From Buddhism: Antarayika-Dhamma (3) Obstructing Physical Conditions

The Anguttara Nikaya deals with eight obstructing conditions, which can be considered physical. Birth in hell; in the animal world; among the spirits of the dead; among the long-lived deva community; in outlying countries among unintelligent barbarians where there is no scope for monks and nuns, for lay disciples, male or female; in the middle country yet holding wrong views; in the middle country as a man foolish and unable to distinguish between good and bad.

All these forms of birth are considered obstructing conditions at a time when the Buddha has appeared on earth. It is said that even if one is born in the middle country and is possessed of intelligence, if a Buddha has not appeared on earth at that time, it is an obstructing condition. Because of this, birth or residence in a suitable environment is considered to be a blessing.

In connection with the admission to the Order of monks occur certain obstructing conditions which are also physical. Disease such as leprosy, boils, eczema, consumption and epilepsy prevent a person from embracing the life of a monk. There are other disqualifications such as not being a human, a man, freed from slavery, unindebted, and disqualifications which obstruct an individual from entering the Order of monks, there are others such as not completing twenty years and lack of a bowl and robes that prevent him from receiving the higher ordination.

In the case of the admission of women into the Order of nuns some other obstructing conditions in addition to those mentioned above, are given. If a woman were to be seen without sexual characteristics, who is defective in sex, bloodless, of stagnant blood, who is always dressed and dripping, deformed, who is a female eunuch, a manlike woman, whose sexuality is indistinct and who is a hermaphrodite, such a woman is not to be admitted into the Order.

These obstructing conditions which are has physical disease and disqualification, came to be multiplied, with the passage of time, as a result of the growth and evolution of the community of monks and the admission of undesirable people into the Order. On other hand, the obstructions that are mental seem to constitute and stumbling blocks, for they lie on the way to the attainment of the perfect happiness of Nibbana.

From Buddhism: Anodhi Sutta

There are three suttas on the development of unlimited reflection on the aggregates.

The first describes the advantages, on seeing which a person should, without reserve reflects on the aggregates as impermanent. They are the appearances of all phenomena as lacking in fixity, absence of delight in any world, raising of the mind above every world, inclining of the thoughts towards Nibbana, destruction of the fetters and following the course of right recluseship.

The second deals with the advantages accruing to a person on the development of unlimited reflection on the unsatisfactoriness of all aggregates. He sees perfect peace in Nibbana.

The last of the suttas speaks of the advantages gained by a person on the development of unbounded reflection on the non-substantiality of aggregates. Such a person is said to overcome the thoughts of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. Destroying all egoistic conceptions he sees things as they truly are and how things are causally conditioned.

From Buddhism: Anomadassi Buddha

Anomadassi Buddha is the seventh Buddha in the traditional succession of twenty-four Buddhas of Theravada Buddhism.

He had practiced the perfection for sixteen incalculable periods of hundred thousand kalpas, after which he was born in the realm of Tusita. There he passed away and was born in the park of Sunanda at Candavati, as the son of king Yasava and his queen Yasodhara. It is said that at his birth seven kinds of jewels fall from the sky; and since he had seen those precious objects he was named Anomadassi. He resided in three palaces: Siri, Upasiri and Vaddha. His spouse was Sirima, and they had a son Upavana by name. Anomadassi led the life of a householder till he was ten-thousand years old, and then renounced the world.

For a period of ten months he practiced austerities, after which, on the full moon day of Visakha, he went to the brahama village of Anupama to beg for alms. There, he received a meal of milk rice from the daughter of Anupama-setthi, and on his return Anoma, an ajivika, offered him grass for his seat at the foot of an ajjuna tree, where he sat in contemplation and gained supreme enlightenment.

His first sermon was delivered in the Sudassana park in the city of Subhavati; and the twin-miracle was performed at the foot of the asana tree, which stood at the entrance to the city of Osadhi.

He delivered sermons to three congregations, as a result of which king Isidatta from Soreyya, king Madhurindharassa from Radhavati, and king Soreyya also from Soreyya entered the Order.

His chief disciples were Nisabha and Anoma among the monks, and Sundari and Sumana among the nuns. His constant attendant was Varuna. Nandivaddha and Sirivaddha were his foremost supporters among laymen; and Uppala and Paduma among laywomen. His royal patron was king Dhammaka.

He lived for a span of one hundred thousand years and passed away at Dhammarama, his chief residence.

During the time of Anomadassi Buddha, the bodhisatta was born as a powerful yakkha-chief and had offered food to the Buddha. Anomadassi declared that the yakkha-chief would be born as the Buddha Gotama (our historical Buddha Sakyamuni) in the future.

Anomadassi Buddha lived during the Satya Yuga period of that kalpa as his life span was one hundred thousand years.

From Buddhism: Fa-hsien

The information furnished by Fa-hsien in his travel account occupies a unique place as a source for the study of Buddhist history in the countries he visited during his arduous journey to India and back home to China. It also gives as valuable information on social, economic, cultural, administrative, geographical and climatic conditions of the countries which he visited. In all he had visited thirty countries, Fa-hsien approached the task of writing his travel accounts without making value judgments; his main purpose was to report what he saw and heard.

Fa-hsien was not the first traveler to visit India in search of Buddhist teachings. Buddhism was introduced into China, according to Chinese historical tradition, during the reign of Emperor Ming (A.C.58-75) of the later Han dynasty. Trade routes which connected East Asia with the west helped promote Buddhist missionary activities from very early times. The evangelizing zeal with which dedicated Indian monks propagated Buddhism in the east caused ripples in Chinese religious life. One reason was undoubtedly, the missionary activities of King Kanishka. The movements of pilgrims from the second century A.C. between India and China resulted in the introduction of the canonical works in China. In the earliest phase, most of the canonical works reached China through the Central Asian kingdoms and not directly from India. In fact, the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia took place during the reign of Emperor Asoka.

The Chinese monks who were intent on studying Buddhism thoroughly were not content with the number of works available at the time. This made them go to India in search of more books. The Chinese monks also felt the need for additional monastic rules for the reason that the disciplinary conduct among them was not satisfactory. Monastic discipline deteriorated as the Buddhist monks in China kept on increasing in number thereby posing fresh issues.

Fa-hsien whose secular name was Kung entered the Order at the age of three. He was a native of Wu-yang country in the prefecture of P’ing Yang. It is said that he was ailing badly whenever he was at home and kept good health whenever he was at the monastery. Thus he seldom went back home. After the death of his parents, when he reached maturity at the age of twenty, he received the Higher Ordination.

Fa-hsien was extremely mindful of the disciplinary conduct of Buddhist monks in China. Incompleteness of the Chinese translation of the Vinaya Pitaka, however, stood in the way of preparing a complete code of disciplinary rules and it was to fill this gap that he resolved to risk the journey full of adventure to India. The main purpose of his journey was to search for the complete collection of the Vinaya Pitaka.

Incredible though it may appear Fa-hsien was sixty-five years of age when he launched upon his project. He was seventy-nine years at the completion of his mission. He set out from Ch’ang-an in Central China in A.C.399 during the reign of Emperor An of the Tsin dynasty accompanied by four colleagues Hui-ching, Tao-cheng, Hui-ying and Hui-Wei. As will appear in the sequel, another group of five pilgrims joined the first group later.

Fa-hsien carried through for the faith’s sake, a supremely dangerous expedition, in the glow of which the journeys of St. Paul melt into insignificance. He practically walked from Central China across the Gobi desert, Khotan, Pamir plateau and over Hindu Kash to India and also to Sri Lanka. On his voyage back he met with even worse experiences and reached his destination after many hair breath escapes.

Having set out Chang-an in Central China Fa-hsien and his party traversed a long route before they reached the garrison town of Changyeh. Due to political unrest in Changyeh the roads were impassable. The pilgrims could not have gone ahead but for the kind intervention of the king of that city. Here they met the second group of pilgrims comprising Chih-yen, Hui-chien, Seng Shao, Pao-yun and Seng-Ching who, it is said, shared with the first group one common purpose. The party of ten pilgrims went together up to Tun-huang at the end of the Great Wall and Fa-hsien with four others went ahead leaving the rest behind.

Fa-hsien describe the difficulties encountered in the journey, particularly, in crossing the desert of Gobi thus; “In this desert there are a great many evil spirits and also hot winds, those who encounter them perish to a man. There are neither birds above nor beasts below. Gazing on all sides, as far as the eye can reach in order to mark the track, no guidance is to be obtained save from the rotting bones of dead men which point the way.” After traveling seventeen days covering a distance of one thousand and five hundred li they reached Shan Shan (Shen-shen) to the south of Lop Nor and then Kara Shahr (Agni). Monks in both places belonged to the Lesser Vehicle and there were four thousand of them in each. Both laity and the clergy practiced religion in somewhat modified form. In Kara Shahr monks followed religious observations so strictly that the monks from China were either nor disposed to accept such rites or were not permitted to take part in these rites. Fa-hsien was entertained there for over two months by a Chinese monk until he was rejoined by Pan-yun and the others. Pilgrims got the impression that the people of Kara Shahr were lacking in courtesy and were mean to their treatment of strangers. Here some members of the party went back towards Turfan in search of funds. Fa-hsien and the rest being provided with the necessary means were able to proceed on their journey towards the southwest.

