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Sakyamuni Buddha
He lived from 566 to 486 BC. His teachings were passed down orally and they were only committed to writing in Sri Lanka around the middle of the first century BC. They consisted of three baskets or divisions called Pitaka. It has been estimated by scholars that if all the main points of the three baskets were listed in book form, that set of books would be equal to 360 volumes of our average encyclopedia today.
The Pitaka consists of 1) the discourses or sermons of the Buddha, 2) the Monastic rules, and 3) the Abhidhamma.
The four sacred Buddhist places are: Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kusinara. Lubini is now in Nepal, was the birthplace of Sakyamuni Buddha. Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kusinara are in India. Bodh Gaya was the place where Sakyamuni was enlightened, after He moved from place to place in India practicing meditation for seven years. Sarnath was the place where He carried out His first teaching, ( turning of the Dharma Wheel). Kusinara was the place of His final Nibbana. The Buddha personally said that Buddhists who visit these four places would travel to higher states.
He was born as an average person. This was a good sign because it means you and I can also become a Buddha. You don't need to be the most intelligent ones in the nation like the top 0.000001% of the population to be able to understand the Dharma to become a Buddha. If He was very intelligent, He would have attained Nibbana earlier, because as a child (aged 7) He sat under a rose-apple tree ( Bodhi Tree, Botanical name: ficus religiosa) watching His father carrying out the opening ceremony for the annual ploughing festival, He crossed legs and went on meditation and was believed to have reached the different levels of the Jhanas. He could have continued and practised harder and successfully attain Buddhahood without spending the six years which He did later on. It was said that as the child sat under the tree, the tree-shade remained protecting him even though the position of the sun on the sky had changed. So you see, the devas protect the good people.
His most learned disciple was Ananda (Buddha’s cousin) and Ananda was the last of the 1250 disciples to attain arahanthood. Ananda spent a lot of him time serving the Buddha and the guests of the Buddha. After the Great Decease of the Buddha, Ananda was less busy and he concentrated on meditation, attaining arahanthood while lying down. This attainment qualified him to participate in the first convocation of the Sangha with the aim of settling questions of doctrine and fixing the text of the scriptures. This Meeting was carried out, three months after the Buddha’s final Nibbana, by five hundred monks who were Arahants. An Arahant has perfect memory. They met at Sattapanni Cave ( at Rajagaha) to recite the Dharma and the Vinaya so that it could be passed on to future generations. The Buddhist teachings were memorized by these five hundred monks, each monk was responsible for a certain sections of the teachings. These monks passed on the teachings to younger monks and that was why we still have the Dharma today.
Manjusri was the brightest of the 1250 disciples but he was not the first one to attain arahanthood. A person cannot attain Nibbana by academic knowledge or intellectual reasoning.
Cula-panthaka was not able to learn by heart, a Pali verse which consisted of four stanzas with eleven characters in each, and forty-four characters all together, even though he had spent four months trying to do it. However, later on, the Buddha told him to contemplate on a piece of white cloth, mashing or squashing it, reciting “ rajo-haranam, rajo haranam”, which means : “ bringing about dust, bringing about dust”. Cula-panthaka became an arahant within a single morning.
The Buddha never claimed there was a royal road to Nibbana. However, He did teach that if a person should develop sincerely (The Noble Eightfold Path ) in the way He described, for seven days, he or she would attain full Enlightenment or the state of non-returner. The Buddha said: “ ehi-passiko” which means come and see. He did not demand blind faith.
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It is impossible to become a Sotapanna simply by appreciating what the Buddha teaches. You need to practice Samatha or Vipassana meditation. The beauty of religious practice is that, at the least, a person is not afraid during the time of death, and remains mindful and self-possessed. Even if one fails to attain Nibbana upon the dissolution of the body, one is bound for a happy destiny.
Anyone wishing to experience the bliss of Nibbana has to fulfill three conditions:
1) Find a teacher who can give the proper instruction in the technique of meditation and to associate only with men of integrity and wisdom.
2) Need to gain an intellectual understanding of the teaching, example: hearing the true Dhamma because by studying and listening to discourses one gains the proper framework to understand the experiences in meditation
3) Need to practice what one has been taught.
One of Buddha’s disciples was an elderly monk called Pottila, who was bright and was reputed of being an expert at expanding in details whatever teachings the Buddha had given in brief. Despite his popularity and reputation, the Buddha called him “empty Pottila”, and dthe truth dawned on him that he had no wisdom because he did not practice the Dhamma.
Pottila looked for a quiet place to meditate and realized he had to find a well-qualified teacher. He went to a forest where there were thirty monks, all of them were arahants. He approached the senior monk and asked him for instruction. This monk politely declined fearing that his simple technique would not be accepted by Pottila. Pottila went to look for the other twenty-nine monks and asked for the same thing. All of them refused, except the young monk who was still doubtful of Pottila’s sincerity. He asked Pottila to cross a small stream. Pottila did so. This young monk was then convinced that Pottila would follow his advice. He went on: “ Here is an anthill with six holes and under it lives a lizard. Someone would have to close five of the holes and leave just one of them open and then he would be able to capture the lizard easily.”
Pottila respectfully saluted the young monk and said: “ What a great teacher you are; I fully understood, you need teach me nothing further.”
The young monk asked what it was that he had understood. Pottila said: “Great teacher, I understand that there are six sense doors; I have to close five of them, and open only the mind door. This is how you want me to practice.”
Pottila found a solitary place, meditated for three days and attained arahanthood.
The Buddha was not an eternalist, nor was He an annihilationist. According to Him, there were only events which arise because of previous conditions. But when asked if the person who was reborn was the same as the previous one who died, the Buddha said it was neither the same nor another person. The self is not constant, everlasting or eternal. It is subject to change, and will not endure as long as eternity.
There are 31 planes of existence, and our human world is the fifth one. This is the only plane where, we the humans can see the things around us with our naked eyes. From level 6 to level 31 are all heavenly realms. From level 1 to 4 are the realms of the ghosts. The ghosts are only able to frighten the humans but are not able to physically hurt us. Otherwise, many people would have been dead, taking into consideration that the ghosts can see us but we cannot see them. The access to those 26 heavenly realms are within the reach of humans who are performing good deeds on this earth. No god holds the keys to those heavens and no god decides who goes there and who goes to hells.
Depending on his deeds, a person may be reborn as a hell being, an animal, a hungry ghost, a human being, a frightened ghost, a god of the sensuous heaven, an embodied brahma, or a bodiless brahma. The humans and animals have gross physical bodies, while the ghosts and devas have subtle nonphysical bodies. The beings in the Brahma realms, if they have the chance to listen to Vipassana Dharma, will attain Nibbana from these realms. One example was Dhananjhani, who practiced metta to attain the jhanas, and ended up in the Brahma realm, under the supervision of Sariputta. As advised by the Buddha, Sariputa visited Dhananjhani, at the Brahma realm and gave a Vipassana Dhamma talk to Dehananjhani, who attained Nibbana directly from the Brhama realm.
Buddhist Meditation involves no religious rites or rituals. It can be mastered by all irrespective of their cultural or religious backgrounds, if they are willing to make the necessary efforts. When the five Precepts are well established, meditation will yield great results and benefits. There is nothing religious regarding the Five Precepts:
To abstain from destroying beings
To abstain from taking things not given
To abstain from sexual misconduct
To abstain from false speech
To abstain from distilled and fermented liquors that cause intoxication & heedlessness
Is there any religion or person who does not agree to the five clauses? When you observe these clauses daily, you protect yourself and others. Won’t our planet earth then be a better place?
However, if you are a Buddhist, meditation will strengthen your faith on the religion. It is a mental discipline that eventually leads the mind to its purified state. It is a form of energetic striving leading to self-elevation, self-discipline, self control, and self-illumination. It is a tonic for your heart. As you mediate, you breathe in cosmic energy and actually breathe out your defilements. This will help to weaken your past bad kamma. You need to perform good kamma to neutralize your bad kamma. No one can undo your previous bad kamma.
From the Human plane, there are eight levels of spiritual realms of existences which an accomplished meditator with the right qualities through the practice of Vipassana meditation, can experience and verify. Those realms are:
Dibbakaya : immediately above the human realm
Rupabrahmakaya
Arupabrahmakaya
Dharmmakaya
Sotapannakaya
Sakadagamikaya
Anagamikaya : Anagamis are born here. They later attain arahanship and live at Arahattakaya realm until their live-term ends
Arahattakaya
The accomplished mediators can also experience the four lower realms which are:
Asurayoni
Petayoni
Tiracchanayoni &
Niraya
Niraya consists of eight major levels of hell. The lowest rung being the most painful one.
That which receives impressions, both good and bad, is call mind. It hasn’t any form. During meditation, you bring your mind to a halt or rest. The mind is tranquilized and a sense of calm pervades the whole body. If the mind wanders after thoughts and feelings, it becomes tired and weak. Wisdom will not arise if the mind has no energy. Our mind is transient, imperfect and ownerless. The “one who knows” is a level above or beyond the mind.
Loving-kindness (not carnal love) is Metta in Pali. This Metta possesses a mystic power. A person with a pure heart can radiate this beneficent force, which is capable of transforming wild beasts into tame ones, and murderers into saints. You don’t believe it? Why do you think the insects and beasts in the jungle can live peacefully with the monks, side by side? Buddhist Metta embraces all living beings, seen or unseen, animals included.
Nimittas are the lights you see during meditation. These are mental signs. For most people, they are beautiful lights of various colours, e.g. white blue, purple, grey, yellow, orange etc. Sometimes they are bright and unstable, vibrating or flashing and changing shapes, like the clouds.
Some people also see eyes or faces when their eyes are closed. These are very normal and we should not be attached to them for our own safety.
