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- I agree with you that mundane terms are easier for a Puthujuna to understand. Indeed, the vast majority of Buddhists today are Puthujunas! We are in a period of decline of Sasana. The Dhamma may be viewed superficially at first, but over time the concepts will become deeper and deeper. If it was impossible for a puthujuna to understand the profound terms then they would not have an ariya or even a Lord Buddha. We have all been puthujunas for infinite times. If we succeed in becoming Ariya it is because we make the effort to understand life at a more subtle level. We understand that there is no refuge in this infinite Samsarā and that there is no point in chasing the mirages of the 31 planes of existence. But for a good start, the terms impermanence and non-self (no fixed entity) are good. The majority of Buddhists today do not make the effort to free themselves from the cycle of rebirth. They are Buddhists because of the culture of their country. They are attached to rituals and superficial terms. Some even believe in the existence of a fixed soul that goes from life to life! It is not completely wrong to use these terms what is wrong is to limit yourself to them. It’s like saying that Spain is planet Earth. Spain is part of the Planet but it is not the planet. It’s a tiny part of this planet. I’m sure there are many ways to interpret tilakkhana. Lord Buddha used several allegories to highlight them. However, impermanence and not-self are only the surfaces.
- Bāhirānattātītānāgatasutta “Mendicants, sights of the past and future are not in our control.
- It’s not completely wrong to view them this way. However, this way of looking at tilakkhana is superficial. Yes, these are aspects of Tilakkhana but they are not the deep aspects. For example, Annica’s “inability not to maintain things to our satisfaction” suggests a certain impermanence. However, suffering is also impermanent! Even though we spend the majority of our time in the Apayas, sooner or later we end up leaving them. We are happy to come out of these states of suffering. Impermanence here is rather beneficial! The problem is that most Buddhists these days associate impermanence with suffering. Yes, all phenomena are impermanent. What Annica means is that we will be unable to permanently maintain phenomena to our liking. Let us admit that a bhikkhu says “The eye and visual consciousness is Annica”. Of course, the eye is impermanent at the end of the body it will disintegrate and lose its functions. No need for Ariyas to remind us. What it says is that the eye will not be to our liking in the long term. In our quest for happiness through the eye and visual consciousness, we will suffer and we will never reach our goal. Certainly, we will have small moments of pleasure but it is nothing compared to the infinity of suffering that we suffered in Samsarā and that we will encounter in an immeasurable future. This is valid for the other 5 senses.
- Anatta means non-control. Yes, the idea of the absence of a permanent entity in each of us that is always in control is compatible with the Dhamma. However, there is someone who acts and undergoes the Vipāka of a past Kamma. It is therefore false to say that there is no one. There is a male human named Gad who comes from Cameroon and who speaks to another male human named Tobi who comes from Germany. In the ultimate sense, there are only the 5 aggregates that interact. The conditions of the past have shaped these two people. These 2 people are two distinct lifestreams and suffer positive or negative consequences from their respective Karmas. Of course, they will change and be able to be free, if in one of their lives they become arahants. There is a self but it constantly changes without a fixed identity according to the conditions of the current of life. However, we agree that no fixed and eternal self goes from life to life without ever changing. Anatta tells us that we are unable to control these changes and that the vast majority of the time they happen without our knowledge. The vast majority of the time this change leads one to the Apayas. Let us assume that a non-Buddhist person commits anantariya bad Kamma at the age of 20 and he will live to the age of 100 in this jati and his human bhava has 3000 years left. From the moment the act is committed, there is a change in that person. He will be able to perform positive actions for the rest of her remaining 80 years but whatever the action his mind will grasp the gati of a being from Niraya at the cuti patisandhi moment. His human bhava will be destroyed even if there are still 3000 years left. For 80 years, the person has not been aware that he has committed an act that will automatically land him in an Apaya upon his death. These changes are out of control (Anatta) however, there is a niraya being who is born spontaneously as a result of the actions of a human. They are two different people but they are the same lifestream. I specified non-Buddhist because the vast majority of them do not have the concept of anantariya Kamma.
