(E14)-01-Introduction

So tonight the talk is on compassion. Now if we look into the dictionary, compassion, the word compassion means being moved by the suffering of others and wanting to help alleviate or reduce the suffering. So in other words, there is suffering and then we want to help other beings. Now this word is quite closely associated with another word. This word, compassion, in Pali is karuna and it is quite closely associated with metta. Metta, or loving kindness, means kindness in our actions, speech and thought to others. In other words, we want to make others happy. So in the absence of suffering, we want to give happiness to other beings. So it's slightly different. Compassion is, there is suffering and we want to help. And in loving kindness, when there is even no suffering, we want to give happiness. It's more positive. Now, Buddhists are well known for being compassionate, or being harmless, or harming any beings. But unfortunately, it is not so well practiced. And we find that Christian love is quite well known, because a lot of Westerners, they go out of their way to help other beings, even animals. But actually, when we compare Christian teaching and our Buddhist teaching, our Buddha stressed on compassion and loving kindness even much more than Jesus. In the Bible, Jesus said if somebody slaps on the right cheek, he turned the other cheek for him to slap. That's very difficult to do and most Christians won't do it. But in the Suttas in the Kakachu Parma Sutta, the standard the Buddha gave is even higher. The Buddha said, if you are caught by bandits and they saw away your arms with the two handles long saw, they saw away your arms and your legs, and if on that occasion you got angry, then you are not practicing the Buddha's teachings. That's even more difficult, isn't it? So, in other words, the Buddha is trying to tell us that we should have loving kindness towards all beings, no matter what. And this we can only practice if we understand the law of kamavipaka, that whatever we get is what we deserve, nothing more, nothing less. So we understand the law of kamavipaka. Whatever comes to us, good or bad, we accept it. Especially bad, because it's very difficult to accept suffering. But we should bear in mind that if we don't accept the suffering that comes to us now, it will come to us later. So that is accepting kama.

(E14)-02-Compassion-Practices-of-External-Sects

Now we must differentiate Buddhist compassion from the compassion practiced by other teachings, external sect teachings. Because Buddhist compassion is always with wisdom, always comes with wisdom. If you want to practice compassion, you have to practice it with wisdom. Wisdom is a very important factor. you are not practicing really beneficial compassion. So the Buddha mentioned in the suttas, how external sect ascetics practice the various external sect practices. And among them, he mentioned the compassion practices of the external sect ascetics. For example, the Buddha said, if an external sect ascetic goes on pinnabat, arms round, and he's about to accept food from somebody, and then he sees a lot of flies around. And then he thinks to himself, but this is not mentioned, he probably thinks to himself that if he accepts the food, then the flies will not have enough food to eat. So he refuses to accept the food upon seeing the flies, and he walks away. And then on another occasion, when he's about to accept the food, he sees dogs around. Also, he refuses to accept the food and walks away, probably for the same reason that he thinks that by accepting this food, the dogs will not have enough food to eat. And then another time, he is about to accept food from a woman who is suckling her baby, and then he sees that and he refuses to accept. probably thinking that the baby may not have enough milk to eat. So this is practicing compassion without wisdom. And then, maybe surprising to some people, the Buddha also mentioned among the practices of external ascetics, vegetarianism, that they refuse to accept meat and fish. This may be a bit hard for some people to understand, but I will try to explain later. But we can see that external ascetics, sometimes they practice vegetarianism overboard, over the hill, like this James on Uganda. Many years ago, when I was a young university student, I had a friend who later married. And then the father-in-law was a doctor from Burma. But in his young days, he practiced in India. And he said that he was called to a house one day to see an old lady. And when he went into the house, it was apparent to him that this was a rich family. And when he examined this old lady, he found that she was suffering from malnutrition. So he asked the son, what food does your mother eat? And then the son said, we are vegetarians. Then he thought to himself, vegetarians don't have to be suffering from malnutrition. So he asked his son, what exactly does your mother eat? And the son said, we take vegetables. asked the son what type of vegetables. Then the son went to the bank and brought some vegetables to show him. Actually, stale, already stale vegetables, no more green. Because to them, to some people in India, plants including vegetables have life. So when they are green, they have life. they thought that it's not compassionate to take life. So green vegetables and fresh fruits you cannot eat. So they go to that stage where they suffer from malnutrition. So that is the genes.

(E14)-03-Precepts

So what is Buddhist compassion? In our Buddha's teachings, the Buddha stressed that all his followers should keep the precepts. And the lay people, initially the Buddha taught that lay people should keep seven precepts. Later it was modified to five. And these seven precepts are three precepts concerning the body and four concerning speech. And the aim of these precepts is not to harm other living beings. So like the seven precepts, the first precept is not to kill, not to intentionally kill any living being. Because life is the most precious thing to any living being. You can understand if somebody wanted to buy your life, say for hundred million US dollars. Would you be willing to sell your life for even a billion US dollars? You won't, right? So if you take somebody's life, that person will not forgive you, especially human beings. Human beings know how to think. So if you are murdered, probably you think if I become a ghost, I'll come and haunt him. So, as far as other beings are concerned, they might not have this thought to take revenge, but still they have a lot of hatred for you. So, in future lifetimes when we meet, and you meet this being, this being will create problems for you. That's why some people, they find a lot of obstacles in their life, because they don't have enough loving kindness and compassion towards other beings. So, the second precept is not to take what is not given, what does not belong to us. We don't want to take. And we find this not only in practice in Buddhism, even in Islam and Christianity. I was told that there are certain areas in China where the Islam is very strong. If you drop something on the ground, money, even money, it will not be stolen. It will be either taken up and pin on the wall or on the tree or something. And the people there, they are quite secure and safe. They sleep with their doors unlocked, with their windows unlocked. So when people have precepts, then everybody is safe and secure. So this is the second precept. take what is not given to us, then the natural result of it is that in future people will also take your things, will steal your things. That's why some people when they employ workers and maids, their things tend to get stolen. And now the third precept is not to commit adultery, sexual misconduct. If you do that, then you're likely to be reborn as an animal Even as an animal, you probably get castrated. It was mentioned by an Arahant Bhikkhuni, when she contemplated her past life, in the Therigata, verses of the Arahants. So there are these three bodily precepts, and then verbal precepts, not to lie, not to carry tales to cause disharmony. For example, you hear A talking of B, you don't go and tell B, you know, last night A said such and such a thing, and then you cause A and B to quarrel. So we promote harmony, not disharmony. The third verbal precept is not to use coarse speech, rough speech, vulgar speech and all that. Because if you use that, people get angry with you. And even if you try to teach, people will not accept. And the fourth precept is not to engage in idle gossip. So these seven precepts were taught by the Buddha so that we do not harm other living beings. That is the first thing about Buddhist compassion. And we find in the monk's precepts that the monk has so much more 227 precepts. And some of them we may think are very minor. For example, not to dig the ground that has life. Because if we dig the ground, sometimes we cut the worm, all types of worms and insects, and white ants, etc., in the ground. So we cause suffering to them. And also But if there's no life in the ground, a monk can dig, for example, sand, stone, clay, soil, without any life. And also like cutting plants and trees, because they have life. Actually, originally the Buddha did not make this precept. And then some of the other people who belong to other religions, they got angry with Buddhist monks for doing that, because they thought that Plants have life. So the Buddha made this precept to destroy plant life. But then the Buddha also said that plant life is the abode for fairies, tree spirits. There are spirits that live in the trees. And they live in different parts of the trees. The Buddha said there are some that like to live in the leaves. There are some that like to live in the flowers. There's some that like to live in the branches. There's some that like to live on the bark of the tree. There's some that like to live in the heart of the tree, heart wood. And some like to live in the roots of the trees. And they kind of belong to different groups. So when the tree is small, it's most likely that the fairies are small. So when you destroy small trees, there's no consequence. But now and then, sometimes people cut down big trees, and they suffer. As a monk, people come and tell me their problems. And sometimes I hear, they say, I've got this old mango tree at the back of my house. It's already old, not bearing fruit, so we ordered it be cut. As a result of that, sometimes they experience accidents. Sometimes they get sick. The worst case, I was told, was this lady who cut down that old mango tree and became mentally deranged. So, you can see that there are a lot of spirits around us that we don't see with the human eye. But because the Buddha could see, then the Buddha said we should be careful, it's not that you cannot cut down the tree, but if you need to cut down the old mango tree, then you should pay respect to it and tell the spirit that stays in the tree that you intend to cut it down, say, in 3 days or 7 days time, and give it time to go and look for another tree to go and stay For it to move house, even if you want to move house, you have to look for a house, a suitable house to stay in. So if we give them that type of respect, then they are happy at least. Give them a bit of face. They are also like us. Then they don't harm you. So amongst precepts, we have much more precepts. in order not to harm living beings. That's why monks are supposed to be very harmless. Actually, the code of conduct for monks is very high. Of course, some monks, they don't study the suttas, they don't study the Vinaya, and they don't understand, for example, that monks are supposed to get angry also if somebody gets angry with you, and that's pretty hard to practice. But over the years, monk trains in the Sutras and the Vinaya, then year by year he improves. That's why the Buddha calls the spiritual path a gradual training. When a monk disrobes, the Buddha says he forsakes the training. So that is concerning precepts.