Please tell yourself that these are your own creations and are therefore not real. Sakyamuni Buddha said it very clearly that He would not be able to return to this earth, knowing that after His era many fakes would appear. The next Buddha will be born as a person when Buddhism no longer exists on this earth. He will practise on his own as a common being and eventually attain Buddhahood and will be able to enlighten others.
Sakyamuni name that being as Metteyya, who is now in Tusita Heaven. Tusita is a realm for beings who have perfected the requisites of Buddhahood, waiting for an opportune moment to appear in the human realm to attain Buddhahood.
For more advance practitioner, within next few minutes after the nimitta, maybe few hours, days, months, or years, ( depending on how well you have practised so far) Jhana will happen by themselves later on.
According the the Buddha : for one who indulges in Jhana, four results are to be expected : Stream-Winner, Once-Returner, Non-Returner, or Arahant. When the mind attains a state of absorption, which is serene contemplation, it is the attainment of “Jhana”.
When Sakyamuni attained Buddhahood under the Bohdi tree, the Dharma He discovered was very hard to understand and He was thinking of leaving this Earth at that moment. Fortunately, Brahma Sahampati came down from heaven to invite the Buddha to expound the Dharma.
Quote:
"Those Enlightened ones of the past, those of the future, and those of the present age, who dispel the grief of many – all of them lived, will live, and are living respecting the noble Dharma. This is the characteristic of the Buddhas."
Unquote.
Perhaps during His previous life He made a wish that for His final birth as a man, He would be an ordinary being, grow up, get married and have children to show the public that they need not shave off the hair to attain nibbana, just like one couple did during the Buddha's time. This couple was both acrobats, earning a living around every part of India. One day they were fortunate enough to come to perform in front of the Buddha., at Rajagaha ( my memory may not be correct), the modern name is Rajgir. They both were doing the somersaulting on top of two different bamboo poles, and they both attained Arahantship while on top of the poles. When they came down, the Buddha ordained them on the spot because when a person attains arahantship that person will leave this world automatically within seven days unless he or she becomes a monk or nun.
The Buddha also encouraged His followers to continue earning money. He said every body must put aside some of the profits for the rainy day (our CPF or Pension Funds today), and spend a portion of the remaining amount for family maintenance, and another portion for doing Dharma, and invest the remaining portion to keep the business or economy growing.
The Buddha was not a vegetarian. The Buddhists need not be vegetarians. There was one fisherman who invited the Buddha to a dinner of curry fish. The Buddha personally went to the fisherman's hut to accept the meal because He wanted that poor fisherman to have the chance to receive the merit. The Buddha did not tell the fisherman to change the profession even though the Buddhists were and still are advised to refrain from killing. The Buddha also clearly stated it was the citizens’ duties to take up arms to defend their country.
There were cases which non-Buddhists who wished to show that their religions were superior to Buddhism, deliberately questioned the monks regarding how Buddhism, that was introduced 2600 years ago could be still valid today. They pointed the examples of Buddhists today who have to cull animals. In these cases, the culling is acceptable because we have to save the lives of millions of other lives. For example, if you come across a man who is going to shoot another person, and you kill the attacker on the spot, you do not commit the bad Kamma of killing because you are saving another person. This example was given by the Buddha.
However, if a country attacks another country for selfish reason, and a citizen joins the armed forces, in the process he kills some of the so-called enemies, he creates the personal Kamma of killing.
Fixed Kamma is committed with speech, mind and body. The example would be a premeditated crime. Every thought, utterance, and deed is a seed that ripens over time. Every one has the potential at every moment to alter the course of the future Kamma, by doing good deeds. The Buddha personally said “ If there is no way out, I will not be teaching you today”.
Collective Kamma is created when a group of people, for example, go and set fires to destroy properties and living beings. The resulting Kamma will be about the same for the future of this group. They will be burned to death in their future live and their properties will be destroyed by others.
Kamma means the retribution or reward, in current or future life. How do we account for the unevenness in this ill-balanced world? Why should identical twins, inheriting like genes, enjoying the same privileges, be intellectually and morally totally different? Poverty and want are the results of miserly thoughts and actions in past lives.
There are common Kamma, fixed Kamma and Collective Kamma. It is the law of nature. Every good action will result in good Kamma and every bad action will result in bad Kamma. No one can escape it except the Buddhas and the Arahants, whose actions will create no further Kamma. However, Arahants and Buddhas are not exempt from the effects of indefinitely effective kamma, for example, Arahant Moggalana was slaughtered and cut to pieces by thugs.
The kammic energy created by sentient beings does not dissipate until it has given its effects, or until it becomes defunct. For example when the doers become Arahants or Buddha, and they have attained Parinibbana, whatever kammic energy which has been left will automatically become defunct.
Wholesome actions produce good results, which will lead to happiness here and hereafter. The ten Kammically wholesome deeds are: generosity, morality, meditation, reverence, service, dedication of merits, rejoicing in the merits of others, hearing the doctrine, teaching the doctrine, and correcting the wrong views of others.
Unwholesome actions have evil consequences which can result in this life or hereafter, sooner or later. Thus whatever actions you have performed, good or evil, they will inevitably reward you with either happiness or suffering. The ten unwholesome actions are: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, slander, harsh speech, gossip, covetousness, ill will, and wrong view.
There are three types of kammic energy, one is that which will produce immediate effects. The next is the one that will produce subsequent effects. The last one is one that has indefinite effects.
The weighty kamma gets foremost priority in producing rebirth, followed by near-death kamma, habitual kamma and reserve kamma. All of us came according to our kamma and have to go according to our kamma.
The stream of consciousness flows on from birth till death and from death to new birth, until that person attains Nibbana. During a being’s conception in its mother’s womb, the first consciousness that arises at that moment is called re-linking consciousness. This links the preceding life to the present life.
According to Buddhism, the sphere of light inside the human body is located at two finger-breadths above the navel. It is the seat of life which we call consciousness, spirit or soul. It leaves the body after death, and continues life after life, reborn at various levels according to the Kammic destiny, in the 31 planes of existence, until release is obtained by following the Noble-Eight-fold Path of the Buddha’s teaching. This consciousness, being nonentity, faceless, and formless, will continue to search for its true identity which will only be attainable when all qualities of perfection are developed in his character, to mature into a perfect being called Arahant or Buddha.
If one is convinced that one is entangled in a kammic web that can nevertheless be unraveled, one will naturally try to learn from the example of the Buddha or His disciples. We must admit that our drawbacks and under-development prevent us from realizing the Truth.
We are lucky that not every bad deed we committed must be repaid. If each bad deed must be repaid, the entire cosmos would be totally deterministic and there is nothing we can do to free ourselves. The Buddha was one example of a person who did not have to wait for all his previous bad deeds or bad kamma to work itself out. The same principle applies to all those arahants.
All of us possess the mental qualities needed for the task of awakening, if we want to develop them. When we succeed, we become Arahants or Buddhas. Whatever bad Kamma we have not yet repaid would be there to haunt us unless we attain Parinibbana. That was why Sakyamuni Buddha and many Arahants were physically hurt as long as they still possess the human bodies.
The area covered by the Buddha when He was teaching was about 250 miles from East to West and about 150 miles from North to South, roughly covered modern Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and the Tarai of Nepal. He was able to fly into the air unassisted but very few people ever saw him flying. He walked from place to place most of the time.
The Buddha died at a small town called Kusinara. It was mistakenly reported he died of food poisoning after eating a meal of pork donated by a lay follower, Cunda who was a smith. Some people who disliked the Buddha even said He was poisoned by Chunda. The Buddha actually told Ananda to visit Cunda ( so that Cunda would not be plagued by remorse) to tell him that it was a most auspicious act to offer a Buddha’s last meal.
This was most unlikely because a Buddha or an Arahant could see what was in the food, just like they could see the viruses in the cup of water. There was no way a person could poison him. For whatever reason the food was contaminated, the Buddha knew it because after the meal He told His disciple to dig a hole in the ground and bury the remaining food because no humans or animals could consume that food without being harmed. The Buddha ate the meal because He wanted the lay follower to receive the merit. Eating animal flesh and be poisoned was common during the Buddha's time and it is still common even today just as what we see in the TV every day.
After eating that meal the Buddha became ill but he recovered later on. During that time He was 80 years old. Naturally, He died of failing health later on.
Before attaining Parinibbana, the Buddha asked His disciples and all the lay followers if there was any question they wanted to raise. No one raised any question. This proved that He had taught us every thing we need to know to attain Buddhahood. When Ananda wanted to know if there should be a successor, the Buddha said the Dharma should be the guide after He was gone.
The Buddha's last words were:
" Decay is inherent in all things
be sure to strive with clarity of mind for Nibbana. "
(unquote)
After the Parinibbana of Sakyamuni Buddha, many non-Buddhist monks put on the robes, pretended to be Buddhist monks, and changed or deliberately mistranslated some of the Scriptures which were recorded in Sanskrit. That was why King Asoka, crowned in 273 BC, called the Third Council Meeting for the Sangha, presided by monks who were arahants. During this meeting, schismatic monks and nuns were expelled from the Sangha. Between 100 and 200 years after the Parinibbana of the Buddha, a controversy over some monastic rules had been decided by a committee of mostly Arahants, against the views of the majority. The majority group introduced the Bodhisattua ideals, and calling themselves the Maha Sanga, which later became the Mahayana.
The First Council Meeting ( carried out long before King Asoka was born) was presided by Phra Maha Kassapa Thera, with 499 other Arahants, to settle the questions of doctrines and fix the text of the Scriptures, by reciting and memorizing. Thus the Tripitaka was recorded and has been studied and practised until today.
