The Anger-Eating Demon

Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Nyanaponika Thera, retelling of ancient Buddhist story from the Sakka Samyutta (SN 22)

The hot demon Kim Kardashian absorbs our hate and grows stronger (animalnewyork.com)

 

Once there lived a demon who had a peculiar diet: He fed on the anger of others. And as his feeding ground was the human world, there was no lack of food. He found it quite easy to provoke a family quarrel, or national and racial hatred, fanning the fire of racist hatred.
 
Even to stir up a war was not very difficult for him. And whenever he succeeded in bringing about a war, he could gorge himself. After all, once a war starts, hate multiplies exponentially by its own momentum and affects even normally kind, compassionate, and friendly people.
 

The demon!

The demon's food supply became so rich that he sometimes had to keep himself from overeating, being content with nibbling just a small piece of resentment found close by.
 
But as often happens with successful people, he became overbearing. One day, feeling bored, he thought, "Shouldn't I try it with the devas?" On reflection he chose the space world of the Thirty-Three, ruled by Sakka, King of the Devas (literally, "shining ones").

He knew that only a few of these devas had entirely eliminated the fetters of ill-will and aversion and fear, even though they were far above petty and selfish quarrels. So by magic power he transferred himself from Earth to that nearby celestial realm. He was lucky enough to arrive at a time when Sakka the divine king was absent.

There was none in the large audience hall, and soon the demon seated himself on Sakka's empty throne, waiting quietly for things to happen, which he hoped would bring him a tasty feast.

Soon some of the devas came to the hall. First they could hardly believe their divine eyes when they saw the ugly demon sitting on the throne, squat and grinning. Having recovered from their shock, they started to shout and lament: "Oh, ugly demon, how can you dare sit on the throne of our king? What gall! What disrespect! What a crime! You should be thrown headlong into some hell, straight into a boiling cauldron of oil! You should be quartered alive! Get out! Get out!"
 
While the devas grew more and more angry and incensed, the demon was pleased: From moment to moment he grew in size, in strength, and in power -- gorging on their hate. The anger he absorbed into his system started to ooze from his body as a smoky red-glowing mist. And this evil aura kept the devas at a distance, and due to their own anger, their own natural radiance dimmed.
 
Suddenly a bright glow appeared at the other end of the hall, and it grew into a dazzling light from which Sakka, the King of Devas, emerged. As a stream enterer (one entered upon the first stage of enlightenment), the undeflectible stream that leads to nirvana, was unshaken by what he saw.

The smoke-screen created by the devas' anger parted when Sakka slowly and politely approached the demon on his throne. "Welcome, friend! Please, stay seated. I can use another seat. May I offer you a drink of hospitality? Our Amrita nectar is good. Or do you prefer a stronger brew, some Soma perhaps?"
 
While Sakka spoke these kind and friendly words, the demon rapidly began to shrink to a diminutive size and finally disappeared, trailing behind a whiff of malodorous smoke which soon dissolved.

The New Hate (Goldwag)

The gist of this story dates back to the discourses of the Buddha. But even now over 2,600 years later, our world looks as if large hordes of Anger-Eating Demons were haunting it. And we are keeping them well nourished all over the Earth. Fires of hatred, greed, delusion, intolerance, and wide-traveling waves of violence threaten to engulf humankind. 

The grass roots of society are poisoned by conflict and discord, manifesting in angry thoughts and words and in violent deeds. There was a time to end our self-destructive slavery to our habitual impulses of hate and aggression. They better serve demonic forces than us.

The story reveals how these demons of hate can be exorcised -- not by more hate but by the power of gentleness and love, compassion and equanimity. If this power of loving-kindness can be developed and displayed at a grass-root level, in the widely spread net of our personal relationships, nations at large, and world at large, we will all be benefited by it.

