AN 3.65 - Kalama Sutta [Book Of The Threes]

Salaam.

Salaam.

Salaam.

Welcome to Buddha Sangha.

Today we will do a sutta which is very popular amongst all Buddha's disciples.

It is called Kalama Sutta.

It is also called Kese Putteya.

It is from the Anguttara Nikaya,

Book of the Threes,

Sutta No.

65.

On one occasion,

The Blessed One was wandering on tour among the Kosalans,

Together with the Nāth Sangha of Moggs,

When he reached the town of the Kalamas named Kese Putta.

So the name of the town is Kese Putta,

The community that lives there.

It was a tribal community.

And they were called Kalamas.

That is why this sutta is called either Kalama Sutta or Kese Putteya.

The Kalamas of Kese Putta heard.

It is said that the ascetic Gautama,

The son of the Sakyan's,

Who went forth from a Sakyan family,

Has arrived at Kese Putta.

Now,

A good report about that Master Gautama has circulated thus.

That Blessed One is an Arahant,

Perfectly enlightened.

So we turn back to 3.

63 to complete the dot dot dot.

That Blessed One is an Arahant,

Perfectly enlightened,

Accomplished in true knowledge and conduct.

Fortunate,

Knower of the world,

Unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed.

Teacher of devas and humans,

The enlightened one,

The blessed one,

Having realised by his own direct knowledge,

This world with its devas,

Mara and brahma,

This population with its ascetics and brahmins,

Its devas and humans,

He makes it known to others.

He teaches a Dhamma that is good in the beginning,

Good in the middle and good in the end,

With the right meaning and phrasing.

He reveals a spiritual life that is perfectly complete and pure.

Now it is good to see such Arahants.

Come back to me.

Suta 65.

So the people of Kesaputtah had heard a lot of good things about Master Gautama.

And therefore they all went there to listen to him when he came to their town.

Then the Kalamas of Kesaputtah approached the Blessed One.

Some paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side.

Again we have to go back to 3.

63.

It's on page 273 in the second paragraph.

Some paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side.

Some exchanged greetings with him and when they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk,

Sat down to one side.

Some reverentially saluted him and sat down to one side.

Some pronounced their name and clan and sat down to one side.

Some kept silent and sat down to one side.

We go back to page 280.

Sitting to one side,

The Kalamas said to the Blessed One,

Bante,

There are some ascetics and Ramanans who come to Kesaputtah.

They explain and elucidate their own doctrines but disparage,

Denigrate,

Deride and denounce the doctrines of others.

So what is the question here really?

They are asking a question about those people who come to teach obviously spiritual teachings from whatever they have learnt and followed.

But they put down or condemn other people's teachings.

They talk bad behind other people's backs.

They put down or criticize somebody else's teachings.

But then some other ascetics and Ramans come to Kesaputtah and they too explain and elucidate their own doctrines but disparage,

Denigrate,

Deride and denounce the doctrines of others.

So again some others come and then they criticize the first person's teachings.

So the Kalamas were confused.

So many people come,

They teach all these beautiful things but then they put down their other person's teachings or traditions or whatever was taught by the other person.

We are perplexed and in doubt,

Bhante,

As to which of these good ascetics speak truth and which speak falsehood.

So this is not only a problem for the Kalamas.

This is a problem even today.

It is a problem even for us.

There are so many gurus out there.

There are so many spiritual organisations.

There are so many monks.

There are so many traditions.

There are so many priests.

They all teach their own things.

We also face these situations sometimes where we hear such people teaching spiritual things,

Such wonderful things but criticizing somebody else.

So that's where a doubt comes up.

You know somebody who can put down somebody else or talk bad,

How can I trust this person or his teachings?

Either if a person is enlightened,

He cannot talk back or if he's talking bad about something or putting something down or criticizing something,

Then he must not be enlightened.

Right?

This is the way our minds think.

Our minds have a particular understanding about the enlightened ones or about these ascetics who come to teach.

We have created a pedestal in our own heads and we put these people on a pedestal in our own minds because we want to respect people who teach us spirituality.

And we don't want to believe that these enlightened beings or these people sitting on the pedestal in my own head can do something wrong.

So condemning something else,

Criticizing somebody else,

Denigrating somebody else or denouncing something else means these people do not have that perfect quality of the perfectly enlightened one.

And this creates doubts in us.

This creates restlessness in us.

Oh somebody I believed can talk bad.

Oh somebody I have faith in is so political.

Oh somebody I really respect and revere is more of a religious leader rather than a spiritual master.

The ego does not like this thing but at the same time the intellect sees the truth that you know such a person cannot be up there.

So an internal war begins and a lot of people on the spiritual path experience this inner restlessness and just don't know what to do,

Where to go,

How to follow this particular person I had put on the pedestal in my own mind and now that person is not seemingly worthy of that pedestal.

So I would say this is not just a problem of the kalamas.

This is a problem which is happening age after age to every community,

To every spiritual person who really puts somebody up on that pedestal in his mind expecting that person to be perfect.

And then start seeing flaws like this and then there is this major storm of restlessness.

So let's see how Buddha helps these people who are very restless within,

Who are very doubtful about the priests and the ascetics who come to their community to teach them.

It is fitting for you to be perplexed,

Kalamas,

Fitting for you to be in doubt.

