of money, increased quarrelling, liability to sickness, loss of good name, indecent exposure of one's person, and weakening of the intellect. There are these six dangers attached to haunting the streets at unfitting times. One is defenceless and without protection. And so are one's wife and children. And so is one's property. One is suspected of crimes, and false reports are pinned on one, and one encounters all sorts of unpleasantness. There are these six dangers attached to frequenting fairs. One is always thinking, where is their dancing? Where is their singing? Where are they playing music? Where are they reciting? Where is their hand clapping? Where are the drums? There are these six dangers attached to gambling. The winner makes enemies. The loser bewails his loss. One weighs one's present wealth. One's word is not trusted in the assembly. One is despised by one's friends and companions. One is not in demand for marriage because a gambler cannot afford to maintain a wife. There are these six dangers attached to keeping bad company. Any gambler, any glutton, any drunkard, any cheat, any trickster, any bully is his friend, his companion. There are these six dangers attached to idleness. Thinking it's too cold, one does not work. Thinking it's too hot, one does not work. Thinking it's too early, one does not work. Thinking it's too late, one does not work. Thinking I'm too hungry, one does not work. Thinking, I am too full, one does not work. Thus the Lord spoke. And the well-farer, having spoken, the teacher added, Some are drinking-maids, and some profess their friendship to your face. But those who are your friends in need, they alone are friends indeed. Sleeping late, adultery, picking quarrels, doing harm, evil friends and stinginess, these six things destroy a man. He who goes with wicked friends, and spends his time in wicked deeds. In this world and the next as well, that man will come to suffer woe. Dicing, wenching, drinking too, dancing, singing, daylight sleep, untimely prowling, evil friends and stinginess destroy a man. He plays with dice and drinks strong drink, and goes with others' well-loved wives. He takes the lower, baser course and fades away like waning moon. The drunkard, broke and destitute, ever thirsting as he drinks, like stone in water, sinks in depth, soon bereft of all his skin. He who spends his days in sleep and makes the night his waking time, ever drunk and lecherous, cannot keep a decent home. Too cold, too hot, too late, they cry. thus pushing all their work aside, till every chance they might have had of doing good has slipped away. But he who reckons coal and heat as less than straws, and like a man undertakes the task in hand, his joy will never grow the less." So here it's all about the six ways of wasting one substance. A lot of people when we are young, we are full of energy. And so we never think about this. And drink, as they say, wine, women, and song. So we enjoy too much. After some time, we will feel the effect. Some people enjoy too much and all their blessings used up. And then they find they have cancer, they have this disease, they have that disease. So, one is addiction to strong drink and drugs. Another one is haunting the streets at unfitting times. I'm trying to see in the newspaper, a lot of people get into trouble because they go out in the very late at night, or you can say early hours of the morning, 2 or 3 a.m. Then they get into, either they are robbed, they are raped, kidnapped or anything. murdered also sometimes. Third one is frequenting fairs or shows, where there is entertainment. Then gambling. This one is referring to a perpetual gambler, addicted to gambling. And then keeping bad company. When we keep whatever company, we are influenced by the company. So that's why it's very dangerous for young people to mix with the wrong company. And then laziness, always giving an excuse not to work. And the Buddha continued, householder's son, there are these four types who can be seen as foes in friendly guise. In other words, friends who are really foes or enemies. The man who is all take is one. The great talker is one. The flatterer is one. and the fellow's penthrift is one." These are the four types of friends who are actually foes or enemies. The man who is all take can be seen to be a false friend for four reasons. He takes everything. He wants a lot for very little. What he must do, he does out of fear, and he seeks his own ends, his own benefit. The great talker can be seen to be a false friend for four reasons. He talks of favours in the past and in the future. He mouths empty phrases of goodwill. And when something needs to be done in the present, he pleads inability owing to some disaster. The flatterer can be seen to be a false friend for four reasons. He ascends to bad actions. He descends from good actions. He praises you to your face and he disparages you behind your back. The fellow's penthrift can be seen to be a false friend for four reasons. He is a companion when you indulge in strong drinks. when you haunt the streets at unfitting times, when you frequent fairs, and when you indulge in gambling. Thus the Lord spoke. And the well-farer, having spoken, the teacher added, The friend who seeks what he can get, the friend who talks by empty words, the friend who merely flatters you, the friend who is a fellow-wastrel, These four are really foes, not friends. The wise man, recognizing this, should hold himself aloof from them as from some path of panic fear." Stop here for a moment. So these so-called friends, false friends, the first one is a very selfish fellow. What he can get? is that all take everything to its advantage. The second one is the great talker. Third one is the flatterer, always praising you in front of you, but talking bad about you behind. Then the fellow spender is one who will lead you to wine, women, and song, enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. Householder's son, there are these four types who can be seen as loyal friends. The friend who is a helper is one. The friend who is the same in happy and unhappy times is one. The friend who points out what is good for you is one. And the friend who is sympathetic is one. The helpful friend can be seen to be a loyal friend in four ways. He looks after you when you are inattentive. He looks after your possessions when you are inattentive. He is a refuge when you are afraid, and when some business is to be done, He lets you have twice what you asked for. The friend who is the same in happy and unhappy times can be seen to be a loyal friend in four ways. He tells you His secrets. He guards your secrets. He does not let you down in misfortune. He would even sacrifice His life for you. The friend who points out what is good for you can be seen to be a loyal friend in four ways. He keeps you from wrongdoing. He supports you in doing good. He informs you of what you did not know. And he points out the path to heaven. The sympathetic friend can be seen to be a loyal friend in four ways. He does not rejoice at your misfortune. He rejoices at your good fortune. He stops others who speak against you, and He commends or praises those who speak in praise of you. Thus the Lord spoke. And the well-farer, having spoken thus, the teacher added, The friend who is a helper, and the friend in times both good and bad, the friend who shows the way that's right, the friend who's full of sympathy, these four kinds of friends the wise should know at their true worth. and he should cherish them with care, just like a mother with her dearest child. The wise man, trained and disciplined, shines out like a beacon fire. He gathers wealth just as the bee gathers honey, and it grows like an anthill higher still. With wealth so gained, the layman can devote it to his people's good. He should divide his wealth in four. One part he may enjoy at will, Two parts he should put to work. The fourth part he should set aside as reserved in times of need. So here the loyal friend is the true friend, one who is very helpful to you, always looking after your welfare. The second one is really loyal to you, whether you are happy or you are bankrupt. You have some, a lot of people when you are bankrupt, so-called friends are all run away. So if your friend still sticks with you when you are down and out, that's a real friend. And the third one who gives you good advice is a knowledgeable person. The fourth one is a sympathetic friend. He's He stops other people from talking bad about you, and he praises you in front of others. So these are the four true friends. And how householder's son, the last part here, it says, money should be, money grows like an anthill higher still. You've seen an anthill? We have a few in the monastery. They build very slowly. Every night they build a bit, every night they build a bit. So in life also. lay people, you gather your wealth slowly, slowly. But a lot of people, very big hearted, they want to sapu one time, make a big kill. That's dangerous because easy come, easy go. So you find people who go to the casino, make a lot of money one day, another day they are bankrupt. Because you get the money so easily, you don't value it. Last time my father told me I had a relation, inherited a big fortune from the father. And then he had bad friends, the friends would bring him to drink, to gamble, to look for women and all these things. After several years, I don't know how long, maybe 10 years or so, all his fortune was wasted, all gone, and he became a pauper. When that happened, all his friends ran away. Then he finally ended up almost like a beggar. Nobody wants to know him because he's penniless. So if money comes too fast, it's dangerous. That's why here the Buddha says, it grows like an anthill. Then when you have money, one part you can enjoy, one quarter, and then one half, You should put to work, invest somewhere. And then the fourth part, you should save. One quarter you should save. This is just a rough guide. No, no, no. And now, and how householder's son? Does the Aryan disciple protect the six directions? These six things are to be regarded as the six directions. The east denotes mother and father, parents. The south denotes teachers. The west denotes wife and children. The north denotes friends and companions. The nadir, is the bottom, denotes servants, workers, and helpers. The zenith denotes ascetics and Brahmins. So this is the, finally, the way the Buddha is trying to tell him how to protect the six directions. There are five ways in which a son should minister to his mother and father as the eastern direction. He should think Having been supported by them, I will support them. I will perform their duties for them. I will keep up the family tradition. I will be worthy of my heritage. After my parents' deaths, I will distribute gifts on their behalf." And there are five ways in which the parents, so ministered to by their son, as the Eastern Direction, will reciprocate they will restrain him from evil, support him in doing good, teach him some skill, find him a suitable wife, and in due time, hand over his inheritance to him. In this way, the eastern direction is covered, making it at peace and free from fear." I'll stop here for a moment. So here, the duties towards parents are spelled out here. But many of you are parents yourself, so here are the duties also of parents to children. Restrain them from evil, this is very important. From young, must not allow them to mix with bad company. I remember when I was young, I was in, during my times, there were a lot of gangs, and always fighting and killing each other. And my family and parents and brothers and sisters always was very careful not to allow me to go out and mix with bad company. Now I reflect back, if they weren't so strict, I would have become one of the gangsters or so. Even I didn't mix with them also got into a lot of fights. Why? Because Sometimes you don't want to look for a fight, so they come and disturb you. So, and then support him in doing good. Encourage him, for example, to go to Sunday school, the Buddhist Sunday school. And then, yeah, that's not so important. There are five ways in which pupils should minister to their teachers as the Southern Direction. by rising to greet them, by waiting on them, by being attentive, by serving them, by mastering the skills they teach. And there are five ways in which their teachers, thus ministered to by their pupils as the Southern Direction, will reciprocate. They will give thorough instruction, make sure they have grasped what they should have duly grasped, give them a thorough grounding in all skills, recommend them to their friends and colleagues, and provide them with security in all directions. In this way, the sudden direction is covered, making it at peace and free from fear." Stop here for a moment. Here, talking about duties to teachers and all that. Nowadays, I noticed in Malaysia, a lot of Buddhist societies, they are teaching this, teach the kuih. It's a disciple, how do you say, duties of disciples. They teach them to school children, to Sunday school children and all this. And this comes from Confucius. I'm so confused. So this Amitabha monk, what's his name? Qing Kong has popularized this in China and in all the Amitabha centers. And the other day, somebody sent a copy. It has English and Chinese. I look at the English and I was surprised to find many of the things inside there Exactly like in the Vinaya books, the monk's Vinaya books, what the disciple's duty is towards the teacher, very similar. It's something nowadays we need because after so many years, it looks like the Malaysian Chinese have lost a lot of their culture. It might still be in Hong Kong or in China, but in Malaysia, they have lost a lot of it. So we must go back to the basics. There are five ways in which a husband should minister to his wife as the Western direction by honouring her, by not disparaging her, by not being unfaithful to her, by giving authority to her, by providing her with adornments. And there are five ways in which a wife, thus ministered to by her husband as the Western direction, will reciprocate by properly organising her work, by being kind to the servants, by not being unfaithful, by protecting stores, and by being skilful and diligent in all she has to do. In this way, the Western direction is covered, making it at peace and free from fear. This Sutta, Sigalovada Sutta, I've spoken in, I've spoken before. So one of my supporters in Penang, he was telling his friends about this and it seems one monk heard that he said that the husband should provide adornments for the wife, by the wife, Let the wife, you know, adorn herself and look pretty and all that. That monk is not familiar with this suttas and scolded him. How can he simply talk like that? He thought the Buddha won't say such a thing. But he's here in the suttas and not lying. So that's why when a person is not familiar with the suttas, a lot of things you don't know. There are five ways in which a man should minister to his friends and companions as the northern direction, by gifts, by kindly words, by looking after their welfare, by treating them like himself, and by keeping his word. And there are five ways in which friends and companions thus minister to by a man as the northern direction, or reciprocate, by looking after him when he's inattentive, by looking after his property when he's inattentive, by being a refuge when he's afraid, by not deserting him when he's in trouble, and by showing concern for his children. In this way, the northern direction is covered, making it at peace and free from fear. Earlier, we heard about true friends, or loyal friends, and false friends. So here is talking about how friends should behave towards each other. If you look after your friends, your friends also will look after you. There are five ways in which a master should minister to his servants and work people as the nadir, by arranging their work according to their strength, by supplying them with food and wages, by looking after them when they are ill, by sharing special delicacies with them. and by letting them off work at the right time. And there are five ways in which servants and work people, thus ministered to by their master as the nadir, will reciprocate. They will get up before him, go to bed after him, take only what they are given, do their work properly, and be bearers of his praise and good repute. In this way, the nadir is covered, making it at peace and free from fear. Stop here for a moment. So here is how to treat your workers, servants and workers. If you look after them properly, then they will reciprocate, give a good service to the employer and also praise the employer and all that. There are five ways in which a man should minister to ascetics and Brahmins or monks. as the Zenith, by kindness in bodily speech, in bodily deed, speech and thought, and mind, by keeping open house for them, by supplying their bodily needs. And the ascetics and Brahmins, thus ministered to by Him as the Zenith, will reciprocate in six ways. They will restrain Him from evil, encourage Him to do good, be benevolently compassionate towards Him, teach him what he has not heard, clarify what he has heard, and point out to him the way to heaven. In this way the zenith is covered, making it at peace and free from fear. Thus the Lord spoke." So stop here for a moment. So here lay people should be kind towards monks as ascetics through action, speech, and mind. and the house always open to them and is welcome them and supplying their requisites. And then it's a duty of the monks and ascetics to teach the lay people the Dhamma so that they are, if they practice the Dhamma, they will go to heaven. And the well-farer having spoken, the teacher added, mother, father are the ease. Teachers are the southward point. Wife and children are the west. Friends and colleagues are the north. Servants and workers are below. Ascetics, Brahmins are above. These directions all should be honoured by a clansman true. He who's wise and disciplined, kindly and intelligent, humble, free from pride. Such a one may honour gain. Early rising, scorning sloth, unshaken by adversity, of faultless conduct, ready with, such a one may honour gain. Making friends and keeping them, welcoming, no stingy host, a guide, philosopher and friend, such a one may honour gain. Giving gifts and kindly speech, a life well spent for others' good, even-handed in all things, impartial as each case demands. These things make the world go round, like the chariot's axle pin. If such things did not exist, no mother from her son would get any honour and respect, nor father either as their due. But since these qualities are held by the wise in high esteem, they are given prominence and are rightly praised by all. At these words, Sikalaka said to the Lord, Excellent Reverend Gautama, excellent! It is as if someone were to set up what had been knocked down, or to point out the way to one who had got lost, or to bring an oil lamp into a dark place, so that those with eyes could see what was there. Just so, the Reverend Gautama has expounded the Dhamma in various ways. May the Reverend Gautama accept me as a lay follower from this day forth, as long as life shall last. It's the end of the sutta. You see in the middle here, giving gifts and kindly speech, a life well spent for others good. A lot of people are selfish. Our life we spend for our own good only, seeking as much benefit for oneself as possible. But If we spend our life for the good, not only of others, not only of ourselves, but for everyone, at the end of life, which is very soon, then you will not regret. A lot of people are very selfish. And when the end comes, they have a lot of remorse. I didn't do this for people. I harmed this person. I hurt that person and all this thing. We go through another sutta. We can discuss this later.

