Marshland Flowers III

Issue 47: 31 December - 6 January 2008

…In the Mahayana Sutras, there are more collections of deeper level teachings on realisation…

Relying on meaning, not words

The Buddha’s main two disciples called the Agrasravakas, who are always portrayed standing at his two sides - Maudgalyayana and Sariputra, were both Brahmins. Another very famous disciple Mahakashyap, already possessed miraculous powers even before he met the Buddha, and already had one thousand disciples even before he met the Buddha. He too was a Brahmin as his name Kashyap implies. The Buddha defeated him both in philosophical debate and display of miraculous powers and he became a disciple of the Buddha, along with his one thousand Brahmin disciples.

All such records are recorded in the Sutra Pitaka. There are the Mahayana Sutra Pitaka and the Sravakayana Sutra Pitaka. Of the Sravakayana Sutra Pitaka, today only that of the Theravada and the Sarvastivada remains intact. There are bits and pieces of Sutras of others like Mahasanghikas etc. too, available either in the original or in various translations.

However, in the Mahayana Sutras, there are more collections of deeper level teachings on realisation, insight etc. mostly conducted in paranormal dimensions whereas the Sravakayana Sutra are a motley of mundane and philosophic topics, conducted mostly within normal dimensions.

The second Pitaka is the Vinaya Pitaka which is a collection of the records of the rules made for the Bhikchhunis and Bhikchhus by the Buddha himself. Here too there were many, of which the Theravadin, the Sarvastivadin and the Mahasanghika have managed to survive to the present day. Most of Mahayana schools use the Sarvastivadin and Mahasanghika Bhikchhu Vinayas to make Bhikchhus.

In ancient India, as recorded by the famous Chinese traveler Huen Tsang of the 6^th / 7^th century, there were also followers of Mahayana who followed the Theravadin Vinayas too. But today due to various historical flukes, no such Bhikchhus are found. As the Buddha himself had given permission that if the Bhikchhu Sangha so deems it fit, it could change the minor Bhikchhu rules.

So as Buddhism spread to far away lands where the climes and cultures were so drastically different from India, some of the rules of the Vinaya Pitaka had to be changed. It must be said that the Theravadin Sangha claim that they have not changed anything from the time of the Buddha; but most scholars do not agree with this.

However, as the Buddha himself very clearly gave permission to change minor rules, and even if there are changes, it does not contradict the intentions of the Buddha. In fact, it goes along with the intention of the Buddha. In the Sutra, the Buddha has very clearly said, "Artha pratisharanam na vyanjanam" meaning, do not rely/depend on the words but rather on the meaning/intention. And this statement is found in Sarvastivada, Theravada and Mahayana Sutra Pitaka. (To be continued)

Issue 48: 7 - 13 January 2008

The Buddha also warned very clearly that there are false Samadhis which do not lead to the enlightenment…

Undistorted teachings

For example, in places like Tibet, Mongolia, Korea and Japan it would be foolish to continue wearing the scanty dress of the Bhikchhus, which the Buddha had devised for the hot climate of Madhyadesha (central north India); nor would it be sane to expect Bhikchhus to walk barefoot in such countries, as the Buddha had insisted upon the Bhikchhus of Madhyadesha. So these minor rules would have to be changed in accordance with the intention of the Dharma and the Buddha. To insist that Bhikchhus of Tibet walk barefoot would actually be going against the intentions of the teaching of the Dharma and Buddha.

Then we have the third Pitaka which are more a collection of the logical and analytical, thus philosophical teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha defined clearly what enlightenment was and what false enlightenment was. He analysed and classified various levels of Samadhis and the elements found in them. He also warned very clearly that there are false Samadhis which do not lead to the enlightenment that the Buddha meant.

He broke down and classified all the elements of the world (Sansar) and of the sentient beings, material, non-material and mental. He classified Vipassyana and Samatha and their levels. All such things were recorded in the Abhidharma. So in the Abhidharma, we also find a very fine and detailed classification of what is today called the Psi phenomena. So these are the Tripitaka which consists of the teachings of the Buddha, as handed down from generation to generation.

Various councils (Sanghayanas) were held at various periods of times to check and maintain the purity of the teachings, and to ensure no unnecessary false elements were allowed to enter the teachings. Thus even from the scholarly transmission point of view, the purity of the teachings were maintained as far as it is humanely possible. It can certainly be said that no major tenets of Buddhism were changed or distorted.

Thus the major tenets of Buddhism like the four Arya Satya; the 12 chains of interdependence (Dwadasha nidana); Samatha and Vipassyana; the classification of universe (Sansar) as the Pancha Skandha (aggregates); 12 doors (12 Ayatanas); the 18 Dhatus; the 3 doors of liberation; the 8 freedoms; the teachings on Shilas, Samadhi and Pragya collectively known as Tri Sikchhya; i.e. the three teachings, etc. are all to be found in all forms of Buddhism. (To be continued)

Issue 49: 14 - 20 January 2008

…There are endless such Lokadhatus beginning and ending at any one time.

