The body is impermanent like froth and insubstantial like a mirage

The body is impermanent like froth and insubstantial like a mirage

Dhammapada verse 46

By Dr. Ari Ubeysekara

Introduction

Lord Gautama Buddha lived and preached in India during the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Throughout the ministry of forty five years from enlightenment at the age of thirty five to passing away at the age of eighty, Lord Gautama Buddha, through compassion for other beings, travelled from place to place mainly in North Eastern India, teaching the path out of suffering to a diverse range of people. Since the first Buddhist council that was held three months after the passing away of the Buddha, the Buddha’s teachings were categorised into the now well-known Pāli Canon consisting of the three baskets. The teaching of the Gautama Buddha which is believed to consist of around 84,000 items is contained in the three baskets (tipitaka).

1. Basket of the disciplinary rules for the monastic community (vinaya pitaka)
2. Basket of the discourses (sutta pitaka)
3. Basket of the Buddha’s higher teaching (abhidhamma pitaka)

The basket of the discourses (sutta pitaka) consists of:

1. Collection of long discourses (dīgha nikāya)
2. Collection of middle length discourses (majjhima nikāya)
3. Collection of connected discourses (samyutta nikāya)
4. Collection of numerical discourses (anguttara nikāya)
5. Collection of minor discourses (khuddaka nikāya)

Collection of minor discourses (khuddaka nikāya) consist of 15 divisions of a variety of small discourses and others. The second division is the Dhammapada, the other divisions being Khuddaka pātha, udāna, itivuttaka, sutta nipātha, vimānavatthu, petavatthu, thera-gāthā, theri-gāthā, jātaka stories, niddesa, patisambhidā magga, apadāna, Buddhavamsa and cariya pitaka.

The Pāli word “Dhamma” seems to have several meanings such as the natural law, natural phenomena, objects of the mind, religious doctrines and specifically the Lord Gautama Buddha’s teachings. The word “Pada” means path, step, word or the foot. So, the word Dhammapada has been described as the “Path of Righteousness”. The Dhammapada containing a collection of the sayings of the Buddha in verse form, is one of the best known books in Buddhism familiar to almost all of the practising Buddhist disciples universally as well as to others who study the teachings of the Buddha.

Dhammapada contains 423 verses said by the Buddha in different contexts. Most of the verses have been taken from the discourses of the Buddha. It has been noted that more than two thirds of the verses are taken from the discourses contained in the two collections of the Buddha’s discourses known as the Samyutta Nikāya and Anguttara Nikāya. The 423 verses are divided into 26 chapters or vaggas each with a particular heading. The fourth chapter is named “Puppha vagga” meaning the chapter of “Flowers”, which contains 16 verses said by the Buddha. The back ground story of the 46^th  verse, which is the 3^rd  verse of the Puppha vagga is about a monk who became an Arahant by contemplating on the impermanence of the body.

Background story of verse 46

At one time the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatti which was donated to the Buddha by the chief benefactor Anāthapindika.

At that time, a certain monk obtained instruction from the Buddha on a suitable meditation object and went to the forest to practise meditation. While living in the forest, he meditated with a lot of effort, but however hard he meditated he was unable to make any progress in his meditation. Then he decided that he should return to the Buddha to explain his situation and obtain further instruction on meditation from the Buddha.

While on his way back to Savatti to see the Buddha, he saw a mirage which was only an illusion of a sheet of water. At that moment, he realised that his body was also insubstantial just like a mirage. Thus contemplating on the insubstantiality of the body in his mind, he arrived at the bank of the River Aciravati and sat down under a tree close to the river.  While sitting down there, he could witness big froths appearing and breaking up in the river. This again helped him to realise the impermanent  nature of the body.

At that time, the Buddha noticed his thinking and appeared in his vision saying to him:

“My son, just as you have realised, this body is impermanent like froth and insubstantial like a mirage.”

Then the Buddha recited the following verse which is recorded as the 46^th verse of the Dhammapada.

“Phepnūpamaṁ kāyamimaṁ viditvā,
  marīcidhammaṁ abhisambudhāno,
  chetvāna mārassa papupphakāni,
  adassanaṁ maccurājassa gacche.”

“Knowing that this body is like froth,
  understanding that it is like a mirage,
  cutting the flowers of the Mara,
  one should go pass the sight of the King of Death.”

It is recorded that at the end of the Buddha’s discourse, the monk gained enlightenment as an Arahant.

References

1. https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=046

End.

Bāhiya Sutta: Discourse to Bāhiya

Bāhiya Sutta: Discourse to Bāhiya

By Dr. Ari Ubeysekara

Introduction

All of the discourses delivered by the Lord Gautama Buddha, who lived and preached in India during the 6th and 5^th century BC, were grouped into five collections at the first Buddhist council that was held three months after the passing away of the Buddha in 483 BC.

  1. Collection of long discourses (dīgha nikāya)

  2. Collection of middle length discourses (majjhima nikāya)

  3. Collection of connected discourses (samyutta nikāya)

  4. Collection of numerical discourses (anguttara nikāya)

  5. Collection of minor discourses (khuddaka nikāya)

Collection of minor discourses (khuddaka nikāya) consist of 15 divisions of a variety of small discourses and others. The third division is the Udāna, the other divisions being Khuddaka pātha, Dhammapada, Itivuttaka, Sutta nipātha, Vimānavatthu, Petavatthu, Thera-gāthā, Theri-gāthā, Jātaka stories, Niddesa, Patisambhidā magga, Apadāna, Buddhavamsa and Cariya pitaka. Bāhiya sutta is a discourse recorded in the Bodhi vagga of the Udāna. (1)

Content of Bāhiya sutta

Thus have I heard.

[All the discourses of the Buddha contained in the five collections were narrated by Venerable Arahant Ānanda from memory at the first Buddhist council that was held three months after the Buddha’s passing away. He was the chief attendant of the Buddha and was known as the “guardian of the Dhamma” due to his excellent skill in remembering the Buddha’s discourses. At the Buddhist council, each discourse was begun by him with the same phrase found at the beginning of this discourse too, “evaṁ me sutaṁ” meaning “Thus have I heard”.]

At one time the Buddha was staying at Sāvatti in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapindika’s monastery.

[At the time that this discourse was delivered, the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatti which was built and donated to the Buddha by the chief benefactor Anāthapindika. It was named Jetavana, as the land on which it was built was bought from a prince named Jeta. Sāvatti was a favourite residence of the Buddha and it is recorded that the Buddha spent twenty five rainy retreats at Sāvatti.]

At that time, Bāhiya Dārucīriya (Bāhiya of the Bark Cloth) was living by the seashore at Suppāraka. He was honoured, respected, revered, venerated and esteemed and was receiving robes, alms food, lodgings, medicines and support for the sick. Then while he was in seclusion, this thought came to his mind: “I am one of those Arahants in the world or one who has entered the path to Arahanthood.”