• Israel/CIA won't stop killing indigenous Palestinians
• A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Yunnan, China, kills at least 589 people and injures more than 2,400 others. 
• U.S. launches new airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq 
• Israel fighting resumes on Gaza after truce ends; 10-year-pld Palestinian child murdered 
• W.H.O. declares Ebola outbreak a global public health emergency
• U.S. Sec'y of State Kerry seeks resolution to fixed Afghan election 
• Report: German firm helped Bahrain spy on pro-democracy activists  
• Obama signs bill to address VA healthcare crisis
• Argentina seeks to sue U.S. at The Hague over debt dispute
• Uri Avnery on Gaza crisis, his time in a Zionist "terrorist group," becoming a peace activist

The Lessons of Gratitude

Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Thanissaro (Geoffrey DeGraff), Abbot of Wat Metta

Sometimes a smile is all the thanks we give, all the gratitude we show (baconbabble.com).

 

Gratitude (pirith.org)

The Buddha taught: "Two people are hard to find in the world. Which two? The one who is first to do a kindness, and the one who is grateful/thankful for a kindness done" (AN 2.118).

 

In saying that kind and grateful people are rare, the Buddha is not stating an obvious truth about the world. He is advising us to treasure these people when we find them and -- more importantly -- he shows how we can become them.

 

Kindness and gratitude are virtues we can certainly cultivate, but they must be cultivated together. Each needs the other to be genuine, which becomes obvious when we think about the three things most likely to make gratitude heartfelt:

1. We've benefitted from another's actions.
2. We trust the motives behind those actions.
3. We sense the other person had to go out of his or her way to provide that benefit.

Points one and two are lessons that gratitude teaches to kindness: If we want to be genuinely kind, we have to be of actual benefit. No one wants to be the recipient of "help" that isn't actually helpful. And we have to provide that benefit in a way that shows respect and empathy for the other person's needs. No one likes to receive a gift given with calculating motives or in a disdainful way.

 

Points two and three are lessons that kindness teaches to gratitude. Only if we've been kind to another person are we likely to accept the idea that others can be kind to us. At the same time, if we've been kind to another person, we know the effort involved.

Kind impulses often have to do battle with unkind impulses in the heart, so it is not always easy to be helpful. Sometimes it involves great sacrifice -- a sacrifice possible only when we trust the recipient will make good use of our help. So when we're on the receiving end of a sacrifice like that, we realize we've incurred a debt, an obligation to repay the other person's trust.

 

This is why the Buddha always discusses gratitude as a response to kindness. He does not equate it with appreciation in general. Gratitude is a special kind of appreciation, inspiring a more demanding response. The difference here is best illustrated by two passages in which the Buddha uses the image of carrying.

 

Sutra: Parable of the Raft

What is the "Parable of the Raft"?

The first passage concerns appreciation of a general sort: "Then the person, having gathered grass, twigs, branches, and leaves, having bound them together to make a raft, would cross over to the safety of the farther shore by depending on the raft, struggling, making an effort with hands and feet.

"Having crossed over to the farther shore, one might think, 'How useful this raft has been to me! For it was in dependence on this raft that, making an effort with my own hands and feet, I have crossed over to safety on the farther shore. So why don't I, having hoisted it on my head or carrying it on my back, go wherever I like?' What do you think, meditators? Would the person, in doing so, be doing what should be done with the raft?" -- "No, venerable sir."

 

"What should the person do in order to be doing what should be done with the raft? There is another case where the person, having crossed over to the farther shore, might think: 'How useful this raft has been to me! For it was in dependence on this raft that, making an effort with my own hands and feet, I have crossed over to the safety of the farther shore. Why don't I, having docked it on dry land or sunk it in water, go wherever I like?' In doing so, one would be doing what should be done with the raft" (MN 22).

Sutra: Who can repay parents?

Let me down, dummy! - But I'm repaying you!

The second passage concerns gratitude in particular: "I tell you, meditators, there are two people who are not easy to repay. Which two? Our mother and father.

"Even if we were to carry our mother on one shoulder and our father on the other shoulder for 100 years, and were to look after them by anointing, massaging, bathing, and rubbing their limbs, and even if they were to defecate and urinate right there [on our shoulders], we would not in that way ever repay our parents. Even if we were to establish our mother and father as rulers of the whole world, abounding in the seven treasures, we would not in that way repay our parents. Why is that? Mother and father do much for their children. They care for them, they nourish them, they introduce them to this world.