No beginning, no end

Whatever differences there are, are in the finer interpretation of these things and not in the basic tenets themselves. No forms of Buddhism believe in a god who created the universe, no forms of Buddhism believe in an eternal soul or Atma. No forms of Buddhism believe in an unchanging entity that transmigrates from one life to another. No forms of Buddhism believe that karma is given to one by some super power/ energy/ deity and can be changed by the grace of such a power.

No forms of Buddhism believe that this universe, was created at a certain time but rather samsara is beginning less and endless. Actually this is intimately related to the principle that there is no creator – god. I use the word creator – god because nowadays many theistic systems have also been re-interpreted in a more mystical, experiential way by some of their supporters – especially those who practice meditation in one form or the other. But it must be said that such interpretation of god is not accepted by the mainstream theistic religious systems.

While it could be said a stray few in all religious system had always interpreted god in a more mystical sense, it must also be said that those who interpret god in this way were either considered heretics or in some cases even put to the sword. Although such an interpretation of god is a step towards the Buddhist concept of enlightenment, it must still be said all such mystical interpretation of god still falls short of the Buddhist enlightenment.

Even if god was considered more a mystical – experiential experience, this god would still be an eternally existing entity which is very far from the Buddhist enlightenment which is the experience of the emptiness of all entities/dharmas. It must be said clearly that this emptiness is not the same as the emptiness found in many Hindu texts like the Vigyana Bhairaba Tantra etc.

Within Buddhism there are infinite and beginning-less cycles of beginning and ending. We can only talk of a cycle beginning (created) but that is not the beginning of samsara/universe itself but the beginning of one small unit of samsara. One unit of samsara (may be a galaxy in modern term) called Lokadhatu begins and ends but there are endless such Lokadhatus beginning and ending at any one time.

And even these Lokadhatus are not created by any creator of a sort but appear and disappear based on various principles/laws called 'Niyaama' which includes karma – niyaams. When the power of the pull of the karmas of sentient beings and the other niyaams synchronise then a world – system (Lokadhatu) appears (rather than created) etc. These niyaamas are more like the principles of gravity etc. which no one created. (To be continued)

Issue 50: 21 - 27 January 2008

Everything arises through causes and conditions.

A Paradigm Shift

We do not need a being of any kind to create gravity. It is the law of nature that whenever there is some mass there is gravity. This is what Niyaam means in Buddhism. Everything arises through causes and conditions; and those causes and conditions themselves arise through other causes and conditions. Because of this there can be no beginning. Therefore there can be no creation 'in the beginning'. About this there are no two minds within any form of Buddhism. Any system that believes in a beginning (and thus a creator) cannot subscribe to the principle that all things arise from causes and conditions. And without that, that system of thought does not and cannot fall within the paradigm of Buddhism.

Many people get confused because many systems of meditation also use the word non–dual like Buddhism and thus come to the conclusion that the final point 'non – dual' is the same. But this is merely a confusion that arose due to the use of similar words. Actually the Sanskrit word used in Buddhism is Advaya while in monotheistic system, it is Advaita (Hinduism to be more specific); but when translated into English both are called non – dual. This is a complex topic we shall deal with later.

Let it be said that whereas most other religious systems are theistic (Taoism being the only exception). Buddhism is non-theistic. Here, non-theistic does not mean not believing in gods and goddesses and other realms of existence where they exist. That would be atheistic. Non-theistic here means, not believing in a single creator or any creator as such for that matter. In Sanskrit, we use the word Unishwarvadin. Iswhar meaning the creator – God. However, Buddhism is not 'Nastik'/non-believer as some misled or illiterate Hindus would like to believe.

Astik comes from the word 'Astha' which means belief. So Astik would mean 'believer' as opposed to 'Nastik' which would mean 'non believer'. While Buddhism does not accept the Vedas or any other scriptures and whatever comes within their paradigm, it does believe that man can be free from suffering and thus attain Mokchhya or Mukti. It does believe in karma and the cycle of existence, it does believe in other realms of existence; it does believe that man can attain enlightenment. Thus it is an 'Astik' system. In a sense, all systems believe their own tenets and thus are 'Astik'.

But Buddhism is a paradigm shift from all other theistic systems, be they monotheistic or polytheistic. With this background now let us take up what the Abhidharma has to say about the psi phenomena. . (To be continued)

Issue 51: 28 January - 3 February 2008

It is made possible by good karmas and a mind freed from lower mental impurities through practices of Samatha etc.

Attaining divine ears and eyes

In the Abhidharma we find the psychic power or psi phenomena divided into five categories. These are called Abhigyas which mean high knowledge or higher knowing or higher cognitions. Abhi means special/higher and Gya means knowing.