Doubt has arisen in you about a perplexing matter.

Come,

Kalamas,

Do not go by oral tradition.

What is oral tradition?

In ancient times,

Certain teachings just went down from father to son to son and down the line just by oral tradition.

The person might understand it or not is a totally different matter but he had to learn the suttas or the spiritual teachings by rote,

By memorising it by heart.

Oral tradition existed amongst the priestly families of that time and they were made to memorise the spiritual teachings which were in the form of poetry.

They were two-liner suttas,

One after the other,

Just like a poem has rhyming lines.

So Buddha is saying just because somebody knows those suttas and that ancient language and recites those particular teachings orally at path like a parrot,

It does not mean that such a person is well versed in the understanding and implementation of the teaching.

There is a difference between pit-patting the teachings and really implementing them in your life and being spiritually high up there.

Do you see what he is trying to tell you?

So in that time,

A lot of ascetics that would come to teach would be of this quality.

Who would know the suttras,

The spiritual teachings by heart?

They were very good at orally just reciting them pit-pat,

Pit-pat,

Pit-pat and that would give the impression to the others that oh he is very learned and he knows it all.

Maybe they did not understand the true meaning,

Just like so many times you pit-pat a song but you don't really know the meaning of those big words out there or even can relate to the complete feeling of the song.

Similarly,

There are people who from this oral tradition have learnt a lot of ancient teachings but have not implemented them in life.

So he says we should be wary of those that come by oral tradition,

That's number one.

Number two is lineage.

What is lineage?

Oh just because what I am teaching you was taught to me by my master and then what my master taught was taught to him by his master.

So there is a lineage that is coming down the ages and that is the tradition,

That is the teaching that I am imparting to you.

So this also he said is not a ground for proving that these teachings are valid or these teachings really will take you to the final awakening or these teachings are the highest truth.

So he says oral tradition you should be wary of and you should be wary of lineage.

He is not saying that these people are bad or teaching wrong.

All he is saying is that you be aware and he will tell you the solution going ahead.

So do not go by oral tradition,

By lineage of teaching,

By hearsay.

Hearsays,

You know what that person said this teacher is good,

Oh that person said this teacher is good.

So everybody says that this teacher is good,

That is why the teacher is good.

No,

No,

No,

That's not the right way Buddha said.

What about your intelligence?

What about your understanding,

Your reasoning?

Just because a thousand people are following one teacher you also follow the herd because these thousand people cannot be duffers.

No,

This is a wrong understanding because really spirituality is not that which can be followed by a herd.

In fact if you see that there is a herd it should raise your aunt in us.

Because the real spiritual teaching is only about awakening.

The real spiritual teaching is about attaining liberation and only a handful of people out there have that thirst for liberation or awakening.

So if you see a herd mentality somewhere and a herd of people then you should be worried that obviously this is probably not the pure spiritual teachers.

There could be rites and rituals that are attracting them,

There could be peer pressure like I told you,

Oh so many people following let me follow,

There could be fun factor,

Party factor,

I mean join the company of these good people factor.

There could be so many things.

So recognise these dangers.

And do not go by a collection of scriptures just because somebody is reciting scriptures to you.

That does not mean that they really are teaching the right thing.

I can also write a book by Ekta and I can publish it.

And then just because you see it written it does not mean it is the truth.

Now he says do not go by logical reasoning also.

Why?

Because what you can reason as right you can also intellectually reason as wrong.

So logic is not loyal to anybody.

Logic can sit on this side and then logic can sit on exactly the opposite side.

One man's food is another man's poison.

So logical reasoning also you should not go by.

Not given by inferential reasoning.

Inference you understand na?

A is equal to B,

C is equal to B,

Therefore A is equal to C.

This is inferential reasoning.

By reason cogitation.

Which means by contemplation.

Cogitation is equal to contemplation and it is the same as the next.

By the acceptance of a view after pondering it.

By think,

Think,

Think,

Think,

Think,

Think and then I just accept the view.

That is not good enough he said.

By thinking and by logically analysing,

By inferring,

By just accepting the view because others say.

Accepting a view because it came by an oral tradition.

Accepting a view just because it came by lineage.

All these do not give the validity to the truth.

They cannot be a ground for saying that is why this is true because it came by lineage or that is why this is true because it came by oral tradition.

Or that is why this is true because reasoning tells me this is true or that is why this is true because I have thought a lot about it,

I have contemplated,

I have pondered over it.

No,

These are not good ways to validate the truth.

By the seeming competence of a speaker just because Ekta speaks so well and she has the competence to convey something spiritual so skilfully in a simplified manner.

Does not mean that you should believe it.

Get it?

I always tell you,

Don't believe me blindly.

Or because you think the ascetic is our guru.

This is also very important.

A lot of people blindly follow somebody for years together and say oh this is my guru and I will follow whatever my guru says.

But in that many people fall into a trap where the guru also is making them do wrong things.

I recently received an email where somebody from the US had to keep sending money to their particular guru in India who kept asking money for this and for that and for different things.

And they were like we cannot take care of the dental expenses of the son of this guru.

So you know it had come to that point.

So be very careful that you don't fall into this trap that I believe this because my guru says so.

This is also a wrong way to validate the truth.

