Forgiving in the Face of ANGER (sutra)

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Andrew Olendzki, Vepacitti Sutra (SN 11.4)

Churning Space: bas-relief of Samudra manthan, Angkor Wat, Cambodia, shows Vishnu in the center, in his Kurma avatar, with the asuras and the devas on either side (Wiki).

Rebel asuras, cast from deva-world by Sakka, fall to Earth (Hieronymus Bosch).

Asura Dvarapala, Borobudur (wiki)

This noble teaching on how to respond when faced with anger is placed in an ancient historical/mythical setting. The story is told by the Buddha of a great war between devas (shining ones, angels) and the asuras (titans, demons).
 
The devas are ultimately victorious (as happens in later Greek and Norse versions of the same myth). They capture Vepacitti [full history], a titan king. Bound in chains, he is brought to the space station of the Thirty-Three and into the presence of Sakka, King of the Devas.

• Sakka (St. Michael), Lord of the Thirty-Three Lords
• A previous Sakka's ancient space flight (Jataka)

Being the titan that he his, Vepacitti hurls a torrent of abuse and insulting names at his captor (the catalog of which in the commentary is most interesting). Sakka, however, is unmoved, inspiring Matali, the charioteer of his spacecraft, to begin the following poetic exchange:
 
The poem is in the prevalent vatta meter, with eight syllables per line, and contains much subtle word-play. For example, the words bala (fool) and bala (strong, powerful) dance with one another throughout the piece (appearing 17 times), nowhere more intimately than in the frolicking alliteration of Lines 31 and 32 (abalan-tam balam aahu yassa balaabalam balam).

• FOOLS (Bala Sutra, Book of the Twos, AN 2.98) "Meditators, there are two fools. Who are the two? The one who takes up a burden that has not befallen one, and the one who does not take up a burden that has. These are the two fools."

A king of the titans (Evs in Nz/flickr)

The linking of the word titikkhati (forbearance) with the similarly sounding tikicchati (healing) is also a poignant touch that is hardly accidental.

This exchange shows well how the Buddha adapted the heroic ideals of his warrior's heritage to the inner struggle for self-mastery. The strength of the victorious Sakka -- who is a stream enterer having been a hearer of the Buddha's Dharma and won that attainment -- rests in his wisdom and forbearance.
 
The weakness of the fierce yet vanquished titan comes from his lack of understanding, earning him the label "foolish," which leaves him helpless to resist the passions raging within him.
 

Was Zarathustra an asura? (G6G)

Though these verses were penned thousands of years ago, their truth is timeless. It is the same truth that has helped many non-violent social and political reform movements achieve dramatic results in our own century.

Conquest is only the apparent victory of the short-sighted, while transformation of oneself and others is the more lasting "victory" of the wise. Remaining unprovoked in the face of anger and hostility still offers the best hope for healing our troubled world.

• THE FOOLISH AND THE WISE (Bala-Pandita Sutra, AN 2.21) "Meditators, there are two foolish persons. Who are the two? The one who does not see a transgression as a transgression, and the one who does not rightly forgive another who has confessed a transgression. These are the two fools. There are two wise persons. Who are the two? The one who sees one's own transgression as a transgression, and the one who rightly forgives another who has confessed a transgression. These are the two wise persons."

Bas relief of Sakka, King of the Devas [of Tavatimsa], and apsaras (wiki)

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Calm in the Face of Anger (verses)

[Matali:] Sakka, could it be you're afraid,

Or weak, that you forgive [khanti] like this,

Though hearing such insulting words

From the lips of Vepacitti?

[Sakka:] I am neither afraid nor weak,

Yet I forbear Vepacitti.

How is it one who knows, like me,

Would get provoked by such a fool?

 

[Matali:] More angry will a fool become

If no one puts a stop to him.

So let the wise restrain the fool

By the use of a mighty stick.

[Sakka:] This is the only thing, I deem,

That will put a stop to the fool:

Knowing well the other's anger,

One is mindful and remains calm.

[Matali:] This very forbearance of yours,

Sakka, I see as a mistake.

For when a fool reckons like this:

"From fear of me he does forbear,"

The dolt will come on stronger still —

Like a bull the more that one flees.

Deva Sakka defeats the dragon or naga (1st-art-gallery.com).

[Sakka:] Let him think whatever he likes:

"From fear of me he does forbear."

Among ideals and highest goods

None better than patience is found.

For surely he who, being strong,

Forbears the ones who are more weak —

Forever enduring the weak —

That is called the highest patience.

For whom strength is the strength of fools,

It is said of the strong, "He's weak!"

For the strong, guarding the Dharma,

Contentiousness is never found.

 

It is indeed a fault for one

Who returns anger for anger.

Not giving anger for anger,

One wins a dual-victory.

 

One behaves for the good of both:

Oneself and the other person.

Knowing well the other's anger,

One is mindful and remains calm.

