PART V

            (Delivered on the 8th. waxing day of Thadingyut, 1326 M.E. corresponding to October 14, 1964).

This is in continuation of my previous four lectures on the subject of Nibbæna which has been described as a state of cessation of all kamma-formations caused by defilements enabling no new khandhæs to arise.

Cessation of Craving

Væna, from which is derived the word Nibbæna, means craving for kæmabhava, sensual existence, rþpabhava, material existence and arþpabhava, immaterial existence. It takes delight in both the objects of sense and thought. It hops from one object to another in regular or irregular manner, or in correct sequence or in reverse order. It moves like a shuttle in weaving. In fact the original meaning of the word relates to weaving. Past, present and future existences are woven into a pattern as variegated as human fancy could allow.

Nibbæna has its aim in the liberation from the clutches of craving. The scriptures say “Vænato nikkhantanti nibbænaµ”  -- Nibbæna is a departure from craving. Another exegesis says: N’ atthi vanaµ etthati nibbænaµ” -- Craving is not in Nibbæna. All these go to show that craving has no Nibbæna as its objective.

Lust or sensual craving cherishes that sexes should be differentiated. It loves sensual pleasures derived from the organs of sense like eyes, ears, etc. It feels wearisome in the absence of the five constituents of sensual pleasures. Craving developed in material world likes material existence of form Sphere and that in immaterial world, immaterial existence or Formless Sphere. Those who are obsessed with craving cannot realize the ill of existence, and so they have no affinity for Nibbæna where there is no becoming. People pray for Nibbæna but when they are told that they would be instantly transported there with all changes for a return to the present existence barred, they would hesitate in the manner of a devotee in the following story.

Let me Consider it

A lay devotee prayed before the image of a Buddha that he reach Nibbæna as soon as possible. Hearing his frequent prayers, a practical joker hid himself behind the image and said with a thundering voice, “You have prayed often enough. Today I am sending you to Nibbæna.” The aspirant to Nibbæna replied, “Well and good! But let me go back home to consult my wife.” When he got home he related the incident to his wife and sought her advice. “what a lucky man,” she said “Don’t hesitate. Go quickly.” The naive devotee then asked, “Consider whether you can run the house without me,” she replied, “Go without any misgiving! There’s no need for me to consider.” The husband retorted, “Even though you won’t consider the propriety, let me consider it.” It may not be a true story; but it smacks of realism.

Loth to Earn Merit for Nibbæna

Accumulating merits though the practice of insight-meditation brings one nearer to Nibbæna; but few actually take it up. We usually have to make tremendous efforts in persuading a devotee to meditate. Consider the case of Queen Khemæ, the wife of King Bimbisæra. Although he had been a devotee, she had never visited Buddha. He had to employ a number of stratagems to prompt her to go to the monastery. But once she was in the presence of Buddha, all was well; and she became an Arahat the moment she had listened to the dhamma. There is also another story about Kæla, the son of Anæthapindika. Let us call him Maung Kæla in the Myanmar way.

MAUNG KÆLA

Anæthapindika, the millionaire, heard the news about Buddha while he was trading at Ræjagaha. He visited him and listened to his dhamma. At once he became a stream-winner, sotæpanna, and invited the Great Teacher to reside at Sævatthi. He bought Prince Jeta’s garden at 18 crores silver, built a monastery costing him another 18 crores, and held a libation ceremony spending still another 18 crores. He donated the monastery to Buddha and his disciples. Everyday he would feed 500 monks, keeping sabbath himself and encouraging his household to do like him. Although he had become a kyaungdagæ, donor of monastery, his son. Maung Kæla, had no inclination for Buddha’s dhamma.

There was enough reason for him not to have any sense of devotion for Buddha and the dhamma, for in those days people followed Puræna Kassapa’s heretical teachings. There were also many kinds of animists. Some worshipped Brahma as god. Had it not been for Buddha Anæthapindika himself would have been involved with various kinds of religious denominations current before Buddha’s enlightenment. Maung Kæla might also be a follower of heretical schools of religion. It might not be convenient for him to change from one religion to another.

