"These, meditators, are the four types of karma directly realized, verified, and made known by me."
Life in the Human World
Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly based on introduction to the Cakkavatti Sutra: "The Wheel-Turning Ruler" (DN 26) by Ven. Thanissaro (trans.)
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| If we could go back to the "Garden," an idyllic world early in human history. |
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| What's the average human life like on earth today? Most struggle with dark and bright. |
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| Science: "Beauty" is related to facial symmetry (Amber Heard). |
This sutra consists of a story illustrating the power of
skillful karma (meritorious action).
In the distant past,
unskillful behavior was unknown among humans. As a result, humans lived for an immensely long time -- 80,000 years -- endowed with great beauty, wealth, pleasure, and strength.
Over time humans began behaving in various unskillful ways. This caused the human lifespan to gradually shorten to where it now stands at 100 years [it was 120 at the Buddha's time and is probably still closer to that, with humans reaching sexual maturity at about 12], with human beauty, wealth, pleasure, and strength decreasing proportionately.
In the future, as virtue (
merit, morality, skillful behavior) degenerates further, human life will continue to shorten to the point were the normal lifespan is 10 years, with people reaching sexual maturity at about 5.
"Among those human beings the
Ten Courses of Unwholesome Action (
AN 10.176) will have entirely disappeared... The word 'skillful' will not exist. So where will there be anyone who does what is skillful? Those who lack the honorable qualities [or career] of mother, father, wandering ascetic, or Brahmin will be the ones who receive homage...
"Fierce hatred will arise, fierce malevolence, fierce rage, and murderous thoughts: mother for child, child for mother, father for child, child for father, brother for sister, sister for brother."
Ultimately, conditions will deteriorate to the point of a "sword-interval," in which swords appear in the hands of human beings and they hunt one another like game.
A few people, however, will take shelter in the wilderness [or places of light in a world gone mad] to escape the carnage. And when the slaughter is over, they will come out of hiding and resolve to take up a life of skillful and virtuous karma again.
With the recovery of virtue, the human lifespan will gradually increase again until it reaches 80,000 years, with people attaining sexual maturity at age 500.
Only three diseases will be known at that time: craving (desire,
tanha, lit. "thirst"), lack of food, and old age.
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| Golden Maitreya, future Buddha |
Another
buddha --
Metteyya [in Sanskrit Maitreya, which comes from the word "friend,"
maitri, likely the origin of two more familiar, the famous Western (Roman) religious figures "
Mithras" (like Vedic "
Mitra" and Proto-Indo-Iranian/Avestan "
Mitra") and "
Messiah"] -- will gain full enlightenment, supreme awakening which comes with the ability to effectively teach (
samma-sam-buddhahood).
Metteyya's monastic community (
Sangha), will number in the thousands. The greatest king of that time,
King Sankha, will go forth from the home-life into the left-home life [to become a wandering ascetic Buddhist monk] and attain full enlightenment under Metteyya Buddha's guidance.
This story, after chronicling the ups and downs of human wealth, lifespan, and so on, concludes with the following lesson on karma and skillful action:
The Wheel-Turning Universal Monarch
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| I'm an ugly duckling, but I have a pretty doll! |
..."Meditators, live with yourself as your island, yourself as your guide, with nothing else as your guide. Live with the Dharma as your island, the Dharma as your guide, with nothing else as your guide.
- 1: This may also be translated as: "Live with the Dharma as
your light (dipa), the Dharma as your guide, with nothing else as your guide." (WQ)
"And how does one live with oneself as one's island, oneself as one's guide, with nothing else as one's guide, with the Dharma as one's island, the Dharma as one's guide, with nothing else as one's guide?
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| He's handsome. - She's hot. - We're happy! |
"A meditator remains aware on the body in and of itself -- ardent, alert, and mindful -- setting aside greed and grief with regard to the world. One remains aware of feelings (sensations) in and of themselves... mind in and of itself... phenomena in and of themselves -- ardent, alert, and mindful -- setting aside greed and grief with regard to the world. This is how one lives with oneself as one's island, oneself as one's guide, with nothing else as one's guide, with the Dharma as one's island, the Dharma as one's guide, with nothing else as one's guide.