Again after a month’s tedious journey they reached Khotan, a rich and prosperous country in Central Asia. All the inhabitants there were Buddhists and most of the monks belonged to the Greater Vehicle. The monks who were several tens of thousands in numbers were friendly and provided lodgings and other facilities for the guest monks. Fa-hsien was highly impressed by the demeanor of the monks who assembled to partake of their meals. They are described in the following manner: “When they enter the refectory their demeanor is grave and ceremonious; they sit down in regular order; they all keep silence; they make no clatter with their bowls.”

Hui-ching, Tao-chen and Hui-ta went ahead to Kashgar (Khalcha) as Fa-hsien and others remained behind for three months to see a procession called the image procession. Fourteen large monasteries each in its turn celebrated the procession for fourteen days, one after the other, the opening ceremony being celebrated by the Gomati vihara. The most striking feature of the image procession was a four wheeled car in the shape of a movable palace as found in the procession of Hindu temples in India even upto present times. The procession began on the first of the fourth month and ended on the fourteenth.

After the processions were over Seng-shao set out with a Tartar Buddhist towards Kashmir. Fa-hsien accompanied by some of his colleagues went on to Karghalik (Chakula) where there were more than one thousand monks mostly belonging to the Greater Vehicle. They spent the summer retreat at a place called Tash Karghan and then reached Kashgar (Khaicha) in the middle of the Pamirs, where they met Hui-ching and others who had set out in advance. There were more than one thousand monks belonging to Hinayana in Kashgar. The king of that country held an assembly called the Great Five year Assembly (Pancavarsha) to which monks were invited from all quarters.

In the seventh century, Ywang Chwang saw such assemblies being held in North India under the patronage of King Harshawardhana. An important item of the ceremony was the offering of cloth and of all kinds of jewels and such things as needed by monks; some of these offerings were later redeemed from them. Giving annual tithes to monks was another custom which prevailed in Kashgar. In much the same way offerings were made to monks in the Middle Kingdom as well as in Sri Lanka. Fa-hsien refers to various relics of the Buddha in and outside India. One of these was the Buddha’s stone spittoon which the Kashgar Buddhists had come to posses. This country also has stupa built enshrining one of Buddha’s teeth.

As a pilgrim dedicated to the promotion of Buddhism one could expect Fa-hsien to record only religious conditions in the countries he visited. It is interesting to note that his attention was drawn also to secular aspects of diverse nature. With regard to the vegetation in Kashgar he says that except for bamboo, pomegranate and sugar cane, the other plants differ from those of China. No grain other than wheat would ripen there. People living east of the hills in Kashgar dressed like those in China except that they were felt and serge.

Dangers that could befall the people traversing the Pamir range from Kashgar towards India are described by Fa-hsien thus; “There are also venomous dragons which, when incensed, breaths out pestilential wind, rain and snow or cause most fearful sand storms. Not one man in two thousand can escape from these with his life.” This description appears to be the personifications of nature’s cruelties.

Amidst dangers, the pilgrims managed to reach Darada on the borders of India. Monks there studied Hinayana Buddhism. Fa-hsien saw an image of the Maitreya Bodhisattva eight feet high and eighty feet broad at the base. According to Fa-hsien Buddhism spread east after the setting up of that image which took place 300 or 350 years after the parinirvana of the Buddha. From that point again the journey was a difficult one. The party journeyed on for fifteen days over a precipitous and dangerous road. “The side of the mountain being like a stone wall ten thousand feet in height. On nearing the edge, the eye becomes confused and wishing to advance the foot finds no resting place.” The next barrier was the river Indus which they crossed with a suspension bridge of ropes.

The country which they reached after crossing the Indus was Udyana which, according to Fa-hsien, was the northernmost point of India. All the inhabitants there spoke the language of Central India which they called the Middle Kingdom. The laymen’s clothes and food were like those in the Middle Kingdom. There were about five hundred monasteries of the Hinayans school. A guest monk is entertained there only for three days and thereafter he had to find a place for himself. While Hui-ching, Tao-chen and Hui-ta went on ahead to the country of Nagarahara, Fa-hsien and others remained behind for the summer retreat.

Setting out from Udyana the pilgrims reached Suvastu and then Gandhara and Taksasila. Hinayana Buddhism flourished in those countries. All these countries were associated with the former existence of the Gotama Buddha and stupas had been built in honor of his revered qualities.

Upon his arrival in Purushapura (Peshawar) Fa-hsien was highly impressed by the stupa built there by King Kanishka. None of the stupas and temples that he had seen on his way could compare with this stupa in magnificence and stateliness. Fa-hsien relates an episode according to which the King of Sakas (Ephtalites) invaded Purushapura in order to carry off the Buddha’s almbowl which was found there, but he did not succeed. Having stayed in Purushapura as long as they wished Hui-ching, Jui-ta and Tao-cheng went ahead to Nagarahara. Then, Hui-ta joined Pao-yun and Seng-Ching to return home. Hui-ying died in Buddha’s Bowl monastery. Fa-hsien proceed alone to the temple of Buddha’s Skull.

The city of Hilo was unique in as much as it possessed the Buddha’s Skull, a relic not mentioned in any other source. The skull is pale yellow, about four inches across and has lofty cranium. The King of the city had appointed eight men of noble families, each with a seal, to seal the temple in order to safeguard the relic. The king, the lay disciples and also the elders attended to their duties or household affairs after making their offerings to the Skull.

The city of Nagarahara (Jelalabad) and its adjoining areas within one yojana of the city claim to have possessed certain relics, some of which are not much known. They were the pewter topped staff of the Buddha, his robe, hair and nails. Devotees believed that when the robe was taken out and offerings made to it heavy rain fell in times of drought. The Tooth relic in Sri Lanka also is believed by the faithful to possess such powers.

Half a yojana south of the city of Nagarahara is a cave in which the Buddha is said to have left his shadow which looked exactly like the Buddha at a distance of ten paces or so. It is also believed that a stupa near the cave had been built by the Buddha and his disciples as model for future stupa. The historicity of these, however, remains to be established.

Setting forth from Nagarahara Fa-hsien and his two companions went southward across the Little Snowy Mountains (Safed Kob) in bitter cold. Being unable to beat the cold Hui-ching breathed his last. Fa-hsien caressed him lamenting bitterly and cried saying, “You have failed in your purpose, Yet such is fate.” Fa-hsien and Tao-cheng, the only companion of the former group, from that point onward, went ahead visiting the countries, Lakki (Afghanistan), Harana (Falana or Banni), and Uchcha (Bhida in Punjab). Except in Harana where there were three thousand Hinayana monks, the other two countries had monks of both vehicles. The local people were so amazed to see monks from distant China who had come so far in search of Buddhism.

The next important centre visited by Fa-hsien was Mathura. On the way to Mathura he saw a large number of monasteries with some ten thousand monks. In Mathura itself there were about three thousand monks with twenty monasteries situated on either side of the river Jumna.

Fa-hsien’s account on the Middle Kingdom, which according to him lay south of Mathura, shows that of the countries he had visited that country was the most agreeable with regard to climate, living conditions of the inhabitants, their religious upbringing, administration etc,. The climate was temperate without frost or snow. The inhabitants were rich and contented. Kings governed the country without recourse to capital punishment. The people of this country kill no living creatures, drink no wine nor eat onion or garlic. Mention is also made of the use of ‘cowries’ as medium of exchange.

As for the Buddhist monks Fa-hsien say that from the very days of the Buddha kings and other devotees provided monks with beds and beddings, gardens, fields as well as husbandmen and cattle. Lands were donated by title deeds which none dare to annul.

Guest monks were treated in keeping with the Vinaya rules. When a guest monk came to a monastery resident monks used to welcome him; carry his robes and alms-bowl for him. They also used to bring water to wash his feet and oil to anoint them. Facilities for lodgings were provided in accordance with his seniority.

Stupas built in honor of the two chief disciples, Sariputra (Sariputta) and Maudgaliputra (Moggallana) and also of Ananda are mentioned together with other stupas built in honor of the three-fold division of the Canon, the Abhidhamma, the Vinaya and the Sutras. Another interesting reference is made to the staging of religious drama. One play had as its theme Sariputra’s going to the Buddha to ask for ordination. Similar plays were staged to characterize Maudgaliputra and Kasyapa. By Kasyapa is probably meant Maha Kasyapa.

Even more interesting was a ritual practice performed by nuns and novices. They made offerings respectfully at the stupas built in honor of the elders Ananda and Rahula. Similarly the teachers of each of the three divisions of the Canon made offerings at the stupas built in honor of the Abhidhamma, the Vinaya, and the Sutras each to the stupa pertaining to his speciality. The followers of the Mahayana school made their offerings to the Saints, Prajna Paramita, Manjusri and Avalokitesvara.

As shown above the custom of monks receiving annual tithes prevailed in other countries such as Kashgar. According to Fa-hsien the custom prevailed also in the Middle Kingdom. It is interesting to note that even Brahmins offered robes and other requisites to monks. A special feature of the occasion was that monks made offering to one another.

Fa-hsien locates Samkaya to the south east of the Middle Kingdom the place where the Buddha is said to have descended from the Trayastrimsat (Tavatimsa) heaven after preaching the Law to his mother for three months. This place appears to have been clearly associated with the Buddha, for according to Fa-hsien, several monuments had been built in his honor there. Here about one thousand monks and nuns studied both Hinayana and Mahayana.

