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How the Supreme Buddha saved the city of Vaishali | Ven. Welimada Saddaseela Thero — Transcript

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0:46When I remembered the Sacred Tooth Relic,
0:49in this pulpit itself, I recalled something.
0:55The Sutta that touched the Sacred Tooth the most number of times.
1:03That is, if our Blessed One delivers a Dhamma sermon, it would not be repeated.
1:09The Ratana Sutta that you are going to hear about today
1:14was chanted 7 times by the Supreme Buddha by His Sacred Mouth.
1:23It is a great blessing to be able to teach and to learn about the noble Ratana Sutta - which touched the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Blessed One 7 times - in Kandy which is the place that's illuminated by the Sacred Radiance of that Relic.
1:49Therefore, listen intently.
1:54It's a lovely story.
1:59The king of Banares had a queen.
2:04That queen
2:08conceived a child.
2:12Great celebrations took place during her pregnancy.
2:16When she was giving birth in the labor room,
2:19she ended up delivering a slab of flesh.
2:24It had no arms or legs. A simple slab of flesh was born after 10 months.
2:32The queen was very troubled.
2:38She gave her maid some valuables and wrote in a golden leaf
2:43"The slab of flesh that the king of Banares' queen gave birth to."
2:50She placed the flesh and the golden leaf in an ewer
2:54and set it afloat on the Ganges River.
3:01There was a conclusion point for that piece of flesh in the future.
3:11I don't know if it was because of that, but the ewer did not tip over.
3:16It continued to float like this.
3:22These are things that people of today can't even think of. But such things happened.
3:30There was an ascetic in a forest at the lower end of the river.
3:36He brushed his teeth in the morning and went to the river to have a bath.
3:45An ewer drifted along...
3:51Since it was something he thought was discarded, disposed of or had gotten lost;
3:58he swam a bit and took the ewer.
4:03When he opened the ewer and looked inside, he saw a slab of flesh.
4:07There was no bad odor.
4:10There was no bad odor.
4:12Meat usually smells bad, right?
4:14Then the ascetic looked at the golden leaf.
4:18It was the king of Banares'...
4:20Apparently it was the slab of flesh that his queen gave birth to.
4:24He kept it in the corner of the abbey.
4:30It did not emit a bad odor nor did it rot.
4:34The ascetic peeked inside the vessel day and night.
4:39After a month passed by, the piece of flesh had broken in two.
4:45From the 2 pieces of flesh,
4:515 more pieces per slab had grown out.
4:56The piece of flesh that emerged from the top was growing in to a head.
4:59The other 4 pieces became hands and legs. The same happened to the other slab of flesh too.
5:07A prince and princess...
5:13So this was a child that was delivered, right? Although it was a slab of flesh.
5:18There are things people do not know. Meritorious ones, the All-Knowing and All-Seeing Blessed Tathāgata said that some humans are born spontaneously.
5:30They are seen in bushes randomly. People say they have been abandoned.
5:39Ambapali was born spontaneously.
5:42A little child under a mango tree.
5:46No mother or father.
5:49When such things happen in this human world,
5:54don't doubt them.
5:57We know so little...
6:00It's okay to say we don't know even a little bit.
6:04When he saw the two pieces of flesh, the ascetic developed love towards them. A love of a mother and father.
6:18The love of a mother and father is something amazing.
6:23As that love developed, the ascetic's finger began to hurt.
6:27The ascetic squeezed his finger like this. The end of his finger burst and a white liquid poured out. It was milk.
6:39He took the babies out of the ewer
6:44kept them on an ascetic's robe and put his finger in their mouths. They sucked.
6:52As they drank the milk, he could see the milk run down their throat and settle in their stomachs. Their skin was transparent.
7:00Their skin was transparent. He saw everything that settled in their stomachs.
7:05If someone saw them, they'd think "Don't they have any skin?"
7:10'Chavi'
7:11- no skin. From that meaning 'Licchavi'...
7:18Nicchavi and Licchavi.
7:21The royal children were growing up.
7:23The prince and princess.
7:26The people who came to offer alms food to the ascetic said
7:32"Dear ascetic, you cannot develop spiritually and take care of these children at the same time."
7:40"Give them to us."
7:42The ascetic said "This is a royal prince and princess."
7:48"We need to provide royal comforts for them."
7:52"Make a castle for them. When the right time arrives, don't marry them off to anyone else. Ensure they wed each other."
8:00They were sent away.
8:03When they reached a playful age,
8:10those Licchavi children
8:14- beside the river - I am telling the story of the great city called Vaishali.
8:25They were very naughty when they reached a playful age.
8:29When playing, that little boy would slap the other boys and run away.
8:35That girl would pull the hair of other little girls and run away.
8:39They would bully the other children. They were little children after all...
8:46Mothers of today come and tell me "Dear monk... My children"
8:52"are so naughty! I don't know if it's some bad luck."
8:57So I ask "Isn't it a good thing?" "No no! Maybe I should make a vow..."
9:04So do these mothers and fathers want lazy, lifeless children?
9:11So what if they run about?
9:17It's okay if they are naughty. They are children.
9:22They think too much.
9:26They want to keep the child under their control from their small days itself.
9:33In many ways. But we don't know...
9:37Today I am seated here in a pulpit preaching the Dhamma.
9:44If you look at my childhood...
9:46Oh my....
9:49The term for that in Sinhala is 'Andapala' (Rascal).
9:56Andapala... One day I fell
9:58and my teacher said "Serves him right!"
10:03I could not study when I was little.
10:07I could not remember even one word.
10:10The alphabet remained in my mind from Year 5 onwards.
10:16If society shunned me as a sinner because I was a rascal as a child and my teachers dismissed me;
10:27how would this child approach a teacher to teach you the Dhamma today?
10:34There are many things we cannot see and that we do not know about, meritorious ones...
10:40So leave little children alone...
10:45Thereafter,
10:48other mothers and fathers said "Don't play with them."
10:53All the children boycotted them.
10:56They were labeled 'Vajji'...
11:01When the suitable time arrived, they were given in marriage to each other and a castle was built for them to live in.
11:08They had many children.
11:10Then their children had many children.
11:13The town that had been given to them had to be expanded.
11:18The town was expanded 3 times.
11:21Because it was expanded again and again,
11:24what was that town named?
11:27Vishala....
11:29Vaishali...
11:32The great town Vishala...
11:34It was a republic.
11:37Why? Because it was the same children. They looked the same.
11:40You can see what they eat and drink when you look at them.
11:45It's unimaginable in this day and age.
11:48One day, my Supreme Buddha told His disciple monks
11:53"Dear monks, if you have not seen the gods of Cātummahārājikā, look at the Licchavis..."
12:02Their beauty was akin to that of gods living on earth.
12:08Seven thousand seven hundred and seven kings.
12:12Seven thousand seven hundred and seven heirs to the throne.
12:15Seven thousand seven hundred and seven majors.
12:18Seven thousand seven hundred and seven chief advisors.
12:20A great republic as such.
12:26Suddenly the rains stopped.
12:29There was no rain.
12:32As the rains reduced, they ate and drank whatever they had.
12:39They consumed the seeds they kept to sow.
12:43Nothing was left.
12:44The seeds they secretly sowed were dried out by the sun.
12:52The king did not care. It was the people who suffered, right?
12:56The royal stores were full.
13:00The kings did not feel this pressure too much.
13:05So of the citizens, the old people began to die.
13:11The villagers disposed of the bodies in the cemetery.
13:16More people died, and they could neither be buried nor cremated, so they were simply disposed of.
13:23The stench of rot filled the air.
13:25The stench of rot attracted the attention of non-humans.
13:31The stench of rot attracted the attention of non-humans...
