CHAPTER 8

 

RIGHT THOUGHT

(Samma-samkappa)

 

 

RIGHT thought, which is the second factor of the Path, is the out­come of right understanding. These two comprise the Wisdom spoken of in the context of the Noble Eightfold Path. Right thought is the result of seeing things as they are. Thoughts are all important; for a man's words and acts have thoughts as their source. It is thoughts that are translated into speech and deed. The good or ill results of our words and actions depend solely on our thoughts, on the way we think. Hence the importance of learning to think straight instead of crooked. The oft-quoted but ever-fresh opening verses of the Dhammapada, speak to us of the great importance and significance of thought:

 

`Mental states have mind as their fore-runner,

As their chief; and of mind are they made.

If one speaks or acts with a polluted mind

Suffering follows one as the wheel the oxen's feet.'

 

`All mental states have mind as their fore-runner,

As their chief; and of mind are they made.

If one speaks or acts with a pure mind

Happiness follows one as the shadow that ne'er departs.'

 

From these words of the Buddha it becomes clear that the beauty or the ugliness of our words and deeds depend on our own thoughts, which are real. Thoughts travel swifter than anything we can con­ceive of and they roam whither-so-ever they list. Their influence on us and the external world is tremendous. Each and every ugly, vicious and morally repulsive thought pollutes the human heart and may cause untold harm. Wrong words and deeds are expressions of a wrong condition of mind. But if man concentrates on right thoughts with right understanding the good results that mind can produce are immense.

 

What then is right thought?

 

It is thoughts of renunciation, of good-will and of not harming or compassion. ¹

 

Their opposites are: thoughts of sense desire, of ill-will and of harm. ²

 

In the discourse on the Twofold Thought, ³ the Buddha has ex­plained in detail how before enlightenment he experienced the Twofold Thought.

 

Thoughts of sense desire, ill-will, and harm he put in one category, those of renunciation, good-will and compassion into the other. When thoughts of sense desire, ill-will and harm arose in him, he knew that they led to harming oneself and others, obstructed in­tuitive wisdom, caused pain and did not lead to Nibbana. Thus reflecting he kept on getting rid of such thoughts, driving them away and making an end of them.

 

When thoughts of renunciation, good-will and compassion arose in him, he knew that they led neither to harming oneself nor others: they developed intuitive wisdom, did not cause pain, and led to Nibbana.

 

Continuing the Buddha explains, how, through reflection, he made his mind firm, how he calmed it and made it unified and concentrated within his subject of meditation. He then tells how, aloof from unwholesome states of mind, he attained to and abided in the first jhana (meditative absorption), the second jhana, the third jhana and the fourth jhana, ⁴ and how he finally comprehended, as they really are, the Four Noble Truths.

 

It is important here to observe how the removal of the Three root causes of all evil, namely lust, hate and delusion, depends upon right understanding and right thought.

 

Delusion which is another term for ignorance, as we saw earlier, is rooted out by right understanding. Sense desire and ill-will are wiped out by right thought. Right understanding, and right thought are both supported by the remaining factors of the Path.

 

Let us now try to understand the importance of removing evil thoughts and the method of so doing, which is by the correct practice of renunciation, good-will and compassion. When a man's mind is obsessed by lust or hate it is quite impossible for him to see things clearly. But the removal of these impediments does not mean struggling with the baneful thoughts that grip the mind. One must learn to see such thoughts face to face--how they appear, reappear end overpower the mind; one must study their nature. Now if a man allows his mind continually to entertain thoughts of lust and hate and does not try to control them those thoughts are strengthened and hold sway over his mind. But if a man is really bent on removing evil thoughts, he will try gradually to cultivate good thoughts that will counteract the harmful ones and clear his mind. For instance, when a man is disturbed by sensuality through seeing, hearing and so on, thoughts of renunciation will bring him peace of mind. Similarly, good-will and compassion will soothe a mind that cherishes ill-will, anger, cruelty and revenge. However, we must admit that this is no easy task. It needs much determination and effort.

 

Some consider that since lust or sense desire is a natural impulse it should therefore not be balked. Others think that it should be put down by force. From the highest standpoint lust or hate is just a thought, a mentation (vitakka). Before one allows one's lust to go its own way, or suppresses it, one must try to look at the thought of lust itself without any prejudice. Then only will one see the origin, the cause, of that thought. Whether one allows it to grow strong, weakens it or removes it altogether depends on oneself. Again, when a sense organ comes in contact with some sense object, or the mind with a mental object, which is disagreeable, then there arises conflict, which causes anger, revulsion, ill-will or hate.

 

Thus we see that through a stimulant arising at the sense doors, lust, hate and other unwholesome thoughts, due to delusion, come into being. When a person is deluded by an external object feeling arises in him; he either becomes attached to the sense object or resents it (anurodhavirodham sampanno). ⁵  There is attraction or repulsion, as in the case of the atom. If we look round we notice that human society is often obsessed by these two strong impulses­--attachment and resentment. So long as man is influenced by these taints, the vicissitudes of life will continue to oppress him but when these taints are controlled, if not eliminated, he will not be too affected by the changes. One cannot altogether avoid the vicissitudes of life so long as one lives in the world; nevertheless one can develop one's mind and self-mastery to such a pitch that one can remain undisturbed by the upsets which these changes have brought about.

 

The Buddha's exposition of the Dhamma was methodical. He would not talk of the Four Noble Truths, the essence of his teaching to everyone he met. When he knew that a person was not mature enough to grasp the deeper doctrine, he would instruct him only on the simpler side of the Dhamma in a progressive manner: he would speak to him on charitable giving (dana), on virtue or moral habits (sila), on the heavens (these are the simpler aspects ⁶ on the disadvantage, emptiness and impurity of the pleasures of the senses and on the advantage of renunciation.

