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Sakkapañha Sutta
By Mahasi Sayadaw Gyi
Buddha Sasana Nuggha Organization requested Mahasi Sayadawgyi to deliver a Buddhist discourse which would be universally applicable to all human beings. Sayadawgyi was, at that time, compiling a discourse on “Sakkapañha Sutta”, so he delivered that discourse on new moon day of Pyatho, 1326B.E. (7th February 1978) at Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha.
Free download here:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/s1gqixy7x1yjmw9/
=============
Sakkapañha Sutta
By Mahasi Sayadaw Gyi
Buddha Sasana Nuggha Organization requested Mahasi Sayadawgyi to deliver a Buddhist discourse which would be universally applicable to all human beings. Sayadawgyi was, at that time, compiling a discourse on “Sakkapañha Sutta”, so he delivered that discourse on new moon day of Pyatho, 1326B.E. (7th February 1978) at Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha.
Free download here:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/s1gqixy7x1yjmw9/
=============
👍1💯1
On Ajaan Lee’s ‘Keeping the Breath in Mind’
Theravada monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu on the timeless importance of a classic Forest Tradition meditation guide.
The morning after I met him, Ajaan Fuang gave me a copy of Ajaan Lee’s Keeping the Breath in Mind, told me to read the seven steps in Method 2, and sent me up the hill behind the monastery to meditate for the rest of the day. That’s what I did, and what I continued to do every day for the three weeks of my first visit to Ajaan Fuang’s monastery in a wild area of Rayong, Thailand.
That was how I became acquainted with two things at once: Ajaan Fuang and the book he gave me. Each taught me a lot about the other. Because Ajaan Lee was Ajaan Fuang’s teacher, the book taught me about the approach to the dhamma that had made Ajaan Fuang the extraordinary person he was. His personal example and instructions gave me a sense of what the meditation method described in the book could do.
Of course, both Ajaan Fuang and the book ended up teaching me a lot about myself. Practicing Method 2 had a radical impact on the way I’ve related to my body and mind ever since. The more I got to know it—it’s a book that, if you follow its instructions, keeps revealing new layers of meaning each time you read it—the more it has suggested possibilities in my body and mind that I otherwise would have never suspected.
My initial impression was that the book was liberating. I had been practicing meditation on and off for five years at that point, but hadn’t yet found a satisfactory approach. The different vipassana and concentration techniques I had tried all seemed to put my mind into a straitjacket or through a meat grinder. Concentrating on the breath, I had been told, required that you limit your awareness to the tip of the nose, and that you not adjust or manipulate the breath in any way. Vipassana required that I accept the truth of the three characteristics of inconstancy, stress, and not-self, and verify those truths by not interfering with sensations as they presented themselves to my awareness.
However, concentrating on one point felt physically oppressive, and gave me headaches. Following the breath as it did its own thing I found to be dreary and boring. On the other hand, doing what I was told was vipassana, I couldn’t help feeling that I was simply submitting to someone else’s agenda. Not allowed to think for myself, I wondered how any of these meditation techniques could lead to liberation. Instead of finding freedom within any of these approaches, my mind kept looking to free itself from them.
So imagine my relief when I found in Method 2 that I could regard the breath as a full-body experience, and that I was allowed to adjust it to my liking:
"""
Observe the breath as it goes in and out, noticing whether it’s comfortable or uncomfortable, broad or narrow, obstructed or free-flowing, fast or slow, short or long, warm or cool. If the breath doesn’t feel comfortable, adjust it until it does. For instance, if breathing in long and out long is uncomfortable, try breathing in short and out short.
As soon as you find that your breathing feels comfortable, let this comfortable breath sensation spread to the different parts of the body. To begin with, inhale the breath sensation at the base of the skull and let it flow all the way down the spine. Then, if you are male, let it spread down your right leg to the sole of your foot, to the ends of your toes, and out into the air. Inhale the breath sensation at the base of the skull again and let it spread down your spine, down your left leg to the ends of your toes, and out into the air . . . .
Then let the breath from the base of the skull spread down over both shoulders, past your elbows and wrists, to the tips of your fingers, and out into the air.
Let the breath at the base of the throat spread down the central nerve at the front of the body, past the lungs and liver, all the way down to the bladder and colon.
Theravada monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu on the timeless importance of a classic Forest Tradition meditation guide.
The morning after I met him, Ajaan Fuang gave me a copy of Ajaan Lee’s Keeping the Breath in Mind, told me to read the seven steps in Method 2, and sent me up the hill behind the monastery to meditate for the rest of the day. That’s what I did, and what I continued to do every day for the three weeks of my first visit to Ajaan Fuang’s monastery in a wild area of Rayong, Thailand.
