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+ | <div center round todo 60%> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== The Ten Perfections: | ||
+ | <span hide>The Ten Perfections</ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Summary: | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | <div #h_meta> | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
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+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div navigation></ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <span # | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Contents ===== | ||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[#calm|IV. Calm]] | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== Introduction ====== | ||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the early centuries after the Buddha' | ||
+ | |||
+ | All Buddhists agreed that the third path took by far the longest to follow, but disagreements arose as to whether the perfections developed along the different paths were quantitatively or qualitatively different. In other words, did a Buddha develop more of the same sort of perfections that an arahant developed, or did he develop perfections of a radically different sort? Those who believed that the perfections differed only quantitatively were able to take the early Buddhist canons as their guide to the path to Buddhahood, for they could simply extrapolate from the path of the arahant as described in those canons. Those seeking Buddhahood who believed that the perfections differed qualitatively, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Thus, historically, | ||
+ | |||
+ | There' | ||
+ | |||
+ | For people in the modern world who are wrestling with the issue of how to practice the Dhamma in daily life, the perfections provide a useful framework for developing a fruitful attitude toward daily activities so that any activity or relationship undertaken wisely with the primary purpose of developing the perfections in a balanced way becomes part of the practice. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The perfections also provide one of the few reliable ways of measuring the accomplishments of one's life. " | ||
+ | |||
+ | The material in this study guide is organized under the heading of the eighth perfection — determination — for several reasons. The first reason is that determination is needed for undertaking the path of perfections to begin with, in that it gives focus, motivation, and direction to the practice. The second reason is that the four aspects of skilled determination — discernment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | The fourth, and perhaps most important, reason for organizing the material in this way is that skilled determination begins with discernment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | For instance, under the theme of good will, [[# | ||
+ | |||
+ | Similarly, under the theme of persistence, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Passages in this guide are drawn from the Pali canon and from the teachings of Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | The four determinations: | ||
+ | One should not be negligent of // | ||
+ | should guard the //truth,// | ||
+ | be devoted to // | ||
+ | and train only for //calm.// | ||
+ | ]! | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== I. Discernment ====== | ||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | understanding that comes from listening // | ||
+ | understanding that comes from thinking // | ||
+ | understanding that comes from developing/ | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | A fool with a sense of his foolishness | ||
+ | is — at least to that extent — wise. | ||
+ | But a fool who thinks himself wise | ||
+ | really deserves to be called | ||
+ | a fool. | ||
+ | ]! | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "These two are wise people. Which two? The one who sees his transgression as a transgression, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "This is the way leading to discernment: | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "As for the course of action that is unpleasant to do but that, when done, leads to what is profitable, it is in light of this course of action that one may be known — in terms of manly stamina, manly persistence, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As for the course of action that is pleasant to do but that, when done, leads to what is unprofitable, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "And what is right view? Knowledge in terms of stress, knowledge in terms of the origination of stress, knowledge in terms of the cessation of stress, knowledge in terms of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress: This is called right view. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is right resolve? Resolve aimed at renunciation, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "And what is the right view that has fermentations, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is the right view that is without fermentations, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "One tries to abandon wrong view & to enter into right view: This is one's right effort. One is mindful to abandon wrong view & to enter & remain in right view: This is one's right mindfulness. Thus these three qualities — right view, right effort, & right mindfulness — run & circle around right view. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Of those, right view is the forerunner. And how is right view the forerunner? One discerns wrong resolve as wrong resolve, and right resolve as right resolve. And what is wrong resolve? Being resolved on sensuality, on ill will, on harmfulness. This is wrong resolve. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is right resolve? Right resolve, I tell you, is of two sorts: There is right resolve with fermentations, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is the right resolve that has fermentations, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is the right resolve that is without fermentations, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "One tries to abandon wrong resolve & to enter into right resolve: This is one's right effort. One is mindful to abandon wrong resolve & to enter & remain in right resolve: This is one's right mindfulness. Thus these three qualities — right view, right effort, & right mindfulness — run & circle around right resolve." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "And what is the faculty of discernment? | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "There are mental qualities that are skillful & unskillful, blameworthy & blameless, gross & refined, siding with darkness & with light. To foster appropriate attention to them: This is the food for the arising of unarisen analysis of qualities as a factor for awakening, or for the growth & increase of analysis of qualities... once it has arisen." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | What does discernment come from? You might compare it with learning to become a potter, a tailor, or a basket weaver. The teacher will start out by telling you how to make a pot, sew a shirt or a pair of pants, or weave different patterns, but the proportions and beauty of the object you make will have to depend on your own powers of observation. Suppose you weave a basket and then take a good look at its proportions, | ||
+ | |||
+ | What you've done is to learn from your own actions. As for your previous efforts, you needn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The same holds true in practicing meditation. For discernment to arise, you have to be observant as you keep track of the breath and to gain a sense of how to adjust and improve it so that it's well-proportioned throughout the body — to the point where it flows evenly without faltering, so that it's comfortable in slow and out slow, in fast and out fast, long, short, heavy, or refined. Get so that both the in-breath and the out-breath are comfortable no matter what way you breathe, so that — no matter when — you immediately feel a sense of ease the moment you focus on the breath. When you can do this, physical results will appear: a sense of ease and lightness, open and spacious. The body will be strong, the breath and blood will flow unobstructed and won't form an opening for disease to step in. The body will be healthy and awake. | ||
+ | |||
+ | As for the mind, when mindfulness and alertness are the causes, a still mind is the result. When negligence is the cause, a mind distracted and restless is the result. So we must try to make the causes good, in order to give rise to the good results we've referred to. If we use our powers of observation and evaluation in caring for the breath, and are constantly correcting and improving it, we'll develop awareness on our own, the fruit of having developed our concentration higher step by step. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | Discernment comes from observing causes and effects. If we know effects without knowing causes, that doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | The all-around knowing that arises within us comes from causes and effects, not from what we read in books, hear other people tell us, or conjecture on our own. Suppose we have some silver coins in our pocket. If all we know is that other people say it's money, we don't know its qualities. But if we experiment with it and put it in a smelter to see what it's made of and to see how it can be made into other things, that's when we'll know its true qualities. This is the kind of knowledge that comes from our own actions. This knowledge, when we meditate, comes in five forms. We find within ourselves that some things are caused by the properties of the body, some are caused by the mind, some causes come from the mind but have an effect on the body, some causes come from the body but have an effect on the mind, some causes come from the body and mind acting together. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | The Dhamma of attainment is something cool, clean, and clear. It doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div centeralign> | ||
