WARRIOR CELIBACY (sutra)

Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Seth Auberon, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Amazing Documentary TV; Ven. Thanissaro (original translator), Yodhajiva Sutra: "The Warrior" 1 (AN 5.75)

"What it Takes to be a Shaolin Monk" - Shaolin Kung Fu is among the oldest institutionalized styles of Chinese martial arts. It originated and was developed in the Mahayana Buddhist Shaolin temple in Henan province, China, for over 1,500 years. But what did the historical Buddha teach about warrior-celibacy that is still practiced in Theravada Buddhism?

Shhh, I can't give up hand-to-hand combat.

This sutras, addressed to monastics, deals with the battle to maintain celibacy to be victorious in practice. The Buddha compares the victor to a warrior, an analogy likely to appeal to masculine pride (AN 7.48).

In this analogy, a celibate is a warrior of the highest degree not a wimp. Because trying to maintain celibacy involves attraction to females, females play the role of first-line adversary for the purpose of this discourse.

The same would go for men, who are the vexation of female celibates as is dealt with in the Bhikkhuni Vinaya texts.

Discourses in the Pali language canon depict nuns successfully maintaining their celibacy when confronted by men in the wilderness. A prime example is the Psalms of the Nuns (Therigatha XIV). There are other examples of nuns resisting temptation in the Bhikkhuni Samyutta.

But ultimately, of course, the "adversary" exists within not without the individual. This is shown by the fact that the monastic in this discourse has to set off alone to make an end of the defilement (outflow/inflow) of obstructive sensual passion in the mind before becoming "victorious."

(Hard Shaolin 04) Stay hard with chi gong (qi gong) techniques to control breath (prana) energy

 

SUTRA: The [Spiritual] Warriors

Theravada preserves what the Buddha taught

[Thus have I heard. The Buddha taught:] "Meditators, there are five types of warriors in the world. What five?

 

"There is a warrior who, on seeing a cloud of dust [stirred up by the adversary's army], falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot engage in battle. Indeed, some warriors are like this. This is the first type of warrior found in the world.

 

"Then there is a warrior who can handle a cloud of dust, but on seeing the top of the adversary's battle banner, he falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot engage in battle. Indeed, some warriors are like this. This is the second type of warrior in the world.

 

"Then there is a warrior who can handle the cloud of dust and the top of the adversary's banner, but on hearing the tumult [of the approaching forces], he falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot engage in battle. Indeed, some warriors are like this. This is the third type of warrior in the world.

 

"Hand to hand"? Huh huh huh, huh huh huh...

"Then there is a warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the adversary's banner, the tumult, but who in hand-to-hand combat is struck and falls wounded. [Hand to hand?] Indeed, some warriors are like this. This is the fourth type of warrior in the world.

 

"Then there is the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the adversary's banner, the tumult, and hand-to-hand combat. On winning the battle, victorious in battle, he comes out ahead in battle. Indeed, some warriors are like this. This is the fifth type of warrior the world.

 

"These are the five types of warriors who can be found existing in the world.

"In the same way, meditators, there are five warrior-like individuals who can be found existing among the monastics. What five?

How shall Shaolin monks train to be like the "spiritual warriors" of which the historical Buddha spoke?

 
[1]
"There is a meditator who, on seeing a cloud of dust, falters, faints, fails to steel him [or her]self, and cannot continue in the high life. Declaring this weakness [and inability to continue] in the training, that meditator leaves the training and returns to the low life [of ordinary uninstructed worldlings].

Don't make me come in the wilderness for you.

"What is the 'cloud of dust'? A meditator who hears, 'In that village or town there is a female who is shapely, beautiful, charming, endowed with the foremost lotus complexion.' On hearing this, one falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot continue in the high life. Declaring this weakness, that meditator leaves this training and returns to the low life. That is the cloud of dust.

"This individual, I say, is like the warrior who on seeing a cloud of dust, falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot engage in  battle. Indeed, some individuals are like this. This is the first type of warrior-like individual found existing among the monastics.
 
[2]
"Then there is the meditator who can handle the cloud of dust, but who on seeing the top of the adversary's banner, falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot continue in the high life. Declaring this weakness, that person leaves the training and returns to the low life.

"What is the 'top of the banner'? There is the meditator who not only hears about a beautiful female, he sees her for himself. But on seeing her, he falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot continue in the high life.

"Declaring this weakness, he leaves the training and returns to the low life. That is the top of the banner. This individual, I say, is like the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, but who on seeing the top of the adversary's banner,  falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot engage in battle. Indeed, some individuals are like this. This is the second type of warrior-like individual among the monastics.

(National Geographic) Amazing feats by Shaolin Buddhist monks undergoing Qi Gong training
 
[3]
"Then there is the meditator who can handle the cloud of dust and the top of the adversary's banner, but who on hearing the tumult, falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot continue in the high life.