 

When the Master knew that a person's mind was ready, pliable, void of hindrances, uplifted, pleased, only then did he explain to him the Dhamma which the Enlightened Ones themselves have discovered, the Dhamma peculiar to them: dukka (suffering), its arising, its ceasing, and the path. ⁷

 

From the foregoing it is obvious that a man's mind can only grasp the highest Truth if he is ready to give up thoughts of sense desire.    When his mind is released from such thoughts, he realizes the Truths and gains right understanding. Thus we see how right thoughts aid right understanding. They are interdependent and bring about true Wisdom (samma-panna).

 

The Buddha speaks of renunciation by personal experience and not through hearsay. He himself relates the story of his own renunciation:

 

'I too, monks, before enlightenment, while I was still a Bodhisatta being liable to birth, ageing, disease, dying, sorrow and defilements, sought what was liable to birth, ageing, disease, dying, sorrow and defilements. Then it occurred to me, monks, why do I, liable to birth . . . and defilements seek what is likewise liable to birth . . . and defilements. What if I, being liable to birth. . and defilements, were to seek the unborn, the supreme security from bondage, Nibbana?

 

'Then I, monks, after a time ... in the prime of life, in radiant youth, cut off my hair and beard, donned a dyed robe and went forth from home into homelessness (I renounced).' ⁸

 

This is the Noble Quest (ariya -pariyesana).

 

Again, this idea is conveyed in the very inspiring discourse ⁹ on the 'Going Forth' of Gotama, the Bodhisatta, who gave up his crown and went into solitude. As the discourse says, one day he entered the city of Rajagaha for his alms round. King Bimbisara looking down from his palace saw the Bodhisatta walking the streets bowfin hand, with measured steps and down-cast eyes. Struck by his mien the King sent men to find out where he would go and stay. On receiving their report, he hurried to Mount Pandava, met the Bodhisatta and said:

 

'You are young, in the prime of life, handsome, and you appear to be a ksatriya.' ¹⁰

 

'O Maharaja, by lineage I am a "Kinsman of the Sun", a Sakyan. Such is the stock I left behind me. I do not long for sense pleasures, knowing their peril and seeing renunciation's peace I go my way striving (for Nibbana the Highest Renunciation).       My mind takes delight in the striving (not in sense pleasures).'

 

From the above, we understand that 'going forth' (pabbajja) and separation from the pleasures of sense (nekkhamma) are identical. The purpose of going forth is to turn away from thoughts of sensuality (kilesa-kama) and from the objects of sense (vatthu-kama). 'Going forth' is really self-sacrifice and the urge to do so should be genuine if it is to bear pleasant fruit.

 

This is not a course that all can follow, for to leave behind the world's attractive and sensuous life is no easy task. It may not be possible for all to cut themselves off from the world and all it holds. And the Buddha does not expect all his followers to become ascetics.

 

'Hard it is go forth

From home to homelessness;

To take delight in it is hard.' ¹¹

 

In the Buddha's Dispensation full liberty is granted to the disciples to leave the Order if they find it difficult to live the monk's life any more. There is no coercion and compulsion whatsoever and the person reverting to a lay life is not stigmatized.

 

The Buddha says: 'Monks, there are two kinds of happiness, that of a lay life (gihisukham) and that of "going forth" (pabbajja sukham): that of sensual indulgence (kama sukham) and that of renunciation (nekkhamma sukham). Of these, monks, the happiness of "going forth" and of renunciation are superior. ¹²

 

This does not imply that the Buddha belittled lay life, he was only giving expression to his own experience. He had, as a matter of fact, enjoyed both these happinesses. One thing, however, should be remembered: whether monk or layman, one has to follow the same path, namely the Ancient Path, the way of Virtue, Concentration and Wisdom.

 

Genuine renunciation, it may be borne in mind, is not escapism. Those who do not understand the real significance of renunciation, and those who judge it by bogus `recluses' who lead an indolent, worthless and parasitical life, hastily conclude that `going forth' or turning from the world is a sort of escapism, a selfish way of life. The ideal recluse, the bhikkhu, however, is an altruist of the highest type who takes least from, and gives much to, society. The Dhammapada says: 'As a bee, without harming the flower, its colour or fragrance, takes the honey (pollen) even so should the sage move in the village. ¹³

 

It is true that, with the passage of time, many changes have taken place, yet the true Buddhist monk who has given up worldly plea­sures, endeavours to lead a life of voluntary poverty and complete celibacy with the high aim of serving others selflessly within the bounds of a bhikkhu's life, and of attaining deliverance of mind. There are two ways of leading the life of a bhikkhu: one entails continuous meditation (vipassana-dhura) and the other part-time meditation and studying and teaching the Dhamma (gantha-dhura). It is obligatory on every bhikkhu to take up one or other of these ways according to his temperament, age and environment.

 

When discussing the question of `going forth', that is becoming a monk, hermit or recluse, it should not be thought that the practice of Buddhism is only for monks and not for the laity. The Buddha's teaching, the Noble Eightfold Path, is for all--man or woman, householder or one who has renounced. Can we restrict the Dhamma only to a few recluses? It is certainly true that the monk's life is more conducive to the practice of meditation, to the giving up of harmful thoughts, than the householder's life which is filled with toil and need. It is not easy to live the `noble life' while a house­holder. The life of an ideal hermit who is free from household worries and other worldly cares, is more congenial to the develop­ment of mental peace. This one cannot deny, but that does not mean that the laity are quite incapable of gaining mental purification. Far from it, if a person can tame his fickle mind while living a lay life, if he can refrain from overindulging in pleasures of the body, from nourishing sexual desires and stimulants, he too is destined to reach the mental heights which a hermit enjoys. Of course, it goes without saying that complete purification and deliverance comes through complete detachment and renunciation. All these achievements depend on how his mind works, whether he is layman or monk.