13:35Let's take an example.
13:38Let's take as an example... What's that fruit that stinks?
13:44Durian.
13:46It doesn't stink. It has a lovely smell.
13:51If someone loves to eat Durian and he/she gets the smell of it, does their attention shift to that direction? Yes or no?
13:59The smell of rotting bodies attracts the attention of non-humans.
14:02They go searching in that direction.
14:06They got their attention.
14:08They depended on the secretions of the corpses.
14:12Next, they set their sights on the humans.
14:16The humans began to experience troubles from non-humans.
14:20When a non-human that has a lot of heat focuses on a human, that person gets fever.
14:30Once the attention of a blood-thirsty demon is on someone, the blood in that person's body reduces.
14:44So they died due to sickness, right?
14:48Due to a pandemic, right?
14:50The fear of sickness emerged.
14:53The fear of famine and sickness emerged.
14:57The fear of non-humans emerged. In various places...
15:02Who will carry those who fall dead?
15:05There were skeletons everywhere.
15:08The great town of Vaishali became a cemetery...
15:14Those who still had a little life left leaned on walking sticks and went to the castle.
15:21They screamed before the king and said
15:24- by then the kings would have discussed this with their ministers.
15:30They may have given some solutions too. But nothing worked.
15:36Meritorious ones, in the great city of Vaishali, there was such powerful wizardry that one could fly by using it.
15:45There was a medicine that once you chant over it and take it to your hand, the person becomes invisible.
15:54There was a wizardry where one would chant over an arrow and shoot it to the sky. Rain would fall thereafter.
16:02There was a wizardry where one would chant over an arrow and shoot it to the sky. Rains of fire would fall thereafter.
16:10There was a wizardry where one would chant and thereafter they could read the other person's mind.
16:17That was called Manika.
16:20Gandhari.
16:23Absolutely no wizardry or witchcraft worked.
16:34Nothing brought comfort.
16:39Thereafter, the ministers themselves said
16:43let's bring Ajita Kesakambali, Pakudhakaccāyana, Makkhali Gosala, etc.
16:50That was not approved by the royal assembly.
16:57None of those philosophers had seen the Supreme Buddha.
17:02Although they scold Him.
17:06Why? Because they had taken the word 'Buddha' as something trivial in saṁsara.
17:11They would say "I swear upon the Buddha!"
17:16They had taken the word 'Buddha' as something trivial...
17:21That sin...
17:25They sent a group of diplomats to bring the Blessed Tathāgata. The Supreme Buddha was residing in Magadha at that time.
17:33The ministers asked to invite the Blessed Tathāgata first.
17:42(They said) the king will not send Him.
17:45They invited the Blessed One.
17:48The Blessed One saw it all.
17:53This is what happened after that.
17:56There are people suffering from rickets that have the merit to become Arahants. He saw them. Their mouths were open and heads turned upwards.
18:02They were in corners crying out in pain. The Buddha saw this with His Supernatural Sight.
18:09There were people in corners covered by non-humans that had the merit to become 'Sotāpannas' (Stream Entrants).
18:15The non-humans were sucking the blood of those who had the merit to become Stream Entrants.
18:19The Buddha saw this with His Supernatural Sight...
18:22Those who will reach a milestone on the Noble Eightfold Path...
18:27Vaishali was the place that had the authority to establish the Blessed One's Dispensation in tens of thousands of universes.
18:41He saw this...
18:43He waited patiently...
18:45The Supreme Buddha remained silent.
18:49They went and told the king that the Blessed Tathāgata accepted the invitation to visit Vaishali.
18:54The king quickly ran and asked "Venerable Sir, is it true that you are going to Vaishali?"
19:00The Blessed One said "I must go."
19:03"Be patient for a moment."
19:07From the city of Rajgir to the Ganges river - Where's the town of Rajgir?
19:15It's called Rajgir today.
19:17So don't you remember in India's Patna -
19:21from Rajgir city, the river Ganges flows across Patna. You remember the Ganges river, right? It's about 10 kilometers long (across Patna).
19:30The area until that river was cleared and a road was made.
19:39White sand was strewn.
19:41Flowers were strewn. Flower garlands were hung. Flower canopies were secured.
19:48They made stacked parasols for the Supreme Buddha. One adorned parasol was placed atop another adorned parasol.
19:59They made adorned parasols for the Saṅgha.
20:03Five hundred members of the Saṅgha were coming.
20:07The first person to follow the Supreme Buddha was
20:11the One upon whom the Supreme Buddha’s Shadow fell.
20:15Who was it? As soon as you talk to Him, the sadness in your heart disappears.
20:21For a person that has 1,000 problems,
20:24when they hear the words "Meritorious one, why did you come here?" from Him, it's like dousing a fire with water.
20:31When you raise your head and look at Him, it's like looking at the moon.
20:36He has a very beautiful mouth. He was like a golden statue. He would walk slowly.
20:43He would smile and talk.
20:46Every person who sees Him experiences delight. The name of the Blessed One's Shadow was Ananda...
20:56Venerable Ananda Thero was walking.
21:01Thereafter, the Blessed One
21:05- there were flags and banners on either side of the road.
21:10Those are offerings of respect for Buddhas.
21:13Those offerings of respect exist to this day.
21:16An example is the path leading to the Mahamevnawa in Kundasale.
21:24Isn't it decorated?
21:26Haven't canopies been secured? Flags and banners have been spread out. These flower offerings. The spread of the sound 'Sadhu'....
21:35Clean roads...
21:38All these are offerings of respect to Buddhas.
21:44King Bimbisara had placed ships in the Ganges. He had assigned a special seat for the Blessed One.
21:54He went neck deep in to the Ganges river, brought his palms together, place them atop his head, said 'Sadhu!' and said
22:04"Please return soon, Venerable Sir."
22:09In the midst of offerings of respect of the gods and serpents,
22:14the current of the Ganges river stopped.
22:18Five varieties of Nymphaea bloomed.
22:23A messenger quickly sent a message to the Licchavi royals "Such offerings of respect have been made. You too do the same."
22:33If King Bimbisara stacked two parasols, the Licchavi royals stacked four parasols one above the other.
22:46For the Saṅgha, two adorned parasols were stacked per monk.
22:53They prepared offerings of respect in a similar way.
22:58Clouds filled the sky as the Supreme Buddha approached the great city of Vaishali.
23:06As soon as my Supreme Buddha placed His Blessed Feet on Vaishali
23:15- the Golden, Blessed Foot that contains thousands of auspicious symbols. He always put His Right Blessed Foot forward.
23:27His Blessed Toenails were the color of copper. They emitted copper colored rays.
23:32His Blessed Feet were the color of gold. They emitted gold colored rays. As soon as He placed His Blessed Feet on Vaishali,
23:41gentle rains began to fall.
23:45Great rains came pouring down.
23:50Rotting corpses were swept away.
23:53There are people who do and don't like to get wet in the rain.
23:59Those who like to get wet in the rain got wet.
24:03Those who do not like to get wet did not.
24:07A miracle...
24:10The Blessed One was coming.
24:15Venerable Ananda Thero followed Him. The non-humans left the humans as soon as the Blessed Feet touched Vaishali.
24:27As soon as The Blessed One placed His Blessed Feet there, if the non-humans ran 4 miles away from that place, it was because of the Power of those Blessed Feet.
24:41If that's the Power of simply placing His Blessed Feet on the ground,
24:45how powerful must the Walk of the Blessed One who has the 32 Marks of a Great Man be?
24:54The Blessed One is known as Aṅgīrasa because He emits rays of color from His entire Body.
24:59When rays of Nīlā (blue), Pīta (yellow), Lohita (red), Odātā (white), Mañjeṭṭhā (madder-colored), and Prabhāsvara (a combination of all colors) are emitted from His Blessed Body;
25:07it is so amazing...
