To these four questions Sætægiri said that the Buddha possessed fully and completely all the ñæ¼a called vijjæ. Vijjæ means “special knowledge” or “wisdom”. There are three kinds and also eight kinds. The Buddha had all these fully. “Besides, our teacher, the Buddha, has clean basic moral conduct, that is, all the basic moral conduct that paves the way to Nibbæna.” “Also, our teacher, the Buddha, has in Him none of kilesæ æsavo, that is, kæmæsava, ditthæsava and avijjæsava.” “And, our teacher, the Buddha, has no more new existence; He is free from the cycle of existences.” The reason for Sætægiri’s definite answers to Hemavata’s four further questions was that he had heard the Buddha declare during the Dhammacakka sermon that He had already had completely magga saccæ, or the eight maggas. Of them, sammæ di¥¥hi and sammæ sa³kappa are the maggas relating to paññæ or what is called vijjæ, the special knowledge and mental powers. sammæ væcæ, sammæ kammanta and sammæ æjiva constitute søla magga, and sammæ væyama, sammæ sati and sammæ samædhi are together samædhi magga. These søla magga and samædhi are what constitute cara¼a or the basic moral conduct. In the Dhammacakka sermon there was also a declaration by the Buddha that He was Sammæsambuddha, the Enlightened One, the genuine Buddha, who was in full possession of special mental powers called vijjæ and cara¼a. That is why Sætægiri gave out his answers with the courage of conviction. Also, the reason for the definite answer to the question about æsava kilesæ was that in the Dhammacakka Sutta the Buddha said that He had completely rid Himself of samudaya saccæ (attachment). This statement together with the declaration of Himself as Sammæsambuddha convinced Sætægiri that his teacher, the Buddha, was the genuine Buddha. The answer to the fourth question that the Buddha had no future new existences was due to the Buddha’s declaration in the Dhammacakka sermon, “My deliverance from kilesæ is permanent.” By that He meant that the deliverance was complete and not for a temporary measures; it was not just a few moments or for a certain period; it was permanent and inviolable. The Buddha added that the present existence of his was the last, and there was no future new existence for Him. There are three kinds of vijjæ as well as eight kinds. The three kinds pubbenivasa ñæ¼a, dibbacakkha ñæ¼a and asavakkhaya ñæ¼a, are often referred to with their initials as pu, di, æ.) The ñæ¼a is the mental ability to look back and see the previous existences. The Buddha acquired this ñæ¼a in the first part of the night of the full moon day of the month of Kason, the day on which the Buddha was to attain Buddha hood. Since then He had known about the previous existences and pondered upon them. This ñæ¼a is the ability to see as if with the eye of a deva. The metaphor of the eye of a deva is used just to explain the ability contained in this ñæ¼a but, in fact, the ability far exceeds that of the eye of deva. What a deva’s eye cannot see, this ñæ¼a can. The persons possessing this ñæ¼a can ponder and look far distances, of more than many crores of yuzanæ and see the colours and forms of being there. This ñæ¼a can see what the human eye cannot. It can see through walls, mountains and other forms of barrier. It can see the beings suffering in the nether regions of hell, animal kingdom, and the world of peta. It can see the entire human world, and also the celestial planes of existence. The human eye cannot see even guardian angels of forests, mountains and trees in the vicinity. Some say that there is no such being as deva because such a being cannot be see, but such persons dare not remain under the trees or places reputed to be haunted by ghosts. They dare not behave in such a way as to offend the spirits. Some guardian spirits of property and ghosts do sometimes show their forms and frighten people. Some persons have had a chance of seeing their forms. Among the spirits that usually frighten people are devas also. There is a reference in Mettæ sutta to celestial spirits which showed the monks who had come to reside at the monasteries in the forest, in various forms and thus tried to frighten them. Such spirits were the guardian angels of trees. There are instances in which the peta beings did frighten. Once, King Bimbisæra returned to his palace after he had offered alms-food to the Buddha and Sangha, and on that night peta beings haunted the royal chamber in the palace and tried to frighten the King. These beings heard from Kassapa Buddha, a previous Buddha, that they would obtain things to eat after they had said “Sædhu” (well done!) when the King distributed his merits gained from the good deed of alms-food offering. So they gathered around the Buddha’s monastery and waited to say “Sædhu” but, unfortunately, the King forgot to distribute his merit, and returned to his palace. He did not know about this matter. So the peta beings entered his chamber to frighten him just to remind him. When the king reported to the Buddha about this, the Buddha told the King that these peta beings had been the King’s relatives 92 kappas ago, and that these beings haunted the royal chamber to frighten him by way of reminding him about his failure to distribute his merit to all beings. So the King offered alms-food to the Buddha and Sangha again on the following day and distributed his merit to all beings. The peta beings said “Sædhu” and thus obtained celestial food. So there are various kinds of haunting and frightening by spirits, for the devas, the peta spirits of property who also belong to the category of deva, can do haunting and frightening. The human eye cannot see these spirits but the eye of dibbacakkhu abhiññæ¼a can: Dibbacakkhu can see peta spirits During the time of the Buddha, one day Venerable Mahæ Moggalæna and Venarable Lakkha¼a were coming down from Gijjakutta Mountain while on their rounds for alms-food, when they saw on the way various kinds of peta spirits. There are peta beings made up of only skeletons, those of only flesh, and also those of bodies on fire. The skeleton ones and flesh ones were beings pecked at by crows, vultures and kites, and they were crying loudly from pain and running about in the sky. Venerable Mahæ Mogglæna smiled