This is the last part of the discourse on this sutta. The main points of interest are the three questions Hemavata put to the Buddha. Hemavata became a satæpan after hearing the Buddha’s reply to the second question but in deference to the Dhamma. Hemavata put the third question as follows;- “Oh, Lord,” said Hemavata, “in this loka who can swim out of the eddying current of kilesæ?” In the never-ending chain of existences, called samsæra, there is a fast-flowing current with eddies, called kilesæ. Who can swim so ski fully that he or she can swim out of this current? Hemavata repeated the question in another metaphor, saying; “Who can swim out of the vast stretch of deep water, called samsæra?” Samsæra, which is an uninterrupted flow of existences, a successive happenings and destructions of the aggregates (khandæ) is likened to a fast flowing, wide and deep river, or a vast stretch of water. It is difficult for one, however skilful in swimming, to swim out of it. Continuing, Hemavata said; “Apparently bottomless, there is nothing above the surface of the water to hang on to; who can manage to escape from drawing in that vast stretch of water, Oh, Lord?” To this question the Buddha made the following answer: “Hemavata, one whose søla is clean and full, and whose samædhi is firm, making a note of the physical and mental acts without fail, and whose knowledge of things secular and spiritual is of a high order, will be able to swim across the usually unswimmable stream of samsæra.” This is the Buddha’s answer to the first part of Hemavata’s question. Delightful objects invite desire and attachment, called kæma which is likened to a current with eddies; kæmogha. Those who are involved in desire, lust and attachment are said to be drifting in the current of kæma. Those who like and want the objects of desire, such as sight, smell, taste, touch, man or woman, property of all sorts, have to put forth their efforts to obtain and possess them. Once they have them, they have to put forth more efforts to preserve and maintain their possessions. They have to resort to sins such as theft, murder, robbery, cheating, adultery to gain possession of these objects of their desires. For such sins they will go down to hell and other nether regions of misery. That is what is called driffting in the sea of samsæra. There are other people who do good deeds and are accordingly able to gain existence in human or celestial world where they are endowed with wealth which they enjoy immensely. That is also called being immersed in the sea of samsæra. Existence in human or celestial world presupposes old age and death for which one will surely feel anguish and suffer from misery. That is, in fact, an immersion in the sea of samsæra. The current of bhava, existence To be enamored of bhava (existence or life) is called drifting in the current of bhavogha, the eddying current of bhava. Some want to attain higher planes of existence such as rþpa bhava and arþpa bhava, and accordingly work to acquire rþpa jhæna and arþpa jhæna. When they reach these higher planes of existence their spans of life are very long, to be counted in a eons, but they are not everlasting. They have to die, and some go to human world and others to celestial world, where misery abound. They get only a brief relief, not release from the chain of existences. The current of di¿¿hi, false beliefs To be entangled in the various currents of di¥¥hi or false beliefs is very common. There are many kinds of belief, some beliefs belonging to some racial groups and some to some localities. The various beliefs can be categorises into two: one embracing the belief that all beings are indestructible, called sassata di¥¥hi, and the other the belief that a being is destroyed altogether after its death called uccheda di¥¥hi. Those embracing the latter belief do not care to avoid evil deeds, nor do they feel the need to do good deeds. They can do what they like so long as they avoid crimes punishable by law. They believe that they will not be obliged to pay for the deeds they have done during their lifetimes or latter because, to them, there is no more new existence. Such people will probably go to hell and other nether regions because the deeds they have done during their lifetimes will probably be far from good. This is an example of getting into trouble by following a wrong path. There are people today who turn the Buddha’s teachings topsy-turvy and advise their followers not to do good deeds, not to do meditation, or they would be in trouble. Their followers will most probably do only bad deeds and are most likely to go to hell. Those who believe in the indestructibility of beings do something which they take to be good deeds but among, such deeds is sacrifices of some animals’ lives in rites according to their beliefs. Such evil deeds done under mistaken notions will surely send the evil-doers to hell. It is like taking wrong medicine which aggravates the disease. There are some other people who believe that they can do anything, good or bad, with impunity