No. 235 - The Story of Suppiya and Suppiyaa: Generous supporters of the Buddha and his disciples

The Story of Suppiya and Suppiyaa: Generous Supporters of the Buddha and his Disciples

By Ven Aggacitta

Let us recall last week’s talk. The suffering endured by Suppavasa and Sivali as a result of seven years of pregnancy and seven days of difficult delivery was ended by just an utterance by the Buddha wishing Suppavasa a safe delivery of a healthy baby. This ‘miracle’ can have two explanations.

One explanation is that the moment of utterance by the Buddha and the moment of the delivery occurred simultaneously with the expiration of the bad kamma of mother and son.

The other explanation is that the the Buddha exercised his psychic power. So today I shall tell you the story of a couple, Suppiya and his wife Suppiyaa, as another example of the Buddha’s psychic power.

Sup means ‘very’ while piya means ‘lovable’. Both were qualified to be known as dayakas (givers) and karakas (doers). Both were also sanghupatthaka—supporters of the Sangha. This means that they generously gave material requisites as well as physical effort to support the Buddha and his disciples. The couple would go from vihara to vihara and from kuti to kuti to find out what the monks lacked and what medicine was required if a monk was sick. No wonder they were named Suppiya—Very Lovable!

One day the Buddha and his disciples were in Deer Park (Migadaya), Isipatana, the monastery in Varanasi where he gave his first sermon. The couple as usual made the rounds of the kutis in the monastery. One of the monks told the couple that he needed some essence of meat as he was weak after having taken a laxative.

As it so happened, that day was Maghata Day, a day of observance of non-killing. Suppiyaa was now in a quandary. She thought, “If the bhikkhu does not get his nourishment, then he will get sick, maybe even die. That’s bad kamma for me.” She then cut off a piece of flesh from her thigh and gave the flesh to her servant to cook and offer to the bhikkhu. She instructed her to tell anyone who asked of her that she was sick.

When her husband returned and questioned her about her wound, she told him what had happened. The husband rejoiced in the fact that his wife had such great faith to give of her own flesh. He then invited the Buddha and the Sangha to his house for dana the following day. When the Buddha arrived in the couple’s house, he asked about Suppiyaa’s whereabouts. On being told by Suppiya that she was sick and therefore could not come out, the Buddha asked him to carry her out. He did as he was told and carried his wife out; whereupon on seeing the Buddha, her wound was healed, leaving no scar. This is an example of the Buddha’s psychic power.

However, the story does not end here. The Buddha went back to the monastery and asked the bhikkhu who had taken the food offered by Suppiyaa whether or not he realised he had consumed human flesh. He then told his disciples that in future, if they were unsure as to what they had been offered, they had to ask. Following this, he spoke of the ten types of meat that bhikkhus should not consume, namely those of

1. human beings

2. dogs

3. snakes

4. lions

5. tigers

6. panthers

7. taraccha (a wild animal)

8. bears

9. elephants

10. horses.

To consume human flesh is a grave offence. The meat of dogs and snakes should not be eaten because it is disgusting. A naga king told the Buddha that people should not eat snake meat because other snakes that did not believe in the Buddha’s teaching might come to disturb those who had eaten their kind. For the same reason, the meat of wild animals such as lions, tigers, panthers, taracchas and bears should not be eaten.

Finally, because elephants and horses were part of the regalia of the kings of that time, their meat should not be eaten.

The Buddha did not forbid the eating of pork, but a psychic who is able to perceive auras once said that the aura of a pork eater is similar to that of a cancer patient.

I had some interesting experiences while I was in Myanmar. The rural folks there were very poor and some of them would come to help around my forest hermitage after which I would share my pindapata food with them. There was one who was particularly poor and fed himself and his family with whatever he could hunt or gather in the forest. He also offered me food when I stood in front of his shack during pindacara. At times when I saw food that I was not sure of, I asked to find out what it was. I did not know if he purposely hunted to offer to me. It was a difficult situation though. If I asked, then he might feel offended. If I didn’t, then I wouldn’t feel at ease eating the food.