25:10Seven thousand seven hundred and seven royals stood in line.
25:17For 3 days, He traveled from the Ganges river to the castle. It rained continuously on those 3 days and entire Vaishali was cleaned.
25:26In the evening, lamps were lit in the castle.
25:31Brahma Sahampati had arrived to see our Teacher - the Supreme Buddha - the One who teaches the Sublime Dhamma.
25:43The triumphant sounding of the conch shell blown by God Sakka can be heard for a distance of 120 cubits.
25:49The four guardian deities of the world are standing guard. Gods such as Indra are arriving. As powerful gods approached, the lowly non-humans went far away from the great city of Vaishali.
26:08Has the Ratana Sutta been chanted yet?
26:13Then, is the purpose of the Ratana Sutta to drive away demons?
26:19Demons have to be present to chase away, right?
26:26Then the Blessed One saw the non-humans living on earth. The non-humans referred to here are those belonging to the Deva category.
26:38The gods gathered there.
26:40There are gods possessing these trees on earth.
26:45There are some gods who possess blades of grass too. Thruna Devas...
26:51There are gods that possess flowers.
26:54Gods that possess due to the fragrance of the flower, the bark and fragrance of a tree. They are Gandhabbakāyike Devas...
27:05Next there are devas that live in mountains and forests. There were very powerful deities in the sky. The Supreme Buddha can see it all...
27:20Our Venerable Ananda Thero had filled the Supreme Buddha’s alms bowl with clean water and was standing by, waiting.
27:31The Blessed One preached 'Yānīdha bhūtāni -' There you go... He preached the Sublime Dhamma... In the past, no one asked to take a seat or paid formal respect before preaching the Dhamma; it was delivered as if in ordinary speech.
27:48He spoke...
27:50The Supreme Buddha preached 'Yānīdha bhūtāni samāgatāni, Bhummāni vā yāni va antalikkhe.'
27:59'Bhummā'
28:00- on the earth.
28:02'Antalikkhe' means in the sky.
28:06'Yānīdha bhūtāni samāgatāni' - "Some non-humans have gathered."
28:12The Supreme Buddha said "Deities have gathered on the earth and in the sky."
28:20Next, the Supreme Buddha preached 'Sabbeva bhūtā sumanā bhavantu.' - "May all these non-humans - these deities - be well... May their minds be well and happy..."
28:41The Blessed Tathāgata - who has the Great Treasure of Compassion that's spread throughout the three worlds - firstly spread compassion. He said "Be well and happy..."
28:52The deities on earth and in the sky felt a deep sense of relief.
28:58When they heard those words...
29:01'Athopi sakkacca suṇantu bhāsitaṁ.' - "I will preach something now. Listen intently."
29:13'Tasmā hi bhūtā nisāmetha sabbe, Mettaṁ karotha mānusiyā pajāya.' - "Why are you not being compassionate towards these people?"
29:22"Develop compassionate minds towards people."
29:24They felt it very strongly! Why? Because when the Supreme Buddha extended compassion, He asked those who felt that relief, “Why are you not being compassionate?”
29:38'Divā ca ratto ca haranti ye baliṁ.' - "People light lamps,"
29:43"make milk rice,"
29:46"offer flowers and fragrance; they perform Pujas for deities by doing such things."
29:55"They share merit. Why are you not being compassionate towards them?"
30:02The Supreme Buddha stated that the gods could have, at the very least, offered compassionate help during this crisis in Vaishali.
30:16The deities were bewildered...
30:24When those people began to fall ill, they performed Pujas and offered lamp light, etc.
30:32They told the gods...
30:35The Blessed Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Supreme Perfectly Enlightened Buddha — who showers the three worlds with kindness and dispels sorrow with every Dhamma stanza He preaches — began by radiating compassion through His Divine Voice.
30:53This is the most noble act of truth in the world. There's nothing beyond this.
30:59This is the most noble power.
31:02What is it? The Supreme Buddha said 'Yaṁ kiñci vittaṁ idha vā huraṁ vā.'
31:09"If there's any wealth or asset - whether here or in the afterlife - "
31:16'Saggesu vā yaṁ ratanaṁ paṇītaṁ.' - "There are gems in the heavens."
31:24Meritorious ones, there are various kinds of gems in this world.
31:30To be honest, I don't think anyone here has seen a true gem.
31:35I have not either.
31:38Back then, a gem would produce light.
31:46Today, we take a torch and hold it to the gem.
31:52People who saw gems back then must be laughing.
31:58There's a gem in the front of the universal monarch's vehicle. It spreads light for 16 miles. It's like a sun shining.
32:07In ancient Dambadiva, in statues of the Blessed One within monasteries, blue gems were set as the Eyes. People did not look up, as blue rays were said to emanate from them.
32:24It's said that those statues were destroyed and those gems were placed around the Taj Mahal to illuminate it.
32:34A gem is something that produces light.
32:36There's something called the Udakaprasadini gem.
32:39When that gem is placed in muddy water, the water clears completely and the water takes on a crystal blue color.
32:49Gems that exist in this world... There were gems that if you ask anything from them, you would receive it.
32:58The gem would throw them out.
33:01That gem is called 'Cintāmanī'. 'Sithumina'...
33:07Those are the types of gems in this world.
33:11Next, elephants that travel through the air are also called gems. Hatthi Ratna...
33:18There are horses like that too. Ashwa Ratna...
33:21The other gems were lifeless gems.
33:27All these are gems filled with life.
33:32Those elephants and horses that travel by air are called animal gems.
33:39Gems called humans travel atop those gems.
33:42Human gems.
33:44Of those human gems, there are male and female ones. What's a female gem?
33:52A woman who is not unfaithful to her husband even in her dreams.
33:57The universal monarch, of perfect handsomeness, received a female gem.
34:04She was endowed with the five excellences of the human body: perfect hair, teeth, body, skin, and ageless beauty.
34:08That's a female (gem). But in this world, a woman is subordinate to a man.
34:14The male gem is noble.
34:17Considering that, the universal monarch is someone who possess all gems. He travels by air.
34:24There is a churning gem which - when water is poured on it - it produces whatever one thinks of.
34:34That's the universal monarch. There are lay gems and ordained gems. The universal monarch is a lay person.
34:42He's a person who worships someone who wears a yellow robe.
34:45Therefore, the noble people who wear yellow robes are held in great esteem.
34:50Of those noble ones, there are those who have realized the Dhamma and who have not.
34:54Those who have realized the Dhamma are noble.
34:58Of those who have realized the Dhamma, there are two kinds of people. Sekha and Asekha.
35:03Those who have to and do not have to do anything further. Of them, an Asekha is noble.
35:11Even if you gathered 100,000 noble individuals like the Great Arahant Sāriputta Thero - who could count the raindrops that fall in an eon, possessed a golden body and walked with downcast eyes -
35:30they will not be equal to a Paccekabuddha.
35:34Even if this entire world were filled - foot by foot - with Paccekabuddhas; they would not equal the Gem known as the Buddha.
35:47If there is any wealth here or in the after life, or if there's a noble gem in the heavens,
35:54'Na no samaṁ atthi tathāgatena' - "It is not equal to a Buddha."
36:01It is NOT equal...
36:05"This is a truth."
36:07"May everyone be well and happy..."
36:10The sky was illuminated by flashes of lightning!
36:13The earth began to quake. The dried up trees began to grow leaves and flowers. With one word...
36:25If you chant just this one stanza with faith over water and throw it on a person possessed by a non-human,
36:35it's said that the non-human will feel as if lava is being poured over it.
36:40For a human, it turns the sorrow in the heart into something like a dream.
