The Day the World (Cycle) Ended!

Seven, Amber Dorrian, Xochitl, Wisdom Quarterly COUNTDOWN RESET: -144,000

Graphic video re-enactment of the end of a major Mayan cycle... followed by a new cycle (NES)

Aztec warrior at Kukulkan during 12-21-12 Mayan celebrations (ABC.net.au)

 

Pyramids exist all over the world (Klaus Dona)

"Told You So"? That would be a distasteful title. Wisdom Quarterly said the world would end, and has it not?

 

Look around and suddenly see that the world is not the same: It's similar but not identical. Never to return, all phenomena is hurtling toward destruction, just as we were warned in the Buddha's final admonition. On that day the Buddha encouraged the devas and ascetics gathered around him before he blissfully reclined into final nirvana:

"Behold now, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"

All "conditioned phenomena" are that way. (Conditioned? Composite things, heaps that depend on supporting conditions, constituents, parts). The world is on fire! But to say so, that is not something anyone ordinarily wants to hear.

We desire and want to grasp and cling to what we desire. We are hurt to find that it is ALL going away, ALL swirling down the drain, ALL perishing just as soon as it arises. What all?

All the world we have ever known, ever experienced here on this plane and every other plane as well.

Waiting for Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca

That is not to say everything is doomed. There is a further shore beyond these planes we cycle through. There is peace. There is rest. There is the non-arising, the not-coming-to-be of what is perishable and subject to suffering.

One can know-and-see it in this very life. Know what? The going, the going, the going beyond, the going altogether beyond. Oh, what an awakening! So it would be.

How will we see it, how will we awaken, how will we go from here to there and make an end of all misery?

Welcome to the New Age!

David Wilcock/Edgar Cayce before and after 2012 (divinecosmos.com)

Young Goodman Brown's vision (BK)

One night Young Goodman Brown ventured into the forest adjacent to old Salem town. There he saw a vision of evil -- the "good" town folk engaged in a ritual with a devil. The preacher welcomed the circle: "Depending upon one another's hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream. Now ye are undeceived! ...Welcome again, my children, to the communion of your race."

Were it so, the world could not stand. For, according to the Buddha, the world has "four protectors" (Sigalovada Sutra). These are generosity, kind words, compassionate helpfulness, and impartiality. So the world goes on. But "going on" means constantly ending. Everything is perishing. What is here to hold on to? And we haven't even understood this world.
 

"Generous, of sweet speech, Helpful, and impartial to all – By these four fixed, the world goes round As the linchpin serves the moving cart. If these in the world were not found Then this repercussion would redound: Neither mother nor father could expect From children proper honor and respect. But since these four winning ways The wise approve and display, They to eminence have attained With praise and honor rightly gained"
 (The Buddha, closing verse, "Advice to Householders," DN 31).

• VIDEO: Hidden History of Human Race (Klaus Dona)
• Nirbiru is approaching to disrupt our atmosphere
• Nirbiru: What NASA knows but isn't telling us (Camelot)
• Zecharia Sitchin on the Mayan Calendar
• Sitchin made it very clear that the Mayans made no prophecies about destruction. The Mayan Calendar does not represent the end of the world. It is a long-form count (cycles of 144,000 days) between an event that occurred in 3113 BC and its anticipated reoccurrence. What event? The coming of the sky god (winged serpent, naga king) Quetzalcoatl. The date may actually be 2060 not 2012.

Project Avalon presents Klaus Dona with astounding Earth artifacts

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A Week to Enlightenment (sutra)

Nyanasatta Thera; Ajahn Brahmali; Dhr. Seven, Amber Dorrian, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; Quest4pce, Dnl75, Insklndr, RunningInHongKong (photos); COUNTDOWN CLOCK: -7

The Buddha teaches "hearers" (savakas) the way to enlightenment (Dnl75/flickr.com)

There are four things to do with blissful concentration one has developed through full absorption or sufficient neighborhood concentration.

The four are detailed in the Satipatthana Sutra, one of the most significant teachings of the historical Buddha.

Emerge from purifying concentration (samma samadhi) and set up these "foundations of mindfulness" (sati-patthana). Here we skip to the second two foundations:

Foundations of Mindfulness III and IV with Ajahn Brahmali (Dhammaloka Suttas)
 

Four Foundations of Mindfulness Sutra

Wisdom Quarterly abbreviation, based on Ven. Nyanasatta Thera translation

III. Contemplation of Consciousness

How does one live contemplating consciousness in consciousness? Here within this Dharma [Doctrine/Discipline], a meditator knows the consciousness with lust as with lust (raga); the consciousness without lust as without lust. Likewise, one knows [recognizes and is aware] the consciousness with and without:

• hate,
• delusion [confusion],
• the contracted [Note 13],
• the distracted [restless] state [14],
• the developed state [15],
• the undeveloped state [16],
• the state with some other mental state superior to it [17], 
• the state with none higher [18],
• the concentrated state,
• the freed state [19].

