Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I would like to add that those who want to practice Dana (generosity) paramis can make donations to this monastery.
Those who like to donate, please send an email to get the necessary information: [email protected]
1 user thanked author for this post.
Hello Yash RS. I read your bio and you say you are a 20 year old sotāpanna. You are even aiming for the Anagami stage!! I am very happy to see someone in my age group progressing in magga phala. As you know most people in our group age are not interested in Dhamma. Is it possible to contact me on my email to discuss your experience of the Dhamma? This is my email :[email protected]
I found a sutta that said exactly what Mr. Lal means. I don’t know if he had already posted this sutta in one of these articles.
Snp 2.1 Ratana Sutta: Jewels Discourse
9. Ye ariyasaccāni vibhāvayanti
Gambhīrapaññena sudesitāni
Kiñcāpi te honti bhusappamattā
Na te bhavaṁ aṭṭhamaṁ ādiyanti
Idam’pi Saṅghe ratanaṁ paṇītaṁ
Etena saccena suvatthi hotu
Those who comprehend the Noble Truths, well taught by the Buddha of profound wisdom, no matter how negligent, would not take an eighth existence. In the Saṅgha is this precious jewel. By this truth, may there be well-being!
10. Sahāva’ssa dassana sampadāya
Tayassu dhammā jahitā bhavanti
Sakkāyadiṭṭhi vicikicchitañ ca
Sīlabbataṁvā’pi yadatthi kiñci
Catūhapāyehi ca vippamutto,
Cha cābhiṭhānāni abhabbo kātuṁ
Idampi Saṅghe ratanaṁ paṇītaṁ
Etena saccena suvatthi hotu
For one who has attained the correct view, three fetters are abandoned: self-centered view, doubt, and clinging to wrong practices. Freed from the four planes of misery, he cannot commit the six major wrong-doings that lead to hell. In the Saṅgha is this precious jewel. By this truth, may there be well-being!
11. Kiñcā’pi so kammaṁ karoti pāpakaṁ
Kāyena vācā uda cetasā vā
Abhabbo so tassa paṭicchādāya
Abhabbatā diṭṭha padassa vuttā
Idampi Saṅghe ratanaṁ paṇītaṁ
Etena saccena suvatthi hotu
Though he might do some evil deed by body, speech, or mind, he cannot hide it; such is impossible for one who has seen the Dhamma. In the Saṅgha is this precious jewel. By this truth, may there be well-being!
Sometimes we tell ourselves we will do this and we will do that, thinking that things are under our control (atta). The perfect example is life for a person in the prime of his youth. We believe we are invincible and even immortal. We don’t even suspect that death could come and find us at any moment. It’s easy to see, you just have to look around us at how people live. I often hear, “you have life ahead of you”. Such distorted thinking can only arise in a puthujunas and it will inevitably lead to more suffering (dukkha). Death can come at any time. If we are still puthujunas, it is very dangerous because we do not know if we will fall into apayas or not. It doesn’t matter whether we have done merits or not, the nimitta at the time of death is unknown. A sotāpanna is assured of not falling into apayas. Even the laziest among them (the one who attains Nibbāna in the seventh bhava) has no worries about his destination during the seven bhava. Understanding tilakkhana will help us eradicate this false view. A sense of urgency must emerge within us. We must put the study and practice of the Dhamma as a priority. The story of the merchant Mahadhana is a perfect example. He reaches the sotāpanna stage just before he dies.
DON’T DELAY DOING GOOD THINGS, DEATH COULD COME ANY DAY ANYTIME
The 423 verses are divided into 26 chapters or vaggas each with a particular heading. The twentieth chapter is named “Magga vagga” meaning the chapter on “The path,” which contains 17 verses said by the Buddha. The background story of the 286th verse, the fourteenth verse of the Magga Vagga, is about a merchant named Mahadhana who was planning to stay at a certain place and sell his goods for a whole year, without knowing that he will face death in seven days.
The background story of verse 286
At one time, the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatti, which was donated to the Buddha by the chief benefactor named Anāthapindika.