Then how do you validate the truth?

Let's see.

But when Kalamas you know for yourselves these things are unwholesome,

These things are blameworthy,

These things are censured by the wise,

These things if accepted and undertaken lead to harm and suffering then you should abandon them.

So how?

By knowing for your own self and how?

By knowing the difference between wholesome and unwholesome and we all know that difference.

We all understand it.

In some things where you can't see the difference between wholesome and unwholesome a strong gut feeling will tell you.

The strong gut feeling speaks only once.

It does not say it again and again.

If you have something,

An inner voice saying it again and again then what is it?

It is the intellect or the ego speaking.

The gut feeling just comes once and it tells you what is right.

You follow that in terms of those things where the line between wholesome and unwholesome is really blurry for you.

But where the line is very clear,

This is unwholesome,

This is blameworthy,

This is censured by the wise as if it is not acceptable to the wise people.

The wise people see it as something that is worth condemning or shunning.

And if accepted and undertaken they will lead to harm and suffering in the long run.

So if something leads to harm and suffering,

Even harming somebody else's mind,

Harming somebody else's reputation,

Harming somebody else's name,

Harming not just physically but mentally hurting somebody with your words or not with your direct words.

Sometimes people put their gun on somebody else's shoulder and shoot.

So you should be very clear about these things.

Anything that causes harm directly or indirectly is something that you should not follow.

Very simple.

So Buddha has just simply laid down the first thing.

You think,

Is this wholesome?

Does this contribute to the benefit of everyone including me?

It's not just my benefit.

Many times my benefit has the harm of other people hidden behind it.

Or further,

If you say,

Oh this is something I am doing for one person's benefit but you can very clearly see that it is going to harm or hurt another person,

Then you should refrain from this.

It is not just about doing.

It is a way for you to understand what kind of a teacher should you choose on the spiritual path.

So if you see a discrepancy in your teacher,

Then you know what to do.

What do you think,

Kalamas,

When greed arises in a person?

Is it for his welfare or for his harm?

For his hambante?

Kalamas,

A greedy person,

Overcome by greed,

With mind obsessed by it,

Destroys life,

Takes what is not given,

Transgresses with another's wife and speaks falsehood.

And he encourages others to do likewise.

Will that lead to his harm and suffering for a long time?

Yes,

One day.

So here,

Very clearly he is talking about somebody who has come to teach you and you notice greed in that person.

Or his teachings are fostering greed.

His teachings are endorsing greed.

If you feel that while listening to that particular teaching,

There is a particular vasana inside you growing to achieve something,

You become greedy for something and that which will not really benefit you in the long run.

If you see that kind of a teaching in that ascetic or if you notice that there is fostering of greed happening in that particular teaching,

Then you should be wary of it.

Why?

Because it will only harm him.

It does not just harm him,

It harms you,

It harms society as a whole.

What do you think Kalamas,

When hatred arises in a person,

Is it for his welfare or for his harm?

For his harm Bhante.

Kalamas,

A person who is full of hate,

Overcome by hatred,

With a mind obsessed by it,

Destroys life,

Takes what is not given,

Transgresses with another's wife and speaks falsehood.

And he encourages others to do likewise.

If you feel that following a particular ascetic or particular guru or teacher is fostering hatred within you,

If you feel that there is hatred in his teachings,

Then you should be wary of it.

Because it will cause harm.

It will cause harm to you and to the society as a whole.

These teachings can be harmful.

So,

We worry of hatred.

Will that lead to his harm and suffering for a long time?

Yes Bhante.

It's not a short time that this affects you.

This affects you for a very long time.

You may feel that it is short lived because the mind has a very narrow vision.

We can only see that which exists right now in this present moment.

But really,

We do not see the karmas that we have sown.

The karmic seeds that I have sown will one day sprout and in the long run,

I will experience the fruit of my action today.

So,

We worry if in any teaching of any guru,

Any master,

Any teacher,

Any ascetic,

Any priest,

If you sense hatred in any way,

Said in a political way,

It is something that will only bring harm to you and to society for a long time.

We worry of such a teaching.

What do you think Kalamas?

When delusion arises in a person,

Is it for his welfare or for his harm?

For his harm Bhante.

Kalamas,

A person who is deluded,

Overcome my delusion and mind obsessed by it,

Destroys life,

Takes what is not given,

Transgresses with another's wife and speaks falsehood and he encourages others to do likewise.

Will that lead to his harm and suffering for a long time?

Yes Bhante.

If there is delusion in a particular teaching or if you see that a particular person is deluded,

Obviously,

This delusion will spread to you and it will cause harm not only to him,

Also to you.

What is delusion?

To not see reality as it is.

If there is fire all around,

You say no,

No,

There are all flowers,

Beautiful birds chirping,

There is beautiful green grass growing,

Everything is beautiful but really there is fire.

Then you are not seeing reality as it is.

There can be another way also.

There is really green grass and birds flying and chirping and flowers and spring and beautiful weather,

A gurgling brook and a very soft breeze.

But you can only see fire,

You can only see anger,

Hatred,

You can only see things that are not there then also you are deluded.

Do you see what is delusion?

Not seeing reality as it is.

I may be saying this poetically but you know what I am saying.