(E14)-04-Metta

Then the second one is the Buddha said that we should practice metta. Metta means to be kind in our actions, in our speech, in our thoughts to all other beings. And to be kind to others. We also not only should be kind inside but we should also be seen to be kind. In other words, our body language, our verbal language, people can sense, right? So, but then of course also, we should use wisdom also, because if you are too kind, people climb over your head, right? So, like for example the Buddha, he sometimes quoted these monks, those who did not practice according to the teachings, or acted in foolish ways, and the Buddha would call them foolish men, stupid men. So there's this story, sometimes we read in the Buddhist magazine, about this Naga, and Naga is a fierce serpent, snake spirit. Initially he used to be so fierce that he would kill human beings and all that. So one day the monk went up the hill and then we sort of taught him the Dhamma until he learned to practice the Dhamma. So he thought he wanted to practice loving kindness so whenever people came he did not harm all the human beings that passed by his hill. Because these Nagas, even these big snakes in the hills, they have their area where they stay. And they don't like human beings to come and intrude upon their area. Because human beings come, they cut the trees, clear the land. They find it very difficult to find food. So when human beings came near him, he stopped killing them by acting very fiercely. So the village boys came and found that he was changed. So they started to tease him. And they were surprised also he didn't kill them or belch out his smoke and all this. So they went nearer and he still did not react. And they started to take stones and throw at him. And he did not react. They went to take sticks and beat him until he became bloody. Then he went to complain to the old monk. He asked me to act like this, act like this. See the consequence? And the old monk told him, I told you not to kill living beings. I did not see. You cannot belt your smoke. But sometimes people too much. Sometimes we have to show our anger. Because later I mentioned, Buddha says sometimes we use the soft way. It doesn't work. We need to use the hard way. So that is the main talent, but to be retained with wisdom.

(E14)-05-Charity

Third one is charity, dana, generosity. Helping others basically, giving what other people need. Most of the time it's probably material things like food, money and all that, but not only this. Sometimes some people need kind words when they are suffering. You need to console them, speak some kind words to them. Sometimes some friend is sick, we need to visit them to show our sympathy. Sometimes somebody has a loss, for example, the son or the daughter passed away, then we need to go and see them, console them, take them out to forgive, etc. And of giving, the highest gift, the Buddha says, is the giving of the Dhamma, because the Dhamma benefits us the most. Basically every living being, the Buddha says, needs food to survive. This may sound strange to us. Even devas also, heavenly beings, also they need food. Even hell beings also need food. All beings, ghosts, all beings need food to survive. So, if somebody comes to you and he needs food, so you give that person food. But then, tomorrow he's hungry again, he comes to you again, and you have to give him food again. And the day after, he comes to you, and you keep giving him food. Of course, if you can do it for the rest of your life, it's OK. But it's a bit bothersome, isn't it? So it's easier if you teach him a skill, how to use his hands to cari makan, earn a living. So you teach him a skill. He is able to go and work and survive on his own. Then life is easier for you, isn't it? But even if he has the skill to find a livelihood, that only helps him for this life. And if he does not realize that he is poor because of his karma, then he is walking the same path. And after he passes away, he will again be suffering, right? But if we teach him the Dhamma, then the Dhamma is very practical. Teaches how to not only to find happiness in the next life. It also teaches us how to find happiness here and now. That we have to work. Whatever we want, we have to work for it. Not go and buy Ampat Eko or pray to Datuk Kong and all that. So if you teach him the Dhamma, he learns how to survive now and also to create merit so that in the future lifetimes, he can also get what he needs. So that's why the Dhamma is the highest blessing, is the highest offering. And the Dhamma can help us to reduce our suffering and to eventually eliminate all suffering. So that's why the Dhamma is the highest gift.

(E14)-06-Monks'-Life-Style

Now the fourth one is amongst lifestyle. You know the Buddha, before he was enlightened, he used to go to the forest and practice meditation and strive in the spiritual path, get out of samsara. And after the Buddha was enlightened, he still lived his life in the forest. He did come out to the big cities, to be famous. He lived in the forest, although he didn't go here and there to preach the Dharma. And in one of the suttas, the Buddha said there are two reasons why he continues to live in the forest. One is he has a happy abiding, nobody to disturb his peace. He can do what he likes, meditate when he wants to meditate. He says even when he wants to have a answer a call of nature also nobody to stop him. He can do it easily. So the first one is happy abiding. Second one, the Buddha says, out of compassion for future generations. This a lot of people don't understand. Why? Out of compassion for future generations, the Buddha lived in the forest. The Buddha is trying to show us that the way out of samsara is to practice the holy life in the forest, to give up worldly things, because worldly things, even though they give us much happiness and enjoyment in this life, but eventually, if you are attached to it, it gives you suffering in the end. It's what the Chinese say, tao ti bui ko, right? The beginning is sweet, the end is bitter. So a lot of people are like that, worldly people, they want happiness here and now, but in the end, they reap suffering. So the Buddha is showing us the way out of samsara, and he is trying to tell us that the way out of samsara is to give up worldly things, retreat from the world. I wish a lot of monks now don't practice During the Buddha's time, there were no town monasteries. All the monasteries were in the forest. Also, the monk's lifestyle, you find that the monk goes on alms round. The monks, even the robes he wears are different from lay people. He shaves his head bald so that he doesn't need to look handsome or pretty. It's a very simple lifestyle. And giving up worldly pleasures, et cetera, et cetera. This is showing the way to actually out of suffering and to attain happiness. The monk's lifestyle is tao ko bhoiti. The beginning is suffering. Later, in the end, it's sweet. When I first became a monk, there was a lot of suffering for me. I had a reasonably good lifestyle before I became a monk. And after I became a monk, I went to a very strict monastery in America, where you take one vegetarian meal a day. You have to work the whole day. And in the morning, when we start working, at 8 o'clock in the morning, it's on an empty stomach. No coffee to drink, no tea to drink, nothing. No bread to eat. Just water to drink. And then we had to start working. And the work was pretty heavy. So I had to carry Buddha images from Taiwan. I had to plant apple trees, plant the big bamboo. And my weight went down from 120 to 96. And monks there were very unfriendly. You know, American people, like Achan Sumedho mentioned, maybe not in the talk, but when we talked to him in the room, he said, Americans are very direct. Tell you in the face, you know, they do something wrong. I got scolding every day. And I told him, one of the monks even scolded me four-letter word. American monks. So blunt. So it was a lot of mental torture for me. So much so that I broke down and cried one day. The first one year was a lot of suffering. Eventually I got used to it. So that is a monk's life, beginning of suffering. Slowly you get used to it. When I came back from America, I went to Thailand. We go around begging for food, and the food is not very good. And at one time I was staying with a group of Teochew monks. You know, Teochew monks like to drink very thick Chinese tea. Every day at 4 p.m., they would make that tea. The small kettle, you know, is stuffed full of tea leaves. Don't drink with them, it's not... So every day they called me to drink with them. But I was not born a Teochew, so I didn't have a Teochew stomach. After a while, I got gastric. When I came back to Malaysia, this gastric also was bothering me. I was staying in the cave. So then I tried to take cheese, because in Thai tradition, it's allowed. But I found cheese didn't suit me. It's too oily, too salty. There was a time when there was a lot of dukkha. Eventually, you get over it, as the Buddha said in the suttas. So now, year by year, you get more used to it. It's becoming sweeter and sweeter.

