He cured her, and then, destroyed her

Inspired by the first verse of the Yammaka Vagga (The Twin Verses) of the Dhammapada - "Cakkhupalatthera Vatthu" - Suffering follows the evil-doer

Once upon a time, long long ago, in a place far far away, as all good stories say, near the very ancient kingdom of Kasi, along the might river Ganges, were the villages of Balapila and Syamala. While they were quite close to each other and to the mighty city of Benares, the capital city of the kingdom of Kasi, as the crow would fly, it was quite difficult to travel between these places. After all, humans did not perch on crows to fly a straight distance, did they? Humans are humans and they tend to remain humans, do they not?

The villages of Balapila and Syamala were about ten kilometers away from each other, but were on either bank of the Ganges. The Naga River flowed near the village of Balapila and met the Ganges as a tributary about four kilometers southwards. It was the Shanta River that flowed near the village of Syamala and met the Ganges as a tributary about fifteen kilometers eastwards of the Naga River. Both the villages were considered as the meeting point, sangam, of these tributaries of the Ganges. As a result, these villages also had important temples at the riverbanks.

This story took place in the rule of the very ancient King Brahmadatta. He ruled the kingdom of Kasi when the Most Enlightened One was born as a merchant and would often travel to the east and west with more than five hundred carts in his journeys. But that is another story and you can read about it in the Jatakamala. This was a time when the wilderness between the magnificent city of Benares and the nearby villages discouraged travelers from moving about on their own or with small caravans. Most travelers and merchants preferred to travel together and at other times, thought it wiser to move along with the larger caravans such as that of the Most Enlightened One, when he had been born a merchant in the rule of the King Brahmadatta.

Other caravans came to the great city of Benares from other kingdoms. Such a kingdom was Seri, and it was known that the merchants from the kingdom of Seri were not to be trusted in a bargain. It was also said the same of the people from the villages of the kingdom of Seri. In one such village, lived a very respected eye-physician called Vaidya Kittamutti. He was known to be able to diagnose any disease of the eye in an instant. It was said that he was blessed with these abilities from the muni Nagabhushana himself. Vaidya Kittamutti had lived for many years in the care of the muni Nagabhushana at the Munisangama Ashrama of the great muni Rangabhashya.

Before he had become a physician, a vaidya, Kittamutti was a trader of mud and oils for the very large oil producing mines of the King of Seri. Being of a very unscrupulous nature, he had very soon lost his job in the trade of mud and oils and traveled to the foothill plains of the Himalayas, where the two mighty rivers met, and had sought refuge in the Munisangama Ashrama of the great muni Rangabhashya. He had heard of very many different skills and schools of knowledge at the ashrama, and thought that this would be the right place and time to change his own skills.

The muni Nagabhushana had offered him a place to reside in at his own residence, with the many other students that he had within his gurukulam. Being of a very trusting nature, he had taken the vagrant mud and oil trader, Kittamutti, to his own heart, and had taught him the science of curing eye diseases and had enabled him to become a complete eye-physician. Kittamutti had lived in the gurukulam for more than ten years, serving the muni Nagabhushana and his family. Finally, the muni Nagabhushana had given his daughter in marriage to the vaidya Kittamutti. In his gratitude, Kittamutti had continued to live with the muni Nagabhushana and served him with more devotion and care for eight more years. In this manner, he managed to become a better person, more learned inspite of his earlier illiteracy of the sciences, and came to be well known.

Kittamutti left the Munisangama Ashrama and traveled back to the Kingdom of Seri. Very soon, he became well known in the use of his skills as an eye-physician. People came from very distant places in search of him to cure themselves of their anguish because of their eye diseases. The daughter of the muni Nagabhushana made all patients and their families feel at home and took care of them and fed them and nursed them while the Vaidya Kittamutti tended to their cure. It was in this cycle of care and motherly love and the couple’s untiring efforts to tend to the miseries of strangers whom Kittamutti took to be his own family, that they felt the need to be of more and more help to others.

In spite of the unquestioned passage of knowledge, ethics and attitude that the muni Nagabhushana provided to Kittamutti, and further in spite of the untiring love, labour and support that the daughter of the muni Nagabhushana gave to serving Kittamutti’s ever growing and ever demanding family of strangers, the inherent negativities and tendency to evil reactions never left him. On many occasions, he would bring together friends of a similar evil nature and would indulge in the intake of wine and other spirits that were denied to a vaidya who practiced such a fine art of precision such as the curing of eye diseases. At other times, Kittamutti would indulge in the wrongful behaviour of smoking prohibited drugs that would dull ones’ senses and cause long-term damage to the brain and the processes of thought that preceded action or reaction.

Once, in the eve of the Kartika month of the lunar year, came a caravan of 500 carts belonging to the merchant who would be born again as the Most Enlightened One. He came from the Kingdom of Kasi, and stayed awhile in the city where Kittamutti was known as an expert eye-physician. It was known that one of the cart drivers had not been able to see well of the road at night hours and therefore went to get treated at the hands of the Vaidya Kittamutti. The eye-physician examined the cart driver, and knew of the problem to be able to understand light and shadows as the night approached and gave to him an ointment that had been made by crushing several seeds of the Himalayan trees. At the very instant of the application, the cart driver had said that he felt he could see better of the light and shadows at night.

The cart driver told of this miracle to other cart drivers and merchants in the caravan of the merchant who would be born again as the Most Enlightened One. The merchants and cart drivers came to meet Kittamutti and appreciated the power of his curative abilities. They suggested that he could travel with them to the village of Balapila, on the sangam of the River Naga with the River Ganges. They told him that the village was an important trading post outside the ancient city of Benares and he would prosper and become well known. And thus, when the caravan left the kingdom of Seri, Kittamutti and his wife traveled along with them with their own oxen-cart, having sold away all his property and house and went to the village of Balapila and settled there.

The village of Balapila was a prosperous trading junction on the West to East road network that came out of the great city of Benares, alongside the mighty river Ganges. Very soon, the fame of the eye-physician traveled to many distant places in the Kingdom of Kasi and neighboring kingdoms. Patients came to the village of Balapila with their ailments and were taken care by the daughter of muni Nagabhushana as she did at the Kingdom of Seri. The vaidya Kittamutti knew that his wife struggled enormously in her work to serve the patients and as also to take care of their house.

