MJ29 - 38 Blessings - Seeing a True Monastic (30 of 39)
This is the thirtieth session of the Buddhist path of practice leading from the mundane to the transcendental based on the 38 Blessings of the Mangala Sutta. This twenty-ninth blessing concerns recognizing a true-practicing monastic teacher and seeing them on the levels of body, mind and meditation, as the groundwork to training the mind toward more esoteric states.
Transcript
Last time you saw me,
We looked at blessing number 28 on openness to criticism.
With it I'm at all today,
We'll continue in our series on Enlightened Living to the third blessing in the Instilling Oneself with Higher Virtues subsection,
That is,
Number 29 on the Sight of a True Monastic.
The underlying principle of acquiring the higher virtues is that the patience and openness to criticism developed in the earlier blessings,
Together with seeing a true monastic in this blessing,
Will be a foundation to prepare us to discuss spiritual teachings with a monastic which is the topic of the next blessing.
The objectives of this blessing are firstly to make ourselves worthy of discussing the Dharma with a monastic.
Since a monastic is an ordained person who has no need of anything from anyone,
They are no longer motivated by fame or social standing,
If we cannot be sufficiently patient to listen to what they have to say,
Then why should they bother to teach us at all?
Even if you were to conduct yourself in a pleasant way,
Their main priority is to attain liberation from the world,
Training themselves in seclusion.
This is why,
If you were to conduct yourself in an inappropriate way,
You would be an unattractive prospect indeed,
To be taught by them.
The second objective of seeing a true monastic is to recognize the sort of monastic able to benefit us with their teaching.
Part of the objective of this blessing is to allow us to recognize a good monastic when we see one,
And at the same time to avoid being taken in by those masquerading as monastics.
We mustn't overlook qualities that make someone a true monastic otherwise we run the risk of meeting a monastic without recognizing them as such,
As did the main character Gamanitta in Karl Gellerup's Nobel Prize winning novel,
The Pilgrim Gamanitta,
About a man who searched high and low for the Buddha,
Hoping the Buddha would heal his broken heart.
One day he met an old monk and ended up talking to him all night,
Because the monk seemed to be able to answer all his questions.
The next morning he bade the monk farewell and continued on his search for the Buddha,
Without realizing that the monk he'd been talking to all night had been the Buddha himself.
Even when at the end of his life he was gored to death by a mad cow,
He still didn't realize who he'd been speaking to.
This is why,
If you don't want to make the same mistake as Gamanitta,
You must study the 29th blessing of the Mangala Sutta attentively.
The third and final objective of seeing a true monastic is understanding by example the meaning of Dhamma we have not experienced for ourselves.
With higher virtues,
If you just say,
Such and such is a good virtue,
Is good in such and such a way,
It brings the listener no close to understanding it.
You always need to give an example.
Supposing you tell someone,
Keeping the ethical precepts will unburden your mind,
And someone had never heard of the precepts,
They would disagree immediately because ethical precepts look like a way of cluttering up the mind with prohibitions.
To the uninitiated,
The more precepts you have,
The less life has to offer.
To them,
Being as free as a bird equates with keeping no precepts,
Because you can do exactly as you please.
You can be edgy,
You can be badass,
You can be promiscuous.
They would argue that keeping no precepts would certainly make for a happier life.
They have only ever seen cheerful drunks,
Nightclub singers,
Dancers and boxing crowds.
So if you insist keeping the precepts makes you cheerful,
They might accuse you of lying.
However,
The day such a person meets up with a monastic who keeps 227 precepts,
Who is peaceful and has a radiant complexion,
They will realise,
Yes,
Monastic is cheerful too,
But it may be a kind of cheerfulness that they have never encountered before.
On the contrary,
If someone has never met such a monastic before,
There would be no way they could realise the capacity of the precepts to make people happy.
People need to understand things based on their previous experience.
If one tries to understand something new in terms of experience in which one is lacking,
It's impossible to make the conceptual leap.
