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y not,
Apparently, finders keepers is a form of Theft by Finding. It’s even punishable by law in some countries.
Sometimes it’s not so clear whether it’s right to do it or not. If you picked up cash on the street, it’s yours. There’s no way to determine who dropped it. But if you picked up a wallet containing cash and identification card (not necessarily ID card but any form of traceable identification e.g bank card, employment pass etc.), then you should make an effort to return it to the owner. i.e. make a police report.
Hi Yeos,
Am highlighting the peril of attaining even the highest jhanas without any transcendental wisdom by practitioners of wrong views. I would agree a and b do not have to be connected. Like you said, both are complementary.
Hi Yeos,
I have my reason for posting this under Meditation forum.
I notice there is a trend in recent years for Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhists to pursue the original teachings of the Buddha. Hence the name ‘Original Buddhism’ is frequently mentioned within the Buddhist community especially in countries like Taiwan, China, Malaysia, and some western countries. Many Venerables are racing against the clock to spread the original teachings to their followers. I thought it is very heartening to see such great effort being fostered in the Buddhist community. Incidentally, I am very keen to find out what this Original Buddhism is all about. Is it yet another snazzy name belonging to a certain sect of Buddhism?
Nowadays there are so many forms of meditation taught by many meditation gurus out there. From the most common breath meditation to visual meditation. Many buddhists must be wondering what is the original meditation as taught by the Buddha. Before discussing further, some background info I have gathered so far.
“The Upanishads are a collection of texts of religious and philosophical nature, written in India probably between c. 800 BCE and c. 500 BCE, during a time when Indian society started to question the traditional Vedic religious order.”
I learned somewhere that the Upanishads were written to refute Brahmanism. Final liberation in Upanishads is termed as Moksha. Authors of Upanishads had conceptualised the existence of an universal soul a.k.a atman and Brahman (the absolute reality).
“The Upanishads tell us that the core of our own self is not the body, or the mind, but atman or “Self”. Atman is the core of all creatures, their innermost essence. It can only be perceived by direct experience through meditation.”
Upanishads place very strong emphasis on meditation. Followers of Upanishads practised so hard to stilling their minds because they believe that is the only way to reunite with atman. Hence, yogis who had attained even the highest immaterial meditative absorptions mistakenly thought they had attained liberation.
Unfortunately, Upanishads have creeped into Buddhism.
“Upanishads are to some degree shared by most Indian religions, including Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism….despite the fact that the Buddha originally remained indifferent to metaphysical speculations, many Buddhist schools have adopted this scheme as part of their metaphysics.”
Much scholarly works had been done to validate the true teachings and life accounts of the Buddha. After the Parinibbana of the Buddha, there was a schism that split Buddhism into many sects. Each has their own sacred texts, proclaiming the true words of the Buddha. No wonder it is never an easy task to encounter original Buddhism. Nevertheless, scholars and researchers found a common ground across different sects that seem to agree that the original meditation taught by the Buddha is the contemplation on causation and conditionality that give rise to all phenomena. This is particularly evident in the Āgama Sutras (Saṃyukta Āgama) and the Pali Suttas (Saṃyutta Nikāya). They cross-referenced to each other and arrived at a conclusion that in order to break through in one’s spiritual practice, one must contemplate the 5 aggregates arise due to causation and conditions. Those who study the suttas long enough will be very familiar with something like this…when the eye and form meet, seeing consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. Contact conditions feeling, feeling conditions craving and so on…In the seeing, there is just only the seen. In the hearing, there is just only the heard….in the cognising, there is just only the cognised. Consciousness cannot arise on its own. If seeing consciousness is found in the eye, then without relying on other conditions, the eye on its own would be able to see. The same applies to form. It is not the eye nor the form that gives rise to the seeing consciousness. Seeing consciousness arises due to intermingling conditions! Thinking there is a real self behind all our six consciousness is upside down thinking. There is definitely seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, cognising. But it is only under the influence of these intermingling conditions that these consciousness arise. We have to remember that all these experience happen within our own sense spheres and not in another person. Which implies denying the existence of a self is also not a view to adopt.