+ | |||
+ | We should make a point of searching for whatever will give rise to discernment. // | ||
+ | |||
+ | For the most part we're really ignorant. We try to remedy the things that shouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ignorant people are like the old woman who lit a fire to cook her rice and, when her rice was cooked, had her meal. When she had finished her meal, she sat back and had a cigar. It so happened that when she lit her cigar with one of the embers of the fire, it burned her mouth. ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | People with discernment will see that stress is of two kinds: (1) physical stress, or the inherent stress of natural conditions; and (2) mental stress, or the stress of defilement. Once there' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Illness is something that everyone has, in other words, the diseases that appear in the various parts of the body. Once we've treated the disease in our eyes, it'll go appear in our ears, nose, in front, in back, in our arm, our hand, our foot, etc., and then it'll sneak inside. Like a person trying to catch hold of an eel: The more you try to catch it, the more it slips off every which way. And so we keep on treating our diseases till we die. Some kinds of disease will go away whether we treat them or not. If it's a disease that goes away with treatment, then take medicine. If it's one that goes away whether we treat it or not, why bother? This is what it means to have discernment. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ignorant people don't know which kinds of stress should be treated and which kinds shouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | If we look at it in another way, we'll see that aging, illness, and death are simply the shadows of stress and not its true substance. People lacking discernment will try to do away with the shadows, which leads only to more suffering and stress. This is because they aren't acquainted with what the shadows and substance of stress come from. The essence of stress lies with the mind. Aging, illness, and death are its shadows or effects that show by way of the body. When we want to kill our enemy and so take a knife to stab his shadow, how is he going to die? In the same way, ignorant people try to destroy the shadows of stress and don't get anywhere. As for the essence of stress in the heart, they don't think of remedying it at all. This ignorance of theirs is one form of //avijja,// or unawareness. | ||
+ | |||
+ | To look at it in still another way, both the shadows and the real thing come from //tanha,// craving. We're like a person who has amassed a huge fortune and then, when thieves come to break in, goes killing the thieves. He doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Stress comes from the three forms of craving, so we should kill off craving for sensuality, craving for becoming, and craving for no becoming. These things are fabricated in our own heart, and we have to know them with our own mindfulness and discernment. Once we've contemplated them until we see, we'll know: 'This sort of mental state is craving for sensuality; this sort is craving for becoming; and this sort, craving for no becoming.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | People with discernment will see that these things exist in the heart in subtle, intermediate, | ||
+ | |||
+ | When we gain discernment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Ignorant people will go ride in the shadow of a car — and they' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Once the mind is trained to the level of fixed penetration, | ||
+ | |||
+ | // | ||
+ | |||
+ | // | ||
+ | |||
+ | The mind is the most extraordinary thing there is. The mind is the source of the Dhamma. | ||
+ | |||
+ | This is what it means to know stress, its cause, its disbanding, and the path to its disbanding. This is the substance of virtue, concentration, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | For the heart to go and do harm to other people, we first have to open the way for it. In other words, we start out by doing harm to ourselves, and this clears the way from inside the house for us to go out and do harm to people outside. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The intention to do harm is a heavy form of self-harm. At the very least, it uses up our time and destroys our opportunity to do good. We have to wipe it out with the intention not to do harm — or in other words, with concentration. This is like seeing that there' | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div centeralign> | ||
+ | |||
+ | // | ||
+ | |||
+ | When our mind has these three forms of energy, it's like a table with three legs that can spin in all directions. To put it another way, once our mind has spun up to this high a level, we can take pictures of everything above and below us. We'll develop discernment like a bright light or like binoculars that can magnify every detail. This is called //ñaṇa// — intuitive awareness that can know everything in the world: // | ||
+ | |||
+ | The discernment here isn't ordinary knowledge or insight. It's a special cognitive skill, the skill of the Noble Path. We'll give rise to three eyes in the heart, so as to see the reds and greens, the highs and lows of the mundane world: a sport for those with wisdom. Our internal eyes will look at the Dhamma in front and behind, above and below and all around us, so as to know all the ins and outs of goodness and evil. This is discernment. We'll be at our ease, feeling pleasure with no pain interfering at all. This is called // | ||
+ | |||
+ | Whoever sees the world as having highs and lows doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | If we can get our practice on the Noble Path, we'll enter // | ||
+ | |||
+ | This is where we can relax. They can say inconstant, but it's just what they say. They can say stress, but it's just what they say. They can say not-self, but it's just what they say. Whatever they say, that's the way it is. It's true for them, and they' | ||
+ | |||
+ | None of the valuables of the mundane world give any real pleasure. They' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Good Will ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | Think: Happy, at rest, | ||
+ | may all beings be happy at heart. | ||
+ | Whatever beings there may be, | ||
+ | weak or strong, without exception, | ||
+ | long, large, | ||
+ | middling, short, | ||
+ | subtle, blatant, | ||
+ | seen & unseen, | ||
+ | near & far, | ||
+ | born & seeking birth: | ||
+ | May all beings be happy at heart. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Let no one deceive another | ||
+ | or despise anyone anywhere, | ||
+ | or through anger or irritation | ||
+ | wish for another to suffer. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | I have good will for the Virupakkhas, | ||
+ | good will for the Erapathas, | ||
+ | good will for the Chabyaputtas, | ||
+ | good will for the Dark Gotamakas. | ||
+ | |||
+ | I have good will for footless beings, | ||
+ | good will for two-footed beings, | ||
+ | good will for four-footed beings, | ||
+ | good will for many-footed beings. | ||
+ | |||
+ | May footless beings do me no harm. | ||
+ | May two-footed beings do me no harm. | ||
+ | May four-footed beings do me no harm. | ||
+ | May many-footed beings do me no harm. | ||
+ | |||
+ | May all creatures, | ||
+ | all breathing things, | ||
+ | all beings | ||
+ | — each & every one — | ||
+ | meet with good fortune. | ||
+ | May none of them come to any evil. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Limitless is the Buddha, | ||
+ | limitless the Dhamma, | ||
+ | limitless the Sangha. | ||
+ | There is a limit to creeping things: | ||
+ | snakes, scorpions, centipedes, | ||
+ | spiders, lizards, & rats. | ||
+ | I have made this safeguard, | ||
+ | I have made this protection. | ||
+ | May the beings depart. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "For one whose release of awareness through good will is cultivated, developed, pursued, handed the reins, given a grounding, steadied, consolidated, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "One sleeps easily, wakes easily, dreams no evil dreams. One is dear to human beings, dear to non-human beings. The devas protect one. Neither fire, poison, nor weapons can touch one. One's mind gains concentration quickly. One's complexion is bright. One dies unconfused and — if penetrating no higher — is headed for the Brahma worlds." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | Not consorting with fools, | ||
+ | consorting with the wise, | ||
+ | paying homage to those worthy of homage: | ||