57-DN-32-Atanatiya-(2011-08-09).txt

Sutta number 32, Atanatiya Sutta. These are the verses of protection. Thus have I heard, once the Lord was staying at Rajagaha on Vulture's Peak, and the four great kings with a great array of Yakas, of Gandabas, of Kumbandas and of Nagas, having set up a guard, a defensive force, a watch over the four quarters, As night was drawing to a close, went to see the Lord, lighting up the entire vulture's peak with their radiance, saluted Him and sat down to one side. And some of the yakas saluted Him and sat down to one side. Some exchanged courtesies with Him before sitting down. Some saluted Him with joined palms. Some announced their name and clan, and some sat down in silence. Stop here for a moment. These four great kings, it's the lowest heaven in the desire realm. And a lot of these, because they are low devas, they are quite fierce, yakas, nagas. It doesn't mention the others, like Garudas and all that. So when the night was drawing to a close, that means the early hours of the morning, maybe 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. Then sitting to one side, King Vaisavana, King Vaisavana is the chief of the Devarajas of the Yakas, said to the Lord, Lord, there are some prominent Yakas who have no faith in the Blessed Lord and others who have faith. And likewise, there are Yakas of middle and lower rank who have no faith in the Blessed Lord and others who have faith. But Lord, The majority of yakas have no faith in the Blessed Lord. Why is this? The Blessed Lord teaches a code of refraining from taking life, from taking what is not given, from sexual misconduct, from lying speech and from strong drink and sloth-producing drugs. But the majority of the yakas do not refrain from these things. and to do so is distasteful and unpleasant to them. Now, Lord, there are disciples of the Blessed Lord who dwell in remote forest glades, where there is little noise or shouting, far from the madding crowd, hidden from people suitable for retreat, and there are prominent yakkas living there. who have no faith in the word of the Blessed Lord. In order to give these folk confidence, may the Blessed Lord learn the Athanata protective verses by means of which monks and nuns, male and female lay followers may dwell guarded, protected, unharmed and at ease. And the Lord consented by silence." Stop here for a moment. So here, this Yakka Devarajah Yakas are fierce beings. I think mountain spirits, they call it suasin, sun, sun. Sometimes people go up the hills and then they are not seen anymore. Because as he says here, majority of yakas do not keep the precepts. The Buddha always teach people to refrain from killing, from stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and strong drink. But the yakas like these things. To keep the precepts to them is very unpleasant. So they don't like the Buddha, they don't like the Buddha's disciples, majority of them. So if the monks stay in remote forest areas, if they meet these yakas, and the yakas don't like the monks, it's quite dangerous. So this Yaka Devaraja, he wants to teach the Buddha this paritta, this protective chant. He is requesting the Buddha to teach the monks and nuns and lay followers so as to be protected by this paritta. Then King Vesavana, noting the Lord's consent, at once recited these Atthanatta protective verses. This is the one we chant also, very often. Vipassisa namatu cakumantassa sirimato sikhisapi namatu. This one. Glory be to Vipassi, the splendid one of mighty vision. Glory be to Sikhi too, the compassionate to all. Glory be to Vesabu, bathed in pure asceticism. These three are not in our world system. Long ago they lived. And then Kakusanda onwards is in our world system. To Kakusanda, glory be, victor over Mara's foes. To Konagamana, glory too. Brahmin fully, actually it's Brahmana, fully perfect he. Glory be to Kasapa, liberated every way. Glory to Angirasa, Sakyan's radiant son, teacher of the Dhamma that overcomes all suffering. And they who from this world are free, seeing to the heart of things. They who are so mild of speech, mighty and of wisdom too. To him who helps both gods and men. To Gautama they offer praise, in wisdom trained, in conduct too, mighty and resourceful too. The point from where the sun comes up, Aditya's child, in mighty art, at whose arising shrouding night is dispelled and vanishes, so that with the risen sun there comes to be what folk call day. There too this moving watery mass, the deep and mighty ocean swells, this men know, and this they call ocean or the swelling sea. This quarter is the east or first. That is how the people call it. This quarters guarded by a king, mighty in power and fame is he, lord of all the Gandabas. Dattarata is his name, honored by the Gandabas. Their songs and dances he enjoys. He has many mighty sons, eighty, ten, and one, they say, and all with but a single name, called after Indra, lord of strength. And when the Buddha greets their gaze, Buddha, kinsman of the Sun, from afar they offer homage to the Lord of Wisdom True. Hail, O man of noble race! Hail to you, the first of men! In kindness you have looked on us, who, though not human, honour you. Often asked, do we revere Gautama the Conqueror? We reply, we do revere Gautama, great conqueror. In wisdom trained, in conduct too, Buddha Gautama we hail. Where they whom men call betas dwell, abusive speakers, slanderers, murderers and greedy folk, thieves and cunning tricksters all. This quarter is the South, they say. That is how the people call it. This quarter's guarded by a king, Mighty in power and fame is he, Lord of all the Kumbhandas, And Virulhaka is his name. Honored by the Kumbhandas, Their songs and dances he enjoys. The point at which the sun goes down, Aditya's child in mighty hour, With whose setting day is done, At night, the shrouder, as men say, Comes again in daylight's place. There, too, this moving watery mass, The deep and mighty ocean swells. This they know, and this men call Ocean or the swelling sea. This quarter is the west, or last. Such is how the people call it. This quarter is guarded by a king, Mighty in power and fame is he. Lord of all the Naga folk, and Wirupaka's his name, honoured by the Naga folk, their songs and dances he enjoys. Where lovely northern Kuru lies, under mighty Neru fair, there men dwell a happy race, possessionless, not owning wives. They have no need to scatter seed, they have no need to draw the plough. Of itself the ripened crop presents itself for men to eat. free from powder and from husks, sweet of scent, the finest rice, boiling on hot oven stones. such the food that they enjoy. The ox their single seated mount, thus they write about the land. Using women as a mount, thus they write about the land. Using men to serve as mount, thus they write about the land. Using maidens as a mount, thus they write about the land. Using boys to serve as mount, thus they write about the land. and so carried by such mounts all the region they traverse in the service of their king. Elephants they ride and horses too. Cars fit for gods they have as well. Splendid palanquins are there for the royal retinue. Cities too they have, well built, soaring up into the skies. Atanata, Kusinata, Parakusinata, Natapuria is theirs. And Parakusinata Kusita Nata, Kapivantas to the north, Janoga, other cities too, Navanavatiya, Ambaravatiya, Alakamanda, city royal. But where Kuvera dwells, their lord is called Visana. Whence the king bears the name Visavana. Those who bear his missions are Tatola, Tatala, Tototala, then Tejasi, Tatojasi, Sura, Raja, Arita, Nemi. There's the mighty water Dharani, source of rain clouds which pour down when the rainy season comes. Bagalavati is there, the hall that is the yaka's meeting place. Rounded, ever-fruiting trees full of many kinds of birds, where peacocks scream and herons cry, and the kaku gently calls. The jiva bird who cries, live on, and he that sings, lift up your hearts. The peasant cock, Kuliraka, the forest crane, the rice bird too, and minor birds that mimic man, and those whose name is men on stilts. And there forever beauteous lies, fair Kuvera's lotus lake. This quarter is the north, they say. That is how the people call it. This quarter is guarded by a king. Mighty in power and fame is he, lord of all the Yaka folk. And Kuvera is his name, honored by the Yaka folk. Their songs and dances he enjoys. He has many mighty sons. 80, 10, and 1, they say, and all with but a single name, called after Indra, Lord of Strength. And when the Buddha greets their gaze, Buddha, Kinsman of the Sun, from afar they offer homage to the Lord of Wisdom True. Hail, O man of noble race! Hail to you, the first of men! In kindness you have looked on us, who, though not human, honor you. Often asked, do we revere Gautama, the Conqueror? We reply, we do revere Gautama, great conqueror, in wisdom trained, in conduct too. Buddha Gautama we hail. Stop here for a moment. So you see here this yaka, funny, they go around, riding on men, women, boys and all that. Maybe these men, women, boys are lower, lower beings. Otherwise, some of the things mentioned here, they have birds, they have kaku, they have the minor bird. Some of the things seem to be like earth. They eat rice also, cook on hot stones. Okay, to continue. These are the Atanatta protective verses. by means of which monks and nuns, male and female lay followers, may dwell guarded, protected, unharmed and at ease. If any monk or nun, male or female lay follower, learns these verses well and has them off by heart, then if any non-human being, male or female yakka, or yakka offspring, or chief attendant, or servant of the Yakas, any male or female Gandaba, Kumbanda, Naga, should approach that person with hostile intent. while he or she is walking or starting to walk, standing or rising to stand, seated or sitting down, lying down or starting to lie down. That non-human being would not gain any honour or respect in village or town. Such a being would not gain a footing or a lodging in my royal city of Alakamanda. He would not be admitted to the Yakas Assembly. Now would he be acceptable for taking or giving in marriage? And all the non-human beings, full of rage, would overwhelm him with abuse. Then they would bend down his head like an empty bowl, and they would split his skull into seven pieces. Let's stop here for a moment. So you see in the world of Yaakas. So in the world of Yaakas, they are very fierce. You do something wrong, you split his skull into seven pieces. There are, sir, some non-human beings who are fierce, wild and terrible. They heed neither the great kings, nor their officers, nor their attendants. They are said to be in revolt against the great kings. Just as the bandit chiefs whom the king of Magadha has overcome do not do not heed him, or his officers, or their attendants, so too do they behave. Now if any yakka or yakka offspring, gandaba, etc., should approach any monk, nun, male or female lay follower with hostile intent, that person should alarm, call out and shout to those yakkas, the great yakkas, their commanders and commanders-in-chief, saying, this yakka has seized me, has hurt me, harmed me, injured me, and will not let me go. Which are the Yakas, the great Yakas, their commanders and commanders-in-chief? They are Inda, Soma, Varuna, Bharadvaja, Pajapati, Chandana, Kamasetha, Kinugandhu and Nigandhu. Panada, Upamanya, Devasuta, Matali, Cittasena, Degandaba, Nala, Raja, Janisaba, Satagira, Hemavata, Punaka, Karatia, Gula, Sivaka, Mucalinda, Tu. Vesamitha, Ugandara, Gopala, Supageda II, Hiri, Neti and Mandya, Panchala, Chanda, Alavaka, Pajuna, Sumanas, Sumuka, Dadimuka, Mani II, then Manichara, Diga and finally Sirisaka. These are the Yakas, great Yakas, their commanders and commanders-in-chief who should be called upon in case of such an attack. Up here for a moment. So these are the Tuako, the Taiko, the tiger generals. So you got any problem, you must call out their name. They will come and protect you. And these are the Atanata protective verses by means of which monks and nuns, male and female lay followers may dwell guarded, protected, unharmed and at ease. And now, sir, we must go. We have many duties, many things to do. And the Buddha said, do so, kings, when you think fit. And the four great kings stood up, saluted the Lord, passed by on His right side, and vanished. And the yakha stood up, and some saluted the Lord, passed by on His right, and vanished. Some exchanged courtesies with the Lord, some saluted Him with joined palms, some announced their name and clan, some remained silent, and they all vanished. And when the night was over, the Lord said to the monks, monks, this night the four great kings came to see the Lord, and He repeated the whole of the verses. Monks, you should learn these Atanatta protective verses, master them and remember them. They are for your benefit. And through them, monks and nuns, male and female lay followers may dwell guarded, protected, unharmed and at ease. Thus the Lord spoke, and the monks were delighted and rejoiced at His words." That's the end of the Sutta. So you see carefully, this actually, this Atanatta, or Atanattaya Paritta is very long. right up to the inclusive of all the Yakka generals, commanders-in-chief. But the one we do, the Thai tradition is very short, only the front part. But then to remember the whole Atanatiyap Sutta or the Paritta is so long. So when I used to live alone in the cave and in the forest, I only recite the names of the four great kings, short. Anything to discuss? And then what? It's not stated here, but I guess it's true. If you're going to call all the Yakka commanders names, then only necessary only you call. Otherwise, it's like saying fire, fire too many times. When the real fire comes, the fire brigade won't come. Thank you Rasa is the Sun so the Buddha is called the kinsman of the Sun because the Buddha It emits extremely bright light. I think our Buddha is one of the most, you can say, powerful Buddhas, because the Buddha says, for example, he wants to look into the past. There is no limit to the past he can see. So the Buddha's psychic power is super. So that's why he's so bright now, he's brighter than Mahabrahma and all these things, there's some suttas where it's mentioned he went to see Mahabrahma. And Mahabrahma, because they are very powerful, they are very bright. In Mahabrahma, their light can shine 1,000 world systems up to, those are very powerful, up to 100,000 world systems. How bright that is. So when the Buddha went to them, They know what the Buddha is teaching, but they don't believe what the Buddha teaches. So the Buddha, to show them that the Buddha is more powerful than the Buddha, it made so much light that it outshined them. And then also, they want to test the Buddha's psychic power. That's why in the Sutta, this Mahabrahma said, I'll disappear from you. Then he tried to disappear, but the Buddha controlled his mind. He said, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going, but he could not disappear. And then later, then he got a shock, because this never happened to him before. Then the Buddha told him, now I'll disappear from you. He said, you try. And the Buddha disappeared, and he couldn't see the Buddha, but he could hear the Buddha's voice. And from there, he understood that the Buddha is much higher, than him, more advanced than him. Then he asked the Buddha, you know, if you know, tell me about my past, I want to test the Buddha. Then the Buddha told him. Actually, he was the Buddha's previous life teacher. Buddha goes to these devas, those whom he feels grateful to in the past. They have helped him in the past, on the spiritual path. So because of gratitude, he goes to correct their wrong views. Otherwise, he's not bothered to go to them. There are so many, countless of them, how to go to everyone. I'm quite happy you're proceeding quite fast. There are two more suttas and we'll finish. Then we can go on to Udana and Itthivuttaka. Okay, shall we end here? Unless anybody got a question?

