Milindapañha Pāḷi is the last of the books which constitute Khuddaka Nikāya. It records the questions asked by King Milinda and the answers given by the Venerable Nāgasena some five hundred years after the parinibbāna of the Buddha. King Milinda was Yonaka (Graeco-Bactrian) ruler of Sāgala. He was very learned and highly skilled in the art of debating. The Venerable Nāgasena, a fully accomplished arahat, was on a visit to Sāgala, at the request of the Sangha.
King Milinda, who wanted to have some points on the Dhamma clarified, asked the Venerable Nāgasena complex questions concerning the nature of man, his survival after death and other doctrinal aspects of the Dhamma. The Venerable Nāgasena gave him satisfactory replies on each question asked. These erudite questions and answers on the teaching of the Buddha are compiled into the book known as the Milindapañha Pāḷi.
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The two small works, Netti, made up of seven chapters, and Peṭakopadesa, made up of eight chapters, are different from the other books of the Tipiṭaka because they are exegetical and methodological in nature. Read more..
This treatise contains thirty-five stories of the Buddha’s previous lives retold at the request of the Venerable Sāriputta. Whereas the Jātaka is concerned with the Buddha’s previous existences from the time of Sumedha, the hermit, till he became Gotama Buddha, Cariyā Piṭaka deals only with thirty-five of the existences of the bodhisatta in this last world cycle. The Venerable Sāriputta’s object in making the request is to highlight the indomitable will, the supreme effort, the peerless sacrifice with which the bodhisatta conducts himself in fulfillment of the ten pāramīs (virtues towards perfection).
The bodhisatta has, throughout innumerable ages, fulfilled the ten pāramīs for a countless number of times. Cariyā Piṭaka records such performances in thirty-five existences, selecting seven out of the ten pāramīs, and recounts how each pāramī is accomplished in each of these existences. Ten stories in the first vagga are concerned with the with accumulation of virtues in alms-giving, the second vagga has ten stories on the practice of morality and the last vagga mentions fifteen stories, five of them dealing with renunciation, one with firm determination, six with truthfulness, two with loving-kindness and one with equanimity.
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Buddhavaṃsa Pāḷi gives a short historical account of Gotama Buddha and of the twenty-four Buddhas who had prophesied his attainment of Buddhahood. It consists of twenty-nine sections in verse.
The first section gives an account of how the Venerable Sāriputta asks the Buddha when it was that he first resolved to work for the attainment of Buddhahood and what pāramīs (virtues towards perfection) he had fulfilled to achieve his goal of perfect enlightenment. In the second section, the Buddha describes how as Sumedha the hermit, being inspired by Dīpaṅkara Buddha, he makes the resolution to become a Buddha, and how the Buddha Dīpaṅkara gives the hermit Sumedha his blessing prophesying that Sumedha would become a Buddha by the name of Gotama after a lapse of four asaṅkheyyas and a hundred thousand kappas (world cycles).
From then onwards, the bodhisatta Sumedha keeps on practising the ten pāramīs namely: alms-giving, morality, renunciation, wisdom, perseverance, tolerance, truthfulness, determination, loving-kindness and equanimity. Buddha relates how he fulfills these pāramīs, existence after existence, and how each of the twenty-four Buddhas, who appeared after Dīpaṅkara Buddha at different intervals of world cycles, renewed the prophesy that he would become a Buddha by the name of Gotama.
In sections three to twenty-seven are accounts of the twenty-five Buddhas including Gotama Buddha, giving details about each of them with regard to birth, status, names of their parents, names of their wives and children, their life-span, their way of renunciation, duration of their efforts to Buddhahood, their teaching of the Dhammacakka Sutta in the Migadāyavana, the names of their chief disciples and their chief lay disciples. Each section is closed with an account of where the Buddhas pass away and how their relics are distributed.
In the twenty-eighth section is given the names of three Buddhas, namely Taṇhaṅkara, Medhaṅkara and Saraṇaṅkara who lived before Dīpaṅkara Buddha at different intervals of the same world cycle. The names of other Buddhas (up to Gotama Buddha) are also enumerated together with the name of the kappas in which they have appeared. Finally there is a prophesy by the Buddha that Metteyya Buddha would arise after him in this world.
The last section gives an account of how the Buddha’s relics are distributed and where they are preserved.
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This is a biographical work containing the life stories (past and present) of the Buddha and his arahat disciples. It is divided into two divisions: the Therāpadāna, giving the life stories of the Buddha, of forty-one paccekabuddhas and of five hundred and fifty-nine arahats from the Venerable Sāriputta to the Venerable Raṭṭhapāla; and Therīpadāna, with the life stories of forty therī arahats from Sumedhā Therī to Pesalā Therī.
Apadāna here means a biography or a life story of a particularly accomplished person who has made a firm resolution to strive for the goal he desires and who has ultimately achieved his goal, namely: Buddhahood for an enlightened one, arahatship for his disciples. Whereas the Thera Gāthā and the Therī Gāthā generally reveal the triumphant moment of achievements of the theras and the therīs, the Apadāna describes the up-hill work they have to undertake to reach the summit of their ambition. The Gāthās and the Apadānas supplement one another to unfold the inspiring tales of hard struggles and final conquests.
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This treatise, entitled the Path of Analysis, is attributed to the Venerable Sāriputta. It deals with the most important teachings of the Buddha analytically in the style of the Abhidhamma. It is divided into three main vaggas, namely, Mahā Vagga, Yuganaddha Vagga and Paññā Vagga. Each vagga consists of ten sub-groups, named kathās, such as ñāṇa Kathā, Diṭṭhi Kathā etc.
The treatment of each subject is very detailed and provides a theoretical foundation for the practice of the path.
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This division of Khuddaka Nikāya consists of two parts: Mahā Niddesa (the major exposition) which is the commentary on the fourth vagga (Aṭṭhaka) of the Sutta Nipāta, and Cūḷa Niddesa (the minor exposition) which is the commentary on the fifth vagga (Pārāyana) and on the Khaggavisāna Sutta in the first vagga. Attributed to the Venerable Sāriputta, these exegetical works contain much material on the Abhidhamma and constitute the earliest forms of commentaries, providing evidence of commentarial tradition many centuries before the Venerable Buddhaghosa appeared on the scene.
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These are the stories of the previous existences of Gotama Buddha, while he was as yet only a bodhisatta. The Jātaka is an extensive work in verses containing five hundred and forty-seven stories or previous existences as recounted by the Buddha (usually referred to in Burma as 550 stories). The treatise is divided into nipātas according to the number of verses concerning each story. The one verse stories are classified as Ekaka Nipāta, the two verse stories come under Duka Nipāta etc. It is the commentary to the verses which gives the complete birth-stories.
In these birth-stories are embedded moral principles and practices which the bodhisatta had observed for self-development and perfection to attain Buddhahood.
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These two treatises form a compilation of delightful verses uttered by some two hundred and sixty-four theras and seventy-three therīs through sheer exultation and joy that arose out of their religious devotion and inspiration. These inspiring verses gush forth from the hearts of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis after their attainment of arahatship as an announcement of their achievement and also as statement of the effort which has led to their final enlightenment.
It may be learnt from these jubilant verses how a trifling incident in life, a trivial circumstance, can become the starting point of spiritual effort which culminates in the supreme liberation. But for some of the theras the call came early to them to forsake the homelife and take to the life of the homeless recluse. Their struggle was hard because of the inner fight between the forces of good and evil. They had a good fight and they have won by virtue of their resolution and ardent determination. The crippling bonds of greed, hatred and ignorance have been broken asunder and they are freed. In sheer exultation, they utter forth these inspiring verses proclaiming their freedom and victory. Some of these theras reach the sublime height of poetic beauty when they recount their solitary life in the quiet glades and groves of the forest, the beauteous nature that surrounds them, and the peace and calm that has facilitated their meditation.
Although the verses in the Therī Gāthā lack the poetic excellence and impassioned expression of love of solitude that characterize the verses in the Thera Gāthā, they nevertheless reflect the great piety and unflinching resolution with which the therīs have struggled to reach the goal. One distinguishing feature of the struggle of the therīs is that many of them receive the final impetus to seek solace in holy life through an emotional imbalance they have been subject to, for example, loss of the dear one as in the case of Paṭācārā, or through intense personal suffering over the death of a beloved son as suffered by Kisā Gotamī.
Both the Thera Gāthā and the Therī Gāthā provide us with shining, inspiring models of experience, so consoling and so uplifting, so human and true to life, leading us on to the path of the holy life, stimulating us when our spirit drops, our mind flags, and guiding us through internal conflicts and set-backs.
These gāthās may be enjoyed simply as beautiful poems with exquisite imagery and pleasing words or they may be contemplated on as inspiring messages with deep meaning to uplift the mind to the highest levels of spiritual attainment.
"Rain god! My abode has a roofing now for my comfortable living; it will shield me from the onset of wind and storm. Rain god! Pour down to thy heart’s content; my mind is calm and unshakable, free from fetters. I dwell striving strenuously with untiring zeal. Rain god! Pour down to thy heart’s content." (verse 325)
The bhikkhu has now his "abode" of the five khandhas well protected by "the roofing and walls" of sense restraints and paññā. Thus he lives comfortably, well shielded from the rains and storms of lust, craving and attachments. Undisturbed by the pouring rain, and whirling winds of conceit, ignorance, hatred, he remains calm and composed, unpolluted. Although he lives in security and comfort of liberation and calm, he keeps alert and mindful, ever ready to cope with any emergency that may arise through lack of mindfulness.
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The stories of petas are graphic accounts of the miserable beings who have been reborn in unhappy existences as a consequence of their evil deeds. There are fifty-one stories divided into four vaggas, describing the life of misery of the evil doers, in direct contrast to the magnificent life of the devas.