 

"But anyone who rouses one's unbelieving mother and father, settles and establishes them in conviction (confidence, faith), rouses one's unvirtuous mother and father, settles and establishes them in virtue, rouses one's stingy mother and father, settles and establishes them in generosity, rouses one's foolish mother and father, settles and establishes them in wisdom -- to this extent one indeed repays one's mother and father" (AN 2.32).

 

In other words, as the first passage shows, it's fine to appreciate the benefits we've received from rafts and other things without feeling any need to repay them or cling to them. (In this parable the Buddha was referring to the Dharma as a "raft" or vehicle meant for crossing over not for clinging to). We take care of them simply because that enables us to benefit from them more. 

 

The same holds true for difficult people and situations that have forced us to develop strength of character. We can appreciate that we've learned persistence from dealing with... More

Craving, motherhood, and rebirth (sutra)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Wisdom Quarterly, Mata Sutta (SN 15.14-19)

There are better ways to be pregnant, to deliver, and to mother (Nirrimi Firebrace/NM)

 .

Craving is our first mother (Rudi'Peni)

Thus have I heard. At one time the Blessed One was staying in Savatthi when he proclaimed:

"Rebirth (again becoming, this continued wandering on through samsara -- a process which is impermanent, impersonal, and unsatisfactory) runs far back into an incomprehensible past. Yet no beginning point is discerned when beings -- hindered by ignorance, ensnared by craving, [and inflamed by aversion manifesting as anger and fear] -- set off on this wandering.

 

"So long has this wandering been going on that it is difficult to come across any being who has not already been one's mother, father, sister, brother, son, and daughter at some time in the past.

 

"And why is that?

"Rebirth (or the "continued wandering on" that is samsara) runs far back into an incomprehensible past. Yet no beginning point is to be discerned when beings -- hindered by ignorance, ensnared by craving -- set off on this wandering [this journey through time and place, this continued wandering on in search of pleasure now here, now there, in search of final satisfaction, fulfillment, security].

These three things are true.

"Long have we all experienced suffering (disappointment, dissatisfaction, distress), experienced pain, experienced loss (separation from the loved), swelling up cemeteries -- long enough to become disenchanted with all formations (conditional phenomena, composite things, i.e., Five Aggregates of Clinging), enough to become dispassionate, enough to be liberated."

Motherhood
But motherhood is the most beautiful thing

• The Wee Folk: Is Makhunik an ancient city of Little People?
• I-Team: Crossing the line into Area 51 gets caught on camera
• Trove of KGB secrets smuggled out of Russia by defector in 1992 finally made public
• LIVING DINOSAUR: The Emela-Ntouka - new corroborative evidence for the Congo's cryptid, the "Killer of Elephants"?
• SPY ON ME: If you do this, the NSA will spy on you
• VIDEO: IMAX crew films Bigfoot creature

34th Lotus Festival, Los Angeles (sutra)

Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Carlos Lozano, Marisa Gerber (latimes.com); John D. Ireland (SN 22:94); Andrew Olendzki (Thag 15.2); Black Flag

Devas like Radha Devi are rejoicing as the scent of spring wafts through the summer air.

Lotus blossoms, birds, and bees in view of L.A.s skyscrapers and blight (latimes.com)

.

Lotuses of Echo Park, L.A. (latimes.com)

Everything is coming up lotuses because the Los Angeles "Lotus Festival" is back at the newly restored Echo Park Lake near downtown. It is Echo Park's 34th festival and runs all weekend honoring the culture and traditions of L.A. Asian communities, particularly the influence of the Philippines.

 

Festivities kicked off Friday night with music and a movie premiere of a 24-minute film on the history of Echo Park, which lies just west of downtown [one of the west coast's main financial districts in the megalopolis known to the world as] Los Angeles. The celebration continues Saturday and Sunday, beginning at noon and runs until 9:00 pm and 8:00 pm respectively. The event is sponsored by the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks and includes food, music, and boat races. But the real star of the festivities are the lotus flower beds, which are in full bloom. More

What's so great about the lotus?