so long as they have faith in their God. There are worshippers of the sun, the moon, the mountain, the spirits or gods; there are also some who believe they can be delivered from misery if they starve themselves or stay naked or stay in the heat of the sun or stay immersed in water; there are also some who believe that they will be free of misery if they keep their minds idle. How can one acquire søla, samædhi, and paññæ without making the mind work hard and properly? All beliefs in religious practices which cannot lead to liberation from samsæra belong to what is called sølabbata paramæsa di¥¥hi. The followers of such faiths will never get out of the great whirl pool of samsæra. They will go through a long series of existences as they drift along the current of samsæra. This is really terrible. The Current of avijjæ, ignorance Then there is what is called “the current of avijjæ” which means ignorance of the Four Noble Truths. People mistake misery for happiness; they do not know the truth about misery (dukkha saccæ) All the actions emanating from the physical and mental make-ups are really elements of misery, but most people think that the sight they want to see the sound they want to hear, the smell they want to smell, the food they want to eat, the touch they want to touch, and the thought they want to think are all good. Such thinking is the result of ignorance (moha, avijjæ). Liking such things is ta¼ha, to be attached to them is upædæna, and to strive to gain the objects of desires is deeds, either good or bad, (kusala or akusala). Owing to the deeds, good or bad, existence recurs repeatedly; the existences in the thirty one planes of existence are due to this avijjæ, This current of avijjæ flows down to the lowest hell and up to bhavagga (topmost region of existence, the highest region of brahmæ.) In Bhuridatta and Campeyya jatakas it is explained that the would-be Buddha became a great snake or dragon because he longed to become a snake, thinking that such existence would be good. This current of avijjæ is very fearful indeed. It is not easy to get beyond these currents; one must have the ability to swim out of them. That is why Hemavata asked the Buddha who could swim out of them. In answering that question, the Buddha described the qualifications of the successful swimmer. First qualification of the successful swimmer The Buddha said that the first qualification of the successful swimmer is that he must always be fully equipped with pure søla. This is a really essential qualification, so the Buddha put it as the first. The one who firmly believes in the Buddha’s teachings must believe that if only one is fully equipped with pure søla for all times, one will be able to overcome the four great currents and thus attain nibbæna. Some may refer to the story of Santati, a king’s minister, who attained nibbæna. Some may refer to the story of Santati, a king’s minister, who attained nibbæna just before his death “while the smell of the liquor had not yet left his mouth”, and enquire about the requirement of being equipped for all times with pure søla. Well, such are few instances; I should say, one in a hundred thousand. Such persons had had with them already pæramø of the highest order. They were rare even in the time of the Buddha. They were exceptions. The Buddha knew of them and their grade of pæramø. In the case of the first five monks, pañca vaggø, only Kondañña attained to the state of sotæpanna on the first day of the Dhammacakka sermon; the other four had to strive for it for four more days in succession, one after another. Not all of them were in possession of pæramø of the same caliber; such differences in grades and caliber of pæramø should be noted. There are those who gain the dhamma while hearing a sermon, but they are very few; others have to work for some length of time, some for a few hours, some others for days, months or years in accordance with their respective pæramø. Now in the Buddha’s word about the purity of søla for all times; the phrase “for all times” means the length of time from the time of commencing the practice of the dhamma through the entire period of the practices. It is only then that one can feel happy that one has all along had one’s søla pure, and that feeling or achievement would bring about samædhi. Otherwise, doubt about one’s own søla would impede the progress in the attainment of the state of complete concentration. Without concentration one cannot acquire vipassanæ ñæ¼a. And without vipassanæ ñæ¼a, magga phala ñæ¼a would be far out of one’s reach. For a layman, one must be fully equipped with pañca søla, for a monk one must be equipped with patimokkha søla. Søla is the first requisite, the first qualification for one who strives to swim out of the four great currents. The second qualification relates to samædhi. It means that after having been equipped with pure søla. one must work hard to attain the states of samædhi and jhæna. It means that one must work for the attainment of all the eight kinds of jhæna or at least one or two of