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Dhamma Talk
Monday, May 03, 2004
Legend of the Anandabodhi Tree & Progressive Grades of Merits Special Dhamma Talk 03-05-04 By Venerable Aggacitta Venue: SBS Special occasion: Wesak Day The word Wesak is derived from the Pali word, Visakha because on Wesak night, the full moon is di-rectly aligned above our head with the Visakha constellation of stars in the sky. Yesterday night, Ven Kumara explained to us that Wesak is also the day Siddhattha Gotama became enlightened. After his supreme enlight-enment, he went to Savatthi where Anathapindika, a rich man, heard his sermon and achieved the first stage of enlightenment. He then offered a piece of orchard land to the Buddha and built Jetavana Monastery there. The Buddha spent many vassas in this monastery. Vassa is the rainy season period where monks are required to spend 3 months practising intensively in one place and not travel about. Legend of Anandabodhi Tree The people of Savatthi were therefore fortunate to frequently meet with the Buddha, listen to his dis-courses and perform dana. However, according to the Commentary to KalingaBodhi Jataka ( Ja 479), when the Buddha was not at Jetavana Monastery, the lay people who could not meet him were very disappointed. Ana-thapindika approached Ven Ananda, one of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, and asked him for a solution to this problem. Ven Ananda then asked the Buddha how many types of cetiya (pagoda) there were to represent the Buddha as an object of worship for the lay people when he was not around. During the Buddha’s time, people did not draw portraits of the Buddha or create statues in his image. They felt that to do so would be an insult to him as the Buddha was a perfectly formed being and nothing cre-ated by man would be able to do justice to his image. In fact, for a few hundred years after his parinibbana , no such objects were created. The Buddha said that 3 types of cetiya could represent him:
Please bear in mind that what I have just mentioned is not found in the Pali Canon but is based on the Jataka Commentary. The Buddha further said that since the third cetiya would not be able to invoke much faith among the lay people, the second cetiya was the preferred one. However, the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha gained enlightenment was located in Bodhagaya, which was far away from Savatthi. Ven Ananda then requested the Buddha for permission to transplant a seed from this tree to Savatthi. The Buddha gave his consent. Ven Ananda asked Ven Moggallana (the foremost dis-ciple of the Buddha who was known for his psychic powers) to obtain a seed for him using his psychic abilities. Moggallana then collected the seed from the Bodhi tree and carried it in his robes to Savatthi. King Pasenadi, Anathapindika, Visakha and all the people of Savatthi were informed of the date of planting the seed. It was to be planted beside the main door inside Jetavana Monastery. A golden flowerpot was prepared. King Pasenadi was invited to plant the seed. However, being the wise man he was, King Pasenadi declined from doing so, saying, “I won’t be king forever. Better let Anathapindika plant it.” Why did he say that? If he were to plant it, a future rival king might chop it down in anger and pride. It was thus better for a lay person to do it. Anathapindika was then requested to plant the seed. The Commentary states that the moment the seed was planted, it sprouted into a tree 75 feet tall with a canopy diameter of 150 feet! I do not know whether you will be able to believe this magical occurrence. How-ever, do bear in mind that this was not stated by the Buddha. Upon seeing the miracle of the sprouting tree, King Pasenadi’s faith was intensified. He conducted many pujas and surrounded the tree with blooming lotuses in golden pots, which were sprinkled with scented water. The railings around the tree were made of gold. The soil at the base of the tree was a mixture of sand and gold dust. The whole area was further fenced up using cloth incorporated with diamonds and precious stones. Anathapindika then invited the Buddha to make use of the Bodhi tree by meditating under it in order to enhance the sacredness of the tree. The Buddha then meditated under the tree for one night. Many people who go for Buddhist pilgrimages to India will visit the Jetavana Monastery in Savatthi where they can see the Anandabodhi tree, so called because the planting was initiated by Ven Ananda. How-ever, it has been more than 2,500 years since the Buddha’s Parinibbana and no one really knows if this is still the original tree. Buddhism also underwent a period of decline in India during which the Jetavana Monastery was neglected and became almost a jungle. It was only in the 19th Century that certain Buddhist scholars ap-proached the Indian government for permission to restore and repair this holy area. It has only been re-opened to the public recently. S. Dhammika wrote a book on Buddhist pilgrimages to India and questioned how the original Anand-abodhi tree at Jetavana Monastery could have survived all this devastation. Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, the Commentary stated that the tree was planted beside the main gate while the current Anandabodhi tree is ac-tually found somewhere further away. According to the 1999 edition of Eicher Guide, Walking with the Buddha—Buddhist Pilgrimages in India, which was verified by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, the Anandabodhi tree was brought as a cutting from the Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. The history of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka began when Ven Mahinda, the son of King Asoka of India, who had achieved Arahanthood, was sent by his father to propagate Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The king of Sri Lanka embraced Buddhism and requested for the Buddha’s relic and the Bodhi tree. King Asoka then arranged to transplant the southern branch of the Bodhi tree from Bodhagaya to Anuradhapura. Thus, the Anandabodhi tree is actually the second-generation Bodhi tree of the original Bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. This book also mentioned that the Bodhi tree currently found in Bodhagaya is not the original Bodhi tree because it had been destroyed many times (at least 5 times) and replanted over the years. It is said that the Bodhi tree found in Bodhagaya currently is a branch from the Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura, i.e. another second-generation tree. The Bodhi tree we are going to plant a little while later is from the seed of the present Anand-abodhi in the Jetavana Monastery, i.e. a third generation tree. In Sri Lanka, the people there like to venerate the Bodhi tree. Many influential and prominent Buddhist personalities