Waterlilies are wonderful, too (WeGoTwo/flickr).

In India the lotus is revered as the favorite flower, rich in spiritual significance. It is to the East what the rose is to the West. The most remarkable thing about it is that for all its delicate beauty and sublime fragrance, it grows up out of muck.

As Thich Nhat Hanh is fond of saying, It is composed of all "non-lotus elements" -- mud, mire, water, clouds, air, and stinky swamp silt. Yet, behold its beauty!

Later Mahayana Buddhism developed a "Lotus Sutra," but earlier discussions come from the historical Buddha and the enlightened elders (theras and theris), his direct disciples, like Udayin:

The Blooming Lotus

Andrew Olendzki (trans.) Udayin Thera's lotus verses (Theragatha 15.2 excerpt)

Sukhothai (Golan Jesus Roncero/flickr)

As the flower of a lotus,

Arisen in water, blossoms,

Pure-scented and pleasing the mind,

Yet is not drenched by the water,

In the same way, born in the world,

The Buddha abides in the world;

And like the lotus by water,

He does not get drenched by the world.

This translation is by Andrew Olendzki of a poem by the enlightened Elder Udayin [an "elder" being a thera in the "Teaching of the Theras" or Thera-vada Buddhism]. It evokes one of the most famous of Buddhist images and is laced with meaning on many levels.

In one sense -- from early Buddhist teachings -- it can be taken to describe the ability of the enlightened person to rise above the world of sensory experience instead of remaining mired, clinging or attached to it. Although the human condition is rooted in the desires (cravings, graspings) that give rise to life and the illusion of a separate, independently-existing "self," which is actually dependently-arisen, one can awaken and live in this world without being bound by the impulse to hungrily crave pleasure and angrily reject pain.

One is "drenched by the world" when one succumbs to grasping, clutching, and clinging -- behaviors that inevitably bring about suffering, disappointment, and a disillusionment. The heart/mind clings to an attractive object like water permeating something and drenching it.

The Buddha did not immediately transcend the world, but lived in it for 45 years with a heart/mind free of all attachments, defilements, and bonds.

The question of just what sort of being the Buddha was grew in importance. The image of the lotus emerging from the mud and blooming above the world became a popular way of expressing the Buddha's transcendence. In the canonical passage upon which Ven. Udayin builds his verse (SN 22:94) the phrase "having passed beyond the world" (lokam abhi-bhuyya) is added, and this becomes the basis for the Vetulyaka assertion that the Buddha was essentially a transcendent being.

This interpretation had profound implications for later Buddhism: It set the stage for the "Three Bodies of the Buddha" Doctrine of Mahayana Buddhism. In this way of looking at things, awakening (represented by the blossoming of a lotus) is something that can happen for all beings.

Tantric Buddhists (Vajrayana school) were drawn to the contrast in this image between the ordinary, defiling mud in which the plant is rooted and the uplifted loveliness of the blossom it can produce.

Relentless in their non-attachment to dichotomies demolishing opposites, the tantric approach is to be capable of embracing both extremes without clinging to either. The emphasis changes, but we can see that the essential teaching of non-attachment or non-clinging (nopalippati) to the objects of sense-perception, to a particular way of teaching, or to conventional dualities. It carries through the ages by this simple image of a bright lotus growing out of murky water.

SUTRA: Flowers

John D. Ireland (trans., SN 22:94), BPS (Wheel #107), edited by Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddha under a blossom or vimana (WQ)

[The Buddha once said:] “I do not dispute with the world, meditators. The world disputes with me. A proclaimer of Dharma does not dispute with anyone in the world. What is not believed by the wise in the world, of that I say 'It is not so.' What is believed by the wise in the world, of that I say 'It is so.'