at the thought that he had been free of the possibility of such an existence of suffering. Venerable Lakkha¼a asked him why he smiled. He said, “ask me after the alms-food round.” Soon after having had their meals, Venerable Lakkna¼a asked Venerable Mahæ Moggalæna, in the presence of the Buddha, why he had smiled. Venerable Mahæ Moggalæna replied simply that he smiled because he saw the strange sight of peta beings. Then the Buddha said. “My disciples have acquired the eye of ñæ¼a. and can, therefore, see what a human eye cannot such beings as the peta, Now my disciples can bear witness to the fact that there are such beings as peta. I myself, had seen them on the night when I was about to attain Buddha hood while sitting on the aparæjita pedestal under the Bhodi tree. I have withheld a discourse on these beings because I was sympathetic with those who would earn akusala by their scepticism in this matter. That strange peta was a butcher in this city of Ræjagiri. He had fallen into hell and suffered many hundreds of thousand of years before he became this peta to repay a residue of the debt of his sins. Moggalæna was right when he said he had seen a strange peta beings.” The Buddha continued to describe more than twenty kinds of peta beings. Some peta begins had to suffer pain from swords, lances, arrows and pins that fell upon their bodies and pierced them. Some had lumps of iron of various sizes fall through their bodies and were running about, crying aloud from the excruciating pain they were suffering from the process. No human being in that area could see them. Nor could Venerable Lakkha¼a who had not acquired dibbacakkhuña¼a yet. Such miserable beings were found not only on Gijjakutta Mountain but elsewhere too, in places where they had, in their previous existences, done misdeeds. Only the eye of abhiñnæ¼a can see them; the ordinary human eye cannot. The dibbacakkhu abhinnæ¼a can see not only peta beings but all other beings, too, in hell and in the abodes of devas and Bræhmæs. Venerable Anuruddhæ could see one thousand universes at once with the eye of this abhinnæ¼a, and the Buddha could see innumerable universes. He had acquired this abhinnæ¼a on the night of the full moon day of Kason when He was just about to attain Buddha hood. This ñæ¼a is the ability to purge all lusts desires and other defilements. It is Ariya magga of which there are four grades: sotæpanna magga ñæ¼a, sakadægæmi magga ñæ¼a, anægæmi magga ñæ¼a and Arahatta magga ñæ¼a. Of these four ñæ¼a, sotæpanna magga ñæ¼a purges the defilements (æsavo and kilesæ) concerning di¥¥hi (wrong belief): sakadægæmi magga ñæ¼a the defilements concerning gross kæma ræga (lust and desires); anægæmi magga ña¼a the defilements concerning subtle manifestations of kæma ræga; and Arahatta magga ñæ¼a purges all the remaining defilements of lust and desires. So these four magga ñæ¼a are collectively called asavakkhaya ñæ¼a. But as the last-named ñæ¼a, Arahatta magga ñæ¼a, alone can purge all the defilements, this ñæ¼a is referred to as Arahatta magga ñæ¼a. This ñæ¼a the Buddha attained on the full moon day of Kason just before dawn. This ñæ¼a attained by the Buddha after meditating upon the paticca samuppæda, past midnight of that day when he rose from the ænæpæna jhæna during which he observed the state of happening and deterioration of the five upædænakkhandæ. Such observations is called udayabbaya. This observation is just like the observation of seeing, hearing, knowing, etc, now being practised by the yogøs here today. But there is one distinction in regard to the Buddha’s practice, that is, He entered all the jhænas and at the same time observed the happening and deterioration of the things inside and outside the body. There was nothing left unobserved, that is the important distinction. the observation process was, of course, the same. The Buddha went on from this stage toward the attainment of Ariya magga ñæ¼a in accordance with the various stages of meditation and observation of Vipassanæ. When He attained the Arahatta magga ñæ¼a, He saw the state of nibbæna, and then attained Buddha hood after gaining sabbaññuta ñæ¼a and all the other attributes of the Buddha. This the Buddha declared when He gave the first sermon, Dhammacakka Sutta, stating that He was sammæsambuddha. That is why Sætægiri said that the Buddha had the three vijjæ ñæ¼a, known by the initials of pu, di, æ. The three vijjæ namely, pu, di, æ have been explained. Now to make up eight vijjæ we will have to add five, namely vi, ma, id, ce and di by their initials. The long forms are vipassanæñæ¼a, manomayiddhi ñæ¼a, iddhividha ñæ¼a, cetopariya ñæ¼a and dibbasota ñæ¼a respectively. Vipassanæ ñæ¼a is attained by observing the actions of næma rupa in the state of anicca, dukkha and anatta. It is not attained simply by casual observation but by in-depth observation of the actions as they happening without leaving any one of them unobserved. Thus the observation should be on all actions such as, seeing hearing. smelling, eating, etc, as they are happening and without failing to observe any single action. At the beginning one should pitch upon one kind of action performed by a living being. So the Buddha in Mahæ Satipa¥¥hæna suttæ, said gicchæntova gicchæmiti pajænæti, meaning, “As you go, observe to know that you go.” By that He meant that one should observe the force of væyo (wind, or the propelling force) as one walked. So also, He said, “As you sit, observe to know that you sit.” So as you are concentrating your attention on the action of sitting. you will observe such mental or physical feeling as occasioned by this action of sitting. In the same manner, you will observe bending, stretching, moving as these actions are happening. So I have instructed you to take the easy practise of observing the rising and falling of the abdomen as you sit in a pose of meditation. The Pæ¹i text in Mahæ Satipa¥¥hæna gives full instructions for observation of that changing state of the body, so my instruction for observing the rising and falling of the abdomen while sitting quietly is in accord with it. If you think there is a gap in the observations between the rising and falling of the abdomen you can put in an observation of the sitting posture, such as