CHAPTER 39
THE STATE OF AN ARAHANT
"Though little he recites the Sacred Texts, but
acts in accordance with the teaching, forsaking lust, hatred and
ignorance, truly knowing, with mind well freed, clinging to naught here
and hereafter, he shares the fruits of the Holy Life."
-- DHAMMAPADA
The
Tipitaka abounds with interesting and self-elevating sayings that describe
the peaceful and happy state of an Arahant, who abides in the world, till
the end of his life, serving other seekers of truth by example and by
precept.
In the Dhammapada the Buddha states:
For him who has completed the journey,
[1]
for him who is
sorrowless,
[2]
for him who from
everything
[3]
is wholly free,
for him who has destroyed all Ties,
[4]
the fever (of
passion) exists not.
[5]
-- Verse 90.
The mindful exert themselves. To no abode are
they attached. Like swans that quit their pools, home after home they
abandon (and go).
[6]
-- Verse 91.
They for whom there is no accumulation,
[7]
who reflect well
over their food,
[8]
who have
Deliverance,
[9]
which is Void
and Signless, as their object, their course like that of birds in the air
cannot be traced. -- Verse 92.
He whose corruptions are destroyed, he who is
not attached to food, he who has Deliverance, which is Void and Signless,
as his object, his path, like that of birds in the air, cannot be traced.
-- Verse 93.
He whose senses are subdued, like steeds well
trained by a charioteer, he whose pride is destroyed and is free from the
corruptions,-- such a steadfast one even the gods hold dear. -- Verse 94.
Like the earth, a balanced and well-disciplined
person resents not. He is comparable to an Indakhila.
[10]
Like a pool,
unsullied by mud, is he, -- to such a balanced one
[11]
life's
wanderings do not arise.
[12]
-- Verse 95.
Calm is his mind, calm is his speech, calm is
his action, who, rightly knowing, is wholly freed
[13]
perfectly
peaceful,
[14]
and equipoised.
-- Verse 96.
The
[15]
man who is not
credulous,
[16]
who understands
the Uncreated
[17]
(Nibbāna), who
has cut off the links,
[18]
who has put an
end to occasion
[19]
(of good and
evil), who has eschewed
[20]
all desires
[21]
he, indeed, is
a supreme man. -- Verse 97.
Whether in village or in forest, in vale or on
hill,
[22]
wherever
Arahants dwell, delightful, indeed, is that spot. -- Verse 98.
Delightful are the forests where worldlings
delight not; the passionless
[23]
will rejoice (therein),(for)
they seek no sensual pleasures. -- Verse 99.
Ah, happily do we live without hate amongst the
hateful; amidst hateful men we dwell unhating. -- Verse 197.
Ah, happily do we live in good health
[24]
amongst the
ailing; amidst ailing men we dwell in good health. -- Verse 198.
Ah, happily do we live without yearning (for
sensual pleasures) amongst those who yearn (for them); amidst those who
yearn (for them) we dwell without yearning. -- Verse 199
Ah, happily do we live, we who have no
impediments.
[25]
Feeders of joy
shall we be even as the gods of the Radiant Realm. -- Verse 200.
For whom there exists neither the hither
[26]
nor the farther
shore,
[27]
nor both the
hither and the farther shore, he who is undistressed and unbound
[28]-- him I call a
brāhmana. -- Verse 385.
He who is meditative,
[29]
stainless and
secluded,
[30]
he who has done
his duty and is free from corruptions,
[31]
he who has
attained the Highest Goal,
[32]
-- him I call a
brāhmana. -- Verse 386.
He that does no evil through body, speech, or
mind, who is restrained in these three respects, -- him I call a brāhmana.
-- Verse 391.
He who has cut off all fetters, who trembles
not, who has gone beyond ties, who is unbound,-- him I call a brāhmana. --
Verse 397.
He who has cut the strap (hatred), the thong
(craving), and the rope (heresies), together with the appendages (latent
tendencies), who has thrown up the cross-bar (ignorance), who is
enlightened
[33]
(Buddha),-- him
I call a brāhmana. -- Verse 398.
He who, without anger, endures reproach,
flogging and punishments, whose power -- the potent army-is patience,
--him I call a brāhmana. -- Verse 399.
He who is not wrathful, but is dutiful,
[34]
virtuous, free
from craving, self-controlled and bears his final body,
[35]
– him I call a
brāhmana. -- Verse 400.
