An Extract from Kitagiri Sutta - Dhamma-follower & Conviction Follower

Dhammanusari disciple & Saddhanusari disciple


Buddha expounded:


"And what is the individual who is a Dhamma-follower? There is the case where a certain individual does not remain touching with his body those peaceful liberations that transcend form, that are formless, nor — having seen with discernment — are his fermentations ended. But with a [sufficient] measure of reflection through discernment he has come to an agreement with the teachings proclaimed by the Tathagata. And he has these qualities: the faculty of conviction, the faculty of persistence, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, & the faculty of discernment. This is called an individual who is a Dhamma-follower.[9] Regarding this monk, I say that he has a task to do with heedfulness. Why is that? [I think:] 'Perhaps this venerable one, when making use of suitable resting places, associating with admirable friends, balancing his [mental] faculties, will reach & remain in the supreme goal of the holy life for which clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness, knowing & realizing it for himself in the here & now.' Envisioning this fruit of heedfulness for this monk, I say that he has a task to do with heedfulness.


"And what is the individual who is a conviction-follower? There is the case where a certain individual does not remain touching with his body those peaceful liberations that transcend form, that are formless, nor — having seen with discernment — are his fermentations ended. But he has a [sufficient] measure of conviction in & love for the Tathagata. And he has these qualities: the faculty of conviction, the faculty of persistence, the faculty of mindfulness, the faculty of concentration, & the faculty of discernment. This is called an individual who is a conviction-follower. Regarding this monk, I say that he has a task to do with heedfulness. Why is that? [I think:] 'Perhaps this venerable one, when making use of suitable resting places, associating with admirable friends, balancing his [mental] faculties, will reach & remain in the supreme goal of the holy life for which clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness, knowing & realizing it for himself in the here & now.' Envisioning this fruit of heedfulness for this monk, I say that he has a task to do with heedfulness.


"Monks, I do not say that the attainment of gnosis is all at once. Rather, the attainment of gnosis is after gradual training, gradual action, gradual practice. And how is there the attainment of gnosis after gradual training, gradual action, gradual practice? There is the case where, when conviction has arisen, one visits [a teacher]. Having visited, one grows close. Having grown close, one lends ear. Having lent ear, one hears the Dhamma. Having heard the Dhamma, one remembers it. Remembering, one penetrates the meaning of the teachings. Penetrating the meaning, one comes to an agreement through pondering the teachings. There being an agreement through pondering the teachings, desire arises. When desire has arisen, one is willing. When one is willing, one contemplates. Having contemplated, one makes an exertion. Having made an exertion, one realizes with the body the ultimate truth and, having penetrated it with discernment, sees it.[

"For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this: 'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple. He is the one who knows, not I.' For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, the Teacher's message is healing & nourishing. For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this: 'Gladly would I let the flesh & blood in my body dry up, leaving just the skin, tendons, & bones, but if I have not attained what can be reached through human firmness, human persistence, human striving, there will be no relaxing my persistence.' For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis here & now, or — if there be any remnant of clinging-sustenance — non-return."


That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed One's words.


Adapted from the Kitagiri Sutta translated from Pali by Bhikkhu Thanissara

Padana Sutta - Kuddaka Nikaya

Lord Buddha :


To me —

resolute in exertion

near the river Nerañjara,

making a great effort,

doing  jhana

to attain rest from the yoke —


Namuci[1] came,

speaking words of compassion:

"You are ashen, thin.

Death is in

your presence.

Death

has 1,000 parts of you.

Only one part

is your life.

Live, good sir!

Life is better.

Alive,

you can do

acts of merit.

Your living the holy life,

performing the fire sacrifice,

will heap up much merit.

What use is exertion to you?

Hard to follow

— the path of exertion —

hard to do, hard

to sustain."


Saying these verses,

Mara stood in the Awakened One's presence.

And to that Mara, speaking thus,

the Blessed One said this:



"Kinsman of the heedless,

Evil One,

come here for whatever purpose:

I haven't, for merit,

even the least bit of need.

Those who have need of merit:

those are the ones

Mara's fit to address.



In me are conviction,

austerity,

persistence,

discernment.

Why, when I'm so resolute

do you petition me

to live?

This wind could burn up

even river currents.

Why, when I'm resolute

shouldn't my blood dry away?

As my blood dries up

gall & phlegm dry up.

As muscles waste away,

the mind grows clearer;

mindfulness, discernment,

concentration stand

more firm.

Staying in this way,

attaining the ultimate feeling,[2]

the mind has no interest

in sensual passions.

See:

a being's

purity!



Sensual passions are your first army.

Your second is called Discontent.

Your third is Hunger & Thirst.

Your fourth is called Craving.

Fifth is Sloth & Drowsiness.

Sixth is called Terror.

Your seventh is Uncertainty.

Hypocrisy & Stubbornness, your eighth.

Gains, Offerings, Fame, & Status

wrongly gained,

and whoever would praise self

& disparage others.



That, Namuci, is your army,

the Dark One's commando force.

A coward can't defeat it,

but one having defeated it

gains bliss.