+ | This is the highest protection. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "And what is meant by admirable friendship? There is the case where a lay person, in whatever town or village he may dwell, spends time with householders or householders' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "Once upon a time, a bamboo acrobat, having erected a bamboo pole, addressed his assistant, Frying Pan: 'Come, my dear Frying Pan. Climb up the bamboo pole and stand on my shoulders.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So then the bamboo acrobat said to his assistant, 'Now you watch after me, my dear Frying Pan, and I'll watch after you. Thus, protecting one another, watching after one another, we'll show off our skill, receive our reward, and come down safely from the bamboo pole.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When he had said this, Frying Pan said to him, 'But that won't do at all, Master. You watch after yourself, and I'll watch after myself, and thus with each of us protecting ourselves, watching after ourselves, we'll show off our skill, receive our reward, and come down safely from the bamboo pole.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "What Frying Pan, the assistant, said to her Master was the right way in that case. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "The establishing of mindfulness is to be practiced with the thought, ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how does one, when watching after oneself, watch after others? Through pursuing [the practice], through developing it, through devoting oneself to it. This is how one, when watching after oneself, watches after others. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how does one, when watching after others, watch after oneself? Through endurance, through harmlessness, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "The establishing of mindfulness is to be practiced with the thought, ' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | Anger. When this defilement really gets strong, it has no sense of good or evil, right or wrong, husband, wives, or children. It can drink human blood. An example we often see is when people get quarreling and one of them ends up in prison or even on death row, convicted for murder. This is even worse than your house burning down, because you have nothing left at all. For this reason, we have to get ourselves some life insurance by observing the five or eight precepts so that we can treat and bandage our open sores — i.e., so that we can wash away the evil and unwise things in our thoughts, words, and deeds. Even if we can't wash them all away, we should try at least to relieve them somewhat. Although you may still have some fire left, let there just be enough to cook your food or light your home. Don't let there be so much that it burns your house down. | ||
+ | |||
+ | //The only way to put out these fires is to meditate and develop thoughts of good will.// The mind won't feel any anger, hatred, or ill will, and instead will feel nothing but thoughts of sympathy, seeing that everyone in the world aims at goodness, but that our goodness isn't equal. You have to use really careful discernment to consider cause and effect, and then be forgiving, with the thought that we human beings aren't equal or identical in our goodness and evil. If everyone were equal, the world would fall apart. If we were equally good or equally bad, the world would have to fall apart for sure. Suppose that all the people in the world were farmers, with no merchants or government officials. Or suppose there were only government officials, with no farmers at all: We'd all starve to death with our mouths gaping and dry. If everyone were equal and identical, the end of the world would come in only a few days' time. Consider your body: Even the different parts of your own body aren't equal. Some of your fingers are short, some are long, some small, some large. If all ten of your fingers were equal, you'd have a monster' | ||
+ | |||
+ | When you can think in this way, your good will can spread to all people everywhere, and you'll feel sympathy for people on high levels, low levels and in between. The big ball of fire inside you will go out through the power of your good will and loving kindness. | ||
+ | |||
+ | This comes from getting life insurance: practicing tranquility meditation so as to chase the defilements away from the mind. Thoughts of sensual desire, ill will, lethargy, restlessness, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== II. Truth ====== | ||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | <span anchor #truth> </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "Let an observant person come — one who is not fraudulent, not deceitful, one of a straightforward nature. I instruct him. I teach him the Dhamma. Practicing as instructed, he in no long time knows for himself, sees for himself: 'So this is how there is the right liberation from bondage, i.e., the bondage of ignorance.'" | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | At that time Ven. Rahula was staying at the Mango Stone. Then the Blessed One, arising from his seclusion in the late afternoon, went to where Ven. Rahula was staying at the Mango Stone. Ven. Rahula saw him coming from afar and, on seeing him, set out a seat & water for washing the feet. The Blessed One sat down on the seat set out and, having sat down, washed his feet. Ven. Rahula, bowing down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then the Blessed One, having left a little bit of the remaining water in the water dipper, said to Ven. Rahula, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes sir." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Having tossed away the little bit of remaining water, the Blessed One said to Ven. Rahula, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, sir." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Having turned the water dipper upside down, the Blessed One said to Ven. Rahula, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, sir." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Having turned the water dipper right-side up, the Blessed One said to Ven. Rahula, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, sir." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, Rahula, when anyone feels no shame in telling a deliberate lie, there is no evil, I tell you, he will not do. Thus, Rahula, you should train yourself, 'I will not tell a deliberate lie even in jest.'" | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: "For the person who transgresses in one thing, I tell you, there is no evil deed that is not to be done. Which one thing? This: telling a deliberate lie." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Rajagaha in the Bamboo Grove, the Squirrels' | ||
+ | |||
+ | [The Blessed One responded:] "I do not say, brahman, that everything that has been seen should be spoken about. Nor do I say that everything that has been seen should not be spoken about. I do not say that everything that has been heard... everything that has been sensed... everything that has been cognized should be spoken about. Nor do I say that everything that has been cognized should not be spoken about. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When, for one who speaks of what has been seen, unskillful mental qualities increase and skillful mental qualities decrease, then that sort of thing should not be spoken about. But when, for one who speaks of what has been seen, unskillful mental qualities decrease and skillful mental qualities increase, then that sort of thing should be spoken about. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When, for one who speaks of what has been heard... what has been sensed... what has been cognized, unskillful mental qualities increase and skillful mental qualities decrease, then that sort of thing should not be spoken about. But when, for one who speaks of what has been cognized, unskillful mental qualities decrease and skillful mental qualities increase, then that sort of thing should be spoken about." | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then Vassakara the brahman, delighting & rejoicing in the Blessed One's words, got up from his seat and left. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | So Kapadika Bharadvaja said to the Blessed One, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Tell me, Bharadvaja, is there among the brahmans even one brahman who says, 'This I know; this I see; only this is true; anything else is worthless?'" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, Master Gotama." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And has there been among the brahmans even one teacher or teacher' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, Master Gotama." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And among the brahman seers of the past, the creators of the hymns, the composers of the hymns — those ancient hymns, sung, repeated, & collected, which brahmans at present still sing, still chant, repeating what was said, repeating what was spoken — i.e., Atthaka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vessamitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha, Kassapa & Bhagu: was there even one of these who said, 'This we know; this we see; only this is true; anything else is worthless?'" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, Master Gotama." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So then, Bharadvaja, it seems that there isn't among the brahmans even one brahman who says, 'This I know; this I see; only this is true; anything else is worthless.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "But to what extent, Master Gotama, is there the safeguarding of the truth? To what extent does one safeguard the truth? We ask Master Gotama about the safeguarding of the truth." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "If a person has conviction, his statement, 'This is my conviction,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "If a person likes something... holds an unbroken tradition... has something reasoned through analogy... has something he agrees to, having pondered views, his statement, 'This is what I agree to, having pondered views,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, Master Gotama, to this extent there is the safeguarding of the truth. To this extent one safeguards the truth. We regard this as the safeguarding of the truth. But to what extent is there an awakening to the truth? To what extent does one awaken to the truth? We ask Master Gotama about awakening to the truth." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case, Bharadvaja, where a monk lives in dependence on a certain village or town. Then a householder or householder' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When, on observing that the monk is purified with regard to qualities based on greed, he next observes him with regard to qualities based on aversion... based on delusion: 'Are there in this venerable one any such qualities based on delusion that, with his mind overcome by these qualities, he might say, "I know," while not knowing, or say, "I see," while not seeing; or that he might urge another to act in a way that was for his/her long-term harm & pain?' As he observes him, he comes to know, 'There are in this venerable one no such qualities based on delusion... His bodily behavior & verbal behavior are those of one not deluded. And the Dhamma he teaches is deep, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. This Dhamma can't easily be taught by a person who's deluded. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When, on observing that the monk is purified with regard to qualities based on delusion, he places conviction in him. With the arising of conviction, he visits him & grows close to him. Growing close to him, he lends ear. Lending ear, he hears the Dhamma. Hearing the Dhamma, he remembers it. Remembering it, he penetrates the meaning of those dhammas. Penetrating the meaning, he comes to an agreement through pondering those dhammas. There being an agreement through pondering those dhammas, desire arises. With the arising of desire, he becomes willing. Willing, he contemplates [lit: " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "To this extent, Bharadvaja, there is an awakening to the truth. To this extent one awakens to the truth. I describe this as an awakening to the truth. But it is not yet the final attainment of the truth." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, Master Gotama, to this extent there is an awakening to the truth. To this extent one awakens to the truth. We regard this as an awakening to the truth. But to what extent is there the final attainment of the truth? To what extent does one finally attain the truth? We ask Master Gotama about the final attainment of the truth." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "The cultivation, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | The Buddha saw that the ease and happiness of ordinary pleasures is nothing lasting. He wanted an ease and happiness that didn't follow the way of the worldly pleasures that most people want. This was why he left his family and friends, and went off to live in seclusion. He said to himself, 'I came alone when I was born and I'll go alone when I die. No one hired me to be born and no one will hire me to die, so I'm beholden to no one. There' | ||
+ | |||
+ | So he posed himself a question: 'Now that you've been born as a human being, what is the highest thing you want in this world?' | ||
+ | |||
+ | When he was sure of his answer, he said to himself, 'I want only the highest and most certain happiness and ease: the happiness that won't change into anything else. Other than that, I don't want anything else in the world.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Once he had given this answer, he kept to it firmly. He didn't allow anything that would have caused the least bit of pain or distraction to his heart to get stuck there as a stain on it. He kept making a persistent effort with all his might to discover the truth, without retreat, until he finally awakened to that truth: the reality of Liberation. | ||
+ | |||
+ | If we search for the truth like the Buddha — if we're true in our intent and true in what we do — there' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Every person alive wants happiness — even common animals struggle to find happiness — but our actions for the most part aren't in line with our intentions. This is why we don't get to realize the happiness we want, simply because there' | ||
+ | |||
+ | When we practice virtue, concentration, | ||
+ | |||
+ | For this reason, the Buddha teaches us to be true in whatever we do — to be true in being generous, true in being virtuous, true in developing concentration and discernment. Don't play around at these things. If you're true, then these activities are sure to bear you the fruits of your own truthfulness without a doubt. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Virtue ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "Now, there are these five gifts, five great gifts — original, long-standing, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case where a noble disciple, abandoning the taking of life, abstains from taking life. In doing so, he gives freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings. In giving freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, freedom from oppression to limitless numbers of beings, he gains a share in limitless freedom from danger, freedom from animosity, and freedom from oppression. This is the first gift, the first great gift — original, long-standing, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | Furthermore, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "And how is one made pure in three ways by bodily action? There is the case where a certain person, abandoning the taking of life, abstains from the taking of life. He dwells with his rod laid down, his knife laid down, scrupulous, merciful, compassionate for the welfare of all living beings. Abandoning the taking of what is not given, he abstains from taking what is not given. He does not take, in the manner of a thief, things in a village or a wilderness that belong to others and have not been given by them. Abandoning sensual misconduct, he abstains from sensual misconduct. He does not get sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who entail punishments, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is one made pure in four ways by verbal action? There is the case where a certain person, abandoning false speech, abstains from false speech. When he has been called to a town meeting, a group meeting, a gathering of his relatives, his guild, or of the royalty, if he is asked as a witness, 'Come & tell, good man, what you know': If he doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is one made pure in three ways by mental action? There is the case where a certain person is not covetous. He does not covet the belongings of others, thinking, 'O, that what belongs to others would be mine!' He bears no ill will and is not corrupt in the resolves of his heart. [He thinks,] 'May these beings be free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, and may they look after themselves with ease!' He has right view and is not warped in the way he sees things: 'There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. There is this world & the next world. There is mother & father. There are spontaneously reborn beings; there are contemplatives & brahmans who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | There are three levels of virtue — | ||
+ | |||
+ | **//1. Hetthima-sila:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | Observance of these precepts or rules — dealing merely with words and deeds — forms the lower or preliminary level of virtue, which is what makes us into full-fledged human beings // | ||
+ | |||
+ | **//2. Majjhima-sila:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | //a. Anabhijjha-visamalobha:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | //b. Abyapada:// abandoning thoughts of ill will, hatred, and vengeance, and developing thoughts of good will instead; thinking of the good aspects of the people who have angered us. When people make us angry, it comes from the fact that our dealings with them — in which we associate with and assist one another — sometimes lead to disappointment. This gives rise to dislike and irritation, which in turn cause us to brood, so that we develop hurt feelings that grow into anger and thoughts of retaliation. Thus we should regard such people from many angles, for ordinarily as human beings they should have // | ||
+ | |||
+ | (1) Try to think of whatever ways that person has been good to you. When these things come to mind, they' | ||
+ | |||
+ | (2) Anger is something worthless, like the scum floating on the surface of a lake. If we're stupid, we won't get to drink the clean water lying underneath; or if we drink the scum, we may catch a disease. A person who is bad to you is like someone sunk in filth. If you're stupid enough to hate or be angry with such people, it's as if you wanted to go sit in the filth with them. Is that what you want? Think about this until any thoughts of ill will and anger disappear. | ||
+ | |||
+ | //c. Samma-ditthi:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | Virtue on this level, when we can maintain it well, will qualify us to be heavenly beings. The qualities of heavenly beings, which grow out of human values, will turn us into human beings who are divine in our virtues, for to guard our thoughts, words, and deeds means that we qualify for heaven in this lifetime. This is one aspect of the merit developed by a person who observes the middle level of virtue. | ||
+ | |||
+ | **//3. Uparima-sila:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | a. PAHANA-KICCA: | ||
+ | |||
+ | // (1) Kamachanda:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | // (2) Byapada:// ill will and hatred. | ||
+ | |||
+ | // (3) Thīna-middha:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | //(4) Uddhacca-kukkucca:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | // (5) Vicikiccha:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | DISCUSSION | ||
+ | |||
+ | (1) Ill will // | ||
+ | |||
+ | (2) Restlessness // | ||
+ | |||
+ | (3) Sensual desires // | ||
+ | |||
+ | (4) Doubt // | ||
+ | |||
+ | (5) Drowsiness // | ||
+ | |||
+ | All of these unskillful qualities are things we should eliminate by training the heart along the lines of: | ||
+ | |||
+ | b. BHAVANA-KICCA: | ||
+ | |||
+ | (1) Mindfulness // | ||
+ | |||
