Sutra – Bite-size Dhamma

Hatred Is Never Appeased By Hatred

Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world.
By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased.
This is a law eternal.

– Dhammapada, verse 5.

Ageing Drops On Us Like A Curse

The Buddhist texts include a great number of wonderful teachings from the Buddha. But they also contain other gems.

There is a collection called the Khuddaka Nikaya which contains a number of suttas, fragments of teachings, and poems. In the eighth book of the Khuddaka Nikaya, the Theragatha, there are a number of poems from early Buddhist monks. These poems are wonderful, and I recommend you take a look at them. Here is one of my favourites:

As if sent by a curse,
it drops on us —
aging.
The body seems other,
though it’s still the same one.
I’m still here
have never been absent from it,
but I remember myself
as if somebody else’s.

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Content On Vulture’s Peak

Here is a poem from around 250BC, attributed to one of the Buddhist Elders of the Third Council.

He grew up as a Prince, younger brother of one of India’s greatest Emperors; King Ashoka. However, he was inspired one day, by seeing an admirable monk, and decided to abandon his royal duties to become a monk himself. He was given the name Tissa Kumara, which translates to ‘The Elder Who Lives Alone’.

I love the beautiful imagery in this poem, and I think you can really sense the joy he takes in peaceful solitude out there in the forest.

I hope you enjoy it too:

If nobody is to be found,
In front of one or behind one,
That is exceedingly pleasant
For the lonely forest dweller.

So be it! I will go alone
To the forest, praised by Buddha;
For the self-resolute bhikkhu,
Dwelling alone, it is pleasant.

Pleasing, and joyful to sages,
Haunted by rutting elephants,
Seeking my goal alone, quickly
Will I go to the wild forest.

In the well-flowered Cool Garden,
In a soothing mountain grotto,
Having anointed all my limbs,
I will walk back and forth, alone.

When indeed shall I come to dwell
All alone, without companion
In the great forest, so pleasing!
My task accomplished, without taint?

While the gentle breezes flutter,
Soothing and laden with fragrance,
I’ll burst asunder ignorance
While seated on the mountain top.

In a grove covered with flowers,
Or maybe on a cool hillside,
Gladdened by the joy of release,
I’ll be content on Vulture’s Peak

The translation was done by Andrew Olendzki.

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Loving Kindness

“You should train yourselves thus:

We will develop and cultivate the liberation of mind by loving-kindness,
make it our vehicle,
make it our basis,
stabilize it,
exercise ourselves in it,
and fully perfect it.

Thus should you train yourselves.”

– Buddha, from the Samyutta Nikaya

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From Striving Comes Wisdom

From striving comes wisdom;
from not, wisdom’s end.

Knowing these two courses
— development and decline —

conduct yourself
so that wisdom will grow.

– Verse from the Dhammapada.

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Buddha’s discourse on love

He or she who wants to attain peace should practice being upright, humble, and capable of using loving speech. He or she will know how to live simply and happily, with senses calmed, without being covetous and carried away by the emotions of the majority. Let him or her not do anything that will be disapproved of by the wise.

And this is what he or she contemplates:

“May everyone be happy and safe, and may their hearts be filled with joy.”

“May all living beings live in security and in peace—beings who are frail or strong, tall or short, big or small, visible or not visible, near or faraway, already born, or yet to be born. May all of them dwell in perfect tranquility.”

“Let no one do harm to anyone. Let no one put the life of anyone in danger. Let no one, out of anger or ill will, wish anyone any harm.”

“Just as a mother loves and protects her only child at the risk of her own life, we should cultivate boundless love to offer to all living beings in the entire cosmos. We should let our boundless love pervade the whole universe, above, below, and across. Our love will know no obstacles. Our heart will be absolutely free from hatred and enmity. Whether standing or walking, sitting or lying, as long as we are awake, we should maintain this mindfulness of love in our own heart. This is the noblest way of living.

“Free from wrong views, greed, and sensual desires, living in beauty and realizing Perfect Understanding, those who practice boundless love will certainly transcend birth and death.”

– Metta Sutta, Sutta Nipata.

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The Last Request of Anathapindika

There was a layperson in the time of the Buddha whose name was Sudatta, but was called Anathapindika. Anathapindika means “feeder of the orphans or helpless”.

Anathapindika was a very wealthy man who was unmatched in his generosity. As an example, he once bought a beautiful park from a Prince and offered it to the Buddha to make a practice center. This was the famous Jeta Park or Jeta Grove, a location where Buddha gave many of his teachings.

When Anathapindika was close to death, the Buddha sent two beloved disciples – Sariputta and Ananda- to help him to die peacefully.

When they arrived, Sariputta asked; “How is your illness? Is it getting better or worse? Is the physical pain easing at all or is it getting greater?”

Anathapindika replied,”Venerable monks, it does not seem to be getting better. The pain is not easing. It is getting greater all the time.”

