#bodhisattva
One day, the Buddha asked his disciples: “How long is life?”
“Maybe fifty years?” replied a disciple.
“Wrong,” said Buddha.
Another disciple said, “Months.”
“No,” Buddha said.
“Days? Weeks?” another disciple suggested.
“Wrong. Wrong,” said Buddha. “Not years, not months, not weeks, not days.”
Then they asked, “How long is one life?”
“Our life is only as long as one breath.”
~ Buddha
“ Greater in battle
than the man who would conquer
a thousand-thousand men,
is he who would conquer
just one —
himself.
Better to conquer yourself
than others.
When you’ve trained yourself,
living in constant self-control,
neither a deva nor gandhabba,
nor a Mara banded with Brahmas,
could turn that triumph
back into defeat. ”
( Verse 103-105, Dhammapada - Path of Buddha’s Teaching )
CYCLE OF BIRTH AND DEATH (SAMSARA) IN THERAVADA BUDDHISM - 01
According to Buddhist scriptures, it is believed that through meditation, the Buddha gained first hand knowledge of rebirth and the cycle of birth and death (samsara), before declaring it to the world. During the process of attaining full enlightenment through deep meditation on that night, the Buddha is said to have developed three special types of supreme knowledge, two of which revealed the knowledge of rebirth. During the first watch of the night, the Buddha developed the supreme knowledge (pubbenivasanussati nana) through which it was possible to recollect the past lives that the Buddha Himself had gone through during the cycle of birth and death including the details of where He was born, name, occupation, etc. in each previous life. During the second watch of the night, the Buddha developed the divine eye (cutupapatha nana), which revealed how from an inconceivable beginning, other beings were reborn into happy or unhappy existences dependent on their previous skilful and unskillful actions, based on the natural law of cause and effect (kamma).
The literal meaning of the word “Samsara” both in the Pali and the Sanskrit language is “wandering on” and “continuing on”. According to the Buddha, we have been wandering on in this cycle of repeated birth and death (samsara) with no evident beginning for an inconceivable length of time. Samsara is not a place or a particular plane of existence, but a process fuelled by ignorance (avijja), craving (tanha) and the volitional actions we perform (kamma) through which we continue from one existence to another. All existences in the cycle of birth and death bear three universal characteristics of existence; impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and lack of substantiality (anatta).
The cycle of birth and death (samsara) can also be described as the process of re-becoming of the five aggregates of clinging (pancha-upadankkhandha) from one existence to another. The five aggregates of clinging are the constituent parts of the Psycho-physical unit of name and matter (nama-rupa) known as an individual, a being or a personality.
Buddhists do not deny the existence of various gods or deities.
Devas are more fortunate than human beings as far as sensual pleasures are concerned. They also possess certain powers which human beings usually lack. However, the powers of these deities are limited because they are also transitory beings. They exist in happy abodes and enjoy their life for a longer period than human beings do. When they have exhausted all the good kamma, that they have gathered during previous birth, these deities pass away and are reborn somewhere else according to their good and bad kamma. According to the Buddha, human beings have more opportunities to accrue merits to be born in a better condition, and the deities have less chances in this respect.
Buddhist do not attribute any specific importance to such gods. They do not regard the deities as a support for the moral development or as a support for the attainment of salvation of Nibbana. Whether they are great or small, both human beings and deities are perishable and subject to rebirth.
It is a common belief amongst the Buddhist public that such deities can be influenced to grant their favours by transferring merits to them whenever meritorious deeds are performed. This belief is based on the Buddha’s injunction to the deities to protect those human beings who lead a religious way of life. This is the reason why Buddhists transfer the merits to such deities or remember them whenever they do some meritorious deeds. However, making of offerings to and worshipping such deities are not encouraged, although some Buddhist customs center around such activities. When people are in great difficulties, they naturally turn to the deities to express their grievances in a place of worship. By doing this, they gain some relief and consolation; in their hearts, they feel much better. However, to an intellectual who has strong will power, sound education and understanding, such beliefs and actions need not be resorted to. There is definitely no Teaching in Buddhism to the effect that Buddhists can attain Nibbana by praying to any deity. Buddhists believe that ‘purity
“ At Sāvatthī.