So one lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness internally [relating to oneself], externally [relating to another], or internally and externally [relating to both]. 

One lives contemplating origination factors in consciousness, or dissolution-factors, or origination-and-dissolution factors [20]. Or one's mindfulness is established with the thought, "Consciousness exists" to the extent necessary and sufficient for knowledge and mindfulness, and one lives detached, clinging to nothing in the world. So one lives contemplating consciousness in consciousness.

Meditation in the field,monastics and woman with umbrella, Plum Village (Quest4pce/flickr)

IV. Contemplation of Mental Objects

1. The Five Hindrances

How does one live contemplating mental objects in mental objects? One lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the Five Hindrances. How?

 

Here within this Dharma, when sense-desire is present, one is clearly aware, "There is sense-desire in me." When it is not present, one knows, "There is no sense-desire in me." One knows how the arising of the non-arisen sense-desire comes to be; knows how the abandoning of the arisen sense-desire comes to be; and knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned sense-desire comes to be.

 

When anger is present, one is clearly aware, "There is anger in me" and knows when it is not; knows how it arises; knows how the abandoning of it comes to be; and knows how its non-arising in the future comes to be.

 

When sloth/torpor is present, one is clearly aware of it; knows when it is not; knows how it arises; knows how it is abandoned; and knows how its non-arising in the future comes to be.

 

When restlessness/remorse is present, one is clearly aware of it; knows when it is not; knows how it arises; knows how it is abandoned; and knows how the non-arising of it in the future comes to be.

 

When [skeptical] doubt is present, one is clearly aware of it; knows when it is not; knows how it arises; knows how it is abandoned; and knows how the non-arising of it in the future comes to be.

 

In this way one lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally, externally, or internally and externally. One lives contemplating origination factors, dissolution factors, or origination-and-dissolution factors in mental objects [21]. Or mindfulness is established with the thought, "Mental objects exist" to the extent necessary and sufficient for knowledge and mindfulness, living detached, clinging to nothing in the world. So one lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the Five Hindrances.

The Buddha's meditation mudra or hand pose (RunnyInHongKong/flickr)

 

2. The Five Aggregates of Clinging

Furthermore, one lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the Five Aggregates of clinging [22].
 

How does one live contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the Five Aggregates of Clinging?
 

Here in this teaching one thinks, "Such is material form; such is the arising of material form; and such is the disappearance of material form. Such is feeling; its arising; its disappearance. Such is perception; its arising; its disappearance. Such are formations; such the arising; such the disappearance. Such is consciousness; such is the arising of consciousness; and such is the disappearance of consciousness."
 

In this way one lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally, externally, or internally and externally. One lives contemplating origination, dissolution, or origination-and-dissolution factors in mental objects [23]. Or mindfulness is established with the thought, "Mental objects exist" to the extent necessary and sufficient for knowledge and mindfulness, living detached, clinging to nothing in the world. So one lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the five aggregates of clinging.

3. The Six Internal and External Sense Bases

Meditating (Quest4pce/flickr)

Furthermore, one lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the six internal and the six external sense-bases. How?
 

Here in this teaching one knows the eye and visual forms and the fetter [bond] that arises dependent on both (the eye and forms) [24]. One knows how the arising of the non-arisen fetter comes to be; one knows how the abandoning of the arisen fetter comes to be; and one knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned fetter comes to be.
 

One knows the ear and sounds... the nose and smells... the tongue and flavors... the body and tactile objects... the mind and mental objects, and the fetter that arises dependent on both; one knows how the arising of the non-arisen fetter comes to be; one knows how the abandoning of the arisen fetter comes to be; and one knows how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned fetter comes to be.
 

In this way one lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally, externally, or internally and externally. One lives contemplating origination factors, dissolution factors, or origination-and-dissolution factors in mental objects [25]. Or mindfulness is established with the thought, "Mental objects exist," to the extent necessary and sufficient for knowledge and mindfulness, living detached, clinging to nothing in the world. So one lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the six internal and the six external sense-bases.

The Buddha teaches more and more  "hearers" (Dnl75/flickr.com)

 
4. The Seven Factors of Enlightenment

Furthermore, one lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. How?
 

In this teaching, when the enlightenment-factor of mindfulness is present, one knows, "The enlightenment-factor of mindfulness is in me," or when the enlightenment-factor of mindfulness is absent, one knows, "The enlightenment-factor of mindfulness is not in me"; and one knows how the arising of the non-arisen enlightenment-factor of mindfulness comes to be; and one knows how perfection in the development of the arisen enlightenment-factor of mindfulness comes to be. [These are the four phases of "right effort" or samma vayama.]
  

One knows when the enlightenment-factor of the investigation of mental objects is present, is absent, how its arising comes to be, and how its perfection in development comes to be.
 

One knows when the enlightenment-factor of energy is present, is absent, how its arising comes to be, and how its perfection in development comes to be.
 

One knows when the enlightenment-factor of joy is present, is absent, how its arising comes to be, and how its perfection in development comes to be.
 