58-DN-33-Sangiti-(2011-08-10)-Part-A.txt

Okay, tonight is the 10th of August, and this is the 25th night we are talking of the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Tonight we come to the second last sutta, Sutta number 33, Sanghiti Sutta. Sanghiti means chanting together. Okay, thus have I heard. Once the Lord was touring in the Mala country with a large company of about 500 monks. arrived at Pava, the Malas capital. He stayed in the mango grove of Chunda the smith. At that time, a new meeting hall of the Malas of Pava called Ubat Taka had recently been built, and it had not yet been occupied by any ascetic or Brahmin, or indeed by any human being. Hearing that the Lord was staying in Chunda's mango grove, the Malas of Pava went to see him. Having saluted him, they sat down to one side and said, Lord, the Mahalas of Pava have recently erected a new meeting hall called Ubataka, and it has not yet been occupied by any ascetic or Brahmin, or indeed by any human being. May the blessed Lord be the first to use it. Should he do so, that would be for the lasting good and happiness of the Mahalas of Parva. And the Lord consented by silence. Noting his ascent, the Mahalas rose, saluted him, passed out to his right, and went to the meeting hall. They spread mats all round, arranged seats, put on a water pot and an oil lamp, and then returning to the Lord, saluted him, sat down to one side, and reported what they had done, saying, Whenever the blessed Lord is ready, stop here for a moment. So here you see it's Indian belief that before you use a building, if you let a holy man use it, then you can get married. Then the Lord dressed, took His robe and board, and went to the meeting hall with His monks. There He washed His feet, entered the hall, and sat down against a central pillar, facing east. The monks, having washed their feet, entered the hall and sat down along the western wall, facing east, with the Lord in front of them. The Pavamalas washed their feet, entered the hall, and sat down along the eastern wall, facing west, with the Lord in front of them. Then the Lord spoke to the malas on Dhamma till far into the night, instructing, inspiring, firing, and delighting them. Then he dismissed them, saying, Vasetas, the night has passed away. Now do as you think fit. Very good, Lord, replied the malas. And they got up, saluted the Lord, and went out, passing him by on the right. Stop here for a moment. So you see, the Buddha sat down facing east. It's a yoga tradition. The monks meditate. They face east, maybe because of the direction of rotation of the earth. And it's stated sometimes, if they want to, they can face north or so. And you see, when they leave, they keep the Buddha, the right shoulder towards the Buddha. As soon as the malas had gone, the Lord, surveying the monks sitting silently all about, said to the Venerable Sariputta, The monks are free from sloth and torpor, Sariputta. You think of a discourse on Dhamma to give to them. My back aches. I want to stretch it. Very good, Lord, replied Sariputta. And the Lord, having folded his robe in four, lay down on his right side in the lion posture, with one foot on the other, mindful and clearly aware and bearing in mind the time to rise. Now at that time, the Niganta Nataputta had just died at Parva, and at his death, the Niigantas were split into two parties, quarreling and disputing, etc. You would have thought they were bent on killing each other. Even the white-robed lay followers were disgusted when they saw that their doctrine and discipline was so ill-proclaimed, having been proclaimed by one not fully enlightened, and now with its support gone, without an arbiter. And the verbal Sariputta addressed the monks, referring to this situation, and said, So ill-proclaimed was their teaching and discipline. so unedifyingly displayed and so ineffectual in calming the passions, having been proclaimed by one who was not fully enlightened. But friends, this Dharma has been well proclaimed by the Lord, the fully enlightened one. And so we should all recite it together without disagreement so that this holy life may be enduring and established for a long time, thus to be for the welfare and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, welfare and happiness of devas and humans. And what is this Dhamma that has been well proclaimed by the Lord? There is one thing that was perfectly proclaimed by the Lord, who knows and sees the fully enlightened Buddha. So we should all recite together. for the benefit, wealth, and happiness of devas and humans. What is this one thing? Eko dhammo. All beings are maintained by nutriment. All beings are maintained by volition. Stop here for a moment. All beings are maintained by nutriment. Nutriment of food, ahara, supports beings. It doesn't matter what type of beings, all need nutriment. And according to the suttas, there are four types of nutriment. One is material food, like what we take. The second one is contact. Third one is volition. The fourth is consciousness. If you want to know more, you listen to my Sankhyuta Nikaya talks. And then secondly, all beings are maintained by volition. dependent origination, this word sankara means volition, that's the way I translate it. And there are two sets of sankara in the suttas. One set that has to do with dependent origination is kaya-sankara, body volition. Vāci-saṅkāra, verbal volition, and Citta-saṅkāra, mental volition, and that is to do with dependent origination. There is another set which is almost similar. The first two are the same. Kāyā-saṅkāra, Vāci-saṅkāra. The third is Mano-saṅkāra. But that in the suttas is always used for the kamma, creating kamma. We create kamma through the body, speech and mind. But in the independent origination, sankara volition is the volition to exist, the volition or the will to exist or to function or to live. So the body volition, the body wants to live, the body wants to function, The body volition is breathing and the verbal volition, when the mouth wants to function or to speak, then you have vittaka and vichara, thought directed and sustained. You have to think first before you can speak. Mental volition is perception and feeling. Once perception and feeling starts, then consciousness starts and the mind works. Also, in the suttas we always hear, Sankara, Anicca, Ti, all sankaras are impermanent. And my interpretation is that all volitions are impermanent. It is volitions that create that wills. Volition means willing, using your will. When you use your will, you create conditions for something, to do something. For example, just to move your hand, you got to have the volition, the intention to move your hand before your hand can move. So everything in the world, before something can happen in the world, there must be a volition behind it. There must be a volition then only. Even for the plants to grow, the plants could have this will to live. That's why you find plants, they go towards the sun. So because everything depends on conditions. If conditions are impermanent, and everything in the world depends on conditions, then if the conditions are impermanent, the volition behind, then everything in the world is even more impermanent. Okay, there are two things that were perfectly proclaimed by the Buddha, by the Lord. What are they? Nama rupa, mentality and materiality, and then ignorance and craving for existence, and then belief in existence and belief in non-existence, and then Lack of a sense of shame and lack of fear of wrongdoing. Number five, sense of shame and fear of wrongdoing. Number six, here it says roughness and friendship with evil, but I think a better translation is disobedience and evil friends. And then number seven is obedience and a good friend, a good spiritual friend. And then number eight, skill in knowing offenses and the procedure for rehabilitation for them. This is more concerning monks. Number nine, skill in entering and returning from jhana. Number 10, skill in knowing the elements and in paying attention to them. Number 11, skill in knowing the sense spheres and dependent origination. Number 12, skill in knowing what are causes and what are not 13. Straightforwardness and modesty. 14. Patience and gentleness. 15. Gentle speech and politeness. 16. Non-harming and purity. 17. Lack of mindfulness and clear awareness. Or you can say forgetfulness and unmindfulness. 18. Recollection and mindfulness. Recollection also means remembering. And then 19, unguarded sense doors and non-restraint in eating. 20, guarded sense doors and restraint in eating. 21, powers of reflection and mental development. 22, powers of recollection and concentration. 23, tranquility and contemplation, samatha and vipassana. And 24, this is samatha, nimitta, tranquility, the sign of tranquility or tranquility object and upholding the sign. 25. Exertion and non-distraction. 26. Attainment of perfection of morality and view. 27. Failure of morality and view. 28. Purity of morality and view. 29. Purity of view and the effort to attain it. 30. Being moved by a sense of urgency by what should move one and the systematic effort of one so moved. 31. not being content with wholesome acts and not shrinking from exertion. 32, knowledge and liberation. 33, knowledge of the destruction and of their non-recurrence. These are the sets of two things that were perfectly proclaimed by the Lord. So we should all recite them together. I'll stop here for a moment. I'll just comment on some of this. Number one, mentality and materiality. Nama rupa is the counterpart of consciousness. So it should be the objects of consciousness. Objects of consciousness, we have the mental part and the material part. Number three is belief in existence and belief in non-existence after death. Belief in existence is the eternalist. and the belief in non-existence is the annihilationist. This 24, samatha nimitta is the object of tranquility, object of tranquility and bhagava nimitta is upholding the object. Say for example, the object of tranquility is Anapanasati. You are practicing the breath meditation. So Samatha, Nimitta is the breath itself. And upholding the object is to uphold it in your mind all the time, not to lose your mindfulness. If you lose your mindfulness, you are not upholding the object or grasping the object. then you lose your, then you become forgetful. But if you remember, that is recollecting, sati. Sati is remembering to uphold your object, your nimitta. So in the suttas, this nimitta is your object, object of your concentration. And later books like the Visuddhimagga, they talk, they interpret a bit differently. Okay, we come to 1.10. There are sets of three things. Which are they? Three unwholesome roots of greed, hatred and delusion. Lobha, dosa and mohal. Three wholesome roots of non-greed, non-hatred and non-delusion. Three kinds of wrong conduct in body, speech and mind. Three kinds of right conduct in body, speech, and mind. Three kinds of unwholesome thoughts, of sensuality, of enmity or hostility, and of cruelty. Three kinds of wholesome thoughts, of renunciation, of sense pleasures, of non-enmity and non-cruelty. Three kinds of unwholesome motivation or intention, through sensuality, enmity, and cruelty. Three kinds of wholesome motivation or intention through renunciation, non-enmity and non-cruelty. Three kinds of unwholesome perception of sensuality, enmity and cruelty. Three kinds of wholesome perception of renunciation, non-enmity, non-cruelty. Three unwholesome elements, sensuality, enmity, cruelty. Three wholesome elements, renunciation, non-enmity, non-cruelty. Three more elements, elements of sense, desire, form and formless element. Three more elements, element of form, formless and element of cessation. Three more elements, lower element, middling and sublime element. Three kinds of craving, sensual craving, craving for becoming or being, craving for extinction or non-being. Three more kinds of craving. Craving for the world of sense desires, for the world of form, and for the formless world. Three more kinds of craving for the world of form, formless world, and for cessation. The three factors, sangyojana, which Sutapana destroys. Identity view, sakkayaditti. Attachment to rules and rituals, silabata paramassa. and doubt, vichikiccha. Three asavas. Asavas, here they say corruptions. I prefer the uncontrolled mental outflows of sense desire, of becoming and of ignorance. Three kinds of becoming or being in the world of sense desire, the world of form and the formless world. Three quests for sense desires, for becoming and for the holy life. Three forms of conceit. I am better than so-and-so. I am equal to so-and-so. I am worse than so-and-so. Three times past, future and present. Three ends. The end of this identity is arising its cessation. Three feelings, pleasant, painful and neither. Three kinds of suffering. as pain, as inherent in volition, as due to change. Stop here for a moment. So pain, you know, suffering due to pain. Then suffering due to volition is you make a decision to do something, and then later you regret it. You made the wrong decision, so you suffer for it. For example, you make the decision to kill some animal, and later you regret it. And then suffering due to change, because of impermanence, maybe somebody close to you passes away and then you suffer. Three accumulations, evil with fixed result, good with fixed result, indeterminate. Three obscurations, one hesitates, vacillates, is undecided. Three things that Tathagata has no need to guard against. Tathagata is perfectly pure in body, conduct, speech, and in mind. There is no misdeed of body, speech, or mind which he must conceal, lest anyone should get to hear about it. Three obstacles are lust, hatred, and delusion. Three fires, lust, hatred, and delusion. Three more fires, the fire of those to be revered, of the householder, and of those worthy of offerings. Threefold classification of matter, visible and resisting, invisible and resisting, invisible and unresisting. Three kinds of karmic volition, meritorious, demeritorious, and imperturbable. This imperturbable normally refers to the fourth jhana and above. Three persons, the learner, non-learner, and the one who is neither. Learner and non-learner are Aryans, so the one who is neither is the ordinary person, put to jhana. Three elders, and elder by birth, because according to age, in dhamma and by convention. Say, a person elder in Dhamma, a person who is more advanced in the Dhamma, and then by convention, for example, a person has become a monk longer, so he is elder because of the number of asas he has. Three grounds based on merit, that of giving, morality and meditation, dana, sila, bhavana. Three grounds for reproof, are based on what has been seen, heard, or suspected. That means you have seen somebody do wrong, or you heard somebody do wrong, or you suspect somebody do wrong, you can reprove that person. Three kinds of rebirth in the realm of sense desire. There are beings who desire what presents itself to them, and are in the grip of that desire, such as human beings, some devas, and some in states of war. There are beings who desire what they have created such as the devas who rejoice in their own creation. Nimanarati heaven, this is the fifth level, sensual desire heaven. There are beings who rejoice in the creation of others, such as the devas having power over others' creations. Paranimitavasavati is the highest heaven, the sixth heaven in the sensual desire realm. Three happy rebirths, there are beings who having continually produced happiness now, dwell in happiness, such as the devas of the Brahma group. This is the first jhana plane. There are beings who are overflowing with happiness, drenched with it, full of it, immersed in it, so that they occasionally exclaim, oh, what bliss, such as the radiant devas, Abhashara. This is the second jhana heaven. There are beings immersed in happiness who, supremely blissful, experience only perfect happiness, such as the lustrous devas. Subakhinna is the third jhana heaven. Three kinds of wisdom of the learner, non-learner, and one who is neither. Three kinds of wisdom based on thought or thinking. on hearing or learning, on mental development meditation, three armaments or weapons, what one has learned, detachment and wisdom, three faculties of knowing that one will know the unknown, of highest knowledge of the one who knows, Three I's, the flesh I, divine I, or heavenly I, and the I of wisdom. Three kinds of training in higher morality, higher mind, and higher wisdom. Three kinds of development of the body, kaya bhavana, development of the body, of mind, and of wisdom. I'll stop here for a moment. I think last year or the year before, we went through the suttas. There was one place, I'm not sure, I don't quite remember where, but it talks about the develop in body and develop in mind. If I remember correctly, one who is developed in body, when pleasant feeling arises, it does not invade his mind and obsess it. And the one who is developed in mind when unpleasant feelings or painful feelings are experienced, it does not invade his mind and obsess it, if I remember correctly. This development of wisdom, I don't remember it stated anywhere, probably that's the Arahant. Three unsurpassables of vision or practice of liberation. Three kinds of concentration, with thought directed and sustained. With thought, with thought sustained but without thought directed. And then the third one is without thought directed and without thought sustained. Three more kinds of concentration, on emptiness, the signless and the desireless. Three purities of body, speech and mind. Three qualities of the sage as to body, speech and mind. Three skills in going forward, going down in means to progress. Three intoxications with health, with youth, with life. Stop here for a moment. When we are young, We are very healthy, we are very strong, so we are intoxicated or we are very arrogant about our health. And when we are young or so, we tend to be arrogant of our youth. We think we are very beautiful and we look down on old people who look ugly. And then also people with life, we are also intoxicated with life, never think that very soon this life force will go away. Every day is getting less and less and less. Three predominant influences, oneself, the world, the Dhamma. Three topics of discussion, talk maybe of the past and of the future and of the present. Three knowledges of one's past lives, of the disease and rebirth of beings, of the destruction of the asavas, Please stop here for a moment. These are the three knowledges the Buddha attained on the night of enlightenment. Three abidings. Deva abiding, Brahma abiding, and the Aryan abiding. Three miracles of psychic power, of telepathy, that means knowing what people are thinking, of instruction, the ability to teach. These are the sets of three things. So should all reside together. I'll stop here for a moment. Anything anybody want to discuss? If I go too fast, I may not have the chance to discuss. Wisdom is not something physical. It's the wisdom you obtain. You attain when you learn the Dhamma. For example, when a person attains the right view, he understands the Dhamma, then the Buddha calls it the eye of Dhamma. He has attained the eye of Dhamma. That's the eye of wisdom. Sometimes they translate it as the eye of Dhamma. Sometimes they translate it as the vision of Dhamma. Any other thing? Okay, we continue, 1.11. There are sets of four things which were perfectly proclaimed by the Lord, the four intense states of mindfulness, the four satipatthana. Here a monk abides contemplating body in the body, ardent, clearly aware and mindful, having put aside hankering and fretting for the world. He abides contemplating feelings in feelings, mind in mind, dhamma in dhamma, clearly aware and mindful, etc. Number two, the Four Great Efforts, Samapadana. Here a monk arouses his will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts his mind, and strives to prevent the arising of unarisen evil unwholesome mental states. He arouses his will, etc., and strives to overcome evil unwholesome mental states that have arisen. He rouses his will and strives to produce unarisen, wholesome mental states. He rouses his will and strives to maintain wholesome mental states that have arisen, not to let them fade away, to bring them to greater growth, to the full perfection of development." And these are the four Samak Padana. The four parts are the four bases of psychic power, four idipada. Here a monk develops concentration of intention accompanied by effort of will, concentration of energy accompanied by effort of will, concentration of consciousness, concentration of investigation accompanied by effort of will. I can also say concentration of desire and determined effort, concentration of energy and determined effort, concentration of mind and determined effort. concentration of investigation and determined effort. Number four is the four jhanas. Here a monk detached from all sense desires, detached from unwholesome states, enters and remains in the first jhana, which is with thought directed and sustained, born of detachment, filled with delight and joy. And with the subsiding of thought directed and sustained, by gaining inner tranquility and oneness of mind, he enters and remains in the second jhana, which is without thought directed and sustained, born of concentration, filled with delight and joy. And with the fading away of delight, remaining imperturbable, mindful and clearly aware, experiences in himself that joy of which the noble ones say, happy is he who dwells with equanimity and mindfulness. He enters and remains in the third jhana. And having given up pleasure and pain, and with the disappearance of former gladness and sadness, He enters and remains in the fourth jhāna, which is beyond pleasure and pain, with utter purity of equanimity and mindfulness. Number five, the four samādhi bhāvanā, the four developments of concentration. This meditation, when developed and expanded, leads A, to happiness here and now. B, gaining knowledge and vision. C, mindfulness and clear awareness. or recollection and mindfulness. D. Destruction of the asavas. A. How does this practice lead to happiness here and now? Here a monk practices the four jhanas. So when he is abiding in jhana, he is happy here and now. B. How does it lead to the gaining of knowledge and vision? Here a monk attends to the perception of light. He fixes his mind to the perception of day. by night as by day, by day as by night. In this way, with the mind clear and unclouded, he develops a state of mind that is full of brightness. I stop here for a moment. So you see, to attain, to gain knowledge and vision, it is not by practicing mindfulness. Here the Buddha says, you've got to make the mind bright. And the bright mind is a mind which enters jhāna because the word jhāna itself means fire. So the implication of fire is that it's bright. The state of jhāna is a state of brightness. That's why beings who develop jhāna when they are reborn in the form realm, their bodies are extremely bright. Even the first jhāna itself, as I mentioned before, the Brahma, Brahma's light can pervade 1,000 worlds to 100,000 worlds. So far away, they're so bright. So if you want to gain this knowledge and vision, jnana, dasana, you have to cultivate jhana until the mind is very bright. And the state of the fourth jhana is very bright. C. How does it lead to mindfulness and recollection? Here a monk knows feelings as they arise, remain, and vanish. He knows perceptions as they arise, remain, and vanish. He knows thoughts as they arise, remain, and vanish. Stop here for a moment. So to practice sati sampajjhānya, sati is recollection or a specific mindfulness, and sampajjhānya is general mindfulness. To practice that, you have to be very mindful and keep your mind always on your feelings, on your perceptions, on your thoughts, and not to go outside to Mara's playground of sight, sound, smells and taste. Sight, sound, smells, taste and touch. D. How does this practice lead to the destruction of the asavas? Here a monk abides in the contemplation of the rise and fall of the five aggregates of attachment. This is material form, this is its arising, this is its ceasing. These are feelings, perception, volition, consciousness. This is how they arise, this is how they cease. So to attain liberation we have to constantly understand the five khandas. The five aggregates that we attach to form our body, body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. Basically body and mind see what they are like and how they arise, how they cease, how they are impermanent depending on conditions. Number six, four-bounded states. Here a monk with a heart filled with loving-kindness pervades first one quarter, then the second, third, and the fourth quarter. Thus he stays, spreading the thought of loving-kindness above, below, and across everywhere, always with a heart filled with loving-kindness, abundant, magnified, unbounded, without hatred or ill-will, and likewise or similarly with compassion, joy, and equanimity. Four formless jhanas here among by passing entirely beyond bodily sensations. Bodily sensations means the five senses, seeing, hearing, smelling, taste, touch. That means the five senses, the five senses closed by the disappearance of all sense of resistance and by non-attraction to the perception of diversity, seeing that space is infinite, reaches and remains in the sphere of infinite space, is the Arupa, the first Arupajana. So to attain the Arupas, your five sense doors must close. And by passing entirely beyond the sphere of infinite space, seeing that consciousness is infinite, he reaches and remains in the sphere of infinite consciousness. And by passing entirely beyond the sphere of infinite consciousness, seeing that there is no thing, He reaches and remains in the sphere of no-thingness. And by passing entirely beyond the sphere of no-thingness, he reaches and remains in the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception." These are the four arupas, the four supports. Here among judges that one thing is to be pursued, one thing is to be endured, one thing to be avoided, one thing to be suppressed. You have different interpretations of what this means. One thing to be pursued could be wholesome states. One thing to be endured could be suffering or pain. One thing to be avoided could be unwholesome states. One thing to be suppressed is unwholesome thoughts.

