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THE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA

2009-01-09T02:51:00.000-08:00

What is Buddhism ?

"This doctrine is profound, hard to see, difficult to understand, calm, sublime, not within the sphere of logic, subtle, to be understood by the wise".
-- MAJJHIMA NIKĀYA

Tipitaka

The Buddha has passed away, but the sublime Teaching, which He expounded during His long and successful ministry and which He unreservedly bequeathed to humanity, still exists in its pristine purity.

Although the Master has left no written records of His Teachings, His disciples preserved them, by committing to memory and transmitting them orally from generation to generation.

Three months after the Death of the Buddha, in the eighth year of King Ajātasattu's reign, 500 pre-eminent Arahants concerned with preserving the purity of the Doctrine held a Convocation at Rājagaha to rehearse it. The Venerable Ānanda Thera, the Buddha's beloved attendant who had the special privilege and honour of hearing the discourses from the Buddha Himself, and the Venerable Upāli Thera were chosen to answer questions about the Dhamma (Doctrine) and the Vinaya (Discipline) respectively.

This First Council compiled and arranged in its present form the Pāli Tipitaka, which represents the entire body of the Buddha's Teaching.

Two other Councils of Arahants were held 100 and 236 years later respectively, again to rehearse the Word of the Buddha because attempts were being made to pollute the pure Teaching.

About 83 B.C., during the reign of the pious Simhala King Vatta Gāmani Abhaya, a Council of Arahants was held, and the Tipitaka was, for the first time in the history of Buddhism, committed to writing at Aluvihāra in Ceylon.

Thanks to the indefatigable efforts of those noble and foresighted Arahants, there is no room either now or in the future for higher critics or progressive scholars to adulterate the pure Teaching.

The voluminous Tipitaka, which contains the essence of the Buddha's Teaching, is estimated to be about eleven times the size of the Bible.

The word Tipitaka means three Baskets. They are the Basket of Discipline (Vinaya Pitaka), the Basket of Discourses (Sutta Pitaka) and the Basket of Ultimate Doctrine (Abhidhamma Pitaka).

Vinaya Pitaka

The Vinaya pitaka, which is regarded as the sheet anchor of the Holy Order, deals mainly with the rules and regulations of the Order of Bhikkhus (monks) and Bhikkhunis (nuns). For nearly twenty years after the Enlightenment of the Buddha, no definite rules were laid down for control and discipline of the Sangha (Order). Subsequently as occasion arose, the Buddha promulgated rules for the future discipline of the Sangha. Reasons for the promulgation of rules, their various implications, and specific Vinaya ceremonies of the Sangha are fully described in the Vinaya pitaka. The history of the gradual development of Sāsana from its very inception, a brief account of the life and ministry of the Buddha, and details of the three Councils are some other additional relevant contents of the Vinaya Pitaka. Indirectly it reveals useful information about ancient history, Indian customs, ancient arts and sciences. One who reads the Vinaya Pitaka cannot but be impressed by the democratic constitution of the Sangha, their holding of possessions in common, the exceptionally high moral standard of the Bhikkhus, and the unsurpassed administrative abilities of the Buddha, who anticipated even the present Parliamentary system. Lord Zetland writes; "And it may come as a surprise to many to learn that in the Assemblies of the Buddhists in India two thousand years and more ago are to be found the rudiments of our own Parliamentary practice of the present day."

The Vinaya Pitaka consists of the following five books:

1. Pārājika Pāli Vibhanga (Major Offences)
2. Pācittiya Pāli (Minor Offences)
3. Mahāvagga Pāli Khandaka (Greater Section)
4. Cullavagga Pāli (Lesser Section)
5. Parivāra Pāli (Epitome of the Vinaya)

Sutta Pitaka

The Sutta Pitaka consists chiefly of instructive discourses delivered by the Buddha to both the Sangha and the laity on various occasions. A few discourses, expounded by disciples such as the Venerables Sāriputta, Moggallāna, and Ānanda,, are incorporated and are accorded as much veneration as the Word of the Buddha Himself, since they were approved by Him. Most of the sermons were intended mainly for the benefit of Bhikkhus, and they deal with the Holy Life and with the exposition of the Doctrine. There are several other discourses which deal with both the material and the moral progress of His lay-followers. The Sigālovāda Sutta, for instance, deals mainly with the duties of a layman. There are also a few interesting talks given to children.

This Pitaka may be compared to a book of prescriptions, since the discourses were expounded on diverse occasions to suit the temperaments of various persons. There may be seemingly contradictory statements, but they should not be misconstrued as they were uttered by the Buddha to suit a particular purpose; for instance, to the self same question He would maintain silence, when the inquirer was merely foolishly inquisitive, or give a detailed reply when He knew the inquirer to be an earnest seeker after the Truth.

The Sutta Pitaka consists of the following five Nikāyas (Collections):

1. Dīgha Nikāya (Collection of Long Discourses)
2. Majjhima Nikāya (Collection of Middle-length Discourses)
3. Samyutta Nikāya (Collection of Kindred Sayings)
4. Anguttara Nikāya (Collection of Gradual Sayings)
5. Khuddaka Nikāya (Smaller Collection)

This fifth is subdivided into fifteen books:

1. Khuddaka Pātha (Shorter Texts)
2. Dhammapada (The Way of Truth)
3. Udāna (Paeans of Joy)
4. Itivuttaka ("Thus said" Discourses)
5. Sutta Nipāta (Collected Discourses)
6. Vimāna Vatthu (Stories of Celestial Mansions)
7. Peta Vatthu (Stories of Petas)
8. Theragāthā (Psalms of the Brethren)
9. Therigāthā (Psalms of the Sisters)
10. Jātaka (Birth Stories of the Bodhisatta)
11. Niddesa (Expositions)
12. Patisambhidā (Book on Analytical Knowledge)
13. Apadāna (Lives of Arahants)
14. Buddhavamsa (History of the Buddha)
15. Cariyā Pitaka (Modes of Conduct)

Abhidhamma Pitaka

The Abhidhamma Pitaka is the most important and most interesting of the three containing as it does the profound philosophy of the Buddha's teaching in contrast to the simpler discourses in the Sutta Pitaka.

Abhidhamma, the Higher Doctrine of the Buddha, expounds the quintessence of His profound teachings.

According to some scholars Abhidhamma is not a teaching of the Buddha, but is a later elaboration of scholastic monks. Tradition, however, attributes the nucleus of the Abhidhamma to the Buddha Himself. The Mātikā or Matrices of the Abhidhamma, such as Kusalā Dhammā (Wholesome States), Akusalā Dhammā (Unwholesome States), and Abyākata Dhammā (Indeterminate States), etc., which have been elaborated in the six books (Kathāvatthu being excluded), were expounded by the Buddha. To the Venerable Sāriputta is assigned the honour of having explained all these topics in detail.

Whoever the great author or authors may have been, it has to be admitted that the Abhidhamma must be the product of an intellectual genius comparable only to the Buddha. This is evident, from the intricate and subtle Patthāna Pakarana which describes in detail the various causal relations.

To the wise truth-seekers, Abhidhamma is an indispensable guide and an intellectual treat. Here is found food for thought to original thinkers and to earnest students who wish to develop wisdom and lead an ideal Buddhist life. Abhidhamma is not a subject of fleeting interest designed for the superficial reader.

Modern Psychology, limited as it is, comes within the scope of Abhidhamma inasmuch as it deals with mind, thoughts, thought-processes, and mental properties; but it does not admit of a psyche or a soul. It teaches a psychology without a psyche.

If one were to read the Abhidhamma as a modern text-book on psychology, one would be disappointed. No attempt has here been made to solve all the problems that confront a modern psychologist.

Consciousness (Citta) is defined. Thoughts are analysed and classified chiefly from an ethical standpoint. All mental properties (Cetasika) are enumerated. The composition of each type of consciousness is set forth in detail. How thoughts arise is minutely described. Bhavanga and Javana thought-moments, which are explained only in the Abhidhamma, and which have no parallel in modern psychology, are of special interest to research students in psychology. Irrelevant problems that interest students and scholars, but have no relation to one's Deliverance, are deliberately set aside.

Matter is summarily discussed, but it has not been described for physicists. Fundamental units of matter, material properties, source of matter, relationship of mind and matter are explained. Abhidhamma does not attempt to give a systematised knowledge of mind and matter. It investigates these two composite factors of the so-called being, to help the understanding of things as they truly are. A philosophy has been developed on those lines. Based on that philosophy, an ethical system has been evolved to realize the ultimate Goal, Nibbāna.

As Mrs. Rhys Davids rightly says:

"Abhidhamma deals with
(i) what we find within us, around us; and of
(ii) what we aspire to find."

While the Sutta Pitaka contains the conventional teaching (vohāra desanā), the Abhidhamma Pitaka contains the ultimate teaching (paramattha desanā).

It is generally admitted by most exponents of the Dhamma that a knowledge of the Abhidhamma is essential to comprehend fully the Teachings of the Buddha, as it presents the key that opens the door of reality.

The Abhidhamma Pitaka is composed of the following seven works:

1. Dhammasangani (Classification of Dhamma)
2. Vibhanga (Divisions)
3. Dhātukathā (Discourse on Elements)
4. Puggala Pa?atti (The Book on Individuals)
5. Kathāvatthu (Points of Controversy)
6. Yamaka (The Book of Pairs)
7. Patthāna (The Book of Causal Relations)

Is Buddhism a Philosophy?

The sublime Dhamma, enshrined in these sacred texts, deals with truths and facts that can be tested and verified by personal experience and is not concerned with theories and speculations, which may be accepted as profound truths today and thrown overboard tomorrow. The Buddha did not expound revolutionary philosophical theories, nor did He attempt to create a new material science. In plain terms He explained both what is within and what is without, so far as it concerns emancipation from the ills of life, and revealed the unique Path of Deliverance.

Furthermore, the Buddha did not teach all that He knew. On one occasion while the Buddha was staying in a forest, He took a handful of leaves and said: "O Bhikkhus, what I have taught you is comparable to the leaves in my hand, and what I have not taught you, to the leaves in the forest."

He taught what He deemed was absolutely essential for one's purification, and was characteristically silent on questions irrelevant to His noble mission. Incidentally, He forestalled many a modern scientist and philosopher.

Heraclitus (500 B.C.) believed that everything flows (pante rhei) and that the universe is a constant becoming. He taught that nothing ever is; everything is becoming. It was he who made the famous statement that a person cannot step into the same stream twice. Pythagoras (532 B.C.) taught, among other things, the theory of transmigration of souls. Descartes (1596-1650) declared the necessity of examining all phenomena at the bar of reasonable doubt. Spinoza (I632-1677). while admitting the existence of a permanent reality, asserted that all existence is transitory. In his opinion sorrow was to be conquered by finding an object of knowledge which is not transient, not ephemeral, but is immutable, permanent, everlasting. Berkely (1685-1776) thought that the so-called atom was a metaphysical fiction. Hume (1711-1776) analysed the mind and concluded that consciousness consists of fleeting mental states. In the view of Hegel (1770-1831) "the entire phenomenon is a becoming." Schopenhauer (1788-1860) in his "World as Will and Idea" has presented the truth of suffering and its cause in Western garb. Henri Bergson (1859-1941) advocated the doctrine of change, and emphasized the value of intuition. William James (1842-1910) referred to a stream of consciousness and denied the existence of a soul.

The Buddha expounded these truths of transiency (anicca), sorrow (dukkha), and soul-lessness (anattā) more than 2500 years ago.

The moral and philosophical teachings of the Buddha are to be studied, to be practised, and above all to be realized by one's own intuitive wisdom. As such the Dhamma is compared to a raft which enables one to cross the ocean of life.

Buddhism, therefore, cannot strictly be called a philosophy because it is not merely "the love of, inducing the search after, wisdom. " Nor is Buddhism "a hypothetical interpretation of the unknown (as in metaphysics), or of the inexactly known (as in ethics or political philosophy)."

If by philosophy is meant "an inquiry not so much after certain particular facts as after the fundamental character of this world in which we find ourselves, and of the kind of life which such a world it behoves us to live, Buddhism may approximate to a philosophy, but it is very much more comprehensive.

Philosophy deals mainly with knowledge and is not concerned with practice; whereas Buddhism lays special emphasis on practice and realization.

Is Buddhism a Religion?

Prof. Rhys Davids writes:

"What is meant by religion? The word, as is well-known is not found in languages not related to our own, and its derivation is uncertain. Cicero, in one passage, derived it from re and lego, and held that its real meaning was the repetition of prayers and incantations. Another interpreta-tion derives the word from re and logo, and makes its original sense that of attachment, of a continual binding (that is, no doubt to the gods). A third derivation connects the word with lex, and explains it as a law-abiding, scrupulously conscientious frame of mind."

Buddhism is not strictly a religion in the sense in which that word is commonly understood, for it is not "a system of faith and worship," owing any allegiance to a supernatural God.

Buddhism does not demand blind faith from its adherents. Hence mere belief is dethroned and for it is substituted "confidence based on knowledge." It is possible for a Buddhist to entertain occasional doubts until he attains the first stage of Sainthood (Sotāpatti) when all doubts about the Buddha, Dhamma, and the Sangha are completely resolved. One becomes a genuine follower of the Buddha only after attaining this stage.

The confidence of a follower of the Buddha is like that of a patient in respect of a noted physician, or of a student regarding his teacher. Although a Buddhist seeks refuge in the Buddha as his incomparable guide and teacher who indicates the Path of Purity, he makes no servile surrender.

A Buddhist does not think that he can gain purity merely by seeking refuge in the Buddha or by mere faith in Him. It is not within the power even of a Buddha to wash away the impurities of others. Strictly speaking, one can neither purify nor defile another. The Buddha, as Teacher, may be instrumental, but we ourselves are responsible for our purification.

In the Dhammapada the Buddha says:

"By, oneself alone is evil done: by oneself is one defiled.
By oneself alone is evil avoided: by oneself alone is one purified.
Purity and impurity depend on oneself: No one can purify another." (v. 145).

A Buddhist is not a slave to a book or to any individual. Nor does he sacrifice his freedom of thought by becoming a follower of the Buddha. He is at full liberty to exercise his own freewill and develop his knowledge even to the extent of attaining Buddhahood himself, for all are potential Buddhas. Naturally Buddhists quote the Buddha as their authority, but the Buddha Himself discarded all authority.

Immediate realization is the sole criterion of truth in Buddhism. Its keynote is rational understanding (Sammā ditthi). The Buddha advises seekers of truth not to accept anything merely on the authority of another but to exercise their own reasoning and judge for themselves whether a thing is right or wrong.

On one occasion the citizens of Kesaputta, known as Kālāmas, approached the Buddha and said that many ascetics and brahmins who came to preach to them used to exalt their own doctrines and denounce those of others, and that they were at a loss to understand which of those worthies were right.

"Yes, O Kā1āmas, it is right for you to doubt, it is right for you to waver. In a doubtful matter, wavering has arisen, [18]" remarked the Buddha and gave them the following advice which applies with equal force to modern rationalists as it did to those sceptic brahmins of yore.

"Come, O Kālāmas, Do not accept anything on mere hearsay (i.e., thinking that thus have we heard it from a long time). Do not accept anything by mere tradition (i.e., thinking that it has thus been handed down through many generations). Do not accept anything on account of rumours (i.e., by believing what others say without any investigation). Do not accept anything just because it accords with your scriptures. Do not accept anything by mere supposition. Do not accept anything by mere inference. Do not accept anything by merely considering the appearances. Do not accept anything merely because it agrees with your preconceived notions. Do not accept anything merely because it seems acceptable (i.e., should be accepted). Do not accept anything thinking that the ascetic is respected by us (and therefore it is right to accept his word.)

"But when you know for yourselves -- these things are immoral, these things are blameworthy, these things are censured by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to ruin and sorrow -- then indeed do you reject them.

"When you know for yourselves -- these things are moral, these things are blameless, these things are praised by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to well-being and happiness -- then do you live and act accordingly."

These wise sayings of the Buddha, uttered some 2500 years ago, still retain their original force and freshness even in this enlightened twentieth century.

With a homely illustration Jnānasāra-samuccaya repeats the same counsel in different words.

"Tāpāc chedāc ca nikasat svarnam iva panditaih
Parikshya blikshavo grāhyam madvaco na tu gauravāt".

"As the wise test gold by burning, cutting and rubbing it (on a piece of touchstone),
so are you to accept my words after examining them and not merely out of regard for me."

The Buddha exhorted His disciples to seek the truth, and not to heed mere persuasion even by superior authority.

Now, though it be admitted that there is no blind faith in Buddhism, one might question whether there is no worshipping of Buddha images and such like idolatry amongst Buddhists.

Buddhists do not worship an image expecting worldly or spiritual favours, but pay their homage to what it represents. A Buddhist goes before an image and offers flowers and incense not to the image but to the Buddha. He does so as a mark of gratitude, reflecting on the virtues of the Buddha and pondering on the transiency of flowers. An understanding Buddhist designedly makes himself feel that he is in the noble presence of the Buddha, and thereby gains inspiration to emulate Him.

Referring to images, the great philosopher Count Kaiserling writes:

"I know nothing more grand in this world than the figure of the Buddha. It is the perfect embodiment of spirituality in the visible domain."

Then again Buddhists do not worship the Bodhi-tree, but consider it a symbol of Enlightenment, and so, worthy of reverence.

Though such external forms of homage are prevalent amongst Buddhists, the Buddha is not worshipped as a God.

These external objects of homage are not absolutely necessary, but they are useful and they help one to concentrate one?s attention. An intellectual could dispense with them as he could easily focus his attention on the Buddha, and thus visualize Him.

For our own good, and out of gratitude, we pay such homage, but what the Buddha expects from His disciples is not obeisance but the actual observance of His teaching.

Just before the Buddha passed away, many disciples came to pay their respects to Him. One Bhikkhu, however, remained in his cell absorbed in meditation. This matter was reported to the Buddha who summoned him and, on enquiring the reason for his absence, was told: "Lord, I knew that Your Reverence would pass away three months hence, and I thought the best way of honouring the Teacher was by attaining Arahantship even before the decease of Your Reverence."

The Buddha extolled the praiseworthy conduct of that loyal and dutiful Bhikkhu, saying: "Excellent, excellent! He who loves me should emulate this Bhikkhu. He honours me best who practises my teaching best."

On another occasion the Buddha remarked: "He who sees the Dhamma sees me."

Furthermore, it must be mentioned that there are no petitionary or intercessory prayers in Buddhism. However much one may pray to the Buddha one cannot be saved. The Buddha does not and cannot grant worldly favours to those who pray to Him. A Buddhist should not pray to be saved, but should rely on himself and strive with diligence to win his freedom and gain purity. Advising His disciples not to depend on others but to depend on oneself and to be self-reliant, the Buddha says:

Tumhehi kiccam ātappam akkhātāro tathāgatā.
"Striving should be done by yourselves. The Tathāgatas are teachers."

The Buddha not only speaks of the futility of prayers but also disparages a slave mentality. Instead of prayers the Buddha emphasizes the importance of meditation that promotes self-discipline, self-control, self-purification and self-enlightenment. It serves as a tonic both to the mind and heart. Meditation is the essence of Buddhism.

In Buddhism there is not, as in most other religions, an Almighty God to be obeyed and feared. Buddhism denies the existence of a supernatural power, conceived as an Almighty Being or a causeless force. There are no Divine revelations nor Divine messengers or prophets. A Buddhist is therefore not subservient to any higher supernatural power which controls his destinies and which arbitrarily rewards and punishes. Since Buddhists do not believe in revelations of a Divine Being, Buddhism does not claim the monopoly of truth and does not condemn any other religion. "Intolerance is the greatest enemy of religion". With His characteristic tolerance, the Buddha advised His disciples not to get angry, discontented, or displeased even when others spoke ill of Him, or of His Teaching, or of His Order. "If you do so," the Buddha said, "you will not only bring yourselves into danger of spiritual loss, but you will not be able to judge whether what they say is correct or not correct" -- a most enlightened sentiment. Denouncing unfair criticism of other faiths, the Buddha states: "It is as a man who looks up and spits at heaven -- the spittle does not soil the heaven, but it comes back and defiles his own person."

Buddhism expounds no dogmas that one must blindly believe, no creeds that one must accept on good faith without reasoning, no superstitious rites and ceremonies to be observed for formal entry into the fold, no meaningless sacrifices and penances for one's purification.

Buddhism cannot, therefore, be strictly called a religion, because it is neither a system of faith and worship, nor "the outward act or form by which men indicate their recognition of the existence of a God or Gods having power over their own destiny to whom obedience, service, and honour are due."

Karl Marx said: "Religion is the soul of soulless conditions, the heart of a heartless world, the opium of the people." Buddhism is not such a religion, for all Buddhist nations grew up in the cradle of Buddhism and their present cultural advancement is clearly due mainly to the benign influence of the teachings of the Buddha.

However, if, by religion, is meant "a teaching which takes a view of life that is more than superficial, a teaching which looks into life and not merely at it, a teaching which furnishes men with a guide to conduct that is in accord with this in-look, a teaching which enables those who give it heed to face life with fortitude and death with serenity." or a system of deliverance from the ills of life, then certainly Buddhism is a religion of religions.

Is Buddhism an Ethical System?

Buddhism contains an excellent moral code, including one for the monks and another for the laity, but it is much more than an ordinary moral teaching.

Morality (sīla) is only the preliminary stage and is a means to an end, but not an end in itself. Though absolutely essential, it alone does not lead to one's Deliverance or perfect purity. It is only the first stage on the Path of Purity. Beyond morality is wisdom (pa?ā). The base of Buddhism is morality, and wisdom is its apex. As the pair of wings of a bird are these two complementary virtues. Wisdom is like unto man's eyes; morality is like unto his feet. One of the appellatives of the Buddha is Vijjācaranasampanna -- endowed with wisdom and conduct.

Of the Four Noble Truths that form the foundation of Buddhism, the first three represent the philosophy of the Buddha's teaching; the fourth the ethics of Buddhism based on that philosophy.

Morality in Buddhism is not founded on any doubtful divine revelation, nor is it the ingenious invention of an exceptional mind, but it is a rational and practical code based on verifiable facts and individual experience. In the opinion of Prof. Max Muller the Buddhist moral code is one of the most perfect which the world has ever known.

Prof. Rhys Davids says: "Buddhist or no Buddhist I have examined every one of the great religious systems of the world; and in none of those have I found anything to surpass in beauty and comprehensiveness the Noble Eightfold Path of the Buddha. I am content to shape my life according t o that path."

It is interesting to note that according to Buddhism there are deeds which are ethically good and bad, deeds which are neither good nor bad, and deeds which tend to the ceasing of all deeds. Good deeds are essential for one's emancipation, but when once the ultimate goal of the Holy Life is attained, one transcends both good and evil.

The Buddha says: "Righteous things (dhamma) you have to give up: how much more the unrighteous things (adhamma)."

The deed which is associated with attachment (lobha), illwill (dosa) and delusion (moha) is evil. That deed which is associated with non-attachment (alobha), goodwill (adosa), and wisdom (pa?ā), is good.

The deeds of an Arahant, a Stainless One, possess no ethical value as he has gone beyond both good and evil. This does not mean that he is passive. He is active, but his activity is selfless and is directed to help others to tread the path he has trodden himself. His deeds, ordinarily accepted as good, lack creative power as regards himself. Unlike the actions of a worldling his actions do not react on himself as a Kammic effect.

His actions, in Pāli, are called kiriya (functional). Purest gold cannot further be purified.

The mental states of the four types of supramundane Path consciousness, namely, Sotāpatti (Stream-Winner), Sakadāgāmi (Once-Returner), Anāgāmi (Non-Returner) and Arahatta (Worthy), though wholesome (kusala), do not tend to accumulate fresh Kamma, but, on the contrary, tend to the gradual cessation of the individual flux of becoming, and therewith to the gradual cessation of good and evil deeds. In these types of supramundane consciousness the wisdom factor (pa?ā), which tends to destroy the roots of Kamma, is predominant; while in the mundane types of consciousness volition (cetanā) which produces Kammic activities is predominant.

What is the criterion of morality according to Buddhism?

The answer is found in the admonition given by the Buddha to young Sāmanera Rāhula.

"If there is a deed, Rāhula, you wish to do, reflect thus: Is this deed conducive to my harm, or to others? harm, or to that of both? Then is this a bad deed entailing suffering. From such a deed you must resist.

"If there is a deed you wish to do, reflect thus: Is this deed not conducive to my harm, nor to others' harm, nor to that of both? Then is this a good deed entailing happiness. Such a deed you must do again and again."

In assessing morality a Buddhist takes into consideration the interests both of himself and others -- animals not excluded.

In the Karaniya Mettā Sutta the Buddha exhorts:

"As the mother protects her only child even at the risk of her own life; even so let one cultivate boundless thoughts of loving-kindness towards all being".

The Dhammapada states:

"All fear punishment, to all life is dear. Comparing others with oneself, let one neither hurt nor kill. "

To understand the exceptionally high standard of morality the Buddha expects from His ideal followers, one must carefully read the Dhammapada, Sigālovāda Sutta, Vyāgghapajja Sutta, Mangala Sutta, Mettā Sutta, Parābhava Sutta, Vasala Sutta, Dhammika Sutta, etc.

As a moral teaching it excels all other ethical systems, but morality is only the beginning and not the end of Buddhism.

In one sense Buddhism is not a philosophy, in another sense it is the philosophy of philosophies.

In one sense Buddhism is not a religion, in another sense it is the religion of religions.

What Buddhism is

Buddhism is neither a metaphysical path nor a ritualistic path.

It is neither sceptical nor dogmatic.

It is neither eternalism nor nihilism.

It is neither self-mortification nor self-indulgence.

It is neither pessimism nor optimism but realism.

It is neither absolutely this-worldly nor other-worldly.

It is not extravert but introvert.

It is not theo-centric but homo-centric.

It is a unique Path of Enlightenment.

The original Pāli term for Buddhism is Dhamma, which, literally, means that which upholds or sustains (him who acts in conformity with its principles and thus prevents him from falling into woeful states). There is no proper English equivalent that exactly conveys the meaning of the Pāli term.

The Dhamma is that which really is. It is the Doctrine of Reality. It is a Means of Deliverance from suffering and Deliverance itself. Whether the Buddhas arise or not the Dhamma exists from all eternity. It is a Buddha that realizes this Dhamma, which ever lies hidden from the ignorant eyes of men, till He, an Enlightened One, comes and compassionately reveals it to the world.

"Whether the Tathāgatas appear or not, O Bhikkhus, it remains a fact, an established principle, a natural law that all conditioned things are transient (anicca), sorrowful (dukkha) and that everything is soulless (anattā). This fact the Tathāgata realizes, understands and when He has realized and understood it, announces, teaches, proclaims, establishes, discloses, analyses, and makes it clear, that all conditioned things are transient, sorrowful, and that everything is soulless."

In the Majjhima Nikāya the Buddha says: "One thing only does the Buddha teach, namely, suffering and the cessation of suffering. "

This is the Doctrine of Reality.

Udāna states: "Just as, O Bhikkhus, the mighty ocean is of one flavour, the flavour of salt, even so, O Bhikkhus, this Dhamma is of one flavour, the flavour of Deliverance (Vimutti).

This is the Means of Deliverance.

This sublime Dhamma is not something apart from oneself. It is purely dependent on oneself and is to be realized by oneself. As such the Buddha exhorts:

"Attadipā viharatha attapatisaranā."
-- Abide with oneself as an island, with oneself as a refuge.

"Dhammadīpā viharatha, dhamma patisaranā, n?ā?a patisaranā "
-- Abide with the Dhamma as an island, with the dhamma as a refuge. Seek not for external refuge.

Debate:

2008-10-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

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■ n [C, U]
● (က) စကားအေခ်အတင္ေျပာျခင္း။ စကားရည္လုပြဲ။ စကားစစ္ထိုးပြဲ။

After a long debate, the House of Commons approved the bill. m a debate on abortion/capital punishment m to open the debate (ie be the first to speak) m the motion under debate (ie being discussed). (ခ) ျငင္းခံုျခင္း။ ေဆြးေႏြးျခင္း။ After much debate, we decided to move to Mandalay. m We had long debates at college about politics. m The importance of this development has been the subject of much/some debate. v ၁။ ~ (about sth) ေဝဖန္ေဆြးေႏြးသည္။ What are they debating about? m The issue/motion was first debated in the House 25 years ago. m We’re just debating what to do next. ၂။ ခ်ီတံုခ်တံု စဥ္းစားသည္။ I debated it for a while, then decided not to go. m I’m debating where to go on holiday. m She debated whether or not to tell him the news. m He debated buying a new car, but didn't in the end. o debater n စကားအေခ်အတင္ေျပာသူ။ အဆိုရွင္။ အေခ်ရွင္။
Debate ရဲ႕ အဘိဓာန္ အဖြင့္ေလးနဲ႔ အတူ အေမရိကန္ ဒုသမၼတေလာင္း ႏွစ္ေယာက္ရဲ႕ စကားစစ္ထိုးပြဲေလး ကို CNN ကူးယူၿပီး ပို႔စ္အျဖစ္တင္ေပးလိုက္ပါတယ္။ အဲဒီ စကားစစ္ထိုးပြဲရဲ႕ အက်ိဳးရလာဒ္ကို ခဏထားလို႔ အေမရိကန္ ႏိုင္ငံၾကီးမွာ မၾကာမတင္ေသာ ကာလမွာ သူတို႔ႏွစ္ေယာက္ထဲက တစ္ေယာက္ကေတာ့ (ဥပေစၧဒက ကံေၾကာင့္ ေသဆံုးမႈမွ တစ္ပါး) က်ိန္းေသေပါက္ ဒုတိယ သမၼတျဖစ္ေတာ့မွာပါ။ အဲဒီလို မျဖစ္ေသးတဲ့ သမၼေလာင္း ႏွစ္ေယာက္ရဲ႕ ႏိုင္ငံရဲ႕ ေပၚလစီေတြနဲ႔ ပါတ္သက္လို႔ ဘယ္သူက ဘာျဖစ္တယ္။ ဘယ္ေနရာမွာေတာ့ အားနည္းခ်က္ရွိတယ္။ ဘယ္ကိစၥေတြမွာ မွားယြင္းခဲ့တယ္ စသည္ျဖင့္ အားသာခ်က္ အားနည္းခ်က္ေတြ ကို ရိုးသားမႈ၊ ပြင့္လင္းမႈ ေတြ အေျခခံၿပီး အေျခအတင္ေျပာဆိုတာကို သေဘာက်လို႔ ပို႔စ္ အျဖစ္တင္လိုက္တာပါ။ အဲဒီလို အေနအထားမ်ိဳးေတြ ဦးဇင္းတို႔ရဲ႕ ဗုဒၶဘာသာတရားေတြ ထြန္းကားပါတယ္ဆို တဲ့ ေရႊျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံၾကီးမွာေကာ မရွိသင့္ဘူးလား။ ႏိုင္ငံေခါင္းေဆာင္ေတြ၊ ႏိုင္ငံေခါင္းေဆာင္ လုပ္မဲ့သူေတြ မရိုးသားသင့္ဘူးလား၊ မပြင့္လင္းသင့္ဘူးလား၊ မလြတ္လပ္သင့္ဘူးလား။ ရိုးသားမႈ ပြင့္လင္းမႈေတြ လြတ္လပ္မႈ၊ တရားမွ်တမႈေတြကို ရိုးသားစြာ၊ ပြင့္လင္းစြာ ထုတ္ေဖၚေျပာဆိုခြင့္၊ ေရးသားခြင့္ေတြ မရွိသင့္ဘူးလား။ အေမရိကန္ ႏိုင္ငံကလူေတြလဲ လူေတြပါပဲ၊ ဦးဇင္းတို႔ ေရႊျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံက လူေတြလဲ လူေတြပါပဲ။ ေဆြမ်ိဳးေပါက္ေဖၚ ေတာ္စပ္ပါတဲ့ တရုတ္ျပည္က လူေတြလဲ လူေတြပါပဲ။ ဒါဆိုဘာေတြ ကြာျခားေနၾကတာပါ လဲ။ ဘာေၾကာင့္ ကြာျခားေနၾကတာပါလဲ။
တိုင္းျပည္တစ္ျပည္မွာ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္သူနဲ႔၊ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္ခံ လူ ရယ္လို႔ ႏွစ္မ်ိဳးပဲ ရွိပါတယ္။ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္တဲ့သူက ဘယ္လို အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္မွာ လဲ ဆိုတဲ့ အေပၚမွာပဲ မူတည္ပါတယ္။ ဒို႔ဖိႏွိပ္ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္မလား၊ တရားမွ်တစြာ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္မလား၊ ဥပေဒနဲ႔ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္မလား၊ ဥပေဒမဲ့ အာဏာနဲ႔ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္မလား၊ ဓားလွံ လက္နက္ မိုးၿပီး အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္မွာလား၊ ဒုို႔ခ်ည္းပဲ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္မွာလား၊ ခြဲေ၀ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္မွာလား၊ ျပည္သူက ေရႊးခ်ယ္ေစတဲ့ စနစ္နဲ႔ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္မွာလား။ အက်ိဳး အျပစ္ကေတာ့ အုပ္ခ်ဳပ္သူလူေတြရဲ႕ စီမံခန္႔ခြဲမႈ။ တိုင္းသူျပည္သားေတြ အေပၚမွာ ေစတနာထားမႈ စသည့္ အေၾကာင္းတရားမ်ား အားေလ်ာ္စြာ အေကာင္း အဆိုးေတြ ေတြၾကရမွာပါ။
ဆိုလိုခ်င္တာက ဦးဇင္းတို႔ ႏိုင္ငံမွာေရာ တိုင္းျပည္ရဲ႕ အက်ိဳးအတြက္၊ ျပည္သူေတြရဲ႕ အက်ိဳးအတြက္ အထက္ပါ Debate ဆိုတာမ်ိဳးေတြ မရွိသင့္ဘူးလား။
ကိုယ့္အျမင္ေလးေတြ comments ေတြ ထားခဲ့ႏိုင္ပါတယ္။ ဦးဇင္းကေတာ့ ရွိသင့္တယ္လို႔ ထင္ပါတယ္။ ရွိသင့္တယ္ ဆိုရင္ေတာ့ ရွိဘို႔ အတြက္ ဘာေတြ လုိအပ္သလဲ ဆိုတာ ဆက္လက္ ေဆြးေႏြး စဥ္းစားၾကပါကုန္။

THE BUDDHA'S PARINIBBĀNA (DEATH)

2008-08-17T22:32:00.000-07:00

THE BUDDHA'S PARINIBBĀNA (DEATH)

"The sun shines by day. The moon is radiant by night. Armoured shines the warrior King.
Meditating the brāhmana shines.
But all day and night the Buddha shines in glory."
-- DHAMMAPADA

The Buddha was an extraordinary being. Nevertheless He was mortal, subject to disease and decay as are all beings. He was conscious that He would pass away in His eightieth year. Modest as He was He decided to breathe His last not in renowned cities like Sāvatthi or Rājagaha, where His activities were centred, but in a distant and insignificant hamlet like Kusinārā.