One knows when the enlightenment-factor of tranquillity is present, is absent, how its arising comes to be, and how its perfection in development comes to be.

 
One knows when the enlightenment-factor of concentration is present, is absent, how its arising comes to be, and how its perfection in development comes to be.
 

One knows when the enlightenment-factor of equanimity is present, is absent, how its arising comes to be, and how its perfection in development comes to be.
 

In this way one lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally, externally, or internally and externally. One lives contemplating origination-factors, dissolution-factors, or origination-and-dissolution-factors in mental objects [26]. Or mindfulness is established with the thought, "Mental objects exist," to the extent necessary and sufficient for knowledge and mindfulness, living detached, clinging to nothing in the world. So one lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment.

5. The Four Noble Truths

Fourth noble truth: Path (buddhaweekly.com)

Furthermore, one lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the Four Noble Truths.

How?
 

In this teaching one knows, "This is suffering" according to reality; one knows, "This is the origin of suffering" according to reality; one knows, "This is the cessation of suffering" according to reality; one knows, "This is the road leading to the cessation of suffering" according to reality.
 

So one lives contemplating mental objects in mental objects internally, externally, or internally and externally. One lives contemplating origination-factors, dissolution-factors, or origination-and-dissolution-factors in mental objects [27].  Or mindfulness is established with the thought, "Mental objects exist" to the extent necessary and sufficient for knowledge and mindfulness, living detached, clinging to nothing in the world. So one lives contemplating mental objects in the mental objects of the Four Noble Truths.
 

Verily, meditators, whoever practices these Four Foundations of Mindfulness in this manner for seven years, then one of these two fruits may be expected -- highest knowledge (full enlightenment) here and now or, if some remainder of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning [28].

O, let alone seven years! Should any person practice them in this manner for six years... five years... four years... three years... two years... one year, then one of these two fruits may be expected -- highest knowledge here and now or, if some remainder of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.
 

O, let alone a year! Should any person practice them in this manner for seven months... six months... five months... four months... three months... two months... a month... half a month, then one of these two fruits may be expected -- highest knowledge here and now or, if some remainder of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.
 
O, let alone half a month!  

The Path (BBC.co.uk/religion)

Should any person practice these Four Foundations of Mindfulness in this manner for a week, then one of these two fruits may be expected -- highest knowledge here and now or, if some remainder of clinging is yet present, the state of non-returning.

 

Because of this it was said: "This is the way, meditators, for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentation, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path, for the attainment of nirvana, namely the [fourfold setting up of the] Foundations of Mindfulness."
 

So said the Buddha. Gladdened, those who heard him approved of his words.

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Profitable Karma (sutra)

Wisdom Quarterly inverted translation (Kusala Sutra, alternative rendering)
The Buddha encourages all to replace the harmful with the beneficial (Nithya Priyan/Flickr).

By one indeed is the unprofitable done,

And by oneself is one defiled.

By one is the unprofitable left undone,

And by oneself indeed is one purified. 
Purity and impurity depends on oneself.
No one can purify another (Dhp 165).

"Disciples, develop the profitable.* It is possible to develop it. If it were not, I would not say, 'Develop the profitable.' However, because it is possible, I say: 'Develop the profitable.'

"If developing what is profitable resulted in harm and pain, I would not say, 'Develop the profitable.' However, because developing it results in benefit and pleasure, I say, 'Develop the profitable.'

"Disciples, abandon the unprofitable.** It is possible to abandon it. If it were not, I would not say, 'Abandon the unprofitable.' However, because it is possible to abandon it, I say: 'Abandon the unprofitable.'

"If abandoning the unprofitable resulted in harm and pain, I would not say, 'Abandon the unprofitable.' However, because abandoning it results in benefit and pleasure, I say, 'Abandon the unprofitable.'"

• *Profitable (kusala): karmically beneficial, wholesome, skillful, good, worthy of being undertaken; that which when it bears its resultant (vipaka) or fruit (phala) is welcome, wished for, and pleasant.
• **What is unprofitable (akusala)? Doing harm and/or encouraging others to harm. What is harmful? (1) Taking life, (2) taking what is not given, (3) taking sexual liberties, (4) taking the truth lightly, (5) taking alcohol or drugs that lead one to do harm.

Lament: US, Israel attack Iran. Are we next? 
Ex-slave's satirical letter to former "master"
Autistic man survives in wilderness for 3 wks

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The "only" way to enlightenment?

GROWING UP MARA (2) with Mara Schaeffer and Dharmachari Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

"IGNORANCE CHEERFULLY RETURNED IF NOT COMPLETELY ENLIGHTENED"

 
MARA: I insist that different traditions have somewhat different visions of "enlightenment" -- referencing Alan Watts, Joseph Goldstein, Adyashanti, [B. Alan Wallace, etc.].

  

Yes, Rodney, we can all just get along.

SEVEN: Yes! That's kind of the problem. The historical Buddha meant something very specific. But various Buddhist schools use the same word to describe altogether different things.
   