That was how I became acquainted with two things at once: Ajaan Fuang and the book he gave me. Each taught me a lot about the other. Because Ajaan Lee was Ajaan Fuang’s teacher, the book taught me about the approach to the dhamma that had made Ajaan Fuang the extraordinary person he was. His personal example and instructions gave me a sense of what the meditation method described in the book could do.
Of course, both Ajaan Fuang and the book ended up teaching me a lot about myself. Practicing Method 2 had a radical impact on the way I’ve related to my body and mind ever since. The more I got to know it—it’s a book that, if you follow its instructions, keeps revealing new layers of meaning each time you read it—the more it has suggested possibilities in my body and mind that I otherwise would have never suspected.
My initial impression was that the book was liberating. I had been practicing meditation on and off for five years at that point, but hadn’t yet found a satisfactory approach. The different vipassana and concentration techniques I had tried all seemed to put my mind into a straitjacket or through a meat grinder. Concentrating on the breath, I had been told, required that you limit your awareness to the tip of the nose, and that you not adjust or manipulate the breath in any way. Vipassana required that I accept the truth of the three characteristics of inconstancy, stress, and not-self, and verify those truths by not interfering with sensations as they presented themselves to my awareness.
However, concentrating on one point felt physically oppressive, and gave me headaches. Following the breath as it did its own thing I found to be dreary and boring. On the other hand, doing what I was told was vipassana, I couldn’t help feeling that I was simply submitting to someone else’s agenda. Not allowed to think for myself, I wondered how any of these meditation techniques could lead to liberation. Instead of finding freedom within any of these approaches, my mind kept looking to free itself from them.
So imagine my relief when I found in Method 2 that I could regard the breath as a full-body experience, and that I was allowed to adjust it to my liking:
"""
Observe the breath as it goes in and out, noticing whether it’s comfortable or uncomfortable, broad or narrow, obstructed or free-flowing, fast or slow, short or long, warm or cool. If the breath doesn’t feel comfortable, adjust it until it does. For instance, if breathing in long and out long is uncomfortable, try breathing in short and out short.
As soon as you find that your breathing feels comfortable, let this comfortable breath sensation spread to the different parts of the body. To begin with, inhale the breath sensation at the base of the skull and let it flow all the way down the spine. Then, if you are male, let it spread down your right leg to the sole of your foot, to the ends of your toes, and out into the air. Inhale the breath sensation at the base of the skull again and let it spread down your spine, down your left leg to the ends of your toes, and out into the air . . . .
Then let the breath from the base of the skull spread down over both shoulders, past your elbows and wrists, to the tips of your fingers, and out into the air.
Let the breath at the base of the throat spread down the central nerve at the front of the body, past the lungs and liver, all the way down to the bladder and colon.
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Inhale the breath right at the middle of the chest and let it go all the way down to your intestines.
Let all these breath sensations spread so that they connect and flow together, and you’ll feel a greatly improved sense of well-being.
"""
Ajaan Fuang made it clear that these instructions were to be taken as a point of departure for exploring other ways in which the breath energy could flow in the body. He himself had suffered from migraines, and had learned to direct the breath energy down and out the base of his spine to relieve them. In his words, I was to learn about the breath by “playing” with it.
If you want the mind to settle down with any stability, it has to like where it’s staying.
Method 2 also removed the confines of one-pointed concentration, teaching me to be aware of the whole body all at once.
"""
Spread your awareness—your sense of conscious feeling—throughout the entire body . . . .
Unite the breath sensations throughout the body, letting them flow together comfortably, keeping your awareness as broad as possible.
"""
Even though Ajaan Lee did recommend that I focus on one spot in the midst of this full-body awareness, he freed me to choose a spot I found most to my liking.
"""
Become acquainted with the bases or focal points for the mind—the resting spots of the breath—and center your awareness on whichever one seems most comfortable. A few of these bases are:
a. the tip of the nose,
b. the middle of the head,
c. the palate,
d. the base of the throat,
e. the breastbone (the tip of the sternum),
f. the navel (or a point just above it).
If you suffer from frequent headaches or nervous problems, don’t focus on any spot above the base of the throat. And don’t try to force the breath or put yourself into a trance. Breathe freely and naturally. Let the mind be at ease with the breath—but not to the point where it slips away.
"""
Above all, Ajaan Lee taught that concentration could, and should, be a pleasant experience. And this only made sense: If you want the mind to settle down with any stability, it has to like where it’s staying.