In His own words the Buddha was in His eightieth year like "a worn-out cart." Though old in age, yet, being strong in will. He preferred to traverse the long and tardy way on foot accompanied by His favourite disciple, Venerable Ānanda. It may be mentioned that Venerable Sāriputta and Moggallāna, His two chief disciples, predeceased Him. So did Venerable Rāhula and Yasodhārā.

Rājagaha, the capital of Magadha, was the starting point of His last journey.

Before his impending departure from Rājagaha King Ajātasattu, the parricide, contemplating an unwarranted attack on the prosperous Vajjian Republic, sent his Prime Minister to the Buddha to know the Buddha's view about his wicked project.

Conditions of welfare

The Buddha declared that (i) as long as the Vajjians meet frequently and hold many meetings; (2) as long as they meet together in unity, rise in unity and perform their duties in unity; (3) as long as they enact nothing not enacted, abrogate nothing that has already been enacted, act in accordance with the already established ancient Vajjian principles; (4) as long as they support, respect, venerate and honour the Vajjian elders, and pay regard to their worthy speech; (5) as long as no women or girls of their families are detained by force or abduction; (6) as long as they support, respect, venerate, honour those objects of worship -- internal and external -- and do not neglect those righteous ceremonies held before; (7) as long as the rightful protection, defence and support for the Arahants shall be provided by the Vajjians so that Arahants who have not come may enter the realm and those who have entered the realm may live in peace -- so long may the Vajjians be expected not to decline, but to prosper.

Hearing these seven conditions of welfare which the Buddha Himself taught the Vajjians, the Prime Minister, Vassakāra, took leave of the Buddha, fully convinced that the Vajjians could not be overcome by the King of Magadha in battle, without diplomacy or breaking up their alliance.

The Buddha thereupon availed Himself of this opportunity to teach seven similar conditions of welfare mainly for the benefit of His disciples. He summoned all the Bhikkhus in Rājagaha and said:

(1) "As long, O disciples, as the Bhikkhus assemble frequently and hold frequent meetings; (2) as long as the Bhikkhus meet together in unity, rise in unity, and perform the duties of the Sangha in unity; (3) as long as the Bhikkhus shall promulgate nothing that has not been promulgated, abrogate not what has been promulgated, and act in accordance with the already prescribed rules; (4) as long as the Bhikkhus support, respect, venerate and honour those long-ordained Theras of experience, the fathers and leaders of the Order, and respect their worthy speech; (5) as long as the Bhikkhus fall not under the influence of uprisen attachment that leads to repeated births; (6) as long as the Bhikkhus shall delight in forest retreats; (7) as long as the Bhikkhus develop mindfulness within themselves so that disciplined co-celibates who have not come yet may do so and those who are already present may live in peace -- so long may the Bhikkhus be expected not to decline, but to prosper.

As long as these seven conditions of welfare shall continue to exist amongst the Bhikkhus, as long as the Bhikkhus are well-instructed in these conditions -- so long may they be expected not to decline, but to prosper.

With boundless compassion the Buddha enlightened the Bhikkhus on seven other conditions of welfare as follows:

"As long as the Bhikkhus shall not be fond of, or delight in, or engage in, business; as long as the Bhikkhus shall not be fond of, or delight in, or engage in, gossiping; as long as the Bhikkhus shall not be fond of, or delight in sleeping; as long as the Bhikkhus shall not be fond of, or delight in, or indulge in, society; as long as the Bhikkhus shall neither have, nor fall under, the influence of base desires; as long as the Bhikkhus shall not have evil friends or associates and shall not be prone to evil -- so long the Bhikkhus shall not stop at mere lesser, special acquisition without attaining Arahantship."

Furthermore, the Buddha added that as long as the Bhikkhus shall be devout, modest, conscientious, full of learning, persistently energetic, constantly mindful and full of wisdom -- so long may the Bhikkhus be expected not to decline, but to prosper.

Sāriputta's Praise

Enlightening the Bhikkhus with several other discourses, the Buddha, accompanied by Venerable Ānanda, left Rājagaha and went to Ambalatthika and thence to Nālandā, where He stayed at the Pāvārika mango grove. On this occasion the Venerable Sāriputta approached the Buddha and extolled the wisdom of the Buddha, saying: "Lord, so pleased am I with the Exalted One that methinks there never was, nor will there be, nor is there now, any other ascetic or brahman who is greater and wiser than the Buddha as regards self enlightenment."

The Buddha, who did not approve of such an encomium from a disciple of His, reminded Venerable Sāriputta that he had burst into such a song of ecstasy without fully appreciating the merits of the Buddhas of the past and of the future.

Venerable Sāriputta acknowledged that he had no intimate knowledge of all the supremely Enlightened Ones, but maintained that he was acquainted with the Dhamma lineage, the process through which all attain supreme Buddhahood, that is by overcoming the five Hindrances namely, (i) sense-desires, (ii) ill-will, (iii) sloth and torpor, (iv) restlessness and brooding, (v) indecision; by weakening the strong passions of the heart through wisdom; by thoroughly establishing the mind in the four kinds of Mindfulness; and by rightly developing the seven factors of Enlightenment.

Pātaliputta

From Nālandā the Buddha proceeded to Pātaligāma where Sunīdha and Vassakāra, the chief ministers of Magadha, were building a fortress to repel the powerful Vajjians.

Here the Buddha resided in an empty house and, perceiving with His supernormal vision thousands of deities haunting the different sites, predicted that Pātaliputta would

become the chief city inasmuch as it is a residence for Ariyas, a trading centre and a place for the interchange of all kinds of wares, but would be subject to three dangers arising from fire, water and dissension.

Hearing of the Buddha's arrival at Pātaligāma, the ministers invited the Buddha and His disciples for a meal at their house. After the meal was over the Buddha exhorted them in these verses:

"Wheresoe'er the prudent man shall take up his abode.
Let him support the brethren there, good men of self- control,
And give the merit of his gifts to the deities who haunt the spot.
Revered, they will revere him: honoured, they honour him again,
Are gracious to him as a mother to her own, her only son.
And the man who has the grace of the gods,
good fortune he beholds."

In honour of His visit to the city they named the gate by which He left "Gotama-Gate", and they desired to name the ferry by which He would cross "Gotama-Ferry", but the Buddha crossed the overflowing Ganges by His psychic powers while the people were busy making preparations to cross.

Future states

From the banks of the Ganges He went to Kotigama and thence to the village of Nadika and stayed at the Brick Hall. Thereupon the Venerable Ānanda approached the Buddha and respectfully questioned Him about the future states of several persons who died in that village. The Buddha patiently revealed the destinies of the persons concerned and taught how to acquire the Mirror of Truth so that an Arya disciple endowed therewith may predict of himself thus: "Destroyed for me is birth in a woeful state, animal realm, Peta realm, sorrowful, evil, and low states. A Stream-Winner am I, not subject to fall, assured of final Enlightenment."

The Mirror of the Dhamma (Dhammādāsa)

'What, O Ānanda, is the Mirror of the Dhamma?

"Herein a noble disciple reposes perfect confidence in the Buddha reflecting on His virtues thus:

"Thus, indeed, is the Exalted One, a Worthy One, a fully Enlightened One, Endowed with wisdom and conduct, an Accomplished One, Knower of the worlds, an Incomparable Charioteer for the training of individuals, the Teacher of gods and men, Omniscient, and Holy."

He reposes perfect confidence in the Dhamma reflecting on the characteristics of the Dhamma thus:

"Well expounded is the Dhamma by the Exalted One, to be self-realized, immediately effective, inviting investiga-tion, leading onwards (to Nibbāna), to be understood by the wise, each one for himself."

He reposes perfect confidence in the Sangha reflecting on the virtues of the Sangha thus:

"Of good conduct is the Order of the disciples of the Exalted One; of upright conduct is the Order of the disciples of the Exalted One; of wise conduct is the Order of the disciples of the Exalted One. These four pairs of persons constitute eight individuals. This Order of the disciples of the Exalted One is worthy of gifts, of hospitality, of offerings, of reverence, is an incomparable field of merit to the world."

He becomes endowed with virtuous conduct pleasing to the Aryas, unbroken, intact, unspotted, unblemished, free, praised by the wise, untarnished by desires, conducive to concentration.

From Nadika the Buddha went to the flourishing city of Vesāli and stayed at the grove of Ambapāli, the beautiful courtesan.

Anticipating her visit, the Buddha in order to safeguard His disciples, advised them to be mindful and reflective and taught them the way of mindfulness.

Ambapāli

Ambapāli, hearing of the Buddha's arrival at her mango grove, approached the Buddha and respectfully invited Him and His disciples for a meal on the following day. The Buddha accepted her invitation in preference to the invitation of the Licchavi nobles which He received later. Although the Licchavi Nobles offered a large sum of money to obtain from her the opportunity of providing this meal to the Buddha, she politely declined this offer. As invited, the Buddha had His meal at Ambapāli's residence. After the meal Ambapāli, the courtesan, who was a potential Arahant, very generously offered her spacious mango grove to the Buddha and His disciples.

As it was the rainy season the Buddha advised His disciples to spend their Retreat in or around Vesāli, and He Himself decided to spend the Retreat, which was His last and forty-fifth one, at Beluva, a village near Vesāli.

The Buddha's Illness

In this year He had to suffer from a severe sickness, and "sharp pains came upon Him even unto death". With His iron will, mindful and reflective, the Buddha bore them without any complaint.

The Buddha was now conscious that He would soon pass away. But He thought that it would not be proper to pass away without addressing His attendant disciples and giving instructions to the Order. So He decided to subdue His sickness by His will and live by constantly experiencing the bliss of Arahantship.

Immediately after recovery, the Venerable Ānanda approached the Buddha, and expressing his pleasure on His recovery, remarked that he took some little comfort from the thought that the Buddha would not pass away without any instruction about the Order.

The Buddha made a memorable and significant reply which clearly reveals the unique attitude of the Buddha, Dhamma and the Sangha.

The Buddha's Exhortation

"What, O Ānanda, does the Order of disciples expect of me? I have taught the Dhamma making no distinction between esoteric and exoteric doctrine. In respect of the truths the Tathāgata has no closed fist of a teacher. It may occur to anyone: "It is I who will lead the Order of Bhikkhus," or "The Order of Bhikkhus is dependent upon me," or "It is he who should instruct any matter concerning the Order."

"The Tathāgata, Ānanda, thinks not that it is he who should lead the Order of Bhikkhus, or that the Order is dependent upon him. Why then should He leave instructions in any matter concerning the Order?"

"I, too, Ānanda, am now decrepit, aged, old, advanced in years, and have reached my end. I am in my eightieth year. Just as a worn-out cart is made to move with the aid of thongs, even so methinks the body of the Tathāgata is moved with the aid of thongs. Whenever, Ānanda, the Tathāgata lives plunged in signless mental one-pointedness, by the cessation of certain feelings and unmindful of all objects, then only is the body of the Tathāgata at ease."

"Therefore, Ānanda, be ye islands unto yourselves. Be ye a refuge to yourselves. Seek no external refuge. Live with the Dhamma as your island, the Dhamma as your refuge. Betake to no external refuge.

"How, Ānanda, does a Bhikkhu live as an island unto himself, as a refuge unto himself, seeking no external refuge, with the Dhamma as an island, with the Dhamma as a refuge, seeking no external refuge?"

"Herein, Ānanda, a Bhikkhu lives strenuous, reflective, watchful, abandoning covetousness in this world, constantly developing mindfulness with respect to body, feelings, consciousness, and Dhamma."

"Whosoever shall live either now or after my death as an island unto oneself, as a refuge unto oneself, seeking no external refuge, with the Dhamma as an island, with the Dhamma as a refuge, seeking no external refuge, those Bhikkhus shall be foremost amongst those who are intent on discipline."

Here the Buddha lays special emphasis on the importance of individual striving for purification and deliverance from the ills of life. There is no efficacy in praying to others or in depending on others. One might question why Buddhists should seek refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and the Sangha when the Buddha had explicitly advised His followers not to seek refuge in others. In seeking refuge in the Triple Gem (Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha) Buddhists only regard the Buddha as an instructor who merely shows the Path of Deliverance, the Dhamma as the only way or means, the Sangha as the living examples of the way of life to be lived. By merely seeking refuge in them Buddhists do not consider that they would gain their deliverance.

Though old and feeble the Buddha not only availed Himself of every opportunity to instruct the Bhikkhus in various ways but also regularly went on His rounds for alms with bowl in hand when there were no private invitations. One day as usual He went in quest of alms in Vesāli and after His meal went with Venerable Ānanda to the Capala Cetiya, and, speaking of the delightfulness of Vesāli and other shrines in the city, addressed the Venerable Ānanda thus:

"Whosoever has cultivated, developed, mastered, made a basis of, experienced, practised, thoroughly acquired the four Means of Accomplishment (Iddhipāda) could, if he so desires, live for an aeon (kappa) or even a little more (kappāvasesam). The Tathāgata, O Ānanda, has cultivated, developed, mastered, made a basis of, experienced, practised, thoroughly acquired the four Means of Accomplishment. If He so desires, the Tathāgata could remain for an aeon or even a little more."

The text adds that "even though a suggestion so evident and so clear was thus given by the Exalted One, the Venerable Ānanda was incapable of comprehending it so as to invite the Buddha to remain for an aeon for the good, benefit, and the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the good, benefit, and happiness of gods and men".

The Sutta attributes the reason to the fact that the mind of Venerable Ānanda was, at the moment, dominated by Māra the Evil One.

The Buddha Announces His Death

The Buddha appeared on earth to teach the seekers of Truth things as they truly are and a unique path for the deliverance of all ills of life. During His long and successful ministry He fulfilled His noble mission to the satisfaction of both Himself and His followers. In His eightieth year He felt that His work was over. He had given all necessary instructions to His earnest followers -- both the householders and the homeless ones -- and they were not only firmly established in His Teachings but were also capable of expounding them to others. He therefore decided not to control the remainder of His life-span by His will-power and by experiencing the bliss of Arahantship. While residing at the Capala Cetiya the Buddha announced to Venerable Ānanda that He would pass away in three months' time.

Venerable Ānanda instantly recalled the saying of the Buddha and begged of Him to live for a kappa for the good and happiness of all.

"Enough Ānanda, beseech not the Tathāgata. The time for making such a request is now past," was the Buddha's reply.

He then spoke on the fleeting nature of life and went with Venerable Ānanda to the Pinnacled Hall at Mahāvana and requested him to assemble all the Bhikkhus in the neighbourhood of Vesāli.

To the assembled Bhikkhus the Buddha spoke as follows:

"Whatever truths have been expounded to you by me, study them well, practise, cultivate and develop them so that this Holy life may last long and be perpetuated out of compassion for the world, for the good and happiness of the many, for the good and happiness of gods and men".

"What are those truths? They are:

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness,
The Four Kinds of Right Endeavour,
The Four Means of Accomplishment,
The Five Faculties,
The Five Powers,
The Seven Factors of Enlightenment, and
The Noble Eightfold Path."

He then gave the following final exhortation and publicly announced the time of His death to the Sangha.

The Buddha's Last Words

"Behold, O Bhikkhus, now I speak to you. Transient are all conditioned things. Strive on with diligence. The passing away of the Tathāgata will take place before long. At the end of three months from now the Tathāgata will pass away."

"Ripe is my age. Short is my life. Leaving you I shall depart. I have made myself my refuge. O Bhikkhus, be diligent, mindful and virtuous. With well-directed thoughts guard your mind. He who lives heedfully in this Dispensation will escape life's wandering and put an end to suffering. "

Casting His last glance at Vesāli, the Buddha went with Venerable Ānanda to Bhandagama and addressing the Bhikkhus said:

Morality, concentration, wisdom and Deliverance supreme.
These things were realized by the renowned Gotama.
Comprehending them, the Buddha taught the doctrine to the disciples.
The Teacher with sight has put an end to sorrow and has extinguished all passions.

The Four Great References

Passing thence from village to village, the Buddha arrived at Bhoganagara and there taught the Four Great Citations or References (Mahāpadesa) by means of which the Word of the Buddha could be tested and clarified in the following discourse:

(1) A Bhikkhu may say thus:-- From the mouth of the Buddha Himself have I heard, have I received thus: 'This is the Doctrine, this is the Discipline, this is the teaching of the Master?' His words should neither be accepted nor rejected. Without either accepting or rejecting such words, study thoroughly every word and syllable and then put them beside the Discourses (Sutta) and compare them with the Disciplinary Rules (Vinaya). If, when so compared, they do not harmonise with the Discourses and do not agree with the Disciplinary Rules, then you may come to the conclusion. "Certainly this is not the word of the Exalted One, this has been wrongly grasped by the Bhikkhu."

Therefore you should reject it.

If, when compared and contrasted, they harmonise with the Discourses and agree with the Disciplinary Rules, you may come to the conclusion: "Certainly this is the word of the Exalted One, this has correctly been grasped by the Bhikkhu".

Let this be regarded as the First Great Reference.

(2) Again a Bhikkhu may say thus:? 'In such a monastery lives the Sangha together with leading Theras. From the mouth of that Sangha have I heard, have I received thus: 'This is the Doctrine, this is the Discipline, this is the Master's Teaching.' His words should neither be accepted nor rejected. Without either accepting or rejecting such words, study thoroughly every word and syllable and then put them beside the Discourses (Sutta) and compare them with the Disciplinary Rules (Vinaya). If, when so compared, they do not harmonise with the Discourses and do not agree with the Disciplinary Rules, then you may come to the conclusion: 'Certainly this is not the word of the Exalted One, this has been wrongly grasped by the Bhikkhu."

Therefore you should reject it.

If, when compared and contrasted, they harmonise with the Discourses and agree with the Disciplinary Rules, you may come to the conclusion: "Certainly this is the word of the Exalted One, this has correctly been grasped by the Bhikkhu."

Let this be regarded as the second Great Reference.

(3) Again a Bhikkhu may say thus:-- 'In such a monastery dwell many Theras and Bhikkhus of great learning, versed in the teachings, proficient in the Doctrine, Vinaya, Discipline, and Matrices (Mātikā). From the mouth of those Theras have I heard, have I received thus: 'This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Teaching of the Master. His words should neither be accepted nor rejected. Without either accepting or rejecting such words, study thoroughly every word and syllable and then put them beside the Discourses (Sutta) and compare them with the Disciplinary Rules (Vinaya). If, when so compared, they do not harmonise with the Discourses and do not agree with the Disciplinary Rules, then you may come to the conclusion: "Certainly this is not the word of the Exalted One, this has been wrongly grasped by the Bhikkhu."

Therefore you should reject it.

If, when compared and contrasted, they harmonise with the Suttas and agree with the Vinaya, then you may come to the conclusion: "Certainly this is the word of the Exalted One, this has been correctly grasped by the Bhikkhu."

Let this be regarded as the Third Great Reference.

(4) Again a Bhikkhu may say thus:? 'In such a monastery lives an elderly Bhikkhu of great learning, versed in the teachings, proficient in the Dhamma, Vinaya, and Matrices. From the mouth of that Thera have I heard, have I received thus: 'This is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Master's Teaching.' His words should neither be accepted nor rejected. Without either accepting or rejecting such words, study thoroughly every word and syllable and then put them beside the Discourses (Sutta) and compare them with the Disciplinary Rules (Vinaya). If, when so compared, they do not harmonise with the Discourses and do not agree with the Disciplinary Rules, then you may come to the conclusion: "Certainly this is not the word of the Exalted One, this has been wrongly grasped by the Bhikkhu."

Therefore you should reject it.

If, when compared and contrasted, they harmonise with the Suttas and agree with the Vinaya, then you may come to the conclusion: "Certainly this is the Dhamma, this is the Vinaya, this is the Master's Teachings."

Let this be regarded as the Fourth Great Reference.

These, Bhikkhus, are the Four Great References.

The Buddha's Last Meal

Enlightening the disciples with such edifying discourses, the Buddha proceeded to Pava where the Buddha and His disciples were entertained by Cunda the smith. With great fervour Cunda prepared a special delicious dish called 'Sūkaramaddava'. As advised by the Buddha, Cunda served only the Buddha with the Sūkaramaddava and buried the remainder in the ground.

After the meal the Buddha suffered from an attack of dysentery and sharp pains came upon Him. Calmly He bore them without any complaint.

Though extremely weak and severely ill, the Buddha decided to walk to Kusinārā His last resting place, a distance of about three gāvutas from Pava. In the course of this last journey it is stated that the Buddha had to sit down in about twenty-five places owing to His weakness and illness.

On the way He sat at the foot of a tree and asked Venerable Ānanda to fetch some water as He was feeling thirsty. With difficulty Venerable Ānanda secured some pure water from a streamlet which, a few moments earlier, was flowing fouled and turbid, stirred up by the wheels of five hundred carts.

At that time a man named Pukkusa, approached the Buddha, and expressed his admiration at the serenity of the Buddha, and, hearing a sermon about His imperturbability, offered Him a pair of robes of gold.

As directed by the Buddha, he robed the Buddha with one and Venerable Ānanda with the other.

When Venerable Ānanda placed the pair of robes on the Buddha, to his astonishment, he found the skin of the Buddha exceeding bright, and said ? "How wonderful a thing is it, Lord and how marvellous, that the colour of the skin of the Exalted One should be so clear, so exceeding bright. For when I placed even this pair of robes of burnished gold and ready for wear on the body of the Exalted One, it seemed as if it had lost its splendour."

Thereupon the Buddha explained that on two occasions the colour of the skin of the Tathāgata becomes clear and exceeding bright -- namely on the night on which the Tathāgata attains Buddhahood and on the night the Tathāgata passes away.

He then pronounced that at the third watch of the night on that day He would pass away in the Sāla Grove of the Mallas between the twin Sāla trees, in the vicinity of Kusinārā.

Cunda's Meritorious Meal

He took His last bath in the river Kukuttha and resting a while spoke thus -- "Now it may happen, Ānanda, that some one should stir up remorse in Cunda the smith, saying: "This is evil to thee, Cunda, and loss to thee in that when the Tathāgata had eaten His last meal from thy provisions, then He died." Any such remorse in Cunda the smith should be checked by saying: "This is good to thee, Cunda, and gain to thee, in that when the Tathāgata had eaten His last meal from thy provision, then He died." From the very mouth of the Exalted One, Cunda, have I heard, from His very mouth have I received this saying: "These two offerings of food are of equal fruit, and of equal profit, and of much greater fruit and of much greater profit than any other, and which are the two?

The offering of food which when a Tathāgata has eaten He attains to supreme and perfect insight, and the offering of food which when a Tathāgata has eaten He passes away by that utter cessation in which nothing whatever remains behind -- these two offerings of food are of equal fruit and of equal profit, and of much greater fruit, and of much greater profit than any other.

There has been laid up by Cunda the smith a Kamma redounding to length of life, redounding to good birth, redounding to good fortune, redounding to good fame, redounding to the inheritance of heaven and of sovereign power."

In this way, Ānanda, should be checked any remorse in Cunda the smith."

Uttering these words of consolation out of compassion to the generous donor of His last meal, He went to the Sāla Grove of the Mallas and asked Venerable Ānanda to prepare a couch with the head to the north between the twin Sāla trees. The Buddha laid Himself down on His right side with one leg resting on the other, mindful and self-possessed.

How the Buddha is Honoured

Seeing the Sāla trees blooming with flowers out of season, and other outward demonstrations of piety, the Buddha exhorted His disciples thus:

"It is not thus, Ānanda, that the Tathāgata is respected, reverenced, venerated, honoured, and revered. Whatever Bhikkhu or Bhikkhuni, Upāsaka or Upāsika lives in accordance with the Teaching, conducts himself dutifully, and acts righteously, it is he who respects, reverences, venerates, honours, and reveres the Tathāgata with the highest homage. Therefore, Ānanda, should you train yourselves thus -- "Let us live in accordance with the Teaching, dutifully conducting ourselves, and acting righteously."

At this moment the Venerable Upavāna, who was once attendant of the Buddha, was standing in front of the Buddha fanning Him. The Buddha asked Him to stand aside.

Venerable Ānanda wished to know why he was asked to stand aside as he was very serviceable to the Buddha.

The Buddha replied that Devas had assembled in large numbers to see the Tathāgata and they were displeased because he was standing in their way concealing Him.

The Four Sacred Places

The Buddha then spoke of four places, made sacred by His association, which faithful followers should visit with reverence and awe. They are:

1. The birthplace of the Buddha ,

2. The place where the Buddha attained Enlightenment,

3. The place where the Buddha established the Incomparable Wheel of Truth (Dhammacakka), and

4. The place where the Buddha attained Parinibbāna.

"And they", added the Buddha, "who shall die with a believing heart, in the course of their pilgrimage, will be reborn, on the dissolution of their body, after death, in a heavenly state."

Conversion of Subhadda

At that time a wandering ascetic, named Subhadda, was living at Kusinārā. He heard the news that the Ascetic Gotama would attain Parinibbāna in the last watch of the night. And he thought -- I have heard grown-up and elderly teachers, and their teachers, the wandering ascetics, say that seldom and very seldom, indeed, do Exalted, Fully Enlightened Arahants arise in this world. Tonight in the last watch the Ascetic Gotama will attain Parinibbāna. A doubt has arisen in me, and I have confidence in the Ascetic Gotama. Capable, indeed, is the Ascetic Gotama to teach the doctrine so that I may dispel my doubt.

Thereupon Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, went to Upavattana Sāla grove of the Mallas where the Venerable Ānanda was, and approaching him spoke as follows: "I have heard grown-up and elderly teachers and their teachers, the wandering ascetics, say that seldom, and very seldom, indeed, do Exalted, Fully Enlightened Arahants arise in this world. Tonight in the last watch the Ascetic Gotama will attain Parinibbāna. A doubt has arisen in me, and I have confidence in the Ascetic Gotama. Capable, indeed, is the Ascetic Gotama to teach the doctrine so that I may dispel my doubts. Shall I, O Ānanda, obtain a glimpse of the Ascetic Gotama?"

"Enough, friend Subhadda, do not worry the Accomplished One. The Exalted One is wearied," said the Venerable Ānanda.

For the second and third time Subhadda repeated his request, and for the second and third time Venerable Ānanda replied in the same manner.

The Buddha heard the conversation between the Venerable Ānanda and Subhadda, and addressing Ānanda, said:

"Nay, Ānanda, do not prevent Subhadda. Let Subhadda, O Ānanda, behold the Accomplished One. Whatsoever Subhadda will ask of me, all that will be with the desire for knowledge, and not to annoy me. And whatever I shall say in answer he will readily understand."

Thereupon the Venerable Ānanda introduced Subhadda to the Buddha.

Subhadda exchanged friendly greetings with the Buddha and sitting aside said: "There are these ascetics and priests, O Gotama, who are leaders of companies and congregations, who are heads of sects and are well-known, renowned religious teachers, esteemed as good men by the multitude, as, for instance, Pūrana Kassapa, Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambali, Pakudha Kaccāyana, Sa?aya Belatthiputta, Nigantha Nātaputta-- have they all, as they themselves claim, thoroughly understood the Truth or not, or have some of them understood. and some not?"

"Let it be, O Subhadda! Trouble not yourself as to whether all or some have realized it or not. I shall teach the doctrine to you. Listen and bear it well in mind. I shall speak."

"So be it, Lord!" replied Subhadda.

The Buddha spoke as follows:

"In whatever Dispensation there exists not the Noble Eightfold Path, neither is the First Samana, nor the Second, nor the Third, nor the Fourth to be found therein. In whatever Dispensation, O Subhadda, there exists the Noble Eightfold Path, there also are to be found the First Samana, the Second Samana, the Third Samana, the Fourth Samana. In this Dispensation, O Subhadda, there exists the Noble Eightfold Path.

"Here, indeed, are found the First Samana, the Second Samana, the Third Samana, and the Fourth Samana. The other foreign schools are empty of Samanas. If, O Subhadda, the disciples live rightly, the world would not be void of Arahants.
"My age was twenty-nine when I went forth as a seeker after what is good. Now one and fifty years are gone since I was ordained. Outside this fold there is not a single ascetic who acts even partly in accordance with this realizable doctrine."

Thereupon Subhadda spoke to the Buddha as follows:

"Excellent, Lord, excellent! It is as if, O Lord, a man were to set upright that which was overturned, or were to reveal that which was hidden, or were to point the way to one who has gone astray, or were to hold a lamp amidst the darkness, so that whoever has eyes may see, even so has the doctrine been expounded in various ways by the Exalted One.

"And I, Lord, seek refuge in the Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Order. May I receive the Lesser and the Higher Ordination in the presence of the Exalted One!"

"Whoever, Subhadda," said the Buddha, "being already committed to the other doctrines desires the Lesser and the Higher 0rdination, remains on probation for four months. At the end of four months, the disciples approving, he is ordained and raised to the status of a Bhikkhu. Nevertheless, on understanding, I make individual exception."

Then said Subhadda:

"If, Lord, those already committed to other doctrines, who desire the Lesser and the Higher Ordination in this Dispensation, remain on probation for four months, I too will remain on probation; and after the lapse of that period, the disciples approving, let me be received into the Order and raised to the status of a Bhikkhu."

Thereupon the Buddha addressed Ānanda and said:

"Then, Ānanda, you may ordain Subhadda."

"So, be it, Lord!" replied Ānanda.

And Subhadda, the wandering ascetic, spoke to the Venerable Ānanda as follows:

"It is a gain to you, O Venerable Ānanda! It is indeed a great gain to you, for you have been anointed by the anointment of discipleship in the presence of the Exalted One by Himself."

Subhadda received in the presence of the Buddha the Lesser and the Higher Ordination.

And in no long time after his Higher Ordination, the Venerable Subhadda, living alone, remote from men, strenuous, energetic, and resolute, realized, in this life itself, by his own intuitive knowledge, the consummation of that incomparable Life of Holiness, and lived abiding in that state for the sake of which sons of noble families rightly leave the householder's life for the homeless life. He perceived that rebirth was ended, completed was the Holy Life, that after this life there was none other.

And the Venerable Subhadda became one of the Arahants. He was the last personal convert of the Buddha.

The Last Words to Ānanda

The Venerable Ānanda desired to know what they should do with the body of the Tathāgata.

The Buddha answered. Do not engage yourselves in honouring the remains of the Tathāgata. Be concerned about your own welfare (i.e. Arahantship). Devote yourselves to your own welfare. Be heedful, be strenuous, and be intent on your own good. There are wise warriors, wise brahmins, wise householders who are firm believers in the Tathāgata. They will do honour to the remains of the Tathāgata.

At the conclusion of these interesting religious talks Venerable Ānanda went aside and stood weeping at the thought: "Alas! I am still a learner with work yet to do. But my Master will finally pass away -- He who is my sympathiser".

The Buddha, noticing his absence, summoned him to His presence and exhorted him thus -- "Enough, O Ānanda! Do not grieve, do not weep. Have I not already told you that we have to separate and divide and sever ourselves from everything that is dear and pleasant to us?

"O Ānanda, you have done much merit. Soon be freed from Defilements."

The Buddha then paid a tribute to Venerable Ānanda, commenting on his salient virtues.

After admonishing Venerable Ānanda in various ways, the Buddha ordered him to enter Kusinārā and inform the Mallas of the impending death of the Tathāgata. Mallas were duly informed, and came weeping with their wives, young men, and maidens, to pay their last respects to the Tathāgata.

The Last Scene

Then the Blessed One addressed Ānanda and said:

"It may be, Ānanda, that you will say thus: 'Without the Teacher is the Sublime Teaching! There is no Teacher for us.' Nay, Ānanda, you should not think thus. Whatever Doctrine and Discipline have been taught and promulgated by me, Ānanda, they will be your Teacher when I am gone."

"Let the Sangha, O Ānanda, if willing, abrogate the lesser and minor rules after my death," remarked the Buddha.

Instead of using the imperative form the Buddha has used the subjunctive in this connection. Had it been His wish that the lesser rules should be abolished, He could have used the imperative. The Buddha foresaw that Venerable Kassapa, presiding over the First Council, would, with the consent of the Sangha, not abrogate any rule hence His use of the subjunctive, states the commentator.

As the Buddha has not clearly stated what these minor rules were and as the Arahants could not come to any decision about them, they preferred not to alter any rule but to retain all intact.

Again the Buddha addressed the disciples and said: "If, O disciples, there be any doubt as to the Buddha, or the Doctrine, or the Order, or the Path, or the Method, question me, and repent not afterwards thinking, -- we were face to face with the Teacher, yet we were not able to question the Exalted One in His presence." When He spoke thus the disciples were silent.

For the second and third time the Buddha addressed the disciples in the same way. And for the second and third time the disciples were silent.

Then the Buddha addressed the disciples and said: "Perhaps it may be out of respect for the Teacher that you do not question me. Let a friend, O disciples, intimate it to another."

Still the disciples were silent.