Firstly, the Riddhi-Siddhis: These are manifestations in the outside world and are different from the other Abhigyas. Riddhi-Siddhis imply controlling power over the subjective and the objective and it manifests by controlling both mind and matter, whereas the other four Abhigyas are related only with the subjective power of the mind. As this is a bigger topic we shall go into details of the Riddhi-Siddhis after we finish studying the other four Abhigyas first.

The second Abhigya (Abhiyya in Pali) is known as Dibya Srota Dhatu, i.e. divine ear element. It is said that with a concentrated mind applied to Dibya Srota Dhatu, the purified hearing which surpasses human hearing is attained. And one can hear sounds of humans or Devas, whether far or near. The ability to hear sounds far away beyond normal human range within the human world or to even hear the sounds and voices etc. of Devas in various Deva Lokas and Brahma Lokas is what is meant by the Abhigya Dibya Srota Dhatu.

This is the hearing capacity of the Devas that is why it is called Dibya Srota Dhatu. It is made possible by good karmas and a mind freed from lower mental impurities through practices of Samatha etc. With this pure and extended Dibya Srota, the Yogavachara is able to hear sounds whether produced on earth or in the various Deva realms of existence. There are various exercises given in various texts (Theravadin/Sarvastivadin/Mahayana) which are more or less the same, for the properly trained yogi with a pure mind to produce Dibya Srota if it does not appear spontaneously.

The third Abhigya is called Parachitta Vijanana. It means knowing the mind of others. Having attained the Abhigya the yogi can know whether the mind of other person is with passion/emotional defilements, or free from passion. He can know whether other person's mind is filled with hatred/anger or free from hatred; whether the person's mind is filled with Moha (delusion) or free from delusion; whether the other person has achieved the correct Samadhis (Samyak Samadhi) or Mithya Samadhis, concentrated or not concentrated, emancipated (Mukta) or not Mukta etc. It is not only telepathy or mind reading though it would automatically be included within it. But it is more about the capacity to know the state of mind of another person as the above explanation makes it clear.

This Abhigya cannot be gained by those who do not already have Dibya Srota Dhatu. This Abhigya can also be called Dibya Chakshu, i.e. divine eyes, or like the eyes of the Devas of various Devalokas. (To be continued)

Issue 52: 4 - 10 February 2008

With such an Abhigya a person can remember one’s past lives.

The Buddha, Tathagata, the Dasa Baladhari, the holder of ten powers

Again there are various exercises given in the various texts for the yogi who is ready. Ready here would mean a mind which is not tied by heavy Kleshas (though not free from the Kleshas completely), a mind which has attained high levels of Samadhis. Actually, as we have said before a mind that is heavily laden with emotional defilements (Kleshas) cannot possibly attain Samadhis (higher level of absorptions).

The possessor of this Abhigya becomes essentially somebody who can help others and he can do that better than a psychotherapist can. He would be able to diagnose a person's state more accurately. This was a special Abhigya of the Buddha, which enabled him to preach the dharma with great success and most beneficial results because he could see through the mental state of his audience.

It is one of the ten special powers of the Tathagata called the Dasa Bala. The Buddha – Tathagata was called the Dasa Baladhari – the holder of ten powers. All these ten or the special powers that only a Tathagata – Buddha can have. No yogis no matter how advanced can have all ten of them. We shall talk of this later. Parichitta vijanana is not limited only to knowing human mind – states but also the mind states of Devas and Brahmas.

The next Abhigya is called Purvanivas Anusmriti Gyana. As the words imply, Purva means former, Nivas means place of existence, Anusmriti means recollection or remembrance. With such an Abhigya a person can remember one’s past lives. How far he can remember depends on how advanced he is in Samadhi. He can even remember cycles of evolution of the universe of dissolutions, and evolution and dissolution again. He can remember that "In that one I had such a name, clan, caste and experience pleasure or pain and how I died. Having died, I was born here etc. etc.

There are six classes of men who may possess this Abhigya: i) Sramanas (ascetics) holding other views called Tirthikas in Buddhism. They specifically mean Hindus and Jain yogis. They are called Tirthikas because they believe that various Tirthas (pilgrimage spots) purifies ones’ sins (Kleshas) which is something the Buddha emphatically denied. ii) Sravakas who are the ordinary disciples of the Buddha. iii) Mahasravakas, the special disciples of the Buddha. iv) Agrasravakas who are the great disciples of the Buddha. Every Buddha has two great disciples. Sakyamuni's Agrasravakas were Mahamaudgalyayana and Sariputra. More will be said on the special capacities when the time comes. (To be continued)

Issue 53: 11 - 17 February 2008

The capacity of the Buddhas is unlimited.

Endless recollections

v) Pratyekabuddhas are more advanced than the Sravakas. They appear only when the teaching of the Buddha has been completely lost. But they are below the levels of a Samyak Sambuddha (the fully enlightened Buddha). As Sakyamuni's dispensation still exists strongly, there are no Pratyekabuddhas. vi) The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

The capacity to see far becomes more as we climb up from the Tirthikas to the Buddha. The Hindu and Jain yogis may be able to remember thousands of Kalpas but they have their limits as the mind is not completely free from emotional defilements. The Sravakas may be able to remember up to 80 thousand Kalpas, Agrasravakas etc. even more than that and even more for the Bodhisattvas but there are no limit to the capacity of the Buddhas.

