01-AN-Introduction-and-Overview.txt

8th of June 1997, we begin the Sutta talks on the Nikayas. We know the Nikayas contains the original Suttas, discourses of the Buddha. So, first, I'd like to talk about the importance of studying the Suttas. we find that the Buddha he struggled for about six years to attain enlightenment and during that time he struggled very hard and went through various teachers and all that and finally he attained enlightenment and even The traditional books say that he struggled for many lifetimes, but we find that when his disciples came to learn from the Buddha, some of them attained enlightenment after seven days at Mahamoggalan. Mahakassapa took 8 days and Sariputta took 14 days. we know that the Buddha's wisdom is supposed to be one of the greatest, and yet he took six years of struggling to attain enlightenment, whereas some of his disciples took only a few days. So the difference here is that his disciples learned the path the teachings from the Buddha and then they practice and they attain enlightenment in a very short time. So these discourses of the Buddha are actually concerned with the path, the spiritual path, the way out of enlightenment. So that's why it is very important for us to study the Buddha's words because then That will be the shortest path for us. We also know, for example, that the external ascetics, some of them practiced for a long time and even attained the jhanas, and yet they did not attain the paths and the fruitions, the stages of Aryahood. And that was only because they did not hear the Dhamma, the Buddha's teachings. and even though they attained the jhanas and their minds were supposed to be quite clear, and yet they missed the stages of Ariahood. And the other thing is we see from the suttas that the Buddha's disciples are called Savakas, which is Pali for listeners or hearers. In Sanskrit it is Sravakas. And the meaning is that the Buddha's disciples listened to the Buddha's words. And when they listened to the Buddha's words, in the suttas we find that many of them attained stream entry. And the Buddha said the condition for stream entry was listening to the words of the teacher and having thorough consideration, yoniso manasikara, considering very carefully. close paying close attention to the words of the teacher reflecting on it now it's reflecting on the dharma and then they attain unshakable faith in the buddha dharma and sangha and as a result of that now they had a clear understanding of karma so they kept their precepts very purely these were the conditions for stream entry So that again shows the importance of studying the kayas. Now, nowadays, it is already 2,500 years after the Buddha passed into Mahaparinibbana. And in the suttas, we find that the Buddha said, after 500 years, the teachings of the Buddha will be polluted. There will be wrong teachings that will appear 500 years after the Buddha's passing away. And now, 2,500 years, we can expect much more polluted teachings. So, even the original Pali Canon nowadays, people talk about the Tripitaka or Tipitaka, the three repositories, three treasuries of the Buddha's teachings. And this word, surprisingly, to many people, surprisingly, This word is never mentioned by the Buddha, the Tipitaka or Tripitaka. We find in the discourses of the Buddha that what the Buddha talked about was Dhamma Vinaya. Vinaya being the monk's disciplinary code. And Dhamma in the discourses of the Buddha was definitely the suttas. The Buddha referred to the Dhamma as the suttas and nothing else. And so nowadays we find a lot of controversial books. And some are not controversial, some are controversial. And out of the many books now available, the Four Nikayas in the Sutta Pitaka, the Four Nikayas are a set of books that are definitely non-controversial. It is accepted by all the sects of Buddhism as the teachings of the Buddha. Now, these four Nikayas are found in our Pali Canon in Theravada. It is also found in the Mahayana books. And in the Mahayana books, they are called the Agama Sutras. The Agama Sutras. And these, although they are labeled as small vehicle teachings, Hinayana teachings by the Mahayana, nevertheless, they accept that these are the original words of the Buddha. So, since nobody disputes or nobody doubts that the Four Nikayas are the original teachings of the Buddha, that is the best books to rely on, because there is no doubt at all as to there being the original teachings of the Buddha, whereas others are a bit controversial. In fact, if we study the four Nikayas, the early four Nikayas of the Buddha, which means the Digha Nikaya, Majjhima, Samyutta Nikaya and Anguttara Nikaya, we find that there are no contradictions in the suttas, in these four Nikayas. Whereas in other books there are contradictions that appear among the books, the controversial books, as well as there are certain things in there that contradict these four original Nikayas. So the focus of our attention in these talks will be on the four Nikayas. And another thing is The Buddha always taught us to take refuge in the triple gems. The triple gems, the first one being the Buddha, the second being the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, and the third one being the Sangha. In certain cases, it is referred to as the Arya Sangha. Sometimes in the Sutta, the Buddha also talks about Bhikkhu Sangha, taking refuge in the Bhikkhu Sangha also. Now, there are, I think, two suttas, where the Buddha had already passed into Mahaparinibbana, and then an arahant, he was teaching a layman, and the layman was so impressed by the arahant that the layman wanted to take refuge with the arahant, but the arahant said, you cannot take refuge with me, you still must take refuge with the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Then this man thought that the Buddha was still alive. He asked, where is the Buddha now? And the Arahant said, the Buddha has already passed into Nibbana. But even though he has passed into Nibbana, you still must take refuge with the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. This implies that our teacher, our only teacher is the Buddha. And that is why the Buddha could foresee that in the years to come, there will be a lot of wrong teachings. That was why he purposely asked us to take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. And there was a second Sangha council meeting that was held about 100 years after the Buddha's passing to Nibbana, in which 10 issues were debated and they were resolved. And one of the 10 issues was that whether we should listen to our teacher all the time. And it was decided that if our teacher teaches according to what the Buddha teaches, we should listen to him. But if he teaches something that contradicts what the Buddha says, we should not listen to him. It is very clear that our teacher is only the Buddha and the Dharma, the original teachings of the Buddha. That is why it is very important to have a good understanding of the suttas. Sometimes we find, it has happened, we find some people, like about a year ago, there was a lady who practiced meditation for, I heard, something like 20 years and even teaching people. But because the foundation in the Dhamma was not strong enough, she gave up the Buddha's teachings and just gave up the Buddhist religion and renounced the Buddhist religion. And that is a result of not having a good foundation in the teachings of the Buddha. Now I'll go into an overview of the Nikayas. Nikayas means the collections, collections of the Buddha's discourses in the Sutta Pitaka. And the discourses are called Sutta in Pali and Sutra in Sanskrit. And there are five Nikayas, five collections now in our Theravada Sutta Pitaka. The first one is Jigna Nikaya, Long Discourses of the Buddha. and there are 34 long discourses of the Buddha, and they are spread out over three books. And then the second one is Majjhima Nikāya, which consists of 152 suttas, spread out also over three books. The third one is the Saṃyutta Nikāya, Majjhima Nikaya is the collection of middle-length discourses of the Buddha or medium-length discourses of the Buddha Sangyuta Nikaya Sangyuta means a group so it is a collection of short discourses grouped according to topics so in the Sangyuta Nikaya we find there are 56 Sangyutas 56 groups of discourses. And they are all grouped according to topics. For example, you have the Devata Sanyuta. I think that's the first one. And in there, all the suttas have something to do with Devata, the heavenly beings. And then, for example, you have Mara Sanyuta. And in the Mara Sanyuta, all the discourses have to do with Mara. Mara plays a part in the discourses. Then you have for example Satipatthana, Sanghuta. In the Satipatthana Sanghuta, you find all the suttas are concerned with Satipatthana. So to have a good understanding of Satipatthana, you have to study the Satipatthana Sanghuta, not just the Satipatthana Sutta. Satipatthana Sutta is just one sutta that talks a bit about Satipatthana, whereas there are so many discourses in the Satipatthana Sanghuta that explains the Satipatthana from different angles. and so on and so forth. You have other Sanghutas. So now in the Sanghuta Nikaya there are over 2000 short discourses, short suttas. And Sanghuta Nikaya is a very very important collection of discourses because they deal with very specific topics. and very technical and it explains very detailed about various things. Maga, path, satya, truth, etc. Now the fourth one is Anguttara Nikaya. Anguttara Nikaya is a collection of short discourses also grouped but grouped according to the numerical content. of the Sutta. So you have the groups are called Nipata. You can translate them as chapters. So you have 11 chapters, 11 Nipata. The first one is Ekaka Nipata, Chapter of the Ones, and then Dukka Nipata. Dukka is D-U-K-A. not the suffering, but dukkha here means two. So it's a chapter of the twos. And then, tika-nipata, chapter of the threes, etc. And there are eleven nipatas, eleven chapters. So, for example, under chapter of the ones, all the suttas have to do with one thing, one thing, one thing. And under the two, every sutta has got to do with two things, etc. And there are also over 2,000 suttas in the Anguttara Nikaya. And there are five books. The Sankhyuta Nikaya also has five books. Anguttara Nikaya also has five books. Now the fifth one is the Kudaka Nikaya. Kudaka Nikaya literally means minor collection. Minor collection. In other words, some discourses which were sort of came, were discovered later, which could not be fitted into the early four Nikayas. They were grouped into the Kudakanikaya, minor collection. And they expected it to be minor, not many books. But what happened over the last 2,500 years was monks started to add more and more books into that minor collection. So now it has grown into 15 books. So it is not the minor collection anymore. It has become the major collection. And in 1956, the Burmese had a Sangha Council where they added another three books. And we know that these three books are not the words of the Buddha. And so from there, we can understand why it is over the last 2,500 years, the Kudaka Nikaya has grown bigger and bigger and bigger. And so, now out of the 15 books, and according to the Burmese 18 books, only about 5 are reliable. And if we have time later, we'll go into the 5 books also. The 5 books are not controversial. People accept them as the original teachings of the Buddha. And over the last 100 years, only the Pali Text Society has made a great effort to translate all these suttas into English. And they have managed to do it very well. And until recently, they were the only people who have translated all the Nikāyas into English. That means for the last 100 years, they were the only group of people who translated the suttas completely into English. And only the last 2-3 years, there have been new translations, like for example, the latest translation of the Long Discourses of the Buddha is by Dr. Maurice Walsh in England. And at first it was called, the thin cover edition was called Thus Have I Heard, now they have made it into a thick cover and called it The Long Discourses of the Buddha. And then the second one Majjhima Nikaya, there's also a new translation by Venerable Bhikkhu Jnanamoli and Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, and it's called The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha. So these are the latest translations and then the other two, Sangyuta Nikaya and Anguttara Nikaya, we still have to rely on the Pali Text Society edition because there is no other edition that is complete. So now I will go into the Anguttara Nikaya because why I select the Anguttara Nikaya as the first Nikaya to go into because it's the comparatively easier collection to go into and a lot of the discourses there are concerned with lay people's lives. So it is not so technical and yet there are some technical things in there. And principally because it's easier to understand. So we go into the Anguttara Nikaya. Now I won't go into all the suttas because there are over 2000 suttas. I will go into most of the suttas, those that are important. and then I will try to read it out, explain it and explain the implications of the sutta as well as compare it with other suttas to give you a better idea because usually a sutta will tell you something from one angle and unless you compare it with some other suttas, you might get a biased view. Now this Anguttara Nikaya is, I think, the only collection of discourses that does not have a name for every sutta. The original Pali edition, they did not have a name for each of the suttas. They only had a sutta number. So I will give the sutta number, and the sutta numbers that I give are all the Pali Text Society numbers, so that if you want to check the Sutta, you can look up the Pali Text Society translation of the Anguttara Nikaya, which is called the Gradual Sayings. There are five books there. Now I will give a one hour talk and then after that, which is recorded, after that I will stop. Then I invite you all to come up with any questions or any comments on what has been talked on. Now the sutra numbers of the Anguttara Nikaya, generally it's like Anguttara Nikaya X.Y.Z. Now the first number X is the Nibbata number, that means the chapter. And it only varies from 1 up to 11. You only get 1 up to 11. In the Pali text translation, they call it Book of the Ones, Book of the Twos, Book of the Threes. But I prefer to use the word chapter. So, if you see, for example, you have a sutra called 5.7.13. 5 is the Nipata, that means the chapter of the fives. And then the second number, 6, is the Vaga. Vaga is a section number, because every chapter is divided into sections, Vagas. And after that, every section is divided into Sutta numbers. So the last number Z is the Sutta number. So like 5.6.13. The 13 is the Sutta number. The 13 Sutta in the 6th section of the chapter of the 5s. That is 5.6.13.

02-AN-Book-1A-(1.1-to-1.3).txt

So now I will go into the first sutta in the chapter of the ones. And the number is 1.1. There are 10 suttas here, but you can group them all as 1.1. Thus have I heard. Now I read the sutra, thus have I heard. On a certain occasion, the exalted one was staying near Savarthi at Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's park. Let's stop for a moment. Now all the suttas start with these words, thus have I heard, and this is the Buddhist tradition because it was decided at the first Sangha Council that all the suttas will start this way, eva me sutang, that's the Pali, thus have I heard. The exalted one here is a translation for the Bhagava. Bhagava is the name, one of the ten names of the Buddha. That's why we chose the name of this Vihara, Vihara Bhagava, after the Buddha. Savatthi at Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's Park. This monastery was donated by Anathapindika. That's why it's called Anathapindika's Park or Anathapindika's Monastery. Now we'll continue the sutra. Then the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying, Monks, Lord replied these monks to the Exalted One. The Exalted One said, Monks, I know of no other single form by which a man's heart is so enslaved as it is by that of a woman. Monks, a woman's form obsesses a man's heart. Monks, I know of no other single sound by which a man's heart is so enslaved as it is by the voice of a woman. Monks, a woman's voice obsesses a man's heart. And similarly, monks, I know of no other single scent or smell, no other single savour or taste, no other single touch. by which a man's heart is so enslaved as it is by that of a woman. And then conversely, the Buddha says, monks, I know of no other single form by which a woman's heart is so enslaved as it is by that of a man. A man's form obsesses a woman's heart. Monks, I know of no other single sound by which a woman's heart is so enslaved as it is by the voice of a man. Monks, a man's voice obsesses a woman's heart. So similarly for smell, taste and touch. That's the end of the sutra. Now I'll just explain a bit. These five things described here. The first one is form, rupa. The second one is sound. Third one is smell or scent. Fourth one is taste. The fifth one is touch. What are these five things? These five things are called the objects of the five senses or the objects of sensual desire. So of all the sensual desire, nothing can attract a person so much as the opposite sex. Now we all know that the spiritual path is concerned with giving up, renouncing sensual desires, sensual pleasures. So that is why, because the opposite sex is the most attractive of all the sensual objects, objects of the senses, that the opposite sex is the biggest obstruction to the spiritual path. And that has been obvious when we look at, for example, the monks disrobing. It is a fact that approximately 9 out of 10 monks who disrobe do so because of a woman. And probably the converse is also true. Probably 9 out of 10 nuns who disrobe also do so because of a man. So that's why in any religion, the spiritual path, for example, Buddhist religion, Hindu religion, Christian religion, etc, chastity is an essential requirement of the spiritual path to give up the desire for the opposite sex because it is the greatest of all desires. So, in another sutra, in the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha also warned about monks staying together with nuns, that if they're not careful, they would either break the precepts or they would disrobe. So, now in another sutra, in the Digha Nikaya, Maha Parinibbana Sutta, before the Buddha passed away, Ananda asked the Buddha. He said, Bhagavata, how are we to act towards women? Then the Buddha said, don't look at them Ananda. Then Ananda said, but Bhagavata, suppose we have to look at them. Then the Buddha said, then don't speak to them Ananda. Then Ananda said, but Bhagavata, suppose we have to speak to them. Then the Buddha said, then do so with mindfulness ananda. So from there we can see the Buddha asked his monks to be extremely careful, to be extremely cautious in their dealings with women, etc. And there is a sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya called the Nibbapa Sutta. where the Buddha said it is not practical for a monk to go off into the deep forest and live by himself. So in the Nibbāpa Sutta, the Buddha said that a monk cannot live by himself in the deep forest away from lay people because he has to depend on lay people for the food. And the Buddha said, so because the monks have to live near lay people, It is very dangerous. The Buddha gave a simile of the deers trying to look for food and then the farmer, because it eats the farmer's crops, then the farmer tries to kill them. So the Buddha said that the farmer is a simile for Mara. and there is always this danger from Mara and the Buddha said in the Nibbāpa Sutta that the only way monks could survive was to meditate and practice samādhi. because with strong samadhi we have a tranquil mind. That's the only way we can fight sensual desire. That's why there's a Majjhima Nikaya Sutta number 14 called the Chuladukkha Khanda Sutta where a cousin of the Buddha, I think Mahanama came to tell the Buddha or ask the Buddha, he said He said, Bhagavan, even though I know that greed, hatred and delusion are wrong things to indulge in, yet sometimes my mind still goes towards greed, hatred and delusion, become a prey to greed, hatred and delusion. Then he asked the Buddha, why is that? Is that something I have not cultivated? And then the Buddha said, Even though an Aryan disciple has seen clearly, as it actually is, with proper wisdom, how sensual desires provide little gratification, much suffering and much despair, and how great is the danger in them, as long as he still does not attain to delight and pleasure, that is piti and sukha, that are apart from sensual pleasures, apart from unwholesome states, or to something more peaceful than that, he may still be attracted to sensual pleasures. So here the Buddha is saying that unless we can attain the delight and pleasure, the piti and sukha, that are not worldly, that comes from a tranquil mind, then we are still a slave to sensual pleasures. So that's the comments I have to make on the first sutta. Now we go into the 1.2, the suttas in 1.2. Here the Buddha says, monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of sensual desire, if not already arisen, or if arisen to cause its development and increase as a feature of beauty or attractiveness. In him who pays not thorough attention to the feature of beauty, sensual desire, if not already arisen, arises, or, if already arisen, is liable to develop and increase. Here, first, these suttas here concern the five hindrances, panca nivarana. What are these five hindrances? The Buddha says that these five hindrances are five things that cover us so that we do not see the world as it really is. And it's just like a person who wears dark glasses. When you are covered with dark glasses and you try to see a certain color, you can never see it as it really is. You may be absolutely convinced or you may swear that a particular color is such and such because it appears such and such to you and yet when the dark glasses are removed from you then you'll be surprised to see that they are quite different from what you thought they were So, in the same way, unless we get rid of these five hindrances that cover us, we can never see things the way they really are. We only see things the way they seem to be to us. And the first of these five things that cover our wisdom is sensual desire. The second one is ill-will or malevolence. The third one is sloth and torpor. The fourth one is restlessness and remorse. The fifth one is doubt, and sometimes it's called doubt and wavering. These are the five things. So here the first sutta is saying that Sensual desire arises mainly because of the feature of attractiveness or beauty. For example, a man may be attracted to a woman because he thinks that that woman is beautiful or attractive in some way. And similarly, a woman may be attracted to a man because she finds something attractive in his looks. Now, this feature of beauty, of attractiveness, what is it? It is a perception. It is a perception that is formed in our mind. And if we look into some other suttas later, we find that it is one of the things that we associate with the self. There are five things the Buddha calls them the pancakanda, five aggregates that we associate with the self. First one is the body, the second one is feeling, third one is perception, then volition, then consciousness. So the Buddha says in some other sutra that perception is formed from habit. We, because of the way nature has made beings, we have certain perceptions. But the Buddha said, perceptions can change. For example, if a person, he does not cultivate his mind, he might find the form of the opposite sex very attractive. But somebody who develops his mind, cultivates the 32 parts of the body, the meditation of the 32 parts of the body, then he begins to see the body as it really is. Not only the external part of the body, but the internal part of the body. You'll be able to sort of picture a person in terms of blood and bones and flesh and oil and fat and urine and pus, saliva, etc. Then he might find that the body, a body of any person is no more attractive. He might find even a body as being loathsome. So perceptions can be changed. Perceptions are are something that we form arbitrarily. For example, somebody might find a particular person as very handsome, whereas another woman might find that person as not handsome. Similarly, a man might find a woman as beautiful. Some other man might look at the woman and see that it's not beautiful. So it's all in the eyes of the beholder. So the Buddha says, if we pay thorough attention to the feature of beauty, then this sensual desire will not arise so quickly. We have to pay If we understand the Dhamma, then we pay thorough attention, or whatever perception we have, we look into it and see that it's just an opinion only that we have, and then it does not enslave us so much. Now after that, another sutta. Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of ill-will, if not already arisen, or if arisen to cause its development and increase as a repulsive feature. In him who pays not thorough attention to the repulsive feature, ill-will, if not already arisen, arises, or if arisen, it is liable to develop and increase. Okay, I'll stop a moment or so here to talk about this ill-will. The Buddha says it increases because there is something repulsive that we don't like. and that makes our anger develop or increase. But if we pay thorough attention to that repulsiveness that we think is there, then this ill will can decrease. We can see in both cases, a thorough attention, a thorough consideration is very important. And now the third one. Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of sloth and torpor, etc., as regret, drowsiness, languor, surfeit, after meals, and torpidity of mind. In him who is of torpid mind, sloth and torpor, if not already, arisen arises. And if arisen, is liable to develop and increase. So sloth and torpor is due to regret, drowsiness, eating too much, torpid mind. Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of restlessness and remorse, if not already arisen, or if arisen to cause its development and increase as non-tranquility of mind. In him who is of troubled mind arises restlessness and remorse, if not already arisen, or if arisen, it is liable to develop and increase. This non-tranquil mind, most of us have it, whereas a tranquil mind is something that we need to develop, we need to train ourselves to attain. For most people, restlessness and remorse is something quite natural. For example, if you ask somebody to stay alone by himself, he'll find it quite difficult, even to stay in the house by yourself. Many people, they look at the four walls after some time, after they finish reading the newspaper and watch the TV and all that, they look around the four walls, they think they are going crazy and have to go out and do something. Another sutra, monks I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of doubt and wavering if not already arisen, or if arisen to cause its development and increase as unthorough attention. In him who gives not thorough attention arises doubt and wavering. if not already arisen or if arisen is liable to develop and increase. So here again, systematic, sorry, thorough attention is very important. Proper attention, you can also call it proper attention. This word is yoniso manasikara. Yoniso comes from the word yoni. Yoni means the womb or the source. And manasikara is literally work of mind. So it means attention or consideration or contemplation. So the word yoniso manasikara actually means contemplation or consideration that brings you back to the source of the problem. So that's why I like to translate it as thorough consideration or thorough attention. Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to prevent the arising of sensual desire, if not already arisen, or if arisen to cause its abandonment as the feature of ugliness. In him who gives thorough attention to the feature of ugliness, sensual desire, if not already arisen, arises, or arises not, or if arisen, it is abandoned. So here, you see, if you think that you are attracted to a particular person because that person is beautiful or handsome or whatever, then you try to look for the ugly side of that person. When you look for the ugly side of the person, then your sensual desire can diminish. Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to prevent the arising of ill-will, if not already arisen, or if arisen, to cause its abandonment, as good-will released or radiated by the mind. In him who gives thorough attention to good-will, or metta, released by the mind, ill-will, if not already arisen, arises not, or if arisen, it is abandoned. So here, ill will or anger can be reduced by metta. Metta here is translated as good will. You can translate it as impersonal love. Metta is a good antidote for anger and ill will. The word here, which I have translated as goodwill released by the mind, is Meta Ceto Vimuti. Here, actually, the book translates as the hearts released through enmity. I feel it is metta released by the mind, because from the other suttas, it would seem that to really practice metta, you have to develop jhana. Without jhana, you think you are radiating metta, but other beings cannot feel it. The only way to radiate metta properly is to have very strong jhana. then you can radiate out that metta. Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to prevent the arising of sloth and torpor if not already arisen, or if arisen to cause its abandonment as the element of putting forth effort of exertion of striving. In him who energetically strives, sloth and torpor arises not, or if arisen it is abandoned. So here, to fight sloth and torpor, we have to put forth effort, exertion, striving. Sloth and torpor, a lot of it is due to sleeping too much. The more we sleep, the more sloth and torpor we have. And sleep is one of those things that you can never have enough of. The more you sleep, the more you want. Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to prevent the arising of restlessness and remorse, if not already arisen, or if arisen, to cause its abandonment as tranquillity of mind. In the tranquil-minded, restlessness and remorse arises not, or if arisen, it is abandoned." So, the antidote for restlessness and remorse is to cultivate tranquillity of mind, that means cultivate samatha. Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to prevent the arising of doubt and wavering, if not already arisen, or if arisen to cause its abandonment, as thorough attention. In him who gives thorough attention, doubt and wavering arises not, or if arisen, it is abandoned." Now this doubt and wavering, sometimes we listen to certain teachings, or we listen to certain doctrines, or we listen to what somebody says, we have doubt. But if we contemplate, reflect on what that person says, think carefully, then the doubt can be resolved. So that's why the Buddha says that even when we listen to Dharma, we have to reflect on the Buddha's teachings, think about it, examine it, and test it, see whether it's really true or not. Then only after that, if you find that it is true, then only you accept it. 1.3.1 Monks, I know not of any other single thing so uncontrollable as the uncultivated mind. The uncultivated mind is indeed a thing uncontrollable. 1.3.2. Monks, I know not of any other single thing so controllable as the cultivated mind. The cultivated mind is indeed a controllable thing. I stop here for a while to comment. So, if the mind is not cultivated, it is very difficult to control it. In fact, when we practice meditation, especially Samatha meditation, we are exercising control over the mind every moment. When the mind tries to run away, we bring it back to one single object. It runs away again because that is a tendency of the mind to run, to always keep on running. And we bring it back to one object. So every moment we are exercising control over the mind. And if we keep on doing that, then when Samadhi arises, then we are able to Samadhi is the result of controlling the mind. So when we have samadhi, then the mind is controlled already. And that's why the Buddha says, there's no other single thing so controllable as the cultivated mind. Now 1.3.3 and 1.3.4. Monks, I know not of any other single thing so conducive to great loss as the uncultivated mind. The uncultivated mind indeed conduces to great loss. Monks, I know not of any other single thing so conducive to great profit as the cultivated mind. The cultivated mind indeed conduces to great profit. Just now I forgot to mention, when we cultivate the mind, there are two aspects of it. One is cultivation of the mind. Sometimes the word used is bhavana. Bhavana is to develop, to cultivate the mind, development of the mind or cultivation of the mind. One aspect of it, as I mentioned just now, is Samatha, to train the mind, to control the mind. The other aspect is Vipassana. Vipassana is to use that controlled mind to contemplate and to get wisdom. So Samatha and Vipassana are both necessary. Now, if our mind is uncultivated, here the Buddha says it conduces to great loss. Why? Because if we have an uncultivated mind, the hindrances are very strong. Sensual desire is very strong, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry and doubt. And it's obvious, if somebody is troubled by sensual desire, that he'll become very restless, trying to satisfy his sensual desire. A lot of his energy and time, etc., and money, everything is wasted there. Or if he has a lot of ill will, then he won't be successful in whatever he does. If he's a businessman, nobody likes to do business with him. or whatever he does, anybody with anger, nobody likes, everybody tries to avoid somebody with anger, etc. And then, because your mind is not clear, not cultivated, you might make wrong decisions. You cannot see things, you cannot see your problem very clearly. and you are like in a daze. So that's why the Buddha says it conduces to great loss. Whereas a cultivated mind conduces to great profit. A cultivated mind... You are a person with a lot of wisdom. There's some other sutra where the Buddha says what is the condition for somebody to have great wisdom, to have a lot of insight. The Buddha said the best condition is a mind that is bright. bright and clear. A mind that is bright and clear is a mind that has developed the samadhi, the one-pointedness of mind taught by the Buddha, because the word is jhana. Jhana literally means incandescence, brightness. So when a person develops the jhanas, the mind becomes bright, and that, the Buddha says, is the best condition for insight. That's why you have a great profit from it. 1.3.9 and 1.3.10. Monks, I know not of any other single thing that brings such suffering as the mind that is uncultivated, not made much of. The mind that is uncultivated, not made much of, indeed brings great suffering. Monks, I know not of any other single thing that brings such joy as the mind that is cultivated, made much of. The mind that is cultivated, made much of, indeed brings great joy. So you see, somebody who has a lot of suffering, usually you find that person, he has not cultivated his mind. Now suffering, there are two types of suffering. One is mental suffering, one is physical suffering. Mental suffering is mostly man-made, and the Buddha says the difference between an ariya and a puttujana, an ordinary person, is that an ariya has no mental suffering. He accepts things as they come. He has no mental suffering. He does not proliferate whatever problems he has. He does not think about them and make them multiply in his mind. And so he has no mental suffering. So if we develop our mind, cultivate our mind, we don't have that kind of suffering, that unnecessary suffering. But there are some types of physical suffering that we cannot run away from. For example, getting old, getting sick and dying. That we cannot run away from. But mental suffering, most of it we can avoid if we cultivate our mind.

03-AN-Book-1B-(1.5-to-1.10.14).txt

1.5 1.5.5 Suppose monks, a pool of water turbid, stirred up, muddied. Then a man who has eyes to see stands upon the bank. He could not see the oysters and the shells, the pebbles and the gravel as they lie, or the shoals of fish that dart about. Why not? Because of the turbid state of the water. Just so it is impossible for that monk of whom I speak to understand with his turbid mind either his own prophet or that of others. Impossible for him to understand both his own prophet and that of others, or to realize states surpassing those of ordinary men. the excellence of truly Aryan knowledge and insight. What is the cause of that? It is the turbid nature of his mind, monks." Then 1.5.6. But suppose monks, a pool of water, lucid, tranquil and unstirred, then a man who has eyes to see while standing on the bank could see the oysters and the shells, the pebbles and the gravel as they lie, and the shoals of fish that dart about. Why so? Because of the untroubled nature of the water, monks. Just so it is possible for that monk of whom I speak with his untroubled mind to understand either his own prophet or that of others, both his own prophet and that of others, it is possible for him to realize states surpassing those of ordinary men, the excellence of truly Aryan knowledge and insight. What is the cause of that, the untroubled nature of his mind, monks? Okay, now I want to comment on this. This troubled state of the mind and the untroubled state of the mind refers to the five hindrances. Just now we heard that the uncultivated mind is the same as this untroubled, this Uncultivated mind is the troubled mind. Now, in some other sutta, the Buddha gave a very clear simile for the five hindrances. The Buddha said, suppose a man were to try to look for his reflection in water, and he tries to see his reflection in a bowl of water. And then the Buddha says, a person with strong, this sensual desire is like a person trying to look for his reflection in a bowl of water, into which a lot of dye has been put. Dye, the dyes, different colors, dark color of dye. And then because of the different dyes, that water is no more clear, So when he tries to look for his reflection, to see his own face, he cannot see. And then, similarly for the second hindrance, which is ill-will, the Buddha says a person trying to look for his reflection in a bowl of water which is boiling. When the water is boiling, it is so troubled, you look, you cannot see your own reflection. The third one is sloth and topper. And then the sloth and topper, the simile for it is like a bowl of water which has a lot of weeds, a lot of water plants floating on the surface, etc. And because it is covered by these plants, When you try to look for your reflection, you can't see it. That is sloth and torpor. The fourth one is restlessness and worry. Buddha said a person trying to look for his reflection and the pool of water is stirred by the winds. The winds are causing ripples, waves on the surface. So when you try to look for your reflection, you cannot see. That is restlessness and worry. And then doubt. The simile for doubt is like this water is muddy and then you go and stir the mud and then you churn up the mud and then this bowl of water you go and put in a dark place. In a dark place you're trying to look for your reflection, definitely you can't see. So that is the simile for the doubt, the last hindrance. So here the Buddha is talking about The turbid state of water is the troubled mind. Troubled mind is that mind which is full of the hindrances. That's why you cannot see into water clearly. That's why the Buddha said the water that is clear and still, that is the simile for a cultivated mind, a very tranquil mind, a mind with strong samadhi, clear and bright and still. Then 1.5.8. Monks, I know not of any other single thing so quick to change as the mind, insomuch that it is no easy thing to illustrate how quick to change it is. That's all this sutra says. And this sutra is telling us that the mind changes extremely fast. And because it changes extremely fast, if we know, we should use it to good advantage. For example, if we have a good resolve, a good intention that comes up, for example, some people think, oh, maybe I should become a monk. So, because there's a good intention, you should quickly act. If you don't act slowly, your mind will change. The mind is fickle. So, when there's a good intention, there's a good resolve, we are afraid that it might change, we quickly act. On the other hand, if you have a bad intention or bad resolve, then you should not act on it. For example, anger arises and then you think you want to... If you react with a lot of anger, definitely you're going to do something which is unwholesome, which is not wise, because your state of mind is troubled. And once you know that, then instead of acting, you don't do anything. Just wait, wait for the anger to subside. And because the mind is quick to change, it will subside if you just keep on waiting. Just do nothing, just resolve not to act on it. So that is using this with wisdom, the fact that the mind can change very fast. So today we are at sutra number 1.5.9. The Buddha said, this mind, monks, is luminous, but it is defiled by taints that come from without. And then 1.5.10, that mind, monks, is luminous, but it is cleansed of taints that come from without. These are the two suttas that I'm going to explain first. These two suttas are very interesting. It is one of those suttas, that when somebody is new in the Dharma and he studies the suttas for the first time, he does not notice the importance of a sutta like this. The Buddha said this mind is luminous. This mind here is a translation for citta. There are three translations for mind. Citta is one. Viññāna, Consciousness, which is normally translated as Consciousness is another and Mano or Mana is the third. Viññāna is normally used for Consciousness, that means being conscious of objects of the six sense doors and that is Viññāna. And Mano is one of the six sense bases, the thinking faculty. Mano is the thinking faculty. And Citta here appears to be, the translation is mind. It is like more encompassing aspect of the mind. There are various opinions about these three words. Some monks say that they all mean the same thing and some monks say that they are different aspects of the mind. Anyway, here it says that the citta is luminous but it is defiled by things that come from outside, from without. You can also say that it is defiled by superimposed defilements. Now why this interest this sutta is very interesting because there are two views on the final state of Nibbana and those monks who study and follow the Abhidharma and the commentaries they are of the opinion that in the state of Nibbana all the consciousness, the mind has stopped completely and there is nothing left. But for the other view is the view of those monks who rely only on the suttas and their view is a little similar to the Hindu view of the ultimate state. And the second view is that it is not that everything has ceased entirely. There seems to be something left according to the suttas because there is a sutta in the Digha Nikaya number 11, Kevada Sutta, I think, where the Buddha said that in the ultimate state, there is still light. The mind is luminous. So I mentioned just now the Kevada Sutta. Digha Nikaya No. 11, the Buddha said, But monk, you should not ask your question in this way. Where do the four great elements, earth, water, fire, wind, cease without remainder? Instead, this is how the question should have been put. Where do earth, water, fire, and wind, no footing find? Where are long and short, small and great, fair and foul? Where are nama-rupa, wholly destroyed? And the answer is, where consciousness is non-manifestative, boundless, all-luminous, that's where earth, water, fire, and wind, no footing find. There, both long and short, small and great, fair and foul, there, nama-rupa are wholly destroyed. With the cessation of consciousness, this is all destroyed. Now, so this is one sutta where the Buddha seems to talk of an ultimate state where the normal consciousness, the normal six consciousness has ceased altogether. And yet there is still a state which is boundless, luminous, non-manifestative consciousness. And this non-manifestative consciousness is believed to be similar to the kind of consciousness which the Buddha calls unsupported consciousness. unsupported consciousness, which is completely different from the six normal consciousness. The six normal consciousness, they have to have an object as a condition for it to arise, but not with the unsupported consciousness, apatitaṁ viññāna. So that is why this view of the ultimate state is a bit controversial. Now the Hindu concept is that they talk about an Atman. But then some monks, some Buddhist monks say because they talk about Atman that there is still a soul, there is still an Atman. that is still what they call Brahma in the ultimate state. So they cling to the belief in itself. But if you study the Hindu teachings more deeply, you find that their concept of Atman is not the same as our Buddhist concept of Atta. They also believe that there is no such thing as an ego, that we take rebirth because of the clinging to an ego. And they also say that you have to extinguish that ego to attain the ultimate state. So their concept of Atman, if you study carefully, they also call it Brahma, is quite different from the Buddhist concept of Atta. It is something that is out of this world, out of the whole of existence. And some people who are not too familiar with the suttas would be surprised to know that the Buddha also calls the ultimate state of the Buddha as the Brahma body. In the Aghanya Sutta, which is the Digha Nikaya number 27, The Buddha said, this designates the Tathagata. Dhammakaya, Brahmakaya, Dhammabhuta, Brahmabhuta. So here in the Digha Nikaya number 27, the Buddha says the Tathagata, which is the Buddha, is ultimately the Dhammakaya or Dhammabodhi. Brahmakaya or Brahmabodhi. Dhammabhuta, Dhamma become, Brahma Buddha. Brahma become or become Brahma. So this word that the Buddha uses for the ultimate state which is Brahma body and become Brahma is not too different from the Hindu concept of the ultimate reality which they call Brahma. And The meaning of this sutta appears to be that this mind is basically bright, luminous, but because of super-enforced defilements, defilements or taints that come from outside, external, the mind is no more bright. is no more bright. That is why, like for ordinary people, when we close our eyes, we see darkness all around. The mind is dark. Whereas for an Arahant, it appears like even when they close their eyes, the mind is bright. So, there are some people like Achan Man, in the Thai tradition, the Thai Achants, they say that the original mind, they talk about the original mind. They say that the original mind is bright. And then they say that the defilements are the normal six consciousness. Because when the mind has the six consciousness arise, It means that there is an external object which attracts the attention of the six consciousness. The six consciousness or one of them arise. And so our energy is scattered out through the six sense doors because the energy is scattered out through the six sense doors. So the mind becomes scattered. And when the mind becomes scattered, it becomes sort of darkened. That is why when we practice one-pointedness of mind, we practice the jhānas, the samādhi that is taught by the Buddha, we don't allow the energy to go out through the five sense doors. And even the sixth sense door, the mind, is put on one object. only one object. And because of that, the mind becomes one-pointed, becomes concentrated, and the mind attains back that luminosity, the brightness. That is why jhana can be translated as a state of mental incandescence. So that is what I like to say about this sutta, that it is one of the important suttas which is used by those monks who follow the second opinion, namely that the mind is originally bright and it can return to that original bright state of a different kind of consciousness, not the normal six consciousness. But we have to be very careful if we say that whether something exists in the ultimate state or something does not exist in the ultimate state. Because in the Anguttara Nikaya, chapter of the fours, the Buddha said that concerning Nibbana, Do not say or say not that something exists and also say not that nothing exists. It is something beyond the understanding of the mind because in the ultimate state the mind has stopped working. So the normal mind, so you cannot perceive with the normal mind. It appears that it can only be experienced but it cannot be known with the ordinary mind. So now we come to the next sutta, which is 1.6.3. The Buddha said, monks, if for just the lasting of a finger snap, a monk indulges a thought of metta, here translated as goodwill, such a one is to be called a monk. Not empty of result is his jhāna. He abides doing the master's bidding. He is one who takes good advice, and he eats the country's alms food to some purpose. What then should I say of those who make much of such a thought?" That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is trying to say that metta, even goodwill, or loving kindness, or impersonal love, universal love, if you even have a thought of metta, then that monk is really, is called a real monk. And here the Buddha also says, it's not empty of result, it is jhāna. So from here, it would appear that to practice metta, you have to attain jhāna first. To attain jhāna, then only you can radiate Now 1.6.8, the Buddha said, monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of evil states, if not yet arisen. or to cause the waning of good states, if already arisen, as negligence. In him who is negligent, evil states, if not already arisen, do arise, and good states, if arisen, do wane. Then the next sutra says, Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of good states, if not yet arisen, or to cause the waning of evil states, if already arisen, as earnestness. In him who is earnest, good states, if not yet arisen, do arise, and evil states, if arisen, do wane. These two suttas show that earnestness is very important and negligence is something that we have to be very careful about. Negligence brings about evil states, that means states of pain, states of suffering. And good states are states that you do not suffer, you do not have pain. And negligence leads to carelessness. Negligence means carelessness basically, not being serious. And that leads to indolence, being lazy. and so it brings about all the bad states. Whereas if a person is sincere, is earnest, that means he has a lot of sincerity, he's serious, and that leads to a lot of effort. And effort brings us progress. We get a lot of good states arising from it. Now, the next sutra is 1.8.6. Of slight account, monks, is the loss of such things as relatives. Miserable indeed among losses is the loss of wisdom. 1.8.7 Of slight account, monks, is the increase of such things as relatives. Chief of all the increases is that of wisdom. Therefore I say, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will increase in wisdom. You must train yourselves to win that. 1.8.8 Of slight account, monks, is the loss of such things as wealth. Miserable indeed among losses is the loss of wisdom. 1.8.9 Of slight account, monks, is the increase of such things as wealth. Chief of all the increases is that of wisdom. Therefore I say, monks, thus must you train yourselves. We will increase in wisdom. You must train yourselves to win that." So these four suttas, the Buddha is trying to tell us that wisdom is more important than all the worldly things. Because among the worldly things, For most people, relatives are extremely important. Relatives and wealth, these are the two most important things in the world for ordinary people. But the Buddha says, all that is not important at all compared to wisdom. Wisdom is something that is much, much more important than the worldly things. Because if we have wisdom, then we would not continue in this round of suffering and the round of rebirth. And how do you get wisdom? First, we have to listen to the Buddha's teachings like here, the suttas. Because by listening to the Buddha's teachings, then we understand what is important, what is not important, like here in this sutta. And then also we know what to practice, like keeping the precepts, doing charity, listening to the Buddha's teachings, the Dhamma, and then practice meditation, etc. So that is how we increase in our wisdom by understanding the Buddha's teachings, the Dharma, and then putting it into practice, especially meditation. but I always like to say that meditation is like a university compared to the other aspects of the Buddha's teachings like keeping the precepts, making offerings, and so it is not something that we plunge into for a beginner. It is best that we study the Buddha's teachings first so that we have the theory before we go into practice. Just like we want to drive a car, you have to learn the highway code first and learn how to steer etc. before you go on the road. Otherwise, a lot of us, we get into wrong teachings and we get into it for many years before we realize that we have been wasting our time. and then we stumble back into the correct teachings. 1.10.13 Monks, as a matter concerning the external, I know not of any other single factor so conducive to great loss as friendship with the evil. Friendship with the evil indeed conduces to great loss. 1.10.14. Monks, as a matter concerning the external, I know not of any other single factor so conducive to great profit as friendship with the lovely. Indeed, friendship with the lovely conduces to great profit. Now, these two suttas are trying to tell us that, especially in the spiritual path, Having a good friend, kalyāṇamitta, sometimes they translate in the Mahayana as a good-knowing advisor, that means somebody on the spiritual path with you, is very important. This is especially so for someone who is not established on the path, someone who has not, who does not yet have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. If somebody who is interested in the Dharma but in the beginning, in the initial steps of the path, if he associates much with evil friends, friends who are not interested in the Dharma, friends who do not keep the sila, the precepts, who are not interested in to practice the spiritual path at all, then it is for that person who is new on the path, he is very easily influenced by his friends and he can lose his way. along the path and go on the wrong track. That's why the Buddha says that friendship with somebody who's lovely, that means a spiritual friend, who is well established on the spiritual path, is very important for somebody new on the spiritual path. In fact, there's one sutta where Ananda said, Bhagavata, our Lord, friendship with the lovely is half of the spiritual life. And the Buddha said something like, no, no, no, no. Friendship with the lovely is all to do with the spiritual path. So the Buddha is always saying that having a good friend on the spiritual path, one who is established in the way, is very important.

04-AN-Book-1C-(1.10.17-to-1.18.2).txt

1.10.17 Monks, I know not of any other single thing that conduces to the confusion, to the disappearance of true Dharma, as does negligence. Negligence, indeed, conduces to the confusion and disappearance of true Dharma. Then 1.10.18, monks I know not of any other single thing so conducive to the establishment to the non-disappearance of true Dharma as earnestness. Earnestness indeed conduces to the establishment and non-disappearance of true Dharma. These two suttas also tell us that If we want to preserve the true Dharma, if we want the Dharma to last, then we should not be negligent. If we look around, Buddhists are very often seen to be very negligent. We don't take our religion very seriously. And because we don't take our religion seriously, it conduces to the disappearance. When we compare ourselves with other religions, we find it's very shameful. Other religions, you seldom find, for example, a Christian who does not have a Bible, who does not read his Bible regularly, or a Muslim, his Quran. Whereas for Buddhists, there are so many so-called Buddhists in this country, we ask them, what is the basic Buddha's teaching? What are the Buddha's discourses? They can't tell you. And if we count, we ask how many Buddhists have the Nikayas, the suttas, the discourses of the Buddha that they should study? I look up every day, then you find so few of our Buddhists have the holy books of the Buddha. And that is not good for our religion. That's why if we are serious, that if we treasure the Buddha's teachings and we want to preserve it for our future generations, we should take the trouble to teach our young. You look at the Muslims, they They get their children every day to go to class Agama, perhaps spend two hours as I have seen in certain areas in KL. After going to school they finish at about one o'clock, they go back, take their lunch and then by three o'clock they go to their class Agama and they finish at five o'clock. Every day the children go for their class Agama. Whereas for our Buddhists, to ask parents to send their children just once a week on a Sunday to go to a Sunday school, many parents are reluctant. And that, I think, is very shameful. If we don't value enough the Buddha's teachings, if we value enough, we should take our religion seriously, as the Buddha has already warned here. I've seen some, for example, my own relatives, some of them are Catholics, and they have a very good practice. Every night after dinner, they get the whole family together after dinner, and they spend one hour where they pray for the good, for the peace of the world, for the good of the world. And they read from their Bible. So I don't see why our Buddhists cannot do the same thing. We are the families, we should get together, maybe do 5 minutes or 10 minutes of chanting, and read something from the suttas for 15 minutes or something, and then maybe meditate for 15 minutes. And so you very easily can spend one hour after dinner every night. And that will help to preserve the Buddha's teachings, which to us is invaluable. Now we come to 1.10.33. The Buddha said, monks, those monks who point out what is not Dhamma as Dhamma, such conduct of theirs is to the loss of many folk. to the misery of many folk, to the loss, the injury, the misery of devas and mankind. Moreover, such beget great demerit and cause the disappearance of this true Dharma." That's this sutra. Here the Buddha is saying that there are some monks who do not understand the Dharma enough so that what is not dharma are dharma what is contradictory to the buddha's teachings they say it is the buddha's teachings and because of that they create great demerit and they cause the disappearance of the true dharma now that's why it is very important for monks to study the teachings of the Buddha which the Buddha calls in the Suttas as Dhamma Vinaya. As I have pointed out before, the Buddha never taught the Tripitaka. The Buddha taught the Dhamma Vinaya as he has said in the Suttas. The word Tripitaka or Tripitaka was never spoken by the Buddha. But the Buddha only said Dhamma Vinaya was taught by him. And the Dhamma in the Suttas in the Anguttara Nikaya, Book of the Fours, Chapter of the Fours, the Buddha says that Dhamma is the Suttas. And Dhamma, the Suttas and the Vinaya are the Buddha's teachings. So, because some monks are not very familiar with the Suttas, what is not Dhamma, what is contradictory to the Dhamma, they say is Dhamma. And so, because of that, they cause, they help to cause the disappearance of this true Dharma. Now, 1.11.1, the Buddha said, those monks who point out what is not Dharma as not Dharma, such conduct of theirs is to the profit of many folk, to the happiness of many folk, to the good profit and happiness of devas and mankind. Moreover, such monks beget great merit and establish this true Dharma. Now this Sutta here, the Buddha is saying that a monk should point out now what is not Dharma, as not Dharma. Because in that case, they will profit many, many people. And also they would help to preserve this true Dharma. That is why if we know that something that is being taught is not according to the Dharma, we should speak out to preserve the true Dharma. This is not being controversial, but just following the advice of the Buddha. In fact, the Buddha also, during his time, used to speak out against a lot of wrong teachings that were prevalent during his time. And because of that, he was also reviled by a lot of these external sect teachers. And in one sutta, he said, I do not quarrel with the world. He said, the world quarrels with me. One who teaches the Dhamma, the true Dhamma, does not quarrel with the world. So here, We would be following the Buddha's footsteps if we try to preserve the true Dharma by speaking out against what is not Dharma. Then 1.13, 1.13.7, Buddha said, Monks, I know not of any other single person who so perfectly keeps rolling the supreme wheel of Dharma, set rolling by the Tathagata as does Sariputta. Sariputta monks is the one who perfectly keeps rolling the supreme wheel of Dhamma set rolling by the Tathagata. As you all probably know, the Tathagata is another word for the Buddha. Tathagata means the Dusk-Gone One. This sutta, I choose to mention it not because it has some a lot of Dharma content, but because there are some books in the Mahayana Sutras that seem to say the opposite thing. For example, in the Lotus Sutra, they try to say that the Sariputta, being an Arahant, did not understand the teachings of the Buddha. And instead, they try to show that all the Bodhisattvas understood the real teachings of the Buddha. Whereas in this sutra, the Buddha says nobody keeps the Dhamma wheel rolling so perfectly as Sariputta, which of course is completely opposite to what the Mahayana Sutra says. Now 1.14. In this 1.14, there are many the disciples of the Buddha who are mentioned, the monks and nuns, as well as laymen and laywomen. And the eminent ones are mentioned, those who are known for something. So I won't mention all of them. I'll just mention a few of them. Among the monks, the Buddha said, Chief among those of great wisdom is Sariputta. Just stop for a moment. So here again, you see, In the Theravada Sutras, the Buddha always praises Sariputta and calls him the greatest in the wisdom. Whereas in the Mahayana Sutras, you find that they are always trying to bring down Sariputta and say that he has very shallow wisdom compared to the Bodhisattvas. This is also found in the Vimalakirti Sutra where Sariputta was sort of put down Then the Buddha said, chief among those of supernormal powers is Maha Moggallana. Maha Moggallana or Moggallana the Great is the best among the monks in the psychic power. Then the Buddha said, chief of my disciples who are monks, Among those who are clairvoyant is Anuruddha. This disciple of the Buddha, Anuruddha, his, what they call the heavenly eye, was so well developed that he said he could see the whole world system so clearly, like in the palm of his hand. Looking at the palm of his hand so clearly, he could see the whole world system. That was Anuruddha. Then the Buddha said, chief of his monks who receive offerings is Sivali. This Sivali is sometimes, a picture of Sivali is found in some Buddhist houses because Sivali is supposed to have a lot of blessings, a lot of merit that he has received so much, that he received so much offering. So a lot of people hope that by putting the picture of Sivali in their house, they will also have a lot of merit. Then the Buddha said, chief among my disciples who are of retentive memory is Ananda. So, venerable Ananda is the one with the best memory. That was why when the Buddha had passed into Nibbana, Ananda was asked by the other arahants to repeat the words of the Buddha, the discourses of the Buddha. About 5,000 discourses, the Venerable Ananda could remember all of them. And then chief among the monks who know the Vinaya or disciplinary rules by heart is Upali. Upali was the Buddha's disciple who was foremost in the Vinaya, disciplinary conduct. Then the nun disciples, the Buddha said, chief among my women disciples who are nuns of long standing is Maha Pajapati, the Gautamit. This Maha Pajapati was the Buddha's stepmother, in actual fact the Buddha's mother's sister. because it was said that after seven days after the Buddha was born his real mother passed away and Maha Pajapati at that time also had her own son I think by the name of Nanda and at the same time he gave milk to his son. He also provided milk to our Buddha when he was young and he looked after the Buddha like his own son. So after the Buddha was enlightened and when Mahapajapati became old, he also she also desired to become a nun. At that time there were no nuns and she pleaded with the Buddha to become a nun and the Buddha refused her. But Ananda interceded on her behalf and spoke for her and appealed to the Buddha many times until the Buddha relented. So she was the nun who was the longest in robes. Not the longest in robes, but the first to be ordained. Then the chief among the nuns of great wisdom is Khema. Khema was supposed to be the wife of King Bimbisara. And after listening to the Buddha's discourses, she became so convinced of the Dharma that she decided to become a nun, renounced the good life of a queen and took on the life of a beggar nun. And because of her great merit, she had the greatest wisdom among the nuns. Chief of the nuns with supernormal powers is Upalavana. Upalavāna is the nun with great psychic power. Sometimes in the suttas it is said that Upalavāna visited the Buddha at midnight, around midnight when nobody else came to see the Buddha. She would come and she would fly in the air and she would stand in the air waiting to see the Buddha and the Buddha knew that she had come, the Buddha would invite her and she would come and speak to the Buddha. And we find in the Vinaya, in the disciplinary rules for monks, that the Buddha generally did not allow nuns, even nuns generally, to see him personally. If nuns generally wanted to see the Buddha, they would have to speak to another monk, and the monk would speak to the to the Buddha, not the nun directly. However, the Buddha allowed arahants, arahant nuns, to come directly to see him, even at midnight. Chief among the nuns who are proficient in the rules of discipline, the Vinaya, is Patacara. The story of Patacara is found in the Dhammapada commentaries. It's a very moving story of this Patacara. She was supposed to have come from a wealthy family, but she eloped with a slave. Later, after she gave birth to two sons, she wanted to come back and visit the parents. Along the way, the husband died and after that the two sons also died. She was so full of grief when she came back to her house. Her parents also just passed away. She was so overcome by grief that she became mad. She became mad for a while and wandered around naked until she came to the Buddha. Then the Buddha helped to restore her sanity. and then after she became a nun and from there she became an arahant. Now among lay followers, laymen, the Buddha said chief among his lay followers who are alms givers is Sudatta, also known as Anathapindika. Anathapindika, as most of you know, built a huge monastery for the Buddha, about 25 acres monastery. And he provided meals for monks every day. I think a few hundred monks every day. And practically used up all his fortune to support the Sangha. And the other, of course, the other chief benefactor of the Sangha was Visakha. Visakha also gave food, alms food to monks, I think to the tune of something like 2,000 monks every day. Now chief among the lay followers who are Dharma teachers is Citta of Machikasanda. Now this Citta, there's a chapter, there's a Sanyuta on Citta in the Sanyuta Nikaya, a whole chapter devoted to Citta. And we find there that Citta was an anagami. Citta was one of those laymen who, although he had a wife or wives, he renounced them to keep the eight precepts every day. And he meditated, attained the jhanas, and he became an anagami. And Citta was a very interesting person. When he heard of monks coming to his area, he would offer food to the monks. And when he met the monks and offered them food, he would ask them to teach some Dhamma. And to get them to teach some Dhamma, he would ask some questions about the Dhamma. And if they could not answer the question on the Dhamma, Citta would teach them the Dhamma instead. So Citta was a very interesting fellow. Now we come to lay women disciples. The Buddha said, chief among my women disciples who are lay followers and who minister to the Sangha is Visakha, Migara's mother. This Visakha is also known as Migara Mata, that means Migara's mother. Who is Migara? Migara was actually Visakha's father-in-law. Visakha's father-in-law was somebody who did not know the Dhamma and because the Visakha taught him the Dhamma that he was so grateful to Visakha that he called Visakha, who was his daughter-in-law, as mother. So that's why Visakha is known as Migara's mother. Chief of the lay women followers who nurse the sick is Supiya. Supiya. In the Vinaya, the disciplinary code for monks, we find a story, a real story about Supiya. Namely that one day, one of the monks was sick and Supiya used to go to the monastery almost every day to inquire of the monk's welfare. And normally if she saw that a monk was sick, she would try to find out what the monk needed and try to look after the monk's needs. So the Buddha allowed for a monk who is not well, to take clear meat soup in the afternoon or in the evening. Supya offered to provide clear meat soup to this monk and this monk agreed. So she went back and asked the servant or the slave to go to the market and buy some meat. But on that particular day, there was no meat sold in the market because in India, it was the custom that certain days of the year, they would not sell meat, they become vegetarians. So Supi was disappointed. She thought to herself that she had already promised the monk and if she did not keep up to her promise, it would seem to amount to telling a lie. So she was so devoted to the Sangha that she called her maid to her room. She took a knife and cut off a piece of flesh from her thigh and gave it to the maid and asked the maid to cook and bring it to the monastery for that monk. And the maid did that. So, in the evening, the husband came back from work and normally Supiya would come out and greet him. But on that day, Supiya did not come out. So, the husband went to the room to see Supiya and found that she could not walk because of her condition. Instead of getting angry, the husband was so happy that the wife could do such a thing which very few people could do. So she invited the Buddha the next day to his house for a meal and the Buddha came. Then after the meal, the Buddha asked where was Supiya and the husband said Supiya was in the room. Buddha asked her to come out and the husband said that she could not walk, it was not convenient for her to come out. Then the Buddha asked the husband to help her to come out and the husband did that. so when she came out the moment the buddha looked at her and the wound was completely healed and this is the story of supya now 1.15 1.15.10, the Buddha said, it is impossible, monks, it cannot come to pass that in one world system, at one and the same time, there should arise two arahants who are fully enlightened ones, samasambuddha. But monks, it is quite possible for a single arahant, a fully enlightened one to arise. These few suttas here concerning the impossible are also found in Majjhima Nikaya 115. And this particular sutra saying that you cannot find two buddhas, sammasambuddhas, at the same time in one world system, is another one of those sutras that seem to be in conflict with the Mahayana sutras. For example, in the Earth Store Bodhisattva Sutra, they say that many buddhas came when the Buddha started to preach. In fact, You can find the Diamond Sutra in the Mahayana Sutras also contradicting this Ashtobodhisattva Sutra because in the Diamond Sutra it is said that after a Buddha has passed into Mahaparinibbana if you expect to see the Buddha again or hear his voice or touch him etc. Then the Diamond Sutra says that you don't understand the Dhamma and you have gone along the deviant path. In other words, once the Buddha has passed into Nibbana, you can never see him again, you can never touch him again, hear his voice, etc. So, there's one thing if you investigate, you find that there are certain sutras that contradict each other. It is only in the original four earliest suttas, in the Pali suttas, the four Nikayas, that you find they are very consistent, that there is no contradiction. 1.15.12, the Buddha said, it is impossible monks, it cannot come to pass that a woman should be an Arahant who is a Sammasambuddha. But monks, it is quite possible for a man to be one. And then, Sutta number 13, 14, 15, 16, the Buddha says, It is impossible, it cannot come to pass, that a woman should be a universal monarch, or Sakka Devaraja, or Mara, Satan, or Brahma. So here we find in these few suttas, there are five things a woman cannot become. A Samasambuddha cannot become a universal king who rules over the whole world. cannot become Thikong, Sakadevaraja, cannot become Mara or Satan, cannot become Brahma. And this again, you find there's a little contradiction in the Lotus Sutra where it is mentioned that a woman can become a Sammasambuddha. Here also, it shows that there is a little difference between a man and a woman. Sometimes we like to think that a man and a woman are the same, but there is some difference. 1.17.5. Monks, I know not of any other single thing so apt to cause the arising of wrong view, if not yet arisen, or the increase of wrong view, if already arisen, as unthorough consideration or unthorough attention. In him who gives not thorough consideration, wrong view, if not arisen, does arise, or if already arisen, does increase. Then 1.17.6, the Buddha says, Monks, I know not of any other single thing so apt to cause the arising of right view, if not yet arisen, or the increase of right view, if already arisen, as thorough consideration. So here, these two suttas, we find two To have right view is very important to have thorough consideration which as I mentioned before is to able to see the problem or whatever is being considered or contemplated thoroughly with proper attention. Now to have thorough attention, yoniso manasikara, to be able to contemplate a problem up to the source of that problem, one needs to have a good concentration to be able to look at a problem and see it to the end. And for that, you got to have a fairly good concentration. 1.17.7. Monks, I know not of any other single thing so apt when body breaks up after death to cause the rebirth of beings in the waste, the woeful plains, the downfall in hell as wrong view. Possessed of wrong view, monks, beings are reborn in the waste, the woeful plains, the downfall in hell. Then 1.17.8. Monks, I know not of any other single thing so apt when body breaks up after death to cause the rebirth of beings in the happy lot in the heaven world as right view. Possessed of right view, monks, beings are reborn in the happy lot in the heaven world. So here we can see why wrong view and right view, the result of having wrong view and the result of having right view. And that's why it's so important to have right view. Because if we have wrong view, it brings us into the woeful planes. So to have right view, we have first to have thorough consideration, concentration of mind. The other thing is, we should, if we have the good fortune to be able to listen to the Saddhamma, the true Dhamma, then which can bring us to have right view, then we are very, very fortunate. It is, if we look into the suttas, the Buddha said he contemplated the last 91 kappas. 91 ages of time. One age of time, one world cycle is extremely long. The Buddha said it is so long a time that it is quite hard to imagine how long it is. In fact, the Buddha says to give you an idea of how long a world cycle is. The Buddha said you imagine a cube, a rock, which is seven miles, a yojana, which sometimes translated said to be seven miles or sometimes ten miles. Seven miles long, seven miles wide and seven miles high. A cube, seven miles. And once in a hundred years, you take a soft piece of cloth, you wipe it once. And after a hundred years, you wipe it once again. How long will it take before you can wear away that rock just by wiping it with a soft cloth? The time is so long that it's quite unimaginable. And the Buddha said he looked into the past for 91 world cycles and he only found six Buddhas. Six Buddhas. Which means that One Buddha appears in more than 10 world cycles on the average. So to be able to listen to the true Dharma now is something very, very fortunate for us. Then 18.1. Monks, one person born into the world is born to the loss of many folk, to the discomfort of many folk. to the loss, discomfort and sorrow of devas and mankind. What person, one who has wrong view, he of distorted view, leads many folk astray from the right path? from righteousness or the right path and plants them in unrighteousness or the wrong path. This is the one. 1.18.2 Monks, one person born into the world is born for the profit of many folk, for the happiness of many folk, for the profit, comfort and happiness of devas and mankind. What person? One who has right view. He who has right view leads many folk from the wrong path and plants them in the right path. This is the one. So you see, If you follow somebody with the wrong view, then it is very unfortunate. And this person who has wrong view, he is born to cause a lot of pain to a lot of people. But a person who is born with right view, he benefits many, many people.

05-AN-Book-1D-(1.18.4-to-1.21.48).txt

1.18.4 Monks, I know not of any other single person fraught with such loss to many folk, such discomfort to many folk, with such loss, discomfort and sorrow to devas and mankind as Malkali. that infatuated man. Just as monks, at a river mouth, one sets a fish trap to the discomfort, suffering, distress and destruction of many fish. Even so, Makkhali, that infatuated man, was born into the world, methinks, to be a man trapped for the discomfort, suffering, distress and destruction of many beings. In this sutta, the Buddha did not hesitate to speak badly of Makkhali Gosala Buddha, one who had wrong view because he was leading many folk into the woeful plains. And sometimes people think that the Buddha was such a nice man that he cannot criticize another person. It's not true. The Buddha is willing to benefit many people and speak out even to name somebody who was leading some people to have wrong views. We were at 1.18. So today we start with 1.18.13. The Buddha said, monks, just as even a trifling bit of dung has an evil smell, so likewise do I not favor existing even for a trifling time, not even for the lasting of a finger snap. That's the end of the sutta. The Buddha says that he does not want to exist even for a trifling time. An existence to him is likened to dung, which has a bad smell. So that's how he views existence. Why does the Buddha say that existence is so obnoxious, so foul, like dung? It's because even Buddhas have to suffer, because there are two types of suffering. One is mental suffering, the other one is physical suffering. The Buddha said that all ariyas have done away with mental suffering. But they still have physical suffering. And we cannot run away from physical suffering as long as we have a body. Because with a body we have aging, sickening and dying. And the Buddha said in more than one sutra, when he was old, that his body was breaking up and it gave him a lot of suffering. So even Buddhas have to suffer. And some people are of the opinion that because Buddhas and Arahants don't have a self, that they do not suffer. But if that is the case, then you can think, for example, if the Buddha had physical suffering from the body, then if there was no If it did not affect him, there would have been no necessity for him to enter into deep jhanas or cessation of perception and feeling, which the Buddha did. When the pain of the body was quite unbearable, he said he had to enter into deep states of meditation so that he did not experience pain in the body. And then after that, He comes out of it, for some time there is no pain, but later the pain might come back again. So there's one sutta in the Itthibhuttaka, it's 2.44. There the Buddha said, What bhikkhus is the nibbana element with residue left? Here a bhikkhu is an arahant, one whose asavas are destroyed, the holy life fulfilled, who has done what had to be done, laid down the burden, attained the goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely released through final knowledge. However, his five sense faculties remain unimpaired, by which he still experiences what is agreeable and disagreeable, and he feels pleasure and pain, sukha and dukkha. It is the extinction of attachment, hate and delusion in him that is called the Nibbana element with residue left. Now what because is the Nibbana element with no residue left? Then he explains the other part. So here the Buddha is saying because Arahant still has the five sense faculties, he feels sukha and dukkha. So that explains why The Buddha says that existence, he doesn't want to exist, even for a short time, if he could. And this, you'll find, is quite different from some later books which says that the Buddha sort of would come back again and again, or he's always in existence. The next sutta is 1.19. 1.19, there are several suttas here, but I'll just choose one of them. The Buddha said, even as monks in this rose-apple land, that is Jambudvipa, trifling in number are the pleasant parks, the pleasant groves, the pleasant grounds and lakes, while more numerous are the steep, precipitous places, unfordable rivers, dense thickets of stakes and thorns, and inaccessible mountains. Just so few in number are those beings that welcome, when they hear it, the Dhamma Vinaya set forth by a Tathagata, More numerous are they that do not. That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is saying that in India, the accessible places where people can use are very much less than those places which are inaccessible, like steep places, mountains, dense forests and jungle. unfordable rivers, etc. You must remember this sutta was spoken 2,500 years ago. So, the number, the amount of inaccessible places was much more during that time than now. And the Buddha said that few people, just like the amount of are places that are accessible, so small amount compared to the whole of India. So in the same way, few people out of the many want to listen to Dhamma Vinaya. Dhamma Vinaya teaches us the truth or reality about existence. And it is actually painful to hear the reality of existence. And sometimes people don't want to face the truth, don't want to face the reality. They would like to believe what they want to believe, what they like to believe. So, because of that, few people want to listen to the Dhamma and the disciplinary code taught by the Buddha, the Vinaya. So, in other words, we don't expect to have many followers of the Buddha's teaching. In fact, most Buddhas, when they are enlightened, do not want to teach Just like our Buddha, Gautama Buddha, after he was enlightened, he contemplated the minds of living beings and he found that few people are inclined to listen to the Dharma. And even if they listen, few, even fewer want to practice it. So he actually wanted to be a Pacheka Buddha. But later he was persuaded by this Brahma Sahampati, to turn the wheel of the Dhamma and he did so. We find this happens more than once, that sometimes the Buddha is not inclined to do something and somebody appeals to him. to change his mind. Sometimes they appeal once, he doesn't want to change his mind. Then they appeal a second time, still he doesn't want to change his mind. But when they appeal the third time, out of compassion, he will change his mind and do something that at first he was not inclined to do. So this shows that actually Pacheka Buddhas are able to teach But it's just that they are not inclined to teach. It's not like some of the later books say that Pacheka Buddhas are unable to teach. Because whatever path that they have walked through, it is very clear to them, the path that they have walked through. So it shouldn't be difficult at all for them to teach. They would rather teach actually by example. They show a good example of being a renunciant and they practice and perhaps people, if people ask them individually of the Dharma, they might teach, but they're not inclined to teach to the whole world and turn the Dharma wheel. and some people think that that is selfishness but it is not selfishness because it appears to me that every being has his own time and the best teacher is suffering because when we suffer enough and it will bring us to walk the path if we have not been in samsara we are not suffered enough, we are not spiritually mature. Even if the Buddha is around, we would not be inclined to follow his teachings. So that is why we find that during the Buddha's time, there were many people who did not want to follow the Buddha's teachings, even though the Buddha was in the world. Now the next sutta is 1.19.2. The Buddha says, just as monks in this Jambudipa rose-apple land, that is India, trifling in number are the pleasant parks, the pleasant groves, the pleasant grounds and lakes, while more numerous are the steep precipitous places, unfathomable rivers, dense thickets of stakes and thorns, and inaccessible mountains. Just so few in number are those beings who, diseasing as men, are reborn among men. More numerous are those beings who, diseasing as men, are reborn in hell, who are reborn in the wombs of animals, who are reborn in the realm of ghosts. In the same way, just as in India they are travelling in number are the pleasant parks, pleasant groves, pleasant grounds and lakes, while more numerous are the steep precipitous places, unfordable rivers, etc. etc. Just so few in number are those beings who, deceased as men, are reborn among the devas. More numerous are those beings who, deceased as men, are reborn in hell, in the wombs of animals, in the realm of ghosts. So in the same way, the Sutta continues, Few in number are those beings who, deceased as devas, are reborn as devas, or are reborn as men. More numerous are those beings who, deceasing as devas, are born into the three woeful planes of hell, the animal realm and the realm of ghosts. In the same way, similarly, few in number are those beings who, deceasing from hell or from the animal realm or from the ghost realm, are reborn as men or as devas. More numerous are those beings who, diseasing from hell, from the animal realm, from the ghost realm, are reborn back into the hell realm, or in the animal realm, or in the ghost realm. That's the end of the Sutta. So basically what this Sutta is saying is that most men, after they pass away, they are not they don't come back into the human realm or go up into the deva realm. Instead, most of them go into the woeful planes, the three woeful planes, hell, animal realm and the ghost realm. Similarly, devas, most of the devas, when they pass away, are reborn into the woeful planes. Few of them are reborn. back as devas or as human beings. And even the beings from the Whirlpool Plains, after they pass away, most of them are reborn back into the Whirlpool Plains and not into the human realm or the heavenly realm. Now, what amount are reborn back into the Wofu planes, for example, human beings? I would give a very rough estimate, perhaps out of every 10 people, Out of every 10 human beings, maybe only 2 or 3 come back into the human realm, human world, or are reborn as devas. Maybe 7 or 8 out of 10 people go down into the woeful plains. So from there, we can realize that it is quite dangerous. And we should not be like most people, most ordinary people, they live a very ordinary life and then they go into the woeful planes because they follow their inclinations, they follow all their lower instincts. It would appear like the number of beings in the world. Every world system is like a pyramid. The higher you go, the less beings there are. The lower you go, the more beings there are. The base is very wide. The top is very narrow. The other thing here you can see is that the woeful planes mentioned here and throughout the suttas are only three. That is the first one, the lowest one is the hell realm, and slightly above that is the animal realm. and better than the animal realm, according to some sutra, is the realm of ghosts. So there are only three planes of existence in the Wofu planes. Later books added another plane called the Asura plane. But when we check with the sutras, we find that it contradicts the sutra. Because in the sutra, two sutras in the Digha Nikaya, one says that the lowest type of Asuras are the Kalakanja Asuras and then later in another Sutta it is stated that the Kalakanja Asuras are also Devas. So we can see that if the lowest kind of Asuras are Devas then all of the Asuras must be Devas. So there are only three woeful planes and not four according to the Suttas. Now the next sutra is 1.20.1. The Buddha said, truthfully monks, these are to be reckoned as gains. Forest dwelling, living on alms, wearing rag ropes, wearing three ropes only, teaching the Dhamma, mastery of the Vinaya, wide knowledge, the rank of an elder, Thera, the blessing of true deportment, the blessing of a following, the blessing of a large following, as a man of good family, a fair complexion, pleasant speech, to be content with little, and freedom from sickness. Now that's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha is saying, these things are really worth gaining. These are good things to have, to practice. I would give you a lot of blessing. The first one is forest dwelling. This is basically for monks. The word forest is actually a translation of the word, I think, aranya. Aranya is basically a secluded place, a quiet place. And usually the Buddha mentions a place like a cave up in the hills, a valley, a quiet secluded place, basically. Because if a monk wants to practice well, it is best to live in such places. The second one, also for monks, is living on alms. That means to go on alms round. This is a very good practice for monks, because it is not something easy to do. Sometimes you go on alms round, people are quite rude to you. They just ask you to show off or something like that. Or they just ignore you, or they give you a rude stare or something, and it's very good. For our ego, if we want to wear away our ego, these are some of the things which are very helpful. That's why it's not easy to be a monk. Some people, they don't realize that, and they don't appreciate monks enough, and that's a loss to them. The third one is wearing rag robes. Rag robes here is a translation for bāṅsukula cīvara. Bāṅsukula, the meaning of it is that it is picked up, a cloth that is picked up during the Buddha's time, according to the later books, something like 20 or 25 years, the first 20 or 25 years of the Buddha's ministry. He and his disciples only wore robes that were made from cloth that was picked up. and they would go to these what they call charnel grounds, cemeteries, places where dead bodies were thrown, and the cloth that was left over, the monks would go and pick it up, or from whatever place the cloth was thrown away, they would pick it up and sew them into a rope. But later, The lay disciples of the Buddha asked the Buddha for permission to give robes to the monks and out of compassion for them to give people a chance to cultivate merit, the Buddha allowed lay people to make offerings to monks. Sometimes lay people don't realize that it is their good fortune to be able to give to monks. That is the Buddha's. So that's about rank robes. And the third one, the fourth one, is wearing three robes only. The robes of a monk are generally stated to be three. One is the sabong, or what sometimes is called the sarong. And then this robe that we are wearing is a shivara, shivon. And then there's another one that's two-laid, double-laid. that is for use as a blanket. Then, teaching Dhamma. Teaching Dhamma is also a good thing. The Buddha encouraged the teaching of Dhamma. That's why the Buddha, you find during the Buddha's time and up to now, that the Buddha encouraged his monks to teach the Dhamma and not All monks taught Dhamma, and not all monks taught meditation. There were some monks who were meditation monks, and some monks who were Dhamma preachers, and some monks who mastered both. And during the Buddha's time, there were many types of monks. And the Buddha allowed all of them to do what they thought was best for them. And the mastery of the Vinaya Another one also concerning monks is mastery of the Vinaya rules, the disciplinary rules. And if they could live by the disciplinary code, they would accumulate a lot of blessings. The next one is white knowledge. White knowledge is a translation for Bahusacca. That means a lot of knowledge of the Dhamma. The Buddha said that very few people can teach the Dhamma according to the real essence, the real Dhamma that the Buddha taught. Then the next one is the rank of an elder. An elder here is a monk. A thera is one who has ten vasas and above. A monk who has ten vasas and above is a monk who can ordain new monks. A monk who has ten vasas and above can accept disciples. The Buddha did not allow a younger monk to accept disciples, but the Buddha asked the monks to practice for the first 10 years to get a lot of experience, then after that only to accept disciples. That's why to be an elder is a blessing. The blessing of true deportment, that means a monk who can conduct himself well, that is a good blessing. Then the blessing of a following, that means if a monk can have a following of disciples, that is a blessing. This following can be lay disciples or monk disciples. And during the Buddha's time, we find that several monks, they had a large following of monk disciples. And nowadays, we find that not many monks are able to have a following of monk disciples. Some of them have a following of lay disciples. But to have a following of monk disciples, it is very good, especially for the religion, because there is always a shortage of monks. the blessing of a large following, to have a big following of lay disciples and monk disciples. During the Buddha's time, sometimes he would walk around with 1,250 monks, and he would go from place to place, and that would be really impressive. And the Buddha, why did the Buddha take such a large following with him? It was not that I mean, it's really very difficult to look after such a large amount of monks and to travel in a group. It's like an army moving. There's a lot of logistics involved to look after their food and all that. But it's not easy to have a large following because unless that person has enough metta, and enough ability to teach, there would not be many monks who would want to follow him. A man of good family, that means to be born into a good family. A good family is not necessarily a rich family. A good family is one which is upright, who knows the Dhamma, who follows the Dhamma, straightforward, simple people. It's not easy to find sometimes. A fair complexion. Fair complexion I think you all understand. Pleasant speech, to talk pleasantly. This is one of the qualities that endear a person to others. If a person speaks very rudely, unpleasant speech, nobody likes to be near him or her. The Buddha said all of us are born with an axe in our tongue in the Dhammapada. If we are not careful, we simply swing the axe and we hurt ourselves. To be content with little, somebody who has few wishes, few things to ask for, and freedom from sickness, this is another great blessing to be seldom sick. Now, the next sutta is 1.20.2. The Buddha said, Monks, if even for the lasting of a finger snap, a monk should practice the first jhāna, such a one may be called a monk. Not empty of result is his jhāna. He abides doing the master's bidding. He is one who takes advice, and he eats the country's alms food to some purpose. But could I not say of one who makes much of the first jhāna? In this sutta, the Buddha is praising a monk who can attain jhāna even for a short time, as short as a finger snap. So here, firstly, we find that the Buddha praises jhāna. places the attainment of jhāna. This is quite different from nowadays some people belittle jhāna. The other thing we can see from this is that jhāna can be attained even for a short moment. Even a person, how long a person can attain jhāna and abide in jhāna depends on how long he has cultivated it. If a person is new and has just attained jhāna, he is not very stable and he could attain it for a short time. But with longer practice, perhaps he can abide in jhāna for longer and longer. This jhāna, I'd just like to explain a bit. This word jhāna is sometimes translated differently. Years ago they used to translate it as trance, musing, etc. And more recently they translated it as absorption, mental absorption. But the word jhāna literally means incandescence, brightness. So probably a translation which is nearer the root word would be the state of mental incandescence. Because a person who can attain jhāna, his mind becomes bright. That's why when he's reborn into the jhāna plane, he becomes a being with a lot of brightness. Now we go to the next sutta, 1.21.47. The Buddha said, monks they partake not of the deathless who partake not of mindfulness of body and 1.21.48 they who partake of mindfulness of body do indeed partake of the deathless so here the buddha is saying that mindfulness of the body is extremely important it can bring us to the deathless state but here It is my personal opinion that body here includes the mind also. Body sometimes, because there's some other sutra where the Buddha mentions the body with the perceptions and mental workings. So here, even though it doesn't mention perception and mental workings, I would assume that it includes the mental part, the mind. Because the body and the mind are the two things that we associate with the self. The Buddha said we always associate the self with the five khandhas. And the five khandhas, if you analyze it, it is actually the body and four mental parts which constitute the mind.

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Now we come to the chapter of the twos. We have finished with the chapter of the ones. Anguttara Nikaya, chapter of the twos. Dukkha Nipata. 2.1.2. The Buddha said, monks, these two struggles are hard to undergo in the world. What two? the struggle of householders who live at home to provide clothing, food, lodging, medicines for the sick, and provision of necessities, and the struggle of those who have gone forth from home to the homeless to renounce all basis of rebirth. These are the two struggles. Of these two monks, the latter is the more important. Therefore I say unto you, thus must you train yourselves. We will undertake the struggle to renounce all substrates of rebirth, or all bases of rebirth. That is how you must train yourself, monks." So the Buddha says, that's the end of the sutta, the Buddha is saying that the struggle of householders, is to provide the necessities for the home. And the struggle of monks is to renounce the supports or the basis of rebirth. And the struggle of monks is the more important. Sometimes we find a lot of people, they go through life struggling, One thing after another, when you're young, a lot of people, they struggle to get a good education, and after that they want to get a good job, and after that they want a good marriage partner, and after that they want children. One thing after another, they want then a car and a house and grandchildren later, etc. And then, at the end of it all, a lot of people, when they're about to die, They are very confused. They are very disappointed. And then they wonder what life is all about. All the things that they wanted, they struggled for. Most of it they have attained and suddenly they find that they have to lose all of it. So we keep on coming back again and again to do this kind of struggle. But the Buddha said the struggle to end the cycle of rebirth is far more important. And then the next sutta is 2.1.3. Monks, there are these two things that burn. What two? Herein, a certain one has done immoral acts of body. He has done immoral acts in speech and thought. He has omitted moral acts in body, speech and thought. He is burned or seared with remorse at the thought, I have done wrong in body, speech and thought. I have left undone the good deeds in body, speech and thought, and he burns at the thought of it. These monks are the two things that burn." So the Buddha says, if we have done immoral acts, immoral karma in body, speech and mind, or we have omitted to do moral acts, moral karma, wholesome karma in body, speech and thought, then our conscience is pricked. So you see, sometimes it's not only that we do something immoral. Even if we fail to do something that we ought to do, later it will burn our conscience and we get pricked by it. That's why we have to be careful. What are the immoral acts? For example, immoral act of body might be killing. committing adultery or stealing. And immoral acts of speech might be lying, slandering, carrying tales so that people quarrel, etc. And then immoral act of thought might be having hatred for somebody, etc. Now, the next sutra is 2.1.5. Buddha said, Two things, monks, have I realized. To be discontented in good states and not to shrink back from the struggle. Without shrinking back, monks, I struggle on thus. Gladly would I have skin and sinews and bones wither and my body's flesh and blood dry up, if only I may hold out until I win what may be won by human strength. by human energy, by human striving. By my earnest endeavor, monks, I want enlightenment. I want the unrivaled freedom from the bond. And you too, monks, do not you decline the fight, but struggle on, saying to yourselves, gladly would I have my skin and sinews and bones wither, and my body's flesh and blood dry up, if only I may hold out until I win what may be won by human strength, by human energy, by human striving. Then you two monks in no long time shall win that goal for which the clansmen rightly leave home for the homeless life. even that unrivaled goal of righteous living, realizing it for yourselves even in this very life, and having reached it, you shall abide therein. Therefore, I say unto you, monks, thus must you train yourselves. We will not decline the fight, but will struggle on with this thought. Let skin and sinews and bones wither, etc., etc. That is how you must train yourselves, monks." That's the end of the sutta. There's a sutra in the Majjhima Nikaya, I think number 12, where the Buddha described the struggle that he underwent. the six years, the various types of suffering he underwent. And it was quite moving to read the way the Buddha struggled. And the Buddha said that nobody in the past could have suffered more than him on the spiritual path. And in the future, the Buddha said nobody also could possibly suffer more than him on the spiritual path. At the very most, it could only equal the amount of suffering he went through. So you see that our teacher is somebody who exerted himself. And the Buddha, that's why, also encouraged us to put in a lot of effort. And how much effort we put in would determine how much we get out of the spiritual path. And basically, it is concerned with letting go. The spiritual path is concerned with letting go of the ego. Letting go with our likes and dislikes, our opinions, etc. And anything to do with the ego. That's why it's very important to always observe our mind. A person is a meditator, he should always be observing his mind, see the ego working. The next Uttara is 2.1.6. Buddha said, monks, there are these two things. What two? Looking with satisfaction on things which are fetters that bind to rebirth and looking with disgust thereon. Monks, he who dwells looking with satisfaction on things that bind like fetters, abandons not greed, abandons not hatred, abandons not delusion. He who abandons not these is not released from rebirth, from old age, from sickness, from death, sorrow and grief, woe, lamentation and despair. He is not released from dukkha, ill, I say. But monks, he who dwells looking with disgust on things which are fetters that bind, abandons greed, hatred and delusion. Abandoning these, he is released from old age and decay, etc. He is released from dukkha, I declare. These monks are the two things." That's the end of the sutta. So the Buddha is saying that there are certain things which are fetters, attachments. Attachments to our relatives, attachments to our property, our wealth. These are the two greatest attachments. The Dhammapada, the Buddha said, the chains, iron chains that bind a person, are nothing compared to the bonds that are created from family ties, from worldly ties, ties of a close family, ties of our property, etc. Those are real bonds. So, a person who is not learned in the Dhamma Those things that are vectors to that person, that means those things that bind him to the wheel of samsara, he looks with satisfaction on them. He's very happy and satisfied that he's got a big house, lot of money in the bank, he's got very beautiful children, very loving husband, very loving wife, etc. Those things that to a worldly person are things that give him joy and happiness, are those very things that bind us to samsara. That is why it is very difficult to walk the path, the spiritual path. Most people They want to enjoy those things because it's very normal for worldly people, for normal human beings to enjoy things like that, having a loving husband, loving wife, loving children, etc. And they get a lot of joy and satisfaction enjoying good music, a nice TV set, Astro TV, those are the very things that bring us back to rebirth. So the Buddha says, if we have the wisdom of the Dhamma, from listening to the Dhamma, then we know that these are the things that bring us back to rebirth. That's why the Buddha says in the Dhammapada that the worldly path is in one direction. The path to Nibbana is in the opposite direction. Some people, They think they want to get the best of both worlds. They want to put one foot in one boat and one foot in the other boat. It's very difficult to do that. If you make any progress after some time, you realize that if you really want to cultivate, you have to renounce. If you don't renounce, it's very difficult to practice. 2.1.9, the Buddha said, monks, these two bright states protect the world. What to? Sense of shame and fear of blame, hiri otapa, which probably can be better translated as conscience and remorse. And then Buddha continues, monks, if these two states did not protect the world, then there would be seen no mother or mother sister. no uncle's wife, nor teacher's wife, nor wife of honourable men. But the world would come to confusion, for miscreties such as exist among goats and sheep, fowls and swine, dogs and jackals, But monks, since these two bright states do protect the world, therefore there are seen mothers and mothers' sisters, uncles and uncles' wives, teachers' wives, etc., etc. That's the end of the sutta. So the Buddha is saying that because we have a sense of conscience and remorse, Conscience meaning like the fear to do something wrong. And remorse meaning that to grieve, to feel remorse over some wrong that you have done. People without a sense of remorse, they do something wrong and they don't feel the conscience breaking them. Maybe their conscience does break them, but they just keep on doing the wrong things until it doesn't pain them anymore. So a person with remorse and conscience, he would not do things that animals do. The Buddha is saying, talking here about promiscuity, you see animals, they don't recognize mother and son or daughter, etc. They just are very promiscuous. So, human beings don't do that. But sometimes you find some human beings do that. Especially nowadays, you read in the papers, there's a lot of cases of incest, etc. So if we behave like animals, then it's very likely that next time we come back to rebirth, we'll have animal rebirth. If we behave like devas, then it's very likely that we will have rebirth in the deva realm. 2.2.5. The Buddha said, monks, if in any dispute the offending monk and the reproving monk do not practice strict self-examination, it may be expected that it will conduce to protracted, bitter, contentious strife, and the monks will be unable to live at ease. But when, in any dispute, both the offending monk and the reproving monk do practice strict self-examination, it may be expected that it will not conduce to protracted, bitter, contentious strife, and that the monks will be able to live at ease. And how do the two parties practice strict self-examination? Herein, the offending monk reflects thus, I have fallen into some bodily offense. Now, the other monk saw some particular occasion of bodily offense into which I had fallen. Had I not so offended, he could not have seen it. Since I so offended, he saw it. Seeing it, he was annoyed. Being annoyed thereat, he gave utterance to his annoyance. Thus rebuked by him, in his annoyance I also was annoyed. and told others of my annoyance. So herein my fault overcame me, as in the case of one who has to pay duty on his goods." That is how the offending monk practices strict self-examination. And how monks does the reproving monk do likewise? Herein the reproving monk thus reflects, This monk has fallen into some bodily offense. Indeed, I saw this monk so falling into offense. Had he not done so, I should not have seen him so doing. As he did so, I saw him so doing. At the sight of this, I was displeased thereat. Being displeased, I expressed my displeasure to this monk. Thus annoyed by my expression of annoyance, this monk told others of his annoyance. So herein my fault overcame me, as in the case of one who has to pay duty on his goods. That is how the reproving monk practices strict self-examination. Now, if both the offending and reproving monk do not practice strict self-examination, it may be expected that it will conduce to protracted, bitter, contentious strife, and the monks will be unable to live at ease. But if, on the contrary, they do practice strict self-examination, it may be expected that the opposite will happen. That's the end of the sutta. This sutta is more for monks, but it is equally applicable to lay people. Sometimes you find two parties quarreling, and the Buddha is saying that if we are involved in any quarrel or in any ill feeling with somebody else, we have to examine ourselves and be frank and see our faults. And if we practice self-examination and admit our faults, then we can apologize or at least, even if we don't apologize, we don't make matters worse by prolonging the dispute or whatever. 2.2.7 The Brahmin Janusoni came to visit the Exalted One. and after paying respect, etc., sat down at one side. So seated, he said to the Exalted One, Pray, Master Gautama, what is the reason, what is the cause, why some beings here in this world, when body breaks up after death, are reborn in the waste, the woeful plains, the downfall, in hell? The Buddha said, Owing to commission and omission, Brahmin. And then Janusoni asked again, But pray, Master Gautama, Why are they reborn when body breaks up after death, in the happy lot in the heaven world? Again the Buddha said, owing to commission and omission, Brahmin. And Janusoni said, I do not understand the detailed meaning of what has been concisely stated by the worthy god Tama. but not explain in detail. It would be well for me if the worthy Gautama would teach me Dhamma in such a way that I might understand his meaning in detail." Then the Buddha said, Then Brahmin, do you listen? Give careful attention and I will speak. Very good, sir, replied the Brahmin Janasvani to the Exalted One. The Exalted One said, Now in this connection, Brahmin, certain beings have committed immoral acts of body, speech and thought. They have omitted moral acts of body, speech and thought. Thus, Brahmin, it is owing to commission and omission that beings are reborn in the waste, the woeful plains, the downfall, in hell. Again, Brahmin, certain beings have committed moral acts of body, speech and thought. They have omitted immoral acts of body, speech and thought. Thus, again, it is owing to commission and omission that beings after death are reborn in the heaven world. Excellent Master Gautama, excellent Master Gautama, etc, etc. And then the Brahmin took refuge in the Buddha. So here this sutra again is about karma. The Buddha again is saying that karma has two parts of it, doing of something and neglecting to do something. So just like I explained just now, both we have to look after. Just like for example, if we create good karma towards our parents, That is good karma, but because our parents have done a lot for us, so if we neglect to look after our parents, and that again is very bad karma. Now we come to another sutra, which is a previous sutra, which I missed out the last time. It is 2.3.9. The Buddha said, monks, it is because I observe these two results, therein that I am given to dwelling in lonely spots, in solitary lodging in the forest. What to observing my own pleasant way of living in this very life and feeling compassion for future generations. These are the two results. That's the end of the Sutta. Here the Buddha is saying that he likes to live in secluded places, live alone in the forest or caves, etc. for two reasons. One is his own pleasant way of living. That means he has a pleasant abiding for himself because when a monk stays alone, there is nobody to disturb him. And he's very free to do what he likes. And especially if a monk is good in meditation, he can just spend his time in meditation which gives him a lot of bliss and a lot of advantage in the spiritual life because the Buddha said that the cultivation of the jhanas will give you four advantages. Cultivation of the mind, cultivation of samadhi, concentration. give you four advantages, namely the four fruits of Aryahood, Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami and Arahanthood. This is mentioned, I think, in the Digha Nikaya. And he also said somewhere, I think in the Sutta or in the Vinaya, he says when he lives alone in the forest, then He feels so free that even when he wants to answer the calls of nature, he doesn't have to look around to see whether anybody is around. And the second reason is feeling compassion for future generations. This is because of compassion for future generations. He is showing the way for monks. In other words, encouraging monks to stay in secluded places to cultivate themselves. And he also always encouraged monks to practice alone, stay in secluded places and practice alone. But of course not all monks can do it unless you come to that stage where you can live alone. If you go and try to live alone when you're not ready, it can have a negative effect instead of a positive. The other thing I'd like to mention here concerning this sutra is in the Mahayana teachings there is a little bit of contradiction also concerning this one because in the Mahayana Bodhisattva precepts one of the minor Bodhisattva precepts is that a Bodhisattva is not allowed or forbidden to stay alone In the quiet place, Aranya, a secluded place, he's not allowed according to the Bodhisattva precept to stay alone. Whereas here, even the Buddha is already enlightened and yet he likes to stay alone. And he also encourages his disciples who are not enlightened yet to also dwell alone to cultivate themselves. The other person who is famous for staying alone is Mahakassapa, the very ascetic monk, disciple of the Buddha.

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Now 2.3.10. The Buddha said, monks, these two conditions have part in knowledge. What two? Samatha and vipassana. Tranquilization and contemplation. If cultivated, what profit does samatha or tranquilization attain? The mind is cultivated. What profit results from a cultivated mind. All lust is abandoned. Monks, if contemplation, vipassana, is cultivated, what profit does it attain? Insight is cultivated. If insight is cultivated, what profit does it attain? All ignorance is abandoned. A mind defiled by lust is not set free, nor can insight defiled by ignorance be cultivated. Indeed, monks, this seizing of lust is the mind's release. This seizing of lust is liberation by mind. This seizing of ignorance is liberation by wisdom. That's the end of the sutta. This is one of the suttas which are quite important as far as meditation is concerned. Because here the Buddha is saying that two conditions bring us knowledge, samatha and vipassana. The Buddha didn't say one, the Buddha said two conditions result in knowledge, samatha and vipassana. And then the Buddha says that by cultivating samatha, finally the lust is abandoned. And by cultivating vipassana, you get insight. And then finally all ignorance is abandoned. Sometimes people translate this word vipassana as insight. But here you notice that Vipassana, if cultivated, results in insight or wisdom. So, vipassana cannot be insight or wisdom. Vipassana is something that is practiced and will result in insight or wisdom. Therefore, the proper translation should be contemplation. In Chinese, it is translated as zhi guan, zhi for samatha and guan, contemplation for vipassana. And then finally, the Buddha is saying that the mind defiled by lust is not set free, nor can insight defiled by ignorance. In other words, the Buddha is saying that both are necessary, that lust must be abandoned and ignorance must be abandoned. That's why the Buddha is saying that both samatha and vipassana are necessary. This word Samatha, tranquilization, is the work of making the mind tranquil. And there are different levels for different stages of Ariya-hood. In two suttas in the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha says that the Sotapanna and the Sakadagami, first and second stage Ariya, they only have perfect sila. Whereas the Anagami has perfect sila and Samadhi. and the Arahant has perfect Sila Samadhi and Panna. So you can see that Anagami and Arahant have perfect Samadhi which is always stated in the suttas to be the four jhanas or at least one pointedness of mind. So from here you can see that Sotapanna and Sakadagami in the Anguttara Nikaya does not require jhana. So from here you can see that Samatha, the practice of tranquilizing the mind, has different levels for Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami and Arahant. Samatha also leads to the lowering of the reduction of the hindrances. In the Sangyuta Nikaya and the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha says the condition for seeing things as they really are is samadhi. Nowadays, sometimes we have some controversy over the people who practice Samatha and people who practice Vipassana. But sometimes people get confused. The controversy should not be about whether Samatha is better or Vipassana is better, because both are necessary in the Buddha's teaching. If there is any controversy, it should be whether The Buddha's teaching is to practice both Samatha and Vipassana or is it only that one is necessary? Just as nowadays some people are saying that only Vipassana is necessary but Samatha is not necessary. For this we see in one sutra in Anguttara Nikaya 4.170 where the Arahant Ananda said in his old age that there are only four ways to Arahanthood. The first way is Samatha first followed by Vipassana. The second method is Vipassana first followed by Samatha. The third is Samatha and Vipassana at the same time. And the fourth is that you contemplate on the Self and then you attain one-pointedness of mind and then the way is made clear and then you realize the way to Arahanthood. So from this Sutta we find that both Samatha and Vipassana are necessary and there is nowhere in the sutra stated that you can attain arhanthood without one-pointedness of mind or jhanas as was taught by the Buddha. The other day I did not explain what you mean by liberation by mind and liberation by insight. These are the two ways a person attains Arahanthood. If we study the suttas, all the Nikayas, then we find that there are three ways in which a person attains Arahanthood. One is the person attains the four Rupajanas, and then the four Arupajanas. And then after that, cessation of perception and feeling. And coming out from cessation of perception and feeling, then he attains this liberation. And the second one is he attains the four jhanas. And coming out of the four jhanas, he contemplates four noble truths, etc. and he becomes an arahant. The third way a person becomes an arahant according to the suttas is when he does not use the jhanas at the moment of liberation. Like the case of the arahant Sariputta. Sariputta, according to one sutta, was fanning the Buddha. And the Buddha was talking to an external ascetic. And because of hearing the Dhamma, as the Buddha explained the Dhamma to the external ascetic, Sariputta just from hearing, he attained Arahanthood and it is commented by the commentaries that Sariputta was liberated by wisdom. Now, there is one sutra in the Majjhima Nikaya, where the Buddha said that Sariputta had attained all the jhanas, all the four rupa jhanas, all the four arupa jhanas, plus cessation of perception and feeling, nirodha samapatti. And so, a person who is liberated by wisdom even though he does not use jhāna at the moment of liberation, it does not mean that he does not have jhāna. All arahants have jhāna because the Buddha said in two suttas in the Uttaranikaya that Sotapanna and Sakadagami, they have perfect sila. Anagami have perfect sila plus samadhi and arahant has perfect sila samadhi and wisdom. sila samadhi and bhanya. So in the suttas the perfect samadhi is always defined either as the four jhanas or one-pointedness of mind. So the difference here between liberation by mind and liberation by insight or wisdom is that liberation by mind is the first two cases where they attain the jhanas and coming out of the jhanas they contemplate and they become liberated and become arahant. So that is liberation by mind. Whereas liberation by insight is not using the jhanas at the moment of liberation but But because the mind is very clear due to the cultivation of jhana previously, then just from contemplation itself, that person attains arahanthood. So this is the liberation by mind and liberation by wisdom. If you are interested in further details, you can look it up in my booklet called Samatha and Vipassana, where it's explained more in detail there. Now the other thing about this sutta I would like to remark is it has to be read in conjunction with another sutta, Anguttara Nikaya 6.29. In that sutta 6.29, I stated that the best condition for insight is a mind that is so concentrated that it is bright. a mind that is fully concentrated and is very bright, that is the best condition for insight. In other words, it is saying that samatha, the practice of samatha, tranquilization of the mind, will give you insight or wisdom. And the other thing mentioned in that sutta is that To abandon lust, it is very good to practice contemplation on the 32 parts of the body. This contemplation of the 32 parts of the body is Vipassana practice, contemplation. So in other words, here it is saying, in this Sutta 6.29, that Practicing of 32 parts of the body contemplation or vipassana leads to the abandonment of lust and the practice of samatha until the mind becomes concentrated and bright is the best condition for insight. Now this is quite the opposite of the sutta I've just read just now because just now that sutta says that when you Practice samatha, tranquilization, it leads to the abandonment of lust and vipassana will bring about insight. So that is why suttas have to be compared. If you just read one, you get a one-sided picture. So basically, what these two suttas also say is that samatha and vipassana are both necessary for knowledge or insight. Now we come to the next sutta, 2.4.1. The Buddha said, monks, I will teach you the condition of the unworthy and that of the worthy. Do you listen to it? Attend closely and I will speak. Yes, Lord, replied these monks to the exalted one. The exalted one said, monks, the unworthy man is ungrateful, forgetful of benefits. This ingratitude, this forgetfulness is congenial to mean people. It is altogether a feature of unworthy people, this ingratitude and forgetfulness of benefits. But monks, the worthy person is grateful and mindful of benefits done to him. This gratitude, this mindfulness, is congenial to the best people. It is altogether a feature of the best people, this gratitude and mindfulness of benefits. This sutta is telling us that we should be grateful to those people who have benefited us, especially our parents, our elders, our teachers, monks who have taught us, etc. And we should know that a person who is ungrateful according to the Buddha is a mean person especially people like our parents whom we owe a lot and you can see this in the next sutra the next sutra 2.4.2 the Buddha said monks one can never repay two persons I declare what to mother and father even if one should carry about his mother on one shoulder, and his father on the other, and so doing should live a hundred years, attain a hundred years, and if he should support them, anointing them with anguans, that is fragrant oil or something, kneading, bathing and rubbing their limbs, and they meanwhile should even void their excrements upon him, even so could he not repay his parents, Moreover, monks, if he should establish his parents in supreme authority, in the absolute rule over this mighty earth, abounding in the seven treasures, Not even thus could he repay his parents. What is the cause of that? Monks, parents do much for their children. They bring them up, they nourish them, they introduce them to this world. Moreover, monks, whoso incites his unbelieving parents, settles and establishes them in the faith. Whoso incites his immoral parents, settles and establishes them in morality. Whoso incites his stingy parents, settles and establishes them in liberality. Whoso incites his foolish parents, settles and establishes them in wisdom. Such a one, just by so doing, does repay, does more than repay what is due to his parents. That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha is saying that if we should take care of our parents for a hundred years, taking good care of them, bathing and massaging them, etc., carrying them about on your shoulder, even for a hundred years you still cannot pay back the debt of the parents, owed to your parents, because when we are young, if all of us try to recall We know on many occasions when we were young and helpless, when we were sick, many a times we could have passed away not for the great care that our parents showered on us, especially our mother, all of us. We know that the mother usually takes more care of the children personally than the father. That's why in the Indian tradition, they always talk about Mata Pitu, mother first, mother, father. Whereas in the Chinese tradition, we always say father first and then mother. And so you see, even if we were to take good care of our parents until they died, it's difficult to repay their kindness. So you can think of a person who is not filial to his parents, somebody who does not take care of the parents. And after the parent has passed away, I've seen for myself somebody who was not very filial to the parent and after the parent passed away, the remorse is very great on that person because the feeling that you have not done what you should have done to somebody whom you owe so much, it weighs down heavily on your conscience. Then the last part, the Buddha said, if we want to repay our parents, there are four ways where we can repay them and repay them fully and even more than what is due. One is, if they do not have faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, you bring them to listen to the teachings of the Buddha, or you lend them tapes to listen, etc. so that they have faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. then there is one way you have repaid your parents. The second one, if they do not know how to keep the precepts, they don't know about sila, you teach them to keep the five precepts. That's another way you repay them so that they are established in sila. The third way is if they are stingy, they don't know how to do dana, offerings. Then you teach them to like to do charity, to be generous. That's the third way. The fourth one, if they do not have wisdom, and you teach them the Dharma, or you get them to listen to cassettes, etc., of the Buddha's teachings, so that they understand, and then their wisdom grows. These are the four ways that Any one of them, or all of them, we can use to pay our parents' kindness. Why are these four ways important? Because you bring the parents into the right path. By having any one of these four, if they are well established in any one of these four things, faith in the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha, keeping the Sila precepts, Third one, being generous, liking to do dana offerings. And the fourth one is having wisdom. Then at least they will not fall into the woeful planes in the next life. And if they are well established, especially like in wisdom, they might never ever fall into the woeful planes again and slowly get out of samsara. Now the next sutra is 2.4.4. Now the house father Anathapindika came to visit the Exalted One and saluted him and sat down at one side. So seated he said this to the Exalted One, Pray Lord, how many in the world are worthy of offerings and where should an offering be made? Then the Buddha answered, two in the world, house father, are worthy of offerings, the learner and the adept. These two are worthy of offerings in the world, and here an offering should be made. That's the end of the sutra. Now, this is one of the suttas that we need to comment on, otherwise people may have some wrong, biased interpretation, or extreme interpretations. The Buddha is saying that two types of persons are worthy of offerings. And these two types are Aryan persons. The first one is a learner. A learner is what is called a seka. Seka means one who is training. And one who is training is a person who has attained the first path. or the first fruit, or the second path, or the second fruit, the third path, or the third fruit, and the fourth path. These are the seven types of persons. And the adept is the asekha, A-S-E-K-H-A, asekha. Asekha is one who is no more learning, that means an arahant. Arhan is the fourth fruit person and these are these areas are there are eight areas it's not that there are four areas you know there are eight areas later on we can see some suttas which can prove that you have 8 persons actually, not 4. There are some teachings, some later books, like the Abhidhamma and commentaries, which say that when a person attains the path, he immediately attains the fruit. But later I can show you some suttas where it is not quite so. You can have a person who is on the path and he can be on the path for many years before he attains the fruit. So here the Buddha is saying that these Aryans are worthy of offering and it is partly because of a sutra like this that there are some people they are due to the agreed for merit, sometimes they only like to make offerings to monks that they think are Aryans and they think that other monks are not worthy of offerings and this is not the Buddha's teachings. The Buddha has said in some other sutra, I think in the Anguttara Nikaya, that if you make offerings to monks with a selfish motive, to get such and such merit, then it reduces your merit. That's one thing we have to know. The other thing is the Buddha has stated in the Anguttara Nikaya 4.60 that it is the lay person's duty to supply the Sangha with the four requisites. The four requisites that a monk needs are the four essentials of existence. The first one is food, the second one is ropes, the third one is place to stay and the fourth one is medicine or medical care and the Buddha said it is a lay person's duty to supply monks with these four requisites and if lay persons don't take care of the Sangha then who is the Sangha to turn to? they might as well disrobe and earn their own salary if they people don't support them. And another thing is, there's another sutta where the Buddha said in the future, I don't have the number of the sutta offhand, the Buddha said in the future there will be monks who wear the yellow robe and they might be corrupt, they might not keep the precepts, and they might not practice the spiritual path, etc. Even then, the Buddha said, if you make offerings to them, still it is meritorious. Why? Because if we make offerings to the Sangha, then it helps to perpetuate the Sangha. And even if at a certain stage, the Sangha do not practice well, later there's always a chance that you might get arahants again. Just like in Sri Lanka, certain countries like Sri Lanka, there was a time when the monks were corrupt and so some people were so disillusioned that some monks, they went to Burma went to Thailand to reordain and come back and establish a new chapter, a new sect of Sangha, like for example the Siam Nikaya in Sri Lanka. It was started after a monk went over to Thailand, reordained with the Thai Sangha and came back. He wanted to change the Sangha. So it is important for lay people to continue to support the Sangha so that the Sangha can continue. If it is cut off, then it is forever cut off. And the Buddha said that it's always more meritorious to offer to the Sangha than a single monk. That's why we notice in the Vinaya, the Buddha's mother, that means the lady who looked after him, as a mother, it's actually his foster mother, because his real mother died very soon after he was born. And the foster mother became a nun, known as Mahapajapati. And after she became a nun, she decided to make a robe and offer it to the Buddha. So she came, and because of the love for the Buddha and the respect. She personally offered this robe to the Buddha, and the Buddha, out of compassion for her, refused to accept. The Buddha said, please offer it to the Sangha, because the Buddha wanted her to have more merit. But because of her sorrow, some attachment to the Buddha, the love, she didn't want to offer it to the Sangha. Even though the merit might be less, she wanted to give it to the Buddha. Second time she came and offered it to the Buddha. Second time the Buddha refused, asked her to give it to the Sangha. Third time she came and offered to the Buddha. Third time the Buddha refused, asked her to give it to the Sangha. Both also had the mutual love for each other. One wanted to give it to him personally. The other one, out of love for her also, wanted her to have more merit, asked her to offer it to the Sangha. The other thing is, it is stated in the Sutta that of all the material offerings that a person can give, the highest material offering is to make a monastery, either to offer the land for a monastery or to help build a monastery for the Sangha. And the Buddha said, by offering a monastery to the Sangha, the merit is higher than feeding the Buddha and all the Arahant disciples. all the Arahant disciples together, feeding them is not so meritorious as offering a monastery for the Sangha to live. Why? Because by offering a place for the Sangha to live, then the Sangha is perpetuated. It continues years and years and years. Now, the other thing is laypeople. should not discriminate too much between monks. The Buddha said in one sutta that lay people should not be too attached to one particular monk. The details are given in that sutta. There is no need to mention it here. And why? Because it is very difficult for lay people to distinguish between monks. and in the suttas we find even an anagami like the layperson citta even though he's an anagami when he invites monks to his house he bows down to them even though they are puttujana or what even he's an anagami he bows to the monks because he is bowing not to the particular monk he's bowing to the sangha the monks represent the sangha in the Anguttara Nikaya 4.4, the Buddha says that if you treat four persons badly, you have wrong conduct towards four persons, you create much demerit. One is to the Buddha, the second one is to his disciples, that means his monk disciples, third one is mother, the fourth one is father.

08-AN-Book-2C-(2.4.6-to-2.12.1).txt

Now I come to another sutta, 2.4.6. Once the Exalted One was staying near Savati at Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's park. Now great number of Devas of tranquil mind came to visit the Exalted One. And on coming to Him saluted the Exalted One and stood at one side. So standing, those Devas said this to the Exalted One. Lord, here is this Venerable Sariputta at East Park in the terrace house of Migara's mother, that means Visakha, teaching the monks about the person who is fettered inwardly and the person fettered outwardly. The company is delighted. It were a good thing, Lord, if the Exalted One would pay a visit to the Venerable Sariputta out of compassion for him. the Exalted One consented by silence. Then, even as a strong man might straighten out his bent arm or draw in his arm stretched out, even so did the Exalted One vanish from Jeta Grove and appear in the presence of the Venerable Sariputta at East Park in the terrace house of Migara's mother. And the Venerable Sariputta saluted the Exalted One and sat down at one side. As he thus sat, the Exalted One said this to the Venerable Sariputta, Sariputta, a great number of devas of tranquil mind came to visit me. And he repeated their request. That is, they asked the Buddha to visit rebel Sariputta. Then the Buddha continued. Now, Sariputta, those devas, though numbering 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60, yet they all stood in a space not greater than that made by the point of a gimlet, and that without crowding each other. Now you may think, Sariputta, surely it was yonder, that means in another world, that those devas' minds must have been trained to this attainment, namely, that though nambri ten, twenty, thirty, up to sixty, yet they all stood in a space no greater than that made by the point of a gimlet, and that without crowding each other. But that is not how you must regard it, Sariputta. It was just here, Sariputta, that their mind was trained to this attainment. Therefore, Sariputta, thus must you train yourself. We will become tranquil in senses and tranquil in mind. That is how you must train yourself. Indeed, Sariputta, those who are thus tranquil in sense, tranquil in mind, their bodily action also will be tranquil. And the same for speech and thought. Thus must you train yourself. We will present to our fellows in the holy life tranquility of speech and tranquility of thought, a present of tranquility. That is how you must train yourself. Those wondrous of other views, Sariputta, who have not heard this Dharma teaching are utterly discomfited. That's the end of the Sutta. Here in this Sutta, the Buddha is saying that these Devas, heavenly beings, 60 of them stood in a space no greater than that made by the point of a gimlet. That means the point of a needle. All of them could stand in at the point of a needle, such a small space and without crowding each other. And the Buddha is saying that they did not train their mind to do this in the heaven world or somewhere. It was just here in the human plane. So this human plane we can see is a very important plane because here we create a lot of karma whereas in the other planes we are reaping the results of our karma mainly. If we go to the heavens you find that the devas they enjoy themselves so much and they are not thinking of cultivating themselves. The only thing of enjoying themselves and that is quite natural. such a place. And then the beings in the lower planes, in the woeful planes, they're just reaping the bad fruit, the fruit of the bad karma. So they don't create so much new karma as the human plane. That's why the human plane, which is a very, very good plane for us to be because there's a place where we cultivate ourselves. So even for this, Like this, if we have strength of mind, then next time when we become devas, we might be able to do that. Now we come to 2.5.3. Buddha said, monks, there are these two companies. What two? The distinguished and the ignoble. And what monks is the ignoble company? Herein monks, in whatsoever company the monks are luxurious, lax, taking the lead in backsliding, shirking the duty of seclusion, and make no effort to reach the unattained, to win the goal not won. to realize the unrealized. The generation that follows comes to fall along with their view. That generation also is luxurious, lax, taking the lead in backsliding, shirking the duty of seclusion, and make no effort to reach the unattained, to win the goal not won, to realize the unrealized. This company amongst is called the ignoble. And what amongst is a distinguished company? Herein monks, in whatsoever company, the senior monks are not luxurious, not lax, not taking the lead in backsliding, not shirking the duty of seclusion. And they make an effort to reach the unattained, to win the goal not won, to realize the unrealized. The generation that follows them comes to fall along with their view. That generation also is not luxurious, lacks etc. and make an effort to realize the unrealized. This company monks is called the distinguished. These are the two companies and of these two the distinguished company has the pre-eminence. These, the Buddha here, you see the Buddha is talking about companies of monks. He's not talking about a single monk because during the Buddha's time monks used to group together in big numbers and they would travel from one monastery to another. They would not stay long in one place because they're supposed to be homeless and they go from one place to another. And so the Buddha praised those monks who practiced to win the goal of the spiritual life. 2.5.6. Monks, there are these two companies. What do the company train in bluster? Here, speaking means speaking empty, arrogant words, not in discussion by inquiry. And the company trained in discussion by inquiry, not in speaking empty, arrogant words. And what monks? Is the company trained in speaking empty, arrogant words, not inquiry? Here in monks, in whatsoever company, the monks listen not to the discourses uttered by the Tathagata, discourses profound, deep in meaning, transcending the world, dealing with emptiness when they are recited. They lend not a ready ear to them, apply not to them a mind bent on understanding. Consider not that those teachings are something to be learned by heart and mastered, but when those discourses made by poets tricked out with fair-sounding phrases, discourses external to Dhamma, utterances of disciples. When such are recited, they listen thereto, lend a ready ear to them, apply to them a mind bent on understanding, and consider that those teachings are something to be learned by heart and mastered. And when they have mastered that teaching, they do not question each other about it, do not open up a discussion thus, what is this? What is the meaning of this? when they neither open up the unrevealed nor explain the unexplained, nor dispel doubts on diverse doubtful points of Dhamma. Such a company monks is called trained in speaking empty arrogant words, not in enquiry. At Wat Monks is the company trained in enquiry, not trained in speaking empty, arrogant words. Here in Monks, in whatsoever company, the monks listen not to those discourses made by poets, tricked out with fair-sounding phrases, discourses external to Dhamma, utterances of disciples, but listen to those uttered by the Tathagata. are discourses profound, deep in meaning, transcending the world, dealing with emptiness. and having mastered that, question each other about it, open up discussion thus. What is this? What is the meaning of this? When such open up the unrevealed, explain the unexplained, and dispel doubts on diverse, doubtful points of Dhamma, such a company is called trained in enquiry, not in speaking empty, arrogant words. These are the two companies, and of these two, the latter has the pre-eminence. Here again, the Buddha is talking about two companies of monks. One is the monks who listen to the discourses of the Buddha, like the suttas here, like what you all are doing today, listen to the Buddha's words. Whereas the second company are those who listen to the utterances of disciples. What are these discourses that are the utterances of disciples? Utterances of disciples are meant to be the teachings of later monks because the disciples here refers to the monk disciples of the Buddha. The Buddha could see that in the future The later monks would write some new books and all that. So there are some people, instead of studying the Buddha's discourses, they prefer to study the words of these other monks. And the Buddha does not encourage that. The other thing about this you find is that the Buddha encouraged us to discuss and inquire whatever teachings we come across, we should inquire and discuss about it. In the Mangala Sutta, this is called Dhamma Sakacca, discussion of Dhamma. In the Samyutta Nikaya, number 20, the 20th Samyutta, the Buddha warned that in the future, people would not want to study and master the suttas. And because people are not interested in the suttas, instead of listening to the suttas, they'd rather listen to some other teachings, then it will cause the disappearance of the suttas. It is because the suttas are so important, that's why we take the trouble to read out these suttas, so that people can understand the real teachings of the Buddha. Some people would be surprised to learn that there's no such word as Tripitaka or Tipitaka spoken by the Buddha. Tipitaka was something that was coined later. In the suttas, we find the Buddha only mentions his teachings as Dhamma Vinaya. According to the Anguttara Nikaya, the Dhamma refers to the suttas. Suttas of the Buddha are called Dhamma and Vinaya are the disciplinary rules for the for the monks. So, the later books you find, like the commentaries and the Abhidhamma, there are certain contradictions. If you take the trouble to study the suttas in detail, then you will find that there are certain contradictions with the Abhidhamma, with the commentaries. It is only the earliest four Nikayas that there are no contradictions. And these earliest four Nikayas are accepted by everyone, including Mahayana, including Tibetan Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism as being the original words of the Buddha. And if we study the Four Nikayas, we find that there are no contradictions in them. They are very consistent. That is why, because these are not controversial books, that it is best if we want to study to depend on the Four Nikayas basically. In the Niga Nikaya No. 26, the Buddha said, Be a lamb unto yourselves, be a refuge unto yourselves with no other refuge. Take the Dhamma as your lamb, take the Dhamma as your refuge with no other refuge. So the Buddha is telling us that we take the Dhamma, the Buddha's teaching to be our master. And that's why we always take refuge with the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. That means the original teachings of the Buddha, the Buddha, his original teachings, and those Aryan disciples. But the trouble is sometimes it's hard to tell which are the Aryan disciples. So it was decided in the Second Sangha Council, about a hundred years after the Buddha's passing away, that if any monks teach us anything that is consistent with the Buddha's teachings, then we listen to him. If they teach us anything that is inconsistent with the Buddha's teachings, that means in the suttas, we don't listen to them. That was decided 100 years after the Buddha's passing away. Now we come to 2.6.12. The Buddha said, monks, when in a dispute there is worthy warfare on both sides, with tenacity of view, malice of heart, sulkiness and discontent, one's personality is ruffled. Therefore, monks, it may be expected that this will conduce to protracted, bitter, contentious strife, and the monks will be unable to live at ease. But when in a dispute, there is worthy warfare on both sides, with tenacity of view, malice of heart, sulkiness and discontent, once personality is not ruffled, then it may be expected that it will not conduce to protracted, bitter, contentious strife, and the monks will be able to live at ease. So here the Buddha is saying that What the Buddha is saying here concerns monks is also equally applicable to lay people. They mean that if there's any worthy warfare, that means there's any quarrel or any dispute, we should not get emotionally upset, become emotionally ruffled. If we become emotionally ruffled or upset, then it will lead to a long bitter strife. Whereas if we are not too emotionally involved, then that quarrel can end in not too long time. Sometimes when people practice mindfulness, if they don't have some samadhi, then when they become emotionally involved, then you find that all the mindfulness becomes lost. then no more mindful. It's difficult to remain mindful when you become emotionally involved and emotionally upset. So you have to always practice this upeka, this equanimity. Whatever happens in life, we try to remain equanimous. 2.10.1 The Buddha said, Monks, there are these two fools. What two? He who shoulders a burden that does not befall him, and he who shirks a burden that befalls him. These are the two. And then 2.10.2 Monks, there are these two wise ones. What two? He who shoulders a burden that befalls him, and he who takes not up one that does not befall him. These are the two. So these two suttas, the Buddha is saying that what is our duty, what is our burden, we should take it up. What is not our burden, we should not take it up. So if a person carries a burden that is not his burden, he is a fool. Or the burden that he should carry, for example, towards his family and all that, if he does not carry that duty, that burden, then he is a fool again. Now we come to 2.11.2. monks these two persons are hard to find in the world what to the one who is first to do a favor and he who is grateful for what is done these are the two persons hard to find in the world that's the end of the sutta you see this person who is first to do a favor few people would want to do a kind deed towards somebody unless he owes that person a kind deed. For a person to do a favour first means he is willing to do without any precondition. That kind of person is rare to find. And then also a person who is grateful. Very often we find that we have done something for somebody and later when we need a favour from him, he is forgotten that We have been kind to him before. So these are the two persons hard to find. 2.11.8. Monks, these two things are causes for the arising of wrong view. What to? Another's utterance and unthorough consideration. Yoniso Manasikara. 2.11.9. Monks, these two things are the causes for the arising of right view. What two? Another's utterance and thorough attention or thorough consideration. These are the two suttas. Now this right view, if a person has right view, then he is considered to be a sotapanna, one who has entered the stream, an ariya. To get right view, you just have to listen to another's utterance, that means another's teaching, and then you consider it thoroughly. You pay close attention, you pay proper attention, you consider it and you might be able to get right view. And for wrong view also, you hear and then you don't consider properly and you might end up with wrong view, especially if you hear wrong teaching. and you accept it because you don't have thorough attention or thorough consideration. So from this sutta, it appears like it is possible just from listening to the Dhamma to attain right view or enter the stream. And this seemed to have happened during the Buddha's time. Many people who came to listen to the Buddha teach the Dhamma. Very soon after that, the Buddha said that enter the stream. Now 2.12.1, the Buddha said, the believing monk, if he would aspire perfectly, should thus aspire, may I be like unto Sariputta and Moggallana. Monks, these are a sort of scale, these are a sort of measure for my disciples who are monks, namely Sariputta and Moggallana. Now the reason I'm reading this is again that there's a contradiction with the Mahayana Sutas and the Buddha here is saying that all his monk disciples should be like Sariputta and Moggallana. Sariputta is supposed to have the highest wisdom and Moggallana is the psychic power is the best. So, it is not like in the Mahayana Sutras, we say that Sariputta did not understand the Buddha's teachings, that he had inferior wisdom and all that.