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To support your point sir here is the story of two other Paññāvimutta. Queen Khema and the acrobat Uggasena. The story of Venerable Khema is that of verse 347 and for Venerable Uggasena is that of verse 348. Queen Khema became an arahant by listening to a verse on the fruitless nature of the body. She didn’t want to know anything about Dhamma at first. The acrobat Uggasena became an arahant while atop a pole. He only listened to a few lines. Both of them were very materialistic before meeting Lord Buddha. They had never cultivated Jhanas. These two were laypeople at the time they became arahants!!
The Story of Kalayakkhini
While residing at the Jetavana monastery in Savatthi, the Buddha uttered Verse (5) of this book, concerning a certain woman who was barren, and her rival.
Once there lived a householder, whose wife was barren; later he took another wife. The feud started when the elder wife caused the abortion of the other one, who eventually died in childbirth. In later existences the two were reborn as a hen and a cat; a doe and a leopardess; and finally as the daughter of a nobleman in Savatthi and an ogress named Kali. The ogress (Kalayakkhini) was in hot pursuit of the lady with the baby when the latter learned that the Buddha was nearby, giving a religious discourse at the Jetavana monastery. She fled to him and placed her son at his feet for protection. The ogress was stopped at the door by the guardian spirit of the monastery and was refused admission. She was later called in and both the lady and the ogress were reprimanded by the Buddha. The Buddha told them about their past feuds as rival wives of a common husband, as a cat and a hen, and as a doe and a leopardess. They were made to see that hatred could only cause more hatred, and that it could only cease through friendship, understanding and goodwill.
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Na hi verena Verani
sammantidha kudacanam
averena ca the same anti
esa dhammo sanantano.
Verse 5: Hatred is, indeed, never appeased by hatred in this world. It is appeased only by loving-kindness. This is an ancient law.
At the end of the discourse, the ogress(Yakkini) was established in Sotapatti Fruition and the long-standing feud came to an end.
- For those who don’t know the Yakkhas are demons. Yakkhas usually have a violent and bloodthirsty temperament towards humans. If a person has a violent and vengeful temperament despite performing good deeds or Kusulas, they may be reborn as a Yakkha or Yakkhini (in the case of a female). These beings possess Iddhis, and they are an integral part of the first paradise of Kāma loka (Catumaharajika). There are also Yakkhas who live in the Apayas and they can’t understand Tilakkhana.
- However, some Yakkhas have been known to become kind to others after exposure to the Dhamma, and they can even become Sotāpanna, as with Kalayakkhini and Alavaka. Despite their past unwholesome acts, they have accumulated enough Kusulas to become sotāpanna, and they will never engage in such behaviour again. A sotāpanna refrains from vengeful acts, recognizing their futility.
- This story highlights that sometimes we can develop attachments or strong feelings towards others due to the influence of Dosa (aversion). This is evident when we find ourselves disliking someone for no apparent reason, even if we have just met them. The root of this negativity towards others lies in a past kammic connection.
- For more information see the Āṭānāṭiyasutta Sutta. In this sutta, the 4 kings of the first heaven come with Yakkhas and other beings to pay homage to Lord Buddha and recite protection against the malicious influence of evil Yakkhas, for the benefit of lay people and bhikkhus.
So I have heard.
Evaṁ me sutaṁ
At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain.
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati gijjhakūṭe pabbate.
Then, late at night, the Four Great Kings—with large armies of spirits, centaurs, goblins(Yakkha), and dragons—set guards, troops, and wards at the four quarters and then, lighting up the entire Vulture’s Peak with their beauty, went up to the Buddha, bowed, and sat down to one side.
Atha kho cattāro mahārājā mahatiyā ca yakkhasenāya mahatiyā ca gandhabbasenāya mahatiyā ca kumbhaṇḍasenāya mahatiyā ca nāgasenāya catuddisaṁ rakkhaṁ ṭhapetvā catuddisaṁ gumbaṁ ṭhapetvā catuddisaṁ ovaraṇaṁ ṭhapetvā abhikkantāya rattiyā abhikkantavaṇṇā kevalakappaṁ gijjhakūṭaṁ pabbataṁ obhāsetvā yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkamiṁsu; upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdiṁsu.
“Mendicants, learn the Āṭānāṭiya protection!
Uggaṇhātha, bhikkhave, āṭānāṭiyaṁ rakkhaṁ.
Memorize the Āṭānāṭiya protection!
Pariyāpuṇātha, bhikkhave, āṭānāṭiyaṁ rakkhaṁ.
Remember the Āṭānāṭiya protection!