59-DN-33-Sangiti-(2011-08-10)-Part-B.txt

For Aryan lineages, Aryavamsa, here a monk, A, is content with any old robe, praises such contentment and does not try to obtain robes improperly and unsuitably. He does not worry if he does not get a robe, and if he does, he is not full of greedy, blind desire, but makes use of it, aware of such dangers and wisely aware of its true purpose. Nor is he conceited about being thus content with any old robe. and he does not disparage others. And one who is thus skillful, not lax, clearly aware and mindful, is known as a monk who is true to the ancient original Aryan lineage. Again, a monk is content with any alms food he may get. C, a monk is content with any old lodging. And D, a monk being fond of abandoning rejoices in abandoning and being fond of developing rejoices in developing and not therefore conceited. And one who is thus skillful, not lax, clearly aware and mindful, is known as a monk who is true to the ancient original Aryan lineage." This is the fourth one, form of abandoning unwholesome states, form of developing unwholesome states, like the jhanas. Number ten, four efforts, the effort of restraint. abandoning development and preservation. What is the effort of restraint? Here a monk seen an object with the eye does not grasp at the whole or its details, striving to restrain what might cause evil unwholesome states such as hankering or sorrow to flood in on him. Thus he watches over the sense of sight and guards it. Similarly, with sound, smells, taste, touch, and thoughts." That means he guards his six senses, don't pay too much attention. What is the effort of abandoning? Here a monk does not ascend to a thought of lust, hatred or cruelty that has arisen, but abandons it, dispels it, destroys it, makes it disappear. So abandoning means abandoned thoughts, unwholesome thoughts. What is the effort of development? Here a monk develops the enlightenment factor of mindfulness or recollection based on solitude, detachment, extinction, leading to maturity of surrender. He develops the enlightenment factor of investigation of dhamma, energy, delight, tranquility, concentration, equanimity. So the effort of development means to develop the enlightenment factors, bojanga. And what is the effort of preservation? Here a monk keeps firmly in his mind a favorable object of concentration. This one should be samadhi nimitta, which has arisen such as a skeleton or a corpse that is full of worms, blue black, full of holes, bloated. So to keep preservation means to preserve your object of concentration all the time. Four knowledges, knowledge of Dhamma, of what is consonant with it, knowledge of others' minds and conventional knowledge. Twelve, four more knowledges, knowledge of suffering, origin, cessation and the path to the end of suffering. Four factors of stream attainment, association with true True persons, that means with ariya. Hearing the true dhamma, that means the suttas. Thorough attention and practice of the dhamma in accordance with the dhamma. So to become a sotapanna, you have to practice these four things. You have to go near an ariya. You have to hear the true dhamma. You have to have thorough attention when you hear the true dhamma. You have to practice the dhamma. in accordance with Dhamma. So you see here, hearing the true Dhamma. Without hearing the true Dhamma, you cannot become a Sotapanna. Number 14. Four characteristics of a stream-winner. Here the Aryan disciple is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Buddha thus. This blessed Lord is an Arahant, Samasambuddha, endowed with vision, with wisdom, etc. B. He is possessed of unwavering confidence in the Dhamma thus. Proclaimed by the Lord is the Dhamma, visible here and now. Timeless, inviting inspection, leading onward to be comprehended by the wise, each one for himself. C. His possess of unwavering confidence in the Sangha, well-directed is the Sangha, etc. D. His possess of morality dear to the noble ones, unbroken, without defect, unspotted, without inconsistency, liberating, praised by the wise and conducive to concentration. Stop here for a moment. So these are four characteristics of a stream-winner. Srimvina or Sotapanna has unshakable faith in the Buddha, unshakable faith in the Dhamma, unshakable faith in the Sangha. And he has the Aryan Sila. What is the Aryan Sila? Aryan Sila in the Noble Eightfold Path consists of right speech, right action, and right livelihood. If you analyze these three factors, it's basically seven precepts, three concerning the body, not to kill, not to steal, not to commit sexual misconduct. Four, concerning the speech, not to lie, not to carry tales to cause disharmony, not to speak coarse or vulgar words, and not to engage in idle gossip. These are the seven precepts of an Aryan. Four, fruits of the ascetic life, the fruits of stream entry, once returner, non-returner of Arahantship. First one is 4 elements, earth, water, fire, air or wind, 4 nutrients, material, food, gross or subtle, contact, volition and consciousness. Four stations of consciousness. Consciousness gains a footing either in relation to materiality, with materiality as object and basis, as a place for enjoyment, Or similarly in regard to feelings, perceptions, volition, and there it grows, increases and flourishes. Four ways of going wrong through desire, hatred, delusion and fear. Four arousals of craving. Craving arises because of robes, arms, lodging, being and non-being for a monk. Four kinds of progress. Painful progress with slow comprehension. Painful progress with quick comprehension. Pleasant progress with slow comprehension. Pleasant progress with quick comprehension. Painful means, stop here for a moment, painful means these defilements give you a lot of pain. People who have a temper, it gives them Painful progress, people with lust, sensual desire, also find the holy life very painful. But somebody with not strong hindrances, then these don't disturb him so much. Four more kinds of progress, progress with impatience, progress with patience, Control progress and calm progress. Four ways of Dhamma without hankering, without enmity, with right mindfulness, with right concentration. Four ways of undertaking Dhamma. That is the way that is painful in the present and brings painful future results. Painful in the present and brings pleasant future results. Pleasant in the present and brings painful future results. And pleasant in the present and brings pleasant future results. Stop here for a moment. Painful in the present and brings painful future results. This probably refers to those external ascetics who torture themselves. They do all kinds of ascetic practices which cause them a lot of suffering now. And because of their wrong view in the future, they take rebirth in a woeful plane. B, painful in the present and brings pleasant future results. practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, very strict with the Vinaya and all that. So he feels a bit of suffering, but because he struggles hard and attains Jhana and all that, so he has a pleasant future result. Pleasant in the present and brings painful future results. These are some of the For example, the external ascetics, they are naked and then they see each other naked and then they engage in sexual intercourse. So it's pleasant now, but in the future they will suffer. Pleasant in the present and brings pleasant future results. These are those monks whose hindrances are not strong and they easily attain the jhanas. So the holy life is pleasant for them now and in the future, have a good rebirth again. Four divisions of Dhamma, morality, concentration, wisdom, liberation. Four powers, energy, mindfulness, concentration, wisdom. Four kinds of resolve to gain wisdom, truth, relinquishment, and tranquility. Four ways of answering questions. A, to answer it directly. B, requiring an explanation. You have to explain first before answering. See you're requiring a counter question. Somebody asks you a question, you ask him another question. To be set aside means you don't want to answer the question. Four kinds of kamma. Black kamma with black result. Bright kamma with bright result. Black and bright kamma with black and bright result. Kamma that is neither black nor bright with neither black nor bright result. Leading to the destruction of kamma. Black karma with black result, if somebody do evil and then you suffer for it, that's the black result. Bright karma with bright result, you do good and you get good. See, you do good and bad, black and bright, and then you are reborn in a place where you have happiness and also suffering, like the human world. Karma that is neither black nor bright, with neither black nor bright result, A monk who is not interested to do good and he does not do evil, he strives in the holy life and then he attains liberation. So there is no more result in the happy or unhappy realms of rebirth. Four things to be realized by seeing. Former lives to be realized by recollection. Passing away and re-arising to be realized by the divine eye. The eight deliverances to be realized with the mental body. Destruction of the asavas to be realized by wisdom. The four floods, sensuality, becoming, views and ignorance. The four yokes is the same as before. The four unyokings from sensuality, becoming, views and ignorance. The four ties, the body tie, kaya, ganta of are hankering, ill will, attachment to rules and rituals, dogmatic fanaticism, four clingings to sensuality, views, rules and rituals, and ego or self-belief. Four kinds of birth, from an egg, womb, from moisture and spontaneous rebirth. Four ways of descent into the womb. One descends into the mother's womb unknowing, stays there unknowing, and leaves it unknowing. B. One enters the womb knowing, stays there unknowing, and leaves it unknowing. C. One enters the womb knowing, stays there knowing, and leaves it unknowing. D. One enters the womb knowing, stays there knowing, and leaves it unknowing. 38. Four ways of getting a new personality. There is an acquisition of personality that is brought about by one's own volition, not another's. B. Another's volition, not one's own. C. Both. D. Neither. This one I'm not sure how it comes about. Four purifications of offerings. There is an offering purified by the giver, not by the recipient. By the recipient, not by the giver. By neither, by both. This one, purified means it becomes higher. For example, by the giver, not by the recipient. That means the person who gives, He's a very pure person, a very virtuous person. But the person who receives is not a virtuous person. For example, the Aryan lay person gives to a beggar, who might be a criminal. So the gift is purified by the giver. Be by the recipient, not by the giver. For example, ordinary person, Putujana, does not keep the precept and all that. He gives to a holy man, Arya. then that gift is purified by the recipient. C, by neither, that means the giver and the recipient, both are not holy, both are not moral, etc. And then D, by both, that means both the giver and the recipient are virtuous, or maybe even ariens. Four bases of sympathy, generosity, pleasing speech, beneficial conduct and impartiality, that means treating everybody equal. Four un-Aryan modes of speech, lying, slander, abuse, idle gossip. Four un-Aryan modes of speech, refraining from lying, slander, abuse, idle gossip. Four more un-Aryan modes of speech, claiming to have seen, heard, sensed, known what has not been seen, heard, sensed, and known. Four more Aryan modes of speech, stating that one has not seen, heard, sensed, known, What one has not seen, heard, sensed, and known. Four more un-Aryan modes of speech. Claiming not to have seen, heard, sensed, known. What one has seen, heard, sensed, known. That means lying. Four more Aryan modes of speech. Stating that one has seen, heard, sensed, known. What one has seen, heard, sensed, known. Four persons. Here a person, A, torments himself. Is given to self-tormenting. B. Torments others. C. Torments himself and others. D. Torments neither himself nor others. Thereby dwells in this life without craving, release, cool, enjoying, bliss, become as Brahma. This one, the first one, torments himself, is like some of the ascetics. They do all kinds of practice and they inflict self-torture on themselves. The second type, torments others. Maybe a king who is very powerful and is a cruel king, he torments others. And C, he torments himself and others. Some people, like during the Buddha's time, even the king, they do certain penances, torture himself and then Does a sacrifice to heaven, then he'll kill a lot of animals, 500 or 1,000 animals. So he torments himself and makes the animals suffer. Then D is like a monk. He does not torment himself and does not torment others. 48, four more persons. Here a man's life benefits himself but not others. B. Others but not himself. C. Neither himself nor others. D. Both. Four more persons. A. Living in darkness and bound for darkness. B. Living in darkness and bound for light. C. Living in the light and bound for darkness. D. Living in the light and bound for the light. This one I guess. living in darkness and bound for darkness. This one is somebody with bad karma, so he's born in a very poor and may might be a paraplegic and all that. And then because he does bad karma, he's bound for a bad rebirth again, bound for darkness. Then B is person in darkness bound for light. This one might be somebody under very poor circumstances, maybe Like during the Buddha's time, there was a beggar. He begged for his food and he didn't have money and all that. But he came to listen to the Buddha's Dhamma. After that, he was born in the heavens of the 33. Very powerful. So he understood the Dhamma. Then, even though he was very poor and begged for his food, but he lived according to the Dhamma. And maybe he heard the Dhamma and understood the Dhamma and became stream enterer, see living in the light and bound for darkness. This is some people who are very rich and enjoying life and every day wine women and song and but because of bad karma they're bound for a bad rebirth. And D, living in the light and bound for life. Some people born under very good karmic circumstances, very rich and handsome or beautiful, et cetera, and do a lot of good deeds, and then they're bound for a good rebirth. 50, four more persons, the unshakable ascetic, the blue lotus ascetic, the white lotus ascetic, the subtly perfect ascetic. This one is mentioned in the, I think Anguttara Nikaya, he went through. These are the sets of four things which were perfectly proclaimed by the Lord. So we should all recite them together for the benefit, welfare and happiness of devas and humans. I will stop here for tonight. It's quite a long sutta. Anything to discuss? The Buddha said if nuns did not ordain then the Sangha is strong and the true Dharma will remain for 1,000 years. But after nuns were ordained, then the sasana is weakened and the true Dharma will remain for 500 years, meaning that it is unpolluted for 500 years. And true enough, we find after 500 years after the Buddha's passing away, that false Dhamma appeared. What is this false Dhamma? Basically Mahayana and Hinayana. Mahayana, they came up with a lot of new sutras and the writers of these Mahayana sutras, Basically were Nagarjuna, Asvaghosa and Vasubandhu. These three wrote a lot. The most was Nagarjuna and in his biography he said that the Buddha hid these Mahayana sutras in the ocean, Dragon Palace, and he went down to the Dragon Palace and took it up. But that is unacceptable to us because during the Buddha's time there were no books. How could the Buddha have hidden the books in the ocean? Secondly, the Buddha said he has no close fist of a teacher. He does not hold back anything. All that was important, he already disclosed to his disciples. Also you find the Mahayana Sutras, they always talk about Mahayana and Hinayana. This Mahayana and Hinayana only started 500 years after the Buddha passed away. So earlier than that, there was no Mahayana and Hinayana. So you know from that, that these Sutras could not have existed during the Buddha's time. So these Mahayana Sutras are found in Mahayana, for example, including Vajrayana. Mahayana meaning nowadays like China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, these countries. And then Vajrayana would be the Tibetan Buddhism. So Hinayana is another wrong teaching. Hinayana refers to those who follow the later books like the Abhidhamma, the commentaries, and other books like the Visuddhimagga. Nettipakarana, Pitakopadesa, and all these later books. So, because they follow the later books, they don't realize, just like the Mahayana Sutras, there are contradictions with the earliest Pali Suttas. So the real Theravada should practice only the five Nikayas. But even then, the last Nikaya is corrupted. So like after this Diga Nikaya, I'm going to talk on the Kudaka Nikaya. And out of the 15 books in the Kudaka Nikaya, only six are reliable. So I'm going to only talk on the six books. So the Buddha said the reason the Sasana, the Buddhist religion, is weakened after nuns were ordained, because the Buddha said just like a house, If it is attacked by robbers or bandits, and they have all men inside the house, they can defend the house better than if they had some women inside. If they had some women inside, they have to fight the bandits and they have to worry about the women. So, after women were ordained, the monks have to practice the holy life, and then they have to look after the nuns again. So it's a burden for them. That's why in this monastery, I mentioned last night, I prefer not to have any nuns here. Don't have to carry the burden. ... Yeah. What about it? Can you elaborate on that? Okay. This one ... The Buddha says if a being is going to be reborn into the womb, After that being dies, then he is known as a Gandaba. Some books call it the intermediate body. In Chinese, they call it Chongyin Sen. So this is called intermediate body because it's only a transition state. So it's like you catch a plane, you want to go to like our Kusala, he wants to go to Switzerland, he catches a plane from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. And then Singapore is only transit for a short while before he catches the next plane to Switzerland. So this gandaba state or intermediate body is a transitory stage. It's on transit only, a short time only. So this Gandabha, he enters the womb under conditions are right. And what's the right condition? Mother and father must come together and mother is fertile, is in season. So the egg is fertilized. Once the egg is fertilized, then this Gandabha can enter into that egg. Okay, so when he enters into the egg, most beings will be blur blur. So the first one, he enters into the mother's womb, he's not aware, he's not mindful. And then he stays there also not aware, he's still blur blur. And then he comes out of the womb also blur blur, he doesn't know. And the second one, he enters the womb knowing, he knows that he enters the womb. But when he's there, he's like in a dream state, he's sleeping. So he's unknowing and leaves it also unknowing. The third one, he enters the womb knowing, stays there also knowing. When it's time to come out, he's unknowing. He's like sleepy, he doesn't know. And then the fourth one, his samadhi is good. Then he enters the womb, he knows. He stays there also, he knows. When he leaves the womb also, he knows. Okay? Okay. Have you seen the stamp of the being's mind? Oh yes, yes, yes. Number one? Four nine one. Okay. I guess it refers to being Being and non-being. It's not form and formless. Commentary also I don't know. Commentary says oil, honey, ghee, etc. It says mysterious, not supported by none. Being and non-being, robes we know, arms we know. Okay, could be, I'll give a guess. Being means the monk, because he knows he's practicing the holy life, the kamma, generally a person wears the robe and practices the holy life sincerely. Sincerely means he keeps the precepts and he tries to meditate and all that, but maybe he's not a good meditator. And being means he wants to be reborn in a beautiful heaven with maybe 500 deities around him. And non-being means he has excessive desire for liberation, to stop being. When a person has excessive desire to attain liberation, then he uses too much effort, he also will not attain liberation. Because if he uses too much effort, the mind is boiling, the desire is so strong, like the Buddha, initially he put in so much effort to become liberated. He tortured himself, all kinds of ascetic practices he did, austerities, and he could not get out of samsara. Can you elaborate on the word enmity and cruelty? Say again. Enmity and cruelty. Enmity refers to hostility. Not having meta. That means aggressive. There are some people that They don't have much meta, so they are very rough, aggressive type of person. Cruelty means wants to harm, to harm somebody. The first one, the enmity, he has not come to the stage of wanting to harm somebody. It's just that his character is very rough and hostile and don't have meta. There's a slight difference. Loving kindness, metta, refers to goodwill towards all beings, generally. Compassion means you see somebody suffering and then you feel pity, you want to help. There's a slight difference. Yeah? I'm referring to page 488. 488. 488 is the versus 5. It seems that to develop mindfulness on feeling and the mind can gain mindfulness and clear awareness. And to contemplate on the Dharma can lead to the destruction of the wrong views. But how about the wrong views? In the philosophy of Dharma, there should be a wrong view. But why is it not stated clearly? Under C, is it? Yeah, under C and D. Under C, the contemplation of feeling and perception are mentioned. And under D, the contemplation of dharma is mentioned. But how about contemplation of world? Under D, you have body, the five aggregates. Body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. But this is quite different from the quantification of the body. Here, it is included in the quantification of five activities. But the second part, the first one is the quantification of the body. And the last one is the quantification of the tongue, which has five activities. Okay, this number five is talking about samadhi bhavana, development of samadhi. Okay, how to develop samadhi. So to develop samadhi for sati sampajanya, that means to keep your mind focused on sati and clear awareness. You must always look inside. Look inside. And when your perceptions arise, your feelings, your thoughts arise, you notice them. And you notice them go away. So if you practice this, it helps to develop your concentration. Is this not sati sampajanya? This is not sati sampajanya. Samadhi bhavana, development of samadhi. And the other one that leads to the destruction of the asavasa is to contemplate the five aggregates to develop your samadhi. So this is only the development, the steps to develop your samadhi. It is not satipatthana. Yeah. Yes, yeah. So at night also his mind lights up like daytime. That means if you want to, like during this Vassa period, the monks stay together for three months. At the end of the rains, we have a ceremony called What do you call it? Pavarana. This Pavarana, the monks will invite each other to criticize, to reproof him. So if you see another monk has done something wrong based on what you have seen, you have heard, or you suspect that he has done wrong, then you can reproof him, you can criticize him. Okay, so those two things are one of the missions, right? No more public, just ... Yeah, but then we also have to practice what? Thankfulness. Normally, certain things we don't want to bring it out in public, but in private we can tell the monk. Okay, shall we end here?