 

“And what is it, meditators, that is not believed by the wise in the world and of which I say 'It is not so'? That the body [any form]… feeling… perception… formation [mental activities]… [or] consciousness is permanent, stable, eternal, not liable to change, is not believed by the wise in the world, and I also say it is not so.

 

“And what is it, meditators, that is believed by the wise in the world and of which I say 'It is so'? That the body… feeling… perception… mental formation… consciousness is impermanent, unsatisfactory, liable to change, is believed by the wise in the world, and I also say it is so.

“There is, meditators, in the world a world-condition which the Tathagata [the Buddha] has fully awakened to, has fully realized. Having fully awakened to it and fully realized it, he declares it, teaches it, makes it known, establishes it, discloses it, analyzes it, makes it clear.

“And what, meditators, in the world is the world-condition which the Tathagata has fully awakened to, has fully realized? Meditators, the body… feeling… perception… formations… consciousness, meditators, in the world is that world-condition the Tathagata has fully awakened to, has fully realized…

"Grouped Discourses" (Wheel 107)

“And whosoever, meditators, when it is being declared, taught, made known, established, disclosed, analyzed, made clear by the Tathagata thus, does not understand, does not see, that person, an uninstructed worldly person, blind, without vision, not understanding, not seeing, I can do nothing for.

 

“Just as a water-lily or a blue lotus or a white lotus, born in water, growing in water, having arisen above the water stands unwetted by the water, similarly, meditators, the Tathagata, brought up in the world and conquering the world [i.e., conquers the Five Aggregates by penetrating the Truth with wisdom their true nature as impermanent, disappointing, and impersonal], lives unsullied by the world [i.e., unsullied by craving and attachment to the world].”

“Rise Above”
Black Flag with  Henry Rollins

There is even a grungy old punk rock song that runs: Jealous cowards try to control/ Rise above! We're gonna rise above!/ They distort what we say / Rise above! We're gonna rise above!/ Try and stop what we do/ Rise above! We're gonna rise above!/ When they can't do it themselves/ Rise above! We're gonna rise above!/ We are tired of your abuse/ Try to stop us, it's no use.

  

Rougher original version of Black Flag's singalong "Rise Above"
 

Society's arms of control/ Rise above! We're gonna rise above!/ Think they're smart, can't think for themselves/ Rise above! We're gonna rise above!/ Laugh at us behind our backs/ Rise above! We're gonna rise above!/ I find satisfaction in what they lack/ Rise above! We're gonna rise above!

We are tired of your abuse. Try to stop us but it's no use! (repeat)/ We are born with a chance/ Rise above! We're gonna rise above!/ I am gonna have my chance/ Rise above! We're gonna rise above!/ We are born with a chance/ Rise above! We're gonna rise above!/ And I am gonna have my chance...

Eight Week Sutra Study (Dharma Punx)

Wisdom Quarterly; Ven. Dhammananda (Dharma Punx/AgainstTheStream.org)

Alabaster Buddha statues as far as the eye can see (LarryE251/flickr.com)

.

Buddha woodcut (Daklub/flickr.com)

Eight Week Sutra Study: An Extended Investigation of the Sutras with Ven. Dhammananda is a class that begins Friday, July 11, 2014 at 7:30 pm at Against the Stream in Hollywood.

It will examine the root teachings of Buddhism on the nature of consciousness, perception, reality, the arising of suffering, and the practice that leads to liberation.

This examination will be facilitated by the reading of three significant Buddhist discourses or sutras: (1) Greater Dialogue on the Removal of Craving, (2) Dialogue on Right View, and the (3) Greater Dialogue on Dependent Origination. Complete copies of the sutras will be provided for everyone.
 
The first sutra begins with a disciple of the Buddha expressing his belief that day-to-day human consciousness is reborn upon death in a new body. This is followed by the Buddha’s response and a discussion about the co-dependent arising of phenomena.
 
