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21<br />
f.!;u nqÿrcqkaf.a ioyï idu ikafoaYh /f.k'''<br />
From page 20...<br />
Maha Mañgala Sutta ....<br />
content with what we have. The world we live in<br />
tempts us with new things every day. This year<br />
there is a new phone that happens to be the best,<br />
and next year there is another, which, surprisingly,<br />
happens to be the best. If in this way we give in<br />
to our endless desires, turning like a squirrel on a<br />
wheel, we would have no time to practice Dhamma<br />
or to spend with family. When we have fewer<br />
needs, we have more time and the peace of mind to<br />
practice the Dhamma.<br />
25). Kataññutā - gratitude<br />
Lord Buddha once said grateful people are rare<br />
in the world. So, if you want to be an exceptional<br />
person, show gratitude; be a person who is thankful<br />
and recollects others’ help. Most people aspire to be<br />
unique and recognised, just as film stars, sportsmen,<br />
scientists, etc. But if you become a person with<br />
gratitude, then you possess a quality praised by<br />
the Buddha. Isn’t that a higher recognition than<br />
anything in the world?<br />
26). Kālena dhammasavanaṁ - timely<br />
hearing of the Dhamma<br />
What is the proper time to hear noble Dhamma?<br />
Is it when you have finished all your work? When<br />
you are free of responsibilities and obligations?<br />
When you have peace of mind? Once you have sort<br />
out the problems, you are dealing with right now?<br />
In fact, the best time to hear the Dhamma is now<br />
because even if we live for 100 years, we shall not<br />
be able to find an ideal situation for listening to the<br />
Dhamma. No matter how we feel, we must listen to<br />
the Dhamma, irrespective of whether we are happy,<br />
troubled, angry, or sad because Dhamma has the<br />
power to heal us, to calm us and make us understand<br />
because it addresses the root cause of all our<br />
problems — the defiled state of our mind. Therefore,<br />
if we listen to Dhamma often, we shall be fortunate<br />
to be blessed with Kālena Dhamma Savanaṁ.<br />
27). Khantī ca – patience<br />
The Lord Buddha preached that patience is the<br />
greatest of virtues. What do we have to endure<br />
with patience? Heat, cold, hunger, thirst, physical<br />
suffering, harsh words, etc. Patience helps us<br />
develop many wholesome qualities essential for<br />
spiritual development, such as loving-kindness,<br />
compassion and mindfulness. Further, if we lose<br />
patience, we may say or do things we might later<br />
regret. Therefore, being patient is a true blessing for<br />
an avid practitioner of the Dhamma.<br />
28). Sovacassatā – obedience<br />
When we are patient, it paves the way for<br />
obedience. If a child obeys parents and elders, he<br />
will succeed in life. Likewise, if we, the disciples<br />
of Buddha are obedient to his wise words — the<br />
Dhamma — we shall be successful in this life and in<br />
the afterlife.<br />
29). Samaṇānañca dassanaṁ - meeting<br />
venerable monks<br />
Meeting venerable monks gives us the<br />
opportunity to hear the Dhamma. Sunīta was born in<br />
the untouchable caste in India during the time of the<br />
Buddha, and his job was to clean the toilets of rich<br />
people. He had to ring a bell to notify of his presence<br />
so that others could get out of his way because<br />
he was an outcast carrying buckets of human<br />
excrement and smelled foul and dirty. One day,<br />
Sunīta seeing the Buddha coming towards him tried<br />
to veer off the road to make way, but the Buddha<br />
came straight to Sunīta and addressed him with<br />
kind words, asking if he would like to be ordained.<br />
Bewildered, yet drawn by Buddha’s compassion,<br />
Sunīta ordained as a monk and practising ardently,<br />
soon became an Arahant. Later, even Mahā-Brahma<br />
came to pay homage to great Arahant Sunīta. How<br />
did Sunīta, the untouchable, the outcast, become a<br />
person worthy of such reverence? It is because he<br />
met the greatest Samaṇa, the Lord Buddha. Today,<br />
we have the noble Dhamma explained to us by the<br />
venerable Saṅgha. If we wish to live a blessed life,<br />
we should meet the venerable monks and learn<br />
noble Dhamma.<br />
30). Kālena dhammasākacchā - timely<br />
discussions on the Dhamma<br />
