[Tobi-Wan Kenobi]

 

Limited view through enslavement by Gati.

Many people who come across the Pure Dhamma today have a limited view due to their enslavement to Gati. They lack biased listening, it is a hidden fear that prevents them from listening without bias. They say there is so much material to read and there is so much misinterpretation in the world today.
What if I hear a wrong explanation…? Does my mentor/bhikkhu have enough knowledge…? How did he know…? Is everything I’ve learned so far wrong…? I’m afraid I’ll fall for it or that everything I’ve learned about the Dhamma was for nothing…!

It’s something different than “FEAR” that keeps you from listening to the right thing. It’s “vicikicchā”

Vicikicchā is identified as:

• One of the five hindrances that hinder meditation and do not lead to samadhi.

• One of the fourteen unwholesome spiritual factors in the Theravada Abhidhamma teachings

• One of the ten bondages in the Theravada tradition

It is the lack of understanding of the noble truths/paṭicca samuppāda/tilakkhana and it is also the inability to discern the moral from the immoral. Vicikicchā does not doubt anyone’s name or the weather. Vicikicchā is doubt about realities, about nāma and rūpa, about cause and result.
It is the mental event where one oscillates between two extremes. Is the translation really correct? ……..Or is it wrong?
No matter how hard one tries to find the truth or the Pure Nature of the Dhamma, with vicikicchā, such bad mental behavior, it will be impossible to find the truth, further distressing the mind.
This sadness creates even more obstacles on the way to the truth. It is one of the five causes that prevent or block enlightenment as it closes the doors of undisturbed focus, also known in the BD (Buddhadhamma) as samadhi.
Samadhi is the state of mind that enables us to absorb, the non-judgmental appreciation of the Dhamma.
Samādhi (“sama”+”adhi”, where “sama” means “equal” and “adhi” means “dominance”) means that the object becomes the priority. So the mind concentrates on an ārammana, there is, so to speak, an increase in the volume of the absorbing medium. Without immersing yourself in the stage of absorption, one cannot see the essence of what one has heard. One is thus unable to discern the Dhamma which no one in this world has heard before and which leads to liberation.!!!
Such doubts often arise when their quest for pure Dhamma is not sincere. This fear arises when you are not aware of what you are actually looking for. If this search is not stored in their gati, their questions will have no relation to them and thus their supposed self will not be able to establish any connection with the Dhamma concept.
That is why some Dhamma concepts seem completely strange to them. Instead of opening up to the answer, they start accumulating different interpretations. The more interpretations, the greater the confusion.

Even during the time when the Samma Sambuddha lived there was different types of sermons with different interpretations. But those who searched without prejudice always found the True/Pure Dhamma of Samma Sambuddha. They listened to anyone who had a free mind and was open to the essence of these teachings. Anyone who is pure in heart, without prejudice, without using his gati, judges simply, honestly, and asks his questions sincerely is on the path to enlightenment. If your search is not sincere and has nothing to do with you, your gati, your personality, worry about the person who answers you. But instead of listening to what the other person says or writes, you gati try to validate the other person’s state of mind or qualities.
Now you remember Siddhartha Gautama before he became an enlightened Samma Sambuddha he sincerely listened to all the teachers he was following at that time. Because the quest was sincere and genuine, he understood that these paths do not lead to liberation.
Every seeker after truth must have this quality!
Those who are not yet aware of the truth cannot properly judge the truth. This troubled mind will first try to fathom the person’s qualities towards, then environment’s quality of language, writing, website layout etc. and this will leave you frustrated.<br /><br />
So do you understand that we must first listen and read before making any judgements? If your listening is unbiased and free, you will see the message hidden by the words you have heard and read.
The limited view of Gati’s enslavement always leads us to what we have already decided and not to what we have not heard in this world. Doubt always leads to enslaved listening.
So, find your sincere question first. This will lead you to the correct answer. If your question is sincere and impartial, you need not fear.

I can say for myself that I immediately had a good feeling about the translations of the Puredhamma page, which actually doesn’t suit my gati/character at all. I also checked some easy Pali keywords with the help of Suttacentral and other websites and got a similar result as the Puredhamma websites and that gave me an extra good feeling.
So search in your spirit for your weaknesses that keep you from liberation, knowledge and their necessity. Read and listen without judgment before following with an enslaved Gati.

Thank you Lal for bringing the knowledge of Waharaka Thēro and your talent and understanding of Māgadh Pakrit/Pali translation into our lives.

Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu…

 

PS My condolences to all those who are suffering from the terrible dam collapse on the Pajaro River. That just came on the 8 p.m. news.

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Jittananto, namo0804

[Lal]

Thank you, Tobi, for sharing your thoughts!

I thought you were trying to highlight some sentences and I did that for you. I hope that is what you wanted done.

The following post could be helpful in formatting a comment: “Formatting a Post“

 

[LayDhammaFollower]

Thank you Lal for bringing the knowledge of Waharaka Thēro and your talent and understanding of Māgadh Pakrit/Pali translation into our lives.

 

Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu…

Sadhu!!!

Yes, however much we admire the Lal’s work, it is never going to be sufficient.

Thanks to him we are all going to be able to stop whole saṅsarā from arising for ourselves and put away the slavery to conditionality.

There is no way to pay back debt owed to Lal except sharing dhamma with other interested truth seekers. Helping others understand dhamma. 

His hard work of years, precise language, modern scientific evidence, strictly following research methodology of modern science and ensuring consistency of posts among three pitaka etc.

And above all, always being open to evidence.

That is very critical for those who are interested finding out final truths, making progress on path, developing paññā. There is no progress through faith alone or being close minded or fooling your mind.

May Lal have long life and short saṃsāric journey ☸️.

p.s. I am so happy and glad to see many practitioner of PureDhamma community helping others in so many ways. Whether that is by sharing dhamma, translating it, sharing sermons, commenting good insights etc.

Let’s all keep doing the huge merits, create enviornment to manifest everything that is Kusala, puñña in this world and let the flow of pristine dhamma rain on all beings and wash their kilēsa and cool down tapa from their mind.

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Jittananto, namo0804

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