Declaring this weakness, he leaves the training and returns to the low life. What is the tumult? There is the meditator who has gone into the wilderness, to the foot of a quiet tree, or to an empty building. A female approaches him and giggles, calls out to him, laughs, teases him. On hearing her giggle, being called out to, hearing her laugh, and being teased by her, he falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot continue in the high life.

"Declaring this weakness, he leaves the training and returns to the low life. That is the tumult. This individual, I say, is like the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the adversary's banner, but who on hearing the tumult, falters, faints, fails to steel himself, and cannot engage in battle. Indeed, some individuals are like this. This is the third type of warrior-like individual found existing among the monastics.

[4]

Theravada Buddhism lives on in the Thai Forest Tradition, Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia...

.

"Then there is the meditator who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the adversary's banner, and the tumult, but who when in hand-to-hand combat is struck and falls wounded. What is the hand-to-hand combat?

"There is the meditator who has gone into the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty building. A female approaches him and sits down next to him, lies down next to him, throws herself all over him. When she does so he -- without first renouncing the training, without declaring his weakness to continue in this training [which would absolve him of the rule and, because he would no longer be a monastic, would avoid a defeat offense that entails immediate expulsion] -- engages in sexual intercourse.

"This is hand-to-hand combat. This individual, I say, is like the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the adversary's banner, and the tumult, but who when in hand-to-hand combat is struck and falls wounded. Indeed, some individuals are like this. This is the fourth type of warrior-like individual found existing among the monastics.


 
[5]
"Then there is the monastic who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the adversary's banner, the tumult, and hand-to-hand combat. On winning the battle, victorious in battle, he comes out ahead in battle. What is victory in the battle?

"There is the meditator who has gone into the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling. A woman approaches him and sits down next to him, lies down next to him, throws herself all over him. When she does so he extricates himself, frees himself, and goes off where he will.
 
"He resorts to a secluded dwelling place -- the wilderness, the foot of a tree, a mountain, a glen, a hillside cave, a charnel ground, a forest grove, the open air, a haystack. Having gone into the wilderness, the foot of a tree, or an empty building, he sits down, crosses his legs, holds his body upright, and brings mindfulness to the fore.

The Five Hindrances to Meditation

1. "Abandoning craving (covetousness) with regard to the world, one dwells with awareness free of craving. One cleanses the mind/heart of craving.
2. Abandoning ill will and anger, one dwells with awareness free of ill will, sympathetic to the welfare of all living beings. One cleanses the mind of ill will and anger.
3. Abandoning laziness and drowsiness, one dwells with awareness free of laziness and drowsiness, mindful, alert, perceiving light [the nimitta or "sign" that develops with persistence]. One cleanses the mind of laziness and drowsiness.
4. Abandoning restlessness and worry [with regard to the world], one dwells undisturbed, the heart/mind inwardly still. One cleanses the mind of restlessness and worry.
5. Abandoning doubt and uncertainty, one dwells having crossed over doubt, free of perplexity with regard to skillful mental states. One cleanses the mind of doubt.

I will kick butt with the absorptions!

"Having abandoned these Five Hindrances, corruptions of mind that weaken wisdom -- withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful states [of mind] -- one enters and remains in the first absorption (meditation, jhana) with rapture and bliss born of withdrawal, accompanied by applied and sustained attention.

"With the stilling of applied and sustained attention, one enters and remains in the second absorption with rapture and bliss born of serenity, unification of mind [coherence, composure] beyond applied and sustain attention -- with internal assurance.

"With the fading of rapture, he remains equanimous, mindful, and alert, and experiences refined pleasure in the body. He enters and remains in the third absorption, of which the noble ones [those who have entered the stages of enlightenment] declare, 'The one who is equanimous and mindful has a most pleasant abiding.'

"With the abandoning of both pleasure and pain -- as with the earlier fading away of elation and distress [pleasure and pain] -- he enters and remains in the fourth absorption with purity of equanimity and mindfulness, surpassing pleasure and pain.

"With mind/heart thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free of defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines the mind to the knowledge of the passing away of the mental defilement.

Four Noble Truths
"He knows in line with truth that:

1. 'This is suffering (disappointment, woe, ill)...
2. This is the origination of suffering...
3. This is the end of suffering...
4. This is the way leading to the end of suffering...

These are mental defilements... This is the origin of defilements... This is the end of defilements... This is the way leading to the end of defilements.' His heart thus knowing, thus seeing is released from the defilement of sensuality, the defilement of becoming [rebirth], the defilement of ignorance."

"With this release comes the knowledge, 'Released!' One knows, 'Rebirth is ended, the high life is fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world.'

 
"This is victory in battle. This individual, I say, is like the warrior who can handle the cloud of dust, the top of the adversary's banner, the tumult, and hand-to-hand combat. On winning the battle, victorious in battle, he comes out ahead in battle. Indeed, some individuals are like this. This is the fifth type of warrior-like individual found existing among monastics.

"These are the five warrior-like individuals who can be found existing among monastics."