Dhammapada: The Buddha on restless mind

(Relaxing Subjects) The Dhammapada: The Buddha's words on the restless mind

Patanjali, who created the Universe?

(Anand Universe Official)

Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras for union with the divine

 

"Yoga" is much more than poses and balance.

The Indian Sage Patanjali, author or compiler of the Yoga Sutras or "Aphorisms on Union" since they are not discourses (sutras) but rather terse sayings followed by brief explanations on the ultimate goal of Yoga ("Union").

All that we in the West call "yoga" are the poses, some breathwork (pranayama), and some chanting or repeating the names of the divine (japa).

But, in fact, the Eightfold Path of Yoga (Ashtanga, Raja, or Integral Yoga) combines a system of practices mirroring the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path, which was radically popular at the time, two millennia ago when the ancient yogi rishi Patanjali compiled his text to set out the ancient Vedic approach to "union with the divine."

They are not the same path, and they do not lead to the same goal, but they often use the same general terms, such as moksha (Pali vimutti) to describe "liberation from samsara." For the Brahmin priests of olde, "liberation" or "emancipation" was rebirth in Brahma's heaven.

• Brahma means "supreme" and was the personal God of the Brahmin priests, The Supremo, even though some understood that there was a higher truth, an impersonal "Ultimate Reality" behind all the illusion of maya called Brahman, the godhead or godhood; this distinction is crucial but as the words are so similar, some may miss the distinction and fall into wrong views about what the Vedas taught and how the Brahmin caste priests interpreted the ancient "Knowledge Books" of ancient proto-India when it was Maha Bharat and a likely remnant of the more ancient Indus Valley Civilization.
• The Hindu concept of BRAHMAN being impersonal brings it very close to a Buddhist understanding of the universe, whereas the Buddha rejected the Vedas, the concept of Great Brahma as the creator of the universe, and most Brahminical ideas of the Old Vedic Religion which he revivified by explaining in novel ways lost to the Brahmin rishis and scholar priests who were unable to explain many tough passages and instead speculated and wrangled and had fallen into wrong views.

The Buddha made known the path to all destinations

The Buddha and Early Buddhism did not advocate any spiritual seeker to remain in samsara (the Cycle of Rebirth and Death), which is what "rebirth with Brahma" means.

• Buddhist cosmology

Moreover, the Buddha taught the way to rebirth in Brahma's retinue, the path to rebirth as a brahma (including Great Brahma, of which there is only one per each "world system" or cakkavala. This is possibly a reference to a "universe" in the multiverse, a solar system, or a galaxy like the Milky Way, of which there are countless all like bubbles).

Brahmins (now Hindus) believes this will then be their final permanent destination, the end of further rebirths in samsara, with no possibility falling away, other brahmas, devas, and Noble Ones in the Pure Abodes -- as well as rebirth on the human plane, 30 other Planes of Existence -- and best of all, ultimate bliss and peace: the END of all further rebirth (nirvana).

• Anand Universe Official; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly

Definition: What is "yoga"?

Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen B. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

There are eight factors to yoga or "union" as described in the Patajali's Yoga Aphorisms.

.

The Buddha (3rd century, Yale)

Yoga (Sanskrit योग, lit. "yoke" or "union") is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices and daily disciplines, which originated in ancient proto-India.

The aim of yoga is to still the mind's disturbances (vrittis), recognizing a detached witness-consciousness untouched by mind or unease.

There is a wide variety of yogic schools, practices, and goals in Brahmanism/Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism [3, 4, 5] and traditional and modern yoga is practiced worldwide [6].

Jesus Christ was a yogi? Yes.

Two general theories exist on the origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga originated in the Vedic period (Indus Valley Civilization before "India" existed), as reflected in the Vedic texts and was influenced by Buddhism.

According to author Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, this model is mainly supported by today's Hindu scholars.