rising, falling sitting rising, falling, Such gap filling would complete the observation of the entire state of the body. That constitutes observation of physical state, kæyænupassanæ. While thus sitting if you feel the strain. the heat and the pain in the body, you should observe these vedanæ (feelings). That constitutes vedanænupassanæ. If a thought occurs, you should note it. That constitutes cittænupassanæ. Then the observation of seeing, hearing, etc, as they are, that is, as a series of phenomena, constitutes dhammænupassnæ. Summing up, your practice of meditation is complete with the four kinds of satipa¥¥hæna. Now, as you do meditation embracing the four satipa¥¥hæna, your mind will not go anywhere but it will be fully concentrated and will make the observation of the actions as they happen, without any omission. There will be only concentrated observation. Thus the mind becomes purified obtaining the state of mental purification (citta visuddhi). While in that state of mind, the act of observation and the mind, which makes that observation, will become distinct from each other. When you observe the rising of the abdomen, the rising as such is separate from the cognitive knowledge of the rising. The same applies to the falling of the abdomen, the bending, the stretching, etc. Thus, the action and the cognitive knowledge become separate, which means that the non-knowing physical action and the knowing mind are two separate entities. In other words, the practising yogø will be able to discern the næma (mind) form rþpa (matter). That stage of insight is called næmarþpa pariccheda ñæ¼a, which is indeed important as the foundation of the meditational insight. Without the attainment of this ñæ¼a the other stages of meditational insight cannot be reached. Going on with the practice, the yogø will come to discern the cause and effect of actions, such as that the form of motion happens because of the desire for motion: knowing happens because of the feeling of knowing, or seeing happens because of the object of seeing, etc. The yogø will come to realize that the causes and effects are after all in the mind and the matter. This knowledge brings him to paccaya pariggaha ñæ¼aµ the insight that sees causes and effects. Continuing the practice of meditation, the yogø makes a note of the appearance and disappearance of actions and feelings. For example, when pain happens, they yogø makes a note of the pain as it occurs such as, “paining, paining” till the pain disappears. Thus he makes a note of the entire process from the beginning to the very end. This making a note of successive happenings makes for an observation of anicca followed of course by that of dukkha and anatta. This series of insights constitutes vipassanæ ñæ¼a. The cognitive ability becomes sharper and quicker as the yogø continues with his meditational practice. This vipassanæ ñæ¼a can be attained by an ordinary yogø, but in the case of the Buddha, the attainment of vipassanæ ñæ¼a was an easy matter since He had already attained jhæna and purity of mind. Mannomayiddhi and iddhividha ñæ¤a Manomayiddhi and Iddhividha ñæ¼a are for creating. Manomayiddhi ñæ¼a is for creating one’s own image, and Iddhividha ñæ¼a for creating a variety of things, whatever one wishes to create. The latter ñæ¼a is of a wider scope. The sky could be created as the earth; an earthen road could be created in the sky so that one could walk on it. One could create oneself as light as cotton wool so that one could be blown away in the wind. One could create the earth to become water or a tunnel so that one could dive into it. One could make oneself invisible. One could create anything. Such creative power is called Iddhividha ñæ¼a which is an abhiññæ¼a in accord with the fourth jhæna. Cetopariya ñæ¼a is also in accord with the fourth jhæna, and one who possesses this ñæ¼a can read the thoughts of others and know what has happened in the past week and also the thoughts that will crop up in the forthcoming seven days. Current thoughts are an open book to him. It is rather difficult to live with such a person. Living with such a person is in a way a check on the misdeeds one is apt to make. Here is the story of Matika Mata. an old woman who had come to possess this ñæ¼a. Mætika Mætæ, the woman devotee who attained abhiÑÑæ¤a When the Buddha was residing at Jetavana monastery in Sævatthi, sixty monks came to take meditation instructions from Him, and looked for a suitable place to settle down for meditation practice. They came to a village by the name of Mætika where Mætika Mætæ, the mother of the village headman requested them to reside in the village for the Lent. Monasteries were built for them, and the sixty monks settled down. The monks assembled and gave advice to one another. “We should not be careless and negligent.” they said, “for the eight great niraya (hell) are like an open house. We have received from the Buddha instructions for meditational practice, and we must follow them. We should reside alone and separately.” So they lived, each alone, and commenced their meditational practice. One day Mætika Mæta had butter, oil and molasses brought to the monasteries and she herself came with her retinue in the evening. She found none of the monks. then those who knew said that the monks would come to the meeting place when a signal was given, and the monks came out severally from their separate places of meditation, thinking that one of them had fallen sick and that they were asked to assemble to help him. Mætika Mæta misunderstood the monks, and asked, “Have you all quarreled?” The monks said, “No”, and when asked why they did not come all together as they usually did when they came to her residence for alma-food, they said that they were practising samana dhamma and so they were living separately. They said practising the Samana dhamma in separate places facilitated attainment of samædhi and ñæ¼a. Mætika Mæta had never heard of samana dhamma and asked the monks what it was. The monks explained that the anatomical parts of the body had to be contemplated upon and their decay and deterioration noted. The old woman asked whether this dhamma was specially for the monks and whether it could not be practised by lay people. The monks said that