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DHAMMA IS OF BENEFIT ONLY WHEN IT IS PRACTISED, NOT BY JUST HEARING IT
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, a lay disciple of the Buddha named Chattapani lived in Savatti. Though he was a lay disciple, he had already attained the third supra mundane stage of Non-Returner (Anagami). One day, when he was listening to a sermon by the Buddha at the Jetavana monastery, King Pasenadi of Kosala arrived to pay homage to the Buddha. When the king arrived, Chattapani did not stand up as he thought that standing up when the king meant he was not paying due respect to the Buddha. However, the king considered that Chattapani did not stand up when he arrived as an insult and felt very much offended. The Buddha knew that the king felt offended and praised Chattapani, describing him as a disciple well-versed in the Dhamma and had attained the Non-Returner stage. On hearing the Buddha’s description of Chattapani, the king was impressed with him and developed a positive attitude towards him.
When the king met Chattapani on a subsequent occasion, the king said to him: “As you are much learned, could you please come to my palace and teach the Dhamma to my two queens?” Chattapani did not agree to the king’s suggestion, but he suggested that the king request the Buddha to arrange for a monk to visit the palace and teach the Dhamma to the two queens. The king eventually made that request to the Buddha, and the Buddha asked Venerable Ananda to visit the palace and teach the Dhamma to Queen Mallika and Queen Vasabhakhattiya regularly.
As directed by the Buddha, Venerable Ananda visited the palace regularly and taught the Dhamma to the two queens. After some time, the Buddha inquired Venerable Ananda about the progress of the two queens through his teaching. Venerable Ananda reported to the Buddha that although Queen Mallika was learning the Dhamma seriously, Queen Vasabhakhattiya was not paying proper attention to his teaching. On receiving that information, the Buddha said that the Dhamma can benefit only those who learn it seriously with due respect and proper attention and then practice it with diligence.
Then the Buddha recited the following two verses which are recorded as the 51st and the 52nd verses of the Dhammapada.
“Yathā pi ruciraṁ pupphaṁ,
vannavantaṁ agandhakaṁ,
evaṁ subhāsitā vācā,
aphalā hoti akubbato.”
“Just like a beautiful flower,
which has color but no fragrance,
so also, well-preached words of the Buddha,
cannot benefit one who does not practice them.”
“Yathā pi ruciraṁ pupphaṁ,
vannavantaṁ sagandhakaṁ,
evaṁ subhāsitā vācā,
saphalā hoti sakubbato.”
“Just like a beautiful flower,
which has color as well as fragrance,
so also the well-preached words of the Buddha,
will benefit one who practices them.”
- For those who don’t know, Queen Mallika was an extraordinarily gifted and intelligent woman in Dhamma. Despite her great understanding, she did not reach the sotāpanna stage. After her death, she fell into hell (niraya) because of her sexual misconduct and lying. However, thanks to the many Kusulas she acquired, she only spent seven days before being reborn in Tusita paradise. Likely, she will eventually become Sotapanna. Tusita is the fourth paradise in kāma loka, the abode of the Bodhisattas before their last birth. Every sincere effort in Dhamma practice will be our refuge in case of falling. It always benefits us.
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There are several Sila Suttas. I am not sure which sutta that refers to.
This sutta is found in the Saṁyutta Nikāya, Sir.
If not, they attain enlightenment at the time of death.
No ce diṭṭheva dhamme paṭikacca aññaṁ ārādheti, atha maraṇakāle aññaṁ ārādheti.
If not, with the ending of the five lower fetters, they’re extinguished between one life and the next.
No ce diṭṭheva dhamme paṭikacca aññaṁ ārādheti, no ce maraṇakāle aññaṁ ārādheti, atha pañcannaṁ orambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ parikkhayā antarāparinibbāyī hoti.
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SĪLA SUTTA: DISCOURSE ON MORALITY (SĪLA)
“If one does not attain final knowledge early in this life itself or at the time of death, then with the utter destruction of the five lower fetters, he becomes an attainer of Nibbāna in the intermediate state.”
- Does this quote speak of Antara Parinibbāna’s state in a hidden way?Parinibbāna of Waharaka Thēro
Thank you very much for taking the time to explain this to me, sir. I have to reread it to make sure I get it right. As I said there are many concepts in transition in my mind that I used to understand in a worldly way.