36:49Just one stanza...
36:51Are there mantras beyond this?
36:57There's nothing that can be compared to a Buddha.
37:01In the exposition book's Velāma Sutta, if the earth is rolled out like a mat,
37:07and until the end of it there are 5 rows of Stream Entrants.
37:19Until the end of the earth there are 5 rows of Once Returners.
37:24There are 3 rows of Non-returners.
37:28There are 2 rows of Arahants. There's a row of Paccekabuddhas.
37:33Offering one flower to my Supreme Buddha produces greater outcomes and greater advantages than giving alms to all of those noble people.
37:45Therefore, do not criticize offerings made to the Buddha.
37:50Don't criticize bringing one's palms together and worshipping a Buddha.
37:56When innocent people put some milk rice in a small clay container and offer it on Poya days, do not smirk...
38:09All these are offerings of respect to Buddhas. There's no one equal to a Buddha.
38:16If one goes for refuge to a Supreme Buddha,
38:19that person may have so many other wrongs. Maybe the person has a bad mouth.
38:25The person may have bad conduct.
38:28The person may not have corrected those things yet.
38:30Just like a lotus flower blooming in his/her heart, he/she remembers a Buddha.
38:36The hand called reverence for a Supreme Buddha grasps a person firmly and places him/her in the heavens, even when their life has been marked by faults and mistakes.
38:45It is so good to go for refuge to a Buddha...
38:50There's so much I can say with regard to going for refuge to a Buddha. I can talk from dusk till dawn about it.
38:58Going for refuge to a Buddha.
39:01The Blessed One did not preach beyond that.
39:05He didn't speak about the Virtues of a Buddha after that. That's it. He mentioned only one word.
39:10There's no gem equal to a Buddha in the three worlds.
39:16"By this truth may there be well-being!"
39:20Is this a stanza that you are supposed to say by gritting your teeth and yelling "Demon, be gone! Demon, be gone!"
39:27You must recite this smiling, with joy and by thinking of the Qualities of a Buddha until your body feels the power of it.
39:36Next the Supreme Buddha preached
39:40'Khayaṁ virāgaṁ amataṁ paṇītaṁ.'
39:44'Khayaṁ' - It eradicates lust.
39:47It eradicates hatred.
39:49It eradicates delusion. The Sakya Sage who cultivates dispassion, the One who preaches about the Sublime Nibbāna
39:59preached that Dhamma with a controlled mind.
40:04That Dhamma settles unwholesomeness.
40:07It develops detachment. It does not birth unwholesomeness.
40:12It's there to settle.
40:15It's there to settle.
40:17It's there for you to think of your saṁsara repeatedly and become humble.
40:25The Sakya Sage preached that Sublime Dhamma...
40:29'Na tena dhammena samatthi kiñci' - "There is nothing comparable to that Dhamma."
40:36A young woman who had lost her sanity and arrived without a single thread on her body was guided to complete liberation with a single Dhamma stanza.
40:48With one word...
40:50The Four Foundations of Mindfulness were given to someone wielding a sword with the use of one Dhamma stanza.
40:59With a single Dhamma stanza, a yellow robe was wrapped around a person who wore a necklace made of fingers.
41:06Boys who once sang and danced are now preaching the Dhamma like this with their own mouths after hearing Dhamma sermons...
41:15Drunken, stubborn people who lost their way pay respect saying 'Sadhu!' after listening to Dhamma sermons.
41:25They completely transform their lives! When we look back, we wonder if that was truly us.
41:32May our enemies listen to Dhamma sermons too.
41:35May our friends listen to Dhamma sermons. There's no other way to escape other than this Dhamma...
41:40For a person who has excessive lust, the only escape from it is the Dhamma. There's no other way.
41:46There's no other way! May those who have excessive lust listen to the Dhamma...
41:51For those who are brimming with hatred have no other way to escape other than the Dhamma.
41:59May those who are brimming with hatred listen to the Dhamma...
42:03Those brimming with jealousy and anger have no other way of escape other than the Dhamma.
42:08May those people listen to the Dhamma. There's nothing equal to this Noble Dhamma in the three worlds. That's the truth.
42:15By this truth, may there be well-being!...
42:20What other mantras are needed?
42:22What shrines or witchcraft tools (are needed)?
42:28We are talking about a Buddha who lives in your heart. We are hearing about the qualities of the Dhamma.
42:34I don't mind dying.
42:36I don't mind dying...
42:39'Yaṁ buddhaseṭṭho parivaṇṇayī suciṁ, Samādhimānantarikaññamāhu.' There's a concentration.
42:48Some meritorious people develop that concentration and the outcome is Arahantship.
42:55If that concentration is developed
42:57as impermanence, suffering and non-self; seeing this world as these 3 characteristics,
43:05a concentration develops about this saṁsara that is passionless and detached. That's the concentration that results in Arahantship.
43:12There's no concentration equal to that concentration in this world.
43:17That concentration is birthed by a Buddha's Dhamma.
43:23A concentration unmatched by anything in this world - flawless and uninterrupted, culminating in Arahantship - is developed only through the Dhamma stanzas preached through the Blessed Mouth of the Supreme Buddha.
43:39There's nothing equal in this world to that Dhamma or that concentration.
43:45This is one value of the Dhamma. That's the truth.
43:52Is it me who's saying that this is the truth? Is it I who said that this is the truth?
43:57Who said this is the truth?
43:59These are very powerful, meritorious ones...
44:02Why is it powerful? Because it is a Buddha who is performing an act of truth.
44:05How can this be tolerated?...
44:09The rays of light and power that spread from these Dhamma stanzas reached 10,000 universes. Even when I am preaching this Dhamma today,
44:22that's why our bodies feel it.
44:27It's the truth... By this truth, may there be well-being!...
44:32How wonderful is it? Why in the world did we not memorize this for this long?
44:39Why didn't we memorize this?
44:44Next the Supreme Buddha preached this. The Supreme Buddha also saw the power spread.
44:51That water was golden in color. Like inexhaustible lamp oil...
44:55It was developing a color of gold due to the power of this Paritta.
45:00People's hearts were becoming peaceful.
45:03Unwholesomeness gradually settled when listening to the Dhamma.
45:06There's no talk of non-humans, ghouls or fear.
45:10People's minds were settling as they heard the Dhamma stanzas.
45:14Next, the Supreme Buddha preached
45:17'Ye puggalā aṭṭha sataṁ pasatthā.'
45:22"There are 8 kinds of people that noble individuals praise."
45:27Those 8 kinds of noble people are - a person on the path of becoming a Stream Entrant, a Stream Entrant, a person on the path of becoming a Once Returner, a Once Returner, a person on the path of becoming a Non-Returner, a Non-Returner, a person on the path of becoming a Fully Enlightened One and a Fully Enlightened One.
45:40If considered as pairs, there are 4 - Stream Entrant, Once Returner, Non-Returner and Fully Enlightened One.
45:46For these noble people - for the followers of this Well Gone One -
45:54My Blessed Teacher is called the Well Gone One...
45:58Well Gone...
46:01If a meal is given to the followers of the Well Gone One,
46:06you will be blessed.
46:09Meritorious ones, if you give alms to the Saṅgha, you will be blessed.
46:13That is the truth.
46:15When He said "By this truth, may there be well-being!..." lightening flashed across the sky.
46:21The Supreme Buddha performed an act of truth using His Blessed Mouth by saying that you will be blessed if you give alms to the Saṅgha!
46:28That's a truth...
46:34If you give monks a meal, that's just one meal for them.
46:39You will (reap the benefits) for millions of eons.
46:43You will reap the result for millions of eons.
46:47Think that this Saṅgha wearing yellow robes are here because they feel sympathy for us.
