Rude Awakenings - Forest Sangha Publications

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^0 L E T T I N G G O 06main road, toward the gap in the hills that separated Old and New Rajagaha.Right next to it stood a huge and immaculate temple of the NipponzanMyohoji; the monks and their supporters had done a wonderfuljob in restoring and caring for the ancient park. The grove had no buildings—itnever had—but there was a lovely pond in the centre of thetowering stands of bamboo. It had been a very special gift—the first giftof land to the Buddha, and an indication of the devoted support of oneof the most powerful kings of the region. Even before Gotama’senlightenment, Bimbisara had recognised the quality of the youngrecluse and had asked him to return when he had realised his goal.Within a year or two of the wakening, the Buddha returned as promised,and the king brought his retinue out to pay their respects and listento the Master. At the end of the discourse, all those present declaredthemselves to be the Buddha’s disciples. The king’s proclamation wasparticularly moving:As a prince, Lord, I had five wishes; now they have been fulfilled. “Ifonly I might be anointed on a throne.” That was the first wish andit has been fulfilled. The second was: “If only I might encounter afully enlightened One.”...The third was: “If only I might be able tohonour that Blessed One.”...The fourth was: “If only that BlessedOne would teach me Dhamma.”...The fifth was: “If only I might beable to understand that Blessed One’s Dhamma.” And that too hasbeen fulfilled....Lord, let the Blessed One receive me as a lay followerwho has gone to him for refuge for as long as breath lasts.It was painful to think that such devotion had not prevented the kingfrom meeting a cruel death some thirty-five years later at the hands ofhis son. I turned away. Nobody was around in the nearby temple, so Idrifted back to the homely Burmese Vihara. It was friendly now, and tojudge from appearances, had aspired to elegance a few years ago. Themeal had been served on a table with a tablecloth and old-fashioned,shiny cutlery. The Indian couple were quiet, friendly, and efficient;2 2 9
^0 T H I R D M O O N 06Bhante was jovial and animated. Antiquated pictures of holy places inBurma decorated the dining room; but now that had all given way tothe power-lust of the current military regime. Like Cambodia, andTibet. What refuge had Buddhism provided for any of them?The vigil wasn’t so bad. We were in two rooms up on the roof. I satoutside the room with the stars and the gloom. You can’t control it, youcan’t not care about it, you can’t grasp it, you can’t forget it. “Let go ofit,” recommended Ajahn Sumedho. It doesn’t always work like that—Idon’t see where I’m holding on. Some moments it did all drop, and whatwas terribly “me” was seen as a pattern of mind created by the wish tobe clear, or certain, or accepted. That wish always hindered the naturalpeace of the mind. When a letting go occurred, everything was light,the self-importance of despair was humorous, and you wondered howyou could have forgotten that. “I’ll remember and do better next time,”chirps the mind, assuming ownership and authority, and thereby pavesthe way for the next black hole when it can’t bring about the sameprocess. The whole trap was set around “I am”: the need to get life undercontrol by figuring it out or attaining something.“This is deathlessness: the freedom of the heart through nonclinging,” saidthe Buddha. What was I stuck on this time? I needed to find a calm placewhere I could check things out.So, the day after, we decided to go up into the hills, where thingswould be more conducive. There was a Nipponzan Myohoji stupa—the“Santi (Peace) Stupa” up there. It would probably have a few adjoiningrooms where we could stay and thereby avoid being ordered off the hillsby the police.The climb was reasonable enough, beginning in the late afternoon.Nick couldn’t bear to go round the long way via the road and the causeway,constructed, apparently by Bimbisara, as a convenient route toascend to Vulture’s Peak to see the Buddha. Instead we had to take ashortcut, which involved following a narrow stepped path through thescrubby forest up the side of the hill. We even got to glimpse some giant2 3 0
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RUDE AWAKENINGS
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The mindful exert themselves;they a
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^0 F O R E W O R D 06mystically emb
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PrefaceWhat follows is the narrativ
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The First MoonT H E M I D D L E L A
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^0 F I R S T M O O N 06chomping.