The father thought about the son’s welfare: “My son knows not Buddha. He cannot appreciate the Law and the Order. He has no desire to go to Buddha’s monastery. He has no inclination to listen to the dhamma. He shuns doing chores for the convenience of the monks. Should he die a heretic he would surely go to avøci, the lowest of the nether worlds. That the son of a Buddha is not Buddhist is the height of impropriety. If he gets to avøci while I am still living, it will be the worst. Usually money can change the mind of many. I must send him to the monastery at the risk of indulging in bribery.” Thinking thus, the millionaire told his son that he would give the latter a hundred pieces of silver if only he would go to the monastery. The son accepted the offer.

When he got to the monastery Maung Kæla chose a cozy corner where he slept heartily, for he had no mind to listen to the dhamma: When he came home, the father fed him well in the belief that his son had kept sabbath. Maung Kæla was always after money and so he had his meal only after he had been paid. Next the rich man told him that if only he would listen to the dhamma and relate but one stanza of it to the father, he would be rewarded with 1,000 silver.

Maung Kæla paid another visit to the monastery and this time he listened carefully to what Buddha preached. The Teacher knew him well, and he purposely delivered several discourses which the rich man’s son could not easily commit to memory. As the stipulation with his father was to retell what Buddha taught even if it be but one verse, he now took special care to understand. Reaching understanding, he had faith developed, and  at this psychological moment Buddha preached his sermon so that it went well with him. Having accumulated perfection (pæramø) in the past, Maung Kæla at once attained to sotæpatti stage and become a stream-winner.

Once a sotæpanna his faith in Buddhadhamma became steadfast, all doubts and wrong views having been dispelled. On that particular day he did not go home by himself early, but, instead. remained behind in the company of Buddha and his disciples. When they visited the rich man’s house for alms-meal, he followed them. But on reaching the house he became worried that his father might give out the 1,000 silver to him in the presence of Buddha, for, he did not want to appear that he went to the monastery with pecuniary motive. A sense of shame had overtaken him. As usual he took his meals after Buddha and the monks; but this time he took care not to make himself conspicuous. Nevertheless, Anæthapindika came to him and paid him the money as promised saying that it was a reward for his son’s attendance at the monastery to keep sabbath and hear the law preached. He was greatly mortified and refused to accept the money. The father related the whole incident to the Buddha, saying that on this particular day his son had radiated happiness unlike in previous occasions when greed seized him.

Then said Buddha: “Your son, rich man, he has become a stream-winner who is nobler than a universal monarch, or a deva or a Brahmæ.”

A STREAM-WINNER FAR EXCELS A UNIVERSAL MONARCH

Almost everyone likes to be a king. To him even headmanship has its appeals. A kingdom is better than a principality. A bigger kingdom is far better. An emperor is more powerful than a feudal lord. A monarch ruling the entire continent would be far more powerful. If one becomes a universal monarch or cakkavatti, lord of all the four continents, nothing more can be said. Wielding his magic wheel of authority and shining in an aura of virtue, all emperors and kings bow to him. Because of his virtuousness, all his subjects possess affluence, solidarity and righteousness.

A life of luxury enjoyed by a universal monarch pales into insignificance when compared to the state of peacefulness achieved by a  sotæpanna, stream-winner. The monarch’s happiness would last only for his lifetime. If he rules the universe with kingly virtues, he may be reborn after his death in heaven; but no one can say for certain whether he would be destined for Nibbæna or for the four nether worlds. But once a devotee becomes a sotapænna, all doors for the nether worlds will be closed for him. Should he go to heaven, he has only seven more existences, he will be destined for Arahatship subsequently attaining to the state of complete annihilation of the rounds of suffering after his prainibbæna. Buddha, therefore, praised Maung Kæla whose life was far better than that of a universal monarch.

