2020.01.05 Sunday

The Stone Sliver
Sakalika Sutta (SN 1:38)

Cullavagga VII tells of how Devadatta, the Buddha’s cousin, tried unsuccessfully in various ways to wrest leadership of the Saṅgha from the Buddha. In Cv VII.3.9, he tries to kill the Buddha by hurling a rock down a mountainside. The rock is crushed, and so misses the Buddha, but sends out a splinter that pierces the Buddha’s foot, drawing blood. According to the Commentary, this discourse together with SN 4:13 describe the Buddha’s reaction to this attempt on his life.

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Rājagaha in 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 700 devatās from the Satullapa retinue, in the far extreme of the night, their extreme radiance lighting up the entirety of Maddakucchi, went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to him, they stood to one side.

As she was standing there, one of the devatās exclaimed in the Blessed One’s presence: “What a nāga is Gotama the contemplative! And like a nāga, when bodily feelings have arisen—painful, fierce, sharp, wracking, repellent, disagreeable—he endures them mindful, alert, & unperturbed!”

[For brevity… in the text quoted here five more devatās speak, repeating the above, describing Gotama as a lion, thoroughbred, peerless bull, strong burden-carrier and tamed man.]

Then another devatā exclaimed in the Blessed One’s presence: “See a concentration well-developed, a mind well released— neither pressed down nor forced back, nor with mental fabrication kept blocked or suppressed. Whoever would think that such a nāga of a man, lion of a man, thoroughbred of a man, peerless bull of a man, strong burden-carrier of a man, such a tamed man should be violated: What else is that if not blindness?”

“Five-Veda Brahmans, living austerely for 100 years:
Their minds are not rightly released.
Lowly by nature, they’ve not gone beyond.
Overpowered by craving, bound up in habits & practices,
performing wretched austerities for 100 years:
Their minds are not rightly released.
Lowly by nature, they’ve not gone beyond.
For one fond of conceit, there’s no taming;
for one uncentered, no sagacity.
Though alone in the wilderness, if one lives heedlessly,
one won’t cross over, beyond Māra’s sway.
But having abandoned conceit, well-centered within,
with right awareness everywhere fully released,
alone in the wilderness, heedfully living,
one will cross over, beyond Māra’s sway.”

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN1_38.html

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2020-01-03

2020.01.03 Friday

An Arahant
Arahanta Sutta (SN 1:25)

“An arahant monk, one who is done, effluent-free, bearing his last body: Would he say, ‘I speak’? Would he say, ‘They speak to me’?”

“An arahant monk, one who is done, effluent-free, bearing his last body: He would say, ‘I speak’; would say, ‘They speak to me.’ Skillful, knowing harmonious gnosis with regard to the world, he uses expressions just as expressions.”

“An arahant monk, one who is done, effluent-free, bearing his last body: Is it from conceit that he’d say, ‘ I speak’?— that he’d say, ‘They speak to me’?”1

“An arahant monk, one who is done, effluent-free, bearing his last body: Is it from conceit that he’d say, ‘ I speak’?— that he’d say, ‘They speak to me’?”1 “For one whose conceit is abandoned, whose knot of conceit is dispersed, no knots exist at all. He, beyond any concept, wise, would say, ‘I speak’; would say, ‘They speak to me.’ Skillful, knowing harmonious gnosis with regard to the world, he uses expressions just as expressions.”

1. This question confuses the conceit, “I am” (asmimāna) with the simple concept, “I.” The former is a fetter, in that it involves one in a tangle of views as to what the “I” is, and what it means to be. (See MN 2.) The latter, as this verse shows, is simply a conventional expression, and if it can be separated from the conceit “I am,” it need not fetter the mind.

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN1_25.html

2020-01-02

2020.01.02 Thursday

Shame
Hiri Sutta (SN 1:18)

“Who in the world
is a man constrained by shame,
who awakens to censure
like a fine stallion to the whip?”
“Those restrained by shame
are rare—
those who go through life
always mindful.
Having reached the end
of suffering & stress,
they go among the discordant
harmoniously.”

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN1_18.html

2019-12-30

2019.12.30 Monday

The Wilderness
Arañña Sutta (SN 1:10)

Standing to one side, a devatā addressed the Blessed One with a verse:

“Living in the wilderness,
staying peaceful, remaining chaste,
eating just one meal a day:
why are their faces
so bright & serene?”

The Buddha:

“They don’t sorrow over the past,
don’t long for the future.
They survive on the present.
That’s why their faces
are bright & serene.
From longing for the future,
from sorrowing over the past,
fools wither away
like a green reed cut down.”

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN1_10.html

2019-12-29

2019.12.29 Sunday

Fond of Conceit
Manakāma Sutta (SN 1:9)

Standing to one side, a devatā addressed the Blessed One with a verse:

“Here there’s no taming
for one fond of conceit,
no sagacity
for one unconcentrated.
One dwelling alone in the wilderness
heedlessly
won’t cross over beyond
Deaths’ realm."

The Buddha:

“Abandoning conceit,
his mind well-concentrated,
well-aware, everywhere
released,1
one dwelling alone in the wilderness
heedfully:
He will cross over beyond
Death’s realm."

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN1_9.html

2019-12-28

2019.12.28 Saturday

Unpenetrated
Appaṭividitā Sutta (SN 1:7)

Standing to one side, a devatā addressed the Blessed One with a verse:

“Those in whom
phenomena are unpenetrated,
who may be led
by the teachings of others:
Asleep are they;
they haven’t awakened.
It’s time for them
to awaken.”

