1 00:00:01,010 --> 00:00:01,470 Good evening. 2 00:00:01,771 --> 00:00:06,115 Welcome back to our study of the Dhammapada. 3 00:00:06,135 --> 00:00:13,183 Today we continue with verses 227 to 230, which read as follows. 4 00:00:16,386 --> 00:00:29,059 PORANAMETANGATULA NETANGADJATANAMIWA NINDANTI TUNHIMASINANG NINDANTI BAHUBHANINANG 5 00:00:30,912 --> 00:00:57,561 mitha bha nimpi nindanti nathiloke anindito na ca hu na ca bhavisati na ca tarahi vijjati e kantang nindito poso e kantang va pasang sito yang che vinyu pasang santi anu vijja suve suve 6 00:00:59,313 --> 00:01:21,793 Which means, 7 00:01:26,296 --> 00:01:28,278 This is an ancient thing, Atula. 8 00:01:28,938 --> 00:01:33,963 It's not just something from today. 9 00:01:37,987 --> 00:01:40,429 They blame those who sit silently. 10 00:01:41,450 --> 00:01:43,272 They blame those who speak a lot. 11 00:01:46,595 --> 00:01:49,137 Even those who speak in moderation, they blame. 12 00:01:50,398 --> 00:01:54,362 There is no one in this world who stays unblamed. 13 00:01:57,127 --> 00:02:24,737 there never was and there never will be nor can you find someone here and now a person who is solely blamed a person who is or a person who is solely praised but whoever 14 00:02:26,303 --> 00:02:33,795 That person who the wise praise, having observed them day after day. 15 00:02:36,900 --> 00:02:51,645 A person with flawless behavior, a sage endowed with wisdom and ethics. 16 00:02:51,665 --> 00:02:53,087 Just like a gold coin, 17 00:02:55,430 --> 00:02:59,635 Who would think them worthy of blame? 18 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:05,303 Even the angels praise such a person. 19 00:03:07,446 --> 00:03:09,188 Even by Brahma are they praised. 20 00:03:13,894 --> 00:03:14,755 Four verses. 21 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:39,308 Which were taught in response to Atula It starts off by saying this is an ancient thing, Atula The Buddha is talking to Atula who was a lay person, a lay follower of the Buddha Who had his own posse of friends, also followers of the Buddha I guess 22 00:03:41,532 --> 00:04:02,005 And one day Atula thought to himself and amongst his group they thought they would go and listen to the Dhamma And so first they approached Revatta They had heard that Revatta was a wise and accomplished practitioner of the Buddha 23 00:04:03,554 --> 00:04:33,223 Of the Buddha's teaching And so they went to him And they sat down and paid respect to him And said, Venerable sir, we've come to hear the Dhamma Please teach us the Dhamma But if you know Revata Revata was fond of solitude And so Not that It can't be considered a lesson But he said nothing 24 00:04:36,342 --> 00:04:41,268 He sat quietly and they all sat quietly and waited for him to speak and he didn't speak. 25 00:04:48,878 --> 00:04:55,325 They say silence is golden, but while these lay people weren't subscribing to that, they got upset. 26 00:04:55,766 --> 00:04:56,707 Atula got upset. 27 00:04:56,927 --> 00:05:00,612 I don't know about his followers, but about his friends. 28 00:05:03,410 --> 00:05:06,092 He got upset and said, what use is this? 29 00:05:07,133 --> 00:05:07,994 What's going on here? 30 00:05:08,014 --> 00:05:09,175 We tried to get him to talk. 31 00:05:09,195 --> 00:05:09,796 He won't talk. 32 00:05:10,997 --> 00:05:12,218 No teaching being done here. 33 00:05:12,238 --> 00:05:15,841 And so they went on. 34 00:05:16,622 --> 00:05:17,943 Let's go find another monk. 35 00:05:18,083 --> 00:05:19,204 Find someone who will teach us. 36 00:05:20,646 --> 00:05:22,307 And they went and found Sariputta. 37 00:05:22,587 --> 00:05:27,932 Well, surely, if anyone's going to teach us, it's going to be Sariputta. 38 00:05:28,693 --> 00:05:31,155 He's the Buddha's right-hand monk. 39 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:44,175 And so they went to Sariputta, sat down, paid respect and said, Venerable sir, we've come to hear the Dhamma, we went to see Revata, he didn't say anything. 40 00:05:45,096 --> 00:05:48,361 We ask you, please, please teach us. 41 00:05:51,025 --> 00:05:59,539 So Sariputta said, okay, sit down, listen carefully, and he started talking and teaching the Abhidhamma. 42 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:20,571 akusala dhamma, akusala dhamma, abhyagata dhamma, wholesome realities, unwholesome realities, indeterminate realities, and on and on and on and on. 43 00:06:20,591 --> 00:06:23,115 Anathulagyan got upset, quite frustrated. 44 00:06:25,278 --> 00:06:27,602 He stood up and said, Venerable sir, enough, thank you. 45 00:06:30,451 --> 00:06:32,815 thought to himself, this is ridiculous. 46 00:06:33,637 --> 00:06:34,158 Too much. 47 00:06:34,879 --> 00:06:36,482 How are we supposed to remember all of that? 48 00:06:36,502 --> 00:06:38,065 How are we supposed to take that all in? 49 00:06:39,127 --> 00:06:40,649 How are we supposed to practice all that? 50 00:06:42,052 --> 00:06:45,799 He just keeps going on and on, and it's just too much for us to take. 51 00:06:47,141 --> 00:06:49,085 This monk talks too much, right? 