A Purport of Anāthapiṇḍikovāda-sutta (MN.III.143) Discourse on the Exhortation to Anāthapiṇḍika
Wong Weng Hon
Purport
Anāthapiṇḍika was a millionaire and celebrated Dhamma supporter of Gotama Buddha. Once, he was severely sick and was experiencing intense bodily pains in the hour of his death. Sāriputtavisited him on the advice of his master Gotama Buddha. He exhorted the ailing millionaire to reduce his suffering and help him gain a favourable rebirth. His anguish in his hour of death was so intense that his mind could have been confused, distracted and diffused or obsessed. Under such a condition of confusion and wavering of his mind, the millionaire could have been reborn in a woeful state, such as the realm of hungry ghost, animals or hell beings. Sāriputta’s exhortation to the millionaireon mindfulness (sati) and clear awareness in his hour of death had fruitfully liberated him from rebirth in a woeful state. Just before his demise, he fruitfully gained the first stage of sainthood. He became a Sotapanna and was reborn in the heavenly world of Tuṣita.
This is how Sāriputta exhorted the millionaire in his hour of death to train himself thus :
One must not grasp upon the object of sight or vision
and so will have no (defiled)consciousness dependent on vision.
You must not grasp upon sounds, smells,tastes,touches and
mental objects and so will have no (defiled) consciousness
dependent on sounds, smells, tastes,touches and mental
objects. This is how you must train yourself, householder.
When the eye-organ, the object of sight and the visual consciousness meet, there arises contact. For the uninstructed, not well trained or unskilled worldling in the Dhamma of Satipaṭṭhāna (the four foundations of mindfulness), this contact gives rise to defiled consciousness due to grasping (upādāna). Grasping connotes that the sensual activities are directed and empowered by illusive self-centric ego. Without grasping, this contact would have not given rise to defiled consciousness. It only gives rise to pure consciousness which is undefiled without cankers (āsavas). A well instructed, well-trained, skilled (in the Dhamma) noble individual (ariyapuggala) abandons grasping, obliterates self-centred ego and thus purifies his consciousness. He is detached from the activities of the six senses and stays aloof from the activities of the six senses even though he is actively utilizing his senses for his daily activities or services. This is the wisdom of dwelling in multiplicity without being defiled by multiplicity.
Detachment from the activities or non-grasping implicates that the noble individual or the wise utilizes his sense organs without defiling his consciousness. This is the living wisdom of Dhamma. This is living insight. When there is detachment from the activities of the six senses, the mind is not obsessed by these activities of six senses. Detachment is non-grasping (anupādāna). It is utilizing the six senses without superimposition with the notion of self-centric ego. Detachment or non-grasping obliterates obsession. Obliteration of obsession liberates the mindful worldling (puthujjana). The mindful one utilizes intrinsic clear awareness to obliterate self-centric ego. In short, the self-centric ego must not be permitted to direct and empower one’s sense activities to avoid mental defilement. The perfectly mindful one utilizes his intrinsic awareness or intuitive wisdom instead of his intellectual mind. Intrinsic awareness is the inner Heart.
Sāriputta exhorted the millionaire further thus :
You must not grasp upon visual consciousness, auditory consciousness, olfactory consciousness, gustatory consciousness, bodily consciousness and metal consciousness and so will have no[defiled] consciousness dependent on visual consciousness … mental consciousness. You should thus train yourself.
You should not grasp upon visual impact, auditory impact, olfactory impact, gustatory impact, bodily impact and mental impact and so will have no [defiled] consciousness dependent on visual impact … mental impact. You should thus train yourself.
Succinctly put, Sāriputta instructed the millionaire to apply the four foundations of mindfulness which he had been similarly instructed by the master Gotama Buddha previously. Sāriputta was specially sent by the exalted Master to visit and help the millionaire, a close lay disciple of Gotama Buddha. Anāthapiṇḍika philanthropist displayed his profuse generosity by helping finance or fund the construction of infrastructure and requisites of the monastic community during his whole life-span. He was evidently a supermodel of charity or Dharma supporter for the Buddhist community. Gotama Buddha obviously loved the millionaire not because of his economic or material affluence but because of his wisdom and edifying virtue of generosity.
Similar exhortation was rendered by Sāriputta to the millionaire with respect to the Earth Element, Water Element, Heat Element, Wind Element, Space Element and Consciousness Element (Four Great Elements) which constitute the human personality. Similarly, there should be no grasping through annihilation of the notion of self or ego upon the six elements so that one’s consciousness is undefiled.
Similar exhortation is given by Sāriputta to the millionaire with respect to the five aggregates of material form, feelings, perceptions, dispositions and consciousness. The should not be any grasping upon the five aggregates which form the human personality. One should thus train himself through constant mindfulness and clear awareness of non-grasping so that his consciousness is undefiled. The consciousness is pure when it is not directed and empowered by self or ego. It is purified by the execution of the wisdom of non-self – the abandonment of self or ego.
Similar exhortation is offered by Sāriputta to the millionaire with respect to the four supramundane mental absorptions (jhānas) of the state of infinite space, the state of infinite consciousness, the state of nothingness and the state of neither perception nor non-perception (Four Higher Attainments in meditation). One should thus train himself so that one’s consciousness is undefiled by self-centric ego.
Similar exhortation is given by Sāripuatta to the millionaire with respect to this world and the world beyond (Mundane and Supramundane). One must not grasp upon the world and the world beyond. One should thus train himself so that the consciousness is undefiled by superimposition of illusive self-centric ego.
