The Story of Kāḷadevila the Hermit
- Again, Kāḷadevila pondered whether he would or would not see the young Prince attain Buddhahood. He realized through his foreseeing wisdom that before the young Prince’s attainment of Buddhahood, he would pass away and be reborn in an arūpa abode of Brahmās where nobody would be capable of hearing the Deathless Dhamma even if hundreds and thousands of Buddhas were to go and teach it. “I will not get an opportunity of seeing and paying obeisance to this man of marvel who is endowed with unique merits of the Perfections. This will be a great loss for me.” So saying and being filled with immense grief, he wept bitterly.
Notes on the arūpa abode of Brahmās:
- (An arūpa abode of Brahmās is a plane of existence which is totally devoid of material phenomena, there being only mental consciousness (citta) and its concomitants (cetasika). In such an abode are reborn ti-hetuka puthujjanas, worldlings with three roots (roots of non-greed, non-hate and non-delusion) and such Noble Ones as Sotāpannas (Stream-winners), Sakadāgāmins (Once-returners) and Anāgāmins (Non-returners) who have attained the arūpa jhāna. The sotāpannas, sakadāgāmins and anāgāmins who have reached that arūpa brahmās’ abode will no longer return to the lower planes of existence. As they are experienced in practising meditation up to the stage of the Path and Fruition while in the sensuous wholesome abodes (kāma sugati) and in the material (rūpa) abodes, they are able to pursue the same Vipassanā(Insight) meditation which they had practiced previously. They attain higher stages up to the Path and Fruition and Nibbāna in the same abodes of arūpa, thereby terminating all suffering in saṃsāra even though they do not hear the Dhamma from anyone.
- This is what Sir Lal talked about yesterday in the video discussion.
- It seems that some yogi puthujunas know that arupa loka is not the final liberation. Yogi Kaladevila was sad to miss the opportunity to become an ariya.