And of course other religions and movements have different goals though they may think the Buddha's goal was the same, that we are all moving toward the same final goal. We are not. Theravada and Mahayana do not have the same goal, even if it's blurred and assumed to be ultimately the same. Across Buddhist schools (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Zen, Nicheren, Vipassana, Lamaism, Esoteric, Tantra), the problem becomes one of watering down the historical Buddha's original message. There are other things besides enlightenment -- saving the world, nonduality, samadhi, miracles, healing, world peace, becoming a buddha, teaching, stream entry, getting to heaven, full absorption, a good human rebirth, supporting one's parents... satori. So when we speak of Buddhist "enlightenment" (bodhi), let's be perfectly clear: When would Shakyamuni (the Buddha Gautama) use that term, and when are we using it to describe other wonderful things in beautiful traditions far from what the Buddha described as enlightenment?

Meditators are beset on all sides by hindrances.

MARA: I worry when we as Buddhists insist that there is only one right, true, correct way of experiencing enlightenment, like [some] Christians insisting that they alone are saved and everyone else is hopelessly damned to hell.

  

This can lead to exploitation on many levels. For instance, "My way is right; your way is wrong! = Pay me $1,500 for my way; we take PayPal." It denigrates the gorgeous diversity of spiritual and religious experience existing today. But quality standards are definitely helpful. And I think we've clarified much of what has been mis-written about enlightenment, especially the Buddhist rebound effect in Hinduism. (Or at least we got the self-examination started and the conversation rolling. The Buddha really did have something different to say).

SEVEN: That's true. You're right. Of course different traditions have different definitions. Moreover, they are right in their differing definitions. It leads them to what they call "enlightenment." But are they all talking about the one the Buddha meant, which is not subjective?
  
Once the Buddha was asked by a Brahmin something regarding the ultimate goal, like will everybody get to it, or what percentage will? The Supremely Enlightened One remained nobly silent. But Ananda, concerned that the Buddha's silence not be misconstrued, explained using an analogy:

(Hooper Project)

BRAHMIN: "Will all the world reach enlightenment and liberation, or half, or a third of the world?"
 
The Buddha remained silent.

  
ANANDA (taking the Brahmin aside): Imagine a city surrounded by a flawless and impenetrable wall with a gatekeeper standing guard at its single gate. The wise gatekeeper walks around inspecting the wall and sees that there is not so much as an opening big enough for a very flexible cat to slip through. Being wise the gatekeeper realizes there is no sense in pondering how many people will come into the fortress or when. Nevertheless, one thing is known with certainty: Whoever gets inside the safe fortress will have come through the gate. In just the same way, the Buddha does not contemplate on how many people will or will not reach enlightenment. Yet the Awakened One knows with certainty that anyone who reaches the ultimate goal will have gotten there by traversing the same path he found: abandoning the obstacles to meditative success and gaining liberating-insight by establishing natural mindfulness on these four foundations: body, feelings, mind, and mind-objects.

There's One and Only Way?

MARA: But what about the claim of old English translators of the sutra on the "Four Foundations of Mindfulness" (MN 10 and DN 22)?

"This is the one and the only way for the purification [of the hearts/minds] of beings, for overcoming sorrow and lamentation, for the cessation of physical and mental pain, for attainment of the Noble Paths, and for the realization of nirvana -- that is, the four foundations of mindfulness."

SEVEN: Yes, fortunately modern English translators have since clarified just as the ancient scholars had tried to explain. This is a pivotal discourse, and it has gotten a great deal of extra attention thanks to the rise of the Vipassana (insight meditation) movement almost independent of its Theravada Buddhist roots.

  

The "one and the only way"? Ekayano maggo means that this is the only way which surely leads to the benefits listed. It may mean simply that this is the direct way, that is, leading only to this goal rather than another goal. This path was the one being taught by the Buddha as the sure path, the straight path, the most expedient path. In any case, it is verifiable by one's own experience (DN 22). British scholar Maurice O'C. Walshe clarifies.

 

Buddhaghosa, the great commentator

WALSHE: "[This is] sometimes translated 'the only way' or the 'one and only way' with, on occasion, a slightly triumphalist connotation. DA [Buddhaghosa's commentary to the collection of long discourses] in fact offers a number of possibilities, thus showing that the old commentators were not entirely sure of the exact meaning. Ekaayana can be literally rendered "one-going," which is ambiguous. Nyanamoli has 'a path that goes one way only.' In any case  it should not be confused with the term times found in Buddhist Sanskrit ekayaana 'one vehicle' or 'career'" (Note 626, The Long Discourse of the Buddha, Wisdom Publications).

SEVEN: One could say that there is no other way that it will go if one continuously practices because this way (maggo) leads only to this goal. But the American scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi translates the line more simply.

 

BODHI: "This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the surmounting of sorrow and lamentation, for the disappearance of pain and grief, for the attainment of the true way, for the realization of nirvana -- namely, the four foundations of mindfulness" (The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, MN 10, p. 245).
   