This connected with his denoscriptions of how breath meditation could be used to develop the four jhanas. Prior to that point, what I had learned about the jhanas made them sound extremely esoteric and not especially desirable. In fact, the vipassana instructions I had received insisted that they were dangerous and to be avoided at all cost. Ajaan Lee’s instructions, however, made them seem more attainable and actually worth pursuing.
Here, for instance, is what he had to say about the first jhana:
"""
The first jhana has five factors. (a) Directed thought (vitakka): Think of the breath until you can keep it in mind without getting distracted. (b) Singleness of preoccupation (ekaggat’arammana): Keep the mind with the breath. Don’t let it stray after other concepts or preoccupations. Watch over your thoughts so that they deal only with the breath to the point where the breath becomes comfortable. (The mind becomes one, at rest with the breath.) (c) Evaluation (vicara): Gain a sense of how to let this comfortable breath sensation spread and connect with the other breath sensations in the body. Let these breath sensations spread until they’re interconnected all over the body. Once the body has been soothed by the breath, feelings of pain will grow calm. The body will be filled with good breath energy. (The mind is focused exclusively on issues connected with the breath.)
These three qualities must be brought together to bear on the same stream of breathing for the first jhana to arise. This stream of breathing can then take you all the way to the fourth jhana.
Directed thought, singleness of preoccupation, and evaluation act as the causes.
Let all these breath sensations spread so that they connect and flow together, and you’ll feel a greatly improved sense of well-being.
"""
Ajaan Fuang made it clear that these instructions were to be taken as a point of departure for exploring other ways in which the breath energy could flow in the body. He himself had suffered from migraines, and had learned to direct the breath energy down and out the base of his spine to relieve them. In his words, I was to learn about the breath by “playing” with it.
If you want the mind to settle down with any stability, it has to like where it’s staying.
Method 2 also removed the confines of one-pointed concentration, teaching me to be aware of the whole body all at once.
"""
Spread your awareness—your sense of conscious feeling—throughout the entire body . . . .
Unite the breath sensations throughout the body, letting them flow together comfortably, keeping your awareness as broad as possible.
"""
Even though Ajaan Lee did recommend that I focus on one spot in the midst of this full-body awareness, he freed me to choose a spot I found most to my liking.
"""
Become acquainted with the bases or focal points for the mind—the resting spots of the breath—and center your awareness on whichever one seems most comfortable. A few of these bases are:
a. the tip of the nose,
b. the middle of the head,
c. the palate,
d. the base of the throat,
e. the breastbone (the tip of the sternum),
f. the navel (or a point just above it).
If you suffer from frequent headaches or nervous problems, don’t focus on any spot above the base of the throat. And don’t try to force the breath or put yourself into a trance. Breathe freely and naturally. Let the mind be at ease with the breath—but not to the point where it slips away.
"""
Above all, Ajaan Lee taught that concentration could, and should, be a pleasant experience. And this only made sense: If you want the mind to settle down with any stability, it has to like where it’s staying.
This connected with his denoscriptions of how breath meditation could be used to develop the four jhanas. Prior to that point, what I had learned about the jhanas made them sound extremely esoteric and not especially desirable. In fact, the vipassana instructions I had received insisted that they were dangerous and to be avoided at all cost. Ajaan Lee’s instructions, however, made them seem more attainable and actually worth pursuing.
Here, for instance, is what he had to say about the first jhana:
"""
The first jhana has five factors. (a) Directed thought (vitakka): Think of the breath until you can keep it in mind without getting distracted. (b) Singleness of preoccupation (ekaggat’arammana): Keep the mind with the breath. Don’t let it stray after other concepts or preoccupations. Watch over your thoughts so that they deal only with the breath to the point where the breath becomes comfortable. (The mind becomes one, at rest with the breath.) (c) Evaluation (vicara): Gain a sense of how to let this comfortable breath sensation spread and connect with the other breath sensations in the body. Let these breath sensations spread until they’re interconnected all over the body. Once the body has been soothed by the breath, feelings of pain will grow calm. The body will be filled with good breath energy. (The mind is focused exclusively on issues connected with the breath.)
These three qualities must be brought together to bear on the same stream of breathing for the first jhana to arise. This stream of breathing can then take you all the way to the fourth jhana.
Directed thought, singleness of preoccupation, and evaluation act as the causes.
👍1😘1
When the causes are fully ripe, results will appear—(d) rapture (piti), a compelling sense of fullness and refreshment for body and mind, going straight to the heart, independent of all else; (e) pleasure (sukha), physical ease arising from the body’s being still and unperturbed (kaya-passaddhi); mental contentment arising from the mind’s being at ease on its own, undistracted, unperturbed, serene, and exultant (citta-passaddhi).
Rapture and pleasure are the results. The factors of the first jhana thus come down simply to two sorts: causes and results.
