Dhammapada Illustrated: Dwelling Of The Unblemished Is Alluring

Dwelling Of The Unblemished Is Alluring

7 (9) The Story of Venerable Revata, (Verse 98)

While residing at the Jetavana Monastery, the Buddha spoke

this verse, with reference to Venerable Revata of the Acacia

(khadira) Forest.

Revata was the youngest brother of the Chief Disciple

Sàriputta. He was the only one of the brothers and sisters of

Sàriputta who had not left home for the homeless life. His

parents were very anxious to get him married. Revata was

only seven years old when his parents arranged a marriage

for him to a young girl. At the wedding reception, he met an

old lady who was one hundred and twenty years old, and he

realized that all beings are subject to ageing and decay. So, he

ran away from the house and went straight to a monastery,

where there were thirty monks. Those monks had been

requested earlier by Venerable Sàriputta to make his brother a

novice monk if he should come to them. Accordingly, he was

made a novice monk and Venerable Sàriputta was informed

about it.

Monk Revata took a meditation topic from those monks

and left for an acacia forest, thirty yojanas (leagues) away from

the monastery. At the end of the vassa (rainy season), the nov-

ice monk attained arahatship. Venerable Sàriputta then asked

permission from the Buddha to visit his brother, but the

Buddha replied that he himself would go there. So the Buddha

accompanied by Venerable Sàriputta, Venerable Sãvalã and

many other monks set out to visit Sàmanera (novice) Revata.

The journey was long, the road was rough and the area

was uninhabited by people; but the devas looked to all the

needs of the Buddha and the monks on the way. At an inter-

val of every yojana (league), a monastery and food were pro-

vided, and they travelled at the rate of a yojana a day. Revata,

learning about the visit of the Buddha, also made arrange-

ments to welcome him. By supernormal power he created a

special monastery for the Buddha and fi ve hundred monas-

teries for the other monks, and made them comfortable

throughout their stay there.

On their return journey, they travelled at the same rate

as before, and came to the Pubbàràma Monastery on the east-

ern end of Sàvatthi at the end of the month. From there, they

went to the house of Visàkhà, who offered them alms-food.

After the meal, Visàkhà asked the Buddha if the place of

Revata in the acacia forest was pleasant.

Whether in the village, in the forest, in a valley or in the plain,

wherever arahats – noble saints – dwell, that place is alluring

in the extreme.

Commentary

arahat: the noble ones; Evolved Ones. They are also described as

Ariya-Puggala (Noble Ones). Ariya-Puggala are those who have real-

ized one of the eight stages of holiness, i.e., the four supermundane

Paths (magga) and the four supermundane Fruitions (phala) of these

paths. There are four pairs:– (1) the one realizing the path of stream-

winning; (2) the one realizing the fruition of stream-winning;

(3) the one realizing the path of once-return; (4) the one realizing

the fruition of once-return; (5) the one realizing the path of non-

return; (6) the one realizing the fruition of non-return; (7) the one

realizing the path of holiness; (8) the one realizing the fruition of

holiness. Summed up, there are four noble individuals: the stream-

winner, the once-returner, the non-returner, the holy one. In some

texts gotrabhå is listed as the ninth noble individual. According to

the Abhi dhamma, supermundane path, or simply path (magga), is

a designation of the moment of entering into one of the four stages

of holiness – Nibbàna being the object – produced by intuitional

insight into the impermanency, misery and impersonality of exist-

ence, fl ashing forth and transforming one’s life and nature. By

fruitions are meant those moments of consciousness, which fol-

low immediately thereafter as the result of the path, and which in

certain circumstances may repeat for innumerable times during

life-time.

Dhammapada Illustrated: Exalted Are The Unblemished

Exalted Are The Unblemished

7 (8) The Story of Venerable Sàriputta (Verse 97)

While residing at the Jetavana Monastery, the Buddha spoke 

this verse, with reference to Venerable Sàriputta.

One day thirty forest-dwellers approached the Buddha, 

paid obeisance to him, and sat down. The Buddha, seeing that 

they possessed the requisite faculties for attaining arahatship, 

addressed Venerable Sàriputta as follows, “Sàriputta, do you 

believe that the quality of faith, when it has been developed 

and enlarged, is connected with the deathless and terminates 

in the deathless?” In this manner the Buddha questioned the 

Venerable with reference to the fi ve moral qualities.

Said the Venerable, “Venerable, I do not go by faith in 

the Buddha in this matter, that the quality of faith, when it 

has been developed and enlarged, is connected with the 

deathless and terminates in the deathless. But of course, Ven-

erable, those who have not known the deathless or seen or 

perceived or realized or grasped the deathless by the power 

of reason, such persons must of necessity go by the faith of 

others in this matter; namely, that the faculty of faith, when it 

has been developed and enlarged, is connected with the 

deathless and terminates in the deathless.” Thus did the Ven-

erable answer his question.

When the monks heard this, they began a discussion: 

“Venerable Sàriputta has never really given up false views. 

Even today he refused to believe even the supremely Enlight-

ened One.” When the Buddha heard this, he said, “Monks,

why do you say this? For I asked Sàriputta the following ques-

tion, ‘Sàriputta, do you believe that without developing the

fi ve moral qualities, without developing tranquillity and spir-

itual insight, it is possible for a man to realize the paths and

the fruits?’ And he answered me as follows, ‘There is no one

who can thus realize the paths and the fruits.’ Then I asked

him, ‘Do you not believe that there is such a thing as the rip-

ening of the fruit of almsgiving and good works? Do you not

believe in the virtues of the Buddhas and the rest?’ But as a

matter of fact, Sàriputta walks not by the faith of others, for

the reason that he has, in and by himself, attained states of

mind to which the Paths and the Fruits lead, by the power of

spiritual insight induced by ecstatic meditation. Therefore he

is not open to censure.”