However, this group of faked monks were not going to be eradicated at all. They managed to carry on even until the later centuries when Nalanda International University was established. They even infiltrated this university, as lecturers, and professors. This university existed for seven centuries. And by 1193 CE, when the monks at this university were slaughtered and the university burned down by Muhammad Bakhtyar and his army, Brahminical ritual and magic were already included in the curriculums of the Nalanda Colleges, resulting in a new type of Buddhism which was indistinguishable from Hinduism.
The Bhiksuni order in India ceased to exist when Muhammad Bakhtyar invaded India in the 12th century CE. In Sri Lanka the Bhiksuni order ceased to exist with the fall of Anuradhapura in 1017 CE. The Order of Monks met the same fate there but was later revived by King Vijayabahu after he drove away the Tamil invaders. King Vijayabahu invited monks from Burma to revive the Order of Monks in Sri Lanka. For some reason, he did not revive the Bhikkhuni (Nuns) Order.
The Buddhists do not extinguish sufferings by lighting incense and candles, and making pledges to supposedly supernatural things. One uniqueness of Buddhism is that it teaches moral behaviour without reference to heaven and hell. Buddhism advocates an impermanence of all existences, and it does not demand blind faith from its followers.
The modern practitioner is advised to consult full-fledged Buddhist monks whenever he or she faces a certain doubt. One of the worst misconceptions is that “there is Nibbana but there is no one to attain or enter it”.
I don’t know what you call that thing that attains Nibbana. But does that matter? When the frog returns to the pond to tell the tadpoles that he saw George Bush who was holding the most coveted position on this planet, lived in a beautiful and magnificent building. Would the tadpoles believe him?
Nibbana doesn't mean emptiness because when the Buddha returned to His hometown, the throne was still open for him. He refused it and did not want His son to inherit it either. Would a person give up a coveted kingdom for emptiness (nothingness)? Nibbana is the realm where all conditioned things cease to be, ( in Pali : Sankhara-samatho).
It is the complete annihilation of desire, hatred, and delusion.
Nibbana was referred to as the extinguishing of a fire, or extinction, by some poorly informed writers and scholars. What they failed to explain was that during the Buddha’s time, people in India did not believe that when a fire was going out, it went out of existence. What they meant was that the fire was simply free of its agitation and attachment to its fuel. Therefore when we talk about Buddhist view, Nibbana is of release and liberation. The correct English translation would be “unbinding”. Nibbana is definitely not extinction. Nibbana is the liberation of the mind from mental effluents, defilements, and the fetters that bind us to the round of re-births.
A person has to transcend the worldly condition in order to attain the supramundane plane, which is free from hellfire, scourging, torture, bondage, subjection and thralldom.
The human being is an ever-changing flux of energy, and so are the deva, ghost or animal. We must let go of our body and mind to realize that which is permanent, and stable by nature, Nibbana, which the Buddha described as uncreated, unconditioned, and unborn. The spiritual aspirant reduces contact with the world as the first step in his quest to end suffering.
At the moment, you are made up of the physical body and mind. This mind exists because of the body. When the physical body is dead, this mind will appear in a new body. It is a natural state that thinks, perceives, and records every sense-object. Dying is merely a process in which an individual exchanges one body form for another. For you to attain Nibbana, the mind too must be left behind.
***
The mind is like a tree. The tree grows into maturity. Then it will begin to bear fruits. Before the fruit appears, there will be the bud, then the flower and eventually the fruit. Are the bud, flower and fruit the same thing? Are they different?
We don’t know where the fruit is. But when the tree matures, it bears the fruit. Likewise, when the mind matures, it bears that “something” that attains Nibbana, and in Pali it is called Citta, which means consciousness in English language, and surely you are this Citta. This Citta, in association with a physical body is referred to as mind. or heart. It does not arise or pass away. It is never born and it will never die. It can totally separate itself from the physical body and it is beyond the conditions of time and space. At the moment your Citta and my Citta are surrounded by defilements. This is the only reason why our Cittas cannot attain Nibbana now. Since time immemorial, our Cittas were on the ceaseless journey of birth and rebirth.
According to the arahants who were present during the Parinibbana of the Buddha, after the dead of His physical body, there was the spiritual body. That spiritual body was severed, resulting another body that could be seen appearing from the spiritual body. Where do you think that third body is now?
Human beings possess three bodies, the physical body, the spiritual body and the formless body. The mind ( consciousness) needs the body to exist. It exists to the extent necessary just for knowledge, and mindfulness. This mind is not permanent as claimed by other religions. When a person attains Nibbana, this mind is severed. Nibbana is the ultimate reality, the absolute. It cannot be described. It can only be realized.
Sakyamuni was the only religious teacher who had said that to protect other people’s religion was to protect your own religion. He was also the only religious teacher who said that sentient existence was/is dependent upon harmonious co-existence with non-sentient life-forms. He never said that to attain Nibbana, a person must be a monk. During His time, there were many lay followers who attained Arahanthood, which was actually Nibbana. The bliss is the same except that the arahants are not able to enlighten others. The Buddha also never said there was a Royal Road to Nibbana, as claimed by some people today. The chanting of certain Sutra alone will not lead you to Nibbana. But if you chant that Sutra and at the same time practise the Noble Eightfold Path earnestly, you will attain Arahanthood. The Buddha clearly stated that regardless of religion and race, a person who had eradicated greed, hatred and delusion would attain Nibbana.
The following story will give you a better idea of how the Buddhists train themselves:
Once there was a woman who offered her guesthouse for a monk to practice meditation. She even provided a pretty maid to feed him and clean his abode daily. After many years, this woman wanted to see if the monk really progressed. She asked her maid to request a hug from the monk, in return for all the good work the maid had provided him in the past.
The monk refused the request telling the maid: “ Monks are not allowed to interact with women in this way”. As a result of this refusal, he was chased away from the abode. Was the monk making a correct decision?
Happiness is a state of consciousness that does not depend upon physical appetites, passions, acquisition of material wealth, power, position, fame, or honour. Why do you think a multi-millionaire’s daughter would join the gangsters to rob a bank? Her parents could buy her any material thing on this planet. Surely there was something lacking?
Regardless of position and wealth, people are stressed by work and depressed by life. Bill Gates is the richest man on this planet. Is he the happiest person? Many people feast on gourmet food but are never satisfied. They have fame and fortune but no peace. They sleep in the most comfortable room with the best mattresses but toss and turn all night. They reside in mansions but yet feel insecure.
For an average monk, he progresses by removing sensual desires, ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and doubts. With giving up of egoism by his or her intuitive insight, attachment and hatred automatically disappear. After some years, he may reach the 1st stage of Sainthood, (Sotapanna) which means he has to be reborn for seven times, to continue his training to attain Nibbana. He will be free from rebirth in any of the lower realms of existence. A Sotapanna no longer believes in self, has no more doubt, and is no longer superstitious. His doubts about the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha are completely resolved, because he has entered the stream which is endowed with the unwavering conviction that comes with the first glimpse of the deathless. He will be reborn seven times at the most before attaining Nibbana. However, whatever a Sotapanna learnt during the previous life will not be carried forward to the next life as most people would expect. In the future lives, he has to relearn to fulfill the requirements to attain Nibbana. But not every thing he learnt during the past life is lost because in this life or the next life, he will definitely improve faster and would be able to learn better, just like a musician who may have stopped learning music for the past forty years, and if he were to study music again, he would definitely do better by then.
When a practitioner becomes a Sotapanna, he himself would not know it. Only a Buddha or an Arahant can confirm that.
The 2nd stage of Sainthood is Sakadagami, which means he has to be reborn one more time in the human world to continue his training for perfection. Even at this Stage, lust and anger are only inhibited. They may resurface.
The 3rd Stage of Sainthood is Anagami, which means a Never-Returner. Anagami will not be born in the human world or the celestial realms. After death in the human world, he is reborn in one of the five Pure Abodes, which are the highest realms of the Brahma worlds, called the “Sudhavas”an environment reserved for Anagamis. There he further cultivate the intuitive wisdom to attain Arahanship, thus transcending the cycle of birth and re-birth, and lives till the end of his live-term till he attains Nibbana. An Anagami has totally eradicated sensual desire and ill will.
The final Stage of Sainthood, Arahant, is one who does not need any more training as he has lived the Holy Life, and has accomplished his object. He is not subject to rebirth because he does not accumulate fresh Karmic activities. His stream of consciousness gets perfectly purified. He will no longer be affected by the eight vicissitudes : gain & loss, fame & defame, blame & praise, happiness & suffering. He remains in this world to guide others until his natural life cycle is completed and then attains Nibbana.
An Arahant is one whose mind has abolished all desires for anything whatsoever. He has also abolished fear, hatred, worry, anxiety, mistrust, and doubt. His mind is free. Nothing can provoke or lure him, induce inquisitiveness or curiosity because He has abolished partiality.
The Buddha’s teachings can be summarized within six words: morality, concentration, wisdom, non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion. Every Buddhist is learning to develop morality, concentration and wisdom to remove greed, hatred and delusion.
The Buddha clearly stated that Vipassana meditation was the only way to escape the endless cycle of sufferings. He was not conducting meditation classes to make money. There was no reason for him to mention “only” if it was not true.
The two main types of meditation were and are still Samatha Meditation and Vipassana Meditation. Meditation is a mental discipline that eventually leads the mind to its purified state.
Samatha Meditation will not lead you to any wisdom or insight. When Samatha practitioners reach the state of Jhana, they remain in this state for a long time and are not likely to learn anything. The Buddha’s two teachers Arara Dabos and Utaka Dabos were the best examples, they taught Sakyamuni up to the 8th Jhana. But Sakyamuni had to leave the two teachers because He did not feel that the 8th Jhana could lead a person to the deathless. When the Buddha was enlightened, He wanted to help these two former teachers but He found them passed away already and were re-borne as Arupa Bramins. These Bramins could not be reached or taught. By the time their life cycle ends, and they are borne as humans again, Buddhism would have ceased to exist.