If somebody gives you a deluded kind of picture and that picture makes you feel pleasant,

It connects with you,

You are lost in that.

It is not true,

It is not really there but because it gives a pleasant feeling,

You get hooked onto it just like you would get addicted to a drug.

A drug is nothing but an object that deludes you which makes you believe reality that which is not true right now.

And you get hooked onto that drug.

So delusion can be encouraged and fostered in many ways and it has happened through the ages.

There has been religious beliefs and people have been deluded by certain religious beliefs and have done so many wrong things to society.

Just calling it the Word of God.

But the Word of God can never include harming another living being.

The Word of God cannot criticise or condemn another living being.

So these were wrong delusions that have destroyed many communities in the past.

So this was just a small example that I am giving to you how teachings can get deluded.

You apply it in your own life.

You check.

Number one,

Whatever you are following today,

Does that foster greed in you or does that help you drop greed?

Number two,

Whatever teaching you are following today,

Does that foster hatred in you or does that help you get rid of hatred?

And number three,

Whatever teaching you are following today,

Does that help you get rid of delusion or does that foster delusion in you?

Only when the teaching stands true to these three,

When it helps you get rid of greed,

It encourages you to get rid of hatred and it encourages you to stay away from delusion,

Then only the teaching is right for you.

You yourself weigh it with the balance of wholesomeness or satchka tarazu.

You only weigh it.

That is the best way to validate the truth of a teaching.

Otherwise,

All this oral tradition,

Lineage,

Because my guru said so,

Because she is a great speaker,

Because it is written in the scripture,

Because I thought and thought and thought about it or because there are thousands of people following him or her,

These are not good reasons.

This does not validate the truth.

That is why I always tell you,

Do not believe me.

Do not believe the Buddha.

You experiment with your own mind and arrive at your own truth.

Weigh it in the balance of wholesomeness.

What do you think Kalamas?

Are these things wholesome or unwholesome?

He is asking about greed,

Hatred and delusion.

Are these things wholesome or unwholesome?

Unwholesome bhante.

Blame worthy or blameless?

Blame worthy bhante.

Sensured or praised by the wise?

Sensured by the wise bhante.

Accepted and undertaken,

Do they lead to harm and suffering or not?

Or how do you take it?

Accepted and undertaken,

These things lead to harm and suffering.

So we take it.

Thus Kalamas,

When we said come Kalamas,

Do not go by oral tradition.

We go back to the previous page.

By lineage of teaching,

By hearsay,

By a collection of scriptures,

By logical reasoning,

By inferential reasoning,

By reasoned cogitation,

By the acceptance of review after pondering it,

By the seeming competence of a speaker or because you think the ascetic is our guru.

But when Kalamas,

You know for yourselves.

Go back to the page.

These things are unwholesome.

These things are blame worthy.

These things are censured by the wise.

These things if undertaken and practised lead to harm and suffering.

Then you should abandon them.

It is because of this that this was said.

Very clear?

If you think that no,

No,

This is wrong,

This particular teaching fosters greed.

It in fact encourages greed in me.

Means there is something wrong in it.

It doesn't matter if thousands of people still say no it's okay,

It's right.

No but I understand that within me greed has started developing.

Then it is wrong.

Do you get it?

Again he is saying if you by your own understanding feel that hatred is increasing in you by this teaching.

If hatred is increasing in you like certain religious teachings condemn and criticise other religions and put down other religions and think they are bad and my god is better than your god.

Again this is just an example.

If you feel that the teaching that you are following is creating hatred in you for another religion,

Another person,

Another guru,

Another organisation,

Another ascetic or priest or any other teaching.

It doesn't matter what the object is.

There is hatred coming up in me.

Oh this is unwholesome.

This is blame worthy.

This is ensured by the wise means it is not praised.

It is not the right thing to do.

Wise will not follow this path where there is hatred coming up in me.

Do you see it?

So how do you weigh something if it creates a wholesome inner environment in you?

You must follow it.

If it creates an unwholesome environment then you must drop it.

And what are the unwholesome things?

Greed,

Hatred and of course delusion.

Not seeing reality as it is.

Many teachings pose a very beautiful picture after death.

If now you refrain from this thing,

After death you will get beautiful apsaras in heaven dancing around you and you will get the best kind of alcohol.

You know what kind of teaching is this?

So again this was just an example.

I am just throwing out simple examples out there but the teachings can in a very sweet story like cute kind of manner slip in.

It's okay to do that.

This is not so wrong.

The whole world does this so this is okay.

That kind of a thing also creates a little pinch inside you.

No.

This is not really okay but oh but the book says so or the teacher says so or the people are saying it's okay.

It is for one person's good or the organisation's good or the good of this particular community though it is harming that community,

Though it is harming that organisation or though it is harming that person or that is his or her karma.

This is a wrong use of knowledge.

I call this the perverted use of knowledge.

Yeah.

So this will give you that dirty feeling within and whenever you get that dirty feeling stop right there.

Take a step back with draw and again bring out your balance of wholesomeness and unwholesomeness.

By balance I mean the Tarazu of wholesomeness versus unwholesomeness and wait am I feeling wholesome by doing this,

By following this teaching,

By implementing this understanding?

If there is even a little feeling of impurity within step back.

Very very clear?