this could be practised by any person. Then Mætika Mæta requested the monks to give her instructions for the mediational practice. The instructions were given. Of course, it did not take more than an hour or two to give them. Now, some people say that meditational practice can be undertaken only after one has been through a course of Abhidhamma. That is, in fact, one way of discouraging people to take up the practise. Mætika Mæta came home and began the practice. It is not known how many days she took to attain anægæmi magga and phala but she did attain them before the monks did. Once she attained the anægæmi magga, she came to possess the four patisambhida ñæ¼a, and thus attained the abhiññæ¼æ just referred to. She made and observation and found out that the monks had not attained any jhæna or even vipassanæ ñæ¼a, owing to lack of sufficient nutrition. So she had nutritious food sent to the monks who having been properly fed, applied themselves more vigorously to the meditational practice and attained Arahatship during the Lent. From this we should not that food is an important factor in the meditational practice. When the Lent was over, the sixty monks went to pay their respects to the Buddha at Jetavana monastery. They praised Mætika Mæta before the Buddha, saying that the old woman knew their minds and complied with their wishes, and that as they were strong enough to apply themselves to the meditational practice, they had achieved concentration and attained insight Hearing this news, a certain monk wanted to go to that village and do meditation there. So he requested meditation-instructions from the Buddha and went to that village monastery. When he reached the monastery, he thought to himself, “This old woman is said to know other’s thoughts. I am tired today from the journey, and cannot sweep the monastery. It would be better if the old woman sent someone to sweep the monastery”. Mætika Mæta knew of the monk’s thought and sent a man to sweep the monastery. Then the monk was thirsty and wished some syrup sent to him. The syrup was accordingly sent to him. On the following morning he wished to have meat salad and soft porridge sent to him, and his wishes were complied with. The monk then wanted to see the old woman, and the old woman knew his wishes and went to see him at the monastery, bringing with her alms food. After partaking of the food the monk asked the old woman whether she was Mætika Mæta, “Yes, Reverend son,” the old woman replied. When she asked him why he enquired about her, the monk said that he did so because he had found that she knew every wish of his. The old woman said that there were many among the monks who possessed such power. The monk said that he wanted to know whether she knew other’s thoughts. Mætika Mæta replied that those who possessed such power behaved in that manner. Her reply was an indirect admission. This is the case with every Ariyæ. The Ariyæs have no pride, and they do not want to reveal their real capabilities. When confronted with a direct question, they usually give an indirect reply. When the monk came to know that the old woman was really in possession of the power to read other’s thoughts, he felt rather uneasy to be residing in the monastery built on her charity. he thought to himself that being a puthujjana, he might entertain some evil thoughts and wishes, and with this woman knowing his thoughts and wishes, he would be caught in the act and be reprimanded and put to shame. So he said that he was leaving the monastery, and left forthwith. The old woman asked him where he was going and the monk said that he was going back to his Teacher, the Buddha. The old woman requested him to stay on at the monastery, but the monk could not be persuaded. He was really afraid of her. When the Buddha asked him why he had turned back, he said that he was afraid to reside in that monastery because Mætika Mæta knew every single thought of his, and would one day catch him red-handed when as a puthujjana he entertained some unwholesome thoughts. The Buddha pondered upon a suitable place for the monk and found out that the monastery was most suitable to such a monk who was in that habit of entertaining so many thoughts and wishes. With the old woman unwittingly acting as a curb on his random thoughts. this monk would feel constrained to achieve concentration. Incidentally, some of the yogøs do need a meditation-instructor who knows their thoughts. When they are asked to make a note of the actions of the mind and the body and not give themselves up to contemplation, they cannot help entertaining stray thoughts and wishes. Some of them waste their time by having chit-chat with one another. When the meditation-instructor suspecting them makes enquires, hints of their doings come up to light. If a thorough probe could be made, they would not dare to entertain stray thoughts and wishes. For this monk the place where the old woman was present to watch his thoughts seemed most suitable. So the Buddha asked him to go back to the monastery which he fled. He told the monk to control only his mind, and said if he could make a note of the actions of his mind there was nothing to be afraid of. The Buddha said the mind which is hard to control, the mind which is quick in flight and touches on all the feelings, if that mind could be tamed and disciplined, well done. The tamed and disciplined mind conveys happiness. The mind is uncontrollable. If asked not to think about some things, the mind does flit about on these very things. It cannot be beaten and punished. It is really uncontrollable. The mind is quick, very quick. At the beginning of the meditational practice, the noting of the flitting mind is a hard task. This flitting mind touches on various thoughts and wishes. Unlike physical matter, the mind cannot be barred or impounded. Though the body is in the meditation cell the mind goes out and about wherever it wants to roam. It is good to discipline the mind, for a disciplined mind could bring happiness. People want to be happy. There is no one who wants to be unhappy. The best way to make oneself happy is to tame the wild and uncontrollable mind and discipline it. The method of disciplining the mind is the attitude of yoniso manasikæra (an