With Vipassana Meditation, we practice on the four foundations of mindfulness. We concentrate on observation of how we see, smell, hear, taste, touch, and feel. Right observation will bring forth right understanding of cause and effect.
Buddhism does not confine only to the philosophical and psychological aspects of religion but extends to the field of social service, and the cultivation of self-discipline. A Buddhist does not think that he can gain purity simply by believing the Buddha. His purpose of life is Supreme Enlightenment. No coercions, persecutions or fanaticisms had ever played a part in the spread of Buddhism. No women’s blood had ever been used to redden the Buddha’s Throne. No sincere thinkers or heretics had ever been burnt alive or roasted to death in the name of Buddhism. Buddhism was able to spread to almost every corner of the world without the blessings of imperialism or militarism.
Do we have a new interpretation of what it means to be a good Buddhist? The criteria of a good Buddhist were laid down by the Buddha 2600 years ago and they remained unchanged until today. Are you more Buddhist than the Buddha to change them now?
Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhists believe that after death, the spirit of the dead person passes through an intermediate period called Bardo in Tibetan, Zhong Yin in Mandarin, which may last for as long as 49 days, during which it undergoes a series of unearthly, extraordinary experiences before it is finally reborn into another realm of existence.
Theravada Buddhists believe that rebirth takes place immediately after death. If we regard the Bardo, or Zhong Yin as another being, the doctrine inconsistency does not exist anymore. When a person is dead, the body remains a mass of inanimate material phenomena, born of temperature, and continues as such until the corpse is reduced to dust. The “stream of consciousness” flows on from birth till death, and from death to new birth. This is the life-continuum. It is called sub-consciousness by our modern scientists.
The Buddha never said He wanted to save every living being and He never said He would return to this planet, but He did predict that another Buddha would be born on our present planet ( Buddha Mytteya) and that would be the 5th and the final Buddha for our planet Earth. The earliest Buddha before Sakyamuni was Kakusandha, followed by Konagamana, and then, Kassapa..
Had anyone ever attained Nibbana while learning the scriptures or while listening to recitations of the sutras? Academic or intellectual knowledge cannot lead you to Nibbana. For this reason it is obvious that the best way is to practice and not to depend on the theories because otherwise all those college professors who lecture on Buddhism would have been Arahants.
Some deities cultivate their merits through human mediums. There is nothing wrong in this unless the mediums become greedy and begin to swindle people. The gods or the deities do have some supernatural powers which can assist the humans in limited ways. There are examples of monks who passed away but are not yet ready to be reborn as humans. They continue to cultivate their merits by making use of mediums to help the humans.
Quote:
Therefore, oh deities, listen, all of you
Radiate loving kindness towards human beings
They bring offerings to you day and night
So protect them diligently
Unquote.
The above verse is the Second Verse from Ratana Sutra (Discourse on the Precious Jewels).
Obviously, the Buddha did not tell His followers to avoid the deities. The Buddha also never told His followers not to visit religious masters from other religions. So the phrase “worshiping the devils” is unheard of in Buddhism.
Buddhism does not encourage its followers to demonstrate psychic feats. During the Buddha’s time, there was a competition organized by non-Buddhists, by placing a sandal wood bowl, on a very high post. Competitors were not allowed to climb up the post to reach the bowl. There was no one around who could reach that bowl. A Buddhist monk who happened to be there, levitated himself to get that bowl. When the news reached Sakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha reprimanded that monk. It is therefore not correct for Buddhists to play with magical powers. The most obvious reaction would be the creation of jealousy among religious teachers from other religions. Then the poor monk would be subject to attacks and so on. People would like to see him in jail so that he cannot continue to practice his psychic powers for the next many years.
For more info on classes about Buddhism, & lecture schedules, please contact
Sae Taw Win II Dhamma Foundation
8769 Bower Street
Sebastopol, CA 95472, USA
(707) 824-4456
Stw2@saetawwin2.org
www.saetawwin2.org
www.vbgnet.org
Please also refer :
Narada – The Buddha and His Teachings – Buddhist Missionary Society, Malaysia
Foot note:
In 1199 CE, Muhammad Bakhtyar, after conquering India, and killing all the monks he could find in The International University, and burning down all buildings there, was on his way to invade Tibet when bad weather conditions forced him to retreat. He and his army perished while trying to cross a river, because of sudden flood.
In Asia, especially at the mountainous regions, some of the river water level may be very low. But during the monsoon season, if you happen to be caught during a thunder storm and torrential rain, within an hour the water level can rise many meters.
Value of Meditation
The benefit of meditation, which the Westerners recently discovered, was well appreciated over twenty-five centuries ago in the East. After some practice, many practitioners will experience tranquilized mind, and feel a sense of calm pervades the whole body. It is a mental discipline that eventually leads the mind to its purified state.It is a form of energetic striving leading to self-elevation, self-discipline, self control, and self-illumination. It is a tonic for your heart.
Buddhist Meditation involves no religious rites or rituals. It can be mastered by all irrespective of their cultural or religious backgrounds, if they are willing to make the necessary efforts. When the five Precepts are well established, meditation will yield great results and benefits. There is nothing religious regarding the Five Precepts:
To abstain from destroying beings
To abstain from taking things not given
To abstain from sexual misconduct
To abstain from false speech
To abstain from distilled and fermented liquors that cause intoxication & heedlessness
Is there any religion or person who does not agree to the five clauses? When you observe these clauses daily, you protect yourself and others. Won’t our planet earth then be a better place?
During 1970s, University of Massachusetts at Worcester, U.S.A., started a stress-reduction program. This center for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) still exists today. Visit: www.umassmed.edu/cfm/index.aspx
By sitting still and following the movement of air entering and leaving your nostrils, your electroencephalograph reading will show that gamma waves which are associated with attention and learning are generated. Isn't this good for you?
Your breathing and pulse rate will also slow down. If your breathing rate is 18 breaths per minute, during meditation it will reduce to 15 times per minute. You pulse too will slow down moderately. If you practice vipassana meditation, you will breathe in cosmic energy and breathe out your defilements. This will actually expiate your bad kamma which you created in the past lives, or during the past in this life.
During meditation, unusual amount of brain activity in the left side of the pre-frontal cortex is going on. It was confirmed that experienced practitioners eventually have an average 5 % thicker cortex. This part of the brain is associated with positive emotions. You will therefore be more alert and happier than the others.
The mental images you see when your eyes are closed are your own creation. They can be anything a person may imagine. These are called Nimittas. For most people, they are beautiful lights of various colors, e.g. while, blue, purple, grey, yellow, orange etc. Sometimes they are bright and unstable, vibrating or flashing and changing shapes, like the clouds.
Some people also see eyes or faces when their eyes are closed. These are very normal and we should not be attached to them for our own safety. If they are too fearful, just open your eyes and they will be gone. Do not be attached to whatever you see. If a certain thing appears in front of you every time you meditate, just have a paint brush ready, dip it in ink and hold it while you meditate. When that thing appears, gently mark it with your brush and then open your eyes. What has been marked?
For more advance practitioners, within next few minutes after the nimittas, maybe few hours, days, months, or years, ( depending on how well you have practiced so far) Jhana will happen by themselves later on.
According the Buddha: for one who indulges in Jhana, four results are to be expected: Stream-Winner, Once-Returner, Non-Returner, or Arahant.
If you encounter difficulties, you need to consult experienced practitioners. These people normally do not request money for assisting you. If they do, be aware. It is better to consult those who don't ask for monetary rewards.
Meditation is a form of psychotherapy. The number of psychiatric patients is increasing rapidly and many hospitals can’t cope. Those people ended up in the hospital because they did not know how to cope with stress. They need to relax mentally. They are ambitious. They struggle too hard.
During meditation, you will also be taught how to get rid of longstanding anger and hostility which weaken your lungs and speed up age-related decline. When the lung volume drops, you don’t get enough oxygen. Your energy declines, your immune system weakens, thus sickness and disease start to crop up.
Moreover, women and men in their forties need not be miserable if they care to look after their mental health. I am talking about majority of the people on this planet, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, white, black or yellow. If rich people are not affected, then most people in the United States of America should be very happy. Are they?
Happiness is a state of consciousness that does not depend upon physical appetites, passions, acquisition of material wealth, power, position, fame, or honour. Why do you think a multi-millionaire’s daughter would join the gang-sters to rob a bank? Her parents could buy her any material thing on this planet. Surely there was something lacking?
Even though you may be aged 70 or over, you can remain mentally as healthy as a 20-year old if you care to maintain your health. And one of the methods is meditation.
Meditation may also prevent you from ending up with diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiovascular problems, because the elasticity of your blood vessels will be improved and your blood toned up. As a person thinks of compassion, his body system stimulates the cells to generate valuable chemical compounds to produce energy and vitality. So we can say metta has tonic effect on the whole physical constitution.
Meditation may be introduced to children as well, as early as age seven. To counter restlessness and worry, concentration on the breathing will steady and calm the mind.
The following are some of the other benefits of meditation:
Getting rid of your tension and find some relaxation
Calm down your worries and find permanent or temporary peace
Develop the courage to face or overcome your problems
Gain self confidence
Help you to understand the nature of your fears
Help you see the true nature of life (if you are heart-broken)
Help you to be more focused and concentrated in your studies
Help you to have contentment and not to harbor jealousy towards others
Help you to overcome the fire of anger, hatred and resentment
Help you to understand the danger of jealousy
Help you realize how to overcome your dangerous habit
If you wish to read books on meditation, visit http://www.bps.lk/
He lived from 566 to 486 BC. His teachings were passed down orally and they were only committed to writing in Sri Lanka around the middle of the first century BC. They consisted of three baskets or divisions called Pitaka. It has been estimated by scholars that if all the main points of the three baskets were listed in book form, that set of books would be equal to 360 volumes of our average encyclopedia today.