Right view is the first step of the Noble Eightfold Path. It is the right understanding of life in line with the Four Noble (Ennobling) Truths. This dialogue was delivered by Sariputra, the Buddha's chief male disciple "foremost in wisdom," who begins with a discussion of wholesome nutrition for the body and mind. He then gives a remarkable analysis of right view and self view using the style of the Four Noble Truths and 12 factors of Dependent Origination, one of the central teachings of Buddhism.
 
The Greater Dialogue on Dependent Origination is the Buddha’s explanation of this central teaching. The two preceding sutras (on craving and right view) provide a solid foundation for this detailed presentation about how things come into existence or originate.
 

The iconic Dharma punk rock meditators of Against the Stream with and without mohawks

 
All three sutras are examples of the Buddha’s astonishingly profound understanding of reality and the human condition. The teacher, an American monk ordained in the Sri Lankan Theravada tradition will give a commentary on each discourse as it is read, welcoming and encouraging questions and group discussion. More

• Sutra Study Eight-Week Series
• Fridays 7:30-9:00 pm, July 11-August 29
• Against the Stream, 4300 Melrose Ave., Hollywood 90029
• By donation, dana, divided evenly between teacher and ATS

Ven. Dhammananda Bhikkhu was born in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, and became a Buddhist at 14, attended college in Boston, Massachusetts. He had a secular career as an analyst underwriting commercial transactions for financial institutions throughout California. After graduating he moved to South India where he taught for several years studying yoga and meditation with TKV Desikachar.. He is a resident monastic at Maithri Vihara, a Buddhist temple and meditation center in nearby Sun Valley, which teaches "pristine Theravada Buddhism," mindfulness of breath meditation, and insight (vipassana). As an Engaged Buddhist serving the community, he is an active participant in devotional services, and his principal teacher is Ven. Aparekke Punyasiri Thero, abbot of Maithri Vihara.

Surf: "Foam" (sutra)

Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly, Ven. Thanissaro (trans.), WatMetta.org, Phena Sutta: Foam (SN 22.95) SUMMER SOLSTICE

If samsara is a "sea," a deluge, a flood, then what is the foam in the surf? (loltops.org)

  

Saltwater Buddha (jaimalyogis.com)

On one occasion the Blessed One was staying among the Ayojjhans on the banks of the Ganges river. There he addressed the monastics:

"Meditators, suppose a large glob of foam were floating down this Ganges river, and a person with good eyesight were to see it, observe it, and examine it. To one seeing, observing, closely examining it, it would appear empty, void, without substance. For what substance would there be in a glob of foam?

"In the same way, a meditator sees, observes, and closely examines any FORM of the past, future, or present, internal (inside oneself) or external, gross or subtle, mundane or sublime, far or near. To one seeing, observing, and closely examining it, it would appear empty, void, without substance. For what substance would there be in form?

 

"Now suppose that in the autumn -- when it is raining in large, heavy drops -- a water bubble were to appear and disappear on the water, and a person with good eyesight were to see, observe, and closely examine it. To one seeing, observing, and closely examining it, it would appear empty, void, without substance. For what substance would there be in a water bubble?
 

"In the same way, a meditator sees, observes, and closely examines any FEELING of the past, future, or present, internal or or external, gross or subtle, mundane or sublime, far or near. To one seeing, observing, and closely examining it, it would appear empty, void, without substance. For what substance would there be in feeling?

 

Los Angeles Yoga (layoga.com)

"Now suppose that in the last month of the hot season (the summer) a mirage were shimmering, and a person with good eyesight were to see, observe, and closely examine it. To one seeing, observing, and closely examining it, it would appear empty, void, without substance. For what substance would there be in a mirage?

"In the same way, a meditator sees, observes, and closely examines any PERCEPTION of the past, future, or present, internal  or external, gross or subtle, mundane or sublime, far or near. To one seeing, observing, and closely examining it, it would appear empty, void, without substance. For what substance would there be in perception?

 

"Now suppose that a person desiring heartwood, on a quest for heartwood, seeking heartwood, were to go into a forest carrying a sharp ax. There one might see a large banana tree -- straight, young, of enormous height. One would cut it at the root and chop off the top. Having done so one would peel away the outer skin. And doing so one would not find even sapwood, to say nothing of heartwood.

