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Silavant Sutta: Virtuous

2009novice
8 May 13, 21:34

SN 22.122
PTS: S iii 167

CDB i 970

Silavant Sutta: Virtuous

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

© 1998–2013

On one occasion Ven. Sariputta & Ven. Maha Kotthita were staying near Varanasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana. Then Ven. Maha Kotthita, emerging from seclusion in the late afternoon, went to Ven. Sariputta and, on arrival, exchanged courteous greetings with him. After an exchange of friendly greetings & courtesies, he sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he said to Ven. Sariputta, "Sariputta my friend, which things should a virtuous monk attend to in an appropriate way?"

"A virtuous monk, Kotthita my friend, should attend in an appropriate way to the five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. Which five? Form as a clinging-aggregate, feeling... perception... fabrications... consciousness as a clinging-aggregate. A virtuous monk should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. For it is possible that a virtuous monk, attending in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant... not-self, would realize the fruit of stream-entry."

"Then which things should a monk who has attained stream-entry attend to in an appropriate way?"

"A monk who has attained stream-entry should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. For it is possible that a monk who has attained stream-entry, attending in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant... not-self, would realize the fruit of once-returning."

"Then which things should a monk who has attained once-returning attend to in an appropriate way?"

"A monk who has attained once-returning should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. For it is possible that a monk who has attained once-returning, attending in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant... not-self, would realize the fruit of non-returning."

"Then which things should a monk who has attained non-returning attend to in an appropriate way?"

"A monk who has attained non-returning should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. For it is possible that a monk who has attained non-returning, attending in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant... not-self, would realize the fruit of arahantship."

"Then which things should an arahant attend to in an appropriate way?"

"An arahant should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self. Although, for an arahant, there is nothing further to do, and nothing to add to what has been done, still these things — when developed & pursued — lead both to a pleasant abiding in the here-&-now and to mindfulness & alertness."

"Silavant Sutta: Virtuous" (SN 22.122), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight, 29 June 2010, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.122.than.html . Retrieved on 8 May 2013.
2009novice
8 May 13, 21:37

A short question....

Does an arahant continues to experience feelings, perception like us...?

(Just that they have no clingings only)
An Eternal Now
9 May 13, 00:27
http://sgforums.com/forums/1728/topics/463722

Posts from my facebook group 'dharma connection'.

What is Nirvana?

The Buddha described two elements of Nibbana. The Nibbana element with residue remaining is the destruction of lust, hatred, and delusion attained by a Noble One (arahant), with the residue itself being a reference to "his five sense faculties remain unimpaired, by which he still experiences what is agreeable and disagreeable and feels pleasure and plain". The Nibbana element without residue remaining is that which “all that is felt, not being delighted, will become cool right here” (Iti 44). The common interpretation is that the first Nibbana element is attained when the Arahant/Noble One is still alive, and the latter comes in the passing away of the Noble One.

For a long time I thought along this line, but as Geoff mentions, there is an alternative interpretation:

Geoff:

To paraphrase Ven. ÑÄ�á¹‡ananda, it's not that an arahant gets half of nibbÄ�na upon awakening, and the other half when s/he dies. Upon awakening they have already "gone out," they are "cool," and they have reached "the end." Even parinibbÄ�na can be used to refer to a living arahant.

The dhamma isn't about some sort of thanatos desire to attain completion in the grave. It's about realizing "the end" here and now.

Geoff:

http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6382&start=320

"retrofuturist wrote:some idea as to how consciousness might "function" ... i.e. without sankhara as its foundation"

I think that there are numerous sutta references to the awakened mind which explain what is not the foundation of an arahant's experience. Firstly, by way of training: The seen is merely the seen (diá¹á¹hamatta). The heard is merely the heard (sutamatta). The sensed is merely the sensed (mutamatta). The known is merely the known (viññÄ�tamatta). Ud 1.10 BÄ�hiya Sutta:

"‘The seen will be merely the seen, the heard will be merely the heard, the sensed will be merely the sensed, the known will be merely the known.’ This is how you should train, BÄ�hiya.