60-DN-33-Sangiti-(2011-08-11)-Part-C.txt

Tonight is the 11th of August, 2011, and this is the 26th night we are speaking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas. Last night we started on Sutta number 33, Sanghiti Sutta, and we did not complete it, so we'll complete the second half tonight. And now we come to paragraph 2.1. There are sets of five things perfectly proclaimed. The five aggregates, body, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness. Five aggregates of grasping, as before. The five strands of sense desire, panca, kama, guna. A sight seen by the eye, a sound heard by the ear, a smell smelled by the nose, a flavor tasted by the tongue, a tangible object felt by the body as being desirable, attractive, nice, charming, associated with lust and arousing passion. Number four, five, destinies, kati, kati of hell, animal, realm, realm of hungry ghosts or actually ghosts only, humankind, deva, world. Number five, kinds of begrudging, you can also call it avarice, meaning extreme greed, as to dwelling place, families, gains, beauty, and dharma. The five hindrances, number six, sensual desire, ill will, sloth and topper, restlessness and worry, and doubt. The five lower factors, number seven, Identity view, a doubt, attachment to rules and rituals. Number eight, five higher factors, craving for the world of form. That means to be reborn there. Craving for the formless world, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance. These five higher factors only the Arahant has destroyed. The Anagamin, the third fruition, he has destroyed the five lower factors. Number nine, five rules of training. Refraining from taking life, taking what is not, refraining from taking what is not given, refraining from sexual misconduct, refraining from lying, refraining from strong drink and sloth producing drugs, alcohol. Number ten, five impossible things. An Arahant is incapable of deliberately taking the life of a living being. Incapable of taking what is not given so as to constitute theft. Incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse. Incapable of telling a deliberate lie. Incapable of storing up goods for sensual indulgence as he did formerly in the household life. Number 11, five kinds of loss. Loss of relatives, wealth, health, morality, and right view. No beings fall into an evil state, a hell state, after death because of loss of relatives, wealth, or health. But beings fall into woeful planes by loss of morality and right view. Number twelve, five kinds of gain. Gain of relatives, wealth, health, morality and right view. No beings arise in a happy heavenly state after death because of the gain of relatives, wealth or health. But beings are reborn into such states because of gains in morality and right view. 13, five dangers to the immoral through lapsing from morality. As in Sutta number 16, verse 1.23. That means five disadvantages of not keeping the precepts. And then 14, five benefits to the moral through preserving Morality, things like you have a good reputation, you don't lose your wealth, you dare to face a crowd of people, reborn in a good place. And I think maybe at the moment of dying, you are not afraid. Number 15, five points to be born in mind by a monk wishing to rebuke another. One, I will speak at the proper time, not at the wrong time. Two, I will state the truth, not what is false. Three, I will speak gently, not roughly. Four, I will speak for his good, not for his harm. Number five, I will speak with love in my heart, not with enmity. Okay, 16, five factors of endeavor. Here a monk, A, has faith, trusting in the enlightenment of the Tathagata. B. He is in good health, suffers little distress or sickness, having a good digestion that is neither too cool nor too hot, but of a middling temperature suitable for exertion. C. Is not fraudulent or deceitful, showing himself as he really is to his teacher or to the wise among his companions in the holy light. D. Keeps his energy constantly stirred up for abandoning unwholesome states and arousing wholesome states. and is steadfast, firm in advancing and persisting in wholesome states. He is a man of wisdom endowed with wisdom concerning rise and cessation with the Aryan penetration that leads to the complete destruction of suffering." That means for a person to strive on the holy path, he should have these five factors. One is faith in the Buddha. Two, he has a good health. Three, straightforward person, shows himself as he really is to his teacher. Then fourth, he's strong, has a strong energetic effort. And then the fifth, he has wisdom, can see the impermanence of all things, that they rise and pass away. The five pure boats, Suddhavasa, Aviha, Atapa, Sudasa, Sudasi, and Akanita. These are the five levels of heaven that the anagamin, the third fruition ariya, is reborn into. Only anagamins are reborn there. Number 18, five kinds of non-return. The less than half of this anagamin Less than half-time, more than half-time, the gainer without exertion, the gainer with exertion. He who goes upstream to the highest. These are the different types of anagamin. They are reborn into the five levels of heaven. Something like Don't quite remember, but something like there's one that is reborn at the lowest, the Avihara, and there he enters Nibbana. Then the second one, he is born into the Avihara. Then after that, reborn into the Atapa, and then enters Nibbana. Then the third one, he goes to three heavens, up to Sudasa, then enters Nibbana. The fourth one, up to Sudasi, the fourth heaven, and then enters Nibbana. The last one, he has to go through all the five heavens before he goes, he enters Nibbana. Number 19, five mental blockages. Here a monk has doubts and hesitations about the teacher. B, he has doubts about the Dhamma. C, he has doubts about the Sangha. D, he has doubts about the training. And he is angry and displeased with his fellows in the holy for life. He feels depressed and negative towards them. Thus his mind is not inclined towards ardour, devotion, persistence and effort. 25. Mental bondages. Here a monk has not got rid of the passion, desire, love and thirst, fever, craving, a for sense desires or sensual desires. B. Craving for the body. C. Craving for physical objects. D. Having eaten as much as his belly will hold, he abandons himself to the pleasure of lying down, of contact, of sloth, that means sleeping. Or E. He practices the holy life for the sake of becoming a member of some body of devas, thinking by means of these rites or this discipline. This austerity or this holy life, I shall become one of the devas, great or small. Thus his mind is not inclined towards ardor, devotion, persistence, and effort. These are the stumbling blocks. 21, five faculties. Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body. 22, five more faculties. Pleasant bodily feeling, pain, gladness, sadness, and indifference. Twenty-three, five more faculties, faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. Twenty-four, five elements making for deliverance. A here among considers sense desires. His mind does not leap forward and take satisfaction in them, fix on them, or make free with them. But when he considers renunciation, it does leap forward, take satisfaction in it. fix on it and make free with it. And he gets his thought well-set, well-developed, well-raised up, well-freed and disconnected from sense desires. And thus he is freed from the asavas, the vexations and fevers that arise from sensual desires. And he does not feel that sensual feeling. This is called the deliverance from sense desires. And the same applies to ill will, cruelty, forms, and identity. So this person, when he thinks of sensual desire, or anger, or cruelty, or forms, or bodies, or identity, he does not feel pleasure for them, but his mind is directed towards liberation. 25. Five bases of deliverance. A. Here the teacher or respected fellow disciple teaches among Dhamma. And as he receives the teaching, he gains a grasp of both the spirit and letter of the teaching. At this, joy arises in him. And from this joy, delight. And by this delight, his senses are calm. He feels happiness as a result. And with this happiness, his mind is established. B. He has not heard it thus, but in the course of teaching Dhamma to others, he has learned it by heart as he has heard it. Or C, as he is chanting the Dhamma. Or D, when he applies his mind to the Dhamma, thinks and ponders over it and concentrates his attention on it. Or E, when he has properly grasped some concentration sign, has well considered it, applied his mind to it, and has well penetrated it with wisdom. This joy arises in him, and with this joy, delight. And by this delight, his senses are calm, and he feels happiness as a result. And with this happiness, his mind is established." This one is the five occasions when a person attains liberation. One is when he listens to the Dhamma. Second is when he's teaching the Dhamma. Third, when he's repeating the Dhamma. And fourth, when he's reflecting on the Dhamma. And only the fifth, when he's meditating. So you see, out of the five occasions a person attains liberation, four of them have to do with knowing the Dhamma. Only one is during meditation. So we find in the Vinaya books, The first 1060 Arahants attained Arahanthood just by listening to the Dhamma from the Buddha. 26. Five perceptions making for maturity of liberation. The perception of impermanence, of suffering in impermanence, of impersonality or no self in suffering, of abandoning or letting go, of dispassion, viraga. These are the five sets of things which were perfectly proclaimed by the Lord. These five perceptions, if we constantly reflect on them, then they help us become liberated. 2.2, there are sets of six things which were perfectly proclaimed by the Lord. Six internal, one, six internal sense spheres, the ayatana. The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind sense spheres. Number two, six external sense spheres, that means the sense objects. Sight object or forms, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thoughts, mind object. Three, six groups of consciousness. The eye, consciousness, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind consciousness. Six groups of contact. Contact at the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind. Six groups of feeling. Feeling that arises from eye contact, ear contact, nose contact, tongue contact, body contact, mind contact. Six. Six groups of perception. Perception of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and thoughts. Seven. Six groups of volition. Volition that arises from sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mind objects or thoughts. Eight, six groups of craving. Craving for the six sense objects, sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thoughts. Nine, six kinds of disrespect. Here a monk behaves disrespectfully and discourteously towards the teacher, the Dhamma, the Sangha, the training, in respect of earnestness and hospitality. Six kinds of respect. Here a monk behaves respectfully as the previous nine, six things. Eleven, six pleasurable investigations or thoughts. When on seeing a sight object with the eye, on hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, knowing, thought, 1. Investigates or thinks of a corresponding object productive of pleasure. 12. Seeks unpleasurable investigations as productive of displeasure. The objects are same as in 11. Seeks indifferent investigations productive of indifference or equanimity. Upeka objects are same as in number 11. Fourteen, six things conducive to communal living, that means to harmony. As long as monks, both in public and in private, show loving kindness to their fellows in acts of body, speech, and mind. That's three already. Number four, share with their virtuous fellows whatever they receive as a rightful gift, including the contents of their alms bowls, which they do not keep to themselves. Number five, keep consistently unbroken and unaltered, those rules of conduct, those precepts that are spotless, leading to liberation, praised by the wise, unstained and conducive to concentration, and persist therein with their fellows both in public and in private. And then number six, continue in that noble view that leads to liberation, to the utter destruction of suffering, remaining in such awareness with their fellows both in public and in private. These are the six things that when people live together, they should practice for harmony. One is to show metta, loving kindness, by body language. Number two, by verbal language. And number three, to have loving kindness in the mind towards others. And then number four, to share what we have. Number five, to keep the precepts pure. Number six, to have that right view. Number 15, six roots of contention or contention or quarrel. A, here a monk is angry and bears ill will. He is disrespectful and discourteous to the teacher, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. and does not finish his training. He stirs up contention within the Sangha, which brings woe and sorrow to many with evil consequences, misfortune and sorrow for devas and humans. If, friends, you should discover such a root of contention among yourselves or among others, you should strive to get rid of just that root of contention. If you find no such root of contention, then you should work to prevent its overcoming you in future. Or B, a monk is deceitful and malicious. Or C, a monk is envious and mean. D, a monk is cunning and deceitful. E, a monk is full of evil desires and wrong views. F, a monk is opinionated, obstinate and tenacious. Dear friends, you should discover such a root of contention among yourselves or among others. You should strive to get rid of just that root of contention. If you find no such root of contention, then you should work to prevent its overcoming you in future. 16. The six elements, earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness. 17. Six elements making for deliverance. Here a monk might say, A, I have developed the liberation by mind, ceto vimuti, of loving kindness, expanded it, made it a vehicle and a base, established, worked well on it, set it well in train, and yet ill will still grips my heart. It should be told, no, do not say that. Do not misrepresent the blessed one. It is not right to slander him thus. For he would not have said such a thing. Your words are unfounded and impossible. If you develop the liberation by mind of loving-kindness, ill-will has no chance to envelope your heart. This liberation by mind is the cure for ill-will. This liberation of loving-kindness is the cure for ill-will. Or B, he might say, I have developed the liberation by mind of compassion, and yet cruelty still grips my heart. And similarly, you must tell him it's not possible. Or C, he might say, I have developed the liberation by mind of joy, and yet aversion still grips my heart. Again, you must tell him it's not possible. Or D, he might say, I have developed the liberation by mind of equanimity, and yet lust grips my heart. Again, must tell him it's not possible. Or E, he might say, have developed the signless liberation Signless liberation by mind. And yet my heart still hankers after signs. Again, must tell him it's not possible. Or F, he might say the idea I am is repellent to me. I pay no heed to the idea I am this. Yet doubts, uncertainties, and problems still grip my heart. Again, must tell him it's not possible. 18, six unsurpassed things. Sights, things, heard, gains, trainings, forms of service, objects of recollection. I'm not sure why they call it unsurpassed things. Maybe it says like here in brackets, certain sights, certain things heard, etc. Nineteen, six objects of recollection, the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, morality or sila, renunciation and the devas. Twenty, six stable states on seeing an object with the eye, hearing a sound, smelling a smell, tasting a flavor, touching a tangible, cognizing a thought with the mind. One is neither pleased nor displeased, but remains equable, mindful and clearly aware. So when six sense objects touch that person, His mind is in equanimity. So it's a stable state. 21. Six species. Here A. One born in dark conditions lives a dark life. B. One born in dark conditions lives a bright life. C. One born in dark conditions attains Nibbana which is neither dark nor bright. D. One born in bright conditions lives a dark life. E. One born in bright conditions leads a bright life. F. One born in bright conditions attains Nibbana, which is neither dark nor bright. This we went through before. Bright meaning in good circumstances and dark means in poor circumstances. Lives a dark life means he creates bad karma. Lives a bright life means he creates good karma. 22. Six perceptions conducive to penetration. The perception of impermanence, of suffering in impermanence, of non-self in suffering, of abandoning or letting go, of dispassion, and the perception of cessation. These are the sets of six things which were perfectly proclaimed by the Lord." 2.3, there are sets of seven things which have been perfectly proclaimed by the Lord. One, seven Aryan treasures, faith, morality, sense of shame, fear of wrongdoing, learning or hearing the hearing the Dhamma, and then renunciation and wisdom. Number two, seven factors of enlightenment, the bojangas. Mindfulness, investigation of Dhamma, energy, delight, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity. Three, seven requisites of concentration, right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, and right mindfulness. If you practice these seven factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, then it will lead you to the eighth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, which is Right Concentration. Four, seven wrong practices. Here a monk lacks faith, lacks sense of shame, lacks fear of wrongdoing, has little learning, is slack, is unmindful, and lacks wisdom. Number five, seven saddhamma, let's say seven good states. Here a monk has faith, sense of shame and fear of wrongdoing, has much learning, has aroused vigor or energetic effort, has established mindfulness and possesses wisdom. Number six, seven qualities of a true man. Here a monk is a knower of the Dhamma, of meanings, of self, of moderation, of the right time, of groups, of persons. Seven, seven kinds, seven grounds for commendation. for praising him. Here a monk is keenly anxious, A, to undertake the training and wants to persist in this, B, to make a close study of the Dhamma, C, to get rid of desires, D, to find solitude or seclusion, E, to arouse energy, F, to develop mindfulness and discrimination, G, to develop penetrative insight, A, seven perceptions, Perception of impermanence, of no self or non-self, of foulness or unattractiveness, of danger, of abandonment, of dispassion, of cessation. 9. Seven powers of faith, energy, moral shame, moral dread, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. 10. Seven stations of consciousness. Beings A. Different in body and different in perception. B. Different in body and alike in perception. C. Alike in body and different in perception. D. Alike in body and alike in perception. E. We have attained to the sphere of infinite space. F. Of infinite consciousness. G. Of no thingness. 