Like water on a lotus leaf, like a mustard seed
on the point of a needle, he who clings not to sensual pleasures,-- him I
call a brāhmana. -- Verse 401.
He who realizes here in this world the
destruction of his sorrow, who has laid the burden
[36]
aside and is
emancipated, -- him I call a brāhmana. -- Verse 402.
He whose knowledge is deep, who is wise, who is
skilled in the right and wrong way,
[37]
who has reached
the highest goal,-- him I call a brāhmana. -- Verse 403.
He who is not intimate either with householders
or with the homeless ones, who wanders without an abode, who is without
desires,-- him I call a brāhmana. -- Verse 404.
He who has laid aside the cudgel in his
dealings with beings,
[38]
whether feeble
or strong, who neither harms nor kills, -- him I call a brāhmana. -- Verse
405.
He who is friendly amongst the hostile, who is
peaceful amongst the violent, who is unattached amongst the attached,
[39]
-- him I call a
brāhmana. -- Verse 406.
In whom lust, hatred, pride, and detraction are
fallen off like a mustard seed from the point of a needle,-- him I call a
brāhmana. -- Verse 407.
He who utters gentle, instructive, true words,
who by his speech gives offence to none,-- him I call a brāhmana. --
Verse 408.
He who has no desires, whether pertaining to
this world or to the next, who is desireless and emancipated,-- him I call
a brāhmana. -- Verse 410.
Herein he who has transcended both good and bad
and the ties
[40]
as well, who is
sorrowless, stainless, and pure,-- him I call a brāhmana. -- Verse 412.
He who is spotless as the moon, who is pure,
serene, and unperturbed, who has destroyed craving for becoming, -- him I
call a brāhmana. -- Verse 413.
He who, discarding human ties and transcending
celestial ties, is completely delivered from all ties,
[41]
-- him I call a
brāhmana. -- Verse 417.
He who has given up likes
[42]
and dislikes,
[43]
who is cooled
and is without defilements,
[44]
who has
conquered the world,
[45]
and is
strenuous,-- him I call a brāhmana. -- Verse 418.
He who has no clinging to aggregates that are
past, future, or present, who is without clinging and grasping,-- him I
call a brāhmana. -- Verse 421.
The fearless,
[46]
the noble, the
hero, the great sage,
[47]
the conqueror,
[48]
the desireless,
the cleanser
[49]
(of
defilements), the enlightened,
[50]— him I call a
brāhmana. -- Verse 422.
That sage who knows his former abodes, who sees
the blissful
[51]
and the woeful
states,
[52]
who has reached
the end of births,
[53]
who, with
superior wisdom, has perfected himself
[54]
who has
completed
[55]
(the holy
life), and reached the end of all passions,-- him I call a brāhmana. --
Verse 423.
[1]
Of life in the round of existence, i.e., an Arahant.
[2] One gives up
sorrow by attaining Anāgāmi, the third stage of Sainthood. It is at this
stage one eradicates completely attachment to sense-desires and illwill or
aversion.
[3] Sabbadhi,
the five Aggregates etc.
[4] There are four
kinds of ganthas (ties)-- namely,
1. covetousness (abhijjhā), 2. ill-will
(vyāpāda), 3. indulgence in (wrongful) rites and ceremonies
(sīlabbataparāmāsa), and 4. adherence to one's preconceptions as
truth (idam saccābhinivesa).
[5]
This verse refers to the ethical state of an Arahant. Heat is both
physical and mental. An Arahant experiences bodily heat as long as he is
alive, but is not thereby worried. Mental heat of passions he experiences
not.
[6] Arahants wander
whithersoever they like without any attachment to any particular place as
they are free from the conception of "I" and "mine".
[7] There are two
kinds of accumulation -- namely, kammic activities and the four
necessaries of life. The former tend to prolong life in Samsāra and the
latter, though essential, may prove an obstacle to spiritual progress.
[8] To get rid of
the desire for food.
[9] Nibbāna is
Deliverance from suffering (vimokkha). It is called Void because it
is void of lust, hatred and ignorance, not because it is nothingness or
annihilation. Nibbāna is a positive supramundane state which cannot be
expressed in mundane words. It is Signless because it is free from the
signs of lust etc. Arahants experience Nibbānic bliss while alive. It is
not correct to say that Arahants exist after death, or do not exist after
death, for Nibbāna is neither eternalism nor nihilism. In Nibbāna nothing
is eternalized nor is anything, except passions, annihilated. Arahants
experience Nibbānic bliss by attaining to the fruit of Arahantship in this
life itself.