There is a quick story to illustrate this point.
Once upon a time there lived two friends,
A turtle and a fish.
The fish was confined to the water,
But the turtle was amphibious and could travel in the water or on the land.
When the turtle returned from his travels on the land,
It would tell the fish about all it had seen.
At first,
The fish was not very interested,
But after hearing the stories about the land,
Day in,
Day out,
It became more and more fascinated.
The fish asked,
When you say that birds fly,
Do you mean like a frog?
Well,
Everyone knows the difference between a hopping frog and the flight of a bird,
But the turtle was unable to make the fish understand the difference.
And when you say that elephants are large and have tusks,
Are the tusks the same as the whiskers on a prawn?
Again,
The turtle was unable to make the fish understand the difference.
And when you say that trees have trunks,
Branches and twigs with leaves,
Are they the same as seaweed?
The turtle was unable to make the fish understand the difference.
However,
Many questions the fish asked,
The turtle was unable to explain.
Finally,
The turtle realized that there is one important condition for being able to explain things to another person,
That both people must share common experience to be able to communicate.
Without such common experience,
The speaker may as well be speaking to themselves.
It's like trying to explain the spiciness of Thai chili to a European who's never tasted it.
They may ask,
Is it hot?
And when you say yes,
They assume it will be hot like ginger or mustard.
The only way to explain it is to share first-hand experience by saying,
Open your mouth and shut your eyes.
At which point it was suddenly dawn on them that hot for Thai chili means hot like red hot charcoal.
The word for seeing a true monastic in this blessing is Sammananancha Dasanan.
The etymology comes apart as two words,
The word Sammana,
Which means a peaceful one,
And the word Dasanan,
Which means to see.
To look a little closer at what we mean by Sammana,
We had better compare translations of a few other similar words.
The word Pappajitta means an ordained person,
In other words,
A person who's gone forth into the homeless life.
They were not married and have decided to remain single and to spend their time training themselves in meditational discipline instead.
A Pappajitta can belong to any religion and may not necessarily be Buddhist.
The word Bhikkhu means a certain sort of Pappajitta in Buddhism who supports themselves by collecting alms and who must practice the dhammas of a peaceful one,
According to the regulations laid down by the Buddha.
The word Sammanera means a novice monk,
Which is also a type of Pappajitta,
But is usually a minor aged between seven and twenty unless they are an adult postulant.
Even those who wear white to practice the eight precepts at the temple are also a precursory sort of ordinant.
Buddhist nuns are also a form of ordinant.
By comparison,
The word Sammana should be reserved for Bhikkhus who really practice the dhammas of a peaceful one,
To the point that they are peaceful in body,
Speech and mind.
A Sammana,
Therefore,
Means a monastic whose body,
Speech and mind are already well trained,
Someone who I refer to from here on as a true monastic.
In previous revisions of this lecture,
I always used the word monk instead of monastic,
But thinking about it,
All the same blessings can be derived from seeing a well-practicing female monastic,
So I have chosen to use a more inclusive word.
As for the word Dasana,
This comes from the same root as a possibly more familiar word Darshan.
The word translates literally as viewing,
But can also mean to have audience with.
It is also spelt Darshana,
And in Indian philosophy and religion,
Particularly in Hinduism,
It means the beholding of a deity,
Especially in image form,
A revered person or a sacred object.
Hindus especially have the idea of deriving blessings from laying eyes on a guru.
Darshans are also found in Buddhism and Jainism,
But in the Buddhist context we are looking at today,
It means seeing an exemplary sort of monastic.
Just because a person shaves their head and dons robes doesn't automatically make them a true monastic,
As many of you will be aware from the recent news feature about meth-addicted monastics in Thailand.
Unfortunately,
There are some monastics who have a daily regime which consists of nothing more than eating,
Sleeping and watching the sports channel.
Such monks could hardly be called true monastics.