11. Seven persons worthy of offerings. Both ways liberated. The wisdom liberated. The body witnessed. the Vision Attainer, the Faith Liberator, the Dhamma Devotee, the Faith Devotee. I'll stop here for a moment. These are the seven types of Aryans mentioned in the Majjhima Nikaya No. 70, Kittagiri Sutta. And the first, there are both ways liberated. It's also called liberated by mind. And the second one, wisdom liberated or liberated by wisdom, these two are arahants. And then the body witness, kaya sakhin, and then the faith attainer, ditipatta, the faith liberated, saddha vimutta, can be either the second fruit, third fruit, or fourth path attainer, according to the Anguttara Nikaya 3.21. But the commentary says different. The last two, Dhamma Devotee and Faith Devotee, refers to the first path attainer, Dhammanussarin and Saddhanussarin. Number 12, seven latent proclivities or tendencies, sensuous greed or sensual desire, resentment, views, doubt, conceit, craving for becoming, and ignorance. 13, seven factors, complacence, resentment, and then the balance as in number 12. 14, seven rules for the classification and settlement of disputed questions that have been raised. This one concerning monks only, disputes in the Sangha are to be settled by these seven ways. Proceedings, Face to face, that means in the presence of that person. B, recollection. C, mental derangement. D, confession. E, majority verdict. F, habitual bad character. G, covering over with grass. Just talk a bit on this. The first one, if you accuse a monk of some offence, for example, then you have to settle this face to face with him in his presence. You cannot discuss his fault if he's not around. You have to call him in front of the Sangha and then question him face to face. B is about the arahan. If somebody accuses an arahan of fault, then you can say that the arahan has recollection or sati or mindfulness 24 hours a day. So arahan is incapable of any fault. C, mental derangement. Suppose a monk, he is mentally deranged. then if he does something wrong, then the Sangha can say he cannot be faulted because he's deranged. D, confession. That means if somebody does break a minor precept, he has to confess it to another monk. E, majority verdict. If the Sangha cannot agree on something, then after much proceedings, they still cannot agree, then they have to take the majority verdict, that means take a vote. And then F, habitual bad character. If a monk is known to habitually break the precept or something, then you can cite this, that his character is like this. Then you can give him three warnings, and if he still does not change, then we can There's a precept in the Sangha Dishes where you can use against this monk. And covering over with grass, this is sometimes a dispute between two Sanghas, two groups of monks. It's a big thing because when two Sanghas split into two, this schism of the Sangha is a very serious thing. The monk who causes the schism of the Sangha, for the Sangha to split into two groups can go to hell. So, after much quarrelling and all that, and they still cannot settle it, then they have to decide to cover over with grass, forget about it, don't quarrel anymore. These are sets of seven things which were perfectly proclaimed by the Lord, so we should all recite them together for the benefit, welfare and happiness of devas and humans. Let's stop here for a while. Anything you all want to discuss so far? Okay, if not, we continue. 3.1. There are sets of eight things perfectly proclaimed by the Lord. One, eight wrong factors, wrong view, etc. These are the reverse of the Noble Eightfold Path. And then number two, the eight right factors is the Noble Eightfold Path. Right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Number three, eight persons worthy of offerings. The stream winner and one who has practiced to gain the fruit of stream entry. So the stream winner is the first path attainer. And the fruit of stream entry is the Sotapanna. And similarly for the second path attainer and the second fruit attainer. Second fruit attainer is the Sakadagamin, once returner. And then the third path attainer and third fruit attainer. The third fruit attainer is called the non-returner or Anagamin. And the fourth path attainer and the fourth fruit attainer, the fruit attainer is the arahant. So these are the eight ariyans, eight types of ariyans. Number four. Eight Occasions of Indolence. Here a monk, A, has a job to do. He thinks, I've got this job to do, but it will make me tired. I'll have a rest. So he lies down and does not stir up enough energy to complete the uncompleted, to accomplish the unaccomplished, to realize the unrealized. Or B, he has done some work and thinks, I've done this work. Now I'm tired. I'll have a rest. So he lies down. Or C, he has to go on a journey and thinks, I have to go on this journey, it will make me tired, so he lies down. Or D, he has been on a journey and then he lies down. Or E, he goes on the alms round in a village or town and does not get his fill of food, whether coarse or fine, and he thinks, I've gone for alms food, my body is tired and useless, and he lies down. Or F, he goes on arms round and gets his fill, and thinks, I've gone for arms and my body's heavy and useless, as if I were pregnant, and then he lies down. Or G, he has developed some slight indisposition and thinks, I'd better have a rest, and lies down. Or H, he's recuperating, having not long recovered from an illness, and he thinks, my body's weak and useless, I'll have a rest. So he lies down, does not stir up enough energy to complete the uncompleted. to accomplish the unaccomplished, to realize the unrealized. Number five, eight occasions for making an effort. Here a monk A has a job to do. He thinks, I've got this job to do, but in doing it, I won't find it easy to pay attention to the teaching of the Buddhas. So I will stir up sufficient energy to complete the uncompleted, to accomplish the unaccomplished, to realize the unrealized. Or B, he has done some work and thinks, well, I did the job, but because of it, I wasn't able to pay sufficient attention to the teaching of the Buddhas, so I'll stir up sufficient energy. Or C, he has to go on a journey, and then he wants to stir up some energy. Or he has been on a journey, he thinks I've been on this journey, but because of it, I wasn't able to pay sufficient attention. So he decides to pay more attention. Or E, he goes for arms without getting his fill and thinks, so my body is light and fit, I'll stir up energy. Or F, he goes for arms and gets his fill and thinks, so my body is strong and fit, I'll stir up energy. Or G, he has some slight indisposition and he thinks, this indisposition or illness might get worse, so I'll stir up energy. Or H, he's recuperating and he thinks, It might be that the illness will recur, so I'll stir up energy. Thus he stirs up sufficient energy to complete the uncompleted, to accomplish the unaccomplished, to realize the unrealized. That means to attain liberation.

61-DN-33-Sangiti-(2011-08-11)-Part-D.txt

6. Eight bases for giving. One gives A. As occasion offers B. From fear C. Thinking he gave me something D. Thinking he will give me something E. Thinking it is good to give F. Thinking I am cooking something they are not. It would not be right not to give something to those who are not cooking. G. Thinking if I make this gift I shall acquire good reputation H. In order to adorn and prepare and prepare one's heart. 7. Eight kinds of rebirth due to generosity. Here someone gives an ascetic or Brahmin food, drink, clothes, transport, garlands, perfumes and ointments, sleeping accommodation, a dwelling or lights, and he hopes to receive a return for his gifts. He sees a rich Kathia or Brahmin or householder living in full enjoyment of the pleasures of the five senses. And he thinks, if only when I die, I may be reborn as one of these rich people. He sets his heart on this thought, fixes it and develops it. And this thought being launched at such a low level and not developed to a higher level leads to rebirth right there. But I say this of a moral person, not of an immoral one. the mental aspiration of a moral person is effective through its purity. Or b. He gives such gifts, and having heard that the devas in the realm of the four great kings live long, a good-looking and lead a happy life, he thinks, if only I could be reborn there. Or he similarly aspires to rebirth in the heavens of C, the 33 gods, D, the Yama devas, E, Tushita devas, F, Nimanarati devas, G, Paranimitta Vasavati devas. And this thought leads to rebirth right there. The mental aspiration of a moral person is effective through its purity. or age, he similarly aspires to rebirth in the world of Brahma. But I say this of a moral person, not an immoral one, one free from passion, not one still swayed by passion. The mental aspiration for such a moral person is effective through liberation from passion." Stop here for a moment. So here somebody makes an aspiration for a good rebirth and the Buddha is saying that it's only effective. It can only work if he has the blessings for it. So like for this person who wants to be reborn as Brahma, that he got to be freed from the passion. Freed from the passion means I must have attained the first jhana. If he hasn't attained the first jhana, how to be reborn in the first jhana heaven as Brahma? So you got to have the qualification. If you don't have the qualification, then you cannot your aspiration cannot work. So actually, if you have the qualification, you don't have to aspire, you don't have to make a wish. There are some monks, they tell people, when you give a gift, you must make a wish for this, make a wish for that. But in the suttas, the Buddha says, when you dana, when you make a gift, and you make an aspiration, then you are selfish. You have a motive, you want to gain something. That being so, your blessings, your merit decreases. So you don't have to make an aspiration. What you are qualified for, you will get. Number eight. Eight assemblies. The assembly of kathiyas, brahmins, householders, ascetics, devas of the realm of the four great kings, of the thirty-three gods, of maras, of brahmas. Number nine, eight worldly conditions. Gain and loss, fame and shame, blame and praise, happiness and misery. This in the Mahayana books, Chinese books, they call the eight winds that move us. Number 10, eight stages of mastery. Perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms, limited and beautiful or ugly. B, as A but unlimited. C, not perceiving forms internally, one sees external forms limited, or D, one sees external forms unlimited. And not perceiving forms internally, one perceives forms that are E, blue, F, yellow, G, red, H, white. Okay, for a moment, these four colors are the casino colors. If people want to meditate on color, they choose one of these four colors, blue, yellow, red, and white. 11. Eight liberations. A. Possessing form, one sees forms. B. Not perceiving material forms in oneself, one sees them outside. C. Thinking it is beautiful, one becomes intent on it. One enters D. The sphere of infinite space. E. Sphere of infinite consciousness. F. Sphere of nothingness. G. Sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. H. Cessation of perception and feeling. These are the sets of eight things. 3.2, there are sets of nine things. One, nine causes of malice or anger. Malice is stirred up by the thought, A, he has done me an injury. B, he is doing me an injury. C, he will do me an injury. D to F, he has done, is doing, or will do an injury to someone who is dear and pleasant to me. G to I. He has done, is doing, or will do a favour to someone who is hateful and unpleasant to me. Stop here for a moment. So, malice is stirred up, you get angry with somebody because he has done you something wrong, or he's doing something wrong to you, or he's going to do something wrong to you. Or, he has done, is doing, or will do to someone you love, like your family member. And then G to I, he has done, is doing, will do a favour to somebody you hate, your enemy. Number two, nine ways of overcoming malice. Malice is overcome by the thought, he has done me an injury, as before. But what good would it do to harbour malice? What's the point of getting angry? What's the point of hating him? Then you let go. Three. Nine abodes of beings. A. Beings different in body and different in perception. B. Beings different in body and alike in perception. C. Beings alike in body and different in perception. D. Beings alike in body and alike in perception. E. Realm of unconscious beings. F. Realm of neither perception nor non-perception. G. B. Beings who have attained to the sphere of infinite space. H. Beings who have attained to the sphere of infinite consciousness. I. Beings who have attained to the sphere of nothingness. 4. 9. Unfortunate inopportune times for leading the holy life. Wrong times to become a monk. A. The Tathagata has been born in the world, Arahant, Samasambuddha. And the Dhamma is taught with least to calm and perfect Nibbana. which leads to enlightenment as taught by the welfareer. But this person is born in a hell, or B, among animals, or C, among ghosts, or D, among Asuras, or E, in a long-lived group of Devas, or F, he is born in the border regions among foolish barbarians where there is no access for monks and nuns or male and female lay followers. Or, G, he is born in the middle country, but he has wrong views and distorted vision, thinking there is no giving, offering or sacrificing. There is no fruit or result of good and bad deeds. There is not this world and the next. There are no parents and there are no spontaneous rebirth. There are no ascetics and Brahmins in the world who, having attained to the highest and realized for themselves the highest knowledge about this world and the next, proclaim it. he is born in the middle country but lacks wisdom and is stupid or is deaf and dumb and cannot tell whether something has been well said or ill said or else no Tathagata has arisen and this person is born in the middle country and is intelligent not stupid not deaf not dumb and well able to tell whether something has been well said or ill said. I'll stop here for a moment. So these are the wrong occasions to become a monk, or not possible to become a monk. The Buddha is in the world, but this person is born in hell, or as an animal, or as a ghost, or as an asura maybe, because asuras are always fighting, or in a long life group of devas. That means their life is so long that they don't see impermanence. They think they will live forever and ever. Or F, born in a place where the dhamma cannot be heard. All the people there are barbarians. Or G, He's born in the Ganges Valley where the Buddha is, but he does not believe in the Buddha's teachings, he has wrong view. And then H, he's born in the middle country where the Buddha is, but he either has Down syndrome or he's dumb and deaf, etc. Or he is born in India where the Buddha should be. But at the wrong time, the Buddha has already entered Nibbana and there is no Dhamma. Five. Nine successive abidings. Jhanas and the spheres of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, neither perception or non-perception, and cessation of perception and feeling. That means the four Rupa Jhanas, the four Arupa Jhanas plus cessation. nine successive cessations. By the attainment of the first jhāna, perceptions of sensuality cease. By the attainment of the second jhāna, thought directed and sustained cease. By the attainment of the third jhāna, piti or delight ceases. By the attainment of the fourth jhāna, breathing ceases. By the attainment of the sphere of infinite space, Perception of materiality ceases. By the attainment of the sphere of infinite consciousness, perception of the sphere of infinite space ceases. By the attainment of the sphere of nothingness, perception of the sphere of infinite consciousness ceases. By the attainment of the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, the perception of the sphere of nothingness ceases. By the attainment of the cessation of perception and feeling, Deception and feelings cease. These are the sets of nine things. 3.3. There are sets of ten things perfectly proclaimed by the Lord. 1. Ten things that give protection. Here a monk is moral. A monk is moral. He lives restrained according to the restraint of the discipline, persisting in right behavior, seeing danger in the slightest thought. He keeps to the rules of training. B. He has learned much and bears in mind and retains what he has learned. In these teachings, beautiful in the beginning, the middle and end, which in spirit and letter proclaim the absolutely perfected and purified holy life, he is deeply learned, remembers them, recites them, reflects on them and penetrates them with vision. C. He is a friend, associate and intimate of good people. D. He is affable, endowed with gentleness and patience, quick to grasp instruction. E. Whatever various jobs there are to be done for his fellow monks, he is skillful, not lax, using foresight to carry them out, and is good at doing and planning. F. He loves the Dhamma and delights in hearing it. He is especially fond of the advanced Dhamma Vinaya. G. He is content with any kind of requisite, robes, arms, food, lodging, medicines. H. He ever strives to arouse energy to get rid of unwholesome states, to establish wholesome states, untiringly and energetically striving to keep such good states and never shaking off the burden. I. He is mindful with a great capacity for clearly Recalling things done and said long ago. It's a definition of sati. Sati is a person who remembers what was said and done a long time ago. J. He is wise, with wise perception of arising and passing away. That Aryan perception that leads to the complete destruction of suffering. This last one, to attain destruction of suffering, you have to be able to see the rising and passing away of everything in the world, in other words impermanence. Two, ten objects for the attainment of absorption. I perceive the earth casino, water casino, fire casino, wind casino, blue casino, yellow casino, red casino, white casino, space casino, consciousness or light casino. Above, below, on all sides, undivided, unbounded. These are the ten casino objects. Number three, ten unwholesome causes of action or unskillful karma, taking life or killing, taking what is not given or theft, sexual misconduct or adultery, lying speech or lying slander or carrying tales to cause disharmony. coarse speech, idle gossip, greed, malevolence or ill will, and wrong view. The first three are unskillful body kamma. The next four are unskillful verbal kamma. The last three are unskillful mental kamma. 