MANGALA
SUTTA VANANA
16. Natakanan ca Sangaho
To Render Help To One’s Relatives Is Most Blissful.
When any calamity like loss of wealth or home, or plagued by disease or persecutions and any such like nature, may they at once attract our attention and our sympathy to give whatever assistance we could render. When on occasion they come to our very door as they have no where to turn to for any likely help to ease their suffering, let us render to their needs with care and love and spare them. Things that we can render are like providing temporary shelter for their worn out life, clothing to cover their bare frame or food to allay their gnawing hunger or money to tide over their financial strains. As these aids come from our hearts, let them blossom forth and not to restrain our cherished thoughts of compassion to help.
This demands from every right thinking man to give his portion of wealth to relieve the sufferings of their fellowmen. For what they can give in their days of comfort, peace and plenty, may they bring them greater gain in health, wealth and happiness. The sufferings of myriads of human beings in the world today, cry their needs aloud but selfishness and the love to keep safe guard over one’s own family within the precincts of one’s household but not beyond, deter many acts of charity.
They may yearn for relief from their kinsmen, their friends and their fellowmen. None, in so far that they suffer alone for their want to help others. Charity sheds its light first in the home. Mother and father, wife and children claim the attention of their needs, then the next of kin, then friends, then neighbours and so on, to men’s beloved fellow friends. Thus spread the mighty net of compassion to render help in whatever capacity whether great or small, yet all the same, the heart is in the giving, that be it even the mere paltry sum but yet so nobly given.
The greatest of all lessons we learn is the noblest deed
of rendering help which is firm in purpose of our beloved Lord, the Buddha,
who in all his countless rebirths, lent whatever help in his noble way,
first to his next of kins, then to his fellowmen. Great was his compassion
that any man, rich or poor, strong or weak and from king to beggar never
was refused help. He gave with his heart, that mankind may enjoy the blessings
of peace and happiness.
Illustration.
Midway between the city of Kapilavatthu and the city of Koliya, the river Rohini meandered its way through fields of emerald green. The inhabitants of both cities shared the same source of water supply from the river Rohini for the irrigation of their lands. There was a dry weather and no rain fell to fill the river thus there was insufficient water to irrigate both lands. It was about this time when the paddy began to ripen and the inhabitants of Kapilavatthu and Koliya were both anxious to receive a fair share of water for their fields. The only course left to avoid further shortage of water, and to save the crops, was that irrigation had to be closed against one of the vast fields, either of Kapilavatthu or Koliya. But the people of both cities were equally adamant and would not sacrifice their crops.
Failing a solution, they suggested that if the people of Kapilavatthu had their crops harvested, they were to be made available to the people of Koliya. No agreement was reached either. Then there were the battles of words, hot and furious, each branding the other the true representations of beasts and savages. The disputes reached to a point that they made a decision to refer the matter to their kings. It began the turning point from the conflict of gaining possession of water for their fields, into a major trouble and a state of war existed. The kings of the two cities decided to take up arms in order that the issue could be settled.
The Lord Buddha on that day, had by means of his divine power, cast a survey of the universe and its suffering inhabitants to extend his compassion to help anyone in distress. He observed a state of inevitable warfare between the people of the two cities and he was aware that they were mostly the kith and kins of his father and mother before he renounced the world. He knew that if a war was fought, there would be chaos, misery and countless suffering and a grim picture of horror to see the water of Rohini stained red.
The Lord Buddha made his appearance over the Rohini River sitting cross-legged in mid-air. The two kings, with their armies, closed in on the boundary where the Rohini River separated them. There they saw the Lord Buddha and were at once conscious of their shameful act. They disarmed them-selves and threw all their weapons on the fields and paid their homage to the Lord Buddha. When asked the reason for their assembly in the fields, the kings of both cities pleaded their ignorance as to the outcome of waging war among them-selves. Enquiries were made from the generals of their forces and they too turned out readily ignorant of the state of affairs. So investigations were carried on from rank to rank of their forces until they were traced to the farmers who related the incident about diverting the passage of Rohini’s water to their fields.
The Lord Buddha made a reference to Rohini’s water and asked what value as a material gain could be attached when countless valuable lives had to be sacrificed because of it. Human lives are greater than the value of any material wealth and such invaluable lives they were going to throw away on the unimportant river Rohini whose flow from course to course would be blood instead of water. It would be more beneficial for all to live peacefully among them-selves, not hating among haters, but to free their lives from lust after mundane and eternal pleasures.
After the death of king Kosala, his son prince Vidudabha who harboured an intense hatred for the Sakyas ascended the throne and he planned to destroy the entire Sakya race. Lord Buddha who had his usual survey of the universe, saw the calamity that was about to happen. At the boundary separating Kapilavatthu, the land of the Sakyas and Vidudabha the kingdom of King Vidudabha, Lord Buddha appeared and sat under a tree with few branches and thinly spaced leaves that gave scanty shade. A little distance away was the country Vidudabha, with its shady banyan trees.