At the most generous,
They might be considered trainee monastics,
Nothing more than bhikkhus.
So you have to be careful about your definition of a true monastic,
Because if you pick the wrong sort of monastic,
You will regard monks as parasites rather than blessings.
In cases where you see monastics doing unsuitable things,
You should remind yourself that they are just trainees,
But are not yet true monastics.
The Samanya-Pālasutta teaches us not only the thing which identifies a good monastic,
But also characteristics of monastics to be avoided.
The first of these is lacking faith in the Vinaya,
Or monastic discipline.
It leaves monks without any intention to train or improve their ethical behaviour.
Some ordain simply to escape their worldly problems,
Like monks in the news who were usually meth-heads before they were ordained,
Or to avoid the hard work of earning a living.
Some ordain to evade legal proceedings.
The second characteristic of a problematic monastic is laxity in following monastic code of conduct.
This is obviously in the case of monastics lying,
Taking drugs,
Taking an evening meal or listening to music.
The third characteristic of a problematic monastic is going to places which are out of bounds or agogara for a monastic.
This may include monastics going to places of entertainment or commerce,
On personal business instead of by invitation.
The fourth characteristic of a problematic monastic is gambling or encouraging supporters to waste time with gambling.
The fifth characteristic of a problematic monastic is being interested to converse on worldly subjects.
Such subjects might include fashion or waging war,
Or other subjects not directly concerned with monastic duties.
The sixth characteristic is involvement with jobs that are the domain of the householder.
These may include tasks such as matchmaking or being a go-between,
Or canvassing for votes.
A seventh characteristic is making a living out of black arts.
Examples might include fortune-telling,
Initiations,
Charms,
Witch-doctory,
Numerical house charms,
And yantras,
Making predictions,
Looking at the vital signs of adults,
Children or animals,
Or lucky stars for marriage.
An eighth characteristic is playing games,
And such games might include chess,
Drafts,
Cards,
Computer games,
Or even ball games.
A ninth characteristic is boasting,
And this may include boasting about one's personal ability or looking down on the abilities of other monastics.
A tenth characteristic of a problematic monastic is indulging the senses,
Which is particularly difficult to avoid in the present day with the accessibility of the internet.
A eleventh characteristic of a problematic monastic is distorting the teachings,
And this may include explaining Buddhism in a way that deviates from the Dhammavinaya,
Or which perpetuates false views such as the non-existence of heaven and hell,
That death is the end of the story,
Or there's no afterlife.
A twelfth characteristic is deviousness,
Because monastics may in some cases use dishonest means to mislead the public,
For example,
Into understanding that they have attained the stages of sainthood.
I once came across the example of a monastic who had predicted disaster for a mixed couple,
A Western husband and a Thai wife,
Which they could only avoid if a substantial donation were made to his temple.
Although the couple were not taken in by this charade,
It shook the faith of the Westerner,
Who never trusted Buddhist monks again.
And the final characteristic of problematic monastics is displaying a lack of contentment.
This might be noticeable from the way a monastic's accommodation is furnished,
With excessive luxury perhaps,
A big screen TV,
The accumulating lots of bric-a-brac beyond any possible utility,
None of which are helpful for their dharma practice.
There may be characteristics of unworthy monks beyond these thirteen,
But any one of the thirteen behaviours I've mentioned is sufficient for you to suspect a lack of authenticity.
So don't go wasting time with monastics who say they can turn silver into gold,
Or can give you a fertility spell or predict lottery winners.
In the upcountry temples of Thailand,
Laypeople get very excited about monastics who say they can predict winning numbers on a lottery.
When coming to Wat Phra Dnam,
However,
Such people would be disappointed because Aum Po used to make it known at Wat Phra Dnam there's no holy water,
No lucky numbers,
No spells,
No fortune telling.
All we have is a stopping of the mind.
What do you want from the Buddha's teachings,
The bark or the heartwood?