Bhiikkhu Bodhi emerging

Furthermore, according to Bhikkhu Bodhi, Ven. Nyanaponika Thera (born Siegmund Feniger), the great German scholar and author, points out that the key phrase in question has the unambiguous contextual meaning in MN 12.37-42 of "a path that goes one way only."

  

And the commentary to the middle length discourses explains the phrase as: "a single path, not a divided path; as a way that has to be walked by oneself alone, without a companion; and as a way that goes to one goal," nirvana. (See more of Bhikkhu Bodhi's explanatory comments in The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, Note 135, p. 1188).

• Is "Satori" Enlightenment?

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Part III: It's Been a Long Time (sutra)

Maurice O'C. Walshe, "Great Discourse on the Lineage" (DN 14); Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Spiritual evolution occurs in cycles (bisquich.com)

• Part I: It's Been a Long Time (sutra)
• Part II: It's Been a Long Time (sutra)

The Buddha: "Then the Bodhisattva Vipassi thought, 'I have found the insight-way to enlightenment, namely:

1. "By the cessation of mind-and-body, consciousness ceases;
2. by the cessation of consciousness, mind-and-body ceases;
3. by the cessation of mind-and-body, the six sense bases cease;
4. by the cessation of the six sense bases, contact ceases;
5. by the cessation of contact, feeling ceases;
6. by the cessation of feeling, craving ceases;
7. by the cessation of craving, clinging ceases;
8. by the cessation of clinging, becoming ceases;
9. by the cessation of becoming, birth ceases;
10. by the cessation of birth aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and distress cease. Thus this whole mass of suffering ceases." 

"And at the thought, ‘Cessation, cessation,’ there arose in the Bodhisattva Vipassi insight into things never before realized accompanied by knowledge, vision, awareness, and light.

  

Buddha Peace Pagoda inset (Valdnad)

"Then, disciples, at another time the Bodhisattva Vipassi dwelled contemplating the rise and fall of the Five Aggregates of Clinging: 'Such is the (1) body, such its arising, such its passing away; such is (2) sensation... such is (3) perception... such are the (4) formations [usually represented by volition]... such is (5) consciousness, such its arising, such its passing away.'

  

"And as he remained contemplating the rise and fall of the Five Aggregates of Clinging, before long his mind was freed from the corruptions, freed without remainder. [That is, he became completely enlightened and liberated from all future rebirth.]
  
"Then, disciples, the Blessed One, the Arhat, the fully-enlightened Buddha Vipassi thought, 'Suppose I were now to teach Dharma?' Then he thought, 'I have attained to this Dharma, which is profound, hard to see, hard to grasp, peaceful, excellent, beyond reasoning, subtle, to be apprehended by the wise.

   

"'But this generation delights in clinging, rejoices and revels in it. But for those who so delight, rejoice, and revel in clinging this is hard to see, namely, the conditioned [dependently originated] nature of things. 

   

"Equally hard to see would be the calming of all the mental formations, the abandonment of all substrates of rebirth, the waning away of craving, dispassion, cessation, [so as to see] nirvana. And if I were to teach Dharma to others and they did not understand, that would be wearisome and troublesome."
  
"And to the Buddha Vipassi there occurred spontaneously this verse never heard before:
  

"This that I’ve attained why should I proclaim?"

Those full of lust and hate can never grasp it.

Upstream this Dharma subtle, deep does aim.

So hard to discern, the passion-blinded cannot see it."

   

Maha Brahma (Thai Erawan Shrine)

"As the Buddha Vipassi pondered in this way, his mind was inclined to inaction rather than to teaching the Dharma. And, disciples, the Buddha Vipassi’s reasoning became known to a certain Great Brahma [telepathically], who thought:
  
"'Alas the world is perishing. It will be destroyed because the mind of Vipassi, the Blessed One, the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened Buddha, is inclined to inaction rather than to teaching the Dharma!'
   
"So this Great Brahma, as swiftly as a strong man might stretch his flexed arm or flex it again, disappeared from the Brahma plane and reappeared before the Buddha Vipassi. Arranging his upper robber over one shoulder and kneeling on his right knee, he saluted the Buddha Vipassi with joined hands and said:
   
"'Venerable sir, may the Blessed One teach Dharma, may the Well-Farer teach Dharma! There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are perishing from not hearing Dharma: they will become knowers of Dharma!" More

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The Fruits of Being a Buddhist Recluse

Wisdom Quarterly based on Tipitaka.net ("Fruits of Recluseship," Samannaphala Sutta, DN 2)

WHAT

Monks,  Chiang Mai (HipRoad/flickr.com)

The discourse on the Fruits of Recluseship is the second sutra in the Long Discourses of the Buddha. It gives the background to the fraticidal King Ajatasattu, who became a lay disciple of the Buddha like his father but a little too late.

  

It starts with Ajatasattu in his palace seeking advice from his ministers which wandering ascetic or Brahmin he should visit. Ignoring recommendations from six ministers, the king turned to Jivaka Komarabhacca for advice.