"""
Years later, I was reminded of this passage when I came across the following simile for the first jhana in the Pali suttas:
Quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful qualities, he enters and remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born of seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture & pleasure born of seclusion. Just as if a dexterous bathman or bathman’s apprentice would pour bath powder into a brass basin and knead it together, sprinkling it again and again with water, so that his ball of bath powder—saturated, moisture-laden, permeated within and without—would nevertheless not drip; even so, the monk permeates . . . this very body with the rapture & pleasure born of seclusion. (Digha Nikaya 2)
As for insight practice, Ajaan Lee taught that insight could be developed through mastering the steps of breath meditation itself, and didn’t require a separate method to force insights onto the mind. And the way he approached the three characteristics showed that, instead of simply copying and pasting the Buddha’s insights into my brain, I should follow the Buddha’s example in testing exactly how far the truth of these teachings go.
Before the Buddha taught that things are inconstant, he had worked at knowing them until they revealed their constancy. Before teaching that things are stressful, he had turned that stress into pleasure and ease. And before teaching that things are not-self, he had turned what is not-self into a self, and so was able to see what is constant and true, lying hidden in what is inconstant, stressful, and not-self. He then gathered all of these qualities into one. He gathered all that is inconstant, stressful, and not-self into one and the same thing: fabrications (sankhara) viewed in terms of the world—a single class, equal everywhere throughout the world. As for what’s constant, pleasant, and self, this was another class: fabrications viewed in terms of the dhamma. And then he let go of both classes, without getting caught up on “constant” or “inconstant,” “stress” or “ease,” “self” or “not-self.” This is why we can say he attained release, purity, and nibbana, for he had no need to latch onto fabrications—whether of the world or of the dhamma—in any way at all.
In other words, you learn about the three characteristics by developing a state of concentration that’s as constant, easeful, and under your control as you can. Only when you push against the three characteristics can you detect where they actually push back. And then you can let go of everything with genuine insight.
Instead of simply copying and pasting the Buddha’s insights into my brain, I should follow the Buddha’s example in testing exactly how far the truth of these teachings go.
I didn’t fully grasp the meaning of this passage at the time—I’m still working on it—but it made clear that Ajaan Lee approached the dhamma not as a body of sayings to be accepted but as a skill to be mastered. This point was confirmed as I began reading his dhamma talks, where he compared the skills of meditation to the skills of cooking, weaving, silverwork, and making clay tiles. Instead of telling me to restrict my mental faculties, his message was that I should use my ingenuity and powers of observation to the fullest. Total freedom was a goal that required exercising the entire heart and mind.
Rapture and pleasure are the results. The factors of the first jhana thus come down simply to two sorts: causes and results.
"""
Years later, I was reminded of this passage when I came across the following simile for the first jhana in the Pali suttas:
Quite secluded from sensuality, secluded from unskillful qualities, he enters and remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born of seclusion, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the rapture & pleasure born of seclusion. Just as if a dexterous bathman or bathman’s apprentice would pour bath powder into a brass basin and knead it together, sprinkling it again and again with water, so that his ball of bath powder—saturated, moisture-laden, permeated within and without—would nevertheless not drip; even so, the monk permeates . . . this very body with the rapture & pleasure born of seclusion. (Digha Nikaya 2)
As for insight practice, Ajaan Lee taught that insight could be developed through mastering the steps of breath meditation itself, and didn’t require a separate method to force insights onto the mind. And the way he approached the three characteristics showed that, instead of simply copying and pasting the Buddha’s insights into my brain, I should follow the Buddha’s example in testing exactly how far the truth of these teachings go.
Before the Buddha taught that things are inconstant, he had worked at knowing them until they revealed their constancy. Before teaching that things are stressful, he had turned that stress into pleasure and ease. And before teaching that things are not-self, he had turned what is not-self into a self, and so was able to see what is constant and true, lying hidden in what is inconstant, stressful, and not-self. He then gathered all of these qualities into one. He gathered all that is inconstant, stressful, and not-self into one and the same thing: fabrications (sankhara) viewed in terms of the world—a single class, equal everywhere throughout the world. As for what’s constant, pleasant, and self, this was another class: fabrications viewed in terms of the dhamma. And then he let go of both classes, without getting caught up on “constant” or “inconstant,” “stress” or “ease,” “self” or “not-self.” This is why we can say he attained release, purity, and nibbana, for he had no need to latch onto fabrications—whether of the world or of the dhamma—in any way at all.
In other words, you learn about the three characteristics by developing a state of concentration that’s as constant, easeful, and under your control as you can. Only when you push against the three characteristics can you detect where they actually push back. And then you can let go of everything with genuine insight.