Emphasis is again laid on the beneficial effects of giving; whereas envy, jealousy, miserliness, greed and wrong views are shown to be the causes of ones appearance in the unhappy world of the petas. The chief suffering in this state is the severe lack of food, clothing and dwelling places for the condemned being. A certain and immediate release from such miseries can be given to the unfortunate being if his former relatives perform meritorious deeds and share their merits with him. In Tirokuttapeta Vatthu, a detailed account is given on how King Bimbisāra brings relief to his former relatives who are unfortunately suffering as petas by making generous offerings of food, clothing and dwelling places to the Buddha and his company of bhikkhus and sharing the merit thus accrued with the petas who have been his kith and kin in previous lives.
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Vimāna means mansion. Here it refers to celestial mansions gained by beings who have done acts of merit. In this text are eighty-five verses grouped in seven vaggas. In the first four vaggas, celestial females give an account of the acts of merit they have performed in previous existences as human beings and of their rebirth in deva realms where magnificent mansions await their appearance. In the last three vaggas the celestial males tell their stories.
The Venerable Mahā Mogallāna, who could visit the deva realm, brought back stories as told to him by the devas concerned and recounted them to the Buddha who confirmed the stories by supplying more background details to them. These discourses were given with a view to bring out the fact that the human world offers plenty of opportunities for performing meritorious acts. The objective for such discourses was is to refute the wrong views of those who believe that nothing exists after this life (the annihilationists) and those who maintain that there is no resultant effect to any action.
Of the eighty-five stories described, five stories concern those who have been reborn in the deva world having developed themselves to the stage of the sotāpanna in their previous existences; two stories on those who have paid homage to the Buddha with clasped hands; one on those who had expressed words of jubilation at the ceremony of building a monastery for the Sangha; two stories on those who have observed the moral precepts; two stories on those who have observed the precepts and given alms; and the rest deal with those who have been reborn in the deva world as the wholesome result of giving alms only.
The vivid accounts of the lives of the devas in various deva abodes serve to show clearly that the higher beings are not immortals, nor creators, but are also evolved conditioned by the result of their previous meritorious deeds. They too are subject to the laws of anicca, dukkha and anattā and have to strive themselves to achieve the deathless state of nibbāna.
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As well-known as Dhammapada, Sutta Nipāta is also a work in verse with occasional introduction in prose. It is divided into five vaggas: (i) Uraga Vagga of twelve suttas; (ii) Cūḷa Vagga of fourteen suttas; (iii) Mahā Vagga of twelve suttas; (iv) Aṭṭhaka Vagga of sixteen suttas; (v) Pārāyana Vagga of sixteen questions.
In the twelve suttas of the Uraga Vagga are found some important teachings of the Buddha which may be practised in the course of one’s daily life:
"True friends are rare to come by these days; a show of friendship very often hides some private ends. Man’s mind is defiled by self-interest, so, becoming disillusioned, he roams alone like a rhinoceros."(Khaggavisāna Sutta)
"Not by birth does one become an outcast, not by birth does one become a brāhmaṇa";
By one’s action one becomes an outcast, by one’s action one becomes a brāhmaṇa. (Vasala Sutta)
"As a mother even with her life protects her only child, so let one cultivate immeasurable loving-kindness towards all living beings."(Mettā Sutta)
Pārāyana Vagga deals with sixteen questions asked by sixteen brahmin youths while the Buddha is staying at Pāsānaka shrine in the country of Magadha. The Buddha gives his answers to each of the questions asked by the youths. Knowing the meaning of each question and that of the answer given by the Buddha, if one practises the Dhamma as instructed in this sutta, one can surely reach the other shore, which is free from ageing and death. The Dhamma in this sutta is known as pārāyana. (Vasala Sutta)
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The fourth treatise contains 112 suttas divided into four nipātas with verses and prose mixed, one supplementing the other. Although the collections contain the inspired sayings of the Buddha as in udāna, each passage is preceded by the phrase, "iti vuttaṃ bhagavata" ("thus was said by the Buddha"), and reads like a personal notebook in which are recorded short pithy sayings of the Buddha.
The division into nipātas instead of vaggas denotes that the collection is classified in ascending numerical order of the categories of the Dhamma as in the nipātas of the Aṅguttara. Thus in Ekaka Nipāta are passages dealing with single items of the Dhamma: "Bhikkhus, abandon craving; I guarantee attainment of the state of an anāgāmi if you abandon craving." In Duka Nipāta each passage deals with units of two items of the Dhamma: there are two forms of nibbāna dhātu, namely, sa-upādisesa nibbāna dhātu, with the five khandhas still remaining, and anupādisesa nibbāna dhātu, without any khandha remaining.
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An udāna is an utterance mostly in verse form inspired by a particularly intense emotion. This treatise is a collection of eighty joyful utterances made by the Buddha on unique occasions of sheer bliss; each udāna in verse is accompanied by an account in prose of the circumstances that led to its being uttered.
For example in the first Bodhivagga Sutta are recorded the first words spoken aloud by the newly enlightened Buddha in three stanzas beginning with the famous opening lines: "yadā have pātubhavanti dhammā, ātāpino jhāyato brāhmaṇassa."
For seven days after his enlightenment, the Buddha sat at the foot of the Bodhi tree feeling the bliss of liberation. At the end of seven days he emerged from this phala samāpatti (sustained absorption in fruition-mind), to deliberate upon the principle of Dependent Origination: When this is, that is (imasmiṃ sati, idaṃ hoti); this having arisen, that arises (imassuppāda, idaṃ uppajjati); when this is not, that is not (imasmiṃ asati, idaṃ na hoti); this having ceased, that ceases (imassa nirodhā, idaṃ nirujjhati).
In the first watch of the night, when the principle of the origin of the whole mass of suffering was thoroughly grasped in a detailed manner in the order of arising, the Buddha uttered this first stanza of joy:
"When the real nature of things becomes clear to the ardently meditating recluse, then all his doubts vanish, because he understands what that nature is as well as its cause."
In the second watch of the night, his mind was occupied with the principle of Dependent Origination in the order of ceasing. When the manner of cessation of suffering was thoroughly understood, the Buddha was moved again to utter a second stanza of jubilation:
"When the real nature of things becomes clear to the ardently meditating recluse, then like the sun that illumines the sky, he stands repelling the dark hosts of māra."
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It is a book of the Tipiṭaka which is popular and well-known not only in the Buddhist countries but also elsewhere. The Dhammapada is a collection of the Buddha’s words or basic and essential principles of the Buddha’s teaching. It consists of 423 verses arranged according to the topics in twenty-six vaggas or chapters.
Verse 183 gives the teachings of the Buddha in a nutshell: abstain from all evil; promote (develop) what is good and purify your mind. Each stanza is packed with the essence of truth which illumines the path of a wayfarer. Many are the Dhammapada verses which find their way into the writings and everyday speech of the Buddhists. One can get much sustenance and encouragement from the Dhammapada not only for spiritual development but also for everyday living.
The Dhammapada describes the path which a wayfarer should follow. It states (in verses 277, 278 & 279) that all conditioned things are transitory and impermanent; that all conditioned things are subject to suffering; and that all things (dhammas) are insubstantial, incapable of being called one’s own. When one sees the real nature of things with Vipassana insight, one becomes disillusioned with the charms and attractions of the five aggregates. Such dillusionment constitutes the path of purity (nibbāna).
Verse 243 defines the highest form of impurity as ignorance (avijjā) and states that the suffering in the world can be brought to an end only by the destruction of craving or hankering after sensual pleasures. Greed, ill will and ignorance are described to be as dangerous as fire and unless they are held under restraint, a happy life is impossible both now and thereafter.
Avoiding the two extremes, namely, indulgence in a life of sensual pleasure and the practice of self-mortification, one must follow the middle path, the Noble Path of Eight Constituents, to attain perfect peace, nibbāna. Attainment of the lowest stage (sotāpatti magga) on this path shown by the Buddha is to be preferred even to the possession of the whole world (V.178). The Dhammapada emphasizes that one makes or mars oneself, and no one else can help one to rid oneself of impurity. Even the Buddhas cannot render help; they can only show the way and guide; a man must strive for himself.
The Dhammapada recommends a life of peace and non-violence and points out the eternal law that hatred does not cease by hatred, enmity is never overcome by enmity but only by kindness and love (V.5). It advises one to conquer anger by loving-kindness, evil by good, miserliness by generosity, and falsehood by truth.
The Dhammapada contains gems of literary excellence, filled with appropriate similes and universal truths and is thus appealing and edifying to readers all over the world. It serves as a digest of the essential principles and features of the Buddha Dhamma as well as the wisdom of all ages.
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First of the treatises in this nikāya, Khuddakapāṭha contains "readings of minor passages" most of which are also found in other parts of the Tipiṭaka. It is a collection of nine short formulae and the suttas used as a manual for novices under training, namely: (a) The Three Refuges; (b) The ten precepts; (c) The thirty-two parts of the body; (d) simple Dhamma for novices in the form of a catechism; (e) Maṅgala Sutta; (f) Ratana Sutta; (g) Tirokuṭṭa Sutta; (h) Nidhikaṇḍa Sutta; (i) Mettā Sutta.
Taking refuge in the Three Gems: the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, by reciting the formulae, "I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dhamma, I take refuge in the Sangha," is a conscious act of expression of complete faith in the Three Gems, not mere profession of superficial belief nor a rite of traditional piety. It implies (i) one’s humility; (ii) one’s acceptance of the Three Gems as one’s guiding principles and ideals; (iii) acceptance of discipleship and (iv) homage.
In the section on Kumāra pañha, questions for young boys, the Dhamma is tailored to suit the young intellect of the novices:
What is the one?
-The nutrient which sustains the life of the beings.
What are the two?
-Nāma and rūpa.
What are the three?
-pleasant, unpleasant, neutral vedanās.
What are the four?
-The Four Noble Truths.
What are the five?
-The five groups of grasping.
What are the six?
-The six bases of senses.
What are the seven?
-The seven factors of enlightenment.
What are the eight?
-The Noble Path of Eight Constituents.
What are the nine?
-The nine abodes or types of beings.
What are the ten?
-The ten demeritorious courses of action.