[According to Buddhist literature, Bahiya was a trader who used to travel by ship to other countries on his trading trips. In one of those trips, he was shipwrecked and was floating on a plank of wood until he landed at a place near the ancient port named Suppāraka. When he landed on the beach, he had no clothes on him and had to cover himself with a covering made from the bark of a tree. As he was wearing a covering made from the bark of a tree, he came to be known as Bāhiyadārucīriya meaning Bāhiya in a wood bark dress. He found a bowl and went around begging for food. People mistook him for a real ascetic and some even considered him to be an Arahant paying respect to him, honouring him and venerating him. Because he was treated as a real ascetic and even an Arahant by the people who were providing his requisites, Bāhiya also started believing that he might be an Arahant. Some people did offer him clothes to wear but he refused to accept them fearing that if he wore real clothes he might lose his status and popularity as an Arahant. This made his supporters believe that he must be a genuine enlightened ascetic practising severe austerities and began to pay even more respect, reverence and veneration to him.]

Then a deity who had been a former friend of Bāhiya Dārucīriya, knew the thought in Bāhiya Dārucīriya’s mind and out of compassion for him and for his welfare, approached him and said: “You, Bāhiya, are not an Arahant or one who has entered the path to Arahanhood. You do not follow the practice by which you could become a Arahant or one who has entered the path to Arahanthood.”

[It is said in the Buddhist literature that, this particular deity was a Non Returner (anāgāmi) Brahma from one of the Pure Abode Brahma worlds known as Suddhāvāsa. He and Bāhiya had been friends and fellow monks who had meditated together on a hill during the time of Kassapa Buddha. When he knew that his old friend Bāhiya was wrongly believing that he was an Arahant, he had to come to help Bāhiya to find the Buddha and enter the Buddhist path of liberation to become a real Arahant.]

“Then, who in this world including the deities, are Arahants or those who have entered the path to Arahanthood?”

“There is, Bāhiya, a city named Sāvatti in the northern countries. There the Blessed One is living now, the Arahant, the fully self-awakened one. That Blessed One, is indeed an Arahant and he teaches the Dhamma for the realisation of Arahanthood.”

Then Bāhiya Dārucīriya, profoundly moved by the words of that deity, immediately left Suppāraka and stopping only for one night on the way, arrived at the Jeta’s Grove, Anātahapindika’s monastery near Sāvatti.

Now at that time, a number of monks were walking up and down in the open air. Then Bāhiya Dārucīriya approached the monks and said to them: “Sirs, where is the Blessed One, the Arahant, the fully self-awakened one living now? I wish to see the Blessed One, the Arahant, the fully self-awakened one.”

“The Blessed One, Bāhiya, has gone for alms food among the houses.”

Then Bāhiya hurriedly left the Jeta’s Grove and entered Sāvatti, where he saw the Buddha walking for alms food, pleasant, inspiring, with calmed senses and tranquil mind, endowed with supreme control and calmness, like a noble elephant whose faculties are tamed and guarded. On seeing the Buddha, he approached the Buddha, bowed down with his head at the feet of the Buddha and said: “Venerable Sir, let the Blessed One teach me the Dhamma. Let the Holy One teach me the Dhamma. That would be for my good and happiness for a long time.”

When this was said, the Buddha said: “This is not the time, Bāhiya, I have entered among the houses for alms food.”

For the second time, Bāhiya said this to the Buddha: “But, Venerable Sir, it is difficult to know for certain, how long the Blessed One will live or how long I will live. Let the Blessed One teach me the Dhamma. Let the Holy One teach me the Dhamma. That would be for my good and happiness for a long time.”

For the second time, the Buddha said: “This is not the time, Bāhiya, I have entered among the houses for alms food.”

For the third time, Bāhiya said this to the Buddha: “But, Venerable Sir, it is difficult to know for certain, how long the Blessed One will live or how long I will live. Let the Blessed One teach me the Dhamma. Let the Holy One teach me the Dhamma. That would be for my good and happiness for a long time.”

“In that case, Bāhiya, you should train like this: “In the seen there will only be the seen; in the heard there will only be the heard; in the sensed there will only be the sensed; in the cognised there will only be the cognised. You should train like this. When Bāhiya, for you, in the seen there will only be the seen; in the heard there will only be the heard; in the sensed there will only be the sensed; in the cognised there will only be the cognised, then Bāhiya, you will not be by that. When you are not by that, you will not be in that. When you are not in that, then you will not be in this world or the world beyond or between the two. Just this is the end of suffering.”

Then due to this brief teaching given by the Buddha, Bāhiya Dārucīriya’s mind was at once freed from the defilements without grasping. Then the Buddha, having given this brief teaching to Bāhiya Dārucīriya, went away.

Not long after the Buddha has gone away, a cow with a baby calf attacked Bāhiya Dārucīriya and killed him.

Then the Buddha, entered Sāvatti for alms food and after the meal, left the city together with a number of monks and saw Bāhiya Dārucīriya has passed away. The Buddha said to the monks: “Monks, take Bāhiya Dārucīriya’s remains and put it on a couch. Then carry it away, cremate it and construct a monument for him. Monks, one of your spiritual companions has passed away.”

“Yes, Venerable Sir.” The monks said to the Buddha. They took Bāhiya Dārucīriya’s remains, put it on a couch, carried it away and cremated it. Then they constructed a monument for him and went to the Buddha. Having arrived, they paid homage to the Buddha and sat to one side. While sitting to one side, the monks said to the Buddha: “Venerable Sir, Bāhiya Dārucīriya’s remains have been cremated and a monument has been built for him. What is his destiny? What is his future state?”

“Monks, Bāhiya Dārucīriya was wise. He practised in line with the teaching and did not trouble  me with issues about the teaching. Monks, Bāhiya Dārucīriya has attained final Nibbana.”

Then, the Buddha, realising the significance of the occasion, uttered this inspired utterance:

“Where neither water nor earth,
  Nor fire nor air gain a foothold,
  There no stars shine, no sun sheds light,
  There shines no moon, yet there is no darkness.”

“When a sage, a brahmin comes to know this,
  For himself through his own wisdom,
  Then he is freed from form and formless,
  Freed from joy and pain.”

In the Bāhiya sutta, Bāhiya Dārucīriya who was called by that name as he wore a bark dress, had to wear a bark dress and beg for his food when he landed at a port city following a shipwreck. When he was treated by the donors as a holy man, he began to wrongly believe that he was either an Arahant or one on the path to become an Arahant. A deity who was a friend in a past life, came to help him and sent him to meet the Buddha who was staying at Sāvatti. Having arrived in Sāvatti, he could not wait till the Buddha returned from the alms round and went and met the Buddha by the roadside. Following a very brief sermon from the Buddha which was just one single verse, he realised the truth and gained enlightenment as an Arahant. Soon afterward, he was killed by a cow and it is said that it was as a result of a misdeed that he has done in a previous life. The Buddha has declared Arahant Bāhiyadārucīriya to be the foremost in the speed of gaining deep knowledge (khippabhiññā).

