SN 42.1 - Canda Sutta

Sām Sām Sām Sām Sām Sām Sām Sām Welcome to Buddha Sangha.

Today's sutta is from Samyutta Nikaya,

SN 42.

1,

Tanda Sutta.

This is from the connected discourses to headmen,

Ga Mani Samyutta and it is chapter no.

8 in Samyutta Nikaya.

Tanda was a headman.

He was a very vicious person and people had put the label of the angry man on him or the wrathful man.

So Tanda goes to Buddha and asks a question about why has he been labeled like that by people.

So let's see what Buddha tells him.

Tanda Sutta at Savaththi.

Then the headman Tanda,

The wrathful,

Approached the blessed one,

Paid homage to him,

Sat down to one side and said to him,

Venerable Sir,

What is the cause and reason why someone here is reckoned as wrathful?

And what is the cause and reason why someone here is reckoned as gentle?

Reckoned means labeled as or people have that opinion about him.

So they label him as the wrathful person.

Here,

Headman,

Someone has not abandoned lust.

Because he has not abandoned lust,

Other people irritate him.

Being irritated by others,

He manifests irritation.

He is reckoned as wrathful.

Let's take a simple example.

Here,

Lust means simply craving.

If somebody has this craving in the mind that people should look at me only in a particular manner,

People should think of me only in this particular manner.

People should behave with me only in this particular manner and people should not behave with me in that particular manner.

Having such desires in the mind is called craving or lust.

If a person has such craving and a situation falls upon him where other people do not see him in the light that he wants them to see him,

Then what happens?

He gets irritated by these people.

When he gets irritated by these people,

He is reckoned as wrathful when he manifests this irritation.

Manifest means he either makes it apparent through action or through speech that he is not very happy with them or he is irritated with them.

Sometimes you don't even act and you don't even speak.

Just your body language is sufficient to convey that you are irritated.

When you do this on a repetitive basis,

You are labelled as a wrathful person or an angry person.

The second one.

He has not abandoned hatred.

Because he has not abandoned hatred,

Other people irritate him.

Being irritated by others,

He manifests irritation.

He is reckoned as wrathful.

In the second scenario,

Somebody who has harboured a lot of hatred inside himself.

He just hates people right,

Left and centre.

He hates person A because of the crooked nose.

He hates person B because of the curly hair.

He hates person C because of the particular religious background he comes from.

He hates people for any silly reason.

He has harboured hatred inside himself.

So such a person who has harboured hatred inside himself only gets irritated when these people come before him.

When he gets irritated,

He shows his irritation.

Irrespective of whether he shows it through his actions or speech or is just keeping it in the mind,

The body language manifests this hatred and other people recognise it.

When other people recognise your hatred,

They are obviously going to label you as a wrathful person.

He has not abandoned delusion.

Because he has not abandoned delusion,

Other people irritate him.

Being irritated by others,

He manifests irritation.

He is reckoned as wrathful.

So in the third scenario,

Someone has harboured delusion.

What is delusion?

Not seeing reality as it is.

Let's take an example.

This world of people,

Situations and things does not always go the way I want it to go.

I want the people in my life to be permanent.

I want situations,

The happy situations in life to be permanent.

I want the unhappy situations to quickly go away.

I want the things that I really adore to remain in my life for a long,

Long time,

To remain permanent in my life.

But does life run on my conditions?

No.

Still there is a part of me that does not want to understand this truth and accept it.

That part of me that does not accept this truth of impermanence is deluded.

It means it does not like to see reality as it is.

And because it is not seeing reality as it is,

What happens?

Irritation arises and when irritation arises,

I will manifest that irritation either through body,

Speech or mind and others can always catch on to this irritation and they will label me as wrathful.

To give a few more examples on delusion,

Not seeing reality as it is,

Is delusion.

For example,

You suddenly start thinking that your spouse does not love you as much as he or she loved you during the honeymoon period.

And then you start believing that and whatever your spouse does,

You overlook that and you always keep nagging him or her that you don't love me enough.

You are deluded.

Another example,

Your friends are standing and talking in a corner far away from you and they just happen to look in your direction,

Smile and go back to their conversation.

You start thinking that they are speaking bad behind your back and then whatever your friend says,

Your mind constantly goes back to that fake deluded statement in your mind that they gossiped behind your back.

You are deluded.

You have cooked a delicious meal for your kids and you feel that they don't like it.

How much ever they appreciate the dish,

You keep carrying on this feeling that no,

They do not like it.

You are deluded.

Another example,

People praise you a lot but you have this kind of a conditioning that those who praise you always have some or the other agenda or wrong intention hidden behind that praise.

So however genuine somebody's praise is,

You never take it at face value and you keep distrusting people all your life.

You keep losing good friends.

You are deluded.

And a last office example,

You worked very hard on a particular project and despite you doing the best,

Your boss decides to move you onto another project.

You keep thinking that the boss has a wrong intention or is playing politics with you or he thinks that you are not performing well though you are performing well etc.

But really the truth could be that it has been done at an organisational level higher than him and he is just following orders himself.

You are deluded.

So in all these examples that I gave you,

It is clearly apparent that it is your own mind that cooks up stories and then you believe in those stories as if your life depends on believing in those stories.

You hold on to them.

You cling to them and because of clinging,

There is hatred in you.

Because of that clinging,

There is lust in you.

Because of that clinging,

Only you are deluded.

The suffering that happens to you is happening because of you,

Not because of the other person.

It is happening because of your mind,

Not because of the situation.

It is happening because of you holding onto a particular idea,

Not because of this external samsara.

This headman is the cause and reason why someone here is reckoned as wrathful.

Here headman,

Someone has abandoned lust.

Because he has abandoned lust,

Other people do not irritate him.

Not being irritated by others,

He does not manifest irritation.

