🟥 Profile: The verses of Ven. Pārāpariya, Thag 16.2/10 (In session until 3/20/22)

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🟥 Profile: The verses of Ven. Pārāpariya, Thag 16.2/10 (In session until 3/20/22)

Post by SDC »

:reading:


The verses of the monk, Pārāpariya, not only provide an intimate description of striving and freedom common to the verses of the Theragāthā, but also give a rare glimpse into the state of Sangha at the time. The first collection, in Thag 16.2, recounts his efforts through deep and clear description of his view; the second, in 16.10, is a thought about the decline of conduct within the monastic community; something that many might not be so surprised to hear about nowadays, but certainly is more disheartening when coming from an ancient account. This arahant, who once considered the results of harmful behavior as critical to a useful system of living and development, was very receptive to the decline after the passing of the Buddha, and we are given a firsthand account of what was being lost in those years that followed. Though little else is available about the life of this relatively unknown monk, there is so much we can take away from this description of victory (and from his point of view) in order to decipher the course of his development and greatness.

Enjoy. :smile:
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📍 Profile: The verses of Ven. Pārāpariya, Thag 16.2/10 (Week of 03/06/22)

Post by SDC »

:reading:



Theragāthā
Pārāpariyattheragāthā Thag 16.2 (PTS 73)
Translated by Ven. Sujato


  • This thought came to the ascetic,
    the monk Pārāpariya,
    as he was seated alone
    meditating in seclusion:

    “Following what system,
    what observance, what conduct,
    may I do what I need to do for myself,
    without harming anyone else?

    The faculties of human beings
    can lead to both welfare and harm.
    Unguarded they lead to harm;
    guarded they lead to welfare.

    By protecting the faculties,
    taking care of the faculties,
    I can do what I need to do for myself
    without harming anyone else.

    If your eye wanders
    among sights without check,
    not seeing the danger,
    you’re not freed from suffering.

    If your ear wanders
    among sounds without check,
    not seeing the danger,
    you’re not freed from suffering.

    If, not seeing the escape,
    you indulge in a smell,
    you’re not freed from suffering,
    being besotted by smells.

    Recollecting the sour,
    the sweet and the bitter,
    captivated by craving for taste,
    you don’t understand the heart.

    Recollecting lovely
    and pleasurable touches,
    full of desire, you experience
    many kinds of suffering because of lust.

    Unable to protect
    the mind from such thoughts,
    suffering follows them
    because of all five.

    This body is full of pus and blood,
    it’s home to many carcasses;
    but cunning people decorate it
    like a lovely painted casket.

    You don’t understand that
    the sweetness of honey turns bitter,
    and the bonds to those we love cause pain,
    like a razor’s edge smeared with honey.

    Full of lust for the sight of a woman,
    for the voice and the smells of a woman,
    for a woman’s touch,
    you experience many kinds of suffering.

    All of a woman’s streams
    flow from five to five.
    Whoever, being energetic,
    is able to curb these,

    purposeful and firm in principle,
    is clever and clear-seeing.
    Though he might enjoy himself,
    his duty is connected with the teaching and its goal.

    One who’s diligent and discerning,
    thinking, “This ought not be done”,
    would avoid a useless task
    that’s doomed to failure.

    Whatever is meaningful,
    and whatever happiness is principled,
    let one undertake and follow that:
    this is the best happiness.

    They want to get hold of what belongs to others
    by any means, fair or foul.
    They kill, injure, and torment,
    violently plundering what belongs to others.

    Just as a strong person when building
    knocks out a peg with a peg,
    so the skillful person
    knocks out the faculties with the faculties.

    Developing faith, energy, immersion,
    mindfulness, and wisdom;
    destroying the five with the five,
    the brahmin walks on without worry.

    Purposeful and firm in principle,
    having fulfilled in every respect
    the instructions spoken by the Buddha,
    that person prospers in happiness.”

:reading:

Theragāthā
Pārāpariyattheragāthā Thag 16.10 (PTS 85-86)
Translated by Ven. Sujato


  • This thought came to the ascetic
    in the forest full of flowers,
    as he was seated alone
    meditating in seclusion:

    “The behavior of the mendicants
    these days seems different
    from when the protector of the world,
    the best of men, was still here.

    Their robes were only for covering the private parts,
    and protection from the cold and wind.
    They ate in moderation,
    content with whatever they were offered.

    Whether food was refined or rough,
    a little or a lot,
    they ate only for sustenance,
    without greed or gluttony.

    They weren’t so very eager
    for the requisites of life,
    such as tonics and other necessities,
    as they were for the ending of defilements.