attitude of “whatever will be, will be”). happiness will come as much as the mind is disciplined. At least if one can hold sara¼agu¼aµ (devotion to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha) and thus discipline one’s mind, one would find bliss in human and celestial existences. Otherwise one would not possibly obtain such rewards, and would be wallowing in misery in the nether planes of existences. The mind would be more disciplined and tamed if one could successfully observe one or two of the five precepts in addition to devotion to the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Of course, if all the five precepts could be observed properly it would be much better. Added to that, if one could do meritorious deeds of dæna (charity), søla (morality) and bhævanæ (meditation), it would be far better Bhævanæ could do much better. Of two kinds of bhævanæ, bliss could be obtained in the regions of rþpa and arþpa through practice of samatha bhævanæ, while vipassanæ bhævanæ could elevate one to the attainment of the bliss of nibbæna. For beginners it would not be so easy to make a note of the rapidly changing phenomena. They will have to persist in the noting until the happening and disappearing process is clearly seen. The mind is difficult to discipline and as you all know, it flits about and is hard to catch and bridle. To describe the waywardness of the mind, I would put is as follows: “The mind is uncontrollable, fleeting, touching on whatever it wants to. If this riotous mind could be caught by watching and noting its action, and thus disciplined, it would be tame and civil, and would give of happiness.” The unbridled mind flits from one thought to another at random. Stray and idle thoughts occur to people who do not care to make a note of the action of the mind which gives imagination full play. Thus, irrelevant thoughts and wishes are spawned and some of these thoughts and wishes sometimes drive those who entertain them to acts of indiscretion and violence. Such criminal actions make for unlimited unhappiness. These thoughts and wishes could send one down to hell or other nether planes of existence. There is a saying in Pæ¹i; “cittena niyate loko,” meaning “the mind carries the world.” In other words, the mind carries one to various planes of existence, it can take one to the regions of happiness if it is good, and it can take one to the regions of unhappiness if it is evil. So it is our duty to discipline the mind so that it takes us to higher planes. The meditational practice starting with the noting of the rising and falling of the abdomen is for catching hold of the fleeting mind and keeping it from alighting on unwholesome desires. If such efforts for control of the mind are made persistently by repeated noting of its actions, it will become docile. When a yogø reaches the stage of sa³khærupekkha ñæ¼a the mind will become considerably tame and civil. Such a tame and civil mind could eventually carry one to the ultimate stage of insight, when one will attain Arahatta magga and phala. Now to return to the noble old woman, Mætika Mætæ. She saw in her concentration the return of the monk, and prepared proper food which she offered him when he arrived. The monk resumed his meditation and in a few days became an Arahat. What I want to say is that not only the Buddha but such persons as Mætika Mætæ could possess cetopariya ñæ¼a, the ability to read other’s thoughts. Another point I want to make is that one could attain the highest stage of insight if one could only get rid of undesirable and unwholesome thoughts. No mischief near a mind-reader It is true that one who is near a person who can read one’s mind dare not entertain any unwholesome thought. In 1293, Myanmar Era, when I was in my eighth year as a monk, I went to live in a cemetery. As that time I had not done any meditation work. I was then in search of a suitable meditation-teacher and arrived at the monastery of Venerable U On Gaing which was at the place called Shweyaungpya Hill near Donwun railroad depot in Thaton district. This Venerable monk always practised austerity and did his meditation work at a cemetery. He passed his nights there. He went from one cemetery to another near the villages where he went for his alms-food. When I arrived at the Venerable monk’s monastery I went along with his disciples who were following him to a cemetery. Before long, the venerable monk was approached by some villagers with a request that he go and keep watch on the grave of a freshly buried corpse. The corpse was that of a fifteen-year old suicide. The villagers made this request apparently to have the venerable monk watch the grave and guard it against possible exhumation by black magicians who were usually out to cut off the forearm bones of the corpses of suicides to use them in their black magic. The venerable monk and his disciples including myself accepted the offer and shifted to the cemetery containing the grave of that suicide girl. We got to the cemetery just before sunset. We were all eight. Mats were spread around the grave, pots of drinking water were also set at suitable places. When we took our seats, I chose a seat nearest the corpse of the suicide girl. I was only about two cubits away from it. Other monks were experienced, but I was not. it was the first time I had been at a cemetery. I felt rather uneasy. I couldn’t possibly change places with any other because I was the most senior among the disciples. Other recited Mettæ Sutta and lay down to sleep. I didn’t lie down; I didn’t want to. So I sat tight. I remembered the words in Visuddhi Magga to the effect that ogres usually haunted the grave and sat near the corpse, so I sat just tight. I did so for four nights. While I was sitting like that I had to control my thoughts because if the cemetery guardian angles and the orgres were near the corpse, they would probably know my thoughts and frighten me. So my thoughts were then within limits. From my experience I surmise that the monk near Mætika Mæta was obliged to control his mind and keep it pure, so he attained Arahatship so quickly. This is the last of the remaining five na¼a. Just as dibbacakkhu is the power to see all objects irrespective of size or distance, dibbasota