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mother, a woman of their sister's age as their sister, and a girl of their
daughter's age as their daughter.
The king is not satisfied with the answer. He argues that even if a
bhikkhu trains himself in the said manner, it is no guarantee for the non-
arising of impure thoughts in him in connection with a female person.
The Venerable Pi��ola Bh�radv�ja explains further they practise
meditation on the foulness of a body by contemplating on the thirty-two
constituent parts of the body. The king is still not convinced; he
maintains that, for older bhikkhus with more mature experience, who are
well established in mindfulness and concentration, contemplation on the
thirty-two constituent parts of the body might prove to be salutory; but
this type of meditation for younger bhikkhus might have an adverse
effect, exciting lust and passion instead of aversion for the human body.
Only when the Venerable Pi��ola Bh�radv�ja tells him that the bhikkhus
practise restraint of the six faculties keeping a close watch on the doors of
the six senses that the king agrees that purity of the holy life is possible
under such circumstances.
In the Pa�hama D�rukkhandhopama Sutta, the discourse given by
the Buddha on the bank of the River Ganges at Kosamb�, the Buddha
uses the simile of a log floating down the river. He says that if the log
does not get stranded on either of the two banks, nor sinks in the middle
of the river, nor gets salvaged and deposited on the bank by some one,
nor is retrieved by men or devas, nor sucked in by a whirlpool, and if it
does not get decomposed on the way, it will be carried by the current till
its destination, the ocean, is reached.
In this simile, the near bank means the six internal sense bases; the
far bank represents the six external sense objects; sinking in the mid-river
means getting immersed in sensuous desires; being salvaged and
deposited on a bank means being hindered by one's own conceit; being
retrieved by men means doing some services or running errands for men;
being retrieved by devas means practising the holy life with the deva
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realm as one's objective; being sucked in a whirlpool means wallowing
in sensual pleasures; getting decomposed on the way means becoming
corrupt, immoral, heedless of the disciplinary rules. If a bhikkhu manages
to steer himself clear of all these obstacles, he will be carried along by the
current of Right View till he reaches his destination, Nibb�na.
In the Chapp�akopama Sutta, the Buddha teaches that a bhikkhu
practising the holy life must exercise control of his sense faculties. The
six sense faculties may be likened to six animals, namely, a snake, a
crocodile, a giant bird, a dog, a jackal and a monkey. Suppose each
animal is bound by a rope and the ropes are tied together into a single
knot. When they are left in this state, each animal will try to get to its
own habitat, the snake to its underground hole, the crocodile to the river,
etc. In this way they will pull and struggle against one another until they
become exhausted and are dragged along by the strongest of them. The
mind of a bhikkhu with unrestrained sense faculties will be impelled by
the senses towards corresponding sense objects.
But suppose each animal is bound by a separate rope which is
fastened to a pole firmly planted in the ground. Each animal will make
furious attempts to return to its home and becoming exhausted finally
will stand, sit, curl or lie down quietly near the post. Similarly by
practising contemplation of the body, K�yagat�sati, the sense faculties
are placed well under control. Mindfulness of the body serves as the firm
post to which each of the faculties is tied down.
Dukkarapa�h� Sutta states that in the Teaching of the Buddha, it is
difficult first to become a member of the Order as a novice and as a
bhikkhu. Secondly, it is difficult to be happy and comfortable in the
Order with its disciplinary rules. Thirdly, even if one stays the course and
remains in the Order, it is difficult for one to practise concentration
meditation and Vipassan� meditation to attain to higher stages of
knowledge. When fully endowed with supporting p�ram�s (perfections),
a bhikkhu who gets instruction in the morning and starts practising
meditation in the morning may be fully liberated by the evening; if he
gets instruction in the evening and starts practising meditation in the
evening he may be fully liberated by the morning.
A wealthy householder by the name of Citta figures quite
prominently in some of the suttas of this division. In Niga��ha N�aputta
Sutta, Niga��ha N�aputta finds himself unable to accept the view
expressed by the Buddha that there is jh�na and sam�dhi free from
vitakka and vic�ra. He discusses this problem with Citta, the wealthy
householder, who is an Ariya disciple of the Buddha. Citta tells him: "I
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believe there is jh�na and sam�dhi free from vitakka and vic�ra, not
because of my faith in the Buddha but because of my own achievement
and realization." Citta explains that he has personally experienced jh�na
sam�dhi unaccompanied by vitakka and vic�ra and has no need to rely on
others for believing this.
The same Citta used to have in his younger days a close friend who [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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