Prince Bodhi: 8. Finding the Right Path

The Discourse to Prince Bodhi

[8. Finding the Right Path]

Then, Prince, this occurred to me: ‘But I recall that while my Sakyan Father was at work, while I was sitting in the cool of the shade of the Rose-Apple tree, quite secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome things, having thinking, reflection, and the happiness and rapture born of seclusion, I dwelt having attained the first absorption. I wonder if this is the path to Awakening?’

Then to me, Prince, in conformity with that recollection I became conscious: ‘This is the path to Awakening.’

Then, Prince, this occurred to me: ‘Why am I afraid of that pleasure? That pleasure is one thing, and unwholesome sensual pleasures are another thing.’

Then, Prince, this occurred to me: ‘I am not afraid of that pleasure. That pleasure is one thing, and unwholesome sensual pleasures are another thing.’

Then, Prince, this occurred to me: ‘It is not easy to attain that pleasure with the body so excessively emaciated, what if I were to take gross food, boiled rice and milk?’

Then, Prince, I took gross food, boiled rice and milk. But at that time, Prince, the group-of-five monks were present, thinking: ‘This ascetic Gotama will attain Dhamma, and he will inform us.

When, Prince, I took gross food, boiled rice and milk, then the group-of-five monks being disgusted, left me, thinking: ‘This ascetic Gotama is given to luxury, he has forsaken the striving, he has gone back to luxury.’

Then, Prince, having taken gross food and regained strength, quite secluded from sense desires, secluded from unwholesome things, having thinking, reflection, and the happiness and rapture born of seclusion, I dwelt having attained the first absorption.

With the ending of thinking, and reflection, with internal clarity, and one-pointedness of mind, being without thinking, without reflection, having the happiness and rapture born of concentration, I dwelt having attained the second absorption.

With the fading away of rapture I dwelt equanimous, mindful, clearly knowing, experiencing happiness through the body, about which the Noble Ones declare: “He lives pleasantly, mindful, and equanimous,” thus I dwelt having attained the third absorption.

Having given up pleasure, given up pain, and with the previous disappearence of mental well-being and sorrow, without pain, without pleasure, and with complete purity of mindfulness owing to equanimity, I dwelt having attained the fourth absorption.

Then with a mind well-concentrated, and complete purity that comes from a cleansed mind, being passionless, free of defilements, malleable, workable, steady, imperturbable, I directed my mind to knowledge and recall of previous existences.

I recollected various previous existences, such as: one life, two lives, three lives, four lives, five lives, ten lives, twenty lives, thirty lives, forty lives, fifty lives, a hundred lives, a thousand lives, a hundred thousand lives, innumerable aeons of devolution, innumerable aeons of evolution, innumerable aeons of devolution and evolution: in such and such a place I had this name, this family, this class, this food, this experience of pleasure and pain, this life term; passing away from there I arose in another state of existence, and in that place I had this name, this family, this class, this food, this experience of pleasure and pain, this life term, and passing away from there I arose here, and so with their characteristics and with their details I recollected my various previous existences.

This to me, Prince, in the first watch of the night, was the first knowledge I attained, ignorance was abandoned, knowledge arose, darkness was abandoned, light arose, as I was living heedful, ardent, and resolute in this way.

With the divine eye which is purified and surpasses that of normal men I saw the passing away and arising of beings, inferior, superior, beautiful, ugly, in a good destiny, in a bad destiny, and I knew beings arise according to their good and bad actions:

Those venerables who are endowed with bad bodily conduct, endowed with bad verbal conduct, endowed with bad mental conduct, who blamed the noble ones, were ones of wrong view, and undertook deeds based on wrong view, at the break-up of the body, after death, arise in the lower world, in an unhappy destiny, in the fall, in the nether regions, and those venerables who are endowed with good bodily conduct, endowed with good verbal conduct, endowed with good mental conduct, who did not blame the noble ones, were ones of right view, and undertook deeds based on right view, at the break-up of the body, after death, arise in a good destiny, a heavenly world.

This to me, Prince, in the middle watch of the night, was the second knowledge I attained, ignorance was abandoned, knowledge arose, darkness was abandoned, light arose, as I was living heedful, ardent, and resolute in this way.

I knew, as it really is: ‘This is suffering,’
I knew, as it really is: ‘This is the arising of suffering,’
I knew, as it really is: ‘This is the cessation of suffering,’
I knew, as it really is: ‘This is the practice going to the cessation of suffering,’

I knew, as it really is: ‘These are pollutants,’
I knew, as it really is: ‘This is the arising of pollutants,’
I knew, as it really is: ‘This is the cessation of pollutants,’
I knew, as it really is: ‘This is the practice going to the cessation of pollutants,’

Then knowing in this way, seeing in this way, my mind was free from the pollutant of sensuality, my mind was free from the pollutant of craving for continued existence, my mind was free from the pollutant of ignorance.

In freedom there was the knowledge: ‘This is freedom,’

‘Destroyed is rebirth,
accomplished is the spiritual life,
done is what ought to be done,
there is no more of this mundane state,’ this I knew.

This to me, Prince, in the last watch of the night, was the third knowledge I attained, ignorance was abandoned, knowledge arose, darkness was abandoned, light arose, as I was living heedful, ardent, and resolute in this way.

last updated: June 2014