The Pitaka consists of 1) the discourses or sermons of the Buddha, 2) the Monastic rules, and 3) the Abhidhamma.
The four sacred Buddhist places are: Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kusinara. Lubini is now in Nepal, was the birthplace of Sakyamuni Buddha. Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kusinara are in India. Bodh Gaya was the place where Sakyamuni was enlightened, after He moved from place to place in India practicing meditation for seven years. Sarnath was the place where He carried out His first teaching, ( turning of the Dharma Wheel). Kusinara was the place of His final Nibbana. The Buddha personally said that Buddhists who visit these four places would travel to higher states.
He was born as an average person. This was a good sign because it means you and I can also become a Buddha. You don't need to be the most intelligent ones in the nation like the top 0.000001% of the population to be able to understand the Dharma to become a Buddha. If He was very intelligent, He would have attained Nibbana earlier, because as a child (aged 7) He sat under a rose-apple tree ( Bodhi Tree, Botanical name: ficus religiosa) watching His father carrying out the opening ceremony for the annual ploughing festival, He crossed legs and went on meditation and was believed to have reached the different levels of the Jhanas. He could have continued and practised harder and successfully attain Buddhahood without spending the six years which He did later on. It was said that as the child sat under the tree, the tree-shade remained protecting him even though the position of the sun on the sky had changed. So you see, the devas protect the good people.
His most learned disciple was Ananda (Buddha’s cousin) and Ananda was the last of the 1250 disciples to attain arahanthood. Ananda spent a lot of him time serving the Buddha and the guests of the Buddha. After the Great Decease of the Buddha, Ananda was less busy and he concentrated on meditation, attaining arahanthood while lying down. This attainment qualified him to participate in the first convocation of the Sangha with the aim of settling questions of doctrine and fixing the text of the scriptures. This Meeting was carried out, three months after the Buddha’s final Nibbana, by five hundred monks who were Arahants. An Arahant has perfect memory. They met at Sattapanni Cave ( at Rajagaha) to recite the Dharma and the Vinaya so that it could be passed on to future generations. The Buddhist teachings were memorized by these five hundred monks, each monk was responsible for a certain sections of the teachings. These monks passed on the teachings to younger monks and that was why we still have the Dharma today.
Manjusri was the brightest of the 1250 disciples but he was not the first one to attain arahanthood. A person cannot attain Nibbana by academic knowledge or intellectual reasoning.
Cula-panthaka was not able to learn by heart, a Pali verse which consisted of four stanzas with eleven characters in each, and forty-four characters all together, even though he had spent four months trying to do it. However, later on, the Buddha told him to contemplate on a piece of white cloth, mashing or squashing it, reciting “ rajo-haranam, rajo haranam”, which means : “ bringing about dust, bringing about dust”. Cula-panthaka became an arahant within a single morning.
The Buddha never claimed there was a royal road to Nibbana. However, He did teach that if a person should develop sincerely (The Noble Eightfold Path ) in the way He described, for seven days, he or she would attain full Enlightenment or the state of non-returner. The Buddha said: “ ehi-passiko” which means come and see. He did not demand blind faith.
For more info, please log on to http://satipatthana.org/satipatthana_sutta.html
It is impossible to become a Sotapanna simply by appreciating what the Buddha teaches. You need to practice Samatha or Vipassana meditation. The beauty of religious practice is that, at the least, a person is not afraid during the time of death, and remains mindful and self-possessed. Even if one fails to attain Nibbana upon the dissolution of the body, one is bound for a happy destiny.
Anyone wishing to experience the bliss of Nibbana has to fulfill three conditions:
1) Find a teacher who can give the proper instruction in the technique of meditation and to associate only with men of integrity and wisdom.
2) Need to gain an intellectual understanding of the teaching, example: hearing the true Dhamma because by studying and listening to discourses one gains the proper framework to understand the experiences in meditation
3) Need to practice what one has been taught.
One of Buddha’s disciples was an elderly monk called Pottila, who was bright and was reputed of being an expert at expanding in details whatever teachings the Buddha had given in brief. Despite his popularity and reputation, the Buddha called him “empty Pottila”, and dthe truth dawned on him that he had no wisdom because he did not practice the Dhamma.
Pottila looked for a quiet place to meditate and realized he had to find a well-qualified teacher. He went to a forest where there were thirty monks, all of them were arahants. He approached the senior monk and asked him for instruction. This monk politely declined fearing that his simple technique would not be accepted by Pottila. Pottila went to look for the other twenty-nine monks and asked for the same thing. All of them refused, except the young monk who was still doubtful of Pottila’s sincerity. He asked Pottila to cross a small stream. Pottila did so. This young monk was then convinced that Pottila would follow his advice. He went on: “ Here is an anthill with six holes and under it lives a lizard. Someone would have to close five of the holes and leave just one of them open and then he would be able to capture the lizard easily.”
Pottila respectfully saluted the young monk and said: “ What a great teacher you are; I fully understood, you need teach me nothing further.”
The young monk asked what it was that he had understood. Pottila said: “Great teacher, I understand that there are six sense doors; I have to close five of them, and open only the mind door. This is how you want me to practice.”
Pottila found a solitary place, meditated for three days and attained arahanthood.
The Buddha was not an eternalist, nor was He an annihilationist. According to Him, there were only events which arise because of previous conditions. But when asked if the person who was reborn was the same as the previous one who died, the Buddha said it was neither the same nor another person. The self is not constant, everlasting or eternal. It is subject to change, and will not endure as long as eternity.
There are 31 planes of existence, and our human world is the fifth one. This is the only plane where, we the humans can see the things around us with our naked eyes. From level 6 to level 31 are all heavenly realms. From level 1 to 4 are the realms of the ghosts. The ghosts are only able to frighten the humans but are not able to physically hurt us. Otherwise, many people would have been dead, taking into consideration that the ghosts can see us but we cannot see them. The access to those 26 heavenly realms are within the reach of humans who are performing good deeds on this earth. No god holds the keys to those heavens and no god decides who goes there and who goes to hells.
Depending on his deeds, a person may be reborn as a hell being, an animal, a hungry ghost, a human being, a frightened ghost, a god of the sensuous heaven, an embodied brahma, or a bodiless brahma. The humans and animals have gross physical bodies, while the ghosts and devas have subtle nonphysical bodies. The beings in the Brahma realms, if they have the chance to listen to Vipassana Dharma, will attain Nibbana from these realms. One example was Dhananjhani, who practiced metta to attain the jhanas, and ended up in the Brahma realm, under the supervision of Sariputta. As advised by the Buddha, Sariputa visited Dhananjhani, at the Brahma realm and gave a Vipassana Dhamma talk to Dehananjhani, who attained Nibbana directly from the Brhama realm.
Buddhist Meditation involves no religious rites or rituals. It can be mastered by all irrespective of their cultural or religious backgrounds, if they are willing to make the necessary efforts. When the five Precepts are well established, meditation will yield great results and benefits. There is nothing religious regarding the Five Precepts:
To abstain from destroying beings
To abstain from taking things not given
To abstain from sexual misconduct
To abstain from false speech
To abstain from distilled and fermented liquors that cause intoxication & heedlessness
Is there any religion or person who does not agree to the five clauses? When you observe these clauses daily, you protect yourself and others. Won’t our planet earth then be a better place?
However, if you are a Buddhist, meditation will strengthen your faith on the religion. It is a mental discipline that eventually leads the mind to its purified state. It is a form of energetic striving leading to self-elevation, self-discipline, self control, and self-illumination. It is a tonic for your heart. As you mediate, you breathe in cosmic energy and actually breathe out your defilements. This will help to weaken your past bad kamma. You need to perform good kamma to neutralize your bad kamma. No one can undo your previous bad kamma.
From the Human plane, there are eight levels of spiritual realms of existences which an accomplished meditator with the right qualities through the practice of Vipassana meditation, can experience and verify. Those realms are:
Dibbakaya : immediately above the human realm
Rupabrahmakaya
Arupabrahmakaya
Dharmmakaya
Sotapannakaya
Sakadagamikaya
Anagamikaya : Anagamis are born here. They later attain arahanship and live at Arahattakaya realm until their live-term ends
Arahattakaya
The accomplished mediators can also experience the four lower realms which are:
Asurayoni
Petayoni
Tiracchanayoni &
Niraya
Niraya consists of eight major levels of hell. The lowest rung being the most painful one.
That which receives impressions, both good and bad, is call mind. It hasn’t any form. During meditation, you bring your mind to a halt or rest. The mind is tranquilized and a sense of calm pervades the whole body. If the mind wanders after thoughts and feelings, it becomes tired and weak. Wisdom will not arise if the mind has no energy. Our mind is transient, imperfect and ownerless. The “one who knows” is a level above or beyond the mind.
Loving-kindness (not carnal love) is Metta in Pali. This Metta possesses a mystic power. A person with a pure heart can radiate this beneficent force, which is capable of transforming wild beasts into tame ones, and murderers into saints. You don’t believe it? Why do you think the insects and beasts in the jungle can live peacefully with the monks, side by side? Buddhist Metta embraces all living beings, seen or unseen, animals included.
Nimittas are the lights you see during meditation. These are mental signs. For most people, they are beautiful lights of various colours, e.g. white blue, purple, grey, yellow, orange etc. Sometimes they are bright and unstable, vibrating or flashing and changing shapes, like the clouds.
Some people also see eyes or faces when their eyes are closed. These are very normal and we should not be attached to them for our own safety.