Do I carry muñja grass?[3]

I spit on my life.

Death in battle woud be better for me

than that I, defeated,

survive.



Sinking here, they don't appear,

some priests & contemplatives.

They don't know the path

by which those with good practices

go.



Seeing the bannered force

on all sides —

the troops, Mara

along with his mount —

I go into battle.

May they not budge me

from

my spot.

That army of yours,

that the world with its devas

can't overcome,

I will smash with discernment —

as an unfired pot with a stone.



Making my resolve mastered,

mindfulness well-established,

I will go about, from kingdom to kingdom,

training many disciples.

They — heedful, resolute

doing my bidding —

despite your wishes, will go

where, having gone,

there's no grief."

Mara:



"For seven years, I've dogged

the Blessed One's steps,

but haven't gained an opening

in the One Self-awakened

& glorious.

A crow circled a stone

the color of fat

— 'Maybe I've found

something tender here.

Maybe there's something delicious' —

but not getting anything delicious there,

the crow went away.

Like the crow attacking the rock,

I weary myself with Gotama."



As he was overcome with sorrow,

his lute fell from under his arm.

Then he, the despondent spirit,

right there

disappeared.



Adapted from Bhikkhu Thanissara's translation of the Padana sutta from Pali.

THE BENIFITS OF VIRTUE

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF VIRTUE?

The Lord Buddha expounded:


Its benefits are the acquisition of the several special qualities
beginning with non-remorse. For this is said: “Ánanda,
profitable habits (virtues) have non-remorse as their aim
and non-remorse as their benefit” (AV1). 

Also it is said further: “Householder, there are these five
benefits for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue.


 What five? Here, householder, one who is virtuous,
possessed of virtue, obtains a large fortune as a
 consequence of diligence; this is the first benefit
for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue.


Again, of one who is virtuous, possessed of virtue,
 a fair name is spread abroad; this is the second benefit
for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue.


Again, whenever one who is virtuous, possessed of virtue,
enters an assembly, whether of khattiyas  (warriornobles)
or brahmans or householders or ascetics,
he does so without fear or hesitation; this is the third
benefit for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue.


Again, one who is virtuous, possessed of virtue,
dies unconfused; this is the fourth benefit  for the virtuous
in the perfecting of virtue.


Again, one who is virtuous, possessed of virtue, on the
breakup of the body,after death, reappears in a happy
destiny, in the heavenly world; this is the fifth
benefit for the virtuous in the perfecting of virtue” (D II 86).


There are also the many benefits of virtue beginning with
being dear and loved and ending with destruction of cankers
 described in the passage beginning,

 “If a bhikkhu should wish, ‘May I be dear to my fellows
in the life of purity and loved by them, held in respect and
honoured by them,’ let him perfect the virtues” (M I 33).
This is how virtue has as its benefits the several special
qualities beginning with non-remorse.


Furthermore:
Dare anyone a limit place
On benefits that virtue brings,
Without which virtue clansmen find
No footing in the dispensation?
No Ganges, and no Yamuná
No Sarabhú, Sarassathì,
Or flowing Aciravatì,
Or noble River of Mahì,
Is able to wash out the stain
In things that breathe here in the world;
For only virtue’s water can
Wash out the stain in living things.
No breezes that come bringing rain,
No balm of yellow sandalwood,
No necklaces beside, or gems
Or soft effulgence of moonbeams,
Can here avail to calm and soothe
Men’s fevers in this world; whereas
This noble, this supremely cool,
Well-guarded virtue quells the flame.
Where is there to be found the scent
That can with virtue’s scent compare,
And that is borne against the wind
As easily as with it? Where
Can such another stair be found
That climbs, as virtue does, to heaven?
Or yet another door that gives
Onto the City of Nibbána?

Shine as they may, there are no kings
Adorned with jewellery and pearls
That shine as does a man restrained
Adorned with virtue’s ornament.
Virtue entirely does away
With dread of self-blame and the like;
Their virtue to the virtuous
Gives gladness always by its fame.
From this brief sketch it may be known
How virtue brings reward, and how
This root of all good qualities
Robs of its power every fault.
 
 
Adapted from Visuddhimagga of  Ven. Buddhaghosa; translated from Pali by Ven. Bhikkhu Nanamoli

Damma & Basic Principles

Enlightenment

Through the round of many births

without reward,

without rest,

seeking the house builder.

Painful is birth again

and again.


House builder, you're seen!

You will not build a house again.

All your rafters broken,

the ridge pole destroyed,

gone to the Unformed, the mind

has attained the end of craving.

— Dhp 153-54


Dhamma


Phenomena are preceded by the heart,


ruled by the heart,

made of the heart.

If you speak or act with a corrupted heart,

then suffering follows you —

as the wheel of the cart,

the track of the ox that pulls it.



Phenomena are preceded by the heart,

ruled by the heart,

made of the heart.

If you speak or act with a calm, bright heart,

happiness follows you,

like a shadow that never leaves.

— Dhp 1-2


Heedfulness: the path to the Deathless;

Heedlessness: the path to death.

The heedful do not die;

The heedless are as if

already dead.