Seated to one side, King Pasenadi said to the Buddha, “Just now, sir, as I was in private retreat this thought came to mind. ‘Who are those who protect themselves? And who are those who don’t protect themselves?’
Then it occurred to me: ‘Those who do bad things by way of body, speech, and mind don’t protect themselves. Even if they’re protected by a company of elephants, cavalry, chariots, or infantry, they still don’t protect themselves. Why is that? Because such protection is exterior, not interior. That’s why they don’t protect themselves.
Those who do good things by way of body, speech, and mind do protect themselves. Even if they’re not protected by a company of elephants, cavalry, chariots, or infantry, they still protect themselves. Why is that? Because such protection is interior, not exterior. That’s why they do protect themselves.’”
“That’s so true, great king! That’s so true!” said the Buddha. And he repeated the king’s statement, adding:
“Restraint of the body is good;
restraint of speech is good;
restraint of mind is good;
everywhere, restraint is good.
A sincere person, restrained everywhere,
is said to be ‘protected’.” ”
( Attarakkhitasutta - SN 3.5. Self-Protected )
“ Mendicants, these five people are found in the world. What five? One gives then scorns, one lives together then scorns, one is gullible for gossip, one is impulsive, and one is dull and stupid.
And how does a person give then scorn? It’s when a person gives someone robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. They think: ‘I give; this one receives.’ They give to that person, then they scorn them. That’s how a person gives then scorns.
And how does a person live together then scorn? It’s when a person lives with someone else for two or three years. They live together with that person, then they scorn them. That’s how a person live together then scorns.
And how is a person gullible for gossip? It’s when they’re very quick to believe what a certain person says in praise or criticism of another. That’s how a person is gullible for gossip.
And how is a person impulsive? It’s when a certain person is fickle in faith, devotion, fondness, and confidence. That’s how a person is impulsive.
And how is a person dull and stupid? It’s when they don’t know the difference between qualities that are skillful and unskillful, blameworthy and blameless, inferior and superior, and those on the side of dark and bright. That’s how a person is dull and stupid.
These are the five people found in the world. ” ( Avajānātisutta - 5.141. Scorn )
The thangka painting of life of Buddha narrates the most relevant episodes of the life of Siddhartha Known as the “Twelve Great Deeds of Buddha’s Life”. The twelve deeds carried out by the Buddha Shakyamuni are:
1. Transferring to the Southern Island- continent from a Pure land of Tushita, after having transferred his throne to the next Buddha for the eon, Maitreya Buddha.
2. Entering his moms womb.
3. Taking Bath
4. Becoming skilled and learned in the arts
5. Enjoying himself with his wife and his circle
6. Setting forth from family as a renunciation
7. Undergoing difficult ascetic practices
8. Proceeding to seat for enlightenment under a Bodhi tree.
9. Taming the demonic forces (Mara).
10. Manifesting full enlightenment
11. Setting flow rounds of transmission of the preventive measures of Dharma (Turning the wheel of Dharma)
12. Demonstrating a total release from all suffering (Nirvana) by passing away.
“ At one time the Buddha was staying near Vesālī, at the Great Wood, in the hall with the peaked roof.
Then the Buddha robed up in the morning and, taking his bowl and robe, entered Vesālī for alms.
Now at that time around five hundred Licchavis were sitting together at the Sārandada shrine, and this discussion came up among them, “The appearance of five treasures is rare in the world. What five? The elephant-treasure, the horse-treasure, the jewel-treasure, the woman-treasure, and the householder-treasure. The appearance of these five treasures is rare in the world.”
Then those Licchavis sent a man out on to the road, saying, “Mister, please tell us when you see the Buddha.”
That man saw the Buddha coming off in the distance. He went to the Licchavis and said, “Sirs, the Blessed One, the perfected one, the fully awakened Buddha is coming. Please go at your convenience.”
Then those Licchavis went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and said to him, “Please go to the Sārandada shrine, out of compassion.” The Buddha consented in silence.