them. This is for disciples of the higher order. If one cannot strive to attain appana jhæna, one must work for attainment of upacæra samædhi or its equivalent kha¼ika samædhi. that is, vipassanæ samædhi. This is the least requirement for one to become fully equipped with cittavisuddhi (purity of mind), and with this, one can attain nibbæna. Otherwise, the purpose would not be achieved. The third qualification is paññæ. Paññæ can be attained only by being mindful of the actions and phenomena occurring within one’s physical and mental make-ups. One can gain real knowledge of the incessant motions of acts and happenings only when one makes a note of them internally. How can one gain real knowledge by noting the acts and actions of another person’s mental and physical make-up? You may think that a person is happy but he may really be in a sad mood. In the same manner, you may think one is doing a good deed but he might be about to do something bad or evil. It is only of oneself one can know fully. If one makes a note of what is going on in oneself, one will be able to know what really is the matter. It is not really difficult to make a mental note of the things in flux in oneself: one has only to make a note of things as they occur or disappear in quick succession. Don’t Talk Rashly About Eko-dhammo Those who have attained jhæna must make a note of the state of jhæna as well as all the phenomena emanating from the acts of seeing, hearing, etc. Such mixed phenomena are together called paki¼¼aka. Those who have not attained jhæna must make a note of what they see, hear, etc. In fact, they must note the actions emanating from mind and matter. Some say that making a note of what happens as it happens could result in deterioration of one’s concentration. They say that it spoils the concept of eko dhammo (single purpose). Such persons do not understand the workings of practice in vipasanæ. As mater of fact, vipassanæ doesn’t mean concentrating only on one object; it is making note of all the acts and actions of mind and matter. If one does not make a note of them, one will probably take them to be permanent, capable of giving happiness and representing self, and such obsessive thinking will bring about kamma which will in turn make for a new existence. Vipassanæ is intended to get rid of the consequences by making a note of the phenomena and coming to a realization of anicca, dukkha and anatta. The Buddha said all phenomena must be perceived with insight. There is no mention of eko-dhammo in the Pæ¹i scriptures or in the commentaries. There is, however, mention of it in A³guttara Nikæya and Dasuttra Sutta but the meaning is not what some people rashly take it to be. It means that one should stick to one method of meditation and in the books are mentioned as many as ten different methods. Talking rashly about “eko-dhammo” without knowing its proper meaning and intent should be discouraged. Now, by making a note of what is happening in the physical and mental make-ups and thus gaining samædhi, one acquires insight (paññæ) by perceiving næma (mind) and rþpa (matter) separately, and also by knowing the deep significance of cause and effect. Vipassanæ is achieved by a deep perception of anicca, dukkha and anatta, and when vipassanæ ñæ¼a (meditational insight) has been gained and developed further, one will graduate to the ariyæ magga. One who has attained ariyæ magga is the swimmer who can swim out of the rough and strong currents of samsæra. That is what the Buddha said in reply to Hemavata’s question. The manner of swimming out of these currents will now be explained for the benefit of those who still need further clarification. If one can discern nibbæna through the insight of sotæpatti magga ñæ¼a, one must be said to have crossed the current of di¥¥hi. That is why it is said that a sotæpan is cleared of the obsession about atta, of the false belief that a being is indestructible which is the belief of sassata di¥¥hi, of the false belief that nothing remains after the death and destruction of the present form and mental make-up, which is the belief of uccheda di¥¥hi. He is also rid of the false belief called sølabbata paræmæsa di¥¥hi which says that one can gain deliverance from samsæra not by working for acquisition of søla, samædhi and paññæ but by doing a little bit of mental exercise. A sotæpan has never failed to be entrenched in the belief in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, and in the belief that one must work for the acquisition of søla, samædhi and paññæ. It is only those who are not sotæpan, who are indecisive in fixing their belief and so go round looking for mentors and more often than not, walk into the camps of leaders of false doctrines and thus suffer much along the long path of samsæra. As for a sotæpan, he never deviates from the right path and will be free of the sufferings belonging to a being after at most seven existences. It is therefore clear that if one could swim across the current of di¥¥hi, one would make an immense gain. Getting no to the next