    In the wilderness, at a tree’s root,
    in caves and caverns,
    fostering seclusion,
    they lived with that as their final goal.

    They were used to simple things, unburdensome,
    gentle, not stubborn at heart,
    unsullied, not scurrilous,
    their thoughts were intent on the goal.

    That’s why they inspired confidence,
    in their movements, eating, and practice;
    their deportment was as smooth
    as a stream of oil.

    With the utter ending of all defilements,
    those senior monks have now been quenched.
    They were great meditators and great benefactors—
    there are few like them today.

    With the ending
    of good principles and understanding,
    the victor’s teaching,
    full of all excellent qualities, has fallen apart.

    This is the season
    for bad principles and defilements.
    Those who are ready for seclusion
    are all that’s left of the true Dhamma.

    As they grow, the defilements
    possess most people;
    they play with fools, it seems to me,
    like monsters with the mad.

    Overcome by defilements,
    they run here and there
    among the bases for defilement,
    as if they had declared war on themselves.

    Having abandoned the true teaching,
    they argue with each other.
    Following wrong views
    they think, ‘This is better.’

    They cut off their wealth,
    children, and wife to go forth.
    But then they do what they shouldn’t,
    for the sake of a measly spoon of almsfood.

    They eat until their bellies are full,
    and then they lie to sleep on their backs.
    When they wake up, they keep on chatting,
    the kind of talk that the teacher criticized.

    Valuing all the arts and crafts,
    they train themselves in them.
    Not being settled inside, they think,
    ‘This is the goal of the ascetic life.’

    They provide clay, oil, and talcum powder,
    water, lodgings, and food
    for householders,
    expecting more in return.

    And in addition, tooth-picks, wood-apples,
    flowers, food to eat,
    well-cooked almsfood,
    mangoes and myrobalans.

    In medicine they are like doctors,
    in business like householders,
    in makeup like prostitutes,
    in sovereignty like lords.

    Cheats, frauds,
    false witnesses, sly:
    using multiple plans,
    they enjoy material things.

    Pursuing shams, contrivances, and plans,
    by such means
    they accumulate a lot of wealth
    for the sake of their own livelihood.

    They assemble the community
    for business rather than Dhamma.
    They teach the Dhamma to others
    for gain, not for the goal.

    Those outside the Saṅgha
    quarrel over the Saṅgha’s property.
    They’re shameless, and do not care
    that they live on someone else’s property.

    Some with shaven head and robe
    are not devoted to practice,
    but wish only to be honored,
    besotted with property and reverence.

    When things have come to this,
    it’s not easy these days
    to realize what has not yet been realized,
    or to preserve what has been realized.

    When shoeless on a thorny path,
    one would walk
    very mindfully;
    that’s how a sage should walk in the village.

    Remembering the meditators of old,
    and recollecting their conduct,
    even in the latter days,
    it’s still possible to realize the deathless.”

    That is what the ascetic, whose faculties
    were fully developed, said in the sāl tree grove.
    The brahmin, the hermit, became quenched,
    putting an end to all future lives.
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📍 Profile: The verses of Ven. Pārāpariya, Thag 16.2/10 (Week of 03/06/22)

Post by SDC »

📚



Thoughts?


On Thag 16.2:
  • I really enjoyed the unique descriptions of each of the six sense base with respect to the risk of them being unguarded: the eye and the ear as "wandering", the nose "indulging", the tongue and touches as "recollected", and the mind - being unprotected from these thoughts - is the suffering of the previous five.
  • Maybe it is just me, but I find Ven. Pārāpariya's descriptions to be very practical. The verses of the arahants can be rather gritty and abrupt, and although he does not mince words about lust and the unattractive, his approach begins with asking the question, "What can I do for my own development that is good for me and not harmful for others?" That line between wholesome and unwholesome seems to be key to his work and he describes it very clearly.
On Thag 16.10:
  • Note the context of this observation: that the Buddha has attained parinibbāna and it appears as though Ven. Pārāpariya attains arahantship upon the recollection of this knowledge of the deterioration. That despite the condition of the Sangha, he is able to recollect the "meditators of old" and the conduct necessary to remain mindful in this degenerative time. It seems that was the insight that carried him through. Perhaps not all in this exact sitting, but it gave him enough strength to remember the path despite how quickly it was diminishing.
  • What does this say for all of us now, 2500 years later? How difficult is it for us? Is the world more complicated, requiring some new way of consideration? Or is the danger just so proliferated and diversified that we need to put for even more effort to recollect how to see things in the broadest way possible? What can we learn from the perspective of this arahant?