Please tell yourself that these are your own creations and are therefore not real. Sakyamuni Buddha said it very clearly that He would not be able to return to this earth, knowing that after His era many fakes would appear. The next Buddha will be born as a person when Buddhism no longer exists on this earth. He will practise on his own as a common being and eventually attain Buddhahood and will be able to enlighten others.
Sakyamuni name that being as Metteyya, who is now in Tusita Heaven. Tusita is a realm for beings who have perfected the requisites of Buddhahood, waiting for an opportune moment to appear in the human realm to attain Buddhahood.
For more advance practitioner, within next few minutes after the nimitta, maybe few hours, days, months, or years, ( depending on how well you have practised so far) Jhana will happen by themselves later on.
According the the Buddha : for one who indulges in Jhana, four results are to be expected : Stream-Winner, Once-Returner, Non-Returner, or Arahant. When the mind attains a state of absorption, which is serene contemplation, it is the attainment of “Jhana”.
When Sakyamuni attained Buddhahood under the Bohdi tree, the Dharma He discovered was very hard to understand and He was thinking of leaving this Earth at that moment. Fortunately, Brahma Sahampati came down from heaven to invite the Buddha to expound the Dharma.
Quote:
"Those Enlightened ones of the past, those of the future, and those of the present age, who dispel the grief of many – all of them lived, will live, and are living respecting the noble Dharma. This is the characteristic of the Buddhas."
Unquote.
Perhaps during His previous life He made a wish that for His final birth as a man, He would be an ordinary being, grow up, get married and have children to show the public that they need not shave off the hair to attain nibbana, just like one couple did during the Buddha's time. This couple was both acrobats, earning a living around every part of India. One day they were fortunate enough to come to perform in front of the Buddha., at Rajagaha ( my memory may not be correct), the modern name is Rajgir. They both were doing the somersaulting on top of two different bamboo poles, and they both attained Arahantship while on top of the poles. When they came down, the Buddha ordained them on the spot because when a person attains arahantship that person will leave this world automatically within seven days unless he or she becomes a monk or nun.
The Buddha also encouraged His followers to continue earning money. He said every body must put aside some of the profits for the rainy day (our CPF or Pension Funds today), and spend a portion of the remaining amount for family maintenance, and another portion for doing Dharma, and invest the remaining portion to keep the business or economy growing.
The Buddha was not a vegetarian. The Buddhists need not be vegetarians. There was one fisherman who invited the Buddha to a dinner of curry fish. The Buddha personally went to the fisherman's hut to accept the meal because He wanted that poor fisherman to have the chance to receive the merit. The Buddha did not tell the fisherman to change the profession even though the Buddhists were and still are advised to refrain from killing. The Buddha also clearly stated it was the citizens’ duties to take up arms to defend their country.
There were cases which non-Buddhists who wished to show that their religions were superior to Buddhism, deliberately questioned the monks regarding how Buddhism, that was introduced 2600 years ago could be still valid today. They pointed the examples of Buddhists today who have to cull animals. In these cases, the culling is acceptable because we have to save the lives of millions of other lives. For example, if you come across a man who is going to shoot another person, and you kill the attacker on the spot, you do not commit the bad Kamma of killing because you are saving another person. This example was given by the Buddha.
However, if a country attacks another country for selfish reason, and a citizen joins the armed forces, in the process he kills some of the so-called enemies, he creates the personal Kamma of killing.
Fixed Kamma is committed with speech, mind and body. The example would be a premeditated crime. Every thought, utterance, and deed is a seed that ripens over time. Every one has the potential at every moment to alter the course of the future Kamma, by doing good deeds. The Buddha personally said “ If there is no way out, I will not be teaching you today”.
Collective Kamma is created when a group of people, for example, go and set fires to destroy properties and living beings. The resulting Kamma will be about the same for the future of this group. They will be burned to death in their future live and their properties will be destroyed by others.
Kamma means the retribution or reward, in current or future life. How do we account for the unevenness in this ill-balanced world? Why should identical twins, inheriting like genes, enjoying the same privileges, be intellectually and morally totally different? Poverty and want are the results of miserly thoughts and actions in past lives.
There are common Kamma, fixed Kamma and Collective Kamma. It is the law of nature. Every good action will result in good Kamma and every bad action will result in bad Kamma. No one can escape it except the Buddhas and the Arahants, whose actions will create no further Kamma. However, Arahants and Buddhas are not exempt from the effects of indefinitely effective kamma, for example, Arahant Moggalana was slaughtered and cut to pieces by thugs.
The kammic energy created by sentient beings does not dissipate until it has given its effects, or until it becomes defunct. For example when the doers become Arahants or Buddha, and they have attained Parinibbana, whatever kammic energy which has been left will automatically become defunct.
Wholesome actions produce good results, which will lead to happiness here and hereafter. The ten Kammically wholesome deeds are: generosity, morality, meditation, reverence, service, dedication of merits, rejoicing in the merits of others, hearing the doctrine, teaching the doctrine, and correcting the wrong views of others.
Unwholesome actions have evil consequences which can result in this life or hereafter, sooner or later. Thus whatever actions you have performed, good or evil, they will inevitably reward you with either happiness or suffering. The ten unwholesome actions are: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, slander, harsh speech, gossip, covetousness, ill will, and wrong view.
There are three types of kammic energy, one is that which will produce immediate effects. The next is the one that will produce subsequent effects. The last one is one that has indefinite effects.
The weighty kamma gets foremost priority in producing rebirth, followed by near-death kamma, habitual kamma and reserve kamma. All of us came according to our kamma and have to go according to our kamma.
The stream of consciousness flows on from birth till death and from death to new birth, until that person attains Nibbana. During a being’s conception in its mother’s womb, the first consciousness that arises at that moment is called re-linking consciousness. This links the preceding life to the present life.
According to Buddhism, the sphere of light inside the human body is located at two finger-breadths above the navel. It is the seat of life which we call consciousness, spirit or soul. It leaves the body after death, and continues life after life, reborn at various levels according to the Kammic destiny, in the 31 planes of existence, until release is obtained by following the Noble-Eight-fold Path of the Buddha’s teaching. This consciousness, being nonentity, faceless, and formless, will continue to search for its true identity which will only be attainable when all qualities of perfection are developed in his character, to mature into a perfect being called Arahant or Buddha.
If one is convinced that one is entangled in a kammic web that can nevertheless be unraveled, one will naturally try to learn from the example of the Buddha or His disciples. We must admit that our drawbacks and under-development prevent us from realizing the Truth.
We are lucky that not every bad deed we committed must be repaid. If each bad deed must be repaid, the entire cosmos would be totally deterministic and there is nothing we can do to free ourselves. The Buddha was one example of a person who did not have to wait for all his previous bad deeds or bad kamma to work itself out. The same principle applies to all those arahants.
All of us possess the mental qualities needed for the task of awakening, if we want to develop them. When we succeed, we become Arahants or Buddhas. Whatever bad Kamma we have not yet repaid would be there to haunt us unless we attain Parinibbana. That was why Sakyamuni Buddha and many Arahants were physically hurt as long as they still possess the human bodies.
The area covered by the Buddha when He was teaching was about 250 miles from East to West and about 150 miles from North to South, roughly covered modern Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and the Tarai of Nepal. He was able to fly into the air unassisted but very few people ever saw him flying. He walked from place to place most of the time.
The Buddha died at a small town called Kusinara. It was mistakenly reported he died of food poisoning after eating a meal of pork donated by a lay follower, Cunda who was a smith. Some people who disliked the Buddha even said He was poisoned by Chunda. The Buddha actually told Ananda to visit Cunda ( so that Cunda would not be plagued by remorse) to tell him that it was a most auspicious act to offer a Buddha’s last meal.
This was most unlikely because a Buddha or an Arahant could see what was in the food, just like they could see the viruses in the cup of water. There was no way a person could poison him. For whatever reason the food was contaminated, the Buddha knew it because after the meal He told His disciple to dig a hole in the ground and bury the remaining food because no humans or animals could consume that food without being harmed. The Buddha ate the meal because He wanted the lay follower to receive the merit. Eating animal flesh and be poisoned was common during the Buddha's time and it is still common even today just as what we see in the TV every day.
After eating that meal the Buddha became ill but he recovered later on. During that time He was 80 years old. Naturally, He died of failing health later on.
Before attaining Parinibbana, the Buddha asked His disciples and all the lay followers if there was any question they wanted to raise. No one raised any question. This proved that He had taught us every thing we need to know to attain Buddhahood. When Ananda wanted to know if there should be a successor, the Buddha said the Dharma should be the guide after He was gone.
The Buddha's last words were:
" Decay is inherent in all things
be sure to strive with clarity of mind for Nibbana. "
(unquote)
After the Parinibbana of Sakyamuni Buddha, many non-Buddhist monks put on the robes, pretended to be Buddhist monks, and changed or deliberately mistranslated some of the Scriptures which were recorded in Sanskrit. That was why King Asoka, crowned in 273 BC, called the Third Council Meeting for the Sangha, presided by monks who were arahants. During this meeting, schismatic monks and nuns were expelled from the Sangha. Between 100 and 200 years after the Parinibbana of the Buddha, a controversy over some monastic rules had been decided by a committee of mostly Arahants, against the views of the majority. The majority group introduced the Bodhisattua ideals, and calling themselves the Maha Sanga, which later became the Mahayana.
The First Council Meeting ( carried out long before King Asoka was born) was presided by Phra Maha Kassapa Thera, with 499 other Arahants, to settle the questions of doctrines and fix the text of the Scriptures, by reciting and memorizing. Thus the Tripitaka was recorded and has been studied and practised until today.