52 00:06:50,968 --> 00:06:52,631 So they thought, well, where else can we go? 53 00:06:53,913 --> 00:06:54,214 Well, 54 00:06:55,460 --> 00:06:58,144 I know someone who everyone loves, Ananda. 55 00:06:58,324 --> 00:06:59,506 We'll go see Ananda. 56 00:06:59,546 --> 00:07:02,010 He's the Buddha's attendant. 57 00:07:02,972 --> 00:07:06,297 Surely he knows how to teach the Dhamma. 58 00:07:06,978 --> 00:07:12,947 He'll have listened the most to the Buddha teach and so his teaching will be similar to the Buddha's teaching. 59 00:07:16,913 --> 00:07:18,936 We'll go and listen to the Dhamma from Ananda. 60 00:07:19,912 --> 00:07:23,137 And so they went to find Ananda. 61 00:07:23,217 --> 00:07:30,188 Ananda, they found him, sat down, paid respect to him and said, Venerable sir, we've come to hear the Dhamma. 62 00:07:30,248 --> 00:07:32,051 We went to see Revata. 63 00:07:32,071 --> 00:07:33,012 He didn't say anything. 64 00:07:34,315 --> 00:07:35,436 We went to find Sariputta. 65 00:07:35,456 --> 00:07:36,919 He talked forever. 66 00:07:36,999 --> 00:07:37,920 He didn't talk too much. 67 00:07:40,164 --> 00:07:41,526 Please teach us the Dhamma. 68 00:07:41,666 --> 00:07:42,848 Give us a suitable teaching. 69 00:07:45,953 --> 00:07:47,074 Ananda said, of course. 70 00:07:47,535 --> 00:07:48,096 Happy to help. 71 00:07:50,287 --> 00:08:07,831 And he started teaching the Dhamma, taught him something, doesn't say what exactly, but just a concise, well thought out teaching on the Dhamma. 72 00:08:07,851 --> 00:08:10,455 Not too long, not too short, talk and done. 73 00:08:12,197 --> 00:08:14,320 I guess it didn't take that long, but he gave him a teaching. 74 00:08:17,945 --> 00:08:19,888 And Abdullah again stood up 75 00:08:22,973 --> 00:08:25,801 Stomped off. 76 00:08:25,821 --> 00:08:28,007 Thought to himself, what the heck was that? 77 00:08:28,027 --> 00:08:29,452 That's it? 78 00:08:30,254 --> 00:08:30,815 Just that? 79 00:08:32,661 --> 00:08:33,383 Something like that. 80 00:08:34,747 --> 00:08:36,953 What is he doing just teaching us that? 81 00:08:37,113 --> 00:08:37,655 Just that? 82 00:08:37,695 --> 00:08:38,738 As though that's enough? 83 00:08:40,557 --> 00:08:44,403 this monk doesn't understand how to teach the Dhamma. 84 00:08:45,465 --> 00:08:48,210 And so he said, he said to his people, he said, come, let's go. 85 00:08:48,530 --> 00:08:51,735 I know where we'll get a true teaching of the Dhamma. 86 00:08:51,755 --> 00:08:55,001 We have to go straight to the source. 87 00:08:55,021 --> 00:08:57,064 And so he brought them all to the Buddha and they said, 88 00:08:58,799 --> 00:09:08,751 sat down in front of the Buddha, paid respect to him and said, Venerable Sir, we've come to hear the Dhamma, but wherever we go, it seems it's inadequate. 89 00:09:08,851 --> 00:09:15,780 We go to see Rayavata, he says nothing, just sits there like a log. 90 00:09:17,021 --> 00:09:23,229 We go to see Sariputta and listen to him, he just talks on and on and on, no end. 91 00:09:24,430 --> 00:09:26,713 Then we go to see Ananda, what does he do? 92 00:09:27,672 --> 00:09:29,534 Just this little nothing, Dhamma. 93 00:09:29,554 --> 00:09:33,799 He teaches us something simple, something so short. 94 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:35,061 Then he's done. 95 00:09:35,081 --> 00:09:36,322 And that's all. 96 00:09:41,409 --> 00:09:44,252 Please, Venerable Sir, we've come to you as our last resort. 97 00:09:44,312 --> 00:09:45,273 Teach us the Dhamma. 98 00:09:47,256 --> 00:09:48,057 What did the Buddha do? 99 00:09:48,077 --> 00:09:49,058 He taught him this verse. 100 00:09:50,139 --> 00:09:54,945 He said, This is the truth. 101 00:09:56,292 --> 00:10:00,439 They blame those who don't speak. 102 00:10:00,459 --> 00:10:01,822 They blame those who speak a lot. 103 00:10:02,042 --> 00:10:04,226 Even those who speak in moderation, they blame. 104 00:10:06,450 --> 00:10:12,040 There is no one in this world who goes without blame. 105 00:10:17,588 --> 00:10:20,072 So there's several lessons. 106 00:10:20,253 --> 00:10:24,380 There's a major lesson, I think, that is clear from the verse. 107 00:10:24,400 --> 00:10:32,053 But there's several things that we can talk about that are interesting as meditators. 108 00:10:34,514 --> 00:10:55,765 The first is the character, well with the story there's really, what I think is most interesting is the character types, the study in the character of the enlightened ones, the study in character of the unenlightened ones, the study in character of the Buddha. 109 00:10:56,746 --> 00:11:00,572 This story tells us something about all three of them. 110 00:11:01,733 --> 00:11:05,658 For the enlightened ones, it shows us that they're not all alike. 111 00:11:06,599 --> 00:11:09,423 Ananda would have been only a sotapanna at that time. 112 00:11:10,444 --> 00:11:14,550 But Sariputta and Revatta were both arahants and couldn't be different. 113 00:11:15,931 --> 00:11:24,062 Revatta was absolutely committed to solitude, and Sariputta was committed to teaching. 