(E14)-07-Arahant-is-the-Most-Compassionate-Person

You know, this Pacheka Buddhas, a lot of people don't know that Buddhas, 99.9% of Buddhas are Pacheka Buddhas. 99.9% of Buddhas refuse to teach. Because if you try to teach, sometimes people don't understand, people don't accept your teachings, sometimes people talk bad about you. And Jesus Christ was crucified because he was trying to teach a new religion. Because his standard was higher than the previous teachings. The previous teachings was an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. He said, no. He said, somebody slaps you, you offer him the other cheek to slap. So it was a sort of a revolution he was trying to create. But people could not accept him and crucify him on the cross. That's why I think 9.9% of Buddhas refuse to teach. But are they selfish? Are they not compassionate? Even though they don't teach, they are still compassionate. They show the way out of samsara. They still come in arms round to give the chance for people to get married and also show other people the way out of samsara. So a monk's lifestyle is compassionate. Sometimes some books say that the most compassionate being is the Bodhisattva. It cannot be, because the Bodhisattva still has a self. The Bodhisattva is not totally enlightened. But an Arahant is totally enlightened. An Arahant includes the Buddha. The word Arahant comes from the word Arahatta. Ara and Hatta. Ara is the spokes of the wheel of Samsara. Hatha is broken. Arahatta or Arahant is one who has broken the cycle of rebirth, so will never be reborn. And there are three types of Arahants. One is a Sammasambuddha, another one is a Pacheka Buddha, the third one is an Arahant disciple. Buddhas are actually self-enlightened Arahants. Buddhas are actually Arya from the past life and then when they get reborn in their last life, there is no more teaching in the world. Like our Buddha, he was probably a Sakadagami. So he struggled very hard because there was no more Dhamma in the world until he became enlightened. So that is Buddha's self-enlightened Arahant. So the most compassionate beings are Arahants because they have no more self. When they have no more self, there is no selfishness at all. They see all beings as the same as them. How can they not be compassionate?