Mahā Maṅgala Sutta, the discourse on the great blessings, is a famous sutta, cherished highly in all Buddhist countries. It is a comprehensive summary of Buddhist ethics for the individual as well as for the society, composed in elegant verses. The thirty-eight blessings enumerated in the sutta as unfailing guides throughout one’s life start with advice on "avoidance of bad company" and provides ideals and practices basic to all moral and spiritual progress, for the welfare and happiness of the individual, the family and the community. The final blessing is on the development of the mind which is unruffled by the vagaries of fortune, unaffected by sorrow, cleansed of defilements and which thus gains liberation-the mind of an arahat.
The Ratana Sutta was delivered by the Buddha when Vesāli was plagued by famine, disease, etc. He had been requested by the Licchavi princes to come from Rājagaha countering the plagues, by invocation of the truth of the special qualities of the Three Gems: the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.
The Mettā Sutta was taught to a group of bhikkhus who were troubled by non-human beings while sitting in meditation at the foot of secluded forest trees. The Buddha showed them how to develop loving-kindness towards all beings, the practice which will not only protect them from harm but will also serve as a basis for insight through attainment of jhāna.
The Khuddakapāṭha which is a collection of these nine formulae and suttas appeared to be arranged in such a way as to form a continuous theme demonstrating the practice of the holy life: how a person accepts the Buddha’s teaching by taking the refuge in the Three Gems; then how he observes the ten precepts for moral purification. Next he takes up a meditation subject, the contemplation of thirty-two constituents of the body, to develop non-attachment. He is shown next the virtues and merits of giving and how one handicaps oneself by not performing acts of merit. In the meanwhile he safeguards himself by reciting the Maṅgala Sutta and provides protection to others by reciting the Ratana Sutta. Finally, he develops loving-kindness towards all beings, thereby keeping himself safe from harm; at the same time he achieves jhāna concentration which will eventually lead him to reach the goal of spiritual life, nibbāna, by means of knowledge of insight and the path.
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Of all the five nikāyas Khuddaka Nikāya contains the largest number of treatises (as listed below) and the most numerous categories of Dhamma. Although the word khuddaka literally means minor or small, the actual content of this collection can by no means be regarded as minor, including as it does the two major divisions of the Piṭaka, namely, the Vinaya Piṭaka and the Abhidhamma Piṭaka according to one system of classification. The miscellaneous nature of this collection, containing not only the discourses by the Buddha but compilations of brief doctrinal notes mostly in verse, accounts of personal struggles and achievements by theras and therīs also in verse, the birth stories, the history of the Buddha, etc., may account for its title.
The following is the list of treatises of Khuddaka Nikāya as approved by the Sixth International Buddhist Synod:
A. Vinaya Piṭaka
B. Abhidhamma Piṭaka
C. Suttas not included in the first four nikāyas
1. Khuddakapāṭha
2. Dhammapada
3. Udāna
4. Itivuttaka
5. Suttanipāta
6. Vimānavatthu
7. Petavatthu
8. Theragāthā
9. Therīgāthā
10. Jātaka
11. Niddesa (Mahā, Cūḷa)
12. Paṭisambhidā Magga
13. Apadāna
14. Buddhavaṃsa
15. Cariyā Piṭaka
16. Netti
17. Peṭakopadesa
18. Milindapañha
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(a) There are eleven kinds of destruction any one of which is likely to befall a bhikkhu who insults the fellow bhikkhus of the community: lack of progress in his efforts; declining from the stage already achieved; tainted and defiled understanding of the Dhamma; being overcome by his own conceit; unhappiness in leading the holy life; liability to commit offenses against the disciplinary rules; likelihood of returning to the household life; likelihood of being afflicted with an incurable disease; likelihood of being mentally deranged; dying with a confused mind and likelihood of being reborn in the lower worlds. (para 6)
(b) There are eleven benefits derived from cultivation and development of loving-kindness, when frequently practised and firmly established: one sleeps soundly and wakes peacefully with no bad dreams; one is regarded with esteem by men; is treated with respect by non-humans; is protected by devas; is unharmed by fire, poison or weapons; one’s mind is easily concentrated; the features of one’s face are serene, one will die with an unconfused mind; if one does not attain the state of arahat, one will be reborn in the Brahmā realm. (para 15)
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(a) There are ten benefits of being established in sīla, (morality): one who is established in sīla feels pleased; feeling pleased he feels glad; feeling glad, he is delightfully satisfied; being delightfully satisfied he becomes calm; when he is calm, he feels happiness; when he feels happiness, his mind becomes concentrated; with concentrated mind, he sees things as they really are; seeing things as they really are, he becomes disenchanted and dispassionate towards them; where there is no more passion or attachment, he achieves liberation of mind and liberation by knowledge. (para 1)
(b) There are ten fetters: personality belief (sakkāyadiṭṭhi), sceptical doubts, mistaking mere rites and ceremony as the true path, sense-desire, ill will, attachment to the rūpa realm, attachment to the arūpa realm, conceit, restlessness, ignorance. (para 12)
(c) Just as a young man or woman looks into the mirror to find out if there are any blemishes on the face, so also it is necessary for a bhikkhu to engage in occasional self-examination to see whether covetousness, ill will, sloth and torpor have arisen in him or not; whether worry and excitement, and doubts exist in him; whether he is free from anger and if his mind is defiled or not by unwholesome thoughts; whether his body is at ease without restlessness; whether he is beset by laziness or not; and whether he has concentration of mind with clear comprehension. (para 51)
(d) There are ten dhammas possessed by one who has become accomplished, an arahat: Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Knowledge, Right Liberation, (para 112).
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(a) Nine practices not indulged in by arahats: an arahat does not intentionally take the life of a being; does not take, with the intention of stealing, what is not given; does not engage in sexual intercourse; does not speak what is not true knowing that it is not true; does not enjoy the pleasures of the senses; is not biased through favouritism, through hatred, through delusion or through fear. (para 7)
(b) There are nine characteristics of a layman’s residence which a bhikkhu should not visit or stay in: where a bhikkhu is not greeted or shown signs of welcome, or offered a seat; where alms are kept hidden; where little is given away although much can be afforded; where inferior alms are offered although better alms are available; where the offering is made in a disrespectful manner; where the layman does not come near the bhikkhu to listen to the Dhamma, and where little interest is shown in the exposition of Dhamma. (para 17)
(c) There are nine ways in which a grudge is formed: he has done me harm, he is doing me harm, he will do me harm; he has done harm to one dear to me, he is doing harm to one dear to me, he will do harm to one dear to me; he has done good to one disliked by me; he is doing good to one disliked by me; he will do good to one disliked by me. (para 29)
(d) There are nine things which should be eliminated in order to achieve realization of arahatta phala: lust, ill will, ignorance, anger, grudge, ingratitude, envy, jealousy, meanness. (para 62)
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(a) There are eight benefits accruing from practice of meditation on loving-kindness: whosoever practises meditation on loving-kindness enjoys sound sleep, wakes up fresh and well, is not disturbed by bad dreams, is regarded with esteem by men, is treated with respect by non-humans, is accorded protection by the devas, is not hurt by fire, poison or weapons and is destined to reappear in the Brahmā realm.
(b) There are eight worldly conditions, the vicissitudes of life that keep the world turning around: gain, loss, fame, disrepute, praise, blame, happiness, suffering. (para 546)
(c) There are eight strengths: the strength of a child lies in crying; of a woman in her anger; of a bandit in his arms; of a king in his sovereignty; of an unwise man in censure and reviling; of a wise man in careful consideration of pros and cons; of a man of knowledge in caution; and the strength of a bhikkhu lies in his fortitude and forbearance. (para 27)
(d) Eight great reflections of the Venerable Anuruddha on the Dhamma: this Dhamma is for one with few wants, not for one who wants much; this Dhamma is for the contented, not for one hard to be satisfied; this Dhamma is for the one who loves solitude, not for the one who loves company; this Dhamma is for the energetic, not for the indolent; this Dhamma is for the one of vigilant mindfulness, not for the heedless; this Dhamma is for the one of the concentrated mind, not for the distracted; this Dhamma is for the wise, not for the unintelligent; this Dhamma is for the one who delights in nibbāna, not for the one who rejoices in worldliness (conceit, craving and wrong view). (para 30)
(e) There are eight types of speech by an ariya: having not seen, he says he has not seen; having not heard, he says he has not heard; having not sensed, he says he has not sensed; having not known, he says he has not known. Having seen, he says he has seen; having heard, says he has heard; having sensed, he says he has sensed and having known, he says he has known. (para 68)
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(a) There are seven factors for winning respect and esteem of fellow bhikkhus: having no desire for gain; not wanting to be shown reverence but indifferent to attention; being ashamed of doing evil; being fearful of doing evil; having little want; and having the right view. (para 1)
(b) A bhikkhu becomes an eminent field for sowing seeds of merit, when he knows the text of the teaching, knows the meaning of the teaching, also knows himself, knows the proper limit for acceptance of offerings, knows the proper time for various activities, knows his audience, and knows the spiritual tendency of an individual. (para 68)
(c) If a bhikkhu develops his mind in the four methods of steadfast mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic power, the five faculties, the five strengths, the seven factors of enlightenment, the Noble Path of Eight Constituents, he will be freed of the mental intoxicants, without any attachment, whether he wishes or not for liberation. (para 71)
(d) Short is the life of a man, just like the dew-drop on the tip of a blade of the grass; a bubble appearing on the water when rain falls; a line drawn on water with a stick; a mountain stream; a lump of spittle on the tip of the tongue; a piece of meat thrown into an extremely hot iron pot; and a cow being led to be slaughtered-whenever she lifts a leg, she will be closer to slaughter, closer to death. (para 74)
(e) Those teachings that lead to disenchantment, entire turning away from worldliness, non-attachment, cessation and calm, direct knowledge, enlightenment and nibbāna-such teachings may be taken as the true Dhamma and discipline, as the Buddha’s teaching. (para 83)
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(a) There are six things which are unsurpassed: the noblest things seen, the noblest things heard, the noblest gain, the noblest learning, the noblest service, and the noblest reflection. The sight of the tathāgata or the tathāgata’s disciples is the noblest thing seen. The hearing of the Dhamma from the tathāgata or his disciples is the noblest thing heard. Faith in the tathāgata or his disciples is the noblest gain. Learning supreme virtue (adhisīla), supreme mind development (adhicitta), supreme wisdom (adhipaññā) is the noblest learning. Serving the tathāgata or his disciples is the noblest service. Reflecting on the virtues of the tathāgata or his disciples is the noblest reflection. (para 30)
(b) There are six kinds of suffering in the world for one who indulges in sense-pleasures: poverty, indebtedness, owing interest, being demanded repayment, being pressed and harassed by creditors, imprisonment.
