Sivali: good luck and enlightenment

G.P. Malalasekera; Seth Auberon and CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The great "saint" (enlightened monastic) Ven. Sivali is widely revered in Thailand (WQ)

 

Sivali amulet charms, Thailand

Venerable Sīvalī was the luckiest enlightened Buddhist monk at the time of the Buddha, the son of Suppavāsā, daughter of the king of Koliya.

 

For seven years and seven days he resided in his mother's womb, and for seven days she was in labor unable to bring him forth. She finally said to her husband: "Before I die I will make a gift [donation]." She sent a gift from her husband the king to the Buddha, who accepted it and uttered a blessing on her. She immediately gave birth to son, Sīvalī. When her husband returned, she asked him to show hospitality to the Buddha and his ascetic disciples for seven consecutive days.

 

From the time of his birth, Sīvalī could do anything. Ven. Sāriputra, the Buddha's chief male disciple "foremost in wisdom," talked with him on the day of his birth and ordained him [when he turned 7-years-old in accordance with the "Monastic Code" (Vinaya)] with Suppavāsā's permission.

Golden Sivali traveling

Sīvalī soon became a stream enterer -- the first stage of enlightenment -- in the Tonsure Hall when his first lock of hair was cut, and a once returner (the second stage) with the second lock. Some say that after his ordination, he left home on the same day and lived in a secluded hut, meditating on the delays in his birth thus winning final insight and attaining full enlightenment (arahantship).

 

In the time of the Buddha Padumuttara he had made the resolve to be preeminent among recipients of gifts, like Sudassana, a disciple of Padumuttara. To this end he gave alms for seven days to the Buddha and his community of disciples [the noble Sangha or "community" of enlightened male and female monastics, and male and female lay disciples].

In the time of the Buddha Vipassī, he was a householder near Bandhumatī. The people competed with the king giving alms to that Buddha and the Monastic Order of that time. When they were in need of molasses, curds, and sweets, Sīvalī gave enough of these for 68,000 monastics. 

 

In the time of the Buddha Atthadassī, he was a king named Varuna, and when that Buddha passed away into final nirvana, he made great offerings to the Bodhi tree [the treee under which Atthadassi had become enlightened], passing away under it later. Then he was born in the Nimmānaratī world. 

 

Thirty-four times he was a ruler of men under the name of Subāhu (Thag.vs.60; ThagA.i.135). According to the Apadāna account (Ap.ii.492f) his father in his last birth was the Licchavi Mahāli. 

 

The Asātarūpa Rebirth Story (Jātaka) gives the reason for the delay in Sīvalī's birth (cf.Ap.ii.494, vs.29f). The story of Sīvalī is also given at the Verses of Uplift (Udana.ii.8) and elsewhere (AA.i.130f.; DhA.iv.192f.; ii.196; J.i.408f). The Verses of Uplift or Inspired Utterances (Udana) follows the DhA. (iv.192f.) very closely. 

 

Thai dana (Prayudi Hartono)

Both The Verses of Uplift and the Buddhist Birth Tales (Jataka) state that a lay supporter of Maha Moggallāna -- the Buddha's other chief male disciple foremost in psychic powers -- postponed his giving a meal to the Buddha (who requested him to do so) to enable the Buddha to accept Suppavāsā's invitation after the birth of the child. Other accounts omit this. The Verses of Uplift states nothing about Sīvalī's renunciation of the world. The DhA. account of this differs from the others.

 

Sīvalī was declared by the Buddha the monastic disciple "pre-eminent among recipients of gifts" (A.i.24). It is said (ThagA.i.138; Ap.ii.495; AA.i.139) that when the Buddha visited Khadiravaniya-Revata, he took Sīvalī with him because the road was difficult and alms scarce. Sivali's good karma was such that he was never without alms, offerings, and gifts as a result of his ancient karma.

Deva, "shining one" (WQ)

Sīvalī went into the desolate wilderness of the Himālayas with a great number of others to test his good luck, namely, his ability to always receive alms and provisions no matter where he was. The devas (the "shining ones" normally invisible to us) provided all of them with everything. 

 

On Gandhamādana a deva named Nāgadatta supported them for seven days on rich meals of milk rice.

KARMA: The 10 Courses of Action

Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Nyanatiloka (Anton Gueth)

Mental-karma is important as are deeds.

Karma: "Courses of Action" (kamma-patha) is a name for a group of ten kinds of either unwholesome or wholesome actions the Buddha taught. 

He was known in ancient India not as a "Buddhist" or a Brahmin but as a Karma-vadin ("Teacher of Karma"), one who teaches the efficacy of personal deeds. There are three kinds of unskillful deeds -- of body, speech, and mind -- and three kinds of skillful ones:

 

I. Ten Unwholesome Courses of Action

• three bodily actions: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct;
  
• four verbal actions: perjury, slandering, harsh speech, babble;
  
• three mental actions: covetousness, ill-will, wrong views.
  

Unwholesome mental courses of action comprise only extreme forms of defiled thought: The greedy (rapacious) wish to appropriate others' property, the hateful (antagonistic) thought of harming others, and the holding or clinging to pernicious wrong-views.

While milder forms of mental defilement are also unwholesome, they do not constitute "courses of action."

 

Good Karma

Karma is following us everywhere we go.

Bhikkhu Bodhi (Tape 5: Rebirth and Kamma, "The Buddha's Teaching: As It Is") explains that these ten are called "courses" of action rather than ordinary karma because they have the power, in and of themselves, to lead to rebirth -- a course or corridor leading to a particularly unfortunate or fortunate state. 