46:55There's another thing.
46:57If you will experience the results of giving alms to the Saṅgha for millions of eons,
47:01you will experience the ill effects of even one wrong word you say against them for millions of eons...
47:07Don't collect sins...
47:12Don't collect sins...
47:15Let them go on their path. Let's go on ours.
47:21The Blessed Teacher who rescues us from saṁsara said
47:25that if you give alms to the Saṅgha, you will earn merit.
47:31Meritorious ones, we do not have time to scold people, to gossip about them, or to find out if that is right or that is wrong. We have such little time!
47:41Develop clarity and confidence towards the Saṅgha and the yellow robe...
47:49Develop clarity and confidence towards the yellow robe...
47:52Although Atapirikara is available in shops, you cannot formally dedicate it to the Saṅgha and offer it...
47:59If the Saṅgha of today are so sacred,
48:03then those noble and great individuals are worthy recipients of alms.
48:10A man who did not give alms but helped people died and was born as a deva in the heavens. But he did not have food.
48:19This was surprising.
48:21No heavenly food...
48:24Years later, a monk had gone on his alms round and was returning.
48:29There was a Banyan Tree that had grown like a cloud.
48:34He sat there and ate his food. For the smell of the food, the deva forgot his heavenly nature.
48:44So he climbed down from the tree, disguised himself and stood behind the tree.
48:48He was eating his food with a calm and controlled mind.
48:53He balled up the final mouthful of rice.
48:55The deva thought he will eat that too so he cleared his throat. "Ahem!"
49:03He turned his head and looked.
49:05He thought he must be hungry, so he put the bit of rice on a Banyan leaf and asked him to eat it.
49:11When he took the rice to his hand and was about to eat it, he thought
49:16"Oh my... For how long can I survive with this bit?"
49:21"It's because I did not give anything that I am not getting anything."
49:26"I'll offer this."
49:28"Venerable sir,"
49:30"please have sympathy towards me and accept this."
49:34He ate it.
49:38The monk left. When he returned to his heavenly abode,
49:43the food that appeared on that day exists even today.
49:49Even if this eon ends, that food will not finish in that realm.
49:53The result of one mouthful of rice...
49:58The result of one mouthful of rice...
50:00He did not cook it with his hands.
50:04It was not packed in a respectful manner...
50:08It wasn't an offering to the Buddha...
50:11Pali verses were not recited to formally dedicate the offering to the Sangha.
50:15The mouthful of rice that was given for you to eat was given to a monk.
50:24If the Noble Saṅgha is given alms, you will be blessed.
50:29That's the truth.
50:31What is the first virtue of the Saṅgha that the Supreme Buddha mentioned during this act of truth?
50:36You will be blessed if you give alms.
50:39That itself is enough to develop clarity and confidence to give alms.
50:44Non-humans ran away frantically.
50:48The diseases were nowhere to be seen.
50:52Settled...
50:55Next, the Supreme Buddha preached - Devas, people, kings; everyone was listening.
51:05The minds were being controlled. Many had already reached a milestone on the Noble Eightfold Path after the first stanza.
51:10More people reached a milestone on the Noble Eightfold Path after the second stanza.
51:13Why? Because clarity and confidence towards a Buddha is being developed.
51:16Next is developing clarity and confidence towards the Saṅgha.
51:19The Supreme Buddha preached 'Ye puggalā aṭṭha sataṁ pasatthā.' We already discussed that stanza. 'Ye suppayuttā manasā daḷhena,'
51:31'Nikkāmino gotamasāsanamhi.' - In the Dispensation of the Gautama.
51:38'Ye suppayuttā' - If someone is following correctly, 'manasā daḷhena' - one must become mentally strong.
51:46A coward cannot do this.
51:49(Such a person) cannot do this.
51:52Someone gullible cannot do this.
51:56You must be very strong mentally.
51:58If nothing else, at least from today - right now - forget the wrongs that were done to you.
52:05Let bygones be bygones. What can be done (about them)?
52:10Let's reform right now. There's no other way of escape...
52:17There was a girl we knew. She ran away with another man when she was married to another.
52:24So now we are preaching the Dhamma. A person she knew had said "Listen to the sermon at least for a little while."
52:31"I can't. I am going to hell anyway. So I can't listen to the Dhamma sermon."
52:36There are millions of people in the human world who have such lowly, wretched and immature minds.
52:42Even amongst those of us who call ourselves Buddhists.
52:46Ajasatta who killed his father is better than this.
52:50Even he listened to Dhamma sermons.
52:53There's no other way other than the Dhamma for a wrongdoer to escape!
53:01Don't get entangled in the fire again and again.
53:05Forget it all.
53:07Think of Venerable Aṅgulimāla Thero.
53:10Think of Ambapāli.
53:15Paṭācārā was the young woman who - overcome by sensual desire - ran away with a household servant.
53:26The amount of suffering she experienced?...
53:29When she was pregnant, she dreamt of her mother.
53:33She went to visit her but gave birth on the road.
53:36Even with the facilities available in today’s hospitals, some mothers still die during childbirth.
53:43As she was giving birth to her second child, it was raining very heavily.
53:47The girl who bent down on all fours like a cow and cradled the child she just gave birth to under her stomach to protect it from the rain.
53:58As she embraced her child and cried out in grief for her deceased husband,
54:04how great is that sadness?....
54:08When she was in the middle of the river and her baby was being taken away,
54:11when the other child was swept away,
54:13I wonder why Paṭācārā did not jump in to the river...
54:22As she ran, her mother and father were burning on a wooden pyre. She had no refuge. They threw stones at her saying she was a mad woman...
54:31She was relieved by the Dhamma.
54:33That noble lady Paṭācārā
54:37preaches the Dhamma....
54:40Oh my... She explains grief... She manifests it...
54:45She brings out the sadness within with her words.
54:48A normal person cannot do that.
54:53She demonstrates it. If 500 people listen to her Dhamma sermons, all 500 of them reach a milestone on the Noble Eightfold Path.
54:57She delivered a Dhamma sermon to 500 mothers who lost their children. She explained about grief very well. Why? She knows about the tears that fall...
55:08She preached the Dhamma again and again and eradicated the weakness in their minds.
55:12She eradicated their weak minds and said "Wash your feet and sit."
55:17"Be free of this saṁsara. Don't come to the human world again and again."
55:23That noble lady preached the Dhamma saying "Don't come back again and again to this world of suffering..."
55:30The tears that fell from those bhikkunis were enough to bathe that noble lady's feet. They sat down.
55:39Those 500 bhikkunis rose after 7 days after becoming Arahants.
55:44All 500 walked in a row.
55:46Those who brought alms asked where they were going.
55:51"That noble lady Paṭācārā preaches the Dhamma in a pleasant and sorrow-eradicating manner."
56:03"Just like the devas and titans go to God Sakka,"
56:07"we are going to worship the Blessed Feet of that Noble Lady Paṭācārā." they said.
56:16See the way they made up their minds?
56:19Let go of every wrong you have done.
56:22There's no point in thinking about it. Reform today.
56:26This policy is available to strengthen your mind.
56:31You must strengthen your mind with the Dhamma.
56:34That you have no other comfort than this Dhamma...
56:38Even when you pass a foul-smelling gas, do not be gullible and think that an evil spirit is inside you.
56:47Don't seek comfort for your life through witchcraft tools.
56:53Strengthen your refuge in your mind.
56:56It's not easy to protect your refuge, meritorious ones... You are pulled away from your refuge.
57:04Someone coming to this Dispensation is an amazing thing.
57:09Yesterday I saw a son.
57:11In front of me, he told his mother
57:16"Mother, I cannot stay in this lay life. I want to ordain."