The fame and prosperity of Kittamutti also brought many long forgotten relatives and distant family who came to the village of Balapila and stayed at their house and the daughter of the muni Nagabhushana slaved for them and took care of them. Kittamutti loved his wife, and also liked himself to the attitude of the most generous, the ancient King of Anga, who was known to have torn off his own ear-rings and the armour that he was born with, when asked for, just before he was to proceed to war. Kittamutti like to be generous to his family but wanted to be able to help his wife and give her some help in the household works. He was always on the search for some suitable help, such as one who would stay in the house and be of support to his wife.

As if in answer to his wishes, came one day, a woman, Kausi, with her three children, from the village of Syamala, from across the river Ganges. She was a very poor woman, and had lost the father of her three children, when he had deserted them. The shock of the disappearance of the father had caused her to cry inconsolably, and had resulted in the gradual loss of her eyesight. A youngish man, Dineshakaara, who was her neighbour at the village of Syamala, had encouraged her to visit Balapila and meet the eye-physician, Vaidya Kittamutti, and seek a cure.

Of late, the poor woman, Kausi, had felt that the young man, Dineshakaara, was beginning to feel affectionate to her and her three children, and it may be possible in the future for her to be married to him and look forward to a secure future. As a result, she agreed with his suggestion, and traveled with her three children to the village of Balapila, in search of the eye-physician. She had had no money with her, jewellery or any other valuables. Dineshakaara had argued that it would be better to travel to Balapila and explore the possibility of a cure rather than to wait for poverty to disappear. She had agreed once again, and was now waiting outside the door of the vaidya Kittamutti, to seek his blessings and cure for her eyes.

Kittamutti came out of his house and saw the woman, Kausi and her three children awaiting him. She begged the vaidya to cure her, and to give her back the wonderful world that she knew of before she had lost her eyesight. In her eagerness, she volunteered to the vaidya Kittamutti that she would work as a slave in his household and would be of help to his wife, of her whom she had heard that she was the daughter of the great muni Nagabhushana. The woman, Kausi, said that she and her three children had no house of her own in the village of Balapila and that she would have no hesitation in staying at the house of the vaidya himself.

This was too tempting for the vaidya Kittamutti. He had been in search of someone to help his wife with the management of the household chores and all the other associated work of taking care of his extended family and relatives who had discovered him anew. He knew of this particular eye problem and knew that he could cure the lady in an instant. And it would work out in his benefit, for if the lady regained her eyesight immediately, she would be able to begin work with his wife in his household. Once again, he asked the woman, Kausi, if she would work for him in his house, if he would cure her and help her regain her eyesight. She agreed very firmly, and seemed all that more determined to keep her promise to work as a slave in his household.

The vaidya Kittamutti applied a particular eye-ointment that he had, and knew that the woman, Kausi, would regain her eyesight at the very instant. Immediately upon application of the ointment, the woman, Kausi, felt the betterment and wonderingly looked around at the world that she was able to see once again. She also saw her children and immediately felt dismayed that she had given her promise to be a slave in the household of the vaidya Kittamutti. Such a life of drudgery and bondage would deny her ability to take care of her children and to lead the life of a family person with the young man, Dineshakaara in the village of Syamala.

She decided that she would try to deceive the vaidya Kittamutti. She turned around and swayed as if in pain, and declared to the vaidya that she was not able to see properly as yet, and she was in terrible pain, and that she would go with her children to the nearby temple, and return later, when the agony would have subsided. The vaidya Kittamutti was surprised. He knew the powers of his medicines. After all, he had learnt at the great Munisangama Ashrama, and he had learnt from the Muni Nagabhushana, and he had seen the immediate cure that the other patients had exhibited. He realized that the woman, Kausi, was lying, and she wanted to escape from her promise to work as a slave in his household and be of help to his wife.

He requested her to wait, and asked her not to worry, and to take another ointment to cure her eyesight properly. And this time, he decided, he would have his revenge at her betrayal. He wanted to punish her for her change of mind and for declaring that his medicine had not helped her. He took out a different ointment this time, and applied it on the eyes of the woman, Kausi. Immediately, the woman screamed in pain, for the ointment was not a cure but was of a medication that caused piercing pain and harm to her eyes, and caused her to go permanently blind this time. The woman shouted out in pain, and realized that she had lost her eyes forever, and that it was due to her betrayal of the word that was given by her.

The woman, Kausi, took her three children, and ran away from the Vaidya Kittamutti. One of the cart drivers of the caravan of the merchant who would be born much later as the Most Enlightened One saw of the entire incident. He was of a curious and studious approach, and that evening, when he met the merchant at Benares, upon return from Balapila, he narrated what he had seen happen. He informed the merchant that he had seen a very poverty-stricken blind woman with her three children and had seen the two faces of betrayal and revenge in very unfortunate terms.

The merchant, who would be born much later as the Most Enlightened One, explained to the cart driver that it was in the mind that evil and goodness are born, and it is in the mind that the attitude is corrupted. He said that it was in the evil inherent in the vaidya Kittamutti, because of his dulled senses due to excessive intake of wine and smoking of drugs that the learned physician could not hold himself back from taking revenge. If he had taken care of himself by staying away from wine and drugs, he would have known to treat the woman with benevolence rather than treat her as an opportunity to enslave her.

It was in the mind of the woman, Kausi, that she felt it necessary to agree to be a slave to the vaidya Kittamutti, and it was in the bondage of her thoughts within her mind to regain her eyesight, that she did not notice the responsibility of her three children that she should not have allowed escape. Again, it was in the mind of the woman that was born the idea that she could betray the eye-physician who had conducted the miracle of helping her regain her eyesight in a very brief instant without having to undergo other medical treatments.

It is the mind that causes action that begets reaction, much like the wheels of the ox-cart that always follows the oxen, and does not allow anyone to escape the consequences of their actions. The vaidya Kittamuni, his wife, the daughter of the muni Nagabhushana, the woman, Kausi, and the muni Nagabhushana himself, had all thought out within their mind, and rationalized that their actions were correct and that they could perhaps escape the consequences of their action. This is not possible, and one should be careful of the thoughts that are mind-made and that beget action and reaction that cannot escape each other. So said, the merchant, who would be reborn much later, as the Most Enlightened One.

Can the blind see better than those who can?