(E14)-08-Seeming-Compassion-and-Seeming-Cruelty

Now I'll talk about what sometimes seems to be cruel and what sometimes seems to be compassionate. It's not exactly so. The first one is sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind, especially parents with their children. If the children need a spanking, give them a spanking. That's actually kind, it's not cruel. Of course, a small boy, when you spank him, he will not think that you are kind to him. But that is actually being more kind than unkind. Now, the Buddha said that if a person conducts himself well in body, speech and mind, then even though he says he hates himself, actually he loves himself. But if a person misconducts himself in body, speech and mind, even though he thinks that he loves himself, actually he hates himself, because he's causing himself suffering, either now or in future. For example, if a person breaks the precepts, for example, he cheats, he thinks to benefit himself, he cheats the company of millions of dollars, to benefit himself. But he's actually harming himself, not benefiting himself. And he's going to suffer for a long time in the future. So such a person does not love himself. So the Buddha also said that in teaching others, we should use the soft approach. And if it doesn't work, we should use the hard approach. And if necessary, then the soft and hard approach. So there was this sutta called the K.C. Sutta. This K.C. was a horse trainer, a well-known horse trainer. And one day he came to see the Buddha, and the Buddha knew that he was a horse trainer, so he could discipline horses so well. So Buddha asked him, how do you discipline the horses? How do you train them? Then he says, he uses the soft approach, Meaning, they like to eat sugarcane, he gives them sugarcane, they like to eat sweets, whatever food they like to eat, he gives them, and coaxes them to do whatever he instructs them to do. Then he says, if this doesn't work, then he uses the hard approach, either whip them, or take the gold stick and poke into their skin. And then the Buddha asks, the soft approach and the hard approach doesn't work. And he said, in that case, I destroy the horse, in order that they may not bring shame to this table, to this master. Then he asked the Buddha, Bhagavan, you are also a trainer. You are a trainer of men. How do you tame your men? And the Buddha said, I also use the soft approach. I also use the hard approach. Then he asked, what is your soft approach? And the Buddha says, I explain what is good karma, what is good conduct in body, speech, and mind. And I explain the result of that is rebirth in the heavens or in the human realm to enjoy. Then what is the hard approach? And the Buddha said, I explain about the three evil karmas, body, speech, and mind. And how these three evil kammas bring you to rebirth in the woeful planes, in the ghost, animal, and hell realm. That is frightening. So that is the hard approach. And also both the soft and hard approach. Then he asked the Buddha, what if this doesn't work? Then the Buddha said, then I kill the man. And then he said, Bhagavan, you are Arhat, Samasambuddha. Surely you don't kill a man. And then the Buddha said, yes. In the Aryan discipline, it is death to a man when his teachers or his companions in the holy life refuse to teach him the Dhamma. So, if you have no opportunity to learn the Dhamma, then you are not progressing in the spiritual path, then you might as well be dead. You are just like a dead man. Because you are wasting your life. The Buddha says, if you live a hundred years and you don't practice the spiritual path, it is better you live one day and practice the spiritual path. In fact, if you live a hundred years and you don't practice the spiritual path, you are going backwards. Because every day in our human existence, we are using our blessings. Day after day we use our blessings. A hundred years later, you are already in the red. It's a bankrupt business. Sipun and singli. So that is a death in the Aryan discipline. So that's why if parents, if children, they need to be taught the hard way, give them the hard way. Sometimes you need to use a software. You do your homework. Tomorrow I bring you to McDonald's or something. So, give the spanking when it's necessary. Nowadays, the other day, in fact, somebody told me, a lady told me, the husband said, Bunty, I say to spank the child. He's out of date. He's in the long, long, long ago time. He said, nowadays nobody spank their children. Father said, But then, you see, in the West, they don't spank their children. What do they do? They ask the child to go up to his room, lock the room, don't come out. That's one way. Another way, favorite TV program, cannot see. These are ways and means to show them you mean business. So that is a need to be cruel, to be kind. Now, the second thing I'd like to talk about is in the suttas, one day, This big, huge Deva by the name of Rahu, is an Asura, very huge. One day he caught the Moon Deva, Chandima, he caught the Moon Deva, was about to kill the Moon Deva. I don't know why, maybe he was to eat him up or what. So this Moon Deva called out to the Buddha for help. The Buddha is not always in deep Samadhi. So the Buddha happened to know. And then the Buddha responded by talking very loudly to this Rahu. Sasura asking Rahu to release this Chandima Deva. He said, the Buddha has compassion for beings. And this Deva has called out to my name. So you release him. Rahu, when he heard the loud sound of the Buddha, quickly released his Moon Deva and flew back to his Asura Heaven and was trembling from head to foot, shaking all over. So the Asura King saw him and asked him, what happened to you? Why are you shaking like a leaf? Then he told him what happened just now. Then he said, if I had not released that Chandima Deva, my head would have split into seven pieces. So you see, when the Buddha gives instructions like that, and they don't heed it, the head can split into seven pieces. Is that being unkind? That's not being unkind. Buddha has been compassionate to this Chandima Deva, and he's not causing this Rahu's head to split. If the Rahu did not respond to the Buddha's instruction, his head would have split, that is his own doing, right? So you see, why, from here you can see maybe why 99.9% of Pacceka Buddhas don't teach. If they teach, and you don't listen to the Pacceka Buddha, creating very bad karma. That's why in the suttas, whenever the Buddha teaches the Dhamma, Anybody he teaches to will become a stream-enterer. If that person cannot become a stream-enterer, the Buddha will not teach him. Because the Buddha teaches him, he doesn't become a stream-enterer. It's creating very, very bad karma. He does not believe what the Buddha says. And the same thing happened another time with the Sun Deva. Sun Deva also was caught by this huge Rahu. And the same thing happened. Now, in the suttas, we find that one of the previous buddhas was called Kakusanda Buddha. And because he was preaching the Dhamma and bringing people out of samsara, Mara, Satan, was very angry, wanted the Buddha to stop his work. So he tried ways and means to stop the Buddha and did not work. tried, the Buddha would tell his disciples, Mara is trying to do this, Mara is trying to do that, so you don't react. So he found that he could not succeed. He got so angry. One day when Kakusanda was walking on arms around this more senior disciple behind him, Mara got into somebody's body, took a big stone, came from behind and whacked that monk from the back until his head was bleeding all over with blood. and Kakusanda Buddha probably thought that's enough. Turned around and stared at him, what is known as the elephant look. Stared at him, immediately Mara died and landed in hell. Is the Buddha being unkind? Buddha probably thought, you stop here and now. and probably he did not want to stop, he probably wanted to do some more, and he immediately died. So in the same case, like just now, the Buddha gave an instruction, he stopped doing it, he doesn't want to stop, so he has to leave the natural karma of going to hell. It's better for him to go to hell now, instead of creating some more evil karma against the Buddha and his disciples, then he will go to hell for a much longer time, right? Who was this person? He went to hell, was reborn in hell. Then he said that he had a fish head and a human body in hell. And after suffering for a long time in hell, he came back to the earth, to the human realm, and was reborn as Mahamoggalana. Mahamoggalana, Moggalana the Great. So the Mahamogulana was talking about his previous life. But sometimes we see like this, we don't have the wisdom, we think this person acts in such a way, he's not compassionate. It's not so. Now, another thing I like to say is that in one of the suttas, the Buddha said that, I think somebody asked him, Is it better if somebody does something praiseworthy, we praise him. And somebody does something wrong, unpraiseworthy or some big fault, then instead of saying the truth that this person did wrong and all that, we are more compassionate if we don't speak ill of others. The Buddha said no. Buddha said, if somebody is worthy of praise, we praise him. If somebody is worthy of dispraise, then we dispraise him. The Buddha was very blunt, like all ariyas. Black is black, white is white, bokong eng siu oa, speak sweet words. So like Mahakassapa. Mahakassapa is not very popular with lay people because he's very blunt. One day in the Vinaya books, remember Ananda, at that time, remember Ananda was more than 80 years old, after the Buddha had passed away. And he was walking with a big group of disciples, about 1,000 monk disciples, going here and going there. And Mahakassapa scolded him, you small boy, what are you doing walking around all over the place with 1,000 disciples, making it difficult for the lay people to feed you. Because if you walk with 1,000 monks, you go to a place to ask for food, it's difficult for the lay people to feed. So you see, so blunt. I remember Ananda said, Bhante, I'm old already. My hair is already white. And he called me a small boy. Again, he shouted at me, small boy. So you see, Arahant also can speak like that. Because they are very blunt. So in the same way, In the suttas, we find that the Buddha scolded this external ascetic leader called Makkhali Gosala Buddha. The Buddha said that fool Makkhali Gosala Buddha teaching Adhamma. Because this fellow, this Makkhali Gosala Buddha, he says there is no karma. When you say there is no karma, people can do what they like, right? They are not afraid of any consequences. So the Buddha said this fool Makkhali is leading people into the woeful planes. Just like the fish trap, you know, you make all this bamboo, you lead all the fish into the... and they cannot come out of it. The Buddha said the same way, this fool, it's causing people to go into the woeful plains. So the Buddha also was very blunt. So, also, the Buddha also said in the Anguttara Nikaya, that what is Dharma, we should say is Dharma. against the Dharma, we should also speak out. The Buddha said we should not be afraid to speak out. But then if you speak out very often you are unpopular. So the Buddha also was unpopular actually during his days. That's why in the Sutta the Buddha said I don't quarrel with the world. The world quarrels with me. He who speaks the Dharma does not quarrel with the world. So we have to be blunt. Now another one I'd like to talk about is Some people like to rescue animals. That is quite good, but then it's one of those things that you can't help very much. You know, we have this SPCA, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Their aim is very good, very noble. In England, they call it Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They rescue the dogs and the cats and all the animals they are in danger and they keep them hoping that somebody will take it and take care of it in their homes. But then, you know what is happening? Like in SPCA in Kuala Lumpur, they rescue and they have so many cats and dogs in the pen that they cannot manage. So if you bring them a cat or a dog, after a few days, like one week, nobody comes to take it. They put it to sleep. So when they put it to sleep, what are they doing? They're creating very evil karma. When it comes to that stage where they have to put it to sleep, it's better don't do. Right? It's just like some people, they want to pray to heaven to get married, and they go and slaughter an animal and pray. They want to get married, but they are getting de-married, the Buddha said. So in the same way, people like this SPCA, they want to get married. But actually, they are getting demerit. I have one supporter whose cousin works in the SPCA. She went to work there because she loves animals, kind to animals. But after working there, she finds she has to tell the worker which animal to put to sleep. And every time she does it, tears in her eyes as she simply points this animal, that animal. So if it comes to that stage, don't do it. The other thing is, some people think spaying is cruel. A few months ago, that's when a lady from Perlis phoned me, and she said there were two stray female dogs outside her house. So out of kindness, she took them and fed them, and eventually became her dogs. And every now and then, they give birth. She has to go and find people to give the Puppies too. And after some time, people scared of her. Always approaching the puppies. She also run away. So much so, she said, I lost what to do. So her friends told her, what? Friends say, aya, you beside them. Cannot speak. You bring it to the marketplace, go and release it. Release it. You will find food in the marketplace. Can a dog find food in the marketplace? Even if there's food in the rubbish bin, you have broken glass, nails and all that. And then, you know, dogs have their territory. If you bring a dog to another dog's territory, it will get bitten. So very often, these stray dogs get bitten all over. And it's very common to see a stray dog with a wound at the back, big wound with a lot of maggots. The maggots are eating at the flesh, it's in great pain. That's what happens if you release a dog. So how can you release a dog? So the most compassionate way is to spay the dog. Don't be afraid, I told her. It's not cruel to spay a dog. Not much pain. Even human beings also go and spay themselves, isn't it? so that they don't give birth anymore, isn't it? Not only women, men also do it nowadays, right? So what's uncompassionate about it? In fact, that's the most compassionate way. In Timor, where our monastery is, we have a lot of dogs all around because we have a lot of these fish ponds, you know, and they keep the dogs so that people don't come and steal the fish. But they never spay the dogs and they multiply so much. And then, Every now and then you hear the female, the bitch, on heat and gets bitten by all other dogs. Always crying. I think that's pretty cruel. Our dogs are spayed and they live comfortably. They never get bothered by other dogs. I think that's so fair. So spaying is not cruel. And nowadays in Mahayana, Buddhists like to practice liberation of animals. Also, that was not encouraged by the Buddha. During the Buddha's time, nobody practiced liberation of animals. Because I've been in Mahayana Buddhism for nine years, and I've seen a lot of liberation of animals. And I find it's not really practical. Because a lot of times, for example, birds, when they release the birds, they've been kept in the cages for so long, either they don't know how to fly, Or I've seen that sometimes they fly only about 10 feet. Some can fly higher. But there was one time when I was in Lunas, and somebody came and said that sister is dying of cancer. So she wants to pump sand. She wants to liberate three pigeons. She brought three pigeons. So she wanted me to liberate, release the pigeons. One fell to the ground. Second one flew up about 10 feet. Third one flew up about 20 feet. So the one that fell to the ground, we had to catch it and put it in the cage. The next day, the one about 10 feet fell to the ground. Because he had no food to eat the whole day. So weak, he fell to the ground. We saw the cat coming quickly. He caught it, put it in the cage. The day after that, the one 20 feet up there fell to the ground. Because they have been in the cage so long, they don't know how to. fine food. There's a time also, some people, when I was living on Penang Hill, in the cave, somebody brought pigeons also to release. And some flew, and some, they're not fly out also, want to stay in the cage. They feel safer in the cage. And I've seen also when I was in America, they release a lot of birds, you know. A few days later, we find the birds' feathers on the ground. Because There's a lot of eagles around. And these pigeons, they don't know where to hide. So they're easy prey for the eagles. And sometimes they release the tortoises. They buy the tortoises. They release in the river. And then a few weeks later, you find the shell of the tortoise. Because it's not used to that place. It doesn't know how to find food in that place. And that place is so rocky. It's not the right place to release it. Tortoises, they need a place where there's a lot of plant life, shelter. There's no plant life there. At the time I was staying in Seattle, they released one tortoise in the garden, thinking it would be safe in the garden. A few days later, I smelled it. Cops. Got killed by a badger. So a lot of the times, liberation is not practical. Of course, if you see somebody about to slaughter a Sikachoa, Iguana or something, you can buy and liberate it. And the last one is meat eating. A lot of people think that it is cruel to eat meat, but the Buddha did not encourage vegetarianism because the Buddha is very practical. In fact, one of his disciples, Devadatta, asked the Buddha to make a rule so that all monks should only eat vegetarian food, and the Buddha said no. The Buddha said, meat that has three conditions is pure. If you do not see, you do not hear, and you do not suspect that the animal was purposely killed for you, then there is no evil karma. in eating the meat. Because when we eat the meat, for example, you go to the market and you buy pork, it's already slaughtered. Or fish, already dead. You're actually not causing the death of those animals. But a lot of people think because we eat meat, then people slaughter more animals. But they fail to realize that even if the whole world became vegetarians, there will still be slaughter of animals, killing of animals. Because for example now, dogs without licenses, the government employs people to shoot, kill them, because if they multiply too much, then they will have rabies and they will bite people and all that. So the government finds it necessary. In fact, I think Last year, in China, there was a place where the dogs were biting people and they had to shoot all the dogs. So the same with other animals. If we allow them to multiply, they'll multiply so fast that they'll be eating all the crops and walking on the streets and all that. So they will still be eliminated. The only thing is the world itself is cruel. We cannot change the fact that the world is cruel. That's why the Buddha said, the world is took up. In fact, in the Bible, the Bible says that the world is cruel. So, Buddha only told us to be careful not to have the direct karma of killing. The indirect karma, we cannot help. Even staying in a house, you are contributing to more housing estates being created. When they want to create a housing estate, they have to bulldoze the land clear the land, a lot of animals die. A lot of people, a lot of animals cannot survive. Because you want to use electricity, the government builds dams. And when they build dams, the river is flooded. A lot of animals die. Same, because you want to use household items, and factories are made to clear the forest, et cetera. Now this argument that because we eat animals, more animals are slaughtered, if that is valid, then we cannot sit in cars, we cannot drive cars, because according to statistics, every day 2,000 human beings are killed on the roads, every day. And countless animals. So if we make more cars, more vehicles, more people will be killed. So are you contributing to death? to more people. In fact, I thought of one simile. You know, if there's a serial killer, and then around, and he has killed many people, and then all the people in the town be afraid to go out at night, and they ask the police to catch the man. So after much investigation, the man is caught. Then he's tried, and then sentenced to death. And then he's hanged, for example. This man has to die. Who has the biggest evil karma? If you really think about it, it's actually the hangman. The hangman who actually hangs him. The second is the judge. Of course, the hangman can say, I'm only doing, I'm only cari makan to feed my wife and children. I didn't sentence him to death. The judge sentenced him to death. And then the judge will say, I only sentenced, I didn't do the act, you were the one who did the act. So the second most evil karma is the judge. Policeman, policeman no evil karma, but you. Actually, he has to die because of all of you, to safeguard all of you, he has to die. So you all got sin. Ultimately, it's for all of you that he has to die. But you have no evil karma, even though you contributed to his death. So in the same way, when an animal is killed to feed human beings, the most evil karma is the person who does the slaughter. The person who slaughters the chicken, slaughters the pig, etc. The second most evil karma is the person who rears the animal to be slaughtered. Because from the beginning, he already has this idea in mind to sell it to be slaughtered. But the person who eats the slaughtered meat has no evil karma. In the same way. So it's a very good similarity. So I shall end here.

