r/thaiforest

> > “There is one interesting anomaly in the Buddha's praise of Venerable Mahā Kassapa as foremost in 'dhuta-guṇa', or ascetic virtues. Of the 13 dhutaṅgā, ascetic practises, there was one of them that Venerable Mahā Kassapa would actually never follow.
> >
> > He would not follow the practice of going on alms round 'house-to-house' without showing favouritism to certain areas.
> >
> > Stories in the suttas and the commentaries show that he would almost always go to the same areas again and again on alms round – the slums, ghettos and barrios of Rājagaha.
> >
> > The wilderness tradition in Thailand has taken Venerable Mahā Kassapa as a guiding example in many ways, and this particular sympathy with the poor and marginalized is one of the quiet characteristics of the tradition.” > >
> > ~ Luang Pu Chob Ṭhānasamo
> > “Luang Pu Chob told his close disciples that he could actually recollect a previous life when he had ordained as a novice monk with Venerable Mahā Kassapa himself, during the time of the Buddha. > > Luang Por Plien Paññapadīpo has related that when he stayed with Luang Pu Chob, Luang Pu wouldn't let the monks go for alms round to the nearest village. They always had to walk in another direction, to a farther village behind the monastery. > > This village was very poor and didn't have much in the way of food to give – the monks had to develop endurance and contentment with these very basic rations. > > When asked why the monks should go to this village when the people were already poor, Luang Pu Chob would flipped the question on its head: he explained that other villages were already prosperous, and that was because the people there had cultivated virtues of generosity in the past. > > The people in the poor village were the ones most in need of the opportunity to create goodness, and thus prosperity, through generosity. He was doing it for their future happiness, and for the training of the monks. > > Her Majesty Queen Sirikhit of Thailand became a devoted supporter of Luang Pu Chob, and grew to love him as a teacher more than any other monk. One time when she went to pay respects to him, she said she was building a kuti in the palace grounds and would like to invite Luang Pu to come and reside there out of compassion. Luang Pu replied that most of his students and disciples were poor farmers and, if he were to live in the palace, they would never get a chance to see him. > > So although he held her intentions in the highest regard, he could not accept the offer. He would continue to live among the county-folk.”

Author Hāsapañño Bhikkhu

^(Shared with me be a layperson)

^(Luang Poo Tate, at Wat Hin Mark Peng, 5 March, 1985)

> > “Unlike "Knowing in Time"^(1), having "knowing trailing"^(2) will get you nowhere. When you "Know in Time", you will keep pace with all phenomena.
>
> In the eloquent words of Ajahn Dune (Atulo) he said "Citta is Buddha". He was speaking with simplicity and what he meant was "Citta and Buddha are the same". Buddha is not the individual Self-Enlightened being.
>
> Buddha, in this sense, refers to "Citta being Buddha".
>
> Buddha translates as "the One Who Knows" but it is not the individual Sammā Sambuddha or Sappañña^(3).
>
> "Buddha" means Citta. When the Citta is that which thinks, which reasons, which imagines everything conceivable, it is possible for knowledge to arise. This is why thinking, reasoning and feeling all sorts of things is referred to as "Citta is Buddha". The matter of the Sammā Sambuddha is something altogether different.
>
> This is why I came up with the novel approach of differentiating the Citta and the Heart. If one reaches the Heart, there are none of these mental activities. There is just a steady equilibrium. There is an awareness of this impartial state but there are no thoughts or imaginings. This is what is Buddha. This is Buddha i.e., Knowingness. Or you can refer to it as the "Knowing Element"^(4).
>
> That which is aware of various objects knows conventional reality^(5). If the pinnacle of the "Knowingness" is reached, there is nothing else to speak of. What is reached is called the "Knowing Element". However, the "Knowing Element" is still aware of conventional reality. The conventional, worldly knowing is aware and in sync with the "Knowing Element". To put it simply, nothing exists save for the "Knowing Element". Even the time of the Lord Buddha passing into Parinibbana is referred to as Nibbana Dhatu^(6). This natural state, when it happens, is referred to as the "Knowing Element". Nibbana is known as Nibbana Dhatu^(7).
>
> This is why I adopted another convention, which is: The "Knowing Element" (or Knowingness) is one thing. That which it knows is another^(8). When (the Citta) withdraws from the Knowingness (the Heart) it comes to understand various other things. This is called Paññā. This Paññā arises from deliberation and reasoning, from thinking and examining all sorts of matters. Paññā emerges when the "Knowing Element” is leveraged to produce wisdom. Paññā arises when the “Knowingness” transforms into the Citta.
>
> There are two types of Paññā, Lokiya or mundane and Lokuttara, Supramundane.” ...

desana

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Footnotes

^(1) Being aware of phenomena as they occur.