4. Ten unwholesome causes of action, avoidance of taking life, etc. as the previous one. 5. Ten Aryan dispositions. Here among A has got rid of five factors, B possesses six factors, C has established one god, D observes the four supports, E has got rid of individual beliefs, F has quite abandoned quest, G is pure of motive, H has tranquilized his emotions, is well liberated. I in heart and J by wisdom. How has he got rid of five factors? Here he has got rid of sensual desire, ill will, sloth and topper, restlessness and worry and doubt, the five hindrances. B, what six factors does he possess? On seeing an object with the eye, hearing a sound, smelling a taste, tasting a flavor, touching a tangible or cognizing a mental object, He is neither pleased nor displeased, but remains equable, mindful and clearly aware. That means he practices equanimity. C. How has he established the One God? By guarding his mind with mindfulness. Always looking into his mind. D. What are the four supports? He judges that one thing is to be pursued, one thing endured, one thing avoided, one thing suppressed. This is as in Sutta 1.11. Point eight. E, how has he got rid of individual beliefs? Whatever individual beliefs are held by the majority of ascetics and Brahmins, he has dismissed, abandoned, rejected, let go of them. F, how is he one who has quite abandoned quest? He has abandoned the quest for sense desires, for rebirth, for the holy life. quest for holy life. Maybe it means he does not make too much effort. G. How is he pure of motive? He has abandoned thoughts of sensuality, ill will and cruelty. These are the three wrong thoughts. H. How is he one who has tranquilized his emotions? Because having given up pleasure and pain with the disappearance of former gladness and sadness, He enters into a state beyond pleasure and pain. He is purified by equanimity. And this is the fourth jhana. This one, so when a person attains the fourth jhana, he tranquilizes his emotions. I. How is he well emancipated in mind? He is liberated from the thought of greed, hatred, and delusion. J. How is he well liberated by wisdom. He understands, for me, greed, hatred and delusion are abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, destroyed and incapable of growing again. So these last two are arahants. Six, ten qualities of the non-learner. This is the arahant asekha, no more things to learn. The non-learners' right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, right knowledge, and right liberation. These are the sets of ten things which have been perfectly set forth by the Lord who knows and sees, the fully enlightened Buddha. So we should all recite them together without disagreement so that this holy life may be long-lasting and established for a long time to come. thus to be for the welfare and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of devas and humans. And when the Lord had stood up, he said to the Venerable Sariputta, good, good Sariputta, well indeed have you proclaimed the way of chanting together for the monks. These things were said by the Venerable Sariputta, and the teacher confirmed them. The monks were delighted and rejoiced at the Venerable Sariputta's words." That's the end of the sutta. This word Sanghiti means chanting together. So after the Buddha passed away, when the Sangha held the first Sangha Council, the Sangha Council is called the Sanghiti, chanting together. When they come together, either they chant the Dhamma together or the Vinaya together and they agree that this is the words of the Buddha. Tomorrow night we will speak on the last sutta of the Digha Nikaya before we go to Kutaka. Anything to discuss? Should be. This sutta was spoken by Venerable Sariputta. So he's telling them that we should chant together. You see, during the Buddha's time, the monks had no books. So whatever the Buddha taught, now all the suttas, they had to learn it from their teacher. The teacher will teach them, the teacher will chant, and then they chant together. Yeah. Okay. Why do monks have to rest after the war? For a normal person, that is a normal thing to do. But the Buddha is talking about his disciples who are practicing to attain liberation and they don't want to rest. In other words, you need that kind of super effort to become liberated. As the Buddha says, Mara, there's no power stronger than Mara, our defilements. I have a question. Did Buddha mention why the casinas are blue, red and white? No, no, the Buddha did not mention and these casinas were not created by the Buddha. They were objects of meditation practiced by the yogis in India for a long time. maybe thousands of years, so it's been handed down. It works, that's why the Buddhas and disciples follow it. What page again? Five, zero, seven. Five, zero, seven. Peta is a Pali word for ghost. After the petas you have the asuras and actually asuras according to the Digha Nikaya are heavenly beings. But later books like the Mahayana Sutras and the Abhidhamma and the commentaries they list the Asuras under the woeful destinations of rebirth. In the original suttas, there are only five destinations of rebirth. Two are happy destinations, heavens and the human realm, and three are woeful destinations, the ghosts, the animals, and the hell beings. But the later books, they added the Asuras under the Woeful Plains. So instead of five destinations of rebirth, later books talk about six destinations of rebirth. So the fact that under D, you have the Asuras mentioned here, it could be a later addition. Okay. Concerning the attachment to one creature, When they talk about duty to the teacher, is also what can come in that way? No, no, I didn't say duty to the teacher, it's attachment to rites and rituals. I was trying to say this word, the Pali word is sila, bhatta, paramassa. attachment to Sila and Vata. So Sila is the rules, all kinds of rules including the precepts and Vata means all the religious observances. So I was trying to say that all religious observances, I say all religious observances and then I quoted the Acharya Vata That Vattha is also used in that sense, even duty to the teacher. But I did not say that duty to the teacher is an attachment, I didn't say. Ven. Bhikkuni, going back to the story of Asura, the Asura at the very beginning, as Bhikkuni said, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, So tell me, do you still have to ask me that question? Tell me that I am the AI being called after you. You tell me. So why do you do that to me? It's not stated anywhere that the Asuras cannot progress in the Dhamma. But generally, heavenly beings, because they are enjoying life in the heavens, the most they will do is to listen to the Dhamma. And I think Asuras have enough blessings to be able to listen to the Dhamma and maybe attain Sotapanna. There's notes here. in order to adorn, prepare one's heart. If you have a good heart, then you can practice spiritual path better. You can say that but they don't explain enough. And also some of the things seem to be later addition, certain things like we don't see in the other suttas, they seem to have put it here. What page, what page? Page 4. Oh. One thing is to be pursued. I think that day I mentioned wholesome states. One thing to be endured could be pain or suffering. One thing to be avoided could be unwholesome states, anger and all that. One thing to be suppressed, thoughts of lust, hatred and delusion or thoughts of sensual desire, malice or enmity, ill will and cruelty, wrong thoughts. Okay, so the page 500. So the page 500. Emancipation of an art. So it says that we can leave our people to fly behind them and fall out of the grass and be equal to the emancipation of art. Can you explain a bit about the emancipation of art and how art can bring us to that perspective? Under 17, is it? Emancipation of the heart, Ceto Vimuti. I think it's a wrong translation. If you notice, I read it differently. I called it liberation by the mind. Ceto is the mind of loving kindness, metta. Liberation by the mind of loving-kindness. In other words, radiation by the mind of loving-kindness. And this one, you got to have the jhana and you have a strong mind and use the mind to radiate or liberate loving-kindness. Oh yes, yes. Because when a person comes out of jhana, the effect of the jhana will stay for some time. That's why, like the Buddha says, a person to attain liberation should should attain the fourth jhāna. So like the Buddha himself, on the night of enlightenment, he attained the fourth jhāna, and then coming out of the fourth jhāna, he used that calm, imperturbable state. And the Buddha described that state where the mind is pliant, malleable, wieldy, workable. Then you can use it for anything you want. Buddha says in that condition of mind, whatever you want to see and know, you are able to see and know. Jnana, dasana, knowing and seeing. So when the Buddha directs it to the Four Noble Truths, then he understands the Four Noble Truths and attains liberation. So you notice also in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, The way the Buddha entered Nibbana, Pali Nibbana, he attained all the jhanas and then came out of it. Then he attained 1, 2, 3, 4, up to the 4th jhana. Coming out of the 4th jhana where the mind is, the Buddha says that the 4th jhana is an imperturbable state, unshakable. It is so strong and unshakable. Coming out of the 4th jhana, the Buddha entered Nibbana. So if you have not entered any jhāna, your mind is full of the five hindrances, how is it possible to enter Nibbāna? Impossible. That's why in the suttas, the Buddha says it's impossible to become an anagamin or an arahant without the four jhānas. So which shows that the pure vipassana method is just Something cooked up, not the Buddha's words. All of them should have entered Nibbana in that way. You see, if a person constantly dwells in the fort Jhana, then the mind inclines to that fort Jhana because it's such a pleasant state. So when a monk is dying, the mind will naturally incline to that state, peaceful state. That's why, for example, if a person has cultivated the first jhāna and constantly abides in the first jhāna, when he dies, he is reborn in the first jhāna heaven, Mahābhārāma. In order to have a complete wholesomeness, Actually, the four Brahma Viharas are something that the Brahmins like very much because they want to be reborn in the Brahma realm and they want to practice that. And it is not essential for liberation, that's why it is not part of the Noble Eightfold Path. But it is something useful for the monks to cultivate because if they have loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, then It influences the environment. So your monk, for example, practices loving-kindness. He goes into the deep forest and there are fierce beings in the deep forest. Sometimes you have fierce ghosts or you have fierce devas that might harm him. But because of the practice of loving-kindness, it radiates radiation of loving-kindness by the mind. Then these beings will not harm him. But I think it's up to him whether he wants to practice one or he wants to practice four. But it is something I feel is more, the Buddha mentioned it, because it is something that the Indian tradition, the Brahmins, they like to practice. But it's not essential for liberation. At page 510. 510. It is white knowledge. What is the white knowledge stated here? Right knowledge. Right knowledge. Samma Nyanang. Right liberation. Actually after After the Noble Eightfold Path, it should be liberation. And then after liberation is knowledge, knowledge of liberation. So here should be knowledge of liberation. Shall we end here?

62-DN-34-Dasuttara-(2011-08-12).txt

Okay, tonight is the 12th of August, 2011, and this is the 27th night we are speaking on the Digha Nikaya Suttas, and we've come to the last sutta, number 34, Dasuttara Sutta. Dasuttara is supposed to mean expanding decades. Thus have I heard. Once the Lord was staying at Champa near the Gagara lotus pond with a large company of some 500 monks. Then the Venerable Sariputta addressed the monks, friends, monks. Friend replied the monks and the Venerable Sariputta said, in growing groups from one to 10, I'll teach Dhamma for the gaining of Nibbana, that you may make an end of suffering and be free from all the ties that bind. there is friends. 1. One thing that greatly helps. 2. One thing to be developed. 3. One thing to be thoroughly known. 4. One thing to be abandoned. 5. One thing that conduces to diminution. 6. One thing that conduces to distinction. 7. One thing hard to penetrate. 8. One thing to be made to arise. 9. One thing to be thoroughly learnt. And ten, one thing to be realized. One, which one thing greatly helps? Tirelessness in wholesome states. Number two, which one thing is to be developed? Mindfulness with regard to the body accompanied by pleasure. Three, which one thing is to be thoroughly known? Contact as a condition of the asavas and of grasping or attachment. Number four, which one thing is to be abandoned? Ego, conceit. Number five, which one thing conduces to diminution? Unwise attention or careless attention. Number six, which one thing conduces to distinction? Wise attention or careful attention. or thorough attention. Seven, which one thing is hard to penetrate? Uninterrupted mental concentration. Stop it for a moment. Yes, the other day I was talking about unremitting mindfulness. If your mindfulness is unremitting all the time on one object, it gives rise to samadhi. So here, also the same, uninterrupted, Mental concentration is also similar. Number eight, which one thing is to be made to arise? Unshakable knowledge. Nine, which one thing is to be thoroughly learned? All beings are maintained by nutriment. As in Sutta 33, verse 1.8.1. 10, which one thing is to be realized? Unshakable deliverance of mind. That makes ten things that are real and true, so and not otherwise, unerringly and perfectly realized by the Tathagata. 1.3 Two things greatly help. Two things are to be developed. Similar to 1 to 10 above. Which two things greatly help? Mindfulness and clear awareness. 2. Here, mindfulness and clear awareness should be sati sampajjana, which can be translated as recollection and mindfulness. Which two things are to be developed? Tranquility and contemplation, samatha and vipassana. Vipassana is contemplation rather than insight. We practice both, samatha plus vipassana, it leads to insight, as mentioned in Anguttanikaya 2.3.10. Which two things are to be thoroughly known? Number three, mind and body. Four, which two things are to be abandoned? Ignorance and craving for existence. Five, which two things conduce to diminution? Roughness and friendship with the evil. This one we went through the other day. I can also say, Roughness and evil friends. What's the other word we use for roughness? Disobedience and evil friends. Number six, which two things conduce to distinction? Gentleness or obedience and good friends. Number seven, which two things are hard to penetrate? That which is the root, the condition of the development of beings. and that which is the root, the condition for the purification of beings. Number eight, which two things are made to arise? Knowledge of the destruction and of the non-recurrence. Number nine, which two things are to be thoroughly learned? Two elements, the conditioned and the unconditioned. Number 10, which two things are to be realized? Knowledge and liberation. That makes 20 things that are real and true. and not otherwise, unerringly and perfectly realized by the Tathagata. Anything to discuss here? We can stop for a moment. We continue 1.4. Three things greatly help, three things are to be developed. One, which three things greatly help? Association with good people or with true men, hearing the true Dhamma, practice of the Practice of the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma. Should be, here it says good people should be true men, Sapurisa. Number two, which three things are to be developed? Three kinds of concentration. I think we went through before. With vittaka and vichara. And then with vichara but no vittaka. Then the third one is without vittaka and without vichara. Number three, which three things are to be thoroughly known? The three feelings, pleasant, painful, and neither painful nor pleasant. Number four, which three things are to be abandoned? The three kinds of craving, sensual desire, existence and non-existence. Number five, which three things conduce to diminution? Three unwholesome roots, greed, hatred, and delusion. Which three things conduce to distinction? The three wholesome roots are non-greed, non-hatred, non-delusion. Number seven, which three things are hard to penetrate? The three elements making for deliverance. A. Deliverance from sensuality, that is renunciation. B. Deliverance from material forms, that is the immaterial. C. Whatever has become is compounded, is conditionally arisen. Deliverance from that is cessation. Eight, which three things are to be made to arise? The three knowledges of the past, present, and future. Number nine, which three things are to be thoroughly learned? The three elements. I think it's elements of sensual desire form and the formless. Number 10, which three things are to be realized? Three knowledges. The three knowledges the Buddha attained on the night of enlightenment, knowledge of past lives, of the disease and rebirth of beings and destruction of the asavasla. That makes 30 things that are real and true, so and not otherwise, unerringly and perfectly realized by the Tathagata. 1.5, four things greatly help, four things are to be developed. One, which four things greatly help? The four wheels, a favorable place of, a suitable place of residence, association with true men, Sapurisa is true men, Aryans. C, perfect development of one's, perfect development of one's personality. I think this one, in the Mangala Sutta, we also have this, with oneself rightly guided. That means walking the Dhamma way. Then past meritorious actions. Number two, which four things are to be developed? The four satipatthana, intense states of mindfulness. Which four things are to be thoroughly known? The four nutriments, material food, contact, volition, and consciousness. Which four things are to be abandoned? The four floods, as in Sutta 33. And number five, which four things conduce to diminution? The four yogas. as in Sutta 33. Which four things conduce to distinction? The four unyokings as in Sutta 33. Number seven, which four things are hard to penetrate? The four concentrations. A. Conducing to decline. B. Conducing to stasis. C. Conducive to distinction. And D. Conducive to penetration. Number eight, which four things are to be made to arise? The four knowledges as in Sutta 33. Number nine, which four things are to be thoroughly learned? The four noble truths. Number 10, which four things are to be realized? The four fruits of the ascetic life. Sutta, Panna, Sakka, Degamin, Anagamin, and Araham. That makes 40 things that are real and true, so and not otherwise, unerringly and perfectly realized by the Tathagata. Anything to discuss here? Okay, 1.6. Five things greatly help. Five things are to be developed. One, which five things greatly help? The five factors of endeavor, as in Sutta 33. Two, which five things are to be developed? Fivefold perfect concentration. A, suffusion with delight, piti. B, suffusion with happiness or bliss, sukha. C, suffusion with will, ceto, with the mind. D, suffusion with light, aloka. E, the revealing sign, paccavecana nimitta. This one, paccavecana nimitta, could be from the later books. I don't think in the suttas they mention this. Number three, which five things are to be thoroughly known? The five aggregates of attachment. Four, which five things are to be abandoned? The five hindrances. Five, which five things conduce to diminution? the five mental blockages, as in Sutta 33. Six, which five things conduce to distinction, the five faculties, as in Sutta 33. Seven, which five things are hard to penetrate, the five elements making for deliverance, as in Sutta 33. Number eight, which five things are hard to be made to arise, the five-fold knowledge of right concentration, the knowledge that arises within one, that A, this concentration is both present happiness and productive of future resultant happiness. B. This concentration is Aryan and free from worldliness. C. This concentration is not practiced by the unworthy or untrue men. D. This concentration is calm and perfect, has attained tranquillisation, has attained unification, and is not instigated. It cannot be denied or prevented. E. I myself attain this concentration with mindfulness and emerge from it with mindfulness. 