Notes on the life of Shakyamuni Buddha
written by Vova, a layman and yogi.
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In the meantime a few local Brahmins arrived at Gautama’s hut seeking his audience. The Buddha decided that the time was propitious for a conversation, and went out to greet his guests.
People who sought contact with the Awakened One often displayed qualities characteristic of competitive relationships: such as arrogance, cunning, and distrust. Brahmins who belonged to the highest cast in their society behaved fatuously more often than others. "Hey you, dirty ascetic!" one of them called to the Buddha who was passing by with a beggar's bowl in His hands.
"That which is dirt is not what you know to be dirt," Bhagavan replied with compassion. He noticed that the insolent Brahmin had noble Dharma tendencies that were being concealed by a thin layer of delusion acquired in his present reincarnation.
"What is it then?" the Brahmin asked mockingly.
"Envy and ill-will are the real dirt. Do you understand my words?"
The Brahmin stood petrified, stricken by sudden realization. He looked at the Buddha and his eyes filled with tears.
"Is it possible for me to enter your path, Kind Lord?"
"Just don't walk off it," the Awakened One replied softly.
To visitors prepared to argue or show off, Gautama would offer to reflect on the value of human birth and the seriousness of its purpose. Our ability to value wisdom can be severely tested by the difficult experiences of reincarnating in the lower realms of hell- dwellers, hungry ghosts and animals. It can also waver under the influence of disease or old age. When pulling out mental weeds, a human being acquires true happiness. He no longer has a need to assert his own significance in an argument or in intellectual sophistry.
Often the Awakened One was asked about his attitude toward the sacred texts. "I rely on my personal experience when I speak about the wheel of existence. I advise you to always rely on your experience, no matter how insignificant it may seem to you. Even your trust in the council of the Awakened One, comes from your own experience of communicating, listening and reflecting. A thoughtless and doubting man seeks support in blind faith or ignorance. I explain the Dharma that is not limited by extremes. Untainted by desire, my path is comprehended through right action and right outlook. This is the Dharma that I have learned to be the path to end suffering."
When outlining the path, the Buddha advised to carefully develop awareness of four foundations:
- Awareness of one's conduct.
- Awareness of one's body based in sensations.
- Awareness of one's mind that presupposes attention to emerging thoughts and intentions.
- Awareness of the qualities of one's mind.
When these qualities are manifested unskillfully, they acquire the form of five obstructions: avarice, ill-will, stagnation, restlessness and doubt. Their skillful opposites are generosity, goodwill, single-minded awareness, fortitude and discriminating understanding. Examination of one's mental qualities leads to increasingly subtle purification which the Buddha compared to the art of a bath attendant.[35]
These teachings were developed by Shakyamuni from instructions he received from the ascetics on the four spheres of concentration. They significantly improve upon the ascetics’’ teachings by shifting the focus of a contemplator’s attention from the limitlessness of a realm to the perception of the impermanence of phenomenon within that realm. Wisdom in the Buddha's teachings became more valuable than concentration, and furthermore the only way to cultivate wisdom is to practice good deeds. [36]
[35] The art of bathing includes massage, the use of aromatic oils and herbs, and general bathing. Similar to a modern spa.
[36] Concentration is a contemplative method that relies on the experience of self and thus leaves room for delusion. On the other hand, wisdom is not dependent on a particular mind state (i.e. concentration or any ordinary mind states)