Summer sun (Michelle Novak/almanac.com)

"Then a person with good eyesight would see, observe, and closely examine it. To one seeing, observing, and closely examining it, it would appear empty, void, without substance. For what substance would there be in a banana tree?

"In the same way a meditator sees, observes, and closely examines any FORMATIONS of the past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, mundane or sublime, far or near. To one seeing, observing, and closely examining it, it would appear empty, void, without substance. For what substance would there be in formations?

 

"Now suppose a magician or magician's apprentice were to display a magic trick at an intersection, and a person with good eyesight were to see, observe, and closely examine it. To one seeing, observing, and closely examining it, it would appear empty, void, without substance. For what substance would there be in a magic trick?

(OCCUPY.COM)

"In the same way a meditator sees, observes, and closely examines any CONSCIOUSNESS of the past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, mundane or sublime, far or near. To one seeing, observing, and closely examining it, it would appear empty, void, without substance. For what substance would there be in consciousness?

• Form, Feeling, Perception, Formations, and Consciousness are the Five Aggregates, the Five Groups of Existence

"Seeing things thus, the well-instructed disciple of the noble ones grows disenchanted with form, disenchanted with feeling, disenchanted with perception, disenchanted with formations, disenchanted with consciousness. 

"And disenchanted, one grows dispassionate. Through dispassion, one is released. With release there arises the knowledge, 'Released.' One discerns that 'Birth is ended, the supreme life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.'"

 

Sun salutation on the sea (shareitfitness)

This is what the Blessed One said, and having said it, the Wayfarer (Well-Gone One), the Teacher, further uttered these verses:

 

Form is like a glob of foam;

feeling, a bubble;

perception, a mirage;

formations are like a banana tree;

consciousness, a magic trick --

This was taught by the Kinsman of the Sun.

However one observes them,

Closely examines them,

They are empty,

Void to whoever sees them (penetrates them with insight).

"Beginning with the body as taught by the Wise One:

When abandoned by three things --

Life, warmth, and consciousness --

Form is rejected, cast aside.

When bereft of these it lies thrown away,

Senseless, food for others.

That is how it goes:

It's a magic trick, an idiot's babbling.

It's said to be a murderer (See Yamaka Sutra, SN22).

 

No substance here is found.

So a meditator, persistence aroused, should view

The aggregates by day and night, mindful, alert;

One discards all fetters, all bonds;

One makes oneself one's own guide;

One lives as if one's head (hat, headdress, turban) were on fire --

In hopes of that state where there is no falling away.

Martial Law declared all over Buddhist Thailand

Wisdom Quarterly; Pacifica Radio, Berkeley (KPFA.org); G.P. Malalasekera

Martial law was declared throughout the most Buddhist country in the world this morning with an announcement from the military, Pacifica is reporting from Berkeley, claiming that it is due to the interim "caretaker" governing PM refusing to step down. Monastics are presumably trapped in hermitages unable to seek alms food (pindapat') as is done daily throughout the country according to ancient tradition laid down by the Buddha.

Going on Alms round

G.P. Malalasekera; Wisdom Quarterly (Pinda Sutta)

Buddha walking (WQ)

Once the Buddha was at Pañcasālā when the day came for all young people to send gifts to one another.

The Buddha went on alms round to the village as was the custom of wandering ascetics in India. But the villagers, influenced by Māra, gave nothing, and he returned with his bowl empty.

Māra tried to influence the Buddha to go a second time, but he refused to do so (S.i.113; the incident is also found at DhA.iii., p. 257f).

The Commentary explains (SA.i.141) that Māra did not want the Buddha to accept the gifts of the maidens and to preach to them, because then they would pass beyond his lustful, fearful, delusive influence.

Distortions of the Mind (sutra)

Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly translation (Vipallasa Sutra, AN 4.49)

The "distortions" (vipallasas) can be called the hallucinations, perversions, inversions.