Come Kalamas,

Do not go by oral tradition,

By lineage of teaching,

By hearsay,

By collection of scriptures,

By logical reasoning,

By inferential reasoning,

By reasoned cogitation,

By the acceptance of a view after pondering it,

By the seeming competence of a speaker or because you think the assumption is not clear.

You think the ascetic is our guru.

But when you know for yourselves these things are wholesome,

These things are blameless,

These things are praised by the wise,

These things if accepted and undertaken lead to welfare and happiness.

Then you should live in accordance with them.

So whenever you feel,

Ah this is really creating a better inner environment within me.

See my ego has reduced,

I have become a better person,

My awareness has become sharper.

I am feeling like there is more purity within me now compared to what it was before the teaching.

Then you should follow that.

Yes,

We very very clear these three greed,

Hatred and delusion have been marked as very important unwholesome pillars on Buddha's path.

You will see them repeated in many suttas.

So if greed is not coming up in you,

If hatred is not coming up in you and there is no delusion,

You are really seeing reality as it is,

Not as you want it to be and not as you want it to not be.

But as it is,

However bitter it is,

It is still reality.

Or however sweet it is,

It is reality.

If you are seeing reality as it is,

That is the correct teaching to follow.

Yes,

And you will start feeling very pure inside,

Feeling very good inside,

Very strong and powerful and then no amount of pressure can take away this purity from you.

Because you know that that which is pure is praiseworthy.

It is praised by the wise people,

It is followed by the wise.

It helps me be a more wholesome individual.

So then what is the point of even thinking twice about such a path?

So weigh your teachings.

Your today's homework is to weigh the teachings that you are following,

Including this teaching.

I always tell you,

Do not follow me blindly.

Do not follow the Buddha blindly.

But you experiment with your own mind.

Check your inner environment again and again.

If it is feeling purer and cleaner and your awareness is becoming sharper and sharper,

You are becoming more of a person who sees reality as it is,

Then you are on the right path.

Be your own light means what?

It means that you weigh it on your own balance of wholesomeness and unwholesomeness.

When you are your own light,

You will notice that there is no more doubt.

Our minds are such that when we follow somebody else,

There is always a doubt that comes up.

Is this person right or wrong?

Correct?

Yeah?

It doesn't matter if it is the best guru or it is the best known person in the world or he is known by your community,

Your family respects him or whatever,

Whatever,

Whatever.

The church follows him.

But you will always have a doubt unless you verify it on the balance of your own inner purity,

Whether I feel pure or I feel impure.

The moment you recognize that purity,

That wonderful feeling inside,

You will never be able to give that up for a little bit of money,

A little bit of cheating,

A little bit of hatred,

A little bit of ego,

A little bit of I am better than you feeling.

These all seem very petty.

They seem very,

Very poor in front of that rich feeling of purity.

So I always say that doubt is not a bad thing.

Doubt is really good to begin with.

Doubt is very good.

You weigh it on your balance of wholesomeness and unwholesomeness and once you are very clear,

Either this way or that way,

Then the path starts clearing out for you.

A clarity dawns in your life.

Here it is said,

There are certain things that are censured by the wise and are praised by the wise.

So obviously there is a quality in the wise men which is lacking in me.

What is that quality?

How do the wise have this clarity to know that this is praiseworthy and this is sensual?

That quality is of recognising that this makes me feel very pure inside and this makes me feel not so pure.

I may not be able to point my finger on what it is that is not right,

That does not make me feel pure,

But there is something impure about it.

Yes?

Shun,

Drop,

It's okay,

You can come back to it later.

Follow the pure,

Pure,

Pure path which you feel is pure and then when your purity becomes stronger and you become more clearer,

You'll be able to say,

Ah,

That was impure because this particular thing that I'm experiencing here is lacking there.

That's it.

It becomes so clear and this happens to the wise.

May you become wise.

What do you think Kalamas,

When non-greed arises in a person,

Is it for his welfare or for his harm?

For his welfare bhante?

Kalamas,

A person without greed,

Not overcome by greed,

His mind not obsessed by it,

Does not destroy life,

Take what is not given,

Transgress with another's wife or speak falsehood,

Nor does he encourage others to do likewise.

Will that lead to his welfare and happiness for a long time?

Yes bhante.

So obviously when there is no greed that the teaching fosters in you,

Encourages in you or gives or stimulates the development of,

Then there is an absolutely pure environment within.

Only because of the non-greed you will feel very pure within.

So that should be followed.

Obviously when there is no greed you will not harm,

You will not kill,

You will not steal or take that which is not given to you.

Transgress another's wife means covetousness.

And covetousness does not arise in you.

It's not just for wife,

It's even for husband.

Those who are thinking it's only for transgressing somebody else's wife.

And he does not even speak falsehood and he does not encourage others to do so.

It's a very pure way of living.

Buddha's teachings underline the purest kind of lifestyle that one can lead.

We feel that we might lose out.

You know there are other people who might take undue advantage of a person who follows virtues.

But it is not true.

This is a wrong understanding.

In fact such a person doesn't have to demand respect because he just commands respect just by being there.

You decide do you want to demand for respect or command respect.

What do you think Kalamas?

When non-hatred arises in a person,

Is it for his welfare or for his harm?

For his welfare Bhante.