like to associate and live near a Bodhi tree Progressive Grades of Merits How to do dana effectively Many people in Malaysia like to perform dana to gain merits. Velama Sutta (AN 3:193) tells us how we can gain different kinds of merits from the act of dana. Once when the Buddha was staying at Jetavana Mon-astery, Anathapindika approached and the Buddha asked him whether he had already given dana at his home. Now Anathapindika was a well-known philanthropist who helped everyone including monks, the common folk, travelers, beggars and so on. He replied that he had already done so, but the alms food was not of good qual-ity—just broken rice and a sour dish. The Buddha said that whenever we perform dana, we gain merits regardless of the quality of the food given. However, if dana is done 1. Improperly then when the kamma ripens, such as striking first prize in a lottery, one would have no desire to spend or enjoy the profits gained. Furthermore, as the dana was given disrespectfully, one will get disrespect in return, e.g. fam-ily members and employees will not respect one or listen to one’s instructions. Let me illustrate with a few ex-amples. DutiyaAputtaka Sutta (SN 3:20) recounts the story of a man in Savatthi who died without leaving an heir. The custom of that time stated that when one dies without leaving an heir, all his property goes to the king. The king immediately took possession of his property and was surprised to find many barrels of gold and valu-ables buried under his house. However, the dead man was a well-known miser who wore rags, used old and broken-down bullock-carts and ate the cheapest grade of rice with a sour dish (maybe similar to fermented soy paste) only. Even though he was a millionaire, he was not inclined to use even a tiny part of his vast wealth to enjoy the pleasures of the senses while he was alive. This was because he performed dana improperly in a past life. Payasi Sutta (DN 23) tells of a king called Payasi, who did not believe in kamma and rebirth. To him, death is the ultimate end of life. One day he went to see a monk called Ven Kumarakassapa who tried to con-vince him about the facts of kamma and rebirth by giving him many examples. Eventually, he succeeded. The king returned home and instructed his servants to perform dana (food and clothing) to renunciates, beggars and needy people. However because his faith was not strong, he only gave away cloth that was torn and tattered and food that was of inferior quality. After arranging for the dana to be given, his servant Uttara said, “By this dana let me meet up with King Payasi in this world only, but not in the next.” Word got back to the king who summoned Uttara and asked him why he said such things. “We who desire merits expect the fruits of dana, don’t we?” asked the king. Uttara commented that the dana items were of such poor quality that the king would not even touch them with his feet, let alone use them. “Master, you are dear to us,” he continued. “How can we associate what is dear with what is not dear?” King Payasi accepted his explanation and instructed Uttara to give away the type of things that the king himself used. Uttara believed in kamma and performed dana properly, respectfully, with his own hands and continually regardless of whether the recipients were honourable monks or lowly beggars. When he passed away, King Payasi was born in an empty celestial mansion in the Realm of the 4 Great Kings. Now at that time Ven Gavampati, through his psychic ability, used to frequent the empty celestial man-sion in the Realm of the 4 Great Kings to stay for the day. One day he met the deva Payasi there who told him that Uttara, his servant from his previous life, had been reborn in Tavatimsa Heaven where life was even better. When questioned, Payasi said that this was so because even though the dana was given by him, he did not do it properly, respectfully, with his own hands and continually like Uttara. Our devotees here should take note of this when performing dana. You should not only donate the food but should participate in the act of dana itself. Otherwise don’t complain if your representative is reborn in a higher deva realm than you in the next life! Furthermore, you should not insist on offering the food you your-selves brought but should try to evoke the mental qualities mentioned above even when offering food brought by others. Story of Velama Brahmin Let’s come back to Velama Sutta. The Buddha said that once upon a time the brahmin Velama per-formed a great dana. He gave 84,000 gold plates of silver coins; 84,000 silver plates of gold coins; 84,000 bronze plates of jewels; 84,000 elephants decorated with gold ornaments, flags and so forth; 84,000 chariots decorated with lion hides, tiger hides, panther hides and expensive blankets; 84,000 decorated cows; 84,000 girls dressed up in full make up; 84,000 seats spread with quality furs, rugs and carpets; and 84,000 cloaks made of various fine materials. “What more to speak of food, drinks, and so forth? They were as abundant as the waters of a river,” said the Buddha. “You may wonder who that brahmin was. He was I. But at that time no one purified my dana. There was no one who was worthy of my offerings.” This was because during that time, there was no Sangha in existence as it was not a Buddha era. There was no Buddha Dhamma and no one to teach Buddhist meditation. Velama only knew how to perform dana and keep the precepts. In comparison, the merits gained by offering a single meal to a sotapanna would exceed what Velama gained from the great dana he performed. If the same meal was offered to a sakadagami, an anagami, an ara-hant, a Paccekabuddha, or a Sammasambuddha, the merits gained would multiply by more than 100 times each step of the way. Even more meritorious than giving a meal to one Sammasambuddha is that given to the Bhik-khu Sangha headed by the Sammasambuddha. If a devotee builds a monastery and offers it to the Bhikkhu Sangha of the four directions, the merits gained far surpasses all these. More meritorious than dana And if one accepts the Three Refuges, upholds the Five Precepts, radiates loving kindness to all beings even for as short a period as it takes to milk a cow (one pull of the udder), develops the perception of imperma-nence even for a fraction of a second (the time it takes for the eye to blink once), the merits obtained are pro-gressively greater. Last night we radiated loving-kindness for 15 minutes; so you can imagine how great are the merits gained from doing that. Today, you have offered dana, taken the 3 Refuges, undertaken the 5 Precepts and later on will be re-leasing captive animals. If we follow this up with the practice of vipassana meditation, the merits gained will be enormous. Let us also remember to share our merits. SBS
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