  

Komarabhacca informed Ajatasattu that the Buddha was staying at his mango grove and suggested making a trip there. Ajatasattu set out on his royal mount to meet the Buddha, together with Komarabhacca, and a large number of women on elephants, and a procession of torch-bearing attendants.

  

Later it is revealed that the king had previously spoken to the six recommended ascetics but was not pleased with their teachings.

  

According to the Buddha, King Ajatasattu would have become a stream-winner if not for the hienous crime of killing his father.

   

WHERE
At Komarabhacca's mango grove in Rajagaha, the capital city of Magadha

  

WHEN
On the full moon night of Komudi in the month of Kattika, after Ajatasattu had already usurped his father King Bimbisara as the ruler of Magadha.

  

WHO
The main dialogue is between the Buddha and Ajatasattu. Other personalities mentioned are Queen Vedehi, Prince Udayibhadda, and the six famous ascetics of the Buddha's time.

• King Ajatasattu is the son of Queen Vedehi.
• Prince Udayibhadda is Ajatasattu's newborn son.
• Aggivessana is the family name of Nigantha Nataputta called "Mahavira" (Great Hero), the historical founder of Jainism.

The Six Ascetics

The six contemporaries mentioned are considered representatives of various Indian philosophical movements of the time. They are: Purana Kassapa, Makkhali Gosala (originally Mahavira's student), Ajita Kesakambala, Pakudha Kaccayana, Sancaya Belatthaputta, and Nigantha Nataputta (literally, the "Possessionless-One, Son of Nata," Mahavira). 

  

The sutra opens a window into their individual teachings, as reported by King Ajatasattu to the Buddha. Unfortunately, each of these accounts is very brief.

 

Not all who wander are lost.

  

Respect for Wanderers

This sutra reveals a culture that respected truth seekers who were wandering ascetics (shramanas), that is, spiritual wayfarers. They were an alternative to conventional Brahmin temple priests who held the Vedas as their sacred texts and ultimate authority, much as St. Issa (Jesus) wandered rather than being involved with the temple hierarchy and unquestionable sacred texts like the Talmud (part of Judaism's Bible).

   

The Buddha's India, the Middle Country

An ascetic (recluse, samana or shramana) here refers to any person who gives up family and social relations to go in search of enlightenment, real happiness, answers to life's persistent questions, and liberation from rebirth and suffering.

  

King Ajatasattu, who usurped his powerful father King Bimbisara's position to become the ruler of the most influential area (Magadha) in India at the time, expressed his respect for any recluse, even if the person used to be his servant.

  

WOMEN

Until the Buddha accepted women into his Monastic Order, all female recluses were Jains, since Mahavira had earlier accepted women. Buddhism became the first world religion to elevate women to equal spiritual status and social standing (at least within the Sangha). Jainism never caught on outside of India. However, the sexual equality the Buddha established was eventually subverted: Additional rules (garudhammas) were instituted and backdated as if the Buddha had always intended to subordinate women, which does not make historical sense as explained by Ven. Tathaloka.

  

The Fruits of Recluseship

Novice meditating, Burma (Dvlazar/flickr.com)

The title of the sutra means the fruits (phala) of being a recluse (samana). Those benefits or rewards of leading a monastic life, the completely purified supreme kind of life (brahmacariya).

Basic rewards

When asked about the fruits of Buddhist recluseship, the Buddha explained to these to the king:

1. respect, protection, and provisions from the king and lay people. These were benefits even other wandering ascetics could expect in ancient India with its charitable dana system -- reciprocal benefits of spiritual seekers aided and in turn aiding the people and society.
2. endowment with morality as explained in the "The Net of All-Embracing Views" or Brahmajala Sutra.
3. guarded sense faculties (indriya samvara)
4. mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati-sampajana)
5. contentment (santosa).

Intermediate rewards

Detached from the Five Hindrances, greater benefits arise from the successful practice of meditation:

1. the four material absorptions (jhanas)
2. insight-knowledge (vipassana nyana)
3. advanced spiritual capabilities

Highest rewards

The highest rewards, the ultimate goals of the Buddhist path, is the complete realization of the Four Noble Truths and liberation from samsara -- rebirth and suffering.

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What God Didn't Know (sutra)

Wisdom Quarterly based on Walshe’s* translation of Kevaddha Sutta (DN 11); "God" = Brahma

(Asyasolo/flickr.com)

   

Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha was staying at Nalanda,  in Pavarika’s Mango Grove. And the householder Kevaddha came, bowed, and sat down respectfully to one side. He then said:

   

“Venerable sir, this [City of] Nalanda is rich, prosperous, populous, full of people who have confidence [faith, belief] in the Blessed One.

   

It would be good if the Blessed One were to encourage some monastic disciple to perform supernatural feats and miracles. In this way Nalanda would come to have even more confidence.”

   

The Buddha replied: “Kevaddha, this is not the way I teach Dharma to the monastic disciples, saying: ‘Go, disciples, and perform supernatural feats and miracles for the white-clad lay people!’” [Faithful Buddhists in ancient India wore white when they went to see the Buddha and monastics, which they did weekly on lunar observance days.]