Kalamas,

A person who is without hate,

Not overcome by hatred,

His mind not obsessed by it,

Does not destroy life.

Does not take what is not given.

Does not transgress with another's wife and does not speak falsehood.

Nor does he encourage others to do likewise.

Will that lead to his welfare and happiness for a long time?

Yes Bhante.

Very clear.

Just like for non-greed.

Similarly non-hatred will lead to an inner pure environment.

And such a person will not indulge in all these negativities.

What do you think Kalamas?

When non-delusion arises in a person,

Is it for his welfare or for his harm?

For his welfare Bhante.

Kalamas,

A person who is undiluted,

Not overcome by delusion,

His mind not obsessed by it,

Does not destroy life.

Take what is not given.

Transgress with others,

Another's wife or speak falsehood.

Nor does he encourage others to do likewise.

Will that lead to his welfare and happiness for a long time?

Yes Bhante.

What do you think Kalamas?

Are these things wholesome or unwholesome?

He is asking about non-greed,

Non-hatred and non-delusion.

Non-delusion means where I gather the strength to see life as it is,

Be with reality as it is.

Now somebody asked me a question,

Being with reality as it is means what?

Means if I have cut my finger while cutting vegetables,

Does it mean that I don't try to heal it,

I don't try to go to a doctor?

That would be really silly.

Very clearly non-delusion means being with reality as it is.

The finger is cut,

The finger is cut.

Okay,

It needs attention.

Right now I do what is required for it to heal or for me to clean up the mess in my current reality.

Which means if it requires going to a doctor,

You go to a doctor,

Put bandage,

Do what is required.

But in the mind what goes on,

Oh why did this happen,

This should have not happened,

He said something,

She called out my name and that is why I cut my finger.

This is not being with reality.

This churning in the mind is not being with reality as it is.

Are you seeing this?

Yeah,

We increase our suffering.

The finger is cut,

You are going to the doctor,

Oh he is so bad or she is so bad,

I hope the doctor is good,

I hope the doctor takes care,

What if he is not a good doctor,

Oh he is not coming.

All this churning,

Restlessness,

Unnecessary agitation is created because I don't want to be with reality as it is.

Do you see what I am saying?

So in fact being with reality as it is helps you calm down,

Helps you see and do exactly what is required of you to do in that present moment.

It takes away the unnecessary chit-chat in the mind,

The unnecessary agitation of the mind.

What do you think,

Alamas,

Are these things wholesome or unwholesome?

Wholesome bhante,

Blame worthy or blameless,

Blameless bhante,

Sensual or praised by the wise,

Praised by the wise bhante.

Accepted and undertaken,

Do they lead to welfare and happiness or not or how do you take it?

Accepted and undertaken,

These things lead to welfare and happiness,

So we take it bhante.

You have to check whether your inner environment feels pure or not.

It is that simple.

When you feel very pure,

Then that is the teaching that needs to be followed.

That is the teaching that is blameless,

It is praised worthy,

It is followed by the wise and that is the teaching that leads to welfare and happiness.

Thus,

Kalamas,

When we said come,

Kalamas,

Do not go by oral tradition,

By lineage of teaching,

By hearsay,

By a collection of scriptures,

By logical reasoning,

By inferential reasoning,

By reasoned cogitation,

By the acceptance of a view after wondering it,

By the seeming competence of a speaker or because you think the ascetic is our guru.

But when kalamas,

You know for yourselves,

These things are wholesome,

These things are blameless,

These things are praised by the wise,

These things if accepted and undertaken lead to welfare and happiness,

Then you should live in accordance with them.

It is because of this that this was sent.

Now I have seen one pitfall in this also.

Many people like delusion,

Like that fairy tale,

Oh you will go to heaven,

Oh you will have this,

You will have that.

People get deluded and love that delusion and coincidentally they come and meet the pure teaching and then the pure teaching tries to take them away from the delusion and they are not happy with that.

Their ego says no,

No,

No,

No,

I don't like this,

There is no pleasantness here,

I have to be with reality as it is,

I don't want to be with reality as it is,

I want to be in my delusion,

I want to think that somebody else is going to get me enlightened or I want to think that oh in heaven I am going to get this kind of an alcohol and this kind of beautiful apsaras or beautiful angels dancing around me and I am going to be the king over there and whatever their stories are.

People like these kinds of delusions.

People want to hook on to these kind of delusions because these delusions give them a temporary kick.

A kick is just a good feeling.

A good feeling can come by just partying and being around spiritual people though you are not following any spiritual teachings and implementing in your real life which you can already see by your behaviour and no change in you.

But because you are in the company of the spiritual people you get a kick,

Then you are deluded.

Some people are deluded because they are following a particular tradition and doing rites and rituals and think that rites and rituals will get them enlightened.

This again is a false understanding because just by doing a particular rite and ritual or chanting particular mantras you cannot get enlightened.

And then they get a kick from just doing that or their ego is pumped by you know I know so many mantras so well.

Oh I have done this course and I have done that course.

You see there is a hidden high behind this and the high is of the ego.

This is delusion.

A wise one recognises oh I am deluded.

I need to break out of this delusion.

Delusion is like a sleep.

I cannot wake you up.

Only you can awaken yourself.

How much ever I shake you and push you get up get up but if you want to keep your eyes closed I cannot do anything.

