Buddha the teacher of gods - Part 3

Buddha the teacher of gods - Part 3

BAHIYA DARUCIRIYA

In the next story a brahma intervenes to help a human being receive the Dhamma. Bahiya Daruciriya was a non-Buddhist ascetic. The brahma, a non-returner (anagami) from the Pure Abodes,[15] had been one of Bahiya's companions at the time of the previous Buddha Kassapa,[16] when they were members of a group of monks who had made a determined effort to win arahantship. Bahiya had then failed in the attempt and was now reborn at the time of Gotama Buddha.

Bahiya had lived as a recluse for many years and he was respected by the multitude as a saint, even to such a degree that Bahiya himself almost came to believe this. But one day, out of compassion for him, his old friend in the Pure Abodes appeared to him in a visible body and shocked him out of his complacency: "You, Bahiya, are neither an arahant nor have you entered the path to arahantship. You do not follow the practice whereby you could be an arahant or enter the path to arahantship."

This had the desired effect, and Bahiya begged his benefactor, "Then, in the world including the devas, who are arahants or have entered the path to arahantship?" His desire for release from the world was so sincere that he had the humility to admit his limitations and ask for a teacher to show him the true path to holiness.

The brahma replied that a Buddha had arisen in the world and was living at Savatthi: "There the Lord now lives who is the arahant, the Fully Enlightened One. That Lord, Bahiya, is indeed an arahant and he teaches the Dhamma for the realization of arahantship." As a non-returner since the time of the previous Buddha, the brahma knew precisely what Bahiya needed and he spoke the succinct truth about Buddha Gotama and his teaching. Thanks to the intervention and the guidance of his lofty benefactor, Bahiya Daruciriya was directed to the Blessed One, whose brief and cryptic discourse had such a powerful impact that Bahiya achieved arahantship right on the spot (Ud 1.10, pp.18-19). After his death, the Buddha declared Bahiya the foremost bhikkhu with respect to quickness of understanding.

A GODDESS HONORS THE BUDDHA

Once a devata, a goddess named Kokanada, visited the Blessed One at Vesali and recited verses in his praise: "I worship the Buddha, the best of beings,Dwelling in the woods at VesaliKokanada I am — Kokanada the daughter of Pajjunna.

Earlier I had only heard that the DhammaHas been realized by the One with Vision;But now I know it as a witnessWhile the Sage, the Sublime One teaches.Those ignorant folk who go aboutCriticizing the noble DhammaGo to the terrible Roruva hellAnd experience suffering for a long time.But those who in the noble DhammaAre endowed with acceptance and inner peace,When they discard the human body,Will fill up the heavenly hosts of devas." (KS I,40-41; SN 11:39)

Although this was apparently her first direct encounter with the Buddha, Kokanada understood a great deal about kamma and rebirth. She saw that people are reborn in lower realms (including hell) because they lack insight and disparage the Dhamma.

She also perceived that humans can attain deva or brahma births by discerning the Four Noble Truths: suffering, its cause, its cessation, and the Noble Eightfold Path leading to its cessation. Her knowledge of Dhamma does not seem to go beyond this.

THE MAHA-SAMAYA SUTTA

The Maha-samaya Sutta, or Discourse on the Great Assembly,[17] is the most stunning illustration of higher beings coming to the human plane expressly to pay respects to the Buddha along with the arahants. This "mighty gathering" took place when the Lord returned to the land of his ancestors, near Kapilavatthu. Five hundred recently ordained bhikkhus, from the Sakyan and Koliyan clans, came to him to declare their attainment of arahantship. Devas from many thousands of world systems approached to observe the occasion.

Four brahmas from the Pure Abodes, noticing that most of the other devas had gathered in the Great Wood to see the Buddha and arahants, decided to visit too. So they assumed grosser form, appeared before the Buddha, saluted him, and stood respectfully to one side. The first one announced why they had come: "Great is the assembly in the forest here, the devas have metAnd we are here to see the unconquered Sangha."

Although "Sangha" can refer either to the community of monks or to all noble disciples, the adjective "unconquered" implies that the brahmas were admiring the arahant monks led by the Buddha.

The second brahma said: "The monks with concentrated minds are straight:They guard their senses as the driver does his reins."

The third used more similes to describe the achievement of arahants: "Bars and barriers broken, the threshold-stone of lust torn up,Unstained the spotless seers go, like well-trained elephants."

The last one spoke these lines: "Who takes refuge in the Buddha, no downward path will go:Having left the body he'll join the deva hosts." (DN 20.3)

This brahma knew that anyone who has genuine faith in the Buddha will not create kamma that could lead to a lower plane of existence. That is how taking refuge in the Buddha assures us of a deva birth, not some magical power of his.

The Buddha then told the monks that devas and brahmas from the surrounding world systems come frequently to see the Tathagata and the Sangha. It is not Gotama the Sakyan prince that they honor, but Gotama the Buddha and the community of noble ones. The Buddha indicates that this is a general rule.

Wise deities used to come to pay obeisance to past Buddhas and will do the same for future ones too.

Then, so the monks could learn their identities, the Buddha announced the names of the groups of devas and brahmas as they presented themselves before him. The list included earth-bound devas, the Four Great Kings with their retinues, asuras, Sakka, residents of the Tusita and Yama planes, occupants of the sun and moon, denizens of the two highest deva planes, and Maha Brahma "shining bright with all his train."