The Buddha:

“Those in whom
phenomena are well-penetrated,
may not be led
by the teachings of others.
Awakened
through right knowing,
they go among the discordant
harmoniously.”1

1. “Dissonant” and “harmoniously” translate visama and sama, which literally mean, “uneven” and “even.” Throughout ancient cultures, the terminology of music was used to describe the moral quality of people and actions. Discordant intervals or poorly-tuned musical instruments were metaphors for evil; harmonious intervals and well-tuned instruments, metaphors for good. In Pali, the term sama—“even”—described an instrument tuned on-pitch. There is a famous passage (AN 6:55) where the Buddha reminds Soṇa Koḷivisa—who had been over-exerting himself in the practice—that a lute sounds appealing only if the strings are neither too taut or too lax, but “evenly” tuned. This image would have special resonances with the Buddha’s teaching on the middle way. It also adds meaning to the term samaṇa—monk or contemplative—which the texts frequently mention as being derived from sama. The word sāmañña—“evenness,” the quality of being in tune—also means the quality of being a contemplative: The true contemplative is always in tune with what is proper and good.

This verse has an added play on words, in that the term “well-penetrated” can also mean “well-tuned.”

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN1_7.html

2019-12-27

2019.12.27 Friday

Crossing over the Flood
Ogha-taraṇa Sutta (SN 1:1)

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Then a certain devatā, in the far extreme of the night, her extreme radiance lighting up the entirety of Jeta’s Grove, went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to him, she stood to one side. As she was standing there, she said to him, “Tell me, dear sir, how you crossed over the flood.”

“I crossed over the flood without pushing forward, without staying in place.”

“But how, dear sir, did you cross over the flood without pushing forward, without staying in place?”

“When I pushed forward, I was whirled about. When I stayed in place, I sank. And so I crossed over the flood without pushing forward, without staying in place.”

The devatā:
“At long last I see
a brahman, totally unbound,
who without pushing forward,
without staying in place,
has crossed over
the entanglements
of the world.”

That is what the devatā said. The Teacher approved. Realizing that “The Teacher has approved of me,” she bowed down to him, circumambulated him—keeping him to her right—and then vanished right there.

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN1_1.html

2019-12-26

2019.12.26 Thursday

Old Age Jarā Sutta (SN 1:51)

“What is good all the way through old age?
What is good when established?
What is the treasure of human beings?
What can’t be stolen by thieves?”
The Buddha:
“Virtue is good all the way through old age.
Conviction is good when established.
Discernment is the treasure of human beings.
Merit can’t be stolen by thieves.”
See also: AN 7:6–7; Dhp 151; Dhp 333

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN1_51.html

2019-12-23

2019.12.23 Monday

Ud 1:4 Overbearing (Huhuṅka Sutta)

I have heard that on one occasion, the Blessed One was staying at Uruvelā on the bank of the Nerañjarā River at the root of the Bodhi tree–the tree of awakening–newly awakened. And on that occasion he sat at the root of the Bodhi tree for seven days in one session, sensitive to the bliss of release. At the end of seven days, he emerged from that concentration.

Then a certain overbearing brahman went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, he stood to one side. As he was standing there, he said to the Blessed One, “To what extent, Master Gotama, is one a brahman? And which are the qualities that make one a brahman?”

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

Any brahman
who has banished evil qualities,1
–not overbearing,
not stained,
his mind controlled–
gone to the end of wisdom,2
the holy life completed:3
Rightly would that brahman
speak the holy teaching.
He has no swelling of pride4
anywhere in the world.

1. This line contains a wordplay on the words brāhmaṇa and bāhita (banished)–the same wordplay used in Dhp 388 and Ud 1:5.

2. This line plays with the term vedanta, which can mean “end of wisdom,” “end of the Vedas,” or “supplement to the Vedas.” In the latter two cases, it would be a term referring to a brahman-by-birth who has studied all the Vedas and their supplements, but the Buddha is obviously giving this term a different meaning here.

3. Here and two lines down, the word “holy” translates brahma.

4. See Sn 4:10 and Sn 4:14.

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud1_4.html

2019-12-222019-12-22

2019.12.22 Sunday

I have heard that on one occasion, the Blessed One was staying at Uruvelā on the bank of the Nerañjarā River at the root of the Bodhi tree–the tree of awakening–newly awakened. And on that occasion he sat at the root of the Bodhi tree for seven days in one session, sensitive to the bliss of release. Then, with the passing of seven days, after emerging from that concentration, in the third watch of the night, he gave close attention to dependent co-arising in forward and reverse order, thus:

When this is, that is.
From the arising of this comes the arising of that.
When this isn’t, that isn’t.
From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that.
In other words: From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications.
From fabrications as a requisite condition comes consciousness.
From consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-&-form.
From name-&-form as a requisite condition come the six sense media. From the six sense media as a requisite condition comes contact.
From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling.
From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving.
From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance.
From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth.
From birth as a requisite condition, then aging-&-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair come into play. Such is the origination of this entire mass of suffering & stress.

Now from the remainderless fading and cessation of that very ignorance comes the cessation of fabrications. From the cessation of fabrications comes the cessation of consciousness. From the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of name-&-form. From the cessation of name-&-form comes the cessation of the six sense media. From the cessation of the six sense media comes the cessation of contact. From the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling. From the cessation of feeling comes the cessation of craving. From the cessation of craving comes the cessation of clinging/ sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging-&-death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of suffering & stress.

Then, on realizing the significance of that, the Blessed One on that occasion exclaimed:

As phenomena grow clear
to the brahman–ardent, in jhāna–
he stands,
routing Māra’s army,
as the sun,
illumining the sky.1

https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud1_3.html