He has no faith in anyone but in himself. He is aware of

deathlessness – the unconditioned. He is a breaker of connec-

tions, because he has severed all his worldly links. He has

destroyed all the opportunities for rebirth. He has given up 

all desires. Because of all these he – the arahat – is a truly 

noble person.

Commentary

assaddho: non-believer; he so fi rmly believes his own view and that 

of the Buddha he does not need to believe in any other.

akata¤¤å: literally, ‘ungrateful’; but, in this context, ‘aware of the 

unconditioned – that is Nibbàna’.

sandhicchedo: is the term usually given to a burglar, because he 

breaks into houses. But, here, it signifi es severing all worldly connec-

tions.

hatàvakàso: a person who has given up all opportunities. But, here it 

is meant having given up opportunities for rebirth.

Special Note: All the expressions in this stanza can be interpreted as 

applying to persons who are not noble, but to depraved persons. But, 

the interpretation of those forms to give positive spiritually whole-

some meanings and not negative ones, is quite intriguing. In other 

words, the Buddha has, in this stanza, used a set of expressions used 

in general parlance to denote people of mean behaviour. But, due to 

the implications attributed to them by the Buddha, these depraved 

terms acquire a high signifi cance.

Dhammapada Illustrated: The Tranquility Of The Saints

The Tranquility Of The Saints

7 (7) The Story of a Novice Monk from Kosambi (Verse 96)

While residing at the Jetavana Monastery, the Buddha spoke 

this verse, with reference to a novice monk, a pupil of Vener-

able Tissa from Kosambi.

A certain youth of respectable family, residing at 

Kosambi, retired from the world and became a monk in the 

religion of the Buddha. After making his full profession, he 

was known as Venerable Kosambivàsã Tissa. After he had 

kept residence during the season of the rains at Kosambi, his 

supporter brought a set of three robes and offerings of ghee 

and palm sugar and laid them at his feet. “Venerable, if it be 

true that you have no novice to minister to your needs, my 

son will become your novice.” The Venerable graciously 

accepted the offer. The lay disciple brought his own son, but 

seven years old, to the Venerable, and committed him into the 

Venerable’s hands, saying, “Pray receive him into the Sangha, 

Venerable.” The Venerable moistened the boy’s hair, taught 

him how to meditate on the fi rst fi ve of the consistent parts of 

the body, and received him into the Sangha. The instant the 

razor touched his hair, he attained arahatship, together with 

the supernatural faculties. The Venerable, having received the 

youth into the Sangha, remained at Kosambi for a fortnight. 

Then, deciding to visit the Buddha, he directed the novice to 

take the requisites, and set out on his journey. On the way he 

entered a monastery. The novice obtained lodging for the 

Venerable and looked after it for him. While he was thus

engaged, it grew dark and he was therefore unable to provide

a lodging for himself. So assuming a cross-legged posture

near the bed of his preceptor, the novice spent the night sit-

ting up.

The Venerable rose at dawn and said to himself, I must

cause the novice to go out.” So he took a fan which was placed

at the side of the bed, struck the mat of the novice with the tip

of the palm-leaf, and then, tossing the fan into the air, said,

“Novice, go out.” The handle of the fan struck the novice in the

eye and straightaway blinded his eye. “What did you say,

Venerable?” said the novice. “Rise and go out,” was the reply.

The novice, instead of saying, “Venerable, my eye has been

blinded,” covered his eye with one hand and went out. More-

over, when it was time for him to perform his duties as novice,

he did not say, “My eye has been blinded,” nor did he remain

seated, but covering his eye with one hand and taking a hand-

broom in the other hand, he swept out the privy and the wash-

room, after which, setting out water for washing the face, he

swept out the Venerable’s cell.

When he advanced to present the toothstick to the Ven-

erable, the novice told him the whole story from the begin-

ning. When the Venerable heard his story, he was deeply

moved. The novice tried to comfort the Venerable but he

would not be comforted. Overcome with remorse he took the

novice to the Buddha. The Buddha asked him, “Monk, is eve-

rything really well?” The Venerable replied, “All is well with

me. But here is a young novice whose good qualities surpass

anything I have ever seen.” The Venerable told him the story.

“Venerable, when I asked him to pardon me, he said, ‘You are

not to blame in this matter, and neither am I.’” Said the Buddha

to the Venerable, “Monk, those who have rid themselves of

the depravities, cherish neither anger nor hatred towards any-

one.”

A noble arahat, who is freed by ‘disknowing’, is calm and

unshaken by the impact of changing circumstances. His mind

is at peace. His words are peaceful. His actions are peaceful.

Commentary

santà: peaceful. The saintly – the arahat – is truly peaceful. He is

peaceful because he has reached total “disknowing”, or freedom from

knowing, as he has attained that level of calm that is not perturbed.

Since the mind is the fountain of all activity, his words are calm. Since

his mind and words are calm, his actions too are calm. Therefore he

is totally serene in personality. This leads him to the status of total

serenity – upasantà (tranquil within). ‘Disknowing’ means that one

does not form opinions about circumstances based on past experience

or present. When one does not, one remains unmoved and one is at

peace.