Once, there was a certain festival in the city of Sāvatti. A merchant named Mahadhana from the city of Baranasi, came with five hundred carts fully loaded with textiles and other merchandise hoping to sell his goods at the festival. On his way to Sāvatti, he had to cross a river. But when he reached the river bank near Sāvatti, he discovered that the river was flooding and was unable to cross the river with his five hundred cart loads. He was held up at the river bank for seven days as it rained for seven days and as a result the water in the river did not subside. There was no need for him to cross the river anyway, as the festival in Sāvatti was over by then.
Since he had traveled a long distance from Baranasi to Sāvatti, he did not want to return to Baranasi with his five hundred carts loaded with unsold merchandise. He decided to stay near the river bank for the next three seasons: the rainy season, the cold season, and the hot season, hoping to sell his goods, and said so to his assistants who were accompanying him. On that day, the Buddha was on his morning alms round in Sāvatti, and when the Buddha saw the merchant, the Buddha knew of the merchant’s decision to stay on for one year and smiled. Venerable Ānanda was accompanying the Buddha on his alms round and when he saw the Buddha smile, he inquired as to why the Buddha smiled. The Buddha replied:
“Ānanda, do you see that merchant? He plans to stay here for the whole year and sell his goods. He does not know that he is going to die here in seven days.”
“What should be done, should be done today,
who would know that one would die tomorrow?
we have no date fixed with the King of Death,
for one who is mindful by day or by night,
who is not disturbed by moral defilements and is energetic,
to live for just one night is a well spent life.”
Then the Buddha sent Venerable Ānanda to go and speak to the merchant. Venerable Ānanda went and explained to the merchant that time was running out for him and hence he should practise mindfulness instead of being negligent. When the merchant came to know about his impending death in seven days, he became alarmed and frightened. So, for the next seven days, he invited the Buddha and the monks and offered alms food. On the seventh day, the Buddha delivered a short sermon to him in appreciation of offering alms food to the Buddha and the accompanying monks. Then the Buddha recited the following verse which is recorded as the 286th verse of the Dhammapada.
“Idha vassaṁ vasissāmi,
idha hemantagimhisu,
iti bālo vicinteti,
antarāyaṁ na bujjhati.”
“Here shall I live in the rainy season,
here shall I live in the cold season and the hot season,
so imagines the fool,
not realising the danger (of approaching death).”
It is recorded that at the end of this short sermon by the Buddha, the merchant attained the supra mundane stage of Stream Enterer (Sotāpañña). As the Buddha was leaving, the merchant followed the Buddha for some distance and returned. Soon afterwards, he developed a severe headache and passed away. He is believed to have been reborn as a deity in the heavenly world named Tusita.
1 user thanked author for this post.
My psychology teacher says that the brain becomes fully mature at 30. Ordinary people don’t even know what being mature means. For them, maturity means being able to enjoy sensual pleasures independently. Of course, others see the jhanas. It is already a good start but it is not enough. However, in the Buddha Dhamma, maturity is realizing at least one stage of magga phala. Full maturity is at the arahant stage. A seven years old sotāpanna child is more mature than a 100 year old puthujanas. Lord Buddha said: “It is better to live one day seeing the deathless (Nibbāna) than to live 100 years not seeing it.” A sotāpanna saw the deathless, briefly. The novice monk Pandita became an arahant at the age of 7!!
THE MIND CAN BE TAMED WITH DILIGENT PRACTICE
Dhammapada contains 423 verses said by the Buddha in different contexts. Most of the verses have been taken from the discourses of the Buddha. It has been noted that more than two thirds of the verses are taken from the discourses contained in the two collections of the Buddha’s discourses known as the Samyutta Nikāya and Anguttara Nikāya. The 423 verses are divided into 26 chapters or vaggas each with a particular heading. The sixth chapter is named “Pandita vagga” meaning the chapter on “The wise”, which contains 14 verses said by the Buddha. The back ground story of the 80th verse which is the fifth verse of the Pandita vagga, is about a seven year old novice monk who meditated with determination and diligence and enlightened as an Arahant only a few days after becoming a novice monk.
Background story of verse 80
At one time, the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatti which was donated to the Buddha by the chief benefactor named Anāthapindika.