^(2) Being aware of phenomena after they have occurred.

^(3) Wisdom.

^(4) A less literal translation would be, the basic/fundamental quality of Knowing.

^(5) The worldly truth where supposition dominates, where people describe and give names to objects while losing sight of the object's fundamental qualities. A conventional view of reality that includes the misconception of "I" and "me".

^(6) The element of Nibbana. Perhaps it is better to think of Nibbana as fundamental rather than an element.

^(7) From this statement it can be inferred that the pinnacle of the "Element of Knowing" and Nibbana and Nibbana Dhatu are synonymous. However, the pinnacle is only achieved after the defilements (Kilesa) have been cleansed from the "Element of Knowing".

^(8) This is referring to a time when the "Element of Knowing" is the Heart and not yet cleansed of defilement and therefore not at its pinnacle of purity.

> ”The house was full of food and provisions, yet its owner dwelt naked with a face like a bat, enduring the results of karma beneath a thatched hut.”
>
> This is a story that Luang Pu Khamsuk Ñāṇasukho of Wat Pa Sap Kham Kong in Phetchabun Province once recounted about his late mother.
>
> His mother passed away before he entered the monastic life.
>
> After ordaining, he devoted himself earnestly to practice, training his mind through meditation until it became calm and firmly established. One day, he reflected on his mother's kindness and sacrifices.
>
> He directed his mind to investigate:
> > “My mother has passed away. In what realm has she been reborn?”
>
> As his mind gathered into deep concentration, what appeared before him was not a heavenly mansion or celestial realm.
>
> Instead, he saw an old and dilapidated place, with a small hut roofed with dried grass.
>
> Inside the hut were about five or six women. Their bodies resembled those of women in their thirties, yet they were unclothed, with no garments covering them.
>
> What was especially striking was that the house itself was filled with an abundance of food, both sweet and savory.
>
> One of the women had a human form, but her face resembled that of a bat.
>
> Immediately, Luang Pu knew within his heart:
>
> “This is my mother.”
>
> His mother also recognized that her son had come to see her, and she instantly vanished from sight through her supernatural ability.
>
> Luang Pu later remarked:
>
> “She could disappear at will, but she was still undergoing the results of her karma.”
>
> This experience left him deeply puzzled.
>
> During her lifetime, his mother had gone to the temple, prepared food for monks, and sponsored ordination ceremonies. She was not someone who had never made merit.
>
> Why then had she been reborn in such a condition?
>
> Upon deeper contemplation, Luang Pu perceived the karmic causes behind it.
>
> The merit she had accumulated through generosity was still bearing fruit, which was why she never lacked food or provisions.
>
> However, her observance of moral precepts had been inconsistent. Even the Five Precepts had not been fully maintained. Certain aspects of her conduct had led her consciousness toward an unfortunate realm.
>
> This was therefore an example of two different kinds of karma ripening simultaneously within the same existence.
>
> Merit from generosity brought abundance and sustenance.
>
> But unwholesome actions resulting from violations of moral precepts caused her to experience a pitiable and painful form of existence.
>
> As the elders used to say:
>
> “Merit is merit, and wrongdoing is wrongdoing.
> They do not simply cancel each other out.
> When the time comes for results to ripen,
> each comes forward to claim its due.”
>
> Afterward, Luang Pu continually made merit, radiated loving-kindness, and dedicated the resulting goodness to his mother.
>
> Later, he said:
>
> “Now she has been freed from that karma.”
>
> This story does not teach that generosity is without value.
>
> Rather, it teaches that making merit merely as a tradition, without training the mind or guarding one’s bodily and verbal actions, may not generate enough spiritual strength to transform the overall direction of one’s life.
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> Generosity helps loosen the grip of stinginess.
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> Virtue closes the path to unfortunate rebirths.
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> Meditation uproots delusion.
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> These three must support one another.
>
> For people do not journey to their next existence through chanting alone, through ceremonial offerings, or through the number of donation envelopes they have given.
>
> They go according to their karma, their intentions, and the quality of mind they have cultivated day after day throughout their lives.
>
> “Having plenty to eat does not necessarily mean one is happy.
Making much merit does not necessarily mean one’s virtue is pure.
> And even being related to a monk cannot erase anyone’s karma.”
>
> The only thing a devoted child can truly do is create pure and wholesome merit, then dedicate it with a heart of loving-kindness.
>
> How much benefit the departed receive depends upon their realm of existence, their karma, and the conditions they themselves have created.

^(shared with me by a lay buddhist — From the biography of Luang Pu Khamsuk Ñāṇasukho Wat Pa Sap Kham Kong, Phetchabun Province)

> “Your doubts about your teacher can help you. Take from your teacher what is good, and be aware of your own practice. Wisdom is yourself to watch and develop.”

^(source)