THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS
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that Bhaddiya was still a learner. (On a later day) the Venerable SÈriputta preached to him
in detail, how to reach arahatship, by doubling the length of the sermon and touching upon
many points, just as a very generous donor, when asked for a little, would lavishly give
more than what was required. On his part, LakuÓÉaka Bhaddiya did not react by thinking:
‚Now that l have done my duty as a monk, what is the use of this preaching of his,‛ instead
he listened to the preaching as before with all reverence to the Dhamma (
dhamma-garava
).
Seeing the situation, the Buddha, staying at the Jetavana monastery of Savatthi, uttered a
solemn utterance by means of His supernormal power so that Venerable SÈriputta might
come to know of the destruction of moral defilements by the Venerable Lakundaka
Bhaddiya:
Acchecchi vaÔÔaÑ vyagÈ nirÈsaÑ
visukkhÈ saritÈ'na sandati.
ChinnaÑ vaÔÔaÑ na yattati
eseva'nto dukkhassa.
In an
arahat
, who has destroyed
Èsavas
, the round of moral defilement
(
kilesa
-
vaÔÔa
) is cut off. [Note that the cutting of the round of moral
defilement leads to that of the round of actions (
kamma-vatta
).] An
arahat,
who has destroyed
Èsavas,
reached the wonderful bliss of NibbÈna that is
free from craving. In an
arahat
who has destroyed
Èsavas,
the morally
defiling river of craving that has flowed steadily has been dried up by the
fourth sun of
arahatta-magga
in the way the five great rivers were, because
of the rising of the fourth sun when the world was on the verge of
devolution. (Craving (
taÓhÈ
), is the cause of suffering,
samudaya
-
sacca
.
Therefore, the elimination of craving means the elimination of all kinds of
passion. Hence craving (
taÓhÈ
), is emphasised here.) By no means does the
river-like craving flow any longer. The round of action that has been cut, the
way the tree is uprooted, never repeats its being. (Note that the cutting of the
round of action gives rise to that of the round of results (
vipÈka-vaÔÔa
) that
might otherwise take place in future.) The absence of the round of result due
to the cutting of the round of passion and actions, is the end of suffering.
(This is an extract from the second LakuÓÉaka Bhaddiya Sutta, C|la-vagga, UdÈna
PÈli.)
The Venerable LakuÓÉaka Bhaddiya's Virtues preached by The Buddha
Once, while the Buddha was staying at Jetavana, SÈvatthi, a large number of
bhikkhu
visited Him. At that time, Venerable LakuÓÉaka Bhaddya, after going on alms-round with
many other monks in a village, having finished his meal, washed his alms bowl, dried it,
put it in its bag, carried it on his shoulder by means of a sling. He folded his outer garment
and put it on his left shoulder. He had all forms of pleasant deportment, such as stepping
forward, stepping backward, looking straightforward, looking sideward, bending,
stretching, and casting down his eyes. He set out on foot to the Buddha with his mind well
concentrated by both mindfulness (
sati
) and clear consciousness (
sampajaÒÒa
) treading on
the fore footstep with the hind footstep.
When he went thus, he did not mix with others but followed behind them. Reason: he led
a solitary life (
eka-cÈrÊ
). Another explanation: his ugly dwarfish body structure brought
jeers and contempt from such worldly monks as Chabbaggiya-bhikkhus (the Band of Six).
Remembering this, the considerate Venerable thought: ‚May these few worldly monks not
develop unwholesomeness, on account of me!‛ Hence his following behind them. In this
manner, these
bhikkhus
and the Venerable arrived in SÈvatthi and entered the Jetavana
monastery and approached where the Buddha was.
Seeing from a distance the pleasant deportment of the Venerable who was following
behind the monks, it occurred to the Buddha thus: ‚These monks do not know the greatness
of might of my son. Therefore, some of these worldly monks have overwhelmed my son
with contempt and jeers. Such actions would bring them no benefit but cause suffering for
long. Now, the time has come for me to reveal the virtues of my son to them and thereby