ALSO EXCELS A DEVA OR A BRAHMA

A sotapænna is nobler than a deva or a Brahma. There are six Celestial Planes of existence, of which Catumahærajika is the lowest in the order. Even there, devas enjoy long. A day in that Plane is equivalent to 50 years of life on this earth. The span of life of a deva in Catumahærajika is 500 heavenly years which equal 9 million years of our human world. Humans live to be 100; in which case a deva’s life is 90,000 times longer than human life. They possess not only longevity, but also beauty. They enjoy happiness more than we do. The devas of Tævatimsæ excel those of Catumahærajika. Their span of life is three times longer than that of the residents of the lower Place. computed to earth-years, their span of life equals to 36 million years. Longevity at Yæma is four times that of Tævatimsæ, and the span of life there is 144 million earth-years. Calculating the earth-years in the same manner described, Tusitæs longevity in 576 million years, Nimmænarati’s is 2304 million and Paranimmitavassavatø’s is 9,216 million. Whatever their longevity they cannot, when they die, escape from the four nether worlds should they by chance be reborn into this human world to fall into bad company and commit evil deeds. Not being destined for Nibbæna despite their supernormal attainments, they cannot get away from the turning of the wheel of existence; and therefore, they will be subjected to disease and death. Sotæpannas give a wide birth to four niriyas or woeful states and they have only seven existences to get before attaining to Nibbæna.

Brahmæs’ lives are far nobler and better than those of the devas. They are impervious to the wiles of the five constituents of sensual pleasure. They also enjoy peace. Their lives last from one-third of a world-cycle to 84,000 world cycles. But when Brahmæs die, they revert to the world of the senses where, should by an unfortunate chance they happen to commit evil, they would also go down to the nether worlds. They also are subjected to rounds of suffering like ageing and death, as they return to the sensual world. For sotæpannas, however, there are no niriyas awaiting them, and they are destined for Nibbæna after seven existences.

ALSO EXCELS THE KING OF BRAHMÆS

If the King of Brahmæs is but an ordinary being not inclined to the dhamma, he cannot escape from the four nirayas nor from the rounds of suffering. A sotæpanna has nothing to fear them for he has only seven existences to go before he gets to Nibbæna where all sufferings cease.

What I would like to emphasise in the story of Maung Kæla is, firstly, the fact that he has to be coaxed into listening to the dhamma although he had long gained perfection that prepared him for the state of a sotæpanna, and, secondly, that craving is anathema to Nibbæna. One obsessed with craving would not hear of any teaching that points the way to Nibbæna. I would also like to remind you that once a sotæpanna is within sight of Nibbæna, he has but seven existences to go during which he will, as of course, be subjected to miseries and sufferings. In the end, however, he will be an Arahat who can annihilate all defilements.

BEINGS IN SENSUOUS SPHERES DISLIKE A BRAHMÆ’S LIFE

Beings in sensuous spheres desire sensual pleasures arising out of differentiation of the sexes. Brahmæs have no sex and so they do not have any desire for sensual pleasures derived from sexual relations. They are very happy in that state. But the lustful has no love for loveless Brahmæs. He considers the absence of sensual pleasure as misery or dukkha. Brahmas live without eating. Where there is no need for food, no desire for it can arise; and this in itself should be happiness as lack of necessity for the daily round of food does away with many troubles. But sensuous beings love gustatory pleasures; and so to them absence of those pleasures means misery. Where contact is absent, no pleasurable tactile sensations can be enjoyed. But this state of things can also bring happiness, for it does away with desire. Because of this nature, those entranced in the jhænic state of Form Spheres feel happy. But not so with sensuous beings who regard life in those spheres as woeful because they are always obsessed with craving for pleasures of the senses.