According to the synthesis model, yoga is a synthesis of non-Vedic (i.e., shramanic) and Vedic elements, a model favored in Western scholarship [7, 8]. More

Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

(1953) Swami Prabhavananda, Christopher Isherwood, the Sage Patanjali (4.7 out of 5 stars with 394 ratings) Routledge Library Editions: Yoga. This is a major work on the practice of yoga and meditation. Through these ancient aphorisms (one-line Sanskrit sayings), readers learn how to control the mind and achieve inner peace. Although these methods were taught over 2,000 years ago, they are as alive and effective as they have ever been. This translation draws from the inspired commentary of both Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood. [*"God" here refers to Brahman, the Ultimate Reality behind the Illusion (Maya).] How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali

"The Path of Dharma" (Dhammapada 19)

Acharya Buddharakkhita (trans.), Dhammatthavagga, "The Just" (Dhammapada XIX or 19, PTS: Dhp 256-272), Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

256. Not by passing arbitrary judgments does one become just; a wise person is one who investigates both right and wrong.
 

257. One who does not judge others arbitrarily but passes judgment impartially according to the truth, that sagacious person is a guardian of law and is called just.

258. One is not wise because one speaks much. One who is peaceable, friendly, and free of fear is called wise.

259. A person is not versed in Dharma because one speaks much. One who, after hearing a little Dharma, realizes its truth directly and is not heedless of it is truly versed in the Dharma.
 

260. A monastic is not an elder because head hair is gray. One is but ripe in age, and that person is called one grown old in vain.
 

261. One in whom there is truthfulness, virtue, inoffensiveness, restraint, and self-mastery, who is free of defilements and is wise -- that person is truly called an "elder."*

• *Elder: thera or theri, a Buddhist monastic of at least ten rains retreats.

262. Not by mere eloquence nor by beauty of form does a person become accomplished, if one is jealous, selfish, and deceitful.

263. But one in whom these are wholly destroyed, uprooted and extinguished, and who has cast out hatred -- that wise person is truly accomplished.
 

264. Not by shaven head does a person who is undisciplined and untruthful become a monastic. How can one who is full of desire and greed be a monastic?
 

265. One who wholly subdues the urge-to-harm both small and great is called a "monastic" because one has overcome all harm.
 

266. One is not a monastic just because one lives on others' alms [charitable offerings]. Not by adopting outward form does one become a true monastic.
 

267. Whoever here (in the Buddha's dispensation) lives a pure life, transcending both merit and demerit, and walks with understanding in this world -- one is truly called a monastic.
 

268. Not by observing silence does one become a sage, if one be foolish and ignorant. But that person is wise who, as if holding a balance-scale [to weigh all options], accepts only the good.
 

269. The sage (thus) rejecting the doing of harm is truly a sage. Since one comprehends both (present and future) worlds, one is called a sage.
 

270. One is not noble who injures living beings. One is called "noble" because one is harmless towards all living beings.
 

271-272. Not by rules and observances, not even by much learning, nor by gain of meditative-absorptions, nor by a life of seclusion, nor by thinking, "I enjoy the bliss of renunciation, which is not experienced by the ordinary uninstructed worldling" should you, O meditators, rest content, until the utter destruction of all cankers (full enlightenment) is reached.

The Buddha's sayings about flowers (video)

Acharya Buddharakkhita (trans.) edited by Crystal Quintero, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly, Pupphavagga: "Flowers" (The Dhammapada IV), AccessToInsight.org (alt. trans.)

The Buddha, polished gold face, wrapped in protective plastic, Thailand (dfcpix/flickr.com)

  
The Dhammapada's flower verses

Full blossom beauty (Nam Keng/flickr.com)

44. Who'll overcome this earth, this realm of Yama, and this sphere of humans and devas? Who'll bring to perfection the well-taught path of wisdom as an expert garland-maker would a floral design?
 
45. A striver-on-the-path shall overcome this earth, this realm of Yama, and this sphere of humans and devas. The striver-on-the-path* shall bring to perfection the well-taught path of wisdom, as an expert garland-maker would a floral design.

• [*The striver-on-the-path (sekha) is one who has achieved any of the first three stages of enlightenment: a stream-enterer, once-returner, or non-returner.]

46. Realizing that this body is like froth, penetrating its mirage-like nature, and plucking out Mara's flower-tipped arrows of sensuality, go beyond sight of the King of Death!
 
47. As a mighty flood sweeps away the sleeping village, so death carries away the person of distracted mind/heart who only plucks flowers (of pleasure).
 
