AN 9.7 - Sutava Sutta [Book Of The Nines]

Salaam.

Salaam.

Salaam.

Welcome to Buddha Sangha.

Today we will do a sutta from Anguttara Nikaya,

Book of the Nines,

Sutta No.

7.

So it is AN 9.

7.

The name of the sutta is Sutta Va.

Thus have I heard on one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Rajagaha on Mount Vulture Peak.

Then the wanderer Sutta Va approached the Blessed One and exchanged greetings with him.

When they had concluded their greetings and cordial talk,

He sat down to one side and said to the Blessed One,

Bhante,

On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling right here in Rajagaha,

The mountain fort.

At that time,

In the presence of the Blessed One,

I heard and learned this.

Sutta Va,

A bhikkhu who is an arahant.

Arahant means one who is fully enlightened.

We have discussed this before that there are levels in enlightenment.

One who is fully enlightened is called an arahant.

Sutta Va,

A bhikkhu who is an arahant.

One whose teams are destroyed.

Teams means all the bad habits,

All the impressions of bad habits,

All the inclination towards bad habits,

Even desires or cravings towards bad habits.

And it's not just bad habit,

Any habit,

You might call it a good habit.

Any habitual tendency that can create an impression.

And the impression can lead towards a further coming back into the cycle of birth and death.

That is called a taint.

And that habit or habitual tendency or impression is completely wiped off in an arahant.

So,

One whose pains are destroyed,

Who has lived this spiritual life,

Done what had to be done,

Laid down the burden,

Reached his own goal,

Utterly destroyed the fetters of existence,

One completely liberated through final knowledge,

Is incapable of transgression in five cases.

So,

Let's understand these one by one.

I explained arahant.

Arahant means one who is fully enlightened.

I explained taints.

One whose taints are destroyed is an arahant.

One who has lived the spiritual life completely is an arahant.

And what has to be done,

He has already done that.

Means what?

Those of us who are lost in this illusion of maya constantly have this thing that I need to do this,

I need to do that.

Even if it is a small thing like just cleaning the house,

Cleaning up your basement or have to get this done for the child,

This done for the spouse,

This done for the family,

There is a constant feverishness in the mind to do.

Have you noticed this?

Even on a Sunday when you have decided today is my rest day,

The mind is not ready to rest.

There is a constant doing happening in the mind.

Either the mind is doing or it is planning to do in the future or what it has done,

It is thinking about that and deciding whether it was done right or not done right.

So the mind is constantly in action.

Do you see that?

The mind is constantly doing.

For an arahant,

Whatever has to be done is done.

There is no constant self chit chat going on in the mind,

No feverishness about doing this or not doing this,

Seeing this,

Not seeing this,

Why this was said,

Why this was not said,

What if this,

What if.

All this is not there.

Complete silence.

What needs to be done has been done.

Laid down the burden.

Again understand that life,

Thoughts,

Emotions,

Constantly being lost in cravings and aversions,

All this is a big burden.

We carry this burden because of jeeveshana.

We have that thirst to exist,

To want to be,

To continue to have a name,

To do this,

To do that.

There is a constant craving to be,

To exist.

This constant craving to be creates this whole drama called life.

Law of attraction,

Whatever you desire that comes to you.

So whatever I want,

It comes again,

I understand by wanting it comes,

Then I want more,

Then it comes,

Then I want more,

Then it comes.

And I create this entire paraphernalia around me and I have created lot of karmas and everything because of my aversions and cravings.

Certain things become my habitual patterns and this web becomes an infinitely growing web because of my desires,

Because of my cravings and aversions and then I only get tired of this web.

I only want to come out of it but I am unable to come out.

I want it also and I don't want it also.

Do you see this about your own life?

Your family,

Your relationships,

The things you possess,

The situations in your life,

You want them also and you don't want them also.

This is burden.

The arahant is not carrying this burden anymore.

So he has laid down the burden,

Reached his own goal.

What was his goal?

To be silent.

To be able to retract from this web of samsara that he has only created and let it be what it is.

He has stopped the doing.

He has become still and he has attained peace just by not doing,

Just by being.

The G Veshana is completely destroyed.

So he has reached his own goal and he has utterly destroyed the fetters of existence.

Fetters are all the things,

All the negative things that can keep you bound in the cycle of birth and death.