Similarly in the teaching of the ariyas, a person is regarded to be poor and destitute who lacks faith in things that are meritorious, who has no shame and no scruples, no energy and no understanding of things that are good, and who conducts himself very badly in deed, word and thoughts. (para 45)
(c) There are six steps to gain liberation: sense-control provides the basis for morality. Morality gives the foundation to Right Concentration. Right Concentration provides the basis for understanding of the true nature of physical and mental phenomena. With the understanding of the true nature of the physical and the mental phenomena comes disenchantment and non-attachment. Where there is disenchantment and non-attachment, there arises the knowledge and vision of liberation. (para 50)
(d) There are six things to be known: sense-desires, feelings, perceptions, moral intoxicants (āsavas), kammas and dukkha. Their causal origin should be known, their diversity, their resulting effects, their cessation and the way leading to their cessation should be known.
The way leading to the cessation of all the dhammas is the Noble Path of Eight Constituents. (para 63)
(e) There are six things which appear very rarely in the world: rare is the appearance in the world of a perfectly enlightened Buddha; rare is the appearance of one who teaches the Dhamma and Vinaya as proclaimed by the Buddha; rare it is to be reborn in the land of the ariyas; rare it is to be in the possession of unimpaired physical and mental faculties; rare it is to be free from dumbness and stupidity; rare it is to be endowed with the desire for doing good, wholesome things. (para 96)
(f) There are six benefits in realizing the sotāpatti:
(i) Firm faith in the Dhamma,
(ii) Impossibility of falling back,
(iii) A limit to suffering in the round of existences (no more than seven more existences),
(iv) Being endowed with supramundane knowledge which is not shared by the common worldling,
(v) And (vi) clear understanding of the causes and the phenomena arising from them. (para 97)
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a) There are five strengths possessed by a person in training for higher knowledge: faith, shame (to do evil), moral dread, energy and insight-knowledge. He believes in the enlightenment of the Buddha; he feels ashamed of wrong conduct in deed, word and thought; he dreads anything evil and unwholesome; he arouses energy to abandon everything unwholesome and to acquire everything that is wholesome; he perceives the phenomenon of constant rising and ceasing and he is thus equipped with insight which will finally lead him to nibbāna, destruction of suffering. (para 2)
(b) There are also five strengths, namely faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and insight-knowledge. The strength of the faith is seen in the four characteristic qualities of a stream-winner; the strength of the energy is seen in the four Right Efforts; the strength of mindfulness is seen in the four methods of steadfast mindfulness and the strength of concentration is seen in the four jhānas; the strength of the insight-knowledge is seen in the perception of the phenomenon of constant arising and ceasing, an insight which will finally lead to nibbāna. (para 14)
(c) Impurities that defile gold are iron, tin, lead, silver and other metals. Impurities that defile mind are sensuous desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, sceptical doubts. (para 23)
(d) A giver of alms surpasses a non-giver in five aspects, namely, in life-span, beauty, happiness, fame and power, whether both be reborn in the deva world or the human world. This difference in five aspects will persist until liberation is achieved. Then there is no distinction between the liberation of one and the other or between one arahat and the other. (para 31)
(e) There are five contemplations which ought to be practised by everyone, bhikkhus or lay folks, men and women:
"I am certain to become old. I cannot avoid ageing."
"I am certain to become ill and diseased. I cannot avoid illness."
"I am certain to die. I cannot avoid death."
"All things dear and beloved will not last. They will be subject to change and separation."
"My kamma (past and present actions) is my only property, kamma is my only heritage, kamma is the only cause of my being, kamma is my only kin, my only protection. Whatever actions I do, good or bad, I shall become their heir." (para 57)
(f) Five standards which should be set up for teaching the Dhamma: the Dhamma should be taught in graduated discourses; the Dhamma should be given as a well-reasoned discourse; the Dhamma should be given out of compassion and sympathy; the Dhamma should not be given for the sake of worldly gain and advantage; the Dhamma should be taught without alluding to oneself or the others. (para 159)
(g) There are five ways of getting rid of a grudge: if a grudge arises towards any person, then one should cultivate loving-kindness, or compassion or equanimity towards him. Or one should pay no attention to him and give no thought to him. Or one may apply the thought: his only property is his actions; whatever he does, good or bad, he will be the heir to that. In these ways all grudges that have arisen can be removed. (para 161)
(h) Wrong occupations which should not be followed by a lay disciple: trading in arms and weapons; trading in living beings; trading in meat; trading in intoxicants; trading in poison. (para 177)
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(a) These four persons are found in the world: he who goes with the stream; he who goes against the stream; he who stands firm; he who has crossed over to the other shore and stands on dry land.
The person who indulges in sense desires and commits wrong deeds is one who goes with the stream. He who does not indulge in sense desires or commit wrong deeds, but lives the pure, chaste life, struggling painfully and with difficulty to do so, is one who goes against the stream. He who stands firm is the person, who having destroyed the five lower fetters is reborn spontaneously in the Brahmā realm, where he realizes nibbāna without ever returning to the sensuous sphere. The one who has gone to the other shore standing on dry land is the person who has destroyed all the mental intoxicants, and who has realized, in this very life, by himself, the liberation of the mind and liberation by knowledge. (para 5)
(b) There are four Right Efforts:
(i) The energetic effort to prevent evil, unwholesome states of mind from arising;
(ii) the energetic effort to get rid of evil, unwholesome states of mind that have already arisen;
(iii) the energetic effort to arouse good, wholesome states of mind that have not yet arisen;
(iv) the energetic effort to develop and bring to perfection the good and wholesome states of mind already arisen. (para 13)
(c) As a tathāgata speaks, so he acts; as he acts, so he speaks. Therefore he is called a tathāgata. (para 23)
(d) There are four highest kinds of faith: the tathāgata, the holiest and fully enlightened, is the highest among all living beings. Among all conditioned things, the Noble Path of Eight Constituents is the highest. Among all conditioned and unconditioned things, nibbāna is the highest. Amongst all groups of men, the order of the tathāgata, the Sangha made up of the four pairs of noble men, the eight ariyas is the highest.
For those who have faith in the highest, namely, the Buddha, the path, the nibbāna and the ariyas, the highest result will be theirs. (para 34)
(e) There are four ways of dealing with questions:
(i) Some should be given direct answers;
(ii) Others should be answered by way of analysing them;
(iii) Some questions should be answered by counter-questions;
(iv) Lastly, some questions should simply be put aside. (para 42)
(f) There are four distortions (vipallāsas) in perception, thought and view. To hold that there is permanence in the impermanent; to hold that there is happiness in suffering; to hold the there is atta where there is no atta; to hold that there is pleasantness (subha) in that which is foul. (para 49)
(g) When Nakulapitā and Nakulamātā express their wish to the Buddha to be in one another’s sight as long as the present life lasts and in the future life as well, the Buddha advises them to try to have the same faith, the same virtue, the same generosity and the same wisdom; then they will have their wish fulfilled. (paras 55-56)
(h) He who gives food gives four things to those who receive it. He gives them long life, beauty, happiness and strength. The donor himself will be endowed with long life, beauty, happiness and strength wherever he is born in the human or the deva world. (para 57)
(i) There are four subjects not fit for speculative thought (acinteyyāni). They are: the specific qualities of a Buddha (buddhavisayo); a person’s jhāna attainment; the results of kamma; and the nature of the world. These imponderables are not to be pondered upon; which, if pondered upon, would lead one to mental distress and insanity. (para 77)
(j) There are four things concerning which no one whether samaṇa, brāhmaṇa, deva, māra or anyone else in the world can give a guarantee:
(i) That which is liable to decay should not decay;
(ii) That which is liable to illness should not fall ill;
(iii) That which is liable to die should not die; and
(iv) That no resultant effect should come forth from those evil deeds done previously. (para 182)
(k) There are four ways by which a person’s character may be judged:
His virtue can be known by a wise and intelligent person paying close attention after living together with him for a very long time. His integrity can be known by a wise and intelligent person by having dealings with him, paying close attention for a period of long time. His fortitude can be known by a wise and intelligent person by observing him in close attention in times of misfortune. His wisdom can be judged by a wise and intelligent person when conversing with him on various subjects over a long period of time. (para 192)
(l) There are four things conducive to the growth of wisdom: associating with a good person; hearing the good Dhamma; maintaining a right attitude of mind and leading a life in accordance with the Dhamma. (para 248)
5 Pañcaka Nipāta Pāḷi
(a) There are five strengths possessed by a person in training for higher knowledge: faith, shame (to do evil), moral dread, energy and insight-knowledge. He believes in the enlightenment of the Buddha; he feels ashamed of wrong conduct in deed, word and thought; he dreads anything evil and unwholesome; he arouses energy to abandon everything unwholesome and to acquire everything that is wholesome; he perceives the phenomenon of constant rising and ceasing and he is thus equipped with insight which will finally lead him to nibbāna, destruction of suffering. (para 2)
(b) There are also five strengths, namely faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and insight-knowledge. The strength of the faith is seen in the four characteristic qualities of a stream-winner; the strength of the energy is seen in the four Right Efforts; the strength of mindfulness is seen in the four methods of steadfast mindfulness and the strength of concentration is seen in the four jhānas; the strength of the insight-knowledge is seen in the perception of the phenomenon of constant arising and ceasing, an insight which will finally lead to nibbāna. (para 14)
(c) Impurities that defile gold are iron, tin, lead, silver and other metals. Impurities that defile mind are sensuous desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, sceptical doubts. (para 23)
(d) A giver of alms surpasses a non-giver in five aspects, namely, in life-span, beauty, happiness, fame and power, whether both be reborn in the deva world or the human world. This difference in five aspects will persist until liberation is achieved. Then there is no distinction between the liberation of one and the other or between one arahat and the other. (para 31)
(e) There are five contemplations which ought to be practised by everyone, bhikkhus or lay folks, men and women:
"I am certain to become old. I cannot avoid ageing."
