This weeks FBA Dharmabyte,and#8221;Bahiya and#8211; In the Seen Only the Seenand#8221; is a reading from the book and#8216;Gautama Buddha: The Life and Teachings of the Awakened Oneand#8217; (Quercus, 2011) by Vishvapani. The original talk, Imagining Gautama, is part of series launching the book from February 2011.
Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio
Bahiya – In the Seen Only the Seen…
[music] Dharma Bites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for your life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donate. Thank you, and happy listening. So I want to finish by taking us back to the world of the Buddha, with a reading that I hope will suggest something of the way in which specificity, that I tend to really see the Buddha, can open out, both in the scriptures and in the way we relate to them, to a sense of the mystery that's there within the figure of the Buddha. It's morning. The sun is hot, but not yet overwhelming, and a man named Bahia scows the streets of travesty. His gone frame is covered by a rough tuner that sticks together from pieces of tree bark, and he's weary after walking night and day from India's west coast. But he draws little attention from the townspeople, who recognize him as a holy man, a part of the tide of spiritual seekers that washes constantly through the city. Travesty is the capital of the kingdom of Kosala, and a major metropolis, the culture that thrives in the central Ganges Valley. We have known detailed descriptions of its streets to fill out the scene, but the city's ruins have been partly unearthed, and they reveal it's a large town, guarded by huge ramparts, at the junction of three important trade routes, slightly later text evokes a fusion of such a city. Furnished with side foundations with many gateways and walls, behold the drinking shops and taverns, the slaughterhouses and cook shops, the harlots and wantons, garland weavers, the washermen, the astrologers, the cloth merchants, gold workers and the jewellers. With such clues, we may imagine the scene that confronted Bahia. The waffle and door houses with domed roofs, for tiles or thatch. The sturdier brick built civic buildings and homes of the wealthy. The main streets clogged with mules, oxen, chariots and pedestrians. The elephants lumbering impassively along the roadway, laden with produce. The alleys, spidering out from the main thoroughfare, thick with smells and resounding with cries of food sellers. As Bahia jostles through the press, he catches sight of a singular figure, and knows instantly its a man he seeks. The count of the meeting in the ancient Buddhist scriptures describes him as pleasing, lovely to see, with calm senses and tranquil mind, possessing perfect poise and calm. He stands silently as a doorway, his eyes downcast. As the woman of the house places little food in his bowl. Like other townspeople, he wears lengths of cloth, draped around his midriff, and across his shoulder to make a robe. But their mud-yed yellow fabric is much coarser than the embroidered muslim used by the rich, or even the plain cotton of the poor. The patchwork sewed together from scraps, gathered on rubber sheeps, or from the chard remnants of the shrouds that cover corpses in the cremation grounds. These robes, along with a bowl made from dried palm leaves that he holds before him, a needle, a thread, a girdle, a razor, and a water-strainer are the sum of his possessions. Most people call him Gotana, the name of the clan into which he was born in Shakya, coastless north-eastern province. But his disciples address him by a host of titles, especially Bhagavat, meaning blessed lord, to target her, the one who is like that, and Buddha, the awakened. The encounter is intense and dramatic. Bahia throws himself at Gautama's feet and cries, "Please teach me, teach me the truth that will be for my lasting benefit." Gautama spoke to no one when he was collecting food, so he tells Bahia, "Come to me later, and I will answer your questions." But Bahia insists he cannot wait. It's hard to know how long you or I will live. The third time of asking, Gautama turns to face Bahia and speaks a few spare words. Bahia, you should train yourself thus. In the scene will be merely what is seen. In the herd will be merely what is heard. In the sensed will be merely what is sensed. In the cognized will be merely what is cognized. In this way you should train yourself. Then Bahia, you are not in that. When you are not in that. Then you will be neither here nor beyond nor between the two. Just this is the end of suffering. And I'm going to end the moment. The sudden moment of communion cocoons the man beyond time or place, and something happens to Bahia. Exactly what is hard to say. But its effect is shattering. It's bound up with a meaning of Gautama's words. But that meaning is mixed with a sense that Gautama himself embodies them completely and has inwardly expanded into the open spaces they disclose. A shift occurs deep in Bahia's consciousness. A silent opening. And then the moment's open. Street noises return. Bahia walks away and Gautama quietly returns to his arms round. [Applause] We hope you enjoyed today's Dharma Bite. Please help us keep this free. Make a contribution at freebuddhistaudio.com/donate. And thank you. [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [BLANK_AUDIO]