King Vidudabha came along the way leading his big army of soldiers and when he saw the Lord Buddha sitting under the tree, he came near to pay his respects and remarked that the tree did not have full shade to keep off the burning heat of the afternoon sun. Thereupon he invited the Lord Buddha to refresh himself under the spreading shade of the banyan trees of his country nearby. The Lord Buddha said, “Taking a rest under the shadow of relations is cooler and more refreshing than under one that is not. The king immediately became aware of the meaning of the Lord Buddha’s statement and he turned back his army without making a further attempt to avenge himself on the Sakyas.
For some time King Vidudabha remained restless. The project
weighed heavily on his mind and it became evident he could not wait any
more. He set up a second campaign and marched off again to invade the Sakya
land. Again the Lord Buddha appeared on the very spot. Once more he turned
homeward only to renew his hatred so much more, that he made a third attempt
and for the third occasion the Lord appeared to ward off his hatred. Upon
the fourth attempt the Lord Buddha realised the moment was near, the impending
evil karma of the Sakyas could not
save them of their destruction. Thus began the day of the wholesale
massacre of the Sakyas.
17. Anavajjani Kammani
To Engage In Undertakings Of A Righteous Action Is Most Blissful.
The simple code for a Buddhist in making a living for himself is to refrain from or having anything to do with:-
1. Trading in weapons
2. Trading in living beings
3. Trading in meat
4. Trading in intoxicating drinks
5. Trading in poison.
Be sincere, true and honest. Let deceit, falsehood and greed have no part in your schemes. It is a hard way but the task is worth undertaking, for like a signpost, it earns the full confidence, trust and esteem of others. Keep constant guard against greed and selfish desires to enjoy the labour of others but instead share the same spirit of helpfulness and tender-ness towards each other.
Take pride in doing services to the elders, the aged,
the disabled and the like without a desire for reward. Whatsoever act you
do, it should be full with good purpose, clean and wholesome and not stained
with lust and hatred. Even how humble be your contribution to ease the
sufferings and sorrows of others, that work alone is an achievement equal
to the same glory with the one more fortunate to dispose his wealth in
building alms houses, hospitals and other charitable institutions for the
poor and needy.
Illustration.
During the time when the Lord Buddha was residing at the Bamboo Grove Temple in the city of Rajagaha, there was a man who spent his livelihood in rearing and slaughtering pigs. He would go to his neighbours and barter his paddy for their pigs. He reared them until they became the right size for the market. The method he applied to slaughter the pigs was not only dreadful but extremely brutal to the animal. The pig was first secured fast on stout poles and beaten until its body was swollen all over. He had to be satisfied that the body of the poor animal had attained the size he wanted. To end the agony of the battered pig, boiling water was poured into its gaping mouth and over its body.
Although this man lived a short distance away from the Bamboo Grove Temple, yet in all the years, he was astutely engaged in merciless killing and he offered not a handful of flowers or a morsel of food to the Lord Buddha. One day he became ill. He suffered the onset of pain which was very great like a ball of fire consuming his whole body. He crawled on his four limbs and grunted like a pig. He became a subject of contempt and all the neighbours avoided him and kept him alone in his house with doors locked and guards kept watching him. For seven days he remained helpless and suffered alone. When the end came, he was maddened with horror to face the destiny of his rebirth in Avici Hell.
Some of the bhikkhus approached the Lord Buddha and said, “Lord we have learnt today that the suffering of the pig dealer has ended. His pain is as cruel as his deed. We never know a man who can be more ruthless than him.” The Lord replied, “This pig dealer was in a painful state as a result of his present karma. For the last seven days, he suffered in fierce agony like internal fire consuming his whole body. Today, he finds his painful existence in the Avici Hell. Heed-less man, who commits evil deeds, suffers torment in his present life too. He suffers whenever the memory of his evil deeds comes back to him. Even in death, he does not find solace; it carries him through the woe he had caused.
The following is a story which will act as an example on the right and blameless conduct one has to keep in the performance of meritorious work.
In the village of Macala, there lived a man Magha, who was a native of the country of Magadha. One day there was an open air assembly of the villagers who turned up to discuss their plan with regard to the general outlay of their village. Magha was in the crowd and as it was his habit, he prepared a clean spot where he stood and listened to the village head-man who was addressing his fellowmen on matters concerning the welfare of the village.
A man came and pushed Magha aside and stood on the clearance of his ground. Magha did not refute nor appeared annoyed but moved quietly to another place and having made it clean, he stood there. Another man again took up his position and he moved ungrudgingly to the next vacant spot which he swept clean. Again and again, he was made to go from one stand to another. He was heedful of not causing annoyance to people around him, for he realised that every man wanted a clean place for himself.