We must remember that when the Buddha began his long journey to become a Buddha (three to four asankhya kalpas ago – one asankhya kalpa has 60 zeroes), he was already a powerful Rishi called Bhikchhu Sumedha who had all the siddhis – riddhis already. These siddhis – riddhis became refined through the kalpas of practice. So how can we now expect ordinary yogis to have the same power as the Buddha. Not even the Devas in any realm of existence can come anywhere near the Buddha.

There are special exercises in various texts to develop the power of purvanivas anusmriti, if the yogi is a fit vessel. It must be said that some of the Abhigyas can be achieved through drugs (ausadhi) and mantras too but the strength of such remembrance and the distance in past time will be far below those who have attained it through samadhis and also they will be less permanent in the case of drugs.

This is the proof of rebirth within Buddhism. The Buddha's past life has given by the Buddha himself is recorded in the Jatakas. The stories of the Jatakas seem to have influenced the making of similar genre of literature in almost all religious systems of the Indian subcontinents and further on. (To be continued)

Issue 54: 18 - 24 February 2008

With this knowledge one can realise… the operation of the law of karma..

Practical benefits

This kind of insight gained by remembering one’s own past lives or the past lives of others is a prominent feature of Buddhist literature. It is illustrated in the Jatakas and the life stories of Buddhist Arhats, Mahasiddhas and lineage masters. Memory of past life can also be achieved by other techniques, one of which is past life regression through hypnosis and the other is a technique called Jati smarana gyana. This is the technique of tracing events backwards.

One tries to trace back the events of the day then slowly extend it to two, three hundred days, one year, ten years, 20 years and back to birth and onwards to next life. This method can be used without attaining Samadhis. Certain individuals, generally children remember their past lives, but generally such remembrances are feeble and sometimes not fully accurate and also they tend to fade away.

Dr. Ian Stevenson (MD), the Head of the Department of Parapsychology of Virginia University has four huge volumes of records of such children from all over the world – from Alaska, Lebanon, Turkey to India, Sri Lanka etc. And as I said before these are well researched, scientifically shifted materials that cannot be denied easily as the research method applied by Dr. Ian Stevenson (MD) is impeccable.

The Purvanivasanusmriti gained by meditation has practical benefits in many ways. With this knowledge one can realise the truth of rebirth, the operation of the law of karma, the history of the macro cycles and micro cycles of evolution and involution of world systems. It is of the greatest help for cultivating Maitri (loving kindness), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (empathy) and Upekchhya (equanimity).

These are called the Chatur Brahma Viharas and are a very important meditational group within Buddhism – especially in Mahayana/Bodhisatwayana. This group of meditation has been copied wholesale in the Patanjala Sutra. According to the famous scholar Dr. S. N. Gupta the Patanjala Sutra is nothing but a rehashing of the Buddhist Astangika Marga. Today almost all Hindu meditation methods link themselves with the Patanjala Sutra.

Purvanivasanusmriti also helps a lot in gaining insight into phenomenal existence (Dharma) which is the main objective of Vipassyana because someone that can see all these can clearly see the changes of time, he can see nations arising and ceasing, civilisations arising and ceasing, world systems (Lokadhatus) and bigger world cycles (Trisaahasra mahasaahasra lokadhatus) arising and ceasing; just as a Vedanaanusmriti vipassyin can see his micro level Vedana arising and ceasing. And indeed that is what Vipassyana is all about. (To be continued)

Issue 55: 25 February - 2 March 2008

The Four Noble Truths which is the very foundation of Buddhism and its practice and in itself is the whole teaching of the Buddha in a nutshell.

Degrees of emancipation

Vipassyana is to see or gain insight into the fact that all Sanskrita Dharma (conditioned phenomena) are constantly changing and are therefore impermanent (Anitya/Anicca in Pali); and because they are Anitya they are Dukha (sorrowful or sorrow producing or better still unsatisfactory) and because they are impermanent and unsatisfactory (Anitya – Dukha) they are neither me nor mine (Anaatma – Anaatmiya).

We shall go into greater details about Vipassyana and the difference between Shamatha type meditation and Vipassyana type meditation, later when the time comes. But Purvanivasanusmriti also helps in the realisation of the Four Noble Truth (Chatwari Arya Satyani), which is the very foundation of Buddhism and its practice and in itself is the whole teaching of the Buddha in a nutshell.

The Four Noble Truths was the first teaching the Shasta (master/teacher) gave and it was in Sarnath to the five who had abandoned him in the middle of his endeavours because he started eating. When a person moving on the Sraavakayana path has his first glimpse of enlightenment, he experiences in his own mental streams the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths.