09-AN-Book-3A-(3.2.12-to-3.3.24).txt

Now we come to chapter of the trees. And 3.2.12, the Buddha said, monks, these three things must be born in mind so long as he lives by a raja, a duly anointed ruler. What three? The first is the place where the raja, the duly anointed ruler was born. Then again, monks, the second thing he must bear in mind so long as he lives is the place where he was anointed. That means where he was crowned king. Then again, monks, the third thing he must bear in mind so long as he lives is the place where he won a battle, the place which he occupies as conqueror in the fight. These are the three things. In like manner, monks, these three things must be borne in mind by a monk so long as he lives. What three? The place where he got his hair and beard shaved off. donned the saffron robes, and went forth a wanderer from home to the homeless life. This is the first thing he must bear in mind so long as he lives. Then again monks, the second thing he must bear in mind is the place where he realized, as it really is, the meaning of this is ill, or this is dukkha, this is the rising of dukkha, this is the ceasing of dukkha, this is the practice that leads to the ending of dukkha. Then again, monks, the third thing he must bear in mind so long as he lives is the place where, by the destruction of the asavas, he himself in this very life came to know thoroughly the liberation by mind and liberation by wisdom that is without asavas, and having attained it, abides therein. These three things, monks, must be borne in mind by a monk so long as he lives. This sutra basically only concerns monks. And I read it basically for monks. These three things a monk must always remember. Where he went forth as a monk. The second one, where he understood the four Aryan truths. The basics of the Aryan truths. That means he entered the stream. and the third one is where he became an Arahant. 3.2.16 The Buddha said, monks possessed of three qualities among his proficient in the practice leading to the sure cause and he has strong grounds for the destruction of the asavas. What three? Herein a monk practices sense restraint, indriya-sanghvara, He is moderate in eating and is devoted to wakefulness. And how does he practice sense restraint? Herein a monk, seeing an object with the eye, does not grasp at the general features or at the details thereof, since coveting and dejection, evil, unprofitable states, might overwhelm one who dwells with the faculty of the eye uncontrolled. He applies himself to such control, restrains the faculty of eye, attains control thereof. When he hears a sound with the ear, or with his nose smells a scent, or with the tongue tastes a flavor, or with the body contacts tangibles, when with the mind he cognizes mental states, he does not grasp at the general features or details thereof. But since coveting and dejection, evil, unprofitable states might overwhelm him, he restrains the faculty of mind, attains control thereof. That, monks, is how a monk practices sense restraint. And how is a monk moderate in eating? Herein, a monk takes his food thoughtfully and prudently, not for fun, not for indulgence, not for fattening, not for beautification, only for the maintenance and nourishment of the body, for keeping it unharmed, to help the practice of the holy life, thinking, my former feeling I checked and I set going no new feeling. So shall I keep going, be blameless, and live happily. Thus is a monk moderate in eating. And how is a monk devoted to wakefulness? Herein by day, a monk walks up and down, and then sits, thus cleansing his heart of things that he must check. By night for the first watch he does likewise. In the middle watch of the night, lying on his right side, he takes up the lying posture, resting one foot on the other, and thus collected and composed, fixes his thoughts on rising up again. In the last watch of the night, at early dawn, he walks up and down, then sits, and so cleanses his heart of things that he must check. That is how a monk is given to wakefulness. Possessed of these three qualities, a monk is proficient in the practice leading to the sure cause, and he is thoroughly set upon the destruction of the asavas. Here in this sutta, the Buddha is talking about three practices which are very very important for a monk. The first one is practicing sense restraint. Sense restraint, that means he does not look at the features or the details of the six sense objects. Only what is necessary he will notice. In other words, he tries not to pay attention to the things of the world. the Buddha taught us in meditation to practice the four stations of mindfulness, four objects of satipatthana, which is basically body and mind. The mind is a part now, which is very, very important. We should always focus our attention on the mind because if you watch the mind carefully, you will be able to know that the body is also in the mind. And then the second one is moderation in eating, not to eat too much. The third one is practicing wakefulness during the day and night. Try to practice sitting and walking, except for the middle watch. The middle watch is supposed to be from about 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. That means If you can, sleep 4 hours. But then, 4 hours is not something that everybody can do. Only somebody who's got extremely strong Samadhi might be able to do with 4 hours. But if we can do with not more than 6 hours, that should be quite alright. Because even in yoga, the advice is that we should sleep not more than 6 hours. Last week we came to Sutta number 3.2.16. And in this Sutta, the Buddha was talking about three things to be practiced. And the Buddha said that if a monk is proficient in the practice of these three things, he has strong grounds for the destruction of the asavas. I went through these three things the other day, but I'd like to comment a bit more about them. The first one, I said was a practice of sense restraint, Indriya Sanghvara. Actually, I made a slight mistake here. The practice is actually sense restraint, but the title of this practice is Indriyesu Guttadwara, which means guarding the sense doors. In a description of guarding the sense doors, The Buddha says that when a monk sees an object with the eye, he does not grasp at the general features, that is the characteristics, nimitta, or at the details, nana, vayana, jhana, the minor details of it. And Buddha said, if he did so, coveting and dejection, evil, unprofitable states might overwhelm one who dwells with the faculty of the eye uncontrolled. So he sets a restraint over the faculty of I. Similarly, for the other six sense doors, for the ear, the nose, tongue, the body, and the mind. So here, we observe very carefully, in this guarding of the sense doors, in Vijayasubhuta Dvara, A person in practicing meditation is to be careful not to grasp. The word here, grasp, actually is the Pali word, gahi, which means to take up or to accept or to hold on to, hold on to the objects of the six sense doors, either the general features of it, the signs of it or the details of it. What the Buddha is saying is that we don't take up or accept or hold on to the characteristics of the six sense objects or the details. and we restrain the faculty of I. When we restrain the faculty of I and the other six senses, it means only what is necessary, we pay attention to. What is not necessary, we don't pay attention. Because if we paid attention to the six sense objects, what would happen is that There is perception, there is feeling, followed by perception and followed by thoughts. And these thoughts will multiply what is called papanca, the proliferation of thoughts, which is hard to restrain. So, in the Buddha's teachings, meditation is not to watch the six sense doors, as some people say. Because here, that's what it says, not to watch the six sense doors. In fact, to practice a restraint of the six sense doors, what we actually have to watch is the body and mind, what we take to be the self. Because the problem with living beings is that we hold on to this idea of a self, and this idea of a self is tied to the body and the mind. Therefore, To untie the knot, the knot is here in body and mind. To untie the knot, we have to observe the body and the mind to see that there is no atta, no self there. So the body and the mind is also basically the four stations of mindfulness or the four stations of intense states of recollection. So that's the first one. The second one is, as I mentioned the other day, bhojane matanirtha, moderation in eating. Third one is devotion to wakefulness. These are the three. But the other thing I'd like to mention here is that in the Digha Nikaya, there is a definition of a term called charana, conduct. And this conduct, you see the Buddha, one of the names of the Buddha is Vijacarana Sampanno, that means replete with Carana conduct and Vijja is knowledge. The Buddha is replete with knowledge and conduct. And so this term conduct or Carana can also be called practice, is according to the late lady side door. He says that conduct, charana, consists of these few things. First one is sila, seven things. First one is sila, moral conduct. The second one is santosa, contentment. The third one is indriyesu, guttadwara, which is guarding the sense doors. Fourth one is satisampajanya, recollection and awareness. Fifth one is viveka, seclusion. Sixth one is nivarana, nivarana, pahana, abandonment of the hindrances. The seventh one is the four jhanas, attainment of the four jhanas. Now, this explanation of charana consisting of these seven things given by the late Lady Saido is actually in accordance with the Digha Nikaya. only the Digha Nikaya, but if we study the other Nikayas, like Majjhima Nikaya, this Anguttara Nikaya, Sangyuta Nikaya, we have to add three more items which he did not include. Two of these items is in the Sutta we just read. One is Bhojane Matta Niyuta, moderation in eating. Another one is Jagariya Nu Yoga, devotion to wakefulness. These two, it's obvious from this last sutta we just read, that they are very important, so they must not be left out in the practice of the spiritual path. The third one he left out was the seven saddhamma, the seven true dhammas, seven items which are important. These seven items are mentioned in Majjhima Nikaya No. 53. First one is saddha, faith or confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. The second one is hiri, third one is uttapa. This hiri and uttapa is conscience and remorse, a sense of conscience and a sense of remorse. Then bahusacca, much learning, much knowing of the Dhamma, much knowledge of the Dhamma, viriya, effort. Sati, recollection or mindfulness. Panya is wisdom. So these seven things, seven saddhamma, are also important things to acquire on the path. So a complete explanation of Charana would be the seven items given in the Digha Nikaya and by Lady Siddhal. Plus you add another three things which was missed out in the Digha Nikaya. namely I just mentioned moderation in eating, devotion to wakefulness and the seven saddhamma, seven things which are important. I come to the next sutta 3.2.19 The Buddha said, monks possessed of three characteristics, a shopkeeper is incapable of acquiring wealth he had not before, of holding what he gets, or increasing what he holds. What three? Here in monks, the shopkeeper at early dawn attends not closely to his work, nor at midday, nor again in the evening. These are the three characteristics. Just so monks possess of three characteristics, a monk is incapable of acquiring a state of profit, of holding it when gotten, or increasing a state of profit when he gets it. What are the three? Herein, monks, at early dawn, the monk does not concentrate on the sign of his meditation exercise, nor at midday, nor in the evening. It is owing to these three characteristics that a monk is incapable of acquiring a state of profit, of holding it, etc. and vice versa. So, in this sutta, the Buddha is saying that a shopkeeper, because he does not attend closely to his work, in the morning, in the midday or in the evening, so he is not capable of making much money. So in the same way, if a monk does not concentrate on his meditation in the morning, in the afternoon and in the evening, he is also not able to progress in his meditation. This sutta is trying to tell us that meditation is actually a full-time job, a full-time duty. If you want to improve in our meditation, we have to, almost the whole day, try to rid our mind of unwholesome states and concentrated on our meditation object, so that if we keep on practicing the whole day, then we can progress much faster. So we have to remember that the more time we put into meditation, the faster we would progress. But if we spend very little time, only once a day, or half an hour a day, it's very difficult to progress. The next sutra is 3.21. Thus have I heard, on a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Savati at Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's park. Now the Venerable Savita and Mahakotita went to visit the Venerable Sariputta, and on coming to him, greeted him courteously. As he said at one sight, the Venerable Sariputta said this to the Venerable Savita, Reverend Savita, there are these three persons to be found in the world. What three? One who is a body witness, Kaya Sakin, one who is a view attainer, Diti Pata, and one faith liberated, Sada Vimuta. These are the three. Now, Reverend, of these three, which seems to you most excellent in choice?" And the Venerable Savitha answered, Yes, Reverend Sariputta, there are these three persons. Of these three, I prefer the faith liberated, that is the saddha-vimutta. Why so? Because in this one, the faculty of faith is most developed. Then the Venerable Sariputta asked the same question of the Venerable Mahakautita, who replied, To me, the one who is a body witness, Kayasakhin, seems most excellent in choice. Why so? Because in this one, the faculty of concentration is most developed. Then the Venerable Mahakautita asked the same question of the Venerable Sariputta, who replied, Reverend Kothita, there are these three persons, and he repeated the names. Of these three, he who is a view-attainer, Diti Bhatta, seems to me the most excellent in choice. Why? Because in this one, the faculty of insight or wisdom is most developed. Then the Venerable Sariputta said to the two others, Now, reverends, we have all three expressed our views according to our leanings. Suppose we go together to visit the Exalted One, and on coming to Him, let us tell Him of this matter. According as the Exalted One shall decide it, so will we uphold. Very good, sir, said the other two to the Venerable Sariputta. So all three went to visit the Exalted One. and on coming to Him, saluted Him and sat down at one side. So seated, the Venerable Sariputta said to the Exalted One, and he repeated all the talk they had. Then the Exalted One said, It is no easy matter, Sariputta, to decide offhand which of these three persons is the most excellent in choice. It may well be that this person, who is faith liberated, is on the path to Arahantship, that this one who is a body witness is a once-returner or a non-returner, that this one who is a view-attainer is also a once-returner or a non-returner. That is anagami or sakadagami. It is no easy thing, Sariputta, to decide offhand about this matter. It may well be that this person who is a body witness is on the path to arahantship that the other two are once-returners anagami or non-returners sakadagami. Or again, it may well be that this person who is a view-attainer is on the path to arahantship, while the two others are once-returners or non-returners. Indeed, it is no easy task, Sariputta, to decide offhand which of these three persons is most excellent in choice. Ah, this is one of those interesting suttas. here they are discussing about three types of ariya the body witness the view attainer and the faith liberated and these three persons according to the buddha these three persons can either be a person who is on the path to arahantship that means the fourth path fourth path fourth maga person or these three could also be anagami, third fruition person, or they could be sakadagami, second fruition person. So, in this sutta, the Buddha said it is not easy to answer this question offhand, which says that there are some things which even a Buddha cannot answer offhand like that. Now, In this sutta, why I say it's very interesting is because firstly, you find it is mentioned here that these three types of ariya, it is possible that any one of these three could be a fourth path attainer. Which means to say that a fourth path attainer can be found. And this contradicts the Abhidharma. and later commentarial books, which says that when a person attains the fourth path, he immediately, the next moment, attains the fourth fruition. In other words, a path attainer, whether it's the first or the second or the third or the fourth path attainer, will immediately after that, the next moment, become a fruition person. But this is contradicted by this sutra. In fact, there is more than one sutra that says a path attainer can exist. In other words, the four types, the ariyas are not four types of persons. It is eight types of persons. Eight types. Either the first path person or the first fruition, second path or second fruition, third path, third fruition, fourth path, fourth fruition. Now another sutta which corroborates this is Majjhima Nikaya 142. And in that sutta, I think Dakina Vibhanga Sutta, it is mentioned that you can make offerings to a first path attainer. You can also make offerings to a first fruit attainer. You can make offerings to a second path attainer. You can also make offerings to a third to a second fruition attainer. You can make offerings to a third path attainer, third fruition attainer, fourth path attainer, and fourth fruition attainer or arahant. So, there's a second sutra, which contradicts the Abhidhamma. The third one is Sanghuta Nikaya 25.1. It's also mentioned that first path attainer Before he dies, he will definitely attain the first fruition, before he dies, but it's not mentioned how long, which means any time after a person attains the first path, until he dies, might be one day, might be 10 years, might be 30 years, it is definite that he will attain the fruit. Now in the Majjhima Nikaya, number 27, it is mentioned the difference between the fourth path attainer and the fourth fruition attainer or the arahant. The fourth path attainer understands the four ariyan truths, whereas the fourth fruit attainer or arahant sees and knows the four Aryan truths and also the Asavas are destroyed. So from here you can see that the path attainer does exist. Now another thing I'd like to mention is like the commentary to the Majjhima Nikaya number 70. says that the three Aryans that we just described, the body witness, Kaya Sakin, the view attainer, Diti Patha, and the faith liberated, Saddhavi Muta, they say that these three types of Arya can also be the first fruition person. but this is not supported by this sutta. This sutta says that these three persons can either be a second fruition or the third or the fourth path attainer. So we have to be look out for these kind of suttas which tell us the contradictions That's why this kind of suttas, we pay careful attention, then we can find out the contradictions that the Abhidharma and the commentaries make with the suttas. The next sutta is 3.3.24. The Buddha said, monks, these three persons are very helpful to another person. What three? the one through whom a person goes for refuge to the Buddha, to the Dharma, and to the Sangha. Then there is the one through whom one understands as it really is, the meaning of this is Dukkha, this is the arising of Dukkha, this is the ceasing of the Dukkha, this is the practice that leads to the ceasing of Dukkha, that means the four Aryan Truths. Also there is the one through whom a person, by destroying the Asavas, himself in this very life comes to know thoroughly the liberation by mind, the liberation by wisdom, which is freed of the asavas, and having attained it, abides therein. Such a person is very helpful to one. These are the three persons. Then these three, I declare there is no other more helpful to this person. To these three persons I declare, one cannot make requital by salutations, by rising up in his presence, by saluting him with claps hands, by dutiful behavior, or by offerings of the requisites of food, clothing, bed and lodging, medicines and extra delicacies." That's the end of the Sutta. Here this Sutta is saying that these three persons help us the most. You cannot help, you cannot find any other person more helpful to you than these three persons. The first one who brings you to take refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha. In other words, the person who introduces you to the teachings of the Buddha. That's the first person we owe a great debt to. Then the second one is the one who makes us understand, who helps us to understand the four Aryan truths. When we understand the basics of the four Aryan truths, we have entered the stream and we will never fall into the woeful pains again. That's why we owe a great debt to this second person. The third one is the person who helps us to attain arahanthood, to attain destruction of the asavas. What is this asavas? Asavas can be Translated as uncontrolled mental outflows, that means the running of the mind. Because when the mind runs, that means there is consciousness through the six sense doors. And where is the consciousness through the six sense doors creates the arising of the world. The world, the Buddha said, arises in consciousness. Without consciousness, there is no world. That's why the Buddha said that the world is like a dream. It's insubstantial. It's hollow. Sunyata, emptiness. But because there are so many things to enjoy in the world, so many things to play in the world, we can't let go of this dream. We want to dream again and again. Until we have suffered enough, we have been pained enough, then slowly we mature. Lifetime after lifetime, we come and we get hurt. then we mature spiritually, we develop and the time will come when you'll all go along the spiritual path, renounce and be ready to get out of this dream. So you have to remember, the Buddha said these three persons, you cannot make You cannot pay back the debt to them even if you pay due respect to them, you offer them all the requisites, etc.

10-AN-Book-3B-(3.3.26-to-3.4.36).txt

Another sutra is 3.3.26. Monks, these three persons are found existing in the world. What three? There is a person who is not to be followed, not to be served, not to be honoured. Then there is a person who should be followed, served and honoured. And then there is the one who is to be followed, served and honoured with worship and reverence. Now of what sort monks is the one who is not to be followed? In this case, a certain person is inferior to oneself in moral conduct, concentration, and wisdom. I mean sila, samadhi, and paññā. Such a one monk is not to be followed, served, or honored, except out of consideration, out of compassion for him. And of what sort monk is the one who should be followed? In this case, a certain one is like oneself in moral conduct, concentration, and wisdom. such a one should be followed, served and honoured. Why? With this idea, as we are both proficient in moral conduct, our talk will be of morality, and it will continue to our profit, and that will be to our comfort. As we are both proficient in concentration, in wisdom, our talk will be of these subjects, and it will continue to our profit, and that will be to our comfort. Therefore, such a person should be followed, served and honoured. And of what sort, monks, is the one who is to be followed, served and honoured with worship and reverence? In this case, a certain person is superior to oneself in moral conduct, concentration and wisdom. Such a one should first be worshipped and revered, then followed, served and honoured. Why so? With this idea, in this way I shall complete the sum total of morality not yet complete, or by wisdom I shall supplement it here and there when it is complete, or I shall complete the sum total of my concentration not yet complete, or I shall supplement it by wisdom or insight here and there when it is complete, or again I shall complete the sum total of my wisdom not yet complete, or when complete I shall supplement it here and there by insight. Therefore, such a person should be followed, served and honoured with worship and reverence. These monks are the three persons found existing in the world. Here the Buddha is talking about three persons. One is inferior to you in the three things, sila, samadhi and paññā. And this kind of person is to be avoided. Unless you have compassion for that person, you want to help that person. The second type of person who should be followed and whom you should keep company is somebody who is of the same standard with you in Sila, Samadhi and Pania. This type of person you can keep company like a spiritual friend, a friend in the Dharma. The third one is one whom you should follow and also revere. That is somebody who is superior to you in Sila, Samadhi and Panniya, because he can teach you to improve, to complete your Sila, Samadhi and Panniya. So that kind of person who can be your teacher, whom you can learn from, you should follow him and serve him. So if you want to find a teacher, that's the kind of teacher you ought to look for, one who is superior to you in Sila, Samadhi and Panniya. The next sutra is 3.3.30. Monks, there are these three persons found existing in the world. What three? The topsy-turvy brain, the scattered brain, and the man of comprehensive brain. Of what sort monks is the topsy-turvy brain? Herein, a certain person frequents the monastery to hear Dhamma from the lips of the monks. The monks teach him Dhamma that is lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, lovely in the end, both in spirit and in letter. They make plain the holy life perfectly fulfilled in all its purity. But as he sits there, he pays no heed to that talk in its beginning. pays no heed to its middle, pays no heed to its end. Also, when he has risen from his seat, he pays no heed thereto. Just as when a pot is turned upside down, the water poured thereon runs off and does not stay in the pot. Even so, in this case, a certain person frequents the monastery but pays no heed to that talk. Also, when he rises from his seat, he pays no heed thereto. This one is called the topsy-turvy brain. And of what sort, monks, is the scatterbrained? In this case, a certain person frequents the monastery. As he sits, he pays heed to that talk in its beginning, its middle, and its end. But when he has risen up from his seat, he pays no heed thereto, just as when in a man's lap, diverse kinds of food are piled together, such as sesame, rice, sweetmeats, and jujube fruits. When he rises from his seat, he scatters all abroad through absentmindedness. Even so, monks, in this case, a certain person frequents the monastery, but when he has risen from his seat, he pays no heed thereto. This one is called a scatterbrain. Now, what sort monks is the man of comprehensive mind? In this case, a certain person frequents the monastery to hear Dhamma from the lips of the monks. They teach him Dhamma that is lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, lovely in the end, both in its spirit and its letter. They make plain the holy life perfectly fulfilled in all its purity. As he sits there, he pays heed to that talk in its beginning, he pays heed to that talk in its middle, he pays heed to its ending. Also, when he rises from his seat, he still bears it in mind. Just as when a pot is set upright, the water poured therein accumulates and does not run away. Even so, in this case, a person frequents the monastery and pays heed to that talk. Also, when he rises from his seat, he bears it in mind, in its beginning, in its middle and in its ending. This one monk is called the man of comprehensive mind. Such monks are the three persons found existing in the world. I think this sutta is quite plain. You can understand the topsy-turvy brain person. He doesn't pay attention. His mind is so scattered. When he's sitting there, listening to the talk, he cannot concentrate on the talk. Then when he gets up, After he leaves the monastery, also he's forgotten what the talk was all about. The second one, he pays attention when the talk is going on, but when he goes back, he does not reflect on the talk. It's all like going in one ear and gone out the other. He's forgotten about what was taught instead of reflecting on it. The third one is he pays attention to it. when the talk is delivered and even after the talk, he goes back, he still reflects it in his mind and he remembers what was said. So, you all can examine yourselves and see which category you fall into. Now, 3.4.31. Monks, those families where mother and father are worshipped in the home are reckoned like unto Brahma. Those families where mother and father are worshipped in the home are ranked with the teachers of all. Worthy of offerings, monks, are those families where mother and father are worshipped in the home. Brahma, monks, is a term for mother and father. Teachers of all, monks, is a term for mother and father. Worthy of offerings, monks, is a term for mother and father. Why so? Because mother and father do much for children. They bring them up, nourish and introduce them to the world. This is another sutta where the Buddha is teaching us to have a lot of love and respect for our parents because we owe a lot to them. If we have a lot of respect and love for our parents, then even the devas have respect for us. 3.4.34. Thus have I heard. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Alavi at Cow Path in Singsapa Grove, lodging on the leaf-strewn ground. Now Hataka of Alavi was wandering there afoot, and as he went along, he saw the Exalted One in that place, seated on the ground, strewn with leaves. On seeing Him, he approached, and saluting Him, sat down at one side. So seated, Hataka of Alavi said this to the Exalted One, Pray, sir, does the Exalted One live happily? And the Buddha replied, Yes, my lad, I live happily, am one of those who live happily in the world. And then Hataka said, But sir, the winter nights are cold. The dark half of the month is the time of snowfall. Hard is the ground trampled by the hooves of cattle. thin the carpet of fallen leaves, sparse are the leaves of the tree, cold are the saffron robes, and cold the gale of wind that blows. Then the Exalted One said, Still, My Lad, I live happily. Of those who live happily in the world, I am one. Now, My Lad, I will question you about this, and do you reply as you think fit. What think you, My Lad? Suppose a housefather or housefather's son has a house with a gabled roof, plastered inside and out, with well-fitting doors and casements. Therein is a couch spread with long-fleeced woolen rug, a bedspread of white wool, a coverlet embroidered with flowers, spread with a costly skin of antelope, having a canopy overhead and a scarlet cushion at each end. Here is a lamp burning, and four wives to wait upon him with all their charms. Now what think you, my lad? Would he live happily or not? What do you think?" And he replied, Yes, he would, sir. He is one of those who live happily in the world. And the Buddha said, Well, now, my lad, what do you think? would there not arise in that housefather or housefather's son torments of body or of mind that are born of passion, raga, so that, tortured by them, he would live unhappily?" And he replied, "'They would arise, sir,' Buddha said. "'Well, my lad, as to those torments of body or of mind born of passion, tortured by which he would live unhappily, That passion has been abandoned by the Tathagata, cut off at the root, made like a palm tree stump, made unable to become again, of a nature not to arise again in future. That is why I live happily. Again, would there not arise torments of body or of mind, born of hatred, dosa, so that tortured by them he would live unhappily? And he replied, they would arise, sir. The Buddha said, well, my lad, as to those torments, that hatred has been abandoned by the Tathagata. That is why I live happily. Again, would there not arise torments of body, of mind, born of delusion, moha, so that tortured by them he would live unhappily? They would arise, sir. Well, my lad, as to those torments, etc., etc., that delusion has been abandoned by the Tathagata. That is why I live happily. So that's the end of the sutta. So here in this sutta, the Buddha is living in the forest, staying on on the ground, sitting on the ground, sleeping on the ground, and in India they have winters, winter nights, which are so cold, and yet the Buddha says he's happy because he's gotten rid of the three causes of unhappiness, that is passion, raga, hatred, dosa, and delusion, moha. These three things sometimes in the sutta is mentioned, not raga, dosa, and moha, but lobha, greed. Lobha, dosa, and moha. Here, sometimes it's mentioned as raga, dosa, and moha. Raga is passion or lust, instead of lobha is greed. So that's why sometimes some people don't understand. They think, why does a person give up his worldly life, abandon comforts of the world, and become a renunciant, walking around bald-headed, begging for his food. Because, as it is explained here, even though a monk is not comfortable physically, but mentally he's much more comfortable than a lot of lay people. So his happiness is within And the happiness that is within is of a deeper nature. It's a deeper happiness than the happiness of a lot of lay people. A lot of lay people, their happiness depends on external things. And it's so fragile. You love somebody, when that person says something nasty to you, and you get a heartache. You picture yourself to be of a certain, you know, you want people to think you are such and such, you appear such and such, but when somebody criticizes you, your self-image seems to be shattered and you get so unhappy. Because external things, if you depend on external things for your happiness, they are so fragile. If you depend on yourself, on your mind, then it is much, much more stable happiness. 3.4.35 The Buddha said, Monks, there are these three deva messengers. What three? In this connection, a certain one lives an immoral life in deed, word and thought. So doing, when body breaks up after death, he is reborn in the waste. the woeful plains, the downfall, in hell. Then monks, the warders of hell, seize him by both arms and bring him before Yama, the Lord, saying, Sire, this man had no respect for mother and father, recluses and brahmins. He showed no respect to the elders of his clan. Let Your Majesty inflict due punishment on him. Then monks, Yama the Lord, examines him, closely questions him, and addresses him concerning the first Deva messenger, saying, Now, my good man, have you never seen the first Deva messenger manifest among men? And he replies, I have not seen him, sire. Then says King Yama to him, What? My good man, have you never seen any human being A woman or a man, eighty or ninety or a hundred years of age, broken down, bent inwards like the rafter of a roof, crooked, propped up with a cane, and trembling as he goes along. An ailing creature, past his prime, with broken teeth, grey-haired or bald or hairless, bald, with wrinkled brow, and limbs all blotched and spotted. Then the man says, Sire, I have seen, Then says Yama, Lord of Death, to him, My good man, did it never occur to you as a man of intelligence and fully grown? I, too, am subject to old age. I have not overpassed old age. Come, let me act nobly in deed, word, and thought. Then the other says, No, sire, I could not. I was negligent. Then monks, Yama, Lord of Death, says to him, My good man, it was through negligence that you did not act nobly in deed, word and thought. Truthfully, they shall do unto you in accordance with your negligence. That evil action of yours was not done by mother, father, brother, sister, friends and comrades, not by kinsmen, devas, recluses and brahmins. By yourself alone was it done. It is just you that will experience the fruit thereof. Then monks, Yama, Lord of Death, having examined him, closely questioned and addressed him concerning the first Deva messenger, thus likewise concerning the second Deva messenger, saying, My good man, have you never seen the second Deva messenger manifest among men? And he replies, I have never seen him, sire. Then says Yama, Lord of Death, to him, What? My good man, have you never seen among human beings a woman or a man, sick, afflicted, suffering from a sore disease, lie wallowing in his own filth? There is excrement, by some lifted up, by others put to bed. And he says, Sire, I have seen. Then King Yama says, Then, my good man, did it never occur to you as a man of intelligence and fully grown? I too am subject to disease. I have not overpassed disease. Come, let me act nobly in deed, word, and thought. Then says he, Sire, I could not. I was negligent. Then says Yama, Lord of Death, to him, My good man, it was true negligence that you did not act nobly in deed, word, and thought. Verily they shall do unto you according to your negligence. That evil action of yours was not done by mother, father, brother, sister, friends and comrades, etc. By yourself alone was it done. It is just you that will experience the fruit thereof. Thereupon monks, Yama, Lord of Death, having examined him closely concerning the second Deva messenger, thus likewise concerning the third Deva messenger, saying, My good man, have you never seen among human beings, a woman or a man, a corpse, one, two, or three days dead, swollen, black and blue, and festering? And he replies, Sire, I have seen. And King Yama says, Then, my good man, did it never occur to you as a man of intelligence and fully grown, I too am subject to death. I have not overpassed death. Come, let me act nobly in deed, word, and thought." Then says he, Sire, I could not, I was negligent. And Yama, Lord of Death, says to him, My good man, it was true negligence that you did not act nobly in deed, word, and thought. Verily they shall do unto you according to your negligence. That evil action of yours was not done by mother, father, etc., etc. By yourself alone was it done. It is just you that will experience the fruit thereof." Then monks, having examined him closely concerning the third Deva messenger, Yama, Lord of Death, is silent. Thereupon monks, the warders of hell, torture him with a five-fold pinion. They drive a hot iron pin through each hand and foot, and a fifth through the middle of his breast. Thereat he suffers grievous, violent, sharp, and bitter agonies. But he makes not an end until that evil deed of his has been worked out. Then the warders of hell lay him down and plain him down with axes. Thereat he suffers bitter agonies till that evil deed of his has been worked out. Next they place him with feet up and head down and plane him with razors. Then they bind him to a chariot and drive him up and down over a blazing ground, flaming and all aglow. Thereat he suffers bitter, grievous, violent, sharp and bitter agonies. Then they push him up and down a huge burning mountain of red hot coal, blazing, flaming and all aglow. And he suffers again grievous, violent, sharp and bitter agonies. But he makes not an end until that evil deed of his has been worked out. Then they take him feet up and head down and plunge him into a burning brazen cauldron, blazing, flaming and all aglow. There he is cooked and rises to the surface with the scum. So doing, once he comes up, and once he goes down, and once he goes across. Thereat he suffers agonies, grievous, violent, sharp, and bitter. Yet he makes not an end until that evil deed of his has been worked out. Thereupon monks, the warders of hell, toss him into the great hell. Now monks, this great hell is described thus. Four square the great hell standard. with four gates divided and partitioned, with a wall of iron gird. Of iron is the roof, its floor of iron too, dazzling and hot and flashing all around a hundred leagues, stands fast forever immovable. Once upon a time monks, Yama, Lord of Death, thought thus to himself, True it is, I think, that they who in the world do evil deeds in diverse ways, thus suffer retribution. Oh, if only I could win birth as a human being, if only a Tathagata were born into the world, an Arahant who is a fully enlightened one. If only I might sit at the feet of that Exalted One, and then that Exalted One would teach me Dhamma, and then I might learn Dhamma from the Exalted One. Now monks, I say this not hearing it from some recluse or brahmins. Nay, but what I myself have known and seen and heard, that do I declare unto you." So this is also quite an interesting sutta where we talk about King Yama. It appears from the suttas that There are many hells, hells is like a region, and each region of hell is great hell. There is a king, and that king is called King Yama. So of the various hells, there are various King Yamas. And the King Yama, is addressed as Deva by the hell beings because he is in a much better condition than the other hell beings. So they call him Deva. So when they mention here the three Deva messengers, it might either be the three heavenly messengers or the three messengers from hell. And you can see from here the type of suffering that a person undergoes in hell. There are some other suttas which also mention something like this, but even worse. where they suffer from one hell, they suffer all kinds of tortures, and then they are like a fugitive, trying to run away, because when they are caught, they are tortured by these beings in hell. So they are running, trying to avoid these beings in hell, running, running, and once in a long while, the gates of that hell will open, once in a long while, and when it opens, it only opens for a short time, and they rush out, and some of them manage to rush out, some of them, are unable to rush out. And after they rush out, they think that they've got out of hell. But what happens is that they've fallen into another hell, another different kind of hell. And they suffer again, again like a fugitive, running, running, and being tortured and all that. And once in a blue moon again, the gates of that hell open and some of them rush out again. Then they fall into another hell. Might be they fall into a hell now, which is like a river. And that river is like acid. They are burned in that river. And then they keep going from one hell to another. And then finally they come back to the hell where they started. So you see, they undergo both physical torture as well as mental torture. So, you can imagine, you can't find any worse suffering than to be in that hell. And the great hell here is described as being with an iron roof, iron floor, and so hot that you can't run out from that place. It's like an oven. And this King Yama, even he, the Buddha says, makes a wish that one day he can be reborn as a human being so that he can hear the Dharma, the Buddha's Dharma, and so that he can get out of samsara. So now we are at this point where we are able to hear the Dhamma. Maybe previously the Buddha said most of us or practically all of us have been through samsara for an extremely long time and most of the rebirths we have gone through. Maybe at one time he was King Yama also. Maybe at one time he also wished that one day we get birth as a human being and we might hear the Dhamma. So now we are at this stage where we are able to hear the Dharma. We should not let the chance go off lightly. We should take the trouble to really understand the Dharma and practice so that we can get out of hell and never fall into these woeful planes again. Probably many times we have already fallen into the woeful planes. I think some of us, you can see that in our dreams, we have been to certain places like hell. 3.4.36 Monks, on the 8th day of the lunar half-month The ministers who are counsellors of the four great kings circumambulate this world to see whether many folk among men pay reverence to mother and father, to recluses and Brahmins, and show deference to the elders of the clan, observe the Sabbath or Uposatha, keep the vigil and do good works. On the 14th day of the lunar half-month, the sons of the four great kings Circumambulate this world to see whether many folk pay reverence to mother and father, to recluses and Brahmins, and show deference to the elders of the clan. Observe the Sabbath, keep the vigil, and do good works. On the fifteenth day, which is the Sabbath, the four great kings in person circumambulate this world to see whether many folk pay reverence to mother and father, to recluses and Brahmins, and show deference to the elders of the clan. Observe the Sabbath, keep the vigil, and do good works. Now monks, if few be among those men who do these things, the four great kings report the matter to the devas of the thirty-three, as they sit in conclave in the hall of righteousness, saying, My good lords, few among men are they who pay reverence to mother and father, etc., and do good works. Then monks, the devas of the thirty-three are displeased and say, Surely, sirs, the deva host will diminish and the asura host will increase. But monks, if many are they among men who pay reverence to mother and father to recluses and brahmins, who show deference to the elders of the clan, who observe the Sabbath, keep the vigil and do good works, then the four great kings report the matter to the devas of the thirty-three, saying, Good my lords, many are they among men who pay reverence to mother and father, etc. The red monks, the devas of the 33, are glad and say, Surely, sirs, the deva host will increase and the asura host will decrease. This is another quite interesting sutta, which tells us that there are devas who go around the world and observe us, you know, and we are not aware of it. Just like when we observe ants, the ants are so small, we look from the top, we see what they are doing, but they don't know. They can't see us because their field of vision is so limited, so near. So in the same way, our field of vision, what we can see is so limited, unless we develop psychic power. So the devas might be looking at us, we look up to the sky, but we can't see them. When they talk about the lunar half-month, it's because in India, the calendar is not monthly, like 30 days like us. It is fortnightly. And the fortnight can either be 14 days or can be 15 days. So, on the 8th day, in Cantonese, which is Chor Pat, 8th day of the lunar month, 15, and then the 23rd day, and the 30th day, or the 29th day. That is our Theravada tradition, is the first, the 8th, the 15th, not, sorry, not the first, the 8th, you know, the 8th, the 8th, then the 15th, the 23rd and the 30th or 29th. Now this last day, 29th or 30th, for the Mahayana, they have made it a bit different. They made it the 1st of the lunar month. That's why in our Theravada tradition, we either recite the precepts on the Patimokkha on the 15th lunar day or the 29th or 30th. Whereas in Chinese, they always talk about Chou Yat. In Theravada, we don't talk about Chou Yat. We start with Chou Pat on the 8th day.

11-AN-Book-3C-(3.4.36c-to-3.4.42).txt

and last week we came up to sutta number 3.4.36. I'd just like to add a few more comments about this sutta. In this last sutta we heard about how the devas from the four great heavenly kings circumambulate the world on the eights of the lunar month, that means on the 8th day, the 15th day, the 23rd and the 30th day or sometimes 29th day of the lunar month, they come and observe human beings in the world and then they report to Sakadeva Raja. and the other devas of the Tavatimsa heaven, the heaven of the 33. And they are interested to know whether human beings keep the precepts and pay respect to mother and father, to recluses and Brahmins. to elders and keep the eight precepts on the Sabbath days, on those days. Now, I'd like to say that it is taught by the Buddha that we should On the eight days of the month, of the lunar month, as we just mentioned, the 8th, the 15th, 23rd and the 30th, we should keep the eight precepts. Because as lay people, we don't have time to practice every day, but at least once a week, on the average, the Buddha said, we should keep the eight precepts. And the merit from that will bring you very likely to rebirth in the heavenly realms. That is why it is very important to keep the 8 precepts. Now, nowadays it is not so convenient as before to keep the 8 precepts on the 8th day, 15th, 23rd and 30th day of the lunar month. It might be more convenient to keep it, say, on a Sunday when people are not working. And if you can go to the temple or vihara or Buddhist association to keep the precepts is very good. But if you can't, then you can practice it at home, also keep the eight precepts. By coming together on the, say, once a week, on the, say, Sunday to a temple, it's a very good way for Buddhists to come together to unite and It is quite important that Buddhists come together frequently, come together in harmony, and we can be more closely knit and support each other. The other thing about this sutta is why are the devas of the heaven of the 33 so concerned about whether human beings keep their precepts and revere mother and father and elders because they mention here that if human beings keep the precepts and pay respect to the elders etc and do good works that the devas will increase Whereas if they don't do that, then the asuras will increase. And from here you can see that the heaven, the devas of the 33 heaven, they are not on good terms with the asuras. The asuras were originally in the Javatimsa heaven, heaven of the 33. but they were displaced by Sakadeva Raja and the other devas. So it seems in some other sutta, once a year, these asuras, there's a time of the year when there's a huge big tree in the heaven of the 33, it blooms. It blooms and the flowers are very fragrant and it goes a long way. And so when that tree blooms, those devas in the 33, they enjoy themselves under that tree for a few months. So the asuras, they remember that they used to enjoy there and nowadays they don't have the chance. So they'll go up and try to fight with the Devas of the heaven of the 33. And this is found in Buddhism. This is also found in Hinduism and also in the Bible. It is mentioned that Michael the Archangel drove Satan and his hosts out of the heaven. And that might be actually referring to this Sakadeva Raja fighting with the Asuras. So that's all I have to say about that sutta. Now we come to another sutra, 3.4.38. The Buddha said, Monks, I was delicately nurtured, exceeding delicately nurtured, delicately nurtured beyond measure. For instance, in my father's house, lotus pools were made thus. One of blue lotuses, one of red, another of white lotuses, just for my benefit. No sandalwood powder did I use that was not from Kasi. Of Kasi cloth was my turban made. Of Kasi cloth was my jacket, my tunic and my cloak. By day and night a white canopy was held over me. Lest cold or heat, dust or chaff or dew should touch me. Moreover monks I had three mansions, one for winter, one for summer, and one for the rainy season. In the four months of the rains, I was waited on by minstrels, women, all of them. I came not down from my mansion in those months. Again, whereas in other men's homes, broken rice together with sour gruel is given as food to slave servants. In my father's home, they were given rice, meat, and milk rice for their food. To me monks, thus blessed with much prosperity, thus nurtured with exceeding delicacy, this thought occurred. Purely one of the uneducated many folk, though himself subject to old age and decay, not having passed beyond old age and decay, When he sees another broken down with age, is troubled, ashamed, disgusted, forgetful that he himself is such a one. Now I too am subject to old age and decay, not having passed beyond old age and decay. Were I to see another broken down with old age, I might be troubled, ashamed and disgusted. That would not be seemly in me. Thus, monks, as I considered the matter, all pride in my youth deserted me. Again, monks, I thought, one of the uneducated many folk, though himself subject to disease, not having passed beyond disease, when he sees another person diseased, is troubled, ashamed, and disgusted, forgetful that he himself is such a one. Now I too am subject to disease. I have not passed beyond disease. Were I to see another diseased, I might be troubled, ashamed, disgusted. That would not be seemly in me. Thus monks, as I considered the matter, all pride in my health deserted me. Again monks, I thought, one of the uneducated many folk, etc., etc., when he sees another person subject to death, is disgusted and ashamed, forgetful that he himself is such a one. Now I too am subject to death. I have not passed beyond death. Were I to see another subject to death, I might be troubled, disgusted, etc. That would not be seemly in me. Thus monks, as I considered the matter, all pride in my life deserted me." That's the end of the Sutta. So in this sutta, the first the Buddha said that he had an extremely good life in his father's house. At that time, Kasi was a very famous city and all kinds of good materials were got from Kasi, so that he used his clothes and all that turban and all that was from Kasi. And he had three mansions built for him for the three seasons. In India, they have three seasons, winter, summer and rainy season. And during the rainy season, when it rained a lot, he didn't go out from that mansion. He was waited on by, I think, female slaves. And they took care of him and he had a very pleasurable, sensual life when he was young. And even though he had such a good life when he was young, you see, this kind of thought that he used to think, even when he was young, when he was healthy, he was thinking that if he saw an old person, normally a lot of young people, when they see an old person, they are disgusted. They don't like to see old people. But he himself, he thought, even though he's not old at that time, but one day he will become old. So there's nothing to be disgusted about seeing somebody old, because that is the state that we are going to be very soon. So in the same way, when he saw somebody diseased or sick, He also thought one day when he becomes old, he'll also be like that. And also when somebody saw somebody dead, he also had that kind of feeling. Now, so you can see, the Buddha to think such thoughts was quite unusual. It's not everybody who is like that, having such a good life and then thinking about old age and sickness and death. And that only shows that in his previous life, he had already encountered the Dhamma. And this can be seen in the Gatikara Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya. It is mentioned that the Buddha in a previous life met the last Buddha, which was Kasapa Buddha. And at first, our Bodhisatta at that time, his name was Jyotipala. He's our Buddha in the previous life. Because he was a Brahmin, he did not want to even go and see the Buddha Akasapa. And later when he was persuaded by his friend to go and see the Buddha Akasapa, he even refused to pay respect to the Buddha Akasapa. He just said, hello, hello like that and sat down to one side. But the Buddha, out of compassion, and also because our Jyotipala's good friend Ghatikara asked the Buddha to teach him some Dharma. So Buddha Kassapa taught him some Dharma and after listening to the Dharma, he made a 180 degree turn. In other words, he gave up his religion, the Brahmin religion, and eventually renounced and became a monk. So in the previous life, the Buddha had already become a monk and cultivated. and it is possible that he had already become a Arya or Sotapanna or something. That's why when he came back in this last life, something kept reminding him of old age, sickness and death, even though he had such a good life. The other thing I just like to mention about the Buddha is that many people have the wrong idea from reading later books that the Buddha was the prince and that his father was a king. It is not true. We can see from the Suttas and the Vinaya that the Buddha belonged to the Sakyan clan. and his clan was a warrior clan, Katiya clan or Kshatriya clan, that is the warrior clan like a Raja or Tunku in this country. But his father was not the king because they lived in a country called Kosala and the king of Kosala, it is mentioned in the sutra, the king of Kosala was Pasenadi. Pasenadi was the king and The Buddha's father was not even the chief of the Sakyan clan. The chief of the Sakyan clan was a man by the name of Badia. And this man Badia later was persuaded to renounce and became a monk under the Buddha. So we just see that from the suttas that the Buddha came from this warrior clan family and the father was very rich. And just now we read about how the Buddha had such a sensual life of pleasure. And there's one sutta somewhere mentioned that later when the Buddha renounced and tried to practice the spiritual path, his thoughts, sensual thoughts came to disturb him. And that is something because he had such essential life when he was young, that these essential thoughts came to disturb him and obstructed him when he renounced and became a monk. But eventually, out of determination, he overcame. The next sutra is 3.4.39. The Buddha said, monks, there are these three forms of pride. What three? The pride of youth, the pride of health, the pride of life. The uneducated manifold, drunk with the pride of youth, practices immorality in deed, word, and thought. So doing, when body breaks up after death, such a one is reborn in the waste, the woeful plains, the downfall in hell. Likewise, The uneducated manifold, drunk with the pride of health, practices immorality in deed, word, and thought. So doing, when body breaks up after death, such a one is reborn in the waste, the woeful plains, the downfall in hell. And similarly, the uneducated manifold, drunk with the pride of life, practices immorality in deed, word, and thought, and so also goes down the woeful plains. And then the Buddha continues. Amongst intoxicated with the pride of youth, A monk gives up the training and falls back to the low life. So likewise, one who is intoxicated with the pride of health gives up the training and falls back to the lowly life. Similarly, a monk intoxicated with the pride of life gives up the training and falls back to the low life. And that's the end of the sutta. So in this sutta, the Buddha says that these three things, most people are proud, especially when they are young. The pride of youth, the pride of health. When you are youthful, you have very good health. So you are very proud of your health also, and maybe you think you are very strong, your physique is very good looking, etc. And the pride of life. Also, especially when we are young, we think, we never even think of death. And the thought of death doesn't even occur to us. So because of that, lay persons, drunk with these three things, youth, health and life, they are not willing to practice the spiritual path. And sometimes if you remind them of the spiritual path, they say, wait until they are old. But they don't realize that old age might be something that some of them would not even see because there's some people who pass away when they are young, some people pass away in the middle age, some people pass away in their old age. And because of the being drunk with these three things, pride of youth, health and life, they like to enjoy life. and they enjoy life to the extent sometimes you see some people live as if life is forever. They just forget that death is not so far away. If we consider that on the average we live up to about 70 and we calculate how many years we have left, it's not that many years we have left. So similarly the Buddha says a monk also drunk with these three things gives up the training. That means the training is the life of a monk and falls back to the low life. The low life is the lay person's life. So you see sometimes some people become a monk with the intention to renounce and practice, but after a while they forget about it and they become very lax. They are not interested in meditation, etc. And also because of the pride in these three things, they sometimes even entertain thoughts of disrobing They become dissatisfied with the robes and they compare themselves with other people enjoying life. And they also think of enjoying life. So the Buddha says not to be drunk with these three things, these three forms of pride. You have to be very careful. We just don't know when death will touch us. As the Buddha says, life is uncertain but death is certain. Now we come to the next sutta, 3.4.40. Buddha said, Monks, there are these three forms of dominance. What three? Dominance of self, of the world, and of Dharma. And of what sort is dominance of self? In this case, a monk who has gone to the forest, the root of a tree or a lonely spot, thus reflects, It was not for the sake of robes that I went forth from the home to the homeless life. not for alms or lodging, not for the sake of becoming such and such. No, it was with this idea. Here am I, fallen on birth, old age and death, on sorrows, lamentation and woes, on despair and tribulations. I am fallen on ill, dukkha, foredone with ill. Perhaps so doing, some ending of all this mass of ill may be revealed to me. Yet if I, who have forsaken the passions by going forth from home to the homeless life, should pursue passions still worse than before, that would be unseemly in me. Then he thus reflects, Energetic shall be my striving, and my mindfulness shall be established unshaken. Calm shall my body be, not turbulent. My mind shall be controlled and one-pointed. Thus making self predominant, he abandons evil, cultivates goodness, abandons things blameworthy, cultivates things blameless, and keeps himself in perfect purity. This, monks, is called dominance of self. And of what sort, monks, is dominance of the world? In this case, a monk who has gone to the forest, to the root of a tree, a lonely spot, thus reflects, it was not for the sake of ropes that I went forth from home to the homeless life, not for alms or lodging, not for the sake of becoming such and such. No, it was with this idea. Here am I, fallen on birth, old age, and death, on sorrows, lamentation, and woes, on despair and tribulations. I am fallen on ill, foredone with ill. Perhaps some ending of all this mass of ill may be revealed to me. Yet if I, who went forth thus from home to the homeless life, should indulge in sensual thoughts, indulge in malicious thoughts, in harmful thoughts, great is this company of men in the world. Surely in this great company there are recluses and brahmins, possessed of supernormal powers, clairvoyant, able to read the thoughts of others. Even from afar they can see me. Though close at hand, they may be invisible, and they can read my mind with theirs. They would know me thus. Behold this clansman here, my friends, who though in faith he went forth from the home to the homeless life, yet lives his life mixed up with things evil and unprofitable. There must be devas too, of supernormal powers, clairvoyant, able to read the thoughts of others. Even from afar they can see me. They would know me thus. Behold this clansman here, my friends, who, though in faith he went forth from the home to the homeless life, yet lives his life mixed up with things evil and unprofitable. Then he thus reflects, energetic shall be my striving, and my mindfulness shall be established unshaken, calm shall my body be, not turbulent, my mind shall be controlled and one-pointed. Thus making the world predominant, he abandons evil, cultivates goodness, abandons things blameworthy, cultivates things blameless, and keeps himself in utter purity. This monks is called dominance of the world. And of what sort is dominance of Dhamma? In this case, a monk who has gone to the forest, etc. Thus reflects, well proclaimed by the Exalted One is Dhamma, seen in this very life, a thing not involving time, inviting one to come and see, leading onward to be known for themselves by the wise. Now I have fellows in the righteous life who abide in knowledge and insight. If I, who am one that went forth under this well-proclaimed Dhamma Vinaya, should dwell in sloth and negligence, it would be unseemly for me. Then he thus reflects, energetic shall be my striving, etc. Thus likewise, making Dhamma predominant, he abandons evil, cultivates goodness, abandons things blameworthy, cultivates things blameless, and keeps himself in utter purity. This monk is called dominance of Dhamma. These then are the three forms of dominance. This Sutta is more for monks. And these are the three ways the Buddha says that a monk can remind himself to strive. One is based on the self, the other one is based on the world that somebody might know through psychic power that he's lazy, etc. And the third one is using Dhamma to remind him to strive. The other thing I'd like to explain here is now and then we come across the word recluses and Brahmins. recluses and Brahmins. This is a translation for the Pali word Samana Brahmana. This Brahmana is a caste in India. In the days of the Buddha, there were four castes in India. The priest caste was called Brahmana and nowadays they are called Brahmins. And so during the Buddha's time, The Brahmins were the priest caste. Then you have the warrior caste, the kathiya. Then you have the merchant class and you have the workers class, the lower class. These are the four classes. So the Brahmin class, they are a caste. So if somebody from another caste renounces and becomes a monk, he cannot call himself Brahmana because that is only reserved for the Brahmin caste. And so any other monk who renounces is called a Samana. That is why our Buddha is very often in the Sutta is called Gautama the recluse. That's the translation for Samana Gautama. So that's what I have to say about recluses and Brahmins. Now 3.4.42. The Buddha said, Monks, a believer is to be recognized by three characteristics. What three? He desires to see the virtues. He desires to hear Saddhama. With heart free from the taint of stinginess, he dwells at home, a generous giver, clean-handed, delighting in giving up, one to ask a favor of, one who delights to share gifts with others. By these three characteristics, a believer is to be recognized as such. In this sutta, the Buddha says a Buddhist, a believer is a Buddhist, he should have three characteristics. First one, he desires to see the virtuous, actually meaning he desires to see monks. And the second one is he desires to hear Sat Dhamma. Sat Dhamma is the true Dhamma. That means he desires to hear suttas and discourses of the Buddha. The third one, he is generous. He likes to practice generosity instead of stinginess. Now these three qualities, these three things are mentioned in the Mangala Sutta as ways of getting a lot of blessings. The first one to see monks is called Samana Dasana. If you all are familiar with the Mangala Sutta, you remember this chant, Samana Dasana. The second one is to hear suttas is dhamma savanam, dhamma savanam, to hear the dhamma. The third one is dhana, generosity, giving. Now there are some people nowadays, they are not familiar with the suttas and they think that to meditate is enough. They don't know that the Buddha's teaching is a gradual process. The Buddha said just as the ocean does not become deep suddenly, it slopes gently. As you walk out to the sea, the slope gently gets deeper and deeper and deeper, not suddenly. So the Buddha said in the same way, the training in the holy life is Gradual practice. It's a gradual practice. It's not a sudden practice. So these basic things, like keeping sila, keeping the moral conduct, dana, practicing charity, going to see monks, and talking to monks, and getting advice from monks, hearing dhamma, etc. All these are foundations in the dhamma. When you practice all these, then when you meditate, it helps you. Just like in the Aryan Eightfold Path. In the Aryan Eightfold Path, there are eight factors, and all these eight factors are to be practiced together, not just one. It's not like you practice right concentration, just right concentration. No, all eight together. So, we were saying that all these foundations, the foundation in the in the holy life, in the spiritual path, all these things are help. Going to visit monks, hearing suttas, practicing dana, etc. All these are necessary. You can't just jump, you know, before learning to crawl and learning to walk, you think of running, it's not possible. So you have to remember that foundation is very important. Otherwise you find that some people, they start meditating and instead of becoming more humble, some people becoming more arrogant and that's definitely they're on the wrong path because as we practice the holy life, it is meant to cut our ego. That's the main purpose of the holy life because the source of our sorrow, source of our suffering is the ego. So if you practice the right path, you will see year after year, you change, you become more humble, you let go of your attachments. But if the opposite happens, your temper becomes bigger, and you become more arrogant and a lot of things you cannot stand, then you're definitely going on the wrong path. So you have to be careful.

12-AN-Book-3D-(3.5.44-to-3.6.58).txt

And another sutta, 3.5.44, the Buddha said, In three respects, monks, a talk is profitable. What three? When he who teaches Dhamma and he who listens, and both alike, are able to penetrate both the spirit and the letter thereof. That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha is saying a talk, that means a Dhamma talk, would be very profitable if the teacher, the one who speaks the Dhamma, understands the Dhamma, and the one who listens is also able to understand, and both are able to penetrate the spirit and the letter of the Dhamma, and that would be very, very good. Next Sutta is 3.5.45, the Buddha said. Monks, these three things have been instructed by the wise and good. What three? First one is charity. Second one, support of mother and father. Third one, going forth, that means renouncing. These are the three duties. That's the end of the Sutta. The Buddha is saying wise people always will advise people to do these three things. The first one is to practice giving. Giving means giving to those who need, who are in need. One thing I like to mention is that the Buddha says that if we do charity, when we give, we should not look for the merit. If we look for the merit, then there is a selfish attitude. Then your merit will become much less. And it is observed sometimes, you know, for example, people, they think, some lay people, they think giving to a virtuous monk is very good. So they like to go and look for famous monks to give to. And sometimes famous monks don't need the dāna, the offerings, because they have so much, they're overflowing with offerings. Whereas sometimes it might be a young monk, a newly renounced monk, an unknown monk who needs support. And if you have the wisdom to go and offer where it is needed, that would be even more meritorious because you don't have a selfish intention. You do dana because it's good to do. You think that it is necessary to do, for example, to support the sasana, to support the sangha, whoever, whichever monk is in need and you do. Sometimes we find that there are, sometimes some temples can be have too much offerings, you know, sometimes like in certain Buddhist countries like Thailand. And there are people who comment, it's even written in some books, that perhaps in a certain area, there's a need for a hospital. But people are not interested to build a hospital. They want to give the offerings to the temple, which sometimes shows the greed for getting married. The second one, support of mother and father. Support of mother and father is not sending mother and father to old homes. Nowadays, we find a lot of people sending their old parents to old folks' home. Support of mother and father means to look after them at home, because I'm sure every one of us, when we are old, we don't like our children to send us to the old folks' home. We like to at least be around the children and the grandchildren and die at home. So whatever you like for yourself, I'm sure other people have the same idea. So it is to remember the love and the care that we owe to our parents. The third one is about going forth. Going forth is also advised by wise people. If you have done your family duties, it is good to go forth. It is a kind of Indian tradition, you know, of Indians. Even if they don't go forth, after a certain age, they practice at home. They keep a room to themselves where they meditate, where they say their prayers. So, these are the three things which are quite good. Now, the next sutta is 3.5.47. The Buddha said, monks, there are these three marks of that which is conditioned, sankhata. The Pali word is sankhata, conditioned. What three? Its birth is apparent, its passing away is apparent, its changeability while it persists is apparent. These are the three marks of the condition. Monks, there are these three marks of the unconditioned. What three? Its birth is not apparent, its passing away is not apparent, its changeability while it persists is not apparent. These are the three marks of the unconditioned. So in this sutta, we are told that anything that is conditioned has these three characteristics. It has a birth, it has a passing away or death, and it changes while it is still around. The next sutta is 3.6.56. A certain brahmin of great wealth came to see the exalted one. Master Gautama, I have heard the saying of brahmins of old Olden days, men aged, far gone in years, themselves the teachers of teachers. That once upon a time, this world was in truth so crowded with people, one might think it to be the waveless deep. That villages, suburbs, and royal cities were close enough for a cockerel to walk from one to another. Pray, Master Gautama, what is the reason? What is the cause of the apparent loss and decrease of human beings? How is it that villages are no longer villages, suburbs no longer suburbs, towns no longer towns, and districts are depopulated?" Then the Buddha replied, Just now, Brahmin, people are ablaze with unlawful lusts, overwhelmed by depraved longings, obsessed by wrong doctrines. Thus ablaze, overwhelmed, and obsessed, they seize sharp knives and take each other's lives. Thus many men come by the end. That Brahmin is the reason why these things are so. Again Brahmin, since folk are ablaze with unlawful lusts, overwhelmed by depraved longings, obsessed by wrong doctrines, on such as these the sky rains not down steadily. It is hard to get a meal. The crops are abad, afflicted with mildew and grown to mere stubs. Accordingly, many come to the end. That brahman is the reason. Again Brahmin, since folk are ablaze with unlawful lusts, etc., obsessed by wrong doctrines, on such miscreants the yakas lose non-human monsters, thereby many come by their end. This, Brahmin, is the reason, this is the cause of the apparent loss and decrease of human beings. That is why villages are no longer villages, suburbs no longer suburbs, towns no longer towns, and districts are depopulated. And the Brahmin said, excellent Master Gautama, excellent Master Gautama, may the worthy Gautama accept me as a lay follower from this day for as long as life lasts, as one who has gone to him for refuge. And this is an interesting sutta. It tells us that a long time ago, the world was populated with so many people that cities were so near each other that a cockerel could walk from one to another city. And the place was overflowing with people, you know. But nowadays, it's much less. And the reason for this, according to the Buddha, there's a few reasons. The first one is because of greed, hatred, and delusion. People go to war and kill each other. Then the second reason is because of greed, hatred and delusion and following wrong doctrines, the devas, they notice, you may remember just now the sutta, that about four times a month, these devas come and observe us. And because they see that the greed, hatred and delusion of human beings are too great, that they stop the rains from coming down. It seems that rains are also controlled by them. So because the rains don't come at the right time, the crops don't grow well, so people starve to death. And the third one is when greed, hatred and delusion is too great among human beings, then these higher devas, they let loose very fierce yakas, And these Piyasyakas can come and kill human beings. And you know sometimes that some people are possessed by spirits. These are some of the spirits probably. So why people can have too much greed, hatred and delusion? Partly because they follow wrong doctrines. And also, the leaders have a lot to do with it. It's leaders of people, whether they are Malay persons or monks, also have a part to play. If leaders are corrupt, then it is very easy for the followers also to be corrupt. But if you have good leaders, then people will also imitate And the next uta is 3.6.57. Vāca-gota, the wanderer, came to see the Exalted One and paid respect, etc. Then as he said to one side, Vāca-gota, the wanderer, said this to the Exalted One. I have heard it said, Master Gautama, that Gautama, the recluse, speaks thus. Alms should be given to me, not to others. to my followers, not to another's followers. Alms given to me are of great fruit, not so those given to others. Alms given to my followers are of great profit, not alms given to another's followers. Now, Master Gautama, do they who say these things correctly repeat the views of the worthy Gautama without misrepresenting him by uttering an untruth? do they expound their views in accordance with his teaching, so that one who is of his doctrine, of his way of thinking, may not give grounds for reproach in stating it. Indeed, we are anxious not to misrepresent the worthy Gotama." And the Buddha replied, "'Those who say so, Vajra, are not of my way of thinking. Moreover, such misrepresent me by stating what is not true, but a falsehood. Indeed, Vāca, who so prevents another from giving alms, obstructs him in three ways, robs him of three things. What three? First, he obstructs the giver in acquiring merit. Second, he prevents the receivers from getting a gift. Third, his own self is already ruined, utterly ruined. Who so prevents another from giving alms, Vāca, obstructs him in three ways, robs him of three things. But this is what I really do declare, Vajra. If one should throw away pot scourings or the rinsings of cups into a pool or cesspit, that means a pit of excrement, even with the idea of feeding the creatures that live therein, I declare it would be a source of merit to him to say nothing of his feeding beings that are human. Nevertheless, I say, Vāca, that a gift given in the case of the virtuous is of great fruit, not those given in the case of the wicked. By virtuous, I mean one who has abandoned five qualities and possesses five qualities. What are the five qualities he has abandoned? Sensual desire is abandoned, malevolence, sloth and torpor, excitement and flurry, doubt and wavering are abandoned. These are the five. And of what five qualities is he possessed? He possesses the constituents of morality, possessed by the adept, the constituents of concentration, wisdom, liberation, knowledge and vision of liberation. He has these five qualities, thus, Where five qualities are abandoned and five possessed, a gift is of great fruit, I declare." This is an interesting sutra because here somebody is asking the Buddha whether he actually said that offerings should be made to him and his followers, not to other external sect followers. And the Buddha denied it. The Buddha said he never said that. And I said, if anybody says such a thing, then in three ways he has done great wrong. And the Buddha also says that even the crumbs, the leftover of food, even you throw into a pool or a pit of excrement with the idea of feeding the creatures there, even that also you get some merit, not to talk about feeding human beings. And then lastly, the Buddha says that if you give to an arahant, one who has abandoned the five hindrances and possessed of five other qualities of the arahant, then you would have great merit. Now, one thing I'd like to remark here is that one of the wrong livelihoods, one of the wrong ways of livelihood for a monk is to belittle another monk personally and to talk bad about another monk and discourage laypeople from making offerings to another monk. That is very bad because here you can see that the Buddha is saying even those external sect people Even that also, he does not say that you should not make offerings to them, even external sect people, even with wrong views. And the Buddha, in fact, there's one sutta where the followers of a Jain sect, I think, Nigantas, after they left the Nigantas and came to follow the Buddha, the Buddha still advised them to continue giving to those Nigantas, those Jains monks. And so you can see that anyone practicing the spiritual path, we should not belittle others even though they are, I mean, not to the extent of asking people not to make offerings to these other people. At 3.6.58, Now, Tikana, the Brahmin, came to visit the exalted one. On coming to him, he greeted him, paid respect, et cetera. Then he sat to one side, and the Brahmin sang the praises of those Brahmins who possess the threefold knowledge, which is in Pali, is Devijja. Then the exalted one said, the Buddha said, yes, Brahmin, they have the threefold knowledge, those Brahmins. They have it, as you say. But tell me how Brahmins describe Brahmins who have the threefold knowledge?" Antikana said. In this case, Master Gautama, a Brahmin is well-born on both sides of pure descent from mother and father as far back as seven generations, unsmirched, without reproach in respect of birth. 2. One given to study, one who knows the mantras by heart, a master in the three Vedas, the indexes together with the ritual, the treatise on phonology, and the legendary sayings. He is a man learned in the idioms and the grammar. One perfect in the science of world speculation and the science of the great being. That, Master Gautama, is how the Brahmins describe a Brahmin who has the threefold knowledge. I'll stop here just to recapitulate. The Buddha, the Brahmin said there are three qualities which a Brahmin would be respected for. First one is he's a pure Brahmin for seven generations. for seven generations at least. He is born on the mother's side and father's side from pure Brahmins. Second one, he is very learned in the mantras, in the Vedas, etc. Third one, he is knowledgeable on world speculation, the science of world speculations and the science of a great being. Then the Buddha said, well, Brahmin, this description of a Brahmin who has the threefold knowledge is one thing. The description of him who has the threefold knowledge in the discipline of the Aryan is quite another thing. And then Thich Nhat Hanh asked, but how, Master Gautama, is one the possessor of the threefold knowledge in the discipline of the Aryan? Well, for me, if the worthy Gautama would teach me according to what method he is so possessed," and the Buddha said, then Brahmin, do you listen? Apply your mind attentively, I will speak. Very well, Master, replied Tikhanna the Brahmin to the Exalted One, and the Exalted One said, Herein a monk, aloof from sensuality, aloof from evil states, enters on the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, born of solitude, delightful and pleasurable, and abides therein. Then, by the calming down of thought directed and sustained, he enters on that inward calm, that one-pointedness of mind, apart from thought directed and sustained, that is born of concentration, delightful and pleasurable, which is the second jhāna, and abides therein. Then, by the fading out of delight, he abides equanimous, mindful and composed, and experiences pleasure through the body. Having entered on the third jhāna, which the Āryans described in these terms, he who is equanimous and mindful dwells happily, he abides therein. Then, by the abandoning of pleasure, by the abandoning of discomfort, by the ending of the happiness and unhappiness that he had before, entering on that state which is neither pleasant nor painful, that utter purity of mindfulness reached by equanimity, which is the fourth jhana he abides therein. I'll just stop here for a while to comment on these jhanas. These jhanas are states of deep tranquility, that the mind is very peaceful, becomes one-pointed. And some people, they don't understand the jhanas, they belittle the jhanas, and they say that when you are in jhana, you don't have any mindfulness. But we notice here, in the fourth jhana, the Buddha says that there's the utter purity of mindfulness. The utter purity is parisuddhi, that means complete purity of mindfulness. So you definitely cannot say that a person in jhana is not mindful. He is definitely mindful. In fact, the more concentrated that person is, the stronger his mindfulness is, but it's directed on one thing. So this is something I like to mention. Then the Buddha continued. He then, with mind thus composed, made pure and translucent, stainless, and with its stains vanished away, made pliant and workable, fixed and unperturbed, applies and bends down his mind to acquiring knowledge of his former births. In diverse ways he recalls his former births. One bird, two birds, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand birds. The various destructions of aeons, world cycles, the various renewal of aeons, both the destruction and renewal of aeons. Thus, I lived there, was named thus, was of such a clan, of such a caste, was thus supported, had such and such pleasant and painful experiences, at such length of days, disappeared thence and arose elsewhere. There too I lived, was named so and so, of such a clan, of such a caste, etc. Thus he calls to mind in all their specific details, in all their characteristics, in many various ways, his previous states of existence. This is the first knowledge he attains. Ignorance has vanished. Knowledge arises. Gone is the darkness. Arisen is the light, as it does for one who abides earnest, ardent, and composed. He then, with mind thus composed, made pure and translucent, bends down his mind to acquire knowledge of the fall and rise of beings from one existence to another. With the Deva sight purified and surpassing that of men, he beholds beings diseasing and rising up again, beings both mean and excellent, fair and foul, gone to a happy state, gone to a woeful state, according to their deeds, so to say. Alas, these worthies, given to the practice of evil deeds, of evil words, of evil thoughts, scoffing at the Aryans, of perverted views, and reaping the fruits of their perverted views, these beings, on the dissolution of body after death, arose in the waste, the woeful plains, the downfall in hell. Or, he might think, ah, these worthy is given to the practice of good deeds, of good words, of good thoughts, not scoffing at the Aryans, but of sound views and reaping the fruits of their sound views. These beings, on the dissolution of the body after death, arose again in the happy lot in the heaven world. Thus, with Deva's sight purified and surpassing that of man, he beholds beings diseasing and rising up again. This is the second knowledge he attains. Ignorance has vanished. Knowledge arises. Gone is the darkness. Arisen is the light, as it does for one who abides earnest, ardent, and composed. He then, with mind thus composed, made pure and translucent, etc., bends down his mind to acquire knowledge of the destruction of the asavas. He recognizes as it really is, the truth that this is dukkha, this is the arising of dukkha, this is the ending of dukkha, this is the practice that leads to the ending of dukkha. He recognizes the practice that leads to the destruction of the asavas. In him thus knowing, thus seeing, his mind is released from the asava of sensuality, his mind is released from the asava of becoming, from the asava of ignorance. By release comes the knowledge that he is released so that he understands, destroyed is rebirth, lived is the holy life, done is what I had to do. There is no more coming to any state of being. This is the third knowledge he attains. Ignorance has vanished. Knowledge arises. Gone is the darkness. Arisen is the light, as it does for one who abides earnest, ardent, and composed. That Brahman is how one possesses the threefold knowledge in the discipline of the Aryan. And the Brahmins said, Indeed, Master Gautama, this one is quite different from the other. Why, Master Gautama, he who has the threefold knowledge of the Brahmins is not worth one sixteenth part of him who has it in the discipline of the Aryan. Excellent it is, Master Gautama, excellent. May the worthy Gautama accept me as a lay follower from this time forth, so long as life lasts, as one who has taken refuge in him. So in this Sutta, The Buddha is talking about the threefold knowledge that he himself attained when he became a Buddha. We find in the suttas that when the Buddha was enlightened, he attained this threefold knowledge. But it is mentioned in the sutta that some of his disciples attained the sixfold knowledge. So it appears like at first the Buddha attained the threefold knowledge, and later perhaps he developed another three. That's why later also he had the sixfold knowledge. But he described himself as a person having threefold knowledge, which refers to the time when he was enlightened. Just now the last part is talking about the destruction of the asavas. So this threefold knowledge, the first one is that he recalls the past lives. The second one, he can see living beings being born and reborn according to karma, so understands the working of karma. And the third one, he contemplates the four Aryan truths, the four noble truths, and from there attains destruction of the asavas and became an arahant, samasambuddha. What is this asavas? Asavas is this, I would probably translate it as uncontrolled mental outflows. That means the running of the normal six consciousness. When the six consciousness flows, then the world arises, because the Buddha said that the whole world arises dependent on consciousness. That means the normal six-fold consciousness. When the six-fold consciousness arises, the world arises, and with it, all the dukkha. So, to get out of samsara, we have to destroy the asavas, so that these six consciousness, the consciousness stops working. And when the consciousness stops working, then samsara will end.

13-AN-Book-3E-(3.6.60).txt

Now we come to the Sutta number 3.6.60. Now, Sangharava, the Brahmin, came to see the Exalted One. As he said at one sight, he said this to the Exalted One, Master Gautama, we Brahmins, let me tell you, offer sacrifice and cause others to do so. Therefore, Master Gautama, who so offers sacrifice or causes others to do so, one and all are proficient in a practice of merit that affects many persons, that is, which results from offering sacrifice. Now Master Gautama, he who goes forth as a wanderer from this or that family, from the home to the homeless life, tames only the single self, calms only the single self, leads to Nibbana only the single self. So what I say is, thus he is proficient in a practice of merit that affects only one person as a result of his going forth. let me stop here to make a comment this what the brahmin is saying here is It's a kind of idea that a lot of people have, that if a person practices the spiritual path, he's only helping himself. In other words, he is more selfish than the person who does dana, makes offerings, because making offerings, you help many people. You are benefiting a lot of people, whereas you cultivate the holy life. You become a monk or something, you're only helping yourself. And that is selfish. So let's see what the Buddha said. Well, Brahmin, as to that, I will question you. Do you answer as you think fit? Now, what think you, Brahmin? In this connection, a Tathagata arises in the world, an Arahant, who is a fully enlightened one, perfect in knowledge and practice, welfareer, world-knower, incomparable charioteer of men to be tamed, teacher of devas and mankind, a Buddha, an exalted one. He says thus, Come, this is the way, this is the practice, proficient in which I make known that incomparable bliss which is steeped in the holy life by my own powers of comprehension, realizing it. Come, you also, practice so that you too may be proficient therein, so that you too, by your own powers of comprehension, may realize it and abide therein. Thus this teacher teaches Dhamma, and others too practice to attain that end. Moreover, there are many hundreds, many thousands, many hundreds of thousands of such. Now what think you, Brahmin? Since this is so, is it a practice of merit affecting only one person, or many persons? That is the result of going forth as a wanderer. And the Brahmin replied, No, Master Gautama, it affects many persons, this going forth. Let's stop here for a while. So here the Buddha is saying, by becoming a Buddha, he has taught many hundreds of thousands of people to practice the holy path also. And so the Brahmin had to admit that he's going forth as a monk, he's helping a lot of people. Now, just now you were saying whether a monk practicing the holy path is selfish, is an arahant selfish? Now this selfishness, where does it come from? Selfishness, meanness, doing wrong things, it all comes from the ego. Because we have the ego, we have to protect the self. And the self is not only this body of that person. All that is associated with this body, that means like my husband, my wife, my children, my parents, my relatives, those of my own faith, those of my countrymen, those from my same village, etc. All this is associated with the self. So, because of that, you see sometimes race and race go to war, kill each other, like in Africa, because their self, they are trying to protect their greater self, that means all of those that belong to their race. And sometimes people of different religions also take the sword and kill each other. Why? Because they see that those of their own, of their same religion, are part of their own self. So when we practice the spiritual path, we are trying to eliminate the ego. We are trying to eliminate the self. And when we eliminate the self and become an arahant, then there is no more self. Then that person is the least selfish because he has no more self. So he cannot be selfish at all. That is why the Buddha said in a sutta that if you wanted to take a knife and plunge it into an arahant's chest, he would never shout for help because he has no more self. If you wanted to kill him, he would not resist. So, you can see, because an Arahant has no self, he cannot be selfish at all, and that kind of person is the highest person in the world. In fact, nobody can be as compassionate as the Arahant. The Arahant sees that all beings are part of his own self. It is all in the consciousness, it is all in his mind. So that is why you can never say that an Arahant is selfish. And even if a person doesn't become a Buddha or an Arahant, by practicing the way, he is eliminating his ego to a certain extent, so that he is more harmless than an ordinary puttujana, an ordinary person. In fact, the ordinary person, the ordinary puthujana is the one that creates all the problems in the world. If a lot of people became ariyas, even the first stage ariyas, so tepana, then there would be very much less problems in the world. So if we help ourselves, we are helping others. If we don't help ourselves, we cannot help others. That's why in one sutra, the Buddha said there are four kinds of persons. The worst one is the one who does not help himself, does not help others. Better than this person is the person who helps others, but does not help himself. Then, even better than this person is the one who helps himself, but does not help others. And the best is the one who helps himself and helps others. So you can see the second and the third person. The one who helps himself is better than the one who helps others. Why? Because even if you help others, as long as you have the self, you will still love yourself the most. Right? Nobody loves another as much as he himself. That's what the Buddha has said. So if we say that we want to help others before helping ourselves, then we are being a bit hypocritical. Because as long as we have the self, nobody is more important than ourselves. Then to continue this sutra, at these words, the Venerable Ananda said this to the Brahmin Sangha Rāva, of these two practices, Brahmin, which appeals to you as being the simpler, the less troublesome, of greater fruit, of greater profit." At these words, the Brahmin Sangharava said this to the Venerable Ananda. Just like the worthy Gautama and the worthy Ananda, both are to me worthy of honor and praise. Then a second time the Venerable Ananda said to the Brahmin Sangharava, I do not ask you that, Brahmin, as to whom you honor and praise. This is what I am asking you. Which of the two practices appeals to you as being the simpler and less troublesome, of greater fruit and profit?" Again the Brahmin Sangharava said, just like the worthy Gautama and the worthy Ananda, both are to me worthy of honor and praise. And the third time the Venerable Ananda put the same question to him, the third time the Brahmins made the same reply. I'll just stop here again to make another comment. Here the Venerable Ananda is trying to ask him, Which one do you think is simpler? The one making dana, giving offerings to a lot of people or cultivating the holy life? And Brahmin Sangharava did not want to commit himself. He didn't want to say which one is better because he felt that both are also good. So he said, Just like the Venerable Gautama and the Venerable Ananda, both to me are worthy of honor and praise. So he doesn't want to commit himself. And then, thereupon the Exalted One thought, even for a third time, the Brahmin on being asked a pertinent question by Ananda evades it, does not reply to it. Suppose I release them from their difficulty. So the Exalted One said this to the Brahmin Sangharava, Tell me, Brahmin, what was the topic of conversation today when the royal parties sat together in company in the Raja's palace?" And he said, this was the topic of conversation, Master Gautama. In former times, monks were fewer in number, but those possessed of supernormal powers were more numerous. They showed the marvel of supernormal power. But now it is just the opposite. That was the topic of conversation today, Master Gautama, when the royal party sat together in company in the Raja's palace. And the Buddha said, Now as to that Brahmin, there are these three types of marvels. What three? The marvel of supernormal power, the marvel of thought reading, and the marvel of teaching. And what, Brahmin, is the marvel of supernormal power? In this case, a certain one enjoys various sorts of supernormal power. From being one he becomes many, from being many he becomes one. Manifest or invisible, he goes unhindered through a wall, through a rampart, through a mountain, as if through the air. He plunges into the earth and shoots up again as if in water. He walks upon the water without parting it, as if on solid ground. He travels through the air, sitting cross-legged, like a bird upon the wing. Even this moon and sun, though of such mighty power and majesty, He handles them and strokes them with His hand. Even as far as the Brahma world, He has power with His body. This Brahmin is called the marvel of supernormal power. And what Brahmin is the marvel of thought reading? In this case, a certain one can declare by means of a sign, Thus is your mind, such and such is your mind, thus is your consciousness, and however much he may tell, so it is, and not otherwise. And again Brahmin, perhaps a certain one does not declare such things by means of a sign, but he does so after hearing a voice from men, or non-humans, or from devas, and says, Thus is your mind, such and such is your mind, thus is your consciousness, and however much he may tell, so it is and not otherwise. Here again, Brahmin, perhaps a certain one does not declare these things by means of a sign or on hearing a voice from men or non-humans or from devas, but he does so judging from some sound he has heard, an utterance intelligently made by one who is reasoning intelligently. So hearing, he declares, thus is your mind, such and such is your mind, thus is your consciousness, and however much he may tell, so it is and not otherwise. Then again Brahman, in this case, suppose a certain one does not declare by any of these ways, yet maybe, when he has attained a state of concentration which is void of thought, applied and sustained, One's mind can read another's thoughts and knows thus. According to the nature of the thinking of this worthy on such and such objects, will he immediately direct his thoughts? Then however much he may tell, so it is and not otherwise. This Brahman is called the marvel of mind reading. And what Brahman is the marvel of teaching? In this case, a certain one teaches thus. Reason thus, not thus. Apply your mind thus, not thus. Abandon this state. Acquire that state and abide therein. This Brahman is called the marvel of teaching. So these are the three marvels. Now of these three marvels, which appeals to you as the more wonderful and excellent? Of these marvels, Master Gautama, the marvel of supernormal power seems to me to be of the nature of an illusion. Then again, as to the marvel of thought-reading, he who performs it has the experience of the marvel. It is a possession of him who performs it. This also, Master Gautama, seems to me to be of the nature of an illusion. But as to the marvel of teaching of these three marvels, this one appears to me as the more wonderful and excellent. I'll just stop here a while to comment. This Brahmin, he shows some wisdom in saying that the marvel of teaching is more wonderful and excellent than the other two types of psychic power which the Buddha described. And perhaps because he was familiar with certain different ways of showing psychic power, we have to be very careful you know sometimes some people nowadays we see are very caught up with psychic power displays because in the Buddha's time even from long ago we have heard that psychic power can be displayed by kind of black magic ways one is using mantras Mantras are not in the Theravāda teachings, not in the original teachings of the Buddha. And some of these mantras are very powerful. And because of that, people like to use mantras. Mantras are words which have no meaning to us. When we recite the words, there is no meaning. And the meaning can only be understood by these spirits. So the Buddha did say in some of the, in some sutta that he forbade his disciples to show his psychic powers because he said if he showed psychic powers or if he allowed his disciples to show psychic powers those who have faith would have more faith but those who did not have faith would say that the Buddha's disciples are using black magic and using mantras and the Buddha quoted the names of certain mantras which means that the Buddha was quite familiar with these mantras. In fact, in one of the suttas, even some devas who use mantras, very powerful mantras, one of them, Nasura King, was reborn in hell. for using these mantras. So that is one way that people sometimes exhibit psychic power, mantras. Another one is keeping spirits, using spirits to work for them. And then another one could be using the help of some devas. but sometimes they use it to good purpose to heal people and all that it could also be used for bad purpose so the point is to be very careful when people try to hint that they have psychic power or they show that they have psychic power because a truly virtuous person would not show even if that person has psychic power he would not show off because It is a sign generally of ego to show off his psychic powers. And then to continue the sutra, the brahmin said, it is strange Master Gautama, it is wonderful how well the worthy Gautama has spoken of this thing. We do hold the worthy Gautama to possess all three marvels. Surely the worthy Gautama enjoys various kinds of super-normal power. From being one he becomes many, etc., etc. Surely the worthy Gautama's mind can read another's thoughts when he has attained a state of concentration, void of thought, applied and sustained, so as to know. According to the nature of the thinking of this worthy one on such and such objects will he immediately direct his thoughts. Again, surely the worthy Gautama teaches, reason thus and thus. Apply your mind thus, not thus. Abandon this state, acquire that state and abide therein. And then the Buddha said, Indeed, Brahmin, your words come close and challenge me to a statement. Nevertheless, I will satisfy you by replying. I do indeed possess these supernormal powers, Brahmin. I do read thoughts. I do so instruct." And then the Brahmin said, But Master Gautama, is there any other single monk possessed of these three marvelous powers besides the worthy Gautama? And the Buddha replied, Yes indeed, Brahmin. The monks possessed of these three marvelous powers are not just one or two or three, four or five hundred, but much more than that in number. And then the Brahmin asked, pray Master Gautama, where are those monks now dwelling? And the Buddha said, in this very order of monks, Brahmin. And the Brahmin said, excellent Master Gautama, excellent it is Master Gautama, even as one raises up what is overthrown or holds up a light in the darkness. Even in diverse ways has Dhamma been set forth by the worthy Gautama. I myself do go for refuge to the worthy Gautama, to Dhamma, and to the order of monks. May the worthy Gautama accept me as a lay follower who has taken refuge in him." That's the end of the sutta. Now this last part you find quite interesting is that in the Raja's palace they were discussing that formerly a lot of monks, a lot of renunciants had psychic power, but nowadays very few renunciants have psychic power. And then what the Buddha is saying is actually there are a lot more than 500, which shows that the people during the Buddha's time, they were not aware that all these monks with psychic power were around, which brings the point I made just now that virtuous monks never display the attainments. The Buddha said, told the monks that even if they have attainments, that they should not speak of it and should not hint of it and if they don't have attainment and they say that they have the attainment, then it's a very, very serious offence, the highest, the most serious offence. There are four offences, which if a monk indulges in practices, then he is no more a monk, even though he wears the robe. The first one, he engages in sexual intercourse. The second one, he steals something which is valuable. And according to some interpretation, what is valuable means something that is worth more than 50 ringgit or 20 US dollars. And the third one is he kills a human being or he encourages the killing of another human being. Even asking a woman to take a contraceptive to abort a child is also included. And the fourth one, if he does not have supernormal attainments, and he says that he has, these four ways are called parajika offenses, whereby if a monk breaks them, he is no more a monk, even though he wears the robe, and he is not allowed to ordain again in this very lifetime. In that respect, a monk is not even supposed to praise his teacher, See that his teacher is such and such, an ariya or something is not allowed. It's an offence. And then, another interesting thing about this sutra is, you see, this man has challenged the Buddha to make a reply. He's saying that, I think you have these psychic powers. And he's saying, do you really actually have these psychic powers? And the Buddha, since he was challenged, the Buddha did confirm that he has these psychic powers. But generally it's the Buddha that... can make this kind of statement, because the Buddha is supposed to have said that these Vinaya rules that he made are for his disciples, generally not for himself. But I'm not sure whether if a monk is actually confronted with such a question, whether he can actually say that he has these psychic powers. I think if he's a virtuous monk, probably he won't answer even if he has. The other thing you see here is that the Buddha is also saying that, because he was asked, where are these monks with psychic powers now residing? So he's saying that it's to be found in his order of monks. The last thing I'd like to point out here is, you see, this is one of the suttas where it shows that lay people, when they take refuge with the Triple Gem, it is taking refuge with the Buddha. Dhamma, which is the Buddha's teachings. And the third one is the Bhikkhu Sangha. It takes refuge with the order of monks, community of monks, Bhikkhu Sangha, that's the Pali word. So, of course, sometimes it is explained elsewhere that the Bhikkhu Sangha is also the four, the eight types of ariya, the four pairs of ariyas. But it's the Pali word to note, it's always the Bhikkhu Sangha that they take refuge in.

14-AN-Book-3F-(3.7.63-to-3.7.64).txt

Another sutra we come to is 3.7.63. On a certain occasion, the exalted one was journeying about among the Kosalans, attended by a great company of monks, and he came to Venagapura, a Brahmin village of the Kosalans. Now the Brahmin housefathers of Venagapura heard the news that Gautama the recluse, son of the Sakyans, who went forth as a wanderer from the Sakyan clan, had come to Venagapura. There a fair report was spread about Gautama the recluse, that the exalted one It is he that Arahant, who is a fully enlightened one, perfect in knowledge and practice, welfareer, world-knower, unsurpassed, charioteer of men to be tamed, teacher of devas and mankind, a Buddha, an exalted one. He makes known this world together with the world of devas, maras and brahmas, together with the force of recluses and brahmins, both of devas and mankind. Having Himself come to know it thoroughly for Himself, He teaches dhamma that is lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, lovely in the end, both in letter and spirit. In all its fullness, He preaches the holy life that is utterly pure. Well, indeed, for us, if we could get the sight of arahants such as these. Then the Brahmin housefathers of Vināgapura came to see the Exalted One. On coming to Him, some saluted the Exalted One and sat down at one side, some greeted the Exalted One, and after the exchange of greetings and courtesies, sat down at one side. Some raised their joined palms to their foreheads in respect to the Exalted One and sat down at one side. Some proclaimed their name and clan and did the same, while others, without saying anything, just sat down at one side. You see, these people, when they come to see the Buddha, they behave in different ways. Some show a lot of respect for the Buddha, then they sit down to one side. Some show not so much respect and sit down to one side. Some just say their name and clan and just sit down to one side. But you notice here that all of them sit down to one side when they want to speak to the Buddha. This is a kind of Indian tradition. And which reminds me that I heard sometimes in the West, some of our Asians, they go and see a monk like in Perth. The Thais would go and sit lower than the monks. And it seems that the Sri Lankans, when they talk to a monk out of respect, they will stand, not sit down, you know, they stand. And of course, to the Thais, it's quite different. So just now I said that the Sri Lankans stand out of respect when they talk to a monk. Why do they stand? Because if you look into the suttas, you find when the devas come to see the Buddha, the devas, out of respect, they stand, all the devas stand up when they talk to the Buddha. So, different people have different ways of showing respect. Now, to continue. Then as he thus said, Vācagota, the Brahmin of Enāgāpura, said this to the Exalted One. It is wonderful, Master Gautama. It is marvelous, Master Gautama. How serene is the worthy Gautama's air. how clear and translucent his complexion. Just as the yellow jujube fruit in autumn is clear and translucent, even so is the worthy Gautama's complexion. Even as a palm tree fruit just loosed from the stalk is clear and translucent, even so is the worthy Gautama's complexion. Just as a trinket of red gold brought in a crucible by a clever goldsmith, deftly beaten and laid on a yellow cloth, shines and blazes and glitters. Even so, the worthy Gautama senses are calmed. His complexion is clear and translucent. Now, Master Gautama, as to those couches, both high and broad, such as the sofa, the divan or divan, together with their coverlets of goat's hair of diverse colors, white coverlets, coverlets of wool, decorated with flowers, quilts of cotton wool, embroidered counterpanes, and rugs furred on both sides, rugs furred on one side, coverlets gem-studded and of silk, dancers' carpets, rugs for elephants, horse and chariot, rugs of antelope skins, floor spreads of the hide of the Kaddali deer, couches with awnings and a red bolster at each end, All such seeds, both high and low, doubtless the worthy Gautama can get as he pleases, can get them without toil and trouble." And the Buddha said, Brahmin, as to all these things, indeed, we wanderers get them hardly. That means hardly get them. And if gotten, they are not to be made use of. I'll just stop here to say that here you find that the Buddha is saying that wanderers, the word is Paribhajaka, wondrous, renunciants, hardly get these luxurious things, couches and rugs and animal skins and all that. And the Buddha is saying that even if they get them, they are not to be made use of. In other words, the Buddha does not allow his monks to use luxurious items. Some of these items during those times, the Buddha's times, were considered very luxurious. But some of the things nowadays might not be considered luxurious. So it depends on the times also. And then the Buddha said, Now Brahmin, there are these three couches, both high and broad, which I can get both here and now as I please, without toil and trouble. What are the three? They are the high broad couch celestial, that which is sublime, and the high broad couch of the Aryans. These are the three couches I can get here and now as I please, without toil and trouble. And the Brahmin asked, Pray, Master Gautama, of what sort is that high broad couch celestial which the worthy Gautama gets here and now as he pleases without toil and trouble? And the Buddha said, In this case, Brahmin, when I am living dependent on a certain village or suburb, I get myself robed in the morning. Taking bowl and outer robe, I enter that village or suburb to beg. When I return from my alms round and have eaten my meal, I make for the edge of a forest. There I gather together whatever grasses or leaves there are into one place and sit down cross-legged, holding my body straight and setting mindfulness in front of me. Thus, aloof from sense desires, aloof from unprofitable states of mind, I enter on the first jhāna, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, born of seclusion, delightful and pleasurable, and abide therein. I'll just stop for a while to make some comment. You see, the Buddha, he and his disciples, they generally go for alms round. and arms round is one of those things in the Buddha's teaching which is very good for a monk because in the spiritual path we are supposed to cut off our ego eliminate our ego and when we go on arms round it is a very good practice for that purpose because you have to make us you have you feel very humble when you go on arms around that's why it's not an easy thing to do so that nowadays not many monks also do that The other thing is you see that the Buddha, when he says he makes, after his meal, he goes to the edge of the forest. The Buddha and his disciples are generally not allowed to stay deep into the forest because they are not allowed to live on the fruits or whatever, trees and leaves. and all that in the forest. They are supposed to live dependent on lay people, to allow lay people the chance to make merit. That's why they go to lay people's houses for their food and after that they go to the edge of the forest, not deep into the forest to meditate. And then here you can see the Buddha, what he does is he gathers the grasses and the leaves together, makes them into a sort of a comfortable pile and then he sits on it. Then to continue, Then by calming down thought directed and sustained, I enter on that inward calm, that singleness of mind, apart from thought directed and sustained, born of concentration, delightful and pleasurable, which is the second jhāna, and abide therein. Then by the fading out of delight, I become equanimous, I remain mindful and composed, and experience with the body, that happiness of which the Aryans say, the equanimous mindful man lives happily, and I enter on the third jhāna and abide therein. Then, abandoning pleasure and pain alike, by the coming to an end of the joy and sorrow which I had before, I enter and abide in the fourth jhāna, free of pain and free of pleasure, a state of perfect purity of mindfulness and equanimity. Now, Brahmin, when I have reached such a state, if I walk up and down, at such time my walking is to me celestial. If I stand, at such time my standing is celestial. If I sit, my sitting is to me celestial. If I lie down, celestial is the high broad couch I lie on. That, Brahmin, is what I mean when I speak of the high broad couch celestial which I get as I please without toil and trouble." And the Brahmin said, Wonderful Master Gautama, marvellous Master Gautama. Who but the worthy Gautama could get a high broad couch celestial such as he pleases without toil and trouble. I'll just stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha is talking about the four jhanas that he attains one by one. You find in the suttas the Buddha is very often talking about jhanas. Jhanas are states of mental concentration. where the mind goes deep into itself and deep bliss arises. So the fourth jhāna is a very high state where the breath is supposed to stop altogether. And here you can see the Buddha says that when he comes out of the fourth jhāna, he's in such bliss that if he walks, he feels like he's walking in heaven. If he's standing, it feels like he's standing in heaven, sit and lying down, etc. So, this only shows that when a person comes out of jhāna, the hindrances are still very low. When a person attains jhāna, the hindrances naturally come to a very low level, the hindrances are the five, which is the first one is sensual desire, second one is ill will or anger, third one is sloth and torpor, fourth one is restlessness, restlessness and remorse, fifth one is doubt. So because the hindrances become so low, in fact some of the suttas you can find the Buddha says that when a person attains jhāna, the hindrances are abandoned. So here, he's abandoned, but not for a person attaining jhāna, a normal person, unless he's in arahant, the hindrances are abandoned, but not totally rooted out, not totally eliminated. Only in the arahant, the hindrances are totally rooted out. But still, here the Buddha is saying that when he attains the fourth jhāna and comes out of it, he's in high bliss. But that bliss after sometime can wear off. Now to continue, the Brahmin asked, but Master Gautama, what is that high, broad, couch, sublime And the Buddha replied, here in Brahmin, when I'm living dependent on a certain village, et cetera, et cetera, as before, and then setting mindfulness in front of me, I abide suffusing one quarter of the world with a heart possessed of goodwill, metta. Likewise, the second, third, and fourth quarters. And in like manner, above, below, across, everywhere, for all sorts and conditions, the whole world do I abide suffusing with a heart possessed of goodwill. Metta, that is widespread, grown great and boundless, free from enmity and untroubled. And I do likewise with a heart possessed of compassion, and similarly with a heart of joy, Mudita, possessed of equanimity that is widespread and untroubled. These are the four Brahma-viharas. And then the Buddha says, Now Brahmin, when I have reached such a condition, if I walk up and down, my walking is to me sublime. My standing, my sitting, my lying down is to me sublime. That is what I mean when I speak of the sublime high broad couch which I can get here and now as I please without toil and trouble." And the brahmin said, wonderful Master Gautama, marvellous Master Gautama. Who else but the worthy Gautama could get a high broad couch sublime? I stop here for a moment to say that this cultivation of the four Brahma-viharas The four supreme abidings have also to do with jhāna, because these states are also states of jhāna, where he can suffuse the world with these four brahma-vihāras, which is metta, karuna, mudita, and upekka. Goodwill, compassion, joy, and equanimity. To continue, the Brahmin asked, but pray Master Gautama, what is that Aryan, high broad couch? And the Buddha said, here in Brahmin, when I'm living dependent on some village, et cetera, et cetera, then setting mindfulness in front of me, I know thus for certain, passion is abandoned by me. It is cut off at the root, made like a palm tree stump, made such as not to grow again, unable to sprout again in future time. Hatred is abandoned by me, delusion is abandoned by me, made unable to sprout again in future time. That brahman is the aryan couch, broad and high, which I can get. Now Brahmin, when I have reached such a condition, if I walk up and down, my standing, my sitting, my lying down is to me Aryan. That is what I mean when I speak of the Aryan high broad couch which I can get here and now as I please without toil and trouble." And the Brahmin said, Wonderful Master Gautama, marvellous Master Gautama, who else but the worthy Gautama could do so? Excellent, Master Gautama! Excellent it is, Master Gautama! Just as one raises what is overthrown, or holds up a light in the darkness, even so, in diverse ways, has Dhamma been set forth by the worthy Gautama. We here do go for refuge to the worthy Gautama, to Dhamma, and to the Order of Monks. May the worthy Gautama accept us as a lay follower from this day forth, while life lasts, who have so taken refuge. So that's the end of the sutta. So here you can see that the holy life, these are some of the fruits of the holy life, that there is deep happiness and bliss that can be got from the holy life if a person practices. If there were not such this happiness, who would want to practice the holy life? Because when we practice the holy life, there are material discomforts, there's some suffering in the physical sense. But because there is happiness in the spiritual sense, that it compensates for the physical suffering that a monk undergoes. And in fact, this spiritual happiness that a monk gets, or a person who practices the holy path gets, is something that lasts, not like the worldly things that are so short-lived. And in the end of the sutta, here again, you see that the person takes refuge with the Buddha, Dharma, and the Bhikkhu Sangha. The next sutra is 3.7.64. Thus have I heard. In fact, most of all the sutras have this, thus have I heard, but sometimes it's missed out. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Raja Gaha on the Vulture's Peak Hill. Now at that time, Sarabha, so-called the wanderer, who had not long since deserted this Dhamma Vinaya, was thus speaking in the company at Raja Gaha. And he said, I understand the Dhamma of the recluses who are Sakyan's sons. It is because I understand it that I have deserted that Dhamma Vinaya. I'll stop here a while to comment. What is this Dhamma Vinaya? You find in the Suttas that the Buddha's teachings, the Buddha calls Dhamma Vinaya. The Buddha never called his teachings Tripitaka or Tipitaka. Always in the Sutta, he calls it Dhamma Vinaya. And Dhamma is defined in the Anguttara Nikaya as the suttas. I think in the chapter of the fours, or book of the fours, the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha says Dhamma is suttas. And Vinaya is the disciplinary code for monks and nuns. So in this case, there is this monk called Srabba. He had been a monk before under the Buddha, but he disrobed and left the community of Buddhist monks, and he joined the external ascetics. So this shows that even During the Buddha's time, even when the Buddha was alive, there were certain people who could not follow the Buddha's teachings. Even the Buddha was unable to teach such people. That's why in the suttas the Buddha said, I only teach tamable men. Because there are some men who are not tamable, who won't allow themselves to be tamed. So even those kind of persons, the Buddha cannot change. So we have to be careful that the Buddha cannot liberate all beings, only those that are ready to be tamed, the Buddha can help. And to continue, then a number of monks having robed themselves, taking bowl and outer robe, entered Rajagaha to beg. And those monks heard Sarabha the Wanderer speaking in the company at Rajagaha. These words. So when they had done their begging rounds and had returned and eaten their meal, they went to the Exalted One. And on coming to Him, saluted Him, paid respect to Him and sat down at one side. So seated, they said this to the Exalted One. Lord, Sarabha the Wanderer has not long since deserted this Dhamma Vinaya. At Rajagaha, he is speaking thus to the company. I understand the dhamma of the recluses who are Sakin's sons. It is because I understand it that I have deserted that dhamma vinaya. Lord, it would be well if the Exalted One were to go to Snake River Bank, to the wondrous park, where Sarabha the wanderer is, out of compassion for him. And the Exalted One consented by silence. So the Exalted One, rising up from His solitary meditation in the evening, went to Snake River Bank to visit Sarabha the Wanderer in the Wanderer's Park. On reaching there, He sat down on a seat made ready. Having done so, the Exalted One said this to Sarabha the Wanderer, Is it true I hear, Sarabba, that you say, I understand the Dhamma of the recluses who are Sakhin's sons. It is because I understand it that I have deserted that Dhamma-vinaya." At these words, Sarabba the Wanderer was silent. Then a second time, the Exalted One spoke to Sarabba the Wanderer. Speak, Sarabba. How is it that you have understood the Dhamma of the recluses who are Sakhin's sons? If your knowledge is incomplete, I will complete it for you. If it is complete, I shall receive it gladly." And the second time Sarabha the Wanderer was silent. Then for a third time the Exalted One spoke to Sarabha the Wanderer, saying, Sarabha, it is by me that the Dhamma of the Sakyan Sons who are recluses have been revealed. Speak, Sarabha. How is it that you have understood the Dhamma of the recluses who are Sakyan Sons? If your knowledge is incomplete, I will complete it for you. If it is complete, I shall receive it gladly." And the third time Sarabha the Wanderer was silent. Thereupon the Wanderers of Rajagaha said this to Sarabha the Wanderer. Friend, whatever you may have to ask Gautama the recluse, he gives you the opportunity to do so. Speak, Reverend Sarabha. If your knowledge is incomplete, Samana Gautama will complete it for you. If it is complete, he will receive it gladly." At these words, Sarabha the wanderer remained silent, confused, hanging his head, looking downwards, a disappointed man, unable to make reply. So the Exalted One, seeing him in this condition, said to those Wanderers, Wanderers, if anyone should say to me, you have not perfect knowledge of these things, though you claim to be fully enlightened, I should closely examine him, question him and talk with him. he thus closely examined, questioned, and talked with, would surely and inevitably be reduced to one of three conditions. Either he would shelve the question by another and direct the talk to an alien subject, or he would display anger malice and sulkiness, or he would sit silent, confused, hanging his head, looking downwards, a disappointed man, unable to make reply, just as now Sarabha the wanderer. Wanderers, if anyone were to say to me, the Dhamma preached by you for the purpose of utterly destroying dukkha does not lead those who act accordingly to such a goal, I should do likewise, and he would be reduced to the same condition as Sarabha the Wanderer. Then the Exalted One, having thrice uttered his lion's roar in the Wanderer's Park on the bank of Snake River, departed through the air. Now, not long after the departure of the Exalted One, Those wanderers assailed Sarabah the Wanderer on all sides with a torrent of abuse, and poking fun at him, said, Friend Sarabah, even as a decrepit jackal in the great forest, thinking to utter a lion's roar, can only let out just a jackal's scream. So you, friend Sarabah, thinking to utter the lion's roar, which none but Gautama the Recluse can utter. You give just such a jackal scream. Friend Saraba, just as a poor little hen thinks to crow like a cock, and after all lets out just a poor little hen's cackle, so you, thinking to utter the cock crow that none but Gautama the recluse can utter, let out just a poor little hen's cackle. Friend Saraba, just as a young bull calf, when the cow pen is empty, thinks he bellows deeply like an old bull. So you too, friends Raba, think to utter the deep bellow that none but Gautama the recluse can utter. Thus did those wanderers assail Saraba the wanderer with a torrent of abuse poking fun at him. This is the end of the sutra. This is an interesting sutra because it shows the Buddha's character. He found that his sasana, his religion, was spoken bad of by this Sarabha. So he went to defend it. And he tore this Sarabha apart. Also, it's interesting, after speaking to Sarabha, he departed by flying off. It's one of the rare occasions when the Buddha showed his psychic power.

15-AN-Book-3G-(3.7.65-to-3.7.68).txt

Now we come to another sutra, 3.7.65. This is the famous Kalama Sutra. It's not that difficult sutra, but it's a bit long. On one occasion, the Exalted One, while going His rounds among the Kosalans with a great company of monks, came to Kesaputta, the district of the Kosalans. Now the Kalamas of Kesaputta heard it that Gautama the recluse, the Sakyan's son, who went forth as a wanderer from the Sakyan clan, had reached Kesaputta. And this was noise abroad about Gautama that the exalted one is an exalted one, arahant, fully enlightened one, perfect in knowledge and practice, etc, etc. And it were indeed a good thing to get sight of such arahants. So the Kalamas of Kesaputta came to see the exalted one. On reaching him, some saluted the exalted one and sat down at one side, some greeted the exalted one, etc, etc. Then, as they thus said, the Kalamas of Kesaputta said this to the Exalted One, Sir, certain recluses and Brahmins come to Kesaputta. As to their own view, they proclaim and expound it in full. But as to the view of others, they abuse it, revile it, depreciate it, and cripple it. Moreover, sir, other recluses and brahmins on coming to Kesaputta do likewise. When we listen to them, sir, we have doubt and wavering as to which of these worthies is speaking truth and which speaks falsehood. I just stop here to comment. This happens very often. When people listen to monks, they have different, different monks give different opinions. So in the same way, even in the Buddha's time, people were confused. So they asked the Buddha what to do when they have different opinions from different monks. So the Buddha replied, Yes Kalamas, you may well doubt, you may well waver. In a doubtful matter, wavering does arise. Now look you Kalamas, be you not misled by report or tradition or hearsay, be not misled by proficiency in the scriptures, nor by mere logic or inference, nor after considering reasons, nor after reflection on and approval of some theory, nor because it fits becoming, nor out of respect for a recluse. But Kalamas, when you know for yourselves these things are unprofitable, these things are blameworthy, these things are censured by the intelligent, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to loss and sorrow, then do you reject them, Kalamas? Now what do you think, Kalamas, when greed, loba, arises in a man, does it arise to his profit or to his loss, sir? Now, Kalamas, does not this man thus become greedy, being overcome by greed and losing control of his mind? Does he not kill a living creature, take what is not given, go after another's wife, tell lies and lead another into such a state as causes his loss and sorrow for a long time? And he said, he does so, sir. Now what do you think, Kalamas, when hatred, dosa, arises in a man, does it arise to his profit or to his loss, sir? Now, Kalamas, does not this man thus become hateful, being overcome by hatred, losing control of his mind? Does he not kill, does he not take what is not given, commit adultery, tell lies, and lead another into such a state as causes his loss and sorrow for a long time?" And he replied, He does indeed, sir. And the Buddha said, Now what think you, Kalamas, when delusion, moha, arises within a man? Does it arise to his profit or to his loss? And they said, To his loss, sir. And does not this man, thus deluded, does he not kill, etc., etc.? He does, sir. Well then, Kalamas, what do you think? Are these things profitable or unprofitable? Unprofitable, sir. Are they blameworthy or not? Blameworthy, sir. Are they censured by the intelligent or not? They are censured, sir. If performed and undertaken, do they conduce to loss and sorrow or not? They conduce to loss and sorrow, sir. It is just so, we think, then the Buddha said. So then, Kalamas, as to my words to you just now, be you not misled by report of tradition or hearsay, be not misled by proficiency in the scriptures, nor by mere logic or inference, nor after considering reasons, nor after reflection on and approval of some theory, nor because it fits becoming, nor out of respect for a recluse, But Kalamas, when you know for yourselves these things are unprofitable, these things are blameworthy, these things are censured by the wise, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to loss and sorrow, then indeed you reject them. Such was my reason for uttering those words. I just stop here to comment. Here the Buddha is saying that those unprofitable things, blameworthy things, which lead to sorrow and which are censured by the wise, you should not follow them. But then unless we understand Dharma, it is difficult to actually distinguish what is right and what is wrong. Then the Buddha continued, misled by report of tradition or hearsay, etc. But if at any time you know of yourselves, these things are profitable, they are blameless, they are praised by the intelligent, when performed and undertaken, they conduce to profit and happiness, then, Kalama, do you, having undertaken them, abide therein? Now what do you think, Lama, when freedom from greed arises in a man, does it arise to his profit or to his loss? To his profit, sir. Does not this man, not being greedy, not overcome by greed, having his mind under control, does not he cease to kill, cease to steal, etc.? He does, sir. So in the same way, the Buddha talked about freedom from hatred, freedom from delusion then the Buddha said are these things profitable or unprofitable and they said profitable sir are they blameworthy or not they are not sir etc etc so the Buddha said in the same way that if they know for themselves that these things are profitable that they conduce to happiness etc then they should be practiced and the Buddha continued Now Kalamas, he who is an Aryan disciple, freed from coveting and malevolence, who is not bewildered by self-control and mindful, with a heart possessed by goodwill, compassion, joy, equanimity, etc., in this very life he attains four comforts. First one, if there be a world beyond, if there be fruit and ripening of deeds done well or ill, then when body breaks up after death, I shall be reborn in the happy lot in the heaven world. This is the first comfort he attains. Second, if however there be no world be... And the last week, we finished at Sutta number 3.7.65, the famous Kalama Sutta. Towards the end, I didn't have time to make some comments, so I'd just like to say that this Kalama Sutta is one of the famous suttas, and the passage in that sutta which is quite well known is the one that says, Be you not misled by report or tradition or hearsay, be not misled by proficiency in the Scriptures, nor by mere logic or inference, nor after considering reasons, nor after reflection on and approval of some theory. nor because it fits becoming, nor out of respect for a recluse. But, Kalamas, when you know for yourselves these things are unprofitable, these things are blameworthy, these things are censured by the intelligent, these things, when performed and undertaken, conduce to loss and sorrow, then indeed you reject them. and conversely also for those things that are profitable and not blameworthy and praised by the intelligent etc. So in this famous passage the Buddha is actually giving advice to people not only during his time but even right up to today and even in the future that whatever we come across that is taught, whether it is by tradition or what is heard or in the books or from logic or from considering reasons and considering some theory, et cetera, we have to consider it very carefully whether those things that are taught are profitable or unprofitable, whether they lead to loss and sorrow or they lead to happiness. But then, as I mentioned the other day, it's quite difficult to actually judge whether something that is taught is correct or not. The only way is to compare with other teachings, so it's very good to investigate, make a lot of investigation before we actually conclude that some teaching is right or wrong. We have to take the trouble to compare, then we can see that whatever is said here and said there, if they contradict each other, then we have to think carefully. And as it is mentioned in some other suttas, if we have a clear mind, And then we can practice yoniso manasikara, which is thorough consideration. When we have thorough consideration or thorough attention, proper attention, proper consideration, then we can see things clearly. And that also requires that we have a clear mind, which is a developed mind, and that which can be cultivated from meditation. Now we come to a sutra, number 3.7.67. The Buddha said, monks, there are these three topics of discourse. What three? One may talk of past time, saying thus it was in past time. Or one may talk of future time, saying thus it will be in future time. Or one may talk of the present time, saying thus it is now at present. Monks, it may be understood of a person by his conversation whether he is competent or incompetent to discuss. Now monks, if this person on being asked a question does not give a categorical reply to a question requiring it, does not give a discriminating reply to a question requiring it, does not reply by a counter question to a question requiring it, and does not waive a question which should be waived, then monks, such a person is incompetent to discuss. But if this person on being asked these four sorts of questions gives the proper reply, then he is competent to discuss. Again monks, it may be understood of a person by his conversation whether he is competent or incompetent to discuss. If this person on being asked a question does not abide by conclusions, whether right or wrong, does not abide by an assumption, does not abide by recognized arguments, does not abide by usual procedure, In such case, monks, this person is incompetent to discuss, but if he does all these, he is competent to discuss. Again, monks, it may be understood of a person by his conversation whether he is competent or incompetent to discuss. If this person, on being asked a question, evades the question by another, or turns it off the point, or displays vexation, malice and sulkiness, In such case, monks is incompetent to discuss. But if, on the other hand, he does none of these things, he is competent. Yet again, monks, it may be understood of a person by his conversation whether he is competent or incompetent to discuss. If on being asked a question, he loathes with abuse and beats down the questioner, laughs him to scorn, and catches him up when he falters, such a one is incompetent to discuss. But if he does none of these things, he is competent. Monks, it may be understood of a person by his conversation whether he is assured or unassured. He who lends not an ear is unassured. He who lends an ear is assured. He being assured fully understands one thing, comprehends one thing, abandons one thing, realizes one thing. So doing he reaches a perfect release. This, monks, is the profit of talk. This is the profit of deliberation, of assurance, of giving ear to advice. Namely, the liberation of mind without grasping. In this sutra, you can see the Buddha, he says that there are various ways to answer a question. Either you have to give a categorical reply sometimes, or you have to give a discriminating reply. And sometimes a question should be answered with a counter-question. And sometimes a nonsense question should be waived, should not be considered at all. And also, when you discuss or argue with some person, you have to abide by conclusions. You have to abide by an assumption, by recognized arguments, by usual procedure. And there are some people who cannot discuss or cannot argue. They sometimes evade a question when they should not evade it, and they turn it off the point or show malice or keenness. And sometimes they are abusive or very scornful. And such kinds of persons are not competent to discuss. So this is a guide to us sometimes when we discuss with other people how to talk. Now, the next sutra is 3.7.68. The Buddha said, monks, if the wanderers of other views should thus question you, friends, there are these three conditions. What three? Lust or passion, raga, hatred, dosa, delusion, moha. These are the three. Now, between these three, what is the distinction? What is their specific feature? What is the difference? Thus questioned the monks, how would you explain to those wanderers of other views? And the monks said, For us, Lord, things are rooted in the Exalted One, have the Exalted One for their guide and resort. Well for us, Lord, if the Exalted One would reveal unto us the meaning of this saying He has said. Hearing the Exalted One, Lord, the monks will bear in mind. And the Buddha said, Then listen, monks, apply your minds closely. I will speak. And the monks replied, even so, Lord. The exalted one said, now if the wondrous of other views should question you, thus do you explain it. Reverent sirs, lust is slightly to be blamed, but it is slow to change. Hatred is much to be blamed, but it is quick to change. Delusion is much to be blamed, and it is slow to change. I'll just stop here to comment. You notice here that lust is said to be slightly to be blamed. Why is it slightly to be blamed? Because compared to the other two, it is not so harmful in a sense. When you indulge in lust and passion, you harm yourself, but not so much other people. And whereas hatred, you can do a lot of harm. to many people, and delusion also. Delusion out of ignorance and delusion. Sometimes you do a lot of harm and you don't realize it. So lust, it is slightly to be blamed, but it is very slow to change. Lust is something that all beings in the realm of sensual desire, it is like a very strong tendency in all beings here. Hatred is much to be blamed, but quick to change. And delusion is much to be blamed, but it is slow to change. So you see, of all these three, delusion could be said to be the worst. It is very harmful, and also it is very slow to change. Delusion, unless we take the trouble, to change. It is very difficult to change this. And the incentive for us to take the trouble to change is suffering. When we are deluded, then we suffer more. And when we suffer, then that is the thorn that pricks us to change ourselves. And then we try to investigate why we suffer, and then we study the Dharma. Then we learn we have to clear our mind by meditation, and we learn to meditate, et cetera. And then the Buddha said, what is the reason, what is the cause? That means if the wanderer asks, what is the reason, what is the cause, why lust that has not arisen arises, or why lust that has arisen is liable to develop and grow? It is the feature of attractiveness must be the reply. In him who gives not thorough attention to the feature of attractiveness, lust that has not arisen arises, and lust that has arisen is liable to develop and grow. This is the reason, this is the cause. But, sirs, what is the reason, what is the cause, why hatred, not yet arisen, arises? Or if arisen, is liable to develop and grow? It is the feature of loathsomeness or repulsiveness, must be the reply. In him who gives not thorough attention to the feature of repulsiveness, hatred arises. But, sirs, what is the reason, why delusion arises? It is unthorough attention must be the reply. In him who gives not thorough attention, delusion arises. Now, sirs, what is the reason, what is the cause, why lust not yet arisen arises not, or if arisen is abandoned? It is the feature of repulsiveness must be the reply. In him who gives thorough attention thereto, lust not arisen arises not, or if arisen is abandoned. But, sirs, what is the reason why hatred not yet arisen arises not, or if arisen is abandoned? It is the release of goodwill by mind must be the reply. In him who gives thorough attention to the release of goodwill by mind, both hatred that has not arisen arises not, or if arisen is abandoned. But, sirs, what is the reason, what is the cause, why delusion that has not arisen arises not, or if arisen is abandoned? Thorough attention must be the reply. In him who practices thorough attention, delusion not arisen arises not, or if arisen is abandoned." So, you see, The Buddha just said that lust arises due to attractiveness, the feature of attractiveness. If we see something is beautiful or attractive, the greed arises and we lust for it, but to To reduce the lust, we have to see the repulsiveness in that thing. For example, with the human body, the Buddha said that the attraction of the opposite sex is extremely strong. So to cut the lust or the opposite sex, we practice the contemplation of the 32 parts of the body, which is meditation on the loathsomeness of the body or the repulsiveness of the body. In that way, when we understand how the body is made up of all the different parts, which are in a way quite loathsome, then the attraction for the body is reduced. And for hatred, hatred arises because of repulsiveness. We feel that something, like for example, somebody says something to us, we feel it's so repulsive that hatred arises. And the way to overcome hatred is through metta. and that is goodwill or loving-kindness. We practice meditation on goodwill or loving-kindness, we try to spread metta, then our hatred or anger reduces. And delusion arises from unthorough consideration, unthorough consideration and we can only get rid of delusion from practicing thorough consideration. And we see that thorough consideration, yoniso manasikara, is important for all these three things, lust, hatred and delusion. Lust, hatred and delusion are known as the three roots of unskillful action, akusala kambang. It's because of lust, hatred and delusion that we live our lives very unskillfully. When we live our lives unskillfully, we suffer more than we ought to. There are certain types of suffering that can be avoided if we live a skillful life. But there are certain types of suffering that nobody can avoid. For example, the body growing old. the body getting sick, the body dying, that cannot be avoided. But there are other types of suffering which can be avoided. For example, we drink and drive. We drink and drive, then we get in an accident, and that is unnecessary. If we had the skill not to drink and drive. If you drink, you don't drive. If you drive, you don't drink. Then we would do away with that unnecessary suffering.