A wealthy person residing in Sāvatti had a young son named Pandita who ordained as a novice monk in the dispensation of the Buddha at the very tender age of only seven years. On the eighth day after becoming a novice monk, as he was following Arahant Sāriputta the Buddha’s chief disciple on the alms round, he witnessed some farmers channeling water into their fields. He then asked Arahant Sāriputta:
“Can water which has no consciousness, be guided to wherever one wishes?”
Arahant Sāriputta replied:
“Yes, it can be guided to wherever one wishes.”
As they continued on their alms round, the novice monk next witnessed some fletchers heating their arrows with fire and straightening them. As they further continued on their alms round, the novice monk next witnessed some carpenters cutting, sawing and planing timber to make into things such as cart wheels. Then he thought to himself:
“If water which has no consciousness can be guided to wherever one wishes, if a crooked bamboo which has no consciousness can be straightened, and if timber which has no consciousness can be made into useful things, why should I who has consciousness, be unable to tame my mind and practise tranquility and insight meditation?”
As soon as he had that thought in his mind, he obtained permission from Arahant Sāriputta and returned to his own room in the Jetavana monastery. Having arrived in his room, he started meditating ardently and diligently contemplating on the body. Sakka the chief of the heavenly deities and the other deities noticed the novice monk meditating ardently and diligently, and helped him to meditate properly by making sure that the monastery and it’s precincts were quiet and still. By meditating with such ardency and diligence, the novice monk Pandita was able to attain the Anāgāmi fruition, which is the third supra mundane stage of the Buddhist spiritual path of liberation from suffering even before his noon meal time.
At that time, Arahant Sāriputta was bringing food to the novice monk for his noon meal. Just then, the Buddha saw through the Buddha’s supernormal power that the novice monk Pandita has already attained Anāgāmi fruition and that if he continued with his meditation, he would soon be fully enlightened as an Arahant. Hence, the Buddha decided to stop Arahant Sāriputta entering the room where the novice monk was meditating. The Buddha went to the door of the room and engaged Arahant Sāriputta in a conversation by asking him some questions. While this conversation was going on between the Buddha and Arahant Sāriputta, the novice monk gained enlightenment as an Arahant. So, the novice monk Pandita became an Arahant on the eighth day after becoming a novice monk at the age of seven years.
While addressing the congregation of monks at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha said to them:
“When one is earnestly practising the Dhamma, even Sakka the chief of the deities and the other deities give protection and keep guard. I myself kept Arahant Sāriputta engaged in a conversation at the door so that the novice monk Pandita will not be disturbed practising his meditation. The novice monk Pandita, having witnessed the farmers irrigating their fields, the fletchers straightening their arrows, and carpenters making cart wheels and other things, tamed his mind and practised the Dhamma; he has now become an Arahant.”
Then the Buddha recited the following verse which is recorded as the 80th verse of the Dhammapada.
“Udakaṁ hi nayanti nettikā,
usukārā namayanti tejanaṁ,
dāruṁ namayanti tacchakā,
attānaṁ damayanti panditā.”
“Farmers channel water,
fletchers straighten arrows,
carpenters work with the wood,
the wise men restrain themselves.”
2 users thanked author for this post.
PATODA SUTTA: DISCOURSE ON GOAD STICK
“Monks, there are these four kinds of excellent thoroughbred horses existing in the world.
In the Patoda sutta, the Buddha has used the simile of four kinds of excellent thoroughbred horses to describe four kinds of individuals in the world who develop spiritual urgency (samvega) and cultivate the Buddhist path of liberation in four different circumstances. The first individual becomes stirred and agitated and develops spiritual urgency just by hearing the news of someone who is suffering or has died. The second individual responds in a similar way when he sees a person unrelated to him who is suffering or has died. The third individual responds when someone in his own family is afflicted or has died, while the fourth individual responds when he himself is afflicted with severe pain or a life-threatening illness.
When spiritual urgency arises in a person, it may inspire the person to begin a spiritual journey with energy and courage while remaining in lay life or by becoming a monastic. Spiritual urgency will help one to avoid negligence and practice harder with more vigor, diligence, and perseverance to achieve one’s spiritual goal of being free from suffering.
