Liars suffer
The Speaker of untruth goes to a woeful state, and also he who, having done aught, says I did not: Both after death become equal, men of base actions in the world.
- Niraya Vagga, The Dhammapada.

'All dhammas are on fire'

Dr. Ron Wijewantha

Arhantship: One of the most amazing events recorded in Buddhist texts is the simultaneous attainment of a thousand bhikkhus Arhantship by listening to a short Dhamma discourse of the Buddha.

This occurred within the very first year of His Enlightenment, and just a few months after He had ordained Yasa the son of a wealthy millionaire and forty-nine of his friends as members of the Sangha. It will perhaps be recollected that Yasa had been disillusioned with life as a sybarite, and was walking aimlessly in a park in Varanasi, when he had the good fortune to meet the Buddha.

On listening to Him speak of a different form of happiness, which was in fact a far cry from sensual pleasures, but with richer rewards in the offing, Yasa had on bended knees requested ordination as a bhikkhu. Forty-nine of Yasa's friends too had then wished to join the Sangha, and the Buddha ordained them as well. He then entrusted these new bhikkhus to the care of his original five bhikkhus headed by Kondanna, and proceeded eastwards from Isipathana with the intention of visiting the scene of His Enlightenment in Gaya.

He also wished to visit the kingdom of Magadha, for he had promised king Bimbisara its ruler that soon after his enlightenment He would indeed visit the latter.

However, when sojourning in Gaya, He had met the acetic Uruvela Kassapa and his 500 disciples. They were fire-worshippers.

The story of how the Buddha converted Uruvela Kassapa to Buddhism and how Uruvela Kassapa in turn persuaded all of his followers, as well as his brothers Nadi Kassapa and Gaya Kassapa along with their respective three hundred and two hundred followers to renounce fire-worship and become the Buddha's disciples, in a mass ordination, is well known to lay-Buddhist. Today we take up the story from there.

Once the mass ordination ceremony was completed, the Buddha addressed the new bhikkhus and spoke to them about the Four Noble Truths, the twelve links or pre-conditions of inter-dependent origination, and how to observe one's breath, one's body and one's mind and 'live in the present moment'.

He also demonstrated how to wear the robe and how to proceed on alms rounds and how to eat mindfully and in silence. The next afternoon the Buddha met with the Kassapa brothers and several dozen of their hand-selected senior students to teach them the fundamentals of the Way to Liberation as well as discuss how best to organize the Sangha.

The Kasspaa brothers in addition to being mentally very alert, were all talented organizers and leaders, and the Buddha had no difficulty in using their talents to divide the 1000 bhikkhus into small groups which could be handled and trained by each of the senior students, just as the Buddha had previously done at Isipathana with Yasa and his forty-nine friends.

Three months had now elapsed since the mass ordination and the Buddha saw with his divine eye that the new bhikhus were well trained and sufficiently mentally advanced to understand a sermon containing within it a deep message.

It had to be a sermon related to one of three subjects that lead earnest insight meditators to Liberation. Such a sermon though brief should be succinct and so clear that listeners should be able to relate to it instantly and open their eyes to the Dhamma.

They would thereby be able to see with insight at least one of the three characteristics of human existence, namely, impermanence, unsatisfactioriness or non-self - anicca, dukkha, natta. These are the three "gate-ways" to libration. It also had to be a sermon that could be understood and comprehended by all the recruits, so that it could catalyze all of them to full understanding and Deliverance.

Hence, one day after the bhikkhus had returned from the alms round, the Buddha summoned them to gather on a plateau on the slopes of Gayasisa Mountain.

Thousand bhikkhus ate in silence with the Buddha and the three Kassapa brothers. When they had finished eating, washed their bowls and completed their ablutions, they sat down and turned their gaze to the Buddha. No one dared to breathe too loudly or rustle their robes for fear of disturbing the sound of the Buddha's sonorous voice.

"The "Fire-Sermon" - Adittapariyaya-sutta, (from Samutta Nikaya)

Sitting serenely upon a large rock, the Buddha began to speak: "Bhikkhus, all dhammas are on fire" he said. "What is on fire? The six sense organs - eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind - are all on fire.

The six objects of the senses - forms, sound, smells, taste, touch and mind objects - are all on fire. The six consciousness - sight, hearing, smell, taste, feeling, and thought - are all on fire. They are burning from the flames of desire, hatred, and delusion - (loba, dosa and moha).

They are burning from the flames of birth, old age, sickness and death, and from the flames of pain, anxiety, frustration, worry, fear and despair."

"Bhikkhus, every feeling is burning whether it is an unpleasant, pleasant, or neutral feeling. Feelings arise and are conditioned by the sense organs, objects of the sense organs, and the sense consciousness.

Feelings are burning from the flames of desire, hatred and delusion. Feelings are burning fro the flames of birth, old age, sickness and death and from the flames of pain, anxiety, frustration, worry, fear and despair.