Shortly after World War II,
Around 1955,
Black market lotteries were rife in Thailand.
Normally anyone asking for lottery tips would be chased out of that temple.
One day,
However,
A regular in the congregation who practiced meditation sporadically had come to Lom Po asking for lottery tips to ameliorate his poverty.
Lom Po didn't say a word,
But he turned to one of his attendants for a pencil and paper.
Lom Po scribbled briefly on the paper and sealed it in an envelope.
The layman put out his hand to receive the envelope,
But Lom Po withdrew it from reach,
Saying,
Don't forget,
This lottery is going to be the most important of your life.
It will bring you riches both in this life and in the hereafter.
The layman was ecstatic,
Smiling broadly and thinking about his riches.
Lom Po had his conditions,
However.
Don't forget,
Don't rush to open this envelope.
Wait until you get home,
Take a wash and freshen up.
Have a good meal.
Continue your evening chanting.
Sit for meditation until your mind is clear as a diamond.
Don't dare to open the envelope if your mind isn't yet clear.
Otherwise you'll miss out on worldly success.
As soon as the layman stepped down from the pavilion,
A crowd gathered around him.
Some people fought with one another in order to get the best price to buy the envelope from him.
He refused to sell it,
However.
There was no way he was going to give up the prospect of riches.
He went home without telling anyone,
Bathed,
Had a meal and kneeled down to do his chanting.
His wife and children said nothing,
But noticed he was meditating much more seriously than usual.
As soon as he thought his mind was clear,
He whipped out the envelope and prepared to receive his lucky number.
He cautiously opened the envelope and took out the slip of paper.
On the paper were written nine words.
The more you gamble,
The more you rob yourself.
He nearly had a heart attack.
He thought angrily.
If Lom Po wasn't going to help on the lottery,
Why didn't he just say so?
Why did he have to insult me as well?
Next he felt regret.
He hadn't sold the envelope when all those other people had offered to buy it.
However,
The peace of mind from having just completed his meditation still pervaded his mind and he started to think,
If Lom Po has gone to such lengths just to teach me a lesson,
It means that I really have no chance of winning the lottery.
And from that day forth,
He lost all interest in the lottery.
All his old lottery friends,
Who had used to be wealthier than him,
Gradually went bankrupt one by one.
Some never won the lottery.
Others did win,
But the organisers refused to pay up and died in the ensuing fights.
The layman continued with the task of earning an honest living and from the successful business and the money he saved from not buying lottery tickets,
He soon became wealthy and contributed to the temple's upkeep.
At last he realised that Lom Po hadn't tricked him with promises of fortune all those years ago,
But had wanted him to realise his true wealth rather than letting the lottery gobble up all his income.
As we shall see later,
There are different levels on which we can catch a glimpse of a true monastic.
However,
We can start by making some generalisations which apply at all levels of description of a monastic's behaviour.
Firstly,
A true monastic must be peaceful in action.
He must be completely free from actions that might harm others.
They cannot carry weapons,
Pick fights with others or even join a demonstration,
Except perhaps for protesting an alcohol IPO on the stock market.
They cannot beat the pumpet with their fist as they give a sermon.
None of their physical actions must be provocative.
Anyone who sees them must be left with nothing other than a positive impression.
They may not be attractive in the same way as a movie star,
But they will be inspiring and uplifting to those who see them.
If a monastic has no presence,
Then maybe it is because they lack confidence in their own worth.
True monastics will have confidence in their own good deeds,
So they will not feel embarrassed,
No matter what company they're in.
Second,
A true monastic must be peaceful in speech.
They must be completely free from malicious gossip,
Harmful speech or boasting.
How would you like to meet a monastic who said,
My temple is the best,
Any other temple pales by comparison,
My way of meditation is the best,
Don't bother paying attention to any other sort of meditation.
Monastic must be well-spoken,
And what they say must be serious,
Not just said to get cheap laughs.