Fa-hsien mentions the city of Kanyakubja (Kano), the village Hari (Arijakavana) and the country of Vaisakha (Visakha or Ajudhya) as important centers of Buddhism. Reference to Buddha’s willow chewing stick and its growth to a height of seven feet in the country of Vaisakha has a special significance. What is important here is the Buddha had used a willow chewing stick to clean his teeth just like other ordinary monks.

When Fa-hsien visited the city of Sravasti in the country of Kosala the city had been sparsely populated but its glory was still there. Among the religious monuments such as the Jetavana monastery found at Sravasti two stupas had been built to commemorate Angulimala, (q.v.) one stupa being built at the site of his conversion by the Buddha and the other at the site of his cremation. Among other stupas one was at the site of the murder of courtesan Sundari and another on the spot where the Buddha debated with the teachers of ninety-six heretical sects. Carving of the first Buddha image is attributed to King Prasenajit (Pasenadi). The king in his eagerness to see the likeness of the Buddha when he was away in Trayastrimsat heaven for ninety days carved an image of the Buddha. The authenticity of this is questioned by modern critics. On arriving at the Jetavana Retreat where the Buddha spent twenty-five rainy seasons, the greatest number of rains residence he lived in one single monastery, Fa-shien and his companion were immersed in deep thought. As they gazed at the place in which the Buddha once lived, but where he was no longer to be seen, they were deeply moved.

According to Fa-hsien Devadatta’s followers made offerings to three former Buddhas except the Sakyamuni Buddha. This indicated the continuance of Devadatta’s religious movement even up to the fifth century A.C. That the worship of former Buddhas had been a popular cult in many other places in India is also revealed by Fa-hsien.

At the time of Fa-hsien’s visit Kapilavastu looked completely deserted except for a few monks and a few dozen families of the laity. Among the ruins of the palace of King Suddhodana was an image of the prince’s mother showing the prince riding a white elephant coming to enter his mother’s womb. Several stupas had been erected to mark important events of the Buddha’s life before and after his enlightenment. Fa-hsien also names the four places which are always pre-determined for Buddhas; where the Buddhas shall attain Buddhahood, where they shall begin to preach, where they expound the Law and refute heretics and where they shall descend from the Trayastrimsat heaven.

A monastery situated in Ramagrama five yojanas east of Buddha’s birth place is reminiscent of the forest called Parileyyavana where the Buddha is said to have been attended on by an elephant and a monkey. It is said that a herd of elephants used to water the ground and offer flowers at the monastery there. A monk who visited the place stepped down to the rank of a samanera and performed all the duties connected with the monastery. The position of abbot at that monastery, as a matter of fact, was held by a samanera thereafter.

Fa-hsien locates the spot on which the Buddha entered Parinirvana to the north of the city of Kusinagara (Kusinara). Stupas had been erected at the sites where Subhadda, the last disciple of the Buddha entered the Order and where the Buddha’s coffin received homage for seven days. Even this city had been almost deserted with only a few monks and laymen as its inhabitants.

Fa-hsien refers to a number of important sites in Vaisali. Such for instants are the venue of the Second Council and the site of the Capala cetiya (pagoda of Discarded Arms) at which the Buddha made the pronouncement that he would enter parinirvana three months later. With regard to the cause that led to the Second Council, he agrees with the ten points advanced by the Southern school.

A story not found in Pali literature concerns elder Ananda’s passing away. King Ajatasatru followed Ananda up to the confluence of five rivers, five yojanas east of Vaisali. Licchavis were on the other side of the river expecting his arrival on that side. If Ananda chose to enter parinirvana on this bank or the other bank it would have led to a clash between the two parties. In order to avoid an impeding clash between them Ananda entered parinirvana by bursting himself in the middle of the river by entering the element of fire (tejodhatu). The two kings on either bank apportioned the relics in two halves and built stupas over them.

Fa-hsien saw the rules of the royal palace of Emperor Asoka in the city of Pataliputra. A Brahmin called Radhasvami who belonged to the Mahayana school and who had mastered al the knowledge of his day did much to propagate Buddhism and it was due to his effects that heretics were kept in abeyance. There were about six or seven hundred monks of both vehicles whose behavior was most decorous and orderly.

Pataliputra was, according to Fa-shien, the largest city in the whole of Middle Kingdom. The people there were rich and prosperous. Every year they held an image procession on the eighth day of the second month. A four wheeled car (chariot) decorated like pagoda was taken in the procession. On each of the four sides of the car was a seated Buddha image attended by standing Boddhisattvas. About twenty such cars were paraded, each decked out in a different way. Mention is made also of charitable hospitals and a temple of Buddha’s Foot Print in Pataliputra.

The redemption of gifts made to the sangha prevailed in Nagarahara and also in Sri Lanka. Probably Asoka set the precedent for the practice. Fa-hsien tell us that King Asoka offered Jambudvipa to monks from all parts of the world and then redeemed it again with silver on three occasions.

In a valley surrounded by five hills was Girivraja the old city of King Bimbisara. Important sites are mentioned in the following fashion: “This is where Sariputra and Maudgaliputra first met Asvajit (Assaji), where Nirgrantha made a fiery pit and prepared poisoned rice for Buddha, and where King Ajatasatru gave wine to a black elephant in order to injure Buddha.” Even this city had been without inhabitants when Fa-hsien was there.

There were several hundreds of caves including that of the Buddha in the Girdhrakuta mountain. Fa-hsien claims to have seen the stone which Devadatta rolled down the precipice causing injury to Buddha’s toe. Among the ruins of the old city were the cave of Sataparna (Sattapanniguha) where five hundred monks recited the scriptures after the Buddha’s parinirvana, the cave of Devadatta and the black-cock on which a monk was about to commit suicide.

The city of Gaya had been virtually deserted during the fifth century. Prince Siddhartha lived as an ascetic in the vicinity of Gaya. Of the seven weeks during which the Buddha enjoyed the bliss of emancipation after his enlightenment referred to in the post canonical literature, five are mentioned by Fa-hsien. They are (1) His fixed gaze at the Bodhi tree, (2) His walking from east to west under the Bodhi tree, (3) The devas making offerings to the Buddha on a terrace adorned with seven precious things, (4) The blind dragon Mudalinda’s coiling around the Buddha and (5) Buddha’s sitting on a square rock facing east under a nyagrodha tree when Sahapati (Sahampati) Brahma came to invite him. At the time of Buddha’s Enlightenment there were three monasteries maintained by devotees. Monks living there adhered to monastic rules with meticulous care.

Asoka’s conversion to the Buddhist Faith is attributed by Fa-hsien to the exposition of the Law by an arahant who was about to be punished by the keeper of Asoka’ hell. A legend had it that Asoka caused a hell to be built for punishing criminals. This may be a veiled allusion to Asoka’s being cruel at the beginning of his reign and his change of policy later on in his reign.

King Asoka used to go to the Bodhi tree under which he repented his sins and observed the eight precepts. Asoka’s observing a strict religious life referred to in his Minor Rock Edict 1 may point to the issue. However, his queen Asandhimotta being jealous that the king visited the Bodhi tree often employed a man to fell the tree. It is said that the king found a device to restore the tree and again it grow to a height of hundred feet.

Traveling westward along the Ganges Fa-hsien and his only companion reached Varanasi in the country of Kasi. Tracing the history of the Deer Park retreat Fa-hsien also narrates how Kaundanya (Kondanna) and his four companions criticized the Buddha as he was approaching them and how they could not abide by their agreement not to receive him in the usual manner as he was approaching nearer and nearer. He also locates the spot on which the Buddha delivered his first sermon.

Fa-hsien, with his companion, came back to Pataliputra once again and with that they had completed their tour in North India. However, Fa-hsien’s main purpose of obtaining a complete code of Vinaya rules could not be achieved from any place in North India as there were no written books. Therefore, he had to go to Central India where in a Mahayana monastry he was able to obtain a copy of the collection of Vinaya rules. Both Li-yung, as well as Giles have translated Fa-hsien’s Chinese original into English to convey the meaning shown above. Nevertheless, the use of the regional name Central India in the above passage gives rise to confusion. Fa-hsien tells us elsewhere that people of Udyana, the northern most country in India, called Central India the “Middle Kingdom”. Thus, it appears that what was known to the people of Udyana as the Middle Kingdom was known to Fa-hsien as Central India.

Fa-hsien’s contention that he had to go to Central India for obtaining a complete code of Vinaya rules appears misleading for he has given us the impression that he had already been to that region. The country he reached after Mathura was the Middle Kingdom. Again the account, just following that dealing with the books obtained, say Tao-ching was reluctant to go back to China as he was so impressed by the disciplinary conduct of the monks in the Middle Kingdom or Central India where they were living at the time of copying the texts. It is appears that the names, Central India and Middle Kingdom used here differ from those referred to earlier by Fa-hsien himself.

Something has gone wrong somewhere, perhaps in the English translations or even in the Chinese original. Fa-hsien had been extremely careful to mention the time, distance, direction etc,. when he went from one place to another. In this context he merely says that he went to a monastery in Central India to obtain a copy of the complete Vinaya collection. Absence of the usual statistical data in this particular instance leaves us in doubt as to whether he actually went to any place in what he earlier called Central India or the Middle Kingdom after his return to Pataliputra.