[10] By indakhila
is meant either a column as firm and high as that of Sakka's or the chief
column that stands at the entrance to a city.
Commentators state that these indakhilas are
firm posts which are erected either inside or outside the city as an
embellishment. Usually they are made of bricks or of durable wood and are
octagonal in shape. Half of the post is embedded in the earth, hence the
metaphor as firm and steady as an indakhila.
[11]
Tādi is one who has neither attachment to desirable objects nor
aversion to undesirable objects. Nor does he cling to anything. Amidst the
eight worldly conditions -- gain and loss, fame and infamy, blame and
praise, happiness and pain -- an Arahant remains unperturbed, manifesting
neither attachment nor aversion, neither elation nor depression.
[12] As they are not
subject to birth and death.
[13] From all
deftlements.
[14] Since his mind
is absolutely pure.
[15] The pun in the
original Pāli is lost in the translation.
[16] Assaddho --
lit., unfaithful. He does not merely accept from other sources
because he himself knows from personal experience.
[17] Akata,
Nibbāna. It is so called because it is not created by anyone. Akataññū
can also be interpreted as ungrateful.
[18] The links of
existence and rebirth. Sandhicchedo also means a house-breaker that
is a burglar.
[19] Hata +
avakāso, he who has destroyed the opportunity.
[20] Vanta + āso,
he who eats vomit is another meaning.
[21] By means of the
four paths of Sainthood. Gross forms of desire are eradicated at the first
three stages, the subtle forms at the last stage.
[22] Ninna
and thala, lit., low-lying and elevated grounds.
[23] The passionless
Arahants rejoice in secluded forests which have no attraction for
worldlings.
[24] Free from the
disease of passions
[25] Kiñcana,
such as lust, hatred, and delusion which are hindrances to spiritual
progress.
[26] Pāram --
the six personal sense-fields.
[27] Apāram --
the six external sense-fields.
[28] Not grasping
anything as "me" and "mine."
[29] He who
practises concentration (samatha) and insight (vipassanā).
[30] Āsīnam --
living alone in the forest
[31] By realizing
the four Truths and eradicating the fetters
[32] That is,
Nibbāna.
[33] Who has
understood the four Noble Truths.
[34] Devoted to
religious austerity.
[35] Because he,
having destroyed the Passions would be reborn no more.
[36] The burden of
the Aggregates.
[37] Who knows
the way to the woeful states, to the blissful states, and to Nibbāna.
[38] Literally,
towards beings.
[39] Those who are
attached to the Aggregates.
[40] Lust, hatred,
delusion, pride and false views.
[41] Undisturbed by
defilements.
[42] That is,
attachment to sense-desires.
[43] Arati,
dislike for forest life (commentary).
[44] Upadhi.
There are four kinds of upadhi,-- namely, the aggregates
(khandha), the passions (kilesa), volitional activities (abhisamkhāra),
and sense-desires (kāma)
[45]
That is, the world of Aggregates.
[46] Usabham,
fearless as a bull.
[47] Mahesim,
seeker of higher morality, concentration, and wisdom.
[48] Vijitāvinam,
the conqueror of passions.
[49] Nahātakam,
he who has washed away all impurities.
[50] Buddham,
he who has understood the four Noble Truths.
[51] Sagga,
the six heavenly Realms, the sixteen Rūpa Realms, and the four Arūpa
Realms.
[52] Apāya
the four woeful states.
[53] Jātikkhayam,
i.e. Arahantship.
[54]
Abhiññāvosito, i.e., reached the culmination by comprehending that
which should be comprehended, by discarding that which should be
discarded, by realizing that which should be realized, and by developing
that which should be developed (commentary).
[55]
Sabbavositavosanam, i.e., having lived the Holy Life which culminates
in wisdom pertaining to the Path of Arahantship, the end of all passions.
---o0o---
Top | Contents | 01
| 02
| 03
| 04 | 05
| 06
| 07
| 08
| 09
| 10
| 11
| 12
| 13
| 14
| 15
| 16
| 17
| 18
| 19
| 20
| 21
| 22
| 23 | 24 |
25
| 26
| 27
| 28
| 29
| 30
| 31
| 32
| 33
| 34
| 35
| 36
| 37
| 38
| 39
| 40
| 41
| 42
| 43
| 44
---o0o---
Source : BuddhaSasana website, http://www.budsas.org
---o0o---
Layout: My Hanh - Thien Hung
Update : 01-10-2002