+ | //(2) Vicara:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | //(3) Piti://When you get good results — for instance, when the subtle breath sensations in the body merge and flow together, permeating the entire sense of the body — the breath is like an electric wire; the various parts of the body, such as the bones, are like electricity poles; mindfulness and alertness are like a power source; and awareness is thus bright and radiant. Both body and mind feel satisfied and full. This is //piti,// or rapture, which can kill off feelings of drowsiness. | ||
+ | |||
+ | //(4) Sukha:// Now that feelings of restlessness and anxiety have disappeared, | ||
+ | |||
+ | //(5) Ekaggata:// Doubts and uncertainty fade into the distance. The mind reaches singleness of preoccupation in a state of normalcy and equilibrium. This normalcy of mind, which is maintained through the power of the discipline of mindfulness // | ||
+ | |||
+ | To summarize, there are three levels of virtue: external, intermediate, | ||
+ | |||
+ | **1. Mundane virtue:** virtue connected with the world, in which we maintain the principles of ordinary human morality but are as yet unable to reach the transcendent levels: stream entry, once-returning, | ||
+ | |||
+ | **2. Transcendent virtue:** virtue that's constant and sure, going straight to the heart, bathing the heart with its nourishment. This arises from the practice of tranquility meditation and insight meditation. Tranquility meditation forms the cause, and insight meditation the result: discovering the true nature of the properties, aggregates // | ||
+ | |||
+ | //a. Sakkaya-ditthi// | ||
+ | |||
+ | //b. Vicikiccha:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | //c. Silabbata-paramasa:// | ||
+ | |||
+ | This is thus classed as transcendent virtue, the first stage of // | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Persistence ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "And what is the faculty of persistence? | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "And how is striving fruitful, how is exertion fruitful? There is the case where a monk, when not loaded down, does not load himself down with pain, nor does he reject pleasure that accords with the Dhamma, although he is not infatuated with that pleasure. He discerns that "When I exert a [physical, verbal, or mental] fabrication against this cause of stress, then from the fabrication of // | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | On that occasion Ven. Sona was staying near Rajagaha in the Cool Wood. Then, as Ven. Sona was meditating in seclusion [after doing walking meditation until the skin of his soles was split & bleeding], this train of thought arose in his awareness: "Of the Blessed One's disciples who have aroused their persistence, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then the Blessed One, as soon as he perceived with his awareness the train of thought in Ven. Sona's awareness disappeared from Vulture Peak Mountain — just as a strong man might extend his flexed arm or flex his extended arm — appeared in the Cool Wood right in front of Ven. Sona, and sat down on a prepared seat. Ven. Sona, after bowing down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him, "Just now, as you were meditating in seclusion, didn't this train of thought appear to your awareness: 'Of the Blessed One's disciples who have aroused their persistence, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Now what do you think, Sona. Before, when you were a house-dweller, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were too taut, was your vina in tune & playable?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were too loose, was your vina in tune & playable?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were neither too taut nor too loose, but tuned [lit: ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, Sona, over-aroused persistence leads to restlessness, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord," Ven. Sona answered the Blessed One. Then, having given this exhortation to Ven. Sona, the Blessed One — as a strong man might extend his flexed arm or flex his extended arm — disappeared from the Cool Wood and appeared on Vulture Peak Mountain. | ||
+ | |||
+ | So after that, Ven. Sona determined the right pitch for his persistence, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ]!<span spkr> | ||
+ | |||
+ | //It's too cold,// | ||
+ | //too hot,// | ||
+ | //too late in the evening —// | ||
+ | people who say this, | ||
+ | shirking their work: | ||
+ | the moment passes them by. | ||
+ | Whoever regards cold & heat | ||
+ | as no more than grass, | ||
+ | doing his manly duties, | ||
+ | won't fall away | ||
+ | from ease. | ||
+ | With my chest | ||
+ | I push through wild grasses — | ||
+ | spear-grass, | ||
+ | ribbon-grass, | ||
+ | rushes — | ||
+ | cultivating a heart | ||
+ | bent on seclusion. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== III. Relinquishment ====== | ||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | If, by forsaking | ||
+ | a limited ease, | ||
+ | he would see | ||
+ | an abundance of ease, | ||
+ | the enlightened man | ||
+ | would forsake | ||
+ | the limited ease | ||
+ | for the sake | ||
+ | of the abundant. | ||
+ | ]! | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ]!<span spkr> | ||
+ | |||
+ | I'll make a trade: | ||
+ | aging for the Ageless, | ||
+ | burning for the Unbound: | ||
+ | the highest peace, | ||
+ | the unexcelled rest | ||
+ | from the yoke. < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Generosity ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "There are these four grounds for the bonds of fellowship. Which four? Giving, kind words, beneficial help, consistency. These are the four grounds for the bonds of fellowship." | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | Giving, kind words, beneficial help, | ||
+ | & consistency in the face of events, | ||
+ | in line with what's appropriate | ||
+ | in each case, each case. | ||
+ | These bonds of fellowship [function] in the world | ||
+ | like the linchpin in a moving cart. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Now, if these bonds of fellowship were lacking, | ||
+ | a mother would not receive | ||
+ | the honor & respect owed by her child, | ||
+ | nor would a father receive | ||
+ | what his child owes him. | ||
+ | But because the wise show regard | ||
+ | for these bonds of fellowship, | ||
+ | they achieve greatness | ||
+ | and are praised. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | As he was sitting to one side, King Pasenadi Kosala said to the Blessed One: " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "But a gift given where, lord, bears great fruit?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This [question] is one thing, great king — 'Where should a gift be given?' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "A person of integrity gives a gift with a sense of conviction. A person of integrity gives a gift attentively. A person of integrity gives a gift in season. A person of integrity gives a gift with an empathetic heart. A person of integrity gives a gift without adversely affecting himself or others. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "These five are a person of integrity' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | — nor with the thought, ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | — nor with the thought, 'This was given in the past, done in the past, by my father & grandfather. It would not be right for me to let this old family custom be discontinued,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | — nor with the thought, 'I am well-off. These are not well-off. It would not be right for me, being well-off, not to give a gift to those who are not well-off,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | — nor with the thought, 'Just as there were the great sacrifices of the sages of the past — Atthaka, Vamaka, Vamadeva, Vessamitta, Yamataggi, Angirasa, Bharadvaja, Vasettha, Kassapa & Bhagu — in the same way this will be my distribution of gifts,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | — nor with the thought, 'When this gift of mine is given, it makes the mind serene. Gratification & joy arise,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | — but with the thought, 'This is an ornament for the mind, a support for the mind' — on the break-up of the body, after death, one reappears in the company of Brahma' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This, Sariputta, is the cause, this is the reason, why a person gives a gift of a certain sort and it does not bear great fruit or great benefit, whereas another person gives a gift of the same sort and it bears great fruit and great benefit." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "And how is a donation endowed with six factors? There is the case where there are the three factors of the donor, the three factors of the recipients. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And which are the three factors of the donor? There is the case where the donor, before giving, is glad; while giving, his/her mind is bright & clear; and after giving is gratified. These are the three factors of the donor. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And which are the three factors of the recipients? There is the case where the recipients are free of passion or are practicing for the subduing of passion; free of aversion or practicing for the subduing of aversion; and free of delusion or practicing for the subduing of delusion. These are the three factors of the recipients... | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "One who is generous, a master of giving, is dear & charming to people at large... this is a fruit of generosity visible in the here & now. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | Inner wealth, according to the texts, means seven things — conviction, virtue, a sense of conscience, scrupulousness, | ||
