DHAMMA PADETHA – 15. EMANCIPATION ONLY THROUGH DHAMMA
DHAMMA PADETHA – EMANCIPATION ONLY THROUGH DHAMMA
Every wise individual tries to protect oneself from harm before it befalls him. If it is inevitable he tries to protect himself with his physical strength, intelligence, or with his wealth to the utmost of his ability. If he cannot protect himself he has to ask the help of other people who can protect him.
By taking precautions with all the abilities, some dangers can be prevented. But some dangers cannot be prevented. Therefore, it causes sorrow and lamentation. Only if one knows the dangers that cannot be prevented beforehand, can one alleviate with dhamma. Only through dhamma can one be emancipated.
Natural phenomena which nobody can take the responsibility of preventing are: four kinds:
(1) Jaradhamma – old age (danger of)
(2) Vyadhidhamma – sickness (danger of)
(3) Maranadhamma – death (danger of)
(4) Papakammavipaka – bad kamma (results of unwholesome past actions) (Am 1/491)
(1) Old age – No body wishes to encounter old age. They wish to prevent it as much as possible. On the contrary, even the most wonderful development of science cannot prevent it. No psychic or supernormal powers can prevent it. Therefore, nobody can take the responsibility of preventing the danger of old age.
(2) Sickness – Nobody wishes to encounter sickness. They try to prevent it as much as possible. However, the most amazingly developed science cannot prevent it. They only try to cure the diseases that have occurred. It cannot be prevented by psychic or supernormal powers That is why we know that nobody can take the responsibility of preventing sickness, a natural phenomenon.
(3) Death – No one wishes to meet with the suffering of death. They try to prevent it as much as they can, However, the most amazingly developed science cannot prevent it. It cannot be prevented by psychic or supernormal powers. That is why we know that nobody can take the responsibility of preventing death.
(4) Bad kamma – No body wishes to bear the punishment of bad kamma. however, the must learned scientists cannot prevent it by scientific methods. Those who have magical powers and supernormal powers cannot prevent it. That is why we know that no responsibility can be taken by anyone to prevent the effect of bad kamma.
How the punishment which is the effect of bad kamma cannot be prevented.
Ashin Mahamoggalana – to – be was the only son of blind parents at Baranasi when his parami was still immature. As a bachelor, he worked and fed his parents. Later he married a girl because his parents urged him,
The wife, two or three days after staying and looking after the blind parents-in-law, complained when the husband came home from work, that the old people were dirty and had bad behaviour, and that she did not wish to stay together with these old people. She used all her wiles and worried the husband.
Ashin Mahamoggalana-to-be, a good person listened and behaved his crooked wife and told his parents that their relatives wish to see them and that he would take them to their place. So saying he put the parents on a bullock cart. When they reached the heart of a jungle, he alighted from the cart leaving the parents. Then he shouted ‘Robbers and dacoits have surrounded” He beat the parents to death and left them in the jungle.
Thus, because of the results of killing the blind parents, bad kamma, he suffered in niraya for more than a hundred thousand years. After escaping from niraya, because of the sin, killing the blind parents, he was beaten to death, crushing the bones into small particles, by other people for more than a hundred existences.
When Gotama Buddha was Enlightened he became Ashin Mahamoggallana, holder of etadagga title possessing supernormal powers of the highest degree. Ashin Mahamoggallana would go to the realm of the devas and ask what merit they had done and would preach in the human abode. He would go to apaya hell and ask those people what demerits or unwholesome actions they had done and would preach at the human abode. He could travel under ground and also in the air with his supernormal powers. Because he could travel under ground and in the air and able to preach he had lots of gifts and things.
Once Ashin Mahamoggalana was residing on a stone slab monastery known as kala which was beside Isigili Hill near Rajagaha. At that time the followers of heretical sect (titthis) became jealous of his popularity and gifts he received. So they gave the robbers one thousand coins to kill Ashin Mahamoggalana.
The robbers surrounded Ashin Mahamoggalana to kill him. Ashin Mahamoggalana escaped through a key hole with his supernomal powers. The second time he was surrounded, he went through the roof and went through the air. The third time he was surrounded, he knew that he could not escape from the punishment of his bad kamma. Hence he did not try to escape and surrendered.
The bandits beat the noble elder (thera) till his bones became like broken rice, tiny particles, they were all crushed to powder. But he did not die. Only after going and telling Lord Buddha did he pass away finally (parinibbana).
Although Ashin Mahamoggalana could travel under ground and go through the sky and had gained Etadagga title, for possessing supernormal power, yet, he could not prevent the punishment from the effect of bad kamma. That is why it is evident that no one can prevent the punishment from the effect of bad kamma.
Motto: Old age, sickness, death, bad kamma are four things which cannot be prevented.
Because Ashin Mahamoggalana was an arahant with supernormal powers, he did not suffer mentally but only suffered physically. He did not have grief, lamentation, sorrow in the least and was emancipated.
If Ashin Mahamoggalana had not been an arahant he would have to suffer the punishments in his future existences which is the effect of the bad kamma of killing his parents. Now that he had practised dhamma and had become an arahant, he had no more future existences. Hence he was entirely free from the punishment of the bad kamma. He was totally free from old age, sickness and death.
Motto: Only by meditation, will you be free from four dangers.