114 00:11:27,164 --> 00:11:34,043 And in fact I don't think it would be fair to say that Revatta didn't engage in teaching or that even he wasn't teaching Atula something. 115 00:11:36,530 --> 00:11:40,802 Because absolutely it was a teaching for him to be quiet and stop talking. 116 00:11:44,512 --> 00:11:48,037 It sounds like Atula probably already knew the Buddha's teaching. 117 00:11:48,077 --> 00:11:49,338 He was a follower of the Buddha. 118 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:55,246 And it's quite possible, given especially by what the Buddha said at the end, that he didn't actually need a teaching. 119 00:11:56,308 --> 00:12:03,317 What he needed was to quiet down and close his mouth and close his eyes and do what Revatta was instructing. 120 00:12:03,357 --> 00:12:07,262 But another thing is... 121 00:12:08,423 --> 00:12:36,793 and it relates to the character type of students, but relating to the character type of enlightened ones, we have to understand a sticking to their character type that it seems, and I think it's reasonable to 122 00:12:39,389 --> 00:12:53,803 to claim that an enlightened one doesn't devote themselves to pleasing or to accommodating people who come to learn from them. 123 00:12:55,184 --> 00:13:07,482 So we have often this idea that a teacher will give us everything we need, will lead us, will guide us to enlightenment. 124 00:13:08,503 --> 00:13:13,210 When in fact I think that's expecting too much. 125 00:13:16,042 --> 00:13:19,992 We can see from these examples that the enlightened ones gave teachings. 126 00:13:21,115 --> 00:13:31,182 So that's a good example for us all to follow, that as their followers, as the people who have come after them, that we follow their example and teach others. 127 00:13:33,085 --> 00:13:52,849 But they also stick to their own practice, that the teaching seems to come very much out of their own practice and as a part of their practice, that they don't teach in such a way as to humor others or to pamper them or to spoon feed their students. 128 00:13:53,656 --> 00:14:02,477 And the important meaning for us is that it's our duty to gain the knowledge and to understand. 129 00:14:02,537 --> 00:14:05,946 The duty of understanding is not in the teacher. 130 00:14:06,327 --> 00:14:09,454 It's not their duty to make us understand. 131 00:14:11,645 --> 00:14:17,311 The fact that we don't understand a teaching may vary well and quite often does rest on the students. 132 00:14:18,012 --> 00:14:31,286 And it's therefore our duty to cultivate understanding and to seek out understanding on our own rather than expecting it to come from the teachers. 133 00:14:33,068 --> 00:14:35,290 In other words, we may not 134 00:14:36,367 --> 00:14:43,036 gain what we need from a teacher, because they are not really there for us, as no one really is. 135 00:14:44,177 --> 00:14:54,150 You should never be there for someone else in the sense of existing or acting for someone else's benefit. 136 00:14:54,330 --> 00:14:57,514 That's not really how goodness or 137 00:14:58,642 --> 00:15:00,245 Peace, happiness works. 138 00:15:00,686 --> 00:15:09,964 If you're living for other people, as many teachers often find themselves doing, it's quite stressful, it's harmful, it's unpleasant. 139 00:15:10,946 --> 00:15:18,861 And more importantly, I think, from a point of view of the student, it's unhelpful because it leads to complacency in the student. 140 00:15:20,731 --> 00:15:25,177 And so we see that quite clearly here that Atula was really shirking his responsibility. 141 00:15:25,217 --> 00:15:28,201 These monks were doing their responsibility, even Revata. 142 00:15:29,403 --> 00:15:33,108 He was doing his responsibility in the sense that he was practicing. 143 00:15:33,388 --> 00:15:34,730 And that's what the Buddha makes clear. 144 00:15:35,712 --> 00:15:39,617 His panya and sila were perfect. 145 00:15:39,597 --> 00:15:59,142 He never broke them Atula had no cause to complain Rewata owed him no words of the Dhamma And so if he's not going to teach If he's not going to say anything He's not going to say anything He's still perfect He's still perfect because his practice is perfect 146 00:16:00,455 --> 00:16:11,235 The onus lies on Atula and on the student to get the Dhamma, to find a way to gain the learning themselves. 147 00:16:11,876 --> 00:16:19,510 And often that means to actually practice it instead of obsessively trying to find words of teaching. 148 00:16:21,194 --> 00:16:38,815 We often in modern times seek out too much the pariyattisasana, the intellectual learning, trying to read all the suttas, trying to listen to all the dhamma talks or read all the books written about Buddhism. 149 00:16:38,795 --> 00:16:48,870 And that's because of the pleasure that we get from that, the excitement, the stimulation that we get from the knowledge and from the goodness. 150 00:16:50,012 --> 00:17:00,749 But that is not the same as gaining wisdom and understanding and the habits of clarity and mindfulness that come from actual practice. 151 00:17:00,809 --> 00:17:01,630 It's very different. 152 00:17:01,610 --> 00:17:04,955 And we mistake one for the other. 