However, this group of faked monks were not going to be eradicated at all. They managed to carry on even until the later centuries when Nalanda International University was established. They even infiltrated this university, as lecturers, and professors. This university existed for seven centuries. And by 1193 CE, when the monks at this university were slaughtered and the university burned down by Muhammad Bakhtyar and his army, Brahminical ritual and magic were already included in the curriculums of the Nalanda Colleges, resulting in a new type of Buddhism which was indistinguishable from Hinduism.
The Bhiksuni order in India ceased to exist when Muhammad Bakhtyar invaded India in the 12th century CE. In Sri Lanka the Bhiksuni order ceased to exist with the fall of Anuradhapura in 1017 CE. The Order of Monks met the same fate there but was later revived by King Vijayabahu after he drove away the Tamil invaders. King Vijayabahu invited monks from Burma to revive the Order of Monks in Sri Lanka. For some reason, he did not revive the Bhikkhuni (Nuns) Order.
The Buddhists do not extinguish sufferings by lighting incense and candles, and making pledges to supposedly supernatural things. One uniqueness of Buddhism is that it teaches moral behaviour without reference to heaven and hell. Buddhism advocates an impermanence of all existences, and it does not demand blind faith from its followers.
The modern practitioner is advised to consult full-fledged Buddhist monks whenever he or she faces a certain doubt. One of the worst misconceptions is that “there is Nibbana but there is no one to attain or enter it”.
I don’t know what you call that thing that attains Nibbana. But does that matter? When the frog returns to the pond to tell the tadpoles that he saw George Bush who was holding the most coveted position on this planet, lived in a beautiful and magnificent building. Would the tadpoles believe him?
Nibbana doesn't mean emptiness because when the Buddha returned to His hometown, the throne was still open for him. He refused it and did not want His son to inherit it either. Would a person give up a coveted kingdom for emptiness (nothingness)? Nibbana is the realm where all conditioned things cease to be, ( in Pali : Sankhara-samatho).
It is the complete annihilation of desire, hatred, and delusion.
Nibbana was referred to as the extinguishing of a fire, or extinction, by some poorly informed writers and scholars. What they failed to explain was that during the Buddha’s time, people in India did not believe that when a fire was going out, it went out of existence. What they meant was that the fire was simply free of its agitation and attachment to its fuel. Therefore when we talk about Buddhist view, Nibbana is of release and liberation. The correct English translation would be “unbinding”. Nibbana is definitely not extinction. Nibbana is the liberation of the mind from mental effluents, defilements, and the fetters that bind us to the round of re-births.
A person has to transcend the worldly condition in order to attain the supramundane plane, which is free from hellfire, scourging, torture, bondage, subjection and thralldom.
The human being is an ever-changing flux of energy, and so are the deva, ghost or animal. We must let go of our body and mind to realize that which is permanent, and stable by nature, Nibbana, which the Buddha described as uncreated, unconditioned, and unborn. The spiritual aspirant reduces contact with the world as the first step in his quest to end suffering.
At the moment, you are made up of the physical body and mind. This mind exists because of the body. When the physical body is dead, this mind will appear in a new body. It is a natural state that thinks, perceives, and records every sense-object. Dying is merely a process in which an individual exchanges one body form for another. For you to attain Nibbana, the mind too must be left behind.
***
The mind is like a tree. The tree grows into maturity. Then it will begin to bear fruits. Before the fruit appears, there will be the bud, then the flower and eventually the fruit. Are the bud, flower and fruit the same thing? Are they different?
We don’t know where the fruit is. But when the tree matures, it bears the fruit. Likewise, when the mind matures, it bears that “something” that attains Nibbana, and in Pali it is called Citta, which means consciousness in English language, and surely you are this Citta. This Citta, in association with a physical body is referred to as mind. or heart. It does not arise or pass away. It is never born and it will never die. It can totally separate itself from the physical body and it is beyond the conditions of time and space. At the moment your Citta and my Citta are surrounded by defilements. This is the only reason why our Cittas cannot attain Nibbana now. Since time immemorial, our Cittas were on the ceaseless journey of birth and rebirth.
According to the arahants who were present during the Parinibbana of the Buddha, after the dead of His physical body, there was the spiritual body. That spiritual body was severed, resulting another body that could be seen appearing from the spiritual body. Where do you think that third body is now?
Human beings possess three bodies, the physical body, the spiritual body and the formless body. The mind ( consciousness) needs the body to exist. It exists to the extent necessary just for knowledge, and mindfulness. This mind is not permanent as claimed by other religions. When a person attains Nibbana, this mind is severed. Nibbana is the ultimate reality, the absolute. It cannot be described. It can only be realized.
Sakyamuni was the only religious teacher who had said that to protect other people’s religion was to protect your own religion. He was also the only religious teacher who said that sentient existence was/is dependent upon harmonious co-existence with non-sentient life-forms. He never said that to attain Nibbana, a person must be a monk. During His time, there were many lay followers who attained Arahanthood, which was actually Nibbana. The bliss is the same except that the arahants are not able to enlighten others. The Buddha also never said there was a Royal Road to Nibbana, as claimed by some people today. The chanting of certain Sutra alone will not lead you to Nibbana. But if you chant that Sutra and at the same time practise the Noble Eightfold Path earnestly, you will attain Arahanthood. The Buddha clearly stated that regardless of religion and race, a person who had eradicated greed, hatred and delusion would attain Nibbana.
The following story will give you a better idea of how the Buddhists train themselves:
Once there was a woman who offered her guesthouse for a monk to practice meditation. She even provided a pretty maid to feed him and clean his abode daily. After many years, this woman wanted to see if the monk really progressed. She asked her maid to request a hug from the monk, in return for all the good work the maid had provided him in the past.
The monk refused the request telling the maid: “ Monks are not allowed to interact with women in this way”. As a result of this refusal, he was chased away from the abode. Was the monk making a correct decision?
Happiness is a state of consciousness that does not depend upon physical appetites, passions, acquisition of material wealth, power, position, fame, or honour. Why do you think a multi-millionaire’s daughter would join the gangsters to rob a bank? Her parents could buy her any material thing on this planet. Surely there was something lacking?
Regardless of position and wealth, people are stressed by work and depressed by life. Bill Gates is the richest man on this planet. Is he the happiest person? Many people feast on gourmet food but are never satisfied. They have fame and fortune but no peace. They sleep in the most comfortable room with the best mattresses but toss and turn all night. They reside in mansions but yet feel insecure.
For an average monk, he progresses by removing sensual desires, ill-will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and doubts. With giving up of egoism by his or her intuitive insight, attachment and hatred automatically disappear. After some years, he may reach the 1st stage of Sainthood, (Sotapanna) which means he has to be reborn for seven times, to continue his training to attain Nibbana. He will be free from rebirth in any of the lower realms of existence. A Sotapanna no longer believes in self, has no more doubt, and is no longer superstitious. His doubts about the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha are completely resolved, because he has entered the stream which is endowed with the unwavering conviction that comes with the first glimpse of the deathless. He will be reborn seven times at the most before attaining Nibbana. However, whatever a Sotapanna learnt during the previous life will not be carried forward to the next life as most people would expect. In the future lives, he has to relearn to fulfill the requirements to attain Nibbana. But not every thing he learnt during the past life is lost because in this life or the next life, he will definitely improve faster and would be able to learn better, just like a musician who may have stopped learning music for the past forty years, and if he were to study music again, he would definitely do better by then.
When a practitioner becomes a Sotapanna, he himself would not know it. Only a Buddha or an Arahant can confirm that.
The 2nd stage of Sainthood is Sakadagami, which means he has to be reborn one more time in the human world to continue his training for perfection. Even at this Stage, lust and anger are only inhibited. They may resurface.
The 3rd Stage of Sainthood is Anagami, which means a Never-Returner. Anagami will not be born in the human world or the celestial realms. After death in the human world, he is reborn in one of the five Pure Abodes, which are the highest realms of the Brahma worlds, called the “Sudhavas”an environment reserved for Anagamis. There he further cultivate the intuitive wisdom to attain Arahanship, thus transcending the cycle of birth and re-birth, and lives till the end of his live-term till he attains Nibbana. An Anagami has totally eradicated sensual desire and ill will.
The final Stage of Sainthood, Arahant, is one who does not need any more training as he has lived the Holy Life, and has accomplished his object. He is not subject to rebirth because he does not accumulate fresh Karmic activities. His stream of consciousness gets perfectly purified. He will no longer be affected by the eight vicissitudes : gain & loss, fame & defame, blame & praise, happiness & suffering. He remains in this world to guide others until his natural life cycle is completed and then attains Nibbana.
An Arahant is one whose mind has abolished all desires for anything whatsoever. He has also abolished fear, hatred, worry, anxiety, mistrust, and doubt. His mind is free. Nothing can provoke or lure him, induce inquisitiveness or curiosity because He has abolished partiality.
The Buddha’s teachings can be summarized within six words: morality, concentration, wisdom, non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion. Every Buddhist is learning to develop morality, concentration and wisdom to remove greed, hatred and delusion.
The Buddha clearly stated that Vipassana meditation was the only way to escape the endless cycle of sufferings. He was not conducting meditation classes to make money. There was no reason for him to mention “only” if it was not true.
The two main types of meditation were and are still Samatha Meditation and Vipassana Meditation. Meditation is a mental discipline that eventually leads the mind to its purified state.
Samatha Meditation will not lead you to any wisdom or insight. When Samatha practitioners reach the state of Jhana, they remain in this state for a long time and are not likely to learn anything. The Buddha’s two teachers Arara Dabos and Utaka Dabos were the best examples, they taught Sakyamuni up to the 8th Jhana. But Sakyamuni had to leave the two teachers because He did not feel that the 8th Jhana could lead a person to the deathless. When the Buddha was enlightened, He wanted to help these two former teachers but He found them passed away already and were re-borne as Arupa Bramins. These Bramins could not be reached or taught. By the time their life cycle ends, and they are borne as humans again, Buddhism would have ceased to exist.