For example, even a relatively minor good intentional-action can lead, IF it serves as the death-proximate karma (the thought passing through the mind right at the moment of passing away from one life to yet another) -- has the power to get one into a heaven. There are many heavens, and not a single one of them is eternal, so rebirth in heaven is not the goal of Buddhism. But it is a fortunate destination for rebirth in samsara, the ongoing Wheel of Rebirth and disappointment.

II. Ten Wholesome Courses of Action

• three bodily actions: avoiding killing, stealing, sexual misconduct (or preserving life, protecting what belongs to others, avoiding harm);
  
• four verbal actions: avoiding perjury, slandering, harsh speech, foolish chit chat (or honest, reconciling, gentle, and wise speech);
  
• three mental actions: unselfishness, goodwill, right views.
  

Both lists repeatedly occur in the texts (e.g., in AN X.28, 176; MN 9), and they are explained in detail in MN 114 and in Commentary to MN 9 (R. Und., p. 14), Atthasālini Tr. I, 126ff.

Sivali

Ven. Sivali: shining example of good karma

An enlightened monastic from the time of the Buddha, Venerable Sivali, is remembered and venerated as having unbelievably good karma -- a store of "merit" (punya) for everyone to emulate.

 

There is no reason to "envy" him his good fortune because we ourselves can also accrue a similar store of merit by good works (mental, verbal, and physical),  deeds that benefit ourselves and others that follow us through this life and from life to life until we find enlightenment.

We are always generating karma and always being reborn, but a human birth is extraordinarily rare, a precious opportunity to make merit with redounding pleasing and welcome karmic-results and effects (vipaka and phala).

Sharing our Merit (ancient chant)

Wisdom Quarterly, Buddha Vandanā, Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara (Mrs. B.C. Pedris)

Buddha image inside of the Mahabodhi ("Great Enlightenment") Temple, Bodh Gaya, India next to the Bodhi tree (Simon Maddison/maddison_simon/flickr)

  

To offer the "merit" (particularly skillful karma) deriving from our deeds to benefit others, who will benefit if they approve of our deeds in their minds/hearts, Buddhists traditionally chant these Pali, Prakrit, Magadhi words from the time of the Buddha:

 

Akāsatthā ca bhummatthā devā nāgā mahiddhikā

Puññantam anumoditvā ciram rakkhantu sasanam

Akāsatthā ca bhummatthā devā nāgā mahiddhikā

Puññantam anumoditvā ciram rakkhantu desanam 

Akāsatthā ca bhummatthā devā nāgā mahiddhikā

Puññantam anumoditvā ciram rakkhantu mamparam

(Pronunciation guide: AH-kah-sah-TAH chah BOO-mah-TAH day-VAH nah-gah MA-hee-dee-kah

POO-nyan-tam ah-noo-moe-deet-vah chi-rham ROCK-khan-too SAH-sah-nam/DAY-sah-nam/MOM-pah-ram)

Buddha behind glass, Mahabodhi Temple (Wiki)

"May mighty devas and creatures of great power (nagas) dwelling in space and on the Earth rejoice in this merit of ours and long protect the Buddha's dispensation (sasana)."

Idam no ñātinam hotu

sukhitā hontu ñātayo

(3 times)

(E-dham no nyah-tee-nam HOE-too

sue-hee-tah HOHN-too NAH-tie-oh)

"Let this merit go to our relatives

[extending seven generations];

may our relatives be happy."

Ettāvatā ca amhehi sambhatam puñña-sampadam

sabbe devā anumodantu sabba-sampatti-siddhiyā. 

(3 times)

(EH-tah-VAH-tah cha AHM-heh-hee som-BAH-tam POO-nyah SAM-paw-DHAM

SAH-bay DAY-vah AH-nuu-MOE-dhan-too SAH-bah SOM-paw-tee SEE-dee-YAH).

"May all creatures rejoice in this merit we have just acquired for the achievement of all success."

Why would anybody chant?

Dhr. Seven, CC Liu; Ven. Nyanatiloka Thera, Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines

Chanting under giant Buddha statue in Sehtatgyi Paya, Burma (VicWild/potenzh/flickr)

  

There are different ways of learning the Dharma or the wording of Buddhist doctrine.

 

In the "progress of the disciple," three stages may be distinguished: theory, practice, and realization.

That is to say, a hearer (sāvaka) (1) learns the wording of the doctrine (pariyatti), (2) practices it (patipatti), and (3) penetrates it (pativedha) to realize its goal.

 

Chanting is a tried and true tool from ancient India to go from hearing or auditing the Dharma to  fully comprehending or understanding it.

 

The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga)

There are three kinds of mundane full understading, namely: full understanding of the known, full understanding as investigating, and full understanding as overcoming. In The Path of Purification (Vis.M. XX, 3) by Ven. Buddhaghosa, it is said:

 

"Full understanding of the known is the knowledge consisting in the discernment of the specific characteristics of such and such phenomena, as: 'Corporeality has the characteristic of being oppressed; feeling has the characteristic of being felt, and so on.'

 

"Full understanding by investigating is that insight-wisdom (vipassanā-paññā), which has the three general characteristics (impermanence, suffering, not-self) as its objects, and which arises when attributing a general characteristic to (physical and mental) phenomena, as for instance: 'Corporeality is impermanent, feeling is impermanent, and so on.'

 

"Full understanding by overcomning is that insight-wisdom which has the above mentioned general characteristics as its objects and arises after overcoming the idea of permanence, and so on" - (Appendix).