Chapter 43
YÈvatatiyaÒ ca devÊsi,
vyÈkarotÊ ti me sutaÑ.
Twice have I put my questions to the Buddha of Sakyan descent, but the
Possessor of the Five Eyes, has not replied to me. I have heard it said that the
Buddha answers, out of compassion, at the third time.
Ayam loko paro loko,
BrahmÈ loko sadevako;
diÔÔhiÑ te nÈbhijÈnÈti,
Gotamassa yasassino.
Neither this human world nor the world of devas and Brahmas understand
the view held by Buddha Gotama of great fame and following.
EvaÑ abhikkantadassÈviÑ,
aÔÔhi paÒhena ÈgamaÑ;
katham lokaÑ avekkhantaÑ,
maccurÈjÈ na passati.
To ‘the One-who-sees-the-excellent-Dhamma’ (i.e. the Knower of the inner
tendencies (
Èsaya
), supreme release (
adhimutti
), destinies (
gati
) and NibbÈna
(
pÈrÈyana
), etc. of the sentient world), we have come to ask a question:
howsoever should one perceive the world so that
mÈra
cannot see him (any
more)? (By what manner of perceiving the conditioned world, does one attain
arahatship which is liberation from death?)
To the question contained in the second half of MogarÈja's three stanzas above, the
Buddha replied:
SuÒÒato lokaÑ avekkhassu,
MogharÈja sadÈ sato.
AttÈnudiÔÔhiÑ |hacca,
evaÑ maccutaro siyÈ.
EvaÑ lokaÑ avekkhantaÑ
maccurÈjÈ na passati.
MogharÈja, be mindful all the time, and abandoning the wrong view
concerning the five aggregates, i.e. the delusion of self, perceive the world
(animate or inanimate) as naught, as empty. By perceiving thus, one should
be liberated from
mÈra
(Death). One who perceives the world thus cannot be
seen by
mÈra
.
——
Sutta NipÈta, v. 1126. ——
(The wrong view of a personal identity as ‘oneself’ which is the mistaken concept
of the present body,
sakkÈyadiÔÔhi
, must be discarded and all conditioned
phenomena should be viewed as insubstantial not-self (
anatta
), and in truth and
reality, a mere nothingness. When this right perception has struck root, Death is
conquered. When
arahatta-phala
is realised, the
arahat
passes beyond the domain
of death (
mÈra
). ‘Passing beyond Death's domain’ is a metaphor which means
attainment of arahatship. This stanza has as its main object, the attainment of
arahatship.)
After hearing this stanza which culminated in
arahatta-phala
, MogharÈja and his one
thousand followers attained arahatship, as did the previous pupils of BÈvÈrÊ. They were
‘Called-up
bhikkhus
’. Thousands among the audience gained
magga-phala
at various levels,
too.