Sariputta said, “Friend Anathapindika, now is the time to practice the meditation on the Three Jewels – the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. Meditating in this way, you can destroy the obstacles of wrong deeds and the afflictions. You can harvest a fruit that is as fresh and sweet as the balm of compassion. A woman or a man practicing an upright way of life who knows how to meditate on the Three Jewels will have no chance of falling into the three lower realms but will be reborn as a human or a god.”

After that, Sariputta gave him a guided meditation on the six sense bases: Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

“Breathing in, I know this body is not me. I am much more than this body.”

“Breathing in, I know that this mind is not me. I am much more than this mind.”

The purpose of the meditation is to help a person see that s/he is not limited to the six sense organs.

The meditation continues for:

the Six Sense Objects (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, mental objects),
the Six Sense Consciousnesses (visual consciousness, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental conciousness),
the Six Elements (earth, water, fire, air, space, consciousness)
the Five Aggregates (form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, consciousness), and
the Three Times (past, present, future).

Once complete, Sariputta explained: “Anathapindika, everything that arises is due to causes and conditions. Everything that is has the nature not to be born and not to die, not to arrive and not to depart. When eyes arise, they arise, but they do not come from anywhere. When eyes cease to be, they cease to be, but they do not go anywhere. Eyes are neither nonexistent before they arise, nor are they existent after they arise. Everything that is comes to be because of a combination of causes and conditions. When the causes and conditions are sufficient, eyes are present. When the causes and conditions are not sufficient, eyes are absent. The same is true of ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind; form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thought; sight, hearing, and the consciousnesses based on the nose, tongue, body, and mind; the Six Elements, the Five Aggregates, and the Three Times.

“In the Five Aggregates, there is nothing that we can call ‘I,’ a ‘person,’ or a ‘soul.’ Ignorance is the inability to see this truth. Because there is ignorance, there are mistaken impulses. Because there are mistaken impulses, there is mistaken consciousness. Because there is mistaken consciousness, there is the distinction between the perceiver and the perceived. Because there is the distinction between the perceiver and the perceived, there is the distinction between the six organs and the six objects of sense. Because there is the distinction between the six organs and the six objects of sense, there is contact. Because there is contact, there is feeling. Because there is feeling, there is thirst. Because there is thirst, there is grasping. Because there is grasping, there is being. Because there is becoming, there are birth, death, and the subsequent pain and grief.

“Friend Anathapindika, you have meditated that everything that arises is due to causes and conditions and does not have a separate self. That is called ‘the meditation on emptiness.’ It is the highest and the most profound meditation.”

When he had practiced to this point, Anathapindika began to cry.

Ananda asked him, “Friend, why are you crying? Has your meditation not been successful? Do you have some regret?”

Anathapindika replied, “Venerable Ananda, I do not regret anything. The meditation has been most successful. I am crying because I am so deeply moved. I have been fortunate to have been able to serve the Buddha and his community for many years, yet I have never heard a teaching so wonderful and precious as the teaching transmitted by the Venerable Sariputta today.”

Ananda said, “Do you not know, friend, that the Buddha often gives this teaching to monks and nuns?”

Anathapindika replied, “Venerable Ananda, please tell the Buddha that there are also laypeople with the capacity to listen, understand, and put into practice these deep and wonderful teachings.”

Venerable Ananda agreed to go home and tell the Buddha of Anathapindika’s request.

That was the last request made by the layman Anathapindika. After that, he passed away peacefully and happily. Even to his last request he was generous, thinking of others.

– Based on the Anathapindikovada Sutta: Instructions to Anathapindika, from the Pali Cannon (also present in the Chinese Cannon).

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Buddha’s advice to his son – Part 3

This is the last of a three-part post about the lessons given to Rāhula, Buddha’s son.

At this point Rāhula is now in his twenties. He has devoted his life to Buddhist training and was known to enjoy his practice very much. His father now saw that he was close to enlightenment and decides to give him a push in the right direction.

Here is the story:

Buddha’s advice to his son – Part 2

In my last post I shared the story of the lesson the Buddha gave his seven year old son, Rāhula.

Now in his teens, Rāhula get another famous lesson. This time on meditation. The instructions that the Buddha gives to Rāhula are very detailed, so much so that they are still used today as a guide to developing as meditator.

Here is the story:

Next the Buddha gives Rāhula advice on different subjects of meditation for different issues:

Once this is explained, the Buddha then gives detailed instructions to Rāhula on the type of mediation he asked about – mindfulness of breath mediation:

Buddha’s advice to his son

As many of you may know, the Buddha (before he was the Buddha) grew up in a wealthy household and had a family. He had a wife (probably from an arranged marriage) and a son, Rāhula. He left his family on the day his son was born, to explore the spiritual life. His son was raised by his wife for his first seven years. When Rāhula reached seven he came under the care of his father who then raised him into adulthood.

There are three famous lessons that the Buddha gave to his son;

At age seven – about lying and virtue.
As a teen – about meditation.
In his twenties – liberating wisdom.

By adulthood it was said that Rahula had reached enlightenment under his father’s guidance.

Here is the story of the teaching given to seven year old Rāhula:

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