is the power to hear all sounds irrespective of volume or distance. Not only the sound from the human abode but also the sound from either the abode of devas or the abode of bræhmæs can be heard by one in possession of dibbasota ñæ¼a. Then sounds from other universes can also be heard. So Sætægiri told his friend, Hemavata, that the Buddha was in full possession of the three vijjæ as well as the eight vijjæ, the supreme mental abilities. “Besides.” said Sætægiri, “Our Teacher, the Buddha, possess cara¼a, pure and excellent basic conduct.” Sætægiri replied, when Hemavata asked, that the Buddha was in full possession of the fifteen categories of basic conduct. These are as follows. (1) Pætimokkha samvara søla: The meaning of this term is that the one who keeps this søla (precept) will be duly favoured by this søla itself. This søla protects the one who keeps it from all the disasters emerging from the present existence and those from the future existences in the course of samsæra. For the lay people the five precepts are in fact pætimokkha samvara søla, and for the monks the 227 precepts, or nine thousand crores of precepts in detail, are pætimokkha samvara søla. If one keeps these precepts, one will be free from slander or contempt and also from punishment by royal decree. In terms of samsæra, he will be free from the possibility of falling into hell and the four nether regions of misery. So this protecting søla is called pætimokkha samvara søla. (2) Indriya samvara: This søla is guarding one self as one sees, hears, smells, etas against jealousy, greed, lust, ill-will, dejection and anger. This søla can be observed only when one is doing one kind of mediation or another. Otherwise, it can be observed with only partial success. (3) Bhojane mattaññutæ: This is care taken by one when one partakes of food, or receives alms, or uses things of daily use. When one takes food, one must take care as the Buddha had instructed thus: “When one has good food, one delights in it; when, however, one has bad food, one is disappointed and unhappy. So one must get rid of all reactions, whether good or bad.” One takes one’s meal not to be delighted, not to revel, in the meal, not to become plump and pretty. One takes meal merely to sustain oneself, to be saved from hunger, for hunger would bring about suffering and ill-health, and one has to be healthy to be able to do what the Buddha has enjoined upon people, that is, to faithfully observe the precepts. In the same way, one wears the robes to keep out cold and heat, to protect oneself from attacks of mosquitoes, flies, snakes and scorpions. So in eating or wearing the robes, one must care to know why these are being used. That is called bhojane mattaññutæ. (4) Jagariyæmyoga: jagariya means “to be alert” and anuyoga means “to make an effort.” It refers to light and less sleep and to keep one’s mind and body alert. Of course, that is for the purpose of doing meditation. If one is up and about doing other things, the purpose will not be achieved. Once a monk told me that when he was awake his mind used to entertain so many unwholesome thoughts that he was obliged to sleep as long as possible. What he said makes since. If one habours ill-thoughts while awake, one will be acquiring demerit. So it sounds rather reasonable to say that if one is asleep one has less chance of harboring ill-thoughts. But what this rule of conduct means to bring home is that one must be active in meditation work. The Buddha’s preaching says that by pacing to and fro, by sitting all through the day, one could be free from the thoughts that preclude good deeds, and thus one’s mind would be kept pure. This instruction is that one should make one’s mind pure and free of greed, lust and other undesirable desires by taking physical exercise of walking or sitting. Of course, between walking and sitting is standing, and that physical action should be included. Only the remaining of the four physical postures, that is, lying down is not prescribed. One should keep one’s body alert by walking, sitting and sometimes standing throughout the day till 10 p.m. before midnight. Then for four hours one may lie down to sleep in order to maintain one’s health. But while one is still lying before one falls asleep, one should continue with the meditation. Then one should wake up at two in the morning and resume the meditation. Of the six parts of one day, one should sleep only one part and keep awake for the remaining five and be engaged in the meditation. That is what is called jagariyanuyoga. (5-8); These are the four rþpa jhæna. It is possible to include arþpa jhæna as the fourth jhæna. (9-10) There is no need to dilate on saddhæ and viriya. These two are included in the ten cara¼a. (11-15) Then there are sati (awareness); paññæ (intellect); hiri (shame for misdeeds) ottappa (fear of misdeeds); and bahusaccæ (being well-informed.) Being well-informed means in this context that one should have heard and made note of the Buddha’s preaching. Making note of the preaching and thus getting information of the dhamma is “hearing” or ægama suta. Discerning and realising the truth after doing actual practice of meditation is “seeing”, or adhigama suta. These two added become bahusacca. How much of general knowledge should one have? For an ordinary devotee, being informed of one gætha, or verse, is sufficient. For those who will preach to others many of the Buddha’s teachings should have been learnt. Then the question arise: “How was the Buddha who had had no opportunity of learning from others full of hearing and seeing?” The answer is: the Buddha was fully equipped with “seeing”; He knew everything there was to know, and had no need to learn from others. It is like a person who does not have to learn from others about the things that are in his house because he knows everything about them. As the Buddha knew all the dhamma without exception, His knowledge was full and sacred. Satagiri declared emphatically that his teacher, the Buddha was in full possession of the three vijjæ, eight vijjæ and fifteen cara¼a. As I have said earlier. the young lady named Kæli who was with child heard the dialogue between the two devas. As the voices floated down from the sky, she knew that they must be