Do you see what I am saying?

Buddha cannot wake you up from your sleep.

Only you can wake up from your sleep.

Only you can wake up from your delusion.

So the most important homework for you today is to check are you deluded?

Whatever path you are following are you deluded in any way?

Are you just doing it because thousands and thousands of people are doing it or are you doing it because reasoning says it makes sense but you have not really implemented it or tested it on the grounds of wholesomeness and unwholesomeness?

Or are you doing it because the teacher is a fantastic speaker or has fantastic knowledge or has fit pat the ancient scriptures?

Or are you doing it because it is written in the book or because your ego has fixed this is my guru or this is my teacher and then the ego does not want to accept that its choice was wrong in the past.

Do you see this?

This is also a kind of delusion where the ego cannot let go of its hold of its past concept,

Past belief and that hold is so strong it keeps one deluded.

So you check for yourself.

Are you deluded in any way?

Only you can awaken yourself.

Time to wake up.

Then Kalamas,

That noble disciple who is thus devoid of longing,

Devoid of ill will,

Unconfused,

Clearly comprehending,

Ever mindful dwells pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with loving kindness.

We turn the page to 275.

In the middle of the page if you come you will see it dwells with the mind imbued with loving kindness in one quarter,

Likewise the second quarter,

The third quarter and the fourth quarter.

Thus above,

Below,

Across and everywhere and to all as to myself I dwell pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with loving kindness.

Vast,

Exalted,

Measureless,

Without,

Admitting,

Without,

Ill will.

Let me stop here for a moment.

This is the metta meditation.

He called them the four Brahma Viharas.

The Brahma Viharas are one which is metta.

Metta is loving kindness in English.

Second is Karuna.

In English it is compassion.

The third is Mudita which is altruistic joy and the fourth is Upeka or equanimity.

The four Brahma Viharas meditation is done in exactly this form.

When you have become pure inside,

Free of ill will,

Free of any greed or any hatred or any delusion,

When you are feeling very pure,

That is the time to sit down and do this metta meditation.

And what do you do?

You tap that pure feeling that you are experiencing inside and you pull that beautiful feeling of loving kindness or metta all the way up from your heart and into all the sides.

As if a fountain of loving kindness is flowing out of you to all creatures in every quarter,

First,

Second,

Third,

Fourth quarter,

Above,

Below,

Everywhere you are just radiating loving kindness or metta.

The condition to even do this meditation is first having a pure inner environment.

If the inner environment is impure,

There is hatred,

There is ill will,

You will not feel that gushing loving kindness radiating out of you.

Because inside you are full of defilements,

You are full of negativity.

Only when you are full of love and positivity and purity does it flow out of you.

You feel like an overflowing fountain yourself and then you let that radiate in every direction.

Exactly that description is given in this paragraph.

So if any day you want to practice metta meditation,

What is the prerequisite of metta practice?

That you should be feeling very pure,

Relaxed and calm inside.

When you are pure and loving in the heart,

You can give loving kindness outside,

You can radiate it outside.

You can only give what you have,

Correct?

If you don't have it,

How can you give it?

So this is a beautiful meditation if you want to do it,

We will do it once in our Buddha retreat so you get a taste of how it is done.

The description is very clearly given in the suttas.

You radiate it in every direction above,

Below.

Loving kindness to all creatures,

All beings whether living,

Whether non-living,

It doesn't matter.

Just loving kindness radiating out of me is step number one.

The second Brahma Vihara is,

The step number two we will read now is compassion.

I dwell pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with compassion.

So dot dot dot means we go back up.

Likewise the second quarter,

The third quarter and the fourth quarter does above,

Below,

Across and everywhere and to all as to myself,

I dwell pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with compassion.

Vast,

Exalted,

Measureless,

Without enmity,

Without ill will.

That is the second Brahma Vihara.

The third is again with a mind imbued with altruistic joy.

Likewise the second quarter,

The third quarter and the fourth quarter does above,

Below,

Across and everywhere and to all as to myself,

I dwell pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with altruistic joy.

And the fourth Brahma Vihara,

I dwell with the mind imbued with equanimity.

Equanimity means what?

Neither the graph goes up nor down.

Down we very easily understand but the ego is not ready to accept.

Why not up?

It's okay to be excited and happy but when you're excited and happy you're not very sensitive,

You're not very equanimous and balanced.

And the moment there is the graph going up and reality changes in front of you,

Automatically your graph will go down.

So either the graph going up nor going down but at a very balanced centred equanimous plane is a thick half.

Or the fourth Brahma Vihara called equanimity.

So with the mind imbued with equanimity,

I dwell in the first quarter,

Likewise the second,

The third quarter and the fourth quarter does above,

Below,

Across and everywhere and to all as to myself,

I dwell pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with equanimity,

Vast,

Exalted,

Measureless,

Without enmity,

Without ill will.

Go back to our page 282.

This noble disciple Kalamas whose mind is in this way without enmity,

Without ill will,

Undefiled and pure has won four assurances in this very life.

What is the first assurance?

He has won is this,

If there is another world and if there is the fruit and result of good and bad deeds,

It is possible that with the breakup of the body after death,

I will be reborn in a good destination in a heavenly world.

He does not say there is a heaven,

He says if there is a heaven.

