Enlightenment Fast (Part 2)

The Story of Bahiya of the Bark Cloth

Seven, Ashley Wells, Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quaterly; C. de Saram (translator)*

Long preparation enabled this new disciple to grasp the Truth in the twinkling of an eye.
   
He was like Upatissa (who became the chief male disciple better known as Sariputra), who entered the first stage of sainthood by hearing only one line of a couplet. Bahiya of the Bark Cloth, on hearing a single stanza uttered by the Buddha, became enlightened.

  

But Bahiya had a great store of merit. After all, he was born during the dispensation and had the privilege of meeting the Buddha.
   
Long before that, however, it is said that he had been born during the latter part of the dispensation at the final nirvana of the Buddha Kassapa aeons earlier. At that time he failed to get a foothold on sainthood (as recounted in the "Life of Mallaputta Dabba," when five ascetics abandon society and meditate to the end with all but Bahiya succeeding).

Ancient Indian ascetic practices included wearing bark cloth, animal hides, and exposing oneself to the elements. Some still practice these forms of self-mortification in India (adolphus.nl).

  

Bahiya of the Bark Cloth was born during Shakyamuni's dispensation after aeons of celestial bliss. Bahiya was his clan's name. A trader, he was on a harmless trip to Suvanna-Bhumi (today's Burma). He was shipwrecked and left the sole survivor.

  

By clinging to a log, he was able to swim to a peninsula called Supparaka, which he mistook for an island. Since he had no clothes, he resolved to cover himself with bark and moss. Then arming himself with an earthen bowl, he eked out an existence begging.

  

In due course, he was idolized by the people there who mistook him for an enlightened forest ascetic. (People are frequently misled by appearances). Eventually when clothes were offered, he refused them, thinking he would lose his newfound caste status. But this only served to enhance his reputation. His garb consisted of pieces of bark fastened together -- hence the appellation Daruciriya ("of the Bark Cloth").

  

After passing for a saintly hermit, a previous companion (from the past life of the five ascetics referred to above) abiding in the Suddhavasa Brahma World who, in fact, was a saint, thought it was time to disillusion him.
  

A brahma can manifest any form it wishes even the form of a wise old man from space.

   
His friend instantaneously descended from that "pure abode," that peaceful celestial world, and stood before him in all the glory and majesty of a God (brahma).
  
Bahiya was startled and dazzled, unable to believe his eyes as he asked this brahma who he was.

  

The brahma unfolded the story of their past life and succeeded in convincing Bahiya that he should straight away head to Jetavana Grove monastery to meet the Buddha, learn the Dharma, and have a chance of finally attaining real enlightenment.
  
The very title "Buddha" was news to Bahiya of the Bark Cloth. So great was his enthusiasm that, legend has it, he traveled day and night without pausing (perhaps utilizing some psychic ability), covering a distance of 129 leagues (approximately 400 miles).

  

Having traveled so far so quickly, on arrival he was exhausted and disheartened to find that the Buddha had already set out on his daily alms round. He was invited to rest and await the Buddha's return from the village. But Bahiya was in no mood to wait.

Bahiya insisted he be instructed right away, and the Buddha gave him just what ne needed.

 
Instead, he followed the Buddha's route into the village in search of instruction. He accosted the Buddha on the road and fell to his feet pleading for advice.
   
The Buddha informed him that he had arrived most unseasonably since he and the monks had already commenced their alms round.

  

But Bahiya insisted. He reportedly asked:
  

How many meals has one missed
in the countless round of rebirths and deaths?

Who can know the day and hour that one might pass away
before they would meet again?

The second question turned out to be a prophetic utterance. The Buddha surprised the monks on alms round with him because he had never deviated from his schedule. Today he was making an exception for this odd ascetic dressed in bark cloth.
   
He looked into Bahiya's past then his present and saw that this was to be his last wish. He therefore uttered to very concise teaching -- the gist of which was to look at things as they truly are:

Ditthe ditthamattam bhavissati
sute sutamattam bhavissati
mute mutamattam bhavissati
vinnate vinnatamatam bhavissati
   

"In the seen there is only the seen,

in the heard, only the heard,

in the otherwise sensed, only the otherwise sensed

(In other words, concentrate on the present moment.)