step in the graduated stages to the attainment of nibbæna, that is, state of sakadægami magga ñæ¼a, one would be able to weaken the force of the current of kæma-ræga but not be completely rid of it. One must surge ahead by continuing the meditational practice. It is only when one had attained the state of anægæmi magga and phala that one will be completely rid of the current of kæma. For him there is no such thing as desire: he will not even think of wanting anything: there is no wish, no longing or hankering. Thus, he is in a happy state, free of the misery resulting from desires. But he has the current of bhava to swim across. The yogø who has achieved up to the stage of anægæmi magga ñæ¼a must carry on with the meditation till he attains the most mature insight if arahatta magga ñæ¼a. Then he will have swum across the current of bhava; for him there is no new existence. By then he has swum successfully across the four currents of samsæra and got out of it. “Hemavata deva” said the Buddha. “The arahat who has overcome all the strings of samyojana attachment after having cleared himself of the desires, never gets drowned in the bottomless, refuge less sea of samsæra, but remains afloat always and in a state of happiness.” According to the first part of the Buddha’s answer, the one who has persisted in the practice of meditation attains the ultimate stage and had become an arahat. For him there is no new existence; he is completely out of the stream of samsæra. However, an anægaµ has crossed the currents and is on his way out of the stream. Sakadægaµ has no more than two existences to strive for deliverance, and Sotæpan has at most seven existences to go through. All of them have saved themselves from hell and the nether regions of existence. For a puthujjana there is no guarantee against falling into hell though he may have done good deeds. To such persons the samsæra is a terrible sea in which there is nothing to grasp, or take refuge in, to keep oneself afloat. Now is the time for working for deliverance from the sea of samsæra or the cycle of existences in the thirty one regions of existence. Now the exposition of the text of the Hemavata Sutta has come to an end. Only Hemavata’s adulation of the Buddha remains. After having heard the words of the Buddha and perceived the great wisdom of the Enlightened One, Hemavata was full of adoration and turned to the celestial beings, a thousand of them, followers of his and of his friend Sætægiri and urged them to worship the Buddha. He asked them to worship the Buddha endowed with deep and full wisdom, free of desires of all kinds, the Buddha who had been walking the path of the arahat. He said that because they had worshipped the Buddha and heard His sermon, they had come upon the dawn of enlightenment. Then turning to the Buddha, Hemavata said, “We, the thousand devayakkas, adore and take refuge in Thee, the noblest Lord and Master.” The reason for these thousand celestial beings having achieved the purpose of the dhamma can be found in the story of their past. The Past History of Hemavata and Company Kassapa Buddha passed into nibbæna and His relics were enshrined in a great golden pagoda. At that time two men entered the order of monks in the sacred circle of Buddha’s sæsanæ (instructional discipline) out of their free will and noble volition. (Incidentally, there are two kinds of monks, that is, those who enter the Order out of their free will and noble volition, called saddhæ pabbajita, and those who enter the Order out of fear of punishment by law for their crimes, called bhayæ pabbajita. The former are the true servants of the Order and the latter the detractors who weaken and spoil it if no proper guidance is given to them. The duties of a monk are under two main categories. The first category is to study and eventually teach the literature of the Dhamma, and the second is to practise meditation to achieve the purpose of the Dhamma. During the time of Buddha Gotama there were many bhikkhþs beginning with the first five. pæñca vaggø, who became arahats. There were, for instance, the son of Yassa, the rich man, and his fifty four friends, the thousand hermits led by Uruvela Kassapa, the ones who were to become Venerables Særiputræ and Mahæ Mogglæna and their two hundred and fifty hermit followers. All of them practised the Dhamma and became arahats. Of them the son of Sona, a rich man, did most creditably in the practice of the Dhamma. This person was very soft and tender. He had never set his feet on the earth. the soles of his feet were covered with soft hairs. When this soft and tender man entered the Holy Order, fully determined to work hard at the duties of a bhikkhu for deliverance from the misery of samsæra, a problem arose. He worked his hardest. He carried out his meditational practice while walking up and down the passageway barefooted. His feet were so soft and tender that they soon had blisters and bled. The passageway was stained with blood, yet he did not give up. However, he could not achieve the purpose of the