BEINGS IN FORM SPHERES DISLIKE THE ABSENCE OF FORM OR BODY

In Formless Spheres næmas like mind and volition dominate. There are four planes in these spheres, namely, ækæsænañcæyatana, the Plane of the Infinity of Space, viññanañcæyatana, the Plane of the Infinity of Consciousness. akiñvaññæyatana, the Plane of Nothingness and nevasaññænæsaññæyatana, the Plane of Neither Perception nor Non-perception. Those who have perfected themselves in arþpa jhæna can get to any one of these four Planes where matter is totally absent. they live in the world of ideation where there is no material suffering. Those possessing craving for kæma, sensuality, and rþpa, materiality do not like to be reborn in any Plane of Formless Spheres. But the occupants of those planes of formless existence are quite happy with their psychological conditions. they are, however, in a dead end.They are unaware of the appearance of Buddha or of their enlightenment. Having no material body, they lack in sense organs and so they are impervious to their teachings. No Buddha can teach them the dhamma. They live long lives say, for twenty, forty, sixty or eighty-four world-cycles; but when they pass away they may be reborn in Sense-Spheres. Ælæra and Udaka, who first taught religious discipline to Bodhisatta before he practised austerities, lost invaluable opportunities to see the light of the dhamma when Buddha attained enlightenment, because they happened to be reborn in one of the Formless Spheres, which is included in eight kinds of existence remote from the Path of deliverence. If one gets to any one of the four Planes in formless Spheres as an ordinary individual, one would surely miss the Path. But if one gets there as a sotæpanna, or  sakadægæmi or anægæmi, by virtue of vipassanæ practice, he can attain to the state of an Arahat and subsequently to Nibbæna.

Craving has no Affinity for NIBBÆNA

The element of anupædisesa Nibbæna, total extinction of the Khandhæs, is not liked by any form of craving - craving for lust, craving for Form and craving for formlessness. The majority who fails to get convinced of the futility of the khandhæs and kamma-formations has no love for that element of Nibbæna which leaves behind no substrata of existence. Yesterday, I talked about Læludæyø who grumbled: “What happiness is there in Nibbæna which is devoid of sensations?” To him Nibbæna appeared to be a mass of suffering in the absence of sensations. Unbelievers, who have developed attachment to the khandhæs and kamma-formations, scoff at the idea of Nibbæna which they regard as the death of all deaths. Their attitude is the attitude of craving toward Nibbæna.

I have already suggested that craving cannot take up its residence in Nibbæna. Here I may add an observation which says: Natthi vænametasmim adhigateti nibbænaµ (When Nibbæna is attained, craving goes out of existence).

THE NOBLE TRUTH OF THE CESSATION OF SUFFERING

In Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, nirodha saccæ, the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering is shown thus:-

            Katamañca bhikkhave dukkhaniræodho ariyasaccaµ? Yo tassæyeva ta¼hæya asesavirganirodhoi cago pantinissaggo mutti anælayo. Ayaµ vaccat bhikkhave dukkhanirodho ariyasaccaµ.

            And, what, bhikkhus, is the Truth of the Cessation of Suffering?

            It is the utter fading away and cessation of that very craving, the giving it up, the abandoning it, the release from it, and the detachment from it. And this, I say bhikkhus, is the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering.

(Sayæ U Pe Maung Tin’s translation.)

Here craving is totally extinguished through walking the Path of Arahatship. In the absence of craving, no actions arise, and consequently no new becoming, no næmas, no rþpas, and no khandhæs.

On the fiftieth day after enlightenment, Buddha meditated on the essence of Nibbæna which is so subtle that it cannot be easily understood.

Idampi kho thænaµ duddasaµ, yadidaµ sabbasa³khærasamatho sabbupadhipatinissaggo ta¼hækhayo virægo nirodho nibbænaµ.

Verify does Nibbæna exist where all formations cease, where all substrata of being are abandoned, where all desires become extinct, where all passions are spent and where the mass of suffering is brought to its end.