Inspired by the first verse of the Yammaka Vagga (The Twin Verses) of the Dhammapada - "Cakkhupalatthera Vatthu" - Suffering follows the evil-doer

Once upon a time, long long ago, in a place far far away, as all good stories say, at the confluence of two great rivers, below the tall mountains of the Himalayas, before the vast plains of the lands of irrigated crops, was the ashrama of Rangabhashya, the great muni. It was here that more than a thousand monks resided to study under the guidance of the great muni. This was the most sacred of all places when one traveled below the Himalayas, the Munisangama Ashrama. There were other smaller associated ashrams nearby, and these were also under the guidance of the senior monks of Rangabhashya, who had decided at different times, that these monks could go ahead and establish their own gurukuls and residential ashrams.

Most seekers of knowledge came from all over the great land of the Sindhu and the Ganges, from all the big and small kingdoms south of the Himalayas, and from the lands to the west of the great rivers of the Sindhu, and from the lands to the east of the great seas after the mighty Ganges met the Sea near Navadvipa. It was said that Rangabhashya taught from all the major schools of knowledge that was prevalent at that time, but would retreat by himself to be a student when the Most Enlightened One would teach at the nearby monasteries.

The Most Enlightened One would visit the nearby monasteries each year while he traveled to and from the Jetavana Monastery near Sravasti for his annual retreat from the great University along with more than two thousand monks and other students. He taught about the New Way, the aspect of the understanding that provided a new perspective and helped many to start again in their search for knowledge and understanding. Most munis and rishis from other schools of knowledge wondered about the new way, and were keen to know if it ascribed more powers to certain gods or to certain temples and if it denied any approach to their own way of life. This was not so with the great Rangabhashya, who had known about the Most Enlightened One from during his earlier quest to understand the mystery of life and death and the larger world around all humanity.

The Most Enlightened One had halted at a nearby Ashrama, more than thirty monsoons ago, and had sought out the great teachers, and had heard all that they could teach and yet, he had emerged all the more hungry for more knowledge. And then had come the news that there had emerged from nowhere, the same seeker of knowledge, with a new approach to life and living, humanity and approaches to godliness, spirituality and responsibilities that one and all had declared that he was the Most Enlightened One. And he had visited the various ashramas and monasteries nearby, and the great Rangabhashya, had on his own accord joined the other great teachers and welcomed the Most Enlightened One with the honours that would put a King or Emperor to shame. For it was indeed said, that, it was the seeker of knowledge who deserved more honour than a King or Emperor.

The great muni was eagerly awaiting the Most Enlightened One to visit the nearby monastery during the coming monsoon. The senior most munis at the ashrama were very curious at the extent of respect that the great Rangabhashya offered to the Most Enlightened One. They knew that the Most Enlightened One was teaching a different aspect and method to seek knowledge, and that it was almost the paradox of the aspects of knowledge that the great Rangabhashya had himself taught them. They decided to ask the great muni as to why did he accord so much respect to one who taught a different way of knowledge.

The eldest among them, the Muni Nagabhushana and the Muni Shantarama, asked this of the great Rangabhashya, “O great teacher, we bow to you, and offer our respects. We have a question that has been bothering us. With your permission, we would like to ask this from you and seek your guidance.” The great muni smiled, and said, “Of course. But is it only the two of you or is it that the others are afraid to ask the same question of me? Call everyone and let everyone hear.”

The various senior munis assembled in front of the gyaanasthala, the teaching area, of the great Rangabhashya and awaited his presence. The Muni Nagabhushana accompanied the great muni and escorted him to the gyaanasthala, and bade him with great respect to be seated. All the senior munis bowed low to offer their respects and recited the four compulsory prayers before they could request the great muni to speak. Soon it was time, and yet, before they could speak out, it was the great muni who spoke without anyone asking him.

He said, “O munis of this great land below the Himalayas, you who have come from many lands and have been living here for so many years, monsoons and winters alike, I know that you are curious about why I proceed eagerly to learn from the Most Enlightened One, when he visits the nearby monastery. I know that you wonder why I listen to him speak about his new way, when it was he who had visited many great teachers and ashramas before he had decided to continue to search for a new approach to knowledge.”

“He, the Most Enlightened One, has sought knowledge, and when it was given to him by other masters, he had the courage, ability and perseverance to question what he was given. He did not disrespect those who offered him the knowledge, and he did not avoid the strict adherence to the various methods of abstinence. And yet, he did not accept without enquiry, and thereby he remained in wait, for that pure knowledge that I continue to await, as a student, though one and all, you munis at this ashrama, prefer to think of knowledge as that I was able to teach you.”

“And yet, the Most Enlightened One, even upon being able to understand the purest of knowledge, the core of all humanity and its understanding of godliness, he is able to walk among us, with his followers, his sangha, and yet, he is able to convince others without spreading rancour, and is able to discuss with one and all masters of knowledge, without making them want to escape him,” continued the great Rangabhashya, “The Most Enlightened One is able to teach us without comment on what we understand to be knowledge, he is able to share with us without any fear of corruption of our knowledge, and is able to make us understand of what he means to be the most pure of knowledge.”

Not able to contain himself, the Muni Shantarama asked, “O great teacher of our ashrama, you are our only guru, and the only path for us in our life, and we are curious. What is this pure knowledge that you speak of? Are we not seekers too? Are we not in search of the same goal? Do we not try to search for the same aspect of humanity in relation to godliness? You are known as the greatest of all munis in this part of the world, and we know that there are none others, except a very few, who can be better than you in the aspect of knowledge and that of sharing it. And you tell us that the Most Enlightened One is able to teach that aspect of knowledge that you did not know of? What is that aspect that you were not able to learn earlier?”

The great Rangabhashya smiled, and said, “O Shantarama, you are one of my oldest students. I love you as much as I love Nagabhushana. You are my sons, rather than my students, and it is all the more satisfying that you ask questions of me. Is it not that my teaching has been incomplete then? That you question me so? It is the mind within you that questions the knowledge that you have received. The mind precedes all knowables, O Shantarama. The aspect of the mind being purer than the knowledge that you receive is not something that I learnt in my quest for knowledge of so many long years.”