Few examples of fetters,

Hatred,

Jealousy,

Greed,

Holding onto your own view and fighting with others because you think their view is wrong,

Disputes,

Arguments,

Indulging in sexual misconduct,

Hurting another life,

Not honouring life.

These are just a few fetters and then when all these get wiped away by walking on the spiritual path,

Even the fetters,

The last fetters that are the cause for your existence like lethargy or tamas and like rajas or activity,

These also get wiped away.

And finally the last one,

The ego.

All that gets wiped away.

When all those have been destroyed,

There is no more the desire to come back,

The G Veshana.

The desire to exist is not there or Jeevat Indriya is destroyed.

He is an Arahant.

And he is completely liberated through final knowledge.

This is the final knowledge.

So there are many people out there who are on the different stages of enlightenment but have not reached complete enlightenment.

So people come and ask me about such people.

I would always just direct them to this sutta.

You read this sutta and you understand from this sutta by your own experience of that person whether he is fully enlightened or not.

Now this Arahant is incapable of transgression in five cases.

And what are the five cases?

Let's see.

Number one,

He is incapable of intentionally depriving a living being of life.

He will not be able to kill.

It is not just for another human being but even for an animal.

When you see an insect,

The first thing that comes to you,

Oh I have to clean up my house so I have to kill the insect.

For such a being,

Even he needs to clean his house but a fully liberated one will probably use a little paper or a little cup to pick up that insect and leave it in the yard.

If you live in a country where the windows,

Doors are very accessible and open,

Then probably use an electric insect repellent that gives out that smell that prevents these insects from coming in.

Use detergents or cleaning agents with strong smells that keep such insects out rather than try to kill them.

You see the difference?

They honour life naturally.

And secondly,

They do not detest another life,

Even if it is an insect or an animal.

If there is any kind of hatred or abhorrence or pushing away of another life,

Just because it is lower than the human life,

Then such a person is said to not be fully enlightened.

Such a person cannot be an arahant.

Such a person will not even have a small intention to hurt another being.

So here is the first of our precepts.

He is incapable of intentionally depriving a living being of life.

Many people used to ask me,

Where is this written?

Where did the Buddha give the precepts?

So here it is in the sutta.

The second one.

He is incapable of taking by way of theft what is not given.

Stealing is not just external physical stealing of things,

But it is also in the mind.

Not taking what is not given to you.

If you look at somebody else's spouse and think in your mind,

Wow,

Wish my spouse was like him or her,

You have stolen.

If you look at somebody else's beautiful clothes and say,

Oh,

Wish I had a sari like that or a dress like that,

You have stolen.

If you look at somebody else's skill or talent and wish,

Oh,

I had a voice like that,

I could sing like that or wish I could dance like that,

Or wish I could speak like that,

You have stolen.

Not even having the intention in the mind to take what has not been given.

This leads to a deeper point where I am content with what is.

This piece of life that has been endowed to me,

This is sufficient.

The way it is,

I honour life.

I do not want to put my own opinions and ideas how this life could have been better than what the universe decided to give me.

I'm not saying here to not work hard in your specific field.

Of course,

You do your best.

You always work hard,

Do things right.

But don't put a condition on life and don't keep begging and bickering in your mind,

Cribbing,

Cribbing,

Cribbing in your mind that wish you had this and why do you not have that.

That is stealing.

That is equal to discontentedness.

You are the reason that you are discontented.

It is not anybody else.

Nobody has been created perfect.

Everybody has been given different,

Different,

Different,

Different sets of talents,

Skills,

Whatever,

Possessions,

Etc.

But if you want somebody else's talent,

You are increasing discontent in your life.

Do you see this?

You be content with what is in this little bundle that I am and then I honour this,

I nurture this,

I work with this,

I enhance this to its most beautiful,

Blossoming potential.

Respecting your own self is equal to non-stealing.

Ask yourself,

Do you respect yourself 100%?

He is incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse.

See,

He says incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse.

I would not say that you try to become like this.

A fully enlightened being has no craving left,

No desire left.

He has reached that stage where there is no lust for rubbing his body against another physical body.

He does not see any point in doing that.

He does not have even a little bit of desire or urge or vasana left in him.

So he is incapable of doing such a thing.

It doesn't even occur to him.

It does not mean that it occurs and then he suppresses,

He pushes it away.

No,

No,

No.