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^0 F I R S T M O O N 06deities with
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^0 P I L G R I M S 06things around
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^0 F I R S T M O O N 06and pedestri
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^0 F I R S T M O O N 06government w
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^0 F I R S T M O O N 06too attracti
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A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 F I R S T
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2Over the BorderA J A H N S U C I T
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^0 B O R D E R 06managed to ignore
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^0 B O R D E R 06Buddhist holy plac
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^0 B O R D E R 06a Buddha except th
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^0 B O R D E R 06the maelstrom, som
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^0 B O R D E R 06I read a sign in t
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^0 B O R D E R 06to Bhairawa, the n
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^0 B O R D E R 06of homage to the B
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^0 B O R D E R 06the grass bank fac
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3Leaving HomeA J A H N S U C I T T
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06ascertain
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06take arou
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06region an
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06wanted us
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06mother: s
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06We stoppe
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06to allow
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^0 L E AV I N G H O M E 06conversat
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The Second MoonL U M B I N I T O VA
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4The ObserverA J A H N S U C I T T
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06with a lot of t
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06contemplative b
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06After that we e
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06forbidden. Reli
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06told me about t
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06to sit beside t
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06With this move
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^0 O B S E RV E R 06the back; the d
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06live in th
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06Eventually
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06to a prese
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06of his kne
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06found so d
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06of them sp
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06stupa, try
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06wanted to
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06and a dark
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06from the e
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River Gandak, Part 2
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06ebbing out
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06violent at
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06That topic
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06friendly f
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06The boat w
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^0 S E C O N D M O O N 06was time t
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7The Kingdom of the LawA J A H N S
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^0 T H E L AW 06A sub-lieutenant in
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^0 T H E L AW 06was built in the gr
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^0 T H E L AW 06to get over the wor
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^0 T H E L AW 06accept any fare at
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^0 T H E L AW 06and milk sweets I b
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^0 T H E L AW 06the surrounding tre
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^0 T H E L AW 06a small house near
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8CyclesA J A H N S U C I T T ONovem
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^0 C Y C L E S 06long while for the
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^0 C Y C L E S 06thosebirthsanddeat
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^0 C Y C L E S 06There was a tea st
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^0 C Y C L E S 06The land we were p
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^0 C Y C L E S 06the Indian “West
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^0 C Y C L E S 06parothas straight
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^0 C Y C L E S 06ignore thirty boys
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A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 C Y C L E
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9The Deathless DrumA J A H N S U C
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^0 T H E D R U M 06Once...when I wa
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^0 T H E D R U M 06was a way of enh
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^0 T H E D R U M 06Sangha at Amarav
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^0 T H E D R U M 06scriptures descr
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^0 T H E D R U M 06job, but had eno
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^0 T H E D R U M 06Vaishali’s gre
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^0 T H E D R U M 06less.” And the
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^0 T H E D R U M 06had been a notic
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^0 T H E D R U M 06Striding across
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Mid-Bihar
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06is losing it
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06I had learne
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06cycle—a va
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Page 212 and 213: ^0 DA R K A N G E L 06on. Then for
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Page 260 and 261: 13Landing PlaceA J A H N S U C I T
Page 262 and 263: ^0 L A N D I N G 06gone. And the di
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Page 270 and 271: A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 L A N D I
Page 272 and 273: ^0 L A N D I N G 06Ajahn Sucitto in
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A J A H N S U C I T T O^0 T H I R D
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06many-headed
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^0 T H I R D M O O N 06abandoned Ed
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EpilogueSo many people helped us bo
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NotesP R E FA C E“The mindful exe
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^0 N O T E S 06C H A P T E R 6 : S
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^0 N O T E S 06C H A P T E R 1 0 :
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GlossaryAbhidhamma (Pali) one of th
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^0 G L O S S A RY 06chillum (Hindi)
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^0 G L O S S A RY 06Mahayana (Sansk
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^0 G L O S S A RY 06sabong (Hindi)
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Vinaya (Pali) the monastic discipli
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^0 B I B L I O G R A P H Y 06Conze,
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^0 B I B L I O G R A P H Y 06Raven-
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Recommended ReadingB U D D H I S T
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IndexAAbhidhamma, 213, 284, 295Adi
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^0 I N D E X 06HHajipur, 171-73, 18
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^0 I N D E X 06Nalanda and, 210-11,
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