 
Bahiya understood and asked for ordination. Normally, the Buddha would simply utter the phrase "Come, venerable!" (Eham, bhante!). That would bestow ordination. Instead, seeing that Bahiya had not developed enough generosity-perfection (dana parami) in the past to have accrued sufficient merit to be fortunate in receiving robes, the Buddha asked him if he had any robes (which are necessary for ordination).
  
Bahiya, of course, did not. So he immediately went in search of cloth in a dust heap to construct a proper patchwork robe.

 

While engaged in his search, an enemy of his -- now reborn as an "ogre" or "goblin" (yakkha) -- took possession of a cow and gored him to death.

 

On returning from alms round, the monks saw Bahiya of the Bark Cloth's lifeless body by the side of the road. The Buddha surprised them yet again by requesting that they formally cremate the remains in a manner befitting royalty and saints (arhats), neither of which they thought applied to Bahiya.

The Buddha explained that, in fact, Bahiya was a saint. "When," they asked, "had he become enlightened?" The Buddha replied that Bahiya of the Bark Cloth was "foremost in gaining sainthood by quickly comprehending a single sentence of the Dharma." What did the Buddha tell him?

  

In the seen, for you let there be only the seen.

In the heard, for you let there be only the heard.

In the otherwise sensed,
let there be for you only the otherwise sensed.
When you do, there will be no here,
no there, and no going between.
(In other words, Be here now.)

   

"Be Here Now"!

Wisdom Quarterly

What, then, did that single sentence mean? Ditthe ditthe matam bhavissati! It is traditionally explained as an exhortation to be perfectly mindful (once the mind/heart is prepped and purified by sufficient concentration, which generally means some level of absorption). Another way to explain it might be:

Do not look long, do not look short.

In the seen (heard, sensed), let there be only that.
Then there will be neither here, nor there,
Nor transiting between the two.

C. de Saram explains in a footnote that the sixth and seventh links in the formula of Dependent Origination are impression and feeling (contact and sensation). The Buddha was therefore telling Bahiya to stop at impression (at sense contact).

  

In other words, do not linger over what is seen. "Do not look long, do not look short." Instead, simply be aware of it without judgment, without disturbance. In this way, the eighth (craving) and ninth (clinging) links will not come into play.
   
The entire mass of suffering, the Wheel of Dependent Origination, which applies to all phenomena, could thereby be circumvented. One might momentarily glimpse nirvana and see the conditional nature of all composite things. The "Eye of the Dharma" or "Wisdom Eye," which purifies mind and heart, radically alters the individual. And knowing and seeing directly one is liberated from all defilements and bonds.

  

*The story of Bahiya Daruciriya appears in Pen Portraits: 93 Eminent Disciples of the Buddha by C. de Saram (Singapore Buddhist Meditation Centre, 1971, reprinted for free distribution by the Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation (Taiwan, R.O.C.): Budaedu.org

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When Things Fall Apart: A Middle Way

Pema Chodron, "Widening the Circle of Compassion" (When Things Fall Apart, pp. 81-83)

"Things were going like this in my life" (Wisdom Quarterly/Conscious Life Expo, LAX Hilton)

  

(Pema Chodron)

Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with an open heart and the willingness not to instantly try to get ground under our feet. 

  

For instance, if what we're feeling is rage, we usually assume that there are only two ways to relate to it. One is to blame others. Lay it all on somebody else; drive all blames into everyone else. The other alternative is to feel guilty about our rage and blame ourselves.

  

Blame is a way in which we solidify ourselves. Not only do we point the finger when something is "wrong," but we also want to make things "right." 

  

Not being right, not being wrong, but just being with what is -- it's an amazing way to be!

   
In any relationship that we stick with -- be it marriage or parenthood, employment, a spiritual community, or whatever -- we may also find that we want to make it "righter" than it is, because we're a little nervous.

   

Maybe it isn't exactly living up to our standards, so we justify it and justify it and try to make it extremely right. We tell everybody that our husband or wife or child or teacher or support group is doing some sort of peculiar antisocial thing for good spiritual reasons.