16-AN-Book-3H-(3.7.70-to-3.8.72).txt

Now, we come to this with 3.7.7T. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Savatthi in the East Park, in the terraced house of Migara's mother. Now Visakha, Migara's mother, on the Sabbath day, that is the Uposatha day, came to visit the Exalted One. On coming to Him, she saluted Him and sat down at one side. As she does so, the Exalted One said this to Visakha, Migara's mother. I'll just talk for a while, just to say that Visakha is a famous lady who is one of the strongest supporters of the Buddha and the Sangha, the company of monks, and she was considered the greatest supporter among the women. She's also known as Meghala's mother because the father-in-law is a man by the name of Megara, and the father-in-law used to call her mother because she taught him the Dharma. So the Buddha said to Visakha, well, Visakha, how is it that you come at noon? And Visakha said, Lord, today I am keeping the Sabbath, or the Uposatha, that means the eight precepts, on the eighth lunar day, the 15th, the 23rd, and the 30th lunar day. Then the Buddha said, well, there are these three sabbaths, visakha. What are the three? There is the herdsman's sabbath, that of the naked ascetics, and that of the Aryans. Now what, visakha, is the herdsman's sabbath? Suppose visakha, so the Buddha said, suppose visakha, the herdsman in the evening restores the cattle to their owners, Then he thus reflects, today the cattle grazed at such and such a spot, and drank at such and such a spot. Tomorrow they will graze and drink at such and such a spot. In the same way, some shepherd's keeper Here, thus reflects, tomorrow I shall eat such and such food, both hard and soft, and he spends the day engrossed in that covetous desire. Such Visakha is the herdsman's sabbath. This sabbath of the herdsman, thus meant, is not of great fruit or profit. It is not very brilliant. It is not of great radiance. I'll just stop here to comment. Here you see the Buddha is in a way joking with Visakha, saying there are some people who keep the eight precepts, and because they keep the eight precepts, afternoon, between noon and the next morning, next dawn, they are not allowed to eat normal solid food. So because they cannot eat in the afternoon and the evening and night, They're longing to eat and they think of all kinds of food and they think tomorrow when I'm not keeping the eight precepts I'll enjoy this and I'll enjoy that, which I think happens to some people. So this is the Buddha's way of joking in a way. And the Buddha continued, and one visakha is the naked ascetics' sabbath. There is a sect of naked ascetics, so-called a sort of recluses, who exhort a disciple thus, Now, my good fellow, lay aside the stick as regards all creatures that exist eastwards beyond a hundred yojanas, a hundred leagues, likewise westward, northwards, and to the south. Thus they exhort them to kindness and compassion towards some creatures only, but not to others. Then again on the Sabbath, they exhort a disciple thus, Now good fellow, off with all your clothes and say, I have no part in anything anywhere, and herein for me there is no attachment to anything. Yet for all that, his parents know him for their son. and he knows them for his parents. His children and wife know him for father and husband, and he knows them for children and wife. Yet for all that, his slaves and workmen know him for their master, and he in turn knows them for his slaves and workmen. Thus at a time when one and all should be exhorted, it is in falsehood that they exhort them. This, I declare, is as good as telling lies. Then as soon as that night has passed, he resumes the use of his belongings, which had not been given back to him really. This, I declare, is as good as stealing. Such Visakha is the Sabbath of the naked ascetics. A Sabbath of the naked ascetics thus spent is not of great fruit or profit. It is not very brilliant. It is not of great radiance. I'll just stop here to comment. I see sometimes the Buddha also can be quite critical. I think there were some naked ascetics during his time who used to do this and he's criticizing them. And here he's saying that there are some people who practice the Sabbath on a certain day, practice the Uposatha, they keep the precepts, they even take off all their clothes, and they say they have renounced, they have renounced everything. But the next day, they take back everything. So in a way, what the Buddha is saying here is that he does not encourage temporary ordination. Temporary ordination did not exist during the Buddha's time. It is only something that is practiced nowadays, where somebody becomes a novice monk for two weeks or three months, something like that. But during the Buddha's time, it was not allowed. When you wear the robe and shave the head, it's supposed to renounce all your all your belongings because if you nowadays what people do is they go and ordain for a short while but they still have a bank account they still have property in their name and all that so it is quite different when you have all all that property still in your name there is no feeling of renunciation there is it's quite different from a person who who totally renounces everything And because to renounce everything is quite a drastic step to take, so a lot of people have that fear. And the Buddha continued, and what, Visakha, is the Aryan Seventh? It is the purification of a soul mind by a proper process. And how is it done, Visakha? In this matter, the Aryan disciple calls to mind the Tathagata thus. He it is, the Exalted One, the Arahant, who is a fully enlightened one, perfect in knowledge and practice, a welfareer, world-knower, unsurpassed charioteer of beings to be tamed, teacher of devas and mankind. A Buddha is the Exalted One. As he thus thinks of the Tathagata, his mind is calm. Delight arises. The stain of the mind is abandoned. And here there are certain sentences I've deleted to make the sutra a bit short. Again, Visakha, the cleansing of the soiled mind is done by a proper process. How is it done? Herein the Aryan disciple calls to mind the Dhamma. Thus, well-proclaimed by the Exalted One is the Dhamma. It is a visible thing, independent of time. It invites one to come and see. It leads one onwards. It is to be understood by the intelligent for themselves. As he thus thinks of Dhamma, his mind is calmed, etc. The stain of his mind is abandoned. Again, visakha, the cleansing of the soiled mind is done by a proper process. How is it done? Herein, the Aryan disciple calls to mind the order, or sangha, thus. Well conducted is the Exalted One's order of disciples, who walk uprightly, walk in the right way, walk beautifully, namely the four pairs of human beings, the eight sorts of human beings. That order of disciples of the Exalted One is worthy of respect, offerings and gifts, worthy of being saluted with claps, hands, a field of merit unsurpassed by the world. As he calls to mind the Sangha, his mind is calmed, delight arises, the stain of the mind is abandoned. Again with Saka, the cleansing of the swallowed mind is done by a proper process. How is it done? Herein, the Aryan disciple calls to mind his own virtues, virtues that are unbroken and whole, unspotted, untarnished, giving liberty, praised by the intelligent, virtues untainted, which lead to concentration of mind. As he thinks of his own virtues, the stain of mind is abandoned. Again, Visakha, the cleansing of the soil and mind is done by a proper process. How is it done? Herein, the Aryan disciple calls to mind the devas as heavenly beings. Thus, there are the devas of the four great kings, the devas of the 33, the devas of Yama's realm, the happy devas, those that delight in creation, those that control the creations of others, those of Brahma's company, and those who are still beyond that. Such faith exists in me, just as the faith blessed with which those devas diseased from this world and were reborn in that world. Such virtue as theirs exists in me. Such religious knowledge as theirs exists in me. Such is my generosity. Such is my wisdom. As he thus calls to mind the faith, virtue, religious knowledge, generosity, and wisdom of himself and of those devas, his mind is calmed. Delight arises in him. The stain of his mind is abandoned. Then that Aryan disciple thus ponders, as long as they live, the Arahants, by abandoning the slaying of creatures, are abstainers from the slaying of creatures, have laid aside the rod, they are modest, show kindness, they abide friendly and compassionate to all creatures, to all beings. So also do I abide this night and day, abstaining from such actions, showing kindness to all beings. By this observance, I too imitate the Arahants, and I shall have kept the Sabbath. As long as they lift the Arahants by abandoning the taking of things not given, abstain from stealing, they take only what is given, they wait for a gift, they abide in purity, free from theft, so also do I myself abide. By this observance, I too imitate the Arahants, and I shall have kept the Sabbath. As long as they live the arahants by abandoning impurity of life, dwell observing chastity, abstaining from unchastity, from sexual intercourse, women matters. So also do I abide this night and day. By this observance I shall have kept the Sabbath." So just now I wanted to make a comment here. The third precept, observing chastity, Here, because we are dealing with the 8 precepts, there's a slight difference from the 5 precepts. In the 5 precepts, the first 3 are almost the same as this. The first is not killing, not stealing. or actually is not taking what is not given. And then the third one here in the eight precepts is abstaining from sexual intercourse. But in the five precepts, it's abstaining from adultery, not to commit adultery. That means not to engage in sex other than the lawful wedded partner. So to continue, the Buddha said, as long as they live the arahants by abandoning falsehood, dwell abstaining from falsehood, speaking the truth, joined or fixed to truth, unswerving, reliable, no deceivers of the world, so also do I myself abide this night and day. By this observance, I shall have kept the Sabbath. As long as they live, the Arahants, by abandoning indulgence in liquor fermented and distilled, which gives occasion to sloth, are abstainers therefrom. So doing, I also abide this night and day. By this observance I shall have kept the Sabbath. I'll just stop here a while to comment on this drinking, taking intoxicants. The standard for monks and laypeople is slightly different. For laypeople, if it's medicinal, you can take, if you desire, some medicine which contains some liquor, if you feel that it's necessary. But for a monk, it is not allowed. In the monks' Vinaya, the standard is slightly more strong. That means if there is a smell of liquor, there's a taste of liquor, then a monk is not allowed to take it. But some monks feel that sometimes it may be necessary if there's a slight smell or taste of liquor, but that's up to them. But sometimes in certain foods, there can be liquor, but provided the smell and the taste is not there, it's all right. For example, sometimes lay people cook a cake for the monk, and they put some liquor in there, and when they cook the cake, it kind of dissolves, and you don't get the smell and don't get the taste, and it's all right. Or sometimes in some dishes they put it, as long as there's no smell and taste, it's all right. So long as they live, the arahants live on one meal a day, abstaining from food at night, at unseasonable hours. So also do I myself this night and day. By this observance, I shall have kept the Sabbath." I'll just stop here to comment on this again. Taking one meal a day was the original standard in the Buddha suttas here and also in the Majjhima Nikaya. You find that the Buddha told his disciples, at first he allowed them three meals a day. Later he allowed them two meals a day. Later he allowed them only one meal a day. But then for most people, if they take one meal a day, they find it a bit hard. So the Buddha did give some allowances, like some drinks and some certain kinds of food that are considered nourishing and allowable as medicinal, of having some medicinal value. For example, butter. At some monasteries, they also interpret it as cheese or milk. and other things like medicinal fruits, medicinal roots, medicinal vegetables, etc., and fruit juice, etc., and honey, and even the oil of fish, oil of bears, oil of alligators, I think, oil of pigs. and certain other things were allowed by the Buddha. So with these other allowed foods, then a monk can sort of practice. Otherwise, if the stomach is too empty, then it's very difficult to practice. He tries to meditate at night, then his stomach is protesting. To continue, the Buddha said, as long as they live, the arahants refrain from going to the exhibitions of dancing and singing. I also, by so doing, shall have kept the Sabbath. As long as they live, the arahants, by abandoning the use of high or wide couches, abstain therefrom. They make their bed lowly on a pallet or on a spread of rushes. I also, this day and night, do likewise. By this observance, I imitate the arahants, and I shall have kept the Sabbath. So I'll just stop here to comment again. These are the eight precepts. The only thing I'd like to comment is here the interpretation for all these precepts, sometimes we have to be practical. For example, sometimes this precept against sexual intercourse, some people sometimes interpreted as not even being able to touch a child of the opposite sex. I think sometimes it's a bit thinking a bit far. Sometimes old ladies, they have to look after the grandchildren or their children. And if they keep the epiceps, it doesn't mean that they cannot touch their son or their daughter or their grandson or granddaughter. The precept here is very clear. It is abstaining from sexual intercourse. And then the Buddha said, such Visakha is the Aryan Sabbath. A Sabbath thus observed is of great fruit, of great profit. It is brilliant. It is of great radiance. How so? Just as if Visakha, one should exercise lordship, rule and sovereignty over these sixteen great provinces, replete with the seven gems. namely the Angas, Magadhas, Kasis, Kosalans, Vajans, Malas, Jetis, Bangsas, Kurus, Panchalas, Machas, Surasenas, Asakas, Avanti, Gandhara, and Kambhoja. Yet would such sovereignty not be worth one-sixteenth part of a Sabbath observed in all its eightfold paths? I'll just stop here for a while. Just now the Buddha mentioned these sixteen provinces of sixteen states in India. existed during the Buddha's time. So the Buddha said, all of them, even if you become king of all of them, it's not worth 16 parts of observing the Uposatha, the Sabbath, keeping the precepts. And the Buddha said, what is the cause of that? A poor thing, Visakha, is human sovereignty to set beside heavenly bliss. That means a human rule, sovereignty. Now, Visakha. 50 years of human life are a single night and day to the Devas of the four great kings. 30 such days and nights make a month. 12 of such months make a year. 500 of such years make up the life period of the Devas of the four great kings. But there is the possibility, Visakha, that some woman or man, by observing the Sabbath in all its eight parts, when body breaks up after death, may be reborn in the company of the devas of the four great kings. It was in this connection that I said, a poor thing is human sovereignty to set beside heavenly bliss. I just stop here to comment. In the heaven of the four great kings, 50 human years is a single day and night. So to know the lifespan, you take this 50 years, multiply by 30 days in a month, multiply by 12 months in a year, multiply by 500 years, you get 9 million human years. That means lifespan in the lowest heaven, which is the Jatumaharajika, the devas of the four great heavenly kings, their lifespan is nine million human years. But to them, it's only 500 years. And then the Buddha said, again, Visakha, a hundred years of human life are but a single night and day to the devas of the 33 Tavatimsa. 30 such days and nights make a month. Twelve of such months make a year. A thousand such heavenly years make the life period of the devas of the 33, which actually works out to 36 million human years. And the Buddha continued, but there is the possibility, Visakha, that some woman or man, by observing the Sabbath, may be reborn in the company of the devas of the 33. It was in this connection that I said, a poor thing is human sovereignty to set beside heavenly bliss. 200 years of human life are but a single night and day to the Yamadevas. 30 such days make a month, etc., etc. 2,000 such heavenly years make up the life period of the Yamadevas. But there is the possibility, Visakha, that some woman or man, by observing the Sabbath, may be reborn in the company of the Yamadevas. It was in this connection that I said, a poor thing is human sovereignty to set beside heavenly bliss. I just stop here to say that these Yamadevas, their lifespan in terms of human years is 144 million years. That's why the Buddha said that human life is nothing to set beside heavenly bliss. And the Buddha continued, 400 years of human life make one night and day of the Tusita Devas. And 4000 such years make up the life period of the Tusita Devas. which actually works up to 576 million years human. But there is the possibility, Visakha, that some woman or man, by observing the Sabbath, may be reborn in the company of the two Sita Devas. It was in this connection that I said, poor thing is human sovereignty to set beside heavenly bliss. 800 years of human life make one night and day of the devas that delight in creation. And 8,000 such heavenly years make up the life period of these devas. But there is the possibility, Pisaka, that some woman or man, by observing the Sabbath, may be reborn in the company of the devas that delight in creation. It was in this connection that I said, a poor thing is human sovereignty to set beside heavenly bliss. So their lifespan in terms of human years is 2,304 million years. And the Buddha continued, 1,600 years of human life make one night and day in the Devas. for the devas that delight in others' creations. Sixteen thousand such years make up the life period of these devas. But there is the possibility, Visakha, that some woman or man, by observing the sepulchre in all its eight parts, when body breaks up after death, may be reborn in the company of these devas. It was in this connection that I said, a poor thing is human sovereignty to set beside heavenly bliss. That's the end of the sutra. So the last one is the highest heaven in the central desire realm, that means the sixth heaven above our human plane. Their lifespan in terms of human years is 9,216 million years. But we must remember, although their lifespan is so long, in our eyes, To them, actually, the Buddha said it's 16,000 years. 16,000 years. And to them, it's actually 16,000 years. Because when we have a very enjoyable life, the time flies very, very fast. That's why the Buddha said there are beings who live in the heavens for such a long, long time, and when it is time for them to pass away, they're still not satisfied. They still have so many things to do, so many things to enjoy, and they think that life is so short. But imagine somebody in hell who is suffering. One day is so long to pass through, and That's why in certain religions, for example in Christianity, they say that life in hell is eternity. It would appear like eternity when you are suffering so much in hell that time seems to go so slowly by. The other thing we noticed in this sutra is that the Buddha said, if we keep the eight precepts, the chances of being reborn in heaven is very great. That's why the Buddha encouraged that all of us, all the lay people, should keep the eight precepts at least once a week. During the Buddha's days, they used the lunar calendar. But nowadays, since we are working five days a week or six days a week, we have to find a day which is convenient for you to keep the eight precepts. Like Sunday is a good day to keep the eight precepts. If you can go to temple or Buddhist society or hermitage to keep the eight precepts, it's very good. If not, you can do it at home. And don't be like the average normal person who does not take any trouble to keep the precepts because the Buddha said, as we heard earlier, that most people, after they pass away, most of them are reborn into the woeful planes. Few will be reborn back with a human body or go up to the heavenly realm. So we don't want to be like the average normal person. Now the next sutra is 3.8.72. On a certain occasion, the Venerable Ananda was staying at Kosambi in Gosita Park. Now a certain house father, who was a follower of an ascetic mendicant, a beggar, came to see the Venerable Ananda. On coming to him, he greeted him and sat down at one side. So seated, he said this to the Venerable Ananda. Pray, worthy Ananda, whose doctrine is well taught, who are rightly conducted in the world, who are welfarers in the world." And Venerable Ananda replied, Now, House Father, in this matter I will put a question to you. Do you answer my question as you think fit? What think you, house father? They who preach a doctrine for the abandoning of passion, hatred and delusion, is their doctrine well preached or not? What do you think of this? I just stop here to comment. This is the case, you see, Ananda is taught by the Buddha. When somebody asks a question like this, whose doctrine is well taught? It's difficult to answer straight. If you answer straight, you have to say that my teacher's doctrine is well taught, and that person would find it quite difficult to accept. But he put a counter question to him, and this is the way of dealing with that question. So he replied, the doctrine of such sir is well preached. That is my opinion. Ananda said, Then, House Father, they who so conduct themselves as to abandon passion, hatred and delusion, are they well-conducted in the world? Certainly they are, sir. Now what think you, House Father, they whose passion, whose hatred, whose delusion is abandoned, cut down at the root, made like a palm tree stump, made such as not to become, of a nature not to spring up again in future, are such welfarers in the world or not? And he said, such, sir, are welfarers in the world, I think. And Ananda said, then you have admitted this much. They who preach a doctrine for the abandoning of passion, hatred and delusion, their doctrine is well preached. They who are so conducted as to abandon passion, hatred and delusion are well conducted in the world. They whose passion is abandoned are welfarers in the world. And the man said, it is wonderful, sir, it is marvellous. Here is no trumpeting of one's own creed, no depreciation of another's creed, but just teaching of Dhamma in its proper sphere. You have spoken of man's welfare and self is not brought in question. Now you yourself, worthy Ananda, preach Dhamma for the abandoning of passion. hatred, and delusion, and your doctrine is well preached. You conduct yourself so as to abandon passion, hatred, and delusion, and you are well conducted in the world. In you, worthy Ananda, these are abandoned, cut down at the root, made like a palm tree stump. Surely you are a welfarer in the world. Excellent Sir, it is excellent. It is as if one should raise up what has fallen, open up what has hidden, pointed out the way to one corner straight, holding up a shining light so that they who have eyes may see forms. Thus has Dharma been expounded by the worthy Ananda in diverse ways. I myself, worthy Ananda, go for refuge to the Buddha, to Dharma, to the Order of Monks. Let Master Ananda accept me as a lay follower from this day forth. so long as life shall last as one who has taken refuge. That's the end of the Sutta. So here you see the Venerable Ananda speaks Dhamma without bringing in the self. The Buddha taught that when we speak Dhamma, we should not be personal, we should not bring in the self. talk about Dhamma and criticize Dhamma, but we should not try to bring in oneself or another person on a personal level. Again, in the last part, you find that this man took refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and the Bhikkhu Sangha, and then he said that he is a lay follower. Let Master Ananda accept me as a lay follower from this day forth. He's a lay follower of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha.

17-AN-Book-3I-(3.8.75-to-3.9.81).txt

Now we come to Sutta number 3.8.75. Now the Venerable Ananda went to see the Exalted One and on coming to Him saluted Him and sat down at one side. As he thus sat, the Exalted One said this to the Venerable Ananda, Ananda, one for whom you have fellow-feeling and those who think you should be listened to, whether friends or intimates or kinsmen or blood relations. Such ought to be advised about, grounded on, established in three particulars. What three? They should be advised about, grounded on, established in unwavering loyalty to the Buddha. Thus, he it is, the Exalted One, that Arahant, who is a fully enlightened one, etc., teacher of the evas and mankind, a Buddha, Exalted One. They should be advised about, grounded on, established in unwavering loyalty to Dhamma, thus, well proclaimed by the Exalted One is Dhamma, etc., etc., to be understood by the intelligent each for himself. They should be advised about, grounded on, established in unwavering loyalty to the order of a Sangha, thus, they walk righteously the Exalted One's order of disciples, etc., etc., a field of merit unsurpassed for the world. There may be change ananda in the four great phenomena, the elements of earth, water, fire and wind, but there can be no change in the Aryan disciple blessed with unwavering loyalty to the Buddha. By change I mean this, that such a one should be reborn in hell, in the womb of an animal or in the realm of ghosts is an impossibility. There may be change ananda in the four great phenomena, but for the Aryan disciple blessed with unwavering loyalty to the Dhamma, There can be no change. I mean that such a one should be reborn in hell in the womb of an animal in the realm of ghosts is an impossibility. There may be change, Ananda, in the four great phenomena, but for the Aryan disciple blessed with unwavering loyalty to the Sangha, there can be no change. I mean that such a one should be reborn in hell in the womb of an animal in the realm of ghosts is an impossibility. So, Ananda, one for whom you have fellow-feeling, should be established in these three particulars." Here, in this sutra, the Buddha is saying that those of our family members and friends and others who will listen to us, we should bring them to have faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. If they have faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, then they'll learn the Dharma. And when they understand the Dharma and they have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, then the Buddha has said elsewhere that That means they have entered the stream, and the person who has entered the stream has become an Arya. He can never be reborn into the three woeful planes, can never be reborn in the hell realm, in the animal realm, or in the ghost realm. But then how do we attain unshakable faith? We have to remember it is by understanding suttas like these, the words of the Buddha. I always say that the suttas, understanding the suttas, are very very important. You remember when we recite the Ithipiso Chant, when we come to the Sangha, Supatipanno Bhagavato Savakasangho. What is this Savakasangho? Savakas are listeners or hearers. That means the Sangha of listeners or hearers are the Buddha's disciples. They always listen to the Buddha's words. That's why they are called Savakas. So we have to be like them. We can continue listening to the Buddha's words and then we get a lot of wisdom and we have right view and then we would have entered the stream according to the Buddha's teaching. The next sutra is 3.8.76. Now the Venerable Ananda went to see the Exalted One and said this to Him. As to the saying existence, existence bhava, or being, Lord, pray to what extent is there existence? And the Buddha said, if there were no realm of sensual desire and no action or karma to ripen therein, Ananda, would any sensual realm existence be manifested? Surely not, Lord. In this way and undone, action or karma is the field, consciousness is the seed, craving the moisture. For beings that are hindered by ignorance, petted by craving, consciousness is established in the lower realm, that's the sensual realm. Thus in the future there is repeated rebirth. In this way there is existence and undone. Again, if there were no realm of form and no action or karma to ripen therein, would any form realm existence be manifested? Surely, surely not, Lord. In this way, action, karma is the field, consciousness the seed, craving the moisture. For beings that are hindered by ignorance, fettered by craving, consciousness is established in the intermediate realm, that is the form realm. Thus, in the future, there is repeated rebirth. Again, if there were no formless realm and no action to ripen therein, would any formless realm existence be manifested? Surely not, Lord. In this way, Ananda, action is the field, consciousness the seed, craving the moisture. For beings that are hindered by ignorance, fettered by craving, consciousness is established in the higher realm. Thus in the future there is repeated rebirth. In this way, Ananda, there is existence. This is a sutra that talks about existence. And here in this sutra, the Buddha is saying that a few things contribute to existence. One is karma. Karma here is considered the field. Second one is consciousness. Consciousness is the sea. And the third one is craving, the moisture. And because of ignorance and craving, consciousness is re-established in another realm. So there are some monks who use this sutra to support the Abhidharma and commentarial interpretation of dependent origination. In the dependent origination, the twelve links, the first one is avijja, ignorance, avijja, pacaya, sankara, the second one is sankara. And sankara is interpreted by the commentaries and the Abhidhamma as karma, action, which leads to the third, sankara, pacaya, vinyana, which leads to vinyana. coming into existence. However, in this sutta, if we consider carefully, kamma is only the field, whereas craving is the moisture. Craving is the moisture. For the seed to be reborn, for the seed to sprout, it would seem to me that craving is more important not kamma, because there is a sutra somewhere else which says that the cause for life, the main cause for there being life form is moisture. moisture, water. Anywhere where there's more water or moisture, there will be life. That's why nowadays scientists, when they investigate the other planets, they try to look for any sign of moisture. If there's any sign of moisture, then they are sure that there must be life somewhere in the planet. So here, to me, grieving is more important Then the action karma, whereas the commentarial and abhidharma interpretation is that karma is the one that is the main cause for rebirth. But I like to quote another sutra, Majjhima Nikaya number 43, where Sariputta, Venerable Sariputta, was asked, how is renewal of existence in the future generated? And Sariputta replied, renewal of existence in the future is generated through the delighting in this and that on the part of beings who are hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving. So here Sariputta is saying, because of delighting in this and that, which means actually craving, Also, another reason why we can say that karma is not the main cause for rebirth, for existence, is because you see a case like Angulimala. Angulimala, he created a lot of evil karma, and this evil karma should have brought him down to the woeful planes, if not to hell itself. But because he destroyed craving, He struggled so hard and became an arahant, destroyed ignorance and destroyed craving. There was no more rebirth for him, even though there was a lot of karma that he had done. So the main thing that got him out of samsara is that he destroyed craving. Another example is the asaniya-satta. Those beings in the fourth jhana realm, in the form realm, there is a type of beings who have no perception. They are born just with a body, but no perception. So in that state, they do not create any karma. Even though they do not create any kamma, it doesn't mean that they have stopped existence. When they pass away from that state, they are reborn again. So kamma does not seem to be as important as craving. The other thing about this sutta which is very important and which I'd like to mention is the commentary Statement, you know, this is a very important commentary statement here and the commentary says about this sutta, about the three forms of, the three realms. of existence are the sensual desire realm, the form realm and the formless realm. The commentary says these are the three forms or spheres of mundane consciousness. There is a fourth which is supramundane or supernormal to our waking or normal consciousness. This is reckoned unconsciousness. The fourth type of consciousness mentioned here may be referring to the state of deep sleep without dreaming. or the state of Nibbana itself. Now we come to sutra number 3.8.78. At one time the Exalted One said to the Venerable Ananda, What do you think, Ananda, will every sort of moral practice, way of living, sanctity of life and excellence of service have a like fruit hereafter? I would not say so, Lord, that it is inevitably so. Well, then, do you go into particulars, said the Buddha, and Ananda replied, For instance, Lord, that moral practice, way of living, sanctity of life, and excellence of service which increase unprofitable states and decrease profitable states in him who observes them, such moral practice and so forth have not a like fruit hereafter. But that moral practice, way of living, sanctity of life, and excellence of service which increase profitable states and decrease unprofitable states in him who observes them. Such moral practice have a like fruit hereafter. So said the Venerable Ananda and the teacher agreed with him. Then the Venerable Ananda, thinking the teacher agrees with me, rose up from his seat, saluted the Exalted One by the right and went away. Now not long after the Venerable Ananda was gone, the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying, Monks, Ananda is a learner, yet it would not be easy to find his equal in wisdom. And that's the end of the Sutta. This learner, I think most of you know, is Seka, and it means that a person, that person is an Arya, a noble one, but he is not yet an Arahant. He has not finished his work. That means he's one of the seven types of Aryas, the first path, first fruit, second path, second fruit, or third path, third fruit, or even the fourth path. Later, if you look into the suttas, you'll find that path and fruit in the suttas are separate. They are separate persons and unlike the commentaries and the Abhidhamma, in the suttas we find that the path person is not existing just for one moment and then getting the fruition So in this sutra, the Buddha is saying that does every sort of spiritual life bring a similar fruit hereafter? That means if that person goes to a good rebirth. And Ananda said it is not always so. If there is a moral practice, a way of living, spiritual path which increase unprofitable states and decrease profitable states, then you won't get the expected fruit, that means a good rebirth. And what is this? This is like those external practices which were prevalent during the Buddha's time. If you look into the suttas, we find there were many types of external practices which were unbeneficial. Some people, there were some ascetics who behave like dogs. They walk like dogs, they eat like dogs, they lay down like dogs. And some imitated behavior of cows, eating grass, and etc. And some, they stand, they never sit down, stand all the time. And some, they are naked, they have this naked practice and some they hold up their hand, left hand or the right hand, they never put it down. For years and years they just keep it up like that. So all these practices are unbeneficial practices and they would not give a profitable result but What is important, the Buddha, Venerable Ananda said, which the Buddha agreed was, that kind of spiritual life which increases profitable states and decreases unprofitable states, then you would get the desired result. And what is this increasing profitable states? Profitable states are those wholesome states of mind. where a person has less greed, less hatred, and less delusion, whereas the unprofitable states are those where you have more defilements, you have more greed, hatred, and delusion, and other similar qualities like jealousy, anger, malice, or ill will, etc. So the Buddha said that even though Venerable Ananda is a learner, and we know that Venerable Ananda was a Sotapanna, a first fruit attainer. And Buddha said that even though he's only a first fruit attainer, it would be quite difficult to find his equal in wisdom, which shows that Venerable Ananda is a very wise person. Now the next sutra is 3.8.79. Now the Venerable Ananda went to see the Exalted One, etc. etc. As he sat to one side, he said, Lord, there are these three sorts of scents whose fragrance spreads along with the wind, but not against the wind. What three? Root scent, hardwood scent, and the scent of flowers. Pray, Lord, is there any sort of scent whose fragrance spreads with the wind, against the wind, and both ways alike? And the Buddha replied, There is such a scent ananda. Remember Ananda asked, What is that scent, Lord? And the Buddha said, In this connection, Ananda, in whatsoever village or district, there is a woman or a man who has taken refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha, who abstains from killing, stealing, adultery, from lying, from addiction to intoxicants that cause sloth. who is virtuous of a kind nature, who dwells at home with heart free from the taint of stinginess, who is open-handed, pure-handed, delighting in giving up, one to ask a favour of, one who delights in sharing gifts with others. Of such a one, recluses and hermits sing the praises in all quarters thus. In such and such a village or district, there is a woman or a man who has taken refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha, who abstains from killing, stealing, adultery, lying, addiction to intoxicants, who is virtuous of a kind nature, who dwells at home with heart free from the taint of stinginess, who is open-handed, pure-handed, delighting in giving up, one to ask a favour of, one who delights in sharing gifts with others. Moreover, the devas, the celestial beings, and non-humans sing His praises in the same manner. This Ananda is the sort of scent whose fragrance goes with the wind, against the wind, and both ways alike. In this Uttara, the Buddha said, there is the scent of virtue. If you have the scent of virtue, it spreads far and wide. Not only these renunciants know it, but all the spirits around, they know it. Like the tree spirits, the earth spirits, the river spirits, and higher spirits all around, they know and they spread the word around. So, since all these beings know, you can be quite sure if a person is virtuous, he will have a lot of protection. The next sutra is 3.8.80. Now the Venerable Ananda went to see the Exalted One, paid respect, etc. and said to one side. As he said to one side, he said this to the Lord, to the Bhagavata Exalted One. In the presence of the Exalted One Lord, in his very presence, I have received this saying, Ananda, Abhibu, the disciple of the Buddha Sikkim, standing in the Brahma world, could make its thousand realms hear his voice. Pray, Lord, how far can the Arahant, the fully enlightened one, make his voice heard? And the Buddha said, He was just a disciple, Ananda, immeasurable are the Tathagatas. That means the Buddha. Then a second time, and yet a third time, the Venerable Ananda put the question. Then the Exalted One answered, Have you ever heard, Ananda, of the system of the small thousandfold worlds? And Ananda said, now is the time for this, O Exalted One, now is the time for this, O Welfarer, Sugata, for the Exalted One to speak. Hearing the Exalted One, the monks were buried in mind. And the Buddha said, then Ananda, do you listen, attend closely and I will speak. Our Lord replied the Venerable Ananda to the Exalted One, and the Buddha said, As far as the moon and sun move in their course and light up all quarters with their radiance, so far extends the thousandfold world system. Therein are a thousand moons, a thousand suns, a thousand sumerus, lords of mountains, a thousand jambudipas, a thousand aparagoyanas, a thousand uttarakurus, a thousand pubhavidehas, 4,000 mighty oceans, 4,000 mighty rulers, 1,004 great rulers, 1,000 heavens of the 33, 1,000 Yama heavens, 1,000 heavens of the Tusita devas, 1,000 heavens of the devas that delight in creation, 1,000 heavens of those devas that delight in others' creations, 1,000 Brahma heavens. This Ananda is called the system of the small 1,004 worlds. A system a thousand-fold the size of this is called the medium thousand-thousand-fold world system. A system a thousand-fold the size of this is called the great thousand-thousand-thousand-fold world system. Now Ananda, if he wished it, the Tathagata could make his voice heard throughout this last-named world system, or even further if he chose. And Ananda said, Pray Lord, how could that be done? And the Buddha said, in this connection Ananda, the Tathagata suffuses with radiance the great thousand thousand thousand fold world system. When its inhabitants perceive this, then the Tathagata would give utterance and make the sound heard. That is how he would do it. At these words, the Venerable Ananda exclaimed to the Venerable Udayan, It is indeed again for me, well gotten indeed by me, it is that my teacher is of such mighty power and majesty. Whereupon the Venerable Udayan said to the Venerable Ananda, What is it to you, Reverend Ahuso, Ananda, that your teacher should be of such mighty power and majesty? At these words, the Exalted One said to the Venerable Udayan, Say not so, Udayan, say not so, Udayan. If Ananda were to make an end without attaining perfect freedom from passion, yet by virtue of his heart of faith, he would seven times win rule among the Devas. Seven times would he win rule in this rose-apple land, Jabodipa. However, Udayan, in this very life, Ananda shall attain to final passing away. This is quite an interesting sutra where the Buddha quoted the previous Buddha, Buddha Sikhin. In some sutra, the Buddha mentioned that he contemplated 91 world cycles, the past 91 world cycles, and he saw six Buddhas. 91 world cycles, aeons. It's such a long time. He only found six Buddhas and one of those was the Buddha Sikkim. He had a disciple, Abibu. There's another sutra about this incident where the disciple Abibu, he spoke a few verses and a thousand world systems could hear his voice. And yet the Buddha says that he was just a disciple compared to the Buddhas. And the Buddhas can make their voice heard over a long distance. But I think I've seen one of the suttas where the Buddha said that not all Buddhas are the same. So in this case, our Buddha is just quoting himself. And first he talked about the thousand-fold world system. And it is mentioned somewhere else that a world system consists of a sun. Every world system consists of a sun, what we call a star. And around that sun, are supposed to be four continents. Four continents, those names I mentioned just now, Jambudipa is on the south, then Aparaguayana, then Uttarakuru, and Puba Videha. And then you have Mount Sumeru is supposed to be a mountain. Maybe this mountain, so far we don't see it around here. It might be one of those fine material It's just like a spirit world. There are a lot of spirits around, but very few people can see them. And then the other heavens were mentioned. Now this thousand-fold world system could be something like a galaxy. And the Buddha mentioned somewhere about, there's a term the Buddha used, Chakravala. Chakravala. Chakra is a disc. It's a disc and we know a disc is flat. And nowadays they realize that a galaxy is flat like a disc. And so the Buddha said that he could make his voice heard over such a great distance. So this is one instance you see. Even Arahant, disciple of a Buddha, can have such a mighty psychic power. But just speaking normally, he could make his voice heard over a thousand world systems. The other thing about this sutra is the Buddha said that Ananda's great faith in the Buddha can make him seven times the king of the devas. I think that's Sakadevaraja, king of the 33 heavens, Tavatimsa heaven. Some later books only say when you have faith in the Buddha that you can get out of samsara. Actually, it's not. Just having faith like this can make you reborn into a heavenly world. But if you have unshakable faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, plus virtue, then the Buddha said you have attained the way, the first path. And also the other thing about this sutra is you find that the Buddha made a prediction here that Ananda will attain to Arahanthood in this very life. The next sutra is 3.9.81. The Buddha said, monks, there are these three pursuits of a recluse to be put in practice by a recluse, a samana. What three? The undertaking of the training in the higher morality, the higher mind, and the higher wisdom. These are the three. The higher morality is the Adi-sila, higher mind is Adi-citta, and higher wisdom is Adi-panya. These are the three. And the Buddha continued, Therefore monks, thus must you train yourselves. Keen shall be our desire to undertake the training in the higher morality. Keen shall be our desire to undertake the training in the higher mind and in the higher wisdom. That is how you must train yourselves. Suppose monks and heirs follow close behind a herd of cows, thinking, I'm a cow too, I'm a cow too. But he is not like cows in colour, voice or hoof. He just follows close behind a herd of cows, thinking, I'm a cow too, I'm a cow too. Just in the same way monks, we have some monk who follows close behind the order of monks, thinking, I'm a monk too, I'm a monk too. But he has not the desire to undertake the training in the higher morality which the other monks possess, nor that in the higher mind, nor that in the higher wisdom which other monks possess. He just follows close behind thinking, I'm a monk too, I'm a monk too. Therefore monks, thus must you train yourselves. Keen shall be our desire to undertake the training in the higher morality, the higher mind and the higher wisdom. That is how you must train yourselves. This is another interesting sutra here. The three things, the Adi Sila, Adi Citta and Adi Panna is explained in another sutra which I shall come to soon. You see, in this sutra, the Buddha said, if a monk does not train in these three things, the higher morality, that means he keeps the precepts, and he does not train in the higher mind, which later on you'll find is concentration. and he does not train in attaining wisdom, then he is not a monk, even though he wears the robe, even though he looks like a monk. So you see, sometimes the Buddha can be very strict, very serious, you can see suttas like this, some monks don't like. That is why later you find there are some monks who belittle these original suttas of the Buddha and call them small vehicle suttas for inferior people and all kinds of things they say about the Buddha's original discourses. And so much so that even nowadays very few monks would actually take up the suttas and explain them. because of suttas like this, because he set up such a high standard for monks, especially that not all monks like to speak of these suttas.

18-AN-Book-3J-(3.9.83-to-3.10.99).txt

3.9.83. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Vesali, the great grove in the house with the peak gable. Now a certain monk who was of the Vajin clan came to see the Exalted One, paid at respect, etc. and said to one side, as he said at one side that monk said this to the Exalted One, Lord, the recital I have to make twice a month amounts to more than 150 rules. Lord, I can't stand such a training. Just now he said about the more than 150 rules that he has to recite twice a month. This is the patimokkha, the precepts which monks have to chant. When there's more monks or more, they chant the whole, all the rules. But if there are less than four monks, then they don't chant all the rules. And the two days in a month that they chant are the two days of the lunar calendar. First one is the 15th day of the lunar calendar, the full moon day. The other one is the last day of the lunar calendar, the 30th of the lunar calendar or sometimes when you don't have 30 days, you have 29 days. And these rules, there are actually in our Theravada tradition, there are 152 rules. Later, another 75 trainings were added, trainings that you're supposed to wear your robe all around, you're supposed to be very mindful when you eat, you're supposed to be very mindful when you go on alms round, accept food, etc. So if you add the 152 plus the 75, you get 227 precepts, which a monk is supposed to keep. So the Buddha said, well, monk, can you stand the training in three particulars, that in the higher morality, in the higher mind and in the higher wisdom? And he replied, yes, Lord, I can do that. Then the Buddha said, then do so in these three particulars. Then monk, when you are proficient in the higher morality, higher mind and higher wisdom, then passion, hatred and delusion will be abandoned by you. When you have abandoned these, you will not perform any wrong deed. You will not follow any wicked way. So that monk sometime after trained himself in the higher morality, higher mind and higher wisdom. And on completion of this training, passion, hatred and delusion wicked way. In other words, he became Arahant. This training in the higher morality, higher mind and higher wisdom is basically also the training, the sila, samadhi and panya, which is the basis of the Aryan Eightfold Path taught by the Buddha to get out of suffering, to get out of the cycle of rebirth. And so here you can see in this sutra that this monk is saying there's so many rules to keep. He said he can't stand it, too many rules, 150 over rules to keep. And you can see here the Buddha had the wisdom not to insist that he follow all these rules, just to say, just told him, keep in mind these three things, train in and higher morality, higher mind and higher wisdom, which he said the three things he can do. So you can see here, even though the Buddha made so many rules, actually the Buddha is not attached to the rules, even though sometimes he can be quite strict with the rules. We can see, for example, in the beginning of the Buddha's ministry, he didn't make any rules, hardly any rules, and yet there were a lot of arahants. And later, because there were a lot of monks and more and more monks ordained, then when you have more people, the chances of getting 12 corrupt monks, even if you give 1% or 2%, when you have a big number, you have quite a lot of them. That's why the Buddha had to make more rules. With the passing of time, he added more rules. You can see the Buddha, he could see that this monk was a good monk. So with good monks, you don't have to tell them to follow a lot of rules. They will naturally guard themselves. But with corrupt monks, with very lax, unmindful monks, you have to give them a lot of rules to keep them on their toes. So here the Buddha relaxed. The next sutra, It's quite an important sutra, 3.9.85. The Buddha said, monks, this recital to be made twice a month amounts to more than 150 rules, wherein are trained clansmen or countrymen who are eager for their welfare. Now all these combine together to make these three forms of training. What three? The higher morality, the higher mind and the higher wisdom. Herein are combined one and all of these rules. Now monks, in this matter, a monk keeps the laws of morality in full. He is moderately given to mental concentration, moderately given to striving for wisdom. Whatever minor trifling observances he may transgress, he is cleared of them. Why so? I do not declare him to be rendered unfit because of them, for he strictly observes the rudiments of the holy life, the constituents of the holy life. He is established in morality. He trains himself in the rules of training by undertaking them. Such a one, by destroying three fetters, is a stream-winner, Sotapanna. One not doomed to the downfall, one assured, one bound for enlightenment. Just stop here for a while to make some comment. The Buddha is saying that a Sotapanna He keeps the morality, laws of morality, rules of morality in full. Then he's moderately given to mental concentration, moderately given to striving for wisdom. And sometimes he can break the, even though he has, the Buddha says that he keeps the laws of morality in full. Sometimes minor trifling observances, he may transgress. He is clear of them. So even though he is perfect in sila, sometimes minor rules, he can transgress. And the Buddha said, by destroying three factors, he is a stream-winner, suttapanna. Later you will find that The stream-winner, you have the path and the fruit. In the path-attainer, he has not destroyed the three factors yet. But it is stated elsewhere in some other sutra that a person who attains the path before he dies, he will definitely attain the fruit. But it's not stated when. It might be a short time, might be a longer time, a few years. But he will attain the fruit before he dies. And when he attains the fruit, the three factors are destroyed. What are the three factors? The first one is Sakkayaditti. The second one is Silabhata Paramasa. And the third one is Vijikiccha. Sakkayaditti, sometimes they translate as view of a person or view of a being, view of a self. But I would prefer to translate it as a view of a being in the body. That Sakaya view of a being in the body. Why? Because the Buddha said it is It is easier to see that the body is not the self, but it is very, very difficult to see that the mind is not the self. We have been so used to using the mind. It has protected us for so many lifetimes that it has become our second nature, our mind. So, I was saying about the sakkayaditi, the view of a being in the body. Why I say this is because In the suttas, we find that even an anagami, a third stage fruit attainer, he still has a view of a being, a view of a self. He still has. Until that person is an arahant, all the ariyas, they have a view of a being. So if you translate sakkayaditi as view of a being, sorry, view of a self, then you are saying that all the Aryas don't have a view of a self. They still have. It's only that in my opinion, they can see that the body is not the self. But they still have a view of a self somewhere. So this is Sakya Aditi. The second one is Silabhata Paramasa, which is clinging to rules and rituals. Rules, we have to have wisdom in using rules. And we must know the rules, the spirit of the rules, how to use them. And Vichikiccha is doubt, doubt about the teaching. So there's the three factors. Now to continue, the Buddha said, moreover, a monk keeps the laws of morality in full. He is moderately given to mental concentration, moderately given to striving for wisdom. Whatever minor trifling observances he may transgress, he is cleared of them. Why so? I do not declare him to be rendered unfit because of them, for he strictly observes the rudiments of the holy life, the constituents of the holy life. He is established in morality. He trains himself in the rules of training by undertaking them. Such a one, by destroying three fetters and weakening those of passion, hatred and delusion, is a once-returner, Sakadagamin. Coming back to this world just once more, he will make an end of ill. Just stop here again to comment. Here again you find that the Sakadagamin is similar to the Sotapanna in that he has perfect morality but only very moderate amount of concentration and wisdom. And he comes back to this world once more before he ends the cycle of rebirth. This is the Sakadagamin. In the case of a Sotapanna, he comes back to this world not more than seven times. As a human being, not more than seven times. And the Buddha continued. Moreover, a monk keeps the laws of morality in full. He practices concentration in full, but he is moderately given to striving for wisdom. Such a one, by the destruction of the five fetters that bind to the lower worlds, takes birth spontaneously. there to pass away, destined never to return again, stop here again. Here the Buddha is talking about the Anagamin, who is reborn in the pure abodes. He has perfect morality and perfect concentration, but he has moderate amount of wisdom. and he destroys the five fetters. That means the earlier three, which is Sakaya-dipti, Silabhata-paramasa, Vichigicha, plus the fourth one is Kama-raga, which is sensual passion, and the fifth one is Vahapada, ill will. And then to continue, the Buddha said, lastly in this matter, a monk keeps the laws of morality in full. He practices concentration in full. He practices the acquiring of wisdom in full. Whatever minor trifling observances he may transgress, he is cleared of them. I do not declare him to be rendered unfit because of that. He strictly observes the rudiments of the holy life, the constituents of the holy life. He is established in morality. He trains himself in the rules of the training by undertaking them. Such a one, by destroying the asavas in this very life, himself comes to know thoroughly the liberation by mind, the liberation by wisdom, and attaining it abides therein. Thus monks, the partial of fulfiller, attains partially, the perfect observer attains perfectly, not barren of result, are these rules of training I declare." That's the end of the sutra. So in this sutra, the Buddha is saying that a Sutapanna and a Sakadagamin, the first and the second fruition persons, they have perfect sila. And the anagamin has got perfect sila and perfect concentration, perfect samadhi. And we know from other suttas that perfect concentration means the four jhanas or one-pointedness of mind in the suttas. And the arahana has perfect sila, samadhi and paññā, morality, concentration and wisdom. and he destroys the asavas. Asavas are those uncontrolled mental outflows. In other words, the totality of consciousness is all stopped. The other thing you like to observe here is that all the ariya, even though they have perfect sila, sometimes they can transgress minor observances, that means minor precepts. That's why the minor precepts are not extremely important. In the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, before the Buddha passed away, he said in the future, if the sangha, the monks, want to abolish the minor rules, If they consider it necessary, they may do so. And then the other sutra is 3.9.88. The Buddha said, monks, there are these three forms of training. What three? The training in the higher morality, that in the higher mind, and that in the higher wisdom. And what, monks, is the training in the higher morality? I stop here, this Adi Sila Sikha. So here we get a definition of the three things, higher morality, higher mind and higher wisdom. And the Buddha said, herein a monk lives moral and restrained with the restraint of the obligations, that is the patimokkha. Following the practice of right conduct, he sees danger in the slightest faults. He takes up and trains himself in the rules of morality. This is called the training in the higher morality. And what monks is the training in the higher mind? Adhichittasikha. Hearing a monk remote from sensual desires. aloof from sensuality, aloof from evil states, enters on the first jhana, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, born of seclusion, delightful and pleasurable, and abides therein. Then, by the calming down of thought directed and sustained, he enters on that inward calm, that one-pointedness of mind, apart from thought directed and sustained, that is born of concentration, delightful and pleasurable, which is the second jana, and abides therein. Then, by the fading out of delight, he abides equanimous, mindful and composed, and experiences pleasure throughout the body. Having entered on the third jana, which the Aryans describe in these terms, he who is equanimous and mindful dwells happily, he abides therein. Then, by the abandoning of pleasure, by the abandoning of discomfort by the ending of the happiness and unhappiness that he had before, entering on that state which is neither pleasant nor painful, that utter purity of mindfulness reached by equanimity, which is the fourth jhāna he abides therein. This is called the training in the higher mind. And what monks is the training in the higher wisdom? Adhipanya Sikha. Herein a monk understands as it really is the meaning of this is Dukkha. This is the arising of Dukkha. This is the ending of Dukkha. This is the practice leading to the ending of Dukkha. This is called the training in the higher wisdom. These are the three forms of training. So here we get a definition of what you mean by the higher morality, higher mind and higher wisdom. The higher morality is keeping the rules set up by the Buddha. Of course for monks it is slightly different from lay people. For monks they have the code of discipline, the Vinaya. And then the higher mind here, you find, is the four jhanas. This is the definition given in the suttas. But in other later books, there were other interpretations. However, in the sutta, it's always the four jhanas or one-pointedness of mind. And then the third one is wisdom. Wisdom is understanding the four noble truths. But then you see in the four, in the stages, the eight stages of Aryahood, They all have this sila, samadhi and paññā, but at different levels, different levels. The lower, like Sotapanna, they understand their morality may be perfect, but their concentration and wisdom is at a lower level. And then as you go higher, the Sakadagami, second stage and third stage and fourth stage, then the concentration and the wisdom naturally becomes more developed. The next Uttara is 3.10.94. The Buddha said, Possessed of three qualities, monks, a Raja's noble thoroughbred steed is worthy of the Raja, a royal possession, and is reckoned an attribute of royalty. What are the three? Herein, monks, the Raja's noble thoroughbred is blessed with beauty, with strength, with speed. These are the three qualities. In like manner a monk possessed of three things, a monk is worthy of offerings, worthy of hospitality, worthy of gifts, of salutations with claps hands, a field of merit unsurpassed for the world. What three? Beauty, strength and speed. And how is a monk blessed with beauty? Herein, a monk is moral. He lives with the restraint of the obligations, patimokkha, proficient in the practice of good conduct. Seeing danger in trifling thoughts, he trains himself in the rules by undertaking them. In this way, he has beauty. And how is a monk blessed with strength? Herein a monk dwells ardent in energy, ever striving to abandon bad qualities, to acquire good qualities, strenuously exerting himself, not throwing off the burden in good qualities. In this way he has strength. And how is a monk blessed with speed? Herein, a monk understands as it really is the meaning of this is Dukkha, this is the arising of Dukkha, this is the ending of Dukkha, this is the practice that leads to the ending of Dukkha. In this way, a monk is blessed with speed. Possessed of these three qualities, a monk is worthy of offerings, etc., etc., a field of merit unsurpassed for the world. In this Uttara, the Buddha is talking about three very important qualities that a monk or anybody treading the holy path, should develop. The first one is morality, sila. The second one is energy, energetic effort. And the third one is having wisdom. Now we come to another very important sutra concerning karma. 3.10.99, the Buddha said. Monks, if anyone should say, even as a man commits a deed karma, so does he correspondingly experience its result. This being so, there is no living of the holy life. There is no opportunity manifested for the utter destruction of ill. But if one should say, even as a man commits a deed that is to be felt, so does he correspondingly experience its result. This being so, monks, there is living of the holy life, there is opportunity manifested for the utter ending of ill. Now, for instance, there may be some trifling evil deed of some person which may take him to hell. Again, there may be a light trifling evil deed of some other person, which is to be experienced in this very life. Not much of it, nay, not a dot of it is seen hereafter." I'll just stop for a while to comment. Here the Buddha is saying that when we commit karma, when we do a deed, an action intentionally, we don't get the corresponding result always. It all depends on the person. It all depends on the person. In other words, suppose you do an evil deed, like you kill a person and For one person, perhaps by killing, by doing killing in the next life, or the next few lives, he may experience being killed either once or many times. But another person, he does the killing, but he does not experience being killed in the next life. So this is, karma is not very straightforward. It depends very much on the person, the person doing the deed. This is an important principle that we have to understand because the Buddha said sometimes a person does a small evil deed and it can bring him to hell. But another person does the same small evil deed, he may experience it in this very life. Maybe he feels remorse that he has done it. And then it troubles him a bit. And then next life, It's all cleared. He doesn't have to pay anymore. Now to continue. Now monks, of what sort of person does a small offence take him to hell? Here in monks, a certain person is uncultured in body, uncultured in moral conduct, uncultured in mind, uncultured in wisdom. He is insignificant. His life is restricted. He is miserable. Of such a person, monks, even a trifling evil deed done brings him to hell. Now, monks, for what sort of being is a similar small offense to be experienced in this very life, and not a dot of it seen hereafter? In this case, some person is cultured in body, cultured in moral conduct, cultured in mind, and cultured in wisdom. He is not insignificant. He is a great being. He abides immeasurable. By such a being, monks, a similar small offense is to be experienced in this very life, and not much of it, nay, not even a dot of it is seen hereafter. So, I'll just stop for a while to say, you see, a person with not much blessings, not much merit, not an uncultured person, just doing a small evil deed brings him to hell. Whereas for another person who is A great being is cultured in body, cultured in moral conduct, cultured in mind and cultured in wisdom. He pays for it in this very life and hereafter he doesn't have to pay for it. And cultured in body, maybe, is that he does not do evil with his body. He does not steal, he does not kill, he does not commit adultery. Cultured in moral conduct, in all kinds of moral conduct, he is cultured. Cultured in mind, that means he has developed his mind by meditation, by concentration, etc. and cultured in wisdom. He has developed wisdom, understands the teachings, the holy teachings, etc. Now, to continue, the Buddha said, Now monks, suppose a man throws a lump of salt into a little cup of water. What do you think, monks, would that trifling amount of water in the cup become salty and undrinkable owing to that lump of salt? And they replied, It would, Lord. Why so? That water in the cup, Lord, being but little, would become salty and undrinkable thereby. And the Buddha said, Again, suppose a man throws a lump of salt into the river Ganges. What do you think, monks? Would that river Ganges become salty and undrinkable owing to that lump of salt? Surely not, Lord. Why not? Great, Lord, is that mass of water in the river Ganges. It would not become salty and undrinkable thereby. And the Buddha said, Well monks, just in the same way, the small offense of such and such a person here takes him to hell. Or yet again, a similar small offense of another person is to be experienced in this very life, and not much of it, nay not a dot of it is to be seen hereafter. Let's stop here for a while. Here the Buddha is giving a very good simile. In the days of the Buddha, they did not have fine salt like we have nowadays. They had lumps of salt. And the Buddha said, you just take a lump of salt, you put it in a cup of water, and you stir it, and you drink the water, it's very salty. But you take the same size of salt, same lump of salt, you put in the river, and you stir it, and you drink the water, it's not salty. So what's the difference here? The difference is that the river contains a lot of water and the water dilutes the effect of the salt. So the water represents the good karma. Salt represents evil karma. So when we do a lot of good karma, it dilutes the effect of the evil karma. That is why the only way we can dilute the effect of our evil past karma is to do a lot of good now. Then the Buddha said, now again in this connection, monks, suppose a certain man has to go to prison for a theft of $10 or $20, or he has to go to prison for a theft of $1000, or again suppose another person does not have to go to prison even though he steals the same amount. Now what sort is the former? He is a poor fellow, owing little, of small means. owning little of small means. Such a one has to go to prison for his debt. And what sort of person does not have to go to prison for the same offence? In this case, monks, it is a rich man owning much of great means. Such a man does not have to go to prison. Here again, the Buddha is giving an example. Suppose now you imagine a beggar comes to your house, you are at the back of the house cooking or something, and he comes in and he sees maybe you have $10 on your table or $20 or $1,000. Then he takes it and walks away. Then you happen to come out, you see the beggar walking away and your money is missing. Normally people would call the police. and then have that man arrested and thrown into prison. But suppose some VIP, a very important person, walks into your house in the same way. And then, in the same way, he takes pockets of $10 or $20 and he walks away. And when you come out, you see that person, on second thought, you think, I better not report to police. If I report to police, I might get into prison. So you see, two persons do the same deed, the result is different. So after that, the Buddha... So, monks, if one should say, even as a man commits a deed, so does he correspondingly experience its result. That being so, there is no living the holy life. There is no opportunity afforded for the perfect ending of ill. But monks, if one should say, even as a man commits a deed that is to be felt, so does he correspondingly experience its result. That being so, there is living of the holy life, there is opportunity afforded for the utter ending of ill. This is a very important principle here. The Buddha is saying that not all karma is to be experienced. So that's why we have the case of a perfect case of a man during the Buddha's time by the name of Angulimala. We know that he killed hundreds of people. He was a kind of bandit, but he was a lone ranger. He stayed in the forest and anybody who passed through the forest, he would shoot his arrows and come with his knife and all that, and slaughter the people and steal their goods and cut their fingers. And he'd wear a garland of fingers around his neck. That's why he was known as Angulimala, the garland of fingers. So this man, Angulimala, he should have, if he had passed away, he would have gone to hell and suffered for a long time. But the Buddha went to convert him. and he followed the Buddha. The Buddha used psychic power. He tried to kill the Buddha, but the Buddha was walking very slowly. He came from behind and ran after the Buddha and tried to attack the Buddha from behind. But even though the Buddha was walking so slowly, he could not reach the Buddha even though he was running at top speed. So after a while, he shouted to the Buddha, stop, monk, stop. And then the Buddha said, turn around. I looked at him and the Buddha said, I have stopped. You have not stopped. Then he thought to himself, what does this monk mean? Then he thought, this monk can't be telling a lie. He must be speaking the truth. He has stopped, I am not stopped. Then he threw away his sword and all his weapons and then he knelt down and asked the Buddha to explain. Then the Buddha told him, I have stopped killing, I have stopped harming all creatures. You have not stopped. That's why you still turn around in samsara. So then he realized, then he wanted to become a monk. So he followed the Buddha. Then after that, He practiced the holy life and he became an arahant, got out of samsara. But because of his karma, sometimes when he went on alms round, people would throw rocks at him. He'd come back with a bleeding head. And then he'd tell the Buddha, weeping, and tell the Buddha, and the Buddha told him to bury it. And then that time, I think the Buddha gave him another name and told him to bury it, said that if you don't bury it, If you don't, the consequences of your karma are so heavy, you have to strive to get out of it. So he strove so hard that he became an arahant. And when he became an arahant, he didn't have to pay at all for all that karma that he did. So the Buddha is saying that if we have to pay for all our karma, then there's no point in practicing the holy life. You can never get out of it. Get out, Samsara. So the one principle we have to remember is not all karma will ripen. Second one, the result of karma depends on the person. Different persons, the result of karma is different. And the third one is to dilute the effect of the past evil karma, we have to do more meritorious deeds like keeping our morality, dāna, sila. The second one is dāna, doing charity. Another one is bhavana, development of our mind. Another one is listening to the dhamma, the teachings. And then discussing dhamma, visiting monks, etc, etc. These are spelled out in the Mangala Sutta, the different ways of obtaining the highest merit. All these are the ways of attaining merit.

19-AN-Book-3K-(3.10.100-to-3.11.104).txt

And now we come to the sutra number 3.10.100. It's quite an important sutra, especially for meditators, the Buddha said. Monks, there are gross impurities in gold, such as dust and sand, gravel and grit. The dirt washer or his apprentice heaps it into a trough and washes it up and down and runs the dirt out. When this process is abandoned and ended, there still remain moderate impurities in the gold, such as fine grit and coarse sand. The dirt washer or his men repeats the process. When this is abandoned and ended, there still remain trifling impurities such as fine sand and black dust. The dirt washer or his men repeats the process. Thereafter, the gold dust alone remains. Then the goldsmith or his man heaps that sterling gold into a crucible and blows it till it melts, melts it together but does not run it out of the crucible. That sterling gold is then blown till it melts. It is molten but not flawless. It is not done with yet. Its impurities are not yet strained or It is not pliable, nor workable, nor glistening. It is brittle, not capable of perfect workmanship. But a time comes, monks, when that goldsmith or his men blows that gold till it melts, melts it down and runs it out of the crucible. Then that sterling gold is melted, molten, flawless, done with, its impurities strained off. It is pliable, workable, glistening, no more brittle. It is capable of perfect workmanship. For whatsoever sort of ornament one wishes, be it a gold plate, or a ring, or necklace, or golden chain, he can make use of it for that purpose. Just in the same way, in a monk who is given to developing the higher mind, adhichitta, there are gross impurities of unwholesome bodily conduct, kaya ducarita, unwholesome verbal conduct, vaci ducarita, unwholesome mental conduct, mano ducarita. This thought, the thoughtful, able monk abandons, keeps in check. He makes an end of it. He makes it not recur. When this fault is done with and made an end of, there are still in that monk who is given to developing the higher mind certain moderately gross impurities which cling to him, such as sensual reflections, malicious and cruel reflections or thoughts. These faults he abandons. When this fault is done with and made an end of, there are still in that monk certain minute impurities which cling to him, such as reflections about his relatives, his district, reflections about his reputation. Such a fault the thoughtful, able monk abandons, keeps in check. He makes an end of it, makes it not recur. When that is done with and made an end of, there still remain reflections about thoughts. Now this sort of concentration is neither calm nor lofty, nor has it gotten tranquility nor reached one-pointedness, but it is a state dependent on painful habitual restraint. Yet there comes a time when that mind of him When that mind of his becomes inwardly well-established, settles down, is one-pointed, becomes concentrated, such concentration is calm, lofty, has gotten tranquility, has reached one-pointedness, is not a state dependent on painful habitual restraint. And to whatsoever branch of special knowledge he may direct his mind for the realization of He attains the power to realize personally such, whatever his range may be. I'll just stop here for a while to make some comments. Just now the Buddha was saying that there are these steps in the development of the higher mind, to develop our mind. There are these various steps. Here is listed five steps. The first one, It's the gross impurities of unwholesome bodily conduct, unwholesome verbal conduct, and unwholesome mental conduct. This is basically the three karmas. The three karmas. And this is the grossest level that we have to keep a check on. So we have always to observe our bodily conduct, our speech, and our mind. That means our the intentions we form in our mind. And then after we have got rid, that means straightened our these three karmas, made it more skillful, then the second step is The sensual reflections, that is, thoughts. Reflections, in other words, is thoughts, sensual thoughts, malicious thoughts, and cruel or harmful thoughts. These also we have to be careful. The Pali word is kama-vitakka, vayapada-vitakka, and vihimsa-vitakka. So these kind of thoughts, we have to keep a check on. You notice carefully the difference between the first one and the second one. The first one is the three karmas, but it includes the mental karma. And the second one is the thoughts, which are finer. And these thoughts are not the mental karma, you know. That's why we We have to differentiate because there are some people who think that when we think of something wrong, then we have already committed that karma. That is not true. That might be true in Christianity and Mahayana Buddhism, but in our Theravada Buddhism, we separate the thinking from the mental karma. And the thinking is just thinking without forming an intention without the volition, without exercising our willpower, just thinking only sometimes like daydreaming, you may have sensual thoughts, harmful thoughts, malicious, angry thoughts, those are not karma. The third one is thoughts about his relatives, his district, about his reputation, this again, final level, that also he has to keep out, keep a lookout for and try to stop it. Because these are all, these thoughts are actually, thoughts are actually an ego support system. Whenever we have thoughts, there's always that I and the mind that comes together with the thoughts. And then the fourth one is thoughts about thoughts, dhamma-vitakka. Vitakka is thoughts, dhamma is also thoughts. This one here is translated as reflections about thoughts. What is this about? This is about proliferation. There's a word in the suttas which we come across now and then called papanca. which means proliferation, which means that what basically it means is that there are thoughts that arise in our mind now and then for which there is not much we can do, there is not much control we can exercise. But if we follow the thoughts and we Think about the thoughts, then there is this proliferation. In other words, we are believing our thoughts. A thought is one thing that is not the Self. So we should try not to believe our thoughts, not to follow our thoughts. So as long as we follow our thoughts, our mind cannot become one-pointed. And then we have to practice habitual restraint. But the Buddha says a state dependent on painful habitual restraint. That means all the time we have to keep a lookout for our thoughts, always watch our mind. and try not to follow the thoughts, but eventually the Buddha says the mind becomes well-established, settles down, becomes one-pointed, becomes concentrated, and this state is not dependent on painful habitual restraint. That means the mind has become very pure, very developed, very strong, and then the thoughts don't arise and we don't follow the thoughts. So then only, when we don't have thoughts bothering us, then when we want to direct our mind, use it in whichever way we want, then we can realize whatever knowledge we want. Just like the Buddha said about the gold, when it is very pure, when it is totally pure gold, then whether you want to make into a gold plate or a ring or a necklace or a golden chain, you can make it. That is that sterling gold. So in the same way, when our mind becomes well-developed, then we can use it to realize whatever we want to realize. And then to continue, the Buddha said, for instance, if he desired, may I enjoy in diverse ways, manifold forms of superpowers, supernormal power. For example, from being one, may I become many. From being many, may I become one. Manifest or invisible, may I pass unhindered through a wall, through a mountain. as if through the air, may I plunge into the air and shoot up again, as if in water, may I walk upon water, may I plunge into a solid ground, may I travel through the air like a bird, etc., etc. Then he attains the power to do so, whatever be the range. Secondly, if he desires, with the deva power of hearing, purified and surpassing that of men, let me hear sounds, both of devas and of humans, whether far or near, he attains the power to do so, whatever be his range. Thirdly, if ye desire, let me know the minds of other beings, of other persons, with my own mind grasping them. Of the mind that is lustful, let me know it to be so. Of the mind free from lust, let me know it to be so. Of the mind full of hate, let me know it to be full of hate, free of hate, deluded, etc. He attains the power to do so. And then number four, if ye desire, let me call to mind my former births in diverse ways, thus one birth, two births, three, four, five, ten, forty, fifty, hundred thousand, hundred thousand, be it diverse aeons or world cycles. Such was my name, such was the place, such was my clan, such was my caste, etc., etc. He can recall all the previous lives and he attains the power to do so whatever peace reigns. 5. We desire, with the devasite purified and surpassing that of men, let me behold beings as they desist and rise up elsewhere. that means reborn elsewhere, let me know them, mean or exalted, fair or foul, gone to a happy place or gone to a woeful place, according to their karma, then he attains the power to do so. 6. If he desire, by the destruction of the asavas, in this very life, myself thoroughly knowing it, let me win the liberation by mind, the liberation by wisdom, which is free from the asavas. He attains the power to do so, whatever be his range. Let me stop here again to recapitulate the Buddha's saying about the six supernormal or higher knowledges. The higher knowledges, the various psychic powers, the deva hearing, reading the minds of others. and recalling his former births, having deva vision, able to see the various realms of rebirth, and destroying the asavas. If he wants to attain these, because the mind is well-developed, the Buddha said he can do so. Then the Buddha continued, monks, three characteristics are to be attended to from time to time by the monk who is given to developing the higher mind. From time to time, he must attend to the characteristic of concentration, to that of energetic application, to that of equanimity. Now monks, if a monk who is given to developing the higher mind gives exclusive attention to the characteristic of concentration, it is probable that his mind will be liable to indolence. Should he give exclusive attention to the characteristic of energetic application, it is probable that his mind will be liable to distraction. Should he give exclusive attention to the characteristic of equanimity, it is probable that his mind will not be perfectly poised for the destruction of the asavas. But if he gives attention to these three characteristics from time to time, then his mind becomes pliable, workable, radiant, not stubborn, but perfectly poised for the destruction of the Asavas. Suppose monks, a goldsmith or his men, sets up his furnace, and having done so, puts fire to the receptacle, and taking up sterling gold with pincers, thrusts it into the crucible, and from time to time blows on it, from time to time sprinkles it with water, from time to time examines it closely. Now monks, if the goldsmith or his men were to blow continuously on that gold, it is probable that he would burn it up. If he kept sprinkling it with water, he would make it cold. If he kept examining it always, it is probable that the sterling gold would not come to full perfection. But if he do these things from time to time, occasionally, then that sterling gold becomes pliable, workable, lustrous, not brittle. It becomes capable of perfect workmanship. or whatever sort of ornament one wishes, be it gold plate or ring or necklace or golden chain, he can make use of it for that purpose. In the same way, there are these three characteristics to be attended to from time to time by a monk who is devoted to developing the higher mind. That is, from time to time he must attend to the characteristic of concentration, to that of energetic application, to that of equanimity, and then the rest is as before. And to whatever branch of special knowledge, he may direct his mind for the realization thereof. He attains the power personally to realize such, whatever be his range." That's the end of the scripture. Here the Buddha is saying that when we meditate, we must concentrate on three things from time to time, not give attention to only one. One is concentration of the mind. But if we give too much attention to concentration, the mind becomes dull, indolent. And then the second one is energy. But if you give too much attention to energy, then you become distracted, kind of restless. And the third one is equanimity. But if you have too much equanimity, then the mind becomes... like a bit inactive, so it's not perfect or the destruction of the asavas. But all the three must be looked into so that there is a balance of these three factors. So this is a very interesting sutra from the point of view of meditation. The first one is about the five things, the five steps we must do. Watch our karma. Then second one, watch our thoughts. Third one is thoughts about relatives, district, reputation, et cetera, which have to do with the ego. Then the fourth one is thoughts, not to follow the thoughts, not to think about the thoughts and make it proliferate. And the fifth one is when the mind becomes one, pointed, concentrated, and then there is not, don't have that proliferation of thoughts. Here I'd like to mention an interesting, something interesting from the Japanese Zen master, the most famous Japanese Zen master, which I read many years ago, was Dogen. And he said renunciation is in four steps. First one is we renounce the world. We don't care about what happens in the world. Second step, we renounce our friends and relatives. The third one, renounce the body. The fourth one, we renounce the mind. Don't make use of the mind. Now we come to the next sutta, which is 3.11.101. The Buddha said, Before my enlightenment months, when I was yet but a bodhisattva, this occurred to me. What I wonder is the satisfaction in the world. What is the misery in the world? What is the escape therefrom? I'll just stop here to talk about this bodhisattva. Sometimes in the suttas, the Buddha says that when he was still a bodhisattva before his enlightenment, so this term bodhisattva, there's nothing special about the term bodhisattva, it just refers to the state of a person before he becomes enlightened. And enlightened means becoming a Buddha or an Arahant, because the Buddha himself is called an Arahant, just like he is called a Buddha. The difference is that the Buddha is self-enlightened, whereas an Arahant, he makes use of the Dhamma taught by a Buddha. then he becomes enlightened. So this word bodhisattva later was developed and a lot of things talked about the bodhisattva whereas in our Theravada early suttas, the bodhisattva just means a term of a person before he is enlightened. It is in the sutras, it does appear that a Bodhisatta can be an Arya. It's not that a Bodhisatta, it must be a Putujjana, an ordinary person, can be a Arya, for example, Sotapanna comes back and in the last life he becomes a Buddha or Arahant. Then to continue, the Buddha said, So long monks, as I did not thoroughly comprehend, as it really is, the satisfaction in the world as such, the misery in the world as such, the escape therefrom as such, so long did I not discern the meaning of being enlightened with perfect enlightenment, unsurpassed in the world with its devas, its maras and brahmas, together with the hosts of recluses and brahmins, of devas and mankind. But monks, when I fully comprehend it as it really is, the satisfaction in the world as such, the misery in the world as such, they escape their promises. Then did I discern the meaning of being enlightened in the world. Then did knowledge and insight arise in me. Thus, sure is my liberation by mine. This is my last birth. Now is there no more becoming again. Yeah, that's all about this sutra. There's another bit more but it's corollary so I won't repeat it. So here the Buddha is saying there is satisfaction in the world because of pleasure in the world. And then, because of impermanence, there is suffering in the world, there is misery in the world. And then, the escape out of the world is the getting rid of the desire and passion for the world. Now we come to the next sutra, 3.11.102, the Buddha said, Now herein, monks, if there were not satisfaction to be found in the world, beings would not be attached to the world. But since there is satisfaction in the world, beings are attached there too. If there were not misery in the world, beings would not be repelled by the world. But since there is misery in the world, beings are repelled by the world. If there were no escape from the world, beings could not escape therefrom. But since there is an escape from the world, beings do escape therefrom. Now, Mars. In so far as beings have not fully come to know, as it really is, the satisfaction in the world as such, the misery therein as misery, the escape therefrom as such, just so far have they not dwelt free from, detached from, released from, with unrestricted mind, from the world, the devas, the maras, the brahmas, together with the host of recluses and brahmins, of devas and mankind. But monks, when beings have fully come to know as it really is, the satisfaction in the world as such, the misery in the world as such, the escape from the world as such, then monks, they dwell free, detached, released with unrestricted mind from the world. etc. etc. Verily monks, whatsoever recluses or Brahmins, understand not as it really is, the satisfaction, the misery in the world and the escape therefrom. Such recluses and Brahmins, in my opinion, are not to be regarded as recluses among recluses, nor as Brahmins among Brahmins. Nor have those worthies come to know fully of themselves in this very life the real meaning of recluseship or of brahminhood, nor attaining thereto do they dwell therein. But monks, whatsoever recluses and brahmins do so understand these things. Such are, in my opinion, to be regarded as recluses and brahmins. Moreover, those worthies shall come to know the real meaning of recluseship and brahminhood they shall attain to and abide therein. So you see, the Buddha is saying that if there were not satisfaction to be found in the world, beings would not be attached and come back again and again to the world. That's one thing. The second thing is because there's also misery in the world, after some time there would be beings who would be sick and tired of the suffering and they'll be repelled by the world. Then after that they will seek for a way of escape from the world and luckily there is a way of escape from the world so they are able to do so. So you see the two things are contradictory, one is satisfaction in the world and the other one is misery in the world. And so these two things are contradictory and we want to keep on enjoying the pleasures in the world but at the same time we are suffering, we are paying for the pleasures we get out of this world by suffering. So after some time, then after many lifetimes, we realize it's not worth the price. Then only we think of getting out of the world. In Exodus 3.11.103, the Buddha said, This month is to be reckoned to be lamentation in the discipline of the Aryan, namely singing. This is reckoned as causing madness in the discipline of the Aryan, namely dancing. This is reckoned as childishness in the discipline of the Aryan, namely immoderate laughter that displays the teeth. Wherefore, monks, away with the bridge that leads to singing and dancing. Enough for you, if you are pleased, righteously, to smile, just to show your pleasure." In this sutta, you can see the Buddha is quite austere and quite a controlled person compared to, for example, other religions. And even like singing in our Theravada, in our chanting we are not supposed to sing. Singing means changing the tones, making it sound nice, ups and lows and all that. In our chanting we are supposed to be fairly monotonous. So singing, dancing, and immoderate laughter is not something that is to be practiced for monks. The next sutra is 3.11.104. The Buddha said, monks, of indulgence in three things there can be no satiety or satisfying. What three? Sleep, drinking of fermented liquor, and sexual intercourse. Of the indulgence in these three things, monks, there can be no satiety. So these are the three things, however much we get them, it can never be satisfied. So also because they ruin us physically and mentally, and we become a slave to them like a drug addict, so the Buddha said that we have to remember there can never be a satisfaction in these things. So because of that, we are more skillful not to indulge in them.

20-AN-Book-3L-(3.11.105-to-3.12.114).txt

The next sutra is 3.11.105. Now Anathapindika, the house father, came to see the exalted one. On coming to him, he saluted the exalted one and sat down at one side. As he thus sat, the exalted one said this to him. House Father, when the thought, citta, is unguarded, bodily action also is unguarded, speech and mental action also are unguarded. In him whose bodily action, speech and mental action are unguarded, they are saturated with lust. When these are thus saturated with lust, they are rotten. When they are rotten, one's death is not auspicious. One has no happy ending. Now House Father, Just as when a peaked house is untouched, the peak is not protected, the roof beams are not protected, the wall is not protected, the roof beams and walls are saturated, they are rotten. Just so when thought is unguarded, bodily action is unguarded, Speech and mental action also are unguarded. In him whose bodily action, speech and mental action are unguarded, they are saturated with lust. When these are thus saturated with lust, they are rotten. When they are rotten, one's death is not auspicious. One has no happy ending. And then vice versa, similarly for the converse. In this sutra, the Buddha is saying when the thought or citta is unguarded, then the three karmas, the bodily karma, the speech and mental karma are unguarded, they are saturated with lust. And this, as I was saying just now, in the earlier sutra, that the thought, citta, is different from the mental karma. The mental karma is mano karma. The thought, citta, is just a thought, not a volition, not an intention. Like in the Dhammapada, verse number 1, the Buddha says, Mind is the forerunner of all evil states. Mind is chief. Mind-made are they. If one speaks or acts with a wicked mind, because of that, suffering follows one, even as the wheel follows the hoof of the dwarf ox. So this is the thought, the citta, before we act through the body, speech or thought, we think first. So that's why the mind and the thinking is very important. And so if we are trying to practice a spiritual life, we must always guard our mind. We don't listen to our mind. Whatever happens in our mind, we try to remain indifferent, remain equanimous, just like an observer. We know that the mind is impermanent, whatever. However, it wants to sort of react, and sometimes it can react quite strongly. We just try to remain calm and equanimous and just observe it. The next sutra is 3.11.109. The Buddha said, monks, there are these three causes of the origin of actions. What three? Desire is generated for things in the past based on desire, for the like things in the future as well as things of the present time based on desire. And how, monks, is this desire generated for things in the past? One remembers and turns over in his mind thoughts about things based on desire in the past. As he does so, desire is generated. Becoming desirous, he is fettered by those things. I call this a fetter, monks, that heart full of lust. That is how desire is generated for things in the past based on desire. And how amongst is this desire generated for like things in the future? One thinks about and turns over in his mind the thoughts of things based on desire in the future. As he does so, desire is generated, etc. And how, monks, is this desire generated in the present? One thinks about things in the present based on desire. As he does so, desire is generated. Becoming desirous, he is fettered by those things. I call this a fetter, monks, that heart full of lust. That is how desire is generated for things in the present based upon desire. These, monks, are the three causes of the origin of actions. Here the Buddha is saying that because of thinking and remembering, for example, the things in the past, thoughts about things in the past which gave us pleasure, which gave us happiness, and then thinking about it, desire is generated again for those things in the past. And similarly for future things, based on our past experience of happiness and pleasure we project into the future and we want to experience those things again in the future and also in the present. If we see something or we hear something which reminds us of the pleasure that we had experienced before, then again the desire arises immediately in the present. So it is the thinking that causes the desire and the desire leads to craving and actions, and that will cause the rebirth. Now the next sutra is also connected with this. The next sutra is 3.11.110. The Buddha said, monks, there are these three causes which prevent the arising of actions. What three? Desire for things in the past based on desire is not generated. Desire for the like things in the future as well as at the present time is not generated. And how much is desire for things in the past based on desire not generated? One fully understands the future result of things which in the past were based on desire. Foreseeing this result, one turns away from it, and so doing, conceiving no desire for it in the heart, one penetrates it by insight and sees it plain. That is how desire is not generated. And how amongst is desire for things in the future not generated? One fully understands the future result of things yet to come which are based on desire, foreseeing this result, etc., etc., and how amongst is desire for things in the present which are based on desire not generated. One fully understands the future result of present things based on desire, For seeing this result, one turns away from it, and so doing, conceiving no desire for it in the heart, one penetrates it by insight and sees it plain. That is how desire for things of the present which are based on desire is not generated. These are the three causes which prevent the arising of actions. This sutra has something to do with the previous sutra, and it's saying that when we think about the future results of things based on desire, then we can see that they bring us dukkha. So this is basically like a vipassana practice, a contemplation practice. We think about those things that Initially, we think that most people want, most people desire for. When we contemplate, then we realize that these things, they give us pain. If we obtain the things, we cannot be contented, we cannot be really contented, only very temporarily. And if we don't obtain those things, then we get a lot of suffering. So then we realize it's better to let go of our desires. So whether it's future or the present things, we decide to let go of them because thinking about them, contemplating them, we know that they bring us pain. So that is the basis of non-action. Now then, I'd just like to mention a sutta, the Digha Nikaya No. 21, called the Sakka Panha Sutta. That sutta actually, although it's concerning Sakka Devaraja, there's a very important principle in that sutta, and I'd like to just go through the gist of it. In that sutta, Sakka Devaraja asked the Buddha, He said, in this world, beings generally like to live in peace, like to live in harmony. Yet, even though they want to live in peace and harmony, there's a lot of hostility, malice, hatred, enmity, fighting, quarrel, etc., among living beings. And he asked the Buddha, why is this so? Then the Buddha said, oh, it's because of covetousness and jealousy, or you can say greed and jealousy. And then Sakka Devaraja agreed. Then he asked, what is the cause of this greed and jealousy? And then the Buddha said, like and dislike. Our discriminating mind, like and dislike. And then again, Sakka Devaraja asked, what is the cause of like and dislike? And the Buddha said, desire. And what is the cause of desire? Thinking. What is the cause of thinking? The tendency to proliferation of thoughts in our mind. Then the Buddha said to stop the tendency for proliferation of thoughts in the mind, we have to realize that there are two kinds of happiness. The Buddha said two kinds of happiness. One is the happiness that we get from thinking. The second one is the happiness which is devoid of thinking. So unless we can attain the happiness which is devoid of thinking, we cannot let go of the happiness due to thinking. So that happiness which is devoid of thinking is basically the jhanas, the one-pointedness of mind, that deep concentration that is attained. Then only we can let go of the tendency to the proliferation of thoughts. And then we can let go of thinking, we can let go of desire, we can let go of like and dislike, and finally let go of greed and jealousy. That is a very important principle. So basically, you see, like we in the previous sutra, we remember that desire is generated because we think. So we have to stop the thinking that is from cultivating our mind until it learns to be at peace, to realize that peace and happiness is obtainable from within us, not in outside things, not in worldly things, because worldly things, the Buddha says, are not to be indulged in. If we indulge in worldly things, in sensual pleasures, things of the six senses, then they will give us pain eventually. But if we indulge in our own mind, what is within us, what is not dependent on outside of us, then the Buddha said that is allowable. Why so? Because the Buddha said that it results in four things, attaining of the four fruitions, Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami, and Arahanthut, that was stated by the Buddha in the Digha Nikaya. So, you see, meditation, initially, we have to use our contemplating mind that we pass apart, but eventually we have to come to a state where we have to let go of the thinking. Only we can get that from the Samatha practice. That's why in one Sutta in the Anguttara Nikaya, Venerable Ananda said there's only four ways to attaining Arahanthood. One is we practice Samatha first, followed by Vipassana. The second one is Vipassana first, followed by Samatha. The third one is Samatha and Vipassana together. The fourth one is contemplating on the Self until the mind becomes one-pointed. So the next sutra is 3.12.111. The Buddha said, monks, these three persons are doomed to the downfall, to hell, unless they abandon this habit. Which three? He who living impurely claims to live the holy life. He who falsely charges with immorality, one who is living the pure holy life, the utterly pure holy life. 3. He who, preaching and holding the view that there is no fault in sensuality, comes to be intoxicated with his lusts. These are the three who are doomed to the downfall, to hell, unless they abandon this habit." This sutra is saying that firstly, a monk who claims to be a monk, but he is actually a very corrupt person. and he breaks the major precepts. There are four major precepts, the parajikas, which a monk is not allowed to break. If a monk breaks any of these four precepts, the parajikas, he is no more a monk, the Buddha said, even though he wears the robe. First one is he engages in sexual intercourse. The second one is he steals something valuable. That means something like more than 50 Malaysian Ringgit. or 20 US dollars. And the third one is he kills a human being or encourages somebody to kill a human being, even to the extent of encouraging a woman to have an abortion. And the fourth one is he does not have supernormal attainment. He claims to have supernormal attainment. And then These are the four ways of breaking the major precepts. So if a monk breaks any one of these, that means he is basically impure, but he tries to put a front that he is a pure monk, then he is liable to go down to hell for it. The second one is a person, that means generally a lay person, who's angry of a monk and he charges, he makes a charge that the monk is immoral, that the monk is impure, when in fact the monk is a good monk, then that person is liable to go down to hell. So it's very dangerous for a person to to develop hatred for a monk. Sometimes a monk preaches some teaching, and some people, because of their bias, because of their prejudice, because of the way they've been taught, they think that the monk has a wrong view or something. They develop a lot of hatred for the monk. That's very dangerous, because one day you might come to know that the monk is actually preaching the right teachings. Then it's... a great loss for him. Third one is a person who teaches that there's no fault in sensual pleasures and he indulges in sensual pleasures and he's liable to go down to hell also for it. This is particularly true during the Buddha's time of certain wondrous ascetics because during the Buddha's time there were a lot of ascetics who practiced the Nakedness. So you had men naked aesthetics and you had women naked aesthetics. And sometimes because their minds are not developed, they look at each other and then lust develops in their mind and then they engage in sexual conduct and they say there's nothing wrong with it because they don't harm anybody. But the problem is they don't harm anybody, they harm themselves. So these are the three things. Now the next sutra is 3.12.112. The Buddha said, monks, the appearance of three persons is hard to find in the world. What three? The appearance of the Tathagata and Arahant who is fully enlightened is hard to find in the world. Secondly, the appearance of a person who can expound the Dhamma Vinaya taught by the Tathagata. And the third one is a person who is mindful and grateful. It's hard to be found in the world. These are the three persons hard to find in the world. This is also another quite interesting sutra. The first one is Sammasambuddha. It's hard to find in the world. We quite realize, like in one sutta, the Buddha said he looked into the past 91 world cycles and he found only six Buddhas. In our suttas, the Buddha only mentions six Buddhas, six past Buddhas. It's only later books who talk about 24 Buddhas and 28 Buddhas and all that, but actually on our Original sutras, the Buddha only mentioned six Buddhas. He only saw six Buddhas in the past, and that was by looking over a long period of 91 world cycles. Then the second one is an interesting one, is that a person who can teach the Dhamma Vinaya, that means the teachings of the Buddha, who can teach correctly the teachings of the Buddha, is very hard to find in the world. There are a lot of people who teach, but they might not teach correctly the teachings of the Buddha. That is why it is very important to take the original discourses of the Buddha as our guide. We stick by the original teachings of the Buddha because we find that there is no contradiction in them. Whereas in other books, you can find a lot of contradiction. So we stick to the original teachings, the original discourses of the Buddha, and then that is the right Dhamma. So here the Buddha is saying to find somebody who can teach exactly or similar to the original teachings of the Buddha is not easy to find. The third one, a person who is grateful. In this world, most people are ungrateful. To find somebody who is grateful is very rare. Now the next sutra is on 3.12.113. The Buddha said, monks, these three sorts of persons are hard to be found in the world. What three? He who is easily measured, he who is hardly measured, he who is immeasurable. And of what sort, monks, is he who is easily measured? Hearing a certain person is frivolous, empty-headed, a busybody, of harsh speech, loose in talk, lacking concentration, unsteady, not composed, a flighty mind, with senses uncontrolled. This one is called easily measured. And of what sort amongst is the person who is hardly measured? In this case, a certain person is not frivolous, not empty-headed, no busybody, not of harsh speech, not loose in talk, but concentrated, steady, composed, of one-pointed mind, with senses well controlled. This one is called hardly measured. And of what sort of monks is the person who is immeasurable? In this case we have a monk in whom the asavas are destroyed. This one is called immeasurable. These are the three sorts of person found to exist in the world. So this sutra is talking about the person whose mind is not developed. And the second one whose mind is developed. Then the third one is the arahant whose mind is perfectly developed. And the next sutra is 3.12.114. The Buddha said, monks, these three sorts of persons are found to exist in the world. What three? Hearing monks, a certain person by utterly transcending consciousness of form, by the disappearance of consciousness of resistance, by paying no heed to the diversity of consciousness regarding space as infinite, reaches up to and abides in the sphere of infinite space. He enjoys it, longs for it, and finds happiness therein, established therein, given thereto, generally spending his time therein, and not falling away therefrom. When he makes an end, he is reborn in the company of the devas who have reached the sphere of infinite space. Now monks, the life of those devas is 20,000 world cycles. Therein the ordinary man stays and spends his lifetime according to the lifespan of those devas. Then he goes to hell, or to the womb of an animal, or to the realm of ghosts. But a disciple of the Exalted One, after staying there and spending his lifetime according to the lifespan of those devas, finally passes away in that very state. Such monks is the distinction, the specific feature, the difference between the educated Aryan disciple and the uneducated ordinary man in the matter of destiny and rebirth. Again, monks, here we have a certain person who, by utterly transcending the sphere of infinite space, regarding consciousness as infinite, reaches up to and abides in the sphere of infinite consciousness. He enjoys it, longs for it, and finds happiness therein, established therein, given there to generally spending his time therein and not falling away therefrom. When he makes an end, he is reborn in the company of the devas who have reached the sphere of infinite consciousness. Now monks, the life of those devas is 40,000 world cycles. Therein the ordinary man stays and spends his time according to the lifespan of those devas. Then he goes to hell or the animal realm or the ghost realm. Again, monks, we have a certain person who, by utterly transcending the sphere of infinite consciousness with the idea of nothing exists, reaches up to and abides in the sphere of nothingness, enjoys it. When he makes an end, he is reborn in the company of those devas. Now, the lifespan of those devas is 60,000 world cycles. Therein the ordinary man stays, then he goes to hell or the womb of an animal, or to the realm of ghosts. But the disciple of the exalted one finally passes away in that very state. Such monks is the distinction, the specific feature, the difference between the educated Aryan disciple and the uneducated ordinary man in the matter of destiny and rebirth. These monks are the three sorts of persons found existing in the world. Here the Buddha is talking about the persons who can attain the Arupajana, the states of mental incandescence. And the lifetimes of the devas mentioned here, it's like 20,000 kappa, 20,000 world cycles or 20,000 aeons. And then the other one is 40,000, the other one is 60,000. This is in the sutras and also I think in the Abhidharma. But if you look into the commentary, they talk about 20,000 Asankeya kapas, which is a mistake. That's a problem with commentary. Sometimes you get contradictions and discrepancies. They talk about 20,000 asankeya kapas. Asankeya means countless. So this seems to be a mistake. And here you see that those people who attain the jhanas and they abide in these jhanas and long for it and spend a lot of time in these jhanas, when they pass away, they are born into those realms of jhana, the jhana realms. But there's a difference, two types of persons. One is a person like those external ascetics who do not know the Dharma and then they they have not attained the stages of Ariya-hutna. So because they have not attained the stages of Ariya-hutna, after they pass away from the Deva planes, they fall down to the lower realms, to the Wofu planes. It's possible for them to fall to the Wofu planes. Maybe not immediately, but they might take a few steps and fall into the Wofu planes eventually. But the disciples of the Buddha, Do not do so because disciples of the Buddha are called sabakas. Sabakas are listeners. People like you are sabakas, you listen to the suttas. So because you listen to the suttas and when you understand the suttas, then even when you reach planes of jhana, you don't fall back into the woeful planes because you have transcended any ariya, all the ariyas are never reborn into the woeful planes, you'll never go down to the woeful planes, at the lowest you'll go is the human realm, come back to the human realm, like the Sotapanna and the Sakadagami, and after that Then you get out of the samsara. So sometimes people, out of prejudice, they like to say that, what's the point of cultivating jhana? After you attain jhana, you come down to the woeful planes again. But this is only true of external ascetics who do not know the dharma. Those of us who know the Dhamma, even if we have attained the Jhanas, which means our mind is very clear, and combined with the knowledge of the Suttas, the knowledge of the Dhamma, the Dhamma Vinaya, then it is not likely that we will fall into the woeful planes.

21-AN-Book-3M-(3.13.121-to-3.13.129).txt

Narasutra is 3.13.121. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying at Kusinara in the Wood of Offerings. Then the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying, ''Monks?'' ''Yes, Lord,'' replied those monks to the Exalted One. The Exalted One said, Suppose now a monk lives dependent on some village or district. Then a house father or his son comes to visit him and invites him to take his meal for the day. If he is willing to do so, the monk consents. Then when the night has passed, he robes himself in good time, and taking bold and outer robe, sets out for the house of that house father or house father's son. Just stop for a while. Here you see the Buddha is saying, if he is willing to do so, the monk consents. The Buddha did not say that if lay people invite a monk to the house, they must go always. The Buddha allowed, because there are some monks who are more ascetic, they'd rather go pin the butt, arms around, and they don't want to accept a house invitation. The Buddha said it is allowable, so it's up to the monk whether he wants to go to somebody's house for a meal or not. Then, to continue, on getting there he sits down on a seat made ready. Then that housefather or housefather's son serves him with choice food, both hard and soft, with his own hands, till he has eaten his fill. Now it occurs to him, a good thing ensued for me to be thus served by a housefather or a housefather's son. Then he thinks, I should indeed be glad to have this house father or house father's son serve me in like manner in the future. Thus he enjoys that almsgiving and is attracted by it, infatuated with it, attached to it. He sees not danger therein. He is blind to the escape therefrom. The result is that his strain of thought is sensual, malevolent and harmful to others. Now monks, I declare that what is given to such a monk has no great fruit. Why so? Because the monk lives amidst. Now take the opposite case where a monk lives dependent on a village or a district, etc. Then he has eaten his fill. Now, no such thoughts occur to him as these. A good thing for me, that means he enjoys the food. And then he's thinking of enjoying the food again. But this monk, he enjoys the almsgiving without being attracted by it, infatuated with it, or attached there to. He sees the danger therein. He's not blind to the escape therefrom. The result is that his train of thought is dispassionate, not benevolent, but harmless to others. Now monks, I declare that what is given to such a monk as this has great fruit. Why so? Because the monk lives vigilant. So here the Buddha is talking about two types of monk. One is he enjoys all the offerings that he gives and he indulges in them, whereas the other one knows the danger from them and he's not too attached to his offerings. Any source of pleasure in this world is a source of danger for one walking the holy life. And we are still on the first book. The chapter of the trees. Now we come to the sutra number 3.13.124. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was going His rounds among the coastlands and came to Kapilavatthu. Now Mahanama the Sakyan heard the news. They say the Exalted One has reached Kapilavatthu. So Mahanama the Sakyan went to see the Exalted One. and on coming to him paid homage and stood at one side. As he thus stood, the exalted one said this to him, go you Mahanama and find out some lodging where I may spend this one night. I'll just stop here to make some comments. This place Kapilavatthu is the hometown of our Buddha. He was a layman. That's the place where his parents lived, and the wife. And Mahanama was the cousin of the Buddha, supposed to be a cousin. And he was also supposed to be quite well-to-do, a rich man, and quite a well-known person in Kapilavatthu. To continue, Very well, Lord, replied Mahanama the Sakyan, and went to Kapilavatthu, where though he searched all through the town, he could not find a proper lodging for the Exalted One in which to spend that one night. So he returned to where the Exalted One was and said, Lord, there is no proper lodging wherein the Exalted One may spend this one night, but here is Barandu, the Kalaman, who was once a co-disciple in the holy life with the Exalted One. Let the Exalted One spend this one night in his hermitage." I'll just stop here for a while. This Barandu was a renunciant friend of the Buddha when the Buddha was following the external ascetic called Alara Kalama and he cultivated the jhanas. So I suppose this Barandu also probably was a good meditator, because he's supposed to be quite a well-known ascetic in that town, and it seems that he used to get a lot of alms, food, well-provided for. Then the Buddha said, Go then, Mahanama, spread a map for me there. Very well, Lord, replied Mahanama, the Sakyan, and went off to the hermitage of Barandu, the Kalaman. On getting there, he spread a mat, set water ready for feet-washing, and returned to the Exalted One. On coming to him, he said, Lord, the mat is spread, water is set for feet-washing. Let the Exalted One do as is deemed seasonable. So the Exalted One went to the hermitage of Barandu, the Kalaman. On arriving there, he sat down on a seat made ready, and so sitting had his feet washed. Now this thought occurred to Mahanama the Sakyan. It is unseasonable to wait upon the Exalted One now. He is weary. Tomorrow I will wait upon Him. So saluting the Exalted One by the right, he departed. Now when the night was gone, Mahanama the Sakyan went to the Exalted One. On coming to him, he saluted him and sat down at one side. As he thus said, the Exalted One said this to him, Mahanama, there are these three teachers found existing in the world. What three? Here in Mahanama, the teacher preaches full comprehension of the sense desires, but not of the objects of sense, nor of feelings. Herein again, Mahanama, a certain teacher preaches full comprehension of sense desires and of the objects of sense, but not of feelings, while yet another teacher preaches the full comprehension of all three. These are the three teachers found existing in the world. Now of these three, Mahanama, is the conclusion one and the same or is it different? At these words, Barandu the Kalaman said to Mahanama the Sakyan, say it is one and the same Mahanama. Feret, the exalted one, said to Mahanama, say it is different Mahanama. Then a second time, Barandu said, say it is one and the same Mahanama. Again, the exalted one said, say it is different Mahanama. Likewise, a third time, each said the same. Whereupon it occurred to Barandu the Kalaman, here am I, even to the third time slighted by Gautama the recluse, in the presence of Mahanama the Sakyan, a man of great importance. I had better leave Kapilavatthu. So Barandu the Kalaman left Kapilavatthu. And in thus departing from Kapilavatthu, he was gone for good and came not back anymore. This is one of the peculiar suttas. There's not very much dharma teaching, but it gives you an insight. It gives you a little knowledge about the Buddha's character. See, when the Buddha asked a question of Mohanama, This Barandu, the ascetic, he intervened and gave his opinion. He prompted this Mahanama. But the Buddha contradicted him. And this happened three times until he felt he was slighted because the Buddha had a great reputation. So he felt that he was slighted in front of the Mahanama. So he felt ashamed and he left, left and he didn't come back anymore. So we would wonder why did the Buddha behave like this? Is it out of annoyance with this barandu that he contradicted him? Or is it to tease him? Or just as a joke? So it is different people would have different interpretations about it. This is one of the things where I feel it is, some books say that the Buddha is quite different from the arahants, that he does not have any sort of personality traits from the layman days. But in the suttas, we find even though the Buddha was enlightened, sometimes like in one of the previous suttas, he could joke a bit. So I feel it is one of his kind of habits from the earlier days. So this Barandu, after he felt that he was slighted, he left. But actually, I think the proper thing for him to have done was to have asked the Buddha for an explanation, why did the Buddha contradict him or something. Because he left in that frame of mind, you can imagine, probably he was angry with the Buddha. And that sometimes happens with monks also and lay people, I mean even up to now. Sometimes if you don't understand the actions of a monk, it is better to talk to the monk and ask for an explanation rather than to get angry because sometimes there might be a misunderstanding. Now we come to the next sutra, 3.13.125. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Savati in Anathapindika's park. Now Hataka, son of a Deva, when night was waning, that means in the morning, while it was still dark, lit up the whole of Jeta Grove with exceeding great splendor and approached the Exalted One. On coming to Him, he thought, I will stand in the presence of the Exalted One. But he sank down, collapsed, could not stand upright. Just as butter or oil, when poured upon sand, sinks down, sinks in, cannot abide. Even so was Hataka, son of a Deva, thinking to stand in the presence of the Exalted One, unable to do so, but sank down, collapsed, and could not stand upright. I'll just stop here to say something about Hatakka. Hatakka was a lay disciple of the Buddha when he was in the human form, and he attained Anagamin, the third stage of Ariya-hood, the third fruition, and so he was reborn in the fine realm. the world of the fine realm. So when he came back to see the Buddha, his body was so, this earth was not suitable for his body. So he thought of standing, but his body just couldn't stand. And because he was a new deva, he didn't know what to do. Then to continue, then the exalted one said to Hataka, son of a deva, create a gross body form, Hataka. I will, Lord, replied Hataka. And doing as he was bid, paid homage to the Exalted One and stood at one side. As he thus stood, the Exalted One said this to him, Well, Hataka, do things go on just the same now as before when you were in human form? Yes, Lord, they do. But there are also things going on which I did not experience when I was in human form. Just as, Lord, the Exalted One now dwells surrounded by monks and nuns, by lay followers, male and female, by rulers and royal ministers, by sectarians and their followers, even so do I dwell surrounded by Deva's sons. Even from a distance, Lord, do Deva's sons come, saying, We'll hear Dhamma from the lips of Hathaka, the Deva's son. Of three things, Lord, I never had enough. I died regretful of three things. What three? I never had enough of beholding the Exalted One. I died regretting it. I never had enough of hearing true Dhamma. I died regretting it. I never had enough of serving the Sangha, the order of monks. I died regretting it. These are the three things, Lord. That's the end of the sutta. So, Sataka, he's saying that in heaven, it's quite similar as the human world, but because he was a person who was very knowledgeable in the Dharma, so the other devas would come to him for a Dharma teaching. And just as in the human realm, people flocked around the Buddha to hear the Dhamma, so he said wherever he went, the other devas asked him to teach the Dhamma. And these three things that he said that he regretted when he died, shows the first one that he never had enough of looking at the, seeing the Buddha. This shows during the Buddha's time, his disciples not only had respect for the Buddha, but they had a lot of love for the Buddha. And so that's why he said he never had enough of seeing the Buddha. And the second thing was he said he didn't have enough hearing of the true dhamma, true dhamma, sad dhamma, the original teachings of the Buddha. Because somebody who has an affinity for the Buddha, for the dhamma, somebody who has become an Arya, the love for hearing the dhamma is very, very strong. And the third one is serving the Sangha, serving the order of monks. As a layman, the Buddha said a layperson's duty is to provide for the Sangha. And so he was one of those who served the Sangha a lot and he loved doing it. Now another sutta, 3.13.126. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Benares at Isipatana in Antelope Park. Then the Exalted One, robing Himself in good time and taking bowl and outer robe, set out to quest for alms in Benares. Now the Exalted One, while roaming for alms near the fig tree at the cattle tethering, saw a certain monk whose delight was in the empty outer joys of sense, lacking concentration, unsteady, not composed, a flighty mind with senses uncontrolled. On seeing him, he said this to that monk, "'Monk, monk, on him who is corrupt and reeks with the stench of carrion, the flies will surely settle and attack him. They cannot fail to do so.' Then that monk, thus admonished by the Exalted One with this warning, was strongly stirred. When the Exalted One had gone His rounds for alms in Benares and had returned and eaten His meal, He addressed the monks, saying, Monks, after robing Myself in good time and taking bowl and outer robe, etc., I saw a certain monk, and He told them all that had happened. Then that monk, thus admonished by Me with that warning, was strongly stirred. At these words a certain monk said to the Exalted One, Pray, Lord, what is corrupt? What is the stench of carrion? What are flies? Greed, monk, is corrupt. Malice is the stench of carrion. Evil, unprofitable ways of thought are flies. On him who is corrupt and reeks with the stench of carrion, the flies will surely settle and attack him. He cannot fail to do so." That's the end of the sutra. The Buddha is saying that if a monk, his mind is not developed, His mind is not concentrated. Then he only seeks for joy and happiness in the outer world. And then these are the things that disturb him. One is greed, the other one is malice or ill will or anger. And because of that he will have a lot of evil, unprofitable thoughts. Now the next sutra is 3.13.128. Now the Venerable Anuruddha went to see the Venerable Sariputta. On coming to him, he greeted him courteously, and after the exchange of greetings and courtesies, sat down at one side. So seated, the Venerable Anuruddha said this, Here in this world, friend Sariputta, With the deva side, purified and surpassing that of men, I can see the thousandfold world system. Strenuous and unshaken is my energy. Mindfulness is set up in me untroubled. My body is calmed, not perturbed. My mind is collected, one-pointed. Yet for all that, my heart is not released from the asavas, without grasping. And then Venerable Sariputta said, Well Anuruddha, as to your statement about seeing the thousand-fold world system, that is just your conceit. As to your statement about being strenuous and unshaken and so forth, that is just arrogance. As to your statement about your heart not being released from the asavas, that is just worrying. It would indeed be well for the Venerable Aniruddha if he were to abandon these three conditions, if he were not to think about them, but were to focus his mind on the deathless element. So later on the Venerable Aniruddha abandoned these three conditions, paid no attention to them, but focused his mind on the deathless element. And it came to pass that the Venerable Aniruddha, living alone, secluded, earnest, ardent and aspiring, in no long time attained the goal supreme of the holy life, for which the clansmen rightly go forth from home to the homeless. Even in this very life, he himself, by his own intuitional powers, realized it, and having attained it, dwelt therein. For he knew, birth is destroyed, lived is the holy life, done is my task, for me there is no more being. And the Venerable Aniruddha was another of the Arahants. And this Sutta, you find that our Venerable Aniruddha, even before he had destroyed the Asavas, these Asavas are the uncontrolled mental outflows, including our consciousness, which makes up the whole world. And before he had attained to Arahanthood, he had already developed great psychic power. Venerable Anuruddha is famous for his Deva vision. He is supposed to be able to see the whole world system like in the palm of his hand. This thousand-fold world system probably is like a galaxy. And this sutra also shows the great wisdom of Sariputta. Sariputta, the Buddha said, just like a king has a son who is like a viceroy, the Buddha said Sariputta is like the the son of the Dhamma king and he turns the Dhamma wheel exactly like the Buddha. And so here we can see the wisdom of the Sariputta in guiding our Venerable Aniruddha to attain Arahanthood. And this is one of the suttas which also contradicts the Mahayana books which say that Sariputta is of very inferior wisdom. Now we come to another sutta, 3.13.129. Monks, there are these three things which are practiced in secret, not openly. What are they? The ways of womenfolk are secret, not open. Brahmins practice their mantras in secret, not openly. Those of wrong or perverse views hold their view secretly, not openly. These are the three things. Monks, there are these three things which shine forth for all to see, which are not hidden. What three? The disc of the moon shines for all to see. It is not hidden. The disc of the sun does likewise. The Dhamma Vinaya of the Tathagata, or the Buddha, shines for all to see. It is not hidden. These are the three things. So in this Sutta, the Buddha said the most important thing here is that the Dhamma Vinaya, that means the teachings of the Buddha, are not secret. It's open for all to see. And the Dhamma Vinaya, Dhamma is the suttas. You'll find later, under the chapter of the fours, that the Buddha said Dhamma refers to the suttas. Vinaya refers to the monastic disciplinary code for the monks and nuns. So these Dhamma Vinaya are the complete teachings of the Buddha. The word Tripitaka or Tipitaka developed later, after the Buddha's time. So here the Buddha is saying that the Buddha's teachings are not secret. There's nothing secret about the Buddha's teachings. It's only later that people practice secret teachings in so-called Buddhism, like even mantras. Mantras come from the Brahmins, they do not come from the Buddha, according to our Theravada teachings. And so we have to be careful of any secret teachings, anything that is secret, we have to be wary of it.

22-AN-Book-3L-(3.14.131-to-3.16.151).txt

The next sutra is 3.14.131. The Buddha said, Monks, possessed of three qualities, a fighting man is worthy of a raja, is a royal possession and is reckoned an asset to a raja. What are the three qualities? Herein, monks, a fighting man is a far shooter, a shooter like lightning and a piercer of huge objects. Possessed of these three qualities, A fighting man worthy of a Raja is a royal possession and is reckoned an asset to a Raja. In like manner, monks possess of three qualities a monk is worthy of respect, of offerings and gifts, of being saluted with claps, hands upraised, a field of merit unsurpassed for the world. What three? In this connection, a monk is a far shooter, a shooter like lightning, a piercer of huge objects. Now in what way is a monk a far shooter? Herein, whatsoever object, be it past, future, or present, personal or external to self, be it gross or subtle, mean or exalted, far or near, every object, in short, that he beholds, he sees it as it really is by right insight thus, This is not mine. This am I not. This is not myself. Whatsoever feeling, be it past, future, or present, he feels, he sees it as it really is, in like manner, by right insight. Whatsoever perception, whatsoever volition, whatsoever consciousness he has, be it past, present, or future, personal or external to self, be it gross or subtle, mean or exalted, far or near, everything in short, of which he is conscious, he sees as it really is, by right insight thus. This is not mind. This is not myself. That is how a monk is a far shooter. I'll just explain a bit here. I'll stop for a while. Here the Buddha is saying, the Buddha is referring to five things. He made this statement about this is not mine, this am I not, this is not myself. He refers to five things. The first one is form or body. Second one is feelings. Third is perception, then volition, and the last one is consciousness. These are called the five khandhas, five aggregates. And these five aggregates, the Buddha says, we always associate with the self. Either we take it to be the self, or as belonging to the self, or the self is in the five aggregates, or the five aggregates is in the self. For example, body. If the body is tall, you say, I am tall. If the body is short, you say, I am short. If the body is sick, you say, I am sick. So we always associate the body with the self. Feelings also. When we have happy feelings, we say, I'm happy. When we have sad feelings, we say, I'm sad. We find it very difficult to dissociate ourselves from these five things. The third one is perception. We have a perception of somebody as being likable, somebody as being repulsive and then again you say this person is likable to me or repulsive to me etc. And volition also, whenever volition is exercised we say I want this, I don't want this. And the last one is consciousness, when we are conscious of sights, of sounds, of smells, taste, touch, and thoughts. We say that we are conscious of this, we see this, I see this, I hear that sound. So these five things, five khandhas, we always associate with the self. And these five khandhas can be broken down into two namely body and mind, the active mind. So we always associate the body and the mind with the I or the Self. And these statements the Buddha made, the first one is, this is not mine, na e tang mama. Second one, this am I not, na e so aham asmi. This is not myself, na me e so ata. These statements, you look carefully, this is not mine, body or mind, or the mind, this am I not, this is not myself, this implies one of two things or two things that this because the things in the world are basically also the can say body and the mental partner, mind partner and so whatever is in creation It's not mine, it's not I, it's not myself. That means either we can say there is no self or whatever self that we take ourselves to be, if there is a self, it's nothing to do with all that exists in the world. But this is very hard to understand unless we study the Dharma and then we meditate. We meditate and then we look carefully into our mind, see how the mind works, and then you find everything that comes up in the mind is just like imagination. And then if you look carefully into the mind also, you find in a way that the body is also in the mind. Although when our eyes are open, we see the body as though it's very tangible, it's very solid. But when we close our eyes and we meditate, then we perceive the body in our mind. After all, the body is, how do you perceive the body? Like perceptions, like feelings. whether the body is comfortable or uncomfortable, pain, there's pain in the body, etc., all is in the mind. Then the Buddha continues, and how is a monk a shooter like lightning? Herein a monk understands that as it really is, this is dukkha, this is ill, this is the arising of dukkha, this is the ending of dukkha, this is the practice leading to the ending of dukkha. Thus is he a shooter like lightning. And how is a monk a piercer of huge objects? Herein a monk pierces through the huge mass of ignorance, a delusion. That is how he is a piercer of huge objects. Thus monks, possessed of these three qualities, a monk is worthy of offerings, a field of merit unsurpassed for the world. So these three things if a monk has. One, he sees that the body and the mind is not the self. The second one, he understands the Four Noble Truths. The third one, he pierces through the huge mass of ignorance or delusion. Now we come to the next sutta, which is 3.14.134. The Buddha said, monks, whether there is the appearance of a Tathagata or there is not the appearance of a Tathagata, there is this established condition of Dhamma, this fixed law of Dhamma, namely, all conditioners are impermanent. Sabbe Sankara Anicca. About this Tathagata is fully enlightened. He fully understands. So enlightened and understanding, he declares, teaches and makes it plain. He shows it forth, he opens it up, explains and makes it clear that all conditioners are impermanent. I'll just stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha is saying, whether the Buddha appears in the world or the Buddha does not appear in the world, there is this established condition of Dhamma, this fixed law of Dhamma. That means Dhamma is not something that was created by the Buddha. The Dhamma, the teachings of the Buddha can also be known as reality or the truth about existence. And it's just that the Buddha has enlightened to the working of existence, to the reality of existence. And then he, having understood it, so he declares it and he explains it and he shows it forth, he teaches. The first one that, the first characteristic of existence is that all conditioners are impermanent. This word, sabbe sankara anicca, very often is translated as all conditioned things are impermanent. But I'm one of those monks who prefer to translate sankara as conditioners, because the word for conditioned things is actually sankata. The word sankara is better translated as conditioners, something that conditions something else. And anything that conditions something else is eventually also a conditioned thing. But then why did the Buddha say that all conditioners are impermanent? Because in this existence, if the conditioners of something is impermanent, then that thing is even more impermanent. given in one sutta in Majjhima Nikaya, number 146, where the Buddha said, for example, that, give two examples, I think, one is that, take a tree, when the sun shines on the tree, it creates a shadow. Now the shadow is dependent on the tree. It's also dependent on there being the sunlight. So the conditioner of the shadow is the tree, the presence of the tree and the presence of sunlight. And these two conditioners are impermanent because the sunlight is only there for a few hours and also the tree is also impermanent, one day it will fall. So because of that, the shadow is even more impermanent. So in the same way, like a lamp is burning, so the radiance of the light given out by the lamp burning, to understand, first to understand that it's impermanent, we look and see that the conditionness of the brightness of the lamp depends on the width depends on the oil that is present in the lamp, depends on the air being present. So if the wick is burned up or the oil is used up, then the flame would not be there. So if we see that the conditioners of anything are impermanent, even more impermanent would be that thing. And then the Buddha continues, Monks, whether there is the appearance of a Tathagata or there is not the appearance of a Tathagata, there is this established condition of Dhamma, this fixed law of Dhamma, namely all conditioners are dukkha. About this, Tathagata is fully enlightened, he fully understands, etc. And then the Buddha continues, appearance of a Tathagata, or there is not the appearance of a Tathagata, there is this established condition of Dhamma, this fixed law of Dhamma. Namely, all things are not the Self. Sabe Dhamma Anatta. About this, a Tathagata is fully enlightened, he fully understands it. So enlightened and understanding, he declares and teaches it, makes it plain, he shows it forth, opens it up, explains and makes it clear that all things are not the Self. So, the first one I explained about all conditioners are impermanent. And the second one, because conditioners of anything are impermanent, so that thing is impermanent, and because of it being impermanent, it gives rise to dukkha. Dukkha is sometimes translated as unsatisfactory, sometimes as painful, sometimes as suffering. And we can understand why. For example, those that we love, our relatives, our family, because of everything in the world being impermanent, there would be change and separation. Like your children, when they're young, you see them so cute. And after some time, they grow up, and then they get married, and they have to leave you. And then as you grow old, then you have to leave all your beloved ones. And that causes pain, dukkha. And also, the things that we want and we cannot get, also it causes us pain, the material things. And if we get it, sometimes we can't enjoy it long enough. So, the body also gives us pain, and the mind also gives us pain. That's why the Buddha said in short, the five khandhas that we cling to as the self, associate with the self, gives us pain. And then the third thing is the Buddha said all things are not self. All things are not self. And self is explained, atta is explained in Majjhima Nikaya 148 as referring to something eternally abiding, not subject to conditions. And sometimes people translate atta, self, as the soul, something that is of this world and eternally abiding. There is no such thing. But like in the Hindu teachings, they talk about soul also. But we have to understand them because those Hindu yogis who are well-developed, they understand that the soul is not something of this world. Even though they say there is a soul, they say there is something that is out of this world, something that the mind cannot perceive. 3.16.151 The Buddha said, monks, there are these three practices. What three? The practice of the hardened sensualist, that of the self-tormentor and the middle path. Now what is the practice of the hardened sensualist? Here in monks, the certain one who thus speaks and holds this view, there is no fault in sensual desires. and he comes to utter ruin thereby. This practice, monks, is called that of the hardened sensualist. I'll just stop here for a while. Here the Buddha is talking about two extreme views. One is the person who enjoys sensual pleasures. and who says that there is nothing wrong in sensual desires. And so the Buddha said he comes to utter ruin. Now during the Buddha's days, there were quite a lot of naked ascetics, men naked ascetics as well as women naked ascetics. And because they were naked, sometimes they look at each other, and then they are aroused, and then they engage in sex. And they say that there's nothing wrong with it, that it doesn't harm anybody else. But then the Buddha says that this engaging in this sensual practice, especially for a renunciant, will bring one into the woeful planes. And then the Buddha continues. And of what sort is the practice of the self-tormentor? Herein a certain one goes naked. He does not follow convention. He licks his hands clean. He will not come when asked, not stop when asked. food brought to him. He refuses special food. He refuses an invitation to a meal. He refuses food straight from the pot or straight from the bowl, or across the threshold of a door, across a stick, across a pestle. He refuses food when a couple are eating, or from a pregnant woman, or from a woman giving suck, or a woman lying with a man. He refuses food from a food center, or where a dog stands by, or where flies are swarming. He eats no fish or flesh, drinks no liquor or intoxicant, not even rice gruel. He is a beggar from one house only, an eater of one mouthful. Or maybe he begs from two houses, eats two mouthfuls, up to seven houses, and eats seven mouthfuls only. He exists on just one little saucerful of food, or on just two, or more, up to seven saucerfuls. He takes food only once a day, or once in two days, or three days, even to the extent of eating once in fourteen days. He feeds on only vegetables, or on millet, or on raw rice, or on scraps of leather, or on water plants, or rice powder, or burnt scum of rice, or flour of oilseeds, or on grass, or cow dung, or he just exists on forest roots and on fruit that has fallen. He wears coarse hempen clothes, or cloth of different fibers, or discarded corpse cloth, or rags from a rubbish heap, or tree bark fiber, or antelope skins, or strips of antelope skin, or clothes made of kusa grass, made of wood shavings, blankets made of human hair, made of horse hair, made of owl's wings. He is a plucker of the hair and beard and given to this practice. He remains standing and refuses a seat. He squats down and keeps a squatting posture. He is a bed of thorns man. He makes his bed on spikes. He lives given to the practice of going down to the water to bathe even a third time in the evening also. Thus, in diverse ways he lives, given to these practices which torment the body. This monks is called the practice of self-torment. And of what sort monks is the middle path. Herein a monk lives contemplating body in the body, ardent, self-possessed and mindful, having put away covetousness and dejection for the world. Similarly, he contemplates feelings in the feelings, mind in the mind, dhamma in the dhamma, ardent, self-possessed and mindful, having put away covetousness and dejection for the world. This is called the middle path. These are the three practices. So you see, the second type of person is the one who torments himself. He does a lot of unbeneficial ascetic practices. Some of them you can understand, for example, he refuses food when a dog is standing by, or when flies are swarming, because he thinks he's practicing compassion. Or for example, when a woman is giving milk to her baby, and the baby is sucking her milk, and if she offers food, this person will think, oh, because if I take this food, there'll be not enough. food or not enough milk for the child or not the dog won't get the food or the flies won't get the food so he refuses to take them. The others are not so reasonable. He starves himself and all that. This is unbeneficial ascetic practices. But the Buddha said the middle path is the path that if we practice will bring us wisdom, get us out of samsara, out of the round of rebirths. These are the Satipatthana, contemplating the four objects of Satipatthana, the body, the feelings, mind and the dharma. And with that we come to the end of the first book.