He is incapable.

Do you get it?

Similarly,

He is incapable of intentionally killing somebody.

He is incapable of thieving.

Like that only he is incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse.

This is a natural happening for the arahant.

He is incapable of it.

Such a desire does not exist in him.

In fact,

Desires have dropped away.

Even the desire to exist has dropped away.

When even the desire to be or to exist does not remain,

Then there is an incapability of any lower desire than that to be in him.

Therefore,

He is incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse.

He is incapable of deliberately speaking falsehood.

There is no desire to exist,

Then why will there be a desire to cover up anything?

You cover up something only because you have this feverishness,

This craving to be and then to be in a certain way and then to be in a certain way in somebody else's eyes and to not be in a certain way in somebody else's eyes.

Do you see this?

The core desire in you is to be,

To exist in some way.

That itself has been wiped off in an arahant.

When that itself has been wiped off in an arahant,

There is no desire to speak falsehood.

He is incapable of storing things up in order to enjoy sensual pleasures as he did in the past when a layman.

Storing things,

You might think I don't store things.

But you do look around in your own house,

You have furniture,

You have a bed,

You have a kitchen,

You have groceries sitting in the refrigerator.

You have stored everything.

You have planned for your winters and for autumn and for summer,

For spring.

There are plans.

Everything is in order so that life goes on.

Again,

This is not an advice for you to stop storing.

We are just talking about what naturally happens at arahant-hood or at the fully liberated level.

So all this,

Suttava is telling Blessed One that he had heard this from the Blessed One.

Bhante,

Did I hear that correctly from the Blessed One?

Grasp it correctly?

Attend to it correctly?

Remember it correctly?

Yes,

Suttava,

You have heard that correctly.

Grasp it correctly.

Attend to it correctly.

Remember it correctly.

In the past,

Suttava,

And also now,

I say to us,

A vikur who is an arahant,

One whose stains are destroyed.

We go back up.

Who has lived the spiritual life,

Done what had to be done,

Laid down the burden,

Reached his own goal,

Utterly destroyed the fetters of existence,

One completely liberated through final knowledge,

Is incapable of transgression in nine cases.

Okay.

So the Blessed One is saying,

Yes,

I have said this,

But those were nine cases,

Not five.

Now let's see what are these nine.

One,

He is incapable of intentionally depriving a living being of life.

Two,

He is incapable of taking by way of theft what is not given.

Three,

He is incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse.

Four,

He is incapable of deliberately speaking falsehood.

Five,

He is incapable of storing things up in order to enjoy sensual pleasures as he did in the past when a layman.

Six,

He is incapable of rejecting the Buddha.

Seven,

He is incapable of rejecting the Dhamma.

Eight,

He is incapable of rejecting the Sangha.

Nine,

He is incapable of rejecting the training.

Ten,

He is incapable of rejecting the Dhamma.

Six,

He is incapable of rejecting the Dhamma.

Seven,

He is incapable of rejecting the Dhamma.

Six,

He has reached his own goal,

Utterly destroyed the fetters of existence.

One,

Completely liberated through final knowledge,

Is incapable of transgression in these nine cases.

Last four that we are missing were,

He is incapable of rejecting the Buddha,

Incapable of rejecting the Dhamma,

Incapable of rejecting the Sangha and incapable of rejecting the training.

So now let's discuss number six.

He is incapable of rejecting the Buddha.

Buddha saying that,

He is in an arahant,

Is incapable of rejecting the Buddha.

Seems so conceited,

Isn't it?

What we need to understand that the word puddha,

Puddha means one who has attained bodhithvada,

Highest knowledge,

The highest wisdom.

It is not the name of Siddhartha Gautama.

Siddhartha Gautama through his practice and penance attained the level of the one who has the highest wisdom and is called the Buddha.

He said,

Then I have been many many more Buddhas before me and there will be many many more Buddhas after me.

So Buddha is not a name given to one person.

It means one who has attained the supreme wisdom.

An arahant or a fully liberated person has also attained the supreme wisdom.

How can one Buddha reject another Buddha?

Do you see what I am saying?

If you notice that the one you thought is fully enlightened,

Such a person is rejecting another person who others think is fully enlightened,

Then there is something wrong.

Yes?

An arahant is not capable of rejecting another Buddha.

Lots of people come and ask me,

What is your opinion about this teacher or this master?