"Seeing thus, bhikkhus, the instructed disciple becomes disenchanted (nibidda) with the eye, with forms, with eye-consciousness, with eye-contact, with whatever feelings arises with eye-contact as condition - whether pleasant or painful or neither painful-nor-pleasant.

He becomes disenchanted with the ear, with the mind, with whatever feeling arises with mind-contact as condition". "Becoming disenchanted, a learned disciple, who sees (things) thus, becomes detached (viraga), with regard to the eye, visible forms, visual consciousness, visual impression, also with whatever sensation, pleasant or painful or neither-pleasant-nor-painful, arises on account of the visual impression with regard to that too he becomes detached... (repeat with reference to the rest of the senses).

Thus being dispassionate, he becomes detached and through detachment he becomes liberated - vimutti. When liberated there is the knowledge that he is liberated. And he knows: "Birth is exhausted, the holy life has been lived, what has to be done is done, there is no more left to be done on this account."

"Bhikkhus do not allow your-selves to be consumed by the flames of desire, hatred and delusion. See the impermanent and interdependent nature of all dhammas in order not to be enslaved by the cycle of birth and death created by the sense organs, objects of the senses, and sense consciousness."

The thousand bhikkhus and the three Kassapa brothers listened with rapt attention. Each one was deeply moved. There was a brief but pregnant moment of silence. Then a thunderous roar of "sadhu, sadhu, sadhu" rent the air, for all of them had instantaneously understood with panna the Buddha's message of how deliverance from the samsaric round could be achieved. They had thus attained Arhantship.

Discussion

The fact that the thousand new bhikkhus and their three teachers were able to attain to the highest Holy state comes as no surprise when we remember that they all were experienced ascetics well versed in meditating for extended periods of time with total one-pointed concentration.

They were also used to austerity and discipline. Consequently, it was possible for the Buddha to teach them the fundamentals of his Dhamma in the same manner that he used to teach his original band of five ascetics.

In this case after teaching them for three months in the theory and practice of the Dhamma, the minds of the newly ordained monks had become pliable and alert. It was only then that He spoke a sermon in which the words fire and flames were used repeatedly. Now, these were words to which these monks could relate, since they were previously fire-worshippers.

Consequently they paid full attention to each and every word of the Buddha. By doing so, they instantly comprehended the innermost message contained in the Buddha's words and attained Arahatship.

But for us understand with wisdom (panna) the contents and significance of the above sermon we need to recollect and understand the processes involved in all of our day to day activities, and how these processes are all interconnected to our six senses.

A good starting point is to first recollect the Buddha's explanation of the human condition. He found that by penetratingly examining his own nature, he could comprehend the reality within himself. He realized that every sentient being is a composite of five processes called aggregates (skhanda), four of which are mental, which He called nama, and the other, physical which he called rupa.

He found that mentality and materiality always work in unison, for there was mutual interaction between the physical base and mental activity. They were interconnected and had a cause and effect relationship.

Matter or Rupa: Matter is all of the visible components that make up our body (rupa), and at the ultimate level consists, merely of four primary elements (dhathu). They are: pathavi or solid element, apo or liquid element, tejo or fire element, vayo or wind element. They also possess properties of solidity, fluidity/cohesion, caloricity/heat, and movement respectively.

These four primary elements manifest themselves in the human body as well as in all other formations in various permutations and combinations. But at the fundamental level they are just sub-atomic particles in constant rapid motion, arising and vanishing in unimaginably rapid succession. Ultimately matter is nothing but crystallization of energy, thus giving them an apparent false reality.

Mind or Nama: There are four components or aggregates comprising the mind. But at the fundamental level they are simply four processes in constant interaction with one another. These are: sensation or feeling (vedana), perception, sense-impressions (sanna), reaction or cognitive activities (sankhara) and consciousness (vinana).

We need to also constantly keep in mind the universal characteristics of the human condition, namely anicca (impermanence) - dhukkha (suffering) and anatta (no permanent self), and the human legacy of greed (loba), hatred (dosa) and moha (delusion/illusion/confusion).

For, human-kind is subject to the latter three characteristics because they are 'part of a package' which it had inherited during the evolutionary journey from unicellular organisms to what it is at present, - complex human beings.

To be continued

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Knowledge and truth in early Buddhism

An examination of the Kalama Sutta and related Pali Canonical texts

Dharmacari Nagapriya

Kalama Sutta: What is the Dharma? At first glance this may seem a trivial question. At least for a Buddhist, it hardly seems worth asking. Surely, it is the Noble Eight-fold Path, the Three Characteristics of Conditioned Existence, the Four Noble Truths and, above all Dependent Origination (pa.ticca-samuppaada).

However, upon further investigation it may seem less clear that such teachings are 'obviously' the Dharma.

If we are not enlightened, how can we know? In other words, upon what grounds do we claim that, say, the notion of anattaa (no fixed self) is the Dharma but the notion of attaa (fixed self) is not? If we are a Buddhist, we may rest our claim upon the Buddhist tradition; it says so, therefore, it is the case.