In this way one is healing both:

Oneself and the other person.

The people who think, "He's a fool,"

Just don't understand the Dharma.

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The lore of St. Michael, the archangel, are echoes of Sakka, King of the Angels. He is revered in Buddhism, Vedic Hinduism, Yazidi Islam, Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and Catholicism.

"Thor: Dark World" (Sakka, King of the Devas)

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson,  CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Wikipedia edit of Sakra

(MMDE) Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Zachary Levi, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, directed by Alan Taylor (Marvel, Nordic mythology), 2013.

The Buddha surrounded by space beings from akasha deva loka, Wat Bua Kwan, Thailand (WQ)

     

Sakka ousts Vepacitti told as Michael and titan/drag

Sakka (Śakra, शक्र) is the ruler of The World of the Thirty-Three according to Buddhist cosmology. His full title is Śakro devānām indraḥ (शक्रो देवानं इन्द्रः; Sakko devānaṃ indo), "Śakra, Lord of the Devas." 

 

In Buddhist texts, Sakka is the proper name, not an epithet of this shining one; conversely, Indra in Sanskrit and Inda in Pali are sometimes used as an epithet for Sakka as "lord (of lords)" or "king (of kings)," or "ruler (raja)." Nevertheless, his position as ruler is considered a station; therefore, there are many "Sakkas," at least one in each world-system, which may refer to a solar system, galaxy, or bubble-like cluster of space.

 

In East Asian traditions, Sakka is known as Dìshìtiān (帝釋天) or Shìtí Huányīn (釋提桓因) in Chinese and as Taishakuten (帝釈天) in Japan. In China, Sakka is sometimes compared to or conflated with Taoism's Jade Emperor (Yùhuáng Dàdì, 玉皇大帝 often simplified in Yùhuáng, 玉皇). Both share a birthday on the ninth day of the first lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually in February).

 

What is a "Sakka"?

Deva, "shining one," like Sakka

The Sanskrit sakra, "powerful," as an epithet of Indra, is found in several Vedic verses from the ancient sacred Indian text, the Rigveda. Sakka seems to be the root source for the Nordic myth of the Nordic space alien (and Marvel Comic hero) "Thor" casting out his evil brother (Loki) and St. Michael casting out that infamous rebellious "being of light" Lucifer (later conflated with the devil, Satan, Belzebub, etc.)

  

In Buddhist lore, Sakka "cast out" one of the titan (asuras) chiefs, Vepacitti (which some might conflate with Mara Devaputra or as someone under Mara's control). There is in the story the additional complication of Sakka being married to Vepacitti's daughter, the titan princess Sujā.

Karma works (itself out) in mysterious ways.

Such are the startling entanglements of karma, because it is not that "God works in mysterious ways" so much as "karma works itself out in mysteriously incomprehensible ways." Both expressions are saying the exact same thing, the former with a personified character of all-encompassing "law" or regularity in the universe, the latter free of a personal agent controlling a natural and predictable (albeit bafflingly complex) pattern.

These parallel "myths" -- actual events attested to by the ancients -- are no coincidence, but are either remembrances colored by cultures of actual events or stories deriving from the wisdom of the East -- ancient Vedic and Buddhist cosmologies, particularly as inherited by ancient Greece when the great empire extended into ancient Northwest India (Bactria, Sogdiana, and the various Alexandrias like Kandahar, Afghanistan).

 

In Buddhist texts, Sakka's myth and character are different from those of the Vedic Indra. According to G.P. Malalasekara (Dictionary of Pali Proper Names), "Sakka and Indra are independent conceptions. None of the personal characteristics of Sakka resemble those of Indra. Some epithets are identical but are evidently borrowed, though they are differently explained."

 

Great Brahma/Odin creating the world

The World of the Thirty-Three that Sakka rules is located on the top of Mt. Sumeru (cf. Meru, a kind of Mt. Olympus, abode of the Greek gods), imagined to be the polar axis of the physical world extending through space, around which the Sun and Moon revolve. 

The World of the Thirty-Three is the highest of the celestial planes in direct contact with Earth. Like the other devas of this world, Sakka is long-lived but mortal. When one Sakka dies, the position or station is taken by another deva who becomes the new Sakka. It is a position in addition to being that being's name, as is the case with many Buddhist figures including the Buddha, with it cyclical conception of history and staggering view of time.

 

Buddhist stories about Sakka (past and present, in the past having been named Maghavā from Macala, an echo of "Michael") are found in the "Birth Tales" (Jātakas) as well as in sutras, particularly those preserved as part of the collection known as the Connected Discourses (Saṃyutta Nikāya or "Kindred Sayings").

 

If the glorious devas or "shining ones" were so different from the angry asuras or "titans" (often referred to as "demons" for their warlike ways), how is it that Sakka could be married to Suja, the daughter of his chief rival, Vepacitti (Sanskrit, Vemacitrin), one of the titan kings? 