The Four Upadhis

Upadhi is a substratum of being or the foundation that makes the body the seat of pleasure and pain or happiness and misery. There are four of them, namely, kæmupadhi, khandhupadhi, kilesupadhi, and abhisa³khærþpadhi. Kæmupadhi is the five constituents of sensual pleasure. They are the causes of ills and miseries, but worldlings take it that they also give them happiness or delight.

Khandhupadhi relates to the five aggregates, which bring suffering to us. Worldlings, however, say that they are also sources of happiness. For them to see beautiful sights or forms to hear pleasant sounds, to smell sweet fragrance and to taste palatable food, to have a soft touch and to think of agreeable ideas are all enjoyment. But to Arahats these roots of pleasure are all miserable.

Is it not just to satisfy the demands of pleasure that we work for a living? In our daily rounds of work we have to be careful to save what we earn at times, at the risk of our lives. As we go hell for leather for the realization of our wants and desires, our interests often dash when quarrels arise even among friends or brothers and sisters. Sometimes when the sense of possession of property is uppermost in our minds, rifts develop even among our parents and our children. Civil suits in courts for inheritance come about in this way. The root cause of all such miserable drama in life can be traced to the attachment of the five constituents of pleasure.

All sufferings stem from næmarþpa. Where these aggregates do not arise, there is the cessation of suffering. Hence khandhæs are recognized as khandhupadhi.

Lobha, avarice, dosa, animosity and moha, ignorance or delusion are basic defilements. They always generate suffering in all rounds of existence. They operate in all worlds, whether of devas, or men, or animals or petas or nirayas (hell). As they form a base for suffering to arise, they are known as kilesupadhi.

Accumulation of wholesome and unwholesome actions is called abhisa³khæra. By dint of charitableness, morality and development of mental culture, one may be transported to heaven, and then as a deva or Brahma one may think that one’s life as such is an epitome of happiness. People in this world, enjoying the fruits of wholesome actions, also think that they are enjoying happiness. But Arahats see them all as subjected to suffering, for, as their destinies are determined by their abhisa³khæra, they may if their kammas go away, go down to the nether worlds. Hence kamma-formations are held to be abhisa³khærþpadhi. In Nibbæna all these four upadhis or substrata of being are totally extinguished.

Nirodha as Expounded in Kevatta Sutta

In the Paticcasamuppæda it has been shown that the cessation of ignorance brings about the cessation of kamma-formations, and that cessation of kamma-formations brings about the cessations of consciousness that leads to the rise of rebirth-linking process and new becoming. Hence, nirodha, liberation, is explained in the commentaries as synonymous with Nibbæna. But here suffice it to say that it is cessation or liberation from craving and lust. I shall now refer to Kevatta Sutta in Sølakkhadha Vagga for more explanations.

Viññanaµ anidassanaµ, anantaµ sabbatopabhaµ; etthaæpoca pathavø tejo væyo na gædhati. Ettha dighañca rassañca, anum thulaµ subhasubhaµ, ettha næmañca, rþpañca, asesaµ uparujjhati. Viññænassa nirodhena, etthetaµ uparujjhati.

One cannot see consciousness (that can be known only by the Noble Path.) It has no limits. It shines with purity. It has no primary elements like earth, fire, water and air. It is neither long nor short; it is neither big nor small; it is neither pleasing nor displeasing to the eye. In Nibbæna all matter that inclines toward the mind ceases totally. Since consciousness is rendered extinct, næmarþpas cease altogether.

Indeed Nibbæna cannot be seen with the naked eye; it can be seen only with the eye of wisdom or Path-knowledge. It is, therefore, beyond comparison. It knows neither beginning nor end, and neither arising nor dissolution. You cannot say that it is here Nibbæna arises and that there it vanishes. When no earth can anyone discover the beginning or end of a phenomenon when kamma-formations are totally extinguished?

Nibbæna is of pristine purity. Pollution of mind and matter is possible as cravings like greed, anger and ignorance defile citta, cetasika and næma. In fact they can even pollute wholesome actions. But in Nibbæna no such defilements can arise. Hence we say that its purity is bright and clear. This figurative language leads to the description of Nibbæna as light. But light is the result of the contact of a sense-base with a sense-object and indicates materiality. In Nibbæna matter is virtually absent; and so to take it as light in a literal sense goes against the teaching of Buddha.