It's also not suitable for a monastic to take sides in matters such as politics,
Any more than they would refuse a particular person a funeral.
Thirdly,
A true monastic must be peaceful in mind.
They must train themselves to rid the mind of thoughts of greed.
If a monastic doesn't try to free their mind from greed by training meditation,
Before long they will want to have supplementary activities,
Such as being a witch doctor,
A fortune teller or a lottery tipster.
In the same way,
They should not allow their mind to come under the influence of hatred or ignorance.
However,
It is easier said than done.
They must try to train the mind to hold the time,
And always maintain a good temper.
A monk cannot become a true monastic simply through their achievements in temple construction.
The sort of monastic efforts that make a difference to their authenticity are to make sure that they are never a danger to anyone.
Secondly,
They should not be biased by the temptation of wealth.
If you find monastics overtaking one another on an arms round to compete for food,
Could you trust them with anything more valuable?
Thirdly,
They must practice the dharmas of a peaceful one,
Which means that they must train themselves to avoid the temptations of excessive eating and sleeping.
They need to have a steadfast daily routine,
Joining the morning and evening chanting without fail,
Studying Buddhist scriptures and memorizing the chanting used in ceremonies.
Their manners should be polite.
And lastly,
Monastics should practice the austerities to reduce any residual bad habits in the mind.
These include the practice of meditation and the austere practices that we will hear more about in Blessing 31 that are supposed to help monks avoid the temptation of continually pleasing themselves.
In conclusion,
To this general introduction to the features of the true monastic,
We can say that a monastic is someone whose happiness comes entirely from spiritual sources.
We have already seen from the contentment of Blessing 24 that happiness can come from either material or spiritual sources.
But for a true monastic,
The connection with happiness from inner peace is so well developed that it manifests in all that they do and in their appearance as well.
So to return to our subject matter of seeing a true monastic for today,
Let's look at the practicality of seeing a true monastic in a way that can bring us blessings.
In the Buddhist case,
Seeing a monastic has a little more developed than a mere sighting of a rare bird species or viewing a show home.
Even spotting a monastic pass by your door is not exactly what is meant by the sight of a true monastic.
What is intended is to be on closer terms with a monastic until you can start to distinguish the virtues of the monastic in question.
So to see a true monastic is not as simple as it sounds.
In fact,
The word to see can have three different levels of meaning.
Firstly,
There is seeing with the eye,
Which refers to a monastic's outward appearance.
Secondly,
There is seeing with the mind,
Which refers to a monastic's outward behavior.
Lastly,
There is seeing through meditation,
Which refers to a monastic's entertainments.
The reason we have to look on all three levels to see a true monastic is because every person is many-layered.
So let's consider each level of description in turn.
According to the Samanya Pālasutta,
Which is the second discourse of the Dīgha Nikaya,
The outward appearances of a true monastic,
Which can to some extent be observed from their outward manner and behavior,
Some of which we have already seen in blessing number nine,
The first of these is to be a monastic who has ordained with an aim in mind,
Which means being obviously purposeful in training themselves to be a good prospect,
Whether it be in the restraint of the senses,
Becoming educated in Buddhism,
Both in theory or pariyati,
And practice or patibati,
By studying the scriptures and following a correct method of meditation until being able to tame the mind,
Bring peace,
Radiance and eventually wisdom to understand life and the world as it truly is.
In addition to this,
They ought to be restrained in accordance with the patimokkha or patimokkha-sambhara,
They ought to be pure in livelihood or ajiva-paristhi,
And they ought to use the requisites only after reflection or bhajjaya-bhattobhikkhana.
Only monastics who have manifested such characteristics are worthy of the praise,
Faith,
Homage and support of householders.
Second level of seeing a monastic is seeing with the mind.
This means appreciating the good manner and conduct of a monastic.
You might notice that in the kuti of a monastic there are virtually no possessions,
That a monastic hardly owns anything but the humble bedclothes and a set of Buddhist scriptures.