23-AN-Book-4A-(4.1.3-to-4.3.24).txt

So now we come to the second book, which is the chapter of the fours, all the four things. The first sutra is 4.1.3. The Buddha said, monks, possessed of four qualities, the foolish, sinful, inauthentic man carries about with him an uprooted, lifeless self, is blameworthy, is censured by the intelligent, and begets much demerit. What for? Without investigation or scrutiny, he speaks in praise of what deserves not praise. Likewise, he speaks in dispraise of that deserving praise. Without investigation or scrutiny, he shows appreciation where there should be none. Likewise, when appreciation should be shown, he shows displeasure. These are the four qualities. But monks, possessed of four qualities, the wise, virtuous, authentic man carries about with him a self not uprooted, not lifeless, is not blameworthy, is not censured by the intelligent, and begets much demerit. and gets much merit. What for? After investigation or scrutiny, he speaks in praise of that deserving praise. Likewise, he speaks in dispraise of that deserving dispraise. After investigation or scrutiny, he shows appreciation for that deserving appreciation. Likewise, he shows displeasure for that deserving displeasure. These are the four. So here the Buddha is saying that when we praise or we speak ill of anybody or anything, we should be careful, we should investigate and scrutinize before we make some comment like that, especially if it's about certain people. especially if they are virtuous and we speak ill and that would create a lot of demerit for us. That's why we have to be very careful. The Buddha said in one of the suttas that whenever we are about to do anything with intention, Before, that means creating kamma, before we do it, we must be careful and ask ourselves whether that action is going to lead to the harm of ourselves or to others. If it is going to lead to the harm of the self or others, we should not do it. If it is going to lead to the benefit of the self or others, then we can do it. So we have to consider before we act And then during our action itself, again, we should consider. And even after our actions, again, we should consider, reflect on whatever actions we have done, whether it created any harm, any suffering to anybody else or to ourselves, or whether it benefited. So, we have to be careful of our actions. 4.1.4 The Buddha said, Monks, by wrong conduct towards four persons, the foolish, sinful, inauthentic man carries about with him an uprooted, lifeless self, is blameworthy, is censured by the intelligent, and begets much demerit. Who are the four? Monks. It is by wrong conduct towards mother, father, a Tathāgata, and a Tathāgata's disciples that the foolish, sinful, inauthentic man begets much demerit. But monks, by right conduct towards these same four persons, the wise, virtuous, authentic man carries about with him a self not uprooted, not lifeless. He is not blameworthy. He begets much merit. Sutta refers to four persons, sometimes they are called the four fields of merit and also the four fields of demerit, that is our parents. and then the Buddha himself, and then the Buddha's disciples, that means monks and nuns. You see, the Buddha is already not in the world, so we can forget about our conduct towards the Buddha. But our parents especially, for a lot of people, sometimes if we neglect our parents, or we are unfilial, We don't do our duty towards our parents. And after they pass away, then we feel a lot of remorse. It gives us a lot of pain. provide for our parents and look after them well. And after they pass away, it will bring us a lot of joy. So towards the Buddha's disciples, monks and nuns, also we have to be careful, especially if we intend to speak anything ill about monks and nuns, we have to consider very carefully. And so these are the four fields of merit and the four fields of demerit also. Now the sutra, the next sutra is 4.1.7. The Buddha said, monks, these four who are accomplished in wisdom, disciplined, confident, deeply learned, dharma bearers, who live according to dharma, these four illuminate the order, sangha. Which four? A monk who is accomplished in wisdom, disciplined, confident, deeply learned, dharma bearer, who lives according to dharma. illuminates the order, or sangha. A nun who is accomplished in wisdom, disciplined, confident, etc. illuminates the order. So also a male lay disciple who is accomplished in wisdom, disciplined, confident, deeply learned, etc. And the fourth one is a female lay disciple who is accomplished in wisdom, disciplined, confident, deeply learned, etc. These are the four who being accomplished in wisdom, disciplined, confident, deeply learned, dharma bearers, living in accordance with dharma, illuminate the order. This is one sutta where we find that the Sangha refers not only to monks and nuns, but also to male lay disciples and female lay disciples. This sometimes is called the fourfold assembly. So for example, when we take refuge in the Sangha, sometimes, as you have listened earlier, sometimes when we take refuge with the Sangha, we find that it refers to the Bhikkhu Sangha. As you have heard in some of the earlier suttas, where the lay people in the presence of the Buddha, they say they take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Bhikkhu Sangha. Sometimes the Sangha refers to this fourfold assembly and is also explained as the eight ariyas, eight types of ariyas. Next Uttara is 4.2.13. The Buddha said, monks, there are these four right efforts. What for? Herein a monk generates desire for the non-arising of evil, unprofitable states that have not yet arisen. He makes an effort, sets going energy. He lays hold of and exerts his mind to this end. He generates desire for the abandoning of evil, unprofitable states that have arisen. He makes an effort, sets going energy, etc. 3. He generates desire for the arising of profitable states not yet arisen. He makes an effort, sets going energy, etc. 4. He generates desire for the persisting, for the non-confusion, for the cultivation, for the increase, development and augmentation of profitable states that have arisen. He makes an effort, sets going energy, lays hold of and exerts his mind to this end. These monks are the four right efforts. This sutra is talking about samapadana, the four right efforts, which is one of the factors of the Aryan Eightfold Path. And the first one is not to allow evil, unprofitable states that have not yet arisen to arise. Unprofitable, the word is a translation of akusala. Akusala is unprofitable or unskillful. States is dhamma. Sometimes you can say thoughts also. Anything that comes up in the mind that is unprofitable, evil, unskillful, that leads to suffering, leads to remorse. If they have not arisen, we should not allow it to arise. Then the second one, if it is already arisen, evil, unprofitable states that have already arisen, then we should abandon it. That's why we have to always observe our mind. And the third one is if profitable states have not arisen in our mind, then we generate these profitable states in our mind, like for example, energy, intelligence, earnestness, the desire to practice the spiritual teachings, And the fourth one, if the profitable states have already arisen, then we should develop it and augment it and cultivate it so that it develops even further. These are the four right efforts. Samma padana. Then the next sutta has a little to do with it, is 4.2.14. Monks, there are these four efforts. What four? The effort to restrain, the effort to abandon, the effort to generate, and the effort to nurture. And of what sort, monks, is the effort to restrain? Herein a monk, seeing an object with the eye, does not grasp at its general features or its details. Inasmuch as coveting and dejection, evil, unprofitable states might flow in upon one who dwells with his eye-faculty unrestrained, he applies himself to such restraint, sets a guard over the eye-faculty, wins the restraint thereof. Hearing a sound with the ear, or smelling an odor with the nose, or tasting a flavor with the tongue, or with body contacting tangibles, or with mind cognizing mental states, he does not grasp at their general features or at their details. Inasmuch as coveting and dejection, evil states might flow in upon one who dwells With his faculties unrestrained, he applies himself to such restraint, wins restraint thereof. This monk is called the effort to restrain. I just stopped here for a moment to explain. This passage is about a practice in certain places called indriya-sangvara, sense restraint. Certain places is also called indriya-suguta-dhvara. guarding the doors of the senses. Because if we practice the spiritual path and especially if we are interested in meditation, we should not be concerned so much with the external world. The Buddha said always that we should dwell on our mind and on our body, the nature of our body and on our mind. And the four stations of Satipatthana also basically is the body and mind. If we allow our attention to go out to the objects of seeing, objects of the eye, objects of sight, and objects of hearing, That means sounds, or smells, or taste, touch, and thoughts, the Buddha said. These are Mara's playground, Satan's playground. If we go out into these six sense doors, we are likely to be caught by Mara, the Buddha said. Because if you see anything, and if you're attracted by it, then feelings arise, and perception, et cetera. And then you think about it, And then the chances of evil, unprofitable states arising are great. That's why we, if we are interested in meditation, we try not to be... This passage says, does not grasp the word gahi or gaha. It can mean grasp or seize or hold on to. It can also mean take up or accept. So we don't see the general features, the nimitta, or the details of it. I'll go a bit faster. And then the Buddha says, and of what sort, monks, is the effort to abandon? Hearing a monk does not admit sensual thought that has arisen, but abandons it, expels it, makes an end of it, drives it out of renewed existence. So also with regard to malign and cruel thought that has arisen, he does not admit evil, unprofitable states that arise from time to time. He drives them out of renewed existence. This monk is called the effort to abandon. Now what sort is the effort to generate or create? Herein a monk generates the factor of enlightenment that is mindfulness or recollection, sati, that is based on seclusion, on dispassion, on cessation, that ends in self-surrender. It generates the factor of enlightenment that is investigation of dharma, the factor of enlightenment that is energy, He generates the factor of enlightenment that is delight-pity, that is tranquility, that is concentration, that is equanimity based on seclusion, on dispassion, on cessation, that ends in self-surrender. This monks is called the effort to generate or create. And of what sort, monks, is the effort to nurture or develop? Hearing a monk nurtures the favorable concentration sign, the perception of the skeleton, the perception of the worm-eaten corpse, of the discolored corpse, of the fissured corpse, the perception of the inflated corpse, this is called the effort to nurture. These then, monks, are the four efforts. So here, these four efforts, the first one, the effort to restrain, it also has got to do with the earlier sutta, restraining of non-arising of evil, unprofitable states. The second one, the effort to abandon, has also got to do with abandoning evil states that have arisen. And the third one, the effort to generate or create, that means profitable states. He allows them. If they have not come up, we generate them, create them. And the fourth one, mature or develop profitable states that have already arisen. We develop them further. That means the sign of the meditation, sign of concentration, the perception of the skeleton, of the corpse, et cetera. So these two suttas are related. The Book of the Fours, or the Chapter of the Fours, the Buddha said, monks, there are these four chief types of beings. What four? Chief of those who have personality is Rahu, Lord of the Asuras. Chief of those who are given to the pleasures of sense is Mandatta, the Raja. Chief of those who have lordship is Mara, the Wicked One. In the world of devas, maras and brahmas, together with recluses and brahmins, devas and mankind, a Tathagata is reckoned chief, and Arahant, a perfectly enlightened one. These monks are the four chief types of beings. This sutra, the first person that the Buddha mentioned is Rahu. Rahu is one of the chieftains among the asuras. Asuras are devas, heavenly beings. And Rahu is supposed to be very huge, extremely huge. Sometimes you can see certain drawings of Rahu swallowing the moon, or trying to swallow the moon. So that is Rahu. And then the second one is Mandatta the Raja, but this is the only place where we find the mention of this name. So we don't know much about this person. And the third one is Mara. Mara to a lot of people is Satan. Satan and Mara is a person who has a lot of, quite a lot of power and he wields a lot of power over the minds of beings, especially those that are lower than his realm. Mara is supposed to live in the sixth heaven above the human realm. Every world system, you have three realms. The lowest is the desire realm, where you have beings differentiated into male and female. And in the desire realm, lust, sensual desire, controls all beings. In the desire realm, the highest heaven is Satan. He stays in the highest heaven, but he's not the chief there. There are other chieftains. He's one of the chieftains there. And then the second realm in every world system is the form realm, where heavenly beings are with very fine form. In fact, Because they have such good control over their minds, they are supposed to have meditated and attained concentration, strong concentration. Then only they can be reborn there. That means they have attained the jhanas, what we call the jhanas. They have attained one-pointedness of mind. So those beings in the form realm, they give off a lot of light. And because their mind is so strong, they can change themselves into a form with the body. So like for example, Mahabrahma, sometimes he goes to visit Sakadevaraja, the second heaven above us. And when he comes, they can see him like a ball of light coming from a distance very fast. And then they stand up in respect. Then when he arrives there, he changes into a form of a like them, like a human form, you know. Normally appears like a young boy, and then he'll speak to them. Then the third realm is the formless realm, where the beings are supposed to be formless. Or sometimes it's interpreted as that their form is so fine that they're almost like formless. And Mara is supposed to be so powerful that there is a sutta where the Buddha went to visit the Brahmas. Brahmas are high beings, very high heavenly beings, and the Buddha is trying to teach them. But Mara was trying to control the minds of some of them so that they would not listen to the Buddha. That's how powerful Mara is. And the fourth one is the Buddha and Arahant. It is said here that of all the beings, the Buddha is reckoned the chief of all beings, because he has gone beyond all beings. Later we look at other suttas and understand that. The next sutra is 4.3.22. On a certain occasion, monks, I myself was staying at Uruvela, on the bank of the river Naranjara, under the goat herd's bunion, just after I had become perfectly enlightened. Then monks, a great number of Brahmins, broken down, old men, aged, far gone in years, who had reached life's end, came to visit me where I was. On reaching me they greeted me courteously, and after the exchange of greetings and courtesies sat down at one side. As they thus said, monks, those Brahmins said this to me. We have heard it said, Master Gautama, that Gautama the recluse pays no respect to, does not rise up in the presence of, does not offer a seat to Brahmins who are broken down old men, aged, far gone in years, who have reached life's end. Inasmuch, Master Gautama, as the worthy Gautama does none of these things, it is not the proper thing to do, Master Gautama." Then monks, I thought to myself, in truth, these reverend ones understand not either the elder or the things which make an elder. Though a man be old, monks, eighty or ninety or a hundred years of age, yet if he be one who speaks out of due season, who speaks things untrue and unprofitable, things contrary to Dhamma, doctrine, and contrary to Vinaya, discipline, If he be one who utters words unworthy to be treasured in the heart, words unseasonable and devoid of reason, words undiscriminating and not concerned with welfare, then that one is reckoned just a foolish elder. Though a man be young monks, a youth, a mere lad, black-haired and blessed with his lucky prime, one in the first flush of life. If he be one who speaks in due season, who speaks things true and profitable, things according to Dhamma and Vinaya, if he be one who utters words worthy to be treasured in the heart, words seasonable, reasonable, discriminating and concerned with welfare, then that one is reckoned a wise elder. Now monks, there are these four things which make the elder. What four? Herein, a monk is virtuous, perfect in the patimokkha precepts, restrained with the restraint of the patimokkha, perfect in the practice of right behavior, seeing danger in the slightest faults. He undertakes and trains himself in the training of the precepts. He is learned, is replete with learning, is a horde of learning. Those doctrines which, lovely at the beginning, lovely in the middle, lovely at the end, both in the meaning and the letter of them, which preach the utterly fulfilled, the perfectly purified way of the holy life. Such doctrines are much heard by him, born in mind, repeated aloud, pondered over, and well penetrated by his vision. The four stages of jhāna, sometimes translated as mental absorption, I prefer like states of mental incandescence, The four stages of jhāna, which are of the clear mind, which are concerned with the happy life in this very world, these he wins easily, without effort. By the destruction of the āsavas in this very life, thoroughly understanding the release by mind, the release by wisdom, he realizes it, attains it, and dwells therein. These monks are the four things which make the elder. In this sutra, we find the Buddha is trying to define what is an elder. What is an elder? Elder is one who is worthy of respect, is considered worthy of respect. And so the Buddha said, it's not because a man is old that he is worthy of respect. If he speaks words which are not profitable, which are not valuable, which are untrue, etc. And he's just a foolish old man. But the Buddha said, four things make an elder, four things make a monk worthy of respect. The first one is virtue, that monk is virtuous. That's the first one. And the second one, he has much learning. It's very much learning. That means learning of the dhamma, the teachings. And the third one, he has attained the four jhanas, the four stages of concentration. And the last one, he has destroyed the asavas. That means he has gone out of the cycle of rebirth. He has become an arahant. So these are the four things. The first one you find sila is always very important. Sila is moral conduct. And it is the foundation of the holy life, of the spiritual path of a virtuous man. Moral conduct. Without moral conduct, you can't progress. There are some foolish people who think they want to practice only wisdom. And they think all the other things like keeping the precepts, doing charity, Learning the Dhamma is not important, but you cannot make any progress without all these supporting conditions. For example, the Mangala Sutta is a very good sutta where it mentions all the different ways of attaining blessings. Sila is one of them, dana is another. Much learning, bahusacca is another. Visiting monks who know the Dhamma to discuss the Dhamma and studying the Dhamma and discussion of Dhamma, etc. All these are foundations of the spiritual path which aid us to progress. And you see the second factor mentioned here is much learning. Much learning. The Buddha's disciples are called Savakas. Savakas means hearers or listeners. And they listen to the Dhamma. All of them. That's why listening to the Dhamma is extremely important. There's a lot of people. They try to practice the holy life without this important foundation. And they may practice for 20, 30 years, but they don't make much progress. And people see that it's obvious to other people, but it's not obvious to them. They have a big temper, very egoistic, et cetera. So much learning of the Dhamma is very important. That's why you find the Buddha's disciples were enlightened Some of them are much faster than the Buddha. They came and listened to the Dhamma and was taught by the Buddha. In a very short while, they were enlightened, compared to the Buddha who took six years of hard work to become enlightened. And the fourth one is the Four Jhanas. The Four Jhanas. If a person attains the Jhanas, he is worthy of respect. That's why the Buddha said in some other sutra that if a monk can attain the jhana even for a short while, then the food that he eats, which are given by other people, he eats, he's worthy of the food that he takes, etc. And also he follows the Buddha's advice, he listens to the Buddha's advice. The last one, of course, is the highest. criterion. He has destroyed the arts of arts. He has no more ego. He has destroyed the ego completely. That is a person who sees all beings as he sees one with all beings and he can never harm other beings. So those are the qualities which make a person an elder worthy of respect. And the next sutra is 4.3.24. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying at Saketa in Kalaka's park. Then the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying, ''Monks!'' ''Yes, Lord,'' replied those monks to the Exalted One. The Exalted One said, monks, whatsoever in the world with its devas, etc., etc., with its host of recluses and brahmins, of devas and mankind, whatsoever is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, searched into, pondered over by the mind, all that do I know. Whatsoever is seen, sensed, cognized, attained, searched into, pondered over by the mind, That have I fully comprehended. All that is understood by the Tathagata. But the Tathagata is not subject to it. If I were to say, I know whatsoever in the world is seen, heard and so forth, it would be a falsehood in me. If I were to say, I both know it and know it not, it would be a falsehood in me. If I were to say, I neither know it nor am ignorant of it, it would be a falsehood in me. That would be a fault in me. Thus monks, a Tathagata is a seer of what is to be seen, but he has no conceit of what is seen. He has no conceit of what has not been seen. He has no conceit of what is to be seen. He has no conceit about the seer. Hearing what is to be heard, he has no conceit of what has been heard, or not heard, or is to be heard, he has no conceit about the hearer. So also sensing what is to be sensed, cognizing the cognizable, he has no conceit of the thing cognized, or to be cognized, of him who has cognition. Thus, monks, the Tathagata, being such a one in things seen, heard, sensed, cognized, is such. Moreover, than he who is such, there is none other greater or more excellent, I declare." This is the end of the sutta. This is one of the suttas which is a bit deep and is not easily understood. because the state of a Buddha, of an enlightened being, we cannot understand. But basically what the Buddha is trying to say is even though he is a seer of what is to be seen, he has no conceit of what is seen. He has no conceit of what has not been seen. He has no conceit of what is to be seen. He has no conceit about the seer. So basically here what he is trying to say is there is no no self, even though there is seeing, there is just the seeing, there is no I see. There is no that ego behind. So he has destroyed that ego. So he looks at everything a bit different from us. We still have got the asavas, the mental outflows. Whenever we see something through our senses, we cognize through our six senses. The moment our consciousness arises, immediately it's followed by feeling. Whether it's a pleasant feeling or unpleasant feeling or a neutral one. And after that, there's perception. There's a perception and an idea about that thing, like you hear a sound and then you perceive this fellow is... these repulsive words. Then after that, the mind starts working, you start thinking, and then anger arises, and then volition will follow, you decide what to do or what not to do. And then this will repeat the process. You keep on thinking about it, and this results in papanca. It's a proliferation of thoughts. One thought becomes ten, ten becomes a hundred, etc. But with the Buddha, no thoughts arise. He has destroyed the asavas. Whatever he's seen, he just sees it the way it is, very naturally, without eye-seeing, without any proliferation of thoughts. That's the state of an arahant. So it's quite difficult for us to understand. It's basically that whatever happens, there is no eye, Because the I arises with the thinking. That's why thinking is the support system of our ego. That's why in meditation we try to stop all the thinking. And you can't stop the thinking until you have stilled your mind, made your mind so still that all the thoughts have stopped. Then you're used to that state. Slowly the mind inclines towards that state. And then, otherwise, we are used to thinking. We always live in the world of the six senses. It's very hard to withdraw from the world of the six senses.

24-AN-Book-4B-(4.3.25-to-4.4.35).txt

The next result is 4.3.25. Monks, this holy life is not lived to cheat or cajole people. It is not concerned with getting gain, profit, or notoriety. It is not concerned with the flood of gossip, nor with the idea of, let folks know me as so-and-so. No, monks, this holy life is lived for the sake of self-restraint, for the sake of abandoning, for the sake of detachment from the passions, for the sake of making to cease. This is one of those suttas that concern monks more. And here the Buddha is trying to say that the main purpose of the holy life is to end this round of rebirth, to end our suffering, to cut off the ego. But then once a person becomes a monk, there are many distractions if he's not careful. Either he can become corrupt and indulge in akusala, unskillful actions, like not keeping the precepts, etc., or getting caught up with fame, name and fame. Or sometimes he might get involved with work which is concerned with a monk, for example, trying to propagate the Dharma, trying to teach, trying to teach meditation and writing books and get caught up with funerals, chanting, etc. But if he does too much of these things, he can become distracted from the main task or the main aim of the holy life, which is to cultivate ourselves and to let go and to and now suffering. So this sutra is more for the monks. Now the next sutra is 4.3.28, the Buddha said. Monks, these four Aryan lineages, reckoned as ancient, as of long-standing, as traditional, primeval, pure and unadulterated now as then, are not confounded, nor shall they be, are not despised by discerning recluses and Brahmins. What are the four? Herein, monks, a monk is content with any sort of robes, and speaks in praise of such content. For the sake of getting robes, he resorts not to unseemly and unbecoming conduct. He who gets not robes, he is not dismayed thereat, and if he does get them, he is free from the bond of selfishness, of greed, of craving for them. Seeing the danger therein, and skilled in the escape therefrom, he makes use of them. Yet does he not exalt himself because of his content with any sort of robes, nor does he disparage others. who are not content. Whoso monks is skilled herein, not slothful, but mindful and heedful, this monk is one who stands firm in the primeval ancient Aryan lineage. Then again, a monk is content with any sort of alms food and speaks in praise of such content. For the sake of getting alms food, he resorts not to what is unseemly and unbecoming. If he gets not alms food, he is not dismayed thereat, and if he does get it, he is free from the bond of selfishness, of greed, of craving for it. Seeing the danger therein, and skilled in the escape therefrom, he makes use of it. Yet does he not exalt himself because of his content with any sort of alms food, nor does he disparage others who are not content. Whoso monks is killed herein, this monk is one who stands firm in the primeval ancient Aryan lineage. Then again, a monk is content with any sort of lodging, and speaks in praise of such content. For the sake of getting lodging, he resorts not, etc. etc. If he gets not lodging, he is not dismayed thereat. Whoso monks is skilled herein, he stands firm in the Aryan lineage, etc. Once more, monks, a monk delights in letting go, abandoning. So delighting, he delights in developing. Yet because of his delight in the one, abandoning, and the other, developing, he exalts not himself because of that delight, nor does he disparage others who delight not therein. Whoso monks is skilled herein, not slothful, but mindful and heedful, this monk is one who stands firm in the primeval ancient Aryan lineage. These monks are the four Aryan lineages reckoned as ancient, as of longstanding, as traditional, primeval, pure and unadulterated now as then, which are not confounded nor shall be, are not despised by discerning recluses and Brahmins. Moreover, monks possessed of these four Aryan lineages, whether a monk dwell in the East or the West, North or South, wherever he may dwell, he masters this content and content monks. He is a sage. This is another sutra which is concerned more with monks, telling the monks not to be too concerned with robes, the requisites, the robes, the food, and the lodgings, to be content with whatever a monk gets. And the last one is letting go, abandoning, which, of course, a monk practices in stages, and eventually is supposed to let go of the self, the ego, These four factors... The Buddha talks about contentment. Contentment is one of the factors of the holy life. The Buddha is supposed to be called Vijacarana Sampanno, replete with... Carana is sometimes translated as conduct or practice. And the other one is knowledge. So in the practice, contentment is one of the factors. And this contentment leads to restlessness and is one of the causes for a monk to disrobe. And the other thing that is important, the Buddha mentioned here is that if a monk is developed, then he does not exalt himself and he does not disparage others, even others are not up to his standard, not up to whatever standard he has in mind. He does not put down the other monks, I mean not on a personal level. But then the Buddha is also quite a reasonable person. For example, in the Vinaya, the monk's disciplinary code, the Buddha said that if a monk does not get enough quantity of alms food wherever he stays, he should leave that place. because you can't practice the holy life and you don't get enough food. The other thing is in the Vinaya, the Buddha also mentioned that if a monk does not, the food he gets is not of quality food. Because if you don't get quality food, then you don't have the strength to practice the holy life also, especially if you want to stay up at night and get up early, etc. So the Buddha also said if we don't get enough quality food, we should leave the place also. We shouldn't stay there. I come to another sutta, 4.3.29. Buddha said, monks, these four are factors of Dhamma, reckoned as ancient, of long-standing, as traditional, primeval, pure and unadulterated, now as then, are not confounded nor shall they be, are not despised by discerning recluses and Brahmins. What are the four? Non-coveting monks is a factor of Dhamma. Non-malice, right mindfulness and right concentration are not despised, are factors of Dhamma, reckoned as ancient, of longstanding, as traditional, primeval, pure and unadulterated now as then. are not confounded nor shall they be, are not despised by discerning recluses and Brahmins. These are the four factors of Dhamma. These four things, the first one is non-coverting, anabhija. That means non-greed. It's something that's important for a monk. Another one is non-malice, avayapada. That means not to have a big temper, not to have a lot of anger. That's another factor. That's important. The third one is right mindfulness or right recollection, sama sati. And the fourth one is right concentration, sama samadhi. You notice here, as elsewhere in the suttas, that right mindfulness and right concentration, they are not the same thing. There are two different factors and nowadays there is a tendency for some people to teach that right mindfulness is enough, that right mindfulness is right concentration. It is not. It is always two separate things in the suttas. Another sutta is 4.4.31. There are these four wheels, possessed of which on devas and mankind there rose a four-wheeled prosperity, possessed of which both devas and mankind in no long time attain greatness and increase in prosperity. What are the four wheels? They are dwelling in a fitting place, association with true men, perfect application of the self, and merit done in the past. These are the four wheels, possessed of which on devas and mankind there rose a four-wheeled prosperity, possessed of which both devas and mankind in no long time attain greatness and increase in prosperity. this sutta which is both for monks and for lay people. And these four factors, actually they are also found in the Mangala Sutta, the Discourse on the Highest Blessings. The first one is, in the Mangala Sutta, the Pali is patirupade savaso ca. Dwelling in a fitting place. What do you mean by dwelling in a fitting place? Dwelling in a fitting place for lay people would be dwelling in a place where you can listen to the Dhamma, where you have a chance to learn the Dhamma. from monks and a chance to serve the Sangha, like making offerings to the Sangha, etc. And for monks, it will be a place where it is conducive for meditation, conducive for progress in the spiritual path, where he can progress from day to day in his meditation. And the second factor in the Mangala Sutta is called pandita-nanca-sevana, association with true men. Actually, the Pali word for the true men is sapurisa. Sapurisa, true men, meaning ariyas, men who have advanced along the spiritual path. Because if you associate with true men, then you get to listen to the true Dhamma. And then when you get to listen to the true Dhamma, you know how to practice and walk the skillful path where you can minimize your suffering and cultivate a lot of blessings that will help you along the spiritual path. And it will help you not only this lifetime, but lead you towards a good rebirth in the future life. Third one is atasamapanidhica, that means perfect guidance of the self or perfect application of the self, that means guiding oneself along the right path, the perfect path. And that of course entails understanding the Dhamma, listening to the Dhamma. And the fourth one is merit done in the past. Pubeca kata-punyata. If we have done merit in the past, then it will help us in this lifetime. Or if we do a lot of good deeds now, it will help us in our future lifetime. So these are the four things. If we practice them, we will get a lot of benefit this life and future life. Dwelling in a fitting place, association with true men, perfect application of the self, and merit done in the past. The next sutta is 4.4.32. Monks, there are these four bases of sympathy. What four? Generosity or charity, kind speech, doing a good turn, and treating all alike. These are the four. These four bases of sympathy, if we practice them, then we can get a lot of friends. There's a mention in some other sutra where some of the Buddha's lay disciples, they had a great following of friends because they practiced these four things. First one is generosity. Nobody likes a selfish person. Nobody likes to go near a selfish person. But if you are generous, everybody will want to come around you. Second one is kind speech. To be careful that we speak kind words, not words which are too hurting. Sometimes you can't help it. Sometimes we have to speak harsh words sometimes if you want to wake up some people. Just like sometimes parents have to spank their kids once in a while. to get them to go along the right road, right path. Third one is doing a good turn, doing a good turn to others. And there's a sutra elsewhere, I think I might have gone through it, that the Buddha said that it's very hard to find somebody who will do a good turn to somebody first. Normally we only return something that's good done to us, but to be the first to do good to somebody else is quite rare, just like a grateful person, very difficult to find in the world. And then the fourth one is treating all alike. That means We don't discriminate too much, especially in terms of race, or in terms of wealth, etc. So these are the four bases of sympathy. Generosity, kind speech, doing a good turn, and treating all alike. Now the next sutta is 4.4.33. The Buddha said, monks, the lion, king of beasts, in the evening comes forth from his lair. Having come forth from his lair, he stretches himself. Having done so, he surveys the four quarters in all directions. Having done that, he utters thrice his lion's roar. Thrice having uttered his lion's roar, he sallies forth in search of prey. Now monks, whatsoever brute creatures hear the sound of the roaring of the lion, king of beasts, for the most part they are afraid. They fall to quaking and trembling. Those that dwell in holes seek them. Water dwellers make for the water. Forest dwellers enter the forest, birds mount into the air. Then monks, whatsoever Raja's elephants in village, town, or Raja's residence, are tethered with stout leather bonds. Such burst and rend those bonds asunder, void their excrements, and in panic run to and fro. Thus potent monks is the lion, king of beasts, over brute creatures, of such mighty power and majesty is he. Just so monks, when a Tathagata arises in the world, an Arahant, a perfectly enlightened one, perfect in knowledge and conduct, well-farer, a world-knower, the unsurpassed trainer of men who can be trained, teacher of devas and mankind, a Buddha, an exalted one. He teaches dhamma, such is the being in the body, such the origin of the being in the body, such is the ending of the being in the body, such is the practice going to end of the being in the body. Then monks, whatsoever devas there be, long-lived, lovely, and become happy, for a long time established in lofty palaces, they too on hearing the Dhamma teaching of the Tathagata, for the most part are afraid. They fall to quaking and trembling. saying, It seems, sirs, that we who thought ourselves permanent are after all impermanent, that we who thought ourselves stable are after all unstable. Not to last, sirs, it seems, are we, and lasting we thought ourselves. So it seems, sirs, that we are impermanent, unstable, not to last, compassed with a being in the body. Thus potent monks is the Tathagata over the world of devas and mankind. Of such mighty power and majesty is he." This sutra is comparing the lion, the king of the beasts, with the Buddha. Among all the animals, the lion is the chief, so that even when he roars, even such a huge creature like an elephant will panic. avoid their excrements and burst their bones, try to run away. So in the same way, when the Buddha teaches the Dhamma, there are these devas, heavenly beings, who have long, very long lives, millions of years. And even though they live for millions of years, they never age. They look like a 16-year-old man or a 16-year-old boy or a 16-year-old girl. And after millions of years, they still look 16 years old. So they never imagine that they're going to die. And because their life is so blissful and happy, they just assume that they are not going to die. But after hearing the Dhamma and after observing the Buddha, then they realized that the Buddha is one who speaks the truth, never speaks a lie. So then they realized that they are going to die one day, and then they get scared. There's some other suttas which explain when a deva, heavenly being is about to die, and he realizes he's about to die, he gets very worried. Thoughts run very fast, very panicky. He starts to sweat. Formerly, he didn't have any body odour. He starts to have body odour. Formerly, he used to have flowers on the head. Naturally, the flowers will wilt and all that. So, when he passes away, the body just disappears. Just like when he's born in the heaven, the body suddenly appears. Doesn't have to go through a nine-month period like human beings in the womb. The other thing that's mentioned here, the being in the body, sakaya, normally all beings, we have a view that there is a self in the body. We attach the body, we have attachment to this body and we take it to be the self. Then as we progress along the spiritual path, then we come to a state when we realize that the body is not the self. But then we still cling to the mind as the self. Eventually we still have to let go of the mind. Sutta is 4.35. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Rajagaha, in the bamboo grove at the squirrel's feeding ground. On that occasion, Vasakara the Brahmin, a great official of Magadha, came to visit the Exalted One, and on coming to Him, greeted Him courteously, and after the exchange of greetings and courtesies, sat down at one side. As he sat thus, Vasakara the Brahmin said this to the Exalted One, Master Gautama, we Brahmins proclaim a man if he possesses four qualities as one of great wisdom, as a great man. What are the four qualities? Here in Master Gautama, he is learned. Of whatsoever he hears, he understands the meaning as soon as it is uttered, saying, this is the meaning of that saying, this is the meaning of that saying. Moreover, he has a good memory. He can remember and recall a thing done long ago, said long ago. Again, in all the business of a householder, he is skilled and diligent, and therein he is resourceful and capable of investigating what is proper to be done, what should be arranged. Now, Master Gautama, if a man possesses these qualities, we proclaim him as one of great wisdom, as a great man. If the worthy Gautama thinks me worthy of commendation herein, let him commend me. On the contrary, if he thinks me blameworthy, let him blame me therefore. I'll just stop here for a while. This Brahmin is a great official of Magadha, and he addresses our Buddha as Master Gautama, because Gautama is the surname of our Buddha. And sometimes our Buddha is addressed as Samana Gautama. Samana is a recluse, renunciant, So these four qualities which the Brahmin says is hallmarks of a great man, a man with a great wisdom. The first one he's learned, presumably he's learned in the Brahmin scriptures and worldly knowledge, etc. The second one, he understands Whatever he hears, he understands. That's the second one. The third thing, he has a very good memory. The fourth one, in the business of a householder, he's skilled in the business of a householder. And these things he thinks would make a great man. Then the Buddha said, Well, Brahmin, I neither commend you nor blame you herein. I myself proclaim a man possessed of four qualities to be one of great wisdom, to be a great man. What are the four? Herein, Brahmin, we have a man given up to the welfare of many folk, to the happiness of many folk. By him are many folk established in the Aryan knowledge, to wit, in what is of a lovely nature, in what is of a profitable nature. 2. To whatsoever train of thought he wishes to apply himself, to that train of thought he applies himself. To whatever train of thought he desires not to apply himself, to that train of thought he applies not himself. Whatever intention he wishes to intend, he does so, or not if he so wishes. Thus he is master of the mind in the ways of thought. And the third one, also he is one who attains at will, without difficulty and without trouble, the four jhanas which belong to the higher mind, which even in this very life are blissful to abide in. And the fourth, also by destruction of the asavas in this very life, thoroughly comprehending it of himself, he realizes the liberation by mind, the liberation by wisdom, and attaining it abides therein. No, Brahmin, I neither commend nor blame you herein, but I myself proclaim a man possessed of these four qualities to be one of great wisdom, to be a great man." These four qualities that the Buddha mentioned. The first one is he is always looking after the welfare of the many folk, the many people. He cares for the welfare of others. The second one, he is a master of his mind. To whatever train of thought he wishes to imply himself, he can do so. Whatever train of thought he does not wish to imply himself, also he can do so. Then the third one, he attains the four jhanas. The fourth one, he has destroyed the asavas. I'd like to mention again, the first one is this person, he is always concerned with the welfare of others. But in the sense that he establishes people in the Aryan knowledge, that means he teaches the Aryan Dhamma to others. This is what is meant by helping others. Now in the Buddha's teaching, the Buddha said, of all the gifts that we can make to others, the highest gift is the gift of the Dhamma, the teaching of the truth. That is real compassion. To worldly people, like doing charity, doing good deeds, becoming a vegetarian and all that, that is good. And it is, it is good. Of all these actions, the highest is the gift of knowledge. Because if we think about it carefully, suppose somebody is in difficulty and comes to us, needs help. For example, a person is hungry. So if you are concerned with that person's welfare, you give him food to eat, you feed him. But after a few hours, he's hungry again. Then you have to feed him again. So tomorrow he's hungry again. So are you going to feed him the whole life? If you can do it, it's very good. But then it will be more skillful of you if you can teach him, for example, a trade, a skill, a work. So if he teaches, if he is taught a work which he can do to earn a living, then you have no need to look after him day after day, then he will be able to take care of himself and succeed in the world. But then that is just this lifetime, he can earn a living. But then the next lifetime when he comes, he might suffer because he doesn't know how to walk the good path, the path where we cultivate a lot of blessings to help us. And then because he has still continues to be selfish, et cetera, next life when he comes back, he'll suffer again, might not be able to get food again. But if we teach him the Dhamma, and then we teach him, make him understand that all these karmic obstructions that he is experiencing now is due to karma, past deeds. For example, he has been selfish in this life or in the past life, and then because of that, not many people want to help him. And then if he understands that he has to cultivate blessings so that people can like him, so to speak, kind words, harsh words, etc. slowly and he's also got to understand that karma is not only past life karma but this life karma. He's got to exert himself to look after himself in this life also. So he not only gets a job to succeed in the world, he also cultivates some of the good qualities in life which will help him, not only this life, even the next life. So if we teach him this kind of Dhamma, then we are benefiting him not only this life, we are also benefiting him in the next life or the next few lives to come. That's why the gift of Dhamma is the highest gift, because when we teach Dhamma to people, teaching them to lead a skillful life instead of an unskillful life. The kusala and akusala. This word kusala can be translated as skillful or wholesome. A wholesome life, a skillful life. Because in life, We find of suffering, there are two types of suffering. There's a type of suffering which nobody can avoid. For example, getting old, growing old, becoming sick and dying. Nobody can run away from that. All beings would experience that. But there are certain kinds of suffering which are unnecessary, which we can avoid. For example, if a person drinks and drives, You drink and drive, you get into an accident. That was not necessary. It could have been avoided. So in the same way, there are also other things that we can cultivate now to avoid suffering. For example, if we speak skillful words to people instead of harsh words, then we can avoid unnecessary suffering in one way. Another one is we know how to keep our precepts. if you know how to listen to the Dharma, if you know how to do charity, etc. So these are all the teachings that the Dharma teaches us to lead a very skilful life so that we go through life with the minimum suffering. And not only that, even the minimum suffering, eventually we So make it dry out by getting out of samsara, out of the realm of rebirth. Then the second quality is that person is a master of his mind. His mind is so well developed that he is not controlled by the mind, he controls the mind. A lot of people, they meditate, and then after many years of meditation, they think they are very skillful, they think they have attained great stages. But then, you can see their likes and dislikes. If they have very strong likes and dislikes, that means they have not a developed mind. If we have a developed mind, we would not be controlled by our likes and dislikes. And then the third one is the jhanas, the condition for wisdom is the concentration. And the fourth one is destruction of the asavas, attaining arahanthood. Then the Brahmin said, It is wonderful, Master Gautama. It is marvelous, Master Gautama. How well this has been said by the worthy Gautama. I myself do hold the worthy Gautama to be possessed of these same four qualities. Indeed, the worthy Gautama is given up to the welfare of many folk, to the happiness of many folk. By him are many folk established in the Aryan knowledge, to wit, in what is of a lovely nature, in what is of a profitable nature. Indeed, the worthy Gautama, To whatever train of thought he wishes to apply himself, to that train of thought he applies himself. Surely the worthy Gautama is master of the mind in the ways of thought. Surely the worthy Gautama is one who attains at will the four jhanas. Surely the worthy Gautama, by destruction of the asavas, realizes the liberation by mind, the liberation by wisdom, and attaining it abides therein. And the Buddha said, Indeed, Brahmin, your words come close and challenge me to a statement. Nevertheless, I will satisfy you by replying. I am indeed given up to the welfare of many folk, to the happiness of many folk. By me are many folk established in the Aryan knowledge to wit in what is of a lovely nature, in what is of a profitable nature. To whatsoever train of thought I desire to apply myself, to that I apply myself, or not as I please. Whatever intention I wish to intend, I do so, or not as I please. Indeed, Brahmin, I am master of the mind in the ways of thought. Indeed, I am one who attains at will the four jhanas. Indeed, Brahmin, by the destruction of the asavas, I realize the liberation by mind and liberation by wisdom, and attaining it, abide therein. That's the end of the sutra here. So this is another case where somebody is challenging the Buddha and he acknowledges that he has attained all these four qualities.

25-AN-Book-4C-(4.4.36-to-4.5.49).txt

And the next sutra is 4.4.36. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was journeying along the high road between Ukata and Satabia. Now the Brahmin donor was also journeying along the high road between Ukata and Satabia. Then the Brahmin donor beheld on the footprints of the Exalted One the wheel marks with a thousand spokes, with their rims and hubs and all their attributes complete. On seeing these, he thought thus, it is wonderful indeed, it is marvellous indeed. These will not be the footprints of one in human form. Just then the Exalted One stepped aside from the high road and sat down at the root of a certain tree, sitting cross-legged, beholding his body upright and setting up mindfulness in front of him. Then the Brahmin Drona, following up the Exalted One's footprints, beheld the Exalted One seated at the foot of a certain tree. Seeing him comely, faith-inspiring, with senses calm, tranquil of mind, in the attainment of composure by masterly control, like a tamed, alert, perfectly trained elephant, he approached the exalted one, and drawing near to him, said this, Your worship will be a Deva. And the Buddha said, No, indeed, Brahmin, I am not a Deva. Then your worship will be a Gandaba. No, indeed, Brahmin, I am not a Gandaba. A Yakka then. No, indeed, Brahmin, not a Yakka. Then your worship will be a human being. No, indeed, Brahmin, I'm not a human being." And the Brahmin said, when questioned thus, your worship will be a deva, a gandabha, a yakha, a human being. He replied, not so, Brahmin, I'm not a deva, a gandabha, a yakha, I'm not a human being. Who then pray will your worship be? And the Buddha said, Brahmin, those asavas whereby if they were not abandoned, I should become a deva. Those asavas in me are abandoned, cut off at the root, made like a palm tree stump, made non-existent, of a nature not to arise again in future time. Those asavas whereby if they were not abandoned, I should become a gandaba, a yaka, a human being. Those asavas in me are abandoned, not to arise again in future time. Though born in the water, grown up in the water, when it reaches the surface, stands there unsoiled by the water. Just so, Brahmin, though born in the world, grown up in the world, having overcome the world, I abide unsoiled by the world. Take it that I am a Buddha, Brahmin." This is one of those well-known suttas where this man, because of seeing the footprints of the Buddha, these Brahmins, they like to observe all these marks of the human body, and from observing the footprints of the Buddha, he said there must be something special about this person. So he asked the Buddha whether he was a deva, a heavenly being, and whether he was a gandaba, a tree spirit, a yaka, another type of spiritual being, a human being, etc. The Buddha said he was not any one of those. What the Buddha meant is that the Buddha has no more ego, no more self. Because he has no more self, he does not see himself as a human being. He sees all beings as one with him. In fact, he sees the whole world like a dream. He's mentioned somewhere else. Buddha comes from the word buddhi. Buddhi means knowledge or wisdom. So the Buddha is an enlightened one, no more self, no more ego. Now we are on the chapter of the fours. Sutta number 4.4.37. The Buddha said, monks, possessed of four qualities, a man is incapable of falling away. He is near to Nibbana. What are the four? Herein, a monk is perfect in virtue. He is guarded as to the doors of the sense faculties. He is moderate in eating. He is given to watchfulness or wakefulness. And in what way is a monk perfect in virtue? Herein, a monk is virtuous. He dwells restrained with the restraint of the patimokkha. The Code of Precepts for a monk. Perfect in the practice of right conduct, he sees danger in the slightest faults. He takes up and trains himself in the stages of training. Thus, a monk is perfect in virtue. And how is a monk guarded as to the doors of the sense faculties? Herein a monk, seeing an object with the eye, does not grasp at the general features or at the details thereof. Since coveting and dejection, evil, unprofitable states, might flow in upon one who dwells with the faculty of the eye unrestrained, he applies himself to such restraint. He sets a guard over the faculty of the eye, attains restraint thereof. When he hears a sound with the ear, or with the nose smells a scent, or with the tongue tastes a flavor, or with the body contacts tangibles, when with the mind he cognizes mental states, he does not grasp at the general features or details thereof. But since coveting and dejection, evil, unprofitable states might flow in upon one who dwells with the senses unrestrained, he applies himself to such restraint. He sets a guard over the sense doors, attains restraint thereof. That is how a monk has the doors of the sense faculties guarded. And how is a monk moderate in eating? Herein, a monk takes his food thoughtfully and prudently, not for sport, not for indulgence, not for personal charm or adornment, but just enough for the support for the continuance of the body, for its resting unharmed, to help the living of the holy life. With this thought, my former feeling I checked, and I set going no new feeling. Thus, maintenance shall be mine, blamelessness and comfort in life. Thus is a monk moderate in eating. And how is a monk given to watchfulness or wakefulness? By day, a monk walks up and down, and then sits, thus cleansing his heart of conditions that should be checked. By night for the first watch, he does likewise. In the middle watch of the night, lying on his right side, he takes up the lion posture, resting one foot on the other, and thus collected and composed, fixes his thoughts on rising up again. In the last watch of the night, at early dawn, he walks up and down, then sits, and so cleanses his heart of conditions that should be checked. That is how a monk is given to watchfulness. Possessed of these four qualities, a monk is incapable of falling away. He is near to Nibbana. So in this sutta, we see the Buddha is stressing on four practices, four very important practices, which if a monk practices, then he is not likely to fall away, that means to disrobe, or to break the precepts, etc., the major precepts. These four practices, first one is perfect in virtue, second one guarding the doors of the sense faculties, third one moderation in eating, fourth one devoted to watchfulness or wakefulness. I think some of you, if you were here in the previous sutta reading, you had heard the Buddha talking about the sure cause, the sure way, and three practices were mentioned in there. And those three practices are also mentioned here, namely, guarding the doors of the sense faculties, moderation in eating, and given to wakefulness or watchfulness. So these three very important practices which make up what is known as Carana. The Buddha is said to be perfect in knowledge and conduct. Vijacarana Sampanno. And in this conduct Carana, there's a series of practices which make up the holy life. And these three, the Buddha always points out as being very important, namely the guarding of the sense doors, moderation in eating and devotion to wakefulness. And the first one mentioned in this sutra is perfect in virtue. That means for a monk to be restrained by the patimokkha and he sees danger in the slightest faults and he trains himself in the precepts. That is perfect in virtue. Then guarding the sense doors, a monk seeing an object with the eye does not grasp at the general details or the general features or the details thereof. This, I mentioned before, this word gras means to take up, to seize, or even just to accept. So, in other words, what the Buddha is saying is that the six sense doors, we try not to take notice of the objects of the six sense doors rather to go into our mind. Because it is mentioned elsewhere that especially the five sense doors of the world are Mara's playground. If we go out and notice the things in the world, then we are likely to be caught by Mara. So that is guarding the sense doors. And the other one is moderation in eating. We eat just enough to support our body, not to make it beautiful, not to make it charming, etc., adorning the body. And then the last one is given to wakefulness, the first watch, meaning normally it's like 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., that's the first watch. And then the Buddha says you should sit in meditation or walk up and down, checking the mind of unwholesome states, trying to get rid of unwholesome states in the mind and to develop wholesome states in the mind. And similarly for the middle watch of the night, he takes a rest. Middle watch of the night, normally meaning 10pm to 2am. And then the third watch is 2 a.m. to 6 p.m. He gets up and he practices meditation and walking meditation. And then the rest of the day also he's supposed to be practicing sitting and walking. So, these four things are said by the Buddha to be very important. Now we come to another sutra, 4.5.41. This is quite an important sutra. The Buddha said, monks, there are these four ways of development of concentration, samadhi bhavana. What for? There is amongst the development of concentration, which when developed and made much of, conduces to happy living in this very life. There is amongst the development of concentration, which when developed and made much of, conduces to winning knowledge and insight." Jnana Dasana. There is, monks, the development of concentration, which conduces to mindfulness and well-awareness. There is, monks, that which, when developed and made much of, conduces to the destruction of the asavas. Now, monks, what sort of development of concentration conduces to happy living in this very life? Herein a monk, aloof from sense desires, etc., attains the first jhana. By calming down of thought directed and sustained, he attains the second jhana. By the fading out of delight, etc., he attains the third jhana. By abandonment of pleasure and pain alike, etc., he attains the fourth jhana and abides therein. This is called the development of concentration which conduces to happy living in this very life. I'll just stop for a while to make a comment here out of the four Developments of concentration, the first one that conduces to happy living, to blissful living, happy abiding, is attaining the jhanas. Some of you might have heard a previous sutra where the Buddha talked about the different kinds of cultures that he can attain. And he said that when he comes out of the fourth jhāna, if he walks, he's walking in bliss. If he lies down, he's lying down in bliss. If he sits, he's sitting in bliss. If he's standing, he's standing in bliss, etc. Because when a person comes out of the fourth jhāna, the effect of the jhāna is still there, still feels. a strong effect, the bliss and attenuation of the hindrances. So it makes him very, very blissful. So this is what the Buddha calls in certain suttas, the bliss of renunciation, attaining the bliss of samadhi. And then to continue, the Buddha said, and of what sort is that which conduces to winning knowledge and insight? Herein a monk pays attention to consciousness of light. He concentrates on consciousness of daylight. As by day, so by night. As by night, so by day. Thus with wits unalert, with wits unhampered, he cultivates the mind to brilliance. This, monks, is called the development of concentration, which, when developed and made much of, conduces to winning knowledge and insight. I'll just stop here again to comment. This one, the Buddha says, the condition which conduces to winning knowledge and insight is to cultivate the mind until it becomes bright. And how do you cultivate the mind until it becomes bright? It's only by attaining the jhanas. Because the jhanas means a state of mental incandescence. The mind becomes bright. That's why people who attain jhana and dwell constantly in jhana, when they are reborn into the jhana plane, they are beings of light. They radiate a lot of light. Because their mind is so strong, it becomes bright. And the mind normally is dark because of defilements, and the defilements are because our energies go out through the six sense doors. When our energies go out through the six sense doors, our energy is scattered. So there's one sutra where the Buddha said, if the mind is not scattered, when the mind is not scattered, the brightness of the mind manifests. the mind is naturally bright. It's only because it is defiled by the sense doors, the objects of the senses, that the mind becomes scattered and dull. So here, you see, this is a very important passage here, which is to say, that's why a lot of people don't understand, how come samadhi can give us knowledge and insight. How can samadhi by itself give us wisdom? This is the point here the Buddha is trying to make, that by cultivating our mind until it's so strong, that it's so bright, that is the type of mind that is very sharp, that can see very clearly, that can see things as they really are. Because the Buddha said elsewhere that the condition for yatha bhuta jnana dasana, seeing things as they really are, is samadhi. The condition for seeing things as they really are is strong samadhi. So here, especially if the mind is bright, is very, very strong, very, very concentrated, that is the best condition for jnana dasana, attaining knowledge and insight. Now, to continue, the Buddha said, and what sort of development of concentration conduces to mindfulness and well-awareness? Sati Sampadjana. Here in monks, the feelings which arise in a monk are evident to him. The feelings which abide with him are evident to him. The feelings which come to an end in him are evident to him. The perceptions, sānyā, which arise in him are evident, etc. The trains of thought, vittaka, which arise, which abide with him, which come to an end in him are evident. This monk is called the development of concentration, which conduces to mindfulness and well-awareness. I'll stop here for a while. So here the Buddha is saying, if we want to have sati sampajjana, mindful and clear comprehension or well-awareness, then we should be always looking into our mind, always watching these three things, vedana, the feelings, sannya, the perceptions, and the thoughts, vittaka. If we keep on watching our mind, that is conducive to mindfulness and well-awareness. So here you see, mindfulness and well-awareness is the practice of watching the mind. It is not the practice of seeing outside objects, not to be aware of sights, sounds, smells, etc., but to be aware of our working of the mind. Because the problem is in our mind. Where does the ego arise? Ego arises in the mind. So that is why we must always be watching the mind. And then to continue. And what sort of development of concentration, if developed and made much of, conduces to the destruction of the arts of us? Herein a monk dwells observing the rise and fall in the five aggregates of grasping. Thus, such is body, such is the arising of body, such is its vanishing, such is feeling, such is perception, such is volition, the arising of volition, the vanishing of volition. Such is consciousness, such the arising of consciousness, such the vanishing of consciousness. This month is called the development of concentration, which conduces to the destruction of the asavas. These are the four forms of it. So the last one, if you want to destroy the asavas, we should always look into the five aggregates. And what are these five aggregates? Body, First one, second one is feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. And these five things, if you break them down, it's basically two things. The first one is body, and the other four is mind, the active mind, the working mind. So, if we want to destroy the asavas to attain arahanthood, we look into our body and mind, always be observant of our body and mind. Why basically do we want to observe the body and mind? Because the Buddha said that if we have any idea about the self, the clinging to the self, the self that we cling to, what do we associate with? It's always with these two things, body and mind. We always associate with the self, with the body and mind. So that's why we should be always observing the nature of our body, how our body depends on food, how our body depends on the conditions. If the weather is too hot, we get sick. If it's too cold, we can't stand. If we don't get food, we feel weak, we feel sick. So the body needs to be sustained by food, by good conditions. In the same way, we watch the other factors of our mind, how feeling arises through contact. When there is contact through the six sense doors, feeling arises, and how it disappears also. And similarly with perception, also it needs contact at the six sense doors, then only feeling arises, followed by perception. and then volition the same way. Because of contact there is feeling, there is perception, and then there is thinking, and then you decide what to do. So all these are conditions. And same with consciousness. Consciousness arises because of our sense object and sense our sense organ and the sense object which arises at our sense organs, which makes the consciousness arise, the seeing consciousness, hearing consciousness, etc. So all these depend on conditions. So we see how they arise and pass away, arise and pass away, how they are so entirely dependent on conditions. Slowly, we try to dissociate ourselves from these five things, which are basically body and mind. So this is a sutra which talks about samadhi bhavana, development of samadhi concentration, the different types of samadhi bhavana. First one conduces to happy living. Second one conduces to winning knowledge and insight. This one is very important, how we must develop our mind is clear. And then we see things very, we have a very alert mind, not a mind that is hampered by the five hindrances. If our mind is not developed, if we don't have samadhi, it's always enveloped by the five hindrances. block us, which hinder us from seeing things as they really are. We see things as they seem to be, just like a person with dark specks. When you wear dark specks, whatever you see, the color you see, it's always a perversion. It's not the real thing. But you will swear, you know, but that is what you see. That is only what it seems to you. It's only when you remove the dark specks, dark glasses, that you see things in their correct perspective. Similarly, if we have the five hindrances, we see things not as they really are, but as they seem to be to us. Then the third one is the Samadhi Bhavana that conduces to mindfulness and well-awareness, and that is to, the practice of it is to watch the mind. And the last one, conducing to the destruction of the asavas, is to watch the five aggregates, how they arise, they pass away, how they depend on conditions. So that is quite an important sutta for people who are interested in meditation. That is why it is very important to study the suttas, to investigate the suttas if we want to meditate in the right way, because all the Buddha's instructions are in the suttas, including instructions on meditation. Now the next sutta is 4.5.49. Monks, there are these four perversions of perception, four perversions of thought, four perversions of view. What for? These perversions are called lipa-lasa in Pali. What for? To hold that in the impermanent there is permanence is a perversion of perception, thought and view. To hold that in the ill, of perception, thought, and view. To hold that in the not-self there is self, atta, is a perversion of perception, thought, and view. To hold that in the repulsive there is the attractive, subha, is a perversion of perception, thought, and view. These are the four perversions of perception, thought, and view. Monks, there are these four non-perversions of perception, thought and view. What four? To hold that in the impermanent there is impermanence, that in the ill is ill, that in the not-self is not-self, that in the repulsive is the repulsive. These are the non-perversions of perception, thought and view. This sutra concerns the three characteristics of existence, which are the impermanence, anicca, dukkha, and anatta. We have perversion of perception, thought and view. If we think that things in the world are different from these three characteristics of impermanence, dukkha and anatta. And then the last one is in the repulsive. we think that it is attractive, and this one mainly concerns like the human body, to see in another human body the attraction, especially of the opposite sex, not to see things in the right perspective. That's why sometimes the Buddha asks us to meditate on the 32 parts of the body so that we can see a body in the right perspective, not only the outside form of it, but to view the inside also with all its intestines and heart and lungs and excrement and urine and blood, etc. So, these are the four perversions.

26-AN-Book-4D-(4.5.50-to-4.7.61).txt

Now the next sutta is 4.5.50. This is also quite an important sutta. Monks, there are these four stains of moon and sun, stained by which stains moon and sun burn not, shine not, blaze not. What are the four? Cloud monks is a stain of moon and sun, fog, smoke and dust. Rahu monks is a stain of moon and sun, stain by which moon and sun burn not, shine not, blaze not. These are the four stains. I'll just stop here for a while. Here the Buddha is saying there are four things which block the moon and the sun from shining very brightly. What are the four? The first one is cloud. If there's too much cloud, it will block the sun or the moon. The second one is fog. Third one is smoke and dust, like in KL city. Now with all these smoke and dust around, and then Rahu. Who is Rahu? Rahu is one of the Asura kings, and he's supposed to be one of the largest devas, very huge Asura king. And sometimes there's a drawing of Rahu trying to swallow the moon. It shows how big Rahu is. So, because Rahu is so big, when it goes in front of the moon, it can block the moon from our sight. So it seems. So the Buddha continued, Just so, monks, there are four stains of recluses and brahmins. Stain by which some recluses and brahmins burn not, shine not, blaze not. What for? Monks, there are some recluses and brahmins who drink fermented liquor. who drink liquor distilled, who abstain not from liquor fermented and distilled. These monks is the first fault of recluses and brahmins, stained by which some recluses and brahmins burn not, shine not, blaze not. Monks, there are some recluses and brahmins who are given to things sexual, who abstain not from things sexual. This, monks, is the second stain of recluses and brahmins, stain by which some recluses and brahmins burn not, shine not, blaze not. Monks, there are some recluses and brahmins who take gold and silver. which is actually money. During the Buddha's time, money was gold and silver. Who take gold and silver, who abstain not from accepting gold and silver, these monks is the third stain, stain by which some recluses and Brahmins burn not, shine not, blaze not. Monks, there are some recluses and brahmins who live by a wrong means of living, who abstain not from a wrong livelihood. These monks is the fourth stain of recluses and brahmins, stain by which some recluses and brahmins burn, not shine, not blaze, not... This is a kind of sutra which is quite critical of certain monks. So, it is quite... won't be a very popular sutra with some monks. The first one, the Buddha is saying that monks should not take liquor, should not take fermented liquor. There are some monks who use the excuse that liquor is like a medicine and they take liquor and because of that they will stain their their monkhood, they would not be a proper monk, they would not blaze and shine like the sun and the moon. And the second one is to indulge in sexual intercourse. Some monks, they do this kind of thing secretly and so they are basically no more a monk because this is one of those things which constitute the major precept, the most heavy offense for a monk to engage in sexual intercourse, makes a monk no more a monk even though he wears the robe. The third one is not one of the major precepts, accepting money. But the Buddha did not want monks to accept money because it gives a very bad impression. And then because if monks accept money nowadays, what happens is there's a lot of false, fake monks. They go to the marketplace, they stand around wearing the robe and trying to collect money instead of trying to collect food. And sometimes they even come out at night, you hear them going to pasar malam, those night stalls, and trying to collect money. So this is all because some monks accept money directly. So it is not a good practice. It is The Buddha advised monks not to accept money directly. So this precept against money is not considered a major precept because sometimes when a monk travels, when a monk has to travel outstation, sometimes he has no choice but to carry some money if he goes overseas. So, coming back to this precept against money, the precept against money, the main point that the Buddha does not like, the reason why Buddha does not want monks to not so much to accept money, but to use money. Because if a monk uses money to buy the things that he wants to buy, then the Buddha says he can indulge in the sense pleasures. He can buy things which he wants to use to enjoy. So that is the main precept. It's not so much that a monk cannot touch money, because it is allowed in the Vinaya for a monk to touch money, Sometimes when it is necessary, for example, if lay people come to the monastery and they drop some money, it is allowed for a monk to pick up the money and put it in a corner so that to give it to the lay person another day. But it is not allowed for a monk to pick up money in the streets. You see some money dropped, $10 on the street, it's not allowed for a monk to pick it up. only inside the monastery or in a lay supporter's house. Suppose he goes to a lay supporter's house for dana, and then after that the lay supporter has to go out. So the lay supporter maybe left a ring on the table or something, and then the monk is afraid that somebody may come and pick up this ring. It's allowed for the monk to take up that ring, that gold ring or money or whatever, and put it aside, safekeeping, to return it to the lay supporter. So, as I said, it is not a major precept. So sometimes monks relax the rule when they think that it's necessary. For example, if a monk travels overseas, he might have to pay airport tax. So it's necessary to carry some money with him. But if the monk were to go around the shops, shopping, like a lay person, it creates a very bad image to the public. because especially, you see, people have a lot of respect for Theravada monks generally, because the Theravada monks are more strict with the Vinaya, and people bow down to a monk, basically because the monk upholds the precept. So that's why it is stated somewhere that the Vinaya is the lifeblood of the sasana. Without the precepts, the sasana cannot survive long. Then the last one is wrong livelihood. Wrong livelihood for a monk means to get a living through wrong means. For example, to engage in fortune-telling. to make predictions, to go and do feng shui, this jiu men xi, can tell a layperson how to arrange the house, where to put the door, and how to alter the door, and all these things. And even to act as a doctor, you know, is not allowed for a monk unless it is to close supporters, close supporters who have faith in the monk. Because if a monk were to act like a doctor, sometimes something might go wrong. And if people don't have enough faith in that monk, then they will spread a lot of bad things about the monk, which in turn affects the sasana, affects the religion. That's why the Buddha said, generally, monks are not allowed to act as doctors also. You notice in the suttas that the Buddha, even though he had psychic power, he did not go around healing people, did not go around raising the dead, because he understood that things work according to karma. And unless you understand the working of karma, there's no point to obstruct karma. Even if you're able to obstruct karma for a time, for a short time, karma has to work its way. You have to pay for the karma. If not now, another time. That's why you find sometimes some people, they have problems, they go to some medicine man or to some somebody or other trying to get a cure and sometimes they do get a temporary cure. Later that sickness comes back again because sometimes the sickness is due to karma. So the next sutta is 4.6.51. The Buddha said, monks, there are these four floods of merit, floods of things profitable, bringing happiness, giving the best things, whose fruit is happiness, leading to the heaven world, leading to what is dear, delightful and pleasant, to profit and happiness. What are the four? To him, monks, who is the giver of a robe, using which a monk is able to attain and abide in unbounded concentration of mind. To him comes a flood of merit, a flood of things profitable, bringing happiness. To him monks who is the giver of alms food, using which a monk is able to attain and abide in unbounded concentration of mind. To him comes a flood of merit, a flood of things profitable, bringing happiness. To him monks who is the giver of lodging, using which a monk is able to attain and abide in unbounded concentration of mind, to him comes a flood of merit, a flood of things profitable, bringing happiness. To him monks who is the giver of requisites and medicines for use in sickness, using which a monk is able to attain and abide in unbounded concentration of mind. To him comes a flood of merit, a flood of things profitable, bringing happiness, giving the best things, whose fruit is happiness, leading to the heaven world, leading to what is dear and delightful and pleasant, to profit and happiness. These monks are the four floods of merit, floods of things profitable. Moreover, monks, if an Aryan disciple be possessed of these four floods of things profitable, it is no easy thing to take the measure of his merit. So as to say, such and such is the extent of the flood of merit and so forth. No, it is to be reckoned as an incalculable, immeasurable, mighty mass of merit. Just as monks, it is no easy thing to take the measure of the water in the mighty ocean, so as to say, so many gallons of water, so many hundreds, so many thousands, so many hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. No, it is to be reckoned as an incalculable, immeasurable, mighty mass of merit. So in this Sutta, the Buddha is saying, if you give the requisites to a monk, and the monk uses the requisite so that he can practice and he attains unbounded concentration of mind. Then you as a supporter will get a flood of merit which is so great that it is immeasurable. How is it the Buddha is talking about a monk getting unbounded concentration of mind? Why doesn't the Buddha say wisdom? because unbounded concentration of mind leads to wisdom. That is what is implied here. The Buddha is not saying that a person gets wisdom straight away because the precondition for wisdom is unbounded concentration, deep concentration of mind. That's why concentration is always stressed by the Buddha. Elsewhere, later on we will see some other sutta where the Buddha said that the condition for wisdom is this deep concentration. Now we come to 4.6.55. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying among the Bagha, near Crocodile Haunt, at Besakala Grove, in Antelope Park. Now in the morning, the Exalted One robed Himself, and taking outer robe and bowl, set out for the dwelling of the house-father, Nakula's father. On coming there, he sat down on a seat made ready. Then the housefather, Nakula's father, and the housewife, Nakula's mother, came to see the Exalted One, and on coming to Him, paid homage and sat down at one side. So seated, the housefather, Nakula's father, said this to the Exalted One, Lord, ever since the housewife, Nakula's mother, Nakulamata, was brought home to me when a mere lad, she being then a mere girl, I am not conscious of having transgressed against her, even in thought, much less in person. Lord, we do desire to behold each other, not only in this very life, but also in the life to come. Then the housewife, Nakula Mata, said this to the Exalted One, Lord, ever since I, a mere girl, was led home to the housefather, Nakula Pitta, when I was a mere lad, I am not conscious of having transgressed against him, even in thought, much less in person. Lord, we do desire to behold each other, not only in this very life, but also in the life to come. Then the Buddha said, here in householders, if both wife and husband desire to behold each other, both in this very life and in the life to come, and both are matched in faith, matched in virtue, matched in generosity, matched in wisdom, then do they behold each other in this very life and in the life to come. This is an interesting sutra for a lot of people. These two persons, Nakula Mata and Nakula Pitta, they were supposed to have been the Buddha's parents for many, many lifetimes in the past. And they were a very perfect couple. Until very old, they were still very much in love with each other. And here they say that even from the moment they saw each other, beheld each other until very late in life. They never thought anything bad against the other person, never had any anger against the other. So they wanted to meet again in the next life. And the Buddha said, if you want to meet each other in the next life, you both must have the same, four things must be the same. First one is faith. Second one is virtue. Third is generosity. Fourth is wisdom. In other words, you have the same faith, you have the same beliefs, the same religion. The second one, you are equally matched in virtue. That means you are equally virtuous or equally evil. Third one is generosity. You are equally generous or equally selfish. And then the fourth one is wisdom, equally wise or equally foolish. Then with these four qualities, you meet again and again. So from here, you can imagine if you want to, you want the members of your family, if you love them, you want them to meet, to be with you again, you must teach them to have these four things, the same with you. So if you want to meet your children, you must teach them to follow the same religion, to have the same faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, and then to be as virtuous as you, to keep the precepts just like you, to be generous just like you, and to have wisdom just like you. So it is important, as this sutta shows, that if we love those people we love, we must teach them to walk the same path as us and then we can meet them again and again. Then the next sutra is 4.6.57. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying among the Kolians at a township of the Kolians called Sajjanela. Then the Exalted One in the morning, robing Himself and taking outer robe and bowl, approached the dwelling of Supavasa of the Kolians, and on reaching it sat down on a seat made ready. Then Supavasa of the Kolians, with her own hand, satisfied and served the Exalted One with choice food, both hard and soft. On seeing that the Exalted One had eaten His fill and had washed both hand and bowl, Supavasa of the Kolians sat down at one side. As she sat thus, the Exalted One said this to Supavasa of the Kolians, Supavasa, the Aryan woman disciple who gives food, gives four things to the receiver thereof. What for? She gives life, she gives beauty, she gives happiness, she gives strength. Moreover, giving life, she is a partaker of life, be it deva or human. Giving beauty, she is a partaker of beauty, be it deva or human. Giving happiness, giving strength, she is a partaker of it, be it as deva, or human, yes, supabhasa, the Aryan woman disciple who gives food, gives these four things to the receiver thereof. This short sutta can see that during the Buddha's time, after the lay people gave a meal to the monks, generally they gave a very short talk like in this, the Buddha only said a few lines and as thanksgiving and later maybe perhaps you know for a monk to give a short discourse every time he has a meal is after some time he runs out of ideas what to talk. So from there it's understandable how later monks started chanting Because chanting will be easier, you chant the same, chant again and again every day, instead of having to think of something to talk. And then, these four qualities, if we give food to the monk, the Buddha said, we give four things. The first one is life. These four things in Bali is called Ayu, Vano, Sukang, Balang. Sometimes you hear us do the chant, you can hear us chant Ayu, Vano, Sukang, Balang. Ayu is life because when you give food to a monk, it sustains his life so he can live longer. Second one, it gives beauty because when he has food, especially good food, the body looks better, the body is more beautiful looking, and then the third one is happiness. You give food to a monk, he's happy. And then the fourth one, it gives him strength. He takes some good food and the body becomes strong. So in the same way, the Buddha said, when you give these four things to a monk, you also will receive it. and you will receive it either in the human form or the Deva form or whatever place you are reborn, you would get these four things back. So whenever we give food, these four things we give and so it comes back to us very naturally. Now the next Sutta is 4.6.60. Now the House Father, Anathapindika, came to visit the Exalted One, paid respect etc. As he sat at one side, the Exalted One said this to him, House Father, possessed of four things, the Aryan disciple has entered on the householder's path of duty, a path which brings good repute and leads to the heaven world. What are the four? Herein, House Father, the Aryan disciple waits upon the order of monks, the Sangha of monks. He waits upon the Sangha of monks with the offer of a robe, alms food, lodging, requisites and medicines for use in sickness. These are the four things. I hear the Buddha is saying that A Buddhist disciple has a householder's duty to look after the monk and supply the monk with the four requisites. The first one is a robe, second one is alms food, third one is lodging. and the fourth one is requisites and medicine for use in sickness. So if a lay person serves the Sangha, waits upon the Sangha with these four things, he is doing his or her duty, and he will get the reward, the Buddha said, a path which brings good repute and leads to the heaven world. So if you do this householder's duty to the Sangha, it will bring a lot of merit, especially if you are virtuous and the monk is virtuous also. Now the next sutra is 4.7.61. Now the house father Anathapindika came to visit the exalted one. As he sat at one side, the exalted one said this to him. House father, there are these four conditions, desirable, which are desirable, dear, delightful, hard to win in the world. What for? The wish, O may wealth by lawful means come to me. This is the first condition. Wealth being gotten by lawful means, may good reputation attend me along with my kinsmen and teachers. This is the second condition. Wealth being gotten by lawful means and good reputation being gotten by me, along with my kinsmen and teachers, may I live long and reach a great age. This is the third condition. Then wealth being gotten, and good reputation, and long life when body breaks up, and long life when body breaks up on the other side of death, may I attain the happy born, the heaven world. This is the fourth condition. These house father are the four conditions which is desirable, dear, delightful, hard to win in the world. I'll just stop here for a while. These are the four things that lay people normally like, they wish for. The first one, that you may get a lot of wealth by lawful means. Not by unlawful means, because that will entail a lot of problems later, but to get a lot of wealth by lawful means. The second one, you wish that you would have a good reputation. The third one, may you live long. The fourth one, may you have a good rebirth. These are the four things that most people normally like. And then the Buddha said, now house father, to the winning of these four conditions, four other conditions conduce. What four? Perfection of faith, perfection of virtue, perfection of generosity, and perfection of wisdom. And what house father is the perfection of faith? Herein the Aryan disciple is faithful. He has faith in the enlightenment of the Tathagatadas. He it is, exalted one, Arhan, Samasambuddha and so forth. A Buddha is the exalted one. This house father is called perfection of faith. And what is perfection of virtue? Hearing the Aryan disciple abstains from killing, from stealing, from committing adultery, from lying. from drinking fermented liquor, which causes sloth. This is called perfection of virtue. And what is perfection of generosity? Herein the Aryan disciple lives at home with heart free from the taint of stinginess. He is open-handed, pure-handed, delighting in self-surrender, one to ask a favor from, who delights in dispensing charitable gifts. This housefather is called perfection of generosity. And what is perfection of wisdom? House Father, living with his heart overcome by coveting and wrongful desire, one does what he should not, fails to do what he should, so doing, so failing to do, he falls from good report and happiness. Living with his heart overcome by malice, by sloth and torpor, by restlessness and worry, by doubt unwavering, he does what he should not. fails to do what he should, so doing, so failing to do, he falls from good report and happiness. Now, housefather, that Aryan disciple, knowing coveting and wrong desire to be a defilement of the mind, casts out the mind's defilement of coveting and wrong desire, casts out the mind's defilement of malice, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, doubt and wavering. Now, House Father, insofar as the Aryan disciple, knowing coveting and the rest, to the defilements of the mind, is one who has cast out these defilements, this Aryan disciple is called of great wisdom, of far-spread wisdom, of clear range of vision. One perfect in wisdom. These four conditions, house father, conduce to the realization of the before said four conditions which are desirable, dear, delightful, and hard to win in the world. I'll just stop here for a while to recapitulate the four factors. The Buddha said if we want those earlier things which are desirable, there are four things that we should cultivate. The first one is faith. to have faith in the Buddha. The second one is to have virtue, meaning to keep the five precepts. The third one is to be generous, one who is open-handed, likes to give. The fourth one is perfection of wisdom. This perfection of wisdom is basically to abandon the five hindrances. To abandon the five hindrances means to get samadhi. So you see here, it's very clear that perfection of wisdom is to develop the mind, to have samadhi bhavana, so that the five hindrances are abandoned. And the five hindrances are abandoned, it's mentioned elsewhere, when we get one-pointedness of mind, when jhana is attained, and then that is the condition for wisdom. Now to continue. Now House Father, that same Aryan disciple, with the wealth acquired by energetic striving, amassed by strength of arm, won by sweat, lawful and lawfully gotten, is the doer of four deeds. What are the four? Herein, House Father, with the wealth acquired by energetic striving and so forth, the Aryan disciple makes himself happy and cheerful. He is a contriver of perfect happiness. and makes his mother and father, his children and wife, his servants and workmen, his friends and comrades, cheerful and happy. He is a contriver of perfect happiness. This house father is the first opportunity seized by him, turned to merit and fittingly made use of. Then again, house father, The Aryan disciple, with the wealth acquired by energetic striving, amassed by strength of arm, won by sweat lawful and lawfully gotten, with that wealth he makes himself secure against all misfortunes whatsoever, such as may happen by way of fire, water, the raja, a robber, an ill-disposed person, or an expectant heir. He takes steps for his defense, he makes himself secure. This housefather is the second opportunity seized by him, turned to merit, and fittingly made use of. Again, House Father, with the wealth acquired by energetic striving, lawfully gotten, the Aryan disciple is a maker of the fivefold offering, namely to relatives, to guests, to departed ghosts, to the Raja and to the Devas. This is the third opportunity seized by him, turned to merit and fittingly made use of. Then again, House Father, with the wealth acquired by energetic striving, etc., the Aryan disciple offers a gift to all such recluses and Brahmins as abstain from sloth and negligence, who are bent on kindness and forbearance, who tame the oneself, calm the oneself, cool the oneself, To such, he offers a gift which has the highest results, a gift heavenly, resulting in happiness and leading to heaven. This is the fourth opportunity seized by him, turned to merit, and fittingly made use of. So Hao's father, this same Aryan disciple, with the wealth acquired by energetic striving, lawfully gotten, etc., is a doer of these four deeds of merit. If the wealth of anyone be spent without these four deeds of merit, such wealth is called wealth that has failed to seize its opportunity, failed to win merit, unfittingly made use of. But how's farther? If the wealth of anyone be spent on these four deeds of merit, then it is called wealth that has seized its opportunity, turned to merit, and is fittingly made use of. That's the end of the sutta. Now this is a very interesting sutta for lay people especially. First, the Buddha is telling us the four things which everybody wants. Then secondly, the Buddha is saying what are the conditions that you must practice to attain what you want in the world. Then the third one, the third set of things is the Buddha is trying to tell us how to use your wealth when you have acquired wealth because All the happiness that we get in the world is actually the use of our past merit. Because of our past merit, now we have a good life. But if you keep on enjoying life, you are using up all your good karma. So it's very important to put back into your karma bank all the meritorious deeds. If you continue to do meritorious deeds, you are storing up the good karma in your karma bank. So the Buddha is telling us the first way to use your wealth in a skillful way so that you can get merit out of it is to make yourself happy. That means to enjoy life a bit and all those around you, your mother and father, wife and children, servants and workmen, friends and relatives, et cetera, you try to make all those around you, including yourself, a bit happy. Second one, you must guard yourself against misfortunes. For example, fire, water, these two maybe. Nowadays, he's buying insurance or something. And then the Raja, that means you have to be careful in those days. The Raja could seize your property. So sometimes you have to be nice to the Raja, buy him a present now and then. And then a robber, you have to take steps so that your house is not robbed. Maybe get guards or get dogs or something. And even an expectant heir, somebody wants to heir to your property. In those days, they might kill kill that person so that he can get the property. Then the third one is to make the fivefold offering to relatives, to guests, to the departed. Departed meaning you do some good deeds and you transfer merit to them. But it is mentioned elsewhere in some other sutra that they used to offer things to the departed and burn them. And then to the Raja, you have to offer to the Raja and to the Devas. Devas, like offering flowers, incense, etc. So if you do all these things, then you conserve your good karma so that you will have this, enjoy the fruits of your good karma again. It is mentioned elsewhere, there's another sutra where the Buddha said, if you want the things desirable in the world, they are not good to be got by prayers and vows. Later when we come to that sutra, I can explain more. So here, it's not by prayers and vows, but cultivating four things, faith, virtue, generosity and wisdom. And then, always remember to use your money in a wise way so that it's not wasted. Use it so that you get the benefit of it by way of merit, etc.

27-AN-Book-4E-(4.7.62-to-4.8.77).txt

And now we come to Sutta number 4.7.62 on the Book of the Fours, or Chapter of the Fours. Now the House Father Anathapindika came to visit the Exalted One. As he said at one sight, the Exalted One said this to the House Father Anathapindika. House Father, 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. What for? The bliss of ownership, the bliss of wealth, the bliss of debtlessness, the bliss of blamelessness. And what, House Father, is the bliss of ownership? In this case, 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, amassed by strength of arm, won by sweat, lawful and lawfully gotten, bliss comes to him, satisfaction comes to him. This, housefather, is called the bliss of ownership. And what is the bliss of wealth? In this case, Housefather, a clansman by means of wealth acquired by energetic striving, amassed by strength of arm, won by sweat, lawful and lawfully gotten, both enjoys his wealth and does meritorious deeds therewith. At the thought, by means of wealth at quiet, I both enjoy my wealth and do meritorious deeds. Bliss comes to him. Satisfaction comes to him. This, House Father, is called the bliss of wealth. And what is the bliss of debtlessness? In this case, 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, House Father, is called the bliss of debtlessness. And what is the bliss of blamelessness? In this case, House Father, 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. Such housefathers are the four kinds of bliss to be won by the householder who enjoys the pleasures of sense from time to time when occasion offers. That's the end of the sutta. You see, in this sutra, the Buddha said that lay people can enjoy these few things. The first two are the bliss of ownership and the bliss of wealth. They are related. Firstly, the first one, the bliss of ownership is because a person, because of energetic striving by his own sweat, he has lawfully gotten all this things that he owns. So because of that, he gets a lot of satisfaction from it. And the second one, wealth, is about the same. He also sweats for it, acquires a lot of wealth. And with his wealth, he does meritorious deeds. That's a wise man because whatever we enjoy in the world, we are digging into our bank, our bank account, our bank account of blessings. So as we enjoy life, we are using up our blessings. So it's always very important to plant back the seeds of meritorious deeds so that another day they will sprout and you will enjoy, you can enjoy the fruits of your meritorious deeds again. And that's why The Buddha always advises when you have wealth to do meritorious deeds so that you can get to enjoy it again and again. So from the first two items here, you can see very clearly that Buddha never condemned the acquiring of property and wealth. The only thing that the Buddha condemned is unwholesome actions. If we do unwholesome actions to acquire property or wealth, or use the property or wealth to do unwholesome actions, then the Buddha would condemn such actions. But if we know how to use our wealth wisely, then it is good to have wealth also. And then the third one is the bliss of debtlessness. You don't owe anybody anything and you get satisfaction from knowing that you don't owe people anything. The last one is very important, the bliss of blamelessness. If we don't have blameworthy action, we have not done something that is blamable through the three karmas of body, speech and mind, then when we are about to pass away especially, The mind is happy, it does not have a lot of remorse. That's why you find people who keep sila, keep their precepts, when they are about to pass away, their mind is not disturbed. There is no remorse in their mind. So because of that, their mind is very clear. Until the moment they pass away, their mind is very clear. Whereas if you see some other person who doesn't keep the precepts, the mind, the remorse disturbs him. Because of remorse and the thought of having done wrong, the mind becomes very restless and disturbed. And these people, they become sinal. You see that some people, sinal, even before they pass away, they are chattering nonsense words. And when they are about to pass away, they see fearful sights, you know, because they are about to be reborn into a woeful plane and all the things that consciousness conjures up in their mind are all frightening things. Whereas another person, like recently I have seen an old man in Ganga, about 81 years old, just about three weeks ago he passed away, I went to see him. He had a lot of visions, but they were good visions, pleasant visions, and he was very happy and he died very peacefully. So, coming back to this wealth, the chances of committing unwholesome actions increase when we have more wealth. It's difficult to find somebody with a lot of wealth and power who does not misuse the wealth and power. So, the only thing that can help us walk the proper path is the Dharma. That's why it's very important to have the Dhamma as our refuge. We always take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. So we have the Dhamma as our guide. There's nothing more important than understanding of life from the Dhamma. So because the Dharma teaches us to conduct ourselves well, even you have wealth also you can enjoy and still you won't make a mess of life and you will have a good rebirth even if you have a lot of wealth and enjoy this life and you go to the next life and still you enjoy because of the guidance you get from the Dharma. Now we come to another sutta, 4.7.67 Lord, a certain monk here in Savatthi has been bitten by a snake and has died. Then the Buddha said, Then monks, that monk did not suffuse with the heart of goodwill, metta, the four royal families of snakes. Had he done so, that monk would not have died of snake bite. What are the four royal families of snakes? the royal family of snakes called Birupaka, that called Erapata, that called Chabyaputa, and the royal family of snakes called Kantha Gotamaka. Monks, that monk did not suffuse with the heart of goodwill these four royal families of snakes. Had he done so, he would not have died of snakebite. Monks, for self-warding, for self-guarding, for self-protection, I do enjoin that you suffuse with the heart of goodwill these four royal families of snakes thus. Meta towards Virupaka, towards Airapata, Meta. Meta towards Kshabhyaputta, towards Kanhagottamaka. Meta. Meta towards the footless, towards the two-footed. Meta. Meta towards the four-footed, towards the many-footed. Meta. May the footless do me no harm. May not the two-footed do me harm. May the four-footed do me no harm. May not the many-footed do me harm. All creatures, all that breathe, all beings, may they all see what is auspicious. May no evil come to them. Majuless is the Buddha, Majuless the Dhamma, Majuless the Sangha. Limited are creeping things, snakes, scorpions, centipedes, spiders, lizards, and rats. Made by me is this protection. Made by me is this paritta. May those beings go away. Homage to the Exalted One. Homage to the Seven Sammasambuddhas. That's the end of the sutta. The last part that I read out to you is the paritta called the Khanda Paritta. or something like this. So this sutta is about this paritta. Now this monk, he got killed by this snake. Normally snakes don't bite us. Normally, unless they are cornered, unless they are threatened, their life is threatened, then only they bite us. For example, sometimes you walk in the dark, you don't have a torchlight, you don't know, you step on them, and then it's likely that they will bite you. And now if they bite you, how hard they bite you, how much poison goes into your blood depends on conditions. It's just like imagine, for example, you step on a dog. If it's your own dog, you step on the tail or you step on the foot. it will naturally try to bite you because it is in pain. But if it is your own dog, even though it bites you, it doesn't bite very hard. But if it's somebody else's dog you're not familiar with, you step on the tail, it will come and bite you very hard. So in the same way, how hard the snake bites you depends on whether you have metta or not. So if we have metta, we have a lot of goodwill, these snakes, they can sense also. When they bite us, it won't be very hard. That's why the Buddha said it's important to have metta. There's another sutta somewhere else also where the Buddha said if we have metta, loving kindness or goodwill towards all living beings, then wherever we go, we are not disturbed by these spirits, whether they are ghosts or devas. They won't disturb us. Because they can read our minds, they know what type of mind we have. So if we have a mind of goodwill towards all beings, it is always for our protection. So the Buddha taught his disciples to chant this Khanda Paritta. Especially if we go to lonely, secluded places. Suppose you stay in a cave where there's likely to be snakes and possibly spirits. So we chant this. This is a very, very useful paritta. It says, besides the four royal snake families, give metta towards footless beings, that means snakes, ghosts, etc., and then towards two-footed beings, like human beings, and towards four-footed beings, like dogs, etc., and then towards many-footed beings, like centipedes, scorpions, etc. Then you say, may the footless do me no harm, may not the two-footed do me harm, etc. If they are psychic, if they are spirits, when they listen to this, they know that you don't mean them any harm and you don't want also to be harmed. So it is very useful paritta for forest monks. Forest monks like to chant this paritta wherever we go, somewhere where we feel a bit afraid. And the next sutra is 4.7.70. The Buddha said, at such time monks as rajas are unrighteous or unjust, the ministers of rajas also are unrighteous. When ministers are unrighteous, brahmins and householders also are unrighteous. Thus, townsfolk and villages are unrighteous. This being so, moon and sun go wrong in their causes. This being so, constellations and stars do likewise. Days and nights, months and fortnights, seasons and years are out of joint. The winds blow wrong, out of season. Thus the devas are annoyed. This being so, the sky deva bestows not sufficient rain. Rains not falling seasonably, the crops ripen in wrong season. Monks, when crops ripen in wrong season, men who live on such crops are short-lived, ill-favored, weak and sickly. But monks, when rajas are righteous, the ministers of rajas also are righteous. When ministers are righteous, brahmins and householders also are righteous. Thus townsfolk and villages are righteous. This being so, Moon and Sun go right in their courses. This being so, constellations and stars do likewise. Days and nights, months and fortnights, seasons and years go on their courses regularly. Winds blow regularly and in due season. Thus the Devas are not annoyed, and the Sky Deva bestows sufficient rain. Rains falling seasonably, the crops ripen in due season. Monks, when crops ripen in due season, men who live on those crops are long-lived, well-favoured, strong and free from sickness. That's the end of the Sutta. So this Sutta is saying that leaders are very important. Here is Rajas. Rajas means kings. In those times we had kings. Nowadays it would be government leaders, etc. and because the actions of leaders influence those below them. In our religion, it's also the same. The leaders of our religions are our monks. So if monks set a good example, then our religion will do well. But if monks set a bad example, like a leader, then people are discouraged, people are disappointed and they don't come to the temples, etc., and then our sasana, our religion will suffer. That's why it's very important for monks and government leaders, etc., to set a good example. And the reason why people go on the wrong course, It's because of greed, hatred and delusion. If we succumb to greed, hatred and delusion, then we do wrong things. And because of our wrong actions, the devas are annoyed. When the devas are annoyed, they don't give rain when it's supposed to rain. And we can compare this sutta with another sutta which I had read some time ago about the population of the earth being very great a long time ago. And then the Buddha said now its people are very much less than before because of several reasons. One is because of great hatred and delusion. People fight and kill each other so the population decrease. Another one is the devas are annoyed. Because of the greed, hatred and delusion of human beings, they don't give rain at the proper time. And because of that, there is famine, there is starvation, so people, the population of people decrease. Another one that they had read earlier was sometimes the devas, they can let go, very fierce yakas, very fierce demons that can kill. human beings and it's only because human beings are walking the good path, greed, hatred and delusion is not so great that these higher devas, they protect us, they hold back these fierce demons, fierce yakas. But when we are too much, then they let them go and we will have to suffer. So we come to another sutta, 4.8.73. The Buddha said, monks, possessed of four things, a man is to be understood as being unworthy. What for? Herein monks, the unworthy man, even unasked, speaks out what is discreditable to another. What then would he say if asked? If, however, he is obliged to speak on being questioned, then, without reserve or equivocation, he utters this praise of another to the full and in all details. This monk is to be understood as the meaning of the saying, this worthy is an unworthy one. Then again, the unworthy one, even when asked, does not speak out what is to another's credit, much less when asked. If, however, he is obliged to speak on being questioned, then with reserve and equivocation he utters praise of another grudgingly and in brief. This monk is to be understood as the meaning of the saying, this worthy is an unworthy one. Again, monks, the unworthy one, even when asked, does not speak out what is discreditable to himself, much less does he do so when unasked. If, however, He is obliged to speak on being questioned. Then with reserve and equivocation, he utters grudgingly and in brief what is to his own discredit. This monk is to be understood as the meaning of the saying, this worthy is an unworthy one. Once more, monks, the unworthy one, even unasked, speaks out what is creditable to himself. What then does he do when asked? If, however, he is obliged to speak on being questioned, then without reserve or equivocation he sings his own praises to the full and in all details. This monk is to be understood as the meaning of the saying, is worthy is an unworthy one. Thus, possessed of these four things, one is to be understood as an unworthy one. And vice versa for a worthy person. So, in this sutta, the Buddha is saying that a worthy person is one who is too quick to speak ill of another's faults, and is not ready to speak well of another's good qualities. But of his own, if he has faults, he's always trying to hide his faults. And if he's got some good points, he'll blow his own trumpet. That is an unworthy person. But one thing we must know that there is a difference in seeing what is wrong and talking bad about someone on a personal level. There is a difference between pointing out what is right and what is wrong on an impersonal level and speaking bad about somebody on a personal level. There is a difference. For example, in one of the earlier suttas we read, In the Anguttara Nikaya 1.11.1, the Buddha said, what is not Dhamma should be pointed out as not Dhamma. If somebody teaches something which is not according to the Dhamma, and he claims that it is according to the Dhamma, and we know that it is not according to the Dhamma, then we should point it out that it is not according to the Dhamma. Otherwise, it will harm many people if they learn the wrong Dhamma. If we point out what is right Dhamma and what is wrong Dhamma, It will benefit many people. A little later, we will see another sutra, Gautama Nikaya 4.100, where the Buddha talked about four kinds of person. One person speaks in displace of what deserves not praise, but does not speak in praise of what deserves praise. 2. He speaks in praise of what deserves praise, but not in dispraise of what deserves not praise. 3. He speaks neither in dispraise of what deserves not praise, nor in praise of the praiseworthy. 4. He speaks both in dispraise of what deserves not praise, and in praise of what is praiseworthy. And the Buddha asked somebody, of these four types of person, which is the best? And then this person gave an answer, but the Buddha did not agree. And then the Buddha said, the best person is one who speaks in dispraise of what deserves not praise, and in praise of what is praiseworthy. In other words, what is What should be dispraised, he dispraises. What should be praised, he praises. The Buddha said that is the most admirable person because he talks very straight. He discriminates on the proper occasion. So, we have to know there's a difference between being personal and telling facts. Now the next futile is 4.8.74 But this sutra is a little bit more for monks. The Buddha said, just as monks, when a young wife is first led home to her husband, either by day or night, she at first feels exceeding great fear and bashfulness in the presence of her mother-in-law, her father-in-law, her husband, and even towards servants and work people. But as time goes on, owing to living together and intimacy, She addresses mother-in-law, father-in-law and husband thus, away with you, what do you know? Just in like manner monks, a certain monk here, maybe when he first goes forth, whether by day or night, from the home to the homeless life, feels exceeding great fear and bashfulness in the presence of monks and nuns. disciples, male and female, even of novices who serve in the monastery. But as time goes on, owing to living together and intimacy, He addresses teacher and preceptor thus, Away with you! What do you know? Wherefore, monks, thus must you train yourselves. I will dwell in mine like a young wife newly arrived. That is how you must train yourselves. In this sutra, we can see that the tradition in India is that when a man and woman marry, the wife goes to live with the husband's family. That's the Indian tradition. So the Buddha is saying when a new wife is brought to the home of the husband, she's very shy, very scared. But later, after many years, she becomes very arrogant. It's possible. So in the same way, the Buddha said a new monk, when he first goes forth, he might be very scared of the superiors, scared of the teacher, acarya and the preceptor, upajaya. But later he becomes arrogant and he talks very coarse with them. So the Buddha said this shouldn't be, that monks should always behave as though he's a young wife, like just the simile of the young wife newly arrived, and must be respectful to the superior monks. But in a way, this sutta can also be applied to lay people, the simile of the wife newly married, somebody who's newly married, and after many years, should not be arrogant, Now we come to the next sutra, 4.8.77. The Buddha said, monks, there are these four unthinkables, not to be thought of, thinking of which one would be distraught and come to grief. What are the four? Of Buddhas, monks, the range is unthinkable, not to be thought of. Of one who is in jhāna, monks, the range of his jhāna is unthinkable, not to be thought of. The result of karma, monks, is unthinkable, not to be thought of. World speculation, monks, is unthinkable, not to be thought of, thinking of which one would be distraught and would come to grieve. These monks are the four unthinkables, thinking of which one would be distraught and would come to grieve. That's the end of the sutta. Yes, just now the sutta, the Buddha said there are four things we should not think about, should not think too much about. The first one is the range of a Buddha. Range of a Buddha possibly could mean the power of a Buddha, the ability of a Buddha. It's hard to fathom the power of a Buddha. No need to speculate about it, the Buddha said. Second one is jhāna, the range of jhāna. This one's a bit hard to understand, the depth of jhāna or something like that. The third one is the result, the vipaka of karma. Karma is intentional action. And to speculate, On the karma, it's very difficult, the Buddha said, to think about karma. Very hard to explain karma, because karma involves many, many lifetimes. Past lifetimes we have not seen, so sometimes Some people, they find it a bit difficult sometimes to believe that there's such a thing as karma. Why? Because they say a person, a particular person has done a lot of evil, yet in spite of being an evil person, he's enjoying life. And this is one of those things because we haven't seen his past karma. In the past, he might have done a lot of good. People can change, you know. People often change. For example, a person when he's poor, he's very hardworking, very humble, and all the good qualities you can find because he's low in life. But later when he comes into a lot of money, becomes a very, very rich multimillionaire, I see that person will change, will change a lot, can become very arrogant. can be changed in many many ways so that you see the former person and the new person look like two different persons all together. So that's why That's why it's very hard to see that a person, you see him doing evil, but in the past he might have been a very virtuous person. That's why he's enjoying life, having a lot of good vipaka, good fruits of karma. So the Buddha said the result of karma, don't speculate too much about karma. The fourth one is world speculation. about the future of the world is something that Buddha said no point to think about. Things happen that are quite unexpected, like people never expected USSR, Soviet Union to break up. Such a big world power suddenly broke up. People like Princess Diana suddenly dying.

28-AN-Book-4F-(4.8.79-to-4.10.93).txt

Now we come to sutra number 4.8.79 Now the Venerable Sariputta came to visit the Exalted One. As he sat at one side, the Venerable Sariputta said this to the Exalted One. Pray, Lord, what is the reason, what is the cause, why such and such a trait, practiced by some person, turns out a failure? Again, Lord, what is the reason, what is the cause, why such and such a trait, practiced by some person, does not turn out as he intended? Pray, Lord, what is the reason why such and such a trait turns out as he intended? Again, Lord, what is the reason, what is the cause why such and such a trait practiced by some person prospers beyond his intention? And then the Buddha said, In this matter, Sariputta, suppose someone comes to a recluse or Brahmin and makes him an offer, saying, Sir, say what you want by way of support. but he does not give him what he offered. If this man diseases from that life and returns to this sort of life, whatever trade he may practice, it turns out a failure. Again, in this matter, Sariputta, suppose someone comes to a recluse or brahmin and makes him an offer, saying, Sir, say what you want by way of support. but he does not give him what he intended to give. Then, if this man desceases from that life and returns to this sort of life, whatever trade he may practice, it does not turn out as he intended. Then again, Sariputta, suppose someone comes to a recluse or brahmin and makes him a similar offer and gives him what he intended to give, then if this man desceases and comes back, to the human world, whatever trade he may practice turns out as he intended. Once more, Sariputta, suppose someone comes to a recluse or Brahmin and makes him a similar offer and gives him more than he intended to give, then if this man diseases from that life and returns to this sort of life, whatever trade he may practice, it prospers beyond his intention. This Sariputta is the reason, this is the cause, why such and such a trade, practiced by some person, turns out a failure, or does not turn out as he intended, or does turn out as he intended, or prospers beyond his intention. That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is talking about this person who does trade, that means he opens some business, And when he opens, he does some business, he has some expectation of a certain profit that he hopes to make, or he thinks that he should make a certain profit. But the result can come out four ways. One is it turns out a miserable failure, maybe becomes bankrupt. Second one, Maybe he expects to make, say for example, $100 a month, but he does not make as much as he intended. Maybe he gets only $50 a month. He expected to get $100, but he got only $50. That's the second case. The third case is he expects to make $100 a month and he actually makes $100 a month as the third case. The fourth case is even though he expects to make $100 a month, he might make $200 a month. So this is quite a Quite a valid thing in life. You see, sometimes two shops on the same road, on the same street, selling the same goods. One shop might do very well, another shop might not do well. Or sometimes somebody opens a shop and then it goes bankrupt. And then he sells off the shop, another person comes back, and a second person comes, takes over the same shop, and maybe does the same business, and then he prospers. See, each person's karma is different. So the reason the Buddha said is because of somebody promising to give something, And whether he gives or not, there are four possibilities. The first one, he says he intends to give something to a virtuous recluse or Brahmin, that means a renunciant, a monk. He says he promises to give something, and then in the end, he does not give anything at all. So the result of that is when karma ripens, in the same way he does a business, he intends to make something, he doesn't make anything, he goes bankrupt. So the second case is a person promises to give something to a virtuous monk, and then he gives less than what he promised to give. So the result is that when he does the business, he also gets less than what he intended to get. The third one, he promised something and he gave exactly what he promised. So when he does the business, the returns is also exactly what he expected. The fourth one, he said he wanted to give something but he gave much more. to the virtuous monk, he gave much more than he intended to give. So in the same way, when he does, in a later life, when he does business, then he gets much more profit than he thought he was going to get. So this sutta shows that we should not be careless with our words and our promises. Perhaps if you make a promise to a person who is not virtuous, who is not maybe has a lot of bad karma, then the result won't be so bad for you. But if you're dealing with a virtuous person, you have to be very careful because if you do wrong to a virtuous person, then the fault, your karma is much worse than if to an ordinary person. The next sutra is 4.9.85. The Buddha said, monks, these four persons are found existing in the world. What for? He who is in darkness and bound for darkness. He who is in darkness but bound for light. He who is in light but bound for darkness. And he who is in light and bound for light. And how amongst is a person in darkness bound for darkness? In this case, a certain person is born in a low family, the family of a scavenger, or a hunter, or a basket weaver, or wheelwright, or sweeper, or in the family of some wretched man, hard put to find a meal or earn a living, where food and clothes are hard to get. Moreover, he is ill-favored, ugly, dwarfish, sickly, half-blind, crooked, lame or paralyzed, with hardly any food. without clothes, vehicle, without perfumes or flower garlands, bed, dwelling, or lights. He lives in the practice of doing evil with body, speech, and mind. And so doing, when body breaks up after death, he is reborn in the waste, the woeful plains, the downfall, in hell. Thus monks is the person who is in darkness and bound for darkness. and how monks is a person in darkness but bound for light. In this case, a certain person is born in a low family, the family of a scavenger or a hunter or a basket weaver, et cetera, et cetera, as before. He lives in the practice of doing good with body, speech, and mind. And so doing, when body breaks up after death, he is reborn in the happy lot in the heaven world. And how, monks, is a person in light but bound for darkness? In this case, a certain person is born in a high family, a family of wealthy nobles, or a family of wealthy brahmins, or of wealthy householders, in a family that is rich, exceedingly rich, of great possessions, with the support of abounding wealth, in a family that abounds in wealth of crops. And that man is well built, comely and charming, possessed of supreme beauty of form. He is one able to get clothes, vehicle, perfumes and flower garlands, bed, dwelling and lights. But he lives in the practice of doing evil with body, speech and thought. So doing, when body breaks up after death, he is reborn in the waste, the woeful plains, the downfall, in hell. Thus monks is the person who is in light but bound for darkness. And how monks is a person who is in light and bound for light? In this case, a person is born in a high family. A family of wealthy nobles, or a family of wealthy Brahmins, or of wealthy householders, in a family that is rich, exceedingly rich, of great possessions, etc., etc. He lives in the practice of doing good with body, speech, and mind. So doing, when body breaks up after death, he is reborn in the happy lot in the heaven world. Thus monks is one who is in light and bound for light. These monks are the four persons found existing in the world. So in this Uttara you see there are different kinds of people in this world. There are some who are, because of bad karma, they are born in a low family, where life is difficult, and physically also they look ugly, and they hardly get food, etc. And in spite of that, because they don't know the Dhamma, nobody taught them the Dhamma, they do evil. They're having a bad life, and still they do evil. And because of that, go down to the woeful planes, the three woeful planes, the animal realm or ghost or hell. But the second type of person, he's born to a poor family, despised, etc. But he, because of good conditions, he does good karmas of body, speech and mind. So because of doing good, he is perhaps, he comes across the Dhamma and the Dhamma teaches him to live a righteous life, a good life. So he does good karma and after that he is born in heaven or at least in the human realm or something, which is in a better condition than before. Then the third one is a person in light but bound for darkness. That means a person who's born to a rich family and then he's also endowed with good physical features. He's healthy, strong, and good-looking, etc. But he does evil. and just evil deeds. And this is quite common. People who have come from a rich family, they have power, they have money, and they misuse it, try to enjoy life too much, get the most out of life, and so later they'll have to suffer, go to the woeful plains. But the fourth one is extremely good. He's got good karma, born in a good family, and he takes the trouble to study the Dhamma, listen to the suttas, and so he guides himself on the right course. He uses his wealth to do meritorious deeds. So he's planting the good karma so that the next life he'll be reborn into a very good life again. So we have to remember the sutra which I read earlier also, where the Buddha said a few human beings will come back to the human plane or be born into the deva realm. Most human beings, when we pass away, most of us may be 70-80% of human beings will be born into the woeful planes. But that figure is just a speculation. Will be born to the woeful planes. And not many will be reborn in the human realm and the deva realm. So because of that, we have to be very careful. Don't live an ordinary life like most people. Don't be an ordinary person because the ordinary person doesn't get a good rebirth. We have to get a good Make the best out of life, and then you'll get a good rebirth. Make the best out of life, not meaning sensual enjoyment, but in the dharma sense. Now we come across a sutra. It's a bit technical. It's got to do about meditation. 4.9.87. Monks, these four persons are found existing in the world. What four? The unshaken recluse, the blue lotus recluse, the white lotus recluse, and the recluse who is exquisite among recluses. And how monks is a person an unshaken recluse? Hurin monks, a monk is a pupil, one who has entered the way. He dwells aspiring for the unsurpassed rest from the toil, just like a Raja's eldest son, a noble duly anointed, one who is not yet anointed and has not come to security. Even so, monks is the pupil who has entered the way, one who dwells aspiring for the unsurpassed rest from the toil. I'll stop a while here to explain this one. This unshaken recluse refers to an Arya, one who has attained one of the eight stages of Aryahood, so he is unshaken, he'll never fall into the woeful plains. And how monks is a person the blue lotus recluse? Herein a monk, by destroying the asavas, has reached the release by mind, the release by wisdom that is free from the asavas, and having realized it, abides therein. Yet does he not abide, experiencing with his own person the eight deliverances? That's the second person. I stop here just to explain. The second person is an arahant. He has destroyed the asavas. But he is an Arahant who does not experience the eight deliverances. Later I will explain the eight deliverances. And to continue the sutta, the Buddha said, thus monks is a person, a blue lotus recluse. And how monks is a person, a white lotus recluse. Herein a monk, by destroying the asavas, has reached the release by mind, the release by wisdom that is free from the asavas, and having realized it, abides therein. And abides experiencing with his own person the eight deliverances. I'll stop here a while. The white lotus is also an arahant, just like the blue lotus recluse. The white lotus recluse is an arahant, but he experiences the eight deliverances. The blue lotus, the second one, is an arahant, but he does not experience the eight deliverances. The white lotus recluse experiences the eight deliverances. Then the fourth one. And how monks, is a person a recluse exquisite among recluses? Herein a monk, when invited, enjoys a plentiful supply of robes, but he gets little if uninvited. So also as regards alms, food and lodging, if invited, he enjoys a plentiful supply of requisites and medicines for use in sickness, but he gets little if uninvited. With whatsoever fellows in the holy life he dwells, their behaviour towards him in action of body, speech and mind is generally pleasing, rarely displeasing. Moreover, their presence to him are generally pleasing, rarely displeasing. Again, as to those afflictions which originate from bile, phlegm, wind, from the union of bodily humors, from changes of seasons, from stress of circumstances, from personal assaults, or from the ripeness of one's karma, such do not trouble him much. He is free from sickness. As to the four jhanas which belong to the higher mind and lead to happy living in this very life, he is a winner of them at will, without difficulty and without trouble. By destroying the asavas, he reaches the release by mind, the release by wisdom, himself comprehending it, this very life, and having attained it, he abides therein. Thus monks is a person exquisite among recluses. Now monks, if rightly speaking one would speak of the recluse exquisite among recluses, it is just of me that he would rightly use the words. For I monks, when invited, enjoy a plentiful supply of robes, etc., etc. So these monks are the four persons found existing in the world. So I'll stop here for a while to say that's the end of this sutta. But this sutta has been used by some monks to say that there is a type of arahant who attains liberation without the jhanas. And the reason they quote this is because of the blue lotus recluse. Because here it is said that the blue lotus recluse is an arahant who does not experience the 8 deliverances. Now what are the 8 deliverances? The 8 deliverances are explained in Agutra Nikaya 8.7.66. And the 8 deliverances are called the 8 vimokkha. The first one, the first deliverance, that person is conscious of body and he sees forms. He's conscious of his body and he sees forms. The second one, personally unconscious of body, that means he's not conscious of his own body, and he sees forms exterior to himself. The second one, he sees forms exterior to himself. Third deliverance is thinking it is beautiful, his intent, on that abiding. The fourth one abides in the sphere of infinite space. The fifth abides in the sphere of infinite consciousness. The sixth in the sphere of nothingness. The seventh in the sphere of neither perception or non-perception. And the eighth is the cessation of perception and feeling. So you see, the number four, five, six, seven, and eight refers to the Arupajanas. And finally, the cessation. Now there are some monks who use this sutra and say that the first three deliverance It's equivalent to the four jhanas. It's equivalent to the four jhanas, because they think that without the four jhanas, you cannot obtain this being conscious of body. It sees form externally, and sees form internally, and sees form externally, and abides in the beautiful, et cetera. But this is incorrect. When you compare it to another sutta, which is a few suttas down the book, The next sutra I'm going to read is 4.9.89. The Buddha said, monks, these four persons are found existing in the world. What four? The unshaken recluse, the blue lotus recluse, the white lotus recluse, and the recluse who is exquisite among recluses. Now, the first one, the Buddha said, How monks is a person an unshaken recluse? Hearing, a monk is of right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Thus, a person is an unshaken recluse. And how monks is a person a blue lotus recluse? Hearing, a monk is one of right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration, and also right knowledge and right release or right liberation. Yet does he not abide experiencing with his own person the eight deliverances? Thus a person is a blue lotus recluse. And how much is a person a white lotus recluse? Similarly, he has Right View, all the Eight Factors of the Iron Eightfold Path, plus Right Knowledge and Right Release. And he abides experiencing with his own person the Eight Deliverances. This is the White Lotus Recluse. And then the Recluse Exquisite among recluses is As Before. That means this monk, he gets a plentiful supply of robes, etc., etc., and it's also an arahant. Now when you compare this sutta with the previous one, you find that the first one, the unshaken recluse, he has the eight factors of the unenfold path, but he does not have the other two, right knowledge and right release. That means unshaken recluse is an ariya, but not an arahant, just like earlier one. But the blue lotus recluse here, you can see he has all the ten factors. The 8th factor of the Aryan Eightfold Path plus right knowledge and right release, that means he is an Arahant. But he does not experience the 8 Deliverances also. He does not experience the 8 Deliverances. That means he is the same as the earlier Blue Lotus recluse. But here it is spelled out that he has all the eight factors of the Aryan Eightfold Path, which means that he has got Right Concentration. And Right Concentration is always defined in the suttas as the four jhanas or one-pointedness of mind. So it is clear from this sutta, 89, that The eight deliverances does not include the four jhanas. This is the mistake made by some monks. They did not see this sutta. They only saw the earlier one, Sutta 87, and they say that the blue lotus recluse there is an Arahant who does not experience the Eight Deliverances, therefore he does not have the Four Jhanas. But in this Sutta 18.9, it is clear that the Blue Lotus Recluser has all the Eight Factors of the Aryan Eightfold Path, plus Right Knowledge and Right Release, and still he does not experience the Eight Deliverances. Which means that the Eight Deliverances has nothing to do with the Four Jhanas. Although it has got to do with the Arupajanas, it does not have anything to do with the Rupajanas. So it is very important when we study the suttas, to study many suttas and compare them. Then only you can get the right view. If you just take one sutta or two suttas, it's very difficult to understand. For example, Satipatthana. You cannot just take Satipatthana The Maha Satipatthana Sutta, study that sutta and think you know all about Satipatthana. Because there's a lot of suttas on the Satipatthana in the Samyutta Nikaya. There's one chapter devoted only to Satipatthana. It's called the Satipatthana Samyutta. And there, if you want to understand about Satipatthana, you have to read that Samyutta. So many suttas there explains Satipatthana from different angles. Then you have a right view. So in the same way here, it's very clear that this blue lotus in the second sutta He does not have the 8 Deliverances, does not experience the 8 Deliverances, but he has Right Concentration, one of the factors of the Aryan Eightfold Path, which means that he has got the Jhanas, the Rupa Jhanas. So there is nowhere in the suttas which talks about dry vision arahant. Never mentioned in the suttas about a dry vision arahant. It's something that's only found in the commentaries, the later books. In our suttas, the Buddha said very clearly, In one of the sutras I read earlier, that Sotapanna and Sakadagami, the first two fruition persons, they have perfect sila. Anagami has got perfect sila and samadhi. That means anagami must have the jhanas. And the arahant has got perfect sila, samadhi and pannaya. Which means all arahants have perfect sila, samadhi and pannaya. That means all arahants have perfect samadhi which is the jhanas. And there's nowhere in the suttas you can find anywhere there the Buddha said you can attain arahanthood without the jhana, one-pointedness of mind. Now we've come to Sutta number 4.10.93. The Buddha said, monks, these four persons are found existing in the world. What for? Here in monks, a certain person is one who gains tranquilization of the mind internally. but does not gain the higher wisdom from contemplation of states. Hearing again, monks, a certain person is one who gains the higher wisdom from contemplation of states, but does not gain tranquilization of the mind internally. Hearing again, monks, a certain person is one who gains neither of these things. Yet again, a certain person is one who gains both. These four persons are found existing in the world. Then monks, he who gain tranquilization of the mind, but not the higher wisdom from contemplation, should make an effort to establish the one and attain the other. Then at some future time, he is one who has gained both of these things. Then monks, he who has gained the higher wisdom from contemplation, but not tranquilization of the mind, should make an effort to establish the one and attain the other. Then at some future time, he is one who has gained both. Then monks, he who has gained neither tranquilization of the mind nor the higher wisdom from contemplation, should put forth intense desire, effort, exertion, impulse, unobstruction, mindfulness and attention for the attainment of those profitable states. Just as monks, when one's turban or head is ablaze, for the extinguishing thereof, one must put forth intense desire, effort, exertion, impulse, unobstruction, mindfulness, and attention. Even so, must that person put forth intense desire and etc., etc., for the attainment of those profitable states. then at some future time he is one who has gained both tranquilization of the mind internally and the higher wisdom from contemplation of states. So monks, he who has gained both these things should make an effort to establish just those profitable states and further to destroy the asavas. These monks are the four persons found existing in the world. This sutta is concerned with meditation. And here you find there are two things that the Buddha says should be developed. One is tranquilization of the mind, which in Pali is called samatha. And the other one is contemplation or vipassana. Sometimes people translate vipassana as insight or wisdom, but that is not correct because from here you can see, this is one of the suttas where it says, the higher wisdom from contemplation, that means contemplation will lead to the wisdom. So vipassana will lead to wisdom or insight. So vipassana is not insight or wisdom, but vipassana is contemplation. And these are the two things that we have to do when we meditate. One is tranquilization of the mind, the other one is contemplation to give us the insight or the wisdom. So there are four types of persons here. The first one is a person who has gained tranquillisation, samatha, but he has not gained the wisdom from contemplation. Second one, he has gained the wisdom from contemplation, but not tranquillisation of the mind. and the third one is one who has neither of these two things, and the fourth one is one who has both of these things. And from here, you can see, the Buddha says that if a person has tranquilization, he should make an effort to establish the tranquilization, to make it stable, to make it strong, and to attain the other that he has not attained, that is to attain the wisdom from contemplation. In the second case, one who has the wisdom from contemplation but not tranquillisation, he should make an effort to establish his wisdom from contemplation and to attain tranquillisation also. So in the third case, he should put forth an effort to attain both tranquillisation as well as contemplation, the wisdom from contemplation. One thing you note here is that the tranquilization has to be established. That means it is not perfect yet. And same with contemplation. The wisdom from contemplation here is not the perfect wisdom that will make that person an arahant. So the Buddha says he has to establish it or to attain it. Samatha here, Samatha is tranquilization leads to Samadhi and Vipassana or contemplation leads to Pannaya. Sometimes people nowadays tend to say that there's such a thing as Vipassana Jhana, but Vipassana Jhana is actually Kanika Samadhi, and it's contemplation of one object after another. So it is actually contemplation. It is not Samadhi. And it is not the Buddha Samadhi because We note that vipassana, or what they call vipassana jhana, is contemplation of one state after another, and that is vipassana. But samatha is the tranquilization of the mind from contemplating one object, and that leads to one-pointedness of mind, samadhi. That's why we find, for example, in the Aryan Eightfold Path, you have sati plus samadhi, and they are two different factors. They are not one factor. The seventh factor is right mindfulness. This is contemplation that is vipassana practice, and that leads to right samadhi. And it is very important to note that these two are two factors. It's not one factor. It's always separate. Vipassana or the mindfulness is one factor, whereas samadhi is the ability to put the mind on one thing only and let it stay on that one thing. So that's why in a sutra like this, it's quite clear that you have to develop both things, the tranquilization as well as the contemplation. And we can understand From the last part, you see that they have to develop both these things and after these two are attained, he has to make a further effort to establish these two states and use it to destroy the Asavas. There's one sutra later on we'll come across, Anguttara Nikaya 4.170, where Venerable Ananda says there are four ways to attain Arahanthood, only four ways. The first one is to practice Samatha first, followed by Vipassana. The second is Vipassana first, followed by Samatha. The third is Samatha and Vipassana at the same time. The fourth is contemplation of the Self. and that leads to one-pointedness of mind and that leads to attainment of arahanthood from further contemplation. So you find that all these ways has both the elements of samatha as well as vipassana.

29-AN-Book-4G-(4.10.94-to-4.12.111).txt

Now we come to the next sutta. This one is about the same, 4.10.94. It's almost the same as the previous one, except that it explains that... I'll just read a part here. How are the... How are the conditioners to be regarded? How are the conditioners to be understood? How are the conditioners to be seen into? This is a person who has attained tranquilization of the mind, but not the wisdom from contemplation. And if he has not attained the wisdom from contemplation, he should approach one who has done so and ask him this question. How are the conditioners to be regarded? How are the conditioners to be understood? How are the conditioners to be seen into? So you see from here that when the higher wisdom from inside It's meant the understanding of the Sankaras. Sankara here is translated as conditioner. Conditioners are those things which condition some other things. They are also conditioned things. Everything in the world are conditioned as well as conditioners. So, like body is a conditioned thing, it is also a conditioner. Feelings, perception, volition, consciousness, these are all sangharas, conditioners. And so, they have to be understood to get the insight into the states. And that's all I need to say about this sutra. And the next sutra is 4.10.95. The Buddha said, monks, these four persons are found existing in the world. What four? He who is bent neither on his own profit nor on the profit of another. He who is bent on another's profit but not on his own. he who is bent on his own profit, not another's, and he who is bent on the profit both of himself and of another. Just as monks, a firebrand from a funeral pyre, blazing at both ends and in the middle smeared with dung, serves no purpose as fuel in village or as timber in forest, using such a figure do I speak of this person who is bent neither on his own profit nor on another's. Then monks, this person who is bent on another's prophet but not his own, is more excellent and exalted of these two persons. Again monks, this person who is bent on his own prophet, not another's, is more excellent and exalted of these three persons. Whereas he who is bent on the profit both of self and of another is of these four persons chief and best, topmost, highest and supreme. Just as monks, from a cow comes milk, from milk cream, from cream butter, from butter ghee, from ghee the skimmings of ghee, and that is reckoned the best. Even so, this person who is bent on his own profit as well as on the profit of another, is of these four persons chief and best, topmost, highest and supreme. These four persons monks are found existing in the world. This sutta refers to the spiritual path because the next sutta, sutta number 96, explains that a person bent on his own profit, not on another's profit, is a person who practices the restraint of passion, hatred and delusion, but does not encourage another person to practice the restraint of passion, hatred and delusion. So you can see that this sutta is concerned with the spiritual path. And you notice the first one, he's bent neither to his own profit or on another's profit. That means he does not cultivate himself and does not encourage another person to cultivate himself. This is a useless person. This is like a piece of wood from a funeral pyre that's already smoking and burning. It can't be used as fuel and it also cannot be used as timber. Then the second person is slightly better. The second person is bent on another's profit but not on his own. That means he encourages another person to cultivate himself, but he does not cultivate his own self. He's slightly better. And the third person, who is even better, is a person who is bent on his own profit but not another's. That means he cultivates himself, but he does not encourage another person to improve himself. And the best is the person who cultivates himself as well as encourages other people to improve themselves spiritually. So from this sutta you find an interesting point here is that the second person is the one who is bent on another's profit but not of his own is is lower than the person who is bent on his own profit, but not another's. In other words, the Buddha is saying that if we practise the spiritual path ourselves, but not encourage others to practise, this is better than another person who does not practise to cultivate himself, but he encourages other people to practice. Why? Because this is something that some people find difficult to understand, because some people, they have the idea that a person who cultivates himself, for example, a person who meditates, stays alone to meditate, that he's selfish. Whereas another person who is helping other people, but not himself, he is better. But in the Buddha's teaching, this is not so. Because basically, most people, love ourselves the most of all the persons in the world because of our ego. There's nobody we are more concerned with than the self. This is pointed out in another sutra later, we'll come across. So if we say that we are only concerned with other people's good, but not of ourselves, and trying to think to go around helping other people, but not yourself, then in a way you are kind of bluffing yourself, because there's no person more important to you than your own self. And we have to recognize this. So if we cultivate ourselves, then later we can help other people also. But of course, if we can do both, that is the very best. Now we come to another sutra, 4.10.100. Potala, the wanderer, came to visit the exalted one, and on coming to him greeted him courteously, etc., sat down to one side, etc. As he sat at one side, the exalted one said this to Potala, the wanderer, Putalia, these four persons are found existing in the world. What for? Here in Putalia, a certain person speaks in dispraise of what deserves not praise, seasonably saying what is a fact and true, but he does not speak in praise of what deserves praise in like manner. Again, Portalia, a certain person speaks in praise of what deserves it, but not in dispraise of what deserves not praise, saying seasonably what is a fact and true. Yet again, Portalia, a certain person speaks neither in dispraise of what deserves not praise, nor in praise of the praiseworthy, saying seasonably what is a fact and true. Once more, Potalia, a certain person speaks both in dispraise of what deserves not praise, and in praise of what is praiseworthy, saying seasonably what is a fact and true. These, Potalia, are the four persons found existing in the world. Now, Potalia, of these four, which person, in your view, is to be accounted most admirable and rare? And then Pratalia said, Of these four persons, Master Gautama, he who speaks neither in dispraise of what deserves not praise, nor in praise of the praiseworthy, saying seasonably what is a fact and true, this person, in my view, is to be accounted most admirable and rare of these four. Why so? Because, Master Gautama, his indifference is admirable. And the Buddha said, Now, Prataya, these four persons found existing in the world, of these four persons, Prataya, I maintain that he who speaks in dispraise of what deserves not praise, and in praise of what is praiseworthy, saying seasonably what is a fact and true, he is the most admirable and rare. Why so? Because, Pratalia, his discrimination of proper occasions is admirable." And Pratalia said, Well, Master Gautama, These four persons are found in the world. Of these four, Master Gautama, he who speaks in this praise of what deserves not praise, and in praise of the praiseworthy, saying seasonably what is a fact and true, he, as you say, is the most admirable and rare. Why so? Because Master Gautama, his discrimination of proper occasions is admirable. It is excellent, Master Gautama. It is wonderful, Master Gautama. Just as if, Master Gautama, one should raise the fallen, or show forth the hidden, or point the way to him that wanders astray, or hold up a light in the darkness so that they who have eyes may see objects. Even so, in diverse ways has Dhamma been set forth by the worthy Gautama. I do go for refuge to the worthy Gautama. May the worthy Gautama accept me as a lay disciple from this day forth, as long as life lasts, as one who has gone to him for refuge. This is quite an interesting sutta. about these four persons. One, he speaks in dispraise of what is bad, what is blameable. He says it is blameable. But what is praiseworthy, he does not praise. That's the first one. Second one, he gives praise to what deserves praise. but he does not put blame on what is blamable. And the third one, he neither praises or blames. And the fourth one, he both blames what deserves blame and praises what deserves praise. Of these four, the Buddha says the last one is most admirable. Sometimes people may have a different opinion. If you did not study this sutra, sometimes you would think, oh, it is good to praise somebody if he deserves praise. But if he is blameworthy, we should not blame him. We should not say bad, not talk bad about somebody. But here the Buddha is saying that we should speak very straightforwardly. What is true, what is worthy of praise, we praise. What is worthy of blame, we blame. But however, we must consider very carefully whether what is our motive in speaking. Is it a good motive or is it a bad motive? Is it going to do any harm to yourself or is it going to do any harm to another person? and whether we are speaking at the right time, etc. So these are the certain things we should consider when we praise or we blame. But the Buddha is trying to tell us that it is good to speak straight. Then another sutta is 4.11.101. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Savatthi at Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's park. Then the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying, ''Monks.'' ''Yes, Lord,'' replied those monks to the Exalted One. The Exalted One said this, ''Monks, there are these four rain clouds.'' ''What four?'' ''The thunderer, not the rainer.'' ''The rainer, not the thunderer.'' the neither thunderer nor rainer, the both thunderer and rainer. These are the four. In like manner amongst, these four persons resembling rain clouds are to be found existing in the world. What four? The thunderer not the rainer, the rainer not the thunderer, the neither thunderer nor rainer, the both thunderer and rainer. These are the four. Now monks, how is a person a thunderer but no rainer? In this case, monks, a person speaks but acts not. Thus he is one who thunders but rains not. Just as that cloud thunders but rains not, so using this figure do I speak of this person. And how, monks, is a person a rainer but no thunderer? In this case, monks, a person is one who acts but speaks not. Thus he is one who rains but thunders not. Just as that cloud. Using this figure do I speak of this person. And how, monks, is a person one who is neither thunderer nor rainer? In this case, a person neither speaks nor acts. Thus, he is neither Tantra nor Reina. And how monks is a person both Tantra and Reina. In this case, a person both speaks and acts. Thus, he is both Tantra and Reina. So, these are the four persons found existing in the world. This is one of the suttas where you can see the Buddha, even when he's speaking Dhamma, he's a bit humorous. Tundra is a person who speaks a lot and Raina is a person who acts. So there are certain people, they speak but they don't act. There are some people, they act but they don't speak. and some people don't speak and don't act, and some people both act and both speak. So we can see this in other persons, but it's good sometimes to examine ourselves, see what kind of person we are. Another sutta, 4.11.103. Monks, there are these four pots. What four? The closed and empty. the open and full, the open and empty, and the closed and full pot. In like manner, monks, there are these four persons resembling pots to be found existing in the world. What four? The closed and empty, the open and full, the open and empty, and the closed and full. And now monks, how is a person closed and empty? In this case, the looks of a certain person is charming, whether he be departing or approaching, looking forward or backward, bending or unbending, bearing outer robe or bowl and robe. But he understands not, as it really is, the meaning of, this is dukkha, this is the arising of dukkha, this is the ceasing of dukkha, this is the path that leads to the ceasing of dukkha. Thus, monks, a person is closed and empty, just as that pot which is closed and empty. Even so, using this figure, do I speak of this person? I'll just stop here for a while to explain a bit. Here, when the Buddha says closed, he means like a closed pot. You don't know the contents inside the pot. So in the same way, if a person is charming, In his looks, in his actions, etc., he looks very good. So he's like the close spot, you know, you don't know. It's hard to tell from his looks, because this person is so charming, etc., whether he's really empty or full. Empty or full, in a way it's like our Chinese, we say yao liu, mou liu. So, whether that person has substance or no substance. So, because his looks are good, it's hard to tell, that's why it's like a closed spot. And then the Buddha continued, and how monks, is a person open and full? In this case, the looks of a certain person is not charming, etc. But he does understand, as it really is, the meaning of this is dukkha, this is the arising of dukkha, this is the ceasing of dukkha, this is the path that leads to the ceasing of dukkha. Thus is this person open and full. And how monks is a person open and empty? In this case, neither the looks of that person are charming, etc., nor does he understand the meaning of this is dukkha, this is the arising of dukkha, etc. Thus is this person open and empty. And how monks is a person closed and full? In this case, the looks of a certain person is charming, etc. And he does understand, as it really is, the meaning of this is dukkha, this is the rising of dukkha, this is the ceasing of dukkha, this is the path that leads to the ceasing of dukkha. Thus is a person closed and full. Just as that pot is closed and full, Even so, using this figure do I speak of this person. So these monks are the four persons found existing in the world. So from here you find that there are different types of person in the world and it's very hard to tell a person from the looks. Of course, this is concerning the Dhamma, you know, whether that person is really one who understands the Dhamma or one who does not understand the Dhamma. And it is very hard from looking at that person to tell. So this is more like concerning monks. It's hard to tell whether a monk actually, for example, is an ariya or not an ariya from the looks. Sometimes the looks are very deceiving and it's better for a lay person not to judge a monk because the Buddha said, in one of the suttas, that a wise man can judge a fool, but a fool cannot judge a wise man. So, because of that, it's better not to despise a person from the looks. Sometimes one who looks very impressive is not necessarily one who has substance. And sometimes one who looks unimpressive is also not necessarily one without substance. Now we come to the Sutra 4.11.110. Monks, there are these four snakes. What four? The fierce but not venomous, the not fierce but venomous, the one that is both fierce and venomous, and the one that is neither fierce nor venomous. Just in the same way, monks, these four persons resembling snakes are found existing in the world. What four? The fierce but not venomous, the not fierce but venomous, the one that is both fierce and venomous, and the one that is neither fierce nor venomous. And how is a person fierce but not venomous? In this case, monks, a certain person is quick to anger. but his anger lasts not long. Thus is this person fierce but not venomous. And how monks is a person not fierce but venomous. In this case a certain person is not quick to anger, but his anger lasts long. Thus is that person not fierce but venomous. And how monks is a person both fierce and venomous. In this case a certain person is quick to anger, and his anger lasts long. Thus is this person both fierce and venomous. And how amongst is a person neither fierce nor venomous? In this case, a certain person is neither quick to anger, nor does his anger last long. Thus is this person neither fierce nor venomous. Just as that snake that is neither fierce nor venomous, so using this figure do I speak of this person. So these monks are the four persons resembling snakes that are found existing in the world. This is one of those little humorous suttas again. Here when you see, when the Buddha said fierce, he means a person who is quick to anger. Then venomous means a person whose anger lasts a very long time. You can see this very clearly in persons also, in a lot of people. So in the same way, we also have to examine ourselves to see what kind of snake we are. Now we come to another sutta, 4.12.111. Now K.C., the horse trainer, came to visit the Exalted One. And on coming to him, he saluted the Exalted One and sat down at one side. As he sat thus, the Exalted One said this to K.C., the horse trainer, You yourself, K.C., are a trained man, a trainer of horses for driving. Now, K.C., pray, how do you train a tameable horse?" And he said, "'As for me, Your Honor, I train a tameable horse by mildness, also by harshness, also by both mildness and harshness. But suppose, K.C., the Buddha said, a tamable horse does not submit to your training by mildness, nor to the training by harshness, nor yet to the training by both methods. What do you do? In such a case, Your Honor, I destroy him. Why so? With the idea, let him not be a discredit to my teacher's clan. However, Your Honour, the Exalted One is unsurpassed as a trainer of men for driving. Pray, Your Honour, how does the Exalted One train a tamable man?" I'll just stop here for a while to make a comment. Here, Cayce, he says he's trained his horses by mildness, that means a soft approach, and then by harshness, means a hard approach. Maybe the mild approach is, maybe he gives sweets or something that the horse likes to eat, so that the horse will listen to him. And the harshness, maybe if the horse doesn't listen, maybe he'll whip the horse. And if using both these methods, the horse still cannot be trained, then he says he destroys the horse, he kills the horse, because he doesn't want his reputation to be spoiled, or his teacher's reputation to be spoiled. So now he asked the Buddha, how does the Buddha train a tamable man? And the Buddha answered, for my part, K.C., I too train a tamable man by mildness, also by harshness, also by both together. This, K.C., is the way of mildness. Thus is good conduct in body. Thus is the result of good conduct in body. Thus is good conduct in speech, thus is the good result of good conduct in speech. Thus is good conduct in mind, thus is the result of good conduct in mind. Thus are devas and thus are men. And this K.C. is the way of harshness. Thus is bad conduct in body. Thus is the result of bad conduct in body. Thus is bad conduct in speech. Thus is the result of bad conduct in speech. Thus is bad conduct in mind. Thus is the result of bad conduct in mind. Thus is the hell realm. Thus is the animal realm. Thus is the realm of ghosts. And this, K.C., is the way of both mildness and harshness. Thus is good conduct in body, speech, and mind. Thus is the result thereof. Thus is bad conduct in body, speech, and mind. Thus is the result thereof. Thus are devas and men. Thus is the hell realm. Thus is the animal realm. Thus is the realm of ghosts. I'll stop for a while here to explain a bit. So here the Buddha is saying that using the soft approach, the mild approach, he teaches that good conduct of body, speech and mind will result in being born as a deva or being born as a man in the human realm. And then the way of harshness, the hard approach, is to teach that by bad conduct in body, speech, and mind, the three karmas, we can be reborn in the hell realm, the animal realm, or the realm of ghosts. One thing you notice in the suttas, in our original four nikayas, that when the Buddha talks about the woeful planes, it's always three, you know, the hell realm, the animal realm, and the ghost realm. In the Suttas, in the original Suttas, the Asura planes are not considered a woeful plane. The Asuras are Devas, heavenly beings. It's only the later books that put the Asuras into the woeful planes. Then K.C. said, But, Your Honor, if the man for training won't submit to the training by mildness, by harshness, nor to the two together, pray, what does the Exalted One do? In such a case, K.C., I destroy him." Then K.C. said, But surely the Exalted One does not take life, and yet the Exalted One spoke thus, I destroy him, K.C. True it is, K.C., that taking life does not become of the Tathagata. Yet if the man to be trained submits not to the training by mildness, by harshness, or both together, then the Tathāgata thinks it not worthwhile to admonish that man, nor do his wise fellows in the holy life think it worthwhile to admonish that man. This, K.C., is destruction for a man in the discipline of the Aryan, when both the Tathagata and his fellows in the holy life think it not worthwhile to admonish him." Then K.C. said, "'Destroyed indeed, Your Honor, is a man by the welfarer. When both the Tathagata and his fellows in the holy life think it not worthwhile to admonish him, It is wonderful, Your Honor. It is marvelous. May the Exalted One accept me as a follower from this day forth, as long as life lasts, as one who has taken refuge with Him." So in this, the last part, the Buddha says that a monk who does not submit to the training, He does not listen to advice, then the Buddha will not give him the advice, will not give him the teaching, and this is considered death in the Aryan discipline. Why death? Because he cannot progress. If he is not given advice, is not given teaching by the Buddha or by his teacher, that means he cannot progress spiritually, and that is death for him in the Aryan discipline. It is also considered a death in the Aryan discipline when a monk disrobes, goes back to lay life, goes back to the lower life, that is also a death in the Aryan discipline. Also, when he breaks one of the major precepts, when he breaks one of the major precepts, that means the parājikas, the very heavy precepts, if he breaks it, then he's considered no more a monk, even though he wears the robe. I think that is more correct, rather than just to say that he disrobed, that he's actually fallen into the gravest offense for a monk, and then disrobed. So in the spiritual life, A teacher is considered very important. If we don't have a teacher to learn under, then we cannot progress. And the Buddha said that if your teacher guides you so that your sila, samadhi, and paññā increase, then you should follow him for the rest of your life. The Buddha said somewhere in one of the suttas. But if his sila, samadhi, and paññā is worse than yours, lower than yours, then you should run away from him. This is stated in one of another sutra. So you see, this is another one of those sutras where the Buddha used a simile in a kind of humorous way to teach the Dhamma.