153 00:17:04,995 --> 00:17:15,790 We mistake the good feeling of reading good things and that they're all good things with the actual goodness of practicing them. 154 00:17:17,513 --> 00:17:19,475 It's quite likely that Atula was in that category. 155 00:17:19,495 --> 00:17:20,597 He didn't really need teaching. 156 00:17:23,311 --> 00:17:36,550 That being said, we can look at the character type of students and I think one thing that is worth noting is that we should sometimes tailor our teachings to individuals. 157 00:17:38,913 --> 00:17:46,163 It's worth noting that for some people a short teaching will be more beneficial, some people a long teaching will be beneficial. 158 00:17:47,594 --> 00:17:54,690 And so it's worth knowing that sometimes one teacher might be more suitable than another. 159 00:17:55,892 --> 00:18:02,667 That if you're going to look for a teacher, you might decide that this teacher is... 160 00:18:02,647 --> 00:18:07,554 This teacher teaches more towards an intellectual crowd like Sariputta. 161 00:18:07,915 --> 00:18:13,743 People who are keen on intellectual Dhamma were more likely to follow Sariputta, I think. 162 00:18:14,644 --> 00:18:20,172 And it's not that Sariputta couldn't teach anyone because he was the most skilled besides the Buddha. 163 00:18:20,192 --> 00:18:20,973 There's no question. 164 00:18:21,835 --> 00:18:26,982 And he taught many people who were not intellectuals, but he still seemed to have an intellectual bent. 165 00:18:27,062 --> 00:18:28,384 And so... 166 00:18:28,364 --> 00:18:32,753 He may have been more beneficial slightly to people who were intellectual. 167 00:18:33,976 --> 00:18:38,345 Whereas Rewata probably was more beneficial to people who were just like, listen, I don't need it. 168 00:18:38,385 --> 00:18:41,151 Just show me how to practice and let me sit in peace. 169 00:18:42,815 --> 00:18:46,923 And people who were intellectual might have had a hard time because they had too many doubts. 170 00:18:47,484 --> 00:18:49,208 They would have had a hard time with Rewata. 171 00:18:52,428 --> 00:19:00,618 So we, to some extent, we should seek out appropriate teacher, but I think it can be misleading to put too much emphasis on that. 172 00:19:01,138 --> 00:19:04,362 Something to note, but not something to be too concerned with. 173 00:19:04,382 --> 00:19:14,334 And I think it's probably more likely we get quite concerned with that looking for the perfect teacher and waste time with a teacher that's good enough. 174 00:19:15,735 --> 00:19:17,237 Because it's not that big of an issue. 175 00:19:18,635 --> 00:19:32,091 The other thing we could point out that's really obvious from this is that as teachers and as practitioners who come into contact with others, we're not always going to be able to reach people. 176 00:19:32,171 --> 00:19:36,636 And sometimes our teachings and our support and our help towards others is wasted. 177 00:19:38,398 --> 00:19:41,502 And I think that's something only the Buddha was able to see fully. 178 00:19:41,682 --> 00:19:45,587 It seems like these three other teachers wasted their time to some extent. 179 00:19:47,002 --> 00:20:13,752 Maybe, maybe not, maybe they were setting him up so that he would go to see the Buddha The commentary might like to say something like that sometimes That they knew they were just setting him up so that he'd go to see the Buddha Maybe, maybe not But nonetheless the Buddha knew exactly what to do That this man, rather than give him a teaching He made him, rather than give him a lesson, he made him the lesson And made a lesson out of him 180 00:20:16,702 --> 00:20:20,367 And so sometimes we have to understand that we're not always going to reach everyone. 181 00:20:21,409 --> 00:20:25,215 And just because we give the truth doesn't mean people are going to appreciate it. 182 00:20:27,578 --> 00:20:31,584 As practitioners, we have to understand that the lack of appreciation is always on us. 183 00:20:33,186 --> 00:20:37,613 Even if the teaching is rotten to the core, if we get upset about it, we're also rotten. 184 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:45,046 Not to speak of the greatness of these arahants and enlightened beings. 185 00:20:46,067 --> 00:20:56,703 That one should then, this is a great evil for Atula to not only feel, not only be upset by them, but to express his upset everywhere he went. 186 00:20:56,723 --> 00:21:05,136 Speaking badly about Revata to Sariputta, speaking badly about Revata and Sariputta to Ananda and then going to the Buddha. 187 00:21:05,116 --> 00:21:15,008 And speaking badly of three very pure individuals To the Buddha, in front of the Buddha In front of everyone who would have been there And to all his friends 188 00:21:16,388 --> 00:21:44,455 So I don't get the sense that Attula had a lot of spiritual potential It doesn't say, and it's remarkable It's remarkably missing from the end of this story Usually at the end it says, well the listener gained greatly And a lot of people gained greatly It doesn't say that for this one It's quite likely that Attula gained nothing And it just ended up being a lesson And the lesson is great, so we have this lesson 189 00:21:45,734 --> 00:21:53,707 The storytelling is showing us some of these qualities of enlightened beings, unenlightened beings and of the Buddha. 