9. Which five things are to be thoroughly learned? The five bases of deliverance, as in Sutta 33. 10. Which five things are to be realized? The five branches of Dhamma, as in Sutta 33, plus knowledge and vision of liberation. That makes 50 things that are real and true and not otherwise unerringly and perfectly realized by the Tathagata. 1.7, six things greatly help, six things are to be developed. One, six things greatly help, six things to be remembered, as in Sutta 33. Two, which six things are to be developed, the six subjects of recollection, as in Sutta 33. Number three, which six things are to be thoroughly known, the six internal sense spheres, the six sense bases. Number four, which six things are to be abandoned, the six groups of craving, as in Sutta 33. Number five, which six things conduce to diminution, the six kinds of disrespect, as in Sutta 33. Number six, which six things conduce to distinction, the six kinds of respect, as in Sutta 33. Number seven, which six things are hard to penetrate, the six elements making for deliverance, as in Sutta 33. Eight, which six things are to be made, to arise, the six stable states, as in Sutta 33. Number nine, which six things are to be thoroughly known, the six unsurpassed things, as in Sutta 33. Number 10, which six things are to be realized, the six super-knowledges, Abhinaya. Here a monk applies and bends his mind to enjoy different supernormal powers, E, D, A. Being one, he becomes many, et cetera. can pass through walls, can dive into the earth, can fly like a bird, can touch the sun and the moon with the flesh body, can reach the Brahma heavens. B, with the divine ear, he hears sounds both divine and human. C, he knows and distinguishes or reads the minds of other beings. D, he remembers past lives. E, with the divine eye, he sees beings passing away and arising according to karma. F, he abides in this life by his own super knowledge and realization in the attainment of the liberation by mind and liberation by wisdom with the destruction of the asavasla. That makes 60 things that are real and true, so and not otherwise, unerringly and perfectly realized by the Tathagata. Anything to discuss here? 1.8. Seven things greatly help. Seven things are to be developed. 1. Which seven things greatly help? The seven treasures, as in Sutta 33. 2. Which seven things are to be developed? The seven factors of enlightenment, the Bodjangas. 3. Which seven things are to be thoroughly known? The seven stations of consciousness. 4. Which seven things are to be abandoned? The seven latent proclivities or tendencies. Number five, which seven things conduce to diminution? The seven wrong practices, as in Sutta 33. Six, which seven things conduce to distinction? The seven right practices, as in Sutta 33. Number seven, which seven things are hard to penetrate? The seven qualities of a true man, in Sutta 33. Number eight, which seven things are to be made to arise? The seven perceptions, as in Sutta 33. Number nine, which seven things are to be thoroughly learned? The seven grounds for commendation, as in Sutta 33. Number 10, which seven things are to be learned? The seven powers of an arahant. Here, for a monk who has destroyed the asavas, A, the impermanence of all volitions is well seen as it really is by perfect insight. This is one way whereby he recognizes that for him, the asavas are destroyed. B. Sense desires or sensual desires are well seen as being like a pit of glowing embers, can burn us. C. His heart or his mind is bent on and inclined towards detachment, slopes towards detachment, and detachment is its object rejoicing in renunciation. His heart is totally unreceptive to all things pertaining to the asavas. He's detached from people and from one's desires. D, the four satipatthanas have been well and truly developed. The five faculties or indriya have been well developed. The seven factors, bhojanga of enlightenment have been well developed. G, the noble eightfold path has been well and truly developed. This is one of the paths whereby he recognizes that for him, the asavas are destroyed. That makes 70 things that are real and true, so and not otherwise unerringly and perfectly realized by the Tathagata. So here, these are the things that Arahant possesses when he becomes liberated. 2.1. Eight things greatly help. Eight things are to be developed. Which eight things greatly help? Eight causes, eight conditions conduce to wisdom. in the fundamentals of the holy life, to gaining what has not been gained, and to increasing, expanding, and developing what has been gained. Here, A, one lives close to the teacher or to a fellow monk with the standing of a teacher, being thus strongly established in moral shame, established with a sense of shame and fear of wrongdoing, in love and veneration for the teacher. He who is so pleased, B, from time to time goes to his teacher, asks and interrogates him, how is that, Lord, I think it's Bante, what does this mean? Thus his verbal teachers can reveal what is hidden and clarify obscurities, in this way helping him to solve his problems. C, that having heard Dhamma from them, he achieves withdrawal, withdrawal of body and mind. Further, a monk is moral. He lives restrained according to the restraint of the discipline. I think of Patimokkha. Persisting in right behavior, seeing danger in the slightest fault, and keeping to the rules of training. Also he, a monk having learned much, remembers and bears in mind what he has learned, and those things that are beautiful in the beginning, in the middle, and in the ending, which in spirit and letter proclaim the absolutely perfected and purified holy life. He remembers and reflects on and penetrates them with vision. Again, F, a monk having stirred up energy, continues to dispel unwholesome states, striving strongly and firmly and not casting off the yoke of the wholesome. Again, G, a monk is mindful with the highest mindfulness and discrimination, remembering and bearing in mind what has been done or said in the past. Also, each monk continually contemplates the rise and fall of five aggregates of grasping, thinking, such is body, its arising and passing, such are feelings, perceptions, volition, consciousness, the arising and passing. Two, which eight things are to be developed, the Noble Eightfold Path? Three, which eight things are to be thoroughly known, the eight worldly conditions, as in Sutta 33? Four, which eight things are to be abandoned, the eight wrong factors, as in Sutta 33. Five, which eight things conduce to diminution, the eight occasions of indolence, as in Sutta 33. Six, which eight things conduce to distinction, the eight occasions for making an effort, as in Sutta 33. Seven, which eight things are hard to penetrate, the eight unfortunate in opportune times for leading the holy life, as in Sutta 33. Number eight, which eight things are to be made to arise, the eight thoughts of a great man. This Dhamma is A, for one of few ones, not one of many ones, or desires. B, for the contented, not for the discontented. C, for the withdrawn, not for those delighting in company. D, for the energetic, not for the lazy. E, for one of established mindfulness, not for one of lax mindfulness. F, for one of concentrated mind, not for one who is not concentrated. G, for one who has wisdom, not for one lacking wisdom. H, for one who delights in non-proliferation, not for one who delights in proliferation of thoughts. Nine, which eight things are to be thoroughly learned, the eight states of mastery, as in Sutta 33. Ten, which eight things are to be realized, the eight liberations as in Sutta 33. That makes 80 things that are real and true, so and not otherwise unerringly and perfectly realized by the Tathagata. Anything to discuss here? Which one? Item? Which F? At the top there's one F, bottom there's another F. Again, a monk having stirred up energy continues to dispel unwholesome states, striving strongly and firmly, not casting off the yoke of the wholesome. Yeah? What do you want to know? Oh. Yeah. 2.2. Nine things greatly help. Nine things are to be developed. One, which nine things greatly help? The nine conditions rooted in wise consideration or careful attention. When a monk practices wise consideration, A, joy arises in him, and B, from his being joyful, delight arises. And from his feeling delight, his senses are calm. D, as a result of this calming, he feels happiness. And E, from this feeling happy, his mind becomes concentrated. F, with his mind thus concentrated, he knows and sees things as they really are. G, with his thus knowing and seeing things as they really are, he becomes disenchanted. H, with the disenchantment, he becomes dispassionate. And by dispassion, he is liberated. Which nine things are to be developed? The nine factors of the effort for perfect purity. A. The factor of effort for purity of morality, sila. B. For purity of mind. C. For purity of views. D. For purification of overcoming doubt. E. Of purification by knowledge and vision of path and not path. F. Of purification by knowledge and vision of progress. G, of purification by knowledge and vision. H, by purity of wisdom. I, of purity of deliverance. Three, which nine things are to be thoroughly known, the nine abodes of beings, as in Sutta 33. Number four, which nine things are to be abandoned, nine things rooted in craving, craving, condition, searching, acquisition, decision making, lustful desire, attachment, appropriation, avarice, guarding of possessions. And because of the guarding of possessions, there arise the taking up of stick and sword, quarrels, lying and other evil unskilled states, as in Sutta 15. Number five, which nine things conduce to diminution, the nine causes of malice, as in Sutta 33. Number six, which nine things conduce to distinction? The nine ways of overcoming malice, as in Sutta 33. Number seven, which nine things are hard to penetrate? The nine differences. Owing to difference of element, there is difference of contact. Owing to difference of contact, there is difference of feeling. Owing to difference of feeling, there is difference of perception. Owing to difference of perception, there is difference of thought. Owing to difference of thought, there is difference of intention. Going to difference of intention, there is difference of obsession. Going to difference of obsession, there is difference of quest. Going to difference of quest, there is difference of what is gained. Eight, which nine things are to be made to arise? The nine perceptions of the foul, of death, of loathsomeness, of food, of distaste for the whole world, of impermanence, of suffering in impermanence, of non-self in suffering, of relinquishment, of abandoning, of dispassion. Nine, which nine things are to be thoroughly learned? The nine successive abidings, as in Sutta 33. Ten, which nine things are to be realized? The nine successive cessations, as in Sutta 33. That makes 90 things that are real and true, so and not otherwise unerringly and perfectly realized by the Tathagata. 2.3, 10 things greatly help. 2. Are to be developed. 3. Are to be thoroughly known. 4. Are to be abandoned. 5. Conduce to diminution. 6. Conduce to distinction. 7. Are hard to penetrate. 8. Are to be made to arise. 9. Are to be thoroughly learned. 10. Are to be realized. 1. Which ten things greatly help? The ten things that give protection, as in Sutta 33. 2. Which ten things are to be developed? The ten objects for the attainment of absorption, as in Sutta 33. 3. Which ten things are to be thoroughly known? The ten sense spheres, eye and sights, ear and sounds, nose and smells, tongue and taste, body and tactile object or touch. 4. Which ten things are to be abandoned? The ten wrong causes, as in Sutta 33, plus wrong knowledge and wrong liberation. Number five, which ten things conduce to diminution? The ten unwholesome causes of action. Six, which ten things conduce to distinction? The ten wholesome causes of action. Must be unskillful karma, unskillful karma. Seven, which ten things are hard to penetrate? The ten Aryan dispositions, as in Sutta 33. Which ten things are to be made to arise? The ten perceptions. as in verse 2.2, and the perception of cessation. Nine, which 10 things are to be thoroughly learned, 10 causes of wearing away. By right view, wrong view is worn away. Whatever evil and wholesome states arise on the basis of wrong view are worn away too. And by right view, many wholesome states are developed and perfected. By right thought, wrong thought is worn away. By right speech, wrong speech is worn away. By right action, wrong action is worn away. By right livelihood, wrong livelihood is worn away. By right effort, wrong effort is worn away. By right mindfulness, wrong mindfulness is worn away. By right concentration, wrong concentration is worn away. By right knowledge, wrong knowledge is worn away. By right liberation, wrong liberation is worn away. And whatever evil and unwholesome states arise on the basis of wrong liberation are worn away too. And by right liberation, many wholesome states are developed and perfected. Ten, which ten things are to be realized, the ten qualities of the non-learner, for the Arahant, as in Sutta 33, that makes a hundred things that are real and true, so and not otherwise, unerringly and perfectly realized by the Tathagata. So said the rebel Sariputta, The monks were delighted and rejoiced at his words. That's the end of the sutra. Anything to discuss? If not, we can take a break and then we can start on Kudaka Nikaya. Emotions? Emotions come from feelings. Feelings, when feelings multiply, you call them emotions, and feelings come from contact at the sixth sense doors, from seeing, from hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thinking, then feelings arise. But if you don't think about it, feelings arise and pass away, arise and pass away. But because there is the tendency of the mind to proliferate, so you think about it. And then one thought becomes 10, 10 becomes 100, 100 becomes 1,000. So then the feelings, the emotions can become strong and the rise can prolong. Okay. God's liberation and God's liberation is separate. What is God's liberation? God's liberation is no liberation. On the scene, there's three types. There's a superior conceit, there's an equal conceit. Superior meaning that you think that you're better than the other person. Equal meaning that you think that you're just the same as the other person. All these are conceded that they were abandoned by a ... So, how is it possible to be abandoned? It means something else, superior or inferior or superior in power or something. When you have abandoned them, you have become an arahant. So, as long as you have not become an arahant, you will still have that conceit. You cannot abandon it until you become an arahant. But I want to ask about the Yoniso Manasikara. There are two translations. One is a wise reflection of meditation and the other is wise attention. Which one do you think is the best? Okay, this Yoniso Manasikara is a very important word because the Buddha says if you listen to the Dhamma and you have Yoniso Manasikara, you can become an Ariya. So this word is very important. So we analyze this word, yoniso manasikara. The first word, yoniso, comes from the word yoni. Yoni means the womb, the source, the place of birth. And manasikara consists of mana and kara. Mana is the mind, the thinking mind. Kara is work. The word yoniso manasikara means work of mind. You can say contemplation, you can say attention, you can say consideration, reflection, okay? And yoniso, because it's yoniso, that means it goes to the source of the problem, goes to the womb, the source of the problem. So, for example, a good example I can bring to mind, the famous King Solomon, Famous King Solomon, sometimes there's a lot of people, they quarrel and all that. They cannot settle, they come and bring the case to the king. So one day, two women were quarrelling over a young baby. Both also claimed it was their baby. It's a beautiful baby, you see. So this King Solomon looked at this problem, and then you know what he decided? He said, you two women are quarrelling, quarrelsome, making a lot of problems. He said, he asked the soldier, you cut the baby in two, give half to each. Then the real mother cried and said, no, no, no, don't do that. You better give it to the other lady than to kill the baby. So the king found out who is the real mother. So this word, yoniso manasikara, you can say it is a kind of consideration that goes to the source of the problem. So a simple translation is thorough consideration, a very thorough consideration. So a more simpler word is careful attention. When you hear something, you consider it carefully, or you consider it thoroughly. Putting the second meaning, which means the careful attention, that is sati a kind of wise thinking or is sati a kind of doing so much power? No. Sati is remembering to put your attention constantly on one object. Because the nature of the mind is to flow a lot, flow. So you try to, for example, you are trying to practice anapanasati. So because you want to attain jhana, you want to put your mind on your breathing, whether you're sitting or you're walking, or you're standing or you're lying down, you want to maintain your mindfulness, unremitting mindfulness. But very soon, your mind runs away, and then you pull it back to The object to your breathing, that is sati. Always putting your mind, remembering to put your mind on your object of meditation. Okay. Uh, well, you said he can't stop himself. He, uh, our mind, uh, is, he has constant, uh, motivation. He's constantly aware of himself, right? When he's talking, is he just aware of what he's talking or is he aware of what he's, of, of breathing as he's talking? No, no. He can only be aware of one thing at a time. So when he's talking, he's aware of he's talking. And, uh, when he's already an Arahant, he doesn't have to make the effort to be mindful, he doesn't have to make the effort to put his attention on the breath. It is before he becomes an Arahant, he wants to put his attention on the breath and basically the purpose of putting your attention on the breath or any other one object is to attain Jhana. Once you attain Jhana, then you will have quite automatic mindfulness. Okay, shall we take a few minutes break while you distribute the Udana book?