“It was the Most Enlightened One who has taught that one should try and search for knowledge within one’s own mind. For it is said, within our own aspects of knowledge, that to assume that one knows something is to subscribe to bondage of that knowledge. For we accept that what we know, is true. All truth is not true. What we see is not that given to us due to our sight. What we do not see is not because we close our eyes. We may not see something, and yet we may assume it to be true because of knowledge that we have gained. We see something happening, but the knowledge that we have, prevents us from questioning it.”

The Muni Nagabhushana queried, “O great master, pray permit me to ask of you a question. How would one not be able to be responsible for what one sees, and how can one actually be responsible for what one does not see? Can one be held responsible for committing a wrong, if one was not aware of what the consequences would be, and can one be wrong, if by a corrupt action done to help someone, and being aware of the wrongful thought, one does it for achieving the correct result? How would one answer this from what has been taught by the Most Enlightened One, in all the talks at the various monasteries each year, on aspects that are very different from what you teach us?”

The great Rangabhashya replied, “It is not the aspect of assuming that you know an action to be correct or wrong. How can you know? Who are you to decide? What is correct for you now, can be wrong later. What is correct for someone else can be wrong for you, at the same moment of time. So who is correct? The Most Enlightened One spoke of this. They are among those who are the most privileged of those who could hear him speak of such a most difficult aspect of knowledge, in the utmost simplicity. He spoke of it, as one would teach a child. For it is easy to speak of such complex issues through the most complex lesson and expect the student to be smarter than the teacher. Thus, does the teacher escape responsibility of the task of making the student understand what it was that was taught.”

“The Most Enlightened One spoke of a blind monk, Cakkhupala, who had come to visit him when he was residing at the Jetavana Monastery at Sravasti, from a distant land. Knowing him to be blind, and yet to seek knowledge, and to travel across great distances, caused the Most Enlightened One to be affectionate to him and treat him with more obvious kindness. Others who were close to the Most Enlightened One did not appreciate this, and yet they stayed their speech. They were not happy that the Most Enlightened One was kinder and affectionate to the blind Cakkhupala without any obvious disclosure or explanation.”

“They followed the blind monk, Cakkhupala, wherever he went about in the Jetavana Monastery, and one night they saw that he was immersed in his meditation at a certain spot, and that he was pacing up and down at that location. In the morning, when they went to the very location, they found some dead insects on the ground and on the very path that the blind monk had been pacing up and down while immersed in his meditation. These monks immediately presumed that there was opportunity in this happening and that they could complain to the Most Enlightened One of the behaviour of the blind monk. They came to the Most Enlightened One and complained that it was not appropriate of a monk to not be aware that he could have been harmful to these innocent insects, while pacing up and down a garden lawn at night, even if deep in meditation.”

“The Most Enlightened One had explained to the monks who complained, for even I had wondered if the blind monk, Cakkhupala, was at fault. It was not so, he had explained, and said that it was a fact that the other monks had not seen the blind monk kill the insects. Similarly, the blind monk was not aware that he had killed the insects. And more so, the blind monk was not intent-bound on an action to cause the death of the insects, and he had had no intention to do so. It is the intention to be wrong, and it is the intention to be corrupt that causes sorrow due to action, and this is brought about in the mind, inspite of knowledge. And once the action is thought out, sown and further action is reaped, does sorrow – dukha – follow just as the wheels of an ox-cart follow the oxen with each step that it takes forward. It is essential that one is aware of one’s actions, and does not cause those actions to come out of wrongful thoughts or corrupt intentions. So, taught the Most Enlightened One.”

The oxen that pulls the cart

Inspired by the first verse of the Yammaka Vagga (The Twin Verses) of the Dhammapada - "Cakkhupalatthera Vatthu" - Suffering follows the evil-doer

Once upon a time, long long ago, in a place far far away, as all good stories say, in the old village of Satyagriha, very near the town of Sravasti of known fame due to the travels and stay of the Most Enlightened One in these regions, lived a kind and benevolent merchant, Dayaluprema. He had lived his life in the manner required and more, and was thus blessed with dutiful children and their spouses and grandchildren. He had never had a single day of disagreement with the mother of his children, the very kind and generous Bhaavanamata. He had several busineses, including a grain-shop and a dairy farm where he had acquired fame in the region for having been able to breed select varieties of cattle, such as cows for milk and oxen for difficult work.

Dayaluprema was known in the entire region as having a good hand in the aspect of breeding and taking care of cows and oxen and he also had a good business of selling milk at Sravasti. He had also prospered in his grain shop business more so because of his willingness to help the poor and needy, and his readiness to feed the devout at the local temples and also to give alms to the bhikkhus from the holy sanghas that visited his village or the nearby ones.

Dayaluprema fetched the food grains and other stock from various markets and villages around Satyagriha. He would also sell at Sravasti if the price was right and make a healthy profit. He was known to pass on his profit back to the poor farmers who would trust him to fetch a proper price for their produce. In fetching the grains back and forth from the villages, Dayaluprema had an employee called Krodhachalaka, an ox-cart driver, who would take the cart to the various villages and return to Satyagriha and at times travel to Sravasti. Krodhachalaka was a miserable, rude and very violent man, who was always known to be shouting out in the market, scolding the farmers if they would load the produce by taking too much time, and would always use the whip on the two oxen that pulled the ox-cart.

I can tell you many a story about Dayaluprema and Krodhachalaka, and I will do so at a later time. This story is however about the two oxen that pulled the ox-cart that was driven by Krodhachalaka. These oxen were from Dayaluprema’s cattle sheds at Satyagriha and were bron of the cows there. The oxen yoked to Krodhachalaka’s cart were born of two sister-cows in Dayaluprema’s cattle-shed. They were from within an affectionate group of cows and oxen, all related to each other, and were all very fond of Dayaluprema and Bhaavanamata, because of their benevolent nature.

Of the two oxen, one was named Daana, while the other was named Baana. Nearly ten years of age now, the two oxen were very devoted to Dayaluprema and Bhaavanamata. They were always eager to return to the house of Dayaluprema and the cattle sheds. After a hard day’s task of pulling the very heavily laden cart, the two oxen would look forward to relaxing at the cattle shed where they could share the stories of their travels with their mothers and sisters who rarely got an opportunity to venture outside. However, both Daana and Baana took good care to avoid telling their mothers and sisters about the anger and violent behaviour of Krodhachalaka, their cart driver. There would be nothing to gain from making their mothers and sisters sad about their work.

