Showing posts with label fire sermon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fire sermon. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

All is burning: 'The Fire Sermon' (sutra)

 
The Buddha's FIRE SERMON: the speech that converted 1,000 wanderers

What is the "all" that is burning?
Buddha's Wisdom(Buddha's Wisdom) 🔍 WE’RE BURNING RIGHT NOW — THE BUDDHA’S FIRE SERMON There’s a constant inner heat -- craving, hatred, confusion -- that drives our decisions and drains our peace.

In this guided breakdown of the Buddha’s Fire Sermon (Adittapariyaya Sutta), see exactly what’s burning, why “ALL is burning” became one of Buddhism’s most powerful teachings, and a 5-step method to stop being consumed by it, today.

DISCOVER
  • How the Buddha converted 1,000 fire-worshippers with a single 20-minute speech
  • The three psychological fires burning in our chest right now (and why they always find new fuel and never stop)
  • The hidden follow-up teaching that challenges even clinging to the pursuit of “enlightenment”
  • The 5-step method that extinguished suffering for 1,000 people simultaneously
  • What the Buddha taught AFTER the Fire Sermon that made even enlightened beings question everything
  • Master Buddhist meditation and mindfulness with the Buddha's original Fire Sermon teaching
  • (Dhamma Talks at Dhammagiri) The greatest miracle of the Buddha (instruction): "The Fire Sermon" | Adittapariyaha Sutta
My house burned (commentary)

TIMESTAMPS
  • 00:00 Scan the Fire
  • 01:19 Find Our Fires — Craving • Rejection • Confusion
  • 02:50 1,000 meditators, same burn — The Kassapa Setup (near Bodh Gaya)
  • 04:11 All is burning — the Buddha’s Fire Sermon (SN 35.28)
  • 07:27 Silence: 1,000 awaken — What liberation felt like
  • 09:20 How to stop burning — the 5-Step Practice
  • 11:01 Beyond the Fire
Subscribe for daily Buddhist wisdom, meditation guides, and ancient teachings for modern spiritual awakening and meditation practices. Join community: Instagram: buddhaswizdom. Facebook: buddhaswizdom. Support the channel: buymeacoffee.com/buddhaswisdom

#Buddhism #FireSermon #Buddha #Mindfulness #Meditation #Enlightenment #Adittapariyaya #ThreePoisons #Craving #LettingGo #InnerPeace #Theravada

SOURCE
Comment below: What Buddhist fire burns strongest: craving, hatred, or delusion? Practice Buddhist mindfulness together.

The End Times? The World is Ending!

Buddha's Wisdom

There's an orange clown on the TV every day!
Will the world end? How will the world end? When will the world end? Why will the world end? Questions, questions. Of course, the world will end. Not any time soon, but never mind about that. It's always ending, constantly hurtling towards destruction. "Change is the only constant," some wise person once said. That person was talking about what the Buddha called anicca. We translate this as "impermanence," but that's very limited and misleading. We prefer flux, dissolution, or radical impermanence, though "change" also works.

The idea is that, that something will change is no kind of message to the world. Of course, things are impermanent. We all know that. Only a child would think things are going to stay the same. (Guilty! And we're old enough to know better). It might be better to investigate how things are going to change because that sort of explains the why. The when is easy! Right now. Now. The eternal now. When is a mountainside not crumbling? Even as geological forces send it up, it is already disintegrating. When aren't human cells dying? They are always dispatching and falling off. That's what it means to have a body, though we don't much notice, know, or want to know.

How are things changing? Little by little until they give way to a noticeable amount. The more closely we investigate and notice, the more and more we become aware of when and how this is happening. It can become so upsetting that we stop clinging. Why, being ourselves impermanent, would we chase and cling to impermanent things?

It's all in the mind?

The Fire Sermon
Once upon a time, the Buddha was walking along the river and he came upon 1,000 fire worshippers with their matted locks or jatas, wandering ascetics in search of truth. They saw him and were moved by his gravitas, charisma, and appearance. He himself was a wandering ascetic but a Scythian (Shakyian) from the West, serene, and delightful to look upon. What could he possibly have to say about ultimate truth? See "The Fire Sermon."