Sadhu ......... Sadhu ........ Sadhu ..................

No.234 - How buddhists can observe cheng Beng meritoriously.

HOW BUDDHISTS CAN OBSERVE ‘CHENG BENG’ MERITORIOUSLY

“Although ‘Cheng Beng’ ( or ‘Qing Ming’, 清明节 ) was not originally a Buddhist tradition, it has nevertheless been observed by Chinese Buddhists for centuries.

“The Buddha taught that our duties towards parents and relatives do not end with their death.  After their demise, we should continue to honour them by performing wholesome, meritorious and noble deeds, and thereafter dedicate merits to them.

“According to Buddha’s teaching, it is not by burning paper paraphernalia, incantations or conducting rituals that we can help our ancestors.  It is through our wholesome acts and the dedication of merits that our departed relatives can truly benefit.

“Performing meritorious deeds is helpful to the doer; and when the merits are dedicated to departed relatives, it helps them as well.”

– Excerpt from Dhamma talk by Bro. Tan, Nalanda Buddhist Society

No.233 - Death and Impermanence

DEATH AND IMPERMANENCE

Though we may not be able to watch dead bodies decay as was possible during the Buddha's lifetime, we can use our imagination to contemplate what happens to a body after death. Meditating on this subject is not meant to encourage sadness or other negative emotions. Rather, it is the most realistic way to develop mindfulness of the the body's impermanence. However, meditation on the various stages of a corpse requires spiritual maturity and emotional stability.

Once you have meditated thoroughly on the other aspects of mindfulness of the body, you may be ready to practice cemetery contemplation. First, imagine a dead body in the cemetery, one , two, or three days after death. Then compare your living body with that body with thoughts such as these :

This is the nature of my body. It will become like this dead body. This result is unavoidable. Two, three, or four days after death, m body is bloated, discolored, festered, stinky. It has no feelings, perceptions, or thoughts. It rots. Animals eat it. The flesh disappears; the blood dries out; sinews break down; the bones separate. Bones also decay. They become porous and slowly are reduced to powder and dust. One day, when a big gust of wind blows, even this dust will disappear.

"When vitality, heat, and consciousness depart from this physical body, then it lies there cast away, food for others, without volition."

"Before long this body will lie cast away upon the ground, bereft of all consciousness, like a useless block of wood."

From : The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English By Bhante Gunaratana.

Nol.232 - Dana and redistribution of wealth

Dana and Redistribution of Wealth

By Ven Aggacitta

We are happy to see all of you again after a lapse of approximately one year. Unlike the previous occasion, this trip we had the opportunity to cross over to ‘seberang’ Kuala Sepetang. As usual, the people of Kuala Sepetang are very generous with their dana. There is more than enough food collected during the pindacara to fill both of our 4WDs. In fact, there may be some who might erroneously think that these three monks are too greedy for taking much, much more than they require.

Why do so many people give so much? What do you have in mind when you give?

In a nutshell, your answers indicate that you give because you wish to have good luck, prosperity, peace and happiness. In fact, all religions encourage charity and doing dana is one of the easiest ways to do good. The very act itself trains us to reduce our greed.

Any dana, no matter how small the amount, will eventually result in the obtaining of appropriate wealth, prosperity and gain. However, the manner in which the dana is given will result in certain ‘karmic bonuses’, as shown in the table below.

No.        Manner of giving dana Karmic bonus

1.    With faith Beauty, attractiveness.

2.    With respect Respect, esteem, authority

3.    Timely Timely fulfilment of needs

4.    With genuine generosity Enjoyment of sensual pleasures

5.    Without harming oneself or others One's property or wealth is durable, i.e. not lost through

6.    calamities, robbery, confiscation by the government, or

7.    among wastrels in the family.