57:23I was paying attention to that conversation. When she heard those words, the mother was shaken.
57:30That mother put her palms together and said "Sadhu!"
57:35This is someone who will attain Nibbāna in the Maithri Buddha's Dispensation.
57:40She gave birth to a child and offered him to a Buddha's Dispensation. She planted a seed for liberation.
57:45She took part in that act of letting go.
57:48She sobbed and said "I'll make up my mind. You go on your journey."
57:54I observed that the word 'ordain' is something that shakes a mother.
58:01It is so powerful...
58:03So how deeply must ghosts and non-humans feel the effect of going for refuge?
58:09So they try to distract you from it. Being gullible will not work...
58:15When you strengthen your mind and follow this policy,
58:22you can go beyond all defilements.
58:26Once you go beyond all defilements, you receive the Sublime Nibbāna.
58:31You receive the elixir.
58:33Once you receive the elixir, you can consume it as you please.
58:39On that day when going back to the Anathapindika Monastery in the town of Savatti,
58:43the Saṅgha was seated at the foot of the trees meditating. They were pacing.
58:49Those noble people were consuming their Nibbāna...
58:55They were consuming their Nibbāna...
58:57They were experiencing the comfort of the Sublime Nibbāna.
59:02So the Supreme Buddha said that once you realize Nibbāna, you can experience it as you please.
59:09When we hear Dhamma stanzas like this, we feel joyous. We cannot experience it again later on.
59:14We can't experience it as we please.
59:18If we realize the Sublime Nibbāna, we can experience it as we please.
59:27Over a fire or over a spike. Even in the face of death.
59:32As His body was being smashed to the size of mustard seeds, our Great Arahant Moggallāna Thero
59:39experienced Nibbāna in comfort as per His preference.
59:45Smash whatever body you want to.
59:50Burn any body you wish to burn.
59:54They experience Nibbāna in whichever way they wish to. This is something the Saṅgha can do.
1:00:00It's the truth...
1:00:02By this truth, may there be well being!...
1:00:08How great their relief must have been....
1:00:10How great their relief must have been....
1:00:14Next, the Supreme Buddha said that the follower realizes the Four Noble Truths.
1:00:20If a follower realizes the Four Noble Truths, that noble person
1:00:26will not waiver. Like a firmly planted pillar. For example,
1:00:32even today, in Vaishali where the Ratana Sutta was preached,
1:00:36do you recall an Ashoka pillar there?
1:00:38A pillar erected on the ground. As much of the pillar lies underground as is visible above the surface.
1:00:44It does not move due to the wind that blows from the 4 directions.
1:00:48If you develop reverence,
1:00:50you will not waiver. For example, when being told about this Ratana Sutta, one wonders if there's a solution beyond this.
1:00:59Once you wear charms on your body, you have to protect it. You can't go under a vine,
1:01:07you can't eat pork even if you like to.
1:01:11You can't go to a wedding or a funeral. You cannot bathe at a port.
1:01:18You wear a charm to protect you. Now you have to protect the charm.
1:01:25You bury charms in the four corners of your home for protection and another wizard would do something to break its power. There's no solution...
1:01:35In our lands, we bury protectants in the four corners, right? In the past, how much must have been buried there for the same reason?
1:01:42After you, your children will do the same. There's no end to it.
1:01:49The earth will be filled with protectants.
1:01:56If all the threads that were tied on all of you since your childhood were saved,
1:02:04some of you will be covered by the threads.
1:02:09Someone in Galle bought a car.
1:02:14They would place a lime under each tire and drive over it before they leave their home every morning.
1:02:19They ask their helper to bring (the limes) from the shop.
1:02:22After 1-2 years, they had to sell the car to pay their dues to the shop.
1:02:28The limes have been smashed well...
1:02:32There's no solution...
1:02:35There's no solution...
1:02:38When hearing that the Ratana Sutta is so powerful,
1:02:44as you feel it,
1:02:47if someone else says "Oh my... That shrine tells your fortune as if they saw it with their own eyes!"
1:02:54"As if they saw it with their own eyes..."
1:02:58"It's absolutely correct."
1:03:00"Just go there and see."
1:03:02"Don't believe me. Just go and see."
1:03:05"There's no harm in going and having a look, right?"
1:03:08The thought enters your mind...
1:03:10"I have of course gone for refuge. But it's the exam season for my little ones. So I came to get a thread (that has been chanted over) for them."
1:03:18See how one becomes unclean?
1:03:20They don't have their refuge...
1:03:22They don't have their refuge... If you understood the Four Noble Truths, you will not waiver!
1:03:27Humans try hard to escape sadness because they have not realized the Four Noble Truths.
1:03:33Meritorious ones, my Blessed Teacher said "Understand sadness..."
1:03:39It's not easy...
1:03:42It's not easy to come to this.
1:03:44But a Stream Entrant gets there.
1:03:48A Stream Entrant does not waiver.
1:03:51A Stream Entrant does not waiver.
1:03:54We are wavering in our refuge in the Triple Gem. We are not firm.
1:04:01Be firm in the Triple Gem.
1:04:03All this nonsense will go away.
1:04:05We don't have much time.
1:04:08If you fall in to hell - do you know the shortest period of time one suffers in hell?
1:04:13The hell that has the shortest time period of suffering is called Sanjeewa.
1:04:18The time span of suffering in Sanjeewa hell is
1:04:2090 million human years.
1:04:24One day in the Sanjeewa hell is 90 million human years long.
1:04:28Such 30 days is one month. 12 months is one year.
1:04:32One has to suffer 500 years in that hell. You miss it by a bit.
1:04:38We don't have time to waste!
1:04:41You make offerings in shrines, right? Don't think you can escape easily...
1:04:47If you offer an offering bowl or get any help, you will become a debtor. That is certain.
1:04:55If you aren't firm in your refuge in the Triple Gem and go to a better realm, you will be born amongst those slaves. You will have to be at every intersection.
1:05:03It's not easy...
1:05:06A son I know is practicing the disciplines of the monastic life.
1:05:12A deva sends him messages often to share merit and to remember him/her.
1:05:17That boy does not share merit nor remembers him/her.
1:05:20When we inquired, he had offered an offering bowl many lives ago to that deva and had asked for help from him/her.
1:05:28Four to five lives later - when he's trying to attain Nibbāna - "Why are you leaving me and going?"
1:05:37Yesterday I met a monk. He told me about some witchcraft. I got a headache afterwards.
1:05:45That monk clapped gleefully and said "The power of these! The supernatural being described the offering bowl that I offered at the shrine 15 years ago!"
1:05:55When that monk said that, what I thought was that the spirit knows about the offering bowl that was offered 15 years ago.
1:06:01Then when you die, it will surely follow you.
1:06:07This is the way of escaping.
1:06:10'Yathindakhīlo pathavissito siyā.' - "The reverence of a person who has realized the Four Noble Truths will not waiver - similar to a firmly planted pillar."
1:06:20This is something the Saṅgha did. This is a very valuable characteristic of the disciples of the Buddha.
1:06:26It's the truth.
1:06:28By this truth, may there be well-being!...
1:06:34Next the Supreme Buddha said
1:06:37- now with each Dhamma stanza, beings are reaching a milestone on the Noble Eightfold Path.
1:06:42As the Blessed One preached.
1:06:46This was pure compassion from the Supreme Buddha. By an act of truth, He was spreading compassion.
1:06:54'Ye ariyasaccāni vibhāvayanti, Gambhīrapaññena sudesitāni; Kiñcāpi te honti bhusaṁ pamattā.' - Someone who has realized the Four Noble Truths - a Stream Entrant -
1:07:08may get late.
1:07:10How do they get late? By getting caught to conversations.
1:07:14That person's talk.