Knowing this as a true distinction,

those wise in heedfulness

rejoice in heedfulness,

enjoying the range of the noble ones.


Buddhist Teaching in brief.

The non-doing of any evil,

the performance of what is skillful,

the cleansing of one's own mind:

This is the Buddhas' teaching.


Not disparaging, not injuring,

restraint in line with the Patimokkha,

moderation in food,

dwelling in seclusion,

commitment to the heightened mind:

This is the Buddhas' teaching


Dhp 183, 185


Adapted from An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Refuge to the Noble Triple Gem

They go to many a refuge,

to mountains, forests,

parks, trees, and shrines:

people threatened with danger.

That's not the secure refuge,

that's not the highest refuge,

that's not the refuge,

having gone to which,

you gain release

from all suffering and stress.


But when, having gone for refuge

to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha,

you see with right discernment

the four Noble Truths —

stress,

the cause of stress,

the transcending of stress,

and the Noble Eightfold Path,

the way to the stilling of stress:

That's the secure refuge,

that, the highest refuge,

that is the refuge,

having gone to which,

you gain release

from all suffering and stress.

— Dhammapada, 188-192


Adepted from an Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, &
Sangha by Thanissaro Bhikkhu Metta Forest Monastery,
Valley Center, CA 92082-1409, U.S.A.

Dhaniya Sutta

Dhaniya the cattleman:

"The rice is cooked,
my milking done.
I live with my people
along the banks of the Mahi;
my hut is roofed, my fire lit:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"Free from anger,
my stubbornness gone,
I live for one night
along the banks of the Mahi;
my hut's roof is open, my fire out:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

Dhaniya:

"No mosquitoes or gadflies
are to be found.
The cows range in the marshy meadow
where the grasses flourish.
They could stand the rain if it came:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"A raft, well-made,
has been lashed together.
Having crossed over,
gone to the far shore,
I've subdued the flood.
No need for a raft
is to be found:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

Dhaniya:

"My wife is compliant, not careless,
is charming, has lived with me long.
I hear no evil about her at all:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"My mind is compliant, released,
has long been nurtured, well tamed.
No evil is to be found in me:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

Dhaniya:

"I support myself on my earnings.
My sons live in harmony,
free from disease.
I hear no evil about them at all:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"I'm in no one's employ,
I wander the whole world
on the reward [of my Awakening].
No need for earnings
is to be found:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

Dhaniya:

"There are cows, young bulls,
cows in calf, & breeding cows,
& a great bull, the leader of the herd:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"There are no cows, no young bulls,
no cows in calf or breeding cows,
no great bull, the leader of the herd:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

Dhaniya:

"The stakes are dug-in, immovable.
The new muñja-grass halters, well-woven,
not even young bulls could break:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

The Buddha:

"Having broken my bonds
like a great bull,
like a great elephant
tearing a rotting vine,
I never again
will lie in the womb:
so if you want, rain-god,
go ahead & rain."

The great cloud rained down
straightaway,
filling the lowlands & high.
Hearing the rain-god pour down,
Dhaniya said:
"How great our gain
that we've gazed
on the Blessed One!
We go to him,
the One with vision,
for refuge.
May you be our teacher, Great Sage.
My wife & I are compliant.
Let's follow the holy life
under the One Well-gone.
Gone to the far shore
of aging & death,
let's put an end
to suffering & stress."

Mara:

"Those with children
delight
because of their children.
Those with cattle
delight
because of their cows.
A person's delight
comes from acquisitions,
since a person with no acquisitions
doesn't delight."

The Buddha:

"Those with children
grieve
because of their children.
Those with cattle
grieve
because of their cows.
A person's grief
comes from acquisitions,
since a person with no acquisitions
doesn't grieve."


Adepted from Dhaniya Sutta in the Sutta Nipatha of Kuddaka Nikaya translated from Pali by Thanissara Bikku.

Wordy Warfare - Sumyutta Nikaya

The Viggahika Sutta:

The Lord Buddha expounded:

"Monks, do not wage wordy warfare, saying: 'You don't understand this Dhamma and discipline, I understand this Dhamma and discipline'; 'How could you understand it? You have fallen into wrong practices: I have the right practice'; 'You have said afterwards what you should have said first, and you have said first what you should have said afterwards';[1] 'What I say is consistent, what you say isn't'; 'What you have thought out for so long is entirely reversed'; 'Your statement is refuted'; 'You are talking rubbish!'; 'You are in the wrong'; 'Get out of that if you can!'

"Why should you not do this? Such talk, monks, is not related to the goal, it is not fundamental to the holy life, does not conduce to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, tranquillity, higher knowledge, enlightenment or to Nibbana. When you have discussions, monks, you should discuss Suffering, the Arising of Suffering, its Cessation, and the Path that leads to its Cessation. Why is that? Because such talk is related to the goal... it conduces to disenchantment... to Nibbana. This is the task you must accomplish."

Notes
1.
"You are putting the cart before the horse!"

Adapted from Viggahika Sutta: Wordy Warfare translated from the Pali by Maurice O'Connell Walshe