30-AN-Book-4H-(4.12.113-to-4.12.118).txt

Now we come to another sutta, which is quite a good and important sutta. The Buddha said, monks, these four good thoroughbred steeds are found existing in the world. What four? In this case, monks, we have a certain good thoroughbred steed, which at the very sight of the shadow of the gold stick is stirred, feels agitation, thinking, what task, I wonder, will the trainer send me today? What return can I make him? Here monks we have such a steed and this is the first sort of good thoroughbred steed found existing in the world. I just stop here to explain about the best type of horse is the one when the trainer comes and he sees the side of the shadow of the gold stick, he feels agitated, he's stirred to action. What is this gold stick? This gold stick is one, it's like a sharp instrument to prick the horse. Sometimes the horse is stubborn, it won't listen. So you have this sharp instrument, you prick his skin, sometimes can prick deeper. So that is the gold stick. Then the Buddha said, then again monks, we may have a certain good thoroughbred steed which is not stirred at the mere sight of the goat stick, feels no agitation, but when his coat is pricked with the goat, he is stirred, feels agitation, thinking, what does I wonder, will the trainer set me today, etc. This is the second sort of good thoroughbred steed. Then again, monks, we may have a certain good thoroughbred steed which is not stirred at the sight of the goat stick, nor yet when his coat is pricked with a goat, but when his flesh is pierced, he is stirred, he feels agitation, thinking, what task, I wonder, will the trainer set me today, etc. This is the third sort of good thoroughbred steed. Once more, monks, we may have a good thoroughbred steed which is not stirred, feels no agitation, at the sight of the gold stick, or when his coat is pricked, or yet when his flesh is pierced with the gold stick. But when he is pierced to the very bone, he is stirred, feels agitation, thinking, What task, I wonder, will the trainer set me today? What return can I make him? Here we have such a good therabate steed. This is the fourth sort of good therabate steed. That's monks. These four good thoroughbred steeds are found existing in the world. I'll just stop here for a while to recapitulate. These are the four types of good horses. The first one, he sees the trainer coming with the gold stick. or just the side of the shadow of the gold stick is enough to stir him into action. The second one, he has to, when the trainer comes with the gold stick, he is not stirred, but the trainer has to poke him. Poke him, then he goes into action. The third one, you poke him also not enough. You have to poke until the flesh is pierced, then he'll go into action. The fourth one, even that is not enough. but he has to be pierced until the goat goes into the bone, then only he'll get into action. So these are the four good Therabred steeds. Then the Buddha said, Just in the same way, monks, these four good Therabred men are found existing in the world. What four? In this case, monks, here we may have a certain good Therabred man who hears it said that in such and such a village or town, Is a woman or a man afflicted or dead? That means sick or dead. Thereat he is stirred, he feels agitation. Thus agitated, he strictly applies himself. Thus applied, he both realizes in his own person the supreme truth and sees it by penetrating it with wisdom. Just as monks that good thoroughbred steed on seeing the shadow of the gold stick is stirred, feels agitation. Even so, using this figure do I speak of this good thoroughbred man. Such in this case is the good thoroughbred man. Again, monks, here we may have a good thoroughbred man who does not hear it said that in such and such a village or town is a woman or man, sick or dead, but with his own eyes he sees such. Thereupon he is stirred, he feels agitation, etc. Just as monks, that good thoroughbred steed on having his coat pricked with a gold stick is stirred. Even so, using this figure do I speak of this good thoroughbred man. This is the second thought. Then again, monks, here we may have a certain good Therabred man who does not hear it said, nor yet with his own eyes sees a woman or a man sick or dead, but his own kinsman or blood relation is afflicted, sick or dead. Thereupon he is stirred, just as monks that good thoroughbreds teed on having his flesh pierced is stirred. Even so, using this figure do I speak of this good thoroughbred man. This is the third sort of good thoroughbred man. Once more, monks, here we may have a good thoroughbred man who neither hears it said, nor yet with his own eyes sees. nor is his own kinsman or blood relation sick or dead, but he himself is stricken with painful bodily feelings, grievous, sharp, wrecking, distracting, discomforting, that drain the life away. Thereat, he is stirred, he feels agitation. Being so stirred, he strictly applies himself. Thus applied, he both realizes with his own person the Supreme Truth and sees it by penetrating it with wisdom. Just as monks, that good thoroughbred's deed on being pierced to the very bone is stirred, feels agitation. Even so, using this figure do I speak of this good thoroughbred man. Of such a sort, monks is the good thoroughbred man in this case. This is the fourth sort. These monks are the four sorts of thoroughbreds among men found existing in the world. This is quite a good sutra. It tells us when a person is ready to renounce and cultivate the spiritual life. The first one is the best. The person, because of past practice, past practice of the holy life, in the past life, so when he comes back to this human world, he hears it said that such and such a woman or a man is sick or dead. Just by hearing it, he He sees impermanence, he realizes impermanence and dukkha. So he is moved to renounce and practice the holy life. Then he realizes the truth. If you look into the Theragatha and the Therigatha, the verses of the Arahants, there are some very gifted people, very special people, some even seven-year-old child, you know, the Buddha sees that person straightaway, the Buddha recognizes, you know, the Buddha and also because the parents allow, then the Buddha tells his disciples to quickly let this young man go forth, this young kid, seven-year-old, and sometimes they renounce in the morning, just shave their head in the morning, by the night the person is already an arahant. These are real thoroughbreds among men because of past cultivation. So this one is the first type. He just hears it said only that a person is sick or dead, and he feels agitated, just like the Buddha. But the Buddha falls into the second category. Second category is a person who sees with his own eyes a sick person or a dead person, and then he is stirred, and he wants to renounce and practice. That's why we see that the Buddha, he had such life of luxury when he was young, he had such a good life. And yet, because of past cultivation, past realization of the truths, that's why I believe personally that the Buddha was already an Arya, probably a Sotapanna or a Sakadagami from the previous life, you know. That's why when he was young, even from young, he was not very interested in the worldly life. And in spite of being surrounded by female slaves and a lot of maids etc. And the Buddha said in one of the suttas that during the winter or rainy season, he would be left alone in his mansion, surrounded by female slaves, no men around, all female slaves to attend to him. So he had such sensual pleasures. But in spite of all this, his heart was not in the world. So when he saw a sick man, a dead man, an old man, etc., he decided to renounce. So there's something from his memory sort of stirring him. So that is the second type of person. The third one, more people fall into this category. When somebody whom you love very much is sick or dead and he grieves you so much that you want to renounce. either your child or your own child, or your spouse, your husband or wife, or your father or mother, somebody very close to you, brother or sister, is sick or dead, and then you decide to renounce. And the fourth one is one who Even when the relative, close relative, is sick or dead, he's not ready to renounce, but he himself is stricken with a dreadful disease, one that is draining his life away. For example, a person gets cancer. When you hear that you have cancer, that you know that your time is limited, then this person might decide to forget about the worldly life and renounce and cultivate. But then there are many people who are not thoroughbred steeds or thoroughbred men. And even when they themselves are sick and afflicted with cancer, etc., they still don't think of renouncing. Those very common people in the world, some people even on the deathbed, they don't realize that there is a path out of samsara, that if they practice the holy path, there is a way out of suffering, because they have not come across the Dhamma, they have not had the good fortune of hearing the Dhamma, so even until the moment that they are dying away, they are dying, they are passing away, they still don't have the thought of cultivating the holy life to get out of samsara, get out of the round of rebirths. Then we come to the next sutta, 4.12.114, Monks, possessed of four qualities, a raja's elephant is worthy of the raja. A possession of the raja is reckoned an attribute of a raja. What are the four qualities? Hearing monks, a raja's elephant is a listener, a destroyer, a bearer, a goer. And how monks is a Raja's elephant a listener? In this case, monks, whatever task the trainer of elephants imposes on him, whether he has performed it before or not, the Raja's elephant makes that his object, gives attention to it, considers it with all his mind, with ready ear listens thereto. Thus monks is a Raja's elephant a listener. And how, monks, is a Raja's elephant a destroyer? In this case, monks, a Raja's elephant, entering battle, destroys elephant and mahout, horse and rider, chariot and driver, and footman. Thus is he a destroyer. And how, monks, is a Raja's elephant a bearer? In this case, monks, a raja's elephant entering battle, bears the blows of spear, sword, arrow and axe, and also the ding of drum and kettle drum, of conch, temtem and other noise. Thus he is a bearer. And how monks is a raja's elephant a goer? In this case, monks, a raja's elephant, in whatever direction the trainer of elephants turns him, Whether he has gone there before or not, there he quickly goes. Thus he is a goer. So possessed of these four qualities, monks, a raja's elephant is worthy of the raja. A possession of the raja is reckoned an attribute of a raja. In like manner, monks, possessed of four qualities, a monk is worshipful, worthy of gifts and offerings, of salutations with clasped hands, a field of merit unsurpassed for the world. What for? Herein, monks, a monk is a listener, a destroyer, a bearer and a goer. And how is a monk a listener? In this case, when Dhamma Vinaya is set forth by a Tathagata, a monk makes that his object, gives attention to it, considers it with all his mind, with ready ear listens to Dhamma. Thus is a monk a listener. And how is a monk a destroyer? In this case, a monk does not admit sensual thinking that has arisen. He abandons, restrains, makes an end of it, forces it not to recur. So also with regard to malicious thinking. cruel or harmful thinking. He does not admit evil, unprofitable states that occur from time to time. He abandons them, restrains, makes an end of them, forces them not to recur. Thus he is a destroyer. And how is a monk a bearer? In this case, a monk bears heat, cold, hunger, thirst, contact of flies, mosquitoes, wind and sun, and creeping things. He bears abusive, pain-causing ways of speech. He submits to painful bodily feelings, grievous, sharp, wrecking, distracting, and discomforting that drain the life away. Thus is a monk a bearer. And how is a monk a goer? In this case, a monk quickly goes where in this long journey he has never gone before, namely to the tranquilization of the conditioners, sankara, to the forsaking of every basis of rebirth, to the destruction of craving, to passionlessness, to ending, to nibbana. Thus is a monk a goer. Possessed of these four qualities, a monk is worshipful, worthy of gifts and offerings, of salutations with clasped hands, a field of merit unsurpassed for the world. In this sutra, number 114, the Buddha compared a Raja's elephant to a monk. This is one of the sutras where the Buddha uses this comparison of a Naga, an elephant, with a monk. This word Naga denotes an elephant. It also means a snake spirit, a snake deva. a deva with a snake body, it also means it is used for a great being, a noble person. In this sutra, the Buddha said that an elephant is worthy of a raja if it possesses four qualities, namely that it is a listener, a destroyer, a bearer, and a goer. And similarly, if a monk possessed four qualities. Then he is worshipful, worthy of gifts and offerings, worthy of salutations which clasp hands, a field of merit unsurpassed for the world. These four qualities are that the monk is a listener, a destroyer, a bearer and a goer. And the Buddha said, in this case, being a listener means that the monk listens to Dhamma Vinaya, the teachings of the Buddha, the discourses and the disciplinary conduct, the disciplinary code set forth by the Buddha. And a Buddha's disciple is known as a Savaka. The Buddha called his disciples Savakas. Savaka literally means a listener, a hearer, one who listens to the Buddha's teachings. And so we can see that listening, learning the Buddha's teachings is very important. Another word that is mentioned quite often in the discourses is bahusacca, which means much learning. Much learning means much learning of the Dhamma, Vinaya, which means much knowledge of the teachings of the Buddha. So this is one of the much learning, much knowledge of the Dhamma is one of the keystones, foundation of the spiritual path. And the second quality is that the monk is a destroyer, which means that he destroys sensual thinking, malicious thinking, and cruel or harmful thinking. These are the wrong thoughts that should be destroyed by a monk. And the third is that the monk is a bearer. He bears heat and cold, hunger, thirst. contact with flies, mosquitoes, wind and sun, creeping things. Physical discomfort is to be expected for a renunciant and the Buddha always encourage monks to go into seclusion, to live up in the hills or in the forest or in caves etc. Luxury is one of the obstacles to the spiritual path and it's always discouraged by the Buddha. It is also mentioned here that the monk submits to painful bodily feelings, grievous, sharp, wrecking, distracting and discomforting that drain the life away. So here we see that when painful bodily feelings arise which drain the life away, The monk is supposed to bear it, to continue to live, to practice the holy life. In other words, even for anyone, if such feelings arise, it is better if we have not completed the goal, the aim of the holy life, that we bear such grievous pains and so that we can continue to practice and try to achieve the aim of the holy life which is the ending of the round of rebirths. And finally the monk is a goer. He goes to where he's never been before in this long journey of Samsara, the round of rebirths, namely to the ending of every basis for rebirth, the destruction of craving, to Nibbana. So possessed of these four qualities, such a monk is worthy of gifts and offerings, of salutations with clasped hands, a field of merit unsurpassed for the world. Now we come to Sutta number 4.12.115. The Buddha said, monks, there are these four occasions. What four? There is monks, the occasion when action is unpleasant and unprofitable to the doer. That when action is unpleasant but profitable to the doer. that when action is pleasant but unprofitable to the doer, and the occasion when action is both pleasant and profitable to the doer. Now monks, In the first case, in a case when action is both unpleasant and unprofitable to the doer, one deems action inadvisable for both reasons, for it is both unpleasant and unprofitable. Then again, in the second instance, that is when action is unpleasant but profitable, One may know who is a fool and who a wise man in the matter of manly strength, manly vigor, and energy. For monks, the fool has no such consideration as this. Though this is an occasion when action is unpleasant, yet it is one which brings profit. Accordingly, he does not act, and his inaction brings him loss. But the wise man thus considers, though this is an occasion when action is unpleasant, yet it brings profit to the doer. Accordingly, he acts and profit results. Now in the third case, when action is pleasant but unprofitable. In this case, also, one may know who is a fool and who a wise man, in the matter of manly strength, manly vigor and energy. For monks, the fool does not thus consider, though this act is pleasant, yet it brings loss. Accordingly he acts, and the result is loss. Whereas the wise man thus reflects, though this act is pleasant, yet its results bring loss. So he acts not, and the result is to his profit. Lastly, monks, in the case where action is both pleasant and profitable, one deems action advisable for both reasons, for it is both pleasant and profitable. That is why one deems action advisable. So these are the four occasions of action. Now these four occasions the Buddha mentioned, the first one when action is unpleasant and unprofitable is for example the case of the unbeneficial ascetic practices. During the Buddha's time you had some external ascetics which practiced all kinds of unbeneficial practices like starving themselves, behaving like an animal, limiting their diet, etc., etc., which is unprofitable and unpleasant. So that should be avoided. The second case is when action is unpleasant but profitable. In this case, in the worldly sense, it could be like when a person works for his living, then it might be unpleasant, but he's hard-working. And because he's hard-working and he pleases the boss, then he's rewarded for it. Or for example, a wife may please the husband, etc. And that is in the worldly sense. In the spiritual sense, it's like learning to keep the precepts, learning to meditate, Learning to restrain oneself from unwholesome karma, all these in the beginning for a beginner on the spiritual path, all these are difficult. Even learning to meditate is difficult. And so it is a little unpleasant. But because it is profitable, then we should do it. So in this case, the Buddha said you can distinguish a wise man from a fool in this case. Because a fool, just because it is unpleasant, he will not want to do it. He will be lazy. And the third case is when action is pleasant but unprofitable. In this case it is like gambling is pleasant but unprofitable, drinking, womanizing, even hunting, fishing, being addicted to TV and video shows, etc. All these are pleasant activities but it is unprofitable. And so in this case also the Buddha said you can distinguish a fool from a wise man. A wise man would not do these things because it is unprofitable. And then in the last case is when action is both pleasant and profitable. For example, like when a person has attained samadhi, concentration, and he abides in samadhi, enjoys the bliss of jhana, this is not discouraged by the Buddha. In fact, the Buddha said it should be pursued, developed, and made much of. It is not to be feared. Why? Because it gives you the attainment of sotapanna, sakadagamin, anagamin, and arahan-hut. This is mentioned in the Majjhima Nikaya and Diga Nikaya. So, these are the different types of actions. Now we come to 4.12.118. The Buddha said, monks, these four places are to be looked upon by a believing clansman with feelings of emotion. What four? At the thought, here the Tathāgata was born, the believing clansmen should look with feelings of emotion. At the thought, here the Tathāgata was enlightened with supreme enlightenment, the believing clansmen should look with feelings of emotion. At the thought, here the Tathāgata set rolling the supreme dharma wheel, the believing clansmen should look with feelings of emotion. At the thought, here the Tathagata was utterly released in the Nibbana state wherein no basis remains behind. The believing clansmen should look with feelings of emotion. These are the four places." This sutra refers to the four holy places in India which Buddhists like to make a pilgrimage to. The first one where the Buddha was born, that is at Lumbini. And now I think they have decided Lumbini is in Nepal. And the second one where the Buddha was enlightened is Bodhgaya. And the third one where the Buddha sat rolling the Dhamma wheel, started to teach the Dhamma, that is in a place formerly called Isipatana, I think now it's called Sarnath. And then the last place is where the Buddha entered Parinibbana. That's the place called Kusinara. So if you have the opportunity, it would be good to visit the holy places in India.

31-AN-Book-4I-(4.13.122-to-4.16.157).txt

Now we come to another sutra called 4.13.122. The Buddha said, monks, there are these four perils to be looked out for in him who goes down to the water. What for? Peril of waves, peril of crocodiles, peril of whirlpools, and peril of sea monsters. These are the four perils. In like manner, monks, in some clansmen here who has gone forth from the home to the homeless life under this Dhamma Vinaya, these four perils may be looked out for. What for? Peril of waves, peril of crocodiles, peril of whirlpools, and peril of sea monsters. And of what sort, monks, is peril of waves? In this case, a certain clansman who has, in faith, gone forth from home to the homeless life, thinks thus, Here am I, fallen upon birth, old age and death, sorrow and grief, woe, lamentation and despair, fallen upon ill, overwhelmed by ill or dukkha. Maybe of all this mass of ill, some ending may be shown. To such a one who has thus gone forth, his fellows in the holy life preach and admonish him, saying, Thus should you retreat, thus should you advance, thus should you look forward and backward, bend or unbend, thus should you bear outer robe and bowl and inner robe. then it occurs to him. I, who before lived at home, was accustomed to preach to and admonish others. Yet these people, who to my thinking, are no more than sons or grandsons, these people think that I am one to be preached to and admonished. Thus he, angered and offended, abandons the training and turns back to the low life. This one monk is called a monk who abandons the training and turns back to the low life, scared by the peril of waves. Peril of the waves, monks, is a term for wrath and resentment. This is called peril of waves. I'll stop here for a while just to comment. Here, this generally refers to old people. Old people who enter the monkhood, they find it quite difficult to be told by younger monks what to do and what not to do. In the monkhood, seniority depends on the number of years the monk has been ordained, taken the higher ordination. So the earliest age a monk can take the higher ordination is about 20. So perhaps By the time he has 10 vasas, 10 rains retreat, a monk could be about 30 years old. And then in comes an old man at 60 years, for example, and then he's told off by a 30-year-old monk and he feels pretty annoyed. So sometimes the old man can't stand this and then he disrobes. So this is referring to people who enter monkhood in their old age. It's quite difficult for people enter monkhood in their old age to adjust to the monkhood. And the Buddha continued, And of what sort, monks, is peril of crocodiles? In this case, a certain clansman has in faith gone forth from the home to the homeless life. He thinks thus, Here am I, fallen upon birth, old age, and death, etc. Maybe of all this mass of ill, some ending may be shown. To such a one who has thus gone forth, his fellows in the holy life preach and admonish him thus. You should eat this, not that. You should swallow this, not that. You should taste this, not that. You should drink this, not that. You should eat, swallow, taste, and drink what is fitting, not what is unfitting. You should eat, swallow, taste, and drink at the proper time. not at the improper time. Then he thinks thus, I, who before lived at home, used to eat, swallow, taste, and drink just what I liked, and refused to eat, swallow, taste, and drink what I did not like. I used to eat and so forth, both what was fitting and unfitting, and that too whether the time was proper or improper. But now, when believing householders offer me choice food, both hard and soft, at an improper time, I think they are putting a bridle on my mouth." Thus he abandons the training and turns back to the low life. This one monk is called the monk who abandons the training and turns back to the low life because he is scared by the peril of crocodiles. Peril of crocodiles, monks, is a term for gluttony. This is called peril of crocodiles. I'll stop here for a while. This is another thing which somebody who has gone forth into monkhood finds a bit difficult to adjust to. For example, eating one meal a day or some monasteries, they eat two meals a day but not being able to eat at night. or after about one o'clock, when the sun is at the highest, until the next dawn. So sometimes, if you are not used to it, you can feel hungry. So some people, they don't like that. Also, there are some allowances for monks to take in the evening, at night. For example, what is considered medicinal, there are certain allowances like sweet, honey, vegetable oil, butter, and some traditions, they also take milk or cheese. So, other than that, like normal foods, you can't take So when a person goes forth, he has to train himself in this respect also. And some people find it too difficult because maybe they have a taste for good food. One thing as a monk, we can't choose our food, whatever we are given, we take. Whereas as a layman, you can buy whatever you like to eat at any time. So some people find this too difficult to restrain your eating habits, so they disrobe. These are people what the Buddha calls untamable men. cannot be tamed, and people with fixed habits, it's quite difficult. And then the Buddha continued, and of what sort, monks, is peril of whirlpools? In this case, a certain clansman has in faith gone forth from the home to the homeless life. He thinks thus, here am I, fallen upon birth, old age, etc. Maybe of all this mass of ill, some ending may be shown. He, having thus gone forth, robing himself in the morning, and taking bowl and robe, sets out for village or town to beg for alms, with body unguarded, with speech unguarded, with mind unguarded, with mindfulness not established, with faculties uncontrolled. Then he sees a housefather, or son of a housefather, indulging in, provided with, and enjoying the five sense pleasures. Then he thinks thus, I too before when living at home indulged in and was provided with and enjoyed the five sense pleasures. Moreover, since wealth exists in my family, I could enjoy it and do good works therewith. How now if I were to abandon the training, turn back to the low life, enjoy my wealth and do good deeds therewith? Accordingly, he does so. This one monk is called a monk who abandons the training and turns back to the low life because he is scared by the peril of whirlpools. Peril of whirlpools, monks, is a term for the five sense pleasures. This monk is called peril of whirlpools. Stop here for a while to comment. The five sense pleasures are the pleasures of sight, I mean, seeing good things, enjoyable things, like watching films and going sightseeing, going touring, etc. And then the pleasure of hearing. Pleasure of hearing is hearing good music, going to see stage shows, going to see plays, etc. Going to see operas and music festivals, etc. The third one is pleasure from smells, using perfumes and different kinds of smells. And then the fourth one is from taste, the pleasure of taste, eating whatever you like, enjoying good food and drinks. And the fifth one is pleasure of touch. Pleasure of touch refers to like sensual pleasure and also like having air con in your room, etc. So these are the five sense pleasures that lay people usually enjoy. So if a person is used to enjoying life, used to enjoy worldly life, when he renounces, it is quite difficult. He divorced himself from all these to be ascetic. So people who are rich, who have come from a very wealthy background and used to enjoying life, if they can renounce, it means they have very good karma, they have what we call good roots. Otherwise, it's very difficult to renounce. And then the last one, the Buddha said, And what, monks, is the peril of sea monsters? In this case, monks, a certain clansman who has in faith gone forth from the home to the homeless life, etc., thinks thus, Here am I, fallen upon birth, old age, etc. Maybe of all this mass of ills some ending may be shown. He, having thus gone forth, robes himself in the morning and sets out for some village or town to beg for alms, with body unguarded, with speech unguarded, with mind unguarded, with mindfulness not established, with faculties uncontrolled. Then he sees womenfolk, partly clothed, partly attired. On seeing that sight, passion assails his heart. With heart assailed by passion, he abandons the training and turns back to the low life. This one monk is called a monk who, scared by the peril of sea monsters, abandons the training and turns back to the low life. Peril of sea monsters monks is a term for women folk. This monk is called Peril of Sea Monsters. So these monks are the four perils to be looked out for in some clansmen here who has rightly gone forth from home to the homeless life under this Dhamma Vinaya. That's the end of the Sutta. So this last one refers to a monk who has no mindfulness. He's scattered, his mind is scattered and he has no mindfulness of body, speech or mind. And so, because he does not guard his sense doors, when he goes out to town, he sees women, people of the opposite sex, and then all the desires come back and trouble this mind. There are some monks, after being a monk for many years, you find they are very troubled because all these things trouble them, so after some time they can't stand it, they have to disrobe. So this is especially difficult for people with strong sensual desires. There are some people with strong sensual desires and they find it very difficult to overcome, especially when they see the opposite sex. The only way, the Buddha said, that we can overcome this type of desires and other types is strong samadhi. In fact, there is one sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya called the Nibbāpa Sutta. In that sutra, the Buddha gave a simile likening monks to deer. a flock of deer. They have to find food to eat. If they stay deep into the jungle, it's quite difficult for these deer to survive. So they try to get their food from the farmer's crops. But if they come too near the farmer's crops, the farmer will trap them and kill them. If they stay too far, they get hungry. So they try to take the middle path, not too far and not too near. So the Buddha said the same way. A monk has to live near lay people to get the support, but he must also keep his distance. And strong samadhi will help a lot in this case. So these are the four types of monks who disrobe for different reasons. Now we come to another sutra 4.13.123. Ah, monks, these four persons are found existing in the world. What for? Now monks, a certain person here, aloof from sense desires, aloof from unwholesome conditions, enters upon the first jhana, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained. born of seclusion, delightful and pleasurable, and abides therein. He enjoys its sweetness, longs for it, and finds happiness therein. Established therein, given thereto, generally spending his time therein, and not falling away therefrom, when he makes an end, he is reborn in the company of devas of the Brahma group. A kapha monk is the lifespan of the devas of the Brahma group. Therein the ordinary man stays there and spends his time according to the lifespan of these devas. A kapha monk is the lifespan of the devas of the Brahma group. Therein the ordinary man stays and spends his time according to the lifespan of those devas. Then he goes to hell, or the womb of an animal, or he goes to the ghost realm. But a disciple of the Exalted One, after staying there and spending his time according to the lifespan of those devas, finally passes away in that same state. Such monks is the distinction, such the specific feature, the difference between the learned Aryan disciple and the unlearned ordinary man in the matter of rebirth. Stop here for a while just to make a comment. The Kappa, Kappa means Aeon or a world cycle. A world cycle is a very, very long time. That is the lifespan of the devas of the Brahma group. So, to continue the sutra, the Buddha said, Again, monks, a certain person here, by the calming down of thought directed and sustained, enters upon the second jhana, that inward calming of the self, that one-pointedness of mind, apart from thought directed and sustained, that is born of concentration, delightful and pleasurable, and having attained it, abides therein. He enjoys its sweetness, longs for it, and finds happiness therein. Established therein, given thereto, generally spending his time therein, and not falling away therefrom. When he makes an end, he is reborn in the company of the radiant devas. Now monks, the lifespan of those devas is two kappas. Therein the ordinary man stays and spends his time according to the lifespan of those devas. Then he goes to the woeful plains, to hell, to the womb of an animal, or he goes to the ghost realm. But the disciple of the Exalted One, after staying there and spending his time according to the lifespan of those devas, finally passes away in that same state. Such monks is the distinction, such the specific feature, the difference between the learned Aryan disciple and the unlearned ordinary man in the matter of rebirth. Again monks, a certain person here, by the fading out of delight, he abides Equanimous, mindful and composed, and experiences in his own body that pleasure of which the Aryans declare, he who is equanimous and mindful dwells happily. Thus he attains and abides in the third jhana. He enjoys its sweetness, longs for it, and finds happiness therein, established therein, etc., etc. When he makes an end, he is reborn in the company of the ever-radiant devas. Now monks, the lifespan of those devas is four kappas. Therein the ordinary man stays. Then he goes to hell, to the womb of an animal, to the ghost realm, but a disciple of the Exalted One. After staying there and spending his time according to the lifespan of those devas, finally passes away in that same state. Such is the distinction, such the specific feature. the difference between the learned Aryan disciple and the unlearned ordinary man in the matter of rebirth. Once more amongst a certain person here, by abandoning both pleasure and discomfort, by the ending of both happiness and unhappiness felt before, he attains the fourth jhana, a state of neither pleasure nor discomfort, an utter purity of mindfulness and equanimity, and having attained it, abides therein. He enjoys its sweetness, longs for it, and finds happiness therein. established therein and etc. When he makes an end, he is reborn in the company of the Vihapala devas. Now monks, the lifespan of the Vihapala devas is 500 kappas. Therein the ordinary man stays and spends his time according to the lifespan of those devas. Then he goes to hell, or the womb of an animal, or he goes to the ghost realm. But a disciple of the Exalted One, after staying there and spending his time according to the lifespan of those devas, finally passes away in that same state. Such monks is the distinction, such the specific feature, the difference between the learned Aryan disciple and the unlearned ordinary man in the matter of rebirth. These ten monks are the four persons found existing in the world. That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is talking about the disciple of the Buddha and an external ascetic. If they cultivate jhana and then they constantly abide in jhana and enjoy it, Then when they pass away, they are reborn in the jhāna planes, the different jhāna planes. Now after they pass away, the external ascetic, because he has no knowledge of the Dhamma, he will fall into the woeful planes one day. Whereas the learned disciple of the Buddha, he will pass away from that realm. and he won't fall into the woeful planes. Disciple of the Buddha, by understanding the teachings of the Buddha, and especially with the attainment of jhana, the mind is very clear. He can see and understand the Dharma much more easily. Then because of his understanding of the Dharma, he'll never fall into the woeful planes again. So this is the difference. between a person who understands Dhamma and a person who does not understand Jhāna. So in this case, if you understand Jhāna, then Jhānic bliss is not a danger. It's not a danger for someone who understands Jhāna. Another thing you want to notice here in this uttā is that the four full planes mentioned here are only three. Always in the suttas, we only find three woeful planes, hell, animal realm and the ghost realm. Whereas in the later books like the Abhidhamma and the Mahayana books, they mention four woeful planes, they include the Asuras. Whereas in our Theravada suttas, the Asuras are a kind of Deva. This you can get confirmation in the Digha Nikaya. Another thing we notice here is the The Brahma devas, their lifespan is one kappa, one world cycle. The radiant devas, two kappa, etc. But the commentaries to the Abhidhamma, they give it as one asankhaya kappa and two asankhaya kappa, etc. which is a contradiction with the Abhidhamma and also a contradiction with the Sutta here. That's why we have to be careful with commentarial books. Now we come to another Sutta, 4. 13.124, the Buddha said. Monks, these four persons are found existing in the world. What four? Now monks, a certain person here, aloof from sense desires, etc., enters upon the first jhāna, and having attained it, abides therein. There, whatsoever conditions arise by way of form, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, Those conditions he comes to regard as impermanent, as ill, as a disease, as a barb, as pain, ill-health, alien, transitory, as empty and not the self. When body breaks up after death, he is reborn in the company of the devas, of the pure abodes, monks. This rebirth is not partaken of by ordinary men. Then again, monks, a certain person here, by the calming down of thought directed as sustained, etc., attains to and abides in the second jhāna, the third jhāna, the fourth jhāna. There, whatsoever conditions arise by way of form, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness, he regards them as impermanent, etc., as empty, not the Self. When body breaks up, he is reborn in the company of the devas, of the pure boats. Monks, this rebirth is not partaken of by ordinary men. So these four persons are found existing in the world. Here you can find, it says, Anagami is a non-returner. He, after he passes away, he is reborn in the pure abode, Suddhavasa abodes. And this Sutta says, ordinary men cannot go there. Only Anagami. Only Anagami. are reborn there. And the Buddha said in one of the suttas that in the long round of rebirths, he has been to almost all the places of rebirth, you know, all the different types of beings he has been to. He has been, except the Pure Abodes, that's one place he has not been to, because if he had been born there, he would not have come back. So here you see, to be anagami, to attain anagami, you have to attain the jhanas. It's mentioned here. He attains the jhanas. Then he sees that the five khandhas, form, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness, the five khandhas, these five things that we associate with the self, he sees them as impermanent, as dukkha, as not-self, as empty, etc. So you have to have the jhanas to be able to see these. to see this very clearly and to attain Anagamin. The next sutra we come to is 14.138. The Buddha said, monks, these four persons are found in the world. What four? The subdued in body but not in mind. The unsubdued in body but subdued in mind. he who is subdued in neither body nor mind, he who is subdued in both body and mind. And how, monks, is a person subdued in body but not in mind? In this case, a certain person makes his bed and lodging in the lonely glades and solitude of a forest, but meanwhile thinks sensual thoughts, malicious thoughts, and harmful thoughts. Thus, monks, a person is subdued in body but not in mind. And how is a person unsubdued in body but subdued in mind? In this case, a certain person makes not his bed and lodging in the forest, yet meanwhile he thinks unworldly thoughts, thoughts not malicious, not harmful. Thus is a person unsubdued in body but subdued in mind. And how is a person subdued neither in body nor in mind? In this case, a certain person makes not his bed and lodging in the forest, yet meanwhile he thinks sensual thoughts, malicious thoughts, and harmful thoughts. And how is a person subdued both in body and in mind? In this case, a certain person makes his bed and lodging in the lonely glades and solitude of a forest, and at the same time thinks unworldly thoughts, thoughts not malicious, not harmful. Thus is a person subdued both in body and in mind. So these four persons are found existing in the world. This sutra is about viveka. Viveka means seclusion. And there are two types of seclusion, body seclusion, kaya viveka and seclusion of the mind, citta viveka. And kaya viveka is a person who is secluded in the body, that means he goes, he isolates himself from other people and he goes to the forest. But the first case is the person who has body seclusion, but he has no seclusion of the mind. He still has a maid. His maid is sensual thoughts, or the wrong thoughts, sensual thoughts, malicious thoughts, and harmful thoughts. So this is a type of person, for example, one who is new on the spiritual path, whose mind is not very well developed. He goes to the forest and meanwhile he carries with him all these wrong thoughts, it takes some time for him to subdue his wrong thoughts. But if he persists, he would probably be able to subdue these wrong thoughts. The second case is a person who has citta viveka, but not kaya viveka. He does not go into physical seclusion, and yet he has quite a developed mind. He does not think sensual thoughts. or malicious thoughts or harmful thoughts. So this is a kind of person whose mind is more developed, somebody probably who has cultivated himself in a previous lifetime. So even as a lay person, he already has a developed mind. The third person is one who has neither body seclusion nor seclusion of the mind, and that is a very ordinary person. a very worldly person. And then the fourth one who is subdued both in body and mind, who has both seclusion of body and mind. And this is the best because the Buddha always encourages a monk to be secluded both in body and mind. That would be the ideal conditions for progress in the spiritual path in the holy life. But of course later, if a monk considers it necessary, he can always come back to be with people so that he can impart his knowledge of the Dhamma, etc. Now we come to 4.15.147. The Buddha said, monks, there are these four seasons which, if rightly developed, rightly revolved, gradually bring about the destruction of the asavas. What for? Hearing dhamma in due season, discussion of dhamma in due season, tranquilization, samatha in due season, contemplation, vipassana in due season. These are the four Just as monks on a hilltop, when the sky deva rains thick drops, that water pouring down according to the slope of the ground fills up the cliffs, chasms, and gullies of the hillside. When these are filled, they fill the pools. When these are filled, they fill the lakes. When these are filled, they fill the rivulets. When these are filled, fill up the great rivers. The great rivers being filled, fill the sea, the ocean. Just so, monks, these four seasons, if rightly developed, rightly revolved, gradually bring about the destruction of the asavas. So these four things are quite important in the spiritual path. First one is hearing Dhamma. In the Mangala Sutta, this is mentioned, Dhammasavanam, hearing Dhamma, listening to the Dhamma, like you are doing now. The second one is discussion of Dhamma. Discussion of Dhamma, sometimes to clear our doubts, we discuss Dhamma. We shouldn't be afraid to discuss Dhamma and we should never get angry in discussing Dhamma. And third one is Samatha, tranquilization of the mind. Fourth one is Vipassana, contemplation. So you see in the suttas, the Buddha always mentioned these two as necessary conditions, not one by itself. Samatha and Vipassana. These are the two things that we do in meditation. These are the two possible things that we can do in meditation. So this is one of the suttas that confirms that Samatha and Vipassana both are necessary and not just one. Now we come to another sutra, 4.16.157. 2. Disease of body and disease of mind. Monks, there are to be seen beings who can admit freedom from suffering from bodily disease for one year, for two years, for three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years, who can admit freedom from bodily disease for even a hundred years. But monks, those beings are hard to find in the world who can admit freedom from mental disease even for one moment, save only those in whom the asavas are destroyed. I'll just stop here to comment. Here the Buddha is saying, you can have bodily health, you know, you can be very healthy in the body, but mentally, most of us, we are sick in the mind all the time, practically all the time. This sutra is saying that only the arahant, one who has destroyed the asavas, only the arahant is sane. We are all in a way insane, you know, tiga sukhu or something like that. As they say, one screw loose. So it's very important for us to cultivate our mind after all. The body, however much you take care of the body, finally it'll be ungrateful to you, it'll break down and it'll give you a lot of pain. But the mind, if we cultivate our mind, it can bring us a lot of happiness. The Buddha said that an uncultivated mind is a source of great suffering, great sorrow. Whereas a cultivated mind brings you a lot of bliss, a lot of joy, a lot of happiness. And not only that, you can bring that with us into our next rebirth, in our next life. Then the Buddha continued, monks, there are these four diseases of one who has gone forth from the worldly life. What for? Here monks, We may have a greedy one, full of excitation, discontented with this or that supply of robe and alms food, lodging, seed, medicines and requisites for sickness. He being greedy, full of excitation, discontented, conceives an evil longing for consideration, for gain, for honors and fame. He rouses himself, exerts himself, makes an effort to get these things. Of set purpose, he visits families. Of set purpose, he takes a seat. Of set purpose, he speaks Dharma. Of set purpose, he restrains the calls of nature. These monks are the four diseases of him who has gone forth. Therefore, monks, thus must you train yourselves. We will not become greedy, full of vexation, discontented with this or that supply of robe and alms food, lodging, seed, medicines and requisites for sickness. We will not conceive an evil longing for consideration, for gain, for honors and fame. We will not rouse ourselves, exert ourselves, make an effort to get these things. We will become enduring of cold, hunger, thirst, contact of flies and mosquitoes, of wind and rain and creeping things. We will become bearers of abusive, pain-causing ways of speech. We will submit to painful bodily feelings, grievous, sharp, wracking, distracting and discomforting that drain the life away. Thus, monks, must you train yourselves. So here in the last part the Buddha is saying that monks should not be full of greed and discontented and if a monk is full of greed and wants a name and fame, wants a lot of offerings, etc., then it's a disease. So the Buddha taught his disciples generally to go to seclusion and practice, at least for the Buddha encouraged his monks to practice for 10 years before they are allowed to take disciples. In the Vinaya rules, a monk is not allowed to take any disciple until he has completed 10 years as a monk after the higher ordination. Then he has 10 years of experience and practice behind him. Then only he can take disciples. There's a great danger in the veneration and offerings that a monk receives, and it's quite easy for a monk to go astray. The only protection is meditation, samadhi, to keep the mind strong. Otherwise, it is quite easy to go astray for a monk.

32-AN-Book-4J-(4.16.159-to-4.17.169).txt

Now we come to Sutta 4.16.159. On a certain occasion, the Venerable Ananda was staying at Kosambi in Gosita Park. Now on that occasion, a certain nun addressed the monk saying, Come, you good fellow, go to Master Ananda, and on coming to him in my name, worship with your head the feet of the worthy Ananda and say, Sir, a nun named so-and-so is sick, in pain, stricken with a sore disease. She worships with her head the feet of the worthy Ananda. And you say this. It would be a good thing, sir, if the worthy Ananda would visit the nun's lodging where that nun is, out of compassion for her. Yes lady replied that man and went to the Venerable Ananda and did as he was told. Then the Venerable Ananda robing himself and taking bowl and outer robe went to visit that nun. Now that nun saw the Venerable Ananda from far as he was coming and on seeing him she covered her head and lay down on a couch. Then the Venerable Ananda came to where she was and on reaching her sat down on a seat made ready. As he sat there the Venerable Ananda said this to that nun. Sister, this body has come into being through food, is dependent on food. The food must be abandoned. Sister, this body has come into being through craving, is dependent on craving. Craving must be abandoned. Sister, this body has come into being through pride, is dependent on pride. Pride must be abandoned. Sister, this body has come into being through sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse must be abandoned. The breaking down of the bridge which is in sexual intercourse has been spoken of by the Exalted One. Sister, as to this saying, this body has come into being through food, is dependent on food. The food must be abandoned. It was said in this connection. Herein, sister, a monk takes food with reflection and judgment, not for sport, not for indulgence, not for personal charm, not for beautifying, but just enough for the support, for the upkeep of body, for its resting unharmed, for living the holy life. He takes food with a thought, thus do I check my former feelings and set going no new feeling, thus maintenance shall be mine, blamelessness and comfort in life. Then sometime later, though dependent on food, he abandons food. As to the saying that body has come into being through food, whatever was Thus said, was said in this connection. Sister, as to the saying, this body has come to being through craving, is dependent on craving, craving must be abandoned. It was said in this connection. Herein, sister, a monk hears it said. They say that such and such a monk, by destroying the asavas, himself in this life, thoroughly comprehending it, realizes the release by mind, the release by wisdom, which is free from the asavas, and having attained it, abides therein. To him it occurs, surely I too, by destroying the asavas, etc., having attained it, shall abide therein. Then sometime later, though dependent on craving, he abandons craving. As to the saying, sister, that body has come into being through craving, is dependent on craving, craving must be abandoned. Whatever was said thus was said in this connection. Sister, as to the saying, this body has come into being through pride, is dependent on pride, pride must be abandoned. It was said in this connection. In this case, sister, a monk hears it say, they say that such and such a monk, by destroying the asavas, etc., having attained the release, by wisdom abides therein. To him it occurs thus, that one, by destroying the asavas, can realize and attain and abide in the release by wisdom. Then why not I? Then sometime later, though dependent on pride, he abandons pride. Sister, as to the saying, this body has come into being through pride, is dependent on pride. Pride must be abandoned. It was said in this connection. Sister, as to the saying, this body has come to being through sexual intercourse, is dependent on sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse must be abandoned. The breaking down of the bridge which is in sexual intercourse has been spoken by the Exalted One. Thereupon the nun rose from the couch, put her upper robe on one shoulder, fell with her head at the feet of the Venerable Ananda and said, O Sir, my fault overcame me who am so foolish, so stupid, so wrong that I acted thus. O Sir, let Master Ananda acknowledge my fault as such for my restraint in future time. And Ananda said, Verily, sister, your fault overcame you, thus foolish, thus stupid, thus wrong that you acted thus. But inasmuch as you, sister, have seen your fault as such and have confessed it as it is right, we do acknowledge it of you. This indeed, sister, is growth in the discipline of the Aryan. When seeing his fault as such, one makes confession as is right and comes to restrain in future time. This is one of the suttas which shows the danger of the holy life, the attraction for the opposite sex. And this nun had evil intentions when she asked Venerable Ananda to visit him. That's why the Buddha said it's advisable for a monk to talk with a woman, with another person present, with another person present if possible. And perhaps Venerable Ananda knew the intentions of this nun, that's why he chose this topic to talk and so it had its effect on the nun and the nun realized her fault. So again, as I said, this shows the danger of the holy life and most monks disrobe because of some women. Today we come to 4.16.160. And this sutra, I won't read out the whole sutra, just a portion of it. The Buddha said, monks, these four things conduce to the confusion, to the vanishing away of saddhama, true dhamma. What for? In this case, monks. The monks get by heart a text that is wrongly taken, with words and sense that are wrongly arranged. Now, monks, if words and sense are wrongly arranged, the meaning also is misleading. This is the first thing which conduces to the confusion, to the vanishing away of Sat Dhamma, true Dhamma. Then again, the monks are difficult to speak to. possessed of qualities which make them difficult to speak to. They are stubborn, incapable of being instructed. This monks is the second thing. Then again, those monks who are widely learned, versed in the doctrines, who know Dhamma by heart, who know Vinaya by heart, who know the summaries by heart, these do not dutifully hand on a text to another. Thus, when they pass away, the text is cut down at the root. It has nothing to stand on. This is the third thing. Yet again, the elder monks live in abundance. They are lax, taking the lead in backsliding, shirking the burden of the secluded life. They set going no effort to attain the unattained, to win the goal not won, to realize the unrealized. So the generation that follows comes to follow their view. That generation also lives in abundance, is lax, takes the lead in backsliding to the worldly life, shirking the burden of the secluded life. They set going no effort to attain the unattained, to win the goal not won, to realize the unrealized. These monks is the fourth thing which conduces to the confusion, to the vanishing away of Saddhamma, true Dhamma. That's the end of what I want to read in this Sutta. So here this is one of the few suttas where the Buddha gives the reasons why the true Dhamma would vanish away in the future. The first one is the words and sense of the Dhamma are wrongly arranged and the meaning also is misleading. This one could refer to the wrong teachings that the Buddha predicted would appear 500 years after the Buddha's parinibbana. and because of what the Buddha calls counterfeit teachings, false teachings that appear and multiply. So this is one reason for the vanishing of the way of the true Dharma. So we have to study the Dhamma and know which are the wrong teachings. It is not easy because we have to study quite a lot to know which teachings are contradictory, which teachings are consistent. And if we do that, we'll find that the earliest four Nikayas, those are the books which are very consistent, whereas later books, there are contradictions in the later books. And the second reason is that the monks are not interested in the training. The Buddha always talked about the training for a monk, Sikkhapada, the practice of the holy life. And there are some monks who are stubborn and they refuse to change their bad habits. They won't take instructions. And so, because of that, they cause people to lose faith in the Sangha. And when people lose faith in the Sangha, they turn away from the the religion. So that is why in the forest tradition in Thailand, they don't ordain somebody very easily. Somebody who wants to ordain as a monk, first they come in as what they call a Pakao, one who wears the white cloth, and that is eight precepts. They keep the eight precepts for a minimum of six months. And then after that only, they are given the Samanera precepts. And then after at least six months as a Samanera, then they are ordained in the higher ordination. So this gives time to examine the candidate to see whether that person is really suitable for the higher ordination. Then the third reason is that the senior monks who are learned in the Dhamma Vinaya, they don't hand the text to another. In the earlier days, the Dhamma, the suttas, was not put down in writing, so it was transmitted verbally from one monk to another. So if the earlier monks, if they were lazy and they did not take the trouble to memorize the suttas and hand down from one generation to another, the suttas would have disappeared. So now the suttas are in writing. But now we have to take the trouble to teach the Dhamma Vinaya, the suttas and the Vinaya, so that they are well propagated, so that people know the true teachings of the Buddha. So people are not confused with wrong teachings. So it is our duty to teach and also to spread by perhaps printing of books, by tapes, etc. Then the fourth reason for the disappearance of the true Dharma is the senior monks, Theras, they live in abundance, they are lax, they take the lead in backsliding, and they don't make any effort to attain the goal of the holy life, which is to end our suffering, to end the round of rebirth. So because the senior monks set that example, the junior monks also follow them and become lax, live in luxury, etc. So this is another reason why the true Dharma would pass away. So we have to be careful of these reasons. try to lead our life and conduct ourselves so that we can preserve the true Dharma. Now we come to Sutta number 4.17.162. The Buddha said, monks, there are these four modes of progress. What four? The painful mode of progress with sluggish higher knowledge, abhinaya. The painful mode with swift higher knowledge. The pleasant mode of progress with sluggish higher knowledge. The pleasant mode of progress with swift higher knowledge. These are the four modes of progress. And of what sort, monks, is the mode of progress that is painful with sluggish higher knowledge? In this case, a certain one is by nature passionately lustful. He experiences the perpetual pain and dejection that are born of lust, raga. Likewise, he is by nature malicious. He experiences the perpetual pain and dejection that are born of ill-will, dosa. Likewise, he is by nature deluded. He experiences the perpetual pain and dejection that are born of delusion, moha. In such a one, these five controlling faculties are duly manifested, namely, the controlling faculty of faith, of energy, of mindfulness, concentration, and the controlling faculty of wisdom. Thus, owing to the dullness of these five faculties, sluggish is his attainment of the concentration that follows on for the destruction of the āsavas. This monks is called the progress that is painful with sluggish higher knowledge. And of what sort, monks, is the mode of progress that is painful, but with swift higher knowledge? In this case, a certain one is by nature passionately lustful, malicious and deluded. and he experiences the perpetual pain and dejection that are born of lust, ill-will and delusion. In such a one, these five controlling faculties are manifested in abundance, namely the controlling faculty of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. Thus, owing to the preponderance of these five faculties, swift is his attainment of the concentration that follows on for the destruction of the asavas. This monks is called the progress that is painful, but with swift higher knowledge. And of what sort, monks, is the mode of progress that is pleasant, but with sluggish higher knowledge? In this case, a certain one is not by nature passionately lustful. He does not experience the perpetual pain and dejection that are born of lust. Nor is he by nature passionately malicious. He does not experience the perpetual pain and dejection that are born of ill-will. nor is he by nature deluded. He does not experience the perpetual pain and dejection that are born of delusion. But in such a one, these five controlling faculties are duly manifested, namely, the controlling faculty of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. Thus, owing to the dullness of the five faculties, sluggish is his attainment of the concentration that follows on for the destruction of the asavas. This monks is called the mode of progress that is pleasant, but with sluggish higher knowledge. And of what sort, monks, is the mode of progress that is both pleasant and accompanied by swift higher knowledge? In this case, a certain one is not by nature passionately lustful, malicious or deluded. In such a one, these five controlling faculties are manifested in abundance. namely the controlling faculty of Faith, Energy, Mindfulness, Concentration and Wisdom. Thus owing to the preponderance of the five faculties, swift is its attainment of the concentration that follows on for the destruction of the asavas. This monks is called the mode of progress that is both pleasant and accompanied by swift higher knowledge. So these are the four modes of progress. That's the end of the sutta. In this sutta, the Buddha is trying to say that when we cultivate the holy path, we practice to get out of samsara, there are four types of progress. You can either have a painful or a pleasant type, and also with either sluggish attainment of the higher knowledges or swift attainment of the higher knowledges. And what is the cause of painful progress? Painful progress is to be found in a person who has these three weaknesses. anger or ill will or hatred. And the third one is delusion. If these three qualities are very strong in a person, he is continually, how do you say, he's continually, he experiences the pain and dejection due to these three things. So because of this, these three things are always bothering him, so his progress is always painful. But then there are certain suttas where the Buddha said, when a monk is cultivating the holy path, sometimes it can be very painful, there can be a lot of frustration, there can be a lot of mental suffering in addition to the physical suffering. And the Buddha said, in spite of all that, the monk should grit his teeth and bear it. bear it and continue to strive and then one day he will pass that stage. So this is a painful progress in the holy life due to these three factors, lust, hatred or ill will and delusion. And if a person does not have these three things to bother him, then he makes pleasant progress. If a person does not have strong lust, or a lot of ill will, or a lot of delusion, then the holy life is not so painful. It is in fact can be quite pleasant if he knows how to practice and attain the bliss of meditation. And then sluggish attainment of the higher knowledges or swift attainment of the higher knowledges depends on the five controlling faculties. How much, how strong these five things are in that monk faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. So if these are strong, there's a lot of stress, there's a lot of effort to cultivate these five things, then the monk will attain the concentration very fast. If these five things, especially the energy, the mindfulness, the energy and the mindfulness, if he puts a lot of energy and mindfulness in his practice, then concentration will come quite quickly. It is said here that the concentration that follows on for the destruction of the asavas, so here it is very clear that for the destruction of the asavas, you need very good concentration, very strong concentration, a perfect concentration, which is defined in the suttas as one-pointedness of mind, attainment of the jhanas, or sometimes is stated as the four jhanas. So it's very clear here that concentration is a very important quality for the destruction of the asavas. So that's the sutta. Now we come to another sutta to see how these are applied. 4.17.167. The Venerable Sariputta went to visit the Venerable Moggallana, the great Mahamoggallana, and on coming to him greeted him courteously, and after the exchange of greetings and courtesy sat down at one side. So seated, the Venerable Sariputta said to the Venerable Mahamoggallana, Moglana, your reverence, there are these four modes of progress. What four? The mode of progress that is painful with sluggish higher intuition, etc. as before. Now, your reverence, by way of which of these four modes of progress was your heart released from the asavas without grasping?" And the Maha Moglana, the Arahant said, Sariputta, your reverence, there are, as you say, these four modes of progress. Now of these four, the one I followed was the mode of progress that is painful but with swift higher intuition. By way of this mode of progress was my mind released from the asavas without grasping. That's the end of the sutta. So in this sutra, I purposely read this sutra to let you know that Mahamoggalana, one of the greatest disciples of the Buddha, in his cultivation of the holy path, the holy life, he was having a lot of He had an abundance of greed, hatred, and delusion. Lust, greed, hatred, and delusion. And these hindered his progress. His progress was painful. He was continually bothered by these things. But in spite of that, he made a lot of effort, and then he became an Arahant. So from this, we can get inspiration, we can get consolation to know that even somebody so great like Mahamoggalana, his progress in the holy life was painful because of a strong lust, hatred and delusion. So if we cultivate the holy life and we find sort of we feel that practice of the holy life is so difficult and we are not getting inspired, then we should think of somebody like Mahamoghla. If we follow his example and strive, one day we will also come to distinction. And then, Sutta 4.17.168, now the Venerable Mahamoggalana went to visit the Venerable Sariputta, etc., etc., and said this to him, Sariputta, your reverence, there are these four modes of progress as before. Now, your reverence, by way of which of these four was your heart released from the asavas without grasping? And Venerable Sariputta answered, Moglana, your reference, there are, as you say, these four modes of progress. Now of these four, the one I followed was the mode of progress that is pleasant with swift higher knowledge. By way of this mode of progress was my heart released from the asavas without grasping. So in this sutta you find that the Venerable Sariputta, he had, what we say, stronger paramis, stronger, better, higher perfections of character, so that he was not very much disturbed by lust, hatred and delusion. So his progress was pleasant, and because he made great effort, it was also very swift. Now we come to sutra number 4.17.169. This is quite an important sutra. Monks, these four persons are found existing in the world. What for? Here in monks, a certain person in this very life is set free, but with some effort. Again, another person is set free when body breaks up, with some effort. Hearing again monks, a certain person is set free in this very life, but without effort. Yet again, another person is set free when body breaks up, without effort. Now monks, how is a person one who in this very life is set free but with some effort? In this case, a monk lives contemplating the loathsomeness of body, aware of the repulsiveness of food, aware of his distaste for all the world, aware of impermanence in all the conditioners, sankharas. Thus, awareness of death is well implanted in the very self. He lives dependent on these five powers of a pupil, the power of faith, that of conscience, that means the fear to do wrong, remorse, means a sense of shame of having done wrong, and energy and the power of wisdom. In him, these five controlling faculties are also manifested in abundance, namely, the controlling faculty of faith, energy, recollection or mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. Thus, by the preponderance of these five controlling faculties in this very life, he is set free, but with some effort. And how monks is a person again set free when body breaks up with some effort. In this case, a monk lives contemplating the loathsomeness of body, aware of the repulsiveness of food, aware of his distaste for all the world, aware of impermanence in all the conditioners. Thus, awareness of death is well planted in the very self. He lives dependent on these five powers of a pupil, namely, the power of faith, conscience, remorse, energy, wisdom. But in him, these five controlling faculties are duly manifested, namely, the controlling faculty of faith, energy, recollection, or mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. Thus, by the dullness of these faculties, he is set free, but with some effort when body breaks up. And how monks is a person set free in this very life, but without effort. In this case, a monk, aloof from sense desires, etc., etc., enters and abides in the first jhana, the second jhana, third jhana, fourth jhana. He lives dependent on these five powers of a pupil, i.e. faith, conscience, remorse, energy, and wisdom. In him, the five controlling faculties are manifested in abundance, i.e. faith, energy, recollection, concentration, wisdom. Thus, by the preponderance of these five controlling faculties, he is set free in this very life without effort. And how monks is a person again one who is set free without effort when body breaks up. from sense desires, etc., enters on the four jhanas and abides therein. He lives dependent on the five powers of a pupil, but in him the five controlling faculties are duly manifested. Owing to the dullness of these five faculties, it is not till body breaks up that he is set free without effort. So these are the four persons found existing in the world. Here, this sutra is about the arahants, how they attain arahanthood. So here we find there are different conditions. There is one who is set free before he is dying. He attains arahanthood before he dies. And it can be with effort or it can be without effort. And then there's another type who only attains arahanthood on his deathbed when he is dying, and that also with effort or without effort. And then we find the first one, the one who is set free before death with some effort, he does not have the four jhanas, but the five faculties are strong. because the five controlling faculties are strong, then he is set free before death. The second one is set free at death, but with some effort. Also, he does not have the four jhanas, but he has the five faculties quite weak. His five faculties are weak, and then he is set free only when at the time of dying. And the third one is set free before death but without effort. And this one possesses the four jhanas and the faculties are also very strong. And the last one is set free only at the death, and without effort he possesses the four jhanas, but the faculties are weak. So when a person possesses the four jhanas, you can see from here, that he attains arahanthood without effort. With the four jhanas, he attains arahanthood without effort. Whereas without the four jhanas, he needs effort. But this does not mean that he does not have any jhana, because in all these cases, he has the five faculties. And in the five faculties, you notice, the five faculties are faith, energy, recollection or mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. So one of the faculties is concentration and concentration, perfect concentration, even for the faculties are the four jhanas. So when you say that the faculties are weak, it means probably that he has only one jhana. One jhana or two jhanas, probably one. And then when the faculties are strong, probably he has two or three jhanas. Two or three jhanas. Whereas when the faculties are perfect, then he has all the four jhanas. Because in the earlier suttas we read that an arahant and an anagami must possess the jhanas to attain anagami and arahanthood. So that's about the jhanas. And then you notice that all of them, they contemplate the loathsomeness of the body, aware of the repulsiveness of food, aware of the distaste for the world, aware of impermanence in all the conditioners. Thus, awareness of death is well planted in the very self. So this awareness of death is one thing that is very important. If we practice the holy life, we should always contemplate death, always remember that death is very near. Anytime we can pass away. Firstly, it gives us a sense of urgency. Secondly, because of that, as a result of that, we are more mindful, our sati is stronger. Sati is very important for concentration and concentration is very important for the destruction of the asavasa. So that's the one thing you have to remember, these few things. Loathsomeness of the body, repulsiveness of food, distaste for the world, impermanence in all the conditioners, all the conditioners and the conditioned things. Then awareness of death. Then the second thing we want to note is the five powers of a pupil. A pupil is one who is cultivating the holy life. And these five powers of a pupil are faith. Faith is quite important. That means having trust or confidence in the Buddha's teachings especially. Normally we say in the Triple Gem, basically it is the Dharma. And then conscience. Conscience is the fear to do wrong. That means before you do any wrong, you have that fear of doing wrong. That is hiri. Then the third one is remorse. Remorse is a sense of shame. Sense of shame if we have done anything wrong. We regret it. That is otapa. These two things, conscience and remorse, hiri-otapa, they're quite important qualities for a person on the spiritual path. And then energy and wisdom, these are the five powers of a pupil. And then the five controlling faculties, Faith, Energy, Recollection or Mindfulness, Concentration and Wisdom. These five things are also very important. These are part of the 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas. And the Buddha said that when the Noble Eightfold Path is perfected, all the 37 Bodhipakya Dharmas are perfected. the faculties, the powers, the Bhojanga, the Aryan Eightfold Path, etc. So you can see that for liberation in this life, these few things are important. The constant contemplation of death, then the five powers of a pupil, the five controlling faculties, and the jhanas. If you have the jhanas, then you don't need so much effort. But then we have seen in some earlier suttas that the jhanas are important if we want to attain anagami or arahanthood. And some people because they find attaining the jhanas are so difficult, then we can concentrate on listening to the suttas. because the suttapana and the sakadagami, we don't need the jhanas. And in the suttas we find that a lot of people enter the stream from listening to the suttas. So it is good we put more effort now on learning the suttas. Once we have this foundation, later we can concentrate on attaining concentration.

33-AN-Book-4K-(4.17.170-to-4.18.179).txt

Now we come to 4.17.170. This is another important sutra. On a certain occasion, the Venerable Ananda was staying at Kosambi in Gosita Park. Then the Venerable Ananda addressed the monk saying, Your Reverence," replied those monks to the Venerable Ananda. The Venerable Ananda said, "'Reverend Sirs, when anyone, be it monk or nun, proclaims in my presence that he has attained arahantship, all such do so by virtue of four factors, or one of these four. What are they?' Hearing Your Reverence, a monk develops Vipassana, contemplation preceded by Samatha, tranquilization. In him thus developing contemplation preceded by tranquilization is born the way. He follows along that way, makes it grow, makes much of it. In him following, developing, making much of that way, the fetters are abandoned, the lurking tendencies come to an end. All again, your reverences, a monk develops tranquilization preceded by contemplation. In him developing tranquilization preceded by contemplation is born the way. He follows along that way, makes it grow, makes much of it. In him following, developing, making much of that way, the fetters are abandoned, the lurking tendencies come to an end. Yet again, Your Reverences, a monk develops tranquilization and contemplation together or simultaneously. In him thus developing tranquilization and contemplation together, the way is born, he follows along that way, etc. As he does so, the factors are abandoned, the lurking tendencies come to an end. Once more, Your Reverences, a monk's mind is utterly moved and taken up by dharma. That is the time, Your Reverences, when his mind stands fixed in the very self, or internally, settles down, becomes one-pointed, is composed. In him the way is born. He follows along that way, makes it grow, makes much of it. In him following, developing, making much of that way, the factors are abandoned, the lurking tendencies come to an end. Indeed, Your Reverences, when anyone, be it a monk or nun, proclaims in my presence that he has attained Arahantship, all such do so by virtue of four factors, or one of these four." That's the end of the Sutta. This Sutta was spoken by the Venerable Ananda after the Buddha's passing away. Because when the Buddha was still alive, whenever the monks or nuns attained Arahanthood, they would come and inform the Buddha that they had attained Arahanthood. So because the Buddha had passed into Parinibbana, and the Venerable Ananda was considered like a leader of the Sangha, And so they would come to the Venerable Ananda. The Venerable Ananda was supposed to have lived up to about 120, the age of 120. So monks and nuns, they would come and inform Venerable Ananda that they had attained arahanthood. And in this sutra, Venerable Ananda says that all of them, all the arahants attained arahanthood by one of these four ways. In other words, there are only these four ways to attain Arahanthood. There is no other way to attain Arahanthood. The first one is a person practices Samatha first, followed by Vipassana. The second one, he practices Vipassana first, followed by Samatha. The third one is Samatha and Vipassana together. The fourth one is a method of meditation which nowadays is seldom taught in Theravada Buddhism, but which has gone into Mahayana Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and also Hinduism, Jnana Yoga, and that is contemplating on the self, contemplation on the self until the mind becomes one-pointed, which also means that's a Samatha practice. And then after that, he follows along that way, and the asavas are destroyed. So these are the four ways to attain arahanthood. And in all these four ways, we find actually both samatha and vipassana are necessary. Samatha is tranquilization of the mind, and vipassana is the contemplation of the body and the mind, basically. So, if nowadays people say that samatha is not necessary, it is not the Buddha's teaching. If people say vipassana is not necessary, it is also not the Buddha's teaching. Both samatha and vipassana are clearly necessary in this sutta. Now we come to another important sutra. There's quite a lot of good important sutras here. 4.18.171. The Buddha said, monks, where there is bodily action, there arises to the self pleasure or pain caused by intention of bodily action. Or monks, where there is verbal action, there arises pleasure or pain to the self caused by intentional action of speech. Or monks, where there is mental action, there arises pleasure or pain to the self caused by intentional action of mind. Or it is due to ignorance. Monks, it is due to ignorance that either of himself one wills bodily intentions, falling on which arises to the self that pleasure or pain, or others will bodily intentions against him, falling on which arises to the self that pleasure or pain. Either deliberately, monks, one wills bodily intentions, following on which arises to the self that pleasure or pain, or unwittingly does he will bodily intention. Either of himself, monks, one wills verbal intentions, following on which arises to the self that pleasure or pain, or others will verbal intention against him, falling on which arises pleasure or pain. Either deliberately monks one wills verbal intentions, or unwittingly does he will verbal intentions. Again monks, either of himself, one wills mental intentions, falling on which arises to the self that pleasure or pain, or others will mental intentions against him, falling on which arises pleasure or pain. Either deliberately, monks, one wills mental intentions, or unwittingly does he will mental intention. Monks, in these instances, ignorance is followed. But by the utter seizing and ending of ignorance, that bodily intention exists not, following on which that pleasure or pain arises to the self. That verbal intention, that mental intention exists not, following on which that pleasure or pain arises to the self. There is no field, no base, no sphere of action, no occasion following on which that pleasure or pain arises to the self. This is one of the suttas about karma. And the Pali word here is Kaya Sankarang Abhi Sankaroti, which means will's bodily intentions. The second one is Vaci Sankarang Abhi Sankaroti. which means will's verbal intentions. The third one is Mano Sankarang Abhi Sankaroti, which means will's mental intentions. And we note here that in all these instances of karma, the third one is Mano Sankarang, and it is not Citta Sankara. In the Paticcasamuppada, dependent origination, the sankharas are mentioned as kaya-sankhara, vaci-sankhara, and citta-sankhara. And there are two sets of sankharas we find in the suttas. One is kaya-sankhara, vaci-sankhara, mano-sankhara. The other one is kaya-sankhara, vaci-sankhara, and citta-sankhara. And mano-sankhara is always used when it concerns kamma, just like this sutta, concerns kamma. We use Mano Sankara, the third one. Whereas in Paticca Samupada, dependent origination, it is Citta Sankara. And Citta Sankara, we find, has to do not with karma, but with cessation. cessation, if you are interested, you can look at my book, Dependent Origination, it explains the difference between these two sets of sankharas. And we find that towards the end, that when ignorance is ended, with the ceasing and ending of ignorance, there is no more karma created. Now another sutta, 4.18.172. Monks, there are these four ways of getting personality. What four? There is monks, the getting of personality in the getting of which one's own intention, not that of another person, has effect. There is that in the getting of which another person's intention has effect, not one's own. There is that in which both one's own and another's intention have effect. and there is that in which neither has effect. These make four. When this was said, the Venerable Sariputta said this to the Exalted One. Of this law that has been uttered by the Exalted One in brief, I understand the meaning in detail. In the case where there is getting of personality in which one's own intention, not another's, has effect, there is decease for those beings from that group because of one's own intention. In the case where there is getting of personality in which another's intention, not one's own, has effect, there is disease for those beings from that group because of another's intention. In the case where there is getting of personality in which both have effect, there is disease for those beings from that group because of the intention both of oneself and of another. But Lord, in the case where there is getting of personality in which neither has effect, what sort of devas are to be regarded therein?" And the Buddha said, in that case, Sariputta, it is the devas who have attained the realm in which is neither perception nor non-perception. And Sariputta said, Pray Lord, what is the reason, what is the cause, why certain beings desisting from that group are returners, who come back to this state of things? Again Lord, what is the reason, what is the cause, why certain beings desisting from that group are non-returners, who come not back to this state of things? And the Buddha said, in this first case, Sariputta, in a certain person, the factors that bind to this world are not abandoned. Such a one in this very life attains the realm where there is neither perception nor non-perception and abides therein. He enjoys its sweetness, longs for it, finds happiness therein, established therein, given thereto, generally spending his time therein, not falling away therefrom. When he makes an end, he is reborn in that company. When he deceases, thence he is a returner, he comes back to this state of things. In the other case, Sariputta, in a certain person, those fetters are abandoned. Such a one, in this very life, attains the realm where there is neither perception nor non-perception. He enjoys his sweetness, longs for it, etc. When he makes an end, he is reborn in that company. But deceasing then, he is a non-returner. He comes not back to this state of things. This is the reason, this is the cause, Sariputta, why certain beings are non-returners who come not back to this state of things. The thing about this sutta which I like to point out is that it is mentioned here that there are certain persons because of their cultivation of the Arupajana, the base of neither perception nor non-perception and they abide in it constantly and they enjoy that state and constantly spend their time in that state. When they pass away, they are reborn in that Arupajana realm. But there are two types of person. One is he has destroyed those factors and he does not come back to the human world, whereas there's another one who has not destroyed the fetus, he comes back to the human birth again. So from here you find the one that does not come back to the human realm again, he's a non-returner, an anagami. So this is one of the few suttas which shows that an anagami can be reborn in the plane of neither perception nor non-perception. Usually, anagamis are reborn in the Suddhavasa abode, which is the fourth jhāna plane. But in this sutta, it shows that they can also be reborn in the Arūpajhāna plane. Now we come to another sutta, which is also quite, in fact, a very important sutta also. 4.18.174. The Venerable Kothita, the great, or Mahakothita, came to visit the Venerable Sariputta. On coming to him, he greeted him courteously, etc., etc., and sat down at one side. So seated, the Venerable Mahakothita said this to the Venerable Sariputta, Your reverence, O Abhuso, does anything at all exist after the passionless ending, without remainder, of the six spheres of contact? And Venerable Sariputta said, Say not that, Your reverence. And then Mahakotita the Arahant said, Then, Your reverence, not anything exists after the ending of the six spheres of contact? And Venerable Sariputta said, Say not that, Your reverence. And again, Venerable Mahakutthita said, then there both is and is not anything existing after the passionless ending without remainder of the six spheres of contact. And Venerable Sariputta said, say not that, Your Reverence. Then Venerable Mahakutthita said, Your Reverence, when question thus is there, anything remaining, or is there not, or is there and is there not, or neither is there nor is there not anything existing after the ending of the six spheres of contact. You reply, say not that your reverence. Pray then, how is the meaning of what I said to be regarded? And Venerable Sariputta said, Your Reverence, in saying that there is something left, one makes difficulty where there is none. In saying that there neither is nor is not anything left, one makes difficulty where there is none. So long, Your Reverence, as there is going to the six spheres of contact, for just so long is there a going to difficulty. But, Your Reverence, by the passionless ending without remainder of the six spheres of contact, there is calming down of difficulty. So I'll stop here on this particular sutta, but I'd like to say about this sutta which is This sutra is talking about the state of Nibbana. After the ending of the six spheres of contact is the ending of the six consciousness. The six consciousness makes up the whole world, the whole realm of existence. And when the six consciousness stop, That is the state of Nibbana. And here he is asking whether anything exists. And Sariputta said, don't say that. And then he said, that means nothing exists. And Sariputta said, also don't say that. And then he said, then both something exists and does not exist. And then Sariputta said, don't say that again. And neither also don't say that. So, you see, in the sutra, the Buddha said there are two extremes, the annihilationist view and the eternalist view. If you say nothing exists in the state of Parinibbana, then the Buddha said you are an annihilationist. He said nothing exists. If you say something exists, then in the state of Nibbana, the Buddha said you are an eternalist. So, it is very dangerous to say something exists and something does not exist. But then, in the Digha Nikaya, there is a sutra where the Buddha said the Tathagata is designated by the Dhamma body, Dhammakaya. Brahma-body, Brahma-kaya, Dhamma-become, Dhamma-bhuta. Brahma become Brahma Buddha. And so the ultimate state, the Buddha didn't say that nothing exists. He also didn't say that something exists, but he said that actually that the Tathagata is profound, immeasurable, unfathomable like the ocean. This is mentioned in Majjhima Nikaya 72. And this ultimate state which the body calls, the Buddha calls the Brahma body or the Brahma become, the Hindus call it Brahma and also call it Atman. And I believe that those holy men who have reached a very high level, they understand that this ultimate state. But they always say that it is something that cannot be actually described. That's why the Buddha calls it the unconditioned, the uncreate. using all negative terms, because it cannot be perceived by the mind, it cannot be cognized by the mind, it can only be attained. Because this is something that we cannot know unless our mind stops working. Because as long as our mind is working, that means our active mind, the world exists, but it's only when the active mind stops, there is a type of consciousness which the Buddha calls the unsupported consciousness in our suttas, and which may be similar to what the Hindus call awareness, pure awareness. But then, as is mentioned in this sutta, this is a very delicate subject and sometimes people, including monks, can come to great differences and come to have very strong views and can even split the Sangha when we have fixed views about this. So it's very dangerous. So it's best if we approach this subject very carefully and not to say that something exists or nothing exists. 4.18.175. The Venerable Upavana came to visit the Venerable Sariputta, etc. and said this to him. Pray, Sariputta, your reverence, is there an end-maker by knowledge? Stop here for a while. End-maker is antakaro. That means one who has made an end, which is basically an arahana. And then Venerable Sariputta said, not in this case, Your Reverence. And then Venerable Upavana said again, then Your Reverence, is there an end maker by conduct? Not in this case, Your Reverence. Then is there an end-maker by knowledge and conduct? Not in this case, Your Reverence. What then, Your Reverence, is there an end-maker by any other way than knowledge and conduct? Not in this case, Your Reverence. Sariputta, Your Reverence, when asked, is there any end-maker by knowledge, by conduct, by knowledge and conduct, and is there any other way? He'll reply, Not in this case, Your Reverence. In what way then, Your Reverence, is there an end-maker? And Venerable Sariputta said, Your Reverence, if there were an end-maker by knowledge, he would still be an end-maker with grasping, or with basis. Sabhu padano. If there were one by knowledge and conduct, he would still be an end-maker with grasping. If, Your Reverence, there were an end-maker by any other way than by knowledge and conduct, then the ordinary man would be an end-maker. Now, Your Reverence, the ordinary man living apart from knowledge and conduct, being unversed in conduct, knows not, sees not things as they really are. But if he be practiced in conduct, he knows, he sees things as they really are. So knowing, so seeing, he is an end-maker." In this sutta, Venerable Sariputta says that there is basically no end-maker, no arahant, because if you say that there is an end-maker or an arahant, then there would still be a basis for rebirth. In other words, this teaching here is a bit similar to some teachings by some Hindu saints, namely that there is no person to be liberated. If we think that there is a person to be liberated, then we don't understand. That is why sometimes some people, they think that they are already in Arya. and they think I have become an Arya, but Arya does not think that I have become an Arya. He just knows that there is attainment and he is not eager also for others to know. Nowadays sometimes some people think that they are Arya and they are very eager for other people to know. And if other people don't accept, don't believe that they are ariya, then they get very annoyed. And that just proves that they are not ariya. So here we have to know basically there is nothing to attain, just as long as our mind is working, We think there is a self, we think that we have to strive to get out of samsara. All this striving to get out of samsara is still in that realm of delusion. But then we still have to strive. Only thing is sometimes we strive too hard, we don't get to see things as they really are. One of the important qualities in the holy path is upekka, equanimity. It's only when the mind is calm and equanimous, not agitated, that we see things as they really are. Today we come to sutra number 4.18.179. Now the Venerable Ananda went to visit the Venerable Sariputta. and on coming to him, greeted him courteously. As he sat at one side, the Venerable Ananda said this to the Venerable Sariputta. Pray, Sariputta, your reverence, what is the reason, what is the cause, why certain beings in this world are not fully set free in this very life? In this matter, Ananda, Your Reverence, beings do not understand as it really is. This perception partakes of worsening. They do not understand as it really is. This perception partakes of stability. They do not understand as it really is. This perception partakes of distinction. They do not understand as it really is. This perception partakes of penetration. This, Your Reverence, is the reason, this is the cause, why some beings in this world are not fully set free in this very life." And Venerable Ananda again asked, "'But pray Sariputta, Your Reverence, what is the reason, what is the cause, why certain beings in this world are fully set free in this very life?' In this matter, your reverence, beings do understand as it really is. This perception partakes of worsening, this perception partakes of distinction, this perception partakes of stability, and this perception partakes of penetration. This is the reason why certain beings are set free in this very life. Now that's the end of this sutta. Now according to the Digha Nikaya Sutta number 34. This sutta refers to four kinds of concentration and this is also explained in the Visuddhi Magga. In the Visuddhi Magga it says that Of these forms of concentration, the partaking of worsening or decline is due to the frequent arising of opposing states, which means the hindrances probably. Then the partaking of stability is due to the persistence of that mindfulness which is in conformity with concentration. The partaking of distinction is due to the attainment of a higher distinctive state. which probably means the jhanas. And the partaking of penetration is due to the promptings of perception and attention associated with disgust. That means it is more of like getting insight. So you have disgust and dispassionateness. So from here you can see that when we practice meditation, we have to go through these four states. The state of worsening, which is the initial stage in our meditation, our concentration is not stable. So sometimes you progress, sometimes you regress, sometimes you progress, you take one step forward and then later you take two steps back. Sometimes you take three steps forward and then you take one step back like that. So this is the worsening stage. Then later you come to the second stage of stability, where you can get into a tranquil state. Every time you meditate, every time you sit down, because of experience, you are able to bring your mind down into a tranquil state so that you can use it. Then the third one is distinction, that means you achieve a state of distinction. And this I should refer to the jhanas, the one-pointedness of mind. In the monk's precepts, there is one precept in the parājikas, the very heaviest offenses for a monk, where if a monk does not have supernormal attainments and he claims to have supernormal attainments, then he is parājika, he is no more a monk. And in this definition of supernormal attainments, one is ārya stages. That means he's not an ariya, he claims to be an ariya. Second one, he does not have psychic power, he claims to have psychic power. Another one is he does not have jhana, and he claims to have jhana. That means he purposely, willfully lies. So because of that definition of supernormal states, So jhanas is a state of supernormal attainment, a state of distinction. That's why here I should refer to the jhanas. And then the last one is the perception of this penetration. That means he gets insight as a result of the one-pointedness of mind. So we have to go through these four states to get liberation in this very life. So here you can see the importance of both samatha and vipassana in the liberation of a person.

34-AN-Book-4L-(4.18.180-to-4.19.185).txt

Now we come to Sutta number 4.18.180. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying in Bhoga Nagara at the Ananda Shrine. Then the Exalted One addressed the monks saying, monks, yes Lord, replied those monks to the Exalted One. The Exalted One said, monks, I will teach you these four great authorities. Do you listen to it? Carefully give your minds to it and I will speak. The Exalted One said this. And what monks are the four great authorities? In this case, monks, a monk might say, face to face with the Exalted One, Your Reverence, did I hear it? Face to face with Him, did I receive it? This is Dhamma, this is Vinaya, this is the Master's teaching. I'll just stop here for a moment just to comment. This Dhamma Vinaya is the master's teaching. In the suttas, you'll find that the Buddha always referred to his teachings as Dhamma Vinaya. And here you will get to see what is Dhamma Vinaya. And as I've mentioned before, the word Tripitaka or Tipitaka was never mentioned by the Buddha. In the suttas, he always mentioned his teachings as Dhamma Vinaya. Now the Buddha continued, Now monks, the words of that monk are neither to be welcomed nor scorned. But without welcoming, without scorning, the words and syllables thereof are to be closely scrutinized, laid beside sutta and compared with Vinaya. If, when thus laid beside Sutta and compared with Vinaya, they lie not along with Sutta and agree not with Vinaya, to this conclusion must you come. Surely this is not the word of the Exalted One, Arahant, the Fully Enlightened One, and it was wrongly taken by that monk. So reject it, monks. Herein again, a monk might say, face to face with the Exalted One, Your Reverence, did I hear it? Face to face with Him, did I receive it? This is Dhamma, this is Vinaya, this is the Master's teaching. Now the words of that monk are neither to be welcomed nor scorned. But if when laid beside Sutta and compared with Vinaya, they lie along with Sutta and agree with Vinaya, to this conclusion must you come. Surely this is the word of the Exalted One. and it was rightly taken by that monk, then bear this in mind as the first great authority. Then again, a monk might say, in such and such a monastery resides a sangha, an order of monks, together with an elder monk, a thera, a leader. Face to face with that sangha, I heard it. Face to face I received it. This is Dhamma. This is Vinaya. This is the Master's teaching. Now the words of that monk are neither to be welcomed nor scorned. But if, when laid beside Sutta and compared with Vinaya, they lie not along with Sutta and agree not with Vinaya, to this conclusion must you come. Surely this is not the word of the Exalted One, and it was wrongly taken by that Sangha of monks. So do you reject it, monks? But on the other hand, a monk might say, in such and such a monastery resides a sangha of monks together with an elder monk, a leader. Face to face with that order, I heard it. Face to face, I received it. This is Dhamma, this is Vinaya, this is the Master's teaching. Now the words of that monk are neither to be welcomed nor scorned. If, when laid beside Sutta and compared with Vinaya, those words lie along with Sutta and agree with Vinaya, to this conclusion must you come. Surely this is the word of the Exalted One. It was rightly taken by that Sangha of monks. These monks is the second great authority to bear in mind. Yet again, a monk might say, in such and such a monastery resides a great number of elder monks, widely learned. versed in the doctrines, who know Dhamma by heart, who know Vinaya by heart, who know the summaries by heart. Face to face with those elder monks, I heard it. Face to face did I receive it. This is Dhamma. This is Vinaya. This is the Master's teaching. Now the words of that monk are neither to be welcomed nor scorned. But if when laid beside Sutta and compared with Vinaya, they lie not along with Sutta and agree not with Vinaya, to this conclusion must you come. Surely this is not the word of the Exalted One. It was wrongly taken by those elders. So do you reject it, monks? Herein again a monk might say, in such and such a monastery resides a great number of elder monks. widely learned, versed in the doctrines, who know Dhamma by heart, who know Vinaya by heart, who know the summaries by heart. Face to face with those elder monks I heard it, face to face did I receive it. This is Dhamma, this is Vinaya, this is the Master's teaching. Now the words of that monk are neither to be welcomed nor scorned. Now, but if when laid beside Sutta and compared with Vinaya, they align along with Sutta and agree with Vinaya, then to this conclusion must you come. Surely this is the word of that Exalted One, and it was rightly taken by those elders. This, monks, is the third great authority. Herein again the monk might say, in such and such a monastery resides a single elder monk of wide learning, versed in the doctrines, who knows Dhamma by heart, who knows Vinaya by heart, who knows the summaries by heart. Face to face with that elder monk I heard it, face to face did I receive it. This is Dhamma, this is Vinaya, this is the Master's teaching. Now monks, the words of that monk are neither to be welcomed nor scorned, but without scorning them, the words and syllables thereof are to be closely scrutinized, laid beside Sutta and compared with Vinaya. If, when laid beside Sutta and compared with Vinaya, they lie not along with Sutta and agree not with Vinaya, to this conclusion must you come. Surely this is not the word of that Exalted One, the Arahant, the Fully Enlightened One. and it was wrongly taken by that elder monk. So do you reject it, monks? If, however, a monk should say, in such and such a monastery resides a single elder monk of wide learning, versed in the doctrines, who knows Dhamma by heart, who knows Vinaya by heart, etc., and then the words of the monk are neither to be welcomed nor scorned, but they should be laid beside Sutta and compared with Vinaya. And if, when laid beside Sutta and compared with Vinaya, they lie along with Sutta and agree with Vinaya, to this conclusion must you come. Surely this is the word of that Exalted One, the Arahant, the Fully Enlightened One, and it was rightly taken by that elder monk. This monk is the fourth great authority. So these monks are the four great authorities. That's the end of the Sutta. So here the Buddha is saying, suppose a monk says, he quotes four different cases. The first one is he says, such and such is the teaching of the Buddha. And he says, the first one, he says he heard it from the Buddha himself. If that is so, then you must compare it with the suttas and the Vinaya. And then the second case is, if the monk says that he heard it from a sangha of monks, with an elder monk, a Thera, and the whole sangha says that this is the Buddha's teaching, such and such is the Buddha's teaching, then it is to be compared with Dhamma and Vinaya. And then the third one is, if a monk says that in a monastery there are a great number of Theras, elder monks, widely learned, and they say that such and such is the Buddha's teachings. Again, it must be compared with Sutta and Vinaya. And the fourth one is, the monk says that in a monastery there is a single elder monk who is widely learned and and he claims and such and such is the Buddha's teachings. Then, without welcoming or scorning what he says, his words are to be compared with the Sutta and Vinaya. And after comparing with Sutta and Vinaya, then only you can come to the conclusion whether it is the Buddha's teachings or not. So here in this sutta you find it is very clearly stated that Dhamma means the suttas. Because when he claims this is Dhamma, it must be compared with the suttas. And there is no mention of the Abhidhamma as we know it today in the original suttas of the Buddha. even though there are certain monks who claim that the Dhamma includes the Abhidhamma, in this sutta it is very clear that Dhamma always refers to the suttas and Vinaya refers to the few books of the Vinaya Tripitaka which concerns monks. The word Tripitaka or Tipitaka was never mentioned in the suttas and it is later a word that came later. I read to you the footnote here by the Pali Text Society. The footnote here says that there were evidently only two collections, pitakas, but Abhidhamma is obviously a much later collection. Had there been any pitakas at the time of the composition of this sutta, the word would surely have been used in it. So you see the word Pitaka is never mentioned in the suttas as we know it today. And the word Tripitaka also never mentioned. And the other thing we should know is in the Second Sangha Council, which was held about 100 years after the Parinibbana of the Buddha, there were certain monks who claimed that they follow such and such a teaching because it was handed down to them from their teachers. And so it was decided at the Second Sangha Council that If a certain monk gets a teaching from his teacher, then he should compare what his teacher teaches with the suttas and the Vinaya. And if it does not agree with the suttas and the Vinaya, then we should not follow the words of that teacher monk. Because our original teacher is the Buddha, that's why we take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. So it is very clear here, even nowadays, whatever senior monks teach, even if they are very well-known, very respectable monks, whatever they teach should be not taken on their word but compared with the suttas and the vinaya. That is why the foundation in the suttas is very very important. Nowadays there is such a lot of writings on the Buddha's teachings and so many different interpretations. That is very dangerous to put your faith in a teacher. It is better to put our faith in the original suttas of the Buddha. Now we come to the Sutta 4.19.183. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Rajagaha in bamboo grove at the squirrel's feeding ground. Then the Brahmin Vasakara, a great official of Magadha, came to visit the Exalted One. On coming to him, he greeted him courteously and sat down at one side. So seated, the Brahmin Vasakara, a great official of Magadha, said this to the exalted one. For my part, Master Gautama, I say this, I hold this view. If a man speaks of what he has seen, there is no harm in his saying, thus I saw. If a man speaks of what he has heard, there is no harm in his saying, thus I heard. If a man speaks of what he has sensed, of what he has understood, saying, thus I sensed, thus I understood, there is no harm resulting from that. And the Buddha said, I, for my part, Brahmin, do not say that all that one has seen should be spoken of. Yet do I not say, Brahmin, that all that one has seen should not be spoken of. And I say the same of what is heard, sensed and understood. Now all that one has heard, sensed or understood should be spoken of or not spoken of. Not all that one has seen, sensed or understood should be spoken of or not spoken of. Now Brahmin, insofar as to him who speaks what he has seen, unprofitable states wax and profitable states wane. I say that such a thing, if seen, should not be spoken of. Insofar as to him who speaks what he has heard, sensed and understood, unprofitable states wax and profitable states wane. I say that such a thing heard, sensed and understood should not be spoken of. But in the case where unprofitable states wane and profitable states wax, in one who speaks thereof, I say that such things should be spoken of. Thereupon, the Brahmin Vasakara, the great official of Magadha, welcomed what was said by the Exalted One, and returning thanks, he rose from his seat and went away. This sutta tells us a very good criterion, a very good standard that we should follow regarding what should be spoken of and what should not be spoken of. Here it's very clear that if we speak and then profitable states decrease and unprofitable states increase, we should not speak. But in the case where profitable states increase and unprofitable states decrease, then we can speak. So this is a very good criterion. There is a sutta. where the Buddha said, before either we do a deed, a kamma through our body, speech or mind, before we do it, we should think carefully whether we should do it or not. If we do it and it harms us or harms others, we should not do it. But if we do it and it profits us or profits others, then we should do it. That is before the action. And then even while doing the action, if we remember, we should consider again whether what we are doing at that moment is correct or not correct, whether it's beneficial or harmful. And then we should either stop doing it or continue to do it. Then the third case is even after we have done an action, then we should reflect back and see that whatever action we did was profitable to others or to the self, or harmful to others or to the self. And if we find that it is harmful, we should decide not to do it again. If we find that it is beneficial, then we should decide to do it again and again. Now what are unprofitable states? Unprofitable states are states of greed, hatred, delusion, jealousy, conceit, restlessness, sloth and topper, doubt, etc. All these are unbeneficial states. So if they decrease, you should be careful not to do it or speak, etc. And profitable states are the opposite states of renunciation, loving-kindness, wisdom, humility, meekness, tranquility, diligence, etc. So if such states, profitable states, increase, then we should speak. This is concerning speaking, but there are other things, the six sense doors, we should be very careful. For example, reading. We read sometimes, that means if we are really concerned about the spiritual path. If we read and then we put a lot of information in our mind, it tends to come up, you know, come up as memory, and then we tend to think about it. For example, reading newspapers. Reading newspapers is not very good for somebody who wants to cultivate his mind. Because it put in a lot of trash into the mine. And the other thing is watching TV and video shows and all that. Now all these things come up. So if you want to cultivate the mine now, you don't do these unnecessary things. These are idle things. Now we come to another sutta, 4.19.184. Now the Brahmin Janusoni came to visit the Exalted One, and on coming to Him, greeted Him courteously, sat down at one side. So seated, the Brahmin Janusoni said this to the Exalted One, For my part, Master Gautama, I say this, I hold this view. There is no one subject to death who does not fear and fall trembling at the thought of death. And the Buddha said, Well, Brahmin, there is such a one. But there is also one subject to death who does not fear, who does not fall a-trembling at the thought of death. And of what sort is that one who, being subject to death, fears and falls a-trembling at the thought of death? In this case, Brahmin, a certain one is not freed from passions, not freed from lusts, not freed from desire, affection, from thirst and fever, not freed from craving. Then a grievous sickness afflicts such a one. Thus afflicted by grievous sickness, it occurs to him, Alas, the passions that I love will leave me, or I shall leave the passions that I love. Thereupon he grieves and wails, laments and beats the breast and falls into utter bewilderment. This one Brahmin, being subject to death, is afraid. He falls a-trembling at the thought of death. Again Brahmin, hear a certain one who, as regards body, is not freed from lusts, desire, affection, thirst and fever, is not freed from craving. Then the grievous sickness afflicts him. Thus afflicted, it occurs to him, alas, the body that I love will leave me, or I shall leave the body that I love. Thereupon he grieves, wails and falls into utter bewilderment. This one, Brahmin, being subject to death, is afraid. He falls a-trembling at the thought of death. Yet again, Brahmin, here a certain one has done no good deed, has done no profitable deed, has given no shelter to the timid. He has done evil, cruel, wrongful deeds. Then a grievous sickness afflicts such a one. Thus, afflicted by grievous sickness, it occurs to him, Alas, I have done no good deed, I have done no profitable deed, I have given no shelter to the timid, I have done evil, cruel, wrongful deeds. To the doom of those who do such deeds hereafter I am going. Thereupon he grieves, wails and falls into utter bewilderment. This one Brahmin, being subject to death, is afraid. He falls a-trembling at the thought of death. Yet again, Brahmin, here a certain one is doubtful, full of perplexity, has come to no conclusion as to true Dharma. He grieves and wails, laments and beats the breast and falls into utter bewilderment. This one also, being subject to death, is afraid. He falls a-trembling at the thought of death. Thus these four, being subject to death, are afraid. And of what sort, Brahmin, is he? who, subject to death, is not afraid, does not fall trembling at the thought of death, then the opposites, the vice versa. So this sutta is about the person who is very frightened when death comes. The first one is he's still very attached to the passions and a lot of desire, a lot of loves so that he cannot bear to part from his passions. The second one is attached to the body. And so when the body is about to die, he can't stand it. And the third one, he has done no good deeds. This one is very common. A lot of people, they don't have enough good deeds. They have no confidence when they are about to go. Whereas people who have done a lot of good deeds, they are very happy at the last moment. They are confident. And the fourth one is doubtful. That person does not know Dhamma. So he does not know how he came to the world. He does not know where he is going. And he is afraid. Some people when death comes, they are afraid to close their eyes. Because when they close their eyes, they start to see visions. So they are very scared. So these are the four types of person. So the opposite are those who are not Not afraid. Now I have read another sutra earlier where the Buddha said that most people after they pass away will fall into the woeful planes of rebirth. According to the sutras, most people when we pass away, most people will fall into the woeful planes and few will come back to the human realm or to go to the heavenly realm. So because most people go into the three woeful planes of the hell realm, animal and ghost realm, when death comes, they can see their place of rebirth. If you have experience looking at people who are about to pass away, they can tell at the last moment where they are going to be reborn. So they can be, some of them will scream at the last moments. Some of them, sometimes they behave like an animal and go on all fours and they refuse to wear any clothes. They just tear off their clothes. So these are the people who will be very afraid when death comes, which means that most people So there is also a sutra where the Buddha said that we should be prepared because the Deva messengers have come to tell us, to give us warning. Who are the Deva messengers? When you see a person who is grievously sick, you should remember that is a Deva messenger to us, that one day we will also be grievously sick. Second Deva messenger is when you see somebody is old and very near death. with all hair, white or no hair, sparse hair, and walking, shaking, hunchbacked and all that. That is the sign to us that one day we'll also be like that. And then the third one is a dead corpse, when we see a corpse, that is a messenger to tell us that one day our body also will be a corpse and it won't be very long, just a few more years time, because our average lifespan is only 70 years. So these are the Deva messengers that we should receive, be heedful of the message that they are passing to us. The Buddha said our body is like a cancer. All of us have cancer. Sometimes we forget, you know, sometimes somebody... Somebody with cancer, they can be very alarmed. They think that they are the only one who's got cancer. I have somebody who's got cancer. I've gone to see that person and he tells me, I've got cancer. Like, you know, expecting me, what should he do? But he forgets that all of us have cancer, in the sense that we don't know when we are going to die. Say, for example, a person has cancer, he thinks he's got maybe another few months to live. But then, even for the rest of us, if we have a few years to live, that's not very much more. We all have to face the prospect of death. So when we listen to the suttas, we understand that's the way the world is, that's the way things are. So we accept it, we accept death, and then when death comes, we are no more afraid. So the Buddha said we should always reflect on death. Marana Sati, the reflection of death, we should always practice. Now the next sutta is 4.19.185. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Rajagaha on Vulture's Peak Hill. Now at that time, a great number of notable wanderers were abiding on the bank of Snake River in the Wanderer's Park. namely Anyabhara, Varadara, Sakula Dain and other notable wanderers. Now in the evening, the Exalted One, arising from His solitary meditation, went towards the bank of Snake River, where was the wondrous park. On that occasion, among those wanderers holding other views, as they sat gathered together, this subject of talk chanced to arise. Such and such are the Brahmana truths, the holy truths." I'll just stop here for a while to explain this word Brahmana. This word Brahmana was originally used for one of the four castes in India. They had the brahmana caste, the priest caste, then they had the warrior caste, which is the kathiya caste, then they had the merchant caste, and then they had the laborer's caste, the lowest. So this word brahmana originally was used to mean the priest, the renunciants. But later, these brahmanas, these priests, they became corrupted. And they even married, they had wives, they had property, they worked as a spiritual advisor to the kings. And because of that, they did not later, very few of them cultivated the holy path. So from there, when we refer to their caste, later we call them the Brahmin caste. So the word Brahmana is used more for the meaning of holy. So the word Brahmana can refer to a holy man, an arahant. It can also refer to the Brahmin caste, so you have to be careful. So in this case, when you say the Brahmana truths, it means the holy truths. Now to continue. Now when the Exalted One reached those Wanderers, on coming to them He sat down on a seat made ready. When He had sat down, the Exalted One said this to those Wanderers. Pray, Wanderers, on what subject of talk were you engaged just now as you sat here, as you sit here gathered together? What was the subject of talk you have just now broken off? As to that, Master Gautama, as we sat here gathered together, the subject of talk that chanced to arise was this, such and such are the Brahmana truths, such and such are the Brahmana truths. Well, Wanderers, these four Brahmana truths or holy truths have been set forth by myself after fully comprehending and realizing them for myself. What for? In this case, Wanderers, the Brahmana says thus, all living things are not to be harmed. So saying, a brahmana speaks truth, not falsehood. Therein he has no conceit of recluse or brahmin. He has no conceit of better than I, equal am I, inferior am I. Moreover, by fully comprehending the truth contained in that saying, he is bent on the practice of mercy and compassion for all living things. Again wondrous, the brahmana says thus, all sensory lights are impermanent, painful, of a nature to change. So saying, the Brahmana speaks truth, not falsehood. Therein he has no conceit of recluse or Brahmin, or better am I, or equal am I, or inferior am I. Moreover, by fully comprehending the truth contained in that saying, he is bent on the practice of distaste for sense delights, for passionlessness, for making an end thereof. Again wondrous, the Brahmana says thus, All existences or becomings are impermanent, painful of a nature to change. So saying, the Brahmana speaks truth, not falsehood. Therein he has no conceit of recluse, etc., etc. Moreover, by fully comprehending the truth contained in that saying, he is bent on the practice of distaste for existences, for passionlessness, for making an end thereof. Yet again the wondrous, Again wondrous, the brahmana says thus, I have no part in anything anywhere, and herein for me there is no attachment to anything. So saying, the brahmana speaks truth, not falsehood. Therein he has no conceit of recluse, or brahmin, or better am I, or equal am I, or inferior am I. Moreover, by fully comprehending the truth contained in that saying, he is bent on the practice of having nothing at all. So these wanderers are the four Brahmana truths put forth by myself after fully comprehending and realizing them myself. And that's the end of the sutta. So in this sutta, you can see, during the time of the Buddha, there were a lot of external ascetics, like these wondrous paribhajakas, they are called. And this sutta shows that the Buddha was friendly with them, he associated with them, he did not cut them off, he did not look down on them. And because the Buddha had a lot of metta, he approached them and made friends with them. So that gave him the opportunity to teach them. And sometimes they accepted his teachings and converted to Buddhism. Sometimes they accepted it, but they refused to convert. And sometimes some of them did not accept it, and some even tried to debate with him, to challenge him. So you find that in this case the Buddha taught them the four holy truths, but they are not the four Aryan truths. not the four Aryan truths, because some of these external sect ascetics, they have their own opinion, their own views, so it's not easy to change them. So out of these four truths that the Buddha mentioned, two of them actually are part of the external sect teachings. Like the first one, all living things are not to be harmed. This is a very common view of holy men of all the religions in India at that time. And like the Jain sect, they are quite fanatical about not harming any living beings so that they are pure vegetarians to the extent of not taking milk. not even taking fresh vegetables and fruits. They think that fresh vegetables also contain life and they only take brown vegetables. So the Buddha mentioned this first one to sort of get their That is something that is very acceptable to them. Then the fourth one also, that I have no part in anything anywhere, and herein for me there is no attachment to anything. And it's because of this that some of them, they don't wear any clothes, they go around naked, they say they have no attachment to anything or everything. put down, including all the clothes. Of course, this is not something very practical, so the Buddha did not practice this, but this idea that they are not attached to anything is something that It's acceptable. So the Buddha also mentioned this. Then the other two are basically the Buddha's teachings that all sense delights are impermanent, painful of a nature to change, and all existences are impermanent, painful of a nature to change.

35-AN-Book-4M-(4.19.186-to-4.20.192).txt

Now we come to another sutra, 4.19.186. Now a certain monk came to visit the Exalted One, and on coming to Him saluted the Exalted One and sat down at one side. As he said thus, that monk said this to the Exalted One, Pray Lord, by what is the world led, by what is the world drawn along, under the sway of what that has arisen, does it go? And the Buddha said, Well said, well said, monk, sadhu, sadhu. Happy is your approach to a question. Goodly is your ready wit, and lovely is your questioning. Your question is thus, is it not, monk? Pray, Lord, by what is the world led? By what is the world drawn along? Under the sway of what that has arisen, does it go? And the monk said, It is, Lord. Well, monk, the world is led by mind, citta. By mind it is drawn along. When mind has arisen, it goes under its way. That is well said, Lord, replied that monk, welcoming what was said by the Exalted One. And after thanking him, asked another question. As to the common saying, widely learned, one who knows Dhamma by heart, pray, Lord, of what sort is one widely learned who knows Dhamma by heart? Well said, well said, monk. Happy is your approach to a question, goodly is your ready wit, and lovely is your questioning. You ask this, do you not? Of what sort is one widely learned who knows Dhamma by heart? I do, Lord. Well, monk, I have taught Dhamma widely. Now if a monk understands the meaning and text of Dhamma, even if it be but a stanza of four lines, and be set on living in accordance with Dhamma, he may well be called one widely learned who knows Dhamma by heart. It is well said, Lord, replied that monk, welcoming what was said by the exalted one, and after thanking him, asked another question. As to the common saying, Lord, learned of penetrative wisdom, pray, Lord, of what sort is one learned of penetrative wisdom? Well said, well said, monk. Happy is your approach to a question, etc. You ask this, do you not? Of what sort is one learned of penetrative wisdom? I do, Lord. In this case, monk. A monk hears it said. This is dukkha. By wisdom he penetrates the meaning of that saying and sees that it is so. He hears it said, this is the arising of dukkha, this is the ending of dukkha, this is the practice going to the ending of dukkha. By wisdom he penetrates the meaning of that saying and sees that it is so. Thus monk, he is learned of penetrative wisdom. It is well said, Lord, replied that monk, and put yet another question. As to the common saying, wise of great wisdom, pray, Lord, of what sort is one who is wise of great wisdom? Well said, well said, monk, etc., as before. You ask this, do you not? Who is wise of great wisdom? I do, Lord. Well, monk, in this case, he who is wise, of great wisdom, thinks not with a view to harm either himself or another, or both alike. So thinking, he thinks with a view to the profit of self, of another, both of self and of another, to the profit of the whole world. Thus, monk, one is wise, of great wisdom. That's the end of the sutra. So, you see, in this sutta, you can see the Buddha's metta, the Buddha's loving-kindness. When this monk asked him a question, he said sadhu sadhu to the monk and praised the monk. He said, happy is your approach to a question, goodly is your ready with, and lovely is your questioning. Then only replied the monk. So the first one, he said that the world is led along by thought or by mind, citta. This word citta can mean thought, it can mean mind. So because our mind is active, that the world is basically in our mind, is drawn along by mind. So by this is meant that the Buddha said that the world actually arises in our sixth consciousness. When our mind, the sixth consciousness works, then you get the world. And when the sixth consciousness stops, there is no world. So the Buddha said that the world arises dependent on the sixth consciousness, on the mind. Then the second one, the Buddha said, a monk is called widely learned, who knows Dhamma by heart. If he knows even a few lines of Dhamma, but he lives according to Dhamma, So it's very important not only to know Dhamma, but to live in accordance to Dhamma. Then you are widely learned and you know Dhamma by heart. And the third one, one who is learned of penetrative wisdom, is one who understands the Four Aryan Truths. Then, because he understands the Four Aryan Truths, his wisdom is penetrative. And the fourth one, who is wise of great wisdom, is one who does not harm himself, does not harm others. He's a harmless person. And you can have that if you don't have that ego. You don't have that great self. Because the great self brings along selfishness. And when we have selfishness to benefit ourselves, sometimes we harm others. So that's the end of the sutta. Now, Sutta 19.190. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Savatthi in East Park at the storied house of Migara's mother. Now, on that occasion, the Exalted One was sitting surrounded by the Sangha of monks, that day being the Sabbath. I stop here for a while to explain this word Sabbath. The word Sabbath is actually the Uposatha, Uposatha day. Uposatha day for monks is the 15th day, the full moon day, 15th day of the lunar calendar and the last day of the lunar calendar. That is for Theravada monks, the 30th or sometimes there is no 30th, there is the 29th day. These are the two days when the monks come together. Sometimes they may be staying in different areas. But they come together and hold the patimokkha, they recite the precepts. So that is the Uposatha day for monks. And the Uposatha day for lay people are four days in the month. the 8th day, the 15th day, the 23rd day, and the 30th day. This 30th day in Theravada was changed by the Mahayana to the 1st day. That's why, like in Malaysia, we are very familiar with the 1st day of the lunar month, Chauyat. That's because the Mahayana, they purposely changed that day so that they didn't want it to be the same as Theravada. So on those days, lay people were advised by the Buddha to keep the eight precepts. Because the Buddha said, as lay people, you don't have time to practice every day. Keep the eight precepts at least once a week. You should remember and practice the eight precepts. And this teaching was a very early Indian teaching. And it might have gone from there into Christianity. because Jesus was said to have gone to India to learn, so he might have got that into Christianity and from there he went to Islam. So like the Sabbath day for Christians is Sunday and for Muslims it's Friday. So because we are one of the earliest who practice this Uposatha day, we should not forget it, we should not lose it, we should always Remember to practice it. Nowadays, it might not be convenient to follow the lunar calendar. It might be more convenient to choose, for example, a Sunday, every Sunday, to keep the eight precepts. If you can't keep it in a temple or a Buddhist society, try to keep it at home. Then to continue the sutta, Then the Exalted One, after scanning the Order of Monks, the Sangha of Monks, as they sat in perfect silence, addressed the monks, saying, ìMonks, this company is free from idle words and idle talk. It is pure and established in the essential. Monks, such an Order of Monks as this is a company such as it would be hard to find anywhere in the world. Such an order of monks as this is worshipful, worthy of honor and gifts, worthy of worship with clasped hands upraised, a field of merit unsurpassed for the world. Monks, such an order of monks as this is a company to which even a little being given is much. to which much being given is more. Such an order of monks as this is a company worth going many a mile to see, even if one had to carry his food in a bag on his shoulder. Of such a sort is this order of monks." I'll stop here for a moment. So you see the Buddha, during the Buddha's time, those monks were really really monks, really worthy of respect, worthy of veneration, a field of merit unsurpassed. And it's not easy to find such monks. If you can get such a sangha of monks, the Buddha said, it's worth going a long distance to see. And even you give a little to them, it becomes much in terms of merit to you as a giver. And if you give more, it is even much more in terms of merit. So, if you can find anywhere such a Sangha of monks, you will be very, very lucky. Very, very lucky. It's very difficult to find a Sangha of extremely good monks. Then the Buddha continued, monks, there are abiding in this Sangha of monks, or order of monks, those who have one access to devas, there are those who have one access to Brahma, there are those who have one access to the imperturbable. There are abiding in this order of monks those who have won access to the Aryan. And how has a monk won access to the devas? Herein a monk, aloof from sense desires and so forth, having attained to the first jhana, abides therein. So, with the second, third, and fourth jhanas, that is how a monk has won access to the devas, and how has a monk won access to Brahma. Herein, a monk with heart possessed of goodwill, of compassion, of joy, with a heart possessed of equanimity, abides suffusing one quarter of the world, also the second, third, and fourth quarters, and in like manner above, below, across, everywhere, for all sorts and conditions, abides suffusing the whole world with a heart possessed of goodwill, compassion, joy and equanimity that is widespread, grown great and boundless, without enmity and untroubled. That is how a monk has won access to Brahma, and how has a monk won access to the imperturbable. Herein a monk Passing utterly beyond all consciousness of objects, by ending the consciousness of reaction, by disregarding consciousness of diversity, thinking infinite is space, attains and abides in the sphere of infinite space. Passing utterly beyond the sphere of infinite space, reaching the sphere of infinite consciousness, thinking infinite is consciousness, he abides in the sphere of infinite consciousness. Similarly, in the sphere of nothingness, and then in the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. Thus, a monk has one access to the imperturbable. And how has a monk one access to the Aryan? Herein, a monk understands that as it really is, this is il, or dukkha, this is the arising of dukkha, this is the ending of dukkha, this is the practice going to the ending of dukkha. Thus, a monk has one access to the Aryan. So you see these are the types of monks. The first one, he has one SS2. The devas are those who have attained the jhanas. Here, I think, does not refer to the jhana play in devas. those in the sensual realm because these monks does not refer to those who abide in jhana and all the time because if a monk abides in jhana and constantly experiences the bliss of jhana and enjoys the bliss of jhana and longs for the bliss of jhana then these monks will be reborn in the jhana plane But if they just attain jhāna and they don't abide in jhāna too long, it is possible that they just go to the lower planes. But that is just my personal opinion. It might be that depending on the monk, he might also be born into the jhāna planes. And then the Brahma planes are those who constantly abide in the four Brahma-vihāras. Metta, Karuna, Mudita and Upeka. And so they attained to the Brahma plane. And then the imperturbable are those who have gone to the plane of the Arupajanas. And then the Aryans are those who understand the Four Noble Truths. So these are the types of monks who have attain supernormal attainments. These are called supernormal attainments and here it also includes the jhanas. That's why sometimes if you talk about supernormal attainments, that means in a way that is stages of holiness or so, you could say. So these include the jhana attainments and even the abhinyas, the higher knowledges, which are basically psychic powers, because those are stepping stones to the ending of the asavas, to the attainment of the asavas. That's why you find in the suttas that the Buddha praised those monks who have these abhinyas, higher abhinyas, and it is one of the aims of the holy life. They are not to be actually looked down on. Some people, they think that they look down on these psychic powers. Nothing to look down. There are higher attainments which are difficult to attain. Not normally, not so easily attainable by people. And they are praised by the Buddhas. We are on the second book, coming to the end of the second book. We are in the chapter of the fours. Now we come to Sutta 4.20.191. The Buddha said, monks, four advantages are to be looked for from the frequent verbal recitation of teachings heard with the ear, from considering them in the mind, from thoroughly penetrating them by view. What are the four? Herein among Master's dhamma, those teachings heard with the ear, often recited, considered by the mind, are thoroughly penetrated by view. He making an end with memory confused is reborn in a certain company of devas. There the happy ones recite to him Dharma verses. Slow to arise in him monks is memory, but that being very quickly reaches excellence. This is the first advantage to be looked for from the frequent verbal recitation of teachings heard with the ear. from considering them by the mind, from thoroughly penetrating them by view. Then again, a monk masters dhamma and practices frequent recitation, reflection upon and penetrates the teachings. He, making an end with memory confused, is reborn in a certain company of devas. There, indeed, the happy ones recite not to him dharma verses, but maybe some monk who has psychic power, who has one mastery of mind, is teaching dharma to a company of devas. then it occurs to him. Why? This is just the dhamma-vinaya according to which formerly I practiced the holy life. Slow to arise monks in him is memory, but that being very quickly reaches excellence. It is just as if a man skilled in the sound of drums while going along the high road should hear the sound of a drum. he would have no doubt or uncertainty as to whether it was the sound of a drum or not, but would just conclude that it was so. In the same way, monks, among Master's dharma, those teachings heard with the ear, often recited, reflected upon, are thoroughly penetrated by view. Slow to arise in him, monks, is memory, but that being very quickly reaches excellence. This is the second advantage to be looked for from the frequent verbal recitation of teachings heard with the ear, from considering them by the mind, from thoroughly penetrating them by view. Then again a monk masters Dhamma and practices frequent recitation, reflection upon and penetrates the teachings. He is born in a certain company of Devas. There indeed the happy ones recite not to him Dhamma verses, nor does some monk who has psychic power, one who has one mastery of mind, teach Dhamma to a company of devas. But maybe some deva is teaching Dhamma to a company of devas. Then it occurs to him, why this is just the Dhamma Vinaya according to which I formerly practiced the holy life. Slow to arise in him monks his memory, but that being very quickly reaches excellence. It is just as if a man skilled in the sound of conches, while going along the high road, should hear the sound of a conch. He would have no doubt or uncertainty as to whether it was the sound of a conch or not, but would just conclude that it was so. In the same way monks, among masters, dhamma, etc., slow to arise in him, monks, his memory, but that being very quickly reaches excellence. This is the third advantage to be looked for from the frequent verbal recitation of teachings, from reflecting upon them, from thoroughly penetrating them by view. Yet again monks, a monk masters Dhamma and practices frequent recitation, reflection upon and penetrates the teachings, and is reborn in a certain company of devas. There indeed the happy ones recite not to him Dhamma verses, nor does some monk who has psychic power, who has one mastery of mind, teach Dhamma to a company of devas, nor yet does someone some deva, teach dhamma to a company of devas, but maybe someone apparitionally reborn there is reviving the memory of some other one apparitionally reborn. He says, Do you remember, good sir, do you remember, good sir, how formerly we used to practice the holy life? Then the other says, I do indeed remember, good sir, I do indeed remember. Slow to arise, monks, in him is memory, but that being very quickly reaches excellence. It is just as if two playmates who used to play at mud pies together were to meet some time or other. Then one of them says to the other, Say, old man, do you remember this? Do you remember that? And the other replies, I do indeed remember, old man. I do indeed remember. Just in the same way monks, a monk masters Dhamma and practices frequent recitation, reflection upon the teachings, and the teachings are thoroughly penetrated by view. Being reborn, his memory is confused, but that being very quickly reaches excellence. This, monks, is the fourth advantage to be looked for from the frequent verbal recitation of teachings, from reflecting upon them, from thoroughly penetrating them by view. So, monks, these are the four advantages to be looked for. So, in this sutta, the Buddha is trying to say that it is important to frequently firstly to listen to the Dhamma, then to recite the Dhamma, reflect upon the Dhamma and understand the Dhamma. And then it is possible that next time, in our next life, when we hear Dhamma, the memory slowly comes back. And actually all this memory in our subconscious, it is not so far away sometimes. Like we meet somebody and then we have a feeling that we like that person very much. Or sometimes we meet somebody and we think that the face is very familiar. Very, very familiar, even though it's the first time we meet that person. So, there are other instances, some people, they can, they have peculiar experience that tells them that certain things they know from the past life. But this one, in this sutra, the Buddha is talking more about devas, because a person who is born in the deva realm as a heavenly being, the mind is more developed. And these devas, it appears from the sutras, very frequently can remember their past life, at least one past life. Although for us human beings, it is difficult, and even more difficult for animals and the lower beings. So now we come to the next sutta, 4.20.192. The Buddha said, monks, these four conditions are to be understood by other four conditions. What are the four? Monks, it is by association that a man's virtue is to be understood, and that too after a long time, not casually, by close attention, not by inattention, by a wise man, not a fool. Monks, it is by living with him that a man's integrity is to be understood, and that too after a long time, not casually, but close attention, not by inattention, by a wise man, not a fool. Monks, it is in times of distress that a man's courage is to be understood, and that too after a long time, not casually, but close attention, not by inattention, by a wise man, not a fool. Monks, it is by conversation with him that a man's wisdom is to be understood, and that too after a long time, not casually, by close attention, not by inattention, by a wise man, not a fool. Now I said, it is by association that a man's virtue is to be understood, and that too after a long time, etc. Owing to what did I say thus? In this case, monks, a person knows thus of another person by associating with him. For a long time, this worthy has been one whose deeds are incongruous, inconsistent, shady and spotted. His deeds are not consistent, his habits are not consistent with morals. This worthy is immoral, he is not virtuous. Herein again, monks, by associating with him one knows thus of another person. For a long time this worthy has been one whose deeds are congruous, consistent, not shady, not spotted. His deeds are consistent, his habits are consistent with morals. This worthy is moral. He is virtuous. Indeed, monks, it is by association that a monk's virtue is to be understood, and that too after a long time, etc. What was said thus was owing to this. Now I said, it is by living with him that a man's integrity is to be understood. Owing to what did I say this? In this case, monks, a person knows thus of another person by living with him. This worthy, when with one person, behaves in one way, when with two persons in another way, when with three in yet another way, again otherwise when with many. In his former behavior he departs from his latter behavior. This worthy is not honest in his behavior. This worthy is dishonest. In this case again, monks, a person knows another by living with him. So he concludes, this worthy when with one person behaves just as he does with two, three or many. In his former behavior he departs not from his latter behavior. This worthy is honest, he is not dishonest. Indeed, monks, it is by living with him that a man's integrity is to be understood. What I said was owing to this. Now I said, it is in times of distress that a man's courage is to be understood. Owing to what did I say this? In this case monks, a certain one afflicted by the loss of relatives, or loss of wealth, or by the misfortune of sickness, thus reflects. Verily thus come to be is this living in the world. Thus come to be is the getting of a personality. According to this coming to be of living in the world and getting a personality, eight world conditions keep the world a-rolling. And the world keeps a-rolling eight world conditions, namely gain and loss, fame and disrepute. praise and blame, happiness and unhappiness. So he, afflicted by loss of relatives, loss of wealth, or the misfortune of sickness, sorrows, laments, is distressed, and beats his breast, wails and falls into utter bewilderment. But in this case, monks, a certain one, afflicted by the loss of relatives, etc., thus reflects. Verily, thus come to be is thus living in the world. Thus come to be is the getting of personality. According to this coming to be of living in the world and getting a personality, eight world conditions keep the world a-rolling. And the world keeps a-rolling eight world conditions, namely gain and loss, fame and disrepute, praise and blame, happiness and unhappiness. So he, afflicted by the loss of relatives, loss of wealth, and all the misfortune of sickness, does not sorrow, does not falter, etc., nor falls into utter bewilderment. Owing to that did I say this. Now I said, it is by conversation with him that a man's wisdom is to be understood. Owing to what did I say this? In this case, monks, a person by conversing with another, knows thus of him. Judging by this worthy's approach to a question, judging by his intention, judging by his conversation, he is weak in wisdom, he is not wise. What is the cause of that? In the case in question, this worthy utters no profound profitable sentence that calms, is sublime, is beyond the sphere of mere reasoning, that is subtle and intelligible to the wise. As to Dhamma that this worthy talks, he is not competent, either in brief or in detail, to explain its meaning, to show it forth, expound it, lay it open, open it up, analyze and make it plain. This worthy is weak in wisdom, he is not wise. Just as if monks, a man with good eyesight, standing on the bank of a pool of water, were to see a small fish rising, he would think, judging by the uprise of this fish, judging by the size of the ripple it makes, judging by its speed, this is a small fish, this is not a big fish. Just in the same way, monks, a person by conversing with another knows thus of him. This worthy is weak in wisdom. He is not wise. Herein again, monks, a person by conversing with another knows thus of him. Judging by this worthy's approach to a question, judging by his intention, judging by his conversation, he is a wise man. He is not weak in wisdom. What is the cause of that? In the case in question, this worthy can utter a profound profitable sentence that calms, that is sublime, is beyond the sphere of mere reasoning, that is subtle and intelligible to the wise. As to Dhamma that this worthy talks, he is competent, both in brief and in detail, to explain its meaning, to show it forth, expound it, lay it down, open it up, analyze and make it plain. This worthy is a wise man, he is not weak in wisdom. Just as if monks, a man with good eyesight, standing on the bank of a pool of water, were to see a big fish rising, he would think, judging by the uprise of this fish, judging by the size of the ripple it makes, judging by its speed, this is a big fish, this is not a small fish. Just in the same way, monks, a person by conversing with another knows thus of him. Judging by this worthy's approach to a question, judging by his intention, judging by his conversation, he is a wise man, he is not weak in wisdom. It is by conversation with him, monks, that a man's wisdom is to be understood. So I said, and that is why I said it. Thus, monks, these four conditions are to be understood by these other four conditions. That's the end of the sutta. And this sutta, this quite good sutta, is telling us that It takes a long time to know a person, actually, and not in a short while. And then you have to pay close attention, not inattention. And then you have to be a wise man, not a fool. Then only you can judge a person. The first one the Buddha said was judging his virtue. You see whether his deeds are consistent with the precepts or not. whether he keeps the precepts or he breaks the precepts. The second one, to check his integrity, whether he's honest or not. You see his behavior with different people. Whether he acts with one type of person in one way and then another type of person, he acts differently. Whether in front of you, he acts in one way and behind you, he acts in another way. Then you know whether he's an honest man or not. Then the third one, to see whether he has courage or not, then you see whether he is easily overcome by misfortune, when in sickness or loss of wealth or loss of relatives, etc., whether he loses his courage. And then wisdom, by conversation with him, you see whether he talks profitable things or unprofitable things, profound things or shallow things. and whether he is able to explain dhamma in brief and explain dhamma in detail, to analyse and make plain the meaning of dhamma etc, then you can judge whether this person has wisdom or not. So in other words, we should not judge people hastily. Most people, as you are probably aware, we tend to judge a person at the first meeting very quickly by his looks, by his behavior. Straight away we make certain judgments and it's not very wise. I think you have heard me talk about the Sutta, about the four types of pots, the open and the empty pot, the open and the full pot, the closed and the empty pot, the closed and the full pot. So, the same way, difficult to judge a person from the looks. Also, the other thing, especially nowadays, we have to be very, very careful of personality cults. Nowadays, especially in the religious world, there's a tendency nowadays to have a lot of personality cults. And the Buddha in his wisdom probably foresaw this because even when the Buddha was alive, he said we take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. And immediately after the Buddha passed away, there were some Arahant disciples who had very great attainments. When the lay people were very impressed with them, and these lay people wanted to take refuge with the Arahants, the Arahants said, no, you cannot take refuge with me. You can only take refuge with the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Even though the Buddha has passed away, we recognize him as our teacher. That's why whatever other teachers teach, we always compare it with the Buddha, his teachings in the Dhamma, and we also take refuge with the Sangha of Aryas. And so we have to be careful. I think you have heard me last week talk about one sutta. Whenever anybody says that this is the teaching of the Buddha, then you must compare it with the suttas and compare it with the Vinaya, whether it's consistent with the suttas and Vinaya. And the Buddha said that if it does not follow the suttas and the Vinaya, then reject it. But if it follows the sutta and Vinaya, then we can accept it. Nowadays, many people are fascinated by psychic power or claims of psychic power or hints of psychic power. We have to be very careful with psychic power because psychic powers, people actually, holy men with psychic powers, they don't show it. because especially in a monk's precepts, it is not allowed for a monk to show his psychic powers or to talk about his psychic powers or to hint about his attainments and psychic powers, etc. And so nowadays you find people chasing after teachers whom they think have psychic powers and supernormal attainments, they are not aware of the fact that some of these psychic displays can be shown through black magic, through mantras, keeping spirits, etc. So I mention this because this is one of the problems that a lot of people are innocently not aware of.