Thereupon the Venerable Ānanda spoke to the Buddha as follows:

"Wonderful, Lord! Marvellous, Lord! Thus am I pleased with the company of disciples. There is not a single disciple who entertains a doubt or perplexity with regard to the Buddha, the Doctrine, the Order, the Path and the Method."

"You speak out of faith, Ānanda, with regard to this matter. There is knowledge in the Tathāgata, that in this company of disciples there is not a single disciple who entertains a doubt or perplexity with regard to the Doctrine, the Order, the Path and the Method. Of these five hundred disciples, Ānanda, he who is the last is a Stream Winner, not subject to fall but certain and destined for Enlightenment.

Lastly the Buddha addressed the disciples and gave His final exhortation.

"Behold, O disciples, I exhort you. Subject to change are all component things. Strive on with diligence (Vayadhammā samkhārā, Appāmadena sampādetha).

These were the last words of the Blessed One.

The Passing Away

The Buddha attained to the first Ecstasy (Jhāna). Emerging from it, He attained in order to the second, third, and fourth Ecstasies. Emerging from the fourth Ecstasy, He attained to "The Realm of the Infinity of Space" (Akāsāna?āyatana). Emerging from it He attained to "The Realm of the Infinity of Consciousness" (Vi?ānaἦ#257;yatana). Emerging from it, He attained to "The Realm of Nothingness" (Āki?a?āyatana). Emerging from it, He attained to "The Realm of Neither Perception nor Non-perception" (N'eva sa?ā nāsaᦣ257;yatana). Emerging from it, He attained to "The cessation of Perceptions and Sensations". (Sa?āvedayita-Nirodha).

Venerable Ānanda, who had then not developed the Divine Eye, addressed Venerable Anuruddha and said: "O Venerable Anuruddha, the Exalted One has passed away."

"Nay, brother Ānanda, the Exalted One has not passed away but has attained to "The Cessation of Perceptions and Sensations".

Then the Buddha, emerging from "The Cessation of Perceptions and Sensations", attained to "The Realm of Neither Perception nor Non-perception." Emerging from it, He attained to "The Realm of Nothingness." Emerging from it, He attained to "The Realm of the Infinity of Consciousness." Emerging from it, He attained to "The Realm of the Infinity of Space." Emerging from it. He attained to the fourth Ecstasy. Emerging from it, He attained to the third Ecstasy. Emerging from it, He attained to the second Ecstasy. Emerging from it, He attained to the first Ecstasy. Emerging from it, He attained to the second Ecstasy. Emerging from it, He attained to the third Ecstasy. Emerging from it, He attained to the fourth Ecstasy. Emerging from it, and immediately after, the Buddha finally passed away.

THE BUDDHA'S DAILY ROUTINE

2008-08-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

THE BUDDHA'S DAILY ROUTINE

"The Lord is awakened. He teaches the Dhamma for awakening."
-- MAJJHIMA NIKĀYA

The Buddha can be considered the most energetic and the most active of all religious teachers that ever lived on earth. The whole day He was occupied with His religious activities except when He was attending to His physical needs. He was methodical and systematic in the performance of His daily duties. His inner life was one of meditation and was concerned with the experiencing of Nibbānic Bliss, while His outer life was one of selfless service for the moral upliftment of the world. Himself enlightened, He endeavoured His best to enlighten others and liberate them from the ills of life.

His day was divided into five parts, namely, (i) The Forenoon Session, (ii) The Afternoon Session, (iii) The First Watch, (iv) The Middle Watch and (v) The Last Watch.

The Forenoon Session

Usually early in the morning He surveys the world with His Divine Eye to see whom he could help. If any person needs His spiritual assistance, uninvited He goes, often on foot, some times by air using His psychic powers, and converts that person to the right path.

As a rule He goes in search of the vicious and the impure, but the pure and the virtuous come in search of Him.

For instance, the Buddha went of His own accord to convert the robber and murderer Angulimāla and the wicked demon Ā1avaka, but pious young Visākhā, generous millionaire Anāthapindika, and intellectual Sāriputta and Moggallāna came up to Him for spiritual guidance.

While rendering such spiritual service to whomsoever it is necessary, if He is not invited to partake of alms by a lay supporter at some particular place, He, before whom Kings prostrated themselves, would go in quest of alms through alleys and streets, with bowl in hand, either alone or with His disciples.

Standing silently at the door of each house, without uttering a word, He collects whatever food is offered and placed in the bowl and returns to the monastery.

Even in His eightieth year when He was old and in indifferent health, He went on His rounds for alms in Vesāli.

Before midday He finishes His meals. Immediately after lunch He daily delivers a short discourse to the people, establishes them in the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts and if any person is spiritually advanced, he is shown the Path to Sainthood.

At times He grants Ordination to them if they seek admission to the Order and then retires to His chamber.

The Afternoon Session

After the noon meal He takes a seat in the monastery and the Bhikkhus assemble to listen to His exposition of the Dhamma. Some approach Him to receive suitable objects of meditation according to their temperaments; others pay their due respects to Him and retire to their cells to spend the afternoon.

After His discourse or exhortation to His disciples, He Himself retires to His private Perfumed Chamber to rest. If He so desires, He lies on His right side and sleeps for a while with mindfulness. On rising, He attains to the Ecstasy of Great Compassion (Mahā Karunā Samāpatti) and surveys, with His Divine Eye, the world, especially the Bhikkhus who retired to solitude for meditation and other disciples in order to give them any spiritual advice that is needed. If the erring ones who need advice happen to be at a distance, there He goes by psychic powers, admonishes them and retires to His chamber.

Towards evening the lay followers flock to Him to hear the Dhamma. Perceiving their innate tendencies and their temperaments with the Buddha-Eye, He preaches to them for about one hour. Each member of the audience, though differently constituted, thinks that the Buddha's sermon is directed in particular to him. Such was the Buddha's method of expounding the Dhamma. As a rule the Buddha converts others by explaining His teachings with homely illustrations and parables, for He appeals more to the intellect than to emotion.

To the average man the Buddha at first speaks of generosity, discipline, and heavenly bliss. To the more advanced He speaks on the evils of material pleasures and on the blessings of renunciation. To the highly advanced He expounds the Four Noble Truths.

On rare occasions as in the case of Angulimāla and Khemā did the Buddha resort to His psychic powers to effect a change of heart in His listeners.

The sublime teachings of the Buddha appealed to both the masses and the intelligentsia alike. A Buddhist poet sings:

"Giving joy to the wise, promoting the intelligence of the middling, and dispelling the darkness of the dull-witted, this speech is for all people."

Both the rich and the poor, the high and the low, renounced their former faiths and embraced the new Message of Peace. The infant Sāsana, which was inaugurated with a nucleus of five ascetics, soon developed into millions and peacefully spread throughout Central India.

The First Watch

This period of the night extends from 6 to 10 p.m. and was exclusively reserved for instruction to Bhikkhus. During this time the Bhikkhus were free to approach the Buddha and get their doubts cleared, question Him on the intricacies of the Dhamma, obtain suitable objects of meditation, and hear the doctrine.

The Middle Watch

During this period which extends from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Celestial Beings such as Devas and Brahmas, who are invisible to the physical eye, approach the Buddha to question Him on the Dhamma. An oft-recurring passage in the Suttas is: "Now when the night was far spent a certain Deva of surpassing splendour came to the Buddha, respectfully saluted Him and stood at a side." Several discourses and answers given to their queries appear in the Samyutta Nikāya.

The Last Watch

The small hours of the morning, extending from 2 to 6 a.m. which comprise the last watch, are divided into four parts.

The first part is spent in pacing up and down (cankamana). This serves as a mild physical exercise to Him. During the second part, that is from 3 to 4 a.m. He mindfully sleeps on His right side. During the third part, that is from 4 to 5 a.m., He attains the state of Arahantship and experiences Nibbānic bliss. For one full hour from 5 to 6 a.m. He attains the Ecstasy of Great Compassion (Mahā Karunāsamāpatti) and radiates thoughts of loving-kindness towards all beings and softens their hearts. At this early hour He surveys the whole world with His Buddha-Eye to see whether He could be of service to any. The virtuous and those that need His help appear vividly before Him though they may live at a remote distance. Out of compassion for them He goes of His own accord and renders necessary spiritual assistance.

The whole day He is fully occupied with His religious duties. Unlike any other living being He sleeps only for one hour at night. For two full hours in the morning and at dawn He pervades the whole world with thoughts of boundless love and brings happiness to millions. Leading a life of voluntary poverty, seeking His alms without inconveniencing any, wandering from place to place for eight months throughout the year preaching His sublime Dhamma, He tirelessly worked for the good and happiness of all till His eightieth year.

According to the Dharmapradipikā the last watch is divided into these four parts.

According to the commentaries the last watch consists of three parts. During the third part the Buddha attains the Ecstasy of Great Compassion.

စာဖတ္နည္း

2008-08-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

“ စာေပဟူသည္ ေခတ္တစ္ေခတ္၏ ေၾကးမံု ျဖစ္၏” ဒီလိုဆိုၾကတယ္။ အဲဒီေတာ့ စာေပထဲမွာ ေခတ္၏ သေဘာ ပါ၀င္တယ္လို႔ အဓိပၸါယ္ရတယ္။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ စာဖတ္နည္းကို ေဖၚျပၾကျခင္း ျဖစ္တယ္။
စာဖတ္နည္းကို SIMAC လို႔ အတိုေကာက္ ဆိုၾကတယ္။ အဲဒီအထဲက S ဆိုတာကေတာ့ Situation “ေခတ္၏ အေျခအေန”လို႔ အၾကမ္းဖ်င္း အနက္ရတယ္။ I ဆိုတာကေတာ့ Intention “ စာေရးသူ၏ ရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္၊ စာေရးသူ ၏ ေစတနာ” ျဖစ္တယ္။ M ဆိုတာကေတာ့ Matter “အေၾကာင္းအရာ” ျဖစ္တယ္။ A ဆိုတာကေတာ့ Approach “ခ်ည္းကပ္နည္း” ျဖစ္တယ္။ ယခုေခတ္ကေတာ့ “ေဇာင္း” ေပးျခင္းလို႔ ဆိုတယ္။ C ကေတာ့ Consistency “အေၾကာင္းအက်ိဳး” သုိ႔မဟုတ္ “ေရွ႕ႏွင့္ေနာက္ ဆီေလ်ာ္ျခင္း” သို႔ မဟုတ္ “ညီညြတ္ျခင္း”ျဖစ္တယ္။

အဲဒီေတာ့ စာတစ္ပုဒ္ကို ဖတ္ရင္ ျဖစ္ေစ၊ ေရးရင္ျဖစ္ေစ ဒီအဂၤါ ၅ခ်က္ကို ေတြ႕ေအာင္ ရွာရတယ္။ ဒီအဂၤါ ၅ခ်က္ကလည္း ေပၚတင္ၾကီးေတာ့ ရွိမေနရဘူး။ ေပၚတင္ၾကီး ရွိေနျပန္ရင္လည္း ေဒါသသင့္တယ္လို႔ ဆိုပါတယ္။ ရွိေတာ့ ရွိရမယ္၊ သြယ္သြယ္၀ိုက္၀ိုက္ ရွိရမယ္။ ဒါမွ ဂုဏ္ေျမာက္တယ္လို႔ ဆိုပါတယ္။ အဲဒီ ၅ ခ်က္ထဲမွာ အေရၾကီးဆံုးကေတာ့ ခ်ဥ္းကပ္နည္းပဲျဖစ္တယ္။

အေၾကာင္းအရာ ဆိုတာကေတာ့ “ပံု”ေဖာ္စရာျဖစ္တဲ့ သေဘာမို႔ သိပ္ၿပီး အေရးၾကီးလွတယ္လို႔ မသတ္မွတ္ၾကပါဘူး။ သူသူငါငါ ေျပာၾကတဲ့ အေၾကာင္းအရာမ်ား အားလံုးကို အက်ဥ္းခ်ံဳးလိုက္လွ်င္ This “ဒီဟာ” ဆိုတာကိုပဲ ရပါတယ္။ ေလာကီေရး အရ ေျပာေျပာ၊ ေလာကုတၱရာေရး အရ ေျပာေျပာ၊ ဘယ္သူကပဲ ေျပာေျပာ “ဒီဟာ” ကိုပဲ ေျပာၾကတာပဲ။

ဒီေနရာမွာ “ဒီဟာ” ဆိုတာ ပစၥဳပၸန္တည့္တည့္ ျမင္ရ၊ ၾကားရ၊ သိရတဲ့ အာရံုမ်ားပဲ ျဖစ္ပါ တယ္။ ဒီအာရံုမ်ားကို ေျပာၾကတဲ့ ေနရာမွာ ခ်ဥ္းကပ္မႈ သို႔မဟုတ္ ေဇာင္းေပးမႈကို လိုက္ၿပီး ၀ါဒအမ်ိဳးမ်ိဳး ျဖစ္ေပၚလာျခင္းပဲ ျဖစ္ပါတယ္။ ပဋိစၥသမုပၸါဒ္ အႏုေလာမနည္းနဲ႔ ခ်ဥ္းကပ္ေတာ့ ဒုကၡပြားစီးေရးကို ျမင္ရပါတယ္။ ပဋိစၥသမုပၸါဒ္ ပဋိေလာမနည္းနဲ႔ ခ်ဥ္းကပ္ေတာ့ ဒုကၡျငိမ္းေရးကို ျမင္ရပါတယ္။ ဒုကၡ ပြားစီးေရးအတြက္ ေဇာင္းေပးျခင္းကို “မိစၧာပဋိပဒါ” လို႔ ဆိုပါတယ္။ ဒုကၡ ခ်ဳပ္ျငိမ္းေရးအတြက္ ေဇာင္းေပးျခင္းကို “သမၼာပဋိပဒါ” လို႔ ဆိုပါတယ္။

ဘာပဲဆိုဆို ၾကည့္စရာကေတာ့ “သဠာယတန” မွာ ထင္တာ အာရံုတစ္မ်ိဳးတည္းပဲ ျဖစ္ပါတယ္။ ဒီအာရံု တစ္မ်ိဳး တည္းကိုပဲ This “ဒီဟာ”လို႔ ဆိုျခင္းျဖစ္ပါတယ္။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ အေၾကာင္းအရာထက္ ေဇာင္းေပးျခင္းက ပို၍ အေရးၾကီးပါတယ္။

This “ဒီဟာ” ကိုပဲ ေဇာင္းေပးတဲ့အခါမွာ ကြန္ျမဴနစ္၀ါဒႏွင့္ ေဇာင္းေပးရင္ This “ဒီဟာ”က တစ္မ်ိး ျဖစ္သြားပါတယ္။ This “ဒီဟာ” ကေတာ့ This “ဒီဟာ” ပါပဲ။ ပရမတၳ အရ မေျပာင္းလဲ ႏိုင္ေသာ္လည္း ပညတၱိ အရေတာ့ ေျပာင္းသြားတာပါပဲ။ ဘာသာေရးစကားႏွင့္ ေျပာမယ္ဆိုရင္ ၀ဋၬနိႆိတ ၀ါဒႏွင့္ ၾကည့္ရင္ ဒါန သီလ ဘာ၀နာက တစ္မ်ိဳးျဖစ္ၿပီး။ ၀ိ၀ဋၬနိႆိတ၀ါဒ ႏွင့္ ၾကည့္ရင္ ဒါန သီလ ဘာ၀နာက တစ္းမ်ိဳးျဖစ္ပါတယ္။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ အေရးၾကီးတဲ့ ေဇာင္းကိုေပးခ်င္လို႔ ျမတ္စြာဘုရား ပြင့္ေတာ္မူလာျခင္း ျဖစ္ပါတယ္။

ဒီေနရာမွာ ေဇာင္း ဆိုတာကေတာ့ သမၼာပဋိပဒါ သို႔မဟုတ္ ၀ိပႆနာ သမၼာဒိ႒ိပါ။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ စာကို ဖတ္သည္ပဲျဖစ္ျဖစ္။ စာကို ေရးသည္ပဲျဖစ္ျဖစ္ စာဖတ္နည္း အဂၤါ ၅ မ်ိဳးႏွင့္ ဖတ္တတ္ဖို႔ လိုပါတယ္။

ဒီစာဖတ္နည္း ၅ မ်ိဳးဆိုတာကလည္း တကယ္ေတာ့ နည္းသစ္နည္းဆန္း မဟုတ္ပါ။ ေနတၱိက်မ္းမွာ ပါၿပီးျဖစ္တဲ့ ေရွးေခတ္ ပိဋကတ္ေတာ္မ်ားေလ့လာေရး နည္းပဲျဖစ္ပါတယ္။ ယုတၱိဟာရ၊ လကၡဏာဟာရႏွင့္ စတုဗ်ဴဟာ ဟာရဟာ ဒီစာဖတ္နည္းမ်ားထက္ ပိုၿပီးေတာ့ စံုပါတယ္။

စာဖတ္တဲ့ အခါ ဘာေၾကာင့္ ဒီအဂၤါေတြႏွင့္ ျပည့္စံုဖို႔ လိုသလဲ။

ဒါကို သေဘာေပါက္ဖို႔ အတြက္ ကြန္ပ်ဴတာတို႔၊ သခ်ာၤတို႔ အေၾကာင္းကို နည္းနည္း သိဖို႔ လိုတယ္။ အဲဒါသိရင္ စာဖတ္တဲ့အခါ ဒီအဂၤါႏွင့္ျပည့္စံုမွ အနက္ကို သိမွာပဲ။ ဒီလိုနားလည္လာမယ္။ မဟုတ္လို႔ကေတာ့ သူတစ္လူ ငါတစ္မင္း တစ္ေယာက္ႏွင့္ တစ္ေယာက္ မတူဘဲ သိခ်င္သလို သိေနၾကမွာ။ အဲဒီေတာ့ ပုဂၢလဓိ႒ာန္ ျဖစ္ၿပီး ဓမၼဓိ႒ာန္ ဒါ ဘယ္ရွိေတာ့မလဲ။ ဒီလိုဆိုရင္ ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံမွာ တစ္ဆင့္ထက္ တစ္ဆင့္ ျမင့္မားတဲ့ စာရယ္လို႔ ဘယ္လိုလုပ္ၿပီး ထြက္လာႏိုင္ေတာ့မလဲ။

သခ်ာၤ ဆိုပါေတာ့။ သခ်ာၤဟာ ေရွးတုန္းက အေတာ္ခက္တဲ့ ဘာသာ။ ေဒါက္တာဘြဲ႕ ရဖို႔ ေတာ္ေတာ္ ခက္တယ္။ ခုေတာ့ ေဒါက္တာဘြဲ႕ ရတဲ့သူေတြ မ်ားလာၿပီ။ မ်ားလာၿပီးဆိုတာ ရွိလာၾကလို႔ေျပာတာ။ အဲဘာေၾကာင့္လဲဆိုရင္ ေလ့လာနည္းစနစ္ ကြာလို႔ပဲ ျဖစ္တယ္။ လူကေတာ့ သိပ္ကြာလွတာ မဟုတ္ပါဘူး။

ေရွးကေတာ့ ဉာဏ္ရည္ဉာဏ္ေသြးကို ပဓာနျပဳတယ္။ ဒီေတာ့ ဉာဏ္ေကာင္းမွ တတ္တာေပါ့။ ခုေတာ့ ဒီလိုမဟုတ္ဘူး။ အခ်က္အလက္ကို မဓာနျပဳတယ္။ အခ်က္အလက္ ရွာနည္းကို မဓာနျပဳၿပီး သင္တယ္။ အခ်က္အလက္ ရွာတတ္လာရင္ တြက္နည္းအဆင့္ကို ျမင္လာတယ္။ တြက္နည္းအဆင့္အတိုင္း တြက္ရင္ ဘယ္သူတြက္တြက္ မွန္တာေပါ့။ ကြန္ပ်ဴတာဆိုရင္ ပိုထင္ရွားတယ္။ ကြန္ပ်ဴတာမွာ သိစိတ္ေတာင္ မရွိဘူး။

ဒါေပမဲ့ အခ်က္အလက္ေတြကို “ယုတၱိ” ႏွင့္ အညီ ထည့္ေပးလိုက္ရင္ ကြန္ပ်ဴတာက အေျဖထုတ္ေပးလိုက္တာ ပဲ။ ကြန္ပ်ဴတာဆိုတာ ဘယ္စဥ္းစားတတ္မလဲ။ သိစိတ္မွ မရွိတာ။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ အေျဖထုတ္ဖို႔ အတြက္ အခ်က္အလက္လိုတယ္။ “ယုတၱိ” လိုတယ္။

ဒါဆိုရင္ စာဖတ္တဲ့အခါမွာ အေျဖ “တစ္သံတည္း” ထြက္ဖို႔အတြက္ စာဖတ္နည္းပါ အခ်က္အလက္မ်ား သိဖို႔လိုေၾကာင္း ထင္ရွားတာေပါ့။ အခ်က္အလက္မ်ားကို ျပည့္စံုေအာင္ မသိရင္ေတာ့ “ေကာင္းတယ္”လို႔ ေျပာတဲ့သူက ေျပာမယ္။ “မေကာင္းဘူး”လို႔ ေျပာတဲ့သူကေျပာမယ္။ ဒီေတာ့ ခက္တာေပါ့။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ စာဖတ္တဲ့အခါမွာ စာဖတ္နည္းမ်ားကို နားလည္ေအာင္ ေလ့လာထားသင့္တယ္။

စာဖတ္နည္းကို ပံုစံထုတ္တဲ့အေနနဲ႔ “မေကာင္းဘူး။ အမွားေတြ ပါတယ္”လို႔ ေျပာတဲ့ ဓမၼရံသီ ေဆာင္းပါးအ ေၾကာင္းကို ေျပာရေအာင္။ ပထမ မွားတယ္လို႔ ေျပာတဲ့ အခ်က္က “ ျမတ္စြာဘုရားသည္ သႏၲိသုခ ႏိုင္ငံေတာ္ကို တည္ေထာင္ေတာ္ မူ၏” ဆိုတဲ့ အခ်က္ပဲျဖစ္တယ္။ ဒီေနရာမွာ နိဗၺာန္ကို “ေရြျပည္” ႏွင့္ တင္စားေလ့ ရွိပါတယ္။ ေရွးေခတ္ကေတာ့ ျပည္ေပါ့။ ခုေခတ္ၾကေတာ့ ႏိုင္ငံ။ ဒီလို ေ၀ါဟာရ ေျပာင္းသြား ပါတယ္။ ဒီလို တင္စားတာကို သမာဓိဂုဏ္ ေရာက္တယ္လို႔ ဆိုၾကတယ္။

သမာဓိဂုဏ္ႏွင့္ ပတ္သက္ၿပီး ကဗ်ာဒါသမွာ-
“အညဓေမၼာ တေတာညၾတ၊ ေလာကသီမာ နုေရာဓိနာ”လို႔ ဆိုပါတယ္။ “သိၿပီးသားနဲ႔ မသိေသးတာကို ဆြဲေခၚတဲ့ သေဘာကို သမာဓိဂုဏ္”လို႔ ဆိုလိုပါတယ္။

ဒီေနရာမွာ ျပည္တို႔၊ ႏိုင္ငံတို႔ ဆိုတာက သိၿပီးသားပါ။ နိဗၺာန္ကေတာ့ မသိေသးတဲ့ ဓမၼ ဆိုပါေတာ့။ မသိေသး ဆိုတာကလည္း သစၧိကရဏ သေဘာႏွင့္မသိျခင္းကို ေျပာတာ။ အႏုမာန သေဘာနဲ႔ေတာ့ အားလံုးသိပါတယ္။ ဒါဟာလည္း ျပႆနာ မရွိပါဘူး။ နိဗၺာန္ဆိုတာ ျပည္လည္းမဟုတ္ဘူး၊ ႏိုင္ငံလည္း မဟုတ္ဘူး။ အထည္ျဒပ္လည္း မရွိဘူး။ အသခၤတ နိစၥ-ဓူ၀ သႏၲိသုခ သေဘာသက္သက္ပဲလို႔ ဗုဒၶဘာသာ၀င္ အားလံုးက သိၿပီးသားပါ။

ဒီသေဘာကို လက္ရွိ ေခတ္ အေျခအေနရႈေထာင့္ကေရာ။ ေရွးေခတ္အေျခအေန ရႈေထာင့္ကေရာ ျမင္ႏိုင္ပါတယ္။ ဗုဒၶဘာသာ၀င္တို႔ရဲ႕ အသိဉာဏ္အင္အားကို အထင္ေသးလို႔ မရပါဘူး။ ဒါက ရွင္းပါတယ္။

မရွင္းတာက တည္ေထာင္သူပါ။ သမာဓိဂုဏ္ရဲ႕ လကၡဏာမွာ “ ေလာကသီမာ ႏုေရာဓိနာ” လို႔ ဆိုပါတယ္။ ျပည္မွန္သမွ်၊ ႏိုင္ငံမွန္သမွ် တည္ေထာင္သူ ရွိရပါတယ္။ ဒါက ေလာကဓမၼတာပါ။

“သမာဓိဂုဏ္” ေရာက္ေအာင္ တင္စားတဲ့ အခါ ေလကဓမၼတာကို လိုက္နာရတယ္။ ဒါမွ သမာဓိဂုဏ္ ေရာက္တယ္။ လိုက္နာတာကို “ေလာကသီမာ ႏုေရာဓိ” ေခၚတယ္။ ေလာကဓမၼတာကို မလိုက္နာမိရင္ ျဖစ္ေစ၊ တင္စားစရာ ရွိတာကို “အကုန္လံုး” မတင္စားရင္ ျဖစ္ေစ “သသံသယ ေဒါသ” သင့္ႏိုင္တယ္။ ဒါက ကဗ်ာဒါသ ရဲ႕ အဆိုပါ။ ကဗ်ာဒါသ ၌-
“နိဏၰယုတၱံ ပယုတၱာနိ၊ သံသယံ ဇနယႏၲိေစ” လို႔ ဆိုတယ္။ “အေၾကာင္း အရာ တစ္ခုကို ဆံုးျဖတ္လို႔ ရေအာင္ေရးပါ။ သံသယ ရွိေအာင္ မေရးပါနဲ႔။ သံသယ ရွိေအာင္ေရးရင္ သံသယေဒါသ သင့္တတ္တယ္”လို႔ ဆိုတယ္။ ေနာက္တစ္ခါ တင္စားစရာ ရွိရင္လည္း “အကုန္”တင္စားပါ၊ ခ်န္မထားပါနဲ႔လို႔ ကဗ်ာဒါသဆရာက သမာဓိဂုဏ္နဲ႔ ပတ္သက္ၿပီး-
“ယုဂပေႏၷက ဓမၼာနံ၊ အစ်ာ ေသာ စ မေတာ ယထာ”လို႔ မွာျပန္ပါတယ္။ ဒီမွာထားခ်က္အရ အလကၤာရ စာေပ အျမင္မွ သႏၲိသုခႏိုင္ငံေတာ္ကို တည္ေထာင္သူဟာ ျမတ္စြာဘုရား။ မာယာသုခ ႏိုင္ငံေတာ္ကို တည္ေထာင္သူက မာရ္နတ္လို႔ အျပည့္အစံု တင္စားျခင္းပါ။ ထာ၀ရဘုရားကမ်ား ဖန္ဆင္းတာ ျဖစ္ေလမလား ဆိုတဲ့ သသံသယ ေဒါသကို မေရာက္ေစလိုလို႔ အျပည့္အစံု တင္စားျခင္းျဖစ္တယ္။

အေၾကာင္းအရာ တစ္ခုကို ဆံုးျဖတ္တဲ့အခါ “ဘက္စံု” ျမင္ဖို႔ ၾကိဳးစားရတယ္။ ဘက္စံု မျမင္ဘဲ ဆံုးျဖတ္ရင္ ဒႆန ဆရာမ်ားက “အဒၶဇရာတိယ ပ႑ိစၥ”လို႔ ကဲ့ရဲ႕တယ္။ အဒၶဇရာတိယ၏ အနက္က “တစ္၀က္အို” ျဖစ္တယ္။ သီလကၡာန္ ဋီကာသစ္ဆရာၾကီးကေတာ့ “သတၱဘဂႌနယ”လို႔ ဆိုပါတယ္။

အေၾကာင္း အရာတစ္ခုမွာ ျမင္ေထာင့္ ၇ ခုရွိတယ္။ ဒီျမင္ေထာင့္မ်ားဟာ သူ႔ေထာင့္ အလိုက္ေတာ့ တစ္ခုစီ အေနနဲ႔ မွန္တယ္။ ဒါေပမဲ့ အျပည့္အစံု ေတာ့ မမွန္ဘူး။ အျပည့္အစံုမွန္ရေလေအာင္ ေထာင့္ ၇ ခုလံုးကို ေခ်ဖ်က္ၿပီး ေျပာရတယ္။ ဒါက “သတၱဘဂႌနယ”ရဲ႕ ဆိုလိုရင္းပါ။ အိႏၵိယ ဒႆနကေတာ့ သတၱဘဂႌနယကို “သိယာ၀ါဒ”လို႔ ဆိုပါတယ္။ တစ္ခုခ်င္းစီ အေနနဲ႔ေတာ့ ျဖစ္ႏိုင္ေျခ ရွိတယ္လို႔ ဆိုတာပါ။ ဒါေပမဲ့ အားလံုးက်ေတာ့ ”မွားတယ္”လို႔ ဆိုလိုတာပါ။

ဥပမာအေနနဲ႔ ေျပာရရင္ မ်က္မျမင္ ပုဏၰား ၆ေယာက္ ဆင္ကိုလက္နဲ႔ စမ္းၿပီး ေျပာသလိုပါ။ သူ႔ဟာနဲ႔ သူေတာ့ အမွန္ပဲ။ တစ္ခုလံုး အတြက္ မွန္လားဆိုေတာ့ မမွန္ဘူး။

ႏိုင္ငံေတာ္ ႏွစ္ခုရွိတယ္။ မာယာသုခႏိုင္ငံေတာ္ႏွင့္ သႏၲိသုခႏိုင္ငံေတာ္။ ဒါေတြဟာ သမာဓိဂုဏ္ အတြက္ အားလံုး တင္စားခ်က္ေတြပါ။ တင္စားတာလား ၊ မုခ်လားလို႔ ခြဲမသိတဲ့လူ ဗုဒၶဘာသာ၀င္ ထဲမွာ ရွိမွာ မဟုတ္ပါဘူး။ အရိယာမ်ားဟာ ဘ၀ခ်မ္းသာ၌ မေမြ႔ေလ်ာ္ၾကဘူး။ သုဒၶ၀ါသ ဘံုမ်ား၌ပင္ ေနရေစကာမူ ဘ၀ခ်မ္းသာ၌ မေမြေလ်ာ္ၾကဘူး။ ဘ၀ဟာ သုခမဟုတ္ဘူး၊ ဒုကၡဆိုတာ သူတို႔သိၾကတယ္။

ဒါေၾကာင့္ ဘံုဘ၀၌ ျငီးေငြၿပီး ဘံုဘ၀မွ အားလံုးလြတ္ေျမာက္လိုၾကတယ္။ ကိုက ေနေပမဲ့ စိတ္က မေနဘူး။
ဒီသေဘာကို ရည္ရြယ္ၿပီးေတာ့ “မာယာသုခ ႏိုင္ငံေတာ၌ အရိယာမ်ား ေနေတာ္မမူၾကေခ်”လို႔ ဆိုတာပါ။ ဒါဟာလဲ တင္စားတာပါ။ သမာဓိဂုဏ္အတြက္ တင္စားျခင္းပါ။ တင္စားမွန္းလည္း သိၾကပါတယ္။ ဗုဒၶဘာသာ စာဖတ္ပရိတ္သတ္ဟာ မညံ့ပါလွပါဘူး။ ဒါေပမဲ့ “ညံ့လြန္း”ရင္လည္း အႏၲရယ္ မရွိဘူး။ “ေတာ္လြန္း” ရင္လည္း အႏၲရာယ္မရွိဘူး။ မညံ့တည့ံ (၀ါ) မက်က္တက်က္သာ အႏၲရယ္ ရွိတယ္ လို႔ ေလာကနီတိ ဆရာကလဲ “အပၸပေညာ မဟာသေကာ၊ အပၸပူေရာ ဃေဋာ ေခါေဘ”လို႔ ဆိုတယ္။ အဂၤလိပ္ စကားပံုကလည္း Little knowledge is dangerous လို႔ ဆိုပါတယ္။ ဒီအဆင့္မ်ိဳး ဗုဒၶဘာသာ စာဖတ္ပရိတ္သတ္ထဲမွာ မရွိပါဘူး။

“ျမတ္စြာဘုရားသည္သာ သႏၲိသုခႏိုင္ငံေတာ္ကုိ သိေတာ္မူ၏” လို႔ဆိုတာကလည္း စာဖတ္တဲ့အခါ-
၁။ ေခတ္ႏွင့္ ေခတ္၏ အေျခအေနကို သိမယ္။
၂။ စာေရးသူ၏ ဦးတည္ခ်က္ကို သိမယ္။
၃။ အေၾကာင္းအရာကို သိမယ္။
၄။ ခ်ဥ္းကပ္ေထာင့္ကို သိမယ္။
၅။ ေရွ႕ႏွင့္ေနာက္ ညီညြတ္မႈ ရွိမရွိကို သိမယ္။ ဒီ ၅ ခ်က္ကို သိထားရင္ စာပိုဒ္ရဲ႕ အနက္မွန္ကို သိပါတယ္။ အနက္မွန္ သိေရးအတြက္ ဒီ ၅ ခ်က္ဟာ အနည္းဆံုး လိုအပ္ခ်က္ပါပဲ။ ဒီ ၅ ခ်က္ကိုမွ သိမထားရင္ေတာ့ စာတစ္ပိုဒ္၏ အနက္ကို သိဖို႔ ခက္တယ္။

