Then Ven. Sariputta addressed the monks: “Friend monks.”
“Yes, friend,” the monks responded to him.
Ven. Sariputta said: “There are these five ways of subduing hatred by which, when hatred arises in a monk, he should wipe it out completely. Which five?
“There is the case where some people are impure in their bodily behavior but pure in their verbal behavior. Hatred for a person of this sort should be subdued.
“There is the case where some people are impure in their verbal behavior but pure in their bodily behavior. Hatred for a person of this sort should also be subdued.
“There is the case where some people are impure in their bodily behavior & verbal behavior, but who periodically experience mental clarity & calm. Hatred for a person of this sort should also be subdued.
“There is the case where some people are impure in their bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and who do not periodically experience mental clarity & calm. Hatred for a person of this sort should also be subdued.
“There is the case where some people are pure in their bodily behavior & their verbal behavior, and who periodically experience mental clarity & calm. Hatred for a person of this sort should also be subdued.
“Now as for a person who is impure in his bodily behavior but pure in his verbal behavior, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when a monk who makes use of things that are thrown away sees a rag in the road: Taking hold of it with his left foot and spreading it out with his right, he would tear off the sound part and go off with it. In the same way, when the individual is impure in his bodily behavior but pure in his verbal behavior, one should at that time pay no attention to the impurity of his bodily behavior, and instead pay attention to the purity of his verbal behavior. Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.
“And as for a person who is impure in his verbal behavior, but pure in his bodily behavior, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a pool overgrown with slime & water plants, and a person comes along, burning with heat, covered with sweat, exhausted, trembling, & thirsty. He would jump into the pool, part the slime & water plants with both hands, and then, cupping his hands, drink the water and go on his way. In the same way, when the individual is impure in his verbal behavior but pure in his bodily behavior, one should at that time pay no attention to the impurity of his verbal behavior, and instead pay attention to the purity of his bodily behavior. Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.
“And as for a person who is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, but who periodically experiences mental clarity & calm, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a little puddle in a cow’s footprint, and a person comes along, burning with heat, covered with sweat, exhausted, trembling, & thirsty. The thought would occur to him, ‘Here is this little puddle in a cow’s footprint. If I tried to drink the water using my hand or cup, I would disturb it, stir it up, & make it unfit to drink. What if I were to get down on all fours and slurp it up like a cow, and then go on my way?’ So he would get down on all fours, slurp up the water like a cow, and then go on his way. In the same way, when an individual is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, but periodically experiences mental clarity & calm, one should at that time pay no attention to the impurity of his bodily behavior…the impurity of his verbal behavior, and instead pay attention to the fact that he periodically experiences mental clarity & calm. Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.
“And as for a person who is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and who does not periodically experience mental clarity & calm, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a sick man — in pain, seriously ill — traveling along a road, far from the next village & far from the last, unable to get the food he needs, unable to get the medicine he needs, unable to get a suitable assistant, unable to get anyone to take him to human habitation. Now suppose another person were to see him coming along the road. He would do what he could out of compassion, pity, & sympathy for the man, thinking, ‘O that this man should get the food he needs, the medicine he needs, a suitable assistant, someone to take him to human habitation. Why is that? So that he won’t fall into ruin right here.’ In the same way, when a person is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and who does not periodically experience mental clarity & calm, one should do what one can out of compassion, pity, & sympathy for him, thinking, ‘O that this man should abandon wrong bodily conduct and develop right bodily conduct, abandon wrong verbal conduct and develop right verbal conduct, abandon wrong mental conduct and develop right mental conduct. Why is that? So that, on the break-up of the body, after death, he won’t fall into the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, purgatory.’ Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.
“And as for a person who is pure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and who periodically experiences mental clarity & calm, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a pool of clear water — sweet, cool, & limpid, with gently sloping banks, & shaded on all sides by trees of many kinds — and a person comes along, burning with heat, covered with sweat, exhausted, trembling, & thirsty. Having plunged into the pool, having bathed & drunk & come back out, he would sit down or lie down right there in the shade of the trees. In the same way, when an individual is pure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and periodically experiences mental clarity & calm, one should at that time pay attention to the purity of his bodily behavior…the purity of his verbal behavior, and to the fact that he periodically experiences mental clarity & calm. Thus the hatred for him should be subdued. An entirely inspiring individual can make the mind grow serene.
“These are five ways of subduing hatred by which, when hatred arises in a monk, he should wipe it out completely.”
