Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
In the post Rebirth – Connection to Suffering in the First Noble Truth, the rarity of human bhava is discussed. It is also mentioned in several suttas in Sanyutta Nikaya.
But as far as my understanding, this rare occurrence of human bhava applies to the asathpurisa or putthajana – those who don’t have any faith in Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha and those who are regularly engaged in dasa akusala (basically average humans).
But for those who have faith in the Triple Gem and those who are fulfilling the paramitas, human bhava is NOT rare for them. Of course they are not free from the apayas, but even if they are reborn in woeful planes, they come back to the sugati realms more often due to the power of their merits/paramitas.
Suppose there is a bag full of 100 balls – 99 black balls and 1 white ball.
If a person is to take out a ball from this bag, what do you think which ball would have higher probability? Black or White ? Of course the black balls have 99% probability and the white ball has just 1% probability.
Here black balls represent the papa kammas and white balls represent the punna kammas of a person. And the bag represents the set of kamma bija for a given sentient being. This is the case of a putthajana.Of course in reality there are uncountable kamma bija in the nama loka for a given sentient being, and other complex factors also come into play at the cuti-patisandhi. Hence this is just a crude analogy.
And for those who are fulfilling the paramitas, the situation is just the reverse! More white balls and less black balls.
So if one is willingly and honestly striving/fulfilling the paramitas, nature would give him more and more chances/opportunities to do the same! (i.e., one would be reborn more often in the human and deva realms)
The law of Paticca Samuppada !!!My point is that a person fulfilling the paramitas or aspiring (honestly) to fulfill the paramitas SHOULD NOT BE DISCOURAGED.
Most Ven. Waharaka Thero also mentioned in one of his sermons that a Buddhist even if he/she born in apayas would come back quickly to the human realm without spending much time in apayas!
Here is the link to the sermon (the relevant part starts at 16:29 minutes)
Theruvan Saranai !!!
Thank you dear Dhamma friend for sharing the Dhamma talk with us.
May the blessings of Noble Triple Gem be with you always!
@Lal Sir, please forgive me as I didn’t pay due respect to your Noble efforts.
I realised my fault. I am really sorry for my discourteous response.I want to emphasise that I am immensely grateful to all the endeavor you are putting in for spreading the pure Buddha Dhamma.
Thank you so much Lal Sir.
I am really fortunate to have come across puredhamma.net !!!
I asked for the explanation of the Agganna Sutta (in detail) because of a reason.
In today’s world, there are broadly two kinds of people (putthajana) :
(1) The “scientific” minded folks who believe that the physical world that we live in and all the matter was created by a “Big bang” 13.8 billion years ago. So humans and animals are nothing but permutations of atoms and molecules. Life just happened without any cause and nothing continues after death.
(2) The “religious” minded folks who believe that the physical world (including the Earth, Sun, Moon and other stuff) as well as living beings were created by an “All Powerful Creator” called God. So this physical world exists because of the “will” of the Creator.
According to Lord Buddha, both (1) and (2) are wrong views.
But when these two types of people ask me what Lord Buddha said about how the physical world was created, then I can’t give them a clear answer (including my parents!).
When their questions are not answered, then they disregard Buddhism.
So to give them at least an idea about the real depth of Buddha Dhamma, I was asking for the explanation of the Agganna Sutta in this forum.
So with the intention of arising AND strengthening faith in the Noble Triple Gem in the hearts of many putthajanas, I kindly request you to please explain the Agganna Sutta for the benefit of all.
1 user thanked author for this post.
Can anyone give the correct explanation/description of the Agganna Sutta in detail ?
Thanks in advance.
1 user thanked author for this post.
Follow up questions:
1) Did those Mahayana monks commit sanghabheda when they separated from the Ariya Sangha and started their own concepts of “Higher vehicle” and started treating Theravada as lower (or inferior) vehicle? Did they commit Sanghabheda when they introduced many new “Sutras” such as the Lotus Sutra and attributed it to the Buddha himself!
2) Did Buddhaghosa commit Sanghabheda when he introduced his Visuddhimagga with mundane interpretations of Buddha Dhamma?
3) I read in Dhammawheel forum that Sangha nayakas (and many other bhikkhus) in Sri Lanka doesn’t accept Waharaka Thero’s interpretations, instead they treat this sect as “rebels” and having strong miccha ditthi distorting the Buddha’s words and spreading lies to the public.
So are these Sangha nayaka and other bhikkhus also committing Sanghabheda?Dear Dhamma friend…
Thank you so much for compiling all these precious desanas…
May the blessings of the Noble Triple Gem be with you !!!Thank you for the answers. Yes, of course, I know what you said above.
I was just asking the technical similarities/differences.I am quoting an article about Nibbana written by Bhikkhu Bodhi, I hope it helps:
…. “
-
Is Nibbana mere annihilation?
As a precaution we have to repeat that Nibbana cannot be understood through words or expressions or study of the text. One has to understand Nibbana by actual realization. However, in order to convey some idea of the goal to which his teaching points, the Buddha resorts to words and expressions. He uses both negative and positive expressions, and to get a balanced idea of Nibbana both types of expressions have to be considered. Otherwise you will come away with a one-sided, distorted picture of Nibbana.
The Buddha speaks of Nibbana primarily by way of terms negating suffering: as cessation of suffering, cessation of old age and death, the unafflicted, the unoppressed ,the sorrowless state, and so forth.
It is also described as the negation of the defilements, the mental factors that keep us in bondage. So Nibbana is described as the same as the destruction of greed, hatred and delusion. It is also called dispassion (viraga), the removal of thirst, the crushing of pride, the uprooting of conceit, the extinction of vanity.