Are they fully enlightened or not?

I always direct them towards this sutta.

One Buddha cannot reject another Buddha,

Cannot look down upon another,

Cannot condemn,

Cannot see wrong,

Cannot speak falsehood,

Cannot take what is not given.

He cannot do only any wrong things.

All his fetters are destroyed.

But if you see a little bit of craving,

A little bit of fetters in a person,

Then be very very sure he is not an arahant.

He is not fully enlightened.

Clear?

Number 7.

He is incapable of rejecting the Dhamma.

What is the Dhamma?

Dhamma is the law.

There is this law of this universe.

That law is if you generate something negative,

Whirlpool of negativity will make your inner environment impure and you will immediately suffer because of your one unwholesome or negative thought.

If you generate positivity,

You will have a gushing fountain of positive and wholesome thoughts,

Emotions,

Sensations and love.

You will be surrounded by love.

This is the law,

The Dhamma.

Do you get it?

One who rejects the Dhamma,

The law of the universe,

He cannot be fully enlightened.

It is impossible.

One who challenges the law that what one sows,

One will reap.

This is the law.

If somebody challenges that and says there is a way out of this,

There is a loophole,

You can get around it,

Such a person does not know.

Such a person is not an arahant,

Is not fully enlightened because an arahant is incapable,

Completely incapable of rejecting the Dhamma.

Number eight,

He is incapable of rejecting the Sangha.

Sangha is the group of practitioners who follow this Dhamma,

Who honour Dhamma,

Who respect this law that if I generate unwholesome,

I am drowned in unwholesomeness.

If I generate wholesomeness,

I am surrounded by wholesomeness and peace.

The Dhamma,

The law of the universe is respected by the practitioners and the group of these practitioners is called the Sangha.

Any Sangha is not a Sangha.

Sangha simply means those who practice together and meditate together and honour the law.

The Dhamma,

They together are called the Sangha.

An arahant,

A fully liberated one cannot reject the Sangha.

One who rejects the Sangha is not an arahant,

Is not fully liberated.

He still has some fetters left in him,

Some hatred,

Some aversion,

Some negativity out of which he was forced into that situation to spread negativity.

Number nine,

He is incapable of rejecting the training.

So what's training?

We all are troubled by our own minds,

Correct?

We all recognise that it is our own minds creating either a craving or an aversion.

And it's not one craving and one aversion,

It's one craving leading to another,

Leading to another,

Leading to another.

So there is this big whirlpool of cravings,

Aversions,

Cravings,

Aversions.

We are surrounded by it and we are only troubled by it.

And we want to get out of it.

Yes?

The training involves recognising,

Oh the root cause of my suffering is my craving or aversion.

So to get out of my suffering what do I have to get rid of?

My craving and aversion.

It is that simple.

Yet it is not simple.

One who is completely enchanted by this world of beautiful things,

Beautiful people,

Beautiful situations cannot stop himself from craving an aversion.

And he keeps getting sucked into the marsh and just cannot get out of it.

Like quicksand just sucks you in like that maya sucks you in deeper and deeper and deeper.

It requires some amount of training to get out of this quicksand,

Become free of it.

To become disenchanted is a skill.

And an arahant or a fully liberated one will teach you this,

Will teach you a way out of cravings and aversions.

He cannot reject such a craving.

So many people ask me,

Who is the right teacher?

The right teacher is the one who will help you recognise this big quicksand of craving and aversion that is sucking you in and making you miserable.

He will bring it to your notice that it is your own creation that is the cause for your suffering.

And he will not stop there.

He will then tell you the way out.

That which got you in will get you out.

So if cravings and aversions exist,

Suffering exists.

If cravings and aversions cease,

Suffering ceases.

It is that simple.

And if the teacher you are with is not helping you on this front,

Then he is not the right teacher for you.

The right teacher is the one who will never reject the training of how to get out of cravings and aversions and end misery.

So these are the nine cases in which an arahant will never transgress.

Means he will always win.

You will always see these nine qualities in an arahant or a fully enlightened one.

This is a beautiful sutta by Suttava.

He brings to us a very important knowledge that would probably help all of us who are working on the spiritual path.

Keep chugging,

Keep forking.

Do not believe me.

Do not believe Buddha.

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

Apu Vipu Bhava.

Be your own light.

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