The Dalai Lama is held in high esteem by the entire Buddhist community. Wherever he goes, crowds of Tibetans who attend his talks are very generous with their dana. Just like us, he receives much more than he can ever use. On one occasion a westerner who saw the abundance of dana complained that the Dalai Lama was too greedy. The Dalai Lama replied that he accepts them out of compassion for the laypeople who wish to gain merits. Furthermore, the donations do not go to waste for there is a committee which ensures that they are redistributed to the poor and needy. Likewise, in SBS, we also have a group of lay devotees who collect some of the food to be firstly given to the staff working up in SBS, and then redistributes the rest to the poor in and around Taiping. This is in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha who said (in Adiya Sutta, AN 5:41) that wealth rightly obtained should be used in the following manner:

1.    to make oneself happy;

2.    to take care of our parents;

3.    for our spouse and children;

4.    for the welfare of our employees;

5.    to entertain friends and associates;

6.    to ensure safety and keep for a rainy day (e.g. investing/ purchasing insurance);

7.    to make offerings to

       

        o     guests

        o    living relatives

        o    departed relatives (e.g. during Qing Ming)

        o    the government (via taxation which in turn provides the revenue necessary for public amenities and facilities); and

       

8.    to give dana to practising renunciates.

The Buddha's policy seems very much to be like the English saying: “Charity begins at home.” I'd like to comment on a few points mentioned above. Firstly, we are monks who have renounced worldly affairs. We don't have a family to support like most of you. However, we live up in a sanctuary at the edge of the forest surrounded by hills. Those of you who have been to SBS will know how extensive and beautiful it is. To maintain its beauty while ensuring that it operates smoothly day to day, the Management has to employ people to work in the office and in our grounds. As we are a religious organisation, the Management cannot afford to pay commercial rates to our staff. Moreover, our remote and hilly location also makes it difficult to attract and retain employees. So one compromise is to share whatever excess alms we get from pindacara and other occasions with our workers to help defray their living expenses.

Secondly, it is interesting that the Buddha did not mention anything about giving dana to the poor and needy. Perhaps he was giving priority to the immediate demands of the household life. But since we as renunciates do not have to attend to many of the matters mentioned above, and we have received in abundance, it is only befitting that we should relinquish any excess to the poor and needy.

Let us now share the merits obtained from these praiseworthy endeavours.

Sadhu! .........  Sadhu! .........  Sadhu! .........

No.231 - Being born is to satisfy your cravings.

Ajahn Suchart

“Being born is to satisfy your cravings.”

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Question: What is the purpose of being born in this earth?

Than Ajahn: There’s no purpose for being born. Being born is the result of your cravings or desires. Being born is to satisfy your cravings or desires because you need a body to see and to hear things. You have cravings to see, to hear, to touch, and to feel things, so you need to have a body.

As soon as you lose this body, your mind will look for a new body. And when you get a new body, then you come back to do what your mind wants to do, i.e. to see, to hear, to feel, to touch. So, this is the reason why we are born. This is the cause of our rebirths.

According to the Wise men, being born is not good. Because there is not only happiness in this world, but there is also unhappiness or sadness. The nature of the happiness is temporary. When we lose those happiness, what’s next is sadness or unhappiness. It’s the same with the body. When the body is young, it’s strong and healthy. It can do a lot of thing, it brings a lot of happiness. But when it gets old, gets sick and dies, it brings you a lot of unhappiness.

So, according to the Wise men, being born is not good. It’s better not to be reborn again. The way not to be reborn again is by getting rid of your cravings or your desires. And the way to get rid of your cravings or your desires is by practising meditation.

There are 2 levels of meditation: calming the mind and teaching the mind that cravings are bad for you. Cravings will only lead you to sadness and suffering. Once you have developed this understanding, and developed the ability to stop your cravings, you won’t have to come back and be reborn again.

Not being reborn doesn’t mean you disappear. The mind is still there but in the state where you don’t need to have a physical body to make you happy. You can be happy forever and eternally without having a physical body.

Youtube: “Dhamma in English, Nov 9, 2018.”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

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