With pleasantness,
pleasantness cannot be attained
Ven.
Kadawathamaduwe Dhamminda
Department
of Buddhist Studies
University ofDelhi
25-03-2013
With pleasantness,
pleasantness cannot be attained
My dear dhamma friends, the Buddha tells us about his self –mortification
in time of his asetic practice as thus, “I pressed my upper jaw on the lower
jaw with my tongue pressing on my palate pushed out[1]. Then sweat was dripping from my armpits. Like
a strong man taking hold of a feeble one would press him and worry him, o’
friend, at that time, my effort was opened out again and again, and firm
mindfulness was stabilized, o; friend, my body was not allayed due to the stiff
exertion”
“My dear friend, again, I practised stopping the in- breaths
and out-breaths, entering through nose and mouth. Then wind was entering
through the ear lobes that made much noise[2].
My friends, at that time, it was like the sound which comes from fulminations
of the smithy. But I aroused my effort repeatedly, and established my
unconfused mindfulness, but my body was not allayed owing to the difficult
exertion.
My dear friends, again, I started my next step. I practised stopping the in-breaths and out-breaths further. I stopped the wind which was entering through nose, mouth and ear lobes. At that time, a lot of air attacked on the top of my head. It was like a feeling that a strong man was carving my top of the head with a sharp knife. Although my effort was aroused repeatedly, my firm mindfulness established, my body was not appeased due to the difficult exertion. O’ my friends I stopped the air, entering through the nose, mouth, and ear lobes further. Then I felt a lot of pain in my head like a head which was wrapped with a strong turban by a strong man. My dear friends, I practised stopping the in-breaths and out breaths entering through the nose, mouth, and ear lobes for a long time. Then I experienced a lot of pain in my stomach. As though, a clever butcher or apprentice was carving the stomach with a butcher’s sharp knife. And also like a strong man taking a weaker one, by his hands and feet was burning and scorching him in a pit of burning charcoal. But my friends, my effort was aroused repeatedly, unconfused mindfulness was established, the body was not appeased owing to the difficult exertion. Then the gods seeing me and thus said. `The recluse Gotama is dead,' a certain deity said. `The recluse Gotama is not dead. Will not die, will abide, becomes perfect.
O’ my dear friends, again, I thought, that I give up noshing
all food[3].
Then, some gods arrived me and said. Good sir, do not practise that method, if
you do that method, we will inject divine essence through your pores of the
skin[4]
and will help to you in that manner. Then my good friends, I thought, when I
refrain from all food, if some gods vaccinate heavenly essence, that action of
mine would be a chicanery. So I partook food pedding amounts, drop by drop, the
essence of green grams, peas, chickpeas or pea soup, when I was partaking
trifling food in this manner, o’ my friends, my body emaciated much. My body
seemed like I had come to the end of my life. My limbs were large and small. My
back was like a camel’s foot, the backbones were like a threaded string of
beads. When I was bending and stretching my rib bones were like the beams of
the roof of a decaying hall. My eyes which were awefully in the sockets were
like two stars that set in a deep well. The skin of my head was like a
bitter-goad that was plucked in its young time, dehydrated in the sun and hot
air. Because, I was taking trifling amount of food. When I was touching the
skin of my stomach, I was getting hold of the backbone. When I was excreting
and urinating, I felt downwards. If I was toughing the body to appease it, the
hairs of the body that decayed at the roots, fell off. Thus was my body due to
taking trifling amounts of food. Friends, people having looked at me said, the
recluse Gotama is dark. One man said
that he was not dark but tan. Another man said that the recluse Gotama was neither dark nor brown, but
golden hued. My pure skin complexion was destroyed owing to partaking trifling
amounts of food.
Dear friends, then, I thought that whoever recluse
experienced sharp, rough, unpleasant feelings in the past, he did not
experience anything more than this. Whoever recluse would experience sharp,
rough, unpleasant feeling in the future; he would not experience anything more
than I did. Whoever recluse experiences sharp, rough, unpleasant feeling at
present, he does not experience anything more than I did. My dear friends, I
thought, by doing these difficult exertions, I will not attain any noble, supreme
especial knowledge and vision above human[5].
At that time, Siddhartha Goutama
thought that there should be some other method for realisation of enlightenment.
The Buddha tells: then friends, I called to mind experience under the shade of
the rose apple tree near my father’ field: I secluded from sensual thoughts and
secluded from thoughts of demerit, with thoughts and discursive thoughts and
with joy and pleasantness born of seclusion, how I attained to abode in the
first jhana. Then my mind arose this
is the path to enlightenment. Friend, I thought, why should I fear this
pleasantness which is other than sensual pleasure and away from thoughts of de-merit.
Dear friends, then I thought, it is not easy to attain that
pleasantness with this emaciated body, what if I take some gruff food which was
cooked rice and bread. At that time the five asetics who came to me, thinking
whatever noble thing the recluse Gotama
attains he will preach us. But, when I partook of gruff food such as cooked
rice and bread, they went away disgusted, thinking the recluse Gotama has relinquished exerting and has
returned to abundancy.