   

Or we come up with some dogmatic belief and hold on to it with a vengeance, again to solidify our ground. We have some sense that we have to make things right according to our standards. If we just can't stick with a situation any longer, then it goes over the edge and we make it wrong because we think that's our only alternative. Something's right or something's wrong.

A Middle Way

"It wasn't until the teachings touched my heart."

Instead of making others right or wrong, or bottling up right and wrong in ourselves, there's a middle way, a very powerful middle way.

   

We could see it as sitting on the razor's edge, not falling off to the right or the left. This middle way involves not hanging on to our version so tightly. It involves keeping our hearts and minds open long enough to entertain the idea that when we make things wrong, we do it out of a desire to obtain some kind of ground or security. 

  

Equally, when we make things right, we are still trying to obtain some kind of ground or security. Could our minds and our hearts be big enough just to hang out in that space where we're not entirely certain about who's right and who's wrong?
  

Could we have no agenda when we walk into a room with another person, not know what to say, not make that person wrong or right?

  

Could we see, hear, feel other people as they really are?

  

It is powerful to practice this way, because we'll find ourselves continually rushing around to try to feel secure again -- to make ourselves or them either right or wrong. But true communication can happen only in that open space.

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Enlightenment Fast (Part 1)

Dharmachari Seven, Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quarterly (UPDATED July 13, 2012)

In a rush to gain liberation -- to know and see, to touch nirvana -- we make spiritual exertions.

   
Sometimes odd, often useless, these practices or delusions are clung to in spite of the immediately effective path being laid out.
   
Whatever else one may do or abstain from doing, the Noble Eightfold Path stands as a reminder that we must take eight categorical factors into consideration:

1. Right View (of the Four Noble Truths)
2. Right Intention (motivated by non-harming, renunciation, and non-cruelty)
3. Right Speech (truthful, non-divisive, pleasant, and useful)
4. Right Action (abstaining from taking life, taking what is not given, and sexual misconduct)
5. Right Livelihood (avoiding dealings in flesh, poisons, weapons, slaves, and intoxicants)
6. Right Effort (to abandon and prevent the unwholesome, while developing and bringing the wholesome to perfection)
7. Right Mindfulness (of body, sensations, mind, and mind objects)
8. Right Concentration (cultivating calm, collectedness, and serenity up to the level of "absorption" in terms of the first four jhanas)

Because the outline here is detailed by the Buddha, speculation about them in translation is best avoided: "I think right view means... It seems to me mindfulness is... What the Buddha probably meant by concentration was..."
  
If the core teachings are not enough, the entire path is thoroughly explained as the "Requisites of Enlightenment," also known as the "37 Things Pertaining to Enlightenment" (bodhi-pakkaya-dhamma). They were drawn from the sutras and attributed to a Buddhist missionary in ancient Greece, Ven. Nagasena ("Questions of King Menander" or Malinda-Panha).

A Teacher

"Enlightenment Grove," Bodh Gaya, India

This is the sure path, the straight path, the certain path. Most seekers bypass ever having to grasp and make sense of this knowledge for themselves by finding a wise teacher. Such a guide trains one in:

• virtue (precepts, self-restraint, and letting go)
• meditation (calm, concentration, and absorption)
• wisdom (contemplation, clear comprehension, and mindful insight-practices). 

The fastest, surest path to "sudden" enlightenment is stilling the mind then HEARING the Dharma. On a foundation of calm concentration/collectedness, insight is able to suddenly dawn.

 

Historically, the hearer who attained enlightenment most quickly -- that is, with the shortest instruction by the Buddha -- was a non-Buddhist ascetic named Bahiya of the Bark Cloth.

To the wise and ready, a few words are enough.

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5 Penyebab Utama Komputer Lambat

Komputer kamu lambat ? ketahui 5 penyebab utama komputer lambat agar segera mengambil tindakan perbaikan untuk mengembalikan kecepatan akses bagi komputer anda. Ada banyak penyebab yang membuat kinerja komputer menjadi lambat, namun dari sekian banyak penyebab itu saya menyimpulkan hanya 5 penyebab utama komputer menjadi lambat. Berikut adalah kelima penyebab komputer lambat.