The small amount of possessions would lead us to suppose that a monastic studies the tipitaka whenever they are free.
We might observe a battered meditation mat in the corner of the room and deduce that they meditate as part of their daily routine.
So what we are talking about are the abstract virtues that can be deduced from the material evidence we see.
According to the Samanya-pallasutta,
The five characteristics of a true monastic which can be observed on the level of the mind are firstly sense restraint or indriya-sambhara,
When in public it is especially important for monastics to restrain the sense doors rather than,
For example,
Having a roving eye,
To be worthy of the homage of lay people and monastics who are their junior.
Monastics who are habitually restrained according to the Bhattimokkha will find that it comes naturally to restrain the senses both in public and behind closed doors.
Secondly,
They should show mindfulness and clear comprehension,
Known in Pali respectively as satticchand-sampaccchanya.
This means not allowing the mind to wander or drift in a way that undermines the faith of others.
Thirdly,
They should show contentment or santutti.
This means mainly contentment with what they have and what they receive,
Not going to great lengths to ask for special treatment and gifts from lay people in a way that undermines the faith of others.
Fourthly,
There is freedom from the hindrances or nibbārāṇa.
Although the hindrances are hidden away in the mind,
A monastic must be careful not to let the hindrances manifest themselves,
For example,
By losing their temper,
By hateful speech,
Sleepiness,
Reluctance,
Boredom with life,
Or doubt about the teachings.
On the contrary,
A monastic should show enthusiasm for a life of training,
Restraint,
And give encouragement and guidance to lay people.
Fifth and finally,
There is the attainment of the absorptions or jhāna.
This is not something that is obvious to the observer.
Also a monastic will not inform you because to inform you would be in breach of the vinaya or the monastic conduct.
However,
For a monastic who is able to overcome the hindrances and make further meditational progress,
Attainment of inner brightness of absorptions will be obvious to others indirectly by improved conduct,
Ability to teach others clearly,
And from a bright physical complexion.
According to the Sāmānyapālasutta again,
The characteristics of a true monastic which can be observed at the level of inner attainment which comes as a result of self-training meditation are eight in number and sometimes referred to as the supranormal eightfold knowledge or vichā.
And they comprise insight knowledge or vipassanā jhāna,
Mental powers or manomayiti,
Miraculous powers or itthiviti,
Supranormal hearing or tipassotā,
Knowing the minds of others or ceto-pariyaya jhāna,
Recollection of previous lives or upenivasa-nuṣṭhī jhāna,
Seeing the arising and passing away of other beings according to their karma or tipachākhu,
Sometimes called jhātu-papattā jhāna,
And knowledge of an end of defilements or asavakkaya jhāna.
Those supra-mundane forms of knowledge can only come about because the monastic themselves have seen the body of enlightenment inside themselves,
Which is the real meaning of the monastic seen in meditation.
To illustrate the difference between seeing with the eye and seeing with the mind or in meditation,
I would like to tell you the story of Vākali,
Who was a disciple of the Buddha.
Vākali belonged to a Brahmin family of Sāvātī and became proficient in the Vedas.
Usually people are inspired to faith by one or more of four attributes of a monastic,
Namely the appearance or rūpa-pātmānika,
The voice or gosapātmānika,
The humble manner of dress or lūka-pātmānika,
And the teachings they give for tamma-pātmānika.
Vākali was inspired to faith by the appearance alone of the Buddha.
After seeing the Buddha only once,
He could never again tire of looking at him and followed him about everywhere.
Any day he could not see the Buddha,
Then he felt depressed.
In order to see the Buddha more often,
He went to the trouble of becoming a monk and spent all his time,
Apart from meals and bathing,
In contemplating the 32 signs of the great man Purīṣā Lākṣanā,
So well manifested on the Buddha's person.
He was satisfied simply to look at the Buddha and had no interest in listening to the Buddha's teachings or striving for his own liberation.