Other oxen and horses and mules at the grain markets saw the ill-treatment, the harsh words, the use of the whip and the stick by Krodhachalaka on Daana and Baana. And, so it was, that it was their own cousin oxen, Seendha and Chottu, yoked to another one of Dayaluprema’s carts, who repeatedly saw the punishment meted out on Daaana and Bhaana. They knew that their brothers would never speak of it to their mothers and sister cows at the cattle sheds of Dayaluprema. But Seendha felt extremely sad at the behaviour of Krodhachaalaka.

Once, at the grain market, Seendha took courage and walked up to Daana and Baana who had been tied to a wooden post near the market well. He came up to his elder brother-oxen and said, “O brother-oxen of my mother’s sister, I know you both to be quite courageous. I know you both to be righteous. I know you both to be faithful to your job. But it pains my heart to see the two of you being whipped by the cart-driver, Krodhachalaka, for no fault of yours. And all the other oxen, horses and mules at this market, see this sort of behaviour daily and yet may not become angry. They do not know you as I do, and I am your younger brother. It pains my heart. Do something, O eldest brother-oxen of us, O Daana. What will our mothers say when they hear of this ill-treatment?”

Daana was a wise ox, and he did see the anguish in his youngest brother-ox, Seendha’s eyes, and went up to him, rubbed alongside him in affection, and said “O youngest brother-ox, Seendha, you are a wise soul and a very noble creature. It is said that once, when you were quite young, just a calf, the Most Enlightened One, who was passing by with his sangha, patted you in appreciation of the fact that you were following him and his monks. You are truly blessed. But, it is not enough that one was close enough to a teacher, one needs to remain steadfast to one’s duties and to one’s responsibilities. It is in Krodhachalaka’s burden that he carries, that he will forever be adding to his burden, with every show of anger, and every stroke of that whip.”

Seendha replied with an impatient toss of his head, “O eldest brother-ox, the Most Enlightened One may have patted me, and I may be truly blessed because of that, but that does not give me freedom from feeling sad, dukha, at what is happening to the both of you, every day at the hands of the mad Krodhachalaka. How long will this continue? I think, tonight, when they would unyoke you from the cart at our cattle-shed, you both can seek blessings of our mothers and escape from this misery. Pretend to be lame or sick. Go away somewhere, for some time, until our master removes this Krodhachalaka, or gets him new oxen. Go and seek your freedom from this ox-cart, from your responsibility to pull this ox-cart.”

The monk, Jaiprakasa Muni, was seated nearby, under the shade of a mango tree. He could understand the language spoken by all domestic creatures, and was also able to talk to them. He had been seated there for quite some time, awaiting the passing of the noon sun, so that he could go into the village to beg for his alms and food. He had seen the angry Krodhachalaka whip the two oxen for no fault of theirs, and he had noted that it was the manner in which the ox-cart driver was adding to his own burden of sorrow by the manner of his attitude and of the harm and sadness and pain that he was causing to the oxen that served him. He was also pleasantly surprised that the eldest brother-ox was so very amazingly perceptive to stay steadfast to his responsibilities. The monk, Jaiprakasa Muni, went near the oxen, and blessed them.

He said, to the oxen, “O soul-brothers of many lives, and blood-brothers of this life of yours, hear me out, for I am blessed that I can speak to all those creatures who work in toil to help humans in their aspect of misery, happiness, evil, goodness and greed and of noble cause. You are to be the textbook from which humanity should have learnt, for it is the ultimate paradox that the cart-driver, Krodhachalaka, is not able to learn. For it is true, that as real as it may be that you are steadfast in your perception of responsibilities, it is also true that you cannot escape the cart, and the whip of the cart-driver, whenever you are tied to the ox-cart. For it is true, that the farther that you walk to escape the cart, the wheels will always be behind you. Every step that you take ahead, the wheel will follow you.”

“It is sad that the cart-driver, Krodhachalaka, while driving the same cart every day, and watching the wheels of the cart follow you with each step, was not able to understand and recognize the aspect of the burden of your actions following you wherever you go, and the fact that given the opportunity of your freedom, you would not be able to escape it, for it is in your attitude to be faithful to your task, that you beget action, and that in turn follows you wherever you would go, whether in work, or if you tried to escape the circle of life. Thus, taught the Most Enlightened One.”

Dhammapada - Yammaka Vagga - Verse 1 - Cakkhupalatthera Vatthu

 

The Dhammapada

Yammaka Vagga

 

Verse 1

Cakkhupalatthera Vatthu

 

Manopubbangama dhamma
manosettha manomaya
manasa ce padutthena
bhasati va karoti va
tato nam dukkhamanveti
cakkamva vahato padam.

 

 

Verse 1

Suffering follows the evil-doer

Mind precedes all knowables,
mind's their chief, mind-made are they.
If with a corrupted mind
one should either speak or act
dukkha follows caused by that,
as does the wheel the ox's hoof.

The mind precedes all situations resulting from thought. Most actions are made from within the mind. If one initiates an action with an evil mind, suffering will follow just as the wheel follows the hoof-print of the ox that draws the cart. Evil thoughts lead to unfortunate circumstances, just as the ox cannot be free of the cart that it pulls. The verse is named after the blind monk, Cakkhupala, whose blindness was explained as the consequence of his having acted with an evil intention in a previous existence. The word ‘dukkha’ depicts suffering, especially mental trauma within the mind.

The story of the blind monk, Thera Cakkhupala was told by the Buddha as the parable to explain the verse depicted as the first of the Yammaka Vagga. I have included the story within another story in an attempt to try and understand. It is said that the Most Enlightened One told the story of Thera Cakkhupala while at the Jetavana Monastery at Sravasti, on a day when the discourse was being listened to by more than forty thousand of the Sangha, and that at the end, nearly thirty thousand bhikkhus attained arahat status together with patisambhida (analytical insight).        

The verse and the specific parable are sourced from the following references (28 October 2009) –

1. http://www.tipitaka.net/tipitaka/dhp/verseload.php?verse=001

2. http://www.buddhanet.net/dhammapada/d_twin.htm

3. http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/sbe10/index.htm - The Dhammapada. Translated from the Pali by F. Max Muller. 1881. Volume X – The Sacred Books of the East. The Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Arahat or arahants = are described as buddhanubuddha, those who have attained enlightenment after the Buddha.

