Five Entanglements

  29. ‘Again, Vâsettha, if this river Akiravatî were full of water even to the brim, and overflowing. And a man with business on the other side, making for the other side, bound for the other side, should come up, and want to cross over. And if he covering himself up, even to his head, were to lie down, on this bank, to sleep.

‘Now what think you, Vâsettha? Would that man be able to get over from this bank of the river Akiravatî to the further bank?’

‘Certainly not, Gotama!’

30. ‘And in the same way, Vâsettha, there are these Five Hindrances, in the Discipline of the Arahats{1}, which are called “veils,” and are called “hindrances,” and are called “obstacles,” and are called “entanglements.”‘

‘Which are the five?’

‘The hindrance of worldly lusts,

‘The hindrance of illwill,

‘The hindrance of torpor and sloth of heart a mind,

‘The hindrance of flurry and worry,

‘The hindrance of suspense.

From the Tevigga Sutta, Dialogues of the Buddha {The Dîgha-Nikâya}
Translated from the Pâli by T. W. Rhys Davids
London, H. Frowde, Oxford University Press [1899]
Vol. II of The Sacred Books of the Buddhists
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/dob/dob-13tx.htm

 

Five Chains

 26. ‘Just, Vâsettha, as if this river Akiravatî were full, even to the brim, and overflowing. And a man with business on the other side, making for the other side, bound for the other side, should come up, and want to cross over. And he, on this bank, were to be bound tightly, with his arms behind his back, by a strong chain. Now what think you, Vâsettha, would that man be able to get over from this bank of the river Akiravatî to the further bank?’

‘Certainly not, Gotama!’

27. ‘In the same way, Vâsettha, there are five things leading to lust, which are called, in the Discipline of the Arahats, a “chain” and a “bond.”‘

‘What are the five?’

‘Forms perceptible to the eye; desirable, agreeable, pleasant, attractive forms, that are accompanied by lust and cause delight. Sounds of the same kind perceptible to the ear. Odours of the same kind perceptible to the nose. Tastes of the same kind perceptible to the tongue. Substances of the same kind perceptible to the body by touch. These five things predisposing to passion are called, in the Discipline of the Arahats, a “chain” and a “bond.” And these five things predisposing to lust, Vâsettha, do the Brahmans versed in the Three Vedas cling to, they are infatuated by them, attached to them, see not the danger of them, know not how unreliable they are, and so enjoy them.’

From the Tevigga Sutta, Dialogues of the Buddha {The Dîgha-Nikâya}
Translated from the Pâli by T. W. Rhys Davids
London, H. Frowde, Oxford University Press [1899]
Vol. II of The Sacred Books of the Buddhists
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/dob/dob-13tx.htm

The Best Refuge

  188. Men, driven by fear, go to many a refuge, to mountains and forests, to groves and sacred trees.

189. But that is not a safe refuge, that is not the best refuge; a man is not delivered from all pains after having gone to that refuge.

190. He who takes refuge with Buddha, the Law, and the Church; he who, with clear understanding, sees the four holy truths:–

191. Viz. pain, the origin of pain, the destruction of pain, and the eightfold holy way that leads to the quieting of pain;–

192. That is the safe refuge, that is the best refuge; having gone to that refuge, a man is delivered from all pain.

From The Dhammapada, Translated from the Pâli by F. Max Müller, Oxford, the Clarendon Press
[1881] Vol. X of The Sacred Books of the East http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/sbe10/sbe1016.htm

Comment: I’ve not changed the wording. Law and Church are how the author translated Dharma, and Sangha. Though it jarred me at first, these do add to my understanding of the words Dharma and Sangha. To your happiness – Mark

The Three Jewels

1. I go for refuge in the  Buddha

2. I go for refuge in the  Dharma

3. I go for refuge in the Sangha

There is a Middle Path

2. ‘There are two extremes, O Bhikkhus, which the man who has given up the world ought not to follow–the habitual practice, on the one hand of those things whose attraction depends upon the passions, and especially of sensuality–a low and pagan way (of seeking satisfaction) unworthy, unprofitable, and fit only for the worldly-minded–

3. ‘There is a middle path, O Bhikkhus, avoiding these two extremes, discovered by the Tathâgata–a path which opens the eyes, and bestows understanding, which leads to peace of mind, to the higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, to Nirvâna!