According to Fa-hsien the copy of the Mahasanghika Vinaya which he obtained had been handed down in the Jetavana retreat. Does it, then, follow that Fa-hsien obtained the relevant text from the Jetavana retreat in Savatthi which he had visited on his way towards east? But he does not claim that he obtained a copy from the Jetavana retreat either. It is possible that although the relevant text had been handed down in the Jetavana retreat its copies were also available in later times in distant parts of India.

Fa-hsien’s journey to Champa could offer some clue to the question under review. He went to two important countries in Eastern India before he completed his tour in India. He went first to Champa and then to Tamluk. Champa was eighteen yojanas to the east of the place from which he had set out after copying the Vinaya texts. The distance and the direction tallies with Pataliputra from where he had not gone to any place prior to his going to Champa. It may, therefore he surmised that he actually obtained copies of the Vinaya and other texts from some monastery in Pataliputra itself.

Whichever be the place or the monastery from which the books were obtained there were six scriptures in all, (1) Rules of the Mahasanghika, (2) Sarvastivada vinaya in about 7000 verses, (3) Samyuktabhidharma-hrdaya sastra or Abhidharma is about 6000 verses, (4) Nirvana sutra or Yen sutra in 2500 verses, (5) Vaipulya-parinirvana sutra in about 5000 verses and (6) the Commentaries of the Mahasanghika school. Fa-hsien spent three years in studying written and spoken Sanskrit and in copying those books. As mentioned above Tao-cheng remained behind in the Mahayana monastery being reluctant to go back to China. Fa-hsien went ahead with determination until his main objective was achieved.

From Champa, Fa-hsien, went to Tamluk, a renowned center of Buddhism. He stayed two years in Tamluk copying sutras and drawing images of the Buddha and then set sail for Simhala (Sri Lanka)

Fa-hsien describes the size, the climate and the products of the country including pearls and gems. The king’s share in pearls and precious stones was three-tenths. He says that this island became a large kingdom owing to the attraction of merchants from other countries who came in large numbers.

At the time of his visit the Abhayagiri monastery was in its hey-day. There were five thousand monks there. Fa-hsien tells us that the splendor and magnificence of an image of jade, some twenty feet high, defied description. Having seen a white silk fan offered to the image by a Chinese merchant his eyes were filled with tears. Possibly, this reference is to the Samadhi Statue which is within the precincts of the Abhayagiri monastery. Fa-hsien also refers to the Tooth relic temple and the exhibition of the Tooth relic in the middle of the third month at the Abhayagiri monastery. As interesting allusion is made to store-houses of monks which were filled with precious stones and jewels. The description of a monastery on a hill forty li to the east with two thousand resident monks is evidently about the Mihintale. In the Mahavihara monastery there lived three thousand monks. Fa-hsien had seen a funeral ceremony of an arahant who belonged to the Mahavihara. Fa-hsien stayed two years in Sri Lanka and obtained a copy of the Rules of the Mahavihara. He also procured a copy each of the Dirghagama the Samyuktagama and the Sannipata all of which were in Sanskrit and were new to China.

On his voyage back across the unfathomable ocean full of dangers his chances of reaching the home country appear remote. On the way he stayed five months in a country called Yavadvipa (Java) where there were very few Buddhists. The next stage became even worse. In the midst of heavy rains whilst the provisions were exhausted, the pilot charted a wrong course. But, despite everything, Fa-hsien may have heaved a sigh of relief when he knew that he had set foot on the Southern shore of Laoshan in Changkuang prefecture in China and reached his journey’s end.

Conclusion; Fa-hsien’s travel accounts deal with nearly thirty countries. These accounts provide us with valuable information on religious as well as other aspects covering a wide variety of subjects.

We are greatly indebted to Fa-hsien for the knowledge of certain beliefs, customs, cults, ceremonies etc., prevailing in the countries he visited. He provides us with information on the Elder Ananda’s parinirvana through Fire meditation (tejokasina) in the middle of a river, the custom of building stupas in honor of the three chief divisions of the Canon, paying homage to stupas built in honor of Ananda and Rahula respectively by nuns and novices as their favorite objects of homage as is customary in the Middle Kingdom, the participation of Brahmins in Buddhist religious affairs in and outside the Middle Kingdom, certain articles used by the Buddha such as the stone spittoon (at Kashgar) and the pewter-topped staff (at Nagarahara) and the relative strength of the bhikkhu population of the Abhayagiri and the Mahavihara in Sri Lanka. Much of this information is rare, and some are not found in other sources.

Specific reference made to the two vehicles and their numerical strength in the countries visited by him shows that in his days the Lesser Vehicle had spread more widely than the Greater Vehicle.

Fa-hsien also draws our attention to the decline in glory of some renowned centers of Buddhism during the fifth century. He says that at the time of his visit Kapilavastu, Rajagrha, Sravasti and Gaya were virtually deserted and abandoned. To what extent, the heretical movement, alluded to by Fa-hsien, was responsible for bringing about this decline needs further investigation.

The perseverance, undaunted courage and determination of Fa-hsien were not shared by most members of his party. Three members of the party, Hui-ta, Pao-Yen and Seng-Cheng were back to China without fulfilling their objectives. Some members parted with the main group to visit places of their own choice.

Unfortunately for Fa-hsien, two members Hui-Ying and Hui Ching died on the way. Tao-cheng accompanied Fa-hsien upto Pataliputra and decided never to return home. The party which originally included ten members was reduced to one. It was only Fa-hsien who carried out the mission undaunted until the achievement of his objective

From Buddhism: Fear

Fear arises from one’s conscience which is the result of the known. Knowledge is having ideas of things and persons. People have fear of losing things and persons next and dear to them. Fear exists so long as there is accumulating of the known. The common variety of fear comes through identification. So long as one it conscious of the ‘ego’ there is the continuance of fear. The Buddha says there is a more basic type of anxiety due to our deep rooted attachment to the ego. These emerge from the nature of the basic human conditions. Something while being pleasant is tied up with anxiety, as one is afraid to lose it. Buddha traces this predilection of ‘anxious man’ to grasp the basic truth of egolessness, which is the key to understand any form of anxiety. The belief in ‘I’ and ‘Mine”, though it gives a superficial feeling of security is the cause of fear and worry. In the highest form of courage, fear still persists as an element; there is at least the consciousness of the transitoriness of everything that is worldly and therefore the anticipation of danger.

Fear is one of the many emotions arising in the minds of any living being, both in the human and the animal worlds. An emotion occurs generally, when an object is considered as something attractive or repulsive. The general tendency is that people while impelling themselves towards the suitable objects, move away from the harmful objects through fear. This specific emotion of fear has been discussed by the Buddha on very many occasions.

There are various types of situations which cause fear. Fear is often caused by strong desires such as endearment, affection, attachment, lust and craving. To those people whose minds are devoid of such desires fear does not occur, strong desires and attachment to either persons or things cause fear. The desire for power, lust, jealousy and pride are intimately related to the emergence of fear. In the Bhayabherava Sutta the Buddha says that purely objective conditions can cause fear in a recluse who has gone to the forest. Such a recluse whose heart is filled with desire and longing, who is restless, witless and driveling becomes frightened at the rustling of leaves, by wind or a breaking of a twig by an animal. According to the Buddha, fear arises in those people whose minds are full of lust, ill-will and foolishness. In the Dussila Sutta of the Sotapatti Samyutta venerable Ananda declares to Anathapindika that terror, trembling and fear of death, as to what may be hereafter, come upon the uneducated when they think of their disloyalty to the Buddha, Dharmma and Sangha.

The emotion of fear appears to be utilized in Buddhism both as a deterrent force as well as stimulating one. In the psycho-ethical sphere, taking up feat as – deterrent…the Anguttara Nikaya refers to four kind of fears; fear of self-reproach where one blames oneself for committing an evil; fear of others reproach where one having committed an evil would fear that others would speak about it and he would feel uncomfortable in the company of others; fear of the stick where he sees the punishment given to the others by the king and he would dread the idea of himself being punished in the same manner.

The fourth kind of fear is the fear of degradation in the life after, of being born in the miserable existences after death. In this context these fears lead a person to abandon the practice of evil conduct in body, speech and thought and to develop the practice of good conduct. These different types of fear create in a man a lively sense of moral dread and shame which prevents a person from taking to an evil life and creates a basic of personal and social responsibility and a civic sense, for this sense shame and fear could be referred to as virtues, which regulate the mental order in the world. Dread and shame is a positive and a healthy sense which must be cultivated and developed by everyone, because one who lacks in these positive emotions lacks conscience. When a person’s conscientiousness and fear of blame are lacking, the control of senses, moral practice , right concentration, knowledge and vision, aversion, dispassion and detachment have no basic of growth and development. The stimulant aspect of fear is well explained by the Buddha in the following manner; “The bhikkhu who delights to heedfulness and is fully aware of the dangers of heedlessness, advances like fire burning all fetters great and small.”

According to the Buddhist commentarial literature the term “bhikkhu’ has been defined as one who sees fear in the chains of births and deaths. Cultivating faith in the Triad and having gained right concentration by following the noble-eighteen path these bhikkhus attain arahantship at which stage they shun all fear and hence they are called ‘akutobhaya’ (with no fear from anywhere). The Buddhas and the Pacceka Buddhas also belong to the same category. They have gained full confidence in themselves and thereby have shunned all the fears in the cycle of birth and death. In the Buddhist Nikayas Buddha is referred to as the dispeller of the dread, panic and fear. Absence of fear is the hallmark of a fully developed character. The Buddhas and the arahants are described as being abhayappatta, khemappatta and vesarajjappatta.