This is the first glimpse of enlightenments according to the Sraavakayana system like Theravada. If one properly practices the Vipassyana of the Theravada system, this is what he will experience. He will not experience the Atma – gyana of the Hindus or Jains nor god – realisation of some Hindus or Christians. An understanding of this is very crucial to the correct understanding of Buddhism.

This glimpse is technically called Srotapatti and the person is thence forth a Srotappanna. Srota means the stream, i.e. the stream that leads to final emancipation (Mukti/Mokchhya) and Apatti is falling into or entering. So it literally means entering into the stream that leads to or flows towards Arhathood which is the final emancipation (Mukti/Mokchhya).

However there are still two more stations or degrees of emancipation called Sakridaagaami and Anaagaami before Arhathood is attained. Sakridaagaami means once returner. The person will return once more to the human realm before he attains the Anaagaami or the higher Arhat stage. The Anaagaami is the non – returner. He will not come back to the human realm anymore but until he becomes an Arhat he may be reborn in the Deva or Brahma realms and go on to attain Arhathood. But if he attains Arhathood here he has no more birth. This becomes his last birth. (To be continued)

Issue 56: 3 - 9 March 2008

Buddhist enlightenment is the experience of the emptiness of all entities/dharmas.

Interpretation of God

Whatever differences there are, are in the finer interpretation of these things and not in the basic tenets themselves. No form of Buddhism believes in a God who created the universe, no forms of Buddhism believe in an eternal soul or Atma. No form of Buddhism believes in an unchanging entity that transmigrates from one life to another; or that karma is given to one by some super power/energy/deity and can be changed by the grace of such a power.

No form of Buddhism believes that this universe was created at a certain time. Samsara is beginning-less and endless. Actually this is intimately related to the principle that there is no creator – God. I use the word creator – God because nowadays many theistic systems have also been reinterpreted in a more mystical experiential way by some of their supporters, especially those who practice meditation in one form or the other. But it must be said that such interpretation of God is not accepted by the mainstream theistic religious systems.

While it could be said a stray few in all religious system had always interpreted God in a more mystical sense it must also be said that those who interpret God in this way were either considered heretics or in some cases even put to the sword. Although such an interpretation of God is a step towards the Buddhist concept of enlightenment, it must still be said all such mystical interpretation of God still falls short of the Buddhist enlightenment.

Even if God was considered more a mystical – experiential experience, this God would still be an eternally existing entity which is very far from the Buddhist enlightenment which is the experience of the emptiness of all entities/dharmas. It must be said clearly that this emptiness is not the same as the emptiness found in many Hindu texts like the Vigyana Bhairaba Tantra etc.

Within Buddhism there are infinite and beginning-less cycles of beginning and ending. We can only talk of a cycle beginning (created) but that is not the beginning of Samsara/universe itself but the beginning of one small unit of Samsara. One unit of Samsara (maybe a galaxy in modern term) called Lokadhatu begins and ends but there are endless such Lokadhatus beginning and ending at any one time.

And even these Lokadhatus are not created by any creator of a sort but appear and disappear based on various principles/laws called 'Niyaama' which includes karma – niyaams. When the power of the pull of the karmas of sentient beings and the other niyaams synchronise then a world system (Lokadhatu) appears (rather than created) etc. These Niyaams are more like the principles of gravity etc. which no one created. (To be continued)

Issue 57: 10 - 16 March 2008

Buddhism believes that man can be free from suffering and thus attain Mokchhya or Mukti.

Buddhism is not Nastik

We do not need a being of any kind to create gravity. It is the law of nature that whenever there is some mass there is gravity. This is what Niyaam means in Buddhism. Everything arises through causes and conditions; including those causes and conditions themselves arise through other causes and conditions. Because of this there can be no beginning. Therefore there can be no creation 'in the beginning'. About this there are no two minds within any form of Buddhism. Any system that believes in a beginning (and thus a creator) cannot subscribe to the principle that all things arise from causes and conditions. And without that, that system of thought does not and cannot fall within the paradigm of Buddhism.

Many people get confused because many systems of meditation also use the word non–dual like Buddhism and thus come to the conclusion that the final point 'non – dual' is the same. But this is merely a confusion that arose due to the use of similar words. Actually the Sanskrit words used in Buddhism is Advaya while in monotheistic system is Advaita (Hinduism to be more specific); but when translated into English both are called non – dual. This is a complex topic we shall deal with later.

Let it be said that whereas most other religious systems are theistic (Taoism being the only exception). Buddhism is non – theistic. Non – theistic does not mean here not believing in gods and goddesses and other realms of existence where they exist. That would be atheistic. Non – theistic here means, not believing in a single creator or any creator as such for that matter. In Sanskrit, we use the word Unishwarvadin. Iswhar meaning the creator, God.