A diligent practitioner should meet venerable<br />
monks time and again to resolve problems he<br />
might have about virtue, samādhi, or any other<br />
aspect of the practice, and to obtain clarification<br />
and guidance through timely discussions on the<br />
Dhamma.<br />
31). Tapo ca – suppressing evil<br />
Practising the Noble Eightfold Path leads<br />
to suppressing evil and thus abandoning the<br />
unwholesome and developing the wholesome<br />
through the gradual development of virtue,<br />
concentration and wisdom. As pious disciples of<br />
Buddha, we should strive to suppress evil and purify<br />
our mind of defilements.<br />
32). Brahmacariyañca – chastity<br />
A layperson who possesses all the Blessings<br />
we have discussed so far is suitable to leave the<br />
household life and join the order of Sangha. Then<br />
his/her life is blessed with brahmacariya: refraining<br />
from all types of sexual activities and being<br />
committed to practising the Noble Eightfold Path.<br />
Even lay people observe the precept of abstaining<br />
from sexual activities on Poya days. If you still have<br />
not made this blessing a part of your life, you must<br />
hasten to do so.<br />
33). Ariyasaccānadassanaṁ - understanding<br />
the Noble Truths<br />
There is no greater blessing than realising the<br />
Four Noble Truths. Once a person realises the Four<br />
Noble Truths completely, he becomes an Arahant,<br />
a fully enlightened being. From here onwards the<br />
blessings explained are of the life of an enlightened<br />
one.<br />
34). Nibbāṇasacchikiriyā ca - the realisation<br />
of Nibbāna<br />
This is the fulfilment of the third Noble Truth,<br />
realising Nibbāna. What is Nibbāna? The Lord<br />
Buddha said the abolishing of desire is Nibbāna. Only<br />
a Buddha reveals Nibbāna and the path to Nibbāna.<br />
35). Phuṭṭhassa lokadhammehi, Cittaṁ<br />
yassa na kampati – The mind that is not<br />
touched by the ups and downs of life<br />
There are eight worldly conditions we<br />
face in life: gain-loss, fame-defame, praiseblame,<br />
happiness-pain. While arahants are unmoved<br />
by these worldly conditions, our minds are quickly<br />
overwhelmed by these. Thus, what a blessing it must<br />
be to have a mind unruffled by the ups and downs of<br />
life.<br />
36). Asokaṁ - the mind that is free from<br />
sorrow<br />
We hardly spend an entire day without being sad<br />
or without having an incident that invokes sorrow<br />
in us. As long as we have defilements, even our<br />
happiness is not without its defects. We do not know<br />
what it would be like to be free from sorrow, but it is<br />
the wish of all beings.<br />
37). Virajaṁ - taintless<br />
Not having any defilement is called virajaṁ.<br />
As said before, many of our actions are based on<br />
defilements stemming from greed, hatred and<br />
delusion. It is not our fault rather it is the nature of<br />
our existence. Our failure is not making use of the<br />
rare opportunity we have gotten to rid ourselves of<br />
these defilements or taints.<br />
38). Khemaṁ - fearless<br />
An Arahant's mind is fearless. Whereas we can<br />
be scared easily, this is because we harbour the<br />
fetter of self-view which give rise to a feeling of<br />
insecurity that cannot be subdued. According to the<br />
Dhamma preached by the Buddha the mind that<br />
has not realised the Noble Truths is in complete<br />
and utter darkness, just like a place without the sun<br />
or the moon or stars. Which means we do not see<br />
things for what they really are; we are living in a<br />
hallucination, and this state of existence in saṁsāra<br />
is fearsome for someone who has not realised the<br />
Four Noble Truths as he is not safe from being<br />
reborn in the hell worlds. Therefore, we should<br />
abide by the teachings of Buddha to free ourselves<br />
from this predicament.<br />
These are the 38 supreme blessings expounded<br />
by the Lord Buddha. Let us try to remember the<br />
meanings of each of these blessing and be diligent in<br />
developing our practice in the noble Dhamma. Let<br />
us try to be blessed with these true blessings which<br />
lead us to Ariyasaccānadassanaṁ — Seeing and<br />
realising the Four Noble Truths.<br />
Written by<br />
Prajapathi Jayawardena
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