(E14)-09-Not-Everyone-can-Practice-the-Spiritual-Path

Okay, if there's no question for the time being, I'd like to say something that the Buddha asks us to practice the spiritual path, right? Get out samsara. But not everybody can practice the spiritual path. Why? Because we are all at different levels. All at different levels. Spiritual maturity is different. So those who are spiritually mature, ready to practice the spiritual path, they will practice the spiritual path either as a monastic or as a lay person. But there are some people, their blessings are so low that they cannot practice. They try to meditate and all that, their mind is very disturbed, they can't do it. Such people, they need to create more good karma by doing good deeds. For example, there are some people who work with this search organization, do charity, help others. And some people do social work and all that. That's good. If you can't practice the spiritual path. But if you can, don't waste your human life. Because human life is very difficult to get. And this work that you do to help animals and all that, actually the merit is very little. In the long run, it doesn't help you very much. And you can't help these animals very much also. That's why the Buddha said in one of the suttas, the Buddha said a long time ago, there was a Brahmin who did a lot of dana. So much dana, he said, that he gave away 84,000 buckets of gold, 84,000 buckets of silver, 84,000 buckets of precious stones, and 84,000 chickens, lamb, cattle, etc., and clothing, and cloth, and all these things. And the food and the drinks that he gave away, he said, flowed like the river. And he said, in spite of all that, his merit was negligible, very small. Why? Because the people who received it were all putu jana, no ariya around, all putu jana. So the Buddha said it would have been greater merit if he had just given to one stream enterer, meaning a first path attainer, And the Buddha said, even giving dana to 100 stream attainers, first path attainers, is less than the merit of giving to one sotapanna, one fruit attainer. So in other words, this first path attainer doesn't exist for one moment. For only one moment, he exists. for many years. That's why the Buddha said that you can do dana to a first path attainer, but even you do it to one hundred stream attainers, it's less than the merit of giving to one fruit attainer, the sotapanna. And giving dana to one hundred sotapannas is less than the merit of giving to one second path attainer, etc. So you see from here, that actually if we give to, we help all these animals and all these Bhutujana, the merit actually is not very great. And since it is so difficult to get a human body, if you can meditate, if you can practice the spiritual path, then go and do these things. In the end, it doesn't help very much. It's not that it's not good. It's good. But then, for yourself, if you pity others, you must also pity yourself. You continue to do this, you'll be in the round of rebirth for a very, very, very long time. If you have the chance to hear the true Dharma, try to attain the stream entry. Once you attain the stream entry, you've got the most precious thing you can get in this world. so that you are on your way out of suffering, out of samsara. So only those people who can't practice meditation, who can't hear the suttas. Some people's minds are so disturbed, they cannot hear the suttas. Some time ago, many years ago, one old supporter told me about this auntie. This auntie had such a nasty temper, such an unpleasant person. Partly because of the distribution of property, she had a grudge against the other relatives, always cursing the other relatives. So because she was such an unpleasant person, so nasty, that the children in her old age put her in the nursing home. And even in the nursing home, she would get into tantrums. So rage, such a rage that nobody can control. So one day, when she was so old, about to die, she got into one of this rage. And they had to call the doctor and give her a jab, tranquilizer, so that she could sleep. And then they phoned the children to come. So three children went to that nursing home. And this old supporter of mine, he happened to drive past the nursing home, he saw the cousin's car there. And, ah, before I come to this, actually because this old lady had such a nasty temper and such an unpleasant person, this old supporter of mine tried to help the auntie to give her Dhamma talks to listen and to ask her to do some chanting, simple chanting, just Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa. But when she tried to do the chanting, she tried and tried, she could not even chant Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammasambuddhassa. She tried until the tears came down. And she told the supporter of her, she said, don't ask me to chant. I cannot chant. Kamma so bad, I cannot even chant the Buddha's name. So okay, coming back to that part now, where this old supporter of mine drove past the nursing home and saw the cousin's car there. So he stopped the car, ran into the nursing home, thought the auntie had died. He went into the room, there were a few of them in the room, six of them in the room, and he saw the auntie there, he got a shock, because the two teeth came out, the two Dracula teeth came out, so long. And they tried to close the mouth, they could not close the mouth, because the teeth were so long. And they could see the teeth for two days until she died. The moment she died, the teeth disappeared. That means she had already turned into that type of ghost, that fierce ghost because her character is so fierce. So you see, such people like this, don't ask them to meditate. They sting your breath. Even chanting also cannot. So the only thing we can do is to do good deeds. So some people are so low that they have to do good deeds to progress spiritually. But if you can progress spiritually, don't waste your time. Our life is very short. We don't know when we are going to die. The Buddha says all of us have cancer. The problem is, since the doctor didn't say, we don't believe. We don't really believe that we have cancer. We think we still have a long time. But the Buddha already warned us, all of us have cancer. Anytime we can die. Don't waste our life.