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Certainly, Sir, I will answer your question. As I mentioned earlier, there are still many concepts that I am processing. Sakkaya ditthi refers to the belief in an unchanging and permanent soul, which can be controlled and passed on from one life to another or can perish with the body depending on the ditthi. A sotāpanna has eliminated these views, but the perception of self still lingers like a bad smell on a washed cloth. It is only at the arahant stage that the perception of self is eliminated. This is the summary of what I learned, sir. Please explain what I misunderstood.
No, he still has this wrong perception but he will never fall into the views related to Sakkaya ditthi.
In the Duthiya Isidatta sutta of the Samyutta Nikaya, it is stated that various other wrong views and the sixty-two wrong views described in the Brahmajala sutta arise due to the presence of sakkaya ditthi and that they do not arise when there is no sakkaya ditthi. The ten other wrong views described in the Duthiya Isidatta sutta are;
The world is eternal.
The world is not eternal.
The world is finite.
The world is not finite.
The soul and the body are the same.
The soul and the body are not the same.
One exists after death.
One does not exist after death.
One both exists and does not exist after death.
One neither exists nor does not exist after death (6).
I believe it is this aspect of Sakkaya ditthi that a sotāpanna has eliminated, right?
This is an example of a publication on Sakkaya ditthi.
SAKKAYA DITTHI: SELF-IDENTIFICATION VIEW IN THERAVADA BUDDHISM
Sakkaya ditthi is the wrong view that mistakenly identifies with one of the five aggregates of clinging that constitute the Psycho-physical complex described as a being or personality as “self”.
There are three possible ways in which self-identification can take place.
This is mine – due to craving (tanha)
This I am – due to conceit (mana)
This is me – due to the wrong view (ditthi)
I understand that a sotāpanna is said to have eradicated sakkaya ditthi. However, even though a sotāpanna has achieved this, he can still have a strong attachment to kāma ragā. This attachment depends on his gāti, and he may continue to pursue the things of this world. However, he will never commit evil acts to acquire them. I have been considering that belief in the personality might be more appropriate since it eradicates all micchādiṭṭhi. If I have made any mistakes, please correct me. I am still transitioning and learning about many Dhamma concepts that I previously understood in a worldly way. Most of my statements are based on what I learned before I encountered the Puredhamma site. Thank you for sharing the essay Dosakkhayo; it has highlighted my gaps in certain concepts.
“Sakkaya ditthi is the false belief that the consequent pleasure from having raga can be meaningful in some way.”
- To be more precise Sakkaya ditthi is the belief in personality. It can take two forms: Sassatta ditthi the belief in an eternal self that will end in a higher or lower realm forever. Present in most religions. The other is uccheda ditthi the belief in a self that is annihilated at death. Sakkaya ditthi can take many forms. However, this belief can say that there is a self that must enjoy sensual pleasures, (Kāma ragā)
Yes my friend but the only answer I told myself is that people from these remote areas are not spiritually mature enough. They don’t have the notions of Punna Kamma, Papa Kamma, and rebirth. These notions were present in Sri Lanka and India. However, the problem here is that every Lord Buddha has been in the Indian subcontinent and nowhere else.
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Thank you for the explanations, Sir. I Didn’t understand this concept yet. I will read your essay on that.
Here is a case that might be related to this discussion. I believe this teenager’s brain lost the connection with this life and took on the memories of his previous life. I’ve also seen stories of people waking up with abilities they never developed in their lives. For example, they could play instruments, do advanced mathematics, and many others. The connection between Vinnana and the brain is astounding.
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MENTAL FACTOR OF ATTENTION (MANASIKĀRA) IN THERAVADA BUDDHISM
Stream Enterer has attained the path and the fruit of the first stage of enlightenment and has thus become a noble person (ariya) having previously been an ordinary worldling (puthujjana). One who aspires to follow the path to attain the stage of Stream Enterer is expected to observe certain wholesome practices including wise attention which plays an extremely important role:
1. Association with spiritual friends (kalyānamittha-sevana)
2. Listening to true Dhamma (saddhamma-savana)
3. Wise attention (yoniso-manasikāra)
4. Living according to Dhamma (dhammānudhamma-patipadā)