+ | |||
+ | So when you develop yourself so as to gain the discernment that sees how worldly things are undependable and unsure, don't let your property — your worldly possessions — sit idle. The Buddha teaches us to plant crops on our land so that we can benefit from it. If you don't make use of your land, it's sure to fall into other people' | ||
+ | |||
+ | What this means is that we should make use of our material possessions by being generous with them, using them in a way that develops the inner wealth of generosity within us. This way they become the kind of wealth over which we have full rights, and that will benefit us even into future lifetimes. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | One of the important reasons why the Buddha taught the Dhamma was to teach us to let go, not to hold on to things. The more we really know the Dhamma, the more we can let go. Those who know a little can let go of a little; those who know a lot can let go of a lot. | ||
+ | |||
+ | As a first step we're taught //dana// — to be generous, to give donations — as a strategy for getting us to learn how to let go. The next step is //caga// — renouncing rights of possession — which is letting go at a higher level than dana. And finally, on a more refined level, we're taught to relinquish all our //upadhi,// or the acquisition-defilements in the mind. This is the level on which we examine and explore until we can gain total release. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Dana means giving away material things. If we don't give them away, they' | ||
+ | |||
+ | People who develop the habit of being generous reap many rewards. Their act of generosity comes back to them both in the present and on into the future. They have lots of friends. Other people trust them. Their hearts are light — they aren't weighed down with worries about looking after the things they' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Caga is the next step. Dana is something that even crazy people can do, but caga is a type of giving that only wise people can do, because their sense of personal possession has to end immediately in the act of giving. They see that all material things are common property: things don't really belong to us, they don't really belong to other people. If you see things as belonging to you, that's addiction to sensuality // | ||
+ | |||
+ | The third level of letting go is relinquishing what's in the heart. Whether or not we give things away, we let go of them in the heart every day. We let go of the things we have. We let go of the things we don't have. Just as a person has to wash his mouth and hands every day after he eats if he wants to stay clean at all times. What this means is that we're not willing to let anything act as an enemy to the heart by making us stingy or grasping. If we don't do this, we're the type of person who doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Renunciation ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | Then Ven. Ananda, together with Tapussa the householder, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So it is, Ananda. So it is. Even I myself, before my self-awakening, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So at a later time, having seen the drawback of sensual pleasures, I pursued that theme; having understood the reward of renunciation, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As I remained there, I was beset with attention to perceptions dealing with sensuality. That was an affliction for me. Just as pain arises as an affliction for a healthy person, even so the attention to perceptions dealing with sensuality that beset me was an affliction for me." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "There are these five strings of sensuality. Which five? Forms cognizable via the eye — agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing; sounds cognizable via the ear... aromas cognizable via the nose... flavors cognizable via the tongu... tactile sensations cognizable via the body — agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing. But these are not sensuality. They are called strings of sensuality in the discipline of the noble ones. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | The passion for his intentions is a man's sensuality, | ||
+ | not the beautiful sensual pleasures | ||
+ | found in the world. | ||
+ | The passion for his intentions is a man's sensuality. | ||
+ | The beauties remain as they are in the world, | ||
+ | while the wise, in this regard, | ||
+ | subdue their desire. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "Even though a disciple of the noble ones has clearly seen as it has come to be with right discernment that sensuality is of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks, still — if he has not attained a rapture & pleasure apart from sensuality, apart from unskillful mental qualities, or something more peaceful than that — he can be tempted by sensuality. But when he has clearly seen with right discernment as it has come to be that sensuality is of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks, and he has attained a rapture & pleasure apart from sensuality, apart from unskillful mental qualities, or something more peaceful than that, he cannot be tempted by sensuality." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Alavi on a spread of leaves by a cattle track in a simsapa forest. Then Hatthaka of Alavi, out roaming & rambling for exercise, saw the Blessed One sitting on a spread of leaves by the cattle track in the simsapa forest. On seeing him, he went to him and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed One, "Lord, I hope the Blessed One has slept in ease." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, young man. I have slept in ease. Of those in the world who sleep in ease, I am one." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "But cold, lord, is the winter night. The ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In that case, young man, I will question you in return. Answer as you see fit. Now, what do you think: Suppose a householder or householder' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord, he would sleep in ease. Of those in the world who sleep in ease, he would be one." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "But what do you think, young man. Might there arise in that householder or householder' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As for those passion-born fevers — burned with which the householder or householder' | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Similarly with aversion and delusion.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | he sleeps in ease: | ||
+ | the brahman totally unbound, | ||
+ | who doesn' | ||
+ | to sensual pleasures, | ||
+ | who's without acquisitions | ||
+ | & cooled. | ||
+ | Having cut all ties | ||
+ | & subdued fear in the heart, | ||
+ | calmed, | ||
+ | he sleeps in ease, | ||
+ | having reached peace | ||
+ | of awareness." | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "There is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "And how is striving fruitful, how is exertion fruitful? There is the case where a monk... notices this: 'When I live according to my pleasure, unskillful mental qualities increase in me & skillful qualities decline. When I exert myself with stress & pain, though, unskillful qualities decline in me & skillful qualities increase. Why don't I exert myself with stress & pain?' So he exerts himself with stress & pain, and while he is exerting himself with stress & pain, unskillful qualities decline in him, & skillful qualities increase. Then at a later time he would no longer exert himself with stress & pain. Why is that? Because he has attained the goal for which he was exerting himself with stress & pain... | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | Now at that time, Ven. Bhaddiya Kaligodha, on going to a forest, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, would repeatedly exclaim, "What bliss! What bliss!" | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then the Blessed One told a certain monk, "Come, monk. In my name, call Bhaddiya, saying, 'The Teacher calls you, my friend.'" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As you say, lord," the monk answered and, having gone to Ven. Bhaddiya, on arrival he said, "The Teacher calls you, my friend." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As you say, my friend," | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "What meaning do you have in mind that you repeatedly exclaim, 'What bliss! What bliss!'?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== IV. Calm ====== | ||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | How inconstant are fabricated things! | ||
+ | Their nature: to arise & pass away. | ||
+ | They disband as they are arising. | ||
+ | Their total stilling is bliss. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "This is peace, this is exquisite — the resolution of all fabrications; | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Endurance ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | Patient endurance: | ||
+ | the foremost austerity. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rajagaha at the Maddakucchi Deer Reserve. Now at that time his foot had been pierced by a stone sliver. Excruciating were the bodily feelings that developed within him — painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable — but he endured them mindful, alert, & unperturbed. Having had his outer robe folded in four and laid out, he lay down on his right side in the lion's posture — with one foot placed on top of the other — mindful & alert. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then Mara the Evil One went to the Blessed One and recited this verse in his presence: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | "Are you lying there in a stupor, | ||