"I am certain to become ill and diseased. I cannot avoid illness."
"I am certain to die. I cannot avoid death."
"All things dear and beloved will not last. They will be subject to change and separation."
"My kamma (past and present actions) is my only property, kamma is my only heritage, kamma is the only cause of my being, kamma is my only kin, my only protection. Whatever actions I do, good or bad, I shall become their heir." (para 57)
(f) Five standards which should be set up for teaching the Dhamma: the Dhamma should be taught in graduated discourses; the Dhamma should be given as a well-reasoned discourse; the Dhamma should be given out of compassion and sympathy; the Dhamma should not be given for the sake of worldly gain and advantage; the Dhamma should be taught without alluding to oneself or the others. (para 159)
(g) There are five ways of getting rid of a grudge: if a grudge arises towards any person, then one should cultivate loving-kindness, or compassion or equanimity towards him. Or one should pay no attention to him and give no thought to him. Or one may apply the thought: his only property is his actions; whatever he does, good or bad, he will be the heir to that. In these ways all grudges that have arisen can be removed. (para 161)
(h) Wrong occupations which should not be followed by a lay disciple: trading in arms and weapons; trading in living beings; trading in meat; trading in intoxicants; trading in poison. (para 177)
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(a) The fool can be known by three things: by his conduct in deed, word and thought. So also the wise man can be known by three things: by his conduct in deed, word and thought. (para 3)
(b) There are three places a sovereign king should not forget: his birth place, the place where he was crowned as king and the site of battle in which he conquered his enemies. There are three places a bhikkhu should not forget: the place of renunciation, the place where he achieved the knowledge of the Four Noble Truths and the place where he attained arahatship. (para 12)
(c) He who devotes himself earnestly to his business in the morning, in the daytime and in the evening will prosper and grow in wealth; the bhikkhu who devotes himself earnestly to development of concentration in the morning, in the daytime and in the evening will progress and gain advancement in his spiritual work. (para 19)
(d) These three types of persons are found in the world: one with a mind like an open sore; one with a mind like a flash of lightning; one with a mind like a diamond. One who is irascible and very irritable, displaying anger, hatred and sulkiness; such a one is said to be a person with a mind like an open sore. One who understands the Four Noble Truths correctly is said to have a mind like a flash of lightning. One who has destroyed the mind-intoxication defilements and realized the liberation of mind and the liberation by knowledge is said to have a mind like a diamond. (para 25)
(e) There are these three kinds of individuals in the world: one who speaks words reeking with foul smell; one who speaks words of fragrance; and one who speaks words sweet as honey. (para 28)
(f) There are three root causes for the origination of actions (kamma): greed, hatred and ignorance. An action done in greed, hatred and ignorance will ripen wherever the individual is reborn; and wherever the action ripens, there the individual reaps the fruit (vipāka) of the action, be it in this life, in the next life or in future existences. (para 38)
(g) He who prevents another from giving alms hinders and obstructs three persons. He causes obstruction to the meritorious act of the donor; he obstructs the recipient in getting his gift; he undermines and harms his own character. (para 58)
(h) Three dangers from which a mother cannot shield her son nor the son his mother: old age, disease and death. (para 63)
(i) The well-known sutta, Kesamutti Sutta, also known as Kālāma Sutta, appears as the fifth sutta in the Mahā Vagga of the Tika Nipāta. At Kesamutta, a small town in the Kingdom of Kosala, the Buddha thus exhorted the Kālāmas, the inhabitants of the town: "Do not be led by reports or traditions, or hearsay. Do not be led by the authority of religious texts, nor by mere logic or inference, nor by considering appearances, nor by speculative opinion, nor by seeming possibilities, nor because one’s own teacher has said so. Oh Kālāmas, when you know for yourselves that certain things are wrong, unwholesome, bad, then give them up; when you know for yourselves that certain things are right, wholesome, good, then accept them, follow them." (para 66)
(j) A bhikkhu devoted to the holy life should pay equal attention to three factors in turn, namely, concentration, energetic effort and equanimity, and not exclusively to one of these factors only. If he gives regular attention to each of them, his mind will become soft, pliant, malleable, lucid and well concentrated, ready to be directed to whatever mental states are realizable by supernormal knowledge. (para 103)
(k) There are three rare persons in the world: a tathāgata who is a perfectly enlightened one is rare in the world; a person who can expound the teaching and discipline as taught by the Buddha is rare in this world; and a person who is grateful and thankful is rare in the world. (para 115)
(l) Whether a tathāgata appears in the world or not, the fact remains as a firm and inevitable condition of existence that all conditioned formations are impermanent, that all conditioned formations are subject to suffering, that all things are devoid of self. (para 137)
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a) There are two things to be borne in mind: not to be content with what has been achieved in the process of development, i.e. even with the attainment of jhānas or inner lights (which indicates a certain stage of insight meditation), and to resolve to struggle unremittingly and strenuously until realization of the goal, enlightenment. (para 5)
(b) There are two potentialities of men: to do good or to do evil. It is possible to abandon evil; abandoning of evil brings benefit and happiness. It is also possible to cultivate good. Cultivation of goodness also brings benefit and happiness. (para 19)
(c) Two things are conducive to attainment of liberation in two ways: concentration meditation and insight meditation. If concentration is developed, the mind becomes developed and passion fades away resulting in liberation of mind. If insight is developed, wisdom is developed and ignorance fades away resulting in liberation by knowledge. (para 32)
(d) There are two persons one can never repay: mother and father. Even if one should live a hundred years during which one attends upon one’s mother and father, heaps all one’s attention, love and personal service on them, one can never repay them for having brought up, fed and guided one through this life.
But if a person causes his parents who are non-believers to become established in the faith and to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha; if he causes his parents who do not observe the precepts to become established in morality; if he causes his miserly parents to become generous so that they come to share their wealth with the poor and the needy; if he causes his ignorant parents to become established in the knowledge of the Four Truths, then such a person repays and more than repays his parents for what they have done for him. (paras 33, 34)
(e) There are two kinds of happiness: the happiness of the home life and the happiness of homelessness; the happiness of homelessness is superior.
…the happiness of the senses and happiness of renunciation; the happiness of renunciation is superior.
…tainted happiness and untainted happiness; … carnal and non-carnal happiness; … and ignoble and noble happiness; … bodily and mental happiness; mental happiness is superior. (paras 65 to 71)
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This group contains single items of Dhamma which form the subject matter of discourses given by the Buddha at Sāvatthi to the numerous bhikkhus residing there. But some of the suttas were given by the Venerable Sāriputta or the Venerable Ānanda.
(a) There is no one sight, sound, smell, taste and touch other than that of a woman which can so captivate and distract the mind of a man; conversely there is no one sight, sound, smell, taste and touch other than that of a man which can so captivate and distract the mind of a woman. (paras 1 to 10)
(b) There is no other single thing that brings about so much disadvantage and unhappiness as an undeveloped and uncultivated mind. A developed and cultivated mind brings about benefit and happiness. (paras 28 to 31)
(c) No other single thing changes so quickly as the mind. The mind is intrinsically pure and bright; it is defiled by greed, hatred and ignorance. (paras 48, 49)
(d) If a bhikkhu practises the meditation of loving-kindness, develops it even for the short duration of a fingersnap, he is regarded as following the advice of the Buddha, acting according to his instructions. Such a bhikkhu deserves to eat the alms-food offered by the people. (paras 53, 54)
(e) There is only one person whose appearance in the world brings welfare and happiness to the many, brings benefit, welfare and happiness to devas and men. It is a tathāgata, a fully enlightened Buddha.
It is impossible for two enlightened Buddhas to appear simultaneously in the same world system. (paras 170 to 174)
(f) It is impossible for a person possessed of right views, i.e. a sotāpanna, to regard any conditioned formation as permanent, happiness, self (nicca, sukha, atta). It is possible only for an uninstructed worldling to regard anything as permanent, happiness, self. (paras 268 to 270)
(g) If one thing is developed and frequently practised, the body is calmed, the mind is calmed, discursive thinking is stilled, ignorance is shed, knowledge arises, delusion of self is eliminated, evil tendencies are eradicated, the fetters are removed. That one thing is the mindful contemplation of the body. (paras 571 to 576)
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Paṭṭhāna Pāḷi, the seventh and last book of the Abhidhamma, is called the Mahā Pakāraṇa, the "Great Book" announcing the supreme position it occupies and the height of excellence it has reached in its investigations into the ultimate nature of all the dhammas in the universe.
The Dhammasaṅgaṇī gives an enumeration of these dhammas classifying them under the Tika and Duka groups. Vibhaṅga analyses them to show what dhammas are contained in the major categories of khandhas, āyatanas, dhātus etc. Dhātukathā studies the relationship of dhammas listed in the Mātikā with each component of these major categories of khandhas, āyatanas and dhātus. Yamaka resolves ambiguity in the internal and external relationship of each dhamma. Paṭṭhāna forming the last book of the Abhidhamma brings together all such relationships in a co-ordinated form to show that the dhammas do not exist as isolated entities but they constitute a well ordered system in which the smallest unit conditions the rest of it and is also being conditioned in return. The arrangement of the system is so very intricate, complex, highly thorough and complete that it has earned for this treatise the reputation of being deep, profound and unfathomable.