The purpose behind the Buddha’s negative terminology is to show that Nibbana is utterly transcendental and beyond all conditioned things; to show that Nibbana is desirable, that it is the end of all suffering, and to show that Nibbana is to be attained by eliminating defilements. The use of negative terminology should not be misunderstood to mean that Nibbana is mere annihilation, a pure negative attainment.
To correct this one sided view, the Buddha also describes Nibbana in positive terms. He refers to Nibbana as the supreme happiness, perfect bliss, peace, serenity, liberation, freedom. He calls Nibbana ‘the island’, an island upon which beings can land, which is free from suffering. For those beings swept away helplessly towards the ocean of old age and death, it is a place of safety and security.
It is also described as a “cave” which gives safety from the dangers of birth and death. Nibbana is called the “cool state” – coolness which results from the extinguishing of the fires of greed, hatred and delusion.-
Nibbana is an existing reality
Regarding the nature of Nibbana, the question is often asked: Does Nibbana signify only extinction of the defilements and liberation from samsara or does it signify some reality existing in itself? Nibbana is not only the destruction of defilements and the end of samsara but a reality transcendent to the entire world of mundane experience, a reality transcendent to all the realms of phenomenal existence.
The Buddha refers to Nibbana as a ‘dhamma’. For example, he says “of all dhammas, conditioned or unconditioned, the most excellent dhamma, the supreme dhamma is, Nibbana”. ‘Dhamma’ signifies actual realities, the existing realities as opposed to conceptual things. Dhammas are of two types, conditioned and unconditioned. A conditioned dhamma is an actuality which has come into being through causes or conditions, something which arises through the workings of various conditions. The conditioned dhammas are the five aggregates: material form, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness. The conditioned dhammas do not remain static. They go through a ceaseless process of becoming. They arise, undergo transformation and fall away due to its conditionality.
However, the unconditioned dhamma is not produced by causes and conditions. It has the opposite characteristics from the conditioned: it has no arising, no falling away and it undergoes no transformation. Nevertheless, it is an actuality, and the Buddha refers to Nibbana as an unconditioned Dhamma.
The Buddha also refers to Nibbana as an ‘ayatana’. This means realm, plane or sphere. It is a sphere where there is nothing at all that corresponds to our mundane experience, and therefore it has to be described by way of negations as the negation of all the limited and determinate qualities of conditioned things.
The Buddha also refers to Nibbana as a ‘dhatu,’ an element, the ‘deathless element’ (amata-dhatu). He compares the element of Nibbana to an ocean. He says that just as the great ocean remains at the same level no matter how much water pours into it from the rivers, without increase or decrease, so the Nibbana element remains the same, no matter whether many or few people attain Nibbana.
He also speaks of Nibbana as something that can be experienced by the body, an experience that is so vivid, so powerful, that it can be described as “touching the deathless element with one’s own body.”
The Buddha also refers to Nibbana as a ‘state’ (pada), as ‘amatapada’ – the deathless state – or ‘accutapada’, the imperishable state.
Another word used by the Buddha to refer to Nibbana is ‘sacca’, which means ‘truth’, an existing reality. This refers to Nibbana as the truth, a reality that the Noble Ones have known through direct experience.
So all these terms, considered as a whole, clearly establish that Nibbana is an actual reality and not the mere destruction of defilements or the cessation of existence. Nibbana is unconditioned, without any origination and is timeless….”Yes, dear Dhamma friend. I know this. But I think you didn’t read the question properly.
I said technically no citta are flowing in both the cases.
I was asking that… is there a similarity between Asanna state and Sanna-vedayita nirodha since “sanna” and “vedana” and absent in both the cases.
Yes, I agree with you that “Nibbanā is even higher release than asanna realm existence”.
and “in NO WAY experience of Asanna = Nibbana”.You are correct.
Yes, of course an Asanna Brahma will be reborn after the expiration of his life span and an Arahant will not be reborn anywhere.
So that’s it ? This is the only difference ?
So can we say that an Asanna Brhama is “temporarily” free of ALL dukkha ? (as long as he is in Asanna state)So it seems that the Asanna state is a “temporary Nibbana” ?
Please pardon me if it seems to be a foolish question, but what is the difference between an Arahant in Nirodha Samapatti and an Asanna Brahma ? (since technically, no citta are flowing in both the cases)
In other words, what is the difference between “Asanna” state and the state of “Sanna-vedayita nirodha” ? (since, sanna and vedana are not present in both the cases)
In the Acintita Sutta AN 4.77, the Buddha advised not to ponder too much about four things:
“There are these four unconjecturables that are not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about them. Which four?
“The Buddha-range of the Buddhas is an unconjecturable that is not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about it.
“The jhana-range of a person in jhana…
“The [precise working out of the] results of kamma…
“Conjecture about [the origin, etc., of] the world is an unconjecturable that is not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about it.
“These are the four unconjecturables that are not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about them.”
So, the Buddha range of a Samma Sambuddha is unfathomable to us!!!
But still, for arousing faith and confidence in the Triple Gem, the Tathagata himself performed unrealistic miracles which only a Samma Sambuddha can do!!!
He is also OMNISCIENT, the possessor of all knowledges, mundane and supermundane.
He acquired all this by perfecting the “ten paramis” through many many many eons, which itself is unfathomable to us!!!
The time it takes to perfect all the paramis to its ultimate level is enormous.
Hope you get an idea about the magnitude of such a task!!!