He is reckoned as gentle.

So now let's take the example of somebody who is walking the spiritual path and has understood that the cause of my suffering is not outside in this world of people,

Situations and things.

The cause of my suffering is my own mind craving for the people,

Situations and things or being averse to people,

Situations and things.

In absence of this craving or aversion towards this world of people,

Situations and things,

I am at peace.

Oh!

That is why he works hard on himself and he abandons lust.

Lust has both craving and aversion under it.

So,

First scenario is of the person who has abandoned lust.

Because he has abandoned lust,

Other people do not irritate him.

Not being irritated by others,

He does not manifest the irritation.

Obviously,

That which is not there cannot be manifest and he is reckoned as a gentle person.

That's very clearly explained by Buddha.

This is the only scripture that has said it as it is.

Very clearly to you on your face that your suffering is caused by your own lust.

Your suffering is caused by your own hatred.

Your suffering is caused by your own delusion.

Your suffering has got nothing to do with external world of people,

Situations and things.

Nothing.

Nada.

Let's look at the second scenario.

He has abandoned hatred.

Because he has abandoned hatred,

Other people do not irritate him.

Not being irritated by others,

He does not manifest irritation.

He is reckoned as gentle.

If I ask you for something and if you don't have it,

Will you be able to give it to me?

You won't.

You will be able to give me only that which you have,

Correct?

If you have harboured hatred,

You can throw in all directions only hatred.

You can give only hatred.

But if you have abandoned hatred,

Will you be able to throw out hatred at other people?

No.

Because there is no hatred inside.

It's very simple.

What you have is what you can give.

Equation is very simple.

A truth may sound bitter,

But it is the truth.

You can give only what you have.

So if you have abandoned hatred,

Completely,

It does not reside inside here.

If it does not reside inside here,

You do not get irritated at others.

You do not throw out hatred at others.

And when you don't get irritated,

You don't throw out hatred at others.

You are reckoned as a gentle person.

Let's look at the third scenario.

He has abandoned delusion.

Because he has abandoned delusion,

Other people do not irritate him.

Not being irritated by others,

He does not manifest irritation.

He is reckoned as gentle.

If someone has abandoned delusion,

He is not even ready to believe the false stories of the ego,

Where the ego starts blaming external people,

Situations and things for its own suffering.

When one starts seeing the truth as it is,

Oh,

That suffering is caused by my own craving.

Suffering is caused by my own aversion.

And the moment I let go of the craving,

I let go of the aversion,

The suffering is gone.

Peace is simply the non-existence of suffering or dukkha.

Peace is neither painful nor pleasant.

Peace is just an equilibrium,

A straight line.

And the straight line automatically comes into the picture,

The moment hatred,

Delusion and lust are abandoned.

We are the cause for everything that happens in our own lives.

There is no other person sitting out there that is punishing you for something that you did not do.

If you are living in such an idea,

You are deluded.

It is a delusion.

Start recognizing the truth as it is.

Whatever you sow,

So shall you reap.

So if you have harbored hatred,

Delusion and lust,

What you get back in return is obviously going to be the same.

You will not reap a mango fruit if you sow a neem seed.

Neem is bitter.

You will definitely get a bitter fruit.

You cannot get a sweet mango fruit from a neem seed.

So take it up as homework in life.

Even if others are craving,

I will not crave.

Even if others are averse,

I shall not be averse.

Even if others are hateful,

I shall not hate.

Even if others are deluded,

I shall do my best to get out of this delusion.

Wake up and realize if somebody reckons you as wrathful,

It has got nothing to do with that person.

He only speaks what he sees or what he senses through your vibes.

If you are reckoned as wrathful,

It is time to check within.

Am I harbouring lust or hatred or delusion?

This head man is the cause and reason why someone here is reckoned as gentle.

And the one who has abandoned lust,

Hatred and delusion,

He is reckoned as gentle.

If you have not been reckoned as gentle yet,

It is time to start working on these three factors.

Be wary.

There is no fourth one.

You cannot say,

Oh,

There must be something else.

I don't have lust,

I don't have hatred and I am certainly not deluded.

Really?

Why aren't you teaching us then?

Wake up.

It is just the ego that is wearing the mask of a joker right now.

So the only way we can get out of this trap of delusion is,

Number one,

To see the truth as it is.

Number two,

Recognise how to abandon lust,

Hatred and delusion,

Which in Pali is lobha,

Moha and dosa.

And number three,

Come what may.

Even under the influence of the strongest lust,

Hatred or delusion,

I will not succumb to lust,

Hatred or delusion.

When this was said,

Kanda,

The head man,

Said to the Blessed One,

Magnificent,

Venerable sir,

Magnificent,

Venerable sir.

The Dhamma has been made clear in many ways by the Blessed One,

As though he were turning upright.

What had been turned?

Upside down,

Revealing what was hidden.

Showing the way to one who was lost or holding up a lamp in the dark for those with eyesight to see forms.

I go for refuge to the Blessed One and to the Dhamma and to the Bhikkhusanga.

From today,

Let the Blessed One remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.

You take the refuge of the Dhamma,

The knowledge.

Let go of all negativity,

Even if it means that you lose a friendship,

Even if it means that you lose something important,

Even if it means that you lose a position,

Some praise,

Some name,

Some fame,

Some wealth.

Anyway,

All these situations are impermanent.

They come,

They go.

People are impermanent.

They come,

They go.

Things are impermanent.

They come,

They go.

What remains with you is your own conscience.

And if your own conscience is pure,

You will be at peace.

You will find that absolute,

Straight,

Quiet line of equanimity where there is neither pain nor pleasure.

You will find that peace that you have been thirsting for.

So let's start working on Lobha Moha Dosa and I will see you next week.

Thank you.