Fear has the nature of creating diverse psychological problems in an individual. This could sometimes drive a person mad. An overdose of fear, if instilled into a person, could be disastrous and would change his entire character. As apt example could be brought out from Buddhist literature where let alone the laymen even bhikkhus have gives up their entire career, because of too much fear. While preaching the Aggikkhandhopama Sutta to the bhikkhus, at the sight of a blazing fire the Buddha declared to them, that it were better for a man to take shelter in, embrace and lie down upon the raging flames than to live in the guise of a bhikkhu enjoying the alms of the faithful while being guilty of evil conduct. It is said that while this sutta was being preached sixty monks vomited hot blood, sixty left the Order in difference and sixty others became arahants. This is a clear instance where enlarged vision of fear, while acting as stimulant on one group of persons had crippling and deadening effect on another.

Fear of birth and death are two other forms of fear which are being often discussed in the Buddhist books. The fear of death is in the nature of psychological pain and this has been discussed even by the western scholars who are mere moral philosophers. According to Olson ‘Although death may be precipitated by painful disease, death itself is perfectly painless loss of consciousness, no more to be feared than falling asleep. Death terrorize us not because we fear it as painful, but we are unwilling to lose consciousness permanently.” The idea of concentration on death which is a favorite topic of meditation in Buddhism, is quite akin to the idea expressed by Senaca of the Stoics who says “to overcome the fear of death, we must think of it constantly. The important thing is to think of it in the proper manner.” Heidegger and Sartre like most existentialists urge us to cultivate the awareness of death as a means of heightening our sense.

According to the former the awareness of death confers upon a man, a sense of his own individuality. In Buddhism, the conscious and willful awareness of death serves as a stimulant and promoter of the ethical life. In the awareness of death, get through your activities in life as though your head were ablaze’, says the Samyutta Nikaya.

Fear could be both advantages and disadvantages in one’s life. It has been proclaimed by the Buddha, that whosoever does not transgress the Dhamma overcoming lust, ill-will, fear and foolishness, his fame would become perfect and full. If on the other hand, he were to transgress the Dhamma his fame would be destroyed. It is mentioned in the Dhammapada that a person does not become learned merely because he talks too much. But he who is secure, without hate and fear is called learned. Buddha has declared that whosoever follows the Dhamma, does no evil, who has no desire, ill-will and fear is reborn in heaven while the one who is the opposite is born in hell. Those who see fear in what is not to be feared and see no fear in the fearsome embrace false views and go to miserable existences.

The Buddha is said to have admonished his followers as to the ways and means of getting rid of fear. He says in the Dhajagga Sutta should any fear arises in the mind of a monk he should recall to mind the excellences of the Buddha, of the Dhamma or the Sangha and peace would come to him. Further he says he whose mind is not soaked (by lust), he who is not afflicted (by hatred), he who has transcended both good and evil, for such a vigilant one there is no fear. The Buddha’s advice to his followers was that, if we are keen to get rid of fear we must cut down the forest (of the passions) from which arises fear.

Although the utterances of the Buddha were ‘be ye an island of refuge unto yourselves O bhikkhus and do not take refuge in others’, the average Buddhist immersed in worldly life, sought refuge to outside agencies, sometimes to overcome various fears which constantly assailed him. It is mentioned in the Dhammapada ‘men driven by fear go to many a refuge, to mountains and to forests, to sacred trees and shrines.’

The Buddhist monks who were eager to cater to their needs started chanting the benedictory verses. The very meaning of this term, protection or ward-rune make it obvious that people always live in fear. A layman invites the bhikkhus by saying “May you chant the benedictory verses, so that it would bring us fortune and dispel all our fears.”

In the course of chanting these verses the bhikkhus say “May all fears be overcome and may there be no danger, but long life”. One of these verses reveals that people were even afraid of evil and inauspicious things such as unpleasant cries of birds, bad planetary combinations, bad dreams etc. and these fears they believed could be destroyed by the power of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.

Fear on the whole is destructive to the individual and it paralyzes activity and debases the quality of thought. All strain, doubts, hesitation, worry mental and to some extent physical fatigue, fall away when the thought of ‘self’ has been banished. The result would be, that it would increase not only the happiness, but also the efficiency, courage and confidence of the individual.

From Buddhism: The Female Principle

The dual nature of the human being as the male and the female with their physical as well as intellectual and emotional differences is a fact that has to be admitted in any system of human thought. The problem of life is more or less the problem of the relationship between the two aspects of life, the male and the female, as symbolized by man and woman respectively in the phenomenal world. The teaching of Gotama being a practical solution to the problem of life’s conflicts, the question as regards the place he has accorded to the sexual polarity of man in his teaching is an important one.

In early Buddhism as handed down in the Pali literature of the Theravadins the comprehensive term brahmacariya (pure life) covers the entire content of the noble life as understood by Gotama. The most important feature of this higher life was the sexual purity of the practice. It means chaste living.

From one point of view it can be said that man, symbolizing the male principle of the universe, represents the active side of life while the woman, symbolizing the female principles of the universe, represents the passive side of life. In other words they symbolize the positive and the negative aspects respectively of one life-principle. But the two symbols cannot be torn as under from each other. Their appear separation in the empirical world is only a relative truth or a mere actuality. In an absolute sense there is no duality and the realization of this non-duality is the purpose of the religious life. In the world of actuality it is the combination of these two representatives of life-force that produces the individual and in the absolute sense it is the separation of the one from the other that creates the sexual duality in the world of actuality.

Whether we view if from the absolute or from the relative point of view, it becomes clear that the male has his female nature and the female has her male nature within their own psych-physical organizations. The fundamental difference is that in the male the active qualities predominate while in the female passive qualities are preponderant. In other words in every man his femininity is present within him, while in every woman her masculinity is present within her. The purpose of the religious life is the realization of this unity in the apparent duality. If any man were able to bring about a perfect balance between the male and the female natures within him, he would become a complete man who has transcended sexual duality. This applies to the woman as well. This, in short, is the meaning of the observances of chastity as a road to perfection as taught by Gotama Buddha under the term brahmacariya. This is the reason why sexual offences are said to make a bhikkhu fall away from the pure life he is expected to follow. A bhikkhu who has had sexual intercourse with a woman ceases to be noble. A man who undertakes to lead the pure life honestly must try to realize the unity of the male and the female qualities that are within him. For him there is no man or woman other than himself. This holds true for the woman as well. In a way the realization of the perfect union of man and woman within oneself is the true ‘sexual union’ for him or her. This kind of union appropriately designated as yoga in Indian philosophy, instead of tying one down to samsara releases one from it. It is psycho-physical meditational process aimed at realizing the non-duality state of the individual. It is the complete sublimation, but is no way the suppression of carnal desires. This is the philosophical truth based on which Buddhism upholds monogamous sexual relations between man and woman. A person who can sublimate his sexual desires this way by seeking union with the male and female qualities within oneself would be extremely difficult to regulate, let alone transcend it. This mutual attraction itself is the result of the necessity and the desire on the part of man and woman for union. But mere sexual union never offers a solution to the problem.

Instead it increases problems in many ways. The truth is that so long as a man or woman has not completed his or her own self by realizing the unity of the two sexes within oneself one has either to give in to the desires or suppress them. The true union between man and woman is something that transcends carnal appetite and the realization of this kind of transcendent love is the purpose of true love between the male and the female. The Greek conception of Platonic love is some thing analogous to this. It is the union with the Eternal Female, the mahamudra.

It is possible either to suppress sexual desire or to put an end to such desire by pandering to them. From the Buddhist point of view both these methods will increase one’s dukkha and in psychological language the victims of both these tendencies are split-personalities. He who suppress his desire is bound to become a mental patient or a pervert and the one who panders to every desire would end up as a physical and mental wreck. Satisfying the flesh in the latter way comes within the extremes of self-indulgence, while the killing of all desires by suppression is the other extreme, designated as self-mortification. For the achievement of the true yoga both these extremes have to be avoided and that is the purpose of the Buddhist way of life.

While the term brahmacariya in early Buddhism taught this path to perfection by sublimating the sexual desires, in the later phase of Buddhism generally designated as Tantrism the question is looked from a different angle. In early Buddhism, as could be gathered from the pitakas, the concept of the female principle is not treated as separate topic. Not even the male principle has been a serious topic of study for those thinkers of Gotama’s caliber. This might have been due to the fact that the intellectual environment of the Buddha’s time was one in which the problems or life were viewed from other angles, at least in Buddhist circles. In general, certain section of society seem to have believed in the sublimation of sex and the achievement of yoga through a life of chastity and this is the main theme of the pitakas, too.