From the DHAMMA-KAKKA-PPAVATTANA SUTTA
, Translated from Pâli by T. W. Rhys Davids Oxford, the Clarendon Press [1881] http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/sbe11/sbe1104.htm

Habit-energy Only Rises From Discrimination and Attachment

MAHAMATI SAID to the Blessed One: Is error an entity or not? The Blessed One replied: Error has no character in it making for attachment; if error had such a character no liberation would be possible from its attachment to existence, and the chain of origination would only be understood in the sense of creation as upheld by the philosophers. Error is like maya, also, and as maya is incapable from producing other maya, so error in itself cannot produce error; it is discrimination and attachment that produce evil thoughts and faults. Moreover, maya has no power of discrimination in itself; it only rises when invoked by the charm of the magician. Error has in itself no habit-energy; habit-energy only rises from discrimination and attachment. Error in itself has no faults; faults are due to the confused discriminations fondly cherished by the ignorant concerning the ego-soul and its mind. The wise have nothing to do either with maya or error.

From: A BUDDHIST BIBLE, First Edition, BY DWIGHT GODDARD [1932, Copyright not renewed] – The Lankavatara Sutra – http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/bb/bb08.htm – scanned at sacred-texts.com, August 2004. John Bruno Hare, redactor. This text is in the public domain because it was not renewed at the US Copyright Office in a timely fashion, as required by law. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.

Be Not Captivated by Word-teaching

Mahamati, you and all the Bodhisattvas should discipline yourselves in the realisation and patient acceptance of the truths of the emptiness, un-bornness, no self-natureness, and the non-duality of all things. This teaching is found in all the sutras of all the Buddhas and is presented to meet the varied dispositions of all beings, but it is not the Truth itself. These teachings are only a finger pointing toward Noble Wisdom. They are like a mirage with its springs of water which the deer take to be real and chase after. So with the teachings in all the sutras: They are intended for the consideration and guidance of the discriminating minds of all people, but they are not the Truth itself, which can only be self-realised within one’s deepest consciousness.

Mahamati, you and all the Bodhisattvas must seek for this inner self-realisation of Noble Wisdom, and be not captivated by word-teaching.

From: A BUDDHIST BIBLE, First Edition, BY DWIGHT GODDARD [1932, Copyright not renewed] – The Lankavatara Sutra – http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/bb/bb08.htm – scanned at sacred-texts.com, August 2004. John Bruno Hare, redactor. This text is in the public domain because it was not renewed at the US Copyright Office in a timely fashion, as required by law. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.

Comment: Go meditate. To Your Happiness – Mark

All Duality is Falsely Imagined

False-imagination teaches that such things as light and shade, long and short, black and white are different and are to be discriminated; but they are not independent of each other; they are only different aspects of the same thing, they are terms of relation not of reality. Conditions of existence are not of a mutually exclusive character; in essence things are not two but one. Even Nirvana and Samsara’s world of life and death are aspects of the same thing, for there is no Nirvana except where is Samasara, and no Samsara except where is Nirvana. All duality is falsely imagined.

From: A BUDDHIST BIBLE, First Edition, BY DWIGHT GODDARD [1932, Copyright not renewed] – The Lankavatara Sutra – http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/bb/bb08.htm – scanned at sacred-texts.com, August 2004. John Bruno Hare, redactor. This text is in the public domain because it was not renewed at the US Copyright Office in a timely fashion, as required by law. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.

Great Mischief, Great Service

   42. Whatever a hater may do to a hater, or an enemy to an enemy, a wrongly-directed mind will do us greater mischief.

43. Not a mother, not a father will do so much, nor any other relative; a well-directed mind will do us greater service.

From the chapter Thought in Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 10: The Dhammapada and Sutta Nipata, by Max Müller and Max Fausböll, [1881].
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/sbe10/sbe1006.htm

Like a Bee

 46. He who knows that this body is like froth, and has learnt that it is as unsubstantial as a mirage, will break the flower-pointed arrow of Mâra, and never see the king of death.

47. Death carries off a man who is gathering flowers and whose mind is distracted, as a flood carries off a sleeping village.

48. Death subdues a man who is gathering flowers, and whose mind is distracted, before he is satiated in his pleasures.

49. As the bee collects nectar and departs without injuring the flower, or its colour or scent, so let a sage dwell in his village.

50. Not the perversities of others, not their sins of commission or omission, but his own misdeeds and negligences should a sage take notice of.

From the chapter Flowers in Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 10: The Dhammapada and Sutta Nipata, by Max Müller and Max Fausböll, [1881].
http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/sbe10/sbe1006.htm