ေခတ္ႏွင့္ ေခတ္အေျခအေနကို ၾကည့္မယ္ဆိုရင္ မဟာသကၠရာဇ္ ၁၀၃ ကဆုန္လျပည့္ေက်ာ္ ၁ ရက္ေန႔မွ ၀ါဆိုလျပည့္ေက်ာ္ ၅ရက္မတိုင္မီ တစ္လေက်ာ္ကာ အေျခအေနကို သိဖို႔လိုမယ္။ အေလာင္းေတာ္ မင္းသားဟာ “စၾကာ၀ေတးမင္း”ျဖစ္ေအာင္ မလုပ္ဘူး။ “ဘုရား”ျဖစ္ေအာင္လုပ္မယ္ဆိုၿပီးေတာ့ က်င့္ေတာ္မူလိုက္တာ ခု ဘုရားျဖစ္ၿပီ၊ နိဗၺာန္ကို မ်က္ေမွာက္ျပဳၿပီ။ သစၥာေလးပါးကို သိၿပီ၊ ဒီအခ်ိန္မွာ နိဗၺာန္ကိုသိတာ ျမတ္စြာ ဘုရားတစ္ပါးတည္း ရွိေသးတယ္။ ဒါက တစ္ခ်က္။

ေနာက္တစ္ခ်က္က ျမတ္စြာဘုရားသည္ “အတုလ” ျဖစ္တယ္။ “ဧကပုဂၢလ“ျဖစ္တယ္ ဒါမွန္တယ္။ ေနာက္ပဥၥ၀ၢီတို႔ ေသာတာပန္ျဖစ္ၿပီး နိဗၺာန္ကို မ်က္ေမွာက္ျပဳတယ္။ သစၥာေလးပါးကို သိတယ္။ ၀ါဆိုလျပည့္ေက်ာ္ ၅ရက္ေန႔က်ေတာ့ အားလံုးရဟႏၲာျဖစ္သြားၾကတယ္။ ဒီေတာ့ သႏၲိသုခကို သူတို႔လည္း သိတာေပါ့။ အားလံုး နိဗၺာန္ကို မ်က္ေမွာက္ျပဳတဲ့ေနရာမွာ သစၥာေလးပါးကို သိေတာ္မူတဲ့ ေနရာမွာ အတူတူပဲ။ ဘာမွ မထူးဘူး။

ဒီလို ဆိုၾကတယ္။ ဒါက အာရံုပိုင္းဆိုင္ရာ ျပႆနာ Ontological View အေနနဲ႔ ေျပာၾကျခင္း ျဖစ္တယ္။ သိမႈပိုင္း ဆိုင္ရာ ျပႆနာ Epistemological View အေနနဲ႔က်ေတာ့ မတူဘူး။ ထူးတယ္။

ျမတ္စြာဘုရား၏ အရတၱမဂ္ဉာဏ္က “သဗၺညဳတ” ထိုက္တဲ့ ဉာဏ္။ အျခားအရိယာမ်ား၏ အရဟတၱမဂ္ဉာဏ္က သဗၺညဳတ မထိုက္ဘူး။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ ျမတ္စြာဘုရားသည္ အရဟတၱမဂ္ဉာဏ္ကို ရတာနဲ႔ သဗၺညဳတဉာဏ္ ရျခင္း ကိစၥကိုပါ ၿပီးစီးေစႏိုင္ျခင္းျဖစ္တယ္။ ဒါက ခ်ဥ္းကပ္နည္းနဲ႔ ဆိုင္တဲ့ အနက္ပါ။

သဗၺညဳတအရ “အားလံုးကို သိတယ္” ဆိုတဲ့ေနရာမွာ အားလံုးဟာ ၂ မ်ိဳးရွိတယ္။ အေရအတြက္ အရ အားလံုးႏွင့္၊ အရည္အခ်င္းအရ အားလံုးျဖစ္တယ္။ အေရအတြက္ အရ အားလံုးဆိုတာ သိစရာ မွန္သမွ် တစ္ခုမွ မက်န္ အားလံုးကုိ သိျခင္းျဖစ္တယ္။ ဒါဟာ အာရံုပိုင္းဆိုင္ရာ ျပႆနာပါ။

အဲဒီ သိစရာေတြ သိတဲ့အခါမွာ အားလံုးကို တစ္ျပိဳင္နက္ သိတာမဟုတ္ဘူး။ တစ္ခုစီ တစ္ခုစီ အာရံုျပဳၿပီး သိတာ။ ဥပမာအားျဖင့္ “က”ကို သိတယ္ဆိုရင္ အျခားပုဂၢိဳလ္မ်ားက “က”ႏွင့္ ပတ္သက္သမွ် အားလံုးကို မသိဘူး။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ သဗၺညဳ” မဟုတ္ဘူး။ ျမတ္စြာဘုရားကေတာ့“က”ကို သိရင္ “က”ႏွင့္ ပတ္သက္တာ အားလံုးကို သိတယ္။ “ခ”ကို သိရင္ “ခ”ႏွင့္ ပတ္သက္တာ အားလံုးကို သိတယ္။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ “သဗၺညဳ”ျဖစ္တယ္။

“သဗၺညဳ” ျဖစ္ေလာက္ေအာင္လည္း အရဟတၱ မဂ္ဉာဏ္ျဖင့္ နိဗၺာန္ကို မ်က္ေမွာက္ျပဳတုန္းက ၀ါသနာႏွင့္တကြ ကိေလသာေတြ အားလံုးကို ပယ္ႏိုင္ေသာေၾကာင့္ျဖစ္တယ္။ ဥပါဒါနပစၥယာ ဘေ၀ါ(ေဇာ) အရ ၀ါသနာဟာ သိမႈအေပၚမွာ ဘယ္ေလာက္ လႊမ္းမိုးႏိုင္တယ္ဆိုတာ ထင္ရွားပါတယ္။ “ဣႆာ” ၀ါသနာပါတဲ့သူဟာ သူတစ္ပါးကို “ဣႆာ” မ်က္စိနဲ႔ပဲ ျမင္တတ္တယ္။ “ေလာဘ” ၀ါသနာပါတဲ့ သူဟာ ဘာကိုၾကည့္ၾကည့္ “ေလာဘ” မ်က္စိနဲ႔ပဲ ၾကည့္တတ္တယ္။

ကိေလသာကုိ ၀ါသနာႏွင့္တကြ ပယ္သတ္ႏိုင္ျခင္းသည္ သဗၺညဳတဉာဏ္ ရျခင္း၏ အေၾကာင္း ျဖစ္တယ္။ အာရံုပိုင္း အေနနဲ႔ကေတာ့ နိဗၺာန္ဟာ အေျပာင္းအလဲ မရွိဘူး။ This ဒီဟာ- ဒီဟာပါပဲ။

အာရမၼဏိကပိုင္း အေနနဲ႔က်ေတာ့ အေျပာင္းအလဲ ရွိတယ္။ ေလာကမွာ ျမတ္စြာဘုရားႏွင့္ ရည္တူ သိသူရယ္လို႔ မရွိပါဘူး။ ေလာကမွာလည္း ဆိုရိုးရွိတယ္။ အေၾကာင္းအရာ တစ္ခုႏွင့္ ပတ္သက္ၿပီးေတာ့ အသိဆံုး ျဖစ္ရင္ “သူသာသိတာ၊ တျခား “သူ႔”ေလာက္ ဘယ္သူမွ မသိဘူး” ဒီလိုေျပာရိုးဆိုစဥ္ရွိတယ္။

ဒါေၾကာင့္ ေခတ္ႏွင့္ ေခတ္၏ အေျခအေနမွ ၾကည့္ရင္လည္း ထိုအခ်ိန္မွာ ျမတ္စြာဘုရား တစ္ပါးတည္းပဲ သစၥာ ေလးပါးကို သိသူ ရွိေသးတာ။ ဒီေနာက္ သိမႈဆိုင္ရာ ျမင္ကြင္း (Epistemological View) ကၾကည့္ရင္လည္း ျမတ္စြာဘုရားဟာ သစၥာေလးပါးကို သိတဲ့ေနရာမွာပဲ ျဖစ္ျဖစ္၊ အျခား ဘယ္ေနရာမွာပဲျဖစ္ျဖစ္ “အတုလ” ၀ါ၊ “ဧကပုဂၢလ” ၀ါ။ သဒၵါနည္းအရ ဆိုရင္ေတာ့ “သဒၶါဓိေကာ အတၱာဓိေကာ” ေပါ့။

ဒီေတာ့ ဘက္စံုၾကည့္နည္းအရ ၾကည့္လွ်င္ ဒီစာပိုဒ္ဟာ မမွားပါဘူး။ ဆင္ရဲ႕ အစြယ္ကိုသာ စမ္းမိၿပီး “ဆင္” ဟာ “သန္လ်က္လိုပဲ” လို႔ေျပာတဲ့ မ်က္မျမင္ပုဏၰား အျမင္မ်ိဳးနဲ႔ ၾကည့္ရင္ေတာ့ စာတစ္ပိုဒ္၏ အနက္ကို မွန္ေအာင္ သိဖို႔ မလြယ္ဘူး။

ေနာက္တစ္ခ်က္က “နာနာကၡဏိက `ကံ` ဟာ ဥပါဒ္၊ ဌီ၊ ဘင္ မရွိဘူး” ဒီအဆိုကို မွားတယ္ လို႔ ဆိုၾကတယ္။
အမွန္ကေတာ့ မမွားဘူး။ ပ႒ာန္းအရဆိုလွ်င္ “ကံ”ဆိုတာ ေဇာ ေစတနာပဲ။ ဒီေတာ့ ပထမ ေဇာေစတနာကို ေျပာရမယ္ဆိုရင္၊ မိမိမခ်ဳပ္ခင္ အခိုက္မွာ သဟဇာတကမၼျဖစ္တယ္။ ဒီေတာ့ ကမၼ၊ သဟဇာတ၊ နိႆယ၊ အဟာရ၊ အတၳိ၊ အ၀ိဂတ”လို႔ ၆ ပစၥည္း ျပိဳင္ႏိုင္တယ္။

ဒီမွာ အတၳိ ႏွင့္ အ၀ိဂတ ပါတယ္။ အတၳိႏွင့္ အ၀ိဂတ ပါေတာ့ သဟဇာတကမၼမွာ ဥပါဒ္၊ ဌီ၊ ဘင္ ရွိတဲ့ သေဘာကို ေျပာတာ။ ဒါက “သဟဇာတကမၼ”အခိုက္။

ေနာက္ ပထမေဇာ ခ်ဳပ္သြားၿပီ၊ ဒုတိယေဇာ ၀င္လာတယ္။ ဒုတိယေဇာ၀င္လာေတာ့ ပထမေဇာက သဟဇာတကမၼကေန အနႏၲရ ကမၼ(အာေသ၀န) ျဖစ္သြားတယ္။ ဒီေတာ့ ပထမေဇာက ကမၼ(အာေသ၀န)၊ အနႏၲရ၊ သမနႏၲရ၊ ဥပနိႆယ၊ နတၳိ၊ ၀ိဂတလို႔ ၆ ပစၥည္းျပိဳင္တယ္။ ဒီမွာ နတၳိႏွင့္ ၀ိဂတပါတယ္။ နတၳိႏွင့္ ၀ိဂတဆိုတာ ဥပါဒ္၊ ဌီ၊ ဘင္ မရွိတဲ့သေဘာကို ေျပာတာ။

ေနာက္ဒုတိယေဇာ ခ်ဳပ္သြားၿပီ။ တတိယေဇာ ၀င္လာတယ္။ ဒီမွာ ဒုတိယေဇာက တတိယေဇာအား ကမၼ(အာေသ၀န)၊ အနႏၲရ၊ သမနႏၲရ၊ ဥပနိႆယ၊ နတၳိ၊ ၀ိဂတလို႔ ၆ ပစၥည္းျပိဳင္တယ္။ ပထမေဇာက တတိယေဇာအား ကမၼ(နာနာကၡဏိက)၊ ဥပနိႆယ လို႔ ၂ ပစၥည္းပဲ ျပိဳင္တယ္။

ဒီမွာ ဆိုခ်င္တာက “ပထမေဇာ”သည္ မိမိ ဥပါဒ္ခိုက္ သဟဇာတကမၼျဖစ္တယ္။ ဥပါဒ္၊ ဌီ၊ ဘင္ဟူ၍ ခဏငယ္ သံုးခ်က္ရွိတယ္။ ဒုတိယေဇာ ၀င္လာတယ္။ ဒီတစ္ခါ “ပထမေဇာ”သည္ အနႏၲရ၊ ကမၼ(အာေသ၀န) ျဖစ္သြားတယ္။ ဥပါဒ္၊ ဌီ၊ ဘင္ ဟူ၍ ခဏငယ္သံုးခ်က္ မရွိေတာ့။ ဒီတစ္ခါ “ပထမေဇာ” သည္ နာနာကၡဏိက ကမၼျဖစ္သြားတယ္။ ဥပါဒ္၊ ဌီ၊ ဘင္ဟူ၍ မရွိေတာ့။ “ေဇာ”ေတြဟာ ဒီသေဘာခ်ည္းပါပဲ။

ဒါျဖင့္ “ဥပါဒ္၊ ဌီ၊ ဘင္ မရွိရင္ ဘာမွ် မရွိေတာ့ဘူးလား”လို႔ ေမးရင္ေတာ့၊ နိဗၺာန္ မရမခ်င္း သတိၱ အေနနဲ႔ အရိပ္ပမာ သႏၲာန္၌ အစဥ္လိုက္ပါတယ္။

ဒီပ႒ာန္းေဒသနာေတာ္ကို ေထာက္ရင္ နာနာကၡဏိက ကမၼဟာ ဥပါဒ္၊ ဌီ၊ ဘင္ ဆိုတဲ့ ခဏတၱယဟာ မုခ်အားျဖင့္ မရွိဘူးဆိုတာ ထင္ရွားပါတယ္။ ဥပစာရ အားျဖင့္ ရွိတယ္လို႔ ဆိုခ်င္ရင္ေတာ့ ဆိုပါ။

ေနာက္တစ္ခ်က္က “ဘ၀ ပြားစီးေရးအတြက္ လုပ္တဲ့ ဒါန၊ သီလ၊ ဘာ၀နာဟာ သာသနာေတာ္ကို ဖ်က္လိုစိတ္ မရွိပါဘဲနဲ႔ ဖ်က္ဆီးရာေရာက္တယ္” ဆိုတဲ့ အဆိုနဲ႔ ပတ္သက္ၿပီးေတာ့ မမွားေၾကာင္း သံဃ၊ ၂၊ ၁၈(ပဋိပဒါ) သုတ္မွာ-
ယံ ဟိ ကိဥၥိ ဘ၀တၱယ သခၤါတံ ၀ဋၬ ပေတၳတြာ ပ၀တၱိတံ၊ အႏၲမေသာ ပဥၥဘိညာ အ႒ ၀ါ သမာပတၱိေယာ၊ သဗၺံ တံ ၀ဋၬပကၡိယံ ၀ဋၬ သီသႏၲိ၊ ၀ဋၬ သီသတၱာ မိစၧာပဋိပဒါ၀ ေဟာတိ- လို႔ဆိုတယ္။ ျမတ္စြာ ဘုရား ပြင့္ေတာ္မူလာ တာက “သမၼာပဋိပဒါ” ကို ေဟာခ်င္လို႔ ပြင့္လာတာ။ ဒီေတာ့ “မိစၧာပဋိပဒါ”နဲ႔ “သမၼာပဋိပဒါ” ဟာ ေျဖာင့္ေျဖာင့္ ဆန္႔က်င္ပါတယ္။

ဒီေတာ့ စာတစ္ပိုဒ္ရဲ႕ အနက္မွန္ကို သိခ်င္ရင္ စာဖတ္နည္းကို သိမွ၊ စာဖတ္နည္းကို သိခ်င္ရင္ ေနတၱိ က်မ္းကို ေလ့လာမွ။ အကုန္လံုး မေလ့လာႏိုင္ရင္ေတာင္ “ယုတၱိဟာရ၊ လကၡဏာဟာရ၊ စတုဗ်ဴဟာ ဟာရ” ကိုေတာ့ သိမွျဖစ္မယ္။

ေဆာင္းပါးရွင္ေတြဟာ သူ႔ပရိတ္သတ္နဲ႔သူပါ။ အျမင္ခ်င္း တူၾကရင္ အၾကိဳက္ခ်င္းတူၾကတာပဲ။ ခက္တယ္၊ လြယ္တယ္ မဟုတ္ပါဘူး။

ဓမၼရံသီ မဂၢဇင္းပါ “ခ်မ္းသာကို ရွာေဖြျခင္း” ေဆာင္းပါးရဲ႕ ဦးတည္ခ်က္က ဘ၀ကို မဇၥ်ိမပဋိပဒါႏွင့္ ၾကည့္တတ္ရင္ “သႏၲိသုခ”ကို ရတယ္လို႔ ဆိုတာပါ။ အေၾကာင္းအရာကေတာ့ ပဋိစၥသမုပၸါဒ္ကို အေျခခံၿပီး ဓမၼစၾကာႏွင့္ အနတၱလကၡဏသုတ္၊ ေပါင္းသံုးသုတ္ကို ေရးျခင္းပါ။ ဒီသံုးသုတ္ဟာ ျမတ္စြာဘုရားရဲ႕ သာသနာေတာ္မွာ ပထမဦးဆံုးလည္းျဖစ္၊ အေရးအၾကီးဆံုးလည္းျဖစ္။ အေျခခံ အက်ဆံုးလည္း ျဖစ္လို႔ပါပဲ။
ေဆာင္းပါးအမွတ္စဥ္က (၁၇)ရွိသြားပါၿပီ။

ေနာက္ဆံုးေျပာခ်င္တာက “ငါ့ေလွ ငါထိုး ပဲခူးေရာက္ေရာက္”ဆိုတဲ့ ၀ါဒဟာ မကၡလိေဂါသာလ ၏ ၀ါဒျဖစ္လို႔ အင္မတန္ အႏၲရယ္ၾကီးတယ္ဆိုတဲ့ အခ်က္ပါပဲ။ ဆင္ျခင္ဖြယ္ပါ။ သံေ၀ဂယူဖြယ္ပါ။

“လက္ဖက္ရည္ ပန္းကန္လံုးထဲ၌ မုန္တိုင္းကို ျမင္ခ်င္းသည္ မွန္ေသာျမင္ျခင္း။” မဟုတ္ပါ။ ဤသေဘာကို စာဖတ္သူမ်ား အေနျဖင့္ သတိျပဳႏိုင္ရန္ တင္ျပျခင္းျဖစ္ပါသည္။

မွတ္ခ်က္။ အမွားပါလွ်င္ ေရးကူးသူ အကၽြန္ႏုပ္၏ အမွားသာျဖစ္ပါသည္။

THE BUDDHA'S MINISTRY

2008-07-28T06:14:00.000-07:00

THE BUDDHA'S MINISTRY
"Freed am I from all bonds, whether divine or human.
You, too, O Bhikkhus, are freed from all bonds."
-- MAHĀVAGGA

The Buddha's beneficent and successful ministry lasted forty-five years. From His 35th year, the year of His Enlightenment, till His death in His 80th year, He served humanity both by example and by precept. Throughout the year He wandered from place to place, at times alone, sometimes accompanied by His disciples, expounding the Dhamma to the people and liberating them from the bonds of Samsāra. During the rainy season (vassāna) from July to November, owing to incessant rains, He lived in retirement as was customary with all ascetics in India in His time.

In ancient times, as today, three regular seasons prevailed in India, namely, vassāna, (rainy) hemanta (winter) and gimhāna (hot). The vassāna or rainy season starts in Āsālha and extends up to Assayuga, that is approximately from the middle of July to the middle of November.

During the vassāna period, due to torrential rains, rivers and streams usually get flooded, roads get inundated, communications get interrupted and people as a rule are confined to their homes and villages and live on what provisions they have collected during the previous seasons. During this time the ascetics find it difficult to engage in their preaching tours, wandering from place to place. An infinite variety of vegetable and animal life also appears to such an extent that people could not move about without unconsciously destroying them. Accordingly all ascetics including the disciples of the Buddha, used to suspend their itinerant activities and live in retirement in solitary places. As a rule the Buddha and His disciples were invited to spend their rainy seasons either in a monastery or in a secluded park. Sometimes, however, they used to retire to forests. During these rainy seasons people flocked to the Buddha to hear the Dhamma and thus availed themselves of His presence in their vicinity to their best advantage.

The First Twenty Years

1st Year at Benares.

After expounding the Dhammacakka Sutta to His first five disciples on the Āsālha full moon day, He spent the first rainy season in the Deer Park at Isipatana, near Benares. Here there was no special building where he could reside. Yasa's conversion took place during this Retreat.

2nd, 3rd, 4th Years at Rājagaha.

Rājagaha was the capital of the Kingdom of Magadha where ruled King Bimbisāra. When the Buddha visited the King, in accordance with a promise made by Him before His Enlightenment, he offered his Bamboo Grove (Veluvana) to the Buddha and His disciples. This was an ideal solitary place for monks as it was neither too far nor too near to the city. Three rainy seasons were spent by the Buddha in this quiet grove.

5th Year at Vesāli.

During this year while He was residing in the Pinnacle Hall at Mahāvana near Vesāli, He heard of the impending death of King Suddhodana and, repairing to his death chamber, preached the Dhamma to him. Immediately the King attained Arahantship. For seven days thereafter he experienced the bliss of Emancipation and passed away.

It was in this year that the Bhikkhuni Order was founded at the request of Mahā Pajāpati Gotami.

After the cremation of the King, when the Buddha was temporarily residing at Nigrodhārāma, Mahā Pajāpati Gotami approached the Buddha and begged permission for women to enter the Order. But the Buddha refused and returned to the Pinnacle Hall at Rājagaha. Mahā Pajāpati Gotami was so intent on renouncing the world that she, accompanied by many Sākya and Koliya ladies, walked all the way from Kapilavatthu to Rājagaha and, through the intervention of Venerable Ānanda, succeeded in entering the Order.

6th Year at Mankula Hill in Kosambi, near Allahabad.

Just as He performed the "Twin Wonder" (Yamaka Pātihāriya) to overcome the pride of His relatives at Kapilavatthu, even so did He perform it for the second time at Mankula Hill to convert His alien followers.

7th Year at Tāvatimsa Heaven.

A few days after the birth of Prince Siddhattha Queen Mahā Māyā died and was born as a Deva (god) in the Tusita Heaven. In this seventh year, during the three rainy months, the Buddha preached the Abhidhamma to the Devas of the Tāvatimsa Heaven where the mother-Deva repaired to hear him. Daily He came to earth and gave a summary of His sermon to the Venerable Sāriputta who in turn expounded the same doctrine in detail to his disciples. What is embodied in the present Abhidhamma Pitaka is supposed to be this detailed exposition of the Dhamma by him.

It is stated that, on hearing these discourses, the Deva who was His mother attained the first stage of Sainthood.

8th Year at Bhesakalā Forest, near Sumsumāra Rock, in the Bhagga District.

9th Year at Kosambi.

It was in this year that Māgandiyā harboured a grudge against the Buddha and sought an opportunity to dishonour him.

Māgandiyā was a beautiful maiden. Her parents would not give her in marriage as the prospective suitors, in their opinion, were not worthy of their daughter. One day as the Buddha was surveying the world, He perceived the spiritual development of the parents. Out of compassion for them He visited the place where the father of the girl was tending the sacred fire. The brahmin, fascinated by His physical beauty, thought that He was the best person to whom he could give his daughter in marriage and requesting Him to stay there until his arrival, hurried home to bring his daughter. The Buddha in the meantime stamped His footprint on that spot and moved to a different place. The brahmin and his wife, accompanied by their daughter who was dressed in her best garments, came to that spot and observed the footprint. The wife who was conversant with signs said that it was not the footprint of an ordinary man but of a pure person who had eradicated all passions. The Brahmin ridiculed the idea, and, noticing the Buddha at a distance offered his daughter unto Him. The Buddha describing how He overcame His passions said:

"Having seen Tanhā, Arati and Ragā,
I had no pleasure for the pleasures of love.
What is this body, filled with urine and dung?
I should not be willing to touch it, even with my foot."

Hearing His Dhamma, the brahmin and his wife attained Anāgāmi, the third stage of Sainthood. But proud Magandiyā felt insulted and she thought to herself -- "If this man has no need of me, it is perfectly proper for him to say so, but he declares me to be full of urine and dung. Very well, by virtue of birth, lineage, social position, wealth, and the charm of youth that I possess I shall obtain a husband who is my equal, and then I shall know what ought to be done to the monk Gotama."

Enraged by the words of the Buddha, she conceived a hatred towards Him. Later she was given as a consort to the King of Udena. Taking advantage of her position as one of the Royal consorts, she bribed people and instigated them to revile and drive the Buddha out of the city. When the Buddha entered the city, they shouted at him, saying: "You are a thief, a simpleton, a fool, a camel, an ox, an ass, a denizen of hell, a beast. You have no hope of salvation. A state of punishment is all that you can look forward to."

Venerable Ānanda, unable to hear this filthy abuse, approached the Buddha and said -- "Lord, these citizens are reviling and abusing us. Let us go elsewhere."

"Where shall we go, Ānanda?" asked the Buddha.

"To some other city, Lord," said Ānanda.

"If men revile us there, where shall we go then?" inquired the Buddha.

"To still another city, Lord," said Ānanda.

"Ānanda, one should not speak thus. Where a difficulty arises, right there should it be settled. Only under those circumstances is it permissible to go elsewhere. But who are reviling you, Ānanda?" questioned the Buddha.

"Lord, everyone is reviling us, slaves and all," replied Ānanda. Admonishing Venerable Ānanda to practise patience, the Buddha said:

i) "As an elephant in the battle-field withstands the arrows shot from a bow, even so will I endure abuse. Verily, most people are undisciplined."

ii) "They lead the trained horses or elephants to an assembly. The King mounts the trained animal. The best among men are the disciplined who endure abuse."

iii) "Excellent are trained mules, so are thorough-bred horses of Sindh and noble tusked elephants; but the man who is disciplined surpasses them all."

Again He addressed Venerable Ānanda and said -- "Be not disturbed. These men will revile you only for seven days, and, on the eighth day they will become silent. A difficulty encountered by the Buddhas lasts no longer than seven days."

10th Year at Pārileyyaka Forest.

While the Buddha was residing at Kosambi, a dispute arose between two parties of Bhikkhus -- one versed in the Dhamma, the other in the Vinaya -- with respect to the transgression of a minor rule of etiquette in the lavatory. Their respective supporters also were divided into two sections.

Even the Buddha could not settle the differences of these quarrelsome monks. They were adamant and would not listen to His advice. The Buddha thought:-- "Under present conditions the jostling crowd in which I live makes my life one of discomfort. Moreover these monks pay no attention to what I say. Suppose I were to retire from the haunts of men and live a life of solitude. In pursuance of this thought, without even informing the Sangha, alone He retired to the Pārileyyaka Forest and spent the rainy season at the foot of a beautiful Sal-tree.

It was on this occasion, according to the story, that an elephant and a monkey ministered to His needs.

11th Year at Ekanālā, brahmin village.

The following Kasibhāradvāja Sutta was delivered here:

On one occasion the Buddha was residing at Ekanālā in Dakkhinagiri, the brahmin village in Magadha. At that time about five-hundred ploughs belonging to Kasibhāradvāja brahmin were harnessed for the sowing. Thereupon the Exalted One, in the forenoon, dressed Himself and taking bowl and robe went to the working place of the brahmin. At that time the distribution of food by the brahmin was taking place. The Buddha went to the place where food was being distributed and stood aside. The brahmin Kasibhāradvāja saw the Buddha waiting for alms. Seeing Him, he spoke thus -- "I, O ascetic, plough and sow; and having ploughed and sown, I eat. You also, O ascetic, should plough and sow; and having ploughed and sown, you should eat."

"I, too, O brahmin, plough and sow; having ploughed and sown, I eat." said the Buddha.

"But we see not the Venerable Gotama's yoke, or plough, or ploughshare, or goad, or oxen, albeit the Venerable Gotama says -- "I too plough and sow; and having ploughed and sown, I eat," remarked the brahmin.

Then the brahmin Bhāradvāja addressed the Exalted One thus:

"A farmer you claim to be, but we see none of your tillage. Being questioned about ploughing, please answer us so that we may know your ploughing."

The Buddha answered:

"Confidence (saddhā) is the seed, discipline (tapo) is the rain, wisdom (pa?ā) my yoke and plough, modesty (hiri) the pole of my plough, mind (mano) the rein, and mindfulness (sati) my ploughshare and goad.

"I am controlled in body, controlled in speech, temperate in food. With truthfulness I cut away weeds. Absorption in the Highest (Arahantship) is the release of the oxen.

"Perseverance (viriya) is my beast of burden that carries me towards the bond-free state (Nibbāna). Without turning it goes, and having gone it does not grieve.

"Thus is the tilling done: it bears the fruit of Deathlessness. Having done this tilling, one is freed from all sorrow."

Thereupon the brahmin Kasibhāradvāja, filling a large bronze bowl with milk-rice, offered it to the Exalted One, saying "May the Venerable Gotama eat the milk-rice! The Venerable Gotama is a farmer, since the Venerable Gotama tills a crop that bears the fruit of Deathlessness."

The Exalted One, however, refused to accept this saying:

"What is obtained by reciting verses is not fit to be eaten by me. This, O brahmin, is not the rule of seers. The Enlightened reject such food. While this principle lasts, this is the livelihood.

"Serve the unique, cankerless, great sage of holy calm with other kind of food and drink, for He is like a field to him that desires to sow good deeds."

12th Year at Vera?ā.

A brahmin of Vera?ā, hearing that the Buddha was residing at Vera?ā near Naleru's Nimba tree with a large company of His disciples, approached Him and raised several questions with regard to His conduct. The brahmin was so pleased with His answers that he became a follower of the Buddha and invited Him and His disciples to spend the rainy season at Vera?ā. The Buddha signified His assent as usual by His silence.

Unfortunately at this particular time there was a famine at Vera?ā and the Buddha and His disciples were compelled to live on food intended for horses. A horse-dealer very kindly provided them with coarse food available, and the Buddha partook of such food with perfect equanimity.

One day, during this period, Venerable Sāriputta, arising from his solitary meditation, approached the Buddha and respectfully questioned Him thus: "Which Buddha's Dispensation endured long and which did not?"

The Buddha replied that the Dispensations of the Buddhas Vipassi, Sikhī and Vessabhū did not endure long. while the Dispensations of the Buddhas Kakusandha, Konāgamana and Kassapa endured long.

The Buddha attributed this to the fact that some Buddhas did make no great effort in preaching the Dhamma in detail and promulgated no rules and regulations for the discipline of the disciples, while other Buddhas did so.

Thereupon Venerable Sāriputta respectfully implored the Buddha to promulgate the Fundamental Precepts (Pātimokkha) for the future discipline of the Sangha so that the Holy Life may endure long.

"Be patient, Sāriputta, be patient," said the Buddha and added:

"The Tathāgata alone is aware of the time for it. Until certain defiling conditions arise in the Sangha the Tathāgata does not promulgate Means of Discipline for the disciples and does not lay down the Fundamental Precepts (Pātimokkha). When such defiling conditions arise in the Sangha, then only the Tathāgata promulgates Means of Discipline and lays down the Fundamental Precepts for the disciples in order to eradicate such defilements.

"When, Sāriputta, the Sangha attains long standing (ratta?umahattam), full development (vepullamahattam), great increase in gains (lābhaggamahattam) and greatness in erudition (bahussutamahattam), defiling conditions arise in the Sangha. Then does the Tathāgata promulgate Means of Discipline and the Fundamental Precepts to prevent such defilements.

"Sāriputta, the Order of disciples is free from troubles, devoid of evil tendencies, free from stain, pure, and well established in virtue. The last of my five-hundred disciples is a Sotāpanna (Stream-Winner) not liable to fall, steadfast and destined for enlightenment."

(The rainy season at Vera?ā forms the subject of the Introduction to the Pārājikā Book of the Vinaya Pitaka).

At the end of this rainy season the Buddha went on a preaching tour to Soreyya, Samkassa, Kannakujja, Payāga, and then, crossing the river, stayed some time in Benares and returned thence to Vesāli to reside at the Pinnacle Hall in Mahāvana.

13th Year was spent at Cāliya Rock.

14th Year at Jetavana Monastery, Sāvatthi.

The Venerable Rāhula received his Higher Ordination at this time on the completion of his twentieth year.

15th Year at Kapilavatthu.

The pathetic death of King Suppabuddha who was angry with the Buddha for leaving his daughter, Princess Yasodharā, occurred in this year. It may be mentioned that the Buddha spent only one rainy season in his birthplace.

16th Year at the city of Ālavi.

The conversion of Ālavaka the demon, who feasted on human flesh, took place in this year.

Ā1avaka, a ferocious demon, was enraged to see the Buddha in his mansion. He came up to Him and asked Him to depart. "Very well, friend," said the Buddha and went out. "Come in," said he. The Buddha came in. For the second and third time he made the same request and the Buddha obeyed. But when he commanded Him for the fourth time, the Buddha refused and asked him to do what he could.

"Well, I will ask you a question," said Ālavaka, "If you will not answer, I will scatter your thoughts, or rive your heart, or take you by your feet and fling you across the Ganges."

"Nay, friend," replied the Buddha, "I see not in this world inclusive of gods, brahmas, ascetics, and brahmins, amongst the multitude of gods and men, any who could scatter my thoughts, or rive my heart, or take me by my feet and fling me across the Ganges. However, friend, ask what you wish."

Ā1avaka then asked the following questions:

"Herein, which is man's best possession?
Which well practised yields happiness?
Which indeed is the sweetest of tastes?
How lived, do they call the best life?"

To these questions the Buddha answered thus:

"Herein confidence is man's best possession.
Dhamma well practised yields happiness.
Truth indeed is the sweetest of tastes.
Life lived with understanding is best, they say."

Ālavaka next asked the Buddha:

"How does one cross the flood?
How does one cross the sea?
How does one overcome sorrow?
How is one purified?"

