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Dear friends in the Dhamma:Telling by some of the responses to my comment #52165, I realize that I failed in getting my meaning across correctly.By ………. “was beyond the capacity of the common people“(first para), and “…….had to be devised for the common folk“(second para) no ideas of social, class or caste distinctions were intended. The Buddha put it perfectly: ‘only few would understand’ Why? Because of (the lack of) merits, the eligibility. Few are those who at any time are ready for the Teaching. Nothing to do with my or anyone else’s high standards or high levels; with the low , humble and uneducated. As a matter of fact, conceit is one of the hindrances, and one of the hardest to remove, at that.On a personal note. I find I am settling in nicely here. The nursing staff are wonderful. Mostly Asian.I thank all those who have wished me well, irrespective of their views. I am certain that the intentions are all of goodwill: that all may ultimately find the Path to Eternal BlissMay all attain the Deathless.
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taryal,Thank you for being so open and straightforward. Having a clear idea of the position of the other makes the possibility of misunderstanding less likely.I cannot write at any length at the moment. I will be transferring to a home tomorrow as my condition has now reached a stage where constant nursing attention in required. Trusting that I will have more time on my hands – if there is still time.May you attain the supreme Bliss of Nibbana !5 users thanked author for this post.
I should have given some background. The advent and rise of the Mahayana and its subsequent branches was due primarily, if not exclusively, to the fact that some were of the idea that the Dhamma in its original and pure form was beyond the capacity of the common people. And they happen to be right ! The Buddha himself had said that it is difficult. In fact it had taken the prompting of Brahma Sahampati to convince Him to teach for the sake of the very few who would understand. Toward the end of AN 7.72, the Buddha states what kind of mindset a bhikkhus has to develop in order to be finally freed from defilements . The sutta is a ghastly account of how to develop that mindset. No wonder 60 of those monks ‘spewed hot blood’.
So, ‘out of compassion’ a smoother path had to be devised for the common folk. The deeper aspects of Dhamma were declared optional and unnecessary. Only have faith, and ” hey presto ” the Pure Land is yours!! It is the same for those who are told “Have faith in Jesus” and salvation is yours. The (relatively) few who have striven so hard, life after life, to be freed from the shackles of raga, dvesha and moha and from all taints and defilements attain the Best at the end. And those who only believe attain the Best at the very start- having done nothing .Where is the justice? Now we will be told ” believing also is a cause.”!! A philosophy for the people has to be invented too. Those who have seen Dhamma, even ever so little, will easily see through it.
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Well, taryal, then if follows that they have no confidence in the Buddha’s word. If they have not heard it, and heard instead a distorted and ultimately false version of it, well….that explains it for me. The Buddha was questioned on more than one occasion, even by devas, as to how ‘total elimination of the taints/hindrances ‘( I can think of no better way to put it right now) by one’s own efforts ,leading to perfection, be possible. Even they must have been trying, and saw the great difficulties. I believe they ‘confronted ‘ the Buddha with the question not to challenge Him in the spirit of confrontation, but to be instructed by Him. The Buddha’s reply was (in brief, in my own words): there are perfected ones now here with me. Implication: it is possible because the proof is right here.
taryal:
Lal is correct. His comment is in line with mine: I wrote ‘even if that previous bhava happened to be a human one’, meaning the bhava that just ended is not any more powerful because it is the most recent one.
As to a gandhabba changing sex. Depends what we mean by ‘change’. It could mean a transformation in the same gandhabba, due to a modification or modifications brought about by the gradual unfolding of the same kammic energy. That would take place in the same gandhabba (bhava). If ‘change’ is meant in the sense of substitution, replacement, exchange (I changed my car, my house….) then again what Lal and myself said concerning the grasping of a new existence applies.
Yes, taryal. As I see, if the sex is determined before entry, then the gandhabba would only take the ‘right’ XX’ or ‘XY’ combination into consideration.
You got me wondering: what about gandhabbas newly created after the end of a previous bhava, even if that previous bhava happened to be a human one? Say, a brahma dies and grasps a human bhava. Brahmas are sexless, so the prominent gender from the past, or the one of the two that ‘needs addressing ‘ the more would take precedence.
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Yash RS:Another person is another mind; another mind is another world.4 users thanked author for this post.
Jittananto:
This topic is the subject of the thread “Jhana and Magga Pala” – started by Akvan on 6/2/’18 #14000.
AN7.52 itself is specifically referenced from February 9, 2018 at 7:57 am #14038 onwards.
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Thank you for the references Lal.
The sutta I quoted from was “Aggapassada Sutta (AN 4.34)“. Even the devas tremble at the Teaching (previous sutta), and, from their standpoint, with very good reason! I have both suttas bookmarked.
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taryal: at the basic (mundane and utilitarian) level, the sensory faculties are there to help us ward off danger and thus are a means for survival, It is in-build in both humans and animals, as we can see. What you say about kammic energy being its cause is ,however, also true. What is mundane still remains valid. But what do we do? We overdo them, we misuse them, we use the sense faculties to create more abhisankara, whether punna or apunna and both prolong sansara.