 

Many long-lived "gods" have come down from space to be worshipped by mortals (Hilti)

 

The strange workings of karma, which connects beings as much by attraction as aversion -- love like hate being very sticky -- seems to be the ironic explanation.

 

But despite this intimate relationship, a state of war generally exists between the many inhabitants of the World of the Thirty-Three [lords or ruling devas] under Sakka and the titans, who formerly peacefully co-inhabited this celestial plane. Sakka, newly reborn into the position of "lord of the 33 lords" and "king of kings" (ruler of the immediately subordinate sky/space world of the Four Great Kings (Catu Maha Rajikas), ousted by Vepacitti and the titans after getting them drunk on "heavenly" beer or brew (sura). 

This is the legend of how they came to be called a-suras. They were cast onto Earth and, realizing that they had been duped, swore off drinking beer. Sakka thereby managed this ousting feat and has resolved subsequent "wars in heaven" with minimal violence and no loss of life. For Sakka is reputedly and unambiguously the world-system's most famous stream-enterers, having gained the first stage of enlightenment by hearing the Dharma from the Buddha.

Sakka is thus doubly splendid in being partly enlightened and ruling, partying (at the many balls, cotillions, feasts, and get togethers among the devas of the Sensual Sphere or kama loka, a sphere which includes our human plane, as exemplified by a sutra that recounts a visit to such a party in a large mansion/vimana/ship by Ven. Maha Moggallana, who shook it with his toe by a magical feat to bring the devas out of their careless diversions and sensual distractions). 

 

How could Sakka be in any way "enlightened" in the lineage of the "noble ones" (ariya)? Liberating insight that uproots some defilements and weakens others makes it so, even if one does not then immediately start behaving like a stereotypical "saint" or in anyway seem different to the casual observer. This is evident from verses in praise of stream entry in the "Jewel Sutra" or "Gem Discourse" (Ratana Sutta). The Three Jewels, or "Triple Gem," are the Buddha, Dharma, and enlightened Sangha -- the Teacher, the Teaching, and the successfully Taught.

Those who clearly comprehend the Noble Truths

Well taught by him of wisdom deep

Although they may be very neglectful,

They can never undergo an eighth birth.

Truly, in the [Noble] Sangha is found this precious jewel.

By this truth, may there be happiness.

For one after the acquisition of insight
Three things are immediately abandoned:
Self-illusion, doubt [about the Path or the Buddha], 

And clinging to useless rites and rituals

[as a means of gaining enlightenment]
Whatever they may be.
From the four states of [subhuman] misery,

One is absolutely freed
And is now incapable of committing six heinous deeds.

Truly, in the [Noble Community] is found this precious jewel.
By this truth, may there be happiness.

Whatever unskillful actions one does --
Whether by body, speech, or mind,
One is incapable of hiding it.
For it has been said that such an act [of concealment] is

Impossible for one who has seen the Path.
Truly, in the [Noble Community] is found this precious jewel.
By this truth, may there be happiness.

  

The Buddha in space visiting his former mother reborn in the World of the Thirty-Three

 

In fact, regardless of how one behaves after partly awakening to the Truth, however negligent, one has delimited rebirth to no more than seven more lives and can never be reborn onto any plane lower than the worlds comprising the "human plane" (manussa). Sakka accomplished this breakthrough while he was a deva king with great longevity and many sensual distractions, yet we often find ourselves to distracted with sensual pursuits and worries.

Sakka at one time frequently interacted with the Earth, visiting and questioning the Buddha, and is said to still protect and keep an eye on the progress in virtue of the Earth's inhabitants through his regents, the Four Great Kings.

 

Enlightened and humble (CB)

Sakka is mentioned in many Buddhist discourses. He is often shown consulting with the Buddha on questions of proper conduct, virtue, ethics, and morality (sila) -- behavior that leads beings to fortunate rebirths on Earth and in superior celestial worlds like his and higher. (The Bodhisatta, who eventually became the Buddha, was many times reborn as a Sakka).

 

An entire discourse explains what karma led to Sakka's very fortunate rebirth, and we are all capable of it, given our "divine nature," given our ability to be reborn as a deva (called a devaputra, "son of god," when deva is loosely translated as "god" in the ancient Greek, Roman, and Indian sense of the word).  Together with Brahmā -- a mythical god like Thor's father, Odin, or Cronus (father of the "king of the gods" Zeus)  -- Sakka is considered a Dharmapala or protector of the Buddhist Dharma. More

King Nemi-raja, ruler of Mithila, would make merit and teach Dharma to his subjects so that whenever one of them passed away, they would go onto a better rebirth. His reputation spread across the three spheres, and when it reached the devas, they were keen to meet him. Sakka got his vimana-charioteer, Matali, to take his ship to pick up the king. In Sakka's mansion, the king was invited to live there but declined and returned to the human world to do more good (Nemiraja Jataka, watnavaram.org).