The Exalted One replied:

"By confidence one crosses the flood, by heedfulness the sea.
By effort one overcomes sorrow, by wisdom is one purified."

Ā1avaka then inquired:

"How is wisdom gained? How are riches found?
How is renown gained? How are friends bound?
Passing from this world to the next how does one not grieve?"

In answer the Buddha said:

"The heedful, intelligent person of confidence gains wisdom by hearing the dhamma of the Pure Ones that leads to Nibbāna. He who does what is proper, persevering and strenuous, gains wealth. By truth one attains to fame. Generosity binds friends.

"That faithful householder who possesses these four virtues -- truthfulness, good morals, courage and liberality -- grieves not after passing away."

"Well, ask many other ascetics and brahmins whether there is found anything greater than truthfulness, self-control, generosity, and patience."

Understanding well the meaning of the Buddha's words, Ā1avaka said:

"How could I now ask diverse ascetics and brahmins? Today I know what is the secret of my future welfare.

"For my own good did the Buddha come to Ālavi. To-day I know where gifts bestowed yield fruit in abundance. From village to village, from town to town will I wander honouring the Fully Enlightened One and the perfection of the sublime Dhamma."

17th Year was spent at Rājagaha.

18th Year was spent at Cāliya Rock.

19th and 20th years were spent at Rajāgaha.
Buddha and Angulimāla

It was in the 20th year that the Buddha converted the notorious murderer Angulimāla. Ahimsaka (Innocent) was his original name. His father was chaplain to the King of Kosala. He received his education at Taxila, the famous educational centre in the olden days, and became the most illustrious and favourite pupil of his renowned teacher. Unfortunately his colleagues grew jealous of him, concocted a false story, and succeeded in poisoning the teacher's mind against him. The enraged teacher, without any investigation, contrived to put an end to his life by ordering him to fetch a thousand human right-hand fingers as teacher's honorarium. In obedience to the teacher, though with great reluctance, he repaired to the Jalini forest, in Kosala, and started killing people to collect fingers for the necessary offering. The fingers thus collected were hung on a tree, but as they were destroyed by crows and vultures he later wore a garland of those fingers to ascertain the exact number. Hence he was known by the name Angulimāla (Finger-wreathed). When he had collected 999 fingers, so the books state, the Buddha appeared on the scene. Overjoyed at the sight, because he thought that he could complete the required number by killing the great ascetic, he stalked the Buddha drawing his sword. The Buddha by His psychic powers created obstacles on the way so that Angulimāla would not be able to get near Him although He walked at His usual pace. Angulirnāla ran as fast as he could but he could not overtake the Buddha. Panting and sweating, he stopped and cried: "Stop, ascetic." The Buddha calmly said: "Though I walk, yet have I stopped. You too, Angulimāla stop." The bandit thought --"These ascetics speak the truth, yet He says He has stopped, whereas it is I who have stopped. What does He mean?"

Standing, he questioned Him:

"Thou who art walking, friar, dost say: 'Lo I have stopped!'
And me thou tellest, who have stopped, I have not stopped!
I ask thee, friar, what is the meaning of thy words?
How sayest thou that thou hast stopped but I have not?"

The Buddha sweetly replied:

"Yea, I have stopped, Angulimāla, evermore.
Towards all living things renouncing violence;
Thou holdest not thy hand against thy fellowmen,
Therefore 'tis I have stopped, but thou still goest on."

Angulimāla's good Kamma rushed up to the surface. He thought that the great ascetic was none other but the Buddha Gotama who out of compassion had come to help him.

Straightway he threw away his armour and sword and became a convert. Later, as requested by him he was admitted into the Noble Order by the Buddha with the mere utterance -- 'Come, O Bhikkhu!' (Ehi Bhikkhu).

News spread that Angulimāla had become a Bhikkhu. The King of Kosala, in particular, was greatly relieved to hear of his conversion because he was a veritable source of danger to his subjects.

But Venerable Angulimāla had no peace of mind, because even in his solitary meditation he used to recall memories of his past and the pathetic cries of his unfortunate victims. As a result of his evil Kamma, while seeking alms in the streets he would become a target for stray stones and sticks and he would return to the monastery 'with broken head and flowing blood, cut and crushed' to be reminded by the Buddha that he was merely reaping the effects of his own Kamma.

One day as he went on his round for alms he saw a woman in travail. Moved by compassion, he reported this pathetic woman's suffering to the Buddha. He then advised him to pronounce the following words of truth, which later came to be known as the Angulimāla Paritta.

"Sister, since my birth in the Arya clan (i.e. since his ordination) I know not that I consciously destroyed the life of any living being. By this truth may you be whole, and may your child be whole."

He studied this Paritta and, going to the presence of the suffering sister, sat on a seat separated from her by a screen, and uttered these words. Instantly she was delivered of the child with ease. The efficacy of this Paritta persists to this day.

In due course Venerable Angulimāla attained Arahantship.

Referring to his memorable conversion by the Buddha, he says:

"Some creatures are subdued by force,
Some by the hook, and some by whips,
But I by such a One was tamed,
Who needed neither staff nor sword.

The Buddha spent the remaining twenty-five years of His life mostly in Sāvatthi at the Jetavana Monastery built by Anāthapindika, the millionaire, and partly at Pubbārāma, built by Visākhā, the chief benefactress.

THE BUDDHA'S ROYAL PATRONS

2008-07-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

THE BUDDHA'S ROYAL PATRONS

"A treacherous bog it is, this patronage
Of bows and gifts and treats from wealthy folk.
'Tis like a fine dart, bedded in the flesh.
For erring human hard to extricate. "
-- MAHĀKASSAPA THERA GĀTHĀ (1053)

King Bimbisāra

King Bimbisāra, who ruled in Magadha with its capital at Rājagaha, was the Buddha's first royal patron. Ascending the throne at the age of fifteen, he reigned for fifty-two years.

When Prince Siddhattha renounced the world and was seeking alms in the streets of Rājagaha as a humble ascetic, the King saw him from his palace and was highly impressed by his majestic appearance and dignified deportment. Immediately he sent messengers to ascertain who he was. On learning that he was resting after his meal under the Pandavapabbata, the King, accompanied by his retinue, went up to the royal ascetic and inquired about his birthplace and ancestry.

The ascetic Gotama replied:

"Just straight, O King, upon the Himalaya, there is, in the district of Kosala of ancient families, a country endowed with wealth and energy. I am sprung from that family which by clan belongs to the Solar dynasty, by birth to the Sākyas. I crave not for pleasures of the senses. Realizing the evil of sensual pleasures and seeing renunciation as safe, I proceeded to seek the Highest, for in that my mind rejoices.

Thereupon the King invited him to visit his kingdom after his Enlightenment.

The Buddha meets King Bimbisāra

In accordance with the promise the Buddha made to King Bimbisāra before His Enlightenment, He, with His large retinue of Arahant disciples, went from Gayā to Rājagaha, the capital of the district of Magadha. Here He stayed at the Suppatittha Shrine in a Palm Grove.

This happy news of the Buddha's arrival in the kingdom and His high reputation as an unparalleled religious teacher soon spread in the city. The King, hearing of His arrival, came with a large number of his subjects to welcome the Buddha. He approached the Buddha, respectfully saluted Him and sat at a side. Of his subjects some respectfully saluted Him, some looked towards him with expression of friendly greetings, some saluted Him with clasped hands, some introduced themselves, while others in perfect silence took their seats. As both the Buddha Gotama and Venerable Kassapa were held in high esteem by the multitude they were not certain whether the Buddha was leading the Holy Life under Venerable Kassapa or the latter under the former. The Buddha read their thoughts and questioned Venerable Kassapa as to why he had given up his fire-sacrifice. Understanding the motive of the Buddha's question, he explained that he abandoned fire-sacrifice because he preferred the passionless and peaceful state of Nibbāna to worthless sensual pleasures. After this he fell at the feet of the Buddha and acknowledging his superiority said: "My teacher, Lord, is the Exalted One: I am the disciple. My teacher, Lord, is the Exalted One: I am the disciple."

The devout people were delighted to hear of the conversion. The Buddha thereupon preached the Mahā Nārada Kassapa Jātaka to show how in a previous birth when He was born as Nārada, still subject to passion, He converted Kassapa in a similar way.

Hearing the Dhamma expounded by the Buddha, the "Eye of Truth" arose in them all. King Bimbisāra attained Sotāpatti, and seeking refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, invited the Buddha and His disciples to his palace for the meal on the following day. After the meal the King wished to know where the Buddha would reside. The Buddha replied that a secluded place, neither too far nor too close to the city, accessible to those who desire to visit Him, pleasant, not crowded during the day, not too noisy at night, with as few sounds as possible, airy and fit for the privacy of men, would be suitable.

The King thought that his Bamboo Grove would meet all such requirements. Therefore in return for the transcendental gift the Buddha had bestowed upon him, he gifted for the use of the Buddha and the Sangha the park with this ideally secluded bamboo grove, also known as 'The Sanctuary of the Squirrels.' It would appear that this park had no building for the use of Bhikkhus but was filled with many shady trees and secluded spots. However, this was the first gift of a place of residence for the Buddha and His disciples. The Buddha spent three successive rainy seasons and three other rainy seasons in this quiet Veluvanārāma.

After his conversion the King led the life of an exemplary monarch observing Uposatha regularly on six days of the month.

Kosala Devi, daughter of King Mahā Kosala, and sister of King Pasenadi Kosala, was his chief loyal queen. Ajātasattu was her son. Khemā who, through the ingenuity of the King, became a follower of the Buddha and who later rose to the position of the first female disciple of the Order of Nuns, was another queen.

Though he was a pious monarch, yet, due to his past evil Kamma, he had a very sad and pathetic end.

Prince Ajātasattu, successor to the throne, instigated by wicked Devadatta Thera, attempted to kill him and usurp the throne. The unfortunate prince was caught red-handed, and the compassionate father, instead of punishing him for his brutal act, rewarded him with the coveted Crown.

The ungrateful son showed his gratitude to his father by casting him into prison in order to starve him to death. His mother alone had free access to the King daily. The loyal queen carried food concealed in her waist-pouch. To this the prince objected. Then she carried food concealed in her hair-knot. The prince resented this too. Later she bathed herself in scented water and besmeared her body with a mixture of honey, butter, ghee, and molasses. The King licked her body and sustained himself. The over-vigilant prince detected this and ordered his mother not to visit his father.

King Bimbisāra was without any means of sustenance, but he paced up and down enjoying spiritual happiness as he was a Sotāpanna. Ultimately the wicked son decided to put an end to the life of his noble father. Ruthlessly he ordered his barber to cut open his soles and put salt and oil thereon and make him walk on burning charcoal.

The King, who saw the barber approaching, thought that the son, realizing his folly, was sending the barber to shave his grown beard and hair and release him from prison. Contrary to his expectations, he had to meet an untimely sad end. The barber mercilessly executed the inhuman orders of the barbarous prince. The good King died in great agony. On that very day a son was born unto Ajātasattu. Letters conveying the news of birth and death reached the palace at the same time.

The letter conveying the happy news was first read. Lo, the love he cherished towards his first-born son was indescribable! His body was thrilled with joy and the paternal love penetrated up to the very marrow of his bones.

Immediately he rushed to his beloved mother and questioned: "Mother dear, did my father love me when I was a child?"

"What say you, son! When you were conceived in my womb, I developed a craving to sip some blood from the right hand of your father. This I dare not say. Consequently I grew pale and thin. I was finally persuaded to disclose my inhuman desire. Joyfully your father fulfilled my wish, and I drank that abhorrent potion. The soothsayers predicted that you would be an enemy of your father. Accordingly you were named Ajātasattu (unborn enemy).

I attempted to effect a miscarriage, but your father prevented it. After you were born, again I wanted to kill you. Again your father interfered. On one occasion you were suffering from a boil in your finger, and nobody was able to lull you into sleep. But your father, who was administering justice in his royal court, took you into his lap and caressing you sucked the boil. Lo, inside the mouth it burst open. 0, my dear son, that pus and blood! Yes, your affectionate father swallowed it out of love for you."

Instantly he cried, "Run and release, release my beloved father quickly!"

His father had closed his eyes for ever.

The other letter was then placed in his hand.

Ajātasattu shed hot tears. He realized what paternal love was only after he became a father himself.

King Bimbisāra died and was immediately after born as a Deva named Janavasabha in the Cātummahārājika Heaven.

Later, Ajātasattu, met the Buddha and became one of His distinguished lay followers and took a leading part in the holding of the first Convocation.

King Pasenadi Kosala

King Pasenadi Kosala, the son of King Mahā Kosala, who reigned in the kingdom of Kosala with its capital at Sāvatthi, was another royal patron of the Buddha. He was a contemporary of the Buddha, and owing to his proficiency in various arts, he had the good fortune to be made King by his father while he was alive.

His conversion must probably have taken place during the very early part of the Buddha's ministry. In the Samyutta Nikāya it is stated that once he approached the Buddha and questioning Him about His perfect Enlightenment referred to Him as being young in years and young in ordination. (Samyutta Nikāya. 1.64: Kindred Sayings, 1, p. 94.)

The Buddha replied -- "There are four objects, O Mahārāja, that should not be disregarded or despised. They are a Khattiya (a warrior prince), a snake, fire, and a Bhikkhu (mendicant monk).

Then He delivered an interesting sermon on this subject to the King. At the close of the sermon the King expressed his great pleasure and instantly became a follower of the Buddha. Since then till his death he was deeply attached to the Buddha. It is said that on one occasion the King prostrated himself before the Buddha and stroked His feet covering them with kisses.

His chief queen, Mallikā a very devout and wise lady, well versed in the dhamma, was greatly responsible for his religious enthusiasm. Like a true friend, she had to act as his religious guide on several occasions.

One day the King dreamt sixteen unusual dreams and was greatly perturbed in mind, not knowing their true significance. His brahmin advisers interpreted them to be dreams portending evil and instructed him to make an elaborate animal sacrifice to ward off the dangers resulting therefrom. As advised he made all necessary arrangements for this inhuman sacrifice which would have resulted in the loss of thousands of helpless creatures. Queen Mallikā, hearing of this barbarous act about to be perpetrated, persuaded the King to get the dreams interpreted by the Buddha whose understanding infinitely surpassed that of those worldly brahmins. The King approached the Buddha and mentioned the object of his visit. Relating the sixteen dreams he wished to know their significance, and the Buddha explained their significance fully to him.

Unlike King Bimbisāra King Kosala had the good fortune to hear several edifying and instructive discourses from the Buddha. In the Samyutta Nikāya there appears a special section called the Kosala Samyutta in which are recorded most of the discourses and talks given by the Buddha to the King.

Once while the King was seated in the company of the Buddha, he saw some ascetics with hairy bodies and long nails passing by, and rising from his seat respectfully saluted them calling out his name to them: "I am the King, your reverences, the Kosala, Pasenadi." When they had gone he came back to the Buddha and wished to know whether they were Arahants or those who were striving for Arahantship. The Buddha explained that it was difficult for ordinary laymen enjoying material pleasures to judge whether others are Arahants or not and made the following interesting observations:

"It is by association (samvāsena) that one's conduct (sīla) is to be understood, and that, too, after a long time and not in a short time, by one who is watchful and not by a heedless person, by an intelligent person and not by an unintelligent one. It is by converse (samvohārena) that one's purity (soceyyam) is to be understood. It is in time of trouble that one's fortitude is to be understood. It is by discussion that one's wisdom is to be understood, and that, too, after a long time and not in a short time, by one who is watchful and not by a heedless person, by an intelligent person and not by an unintelligent one."

Summing up the above, the Buddha uttered the following verses:

"Not by his outward guise is man well known.
In fleeting glance let none place confidence.
In garb of decent well-conducted folk
The unrestrained live in the world at large.
As a clay earring made to counterfeit.
Or bronze half penny coated over with gold,
Some fare at large hidden beneath disguise,
Without, comely and fair; within, impure."

King Kosala, as ruler of a great kingdom, could not possibly have avoided warfare, especially with Kings of neighbouring countries. Once he was compelled to fight with his own nephew, King Ajātasattu, and was defeated. Hearing it, the Buddha remarked:

"Victory breeds hatred. The defeated live in pain. Happily the peaceful live, giving up victory and defeat."

On another occasion King Kosala was victorious and he confiscated the whole army of King Ajātasattu, saving only him. When the Buddha heard about this new victory, He uttered the following verse, the truth of which applies with equal force to this modern war-weary world as well:

"A man may spoil another, just so far
As it may serve his ends, but when he's spoiled
By others he, despoiled, spoils yet again.
So long as evil's fruit is not matured,
The fool doth fancy 'now's the hour, the chance!'
But when the deed bears fruit, he fareth ill.
The slayer gets a slayer in his turn;
The conqueror gets one who conquers him;
Th'abuser wins abuse, th'annoyer, fret.
Thus by the evolution of the deed,
A man who spoils is spoiled in his turn."

What the Buddha has said to King Kosala about women is equally interesting and extremely encouraging to womankind. Once while the King was engaged in a pious conversation with the Buddha, a messenger came and whispered into his ear that Queen Mallikā had given birth to a daughter. The King was not pleased at this unwelcome news. In ancient India, as it is to a great extent today, a daughter is not considered a happy addition to a family for several selfish reasons as, for instance, the problem of providing a dowry: The Buddha, unlike any other religious teacher, paid a glowing tribute to women and mentioned four chief characteristics that adorn a woman in the following words:

"Some women are indeed better (than men).
Bring her up, O Lord of men.
There are women who are wise, virtuous, who regard mother-in-law as a goddess, and who are chaste.
To such a noble wife may be born a valiant son,
a lord of realms, who would rule a kingdom".

Some women are even better than men. "Itthi hi pi ekacciyā seyyā" were the actual words used by the Buddha. No religious teacher has made such a bold and noble utterance especially in India, where women were not held in high esteem.

Deeply grieved over the death of his old grandmother, aged one hundred and twenty years, King Kosala approached the Buddha and said that he would have given everything within his means to save his grandmother who had been as a mother to him. The Buddha consoled him, saying:

"All beings are mortal; they end with death, they have death in prospect. All the vessels wrought by the potter, whether they are baked or unbaked, are breakable; they finish broken, they have breakage in prospect."

The King was so desirous of hearing the Dhamma that even if affairs of state demanded his presence in other parts of the kingdom, he would avail himself of every possible opportunity to visit the Buddha and engage in a pious conversation. The Dhammacetiya and Kannakatthala Suttas were preached on such occasions.

King Kosala's chief consort, the daughter of a garland-maker, predeceased him. A sister of King Bimbisāra was one of his wives. One of his sisters was married to King Bimbisāra and Ajātasattu was her son.

King Kosala had a son named Vidūdabha who revolted against him in his old age. This son's mother was the daughter of Mahānāma the Sākya, who was related to the Buddha, and his grandmother was a slave-girl. This fact the King did not know when he took her as one of his consorts. Hearing a derogatory remark made by Sākyas about his ignoble lineage, Vidūdabha took vengeance by attempting to destroy the Sākya race. Unfortunately it was due to Vidūdabha that the King had to die a pathetic death in a hall outside the city with only a servant as his companion. King Kosala predeceased the Buddha.

THE BUDDHA'S CHIEF OPPONENTS AND SUPPORTERS

2008-07-23T18:55:00.000-07:00

THE BUDDHA'S CHIEF OPPONENTS AND SUPPORTERS

"As a solid rock is not shaken by the wind
Even so the wise are not ruffled by praise or blame."
-- DHAMMAPADA

The Buddha worked disinterestedly for the weal of mankind, making no distinction between the rich and the poor, the high and the low. His followers and supporters were drawn both from the highest and lowest rungs of the social ladder. So spontaneous was the love and so profound was the veneration of the people, that kings and nobles, millionaires and paupers, pious folk and courtesans, men and women of all ranks, vied with one another to be of service to Him and make His noble mission a success. The wealthy spent lavishly to erect suitable monasteries for Him, while the poor, full of faith, demonstrated their piety in their humble way. With perfect equanimity He accepted the gifts of the rich and the poor, but showed no partiality to any. Nevertheless, He showed more compassion to the poor and the lowly. Like a bee that extracts honey from a flower without hurting it, He lived amongst His followers and supporters without causing the slightest inconvenience to any. Offerings of diverse kinds were showered on Him, and He accepted them all with perfect non-attachment.

Though absolutely pure in motive and perfectly selfless in His service to humanity, yet, in preaching and spreading His teaching, the Buddha had to contend against strong opposition. He was severely criticised, roundly abused, insulted and ruthlessly attacked, as no other religious teacher had been. His chief opponents were ordinary teachers of rival sects and followers of heretical schools whose traditional teachings and superstitious rites and ceremonies He justly criticised. His greatest personal enemy, who made a vain attempt to kill Him, was His own brotber-in-law and an erstwhile disciple -- Devadatta.

The Buddha and Devadatta

Devadatta was the son of King Suppabuddha and Pamitā an aunt of the Buddha. Yasodharā was his sister. He was thus a cousin and brother-in-law of the Buddha. He entered the Order in the early part of the Buddha's ministry together with Ānanda and other Sākya princes. He could not attain any of the stages of Sainthood, but was distinguished for worldly psychic powers (pothujjanika-iddhi). One of his chief supporters was King Ajātasattu who built a monastery for him.

During the early part of his career he led such an exemplary life that even Venerable Sāriputta went about Rājagaha extolling him. Later, overcome by worldly gain and honour, and growing jealous of the Buddha, Devadatta became so radically changed in his character that he proved to be the greatest personal enemy of the Buddha. Simultaneous with the arising of ill-will in his heart towards the Buddha his psychic powers automatically ceased.

Despite his evil ways and corrupt life, he had a large following and many admirers, and some even preferred him to Venerable Sāriputta.

On one occasion he approached the Buddha and requested Him to hand over the leadership of the Sangha to him as the Buddha was advanced in age. The Buddha straightway refused, saying: "Not even to Sāriputta or Moggallāna would I hand over the Sangha. Would I then hand it over to thee?" He was enraged at this refusal and vowed vengeance. To safeguard and maintain the dignity of the Sangha the Buddha caused a proclamation to be made that Devadatta alone was responsible for anything done by him in the name of the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha.

He, therefore, conspired with King Ajātasattu to kill the Buddha. Ajātasattu was advised to kill his father and usurp the throne, while he himself decided to kill the Buddha and lead the Sangha.

Ungrateful Ajātasattu succeeded in killing his devout father, and Devadatta hired bowmen to murder the Buddha but, contrary to his expectations, all the hirelings became the Buddha's followers. Foiled in his attempt, he himself resolved to kill the Buddha. When the Buddha was walking on the slopes of Gijjhakūta he climbed the Peak and mercilessly hurled a rock at the Buddha. Fortunately it struck another piece of rock and a splinter slightly wounded His foot, causing the blood to flow. Jīvaka the physician attended on Him and cured Him.

Devadatta made another unsuccessful attempt to kill the Buddha by dispatching the elephant Nālāgiri, after infuriating him with liquor, against the Teacher. When the ferocious elephant approached the Buddha the Venerable Ānanda stepped forward to sacrifice his life for the sake of his Master, but the Buddha subdued the beast by His loving-kindness (Mettā).

By this last wicked act Devadatta became extremely unpopular, and public opinion was so much against him that the King was compelled to withdraw his patronage. Devadatta fell into disrepute and all his favours decreased.

He now decided to live by deceit. His fertile brain devised another seemingly peaceful plan.

With the help of equally evil-minded Bhikkhus like Kokālika, he thought of causing a schism in the Order. He requested the Buddha to enforce the following five rules among the Bhikkhus:

i) That monks should dwell all their lives in the forest.

ii) That they should live on alms begged.

iii) That they should wear Pamsakūla robes (i.e., robes made from rags collected from the dust-heap and cemeteries.)

iv) That they should live at the foot of a tree.

v) That they should not eat fish or flesh throughout life.

This he did, knowing fully well that the Buddha would not assent thereto. He desired to make Buddha's refusal a pretext for disparaging the Buddha, and thereby winning the support of the ignorant masses.

When this request was made the compassionate and tolerant Buddha declared that His disciples were free to adopt these rules or not, but would not make them compulsory for all.

Devadatta made this refusal a cause for a schism in the Order. He appealed to the Bhikkhus, saying: "Brethren, whose words are the nobler, the words of the Tathāgata or the words which I myself have uttered? Whoever desires release from suffering, let him come with me."

Newly ordained monks, who were not conversant with the Dhamma, apparently approved of his demands and went over to him. Accompanied by them, he went to Gayāsisa. But Venerable Sāriputta and Mogallāna, on the advice of the Buddha, went there and succeeded in winning them back after explaining the Dhamma to them.

Thereafter evil days fell upon Devadatta. He fell grievously ill, and before his death he sincerely repented and desired to see the Buddha. But his bad Kamma interfered and he had to die a miserable death without seeing the Buddha. However, he sought refuge in the Buddha at the last moment.

Although he suffers in a woeful state for his heinous crimes, yet as a result of the Holy Life he led during the early part of his career, it is stated that he would become a Pacceka Buddha named Atthissara in the distant future.

ANĀTHAPINDIKA

The chief supporter of the Buddha was Anāthapindika the millionaire. Amongst His lay-followers he was regarded as the foremost alms-giver (dāyaka).

The original name of Anāthapindika, which means the "Feeder of the Helpless", was Sudatta. Owing to his unparalleled generosity he was latterly known by his new name. His birthplace was Sāvatthi.

One day he visited his brother-in-law in Rājagaha to transact some business. He did not come forward as usual to welcome him but Sudatta found him in the backyard making preparations for a feast. On inquiry, to his indescribable joy, he understood that those arrangements were being made to entertain the Buddha on the following day. The utterance of the mere word "Buddha" roused his interest and he longed to see Him. As he was told that the Buddha was living in the Sītavana forest in the neighbourhood and that he could see Him on the following morning, he went to sleep. His desire to visit the Buddha was so intense that he had a sleepless night and he arose at an unusual hour in the morning to start for the Sītavana. It appears that, owing to his great faith in the Buddha, a light emanated from his body. He proceeded to the spot passing through a cemetery. It was pitch dark and a fear arose in him. He thought of turning back. Then Sīvaka, a Yakkha, himself invisible, encouraged him, saying:

"A hundred elephants and horses too,
Ay, and a hundred chariots drawn by mules,
A hundred thousand maidens, in their ears
Bejewelled rings:-- all are not worth
The sixteenth fraction of a single stride.
Advance, O citizen, go forward thou!
Advance for thee is better than retreat."

His fear vanished and faith in the Buddha arose in its place. Light appeared again, and he courageously sped forward. Nevertheless, all this happened a second time and yet a third time.

Ultimately He reached Sītavana where the Buddha was pacing up and down in the open air anticipating his visit. The Buddha addressed him by his family name, Sudatta, and called him to His presence.

Anāthapindika was pleased to hear the Buddha address him thus and respectfully inquired whether the Buddha rested happily.

The Buddha replied:

"Surely at all times happily doth rest
The Arahant in whom all fire's extinct.
Who cleaveth not to sensuous desires,
Cool all his being, rid of all the germs
That bring new life, all cumbrances cut out,
Subdued the pain and pining of the heart,
Calm and serene he resteth happily
For in his mind he hath attained to Peace."

Hearing the Dhamma, he became a Sotāpanna (Stream-Winner), and invited the Buddha to spend the rainy season at Sāvatthi. The Buddha accepted the invitation suggesting that Buddhas take pleasure in solitude. Anāthapindika returning to Sāvatthi, bought the park belonging to Prince Jeta at a price determined by covering, so the story goes, the whole site with gold coins, and erected the famous Jetavana Monastery at a great cost. Here the Buddha spent nineteen rainy seasons. This monastery where the Buddha spent the major part of His life was the place where He delivered many of His sermons.

Several discourses which were of particular interest to laymen were delivered to Anāthapindika, although he refrained from asking any question from the Buddha, lest he should weary Him.

Once the Buddha discoursing on generosity reminded Anāthapindika that alms given to the Order of monks together with the Buddha is very meritorious; but more meritorious than such alms is the building of a monastery for the use of the Order; more meritorious than such monasteries is seeking refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha; more meritorious than seeking refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha is the observance of the five precepts; more meritorious than such observance is meditation on loving-kindness (Mettā) for a moment; and most meritorious of all is the development of Insight as to the fleeting nature of things (Vipassanā).

It is evident from this discourse that generosity is the first stage on the way of Buddhist life. More important than generosity is the observance of at least the five rules of regulated behaviour which tend to the disciplining of words and deeds. Still more important and more beneficial is the cultivation of such ennobling virtues like loving-kindness which lead to self-development. Most important and most beneficial of all self-discipline is the sincere effort to understand things as they truly are.

Commenting on the four kinds of bliss a layman may enjoy, the Buddha declared:

"There are these four kinds of bliss to be won by the householder who enjoys the pleasures of sense from time to time and when occasion offers -- the bliss of ownership (atthisukha), the bliss of wealth (bhogasukha), the bliss of debtlessness (ananasukha), and the bliss of blamelessness (anavajjasukha).

"What is the bliss of ownership?"

Herein a clansman has wealth acquired by energetic striving, amassed by strength of arm, won by sweat, lawful, and lawfully gotten. At the thought, wealth is mine, acquired by energetic striving, lawfully gotten, bliss comes to him, satisfaction comes to him. This is called the bliss of ownership.

"What is the bliss of wealth?"

Herein a clansman by means of wealth acquired by energetic striving, both enjoys his wealth and does meritorious deeds therewith. At the thought, by means of wealth acquired, I both enjoy my wealth and do meritorious deeds, bliss comes to him, satisfaction comes to him. This is called the bliss of wealth.

"What is the bliss of debtlessness?"

Herein a clansman owes no debt, great or small, to anyone. At the thought, I owe no debt, great or small, to anyone, bliss comes to him, satisfaction comes to him. This is called the bliss of debtlessness.

"What is the bliss of blamelessness?"

Herein the Aryan disciple is blessed with blameless action of body, blameless action of speech, blameless action of mind. At the thought, I am blessed with blameless action of body, speech and mind, bliss comes to him, satisfaction comes to him. This is called the bliss of blamelessness."

"Winning the bliss of debtlessness a man
May then recall the bliss of really having.
When he enjoys the bliss of wealth, he sees
'Tis such by wisdom. When he sees he knows.
Thus is he wise indeed in both respects.
But these have not one-sixteenth of the bliss
(That cometh to a man) of blamelessness."

On another occasion when the Buddha visited the house of Anāthapindika, he heard an unusual uproar inside the house and inquired what it was.

"Lord, it is Sujātā, my daughter-in-law, who lives with us. She is rich and has been brought here from a wealthy family. She pays no heed to her mother-in-law, nor to her father-in-law, nor to her husband; neither does she venerate, honour, reverence nor respect the Exalted One," replied Anāthapindika.

The Buddha called her to His presence and preached an illuminative discourse on seven kinds of wives that exist even in modern society as it was in the days of old.

"Whoso is wicked in mind, ill-disposed, pitiless, fond of other (men) neglecting husband, a prostitute, bent on harassing -- such a one is called "a troublesome wife."

(Vadhakabhariyā)

Whoso wishes to squander whatever profits, though little, that the husband gains whether by crafts, trade, or plough -- such a one is called "a thievish wife."

(Corabhariyā)

Whoso is not inclined to do anything, lazy, gluttonous, harsh, cruel, fond of bad speech, lives domineering the industrious -- such a one is called "a lordly wife."

(Ayyabhariyā)

Whoso is ever kind and compassionate, protects her husband like a mother, her son, guards the accumulated wealth of her husband -- such a one is called "a motherly wife."

(Mātubhariyā)

Whoso is respectful towards her husband just as a younger sister towards her elder brother, modest, lives in accordance with her husband's wishes -- such a one is called "a sisterly wife."

(Bhaginibhariyā)

Whoso rejoices at the sight of her husband even as a friend on seeing a companion who has come after a long time, is of noble birth, virtuous and chaste -- such a one is called "a friendly wife."

(Sakhībhariyā)

Whoso, when threatened with harm and punishment, is not angry but calm, endures all things of her husband with no wicked heart, free from hatred, lives in accordance with her husband's wishes -- such a one is called "a handmaid wife."

(Dāsībhariyā)

The Buddha describing the characteristics of the seven kinds of wives remarked that of them the troublesome wife (vadhakabhariyā), the thievish wife (corabhariyā), and the lordly wife (ayyabhariyā), are bad and undesirable ones, while the motherly wife (mātubhariya), sisterly wife (bha-ginibhariyā, friendly wife (sakhībhariyā), and handmaid wife (dāsibhariyā), are good and praiseworthy ones.

"These, Sujātā, are the seven kinds of wives a man may have: and which of them are you?"

"Lord, let the Exalted One think of me as a handmaid wife (dāsibhariyā) from this day forth."

Anāthapindika used to visit the Buddha daily and, finding that people go disappointed in the absence of the Buddha, wished to know from the Venerable Ānanda whether there was a possibility for the devout followers to pay their respects when the Buddha goes out on His preaching tours. This matter was reported to the Buddha with the result that the Ānanda-Bodhi Tree, which stands to this day, was planted at the entrance to the monastery.

Punnalakkhanā, a very virtuous lady, was his wife. Mahā Subhaddā, Cuta Subhaddā, and Sumanā were his three devout daughters. The elder two had attained Sotāpatti, while the youngest was a Sakadāgāmi. His only son Kāla, who was at first irreligious, later became a Sotāpanna by the skilfullness of the father.

Anāthapindika breathed his last after hearing a profound discourse from Venerable Sāriputta.

As he was about to die he sent a messenger to inform the Buddha that he was seriously ill and that he paid His homage to Him and then to request the Venerable Sāriputta to have compassion on him and visit him in his house. As invited, the Venerable Sāriputta, accompanied by Venerable Ānanda, proceeded to his house and inquired about his health. He replied that he was suffering from an acute pain and that he saw no signs of progress.