In conclusion, one should not grasp upon what is here seen, heard, sensed, cognized, sought after and pondered over with the mind. In short, nothing is to be grasped upon here in this world or the world hereafter. Mindfulness and clear awareness are not exercised just moments before demise. They must be exercised in all daily activities so that one is always dwelling in right mindfulness, clear awareness and penetrative insight so that no sense of self-centric ego creeps in. Nothing is to be grasped upon as the phenomenal world is illusive and unreal. Non-grasping does not mean the rejection or denial of the world. It is living in the world without grasping or without involving the illusive self-centric ego. Infinite released consciousness replaces the ordinary unreleased consciousness. The former is the True mind and the latter is the false mind.
Correspondingly, in Chan or Zen tradition, the wise practitioner is constantly and incessantly living in the Truth of Chan or Zen wisdom (True Mind). Chan or Zen wisdom connotes directing and empowering all daily activities with the wisdom of Non-self or Emptiness without the notion of self-centric ego. If one has not gained the insight of the practice of Chan or Zen which is the perfection of wisdom, a Mahāyānist practitioner can resort to the reciting of the name of Amitābha Buddha to purify his or her mind. This is known as the rememberance (sati) of Amitābha Buddha. Such rememberance device or skill can help the practitioner combat grasping and obliterate the illusive self-centric ego. Rememberance or reciting of Amitābha Buddha is a relatively easy path to purify one’s mind. However, it is effective only that it is being practised without ceasing. Correspondingly, the monotheists are instructed to remember God to actualize the same effect of mental purification. It is prayer without ceasing. The Pāli word ‘Sati” connotes two-fold meaning: Mindfulness and rememberance which are synonymous in any spiritual practice to purify the easily perturbable mind.
It is important to conceive rightly that non-grasping, mindfulness or rememberance does not imply the abandonment of our wealth possessions. It is merely an effective way for the lay Buddhists to acquire, possess and utilize wealth without attachment and resultant defilement. Such spiritual expedient device or skillful means trains a religious-minded practitoner to be the master of wealth and not the slave of it. The principal Buddhist practice is that a genuine practitioner should not grasp upon the six senses, and the five aggregates as this is I ; this is mine and this belongs to me. Succinctly put, the many and diverse expedient devices or skillful means (upāyas) finally are orientated or canalized towards the practice of the four foundations of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna) spontaneously and naturally without conscious efforts using the Heart (Awareness) and not the Mind (Intellectual Activity). At this stage, it may be called genuine Zen practice if one wishes to. The designation is not important. It is the true practice of awareness or wisdom that is important.
In the Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna-sutta (DN) or Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta (MN), Gotama Buddha promulgates that Satipaṭṭhāna is the sole away (ekāyana) to the attainment of nibbāna. Satipaṭṭhāna is mental purification by which the self-centric ego is annihilated. Annihilation of self-centric ego is the only way to realize nibbāna in the inner Heart and not in the Mind. Nibbāna is the complete purification and appeasement of the human mind. All methods or pathways of Dhamma development, cultivation and maturation like all river tributaries will eventually enter the Ganges river which heads towards the Indian Ocean of Nibbāna (inner Heart). Satipaṭṭhāna is the Ganges River which inclines and flows directly into the Indian Ocean – the Ocean of Unity.
Having heard the Dhamma preached by Sāriputta, the great millionaire was spiritually awakened. He cried and shed tears of Dhamma joy. The spotless Dhamma eye arose in him. He gained the stream entry (Sotapatti) instantaneously. Upon death, he was reborn in the heavenly world of Tuṣita. One night, as a young deva, the former Anathāpiṇḍika, the millionaire appeared and illumined the whole Jeta Grove to pay homage to the Buddha and addressed the Lord thus :
This friendly Jeta Grove
frequented by the Order of seers,
dwelt in the King under Dhamma,
is the generator of my joy.
Deed, knowledge and Dhamma,
the higher moral life –
By these mortals purified,
not by clan nor wealth.
Accordingly,
the wise man,
beholding his own goal,
seeking Dhamma judiciously,
is thus purified therein.
As Sāriputta in wisdom, in morality and calm,
So let whatever monk has gone beyond
be excellent in these.
A seer of Dharma is able to compose Buddhist poetry unveiling the Truth beautifully in the beginning, beautifully in the middle and beautifully in the end. Having read the Dhamma poetry, your Dhamma eye may arise. Check your tears. If your eyes are wet joyfully with your Heart and not with your Mind dwelling profusely in Dhamma, I congratulate you.
Editor’s Note:
This is one of the profound discourses of Gotama Buddha. Should you have grasped the Truth expounded, you would have comprehended the relationship between human psychology and spirituality. Dharma teaches us to utilize our Heart (right brain) to appease and purify the Mind (left brain). The Heart is intuitional and pure whilst the mind is intellectual and defiled. Intellectuality conceals spirituality. The Theravadins describe the attribute of the intuitional and pure Heart as a ‘Passionless Mind’. Passionless mind does not connote the destruction of all human passions. It is merely the destruction of all selfish passions, such as greed and hatred. The selfless passions, such as loving-kindness, compassion and generosity are highly recommended. For instance, the passion for religion to elevate ethical and wisdom development and the passion to seek the Truth of Dharma to help oneself and others are highly encouraged in Buddhism. Even the passion to earn sufficient wealth to provide good education to one’s children who will in turn become useful citizens is praiseworthy.
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