Instead of simply copying and pasting the Buddha’s insights into my brain, I should follow the Buddha’s example in testing exactly how far the truth of these teachings go.
I didn’t fully grasp the meaning of this passage at the time—I’m still working on it—but it made clear that Ajaan Lee approached the dhamma not as a body of sayings to be accepted but as a skill to be mastered. This point was confirmed as I began reading his dhamma talks, where he compared the skills of meditation to the skills of cooking, weaving, silverwork, and making clay tiles. Instead of telling me to restrict my mental faculties, his message was that I should use my ingenuity and powers of observation to the fullest. Total freedom was a goal that required exercising the entire heart and mind.
❤1👏1
It’s because of the liberating nature of these teachings that Keeping the Breath in Mind has been, as the Thai idiom puts it, “paired with my hand” ever since.
===
Thanissaro Bhikkhu is an American Theravada Buddhist monk trained in the Thai Forest Tradition. He currently serves as abbot of the Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County, California and is a frequent contributor to Tricycle. His latest book is Good Heart, Good Mind: The Practice of the Ten Perfections. Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s talks, writings, and translations are all freely available at his website:
www.dhammatalks.org
===
Dhammapada, beloved and favorite teachings of the Buddha channel:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/dhammapadas
===
===
Thanissaro Bhikkhu is an American Theravada Buddhist monk trained in the Thai Forest Tradition. He currently serves as abbot of the Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego County, California and is a frequent contributor to Tricycle. His latest book is Good Heart, Good Mind: The Practice of the Ten Perfections. Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s talks, writings, and translations are all freely available at his website:
www.dhammatalks.org
===
Dhammapada, beloved and favorite teachings of the Buddha channel:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/dhammapadas
===
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Dhammapada Verse 161
Mahakala Upasaka Vatthu
Attana hi katam papam
attajam attasambhavam
abhimatthati dummedham
vajiramva'smamayam manim.
Verse 161: The evil done by oneself, arising in oneself, and caused by oneself, destroys the foolish one, just as a diamond grinds the rock from which it is formed.
The Story of Mahakala Upasaka
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (161) of this book, with reference to Mahakala, a lay disciple.
On a certain sabbath day, Mahakala, a lay disciple, went to the Jetavana monastery. On that day, he kept the sabbath by observing the eight moral precepts (Uposatha sila) and listened to the discourses on the Dhamma throughout the night. It so happened that on that same night, some thieves broke into a house; and the owners on waking up went after the thieves. The thieves ran away in all directions. Some ran in the direction of the monastery. It was then nearing dawn, and Mahakala was washing his face at the pond close to the monastery. The thieves dropped their stolen property in front of Mahakala and ran on. When the owners arrived, they saw Mahakala with the stolen property. Taking him for one of the thieves they shouted at him, threatened him and beat him hard. Mahakala died on the spot. Early in the morning, when some young bhikkhus and samaneras from the monastery came to the pond to fetch water, they saw the dead body and recognize it.
On their return to the monastery, they reported what they had seen and said to the Buddha, "Venerable Sir! The lay disciple who was at this monastery listening to the religious discourses all through the night has met with a death which he does not deserve." To them the Buddha replied, "Bhikkhus! If you judge from the good deeds he has done in this existence, he has indeed met with a death he does not deserve. But the fact is that he has only paid for the evil he had done in a past existence. In one of his previous existences, when he was a courtier in the palace of the king, he fell in love with another man's wife and had beaten her husband to death. Thus, evil deeds surely get one into trouble; they even lead one to the four apayas."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 161: The evil done by oneself, arising in oneself, and caused by oneself, destroys the foolish one, just as a diamond grinds the rock from which it is formed.
===
Buddha dharma teachings channel:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/lorddivinebuddha
====================
Mahakala Upasaka Vatthu
Attana hi katam papam
attajam attasambhavam
abhimatthati dummedham
vajiramva'smamayam manim.
Verse 161: The evil done by oneself, arising in oneself, and caused by oneself, destroys the foolish one, just as a diamond grinds the rock from which it is formed.
The Story of Mahakala Upasaka
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (161) of this book, with reference to Mahakala, a lay disciple.
On a certain sabbath day, Mahakala, a lay disciple, went to the Jetavana monastery. On that day, he kept the sabbath by observing the eight moral precepts (Uposatha sila) and listened to the discourses on the Dhamma throughout the night. It so happened that on that same night, some thieves broke into a house; and the owners on waking up went after the thieves. The thieves ran away in all directions. Some ran in the direction of the monastery. It was then nearing dawn, and Mahakala was washing his face at the pond close to the monastery. The thieves dropped their stolen property in front of Mahakala and ran on. When the owners arrived, they saw Mahakala with the stolen property. Taking him for one of the thieves they shouted at him, threatened him and beat him hard. Mahakala died on the spot. Early in the morning, when some young bhikkhus and samaneras from the monastery came to the pond to fetch water, they saw the dead body and recognize it.
