Death’s snare can be broken by tamed mind

The Story of Monk Sangharakkhita

weragoda sarada maha thero

Durangamamekacaram
asariramguhasayam
ye cittamsannamessanti
mokkhantiMarabandhana.

Drifting far, straying all alone, formless, recumbent in a cave. They will be free from Mara’s bonds who do restrain this mind.

While residing at the Jetavana Monastery, the Buddha spoke this verse, with reference to the nephew of the monk Sangharakkhita.

Once there lived in Savatthi a senior monk by the name of Sangharakkhita. When his sister gave birth to a son, she named the child after the monk and he came to be known as SangharakkhitaBhagineyya. The nephew Sangharakkhita, in due course, was admitted into the Sangha. While the young monk was staying in a village monastery he was offered two sets of robes, and he intended to offer one to his uncle, monk Sangharakkhita. At the end of the rainy season he went to his uncle to pay respect to him and offered the robe to the monk. But, the uncle declined to accept the robe, saying that he had enough. Althoughhe repeated his request, the monk would not accept it. The young monk felt disheartened and thought that since his uncle was so unwilling to share the requisites with him, it would be better for him to leave the Sangha and live the life of a layman.

From that point, his mind wandered and a train of thoughts followed. He thought that after leaving the Sangha he would sell the robe and buy a she-goat; that the she-goat would breed quickly and soon he would make enough money to enable him to marry; his wife would give birth to a son. He would take his wife and child in a small cart to visit his uncle at the monastery. On the way, he would say that he would carry the child; she would tell him to drive the cart and not to bother about the child. He would insist and grab the child from her; between them the child would fell on the cart-track and the wheel would pass over the child. He would get so furious with his wife that he would strike her with the goading-stick.

At that time he was fanning the monk with a palmyrah fan and he absent-mindedly struck the head of the monk with the fan. The monk, knowing the thoughts of the young monk, said, “You were unable to beat your wife; why have you beaten an old monk?” Young Sangharakkita was very much surprised and embarrassed at the words of the old monk; he also became extremely frightened. So he fled. Young monks and novices of the monastery chased after him, caught him, and finally brought him to the presence of the Buddha.

When told about the experience, the Buddha said that the mind has the ability to think of an object even though it might be far away, and that one should strive hard for liberation from the bondage of passion, ill will and ignorance. After the Buddha recited the stanza near the end of the discourse, the young monk attained sotapatti fruition.

The mind is capable of travelling vast distances up or down, north or south, east or west – in any direction. It can travel to the past or to the future. It roams about all alone. It was without any perceptible forms. If an individual were to restrain the mind fully, he will achieve freedom from the bonds of death.