Then the Buddha went up to the Sārandada shrine, where he sat on the seat spread out, and said to the Licchavis, “Licchavis, what were you sitting talking about just now? What conversation was unfinished?”
“Well, Master Gotama, this discussion came up among us while we were sitting together: ‘The appearance of five treasures is rare in the world. …’”
“You Licchavis are so fixated on sensual pleasures, that’s the only discussion that came up! Licchavis, the appearance of five treasures is rare in the world. What five?
The appearance of a Realized One, a perfected one, a fully awakened Buddha.
A person who explains the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realized One.
A person who understands the teaching and training proclaimed by a Realized One.
A person who practices in line with the teaching.
A person who is grateful and thankful.
The appearance of these five treasures is rare in the world.” ”
( Sārandadasutta - AN 5.143. At Sārandada )
DHAMMACAKKAPPAVATTANA SUTTA: FIRST DISCOURSE OF LORD GAUTAMA BUDDHA - 01
Introduction
Dhammacakkappavattana sutta is included in the Dhammacakkappavattana vagga, of the Sacca samyutta of the Mahā Vagga. Having attained enlightenment and become a Sammā Sambuddha under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, on the full moon day of the month of May, Lord Gautama Buddha spent the following seven weeks contemplating and enjoying the happiness of ultimate freedom and peace under the Bodhi tree as well as nearby places. The Buddha was initially hesitant to start preaching His discoveries to others as He thought that the people may not be wise enough to understand the deep teaching which is hard to see and hard to understand. It is said that following a request by a deity named Sahampathi Brahma, who was concerned that if the Buddha did not preach the path of liberation that He had discovered to the others it will be lost to the world, the Buddha decided to preach the teaching.
The Buddha first wanted to teach the path of liberation that He had discovered to His previous two meditation teachers Ālāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta, but they had already passed away. The Buddha then decided to give the first sermon to the five ascetic companions who had supported Him during the previous six years. They were at that time staying at the Deer Park in Isipathana, now called Sārnath near Vārānasi in India. The Buddha walked from Bodh Gaya to Isipathana, a distance of around 150 miles, to deliver the first sermon to the five ascetics named Kondañña, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahānāma and Assaji (panca vaggiya bhikkhu). The discourse delivered by the Buddha to the five ascetic companions is Dhammacakkappavattana sutta, meaning “Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in motion”. It is the very first discourse delivered by Lord Gautama Buddha following the attainment of full enlightenment.
“ “Mendicants, there are these seven kinds of wealth. What seven? The wealth of faith, ethical conduct, conscience, prudence, learning, generosity, and wisdom. These are the seven kinds of wealth.
Faith and ethical conduct are kinds of wealth,
as are conscience and prudence,
learning and generosity,
and wisdom is the seventh kind of wealth.
When a woman or man
has these kinds of wealth,
they’re said to be prosperous,
their life is not in vain.
So let the wise devote themselves
to faith, ethical behavior,
confidence, and insight into the teaching,
remembering the instructions of the Buddhas ” “ ( Saṁkhittadhanasutta - AN 7.5. Wealth in Brief )
The Five Remembrances
“There are these five facts that one should reflect on often, whether one is a woman or a man, lay or ordained. Which five?
- I am subject to aging, have not gone beyond aging.’ This is the first fact that one should reflect on often.…
- I am subject to illness, have not gone beyond illness’.…
- I am subject to death, have not gone beyond death’.…
- I will grow different, separate from all that is dear & appealing to me’.…
- I am the owner of actions [karma], heir to actions, born of actions, related through actions, and have actions as my arbitrator. Whatever I do, for good or for evil, to that will I fall heir’.…”
No matter who you are, these five facts, one should become deeply familiar with/reflect on. - Buddha, in the “Upajjhatthana Sutta”
Today is Chotrul Düchen — one of the four major Buddhist days of the year.
These first fifteen days of the new Lunar year commemorate the event when The Buddha performed a different miracle each day to instill devotion and increase merit among heretics.