On their return to the monastery, they reported what they had seen and said to the Buddha, "Venerable Sir! The lay disciple who was at this monastery listening to the religious discourses all through the night has met with a death which he does not deserve." To them the Buddha replied, "Bhikkhus! If you judge from the good deeds he has done in this existence, he has indeed met with a death he does not deserve. But the fact is that he has only paid for the evil he had done in a past existence. In one of his previous existences, when he was a courtier in the palace of the king, he fell in love with another man's wife and had beaten her husband to death. Thus, evil deeds surely get one into trouble; they even lead one to the four apayas."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 161: The evil done by oneself, arising in oneself, and caused by oneself, destroys the foolish one, just as a diamond grinds the rock from which it is formed.
===
Buddha dharma teachings channel:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/lorddivinebuddha
====================
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Forwarded from Ajahn Chah - Theravada Thailand Buddhism
Free Buddha Dharma ebook
The Path to Peace
By Ajahn Chah
Today I will give a teaching particularly for you as monks and novices, so please determine your hearts and minds to listen. There is nothing else for us to talk about other than the practice of the Dhamma-Vinaya (Truth and Discipline).
Free download here:
https://www.ajahnchah.org/pdf/the_path_to_peace.pdf
=============
The Path to Peace
By Ajahn Chah
Today I will give a teaching particularly for you as monks and novices, so please determine your hearts and minds to listen. There is nothing else for us to talk about other than the practice of the Dhamma-Vinaya (Truth and Discipline).
Free download here:
https://www.ajahnchah.org/pdf/the_path_to_peace.pdf
=============
👍1💯1
Dhammapada Verse 162
Devadatta Vatthu
Yassa accantadussilyam
maluva salamivotthatam
karoti so tatha'ttanam
yatha nam icchati diso.
Verse 162: As the creeper (maluva) strangle the sal tree, so also, a really immoral person (overwhelmed by Craving) does to himself just what his enemy wishes him to do.
The Story of Devadatta
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (162) of this book, with reference to Devadatta.
One day, some bhikkhus were talking amongst themselves when the Buddha came in and asked the subject of their talk. They answered that they were talking about Devadatta and then continued as follows:
"Venerable Sir! Devadatta is, indeed, a man without morality; he is also very avaricious. He has tried to gain fame and fortune by getting the confidence of Ajatasattu by unfair means. He has also tried to convince Ajatasattu that by getting rid of his father, he (Ajatasattu) would immediately become a powerful king. Having been thus misled by Devadatta, Ajatasattu killed his father, the noble king, Bimbisara. Devadatta has even attempted three times to kill you, our most Venerable Teacher. Devadatta is, indeed, very wicked and incorrigible!"
After listening to the bhikkhus, the Buddha told them that Devadatta has tried to kill him not only now but also in his previous existences. The Buddha then narrated the story of a deer-stalker.
"Once, while King Brahmadatta was reigning in Baranasi, the future Buddha was born as a deer, and Devadatta was then a deer-stalker. One day, the deer-stalker saw the footprints of a deer under a tree. So, he put up a bamboo platform in the tree and waited with the spear ready for the deer. The deer came but he came very cautiously. The deer-stalker saw him hesitating, and threw some fruits of the tree to coax him. But that put the deer on guard; he looked more carefully and saw the deer-stalker in the tree. He pretended not to see the deer stalker and turned away slowly. From some distance, he addressed the tree thus:
'O tree! You always drop your fruits vertically, but today you have broken the law of nature and have dropped your fruits slantingly. Since you have violated the nature law of trees, I am now leaving you for another tree.'
"Seeing the deer turning away, the dear-stalker dropped his spear to the ground and said, 'Yes, you can now move on; for today, I have been wrong in my calculations.' The deer who was the Buddha-to-be replied, 'O hunter! You have truly miscalculated today, but your evil kamma will not take any mistake; it will certainly follow you.' Thus, Devadatta had attempted to kill me not only now but also in the past, yet he had never succeeded." 'Then the Buddha continued, 'Bhikkhus! Just as a creeper strangles the tree to which it clings, so also, those without morality, being overwhelmed by lust, are finally thrown into niraya."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 162: As the creeper (maluva) strangle the sal tree, so also, a really immoral person (overwhelmed by Craving) does to himself just what his enemy wishes him to do.