References

1. https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/ud/ud.1.10.irel.html

End.

Is the Buddhist Teaching pessimistic?

Is the Buddhist Teaching pessimistic?

By Dr. Ari Ubeysekara

Introduction

Buddhism is the teaching of Lord Gautama Buddha, who lived in Northern India during the sixth and fifth centuries BC. The Buddha became a Sammā Sambuddha by attaining full enlightenment through the realisation of the four Noble Truths by His own effort, with no help from a teacher. Having attained full enlightenment, through compassion for the other beings, the Buddha decided to teach the path of liberation from suffering that He had discovered so that others too can cultivate the same path and be liberated from their suffering by attaining the state of Nibbāna. In His very first sermon called “Dhamma Chakkappavattana Sutta”, meaning “Turning the Wheel of the Truth”, the Buddha expounded the four Noble Truths that He realised during the process of enlightenment.

The four Noble Truths:

1. The Truth of universal suffering (dukkha sacca)
2. The Truth of the origin of suffering (samudaya sacca)
3. The Truth of the cessation of suffering (nirodha sacca)
4. The Truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering (magga sacca)

Describing the truth of suffering, the Buddha stated:

“Birth is suffering
 Ageing is suffering
 Sickness is suffering
 Death is suffering
 Association with the unpleasant is suffering
 Dissociation from the pleasant is suffering
 Not to receive what one desires is suffering
 In short, the five aggregates of clinging is suffering”

While suffering due to birth, ageing, sickness, death, association with the unpleasant, dissociation from the pleasant and not receiving what one desires is commonplace and understandable, the statement that “In short, the five aggregates of clinging is suffering” is unique to the Buddhist doctrine.

The five aggregates of clinging (pancha-upādānakkhanda):

1. Form or matter (rūpa)
2. Feeling or sensation (vedanā)
3. Perception (saññā)
4. Mental formation (sankhāra)
5. Consciousness (viññāna)

The fourth Noble Truth is the path leading to the end of suffering which is the Noble Eight-fold Path (ariya atthangika magga). The Noble Eight-fold Path consisting of eight interrelated factors provides practical steps to be followed to gain enlightenment (Nibbāna).

The Noble Eight-fold Path:

1. Right view (sammā-ditthi)
2. Right intention (sammā-sankappa)
3. Right speech (sammā-vācā)
4. Right action (sammā-kammanta)
5. Right livelihood (sammā-ājīva)
6. Right effort (sammā-vāyāma)
7. Right mindfulness (sammā-sati)
8. Right concentration (sammā-samādhi) (1)

Having discovered the real cause of suffering and the path to eradicate all suffering, the Buddha’s mission during the ministry of 45 years was to teach the path of liberation to as many people as possible so that they could also cultivate the same path and liberate themselves from suffering. An often quoted statement of the Buddha was:

 “I teach only two things
   Suffering and end of suffering.”

The term “dukkha” in the Pali language, which is believed to have been the spoken language in that part of India where the Lord Gautama Buddha lived and taught in the 6^th and 5^th century BC, is generally translated as “suffering” in the English language. The Pali word “dukkha” is made up of the prefix “du” meaning bad or difficult and the root “kha” meaning empty. Although the word “suffering” is used in most of the Buddhist literature in the English language due to the lack of a better word, it is generally agreed that suffering does not reveal the true nature of the word “dukkha”. Some Buddhist scholars have even suggested that the Pali word “dukkha” should continue to be used instead of suffering. The Pali word “dukkha” is said to mean so many other things apart from suffering such as unsatisfactoriness, irritation, impatience, imperfection, disappointment, dissatisfaction, tension, stress, anxiety, pain, desperation, sorrow, sadness, emptiness, misery, agony and anguish etc.

However, whenever one hears the term “dukkha” it is suffering that comes to one’s mind referring to physical and mental pain. In fact, the Buddha has described three main types of suffering.  In the Dukkhata sutta of the Samyutta Nikāya (the collection of Buddha’s connected discourses), Buddha has described these three types of suffering:

1. Dukkha dukkha – Actual physical, mental or emotional pain that everybody experiences
2. Viparināma dukkha – Suffering due to the transient nature of physical and mental pleasures experienced
3. Sankhāra dukkha – Suffering due to the transient nature of all conditioned phenomena

Dukkha dukkha is the obvious physical and mental pain that is universally accepted as suffering. They are common to all human beings and are experienced from birth to death by all with no exception. Viparināma dukkha is the suffering caused by the transitory and the constantly changing nature of physical and mental phenomena. Even the happiness, pleasures, comforts and security that one enjoys in life are temporary and would soon come to an end causing inevitable suffering. Sankhāra dukkha can be described as the suffering caused by the fact of impermanence (anicca) and in-substantiality (anatta) of all conditioned phenomena and is unique to Buddhist teaching. This aspect of suffering is perhaps the subtlest form of suffering experienced by human beings and is the most difficult of the three aspects of suffering that one could understand.

It is because the Buddha has first mentioned the obvious examples of physically and mentally painful suffering in describing different aspects of suffering as follows, that many tend to believe that the Buddha’s definition of suffering refers only to those aspects of suffering.

“Birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, grief, lamentation, bodily pain, mental pain and despair are suffering, association with the unpleasant is suffering, dissociation from the pleasant is suffering, not to receive what one desires is suffering.” (1)

The most significant aspect of suffering that the Buddha had mentioned was: “In short, the five aggregates of clinging is suffering.” Here, the Buddha has referred to the very subtle form of sankhāra dukkha that was the third type of suffering mentioned in the Dukkhata sutta described above. The Buddha has said that what we call a person or an individual is a psycho physical complex or mind and matter (nama rupa) consisting of the five aggregates of clinging:

1. Form or matter (rūpa)
2. Feeling or sensation (vedanā)
3. Perception (saññā)
4. Mental formation (sankhāra)
5. Consciousness (viññāna)

The five aggregates of clinging function together as a group to produce all our personal experiences. The first aggregate of form represents the material aspect while the other four aggregates represent a variety of mental actions. They arise due to physical and mental antecedent conditions only to cease instantly and are in a constant state of flux with no stable or permanent entity. One has no ownership or control over them and when one identifies with them as “I” or “me”, it can only lead to suffering (dukkha) due to their very transient nature.