(E14)-10-The-Truth-of-Previous-Buddhas

Actually, in the suttas, the Buddha said that he contemplated 91 world cycles. And since one world cycle is such a long, long time, for him to contemplate 91 world cycles, I believe he must have spent the whole night looking into the past. And during this time, 91 world cycles, the Buddha said he saw only six Sammasambuddhas. We don't mention Pachika Buddhas, because Pachika Buddhas are many. But Sama Sambuddha, only six. Three of them, before our Buddha, was on this planet Earth. Another three is before this planet Earth, other world cycles. So, later books talk about 24 Buddhas, and 28 Buddhas, and in Mahayana, you have 88 Buddhas, and all this. It's all hooked up. Even this story, this legend about how the Buddha met Dipankara Buddha. All that also is later writing. Which means to say, you're saying that the three previous Buddhas actually were in this old time code. Because the other three, the first three was in the last 19 old time codes. Yes. So you see, it's so difficult to meet the true Dhamma. So in this world, in this planet Earth, the first Buddha was Kakusanda Buddha. Then Konagamana Buddha, then Kasapa Buddha, who was our Bodhisattva's previous teacher. Then you have Gotama Buddha. And then the Buddha said that on this planet Earth there is still one more. That is Maitreya Buddha or Maitreya Buddha in Sanskrit. He will come when human lifespan is 80,000 years. But he's not as fat as you see on the Chinese image, right? But then how come there can be so few Buddha, Samatha, Samuddhas in the previous world cycles and then so many in this world cycle? It's chance. So we're actually very fortunate. But even though The Dhamma, there are five Sammasambuddhas in the world. Look at our Buddha Gotama. He mentioned that in his previous life, as a human being, he had met the Buddha Kassapa. After meeting the Buddha Kassapa, and the Buddha Kassapa taught him the Dhamma, he must have attained stream entry. Because after that, he decided to become a monk. and after becoming a monk under the Buddha Kassapa he must have attained the first jhāna because when he came back as Siddhartha Gautama as a small boy he could attain the first jhāna, right? so under the Buddha Kassapa he must have attained at least the first jhāna in which case he would have become a this Sakadagamin most likely he would have been a Sakadagamin and Sakadagamin Sakadaka means they are reborn in heaven. So he was reborn in Tushita heaven. And after Tushita heaven, he came down to the human realm again. At that time, no more Dhamma. So you see, even though there are five Buddhas in the world, because the world, one cycle is so long, that in between the Buddhas, there are gaps and there is no Dhamma in the world. So when he came back, Sakadagamin, second fruit attainer, according to the suttas, he has to enter Nibbana in that very life. He's like a ripe fruit, must fall, must enter Nibbana. So even without a teacher, and for no apparent reason, his family was so rich and having such a good life, for no apparent reason, he left everybody, his family, to renounce. That could only be possible because he was a Sakadagami. So after that he struggled and became enlightened and then he brought the flame of the Dhamma, kindled the flame of the Dhamma again. So even though you see we have Samasambuddhas in the world but there are gaps even on this earth when there is no Dhamma. Actually it was one Kapha, one full cycle so long

(E14)-11-Factors-Influencing-the-Duration-of-Sasana

No, but it's stated in the Vinaya books that different Buddhas, their satsangas last different times. And the reason for it, the Buddha says, is that some sammasambuddhas, they teach little suttas and Vinaya. Some sammasambuddhas teach a lot of suttas and Vinaya. Those that teach a lot of suttas and Vinaya, the satsangas last longer. Also the Buddha mentioned that when there is no more Samasambuddha in the world, he has to depend on the monks, the later monks to transmit the teachings. So those that transmit the true teachings, the true teachings will last longer. But those that transmit the wrong teachings will cause the sassana to die faster, pass away faster. And the Buddha mentioned that five factors that lead to the disappearance of the true Dharma. The first one is disrespect for the Buddha. That means instead of thinking of our Sakyamuni Buddha, people prefer to pray to other Buddhas. And then disrespect for Dharma. People don't want to really investigate the real Dharma, they investigate other teachings. Third one, respect for the Sangha. No respect for the Sangha. Maybe because the Sangha doesn't behave properly. No respect for the Sangha. The fourth one is no respect for the training. This spiritual path is a gradual training. No respect for it. The last one is disrespect for Samadhi. So disrespect for concentration Samadhi also leads to the decline of the true Dhamma. A lot of people don't understand why Samadhi is necessary. You can only understand if you attain Samadhi. Because when you attain Samadhi, your seeing and knowing is at a much higher level. It's not that without Samadhi you cannot see and know. You can. It's like somebody at the bottom of the hill. He looks all around. He thinks the view is very nice. But when he climbs to the top of the hill, It looks like a different view, as you can see much further. So in the same way, without Samadhi, you can know and see what is the shadow level. That's why the Buddha stressed on the four Jhanas. The Buddha also mentioned in the Suttas that when you attain the fourth Jhana, all the immediate knowledges come automatically. That's why, because the Buddha had the four Jhanas, wanted to contemplate the past life, you could do it easily.

(E14)-12-Is-there-a-Possibility-of-Arahant-Existing-Now

Is there a possibility of arahants existing now? Yes. But then, arahants and anagamins are very hard to find. Because for a person to become an anagamin and arahant, it is stated in the Majjhima Nikaya that he needs to have the four jhanas. That's why the anagamins are reborn in the fourth jhana plane. And the fourth jhana is a very high state, very difficult to achieve. Because when you attain the fourth jhana, the breath stops. So, also the Buddha mentioned that if a person attains these high jhanas, if he's a lay person, he will not want to be a lay person. But then, These jhanas by themselves is not enough. You've got to have the knowledge of the suttas. If you practice meditation until you are perfect in meditation and you don't hear the dhamma, you're just like Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ had great spiritual power. He could drive ghosts out of people's bodies. He could cure the sick, even raise Lazarus from the dead. to come alive again. But because he had no knowledge of the Dhamma, he was probably not an Arya. But somebody like Jesus Christ, if he had learned one Sutta about the Four Noble Truths, he would immediately become an Arahant. So you see the difference between having the Four Jhana and not having the Four Jhana. If you have the fourth jhāna and you listen to the correct sutta, you can become an anagamin or an arahant. But if you have no jhāna at all and you listen to the same teaching, you can become a stream-enterer, first path attainer. That's the difference.