However, Buddhism is not 'Nastik'/non-believer as some mislead and unread Hindus would like to believe. Astik comes from the word 'Astha' which means belief. So Astik would mean 'believer' as opposed to 'Nastik' which would mean 'non – believer'. While Buddhism does not accept the Vedas or any other scriptures and whatever comes within their paradigm, it does believe that man can be free from suffering and thus attain Mokchhya or Mukti. It does believe in karma and the cycle of existence, it does believe in other realms of existence; it does believe that man can attain enlightenment. Thus it is an 'Astik' system. In a sense, all systems believe in their own tenets and thus are 'Astik'.

Issue 58: 17 - 23 March 2008

Higher knowing

1. The Riddhi-siddhis: These are manifestations in the outside world and are different from the other Abhigyas. Siddhi-riddhis imply controlling power over the subjective and the objective and it manifests by controlling both mind and matter, whereas the other four Abhigyas are related only with the subjective power of the mind. As this is a bigger topic we shall go into details of the riddhi-siddhis after we finish writing on the other four Abhigyas first.

2. The second Abhigya (Abhiyya in Pali) is known as Dibya Srota dhatu, i.e. divine ear element. It is said that with a concentrated mind applied to Dibya Srota dhatu, the purified hearing, which surpasses human hearing, is attained. He can hear sounds of both humans and Devas whether far or near. The ability to hear sounds far away beyond normal human range within the human world or to even hear the sounds and voices etc. of Devas in various Deva Lokas and Brahma Lokas is what is meant by the Abhigya dibya srota dhatu.

This is the hearing capacity of the Devas that is why it is called Dibya srota dhatu. It is made possible by good karmas and a mind freed from lower mental impurities through practices of Samatha etc. With this pure and extended Dibya srota, the Yogavachara is able to hear sounds whether produced on earth or in the various Deva realms of existence. There are various exercises given in various texts (Theravadin/Sarvastivadin/Mahayana) which are more or less the same, for the properly trained yogi with a pure mind to produce Dibya srota if it does not appear spontaneously.

The third Abhigya is called Parachitta vijanana. It means knowing the mind of others. Having attained the Abhigya the yogi can know whether the mind of other person is with passion – emotional defilements or free from passion – emotional defilements. He can know whether other person's mind is filled with hatred – anger or free from hatred – anger, whether the person's mind is filled with Moha (delusion) or free from delusion, whether the other person has achieved the correct Samadhis (samyak samadhi) or Mithya samadhis, concentrated or not concentrated, emancipated (Mukta) or not Mukta etc.

It is not only telepathy or mind reading though it would automatically included within it. But it is more the capacity to know the state of mind of another person as the above explanation makes it clear. (To be continued)

Issue 59: 24 - 30 March 2008

No yogis no matter how advanced can have all ten of them.

The Buddha – the holder of ten powers

This Abhigya cannot be gained by those who do not already have Dibya srota dhatu. This Abhigya can also be called Dibya chakshu, i.e. divine eyes, or like the eyes of the Devas of various Devalokas.

The possessor of this Abhigya becomes essentially somebody who can help others and he can do that better than a psychotherapist. He would be able to diagnose a person's state more accurately. This was a special Abhigya of the Buddha, which enabled him to preach the dharma with great success and get most beneficial results because he could see through the mental state of his audience. It is one of the ten special powers of the Tathagata called the Dasa bala.

The Buddha – Tathagata was called the Dasa baladhari – the holder of ten powers. All these ten are special powers that only a Tathagata – Buddha can have. No yogis no matter how advanced can have all ten of them. We shall talk of this later. Parichitta vijanana is not limited only to knowing human mind states but also the mind states of Devas and Brahmas.

The next Abhigya is called Purvanivas anusmriti gyana. As the words imply, Purva means former, Nivas means place of existence, Anusmriti means recollection or remembrance. With such an Abhigya the person can remember the past lives of oneself. How far he can remember depends on how advanced he is in Samadhi. He can even remember cycles of evolution of the universe of dissolutions, and evolution and dissolution again. He can remember that, "In that one I had such a name, clan, caste and experience pleasure or pain and how I died. Having died, I was born here,” etc.

There are six classes of men who may possess this Abhigya: i) Sramanas (ascetics) holding other views called Tirthikas in Buddhism. They specifically mean Hindus and Jain yogis. They are called Tirthikas because they believe that various Tirthas (pilgrimage spots) purified ones sins (Kleshas) which is something the Buddha emphatically denied. ii) Sravakas who are the ordinary disciples of the Buddha. iii) Mahasravakas, the special disciples of the Buddha. iv) Agrasravakas who are the great disciples of the Buddha.