The Buddha has said that everything in this universe apart from the state of Nibbāna is conditioned by preceding causes and conditions which are also transient and impermanent. According to Buddha’s teaching, every conditioned mental and physical phenomenon in the university is subject to three universal characteristics. They are:

1. Impermanent (anicca)
2. Suffering or unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) and
3. Not-self (anatta)

But due to ignorance of the true reality of those phenomena, unenlightened beings consider the five aggregates of clinging as permanent, happiness and self, which can lead to immense suffering life after life.

The Buddha has never denied that there is pleasure and happiness associated with one’s life. When one receives external sense objects that are delightful, pleasant and attractive, through one of the internal sense bases, there is happiness and pleasure. The Buddha never said that one should not enjoy them, but because those happy feelings are conditioned, transient and impermanent, the Buddha showed the dangers of developing desire, lust, craving and attachment to them as they will inevitably lead to suffering due to their transient nature. The Buddha has also described different types of happiness enjoyed by the householders and the  renunciants as well as the non-sensual pleasures enjoyed by the meditators through the development of deep mental absorptions through meditation. Through concentration meditation (samatha bhāvanā), it is possible to gain high degrees of spiritual and non-sensual joy and happiness and a state of equanimity (upekkhā) free from both pleasant and unpleasant feelings by developing tranquillity and deep mental absorptions (jhana). But, that happiness and equanimity are temporary as they can exist only while those states are maintained and will eventually cease leading to unhappiness.

In the Anana sutta of the Anguttara Nikāya (collection of the Buddha’s numerical discourses), the Buddha has described four types of happiness enjoyed by the lay people.

1. The happiness of ownership (atthi sukha)
2. The happiness of enjoying one’s wealth (bhoga sukha)
3. The happiness of debtlessness (anana sukha)
4. The happiness of blamelessness (anavajja sukha) (2)

Wealth and other assets earned through effort, hard work and honesty can bring happiness and one can be happy and joyful while enjoying the wealth so earned in addition to being able to perform meritorious activities using one’s wealth. The knowledge that one has no debts, big or small, to anyone else will bring happiness. Finally, blameless physical, verbal or mental actions performed by oneself is a source of happiness to that person.

Because of the Buddha’s emphasis on suffering in order to get the disciples to face the true reality of the existence of suffering in all aspects of life, and also the very narrow definition of the Pali word “dukkha” as suffering, there have been some statements to the effect that Buddhism is a pessimistic teaching. If the Buddha has merely emphasised the existence of suffering, without proposing a path to eradicate suffering and thus allowing the people to anguish in suffering, one could say that the statement that Buddhism is a pessimistic teaching is fair and legitimate. But that is not what the Buddha did. During the process of enlightenment, having first realised that there is universal suffering, the Buddha then searched for the cause of suffering and realised that it is craving (tanhā) in the form of craving for sense pleasures (kāma-tanhā), craving for becoming or existence (bhava-tanhā) and craving for non-becoming or non-existence (vibhava-tanhā). Then the Buddha discovered through personal experience that with the total eradication of all forms of craving, it is possible to eradicate suffering and to attain the state of Nibbana which is free from all forms of suffering. The Buddha presented the Noble Eight-fold Path as the fourth Noble Truth which needs to be cultivated in order to completely liberate oneself from suffering.

Noble Eight-fold Path:

1. Right view (sammā-ditthi)
2. Right intention (sammā-sankappa)
3. Right speech (sammā-vaca)
4. Right action (sammā-kammanta)
5. Right livelihood (sammā-ājīva)
6. Right effort (sammā-vāyma)
7. Right mindfulness (sammā-sati)
8. Right concentration (sammā-samādhi)

From a practical standpoint the above eight factors are divided into three groups:

1. Morality (sīla), consisting of right speech, right action and right livelihood.
2. Concentration (samādhi), consisting of right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
3. Wisdom (paññā), consisting of right view and right intention.

The term “pessimism” is derived from the Latin word “pessimus” meaning the “worst”. Pessimism can be described as a mental attitude in which one expects an undesirable outcome from a given situation. A pessimist has the tendency to see the negative and the worst aspects of something and to believe that the worse is going to happen. The term “optimism” is derived from the Latin word “optimum” meaning “best”. It is the mental attitude in which one is hopeful and confident of success of a given situation. Even if an optimist experiences a negative situation, it will be considered a learning situation leading to a successful outcome at the end. Here, I would also like to introduce the term “realism” which is derived from the Latin word “realis” meaning “real”. The term realism means a mental attitude in which one recognizes and accepts the true nature of a situation and make an effort to deal in a practical way.

If a well-qualified medical physician who examines and investigates the symptoms of a particular patient, says to the patient that he or she has a serious medical illness but nothing can be done to cure it or to alleviate the patient’s suffering without looking into the possible treatments available, that is indeed creating a sense of pessimism in the patient. If the physician says to the patient that the patient is suffering from a serious illness but that it can be cured and the suffering can be alleviated by using a particular treatment that is available, that creates a sense of optimism in the patient. If the physician prescribes that particular treatment for the patient and the patient recovers from the illness and the suffering through that treatment, that creates a sense of optimism as well as realism. Because it has been proved that the exact pathology of the illness has been correctly identified and the appropriate treatment method has been used, so that if another patient suffers from the same illness with the same pathology, the same treatment can be used to cure that patient as well.

This is exactly what Lord Gautama Buddha did. Having cultivated the necessary positive qualities over an incalculable period of time, and through the cultivation of the mind to an advanced state of knowledge, the Buddha discovered the universal nature of suffering that every sentient being is subject to. Through further investigation, the Buddha discovered that the cause of suffering is craving (tanhā) and that by eradicating craving, one is able to completely eradicate suffering to attain the supra mundane state of Nibbāna which is free from all suffering with no further rebirth in the cycle of birth and death (samsāra). Through personal experience, the Buddha also discovered the path of liberation from suffering which is the Noble Eight-fold Path and taught it to the world so that others could also cultivate the same path and liberate themselves from suffering.

During the life time of  Lord Gautama Buddha and during the past twenty six centuries since the Buddha’s passing away, enormous numbers of the Buddha’s disciples have cultivated the Noble Eight-fold Path, which is the Buddhist spiritual path of liberation and have liberated themselves from suffering. Apart from the final liberation from all suffering, Buddhist teaching also helps one to see the reality of life as it is with the identification of one’s positive and negative qualities. This can help one to adopt a way of life by cultivating positive qualities and giving up negative qualities, so that one is able to improve the quality of life in the present life as well as in future lives. There are many aspects of the Buddha’s teaching that can be practised for the betterment of one’s personal life, family life, working life as well as the society in general. The Buddha has also encouraged the followers to cultivate positive qualities such as moral behaviour (sila), charity (dana), patience (khanti), loving kindness (metta) and compassion (karuna) that will benefit not only fellow human beings but all the living beings in the world.