Aghatavinaya Sutta: Subduing Hatred AN 5.162
Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: anger, annoyance, resentment, Sariputta
Santuttham Sutta: Contentment
“Monks, Kassapa here is content with any old robe. He praises contentment with any robe, nor does he commit any offense of unseemliness or improprietyon account of a robe. If he has not got a robe, he does not worry; if he has got a robe he enjoys the use of it without clinging or foolish attachment, not committing any offense, aware of the danger and wisely avoiding it.
Kassapa is content with whatever alms he gets… whatever lodging… whatever requisites in the way of medicines for sickness… he enjoys the use of these things without clinging or foolish attachment, not committing any offense, aware of the danger and wisely avoiding it.
“Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves thus: We will be content with whatever robe,… alms… lodging… medicines… we may get… We will enjoy the use of these things without clinging or foolish attachment, not committing any offense, aware of the danger and wisely avoiding it.
“Monks, I will exhort you by the example of Kassapa, or one like Kassapa. So exhorted, you should practice to gain the goal.”
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn16/sn16.001.wlsh.html
I have been practicing with and thinking a lot about gratitude and I’ve come to realize that much of what I’ve loaded into the term really has more to do with contentment than it does with being grateful. Yes, there are plenty of occasions and circumstances for which to be grateful; id est, gratitude to one’s parents and teachers, gratitude to a giver of gifts, etc. However, I often find that contentment with things as they are is called for and using the concept of gratitude does violence to what or an otherwise noble and worthy attitude and praxis.
For theists it makes perfect sense to be grateful every moment as they believe that their creator is responsible for the creation and sustenance of every moment and everything. Trying to do so from a Dhammic perspective is just a tad disingenuous. So, when there is no betting to whom to give thanks, being content with one’s possessions, one’s circumstances seems to be called for. And, who better to emulate than the Venerable Mahakassapa?
Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: appreciation, contentment, gratitude
Another’s Anger
I’ve been trying to be more heedful of my mental states, not to mention my words and actions, and have come to realize something I should have understood long ago: I don’t have to respond in kind when someone is angry or upset with me. It almost seems silly when I write it out but it’s such a natural reaction that I have been constantly surprised by it in the last two days.
Leaving aside whether someone’s anger with me is “justified” it stands to reason that there’s never a justification for me to be angry in return. Anger burns the hand of the one who holds it and can set fire to untold amounts of merit in an instant. To me, my past bouts of anger really do seem like psychotic episodes. When angry I’m willing to throw away almost anything, to sacrifice almost anyone if I let it completely take control. So, why respond to the one who wishes to hurt me in a way that only accomplishes their goal?
An angry person is ugly & sleeps poorly.
Gaining a profit, he turns it into a loss,
having done g with word & deed.
A person overwhelmed with anger
destroys his wealth.
Maddened with anger,
he destroys his status.
Relatives, friends, & colleagues avoid him.
Anger brings loss.
Anger inflames the mind.
He doesn’t realize
that his danger is born from within.
An angry person doesn’t know his own benefit.
An angry person doesn’t see the Dhamma.
A man conquered by anger is in a mass of darkness.
He takes pleasure in bad deeds as if they were good,
but later, when his anger is gone,
he suffers as if burned with fire.
He is spoiled, blotted out,
like fire enveloped in smoke.
When anger spreads,
when a man becomes angry,
he has no shame, no fear of evil,
is not respectful in speech.
For a person overcome with anger,
nothing gives light.
I’ll list the deeds that bring remorse,
that are far from the teachings.
Listen!
An angry person kills his father,
kills his mother,
kills Brahmans
& people run-of-the-mill.
It’s because of a mother’s devotion
that one sees the world,
yet an angry run-of-the-mill person
can kill this giver of life.
Like oneself, all beings hold themselves most dear,
yet an angry person, deranged,
can kill himself in many ways:
with a sword, taking poison,
hanging himself by a rope in a mountain glen.
Doing these deeds
that kill beings and do violence to himself,
the angry person doesn’t realize that he’s ruined.
This snare of Mara, in the form of anger,
dwelling in the cave of the heart:
cut it out with self-control,
discernment, persistence, right view.
The wise man would cut out
each & every form of unskillfulness.
Train yourselves:
‘May we not be blotted out.’
Free from anger & untroubled,
free from greed, without longing,
tamed, your anger abandoned,
free from fermentation,
you will be unbound.
Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: anger, angry person
AN 4.191 Sotānugata Sutta, Followed by Ear
“Mendicants, you can expect four benefits when the teachings have been followed by ear, reinforced by recitation, examined by the mind, and well comprehended theoretically. What four?
Take a mendicant who memorizes the teaching—statements, songs, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and classifications. They’ve followed those teachings by ear, reinforced them by recitation, examined them by the mind, and well comprehended them theoretically. But they die unmindful and are reborn in one of the orders of gods. Being happy there, passages of the teaching come back to them. Memory comes up slowly, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. This is the first benefit you can expect when the teachings have been followed by ear, reinforced by recitation, examined by the mind, and well comprehended theoretically.
Take another mendicant who memorizes the teaching—statements, songs, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and classifications. They’ve followed those teachings by ear, reinforced them by recitation, examined them by the mind, and well comprehended them theoretically. But they die unmindful and are reborn in one of the orders of gods. Though they’re happy there, passages of the teaching don’t come back to them. However, a mendicant with psychic powers, who has achieved mastery of the mind, teaches Dhamma to the assembly of gods. They think: ‘I used to live the spiritual life in this same teaching and training.’ Memory comes up slowly, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. Suppose a person was skilled in the sound of drums. While traveling along a road they hear the sound of drums. They wouldn’t have any doubts or uncertainties about whether that was the sound of drums or not. They’d just conclude, ‘That’s the sound of drums.’ In the same way, take another mendicant who memorizes the teaching … But they die unmindful and are reborn in one of the orders of gods. … Memory comes up slowly, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. This is the second benefit you can expect when the teachings have been followed by ear, reinforced by recitation, examined by the mind, and well comprehended theoretically.
Take another mendicant who memorizes the teaching—statements, songs, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and classifications. They’ve followed those teachings by ear, reinforced them by recitation, examined them by the mind, and well comprehended them theoretically. But they die unmindful and are reborn in one of the orders of gods. But passages of the teaching don’t come back to them when they’re happy, nor does a mendicant with psychic powers … teach Dhamma to the assembly of gods. However, a god teaches Dhamma to the assembly of gods. They think: ‘I used to live the spiritual life in this same teaching and training.’ Memory comes up slowly, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. Suppose a person was skilled in the sound of horns. While traveling along a road they hear the sound of horns. They wouldn’t have any doubt about whether that was the sound of horns or not. They’d just conclude, ‘That’s the sound of horns.’ In the same way, take another mendicant who memorizes the teaching … But they die unmindful and are reborn in one of the orders of gods. … Memory comes up slowly, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. This is the third benefit you can expect when the teachings have been followed by ear, reinforced by recitation, examined by the mind, and well comprehended theoretically.
Take another mendicant who memorizes the teaching—statements, songs, discussions, verses, inspired exclamations, legends, stories of past lives, amazing stories, and classifications. They’ve followed those teachings by ear, reinforced them by recitation, examined them by the mind, and well comprehended them theoretically. But they die unmindful and are reborn in one of the orders of gods. But passages of the teaching don’t come back to them when they’re happy, and neither a mendicant with psychic powers … nor a god teaches Dhamma to the assembly of gods. But a being who has been reborn spontaneously reminds another such being: ‘Do you remember, good sir? Do you remember where we used to live the spiritual life?’ He says: ‘I remember, good sir, I remember!’ Memory comes up slowly, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. Suppose there were two friends who had played together in the sand. Some time or other they’d meet. And one friend would say to the other: ‘Do you remember this, friend? Do you remember that, friend?’ They’d say: ‘I remember, friend, I remember!’ In the same way, take another mendicant who memorizes the teaching … But they die unmindful and are reborn in one of the orders of gods. … Memory comes up slowly, but then that being quickly reaches distinction. This is the fourth benefit you can expect when the teachings have been followed by ear, reinforced by recitation, examined by the mind, and well comprehended theoretically.
You can expect these four benefits when the teachings have been followed by ear, reinforced by recitation, examined by the mind, and well comprehended theoretically.”
Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: pariyatti, rebirth, sotānugata sutta
Dāna, Sīla, Bhāvanā
For the first time in years I feel more at ease in the practice despite the fact that I will need to keep up my intensity. Let me, again, preface this by saying I don’t intend to give up my bhāvanā practices; I will continue aiming for an hour or more of seated, formal meditation per day. What I am giving up is any expectation of progressing to jhāna. And, this expectation has tortured me for over a decade.
