A Guide to Achievement
by M.B. Werapitiya
“By faith one crosses over the stream.
By strenuousness the sea of life;
By steadfastness all greed he stills.
By wisdom he is purified.”
When
Sudatta, the millionaire of Sāvatthī, called on his good friend the
millionaire of Rājagaha, the geniality which usually prevailed on such
happy occasions was missing. He observed, instead, his friend wholly
committed with arrangements for a festive event. In answer to his
queries, he learnt that the Buddha had been invited the next day to his
friend’s to an alms-giving. The mere mention of “Buddha” sent him into
raptures and there arose in him a consummate yearning to meet him.
Ascertaining the directions to his place of abode and having spent a
sleepless night in eager anticipation, he set out at dawn on a momentous
journey. An eerie darkness almost made him panic, had it not been for
the trust in the Buddha that gave him the confidence and determination
to forge ahead courageously. Nearing his destination, he saw a person
whom he unmistakably recognised as the Buddha, calling out to him by
name which engendered in him a sense of joyousness and exaltation.
Exchanging greetings, he politely inquired from the Buddha whether he
had enjoyed good sleep out in the woodland to which he replied that a
person who has eradicated all desires has a tranquil mind conducive to
perfect sleep.
The
Buddha then expounded to him the Dhamma which helped him destroy the
fetters of egoity, doubt regarding the Buddha and the Doctrine, and the
efficacy of rites and ceremonies to become a Sotāpanna (Stream-winner).
Sudatta, now an avowed disciple of the Buddha, invited him to visit
Sāvatthī, which invitation he accepted. Returning to Sāvatthī he
purchased from prince Jeta a prestigious park at a fabulous price and
constructed thereon Jetavanārāma which he dedicated to the Buddha and
his Order. The feeding, medical and welfare arrangements were made for
1000 monks daily. Thus Sudatta, better known as Anāthapiṇḍika, by his
acts of benevolence, qualified for the rare honour of being the Buddha’s
chief benefactor. The Buddha spent 25 rainy seasons at Jetavanārāma
during which time, beside numerous important incidents occurring there,
he enunciated a good part of what is contained in the voluminous
Tipiṭaka. A pilgrim devotee having an abiding faith in the Buddha,
Dhamma and the Order on visiting Jetavanārāma cannot escape feeling the
aura of him who triumphed over greed, hatred and delusion so that you
and I may, as our birthright, tread the path to deliverance.
The
Buddha has admonished honest seekers after the truth that nothing
should be accepted for reasons that it is rumoured to be so, because of
its traditional belief, because the majority hold to it, because it is
the product of metaphysical argument and speculation, because it
conforms with one’s inclination, because it is authoritative or because
of the prestige value of one’s teacher. The truth has to be self
realised, with wisdom, each for himself, here and now. His method is one
of critical investigation and personal verification. He went so far as
to state that hurt arising from dispraise of him, the Dhamma and the
Order being a cause for harm, and praise leading to elation of spirits
without knowing whether the qualities praised in him are actually
present, are obstacles, and the seeker should reject them. Such was the
profound concern of the Teacher of gods and men that they should neither
fall into error nor be misled.
The
purpose of life is to live it and not to step out of it as is done by
most of us, thereby bringing upon ourselves emptiness, loneliness and
frustration. In order to live, we have to understand ourselves fully and
completely, by which process the real from the unreal becomes clear.
What is, is real and what should be, a myth and a fallacy. That man’s
life is a travail can only be seen as a reality not with the afflicted
eye but the mind’s eye. Seeing this reality a person knows the immediate
need to meet the challenge with ethical conduct, mental discipline and
wisdom as the Buddha had done to be fully awakened. The truth of the
matter is that you do not possess life but life possesses you.
Source: BPS Kandy, BL90, 1992 (excerpt). For Free Distribution Only.