NIBBANA IN THERAVADA BUDDHISM - 02
What is Nibbana
Nibbana, the third Noble Truth relating to the complete cessation of suffering, is the final state of liberation from suffering and the repeated cycle of birth and death (samsara). Nibbana can be attained in this life itself, here and now, and hence is not a state that can be attained only upon one’s death. Nibbana is the ultimate goal of a practising Buddhist within Theravada Buddhism. Whenever Theravada Buddhists perform various forms of meritorious deeds they aspire to attain Nibbana by chanting:
“Idam me punnam, asavakkhaya vaham hotu”
“Idam me punnam, nibbanassa paccaya hotu”
“May I attain the extinction of the defiled outflows by this meritorious deed”
“May my meritorious deed be the cause of Nibbana”
However, it should be noted that Nibbana cannot be attained by merely wishing or praying for it but by cultivating the Noble Eight-fold Path as expounded by the Buddha in His first sermon.
In the Abhidhamma, Buddha’s higher teaching, the Buddha described two realities in the world, namely conventional reality (sammuti sacca) and the ultimate reality (paramattha sacca). Conventional reality includes things that are expressed in conventional modes of expression such as man, woman, person, being or other objects that do not exist in their own right as irreducible realities. Ultimate realities are the things that exist by reason of their own intrinsic nature and are irreducible into any components and the Buddha has described four such ultimate realities in the world, including Nibbana:
1. Consciousness (citta)
2. Mental factors (cetasika)
3. Materiality (rupa) and
4. Nibbana
The word Nibbana in the Pali language consists of two constituents – Ni and Vana meaning absence of craving. Ni is a negative particle indicating ‘absence’ while Vana means ‘craving’. In the Sanskrit language it is known as Nirvana, meaning to blow out or extinguish, with Va meaning ‘to blow’ and Nir meaning ‘out’. Hence, Nirvana means to blow out or extinguish the flame of craving since craving is the basic and fundamental cause of repeated birth in the cycle of birth and death (samsara).
NIBBANA IN THERAVADA BUDDHISM - 01
Introduction
Gautama Buddha is described as a Samma Sambuddha meaning the ‘Perfectly Enlightened One’, samma = perfectly; sam = by himself without a teacher; buddha = Enlightened or Awakened One, by realisation of the four Noble Truths. In his very first sermon titled “Dhamma cakkappavattana Sutta” or “Turning the Wheel of the Truth” delivered to the five ascetic companions at the deer park at Isipathana (now called Sarnath) near Varanasi in India, the Buddha expounded on the four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-fold Path (ariya atthangika magga) also known as the Middle Way (majjhima patipada).
The four Noble Truths
1. Truth of universal suffering (dukkha sacca)
2. Truth of the origin of suffering (samudaya sacca)
3. Truth of the cessation of suffering (nirodha sacca)
4. Truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering (magga sacca)
The first Noble Truth is the fact that all forms of existence are subject to unavoidable and inevitable suffering, both physical and mental, due mainly to the following:
Birth
Ageing
Illness
Death
Sorrow, lamentation, grief, pain and despair
Association with what one dislikes
Separation from what one likes
Not getting what one desires
The Buddha then summarised all suffering by stating concisely that it is our clinging to the five aggregates that constitutes suffering. The five aggregates of clinging are material form (rupa), feeling (vedana), perception (sanna), mental formation (sankhara) and consciousness (vinnana) which, according to the Buddha, are the constituent parts of the psycho-physical unit of name and matter (nama-rupa) that is known as an individual, a person or a personality.
The second Noble Truth is the cause of suffering which is craving or tanha. Gautama Buddha, during His first sermon, described three types of craving:
Craving for sense pleasures (kama tanha)
Craving for becoming or existence (bhava tanha)
Craving for non-becoming or non-existence (vibhava tanha)
The third Noble Truth is the cessation of suffering by attaining Nibbana through total abandonment and elimination of all forms of craving (tanha) - Attaining Nibbana.
There is no end, because
every end will be death.
And life knows no death; it goes on and on and on.
So this is simply a preparation
it is always a preparation for a new journey.