 

A man may live in the forest away from the tumult of the town, but if his mind is not concentrated, if it is in a tumult, and evil thoughts play havoc with it, he should leave that forest because the purpose for which he had entered it is not achieved. He should delight in that forest only if his mind is calm and the taints tend to disappear. And, on the other hand, if a person can calm his mind even while living in a village where people's voices are heard, he is far superior to a forest-dweller whose mind is impure. ¹⁴

 

In this connection the story of the Venerable Meghiya is interest­ing. In the thirteenth year of the Buddha's enlightenment, the Elder Meghiya was his personal attendant, and they were staying on a hill called Calika. What follows is a condensed account of the story.

 

The Venerable Meghiya being attracted by a beautiful mango grove near a river thought of going there to meditate if the Buddha gave him leave. So he went to the Master and told him of his wish.

 

`Wait a little, Meghiya, till some other monk arrives, for we are alone,' said the Master. In spite of the Buddha's warning, a second and a third time, the Elder repeated his request. Then the Blessed One replied: `Well, what can I say, Meghiya, when you talk of striving for concentration? Do now as you think fit.'

 

Accordingly the Venerable Meghiya went to that mango grove to meditate. And while he was there three evil unwholesome thoughts came to him, namely: thoughts of sense pleasure, ill-will  and harm. And the Elder wondered thus: 'It is strange, it is amazing! I who in faith left home for the homeless state am yet assailed by these unwholesome thoughts.'

 

So the eider returned to the Blessed One and told him what had happened.       Then the Master said:

 

'Meghiya, for the deliverance of the mind of the immature, five things are conducive to their maturing: (a) a good friend; (b) virtuous behaviour, guided by the essential precepts for training; (c) good counsel tending to dispassion, calm, cessation, enlighten­ment and Nibbana; (d) the effort to abandon evil thoughts and acquire wholesome thoughts; and (e) the acquisition of wisdom that discerns the rise and fall of things.' ¹⁵     

 

Going beyond the pleasures of sense is characteristic of renuncia­tion. Renunciation is the very opposite of all that is carnal and sensual (kama). It focusses the whole mind naturally on the object of Nirvana.

 

In many a discourse the Buddha has explained the characteristics of sensuality, its danger and disadvantages. In his very first sermon he defined sensual indulgence as a low, common, ignoble and worldly thing. Impressing on his disciples the need for giving up sense pleasures, the Buddha compares them to a skeleton, a (bare) bone, a piece of flesh, a torch of dry grass, a pit of red hot coals, a dream, borrowed goods, a fruit-tree, a slaughter house, a sword and a chopping block, a stake, and a snake's head. They bring much pain, much disappointment. The danger in them is great. ¹⁶

 

Further says the Buddha: `Immanent, monks, are pleasures of the senses, empty, false, unreal; ¹⁷ this prattle of fools is made of illusion ... Here these evil unwholesome thoughts lead to covetous­ness, ill-will and quarrels. ¹⁸

 

To the pleasure-seeker, to the strong materialist, however, this may appear rather a dull sermon on morals, but to those who try to face facts and sec things in their true light, with dispassionate discernment, this is no lie. Modern psychologists and moralists are only trying to rediscover what the Buddha said twenty-five centuries ago, when they probe into the question of sex psychology.

 

In the threefold classification of Right Thought, thoughts of good-will and of doing no harm follow. They correspond with metta and karuna, lovingkindness and compassion which are among the four sublime states or brahma-vihara. ¹⁹ Metta and karuna are two excellent states of mind conducive to noble living. They banish selfishness and disharmony and promote altruism, unity and brotherhood. They are thoughts to be cultivated towards all beings irrespective of race, caste, colour, community, creed, East or West, and therefore they are known as boundless states (appa­mannayo), for they are not limited, are not confined to watertight compartments. They enfold all beings without any partiality or grading according to rank, quality, position, power, learning, value and so on which keep men apart. They give security to all living beings.

 

As the books point out this pair of virtues can be cultivated not only as a way of conduct towards fellow beings, but also as a meditation which then becomes known as the meditative development of the 'Sublime States' (brahmaviharabhavana). When earnestly and methodically cultivated they lead the meditator to higher stages of mental development known as jhana or meditative absorption.

 

In his exhortation to Rahula, the Buddha says: 'Cultivate, Rahula, the meditation on lovingkindness; for by cultivating lovingkindness ill-will is banished. Cultivate, Rahula, the medita­tion on compassion; for by cultivating compassion harm and cruelty are banished.' ²⁰

 

From this it is clear that mend and karuna are diametrically opposed to ill-will and cruelty respectively. Ill-will or hate, like sense desire (lust), is also caused by the sense faculties meeting sense objects. When a man's eye comes in contact with a visible object, which to his way of thinking is unpleasant and undesirable, then repugnance arises if he does not. exercise systematic wise attention. It is the same with ear and sound, nose and smell, tongue and taste, body and contact, mind and mental objects. Even agreeable things, both animate and inanimate, which fill man with great pleasure can cause aversion and ill-will. A person, for instance, may woo another whom he loves and entertain thoughts of sensual affection, but if the loved one fails to show the same affec­tion or behaves quite contrary to expectation conflicts and resent­ment arise. If he then fails to exercise systematic attention, if he is not prudent, he may behave foolishly, and his behaviour may lead to disaster, even to murder or suicide. Such is the danger of these passions.

 

This is a good example by which to understand the nature of wrong thoughts (miccha-samkappa), and how they operate to the disadvantage of he who holds them. In this case uncontrolled sensual affection or lust may lead to intense ill-will which brings about injury, harm and violence resulting in death, sorrow and lamentation.

 

`Whatever a foe to a foe may do—

­The wrathful to the wrathful­—

The ill-directed mind can do it worse.' ²¹

 

In this connection it is interesting to note the saying of Aryadeva: 'By the same thing, lust is incited in one, hatred in another, delusion in the next; therefore, the sense object is without any inherent meaning (is an empty nothing)’. ²²

 

It is natural for the worldling to entertain evil and wrong thoughts. 'Lust penetrates an undeveloped mind, as rain an ill-thatched house.' ²³ Man's passions are disturbing.      The lust of blinded beings has brought about hatred and all other sufferings. 'The enemy of the whole world is lust, through which all evil comes to living beings. This lust, when obstructed by some cause, is transformed into wrath.'