During the past few decades, mindfulness meditation, which is a significant aspect of the Buddhist teaching, has been adapted into several treatment programs to alleviate a range of psychological and physical ailments particularly in the Western countries. Mindfulness is the practice of purposely focusing one’s attention on the present experience from moment to moment without judging or reacting. Mindfulness based treatment techniques are gaining popularity following the publication of numerous research papers indicating their benefit for a range of psychological and medical conditions. It has been successfully used in several conditions such as stress, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, addictive disorders, eating disorders, and in cancer patients and cancer survivors. Two of the well established treatment programs that are currently used in many clinical settings are the Mindfulness based stress reduction and the Mindfulness based cognitive therapy for depression. This shows that even after twenty six centuries, Buddhist teaching is providing opportunities to open up new avenues to alleviate human suffering.

During the life time of  Lord Gautama Buddha and during the past twenty six centuries since the Buddha’s passing away, enormous numbers of the Buddha’s disciples have cultivated the Noble Eight-fold Path, which is the Buddhist spiritual path of liberation and have liberated themselves from suffering. The Buddha’s teaching is still freely available and over six hundred million disciples of the Buddha, spread all over the world, are practising the Buddhist path of liberation as they have the confidence that it is the correct path to liberate oneself from suffering and from the cycle of birth and death. So, it is quite reasonable to come to the conclusion that the Buddhist teaching is not a pessimistic teaching, but an optimistic and realistic teaching that has given hope and optimism to millions of it’s followers.

References

1. Bhikkhu Bodhi 1999, Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, A Translation of the Samyutta Nikāya, Wisdom Publications.
2. Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, Anana sutta, The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, Anguttara Nikāya, Wisdom Publications.

End.

The body with no consciousness is like a useless log

The body with no consciousness is like a useless log

Dhammapada verse 41

By Dr. Ari Ubeysekara

Introduction

Lord Gautama Buddha lived and preached in India during the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Throughout the ministry of forty five years from enlightenment at the age of thirty five to passing away at the age of eighty, Lord Gautama Buddha, through compassion for other beings, travelled from place to place mainly in North Eastern India, teaching the path out of suffering to a diverse range of people. Since the first Buddhist council that was held three months after the passing away of the Buddha, the Buddha’s teachings were categorised into the now well-known Pāli Canon consisting of the three baskets. The teaching of the Gautama Buddha which is believed to consist of around 84,000 items is contained in the three baskets (tipitaka).

1. Basket of the disciplinary rules for the monastic community (vinaya pitaka)
2. Basket of the discourses (sutta pitaka)
3. Basket of the Buddha’s higher teaching (abhidhamma pitaka)

The basket of the discourses (sutta pitaka) consists of:

1. Collection of long discourses (dīgha nikāya)
2. Collection of middle length discourses (majjhima nikāya)
3. Collection of connected discourses (samyutta nikāya)
4. Collection of numerical discourses (anguttara nikāya)
5. Collection of minor discourses (khuddaka nikāya)

Collection of minor discourses (khuddaka nikāya) consist of 15 divisions of a variety of small discourses and others. The second division is the Dhammapada, the other divisions being Khuddaka pātha, udāna, itivuttaka, sutta nipātha, vimānavatthu, petavatthu, thera-gāthā, theri-gāthā, jātaka stories, niddesa, patisambhidā magga, apadāna, Buddhavamsa and cariya pitaka.

The Pāli word “Dhamma” seems to have several meanings such as the natural law, natural phenomena, objects of the mind, religious doctrines and specifically the Lord Gautama Buddha’s teachings. The word “Pada” means path, step, word or the foot. So, the word Dhammapada has been described as the “Path of Righteousness”. The Dhammapada containing a collection of the sayings of the Buddha in verse form, is one of the best known books in Buddhism familiar to almost all of the practising Buddhist disciples universally as well as to others who study the teachings of the Buddha.

Dhammapada contains 423 verses said by the Buddha in different contexts. Most of the verses have been taken from the discourses of the Buddha. It has been noted that more than two thirds of the verses are taken from the discourses contained in the two collections of the Buddha’s discourses known as the Samyutta Nikāya and Anguttara Nikāya. The 423 verses are divided into 26 chapters or vaggas each with a particular heading. The third chapter is named “Citta vagga” meaning the chapter of “The mind”, which contains 11 verses said by the Buddha. The back ground story of the 41^st verse, which is the 9^th verse of the Citta vagga is about a monk whose body was stinking due to multiple sores and became an Arahant after listening to a sermon by the Buddha.

Background story of verse 41

At one time the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatti which was donated to the Buddha by the chief benefactor Anāthapindika.

At that time there was a monk named Tissa who obtained instructions from the Buddha on an object of meditation and started practising meditation quite diligently. However, he developed an illness due to which boils appeared all over the body. These boils that appeared as small boils first, became bigger  until they developed into big sores which burst resulting in his upper and lower robes becoming sticky and stained with blood and pus. Eventually, all of his body was stinking and hence he came to be known as “Putigattatissa”, Tissa the thera with a stinking body. Because of his stinking body, his pupil monks who were residing with him abandoned him and did not care to look after him.

One morning, as the Buddha was surveying the world through the Buddha’s super normal mental power to see who could be spiritually helped on that day, Putigattatissa Thera appeared in the Buddha’s vision. The Buddha noticed the sad state of the body of Putigattatissa Thera and the fact that he has been abandoned by his pupil monks. The Buddha also saw that Putigattatissa Thera had the potential to become an Arahant on that day. There was a fire shed close to where the Thera was staying and the Buddha went there and boiled some water. Then the Buddha went into where the Thera was lying and got hold of the edge of his couch. As soon as the pupil monks knew of the Buddha’s presence, they also came there and as instructed by the Buddha, they carried the Thera into the fire shed. The Thera was washed and bathed in the fire shed and his robes were also washed and dried.

After his body was washed and bathed, Putigattatissa Thera felt a freshness in his body and the mind, which helped him to develop one-pointedness of the mind. The Buddha who was standing at the head of his bed, instructed him to reflect on the fact that when this body is devoid of life, it would be as useless as a log of wood and would be laid on the earth. Then the Buddha recited the following verse which is recorded as the 41^st verse of the Dhammapada.

“Aciraṁ vatayaṁ kayo,
  pathaviṁ adhisessati,
  chuddho apetaviññāno,
  niratthaṁ va kalingaraṁ.”

“Before long, alas, this body,
  will lie on the ground,
  discarded, without consciousness,
  like a useless piece of wood.”

It is said that soon after listening to the Buddha’s discourse, Putigattatissa Thera gained enlightenment as an Arahant and passed away.

References

1. https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=041

End.