Bhikkhu (male), Bhikkhuni (female) = Ordained monks, usually Buddhist monks.

Stories inspired from the Dhammapada - An Introduction

The most amazing aspect of the verses of the Dhammapada is that they are very simple and easy to read. And yet, each time I read and re-read them, I find that I am unable to understand them in a simple and easy manner. Every day of our lives has different circumstances that change our understanding of the verses. I have therefore begun an attempt to write short stories to help me tryto remember the manner of understanding of the verses of the Dhammapada. I fear that if I would not do so, I would be denied the opportunity of walking ahead on the path of dhamma that has been given to us, for us to hold on to, and learn and understand.

I have also included a list of further reading to help everyone to begin this attempt to understand. One such reference mentions that each verse of the Dhammapada can “release potential mind energy that you never knew existed within you.” This is so amazingly said, and it is in fact, very simplistically, true. These basic tenets of the teachings are indeed a vast ocean of knowledge in the universe, and one has to, some day, make a beginning.

The Buddha frequently made use of easily understood simile-led verses in his discourses during the forty-five years of his teaching. The Dhammapada is the most valuable collection of his teachings later compiled in 423 verses in twenty-six chapters and has its own treasured position in the Pitaka. Each verse has been explained along with a short story by the Buddha, and sometimes it refers to the earlier births of the Most Enlightened One and on other occasions, refers to contemporary human society of those times.

The Pitaka, or the Tipitaka is the collection of the teachings of the Buddha in the Pali language and is divided into the “three baskets”, the Vinaya Pitaka, the Suttanta Pitaka and the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Dhammapada is the second book of the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Suttanta Pitaka and enshrines the very basic, most easily understandable tenets of Buddha’s teaching about the questions, riddles and parables of humanity, human life and attachments. The characters, well defined, within the stories accompanying the verses are on some occasions, to be found in both the Dhammapada and the Jatakamala. The collection of 540 poems, comprising the Jatakamala, is also found dispersed in the Khuddaka Nikaya and other books of the Tipitaka.

Each verse of the Dhammapada is a gem by itself. They are merely two phrases in four lines, usually witty, and yet a vast horizon of understanding. Each time that a verse is read, one begins to dive deeper and deeper in the magic and marvel of the context of the human condition that is depicted. The Buddha has emphasized the relevance of knowing one’s mind within all responses, action and speech and helps us understand that there are unstoppable consequences to our reactions, deeds and the spoken word. Each verse extends a truth (dhamma) by the Buddha, as a simple understanding of the human mind and the cause and effect of action and reaction.

The earliest translation of the Dhammapada from Pali into English by Max Muller in 1870 is available. Similarly, there are various translations in other languages that are equally proficient and excellent in their attempt at understanding the Dhammapada. I have referred to some of the most respected and authorized versions of the Dhammapada and the translations of the verses in helping me with this work.

I have merely attempted to present the stories that I have been inspired to write, after an attempt to try to understand the teachings from the verses of the Dhammapada. It is entirely possible that I am totally wrong in my understanding. I would be most happy to know that I am wrong, for it would only require of me to read the verses again and again and again. Nothing would be more fulfilling. These are merely stories, and there is no attempt here to convey any actual quotation or parable from the Most Enlightened One, except for the Dhammapada verses.

I have retained the presence of the Most Enlightened One in the stories that I have adapted from the versions thus written by more learned and studied authors of the Tipitaka and the Dhammapada. This has been attempted with the best of efforts to be faithful to the manner in which the earlier story has been presented by these expert authors. Except for such stories, most other stories in this series are totally original. The mention and linkage to the Buddha within these newly written tales are enabled through the references that I have found. There could of course, be more references. There is so much more to learn. There is so little time. Start. And, start again.

Dhammapada - an introduction

Dhammapada (Pali) or Dharmapada (Sanskrit) is the most well known collection of the sayings of Gautama Buddha in the form of suttas or verses. This collection is often regarded as being more popularly known than even the entire Tipitaka of the Master. It is said that each sutta was spoken of by the Most Englightened One in reference to a particular parable and teaching, sometimes in response to a question by a disciple or a lay person.

It is ascribed that shortly after the parinibbana of the great Master, his disciples and the senior arahats met at Rajagriha to understand the loss and to ensure that there would be no attempt by anyone to corrupt the Teachings. By way of repeated recitation, the different groups of arahats were able to recollect the exact words of the Master and the related parables. These were brought together in clusters of discourses for recitation, and assembled especially as the suttas of short verses – the Dhammapada.

The most ancient compilation is the Dhammapada Atthakatha, with commentary by the great scholar, Buddhaghosa. Comprising terms referring to dhamma and being numbered, pada, the verses explain the ‘eternal truth’ through their root.

The unique value of the verses of the Dhammapada is in its very construction and delivery. Complex concepts and hypotheses are presented in very precise verses. The numbers of suttas is very impressive and yet awe-inspiring in their clarity. It must have been very difficult to pick up on the Master’s Teachings to his bhikkhus and bhikkunis by lay persons. The need to link an appropriate story to the verses must have been recognized and appreciated by everyone. Some of these verses also occur in other parts of the Tipitaka but the stories are only to be found in the Dhammapada of the Khuddaka Nikaya within the Sutta Pitaka.

There are several versions of the Dhammapada, other than the Pali canon. These include the – (a) Gãndhãri Dhammapada – in Gãndhãri written in the Kharosthi script, (b) Patna Dharmapada – in a variant Sanskrit script, (c) Udãnavarga – in 3 different Sanskrit versions and a Tibetan translation, (d) Mahãvastu – text in Lokottaravada, similar to the Pali Sahassa Vagga and Bhikkhu Vagga, and (e) Fajiy jing – being four Chinese texts, one of them a translation of the Pali canon.