dhamma. Later he despaired and thought of leaving the Order. He was under the impression that he had not enough pæramø to achieve the purpose of the Dhamma. Then the Buddha came to him and advised him not to strain too much nor to relax too much, that is, to follow the middle path. The bhikkhþ followed the Buddha’s advice and soon became an arahat. There were in the days of the Buddha countless numbers who attained the state of an arahat, or the state of a sotæpan, sakadægaµ and anægaµ, all the noble ones who fulfilled the wishes of the Buddha by practising meditation and achieving the purpose of the Dhamma. The two new monks who entered the Order thought to themselves that number of those who practised the Dhamma were very many, and as they themselves were still young they should first make a study of the literature of the Dhamma. They said to themselves that they would practise the Dhamma when they grew old. Thus applying themselves diligently to the study of the literature of the Dhamma, the two monks became masters of the tri-pi¥akas. They then taught five hundred monks the various treatises of the Dhamma, and became famous teachers. Now, let us discuss the decision made by the monks who were future Hemavata and his friend Sætægiri, They decided to study the Dhamma when young and practise it when old. Who can guarantee that a person will not die young? If he dies young, then he will miss the opportunity of practising the Dhamma. The Buddha’s wish is for all to start the practice of the Dhamma when young. The Buddha said, “The bhikkhþ in the Buddha’s sæsanæ, who practises the Dhamma while young with a view to attaining maggaphala, enlightens the loka which is synonymous with his own five khandæs, just as the moon, which is released from the banks of cloud, shines over the world.” The person who practises vipassanæ enlightens his own loka in the same manner as the moon lights up the world. He starts his practice with the regular nothing of the rising and falling of his abdomen and thus comes to know the real nature of mind and matter first, and then as he goes on with his noting, he comes to know the real nature of næmakkhandæ (mental make-up). He learns the deep truth of anicca, dukkha and anatta. As his practice advances, his insight deepens and enlightens his loka, or næma-rþpa, or the five khandæs. It may be asked whether the same kind of enlightenment will not occur to the old. Certainly it will, but in the old the realisation and enlightenment may be slow to come. Age slows down the faculties of the body and the mind. A man of thirty may achieve his purpose within one month whereas a man of sixty or seventy may be able to do it only in two or three months. The difference lies in the physical and mental health and strength, and in the worries and anxieties, too. The young person’s brain power is keen while the old man’s deteriorates. The latter may have more worries to contend with. So the Buddha praised the young for doing the meditational practice. In the case of monks, it is better for the freshly-ordained monks to start the practice of meditation because they are young and keen, their confidence strong, their søla free from doubts and defaults. Although it is admittedly important to pursue the studies of the literature of the dhamma, young monks should do the meditation practice at least in the first three months. Well, that is my opinion. Possibly, the would-be Hemavata and the would-Sætægiri died before they attained old age. They seem to have had no chance to practise the Dhamma. Those two venerable monks received the high esteem of their disciples, both bhikkhus and the laity, and the Buddha’s sæsanæ of those days was flourishing. At that time there lived in a monastery two young monks, one a strict follower of the rules and regulations of the Order and the other a recalcitrant. When the good follower pointed out the errors of the recalcitrant, the latter would not brook criticism. The former told him to wait till the paværanæ time came. The monks were all obliged to attend the paværanæ ceremony soon after the end of the Lenten period. They invited one another to point out the errors or the commissions of the Order. This ceremony is held annually on the full moon day of the month of Thadingyut, the end of the Lent. The one who is criticised for his erroneous acts and behaviour thanks the one or ones who point out the errors and promises them to be more careful in future. This ceremony of criticism, is for making the Buddha’s sæsanæ clean and intact. The Buddha prescribed this ceremony; attendance is compulsory. One should be thankful to the critic who points out one’s errors and faults, for such criticism gives one an opportunity to make amends. Æpatti (default) in a monk is far more serious than the fault or crime in a layman. If a monk dies without knowing that he has had æpatti and so has had no opportunity to make amends, he can get to hell. If he knew his æpatti and made amends accordingly, his søla would become pure, and if at that time of purity he practised the