36-AN-Book-4N-(4.20.194-to-4.20.195).txt

Now we come to the next sutra, 4.20.194. On a certain occasion, the Venerable Ananda was staying among the Kolians. There is a place called Sapuga in a township of the Kolians. Then a great number of the Sapugians of the Kolian clan came to visit the Venerable Ananda and on coming to him saluted him and sat down at one side. As they sat thus, the Venerable Ananda said this to the Kolians of Sapuga. Men of the Leopard's Path These four factors of exertion for utter purification have been fully proclaimed by that exalted one who knows, who sees, that Arahant, the fully enlightened one, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of grief and distress, for the making an end of sorrow and lamentation, for the winning of the method, for the realization of Nibbana. What are the four? the factor of exertion for the utter purification of moral conduct, the utter purification of mind, utter purification of view, and the factor of exertion for the utter purity of release. And what men of the leopard's path is the factor of exertion for the utter purification of moral conduct. In this case, a monk is virtuous. He undertakes and practices the precepts. This is called utter purification of morals. He resolves, I will bring to perfection such a purification of moral conduct if it be incomplete, and if complete, I will supplement it here and there by wisdom. The desire to do the effort, exertion, endeavor, persistence, mindfulness and attention applied thereto is called a factor of exertion for the utter purification of morals. And what, men of the leopard's path, is the factor of exertion for the utter purification of mind? In this case, a monk, aloof from sense desires, aloof from unwholesome conditions, enters upon the first jhana, which is accompanied by thought directed and sustained, born of seclusion, delightful and pleasurable, and abides therein. Then, by the calming down of thought directed and sustained, he enters upon the second jhana, that inward calming of the self, that one-pointedness of mind, apart from thought directed and sustained, that is born of concentration, delightful and pleasurable, and having attained it, abides therein. Then, by the fading out of delight, equanimous, mindful and composed. He experiences in his own body that happiness of which the Aryans declare. He is equanimous and mindful. He who is equanimous and mindful dwells happily. So he attains and abides in the third jhana. Then by the abandoning both of pleasure and discomfort, by the ending of both happiness and unhappiness felt before, he attains the fourth jhana, a state of neither pleasure nor discomfort, an utter purity of mindfulness and equanimity, and having attained it, abides therein. This is called the utter purification of mind. He resolves, I will bring to perfection such a purification of mind if it be incomplete, and if complete I will supplement it here and there by wisdom, the desire to do, the effort, etc. And attention applied thereto is called a factor of exertion for the purification of mind. And what men of the leopard's path is the factor of exertion for the utter purification of view. In this case, a monk comes to understand as it really is, this is dukkha, this is the arising of dukkha, this is the ending of dukkha, this is the practice going to the ending of dukkha, this is called utter purification of view. He resolves, I will bring to perfection such a purification of view if it be incomplete, etc, etc. The desire to do the effort and attention applied thereto is called a factor of exertion for the utter purification of view. And what men of the leopard's path is the factor of exertion for the utter purification of release. In this case, the Aryan disciple who is possessed of this factor of exertion for the utter purification of moral conduct, of mind, of view, cleanses his heart of conditions that defile. He releases his heart by means of conditions that release. So doing, he attains the perfection of release. This is called the utter purification of release. He resolves, I will bring to perfection such a purification of release. If it be incomplete and if complete, I will supplement here here and there by wisdom. The desire, the effort, the exertion, endeavour, persistence, mindfulness and attention applied thereto is called a factor of exertion for the utter purification of release. So men of the Leopard's Path, these are the four factors of exertion for utter purification which were fully proclaimed by the Exalted One who knows who sees the Arahant, the fully enlightened one, for the purification of beings, for the passing over of grief and distress, for the making an end of sorrow and lamentation, for the winning of the method, for the realization of Nibbana. So in this sutra, the Buddha is talking about the four purifications, the first one of moral conduct. That means the person keeps the precepts. The second one, the utter purification of mind, citta visuddhi, is the attainment of the four jhanas. And the third one is the utter purification of view, that means he understands the Four Noble Truths, the Four Aryan Truths. And then the utter purification of release, that means he attains the release, the emancipation, the enlightenment. In this sutta, the most important thing that I'd like to point out is the utter purification of mind, citta visuddhi, because this sutta makes it very clear what is citta visuddhi, purification of mind. There is one sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya called the Ratha Vinita Sutta, where it was explained that there are, I think, seven stages to enlightenment. and one of the stages is citta visuddhi. But in that sutta, it is not explained exactly what is the purification of mind. And in the Visuddhi Maga, they state that the purification of mind is upacara samadhi, threshold concentration, and also apana samadhi, which is the jhanas. But that contradicts the sutta here because in this sutta it's very clear that purification of mind is the four jhanas. And the right concentration or perfect concentration in the suttas, there's two ways of defining. One is the four jhanas, the other one is one-pointedness of mind. So this sutta makes it very clear that utter purification of mind is the jhanas. Now, because the four jhanas are mentioned in detail, I'd like to take this opportunity to go through the explanation of the four jhanas that we just read just now. It was stated that a monk, aloof from sense desires, aloof from unwholesome conditions, enters upon the first jhana. So you see, to be able to enter into the first jhāna, you have to leave behind the sense desires, that means the realm of the The six senses, you have to cut them off in the sense of not paying attention to them and aloof from unwholesome conditions. That means to be able to enter the first jhāna, you've got to leave behind unwholesome conditions, which means the jhāna is a very wholesome condition. Because you leave behind unwholesome conditions, then only you can enter into jhana. So this is the first thing we have to be quite clear that jhana is a very wholesome condition. It is not an unwholesome condition as some people try to make it out. and then it is accompanied by thought directed and sustained. In the first jhāna there is still some thought, but then there is a sutta in the Majjhima Nikāya which says that this kind of thought is only skilled thoughts, it is not unskilled thoughts, because unskilled thoughts have ceased in the first jhāna. So you are not just thinking of unwholesome things, but only thinking of what is concerned with that state of jhana, putting your attention there, being diligent and trying, telling yourself probably that you have to remember the steps you took to attain to that state. Then it is born of seclusion, that means seclusion normally in the sutras there are two types of seclusion, viveka. One is body seclusion, the other one is seclusion of the mind. Body seclusion that means to get away from people, go to a quiet place. Seclusion of the mind means to to get rid of unwholesome defilements, unwholesome conditions. So it is born of seclusion. And then it is delightful and pleasurable. These two words are piti and sukha. This piti and sukha is a very subtle perception. It is not a strong perception in the jhanas because the mind is so concentrated. So strong that this piti and sukha, it is not strong, it is just very subtle. feeling and this is confirmed in the Digha Nikaya and so a person abides in the first jhana. Then the second jhana, by the calming down of thought directed and sustained, that means when you enter the second jhana you leave behind The thoughts, there is no more thoughts in the second jhāna. He enters upon the second jhāna, the inward calming of the self, that one-pointedness of mind, apart from thought directed and sustained, that is born of concentration. This state, it is a very concentrated state. where all the thoughts have ceased and cannot arise, the mind is so mindful. One thing about these states of concentration, they are not mindless states, they are very mindful states. The more concentrated your mind is, the more intense the mindfulness. Very intense concentration, it's like a point of light focus. The mind is focused to one point. It is delightful and pleasurable again. Then by the fading out of delight, mindful and composed, he experiences in his own By the fading out of delight, equanimous, mindful and composed, he experiences in his own body that happiness of which the Aryans declare, he who is equanimous and mindful dwells happily. So he attains and abides in the third jhāna. So you see, in this third jhāna, the mind is very tranquil, equanimous, and mindful. This word mindful is always there in the jhānas. You can't say that when a person enters the jhāna, he doesn't know. It is very mindful. It's very, very mindful. And then by the abandoning both of pleasure and discomfort, by the ending of both happiness and unhappiness felt before, he attains the fourth jhāna, a state of neither pleasure nor discomfort, an utter purity of mindfulness and equanimity, and having attained it, abides therein. So in this fourth jhāna, you leave behind the feelings pleasurable and unpleasurable feelings, bodily as well as pleasurable and unpleasurable mental feelings, it leaves behind. And then only you can enter the fourth jhana, a state of neither pleasure nor discomfort, an utter purification of mindfulness and equanimity. So in this fourth jhana, the mindfulness is utterly pure. That's why because his mindfulness is utterly pure, such a high degree of mindfulness, that's why the Buddha said that perfect mindfulness is the fourth jhāna. So the jhāna states are not to be belittled. They are states of very high attainments, concentration. Now we come to another sutta, 20.195 On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying among the Sakhyans at Kapilavatthu in Banyan Park. At that time, Vapa, the Sakhyan, a disciple of the Unclothed, went to visit Moggallana the Great, and on coming to him, saluted the Venerable Moggallana the Great and sat down at one side. As he sat thus, the Venerable Moggallana the Great was saying this to Vapa, the Sakhyan, disciple of the Unclothed. There may be someone here, Vāpa, restrained in body, speech and mind, owing to the waning of ignorance and the arising of knowledge. Now, Vāpa, do you see any cause owing to which the āsavas causing pain would flow in upon the man at some future time? Sir, I do see such a reason. There may be in this case a certain previously done evil deed whose fruit has not yet ripened. Owing to that, the Asavas causing pain might flow in upon that man at some future time." At this juncture, the conversation which the two were holding was broken off. Then the Exalted One in the evening, rising from His solitary meditation, went towards the service hall, and on reaching it sat down on a seat made ready. Having taken His seat, the Exalted One said this to the Venerable Moggallana the Great. So the Buddha said, Pray Moggallana, on what subject are you talking as you sit here now, and what was the talk just interrupted? Lord, I was just saying to Vapa the Sakyan, disciple of the unclothed. There may be someone here, Vapa, restrained in body, speech and mind, owing to the waning of ignorance and the rising of knowledge. Now Vapa, do you see any cause owing to which the asavas, causing pain, would flow in upon the man at some future time? At these words, Lord, Bapa was saying to me, Sir, I do see such a reason. There may be in this case a certain previously done evil deed whose fruit has not yet ripened. Owing to that, the asavas causing pain might flow in upon that man at some future time. This was the subject we were engaged upon. Then the talk was interrupted by the arrival of the Exalted One. Then said the Exalted One to Vappa the Sakyan, disciple of the unclothed, If you, Vappa, would allow what you deem allowable, and reject what you deem should be rejected, and in case you should not understand the meaning of my words, if you would question me still further thus, how is this, sir? What is the meaning of that? We might have a talk here. I will indeed, Lord, allow the Exalted One what I deem allowable, and I will reject what I deem should be rejected. And in case I do not understand the Exalted One's words, I will question the Exalted One still further thus. What is this, Lord? What is the meaning of that? So be it. Let us have a talk here. I'll stop here for a while to just comment. This Mughlana asked this question. There may be someone here restrained in body, speech and mind owing to the waning of ignorance and the arising of knowledge. Do you see any cause owing to which the asavas causing pain would flow in upon that man at some future time? This asavas, this word asavas, I would translate as uncontrolled mental outflows. The outflows, mental outflows that we have no control over. For example, emotions, worries, painful, distressing thoughts, etc. And these are the asavas. Here, Mahamoggalana is saying, because of the waning of ignorance and the arising of knowledge, someone is restrained in the karmas, he does not create new karma. And on top of not creating new karma, he has attained knowledge. So is it possible for the asavas, painful asavas, to arise in the future? And this man, This disciple of the uncrossed said that it is possible. Although it is not mentioned here, I presume that this naked ascetic, is a disciple of the Jain Nigantas. Because the Jains, they have a belief that they have to punish themselves, continuously punish and inflict pain on themselves to wear away the karma of the previous lives. Whereas the Buddha said that it is not necessary. What is necessary is to attain enlightenment, attain knowledge. So you see here, the Buddha is challenging this naked ascetic to a debate. That's why he said, if you, Vapa, would allow what you deem allowable and reject what you deem should be rejected, then we might have a talk here. And so he's stating the conditions for a debate. And this naked ascetic accepted his conditions. Then the Buddha said, Now what do you think, Bapa, as to these asavas which come about as a result of bodily activities? In the case of one who abstains from bodily activities that cause vexation and distress, it follows that those asavas causing pain do not exist in him. He does no fresh deed. As to his former deed or kamma, he wears it out by constant contact with it, by a wearing out that is plain to see, not just for a time, one that asks for inspection, that leads onward. a wearing out that can be understood by the intelligent, each for himself. Now Vapa, do you see any reason why asavas causing pain should flow in upon him at some future time? No, Lord, that cannot be. I'll just stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha is saying, those kamas that result in painful asavas, if that person stops doing it, Is it possible that those new painful asavas would arise? So this naked ascetic had to say no. Then the Buddha continued. Now again, Bapa, what think you as to those asavas that come about as the result of the activities of speech, as a result of activities of mind, in the case of one who abstains from activities of speech and mind that cause vexation and distress. It follows that those asavas causing pain do not exist in him. He does no fresh deed. As to his former deed, he wears it out by constant contact, by a wearing out that can be understood by the intelligent each for himself. Now Vapa, do you see any reason why asavas causing pain should flow in upon him at some future time? No, Lord, that cannot be. Again, what think you, Vapa, as to those asavas causing vexation and distress which result from ignorance? Owing to the waning of ignorance and the arising of knowledge, it follows that those asavas of vexation and distress do not exist in him. He does no fresh deed. As to his former deed, he wears it out by constant contact with it, by a wearing out that is plain to see, not just for a time, one that asks for inspection, that leads onward, a wearing out that can be understood by the intelligent each for himself. Now, Vapa, do you see any reason why asavas causing pain should flow in upon him at some future time? No, Lord, that cannot be. So then, Bapa, by the monk whose mind is perfectly released, six constant abiding states are attained. He, seeing an object with the eye, is neither elated nor depressed, but rests indifferent, mindful and comprehending. Hearing a sound with the ear, smelling a scent with the nose, tasting a savour with the tongue, with body contacting tangibles, with mind cognizing mental states, he is neither elated nor depressed, but rests equanimous, mindful and aware. When he feels a feeling limited by body, he knows that he so feels. When he feels a feeling limited by life, he knows that he so feels. He knows, when body breaks up, after life is used up, all my experiences in this world will lose their lure and grow cold. Suppose, Vapa, that a shadow is cast by a stump. Then comes a man with axe and basket and cuts down that stump by the root. So doing, he digs all round it. Having done so, he pulls up the roots, even the rootlets and root fibers. He chops that stump into logs, and having done so, chops the log into chips. The chips he dries in wind and sun, then burns them with fire, then makes an ash heap. The ash heap he winnows in a strong wind, or lets the ash be carried away by a swiftly flowing river. Verily, Vapa, that shadow cast because of the stump is cut off at the root, made like a palm tree stump, made not to become again, of a nature not to arise again in future time. Just in the same way, Vapa, by a monk whose heart is thus released, six constant abiding places are one. He, seeing an object with the eye, etc., etc., with mind cognizing mental states, is neither elated nor depressed, but abides equanimous, mindful and aware. When he feels a feeling limited by body, limited by life, he knows that he so feels. He knows, when body breaks up, after life is used up, all my experiences in this world will lose their lure and grow cold. At these words, Vapa, the Sakyan, disciple of the unclothed, said this to the exalted one, Lord, just like a man desirous of wealth who tends his property, but gets no increase therefrom, but instead gets toil and trouble for his pains, even so, Lord, did I, desirous of profit, do service unto the unclothed. but I got no profit thereby, but instead got toil and trouble for my pains. I myself, Lord, from this day forth, whatever faith I had in those fools they unclothed, I winnow it away in a strong wind, or I let it be carried away by a swiftly flowing river. It is wonderful, Lord, it is marvelous. May the Exalted One accept me as His follower from this time forth, so long as life shall last, as one who has gone to Him for refuge. That's the end of the sutta. So you see, here the Buddha is saying that abstention from unskillful karma through body, speech and mind will cause no new painful result, vipaka, to ripen. And then the painful vipaka, the painful result of karma due to old karma is worn out by constant contact with it. tolerating this karma as they arise. Then that person, by practicing the holy path, meditation, etc., becomes liberated. And one whose mind is liberated abides equanimous, mindful, and aware. Even when dying, that's why when the Buddha said, when he's dying, he knows, when body breaks up, after life is used up, all my experiences in this world will lose their lure and grow cold. You can imagine, like for example when we wake up after a dream, suppose we had a nightmare. And then suddenly we wake up, then we realize it's only a dream. All that was so important in that nightmare is no more important. So in the same way, when we are dying, all the things in the world that were so important to us, that were so attractive, etc., as we are going to die, we find it's no more important. Absolutely not important anymore. That's why only karma is very important. If we do wrong karma, then we know we have to pay for it. If we do a lot of good karma, we know we are going to be very happy after this. That's why we have to be very, very careful with karma. When we practice the spiritual path, it's not only the meditation that's important. A lot of people think meditation is the most important thing. We forget about the basics. What is the basic? Basic is sila. Sila is keeping the precepts. It is also moral conduct. And in the suttas, the Buddha defines the moral conduct, sila, basically as having purity of the three karmas through the body, speech, and mind. Body, speech, and mind. So sometimes people only think of the five precepts, you know, they forget about this basic teaching, that our karmas of body, speech, and mind, we have to be very, very careful. Don't talk about bad, about good, somebody who doesn't deserve to be talked bad about and don't have evil intentions or evil thoughts against somebody who the Buddha says cultivates the holy path, etc. So you have to be very, very careful.

37-AN-Book-4O-(4.20.196-to-4.20.197).txt

Then come to the next Sutta 4.20.196 On a certain occasion the Exalted One was staying near Vesali in great wood at peak roofed house. Now Salha the Licchavi and Abaya the Licchavi came to visit the Exalted One and on coming to Him saluted Him and sat down at one side. So seated Salha the Licchavi said this to the Exalted One, There are some recluses and Brahmins, Lord, who proclaim a twofold crossing of the flood, namely the way made by purity of morals and that made by self-mortification. What says the Exalted One about this, Lord? I do indeed say, Salha, that purity of morals is a factor of recluseship. Those recluses and brahmins who uphold self-mortification, who make self-mortification essential, who remain clinging to self-mortification, they are incapable of crossing the flood. Moreover, Salha, those recluses and brahmins who practice impurity of body, speech and mind, who live in impurity, they are incapable of knowledge and insight of the enlightenment that is unsurpassed. I'll just stop here for a moment. Here you see just now, What I was saying about purity of body, speech and mind, the Buddha is saying here, if you have impurity of body, speech and mind, you are incapable of knowledge and insight of the enlightenment that is unsurpassed. Then the Buddha said, suppose a man, Salha, desirous of crossing a river, takes a sharp axe and enters the jungle. There he sees a mighty sal tree, straight up, crooked, young, not of crooked growth. He cuts it down at the root. Having done so, he lobs it. at the top, and having lopped it at the top, clears off branches and twigs and makes it clean. Having done so, he chips it roughly with axes. Having chipped it with axes, he does so with knives. Having done that, he smooths it with a scraper. After that, he smooths it with a rock ball, and then brings it down to the river. What do you think, Salha? Is that man capable of crossing the river? Not so, Lord. What is the cause of that? Why, Lord, that salt tree log, though well worked outside, is not cleaned out inside? This is to be expected of it. The log will sink. The man comes to misfortune and destruction. Well, Salha, just in the same way, those recluses and brahmins who uphold self-mortification, who make self-mortification essential, who cling to self-mortification, are incapable of crossing the flood. Moreover, Salha, those recluses and brahmins who practice impurity of body, speech and mind, who live in impurity, they are incapable of knowledge and insight, of the enlightenment which is unsurpassed. But on the other hand, those recluses and brahmins who do not these things, but live purely, are capable of knowledge and insight, of the enlightenment which is unsurpassed." I'll just stop here for a while. The Buddha has given an example about a man trying to make a a boat out of a log, but he carves the outside of the tree. He doesn't work on the inside of the tree. It doesn't carve the inside of the tree, it carves only the outside. So similarly, self-mortification is working on the outside of the body, torturing the body, and that is not the spiritual path, not the Aryan path. But purity of body, speech and mind is purity of the three kamas. And that is purity of intention because karma is intention. So purity of intention is purity of mind. So that is connected with the spiritual path. Then the Buddha said, But suppose a man, Salha, desirous of crossing a river, takes a sharp axe and enters the jungle. There he sees a mighty sal tree trunk, etc. And after chipping it with knives, he takes a chisel and cleans out the inside till it is thoroughly hollowed out. Then he takes a scraper and scrapes it and smooths it with a rock ball. When he has done this, he makes a boat of it, fastens on oars and rudder, and finally brings down the boat to the river. What do you think, Salaha? Is that man capable of crossing the river? Yes, he is, Lord. What is the cause of that? Why, Lord, that salt tree log is well worked outside and thoroughly cleaned out inside, made into a boat and fitted with oars and rudder? Radha, this is to be expected of it, the boat will not sink and the man will reach the shore in safety. Well, Salha, just in the same way, those recluses and brahmins who are not upholders of self-mortification, who live not clinging to self-mortification, are capable of crossing the flood. And those recluses and brahmins who practice utter purity in body, speech and mind, who live in utter purity, are capable of knowledge and insight, of the enlightenment which is unsurpassed. stopped here for a while, so here the Buddha is giving the simile of the man who works on the log, carves the inside of the log out, cleans it, and makes it into a boat, then he can cross to the other bank. So in the same way, working on the purity of body, speech, and mind is working on the purity of our kammas, and that means purity of our intentions, purity of our mind, and that is the spiritual path. So the Buddha continued, just as Salha, a fighting man, because he knows many cunning feats of archery, is worthy of a Raja, is a possession of a Raja, is reckoned an asset to a Raja in three ways. What are the three? He is a far shooter, a shooter like lightning, a piercer of a huge object. Just as Salha, a fighting man, is a far shooter, even so is the Aryan disciple, possessed of right concentration. The Aryan disciple Salha, who possesses right concentration, whatsoever object, be it past, future or present, personal or external to self, be it gross or subtle, mean or exalted, far or near, every object in short that he beholds, he looks upon it as it really is with right wisdom thus. This is not mine. This am I not. Not is this myself. Just as Salha, a fighting man, is a shooter like lightning. Even so, the Aryan disciple possessed of right view. The Aryan disciple Salha, who possesses right view, understands as it really is. This is Dukkha. This is the arising of Dukkha. This is the ending of Dukkha. This is the practice going to the ending of Dukkha. Just as Salha, a fighting man, is a piercer of a huge object, even so the Aryan disciple is possessed of right liberation. The Aryan disciple who possesses right liberation pierces through the huge mass of ignorance. That's the end of the sutra. Now this is one of the sutras where the Buddha uses the comparison of a fighting man to an Aryan disciple. And in the first comparison the Buddha said that just as a fighting man is a far shooter, even so is the Aryan disciple possessed of right concentration. Because the Aryan disciple who possesses right concentration sees the five khandas, the five aggregates, five grasped aggregates, namely body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. He sees these five aggregates as not mine, not I, not myself. In other words, now these 5 aggregates are 5 things that all beings associate with the self. They take these 5 things to be the self. Or to be... to be a possession of the Self. So now the person who possesses Right Concentration is able to see things as they really are, that these five aggregates are not self, not mine, not I, not myself. And so this shows the importance of Right Concentration. because only one with right concentration can see things as they really are. Now, right concentration in the Buddha's teachings, in the suttas, is always defined as the four jhanas or one-pointedness of mind. Now one pointedness of mine is explained very clearly in Sutta, in the Samyutta Nikaya, Sutta number 35.206, where the Buddha used the simile of six animals. And these six animals, when they are tied together, the six animals are trying to take off in six different directions, so that at any one time, whichever one is strongest will pull the others. and when it becomes tired in another moment, whichever one is strongest will pull and the other five will have to follow him. So this is supposed to be the everyday mind because our six senses, there are six objects which impinge on our six senses, on our six sense doors and whichever one is strongest will pull our attention. And then the Buddha said, that is not the way to tame the six animals. The way to tame the six animals is to tie all the six animals around a huge stout pole, so that whichever direction they try to take off, they can only go round and round that pole, so that eventually they become tired and weary, and they lie down, tamed, beside the pole. So in the same way, To tame the mind we have to tie it to one stout pole, in other words one object and whenever it is pulled away in a different direction we have to pull it back to that one object of meditation so that eventually the mind becomes tamed and we attain one-pointedness of mind. Now, putting our attention on different objects from moment to moment is just mindfulness. Being mindful of the six sense doors. And mindfulness is the seventh factor of the Aryan Eightfold Path. Mindfulness is sati. And that is contemplation or putting our attention from object to object. different object to different object whereas a right concentration or perfect concentration is putting our attention on one object from moment to moment to moment always on one object and that is the way to get one-pointedness of mind. So mindfulness and perfect concentration are different factors of the iron eightfold path, the seventh and the eighth factor and they should not be confused. They are not the same. And this is very important that we bear this in mind because some people confuse right concentration with mindfulness. They think that concentration is putting our attention from object to different object, from moment to moment. But this is clearly not so, as explained in the Samyutta Nikaya 35.206. Now the second comparison is just like the fighting man is a shooter like lightning, even so is the Aryan disciple possessed of right view because the disciple who possesses right view understands as it really is the four Aryan truths about dukkha, ill or suffering. And so you can see that the person with right view who understands the four Aryan truths is an Arya. So right view is equivalent to being an Arya. And according to Angotra Nikaya 2.11. 9. There are only two conditions for attaining Right View, namely listening to the teachings and having proper attention, yoniso manasikara. So from here you can see that the way to attain Right View and hence Stream Entry is by listening to the suttas with proper attention. And there's another sutra which confirms this, namely Samhita Nikaya 46.4.8, where the Buddha said that when a person listens to the sutras or dharma with proper attention, at that moment the five hindrances exist not, and the seven bhojanga, factors of enlightenment, go to completion. These two things, the five hindrances not, existing at that moment and the seven bojangas being completed are the conditions for attaining ariya-hood. So which means that listening to the suttas with proper attention is the way to attain stream-entry. Again in Angotra Nikaya 3.85 the Buddha said the Suttapanna and the Sakadagami have perfect sila. There is no mention of concentration which is necessary for the Anagami and the Arahant. So again you see that concentration is not necessary for a Sotapanna. And then in Sankirtanikaya 55.1.2, the Sotapanna has confidence in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and he possesses pure sila or pure moral conduct. These are the characteristics of a stream-enterer, a sotapanna. Then finally we see that in the suttas and vinaya, the persons who attain stream-entry always seem to do so when they listen to the suttas, just as we have them today, just as we listen to them today. And whenever the Buddha spoke the suttas, some people seemed to attain stream entry even though they had not meditated before, even though they had not listened to the Dhamma even before. The Buddha called his disciples Savakas. Savakas is a Pali word which means hearers or listeners and that all the disciples of the Buddha were listeners, hearers of his discourses and this shows again the importance of hearing the discourses because when his disciples listen to the discourses they attain unshakable faith in the Buddha they understood the suttas because they paid proper attention and they had unshakable faith and from there they practiced further the meditations etc. and they attained higher levels of Aryahood. So this all shows the importance of listening to the suttas as the very foundation in the spiritual path. And much learning is one of the factors, one of the important conditions in the spiritual path. So listening to the Buddha's discourses is very much to be encouraged. Now we come to Sutra number 4.20.197. On a certain occasion, the Exalted One was staying near Savati at Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's park. Now Mallika the Queen came to visit the Exalted One, and on coming to Him, saluted the Exalted One and sat down at one side. As she sat, thus Mallika the Queen said this to the Exalted One, Pray, Lord, what is the reason, what is the cause, why in this world some womenfolk are ill-favoured, deformed, of a mean appearance, and are poor, having little of their own, of small possessions, and are of small account? I'll stop here for a while just to comment. Queen Mallika is asking why some women are born with three characteristics. The first one is they are ugly. The second one, they are very poor. The third one, they are insignificant. That means they have no name, not well known. And she asked again, Again, Lord, pray, what is the reason, what is the cause, why in this world some womenfolk are ill-favored, deformed, of a mean appearance, but yet wealthy, of great riches, of great possessions, and of great account? Again, Lord, pray what is the reason, what is the cause, why in this world some womenfolk are well-favoured, well-formed, lovely to look upon, amiable, possessed of the greatest beauty of complexion, and yet are poor, having little of their own, of small possessions, and are of small account. And yet again, Lord, pray, what is the reason, what is the cause, why in this world some womenfolk are well-favored, well-formed, lovely to look upon, amiable, possessed of the greatest beauty of complexion, and are moreover wealthy, of great riches, of great possessions, and of great account? I stop here again just to comment. Here she is asking the different conditions. The first one she said was ugly, poor and insignificant. Then the second case, ugly but wealthy and well-known. And the third case, beautiful but poor and insignificant. Then the last one, women are beautiful, wealthy and of great account well-known?" Then the Buddha answered, In this case, Mallika, a certain woman is ill-tempered of a very irritable nature. On very little provocation, she becomes cross and agitated. She is upset and becomes stubborn. She shows temper and ill-will and displeasure. She is no giver of charity to recluse or Brahmin, nor gifts, food, drink, clothing, vehicle, flower, scent, ointment, bed, lodging, or light. Moreover, she is jealous-minded. She is jealous of other folks' gain, of the honor, respect, reverence, homage, and worship paid to them. She is revengeful and harbors a grudge. Such a one, if, deceasing from that life, she comes back to this state of things, wherever she is reborn, is ill-favored, ill-formed, of a mean appearance, and poor, having little of her own, of small possessions, and is of small account. stop here for a moment to explain. Here the Buddha is giving the reason why a woman is firstly ugly and the reason a woman is ugly, the Buddha says, is because she's got a bad temper, very irritable, very easily becomes upset and shows temper and that's why she's born ugly. And then the reason, the second reason why she's poor is because she does not do charity, does not do charity, so she becomes poor. And then the third thing is why the woman is born insignificant, not well known, is because she's jealous and revengeful and harbors a grudge. So these are the causes. And again the Buddha said, Herein again, Mallika, a certain woman is ill-tempered of a very irritable nature. On very small provocation, she shows temper and ill-will and displeasure. But she is a giver of charity to recluse and Brahmin. She gives bed, lodging and light, etc. However, she is not jealous-minded. She is not jealous of other folks' gain, of the honor, respect, reverence, homage, and worship paid to them. She is not revengeful, nor does she harbor a grudge. Such a one, if on deceasing from that life, she comes back to this state of things, wherever she is reborn, is ill-favored, ill-formed, of a mean appearance. But she is wealthy, of great riches, of great possessions, and is of great account. Stop here again to comment. Here the Buddha is saying the reason why a woman is ugly is because she is bad-tempered, and she is rich because she is generous, charitable, and well-known because she is not jealous, she is big-hearted. So because of that, when she comes back to this state of things, that means when she comes back as a human being, so these are the conditions why she is ugly, rich, but well-known. Then again the Buddha said, Hearing again, Malika, a certain woman is not ill-tempered, not of a very irritable nature. Even on great provocation she becomes not cross and agitated. She is not upset, does not become stubborn, does not show temper, ill-will and displeasure. Yet she is no giver of charity to recluse and Brahmin, nor does she give bed, lodging, and light, etc. But she is jealous-minded. She is jealous of other folks' gain, of the honor, respect, reverence, homage, and worship paid to them. She is revengeful and harbors a grudge. Such a one, if deceasing from that life, she comes back to this state of things. Wherever she is reborn is well-favored, well-formed, lovely to look upon, amiable, possessed of the greatest beauty of complexion. But she is poor, having little of her own, of small possessions, and is of little account. Here and again, Mallika, a certain woman is neither ill-tempered nor of a very irritable nature. Even on great provocations, she becomes not cross and agitated. She is not upset, does not become stubborn, does not show ill-will and displeasure. Moreover, she is a giver of charity to recluse and brahmin. She gives food, drink, clothing, vehicle, flowers, scent, ointment, bed, lodging, and light. She is not jealous-minded. She is not jealous of other folks' gain, of the honor, respect, reverence, homage, and worship paid to them. She is not revengeful, nor does she harbour a grudge. Such a one, deceasing from that life and coming back to this state of things, wherever she is born, is well favoured, well formed, lovely to look upon, amiable, possessed of the greatest beauty of complexion. She is wealthy, of great riches, of great possessions, and is of great account. Now Mallika, these are the reasons and causes why a certain woman is ill-favoured of mean appearance and poor, and of small account. Then, ill-favoured of mean appearance but wealthy, of great account. then well-favoured, beautiful, but poor, and of small account, then well-favoured, beautiful, wealthy, and of great account. At these words, Queen Mallika said this to the Exalted One, Suppose, Lord, that I, in another birth, was ill-tempered, of a very irritable nature, becoming cross and agitated even on slight provocation, that I became upset thereat and stubborn, showed ill-will and displeasure. That same I might now be ill-favored, ill-formed and of mean appearance. Suppose, Lord, that in another birth I give gifts of charity to recluse and brahmin, bed, lodging and light. That same I now might be wealthy, of great riches, of great possessions. Suppose, Lord, that in another birth I was not jealous-minded, I was not jealous of other folks' gains, nor of the honour, respect, reverence, homage and worship paid to them. I was not revengeful, nor did I harbour a grudge. That same I am now of great account. Now again, Lord, in this Raja's family, there are maids of the nobles, maids of the Brahmins, and of the householders too. Over them I hold supremacy. Lord, from this day forth, I will indeed become good-tempered, not irritable. Even on great provocation, I will not become upset nor stubborn. I will not show ill-will nor displeasure. I will give to recluse and Brahmin food and drink, bed and lodging and light. I will not become jealous-minded. I will not be jealous of other folks' gain, nor of the honor, respect, reverence, homage, and worship paid to them. I will not be revengeful, nor will I harbor a grudge. It is wonderful, Lord. It is marvelous, Lord. Lord, may the Exalted One accept me as a lay disciple from this day forth, so long as life may last, as one who has gone to Him for refuge. So you see, these are the conditions. If you are a woman and you want to be born beautiful, you must be good-tempered. If you want to be born rich, you must be generous, do a lot of charity. If you want to be well-known, like the Queen Mallika, you must not be small-hearted, must not be jealous of others.

38-AN-Book-4P-(4.20.198).txt

Now we come to another sutra, 4.20.198, the Buddha said, monks, these four persons are found existing in the world. What four? Herein, monks, a certain person is a self-tormentor, given to the practice of self-torment. Herein, again, a certain person is a tormentor of another, given to the practice of tormenting another. Yet again, a certain person is a tormentor, both of self and another, and given to that practice. And yet again, monks, a certain person is a tormentor, neither of self nor of another, nor given to the practice of tormenting self and another. He who torments neither self nor another In this very life is no more hungry, he is allayed, he has become cool, one who has penetrated bliss, who dwells with self that has become Brahma. And how amongst is a person a self-tormentor, one given to the practice of self-torment? In this case, a certain one goes naked, he has loose habits, he licks his hands clean, he will have none of your coming, your reverence, or stop a bit, your reverence. He refuses food brought to him. He refuses special food. He refuses an invitation to a meal. He refuses food straight from the pot, or straight from the pan, or within the threshold of a door, or among the firewood, or among the rice pounders. He refuses food when a couple are eating. or from a pregnant woman, or from a woman giving suck, or from one sleeping with a man. He refuses food from a mixed collection, or where a dog stands by, or where flies are swarming. He eats neither fish nor flesh, drinks no liquor nor intoxicant, not even rice gruel. Stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha is describing those unbeneficial ascetic practices that are practiced by these external ascetics who torment themselves, they inflict, they believe in doing all these practices which actually bring on suffering. For example, he goes naked, licks his hands, and then when people call him to come in, he refuses to come in. When people ask him to stop, he refuses to stop. He refuses special food and then he's got a peculiar sense of compassion. When a couple are eating, he refuses to take food from them. Maybe he thinks that they will not have enough to eat. When a pregnant woman wants to give him food, he refuses. Maybe he thinks that the baby inside that woman might not get enough nourishment. When a dog is standing by, he refuses to accept food because he thinks the dog might have less food to eat because he accepts food. When flies are swarming, also he refuses because he thinks of compassionate thoughts towards the flies, etc. Then the Buddha continued. He asks alms from one house only. He's an eater of one mouthful. Or maybe he begs from two houses, eats two mouthfuls. three houses, four, up to seven houses, and eat seven mouthfuls only. He exists on just one little dole of food, or just two or three or seven such doles. He takes food only once a day, or once in two days, three days, or once in seven days. Thus he lives given to the practice of taking food by rule, even up to the extent of two weeks or half a month between meals. He feeds on vegetables, on millet, on rice, on raw rice, on scraps of leather, on water plants, rice powder, burnt scum of rice, flower of oilseeds, on grass and cow dung. He just exists on forest roots and fallen fruit. He wears coarse hempen clothes, cloth of different fibers, discarded corpse cloths, Rags from a rubbish heap, tree bark fiber, antelope skins, strips of antelope skin, clothes made of kusa grass, made of wood shavings, blankets made of human hair, made of horse hair, made of owl's wings. He is a plucker out of hair and beard and given to this practice, remains standing and refuses a seat. He squats down and keeps a squatting position. He is a bed-of-thorns man. He makes his bed on spikes. He lives given to the practice of going down to the water to bathe, even to a third time in the evening also. Thus, in diverse ways, he lives given to these practices which torment the body. Thus, monks is a person a self-tormentor and given to that practice. I'll stop here just to comment again. Here, if he begs for his food, he begs maybe from one house, or two houses only, or three houses, up to seven houses maximum. This is not a Buddhist practice, but later books, they got confused with these external ascetics, and they said that Buddhist monks are supposed to beg from seven houses only. This is definitely not a Buddhist practice. It's an external practice that crept into the later Buddhist books. And also, he takes food once a day, or when he can do it, then two days once, and then when he can do that, three days once. Up to 14 days, he takes one meal. But when he takes that meal, he'll gorge himself as much as he can. And then after that, he will go on a fast. And then he takes particular types of food, even eating cow dung, and fallen fruit, etc. And then he wears different kinds of animal skins, grass, etc. Then he uses human hair to make a blanket, and plucks out his hair and his beard. It's quite painful, but he does all these things. And how amongst is a person a tormentor of another and given to that practice? Hearing a certain person is a butcher, a pig killer, a fowler, a deer stalker, a hunter, fisherman, a bandit, an executioner, a jailer, or one of any other who follows a bloody calling. That monks is how a person tortures another and is given to such practice of torture. And how monks is a person a tormentor of both self and another and given to the practice of tormenting self and another. Here in monks a certain person is a Raja or noble man who has been consecrated or a Brahmin of a great house. Having built a new moat hall on the east side of a town, he gets his head and beard shaved, dons a shaggy skin, smears his body with ghee and oil, scratches his back with a deer's horn, and enters the moat hall together with his chief wife and Brahmin chaplain. There he makes his bed upon the bare grass-covered ground. Then the Raja lives on the milk from one teat, or nipple of a cow, with calf of light color. His chief wife lives on the milk from the second teat. The Brahmin chaplain lives on the milk from the third teat, while that from the fourth they offer as sacrifice to the fire. The calf is fed with what is left over. Then he says, let so many bulls be slain for the sacrifice. Let so many cows, so many heifers, so many goats, so many rams, let so many horses be slain for the sacrifice. Let them cut down so many trees for sacrificial posts. Let them mow so much kusa grass for the sacrifice. Then whosoever are called his slaves, messengers and workmen, scared by fear of the rod, with tearful faces, set about their preparations. That monks is how a person is a tormentor of both self and another, given to the practice of tormenting both self and another. And how monks is a person neither the one thing nor the other, given neither to the practice of tormenting self nor to that of tormenting others. He who torments neither self nor another in this very life is no more hungry. He is allayed, become cool. He is one who has penetrated bliss. He lives with a self that has become Brahma. I stop here for a moment. This word, become Brahma, is Brahmabhuta. Now this word Brahmabhuta is mentioned in one sutta, in the Aganya Sutta of the Digha Nikaya, where the Buddha said, this designates the Tathagata, Dhamma body, that means Dhammakaya, Brahma body, Brahmakaya. Dhamma become Dhammabhuta and Brahma become Brahmabhuta. So that is the real state of a Buddha, the real description of a Buddha. It's not that Buddha has gone to Nibbana, there is nothing left. There is something which the Buddha says is very profound, unfathomable, very deep, and that the Buddha calls the Brahma body or Dhamma body, Brahma become or Dhamma become. So that is also the state of an Arahant. Then the Buddha continued, in this case monks, a Tathagata arises in the world, an Arahant, a fully enlightened one, perfect in knowledge and conduct, a welfareer, a world knower, unsurpassed driver of men to be driven, teacher of devas and mankind, a Buddha, an exalted one. He makes known this world with its devas, its maras, its brahmas, with its host of recluses and brahmins, of devas and mankind, himself having thoroughly understood and realized it. He teaches dhamma that is lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, lovely at the end. both in the spirit and the letter. He makes play in the holy life, entirely complete and fully purified. Then a house father or one of a household or one born in some family or other hears that Dhamma and so hearing acquires faith in the Tathagata. I stop here for a moment, you see. Here a person acquires faith by listening to the Dhamma. And this faith is saddha. Saddha sometimes translated as unshakable faith. So the hearing of the Dhamma is extremely important to have a firm foundation faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. And then the Buddha continued, possessed of this faith so acquired, he thus reflects, oppressive is this household life, a dusty path, the way of going forth is free like the open air. It is no easy thing for one living the household life to practice the holy life in all its completeness, in utter purity like a polished shell. How if I were to get my beard shaved and donning the saffron robe, were to go forth from home to the homeless. Then he, some time later, abandoning the whole mass of his wealth, whether small or great, abandoning his circle of relatives, whether small or great, gets his beard shaved, dons the saffron robes, and goes forth from home to the homeless. He having thus gone forth, having entered upon the way of life in the training followed by monks, abandoning the slaying of creatures, abstains therefrom. He lives as one who has laid down the rod, who has laid down the knife, who has scruples, is kind, and has compassion for every living thing. Abandoning the taking of what is not given, he abstains therefrom. He lives as one who takes only what is given, who waits for what is given. He lives with a self that has become pure, not by stealth. Abandoning the unchaste life, he lives a life aloof, abstaining from the sexual act, from dealings with womenfolk. Abandoning falsehood, he abstains therefrom. He speaks the truth. and joins truth to truth, unswerving, reliable, no deceiver of the world. Abandoning slanderous speech, he abstains therefrom. When he hears something at one place, he spreads it not abroad elsewhere, to cause dissension among these folk. When he hears something at another place, he spreads it not abroad elsewhere to cause dissension among these folk. Thus he reconciles those who are at variance and confirms the friendly. He delights in harmony, finds pleasure herein, rejoices in harmony, and utters words that make for harmony. Abandoning coarse speech, he abstains therefrom. Whatever speech is blameless, pleasing to the ear, affectionate, speech that goes to the heart, is a bane. delights many folk, pleases many folk, such speech does he utter. Abandoning idle babble, he abstains therefrom. He is one who speaks in season, speaks of facts, speaks sense, speaks according to Dhamma, speaks according to Vinaya. He speaks words worth treasuring up that are reasonable, discriminating and concerned with profit. stop here for a moment. Here the Buddha is talking that once a person has gone forth, the first thing that he does is to follow the training. And the basics of it is keeping good sila, moral conduct. And here in this description that I just read just now is one of the few places where the two types of verbal kamma are described. The first one is Musavada. This one normally people know. Musavada means lying. That means we abstain, we have to abstain from lying. Then the second one is Pisuna Vaca, sometimes translated as slanderous speech. This one sometimes people can get a wrong interpretation, a wrong idea of it, because the way it's translated, slander, sometimes people think it's talking bad about somebody else. That's not the meaning. Here it's described, very clearly, that means you hear something, you go somewhere else and repeat it, and cause two different parties to be, to quarrel with each other. So you spread disharmony, so that is the meaning of pisuna vaca, sometimes translated as slander. And the third one is parusa vaca, cause speech. Coarse speech, this one is generally understood, coarse or harsh speech that is painful to the ear, it is unpleasing. And the last one is sampalapa, that is idle speech, what is sort of gossip and unbeneficial talk. Then the Buddha continued, he is one who abstains from injury to seed life and plant life, lives on one meal a day, refrains from food at night, abstains from food at unseasonable hours, from flowers, scents, anguans, adornments and finery, from shows of notch dancing and singing, from beds high and broad, from accepting gifts of gold and silver. that means money, from taking gifts of uncooked grain, of uncooked flesh, from gifts of women and girls, female and male slaves, of goats and sheep, fowls and swine, elephants, cattle, horses and mares. He abstains from gifts of fields cultivated or waste, from buying and selling, sending messengers or going As such, from cheating with scales, copper vessels, or measures, from taking bribes to pervert justice, from cheating and crooked ways, he abstains from cutting, flogging, binding, highway robbery, plundering, and deeds of violence. I'll stop here for a moment. This last part now on sila, injury to seed life and plant life, is more of an Indian custom. The Buddha did not say that we cannot injure seed life and plant life in as the other external ascetics do. The Buddha was more lacks on this in the sense that the Buddha said that for a monk, for example, if a fruit is offered, then if a lay person cuts it or pokes it, then the monk can eat even to the extent of damaging the seed. means it is made allowable for a monk. So the Buddha was not strict to the extent of some external ascetics who considered plant life as a living being, a one-faculty living being. And then one meal a day, this one meal a day is the Buddha asks his disciples to practice it so that they don't become too fat because it's not conducive to meditation. And then other things like gifts of women, girls, female and male slaves. Although the Buddha did not allow monks to accept slaves and women, etc. But the Buddha did allow during his time for the king to send workers to help a monk. So that sometimes in the Vinaya we find there's a whole village of workmen employed by the king to work for the monks, to build the monastery buildings, etc. And the monks would tell them what to do, but they were paid by the king. However, even though the monks would tell them what to do, yet the monks would go among them and beg for their alms food. And then another thing I'd like to mention here is gifts. He abstains from gifts of fields cultivated or waste. This one is only for arable fields, that means plantations. Monks cannot accept them directly, but there is a type of land that a monk or the Sangha can accept directly, that is land for a monastery, because the Buddha made it very clear in the Vinaya rules that the monastery land and monastery buildings and household items in a monastery belong to the Sangha. They are considered Sangha property to be kept for the Sangha monks of the four directions, north, south, east, west, present and yet to come. That means to be kept in perpetuity for the Sangha. of the present and the future. And this Sangha property cannot be sold, cannot be given away, cannot be distributed unless it is sold to buy something. similar for the Sangha. For example, you sell a piece of land to buy a bigger piece of land or something for a monastery. So this abstention from gifts of fields cultivated or waste does not refer to monastery land. It's only for arable land. fields and plantations, etc. Even though the monks cannot accept it directly, it can be accepted, for example, by a Buddhist society or lay people and used to support the monks. There's an incident in the Vinaya which shows that the Buddha accepted monastery land directly. When the first monastery was given to the Buddha, King Bimbisara presented a piece of land to the Buddha and the Buddha accepted it directly. In the old Indian tradition, The Buddha cupped his hands, cupped the palms of his hands, and the King Bimbisara poured water directly into the Buddha's hands, and the Buddha accepted on behalf of the Sangha. He is content with a robe sufficient to protect the body, with arms full enough for his belly's need. Wherever he may go, he takes these with him, just as, for instance, a bird upon the wing, wherever he may fly, flies with a load of his wings. Even so, a monk is content with a robe and takes these with him. Possessed of this Aryan mass of morals, he experiences in himself the bliss of blamelessness. Seeing an object with the eye, let's stop here for a moment, this second thing that the monk cultivates is contentment. To continue, the Buddha said, seeing an object with the eye, he is not misled by its outer view nor by its lesser details. Since coveting and dejection, evil, unprofitable states might flow in upon one who lives with the faculty of eye uncontrolled. He applies himself to such control, sets a guard over the faculty of eye, and attains control thereof. Hearing a sound with the ear, or with the nose smelling a scent, or with the tongue tasting a favour or a savour, or with body contacting tangibles, or with mind cognising mental states, he is not misled by their outer view, nor by their lesser details. But since coveting and dejection and evil, unprofitable states, by flowing upon one who lives, with his faculties uncontrolled, he sets a guard over the faculties, attains control thereof. Thus possessed of this Aryan restraint of faculties, he experiences in himself unadulterated bliss. Stop here for a moment. So here the third thing is Indriye Suguta Dvara, guarding the sense doors. Practice restraint over the sense doors. Then the Buddha continued. In going forth and returning, he acts mindfully. In looking in front and looking behind. In bending or relaxing, in wearing his robe and bearing outer robe and bowl, in eating, drinking, chewing and tasting, in easing himself, in going, standing, sitting, sleeping, waking, in speaking and keeping silence, he acts mindfully. He possesses of this, stop here for a moment, so this fourth one is sati sampajanya, mindfulness and awareness. And the Buddha continued, he possessed of this Aryan mass of morals, and this Aryan restraint of the faculties, and this Aryan mindfulness and composure, and this Aryan contentedness, resorts to a secluded lodging place, a forest, the root of a tree, a hill, ravine, grotto or cave, a channel field, a jungle path, an open space, a heap of straw. After his meal, when he has returned from his alms round, he sits cross-legged, keeping his body erect, and fixing his attention in front of him. Then, abandoning the hankering after the world, he abides with heart freed therefrom. Having regard for the welfare of everything that lives, he purges his heart of the taint of ill-will. Abandoning sloth and topper, he remains freed therefrom, wide awake, mindful composed, and purges his heart of sloth and topper. Abandoning restlessness and flurry, he abides tranquil at heart in the inner self. He purges his heart of restlessness and flurry, abandoning doubt and wavering. He abides as one who has transcended them, no longer questioning this or that in things profitable. He purges his heart of doubt and wavering. So, let's now stop here for a moment. Seclusion is viveka, resorts to a secluded place. And then after that he abandons the five hindrances. That's called Nivaranapahana. Thus abandoning these five hindrances, these stains of the heart which cause the weakening of wisdom, aloof from sense desires, aloof from evil conditions, etc. He attains and abides in the first, second, third and fourth jhanas. Then with heart calmed and purified, cleansed and flawless, void of taints, grown soft and pliable, fixed and come to utter peace, he bends down his mind to the knowledge of how to destroy the Asavas. He comes to know as it really is. This is Dukkha. arising of Dukkha, this is the ending of Dukkha, this is the practice going to the ending of Dukkha. He comes to know as it really is. These are Asavas, this is the arising of Asavas, this is the ending of Asavas, this is the practice going to the ending of Asavas. In him thus knowing, thus seeing, his heart is released from the Asava of sense desire, his heart is released from the Asava of becoming, his heart is released from the Asava of ignorance. By release comes the knowledge, I am released. He comes to know, destroyed is rebirth, lived is the holy life, done is what was to be done. There is no coming to this state of things. Thus, monks, a person is neither a tormentor of self, nor of another, nor given to the practice thereof. He, being neither of these, in this very life hungers no more. He is elated, becomes cool. He abides in the experience of bliss with a self that has become Brahma. So, monks, these are the four persons found existing in the world. That's the end of the sutta. So here in this last part of the sutta you find several factors explained. The first one is sila, the second one is contentment, the third one is guarding the sense doors, then mindfulness and awareness, then seclusion, then abandonment of the hindrances, then attainment of the four jhanas. These factors grouped together are called Carana, sometimes translated as conduct. One of the names of the Buddha is Vijacarana Sampanno, complete in knowledge and conduct. So this kundalna is the holy path, which is the practice of the holy path. Now in this sutra, These factors that I've just read to you just now, three factors are not in here. And these, in other words, there are seven factors here mentioned. Seven factors. Three are not mentioned. And the three that are not mentioned is got from other suttas. The first one is moderation in eating. The second one is devoted to wakefulness. The third one is the seven true dharmas. Sat Dhamma Faith, Conscience, Remorse, Much Learning, Energetic Effort, Mindfulness, Wisdom. Now, the famous Sayadaw, Lady Sayadaw, in his books, he described this Charana, conduct. He also took these seven factors. from the Digha Nikaya. The factors given in the Digha Nikaya are just the 7 mentioned here. And he missed out these other 3. These other 3 are found in other suttas like Majjhima Nikaya. In also Anguttara Nikaya, like earlier I read that the sure cause, if a monk possesses three things, he is on the sure cause. These two factors were mentioned there, moderation in eating and devoted to wakefulness. And these seven saddhamma is found in the Majjhima Nikaya. So if you take these seven, so the complete factors for charana conduct or practice is actually the seven which are found here, namely sila, contentment, guarding the sense doors, mindfulness and awareness, seclusion, abandonment of the hindrances, and attaining of the four jhanas. These are the seven. Then you add another three, moderation in eating, devotion to wakefulness, and the seven true dharmas, seven sattva dharma. The other thing I'd like to mention here, at the end of this sutta, is to describe the ending of the asavas. And the asavas mentioned here is the asava of sense desire. sensual desire, kammasava, then the asava of becoming, then the asava of ignorance. So here, there are only three things I've mentioned as asavas, and then in some later suttas, for example in some other suttas, they mention four, plus another one I think on views.

39-AN-Book-4Q-(4.20.199-to-4.27.261).txt

4.20.199. Monks, I will teach you craving that ensnares, that floats along, that is far-flung, that clings to one by which this world is smothered, enveloped, tangled like a ball of thread, covered as with blight, twisted up like a grass rope, so that it overpasses not the constant round of rebirth, the downfall, the way of war, the ruin. Do you listen carefully, apply your minds, and I will speak. Yes, Lord, replied those monks to the Exalted One. The Exalted One said this, and of what sort monks is craving that and snares, etc, etc. There are these 18 thoughts which are haunted by craving concerning the inner self and 18 which are haunted by craving concerning what is external to self. Now what sort are the former? Monks, when there is the thought, I am, there come the thoughts, I am in this world, I am thus, I am otherwise, I am not. I am eternal, I am not eternal. Should I be, should I not be, etc., etc. These are the 18 thoughts which are haunted by craving concerning the inner self. And what sort of monks are the 18 thoughts which are haunted by craving concerning what is external to self? When there is the thought, by this I am, there come the thoughts, by this I am in the world, by this I am thus, by this I am otherwise, by this I am not eternal, by this I am eternal, by this I should be, etc., etc. Now these are called the 18 thoughts which are haunted by craving concerning what is external to self. Now these are the 32 thoughts haunted by craving, that means the one concerning what is external to self and concerning the inner self. Thus, such thirty-six thoughts of past, thirty-six thoughts of future, thirty-six thoughts of present, make up one hundred and eight thoughts which are haunted by craving. Verily, monks, this is that craving that ensnares, that floats along, that is far-flung, that clings to one by which this world is smothered, enveloped, tangled like a ball of thread, etc. That's the end of the sutta. In this sutta, the Buddha is saying, there is the thought, I am. This thought, I am, is always in our mind. When we have the normal consciousness, it is always there. So it is very important if we want to go to the root of our ego to investigate this I am. That's why I mentioned last time in the sutra concerning the four ways to arahanthood. One is practicing samatha first, followed by vipassana, vipassana followed by samatha, then samatha and vipassana together. The last one is the investigating the I am, the self. If we come to the understanding of the I am, how it arises, where it arises from, only then can we get out of samsara. Now we come to four point 21.201. The Buddha said, monks, I will teach you the unworthy man and the still more unworthy man. I will teach you the worthy man and the still more worthy man. Do you listen carefully? Apply your minds and I will speak. Yes, Lord, replied those monks to the exalted one. The Exalted One said, And of what sort, monks, is the unworthy man? Herein a certain person is one who takes life, steals, is an adulterer, is a liar, is given to the use of liquor fermented and distilled, causing negligence. This one is called the unworthy man. And of what sort amongst is the still more unworthy man? Herein a certain person is one who takes life, steals, etc. and further encourages another to do the same. This one is called the still more unworthy man. And of what sort monks is the worthy man? Herein a certain one is one who abstains from taking life, from stealing, etc. This one is called the worthy man. And of what sort monks is the still more worthy man? Herein a certain person not only himself abstains from taking life, from stealing, etc., but also encourages another to abstain from doing so. This one is called the still more worthy man. That's the end of the sutra. In this sutra, the Buddha is saying that a person who breaks the five precepts is an unworthy person, who kills, steals, commits adultery, lies, takes fermented liquor, and he's even worse if he encourages another to do so. and likewise with the worthy man. Now later on we'll come across another sutta 4.261-267 where the Buddha says if a person does evil and on top of that he encourages others to do evil and furthermore approves of doing evil and even praises the doing of evil then that person can go to the woeful plains and even hell. So, if we do good and we encourage others to do good, then we get still more merit. Whereas if we do evil and encourage others to do evil, then our demerit or our evil is multiplied. Sutta 4.24.232 The Buddha said, monks, these four deeds I have myself comprehended, realized and made known. What for? There is a dark deed with a dark result, a bright deed with a bright result. a deed that is both dark and bright, with a dark and bright result, and the deed that is neither dark nor bright, with a result neither dark nor bright, which being itself a deed that conduces to the waning of deeds, these are the four deeds I have myself comprehended, realized, and made known. Now before I continue, I'll just stop a while to comment. This word dīt is a translation of the word karma, and it also can be translated as action. And the Buddha said that karma is intention. In other words, if we do any action through the three ways of body, speech and mind, and we do it with intention, that is karma. And anything that you do with intention, you have to bear the result. If you do karma, intentional deed that benefits others, you will reap the result of being happy. in future, whereas if you do the karma, the deed of harming other beings, that would result in unhappiness for you, or suffering. And the Buddha continued. And of what sort, monks, is the deed that is dark with a dark result? In this case, monks, a certain one wills bodily action connected with harm, wills verbal action connected with harm, wills mental action connected with harm. He thus willing harmful action of body, speech, and mind is born into a world that is harmful. Thus born into a harmful world, harmful contexts touch him. Thus touched by harmful contacts, he feels feeling that is harmful, that is sheer pain, just as do beings in hell. This mangs is called the dark deed with the dark result. And of what sort mangs is the bright deed with the bright result? In this case, a certain one wills bodily action, verbal action and mental action that is not connected with harm. So willing, he is reborn into a world that is not harmful. So born into a harmless world, harmless contacts touch him. He thus touched by harmless contacts, experiences feeling that is harmless, utter bliss, as do the ever-radiant devas. This monks is called the bright deed with a bright result. And of what sort monks is the deed that is both dark and bright, with a result that is both dark and bright. In this case, a certain one wills action of body, speech, and mind that is connected with harm and harmlessness. He is born into a world that is both harmful and harmless. Touched by contacts both harmful and harmless, he experiences feeling that is both harmful and harmless, a mixture of pleasure and pain, such as, for instance, some humans, some devas, and some dwellers in hell feel. This monks is called the deed that is both dark and bright, with a result that is both dark and bright. And of what sort monks is the deed that is neither dark nor bright, with a result that is similar, which itself a deed conduces to the waning of deeds. In this case monks, the intention to abandon this dark deed with its dark result, the intention also to abandon this bright deed with its bright result, the intention to abandon this deed that is both dark and bright with a light result. This intention is called the deed that conduces to the waning of deeds. These four deeds, monks, I have myself comprehended, realized, and made known. So that's the end of the Sutta. So here in this Sutta you find because of our actions we get the corresponding result. So we are born into a world that is a resultant of our actions. If a person does evil, mostly evil actions, harmful actions. He is born into a world where the result is mainly painful feelings for him, for example, in hell. Hell, that's the worst place we can be reborn. And that's a lot of suffering there, not only physical suffering, but mental suffering also, as can be seen from a description of hell in some of the suttas. And then if a person does a bright deed, a bright karma, then the resultant is a bright resultant, as a person who is born into the ever-radiant deva realm. This ever-radiant deva realm, this heavenly realm, is called the Subhākīna devas. And it is the third jhāna plane, where life is all bliss and no pain. So that is the advantage of abiding in jhāna, in the third jhāna, because when a person abides in jhāna, He does not do any evil. He has no chance to think of any evil. And when he's born into that plane, which is very difficult for beings to, very few beings can go there because very few beings can attain Jhana. And that is a very blissful place to go to. But most people do a deed that is both dark and bright. A mixture of good and evil. Most people, if you look around us, are both good and evil. So, they are reborn into this That is a mixture of pleasure and pain. For example, human beings, we know that we sometimes enjoy life, sometimes we get sick, and then we grow old. Also for the lower devas, lower celestial beings, lower heavenly beings, the world is also a mixture of pleasure and pain. There's even also killing in the lower heavenly realms. For example, the Nagas, the snake spirits, they kill. Then the Garudas, huge birds. But because they are in the heavenly realm, they have psychic power. They can have their natural body, animal body, or they can change it into a human being as they like. And then it's also mentioned here, some dwellers in hell. This might be King Yama, because every hell there is a lord, like a sultan. or a sultan who controls a place and his is a mixture of pleasure and pain also. And the last one is the intention to abandon karma. If we cultivate the holy path then we try not to do good or do evil, we just cultivate our mind to get out of this round of rebirths. So that is why for a monk, for example, a monk who practices, cultivates, he is not interested to do good deeds like making offerings, charity, etc. Of course, much less evil. He shouldn't do any evil. So that is the deed, the intention to abandon karma is the deed that conduces to the waning of deeds. 4.25.244. The Buddha said, monks, there are these four postures. What four? The posture of ghosts, petas, that of the luxurious, that of the lion, and the posture of the Tathagata or Buddha. And of what sort monks is the posture of ghosts? Generally, ghosts lie flat on their backs. This is called the ghost posture. And of what sort monks is the posture of the luxurious? Generally, the luxurious lie on the left side. This is called the luxurious posture. And of what sort monks is the posture of the lion? The lion monks, the king of beasts, takes up a posture on his right side, laying foot on foot, and folding his tail between his thighs. On waking, he straightens out the fore part of the body and looks round to the hinder part. Then monks, if the lion, king of beasts, sees any part of his body displaced or disarranged, thereupon monks, the lion, king of beasts, is displeased. But if the lion, king of beasts, sees no part of his body displaced or disarranged, then he is pleased. This monks is called the lion posture. And of what sort monks is the Tathāgata posture? In this case monks, a monk, aloof from sense desires, aloof from unwholesome conditions, enters on and abides in the first jhāna, then the second, third and the fourth jhāna. This is called the Tathāgata posture. So there are these four postures. That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is talking about posture, meaning the sort of position we take when we take a rest. And then the Buddha said that ghosts lie on their backs. So I'm sure many of us must have been born ghosts before because we lie on our backs. And lying on the left side, It's the luxurious posture. We lie on the left side. But that is not recommended by the Buddha. The Buddha recommends that we take up the lying posture. Sleeping sideways on our right side. And if you try it between the left and the right side, you find that the right side generally is more comfortable. Maybe because when we lie on the left side, we put some pressure on our heart. Because our heart is slightly to the left of our body. And the Buddha sees that the Buddha posture is instead of any particular body position, the Buddha always enters the jhanas, the first, second, third and the fourth jhana. And if you look through the suttas, you investigate the suttas, you find that the Buddha's Arahant disciples very often spend their days abiding in jhana. The Buddha encouraged them to spend their days abiding in jhāna. He never said that they were wasting their time, never said that they were blissing out. And you find the suttas sometimes, like Acariputta, certain suttas, sometimes it is said that on certain days he abides in the first jhāna, certain days he abides in the second jhāna, certain days third and the fourth jhāna, etc. And that is because the Buddha encouraged them to constantly abide in jhana and attain very strong concentration because the Buddha said the condition for wisdom is a mind that is bright. And if we abide in jhana, real jhana, then the mind is bright. And when the mind is bright, all the hindrances are abandoned. So, according to our Vinaya, the arahants are mindful 24 hours a day, even when they go to sleep, even when they take a rest, they are mindful. And this is hard for us to understand how a person can be asleep and still know that he is asleep. And the way to that also, of course, is through the jhanas, because when the mind is so strong, then only it is mindful. So we have to remember that the Buddha always encourages us to abide in jhana. Then, the next sutra is 4.25.245. The Buddha said, monks, these four are worthy of a stupa. What four? A Tathagata, Arahant, a fully enlightened one, is worthy of a stupa. A Pacheka Buddha, a Tathagata's disciple, and a Raja who rolls the wheel, are worthy of a stupa. These are the four. That's the end of the sutta. So here, what it mean worthy of a stupa? The Buddha said that if a person is worthy of a stupa, when he passes away and the corpse is cremated, then you take the ashes after the cremation and you put them into a stupa and you venerate. the ashes, she pay respect to the ashes. And who are these four people who are worthy of being venerated? The first one is a Sammasambuddha, like our Buddha, one who is enlightened and teaches the Dharma, such rolling the Dharma wheel. Second one is a Pacekabuddha, Pācekabuddha, you find, is also worthy of veneration, although some later books say that the Pācekabuddha is selfish, etc. This is not what the Buddha says, because here you find Pācekabuddha is also worthy of veneration, because teaching is not only by words. Actions, as they say, actions speak louder than words. So if a person like a Pacheka Buddha sets a very good example, as a very holy man, it impresses a lot of people. That itself is a teaching to many people. Third one is a Tathagata's disciple, meaning a Savaka. Here it implies the eight Aryans, the eight types of Aryans, the four fruits and the four path attainers. And you'll find later in the suttas that the Buddha talks about these Aryas as eight persons, not as four persons, eight types of persons, and all of them are worthy of veneration. And then the last one is a wheel-turning king. A wheel-turning king is one who is so so good, so virtuous, and he rules with Dharma as his guide, so that the whole world wants him to be the king. So he looks, he is a person with a lot of what they call blessings, paramis. You notice here in our Theravada suttas, these earlier suttas, there's no mention of Bodhisattva or Bodhisatta, which are found in the Mahayana books. Mahayana books talk a lot about the Bodhisattas or Bodhisattvas, whereas in our Theravada books, they are not even mentioned here as being worthy of veneration in a stupa. Because in the Theravada teachings, a bodhisattva or a bodhisatta is just an unenlightened being, one who is not yet enlightened, one who is not yet an arahant or a buddha. He's just walking the path to become enlightened. to become enlightened. So like all of us can be considered Bodhisattvas because we are on the path learning the Dhamma, trying to get out of samsara, trying to end the round of rebirth that is giving us much pain. So we come to the next sutra, 4.25.246, the Buddha said, amongst these four states conduced to growth in wisdom, what four? Association with a true man, hearing sat dharma or true dharma, thorough consideration or proper consideration. and behavior in accordance with Dhamma. These are the four. Monks, these four states are of great service to one who has become human. What for? Association with a true man, hearing the true Dhamma, thorough consideration and behavior in accordance with Dhamma. These are the four. That's the end of the Sutta. So here you can hear the Buddha saying that these four things will bring us wisdom and also be a great service to human beings. The first one is to associate with a true man, one who knows the Dhamma, one who knows the true Dhamma. and can guide you along the path of the true Dhamma. The second one is hearing the true Dhamma. The true Dhamma here meaning the discourses of the Buddha, the original discourses of the Buddha in our four Nikayas. Third one is thorough consideration or proper consideration. When we hear, we have to consider properly. But this thorough consideration or proper consideration is possible if you have a very clear mind. If you have samadhi, if you have some strength of mind, your mind is not too scattered, then only you have this yoniso manasikara, proper consideration. And in this case, meditation helps a lot. Meditation helps us to control our mind, to strengthen our mind, so that we can consider right to the source of the problem. Yoniso manasikara means considering the problem up to the source. And the last one is behavior in accordance with Dhamma. This one is very important. Whatever we learn in the Dhamma, we must behave in accordance with the Dhamma. There's no point to hear Dhamma, let it go in one ear and go out the other ear. and then it's of no benefit to us. We must put it into practice. So these four things should remember are very important. First one, association with a true man. Second one, hearing the true Dhamma. Third one, proper consideration or thorough consideration. Fourth one, behavior in accordance with Dhamma. 4.26.255 The Buddha said, Whatsoever families, monks, having attained greatness of possessions, fail to last long, all of them do so because of these four reasons, or one or other of them. What for? They seek not for what is lost. They repair, not dedicate. They eat and drink to excess. They put in authority a woman or a man that is immoral. Whatsoever families, having attained greatness of possessions, fail to last long, all of them do so because of these four reasons, or one or other of them. Whatsoever families, monks, having attained greatness of possessions, do last long, all of them do so because of these four reasons, or one or other of them. What for? They seek for what is lost, repair the decayed, eat and drink in moderation, and put in authority a virtuous woman or man. Whatsoever families, having attained greatness of possessions, do last long, all of them do so because of these four reasons. That's the end of the sutta. So the Buddha here is saying that if you want the family riches to last from generation to generation, these four things you must bear in mind. One is not to be frivolous, to seek for what is lost, to be careful. What is lost, you don't just forget about it, you take the trouble to look for it. The second one, you repair the decay. not being a spendthrift or wasteful. What can be still used, you repair. The third one, eat and drink in moderation. That means you enjoy in moderation. The fourth one, you put into authority somebody with sila, somebody with precepts, with moral conduct. You put somebody in authority without sila, without precepts, he or she will swindle all the money. and you'll find all the money gone. So these are the four ways to preserve the wealth in the family. Now the next sutra is 4.26.259. The Buddha said, monks, if he possessed four qualities, a monk is not fit to resort to lonely spots and solitary lodging in a forest. What for? Sensual thoughts, malicious thoughts, harmful thoughts, of he or if he be weak in wisdom, dull-witted, a fool. These are the four. Monks, if he possess four qualities, a monk is fit to resort to lonely spots and solitary lodging in a forest. What four? Thoughts of renunciation, thoughts not malicious, harmless thoughts, or if he be wise, not dull-witted, not a fool. These are the four. That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is talking about a forest monk. Not everybody can stay alone in the forest or in a cave, etc. Firstly, you need courage because those places that you go and stay alone are dark places, especially like caves. There might be a lot of snakes and there might be ghosts around that might disturb you at night. And so the first thing you need is courage. Second thing you need is a lot of meta. a lot of loving-kindness. Without loving-kindness, you stay alone. Some of these beings would come and disturb you. Third one you need is a very pure moral conduct. Because when you stay alone in the dark, and sometimes you stay in the forest, like in Thailand, there are certain forests, if you stay at night, you can hear the animals calling at night. And when you stay alone in the forest, you'll be very observant of the moon. That's why in the olden days, they used to observe the lunar calendar. Because on the new moon days, when there's no moon, then it's very dark on those nights. And when the animals call and all that, you feel a bit nervous. So having a very pure sila gives you a lot of confidence. You know that you are sincere, you know that you have pure morality. That gives you a lot of confidence. And also you need a lot of discipline. If you don't have discipline and you stay alone, you tend to sleep a lot and waste your time. Whereas if you are disciplined, then you can make a lot of progress by staying alone. That's why the Buddha encourages monks to stay alone. And then if among here, the Buddha talks about a few other things, like sensual thoughts. If you have sensual thoughts to disturb you, you can't make much progress. If you have malicious or angry thoughts, also they can disturb you a lot, harmful thoughts. Or if that person is weak in wisdom, then he can't make much progress. 4.27.261, the Buddha said, monks, one possessing four qualities is put into hell accordingly as he deserves. What for? He himself takes life and encourages another to do so, approves of taking life and speaks in praise thereof. Possessing these four qualities, one is put into hell accordingly as he deserves. monks possessing four qualities, one is put into heaven accordingly as he deserves. What for? He himself abstains from taking life, encourages another to such abstinence, approves and speaks in praise thereof. These are the four." So The next sutra is similar to this but it concerns stealing, 262 and the rest, 263 up to 267, they are all concerned with the precepts. then after stealing is committing adultery, then after that lying, then after that slandering, after that engaging in coarse speech, and the last one, engaging in idle gossip. So, in these few suttas, the Buddha said, if we do these wrong things, and on top of that we encourage others to do them, and furthermore approve of others doing them, and the last one is speaking in praise of doing these evil karmas, then that person is definitely put into hell accordingly as he deserves. Whereas another person, if he abstains from all these wrong actions, and then encourages others to such abstinence, and then approves of such abstinence, and speaks in praise, Lords, the abstinence from evil karma, then that person would go to heaven as he deserves. So we have to bear in mind these few things.

40-AN-Book-5A-(5.1.2-to-5.3.22).txt

5.1.2. The Buddha said, monks, there are the five powers of a learner. What five? The power of faith, saddha, of conscience or conscientiousness, hīrī, of remorse, uttapa, of diligence, vīrya, and of wisdom, paññā. And what, monks, is the power of faith? Saddhā. Herein, monks, the Aryan disciple has faith and believes in the enlightenment of the Tathāgata, that of a truth he is the Exalted One, Arahant, fully enlightened, replete with practice and knowledge. well-gone one, world-knower, incomparable tamer of tamable men, teacher of devas and men, the Buddha, exalted one. This monk is called the power of faith. Stop here for a moment. This word saddha, which we translate here as faith, can also mean confidence, trust, or unshakable faith. And this is not blind faith, it means having understood the Dhamma, having understood the teachings, then you have faith that the Buddha is enlightened. So to have faith, it means that you must learn, you must hear the suttas. either study them, read them or hear the suttas and understand and only when you have understood how logical is the Buddha's teaching and the Buddha in fact if you study further on you find the Buddha said not to believe blindly even the Buddha's words himself not to take it on faith but to investigate and to find out whether they are reasonable, and slowly from understanding them, then you have this saddha, unshakable faith. And the Buddha continued, and what monks is the power of conscience or conscientiousness? Pali word is hiri. Herein, monks, the Aryan disciple is conscientious. He feels conscientious scruple when acting wrongly in deed, word, and thought, on entering on evil and wrong states. This, monks, is called the power of conscientiousness. And what, monks, is the power of remorse, O Thapa? Herein, monks, the Aryan disciple is remorseful. He is remorseful when acting wrongly in deed, word, and thought. on entering on evil and wrong states. This monk is called the power of remorse. Stop here for a while. These two conditions, these two powers, learned powers called hiri and otapa, They are translated sometimes differently in different books. And they are very important conditions for someone new, a learner on the spiritual path. The first one, conscience, is like a sense of shame, fear to do wrong. That's the meaning of hīrī. Before a person does wrong, he has this fear of doing wrong, this sense of shame that will stop him from doing wrong. That's why we translate it as conscience. The second one is remorse, that means the ability to feel remorse at having done wrong. It's also a sense of shame at having done wrong. So these two things combine, one is the fear to do something wrong, and the second one is after doing wrong, having that remorse, the ability to feel shameful or remorseful about it. There are some people without this remorse, even after having done wrong, they don't feel remorseful. And if you don't feel remorseful, then you do the wrong again and again. Then the Buddha continued, and what, monks, is the power of diligence, Viriya? Herein, monks, the Aryan disciple, abiding in active energy, puts away all unskillful states and takes to skillful states. Steadfast and strenuous, he shirks not the burden of skillful states. This, monks, is called the power of diligence. I stop here for a moment. Our Buddha's teachings are always concerned with skillful living. Skillful living, not unskillful living. To live our life in a skillful way so that we can avoid unnecessary pain and suffering. For example, if you drink and drive and then you end up with an accident, that could have been avoided if you did not drink and drive at the same time. So, in the same way, if we understand karma, we know that if we do something wrong, it's going to result in suffering for us later. So, we avoid it from understanding of karma, what action leads to what result. So, if we know that, then we avoid unskillful states. Unskillful states meaning states associated with greed, hatred, delusion or illusion. And that also means like conceit, jealousy, anger, etc. and sensual desire. ill will, sloth and topper, restlessness, doubt, etc. Whereas skillful states is the reverse, the opposite. States of mind connected with renunciation, with loving kindness, with wisdom, humility, etc. And then the Buddha continued. What monks is the power of wisdom? Here in monks, the Aryan disciple has wisdom. He is endowed with wisdom into the nature of growth and decay, with Aryan penetration of the way to the utter destruction of dukkha, or ill, or suffering. This monk is called the power of wisdom. These monks are the five powers of a learner. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus. We will become possessed of the learner's powers. Thus must you train yourselves, monks. So the last one is wisdom. Wisdom here is explained as being endowed with wisdom into the nature of growth and decay. The nature of growth, arising and decay is the nature of the world. If you look into everything in the world, there is growth, arising and decay. Even something as hard as a metal, For example, an iron bridge. In those days, they used to make bailey bridges, iron bridges. And even though the whole bridge is made of iron, so strong, after many years, you find due to rust, the action of the weather, rain and sunshine, etc., one day the whole bridge might collapse. And even you can see such a hard thing as iron can collapse what more our body, our body that's so soft. So that is the nature of everything in this world because the nature of this world is impermanent. So if we have wisdom, we realize that everything arises and passes away due to conditions. That is the principle of dependent origination, dependent arising, how things arise and pass away, all due to conditions. And this person with wisdom can see the way to the utter destruction of dukkha. What is dukkha? Dukkha is another characteristic of this world. Sometimes it's translated as unsatisfactoriness, sometimes as suffering. And it means like Growing old is suffering, is dukkha. Becoming sick is dukkha. Dying is dukkha. Not to get what you want is dukkha. To be separated from your loved ones is dukkha. To be near to Those that you hate is also dukkha. In short, the Buddha said, the five aggregates of clinging, that which we associate with the self, the body, feelings, perception, volition and consciousness, all that is dukkha. So these are the five powers of a learner, and these five powers are very important for somebody on the spiritual path. Without these five learner's powers, we cannot progress. The first one is to have confidence in the Buddha's teachings. Because the Buddha's teachings, although we call it Buddhism, it is just a brand we put. Buddha's teachings, the Dhamma, is something actually we don't have to put a brand because it is reality itself. It is truth about existence. And of course, some of it can be found in other religions. But the Buddha, as you probably heard in one of the suttas, the Buddha said that Whether the Buddha appears or the Buddha does not appear, the fixed law of Dhamma applies to all of us. It has always been there, just that the Buddha is enlightened and he shows it to us, something that is so obvious that we have not seen it. He shows it to us, then we realize the nature of existence, the nature of the world, and how existence is unsatisfactory. and how we can get out of suffering. So these are the five learner's powers. Then the next sutra is 5.1.5. The Buddha said, Monks, whatsoever monk or nun disavows the training and returns to the lower life. Five matters for self-blame and reproach from the standpoint of Dhamma come to him here and now. What five? He thinks. In you there was verily no faith in skillful states. Kusala Dhamma. no conscientiousness, no remorse, no diligence and no wisdom into skillful states. Monks whatsoever monk or nun disavows the training and returns to the lower life. These five matters for self-blame and reproach from the standpoint of Dhamma come to him here and now. Monks, whatsoever monk or nun lives the holy life in perfect purity, though with tearful face he cries in pain and distress. Five matters for self-praise from the standpoint of Dhamma come to him here and now. What five? He thinks, in you verily there was faith in skillful states, conscientiousness, remorse, diligence, and wisdom in skillful states. Monks, these five matters for self-praise come to him here and now." That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha says, if a monk or a nun disrobes and returns to the lower life, meaning the life of a lay person, then Actually, he did not cultivate or did not have the five learner's powers and because of that, he disrobed. Whereas another person, even though wearing the robes is painful and even tears come to his eyes and he cries in pain and distress, Yet, if he still continues to wear the robes, then he can praise himself with these five learner's powers. That means he has these five learner's powers. Now, sometimes there are some people with very strong hindrances. They find it very difficult to wear the robe. What are these five hindrances? One is sensual desire. There are some people with very strong sensual desire and it always disturbs them. Another one is ill will, a lot of anger. When you have a lot of anger, it's very difficult to live in a community of other monks or nuns. Then the third one is sloth and torpor. If you have a lot of sloth and torpor, it's very difficult to live the holy life. It's always, you find it very difficult to make progress. The fourth one is restlessness and worry. Restlessness is something that is very difficult for new monks. Because as a lay person, when you feel restless, you think, oh, what am I going to do tonight? I feel so restless. I can't stay in this house, all the four walls around me. I feel I have to climb up the walls. So what do you do? You go out and see a show. You go to town. You go to the beach. You just go out and do something. Whereas as a monk, you can't. You have to stay in the monastery. If you're staying in a cave, you just have to stay in your cave. You just grit your teeth and bear it. That's why the Buddha said here sometimes, even with a tearful face, you still bear it. Then you can praise yourself. Because this is a stage where monks and nuns have to go through. If you can grit your teeth and bear it, later on, you get used to it, you master it, then it doesn't disturb you later on. However, you find sometimes some monks, they don't overcome the hindrances and even after five years, they disrobe. Some after 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, some even 40 years or so, they still disrobe because the five hindrances disturb them. And so the only way to overcome the hindrances according to the Buddha is to cultivate samadhi, cultivate concentration, one-pointedness of mind. When you have one-pointedness of mind, the five hindrances are abandoned. The other thing about these five learner's powers, the first one is having unshakable faith. And as I said before, you can only have it if you have a good understanding of the suttas, the Buddha's discourses. That's why the Buddha always called his disciples Savakas. And when he uses the word Savakas, disciples, he assumes that all of them are Aryans. That's why in the suttas, the Buddha always talks about the Aryan disciple, Aryan disciple. And so, to me, the suttas are so important that when we come into the Dhamma, into the holy path, the spiritual path, we have to study the suttas and understand. Because from understanding, then we have this unshakable faith. And when you have unshakable faith, the Buddha said, you have entered the stream. You will never be reborn into the woeful planes again. You are into the spiritual path, you have entered the spiritual path. Without a proper understanding of the suttas, you still have not entered the stream, you are still outside the door, you have not entered the door yet. So, that's why I always stress the importance of learning the suttas. Now we come to another sutta, 5.2.14. The Buddha said, there are monks, there are these five powers. What five? The power of faith, the power of diligence, the power of mindfulness or recollection, the power of concentration and the power of wisdom. These are the five powers. What is the power of energy? Sorry, what is the power of faith? The power of faith is just as before, what we read before, that the Aryan disciple has faith and believes in the enlightenment of the Tathagata, etc. And what is the power of energy? That also we heard before, the power of energy is the Aryan disciple abiding in active energy puts away all unskillful states and takes to skillful states. Shirk is not the burden of skillful states. This is the power of diligence. What is the power of mindfulness? Here in monks, the Aryan disciple is mindful or collected. He is endowed with the highest mindfulness and discrimination. He remembers and calls to mind what was said and done long ago. This, monks, is called the power of mindfulness. And what is the power of concentration? Here in monks, the Aryan disciple secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome mental states, enters upon and abides in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with delight and pleasure born of seclusion. With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, he enters upon and abides in the second jhāna, which has internal self-confidence and singleness of mind, without applied and sustained thought, with delight and pleasure born of concentration. And with the fading away of delight, he abides in equanimity, and collected and mindful, feeling pleasure with the body, he enters upon and abides in the third jhāna, on account of which the noble ones say, he has a joyful abiding who has equanimity and is collected. And with the abandoning of bodily pleasure and the previous abandoning of bodily pain, by the fading away of grief and joy, he enters upon and abides in the fourth jhāna, which has neither pain nor pleasure, and has complete purity of recollection or mindfulness and equanimity. This monk is called the power of concentration. And what is the power of wisdom? The Aryan disciple has wisdom. He is endowed with wisdom into the nature of growth and decay, with Aryan penetration of the way to the utter destruction of dukkha. This is the power of wisdom. These monks are the five powers. That's the end of the sutta. Here we come to the standard five powers. The earlier one was the learner's powers. This is the standard five things which the Buddha calls the powers. The first one, faith, we have already dealt with. The second one is energy, we have also dealt with. The third one is mindfulness. The word is sati. This word sati comes from a word which is spelled S-M-R-T-I. Smriti or something, and it means to remember. So basically, Sati means to remember, you know. And generally people like to use the word mindfulness. But if you look at this definition of the word Sati, it says, the Aryan disciple is mindful. He is endowed with the highest mindfulness and discrimination. He remembers and calls to mind what was said and done long ago. remembers and calls to mind what was said and done long ago. So this is the ability to remember. So when we use the word mindfulness, you must know mindfulness has two meanings. One is to be generally mindful, aware of what is happening around you. That is not the real meaning of the word sati. The second meaning of mindfulness is the ability to recollect, to remember. And that is the more correct definition according to the words here. He remembers and calls to mind what was said and done long ago. So this we have to remember because in the word sati, in the suttas, the Buddha says that sati is concerned with remembering the nature of our body and our mind, the five aggregates. body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. Because that is where our problem lies. That is where our ego is tied up to. We always associate the self with these five things. So we must always remember to look and see that these five things are not the self. Then the power of concentration is the standard definition of how the four jhanas are attained. you find the Buddha's description of samadhi is always connected with these four jhanas, or sometimes it's just one-pointedness of mind. And this definition as explained here is the proper definition of concentration. Nowadays we have to be very careful because certain teachers, their definition of concentration, they use such words like vipassana jhana, When you look into the definition of vipassana jhana, it means the mindfulness from object to object. And mindfulness from object to object is just sati, is just mindfulness. just mindfulness or recollection, and it is the seventh factor of the Aryan Eightfold Path, whereas the four jhanas are the eighth factor, and these are two separate factors. You must not confuse and mix them up and think they are one factor. It's very important to realize this. Any definition of samadhi must be based on these four definitions of the four jhanas. How you enter the four jhanas and what qualities the jhana has. So if anybody teaches that such and such is jhāna, you have always to compare with this definition here in the powers of the four jhānas, of obtaining the four jhānas. Sutta number 5.2.15, the Buddha said, monks, there are these five powers. What five? The power of faith, the power of diligence, the power of mindfulness or recollection, the power of concentration, and the power of wisdom. These are the five powers. And where, monks, is the power of faith to be seen? In the four factors of stream winning, there is the power of faith to be seen. And where monks is the power of diligence to be seen. In the four right efforts, there is the power of diligence to be seen. And where monks is the power of mindfulness or recollection to be seen? In the four intense states of recollection, satipatthana, there is the power of mindfulness to be seen. And where monks is the power of concentration to be seen? In the four jhanas, there is the power of concentration to be seen. And where monks is the power of wisdom to be seen. In the four Aryan truths, there the power of wisdom is to be seen. These monks are the five powers. That's the end of the sutra. Now the first one the Buddha talks about the faith, saddha or confidence. The Buddha says it is to be seen in the four factors of stream winning. What are the four factors of stream winning? The first one is the faith in the Buddha, unshakable faith in the enlightenment of the Buddha. The second one is the unshakable faith or confidence in the Dhamma. The third is the confidence or faith in the Sangha. And the fourth is the factor of virtue, sila. having pure sila, these are the four factors of asotapanna, so there the power of faith is to be seen. And where monks is the power of diligence to be seen in the four right efforts. What are four right efforts? I think if some of you have remembered, we talked about the four right efforts earlier in the Chapter of the Force, where the four right efforts refer to the effort to restrain, to abandon, to develop, and to nurture. To restrain is to restrain unwholesome thoughts which have not arisen. We restrain them from arising. The effort to abandon is to abandon those unwholesome states or thoughts which have arisen. And then the effort to develop is to develop unarisen, wholesome states or wholesome thoughts. And the effort to mature is to mature or develop further wholesome states that have already arisen. wholesome or skillful states. That is the power of diligence. That means we have to always be mindful of the state of our mind to see whether we have wholesome thoughts, wholesome states of mind. And where is the power of recollection to be seen in the four instant states of recollection? This Satipatthana, Satipatthana, there are different translations for it. Firstly, the word sati, remember the last time we talked on the suttas, the last sutta, the Buddha defined sati as The ability to remember and call to mind what was said and done long ago. Remember and call to mind what was said and done long ago. That is the real definition of sati. There are about eight suttas that repeat this definition. You remember I said that if you use the word mindfulness, You have to remember that it is not so much the mindfulness of what is happening day to day, what is sense at the six sense doors, but to remember, and to remember what? To remember the body, the nature of the body and the mind, that it is not I, not me, not mine. And so that is ati. And then patana comes from to my interpretation, but thana comes from two words, paha and thana. Paha, if you look into the Pali dictionary, means setting forth and also going beyond. So, going beyond also refers to extreme condition, intense. extreme or intense. So the word pa can be used for extreme or intense. Tana literally means standing still and because of that it is also used for a condition, a state, a situation. So the word pa-tana can mean extreme condition or extreme state or intense state, intense condition. That is why in my mind, dhana means an intense state. So satipatthana means an intense state of recollection or intense state of mindfulness. And this satipatthana is closely linked to the jhanas. Why do we say that satipatthana is closely linked to the jhanas? Because of two suttas. In the Samyutta Nikaya, The Venerable Anuruddha, the Arahant Anuruddha, was asked what is the cause of his psychic power, and he said that the cause of his psychic power is satipatthana. Normally when we refer to psychic power, we associate it with the jhanas, intense state of jhanas, deep states of concentration. and here he says that it is satipatthana. So satipatthana is in a way synonymous with the jhanas and this is again can be seen in another sutra where it is stated that the sign of samadhi is satipatthana or the sign of jhana is satipatthana. In other words when you have the jhanas, or you have perfect concentration, then you automatically have satipatthana. That is why in the suttas, in the Sankhyuta Nikaya, the Buddha said, cultivate satipatthana. But after you have attained satipatthana, the Buddha said, abandon the practice of satipatthana. That's something to be found in the suttas. So before you attain satipatthana, you practice to attain it. And when you get it, you also get the samadhi, kujjata jhanas. And once you have attained the jhanas, you don't have to make an effort to be intensely mindful. It becomes automatically. a person with the jhanas becomes naturally mindful. And then the power of concentration is to be seen in the four jhanas. In the last sutta, the last time we talked on the suttas, we defined the four jhanas. And the power of wisdom is to be seen in the four Aryan truths. When you have wisdom, you will understand the four Aryan truths. So that's the end of the sutta. Now we come to Sutta No. 5.3.22. The Buddha said, monks, that a disrespectful and unruly monk, not dwelling in harmony with his fellows in the holy life, will keep the minor precepts, such a thing is not possible, that he will keep the Learner's dharmas without keeping the minor precepts is not possible. That he will keep the aggregate of moral conduct without the learner's dharma is not possible. That he will keep the aggregate of concentration without moral conduct is not possible. that he will attain the aggregate of wisdom without concentration, such a thing is not possible. But monks, that a respectful and controlled monk, dwelling in harmony with his fellows in the holy life, will keep the minor precepts, such a thing is possible. That he, keeping the minor precepts, will keep the learner's dharmas, such a thing is possible. That he keeping the learners dharmas will keep the moral conduct, such a thing is possible. That he keeping the moral conduct will attain concentration, such a thing is possible. And he attaining concentration will attain wisdom, such a thing is possible. That's the end of the sutra. So here the Buddha is trying to say that firstly a monk has to be respectful and control and dwelling in harmony with his fellows in the holy life. Such a monk will be one who is sincere about the holy path, who is sincere about practicing the spiritual path. Such a person, it is possible that he is willing to cultivate the minor precepts. And when he cultivates the minor precepts, he will progress to keep the learner's dharma. the learner's code of things that must be practiced. And then if he does that, then he will progress to attain or keep the moral conduct. And when he keeps the whole aggregate of moral conduct, then he will attain concentration. And when he attains concentration, he will attain wisdom. Such a thing is possible. But the reverse is not possible. That means if he is unruly, then he will not be able to keep the minor precepts, and such a person will not be able to keep the learned dharmas, will fail to keep the moral conduct. and because of that he will fail to attain concentration. And a person who fails to attain concentration, the Buddha said, it is impossible that he will attain wisdom. You see here, the final part, that without attaining concentration, a person cannot get wisdom. If you look into other suttas, you'll find the reason is that the Buddha said, without abandoning the hindrances, we cannot get wisdom. And the way to abandon the hindrances is to attain concentration. The other thing we like to know about this sutta is that this type of monk, the disrespectful and unruly monk, is not in harmony with this. Companions in the Holy Life is a type of monk who has no hiri or tapa. Earlier I think you heard me talking about the learner's powers. He talked about hiri or tapa. Hiri is a term which means conscience or conscientiousness. It means a monk who has a sense of shame is afraid to do wrong. And uttapa is a sense of remorse. If a monk does something wrong, he feels remorse. There are some people who don't feel remorse for the wrong that they have done. And so such a monk with a sense of shame, then only he can progress. But a monk without a sense of shame, not fearing to do evil, and after doing evil not remorseful, he cannot progress in the holy life. And also you see in these few steps here in the sutra, that it is a gradual path. The holy life is a gradual path. No step is to be missed out. First, a monk got to be sincere, he got to be respectful, harmonious monk, then he will progress to keeping the minor precepts, and then will progress to keeping the learned dharmas, and from there the whole aggregate of moral conduct, and from there to concentration, to wisdom. This is a gradual training that the Buddha expects in the holy life.

41-AN-Book-5B-(5.3.26-to-5.3.30).txt

Now we come to Sutra 5.3.26, and this is another quite important sutra. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five spheres of release wherein the unreleased mind of a monk, abiding zealous, ardent and resolute, finds release. All the āsavas, not yet wholly destroyed, come to complete destruction. All the unsurpassed peace from effort, not yet attained, is won. 5. Monks take the case when the master or some fellow in the holy life who acts as teacher instructs a monk in Dhamma, while he teaches, that monk partakes of both the spirit and the letter of this Dhamma. From this experience, joy, pamoja, springs up, and from that delight, piti, in such a state, his whole being calms down. When he is calm, ease, sukha, is experienced, and for him who dwells at ease, the mind is concentrated. Monks, this is the first sphere of release wherein the unreleased mind of a monk, abiding zealous, ardent and resolute, finds release. All the asavas, not yet wholly destroyed, come to complete destruction. All the unsurpassed peace from effort, not yet attained, is won. Again, monks, when the master or some fellow in the holy life does not instruct him in Dharma, but he himself instructs others in detail, as he has heard it, as he has learned it by heart. While he thus teaches, he partakes of this Dharma and experiences joy, delight, calm and ease, wherein his mind is concentrated. Monks, this is the second sphere of release, or else He repeats Dhamma as he has heard it, as he has learnt it, and while doing so, he partakes of this Dhamma and experiences joy, delight, calm and ease, whereby his mind is concentrated. Monks is the third sphere of release. Or else, in his heart, he ponders and reflects on Dhamma as he has heard it, as he has learnt it. He reviews it carefully in his mind, and while doing so, he partakes of this Dhamma, and experiences joy, delight, calm and ease, whereby his mind is concentrated. Monks, this is the fourth sphere of release, or else some concentration sign, samadhi nimitta, is rightly grasped by him, rightly held by the attention, rightly reflected on, rightly penetrated by wisdom. And while this takes place, he partakes of both the spirit and letter of this Dharma. From this experience, joy springs up, from that delight. In such a state, his whole being calms down. When he is calm, ease is experienced, and for him who dwells at ease, the mind is composed. Monks, this is the fifth sphere of release, wherein the unreleased mind of a monk, abiding zealous, ardent and resolute, finds release. All the asavas, not yet wholly destroyed, come to complete destruction. All the unsurpassed peace from effort, not yet attained, is won. Monks, these are the five spheres of release. This is the end of the sutra. This is a very important sutra because here you find the Buddha is trying to say the different conditions where a person, a monk, gets released. or the asavas are destroyed, that means he becomes an arahant. And what are these five conditions? First one is hearing Dhamma, hearing a teacher teach Dhamma. And when he's listening to the Dhamma, he partakes of the spirit and letter of this Dhamma. And from this, joy arises, and then delight, and then because of these two, He is calm, and when he becomes calm, the mind becomes concentrated. When the mind becomes concentrated, that is the condition for wisdom to arise, and he gets released. So the first one is hearing Dhamma. That is why hearing Dhamma, the suttas, is very important. We pay attention and hear Dhamma carefully, put all attention there. It is possible. As in many suttas, the Buddha showed that a person can enter the stream. The second one is a person teaches Dhamma. And when he teaches Dhamma, because when he teaches Dhamma, he has to reflect on the Dhamma, ponder in his mind as to how to explain it, and then he partakes of the Dhamma. And joy, delight, calm and ease arises, and his mind becomes concentrated and he attains release. That is the second condition. The third one, He repeats Dhamma. Repeating Dhamma is also very useful. That means you learn the Dhamma and instead of just going in one ear and going out the other ear, you listen to it again and again. Or if you have the words of it, you repeat it. Especially certain suttas are very important. You keep on repeating it and you understand more and more. And so that is the third way you get release, you get attainment of Ariya-hood. The fourth one, ponders and reflects on Dhamma. This is also very useful, to ponder and reflect on Dhamma that you have heard. Perhaps tonight you hear the Dhamma, tomorrow, when you are more free, you can think about the Dhamma that you have heard, reflect on it, and perhaps you understand in-depth what was said and then you can attain release. Then the fifth one is to contemplate the concentration sign, the sign of meditation. And when you contemplate on the concentration sign, the mind automatically becomes concentrated. And from there, the concentrated mind, wisdom arises and you attain release. So these are the five ways. Now one thing you would like to note is that the condition for calming down the mind here is that joy and delight arises. Joy and delight arises. That means you got to have joy and delight. Not all dukkha. Meditation is not all dukkha. If it's all dukkha, joy and delight cannot arise. That is why in the sutras the Buddha talked about the bliss of seclusion, the bliss of renunciation, referring to piti and sukha, from where concentration arises. So remember that meditation is not sitting down and seeing a lot of dukkha. Too much dukkha, then you have no inspiration to meditate, can't keep it up. So you've got to have this inspiration from the joy and the delight of meditation. and from there you'll be calmed down and attain concentration and after that wisdom. So, these five important, these are the five ways of attaining ariya-hood. Remember again, first one is listening to dhamma, second one teaching dhamma. You can also teach dhamma to somebody else if you have listened to it often enough from the tapes or from the books. Third one is repeating dhamma. Repeat the passage of Dhamma again and again. The fourth one is to ponder and reflect on Dhamma. The fifth one is contemplating the concentration sign. So if you want to attain to Ariya-hood, remember these five ways. Now the next Vita is 5.3.27. The Buddha said, monks, being wise and mindful, make become immeasurable concentration. For in those who do, verily in each one of you there shall arise a fivefold knowledge. What fivefold knowledge? One. This concentration is verily a present happiness and a source of happiness for the future. Even in each this knowledge arises. Secondly, this concentration is Aryan, not carnal or of the flesh. even in each this knowledge arises. Thirdly, this concentration is not the practice of base men or low men, even in each this knowledge arises. Fourth, this concentration is the peace, the excellent thing, the winning of calm, the attaining of one-pointedness, and the restraint that prevails is not a conscious restraint. Even this 5. Mindfully I verily enter upon this concentration. Mindfully I verily emerge from this concentration. Even in each this knowledge arises. Monks, being wise and mindful, make become immeasurable concentration, for in each there shall arise this fivefold knowledge. This is another sutra where the Buddha stresses home the point that concentration is very important. And these are the five advantages, the Buddha said, if you develop immeasurable concentration. Firstly, you attain happiness. at the present moment and it also becomes a source of happiness for you in the future. Why? Because if you remember one of the suttas I mentioned where the Buddha praised the sangha of monks, he said there are monks in this sangha who have attained concentration and because of that they are likely to be reborn in the Deva plane. So by attaining concentration, they have a very good chance of being born into the Deva plane. That is why it is a source of happiness for the future. Secondly, this concentration is Aryan. It is not carnal. This concentration has got to do with the Aryan path. Don't look down on concentration. It is an Aryan It is a practice of the Aryans, without concentration, the Buddha said, that you can't attain the Aryan path. And the third one, this concentration is not the practice of base men, not the practice of low men. So here again, it is similar to the previous statement that concentration is Aryan. If people, worldly people cannot attain this type of concentration, and that is because the Buddha said that the jhānas is one of the uttari-manuṣa-dhamma. Uttari-manuṣa means higher than human. a Dhamma which is higher than human. Sometimes we translate this as supernormal attainment. That means ordinary people can't attain it. You have to arise above the worldly level to attain this concentration. Then fourthly, this concentration is the peace, the excellent thing, the winning of calm, the attaining of one-pointedness. And the restraint that prevails is not a conscious restraint. This is a very important statement. The restraint that prevails is not a conscious restraint. What is this referring to? This is probably referring to the restraint of the five hindrances. The five hindrances. When you attain concentration, the five hindrances are automatically restrained, and it is not a conscious restraint. You don't have to make a conscious effort, for example, to curb your anger, because anger is one of the hindrances. Ill-will is the second hindrance out of the five hindrances. But when you attain concentration, That restraint is automatic. You don't have to make an effort to be mindful to restrain your anger. It automatically becomes restraint. And the same with sensual desire. You don't have to make a conscious effort to restrain your sensual desire. The mind is so calm. It's not easy to stir a calm mind. So that is why this restraint is not a conscious restraint. And the other hindrances are sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and doubt. All these are automatically restrained, and it is not a conscious restraint. It comes automatically with concentration. That is why the Buddha always stressed on concentration. And the fifth one also, the Buddha says, mindfully I enter upon this concentration. Mindfully I emerge from this concentration. Concentration, the state of jhāna, is always to do with mindfulness. It is a very intense state of mindfulness. Without an intense state of mindfulness, you cannot attain the jhānas. So, always remember that. Don't believe that jhāna is a state of unmindfulness. It is definitely not a state of mindfulness. Here is very clear, mindfully I enter upon this concentration, mindfully I emerge from this concentration. So these are the five things. Now the next sutra is 5.3.28. Monks, I will teach you how to make become the five-limbed Aryan right concentration. Listen attentively and pay heed and I will speak. Even so, Lord, they replied. And the exalted one said, Monks, take the case of a monk. who, secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome mental states, enters and abides in the first jhāna. He steeps and drenches and fills and suffuses this body with delight and pleasure, born of seclusion, so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this delight and pleasure, born of seclusion. Monks, just as a handy bath man or attendant, might throw bath powder in some copper basin and gradually sprinkling water, knead it together so that the bath ball gathered up by the moisture became enveloped in moisture and saturated both in and out. but did not ooze moisture. Even so, a monk steeps, drenches, fills and suffuses this body with delight and pleasure born of seclusion, so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this delight and pleasure born of seclusion. Monks, this is firstly how to make become the five-limbed Aryan Rite concentration. Or a monk, stilling applied and sustained thought, enters and abides in the second jhāna. He likewise steeps this body with delight and pleasure, etc. Monks imagine a pool with a spring, with no water inlet, either on the east side or on the west, or on the north or on the south. And suppose the deva supply not proper rains from time to time. Cool waters would still well up from that pool, and that pool would be steeped, drenched, filled and suffused with the cold water, so that every part would be pervaded by the cold water. In just the same way, a monk steeps his body with delight and pleasure. Monks, this is the secondly how to make become. The five limbs are in right concentration. Again, a monk, free from the fervor of delight, enters and abides in the third jhāna. He steeps and drenches and fills and suffuses this body with a pleasure divested of delight, so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded by this pleasure, divested of delight. Monks, just as in a pond of blue, white and red water lilies, the plants are born in water, grow in water, come not out of the water, but sunk in the depths find nourishment, and from tip to root are steeped, drenched, filled and suffused with cold water, so that not a part of them is not pervaded by cold water. Even so, monks, a monk steeps his body with a pleasure divested of delight. etc. Monks, this is thirdly how to make become the five-limbed Arin-rite concentration. Again a monk putting away pleasure enters and abides in the fourth jhāna. Seated, he suffuses his body with brightness by the pureness of his mind so that there is not one particle of the body that is not pervaded with brightness by the pureness of his mind. Monks, just as a man might sit with his head downwards, covered with a white cloth, so that not a portion of it was not covered with that white cloth, even so a monk sits suffusing his body with brightness. Monks, this is fourthly how to make become the five-limbed Aryan Rite concentration. Again, the contemplation sign is rightly grasped by a monk, rightly held by the attention, rightly reflected upon, rightly penetrated by insight. Monks, just as someone might survey another, standing might survey another sitting, or sitting might survey another lying down. Even so, the contemplation sign is rightly grasped by the monk, rightly held by the attention, rightly reflected upon, rightly penetrated by insight. Monks, this is fifthly how to make become the five-limbed Arin right concentration. Monks, when a monk has thus made become and thus made abundant the five-limbed Arin concentration, he can bend his mind to realize by higher knowledge whatever condition is so realizable and become an eyewitness in every case whatever the range may be. Monks, suppose a water jar brimful of water so that a crow could drink from it was set on a dish. As soon as a strong man rocked it to and fro, would the water spill? Yes, Lord. Even so, monks, when a monk has so made become and made abundant, the five limbs are in right concentration, he can bend the mind to knowledge, whatever the range may be. Monks, imagine a tank on a level piece of ground with dikes built up on its four sides, brimful of water so that a crow could drink from it. As soon as a strong man loosened the sides here and there, would the water flow out? Yes, Lord. Even so, monks, when a monk has so made become concentration, he can bend the mind to knowledge, whatever the range may be. Monks, suppose a carriage, harnessed with thoroughbreds, with goat hanging handy, were to stand on the level where four main roads meet. As soon as the coachman, a capable trainer and driver of horses, had mounted and grasped the reins in his left hand, and with his right seized the goat, he would drive on or back as and how he pleased. Even so, monks, when a monk has so made become and made abundant the five-limbed Aryan Rite concentration, he can bend the mind to realize by higher knowledge whatever condition is so realizable. and become an eyewitness in every case, whatever the range may be. Should he wish to experience psychic power, to hear deva sounds, to read minds, to call to mind previous dwellings, to see beings faring on according to their deeds, to enter and abide with the asavas destroyed in the emancipation by mind, in the emancipation by wisdom, he becomes an eyewitness in every case, whatever the range may be. That's the end of the sutta. In this case, the Buddha is again stressing the point of jhana, concentration, that by attaining concentration, the jhanas, you can attain the higher knowledges, if you want. The last part was talking about the abhinyas, the higher knowledges, the ability to display psychic power, to hear deva sounds. sounds of spirits etc to read the minds of others to remember previous lifetimes and to see beings being born and dying and passing away according to karma and lastly to attain the destruction of the asavasa that can easily be attained with the Aryan Rite concentration. And then in this Uttara, the Buddha gives the similes for the jhanas. The first jhana, the Buddha gave a simile of a person taking soap, bath powder, and squeezing it and putting water and gradually making it up into a ball so that the whole ball of powder becomes enveloped with moisture, saturated with moisture. Every part of it, every particle of it is saturated with water. So in the same way, the Buddha is saying in the first jhāna, every part of the body, every particle of the body is suffused with delight and pleasure, piti and sukha. And secondly, the Buddha gave a simile of the second jhāna of a pool. And the pool, in the bottom of the pool, in the center bottom of the pool, a spring comes up. And this spring of cold water wells up and pervades every part of the lake. In the same way, this delight and pleasure wells up from within. from within you and pervades every part of the body. In the third jhāna, the Buddha gives a simile of a pond of water lilies which grow in the water and water is covering them all over. Every part of them is covered by water. In the same way, a person in the third jhāna experiences Pleasure without delight, without pity in every particle of the body. And then the fourth jhāna, Buddha gives a simile of a person covered with a white cloth from the head down to the toes. In the same way, a person in the fourth jhāna, the body is completely bright, the mind is, the brightness pervades every part of the body. From here you can understand why the fourth jhāna is so important. Because some other suttas, if you remember, I have said before that the condition for insight, the Buddha said, is a bright mind. When the mind becomes very bright, that is the best condition for attaining insight and wisdom. That is why the fourth jhana is a very very good state for attaining wisdom. And the last one is the contemplation sign, the meditation sign, is rightly reflected upon and so that wisdom arises. That is the Aryan Rite concentration. Now he comes to Sutra 5.3.29. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five advantages of a meditation walking path, jankama. It hardens one for traveling. It is good for striving. It is healthy. Its use tends to good digestion after one has eaten and drunk, munched and crunched. And lastly, the concentration, one, from a meditation walking path lasts long. Monks, these are the five advantages of a meditation walking path, a jangkama. So the Buddha said walking, walking meditation is good. It hardens one for traveling. You become fit for traveling. It is good for striving. It is good for striving in the holy life. It is healthy. It keeps your body very healthy. You walk and walk. And it is good for digestion. After you have eaten, especially after a heavy meal, it is good to walk meditation to help digestion. And then the concentration can last long also. These are the various advantages of walking meditation. Now the next Vita is 5.3.30. Once the Exalted One, with a great company of monks, while wandering for alms among the Kosalis, came to the Brahmin village of Icha-Nangala, belonging to them. And there the Exalted One dwelt in the Icha-Nangala woodland thicket. Now the Brahmin householders of Icha-Nangala heard of this. Bakyu, they said, the recluse, Master Gautama, the Sakyan, gone forth from the Sakyan clan, has come to Ichanangala and dwells in our wood nearby. And of this same Master Gautama, this excellent report goes abroad. He is the Exalted One, Arahant, perfectly enlightened, endowed with knowledge and practice, well-gone one, world-knower, unsurpassed tamer of tamable men, teacher, teacher of devas and men, Buddha, the exalted one. Having realized higher knowledge himself, he declares it to this world with its devas and maras and brahmas, to this earth with its recluses and brahmins, its devas and men, and he teaches dhamma, lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, and lovely in the end. And he sets forth the holy life, utterly pure and perfect, both in spirit and letter. Well, indeed, it is it to see such arahants. And when the night was over, they went to the wood, taking with them a great deal of hard and soft food, and stood outside the entrance, making a great din and uproar. Now at that time the Venerable Nāgītā was the exalted one's personal attendant. Then the Exalted One called to the Venerable Nāgītā and said, Who are these Nāgītā that make this great din and uproar? Like fishermen, I think, with a great haul of fish. These men, Lord, are the Brahmin householders of Īcchanāṅgala who wait outside the gateway. They have brought much hard and soft food for the Exalted One and for the Sangha. And the Buddha said, I have nothing to do with homage now, Gita, nor has homage anything to do with me. Whosoever cannot obtain at will, easily and without difficulty, this happiness of renunciation, this happiness of seclusion, this happiness of calm, this happiness of enlightenment, which I can obtain at will, easily and without difficulty, Let him enjoy that dung-like happiness, that sluggish happiness, that happiness gotten of gains, favors, and flattery. Lord, let the exalted one accept their offerings. Let the well-gone one accept. Now, Lord, is the time for the blessed one to accept. For wheresoever henceforth the exalted one shall go, the Brahmin householders of town and country will be just as inclined to give. Lord, just as when the waning Deva rains big drops, the water flows with the inclined, even so, Lord, wheresoever the Exalted One shall henceforth go, the Brahmin householders of town and country will be inclined. And why, Lord? It is because of the virtue and wisdom of the Exalted One." And the Buddha said again, Now, Gita, I have nothing to do with homage, nor has homage anything to do with me. Whosoever cannot obtain at will, easily and without difficulty, this happiness of renunciation, this happiness of seclusion, this happiness of calm, this happiness of enlightenment, which I can obtain at will easily and without difficulty, Let him enjoy that dung-like happiness, that sluggish happiness, that happiness-garden of gains, favours and flattery. Verily, Nāgita, whosoever eats and drinks, munches and crunches, must answer the calls of nature. Such is the issue of it. Whosoever loves, to him change and separation must come, grief, lamentation, suffering, sorrow and despair. Such is the issue of it. Whosoever is bent on applying himself to the sign of the unattractive, in him disgust for the sign of the attractive is established. Such is the issue of it. Whosoever abides, seeing impermanence in the six spheres of contact, in him disgust for contact is established. Such is the issue of it. Verily, Nargita, whosoever abides, seeing the rise and fall in the fivefold aggregates of attachment, in him disgust for attachment is established. Such is the issue of it." That's the end of the sutra. It's an interesting sutra. It shows that the Buddha likes the peace and quiet. and he doesn't like noisy people around him. That's why in the early in the morning when all these brahmins came with a lot of offerings, because they made so much noise, the Buddha said they are just like fishermen and refused to accept their offerings. And this Nāgita, his attendant, was trying to persuade the Buddha to accept the offerings, so that later more, wherever they go, people also will give a lot of offerings. But the Buddha tried, the Buddha wasn't happy to accept, and the Buddha said, I've got nothing to do with that kind of happiness, the Buddha said. His kind of happiness is the happiness of renunciation, the happiness of seclusion, the happiness of calm, the happiness of enlightenment. And this refers to the jhanas. The jhanas are the happiness of renunciation, the happiness of seclusion, happiness of enlightenment even. So the Buddha is more concerned with getting this happiness that surpasses the world, rather than worldly happiness. So you see, sometimes the Buddha can refuse to accept offerings if it is not conducive to the holy life, as in this case. He would prefer that they allow him to practice in seclusion and give him more privacy, and he's willing to accept less offerings. And then the last part of it, the Buddha gave some interesting teaching. The Buddha says that whosoever loves to him or her, change and separation must come. Grief, lamentation, suffering, sorrow and despair. Most of us, we like to love somebody, but when you love somebody, you have to pay for it. because change and separation must come. What is this change? This change refers to that you love somebody, but after some time, somebody might not love you, or fall out of love with you, and then you get a heartbreak, or separation comes. For example, you love your child, maybe your child passes away, and you get a lot of grief. So, if you have love, grief, lamentation, suffering, sorrow and despair will come. And then if you practice the sign, the asubha, the sign of the unattractive, to see the loathsomeness of the body, then you will have disgust for the sign of the attractive, that means the sign of beauty loses the appeal to you if you constantly see the unattractiveness of the body, the loathsomeness of the body. And then if you constantly try to see impermanence in the six spheres of contact, that means in the six sense doors, seeing, hearing, smelling, taste, touch and thinking, if you constantly see impermanence or constant change in the six sense doors, then disgust for contact is established. And we have discussed for contact, you go into the mind, you go into the inner self, you try to cut off the outer world. Going back into the inner self is the way to go back to peace, to Nibbana. Because the state of Nibbana is separate from the world. The world is the Buddha and the first noble truth, the Buddha said all existence is suffering. That's why we have to run away from existence. And then if we constantly see the arising and decay of the five aggregates of attachment, that means the five aggregates, panca, khandha. First one is body, feeling, perception, volition and consciousness. These five things are very important to see how they change. Then if you can see how they constantly change, then slowly you let go of associating the self with these five things.