  

2. For a second time Kevaddha said: “Venerable sir, I would not be rude, but I still say: This Nalanda is rich, prosperous… and would come to have even more confidence in the Blessed One.” And the Buddha replied as before.

   

3. When Kevaddha repeated his request a third time, the Buddha said: “Kevaddha, there are three kinds of miracles that I have declared, having realized them through direct insight and experience. What are the three? The miracle of psychic power, the miracle of telepathy, and the miracle of instruction. 

  

Psychic Powers

Greek tele "distant" + patheia "feeling"

4. “What is the miracle of psychic power? Here [within the Buddha’s teaching], Kevaddha, a monastic disciple displays various psychic powers in different ways: The person being one becomes many, being many becomes one. One appears and disappears; one passes through fences, walls, and mountains unhindered as if through air; one sinks into the ground and emerges from it as if it were water; one walks on water without breaking the surface as if on land; one flies cross-legged through the sky like a bird with wings; one even touches and strokes with hand the Sun and Moon, as mighty and powerful as they are (as in “The Fruits of Recluseship” discourse, DN 2, Verse 87). And one travels in the body as far as the Brahma World [or “7th Heaven” known as Parisajja Brahma Deva Loka, “Brahma’s Retinue”]. Then someone who has confidence and trust sees that monastic doing these things. 

  

5. “That person tells this to someone else who is skeptical and unbelieving saying: ‘It is wonderful, it is marvelous, the great power and skill of that ascetic…’ And that person might say: ‘There is something called the Gandhāra [invisibility] charm. It is by means of this that that monastic becomes many…’

   

“What do you think, Kevaddha, would not a skeptic say that to a believer?” “Yes, venerable sir.” “And that is why, Kevaddha, seeing the danger [inherent] in such miracles, I dislike, reject, and [am] loathe [to use] them. 

   

Telepathy

Siddhartha’s period of severe austerities

6. “And what is the miracle of telepathy? Here, a monastic disciple reads the minds of other beings, of other people, reads their mental states, their thoughts and ponderings, and says: ‘That is how your mind is, that is how it inclines, that is in your heart.’ Then someone who has confidence and trust sees those things being done.

   

7. “One tells this to someone else who is skeptical and unbelieving, saying: ‘It is wonderful, it is marvelous, the great power and skill of that ascetic…’ And that person might say: ‘There is something called the Manika [mind reading jewel] charm. It is by means of this that that monastic can read the minds of others…’ And that is why, seeing the danger of such miracles, I… loathe them. 

   

Miracle of Instruction
8. “And what is the miracle of instruction? Here, Kevaddha, a disciple gives instruction as follows: ‘Consider in this way, don’t consider in that way, give up that, gain this and persevere in it.’ That, Kevaddha, is called the miracle of instruction.

   

9-66. “Again, Kevaddha, a Tathāgata [Wayfarer, Welcome One, Well Gone One] arises in the world, an arhat, a fully-enlightened buddha, endowed with wisdom and conduct, Well-Farer, Knower of the Worlds, incomparable Trainer of Persons to be Tamed, Teacher of Deva Beings and Human Beings, enlightened and blessed. 

   

“He, having realized it by his own super-knowledge, proclaims this world with its devas, māras, and brahmās, its princes, and peoples. He preaches the Dharma, which is lovely in the beginning, the middle, and end, in spirit and letter, and displays the fully-perfected and purified supreme life [of renunciation]. A disciple goes forth and practices the virtues... (as “The Fruits of Recluseship” discourse, DN 2, Verses 41-63).
   
“One guards the sense-doors and attains the [first] four absorptions (jhānas)... (as in DN 2, Verses 64-82); one attains various insights... (DN 2, Verses 83-84); one realizes the Four Noble Truths, the path, and the cessation of the corruptions (DN 2, Verses 85-97), and one knows: ‘[The ultimate goal is accomplished]…There is nothing further here.’ That, Kevaddha, is called the miracle of instruction. 

   

67. “And I, Kevaddha, have experienced these three miracles by my own super-knowledge.
   
“Once, Kevaddha, in this Monastic Order the thought occurred to a certain monastic: ‘I wonder where the four great elements -- earth, water, fire, air [actually the four characteristics of materiality: solidity, cohesion, temperature, motion] -- cease without remainder.’ And that monastic attained such a state of mental concentration [absorption] that the way to the deva-realms appeared.

   

Visiting the Heavens
68. “Then arriving in the [space] Realm of the Devas of the Four Great Sky Kings, that monastic asked those devas [gandharvas, entertainers, messengers]: ‘Friends, where do the four great elements -- earth, water, fire, air -- cease without remainder?’