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Thank you for your kind words of support and advice. Thank you Lal. Thank you Yash RS. Thank you Waisaka. Thank you dosakkhayo, pathfinder, taryal, Dawson, jittananto. Thank you Sammasambodhi Gami.About Aveccapasada in the Buddha: I made that comment about avecca pasada that Sammasambodhi Gami refers to several years ago. Since then I have learned from Waharaka Thero that etymologically the term means: ava – to dispel, reject, abandon; + icca – the desire for the attractive, the captivating (and deceiving) things in the world; in short, the baits of sansara, At the time I took it only for ‘unwavering confidence’, as most translations (not erroneously) have it. So now I understand: ‘through having rightly seen for myself the validity of the Buddha’s teaching, the desire (icca) for worldly things is gone (ava). Therefrom a great and unwavering confidence in the Buddha has arisen in me’. So the Thero shows how that ‘unwavering confidence’ arises. Most certainly not through ritualistic worship, chanting, symbolism and adoration. It is a question of understanding and accepting without having to force any of it on yourself. It will be worth it to reflect on this for a while.I would like to share something now, if I may, about my path towards the Path.Since childhood I have always been on my guard against any form of conditioning. Born in a Catholic country, I was told by family, friends and teachers : ‘ours is the true religion’. But why, I told myself, should ours be the true religion? Had I been born in a Muslim country to a Muslim family, I would have been told the same, but there the religion would have been Islam; or Hinduism, or Buddhism, or Judaism. ‘ No, I will have to see for myself” I read books about world religions, philosophies, and as much of the ‘history of ideas’ as I came across and tried to come up with my own ‘worldview’. When I started reading the 6 schools of Indian philosophy, in particular bhedabheda Vedanta, all seemed so familiar (in sharp contrast to an ‘alien’, dogmatic, blind-belief religion, overseen, controlled and enforced by external authority into which I was born) . I ‘borrowed’ from the Upanishads, the Gita, Theosophy, even Mahayana and the Japanese schools. But I deemed all these to be quite inadequate.I see two factors at work in conditioning. First, the sentimental one: ‘my parents love me so much, would they tell me a lie?’ – but they themselves had been likewise conditioned by their own parents, and these in turn by their own parents, and so on into the past. Hence we have traditions. And woe to the one who dares to break away or as much as raise questions. Then one becomes a rebel, an outcaste. The second is psychological: ‘ all these people around me, hundreds of thousands of them, believe in the same thing; they go to Church, hear Mass…can they all be wrong?’ The vast majority are quite happy to just follow (he who cannot think must believe); then they are guaranteed ‘the security in the greatest number’, and that is mighty easier than going on a search that, from the outset, seems daunting – and it IS daunting. The search could have gone perhaps to many kalpas into the future, but thanks to a Thero who rediscovered the Teaching and a self-appointed messenger, the search came to an end in 2017. This is why I am always so full of Gratitude to Lal.As to my condition, I opted for the palliative route. So my concern is how to minimize the suffering, especially towards the end. Apart from that, there is nothing to fear.May all attain the Deathless.6 users thanked author for this post.
Dear Noble colleagues:
I am in the process of drafting a reply in appreciation ; it will take some time. My energy levels are very low. Seng Kiat: the CCL was in 2007 – I wrote about it here in 2018.
With Metta
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Few indeed are those who have written ‘in praise’ of Lal. And it is good that they have. Praise is admiration and esteem expressed in words. I hope many more have felt Gratitude. Gratitude is invariably sincere, and though unexpressed, is immeasurably more powerful than words can say.The Buddha said that even if you were to carry your mother and father on your back in their old age until they die, that would not be enough to pay off the debt you owe them in making possible this human birth for you. What to say, then, of someone who has shown you the way out of suffering for ever? You had the merits, the eligibility, you were ready – now, in the Buddha the search has come to an end. A ‘once- in- sansara’ event’! And that is now!! Spend some time reflecting on this. Again. And again. And yet again. I myself never tire of it.As to the other point: do not worry about others dismissing the Dhamma from the outset. Few are eligible even to come across the Dhamma. Your intuition will guide you as to when to persist and when to desist. Remember, the higher a thing, the less popular will it be. That is an observation from life itself. In our case, just glance at the number of views of videos about ‘Buddhism’ – those featuring the overly-charismatic bhikkhu, the ‘entertainment value’, the appeal to the mediocre, the ‘lack of depth’…. you will sense it at once. There you get 50K, 100K. And those videos about the true Dhamma? The regulars on here will know which ones I am referring to; a few hundreds of views, at most 1 or 2K, the least of which those of Waharaka Thero! -the higher a thing, the less popular will it be. What appeals to you will be precisely that which you are ready for. To the many, the all-too-popular videos and sites will be of value, they are their next step forward; to the few they are but water under the bridge. So do not persist, do not force in any way. If you do, the chances are that the listener will harbour aversion toward you, and, what’s much worse, towards the Dhamma – and that will be of great demerit.With infinite Gratitude to Lal and to all who in one way or another are involved in spreading the Dhamma.(I will not be able to contribute anything here for much longer. I have been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer. 4th stage. Oncologist: ‘months’.A heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to all participants on the Forum. May all be free from sansara. May all attain the Deathless.)10 users thanked author for this post.