I think it’s important to point out that jhāna may, in fact, be attainable for particularly skilled practitioners so it makes sense that Western teachers don’t necessarily attempt to dissuade their students from taking such a lofty goal in mind. In my case, I took hold of the metaphorical snake in the wrong way and have been repeatedly bitten due to my unfounded expectations. I am almost certain that there are no small number of Western Buddhists who are doing and have done the same. Sadly, I fear that many simply fall away from the Teachings when they fail to make progress pursuing a bhāvanā-only approach. This may be the biggest pitfall of Buddhism being viewed solely as a meditative discipline rather than a complete path.
Turning back to myself, I intend to spend much more time and give more careful scrutiny to my sīla then I have hitherto. I have been, on the whole, good about keeping the precepts but I want to close those tears and holes that arise time and again.
The one aspect of my practice that I feel I need to address more than any other is study or pariyatti. There is a sutta that discusses the effects of learning and listening well to the Dhamma in one’s next birth and it has given me a lot of confidence as well as a new direction to take. Along with the disciplines of dāna, sīla and bhāvanā, I intend to spend more time revising and memorising Buddha-vacana than I have been in order to condition the mind and prepare it for the flowering of wisdom. Trying to pursue higher goals of being a bodhisatta when I can’t even keep pure sīla is just folly. For now I will simply focus on the abbreviated threefold training.
Poverty
“Hearing about this, people thought: “Now let us get sharp swords made for us, and then we can take from anybody what is not given, we will make an end of them, finish them off once and for all and cut off their heads.” So, having procured some sharp swords, they launched murderous assaults on villages, towns and cities, and went in for highway robbery, killing their victims by cutting off their heads.
Thus, from the not giving of property to the needy, poverty became widespread, from the growth of poverty, the taking of what was not given increased, from the increase of theft, the use of weapons increased, from the increased use of weapons, the taking of life increased…”
(Digha-Nikaya iii 65)
Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dana, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: digha nikaya, homelessness, poverty
A Good Rebirth
This morning I somehow ran across the Dhamma talk above by the recently passed Venerable Dhammavuddho. He goes into great detail about what kamma makes for as good rebirth and is very clear about the difficulty of attaining Jhāna for those who have not gone forth. A little caveat: although I do appreciate his point of view and believe it is likely true, I don’t intend to give up on my meditation practice.
I do, however, intend to place a lot more emphasis on dana, sila and study as the venerable mentioned that these are requisites for a good rebirth. I have yet to give up on the idea of pursuing Buddhahood but my recent failings have made me reconsider just how ready I am to make such aspirations.
May I listen to and read at least one piece of Dhamma each day on 2020 and make good use of this life.
It seems that, the longer I practice, the more sensitive I become to the purity of my sila. That and, if I’m to be brutally honest, the fact that I continue to be incorrigible with regard to certain training rules. I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions despite how much I make use of aditthana in my practice. This year, however, I make the aditthana to maintain my sila without stain for as long as I can.
With that out of the way, I listened to ask Ajahn Achalo talk this morning during meditation that focused on recollecting our tremendous potential as human beings. Yes, things are decaying and falling apart. And, yes, things are being born and growing as well. There are increasing forces of darkness but there is yet much good in the world. As he points out, we need only look to the example of mothers to see just how much unrecognized love and kindness there is in the world. Billions of human mothers feed, protect and care for their babies and we take it for granted. How much mettā is there in the world simply due to mothers’ love?
To see clearly, we must balance our perceptions so that we’re not fixated on any extreme. May you and all beings be well.
Posted in Aditthana, Buddha, Buddhism, Dhamma, Theravada | Tags: meditation, perception
No Experience
A Germ of Love
As far as I’m concerned, if the germ of love and affection isn’t present in one or both spouses , a harmonious marriage is impossible. I can forgive, let go, show warmth as much as I want but it is like tilling rocky, barren soil.
Love and friendliness are the conditio sine qua non for respect and cooperation. With a mind full of hate nothing is possible, nothing is acceptable. Without a mind full of love everything is a problem.
But, my heart didn’t have to be shadowed by the hate of another. My mind doesn’t have to be tainted by resentment. Instead, I will work to still these thoughts and train the mind towards love and kindness.
1. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.
2. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow.
3. “He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.” Those who harbor such thoughts do not still their hatred.
4. “He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.” Those who do not harbor such thoughts still their hatred.
Posted in Buddha, Buddha Vacana, Buddhism, Dhamma, Family Life, Theravada | Tags: Hate, marriage, resentment
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