1:07:16They have realized the Four Noble Truths but have gotten caught to a conversation.
1:07:21Or is entangled in work. They have realized the Four Noble Truths but are entangled in work.
1:07:29Next, they have witnessed the Dhamma but are entangled in sleep.
1:07:35They have witnessed the Dhamma but have too many people around them and are busy with them.
1:07:41But even if a Stream Entrant doesn't meditate or listen to the Dhamma until he/she dies,
1:07:47that person will not have an 8th life.
1:07:49They will finish at 7.
1:07:52Even the person who is late - the Stream Entrant - is reborn only another 7 times. That's the truth.
1:08:00By this truth, may there be well-being!...
1:08:04'Etena saccena suvatthi hotu.'
1:08:08The truth...
1:08:12So how many times do you have to recite the Ratana Sutta to receive its blessing?
1:08:19A thousand times?
1:08:22108?
1:08:2421?
1:08:2714?
1:08:289?
1:08:307 times?
1:08:33Tell me.
1:08:35To receive the blessing from the Truth that left a Buddha's Mouth, how many times should you recite it?
1:08:42Even if you develop clarity and confidence, it's enough...
1:08:47By recalling the meaning of it. Because we don't have enough time, otherwise it's there like a beautiful poem...
1:08:54You get chills for the meanings....
1:08:57I have no idea how this was translated.... Reverence...
1:09:03The Udakaprasadini gem named Reverence is present
1:09:07in my teacher...
1:09:10Once that's in your heart, it's clear...
1:09:14There' no other clutter.
1:09:16The beautiful words flow like a river...
1:09:21Beautiful words flow...
1:09:23Words that give you goosebumps...
1:09:28It's observed through clear water.
1:09:31Reverence...
1:09:35Then the Supreme Buddha said
1:09:38'Sahāvassa dassanasampadāya.'
1:09:42The asset called view is becoming a Sotāpanna.
1:09:46I am not explaining word by word because we have a limited amount of time.
1:09:50Our divine teacher delivered a Dhamma sermon explaining the Ratana Sutta word by word.
1:09:58The Ratana Sutta sermon.
1:10:01When we heard it for the first time, we got goosebumps.
1:10:06I thought "If only everyone in this world would listen to this..."
1:10:11It's that beautiful...
1:10:13When you listen to each word's meaning, it's beautiful. Find that sermon and listen to it.
1:10:21There's a Dhamma book named 'Sebe Basin Mema Setha Selasewa'. Read it. It's lovely.
1:10:29You've wasted enough time reading novels.
1:10:31You've wasted enough time gossiping and reading newspapers. If you miss it even by a bit, that's the end!
1:10:41The next hell is Kālasutra.
1:10:46One day in the Kālasutra hell is 360 million human years.
1:10:56How much would one suffer?..
1:10:57I was thinking how our mothers and fathers of past lives who don't have the refuge of the Triple Gem must be there. How can we save them?...
1:11:09Free yourself from this...
1:11:13Free yourself from this...
1:11:15You try to maintain your life thinking "Me! Mine!"
1:11:20You are engrossed in identity views and wrong views. You doubt Buddhas and the Dhamma.
1:11:29Believe in this Ratana Sutta!
1:11:33Its power has spread to 10,000 universes!
1:11:38Don't lose your belief. When a Stream Entrant realizes the Dhamma, as if switching a light on,
1:11:49as if lighting a lamp, darkness is dispelled, light shines, and they see images. All at once.
1:11:58When such view assets are received - when the Four Noble Truths are realized - identity view is eradicated.
1:12:08Doubt is eradicated. The belief that mere external observances, rituals, vows, ceremonies, or practices can by themselves lead to liberation is eradicated. There's a ritual to share merit with deceased loved ones in India. That's called Pinda Daan.
1:12:19They observe higher precepts for 14 days
1:12:21and millions of people make dough balls, chant over them and throw them in the air for their deceased relatives to eat.
1:12:28Virtuous practices. They have to do it.
1:12:32I thought that those who have died are sinners. Because it's plain dough that's thrown up.
1:12:38If they threw something tasty, that would have been something.
1:12:40Millions do this. Fourteen days. My goodness...
1:12:46They perform Chhath Pujas. Women perform pujas for the sun deity asking to be free of sadness. They don't eat for 2 days.
1:12:55They crawl from their homes to the river and pray to the sun god.
1:13:00These lay ladies boast saying they did this and that and why their names are not announced. Why they weren't taken to the front and why the offering bowl was not given to them, etc. Although you are proud like this, if you go astray, that's the end.
1:13:16If you go astray, that's the end.
1:13:19The Supreme Buddha said to catch the serpent by its head, right?
1:13:23And not by the tail?
1:13:26What has both a tail and head? A serpent.
1:13:31So even though we are obsessed over Buddha's Dispensation, both getting it right or going astray exists in one.
1:13:42Identity view, doubt, the belief that mere external observances, rituals, vows, ceremonies, or practices can by themselves lead to liberation are eradicated.
1:13:47Thereafter, 'catūhapāyehi ca vippamutto.' - One will never fall in to the 4 hells. One will not fall in to those hells that have such long timespans of suffering.
1:13:57One will not be reborn in the animal world.
1:13:59One will not be reborn as a ghost. Terrible ghosts...
1:14:02Greedy for one's house...
1:14:04Greedy for lands, borders, children.
1:14:08They die and come back seeking spit to live off of.
1:14:11One will not be reborn in such worlds. Never.
1:14:15Next, 'chaccābhiṭhānāni abhabba kātuṁ.' - One will never commit these 6 sins.
1:14:21Murdering your mother, murdering your father, making a Buddha bleed.
1:14:25The branch of a Bodhi Tree will not be broken by a Stream Entrant even by mistake.
1:14:29A stupa's brick will not be broken with ill intention by a Stream Entrant.
1:14:35The robe of a statue will not be scratched with ill intention by a Stream Entrant.
1:14:41They will not make a Buddha bleed.
1:14:43I used examples of today and explained. These are certain things explained in the exposition book.
1:14:47Next, they will not create rifts between the Saṅgha.
1:14:49This is what's happening in this monastery, that monastery, this temple.
1:14:55"Dear monk, this is what is happening in that monastery."
1:14:59"Venerable sir, this is the latest that's happening in the temple." They don't create rifts.
1:15:04All these will exist until you continue in saṁsara.
1:15:09They will not settle in wrong views.
1:15:12Is it clear?
1:15:14They will not perform those 6 sins.
1:15:16This is the value of the Saṅgha. The Saṅgha did this. The disciples of the Buddha...
1:15:23He is talking about the Great Arahant Sāriputta Thero.
1:15:25About the Great Arahant Moggallāna Thero.
1:15:27Those who have achieved a milestone on the Noble Eightfold Path.
1:15:30This is the truth. By this truth, may there be well-being!...
1:15:35Next, the Supreme Buddha preached that if they commit a sin, they don't hide it.
1:15:41'Kiñcāpi so kamma karoti pāpakaṁ, kāyena vācā uda cetasā vā.'
1:15:46"Whether by body, speech, or mind." Someone can say something wrong by mistake.
1:15:52They can commit something wrong by their actions. But they don't hide it.
1:15:56The Stream Entrant will say it for sure.
1:16:00Being transparent when one commits a wrong is a prerequisite to becoming a Stream Entrant.
1:16:07The person who has right views will not hide it if he/she commits a wrong. It's the truth. By this truth, may there be well-being!... Saying so, the Supreme Buddha eradicated the 3 fears.
1:16:27Followers do not hide.
1:16:29Which means, as long as you hide
1:16:33until you do underhanded things,
1:16:36you will not come anywhere close to Nibbāna...