190 00:21:55,109 --> 00:22:05,406 The lessons of the verse, first of all, the most prominent and probably the most important is about the lokiya dhamma, about blame. 191 00:22:06,828 --> 00:22:13,058 So if you don't know what the lokiya dhamma are, they're a set of 192 00:22:14,978 --> 00:22:25,579 Dhammas of things that categorize 193 00:22:27,888 --> 00:22:31,834 good and bad things from a worldly perspective. 194 00:22:33,276 --> 00:22:34,478 Lokia means worldly. 195 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:41,429 So they're the eight things that encompass what's good and bad, or what's seen as good and bad in the world. 196 00:22:42,570 --> 00:22:44,353 So we have, they're in pairs. 197 00:22:44,413 --> 00:22:46,236 We have the good and the bad. 198 00:22:46,336 --> 00:22:50,402 We have happiness and suffering. 199 00:22:51,464 --> 00:22:54,148 We have wealth and poverty. 200 00:22:55,124 --> 00:23:00,832 You have fame and whatever the opposite of fame is, being a nobody. 201 00:23:03,014 --> 00:23:04,957 And we have praise and blame. 202 00:23:06,819 --> 00:23:09,082 Blame, no? 203 00:23:09,503 --> 00:23:12,607 Blame is a bad thing from a worldly perspective. 204 00:23:15,191 --> 00:23:17,133 And usually these are taught in terms of that. 205 00:23:18,855 --> 00:23:22,380 In fact, the good and the bad are 206 00:23:24,790 --> 00:23:25,952 neither good nor bad. 207 00:23:27,694 --> 00:23:29,858 They're taught in terms of not clinging to these things. 208 00:23:30,158 --> 00:23:45,060 They're taught in terms of understanding the unpredictable, unreliable nature of these things, that if your happiness depends on happiness, you're going to be unhappy, because you can't always be happy. 209 00:23:46,475 --> 00:23:46,936 Pleasure. 210 00:23:47,337 --> 00:23:55,932 The difference between a philosophical idea of happiness, like contentment or peace, and the actual pleasure. 211 00:23:57,455 --> 00:23:59,659 If we're stuck on pleasure, we're never going to be happy. 212 00:24:01,201 --> 00:24:02,403 Because there's also suffering. 213 00:24:02,444 --> 00:24:04,026 The vicissitudes, they change. 214 00:24:05,249 --> 00:24:06,090 They come in pairs. 215 00:24:06,651 --> 00:24:07,933 You can't have one without the other. 216 00:24:09,897 --> 00:24:10,558 Not forever. 217 00:24:12,057 --> 00:24:15,020 We think fame is great, but we can't always be famous. 218 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:17,762 We think praise is great, but we'll often be blamed. 219 00:24:18,363 --> 00:24:21,746 We think wealth is great, but we'll often be poor. 220 00:24:24,748 --> 00:24:26,910 Or we gain and loss, really. 221 00:24:27,130 --> 00:24:28,191 Those are the two opposites. 222 00:24:28,932 --> 00:24:33,576 We think it's good to get things, but we'll lose them again, and we'll lose as much as we gain. 223 00:24:36,499 --> 00:24:41,423 But the other way to look at them, it's sort of related, but is more in terms of 224 00:24:41,943 --> 00:24:43,225 Don't rely on these things. 225 00:24:45,027 --> 00:24:48,592 Don't rely on them to provide any meaning. 226 00:24:52,538 --> 00:25:02,832 Meaning, if someone is praised, it doesn't mean that they're worth listening to. 227 00:25:02,852 --> 00:25:05,335 It doesn't say anything about their character. 228 00:25:06,968 --> 00:25:07,950 Someone is blamed. 229 00:25:08,010 --> 00:25:10,114 It also doesn't say anything about their character. 230 00:25:10,776 --> 00:25:14,704 Someone is rich or poor or famous or not famous, right? 231 00:25:14,944 --> 00:25:15,686 This is a big one. 232 00:25:16,026 --> 00:25:17,349 Oh, there's a very famous teacher. 233 00:25:17,409 --> 00:25:18,070 It must be good. 234 00:25:19,133 --> 00:25:22,800 Actually, it's not necessarily directly related. 235 00:25:27,117 --> 00:25:35,408 fame and praise, not only are they dangerous to the individual, they're also dangerous to people who see them in other individuals. 236 00:25:36,209 --> 00:25:37,871 Wealth, happiness. 237 00:25:38,913 --> 00:25:41,556 We see someone's very happy, we think, well, they must be enlightened. 238 00:25:41,837 --> 00:25:42,698 Not necessarily. 239 00:25:44,580 --> 00:25:46,703 Happiness can very much be a function of the brain. 240 00:25:46,803 --> 00:25:50,188 And so you might find an Arahant who is very dour, 241 00:25:51,215 --> 00:25:58,269 and maybe even unpleasant to many people because of how serious they are. 242 00:25:58,690 --> 00:26:01,375 And it can be very much just because of their chemical makeup. 243 00:26:03,099 --> 00:26:07,006 Some people just aren't as happy as others, just aren't able to cultivate the pleasure. 244 00:26:07,046 --> 00:26:09,732 The scientists will tell you this. 245 00:26:09,752 --> 00:26:10,894 It's the way the brain works. 246 00:26:15,650 --> 00:26:22,078 And so this is an important lesson for us as Buddhists, as people, as spiritual practitioners. 