Bahuvedanīya sutta: Discourse on many types of feeling

Bahuvedanīya sutta: Discourse on many types of feeling

By Dr. Ari Ubeysekara

Introduction

Lord Gautama Buddha who lived and preached in India during the 6^th and 5^th century BC, delivered a vast number of discourses during the ministry of forty five years from enlightenment to passing away at the age of eighty years. Those discourses have been divided into five collections.

1. Collection of long discourses (dīgha nikāya)
2. Collection of middle length discourses (majjhima nikāya)
3. Collection of connected discourses (samyutta nikāya)
4. Collection of numerical discourses (anguttara nikāya)
5. Collection of minor discourses (khuddaka nikāya)

The collection of the middle length discourses (majjhima nikāya) contain 152 discourses delivered by the Buddha and the Buddha’s chief disciples. The 152 discourses are divided into three parts consisting of 50, 50 and 52 discourses respectively. Bahuvedanīya sutta is the 59^th  discourse included in the second part. (1)

Content of Bahuvedanīya sutta

Thus have I heard.

[All the discourses of the Buddha contained in the five collections were narrated by Venerable Arahant Ānanda from memory at the first Buddhist council that was held three months after the Buddha’s passing away. He was the chief attendant of the Buddha and was known as the “guardian of the Dhamma” due to his excellent skill in remembering the Buddha’s discourse. At the Buddhist council, each discourse was begun by him with the same phrase found at the beginning of this discourse too, “evaṁ me sutaṁ” meaning “Thus have I heard”.]

At one time the Buddha was staying at Sāvatti in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapindika’s monastery.

[At the time that this discourse was delivered, the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatti which was built and donated to the Buddha by the chief benefactor Anāthapindika. It was named Jetavana, as the land on which it was built was bought from a prince named Jeta. Sāvatti was a favourite residence of the Buddha and it is recorded that the Buddha spent twenty five rainy retreats at Sāvatti.]

Then, the carpenter named Pañcakañga went up to Venerable Udāyi, paid homage and sat to one side. While sitting to one side, he said to Venerable Udāyi: “Venerable Udāyi, how many kinds of feelings has the Blessed One spoken of?”

[It is said that this carpenter was named  Pañcakañga as he used to carry five carpenter’s tools with him. He is described as the carpenter to the King Pasenadi of Kosala Kingdom. He was a follower of the Buddha and had an interest in listening to and discussing aspects of the Buddha’s teaching.]

“Householder, three kinds of feelings have been spoken of by the Blessed One: pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, neutral feeling. The Blessed One has spoken of these three kinds of feelings.”

[In the Datthabba sutta of the Samyutta Nikāya, the Buddha has described three types of feelings.

“There are, O monks, these three feelings: pleasant, unpleasant and neither-unpleasant-nor-pleasant”

1. Pleasant feeling (sukha vedanā)
2. Unpleasant feeling (dukkha vedanā)
3. Neither unpleasant nor pleasant feeling (adukkham-asukha vedanā)] (2)

When this was said, carpenter Pañcakañga said to Venerable Udāyi: “Venerable Udāyi, three kinds of feelings have not been spoken of by the Blessed One. Two kinds of feelings have been spoken of by the Blessed One: pleasant feeling and unpleasant feeling. The Blessed One has said that neutral feeling belong to peaceful and sublime pleasure.”

For the second time, Venerable Udāyi said this to carpenter Pañcakañga: “Householder, three kinds of feelings have been spoken of by the Blessed One: pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, neutral feeling. The Blessed One has spoken of these three kinds of feelings.”

For the second time, carpenter Pañcakañga said this to Venerable Udāyi: “Venerable Udāyi, three kinds of feelings have not been spoken of by the Blessed One. Two kinds of feelings have been spoken of by the Blessed One: pleasant feeling and unpleasant feeling. The Blessed One has said that neutral feeling belong to peaceful and sublime pleasure.”

For the third time, Venerable Udāyi said this to carpenter Pañcakañga: “Householder, three kinds of feelings have been spoken of by the Blessed One: pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling, neutral feeling. The Blessed One has spoken of these three kinds of feelings.”

For the third time, carpenter Pañcakañga said this to Venerable Udāyi: “Venerable Udāyi, three kinds of feelings have not been spoken of by the Blessed One. Two kinds of feelings have been spoken of by the Blessed One: pleasant feeling and unpleasant feeling. The Blessed One has said that neutral feeling belong to peaceful and sublime pleasure.”

Neither Venerable Udāyi nor carpenter Pañcakañga was able to convince each other on this matter. Now Venerable Ānanda happened to hear this conversation between Venerable Udāyi and carpenter Pañcakañga. Then Venerable Ānanda went to the Buddha, paid homage and sat to one side. While sitting to one side, he reported the whole conversation between Venerable Udāyi and carpenter Pañcakañga to the Buddha.

[Venerable Ānanda was a cousin of the Buddha and ordained as a monk in the second year following the Buddha’s enlightenment. He attained the first supra mundane stage of Stream Enterer (Sotāpañña) soon after his ordination, but did not attain enlightenment until after the passing away of the Buddha. Twenty years after his ordination, he was appointed as the chief attendant of the Buddha which he served until the Buddha’s passing away.]

The Buddha said: “Ānanda, the explanation given by Venerable Udāyi, which carpenter Pañcakañga did not agree with was correct.  But the explanation given by carpenter Pañcakañga which Venerable Udāyi did not agree with was also correct. Ānanda, in one explanation I have spoken of two kinds of feelings. In another explanation I have spoken of three feelings, or five, six, eighteen, thirty six, or one hundred and eight kinds of feelings. I have explained the teaching in all these different ways.”

[In the Atthasata pariyāya sutta of the Samyutta Nikāya, the Buddha has presented a classification of feelings that ranges from two feelings to one hundred and eight feelings.] (3)

“Regarding the teaching that I have explained in different ways, you can expect that those who do not agree with, do not consent to, and do not accept with what has been well spoken, will argue, quarrel, and get into fights hurting each other with barbed words.”

“Regarding the teaching that I have explained in different ways, if there are those who agree with, consent to, and accept with what has been well spoken, it may be expected of them that they will live in harmony, rejoicing in one another, without disputes, blending like milk and water, looking at other with loving eyes.”

“Ananda, there are these five cords of sensual pleasure. What are the five?”

“Forms, cognisable by the eye that are wished for, desirable, agreeable and endearing, connected with sensual desire, and arousing lust. Sounds, cognisable by the ear that are wished for, desirable, agreeable and endearing, connected with sensual desire, and arousing lust. Smells, cognisable by the nose that are wished for, desirable, agreeable and endearing, connected with sensual desire, and arousing lust. Tastes, cognisable by the tongue that are wished for, desirable, agreeable and endearing, connected with sensual desire, and arousing lust. Touches, cognisable by the body that are wished for, desirable, agreeable and endearing, connected with sensual desire, and arousing lust. These, Ānanda, are the five cords of sensual pleasure. Ānanda, the pleasure and joy that arise from these five kinds of sensual pleasure is called sensual pleasure.”