Dhāretha, bhikkhave, āṭānāṭiyaṁ rakkhaṁ.
The Āṭānāṭiya protection is beneficial, and is for the guarding, protection, safety, and comfort of the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.”
Atthasaṁhitā, bhikkhave, āṭānāṭiyā rakkhā bhikkhūnaṁ bhikkhunīnaṁ upāsakānaṁ upāsikānaṁ guttiyā rakkhāya avihiṁsāya phāsuvihārāyā”ti.
THE BODY WITH NO CONSCIOUSNESS IS LIKE A USELESS LOG
The background story of the 41st verse, which is the 9th verse of the Citta Vagga is about a monk whose body was stinking due to multiple sores and became an Arahant after listening to a sermon by the Buddha.
The background story of verse 41
At one time the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatti which was donated to the Buddha by the chief benefactor Anāthapindika.
At that time there was a monk named Tissa who obtained instructions from the Buddha on an object of meditation and started practising meditation quite diligently. However, he developed an illness due to which boils appeared all over the body. These boils which appeared as small boils at first, became bigger until they developed into big sores which burst resulting in his upper and lower robes becoming sticky and stained with blood and pus. Eventually, all of his body was stinking and hence he came to be known as “Putigattatissa”, Tissa the thera with a stinking body. Because of his stinking body, his pupil monks who were residing with him abandoned him and did not care to look after him.
One morning, as the Buddha was surveying the world through the Buddha’s supernormal mental power to see who could be spiritually helped on that day, Putigattatissa Thera appeared in the Buddha’s vision. The Buddha noticed the sad state of the body of Putigattatissa Thera and the fact that he had been abandoned by his pupil monks. The Buddha also saw that Putigattatissa Thera had the potential to become an Arahant on that day. There was a fireshed close to where the Thera was staying and the Buddha went there and boiled some water. Then the Buddha went into where the Thera was lying and got hold of the edge of his couch. As soon as the pupil monks knew of the Buddha’s presence, they also came there and as instructed by the Buddha, they carried the Thera into the fire shed. The Thera was washed and bathed in the fire shed and his robes were also washed and dried.
After his body was washed and bathed, Putigattatissa Thera felt a freshness in his body and the mind, which helped him to develop one-pointedness of the mind. The Buddha who was standing at the head of his bed, instructed him to reflect on the fact that when this body is devoid of life, it would be as useless as a log of wood and would be laid on the earth. Then the Buddha recited the following verse which is recorded as the 41st verse of the Dhammapada.
“Aciraṁ vatayaṁ kayo,
pathaviṁ adhisessati,
chuddho apetaviññāno,
niratthaṁ va kalingaraṁ.”
“Before long, alas, this body,
will lie on the ground,
discarded, without consciousness,
like a useless piece of wood.”
It is said that soon after listening to the Buddha’s discourse, Putigattatissa Thera gained enlightenment as an Arahant and passed away.
- It is a very good sutta that shows the fruitless nature of the body. The body not only can become disgusting and dirty but is responsible for our suffering in this Sansara. The vast majority of akusalas are produced with this dense body. Sooner or later, he will end up being a useless log of wood, and this lifestream will be reborn according to his actions. What is the point of doing unhealthy actions to satisfy this disgusting body and end up in the Apayas? Having a dense body like ours brings illness and excruciating pain. We desire to possess a dense body to be able to enjoy the Kāma loka that traps us in this world. Venerable Tissa reflected on Asubha, and soon after, he became an arahant and attained Parinibbānna.
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- To add another detail, an anagami can also attain these. The story of the secular anagami Matikamata is an example. She developed patisambhidā!A tamed mind brings happiness
Mātikamātā also developed an interest in meditation and requested the monks to teach her how to meditate. The monks taught her to meditate on the thirty-two loathsome parts of the body, which can help one gain insight into the fruitless nature of the body. Mātikamātā began meditating diligently and was able to attain the first three paths and fruitions of the Buddhist spiritual path of liberation. She also developed Analytical Insight (patisambhidā) along with mundane supernormal powers even before the sixty monks did.