The word, sabbatopabhaµ, that occurs in the above extract from Kevatta Sutta, has another connotation which empahsises that Nibbæna is the destination reachable through the practice of kamma¥¥hæna, mental culture. Visuddhimagga and Abhidhammæ mention 40 menthods of practice, but in the canonical texts only 38 are shown excluding æloka kasina and ækæsa kasina. Literaly Kasina means whole and complete. It is an image conceptualised by the meditator as light which extends everywhere completely without limit. Or, in other words, it is a contemplation device on which a concept is imagined. Hence æloka kasina is usually rendered as “light device,” and ækæsa kasina as “space device.” The practice of any one of these kamma¥¥hæna-objects of meditation can lead the yogø to the realization of Nibbæna. If one wants to go to sea, one get to it from any place in the coastline. If you want to bathe in a lake, you can get to its waters from any point of its perimeter. In that same way if you want to reach Nibbæna you can take any of the 38 routes that kamma¥¥hæna rules prescribe. But, of course, you cannot get to your desired destination only through the samatha method of training in concentration. You must also take up insight-meditation after accomplishment in samatha. Vipassanæ alone can lead you to jhæna or absorption from which stage you can aspire to the ultimate Nibbæna through the realization of Path and Fruition-consciousness.

Once a young monk entered a forest with his companion, a novice, in search of materials for a tooth-brush. The novice found a dead body on the way. Forthwith he meditated on the corpse and attained to the first jhæna. He resumed meditating on the arise and fall of the aggregates till he reached the second and third stages, one by one, of the Path and its Fruition. As he was trying for the final fourth stage of jhæna leading to arahatta magga, he was hailed from afar by his senior. He rose from the jhæna and pointed out the corpse to the monk, who, at once, practised meditation till he attained to anægæmi stage. It appears that both the monk and the novice were quite familiar with the methods of insight-meditation,and that, therefore, they became anægæmis. This shows that any of the 38 methods of mind culture can lead one to the Path and Nibbæna.

About Miracles

I shall now tell you why Kevatta sutta was preached by Buddha. Once Kevatta approached Buddha and requested him to allow monks to exercise supernormal powers and work miracles of pætihæriya.

“This Nalanda City is thriving,” said Kevatta, and citizens are devoted to the Blessed One. But their devotion will become all the more profound if only you would appoint a monk to exhibit pætihæriya through his psychical powers either fortnightly or monthly.

But the Blessed One refused. Kevatta, however, repeated his request three times in the fond belief that it is only through an exhibition of supernormal powers that adherents can develop more faith in Buddha; whereas the Enlightened One foresaw reactions resulting from the practice of monks working miracles. So he made a discourse on the three kinds of supernormal powers.

Psychic Powers

Miracles can be produced by iddhividha abhiññæ, higher knowledge of psychical powers that can conjure up many forms and shapes. In the Texts this is expressed as “being one, he becomes many.” The owner of this knowledge can reproduce his likeness a hundred or a thousand times. He can fly through the air, walk on water, dive into the earth, bring remote things near and send near objects far away.

When Buddha chastened A³gulimæla he conjured up a small plot of ground into a vast expanse, and a fragment of a boulder into a hill. This made the murderer got exhausted as he chased Buddha to kill for he had to run a great distance while the latter just walked. “Monk!” he shouted at last, “Stop as I stop!” And he stopped running “A³gulimæla!” replied Buddha “I have stopped while you are still running.”