An Outline of the Paṭṭhāna System of Relations
Paṭṭhāna, made up of the words "pa" and "ṭhāna", means a system of relations. The great treatise of Paṭṭhāna arranges all conditioned things (twenty-two Tikas and one hundred Dukas of the Mātikā) under twenty-four kinds of relations, and describes and classifies them into a complete system for understanding the mechanics of the universe of Dhamma. The whole work is divided into four great divisions, namely:
(i) Anuloma Paṭṭhāna which studies the instance in which the paccaya relations do exist between the dhammas;
(ii) Paccanīya Paṭṭhāna which studies the instances in which paccaya relations do not exist between the dhammas;
(iii) Anuloma Paccanīya Paṭṭhāna which studies the instances in which some of the paccaya relations exist between the dhammas while the others do not;
(iv) Paccanīya Anuloma Paṭṭhāna which studies the instances in which some of the paccaya relations do not exist between the dhammas, while the others do exist.
The twenty-four paccaya relations are applied to these four great divisions in the followings six ways:
(i) Tika Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas are applied to the dhammas in their twenty-four Tika groups.
(ii) Duka Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas are applied to the dhammas in their one hundred Duka groups.
(iii) Duka-Tika Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas applied to the dhammas in their twenty-four Tikas mixed with one hundred Duka groups.
(iv) Tika-Duka Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas applied to the dhammas in their twenty-four Tikas mixed with one hundred groups.
(v) Tika-Tika Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas applied to the dhammas in the twenty-four Tika groups mixed with one another.
(vi) Duka-Duka Paṭṭhāna
-the twenty-four paccayas applied to the dhammas in their one hundred Duka groups mixed with one another.
The four Paṭṭhānas of the four great divisions when combined with the six Paṭṭhānas of the six ways result in twenty-four treatises which constitute the gigantic compilation of abstract Abhidhamma known as the Mahāpakāraṇa or, as the commentary and sub-commentary name it, "Anantanaya Samanta Paṭṭhāna" to denote its great profundity and depth.
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The Dhammasaṅgaṇī, the Vibhaṅga and the Dhātukathā examine the world of reality, named saṅkhāraloka. Puggalapaññatti and Kathāvatthu deal with beings and individuals which also exist in their own world of apparent reality, know as sattaloka. Where the dhamma of saṅkhāraloka and beings of the sattaloka co-exist is termed okāsaloka. Yamaka sets out to define and analyse the interrelationship of dhammas and puggalas as they exist in these three worlds.
This is accomplished in the form of pairs of questions, which gives it the title of Yamaka. The logical processes of conversion (anuloma) and complete inversion (paṭiloma) are applied to determine the full implications and limitations of a term in its relationship with the others. Any equivocal elements of a term (saṃsaya) are avoided by showing, through such arrangement of questions, how other meanings of the term do not fit in a particular context.
The following pairs of questions may be taken as an
example:
To the question, "May all rūpa be called rūpakkhandha?" the answer is "Rūpa is also used in such expressions as piya rūpa (loveable nature), eva rūpa (of such nature), but there it does not mean rūpakkhandha."
But to the question "May all rūpakkhanda be called rūpa?" the answer is "Yes", because rūpakkhandha is a very wide term and includes such terms as piya rūpa, eva rūpa, etc.
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Kathāvatthu, like Puggalapaññatti, falls outside the regular system of the Abhidhamma. It does not directly deal with the complex nature of the Dhamma. It is mainly concerned with wrong views such as "person exists; self exists; jīva exists" which were prevalent even in the Buddha’s time; or wrong views such as "arahat falls away from arahatship" which arose after the parinibbāna of the Buddha.
About two hundred and eighteen years after the parinibbāna of the Buddha there were altogether eighteen sects, all claiming to be followers of the Buddha’s teaching. Of these only the Theravādins were truly orthodox, while the rest were all schismatic. The emperor Asoka set about removing the impure elements from the order with the guidance and assistance of the elder Moggaliputtatissa who was an accomplished arahat. Under his direction, the order held in concord the uposatha ceremony which had not been held for seven years because of dissensions and the presence of false bhikkhus in the order.
At that assembly, the Venerable Moggaliputtatissa expounded on points of views, made up of five hundred orthodox statements and five hundred statements of other views, in order to refute the wrong views that had crept into the Sangha and that might in the future arise. He followed the heads of discourses, Mātikā, outlined by the Buddha himself and analysed them in detail into one thousand statements of views. This collection of statements of views was recited by one thousand selected theras who formed the Third Great Synod, to be incorporated into the Abhidhamma Piṭaka.
The style of compilation of this treatise is quite different from that of other treatises, written as it is in the form of dialogue between two imaginary debaters, one holding the heterodox views of different sects and the other representing the orthodox views.
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This Collection of Discourses, Aṅguttara Nikāya, containing 9557 short suttas is divided into eleven divisions known as nipātas. Each nipāta is divided again into groups called vaggas which usually contain ten suttas. The discourses are arranged in progressive numerical order, each nipāta containing suttas with items of Dhamma, beginning with one item and moving up by units of one until there are eleven items of Dhamma in each sutta of the last nipāta. Hence the name Aṅguttara meaning "increasing by one item". The first nipāta, Ekaka Nipāta, provides in each sutta single items of Dhamma called the Ones; the second nipāta, Duka Nipāta, contains in each sutta two items of Dhamma called the Twos, the last nipāta, Ekādasaka Nipāta, is made up of suttas with eleven items of Dhamma in each, called the Elevens.
Aṅguttara Nikāya constitutes an important source book on Buddhist psychology and ethics, which provides an enumerated summary of all the essential features concerning the theory and practice of the Dhamma. A unique chapter entitled Etadagga Vagga of Ekaka Nipāta enumerates the names of the foremost disciples amongst the bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, upāsakas, upāsikās, who had achieved pre-eminence in one sphere of attainment or meritorious activity, e.g., the Venerable Sāriputta in intuitive wisdom and knowledge (paññā); the Venerable Mahā Moggallāna in supernormal powers (iddhi); Bhikkhunī Khemā in paññā; Bhikkhuni Uppalavanna in iddhi; the Upāsaka Anāthapiṇḍika and the Upāsikā Visākhā in alms-giving (dāna) and so on.
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The last vagga of Saṃyutta Nikāya is made up of twelve saṃyuttas, the list of which gives a clear indication of the subjects dealt with in this division: Magga Saṃyutta, Bojjhaṅga Saṃyutta, Satipaṭṭhāna Saṃyutta, Indriya Saṃyutta, Sammappadhāna Saṃyutta, Bala Saṃyutta, Iddhipāda Saṃyutta, Anuruddha Saṃyutta, Jhāna Saṃyutta, Ānāpāna Saṃyutta, Sotāpatti Saṃyutta and Sacca Saṃyutta. The main doctrines which from the fundamental basis of the Buddha’s teaching are reviewed in these saṃyuttas, covering both the theoretical and practical aspects. In the concluding suttas of the vagga, the ultimate goal of the holy life: arahatta phala, nibbāna, the end of all suffering, is constantly kept in full view together with a detailed description of the way of achieving it, namely, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Path of Eight Constituents.
In the opening suttas it is pointed out how friendship with the good and association with the virtuous is of immense help for the attainment of the path and perfection. It is one of the supporting factors conducive to the welfare of a bhikkhu. Not having a virtuous friend and good adviser is a great handicap for him in his endeavours to attain the path.
In the Kuṇḍaliya Sutta, the wandering ascetic Kuṇḍaliya asks the Buddha what his objective is in practising the holy life. When the Buddha replies that he lives the holy life to enjoy the fruits of the path and the bliss of liberation by knowledge, the ascetic wants to know how to achieve these results. The Buddha advises him to cultivate and frequently practise restraint of the five senses. This will establish the threefold good conduct in deed, word and thought. When the threefold good conduct is cultivated and frequently practised, the four foundations of mindfulness will be established. When the four foundations of mindfulness are well established, the seven factors of enlightenment will be developed. When the seven factors of enlightenment are developed and frequently applied, the fruits of the path and liberation by knowledge will be achieved.
In the Udāyī Sutta, there is an account of Udāyī who gives confirmation of such achievements through personal experience. He tells how he comes to know about the five khandhas from the discourses, how he practises contemplation on the arising and ceasing of the khandhas, thereby developing udayabbaya ñāṇa which, through frequent cultivation, matures into magga insight. Progressing still further by developing and applying frequently the seven factors of enlightenment he ultimately attains arahatship. In many suttas are recorded the personal experiences of bhikkhus and lay disciples who on being afflicted with serious illness are advised to cultivate and practise the seven factors of enlightenment. They recount how they are relieved, not only of pains of sickness but also of suffering that arises from craving.
In Sakuṇagghi Sutta, the bhikkhus are exhorted by the Buddha to keep within the confines of their own ground, i.e., the four foundations of mindfulness, namely: contemplation of body, sensation, mind and mind-objects. They can roam freely in the safe resort guarded by these outposts of the four foundations, unharmed by lust, hate and ignorance. Once they stray outside their own ground, they expose themselves to the allurements of the sensuous world. The parable of the falcon and the skylark illustrates this point. A fierce falcon suddenly seizes hold of a tiny skylark which is feeding in an open field. Clutched in the claws of its captor, the unfortunate young bird bemoans its foolishness in venturing outside of its own ground to fall victim to the raiding falcon. "If only I had stayed on my own ground inherited from my parents, I could easily have beaten off this attack by the falcon." Bemused by this challenging soliloquy, the falcon asks the skylark where that ground would be that it has inherited from its parents. The skylark replies, "The interspaces between clods of earth in the ploughed fields are my ground inherited from my parents." "All right, tiny tot, I shall release you now. See if you can escape my clutches even on your own ground."
Then standing on a spot where three big clods of earth meet, the skylark derisively invites the falcon, "Come and get me, you big brute." Burning with fury, the falcon sweeps down with fierce speed to grab the mocking little bird in its claws. The skylark quickly disappears into the interspaces of the earth clods, but the big falcon, unable to arrest its own speed, smashes into the hard protruding clods to meet its painful death.