42-AN-Book-5C-(5.4.31-to-5.4.40).txt

5.4.31. Once the Exalted One was dwelling near Savatthi at Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's palace, and there Sumana, the Raja's daughter, with a following of 500 royal maidens in 500 chariots, came and visited Him, and after saluting Him, sat down at one side. So seated, she spoke thus to the Exalted One, Lord, suppose two of the Blessed One's disciples were similar in faith, similar in virtue and similar in wisdom. But one was an almsgiver and the other was not. Both on the breaking up of the body after death would be reborn in the happy heaven world. But among the Devas, Lord, would there be a distinction, a difference between them? And the Buddha said, there would be, Sumana, the almsgiver, when come to deva state, surpasses the non-giver in five ways, in divine life span, beauty, happiness, honor and power. In these five ways, Sumana, the almsgiver, when reborn to a deva state, surpasses the non-giver. And Sumana asked, But if, Lord, faring on thence, they should return to this state here, when become human, Lord, would there be a distinction, a difference between them? There would be, Sumana, said the Exalted One. The almsgiver, as man, surpasses the non-giver in five ways, in human lifespan, beauty, happiness, honour and power. In these five ways, Sumana, the almsgiver as man, surpasses the non-giver. But if both Lord were to go forth from the home into the homeless life, when gone forth, Lord, would there be a distinction, a difference between them? There would be, Sumana, and the Exalted One said. The almsgiver, when gone forth, surpasses the non-giver in five ways. He is often asked to accept a robe. He is not rarely asked. Often to accept alms, not rarely. Often to accept a lodging, not rarely. Often to accept medicines for sickness, not rarely. And with whomsoever He dwells in leading the holy life. Such folk mostly act towards Him with cordiality in their ways of living, talking and thinking. It is rare for them not to act cordially, cordially to offer service, seldom without cordiality. In these five ways, Sumana, an almsgiver, when gone forth, surpasses the non-giver. But Lord, if both win our hardship, in that state, would there be a distinction, a difference between them? In that case, Sumana, I verily declare that there is no difference whatsoever. That is to say, comparing liberation with liberation. Sumana said, It is amazing, Lord! It is wonderful, Lord! How far-reaching is the effect of giving alms and doing good deeds, since they are a help and a boon to one as a deva, a help and a boon to one as a man, yea, a help and a boon when one has gone forth. It is even so, Sumana. It is even as you have just said. That's the end of the sutta. In this sutta, you find the Buddha is saying when we give alms, when we do charity, this merit follows us not only to the next lifetime, it follows us for a few lifetimes. And because of giving alms, giving food to monks, you attain five things. You get a long life, you get beauty, you get happiness, you get honor, that means you are well-known, and the last one, you have power. These are the five things. And so you find, the Buddha said, after you go to heaven, you have these five things more than the person who is not an almsgiver. And after that you come back to the human realm as a human being, you still have these five things, surpassing a person who does not do so much charity. And then you go forth as a monk later on in a future lifetime, then you get a lot of offerings made to you. Whereas another person who seldom does charity, when in the future lifetime he becomes a monk, few people want to offer him things, his blessings is not so much. But however, when he becomes an Arahant, The state of one arahant with another is the same, the state of arahantship. So there's no difference. That is why the state of an arahant, whether he's a Pacikabuddha or a Samasambuddha, the liberation is the same. That is mentioned in one sutra where the Buddha was asked, what is the difference between a Samasambuddha and his arahant disciple? And the Buddha said, The Arahant Sammasambuddha is one who discovers again the Aryan Eightfold Path, and he walks the path, he's very familiar with the path, and he expounds the path, he teaches the path to many. And his Arahant disciples follow the same path after him. If they follow the same path after him, they will definitely reach the same place. That's why basically there's no difference between an Arahant and a Sammasambuddha and a Pacheka Buddha. Sutta 5.4.32. Once the Exalted One was dwelling near Rajagaha at the squirrel's feeding ground in the bamboo grove. And there Chundi, the Raja's daughter, attended by five hundred maidens in a like number of chariots, came and visited him, and after saluting, sat down at one side. Thus seated, Chundi, the Raja's daughter, spoke to the exalted one thus, Lord, our royal brother Chunda says this, when a woman or man has taken refuge in the Buddha, has taken refuge in Dhamma, has taken refuge in the Sangha, abstains from taking life, from taking what is not given, from adultery, from lying and from indulging in liquor, causing idleness, he will surely arise on the breaking up of the body after death to a fair cause, not an ill one. But I, Lord, would ask the exalted one, with one's trust in what sort of teacher will one surely arise on the breaking up of the body after death to a fair cause and not to an ill one? With one's trust in what sort of Dhamma, what sort of Sangha, and what sort of virtuous practices must one perform to arise after death to a fair cause and not to an ill one? Whatsoever beings there are, cundi, whether footless, two-footed, four-footed, or many-footed, whether with bodies or without, conscious or unconscious, or neither conscious nor unconscious, of them the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One, is declared the best. Whosoever put their trust in the Buddha, put their trust in the best, and unto them is the best reward. Whosoever dharmas are formulated or not formulated, chundi, of them the dharma of dispassion is declared the best. I mean the crushing of pride, the quenching of thirst, the rooting out of lust, the cutting off of rebirth, the destruction of craving, dispassion, making an end, nibbana. Whosoever put their trust in this dharma, put their trust in the best, and unto them is the best reward. whatsoever sangha or communities there are chundi, of them the sangha of the Tathagata's disciples is declared the best, that is to say, the four pairs of men, the eight persons, that Community of disciples of the Exalted One, which is worthy of offerings, worthy of gifts, worthy of oblations, fit to be reverently saluted, the world's purest field for merit, whosoever put their trust in this Sangha, put their trust in the best, and unto them is the best reward. Whatsoever virtuous practices there are, Chundi, of them those loved by the Aryans are declared the best. That is to say, those unbroken and without errand, untarnished and without blemish, bringing freedom, praised by the wise, incorrupt and conducive to concentration. Whosoever performs the virtues loved by the Aryans performs the best, and unto them is the best reward. That's the end of the sutra. So here the Buddha is saying that the best teacher to follow is the Buddha himself. not any other teacher. It was decided at the Second Sangha Council, about a hundred years after the Buddha's passing away, that if any monk teaches, and we listened to him. We shouldn't follow what he teaches only if what he teaches is in accordance with what the Buddha taught in the Dhamma Vinaya. And you had heard earlier in one of the suttas in the chapter of the fours that the Buddha said that we should compare whatever monk teaches with the suttas and the Vinaya. So that is why we have to be very familiar with the Dhamma, the suttas and the Vinaya. to be sure that whatever teacher teaches us is teaching us what the Buddha himself says, because our one and only teacher is the Buddha. Other monks are what are called kalyāṇamitta, good-knowing friends who introduce us to the Buddha's teachings. And then in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta, when the Buddha was about to pass into Nibbana, one of the monks asked him, in future, Bhagavan, when you are no more around, who should we take as our teacher? And the Buddha said, take the Dhamma Vinaya as your teacher. So it is very clear that nowadays we must take the Dhamma Vinaya as our teacher, now that the Buddha has passed into Nibbana. So that is why I always stress the suttas as being the very foundation of the holy life. And then of the dharmas, the dharma of dispassion is declared the best. The crushing of pride, the quenching of thirst, the rooting out of lust, the cutting off of rebirth, the destruction of craving, making an end, nibbana. This is the kind of dhamma we should pursue. When we practice the holy path, it is not actually concerned with getting this and getting that. Some people are very concerned about getting this and getting that, the paths and the fruitions and getting the knowledges, etc. But actually it is the cooling, making an end, that is important. It's just cutting off all our desires because one, if you remember, there are three types of craving that bring us back to the round of rebirths. One is craving for sensual pleasure, second one is craving for existence, and the third one is craving for non-existence. This craving for non-existence means that we pursue this idea of non-existence too much in the sense that the mind is too agitated about it. When the mind is too agitated, there is no cooling of the mind. Nibbana is concerned with cooling of the mind, letting go. Whatever thoughts, etc., we have to let go even this excessive desire for non-existence that has to be put down. That is why it is a dispassion. Here the Buddha says, a quenching of thirst, rooting out of lust, etc. And of all the Sanghas, the communities there are, the Buddha said the best one is his disciples. His disciples are always called Savakas in the Pali. And Savakas means hearers. The Buddha always called his disciples hearers because they hear, they listen to his suttas. And because of listening to his suttas, his teachings, they have unshakable faith. in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. That is why the Buddha generally refers to his disciples as being Aryan disciples. Once you have a very good foundation in the Dhamma, in the teachings of the Buddha, it is natural that a person from there becomes an Arya. And here the Buddha says the four pairs of men, the eight persons, the Aryans are always eight persons, it is not four persons, it is always eight persons. And that's about the comments I like to make. The last one is the precepts. We have to keep the precepts, the virtues. And that is the Aryan virtues, the precepts that are laid down by the Buddha. Sutta 5.4.33. Once the Exalted One dwelt near Bhādīyā in Jātiā-ghrūt, and there Uggāha, Vṛndāka's grandson, paid him a visit, and after saluting, sat down at one side. So seated, he said to the Exalted One, Lord, let the Exalted One accept a meal at my house tomorrow. He, as the fourth, with us three, the Exalted One accepted by his silence. Then Ugaha, Bendaka's grandson, seeing the Exalted One had accepted, rose from his seat, saluted and took his leave, keeping the Exalted One on his right. Now when the night was over, the Exalted One, robing Himself in the morning, took bowl and cloak and went to Ugaha's house, and there sat down on the seat made ready. And Ugaha, Mundaka's grandson, served and satisfied the Exalted One by hand with plenty of hard and soft food, and when the Exalted One had removed His hand from His bowl, He sat down at one side. Thus seated, He said, Lord, these girls of mine will be going to their husbands' families. Lord, let the Exalted One counsel them, let the Exalted One advise them for their good and happiness for many a day." Then the Exalted One spoke to them and said, Wherefore, girls, train yourselves in this way, to whatsoever husband our parents give us, wishing our will, seeking our happiness, compassionate, because of compassion. For him we will rise up early, be the last to retire, be willing workers, order all things sweetly, and be gentle-voiced. Train yourselves thus, girls. And in this way also, girls, we will honour, revere, esteem and respect all whom our husband reveres, whether mother or father, recluse or holy man, and on their arrival will offer them a seat and water. Train yourselves thus, girls. And in this way also, girls, we will be deft and nimble at our husbands' home crafts, whether they be of wool or cotton, making it our business to understand the work so as to do and get it done. Train yourselves thus, girls. And in this way also, girls, whatsoever our husband's household consists of, slaves, messengers, and workfolk, we will know the work of each by what has been done, their remissness by what has not been done. We will know the strength and the weakness of the sick. We will divide the hard and soft food, each according to his share. Train yourselves thus, girls. And in this way also, girls, the money, corn, silver and gold that our husband brings home, we will keep safe, watch and ward over it, and act as no robber, thief, spendthrift, wastrel therein. Train yourselves thus, girls. Indeed, girls, possessed of these five qualities, women, on the breaking up of the body after death, are reborn among the devas of lovely form." That's the end of the Sutta. This is one of the suttas which is completely devoted to lay persons. It is not a deep sutta, it's a very practical sutta where the Buddha is advising these young girls who are just about to be married or just married that they should do their duty as a housewife. First one is to be good to their husbands and rise up early, sleep, be the last to sleep, be gentle voice, etc. And second one, whoever the husband respects, whether it's mother or father or a monk, etc., then the wife also should do the same. And the third is that she should be skilled in the husband's business, because in those days, their business was some home craft, either of wool or cotton, etc., and then she should train herself also. And the fourth is that whatever the household workers that she should know to judge their work, and to give them their food according to their share. Then the fifth one is not to waste whatever money the husband brings home, to spend it carefully and look after it. So, in the former days, it was like this, where women were, in a way, sort of a play second fiddle to the men. And in those days, because women were a bit more submissive, they tended to be more, how do you say, not so much divorce, not so much fighting and quarrels in the home. And because the man wears the pants in the house, then the women have to be submissive. But nowadays, a lot of women work, so sometimes it causes some problems because sometimes women tend to wear the pants in the house. But whether it's the old system or the new system, everything has its good and bad points. 5.4.34 Once the Exalted One dwelt near Vaisali at the Gables Hall in Mahavana, and there General Sihar paid him a visit, saluted him and sat down at one side. So seated, the General said to the Exalted One, Is it possible, Lord, to show the visible result of giving? It is possible, Sīhā, said the Exalted One. The almsgiver Sīhā, the charitable man, is good and dear to many folk. Since he is so, Sīhā, this is the visible result of giving. Again, the good and wise follow him. Since they do so, Sīhā, this is the visible result of giving. Again, a good report concerning him goes about. Since such occurs, sīhā, this is the visible result of giving. Again, whatever company he enters, be it nobles, brāhmaṇas, householders or recluses, he enters with confidence and untroubled. Since he does so, sīhā, this is the visible result of giving. Again, the almsgiver, the charitable man, on the breaking up of the body after death, is reborn in the happy heaven world. Since that is so, Sīhā, it is hereafter the result of giving. When he had thus spoken, General Sīhā said to the Exalted One, Lord, those four visible results of giving declared by the Exalted One, not as to them go I by faith in the Exalted One. I just know those things. Lord, I am a giver, a liberal man, am good and dear to many folk. Many good and wise men follow me. A good report concerning me goes about. People say General Sihar is an arms giver, a worker and a servant of the Sangha. Whatever company of nobles and so forth I enter, I do so with confidence and untroubled. I do not go by faith in the exalted one's words in regard to these things. I just know them. But when the Exalted One says to me, Sīhā, a giver, a liberal man, on the breaking up of the body after death, is reborn in the happy heaven world, it is this that I do not know, and it is herein that I go by faith in the Exalted One's words. It is even so, Sīhā, it is verily just as you say," said the Buddha. So here there are several advantages of being a charitable man. First, a charitable man is good and dear to many people. Secondly, the good and wise people follow him. Thirdly, he has a good reputation, people say good words about him. And fourthly, whatever company he joins, he joins them with confidence. And the fifth one is that after death he is reborn into the heaven world. But probably you can add another one is that when a person is about to pass away, a person who has been a charitable man, he's got a lot of merit to boost him up so he has confidence. Whereas a person who has not done much good deeds, has not accumulated much merit, At the time of death, that person is very scared, doesn't have enough merit and blessings to support him. Now another sutra, 5.4.36. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five timely gifts. What five? One gift to the newcomer, to one going away, to the sick when food is hard to get, the first fruits of field and orchard he first sets before the virtuous. Monks, these are the five timely gifts. Here the Buddha is talking about the gifts that a lay person can make to a monk. The first one is to make an offering to a newcomer, that means a new monk who has just come into the monastery. And perhaps he might come in on an empty stomach, on the way he might not have eaten something. So a lay person who comes to the monastery regularly, he might offer something to this monk, for example in the evening, something that is allowable, for example. honey or sweets or cheese or whatever is allowable in that monastery. The second one, to one going away, one going away, sometimes a monk going away to another monastery, especially in the Buddha's days, In the Buddha's days, sometimes monks walked long distances. So a monk going away might be going on a long journey to another monastery, and along the way sometimes it might be difficult to get food. in his wisdom, sometimes made certain allowances. For example, if a monk expected that he was going to walk on a long distance and along the way there might not be people to offer him food, it was allowed by the Buddha that a monk could carry food with him. could bring along food within provision so that he could sustain himself. So a lay supporter could offer a monk going away some food. And then to the sick, the third one, when a monk is sick, there are certain allowances also allowed. That is why For example, there are certain sutras where it is mentioned that a lay devotee would bring, for example, clear meat soup to a sick monk in the afternoon or in the evening if the monk is sick, or prepare some special food for the monk that is suitable for him because of his sickness, etc. And the fourth one, when food is hard to get, when there's a famine or something, then when the monks go on alms round, Pindabad, it might be difficult to get food. So, if I lay support on the nose, it might bring more food. And then the fifth one, the first fruits of fields and orchards, they first set before the virtuous. These are concerning farmers. Farmers, when their crops bear fruit, or their fields bear fruit, then the first harvest, they will supply to the monastery what devoted followers of the Buddha would do. These are called the timely gifts. In Narasutra 5.4.39, the Buddha said, seeing five things, monks, parents desire a son born in the family. What five? He that is helped, he will help us. Secondly, for us he will do what must be done. Thirdly, long will he keep up traditions. Fourth, worthily possess his heritage. And fifth, make offerings to the ghost when we are dead. Amongst seeing these five things, parents desire a son. This sutra mentions a son, but it is equally applicable to a daughter also. The first one, it is said, he that is helped, he will help us. This probably concerns, for example, they think when they bring up a son, that the son can also help them, for example, work in the fields or help them to earn their living. Secondly, for us, he will do what must be done. That means when parents are old, probably, they expect the children to take care of them. Thirdly, he will keep up the traditions. These are certain family traditions or religious traditions, etc., that certain families or certain races or certain people, they practice. For example, Chinese, they like to have this family ancestral tablets and they expect the children to pay respect to this ancestral, what they call ancestral worship. And some families they have some business and they expect the children to keep up that business. And some people they Perhaps they are supporters of certain ascetics or certain monks, and probably they expect their children also to support these monks, because that is their religion. So this is keeping up the traditions. Then, worldly possesses heritage, that means he inherits his parents' properties, etc. He should be worthy of it. And lastly, make offerings to the ghost. Make offerings to the ghost because in the Buddhist belief that when a person has become a ghost, that person is in a state of suffering. So going here and there, trying to look for food might be difficult. So sometimes, it's quite often that ghosts come back to their relatives. and hoping that the relatives could help them. So that is why it is an Indian tradition that when our relatives have passed away, we make offerings and hoping that the relatives can get it. Either we can make offerings and before we make offerings, we can pray and tell the the relatives, that we are going to make some offering to a temple or something, to a monastery, and we are doing it on their behalf, so that whatever merit or blessing that accrues, we will pass it to them. That's one way. Another way is in the old Indian tradition, we read in the sutras, is that they make offerings of food, and they pray, and after that they burn the food. That used to be an old Brahmin tradition. So this is some of the things that parents expect their children to do. And actually it is good for parents to tell their children all these things because nowadays a lot of these things we don't teach the younger generation and they don't study the suttas so they don't know all these things. So we have to teach the younger generation all these things because you can't expect them to carry out all these things that you want them to do if they don't know about them. So there are many things that children should be taught. It is a parent's duty to teach them, especially concerning religion and the duties that they should do. Tatha Sutta 5.4.40, the Buddha said, monks, the great salt trees supported by Himalaya, the king of the mountains, grow in five growths. What five? They grow in branches, leaves and foliage. They grow in bark, in shoots, in pith. They grow in heart or heartwood. Monks, the great sal trees or sala trees, supported by Himalaya, the king of the mountains, grow in these five groves. Even so, monks, Folk within a home supported by a believing clan chief grow in five growths. What five? They grow in faith, in virtue, in learning, in generosity. They grow in wisdom. Monks, folk within a home supported by a believing clan chief grow in these five growths. These five things that a lay person can grow in are very important, good qualities. Faith, virtue, learning, generosity and wisdom. Stop here for a while. These five qualities, the first one is faith. Faith refers to faith in the triple gems, the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. That means if you grow in this faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, this is one of the very good things. The second one, in virtue. That means being virtuous, good moral conduct, keeping the precepts. Third one is learning. Learning means knowledge of the Dhamma, knowledge of the Buddha's teachings. That means the suttas. And the fourth one is growing in generosity. That means becoming less selfish, becoming more generous, becoming more open-handed. As Buddha says, whatever people ask of you, you try to give if you can. And the fifth one is wisdom, to grow in wisdom. Growing in wisdom is a natural result of learning and meditation. So here it says, supported by a believing clan chief, a person can grow in these ways. Nowadays, in the modern times, we don't have this clan chief. It's like a village chief. And now, like, Very few lay persons would be able to teach the Dhamma to somebody else, so concerning this is more of a monk's duty to teach these things.

43-AN-Book-5D-(5.5.42-to-5.6.52).txt

Next Sutta is 5.42. The Buddha said, Monks, when a good man is born into a family, it is for the good welfare and happiness of many folk. It is for the good welfare and happiness of his parents, of his wife and children, of his slaves, work folk and men, of his friends and companions. It is for the good welfare and happiness of recluses and Brahmins. monks, just as good rains bring to perfection all crops for the good welfare and happiness of many folk. Even so, a good man is born into a family for the good welfare and happiness of many folk." That's the end of the sutra. Here, the Buddha is saying a good person can benefit many, many persons. his those around him and the effect can be quite widespread depending on that person. Because a good man has right view and he does beneficial things, beneficial good karma and because of that many people are affected. But an evil man would have a wrong view and he does unwholesome karma harmful karma that would harm many people. And sometimes when a child is born into a family, immediately when the mother conceives, the whole family is affected by this child. Sometimes this child brings good karma. It has been seen on many occasions. Sometimes immediately the father's business of fortune changes for the better. So sometimes children born can affect the whole house even from young. And concerning this benefiting other people, There's one sutra we heard before, Anguttara Nikaya 4.61, where the Buddha talked about how wealth could be used in a rightful way, in a beneficial way, to benefit many people. We heard about that sutra. You can use wealth to benefit yourself, benefit your family, benefit your relatives, friends, etc. And even to do meritorious deeds like giving to recluses and monks, food. The next sutra is 5.5.43. Anathapindika, the householder, visited the Exalted One, and saluting Him, sat down at one side. And so seated, the Exalted One spoke to him and said, There are these five things, householder, which are welcome, sought after, lovely, but hard to get in the world. What five? Long life, householder, is welcome, sought after, lovely, but hard to get in the world. Beauty is welcome, sought after, lovely, but hard to get in the world. Happiness, honour, the heaven worlds are welcome, sought after, lovely, but hard to get in the world. Such householder are the five things which are welcome, sought after, lovely, but hard to get in the world. I'll just stop for a while to comment. This is one of the very important suttas, very, very important concerning kamma. The Buddha said these five things that are hard to get is long life. Everybody wants, almost everybody wants long life. And beauty. Beauty is something that comes when a person is born with that physical body. The third one is happiness. The fourth one is honor. Having a good name, a good reputation, being well known. And the fifth one is good rebirth. These things are hard to get and everybody wants them. Now the Buddha continued. Now these five things, householder, are not to be got either by vows or prayers, I declare. For if they were, why should anyone languish here? To bring about long life, householder, it is of no use for an Aryan disciple yearning for long life, either to pray for it or to think much of it. The way that leads to long life must be walked by the Aryan disciple. And when the way is walked by him, it leads to the winning of long life. And he becomes a winner both of heavenly life and human life. So too of beauty, happiness, honor. Householder, to bring about life in the heaven worlds. It is of no use for an Aryan disciple yearning for heaven either to pray for it or to think much of it. The steps that lead to heaven must be stepped by the Aryan disciple and when those steps are stepped by him they lead to the winning of heaven and he becomes a winner of the heaven worlds. That's the end of the Sutta. So here the Buddha is saying that these things that we want cannot be got by vows or prayers only. Because if they could be got by vows and prayers, why should there be still so much suffering in the world? We know that all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and countless Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and holy men have come. And yet, samsara is still the same. The three woeful planes, the three woeful parts, the hell world, the ghost realm, the animal world, all are full with beings and they will continue to be full with beings and they will never be empty because the Buddha said samsara will never end. Time will never end because time has no beginning and no end. So samsara will never end and Buddha said the only way to get these things that we want is to walk the path that brings us to what we want. For example, if we want long life, the Buddha said in the Sutta on the Kamma, in one of the Suttas about Kamma, the Buddha said long life is to be got by practicing the precept against killing. That means if we don't kill other living beings, that is the way to get long life, because by allowing other beings to have long life, we will also get long life. And the way to get beauty is not to have a bad temper, not to get angry, insult, etc. Because every time we get angry and show our temper, we become fierce. And when we become fierce, it shows in our face. And you keep on doing that and it becomes a habit and the face becomes fierce and so it's not a lovely face, not a beautiful face. Whereas another person with a very good-natured person, he doesn't get stirred up easily. Whatever words you throw at him, he takes it calmly with a sweet smile. And so he becomes a very sweet person and that makes for beauty. And happiness, there are many things to do to get happiness. Basically, it is to live a skillful life, to do wholesome action, wholesome things, instead of unskillful or unwholesome actions. And wholesome actions are actions that benefit other beings and benefit us. Unwholesome or evil actions are those actions that harm living beings, other beings and harm us. And the way to get honor, as we have heard before in one of the suttas, is not to be jealous of other people, not to have a small heart, not to be selfish in that respect. And if that is so, then we are not spiteful, then we will have honor. Heaven worlds are also to be got by skillful living, living a life according to dharma, in accordance with dharma that will bring us to the heaven worlds. The Buddha said in the Dharmapada that striving should be done by yourselves. Buddhas only show the way. So the Buddha helps us indirectly by showing us the path and we have to walk the path ourselves. We have to choose which way to walk, whether walk the good way or walk the bad way. There are some other sutras where the Buddha made it quite clear that it's not possible for a Buddha to make a vow to help us or to pray for us or to help us get out of samsara. If it was possible, the Buddha would have said so in these suttas. But whereas the Buddha said very clearly, like in this sutta, that we have to work our own karma to get the things we want. And for that, that's why we have to understand the principle of karma and vipaka. If we do the right things, for example, if we don't kill, Long life will come about naturally, we don't have to wish for it. And for example, also a lot of people like to be wealthy. The way to be wealthy is to practice charity, because when we practice charity, we help others. And even in this life itself, or in a future life, there will be many people who want to help you, so that whether you are doing business, you open a shop or whatever you do, there'll be many people who want to help you. And so it is not difficult to become rich. The most important thing of all that we want to wish for in the world is the wish to end our suffering. And to end our suffering we have to make the effort to walk the spiritual path. If we don't make the effort to walk the spiritual path, we will never get out of saṃsāra, because the Buddha has said that the saṃsāra will never end. And so we have to learn the suttas, understand the suttas, the dharma, and we practice according to the dharma. And we can see for ourselves, even in this life, when a person is about to pass away, if he has a good understanding of the Dharma, he has led a skillful life, there will be no fear when death comes. He'll take death very calmly. Some people even very happily, because he knows he's going to a good rebirth. Now the next sutra is 5.5.44. Once the Exalted One dwelt near Vyasali at the Gable Hall in Mahavana. Now the Exalted One, robing Himself before noon, went to the house of Uga, the Vesalian householder, and sat down on the seat made ready there. And Uga, the Vesalian householder, approached the Exalted One, saluted Him and sat down at one side. So seated, he said to the Exalted One, From the mouth of the Exalted One have I heard this, Lord. From His own mouth have I received this. The giver of good things gains the good. Lord, to me the gruel from sour flowers is good eating. Let the Exalted One accept some from me out of pity. The Exalted One accepted out of pity. Then he said, the Uga said, from the mouth of the Exalted One have I heard this. The giver of good things gains the good. Lord, good is the flesh of pigs with plenty of jujube fruit. Good is the oily tube-like vegetable. Good is a mess of rice cleaned of black grains served with assorted curries and condiments. muslins from Benares. Good is a couch with a fleecy cover, woolen cloth or coverlet, spread with rugs of deer skins, with awnings over it and crimson cushions at either end. And though we know, Lord, that it is not suitable for the exalted one, this sandalwood plank of mine, worth more than a hundred thousand, Yet let the Exalted One accept it out of pity. And the Exalted One accepted each gift out of pity. Then the Exalted One gave thanks to Ugga, the Vesalian, with this benediction. Who gives the good shall gain the good. He who to upright men gives willingly clothes, bed, food, drink, the needful requisites, and what's past is put aside and obsesses not the mind. Who so in arahants doth find a field for gifts, wise man, forgoing what is hard in giving thus, the good shall gain the good. And when the exalted one had thus given thanks to Ugga the Vesalian, he rose from his seat and departed. Now in due course Ugga the householder died, and thereafter arose in a certain inferable world. At that time, the Exalted One dwelt near Savatthi at Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's park. And there, when the night was far spent, Uga the Deva, in lovely radiance, biting up the whole of Jeta Grove, came and visited him, and after saluting, stood at one side. And the Exalted One spoke to him, standing there, saying, I hope, Uga, things are well with you as we hoped. And he said, to be sure, Lord, things are as the Exalted One hoped. Then the Exalted One addressed this verse to Ugga, the Deva. Who gives the good shall gain the good. Who gives the best shall best receive again. The choice, the choice receive. The chief, the chief place win. Who gives the best, the choice, the chief. That man has honor and long life wherever he arise. That's the end of the Sutta. In this uttara, what is said here is that if a person gives good things, he receives good things in return. But one reason I mention this uttara is because here you notice that this man gave certain food to the Buddha. and one of them is the flesh of pigs with plenty of jujube fruit. This is one of the many instances in the suttas and in the Vinaya where it is shown that the Buddha and his disciples were not vegetarians. But there's a type of meat that the Buddha said was allowable to Buddhists, and there's a type of meat that is not allowable, and that is mentioned in the Majjhima Nikaya. The Buddha said the type of meat that is allowable should have three conditions. You did not kill, you did not ask somebody to kill, that's the first condition. The second one, you did not witness the killing, you did not see the killing, that's the second condition. The third one, you did not hear the animal cry as it was being killed. With these three conditions, you don't have the direct karma of killing. So that kind of meat is allowable, the other type. where you kill, or you ask somebody to kill, or you saw the killing, or you heard the animal cry as it was being killed, then it is not allowable. I won't go into the details of why the Buddha allowed it. Perhaps later, when we discuss some other suttas also concerned with meat-eating, then I will go into it. So here sometimes one of the last items is mentioned here is a sandalwood plank that's worth more than a hundred thousand. Generally luxurious items the Buddha did not want to accept, especially in his younger days the Buddha was very ascetic. Even robes, the Buddha did not accept robes, the cloth of which was given by lay people for about 20 or 25 years, it seems, that he did not accept such robes. They only went about picking up this discarded cloth. Sometimes this discarded cloth could be found in cemeteries, what they call charnel grounds, where people used to throw these corpses, they wrap these corpses with cloth and then they throw these corpses on these charnel grounds so that the corpses were eaten up by animals. So monks used to go to these charnel grounds and pick up this discarded cloth and use them. And because these cloths were broken up, the pieces of it had to be sewn to make a robe. That's why a monk's robe, a Theravada monk's robe, is like a patchwork, like a field, like a rice field with pieces of cloth sewn together. So we notice from the Vinaya and the suttas, as the Buddha grew older, he relaxed some of the rules. Like in this case, this sandalwood that's worth a hundred thousand, he accepted it out of pity for Uga because Uga wanted to get some merit. In the Mahaparinibbana it was mentioned when the Buddha was about to pass away, somebody presented him with cloth, with gold or something, and the Buddha also accepted. The next sutra is 5.5.48. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five states not to be got to by recluse or Brahmin, by Deva, Mara or Brahma, nor by anyone in the world. What five? Where aging brings no old age, that state is not to be got to by recluse or Brahmin, etc. Where sickening brings no sickness, nor dying, death, nor wasting, destruction, nor ending brings the end, that state is not to be got to by recluse or Brahmin, by Deva, Mara or Brahma, nor by anyone in the world. Monks, to the unlearned average man, ageing brings old age, and when he is old he reflects not thus. Not to me only does ageing bring old age, but wheresoever there is a coming and going, a passing on and a rising of creatures, to all Aging brings old age, and if when old age comes, I should mourn and pine, weep and wail, and beat the breast and fall into destruction. Enemies would rejoice while friends would grieve. Food would not please me, ugliness would come upon my body, affairs would be neglected, and enemies would rejoice while friends would grieve. And when old age comes, he mourns, pines, weeps, wails, beats his breast and falls into destruction. Monks, this man is called an unlearned average man. Pierced by the poison dart of sorrow, he just torments himself. Again monks, to the unlearned average man, sickening brings sickness, dying, death, wasting, destruction, and ending brings the end. And when the end is near, he reflects not thus. Not to me only does ending bring the end, but wheresoever there is a coming and going of creatures, a passing on and an arising, to all, ending brings the end. And if, when the end is near, I should mourn and pine, weep and wail, and beat the breast and fall into destruction, enemies would rejoice while friends would grieve. Food would not please me, ugliness would come upon my body, affairs would be neglected, and enemies would rejoice while friends would weep. And when the end is near, he mourns, pines, weeps, wails, beats his breast and falls into destruction. Monks, this man is called an unlearned average man. Pierced by the poison dart of sorrow, he just torments himself. To the learned Aryan disciple also, monks, aging brings old age. But when he is old, he does reflect in that forced way, that not to me only does ending bring the end, but wheresoever there is a coming-going of creatures, a passing on, etc., etc. And when age comes, he does not mourn, nor pine, nor weep, nor wail, nor beat his breast, nor fall into distraction. Monks, this man is called a learned Aryan disciple. Drawn out is the poisoned dart of sorrow with which the unlearned average man torments himself. The sorrowless, dart-free Aryan disciple has cooled the self entirely. So also to the learned Aryan disciple, sickening brings sickness, dying death, wasting destruction, ending the end. And when the end is near, he reflects in a light manner, that is, not only to me does ending bring the end, but wheresoever there is a coming, going of creatures, etc., etc. Monks, this man is called a learned Aryan disciple. Drawn out is the poison dart of sorrow with which the unlearned average man torments himself. The sorrowless, dart-free Aryan disciple has cooled the self entirely. Monks, these are the five states not to be got to by recluse or Brahmin, by Deva, Mara, or Brahma, or by anyone in the world. That's the end of the sutra. Here, basically saying that no being can avoid aging, sickness, and dying. Although the form it takes may vary, for example, in the heavenly world, it is not so visible. You don't see the aging so visible. An ordinary person, Putujana, does not reflect properly when he is old or when he is dying, that all beings must grow old and die. And so he does not accept aging and tries to make himself, for example, look younger. He does not accept death and looks for all ways to cure himself. But one who understands the Dhamma accepts aging. He grows old gracefully. When death comes, he knows he's lived his life skillfully and he's not remorseful because he knows he's bound for a good rebirth. So that's about the sutta. The last thing I'd like to say is a lot of people, when they are sick, for example, with cancer, etc., they rush here and there trying to look for a cure because they don't accept death. But if they find a cure, they are very, very happy. But then they forget that cure is only for a short while, and death will come again to visit them. So, but a person who understands the Dhamma, he accepts all these things, growing old, sickening, dying. So when death comes, he accepts it gracefully, as you saw the other day, this lady who came from Ipoh. In spite of being so sick, she came, so determined to come. And after coming for that rope offering, the next few days, She's been in extremely high spirits, very good spirits. Now we come to sutra number 5.5.51. Once the Exalted One dwelt near Savatthi at Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's park, and there He addressed the monks, saying, monks, Lord, they replied, and the Exalted One said, there are monks, these five checks, hindrances which overspread the mind, which weakened insight. What five? Sensual desire, monks, is a check, a hindrance, which overspreads the mind, which weakens insight. Ill will is a check, a hindrance, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry. Doubt, monks, is a check, a hindrance, which overspreads the mind, which weakens insight. These monks are the five checks, hindrances. monks, that a monk, verily, without being rid of those five checks, hindrances, which overspread the mind, which weakened insight, without strength and weak in insight or wisdom, shall know his own good, shall know another's good, shall know the good of both, or shall realize the excellence of knowledge and insight proper to Aryans, which goes beyond human state. That cannot be. Monks, suppose in the case of a mountain stream winding here and there, swiftly flowing, taking all along with it, a man were to open watercourses into it from both sides. Then indeed, monks, the flow in midstream would be disturbed, swirled about and diverted. nor would the stream wind here and there, nor flow swiftly, nor take all along with it. Even so, monks, that a monk, without being rid of these five checks, hindrances which overspread the mind, which weakened insight, without strength and weakened insight, shall know his own good, or another's, or the good of both, all shall realize the excellence of knowledge and insight proper to Aryans which goes beyond human state. That cannot be. Monks, that a monk, being rid of these five checks, hindrances which overspread the mind, which weakened insight, strong and with insight, shall know his own good, shall know another's good, shall know the good of both, or shall realize the excellence of knowledge and insight proper to Aryans, which goes beyond the human state, that surely shall be. Monks, suppose in the case of a mountain stream, winding here and there, swiftly flowing, taking all along with it, a man were to close the water courses on both sides of it. Then indeed, monks, the flow in midstream would not be disturbed, swirled about or diverted. But the stream would wind here and there, flow swiftly aforward, taking all along with it. Even so, monks, that a monk rid of these five checks, hindrances, which overspread the mind, which weakened insight, strong and with insight, shall know his own good, or another's, or the good of both, or shall realize the excellence of knowledge and insight proper to Aryans, which goes beyond the human state. That surely shall be. That's the end of the sutta. The sutta is about the five hindrances, panca nivarana. The first one is sensual desire. Second one is ill will or anger. And then sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, doubt. These are the five hindrances. They are called hindrances because they hinder us from having wisdom. They hinder us from seeing things as they really are. So here the Buddha is saying, without being rid of these five checks, these hindrances which overspread the mind, which weakened insight, a monk shall know his own good, or another's good, or the good of both, or realize the excellence of knowledge and insight which goes beyond the human state. That cannot be. So you see it's very clear here that to get insight, to get wisdom, to go beyond the human state, the manusa dhamma is the human state, we have to get rid of the five hindrances. That is why in meditation, there are two parts to meditation always. The first part is called the Samatha practice, which helps us to get rid of the five hindrances. Actually, when we attain that Samadhi, the hindrances goes away naturally without a conscious restraint. This was mentioned in one of the suttas earlier that I had read, if you all remember. So in the Majjhima Nikaya, Sutta number 108, the Venerable Ananda was asked what kind of meditation is praised by the Buddha and what kind of meditation is not praised by the Buddha. And then the Venerable Ananda said the kind of meditation where the five hindrances are abandoned, that kind of meditation is praised by the Buddha. If you practice a kind of meditation where the five hindrances are not abandoned, that is certainly not the type of Buddhist meditation because it's not praised by the Buddha. So we have to always remember in meditation, we have to get rid of the five hindrances before we can attain insight, before we can know our own good or another's good. or realize the excellence of knowledge and insight proper to Aryans, we have to get rid of the five hindrances. In the Majjhima Nikaya and Samyutta Nikaya, it is said that when one attains jhana, one attains the five factors of jhana, and then one abandons the five hindrances. So jhana is definitely a buddhist meditation. It is called one of these uttari manusa dhamma, that which surpasses the human state. So you should know the importance of jhana and samadhi in meditation because it helps us to get rid of the five hindrances. If we were not rid of the five hindrances, no insight would arise. Then the next Uttara is 5.6.52. The Buddha said, It's a heap of bad things, monks, and in saying this of the five hindrances, one would speak rightly. Indeed, monks, the whole is a heap of bad things, that is to say, the five hindrances. What five? The hindrance of sensual desire, of ill will, of sloth and torpor, of restlessness and worry, and the hindrance of doubt. It's a heap of bad things, monks, and in saying this of these five hindrances, one would speak rightly. For verily, monks, the whole is a heap of bad things, that is to say, these five hindrances." That's the end of the sutra. Here again the Buddha stresses that we have to get rid of these bad things, these five hindrances.

44-AN-Book-5E-(5.6.53-to-5.6.57).txt

The next sutra is 5.6.53. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five limbs of striving. What five? Here in monks, a monk has faith. He believes in the enlightenment of the Tathagata or Buddha. He has health. and well-being, a good digestion which is neither overcold nor overheated, but even and suitable for striving. He is neither deceitful nor a liar, but declares himself to the Master or to his wise fellows in the holy life, just as he really is. He lives striving hard to give up unwholesome states and to develop wholesome states. Staunch and strong in effort, he shirks not the burden of wholesome states. He has insight and is endowed therewith into the way of the rise and fall of things, dharmas. With Aryan penetration into the utter destruction of dukkha, these monks are the five limbs of striving. That's the end of the sutra. Here the Buddha is saying five things are very important if we want to strive in the spiritual path. The first one is to have saddha or faith in the enlightenment of the Buddha. But to have faith in the enlightenment of the Buddha, we have to listen to the discourses of the Buddha. And then when we understand the discourses of the Buddha, then we realize that only an enlightened person like the Buddha could speak these discourses. So we believe in the enlightenment of the Buddha. The second factor is we must have health, have a good, strong body so that we can be fit enough to strive. The third one, we have to be a straight person, neither deceitful nor a liar. Because if you are going to follow a teacher and you want the teacher to guide you, you have to be very straight with him. You cannot lie here and there. And then the fourth one is to be strong in effort, to put in the effort in practicing the spiritual path. And the last one is to have insight or wisdom into the rise and ceasing of all phenomena, how all things arise and pass away. And then when we understand that all things in the world arise and pass away, then we get disgusted with the things in the world. You learn to let go of all the things in the world and we look for the state where there is no arising and passing away. That is the deathless state that we have to aim for. And it is within us. We just have to realize it. Now the next sutra is 5.6.54. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five wrong times for striving. What five? Herein a monk is old, overcome by old age. Monks, this is the first wrong time for striving. A monk is ill, overcome by illness. Monks, this is the second wrong time for striving. There is a famine, crops are bad, food is hard to get, and it is not easy to get oneself going by cleaning, that is picking up food and favours. Monks, this is the third wrong time. Fear is about perils of bandits and the country folk mount their carts and drive away. Monks, this is the fourth wrong time. Again monks, the sangha is divided. The Sangha is a community of monks, is divided. Then there is reviling between one another, accusation between one another, quarrelling between one another, repudiation between one another. And they of little faith do not find faith there. And the faithful become less faithful. Monks, this is the fifth wrong time for striving. Monks, these are the five wrong times for striving. Monks, there are these five right times for striving. What five? Herein a monk is young, a mere youth, black-haired and blessed with the beauty of youth, the heyday of youth. Monks, this is the first right time for striving. A monk has health and well-being, a good digestion, which is neither overcold nor overheated, but even and suitable for striving. Monks, this is the second right time. There is no famine and crops are good, food is easy to get, and it is easy to get oneself going by gleanings and favours. Monks, this is the third right time. Men dwell in friendly fellowship together as mingled milk and water. not quarrelling, but look upon one another with friendly eye. Monks, this is the fourth right time. Again monks, the Sangha dwell in friendly fellowship together, finding comfort in one teaching. When there is harmony in the Sangha, then there is no reviling one with another, nor accusations, nor quarrelling, nor repudiation between one another. But there they are of little faith, Those of little faith find faith, and the faith of the faithful become even more. Monks, this is the fifth right time for striving. These monks are the five right times for striving. So here the Buddha is talking about the wrong and the right times for striving and especially we have to take note of the wrong times for striving. The first one is old age. Sometimes some people when they are quite old they want to renounce and become a monk. And then when they come to monkhood they find it very difficult to adjust because they have a lot of fixed habits and sometimes they are asked to do this and asked not to do this by certain younger monks. Because in monkhood, the seniority depends on the number of years a person has renounced, has worn the robes. So sometimes a more senior monk can be a younger monk. So an old monk is told off by a younger monk, he might feel very annoyed, as you heard one of the earlier suttas. that we read about an old monk thinking, this fellow can be my son or my grandson and he's telling me what to do, what not to do. So it's quite difficult for someone in old age. And besides the fixed habits, they become much weaker also. They become much weaker and it's much more difficult, especially if you want to Follow the Buddha's advice and go and live in lonely places, secluded places, in a cave or up the hill, alone, by... And in old age it's much more difficult to do. Then the second factor is illness. When you are ill, it's the wrong time to strive. But sometimes people are not willing to strive until they are told that they have cancer or something. Then only they decide, oh... I think I better do some practice, but sometimes it's too late. And the third is when there's a famine. The fourth when there are bandits about. And the fifth is when the Sangha, the community of monks, is divided. The lay people would have little faith, and when there's little faith, there's not that support for the monks. So they find it difficult to get the support to live the holy life. So these are the wrong times. And the reverse, the converse, is the right times for striving. But the trouble is even though the youth, young, when a person is young, that's the best time for striving. You'll find that with most people, that's the time when you're most reluctant to strive because you don't see the dukkha. You think you've still got a long life ahead of you. There's no urgency to strive. You think, wait until I'm old, then only I'll strive. And then when you're old, you find it's too late to strive. And the next sutra is 5.6.55. Once when the Exalted One was dwelling near Savatthi at Jeta Grove in Anathapindika's park, a mother and son were both spending the rainy season in Savatthi as monk and nun. They longed to see one another often. The mother often wished for her son and the son his mother. And from seeing each other often, companionship arose. From companionship, intimacy. From intimacy, amorousness. And without giving up the training and making their weakness manifest, with their hearts inflamed, they gave themselves over to incestuous intercourse. And a company of monks went to the exalted one, saluted him, and sat down at one side. And so seated, they told the exalted one all that had occurred. Then the Buddha said, What monk knows not this foolish man that a mother shall not lust after her son, nor son verily after his mother? Monks, I see no other single form so enticing, so desirable, so intoxicating, so binding, so distracting, such a hindrance to winning the unsurpassed peace from effort. That is to say, monks, as a woman's form. Monks, whosoever clings to a woman's form, infatuated, greedy, fettered, enslaved, enthralled, for many a long day shall grieve, snared by the charms of a woman's form. Monks, I know no other single sound, no other single smell, taste, touch, so enticing, so desirable, so intoxicating, so binding, so distracting, Such a hindrance to winning the unsurpassed peace from effort, that is to say, monks, as the sound, smell, taste and touch of a woman. Monks, whosoever clings to the sound, smell, taste and touch of a woman, infatuated, greedy, fettered, enslaved, enthralled, for many a long day shall grieve, snared by a woman's charms. Monks, a woman, even when going along, will stop to ensnare the heart of a man. Whether standing, sitting, or lying down, laughing, talking, or singing, weeping, stricken, or dying, a woman will stop to ensnare the heart of a man. Monks, if ever one would rightly say, it is wholly a snare of Mara. Verily, speaking rightly, one may say of womanhood, it is wholly a snare of Mara." There's a trap of Mara. That's the end of the Sutta. Sutta, what the Buddha has just said, is equally applicable to man also, the converse, because in this instance the Buddha was addressing the monks, so he was saying that nothing can entice a monk or a man, nothing is so intoxicating as a woman. And the converse is also true. To a woman, nothing is so desirable, so intoxicating, so exciting as a man. Just as a woman is a trap for a man, so a man is also a trap for a woman. That is why one of the greatest obstacles to the holy life, the spiritual path, is the attraction of the opposite sex. It is nature's way to procreate the species. So we have to be very careful when we want to walk the spiritual path. That is why one of the requisites of the holy life for renunciants is that they become celibate. They have to take vows or the precept of chastity. This is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome in the holy life. This is why, as I mentioned before, a lot of monks disrobe because of a woman, and I suppose the converse is also true. Now the next sutra, 5.6.56. Now a certain monk approached his preceptor. and said, My body, sir, is as it were drugged. The quarters are not seen by me. Things are not clear to me. Sloth and torpor encompass my heart about and stay. Joyless I live the holy life, and doubts about the teachings are ever with me. I stop here for a while. This preceptor is the person who ordains the monk. So here the monk is telling his preceptor that he feels as if his body is drunk, because sloth and torpor, doubts, etc., all these hindrances are encompassing his mind, controlling his mind. Then the sutta continues. So that monk with his fellow monk went to the Exalted One, and on arrival saluted and sat down at one side. So seated, the preceptor said to the Exalted One, Lord, this monk speaks thus. My body, sir, is as it were drugged. The quarters are not seen by me. Things are not clear to me. Sloth and torpor encompass my heart about and stay. Joyless I live the holy life, and doubts about the teachings are ever with me." And the Exalted One said, Hmong, it is ever thus, when one dwells with the doors of the senses unguarded, with no moderation in eating, not devoted to wakefulness, not looking for skillful states, nor day in and day out practice the practice of developing the things that are factors of enlightenment, bojanga. Then is the body as though drugged, the quarters are not seen, things are not clear, sloth and torpor encompass the heart and stay. Joyless one lives the holy life, and doubts about the teachings are ever with one. Therefore, monk, train yourself thus. I will become one who guards the sense doors. I will be moderate in eating, devoted to wakefulness, look for skillful states, and dwell day in, day out, practicing the practice of developing the things that are factors of enlightenment. Train yourself in this way, monk. Then that monk, admonished with this admonishment by the Exalted One, got up and saluted the Exalted One and departed, keeping Him on his right. And not long afterwards, dwelling alone, secluded, zealous, earnest and resolved, that monk entered and abode in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life, realizing it by personal knowledge even in this life, for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from the home into the homeless life. And he fully realized Rebirth is destroyed. Lived is the holy life. Done is what had to be done. There is no more coming to this state. And that monk was numbered among the Arahants. Then that monk with Arahantship I went to his preceptor and said, Sir, no longer is my body as it were drugged. The four quarters are visible. Things are clear. Sloth and torpor no longer encompass my heart and stay. With joy, I live the holy life, and I have no doubts about the teachings." Then the monk went with his fellow monk to the Buddha and told him of the matter, and the Buddha repeated what he said before. That's the end of the sutra. So, you see, when a monk is overcome by the five hindrances, there is much pain and suffering. And so many monks at that stage, they disrobe. But if they listen to suttas like this, then they know what to do. There are several important practices that the Buddha said is very, very important. If you want to stay on the sure course, as I mentioned in one of the earlier suttas, you have to guard the sense doors. Guarding the sense doors meaning not to pay attention to all the things that come within the six sense doors, only whatever is unavoidable, whatever is really important, otherwise we don't pay attention to worldly things. Then the second one is to be moderate in eating. And moderate in eating in the Buddha's teachings refers to eating one meal a day. And then the third one is devoted to wakefulness. That means try not to sleep too much, only allow yourself certain hours. And another one is to put in the effort to develop skillful states. and to get rid of unwholesome or unskillful states, and then to develop the factors of enlightenment, the bojanga, the seven factors. So when this monk followed the Buddha's advice, then he attained to Arahanthood, because he noticed that he lived alone and won the goal of Arahanthood. And now we come to the next sutra, it's 5.6.57. It's one of the important sutras. The Buddha said, monks, these five things ought to be often contemplated by woman and man, by householder and one gone forth. What five? First one, I am of the nature to age. I have not gone beyond aging. This ought to be often contemplated by woman and man, by householder and by one gone forth. 2. I am of the nature to sicken. I have not gone beyond sickening. 3. I am of the nature to die. I have not gone beyond dying. 4. All that is mine, beloved and pleasing, will become otherwise, will become separated from me. The fifth one. I am the owner of my kamma, heir to my kamma, born of my kamma, related to my kamma, abide supported by my kamma. Whatever kamma I shall do, for good or for ill, of that I shall be the heir. Thus we should frequently recollect. Monks, to what right hand ought the thought I am of the nature to age, I have not gone beyond aging, to be often contemplated by woman and man, by householder and by one gone forth. Monks, beings in youth, are obsessed with the pride of youth. Wanting in that pride, they go about working evil in deed, word and thought. To one who often contemplates that aging, that pride of youth, To one who often contemplates aging, that pride of youth is either got rid of altogether or reduced. Monks, it is to this end that the thought, I am of the nature to age, I have not gone beyond aging, to be often contemplated. Monks, to what end ought the thought, I am of the nature to sicken, I have not gone beyond sickening? to be often contemplated. Monks, beings in health, are obsessed with the pride of health. Wanting in that pride, they go about working evil in deed, word and thought. To one who often contemplates sickening or sickness, that pride of health is either got rid of altogether or reduced. Monks, to what end ought the thought? I am of the nature to die, I have not gone beyond dying, to be often contemplated. Monks, beings in the fullness of life, are obsessed with the pride of life. Wanting in that pride, they go about working evil in deed, word and thought. To one who often contemplates death, that pride of life is either got rid of altogether or reduced. Monks, to what end ought the thought All that is mine, beloved and pleasing, will become otherwise, will become separated from me, to be often contemplated. Monks, beings are obsessed with a passionate desire for those who are dear. Excited by that passion, they go about working evil in deed, word and thought. To one who often contemplates impermanence, that passionate desire is either got rid of altogether or reduced. Monks, to what end ought the thought, I'm the owner of my kamma, heir to my kamma, born of my kamma, related to my kamma, abide supported by my kamma. Whatever kamma I shall do, for good or for ill, of that I shall be the heir, to be often contemplated. Monks, the ways of beings are evil indeed, evil in word and evil in thought. To one who often contemplates, I'm the owner of my karma, etc., those evil ways are got rid of altogether or reduced. Monks, to this end, ought the thought, I'm the owner of my karma, etc., to be often contemplated by woman and man, by householder and one gone forth. Monks, the Aryan disciple reflects thus, not only am I of the nature to age, who have not gone beyond aging, but wheresoever there are beings coming and going, faring on and arising, all are of the nature to age, none have gone beyond aging. And while he often contemplates this, the way comes into being, and that way he follows, makes, becomes and develops. And in doing so, the fetters are got rid of, the tendencies are removed. So too of the thoughts, not only am I of the nature to sicken, to die, not only to me is there change and separation from those beloved and pleasing, I am not the only one who is the owner of his karma, etc. And while he often contemplates these thoughts, the way comes into being, and that way he follows, makes, becomes and develops, and in so doing the factors are got rid of, the tendencies are removed. That's the end of the sutta. This is one of the very popular contemplations that the Buddha asked monks and laypeople and nuns, etc., to practice every day. Some of you might have heard the Pali chant. I think it goes something like, jara dhammohi jarang anathito bhayadi dhammohi bhayading anathito, etc. So this one, these are very useful contemplations. The first one is to contemplate that you are aging day by day. You are aging. Our time is limited. There's some simile like fish in the pond. The pond is drying up. There's no rain. The sun is beating down on the pond day by day. The water is getting less and less and the fish very soon will pass away. So in the same way, every day we contemplate. The sense of time is running out for us day by day. According to statistics, we on the average live up to about 70. So if you calculate how old we are, then we can know how much how many years you have left. And that number of years means that number of Christmas or Chinese New Year you are left with to celebrate. One goes off and one less year by year. So that is aging, we have to contemplate. Second one is sickening. As we grow old, the chances of becoming sick increase. Maybe today you have a healthy body. How would you know whether one year from now you'll have a healthy body? There's so many people with cancer. I think now the statistics tells us what, one in five or something people have cancer. So we have to keep this in mind and look around us. How many people are there in this hall? Maybe 20 something out of there. How many divide by five? How many will get cancer? So when you look at it this way, the chances of you all getting cancer are quite high. So we have to consider this every day. Third one, of the nature to die. We have to remember the graves are not graves of all old people. There are many graves of young people, graves of people in their middle age. One of the lady arahants, I forgot which one, I don't know whether it's Patacara, in the Therigatha, she came back from Pindabhad, alms round. She had been practicing meditation, been a nun for several years. So she came back from Pindabhad, alms round, and she took the water. As usual, the monks and nuns, when we come back from alms round, our feet are dirty, muddy sometimes. So she took the water and splashed on her feet. When she splashed the water on her feet, she noticed the water run a little way along the ground and sink into the earth. Then it struck her. Something struck her. She repeated the second time. She splashed the water on the ground. She saw the water run a little bit further and sink into the ground. And then she did it the third time. And the water ran a bit further and sank into the ground. And then it made her realize that there are beings who die in their young age, there are beings who die in their middle age, and beings who die in their old age, but all have to die. And from there, insight arose and she attained arahant hood. Patacara was that famous nun who, as a lay person, the two sons, the two young sons, died in the flood. The husband was killed by a poisonous snake and when she walked all the way home, she found her parents both were killed because the lightning struck the huge tree behind the house and the tree fell on the house. Because so many people died at the same time, the grief struck her so badly that she became mad. She walked around without any clothes until she met the Buddha and then became a nun. Then from there she cultivated and became an arahant. So we have to remember anytime we can pass away, there's no surety that we have another five years or ten years or twenty years ahead of us. There are people who die of accidents, people who die of cancer, and die in many ways. So we always have to remember that. Don't think of enjoying life as though they have a long life ahead of us. Life is uncertain, but death is certain. It's a very popular saying. Then the fourth one, all that is mine, beloved and pleasing, will become otherwise, will become separated from me. All those that we love, whether it's our relatives, our close ones, or our property, material goods, etc., conditions will change. So those that we love, either they separate from us, or one day those that we love can become our enemies also. The property that we love sometimes can be lost. And so all these, we have to remember everything is impermanent. And even if they were not lost and they didn't leave us, eventually we will have to leave them. We will have to leave everything behind and go our way when death touches us on the shoulder. So this is another contemplation we have to remember. Then the fifth one, I am the owner of my kamma, heir to my kamma, born of my kamma, related to my kamma, abide supported by my kamma. Whatever kamma I shall do for good or for ill, of that I shall be the heir. You see, every moment, every day, we are supported by our kamma. And whatever kamma we are doing now will determine our future life. So if we understand the working of kamma, we will try to practice wholesome kamma and not practice unwholesome or unskillful kamma. So these are the five very important contemplations.

45-AN-Book-5F-(5.6.58-to-5.8.77).txt

The next sutra is 5.6.58. At one time, the Exalted One dwelt near Vaisali at the Gabled Hall in Mahabharata. And early one morning, after dressing, the Exalted One took bowl and robe and entered Vesali for alms. And having gone His round, on His return after the midday meal, He made His way into the great forest of Mahavana and sat down for the noonday rest at the foot of a tree. Now, at that time, a company of Licchavi young men were out stalking and ranging in Mahavana. They had their bows strung and were surrounded by a pack of dogs, and they saw the Exalted One seated at the foot of the tree. Then, at that sight, they cast aside their bows, called off their dogs and approached the Exalted One. saluted him and stood with hands upraised in silence, reverencing him. Just then Mahanama, the Licchavi, was stretching his legs in Mahavana by walking up and down, and he saw those young Licchavis with upraised hands silently reverencing the Exalted One. And Mahanama the Licchavi went to the exalted one, saluted him and sat down at one side. So seated, he said with bated breath, they will become bhajans, they will become bhajans. And the Buddha said, but why, Mahanama, do you speak so? They will become bhajans. Lord, these Licchavi young men are quick-tempered, rough, greedy fellows, such presence as are sent by clan folk, sugarcane, jujube fruit, sweet cakes, sweet meats and lollipops. They go about plundering and eating. They slap the women and girls of the clan on the back. Such are these fellows who now with upraised hands stand in silence reverencing the Exalted One. And the Buddha said, Wheresoever these five conditions are found, Mahanama, whether in a crowned warrior raja, or in a countryman living on his paternal farm, or in a general of an army, or in a governor of villages, or in a guild master, or in those who make themselves the sole power among the clans, growth may be expected and not decline. What five? Take the case, Mahānāma, of a clansman who, with wealth gotten by work and zeal, gathered by the strength of the arm, earned by the sweat of the brow, justly obtained in a lawful way, he honors, reveres, venerates and reverences his parents. At once his parents, honoured, revered, venerated and reverenced, fondly regard him with loving thoughts and say, long life to you and may your long life be protected. To the clansman Mahanama who has fond regard of his parents, growth may be expected and not decline. So too, Mahanama, to the clansmen who has formed regard of his children and wife, his slaves, workfolk and men, growth may be expected and not decline. To the clansmen who has formed regard of the laborers in his fields and those whose business is with the boundaries, growth may be expected and not decline. to the clansmen Mahanama who has fond regard of the devas, celestial beings, who are accustomed to receive offerings. Growth may be expected and not decline. Moreover, Mahanama, a clansman, who with wealth gotten by work and zeal, gathered by the strength of the arm, earned by the sweat of the brow, justly obtained in a lawful way, honors, reveres, venerates, and reverences recluses and brahmins, will at once, by them so honored, be regarded with compassion, with benevolence, and they will say, long life to you, and may your long life be protected. To the clansman Mahanama, who is regarded with compassion by recluse and brahmins, growth may be expected and not decline. Wheresoever these five conditions are found, Mahanama, whether in a crowned warrior raja, a countryman living on his paternal farm, a general of an army, a governor of villages, a guild master, or in those who make themselves the sole power among the clans, growth may be expected and not decline. That's the end of the sutra. Here in this sutra, the Buddha went to Mahāvāna. Vāna means like a forest. Mahā is great, so it's a great forest. And there, there was this young Licchavi man who went hunting. And when they saw the Buddha sitting underneath the tree, they instinctively felt that this was a holy man. So they put down their bows, called out their dogs and went to pay respect to the Buddha. And this Mahanama, the Licchavi, probably one of the followers of the Buddha, He said he saw this as being very unusual, because he said these Licchavi young men are generally very rough, greedy fellows, quick-tempered and all that, but he was very surprised that they are paying respect to the Buddha. So the Buddha said, whoever, no matter what kind of person, if he has these five factors, then he may progress, growth may be expected. First one, he has formed regard of his parents. And secondly, he has formed regard of his family, children and wife, his slaves and workers. Thirdly, the laborers in his fields, those who do business with him. Fourthly, the devas, celestial beings, that means making offerings to them. And fifthly, renunciants, monks. He has fond regard for monks also. Then the Buddha said, with these five conditions, whoever he may be, he is bound to make progress because when he has fond regard for these people, they all wish him well. And if a person is well regarded by others, he has a lot of metta, and a lot of loving kindness goes back to him, then he should progress. That means a person, basically a good person must have love in his heart. If a person has love in his heart for other people, then he is a good person. It doesn't matter whether he appears a very rough person, greedy person, etc. The most important human qualities we must have, if we have these basic human qualities, basic good human qualities like love in our heart, then we can be confident that we are going the right way. It's not only wisdom that's important. Some people think meditation is all important. These basic human qualities are very important. On the next sutra, 5.6.59, the Buddha said, monks, it is hard to find one gone forth when old, endowed with five qualities. What five? Monks, it is hard to find one subtle-minded, gone forth when old. Hard to find one proper in deportment, very learned, a preacher of dharma. It is hard to find one who has the vinaya or discipline by heart. Monks, it is hard to find one gone forth to an old, endowed with these five qualities. That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is saying when a person renounces, goes forth in his old age, it's difficult to find him as a good monk because these various qualities are difficult for him to have. First one, to be subtle-minded. The second one, to be proper in deportment, to carry himself well. Third one, learned in the discourses of the Buddha. Fourth one, a preacher of Dhamma. Then the last one, who knows the Vinaya, the disciplinary code by heart. So, as I mentioned before, when we When a person is old and renounces, it is very difficult for him to adjust to the new lifestyle. And also when we are old, we become weak physically and mentally. That's why the first thing here the Buddha said, difficult to find one subtle-minded with a strong mind, with a capable mind. and the next one 5.7.65 Monks, endowed with five qualities, a monk may well talk to his fellows in the holy life. What five? Monks, hearing a monk in himself has achieved virtue, and explains a question raised by a talk on the achieving of virtue. Similarly, for concentration, insight, liberation, and in himself has achieved the knowledge and insight of liberation. and explains the question raised by a talk on the achieving of knowledge and insight of liberation. Verily monks, endowed with these five qualities, a monk may well talk to his fellows in the holy life. That's the end of the sutra. Basically what this sutra is trying to say is, if a monk were to Talk about virtue or concentration or insight or liberation or knowledge and insight of liberation, he should preferably be experienced in these things. If he is not experienced in these things, it would be difficult for him to explain. So it will be difficult for him to explain well, to explain correctly these different things. So that is why if a person has attained, then he would be better qualified to teach. But then you see, like during the Buddha's time, there were arahants around. So if there were arahants around, the best teachers would be the arahants. And when the arahants are not around, then of course you have to start going down the scale to see whether you can get ariyas to teach. If you can't get ariyas to teach, then you have to get people who can teach from theory. So we have to see what kind of teachers we can get. Sutta number 5.8.73. Now a certain monk visited the Exalted One, saluted Him and sat down at one side. So seated, he said to the Exalted One, Lord, they say, living by Dhamma, living by Dhamma, Lord, how does a monk live by Dhamma? I'll just stop here just to say this word Lord actually is a translation of the word Bante. During the Buddha's time, the monks called each other avuso, reverend, or friend, and only the Buddha was called the Bante. But later, when the Buddha was about to pass into Mahaparinibbana, he instructed the junior monks to call the senior monks Bante, and that the senior monks could call the junior monks Avuso, reverend or friend, or just by their name. Then the Buddha replied, monk, consider the monk who masters Dhamma, He spends the day in that mastery. He neglects to go apart and devotes not himself to tranquilization of the mind. Ceto-samatha. That monk is said to be swift to master, but he lives not by Dhamma. Again, consider the monk who teaches others Dhamma in detail, as he has heard it, as he has mastered it. He spends the day in convincing others of Dhamma. He neglects to go apart and devotes not himself to tranquilization of the mind. That monk is said to be swift to convince, but he lives not by dharma. Again, consider the monk who gives in full a repetition of dharma. As he has heard it, as he has learned it, he spends the day in repeating it. He neglects to go apart and devotes not himself to tranquilization of the mind. That monk is said to be swift to repeat, but he lives not by dhamma. Then consider the monk who turns his mind to Dhamma, ponders over it, reflects on it, as he has heard it, as he has learned it. He spends his day in thinking about Dhamma. He neglects to go apart and devotes not himself to tranquilization of the mind. That monk is said to be swift to think, but he lives not by Dhamma. But monk, take the case of the monk who masters Dhamma and spends not the day in that mastery, neglects not to go apart and devotes himself to tranquilization of the mind. Verily monk, such a monk is one who lives by Dhamma. Mang, thus verily have I declared one swift to master, one swift to convince, one swift to repeat, one swift to think, and one who lives by Dharma. Mang, what should be done by a teacher for his disciples, seeking their good from compassion and out of pity, that has been done by me for you. Behold these three roots, these empty places, Mang. Cultivate jhana, monk, and be not slothful. Reproach not yourself afterwards. This is our command to you. That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is saying that studying the suttas, teaching, repeating and reflecting on the suttas or dhamma are important. But if one does not practice ceto-samatha, tranquilization of the mind, one does not live by dhamma. That means although the monk does the other duties, he must devote himself sometime to tranquilization of the mind. This word ceto samatha, ceto comes from the word citta, the mind. Samatha is tranquilization. So you find that in the suttas, samatha practice is very much a part of the Buddhist meditation in addition to vipassana. But if you look into the suttas, more often than not, the word samatha is stressed more than vipassana. because samatha, tranquilization of the mind, is the part where we get rid of the hindrances. And you have heard the suttas before that the Buddha said that the hindrances is that which prevents us from getting insight. So we have to cultivate samatha to get the insight. And both samatha and vipassana, part and parcel of Buddhist meditation, You've also heard previously one of the suttas that Buddha said that when we attain the samadhi, the hindrances are restrained without a conscious effort and then one gets to see things as they really are. And the last part of the sutra, the Buddha said, he told his monks to cultivate jhana. The word here is jayati or jayata, and it means to cultivate jhana. So sometimes translators translate this as meditate, but the literal meaning is to cultivate jhana. That is why when Buddhism went to China, the meditation school was called the Chan school. And that word Chan comes from the word chan-no, and chan-no is actually from the word jana. So in the early days, meditation was synonymous with cultivating jhāna. That's why the Buddha here told his monks to cultivate jhāna. And this sutta is quite an important sutta because a monk can get caught up with many duties and activities. And that is one of the hindrances to the holy life. You see later there are others like talking, sleeping, etc. So we are seeing that a monk can get caught up in many duties and activities and that is one of the hindrances to the holy life. So a good monastery should have minimum hours of group sitting for everyone. The next sutra is 5.8.75. The Buddha said, monks, these five kinds of warriors are found in the world. What five? Monks. In one case, there is the warrior who, just at the sight of the cloud of dust, loses heart and falters and braces up not, nor is able to go down to battle. Monks, there is here this sort of warrior. This monk is the first kind of warrior found in the world. Again, though another endure the sight of the dust cloud, just on seeing a standard lifted up, he loses heart and falters and braces up not, nor is able to go down to battle. Monks, there is here this sort of warrior. This monk is the second kind. Again, though another endure the dust cloud and the standard, at the sound of tumult he loses heart, nor is able to go down to battle. Monks, there is here this sort of warrior. This monk is the third kind. Though another endure the dust cloud, the standard and the tumult, when struck in conflict he fails. Monks, there is here this sort of warrior. This monk is the fourth kind. Then there is one who endures the dust cloud, the standard, the tumult and the conflict. Victorious in battle, winning the fight, he continues at the head of the battle. Monks, there is here this sort of warrior. This monk is the fifth kind of warrior found in the world. Monks, these are the five kinds of warriors found in the world. Even so, monks, these five kinds of persons, like warriors, are found among monks. What five? Monks, in the case of the monk who, on seeing the dust cloud, loses heart and falters, and braces up not, nor is able to stay the course of the holy life, he declares his weakness, gives up the training, and returns to the lower life. And what for him is the dust cloud? That monk hears, it said, in such and such a village or town, there are women and girls, fair to look upon, lovely, with a wondrous lotus-like beauty. And when he hears this, he loses heart, and falters, and braces up not. Nor is he able to stay the course of the holy life, but declares his weakness, gives up the training, and returns to the lower life. This for him is the dust cloud. Monks, just as the warrior on seeing the dust cloud loses heart and falters and braces up not, nor is able to go down to battle, like that monks I say is this person. Monks, there is here this sort of person. This monk is the first kind of person like a warrior found among monks. Again monks, a monk endures the dust cloud, but at the sight of the standard loses heart and returns to the low life. And what for him is the standard? In this case, the monk does not merely hear that in such and such a village or town there are some lovely women and girls, fair to look upon, with wondrous lotus-like beauty, but he sees it for himself, and at the sight loses heart and returns to the lower life. This, for him, is the standard. Monks, just as the warrior endures the dusk cloud, but at the sight of the standard, loses heart. Like that, monks, I say, is this person. Monks, there is here this sort of person. This monk is the second kind of person, like a warrior found among monks. Again monks, a monk endures both the dust cloud and the standard, but at the sound of the tumult, loses heart and returns to the lower life. And what for him is the tumult? In this case monks, some woman comes along and when he has gone to forest, tree root or lonely place, and laughs him to scorn, rails on him, snaps her fingers at him and mocks him. And being so treated by a woman, he loses heart and returns to the lower life. This for him is the tumult. monks, just as the soldier endures both the dust cloud and the standard, but at the sound of the tumult loses heart. Like that monks I say is this person. This monk is a third kind of person like a warrior found among monks. Again monks, a monk endures the dust cloud, standard and tumult, but being struck in conflict fails. And what for him is the conflict? In this case, monks, some woman comes along when he has gone to forest, tree root, or some lonely place, and sits down close beside him, lies down close beside him, and cuddles up to him, and being treated thus by a woman, without giving up the training, without declaring his weakness, he gives himself over to fornication. This to him is the conflict. Monks, just as the warrior endures the dust cloud, standard and tumult, but when struck in conflict feels, like that monks I say is this person. This monk is a third kind of person like a warrior found among monks. Again monks, there is the monk who endures the dust cloud, the standard, the tumult. I'm sorry, that was the fourth kind of person found among monks. Again monks, there is the monk who endures the dust cloud, the standard, the tumult and the conflict. Victorious in battle, winning the fight, he continues at the head of the battle. And what to him is victory in battle? Herein also monks, some woman comes along, when the monk has gone to forest, tree root or some lonely place, and sits down close beside him, lies down close beside him, and cuddles up to him. But being treated thus by a woman, he disentangles and frees himself, and goes off wheresoever he will. And he resorts to some secluded spot, forest, tree root, mountain, glen, rock cave, cemetery, wooded upland, open space or heap of straw. And come to forest, tree root or empty hut, he sits cross-legged, with body erect, setting mindfulness in front of him. Putting away all desires, he abides with heart free therefrom. He cleanses his mind of desires. Putting away ill-will and hatred, he abides with heart free therefrom. Kindly and compassionate to all creatures, he cleanses his mind of ill-will and hatred. Putting away sloth and torpor, he abides free therefrom. Conscious of light, mindful and self-possessed, he cleanses his mind of sloth and torpor. Putting away restlessness and worry, he abides poised, with heart serene within. He cleanses his mind of restlessness and worry. Putting away doubt, he abides with doubt passed by. No more he questions why. He has cleansed his mind of doubt. Putting away these five hindrances, when the mind's defilements are weakened by insight, aloof from sensual desires, etc. He enters and abides in the first jana, the second jana, third jana, fourth jana. With the heart thus serene, purified, cleansed, spotless, devoid of defilement, supple, ready to act, firm and imperturbable, he bends the mind to know the destruction of the asavas. He understands as it really is. This is dukkha. He understands as it really is. This is the origin of Dukkha. He understands as it really is. This is the ending of Dukkha. He understands as it really is. This is the way leading to the ending of Dukkha. He understands as it really is, these are asavas, this is the origin of the asavas, this is the ending of the asavas, this is the way leading to the ending of the asavas. Knowing this, seeing this, his heart is free from the asava of lust, free from the asava of becoming or existence, free from the asava of ignorance. And in the freedom comes the knowledge of that freedom. And he knows, birth is destroyed, lived is the holy life, done is what had to be done. There is no more coming to this state of things. This to him is victory in battle. Monks, just as the warrior endures the dust cloud, the standard, the tumult and the conflict, and victorious in battle, winning the fight, continues even at the head of the battle. Like that, monks, I say, is this person. Monks, there is here this sort of person. This monk is the fifth kind of person like a warrior found among monks. These monks are the five kinds of persons like a warrior found among monks. This is the end of the sutra. Here this sutra is giving a simile of the holy life to a battle, a fight with Mara. And you can see that a monk can lose the fight at several stages along the way. Could be due to listening about some beautiful women, or seeing some beautiful women, or being teased or scorned by some women, or by being caught by some women when he's alone. Then the last one is the one who succeeds in the holy life. And you can see that this person who succeeds in the holy life, he cleanses his mind of the five hindrances, puts away the five hindrances, and then using the five hindrances, he understands the four Aryan truths. You notice in the sutra, there is a passage which says, With the heart of mind thus serene, purified, cleansed, spotless, devoid of defilement, supple, ready to act, firm and imperturbable, imbends the mind to know the destruction of the asavas. So this is the condition for the insight to arise, the mind that is purified, spotless, devoid of defilement. firm and imperturbable, and that can be attained only through samatha meditation, by attaining one-pointedness of mind. Then only with that very clear mind, that monk practices vipassana, contemplation, to get wisdom. The other thing to note about this sutra is that here the asavas, three asavas are mentioned. The asava of lust, kama-sava, the asava of becoming or existence, bhava-sava, then the asava of ignorance, avijja-sava, three. But in some sutra, in the Digha Nikaya, they added a fourth one which is Dītā-savā, dītā-savā of views. Asavā, as I have mentioned before, means the uncontrolled mental outflows that causes suffering and cause existence to arise, because the Buddha said that existence or the world arises dependent on consciousness. Now, another sutra we come to is 5.8.77. The next four sutras are all very important sutras, talking about the fears in the future, fears in the way in the future. The first one is 5.8.77. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five fears in the way from contemplating which the earnest, ardent, resolute monks forest-gone ought to live just to attain the unattained, to master the unmastered, to realize the unrealized. 5. Take the case of a monk, forest-gone, who reflects thus, I am now quite alone in the forest, and living here alone, a snake may bite me, a scorpion may bite me, or a centipede may bite me and cause my death. and that would be a hindrance to me. Behold now, I will put forth energy to attain the unattained, to master the unmastered, to realize the unrealized. Monks, this is the first fear in the way, from contemplating which the earnest, ardent, resolute monk, forest-gone, ought to live just to attain the unattained, to master the unmastered, to realize the unrealized. Again he reflects, I may stumble and fall, the food I have eaten may make me ill, bile may convulse me, phlegm choke me, wind within stab and shake me and cause my death, and that would be a hindrance to me. Behold now, I will put forth energy. Monks, this is a second fear in the way. Again he reflects, and I consort with fearsome creatures, lion, tiger, leopard, bear and hyena. They may take my life and cause my death and that would be a hindrance to me. Behold now I will put forth energy." Monks, this is the third fear in the way. Again he reflects, and I consort with thieves who either have done their deed or go about to do it. They may take my life and cause my death, and that would be a hindrance to me. Behold now, I will put forth energy. Monks, this is the fourth fear in the way. Moreover monks, the monk Forrest Gawne reflects thus. I am now alone in the forest, and there are fearsome non-humans here. They may take my life and cause my death, and that would be a hindrance to me. Behold now, I will put forth energy to attain the unattained, to master the unmastered, to realize the unrealized. Monks, this is the fifth year in the way from contemplating which the earnest, ardent, resolute monk, forest-gone, ought to live just to attain the unattained, to master the unmastered, to realize the unrealized. Monks, these are the five years in the way." That's the end of the sutra. Here this sutra is about the contemplation on death. which a person who is serious about the spiritual path should always make, because the Buddha said the body is like a cancer. As though we have cancer, we have very limited time left. and we don't know when we are going to pass away, but to pass away we definitely will. So it is good to contemplate now and then that there are very many ways by which we could suddenly pass away. In this case the monk is contemplating that his death might be due to creeping creatures or to other animals, or accident may happen, or thieves or bandits may kill him, or spirits may take his life. So in the same way, even for us now, in this present age, we should make the contemplation. Almost every day we are on the road, driving a car or being driven, and an accident could happen, especially if we travel long distance. or on a highway when you go on the fast lane. And sometimes in the house we use electrical appliances, might get an electric shock. Nowadays there's so much cancer and other serious diseases and the incidence is very high, like 1 in 5 people and we have to contemplate that we might be having cancer in our body and yet we don't know now. and might surface in one or two years. So all these things we have to contemplate to remind us that death is just by the side. Very soon the cold fingers of death will touch us. So we always have to make this contemplation.

46-AN-Book-5G-(5.8.78-to-5.9.88).txt

In Exutais 5.8.78, the Buddha said, monks, there are these five fears in the way. But five, take the case of a monk who reflects thus, I am now young, a mere youth, black-haired and blessed with the beauty of youth, the heyday of youth, the prime of youth. But time will come when old age shall touch this body, and when grown old and overcome by age, not easy is it to turn to the Buddha's word. Not easy things are forest wildernesses, the outland bed and seed to seek. Before that state come to me, unwelcome, undesired, unloved, lo, I will put forth energy against that time, even to attain the unattained, to master the unmastered, to realize the unrealized. And of that state possessed, I will dwell comforted even when old. Monks, this is the first fear in the way. Again he reflects, I have health and well-being, a good digestion, which is neither overcold nor overheated, but even and suitable for striving. But time will be when sickness shall touch this body. And sick and ill, not easy is it to turn to the Buddha's word. Lo, I will put forth energy and dwell comforted even when sick. Monks, this is the second fear in the way. Again he reflects, now there is no famine and crops are good, food is easy to get, and it is easy to keep oneself going by gleanings and favours. But time will be when there is a famine, bad crops, and difficulty in getting food. Nor will it be easy to keep oneself going by gleanings and favours, and the famine-stricken men will move to where there is ample food. And there one will dwell in a crowd and a throng, and where such conditions are, not easy is it to turn to the Buddha's word. Lo, I will put forth energy and dwell comforted even in time of famine." Monks, this is the third fear in the way. Again he reflects, now men dwell in friendly fellowship together, as mingle milk and water. They do not quarrel. but look upon one another with friendly eye. But time will be when fear is about, perils of bandits, and the country folk mount their carts and drive away, and the fear-stricken men will move away to where there is safety, and there one will live in crowds and throngs. And where such conditions are, not easy is it to turn to the Buddha's word. Lo, I will put forth energy and dwell comforted even in time of fear. This is the fourth fear in the way." Moreover, monks, the monk reflects thus, now the Sangha lives in friendly fellowship together, finding comfort in one teaching. But the time will come when the Sangha will be divided. And when that happens, not easy is it to turn to the Buddha's word. Not easy things are forest wildernesses, the outland bed to seek. Before that state comes, unwelcome, undesired, unloved, no, I will put forth energy against that time, even to attain the unattained, to master the unmastered. to realize the unrealized. And of that state possessed, I will dwell comforted, even though the sangha be divided. Monks, this is the fifth fear in the way. These monks are the five fears in the way." That's the end of the sutra. So this sutra is reflections on impermanence. Because of impermanence, our present state can always change. So the person cultivating the holy life or the spiritual path should always consider that. You are growing old day by day and when we grow older it's much more difficult to practice the spiritual path. So now it's better that we put forth energy now than to think of putting energy, putting forth energy in the future. As we heard the previous sutra, that whenever we can find some time every day, we should practice some cetosamatha to tranquilize the mind, otherwise we are not living by dharma. The second one is to consider that sickness one day will come to us. So before we become sick, we should put forth energy. The third one, famine. Fourth one, bandits. And the fifth one, which is applicable only to monks, is that the sangha will be divided. So these are the contemplations on impermanence we should often make so that we get the urgency to practice the holy life. The next one is Sutta 5.8.79. Monks, these five fears in the way, which have not yet arisen, will arise in the future. Be you fully awake for them, and being awake, strive to get rid of them. What five? Monks, there will be in the long road of the future monks who have not made body become, that is, not developed body, not made moral conduct become, not made mind become, not made wisdom become. And those who have not made this becoming will cause the ordination of others, and verily they will not be able to lead them in the way of higher moral conduct, higher mind, higher wisdom. And they too will become monks who have not made body become, not made moral conduct become, not made mind become, not made wisdom become. And those who have not made this becoming will cause the ordination of others. and verily they will not be able to lead them in the way of higher moral conduct, higher mind, higher wisdom. And they too will become monks who have not made body become, not made moral conduct become, not made mind become, not made wisdom become. Thus, verily monks, from corrupt dhamma comes corrupt discipline." Vinaya. From corrupt discipline, corrupt dhamma. Monks, this is the first fear in the way, which though not yet arisen, will arise in the future. Be you fully awake for it, and being awake, strive to get rid of it. Again monks, monks who have not made this becoming will give, will teach others, and verily they will not be able to lead them in the way of higher moral conduct, higher mind, higher wisdom. And those two who have not made this becoming will teach others and will not be able to lead them in the way of higher moral conduct, higher mind, higher wisdom. Thus, verily, monks, from corrupt dharma comes corrupt discipline. From corrupt discipline, corrupt dharma. Monks, this is the second fear in the way. Again, monks, monks who have not made this becoming, when giving a talk on the higher dharma, Abhidhamma, will not be fully awake to the meaning, but will enter on a state of darkness. Thus, verily monks, from corrupt Dhamma comes corrupt discipline. From corrupt discipline, corrupt Dhamma. Monks, this is the third fear in the way. Again, monks who have not made this becoming will not listen, will not give a ready ear, will not want to understand or deem such things should be recited and mastered. And those discourses, suttas, spoken by the Tathagata, deep, profound in meaning, transcending the world, concerning emptiness, are recited. But those discourses of poets, mere poems, just a show of words and phrases, alien the utterances of disciples. To these, when recited, they will listen, will give a ready ear, will want to understand and deem such things should be recited and mastered. Thus indeed, monks, from corrupt dharma comes corrupt discipline. From corrupt discipline, corrupt dharma. Monks, this is the fourth fear in the way. Moreover, monks, there will be in the long road of the future monks who have not made body, moral conduct, mind or wisdom become. And those elders who have not made this becoming will become luxurious, lax, prime movers in backsliding, shirking the burden of the secluded life. And they will put forth no effort to attain the unattained, to master the unmastered, to realize the unrealized. And those who come after them will fall into their views. and they too will become luxurious, lax, prime movers in backsliding, shirking the burden of the secluded life. So this sutra, a very interesting sutra, about the five fears the Buddha asks us to be careful of in the future. The first one is that a monk who has not developed body, virtue, mind, and wisdom will ordain others. The second one, he has not developed these qualities, he will give guidance to others, will become an acharya, a teacher, in Thailand they call an achan, to others. And this is Something the Buddha said we have to be careful of. When we look into the Vinaya books, the Buddha in the early years asked the monks to attain liberation before they teach others. And later, because the arahants were getting less and less, the Buddha relaxed the rules and eventually the Buddha said that a monk cannot ordain others and cannot give up guidance. or teach others unless they have cultivated themselves for ten years. Ten years was the minimum time a monk was expected to practice. And the first five years he was supposed to live with his teacher and get proper guidance. That's according to the Vinaya. A monk has to either live with his upajaya, his preceptor, or live with an acharya, a teacher, for five years. And during these five years, he gets the benefit of the experience of his teacher or preceptor, his proper guidance in the suttas, the Vinaya, and also meditation, etc. So after five years, if he wanted to, he could go and live alone, practice alone for another five years, and then having ten years of experience behind him, then only he can give guidance to others. And this was the minimum standard set in the Vinaya. But even then, sometimes some monks don't follow this standard. After they wear the robe for a short while, they start taking disciples or they start giving guidance to others or ordain. But ordination nowadays, generally they don't ordain because nowadays, Especially in the Buddhist countries, you have certain guidelines given. But still, some people, some monks, they take disciples too early. So this was a warning the Buddha gave that a monk should cultivate himself before he teach others. And the third one is talking about Abhidhamma. But Abhidhamma in the suttas does not refer to the Abhidhamma Pitaka that we now have. The Abhidhamma in the suttas, if you look through the suttas, it is reference to the higher teachings, and the higher teachings in the suttas generally refers to the teachings that can get us out of samsara, and in particular the 37 bodhipakya dharmas, the Aryan Eightfold Path, the seven bhojangas, factors of enlightenment, the five faculties, the five powers, the four satipatthana, etc., etc. So, So when a monk wants to give a talk on the higher Dhamma, then he should understand, otherwise, the Buddha said, you enter on a state of darkness. And then the fourth one, the fourth one is an interesting one, because here the Buddha says, in the future, those discourses, those suttas of the Buddha, people do not want to listen to them. will not want to give a ready ear, will not want to understand or deem that such things should be recited and mastered. Those suttas spoken by the Buddha, deep, profound in meaning, transcending the world, concerning emptiness, these people don't want to listen, but those teachings of disciples, they would want to listen. and meaning teachings of monk disciples and also later books which are other than the sutras. People take an interest to them, whereas the Buddha here is saying that the discourses, the teachings that we want to study should be the Buddha's discourses. And this is very clear here. And we should always remember in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta, when the Buddha was about to pass away, he was asked, now that the teacher is going to Nibbana, who should we take as our teacher? And the Buddha said, take the Dhamma Vinaya as your teacher. Our teacher is always the Dhamma Vinaya, always remember that. And the Dhamma in the Anguttara Nikaya is defined as the suttas. And the Vinaya, of course, concerns only monks. So we must be very familiar with the discourses and the suttas of the Buddha before we practice. Otherwise, we will go on the wrong step and then take us many years before we realize that we've gone on the wrong step. And then the last one, the Buddha is talking about monks who become luxurious and take the lead in backsliding, shirking the burden of the secluded life. making no effort to attain the unattained, to master the unmastered, to realize the unrealized. And when they do that, their disciples will also follow their views, will also become like that. And they will make no effort to get out of samsara. And if you remember one of the earlier suttas I read, the Buddha said, if a person wears the robe and he does not cultivate, practice to get out of samsara, that means he does not practice the three factors of sila, samadhi, paññā, moral conduct, concentration and wisdom, then the Buddha said he's not a monk even though he wears the robe. So this is very important for a monk to always remember that the purpose of wearing the robe is to practice to get out of suffering. Now, the next sutra is 5.80. Monks, there are these five fears in the way which have not arisen and will arise in the future. Be you fully awake for them and being awake strive to get rid of them. What five? Monks, there will be in the long road of the future monks who long for fine robes, and they, with this longing, will leave the ways of wearing rags, will leave the forest wilderness, the outland bed and seat, and will move to village, town, or raja's capital, and make their dwelling there. And because of a robe, they will commit many things unseemly, unfit. Monks, this is the first fear in the way. Again, monks will long for rich alms food, will leave the ways of the common ground, the forest wilderness, the outland bed and seat, and will move to village, town, or raja's capital, seeking out, as it were, with the tip of the tongue, tasty morsels. And because of food, they will commit many things unseemly unfit. Monks, this is the second fear in the way. Again, monks will long for comfortable bed and seat, will leave the ways of the tree root abode, the forest wilderness, the outland bed and seat, and will move to village town or raja's capital. And because of a bed and seat, they will commit things unseemly, unfit. Monks, this is the third fear in the way. Again, monks will live in company with nuns and novices in training, and when this shall be, it may be expected that the monks will take no delight in leading the holy life, and either they will commit some foul act or give up the training and return to the lower life. Monks, this is the fourth fear in the way. Moreover, monks, there will be in the long road of the future monks who will live in company with the park folk. Anyhow is this, and when this shall be, it may be expected that they will live and feast themselves on the plenty of hoarded stocks, and will mark out their lands and crops. Monks, this is the fifth fear in the way, which though not yet arisen, will arise in the future. Be you fully awake for it, and being awake, strive to get rid of it. Monks, these are the five fears in the way. This is the last of the four suttas concerning with fears in the way. And these are all very important suttas. This sutta, the first three, concerns the fine robes, rich food, and comfortable dwelling. And if a monk stays in a town, capital, because of these good requisites, then it is not proper for a monk. And in the Vinaya books, one of the disciples of the Buddha, Devadatta, he tried to be very ascetic and he asked the Buddha for five things. One of them was to impose five conditions for all the monks. One was that monks should only live in secluded places like in forests, caves, etc. and forbid them to live in town areas. Another one was that monks should only take vegetarian food and not take any meat. Another one was that monks should go on alms round every day and not just accept invitations. And another two conditions I've forgotten. But anyway, the Buddha disagreed. The Buddha said that if there are monks who want to live in forest areas, they may do so. If monks want to live in town areas, they may do so. If monks want to take food, they should take what is given. They should not be selective of their food. If monks want to go on alms round, they may do so. If monks want to go on invitations, accept invitations, they may do so. So the Buddha in his wisdom realized that it all depends on the monk. The precepts of the monks grew up later. In the initial stages, when the Buddha did not impose the precepts on the monks, there were many arahants, even without the precepts. And even though in the initial stages the Buddha allowed his disciples to take three meals a day, there were many arahants. So it all depends on the monk. If a monk is a good monk, you don't have to impose many conditions. He will know how to control himself. If a monk is not a good monk, then even if he imposes many conditions, he will not follow. But here, in particular, the Buddha is just giving this warning. that a monk should not go and live in a town area just because of good, fine robes, because of rich food, because of comfortable dwelling. And in the Majjhima Nikaya, there is a sutra called the Nibbāpa Sutra, where the Buddha gave a simile of a flock of deers. or trying to get food. And then the farmer grows the crops and these deer, these deers, they go and eat the farmer's crops. And when the farmer gets to know of it, he traps the deer and kills them because they eat his crops. And then out of fear, the deer went into the forest and tried to live in the deep forest and stay away from the farmer because the farmer can kill them. But staying in the deep forest, they found that food was a problem. So eventually, they still have to come near the farmer to eat his crops. But they have to be very careful not to be caught, not to get trapped. So in the same way, the Buddha said, if a monk lives in the deep forest, it's very difficult to survive. He won't get enough food. But if he lives near the lay people, he has to be very careful because he can get caught up. with all the lay people, if it associates too much with lay people, then... he's going to get killed. That means his holy life is going to be destroyed. So the Buddha said the only way for a monk to live is to, he still has to live near lay people because he has to get the support from lay people. But at the same time, to protect himself, the Buddha said a monk has to cultivate meditation, in particular strong samadhi, not to be moved by Samadhi is very essential because if you have listened to the earlier suttas, the Buddha said before a person can enter the first jhana, he's got to be secluded from sense desires. He's got to be secluded. from unwholesome states before he can enter the first jhana. It's a very purified stage, one-pointedness of mind. So if a monk wants to survive, not get killed by Mara, he has to cultivate samadhi. That's the purpose of samadhi. That's why meditation is called bhavana, development of the mind. And even though a monk stays among lay people, the Buddha said one of the qualities a monk has to practice is called aloofness. Aloofness means even though he stays among lay people, he should not associate overmuch with lay people. And then the third one is in the future, the Buddha said a monk has to be careful that he does not live with nuns and novices. That means not live too near, because if he associates too much with nuns and novices, especially with the opposite sex, he can either break his precepts, commit some foul offence, or he gives up the training. from seeing too much of the opposite sex, he can give up the training. So that is why the Buddha said that it is very dangerous for a monk to live too close to nuns and novices. And then the last one is that staying with park folk and novices and then marking out the lands and crops. This refers to some monks who own lands and crops and plenty of property. In the Vinaya, it is not allowed for monks to own lands and crops that are arable, that are cultivated, that can bring in income. It is only allowed for monks to own monastery land. In the Vinaya, monks can own monastery land in the name of the Sangha, and not private property. Also in one of the later suttas that you hear later, the Buddha said if a monk stays in a place where his meditation can be disturbed by others, that is not the ideal place. When a monk meditates, he should not be disturbed by lay people or any other person. Otherwise he cannot progress much in his meditation. So these are the sutras concerning with warnings for the future. And these four sutras are considered very important. And they were selected by the Emperor Asoka and put among his edicts, you know, and the stone pillars that he set up. I think it was one, it's called the Bhadra Edicts. And these few sutras about fears in the way are mentioned in there. Now we come to sutra number 5.9.88. The Buddha said, monks possessed of five qualities, the way of an elder monk is not to the advantage of many folk, is not for the happiness of many folk, is not for the good of many folk, it is to the harm and ill of devas and men. Of what five? There is the elder, time honoured and long gone forth, well known, renowned, with a great following of householders and those gone forth, a receiver of the requisites, the robe, arms, lodging and medicines for sickness. who is much learned and has a retentive and well-stored mind. And those dharmas, lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, lovely in the end, are by him much heard, remembered, verbally recited, carefully considered in the mind, thoroughly understood in theory. But he is a wrong viewer with a perverted vision. He turns away many folk from Sat Dhamma and sets them in what is not Sat Dhamma, which is true Dhamma. Thus though he be an elder, time honored and long gone forth, through him they fall into the way of wrong views. Through the elder, Though the elder be well known, renowned, with a great following of householders and those gone forth, through him they fall into the way of wrong views. Though the elder be a receiver of the requisites, the robe, arms, lodging and medicines, etc., through him they fall into the way of wrong views. Though the elder be learned and has a retentive and well-stored mind, And those dharmas by him are much heard, remembered, verbally recited, carefully considered in the mind, thoroughly understood in theory. Through him they fall into the way of wrong views. Monks possessed of these five qualities, the way of an elder is not to the advantage of many folk. Monks possessed of five qualities, the way of an elder is to the advantage of many folk, is for the happiness of many folk, for the good of many folk. It is to the advantage and happiness of devas and men. Of what five? Similarly, the sutta repeats with all these qualities of the elder, namely that the first one, he is long gone forth, well known, renowned, with a great following. The second one, that he receives much requisites. The third, that he is very much learned and the dharmas are well remembered by him, carefully considered in the mind, thoroughly understood in theory. and then he has right view and because he has right view he leads many people into the true Dhamma, Sat Dhamma. That's the end of the Sutta. Now this Sutta is quite interesting. This Sutta is saying that sometimes you can, or probably the Buddha meant that in the future, after the Buddha has passed to Nibbana, there would be such a senior monk with a great following and well-known and he is very much learned in the Dhamma and in spite of that he has wrong view, turns people away from the true Dhamma, Sat Dhamma. This Sat Dhamma is very important. Why does the Buddha refer to Sat Dhamma, true Dhamma? This implies that there is false Dhamma. Dhamma is the suttas, the teachings and discourses of the Buddha. So the true Dhamma is the original suttas, the original discourses of the Buddha. And if we investigate, we find that that is to be found in the earliest four Nikayas, the Digha Nikaya, Majjhima Sanyuta and Anguttara Nikaya, because these are very consistent, there is no contradiction. And later dhamma, later teachings, there is contradiction. That is why sometimes, like now, there are so many books available and some are not the original teachings of the Buddha, the teachings that contradict the original suttas. That is why even though a monk can be very well learned, very well He knows the three pitakas very well, yet he can have wrong view. And so because of that, we have to be very careful. As I've read before in Anguttara Nikaya 4.180, the Buddha said that in the future, if any monk says that such and such is the teachings of the Buddha, Then, without welcoming and without scorning his words, we should compare what he says to be the teachings of the Buddha with the suttas, that means the original phonikāyas and the vinaya, the disciplinary code of the monks. And if it is in line with the suttas and vinaya, we can accept it. But if it contradicts the suttas and vinaya, then we should Check it out, it is not the teachings of the Buddha. That is what the Buddha said in Anguttara Nikaya 4.180. So from this we have to be very careful. Even a very famous monk can have wrong view. This is what is meant in the Sutta.

47-AN-Book-5H-(5.9.89-to-5.12.113).txt

Another sutra is 5.9.89. Buddha said, monks, these five conditions lead to the decline of a monk in training. What five? Delight in work or activity, delight in gossip, delight in sleeping, delight in company, and he does not reflect on the mind as free. Monks, these are the five conditions. This is a very interesting sutra, in fact a very important sutra, where these five things can obstruct a monk from his cultivation. The first one is having too much work or activity. Which means the monk is very much involved in teaching, in writing books, in administration, supervising others, in the construction of the temple, supervising the construction of the temple, planning, etc. And all this too much work can obstruct a monk's spiritual cultivation. Second one is delight in gossip, talking unbeneficial talk. The Buddha said if we want to talk, especially monks, if monks want to talk, then we should engage in beneficial talk. And beneficial talk is talk concerned with wanting little few ones, concerned with contentment, seclusion, aloofness from society, arousing energy, virtue, concentration, wisdom, liberation, knowledge and vision of liberation, etc. These are beneficial talk. And what is useless talk is or unbeneficial talk is what is mentioned in the suttas as tiracana katha. Tiracana katha literally means animal talk. And it means low talk, base talk, concerned with politics, sports, entertainment, travelling, departed, etc, etc. That is not beneficial. And the third one is delight in sleeping. Sleeping is one of the pleasures people get. If we sleep too much, our mind, every time we sleep, our mind is like a computer. Every time we sleep, we switch off many of the circuits in the mind. and later to activate them is not so easy because normally in a normal day we don't use so many circuits in our computer up there. So when we meditate a lot we find slowly the circuits in our brain start to activate. That's why sometimes in meditation we get tingling sensation in the brain. It's like the circuits that are normally not used in the brain start to activate. So when we sleep too much, we shut off a lot of the circuits in our mind and it's not good. Fourth one is delight in company. That means the monk likes to keep in company, talk with other people, whether monks or lay people. The opposite is aloofness, that even though a monk stays in a monastery with other monks, he tries to be aloof. If it's necessary to talk, he talks. If it's not necessary, he does not talk. The last one, he does not reflect on the mind as free. This is quite interesting. It's a very interesting statement because it reminds us something like it's mentioned in the yoga teachings, basically, or in Zen teachings. Basically our mind is freed, it's only the active mind, the active consciousness, the sixth consciousness, which makes us see ourself as a human being in this world of samsara. And there's a part of us that is immortal, there's a part of us that is freed, and it's there all the time, the only thing is we have to realize it. So that's the end of the sutra. The next sutra is 5.9.90. Monks. These five conditions lead to the decline of a monk in training. What five? Take the case of a monk in training who is always busy and has much to do and is clever at work. He lets the time for going apart slip by, nor does he apply himself to calming the heart within. This monks is the first condition that leads to the decline of a monk in training. Again, he spends the day in doing small things and lets the time for going apart slip by. This monks is the second condition. Or he lives in company with householders and those gone forth, in layman's company which is not fit. This monks is the third condition. Or he enters the village too early or leaves it too late. This monks is the fourth condition. Moreover, monks, such talk as is austere and a help to liberating the mind, talk on wanting little, on contentment, on seclusion, on aloofness, on arousing energy, on virtue, concentration, wisdom, on liberation and on the knowledge and vision of liberation, that the monk in training cannot obtain at will, easily and without difficulty. and he lets the time for going apart slip by, nor does he apply himself to calming the mind within. These monks is the fifth condition that leads to the decline of a monk in training." Monks, these are the five conditions that lead to a decline of a monk in training. This basically is quite similar to the previous sutra. The first one and two is the monk is busy in doing work. doing small things, unimportant things. The third one is he lives in company with householders and those gone forth. He likes to mix with company. The fourth one, he enters the village too early and leaves it too late. This one is concerned with in the Buddha's days, a monk would enter the village to beg for his food on alms round. And sometimes a monk who likes to chat, he will stay in the lay people's house and he'll maybe even eat there and take a long time to talk there and leave the village too late. This is not encouraged by the Buddha. And then the last one, beneficial talk, he's not able to obtain. These are the things that hinder a monk. Next sutta is 5.10.96. Monks, possessed of five qualities, a monk practicing awareness in breathing in and breathing out, will in no long time penetrate the immovable. Of what five? He is set on little, with few duties, easily supported, well content with life's necessities. Taking food in little, he serves not his own belly. slothful in little, he is heedful in wakefulness. He is much learned with a retentive and well-stored mind. Those teachings, lovely in the beginning, lovely in the middle, and lovely in the end, which sets forth in spirit and letter the holy life of purity, perfect in its entirety, those teachings are much heard by him, remembered, verbally recited, carefully pondered over in mind, fully understood in theory. and he reflects on the mind as free. Monks possess of these five qualities. A monk practicing awareness in breathing in and breathing out will in no long time penetrate the immovable. That's the end of the sutra. So here the sutra says that when we practice anapanasati, mindfulness of the breath, these few things are very helpful. First one, he has few duties and he's easily supported, contented. Second one, he takes little food, moderate food, and does not overeat, because when you eat too much, you become sleepy, it's difficult to meditate. Third one, he's heedful in wakefulness, that means does not sleep too much, tries to maintain wakefulness. The fourth one, he's much learned. It's much learned. It's stressed quite often. That means we are much learned in the suttas, the saddhamma. Saddhamma refers to the discourses of the Buddha. We have much knowledge of these discourses of the Buddha. Then the fifth one, he reflects on the mind as freed. So these five qualities are helpful to obtain liberation. Next sutra is 5.10.99. Monks, in the evening the lion, king of beasts, leaves his lair. He stretches himself. He looks around on the four quarters. Three times he roars his lion roar. Then he goes forth to hunt. Monks, if he strikes a blow at an elephant, he strikes verily with care, not without care. If he strikes a blow at a buffalo, at an ox, at a leopard, if he strikes a blow at any small creature, be it but a hare or cat, he strikes with care, not without care. And why, he thinks, let not my skill fail me. A lion monk, that is a name for the Tathagata, Arahant, Samasambuddha. Verily monks, when a Tathagata teaches Dhamma in assembly, that is his lion roar. And if he teaches Dhamma to the monks, he teaches with care, not without care. If He teach Dhamma to the nuns, to laymen, to laywomen disciples, if the Tathāgata teach Dhamma to the many folk, be they but fowlers who go about with grain. He teaches with care, not without care. And why? Filled with respect for Dhamma is the Tathāgata monks, filled with reverence for Dhamma. That's the end of the sutta. So here the Buddha is saying, just as a lion, when he goes out to hunt, he takes a lot of care. Make sure every time he makes a kill. So in the same way, the Buddha said, when the Buddha teaches the Dhamma, he also, like the lion, takes a lot of care. Make sure his message strikes home. So that is That's about teaching Dhamma. In one of the sutras, later we will find, the Buddha says that even the Buddha has a Raja. And the Raja of the Buddha, or the Dhamma King, is the Dhamma. And in another sutra, The Buddha, immediately after he was enlightened, he contemplated whether there is another being higher than him in wisdom, etc., that he should respect. And when he looked around, he saw that there is no higher being than himself. Then he wondered to himself, whom should he respect, or what should he respect? Then he reflected, he thought, Dhamma is that which he should venerate and respect. So because of veneration of the Dhamma, whenever the Buddha or his monks teach the Dhamma, they should do so with great care, not carelessly. So it is very good for a monk every time he prepares a talk, I mean every time he gives a talk or something, to prepare it. And because of that also, of respect for the Dhamma, the Buddha has made it part of the Vinaya rules that when a monk teaches Dhamma to lay people, they must be worthy of being taught the Dhamma. They have to show the respect. That's why when lay people listen to the Dhamma, they should not sit higher than a monk. They should either sit lower or on the same level, but not higher. And also they should not, for example, wear a hat. And they should also not hold their knees together, sit properly. They should not carry an umbrella, or carry a stick, or carry a weapon. These are all part of the Vinaya rules, that we should, out of respect for the Dhamma, be quite respectful when we hear the Dhamma, because there's nothing more helpful to us than the Dhamma. We will realize this as we grow older. There is nothing of such great value in the world as the Dharma. The next sutra is 5.10.100. Now the Exalted One was once staying near Kosambi in Gosita Park, and at that time Kakuda, a Kolian, the Venerable Mahamoggalana's attendant, had just died and was reborn in a mind-created body. And the form that he took was such that it filled two or three Magadan village fields. Yet that form caused suffering neither to him nor to another. And Kakuda Deva visited the Venerable Mahamoggalana, saluted him and stood at one side. And so standing, he spoke thus to the Venerable one, Sir, in Devadatta has arisen this longing. It is I who will lead the order of monks. And Sir, with the arising of that thought, Devadatta's psychic power has declined. Thus spoke the Deva Kakuda, and having spoken so, he saluted the Venerable Mahamoggalana, and keeping him on his right, disappeared hence. Then went the Venerable Mahamoggalana to the Exalted One, and saluting him sat down at one side, and he told the Exalted One all that had occurred. And the Exalted One said, What, Moggallana, have you with your mind so compassed the mind of Kakuda Deva as to know whatsoever Kakuda Deva says, all that is just thus and not otherwise? Lord, I have so encompassed this mind, so as to know that whatsoever Kakudadeva says, all that is just thus, and not otherwise." Then the Buddha said, then watch your words, Moggallana, watch your words, for even now the foolish fellow will betray himself. Mogalana, these are five teachers found in the world. What five? Take the case, Mogalana, of some teacher whose ways are impure. But he thinks, I am pure. Pure are my ways, clean and stainless. But his disciples know, this worthy teacher is impure in his ways, but thinks just otherwise. If we tell the householders, he will not like it. And how can we do what he will not like? and he is honoured by gifts of the requisites, the robes, arms, lodging and medicines. What the self shall do, even by that shall the self be known." Moggallāna, the disciples protect such a teacher in his ways, and such a teacher expects this protection of his disciples. Again, Moggallana, some teacher's mode of livelihood is not pure, or his dharma teaching is not pure, or his exposition, or his knowledge and insight are not pure, and his disciples know Moggallana, the disciples protect such a teacher and such a teacher expects this protection of his disciples. These Moggallana are five teachers found in the world. But I, Moggallana, am pure in ways and know that I am pure. I know that my ways are pure, clean and stainless. My disciples protect not my ways, nor do I expect this protection of my disciples. I am pure in my mode of livelihood, in dharma teaching, in exposition, in knowledge and insight, and I know that I am pure. I know that these things are pure within me, clean and stainless. Not as to them do my disciples protect me, nor do I expect this of my disciples." That's the end of the sutra. This sutra reveals a few things. Firstly, that you see this Mahamoggalana is the monk, the disciple of the Buddha with the greatest psychic power. And yet here you can see that the Deva, his former attendant, former monk attendant I think, came to visit him and told him that the Devadatta is planning that he wants to lead the Sangha of monks. Now this is interesting because you can see from here and other suttas that the arahants, including the Buddha, they generally spend their time in meditation. Even though they had psychic power, they didn't go around trying to be inquisitive and find out what this guy is thinking, what that fellow is thinking, what this fellow is planning and all that. Because if they did that, then they would be very busy and they would be still having attachment to what's going on in the world. It's because the Buddha and his disciples, they are enlightened and they see this world as appearing only in consciousness, a bit like a dream. That is why they are not so concerned with what's going on in the world. And the other thing that's interesting here is that, you see, this Devadatta is one of the disciples, one of the well-known disciples of the Buddha, and also a relation of the Buddha. And he had, according to the Vinaya, he had obtained all the eight psychic powers, sorry, all the eight jhanas, the four rupa jhanas and the four arupa jhanas. And because of that, he had psychic power, and he had great psychic power. But because he still had this greed, very strong greed, his ego was still very strong, he wanted to take the place of the Buddha. So because of that, he was planning how to take the Buddha's place. In fact, in our Vinaya books, we find that one day he approached the Buddha and told the Buddha, Bhagavan, now you are old, why don't you step down? Let me take over and lead the Sangha. And he said that three times in our Vinaya books, and then the Buddha scolded him, sort of scolded him in front of the Sangha, saying that he's like a spit, something that you spit away, and yet you think you want to lead the Sangha. From there, the hatred for the Buddha increased, and then he planned to kill the Buddha. So here the Deva is telling Mahamoggalana that because of this greedy thought to lead the Sangha, his psychic power immediately declined. And the Buddha was saying, watch your words, Moggallana, watch your words, for even now the foolish fellow will betray himself. That means the Buddha is saying, mark your words, what you are saying, because Devadatta will show his true colors very soon. And the Buddha talked about the five types of impure teachers and this is quite interesting that there are teachers who are impure and they try to hide the fact and the disciples also try to protect the teacher because This is concerned with the personality cult. Some people, they hero-worship a teacher, and because of that, they think their teacher is famous. And so because if they are a disciple of a famous teacher, they are also like that, great. If their teacher is great, they are also great. So because of that, they want to protect the image of their teacher. And in that way, they are indirectly protecting their own reputation. And it's clear in the Buddha's teachings that we don't take refuge with anybody. We only take refuge with the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. We always remember we take refuge with the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and whatever A teacher tells us we have to compare it with the Buddha's discourses, whether it's consistent with the Buddha's discourses. If it's consistent, we accept it. If it's not consistent, the Buddha says in the Anguttara Nikaya that we don't accept it. Because nowadays there's a lot of personality cults around, we have to be cautious. Next sutra is 5.11.102. The Buddha said, monks, a monk who follows after five things is mistrusted and suspected. He is thought of as an evil monk, even if he has one to the immovable. What five? Here in monks, a monk frequents a prostitute's house. he frequents a widow's house, he frequents the house of some unmarried woman, or where a eunuch stays, or he frequents the nun's quarters. Verily, monks, a monk who follows after these five things is mistrusted and suspected. He is thought of as an evil monk, even if he has won to the immovable." That's the end of the sutra. This sutra is talking about the wrong resorts of a monk called the Agocara. Five types of places a monk should not go often. He can go once or twice if necessary, but he keeps going there, people will suspect him of being an evil monk. And even if he has one to the immovable, according to the commentary, this means that even if he is an arahant, if he keeps going to these few types of places, people will suspect him to have evil intentions. First one is a prostitute's house. That is quite obvious. The second one is a widow's house. The third one is some unmarried woman, that means one of middle age or so, unmarried. The third one is a eunuch or a homosexual. If somebody is known to be a homosexual and a monk keeps going there, people will naturally suspect something's wrong. Or he keeps going to the nun's quarters. That's also something wrong. So, that's the end of the sutra. The next one is 5.12.111. Monks, pursuing five causes, a clan-going monk becomes a monk-clan folk, neither dear nor loved nor revered, nor what he ought to become. What five? He is intimate with those who are unfamiliar, interfering without warrant, frequents the society of dissenters, whispers in the ear, and asks too much. Monks pursuing these five causes, a clan going, is not dear, nor loved, nor revered to clan folk. That's the end of the sutta. That means a monk should be careful not to do these few things. The first one is to be too intimate, too friendly with those who are unfamiliar, probably newcomers. Too familiar, too close, too friendly with newcomers, those who are unfamiliar, people who suspect something wrong. Second one, interfering without warrant, that means interfering probably in lay people's affairs without good reason. If you are not asked among interfering in lay people's affairs, even if it's not asked. The third one, frequents the society of dissenters, that means those of wrong views, those of other views. A monk keeps going to them also. People think there's something wrong. The fourth one, whispers in the ear. That means, especially if a monk talks to a woman, and he talks in whispers, very softly and all that, people will think he's saying some things that he should not be saying. and that he doesn't want other people to hear and people will suspect he is saying words that are indecent or improper. And the fifth one, he asks too much. That means he asks the lay people to give him things much more than is reasonable. And the next sutra is 5.12.112. Monks, acting in five ways, a recluse or a monk ought not to be taken to walk behind. What five? He keeps too far behind or too near. He takes not the arms laden bowl, restrains not his speech which borders on being an offense, interrupts one time and again in speaking, and is dull-witted, stupid, and idiot. Monks, acting in these five ways, a recluse ought not to be taken to walk behind." That's the end of the sutta. This sutta is more of like a vinaya, concerns disciplinary rule of monks, because a recluse ought not to be taken to walk behind, that means he should not be taken as a disciple. When a monk follows a senior monk, he becomes a sort of a disciple. So here, a lot of this refers to body language. The first one, he keeps too far behind or too near. That means when they go on alms round, the junior monk, he either walks too far behind or he walks too near and steps on your heels or something. So from this, you can see that junior monk is not respectful If he walks too far or too near, instead of keeping a proper distance, because this is one of the ways a senior monk can tell whether the junior monk is respectful to him or not. The second one, He takes not the arms laden bowl. This is nowadays, it's not much seen except like in the forest tradition in Thailand, where the monks go on arms round and then out of respect for the senior monk, usually a junior monk will volunteer to take the senior monk's bowl. That means when he comes back on alms round, he's already got his bowl full, and then he takes the senior monk's bowl again, puts it on his neck, the strap on his neck, so he carries two bowls. And this is... If you go to Thailand, you can see these junior monks taking the senior monks' bowl, and on top of that, they hurry back to the monastery. They arrive in the monastery before the senior monks and get the water ready for washing the feet, so that when the senior monks come back, they wash their feet, wash the feet of the senior monks. It's all part of the training. Because especially when a person is new in monkhood, we have a lot of our own bad habits. We have old fixed ways of thinking and when we train as a monk, we are trying to cut our ego. So it's all very good training for a junior monk to watch the feet of a senior monk. You see when he comes back, it's muddy and all that. And then after that, when the monk steps into the hall, the junior monks will take the towel and all that and wipe his feet clean. If you're not used to it, you think it's a bit humiliating to do all these things, but it's all very good training. And then the third one, he restrains not his speech, which borders on being an offense. That means this guy, he doesn't watch his speech. He talks things which almost breaks the precepts. And the fourth one, he interrupts the senior monk again and again. When the senior monk is speaking, he says something to interrupt the senior monk. This is not being respectful. And the last one, this junior monk is a fool. So if this junior monk is such, then the senior monk can ask him to leave. He's not showing enough respect. If you go to a good monastery, like the Thai Forest Monastery, you find there's a lot of discipline. And a lot of ways of behavior which a lay person generally is not used to. It takes some getting used to, but it's all very good training. That's why if you see senior forest monks, when they go anywhere, there is a junior monk who accompanies them, who serves them, does everything for them. When they are about to sit down, he puts the sitting cloth. for the senior monk to sit. When the senior monk wants to go on alms round, he brings the robe for the senior monk to wear, and then brings the bowl, etc. Next Uttara is 5.12.113. Monks, possessed of five qualities, a monk cannot enter and abide in right concentration. What five? Hearing monks, a monk cannot endure sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches. Monks, possessed of these five qualities, a monk cannot enter and abide in right concentration. This is the end of the sutra. Here the sutra is saying that if a monk cannot endure sight, sound, smell, taste and touches, then he cannot compose his mind. Why? Because these sight, sound, etc. can distract him. either distract him, he is so distracted he cannot compose his mind, or they discomfort him so much that he can't bear the discomfort, and he is so agitated by it that he cannot compose his mind. The first jhana, for a person to enter the first jhana, in the definition of the first jhana, the Buddha said secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome conditions, a monk enters and abides in the first jhana. So a person has to be able to become aloof from the world of the five senses, sight, sound, smell, taste and touch before he can enter the jhana.