the voices of devas and listened attentively. Kæli was endowed with pærimø (special endowment), so she heard the angels although and ordinary human would not be able to hear them. She could also understand their dialogue, so she became devoted to the Buddha. One with vijjæ cara¤a is most sacred There was in India a caste system which divided people into different classes, Brahma¼a and khattiya classes were regarded as noble and superior to Vessa and Sudda who were the commoners. Then there were also clans. Kosiya and Bhæradvæja clans were inferior to Gotama and Moggalæna clans. Then you all know about the avoidance of contact with braggers, scavengers, etc who are called “untouchables”. These untouchables had to live in a village of their own outside the city. When they walked about in the city they had to tap the ground with a stick so that the sacred ones could avoid physical contact with them. In the story of Mæta³ga, the rich man’s daughter Dittha-ma³galikæ happened to have seen the beggar Mæta³ga and said that it was inauspicious. So the rich man’s servants beat Mæta³ga. This distinction of caste was pronounced in those days, and it still remains in today’s India. Here is a hearsay evidence. The late Veluvun Sayædaw of Bahan township in Yangon city saw it himself. During the British rule when he went to India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) on a pilgrimage, he was received as a house guest by an Indian rich man. The rich man told the venerable monk, “You can put up at my house but as we cannot occupy the place where you have stayed, we will make a special place for you. We will also make a special bathroom because we cannot use the same one you have used.” That was a special treatment given only to those from Myanmar. In their country a person of lower caste cannot enter the temple visited by people of higher castes. According to their belief. one born into a family of a lower caste cannot improve his social position, and one born of a high caste family remains superior and “noble” whatever mischief he may have made. Such beliefs are in their scriptures as they are in Buddhist books as well. There is a caste distinction in Sir Lanka too, but it is not so severe. In that country a monk born of a high caste family does not pay respects to the monk born of a low caste family and the monk of the low caste appears to be rather different toward high caste laymen. There is, however, no such distinction in Myanmar. Among laity, Khattiya caste, or the ruler caste, is said to be of the highest status. The members of this caste would not marry outside their caste and they said that their caste was “pure” The members of this caste were brave ad loyal to their caste and their country, too. They were the holders of power. So in the caste system the Khattiyas were the noblest, and as such, they were in possession of the attributes of vijjæ cara¼a, for only those who possess such attributes are the noblest among men and gods. From temporal point of views, the person of Khittiya caste is the noblest, and from the spiritual point of view, the person who has the attributes of vijjæ-cara¼s is the noblest. Such declaration was made of the Buddha by Sahampati Bræhmæ, and the Buddha replied in support of it. The person of high caste was the noblest only as long as he lived, but when he died he had nothing to fall back upon. But the person who had the attribute of vijjæ cara¼a, remained noble for all times; the more attribute he had, the nobler he became. People would have a high esteem for any person who had the ability to fly in the air and dive into the ground, or one who had the ability to read other’s mind, or who could tell the next existence of the dead. They would have high regard for one possessed with the “hearing and seeing” power. Well, such power can be had by some yogøs whose concentration powers are at their keenest. By the way, there is a woman living on an island in Pakokky district, who did meditation work in accordance with our instructions and is said to have gained the “hearing and seeing” powers one day, her younger sister lost her jewellery, so she asked her elder sister where to locate it. The woman entered into meditation and saw in her mind’s eye that the maidservant of the house stole the jewellery and stowed it away on the loft in the kitchen in her house. The younger sister took a policeman to the maidservant’s house and searched, and the stolen property was found at the place indicated. It is said that the policeman was surprised. Well, this is a present day instance of such powers, and similar instances are none too few. If only the powers of abhiññæ could be displayed, people would have the highest esteem. Among these ñæ¼as the most important are vipassanæ ñæ¼a and asavekkhaya ñæ¼a. If one has gained vipassanæ ñæ¼a, one becomes cþla sotæpan, and if one has gained asavekkhaya ñæ¼a as well, one becomes a full sotæpan and will be free from the dangers of falling into hell and the four nether regions. For seven future existences he would be assured of freedom from misery and during that tenure of these seven he would surely attain Arahatship and enter the state of Nibbæna. If one has gained ñæ¼as of higher degree, one will surely attain a much higher status than that of a sotæpan. Those who have attained high status in the planes of existence, those of the human, celestial and Brahmæ worlds, are all in possession of the attribute of cara¼a and søla. Those who are attending religious sernons such as the one you all are now attending, have the attributes of cara¼a in the same way as the Ariyas who have achieved magga and phala of different grades. If, however one is in possession of both the attributes of vijjæ and cara¼a, one becomes nobler. Yogøs here have these attribute, too The yogøs who have now been doing meditation work have, in the first instance, the attribute of vipassnæ ñæ¼a. And of course, the one who has attained Ariya magga phala has gained asavekkhaya ñæ¼a. From among the five cara¼a, the practising yogø is in possession of søla, has control of his physical and mental actions, and is alert. So the yogøs at this meditation center could gain the attributes of vijjæ and cara¼a and become noble