In Bhikkhunupassaya Sutta, the Buddha explains for Ānanda’s benefit two methods of meditation. When established in the four foundations of mindfulness, a bhikkhu will experience a beneficial result gradually increasing. But should his mind be distracted by external things during the contemplation on body, sensation, mind or mind-object, the bhikkhu should direct his mind to some confidence-inspiring object, such as recollection of the virtues of the Buddha. By doing so, he experiences joy, rapture, tranquillity and happiness, which is conducive to concentration. He can then revert back to the original object of meditation. When his mind is not distracted by external things, no need arises for him to direct his mind to any confidence-inspiring object. The Buddha concluded his exhortation thus: "Here are trees and secluded places, Ānanda. Practise meditation Ānanda. Be not neglectful lest you regret it afterwards."
As set out in the Ciraṭṭhiti Sutta, the Venerable Ānanda takes this injunction to heart and regards the practice of the four methods of steadfast mindfulness as of supreme importance. When a bhikkhu by the name of Badda asks the Venerable Ānanda, after the death of the Buddha, what will bring about the disappearance of the Buddha’s teaching, the Venerable Ānanda replies, "So long as the practice of the four methods of steadfast mindfulness is not neglected, so long will the teaching prosper; but when the practice of the four methods of steadfast mindfulness declines, the teaching will gradually disappear."
Anapanassati meditation, one of the methods of body contemplation, consists in watching closely one’s in-breath and out-breath and is rated highly as being very beneficial. In the Mahā Kappina Sutta, the bhikkhus inform the Buddha, "We notice, Venerable Sir, that Bhikkhu Mahā Kappina is always calm and collected, never excited, whether he is in company or alone in the forest." "It is so, bhikkhus. One who practises Anapanassati meditation with mindfulness and full comprehension remains calm in body and collected in mind, unruffled, unexcited."
The Icchānaṅgala Sutta describes how the Buddha himself once stayed for the rains-residence of three months in Icchānaṅgala forest grove in solitude practising Anapanassati meditation most of the time. Anapanassati meditation is known as the abode of the enlightened ones, the abode of the noble ones.
When fully accomplished in the cultivation of the seven factors of enlightenment, through practice of body contemplation or Anapanassati meditation, one becomes firmly established in unshakable confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. The moral conduct of such a person, through observance of precepts, is also without blemish. He has reached, in his spiritual development, the stage of the stream-winner (sotāpatti magga), by virtue of which he will never be reborn in states of woe and misery. His path only leads upwards, towards the three higher stages of accomplishment. He has only to plod on steadfastly without looking backwards.
This is explained in the Paṭhama Mahānāma Sutta, by the simile of an earthen pot filled partly with gravel and stones and partly with fat and butter. By throwing this pot into water and smashing it with a stick, it will be seen that gravel and stones quickly sink to the bottom while fat and butter rise to the surface of the water. Likewise, when a person who has established himself in the five wholesome dhammas of faith, conduct, learning, charity and insight dies his body remains to get decomposed but his extremely purified mental continuum continues in higher states of existence as birth-linking consciousness, paṭisandhi citta.
In the concluding suttas are expositions on the middle path, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Path of Eight Constituents.
The Buddha’s first sermon, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, appears in the last saṃyutta, namely, Sacca Saṃyutta.
The Buddha did not make his claim to supremely perfect enlightenment until he had acquired full understanding of the Four Noble Truths. "As long, O bhikkhus, as my knowledge of reality and insight regarding the Four Noble Truths in three aspects and twelve ways was not fully clear to me, so long did I not admit to the world with its devas, māras and Brahmās, to the mass of beings with its recluses, brahmins, kings and people that I had understood, attained and realized rightly by myself the incomparable, the most excellent perfect enlightenment".
The Buddha concluded his first sermon with the words "This is my last existence. Now there is no more rebirth for me.
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Abhidhamma is mainly concerned with the study of abstract truths in absolute terms. But in describing the dhammas in their various aspects, it is not possible to keep to absolute terms only. Inevitably, conventional terms of every day language have to be employed in order to keep the lines of communication open at all. Abhidhamma states that there are two main types of conventional usage; the first type is concerned with terms which describe things that actually exist in reality and the second type describes things which have no existence in reality.
The first three books of the Abhidhamma investigate the absolute truth of the Dhamma in a planned system of detailed analysis employing such terms as khandha, āyatana, dhātu, sacca and indriya. These terms are mere designations which express things that exist in reality and can therefore be classified as conventional usage of the first type referred to above. To the second category of conventional usage belong such expressions such as man, woman, deva, individual etc., which have no existence in reality, but nevertheless are essential for the communication of thoughts.
It becomes necessary therefore to distinguish between these two types of apparent truths. But as the terms khandha, āyatana, dhātu, sacca and indriya have been elaborately dealt with in the first three books, they are dealt with here only briefly. Terms of the second type relating to individuals are given more weight and space in this treatise, hence its title Puggalapaññatti (designation of individuals). Different types of individuals are classified, in ten chapters of the book, according to the manner of enumeration employed in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.
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Although this third book of Abhidhamma Piṭaka is a small treatise, it ranks with the first two books forming an important trilogy, which must be completely digested for the complete understanding of the Abhidhamma. Vibhaṅga, the second book, has one complete chapter devoted to the analysis of dhātus, but the subject matter of dhātu is so important that this treatise is devoted to it for a thorough consideration. The method of analysis here is different from that employed in the Vibhaṅga.
Dhātukathā studies how the Dhamma listed in the Tikas and Dukas of the Mātikās are related to the three categories of khandha, āyatana and dhātu in their complete distribution i.e., five khandhas, twelve āyatanas and eighteen dhātus. These are discussed in fourteen forms of analytical investigation which constitute the fourteen chapters of Dhātukathā.
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This division is made up of ten saṃyuttas or groups. It deals mainly with the six sense organs or bases of contact named internal sense bases (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind); six corresponding sense objects, known as external sense bases (visible form, sound, odour, taste, tangible things and mind-objects); and consciousness that arises in relation to each pair of these internal and external sense bases. There are expositions on the impermanent nature of these sense bases and how relinquishing of attachment to them results in liberation. The second saṃyutta, known as the Vedanā Saṃyutta, focuses on the sensation arising from the coming together of the sense bases and conciousness. Sensation is shown to be of three kinds: pleasant, unpleasant and indifferent. None of these is permanent and each one of these is the cause of craving which in turn is the root of all suffering. Concise but illuminating expositions on nibbāna are found in many suttas. So also are there practical guides of Vipassana meditation.
In the very first two suttas, the Buddha explains that the six internal sense bases and six external sense bases have the nature of impermanence. Being impermanent, they are really suffering and not self. "Bhikkhus, realizing their true nature, you should not regard these twelve sense bases as ‘This is mine’, ‘This is I’, ‘This is my self’. Contemplate on them steadfastly, constantly, until Vipassana insight into their real nature arises." The Buddha continues to explain that insight into the true nature of the twelve āyatanas will develop dispassion and disenchantment for them. Being disenchanted with them, there is no craving, clinging, thereby achieving the path and fruition.
In the famous Āditta Sutta, the fire sermon, delivered at Gayāsisa to one thousand ascetics formerly devoted to fire-worship but recently converted and admitted into the order as bhikkhus, the Buddha explains that each of the six sense bases and the six sense objects is burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of ignorance. Each is burning with the fire of birth, ageing and death; with the fire of sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair. Six forms of consciousness arising in relation to the six sense bases are also burning. The six contacts and the six sensations resulting from them are also burning.
The Buddha explains further that when a bhikkhu who has practised the Dhamma develops Vipassana insight and perceives that each of the bases is burning, he becomes disenchanted with it. Then craving fades away. With the fading of craving he is liberated. And when liberated there is knowledge that he is liberated. At the end of the discourse, one thousand former worshippers of fire attain arahatship.
In the Paṭhama Migajāla Sutta, the Buddha’s definition of a bhikkhu who lives in solitude is very edifying. When a bhikkhu unmindfully takes delight in the six sense objects, regards them wrongly as "This is mine", "This is I", "This is my self", craving for them arises in him and he becomes attached to fetters. Such a bhikkhu in whom craving has arisen is regarded as one living with a companion, even if he lives alone deep in a forest away from towns and villages. When, however, he mindfully perceives the true nature of the six sense bases and objects, he does not wrongly hold on to them as "This is mine", "This is I", "This is my self" and craving for them does not arise in him. Such a bhikkhu in whom craving has not arisen is said to be living in solitude without any companion even if he lives in the midst of people, in towns or villages.
The Puṇṇa Sutta gives an account of a bhikkhu by the name Puṇṇa who asks for instruction from the Buddha on a suitable subject on which he can meditate in solitude. The Buddha advises him to contemplate on the true nature of the six sense bases and objects. When he perceives their true nature, no craving for them will arise in him. Eradication of craving will result in liberation and attainment of arahatship. After receiving the instruction, the bhikkhu informs the Buddha of his intention to reside in a very distant and remote land. The Buddha tells him that it is a wild country inhabited by savage tribes, and asks him how he intends to cope with the dangers and hazards that would face him. The answer given the bhikkhu provides a model lesson in fortitude and endurance.
The bhikkhu says, if he were menaced with invectives and curses or attacked physically, or if he had stones thrown at him or if he were hit with sticks or cut with swords, or pierced with spear, he would bear them with endurance with no malice against the savage tribes. Even if his head were to be chopped off he would feel he was luckier than those noble ones who had to commit suicide to be released from the suffering of the khandhas.
The Buddha remarks, "Well said, bhikkhu, well said. I believe you are qualified to lead a solitary life in that wild country. You will overcome all difficulties."
As presaged by the Buddha, the bhikkhu is able to overcome all hostilities and difficulties in his new residence, and to convert five hundred men and five hundred women so that they come to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. And during the very first vassa residence, practising the meditation as instructed by the Buddha, the Bhikkhu Puṇṇa attains arahatship, fully accomplished in the three vijjās.