247 00:26:24,801 --> 00:26:28,225 Don't listen so much to blame, praise. 248 00:26:29,527 --> 00:26:31,770 Of course don't engage in blame. 249 00:26:33,351 --> 00:26:41,201 But when you hear other people blaming a teacher or a person, anyone let's say, don't immediately jump on the bandwagon. 250 00:26:41,802 --> 00:26:42,923 It's not to say that 251 00:26:43,983 --> 00:26:48,768 person who is, it's not to say that the majority is wrong. 252 00:26:50,489 --> 00:26:52,011 Quite often, the majority is right. 253 00:26:52,191 --> 00:26:58,798 And if a lot of people praise someone, it is often a sign that they are worth listening to. 254 00:26:58,938 --> 00:27:01,480 But it's not reliable. 255 00:27:02,582 --> 00:27:11,070 Because the thing about the masses, people in general, is that they're, they're often wrong. 256 00:27:12,569 --> 00:27:15,933 Not that they're always wrong, but that there's a blindness. 257 00:27:17,194 --> 00:27:22,260 The majority of people are, to some extent, spiritually blind. 258 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:28,988 And so it's hit or miss where the stream of society takes you. 259 00:27:30,430 --> 00:27:37,598 If you follow the way most people feel or most people believe, it can be quite misleading. 260 00:27:41,003 --> 00:27:59,008 And so that leads in, that is why really the essence of this teaching is in the next verse, where the Buddha says, That person who the wise prays. 261 00:28:03,615 --> 00:28:07,180 So first of all, we make that distinction. 262 00:28:09,117 --> 00:28:20,813 Yes, praise can be a very good tool for understanding whether someone is worth listening to, worth associating with, but only a certain type of praise. 263 00:28:21,254 --> 00:28:22,315 What kind of praise is that? 264 00:28:22,416 --> 00:28:23,898 The praise of those who are wise. 265 00:28:30,807 --> 00:28:38,398 Again, we shouldn't simply go by praise, but the problem being that we don't know 266 00:28:40,083 --> 00:28:45,971 we're not able to know the nature of all beings. 267 00:28:49,016 --> 00:28:54,343 And so, if you want to know the good of someone, you can often ask wise people. 268 00:28:55,965 --> 00:28:57,508 Ask them, or listen to them. 269 00:28:57,788 --> 00:29:05,439 If a person praises, if a wise person praises another one, then you know, oh, this person is worth listening to, of course. 270 00:29:05,479 --> 00:29:06,360 I mean, that's quite simple. 271 00:29:11,268 --> 00:29:24,346 But I think the important lesson here is not that we should just wait for people to be praised or listen only to people being praised, but the important thing is the shifting of the importance from praise and blame to wisdom. 272 00:29:26,569 --> 00:29:29,913 We shouldn't be concerned with praise or blame, we should be concerned with wisdom. 273 00:29:31,896 --> 00:29:34,980 Because a person who is wise will praise one who is wise, right? 274 00:29:36,125 --> 00:29:42,017 A person who is unwise may praise people who are wise, may praise people who are unwise. 275 00:29:44,483 --> 00:29:50,856 Hit or miss. 276 00:29:50,876 --> 00:29:53,762 And the next part where it says, anu iccha suve suve. 277 00:29:55,261 --> 00:30:04,154 describes the difference, one of the differences between how wise people praise and how ordinary people praise. 278 00:30:05,516 --> 00:30:11,505 A wise person praises someone having observed them day after day. 279 00:30:14,389 --> 00:30:21,159 And so this is an important lesson, a reminder that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. 280 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:23,462 We shouldn't be quick to judgment. 281 00:30:25,265 --> 00:30:37,780 It's very easy to be taken by someone, to be moved by someone. 282 00:30:38,721 --> 00:30:41,485 Oh, they seem very wise or they seem very pure. 283 00:30:42,426 --> 00:30:48,133 They seem very good on first impression. 284 00:30:49,227 --> 00:31:02,328 And that's not nearly as reliable as a careful observation of their habits, their speech, their behavior, their views, day in and day out. 285 00:31:02,929 --> 00:31:10,662 The Buddha said the only way you can really know someone's character, unless you're a Buddha, is by spending time with them. 286 00:31:13,291 --> 00:31:16,498 Something you can only learn by observing. 287 00:31:17,279 --> 00:31:20,967 That it's deeper than simply how they speak, how they present themselves. 288 00:31:22,530 --> 00:31:31,890 All of that can be faked, can be taken on, can be affected. 289 00:31:33,305 --> 00:31:35,908 Affected in the sense that it's an affectation. 290 00:31:35,968 --> 00:31:41,715 It's just an artificially constructed or cultivated quality. 291 00:31:42,576 --> 00:31:48,383 People who speak very well are often very entertaining, very inspiring. 292 00:31:51,387 --> 00:31:56,493 I listen to inspirational speakers who are very inspiring and you're moved by them. 293 00:31:57,014 --> 00:32:01,860 But you think about what they said and you realize, oh wait, that's not right. 