We will follow the Pali Dhammapada for our purposes of being introduced to this great text. 423 verses of the Dhammapada are placed in 26 chapters. These include the – (1) Yammakavagga or Yammaka vaggo – ‘The twin-verses’, (2) Apamãdavagga – ‘On earnestness’, (3) Cittavagga – ‘Thought’, (4) Pupphavagga – ‘Flowers’, (5) Balavagga – ‘The fool’, (6) Paṇditavagga – ‘The wise man’, (7) Arahantavagga  - ‘The venerable’, (8) Sahassavagga – ‘The thousands’, (9) Pãpavagga – ‘The evil’, (10) Daṇḍavagga – ‘Punishment’, (11) Jarãvagga – ‘Old Age’, (12) Attavagga – ‘Self’, (13) Lokavagga – ‘The World’, (14) Buddhavagga – ‘The Buddha – The Awakened’, (15) Sukhavagga – ‘Happiness’, (16) Piyavagga – ‘Pleasure’, (17) Kodhavagga – ‘Anger’, (18) Malavagga – ‘Impurity’, (19) Dhammaṭṭavagga – ‘The Just’, (20) Maggavagga – ‘The Way’, (21) Pakiṇṇakavagga – Miscellaneous, (22) Nirayavagga – ‘The Downward Course’, (23) Nãgavagga – ‘The Elephant’, (24) Taṇhãvagga – ‘Thirst’, (25) Bhikkhu Vagga – ‘The Mendicant’, (26) Brãhmaṇavagga – The Brãhmana.

The unique style of the Dhammapada is the coupling of the verses with stories and parables. The verses are very difficult to understand in the first or second or third readings. The stories or parables help the seeker understand the essence of each verse. Some stories are presented with 2-3 verses. Most are supported by one single verse. Thus, the 423 verse are presented by 305 stories. Some of these stories have recounting of the past experiences of the Master, while most are about incidents that are supposed to have taken place during His lifetimes.

Essentially, the Dhammapada is meant to be a guide to the lay person, and instill values of dhamma. One cannot perhaps understand the context of the stories of those times, but one should certainly have faith in the intent and the purpose of the parable. Some of the examples may not seem to be immediately relevant, but then, as a student, one has to be humble.

The clear, precise and philosophical verses were presented in the Master’s Teachings during the 45 years of His travels in the valleys below the Himalayas and along the Ganges. Most examples are in relation to the people and communities of those times and in those places. The Most Enlightened One repeatedly emphasises that one must achieve one’s own internal conquests, in defeating the evils of hatred, ignorance and passion. He teaches that is very hard to attain freedom from craving and presents an absolute truth (dhamma) along with advice in each parable coupled with a verse.

It is in the 21^st verse, Appamado amatapadam, meaning – ‘Mindfulness is the way to Nibbana, the Deathless’ – that provides a valuable insight into achieving tranquility. Possibly the last Teaching of the Master before his parinibbana, He taught that one should be mindful and always endeavour diligently.

Khuddaka Nikaya - An introduction

The Khuddaka Nikaya is one of the five Nikayas in the Sutta Pitaka, one of the ‘three baskets’ of the Tipitaka. The Nikaya consists of 15 (Thailand), 17 (Sri Lanka) or 18 (Burma) clusters of suttas. The Khuddaka Nikaya is one of the very few, or perhaps the only one, where new suttas were added after the completion of the Tipitaka. Whenever possible or required, the new sutta was not added to the other nikayas of the Sutta Pitaka but, always added within the Khuddaka Nikaya. This was true of all the schools of the Pali Agamas or Canon – Mahisasaka, Dharmaguptaka and the Mahasanghika.

  

The Khuddaka Nikaya is comprised of – Khuddakapatha, Dhammapada, Udana, Itivuttaka, Suttanipata, Vimanavatthu, Petavatthu, Theragatha, Therigatha, Jataka, Niddesa, Patisambhidamagga, Apadana, Buddhavamsa, Cariyapitaka, Netti or Nettipakarana, Petakopadesa and Milindapanha clusters of suttas.   

There are various references in the Sumangalavilasini – being the commentary on the Digha Nikaya, and later in the Majjhima Nikaya and the Vinaya and Abhidhamma Pitakas that refer to differing numbers of clusters of suttas in the Khuddaka Nikaya. It is to be noted however, that the list of 18 clusters were approved by the Fifth Council held at Burma.

It is known that the texts – Suttanipata, Itivuttaka, Dhammapada, Theragatha, Udana and Jataka were among the earlier written clusters of suttas in the Khuddaka Nikaya. As the Tipitaka kept getting compiled and completed, much later, the Khuddakapatha, Vimanavatthu, Petavatthu, Niddesa, Patisambhida, Apadana, Buddhavamsa and Cariyapitaka were written and included.

Khuddakapatha – ‘The short passages’ – is a collection of nine texts that is presumably a textbook of sorts for newly inducted bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. Some of these texts are regularly changed and recited in many monasteries. The short passages comprise the (1) Saranagamana – ‘Going for refuge’, (2) Dasa Sikkhapada – ‘The ten training rules’, (3) Dvattimsakara – ‘The 32 parts’, (4) Samanera Pañha – ‘The novice’s questions’, (5) Mangala Sutta – ‘Protection’, (6) Ratana Sutta – ‘Treasures’, (7) Tirokudda Kanda – ‘Hungry shades – Outside the walls’, (8) Nidhi Kanda – ‘The reserve fund’, and the (9) Karaniya Metta Sutta – ‘Goodwill’.

Dhammapada – collection of about 423 short suttas.

Udana – ‘Exclamations’ – is a collection of short suttas, being concluded in each sutta with a short verse uttered by the Buddha. This precious collection includes the story of the blind men and the elephant, the story of the dove-footed nymphs among others.

Itivuttaka – ‘The Thus-saids’ – collection of 112 short suttas, in prose and verse, with a focus on a single topic of Dhamma. The phrase comes from – ‘iti vuttam Bhagavata’ – ‘Thus was said by the Buddha’.

Sutta Nipata or Suttanipata – ‘The Sutta collection’ – comprising 71 short suttas, including Karaniya metta sutta (goodwill or loving kindness), Mahamangala Sutta, and Atthaka Vagga.

Vimanavatthu – ‘Stories of the celestial mansions’ – 85 poems, explaining about deeds that led to the rebirth of deities in heavenly realms.

Petavatthu – ‘Stories of the hungry ghosts’ – 51 poems, explaining about wrongful deeds that led to the rebirth of beings into ghostly realms.

Theragatha and Therigatha – ‘Verses of the Elder Monks’, and ‘Verses of the Elder Nuns’ – with personal renditions in verse of the lives of the earlier monks and nuns, and culminating in descriptions of their awakening or understanding.