1. Kerusakan

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Notes from Tibet by Haven Tobias.

James: I'd like to introduce you all to my dear friend Haven Tobias who will be guest posting today. Haven has been a wonderful friend to myself, and The Buddhist Blog, so I was thrilled to read about her recent visit to Tibet. Especially given the recent turmoil. I believe that the best sources of history and news come from first person accounts. Her first hand experience of details on the ground in Tibet riveting. May you all find Haven's travel post as insightful as I did:

I arrived in Lhasa, after 44 hours on the train from Beijing, on May 2, 2012. I knew not many tour groups had been granted the special visa needed to travel to Tibet since the crack-down after what the Chinese had identified as “unrest,” but still I was unprepared for our “welcome.” Unbeknownst to us, the railroad station was cordoned off, and our guide was being kept a block away. So, there was no one to assist us when we were swarmed by several members of a SWAT team (so their helmets and jackets read), who seized not only our Tibet-entry papers, but also our passports.

Either none of them spoke English, or they preferred not to speak English. There were only six of us, and our average age was about 70, and it is hard for me to believe we posed any particular threat to warrant the gruff treatment. We seemed to be at an impasse as to what would happen next. Our leader was brave enough to just walk off to find our tour guide. He told her he could not accompany her back to us, but that she need not worry. Our passports would be returned to us and he had an extra copy of our entry papers. After a while, our passports were returned to us, and we were allowed to leave the railroad station and meetup with our guide.

Even that “welcoming” did not prepare me for what I was to see in Tibet. I gradually became aware that there were military everywhere. They were posted on the rooftops; they were at every intersection in several-man formations, looking in all directions. They were at the entrance to monasteries, and they were handling the security at the Potala Palace,(the former Winter Palace of the Dalai Lama), including again taking possession of all passports. They were driving convoys of military vehicles on the roads, bearing bumper stickers that read: “Listen to what your government says. Do what your government tells you.”

I am not a China expert, and I am not a Tibet expert. I am commenting only on what I saw, but not interpreting the policy implications. (I am not a fool, however, and I am very aware of the environmental and geographical reasons why China would assert control over Tibet at whatever cost.)

The reason why I think my experience is an appropriate topic for The Buddhist Blog is different from the political and social ramifications. There is a tender and delicate balance between Thay’s call to Engaged Buddhism and Thay’s exhortation: “Don’t just do something, sit there!”

I practiced law for 4 decades. I tend to want to solve problems. I ask: ok, what can I do about this problem? I ran through the whole list of practical solutions. Organize a debate over whether to boycott tourism in Tibet or to encourage tourism in Tibet. (This, by the way, is no longer up for discussion. After two more people immolated themselves in early June, China closed the doors to Tibet again.) Petition our government to impose economic sanctions on China. (Ok, I’m waiting for the laughter to subside…) Flood China with social media comments about what’s going on in Tibet. (Perhaps they couldn’t all be blocked.)

But it wasn’t because I couldn’t come up with a practical plan that I had a lightening change of focus. I just suddenly realized how very right Gandhi was when he said “Be the change you want to see” and how very right Thay is when he says “Peace in oneself, peace in the world.”

I didn’t suddenly realize this as an intellectual premise, or as a last resort. I realized in a visceral manner to my very core that what I could do for the Tibetans was to hold them in the heart of my meditation, and what I had also to do was to hold the Chinese soldiers, so young, and probably so scared, in the heart of my mediation. Both “sides” are held hostage to greed and hate and delusion.

I am not saying that there are no situations, in Tibet, or elsewhere in the world, where there aren’t real victims. But I am saying what Thay said a long time ago in his brilliant poem “Please Call Me By My True Names”:

-- if we look deeply we see that the “victimizers” are also victims, and
that we ourselves are both victims and victimizers. We have no more
worthy deed to do for this world, no greater gift to give, than to cultivate a
heart that is open to peace and understanding and compassion, without
exceptions.

May all beings find refuge in a heart that has grown big enough to hold all who suffer.

-Haven Tobias

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