294 00:32:03,038 --> 00:32:04,320 It's not true what they said. 295 00:32:06,103 --> 00:32:12,372 It is possible to be a very skilled orator and teach people all the wrong things, mislead them. 296 00:32:13,654 --> 00:32:23,148 It's much more common to teach them nothing, to sound good but offer them no benefit from it. 297 00:32:23,168 --> 00:32:24,490 Powerful orators. 298 00:32:32,654 --> 00:32:34,818 We must go deeper. 299 00:32:36,220 --> 00:32:53,228 And it kind of points to the rest of the verse or the rest of that verse in terms of the qualities of someone who we should listen to, who we should respect and who we should aim to be are much more than someone who people praise. 300 00:32:55,300 --> 00:33:02,629 And they are much more than just appearing to be good. 301 00:33:04,251 --> 00:33:12,361 They are qualities that are deep and involving the core of our being. 302 00:33:15,545 --> 00:33:18,509 Specifically what the Buddha says here is panya and sila. 303 00:33:20,311 --> 00:33:23,535 What we should aim for and what we should try to emulate 304 00:33:25,388 --> 00:33:30,475 are the qualities of wisdom and behavior. 305 00:33:32,737 --> 00:33:36,442 What the Buddha often in other places called vidya and charana. 306 00:33:38,645 --> 00:33:42,410 Vidya means knowledge, charana means conduct. 307 00:33:44,913 --> 00:33:46,595 But the meaning is panya and sila. 308 00:33:46,615 --> 00:33:49,839 Panya meaning wisdom, not just knowledge of anything. 309 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:54,906 It means wisdom, knowledge of the truth, understanding of the truth. 310 00:33:56,303 --> 00:34:01,033 And charana doesn't just mean conduct, it means ethical conduct, sila. 311 00:34:04,239 --> 00:34:14,160 Panyasila samahitam, someone should be a faultless character endowed with wisdom and ethics. 312 00:34:18,123 --> 00:34:32,023 So wisdom encompasses all the mental qualities of clarity and understanding, our ability to see things as they are, that walking is just walking, standing is just standing, pain is just pain. 313 00:34:33,084 --> 00:34:35,929 Thoughts are just thoughts and our emotions are just emotions. 314 00:34:37,871 --> 00:34:42,578 Seeing them as they are, seeing them as impermanent, unsatisfying, uncontrollable, 315 00:34:44,195 --> 00:34:55,948 Wisdom involves the clarity that frees us from clinging, frees us from the desire, the craving, the seeking out of satisfaction in things that can't satisfy us. 316 00:34:59,172 --> 00:35:08,262 Character is the other side of the coin that shows that this wisdom is internal, is deep, is intrinsic to us. 317 00:35:10,199 --> 00:35:21,513 Because when you talk about all these good concepts of understanding and so on, it's very easy to affect that, to claim that, to speak as though you understood that. 318 00:35:23,054 --> 00:35:29,722 But the only way it can be clearly seen that someone has understood the Dhamma is through their actions, of course. 319 00:35:31,925 --> 00:35:33,507 Sure, it's possible that someone might 320 00:35:34,820 --> 00:35:38,166 act in a spiritual way without actually being spiritual. 321 00:35:38,948 --> 00:35:42,515 You might see someone sitting quietly in meditation and think that they're enlightened. 322 00:35:43,557 --> 00:35:55,900 It turns out that their mind is scattered or, or could just be engaged in peaceful states that have nothing to do with the cultivation of wisdom. 323 00:35:57,095 --> 00:36:05,664 On the other hand, a person might know everything, having studied the Buddhist teachings, having listened to the Buddhist teachings, but never practiced it themselves. 324 00:36:05,824 --> 00:36:07,405 So they know everything, but they know nothing. 325 00:36:10,448 --> 00:36:22,140 And it's only when you see these two come together, the actual behavior, which is including speech, the things they say, the way they talk, the way they act, the way they walk, the way they talk, 326 00:36:24,365 --> 00:36:31,067 the way they think by only observing all of that and observing it suwe suwe day after day, tomorrow after tomorrow, it says. 327 00:36:33,680 --> 00:36:40,107 again and again, day in and day out, that you can really know the true character of a person. 328 00:36:40,928 --> 00:36:45,593 And more importantly, who really cares, right? 329 00:36:46,394 --> 00:36:53,481 What's so important about knowing other people's good qualities, perfections and imperfections? 330 00:36:54,562 --> 00:37:03,552 We shouldn't be obsessed with other people's faults 331 00:37:06,046 --> 00:37:08,355 We shouldn't be obsessed with what they've done and not done. 332 00:37:10,764 --> 00:37:16,967 People who are obsessed with criticizing others often have very strong character flaws themselves. 333 00:37:18,668 --> 00:37:19,950 And they often mask them. 334 00:37:20,871 --> 00:37:31,227 It's often a reaction to them to their own character flaws that they lash out at others because they themselves are feeling inadequate. 335 00:37:32,369 --> 00:37:38,297 We quite often lash out, because we're so critical of ourselves, seeing our own faults. 