You can have a little rest, but remember
It is just an overnight stay in a caravanserai.
In the morning we have to go, so rest well, be ready.
As the sun rises, our journey starts again.
Life is from eternity to eternity"
“ These five are a person of integrity’s gifts. Which five? 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.
"Having given a gift with a sense of conviction, he — wherever the result of that gift ripens — is rich, with much wealth, with many possessions. And he is well-built, handsome, extremely inspiring, endowed with a lotus-like complexion.
"Having given a gift attentively, he — wherever the result of that gift ripens — is rich, with much wealth, with many possessions. And his children, wives, slaves, servants, and workers listen carefully to him, lend him their ears, and serve him with understanding hearts.
"Having given a gift in season, he — wherever the result of that gift ripens — is rich, with much wealth, with many possessions. And his goals are fulfilled in season.
"Having given a gift with an empathetic heart, he — wherever the result of that gift ripens — is rich, with much wealth, with many possessions. And his mind inclines to the enjoyment of the five strings of lavish sensuality.
"Having given a gift without adversely affecting himself or others, he — wherever the result of that gift ripens — is rich, with much wealth, with many possessions. And not from anywhere does destruction come to his property — whether from fire, from water, from kings, from thieves, or from hateful heirs.
"These five are a person of integrity’s gifts.” “ ( AN 5.148, Sappurisadana Sutta: A Person of Integrity’s Gifts )
“Generosity brings happiness at every stage of its expression. We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous. We experience joy in the actual act of giving something. And we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given.” ☸
“Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good.” -
Again the guru said: Beings with inferior karma aim at the grandeur and vanity of this world and act with no thought of karmic ripening.
Future misery will endure much longer than that of the present, so feel motherly love and compassion for the beings of the three realms.
Keep constant company with the awakened mind of bodhichitta.
Forsake the ten nonvirtues and adopt the ten virtues.
Don’t regard any sentient being as your enemy: to do so is only your mind’s delusion. Don’t seek food and drink through lies and deceit. Though your belly will be full in this life, it will weigh heavy in the following.
Don’t get involved in business and making profits: in general, it is distracting for both yourself and others.
Attach no importance to wealth, because it is the enemy of meditation and Dharma practice.
Dwelling only on food is a cause of distraction: keep your meditation provisions sufficient merely to sustain yourself.
Don’t live in villages or areas which promote attachment and aversion. When your body is in seclusion your mind will be also.
Give up idle gossip and speak less. If you hurt another’s feelings, both of you create negative karma.
In general, all sentient beings without exception have been your parents, so don’t allow yourself to feel attached or hostile. Maintain a peaceful frame of mind.
Give up angry and harsh words; instead speak with a smiling face.
Your parents’ kindness cannot be repaid even if you sacrifice your life, so be respectful in thought, word, and deed.
Virtue and evil both come from perceived objects and companions, so don’t keep company with evildoers.
Don’t remain in a place where people are hostile towards you and which futhers anger and desire. If you do, it only increases disturbing emotions in yourself and others.
Stay where your state of mind is at ease and your Dharma practice will automatically progress. To remain in places of extreme attachment and aversion is only distracting. Stay where your Dharma practice develops.
If you become conceited, your virtues diminish, so give up being arrogant and haughty. If you become disappointed and disheartened, console yourself and be your own counsel. Re-embark on the path.
Padmasambhava - Advice From the Lotus Born
Precious Dakini,
When you understand the faults of samsara, there is no teacher to seek apart from that. When you have taken impermanence to heart, there is no encouragement to depend upon apart from that. When you realize all that appears and exists to be your mind, there is no path of enlightenment apart from that.
When you have firm devotion to your master, there is no buddha to find apart from that. When you delight all sentient beings, there are no Three Jewels to worship apart from that. When you cut the basis and root of thought, there is no innate nature to meditate upon apart from that. When samsaric existence is freed in itself, there is no awakened state to accomplish apart from that. Once you realize this, samsara and nirvana are not two.
- Advice from the Lotus-Born Padmasambhava to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal