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

The Buddha: The Fire Sermon


The Fire Sermon: "All is burning"

The Fire Sermon (Buddhistdoor.net)
(Ādittapariyāya Sutta, SN 35.28) In the Pali language canon there is a discourse (sutra) called the "Fire Sermon Discourse," popularly referred to as the Fire Sermon [1].

In this discourse, the Buddha teaches that achieving liberation (vimutti, moksha) from all suffering (pain, disappointment, rebirth, and unsatisfactorinesss) through letting go everything (ALL) mind and the five senses obsessively CLING to as personal, as sources of pleasure, and/or as enduring.
This sutra is also found in the Buddhist Monastic Code (Vinaya) at Vin I 35 [5].

English speakers might be familiar with the name of this discourse due to T. S. Eliot's titling the third section of his celebrated poem "The Waste Land" as The Fire Sermon. In a footnote, Eliot states that this Buddhist discourse "corresponds in importance to the Sermon on the Mount" in Christianity [6].

Background
Let us cut off our jatas and follow this sage!
In the Pali canon's "Collection of Discourses" (Sutta Pitaka), the Fire Sermon is the third sutra delivered by the Buddha (after the first discourse, called the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, and the Anattalakkhana Sutta), several months after his great awakening/enlightenment, on top of Gayasisa Hill, near Gaya, in what is now India (formerly the maha-janapada Kingdom of Magadha before there was an "India").

He delivered it to 1,000 newly converted wandering ascetics (samanas) who formerly practiced a sacred fire ritual (Pali aggihutta, Sanskrit agnihotra) [7].

The 5th-century CE post-canonical Pali commentary called the Sāratthappakāsini (the Spk.), attributed to the Theravada scholar-monk Buddhaghosa, draws a direct connection between the ascetics' prior practices and this discourse's main rhetorical device:

Having led the 1,000 ascetics to Gayā's Head, the Buddha reflected, "What kind of Dhamma talk would be suitable for them?"

He then realized, "In the past they worshipped fire morning and evening. I will teach them that the 12 sense bases (āyatana) are burning and blazing. In this way they will be able to attain full enlightenment" [8]. More

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Miracle: Holy Fire (Jesus' spirit) appears


Jesus' spirit (Holy Fire) appears in Jerusalem
(Blakwoodz) April 17, 2025:Today, let's look at 🌟 The Holy Fire ("Holy Light") in Jerusalem – an annual Easter miracle at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Palestine. 🌟 Hey, Doubting Thomas, you can't walk on water (if you disbelieve).

Welcome to full coverage of The Holy Fire 2025, the annual miracle that takes place on Holy Saturday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

  • LA Marzulli talks about the "miracle" and how the local doubting Muslims, those who follow Islam, tried to debunk it and became converts.
This sacred event, known as the Holy Fire miracle, draws thousands of faithful from around the world each Easter to witness this awe-inspiring tradition. 🔥

The Holy Fire is one of the most ancient and spiritual Easter traditions celebrated in Jerusalem. Every year, during Orthodox Easter and Holy Saturday, the miracle of the Holy Fire takes place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed to be the site of the resurrection.

In this video, witness the moment the Holy Fire (alleged to be the "spirit of Jesus" except for Jews who call it the Holy Spirit in Judaism) appears like a dove (Holy Spirit, Holy Breath, Pneuma, Prana, Holy Ghost), the powerful reactions of the crowd of believers, and the deep meaning imputed on this sacred tradition.

Burning Bush but more European
Join us as we explore the historical significance, religious symbolism, and modern-day celebration of this unique Easter event. We will also discuss more about all the biblical prophecy and The Third Temple of Solomon being built by Israel.

📍 Location: Jerusalem, Israel (Occupied Palestine) ⛪ Site: Church of the Holy Sepulchre 📆 Event: Holy Fire 2025, Orthodox Easter, Holy Saturday.

See the buildup to the Holy Fire ceremony, the exact moment the "Holy Fire" appears, Orthodox Christian pilgrims lighting candles and singing hymns, the atmosphere inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the way Easter (borrowed from the ancient pagans) is celebrated elsewhere.

Burning Bush that doesn't burn up
[Let's explore the history, the miracle, and the cultural impact of this Holy Light – a "fire" that does not burn (like that Burning Bush Egyptian Jewish Moses, if he ever existed, saw in that psychedelic/entheogenic vision that one time), that connects millions of believers during Orthodox Easter in the heart of the Holy Land taken over by Ashkenazi Jews for their war on Palestinians, God and Bible based genocide on human beings, and the start of a new US-sponsored empire in the Middle East ruled by secular Jews from Europe and their proxies.]

Biblical prophecy, space aliens, UFO sightings, ghosts, creepy TikToks, and scary videos, The Woodz Show has got it all. 
  • Blakwoodz,  The Woodz Show, April 17, 2025; Christian Youth Channel, April 27, 2024; LA Marzulli; Sheldon S., Shauna Schwartz, Seth Auberon, Pfc. Sandoval (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Saturday, January 6, 2024

Buddha and Jesus: Two Sermons on Mount

BBC 4 (Jesus Was a Buddhist Monk); Narada Thera (trans), Mangala Sutta: "Blessings" (Khp 5); Light of the Spirit; Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Hinduism calls Krishna, Christ, and the Buddha incarnations (avatars) of Vishnu, the sustainer.
.
The Christ's "Sermon on the Mount" is a lot like the Buddha's Mangala Sutta
1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
3. Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5. Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
7. Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
10. Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
12. Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
14. Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
16. Blessed are those who are persecuted
because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven....

BBC: Jesus was a Buddhist monk (doc)

Jesus in India (Holger Kersten)
(Brian Oblivion) 12/19/11. The interesting bit begins at Minute 38. This BBC 4 documentary examines the question, "Did Jesus die?" It looks at many ideas around this question until Minute 25, when this examination of ideas takes a very logical and grounded turn with surprising conclusions that demonstrate that the Three Wise Men were Tibetan Buddhist monks who sought and found Jesus/Yeshua/Issa (as a tulku) and came back for him about the time of puberty. At that time, they traveled to the Buddhist monastery known as Hemis Gompa in India, traveling with Jewish merchants who regularly crossed between the two regions. After being trained in that Buddhist monastery or lamasery (gompa), Jesus spread the Buddhist philosophy, survived the crucifixion (through bribery and complicity of corrupt Roman guards), and escaped back to Kashmir, Afghanistan, where he died an old man at the age of 80 and was buried at his marked grave. The monastery housed written records of all this, as discovered by Westerner Nicolas Notovitch and made known to a skeptical world. Their presence was verified and corroborated by Swami Abhedananda.
Has anyone read Luke 22:36 or Matthew 10:34?
The Sermon on the Mount is very good as a sutra (spiritual discourse, sermon). It may be understood in Buddhist terms. However, the opening sentence (Line 1) defies comprehension. Who are "the poor in spirit," the followers of Christs/Christians? They are "the poor," but they have spirit (spiritus, Holy Ghost, paraclete).

Line 3 seems to be a blessing he is imparting, assuring followers that he will comfort them later (when they inherit the results of their karma (phala and vipaka) for the good deeds done here.

Line 5's "meek" would seem to be the humble, the awakened (who are free of the delusion of ego and are therefore not proud as arrogant and defiant humans tend to be, the kind and compassionate. But as they "inherit the earth," which is to say are reborn on this lowly human plane rather than one of the lowly celestial/space/heavenly worlds (sagga), the meek would seem to be those did not have heart and the courageousness to stand up for what is right.

Line 7 indicates that those who are courageous and stand up for what is right (righteousness) will find their reward or fortunate outcome as a result of this skillful karma (beneficial deed) because they will see fulfillment of it: Skillful karma (merit) will beget welcome results.

Line 10 is even more clear in teaching the Buddha's message of karma, which elsewhere Jesus explains as "You reap what you sow," which is to say we will harvest what we have planted in terms of karmic seeds. Like begets like. Good begets good.

Matt 10:34 meaning: "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword "
It gets harder and for apologists to rationalize Jesus' words.

Countless worlds in 31 classifications
Line 12 is a clear declaration that those who gain purity of heart as a result are reborn in a heavenly place (and in accordance with some Christian schools as in all Buddhist schools, there are many heavens or levels of heaven (sagga), among the 31 Planes of Existence beings find themselves reborn in). There are countless worlds, but they have been classified into 31 major groupings or planes. For example, we are in the human plane. But that does not mean earth. Earth is but one place humans/humanoids exist throughout a world system (cakkavala).

Line 14 is perhaps the most interesting. The karma of being a "peacemaker" will result in a particularly good outcome, rebirth among the devas (shining ones, light beings, angels, deities, godlings). That is called becoming a devaputra, literally a "son of God," but figuratively refers to being "reborn among devas," which includes females in the Sensual Sphere heavens, at least up to Seventh Heaven. Above that, the brahmas (more radiant devas) do not have sexual dimorphism and therefore are neither male nor female).

Line 16 similarly assures followers/practitioners of Christ's doctrine will be pleased for the hardships endured in the name of what is right. Standing up for what is right is not easy, but that kind of karma (action) comes with very pleasant results (fruit and resultants). These are not literally "rewards" meted out by anyone but natural consequences of the Law of Karma, the regularity in the universe to produce results in accordance with types of intentional-actions. The result of following this advice will be rebirth in a heaven for some duration.

  • NOTE: Consulting a Protestant Christian to explain some words and passages, we were made aware of a book on Vedanta (Hinduism's "Best of the Vedas") that goes line by line, agreeing with Christ: The Sermon on the Mount According to Vedanta by Swami Prabhavananda.
Sermon on Mount According to Vedanta
In Buddhist terms this is relatively good but not worthy of pursuing. It is far better to pursue the end of rebirth and therefore the end of all suffering (nirvana). But most beings are not interested in that. They far prefer exhaustible rewards. Reborn in a heaven, one experiences the pleasant fruits of one's actions. But the unskillful deeds have not been exhausted, excused, expunged, extirpated or anything else. They are still there to be experienced. So one falls from that lofty height onto this or lower planes and experiences much suffering on account of the. The idea that "sin is forgiven" in the sense of eliminated is completely mistaken.

Indeed, a God may look the other way on bad deeds of the past while recognizing and approving of good deeds. But both sets of deeds have not gone away. They cannot be made to go away by magic. Only by awakening/enlightenment do deeds cease to control us for long. While we linger on in this world or another, they certainly will keep affecting us for good and ill, for a pleasant and unpleasant abiding. But be that as it may -- with Christianity being quite like Hinduism in its promise of "eternal" rewards in heaven -- what Jesus has here is an excellent message, not the "liberal talking points" Evangelical Christians are accusing the American Protestant Church of promoting for the sake of a temporal leader named Trump.

Blessings: The Buddha's Sermon on the Mount (Mangala Sutra)
Jesus Christ (Saint Issa) was a Buddhist monk, claims the BBC. He traveled to India
.
The Buddha in earliest Gandhara/Afghan art
Thus have I heard [1]. On one occasion the Buddha was dwelling at the multimillionaire's monastery, in Jeta's Grove [2], near Savatthi [3].

Now when the night was far spent, a certain deity [deva, light being, angel, lit. a "shining one"] whose surpassing splendor illuminated the entire grove, came into the presence of the Buddha.

Drawing near, the deity saluted him and stood respectfully to one side. Standing there, he addressed the Buddha in verse:

"Many deities and humans, yearning after the good, have pondered blessings [4]. Tell me, what are the greatest blessings?"

[The Buddha replied:] "To not associate with the foolish [5] but to associate with the wise; to honor those worthy of honor — this is the greatest blessing.

"To reside in a suitable location [6], to have done meritorious deeds [skillful karma, profitable actions] in the past and to set oneself on the right course [7] — this is the greatest blessing.

"To have acquired much learning, to be skillful in some craft [8], well-trained in discipline [9], and to be of good speech [10] — this is the greatest blessing.

"To support mother and father, to cherish spouse and children, and to be engaged in a peaceful occupation* — this is the greatest blessing.
  • *Peaceful occupation: "Right livelihood" (sammā-ājīva): abstaining from a means of self-support that brings harm to others, such as the weapons trade, dealing in living beings (trafficking, slavery, exploitation), intoxicating drinks, poisons; slaughtering animals, fishing, soldiering, deceit, treachery, soothsaying, trickery, usury, and so on.
"To be generous in giving, to be righteous in conduct [11], to assist one's relatives, and to be blameless in deeds — this is the greatest blessing.

"To loathe the doing of harm and to abstain from it, to refrain from intoxicants [12], and to be steadfast in virtue — this is the greatest blessing.

"To be respectful [13], humble, contented, and grateful; to listen to the Dhamma [Teaching] on suitable occasions [14] — this is the greatest blessing.

"To be patient and trainable, to associate with monastics, and to have spiritual discussions on suitable occasions — this is the greatest blessing.

"Self-restraint [15] a pure and chaste life, the perception of the Ennobling Truths and the realization of nirvana — this is the greatest blessing.

"A mind unruffled by the vagaries of fortune [16], from sorrow freed, from defilements cleansed, from fear liberated [17] — this is the greatest blessing.
  • *Eight vicissitudes of life, otherwise known as the Eight Worldly Winds or Conditions: (1) loss and (2) gain, (3) fame and (4) shame, (5) praise and (6) blame, (7) misery and (8) happiness (the attha loka dhamma that oppose sweet contentment).
"Those who thus abide ever remain invincible, in happiness established. These are the greatest blessings" [18]. 

NOTES (derived mainly from the ancient Buddhist Commentaries)
On second thought, get a sword.
1. This sutra appears in the Sutta Nipata (v.258ff) and in the Khuddakapatha. See Maha-mangala Jataka (No. 453). For a detailed explanation, see Life's Highest Blessing by Dr. R. L. Soni, Wheel No. 254/256 (bps.lk).
2. Anathapindika: an epithet that literally means "One who gives alms to the helpless." His name was Sudatta, a very rich and prominent merchant/banker from Savatthi. After he became a Buddhist and attained the first stage of enlightenment as a layperson, he purchased a grove belonging to Prince Jeta to establish a Buddhist monastery (vihara) on the land, which was subsequently called Jetavana ("Jeta's Grove"). It was in this monastery that the Buddha observed most of his Rains Retreat (Vas) periods (the annual three months' period of not wandering but remaining in one monastery, beginning on the full moon of July). Many are the sutras delivered and many the incidents connected with the Buddha's life at Jeta's Grove. He ministered to a sick monk who was neglected by his companions, advising them: "Whoever, monks, would wait upon me, let him wait upon the sick." It was here that the Buddha poignantly taught that all things are radically impermanent, by asking a grief-stricken young mother named Kisagotami who carried around her dead child, to fetch some mustard seed from a home where no one had ever died.
3. Identified with modern Sahet-Mahet, near Balrampur.
4. According to the Commentary, mangala means that which is conducive to happiness and prosperity. 5. This refers not only to the stupid and uncultured, but also includes the wicked in thought, word, or deed.
6. Any place where monks, nuns, and lay men and women continually reside, where the pious are bent on the performance of the ten meritorious deeds, and where the Dharma exists as a living practice.
7. Making the right resolve (intention) for abandoning immorality for virtue, doubt for faith, and selfish self-interest for sharing and generosity.
8. The harmless crafts or occupations of a householder are those by which no living being is injured and nothing unrighteous done; this includes the crafts of left-home monastics, such as stitching robes, etc.
9. Vinaya is the Monastic Code of Discipline in thought, word, and deed. The Commentary speaks of two kinds of discipline, that of householders, which is abstaining from the ten unskillful actions (akusala-kammapatha) and that of monastics, which refers to the non-transgression of the offences enumerated in the Patimokkha (the Code of Monastic Rules) or the "fourfold moral purity" (catu-parisuddhi-sila).
10. Good speech that is opportune, truthful, friendly, profitable, and spoken with thoughts of loving-kindness.
11. Righteous conduct is the observance of the ten skillful actions (kusala-kammapatha) in thought, word, and deed: freeing the mind of greed (lust), hatred (aversion), and delusion (wrong views); avoiding speech that is untruthful, slanderous, abusive, or frivolous; and abstaining from all acts of killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct (defined as celibacy for monastics and avoiding the ten forbidden partners for laypeople).
12. Total abstinence from alcohol and intoxicating drugs that occasion heedlessness.
13. Towards monastics (and also other religieux), teachers, parents, elders, superiors, etc.
14. For instance, when one is harassed by unskillful/unwholesome thoughts.
15. Self-restraint (tapo): the suppression of lust and hate by the guarding of the senses; the suppression of laziness by rousing energy.
16. Loka-dhamma, i.e., conditions necessarily connected with the world; there are eight of them: gain and loss, honor and dishonor, praise and blame, pain and joy.
17. Each of these three expressions refers to the mind of a full enlightened person (arahant): asoka (sorrowless), viraja (stainless), i.e., free of passion (lust), aversion (hatred), and ignorance (delusion), khema (security from the bonds of sense desires or kama, rebirth (bhava), wrong views (ditthi), and ignorance (avijja).
18. The above-mentioned 38 blessings.

Background to the Mangala Sutta (sutra)
What leads to blessing/great benefit?
Why did the Buddha call these things "blessings" in his "Sermon on (Great) Blessings"?

According to Western Buddhist monk Ven. Nyanatiloka, these 37 or 38 mangalāni ("blessings" or "beneficial things"), include avoiding fools, associating with the wise, honoring those worthy of honor, and so on (Khp.pp.2f). They are actions that lead to welcome results.

The Commentary (KhpA.vii.; SNA.i.300) explains that at the time this discourse was preached, there was a discussion across the whole of this world (Jambudīpa) trying to decide what was and wasn't a mangala.

The devas ("angels") heard this discussion and debated among themselves until the matter spread to the highest brahma world.

Then Sakka, King of the Devas (Buddhism's Archangel Michael figure) suggested that a devaputta ("one reborn among the devas") should visit the Buddha on earth and ask him about the matter.

In the Sutta Nipāta (SN., pp. 46f) this discourse is called Mahāmangala ("Great Blessings"). It is one of the sutras at the preaching of which countless devas were present and countless beings realized the Truth (SNA.i.174; BuA.243; AA.i.57,320).

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Jesus is "weak," Trump strong, pastor worried

Brad Reed, Raw Story, 8/9/23; Sheldon S., Ashley Wells (eds.); Monty Python's Flying Circus (Life of Brian); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (Sermon and Sutra commentary), Wisdom Quarterly
Monty Python in The Life of Brian re-enact Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, but it's hard to hear:

Pastor alarmed after Trump-loving congregants deride Jesus' teachings as "weak"
I am now the Lord your God. Obey me!
Evangelical Christian leader Russell Moore revealed this week that many Christian evangelical pastors have become alarmed that their Trump-loving congregants have become so militant that they are even rejecting the teachings of Jesus Christ.

In an interview with NPR, Pastor Moore said that multiple pastors had told him disturbing stories about their congregants being upset when they read from the famous "Sermon on the Mount" in which the Christ (the "Annointed One") spoused the principles of forgiveness and mercy as central to Christian doctrine.

"Multiple pastors tell me, essentially, the same story about quoting the Sermon on the Mount, parenthetically, in their preaching — 'turn the other cheek' — [only] to have someone come up after to say, 'Where did you get those liberal talking points?'" Moore revealed. 

"And what was alarming to me is that in most of these scenarios, when the pastor would say, 'I'm literally quoting Jesus Christ,' the response would not be, 'I apologize.'

"The response would be, 'Yes, but that doesn't work anymore. That's weak.'"

Sin with me, Republicans. God will forgive us.
Pastor Moore, who has been an outspoken critic of many evangelicals' embrace of Trump, argues that this has led him to conclude that American evangelical Christianity is now in crisis.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Burn, baby, don't burn! CA fires (video)

ABC News; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; John D. Ireland (suttacentral.net)


Multiple fires break out across California
It's October 11, 2019 and ABC News’ Matt Gutman is reporting from wealthy (gas leaking) Porter Ranch, California, in the world's most famous suburban Valley, where fast-moving wildfires are shutting down highways and destroying homes.More: abcn.ws/2VzKUUv


SUTRA: Three Fires
Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly, from Itivuttaka: "The Buddha’s Sayings," The Book of the Threes (93) based on John D. Ireland translation (suttacentral.net)
Earliest depictions of the Buddha: Gandhara
[This can't be what the Buddha meant. There's a worse fire a'brewing. But let's ignore that because, look, my house is on fire! OMG, everything's burning, the ALL is aflame! Why are we surprised? This is the Sensual Sphere or Kama Loka, the realm of the senses and sex, the sunny South Land. Welcome to California; now go home. No fornication allowed; there's already a wild fire. Let us now give ear to the Enlightened One.]