 

Man, therefore; should try to develop and unfold good and right thoughts--the infinite possibilities--that are latent in human nature. To do this one needs training in calmness (samadhi-sikkha). It is through gradual training that one can check the mind and rule it (cittam vasam vattati), ²⁴ and become a slave to it and be under its sway (cittasa vasena vattati). ²⁵ With such training in mind-culture, one can free oneself from the influence of the objects of sense. Thus by training in virtuous conduct, developing calmness and getting at the light of truth, the sage in due course passes away and of him it can truly be said:       'He indeed is the best among conquerors who conquers himself. ' ²⁶   

 

‘The victor creates the foe,

The defeated live in pain,

The peaceful dwell in happiness

Neither victors nor defeated.’ ²⁷

 

Metta (Skt. maitri) is a popular term among Buddhists, yet no English word conveys its exact meaning. Friendliness, benevolence, good-will, universal love, lovingkindness are the favourite render­ings. Metta is the wish for the welfare and happiness of all beings, making no restrictions whatsoever. It has the characteristic of a benevolent friend. Its direct enemy is ill-will (hatred) while the indirect or masked enemy is carnal love or selfish affectionate desire (pema, Skt. prema) which is quite different from metta. Carnal love when disguised as metta can do much harm to oneself and others. One has to be on one's guard against this masked enemy. Very often people entertain thoughts of sensual affection, and mistaking it for real metta think that they are cultivating metta, and do not know that they are on the wrong track. If one were dispassionately to scrutinize such thoughts one would realize that they are tinged with sensuous attachment. If the feeling of love is the direct result of attachment and clinging, then it really is not metta.

 

Carnal love or pema is a kind of longing capable of producing much distress, sorrow and lamentation. This fact is clearly ex­plained by the Blessed One in the discourses, and five verses of the chapter (16) on Affection in the Dhammapada emphasize it thus:

 

From what is beloved grief arises,

From what is beloved arises fear.

For him who is free from what he loves

There is no grief and so no fear.

 

`From affection, grief arises ....

From attachment, grief arises ....

From lust grief arises ....

From craving grief arises . . . ²⁸

 

As is well known, to love someone means to develop an attach­ment to the loved one, and when the latter is equally fond of you a bond is created, but when you are separated or when the dear one's affection towards you wanes, you become miserable and may even behave foolishly. In his formulation of the Noble Truth of Suffering, the Buddha says: 'Association with the unloved is suffering, separation from the loved is suffering, not to get what one wants is suffering ... ²⁹ Metta, however, is a very pure sublime state of the human mind; like quicksilver it cannot attach itself to any­thing. It is a calm, non-assertive super-solvent among virtues.

 

It is difficult to love a person dispassionately, without any kind of clinging, without any idea of self, me and mine; for in man the notion of 'I' is dominant, and to love without making any distinc­tion between this and that, without setting barriers between persons, to regard all as sisters and brothers with a boundless heart, may appear to be almost impossible, but those who try even a little will be rewarded; it is worth while. Through continuous effort and determination one reaches the destination by stages.

 

A practiser of metta should be on his guard against callous folk who are egocentric. It often happens that when a person is gentle and sincere others try to exploit his good qualities for their own ends. This should not be encouraged. If one allows the self­-centred to make unfair use of one's metta, kindliness and tolerance, that tends to intensify rather than allay the evils and sufferings of society.

 

'Some serve and consort with one for their own gain,

Hard is it to find disinterested friends:

Since impure people think only of their own profit,

Walk alone, like the horn of a rhinoceros.' ³⁰

 

The Buddha seems to have been compelled to say this though it was as unpalatable then as it is today.

 

As metta has the characteristic of non-attachment to any beings, it is easier to cultivate it when one's mind is less inclined to carnality or sensuous attachment. Nekkhamma, as we saw earlier, means giving up sense pleasures, and metta implies friendship without sensual affection.   So we see that nekkhamma and metta harmonize and support each other. In the early Buddhist writings we find several discourses that deal with metta, but one of them, the Discourse on Lovingkindness, ³¹ is the most popular with most Buddhists. It is divided into two parts. The first details the standard of moral conduct required by one who wishes to attain purity and peace, and the second the method of practising metta. Thus it goes:

 

'He who is skilled in well-being, and who wishes to attain Peace, Nibbana, should act thus: He should be able, upright, very upright, amenable to good counsel, gentle, free from arrogance.

 

'Contented, easily supportable, with few duties, of simple liveli­hood, controlled in senses, prudent, courteous, and not greedily attached to families.

 

`Let him do nothing that is mean for which the wise might rebuke him. Happy and safe may all beings be, may they have happy minds!

 

'Whatsoever living beings there be—those trembling with fear (seekers) ³² or the steadfast (the Attained), ³³ the long (or tall), the  stout, the mid-sized, the short, the small, the large.

 

'Those seen and those unseen, those dwelling far and those nearby, those, who are born as well as those seeking birth-may all beings have happy minds!

 

'Let none deceive nor despise another, anywhere. In anger or ill-will let him not wish another ill.

 

'Even as a mother would cherish her only child, with her life, even thus towards all beings let him cultivate a boundless heart.

 

'Let him cultivate boundless love towards all the world--above, below and all around--unhindered, without anger, without enmity.

 

'Standing, walking, sitting or reclining let him develop this mind­fulness as long as he is awake; this they say is 'the Noble Living' here (in the Buddha's Dispensation).

 

'Not falling into wrong views--being virtuous, endowed with Insight, lust in the senses discarded,--never again verily shall he return to enter a womb.’

 

In another discourse ³⁴ the Blessed One speaks of eleven blessings which a meditator of metta could expect: 'He sleeps and wakes in comfort, has no bad dreams; he is dear to both human and non-­human beings, the gods guard him; no fire, poison or weapon harms him; his mind can be quickly concentrated, his countenance is happy and serene, he dies without being confused in mind. If he fails to attain Arahatship, or the Highest Sanctity, here and now, he will be born in the world of Brahma.'