in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha. This is really gratifying. As for the Buddha, all the attributes of vijjæ and cara¼a were fully possessed by Him. The Buddha’s attribute of vijjæ cara¼a sampanno is now fully explained. In this reference, a story will be told of a poor man of long ago, named Suppabuddha. During the time of the Buddha there lives a man called Suppabuddha. Abandoned by his parents when he was a mere child, Suppabuddha became a beggar. He was stricken with leprosy, Homeless, he had to sleep on the roadside. As his disease gave him pain during the night he groaned and thus disturbed other’s sleep. He was therefore called Suppabuddha, “the Waker of sleepers” One day, on his rounds of begging. Supabuddha saw a large gathering of people. Thinking that he would get much charity from the crowed, he went near the people and found that it was a congregation to hear the Buddha’s sermon. He wanted to hear the sermon so he meekly sat at the edge of the gathering. The Buddha saw with His dibbacakkhu ñæ¼a that Suppabuddha would see the light of Dhamma on that day. The Buddha went on with His sermon on dæ¼a and søla. The Buddha exhorted the audience to refrain from killing, stealing, etc. Suppabuddha was determined to observe the precepts. So, gradually he gained søla. When the Buddha discoursed on the Four Noble Truths, Suppabuddha meditated upon them, and thus became a sotæpan. After the meeting had ended, Suppabuddha went away as the crowd dispersed. Then a little later, he came back to the Buddha. One the way the king of the celestial beings wanted to test Suppabuddha’s integrity. The King said, “Hey, Suppabuddha. You are one of the poorest men and also stricken with leprosy. If you obey me, I will give you much wealth and cure you of your disease.” Suppabuddha said. “Who are you? What are your instructions?” The king of devas said, “I am the king of devas. Gotama who has been giving sermons is not a true Buddha. His disciples are not true bhikkhus. You must say:” “I don’t take refuge in the Buddha; I don’t take refuge in the Dhamma; I don’t take refuge in the Sangha.” Suppabuddha said, “You are too rude for a king of devas. You shouldn’t be talking with me. You said that I am very poor and have none to take refuge in. Why did you say that? I am now a true son of the Buddha. I am not poor. I am now wealthy and noble because I am now in full possession of the seven kinds of property of the good and noble, namely, saddha, søla, hiri, ottappa, suta, cæga, paññæ, as enumerated by the Buddha. You are not fit to hold conversation with me.” And he sent the king of devas away. Suppabuddha went to see the Buddha and reported to Him his findings of the Dhamma. It is the same with the present day yogø who is eager to report to his or her meditation-instructor what he or she experienced during the meditation session. After Suppabuddha had made his report to the Buddha, he went away. As fate ordained, Suppabuddha was gored to death by a cow on his return form the Buddha’s monastery. He became a deva in the celestial abode of Tævatimsæ where he had superior powers over the devas who reached the celestial abode for merits done outside the Buddha’s sæsanæ (the scope of teachings). These devas were dissatisfied. They said that although this Suppabuddha was among the lowliest in his life as a human being, he was holding a position higher than theirs. The king of devas had to explain to them why Suppabuddha had attained a higher position. He said that in the human existence Suppabuddha had performed the seven duties of the good and noble, and so in this existence of deva he was endowed with the benefits of his previous meritorious deeds. This story illustrates the point that a spiritually highly placed person stands higher than others even though he may occupy a lowly position in secular society. Suppabuddha had performed the seven duties only for a few hours before his death but he was in possession of the attributes of vijjæ cara¼a. He had been a leper because in one of his previous existences he called a pacceka Buddha a leper. He was gored by a cow because in one of his previous existences he robbed and killed a prostitute. The Buddha, in reference to his fate, warned the audience to avoid doing bad deeds just as one has to avoid impediments and potholes while walking. Our yogøs should learn the moral of this story and avoid bad deeds. Now Hemavata asked, “Is your teacher, the Buddha, free of lust and desires? Is he also free of a future existence?” An Sætægiri replied; “Our teacher, the Buddha, is free of lust and desires. For Him there is no future existence.” This is just a reiteration of the question and the answer. The points are: the riddance of lust and desires and cessation of the cycle of existences. Now, if one is not cleaned of lust and desires one will have a new existence and suffer from birth old age, disease, and other kinds of misery although one may have the attribute of vijjæ cara¼a. Only when there is no more existence will one be rid of all the miseries. These two points are of utmost importance. Turning back to Kæli, we find that this young pregnant woman overheard the two angels and was overjoyed to hear about the attributes of the Buddha. As she was filled with joy, she did meditation forthwith and soon reached the stage of satæpanna magga and phala, thus becoming a sotæpan. In due course, she gave birth to a child who later became Sonakuttikanna Thera. Kæli was the first woman to have become a sotæpan. She achieved that distinction on overhearing the attributes of the Buddha and thus having a faith in Him. Later she was to receive from the Buddha the highest honour of etadagga. Hemavata, too, became confident of the attributes of the Buddha and was eager in the adoration of the Buddha. He said to his friend Sætægiri, “The mind of the Buddha is fully pure His physical and mental behaviour is also free of faults; the Buddha has all the attributes of vijjæ cara¼a. I adore Him.” Let us close today’s discourse. We will say more about the adoration at our next session. May the audience be able to work to deserve the attributes of vijjæ cara¼a and continue their good work till they attain the state of nibbæna.
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