A³gulimæla got bewildered on hearing Buddha say that it was he himself who was running while the great monk had stopped, while, in actual fact, it was the other way round. So he sought for an explanation from Buddha who said: “A³gulimæla! I have stopped journeying through the rounds of existence as I have discarded defilements. You who still cherish defilements are going round and round in the whirlpool of the saµsæra.” Forthwith A³gulimæla saw the light of wisdom and requested Buddha for admission into the Order. “Come hither Bhikkhu!” said Buddha and the ex-killer became a monk. In this instance proximity was made to appear to be remote through the exercise of iddhi, miraculous faculty.

Mahæ Moggalæna converted Kosiya, the Niggardly, and brought him and his wife to jetavana monastery from Sakkara village in Ræjagaha by invoking supernormal powers. He worked the miracle of bringing the gate of the monastery to the door-steps of the rich man’s mansion. In this case remoteness was made to appear proximate.

Magical Powers

Such miracles contribute no doubt to the development of piety; but they can be discredited by unbelievers who might say: “In the country of Gandhæra, there are magicians who can conjure up wondrous forms and images. Your Teacher might be well-versed in that kind of Gandhæran magic.” In fact Buddha actually questioned Kevatta in that manner and the latter admitted that that could happen. This would not be to the good of the Teaching.

There are also some other drawbacks with regard to the exhibition of supernormal powers. It would go against the observance of ægiva søla (correct conduct) if monks accept gifts donated in consideration of the exercise of those powers with sincere motives. If miracles are allowed devotees would be inclined more to those who can work wonder than to ordinary monks practising morality, in which case the precepts kept by the miracle-worker will be deemed to have been broken. This is considered unwholesome. A monk may have attained Arahatship but he may not possess miraculous powers. Because of this fact a layman’s faith and devotion may be weakened. This will affect the prosperity of the sæsanæ, the Teaching. If that be the case the monk working miracles will naturally be held responsible, and he will be held to have committed unwholesome deed and this will do him no good. When the elder monk, Pindola, worked miracles at the suggestion of Mahæ moggalæna for the acquisition of a bowl of sandalwood, Buddha forbade the display of miraculous powers among sanghas.

Knowledge of Others People’s Thoughts

Cetopariya abhiññæ is the higher knowledge of other people’s thoughts. To know the minds of others is a miracle itself.

There is the story of Buddha’s conversion of ascetics under the leadership of Uruvela Kassapa. Once the head of this heretical sect invited Buddha to a feast. Buddha, however, did not attend the feast on the appointed day, but only on the next day. Asked the reason why Buddha said, “Is it not correct to say that on the day of the feast an idea got into your head that it would be better is I did not come as invited, for, if I came and displayed psychical powers, people’s devotion would grow more and more towards me rather than towards you?” It then occurred to Kassapa that Buddha might be the most powerful as he could read other people’s minds. There and then devotion to Buddha developed in him. It was in this way that he was converted by Buddha who exercised his psychical powers called cetopariya abihiññæ.

Once Buddha was going round for alms-food in Uttaraka village with Sunakkhatta, a monk belonging to the clan of Lacchavø. On the way the latter saw Korakkhattiya, a heretic doing the “dog-practice” by which he simulated the behaviour of a dog. In his previous existence Sunakkhatta indulged in such a practice, and when he saw the man going the way of dogs, he developed a sense of affinity for the latter. Buddha chastised him saying. “Surprising indeed that you should call yourself a Buddhist monk!” The monk reacted to this asking the Blessed One the reason for such a disparaging remark. “Sunakkhatta!” Buddha reprimanded him again, “you are holding the man doing the dog-practice in high esteem. Your veneration to the heretic eating like a dog is misplaced.” This is also an example of the application of knowledge of other people’s thoughts when Buddha had occasion to reprimand the disciples.

Besides creating wonder, such a way of rebuke may, perhaps, draw more sincere devotees for the faith; but it had also its disadvantages. “Those who are well-deposed to the faith,” said Buddha, “may have praises for this kind of miracle; but un-believers would say that the Teacher is applying the art of magic practised by those well-versed in Manika mantra.” Not to provide any cause for slander, Buddha forbade patihæriya.