 

Vicious thoughts of animosity and cruelty are most detrimental and harmful to those who harbour them. It is an accepted fact that both mind and body undergo certain changes when a man is angry. His heart beats faster with the result that both mental and physical energy is dissipated. How true is the old saying: `Be not angry, anger makes one age.' Yes, `when a man is angry he looks ugly, he is in pain, anger clouds his mind and he cannot distinguish between right and wrong. The angry man knows no meaning, he fails to see an idea, he is enveloped in darkness as if blind'. ³⁵ This is the outcome of anger, hence the need to control it until it can be totally eliminated.

 

Metta is the best antidote for anger in oneself. It is the best medicine for those who are angry with us. Let us extend loving­kindness to all who need it with a free and boundless heart.

 

In the discourses one often finds the following question put by the Master to his disciples on meeting them: `How is it with you, how are you faring? I trust that you are well, that you are not short of food. I trust that you are living together on friendly terms, happy and in concord as milk and water blend, regarding one another with loving eyes.' ³⁶

 

The Buddha was an embodiment of metta; an exponent of loving­kindness by precept and example. In the whole of the Buddhist Canon there is not one occasion when the Buddha showed anger or spoke an unkind word to anyone--even to his opponents and enemies. There were those who opposed him and his doctrine, yet the Buddha never regarded them as enemies. In debate he was calm and met opposition without being ruffled, without showing anger. Saccaka, the controversialist, at the end of a debate with the Master, could not help saying: `It is wonderful, it is marvellous, good Gotama, while thus being spoken to so insistently, while thus being violently attacked with accusing words, the good Gotama's colour was clear, and his countenance happy like that of an Arahant, a perfect one, a Supremely Enlightened One.' ³⁷   

 

Even when people were scurrilously offensive and reproached him in strong terms, the Buddha never lost countenance. It is often mentioned that he smiled (mihitapubbangama). The story connected with the 320th verse of the Dhammapada is interesting:

 

On one occasion when the Buddha was staying at Rajagaha, a heartless individual bribed certain villains to revile the Master when he entered the city for alms. They followed him through the city shouting: `You are a robber, a simpleton, a fool, a camel, an ox, an ass, you have no hope of deliverance from suffering.'

 

Hearing these words, the Venerable Ananda, the personal atten­dant of the Buddha, was very grieved and said to the Master: `Venerable sir, these people are reviling us, let us go elsewhere.'

 

- Where shall we go, Ananda?

- Let us go to some other city, venerable sir.

- Suppose, Ananda, people revile us there, where then shall we go?

- Then we will go to some other city, venerable sir.

- But suppose people revile us there also. Where then shall we go, Ananda?

- Then we will go to yet another city, venerable sir.

- Ananda, we should do no such thing; wherever a tumult arises, even there should we remain until that tumult dies away. When these uproars have subsided then only should we go elsewhere. As an elephant on the battle-field endures the arrows shot from a bow, even so, Ananda, shall I endure abusive speech; most people are, indeed, ill-natured.'

 

To what extent the Buddha tried to impress on his disciples the need to cultivate lovingkindness is abundantly clear from the following:

 

`Monks, if a person were to harbour ill-will even when wild bandits with a double-handed saw were to dismember him, he is not a follower of my teaching. Thus, monks, should you train yourselves: "Unsullied shall our minds remain, neither shall an ill word escape our lips, but kindly and compassionate, we will ever abide with loving hearts and not harbour hate. We will radiate lovingkindness even to them (the bandits) and then we will radiate the whole world with thoughts of infinite friendliness, without hate, without ill-will!" That is how you must train yourselves, monks.’ ³⁸

 

Admonishing his disciples, the Buddha says:

 

'Monks, if others were to speak ill of me or ill of the Dhamma or ill of the Sangha (the Order) you should not on that account enter­tain thoughts of enmity and spite, and be worried. If, monks, you are angry and displeased with them it will impede your mental development.

 

`If you feel angry and displeased, would you then be able to know the good and ill speech of others?'

 

'That would not be so, venerable sir.'

 

'Monks, if others were to speak ill of me, or ill of the Dhamma or ill of the Sangha, you should then unravel what is untrue and make it all clear, saying: "For this reason, this is false, for this reason, this is untrue, this is not in us." ' ³⁹

The Buddha does not believe in overcoming anger by anger. He emphatically says:

 

`Hatred never by hatred

Is appeased in this world;

By love alone is it appeased

This is an ancient law.' ⁴⁰

 

Highly developed thoughts of metta seem to possess magnetic power. By radiating such sublime thoughts it is possible to influence and win over people. The power of metta as illustrated by the life of the Buddha can be seen in many a story told of him. Among the best is that of Roja, the Malla.       When the Mallas came to know that the Buddha was to visit their city, Kusinara, for the first time, they all decided to see him. Roja, however, did not want to accom­pany them, but he consented at last though much against his will. Yet he was drawn to the Buddha as a calf to its mother even before he saw the Master. This was an instance of the psychic power of mead (metta-iddhi). ⁴¹ The taming of the demon Alavaka, the ruthless robber Angulimala, the drunken elephant Nalagiri and several others were all examples of the Buddha's metta.

 

It is rather amusing to observe that some of his contemporaries, especially members of other faiths, were frightened of the Buddha and dared not send their disciples and followers to him, lest they be converted to his faith.       This is clear from the following:

 

Once Nigantha Nataputta (the Jaina Mahavira) wished to send his well-known lay disciple, Upali, to the Buddha to refute his words on a point of controversy.       Then Dighatapassin the Jaina, speaking to Nataputta said: `To me, venerable sir, it is not at all desirable that Upali should refute the words of the recluse Gotama. For the recluse Gotama is deceitful; he knows a magic spell by which he entices disciples of other sects (Gotamo mayavi avattanim mayam janati).' ⁴²

 

They perhaps were not aware that it was the Buddha's metta, his large love and kindliness, that attracted people to him and not any 'enticing device'.