When, BÄ�hiya, for you the seen will be merely the seen, the heard will be merely the heard, the sensed will be merely the sensed, the known will be merely the known, then BÄ�hiya, you will not be that. When, BÄ�hiya, you are not that, then BÄ�hiya, you will not be there. When, BÄ�hiya, you are not there, then BÄ�hiya, you will be neither here nor beyond nor between-the-two. Just this is the end of unsatisfactoriness."

Secondly, the absence of specific fabrication (abhisaá¹…kharoti) or volitional intention (abhisañcetayati) towards either existence or non-existence. MN 140 DhÄ�tuvibhaá¹…ga Sutta:

"One does not form any specific fabrication or volitional intention towards either existence or non-existence. Not forming any specific fabrication or volitional intention towards either existence or non-existence, he does not cling to anything in this world. Not clinging, he is not excited. Unexcited, he personally attains complete nibbÄ�na. He discerns that, ‘Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, done is what had to be done, there is nothing further here.’"

Cf. Ven. ÑÄ�á¹‡ananda, NibbÄ�na Sermon 04:

"What is called the cessation of consciousness has a deeper sense here. It means the cessation of the specifically prepared consciousness, abhisaá¹…khata viññÄ�á¹‡a. An arahant's experience of the cessation of consciousness is at the same time the experience of the cessation of name-and-form."

And NibbÄ�na Sermon 06:

"The more one sees preparations (saá¹…khÄ�ras) as preparations, ignorance is dispelled, and the more one dispels ignorance, the preparations lose their significance as preparations. Then one sees the nature of preparations with wisdom as signless, desireless, and void. So much so that, in effect, preparations cease to be preparations.... The relation of saá¹…khÄ�ras to ignorance is somewhat similar to the relation a drama has to its back-stage preparations. It seems, then, that from the standpoint of Dhamma the entire saá¹ƒsÄ�ra is a product of specifically prepared intentions, even like the drama with its back-stage preparations...."

The phrase saá¹…khataá¹ƒ paá¹iccasamuppannaá¹ƒ (e.g. M III 299), 'prepared and dependently arisen', suggests that the prepared nature is also due to that contact. What may be called abhisaá¹…khata viññÄ�á¹‡a (S III 58), 'specifically prepared consciousness', is that sort of consciousness which gets attached to name-and-form. When one sees a film show, one interprets a scene appearing on the screen according to one's likes and dislikes. It becomes a thing of experience for him. Similarly, by imagining a self in name-and-form, consciousness gets attached to it. It is such a consciousness, which is established on name-and-form, that can be called abhisaá¹…khata viññÄ�á¹‡a. Then could there be also a consciousness which does not reflect a name-and-form? Yes, there could be. That is what is known as anidassana viññÄ�á¹‡a, or 'non-manifestative consciousness'.

And thirdly, consciousness which is unestablished (appatiá¹á¹ha viññÄ�á¹‡a). SN 22.53 Upaya Sutta:

"When that consciousness is unestablished, not increasing, not concocting, it is liberated. Being liberated, it is steady. Being steady, it is content. Being content, he is not excited. Unexcited, he personally attains complete nibbÄ�na. He discerns that, ‘Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, done is what had to be done, there is nothing further here.’"

As for the qualm that this last passage refers to the death of an arahant, the phrase: "Unexcited, he personally attains complete nibbÄ�na. He discerns that, 'Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, done is what had to be done, there is nothing further here,'" is the standard paricope referring to the time of awakening, i.e. a statement of the attainment of arahant fruition (e.g. DN 15, MN 105, etc.), and not the time of death of an arahant.

The above passages referring to the cognition of an arahant are succinctly presented in AN 4.24 KÄ�á¸·akÄ�rÄ�ma Sutta:

"Thus, monks, the TathÄ�gata does not conceive an [object] seen when seeing what is to be seen. He does not conceive an unseen. He does not conceive a to-be-seen. He does not conceive a seer.