48-AN-Book-5I-(5.12.114-to-5.15.143).txt

The next sutra is 5.12.114. On one occasion, when the Exalted One was dwelling among the Magadhis at Anda, Kavinda, the Venerable Ananda came to Him, saluted and sat down at one side. And the Exalted One spoke thus to the Venerable Ananda, so seated. Ananda, the monks that are novices, lately gone forth, Come newly to this Dhamma Vinaya. Those monks and Anda, verily, must be made to take heed of and enter into and stand fast in five things. What five? Say thus, come you sirs, be virtuous, live restrained in the restraint of the patimokkha, perfect in conduct and resort, seeing danger in the smallest fault, and endeavour to train in the steps of the training. Thus must they be made to take heed of and enter into and stand fast in the restraint of the patimokkha. And see thus, come you sirs, live with the sense doors guarded, guarding mindfulness, skilful in mindfulness, with the ways of the mind well watched, possessed of a mind that is guarded and aware. Thus must they be made to take heed of, and enter into, and stand fast in the restraint of the senses. And say thus again to them, Come you, sirs, be little in talk, make a limit to talk. Thus must they be made to take heed of, enter into, and stand fast in the limiting of talk. And say thus to them, Come you, sirs, be forest dwellers, seek you the ways of the forest wilderness, the outland bed and seat. Thus must they be made to take heed of, enter into, and stand fast in seclusion as to the body. And say thus to them, Come, you sirs, be right in view, seeing right. Thus must they be made to take heed of, enter into, and stand fast in having right view. Ananda, the novices lately gone forth, come newly to this Dhamma Vinaya, must be made to take heed of, enter into, and stand fast in these five things." That's the end of the sutra. It's quite an important sutra for monks. Buddha is saying that new monks must be advised to practice these five things. The first one is to live restrained according to the patimokkha. Patimokkha is the set of precepts for monks. who have obtained the higher ordination. The Patimokkha consists of 227 precepts for monks. So the first one is they have to train in these precepts of the Patimokkha. The second one, the Buddha says that they should restrain the sense doors, guard the sense doors. and always be mindful and aware. The third one is they should limit their talk. Talk only beneficial talk, not to talk unbeneficial talk. The fourth one is the Buddha advised them to be forest dwellers. This word forest is a translation I think of the Pali word Aranya. Aranya is a secluded place. It can be a forest, it can be a cave, it can be up in a hill, etc. Generally, the Buddha advised that new monks should train under a senior monk for five years, but the Buddha made an exception if a monk is fairly knowledgeable in the Dharma. And Vinaya, even though he has not completed five years, he can go and live alone if he wants to meditate. Because people are different. There are some monks who are quite capable, even though they are new monks. Then the Buddha said they can go and live alone in forest areas. That is practicing seclusion as to the body, that means kaya viveka. Kaya is body, viveka is seclusion. Then the fifth one is to have right view. And the way to have right view is to study the discourses of the Buddha, the early discourses of the Buddha to obtain right view. These are the advice that new monks should be given. The next result is 5.13.121 On one occasion, when he was staying near Vesali at the Gabled Hall in Mahavana, the Exalted One, rising from seclusion in the evening, visited the Hall of the Sick, and the Exalted One saw a monk, weak and ailing, and at the sight He sat down on a seat made ready. And when He was seated, the Exalted One addressed the monk, saying, Monks, if five things forsake not anyone, weak and ailing, For him this may be expected. Before long, by destroying the asavas, he will enter and abide in the emancipation by mind, the emancipation by wisdom, which is free of the asavas, realizing this by his own knowledge even here and now. What five? Here in monks, a monk abides seeing the unattractiveness of the body. is conscious of the satiation or ploying of food, conscious of distaste as to the world, perceives impermanence in the conditioned, and his inner self is well set on the thought of death. Monks, if these five things forsake not anyone weak and ailing, for him this may be expected. Before long he will enter and abide in emancipation. So this sutta is talking about the five contemplations that is very helpful for a person to obtain liberation. Even when a person is very sick and weak and ailing, if he practices these five contemplations intensely, then he can obtain liberation. The first one is contemplating the unattractiveness of the body. Sometimes it's translated as the loathsomeness of the body. The second one is the conscious of the satiation of food, the safit of food, being tired of food and like a feeling of too much food. Second one, conscious of the distaste as to the world, to be able to see that the world is not so attractive as it seems. Then impermanence, seeing impermanence in the conditioned. All conditioned things, I mean all things in the world are impermanent, they keep on changing. And last one, the inner self is well set on the thought of death. That means you can see that you contemplate death, always contemplating death. So these are the few contemplations which are very important. The unattractiveness of the body, the satiation of food, cloying of food, distaste of the world, impermanence of conditioned things, that means all things in the world. and constant contemplation of death. The next sutra is 5.13.123. Monks, possessing five qualities, a sick man is an ill help to himself. What five? He treats not himself with what is beneficial. The first one, he treats not himself with what is beneficial. The second, he knows no measure in his treatment. Third one, he applies not the medicines. Fourth one, he sets not out the extent of his illness to one who tends him in goodness of heart, saying, in going it goes thus, when it returns it comes so. While it is with me, it is just thus. Nor is he the kind of man who endures the onset of bodily aches and pains, wrecking, shooting, stabbing, bitter, galling, life-taking. monks possessing these five qualities, a sick man is an ill help to himself. That's the end of the sutra. Here this sutra is saying such a person is not helpful to himself when he is sick. The first one, he does not know what is beneficial, what is not beneficial. The second one, he does not know measure. That means even what is beneficial, if he takes too much of it, That means he doesn't know the measure that he should take. Even medicine, if you take too much of it, it can be harmful. The third one, he does not apply the medicines when he needs, when he should use the medicines. He does not use them. The fourth one, he does not tell the person who is tending him about his sickness in detail, clearly. And the fifth one, he cannot endure bodily pains. And this type of person does not help himself much when he's sick. The next sutra, 5.13.124. Monks possessing five qualities, one who waits on the sick is not fit to help the sick. What five? He cannot prepare medicines. 2. He does not know what is beneficial from what is unbeneficial. Offers what is not beneficial, does not offer what is beneficial. 3. In hope of gain, he waits on the sick, not out of goodwill. 4. He loathes to remove excrement, or urine, or vomit, or spittle. Fifth, nor can he from time to time instruct, rouse, gladden and satisfy the sick with dharma talk. Monks possessing these five qualities, one who waits on the sick is not fit to help the sick. That's the end of the sutra. Here is talking about the person who is not suitable to tend to a sick person. The first one, he does not know how to prepare medicines. The second one, he does not know what is beneficial for the sick person or what is not beneficial for the sick person. The third one, he has ulterior motive when he tends to the sick person. He's not doing it out of goodwill, but he's trying to get something out of it. The fourth one, he does not like to remove excrement or urine or vomit in hospital. He can't stand these things. And then the last one, he does not know how to give beneficial talk. He does not know how to talk, encouraging talk, beneficial talk to the sick person. These are the five qualities which makes a person not qualified to look after a sick person. The next sutra is 5.13.127. Monks pursuing five courses, a monk is not fit to draw apart from the Sangha or order. What five? Here in monks, a monk is not content with any robe, with any arms, with any lodging, with any medicines, and he dwells full of lustful purpose. Monks pursuing these five courses, a monk is not fit to draw apart from the Sangha. That's the end of the sutra. This refers to living alone. There are certain monks who are capable of living alone, certain monks who are not capable of living alone. And here is the monk who is not capable of living alone, if he is not easily satisfied with any type of robe, or food, or lodging, or medicines. And also he has a lot of lust. If he has a lot of lustful thoughts, then wherever he goes, even though he is physically alone, but he is not alone because Classful thoughts are his company, keeping him company. So such a monk is not fit to dwell alone. The next sutra is 5.13.129. Monks, five are the lost in hell who lie festering, incurable. What five? By him has his mother been deprived of life, his father, and Arahant. By him with evil thought has the Tathagata's blood been drawn. By him has the Sangha been embroiled, or split. Verily monks, these are the five lost in hell who lie festering incurable." That's the end of the sutra. This sutra refers to the five most heavy karma that a person can do which will bring him to hell for a long, long time. The first one, he kills his mother. Second one, he kills his father. Third one, he kills an arahant. Fourth one, intentionally he causes the Buddha to bleed. That means he harms the Buddha. The fifth one, he causes harmonious sangha of monks to be divided. He becomes a batu api, he causes the monks to split and that is a very heavy karma. The next sutra is 5.13.130. Monks, there are these five losses. What five? Loss of kin, loss of wealth, loss by disease, loss of virtue, and loss of view or right view. Monks, not caused by loss of kin, wealth or by disease, do beings on the breaking up of the body after death, arise in the wayward way, the ill way, the abyss, hell. Monks, caused by loss of virtue or by loss of view, do beings on the breaking up of the body after death, arise in the wayward way, the ill way, the abyss, hell. Verily, monks, these are the five. Monks, there are these five prophets. What five? Prophet of kin, prophet of wealth, prophet of health, prophet of virtue, and prophet of view. Monks, not caused by prophet of kin, wealth, or health, do beings on the breaking up of the body after death arise in the happy way, the heaven world. Monks, caused by prophet of virtue or by prophet of view, do beings after death arise in the happy way, the heaven world. Verily, monks, these are the five. This sutra says that a person goes to hell because of loss of virtue and loss of right view. That means he has wrong view and he does not keep the precepts. And a person goes to heaven because of virtue and because of right view. The other things, loss of relatives or loss of wealth, loss of health, that is not so important as virtue and right view. That is why studying the Dharma is so important because it gives us right view and from right view we will naturally keep the precepts and attain virtue of moral conduct. So always remember right view is very very important. Sutra number 5.14.133 The Buddha said, monks, the Raja who rolls the wheel a Dhamma man, a Dhamma Raja, rolls on indeed no unroyal wheel. And when he had thus spoken, a certain monk said to the exalted one, But who, Lord, is the Raja of the Raja, the roller of the wheel, the Dhamma man, the Dhamma Raja? It is Dhamma, monk, said the exalted one. Hearing monk, the Raja, the wheel roller, the Dhamma man, the Dhamma Raja, relies just on Dhamma, honors Dhamma, reveres Dhamma, esteems Dhamma. With Dhamma as his standard, with Dhamma as his banner, with Dhamma as his mandate, he sets a Dhamma watch and bar and ward for folk within his realm. He sets a dharma watch and bar and ward for warrior and camp follower, for brahmin and for householder, for town and country folk, for recluse and for brahmin, for beast and bird alike. Thus indeed, monk, that vraja setting a dharma watch and bar and ward for folk and creatures within his realm rolls on the wheel by Dhamma, and that wheel may not be rolled back by the hand of any hostile creature. Even so, monk, the Tathagata Arahant Samasambuddha, a dharma man, a dharma raja, relies just on dharma, honors dharma, reveres dharma, esteems dharma. With dharma as his standard, with dharma as his banner, with dharma as his mandate, he sets a dharma watch and bar and ward for monks saying, follow you such a practice indeed. not that other. Follow you such a practice in word, not that other. Follow you such a practice in thought, not that other. Follow you such a livelihood, not that other. See you such a town or village, not that other. So too for nuns and lay disciples, both men and women. Thus indeed, monk, that Tathagata, setting a Dhamma watch and bar and ward for monk and nun, for lay disciple, both men and women, rolls on by Dhamma, the unsurpassed wheel of Dhamma. And that wheel may not be rolled back by recluse Brahmin, Deva, Mara, Brahma, or by any in the world. That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is saying that the Buddha, the Dhamma king, reveres Dhamma, has Dhamma as his Raja. So even the Buddha has a Raja, has a king, which is the Dhamma. He honors Dhamma, he reveres Dhamma, he acts according to Dhamma. Remember the other day we read one sutra, how the Buddha said, because of respect for Dhamma, whenever he teaches Dhamma, he takes a lot of care in teaching the Dhamma. So too for us, we must always honor Dhamma and live our lives according to the Dhamma. The next sutra 5.14.137. Monks, these five, sleep little by night, they are much awake. What five? A woman longing for a man, sleeps little by night, is much awake. So too a man longing for a woman, sleeps little by night, is much awake. A thief longing for booty, for what he wants to steal, sleeps little by night, is much awake. A Raja bent on royal business, sleeps little by night, is much awake. A monk longing for bondage liberation sleeps little by night, is much awake. Verily monks, these five sleep little by night, they are much awake. That's the end of the sutra. So you see there are different people have different reasons for sleeping. little at night, some because of desires, a thief, waiting to steal somebody's things, the Raja, the king, busy with all his office duties, and the monk longing for liberation, he's tired of all this dukkha, so he strives very hard so that he doesn't sleep much at night. But then even though he doesn't sleep much, he does need sleep. The more developed his mind is by samadhi, the less he sleeps. Next Sutta is 5.15.141. Monks, these five persons are found living in the world. What five? One who gives and despises a man. One who despises a man by living with him, or lives with another and despises him. One who has a mouth to take in anything. One who wavers. And one who is foolish and mind-tossed. And how, monks, does a person give and despise a man? Herein, monks, a person to a person gives requisites, the robe, arms, lodging, and medicines, and things I give this fellow receives. He gives and despises him. Thus, monks, a person gives and despises a man. And how, monks, does a person despise a man by living with him? Herein, monks, a person lives with a person for two or three years. By living with him, he despises him. Thus, monks, a person despises a man by living with him. And how, monks, has a person a mouth to take in anything? Hearing monks, a person, while another is being spoken of in praise or blame, just promptly revels in it. Thus, monks, a person has a mouth to take in anything. And how, monks, does a person waver? Here in monks a person is uncertain in faith, uncertain in devotion, uncertain in affection, uncertain in goodness. Thus monks a person wavers. And how monks is a person foolish and mind-tossed. Herein, monks, a person does not know good conditions from bad, does not know blameworthy conditions from blameless, does not know low conditions from lofty, does not know whether conditions are evenly mixed with bright and dark qualities. Thus, monks, a person is foolish and mind-tossed. Verily, monks, these five persons are found living in the world. That's the end of the sutra. Here, the first one, the Buddha is talking about the kind of person who gives to another and because of that, despises the other fellow. Like some people, they don't have much respect for monks. Sometimes they give, like he throws something, like giving to a beggar. And some people, they think monks receive all the time and because of that, they don't like monks. Some people, they give and then they lose respect. The second one, by living with another person, a person looks at all his faults and learns to despise him. He forgets that he himself has faults. We all have faults. It's very easy to look at another person's fault. And the third one, he has a mouth to take in anything. While another person is being spoken of in praise or blame, he just promptly revels in it. I suppose this is the type of person who is a gullible person. Whatever he hears, he accepts without investigating. And then the fourth person is a person who wavers. Whatever he does, he has a lot of doubts. And having doubts is one of the five hindrances that prevent us from seeing things as they really are. The mind is unsteady. And the only way we can overcome this doubt is to have strong samadhi when the mind is very strong, then whatever problem comes up, we can examine it very clearly, then we won't have doubt. And the last person is a person who is foolish and mind-tossed. He cannot differentiate between good and bad conditions, from blameworthy and blameless conditions. That's a foolish person. These are the different kinds of person found in the world. The next Uttara is 5.15.143. Once while he dwelt near Vaisali at the Gabled Hall in Mahavana, he exalted one early one morning after dressing, took bowl and rope and entered Vaisali for alms. Now at that time about 500 Licchavis were meeting and seated at Sarandada shrine and this talk occurred. Rarely are the five treasures revealed in the world. What five? Rarely is the elephant treasure revealed in the world. Rarely the horse treasure, the jewel treasure, the woman treasure, and rarely the householder treasure. Rarely are these five treasures revealed in the world. I'll just stop here for a moment. These people are talking about the five rare things that appear in the world when a wheel-turning king, a universal monarch, appears in the world. This universal monarch is a king who has so much blessings and merit that he is able to rule the whole world. And when he appears, these treasures also appear and he owns them. Now to continue the sutta. Now these Licchavis had put a man in the road, saying, When, my man, you see the Exalted One coming along, come and tell us. And the man saw the Exalted One, a good way of coming along, and he went and told the Licchavis, saying, Sirs, here comes this same Exalted One, Arhatsamasambuddha, and now's the time to do what you meant. And the Licchavis approached the Exalted One, saluted Him and stood at one side. And so standing, they said, Lord, it were good if the Exalted One were to visit Sarandada Shrine out of compassion. The Exalted One accepted in silence. And when he had come to the shrine, he sat down on the seat they had made ready. And so seated, he said this to the Licchavis, What did you talk of, O Licchavis, as you sat here together just now? What talk between you was interrupted? Lord, as we sat together, the talk turned on how rarely the five treasures are revealed in the world. What five? Rarely is the elephant treasure revealed in the world. Rarely the horse treasure, the jewel treasure, the woman treasure, the householder treasure. Rarely are these five treasures revealed in the world." And the Buddha said, "...truly with you, Licchavis, sense and thrall, talk between you turns to just to things of the flesh. 5. O Licchavis, are the treasures rarely revealed in the world? What 5? The Tathagata, Arahant, Samasambuddha is rarely revealed in the world. Rare in the world is a person able to teach Dhamma Vinaya declared by the Tathagata. Rare is a person able to appreciate the teaching. Rare in the world is a person who conducts himself in dhamma by dhamma, recognizing the teaching Dhammāvinaya declared by the Tathāgata. Rare in the world is a person who is grateful and thankful. Verily, O Īśāvīs, these are the five treasures rarely revealed in the world. That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha declares a different set of five persons rarely found in the world. The first one is a Buddha. I think you remember I mentioned that the Buddha said that he looked into the past ninety-one world cycles, eight kappas, and he saw in the past ninety-one world cycles only six Buddhas appeared, which means it takes more, on the average, more than ten kappas, ten world cycles for a Buddha to appear. That's why the Buddha is very rare. Some Buddha, one who teaches the Dhamma, The second one is a person able to teach Dhamma Vinaya according to the way like the Buddha teaches, according to the meaning taught by the Buddha, the pure Dhamma and the pure Vinaya. That means the original suttas of the Buddha and the Vinaya disciplinary code. And the third one is a person who is able to appreciate the teaching. One who appreciates the Dhamma taught by the Buddha. See, like tonight we have this talk and not many people here. Only about 20 people. KL has so many people, so many Buddhists, but not many people really appreciate the Dhamma. Some people find the Dhamma very dry. But when you understand the Dhamma, then you know how good is the Dhamma. And the fourth one, rare in the world is a person who conducts himself in Dhamma by Dhamma. That means who lives his life according to Dhamma. That can only be a person who understands the Dhamma, and that is quite rare. And the last one is a person who is grateful and thankful. Every so often we come across ungrateful people, people whom we have done a service to and they don't appreciate and don't show gratitude. But that's the way the world is, so we have to accept that.

49-AN-Book-5J-(5.15.144-to-5.16.155).txt

The next sutra 5.15.144 Once while dwelling near Saketa at Three-Torn Grove, the Exalted One addressed the monks, saying, ''Monks, Lord,'' they replied, and the Exalted One said, ''Monks, good is it for a monk from time to time to abide conscious of what is not distasteful in the distasteful. conscious of the distasteful in both what is not and what is distasteful. conscious of what is not distasteful in both what is and what is not distasteful. Monks, good is it for a monk from time to time, rid of all that, both the distasteful and what is not, to abide in equanimity, mindful and self-possessed. Monks, pressing toward what good mark or what good aim, should a monk abide conscious of the distasteful in what is not distasteful, He thinks to himself, may the passion of impassioning states surge not within me. It is verily pressing towards this good mark that a monk abides conscious of the distasteful in what is not distasteful. And pressing toward what good mark should a monk abide conscious of what is not distasteful in the distasteful. May the defilement of defiling states surge not within me. It is verily pressing towards this good mark that a monk abides thus, and pressing towards what good mark should a monk abide, conscious of the distasteful in both what is not and what is distasteful. May the passion of impassioning states and the defilement of defiling states surge not within me, it is verily thus. And pressing toward what good mark should a monk abide, conscious of what is not distasteful in both what is and what is not distasteful. May the defilement of defiling states and the passion of impassioning states surge not within me. It is verily pressing toward this good monk that a monk abides conscious of what is not distasteful in both what is and what is not distasteful. Monks, pressing toward what good monk should a monk abide in equanimity, mindful and self-possessed, rid of both the distasteful and what is not distasteful. May never, anywhere, in any place, in any way, within me surge the passion of impassioning states. May never, anywhere, in any place, in any way, surge within me the defilement of defiling states. May never, anywhere, in any place, in any way, within me, surge the confusion of confounding states. It is verily pressing toward this good mark that a monk abides in equanimity, mindful and self-possessed, rid of both the distasteful and what is not distasteful." That's the end of the Sutta. This is one of the sutras where it's a bit hard to understand, especially you hear it the first time, get a bit confused what is distasteful, what is not distasteful. So first I have to explain that what is not distasteful is what is attractive. So what is attractive gives rise to impassioning states, that means to passion. Because what is attractive, like seeing somebody of the opposite sex, gives rise to passion, that is impassioning states. And then the opposite is what is distasteful. What is distasteful is what is loathsome. And what is loathsome gives rise to defiling states of aversion. You feel aversion, you feel repulsion at something loathsome. So here the Buddha is saying that once in a while a monk should abide conscious of the distasteful, that is the loathsome, in what is attractive. When you see something attractive, you learn to see the loathsomeness in that, for example in a body. Why? So that passion may not overcome you. And the second one May the defilement of defiling states, sorry, the second one is conscious of what is not distasteful in the distasteful, that means in the loathsome. For example, you see a dead body. For example, sometimes you go to a funeral, somebody's funeral, you see the body lying there. It's distasteful, that means it's loathsome. So you have to train yourself to sometimes to be conscious of what is not loathsome, in the loathsome. Otherwise you feel aversion, you feel repulsion. Some people they cannot stand looking at a corpse, they cannot look at a corpse. The third one, abide conscious of the distasteful in both what is not and what is distasteful. That means in the attractive and in the loathsome, you try to see the loathsomeness of both. And then the fourth one, Conscious of what is not distasteful in both what is and what is not distasteful. That means in both the attractive and the loathsome sides. You try to see the attractiveness of it. Or at least not the loathsomeness of it. And then the last one, you learn to abide in equanimity, mindful and self-possessed. So that in future, if you can abide equanimous, then all these different states of attractiveness and loathsomeness, states of attraction and repulsion, will not sway your heart. So to learn that, to practice that, we have to attain a very equanimous state, a very mindful state. And that is to be found in Samadhi. When our mind is in Samadhi, it is very equanimous. strong, and when it is strong, it is not easily shaken. If you continually train your mind to abide in that state, it learns to be very steady like a rock, so that it is not easily shaken. So these are the different trainings that we practice. In fact, in all these trainings, samadhi is very, very important. Because without samadhi, sometimes we know that we should not be moved by certain states, and yet we are moved. For example, a man may have a wife and children, and he knows he has responsibility towards the wife and children, and yet sometimes he sees the secretary young and attractive, and he knows it's wrong to have a start affair with her, and yet he's so moved by the sights. the sight of this beautiful girl, moved by the sound of this beautiful girl, etc. Then he does something that he should not do because his mind is not strong enough. Becomes a slave of the senses. That's why in all this, Samadhi is very important. Now the next sutra is 5.15.145. Pursuing five things, monks, one is surely cast into hell as the reward. What five? One destroys life, takes what is not given, lusts after evil passions, lies, and lives in the idleness of liquor and strong drink indulgence. Verily, monks, pursuing these five things, one is surely cast into hell as the reward. These are the five precepts. And if we break the five precepts continually and in a serious degree, then we will definitely go to hell. The first one, if we always take life, like some people always go hunting. and fishing and takes what is not given. That means you steal or you cheat somebody and cause the family to suffer and that can bring us to hell also. The third one is to commit adultery. The fourth one is to lie to a great degree, not just a small lie, not a white lie, but a big lie. And the fifth one, which is quite interesting, if a person spends his life in drinking liquor and wasting his time and not doing what he should do, carrying out his duties towards his family, etc., then he can even go to hell for that. Then the next sutra is 5.15.146. Monks. Seek you not a monk for a friend whose ways are five. What five? He works at work or in activities. Busies himself in affairs. Is at enmity with eminent monks. Spends his life taking the long way, the way without an object. and cannot from time to time incite, arouse, gladden and satisfy one with dharma talk. Verily monks, seek you not a monk for a friend whose ways are these." That's the end of the sutra. So these are the few things that is not good for a monk. One is he's too busy with work and different types of activities. The second one, he is very busy with affairs, different types of affairs. That means in work, in duties, etc. Third one, he's at enmity with eminent monks, always quarrels with well-known monks. And then the fourth one, he spends his life taking the long way, the way without an object. That means he wears the robe, but he does not have an object. Some people, they wear the robe to try to get out of samsara. That's the best motive in wearing the robe. Try to strive, to practice, to end suffering. Another duty, which is not too bad also, is like a person spends his life as a monk teaching the Dhamma. Dhammadutta monk. There are some who like to write books, spend their life as a monk writing books, etc. So at least they have an object. Of course the best object and the most noble object is to end suffering. But there are other objects. But there are some monks who have no object. Then the last one, this monk cannot arouse gladden and satisfy one with Dharma talk. So this type of monk, the Buddha says, a monk should not get for a friend. The next sutra is 5.15.147. Monks, these five are not a good man's gifts, but five he gives without deference, gives without thinking, gives not with his own hand, gives what is rejected or thrown away. He gives holding views as to the future. Verily, monks, these are the five. This describes how in giving, these are the wrong ways to give. The first one is to give without deference, that means without respect. They give, like to a beggar, they give 10 cents or 20 cents, they throw it at the beggar. That's not good. Because if you give without respect, then there is... there is... there is... vipaka, fruit of it, result of that. But that's in the next sutra, so I won't explain here. The second one is give without thinking, that means mindlessly, without paying attention. Mind is somewhere else when you give. The third one does not give with his own hand. That means it is best if you give yourself, but it's not always practical. Sometimes you're not able to go and give yourself, then you ask somebody to give it on your behalf. It's also quite all right. Because if you can't go yourself to give. Then the fourth one, he gives what is rejected or thrown away. That's not good. At least if what is extra is still in good condition, that's alright. Some people, like I've gone on alms round once when I was living in Ipoh in a cave. I went to this new village for alms round, and those people had never seen a monk go on alms round. So some of them started to give. One day I got a piece of bread with mold on it, a little fungus on it. So it's not good to give what you want to throw away. And then the last one, to give holding views as to the future. That means some people give it expectations. They think, some people, they think when I give, I should make a wish, but it's not very good because it's a selfish thought. You're giving like trading, you're giving in hopes of getting something in return, and that's not so good. Because there is a little bit of selfishness in it, so the blessing, the merit is not so great. The next sutra is 5.15.148. Monks, these five are a good man's gifts. What five? He gives a gift in faith, with deference, in time, with unconstrained heart. He gives a gift without hurt to self or others. And in giving a gift in faith, wheresoever the full result of that gift ripens, there comes wealth, riches, and great property, and he is fair to look upon, handsome, with the wondrous beauty of the lotus. And in giving a gift with deference, wheresoever the full result of that gift ripens, his children and wife, his slaves, messengers, and workfolk hearken diligently unto him, lend ear, and serve him with understanding heart. And in giving a gift in time, wheresoever that ripens, there comes wealth, and the goods that come to him in time are abundant. And in giving a gift with unconstrained heart, wheresoever that ripens, there comes wealth, and he bends the mind to enjoy the fullness of the fivefold joy of the senses. And in giving a gift without hurt to self or others, wheresoever the full result of that gift ripens, there comes wealth, riches, and great property. And never from anywhere comes hurt to his property, either from fire or water, rajas or thieves, or impious heirs. Verily monks, these are the five gifts of a good man. That's the end of the sutra. This is quite a good sutra. It tells you the result of giving with different conditions. A person who gives With faith, having a lot of faith. Because in giving, the result of giving is always that wealth comes back to you, riches and great property. Of course, depending on how much you give, and also depends on how virtuous you are, and the person to whom you give. But when a person gives in faith, having a lot of faith, in addition to wealth, He is born very beautiful or very handsome. And the second one, when a person gives with respect, then the result of it, in addition to wealth, then the children and wife, slaves, messengers and workers, all listen to him and serve him with an understanding heart. That's the result of showing respect. So because you show respect when you give, then in addition to wealth, those people around you all show respect to you. The third one, a person gives in good time, in addition to wealth, The wealth comes to him also in a good time, whenever he needs it. And giving in good time means when a person really needs it at that time. And that is the time to give, like when somebody asks you for help and that person is really desperate and you pretend you have something else to do or you have nothing to give him. And another day, when that person is rich, then you go and maybe make him a gift. But that's not the time he wants. When he's already rich, you make a gift to him, he doesn't appreciate. It's only when he's very poor and he's in need, you help him. That's the type of person I usually When we think of our friends, when we think of those who have done us a service, we always remember the person who helped us when we were down and out, when we really needed help. That is the type of person who is a true friend. So when a person gives in good time like this, the wealth will come to him in good time also. Then another one, the fourth one, giving with unconstrained heart. That means there are some people who give with a constrained heart. In other words, for example, they want to give, then they think, I give $10, it's too much. I think I'll give $5. $5 is too much. I think I'll make a gift of $2 or $1. Or sometimes he makes a gift, after giving, then he goes home, then he regrets. So if you regret, then your blessing is reduced. So the result of it is next time when you in your next life or something, you're born and there's a lot of wealth, you come by a lot of wealth. You won't know how to enjoy it. The joy cannot arise because at that moment when you gave that gift, you had no joy in you. So next time, when the result ripens and great wealth comes to you, you have no joy in it. You don't know how to enjoy in it. There's a well-known story in the Dhammapada commentaries about a man who made a gift to a Pacheka Buddha. He was a very stingy person in that story and his wife liked to give to monks and renunciants who came by the house and beggars and all that. But he never approved of his wife giving to these people who came to beg for food. He thought he's wasting his wealth. He thought he should save all that food, all that expenditure, and instead give it to his workers because his workers will work for him in return. So one day he was in a very good mood, and he told his wife that the wife could give whatever food she would like to give that day. So happened a Pacheka Buddha came by, and the wife cooked some good food and gave it to that Pacheka Buddha. And when the Pacheka Buddha left the house and walked away, this stingy man happened to come back. And he saw this particular Buddha, this monk going away and having come from his house, he knew that this monk must have got some food from his wife. So he stopped the monk and he asked the monk to open his, or he opened the monk's bowl himself to see what was in the bowl. And when he saw the good food in the bowl, he closed the lid and then he went back and was not happy. He thought his wife wasted all his good food. So because of that, in the next seven times, because of having given to Apacheka Buddha, the next seven times he was born as the richest man in that town. In that town for seven lifetimes, he was the richest man. But every time he was born as a rich man, he was so stingy. He used all the old things. and he ate also stale food, never knew how to enjoy his wealth. He was as good as a poor man for seven lifetimes. At the end of seven lifetimes, having used up his good fortune and not having planted new blessings, after that lifetime he went to hell. because this good karma bank account was depleted. Every time we come and enjoy life, we are using up our good karma bank account, our blessings bank account. If we don't know how to replenish it, it all gets used up. So we must know and understand the law of karma. We know as we enjoy now, we keep saving, doing good deeds so that our blessings bank account, our merit bank account will increase and we can continue to enjoy life. And then the last one, giving a gift without hurt to self or others. This is very important. That means when you give a gift, you must not harm other beings, you must not harm yourself. Not harm other beings means you must not go, for example, go to the market and you select a chicken, a live chicken or a fish and ask them to slaughter. And then after that, you go and make an offering. That is causing harm to others. Causing harm to yourself means that you make that offering and it harms you in some way. And from this sutta, actually you find a contradiction with our Jataka tales. Because in our Jataka tales, there's a story about how the Bodhisatta or Bodhisattva in his previous life, threw himself to feed down the hill, committed suicide to feed a tiger, a hungry tiger and the cubs. And this contradicts the Sutta. That's why that Jataka tale is not quite acceptable because it's not in the original discourses of the Buddha. It's something that was compiled later as a kind of folk tale. And also the other Jataka story about how the Buddha gave away his wife and children to a beggar. That is also not acceptable because when you give away, at least if he had given away his wife and his children to a millionaire, a wealthy man, so that they have a good life, that is understandable. To give the wife and children away to a beggar who beat the children, and probably beat the wife, and that is not logical. So, there are a lot of these kinds of contradictions. When we study the sutra, we have to think, reflect on it, then you will see some of these points. The next sutra is 5.15.149. The Buddha said, monks, these five things lead to the falling away of a monk who is partially released. What five? Delight in work, in gossip, in sleep, in company, and he does not look at the mind as released. Early monks, these are the five things that lead to the falling away of a monk who is partially released. That's the end of the sutra. What is a monk who is partially released? This would probably refer to an ariya. An ariya is partially released from bondage, from samsara. So these are the things that obstruct a monk from progressing further, too much work, activity, too much activity or work. And then gossip, talking with other monks. Too much sleep. And the fourth one is he likes to mix with others in company. He's not aloof. There's a type of monk who is aloof. There's a type of monk who likes company. And then the last one, he does not look at the mind as released. This is, as I mentioned before, this is quite an interesting one. That means basically our mind is not in bondage. It's only the thinking that makes us in bondage. If all our thinking were to stop, there is no suffering as we see it. These are the things that obstruct the monk and this is already mentioned in one of the sutras earlier. 5.16.155. Monks, these five things lead to the confounding, the disappearance of true Dhamma, Sat Dhamma. What five? Here in monks, the monks master not Dhamma. This monks is the first thing that leads to the confounding, the disappearance of Sat Dhamma. Secondly, they teach not others Dhamma in detail, as heard, as learned. This monks is the second thing. Thirdly, they make not others speak it in detail, as heard, as learned. This, monks, is the third thing. They make no repetition of it in detail, as heard, as learned. This, monks, is the fourth thing. Again, monks, the monks do not in their hearts turn over and ponder upon Dhamma. They review it not in their minds. This, monks, is the fifth thing that leads to the confounding, the disappearance of Sat-Dhamma. Monks, these are the five things that lead to the confounding, the disappearance of Sat-Dhamma. So these are the conditions that cause the disappearance of the true Dharma. Earlier, I think you remember, I mentioned another sutra also in the chapter of the fourth, the conditions that cause the disappearance of the true Dharma. One is that the monks are stubborn, they don't don't want to train in the training and other conditions. That sutra was Sanghutranikaya 4.160. This is another sutra. There's another one also in the Sanghutanikaya 16.13. So this one, this Sutta, the first condition is that the monks do not master Dhamma. They don't take the trouble to study the Suttas because in the Anguttanikāya 4.180, the Buddha said Dhamma refers to the Suttas, the original discourses of the Buddha and the four Nikāyas. So if a monk does not master the suttas, he will find it hard to differentiate between the true Dhamma and the false Dhamma. Because there is such a thing as false Dhamma mentioned in the Samyutta Nikaya 16.13. So the first thing is important for a monk to master the suttas. The second one, they do not teach others the suttas, the Dhamma in detail. That's the second one. They do not teach the suttas. The third one, they do not make others speak it in detail. That means they're disciples. Because in the days of the Buddha, they didn't have books. So to prolong the life of the Dhamma, they had to recite it and carry it on from generation to generation so that they had to train the younger monks to speak it, to recite it, to memorize it. So this is the third condition. If they do not make others speak it in detail, that means Memorize it. The fourth one, they make no repetition of it in detail as heard, as learned. This one is the monks themselves, the senior monks, they do not repeat it. It is by repeating it that they memorize it and also they understand it better. If you remember this one of the ways that a person attains Ariya-hood, then the The fifth one, they do not reflect and ponder over the Dhamma that they have learned. This is the fifth thing that leads to the disappearance. Because by reflecting and pondering over Dhamma, we come to understand it better. So this is another condition for the attaining of Aryahood, if you remember one of the earlier suttas mentioned. The five ways of attaining Ariya-hood is one is learning the Dhamma, the second one is teaching the Dhamma, third one is repeating the Dhamma, fourth one is reflecting upon Dhamma, the fifth one is during meditation. These are the five times a person attains Ariya-hood. So here, these are the conditions. If we want to prolong the Dhamma, the first one is applicable to us now. We should master the Dhamma, master the suttas. Because if we take no interest in the suttas, it will cause the suttas to disappear. That was already warned by the Buddha. Then we should teach the Dhamma also. As we know the Dhamma, so we should teach it to others. The third one is not quite applicable now to make others speak it in detail because we have it all written down in books. The fourth one, repeating it. If we have the interest and inclination, it's good to repeat the suttas as we know them. The fifth one is to ponder over the suttas. This one is quite important. Whatever suttas, whatever dhamma we hear, we should reflect on it and try to understand it better.

50-AN-Book-5K-(5.16.157-to-5.17.166).txt

Next sutra is 5.16.157. Monks, to five persons, talk is ill-talk when they appropriate. person is confronted. Of what five? Monks. To the faithless, faith talk is ill talk. To the virtuous, virtue talk is ill talk. To the little-learned, learned talk is ill talk. To the mean, generosity talk is ill talk. To the foolish, wisdom talk or insight talk is ill talk. And why monks is faith-talk to the faithless ill-talk? Monks, the faithless, when faith-talk is talked, aroused, angered, upset, made obstinate, they show temper, ill-will and self-keenness. And why? They perceive no achieving of faith in themselves, and they get no joy and gladness therefrom. Therefore, to the faithless, faith-talk is ill-talk. So likewise to the virtueless, virtue talk is ill talk. To the little-learned, learned talk is ill talk. Likewise to the mean, generosity talk is ill talk. Likewise to the foolish, when wisdom talk is talked, they are aroused, angered, upset, made obstinate, they show temper, ill will and sulkiness. And why? They perceive no achieving of wisdom in themselves, and they get no joy and gladness therefrom. Verily monks, to these five persons, talk is ill-talk, and the appropriate person is confronted. It's the end of the sutra. So you see in this sutra, To somebody without faith, who has no interest to acquire faith, when you talk about faith in the triple gems, they are not interested. They might even get angry. Just like some people, when they see monks, they think it's bad luck. and they also get angry. And to the virtueless also, somebody who's continually breaking the precepts, you talk about the precepts, they get angry because they can't keep the precepts. And then to the little-learned people who are not interested in the studies, in the books, you talk to them about studies and you talk to them about knowledge and all that, they get angry because they're not interested in something like the opposite to them. To the mean and selfish, generosity talk is ill talk. To a selfish person, you talk to him about being generous and all that, he gets angry because he doesn't like to give. To the foolish also, wisdom talk is ill talk. This reminds me because in one of the suttas, in the Digha Nikaya, the king of the Nagas, the snake spirit, I think, And then the king of the Nagas and the king of the Asuras came to visit the Buddha. And he told the Buddha that he wanted to teach the Buddha a chant. In this Digha Nikaya, there's a sutra about this king of the Asuras or the Nagas. He came to tell the Buddha that he wanted to teach a chant to the Buddha so that the Buddha could teach the other monks. The reason, he said, was because Those under him, I think the asuras, he said these asuras are very fierce and they often kill. And they don't like monks because monks always talk about keeping the precepts. And they can't keep the precepts and they don't like to keep the precepts. They like to kill. They have a very sensual desire, it's very strong. and they do a lot of things which are contrary to the Buddha's teachings, and they just cannot practice the Buddha's teachings, and because of that they don't like the Buddha and his disciples. So it is possible that if the monks go and stay alone in the forest, that some of these devas might harm the monks. So to protect the monks, this Asura King, he taught the Buddha this chant, so that the monks could use it. In this chant, this is called the Atanatya Sutta, I think, where the names of all the Asura leaders, the mighty devas, the great devas are mentioned, and that is a protection for the monks. Sutta number 5, point 16, point 159. Once, while the Exalted One was dwelling near Kosambi in Gosita Park, the Venerable Udain, surrounded by a great gathering of laymen, said, teaching Dhamma. Now the Venerable Ananda saw the Venerable Udain so seated, teaching, and thereat went to the Exalted One, saluted, and sat down at one side. So seated, he said to the Exalted One, Lord, the Venerable Udayan, surrounded by a great gathering, teaches Dhamma. And the Exalted One said, Verily, Ananda, not easy is it to teach Dhamma to others. In teaching others Dhamma, Ananda, make five things stand up within you. Then teach others Dhamma. What five? Teach others Dhamma, thinking. I will talk a talk on the gradual. Teach others Dhamma, thinking I will talk a talk with the way or practice in view. Teach others Dhamma, thinking I will talk a talk out of kindliness. Teach others Dhamma, thinking I will talk a talk not as a means for gain. Teach others Dhamma, thinking I will talk a talk not to my own herd nor to others. Verily Ananda, not easy is it to teach Dhamma to others. In teaching others Dhamma, Ananda, make these five things stand up within you. Then teach others Dhamma. That's the end of the sutta. The other day we heard one sutta where the Buddha said that he has great reverence for the Dhamma. Even the Dhamma Raja, the Dhamma King, respects the Dhamma as his Raja. So that is why in teaching Dhamma we have to take pains to teach Dhamma. And the Buddha said these five things. One is to talk a gradual teaching. The second one, talk with the practice of the way in view. That means beneficial talk. Talk out of kindliness. Fourth one, talk not as a means for gain, not with some ulterior motive. And the last one, talk not to my own hurt nor to others. It means you don't get personal, don't criticize others on a personal level. But we can criticize Dhamma. In fact, in the suttas, earlier we heard the Buddha said, What we know is not dhamma, we should point out that it is not dhamma. And what is dhamma, we should point out that it is correct dhamma. Next Uttara is 5.17.161. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five ways of putting away malice or ill will, whereby all malice arisen in a monk ought to be put away. What five? Monks, in whatsoever person malice is engendered, In him, goodwill ought to be made to become more. In this way, malice in him ought to be put away. Monks, in whomsoever malice is engendered, in him pity or compassion ought to be made to become more. Equanimity ought to be made to become more. In whomsoever malice is engendered, in that man unmindfulness, inattention, ought to be brought about. In this way malice in him ought to be put away. Monks, in whomsoever malice is engendered, in that man the fact that he is the owner of his kamma ought to be fixed in mind. And one should think, this reverend sir, is the owner of his kamma, heir to his kamma, born of his kamma, related to his kamma, abides supported by his kamma. Whatever kamma he shall do, for good or for ill, of that he shall be the heir. In this way, malice in him ought to be put away." Verily monks, these are the five ways of putting away malice. That's the end of the sutra. This not only applies to monks, in connection with monks, also for lay people. It is quite easy for ill will to arise against somebody. So the first one, the Buddha said we should develop good will, metta. And metta meditation is one of the very beneficial meditations. We should practice, make it a habit to feel good will always. The second one, we practice compassion or pity. In the next sutra you can see why the Buddha mentioned compassion. And then the third one is equanimity. Equanimity can be developed stronger if we develop samadhi. When we practice meditation, when we practice samadhi, equanimity becomes quite pronounced, quite strong, and if we practice samadhi often, it becomes part of our nature to be tranquil, to be equanimous. And the fourth one, if in the above, the first three ways can't be put into practice, then we use inattention, that means we just ignore that person towards whom we feel malice. And the fourth one, we should remember that everybody is the owner of his kamma, heir to his kamma, born of his kamma, related to his kamma, but supported by his kamma. So when we think in those terms, when we feel that somebody has done us wrong, then we think that whatever wrong he does to us, he has to bear the consequences of his wrong action. So that's another way. put down our ill will. So these are the five ways. The first one, to develop more metta, goodwill. The second one, compassion. The third one, equanimity. The fourth one, inattention. The fifth one, to remember that he's the owner of his karma. The next sutra, 5.17.162. The Venerable Sariputta addressing the monks said, reverences, how many of these words, reverences, is a translation of the Pali word avuso. Sometimes that word avuso is also translated as friend. Reverend Sir, they replied, and he said, Reverend Sirs, there are these five ways of putting away malice, whereby all malice arisen in a monk ought to be put away. What five? There is the case, Reverend Sirs, of the person whose ways are impure in deed, but not in word. In such a person, Sirs, all malice ought to be put away. And one whose ways are impure in word, but pure in deed. And one whose ways are impure both in deed and word, yet from time to time obtains manful clarity, manful calm. And one whose ways are likewise impure, but obtains no such clarity and calm. And lastly, one whose ways are pure both in deed and word, and who obtains manful clarity, manful calm. In each reverences ought malice to be put away. Now of him whose ways are impure indeed, but not in word, how in him ought malice to be put away? Suppose, sirs, a monk who robes himself in dust-heaped rags were to see a rag in the carriageway. He would hold on to it with his left foot, and spread it out with his right, and take and make use of the best of it, and go his ways. Just so, sirs, of one whose ways are impure in deed but pure in word, the ways of deeds that may be impure ought not at that time to be thought on. Let him think at that time on the ways that may be pure. In this way in him ought malice to be put away. and of him whose ways are impure in word but pure in deed, how in him ought malice to be put away? Suppose, sirs, a man, tortured by heed, by heed forspent, wearied, craving and thirsty, were to come to a pond overgrown with mossy slime and water plants, He would plunge into that pond, scattering with both hands the moss and plants here and there, and cup his hands, and drink, and go his ways. Just so, sirs, of one whose ways are impure in word, but pure in deed, the ways of words that may be impure ought not then to be thought on. Let him think then on the ways that may be pure. In this way in him ought malice to be put away. and of him whose ways are impure both in deed and word, yet from time to time obtains mental clarity, mental calm. How in him ought malice to be put away? Suppose, sirs, a man, tortured by heat and so forth, were to come upon a puddle in a cow's footprint. He might think, here's a cow's footprint puddle, but if I drink of it by hand or cup, I shall stir and churn it up and make it unfit to drink. What if, crouched on all fours, I were to lie and sip as a cow sips, and then go my ways? And he does so. Just so, sirs, of one whose ways are impure both in deed and word. Yet from time to time obtains mental clarity, mental calm. Neither the ways of deeds nor the ways of words that may be impure ought to be thought on then. But the mental clarity, the mental calm that he obtains from time to time, let him think then just on that. In this way in him ought malice to be put away. And of him whose ways are likewise impure, but obtains no such clarity and calm, How in him ought malice to be put away? Suppose, sirs, a sick and ailing man, grievously ill, were to go along the highway. It might be with no village near ahead or near behind, unable to get proper food, to get proper medicine, to get proper attention, to get a guide to some village boundary. And suppose another man also going along the road were to see him, verily it might raise pity in that man, raise compassion, raise commiseration, so that he might say to himself, Alas for this man, he ought to have proper food, proper medicine, proper attention, he ought to have a guide to some village. Why, lest he suffer here wasting and destruction, even just so serves of one whose ways are impure, who obtains no mental clarity, mental calm. In such a person verily pity ought to arise, compassion ought to arise, commiseration ought to arise, so that he say to himself, Alas, for this venerable sir, he should give up bad habits in deed, and make good habits become more, give up bad habits in word, give up bad habits in thought, and make good habits become more. Why? Lest this venerable sir, on the breaking up of the body after death, arise in the wayward way, the ill way, the abyss, hell. In this way, in him, ought malice to be put away. And of him whose ways are pure, both in deed and word, and who obtains mental clarity, mental calm, how in him ought malice to be put away? Suppose, sirs, a man, tortured by heat, by heat forespent, wearied, craving and thirsty, were to come to a pool, clear, sweet, cool, limpid, a lovely resting place shaded by all manner of trees. He would plunge into that pool, bathe and drink, and coming out would sit and lie there in the shade of the trees. Just so, sirs, of one whose ways are pure both in deed and word, who from time to time obtains mental clarity, mental calm, the ways of deeds, the ways of words that may be pure at that time, let him think on them then. and the mental clarity, the mental calm that he obtains from time to time. Let him verily think on that then, in this way in him ought malice to be put away." The Reverend says, when a person comes to be calm throughout, the mind becomes calm. These are the five ways of putting away malice, whereby all malice arisen in a monk ought to be put away. This is the end of the sutra. This is one of the sutras where you find the verbal Sariputta teaching the other monks and the Buddha mentioned in one or two sutras that the rebel Sariputta is like his son, just as a wheel-turning king, a universal monarch has a son, a viceroy sometimes it's called, just so the Buddha says. So is Sariputta, just like his son, and he says that The Buddha says that the Venerable Sariputta turns the dharma wheel perfectly, just like the Buddha himself. And so here we have a very good sutra where the Venerable Sariputta is telling the monks, when you feel ill-will towards another monk, how to get rid of the ill-will. These ways basically are not to think of his bad points and to think of his good points. Especially in a monastery, in a large monastery, we need many monks to keep it running. So sometimes when we live together in a monastery, everyone would have their faults. And if we keep looking at each other's faults, then quarrels would arise and sometimes come to blows also. And this has happened in some monasteries in Thailand. So that is why it is very useful to get about people's bad points and to think of their good points. Just like the Buddha said, when you come across a dust heap rack, you hold it in one foot and stretch it out with the other foot, and then you see what part of it can be used. So whatever part can be used, you take it up, the rest you just tear it and throw it away. So in this way, this advice is also practical for lay people. Sometimes you work in the office with other people and you need their cooperation. So they might have some faults that you find quite unbearable, but in that case you have to think of their good points and then you find that they can still help you quite a lot in spite of their bad points. In Exutais 5.17.166, the Venerable Sariputta said, Herein says, a monk who has achieved virtue, achieved concentration, achieved wisdom, may both completely enter the ending of perception and feeling, and may emerge therefrom. This is so. In this life, he make not the gain of knowledge, he will surely go beyond the deva community that feed on solid food and arise in the mind-created body, provided he enter and emerge from the ending of perception and feeling. This is so. I just stopped here for a while. Here the Venerable Sariputta is talking about the ending of perception and feeling. This is a state, a very high state of samadhi. Very few people are supposed to be able to have this attainment. Only anagamis and arahants are supposed to be able to enter the ending of perception and feeling. When perception and feeling stops, then the normal six consciousness also stops. So that's why this state is called Nirodha Samapatti, attainment of cessation. And here Sariputta is saying that in this person when he enters the ending of perception and feeling and emerge, if he does not make the gain of knowledge in this very life, that means if he does not become an arahant, he will go beyond the deva community that feed on solid food and arise in a mind-created body. This is what our verbal Sariputta says. There is one sutra in the Anguttara Nikaya, point 172 where it was mentioned that an anagami can be reborn in the plane, the formless realm The realm of neither perception nor non-perception was mentioned there. So probably this might refer to that. Now the sutta continues. When he had thus spoken, the Venerable Udayan said to the Venerable Sariputta, This is not so, Venerable Sariputta. Nor happens it that should a monk enter and emerge from the ending of perception and feeling, he will surely go beyond the deva community that feed on solid food and arise in a mind-pictured body. It is not so. The second time the Venerable Sariputta spoke in like manner to the monks, and the second time the Venerable Udayan contradicted him as before. A third time the Venerable Sariputta spoke in like manner to the monks and a third time the Venerable Udayan contradicted him. Then the Venerable Sariputta thought, even until a third time the Venerable Udayan contradicts me and no monk supports me, what if I were to go to the Exalted One? And he went to where the exalted one was and saluted him and sat down at one side. So seated, the Venerable Sariputta addressed the monks, speaking even as before. And he repeated exactly what he mentioned before. When he had thus spoken, the Venerable Udayan replied, This is not so, Venerable Sariputta. Nor does it happen that if a monk enter and emerge from the ending of perception and feeling, he will surely go beyond the deva community that feed on solid food and arise in a mind-created body. It is not so. And a second time the Venerable Sariputta spoke in the same manner to the monks. A second time the Venerable Udayan contradicted him. Third time the Venerable Sariputta spoke in the same way to the monks and the third time the Venerable Udain contradicted him as before. Then the Venerable Sariputta thought again. Verily, before the face of the Exalted One, even until a third time the Venerable Udain contradicts me and no monk supports me, I had best be silent. And so the Venerable Sariputta was silent. Then the Exalted One addressed the Venerable Udain and said, But who do you hold, Udain, as a mind-created body?" And he replied, those devas, Lord, who are formless, perception-made. And the Buddha said, Why do you think, Buddhain, that the word of a witless fool like you is just the thing to declare? I'll just stop here for a while. This is one of the suttas where you find the Buddha sometimes scolds the monks, calling him a witless fool here. It's not that the Buddha is so good that he doesn't scold. It's appropriate to scold. He will scold. Then the sutta continues. Then the Exalted One addressed the verbal Ananda thus, ìIs it possible, Ananda, that you can look on with indifference at an elder monk being vexed? Verily, Ananda, compassion grows not from allowing an elder monk to be vexed.î Then the Exalted One addressed the monk saying, Herein monks, among who has achieved virtue, achieved concentration, achieved wisdom, may both completely enter the ending of perception and feeling, and may emerge therefrom. This is so. If here in this life he make not the gain of knowledge, he will verily go beyond the deva community that feed on solid food, and arise in a mind-created body. provided he enter and emerge from the ending of perception and feeling. This is so, thus spoke the Exalted One. And when he had thus spoken, the Well-Gone One arose and entered the dwelling. Now, not long after the departure of the Exalted One, the Venerable Ananda went up to the Venerable Upavana and said to him, Just now, Venerable Upavana, some monks were vexing the elder monk and we never protested. Therefore, wonder not, Venerable Sir, should the Exalted One, after coming from seclusion, bring the matter up and relate the whole affair to the Venerable Upavana. Already even fearfulness has come upon us. And in the evening, after coming out from seclusion, the Exalted One went to the service hall, and He sat down on the seat that was made ready. So seated, He said to the Venerable Upavana, Having how many qualities, Upavana, does an elder among his fellows in the holy life become pious, loved, respected, and what he ought to become? Lord, having five qualities, an elder becomes pious, loved, respected, and what he ought to become. What five? Lord, herein he is virtuous, he is learned, he has a pleasant voice, a good enunciation, At will he obtains to the four states of jhāna, and by destroying the āsavas he enters and abides in the liberation by mind, the liberation by wisdom. Verily, Lord, having these five qualities, an elder among his fellows in the holy life becomes pious, loved, respected and what he ought to become. Well said, well said, Upavāna. It is even as you say. If these five qualities are not completely found in an elder, will his fellows in the holy life respect, honour, reverence and venerate him for his broken teeth, his grey hairs, his wrinkled skin? But verily, Upavana, when these five things are found in an elder, then his fellows in the holy life respect him, honour, reverence and venerate him. That's the end of the sutta. So you see this last part, the Buddha is a bit sarcastic. He doesn't venerate an elder monk because of his broken teeth, his grey hair, his wrinkled skin, but because he's worthy of respect. So you see this sutta gives you an insight into life during the time of the Buddha. Sometimes you have these little problems in the community of monks where you have a little troublemaker like this Udain. In the suttas there are a few Udains, quite a number of Udains. One or two are quite respectable and then one or two seem to be troublemakers.

51-AN-Book-5L-(5.17.167-to-5.18.179).txt

5.17.167 The Venerable Sariputta said to the monks, Reverend Sirs, when he that teaches wishes to teach another, let him make five things stand out within him, then let him teach another. What five? I will speak timely, not untimely. I will speak about what has happened, not what has not. I will speak with gentleness, not harshness. I will speak about what is beneficial, not about what is not beneficial. I will speak with mind of goodwill, not with illwill. When he that teaches wishes to teach another, let him make himself, let him make these five things stand up in himself, then let him teach another. I'll just stop here for a while just to comment. These five things are the five characteristics of good speech. First one, You speak timely, not untimely. Second one, you speak the truth, not what is false. Third one, speak with gentleness. Speak gently, not harshly, not loudly. Fourth one, speak on what is beneficial to that person. Fifth one, speak with a mind of goodwill, with a lot of goodwill. Then, to continue the sutra, the verbal Sariputta said, Lady Sirs, I see some monk being taught untimely, moved not timely, taught about what has not happened, moved not about what has happened, taught in a harsh way, moved not with gentleness, taught about what is not beneficial, not about the beneficial, taught with ill will, moved not by goodwill. In him not taught according to Dharma, on five scores, no remorse ought to be set up. Let him think, this venerable sir has taught untimely, not timely, there's no need for remorse in me. He has taught about what has not happened, not what has. has taught harshly, not with gentleness, has taught on what is not beneficial, not on what is beneficial. He has taught with ill will, not with good will. There is no need for remorse in me. References in hymn that taught according to Dharma. In him not taught according to Dhamma, on these five scores no remorse ought to be set up. Let him think, untimely is the good man taught by me. There is need for remorse in me. He is taught by me about what has not happened, not what has. He is harshly taught by me, not gently. He is taught by me on what is not beneficial, not what is beneficial. He is taught by me with ill will, not with good will. There is need for remorse in me. References in him that taught not according to Dharma. On him, on these five scores, ought remorse to be set up. Why? So that no monk should think one ought to be taught about what has not happened, not beneficial, etc. There ought to be support, sirs, in two things for a person taught, namely in truth and in the immovable. If others teach me, whether timely or not, about what has happened or not, gently or harshly, about the beneficial or not, with goodwill or with ill-will, I should find support in two things, in truth and in the immovable. And so the Noble Sariputta said, I should find support in two things, in truth and in the immovable. If I know it is in me, this Dhamma, thinking it is, I should declare it, saying, wholly found in me is this Dhamma. But if I know it is not in me, this Dhamma, thinking it is not, I should declare that, saying, wholly not found in me is this Dhamma. I'll stop here for a while. Just now, Reverend Sariputta said we should find support in two things, in truth and in the immovable. Immovable, I suppose, is like a state of equanimity. Equanimity in truth, meaning we should be honest. And the other one, whether we are taught rightly or we are taught wrongly, we should be equanimous. And then the exalted one said, And while you are thus speaking, Sariputta, I suppose some foolish men have not the talent to grasp the matter. And very well Sariputta replied, Lord, those persons, unbelievers, who as a means of living not of faith, go forth from the home to the homeless life, impostors, frauds, deceivers, who are vainly puffed up, shifty gossipers of idle talk, unguarded as to their sense-doors, eating without moderation, unweightful, who seek not true reclusion, are without diligence in training, luxurious, lax, taking the lead in backsliding, who cast aside the burden of the secluded life, lazy, low in energy, not mindful, not self-possessed, with uncomposed and wandering minds, dull-length wits. They, while I speak in this way, have not the talent to grasp the matter. But those clansmen, Lord, who of faith go forth from the home to the homeless life, No imposters, frauds, deceivers, not vainly puffed up, not shifty gossipers of idle talk, who are guarded as to their sense-doors, moderate in eating, wakeful, who seek true recluseship, are diligent in training, neither luxurious nor lax, who do not take the lead in backsliding. eager for seclusion, with energy bestir themselves, are resolved, mindful, self-possessed, composed, one-pointed, wise, know language. They, while I speak in this way, have the talent to grasp the matter." And the Buddha said, "'Let be those unbelieving, etc., etc., foolish language, Sariputta, speak you to those who of faith go forth. Admonish thy companions in the holy life, Sariputta. Instruct them, and think then, when I have stirred them up from what is not saddhamma, true dhamma, I will make them stand fast in saddhamma, true dhamma. Verily, Sariputta, train thyself in this way. So this last part, Venerable Sariputta is talking about the fraud monks and the true monks. This is a long description of the fraud monks, those who go forth not out of a sincere wish to cultivate the holy path. He calls them impostors, frauds, deceivers. Gossipers, unguarded as to their sense doors, eating without moderation, unwakeful, not diligent in training, lax, luxurious, who cast aside the burden of the secluded life, lazy, not mindful, uncomposed with wandering minds. It's a long description. From here, you can see whether that's the way to judge a true monk from a false monk. The next sutra is 5.17.169. Now the Venerable Ananda went up to the Venerable Sariputta and greeted him. And after exchanging the words of customary greetings, sat down at one side. So seated, the Venerable Ananda said to the Venerable Sariputta, How far, Reverend Sariputta, does a monk come speedily to know aptness in things, so that his grasp is a good grasp, so that he grasps much and forgets not what he has grasped?" And Venerable Sariputta said, I know the Venerable Ananda has heard much. Let the Venerable Ananda throw light upon the matter. And Venerable Ananda said, Well then, Reverend Sariputta, hearken and give heed, and I will speak. Very well, Reverend Sir, replied the Venerable Sariputta. And the Venerable Ananda said, Take the case, Reverend Sariputta, of a monk who is apt at meanings, apt at dharma, apt at letters, apt at language, apt at orderly sequence. Thus far, Reverend Sariputta, a monk comes speedily to know aptness in things, and his grasp is a good grasp. He grasps much and forgets not what he has grasped. It is marvellous, Reverend Sir. It is wonderful how well this has been put by the verbal Ananda. Behold, the verbal Ananda is possessed of these five things. The verbal Ananda is apt at meanings, apt at dhamma, apt at letters, apt at language, and apt at orderly sequence. That's the end of the sutta. This is one of the sutras. You find when two monks or more monks come together, they like to discuss Dhamma. Dhamma is very important and Dhammasakacca, discussion of Dhamma, is one of the important things. Two things are important. One is listening to Dhamma, the other one discussing Dhamma. So here you find Actually, at that time, the Venerable Ananda was only a Sotapanna, the stage of Aryahood, and the Venerable Sariputta was already an Arahant. But here you find the case where the Venerable Ananda is teaching Venerable Sariputta, in a way. In one of the suttas, the Buddha said that it is hard to find a person with wisdom like Ananda. So you see in this one of the few suttas you find, Sotapanna teaching some dhamma to an arahant. and here they call each other avuso, reverend sir. During the time of the Buddha, the monks call each other avuso, reverend sir or friend. But when the Buddha was about to pass away, he foresaw that in the future, younger monks would have no respect for elder monks. So he said, in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta that after his passing away junior monks should address senior monks as Bhante and senior monks can address junior monks either by their name or Avuso which is reverend Sutta 5.18.175 Buddha said, monks, pursuing five things, a layman is the outcast of layman, the dirt of layman, the offscouring or rubbish of layman. What five? He is without faith, without morals. is a fortune teller by curious ceremonies. He believes in luck, not deeds. He seeks outside the Sangha for a gift-worthy person, and there first offers service. Monks pursuing these five things, a layman is the outcast of laymen, the dirt, the offscouring of laymen. Monks pursuing five things, a layman is a jewel of layman, the lily of layman, the lotus of layman. What five? He is with faith. He has morals. He is not a fortune teller by curious ceremonies. He believes in deeds, not in luck. He seeks the Sangha first to offer service. Proceeding then, these five things, a layman is the jewel of layman, the lily of layman, the lotus of layman. That's the end of the sutra. This sutra, although it mentions layman, is also applicable to lay women. Perhaps the translation should have been a lay person. So, a person, a good lay person, is one with faith in the triple gems. Secondly, he has precepts, he has seal, he has precepts. Third one, he is not a fortune teller, nor does he go to a fortune teller to see his fortune. And the fourth, he believes in deeds, in karma, not in luck. And the fifth one, he offers service to the Sangha of monks, not to external ascetics. And the next sutra, 5.18.176. Then the householder Anathapindika, with about 500 lay disciples around him, came to the exalted one, saluted, or paid homage, and sat down at one side. And the Exalted One spoke to him so seated and said, Verily, householder, you have served the Sangha of monks with gifts of the requisites, the robe, alms, lodging and medicine for sickness. But you must not be satisfied just by the thought. We have served the Sangha with gifts of the requisites. Why, householder? Therefore, householder, train yourself thus. Come now, let us from time to time enter and abide in the delight, pity that comes of seclusion. Verily, train yourself thus, householder. And when he had thus spoken, the Venerable Sariputta said to the Exalted One, It is marvellous, Lord. It is wonderful how well the Exalted One has spoken. Lord, when the Aryan disciple enters and abides in the delight that comes of seclusion, for him five things become naught. For him, at that time, the pain and grief that follow lust become naught. The pleasure and gratification that follow lust become not. The pain and grief that follow evil become not. The pleasure and gratification that follow evil become not. For him, at that time, the pain and grief that follow doing good become not. Lord, when the Aryan disciple enters and abides in the delight and pity that comes of seclusion, for him these five things become not. Sadhu, Sadhu, Sariputta, it is even as you say. When Sariputta, the Aryan disciple, enters and abides in the delight that comes of seclusion, for him at that time these five things become naught." That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is giving very good advice to the Anathapindika. Anathapindika is his greatest layman supporter. who built the large Jetavana monastery at Savatthi for the Buddha. When you go to India, you can find that monastery, the ruins are still there, supposed to be about 25 acres. And this Anathapindika was a very rich man, but it seems he spent all his fortune supporting the monks. He reported to give food to 2,000 monks every day. And here the Buddha is telling him, this is not enough to do dhāna. You should, from time to time, meditate and then attain that piti, the delight of seclusion. And the reason for this is because there are two kinds of merit. Doing charity or offerings is worldly merit. And although it supports the spiritual life by itself, it doesn't get us out of suffering, doesn't get us out of the wheel of existence, the wheel of rebirth. And to get out of the wheel of rebirth, we need spiritual merit. And spiritual merit is Of course, all the things in the Aryan Eightfold Path, but the most important would be meditation. In meditation, we train our mind, we develop our mind to see things more clearly. And that helps us, not only this life, also it helps us in the next life. If we develop our mind, then we go to a place where the mind of those beings are more developed. That's why there is an episode in the Mahayana tradition about the Indian monk Bodhidharma, one of the earliest monks who went to China. He was supposed to have been invited by the emperor to the palace. And the emperor told the Venerable Bodhidharma that he had done a lot of charity. He had built a lot of monasteries and nunneries and did a lot of charity. And he said to the Venerable Bodhidharma that he should have obtained a lot of merit. And the Venerable Bodhidharma said, you have obtained no merit, sir. Something like that. and the king was very annoyed and refused to speak to Venerable Bodhidharma after that. So Bodhidharma left the palace and later he learned from his advisor that Bodhidharma was a very holy person and whatever Bodhidharma said must be true. And then he tried to get the advisor to call Bodhidharma to come back to the palace, but the advisor said once he decided to go, nobody can call him back. So what the Bodhidharma meant, it was because the king asked whether he had this kumta. Kumta refers more to spiritual merit and Bodhidharma said, By doing all that charity, he had zero spiritual merit. What he meant was that the emperor had a lot of worldly merit, not spiritual merit. Now the next sutra is 5.18.177. The Buddha said, monks, these five traits ought not to be plied by a lay disciple. What five? Trait in weapons, trait in human beings, trait in flesh, trait in liquor, and trait in poison. Verily monks, these five traits ought not to be plied by a lay disciple. This sutra is about wrong livelihood. There are five kinds of trading or business that a lay person should not engage in. First one is in weapons like guns and all that, that kill. The second is trading in human beings. Nowadays it's more rare. This refers to slavery, selling people off into slavery. The third one, trade in flesh, refers to breeding animals for sale to be slaughtered. Breeding chickens and breeding ducks, etc. The fourth one, trade in liquor. because liquor is something that's not good for people. And the fifth one, trade in poison. We prefer to trade in insecticides and all kinds of poison that are used to kill animals and other creatures. So these five traits should not be carried out by laypersons. The Nexuta 5.18.179 Now the householder Anathapindika, surrounded by about 500 lay disciples, visited the Exalted One and after saluting sat down at one side. Then the Exalted One addressed the Venerable Sariputta and said, Sariputta, any white-frocked lay person you know who acts controlled in the five steps of the training and obtains at will, easily and without difficulty, the four very purposive mental abodes of ease. Here amid things seen, may, should he desire, declare just the state of self by the self, saying, destroyed is hell for me, destroyed is animal rebirth, destroyed is the realm of ghosts, destroyed for me is the wayward way, the ill way, the abyss. I am he who has won to the stream, not subject to any falling away. sure and bound for enlightenment. He acts controlled in what five steps of training. Here in Sariputta, the Aryan disciple abstains from taking life, from taking what is not given, from fleshly lusts, from lying and from drinking liquor that cause indolence. He acts controlled in these five steps of the training. What are the four abodes of ease, very purposive, he obtains at will, here amid things seen. Here in Sariputta, the Aryan disciple has unwavering faith in the Buddha. Of a truth, he is the exalted one, arahant, samasambuddha, replete with practice and knowledge, well-gone one, world-knower. unsurpassed tamer of tamable men, teacher of devas and men, Buddha, Bhagavata. This is the first very purposive abode of ease, one here amid things seen, by purifying impure thought, by cleansing unclean thought. Again Sariputta, the Aryan disciple, has unwavering faith in Dhamma. Well declared by the Exalted One is Dhamma, one to be seen here and now, timeless, bidding one come and see, to be understood by wise men, each for himself. This is the second abode of ease. He has unwavering faith in the Sangha. Well-trained is the Exalted One's Sangha of Disciples. Trained in uprightness is the Exalted One's Sangha of Disciples. Trained in method is the Exalted One's Sangha of Disciples. Praying in the right way is the Exalted One Sangha of Disciples, the Four Pairs of Men, the Eight Persons. This is the Exalted One Sangha of Disciples, worthy of offerings, worthy of hospitality, worthy of gifts, fit to be reverently saluted, a field of merit none greater in the world. This is the third abode of ease. Moreover, Sariputta, the Aryan disciple, is possessed of virtues, beloved by Aryans, whole, unbroken, untarnished, without blemish, bringing freedom, praised by wise men, incorrupt, conducive to concentration. This is the fourth very purposive abode of ease, one here amid things seen, by purifying impure thought, by cleansing unclean thought. These are the four abodes of ease. Sariputta, any white-frocked lay person you know who acts controlled in these five steps of the training and obtains at will, easily and without difficulty, these four very purposive abodes of ease, here amid things seen, may, should he desire, declare just the state of self by the self and say, destroyed is hell for me, destroyed is animal rebirth, destroyed is the realm of ghosts. Destroyed for me is the wavered way, the ill way, the abyss. I am he who has won to the stream, not subject to any falling away. Sure and bound for enlightenment." That's the end of the sutra. Here the Buddha is saying if a lay person knows that the five precepts he keeps purely, the five precepts, and then he has confidence that he has unwavering faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, and also his precepts are pure, then he can confidently say that he has attained the Sotapanna, the first stage of Aryahood, and he will never be reborn into the three woeful planes again, the realm of animals, ghosts and the hell realm. and he's bound for enlightenment, that means at the most seven more lifetimes as a human being before he attains arahanthood. So, you see, the five precepts, it's not difficult to see whether we keep it purely or not. But to have unwavering faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, how do you have unwavering faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha? To have unwavering faith means to have right view. That means you have the basic understanding. And how do you get right view? It is mentioned in the Majjhima Nikaya. perhaps Sutta 43, where it is mentioned that there are two conditions for obtaining right view, only two conditions. One is listening to Dhamma, that means listening to the discourses of the Buddha. The second one is to have proper attention, yoniso manasikara, a thorough consideration when you are listening to the discourses of the Buddha. Only with these two conditions you can obtain Right View. That means you already become a Sotapanna. That is why listening to the Dhamma, the Suttas, is the first step that brings us into the Aryan Eightfold Path. If you don't have that right view, you have not come into the Aryan Eightfold Path yet, because it's mentioned in the Majjhima Nikaya, I think Sutta 117, that the Aryan Eightfold Path starts with the first factor which is right view and after you have right view that will lead you to have right thoughts and right thoughts will lead you to have right speech that will lead you to have right action that will lead you to have right livelihood and then right effort then right mindfulness and right concentration that completes all the eight factors. So the first one, to obtain right view, it is very important that we study the suttas in detail, pay a lot of attention to the suttas, then that is the way to get right view. Otherwise you find some people... We had a case some time ago of somebody who meditated for 20 over years, it seems, and then changed her religion. That shows that she did not even obtain the first factor of the Aryan Eightfold Path. Now, the other thing mentioned here is about perfect virtue. Perfect virtue does not mean that an Arya does not have any minor transgressions of the precepts. It is mentioned in Anguttara Nikaya 3.85 that even Aryans can have minor transgressions of the precepts. And we find in one sutra in the Samyutta Nikaya This mention that a Sakyan by the name of Sarakani, he passed away. And after he passed away, they came to ask the Buddha where he had taken rebirth. And the Buddha said to the effect that not to worry about him, he's already at Sotapanna. And the people, some people were a bit doubtful and some of them were quite annoyed because they said that Sarakani failed in the training and took to drink. Failed in the training means he disrobed as a monk. Took to drink means probably that he didn't take a very little drink, he probably took quite a lot of drink. That's why the people were annoyed. So even a sotapanna can break the precept against drinking. So you can see, perfect virtue doesn't include minor transgressions because the precept against liquor was not originally in the precepts. The original precepts did not include drinking, it was added later by the Buddha. And Perfect Sila in the Aryan Eightfold Path consists of the three factors of perfect right speech, right action and right livelihood. These three factors of the Aryan Eightfold Path, that is Perfect Sila. So from there you find actually the The first stage Sotapanna is not that difficult to achieve. The main thing is we keep the precepts fairly purely and we listen to the suttas with proper attention. That can bring us the first stage of Ariyahood Sotapanna. This can be confirmed in some other suttas. I'll deal with it later.

52-AN-Book-5M-(5.18.180-to-5.20.192).txt

This beta is 5.18.180. Once the Exalted One, with a great following of monks, walked a tour among the coastlands. And as the Exalted One went along the highway, He saw a place where grew a big grove of sal trees. And seeing it there, He moved down from the road and went towards it, and made His way among the trees. And at a certain place He smiled. Now the Venerable Ananda thought, What cause now? What reason moved the exalted one to show a smile? Not for nothing do Tathagatas smile. And the Venerable Ananda asked him concerning the matter. Then said the Exalted One, At this place Ananda, in olden times, there was a rich and flourishing city thronged with many people. And by the city Ananda, there dwelt the Exalted One, Kasapa, Arahant, fully enlightened. And Gavesin was a lay disciple of the Exalted One, Kasapa. But he kept not the moral precepts. Now because of Gawe Sin, there were about five hundred who testified and were stirred to discipleship, but they kept not the moral precepts. Thought he, I have greatly served these five hundred lay disciples, being the first to move and stir myself, yet I keep not the moral precepts, nor do these five hundred others. This is a leveling of levels, leaving no width of a mole. Come now, I'm for something more." I'll stop here for a while. This is Gavesin, he had 500 friends, and he was the first to become a disciple of the Buddha Kasapa, which was the Buddha previous to our Sakyamuni Buddha. When he became a disciple of the Kassapa Buddha, his 500 friends also became disciples of Kassapa Buddha, but all of them did not keep the precepts. So he said this is a leveling of levels, leaving no width for more. That means this is the lowest level. lower than the stage they are at. So he said, I'm for something more, he should aim for something higher. Now the sutra continues. So Gavesin went up to the 500 and said, no good sirs that from today I keep the moral precepts." Then Ananda, those five hundred thought to themselves, Verily, Master Gavesin has greatly served us, being first to move and bestir himself. And this same Master Gavesin will now keep the moral precepts. Why then not we too? Then went those 500 lay disciples to Gavesin and told him that they too henceforth would keep the moral precepts. Again thought Gavesin, this also is a leveling of levels, leaving no width of a more. I'm for something more. And he went and told them, saying, No, sirs, from today I follow the celibate's life, the life remote, giving up sex life, common among men." Then thought those others, why not we too, and did likewise. Again thought Gavesin, this is also a levelling of levels, leaving no wit of a more, I'm for something more, and went and told them, saying, no, sirs, from today I am a one-mealer and abstain from night eating, giving up eating at wrong times. Then thought they, why not we too, and did likewise. Now the lay disciple Gavesin considered thus, I have greatly served these 500 lay disciples, being the first to move and disturb myself. I have kept the moral precepts, and now they too have done this. I have followed the life remote. and now they too have done this. I have become a one-mealer, and now they too have done this. This is indeed a leveling of levels, leaving no width of a more. Come now, I am for something more." And Ananda, the lay disciple Gavesin, went to the Exalted One, Kasapa Arahant Samasambuddha, and having come, said to him, Lord, grant that I may go forth beside the Exalted One. grant me full ordination." And Gavesin, the lay disciple, obtained permission to go forth beside Kassapa, the exalted one, Arahant, Samasambuddha, and he obtained full ordination. Now Ananda, not long after his ordination, Gavesin the monk, living alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, resolved, entered into and abode in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life, here in this very life, realizing it by his own knowledge, that goal for the good of which clansmen's sons rightly go forth from the home to the homeless life. and he declared, destroyed is birth, lived is the holy life, done is the task, there is no more of this to come. Thereafter Ananda, the monk Gavesin, was numbered among the Arahants. Then thought those 500 lay disciples, Master Gavesin has done us a great service. He was the first to move and bestir himself, and now he has had his hair and beard shaved off, donned the yellow robe, and goes forth from the home to the homeless life. Why then not we too? And those five hundred lay disciples and Nanda went and begged the Exalted One, Kasapa, saying, Grant, Lord, that we may go forth beside the Exalted One. Grant us full ordination. And those five hundred obtained permission. Then thought the monk, Bhavesin. I verily can obtain this unsurpassed bliss of liberation at will, easily and without difficulty. Would that those 500 monks could obtain this bliss in like manner. Ananda, those 500 monks abode alone, withdrawn, zealous, ardent, resolved, and not long after entered and dwelt in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life, here in this very life, realizing it by their own knowledge, that for which clansmen's sons rightly go forth and declare, destroyed is birth, lived is the holy life, done is the task, there is no more of this to come. Thus, verily, Ananda, these 500 monks with gavesin at their head, in striving from higher things to higher, from strength to strength, came to realize a liberation above which there is no higher. Therefore, Ananda, train yourselves in this way. From higher to higher, from strength to strength, we will strive and will come to realize the liberation above which there is no higher. Verily, thus, Ananda, train yourselves. This is the end of the sutra. This is quite an inspiring sutra and it shows how good friends help each other in life, pulling each other up along the way. And this Gavesin, he was a very good friend to these 500 people. He was the first to blaze the trail, show them the way he was the first to become a disciple, then kept the precepts, then kept the eight precepts, and finally renounced and became an Arahant, and they followed him, and they also walked the good way. So this shows that when we have a good friend, A friend who knows the Dhamma and he can inspire us, that's very good. Because we are generally quite influenced by our friends, if we join with friends who are not interested in the Dhamma, who walk the evil way, the foolish way, then we will also end up like them. But when we join with good friends, then they help us and we help each other along the path. That is why in one sutra, Ananda told the Buddha, he said, he thinks that half of the holy life has to do with good friends. And the Buddha said, no, Ananda, the whole of the holy life has to do with good friends. So good friends in the spiritual path is very important. We inspire each other and help each other. In the last part, you note that the 500 monks and also Gavesin, they abode alone, withdrawn, zealous, ardent, resolved, and not long after entered and dwelt in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life. So you see, generally, these arahants, to obtain the highest state, they lived alone. When you live alone, there's nobody to distract you to talk to. Then you spend more time in meditation. undisturbed and then the progress will be much faster. Sometimes if we don't stay alone, we stay in company, like in a monastery, then it is good to practice aloofness. That means we don't talk too much. Even though we are in the company of other people in a monastery, we try to limit our talk and practice more. The next sutta is 5.19.181. The Buddha said, Monks, these five are forest-gone. What five? One is forest-gone, out of folly and blindness. One out of evil desires and longings. One foolish and mind-tossed. One at the thought it is praised by the Buddhas and their disciples. and one is forest-gone just because his wants are little, just for contentment, just for austerity, just for seclusion, just because it is the very thing. Verily, monks, of these five who have gone to the forest, he who has gone just because his wants are little, for contentment, for austerity, for seclusion, just because it is the very thing, he of the five is topmost, best, foremost. highest elect. Monks, just as from the cow comes milk, from milk cream, from cream butter, from butter ghee, from ghee the skim of ghee, they reckon topmost. Even so, monks, of these five forests gone, he who has gone just because his wants are little, for contentment, for austerity, for seclusion, and just because it is the very thing, he of the five is topmost, best, foremost, highest elect. So this sutra is talking about people who go and live alone in the forest for various reasons, but the best one is the last one, because he wants to cultivate himself, his wants are little, he is contented, he wants to practice austerities and seclusion, and that is the best reason. The next sutra is 5.20.191. The Buddha said, monks, these five ancient Brahmin things are now seen in dogs, but not in Brahmins. What five? Monks, in former times, Brahmins approached only a Brahmani, never a non-Brahmani. Now they go to Brahmani and non-Brahmani alike. Monks, today dogs go to dogs only, never to other creatures. This monk is the first ancient Brahmin thing now seen in dogs, but not in Brahmins. Monks, in former times, Brahmins approached a Brahmani. or Brahmini, only in season, never at other times. Now they go to a Brahmani both in and out of season. Monks, today dogs go to dogs only in season, never at other times. These monks is the second ancient Brahmin thing now seen in dogs, not in Brahmins. Monks, in former times, Brahmins neither bought nor sold a Brahmani, but consorting, just where affection was mutual, fostered concord. Now they do any of these things. Monks, today dogs neither buy nor sell dogs, but consort just where affection is mutual, and foster concord. This, monks, is the third ancient Brahmin thing now seen in dogs, not in Brahmins. Monks, in former times, Brahmins hoarded neither treasure, grain, silver nor gold. Now they do these things. Monks, today dogs hoard neither treasure, grain, silver nor gold. This, monks, is the fourth ancient Brahmin thing now seen in dogs, not in Brahmins. Monks, in former times, Brahmins sought food for the evening meal in the evening, for the morning meal in the morning. Now, after cramming their bellies to the uttermost, they take away the remainder. Monks, today dogs seek food for the evening meal in the evening, for the morning meal in the morning. This, monks, is the fifth ancient Brahmin thing now seen in dogs, not in Brahmins. Verily, monks, these are the five ancient Brahmin things. the end of the sutta. This is quite an unusual sutta where the Buddha is castigating the Brahmins, is comparing them to dogs and saying that dogs are even better than these Brahmins. These Brahmins originally were supposed to be priests, ascetics, and they were supposed to after their certain years of training, they're supposed to be like a renunciant, where they beg for their food and all that. And if they don't want to continue that life, then if they get married, they only get married to a Brahmani. That means one of the Brahmin caste or so, a female of the Brahmin caste. And they only like sleep only when the woman is in season, and just to get a child, not for enjoyment. But now this Buddha is saying, comparing them to dogs, the first one, that in ancient times, Brahmins only approach a Brahmani. Now they approach Brahmani and non-Brahmani, other castes also, whereas dogs only go to dogs to procreate, and they still do. And the second one is that Brahmin only approach Brahmani during her season, not at other times, just as But now they do it anytime they want, whereas dogs still keep the ancient tradition of going to the beach only in season, not at other times. And then Brahmins formerly neither bought nor sold a Brahmani, but sort of got married just where their affection was mutual. Nowadays, they buy and sell Brahmanis, whereas dogs still don't do that. In ancient times, Brahmins never hoarded their things, never hoarded treasure, grains, silver or gold, and now they hoard these things, whereas dogs still don't do that. And the last one is Brahmins formerly used to seek for their food in the evening. If they need food in the morning, they'll go and look for it in the morning. If they need it in the evening, they'll look for it in the evening. They never store their food. Whereas now they eat as much as they can and then take away the remainder and store it up. Whereas dogs or so still don't store their food. So the Buddha is saying that dogs are even better than Brahmins. And the reason you can see, if you study more of the suttas, is that the Brahmins were very critical of the Buddha. They thought themselves as the superior caste and they looked down on the Buddha. and said that they were born from the mouth of Brahma, their god. They were born from the mouth of Brahma, whereas all other castes, the other three castes, were born from the feet of Brahma. And of course, the other castes didn't accept it, because like the Buddha, he belonged to the warrior caste, the kathiya or kshatriya caste, and that was the nobles. And of course, the nobles considered themselves higher than the Brahmins, but the Brahmins considered themselves higher. And so, because they were arch enemies, sort of, that's why the Buddha really castigated them in this sutta. And this sutta also shows that the Buddha also has his own peculiar habits, his behavior, and seems to show, if you study the suttas, that the Buddha still has some of these human qualities. that carried over from previous life. Whereas this is contrary to what the commentary tries to say. The commentary tries to say that the Buddha is so perfect that he has no faults whatsoever, compared to the Arahants. Arahants are supposed to still have faults and peculiarities in their behavior. And this Sutta is one of those that shows that the Buddha still holds Now the next sutta is 5.20.192 Now Brahmin Dona visited the exalted one and greeted him and after exchanging the customary words of greeting sat down at one side. So seated Brahmin Dona said to the exalted one I have heard it said, Master Gautama, that Master Gautama does not salute aged, venerable Brahmins, well-stricken in years, long on life's road, grown old, nor rise up for them, nor offer them a seat. Master Gautama, it is just so. Master Gautama does none of these things to aged, venerable Brahmins. This is not right, Master Gautama." And the Buddha said, do you not profess to be a Brahmin donor? And Dona said, If of anyone, Master Gautama, in speaking rightly, it should be said, the Brahmin is well-born on both sides, pure in descent, as far back as seven generations, both of mother and father, unchallenged and without reproach in point of birth, studious, carrying the mantras in mind, a past master in the three Vedas, with the indices and ritual in phonology too. and fifthly in the legends. An expert in verse and grammar, skilled in reading the marks of a great man, in speculation on the universe. To be sure of me, Master Gautama, in speaking rightly, that thing should be said. For I, Master Gautama, am so born, am so skilled." I'll just stop here for a while. So here, This brahmin is criticizing the Buddha for not paying respect to old aged brahmins. And then instead of answering him directly, the Buddha asked him a question, i.e. Brahmin, and then he said that he spoke about the three marks of a Brahmin. The first one is that a Brahmin, a pure Brahmin, is pure for seven generations. He's born of pure blood, Brahmins, on the mother and father side for seven generations. That's the first mark of a Brahmin. The second one is that he's learned in the Vedas, in the mantras, etc. The third one is he has worldly knowledge. That means he's killed in the marks of a great man in speculation about the universe, etc. So he said he has all these three marks of a Brahmin. Then the Buddha said, Dona, those Brahmin sages of old, mantra-makers, mantra-sayers, whose ancient collection of mantra verses, hymns and sayings, Brahmins now ever hymn, ever say, ever word the word, ever have the saying said, namely Ataka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vesamita, Yamadagi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vaseta, Kasapa and Bhagu. They, these five Brahmins, have declared, the Brahma-like, Deva-like, the bounded, the breaker of bounds, and fifthly, the Brahmin outcasts. Which of them, donor, are you? And Drona said, we know not of these five Brahmins, Master Gautama, yet we know that we are Brahmins. It will well for me if Master Gautama would teach me Dhamma so that I may know of these five. I'll stop here for a while. Here the Buddha is saying that those Brahmin sages of old and he named them Ataka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vesamita, etc. You see the Buddha, he knows, he has this ability to see the past. So because of his ability, his psychic power, he could name all these Brahmin sages of old. And he says these are mantra makers. Mantra is a kind of words which have no meaning. They are supposed to be derived from the spiritual world. But they have a certain power behind them. So these Brahmins, they keep these mantras very secret. And they will never divulge these secrets to other castes. They only keep it among their castes. And they use these mantras quite often and sometimes when they wield these mantras, they have certain power. That's why other castes sometimes are afraid of them. So the Buddha is saying that these Brahmin sages of old, they have declared there are five types of Brahmins. The Brahma-like, the Deva-like, the Bounded, the Breaker of Bounds, and the Brahmin Outcast. And he asked Drona, which category do you fall under? And Drona said he never heard of these five Brahmins. So here he's asking the Buddha to explain these five classes of Brahmins to him. And the Buddha said, Then listen, Brahmin, give heed and I will speak. Yes, sir, replied he. And the exalted one said, And how, donor, becomes a Brahmin Brahma-like? Take the case, Dona, of a Brahmin who is well-born on both sides, pure in descent as far back as seven generations, both of mother and father, unchallenged and without reproach in point of birth. He, for eight and forty years, leads the Brahma life of virginity, applying himself to the mantras. Then, completing that course, he seeks the teacher's fee for teaching according to Dhamma, not non-Dhamma. And what there is dharma, dhūna, Never as ploughman, nor trader, nor cowherd, nor bowman, nor rajasman, nor by any craft to get his living, but solely by going about for alms, despising not the beggar's bowl. And he hands over the teacher's fee for teaching, and has his hair and beard shaved off, dons the yellow robe, and goes forth from the home to the homeless life. And thus gone forth he abides in mind pervading with goodwill one quarter of the world, so a second, a third and a fourth quarter. Then above, below, across and everywhere, the whole wide world he pervades with thoughts of goodwill, far-reaching, expansive, measureless, without hatred or ill-will. He abides in mind pervading with compassion, with joy, with equanimity, one quarter of the world, so a second, a third, and a fourth quarter, then above, below, across, everywhere, the whole wide world he pervades with thoughts of compassion, joy, and equanimity, far-reaching, expansive, measureless, without hatred or ill-will. And having made these four Brahma abidings become, on the breaking up of the body after death, he arises in the well-faring Brahma world. Thus Drona, a Brahmin, becomes Brahma-like. and how dōna becomes a brāhmaṇa devā-like. Take the case, dōna, of a brāhmaṇa of similar birth and conduct. He does not get a living by ploughing and so forth, but by going about for alms. He hands over the teacher's fee for teaching, and seeks a wife according to dhamma, not non-dhamma. And what there is dhamma, not with one bod or soul, but only with a brahmani on whom water has been poured. And he goes only to a brahmani, not to the daughter of a noble, or the merchant class, or the laborer caste, nor to the daughter of an outcast, a hunter, a bamboo worker, a card maker, or aboriginal. Nor goes he to a woman with child, nor to one giving suck, nor to one not in her season. And why, donor, goes not a brahmin to one with child? If he go, the boy or girl will surely be foully born, therefore he goes not. And why, goes he not to one giving suck, if he go, the boy or girl will surely be an unclean suckling, therefore he goes not. And wherefore goes he not to one not in her season? If donor, a brahmin, go to one in her season, never for him does the brahmani become a means for lust, for sport, for pleasure. The brahmani is for the brahmin just a means to beget offspring." And the Buddha continued, And when in wedlock he has begotten a child, he has his hair and beard shaved off, and goes forth, and being thus gone forth, aloof from sensual desires, he enters and abides in the first, the second, the third, and the fourth jhanas. And having made these four jhanas become, on the breaking up of the body after death, he arises in the well-faring heaven world. Thus dona, a brahmin, becomes deva-like. And how dona becomes a brahmin, bounded? Take the case dona of a brahmin of similar birth and conduct, who weds in like manner. and when in wedlock he has begotten a child, the fondness for children obsesses him, and he settles on the family estate, and does not go forth from the home to the homeless life. In the bounds of the brahmins of old he stays, and transgresses them not, and it is said within bounds he keeps and transgresses not, and therefore the brahmin is called bounded. Thus Drona, the brahmin, becomes bounded. you And how donor becomes a brahmin, a breaker of bounds? Take the case donor of a brahmin of similar birth and conduct. He hands over the teacher's fee and seeks a wife, either according to dhamma or non-dhamma, one bought or sold, or a brahmani on whom the water-pouring ceremony has been performed. He goes to a brahmani or to the daughter of a noble or of a merchant caste. man, or of a laborer caste, to the daughter of an outcast, or a hunter, or a bamboo worker, or a card maker, or an aboriginal. He goes to a woman with child, to one giving suck, to one in her season, to one not in her season, and for him the Brahmani becomes just a means for lust, for sport. and for pleasure, or to beget offspring. And he keeps not within the ancient Brahmin bounds, but transgresses them. And it is said, he keeps not within bounds, but transgresses, and therefore he is called a breaker of bounds. Thus Drona, the Brahmin, becomes a breaker of bounds. And how Drona becomes a Brahmin, a Brahmin outcast? Take the case, Drona, of a Brahmin of similar birth. He, for eight and forty years, leads the Brahma life of virginity, applying himself to the mantras. Then, completing that course, he seeks the teacher's fee for teaching. He gets his living according to dhamma or non-dhamma, as a ploughman, a trader, a cowherd, a bowman, a rajasman, or by some craft. or despising not the beggar's bowl, just by going about for alms. On handing back the teacher's fee, he seeks a wife according to Dhamma or non-Dhamma, one bought or sold, or a Brahmani on whom water has been poured. He goes to a Brahmani or any other woman, one with child, giving sakh and so forth. And she is for him a means for lust or to beget offspring. He leads a life doing all these things. Then the Brahmin said thus of him, How is it that an honourable Brahmin leads this sort of life? And to this he replies, just as fire burns clean things or unclean, and not by that is the fire defiled. Even so, good sirs, if a brahmin lead a life doing all these things, not by doing that is a brahmin defiled. And it is said, he leads a life doing all these things, and therefore he is called a brahmin outcast. Thus Dhona, a brahmin becomes a brahmin outcast. those brahmin sages of old, mantra makers, mantra sayers, whose ancient collection of mantra verses, hymns and sayings, brahmins now still hymn, say word each word, and have the saying said, namely Ataka and the rest. These five brahmins have declared, The Brahma like, the Deva like, the bounded, the breaker of bounds, and fifthly, the Brahmin outcast. Which of them, donor, are you?" And donor said, If such there are, Master Gautama, we at least do not fulfill the ways of the Brahmin outcast. But it is marvelous what you say, Master Gautama. Let Master Gautama take me as a lay disciple, gone to his refuge, henceforth as long as life lasts." That's the end of the sutta. This is one of the suttas where you can see the Buddha with his vast knowledge, he can teach a Brahmin, even the Brahmin tradition that they don't know of. And here he's describing the five types of Brahmins. You notice all of them, for the first 48 years of their life, they lead a life of virginity, and then they learn the mantras, and after that they start teaching. And then, if they follow their tradition, then they are supposed to only beg for their food, not to take up a trade. And the first three types are still acceptable to them. That means the first one, after 48 years of learning, then he renounces, becomes a renunciant and practices the Brahma abidings, Brahma Viharas, which brings him to rebirth in the Brahma world. The second one, he seeks a wife. But only a Brahmin on whom water has been poured, that means, I suppose, means that it has been given to him, because the ceremony of pouring water, I think, implies that giving. So he doesn't go to any other woman of any other caste, only to a Brahmani. And once he has a child with this Brahmani, then he shaves off his hair and goes forth and attains the Jhanas, so that after that he is reborn in the heaven world as a second class. The third one, After 48 years of learning, then he gets married also to a Brahmin, a Brahmani. And after that, after he has a child, instead of renouncing, he is attached to the child and he stays in the home, he doesn't renounce. Still that is acceptable. But the last two are not acceptable because the last two, they might marry a Brahmani or they might not marry a Brahmani. Once they marry out of their caste, that is not acceptable. and also because of the other conditions mentioned. So this sutra is interesting because it gives us an insight into the life of a Brahmin during those times. Because nowadays you hardly see this happen. Nowadays you don't see Brahmins who are virgins for 48 years of their life learning all the mantras. They have kind of lost their tradition.

53-AN-Book-5N-(5.20.196-to-5.21.209).txt

So the next sutra is 5.20.196. The Buddha said, monks, to the Tathagata, Arahant, Samasambuddha, before his full awakening, when he was not yet wholly awakened, but a being awakening, there came five great dreams. What five? Monks, the Tathagata, Arahant, Samasambuddha, Before his full awakening, when he was not yet wholly awakened, but a being awakening, dreamed that this mighty world was his bed of state, the mountain king, Himalaya, his pillow, that his left hand rested on the Eastern Sea, his right on the Western Sea, and that both his feet rested on the Southern Sea. Monks, to the Tathagata Arahant Sammasambuddha, before his full awakening, when he was not yet wholly awakened, but a being awakening, this first great dream came. Again, he dreamed that there went out from his navel Chiriya grass, and it stopped not until it touched the clouds. Monks, to the Tathagata, before his full awakening, this second dream came. Again, he dreamed that white worms with black heads crept up over his feet as far as his knees and covered them. Amongst to him, this third dream came. Again, he dreamed that there came four birds of varied colors from the four quarters of the world, and they fell at his feet and became all white. Monks, to him this fourth dream came. Again he dreamed that he walked to and fro on a great mountain of dung and was unbesmeared with dung. Monks, to him this fifth dream came. Monks, when indeed to the Tathagata Arahant Samasambuddha, before his full awakening, when he was not yet fully awakened, and but a being awakening, there came the dream that this great world was his bed of state. Monks, by the Tathagata Arahant, fully awake to the highest and unsurpassed, full awakening to the highest was wholly awakened within him. To him, wholly awakening, this first dream came. When to him there came the dream that grass went out from his navel, monks, by the Tathāgata, the Aryan Eightfold Way, was wholly awakened within him and well proclaimed as far as devas and men exist. To him wholly awakening this second dream came. When to him there came the dream that white worms with black heads crept up to his knees, monks, many white-robed householders found lifelong refuge in the Tathagata. To him, holy awakening, this third dream came. When to him there came the dream that the four birds of the four quarters fell white at his feet, These four castes, noble, brahmin, merchants and laborers, went forth from the home to the homeless life into that Dhamma-vinaya taught by the Tathāgata and realized unsurpassed liberation. To Him, wholly awakening, this fourth dream came. When he dreamed that he walked on the mountain of Dang monks, the Tathagata received the requisites, robes, arms, lodging and medicines, and in them the Tathagata found enjoyment, yet was not tight, trust. nor attached thereto, seeing the danger, wise as to the escape therefrom. To him, holy awakening, this fifth dream came. Monks, to the Tathagata Arahant, Samasambuddha, before his full awakening, when he was not yet fully awakened, and was but a being awakening, there came these five great dreams." That's the end of the sutra. This sutra is saying that before the Buddha was enlightened, these five dreams came to tell him that what was about to happen. Dreams are quite interesting. Sometimes it explains our problem quite clearly. Sometimes we have some problem and we dream. If we analyze the dream, it is trying to tell us something. So in this case also, sometimes what is going to happen also it can tell us. So in this case, the Buddha had five interesting dreams. The first one was he slept over the whole world. The whole world was like his bed. What this dream was trying to tell him was that he was going to be like the king of the world, the highest in the world. That means he was going to become enlightened. That was the meaning of the first dream. The second one, from his navel, from his navel, from his tummy there, the grass came out and it spread until it touched the clouds in the sky. And this meant that he was going to proclaim the Aryan Eightfold Way out of Samsara up to the heavens and devas and men would come to know of this. The third one, he dreamt that white worms with black heads crept up his knees and covered his legs up to his knees. This meant that lay people, many, many lay people would take refuge with him and become his disciples. The fourth one, that the four birds of different colors fell at his feet and became white. This meant that the four castes would go forth under him and become monks and attain liberation. And the last one, that he walked on a mountain of excrement or dung, meant that he looked at these requisites as similar to dung. that it could be enjoyed, but if you become attached to it, then it becomes like excrement, because it will dirty you. But he was able to walk on them without dirtying his body, which means that he was not attached to them. This is quite interesting because monks, not only monks, lay people also, these things in the world that come to us and we make use of them. If we are wise, we know how to enjoy them without getting dirtied. Sometimes you can see some people when they inherit property and then they change for the worse. Or they work very hard and they become very rich, and then they become so attached to their property and wealth that this wealth dirties them, just like makes them unclean. They have become defiled by this. wealth and property. So in that case, wealth and property is like excrement, dung. So that is a warning that we should treat these things in the world very carefully. If we know how to use them wisely, then we are not dirtied, we are not defiled by them. But if we become too attached to them, then they drag us down, they defile us. There's one sutta, Ratapala Sutta, in the Majjhima Nikaya, where a son of a very rich family, he went forth. And after becoming an arahant, he came back to his house. And his parents were still trying to persuade him to come back to the lay life, to take back all his property. And he told his parents, he said, the best thing to do with all this money and all this property is to throw in the river. throw it away because otherwise it's going to drag you down. The attachment to this property is going to drag you down to bad rebirth. So that also shows how we should be careful of all this wealth and property in the world. The next sutra is 5.20.198. The Buddha said, monks, if a word have five marks, it is well-spoken, not ill-spoken, nor is it blameworthy, nor blamable by the wise. It is spoken in season, or timely. It is spoken in truth. It is spoken softly. It is spoken about the beneficial. It is spoken with a heart of goodwill. Verily, monks, if a word have these five marks, it is well spoken, not ill-spoken, nor is it blameworthy, nor blamable by the wise. That's the end of the sutta. Here the Buddha is saying that good speech has five qualities. The first one, it is timely, spoken very timely. Sometimes we have something to say, sometimes to advise somebody. But we must know the proper time to tell that person. If that person is very upset or very angry and we choose that time to tell that person, that person might not accept it. So speaking in the right time is important. The second one, what you speak should be truthful. It should be truthful. The third one, it should be spoken gently, not harshly. Spoken gently and then people can accept it better. The fourth one, it should be beneficial. And the fifth one, it should be spoken with a heart of goodwill, with a good intention. These are the marks of a good speech. The next sutra is 5.20.199. Monks, when virtuous world renunciants approach a family, men there in five ways beget great merit. In what five? Monks, when virtuous world renunciants approach, men, seeing them, may calm their hearts. Monks, that leads heavenward, and the family then has stepped a step along the way. Or when they approach, men stand up, salute and offer a seat. Monks, that leads to birth in higher rank, and the family then has stepped a step along the way. Or they rid themselves of all stain of meanness. Monks, that leads to great power and the family then has stepped a step along the way. Or they share their food as means and power allow. Monks, that leads to great wealth and the family then has stepped a step along the way. Or when virtuous world renunciants approach, men ask, make question about and listen to Dhamma. Monks, that leads to great wisdom, and the family then has stepped a step along the way. Monks, when virtuous world renunciants approach a family, men there in these five ways beget great merit." That's the end of the sutra. The Sutta is saying when a renunciant, a real renunciant approaches and people are respectful in the different ways, they get great merit. I think earlier you remember one of the suttas we read was that there are four fields of merit and also four fields of demerit. First one is the Buddha, but the Buddha is no more with us. The second one is disciples of the Buddha, meaning monks and nuns. Third one is mother. The fourth one is father. So these four persons, we should be very careful in our conduct towards them. So in this case, like if we We have proper conduct towards renunciants, then we get great merit. There's also another sutta where devas, different groups of devas came to see the Buddha at different times. And they told the Buddha that when monks approached, some of them were very happy to see monks. The first one, perhaps they were not happy to see monks. But because of other good deeds that they had done, they were reborn in the heavens. But because they were not happy to see monks, They were deficient in certain qualities, because devas, some of them are brighter, their body shines brighter than others. Some are darker, some are brighter, depending on how much merit they have. And that brightness, in a way, denotes how much power they have. And so, like this Deva, they said that because they were not happy to see monks, so they suffered. As a result, they were less powerful in the heavenly realm. And then another group of Devas came to see the Buddha, and they said when they saw monks, they were not happy. They received the monks, but they were not respectful. So because they were not respectful towards the monks also when they were born in heaven they were also deficient in certain qualities and so they regretted. And then later another group of devas came to see the Buddha and they said when they saw monks they were happy, they were respectful but They did not share their food with the monks. And because they did not give food to the monks, when they were reborn in the deva realm, they also were deficient in certain qualities and they regretted that. And another group said that they did all these things, but they did not ask about Dhamma. They did not bother to learn about Dhamma, and also they regretted. And then finally, some other group said that they did all these things. They were happy to see the monks. They were respectful towards the monks. They offered food. They listened to Dhamma, et cetera. And when they were born in the heavens, they had great power, had great qualities. And so they were very happy. And so the Buddha confirmed all that. So you can see, depending on our karma, we are reborn according to our karma. Now the Sutta 5.21.201. Once when the Exalted One was dwelling near Kimbila in the bamboo grove, the Venerable Kimbila visited him and after saluting sat down at one side. So seated he spoke thus to the exalted one. Lord, what is the cause, what is the reason, whereby when the exalted one has passed away completely, true dharma, sad dharma, does not become long-lasting? The Buddha said, suppose Kimbila, after the Tathagata has passed away completely, the monks and nuns, lay disciples, Both men and women live without reverence, without respect for the teacher, without respect, without heed for Dhamma, without respect, without heed for Sangha, for the training. without respect, without heed for one another. This is the cause, this is the reason, whereby when the Tathagata has passed away completely, true Dharma does not become long-lasting. And what, Lord, is the cause, the reason, whereby after the Tathagata has passed away, true Dharma becomes long-lasting? Suppose Kimbilla, monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen disciples, Respect and give heed to the teacher, the Dhamma, the Sangha, the training. Revere and give heed to one another. This is the cause, the reason, whereby when the Tathagata has passed away, true Dhamma becomes long-lasting. That's the end of the sutta. This is one of the suttas which tries to say why the true Dhamma, the discourses of the Buddha, does not last long. Here it's saying that the first three, without respect for the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. Without respect for the Buddha means probably that instead of falling, recognizing our Buddha, people revere other Buddhas. Instead of acknowledging our teacher is the Buddha, we look to others, other beings to respect as the teacher. Without reverence for the Dhamma is that we don't take the Dhamma Vinaya as our teacher. In the suttas, the Buddha said we should take the Dhamma Vinaya as our teacher. We should always try to learn what is in the Dhamma and the Vinaya and be heedful of the teachings there. The third one is no respect for the Sangha. There might be some reason for this. Perhaps some people, the Sangha perhaps might not be practicing well, might not keep the precepts very well, and people lose respect for the Sangha, and that would cause a decline. But we have to remember, we lay people are supposed to support the Sangha to keep the Buddha's asana going. So the Buddha said, if in the future, even if those who wear the yellow robes are corrupt, still, if you support the Sangha, then the merit is still very great because you help to perpetuate the Sangha. By helping to perpetuate the Sangha, even if at a certain time the Sangha is corrupt, it is possible later on that arahants will still be around. Whereas if you don't support the Sangha, the Sangha is terminated, cut off, then there is not possible for good monks to appear later. No reverence for the training, it's the training of the monk's life, keeping the precepts, etc. And without heed for one another, we don't live in harmony. If we don't live in harmony, that is one cause for the true Dharma to pass away. There are other reasons given in other suttas, but this is just my opinion. Dutta number 5.21.202. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five advantages from hearing Dhamma. What five? He hears things not heard, purges things heard, dispels doubt, makes straight his view, and his heart becomes calm. Verily monks, these are the five advantages from hearing Dhamma. This is the end of the sutta. The first one, he hears things not heard, that means he learns the truth or the reality of existence. Purges things heard, that means he gets rid of wrong views. dispels doubt, makes straight his view, that means he gets right view, and his heart becomes calm because from the joy of listening to Dhamma, joy arises, then the mind becomes tranquil. So these are the five advantages from hearing Dhamma. Now in the Samyutta Nikaya 46.4.8, the Sutta, the Buddha said that when one listens to Dhamma attentively, the five hindrances exist not, and the seven bhojanga, factors of enlightenment, are complete. Which means that when one listens to Dhamma attentively, one can become an ariya. because the five hindrances not existing and the seven bhojangas being complete are conditions for attainment of Aryahood. And also in the Majjhima Nikaya number 43, it is stated that there are two conditions for attaining right view, listening to Dhamma and having proper attention. The attainment of Right View in one of the suttas in Anguttara Nikaya means that a person understands the four Aryan truths, which means that when a person attains Right View, he also becomes an Arya. So this again confirms that listening to Dhamma, one can become an Arya. And then in the Anguttara Nikaya 5.25, it is said that if right view is assisted by five things, it leads to liberation or attainment of Arahanthood. Moral conduct, listening to Dhamma, discussion of Dhamma, Samatha and Vipassana, that means tranquilization and contemplation. So tranquilization and contemplation are the two aspects of meditation and in addition to meditation you must have moral conduct, listening to the Dhamma and discussion of Dhamma to attain liberation. This again shows the importance of listening to the Dhamma. And in another sutta, Anguttara Nikaya 5.26, that it is stated there are five ways to attain Ariyahood. Listening to Dhamma, teaching the Dhamma, repeating Dhamma, reflecting on Dhamma, and reflecting on the object of concentration, that means during meditation. So, that again shows that listening to Dhamma is very important. And the next sutra is 5.21.207. The Buddha said, monks, there are these five advantages from gruel or rice porridge. What five? Rejects hunger, keeps off thirst, regulates wind, cleanses the bladder, and digests raw remnants of food. Verily monks, these are the five advantages of gruel or rice porridge. In the monk's vinaya, the Buddha taught his disciples, his monks, to take one meal a day. That means one main meal. But he didn't give certain allowances that monks could take in the morning, which did not constitute a meal. Things like taking milk, taking this rice porridge, and other medicinal kinds of food that was considered of medicinal value. So because rice porridge had some advantages, that's why the Buddha allowed it to be taken in the morning even for a one-meal-a-day monk. The next sutra is 5.21.209. Monks, there are these five disadvantages to one preaching Dhamma in a long-drawn plain song voice. What five? He is either carried away himself by the sound, or others are carried away thereby, or householders are offended and say, just as we sing, for sure these recluse Sakyan sons sing. Or as he strives after purity of sound, there is a break in concentration, and folk coming after fall into the way of wrong views, or fall into the same views. Early monks, these are the five disadvantages to one preaching Dhamma in a long-drawn, plain-song voice. So this Sutta shows that in the Theravada tradition, monks are not supposed to chant in a long drawn playing song voice. That means not in a singing way. Although this is done in Mahayana tradition, it is not allowed in the Theravada tradition. That's why the Theravada chants are quite monotonous. And it is for these, because of these suttas like this.

54-AN-Book-5O-(5.21.210-to-5.25.250).txt

Next Sutta is 5.21.210. Monks, there are these five disadvantages to one who, forgetful in mindfulness, not self-possessed, falls asleep. What five? Badly he sleeps, badly he wakes, he sees evil visions, devas guard him not, and impurity is emitted. Verily, monks, these are the five disadvantages to one falling asleep forgetful in mindfulness, not self-possessed." This sutra, the Buddha is saying that when one falls asleep, he is not mindful, not self-possessed. In the Vinaya of the monks, it is stated that you cannot say that an arahant, you cannot accuse an arahant of any offence, because an arahant is said to be mindful 24 hours a day. Now, if an arahant is mindful 24 hours a day, it either means that he doesn't sleep or even when he's asleep, he's mindful. Now, there are some famous Indian yogis who claim that it is possible to develop the mind so well that it is possible to be mindful even when one is asleep. and from this sutta it would appear that this is probably true because here the Buddha is saying that one should not fall asleep unmindful because when you do that then you sleep badly, you wake up a bit tired, you have You have nightmares and then devas would refuse to guard the monk and impurities emitted. This is something that cannot be confirmed until a person attains that stage. But we can see, since an arahant is mindful 24 hours a day, a person striving to become an arahant should also strive to be mindful 24 hours a day. That's why one of the important practices in the spiritual path taught by the Buddha is devotion to wakefulness, devotion to vigilance. The Pali word is jagarya-nuyoga. And there the Buddha is saying that we should strive to be mindful all the time. The next sutra is 5.22.211. Monks, that monk who abuses and reviles men that lead the holy life, who rails at Aryans, five disadvantages may be expected for him. What five? Either he merits expulsion, a definite hindrance, or he commits a foul offense, or he is stricken by a grievous disease or illness, or he dies muddled in thought, And on the breaking up of the body after death, he arises in the wayward way, the ill way, the abyss, hell. Monks, that monk who abuses and reviles men that lead the holy life, who rails at Aryans, these five advantages may be expected for him. This sutra not only concerns monks who abuse Aryans, it also concerns lay persons who abuse Aryans. In one of the earlier suttas we read, Chapter of the Force, the Buddha said there are four fields of merit and four fields of demerit. One is the Buddha, the second one is disciples of the Buddha, probably meaning monks and nuns, and then mother and father. In other words, we should be very careful in our conduct towards these four kinds of persons. Now it is very difficult to recognize an ariya because the Buddha said it takes a long time to know a person. So concerning monks and nuns, we should be very careful not to develop hatred towards any particular monk or nun. The next sutra is 5.22.213, the Buddha said. Monks, there are these five disadvantages to one wanting in morals, failing in morals. What five? Consider monks, the monk without morals, failing in morals. He comes to suffer much loss in wealth through neglect. This monk is the first disadvantage to one wanting in morals, failing in morals. Or an evil rumor spreads about him. This is a second disadvantage. Or whatever group he approach, whether nobles or brahmins, householders or recluses, he does so without confidence and confused. This is the third disadvantage. Or he dies muddled in thought. This is the fourth disadvantage. Or on the breaking up of the body after death, he arises in the wayward way, the ill way, the abyss, hell. This is the fifth disadvantage. Verily monks, these are the five disadvantages to one wanting in morals, failing in morals. So in this sutta, if a person fails to keep the precepts, five disadvantages follow. One is he suffers loss of wealth through neglect. Why? Because if a person breaks the precepts, for example, he takes to liquor, or he womanizes, or he gambles, and etc. Then he comes to neglect his duties, so he suffers loss of wealth. The second one, he gets a bad reputation. People say this guy, His hunter kills animals, or he lies, or he cheats, or he steals others' property, or he seduces another's husband or wife. or he's a drunkard, etc. So he gets a bad reputation. The third one, because he does not keep the precepts, he does not have the confidence, he does things he has to be ashamed of. So whenever he approaches a company of people, he approaches them without confidence. The fourth one, here it says he dies muddled in thought. There are two aspects here. One is when a person grows older, if he does not keep the precepts, a lot of remorse arises. And because of remorse, that person becomes mentally disturbed. So that person, it is seen that people who do not keep the precepts are liable to become senile at a younger age. Sometimes some people in their 50s become senile, talk a lot of nonsense, because they have a lot of remorse, their heart is disturbed. Another aspect is when a person is about to pass away, if that person does not keep the precepts, then he's afraid to die. So when the dying moment comes, that person is very scared because there's no blessings, no merit to support that person. The last one is after death he arises in the woeful plains. These are the disadvantages. The next sutta, 5.23.223. Monks, there are these five disadvantages from staying too long in a place. What five? Many belongings and their amassing. Much medicine and its amassing. Many duties and things to be done and their concern. One lives with householders and wanderers, mixing with them, not adverse from layman's company. And one leaves that place, one leaves it with regret. Monks, these are the five disadvantages from staying too long in a place. That's the end of the sutta. During the Buddha's time, we find that there were many monasteries under the Buddha, and they were more like forest monasteries, usually out of town. And monks would stay in a monastery, and after some time, they would move to another monastery and take up residence there. And after some time, they would move again to another monastery. And that seemed to be the lifestyle during the Buddha's time. Of course, before the monasteries were formed, monks used to live in caves and up the hills, in the valleys, under trees, etc. But later, the Buddha allowed the formation of monasteries so that monks used to found it more convenient to stay in monasteries because they had all the support there and they would stay in the monasteries and then after that move from monastery to monastery. The exceptions were those monks who had duties like the abbot, the assistant abbot, Sometimes the monk in charge of the store or monk in charge of the kutis, the huts for monks. In other words, he would be the one who would assign monks to the kutis. and other officers of the Sangha who had responsibilities. So some of these, because of their responsibilities, they did not move from monastery to monastery. And those monks who did not have responsibilities, especially the younger monks, they would move, and they were encouraged not to stay too long in a place because of these disadvantages. The next sutra is 5.23.226. Monks, there are these five disadvantages to a monk who visits families and lives in their company too much. What five? He often sees womenfolk. From seeing them, companionship comes. From companionship, intimacy. From intimacy, amorousness. When the heart is inflamed, this may be expected. Either joyless, he will live the holy life, or he will commit some foul offense, or he will give up the training and return to the lower life. Verily, monks, these are the five disadvantages to a monk who visits families and lives in their company too much. So this sutta is concerned with monks, and monks are not supposed to associate too much with lay people, especially those of the opposite sex. Otherwise, he will live the holy life without joy, or he will commit some foul offense, or he will return to the lay life. And also lay people also should not try to be too close to monks, should not be too intimate with monks because it's not good for the monk. So if lay people know these suttas, these teachings of the Buddha, then they would not associate too much with monks. The next sutra is 5.24.234. Monks, if a monk in residence follows the course of five things, he becomes of great service to his residence. What five? He is virtuous, He is much learned. He repairs things broken and dilapidated. And when many monks of the Sangha have come, monks from various parts of the country, he speaks to the householders who approach, saying, See, good sirs, many monks from various parts of the country have arrived. Do good. Now's the time to make merit. and he attains to the four states of jhāna, verily monks. If a monk in residence follows the course of five things, he becomes of great service to his residence." This sutta is about a monk who is very useful, who is a useful monk to have in a monastery, one who is virtuous, one who is much learned in the Dhamma, Vinaya, One who helps to repair the kutis, the huts, and anything broken and dilapidated, old. And also when many monks arrive, then he encourages the lay people to support them. And the last one, he can attain to the jhanas, so that he's not the one who is scatterbrained. The next sutra is 5.24.235. Monks, if a monk in residence follow the course of five things, he takes pity on householders. What five? He incites them to greater virtue. He makes them live in the mirror of dharma. When visiting the sick, he stirs up mindfulness, saying, Let the venerable ones set up mindfulness, their thing most worthwhile. When many monks of the Sangha have come, he urges the householders to do good. And when they give him food, whether mean or choice, he enjoys it and does not frustrate the gift of faith. Verily monks, such a monk takes pity on householders." So this monk is very good to householders, lay people, if he incites them to practice the precepts and then he incites them to live according to dharma, And when he visits the other sick monks, he encourages them to stir up mindfulness. And when many monks arrive, he encourages householders to support them. And whatever food or other requisite he receives, he enjoys it, does not frustrate the gift of faith. That means he does not either refuse to receive or We sit by throwing it away or something. The next sutta is 5.25.250. Monks, there are these five disadvantages of devotion to one monk. What five? Monks, when a person becomes very devoted to a monk, and that monk falls into an error such that the Sangha suspend him, then he will think, the Sangha has suspended him who is dear and lovely to me. and he will be no more full of devotion for the monks. And from being without that devotion, he will not follow other monks. And from not following other monks, he will not hear Sat Dhamma, true Dhamma. And from not hearing Sat Dhamma, he will fall away from Sat Dhamma. This monk is the first disadvantage of devotion to one monk. Or that monk falls into an error such that the Sangha make him sit on the outskirts of a Sangha gathering and the person similarly loses devotion to the Sangha. Or when a person becomes very devoted to a monk and that monk has gone to a distant place and he loses devotion to the Sangha. Or the monk wanders in mind means becomes mentally disturbed or the monk is dead then he will think he is dead who was dear and lovely to me and he will not follow other monks and from not following other monks he will not hear the true Dhamma and from not hearing the true Dhamma he will fall away from the true Dhamma this monk is the fifth disadvantage of devotion to one monk verily monks these are the five disadvantages of devotion to one monk That's the end of the sutta. I think you all have remembered, mentioned before, our teacher, the Buddha said, is the Dhamma Vinaya. There are some people, sometimes they hero-worship a monk, and that is not good. That becomes like a personality cult. And when people become too devoted to that monk, and for some reason that monk falls either is demoted, or he disrobes, or he passes away, or he goes mad or something, or he leaves and goes to some distant place, then those devotees would not give the same respect to other monks. I think you all remember the last few years, we had some famous monk who was accused of some foul offense, and after that, because a lot of people here worshipped him, because of that they lost faith in the Sangha, and some of them refused to come to the monastery after that. And that is, from not listening to a sutta like this, That's why these suttas are very good. They teach us a lot of things. The next sutta is 5.26.254. Monks, there are these five forms of stinginess. What five? Stinginess as to one's lodging, stinginess as to one's family, stinginess as to gains, stinginess as to fame, and stinginess as to dharma. Verily monks, these are the five. Now the meanness of these five monks is this, stinginess as to Dhamma. That's the end of the sutta. There are certain things that we are stingy about because we are attached to it. One's lodging, family, gains, fame. and the last one is Dhamma. The meanest is the stinginess of Dhamma and this is because Dhamma is of the greatest value of all those things mentioned. The greatest value is the Dhamma. But even though the Buddha said one should not be stingy concerning Dhamma, yet in the Vinaya the Buddha said if people who come to learn the Dhamma, they do not show enough respect for the Dhamma, then the monks are not allowed to teach them the Dhamma. For example, they come and ask Dhamma, they sit higher than a monk, or they wear the hat, or they don't take off the shoe, or they are holding a weapon or something, then the monk is not allowed to teach the Dhamma to such people. And we can see also during the Buddha's time, sometimes people came to the Buddha and they did not ask for a Dharma teaching and so sometimes the Buddha also would not teach them. And sometimes they asked and the Buddha would just answer exactly only to the point what they asked and did not speak further. Normally the person has to be gauged whether that person has the interest to listen to the Dharma or not.