"Wander, meditators, in your appropriate (proper) range, your ancient territory. When you wander in your appropriate range, your ancient territory, you will grow in long life, beauty, pleasure, wealth, and strength.
"And what is [or gives rise to] a meditator's long life?
2: Literally, "What is in a monastic's long life?" This appears to be an
idiomatic usage. The commentary interprets this
idiom as meaning, what causes a monastic's long life, beauty, and so on.
From this reading, it explains, for example, that a monastic attracts wealth
if one develops the Four Divine Abidings (Brahma Viharas). While this is true, it seems
to cheapen the message of this passage.
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| If only black lives mattered again |
"A meditator develops the
base of power endowed with
coherence (
samadhi) founded on zeal and exertion (which are mental formations). One develops the base of power endowed with coherence founded on persistence... founded on intent... One develops the base of power endowed with coherence founded on discrimination (wisdom) and exertion. From the development and pursuit of these
Four Bases of Power, one can remain alive for a whole average lifespan (
kappa or
kalpa, one meaning of which is the normal lifespan rather than the usual translation of the term as "aeon") if one wishes or for the remainder of a full lifespan. This constitutes a meditator's long life.
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| What is beauty for a meditator? |
"What constitutes
a meditator's beauty? A meditator is virtuous. One dwells restrained in accordance with the
Rules of Training Leading to Liberation (
patimokkha), consummate in one's behavior and sphere of activity. One trains oneself, having undertaken the training rules, seeing danger in the slightest fault. This constitutes a meditator's beauty.
"What constitutes a meditator's
pleasure? A meditator -- quite withdrawn (secluded) from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful mental qualities -- enters and dwells in the first
meditative absorption (
jhana, dhyana) which is accompanied by rapture (joy, bliss,
piti) and pleasure (
sukha) born of withdrawal... [and so on for the other three meditative absorptions associated with form]...
"What constitutes a meditator's
wealth? A meditator keeps pervading the first direction [the east] -- as well as the second direction, the third, and the fourth -- with thoughts imbued with loving kindness (friendliness,
metta).
"So, too, one pervades above, below, and around, everywhere encompassing the world with thoughts of loving kindness grown abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free of hostility, free of any ill will.
"One keeps pervading the first direction -- as well as the second, third, and fourth --
with compassion (karuna)... with happiness-in-the-happiness-of-others (
mudita)... with equanimity (
upekkha) grown abundant, expansive, immeasurable, free of hostility, free of any ill will. This constitutes a meditator's wealth.
"And what constitutes a meditator's
strength? A meditator, through the ending of the
mental taints, enters and remains in the taint-free release and liberation by wisdom, having directly known and realized them for oneself right here and now. This constitutes a meditator's strength.
"Meditators, I envision no other single strength so hard to overcome as the strength of
Mara.
- 3: This next passage is related to the opening passage of the sutra, in
which the Buddha says, "Wander, monastics, in your proper range, your ancient territory. When one wanders in one's proper range, one's ancient territory, Mara gains no opening and Mara gains no foothold. And
it is because of adopting skillful things that this merit increases."
See SN 47.6-7.
"And the adopting of skillful things is what causes this merit to increase."
- 4: This is the refrain repeated with each stage in the account of how human
life will improve in the aftermath of the "sword-interval." Here, merit
seems to have the meaning it has in Iti 22:
"Fear not acts of merit." This is another way of saying what
is blissful, desirable, pleasing, endearing, and charming, namely, acts of
merit (good or profitable karma).
This is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the meditators delighted in the Blessed One's words.
This video graphically demonstrates that the moon is not causing the earth's tides. For one thing, if it were, the water in massive lakes and rivers would also have tides. Whether the shape of the earth is this way or that, as we are hoaxed or shown by NASA, too many questions remain about the moon.