With Vipassana Meditation, we practice on the four foundations of mindfulness. We concentrate on observation of how we see, smell, hear, taste, touch, and feel. Right observation will bring forth right understanding of cause and effect.
Buddhism does not confine only to the philosophical and psychological aspects of religion but extends to the field of social service, and the cultivation of self-discipline. A Buddhist does not think that he can gain purity simply by believing the Buddha. His purpose of life is Supreme Enlightenment. No coercions, persecutions or fanaticisms had ever played a part in the spread of Buddhism. No women’s blood had ever been used to redden the Buddha’s Throne. No sincere thinkers or heretics had ever been burnt alive or roasted to death in the name of Buddhism. Buddhism was able to spread to almost every corner of the world without the blessings of imperialism or militarism.
Do we have a new interpretation of what it means to be a good Buddhist? The criteria of a good Buddhist were laid down by the Buddha 2600 years ago and they remained unchanged until today. Are you more Buddhist than the Buddha to change them now?
Vajrayana and Mahayana Buddhists believe that after death, the spirit of the dead person passes through an intermediate period called Bardo in Tibetan, Zhong Yin in Mandarin, which may last for as long as 49 days, during which it undergoes a series of unearthly, extraordinary experiences before it is finally reborn into another realm of existence.
Theravada Buddhists believe that rebirth takes place immediately after death. If we regard the Bardo, or Zhong Yin as another being, the doctrine inconsistency does not exist anymore. When a person is dead, the body remains a mass of inanimate material phenomena, born of temperature, and continues as such until the corpse is reduced to dust. The “stream of consciousness” flows on from birth till death, and from death to new birth. This is the life-continuum. It is called sub-consciousness by our modern scientists.
The Buddha never said He wanted to save every living being and He never said He would return to this planet, but He did predict that another Buddha would be born on our present planet ( Buddha Mytteya) and that would be the 5th and the final Buddha for our planet Earth. The earliest Buddha before Sakyamuni was Kakusandha, followed by Konagamana, and then, Kassapa..
Had anyone ever attained Nibbana while learning the scriptures or while listening to recitations of the sutras? Academic or intellectual knowledge cannot lead you to Nibbana. For this reason it is obvious that the best way is to practice and not to depend on the theories because otherwise all those college professors who lecture on Buddhism would have been Arahants.
Some deities cultivate their merits through human mediums. There is nothing wrong in this unless the mediums become greedy and begin to swindle people. The gods or the deities do have some supernatural powers which can assist the humans in limited ways. There are examples of monks who passed away but are not yet ready to be reborn as humans. They continue to cultivate their merits by making use of mediums to help the humans.
Quote:
Therefore, oh deities, listen, all of you
Radiate loving kindness towards human beings
They bring offerings to you day and night
So protect them diligently
Unquote.
The above verse is the Second Verse from Ratana Sutra (Discourse on the Precious Jewels).
Obviously, the Buddha did not tell His followers to avoid the deities. The Buddha also never told His followers not to visit religious masters from other religions. So the phrase “worshiping the devils” is unheard of in Buddhism.
Buddhism does not encourage its followers to demonstrate psychic feats. During the Buddha’s time, there was a competition organized by non-Buddhists, by placing a sandal wood bowl, on a very high post. Competitors were not allowed to climb up the post to reach the bowl. There was no one around who could reach that bowl. A Buddhist monk who happened to be there, levitated himself to get that bowl. When the news reached Sakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha reprimanded that monk. It is therefore not correct for Buddhists to play with magical powers. The most obvious reaction would be the creation of jealousy among religious teachers from other religions. Then the poor monk would be subject to attacks and so on. People would like to see him in jail so that he cannot continue to practice his psychic powers for the next many years.
For more info on classes about Buddhism, & lecture schedules, please contact
Sae Taw Win II Dhamma Foundation
8769 Bower Street
Sebastopol, CA 95472, USA
(707) 824-4456
Stw2@saetawwin2.org
www.saetawwin2.org
www.vbgnet.org
Please also refer :
Narada – The Buddha and His Teachings – Buddhist Missionary Society, Malaysia
Foot note:
In 1199 CE, Muhammad Bakhtyar, after conquering India, and killing all the monks he could find in The International University, and burning down all buildings there, was on his way to invade Tibet when bad weather conditions forced him to retreat. He and his army perished while trying to cross a river, because of sudden flood.
In Asia, especially at the mountainous regions, some of the river water level may be very low. But during the monsoon season, if you happen to be caught during a thunder storm and torrential rain, within an hour the water level can rise many meters.
Value of Meditation
The benefit of meditation, which the Westerners recently discovered, was well appreciated over twenty-five centuries ago in the East. After some practice, many practitioners will experience tranquilized mind, and feel a sense of calm pervades the whole body. It is a mental discipline that eventually leads the mind to its purified state.It is a form of energetic striving leading to self-elevation, self-discipline, self control, and self-illumination. It is a tonic for your heart.
Buddhist Meditation involves no religious rites or rituals. It can be mastered by all irrespective of their cultural or religious backgrounds, if they are willing to make the necessary efforts. When the five Precepts are well established, meditation will yield great results and benefits. There is nothing religious regarding the Five Precepts:
To abstain from destroying beings
To abstain from taking things not given
To abstain from sexual misconduct
To abstain from false speech
To abstain from distilled and fermented liquors that cause intoxication & heedlessness
Is there any religion or person who does not agree to the five clauses? When you observe these clauses daily, you protect yourself and others. Won’t our planet earth then be a better place?
During 1970s, University of Massachusetts at Worcester, U.S.A., started a stress-reduction program. This center for Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) still exists today. Visit: www.umassmed.edu/cfm/index.aspx
By sitting still and following the movement of air entering and leaving your nostrils, your electroencephalograph reading will show that gamma waves which are associated with attention and learning are generated. Isn't this good for you?
Your breathing and pulse rate will also slow down. If your breathing rate is 18 breaths per minute, during meditation it will reduce to 15 times per minute. You pulse too will slow down moderately. If you practice vipassana meditation, you will breathe in cosmic energy and breathe out your defilements. This will actually expiate your bad kamma which you created in the past lives, or during the past in this life.
During meditation, unusual amount of brain activity in the left side of the pre-frontal cortex is going on. It was confirmed that experienced practitioners eventually have an average 5 % thicker cortex. This part of the brain is associated with positive emotions. You will therefore be more alert and happier than the others.
The mental images you see when your eyes are closed are your own creation. They can be anything a person may imagine. These are called Nimittas. For most people, they are beautiful lights of various colors, e.g. while, blue, purple, grey, yellow, orange etc. Sometimes they are bright and unstable, vibrating or flashing and changing shapes, like the clouds.
Some people also see eyes or faces when their eyes are closed. These are very normal and we should not be attached to them for our own safety. If they are too fearful, just open your eyes and they will be gone. Do not be attached to whatever you see. If a certain thing appears in front of you every time you meditate, just have a paint brush ready, dip it in ink and hold it while you meditate. When that thing appears, gently mark it with your brush and then open your eyes. What has been marked?
For more advance practitioners, within next few minutes after the nimittas, maybe few hours, days, months, or years, ( depending on how well you have practiced so far) Jhana will happen by themselves later on.
According the Buddha: for one who indulges in Jhana, four results are to be expected: Stream-Winner, Once-Returner, Non-Returner, or Arahant.
If you encounter difficulties, you need to consult experienced practitioners. These people normally do not request money for assisting you. If they do, be aware. It is better to consult those who don't ask for monetary rewards.
Meditation is a form of psychotherapy. The number of psychiatric patients is increasing rapidly and many hospitals can’t cope. Those people ended up in the hospital because they did not know how to cope with stress. They need to relax mentally. They are ambitious. They struggle too hard.
During meditation, you will also be taught how to get rid of longstanding anger and hostility which weaken your lungs and speed up age-related decline. When the lung volume drops, you don’t get enough oxygen. Your energy declines, your immune system weakens, thus sickness and disease start to crop up.
Moreover, women and men in their forties need not be miserable if they care to look after their mental health. I am talking about majority of the people on this planet, regardless of whether they are rich or poor, white, black or yellow. If rich people are not affected, then most people in the United States of America should be very happy. Are they?
Happiness is a state of consciousness that does not depend upon physical appetites, passions, acquisition of material wealth, power, position, fame, or honour. Why do you think a multi-millionaire’s daughter would join the gang-sters to rob a bank? Her parents could buy her any material thing on this planet. Surely there was something lacking?
Even though you may be aged 70 or over, you can remain mentally as healthy as a 20-year old if you care to maintain your health. And one of the methods is meditation.
Meditation may also prevent you from ending up with diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiovascular problems, because the elasticity of your blood vessels will be improved and your blood toned up. As a person thinks of compassion, his body system stimulates the cells to generate valuable chemical compounds to produce energy and vitality. So we can say metta has tonic effect on the whole physical constitution.
Meditation may be introduced to children as well, as early as age seven. To counter restlessness and worry, concentration on the breathing will steady and calm the mind.
The following are some of the other benefits of meditation:
Getting rid of your tension and find some relaxation
Calm down your worries and find permanent or temporary peace
Develop the courage to face or overcome your problems
Gain self confidence
Help you to understand the nature of your fears
Help you see the true nature of life (if you are heart-broken)
Help you to be more focused and concentrated in your studies
Help you to have contentment and not to harbor jealousy towards others
Help you to overcome the fire of anger, hatred and resentment
Help you to understand the danger of jealousy
Help you realize how to overcome your dangerous habit
If you wish to read books on meditation, visit http://www.bps.lk/
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