+ | or drunk on poetry? | ||
+ | Are your goals so very few? | ||
+ | All alone in a secluded lodging, | ||
+ | what is this dreamer, this sleepy-face?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | ]!<span spkr>The Buddha:</ | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I lie here, | ||
+ | not in a stupor, | ||
+ | nor drunk on poetry. | ||
+ | My goal attained, | ||
+ | I am sorrow-free. | ||
+ | All alone in a secluded lodging, | ||
+ | I lie down with sympathy | ||
+ | for all beings. | ||
+ | Even those pierced in the chest | ||
+ | with an arrow, | ||
+ | their hearts rapidly, | ||
+ | rapidly | ||
+ | beating: | ||
+ | even they with their arrows | ||
+ | are able to sleep. | ||
+ | So why shouldn' | ||
+ | with my arrow removed? | ||
+ | I'm not awake with worry, | ||
+ | nor afraid to sleep. | ||
+ | Days & nights | ||
+ | don't oppress me. | ||
+ | I see no threat of decline | ||
+ | in any world at all. | ||
+ | That's why I sleep | ||
+ | with sympathy | ||
+ | for all beings." | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then Mara the Evil One — sad & dejected at realizing, "The Blessed One knows me; the One Well-Gone knows me" — vanished right there. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | His limbs knotted | ||
+ | like a //kala// plant, | ||
+ | his body lean | ||
+ | & lined with veins, | ||
+ | knowing moderation | ||
+ | in food & drink: | ||
+ | the man of undaunted heart. | ||
+ | Touched by gnats | ||
+ | & horseflies | ||
+ | in the wilds, | ||
+ | the great wood, | ||
+ | like an elephant | ||
+ | at the head of a battle: | ||
+ | he, mindful, | ||
+ | should stay there, | ||
+ | endure. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | **<span anchor # | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | Stricken by sharp, wind-like pains, | ||
+ | you, monk, living in the forest grove | ||
+ | — harsh, with limited range for alms — | ||
+ | what, what will you do? | ||
+ | Suffusing my body | ||
+ | with abundant rapture & joy, | ||
+ | & enduring what's harsh, | ||
+ | I'll stay in the grove... | ||
+ | Reflecting on those who are resolute, | ||
+ | their persistence aroused, | ||
+ | constantly firm in their effort, | ||
+ | united in concord, | ||
+ | I'll stay in the grove. | ||
+ | Recollecting the One Self-awakened, | ||
+ | self-tamed & centered, | ||
+ | untiring both day & night, | ||
+ | I'll stay | ||
+ | in the grove. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "Once, monks, in this same Savatthi, there was a lady of a household named Vedehika. This good report about Lady Vedehika had circulated: 'Lady Vedehika is gentle. Lady Vedehika is even-tempered. Lady Vedehika is calm.' Now, Lady Vedehika had a slave named Kali who was diligent, deft, & neat in her work. The thought occurred to Kali the slave: 'This good report about my Lady Vedehika has circulated: "Lady Vedehika is even-tempered. Lady Vedehika is gentle. Lady Vedehika is calm." Now, is anger present in my lady without showing, or is it absent? Or is it just because I'm diligent, deft, & neat in my work that the anger present in my lady doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So Kali the slave got up after daybreak. Then Lady Vedehika said to her: 'Hey, Kali!' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then the thought occurred to Kali the slave: 'Anger //is// present in my lady without showing, and not absent. And it's just because I'm diligent, deft, & neat in my work that the anger present in my lady doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So Kali the slave got up later in the day. Then Lady Vedehika said to her: 'Hey, Kali!' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then the thought occurred to Kali the slave: 'Anger //is// present in my lady without showing, and not absent. And it's just because I'm diligent, deft, & neat in my work that the anger present in my lady doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So Kali the slave got up even later in the day. Then Lady Vedehika said to her: 'Hey, Kali!' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then Kali the slave, with blood streaming from her cut-open head, went and denounced her mistress to the neighbors: 'See, ladies, the gentle one's handiwork? See the even-tempered one's handiwork? See the calm one's handiwork? How could she, angered & displeased with her only slave for getting up after daybreak, grab hold of a rolling pin and give her a whack over the head, cutting it open?' | ||
+ | |||
+ | After that this evil report about Lady Vedehika circulated: 'Lady Vedehika is vicious. Lady Vedehika is foul-tempered. Lady Vedehika is violent.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, monks, a monk may be ever so gentle, ever so even-tempered, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, lord. Why is that? Because this great earth is deep & enormous. It can't easily be made to be without earth. The man would reap only a share of weariness & disappointment." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, monks, there are these five aspects of speech by which others may address you: timely or untimely, true or false, affectionate or harsh, beneficial or unbeneficial, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, lord. Why is that? Because space is formless & featureless. It's not easy to draw pictures there and to make them appear. The man would reap only a share of weariness & disappointment." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, monks, there are these five aspects of speech by which others may address you... In any event, you should train yourselves: 'Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic to that person' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, lord. Why is that? Because the river Ganges is deep & enormous. It's not easy to heat it up and make it boil with a burning grass torch. The man would reap only a share of weariness & disappointment." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, monks, there are these five aspects of speech by which others may address you... In any event, you should train yourselves: 'Our minds will be unaffected and we will say no evil words. We will remain sympathetic to that person' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, lord. Why is that? Because the catskin bag is beaten, well-beaten, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, monks, there are these five aspects of speech by which others may address you: timely or untimely, true or false, affectionate or harsh, beneficial or unbeneficial, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then attend constantly to this admonition on the simile of the saw. That will be for your long-term welfare & happiness." | ||
+ | |||
+ | That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed One's words. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "There is the case where the monks accuse a monk of an offense. He, being accused of an offense by the monks, denies the offense, [saying,] 'I don't remember. I don't remember.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then again, the monks accuse a monk of an offense. He, being accused of an offense by the monks, attacks the accuser: 'What use is there in your speaking, you inexperienced fool? Think of yourself as worthy to be spoken to.' He, I tell you, is just like the unruly horse who — when goaded, ordered, and told ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then again, the monks accuse a monk of an offense. He, being accused of an offense by the monks, wanders from one thing to another, straying outside the topic, displaying anger, irritation, & sulkiness. He, I tell you, is just like the unruly horse who — when goaded, ordered, and told ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then again, the monks accuse a monk of an offense. He, being accused of an offense by the monks, speaks waving his arms around in the midst of the Sangha. He, I tell you, is just like the unruly horse who — when goaded, ordered, and told ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then again, the monks accuse a monk of an offense. He, being accused of an offense by the monks, not heeding the Sangha, not heeding his accuser, goes off where he will, still an offender. He, I tell you, is just like the unruly horse who — when goaded, ordered, and told ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then again, the monks accuse a monk of an offense. He, being accused of an offense by the monks, [after saying,] ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then again, the monks accuse a monk of an offense. He, being accused of an offense by the monks, says this: 'Why do you venerable ones persecute me so much? I'll disavow the training and return to the lower life.' On having disavowed the training and returned to the lower life he says, 'I hope you venerable ones are gratified now!' He, I tell you, is just like the unruly horse who — when goaded, ordered, and told ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "Now, a king's elephant endowed with five qualities is worthy of a king, is a king's asset, counts as a very limb of his king. Which five? There is the case where a king's elephant is resilient to sights, resilient to sounds, resilient to aromas, resilient to flavors, resilient to tactile sensations. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a king's elephant resilient to sights? There is the case where a king's elephant, having gone into battle, sees a troop of elephants, a troop of cavalry, a troop of chariots, a troop of foot soldiers, but he doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a king's elephant resilient to sounds? There is the case where a king's elephant, having gone into battle, hears the sound of elephants, the sound of cavalry, the sound of chariots, the sound of foot soldiers, the resounding din of drums, cymbals, conchs, & tom-toms, but he doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a king's elephant resilient to aromas? There is the case where a king's elephant, having gone into battle, smells the stench of the urine & feces of those pedigreed royal elephants who are at home in the battlefield, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a king's elephant resilient to flavors? There is the case where a king's elephant, having gone into battle, goes without his ration of grass & water for one day, two days, three days, four days, five, but he doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a king's elephant resilient to tactile sensations? There is the case where a king's elephant, having gone into battle, is pierced by a flight of arrows, two flights, three flights, four flights, five flights of arrows, but he doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, a monk endowed with five qualities is deserving of gifts, deserving of hospitality, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk resilient to sights? There is the case where a monk, on seeing a sight with the eye, feels no passion for a sight that incites passion and can center his mind. This is how a monk is resilient to sights. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk resilient to sounds? There is the case where a monk, on hearing a sound with the ear, feels no passion for a sound that incites passion and can center his mind. This is how a monk is resilient to sounds. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk resilient to aromas? There is the case where a monk, on smelling an aroma with the nose, feels no passion for an aroma that incites passion and can center his mind. This is how a monk is resilient to aromas. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk resilient to flavors? There is the case where a monk, on tasting a flavor with the tongue, feels no passion for a flavor that incites passion and can center his mind. This is how a monk is resilient to flavors. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk resilient to tactile sensations? There is the case where a monk, on touching a tactile sensation with the body, feels no passion for a tactile sensation that incites passion and can center his mind. This is how a monk is resilient to tactile sensations. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case of a warrior who, on seeing a cloud of dust [stirred up by the enemy army], falters, faints, doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then there is the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, but on seeing the top of the enemy' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then there is the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust & the top of the enemy' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then there is the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the enemy' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then there is the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the enemy' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "These are the five types of warriors who can be found existing in the world. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, monks, there are these five warrior-like individuals who can be found existing among the monks. Which five? | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case of the monk who, on seeing a cloud of dust, falters, faints, doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of dust, but on seeing the top of the enemy' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of dust & the top of the enemy' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the enemy' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then there is the case of the monk who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the enemy' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He resorts to a secluded dwelling place: the wilderness, the foot of a tree, a mountain, a glen, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a forest grove, the open air, a haystack. Having gone to the wilderness, the foot of a tree, or an empty building, he sits down, crosses his legs, holds his body erect, and brings mindfulness to the fore. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "With his mind thus concentrated, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This, for him, is victory in the battle. This individual, I tell you, is like the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the enemy' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "These are the five warrior-like individuals who can be found existing among the monks." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by tolerating? There is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by avoiding? There is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what are the fermentations to be abandoned by destroying? There is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | The important factors for anyone practicing to gain release from all stress and suffering are persistence and endurance, for every kind of goodness has to have obstacles blocking the way, always ready to destroy it. Even when the Buddha himself was putting his effort into the practice, the armies of Mara were right on his heels, pestering him all the time, trying to keep him from attaining his goal. Still, he never wavered, never got discouraged, | ||
+ | |||
+ | So when we're intent on training our minds to be good, there are bound to be obstacles — the forces of Mara — just as in the case of the Buddha, but we simply have to slash our way through them, using our powers of endurance and the full extent of our abilities to fight them off. It's only normal that when we have something good, there are going to be other people who want what we've got, in the same way that sweet fruit tends to have worms and insects trying to eat it. A person walking along the road empty-handed doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | It's the same way when we practice. When we do good, we have to contend with obstacles if we want to succeed. We have to make our hearts hard and solid like diamond or rock, which don't burn when you try to set them on fire. Even when they get smashed, the pieces maintain their hardness as diamond and rock. The Buddha made his heart so hard and solid that when his body was cremated, parts of it didn't burn and still remain as relics for us to admire even today. This was through the power of his purity and truthfulness. | ||
+ | |||
+ | So we should set our minds on purifying our bodies and minds until they become so truly elemental that fire won't burn them, just like the Buddha' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Equanimity ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "Now what is worldly equanimity? There are these five strands of sensuality. Which five? Forms cognizable via the eye — agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing; sounds cognizable via the ear... aromas cognizable via the nose... flavors cognizable via the tongue... tactile sensations cognizable via the body — agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing. Any equanimity arising in connection with these five strands of sensuality is called worldly equanimity. | ||
+ | |||
+ | And what is unworldly equanimity? There is the case where, with the abandoning of pleasure & pain — as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress — one enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, | ||
+ | |||
+ | And what is an even more unworldly unworldly equanimity? Any equanimity that arises in one free from (mental) fermentation while he/she is reflecting on his/her mind that is released from greed, released from aversion, released from delusion: this is called an even more unworldly unworldly equanimity." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | "There is equanimity coming from multiplicity, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is equanimity coming from multiplicity, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness? There is equanimity dependent on the sphere of the infinitude of space, equanimity dependent on the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness... dependent on the sphere of nothingness... dependent on the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. This is equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "By depending & relying on equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness, abandon & transcend equanimity coming from multiplicity, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "By depending & relying on non-fashioning, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | To purify the heart, we have to disentangle our attachments to self, to the body, to mental phenomena, and to all the objects that come passing in through the senses. Keep the mind intent on concentration. Keep it one at all times. Don't let it become two, three, four, five, etc., because once you've made the mind one, it's easy to make it zero. Simply cut off the little ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | And another thing: If you put the zero after other numbers, they become ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, hundreds, thousands, on to infinity. But if you put the zero's first, even if you have ten thousand of them, they don't count. So it is with the heart: Once we've turned it from one to zero and put the zero first, then other people can praise or criticize us as they like but it won't count. Good doesn' | ||
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+ | ====== Abbreviations ====== | ||
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+ | |AN| Aṅguttara Nikāya| | ||
+ | |Dhp| Dhammapāda| | ||
+ | |DN| Dīgha Nikāya| | ||
+ | |Iti| Itivuttaka| | ||
+ | |MN| Majjhima Nikāya| | ||
+ | |SN| Saṃyutta Nikāya| | ||
+ | |Sn| Sutta Nipāta| | ||
+ | |Thag| Theragathā| | ||
+ | |Ud| Udāna| | ||
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