Todayand#8217;s Dharmabyte brings you a special reading of the story of Bahiya of the Bark Garment from the Pali Canon. Read to us by Srivati in the context of her talk and#8220;Becoming a Citizen of the Present.and#8221;
Talk given to the Western Buddhist Order national Order weekend, 2001
[music] Dharma Vites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for real life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, come and join us at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. Thank you and happy listening. [music] Reading the story of Baha'i, it seems to me that this story is not just relevant to the practice of living in the present moment because of what the Buddha said to him, but in other ways too. So, are you sitting comfortably? Baha'i of the Baha'i was a dedicated seeker of the truth who was apparently well respected and even revered. At the time of the story he was living by the seashore at a place called Siparaka. He became preoccupied with a question to which he could not provide the answer. Am I, he wanted to know, one of those in the world who is an Ahat, or who have entered on the past Ahatship. Known a previous life, Baha'i had been one of a group of monks who had climbed to the top of a mountain, a precipitous mountain, in order to attain enlightenment. Kicking away the ladder they had used to get there, they sat down to meditate. There was no going back. Five of them, including Baha'i, died without breaking through. But one of them became fully enlightened and another became a non-returner. This non-returner now appeared to Baha'i as a devator. Out of his infinite kindness he told Baha'i straight, "You are neither an Ahat nor practicing a path whereby you will become one." Baha'i, undeterred, asked the devator who in the world was an Ahat, or on that path. And the devator told him about the existence of the Buddha, and that the Buddha was currently staying a very long way away in the town of Savati. He is indeed an Ahat and teaches the Dharma so that others can become Ahats also. These words affected Baha'i profoundly. There and then he set off for Savati. Legend has it that he completed the great journey in just one night, helped by the devator. Now whether or not this is true, he wasted no time in getting as quickly as possible to where the Buddha was. The Buddha was staying in the Jettagro at Anata Pindaka's monastery. And when Baha'i arrived there he asked some bhikkhus where he might find the Lord. They told him he was collecting arms food in the town. Baha'i promptly left the Jettagro and entered Savati. He soon saw the Buddha and knew him immediately by his poise and calm. His mindful walking was lovely to see. It was clear to Baha'i that this was the perfected one. Baha'i approached the Buddha directly and threw himself down with his head at the Buddha's feet and said, "Teach me Dhamma, Lord. Teach me Dhamma's Sugata so that it will be for my good and happiness for a long time." The Buddha said to Baha'i, "Now is not an appropriate time. I'm collecting arms food." Again Baha'i said, "It is difficult to know for certain how long the Lord will live or how long I will live. Teach me Dhamma, Lord, so that it will be for my good and happiness for a long time." Again the Buddha replied that it wasn't a suitable time for him to give a teaching. A third time Baha'i asked the Buddha to teach him. With that, the third time of asking, the Buddha gave Baha'i what he had come all those many miles for. Baha'i, you should train yourself in this way. In the scene will be merely what is seen. In the herd will be merely what is heard. In the sense will be merely what is sensed. In the cognized will be merely what is cognized. In this way you should train yourself Baha'i. For when for you Baha'i, in the scene is merely the scene and so on, then you will not be with that. That is not bound by that view, by attraction and repulsion. And when you are not with that, then you will not be in that, not in that situation of being deluded and led astray by views and emotions. When you are not in that, you will be neither here nor beyond nor in between the two. That is not reborn into this world or another. You will have stepped out of this mundane world. Just this Baha'i is the end of suffering. Immediately Baha'i's mind was liberated and he became enlightened. The Buddha, having given this brief but powerful instruction, carried on his way. And then something tragic happened. A cow with a young calf was threatened by the sight of Baha'i and charged him. He was killed outright. When later on the Buddha returned from his arms round and discovered that Baha'i had died, he asked the bhikkhus to carry the body away and to burn it and to build a stupor for the ashes. And although Baha'i had not been one of their number, the Buddha referred to him as "your companion in the holy life". Afterwards the bhikkhus returned to the Lord and asked him about Baha'i's destiny and future rebirth. The Buddha told them, "Baha'i of the Bhagama was a wise man. He practiced according to the Dharma and did not trouble me by disputing about it. Baha'i has attained final nibbana. Then he described Baha'i as experience of the Arahats illumination and freedom from all planes of conditioned existence by uttering the following verses. Where neither water nor yet earth nor fire nor air gain a foothold, their gleam no stars, no sun sheds light, their shines no moon, yet there no darkness reigns. When a sage, a Brahmin has come to know this for himself through his own wisdom, then he is freed, freed from form and formless, freed from pleasure and from pain. We hope you enjoyed the talk. Please come and help us keep this free at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. And thank you. [music] [music] [music] You [BLANK_AUDIO]