 

Candy eye (lilminx16/deviantart)

Earlier we asked, What is art? Is it a cartoon, an illusion... or an attempt to see things the way they really are? 

Art can sensitize us even as it distorts and emphasizes. Perception is how we look at the world we create every moment without realizing we're creating as we're choosing what to notice or how to interpret (cognize) it. Art, like meditation, may sensitize and teach us to clear our mental perception -- our preconceptions and distortions. (See sutra and explanation below).

"Meditators, there are four distortions of perception, distortions of mind (heart), distortions of view. What are the four? 

Saara sees (Arkiharha/weekday-illusion)

"To regard as 'permanent' what is actually impermanent is the distortion of perception, distortion of mind, distortion of view.
 
"To regard as 'fulfilling' what is actually disappointing...

"To regard as 'personal' what is actually impersonal (anatta)...

"To regard as 'attractive' what is actually unattractive is the distortion of perception, distortion of mind, distortion of view. These are the four distortions of perception, distortions of mind, distortions of view.

 
The Undistorted

The Buddha distorted to reflect iridescent colors on drilled metal surface

 

Psychedelic (-william/flickr.com)

"There are four non-distortions of perception, non-distortions of mind, non-distortions of view. What are the four? 

"To regard as 'impermanent' what is actually impermanent is the non-distortion of perception, non-distortion of mind, non-distortion of view. 

"To regard as 'disappointing' what is actually disappointing...

"To regard as 'impersonal' what is actually impersonal...

"To regard as 'unattractive' what is actually unattractive is the non-distortion of perception, non-distortion of mind, non-distortion of view.

 

"These are the four non-distortions of perception, non-distortions of mind, non-distortions of view."

    

"Perceiving permanence in the impermanent, fulfillment in the disappointing, self in the impersonal, attractiveness in the unattractive -- beings, brought to ruin by wrong-view, become imbalanced, go out of their minds.

 

Mara has his eye on us (lilminx16)

"Bound by Mara's noose, from that noose [snare, threat of death] they find no rest. Instead, beings continue wandering on, going to rebirth and death.

 

"But when Enlightened Ones arise in the world and bring light into the world, they proclaim the Dharma [the path to liberation] leading to the cessation of disappointment (dukkha, suffering).

"When those with wisdom (insight) listen, they regain their senses and see the impermanent as impermanent, the disappointing as disappointing, the impersonal as impersonal, and the unattractive as unattractive.

"Undertaking right-view, they go beyond all disappointment and unhappiness."

• Explanation of the discourse (Andrew Olendzki)

The Perversions explained

Ven. Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary

What is art? (Saara/flickr.com)

The "perversions" or "distortions" are four, which may be either:

• of perception (saññā-vipallāsa)
  
• of consciousness (citta-vipallāsa)
  
• or of views (ditthi-vipallāsa).
  

What are they? The four are seeing or regarding:

1. what is impermanent (anicca) as permanent;
2. what is painful (dukkha) as pleasant (or happiness-yielding);
3. what is without a self (anattā) as a self;
4. what is impure (ugly, asubha) as pure or beautiful'' (A.IV.49).

Ah, is that how I was seeing things?

"Of the distortions, the following are eliminated by the first path-knowledge (stream-entry, sotāpatti): the distortions of perception, consciousness, and views, that the impermanent is permanent and what is not a self is a self; further, the distortion of views that the painful is pleasant, and the impure is pure.
 
By the third path-knowledge (non-returning, anāgāmitā) are eliminated: the distortions of perception and consciousness that the impure is pure.
 
By the fourth path-knowledge (full-enlightenment, arahatta) are eliminated the distortions of perception and consciousness that the painful is pleasant" (Path of Purification, Vis.M. XXII, 68).

• My cartoon ART is your perception
• Hating China in Vietnam
• U.S. warns China to knock it off 
• China blames Vietnam 
• Mr. Winslet’s aristocratic ex-wife turns to Hinduism In a move uncannily like the plot of Kate Winslet’s film "Hideous Kinky," her husband Ned Rocknroll’s ex-wife has become fascinated with Hinduism...