When one considers the relative aspects of early and later Buddhism, as designated by the terms Hinayana and Mahayana, one can see that the idea of the female principle has been given more significance in later Buddhism in contrast to the place given to it in the early teaching. In early Buddhism, with the Buddha as the central figure, the male principle is more emphasized than its counterpart. The Buddha’s personality predominated in the entire teaching and he being a male, those who preserved the Theravada tradition seem to have overlooked the significance of the female aspect of existence. In the Theravada tradition the Buddha himself came to be treated as an ascetic who transcended the world, to be worshipped and revered, rather than as a practical man who had perfected his character both in theory and in practice. There was more theory than practice and the Theravada monks more or less became intellectual recluses divorced from the practicalities of life. But to counterbalance this there developed what is commonly called the Bodhisattva-ideal which attached equal importance to both theory and practice. Those who advocated this ideal treated the Buddha not as an escapist ascetic but as a practical and a perfect man. If Buddha is the symbol of such perfection of the male principle, why cannot there be a similar symbol of perfection of the female principle, there later Buddhism seem to have argued. It is true that there was no historical female Buddha on record. But the female side of life also could achieve perfection and enlightenment. The Buddha, as a male, has achieved perfect equilibrium between the male and female aspects of life by transcending sexual duality. And if the Buddha symbolizes this rare phenomenon as a man there can easily be a symbol representing the female achieving the same perfection. This resulted in the concept of the personalized Prajfiaparamita, depicted to a female symbolizing the perfection of wisdom, and which is one of the most important concepts of the Mahayana. Just as the Buddha, as a metaphysical concept, symbolizing the possibility of man’s achievement of perfection in the female form. Both are above the mundane difference of sex. Sophia of the Christian Gnostics and Surasvati of the Hindus are two other well-known concepts analogue to this Buddhist ideas of Prajfiaparamita.

As it was pointed out earlier, original Buddhism pays little attention to female deities, although the gods referred to are numerous. Whatever might have been the reasons for this, Buddhist India seems to have paid less attention to female deities than the male ones. This same trend of thought is reflected in the early Buddhist literatures of the Pali Canon, too. Hardly any place is given to female deities and as such it is natural that there was no possibility for a concept like that of Prajfiaparamita to develop in it. The practice of worshipping a goddess, which might have been a salient feature among the pre-Aryan Indians of the Indus Valley, seems to have greatly diminished in Vedic times and lost its significance in Buddhist India. But, with the development of the Mahayana, the worship of goddesses, influenced also by the Sakti cult of the Hindus, gradually assumed significance in Buddhism. There were tow sides to this development which can roughly be assigned to the 7th century A.C.. Both aspects are to be seen in what is popularly known as Tantric Buddhism. One line of development was in the direction of popular religion wherein magical practices such as mantras mandalas, mudras were given a place. It was in this same form of religion that at times erotic excesses were also resorted to. As can be judged from certain statements in texts like the Guhyasamaja-tantra, the symbols meaning of the realization of perfect wisdom seems to have been forgotten and a kind of magical Buddhism invented. The idea of Prajfiaparamita was the other line of development, where pure wisdom was regarded as a chaste and unapproachable goddess, transcending all sexual differences and as such regarded as the female counterpart of the Buddha. In this concept wherein the Buddha and Prajfiaparamita are regarded as symbols of perfection of the male and of the female principles of life, respectively, the two terms perfection and enlightenment have become synonymous. Unlike ordinary gods and goddesses who emphasize, by their bi-sexuality the polarity of the male and the female principles, the two concepts of Buddha and of the Prajfiaparamita both reveal the ecstatic state of undifferentiated sex, the ‘original man and woman’ as it were, in their undivided state of non-duality.

In Buddhism this concept has nothing to do with the practice of worshipping a goddess as a symbol of the creating energy of the universe in a divine form as in Saktism. The Hindu concept of Sakti symbolizes the creative power of the universe in female form whereas in Buddhism Prajfiaparamita symbolizes perfect wisdom, which by implication is tantamount to release, too, because she represents the female aspect of the Buddha. Hindu Sakti corresponds to the female aspect not of the Buddha, but of Siva as a personal god. The following words of Lama Anagarika Govinda may be quoted in this respect: “….Buddhist Tantrism is not Saktism. The concept of Sakti, of divine power, of the creative female aspect of the highest god (Siva) or his emanations does not play any role in Buddhism. While in the Hindu Tantras the concept of power (sakti) forms the focus of interest, the central idea of Tantric Buddhism is prajfia: knowledge and wisdom.”

“To the Buddhist Sakti is maya, the very power that creates illusion, from which only prajfia can liberate us…..” Elsewhere be further says “….even those Buddhist Tantras which build their symbolism upon the polarity of the male and the female, never represent the female principle as sakti, but always as its contrary, namely prajfia (wisdom), vidya (knowledge), or mudra (the spiritual attitude of unification, the realization of Sunyata). Herewith they reject the basic idea of Saktism and its world-creating eroticism.

It is this kind of perfect and undifferentiated union of the male and the female principles that is portrayed in Tibetan art as yab-yum or yuganaddha. The visual artist could not portray this all-important idea of yoga without showing man and woman in an embrace of eternal union. In such portrayals the figures are not sexual beings and “even their aspect of union is undoubtedly associated with the highest spiritual reality in the process of enlightenment so that associations with the realms of physical sexuality are completely ignored”. It is by taking these figures on their face-value as sexual being that they are very often interpreted as crude eroticism or religious blasphemy. Sexual attraction between the male and the female merely for the flesh is due to the absence of Samadhi within the individuals concerned. The union of the two in a transcendental sense means the sublimation of all base emotions and the Buddha and Prajfiaparamita symbolize the acme of this sublimation in the man and the female, respectively. In that state there is no raga, dvesa or moha no avidya and no tsna. It is the state of becoming one with the highest.

Philosophically it would be quite correct to say that the struggle of man centre round his perennial attempt at achieving perfect union with the second part of his split personality, the female. It is the same from the point of view of the female, too. If this union is achieved perfectly in a transcendental sense as so far discussed the struggle ceases with the cessation of the conflict between the two principles. Sexual differences between the male and the female are obtained only in the world of relativity (samsara) and the existence of such differences in only a relative truth. One who transcends this state of duality realizes the absolute, the ultimate state of integration, where no duality whatsoever exists. It is the uncreated state of the void which is aptly described by Govinda in the following words: “The becoming conscious of this sunyata is prajna: highest knowledge. The realization of this highest knowledge is enlightenment, i.e., if prajna (or sunyata), the passion, all-embracing female principle, from which everything recedes, is united with the dynamic male principle of active universal love and compassion, which represents the means for the realization of prajna and sunyata, then perfect Buddhahood is attained. Because intellect without feeling, knowledge without love, reasons without compassion, leads to pure negation, to rigidity, to spiritual death, to mere vacuity, while feeling without reason, love without knowledge (blind love), compassion without understanding, leads to confusion and dissolution. But when both sides are united, where the great synthesis of heart and head, feeling and intellect, highest love and deepest knowledge have taken place, there completeness is re-established, perfect Enlightenment is attained.

“The process of Enlightenment is therefore represented by the most obvious , the most human and at the same time the most universal symbol imaginable: the union of male and female in the ecstasy of love-in which the active element is represented as a male, the passive by a female figure-in contrast to the Hindu Tantras, in which the female aspect is represented as sakti, i.e., as the active principle, and the male aspect as Siva, as the pure state of divine consciousness, of ‘being’, i.e., as the passive principle, the ‘resting in its own nature.’

“In Buddhism symbolism the knower (Buddha) becomes one with his knowledge (prajfia), just as man and wife because one in the embrace of love, and this becoming one is highest, indescribable happiness. The Dhyani-Buddhas (i.e. the ideal Buddhas visualized in meditation) and Dhyani-Bodhisattvas as embodiments of the active urge of enlightenment, which finds its expression in upaya, the all-embracing love and compassion, are therefore represented in the embrace of their prajfia, symbolized by a female deity, the embodiment of highest knowledge”.

It is in this way that the attainment of Nirvana, the unconditioned state, as the state of absolute beauty, has to be explained from the standpoint of the sexual polarity of the male and the female principles, which, of course, is a mere incident of universal polarity.

From Buddhism: Fetter

The search for Truth, for realization, emancipation and enlightenment assume to most people the form of a positive quest. They even personify the object of their search, which become a pursuit of God or the Absolute. Though great spiritual men have declared that ‘the kingdom of God is within thee’, the search becomes a pursuit of an objectified imagination. But a ‘running after’ is also a running-away, an escape. In this pursuit, however, and not before, man feels that he is fettered, and his longing to be free, in order to become united with the object of his spiritual desire, become stronger. Feeling his impotency to break those chains with which he is fettered – whence he knows not – he tries to obtain help from outside. But in relying upon outside help he goes further and further away from the ‘kingdom’ within, and he merely makes new bonds which tie him down even stronger than before.

It is only the man who searches within that feels the weight of his fetters. There are millions who perceive no bond whatever and feel themselves free in the gratification of their sense-desire. Still, their very search for ever greater satisfactions of the sense proves the emptiness of their lives, which are bound by the gross chains of the flesh.

True freedom, real emancipation, cannot be had by running away with the fetters, with which we are shackled nor by amusing ourselves within the prison walls, nor by clinging to them, but by breaking those fetters and prison walls, which have been forged by tradition, convention, society and religion. To break these fetters we must know them, realize that they are fetters and not supports. When this is understood, it produces pure action (kriya), i.e. not action (kamma) which produces reaction (vipaka), as such action itself is a reaction to an environment which we have not understood. And this pure action without purposeful striving will break the spell of delusion, the fetters which keep us bound.

Delusion is intensified by the abuse of language. Sarcastically it has been said, that words are used to hide our thoughts. If we mean one thing, but we say something else, it can only lead to greater confusion. In the following pages words like ‘mind’ and ‘cause’ have not been use, except in connection with the views of others, because there is nothing corresponding to these sounds. “Mind” is the act of thinking, which may be more or less perfect in awareness, but remains action nevertheless. Mind in the sense of something which can think, is non-existent. Similarly “cause” in the ultimate sense does not exist outside the faith of the pious believer in God. Hence preference is given to expression like “condition”. It would have been good, if words like “I” and “Self” could have been omitted, for they too represent a non-existing entity; but their avoidance would cripple the language so much that speaking and writing would become impossible.