[The Buddha has described the sensual pleasure arising from the five internal sensory bases of the eye, ear, nose, tongue and the body. When each of them receives respective external sense objects which are wished for, desirable, agreeable and endearing, connected with sensual desire, and arousing lust, the receiver enjoys pleasant sensations. The pleasure experienced from these five sensory bases is called carnal or worldly sense based (sāmisa) pleasure.]

“There are those who would say: ‘This is the supreme pleasure and joy that sentient beings experience’. But I would not concede that. Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure which is more excellent and more sublime than that. And what is that pleasure? Here, Ānanda, a monk, quite secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states of the mind, enters and remains in the first mental absorption, which is accompanied by applied thought and sustained thought, which has the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. This pleasure, Ānanda, is more excellent and more sublime than the other pleasure.”

“There are those who would say: ‘This is the supreme pleasure and joy that sentient beings experience’. But I would not concede that. Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure which is more excellent and more sublime than that. And what is that pleasure? Here, Ānanda, a monk, quite secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states of the mind, enters and remains in the second mental absorption, which is free from applied thought and sustained thought, which has the rapture and pleasure born of concentration. This pleasure, Ānanda, is more excellent and more sublime than the other pleasure.”

“There are those who would say: ‘This is the supreme pleasure and joy that sentient beings experience’. But I would not concede that. Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure which is more excellent and more sublime than that. And what is that pleasure? Here, Ānanda, a monk, quite secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states of the mind, enters and remains in the third mental absorption, of which the noble ones declare ‘Happily he dwells in equanimity and mindfulness’. This pleasure, Ānanda, is more excellent and more sublime than the other pleasure.”

“There are those who would say: ‘This is the supreme pleasure and joy that sentient beings experience’. But I would not concede that. Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure which is more excellent and more sublime than that. And what is that pleasure? Here, Ānanda, a monk, quite secluded from sense pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states of the mind, enters and remains in the fourth mental absorption, that is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, with a mindfulness fully purified by equanimity. This pleasure, Ānanda, is more excellent and more sublime than the other pleasure.”

[Here, the Buddha has described the pleasure associated with the four fine material mental absorptions (rūpāvacara jhana) as being superior to the sensual pleasure received from the five sense bases. The four fine material absorptions are named: First Jhana, second Jhana, third Jhana and the fourth Jhana. When a meditator meditates concentrating on a chosen meditation object, there is concentration of the mind (samādhi). As the concentration deepens with the suppression of the mental hindrances, deep mental absorptions develop associated with the positive mental factors called the Jhana anga: Initial application (vitakka), sustained application (vicāra), rapture (pīti), pleasure (sukha) and one-pointedness of the mind (ekaggatā).]

“There are those who would say: ‘This is the supreme pleasure and joy that sentient beings experience’. But I would not concede that. Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure which is more excellent and more sublime than that. And what is that pleasure? Here, Ānanda, a monk, by completely transcending the perception of form, with the ending of perceptions of impingement, with non-attention to perception of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite’, enters and remains in the sphere of infinite space. This pleasure, Ānanda, is more excellent and more sublime than the other pleasure.”

“There are those who would say: ‘This is the supreme pleasure and joy that sentient beings experience’. But I would not concede that. Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure which is more excellent and more sublime than that. And what is that pleasure? Here, Ānanda, a monk, completely transcending the sphere of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite’, enters and remains in the sphere of infinite consciousness. This pleasure, Ānanda, is more excellent and more sublime than the other pleasure.”

“There are those who would say: ‘This is the supreme pleasure and joy that sentient beings experience’. But I would not concede that. Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure which is more excellent and more sublime than that. And what is that pleasure? Here, Ānanda, a monk, completely transcending the sphere of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing’, enters and remains in the sphere of nothingness. This pleasure, Ānanda, is more excellent and more sublime than the other pleasure.”

“There are those who would say: ‘This is the supreme pleasure and joy that sentient beings experience’. But I would not concede that. Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure which is more excellent and more sublime than that. And what is that pleasure? Here, Ānanda, a monk, completely transcending the sphere of nothingness, enters and remains in the sphere of neither perception-nor-non-perception. This pleasure, Ānanda, is more excellent and more sublime than the other pleasure.”

[The Buddha has stated that the pleasure associated with the four immaterial mental absorptions is superior to the pleasure experienced in the four fine material mental absorptions. A meditator who has attained the fourth fine material mental absorption, can continue to develop the four immaterial mental absorptions by transcending the perception of form. The four immaterial mental absorptions are: sphere of infinite space (ākāsānancāyatana), sphere of infinite consciousness (viññānancāyatana), sphere of nothingness (ākincannāyatana) and sphere of neither perception-nor-non-perception  (nevasaññānāsannāyatana).] (4)

“There are those who would say: ‘This is the supreme pleasure and joy that sentient beings experience’. But I would not concede that. Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure which is more excellent and more sublime than that. And what is that pleasure? Here, Ānanda, a monk, completely transcending the sphere of neither perception-nor-non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. This pleasure, Ānanda, is more excellent and more sublime than the other pleasure.”

[The ninth and the highest state of concentration is the cessation of perception and feeling (nirodha samāpatti). Because there is no perception and feeling during this state, it is also known as Sannā-vedayita-nirodha. It is said that cessation of perception and feeling can be attained only by those who have attained the noble spiritual stages of the Non-Returner (Ānāgāmi) and the Arahanthood through the practice of the Noble Eight-fold Path. They also need to have mastered the concentration meditation and be able to attain all the above eight states of mental absorption (jhana).]

“Ānanda, it is possible that wanderers of other sects would say: ‘The recluse Gotama speaks of the cessation of perception and feeling, and describes it as a pleasure. What is that? How is that’?”

“Ānanda, when the wanderers of other sects say that, they should be told: ‘The Blessed One, friends, does not describe a state as being pleasure only with regard to pleasant feeling. But, friends, wherever pleasure is found, in whatever way, the Tathāgata describes that as pleasure.”

The Blessed One said this. Venerable Ānanda was satisfied and delighted in the Blessed One’s words.