The Venerable Sāriputta then preached a profound discourse. Tears came to his eyes at the close of the sermon. Venerable Ānanda seeing him in tears asked him whether he was sinking, Anāthapindika answered: "Not at all, Venerable Sir. Though I have long attended on the Master and His disciples, never did I hear such a discourse."

'Such profound discourses are not taught to the white-robed laymen as they cannot comprehend their meaning but are reserved for advanced disciples," replied Venerable Sāriputta.

But Anāthapindika begged Venerable Sāriputta to expound such intricate Dhamma to the laity as well for there would be some who could understand.

Not long before the departure of these two great disciples Anāthapindika passed away and was immediately reborn in Tusita heaven.

At night Deva Anāthapindika, illuminating the whole Jeta Grove, came up to the Buddha, saluted Him, and extolling the virtues of Venerable Sāriputta, expressed his pleasure on seeing the Buddha and His disciples residing in his monastery, and said:

"Goodwill and wisdom, mind by method trained,
The highest conduct on good morals based,
This maketh mortals pure, not rank nor wealth."

VISĀKHĀ

Visākhā was the devout and generous daughter of millionaire Dhana?aya. Her mother was Sumanā Devi, and her beloved grand-father was millionaire Mendaka.

When she was only seven years old, the Buddha happened to visit her birth place, Bhaddiya, in the kingdom of Anga. Her grand-father, hearing of Buddha's visit, said to her: "Dear girl, this is a happy day for you and a happy day for me. Summon the five hundred maidens who are your attendants, mount five hundred chariots, and accompanied by your five hundred slave-maidens, go forth to welcome the Buddha."

Readily she agreed and, as advised, went up to the Buddha, saluted Him and sat respectfully at a side. The Buddha was pleased with her refined manners and He preached the Dhamma to her and others. Though young in age, she was comparatively far advanced from a moral standpoint. As such, immediately after hearing the Dhamma, she attained the first stage of sainthood (Sotāpatti) in her early age.

Books state that even in the prime of her youth she possessed masculine strength and was gifted with all womanly charms. [9] Her hair was like a peacock's tail and when loosened it reached the hem of her skirt and then the ends of the hair curled and turned upwards. Her lips were of a bright red colour and were smooth and soft to the touch. Her teeth were white and were evenly set without interstices and shone like a row of diamonds. Her skin, without the use of any cosmetic, was as smooth as a blue lotus-wreath and was of a golden colour. She retained her youthful appearance although she bore several children.

Endowed with these five kinds of feminine beauty -- hair, flesh, bone, skin and youth -- young Visākha excelled both in worldly wisdom and spiritual insight.

When she was about fifteen or sixteen years old, on a certain Festival Day, she went on foot with her retinue in a holiday spirit to the river to bathe. Suddenly there arose an unexpected shower, and all but young Visākhā ungraciously ran as fast as they could and entered a hall where there were some brahmins who had come in search of a suitable maiden possessed of the five kinds of beauty for their young master. Cultured Visākhā, without any particular haste, gracefully proceeded at her usual gait and entered the hall with garments and ornaments all wet. The inquisitive brahmins criticised her for not quickening up her pace as others had done and thus escaping being drenched in the rain.

Talented Visākhā rose to the occasion and gave an extempore discourse on deportment according to her view. She said that she could have run even faster but she refrained from doing so purposely. Then she explained that it was not becoming for a King, adorned with all jewels, to gird up his loins and run in the palace-court. Likewise it is not becoming for a fully caparisoned state elephant to run; it should move about with the natural grace of an elephant. Monks also incur criticism when they run about like ordinary laymen. Likewise it is not a dignified spectacle to see a woman running about like a man.

Brahmins were pleased with her instructive talk and thought that she was an ideal wife for their master. Accordingly, arrangements were made to give her in marriage to their master, Punnavaddhana, himself the son of a millionaire named Migāra, who was not a follower of the Buddha.

The marriage festival was conducted on an elaborate scale. On the wedding day, in addition to a large dowry and an exquisitely rich ornament (mahālatāpilandhana), her wise father gave her the following admonitions:

1.- Do not carry outside the indoor fire.

2.- Do not take inside the outdoor fire.

3.- Give only to those that give.

4.- Do not give to those that do not give.

5.- Give both to those that give and do not give.

6.- Sit happily.

7.- Eat happily.

8.- Sleep happily.

9.- Tend the fire.

10.- Honour the household divinities.

Their implied meaning is as follows:

1. The wife should not speak ill of her husband and parents-in-law to others. Neither should their shortcomings nor household quarrels be reported elsewhere.

2. A wife should not listen to the reports and stories of other households.

3. Things should be lent to those who do return them.

4. No article should be lent to those who do not return them.

5. Poor kinsfolk and friends should be helped even if they do not repay.

6. A wife should sit in a becoming way. On seeing her parents-in-law or her husband, she should keep standing and not sit.

7. Before partaking of her meals, a wife should first see that her parents-in-law and husband are served. She should also see that her servants are well cared for.

8. Before sleep a wife should see that all doors are closed, furniture is safe, servants have performed their duties, and that parents-in-law have retired. As a rule a wife should rise early in the morning and, unless unwell, she should not sleep during the day.

9. Parents-in-law and husband should be regarded as fire. One should deal carefully with them as one would deal with fire.

10. Parents-in-law and husband should be regarded as divinities. It is noteworthy that the Buddha Himself refers to parents-in-law as divinities (sassudevā).

On the day she arrived in Sāvatthi, the city of her husband, she was showered with various presents sent from people of all ranks according to their status and ability. But so kind and generous was she that she distributed them amongst the donors themselves with a kind message, and treated all the residents of the city as her own kinsfolk. By this noble gesture on the very first day she came to her husband's home, she became endeared to all the people of the city.

There is an incident in her life which reveals her dutiful kindness even towards animals. Hearing that her well-bred mare gave birth to a foal in the middle of the night, immediately she repaired to the stable with her female attendants bearing torches in their hands, and attended to all the mare's needs with the greatest care and attention.

As her father-in-law was a staunch follower of Nigantha Nātaputta, he invited a large number of naked ascetics to his house for alms. On their arrival Visākhā was requested to come and render homage to these so-called Arahants. She was delighted to hear the word Arahant and hurried to the hall only to see naked ascetics devoid of all modesty. The sight was too unbearable for a refined lady like Visākhā. She reproached her father-in-law and retired to her quarters without entertaining them. The naked ascetics took offence and found fault with the millionaire for having brought a female follower of the Ascetic Gotama to his house. They asked him to expel her from the house immediately. The millionaire pacified them.

One day he sat on a costly seat and began to eat some sweet rice porridge from a golden bowl. At that moment a Bhikkhu entered the house for alms. Visākhā was fanning her father-in-law and without informing him of his presence she moved aside so that he might see him. Although he saw him he continued eating as if he had not seen him.

Visākhā politely told the Bhikkhu: "Pass on, Venerable Sir, my father-in-law is eating stale fare (purānam)."

The ignorant millionaire, misconstruing her words, was so provoked that he ordered the bowl to be removed and Visākhā to be expelled from the house.

Visākhā was the favourite of all the inmates of the house, and so nobody dared to touch her.

But Visākhā, disciplined as she was, would not accept without protest such treatment even from her father-in-law. She politely said: "Father, this is no sufficient reason why I should leave your house. I was not brought here by you like a slave girl from some ford. Daughters, whose parents are alive, do not leave like this. It is for this very reason that my father, when I set out to come here, summoned eight clansmen and entrusted me to them, saying: 'If there be any fault in my daughter, investigate it.' Send word to them and let them investigate my guilt or innocence."

The millionaire agreed to her reasonable proposal and summoning them said: "At a time of festivity, while I was sitting and eating sweet milk rice-porridge from a golden bowl, this girl said that I was eating what was unclean. Convict her of this fault and expel her from the house."

Visākhā proved her innocence stating -- "That is not precisely what I said. When a certain Bhikkhu was standing at the door for alms, my father-in-law was eating sweet milk rice-porridge, ignoring him. Thinking to myself that my father without performing any good deed in this life, is only consuming the merits of past deeds, I told the Bhikkhu: 'Pass on, Venerable Sir, my father-in-law is eating stale fare.' What fault of mine is there in this ?"

She was acquitted of the charge, and the father-in-law himself agreed she was not guilty.

But the spiteful millionaire charged her again for having gone behind the house with male and female attendants in the middle watch of the night.

When she explained that she actually did so in order to attend on a mare in travail, the clansmen remarked that their noble daughter had done an exemplary act which even a slave-girl would not do. She was thus acquitted of the second charge too.

But the revengeful millionaire would not rest until she was found guilty. Next time he found fault with her for no wrong of hers. He said that before her departure from home her father gave her ten admonitions. For instance, he said to her: "The indoor fire is not to be taken out of doors. Is it really possible to live without giving fire even to our neighbours on both sides of us?" questioned the millionaire.

She availed herself of the opportunity to explain all the ten admonitions in detail to his entire satisfaction.

The millionaire was silenced and he had no other charges to make.

Having proved her innocence, self-respecting Visākhā now desired to leave the house as she was ordered to do so at first.

The millionaire's attitude towards Visākhā was completely changed, and he was compelled to seek pardon from his daughter-in-law for what he had uttered through ignorance.

Forbearing Visākhā, in accordance with her true Buddhist spirit, granted him pardon on condition that he would give complete freedom to her to carry on her religious activities as she desired. Her father-in-law readily agreed to this and granted her full freedom to perform her religious activities.

Now Visākhā, lost no time in inviting the Buddha to the house for alms. The Buddha came and had His meal. After the meal was over the Buddha expounded a sermon. The millionaire sat behind a curtain and listened to the sermon. At the end of the discourse he became Sotāpanna and acknowledged his boundless gratitude to his daughter-in-law for having initiated him into the True Path of Deliverance and emotionally remarked that he would hereafter regard Visākhā as his mother.

Later on when she bore a son she called him Migāra.

On the following day the Buddha visited her house, and on that occasion her mother-in-law heard the Dhamma and became a Sotāpanna (Stream-winner).

By her tact, wisdom, and patience she gradually succeeded in converting her husband's household to a happy Buddhist home.

Daily Visākhā used to give alms to the Sangha at her own house. Both in the forenoon and afternoon she used to visit the monastery to minister to the needs of the Sangha and hear sermons from the Buddha. Suppiyā, another devout Buddhist lady, usually accompanied her during her visits.

Visākhā was so generous and so serviceable to the Sangha that once she approached the Buddha and asked for the following eight boons:

1. To give robes to the Sangha during the rainy season as long as she lived.

2. To provide alms for the Bhikkhus coming to Sāvatthi.

3. To provide alms for those going out of Sāvatthi.

4. To give food for sick Bhikkhus.

5. To give food for those who attend on the sick.

6. To give medicine for the sick Bhikkhus.

7. To give rice-gruel for Bhikkhus.

8. To give bathing garments for nuns.

The Buddha granted these boons to her.

One day Visākhā happened to visit the monastery, decked in her best garment, presented to her by her father as a dowry. But as she thought it was unseemly to see the Buddha, so gaily decked, she made a bundle of it gave it to the slave-girl and went to the Buddha, dressed in another garment given to her by her father-in-law. After the sermon she left the monastery accompanied by the slave-girl who forgot to take the bundle which was placed in her custody. Venerable Ānanda saw it and, as instructed by the Buddha, kept it in a safe place to be returned to the owner. Visākā, on hearing that the bundle was inadvertently left by the maid, asked her to bring it back unless Venerable Ānanda had touched it. When what had happened was reported to Visākhā, she went to the Buddha and expressed her desire to do something beneficial with the money, realized by selling the garment. The Buddha advised her to erect a monastery at the East gate for the use of the Sangha As no one had the means to buy the costly garment, she herself, bought it back and erected a monastery at a great cost and named it Pubbārāma. As invited by Visākhā, the Buddha and His disciples spent the Vassāna period in this new spacious monastery. Great was Visākhā's joy when the Buddha spent six rainy seasons there.

Books state that the kind Visākhā, instead of chastising the slave-girl for her apparent negligence, transferred to her a share of the merit acquired by erecting the monastery, because the slave-girl had given the occasion for this good deed.

On various occasions several discourses were delivered to Visākhā by the Buddha. In one discourse the Buddha spoke on the observance of the Eight Precepts by laymen on Uposatha Days, which observance prevails in almost all Buddhist countries in Asia up to this day.

Dealing with the eight qualities that make a woman seek birth in happy states, the Buddha said:

"Active, alert to cherish him always,
Not to that man who brings her every joy
She offers slight, nor will a good wife move
To wrath her husband by some spiteful word;
And she reveres all whom her lord doth honour
For she is wise. Deft, nimble, up betimes,
She minds his wealth amid his folk at work
And sweetly orders all. A wife like this,
Who with her husband's wish and will complies
Is born again where lovely devas dwell.

In another discourse the Buddha referring to the eight qualities in a woman that tend to weal and happiness in this world and in the next spoke as follows:

"Herein, Visākhā, a woman is capable at her work, she manages the servants, in her ways she is lovely to her lord, she guards his wealth.

"Herein, Visākhā, a woman is accomplished in trustful confidence (Saddhā), virtue (Sīla), charity (Cāga) and wisdom (Pa?ā)."

Being a lady of many parts, she played an important role in various activities connected with the Sāsana. At times she was deputed by the Buddha to settle disputes that arose amongst Bhikhunis. Some Vinaya rules were also laid down for Bhikkhus owing to her intervention.

Owing to her magnanimity she was regarded as the chief benefactress of the Sāsana and the greatest female supporter of the Buddha.

By her dignified conduct, graceful deportment, refined manners, courteous speech, obedience and reverence to elders, compassion to those who are less fortunate, kind hospitality, and religious zeal, she won the hearts of all who knew her.

Books state that she had the good fortune to be the happy mother of ten fortunate sons and ten fortunate daughters. She died at the ripe age of one hundred and twenty.

JĪVAKA THE FOSTERLING

Jīvaka was the celebrated physician of the Buddha.

Immediately after his birth he was placed in a casket and was cast away by his mother, a courtesan, on a dust heap by the road side.

Prince Abhaya, a son of King Bimbisāra, who happened to pass that way, saw the helpless infant surrounded by crows, and discovering that he was alive (Jivati), caused him to be given to the care of the nurses.

As he was found alive he was named Jīvaka. Being adopted by a prince, he was called Komārabhacca.

Growing up, he became a skilful physician and surgeon. Books state that he made two successful operations on a millionaire who was suffering from a severe headache.

He used to attend on the Buddha three times a day.

When the Buddha's foot was wounded by a splinter caused by the hurling of a rock by Devadatta, it was Jīvaka who attended on Him and healed Him.

Realizing the manifold advantages of having a monastery close to his residence, he erected one in his mango park. After the consecration ceremony of this monastery, he became a Stream-Winner (Sotāpanna).

Jīvaka Sutta, which deals with the question of eating flesh, was delivered by the Buddha to Jīvaka.

It was Jīvaka who induced King Ajātasattu to visit the Buddha after his parricide.

At his request the Buddha enjoined upon His disciples to take physical exercise such as sweeping etc.

THE BUDDHA AND HIS RELATIVES

2008-07-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

THE BUDDHA AND HIS RELATIVES
(Continued)

"Trustful are the best of relatives".
-- DHAMMAPADA

The Buddha and His step-brother Nanda

On the third day after the arrival of the Buddha at Kapilavatthu, Prince Nanda, the son of Queen Mahā Pajāpati Gotami, was celebrating his consecration ceremony, marriage ceremony, and the house-warming ceremony. It was on the occasion of these three festivals when congratulations were being offered to the prince that the Buddha visited the palace. After the meal the Buddha handed the bowl to the prince, and uttering a Blessing, rose to go without taking the bowl.

The prince followed Him thinking that the Buddha would take the bowl from him at any moment. But the Buddha would not take it, and the prince out of reverence for Him continued to follow the Teacher.

Janapada Kalyāni, to whom he was betrothed, hearing that the prince was following the Buddha with bowl in hand, with tears streaming down her cheeks and hair half-combed, ran after Prince Nanda as fast as she could and said to him: "Return quickly, O noble Lord"! These affectionate words penetrated his heart and he was deeply moved, but with deference to the Buddha he could not possibly return the bowl to Him. So he accompanied the Buddha to the park, His temporary residence. On arrival there the Buddha questioned Nanda whether he would become a monk. So great was his reverence for Him as the Buddha and as an elder brother of his that, with reluctance, he agreed to be admitted into the Order.

But Nanda Bhikkhu enjoyed no spiritual happiness resulting from renunciation. He was greatly depressed, and was constantly thinking of his bride. He related his mental troubles to the Bhikkhus, saying: "Brethren, I am dissatisfied. I am now living the Religious Life, but I cannot endure to lead the Holy Life any longer. I intend to abandon the higher precepts and return to the lower life, the life of a layman".

Hearing this, the Buddha questioned Venerable Nanda whether such report was true. He admitted his weakness, and stated that he was worried about his bride.

The Buddha devised a means to set him on the right path. With the object of showing him celestial nymphs the Buddha, using His Psychic powers, took him to the Tavatimsa Heaven. On the way the Venerable Nanda was shown a singed she-monkey who had lost her ears, nose, and tail in a fire, clinging to a burnt-up stump in a scorched field. Reaching heaven, the Buddha pointed to him celestial nymphs and asked him: "Nanda, which do you regard as being the more beautiful and fair to look upon and handsome -- your noble wife Janapada Kalyāni or the celestial nymphs?"

"Venerable Sir, Janapada Kalyāni is like the singed monkey when compared to those celestial nymphs, who are infinitely more beautiful and fair."

"Cheer up, Nanda. I guarantee that you will possess them if you persevere as I bid you."

"In that case I shall take the greatest pleasure in living the Holy Life," said Venerable Nanda, childishly.

Hearing that Venerable Nanda was living the Holy Life with the object of winning celestial nymphs, the Bhikkhus ridiculed him calling him "hireling." Eventually he became ashamed of his base motive, and striving diligently, attained Arahantship.

He thereupon, approached the Buddha and said: "Venerable Sir, I release the Exalted One from the promise that He made when He guaranteed that I should win celestial nymphs."

The Buddha replied: "When, Nanda, you ceased to cling to the things of the world, and your heart was released from the Corruptions, at that moment I was released from that promise."

He then uttered the following paean of joy:

"He that has crossed over the mud and crushed the thorn of lust;
"He that has destroyed delusion, such a man is unmoved whether in pleasure or in pain."

When some monks doubted his attainment of Arahantship the Buddha in explanation uttered the following stanzas:

"Even as rain penetrates an ill-thatched house, so does lust penetrate an undeveloped mind."
"Even as rain does not penetrate a well-thatched house, so does lust not penetrate a well-developed mind."

Enjoying the bliss of Emancipation, he praised the Teacher, saying: "O excellent is the method of the Master, whereby I was drawn out of the mire of rebirth and set on Nibbāna's strand!"

Theragāthā attributes the following verses to him:

"Through not reflecting rightly I was attached to outward show. Overcome by passionate love, I was restless and fickle.

Because of the skilful means devised by the Buddha, the "kinsman of the sun", rightly I acted and drew out my mind from existence."

Venerable Nanda Thera was placed chief amongst disciples in respect of self-control.

The Buddha and Ānanda

Ānanda, a cousin of Prince Siddhattha, was the son of Amitodana, a younger brother of King Suddhodana. As he was born bringing happiness to all his kinsfolk, be was named Ānanda.

In the second year of the Buddha's ministry Ānanda entered the Order together with the Sākya Nobles ?Anuruddha, Bhaddiya, Bhagu, Kimbila, and Devadatta. Not long after, hearing a sermon from Venerable Punna Mantāniputta, he attained the first stage of Sainthood (Sotāpatti).

When the Buddha was fifty-five years old Venerable Ānanda became His chief attendant.

During the first twenty years after His Enlightenment the Buddha had no permanent attendant. The few temporary attendants were not very dutiful and their behaviour was not highly commendable. One day while residing at Jetavana the Buddha addressed the bhikkhus and said: "Now I am old, O Bhikkhus. When I say: Let us go this way some go by another way; some drop my bowl and robe on the ground. Choose out one disciple to attend always upon me."

Forthwith all the Bhikkhus, from Venerable Sāriputta downwards, volunteered their services. But the Buddha declined their kind offer. As the Venerable Ānanda was silent, he was advised by the Bhikkhus to offer his services. He consented on condition the Buddha would grant the following eight boons:--

(i) The Buddha should not give him robes which He Himself had received.

(ii) The Buddha should not give him food which He had received.

(iii) The Buddha should not allow him to dwell in the same Fragrant Chamber.

(iv) The Buddha should not take him with Him wherever the Buddha is invited.

(v) The Buddha should kindly go with him wherever He is invited.

(vi) The Buddha should kindly give him permission to introduce visitors that come from afar to see the Buddha.

(vii) The Buddha should kindly grant him permission to approach Him whenever any doubt should arise.

(viii) The Buddha should kindly repeat to him the discourses that were declared in his absence.

The Buddha granted these four negative and positive boons. Thenceforth the Venerable Ānanda acted as His favourite attendant for twenty-five years till the Buddha's last moment. Like a shadow he followed Him everywhere, attending to all His needs with great love and care. Both during day and night his services were always at the disposal of his Master. At night it is stated that he used to go round the Fragrant Chamber nine times with staff and torch in hand to keep him awake and to prevent the Buddha's sleep from being disturbed.

Ānanda Bodhi Tree

It was Venerable Ānanda who was responsible for the planting of the Ānanda Bodhi Tree. In the absence of the Buddha, devout followers who used to bring flowers and garlands, lay them at the entrance to the Fragrant Chamber and depart with much rejoicing. Anāthapindika came to hear of it and requested Venerable Ānanda to inquire of the Buddha whether there was a possibility of finding a place where his devotees might pay obeisance to the Buddha when He was away on His preaching tours. Venerable Ānanda approached the Buddha and asked:

"Lord, how many objects of reverence (Cetiyani) are there, may it please you?"

"There are three, Ānanda. They are objects of reverence appertaining to the body (Sāririka), objects of reverence appertaining to personal use (Pāribhogika) and objects of reverence reminiscent of the Buddha (Uddesika)."

"Is it proper, Lord, to construct a Cetiya while you are alive?"

"No, not an object of reverence appertaining to the body which it is proper to erect after the passing away of the Buddha. An object of reverence reminiscent of the Buddha has no physical basis; it is purely mental. But the great Bodhi tree, used by the Buddha, whether He is alive or dead, is an object of reverence (Cetiya)."

"Lord when you go on your preaching tours, the great monastery of Jetavana is without refuge, and people find no place of reverence. Lord, may I bring a seed from the great Bodhi tree and plant it at the entrance to Jetavana?"

"Very well, Ānanda, plant it. It will then be as if I constantly abide in Jetavana."

Venerable Ānanda mentioned this matter to Buddha's principal lay attendants -- Anāthapindika, Visākhā, and King Kosala -- and requested the Venerable Moggallāna to secure a fruit from the great Bodhi tree. Readily he consented and obtained a fruit that was falling from the tree and delivered it to Venerable Ānanda.

This he presented to the King who in turn handed it to Anāthapindika. Then he stirred up the fragrant soil and dropped it in the hole that was dug. The tree that sprang up in that place was known as the Ānanda-Bodhi.

Ānanda and Women

It was also Venerable Ānanda who persuaded the Buddha to admit women into the Order. Had it not been for his intervention Mahā Pajāpati Gotami would not have succeeded in becoming a Bhikkhuni (Nun). Bhikkhunis held him in high esteem, and his sermons were greatly appreciated by them.

On one occasion he approached the Buddha and asked Him:

"How are we to conduct ourselves, Lord, with regard to womankind?"

"As not seeing them, Ānanda."

"But if we should see them, Lord, what are we to do?"

"Do not talk to them Ānanda."

"But if they should speak to us, Lord, what are we to do?"

"Be watchful, Ānanda."

This general exhortation was given to Bhikkhus so that they may constantly be watchful in their dealings with women.

As he possessed a powerfully retentive memory, and as he had the rare privilege of listening to all the discourses of the Buddha owing to his close association with Him, he was later appointed the Custodian of the Dhamma (Dhamma-bhandā-gārika).

Referring to his own knowledge of the Dhamma, in reply to a question, put by a brahmin Venerable Ānanda said:

"Eighty-two thousand from the Buddha and two thousand from the Bhikkhus I received.
There exist eighty-four thousand texts in all."

The Buddha ranked him foremost amongst His disciples in five respects: erudition (bahussutānam), retentive memory (satimantānam), good behaviour (gatimantānam), steadfastness (dhitimantānam), and ministering care (upatthakānam).

Though a distinguished disciple, well-versed in the Dhamma, he lived as a "learner" (sekha), till the death of the Buddha. The Buddha's final exhortation to him was -- "You have done merit in the past, Ānanda. Quickly be free from Corruptions."

It was only after the passing away of the Buddha that he attained Arahantship. As he was expected to take a leading part in the First Council, which was composed only of Arahants, he made a strenuous effort and attained Arahantship on the night preceding the Convocation while he was about to lie down on his couch. It is stated that he was the only disciple who attained Arahantship free from the postures of sitting, standing, walking or sleeping.

Venerable Ānanda passed away at the age of one hundred and twenty. The Dhammapada commentary states that as people of both the sides of the river Rohini were equally serviceable to him and as both sides vied with each other to possess his relics, he sat cross-legged in the air over the middle of the river, preached the Dhamma to the multitude and wished that his body would split in two and that one portion would fall on the near side and the other on the farther side. He then entered into the ecstatic meditation on the element of fire (Tejokasina samāpatti). Instantly flames of fire issued from his body, and, as willed, one portion of the body fell on the near side and the other on the farther side.

The Theragāthā gives several stanzas uttered by him on various occasions. The following verses which deal with the frailty of this so-called beautiful body are particularly interesting:

"Behold this adorned body, a mass of sores, a lump infirm, much thought of, whereof nothing lasts, nothing persists."

The Buddha and Mahā Pajāpati Gotami

Mahā Pajāpati Gotami, was the youngest sister of King Suppabuddha. Her elder sister was Queen Mahā Maya. Both were married to King Suddhodana. She had a daughter named Nandā and a son named Nanda. Later, both of them entered the Order. When Mahā Maya died she adopted her sister's son, Prince Siddhattha, entrusting her own son Nanda to the charge of nurses.

Her family name was Gotami, and she was named Mahā Pajāpati because soothsayers predicted that she would be the head of a large following.

When the Buddha visited the palace and preached the Dhammapāla Jātaka to His father she attained the first stage of Sainthood.

After the death of King Suddhodana, as both Princes Siddhattha and Nanda had renounced the world, she also decided to enter the Noble Order and lead the Holy Life. When the Buddha visited Kapilavatthu to settle a dispute between the Sākyas and Koliyas with regard to the irrigation of channels from the river Rohini and was residing at the Nigrodha park, Mahā Pajāpati Gotami approached the Buddha and begging Him to grant permission for women to enter the Order, pleaded thus:

"It would be well, Lord, if women should be allowed to renounce their homes and enter the homeless state under the doctrine and discipline proclaimed by the Tathāgata."

Without stating His reasons, the Buddha straightway refused, saying:

"Enough, O Gotami, let it not please you that women should be allowed to do so."

For the second and third time Mahā Pajāpati Gotami repeated her request, and the Buddha gave the same reply.

Later, the Buddha having stayed at Kapilavatthu as long as He liked journeyed to Vesali, and arriving there in due course, resided at the Mahāvana in the Kūtāgāra Hall.

Resolute Pajāpati Gotami, without being discouraged by her disappointment, got her hair cut off, donned yellow garments, and surrounded by a great number of Sākya ladies, walked from Kapilavatthu to Vesali, a distance of about 150 miles, experiencing many a hardship. With swollen feet, her body covered with dust, she arrived at Vesali and stood outside the porch of the Pinnacled Hall. Venerable Ānanda found her weeping and learning the cause of her grief, approached the Buddha and said:

"Behold, Lord, Mahā Pajāpati Gotami is standing outside the porch, with swollen feet, body covered with dust, and sad. Please permit women to renounce home and enter the homeless state under the doctrine and discipline proclaimed by the Exalted One. It were well, Lord, if women should be allowed to renounce their homes and enter the homeless state."

"Enough, Ānanda, let it not please you that women should be allowed to do so!" was the Buddha's reply.

For the second and third time he interceded on their behalf, but the Buddha would not yield.

So Venerable Ānanda made a different approach and respectfully questioned the Buddha: "Are women, Lord, capable of realizing the state of a Stream-Winner (Sotāpanna), Once-Returner (Sakadāgāmi.) Never-Returner (Anāgāmi) and an Arahant, when they have gone forth from home to the homeless state under the doctrine and discipline proclaimed by the Exalted one?"

The Buddha replied that they were capable of realizing Saintship.

Encouraged by this favourable reply, Venerable Ānanda appealed again, saying: "If then Lord, they are capable of attaining Saintship, since Mahā Pajāpati Gotami had been of great service to the Exalted One, when as aunt and nurse she nourished Him and gave Him milk, and on the death of His mother suckled the Exalted One at her own breast, it were well, Lord, that women should be given permission to renounce the world and enter the homeless state under the doctrine and discipline proclaimed by the Tathāgata."

"If, Ānanda, Mahā Pajāpati Gotami accepts the Eight Chief Rules, let that be reckoned to her as the form of her ordination," said the Buddha, finally yielding to the entreaties of Venerable Ānanda. The Eight Chief Rules are as follows:

1- A Bhikkhuni, even of a hundred years' standing by Upasampadā, should salute a Bhikkhu, rise up before him, reverence him, and perform all proper duties towards him though he had received the Higher Ordination that very day.

2- A Bhikkhuni should not spend a Retreat (Vassa) in a place where there is no Bhikkhu.

3- Every fortnight a Bhikkhuni should ask from the Order of Bhikkhus the time of Uposatha meeting and when a Bhikkhu would come to admonish them.

4- The Pavārana ceremony after the Retreat should be held by a Bhikkhuni in the presence of both Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis (to inquire whether through any of the three ways of seeing, hearing, or suspicion a wrong has been done.)

5- A Bhikkhuni who has committed a major offence should undergo Mānatta discipline in the presence of the Order of both Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis.

6- A female novice (Sikkamānā), who is trained in the Six Rules for two years, should receive the Higher Ordination from the Order of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis.

7- A Bhikkhuni should on no account rebuke or abuse a bhikkhu.

8- Henceforth Bhikkhunis should not give admonition to Bhikkhus, but Bhikkhus should admonish Bhikkhunis.

These rules are to be revered, reverenced, honoured and respected as long as life lasts and should not be transgressed.

When Venerable Ānanda mentioned them to Mahā Pajāpati Gotami she gladly agreed to abide by those eight Chief Rules. By their acceptance she automatically received the Higher Ordination.

In founding this Order of Bhikkhunis the Buddha, foreseeing the future repercussions, remarked: "If, Ānanda, women had not received permission to renounce the world and enter the homeless state under the doctrine and discipline proclaimed by the Tathāgata, the Holy Life would have lasted long and the Sublime Dhamma would have survived for thousand years. But since women have entered this homeless state, the Holy Life would not last long and the Sublime Dhamrna would now remain only for five hundred years."

The Buddha added -- "Just as, Ānanda, houses in which there are man, women and but few men are easily violated by burglars, even so, under whatsoever doctrine and discipline women are permitted to renounce the world and enter the homeless state, that Holy Life will not last long.

"And just as a man would in anticipation build an embankment to a great reservoir beyond which the water should not overpass, even so have I in anticipation laid down these eight Chief Rules for the Bhikkhunis, not to be transgressed throughout their lives."

In making these comments, which may not generally be very palatable to womankind, the Buddha was not in any way making a wholesale condemnation of women but was only reckoning with the weaknesses of their sex.

Although for several valid reasons the Buddha reluctantly permitted women to enter the Order, it should be stated that it was the Buddha who, for the first time in the history of the world, founded an Order for women with rules and regulations. Just as He appointed two chief disciples, Venerable Sāriputta and Mogallāna for the Order of monks, two chief female disciples -- Venerable Khemā and Uppalavannā -- were appointed for the Order of nuns as well.

One day Bhikkhuni Mahā Pajāpati Gotami approached the Buddha and invited him to deliver a discourse so that she may strive alone and achieve her goal.

The Buddha declared -- "Of whatsoever doctrine thou shall be conscious, Gotami, that these things conduce to passion and not to peace, to pride and not to veneration, to wishing for much and not to wishing for little, to love of society and not to seclusion, to sloth and not to the exercise of zeal, to being hard to satisfy and not to contentment, verily mayest thou then, Gotami, bear in mind: that is not Dhamma, that is not Vinaya, that is not the teaching of the Master.

But of whatsoever doctrine thou shall be conscious, Gotami, that these things conduce to peace and not to passion, to veneration and not to pride, to wishing for little and not to wishing for much, to seclusion and not to love of society, to the exercise of zeal and not to sloth, to contentment and not to querulousness, verily mayest thou then bear in mind: that is Dhamma, and that is Vinaya, and that is the teaching of the Master.

Before long she attained Arahantship, accompanied by intuitive and analytical knowledge (Patisambhidā).

The other Sākya ladies, who received their ordination with her, also attained Arahantship.

Amongst the female disciples Mahā Pajāpati Gotami was assigned the foremost place in seniority and experience (Ratta?u).

In the Therigāthā appear several verses uttered by her after attaining Arahantship.

THE BUDDHA AND HIS RELATIVES

2008-07-14T09:03:00.000-07:00

THE BUDDHA AND HIS RELATIVES

"Service to relatives is a blessing."
-- MANGALA SUTTĀ

King Suddhodana desires to see the Buddha

News that the Buddha was residing at Rajagaha and was preaching His Dhamma reached the ears of the aged King Suddhodana and his anxiety to see his enlightened son grew stronger and stronger. On nine successive occasions he sent nine courtiers, each with a large following, to invite the Buddha to Kapilavatthu. Contrary to his expectations, they all heard the Dhamma and, attaining Arahantship, entered the Order. Since Arahants were indifferent to worldly things they did not convey the message to the Buddha.