Trickster…interesting.
I shall relate a true account of my own. It happened to me personally. Last year I visited Sri Lanka. My guide is also a buddhist. So, we have common topic to talk about. At some point we were talking about how Buddhism has deteriorated over the years and that some monks are not really serious practitioners of the path. e.g. they use mobile devices that seem like luxury items to lay people. As he was driving, I saw a monk from afar by the roadside. He was talking on a mobile phone. My first reaction was to point out to my guide, “See! Another monk using mobile phone.”
Nothing spectacular happened until we checked into a resort style hotel that day. I went to my room, unpacked my things and settled down. When night came, I did my evening chanting and meditation. Before I went to bed, I have this habit of switching my mobile phone to airplane mode and placing it far away from my bed on a table. In the middle of the night, I woke up to visit the toilet. Then, I looked at the time on my mobile phone and drink some water to quench thirst. I clearly remembered I placed my mobile phone back on the table after I was done with it. I would never take it with me to bed. And then I went back to sleep. I could not recall for how long I had slept. Suddenly, my feet felt there was an object underneath the quilt. I tried to use my feet to feel what was that object. To my surprise, it was my mobile phone! I got up and saw with my very eyes that it indeed was my mobile phone. I was thinking, how could this be? I was dead sure I did not bring my mobile phone to bed and play with it until I slept. So how did the mobile phone land itself underneath the quilt at the end of my bed? The quilt was fully tucked over the mattress and there was no opening at all! The only reasonable reason I could think of was the thing that I said during the day – accusing the monk who was using a mobile phone to be ill-disciplined. To be honest, I did not freak out. I just found it amazing. After the episode was over, I placed my mobile phone back onto the table and continue sleeping. Of course I did not tell my guide about what happened that night as I did not want to freak him out. I strongly believe some non-human must be trying to teach me a lesson for being disrespectful to a monk. There are Dhamma-protectors who we just cannot see. Why my mobile phone and not my digital camera? Or any other objects that I brought along? To this day, I still find it inconceivable whenever I think of it. I value this kind of experience because it actually helps me strengthen my belief in Buddha Dhamma.
During this trip I got to know a bhante in a monastery. He recommended his student bhante to me and if I have any queries on Dhamma, I can consult him. When I returned back to my country, I did message the bhante and ask him some Dhamma questions. There were times he would even called me to discuss Dhamma over the phone. If someone like me before were to see this bhante using a mobile phone, will he/she be too quick to judge him? I knew I was too quick to judge and was taught a lesson to watch my mannerism.
With reference to the post Causes + Conditions = Result?, I would like to bring up a very interesting observation to see that phenomena are born out of conditions. Imagine we want to fry an egg. We need egg, oil, and frying pan. These 3 items already exist. They are past and real. The action to ignite a fire is our volition. The fire is an external environmental factor. The moment we start cracking up the egg and frying it in the frying pan with hot oil, things are beginning to look interesting. The past items (egg, oil, frying pan) have changed. i.e. Egg has been cracked; Oil has turned hot; Frying pan has turned hot; After some time, the oil gets spewing hot and we react to this and turn down the fire a bit. i.e. Our reaction has been changed; The fire has been changed; So, we clearly see that neither the egg nor the oil, nor the frying pan determines the outcome. Neither we nor the fire determines the outcome. Nothing from the past, us, or external environmental factor can single-endedly determine the outcome. What really happened is all the variables at play are just influencing one another, constantly undergoing further changes. Phenomena is just a constant flux of the manifestation of conditions influencing one another that bear a multi-facet outlook. I personally think this is a very good exercise to help us debunk determinism and externalism. A bhante specifically mentioned that a person who sees all phenomena as being born out of conditions will not have the concept of past, present, and future. Past memories and the present are just our ‘cognitive landmarks’ when we cross-reference these two. Future is just an anticipation, an extrapolation. All these come from our ‘I-making’, ‘mine-making’ habits.