Jataka – ‘Stories of Birth’ – 547 stories that speak about some former lives of the Buddha, and his long journey as a Bodhisatta with intent and aspiration to enlightenment.

Niddesa – ‘Exposition’ – commentaries on Sutta Nipata, perhaps by Buddha’s disciple, Sariputta.

Patisambhidamagga – ‘Path of discrimination’ – an analysis of some Abhidhamma concepts.

Apadana – ‘Stories’ – Biographies in verse of the Buddha, 41 Paccekabuddhas (“silent” Buddhas), 549 arahant bhikkhus and 40 arahant bhikkhunis.

Buddhavamsa – ‘History of the Buddhas’ – about Gautama Buddha and of the 24 Buddhas before him.

Cariyapitaka – ‘Basket of conduct’ – Stories in verse, of thirty-five of the Buddha’s previous lives. Retold by Gautama Buddha at the request of Sariputta, and illustrating the Master’s practice of seven of the 10 paramis (‘perfections’).

Nettippakarana and Petakopadesa – in the Thai and the Burmese Tipitaka only. Methodological books.

Milindapañha – Burmese Tipitaka only – ‘Questions of Milinda’ – dialogue between the arahat Nagasena and the Greek King Milinda (Menander). 

Sutta Piṭaka - an introduction

Sūtra Piṭaka (Sanskrit) or Sutta Piṭaka (Pali) is the major division of the Tipiṭaka. The Sutta Piṭaka comprises more than 10,000 sūtras or suttas that are the Teachings of Gautama Buddha. The extensive collections of sūtras are classified into five Nikayas. These include the – Digha Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya, Samyutta Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya and Khuddaka Nikaya.

Shortly after the Master’s parinibbãna, the greatest of his disciples and arahants came together, in what is now recognized as the First Council and collated the Sutta Piṭaka and classified them into the five Nikayas. It is recognized that there were no additions or editing to the original texts and the Canon was as exactly rendered as Gautama Buddha had meant it to be delivered to his disciples, bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. There are several arguments to this aspect, but that is not for us to delve into.

The five Nikayas of the Sutta Piṭaka were classified according to their content and rendition. Thus, the five Suttas were expounded in separate collections.

(1) Digha Nikaya or Dīghanikāya, the ‘digha = long (Pali)’ discourses: Comprising 34 long suttas, these include the greater discourses on the Mahasatipatthana Sutta or the ‘foundations of mindfulness’, the Samaññaphala Sutta or the ‘fruits of contemplative life’ and the Mahaparinibbana Sutta or ‘the last days’, among others. Mostly folklore-like renditions of spiritual realms, and also include instructions on meditation and other perspectives.

(2) Majjhima Nikaya, the ‘majjhima = middle-length (Pali)’ discourses: Comprising 152 medium-length suttas, this Nikaya includes discourses on the Sabbasava Sutta or ‘All the Taints’, Culakammavibhanga Sutta or ‘exposition of kamma’, Anapanasati Sutta or ‘mindfulness of breathing’ and Kayagatasati Sutta or the ‘mindfulness of the body’ and the Angulimala Sutta or the ‘story of Angulimala’. The majjhima suttas are some of the most profound and difficult, and include discourses on human aspects and about action and results on ones’ life and after-life.

(3) Samyutta Nikaya or Saṃyuttanikāya, the ‘connected’ discourses: The numbers vary, and there could be 2,889 suttas. However, according to another reckoning, the Samyukta Nikaya includes about 7,762 shorter suttas. The samyutta (Pali) – ‘grouped’ or ‘connected’ discourses are in 56 clusters.

(4) Anguttara Nikaya or Aṅguttaranikāya, the ‘numerical’ discourses: Comprising 9,565 short suttas arranged numerically, the Nikaya is grouped in clusters of numbers of suttas. While some are singular, the largest cluster comprises eleven suttas. Anga (Pali) – ‘factor’ + Uttara – ‘further’ = Anguttara consisted of several thousand short suttas that were grouped together into one-to-eleven nipatas, such as eka-nipata (Book-of-Ones) and duka-nipata, (Book-of-Twos) that comprised a single sutta about Dhamma, or two suttas about Dhamma, and onwards to clusters of eleven suttas.

(5) Khuddaka Nikaya, the khudda (Pali) = ‘smaller’ or ‘lesser’ being the ‘minor collection’: Comprising several different forms of suttas, including sermons, discourses, poetry and teachings by the Master and his disciples, the numbers of clusters vary from 15 (Thai), 17 (Sinhalese) and 18 (Burmese). The Dhammapada and the Jataka are the most well known and easily recognizable collections of suttas within the Khuddaka Nikaya. On their own, the Dhammapada and the Jataka are recognized texts that stand out for their simplicity, clarity and relevance across hundreds of years.

The Khuddaka Nikaya includes – Khuddakapatha or the ‘Short Passages’, Dhammapada or the ‘Path of Dhamma’, Udana or the ‘Exclamations’, Itivuttaka or the ‘Thus-saids’, Suttanipata or the ‘Sutta Collections’, Vimanavatthu or the ‘Stories of the Celestial Mansions’, Petavatthu or the ‘Stories of the Hungry Ghosts’, Theragatha or the ‘Verses of the Elder Monks’, Therigatha or the ‘Verses of the Elder Nuns’, Jataka or the ‘Birth Stories’, Niddesa or the ‘Exposition’, Patisambhidamagga or the ‘Path of Discrimination’, Apadana or the ‘Stories’, Buddhavamsa or the ‘History of the Buddhas’, Cariyapitaka or the ‘Basket of Conduct’, Nettipakarana or Netti, Petakopadesa and Milinda Panha or the ‘Questions of Milinda’.

We are concerned with the Khuddaka Nikaya from the Sutta Pitaka of the Tipitaka. In order to understand the relevance, value and gem-like quality of the concise and precise verses of the Dhammapada, it is necessary to know that the clusters of suttas did not occur in a random manner. Of the many groups of suttas in the Khuddaka Nikaya, the Jataka alone has more contemporary recognition and repetitive memory among people.

The Angulimala Sutta and the Anapanasati Sutta are the most useful and relevant in terms of human society and individual behavior. Vipassana as an accepted form of meditation and in the understanding of one’s own breath is an extremely valuable elucidation of human survival. The story of Angulimala in comparison to the several hundred stories in the Dhammapada provides the perspective.