336 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:44,727 Our reaction rather than deal with them, be honest with ourselves, is to 337 00:37:46,512 --> 00:37:47,493 be critical of others. 338 00:37:48,415 --> 00:37:51,119 So Atula was probably in this category. 339 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:56,727 He was probably not very happy about himself and certainly not very settled in his own mind. 340 00:37:56,827 --> 00:38:00,832 And so he took to belittling others. 341 00:38:01,093 --> 00:38:05,539 Of course, when we belittle others, it serves to boost our self-esteem. 342 00:38:07,422 --> 00:38:09,685 We're not the only one who's imperfect. 343 00:38:14,744 --> 00:38:32,882 I think the biggest lesson here implicitly is that we shouldn't obsess about self-esteem. 344 00:38:33,463 --> 00:38:37,367 We shouldn't obsess about better, worse, good, bad. 345 00:38:38,288 --> 00:38:43,333 We certainly shouldn't scold and we shouldn't blame other people, speak badly about them to others. 346 00:38:46,165 --> 00:38:48,588 we shouldn't be moved by the blame of others. 347 00:38:51,231 --> 00:38:59,662 A very good example of these Arahants who were certainly not moved by the blame that was piled upon them. 348 00:39:01,464 --> 00:39:07,431 And the Buddha who wasn't moved by the blame, the Buddha could have easily said, oh, well, 349 00:39:09,503 --> 00:39:12,809 If those guys aren't going to teach you right, must be something wrong with them. 350 00:39:13,049 --> 00:39:14,011 Yeah. 351 00:39:14,031 --> 00:39:16,756 I'm sorry that they were incompetent. 352 00:39:17,077 --> 00:39:18,058 I'll try and teach you. 353 00:39:19,801 --> 00:39:21,364 He was unmoved, of course. 354 00:39:22,025 --> 00:39:23,208 Of course. 355 00:39:23,228 --> 00:39:29,098 There's no way the Buddha was going to entertain the blame of his chief disciples. 356 00:39:31,508 --> 00:39:32,530 But it's a good example. 357 00:39:32,550 --> 00:39:39,161 It's a reminder to us not to be moved by the blame of others on ourselves, which is a very important lesson. 358 00:39:39,181 --> 00:39:45,412 Not to be upset or angered or belittled by other people's blame. 359 00:39:46,414 --> 00:39:50,421 But also not to be moved by the blame that they pile on other people. 360 00:39:51,102 --> 00:39:54,107 You hear some criticism of someone else, well, consider the source. 361 00:39:55,792 --> 00:39:57,594 Is it a wise person who's saying this? 362 00:39:57,875 --> 00:40:02,360 If it's a wise person, they probably wouldn't spend too much time criticizing others. 363 00:40:02,641 --> 00:40:16,378 It's not really the way of wise people to waste their time criticizing, to engage in such harmful practices, unless it's really important and really necessary. 364 00:40:16,879 --> 00:40:24,769 No, it's not to say, right, that a wise person won't criticize or blame someone, but they would have a really good reason to. 365 00:40:26,335 --> 00:40:31,163 They would do it wisely without any desire to hurt the person who they're criticizing. 366 00:40:39,797 --> 00:40:43,062 We shouldn't be moved by blame or praise. 367 00:40:45,708 --> 00:40:49,093 We shouldn't be moved to be praised. 368 00:40:50,154 --> 00:40:52,597 Our practice should not be about other people praising us. 369 00:40:52,698 --> 00:40:54,740 If I act like this, people will love me more. 370 00:40:55,782 --> 00:40:56,543 Maybe, maybe not. 371 00:40:57,344 --> 00:41:00,408 Sometimes the love of others is a fickle thing. 372 00:41:03,132 --> 00:41:05,655 The most important lesson here, I think, is about self-esteem. 373 00:41:06,096 --> 00:41:07,278 It's not the direct lesson. 374 00:41:08,399 --> 00:41:12,745 The direct lesson is don't scold others, I think. 375 00:41:14,868 --> 00:41:24,685 But more importantly, the real direct lesson is that blame is not something that you can rely upon. 376 00:41:26,729 --> 00:41:28,131 That everyone gets blamed. 377 00:41:28,151 --> 00:41:31,297 It's a reminder that people might blame us even if we're doing the right thing. 378 00:41:32,298 --> 00:41:35,003 Just because people blame you doesn't mean you're doing the wrong thing. 379 00:41:36,535 --> 00:41:40,719 And that blame is a very dangerous thing to cling to. 380 00:41:41,480 --> 00:41:42,361 Blame or praise. 381 00:41:43,302 --> 00:41:46,605 When we cling to it, it causes great stress and suffering. 382 00:41:46,625 --> 00:41:52,691 When we engage in it, when we cling to it, whether people are blaming us or someone else. 383 00:41:54,492 --> 00:41:59,597 So an important verse to remember, it's one that you often hear Buddhist teachers bring up. 384 00:41:59,918 --> 00:42:00,258 Ah, yes. 385 00:42:01,119 --> 00:42:04,602 No one in the world is free from blame. 386 00:42:05,138 --> 00:42:05,820 It's a reminder. 387 00:42:06,362 --> 00:42:10,013 You hear someone blaming someone else, you say, well, I blame everyone. 388 00:42:10,053 --> 00:42:12,682 It doesn't necessarily mean there's anything wrong with that person. 389 00:42:15,711 --> 00:42:17,717 So, that's the Dhammapada for tonight. 390 00:42:18,239 --> 00:42:19,182 Thank you all for listening.