Thanks Lal. The Bhante who delivered this desana is from Ven. Ledi Sayadaw’s lineage. It’s an amazing doctrine which I think is very conducive to help deepen the understanding of Tilakkhana.
“sabbe dhammā anattā”
All dhammā arise out of causes and conditions. It appears that the phenomena that we see are actually the decaying process of the causes and conditions that gave rise to these phenomena. For example the process of inhalation and exhalation of breath. Exhalation is the cause of inhalation. The onset of the inhalation process is already a self-consuming and self-destroying one whereby the conditions for inhalation is progressively being destroyed. The more we inhale, the lesser there is a need to do that. Just because we love inhalation, we cannot perpetually inhale without exhaling. The inhalation process is a self-consuming and self-destroying one and yet it is building up the necessary cause for exhalation. The opposite holds true too. Another way I look at the arising and perishing of dhammā is for example, a desana delivered by a bhante. The moment the bhante starts delivering his desana, the self-consuming and self-decay process has already begun. The more the bhante speaks, the more his desana is nearing the end. Seeing the arising and perishing of all phenomena this way, we can see that there is no external agent that is controlling the mechanics of causes and conditions. Whatever phenomena we cognised via our 6 senses are as such – it’s only the decaying process of dhammā that has already arisen. There is nothing enduring enough to be truly called a self.
Hi y not,
“So the finer the realm, the more subtle and the more prolonged the experiencing”
I would also think the waiting is agonising especially those who are so looking forward to Nibbana. Basically, just waiting to die.
Hi Lal,
“A Sakadagami will not come back to the kama loka once born in the deva loka. But he MAY attain the Anagami stage, and be born in the brahma realm before attaining Nibbana.”
Agreed. A Sakadagami in the deva realm can shift gear in his practice and attain Anāgāmi when he is dwelling in the deva realm.
“In the case of Anagami, he may not need to spend the whole maximum possible lifetime for that realm before attaining Nibbana. He may attain Nibbana shortly after being born there; nothing to prevent that.”
Assuming the Anāgāmi lived throughout his life span in the Pure Abodes. He would have a chance to see 2 or even more successive Sammāsambuddhas?
Something came to my mind today:
A Deva-born-Sakadagami will attain Nibbana faster than a Brahma-born-Anāgāmi, right? Since the life span of the latter is much much longer than the former. A Deva-born-Sakadagami, after attaining the fruition of Sakadagami in the human realm, gets reborn as a once-returner to Kama Loka in the deva realm and attain Nibbana from there. Similarly for the case of the Brahma-born-Anāgāmi where he will be dwelling in the Pure Abodes for a much longer time before attaining Nibbna. If that is the case, a Sotāpanna can also attain Nibbana faster than a Deva-born-Sakadagami and Brahma-born-Anagami. For instance, a person attains Sotāpanna fruition in this life time. Assuming he is the laziest Sotāpanna around and that he is to max out the 7 rounds of bhava entirely in the human realm (obviously he cannot fall into woeful planes. Phew! Crisis averted!). The maximum time he would have to spend before attaining Nibbana is only thousands of years versus millions of years and aeons for the case of a Deva-born-Sakadagami and Brahma-born-Anāgāmi, respectively.
Your case is quite different. It’s like you saw some sign of something that is about to happen. Like some kind of clairvoyance. People who do trekking into mountains, caves, forests etc. must be very careful not to offend deities who dwell in such places. In my younger days serving national service in the military, we heard of stories of how some seniors who urinated into bushes or trees without seeking permission. Consequently, they either had high fever or fell seriously ill.
Divine intervention as in our lives could be influenced by some devas and other non-human. There were accounts in the suttas that mentioned some yakkhas could drive people crazy and even kill them.