The Buddha waited for the right opportunity to teach him because what he had to say would surely upset Vākali,
Although it would be for his benefit.
One day when the right time came,
The Buddha banished Vākali to a place where he could no longer see the Buddha at all.
Vākali was so upset by the Buddha's punishment that he prepared to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff known as the Vulture's Peak.
Fully aware of Vākali's intentions,
Before he was able to jump,
The Buddha went to him and appeared to him teaching the famous words,
Ālaṃ Vākali,
Kīṃṭhe Aiminā,
Uttikāyena Ditthena,
Yo ko Vākali,
Dhammam Pasati,
So Dhammam Pasati,
Yo Dhammam Pasati,
So Dhammam Pasati,
Which translates as,
The sight of my foul body is useless.
He who sees the Dharma sees me.
He who sees me sees the Dharma.
Filled with joy,
Vākali rose in the air,
Pondering on the Buddha's words,
And realized Arahantship in mid-air.
So this is an example of someone who received blessings by looking at the Buddha properly,
Namely seeing his body of enlightenment or body of the Dharma,
Rather than just his physical appearance.
In order to gain the full benefit of the sight of a monastic,
It's important not only to see that monastic,
But also to hear their teaching,
To memorize it,
To reflect on it,
And apply it for one's own and others' benefit,
In the same way that was mentioned for academic teachings in Blessing 7 on the learning process.
In addition,
It's also necessary to help and support the monastic in order to learn,
By example,
The virtues which may be hard to transmit in words.
In order to gain full benefit from seeing a true monastic,
If we should have the opportunity to offer hospitality,
Either in one's home,
Or perhaps if we come across a monastic who is traveling.
Being able to offer hospitality is usually considered a privilege for the provider,
Because it traditionally brings five blessings,
The path to heaven,
Rebirth in an influential family,
And attainment of honor,
Wealth,
And wisdom.
For these five benefits to come to those offering hospitality,
The person providing it should try to make sure the hospitality covers the entire traditional package.
Firstly,
The householder should treat the monastic with respect,
And this may refer to bowing with a five-point bow to the monastic.
If it's not convenient for you to bow,
For example,
The floor might not be clean,
Or there are a lot of people,
You risk being run over by a car,
Then join your hands in a gesture of prayer,
And it's better than nothing.
It might also refer to standing respectfully,
Which means not turning your back on the monastic,
Or otherwise ignoring the monastic.
It may refer to looking upon the monastic with faith and respect,
Rather than looking daggers at the monastic,
Or surveying the monastic from head to toe,
As if trying to say is that person really a monastic,
Or what did the cat drag in.
Secondly,
The householder should prepare a seat,
Or asana,
For the monastic,
Which may mean a high or a clean place to sit.
Sri Lankan Buddhists will cover the designated chair with a clean white cloth,
And it's customary to give the best seat,
Whatever that may mean,
In the house for the monastic to sit on.
Thirdly,
The householder should offer refreshment or requisites to the monastic,
For example,
By offering a donation to the monastic of an appropriate amount for their journey ahead,
Or even something as simple as a glass of water counts as requisites.
I once visited a house of some very poor people in Burma.
Our minibus had broken down in their neighbourhood.
The people could afford nothing to offer the monks,
And had no fancy place to sit,
So what they did instead was to let the monks stand in the shade of their house.
Lastly,
The householder should look for the opportunity to converse with the monastic about the Dharma.
In the scriptures,
By way of warning,
There are several examples of those who failed to treat a monastic of attainment hospitably,
Such as Koka the hunter,
Who set his dogs on a monk,
Where poor treatment of monastics tends to come back on oneself,
Karmically speaking.
Well,
Today we have time for a final story which illustrates the power of merely glimpsing the Buddha,
Where a person allows the sight of a monk to fill their heart with faith.
In the time of the Buddha,
There was a town called Savatthi,
A Brahmin called Adinna Upaka,
Which literally means Mr.