In the Bhāradvāja Sutta, an interesting interview between King Udena and the Venerable Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja is described. King Udena approaches the Venerable Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja while he is meditating at the foot of a tree in the king’s park. The king remarks that many young men have abandoned sensual pleasures and lead the holy life. They maintain the holy practice throughout their life. The king enquires, "What is the means by which they maintain the purity of their holy life?" The bhikkhu replies that they keep to the pure life by training themselves as instructed by the Buddha to regard a woman of their mother’s age as their mother, a woman of their sister’s age as their sister, and a girl of their daughter’s age as their daughter.
The king is not satisfied with the answer. He argues that even if a bhikkhu trains himself in the said manner, it is no guarantee for the non-arising of impure thoughts in him in connection with a female person. The Venerable Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja explains further they practise meditation on the foulness of a body by contemplating on the thirty-two constituent parts of the body. The king is still not convinced. He maintains that for older bhikkhus with more mature experience, who are well established in mindfulness and concentration, contemplation on the thirty-two constituent parts of the body might prove to be salutary; but this type of meditation for younger bhikkhus might have an adverse effect exciting lust and passion instead of aversion for the human body. Only when the Venerable Piṇḍola Bhāradvāja tells him the bhikkhus practise restraint of the six faculties keeping a close watch on the doors of the six senses that the king agrees that purity of the holy life is possible under such circumstances.
In the Paṭhama Dārukkhandhopama Sutta, the discourse given by the Buddha on the bank of the River Ganges at Kosambī, the Buddha uses the simile of a log floating down the river. He says that if the log does not get stranded on either of the two banks, nor sinks in the middle of the river, nor gets salvaged and deposited on the bank by some one, nor is retrieved by men or devas, nor sucked in by a whirlpool, and if it does not get decomposed on the way, it will be carried by the current until its destination, the ocean, is reached.
In this simile, the near bank means the six internal sense bases, the far bank represents the six external sense objects, sinking in the mid-river means getting immersed in sensuous desires; being salvaged and deposited on a bank means being hindered by one’s own conceit; being retrieved by men means doing some services or running errands for men; being retrieved by devas means practising the holy life with the deva realm as one’s objective; being sucked into a whirlpool means wallowing in sensual pleasures; getting decomposed on the way means becoming corrupt, immoral, heedless of the disciplinary rules. If a bhikkhu manages to steer himself clear of all these obstacles, he will be carried along by the current of Right View until he reaches his destination, nibbāna.
In the Chappāṇakopama Sutta, the Buddha teaches that a bhikkhu practising the holy life must exercise control of his sense faculties. The six sense faculties may be likened to six animals, namely, a snake, a crocodile, a giant bird, a dog, a jackal and a monkey. Suppose each animal is bound by a rope and the ropes are tied together into a single knot. When they are left in this state, each animal will try to get to its own habitat-the snake to its underground hole, the crocodile to the river, etc. In this way they will pull and struggle against one another until they become exhausted and are dragged along by the strongest of them. The mind of a bhikkhu with unrestrained sense faculties will be impelled by the senses towards corresponding sense objects.
But suppose each animal is bound by a separate rope which is fastened to a pole firmly planted in the ground. Each animal will make furious attempts to return to its home and becoming exhausted will finally stand, sit, curl or lie down quietly near the post. Similarly by practising contemplation of the body (kāyagatāsati), the sense faculties are placed well under control. Mindfulness of the body serves as the firm post to which each of the faculties is tied down.
In the section focusing on sensation (Vedanā Saṃyutta) the Buddha describes the three types of sensation, pleasant, unpleasant and neutral. In the Samādhi Sutta he states that a disciple of the Buddha who is concentrated (samāhito), aware (sato) and maintaining thorough understanding of impermanence (sampajāno) knows with wisdom the sensations, their arising, their cessation and the path leading to their end. Having reached the end of sensations such a meditator is said to be free from craving, fully liberated.
In the Pahāna Sutta he makes clear that pleasant sensation gives the meditator the opportunity to eliminate the underlying condition of craving (rāgānusayo pahātabbo). In the same way, unpleasant sensation and neutral sensation allow the eradication of the deep conditioning of aversion (paṭighānusayo pahātabbo) and ignorance (avijjānusayo pahātabbo) respectively. One who eradicates these underlying conditionings is called one who is totally free of underlying conditioning, who has seen the truth, who has cut off all craving and aversion, who has broken all bondages, who has fully realized the illusory nature of the ego, who has made an end of suffering.
The sutta emphasizes that those who relish pleasant sensations, who reel in unpleasant ones or take pleasure even in the tranquil neutral sensations are not liberated from their misery. The condition for achieving full liberation is defined as: striving ardently, not missing the thorough understanding of impermanence even for a moment (ātāpī, sampajaññaṃ na riñcati). A meditator who achieves this state is said to be a wise person who knows the totality of the sensations.
In several suttas in this section the Buddha makes it clear that vedanā (the sensation he is refering to here) is bodily sensation. In the Paṭhama Ākāsa Sutta he compares the various winds that arise in the sky to the different kinds of sensations that arise in the body.
In the Paṭhama Gelañña Sutta, given at Vesāli on the occasion of a visit to the sick room, he exhorts the bhikkhus to remain constantly aware of impermanence and to let the time come. This, he says, is his dispensation. He goes on to explain that one must understand that when a pleasant, unpleasant or neutral sensation has arisen it is based on something: it is based on this very body. Thus the meditator dwells observing the impermanent nature of the sensations in the body.
This section on vedanā is full of practical advice and inspiration for serious meditators.
In a later saṃyutta, Dukkarapañhā Sutta states that in the teaching of the Buddha, it is difficult first to become a member of the order as a novice and as a bhikkhu. Secondly, it is difficult to be happy and comfortable in the order with its disciplinary rules. Thirdly, even if one stays the course and remains in the order, it is difficult for one to practise concentration meditation and Vipassana meditation to attain higher stages of knowledge. Then fully endowed with supporting pāramīs (perfections), a bhikkhu who gets instruction in the morning and starts practising meditation in the morning may be fully liberated by the evening; if he gets instruction in the evening and starts practising meditation in the evening he may be fully liberated by the morning.
A wealthy householder by the name of Citta figures quite prominently in some of the suttas of this division. In Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta Sutta, Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta finds himself unable to accept the view expressed by the Buddha that there is jhāna and samādhi free from vitakka and vicāra. He discusses this problem with Citta, the wealthy householder, who is an ariya disciple of the Buddha. Citta tells him: "I believe there is jhāna and samādhi free from vitakka and vicāra, not because of my faith in the Buddha but because of my own achievement and realization." Citta explains that he has personally experienced jhāna samādhi unaccompanied by vitakka and vicāra and has no need to rely on others for believing this.
The same Citta used to have in his younger days a close friend who later became the naked ascetic Kassapa. Each has gone his own separate way and the two friends meet again only after thirty years. Citta asks his friend whether by living the ascetic life he has gained anything more than what could be achieved by the wholesome Dhamma of ordinary people. The ascetic Kassapa admits that he has nothing to show besides his nakedness, his shaven head and the accumulation of dust on his body.
When asked in return what he himself has gained by being a disciple of the Buddha and following the path as instructed by his teacher, Citta informs him that he has become fully accomplished in the four jhānas, and having removed the five fetters, is now an anāgāmi (a non-returner). The naked ascetic, impressed by his achievements, tells Citta that he wants to be a disciple of the Buddha. Citta introduces him to the leading bhikkhus and helps him to get admission into the order. With the guidance of the theras and encouragement of his friend Citta, the ex-ascetic Kassapa puts in such an effort in the practice of meditation that in no time he gains the supreme goal of arahatship.
In the Saṅkhadhama Sutta, the Buddha points out the wrong views held by Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta on kamma and its resultant effects. According to the village headman Asibandhakaputta, his teacher Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta teaches that every one who commits evil deeds of killing, lying, etc., is definitely bound to be reborn in states of woe. Whatever action is performed in a greater frequency, that action tends to determine the destiny of a being. The Buddha points out the fallacy in the two statements, one contradicting the other. An individual does not often commit the evil deed, for instance, of killing. Other actions besides killing are performed by him in a more frequent manner; hence, according to Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta, he will not be destined to states of woe for his evil act of killing.
Then the Buddha explains that only very heinous acts such as killing of one’s own parents, creating a schism in the Sangha, etc., bring the dire resultant effect of certain destiny in the states of woe. Other misdeeds, physical, vocal or mental, cannot be regarded as leading with certainty to unhappy destinations. Instead of just feeling remorseful and penitent over one’s particular evil deed, one should recognize it to be evil, and resolve not to repeat a similar unwholesome action, and follow it with the practice of concentration and Vipassana meditation.
Thus abandoning all evil deeds and doing only wholesome deeds together with the development of brahmavihāra bhāvanā until accomplished in jhāna, one can escape from the unhappy consequences of one’s evil actions and look forward to a better future. This Saṅkhadhama Sutta establishes the fact that as in matter of practice so also in the matters of views, the Buddha takes the middle path.
In the Bhadraka Sutta, the Buddha explains the origin of suffering by giving illuminating examples. The village headman Bhadraka wants to know the cause of suffering that afflicts mankind. In reply, the Buddha asks him to think of his son and imagine that his son is meeting with unexpected misfortunes, or getting arrested by the king’s order or facing a severe punishment. Bhadraka imagines as he is told and finds that such thoughts give rise to sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, grief and despair in him. When he imagines a stranger to be placed in a similar situation, facing similar predicament, he finds that he is not troubled at all with any mental agony. He explains to the Buddha that the difference in his mental reaction to the two situations lies in the fact that he loves his son with a parent’s love and is very fond of his son, whereas he has no such feeling towards the stranger.
Next the Buddha asks him if any love, passion or desire arises in him before he meets or sees or hears about the woman who has become his wife. Bhadraka replies that only when he meets, sees and hears about her that does he develop passion and attachment towards his wife. When the Buddha asks him further whether he will suffer from sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, grief, despair, if anything untoward happens to his wife, he confesses that he will suffer more than these agonies; he might even lose his life through intense suffering.
The Buddha points out then that the root cause of suffering in the world is craving, greed, passion and desire that engulf mankind. It has been so in the past, as it is now , and so it will be in the future.
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