Another very dangerous view I would like to mention is Determinism.
Wikipedia: “Determinism is the philosophical theory that all events, including moral choices, are completely determined by previously existing causes. Determinism is usually understood to preclude free will because it entails that humans cannot act otherwise than they do.”
I recalled a colleague who has this wrong view. He told me that everything has been planned out for us. Including the conversation which is now taking place between the two of us. He ‘proved’ to me that his theory is true by asking me to go to a corner and squat down. Of course I did not do that. Then, he said I did not do as what he asked because I was not ‘programmed’ to carry out that act. And if I really did go to a corner and squat down, he would say that’s because I was ‘programmed’ to do as what was told! How ridiculous! He went on to say that we sentient beings are just like the video game characters, controlled by a powerful and mighty being above. Everything has already been dictated by this being and we are merely acting out according to his wishes.
Incidentally, I just finished listening to a bhante’s discourse on determinism and thought of sharing it with fellow dhamma friends here. And by the way, the discourse is in mandarin. Bhante mentioned that the word kamma vipaka originated from an external sect in ancient India. The external sect’s version of kamma vipaka is determinism. Bhante related two examples to illustrate some important points. 1. A lay person after attending to dhamma class, left the monastery and met a beggar outside. He was so compassionate especially after listening to bhante’s talk that he gave the beggar $50. Now, according to determinism the beggar must be a creditor and the lay person a debtor in previous life. Of all lay persons why only this lay person gave money to the beggar? Of all the places why must this beggar appear outside the monastery after the dhamma talk? Determinism said the events that take place in this present life must be due to previous life kamma. That being the case, can there be any merit for the lay person to give that $50 to the beggar? No. Because he owes it to the beggar in the previous life. And is there any wrong in the beggar to take the lay person’s money without thanking him? Again determinism said no wrong because it is only right that the creditor takes back what was owed to him. The creditor can even blame the debtor for returning the money late! 2. A motorist drives a car and knocked down a passenger. Of all places and people, why must this motorist and passenger meet in an accident? Determinism said everything is destined by past kamma. The motorist is the creditor and the passenger the debtor. Since debts must be repaid, determinism said it is only right that the motorist must knock down the passenger or the passenger to be knocked down by the motorist to repay his debt owed to the motorist in previous life. So, according to determinism, there is no wrong for the motorist to knock down the passenger. Owe debt pay debt, no wrong in present life actions right? Now, this is a very dangerous view. People who uphold this kind of view will always blame his actions and events on previous kamma and they will never strive to end suffering and see dangers in any wrong doings. He will not want to do anything and be a parasite to society. Determinism will even ‘motivate’ him to commit monstrous crime to get what he desires without considering the consequences.
Bhante mentioned that the kamma vipaka that the Buddha taught is not deterministic. It is affected, not determined, by past kamma, present actions, and external factors that relate to our present actions and vipaka brought upon us by past kamma. He gave a simile: Supposedly yesterday I bought a bottle of milk and left it in the fridge. Today I open up the bottle of milk to drink and find the taste not to my liking. The event of buying the milk took place yesterday and it is a fact. The taste of the milk which is not to my liking is the vipaka I have to endure. What I can do is to buy some oranges from the supermarket and squash them to mix with the milk to make the drink tastier. The supermarket and oranges are external things that influence the vipaka from past kamma and my present actions to yield a desirable outcome. The supermarket and oranges are built and grown by someone. I have no control over them. But through skilful means, I would be able to change the vipaka (of the bad tasting milk) to my liking. I think bhante is trying to say we have free-will to change our destiny. He summarises his talk by giving an analogy of 3 persons lifting a table, representing kamma vipaka, present life actions, and external factors. 2 of the 3 persons will influence that 1 person as much as this one person influencing the other 2. How high the table was lifted, how fast the 3 of them walk , and the height of the 3 persons will influence any one of them.