However, is the Dharma nothing more nor less than what traditional Buddhism has said that it is? How then do we assess contradictory doctrines found in the tradition? Who is to arbitrate over which teachings to admit to the 'Buddhist tradition' and which to exclude? How are we to evaluate the historical developments of the Buddhist tradition? In brief, what reliable criteria can we use to assess the claim to authenticity of any traditional or contemporary Buddhist teaching?

Moreover, how is a committed Buddhist to demonstrate to a non-Buddhist that the teachings of Buddhism are sound? We cannot simply invoke the tradition and expect others to be convinced. Neither is it enough to rest upon our 'faith' (saddhaa). After all, why should anyone accept the perspicacity of our faith. We need more reliable and less dogmatic and subjective grounds upon which to demonstrate the compelling value of the Buddha's message.

It is such issues and difficulties that the Buddha addresses in his dialogue with the Kaalaamas and which I want to look at here. In considering that sutta I want to examine the criteria rejected by the Buddha as inadequate grounds for confidence in spiritual teachings and then explore critically the criteria that He (allegedly) recommends for the identification of beliefs and views that can be confidently trusted. In doing so, I will look at a number of other texts that deal with similar issues.

In his dialogue with the Kaalaamas the Buddha casts a good deal of light on the question of how he communicated his message to people who had not already gone for refuge to him or who, in other words, did not yet have confidence in his proclamation of Enlightenment (bodhi) and the system of liberation that he was steadily developing based upon it. To some extent at least, even practising Buddhists are in the same position unless of course they are already Enlightened.

For example, while I may believe - for a variety of reasons - that the Buddha gained Enlightenment, I cannot claim to know this. Neither can I claim to know that Enlightenment is even possible, even assuming that I can properly understand what it consists in.

My understanding is limited by my own kilesas (defilements), my own lack of spiritual insight. The question then arises: if one does not already believe that the Buddha was Enlightened and that the Dharma offers a path to liberation how can one comes to develop such confidence? This is precisely the issue that the Buddha tackles in his dialogue with the Kaalaamas.

At the beginning of the sutta we encounter the Buddha on a period of itinerant wandering (as was his usual practice outside the rainy season) through the kingdom of Kosala, accompanied by a large retinue of monks.

He arrives at the town of Kesaputta where the Kaalaamas are based. On hearing that the Buddha has entered their territory, and having heard favourable reports about him such as that he is enlightened, the Kaalaamas, perhaps somewhat excitedly, go to see him.

After paying their respects to the Buddha it immediately becomes apparent that they have a fundamental spiritual problem, even a universal spiritual problem. This is how they formulate it: There are some monks and brahmins, venerable sir, who visit Kesaputta.

They expound and explain only their own doctrines; the doctrines of others they despise, revile, and pull to pieces. Some other monks and brahmins too, venerable sir, come to Kesaputta. They also expound and explain only their own doctrines; the doctrines of others they despise, revile, and pull to pieces. Venerable sir, there is doubt, there is uncertainty in us concerning them. Which of these reverend monks and brahmins spoke the truth (sacca) and which falsehood (musaa)? [2]

Are we not in the same position? Shopping, as we now do, in the spiritual supermarket we too are bombarded by self-proclaimed 'enlightened' teachers and charismatic gurus of all creeds and practices, consistently offering seductive, panacean sound-bites.

How are we to sort out the truth from the hype, the spiritually realised from the charlatan, the spiritual invigoration from the narcotic reassurance? The spiritual condition of the Kaalaamas then has many similarities to the spiritual condition of the contemporary man and woman. It is characterised by uncertainty, confusion, and the proliferation of conflicting perspectives.

To be continued

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Suba Theri's eyes

Here,
Take them
Take my eyes
They are superfluous
A burden really

A flicker of a flame
Does not
Bring back
The memories
Of yore
Any more

Morning sun
Does not weave
A golden tapestry
Before them
Anymore
The birds
Beasts
And
Flowers
Just
Vanishing
Atoms
Bundles
of
Nothingness

Take my eyes
Take them
They are
Dead
Anyway

Ariyawansa Ranaweera

From the net

The Song of meditation

All beings are from the very beginning Buddhas.
It is like water and ice:
Apart from water, no ice,
Outside living beings, no Buddhas.
Not knowing it is near, they seek it afar. What a pity!
It is like one in the water who cries out with thirst;
It is like the child of a rich house
who has strayed among the poor.
The cause of our circling through the six worlds
Is that we are on the dark paths of ignorance.
Dark path upon dark path treading,
When shall we escape from birth-and-death?
The Zen meditation of the Mahayana
Is beyond all our praise.
Giving and morality and the other perfections,
Taking of the Name, repentance, discipline,
And the many other right actions,
All come back to the practice of meditation.
By the merit of a single sitting
He destroys innumerable accumulated sins.
How should there be wrong paths for him?
The Pure Land paradise is not far.
When in reverence this truth is heard even once,
He who praises it and gladly embraces
it has merit without end
How much more he who turns within
And confirms directly his own nature,
That his own nature is no-nature
Such has transcended vain words.
The gate opens, and cause and effect are one;