Morality ( 3rd, 4th and 5th Step )
Having thus left the world, he fulfills the rules of the monks.
He
avoids the killing of living beings and abstains from it.
Without
stick or sword, conscientious, full of sympathy, he is anxious for the
welfare of all living beings.
He avoids stealing, and abstains from
taking what is not given to him.
Only what is given to him he takes,
waiting till it is given; and he lives with a heart honest and
pure.
He avoids unchastity, living chaste, resigned, and keeping aloof
from sexual intercourse, the vulgar way.
He avoids lying and
abstains from it. He speaks the truth, is devoted to the truth,
reliable, worthy of confidence, is not a deceiver of men.
He avoids
tale-bearing and abstains from it. What he has heard here, he does not
repeat there, so as to cause dissension there; and what he has heard
there, he does not repeat here, so as to cause dissension here.
Thus
he unites those that are divided, and those that are united he
encourages; concord gladdens him, he delights and rejoices in concord,
and it is concord that he spreads by his words.
He avoids harsh
language and abstains from it.
He speaks such words as are gentle,
soothing to the ear, loving, going to the heart, courteous and dear,
and agreeable to many.
He avoids vain talk and abstains from it. He
speaks at the right time, in accordance with facts, speaks what is
useful, speaks about the law and the disciple; his speech is like a
treasure, at the right moment accompanied by arguments, moderate,
and full of sense.
He keeps aloof from dance, song, music and the visiting of shows;
rejects flowers, perfumes, ointments, as well as every kind of
adornment and embellishment.
High and gorgeous beds he does not use.
Gold and silver he does not accept. Raw corn and meat he does not
accept. Women and girls he does not accept.
He owns no male and female
slaves, owns no goats, sheep, fowls, pigs, elephants, cows or
horses, no land and goods.
He does not go on errands and do the duties
of a messenger.
He keeps aloof from buying and selling things.
He
has nothing to do with false measures, metals and weights.
He avoids
the crooked ways of bribery, deception and fraud.
He keeps aloof
from stabbing, beating, chaining, attacking, plundering and
oppressing.
He contents himself with the robe that protects his body, and with
the alms with which he keeps himself alive.
Wherever he goes, he is
provided with these two things; just as a winged bird, in flying,
carries his wings along with him.
By fulfilling this noble Domain of
Morality he feels in his heart an irreproachable happiness.
Control of The Sences ( 6th Step )
Now, in perceiving a form with the eye - a sound with the ear - an
odor with the nose - a taste with the tongue - a touch with the body - an
object with his mind, he sticks neither to the whole, nor to its
details.
And he tries to ward off that which, by being unguarded in
his senses, might give rise to evil and unwholesome states, to greed
and sorrow; he watches over his senses, keep his senses under control.
By practicing this noble "Control of the Senses" he feels in his heart
an unblemished happiness.
Attentiveness and
Clear Consciousness
( 7th Step )
Clearly conscious is he in his going and coming;
clearly conscious
in looking forward and backward;
clearly conscious in bending and
stretching his body;
clearly conscious in eating, drinking, chewing
and tasting;
dearly conscious in discharging excrement and urine;
clearly conscious in walking, standing, sitting, falling asleep and
awakening;
clearly conscious in speaking and keeping silent.
Now, being equipped with this lofty Morality, equipped with this
noble Control of the Senses, and filled with this noble "Attentiveness
and Clear Consciousness, he chooses a secluded dwelling in the forest,
at the foot of a tree, on a mountain, in a cleft, in a rock cave, on a
burial ground, on a woody table-land, in the open air, or on a heap of
straw.
Having returned from his alms-round, after the meal, he sits
himself down with legs crossed, body erect, with attentiveness fixed
before him.
Absence of the Five Hindrances
He has cast away Lust; he dwells with a heart free from lust; from
lust he cleanses his heart.
He has cast away Ill-will; he dwells with a heart free from
ill-will; cherishing love and compassion toward all living beings,
he cleanses his heart from ill-will.
He has cast away Torpor and Dullness; he dwells free from torpor and
dullness; loving the light, with watchful mind, with clear
consciousness, he cleanses his mind from torpor and dullness.
He has cast away Restlessness and Mental Worry; dwelling with mind
undisturbed, with heart full of peace, he cleanses his mind from
restlessness and mental worry.
He has cast away Doubt; dwelling free from doubt, full of confidence
in the good, he cleanses his heart from doubt.
The Trances ( 8th Step )
He has put aside these five Hindrances and come to know the
paralyzing corruptions of the mind. And far from sensual
impressions, far from unwholesome things, he enters into the Four
Trances.
Insight ( 1st Step )
But whatsoever there is of feeling, perception, mental formation, or
consciousness-all these phenomena he regards as "impermanent,"
"subject to pain," as infirm, as an ulcer, a thorn, a misery, a
burden, an enemy, a disturbance, as empty and "void of an Ego"; and
turning away from these things, he directs his mind towards the
abiding, thus:
"This, verily, is the Peace, this is the Highest,
namely the end of all formations, the forsaking of every substratum of
rebirth, the fading away of craving; detachment, extinction: Nirvana."
And in this state he reaches the "Cessation of Passions."
Nirvana
And his heart becomes free from sensual passion, free from the
passion for existence, free from the passion of ignorance.
"Freed am
I!": this knowledge arises in the liberated one; and he knows:
"Exhausted is rebirth, fulfilled the Holy Life; what was to be done,
has been done; naught remains more for this world to do."
Forever am I liberated,
This is the last time that I'm born,
No new existence waits for me.
This, verily, is the highest, holiest wisdom: to know that all
suffering has passed away.
This, verily, is the highest, holiest peace: appeasement of greed,
hatred and delusion.
The Silent Thinker
"I am" is a vain thought; "I am not" a vain thought; "I shall be" is
a vain thought; "I shall not be" is a vain thought.
Vain thoughts
are a sickness, an ulcer, a thorn.
But after overcoming all vain
thoughts, one is called silent thinker."
And the thinker, the Silent
One, does no more arise, no more pass away, no more tremble, no more
desire.
For there is nothing in him that he should arise again.
And as
he arises no more, how should he grow old again?
And as he grows no
more old, how should he die again?
And as he dies no more, how
should he tremble?
And as he trembles no more, how should he have
desire?
The True Goal
Hence, the purpose of the Holy Life does not consist in acquiring
alms, honor, or fame, nor in gaining morality, concentration, or the
eye of knowledge.
That unshakable deliverance of the heart: that,
verily, is the object of the Holy Life, that is its essence, that is
its goal.
And those, who formerly, in the past, were Holy and Enlightened
Ones, those Blessed Ones also have pointed out to their disciples this
self-same goal, as has been pointed out by me to my disciples.
And
those, who afterwards, in the future, will be Holy and Enlightened
Ones, those Blessed Ones also will point out to their disciples this
self-same goal, as has been pointed out by me to my disciples.
However, Disciples, it may be that ( after my passing away ) you
might think:
"Gone is the doctrine of our Master. We have no Master any more."
But you should not think; for the Law and the Discipline, which
I have taught you, Will, after my death, be your master.
The Law be your light,
The Law be your refuge!
Do not look for any other refuge!
Disciples, the doctrines, which I advised you to penetrate, you
should well preserve, well guard, so that this Holy Life may take
its course and continue for ages, for the weal and welfare of the
many, as a consolation to the world, for the happiness, weal and
welfare of heavenly beings and men.
THE END