48. The Destroyer brings under his sway the person of distracted heart/mind who, insatiable in sense desires, only plucks flowers (of pleasure).
 

Harmless bee approaches flower in search of nectar (Teacher Julia/tx.english-ch.com).

 
49. As a honeybee gathers nectar from the flower without injuring its color or fragrance, even so the sage* goes on alms-round in the village.

• [*The "sage in the village" is a Buddhist monastic on almsround, that is, a monk or nun (wandering ascetic) who receives donated food by going silently from door to door with alms bowl, accepting whatever is offered, a custom of the ancient world, particularly in India where such charitable giving is known as dana.]

50. Let none find fault with others; let none see the commissions and omissions of others. But let one see one's own acts, done and left undone.
 
51. Like a beautiful flower full of color yet without fragrance, even so -- fruitless are the fair words of one who does not practice them.

52. Like a beautiful flower full of color and also fragrant, even so -- fruitful are the fair words of one who practices them.

53. As from a great heap of flowers many garlands can be made, even so should many good deeds be done by one born a mortal (a rare human birth when one is able to accrue much merit, a great deal of beneficial karma that follows one life after life for a long time).

54. Not the sweet smell of flowers, not even the fragrance of sandalwood, tagara,* or jasmine blows against the wind. But the fragrance of the virtuous blows against the wind. Truly the virtuous person pervades all directions with the fragrance of one's virtue.

• [*Tagara: fragrant powder made from a good smelling Asian shrub.]

55. Of all the fragrances -- sandalwood, tagara, blue lotus, and jasmine -- the fragrance of virtue is the sweetest.
 
56. Faint is the fragrance of tagara and sandalwood, but excellent is the fragrance of the virtuous, wafting even amongst the devas (heavenly beings, fairies, angels, godlings, gods, and Gods).

57. Mara never finds the path of the truly virtuous, who abide in heedfulness (vigilance, persistence, watchfulness) and are freed by perfect wisdom (supermundane knowledge).

58. Upon a heap of rubbish in a roadside ditch blooms a lotus, fragrant and pleasing.

59. Even so, on the rubbish heap of blinded mortals the disciple of the Supremely Enlightened One shines resplendent in wisdom.

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The Buddha and the Flower
Ashin Ottama (DhammaTube), written text edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Reflections of the enlightened ones (with sutra references below). The contents of the video:

 

0:00:27 The Buddha holding a flower
0:02:04 Koan in Rinzai-Zen
0:03:25 Goose in the bottle
0:06:30 Satori -- solving a koan
0:10:15 The Buddha and the Crystal
0:13:04 Discrepancies in the results of practice
0:16:25 Dilution and distortions of the Teaching (Buddha-Dharma) by later additions
0:18:00 Without mind or body: Pari-nirvana
0:20:40 Hundreds of enlightened people in the West
0:22:45 Serious problem: Fear of the Aim
0:23:05 Veneration and admiration for pari-nirvana
0:26:15 We are just a whirl of virtual phenomena
0:28:18 Sayadaw U Janaka understanding ovations
0:30:50 Chain of Dependent Origination
0:34:55 The Buddha was accused of being a destroyer of life
0:36:30 Is nirvana sheer nihilism?
0:38:05 Stages of enlightenment versus genuine realizations
0:43:20 Intensive methods of insight meditation
0:49:40 Weak insight, weak purification
0:52:05 Empty bottle of whiskey = the Vasanas
0:53:35 The story of a "Rude Arhat"
0:57:10 The story of "Jumping Arhat"
0:58:25 After Ecstasy the Laundry
0:59:00 Daniel Ingram: many Paths (Maggas)...
1:01:30 Distinguishing the marks of true realizations
1:11:40 10 Questions for an Arhat
1:16:20 The Buddha holding a Crystal
1:17:50 The Spittoon Parable

SOME SUTRAS

Various sources, via Ashin Ottama, edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Walking to the Ends of the Universe

Rohitassa Sutra (A-II-47)

The Buddha answered a monk's question about walking to the end of the world: "It is in this very fathom-long [a "fathom" is a measurement of about six feet] body endowed with perception and mind that I declare the world, the arising of the world, the cessation of the world, and the way leading to the ending of the world." [Note reference to Four Noble Truths.] "However, friend, without having reached the end of the world, there is no making an end to suffering, I say."
 
Five Groups of Existence

Phena Sutra (SN 22-95)

With regard to the Five Aggregates of Clinging, the Buddha taught: "Form is like a glob of foam; feeling like a bubble; perception like a mirage; mental formations like a banana tree; consciousness is comparable to a magic trick... When you observe them and examine them appropriately, you will see that they are empty, hollow, and void [of self]. "

Nirvana

(The Udana or "Inspired Utterances," 8-3)

"There is, meditators, an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned...."
 

Describing Nirvana

(Udana 8-1)

"There is a sphere, meditators, where there is no earth, no water, no fire, no air, no sphere of infinite space, no sphere of infinite consciousness, no sphere of nothingness, no sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, no this world, no world beyond, neither Moon nor Sun. There, meditators, I say there is surely no coming, no going, no persisting, no passing away, no rebirth. It is quite without support, unmoving, without an object -- just this is the end of all suffering."
 

The All

Allness or Sabba Sutra (SN 35-23)

"And what, monastics, is 'the all'? The eye and forms, the ear and sounds, the nose and fragrances, the tongue and tastes, the body and tactile objects, the mind and mental phenomena. This is called 'the all.'"
 

The Fire Sermon

Ven. Thanissaro (trans.) Adittapariyaya Sutra (SN 35-28)
"Meditators, the all is aflame. What 'all' is aflame? The eye is aflame. Forms are aflame. Consciousness at the eye is aflame. Contact at the eye is aflame. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the eye -- whether experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain -- that too is aflame. Aflame with what? Aflame with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion [greed, hatred, ignorance/wrong view]. Aflame, I tell you, with birth, aging and death, with sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair.

"The ear is aflame. Sounds are aflame... The nose is aflame. Fragrances are aflame... The tongue is aflame. Flavors are aflame... The body is aflame. Tactile sensations are aflame... The intellect [or mind] is aflame. Ideas are aflame. Consciousness at the intellect is aflame. Contact at the intellect is aflame. And whatever there is that arises in dependence on contact at the intellect -- whether experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain -- that too is aflame. Aflame with what? Aflame with the fire of passion, the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. Aflame, I say, with birth, aging and death, with sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair.

Instruction Leading to Fast Enlightenment

John D. Ireland (trans.), Bāhiya Sutra (Udana 1-10)
"Herein, Bahiya, you should train yourself thus: 'In the seen will be merely what is seen; in the heard will be merely what is heard; in the otherwise sensed will be merely what is otherwise sensed; in the cognized will be merely what is cognized.' In this way you should train yourself, Bahiya.

"When, Bahiya, for you in the seen is merely what is seen...in the cognized is merely what is cognized, then, Bahiya, you will not be 'with that.' When, Bahiya, you are not 'with that,' then, Bahiya, you will not be 'in that.' When, Bahiya, you are not 'in that,' then, Bahiya, you will be neither here nor beyond nor in between the two. Just this is the end of suffering."

"Sayings of the Buddha" (Dhammapada audio)

Dhr. Seven, Crystal Quintero, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; Thee Refuge; Buddhanet.net

 

"Mind" is by the mind-door near the heart.

The key to great works of literature, particularly sacred texts, is the quality of translation. Quality is sacrificed here for excellence of presentation. For example, our lives are not guided or made by "thoughts." What the text actually says is that everything, in terms of perceive and are conscious of, is preceded by "mind." Mind is defined in Buddhism very technically as four processes: sensation, perception, formations, and consciousness. (The fifth factor, materiality or form, would be mind's physical base, which was not specified by the Buddha, although alluded to; it is generally believed to be in or around the heart not the skull. See all five).

Cittas+cetasikas=consciousness (UIC)

The third, sometimes translated as volition or intention, is in fact 50 processes with volition being the most salient of the grouping and therefore used to represent them all. But sensation and perception are also formations. They are so important that they are analyzed separately.