Never Give,
On account of his being known for his stinginess.
He had only one son,
And was very fond of him,
Wanting to give him a pair of golden earrings.
Nonetheless,
His stinginess got the better of him,
And instead of paying a goldsmith to make the earrings,
He beat out the gold himself,
And gave his son the pair of burnished earrings.
In this way,
The son came to be known as Master of Burnished Earrings,
Or Mata Kundali.
When Mata Kundali was sixteen years old,
He had an attack of jaundice.
The mother looked at the boy and said,
Brahmin,
Your son is sick,
Have him treated by a doctor.
However,
The Brahmin said,
Wife,
If I send for a doctor,
I would have to pay an expensive fee.
Do you care nothing about such extravagance?
So,
The wife asked the Brahmin what he was going to do about it.
He replied that he would manage things as economically as possible.
So,
The Brahmin went to various doctors,
And considering hypothetical advice to be free,
Asked,
What are you in the habit of prescribing for such and such an ailment?
Those doctors made vague references to medications such as the bark of trees,
And let the Brahmin go on his way.
The Brahmin procured some tree bark,
And prepared a remedy for his son.
But in spite of all he did,
His son's condition grew worse day by day,
Until finally he was beyond help.
Only then,
Perceiving that his son was very weak,
Did the Brahmin send for a proper doctor.
Doctor took one look at Mata Kundali,
And excused himself,
Saying to call another doctor instead.
The Brahmin now realized that his son was on his deathbed.
But instead of being concerned about the well-being of his son,
He worried,
Any visitor who comes to pay their last respects to my son,
Will see all the wealth hoarded up in my house,
And criticize me for not spending it on a proper treatment for my son.
Therefore,
I will put my dying son out on the balcony,
So that they can visit him there.
That day,
Very early in the morning,
The Buddha was meditating as was his habit,
To see to whom he could bring the maximum benefit that day.
The vision of Mata Kundali lying on his deathbed on the balcony,
Appeared to the Buddha in his meditation.
As soon as the Buddha saw this vision,
He realized,
If I do not go to this young man to inspire faith in him,
He will die without having performed any merit in his life.
Later that day,
Having prepared his robe and bowl,
The Buddha,
With a large company of monastics,
Entered the city of Savatthi for alms,
And in due course,
Arrived at the house of Mata Kundali.
At that time,
Mata Kundali was lying with his face turned towards the house.
The Buddha,
Observing that Mata Kundali could not see him,
Sent forth a ray of light.
What is that radiance?
Mata Kundali asked himself and turned over.
Seeing the Buddha from where he lay,
He said,
On account of a foolish father,
I have been deprived of the privilege of approaching so excellent a Buddha.
Neither have I had the privilege of waiting upon him,
Giving him alms,
Or hearing the Dharma.
Now I cannot even control the movements of my hands.
There is nothing more I can do.
All he could do was to arouse faith in the Buddha.
The Buddha said,
He has done enough and departed.
As the Buddha receded from his range of vision,
Mata Kundali passed away with a believing heart,
As if awakening from sleep,
Was reborn immediately in the second level of heaven,
Or Tavatingsat,
In a golden mansion thirty leagues in extent.
So in conclusion,
To cut a long story short,
The son of the Brahmin,
Adinapubbaka,
Attained heavenly rebirth simply by arousing faith in the Buddha without doing any other single act of merit,
Apart from seeing the Buddha.
Although the blessing of seeing a true monk at the last moment of one's life was enough of a blessing to alter the course of his destiny.
So,
This session I have introduced to you,
Blessing number 29 on the sight of a true monastic.
For my next session,
We'll continue the third blessing on the eighth group,
With Blessing number 30 on regular discussion of the Dharma.
Hopefully as a result of today's session,
You will manage to gain belief from the sight of any true monastics you set eyes upon.
So for today,
This is me,
Pratiklas Thanissaro,
Signing off for now.
So long folks,
And stay safe.