(E14)-13-Why-are-there-so-Many-Arahants-during-Buddha's-Time

You know why? Because you can find in the Vinaya books, when the Buddha wanted to gather his disciples, he went to look for specific persons. He didn't simply go to the marketplace and make all yours. Not selling medicine, simply preach to anybody. he went to look for specific persons and those specific persons he went to look for are those who practice the jhanas for example the first five disciples because the Buddha had attained jhana he would have taught jhana to his first five disciples so when he went after enlightenment he went to them he didn't ask them to meditate he just asked them to sit down and listen and then he discoursed to them sutta after sutta and after teaching the Anatta-Lakkhana Sutta, all of them became Arahants. And after that, he went to look for Yassa. Actually, he didn't look for Yassa. He made Yassa come to him. Yassa was an extremely rich man's son. And then every night, he would be entertained by the slaves who would sing and dance for him. And he would be probably drinking liquor and all that until he was tired and he would fall asleep. And the slaves would be so tired, they would also fall asleep on the ground. So the Buddha make him wake up in the middle of the night. And then when he got up, he saw all the servants lying there half naked, and with their saliva flowing out of their mouth, and their hair all loose. So because he must have been an ascetic in his previous life, they appeared like corpses to him. So when he saw them, he was thinking, Dukkha and Dukkha. So the Buddha probably made him walked out of the house, walked to the city gates, and the city gates were all closed at night. But the city gates automatically opened. So he walked out of the city gates and walked in the direction of the Buddha until he came to the Buddha in the forest. And when he saw the Buddha, he said, Dukkha, Dukkha. Then the Buddha said, sit down here, Yassa. There's no Dukkha here. And when he heard there's no Dukkha here, happily he sat down. And the Buddha taught him the Four Noble Truths, graduated discourse on the Four Noble Truths. And after listening, he attained stream entry. The next morning, the father was worried, went all over looking for him until the father came to the same place where the Buddha was. And the Buddha asked the father to sit down, and then taught him the same discourse. And the father attained stream entry. And the son, hearing it the second time, became Arahant. Then after that, this Yasa's friends, there were 54 of them, they heard that Yasa had, after Yasa became an Arahant, he did not want to go back to the house, so he became a monk, disciple of the Buddha. So when his 54 friends heard that he had become a monk, they were astonished. That's the richest man in town, the son has renounced so they thought his teacher must be very special so one by one they came to see him in the forest and the same way the Buddha taught them the Dhamma one by one they became Arahants if they had not attained the fourth jhāna in their previous human lifetime they would not become Arahants just hearing the Dhamma one time so it's because they were ascetics when they attained jhāna So after the Buddha had these 60 Arahant disciples, then the Buddha asked them to walk different roads and preach the Dharma. Then after that, the Buddha looked with his divine eye, who to teach. And the Buddha saw 1,000 ascetics, external ascetics, called Jatilas, matted hair ascetics. They kept their hair very long. And they lived by the side of the river. And they prayed to the fire, and they submerged themselves in the river water. three times in the dawn and three times at dusk. But because they probably cultivated jhāna, then the Buddha went to them. And the leader, probably because of having attained the four jhānas, he probably had some psychic power, he kept thinking to himself that he was a Nārāyaṇa. And Buddha stayed several weeks with them and showed psychic power until they were so taken up by the Buddha, all of them renounced to become the monk disciples of the Buddha. And after they had renounced to become his disciples, then only the Buddha taught them the Dhamma and discoursed one Sutta to them, the Fire Discourse. After hearing the Fire Discourse, all 1,000 of them became Arahants. So you see, these are special people the Buddha went to. The Buddha didn't go to the marketplace. If the Buddha was alive today, he would look with his divine eye. Somebody like maybe Albert Einstein. Because Albert Einstein had very strong Samadhi, he could do mathematical calculations in his mind. Strong mathematical calculations without writing it down. He could do it in his mind. So if the Buddha looked for such people, there would still be Arahants in the world. Another reason why it's difficult to find arahants now is that a lot of monks, like forest monks, they go to the forest and they meditate and then they attain the jhanas. But many of them, they don't study the suttas. So only this combination of knowledge of the suttas and the jhanas can bring you out of samsara. If you just study the suttas without attaining the jhanas, you can be a stream-enterer, but you cannot become an arahant. On the other hand, if you only attain the four jhanas without studying the suttas, then you can have psychic power, but you're also not an arya.

(E14)-14-Rebirth-in-the-Brahma-World

People always say that if you attain jhāna and then you are renown as Brahma, then because your life span is so long, you have missed the next buddha. Oh, that is sour grapes. People, you can't attain, you cannot pluck the grape, it still must be sour. Because even You see, like our Buddha, our Bodhisatta, when he was a pupil of the Buddha Kassapa, he renounced and practiced the Dharma. And he was not reborn in the Brahma Heavens, you know. He was reborn in the Tushita Heaven. You are reborn in the Jhāna planes if you absorb yourself in Jhāna day and night. But he probably had attained the first Jhāna, but he did not absorb himself in the Jhāna day and night. So even though he had attained the first jhāna, he was reborn in Tusita heaven. And after he came down from Tusita heaven, also no Dhamma in the world. So even whether you are reborn in this Brahma heaven or in the Tusita heaven, you come back, still no Dhamma in the world. That's why now that we have the chance to hear the Dhamma, it's very important that we make use of it now. Don't think of future. You probably may not get a chance. Also it is mentioned in the sutras that the Buddha said people who are reborn in the Jhāna plains, there are two types. One type, they don't know the Dhamma. So because they don't know the Dhamma, after they pass away from there, it is possible that they still go to the Wofu plains. But the Buddha said a disciple of his who has learned the Dhamma, if you are reborn even in the Jhāna plains, You have already become an Ariya, you have attained stream entry, you will never fall into the woeful planes. So never mind, slow boat. Slow boat out of Sangha, it's still enjoyable. No suffering. You're only afraid of rebirth in the woeful planes. If you can be reborn in the heavenly planes forever and ever, why not? Isn't it? Nothing wrong to be reborn in the heavens. You're only scared of being reborn in the woeful planes.

(E14)-15-How-to-Identify-a-Sotapanna

Say Sotapanna, how do we know that the person has achieved that level? The Buddha said that if a person has become a Sotapanna, he has unshakable faith in the Buddha, in the Dharma, in the Sangha, and he has Arinsila. Many years ago, in Penang, we had one lady, people thought that she was an Anagamin. But after many years of meditation, she just gave up Buddhism and changed her religion. That shows that even the stream entry, she had not attained. So this is the first thing mentioned in the suttas. Second thing mentioned in the suttas is that a person, the Sotapanna, he has the vision of the Dhamma. He has seen the Dhamma. When a person has seen the Dhamma, then he sees no security in this world. No security in this world. Even in the heavens also, no security. So then, he will understand that the most precious thing in the world is the Dhamma. And the most meaningful thing to do as a human being is to practice the Dhamma. In which case, he will turn away from worldly things. It's not like some Mayan books say that person is a great Bodhisattva, but he goes to the karaoke and he goes to the pub and all that, living like a layperson, and yet he's a great Bodhisattva. Not like that. Once he has become an Arya, he will turn away from... Previously, he liked to go to the races, go and enjoy worldly things. After he becomes an Arya, his direction is on the spiritual path. And then, because he doesn't join his friends in all this worldly entertainment, his friends will think that this fellow gone funny. And that's the price you have to pay. People think you're a bit funny. Okay, another thing I mentioned in the Suttas, once a person has become Suttapanna, It is mentioned that he becomes independent of others in the Buddha's dispensation, in the Buddha's teachings. That's a very important statement. He becomes independent of others in the Buddha's teachings. In other words, he does not look for a teacher. Nowadays, I find a lot of people chasing after Holy Auspices all over the world. You don't have to. The Buddha says, after he has passed into Nibbana, Dhamma Vinaya as your teacher. And the Dhamma is defined as the Suttas in the Nikayas. So if you only take the trouble to really study the Suttas, you will see the Dhamma, the vision of the Dhamma. In which case, you won't chase after teachers anymore. You will know by yourself the way out of Samsara. you will practice according to all the Buddha's instructions are in the suttas. In fact, the Buddha's instructions in the suttas are so clear and so practical, you cannot find a better teacher than them. In fact, nowadays, there are many teachers who teach wrongly, probably because they are not so familiar with the suttas. And there's a lot of wrong teachings. I was told recently they had this Vachana conference, Bhanteji, Bhante Gunaratana. He says there's a lot of wrong teachings being taught in Sunday school nowadays. The person who attains Stream Entry is a person who has attained Right View. Once you attain Right View, you are an Arya, one of the Eight Aryas. And the way to attain Right View is mentioned in the Suttas, in the Manjimanikaya 43. The Buddha said there are only two conditions to attain Right View. that is listening to the exact words used by the Buddha is another's utterance. That's why people don't study the suttas, you don't catch the significance. Another's utterance, that means you have to hear the Dhamma from outside to attain right view. You cannot get right view by practicing yourself. It is impossible. But nowadays, a lot of meditation teachers tell you that the way to attain Sotapanna is by meditation. It is not by meditation. The Buddha says that another's utterance, you have to hear the Dhamma from somebody else. For example, from the Mikayas, if you study the Mikayas. That is the first condition. The second condition is Yoniso Manasikara. Simply translated, it is proper attention. thorough attention. So you pay thorough attention when you study the Nikayas or when you listen to the Dhamma talk. Then you can get right view. And once you get right view, you are an Ariya. Another thing I like to mention here, a lot of people don't realize, is there's one Sutta called the Sarakani Sutta. In this Sutta, this Sakil by the name of Sarakani, he passed away. And after he passed away, people asked the Buddha where he was reborn. And the Buddha said, Sarakani has become a Sotapanna. So he has gone for a good rebirth. But because Sarakani was a drinker, must have drank a lot. A lot of people disbelieved the Buddha. They were very angry. They said, how can this drinker, Sarakani, be a Sotapanna? AVE can be a Sotapanna, everybody can be a Sotapanna. Because they consider they are broken to be sad. Then the word came back to the Buddha. You know what the Buddha said? He said, why should not Sarakani become a Sotapanna? Buddha said, the Sarakani had followed the Dhamma for a long time, had learned the Dhamma for a long time. And then the Buddha said what, you know, very surprisingly, the Buddha said, look at these trees. These trees, if they can understand what I say, even the trees can become Sotapanna. What is the significance here? The Buddha said, if the trees can understand what I say. The Buddha didn't say, if these trees can meditate, they become a Sotapanna. Buddha said, if these trees can understand what I say. So the word to catch here, can understand what I say. It shows the way to Sotapanna is listening to the Buddha's words, not meditation. If it is meditation, the Buddha would have said so, right? But the Buddha said, if you can understand what I say. If only we took the trouble to study the suttas again and again. Of course, the first time you study it, you might find it hard to understand. Initially, when I studied the suttas, I found many things I could not understand. But I kept studying it. again and again and again and again and so many times slowly things become clearer and clearer it's just like a jigsaw puzzle you put a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle and you cannot see the overall picture keep adding adding adding and very soon you can see the overall picture that's why the Buddha called his disciples sabakas, hearers, listeners he didn't call them meditators or yogis he called them hearers And also in the suttas, it is mentioned, the Buddha said, if you want to practice the Noble Eightfold Path, you must start with Right View. Not start with meditation, start with Right View. And Right View will bring you to Right Thoughts, and Right Thoughts will bring you to Right Speech, etc.