The disappointed King finally dispatched another faithful courtier, Kāludāyī, who was a playmate of the Buddha. He agreed to go as he was granted permission to enter the Order.

Like the rest he also had the fortune to attain Arahantship and join the Order. But, unlike the others, he conveyed the message to the Buddha, and persuaded Him to visit His aged royal father. As the season was most suitable for travelling, the Buddha, attended by a large retinue of His disciples, journeyed the whole distance by slow stages preaching the Dhamma on the way, and in due course arrived at Kapilavatthu in two months.

Arrangements were made for Him to reside at the Park of Nigrodha, a Sākya. The conceited elderly Sākyas, thinking within themselves, "He is our younger brother, our nephew, our grandson," said to the young princes -- "You do him obeisance; we will sit behind you." As they sat without paying Him due reverence He subdued their pride by rising into the air and exhibiting the "Twin Wonder". The King, seeing this wonderful phenomenon, saluted Him immediately, saying that it was his third salutation. All Sākyas were then compelled to pay Him due reverence. Thereupon the Buddha came down from the sky and sat on the seat prepared for Him. The humbled relatives took their seats eager to listen to His Teaching.

At this moment an unexpected shower of rain fell upon the Sākya kinsfolk. The occurrence of this strange phenomenon resulted in a discussion amongst themselves. Then the Buddha preached the Vessantara Jātaka to show that a similar incident took place in the presence of His relatives in a previous birth.

The Sākyas were delighted with the discourse, and they departed, not knowing that it was their duty to invite the Buddha and His disciples for the noon meal. It did not occur to the King too to invite the Buddha, although he thought to himself -- "If my son does not come to my house, where will he go?" Reaching home, he, however, made ready several kinds of food expecting their arrival in the palace.

The Buddha goes round for Alms

King Suddhodana's Conversion

As there was no special invitation for the noon meal on the following day, the Buddha and His disciples got ready to seek alms from the houses of the citizens of Kapilavatthu. Before proceeding He considered within Himself -- "Did the Buddhas of the past, upon entering the city of their kinsfolk, straightway enter the houses of the relatives, or did they go from house to house in regular order receiving alms?" Perceiving that they did so from house to house, the Buddha went in the streets of Kapilavatthu seeking alms.

On hearing of this seemingly disgraceful conduct of the Buddha from his daughter-in-law, Yasodharā, the King, greatly perturbed in mind, hurried to the scene, and saluting Him, said -- "Son, why do you ruin me? I am overwhelmed with shame to see you begging alms. Is it proper for you, who used to travel in a golden palanquin, to seek alms in this very city? Why do you put me to shame?"

"I am not putting you to shame, 0 great King! I am following the custom of my lineage," replied the Buddha, to the King's astonishment.

"But, dear son, is it the custom of my lineage to gain a livelihood by seeking alms? Surely, Lord. ours is the warrior lineage of Mahāsammata, and not a single warrior has gone seeking alms."

"O great King, that is not the custom of your royal lineage. But it is the custom of my Buddha lineage. Several thousands of Buddhas have lived by seeking alms."

Standing on the street, the Buddha then advised the King thus:

"Be not heedless in standing (at doors for alms). Lead a righteous life. The righteous live happily both in this world and in the next."

Hearing it, the King realized the Truth and attained the first stage of Sainthood. Immediately after, he took the Buddha's bowl and, conducting Him and His disciples to the palace, served them with choice food. At the close of the meal the Buddha again exhorted him thus:

"Lead a righteous life, and not one that is corrupt. The righteous live happily both in this world and in the next."

Thereupon the King attained the second stage of Sainthood (Sakadāgāmi) and Pajāpati Gotami attained the first stage of Sainthood (Sotāpatti).

On a later occasion when it was related to the Buddha that the King refused to believe that his son had died owing to his severe austerities without achieving his goal, the Buddha preached the Dhammapāla Jātaka to show that in a previous birth too he refused to believe that his son had died although he was shown a heap of bones. This time he attained the third stage of Sainthood (Anāgāmi).

On his death-bed, the King heard the Dhamma from the Buddha for the last time and attained Arahantship. After experiencing the bliss of Emancipation for seven days, he passed away as a lay Arahant when the Buddha was about forty years old.

The Buddha and Yasodharā

Princess Yasodharā, also known as Rāhulamātā, Bimbā and Bhaddakaccānā, was the daughter of King Suppabuddha, who reigned over the Koliya race, and Pamitā, sister of King Suddhodana. She was of the same age as Prince Siddhattha, whom she married at the age of sixteen. It was by exhibiting his military prowess that he won her hand. She led an extremely happy and luxurious life. In her 29th year, on the very day she gave birth to her only son, Rāhula, her wise and contemplative husband, whom she loved with all her heart, resolved to renounce the world to seek deliverance from the ills of life. Without even bidding farewell to his faithful and charming wife, he left the palace at night, leaving young Yasodharā to look after the child by herself. She awoke as usual to greet her beloved husband, but, to her surprise, she found him missing.

When she realized that her ideal Prince had left her and the new-born babe, she was overcome with indescribable grief. Her dearest possession was lost for ever. The palace with all its allurements was now a dungeon to her. The whole world appeared to be blank. Her only consolation was her infant son.

Though several Kshatriya princes sought her hand, she rejected all those proposals, and lived ever faithful to her beloved husband. Hearing that her husband was leading a hermit's life, she removed all her jewellery and wore a plain yellow garb. Throughout the six years during which the ascetic Gotama struggled for Enlightenment Princess Yasodharā watched his actions closely and did likewise.

When the Buddha visited Kapilavatthu after His Enlightenment and was being entertained by the King in the palace on the following day all but the Princess Yasodharā came to pay their reverence to Him. She thought :

"Certainly if there is any virtue in me, the noble Lord Himself will come to my presence. Then will I reverence Him."

After the meal was over the Buddha handed over the bowl to the King, and accompanied by His two chief disciples, entered the chamber of Yasodharā and sat on a seat prepared for Him, saying: "Let the King's daughter reverence me as she likes. Say nothing."

Hearing of the Buddha's visit, she bade the ladies in the court wear yellow garments. When the Buddha took His seat, Yasodharā came swiftly to Him and clasping His ankles, placed her head on His feet and reverenced Him as she liked.

Demonstrating her affection and respect thus, she sat down with due reverence.

Then the King praised her virtues and, commenting on her love and loyalty, said:

"Lord, when my daughter heard that you were wearing yellow robes, she also robed herself in yellow; when she heard that you were taking one meal a day, she also did the same; when she heard that you had given up lofty couches, she lay on a low couch; when she heard that you had given up garlands and scents, she also gave them up; when her relatives sent messages to say that they would maintain her, she did not even look at a single one. So virtuous was my daughter."

"Not only in this last birth, 0 King, but in a previous birth, too, she protected me and was devoted and faithful to me," remarked the Buddha and cited the Candakinnara Jātaka.'

Recalling this past association with her, He consoled her and left the palace.

After the death of King Suddhodana, when Pajāpati Gotami became a nun (Bhikkhuni) Yasodharā also entered the Order and attained Arahantship.

Amongst women disciples she was the chief of those who attained great supernormal powers (Mahā Abhi?ā). At the age of 78 she passed away.

Her name does not appear in the Therigatha but her interesting verses are found in the Apadana.

The Buddha and Rāhula

Rāhula was the only son of Prince Siddhattha and Princess Yasodharā. He was born on the day when Prince Siddhattha decided to renounce the world. The happy news of the birth of his infant son was conveyed to him when he was in the park in a contemplative mood. Contrary to ordinary expectations, instead of rejoicing over the news, he exclaimed 'Rāhu jāto, bandhanam jātam -- A Rahu is born, a fetter has arisen!' Accordingly the child was named Rāhula by King Suddhodana, his grandfather.

Rāhula was brought up as a fatherless child by his mother and grandfather. When he was seven years old, the Buddha visited Kapilavatthu for the first time after His Enlightenment. On the seventh day after His arrival Princess Yasodharā gaily dressed up young Rāhula and pointing to the Buddha, said -- "Behold, son, that golden coloured ascetic, looking like Brahmā, surrounded by twenty thousand ascetics! He is your father, and He had great treasures. Since His renunciation we do not see them. Go up to him and ask for your inheritance, and say --"Father, I am the prince. After my consecration I will be a universal monarch. I am in need of wealth. Please give me wealth, for the son is the owner of what belongs to the father."

Innocent Rāhula came to the Buddha's presence, and asking for his inheritance, as advised by his mother, very affectionately said: "O ascetic, even your shadow is pleasing to me. "

After the meal the Buddha left the palace and Rāhula followed Him, saying -- "Give me my inheritance" and uttering much else that was becoming. Nobody attempted to stop him. Nor did the Buddha prevent him from following Him. Reaching the park the Buddha thought: "He desires his father's wealth, but it goes with the world and is full of trouble. I shall give him the sevenfold noble wealth which I received at the foot of the Bodhi tree, and make him an owner of a transcendental inheritance. He called Venerable Sāriputta and asked him to ordain little Rāhula.

Rāhula, who was then only seven years of age, was admitted into the Noble Order.

King Suddhodana was deeply grieved to hear of the unexpected ordination of his beloved grandson. He approached the Buddha and, in humbly requesting Him not to ordain any one without the prior consent of the parents, said "When the Lord renounced the world it was a cause of great pain to me. It was so when Nanda renounced and especially so in the case of Rāhula. The love of a father towards a son cuts through the skin, (the hide), the flesh, the sinew, the bone and the marrow. Grant, Lord, the request that the Noble Ones may not confer ordination on a son without the permission of his parents."

The Buddha readily granted the request, and made it a Vinaya rule.

How a young boy of seven years could lead the Holy Life is almost inconceivable. But Sāmanera (Novice) Rāhula, cultured, exceptionally obedient and well-disciplined as he was, was very eager to accept instruction from his superiors. It is stated that he would rise early in the morning and taking a handful of sand throw it up, saying ? "Today may I receive from my instructors as much counsel as these grains of sand."

One of the earliest discourses preached to him, immediately after his ordination, was the Ambalatthika-rāhulovāda Sutta in which He emphasized the importance of Truthfulness.

One day the Buddha visited the Venerable Rāhula who, seeing Him coming from afar, arranged a seat and supplied water for washing the feet.

The Buddha washed His feet and leaving a small quantity of water in the vessel, said:

"Do you see, Rāhula, this small quantity of water left in the vessel?"

"Yes, Lord."

"Similarly, Rāhula, insignificant, indeed, is the Samana-ship (monkhood) of those who are not ashamed of uttering deliberate lies."

Then the Buddha threw away that small quantity of water, and said:

"Discarded, indeed, is the Samanaship of those who are not ashamed of deliberate lying."

The Buddha turned the vessel upside down, and said -- "Overturned, indeed, is the Samanaship of those who are not ashamed of uttering deliberate lies."

Finally the Buddha set the vessel upright and said --"Empty and void, indeed, is the Samanaship of those who are not ashamed of deliberate lying."

"I say of anyone who is not ashamed of uttering deliberate lies, that there is no evil that could not be done by him. Accordingly, Rāhula, thus should you train yourself -- "Not even in play will I tell a lie."

Emphasizing the importance of truthfulness with such homely illustrations, the Buddha explained to him the value of reflection and the criterion of morality in such a way as a child could understand.

"Rāhula, for what purpose is a mirror?" questioned the Buddha.

"For the purpose of reflecting, Lord."

"Similarly, Rāhula, after reflecting and reflecting should bodily action be done; after reflecting should verbal action be done; after reflecting should mental action be done.

"Whatever action you desire to do with the body, of that particular bodily action you should reflect: 'Now, this action that I desire to perform with the body -- would this, my bodily action be conducive to my own harm, or to the harm of others, or to that of both myself and others?' Then, unskilful is this bodily action, entailing suffering and producing pain.

"If, when reflecting, you should realize: 'Now, this bodily action of mine that I am desirous of performing, would be conducive to my own harm or to the harm of others, or to that of both myself and others.' Then unskilful is this bodily action, entailing suffering and producing pain. Such an action with the body, you must on no account perform.

"If, on the other hand, when reflecting you realize: 'Now, this bodily action that I am desirous of performing, would conduce neither to the harm of myself, nor to that of others, nor to that of both myself and others.' Then skilful is this bodily action, entailing pleasure and producing happiness. Such bodily action you should perform."

Exhorting the Sāmanera Rāhula to use reflection during and after one's actions, the Buddha said:

"While you are doing an action with the body, of that particular action should you reflect: 'Now, is this action that I am doing with my body conducive to my own harm, or to the harm of others or to that of both myself and others?' Then unskilful is this bodily action, entailing suffering and producing pain."

"If, when reflecting, you realize: 'Now, this action that I am doing with my body is conducive to my own harm, to the harm of others, and to that of both myself and others.' Then unskilful is this bodily action, entailing suffering and producing pain. From such a bodily action you must desist".

"If when reflecting, you should realize: 'Now, this action of mine that I am doing with the body is conducive neither to my own harm, nor to the harm of others, nor to that of both myself and others.' Then skilful is this bodily action, entailing pleasure and happiness. Such a bodily action you should do again and again."

The Buddha adds "If, when reflecting, you should realize: 'Now, this action that I have done is unskilful.' Such an action should be confessed, revealed, and made manifest to the Teacher, or to the learned, or to your brethren of the Holy Life. Having confessed, you should acquire restraint in the future."

The admonition with regard to skilful and unskilful verbal and mental actions was treated in the same way.

Stating that constant reflection was essential for purification, the Buddha ended the discourse as follows:

"Thus must you train yourself -- By constantly reflecting shall we purify our bodily actions, by constantly reflecting shall we purify our verbal actions, by constantly reflecting, shall we purify our mental actions."

In the Samyutta Nikāya there is a special chapter where the Buddha explains to Sāmanera Rāhula, the transitoriness of nature.

As Venerable Rāhula entered the Order in his boyhood the Buddha availed Himself of every opportunity to advise and guide him on the right path. The Sutta Nipāta states that the Buddha repeatedly admonished him with the following stanzas:

"Give up five-fold sensual pleasures -- so sweet, so charming. Going forth from home, with faith, be one who has put an end to suffering.

Seek a remote lodging, secluded and noiseless. Be moderate in food.

Have no attachment to robes, alms, requisites and lodging.

Come not to this world again,.

Practise restraint with regard to the Fundamental Code and the five senses.

Cultivate mindfulness as regards the body and be full of dispassionateness.

Avoid alluring, lust-provoking objects (of sense). Develop your one-pointed, composed mind towards loathsomeness. Think not of the outward appearance of sense. Give up latent pride. Thus eradicating pride, you shall fare on in perfect peace."

In his eighteenth year the Buddha preached a profound discourse on mind-culture, the occasion for it being a sense-desire that arose in Venerable Rāhula's mind on account of his beautiful appearance.

One day the Venerable Rāhula was following the Buddha in quest of alms. As the Buddha went along, followed by Rāhula, it seems that the pair was like an auspicious royal elephant and his noble offspring, a royal swan with its beauteous cygnet, a regal lion with its stately cub. Both were golden in complexion, almost equal in beauty; both were of the warrior caste; both had renounced a throne. Rāhula, admiring the Teacher, thought: "I too am handsome like my parent the Exalted One. Beautiful is the Buddha's form, and mine is similar."

The Buddha instantly read his evil thought, and looking back addressed him thus:

"Whatsoever form there be should be regarded thus:

"This is not mine (N'etam mama); this am I not (N'eso' ham ' asmi); this is not my soul (Na me so attā).'

Rāhula submissively inquired of Him whether he should regard only form as such.

The Buddha replied that he should regard all the five aggregates (Khandhas) as such.

The Venerable Rāhula, having been thus edified by the Buddha Himself, preferred not to enter the village for alms. He turned back and sat at the foot of a tree, with legs crossed, the body held erect, intent on mindfulness.

Venerable Sāriputta noting the suggestive posture of Rāhula Sāmanera, advised him to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling, not knowing that he was practising another object of meditation on the instruction of the Buddha.

Venerable Rāhula was perplexed because he was given two different objects of meditation -- one by the Buddha and the other by his own teacher. In obedience to his teacher be concentrated on "breathing" and went to the Buddha to get His own instruction on the subject. As a wise physician would give the needed medicine, ignoring the desires, the Buddha first expanded His brief instruction on meditation on form and other aggregates and then briefly enumerated certain subjects of meditation with the specific evil conditions temporarily eliminated by each and then explained the meditation on "respiration" (Ānāpanā Sati).

Acting according to the Buddha's instructions, he succeeded in his meditations, and, before long, hearing the Cūla Rāhulovāda Sutta, he attained Arahantship.

In the fourteenth year after the Enlightenment of the Buddha, Sāmanera Rāhula received his Higher Ordination. He predeceased the Buddha and Venerable Sāriputta.

Venerable Rāhula was distinguished for his high standard of discipline. The following four verses are attributed to him in the Theragāthā:

"Being fortunate from both sides, they call me "Lucky Rāhula". I was the son of the Buddha and that of the Seer of Truths.

Destroyed are all my Corruptions. There is no more rebirth to me.

An Arahant am I, worthy of offering.

Possessed of threefold knowledge and a seer of Deathless am I,

"Blinded by sense-desires, spread over by a net, covered by a cloak of craving, bound by the 'kinsman of heedlessness' was I like a fish caught in the mouth of a funnel-net.

That sense-desire have I burnt. The bond of Māra have I cut.

Eradicating craving, from its root, cool am I, peaceful am I now.

ေရႊမ်က္မွန္ ဘုရား

2008-07-13T22:25:00.000-07:00

Shwe Myet Man Paya (or) the Buddha Image with the Golden Spectacles is situated in a town called Shwedaung, near Pyay in Bago Division. It is on the way to Pyay, about 14km south of Pyay. There is a large , white-faced sitting Buddha Image inside the main shrine. The Budhha image wears a gargantuan set of eyeglasses with gold-plated rims. Coming from Yangon, it is located on the left side of the road.

The glasses were known to be first added to the images during the Konbaung Era, when a nobleman offered them to the temple in an attempt to stimulate local faith through curiosity. Soon, rumours like the image is capable of curing any kind of diseases, especially afflictions linked to the eyes. The rumours made locals from all over the country crowded at this temple.

The large spectacles were stolen once, and then the image wears a second pair, donated by the locals nearby. The image was later enshrined to protect from thieves. A third pair of glasses were donated by an English officer stationed in Pyay, during the colonial time, when his wife suffered from eye trouble. As the legend says, after such donation, his wife was cured and got her sight back.

It takes about nine monks to remove the glasses for their fortnightly cleaning.

THE TEACHING OF THE DHAMMA

2008-07-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

THE TEACHING OF THE DHAMMA

"Happy is the birth of Buddhas. Happy is the teaching of the sublime Dhamma.
Happy is the unity of the Sangha. Happy is the discipline of the united ones."
-- DHAMMAPADA

The Conversion of Yasa and His Friends

In Benares there was a millionaire's son, named Yasa, who led a luxurious life. One morning he rose early and, to his utter disgust, saw his female attendants and musicians asleep in repulsive attitudes. The whole spectacle was so disgusting that the palace presented the gloomy appearance of a charnel house. Realizing the vanities of worldly life, he stole away from home, saying "Distressed am I, oppressed am I," and went in the direction of Isipatana where the Buddha was temporarily residing after having made the five Bhikkhus attain Arahantship.

At that particular time the Buddha, as usual, was pacing up and down in an open space. Seeing him coming from afar, the Buddha came out of His ambulatory and sat on a prepared seat. Not far from Him stood Yasa, crying -- "O distressed am I! Oppressed am I!"

Thereupon the Buddha said ? "Here there is no distress, O Yasa! Here there is no oppression, O Yasa! Come hither, Yasa! Take a seat. I shall expound the Dhamma to you."

The distressed Yasa was pleased to hear the encouraging words of the Buddha. Removing his golden sandals, he approached the Buddha, respectfully saluted Him and sat on one side.

The Buddha expounded the doctrine to him, and he attained the first stage of Sainthood (Sotāpatti).

At first the Buddha spoke to him on generosity (dāna), morality (sīla), celestial states (sagga), the evils of sensual pleasures (kāmādinava), the blessings of renunciation (nekkhammānisamsa). When He found that his mind was pliable and was ready to appreciate the deeper teaching He taught the Four Noble Truths.

Yasa's mother was the first to notice the absence of her son and she reported the matter to her husband. The millionaire immediately dispatched horsemen in four directions and he himself went towards Isipatana, following the imprint of the golden slippers. The Buddha saw him coming from afar and, by His psychic powers, willed that he should not be able to see his son.

The millionaire approached the Buddha and respectfully inquired whether He had seen his son Yasa.

"Well, then, sit down here please. You would be able to see your son," said the Buddha. Pleased with the happy news, he sat down. The Buddha delivered a discourse to him, and he was so delighted that he exclaimed:

"Excellent, O Lord, excellent! It is as if, Lord, a man were to set upright that which was overturned, or were to reveal that which was hidden, or were to point out the way to one who had gone astray, or were to hold a lamp amidst the darkness, so that those who have eyes may see! Even so has the doctrine been expounded in various ways by the Exalted One.

"I, Lord, take refuge in the Buddha, the Doctrine and the Order. May the Lord receive me as a follower, who has taken refuge from this very day to life's end!"

He was the first lay follower to seek refuge with the threefold formula.

On hearing the discourse delivered to his father, Yasa attained Arahantship. Thereupon the Buddha withdrew His will-power so that Yasa's father may be able to see his son. The millionaire beheld his son and invited the Buddha and His disciples for alms on the following day. The Buddha expressed His acceptance of the invitation by His silence.

After the departure of the millionaire Yasa begged the Buddha to grant him the Lesser and the Higher Ordination.

"Come, O Bhikkhus! Well taught is the Doctrine. Lead the Holy Life to make a complete end of suffering." With these words the Buddha conferred on him the Higher Ordination.

With the Venerable Yasa the number of Arahants increased to six.

As invited, the Buddha visited the millionaire's house with His six disciples.

Venerable Yasa's mother and his former wife heard the doctrine expounded by the Buddha and, having attained the first stage of Sainthood, became His first two lay female followers.

Venerable Yasa had four distinguished friends named Vimala, Subāhu, Punnaji and Gavampati. When they heard that their noble friend shaved his hair and beard, and, donning the yellow robe, entered the homeless life, they approached Venerable Yasa and expressed their desire to follow his example. Venerable Yasa introduced them to the Buddha, and, on hearing the Dhamma, they also attained Arahantship.

Fifty more worthy friends of Venerable Yasa, who belonged to leading families of various districts, also receiving instructions from the Buddha, attained Arahantship and entered the Holy Order.

Hardly two months had elapsed since His Enlightenment when the number of Arahants gradually rose to sixty. All of them came from distinguished families and were worthy sons of worthy fathers.

The First Messengers of Truth (Dhammadūta)

The Buddha who, before long, succeeded in enlightening sixty disciples, decided to send them as messengers of Truth to teach His new Dhamma to all without any distinction. Before dispatching them in various directions He exhorted them as follows:

"Freed am I, O Bhikkhus, from all bonds, whether divine or human.

"You, too, O Bhikkhus, are freed from all bonds, whether divine or human.

"Go forth, O Bhikkhus, for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the good, benefit, and happiness of gods and men. Let not two go by one way: Preach, O Bhikkhus, the Dhamma, excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, excellent in the end, both in the spirit and in the letter. Proclaim the Holy Life, altogether perfect and pure.

"There are beings with little dust in their eyes, who, not hearing the Dhamma, will fall away. There will be those who understand the Dhamma."

"I too, O Bhikkhus, will go to Uruvelā in Senānigāma, in order to preach the Dhamma."

"Hoist the Flag of the Sage. Preach the Sublime Dhamma. Work for the good of others, you who have done your duties."

The Buddha was thus the first religious teacher to send His enlightened ordained disciples to propagate the doctrine out of compassion for others. With no permanent abode, alone and penniless, these first missioners were expected to wander from place to place to teach the sublime Dhamma. They had no other material possessions but their robes to cover themselves and an alms-bowl to collect food. As the field was extensive and the workers were comparatively few they were advised to undertake their missionary journeys alone. As they were Arahants who were freed from all sensual bonds their chief and only object was to teach the Dhamma and proclaim the Holy Life (Brahmacariya). The original role of Arahants, who achieved their life's goal, was to work for the moral upliftment of the people both by example and by precept. Material development, though essential, was not their concern.

Founding of the Order of the Sangha

At that time there were sixty Arahant disciples in the world. With these Pure Ones as the nucleus the Buddha founded a celibate Order which "was democratic in constitution and communistic in distribution." The original members were drawn from the highest status of society and were all educated and rich men, but the Order was open to all worthy ones, irrespective of caste, class or rank. Both young and old belonging to all the castes, were freely admitted into the Order and lived like brothers of the same family without any distinction. This Noble Order of Bhikkhus, which stands to this day, is the oldest historic body of celibates in the world.

All were not expected to leave the household and enter the homeless life. As lay followers, too, they were able to lead a good life in accordance with the Dhamma and attain Sainthood. Venerable Yasa's parents and his former wife, for instance, were the foremost lay followers of the Buddha.

All the three were sufficiently spiritually advanced to attain the first stage of Sainthood.

With the sixty Arahants, as ideal messengers of Truth, the Buddha decided to propagate His sublime Dhamma, purely by expounding the doctrine to those who wish to hear.

Conversion of Thirty Young Men

The Buddha resided at Isipatana in Benares as long as He liked and went towards Uruvelā. On the way He sat at the foot of a tree in a grove.

At that time thirty happy young men went with their wives to this particular grove to amuse themselves. As one of them had no wife he took with him a courtesan. While they were enjoying themselves this woman absconded with their valuables. The young men searched for her in the forest, and, seeing the Buddha, inquired of Him whether He saw a woman passing that way.

"Which do you think, young men, is better; seeking a woman or seeking oneself?" questioned the Buddha.

"Seeking oneself is better, O Lord! replied the young men.

"Well, then, sit down. I shall preach the doctrine to you," said the Buddha.

"Very well, Lord," they replied, and respectfully saluting the Exalted One, sat expectantly by.

They attentively listened to Him and obtained "The Eye of Truth."

After this they entered the Order and received the Higher Ordination.

Conversion of the Three Kassapa Brothers

Wandering from place to place, in due course, the Buddha arrived at Uruvelā. Here lived three (Jatila) ascetics with matted hair known as Uruvela Kassapa, Nadī Kassapa, and Gayā Kassapa. They were all brothers living separately with 500, 300 and 200 disciples respectively. The eldest was infatuated by his own spiritual attainments and was labouring under a misconception that he was an Arahant. The Buddha approached him first and sought his permission to spend the night in his fire-chamber where dwelt a fierce serpent-king. By His psychic powers the Buddha subdued the serpent. This pleased Uruvela Kassapa and he invited the Buddha to stay there as his guest. The Buddha was compelled to exhibit His psychic powers on several other occasions to impress the ascetic, but still he adhered to the belief, that the Buddha was not an Arahant as he was. Finally the Buddha was able to convince him that he was an Arahant. Thereupon he and his followers entered the Order and obtained the Higher Ordination.

His brothers and their followers also followed his example. Accompanied by the three Kassapa brothers and their thousand followers, the Buddha repaired to Gayā Sīsa, not far from Uruvelā. Here He preached the Āditta-Pariyāya Sutta, hearing which all attained Arahantship.

DHAMMACAKKAPPAVATTANA SUTTA

2008-06-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

DHAMMACAKKAPPAVATTANA SUTTA

THE FIRST DISCOURSE

"The best of Paths is the Eightfold Path. The best of Truths are the four Sayings. Non-attachment is the best of states. The best of bipeds is the Seeing One."
-- DHAMMAPADA

Introduction

Ancient India was noted for distinguished philosophers and religious teachers who held diverse views with regard to life and its goal. Brahmajāla Sutta of the Dīgha Nikāya mentions sixty two varieties of philosophical theories that prevailed in the time of the Buddha.

One extreme view that was diametrically opposed to all current religious beliefs was the nihilistic teaching of the materialists who were also termed Cārvākas after the name of the founder.

According to ancient materialism which, in Pāli and Samskrit, was known as Lokāyata, man is annihilated after death, leaving behind him whatever force generated by him. In their opinion death is the end of all. This present world alone is real. "Eat, drink, and be merry, for death comes to all," appears to be the ideal of their system. "Virtue", they say, "is a delusion and enjoyment is the only reality. Religion is a foolish aberration, a mental disease. There was a distrust of everything good, high, pure and compassionate. Their theory stands for sensualism and selfishness and the gross affirmation of the loud will. There is no need to control passion and instinct, since they are the nature's legacy to men.

Another extreme view was that emancipation was possible only by leading a life of strict asceticism. This was purely a religious doctrine firmly held by the ascetics of the highest order. The five monks that attended on the Bodhisatta, during His struggle for Enlightenment, tenaciously adhered to this belief.

In accordance with this view the Buddha, too, before His Enlightenment subjected Himself to all forms of austerity. After an extraordinary struggle for six years He realized the utter futility of self-mortification. Consequently, He changed His unsuccessful hard course and adopted a middle way. His favourite disciples thus lost confidence in Him and deserted Him, saying -- "The ascetic Gotama had become luxurious, had ceased from striving, and had returned to a life of comfort."

Their unexpected desertion was definitely a material loss to Him as they ministered to all His needs. Nevertheless, He was not discouraged. The iron-willed Bodhisatta must have probably felt happy for being left alone. With unabated enthusiasm and with restored energy He persistently strove until He attained Enlightenment, the object of His life.

Precisely two months after His Enlightenment on the Asālha (July) full moon day the Buddha delivered His first discourse to the five monks that attended on Him.

The first Discourse of the Buddha

Dhammacakka is the name given to this first discourse of the Buddha. It is frequently represented as meaning "The Kingdom of Truth." "The Kingdom of Righteous-ness." "The Wheel of Truth." According to the commentators Dhamma here means wisdom or knowledge, and Cakka means founding or establishment. Dhammacakka therefore means the founding or establishment of wisdom. Dhammacakkappavattana means The Expositon of the Establishment of Wisdom. Dhamma may also be interpreted as Truth, and cakka as wheel. Dhammacakkappavattana would therefore mean -- The Turning or The Establishment of the Wheel of Truth.

In this most important discourse the Buddha expounds the Middle Path which He Himself discovered and which forms the essence of His new teaching. He opened the discourse by exhorting the five monks who believed in strict asceticism to avoid the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification as both do not lead to perfect Peace and Enlightenment. The former retards one's spiritual progress, the latter weakens one's intellect. He criticized both views as He realized by personal experience their futility and enunciated the most practicable, rational and beneficial path, which alone leads to perfect purity and absolute Deliverance.

This discourse was expounded by the Buddha while He was residing at the Deer Park in Isipatana near Benares.

The intellectual five monks who were closely associated with the Buddha for six years were the only human beings that were present to hear the sermon. Books state that many invisible beings such as Devas and Brahmas also took advantage of the golden opportunity of listening to the sermon. As Buddhists believe in the existence of realms other than this world, inhabited by beings with subtle bodies imperceptible to the physical eye, possibly many Devas and Brahmas were also present on this great occasion. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Buddha was directly addressing the five monks and the discourse was intended mainly for them.

At the outset the Buddha cautioned them to avoid the two extremes. His actual words were: "There are two extremes (antā) which should not be resorted to by a recluse (pabbajitena)." Special emphasis was laid on the two terms "antā" which means end or extreme and "pabbajita" which means one who has renounced the world.

One extreme, in the Buddha's own words, was the constant attachment to sensual pleasures (kāmasukhal-likānuyoga). The Buddha described this extreme as base, vulgar, worldly, ignoble, and profitless. This should not be misunderstood to mean that the Buddha expects all His followers to give up material pleasures and retire to a forest without enjoying this life. The Buddha was not so narrow- minded.

Whatever the deluded sensualist may feel about it, to the dispassionate thinker the enjoyment of sensual pleasures is distinctly short-lived, never completely satisfying, and results in unpleasant reactions. Speaking of worldly happiness, the Buddha says that the acquisition of wealth and the enjoyment of possessions are two sources of pleasure for a layman. An understanding recluse would not however seek delight in the pursuit of these fleeting pleasures. To the surprise of the average man he might shun them. What constitutes pleasure to the former is a source of alarm to the latter to whom renunciation alone is pleasure.

The other extreme is the constant addiction to self-mortification (attakilamathānuyoga). Commenting on this extreme, which is not practised by the ordinary man, the Buddha remarks that it is painful, ignoble, and profitless. Unlike the first extreme this is not described as base, worldly, and vulgar. The selection of these three terms is very striking. As a rule it is the sincere recluse who has renounced his attachment to sensual pleasures that resorts to this painful method, mainly with the object of gaining his deliverance from the ills of life. The Buddha, who has had painful experience of this profitless course, describes it as useless. It only multiplies suffering instead of diminishing it.

The Buddhas and Arahants are described as Ariyas meaning Nobles. Anariya (ignoble) may therefore be construed as not characteristic of the Buddha and Arahants who are free from passions. Attha means the ultimate Good, which for a Buddhist is Nibbāna, the complete emancipation from suffering. Therefore anatthasamhitā may be construed as not conducive to ultimate Good.

The Buddha at first cleared the issues and removed the false notions of His hearers.

When their troubled minds became pliable and receptive the Buddha related His personal experience with regard to these two extremes.

The Buddha says that He (the Tathāgata), realizing the error of both these two extremes, followed a middle path. This new path or way was discovered by Himself. The Buddha termed His new system Majjhimā Patipadā -- the Middle Way. To persuade His disciples to give heed to His new path He spoke of its various blessings. Unlike the two diametrically opposite extremes this middle path produces spiritual insight and intellectual wisdom to see things as they truly are. When the insight is clarified and the intellect is sharpened everything is seen in its true perspective.