According to Buddhism there are ten fetters that bind beings to the samsaric existence. The texts enumerate them as follows: sakkaya ditthi, vicikiccha, silabbata paramasa, kamaraga, vyapada, ruparaga, aruparaga, mana, uddhacca, avijja. The first five of these are called the ‘lower fetters’ as they bind beings to the sensuous world. The latter five, ‘higher fetters’ because they bind beings to fine material and immaterial worlds. These fetters are gradually got rid of with the attainment of four spiritual stages.

From Buddhism: Sakkaya-ditthi (Fetter 01) Concept Of An Ego-entity

The most formidable fetter is not the “I” consciousness or the consciousness of self, but the delusion of self. The consciousness of self would be the awareness of the real nature of ourselves. This is extremely rare, as we are mostly aware only of certain reactions which the environment has caused. Frequently we are not even aware that we react at all, and our actions amount to little more than mechanical responses to certain stimuli. This, of course, can never lead to the understanding of reality for so long as the current thoughts cannot detach themselves and are merely products of the environment, one cannot have detached view, one but form a part of the mechanical process of the universe, which one sees from inside, moving with and moved by the current of events without individuality, without the consciousness of self. It is the absence of such consciousness which produce this fetter of misconception of individuality.

The mechanistic world-view does not consider the mind as something separate from matter, and in this the Materialists are quite right. But are they not going too far, when they try to reduce mental reaction to the simple level of chemical reactions? Certainly, matter and material objects form conditions on which depends the arising of thoughts. Again, the grey matter of the brain together with the nervous system form the necessary instruments by which man thinks. And yet, all these materials brought together artificially, i.e., outside a living organism, do not produce thought.

It is with the recognition of these facts that the theory of annihilationism is rejected. But many, while freeing themselves from the rigid bonds which reduce man to a machine, have run away too far, have gone to the very opposite, which is the fetter of misconception of individuality as a separate I-entity. It is this glorified “self” which becomes a spiritual soul endowed with everlasting life. It is the delusion of self.

And how does consciousness become “self” – delusion? Thoughts arise dependent on contract with sense objects. The impressions of the environment on the senses produce reactions in the individual. Repeated reactions are differentiated and classified in different groups according to some common characteristics, in which process many particulars are overlooked, so that finally a sensation is judged as acceptable or not, i.e., agreeable or disagreeable. Subsequent events are similarly judged, compared, registered, by which process the faculty of memory is born.

Memory is thus a retention of past experiences. But those past experiences have been retained only partly to make classification possible. In other words, what the memory has learned from experience is extremely imperfect and entirely based on reaction to a changing environment which was not understood, which was accepted because it was agreeable, or rejected because it was disagreeable. The registration of these reactions, based on half understood untruths, forms the standard by which new experiences are judged and classified. Thus it happens that no event is judged purely on its own merits, for it is always measured according to the old standard. Every new thought is thus guided by past thoughts, conveyed in direction particular to that individual, shaped and moulded until finally, tendencies are fixed and one’s character stereotyped.

In this process of fixation of character is born a sense of separation which causes all inner limitations and isolations, which form so many bonds and fetters, preventing growth and movement. Where consciousness of self would see a process of action, ever becoming and always new, there the delusion of self, sees a separation, permanent individualism, creating a “self” or a “soul” which is not only the recipient but also the custodian of all past experiences. The retention of part experiences prevents the full understanding of present and new experiences, while even the old ones have lost their value because they are dead and pass and were never fully understood. And yet the understanding or rather the realization of truth is only possible, if the individual process is understood. But as long as the reaction to the past prevents the full comprehension of the present, there cannot be true intelligence, though there may be knowledge.

Naturally, from this unnatural way of living in a dead past, from the lack of understanding the present environment, arises disharmony which is a conflict which only strengthens the opposition based on the delusion of self because this very conflict is classed as undesirable, i.e. not in harmony with the tendencies of “self”. Thus the delusion of self as a separate, isolated, permanent entity, which looks at the environment with the hostile eyes wherewith a house-owner would view a nightly intruder, become stronger with each new experience, always withdrawing deeper and deeper into the self-protective shell of its dead past.

When the delusion of self sees isolation and permanence in individuality, there the consciousness of self sees an ever new becoming process of action. Where delusion of self lives on the past, consciousness of self lives on the present, - and is the present. True and full intelligence shows itself in the perfect action of the present moment, which solves the actual conflict – not by forcing it into the mould of past experiences, thereby killing the present, nor by projecting it through purposeful striving into a future not yet born – but by the understanding of “self” as a process of reaction to environment. It is the binding of one’s individuality to the dictates of the environment, expressed as laws of society and convection, religious prohibitions and selfish fears, traditions, habits, and customs – it is the binding to the environment, which constitutes the fetter of the delusion of self, a fetter which can be broken only through the understanding of that environment of which the individual is a mere product. The understanding of “self” as a reaction makes it one with the ever changing environment, dissolves the delusion of the separateness, dispels the misconception of opposites and thereby ends the conflict.

To seek a method of breaking this spell of self-delusion would amount to the forging of a new fetter. The only thing to do is to live completely in the present, to change over from reaction to action, so that every moment a new creation, not brought about by reaction like attraction or repulsion, but an independent action which alone is capable of giving true freedom and deliverance.

Life In Metaphor

Life is often expressed metaphorically as a journey from the womb to the tomb. There are the crossroads along the way and at every junction one made decision that pave the destiny of this lifetime. Nevertheless the end is the tomb. The tomb however is not the ultimate end for there is yet another beyond. Because of karmic bondage, one is enslaved to the cycle of rebirth and death for countless times. The Buddha taught the way to free ourselves from this bondage and enter into Nibanna.

Let me relate my life in a metaphor. Life is like taking a long trip home on bumpy road by bus, and home is about a hundred kilometer away. Consider a year to be taken as one kilometer before we continue the journey.

Our bus stopped at the fourth kilometer bus stand where my father got out. My mother and I carried on the journey without him. Finally the bus came to its station at the crossroad. We had to board another bus to continue our journey. Everybody at the station was going home. We did not have the fare as my father left us without any money. Soon my mother befriended a man who gave us the fare. He came on the same bus with us. After a few stops, his mother came aboard. She was unfriendly.

When the bus stopped at the fourteenth kilometer bus stand, I got out and then it went on its way without me. I walked until I came to a bus station at another crossroad. Somebody was kind enough to pay for my fare. I continued my journey. After a few stops Mabel came aboard. It was a brief encounter. She got out at the next bus stand.

There are too many pages to write about the journey. In short at every crossroad I board another bus often sharing time with some who I cared for until one day I found myself traveling alone at dawn and with insufficient fare to move on.

I can never reach home in this lifetime because my home is Nibanna.

Other Dimensions

To me Buddhism is more a philosophy and science rather than a religion. The Buddha taught us how to live our life with mindfulness and how to control our mental state to avoid suffering. Nevertheless he could not save us from the fruition of our karma. He taught about the phenomena of all existences – arising, being and ceasing.

We understand what the first, second and three dimensions are. I believe it was about the concept of dimension within the plane of existence that the Buddha said that his teaching was beyond the understanding of mankind.

Today scientists talk about the fourth dimension (time space). From my study of Buddhism, there are other dimensions such as energy space, formless space and nothingness space (Nibanna).

The first, second and third dimensions are planes of existence with physical form. Time space, energy space, formless space and nothingness space dimensions are planes of existence without form (without any of the five basic elements).

We live in the three dimensional world trapped in the fourth dimension of time space.

There are energy fields around us such as electro magnetic wave, solar energy, etc from the energy space dimension.

Hell, heavens, demonic world, ghost world, buddha lands etc are the formless space dimensions.

All existence has its own time space dimension and has a lifespan for nothing is eternal.

The nothingness dimension is the ultimate Nibanna – the goal of Buddhism.

Existence

For the past four years I had been studying the teaching of the Buddha. It is not easy to fully understand the doctrine. Even the Buddha upon his attainment of supreme enlightenment was reluctant to teach as it was beyond the understanding of mankind. That was two thousand five hundred years ago. Few Buddhist today study his teaching in depth and are merely followers performing ritual ceremonies and reciting prayers.

In time I will post his teaching taken from some Pali language translation. One needs to know the fundamental laws of the Universe to understand Buddhism.

The Buddha never mentioned about God the Creator. He acknowledged there are ten thousand world systems in the Universe with life forms. Other world systems came in being long before our solar system exists.

The Universe is composed of five elements namely air, water, fire, earth and metal. Our physical form is basically our breath the air, the heat of our body the fire, our blood the water and our body the earth. The true consciousness is our mental state which is a non-physical energy form. We are mental state within a physical form not an entity with a self and in actuality an identity of our present lifetime.

All existences are either with form or formless and are impermanent subject to arising, being and ceasing. There are six realms of existence – human world, animal kingdom, ghost world, demonic world (asura), hell and heaven (devaloka or world of gods).

Is It Time!

I was always interested in the mystery of life and the universe. I read books on astrology, numerology, feng shu, palmistry, i-ching and other religious subject. When I saw the slow death of the grandmother, I began to search for the answer of where we go after death. What was the point of living when one has to die! I never know the answer until now.