One of the most significant examples of the arising of spiritual urgency is what Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha aspirant (Bodhisatta), felt when he was exposed to old age, sickness, and death for the first time at the age of 29 years. Until then, he had been protected from such experiences by his father, King Suddhodana, who had been alarmed by the prediction of some wise men that one day, the young prince may leave domestic life to become an ascetic and would eventually become a Buddha. When Prince Siddhartha realized that old age, sickness, death, and associated suffering are common to himself, his loved ones, and every human being, the prince was overwhelmed by spiritual urgency and decided to renounce the domestic life and royal comforts in order to search for a way out of human suffering.”
CHANNOVADA SUTTA: DISCOURSE ON ADVICE TO VENERABLE CHANNA
“Then when Venerable Sāriputta and Venerable Mahā Cunda had advised Venerable Channa, they rose from their seats and departed. Then, soon after they had departed, Venerable Channa used the knife to end his life.
Then Venerable Sāriputta went to the Buddha and having paid homage to the Buddha, sat to one side. Sitting to one side, Venerable Sāriputta said this to the Buddha. “Venerable Sir, Venerable Channa has used the knife. What is his destination, what is his future course?”
“Sāriputta, didn’t the monk Channa declare to you his blamelessness?”
“Venerable Sir, there is a Vajjan village called Pubbajira. There Venerable Channa had friendly families, close families, approachable families.”
“True, Sāriputta, Channa had friendly families, close families, approachable families. But Sāriputta, I do not say that he was blameworthy on that account. Sāriputta, when one lays down this body and takes up a new body, then I say one is blameworthy. This did not happen with the monk Channa; he used the knife blamelessly.”
This is what the Buddha said. Venerable Sāriputta satisfied and delighted in the Buddha’s words.”
“The Buddha has stated that Venerable Channa’s death was blameless as he has defeated death, meaning that Venerable Channa has died as an Arahant. In the days of the Buddha, two other monks named Venerable Godhika and Venerable Vakkali too died in a similar way and in those events too the Buddha stated that they died as Arahants. Unsurprisingly, there is much discussion and debate in the Buddhist literature as to whether Venerable Channa was really an Arahant when he ended his life with a knife and whether it is possible for an Arahant to end one’s own life in such a way.”
Another arahant who committed suicide: Godhika Thera
SACCA VIBHANGA SUTTA: DISCOURSE ON THE ANALYSIS OF THE TRUTHS
“Monks, follow Sāriputta and Moggallāna; associate with Sāriputta and Moggallāna. They are wise and helpful to their companions in the holy life. Sāriputta, monks is like a mother; Moggallāna is like a nursing mother. Sāriputta, monks, trains others in the path of the fruit of Stream Winner, and Moggallāna for the highest goal. Sāriputta, monks is able to proclaim, teach, define, establish, clarify, analyse, and elucidate the four Noble Truths in detail.”
[Arahant Sāriputta and Arahant Mahā Moggallāna were the two chief disciples of the Buddha. It is said that Arahant Sāriputta would train the newly ordained monks till they attain the first supra mundane stage of Stream Enterer (Sotāpanna), and from then on, Arahant Mahā Moggallāna would teach them until they gain full enlightenment as Arahants. Hence, the Buddha has referred to Arahant Sāriputta as a mother and Arahant Mahā Moggallāna as a nursing mother.]
I believe this verse means that; “to reach the sotāpanna stage one requires great wisdom.” The jhanas make it easier to reach the higher stages. The venerable arahant Sariputta was the best in wisdom among the monks. With his wisdom, he brought many to the sotāpanna stage. Of course, he could also guide others to the higher stage. Venerable Maha Mogallana was the best in abhinnas and jhanās. He guided the others directly to the arahant stage.
I believe many people misinterpret this verse. They think that having jhanas is proof of being an arahant. (There are anariya yogis with all the jhanās and abhinnas). However, we find in the suttas arahants liberated solely through wisdom.
Sir Lal: “Suicide done with proper understanding is a different case. There is an account in the Tipitaka about an Arahant who took his life with the approval of the Buddha. Arahants live only for the benefit of others, to explain Dhamma to others. If the Arahant is in deep pain due to an unrecoverable illness, there is no point in living and undergoing such pain.”
My response: It was the venerable Vakkali sir VAKKALI SUTTA: DISCOURSE TO VENERABLE VAKKALI