He does not conceive an [object] heard when hearing what is to be heard. He does not conceive an unheard. He does not conceive a to-be-heard. He does not conceive a hearer.

He does not conceive an [object] sensed when sensing what is to be sensed. He does not conceive an unsensed. He does not conceive a to-be-sensed. He does not conceive a senser.

He does not conceive an [object] known when knowing what is to be known. He does not conceive an unknown. He does not conceive a to-be-known. He does not conceive a knower."

Ven. ÑÄ�á¹‡ananda considered the KÄ�á¸·akÄ�rÄ�ma Sutta important enough to write a text on it.

All the best,

Geoff
01 Jan `13, 11:47PM

In the Bahiya Sutta, the Buddha said, "Where water, earth, fire, & wind have no footing: There the stars don't shine, the sun isn't visible. There the moon doesn't appear. There darkness is not found. And when a sage, a brahman through sagacity, has realized [this] for himself, then from form & formless, from bliss & pain, he is freed."

Some people mistaken that to imply the 'afterlife state' of an arahant as being devoid of anything whatsoever.

Venerable Nanananda explains however, that what it actually means is this: the luminosity of mind, of wisdom, in 'non-manifestative consciousness' which is 'lustrous on all sides' far outshines the sun (and the sun's lustre already outshines the moon and the stars, that's why we don't see the moon or stars in a sunny afternoon).

He also made clear that the cessation of the six sense bases/name and form doesn't mean that we don't see anything, but that we "see its voidness" as "an insight", we realized "void is the world", that which "worldlings grasp as real and truly existing gets penetrated through wisdom and becomes nonmanifest".

I'm reminded of my friend Simpo who once wrote an article long ago in http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.sg/2007/03/how-is-non-duality-like.html - "in the deeper range of non duality, brightness becomes stronger. This brightness is the result of mind's deconstruction which allows for intense penetration into consciousness. The Brightness can be so intense that it is truly stunning."

Anyway, very good explanation of Bahiya Sutta by Ven Nanananda in http://www.beyondthenet.net/calm/nibbana15.htm and http://www.beyondthenet.net/calm/nibbana16.htm

I must say, my understanding of certain more difficult points of the Pali Suttas have been 'revised' by reading this venerable's works which I think is great. Not very easy reading but enlightening.

Pegembara

9 May 13, 15:59

The Buddha preached the Gospel of Immortality to

the world for forty long years. The mortal body, which was

depersonalized by the Bodhisatta, in the process of waking up

to Buddhahood, was visible to the public, as the body of the

Buddha, and the public identified the Buddha with it. Though

this body was not Buddha strictly, the Buddha appeared to the

world, through this body, and preached the Gospel. When this

mortal body died, however, no one could identify the Buddha

as before. The Buddha seemed to disappear from the world,

when this so called body of the Buddha died, even though the

Buddha was still visible to one who saw the Dhamma.

This apparent disappearance of the Buddha is called,

Parinirvana, meaning “Complete Nirvana,” by Theravada

Buddhists today. This term, however, is misleading because

it implies that the “Nirvana” that the Bodhisatta achieved at

the time of “waking” was incomplete. A more meaningful term

is “Anupadisesa Nirvana,” which means, Nirvana without the

depersonalized remains. In contrast, the Nirvana at the time

of “waking” is called “Sopadisesa Nirvana,” which means,

Nirvana with the depersonalized remains. This usage of terms

is preferable to the use of the term Parinirvana as “Complete

Nirvana.”

Even this usage of terms Sopadisesa and Anupadisesa is

strictly speaking incorrect because in the Itivuttaka the Buddha

points out that these terms mean something else. According

to this Sutta the Sopadisesa and Anupadisesa are experiences

to be realized here and now, instead of one being something

to be experienced in this life and the other to be experienced

after death. Sopadisesa is the experience of the Arahat in the

normal life, for example, when going on pindapata or when

communicating with others. Anupadisesa is the experience of

the Arahat when experiencing Nirodha Samapatti.

http://www.nisalaarana.lk/The%20Philosophy%20Of%20Vesak.pdf