“At this question the devas in the Realm of the Four Great Sky Kings said: ‘Monastic, we don’t know where the four great elements cease without remainder. But the Four Great Sky Kings [who look over the quadrants of space closest to Earth] are loftier and wiser than we are. They may know where the four great elements cease…’
   

69. “So the monastic went to the Four Great Sky Kings and asked, but they replied: ‘We don’t know, but the Thirty-Three [ruling] devas [who live in Tavatimsa, or the “Realm of the Thirty-Three”] may know…’

   

70. “So the monastic went to the Thirty-Three devas, who replied: ‘We don’t know, but Sakka, ruler of the [Thirty-Three] devas [as well as the Four Great Sky Kings], may know…’

   

71. “Sakka, ruler of the devas, said: ‘The Yāma Realm devas may know.’

   

72. “The Yāma Realm devas said: ‘Suyāma, born among devas, may know…’

   

73. “Suyāma said: ‘The Tusita Realm devas may know…’

  

74. “The Tusita Realm devas said: ‘Santusita, born among devas, may know…’

   

75. “Santusita said: ‘The Nimmānarati Realm devas may know…’

  

76. “The Nimmānarati Realm devas said: ‘Sunimmita, born among devas, may know…’

  

77.“Sunimmita said: ‘The Paranimmita-Vasavatti Realm devas may know…’

   

78. “The Paranimmita-Vasavatti Realm devas said: ‘Vasavatti, born among devas, may know…’

   

79. “Vasavatti said: ‘The devas of Brahmā’s Retinue may know…’

• Buddhist cosmology in general 
• Details of Buddhist cosmology  

80. “Then that monastic, by the appropriate concentration [absorption], made the way to the Brahmā World appear and went among the devas of Brahmā’s Retinue and asked them. They said: ‘We don’t know. But there is Brahmā, Great Brahmā [Maha Brahma], the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, the Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Parent of All That Have Been and Shall Be. That Brahma is loftier and wiser than we are and would know where the four great elements cease without remainder.’

  

“And where, friends, is this Great Brahmā now?” 

  

“Monastic, we do not know when, how, or where Brahmā will appear. But when certain signs are seen -- when a light appears and a radiance shines forth -- then Brahmā will appear. Such signs are an indication that Brahma will soon appear.”

  

81. “Then it was not long before Great Brahmā appeared. And that monastic stepped up and said: “Friend, where do the four great elements -- earth, water, fire, air -- cease without remainder?” to which Great Brahmā replied: ‘Monastic, I am Brahmā, Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, the Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Parent of All That Have Been and Shall Be.” 

   

82. “A second time the monastic said: ‘Friend, I did not ask you if you are Brahmā, Great Brahmā… I asked you where the four great elements cease without remainder.” And a second time Great Brahmā replied as before. 

   

83. “And a third time the monastic said: ‘Friend, I did not ask you that; I asked where the four great elements -- earth, water, fire, air -- cease without remainder.’

  

“Then, Kevaddha, Great Brahmā took that monastic aside by the arm and said: “Monastic, these devas believe there is nothing Brahmā does not see, does not know, is unaware of. That is why I did not speak in front of them. But, monastic, I don’t know where the four great elements cease without remainder.
  
“And therefore, monastic, you have acted wrongly. You have acted incorrectly by going beyond the Blessed Lord [the Buddha] in search of an answer to this question elsewhere. Now, monastic, you just go to the Blessed Lord and put this question to him, and whatever answer he gives, accept it.’

  

84. “So that monastic, as swiftly as a strong man might flex or unflex his arm, vanished from the Brahmā World and appeared in my presence. He prostrated himself before me, then sat down respectfully to one side, and said: ‘Venerable sir, where do the four great elements -- earth, water, fire, air -- cease without remainder?’

   

85. “I replied: ‘Monastic, once upon a time seafaring merchants, when they set sail on the ocean, took in their ship a land-sighting bird. When they could not see the land themselves, they released the bird. The bird flew to the east, south, west, and north, to the zenith, and to the intermediate points of the compass. If it saw land anywhere, it flew there.
   
“But if it saw no land, it returned to the ship. In the same way, monastic, you have been as far as the Brahmā World searching for an answer to your question and not finding it. And now you come back to me. But, monastic, you should not ask your question in this way: ‘Where do the four great elements -- earth, water, fire, air -- cease without remainder?’

 

“Instead, this is how the question should have been put: 

   

‘Where do earth, water, fire, and air find no footing?

Where are long and short, small and great, fair and foul -- 

Where are “name and form” wholly destroyed? 

And the answer is:

‘Where consciousness is signless, boundless, all-luminous,

That’s where earth, water, fire, and air find no footing,

There both long and short, small and great, fair and foul --

There “name and form” are wholly destroyed.

With the cessation of [the impersonal process of] consciousness this is all destroyed.’”

  

Thus the Buddha spoke, and the householder Kevaddha delighted and rejoiced at his words.

• *Translator Maurice O’Connell Walshe (1911-1998) was one of the foremost British-born Buddhist and Pali scholars, Vice-President of the Buddhist Society, Chair of the English Sangha Trust, and author of the definitive translation of the Digha Nikaya or Long Discourses of the Buddha.

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