On the following day, Magha set out from his horne to prepare and clean a big area of land to serve the purpose of a playing field. He raked out the weeds and whatever rubbish that were scattered on the land. When the work was completed, he kept himself busy doing road repairs which were in a bad state due to heavy usage. He remetalled the damaged portion and levelled up the holes and cracks. A man who happened to pass by, enquired of him about his work and he told him that he was in the course of making a safe road to lead him to heaven. The man on learning of his good work and joined him. More men appeared on the scene and they all joined in to assist Magha in the hope of sharing the same merits with him. In all together his fellow-workers numbered thirty-two and they toiled diligently with him.
An overseer of the king who looked after the maintenance of the roads and highways, observed with curiosity this gang of workers happily engaged in making a road-way with their free labour. It came to his mind that it would be more practical for them to employ their time in the brewing of intoxicants which was of course illegal but could earn a portion for himself by way of corruption once he paid them off. But Magha could not be persuaded to fall in with his project though the overseer argued at great length about the uselessness of Magha’s work which could be more profitably employed in brewing intoxicants or wild game hunting. This failure infuriated the overseer and he plotted a plan to revenge himself on Magha and his fellow workers.
The overseer was not slow in communicating to the king that a gang of robbers was operating on the highways. He named Magha and his men as the robbers and they were caught and brought before the king. The misguided king, eager to mete out punishment to the unfortunate men, did not make any enquiry as to their guilt. The prisoners were made to lie on the ground and the king’s elephants were immediately released and led to trample on their prostrate bodies.
Magha seeing that their death was imminent, addressed all his men, “There is left only one course for us and that is to protect our purity of action. May we at this hour extend our loving kindness to the king, his officials, and to the elephants. Let no hatred spring from our hearts but instead, let them be filled with thoughts of love for our fellowmen like the same love that we feel for ourselves.”
Somehow the elephants when released stopped abruptly on approaching the prostrated figures. The king thought that his elephants were afraid of being confronted by so many men lying on the ground. So he instructed his men to cover the prisoners with mats and to lead the elephants to trample on them. But again the elephants refused to do so. The king, noticing the unusual behaviour of his elephants, ordered his prisoners to stand before him. The king said, “You men, being daring highway robbers and caught in your den, what would you all expect me to do as my last act for your punishment.”
Magha stood forward and bowed in deep respect before the king. He then said, “O! King, it is interesting to know why we were branded as robbers of the highways. We are only peaceful villagers labouring for our own interest to make a road to lead us to heaven. Your overseer, though not interested in our project, is the principal witness of our activity before our arrest.”
The king hearing this said, “I, who am your king and a
human being as well, do not know your virtue whereas my elephants although
dumb animals them-selves know your true virtue. I now ask your forgiveness.”
The king, in order to punish the wicked overseer, ordered that the overseer
and his family were to work as personal attendants to Magha. He allowed
Magha, his men and their village to live free from tax. They also enjoy
the freedom to live free from the king’s rule and elephants were given
to them to ease their work.
18. Arati
19. Wirati Papa
Absolute Abstinence from Committing Evil Deeds
When both taken together, they mean ‘leaving off, abstinence, keeping away from, avoiding, etc.’ Though both terms have similarity of meaning they are not the same, as we shall see. Both signify effort to detach from unwholesome actions as mentioned in the stanza. It is the difference in scope between them that makes the two distinct Blessings in the Sutta. The expression ‘Avoiding and Abstaining from evil’, means Avoiding evil and Abstaining from evil.
Avoiding evil means ‘mental non-delight’ in it, a shrinking away from evil thoughts that have arisen. Only when this avoidance is not present in the mind can the fires of greed, aversion and delusion be fuelled up with the persistent flames of evil thoughts.
But abstaining from evil means ‘abstinence by way of body and speech actions’. Where mental avoidance of evil is present there will also be abstinence from it through body and speech. Abstinence may be the result of following a custom or tradition. Example, if people do not steal, thinking ‘it would disgrace the family’ then they have present only ‘abstinence as custom’. A better reason for abstinence is found in the person who remembers the Precepts, thinking, ‘Oh I shall break the training rule’. This is called ‘abstinence as severance’ found in the Noble disciple (Ariyan) who can abstain quite naturally.
The scriptures also teach three kinds of avoiding and abstaining, viz: from wrong speech, wrong (bodily) action and wrong livelihood. This means that both of these blessings are concerned with Sila or Morality.
The word ‘papa’ meaning ‘evil’. Why do we say this and that action is wrong speech, wrong action or wrong liveli-hood? Because these actions bring trouble and suffering to oneself and to others.
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