(E14)-16-How-can-we-Help-a-Person-who-is-Suffering

We have to see that person, that particular person, how he can be helped. There are some people, if you give them the Dharma talk to listen, they might want to listen. But if they are not interested in the Dharma talk and all, then you can Maybe ask them to do some charity. If you represent them to do some charity, you must tell them.

(E14)-17-Last-Thought

People say a person who has done a lot of evil actions, but towards the end of their life, they try to have a closer thoughts, will that person actually fall into a coma? Not likely. Because you cannot control your last thoughts. You know why? Because the doctor, after some time, will say this person is clinically dead. And he comes to that conclusion because you have no more breathing and your heart has stopped. But then, if your body is still warm, you are still not dead. And normally, a person's consciousness will continue for a few hours. During that time, when your consciousness is still flowing, you are not conscious of the outside world. You are like dreaming. And those last thoughts, you have no control at all. It depends on your everyday karma. you have been thinking good thoughts, thinking lofty thoughts about the Dhamma and all that, and because you have a meditation, your mind is tranquil and all that. When you die, in those moments, those thoughts will arise. But you are still always thinking of the share market and all that, horses and racing and all that. Then when you are dying, all those thoughts will arise. So your everyday thoughts are very important. So that's why we have to practice the spiritual path and keep having lofty thoughts. There's one lady told me the mother died of cancer. And at the moment of dying, because the pain was quite intense, her face was contorted with pain. You could see she had a painful expression. But one hour later, she found that the mother was smiling and very happy with a very bright face. That means she had a good heart. She was thinking of good thoughts.

(E14)-18-Can-we-Ask-a-Very-Sickly-Person-to-Let-Go

Yes, you can ask them to let go. Yes, of course. But it's not for sure that they will let go. And you know why they don't let go? Because of fear. Normally their karma is no good. Ghost relatives coming and all that, of course they'll be scared. And some are even worse, they see hell. So there was a case many years ago, one of my old supporters, the husband was sick, very sick, and the doctor predicted that he would die in three months' time. But after that he didn't die, and then continued to live on. And the old lady sent the daughter to call me and another monk to go do some chanting. So when we went to the house, we saw him so thin, all bones and skin. And his mouth was open, could not even close his mouth. And still he was clinging to life, because he didn't have enough good karma. So we did some chanting for him, and after that we left. Within one or two minutes after we left, he passed away. So you see, when some people are like that, they are afraid to go. And when they hear some monks chanting for them, they have some reassurance. So then they let go. So it's not easy to let go. Not easy at all. That's why the Buddha said, when a person is dying, That person is afraid for a few reasons. One is because of the evil karma that person has done. Probably will be reborn in hell or in the animal realm. Second one is not enough good marriage. Not enough blessings. That person will be reborn in the ghost realm. Another reason is attachment. Attachment to the property or the wife or the family. Another reason is not knowing the Dhamma. When you don't know the Dhamma, what's going to happen to you. If you know the Dhamma, you know for sure. These are the five places I can go to. So if you're a smart Buddhist and you aim your rocket, I wish that I can go.

(E14)-19-Conscious-Vs-Sub-Conscious

But what if someone who passed away at a very old, rightful age, and peacefully admitted, but those few months of life before that, they really have amnesia, they cannot remember anything. What do you think, even someone who has been practicing the Dharma, that when they come to the stage of life, would they still know the Dharma? Or would they wait for death to come? What would be their life plan? Still the same everyday thoughts. Even though they don't remember the Dhamma, on the conscious level, they may not remember the Dhamma, but in their deep consciousness, they will know. You see, like last night, in Nachan Sumedho's talk, he mentioned something which struck me as very good. He said, somebody asked him about this, anger and all that. And so he said, often it mentioned one incident that he could not agree with a monk, and he had a lot of problems with this monk, and they sort of hated each other's guts, to put it bluntly. So one day, he had this meeting of all these Hachincha monasteries, mostly monks, And he knew that this monk was coming, so he was very agitated, you know, going to meet this monk again in this meeting. And all that anger, all that hatred came up. So he decided to go to his room and write down all the unpleasant things about this monk. And he wrote, and he wrote, he said, three, four pages. All that anger, resentment, everything, what he calls a vitriolic. He wrote, wrote, wrote until he ran out of things to write, you know. Trying to add one more thing also cannot. Then he thought to himself, then what else can I say about this? What else, how, what other feelings do I have of this monk? Then he realized that it was metta, loving kindness. So below all our conscious thoughts actually, like this Metta, is natural to us, this Lampkindness, natural to all of us. You see, like Mother Teresa, even though she doubted that God existed, she did all this work for all the poor people, not because of God, because it was natural to her to love others, to help others. So actually, this basic feeling in us is there. But the anger and all that arises out of conditions, because of ill-spoken words and all these things, that anger suddenly arises. But actually underneath it is this loving-kindness towards all beings. So we must not only focus on what is thrown up in our mind, what is basic underneath it. So in the same way, if a person is dying, he might have amnesia and all that, but the basic state of that mind is a good mind, is a good heart, All of us, we have a conscience. If only we listen to our conscience, just keep quiet and listen to our heart. All of us, we take our thoughts too seriously. These thoughts, our thoughts actually arise out of the ego, selfishness, we want to protect ourselves. So this thinking mind is our best self-defense system. But it is not lofty, it is a calculating mind, a cunning mind. But underneath that is what we need to look for. So we need to listen to our conscience more, listen to ourselves. Praying, last time I came from a Catholic school, so during recess time I used to go to the chapel and pray. And we pray very deeply, and actually, what are we calling out to? Who are we praying to? Actually, we are going deep into our mind. We are calling out to our mind, deep inside us. And the one that answers is also deep inside us. OK.