Furthermore, unlike the first extreme which stimulates passions, this Middle Way leads to the subjugation of passions which results in Peace. Above all it leads to the attainment of the four supramundane Paths of Sainthood, to the understanding of the four Noble Truths, and finally to the realization of the ultimate Goal, Nibbāna.

Now, what is the Middle Way? The Buddha replies: It is the Noble Eightfold Path. The eight factors are then enumerated in the discourse.

The first factor is Right Understanding, the keynote of Buddhism. The Buddha started with Right Understanding in order to clear the doubts of the monks and guide them on the right way.

Right Understanding deals with the knowledge of oneself as one really is; it leads to Right Thoughts of non-attachment or renunciation (nekkhamma samkappa), loving-kindness (avyāpāda samkappa), and harmlessness (avihimsā samkappa), which are opposed to selfishness, illwill, and cruelty respectively. Right Thoughts result in Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood, which three factors perfect one's morality. The sixth factor is Right Effort which deals with the elimination of evil states and the development of good states in oneself. This self-purification is best done by a careful introspection, for which Right Mindfulness, the seventh factor, is essential. Effort, combined with Mindfulness, produces Right Concentration or one-pointedness of the mind, the eighth factor. A one-pointed mind resembles a polished mirror where everything is clearly reflected with no distortion.

Prefacing the discourse with the two extremes and His newly discovered Middle Way, the Buddha expounded the Four Noble Truths in detail.

Sacca is the Pāli term for Truth which means that which is. Its Samskrit equivalent is satya which denotes an incontrovertible fact. The Buddha enunciates four such Truths, the foundations of His teaching, which are associated with the so-called being. Hence His doctrine is homocentric, opposed to theo-centric religions. It is introvert and not extrovert. Whether the Buddha arises or not these Truths exist, and it is a Buddha that reveals them to the deluded world. They do not and cannot change with time, because they are eternal truths. The Buddha was not indebted to anyone for His realization of them, as He Himself remarked in this discourse thus: "With regard to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight and the light." These words are very significant because they testify to the originality of His new Teaching. Hence there is no justification in the statement that Buddhism is a natural outgrowth of Hinduism, although it is true that there are some fundamental doctrines common to both systems.

These Truths are in Pāli termed Ariya Saccāni. They are so called because they were discovered by the Greatest Ariya, that is, one who is far removed from passions.

The First Noble Truth deals with dukkha which, for need of a better English equivalent, is inappropriately rendered by suffering or sorrow. As a feeling dukkha means that which is difficult to be endured. As an abstract truth dukkha is used in the sense of contemptible (du) emptiness (kha). The world rests on suffering -- hence it is contemptible. It is devoid of any reality -- hence it is empty or void. Dukkha therefore means contemptible void.

Average men are only surface-seers. An Ariya sees things as they truly are.

To an Ariya all life is suffering and he finds no real happiness in this world which deceives mankind with illusory pleasures. Material happiness is merely the gratification of some desire.

All are subject to birth (jāti) and consequently to decay (jarā), disease (vyādhi) and finally to death (marana). No one is exempt from these four causes of suffering.

Wish unfulfilled is also suffering. As a rule one does not wish to be associated with things or persons one detests nor does one wish to be separated from things or persons one likes. One's cherished desires are not however always gratified. At times what one least expects or what one least desires is thrust on oneself. Such unexpected unpleasant circumstances become so intolerable and painful that weak ignorant people are compelled to commit suicide as if such an act would solve the problem.

Real happiness is found within, and is not to be defined in terms of wealth, power, honours or conquests. If such worldly possessions are forcibly or unjustly obtained, or are misdirected or even viewed with attachment, they become a source of pain and sorrow for the possessors.

Normally the enjoyment of sensual pleasures is the highest and only happiness of the average person. There is no doubt some momentary happiness in the anticipation, gratification, and retrospection of such fleeting material pleasures, but they are illusory and temporary. According to the Buddha non-attachment (virāgattā) or the transcending of material pleasures is a greater bliss.

In brief this composite body (pa?upādanakkhandha) itself is a cause of suffering.

There are three kinds of craving. The first is the grossest form of craving, which is simple attachment to all sensual pleasures (kāmatanhā). The second is attachment to existence (bhavatanhā). The third is attachment to non-existence (vibhavatanhā). According to the commentaries the last two kinds of craving are attachment to sensual pleasures connected with the belief of Eternalism (sassataditthi) and that which is connected with the belief of Nihilism (ucchedaditthi). Bhavatanhā may also be interpreted as attachment to Realms of Form and vibhavatanhā, as attachment to Formless Realms since Rūparāga and Arūparāga are treated as two Fetters (samyojanas).

This craving is a powerful mental force latent in all, and is the chief cause of most of the ills of life. It is this craving, gross or subtle, that leads to repeated births in Samsāra and that which makes one cling to all forms of life.

The grossest forms of craving are attenuated on attaining Sakadāgāmi, the second stage of Sainthood, and are eradicated on attaining Anāgāmi, the third stage of Sainthood. The subtle forms of craving are eradicated on attaining Arahantship.

Right Understanding of the First Noble Truth leads to the eradication (pahātabba) of craving. The Second Noble Truth thus deals with the mental attitude of the ordinary man towards the external objects of sense.

The Third Noble Truth is that there is a complete cessation of suffering which is Nibbāna, the ultimate goal of Buddhists. It can be achieved in this life itself by the total eradication of all forms of craving.

This Nibbāna is to be comprehended (sacchikātabba) by the mental eye by renouncing all attachment to the external world.

This First Truth of suffering which depends on this so-called being and various aspects of life, is to be carefully perceived, analysed and examined (pari?eyya). This examination leads to a proper understanding of oneself as one really is.

The cause of this suffering is craving or attachment (tanhā). This is the Second Noble Truth.

The Dhammapada states:

"From craving springs grief, from craving springs fear;
For him who is wholly free from craving, there is no grief, much less fear." (V 216).

Craving, the Buddha says, leads to repeated births (ponobhavikā). This Pāli term is very noteworthy as there are some scholars who state that the Buddha did not teach the doctrine of rebirth. This Second Truth indirectly deals with the past, present and future births.

This Third Noble Truth has to be realized by developing (bhāvetabba) the Noble Eightfold Path (ariyatthangika magga). This unique path is the only straight way to Nibbāna. This is the Fourth Noble Truth.

Expounding the Four Truths in various ways, the Buddha concluded the discourse with the forcible words:

"As long, O Bhikkhus, as the absolute true intuitive knowledge regarding these Four Noble Truths under their three aspects and twelve modes was not perfectly clear to me, so long I did not acknowledge that I had gained the incomparable Supreme Enlightenment.

"When the absolute true intuitive knowledge regarding these Truths became perfectly clear to me, then only did I acknowledge that I had gained the incomparable Supreme Enlightenment (anuttara sammāsambodhi).

"And there arose in me the knowledge and insight: Unshakable is the deliverance of my mind, this is my last birth, and now there is no existence again."

At the end of the discourse Konda?a, the senior of the five disciples, understood the Dhamma and, attaining the first stage of Sainthood, realized that whatever is subject to origination all that is subject to cessation -- Yam ki?i samudayadhammam sabbam tam nirodhadhammam.

When the Buddha expounded the discourse of the Dhammacakka, the earth-bound deities exclaimed: "This excellent Dhammacakka, which could not be expounded by any ascetic, priest, god, Māra or Brahma in this world, has been expounded by the Exalted One at the Deer Park, in Isipatana, near Benares."

Hearing this, Devas and Brahmas of all the other planes also raised the same joyous cry.

A radiant light, surpassing the effulgence of the gods, appeared in the world.

The light of the Dhamma illumined the whole world, and brought peace and happiness to all beings.

THE FIRST DISCOURSE OF THE BUDDHA
DHAMMACAKKAPPAVATTANA SUTTA

Thus have I heard:

On one occasion the Exalted One was residing at the Deer Park, in Isipatana, near Benares. Thereupon the Exalted One addressed the group of five Bhikkhus as follows:

"There are these two extremes (antā), O Bhikkhus, which should be avoided by one who has renounced (pabbajitena) --

(i) Indulgence in sensual pleasures -- this is base, vulgar, worldly, ignoble and profitless; and,

(ii) Addiction to self-mortification -- this is painful, ignoble and profitless.

Abandoning both these extremes the Tathāgata has comprehended the Middle Path (Majjhima Patipadā) which promotes sight (cakkhu) and knowledge (ᦣ257;na), and which tends to peace (vupasamāya), higher wisdom (abhi?āya), enlightenment (sambodhāya), and Nibbāna.

What, O Bhikkhus, is that Middle Path the Tathāgata has comprehended which promotes sight and knowledge, and which tends to peace, higher wisdom, enlightenment, and Nibbāna?

The very Noble Eightfold Path -- namely, Right Understanding (sammā ditthi), Right Thoughts (sammā samkappa), Right Speech (sammā vācā), Right Action (sammā kammanta), Right Livelihood (sammā ājiva), Right Effort (sammā vāyāma), Right Mindfulness (sammā sati), and Right Concentration (sammā samādhi), -- This, O Bhikkhus is the Middle Path which the Tathāgata has comprehended." (The Buddha continued):

Now, this, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of Suffering (dukkha-ariya-sacca)!

Birth is suffering, decay is suffering, disease is suffering, death is suffering, to be united with the unpleasant is suffering, to be separated from the pleasant is suffering, not to get what one desires is suffering. In brief the five aggregates of attachment are suffering.

Now, this, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering (dukkha-samudaya-ariyasacca):

It is this craving which produces rebirth (ponobhavikā), accompanied by passionate clinging, welcoming this and that (life). It is the craving for sensual pleasures (kāmatanhā), craving for existence (bhavatanhā) and craving for non-existence (vibhavatanhā).

Now, this, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (dukkha - nirodha- ariyasacca:)

It is the complete separation from, and destruction of, this very craving, its forsaking, renunciation, the liberation therefrom, and non-attachment thereto.

Now, this, O Bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering (dukkha-nirodha-gāmini-patipadā-ariya-sacca).

It is this Noble Eightfold Path, namely:?

Right Understanding, Right Thoughts, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

1.

(i) "This is the Noble Truth of Suffering."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

(ii) "This Noble Truth of Suffering should be perceived (pari?eyya)."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

(iii) "This Noble Truth of Suffering has been perceived (pari?āta)."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

2.

(i) "This is the Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

(ii) "This Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering should be eradicated (pahātabba)."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

(iii) "This Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering has been eradicated (pahīnam)."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

3.

(i) "This is the Noble Truth of Cessation of Suffering."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

(ii) "This Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering should be realized (sacchikātabba)."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

(iii) "This Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering has been realized (sacchikatam)."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

4.

(i) "This is the Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

(ii) "This Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering should be developed (bhāvetabbam)."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

(iii) "This Noble Truth of the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering has been developed (bhāvitam)."

Thus, O Bhikkhus, with respect to things unheard before, there arose in me the eye, the knowledge, the wisdom, the insight, and the light.

(Concluding His Discourse, the Buddha said):

As long, O bhikkhus, as the absolute true intuitive knowledge regarding these Four Noble Truths under their three aspects and twelve modes was not perfectly clear to me, so long I did not acknowledge in this world inclusive of gods, Māras and Brahmas and amongst the hosts of ascetics and priests, gods and men, that I had gained the Incomparable Supreme Enlightenment (anuttaram-sammā-sambodhim).

When, O Bhikkhus, the absolute true intuitive knowledge regarding these Four Noble Truths under their three aspects and twelve modes, became perfectly clear to me, then only did I acknowledge in this world inclusive of gods, Māras, Brahmas, amongst the hosts of ascetics and priests, gods and men, that I had gained the Incomparable Supreme Enlightenment.

And there arose in me the knowledge and insight (ᦣ257;nadassana) -- "Unshakable is the deliverance of my mind . This is my last birth, and now there is no existence again."

Thus the Exalted One discoursed, and the delighted Bhikkhus applauded the words of the Exalted One.

When this doctrine was being expounded there arose in the Venerable Konda?a the dustless, stainless, Truth-seeing Eye (Dhammacakkhu) and he saw that "whatever is subject to origination all that is subject to cessation."

When the Buddha expounded the discourse of the Dhammacakka, the earth-bound deities exclaimed:-- "This excellent Dhammacakka which could not be expounded by any ascetic, priest, god, Māra or Brahma in this world has been expounded by the Exalted One at the Deer Park, in Isipatana, near Benares."

Hearing this, the Devas Cātummahārājika, Tāvatimsa, Yāma, Tusita, Nimmānarati, Paranimmitavasavatti, and the Brahmas of Brahma Pārisajja, Brahma Purohita, Mahā Brahma, Parittābhā, Appamānābhā, Ābhassara, Parittasubha, Appamānasubha, Subhakinna, Vehapphala, Aviha, Atappa, Sudassa, Sudassi, and Akanittha, also raised the same joyous cry.

Thus at that very moment, at that very instant, this cry extended as far as the Brahma realm. These ten thousand world systems quaked, tottered and trembled violently.

A radiant light, surpassing the effulgence of the gods, appeared in the world. Then the Exalted One said, "Friends, Konda?a has indeed understood. Friends, Konda?a has indeed understood."

Therefore the Venerable Konda?a was named A?āta Konda?a.

SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE DHAMMACAKKA SUTTA

1. Buddhism is based on personal experience. As such it is rational and not speculative.

2. The Buddha discarded all authority and evolved a Golden Mean which was purely His own.

3. Buddhism is a way or a Path -- Magga.

4. Rational understanding is the keynote of Buddhism.

5. Blind beliefs are dethroned.

6. Instead of beliefs and dogmas the importance of practice is emphasized. Mere beliefs and dogmas cannot emancipate a person.

7. Rites and ceremonies so greatly emphasized in the Vedas play no part in Buddhism.

8. There are no gods to be propitiated.

9. There is no priestly class to mediate.

10. Morality (sīla), Concentration (samādhi), and Wisdom (pa?ā), are essential to achieve the goal -- Nibbāna.

11. The foundations of Buddhism are the Four Truths that can be verified by experience.

12. The Four Truths are associated with one's person -- Hence Buddhism is homo-centric and introvert.

13. They were discovered by the Buddha and He is not indebted to anyone for them. In His own words -- "They were unheard of before."

14. Being truths, they cannot change with time.

15. The first Truth of suffering, which deals with the constituents of self or so-called individuality and the different phases of life, is to be analysed, scrutinised and examined. This examination leads to a proper understanding of oneself.

16. Rational understanding of the first Truth leads to the eradication of the cause of suffering -- the second Truth which deals with the psychological attitude of the ordinary man towards the external objects of sense.

17. The second Truth of suffering is concerned with a powerful force latent in us all.

18. It is this powerful invisible mental force -- craving --the cause of the ills of life.

19. The second Truth indirectly deals with the past, present and future births.

20. The existence of a series of births is therefore advocated by the Buddha.

21. The doctrine of Kamma, its corollary, is thereby implied.

22. The third Truth of the destruction of suffering, though dependent on oneself, is beyond logical reasoning and supramundane (lokuttara) unlike the first two which are mundane (lokiya).

23. The third Truth is purely a self-realization-- a Dhamma to be comprehended by the mental eye (sacchikātabba).

24. This Truth is to be realized by complete renunciation. It is not a case of renouncing external objects but internal attachment to the external world.

25. With the complete eradication of this attachment is the third Truth realized. It should be noted that mere complete destruction of this force is not the third Truth -- Nibbāna. Then it would be tantamount to annihilation. Nibbāna has to be realized by eradicating this force which binds oneself to the mundane.

26. It should also be understood that Nibbāna is not produced (uppādetabba) but is attained (pattabba). It could be attained in this life itself. It therefore follows that though rebirth is one of the chief doctrines of Buddhism the goal of Buddhism does not depend on a future birth.

27. The third Truth has to be realized by developing the fourth Truth.

28. To eradicate one mighty force eight powerful factors have to be developed.

29. All these eight factors are purely mental.

30. Eight powerful good mental forces are summoned to attack one latent evil force.

31. Absolute purity, a complete deliverance from all repeated births, a mind released from all passions, immortality (amata) are the attendant blessings of this great victory.

32. Is this deliverance a perfection or absolute purity? The latter is preferable.

33. In each case one might raise the question -- What is being perfected? What is being purified?

There is no being or permanent entity in Buddhism, but there is a stream of consciousness.

It is more correct to say that this stream of consciousness is purified by overthrowing all defilements.

THE SECOND DISCOURSE
ANATTALAKKHANA SUTTA

On one occasion the Exalted One was dwelling at the Deer Park, in Isipatana, near Benares. Then the Exalted One addressed the Band of five Bhikkhus, saying, "O Bhikkhus!"

"Lord," they replied.

Thereupon the Exalted One spoke as follows:

"The body (rūpa), O Bhikkhus, is soulless (anattā). If, O Bhikkbus, there were in this a soul then this body would not be subject to suffering. "Let this body be thus, let this body be not thus," such possibilities would also exist. But inasmuch as this body is soulless, it is subject to suffering, and no possibility exists for (ordering): 'Let this be so, let this be not so'."

In like manner feelings (vedanā), perceptions (sa?ā), mental states (samkhārā), and consciousness (vi?āna), are soulless.

"What think ye, O Bhikkhus, is this body permanent or impermanent?"

"Impermanent (anicca), Lord."

"Is that which is impermanent happy or painful?"

"It is painful (dukkha), Lord."

"Is it justifiable, then, to think of that which is impermanent, painful and transitory: "This is mine; this am I; this is my soul?"

"Certainly not, Lord."

Similarly, O Bhikkhus, feelings, perceptions, mental states and consciousness are impermanent and painful.

"Is it justifiable to think of these which are impermanent, painful and transitory: 'This is mine; this am I; this is my soul'?"

"Certainly not, Lord."

"Then, O Bhikkhus, all body, whether past, present or future, personal or external, coarse or subtle, low or high, far or near, should be understood by right knowledge in its real nature 'This is not mine (n'etam mama); this am I not (n'eso h'amasmi); this is not my soul (na me so attā)."

"All feelings, perceptions, mental states and consciousness whether past, present or future, personal or external, coarse or subtle, low or high, far or near, should be understood by right knowledge in their real nature as: "These are not mine; these am I not; these are not my soul."

"The learned Ariyan disciple who sees thus gets a disgust for body, for feelings, for perceptions, for mental states, for consciousness; is detached from the abhorrent thing and is emancipated through detachment. Then dawns on him the knowledge 'Emancipated am I'. He understands that rebirth is ended, lived is the Holy Life, done what should be done, there is no more of this state again."

"This the Exalted One said, and the delighted Bhikkhus applauded the words of the Exalted One."

When the Buddha expounded this teaching the minds of the Group of five Bhikkhus were freed of defilements without any attachment.

THE INVITATION TO EXPOUND THE DHAMMA

2008-06-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

THE INVITATION TO EXPOUND THE DHAMMA

"He who imbibes the Dhamma abides in happiness with mind pacified. The wise man ever delights in the Dhamma revealed by the Ariyas".

-- DHAMMAPADA

The Dhamma as the Teacher

On one occasion soon after the Enlightenment, the Buddha was dwelling at the foot of the Ajapāla banyan tree by the bank of the Nera?arā river. As He was engaged in solitary meditation the following thought arose in His mind:

"Painful indeed is it to live without someone to pay reverence and show deference. How if I should live near an ascetic or brahmin respecting and reverencing him?"

Then it occurred to Him:
"Should I live near another ascetic or brahmin, respecting and reverencing him, in order to bring morality (Sīlakkhandha) to perfection? But I do not see in this world including gods, Māras, and Brahmas, and amongst beings including ascetics, brahmins, gods and men, another ascetic or brahmin who is superior to me in morality and with whom I could associate, respecting and reverencing him.

"Should I live near another ascetic or brahmin, respecting and reverencing him, in order to bring concentration (samādhikkhandha) to perfection? But I do not see in this world any ascetic or brahmin who is superior to me in concentration and with whom I should associate, respecting and reverencing him.

"Should I live near another ascetic or brahmin, respecting and reverencing him, in order to bring wisdom (pa?ākkhandha) to perfection? But I do not see in this world any ascetic or brahmin who is superior to me in wisdom and with whom I should associate, respecting and reverencing him.

"Should I live near another ascetic or brahmin, respecting and reverencing him, in order to bring emancipation (vimuttikkhandha) to perfection? But I do not see in this world any ascetic or brahmin who is superior to me in emancipation and with whom I should associate, respecting and reverencing him."

Then it occurred to Him: "How if I should live respecting and reverencing this very Dhamma which I myself have realized?"

Thereupon Brahmā Sahampati, understanding with his own mind the Buddha's thought, just as a strong man would stretch his bent arm or bend his stretched arm even so did he vanish from the Brahma realm and appeared before the Buddha. And, covering one shoulder with his upper robe and placing his right knee on the ground, he saluted the Buddha with clasped hands and said thus:

"It is so, O Exalted One! It is so, O Accomplished One! O Lord, the worthy, supremely Enlightened Ones, who were in the past, did live respecting and reverencing this very Dhamma.

"The worthy, supremely Enlightened Ones, who will be in the future, will also live respecting and reverencing this very Dhamma.

"O Lord, may the Exalted One, the worthy, supremely Enlightened One of the present age also live respecting and reverencing this very Dhamma!"

This the Brahmā Sahampati said, and uttering which, furthermore he spoke as follows:

"Those Enlightened Ones of the past, those of the future, and those of the present age, who dispel the grief of many -- all of them lived, will live, and are living respecting the noble Dhamma. This is the characteristic of the Buddhas.

"Therefore he who desires his welfare and expects his greatness should certainly respect the noble Dhamma, remembering the message of the Buddhas."

This the Brahmā Sahampati said, and after which, he respectfully saluted the Buddha and passing round Him to the right, disappeared immediately.

As the Sangha is also endowed with greatness there is also His reverence towards the Sangha.

The Invitation to Expound the Dhamma

From the foot of the Rājāyatana tree the Buddha proceeded to the Ajapāla banyan tree and as He was absorbed in solitary meditation the following thought occurred to Him.

"This Dhamma which I have realized is indeed profound, difficult to perceive, difficult to comprehend, tranquil, exalted, not within the sphere of logic, subtle, and is to be understood by the wise. These beings are attached to material pleasures. This causally connected 'Dependent Arising' is a subject which is difficult to comprehend. And this Nibbāna -- the cessation of the conditioned, the abandoning of all passions, the destruction of craving, the non-attachment, and the cessation -- is also a matter not easily comprehensible. If I too were to teach this Dhamma, the others would not understand me. That will be wearisome to me, that will be tiresome to me."

Then these wonderful verses unheard of before occurred to the Buddha:

"With difficulty have I comprehended the Dhamma. There is no need to proclaim it now. This Dhamma is not easily understood by those who are dominated by lust and hatred. The lust-ridden, shrouded in darkness, do not see this Dhamma, which goes against the stream, which is abstruse, profound, difficult to perceive and subtle."

As the Buddha reflected thus, he was not disposed to expound the Dhamma.

Thereupon Brahma Sahampati read the thoughts of the Buddha, and, fearing that the world might perish through not hearing the Dhamma, approached Him and invited Him to teach the Dhamma thus:

"O Lord, may the Exalted One expound the Dhamma! May the Accomplished One expound the Dhamma! There are beings with little dust in their eyes, who, not hearing the Dhamma, will fall away. There will be those who understand the Dhamma."

Furthermore he remarked:
"In ancient times there arose in Magadha a Dhamma, impure, thought out by the corrupted. Open this door to the Deathless State. May they hear the Dhamma understood by the Stainless One! Just as one standing on the summit of a rocky mountain would behold the people around, even so may the All-Seeing, Wise One ascend this palace of Dhamma! May the Sorrowless One look upon the people who are plunged in grief and are overcome by birth and decay!

"Rise, O Hero, victor in battle, caravan leader, debt-free One, and wander in the World! May the Exalted One teach the Dhamma! There will be those who will understand the Dhamma."

When he said so the Exalted One spoke to him thus:

"The following thought, O Brahma, occurred to me ?'This Dhamma which I have comprehended is not easily understood by those who are dominated by lust and hatred. The lust-ridden, shrouded in darkness, do not see this Dhamma, which goes against the stream, which is abstruse, profound, difficult to perceive, and subtle'. As I reflected thus, my mind turned into inaction and not to the teaching of the Dbamma."

Brahmā Sahampati appealed to the Buddha for the second time and He made the same reply.

When he appealed to the Buddha for the third time, the Exalted One, out of pity for beings, surveyed the world with His Buddha-Vision.

As He surveyed thus He saw beings with little and much dust in their eyes, with keen and dull intellect, with good and bad characteristics, beings who are easy and beings who are difficult to be taught, and few others who, with fear, view evil and a life beyond.

"As in the case of a blue, red or white lotus pond, some lotuses are born in the water, grow in the water, remain immersed in the water, and thrive plunged in the water; some are born in the water, grow in the water and remain on the surface of the water; some others are born in the water, grow in the water and remain emerging out of the water, unstained by the water. Even so, as the Exalted One surveyed the world with His Buddha-Vision, He saw beings with little and much dust in their eyes, with keen and dull intellect, with good and bad characteristics, beings who are easy and difficult to be taught, and few others who, with fear, view evil and a life beyond. And He addressed the Brahmā Sahampati in a verse thus:

"Opened to them are the Doors to the Deathless State. Let those who have ears repose confidence. Being aware of the weariness, O Brahma, I did not teach amongst men this glorious and excellent Dhamma."

The delighted Brahma, thinking that he made himself the occasion for the Exalted One to expound the Dhamma respectfully saluted Him and, passing round Him to the right, disappeared immediately.

The First Two Converts
After His memorable fast for forty-nine days, as the Buddha sat under the Rājāyatana tree, two merchants, Tapassu and Bhallika, from Ukkala (Orissa) happened to pass that way. Then a certain deity, who was a blood relative of theirs in a past birth, spoke to them as follows:

"The Exalted One, good sirs, is dwelling at the foot of the Rājāyatana tree, soon after His Enlightenment. Go and serve the Exalted One with flour and honey-comb. It will conduce to your well-being and happiness for a long time."

Availing themselves of this golden opportunity, the two delighted merchants went to the Exalted One, and, respectfully saluting Him, implored Him to accept their humble alms so that it may resound to their happiness and well-being.

Then it occurred to the Exalted One: "The Tathāgatas do not accept food with their hands. How shall I accept this flour and honeycomb?"

Forthwith the four Great Kings understood the thoughts of the Exalted One with their minds and from the four directions offered Him four granite bowls, saying ? "O Lord, may the Exalted One accept herewith this flour and honey-comb!"

The Buddha graciously accepted the timely gift with which He received the humble offering of the merchants, and ate His food after His long fast.

After the meal was over the merchants prostrated themselves before the feet of the Buddha and said:

"We, O Lord, seek refuge in the Exalted One and the Dhamma. May the Exalted One treat us as lay disciples who have sought refuge from today till death."

These were the first lay disciples of the Buddha who embraced Buddhism by seeking refuge in the Buddha and the Dhamma, reciting the twofold formula.

On the Way to Benares to Teach the Dhamma
On accepting the invitation to teach the Dhamma, the first thought that occurred to the Buddha before He embarked on His great mission was -- "To whom shall I teach the Dhamma first? Who will understand the Dhamma quickly? Well, there is Alāra Kālāma who is learned, clever, wise and has for long been with little dust in his eyes. How if I were to teach the Dhamma to him first? He will understand the Dhamma quickly."

Then a deity appeared before the Buddha and said: "Lord! Ālāra Kālāma died a week ago."

With His supernormal vision He perceived that it was so.

Then He thought of Uddaka Rāmaputta. Instantly a deity informed Him that he died the evening before.

With His supernormal vision He perceived this to be so.

Ultimately the Buddha thought of the five energetic ascetics who attended on Him during His struggle for Enlightenment. With His supernormal vision He perceived that they were residing in the Deer Park at Isipatana near Benares. So the Buddha stayed at Uruvela till such time as He was pleased to set out for Benares.

The Buddha was travelling on the highway, when between Gayā and the Bodhi tree, beneath whose shade He attained Enlightenment, a wandering ascetic named Upaka saw Him and addressed Him thus: "Extremely clear are your senses, friend! Pure and clean is your complexion. On account of whom has your renunciation been made, friend? Who is your teacher? Whose doctrine do you profess?"

The Buddha replied:
"All have I overcome, all do I know.
From all am I detached, all have I renounced.
Wholly absorbed am I in the destruction of craving (Arahantship).
Having comprehended all by myself whom shall I call my teacher?
No teacher have I. An equal to me there is not.
In the world including gods there is no rival to me.
Indeed an Arahant am I in this world.
An unsurpassed teacher am I;
Alone am I the All-Enlightened.
Cool and appeased am I.
To establish the wheel of Dhamma to the city of Kāsi I go.
In this blind world I shall beat the drum of Deathlessness.

"Then, friend, do you admit that you are an Arahant, a limitless Conqueror?" queried Upaka.

"Like me are conquerors who have attained to the destruction of defilements. All the evil conditions have I conquered. Hence, Upaka, I am called a conqueror," replied the Buddha.

"It may be so, friend!" Upaka curtly remarked, and, nodding his head, turned into a by-road and departed.

Unperturbed by the first rebuff, the Buddha journeyed from place to place, and arrived in due course at the Deer Park in Benares.

Meeting the Five Monks
The five ascetics who saw Him coming from afar decided not to pay Him due respect as they misconstrued His discontinuance of rigid ascetic practices which proved absolutely futile during His struggle for Enlightenment.

They remarked:

"Friends, this ascetic Gotama is coming. He is luxurious. He has given up striving and has turned into a life of abundance. He should not be greeted and waited upon. His bowl and robe should not be taken. Nevertheless, a seat should be prepared. If he wishes, let him sit down."

However, as the Buddha continued to draw near, His august personality was such that they were compelled to receive Him with due honour. One came forward and took His bowl and robe, another prepared a seat, and yet another kept water for His feet. Nevertheless, they addressed Him by name and called Him friend (āvuso), a form of address applied generally to juniors and equals.

At this the Buddha addressed them thus:

"Do not, O Bhikkhus, address the Tathāgata by name or by the title 'āvuso'. An Exalted One, O Bhikkhus, is the Tathāgata. A Fully Enlightened One is He. Give ear, O Bhikkhus! Deathlessness (Amata) has been attained. I shall instruct and teach the Dhamma. If you act according to my instructions, you will before long realize, by your own intuitive wisdom, and live, attaining in this life itself, that supreme consummation of the Holy Life, for the sake of which sons of noble families rightly leave the household for homelessness."

Thereupon the five ascetics replied:

"By that demeanour of yours, āvuso Gotama, by that discipline, by those painful austerities, you did not attain to any superhuman specific knowledge and insight worthy of an Ariya. How will you, when you have become luxurious, have given up striving, and have turned into a life of abundance, gain any such superhuman specific knowledge and insight worthy of an Ariya?"

In explanation the Buddha said: "The Tathāgata, O Bhikkhus, is not luxurious, has not given up striving, and has not turned into a life of abundance. An Exalted One is the Tathāgata. A Fully Enlightened One is He. Give ear, O Bhikkhus! Deathlessness has been attained. I shall instruct and teach the Dhamma. If you act according to my instructions, you will before long realize, by your own intuitive wisdom, and live, attaining in this life itself, that supreme consummation of the Holy Life, for the sake of which sons of noble families rightly leave the household for homelessness."

For the second time the prejudiced ascetics expressed their disappointment in the same manner.

For the second time the Buddha reassured them of His attainment to Enlightenment.

When the adamant ascetics refusing to believe Him, expressed their view for the third time, the Buddha questioned them thus: "Do you know, O Bhikkhus, of an occasion when I ever spoke to you thus before?"

"Nay, indeed, Lord!"

The Buddha repeated for the third time that He had gained Enlightenment and that they also could realize the Truth if they would act according to His instructions.

It was indeed a frank utterance, issuing from the sacred lips of the Buddha. The cultured ascetics, though adamant in their views, were then fully convinced of the great achievement of the Buddha and of His competence to act as their moral guide and teacher.

They believed His word and sat in silence to listen to His Noble Teaching.

Two of the ascetics the Buddha instructed, while three went out for alms. With what the three ascetics brought from their alms-round the six maintained themselves. Three of the ascetics He instructed, while two ascetics went out for alms. With what the two brought six sustained themselves.

And those five ascetics thus admonished and instructed by the Buddha, being themselves subject to birth, decay, death, sorrow, and passions, realized the real nature of life and, seeking out the birthless, decayless, diseaseless, deathless, sorrowless, passionless, incomparable Supreme Peace, Nibbāna, attained the incomparable Security, Nibbāna, which is free from birth, decay, disease, death, sorrow, and passions, The knowledge arose in them that their Deliverance was unshakable, that it was their last birth and that there would be no more of this state again.

Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, which deals, with the four Noble Truths, was the first discourse delivered by the Buddha to them. Hearing it, Konda?a, the eldest, attained the first stage of Sainthood. After receiving further instructions, the other four attained Sotapatti later. On hearing the Anattalakkhana Sutta, which deals with soul-lessness, all the five attained Arahantship, the final stage of Sainthood.

The First Five Disciples
The five learned monks who thus attained Arahantship and became the Buddha's first disciples were Konda?a, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahānāma, and Assaji of the brahmin clan.

Konda?a was the youngest and the cleverest of the eight brahmins who were summoned by King Suddhodana to name the infant prince. The other four were the sons of those older brahmins. All these five retired to the forest as ascetics in anticipation of the Bodhisatta while he was endeavouring to attain Buddhahood. When he gave up his useless penances and severe austerities and began to nourish the body sparingly to regain his lost strength, these favourite followers, disappointed at his change of method, deserted him and went to Isipatana. Soon after their departure the Bodhisatta attained Buddhahood.

The venerable Konda?a became the first Arahant and the most senior member of the Sangha. It was Assaji, one of the five, who converted the great Sāriputta, the chief disciple of the Buddha.