 

`Through love one adds to the fund of human happiness, one makes the world brighter, nobler and purer and prepares it for the good life better than in any other way. There is no ill-luck worse than hatred, it is said, and no safety from others' hostility greater than the heart of love, the heart in which hate is dead....

 

'lf one has developed a love that is truly great, rid of the desire to hold and to possess, that strong clean love which is untarnished with lust of any kind, that love which does not expect material advantage and profit from the act of loving, that love which is firm but not grasping, unshakable but not tied down, gentle and settled, hard and penetrating as a diamond but unhurting, helpful but not interfering, cool, invigorating, giving more than taking, not proud but dignified, not sloppy yet soft, the love that leads one to the heights of clean achievement, then, in such a one can there be no ill-will at all.

 

`Love is an active force. Every act of the loving one is done with the stainless mind to help, to succour, to cheer, to make the paths of others easier, smoother and more adapted to the conquest of sorrow, the winning of the highest bliss.

 

`The way to develop love is through thinking out the evils of hate, and the advantages of non-hate; through thinking out accor­ding to actuality, according to karma, that really there is none to hate, that hate is a foolish way of feeling which breeds more and more darkness, that obstructs right understanding. Hate restricts; love releases. Hatred strangles; love enfranchises. Hatred brings re­morse; love brings peace. Hatred agitates; love quietens, stills, calms. Hatred divides; love unites. Hatred hardens; love softens. Hatred hinders; love helps. And thus through a correct study and appreciation of the effects of hatred and the benefits of love, should one develop love.⁴³

 

The third aspect of right thought is Karuna, pity or compassion. Karuna (the same in Pali and Sanskrit) is defined as: `The quality which makes the heart of the good man tremble and quiver at the distress of others.' `The quality that rouses tender feelings in the good man at the sight of others' suffering.' Cruelty, violence is the direct enemy of karuna while homely grief is the indirect or masked enemy. Though the latter may appear in the guise of a friend, it is not true karuna, but false sympathy; such sympathy is deceitful and one must try to distinguish true from false compassion. The compassionate man who refrains from harming and oppressing others and endeavours to relieve them of their distress, gives the gift of security to one and all, making no distinction whatsoever.

 

By precept and example the Buddha was the Great Compassionate One (Maha Karunika).          He radiated his great compassion towards all living beings. His actions were never divorced from compassion. The entire Dispensation of the Buddha is permeated with this sublime quality of karuna. Goodness and violence cannot co-exist; goodness constructs while violence destroys. Compassion cannot be cultivated by one who is obsessed with thoughts of selfishness. It is the self-sacrificing man who fills his heart with pure thoughts of pity and wishes to help and serve others.    The selfish cannot be of real service to others; for their selfish motives prevent them from doing good. No sooner do they become selfish and self-possessed than they fail to soften their hearts.   Hard-heartedness is overcome by pity, by sympathy. If you remove karuna from the teachings of the Buddha you remove the heart of Buddhism; for all virtues, all goodness and righteousness have karuna as their basis, as their matrix. ⁴⁴ All the virtues (parami) that a Bodhisatta or one bent on enlightenment cultivates, are initiated by compassion. Compassion is  tenderness, a quality of the heart, while understanding or wisdom is hard and penetrative. Compassion should be guided by under­standing and understanding by compassion. They go hand in hand and are the back-bone of Buddhism.

 

One must be careful not to confuse compassion with morbid manifestations of sadness, with feelings of mental pain and with sentimentality. At the loss of a dear one, man weeps, but that is not compassion. If we analyse such feelings carefully we will conclude that they are outward manifestations of our inner thoughts of selfish affection. Why do we feel sad? Because our loved one has passed away. He who was our kith and kin is now no more. We feel that we have lost the happiness and all else that we derived from him and so we are sad. Do we not see that all these feelings revolve round the 'I', 'Me' and `Mine'? Whether we like it or not, self­-interest was responsible for it all. Can we call this karuna, pity or compassion? Why do we not feel equally sad when others who are not our kith and kin pass away before our eyes? Because we were not familiar with them, they were not ours, we have not lost any­thing and are not denied the pleasures and comforts we already enjoy. It will now be clear that our feeling of sadness at the loss of a dear one is the outcome of our own selfishness: this is a subtle psychological affair, and all worldlings are subject to such short­ comings and weaknesses.      It is the man with a highly developed mind who controls such feelings and tries to see the situation as it really is, according to karuna, to see things as they are, and not as they appear to be.

 

Compassion is surely not a flabby state of mind. It is a strong enduring thing. When a person is in distress it is the truly com­passionate man's heart that trembles. This, however, is not sadness; it is this quaking of the heart that spurs him to action and incites him to rescue the distressed. And this needs strength of mind, much tolerance  and equanimity (upekkha), another of the  four sublime state. ⁴⁵ Those who rush to a conclusion and declare compassion to be an expression of feebleness, because it has the quality of tenderness, do not know what they are talking about. May be according to them persecution is a sign of strength.

 

The past lives (jatakas) of the Bodhisatta tell us in moving detail how he endeavoured himself to help others, to succour the forlorn and relieve them of their distress. Life is precious to all, but the Bodhisatta, while he was preparing himself for Buddhahood, did many things that the ordinary man dare not even think of doing. He even gave his limbs and life as a sacrifice for the sake of others. The accounts of selfless giving and loving compassion of great men like the Bodhisatta are thus recorded in the books:

 

`One who to save a limb, rich treasures gave,

Would sacrifice a limb, his life to save,

Yea, wealth, limbs, life and all away would fling,

Right and its claims alone remembering.’ ⁴⁶

 

To such an exceptionally high degree does a Bodhisatta cultivate karuna.