Power of Dispensation

In the propagation of the dhamma Buddha relied more on his power of dispensation or anusæsani pratihæ than on supernormal powers. His instructions to his disciples always relate to right thinking. His exhortations are mainly concerned with noting and observing the phenomena. His teachings encourage doing good and shunning evil. His method of admonition is flawless. Anyone who practises what he teaches may become proficient in the establishment of morality, mindfulness and wisdom till he realizes the Path and its Fruition. Iddhi or miraculous power may be the most potent in the art of persuasion, but it cannot render the defilements extinct which is the most important in his teaching. Buddha cited the following case of a monk in search of the way to bring about the cessation of the four primary elements.

Where Does Cessation Take Place?

A monk wanted to know where the four primary elements of earth, fire, water and air cease totally without leaving any residue. He possessed iddhivida abhiññæ, higher knowledge of psychical powers. So he went up to the six Planes of devas and sought of an answer. All the devas in Catumahæræjæ, Tævatimasæ, Yæmæ, Tusitæ, Nimmænærati and Paranimmitavassavatø informed him to approach the Great Brahma to get the solution to his riddle of the elements.

So he went to the Great Brahma and asked the latter about the place where the extermination of the four elements takes place.

“O monk!” said the Great Brahma, “I am the greatest. I surpass all. None surpasses me. I see all. Everything comes into being as I will it. I am the Lord of the Universe. I create the Earth and its inhabitants. I am the creator. I am the father of all who come into being now and also of all who will come into being in the future.”

Brahmajæla sutta discusses the theory of creation. According to it, at the beginning of the world, a Brahma came into being in the Plane of the Brahmæs. He was then alone. As the gained longevity, he felt oppressed with this loneliness and so he thought to himself that it would be great if he could have company. At this juncture some of the people on this earth gained jhæna and was reborn in the Plane where the Great Brahmæ was residing. The new-comers were not as powerful as himself. So he thought that they came into being because he willed them to be. They died in course of time; but remained. Lesser Brahmæs, therefore, recognized him as their creator.

But the monk was not asking whether or not the Great Brahmæ was really the Great Brahmæ who created the Universe. He only wanted to know the place where the four elements meet their end. So he repeated the riddle; and the Great Brahmæ kept on saying that he was the creator. As the questioner was persistent, he was at long last obliged to tell him the truth in the absence of all other Brahmæs, for, he did not want to let them know his ignorance and, thereby, lost his prestige as the all-knowing and the all-powerful.

“O monk!” he confided, “I do not know anything about the cessation of the elements. You are wrong to have come to me when you have Buddha who can answer your question. Go to him!”

Then only the monk approached Buddha and asked: “Reverend Sir! Where do the four primary elements come to cessation without leaving any residue?”

Buddha likened the monk to a bird flying out from a ship at sea in search of land. Not being able to reach it, it comes back to the ship. “You should not have posed the question in the way you did,” said Buddha, “Your question suggests as if there is a definite place outside the body where cessation of the elements occur. In fact there is no such place. You should have asked where pathavø, tejo, æpo and væyo lose their footing; that is to say where they lose existence. Likewise you should have asked where do long and short, great and small and good and bad lose their footing. And, you should also have asked where do mind and matter get totally annihilated leaving no residue. If you ask likewise, you shall have the answer.”

Then he uttered the gæthæ which begins with “viññænaµ anidassanaµ, anantaµ sabbatopabhaµ,” which has been explained extensively before. In Nibbæna, the four elements together with mind and matter have no footing. That is to say, they do not exist.

So far I have expounded the attributes of Nibbæna beginning with its state of emancipation from the world of ta¼hæ to that of cessation of all formations of sa³khæra about which, I believe, all that is to be said has been said.

As you have listened with respectful attention to this discourse on Nibbæna, may you be rewarded with enlightenment of the Path and its Fruition that can lead you to Nibbæna where all formations cease as cravings are discarded.

Sædhu!    Sædhu!     Sædhu!