unreal and are fascinated by mere appearances.
The Buddha says: “I do not value life for a moment.” He
is speaking through knowledge, through what he had
really seen. Whosoever that realises this self-evident
truth that life is Dukkha turns away from life in
disgust; gets an aversion for existence; understands its
misery, its voidness and insubstantiality. This
knowledge of life as it really is, pulsates his entire
personality with the Will for Deliverance from this
sorrow-fraught process of being born,
of ageing and of dying.
“In this very one-fathom long body, along with its
perceptions and thoughts, I proclaim to the world, the
origin of the world, the cessation of the world, and the
Path leading to the cessation of the world.”
- Rohitassa Sutta-Samyutta Nikaya
It was Vesak Full Moon eve, on the bank of the river
Neranjana, an ascetic was seen wending his way with
measured steps to this pleasant spot. Who could this
ascetic be? He was Siddhattha Gotama the Buddha-to-be.
Having come to the foot of a pipal tree, which
thenceforward came to be called the Bodhi Tree, the
ascetic spread out on the ground a handful of kusa
leaves in the likeness of a circular carpet, and sat on
it with legs crossed, uttering these words pregnant with
the fire of determination: “In this very seat let my
sinews and bones waste away, let all the blood and flesh
in my body dry up, but never from this seat will I stir
until I have attained Supreme Buddhahood.”
The ascetic Siddhattha sat through the night developing
his mind (bhavana), and detached from sensual objects
and unwholesome things, he gained the four Absorptions (jhanas)
leading to mental tranquillity. He developed his mind
further and gained Insight-Wisdom. He employed the
powerful energy of this extra-sensory Wisdom to
penetrate this one-fathom long body. In doing so he
analysed this fathom-long body into aggregates,
sense-bases, elements and atoms. Thereafter, he examined
each of these components, we may say, `microscopically’,
and found that each of them was a flux of efficient
energy, of arising and passing away from moment to
moment, and nothing remaining constant even for a
moment. This thorough and comprehensive analysis of this
one-fathom long body revealed to him the evanascent and
insubstantial nature of phenomenal existence as it
really is - Dukkha. Creator of Dukkha
The ascetic Siddhattha did not stop with this stupendous
discovery. With thoughts tranquillised, stabilised and
purified, he directed his mind to discover the creator
of Dukkha. The time was when Venus sent forth her virgin
rays through the rustling leaves of the pipal tree,
dispelling the darkness of the physical world.
Simultaneously, light arose in his mind (aloko udapadi)
dispelling the darkness (avijja) that veiled his mind
from immeasurable lengths of time. Then the ascetic
Siddhattha arose, his entire personality radiant with
this luminous light (bodhi) - a personally that had
become identified with the Truth he discovered - arose
as the Supremely Enlightened One. Then in the hearing of
gods and men he expressed his great joy over the
conquest he had made for all, joy over the unshakable
deliverance of his mind, in these words for all Times
and Worlds:
Below is a translation of these two gathas by the
Venerable Narada Maha Thera taken from his book. The
Buddha-Dhamma (new edition):
“Thro’ many a birth in existence wandered I,
Seeking, but not finding, the builder of this house.
Sorrowful is repeated birth.
O householder, thou art seen. Thou shalt build no house
again.
All thy rafters are broken. Thy ridge-pole is shattered.
Mind attains the Unconditioned.
Achieved is the end of Craving.”
Thus did the Buddha by penetrative Wisdom directed on
this one-fathom long body discovered by his own
relentless efforts, unaided and unguided by any external
agency, human or divine, the Four Noble Truths. It was
the self-realisation of the Four Noble Truths which made
him ipso facto attain the Unconditioned, the End of
Craving. It should be noted here that none of us can
hope to achieve the End of Craving, which is Nibbana,
without realising each one for himself the Four Noble
Truths.
In our quotation from the Rohitassa Suttas the word
`world’ is used by the Buddha to mean Dukkha. This
one-fathom long body is being worn away (lujjati); is
being broken. Therefore, it is Dukkha. These very
important events in this one-fathom body which occur
uninterrupted from moment to moment, and which are not
visible to the untrained eye gives us a false picture of
life. We take delight in the unreal and are fascinated
by mere appearances. The Buddha says: “I do not value
life for a moment.” He is speaking through knowledge,
through what he had really seen. Whosoever that realises
this self-evident truth that life is Dukkha turns away
from life in disgust; gets an aversion for existence;
understands its misery, its voidness and
insubstantiality. This knowledge of life as it really
is, pulsates his entire personality with the Will for
Deliverance from this sorrow-fraught process of being
born, of ageing and of dying.
The Dukkha contemplated in the word `world’ is not the
Dukkha that we feel. While religion says that there is
suffering in life the Buddha-Dhamma alone states that
life is Dukkha. Wherever life manifests itself, be it in
the highest Brahma realm or in the lowest hell, life is
Dukkha. Dukkha is inherent in life. The Dukkha of the
present life is merely a repeat performance of the
Dukkha of our past lives, and the present Dukkha will be
continued in lives yet to come. It is because of
ignorance that we cling convulsively to life at the
moment of death. The fivefold Group of Clinging which we
let go at the moment of death is repeated immediately in
a new birth either here or elsewhere. Wherefore says the
Buddha: “In short the fivefold Group of Clinging is
Dukkha.” (samkhittena pancupadanak khanda dukkha).
There are three forces ever present in the worldling.
The first force is the Ego or the Self, the most
wonderful fata morgana in nature. The second is craving,
the most powerful force in the cosmos. The Ego is
attracted towards the more powerful force Craving. The
third force is Grasping, like the leech it lets go to
grasp firmly at another object. Grasping or Clinging is
Craving in its intensified form. Through grasping
results kamma formations or life-affirming volitions,
which conditions fresh rebirth. Thus, the worldling a
combination of self plus craving plus grasping, plays,
his part of the world’s stage - may be a greater role or
a lesser role - according to the content, degree and
strength of these dynamic forces residing in him, till
death takes him away, which may occur suddenly or at the
expiration of his Karmmic energy.
අව
අටවක
අමාවක
පුර අටවක
පසෙලාස්වක