THE STORY OF SUDDHIPANTHAKA
Suddhipanthaka was in the group of people that represents foolishness and dull capacity. His foolishness and dull capacity were the workings of the law of cause and effect. He was also in the group that was diligent in eliminating karmic obstacles.
He was the slowest of the Buddha’s students and had the poorest memory. When he was taught a four-line verse, he could not memorize the lines even after several days of trying to learn them. When he chanted the first line, he forgot the next lines. When he was taught the second line, he forgot the first line.
His elder brother, also a monastic, told him that he was too slow to learn from the Buddha and that he should go home. Suddhipanthaka burst into tears. The Buddha saw this and asked Suddhipanthaka why he was crying. He told the Buddha that his brother wanted him to go home.
The Buddha told him to stay and gave him a broom. He then taught Suddhipanthaka to concentrate on the broom and sweep the floor every day. As he swept, Suddhipanthaka was to repeat just two words, “sweep” and “clean.”
Before long, Suddhipanthaka attained enlightenment and arhatship. The other monastics wondered how he had accomplished this. The Buddha said that Suddhipanthaka had been a highly accomplished Dharma master in the previous lifetime. But he always held back when he gave lectures because he was afraid that others would surpass him in their achievement if he taught everything he knew. His slowness in this lifetime was a karmic result of teaching grudgingly.
The Buddha often taught in the sutras that being stingy with money will bring the karmic result of poverty and teaching grudgingly will bring the karmic result of being dull. Everything is governed by the law of cause and effect. Because he had perfect wisdom and extraordinary abilities, he knew the root cause of Suddhipanthaka’s slowness and was able to help Suddhipanthaka succeed in his practice. Ordinary people do not have these abilities and would have given up on him.
Some people may feel that because they have a poor capacity and memory they cannot learn Buddhism. Suddhipanthaka set an example for these people. How do our capacity and memory compare with those of Suddhipanthaka? Nobody’s capacity and memory are as poor as those of Suddhipanthaka. If he succeeded, why can’t we? Suddhipanthaka’s achievement is a great encouragement to people with a poor capacity.
~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra
Suddhipanthaka (Chn: 周利槃陀伽) was a disciple of the Buddha. He was known for being the most dim-witted of the Buddha's disciples, unable to understand the Buddha's teachings, and almost completely forgetting everything the Buddha said.
According to legend, one day the Buddha assigned him to sweep the ground. After a long time, Suddhipanthaka said "The ground is clean, but is my mind-ground clean?" Thereupon he attained enlightenment.
Sometimes too clever also not good.
Like a terroritst with hight IQ may plot a terrorism act and ended up killing many people.
It is not directly related to intelligence, but accountability for one's action, or kamma.
One must develop the right intention.
The second aspect of the Eightfold Path of Buddhism is Right Intention or Right Thought, orsamma sankappa in Pali. Right View and Right Intention together are the "Wisdom Path," the parts of the path that cultivate wisdom (prajna). Why are our thoughts or intentions so important?
We tend to think that thoughts don't count; only what we actually do matters. But the Buddha said in the Dhammapada that our thoughts are the forerunner of our actions (Max Muller translation):
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him, as the wheel follows the foot of the ox that draws the carriage.
"All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts, it is made up of our thoughts. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him."
The Buddha also taught that what we think, along with what we say and how we act, createkarma. So, what we think is as important as what we do.
The Buddha taught that there are three kinds of Right Intention, which counter three kinds of wrong intention. These are:
To renounce is to give up or let go of something, or to disown it. To practice renunciation doesn't necessarily mean you have to give away all your possessions and live in a cave, however. The real issue is not objects or possessions themselves, but our attachment to them. If you give away things but are still attached to them, you haven't really renounced them.
Sometimes in Buddhism you hear that monks and nuns are "renounced ones." To take monastic vows is a powerful act of renunciation, but that doesn't necessarily mean that laypeople cannot follow the Eightfold Path. What's most important is to not attach to things, but remember that attachment comes from viewing ourselves and other things in a delusional way. Fully appreciate that all phenomena are transient and limited -- as theDiamond Sutra says (Chapter 32),
"This is how to contemplate our conditioned existence in this fleeting world:
"Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream;
Like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
Or a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream."So is all conditioned existence to be seen."