"Fires"
This was said by the Teacher (the Buddha)… “Meditators, there are three fires. What three? There is the [scalding] fire of lust, the [smoldering] fire of hate, and the [smoky] fire of delusion. Meditators, these are the three fires.”

The fire of lust burns the sensual
Infatuated with sense pleasure
The fire of hate burns the malevolent
Who harm and kill living beings

The fire of delusion burns the bewildered
Ignorant of the ennobling (enlightening) Dharma
Being unaware of these three fires
Humans delight in continued becoming

Ensnared by Māra's [four] bonds
They swell the ranks of infernal realms
Rebirth in the animal sphere
Titan-demons the realm of [hungry] ghosts

But those engaged in practicing
The Awakened Teachings day and night
Ever perceiving this body’s foul aspects
Soon extinguish the fire of lust

The best of humans by loving-kindness
Cool the fire of hate
And they put out the fire of delusion
By wisdom that leads to [direct] penetration

Having extinguished these fires
Unwearied night and day
The wise ones attain nirvana
And thereby overcome all suffering
  
Noble (enlightened) seers masters of knowledge
Wise ones of perfected understanding
By directly knowing the end of rebirth
Come no more to any renewal of becoming

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

The Fire Sermon (sutra)

Ven. Ñanamoli (Osbert John S. Moore), Adittapariyaya Sutra ("The Fire Sermon Discourse") from Three Cardinal Discourses of the Buddha; Dhr. Seven, Ven. Aloka (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Burn, baby, burn. No pain, no gain.
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One (the Buddha) was living in Gaya, at Gaya Head, together with a thousand wandering ascetics. There he addressed them:

"Meditators, all is burning! What is the 'all' that is burning?
 
"The eye is burning, visible forms are burning, eye-consciousness is burning, eye-contact is burning, and whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neutral (neither-painful-nor-pleasant) that arises dependent on eye-contact as its indispensable condition -- that, too, is burning. Burning with what?

"It is burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion. I declare it is burning with rebirth, aging-and-death, with sorrow, with lamentation, with disappointment (pain), with grief, with despair.

"The ear is burning, sounds are burning...

"The nose is burning, fragrances are burning...

"The tongue is burning, flavors are burning...

"The body is burning, tangibles are burning...

"The mind is burning, cognitions are burning, mind-consciousness is burning, mind-contact is burning, and whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neutral that arises dependent on mind-contact as its indispensable condition -- that, too, is burning. Burning with what?

"It is burning with the fire of lust, with the fire of hate, with the fire of delusion. I declare it is burning with rebirth, aging and death, with sorrow(s), with lamentation, with disappointment (pains), with grief, with despair.

 
"Meditators, when a noble follower who has heard (the Truth/the Dharma) sees things in this way, one
  • finds estrangement in the eye
  • finds estrangement in forms
  • finds estrangement in eye-consciousness
  • finds estrangement in eye-contact, and
  • whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neutral that arises dependent on eye-contact as its indispensable condition -- in that, too, one finds estrangement.
"One finds estrangement in the ear... in sounds...

"One finds estrangement in the nose... in fragrances...

"One finds estrangement in the tongue... in flavors...

"One finds estrangement in the body... in tangibles...

"One finds estrangement in the mind, finds estrangement in cognitions, finds estrangement in mind-consciousness, finds estrangement in mind-contact, and whatever is felt as pleasant or painful or neutral that arises dependent on mind-contact as its indispensable condition -- in that, too, one finds estrangement.

Reaching enlightenment and freedom
There is a Deathless State: Nirvana.
"When one finds estrangement, passion fades out. With the fading of passion, one is liberated. When one is liberated, there is knowledge that one is liberated. One understands: 'Rebirth is exhausted, the supreme life is fully lived, what could be done is done, and of this there is no more in the beyond.'"

That is what the Blessed One said. The meditators were glad, and they approved of his words.

Now during the Awakened One's utterance, the hearts of those thousand wandering ascetics were liberated from the taints by letting go fully and clinging no more.