I was in my final year at school when my schoolmate told his parents about me. They invited me to stay with them. The parents liked to play mahjong and poker games. His father was a civil servant and most of the gamblers were neighbors from the nearby government quarters. There was gambling session everyday. I helped to clean up the place at the end of the day.

One day a stranger came to gamble and he took a look at my palms. He told me that I would have three families and five children. I did not believe him then. How could anyone foresee my future by looking at the palms!

A few years later I did an astrological chart of myself based on my time, date of birth and the location of my birthplace. It was astonishing and mystical. According to my chart I would be a recluse one day. I was afraid and stopped my research.

During my years of depression I met someone who was familiar with ‘the book of three lives’. She told me that having being sick I would be visited by seven persons before my timely death. Strangely I got sick recently and seven persons visited me. I seldom get sick not even a cold or cough. I am feeling better now. I am not sure if it is time but I have the sudden urge to write this blog as my legacy. My mind is so clear on what I need to write. I do not normally have this kind of concentration. Is it a premonition! I am not afraid of death. I do not want to be a burden to anybody. My final wish is to be cremated and my ashes to the blue ocean not the river. This will be Alex’s duty as my son.

Just before my daughters’ mother left for Australia at the beginning of the year, I told her that she may not see me again when she returned.

I still have a lot more to write. So let me finish what I have set out to do.

What If

We create the condition of changes to our life. We made decisions based on our state of mind which is often clouded in greed, ignorance and stupidity. The perception of the mind is deceive by our senses in seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and emotional feeling. We are the cause of our suffering in life. We cannot blame others for our suffering. This is the teaching of the Buddha.

For the past years, I asked myself a lot of questions.

What if my father did not meet my mother! Definitely I will not be born and my five children will not come into existence. We are not an entity with a self but a true consciousness with a karmic baggage that actualize its phenomenal existence of birth and death. This is what we are. I may be born in one of the ten thousand world systems of the universe. We cannot escape the wheel of birth and deaths until our true consciousness no longer carry the karmic burden. Then we go into nothingness or Nibanna.

What if I was patient enough to win over Mabel and eventually marry her! My life could have been simple. She would be my only love. Decision changes condition that paves another direction of life.

What if I was not involved with the mother of my daughters! Then my second and third families would not come into being. Conditions are created from the mind through thoughts put into action. Action creates karmic effect – good or bad.

What if Esther did not smashed up my car in the accident! Ann could not have come into my life. Then I would still be with Florence and Alex. I did not create the condition. Condition also arises because the fruition of karma of past lives. I must have owe her in one of past lives, and we meet again in this lifetime. This is what I believe.

What if I had not moved my three daughters to Kuala Lumpur! I did not spend time with my daughters as they were growing up. So I moved them to Kuala Lumpur when I was financially sound. I started a business for them. It did not worked out and I lost very heavily. The business was a bad decision.

Life goes on even when we stop. We should adjust ourselves to the changing phases of life and live with whatever we have.

Not Forgetting

In life there are happenings that one always remembers.

I watched the slow death of the grandmother and helped to carry her coffin. I delivered Irene when she was born. I had seen death and birth.

When I was young and staying with the grandmother, one day I dreamt of Kuan Yin the goddess of mercy (Avalokitasvara). When I was thirteen, I was nearly drowned in the mining pool. As I was sinking downward, I thought of Kuan Yin and then strangely I came to the surface.

Esther and I could have been killed in the car accident at Tanjong Malim. Before leaving for Penang, we dropped by a Taoist temple in Rawang and paid respect to the deity. I used to frequent this temple and knew the keeper. Someone once told me that I was always protected by deities. Seven cars were involved in that accident. We came out without a scratch. Some suffered minor injuries. However my car was badly damaged.

My 60s

Today I am sixty five. One reaps what one sow. My past had finally caught up with me. Now I feel the effects of my past action. Life is about how to overcome and survive suffering. One has to move on and face the reality of life. There is no way to escape the consequence of one’s deed. This is the karma the Buddha referred to.

My daughters are married. On and off their mother stayed with Irene in Australia.

Alex is in Australia. Maybe he does not remember having a father. Florence has not forgiven me. That is acceptable to me.

Robin is still young and staying with Ann. I am not sure he really knows what is happening to my life. She is with another married man (George) for the past four years. The man is loaded. She need not have to work. He bought her a luxurious condominium and gave her a substantial amount. She must be very happy with what she have now.

Finally I am staying alone in the house that belongs to Jane. I am so used to loneliness that it becomes part of me. It takes a miracle for me to really live again. I have the will but not the means. Over the past years my health is deteriorating. In reality nobody cares anymore. There is nobody for me to talk to. So I decided to write this blog. Maybe someone will hear me. But why should anyone care! I am not the only one suffering. Others suffer too. In actuality I want to let go the burdens that I had been carrying all my life. I want to tell my story. I am not ashamed of the truth. It set me free. It is a relief to my state of mind.

In 1998 after Malacca, I mortgaged my condominium to the bank for a loan. I sold illegal software to oversea customers online. I managed to put just food on the table. I could no longer provide the comfort of the past. I did not asked Ann for money though she worked as a therapist in a spa. In 2000, I withdrew my employee providence fund and that was all the saving of my life.

In 2001 our relationship took a turn when she started going out with other men. I was under depression and could not concentrate on anything. That was the first time in my life that I have difficulties in solving my problem. I came close to committing suicide.

One day I went away with Robin to Port Dickson for a few days. I read a Buddhism book I took with me. I remember somewhere in the book, it was written: “To be happy, let go unhappiness”, “Life is delusional for nothing remains forever without change”, “One must accept the changes when they arise” and etc. I spent the days with very deep thoughts on what I had read. I came home and had a very serious talk with Ann.

I listened to her side of the story. She told she was young when she met me. There were a lot of things she did not realize then that she now realized. She no longer had the feeling for me anymore. I was too old for her. I did not force her to be with me then. We had been together for nineteen years and Robin was twelve. After all those years I could not understand how she justified herself. It was meaningless to be together since she had changed. I decided to end our marriage and set her free. That was in 2006. Four years had gone by. I lost the reason for living though I have forgiven her for whatever she had done to me.

She shattered my life. Perhaps I deserve it after all I also shattered the lives of Florence and the mother of my daughters when I left them. For whatever reasons I had then, it was still wrong. I felt very hurt and finally understood that what goes around comes around. I am too old to pick up the pieces and start over again in life. It is too late now. I have lost twenty years. That is the reality to live with.

Back in 1989 when I was working for Vincent, I should have dump her and gone back to Florence. We were not married at that time. I had no reason to be with her other than my commitment. The ending of my story will be different and I will have nothing to write on this blog. Probably this blog will never come into being.

Every action taken today paves the destiny of tomorrow. One needs to be careful in life.

My 50s

In the 1990s’ I had my three families staying in Kuala Lumpur. Conditions changed and my families began to break up.

In 1992 I started a business managed by my three grown up daughters. A year later I closed the business after suffering substantial losses. My daughters went separate ways. Lillian worked as sales supervisor in a retail store. Irene went oversea, and Jane worked as a receptionist in a spa outlet.

That year I stopped working for Vincent because a conflict of interest. I was out of job for the next two years and Ann helped out by going back to work as part time GRO.

In 1995 I managed a shopping complex south of Kuala Lumpur. It was a failing complex that I was to revive. A year later I resigned as the situation was so bad that I could do nothing. Soon we moved to Malacca when I started up a new shopping mall. In 1997 I left because I was caught in between the differences of the complex’s owners who were Singaporean and Taiwanese. We moved back to Kuala Lumpur. That was my last job.

A later year Jane recommended Ann to work as a therapist in the spa outlet. That was the beginning of my break up with Ann in years later.

When I stopped working for Vincent, I had to stay away from Florence so that Esther would help her. I was not careful with my life and became a victim of circumstances. Today I realize I made a bad decision then. No doubt Florence stayed on her job in Vincent’s company and later sent Alex to Australia for further studies but I cannot forgive myself for losing them.

My 40s

My forties were my prime of life with so many happenings. When I joined the syndicate, my whole life changed. My income was substantial. For a while I was happy and then my life became complicated. I cannot disclose much about my work with these people. The mode of the illegal operation was originated from Shanghai, China. In Cantonese it is known as “loy tip chin zee how”. I traveled extensively and felt lonely most of the time. There was insecurity and uncertainty whenever on the job. After four years I left the syndicate. I wanted to lead a normal life.

Probably it was the reason why I got involved with Ann. Some time I thought about leaving Ann, but I had committed too deep into our relationship. She had helped me financially when I was not on any job. After staying for six years together, I married her. I was forty eight and she was twenty seven. The following year Robin was born.

At one time Esther and I were getting too close. Although we were together alone at times, we did not do anything that was unwholesome. We were good. I liked her but was not about to do anything that would effect my marriage to Florence. I took the opportunity to keep my distance from her after the car accident. Years later Esther married Vincent. When I left the syndicate, I worked for Vincent.

In 1988 Florence moved back to Kuala Lumpur and later worked for Vincent. That was the first time she worked. I had to share my time between Florence and Ann. That was my problem.

In 1990 the family in Penang moved to Kuala Lumpur after I sold the apartment.

The Buddha once said “Life is uncertain but death is certain”. My life is full of uncertainties. I was unable to settle down.