Jhāna – There Is No Separate Category of “Ariya Jhāna”
“8. Anāgāmis who have “burned” kāma rāga saṁyojana and thus permanently severed their connection to kāma loka will be reborn in five realms RESERVED for them: Aviha, Atappa, Sudassa, Sudassi, and Akanittakha. These realms are called “Suddhāvāsa” or “pure abodes.” See a description in the “Saṅgīti Sutta (DN 33)” starting with “Pañca suddhāvāsā—avihā, atappā, sudassā, sudassī, akaniṭṭhā.”
- So is it correct to say that an Anagami cannot be reborn in the arupa loka? I mean even if he has Arupa Ragā left.
- There is also another sutta that describes a situation where Venerable Sariputta helps a Brahmin to be reborn in a Brahma world on his deathbed. Lord Buddha told him that he should not have since this person could attain magga phala.
- If it had been a person like Venerable Maha Mogallana he would have known through his Iddhis that the person had the potential to attain magga phala. However, Venerable Sariputta gave the best possibility apart from magga phala. The only downside is that it stretches the samsaric journey. Likely, this Brahma will eventually attain Nibbāna at some point.
Then Sāriputta went to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said,
Atha kho āyasmā sāriputto yena bhagavā tenupasaṅkami, upasaṅkamitvā bhagavantaṁ abhivādetvā ekamantaṁ nisīdi, ekamantaṁ nisinno kho āyasmā sāriputto bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:
“Sir, the brahmin Dhanañjāni is sick, suffering, gravely ill.
“dhanañjāni, bhante, brāhmaṇo ābādhiko dukkhito bāḷhagilāno,
He bows with his head to your feet.”
so bhagavato pāde sirasā vandatī”ti.
“But Sāriputta, after establishing Dhanañjāni in the inferior Brahmā realm, why did you get up from your seat and leave while there was still more left to do?”
“Kiṁ pana tvaṁ, sāriputta, dhanañjāniṁ brāhmaṇaṁ sati uttarikaraṇīye hīne brahmaloke patiṭṭhāpetvā uṭṭhāyāsanā pakkanto”ti?
- In this context, when Lord Buddha says, “There was still more left to do,” he refers to magga phala.
“Another sutta (I forget the name) describes how Ven. Sariputta was giving instructions to a bhikkhu, and the Buddha told Ven. Sarputta that the bhikkhu had attained Arahanthood.”
- It’s in this sutta, sir:Dutiyalakuṇḍakabhaddiyasutta
So I have heard.
Evaṁ me sutaṁ—
At one time the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery.
ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā sāvatthiyaṁ viharati jetavane anāthapiṇḍikassa ārāme.
Now at that time, Venerable Sāriputta was educating, encouraging, firing up, and inspiring Venerable Bhaddiya the Dwarf in even more ways with a Dhamma talk, thinking that he was still a trainee.
Tena kho pana samayena āyasmā sāriputto āyasmantaṁ lakuṇḍakabhaddiyaṁ sekhaṁ maññamāno bhiyyoso mattāya anekapariyāyena dhammiyā kathāya sandasseti samādapeti samuttejeti sampahaṁseti.
The Buddha saw what was happening.
Addasā kho bhagavā āyasmantaṁ sāriputtaṁ āyasmantaṁ lakuṇḍakabhaddiyaṁ sekhaṁ maññamānaṁ bhiyyoso mattāya anekapariyāyena dhammiyā kathāya sandassentaṁ samādapentaṁ samuttejentaṁ sampahaṁsentaṁ.
Then, understanding this matter, on that occasion the Buddha expressed this heartfelt sentiment:
Atha kho bhagavā etamatthaṁ viditvā tāyaṁ velāyaṁ imaṁ udānaṁ udānesi:
“They’ve cut the cycle, gone to the wishless;
“Acchecchi vaṭṭaṁ byagā nirāsaṁ,
the streams are dried, they flow no more.
Visukkhā saritā na sandati;
Cut, the cycle no longer turns.
Chinnaṁ vaṭṭaṁ na vattati,
Just this is the end of suffering.”
Esevanto dukkhassā”ti.
- This is the Venerable Arahant Lakuntaka Bhaddiya. Lord Buddha praised his qualities. People made fun of his short stature (he was a dwarf) yet he was an arahant with analytical knowledge and Iddhis. They did not know that he had become an arahant. Here is his story ARAHANT LAKUNTAKA BHADDIYA: FOREMOST MONK IN SWEET VOICE
- This is the sutta which describes the event where Venerable Maha Mogallana used Iddhi to see if the monks around had reached the arahant stage.