Dhamma, he could acquire wisdom of a high order, or if he died, he would get to upper regions of bliss. So the Buddha said, “The good people who point out other’s faults with good intentions are loved and respected by other good people but they are hated by the bad and the evil ones”. The monk who was the recalcitrant opposed the monk who was a strict follower of the rules and regulations of the Order. So the latter told the former that he would report the matter to the synod of senior monks. The recalcitrant was afraid that he might be ousted, so he approached the members of the synod and gave them robes and begging bowls and paid them respects. He rendered small services to the senior monks and behaved meekly. The monks asked him what the matter was. He said that he had had a dispute with his monastery mate over his behaviour, and asked them to reserve judgment when his case came up to the synod. The senior monks said that they could not burke any case, but the recalcitrant insisted. The monks had already accepted his gifts and services and felt rather diffident to deal with his case. So they promised to burke his case when it came up. This is, of course, partiality and corruption. When thus assured, the recalcitrant went back to his monastery and treated his colleague with arrogance. The faithful monk had some suspicions and made quiet enquires. He had wondered at the delay in the disposal of the case he had put up to the synod. The disciples of the senior monks whom he approached were reticent. The recalcitrant became more and more brazen-faced. He asked the faithful about the case and insolently challenged him. “Now you have lost your case. You should not come back to the monastery. Go elsewhere; don’t live with me,” he said. The faithful asked the senior monks about the case and received an unsatisfactory answer. These old monks were otherwise very honest but since they had accepted the favours from the bad monk they deviated from the path of honesty. The young faithful monk shouted. “Since the passing of the Kassapa Buddha you two monks, senior and learned, have been looked up to as another Buddha but you have rendered yourselves unfit to pass judgments on cases relating to the rules and regulations of the holy Order. The Buddha’s sæsanæ has gone decay; it is being destroyed”. Of course, such corrupt practices are to be deplored. The two senior monks became repentant when they heard the accusation made by the young monk and this prick of their conscience persisted through their lives. They could not get rid of their doubts about their honesty even after long years of service to the Order by teaching their disciples the Dhamma and observing the rules and regulations of the Order up to the time of their death. So they became celestial ogres on the Himalayas though they should otherwise have reached higher regions of existence in the celestial world because of their great services. One came to be known as Hemavata and the other Satagiri. They belonged to the higher echelon of the ogre (guardian angels) hierarchy, holding the rank of commandants of the ogre battalions. There were twenty eight such high officials. including these two, under the charge of the chief, Duvera. The celestial ogres, by the way, are far superior to the ordinary ogres though they might not be handsome like the devas or angels. Hemavata and Sætægiri repented their misdeeds in their past lives and deplored their weakness as they succumbed to corruption by an evil monk. They said that their long and meritorious services to the Kassapa sæsanæ should have sent them to one of the elevated regions in the celestial world. They felt sorry to find that some of their lay disciples had got to the upper regions whereas they were obliged to take lower positions. They promised between themselves that if one had some great news he should immediately inform the other. In pursuance of this promise, Sætægiri hurried to his friend Hemavata and broke of the news of the first sermon of Buddha Gotama. They had lived aeons, and after the rise and fall of several kappa (long periods of time) they reached the time when Gotama Buddha, some 2550 years ago, on the full moon day of the month of Kason, gave His first sermon, Dhammacekka Sutta, to the five hermits, the pañca vaggø, with thousands upon thousands of celestial beings in attendance. As I have mentioned at the beginning of this discourse, Sætægiri failed to locate his friend, Hemavata, in the assembly and so he hurried to him to tell the great news. Hemavata was overjoyed at the hearing of the Buddha’s sermon and went round from village to village, from mountain to mountain, of the celestials kingdom to announce the coming of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. This is the end of the Hemavata Sutta. May the audience be able to cross the four great currents of samsæra by their arduous practice of vipassanæ and thus attain the blissful state of nibbæna. Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
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