1:16:38You will not come anywhere close to realizing the Noble Truths...
1:16:42Next, the Supreme Buddha preached
1:16:46a beautiful simile. 'Vanappagumbe yatha phussitagge,'
1:16:51'gimhānamāse paṭhamasmiṁ gimhe.'
1:16:55In February and March - during the first stages of Spring -
1:17:01flowers bloom. Flowers have bloomed even in May, haven't they?
1:17:06Flowers bloom beautifully in every tree.
1:17:10It's said that the Dhamma was preached in that manner.
1:17:13The Supreme Buddha is preaching the Dhamma now. And when the Ratana Sutta was chanted the first time, 84,000 beings achieved a milestone on the Noble Eightfold Path.
1:17:24So many flowers bloomed.
1:17:28When He chanted it on the second day, 84,000 more beings achieved a milestone on the Noble Eightfold Path.
1:17:32So many flowers bloomed. He chanted for 7 days. The Ratana Sutta is a Sutta that has been chanted 7 times by the Blessed Mouth of a Buddha.
1:17:40588,000...
1:17:45Attained a spiritual milestone on the Noble Eightfold Path...
1:17:49My Supreme Buddha preached the Dhamma like the first flower blooms of Spring. My Supreme Buddha can do that.
1:17:58The Supreme Buddha has a gem like this. By this truth, may there be well-being!... These are the Virtues of a Buddha...
1:18:06His preaching of the Dhamma was like the blooming of flowers.
1:18:09How lovely...
1:18:12'Varo varaññū varado varāharo.' - 'Varo' means noble.
1:18:18'Varaññū' - What's noble was realized.
1:18:21'Varado' - Noble things are given freely.
1:18:23The Supreme Buddha expounded the Noble Sublime Dhamma that is unsurpassed in the world.
1:18:31Only a Buddha - a Noble Person - can provide something as noble as the Sublime Dhamma.
1:18:40This is something the Supreme Buddha does.
1:18:43This is a noble Gem that the Supreme Buddha possesses. By this truth, may there be well-being!...
1:18:49This was preached at night, and at that time, a lamp went out.
1:18:54The Supreme Buddha said 'Khīṇaṁ purāṇaṁ nava natthi sambhavaṁ.' - "By eradicating old kamma and by not gathering new kamma,"
1:19:04'Virattacittāyatike bhavasmiṁ' - "Without desiring another birth,"
1:19:10"without consciousness being planted,'
1:19:13"these Arahants who are without defilements"
1:19:16"will attain Parinibbāna."
1:19:18"Just like this lamp light went out." Where did that lamp light go?
1:19:23Is there a place where the lamp light went to?
1:19:25After there was no more wick and lamp oil, the lamp light went out.
1:19:31He said that Arahants attain Parinibbāna just like these lamps go out. That a truth. The Saṅgha does it!
1:19:39By this truth, may there be well-being!... God Sakka's delight has spread throughout his entire body and he couldn't remain in the sky anymore.
1:19:48God Sakka placed his blessed right knee in front of the Supreme Buddha and worshipped Him.
1:19:56God Sakka brought his palms together and placed them on his forehead.
1:20:01"Venerable Sir! Blessed One! Now there are gods in the sky and on the earth."
1:20:08'Yānīdha bhūtāni samāgatāni, Bhummāni vā yāni va antalikkhe; Tathāgataṁ devamanussapūjitaṁ.' - "These devas and humans are worshipping the Supreme Buddha."
1:20:21Venerating a Buddha is a truth. By this truth, may there be well-being!...
1:20:27God Sakka wished for blessings for the entire world by venerating the Buddha.
1:20:31How wonderful is it if we can venerate the Buddha every evening.
1:20:35Each time you hear the word 'Buddha' if you bring your palms together to worship, what a great comfort that is...
1:20:42If you are able to recite the Virtues of a Buddha with the Ruwanweli Maha Seya in your span of vision, how lucky are you?
1:20:48How lucky are you if you can recall the Virtues of the Supreme Buddha and die?!
1:20:55"There are devas and humans in the sky and on the earth. Venerable Sir, all of them are worshipping the Blessed One. They are worshipping the Sublime Dhamma. By this truth, may there be well-being!..."
1:21:08There are devas on the earth and in the sky.
1:21:14All these humans and devas are worshipping the Saṅgha...
1:21:19"By the power of the merit of worshipping the Saṅgha, by the power of this truth,"
1:21:24"may the world be blessed." It's the 3 stanzas that God Sakka said that are at the end.
1:21:32It's amazing...
1:21:34Venerable Ananda Thero sprinkled the water blessed by the Ratana Sutta. There was no sadness.
1:21:39Within those 5 days, the trees had already grown leaves and fruit.
1:21:47Via a great procession, the Supreme Buddha returned. He recited the Ratana Sutta 7 times.
1:21:52There's nothing beyond this, meritorious ones... Even the Āṭānāṭiya Sutta was a command of the Great King Vessavaṇa. The Supreme Buddha approved it.
1:22:02This is the protection that was born from the Heart of the Supreme Buddha. The Ratana Sutta...
1:22:14Cry and recite it before the Ruwanweli Maha Seya.
1:22:17As more problems come, recite it even more before Ruwanweli Maha Seya.
1:22:21Cry and recite it.
1:22:23You may die by whatever sickness you may have. But die protecting your refuge in the Triple Gem...
1:22:29As the Blessed One was returning,
1:22:32it's said that the devas and brahmas held parasols one on top of the other. The entire universe became something similar to a tree filled with flowers as it was covered with parasols.
1:22:46The Saṅgha discussed the honor and hospitality for the Buddha. The Blessed One said "Meritorious monks, in the past, in a stupa that contained a Paccekabuddha's Relics,"
1:23:00"in its terrace, I cleared weeds in an area as big as a Palmyra fan. That's why, even today, roads are cleared (for Me)."
1:23:09It is by the power of the merit earned by removing weeds from an area the size of a Palmyra fan and scattering sand on a stupa's terrace that white sand is strewn along the roads even when the Supreme Buddha’s Relics are taken in procession.
1:23:22He said He is offered mountains of flowers because he offered some flowers to a Paccekabuddha's stupa.
1:23:29"Meritorious monks, the reason why gentle rains fell on the great city of Vaishali when the Blessed Feet were placed on it was because the power of merit of sprinkling some water on the flowers offered to the Paccekabuddha."
1:23:42"The entire universe held parasols for me like a tree covered in flowers because I placed my umbrella on top of the stupa."
1:23:51Even today,
1:23:53the path to the Kundasale monastery is completely covered by canopies, flags, banners and Vesak decorations.
1:24:00"Meritorious ones, all this is happening because I tied by shawl on a stick and planted it near the stupa.'
1:24:10If those are the results of the offerings to a Paccekabuddha,
1:24:14what would the results be for the offerings made to Supreme Buddhas?
1:24:18Don't criticize even one flower offering.
1:24:22Let the innocent people worship.
1:24:25Let them offer even a Hibiscus flower.
1:24:28Let them say 'Sadhu!'...
1:24:31They are bringing their palms together for Buddhas...
1:24:36Make the Ratana Sutta the sole comfort of your life...
1:24:40Remember it during every sadness, every trouble...
1:24:45By the power of this noble act of truth of the Buddha,
1:24:51by the power of Dhamma, by the power of the acts of truths of the Saṅgha,
1:24:56by the power of the truth of the Dhamma expounded 7 times by our Blessed Teacher,
1:25:02by the power of the truth that this Sutta touched the Left Tooth Relic 7 times,
1:25:09by the comfort of the Sacred Tooth Relic's Rays of Light that's spread all around,
1:25:14may all beings be well and happy!...
1:25:18Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!....

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