 

You are often moved by a sudden cry of pain, or by the sight of another's distress.   Your heart melts, and you wish to act in accor­dance with your kind feelings. You rush to the rescue of the helpless one, you succour him and relieve him of his distress. You do not crave selfishly for some remuneration or try to exploit the situation by depriving him of his belongings. This is true karuna in the finest sense of the word. If by chance you are rewarded or honoured for your humanity, then that is a different thing.

 

It seems to me that it is not quite proper to help others, to be of service to the poor and the needy, with the sole intention of gaining 'merit'--reaping in return much profit and gain. If we approach a situation with such selfish motives then our good action is tarnished; we should not be too conscious of the result of our good deeds and be attached to it. The result will follow us like our own shadow; for actions have reactions, seed brings forth fruit, cause produces effect. To know the deed and its due consequence is right understanding, but to become attached to the results is to invite greed or craving which is a stumbling block to right understanding, purity and peace.

 

When we offer food to a starving man we need not think of a good rebirth in the heavens, a rebirth in a good state of existence, or expect to reap a good harvest in return; for that is not the Buddhist attitude, or as a matter of fact the right attitude. By such wishful thinking we only add fuel to the fire of our greedy selfish thoughts. On close analysis you will see that the only real reason for giving food to that man is that he is hungry. Hunger, as the Buddha says, is the worst ailment. ⁴⁷ When we see that he has eaten, that his hunger has ceased, and that he feels happy, then we too feel happy and pleased.       Such selfless actions really bring us unalloyed joy. Gladness at another's happiness is the third sublime state known as Mudita or sympathetic joy. You will now see how the four sublime states: Lovingkindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity function together supporting each other.

 

Thus by selfless giving, by being generous (dana), we cease to be niggardly and become liberal not only with our wealth, but with our thoughts--we become more and more broad-minded.

 

We must thus try to understand the true significance of action (karma) and result (vipaka) in Buddhist thought.

 

It is very necessary to be conscious of the good and bad results of our actions, in order to know how they come to fruition, but we should not be greedily attached to the result. A correct understanding of the law of karma, and how it operates, incites us to be just and compassionate.

 

Compassion is not limited merely to the giving of food and such material things to the poor and needy, or to giving a copper to a beggar. All actions done with a pure motive, free from greed, false views and pride, are reckoned as genuine acts of kindness. Imparting knowledge to the illiterate, guiding the muddle-headed and the uninstructed along the right path, giving strength and moral support to the weak and fearful, ministering to the sick, etc., are all humane actions.

 

Marvellous, for instance, was t, h, e Buddha's mode of ministering to the sick. He was the great healer. Not only did he heal the sick with the charm of his friendship but he also ministered to them out of compassion. The Commentary to the Dhammapada ⁴⁸ records a touching story: A young man of Savatthi listened to the Buddha, gained confidence in him and entered the Order. He became known as Tissa.      After a time he fell sick. First small pustules broke out on his body, gradually became bigger and burst, developing into ulcers.    His fellow monks, being unwilling to look after Tissa, abandoned him and he was forlorn.   The Buddha came to know of this, went to the fireplace and set some water to boil. Then the Blessed One went to where Tissa was and caught hold of the corner of the bed on which he was lying. The monks, realizing what the Master was trying to do, carried the patient with the bed to the fireplace. There the Master made the monks wash Tissa's garments and dry them, while he gently cleaned the ulcers and washed the sick monk.  The patient was most refreshed and lay on his bed with a composed mind. Thereupon the Blessed One explained the doctrine to him.       With a collected mind Tissa listened and at the end of the sermon attained the highest stage of sainthood and passed away. The funeral rites were duly performed and the Buddha caused the relics to be enshrined in a stupa. ⁴⁹

 

No human quality is a prerogative of a particular religion, nation, race or culture. All those who have eyes to see and minds to under­stand will realize that all acts of friendship, pity and large-hearted­ness are common to humanity. But alas, when people are misguided and misled, they speak of and plan 'just wars'--we even read of 'holy wars'. War is war, `just' or `holy'. It is never peace, all war is barbarous.

 

The books mention an incident which once brought the Buddha to the battlefield. The Sakyans and the Koliyans were on the verge of war over the waters of the river Rohini. Knowing the disaster ahead, the Master approached them and asked them which was more precious, water or human blood. They admitted that human blood was more precious. The Master spoke to them and the intended war was prevented. ⁵⁰

 

The Buddha is known as one who has dropped the cudgel (nihita-danda), one who has dropped the weapon (nihita-sattha). The only weapon he successfully wielded was that of love and compassion. He armed himself with truth and loving compassion. He tamed the ruthless like Alavaka, Angulimila and the drunken elephant Nalagiri and many another who had harmed him by his power of love and compassion. Angulimala who was tamed and who became a disciple of the Master and later an Arahant said in praise:

 

'Some are tamed by cudgels,

Some by goads and some by whips.

With neither club nor weapon,

I by the steadfast one was tamed. ⁵¹

       I

The Buddha's disciples as admonished by him wandered forth 'for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many' and spread the Dhamma, the doctrine, without harming any one, and without any coercive proselytism.

 

The Buddhist conception of karuna has no compromising limita­tions. All beings include even the tiniest creature that crawls at one's feet. The Buddhist view of life is such that no living being is considered as outside the circle of metta and karuna which make no distinction between man, animal and insect, or between man and man, as, high and low, rich and poor, strong and weak, wise and unwise, dark and fair, brahmin and candala or as Christian, Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, etc.; for metta and karuna, as we saw above, are boundless and no sooner do we try to keep men apart on the false basis mentioned above, than the feeling of separateness creeps in and these boundless qualities become limited which is contrary to the high ideals of the exponent of these virtues.