Every Buddha has two great disciples. Sakyamuni's Agrasravakas were Mahamaudgalyayana and Sariputra. More will be said on the special capacities when the time comes. v) Pratyekabuddhas are more advanced than the Sravakas. They appear only when the teaching of the Buddha has been completely lost. But they are below the levels of a Samyak Sambuddha (the fully enlightened Buddha). As Sakyamuni's dispensation still exists strongly, there are no Pratyekabuddhas. vi) The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. (To be continued)

Issue 60: 31 March - 6 April 2008

Limitless capacity

We must remember that when the Buddha began his long journey to become a Buddha (3 – 4 Asankhya kalpas ago – one asankhya kalpa has 60 zeroes), he was already a powerful Rishi called Bhikchhu Sumedha who had all the siddhis – riddhis already. These siddhis – riddhis became refined through the kalpas of practice. So how can we expect ordinary yogis to have the same power as the Buddha? Not even the Devas in any realm of existence can come anywhere near the Buddha. Again there are special exercises in the various texts to develop the power of Purvanivas anusmriti, if the yogi is a fit vessel.

It must be said that some of the Abhigyas can be achieved through drugs (ausadhi) and mantras too but the strength of such remembrance and the distance in past time will be far below those who have attained it through samadhis and also they will be less permanent in the case of drugs.

This is the proof of rebirth within Buddhism. The Buddha’s past life as given by the Buddha himself is recorded in the Jatakas. The stories of the Jatakas seem to have influenced the making of similar genre of literature in almost all religious systems of the Indian subcontinents and further on.

This kind of insight gained by remembering ones own past lives or the past lives of others is a prominent feature of Buddhist literature. It is illustrated as I said in the Jatakas and the life stories of the Buddhist Arhats, Mahasiddhas and lineage masters. Memory of past life can also be achieved by other techniques, one of which is past life regression through hypnosis and the other is a technique called Jati smarana gyana. This is the technique of tracing events backwards. One tries to trace back the events of the day and then slowly extend it to two, three hundred days, one year, ten years, 20 years and back to birth and onwards to next life. This method can be used without attaining samadhis.

Certain individuals, generally children remember their past lives, but generally such remembrances are feeble and sometimes not fully accurate and they also tend to fade away. Dr. Ian Stevenson (MD), the Head of the Department of Parapsychology of Virginia University has four huge volumes of records of such children from all over the world – from Alaska to Lebanon to Turkey to India, Sri Lanka etc. etc. And as I said before these are well researched, scientifically shifted materials that cannot be denied easily, as the research method applied by Dr. Ian Stevenson (MD) is impeccable.

Issue 61: 7 - 13 April 2008

The Purvanivas-anusmriti gained by meditation has practical benefits in many ways. With this knowledge one can realise the truth of rebirth, the operation of the law of karma, the history of the macro cycles and micro cycles of evolution and involution of world systems. It is of the greatest help for cultivating Maitri (loving kindness), Karuna (compassion), Mudita (empathy) and Upekchhya (equanimity). These are called the Chatur Brahma Viharas and are a very important meditational group within Buddhism – especially in Mahayana/Bodhisatwayana.

This group of meditation has been copied wholesale in the Patanjal Sutra. According to the famous scholar Dr. SN Gupta the Patanjal Sutra is nothing but a rehashing of the Buddhist Astangika Marga. Today almost all Hindu meditation methods link themselves with the Patanjala Sutra.

Purvanivas-anusmriti also helps a lot in gaining insight into phenomenal existence (Dharma) which is the main objective of Vipassyana because someone who can see all these can clearly see the changes of time, see nations arising and ceasing, civilisations arising and ceasing, world systems (Lokadhatus) and bigger world cycles (Trisaahasra mahasaahasra lokadhatus) arising and ceasing; just as a Vedanaanusmriti vipassyin can see his micro level Vedana arising and ceasing. And indeed that is what Vipassyana is all about.

Vipassyana is to see or gain insight into the fact that all Sanskrita Dharma (conditioned phenomena) are constantly changing and are therefore impermanent (Anitya/Anicca in Pali); and because they are Anitya, they are Dukha (sorrowful or sorrow producing or better still unsatisfactory) and because they are impermanent and unsatisfactory (Anitya – Dukha) they are neither me nor mine (Anaatma – Anaatmiya).

Kaya (the body), Vedana (the feeling sensation), Chitta (the mental continuum) and the Chaitta – dharma which are the four used in the Smrityupasthaan Sutra as Alambana (objects of meditation to gain insight (Vipassyana) into the way phenomena (dharmas) exist). It is only such an insight that can liberate and no other methods of meditation can liberate. We shall go into greater details about Vipassyana and the difference between Shamatha type meditation and Vipassyana type meditation, later when the time comes.

Purvanivas-anusmriti also helps in the realisation of the Four Noble Truth (Chatwari Arya Satyani), which is the very foundation of Buddhism and its practice and in itself is the whole teaching of the Buddha in a nutshell.

Issue 62: 14 -20 April 2008

In the Mahayana path, the first glimpse of enlightenment is attained when the person has a direct non-conceptual experiential glimpse of emptiness (Sunyata).