At the end of the discourse, many people attained Sotapatti Fruition.
===
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Devadatta Vatthu
Yassa accantadussilyam
maluva salamivotthatam
karoti so tatha'ttanam
yatha nam icchati diso.
Verse 162: As the creeper (maluva) strangle the sal tree, so also, a really immoral person (overwhelmed by Craving) does to himself just what his enemy wishes him to do.
The Story of Devadatta
While residing at the Jetavana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (162) of this book, with reference to Devadatta.
One day, some bhikkhus were talking amongst themselves when the Buddha came in and asked the subject of their talk. They answered that they were talking about Devadatta and then continued as follows:
"Venerable Sir! Devadatta is, indeed, a man without morality; he is also very avaricious. He has tried to gain fame and fortune by getting the confidence of Ajatasattu by unfair means. He has also tried to convince Ajatasattu that by getting rid of his father, he (Ajatasattu) would immediately become a powerful king. Having been thus misled by Devadatta, Ajatasattu killed his father, the noble king, Bimbisara. Devadatta has even attempted three times to kill you, our most Venerable Teacher. Devadatta is, indeed, very wicked and incorrigible!"
After listening to the bhikkhus, the Buddha told them that Devadatta has tried to kill him not only now but also in his previous existences. The Buddha then narrated the story of a deer-stalker.
"Once, while King Brahmadatta was reigning in Baranasi, the future Buddha was born as a deer, and Devadatta was then a deer-stalker. One day, the deer-stalker saw the footprints of a deer under a tree. So, he put up a bamboo platform in the tree and waited with the spear ready for the deer. The deer came but he came very cautiously. The deer-stalker saw him hesitating, and threw some fruits of the tree to coax him. But that put the deer on guard; he looked more carefully and saw the deer-stalker in the tree. He pretended not to see the deer stalker and turned away slowly. From some distance, he addressed the tree thus:
'O tree! You always drop your fruits vertically, but today you have broken the law of nature and have dropped your fruits slantingly. Since you have violated the nature law of trees, I am now leaving you for another tree.'
"Seeing the deer turning away, the dear-stalker dropped his spear to the ground and said, 'Yes, you can now move on; for today, I have been wrong in my calculations.' The deer who was the Buddha-to-be replied, 'O hunter! You have truly miscalculated today, but your evil kamma will not take any mistake; it will certainly follow you.' Thus, Devadatta had attempted to kill me not only now but also in the past, yet he had never succeeded." 'Then the Buddha continued, 'Bhikkhus! Just as a creeper strangles the tree to which it clings, so also, those without morality, being overwhelmed by lust, are finally thrown into niraya."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 162: As the creeper (maluva) strangle the sal tree, so also, a really immoral person (overwhelmed by Craving) does to himself just what his enemy wishes him to do.
At the end of the discourse, many people attained Sotapatti Fruition.
===
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Vajrayana Tantrayana Buddhism channel:
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====================
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Tibetan Buddhism Vajrayana Tantrayana esoteric tradition
Buddha Dharma teachings from the esoteric Vajrayana or Tantrayana Buddhism, includes all major schools Nyingma, Kagyu, Gelug, Sakya, Jonang and Bonpo.
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Dhammapada Verse 163
Samghabhedaparisakkana Vatthu
Sukarani asadhuni
attano ahitani ca
yam ve hitanca sadhunca
tam ve paramadukkaram.
Verse 163: It is easy to do things that are bad and unbeneficial to oneself, but it is, indeed, most difficult to do things that are beneficial and good.
The Story of Schism in the Order
While residing at the Veluvana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (163) of this book, with reference to Devadatta, who committed the offence of causing a schism in the Order of the bhikkhus.
On one occasion, while the Buddha was giving a discourse in the Veluvana monastery, Devadatta came to him and suggested that since the Buddha was getting old, the duties of the Order should be entrusted to him (Devadatta); but the Buddha rejected his proposal and also rebuked him and called him a "spittle swallowor" (Khelasika). From that time, Devadatta felt very bitter towards the Buddha. He even tried to kill the Buddha three times, but all his attempts failed. Later, Devadatta tried another tactic. This time, he came to the Buddha and proposed five rules of discipline for the bhikkhus to observe throughout their lives.
He proposed:
(i) that the bhikkhus should live in the forest;
(ii) that they should live only on food received on alms-rounds;
(iii) that they should wear robes made only from pieces of cloth collected from rubbish heaps;
(iv) that they should reside under trees; and
(v) that they should not take fish or meat.
The Buddha did not have any objections to these rules and made no objections to those who were willing to observe them, but for various valid considerations, he was not prepared to impose these rules of discipline on the bhikkhus in general.