Looking forward to hearing from you. :smile:
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Re: 📍 Profile: The verses of Ven. Pārāpariya, Thag 16.2/10 (Week of 03/06/22)

Post by sunnat »

Well I remember when I was Young the World had just begun and I was Happy“ - Matt Taylor, Chain

It’s a oft repeated theme of The Buddha coming upon a congregation of Bhikkhus chattering and him reminding them to either talk of The Dmamma or practice Noble Silence.

Also there were problems during The Buddhas life that even he could not resolve so he withdrew.

It really seems to me that the Venerable Elder is remembering ‘the good old days’ like people still do, forgetting the bad days. Nostalgia in relation to a particular set of events that are not at all necessarily indicative of a general malaise.

Further. Someone obviously thought this utterance worth reciting again and again, through the centuries til it was written down and transmitted to today so, just like the true Dhamma still is in the Tipitaka and practiced today, there were good solid practitioners and so also difficult periods that come and go and people comment on them, remembering ‘the good old days’
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Re: 📍 Profile: The verses of Ven. Pārāpariya, Thag 16.2/10 (Week of 03/06/22)

Post by justpractice »

These verses were inspiring to read. As a householder with lofty, and perhaps foolhardy, intentions to maintain the 8 precepts, I found the contrasting nature of the "meditators of old" vs. "the mendicants these days" to be particular helpful. Namely, I see so much more of myself in "the mendicants these days" than I do with the "meditators of old," so the verses provide a strong sense of urgency to stay vigilant and not get complacent. As of now, I maintain the notion that the comforts of modern living simply require stronger efforts in the direction of dispassion, rather than requiring new or novel ways of approaching the problem. Thanks for sharing!
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Re: 📍 Profile: The verses of Ven. Pārāpariya, Thag 16.2/10 (Week of 03/06/22)

Post by Pulsar »

SDC wrote
but also give a rare glimpse into the state of Sangha at the time.
The first collection, in Thag 16.2, recounts his efforts through deep and clear description of his view; the second, in 16.10, is a thought about the decline of conduct within the monastic community;
something that many might not be so surprised to hear about nowadays, but certainly is more disheartening when coming from an ancient account.
This arahant, who once considered the results of harmful behavior as critical to a useful system of living and development, was very receptive to the decline after the passing of the Buddha, and we are given a firsthand account of what was being lost in those years that followed.
Sometimes our inspiration comes from the most unlikely places.
Thank you for bringing Ven. Pārāpariya into focus.
With love :candle:
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Re: 📍 Profile: The verses of Ven. Pārāpariya, Thag 16.2/10 (Week of 03/06/22)

Post by SDC »

sunnat wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 4:54 pm Someone obviously thought this utterance worth reciting again and again, through the centuries til it was written down and transmitted to today so, just like the true Dhamma still is in the Tipitaka and practiced today, there were good solid practitioners and so also difficult periods that come and go and people comment on them, remembering ‘the good old days’
Makes me wonder if these arahants had any idea how far these verses would travel and how long they would last. I’m sure those with psychic abilities did. Did they trying to say why was most inspiring? Accurate? A very interesting thing to think about.
“Life is swept along, short is the life span; no shelters exist for one who has reached old age. Seeing clearly this danger in death, a seeker of peace should drop the world’s bait.” SN 1.3
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Re: 📍 Profile: The verses of Ven. Pārāpariya, Thag 16.2/10 (Week of 03/06/22)

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justpractice wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 8:15 pm These verses were inspiring to read. As a householder with lofty, and perhaps foolhardy, intentions to maintain the 8 precepts, I found the contrasting nature of the "meditators of old" vs. "the mendicants these days" to be particular helpful. Namely, I see so much more of myself in "the mendicants these days" than I do with the "meditators of old," so the verses provide a strong sense of urgency to stay vigilant and not get complacent. As of now, I maintain the notion that the comforts of modern living simply require stronger efforts in the direction of dispassion, rather than requiring new or novel ways of approaching the problem. Thanks for sharing!
I couldn’t agree more!
“Life is swept along, short is the life span; no shelters exist for one who has reached old age. Seeing clearly this danger in death, a seeker of peace should drop the world’s bait.” SN 1.3
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Re: 📍 Profile: The verses of Ven. Pārāpariya, Thag 16.2/10 (In session until 3/20/22)

Post by SDC »

Pulsar wrote: Mon Mar 07, 2022 3:35 pm Sometimes our inspiration comes from the most unlikely places.
Thank you for bringing Ven. Pārāpariya into focus.
With love :candle:
:thumbsup:
“Life is swept along, short is the life span; no shelters exist for one who has reached old age. Seeing clearly this danger in death, a seeker of peace should drop the world’s bait.” SN 1.3
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