Glimpse of enlightenment

The four noble truths was the first teaching the Shasta (master/ teacher) gave and it was in Sarnath to the five, who had abandoned him in the middle of his endeavours because he started eating. When a person moving on the Sraavakayana path has his first glimpse of enlightenment, he experiences in his own mental streams, the 16 aspects of the four noble truths. This is the first glimpse of enlightenment according to the Sraavakayana system like Theravada.

If one properly practices the Vipassyana of the Theravada system, this is what he will experience. He will not experience the Atma – Gyana of the Hindus or Jains nor God realisation of some Hindus or Christians. An understanding of this is very crucial to the correct understanding of Buddhism. This glimpse is technically called Srotapatti and the person is thence forth a Srotappanna. Srota means the stream, i.e. the stream that leads to final emancipation (Mukti/Mokchhya) and Apatti is falling into or entering. So it literally means entering into the stream that leads to or flows towards Arhathood which is the final emancipation (Mukti/Mokchhya).

However there are still two more stations or degrees of emancipation called Sakridaagaami and Anaagaami before Arhathood is attained. Sakridaagaami means once returner. The person will return once more to the human realm before he attains to the Anaagaami or the higher Arhat stage. The Anaagaami is the non returner. He will not come back to the human realm anymore but until he becomes an Arhat he may be reborn in the Deva or Brahma realms and go on to attain Arhathood. But if he attains Arhathood here he has no more birth. This becomes his last birth.

The steps, the realisation and the final emancipation according to Sraavakayana are totally different from any other non-Buddhist systems as can be seen from the above explanation. But this is only the result of the Sraavakayana path. The Bodhisatwayana/Mahayana path again is a little different from the above, if not totally different.

In the Mahayana path, the first glimpse of enlightenment is attained when the person has a direct non-conceptual experiential glimpse of emptiness (Sunyata). As you can see this cannot really be equal to the realisation of the Atma as some Hindu Saints/Yogis/Paramhamsa have tried to posit in the past. Sunyata is a synonym for Anatma but there are two levels of Anatma. One is the gross Anatma (no-self) which is the negation of I and me. But Sunyata is the subtle Anatma and therefore not only merely the negation of I and me but also the negation of real existence, inherent existence, true existence of all dharmas including the fabricated self or Atma. (To be continued)

Issue 63: 21 -27 April 2008

Samyag Dristi

In the Buddhist experience, the experience of an Atma is sheer fabrication and thus it leads to bondage. This non – conceptual experience of Sunyata is called the first Bhumi when the Bodhisatwa has his/her first glimpse of emptiness (Sunyata) non – conceptually. Then there are ten such Bhumis (stages or steps) before the Bodhisatwa becomes a Buddha. Through such a knowledge the practitioners gain insight (Vipassyana) into the reality of impermanence (Anitya), suffering (Dukha) and non – ego (Anatma) and non – substantial existence (Sunyata).

Then the fifth Abhigya is known as Chyuti-utpaada gyana. This is the knowledge of the passing away and the rebirth of sentient beings. This is also called Dibya Chakchhu gyana. This is a little different from the above Abhigya. The above was more about seeing the past, while this one is related more to seeing the future. In the Digha Nikaya of the Theravadins and the Dirgha Agama of the Sarvastivadins, the Buddha says, “With his mind thus concentrated …… he applies and directs his mind/thought to the knowledge of the passing away and rebirth of the sentient beings. With his Dibya Chakchhu which is purified and surpassing human sight, he sees sentient beings passing away and being reborn again, low or high, good or bad appearance, in happy or miserable existence, according to their karma.

He fully realises that those sentient beings who are given to evil conduct in deeds, speech and thoughts, who are revilers of the noble ones (Aryas = Arhats, Bodhisatwas etc.) who are of false views (Mithya dristi, i.e. wrong views) acquire the karma of their false views. Correct view is very important as karma, that is, one’s actions depend heavily on one’s views. For example, if a person is of the view that killing goats to various deities is good for the goat and for him/herself, s/he will definitely sacrifice goats to various Devi – devatas. If s/he is of the view that killing other sentient beings is a heavy bad karma no matter for whom it is done, s/he will not sacrifice animals to any deity.

That is why Samyag dristi (correct view) is very important in Buddhism. Those beings with wrong views after the dissolution of their bodies after death have been reborn in Durgati (lower realms) in hell. But those sentient beings who are given to doing good karmas in words, deeds and thoughts, who do not revile the Aryas (noble ones), who have Samyag dristi and who acquire the karma of their right views, at the dissolution of the body after death have been reborn in a happy existence (Sugati) in the world of the Deva lokas (heavens).

Because this is similar to the sight of the Devas (gods) it is called Dibya Chakchhu and it is very useful to gain Samyag dristi as the person can see for him/herself how those who have lived a life of bad karmas based on wrong views fall into lower realms, and those who have lived good lives with good karma based on Samyag dristi, attain the higher realms. Again, the various texts prescribe various exercises to attain this psychic power. (To be continued)