මහාමේඝ 2562 අධිපොසොන් (2018 මැයි) මස කලාපය

21
f.!;u nqÿrcqkaf.a ioyï idu ikafoaYh /f.k'''
The Story About People Who Believed in
Auspicious Times and fruitless Celebrations
Do Not Be Heedless!
lessed devotees, blessed children, during
the time of the Supreme Buddha the city
of Savatthi had a population of seven
million people. Out of the seven million,
five million were followers of the Supreme
Buddha. They did not believe in auspicious times,
nor did they practice it in their daily lives. They
were, instead, believers of meritorious deeds.
They believed in good merits such as generosity
(Dana), morality (Seela), and mental development
(Bhavana). They also tried very hard to practice
the thirty eight points of great protection
addressed in the Maha Mangala Sutta.
In Savatti, the population who did not believe
in Buddhism and Supreme Buddha were two
million. Their beliefs changed often and sought
refuge in people and objects as they wished.
So this group of people picked certain days of
the calendar as their auspicious days that were
considered to bring success to their lives. Those
special times were picked by the Brahmins. The
celebrations for the auspicious times lasted for
a week from the day it started. Many people
covered themselves in ashes and cow dung during
this celebration time. They also splashed others
on the street with ashes and cow dung without
giving a second thought about their class or
status. They made fun of everyone, got together
in groups and traveled from house to house. They
sang in their front yards and covered each other
with ash. All these auspicious activities continued
for a week.
These acts of the non-believers became a
nuisance to those who believed in Supreme
Buddha and his teachings. The believers started
to give money to these people and sent them
away even before they came near their houses.
During that whole week Supreme Buddha and his
disciples would not go in alms rounds. The lay
devotees brought alms to where Supreme Buddha
and his disciples were staying. They offered the
food and water to Buddha and to his disciples.
The celebration period ended. The devotees
started their day to day affairs in the city again.
The devotees of the Supreme Buddha ushered
Supreme Buddha and his disciples with great
reverence back to the city. They offered food and
water to the monks. The city dwellers complained
to Supreme Buddha about the nuisance that was
created by these non-believers. “Oh my lord, the
blessed one, these people have lost their sanity
completely by believing in auspicious times.
They think that this special time has a lot of
supernatural powers. For seven days we had to
bear all their craziness. They are not ashamed of
their actions. They throw ashes and cow dung at
each other. Sometimes they spray each other with
cow dung mixed in water. They curse, scream,
and make crude jokes at each other. Oh Supreme
Buddha, we can’t even think about those words
let alone say them. This whole week, we were
stuck inside our houses without being able to go
outside. It is a great misfortune that even during
the time of the Supreme Buddha, people choose to
believe in something so meaningless.”
At that time, Supreme Buddha explained
the fruitlessness of those beliefs. The Supreme
Buddha also praised the benefits in the belief of
cause & effect. The Supreme Buddha explained
the virtues of one’s own actions and about one’s
ability to decide between the good and the bad
actions to the devotees and recited the following
two verses.
pamādamanuyuñjanti,
bālā dummedhino janā
appamādañca medhāvī,
dhanaṃ seṭṭhaṃva rakkhati
Unwise people live like fools in this world
Cherish unwholesome acts living a heedless life
The wise partake in heedfulness
Guard mindfulness all the time as a cherished
treasure
mā pamādamanuyuñjetha,
mā kāmaratisanthavaṃ
appamatto hi jhāyanto,
pappoti vipulaṃ sukhaṃ
Do not engage in negligence like a foolish
person does
Do not get caught up and intoxicated in
delight and sensuality
Because only those who are heedful and
live with mindfulness
Attain profound happiness that leads
to nibbana
Dear blessed devotees,
blessed children, bālā and
dummedhino are two words
in the first stanza. Bālā
in the context of the
stanza refers to foolish
or unwise people not to
small children. These
people are unable
to distinguish
between
wholesome
and unwholesome acts. Dummedhino too refers
to unwise persons. Those foolish and unwise
people fall prey to all kinds of beliefs. They
fail to recognize the exquisite treasures of the
triple gem. They do not even make an effort
to understand what they are. Therefore, such
a person loses the opportunity to make their
lives successful. He lacks an aroused effort,
fails to guard the sense faculties, neglects wise
contemplation and lacks dedication. Alternatively
he chooses to be lazy, lacks being intelligent, does
not research, does not study, gets involved in
unwholesome acts and meaningless festivities and
keeps hoping to prosper. Such people are called
heedless people.
The intelligent person does not behave in
such a foolish manner. He uses his intelligence
to study the dhamma and practices wholesome
deeds taught in the dhamma and thereby becomes
a heedful person. He cultivates wholesome deeds
to his life such as continued effort, dedication,
tireless studying, respecting one’s teachers,
respecting elders, and associating with noble
friends. And guards them like someone guarding a
treasure.
Therefore do not waste life being heedless. Do
not allow heedlessness to take root in your lives.
Ensure that indulging in sensual pleasures is not
the aim in your life. Engaging in meritorious
deeds is very important to one’s life. The Supreme
Buddha had said that people who are heedful and
practices the dhamma collects a lot of merit that
will eventually help them to reach the supreme
bliss.
Appamada Vagga – Scared Verses 6 &7