As laypeople, we live in a world of possessions. To function in society, we need a home, clothing, food, probably a car. To do my work I really need a computer. We get into trouble, however, when we forget that we and our "things" are bubbles in a stream. And of course it's important to not take or hoard more than we need.
Another word for "good will" is metta, or "loving kindness." We cultivate loving kindness for all beings, without discrimination or selfish attachment, to overcome anger, ill will, hatred and aversion.
According to the Metta Sutta, a Buddhist should cultivate for all beings the same love a mother would feel for her child. This love does not discriminate between benevolent people and malicious people. It is a love in which"I" and "you" disappear, and where there is no possessor and nothing to possess.
The Sanskrit word for "non-harming" is ahimsa, or avihiṃs� in Pali, and it describes a practice of not harming or doing violence to anything.
To not harm also requires karuna, or compassion. Karuna goes beyond simply not harming. It is an active sympathy and a willingness to bear the pain of others.
The Eightfold Path is not a list of eight discrete steps. Each aspect of the path supports every other aspect. The Buddha taught that wisdom and compassion arise together and support each other. It's not hard to see how the Wisdom Path of Right View and Right Intention also supports the Ethical Conduct Path of Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood. And, of course, all aspects are supported by Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration, the Mental Discipline Path.
The Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has suggested these four practice for Right Intention or Right Thinking:
Ask yourself, "Are you sure?" Write the question on a piece of paper and hang it where you will see it frequently. Wong perceptions lead to incorrect thinking.
Ask yourself, "What am I doing?" to help you come back to the present moment.
Recognize your habit energies. Habit energies like workaholism cause us to lose track of ourselves and our day-to-day lives. When you catch yourself on auto-pilot, say, "Hello, habit energy!"
Cultivate bodhichitta. Bodhichitta is the compassionate wish to realize enlightenment for the sake of others. It becomes the purest of Right Intentions; the motivating force that keep us on the Path.
Originally posted by Almond Cookies:Sometimes too clever also not good.
Like a terroritst with hight IQ may plot a terrorism act and ended up killing many people.
Very often the people you call terrorist call themselves "freedom fighters" or the like, whom believes that their cause are righteous, and allowed themselves to be persuaded that the end justifies the means. They have not grounded themselves sufficient with the basic values or "right intention".
Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7WkUWSOKC0&feature=related
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rklETCOSKTc&NR=1
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAHtSMs1U4Q&NR=1
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I1FqWQY2RY&NR=1
Cartoons~
Amituofo
Originally posted by 2009novice:Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7WkUWSOKC0&feature=related
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rklETCOSKTc&NR=1
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAHtSMs1U4Q&NR=1
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I1FqWQY2RY&NR=1
Cartoons~
Amituofo
Nice!
Thank you!
There's also a more recent story quite similar to 周利槃陀伽.
ever heard also of the recorded true story of the dull monk who put the candles under the sun to dry. He was in charge of candle, oil etc for the praying hall in the Monastery. one summer day on June, when people are putting their cloths and also the sutra books to dry under the sun. a person make fun of the dull monk, asking him to also take the candles out under the sun to dry. the dull monk was obedient and really did what was told to do. as we know when candles are put under the sun, they will melt. so no choice, he had to use the melted candle at night. all the other monks were laughing at him.
Later the Abbot heard of the incident and of such a silly monk. The Abbot is smart and realised person and saw a protential in the dull monk. Abbot told him not to take charge of the candles anymore. Told him to go to Ah Yu Monastery to do prostration to Buddha's sarira. 3000 prostration per day. the monk obeyed.
After 3 years, the monk gain enlightenment, and was able to read, write poems, and can also explain the sutra. from someone who don't know anything to someone that know everything. His obedience and really-do-it attitude were the key factor.
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