Consciousness is not a thing but a process, a stream of innumerable and nearly identical cittas (mind moments) and cetasikas (mental factors or mental concomitants). One citta is not a "thought." And we are guided and co-create our reality based on many subconscious views, not conscious thoughts. But for ease, using English, "Mind is the forerunner of all conditions," as the Dhammapada famously opens, becomes "Our thoughts create our reality" or some similar attempt to get at the original Pali, Magadhi, Sanskrit, or Prakrit the Buddha used.

What is the Dhammapada?

But the Dhamma-pada ("Dharma footprint," imprint, or path) is a collection of sayings or aphorisms from the sutras with commentaries. It is not a work with deep explanations like the sutras (discourses) or the Higher Teachings (Abhidharma), sometimes referred to as texts on Buddhist psychology. Instead, they are truisms with explanations or back stories for how each saying came to be uttered. It is not a "bible." Buddhism does not have a bible. But it is often treated as one in comparative religions courses because it is a collection of wisdom. The "bible" would be the discourse-collection, or sutta-pitaka, and perhaps the ancient commentaries (tika) that make the sutras intelligible now that the words are taken out of their original cultural and linguistic context. Here is another Dhammapada translation with illustrations:

Meditation: Is it the new YOGA?

Yogins Crystal Quintero, Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly;  LA Yoga: Ayurveda & Health (Felicia M. Tomasko, Editor, LAYoga.com, Oct. 2014)

Buddhist meditation or bhavana means "bringing into being" (yogavibes.com)

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LA Yoga September, 2014

Now that Yoga Month is over, what have we learned? Yoga is an eightfold system born out of Vedic texts and rishis' visions. The Sage Patanjali tried to summarize the ancient knowledge using the framework of the Buddha's massively popular Noble Eightfold Path that was sweeping India at the time. Patanjali took the sacred eight and formulated his own version of an analogous path to moksha, "liberation." It does NOT lead to enlightenment (bodhi) or nirvana, as the Buddha envisioned it, but it is an attempt to proclaim Vedic Brahmanism/Hinduism's version of the ultimate: "union (yoga, yoking) with Brahman." Brahman (GOD, godhead, godhood) should never be confused with Brahma (creator-type Gods). Rebirth in the Brahma Planes of existence are not, in Buddhism, any kind of actual liberation. The heavens, even the super long lasting ones based on jhanic karma, are impermanent. The ultimate, nirvana, is the end of ALL rebirth and suffering, a transcendent state not amenable to language but able to be experienced here and now by the wise each one for oneself. The Buddha's Dharma invites all to "come and see," to investigate, for themselves. 

• Buddhist Meditation The object of Buddhist meditation, however, is none of these things.... (And let one think:) "In safety and in bliss May creatures all be of a blissful heart
• Buddhist Meditation and Depth Psychology Buddhist meditation deals exclusively with the everyday phenomena of... As a clean and empty vessel is filled with pure water I now fill my clean heart and... 
• The Progress of Insight: (Visuddhiñana-katha) To present to the reading public a treatise on Buddhist meditation needs no word... Insight Meditation or the translator's book The Heart of Buddhist Meditation. 
• Purification of Mind [the Heart]

The Royal Path: Eight Limbs of Yoga

The Buddha's aphorisms

(WQ/WIKI) It differs from the Buddha's Way to enlightenment known as the Noble Eightfold Path. They both have eight limbs because Patanjali was going on the success of the Buddha's formulation for his massively successful and universal teaching. Patanjali's condensation of the yogic path is traditionally referred to as aṣhṭānga (eight-limbed) yoga because there are eight aspects to the path to which one must attend (The Yoga Sutras of Maharishi Patanjali, a translation with commentary by Yogacharya Shivaji Mizner):

1. Yama – code of conduct, self-restraint
2. Niyama – daily observances, commitments to practice, such as study and devotion
3. Āsana – integration of mind and body through physical (poses, postures) activity
4. Prāṇāyāma – regulation of breath leading to integration of mind and body
5. Pratyāhāra – abstraction of the senses, withdrawal of the senses of perception from their objects
6. Dhāraṇā – concentration, one-pointedness of mind
7. Dhyāna – meditation (quiet activity that leads to absorbed samadhi)
8. Samādhi – the quiet state of blissful awareness, superconscious states, attained when the yogi constantly sees Paramatma in the (jivaatma) heart.

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