You have to understand Buddha,

He never wanted you to believe him because he is saying something.

He wanted you to arrive at your own conclusions.

That is why he would never force you to believe that there is something like a heaven or hell.

He in fact said that when you are in that pure state of mind,

Devoid of greed,

Devoid of hatred,

Devoid of delusion,

Devoid of ill will,

You are so pure and calm and beautiful inside that it is not different than heaven.

You are in a heaven.

So you will be able to maintain this kind of a beautiful heavenly inner environment more and more and be at peace.

That is what we are all craving for right?

We are craving for a mind that does not go on and on and on and on and on and is restless and agitated.

Nobody wants that,

Everybody wants a quiet restful mind,

A calm relaxed mind.

Everybody terms that as happiness.

So you will be in that happy place if there is such a place and if there is a fruit for good and bad needs.

A person who has done this,

Has achieved this,

He is given this assurance.

The second assurance he has won is this,

If there is no other world and there is no fruit and result of good and bad deeds still right here in this very life,

I maintain myself in happiness without enmity and in will,

Free of trouble.

So second assurance,

Okay there is no heaven and hell.

There is nothing like karma and you are not going to face any consequences for good or bad deeds.

Still there is an assurance for somebody who follows this path of non-greed,

Non-delusion and non-hatred.

What is the assurance for him?

He will always be free of trouble.

We all want that.

He will always have a mind which is without enmity,

Without ill will.

How much ever ill will I generate in my mind for another person,

It does not harm that person so much as it harms me.

My inner environment is churning in garbage again and again and again in ill will.

That person sometimes doesn't even know.

So you see,

The trouble is already created by the existence of this garbage of ill will.

A person who walks this path of non-greed,

Non-hatred and non-delusion,

Non-delusion being the most important,

He is given this assurance that his life will be free of trouble because he does not encourage enmity and ill will.

The third assurance,

He has one,

Is this.

Suppose evil comes to one who does evil.

Then when I have no evil intentions towards anyone,

How can suffering afflict me since I do no evil deed.

This is beautiful.

If some people have to pay for their evil deeds,

If I refrain from evil deeds altogether,

I am absolutely free.

There is nothing that I need to worry about.

Lots of homework for you.

You check how much ill will do you carry,

How much trouble are you creating for yourself,

How many evil deeds are you doing.

Evil deeds are not outside,

Not about what you went and said to him or her or did bad to him or her.

Evil deeds are here first.

I may not even say it but here I have churned and churned and churned in that merry-go-round of pus and blood and bile and mucus and dirt.

Total garbage inside.

I have churned in that.

So you see,

How much do you churn in the dirt,

The muck of evil thoughts.

And the fourth assurance he has one is this.

Suppose evil does not come to one who does evil.

Then right here I see myself purified in both respects.

Chit bhi meri pad bhi meri.

Means head's mine,

Tail's mine.

I totally come out victorious even if people who do evil do not get punished.

It doesn't matter.

I have not done evil anyways and I don't intend to.

I still will.

So you see,

These four assurances must be read again and again.

In fact,

You should type them and print them and put them up in your room.

You should see them everyday.

This is what comes out of doing evil and if I refrain from evil completely in my thoughts,

In my intentions as well as my deeds,

Then I am completely free of trouble.

Happiness guaranteed.

This noble disciple Kalama's whose mind is in this way without enmity,

Without ill will,

Undefined and pure has won these four assurances in this very life.

What are the prerequisites?

Without enmity,

Without ill will,

Undefined and pure.

Defile means you understand.

No negativities.

Negative intentions,

Negative thoughts.

Greed,

Hatred,

Anger,

Lust,

Jealousy,

Competition,

Comparison,

Criticising,

Putting other people down,

Condemning.

All these are defilements.

So he has no defilements.

He has no ill will.

He has no enmity and he is completely pure.

These are the four prerequisites.

A person who is like this,

He has won these four assurances in this very life.

So it is blessed one.

So it is fortunate one.

This noble disciple whose mind is in this way without enmity,

Without ill will,

Undefined and pure has won four assurances in this very life.

The first assurance he has won,

We go back up and read the whole thing again.

The first assurance he has won is this,

If there is another world and if there is the fruit and result of good and bad deeds,

It is possible that with the break up of the body after death,

I will be reborn in a good destination in a heavenly body.

The second assurance he has won is this,

If there is no other world and there is no fruit and result of good and bad deeds still right here in this very life,

I maintain myself in happiness without enmity and without ill will,

Free of trouble.

The third assurance he has won is this,

Suppose evil comes to one who does evil,

Then when I have no evil intentions towards anyone,

How can suffering afflict me since I do no evil deed.

The fourth assurance he has won is this,

Suppose evil does not come to one who does evil,

Then right here I see myself purified in both respects.

This noble disciple,

Bhante,

Whose mind is in this way,

Without enmity,

Without ill will,

Undefiled and pure has won these four assurances in this very life.

Excellent Bhante,

We go for refuge to the Blessed One,

To the Dhamma and to the Sangha of Vikos.

Let the Blessed One consider us lay followers who from today have gone for refuge for life.

Very,

Very beautiful Siddha,

The Kalama Siddha.

Apu,

Dhipu,

Bhama,

Be your own light.