Devadatta claimed that the rules proposed by him were much better than the existing rules of discipline, and some new bhikkhus agreed with him. One day, the Buddha asked Devadatta if it was true that he was trying to create a schism in the Order, and he admitted that it was so. The Buddha warned him that it was a very serious offence, but Devadatta paid no heed to his warning. After this, as he met Thera Ananda on his alms-round in Rajagaha, Devadatta said to Thera Ananda, "Ananda, from today I will observe the sabbath (Uposatha), and perform the duties of the Order separately, independent of the Buddha and his Order of bhikkhus." On his return from the alms-round, Thera Ananda reported to the Buddha what Devadatta had said.
On hearing this, the Buddha reflected, "Devadatta is committing a very serious offence; it will send him to Avici Niraya. For a virtuous person, it is easy to do good deeds and difficult to do evil; but for an evil one, it is easy to do evil and difficult to do good deeds. Indeed, in life it is easy to do something which is not beneficial, but it is very difficult to do something which is good and beneficial."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 163: It is easy to do things that are bad and unbeneficial to oneself, but it is, indeed, most difficult to do things that are beneficial and good.
Then, on the Uposatha day, Devadatta, followed by five hundred Vajjian bhikkhus, broke off from the Order, and went to Gayasisa. However, when the two Chief Disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana, went to see the bhikkhus who had followed Devadatta and talked to them they realized their mistakes and most of them returned with the two Chief Disciples to the Buddha.
===
Words of the Buddha channel:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/wordsofbuddha
====================
Samghabhedaparisakkana Vatthu
Sukarani asadhuni
attano ahitani ca
yam ve hitanca sadhunca
tam ve paramadukkaram.
Verse 163: It is easy to do things that are bad and unbeneficial to oneself, but it is, indeed, most difficult to do things that are beneficial and good.
The Story of Schism in the Order
While residing at the Veluvana monastery, the Buddha uttered Verse (163) of this book, with reference to Devadatta, who committed the offence of causing a schism in the Order of the bhikkhus.
On one occasion, while the Buddha was giving a discourse in the Veluvana monastery, Devadatta came to him and suggested that since the Buddha was getting old, the duties of the Order should be entrusted to him (Devadatta); but the Buddha rejected his proposal and also rebuked him and called him a "spittle swallowor" (Khelasika). From that time, Devadatta felt very bitter towards the Buddha. He even tried to kill the Buddha three times, but all his attempts failed. Later, Devadatta tried another tactic. This time, he came to the Buddha and proposed five rules of discipline for the bhikkhus to observe throughout their lives.
He proposed:
(i) that the bhikkhus should live in the forest;
(ii) that they should live only on food received on alms-rounds;
(iii) that they should wear robes made only from pieces of cloth collected from rubbish heaps;
(iv) that they should reside under trees; and
(v) that they should not take fish or meat.
The Buddha did not have any objections to these rules and made no objections to those who were willing to observe them, but for various valid considerations, he was not prepared to impose these rules of discipline on the bhikkhus in general.
Devadatta claimed that the rules proposed by him were much better than the existing rules of discipline, and some new bhikkhus agreed with him. One day, the Buddha asked Devadatta if it was true that he was trying to create a schism in the Order, and he admitted that it was so. The Buddha warned him that it was a very serious offence, but Devadatta paid no heed to his warning. After this, as he met Thera Ananda on his alms-round in Rajagaha, Devadatta said to Thera Ananda, "Ananda, from today I will observe the sabbath (Uposatha), and perform the duties of the Order separately, independent of the Buddha and his Order of bhikkhus." On his return from the alms-round, Thera Ananda reported to the Buddha what Devadatta had said.
On hearing this, the Buddha reflected, "Devadatta is committing a very serious offence; it will send him to Avici Niraya. For a virtuous person, it is easy to do good deeds and difficult to do evil; but for an evil one, it is easy to do evil and difficult to do good deeds. Indeed, in life it is easy to do something which is not beneficial, but it is very difficult to do something which is good and beneficial."
Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows:
Verse 163: It is easy to do things that are bad and unbeneficial to oneself, but it is, indeed, most difficult to do things that are beneficial and good.
Then, on the Uposatha day, Devadatta, followed by five hundred Vajjian bhikkhus, broke off from the Order, and went to Gayasisa. However, when the two Chief Disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana, went to see the bhikkhus who had followed Devadatta and talked to them they realized their mistakes and most of them returned with the two Chief Disciples to the Buddha.
===
Words of the Buddha channel:
https://news.1rj.ru/str/wordsofbuddha
====================
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Words of the Buddha
Daily teachings of Buddha Dharma
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