In the Bahuvedanīya sutta, a disagreement between a monk named Udāyi and a carpenter named Pañcakañga with regard to their understanding of the kinds of feeling as taught by the Buddha, results in the Buddha giving  a detailed explanation of the Buddha’s teaching on feeling. It is Venerable Ānanda, Buddha’s chief attendant, who reported the above disagreement to the Buddha in response to which the Buddha delivered this discourse. The Buddha reminds Venerable Ānanda that feeling has been described in different explanations ranging from two kinds of feeling to three, five, six, eighteen, thirty six, and one hundred and eight kinds of feelings. Then the Buddha has described nine kinds of feelings in an ascending order of superiority. The lowest is the pleasure associated with the five sensory pleasures arising from the five internal sensory bases. Then comes the pleasure experienced in the four fine material mental absorptions (rūpāvacara jhana) followed up by the pleasure experienced in the four immaterial mental absorptions (arūpāvacara jhana). Finally, the most supreme pleasure in a concentrated mind is described as the pleasure in the cessation of perception and feeling (nirodha samāpatti) though some may question how it is possible as there is no feeling in that state. The Buddha has anticipated that question and has stated that the Buddha does not describe a state as being pleasurable only with regard to pleasant feeling, but wherever pleasure is found and in whatever way.

References

1. Bhikkhu Nānamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi 1995, Bahuvedanīya sutta, Translation of the Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, Wisdom Publications.
2. Bhikkhu Bodhi 1999, Datthabba sutta, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, A Translation of the Samyutta Nikāya, Wisdom Publications.
3. Bhikkhu Bodhi 1999, Atthasata pariyāya sutta, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, A Translation of the Samyutta Nikāya, Wisdom Publications.
4. Henepola Gunaratana Mahathera 1998, Jhanas in Theravada Buddhism, Wheel Publication No: 351-353, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

                                                           End.

Meritorious deeds bring joy in this life and future lives

Meritorious deeds bring joy in this life and future lives

Dhammapada verse 16

By Dr. Ari Ubeysekara

Introduction

Lord Gautama Buddha lived and preached in India during the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Throughout the ministry of forty five years from enlightenment at the age of thirty five to passing away at the age of eighty, Lord Gautama Buddha, through compassion for other beings, travelled from place to place mainly in North Eastern India, teaching the path out of suffering to a diverse range of people. Since the first Buddhist council that was held three months after the passing away of the Buddha, the Buddha’s teachings were categorised into the now well-known Pāli Canon consisting of the three baskets. The teaching of the Gautama Buddha which is believed to consist of around 84,000 items is contained in the three baskets (tipitaka).

1. Basket of the disciplinary rules for the monastic community (vinaya pitaka)
2. Basket of the discourses (sutta pitaka)
3. Basket of the Buddha’s higher teaching (abhidhamma pitaka)

The basket of the discourses (sutta pitaka) consists of:

1. Collection of long discourses (dīgha nikāya)
2. Collection of middle length discourses (majjhima nikāya)
3. Collection of connected discourses (samyutta nikāya)
4. Collection of numerical discourses (anguttara nikāya)
5. Collection of minor discourses (khuddaka nikāya)

Collection of minor discourses (khuddaka nikāya) consist of 15 divisions of a variety of small discourses and others. The second division is the Dhammapada, the other divisions being Khuddaka pātha, udāna, itivuttaka, sutta nipātha, vimānavatthu, petavatthu, thera-gāthā, theri-gāthā, jātaka stories, niddesa, patisambhidā magga, apadāna, Buddhavamsa and cariya pitaka.

The Pāli word “Dhamma” seems to have several meanings such as the natural law, natural phenomena, objects of the mind, religious doctrines and specifically the Lord Gautama Buddha’s teachings. The word “Pada” means path, step, word or the foot. So, the word Dhammapada has been described as the “Path of Righteousness”. The Dhammapada containing a collection of the sayings of the Buddha in verse form, is one of the best known books in Buddhism familiar to almost all of the practising Buddhist disciples universally as well as to others who study the teachings of the Buddha.

Dhammapada contains 423 verses said by the Buddha in different contexts. Most of the verses have been taken from the discourses of the Buddha. It has been noted that more than two thirds of the verses are taken from the discourses contained in the two collections of the Buddha’s discourses known as the Samyutta Nikāya and Anguttara Nikāya. The 423 verses are divided into 26 chapters or vaggas each with a particular heading. The first chapter is named “Yamaka vagga” meaning the chapter of “The Twin Verses”, which contains 20 verses said by the Buddha. The back ground story of the 16^th  verse, which is the 16^th  verse of the Yamaka vagga is about a lay disciple of the Buddha who was reborn in a heavenly worlds as a result of his meritorious deeds in this life.

Background story of verse 16

At one time the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatti which was donated to the Buddha by the chief benefactor Anāthapindika.

At that time a lay disciple named Dhammika was living in Sāvatti. He was a lay disciple of the Buddha who was a virtuous person by observing the precepts of morality. He was also a very charitable person and engaged in the meritorious activity of generously offering food and other requisites to the order of monks. He made these offerings on a regular basis as well as on special occasions. He was the leader of five hundred virtuous lay disciples of the Buddha who were living in Sāvatti at that time. The lay disciple Dhammika had seven sons and seven daughters and like him, all his children were also virtuous and charitable.

Dhammika felt seriously ill and was on his death bed when he made a request to invite the monks to come to his house and recite the sacred scripts so that he can listen to them from his death bed. The Monks duly arrived at the house and began chanting the Mahā Satipatthāna sutta by Dhammika’s bedside. It is said that while the monks were reciting, six decorated chariots from the six sensual heavens arrived in order to invite Dhammika to their respective sensual heavens.

[According to Buddhist cosmology, there are six planes of heavenly beings (deva loka), in which rebirth takes place due to highly meritorious, skilful, and wholesome volitional actions performed during one’s previous existence. They are:

1. Cātummahārājika heaven
2. Tāvatimsa heaven
3. Yāma heaven
4. Tusita heaven
5. Nimmānarati heaven
6. Paranimmita Vasavatti heaven]

Dhammika asked them to wait until the reciting was over as he did not want the reciting by the monk disrupted. However, the monks who were reciting mistook his signal to stop as a signal to them to stop reciting the scriptures. They stopped reciting and left Dhammika’s house.

After the monks had left, Dhammika told his children about the six decorated chariots from the six sensual heavens who were waiting for him. He decided to choose the chariot from the Tusita heaven and asked one of his children to throw a garland to that particular chariot. Having chosen the Tusita heaven, he passed away and was reborn as a deity in the Tusita heaven. Thus, the person who engages in meritorious deeds experience joy both in this world and future worlds.  

With reference to the lay disciple Dhammika, the Buddha recited the following verse, which is recorded as the 16^th verse of the Dhammapada.

“Idha modati pecca modati,
  katapuñño ubhayattha modati,
  so modati so pamodati,
  disvā kamma visuddhimattano.”

“Here he rejoices, hereafter he rejoices,
  the meritorious one rejoices in both places,
  he rejoices and he greatly rejoices,
  seeing the purity of his own deeds.”

References

1. https://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=016

End.