 

It was the spirit of love and compassion taught by the Buddha that touched the heart of Asoka, the great Buddhist Emperor of India in the third century B.C. Before he became a Buddhist he was a war­like monarch like his father (Bindusara) and grandfather (Cand­ragupta). Wishing to extend his territories he invaded and con­quered Kalinga. In this war thousands were slain, while many more were wounded and taken captive. Later, however, when he followed the Buddha's creed of compassion he realized the folly of killing. He felt very sad when he thought of the great slaughter, and gave up warfare. He is the only military monarch on record who after victory gave up conquest by war (dig-vijaya) and inaugurated conquest by righteousness (dharma-vijaya). As his Rock Edict XIII says, 'he sheathed the sword never to unsheath it, and wished no harm to living beings'.

 

The spread of the Buddha's creed of compassion throughout the Eastern world was largely due to the enterprise and tireless efforts of Asoka the Great. The Buddha-law made Asia mild and non­aggressive. Can we say that the same mildness, and non-aggressive­ness still prevail in Asian countries as they did in the past? One doubts, and why? Modern 'civilization' is pressing hard on Asian lands. It is an accepted theory that with the rise and development of this so-called civilization, man's culture (which is the outcome of inner development) deteriorates and he changes for the worse. With the march of modem science very many changes have taken place, and all these changes and improvements, being material and external, tend to make modern man more and more worldly-­minded and sensuous with the result that he neglects, or purposely ignores, the qualities of the heart, and becomes self-interested and heartless. The waves of materialism seem to influence mankind and affect their way of thinking and living. People are so bound by their senses, they live so exclusively in the material world that they fail to contact the good within.

 

If only the love and compassion that throb through the teachings of the Buddha ruled man's action today we should not be living in this atmosphere of suspicion, fear, jealousy, arrogance, greed, hate and delusion that makes this world more and more an armed camp and drives us steadily to the brink of Armageddon.

 

It is a religious view of life, a life of love and understanding that is needed to establish complete mental harmony and well-­being. Today more than at any other time we need the light of the Dhamma.

 

 

1. Nekkhamma-samkappa abyapada-samkappa, avihimsa-samkappa. M. 17, 117 and passim.

 

2. kama-samkappa, byapada-samkappa, vihimsa-samkappa, M. 78, 117 and passim.

 

3. Dvedhavitakka sutta, M. 19.

 

4. For a description of the jhanas see chapter 14, n.29.

 

5. M. 38.

 

6. The practice of dana and sila according to Buddhism is instrumental in causing a good rebirth, i.e. a rebirth in a good state of existence, but it does not bring about release from suffering, cessation from becoming--Nirvana.

 

7. Vinaya Mahavagga: The pliability and so an of the mind is brought about by the release from sense pleasures.

 

8. M. 26, 36.      

 

9. Pabbajja sutta, Sn.

 

10. In India there were four principal castes: Ksatriyas (rulers), Brahmanas (Priests), Vaisyas (householders), Sudras (lowest castes, outcasts). The first three are described as higher, or superior castes.

 

11. Dhp. 302.

 

12. A. i .80.

 

13. Dhp. 49.

 

14. For detailed explanations see M. Discourses 5 and 17.

 

15. The whole of this discourse is at A. iv. 354; Ud. p. 34 and in brief at Dhp. com. i. 287. The Elder's verse (66) is in Thg. It is said that the Venerable Meghiya was of a Sakya raja's family. The Dhp. verses (33,34) are as follows:

     ‘The unsteady fickle mind, hard to guard and hard to control, the wise man tens even as a fletcher, an arrow.

     ‘Like a fish jerked out of its watery abode and cast on land, this mind quakes. (Therefore) the realm of Mara (passions) should be abandoned.'

 

16. M. Discourse 22. Cf. this with Potaliya-sutta, M. 54.

 

17. anicca, tuccha, musa, mosadhamma.

 

18. M. Discourse 106.

 

19. See chapter 1, n. 23.

 

20. M. Maha Rahulovada-sutta, No. 62.

 

21. Dhp. 42.

 

22. 'Tatraiva rajyate kascid-kascit tatraiva dusyati

Kascin muhyati tatraiva-tasmat kamo nirarthakah'. (177).

The Catuhsataka of Aryadeva (Reconstructed and edited by Vidushekhara Bhattacharya).

 

23. Dhp. 13.      

 

24. M. 32. 

 

25. M. 32.

 

26. Dhp. 103.    

 

27. Dhp. 201.    

 

28. Dhp. 212-16.

 

29. See chapter 3.      

 

30. Sn. 75.

 

31. Metta-sutta, Sn.

 

32. Those who have not yet attained Arahatship.

 

33. The Arahats, the Perfect Ones.

 

34. A. v. 342.

 

35. A. iv. 94.

 

36. M. 31, 128. A. i. 70 and passim.

 

37. M. 36.

 

38. M. 21.

 

39. D.1.

 

40. Dhp. 5. Sanantano: An old standing principle (poraniko dhammo) followed by the Buddhas and the saints. (Com.)

 

41. Vin. Mhvg. Khandaka vi.

 

42. M. 56; A. ii. 190, also read chapter 2.

 

43. The Lamp of the Law by Soma There and Piyadassi Thera (Kandy Buddhist Publication Society, Ceylon), pp. 20-2.

 

44. Karuna nidhanam hi silam.

 

45. See chapter 1, n.23.

 

46. Maha-Sutasoma jataka, No. 537, Jataka Stories, Vol. V., P.T.S.

 

47. Dhp. 203. See also chapter 11.

 

48. Vol. i. 319.

 

49. 'To the north-east of the monastery of Jetavana', wrote General Alexander Cunningham in his Archaeological Report, 1862-3, `there was a stupa built on the spot where Buddha had washed the hands and feet of a sick monk.... The re­mains of the stupa still exist in a mass of solid brick-work, at a distance of 550 feet from the Jetavana monastery. The ruined mass which is 24.5 feet in height, is built entirely of large bricks 24 by 10 by 3.5 inches, which is a sufficient proof of its antiquity.'

     In General Cunningham's map of Savatthi the site of this stupa is marked H. in the plan. See Archaeological Survey of India (Simla,1871), p. 341.

 

50. A. Com: i. 341; Sn. Com: 357; Therig. Com: 141.

 

51. Thg. 878.