I was partaking coarse food. I was gaining strength, I secluded
from sensual thoughts and thoughts of demerit with thoughts and discursive
thoughts and with joy and pleasantness born of seclusion attained to abode in
the first jhana. Overcoming thoughts
and discursive thoughts, with the mind internally appeased, and brought to a
single point, without thoughts and without discursive thoughts and with joy and
pleasantness born of concentration attained to abode in the second jhana. With both joy and equanimity to
detachment abode mindful and aware, and with the body experienced pleasantness
too. To this abiding the noble ones said, abiding mindfully in pleasantness. I
attained to abode in that third jhana.
Dispelling pleasantness and unpleasantness, and earlier having dispelled
pleasure and displeasure, without unpleasantness and pleasantness and
mindfulness purified with equanimity, attained to abode in the fourth jhana.
Dear friends, when my mind was concentrated, pure, free from
minor defilements, malleable workable not disturbed, I directed the mind for
the knowledge of previous births[6].
I came to mind the diverse previous births, one birth, two births, three, four,
five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred births, a thousand births, a
hundred thousand births, measureless forward cycles of births, measureless
backward cycles of births, measureless forward and backward cycles of births.
There I was of such name, clan, and disposition, supports, experiencing such
pleasant and unpleasant feelings and with such a life span. Passing away from
there was born there with such name, clan, disposition, supports, experiencing
such pleasant and unpleasant feelings, with such a life span, passing away from
there, is born here. Thus with all modes and all details I came to mind the
diverse previous births. Friends, this is the first knowledge which I attained
in the first watch of the night, ignorance dispelled, knowledge arose, as it
happens to those abiding diligent for effacing.
When the mind was concentrated by me , pure, free from minor
defilements malleable workable not disturbed, I applied the mind for the
knowledge of the disappearing and appearing of beings[7].
With the divine eye purified beyond human, I saw beings disappearing and
appearing un-exalted and exalted, beautiful and ugly, arising in good and bad
states according to their action: these good beings misbehaving by body, speech
and mind, accusing noble ones, with the wrong view of action, after death, are
born in loss, in decrease, in hell. As for these good beings, well behaved in body
speech and mind, not accusing noble ones, with the right view of action after
death are born in heaven. Thus with the divine eye that was purified beyond
human I saw beings disappearing and appearing. Dear friends, this is the second
knowledge I attained in the second watch of the night, ignorance dispelled,
knowledge arose, as it happens to those abiding diligent for effacing.
When the mind was concentrated by me, pure, free from minor
defilements, malleable workable not disturbed, I applied the mind for the
destruction of desires[8].
I knew, this is suffering, this is the arising of suffering, this is the
cessation of suffering and this is the path to the cessation of suffering as it
really is. I knew these are desires this arising of desires this cessation of
desires and this the path to the cessation of desires as it really is. When I
knew and saw this the mind was released from sensual desires, from the desires
`to be' and from the desires of ignorance. When released knowledge arose. I'm
released, birth is destroyed, what should be done, is done, the holy life is
lived, I knew, there is nothing more to wish.
My dear friends, I thought, this teaching that I have
realised is deep, difficult to see, and realise, appeased and exalted, cannot
be realised logically, is clever and should be understood by the intelligent[9].
The general public fond of settling and attached to settling does not see this
difficult point, that dependent arising is from this cause. This point too is
difficult to see, that is the appeasement of all determinations, and the giving
up of all endearments, destruction of craving, detachment, cessation and
extinction. If I teach this to others they would not understand, and I would
only reap fatigue…
May
all beings be happy and free from suffering.
[1] evameva
kho me, rājakumāra, dantebhidantamādhāya, jivhāya tāluṃ āhacca,
[2]
mukhato ca nāsato ca assāsapassāsesu uparuddhesu kaṇṇasotehi vātānaṃ
nikkhamantānaṃ adhimatto saddo hoti.
[3] ‘yaṃnūnāhaṃ
sabbaso āhārupacchedāya paṭipajjeyya’nti.
[4]
tassa te mayaṃ dibbaṃ ojaṃ lomakūpehi ajjhohāressāma
[5] Na
kho panāhaṃ imāya kaṭukāya dukkarakārikāya adhigacchāmi uttarimanussadhammā
[6] So
evaṃ samāhite citte parisuddhe pariyodāte anaṅgaṇe vigatūpakkilese mudubhūte
kammaniye ṭhite āneñjappatte pubbenivāsānussatiñāṇāya cittaṃ abhininnāmesiṃ
[7]
samāhite citte parisuddhe pariyodāte anaṅgaṇe vigatūpakkilese mudubhūte
kammaniye ṭhite āneñjappatte sattānaṃ cutūpapātañāṇāya cittaṃ abhininnāmesiṃ.
[8] samāhite citte parisuddhe pariyodāte anaṅgaṇe
vigatūpakkilese mudubhūte kammaniye ṭhite āneñjappatte āsavānaṃ khayañāṇāya
cittaṃ abhininnāmesiṃ
[9]
adhigato kho myāyaṃ dhammo gambhīro duddaso duranubodho santo paṇīto
atakkāvacaro nipuṇo paṇḍitavedanīyo.
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