- Sir Lal has repeated this many times. Jhānas and Iddhis are worthless in themselves because they only stretch the samsaric journey. However, if we use this for the Dhamma they take on a value. They can become Iddhis ariyas like seeing the level of defilement in someone else. I say ariya because an Anariya yogi cannot know whether a person is free from the 10 samyojanas or not.
At one time the Buddha was staying on the slopes of Isigili at the Black Rock, together with a large Saṅgha of five hundred mendicants, all of whom were perfected ones.
Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā rājagahe viharati isigilipasse kāḷasilāyaṁ mahatā bhikkhusaṅghena saddhiṁ pañcamattehi bhikkhusatehi sabbeheva arahantehi.
Thereupon, with his mind, Venerable Mahāmoggallāna checked to see whose mind was liberated and free of attachments.
Tesaṁ sudaṁ āyasmā mahāmoggallāno cetasā cittaṁ samannesati vippamuttaṁ nirupadhiṁ.
Then Venerable Vaṅgīsa thought,
Atha kho āyasmato vaṅgīsassa etadahosi:
“The Buddha is staying on the slopes of Isigili … with five hundred perfected ones.
“ayaṁ kho bhagavā rājagahe viharati isigilipasse kāḷasilāyaṁ mahatā bhikkhusaṅghena saddhiṁ pañcamattehi bhikkhusatehi sabbeheva arahantehi.
Mahāmoggallāna is checking to see whose mind is liberated and free of attachments.
Tesaṁ sudaṁ āyasmā mahāmoggallāno cetasā cittaṁ samannesati vippamuttaṁ nirupadhiṁ.
There is a particularly interesting story. Many people argue that only a Lord Buddha can see someone’s spiritual progress. This statement is not entirely true. Yes, there are spiritual blockages that only a Lord Buddha could discover.
- However, sometimes ariyas who have developed Iddhis can see someone else’s progress. Venerable Maha Mogallana was an expert in this field. In the story below, there is an anagami woman who can see who is an ariya or not. The most surprising thing in all this was that she was a laywoman! She could also see the potential for achieving magga phala in others. All thanks to Iddhis and analytical knowledge. I think we can say that these are Ariya Iddhis. An anariya yogi cannot know whether a person is free from the 10 samyojanas or in the process of being free or not, since he is under their influence. This could be a good reason to develop Iddhis and Jhanas because they help others to liberate themselves. Thanks to this knowledge she made it possible in one way or another to encourage the bhikkhus to be arahants.
- This story illustrates that sometimes laypeople can attain greater purity than Bhikkhus, and they should not hesitate to cultivate realizations such as Iddhis and Jhanas, as long as it helps them attain magga phala. While it may be easier for Bhikkhus to achieve higher magga phalas (Anagami, Arahant), it is not impossible for a lay person.
Here is the story A TAMED MIND BRINGS HAPPINESS
Dhammapada Verse 35
Annatarabhikkhu Vatthu
“Dunniggahassa lahuno
yatthakamanipatino1
cittassa damatho sadhu
cittam dantam sukhavaham”
The mind is difficult to control; swiftly and lightly, it moves and lands wherever it pleases. It is good to tame the mind, for a well-tamed mind brings happiness.
Mātikamātā also developed an interest in meditation and requested the monks to teach her how to meditate. The monks taught her to meditate on the thirty-two loathsome parts of the body, which can help one gain insight into the nature of decay and dissolution of the body. Mātikamātā began meditating diligently and was able to attain the first three paths and fruitions of the Buddhist spiritual path of liberation. The first three paths and fruitions are Stream Enterer (Sotāpañña), Once returner (Sakadāgāmi), and Non-Returner (Anāgāmi). She also developed Analytical Insight (patisambhidā) along with mundane supernormal powers even before the sixty monks did.
With her supernormal powers, Mātikamātā came to know that none of the sixty monks had attained any paths and fruitions of the spiritual path as yet. She also saw that all of the sixty monks had the potential to gain enlightenment as Arahants but that they needed proper food to be able to meditate properly. So she arranged to prepare good and choice food and offered it to the monks regularly. Having received proper and choice food and applying the right effort and diligence, the sixty monks were able to develop the right concentration of the mind, and eventually, all of them realized the Truth and gained enlightenment as Arahants.