The Buddha related that the devas were saying: "He who's transcended birth, he for whomNo obstacle remains, who's crossed the flood,Him cankerless, we'll see, the Mighty One,Traversing free without transgression, asIt were the moon that passes through clouds." (DN 20.19)

This discourse illustrates another aspect of the relationship between the Buddha, the Supreme Teacher, and heavenly beings. Some of them only yearn for an audience so they can express their confidence in him, acclaiming him in public.

IV. The Role of Devas in the Buddha's Career

At pivotal moments in the Buddha's career, deities often played supporting roles. We read of devas showing respect at these turning points, helping him to overcome obstacles, and frequently proclaiming his feats far and wide.

The Bodhisatta's last birth

At the moment of the Bodhisatta's final conception the gods rejoiced. They knew that such a special being was arising after the long "darkness of ignorance" that set in when the Buddha Kassapa's Dispensation disappeared. After having perfected all theparamis, every Bodhisatta is born on the Tusita deva plane (No. 9) in his next to last existence. There he waits until all the requisite conditions on earth are ripe for the rekindling of the Dhamma. Then the Bodhisatta passes away and enters his mother's womb, and after ten months he is born. The attainment of Buddhahood requires a human existence with its characteristic combination of suffering and pleasure.

From the Venerable Ananda, the Buddha's personal attendant, we learn about "the Tathagata's wonderful and marvellous qualities," which he himself had heard directly from the Buddha: "Mindful and fully aware... the Bodhisatta appeared in the Tusita deva plane... Mindful and fully aware the Bodhisatta remained in the Tusita deva plane... for the whole of his lifespan...

When the Bodhisatta passed away from the Tusita deva plane and descended into his mother's womb, then a great immeasurable light surpassing the splendor of the gods appeared in the world with its gods, its Maras and its Brahmas, in this generation with its recluses and brahmans, with its princes and its people...

When the Bodhisatta had descended into his mother's womb, four young deities came to guard him at the four quarters so that no humans or non-humans or anyone at all could harm the Bodhisatta or his mother." (MN 123.7-8)

The conception of a Buddha-to-be in his final body causes unusual physical phenomena in various realms. In fact, certain natural laws govern the major events in the careers of all Buddhas, past, present, and future: "It is the rule, monks, that when a Bodhisatta descends from Tusita into his mother's womb," such a light appears and all these special phenomena occur (DN 14.1.17). The devas protect the Bodhisatta's foetus inside his mother so he can grow perfectly. They shelter the mother so she is at peace, free from sensual desire, and relaxed, enabling the baby to develop in ideal conditions.

The description of his final birth in this discourse shows how important the devas are to this unique baby. Queen Mahamaya gave birth standing under a tree in the woods near the village of Lumbini: "When the bodhisatta came forth from his mother's womb, first the gods received him, then human beings... He did not touch the earth.

The four young gods [the Four Great Kings of plane No. 6] received him and set him before his mother saying: 'Rejoice, O queen, a son of great power has been born to you.'... Then a great immeasurable light surpassing the splendor of the gods appeared in the world... And this ten-thousandfold world system shook and quaked and trembled, and there too a great immeasurable light surpassing the splendor of the gods appeared." (MN 123.17-21)

The recluse Asita, who was associated with the court of the Bodhisatta's father, witnessed these heavenly celebrations. Asita was visiting the deva worlds at the time so he asked them, "Why are you all so happy and joyful?... I've never seen such excitement as this." The devas explained to him: "In a village called Lumbini, in the Sakyan country... a bodhisatta has been born!

A being set on Buddhahood has been born, a superlative being without comparison, a precious pearl of the health and goodness of the human world. That's why we're so glad, so excited, so pleased. Of all beings this one is perfect, this man is the pinnacle, the ultimate, the hero of beings! This is the man who, from the forest of the Masters, will set the wheel of Teaching turning — the roar of the lion, King of Beasts!" (Sn vv. 679-84)

Some of these devas were probably ariyasthemselves, and others would have been aware of the infant's future destiny. They rejoiced that the way to the end of suffering would soon be expounded, and Asita, stirred by their revelation, went to see the new-born child with his own eyes.

Period of renunciation and asceticism

After living a refined life as a prince for many years, the Bodhisatta gradually became dissatisfied with this tedious round of hollow sense pleasures. His paramis, built up for aeons, came to the fore, ripe for the attainment of Buddhahood. He knew he had to find the way to release from suffering, so on the very night his wife gave birth to their only child he renounced the home life to become a recluse. Over the next six years he mastered the stages of concentration under various gurus and tormented his flesh with the most severe ascetic practices. Deities observed his progress from the deva planes and occasionally intervened.

For example, when the Bodhisatta considered abstaining from all food, deities came and offered to infuse heavenly food through the pores of his skin, but the Bodhisatta refused: "Deities came to me and said: 'Good sir, do not practice entirely cutting off food. If you do so, we shall infuse heavenly food into the pores of your skin and you will live on that.' I considered, 'If I claim to be completely fasting while these deities infuse heavenly food... and I live on that, then I shall be lying.' So I dismissed those deities saying, 'There is no need.'" (MN 36.27)

The gods, observing the Great Being, would not let him kill himself through voluntary starvation, but he on his part would not allow himself to speak untruth even by implication; thus he would not accept their offer. Although the Bodhisatta undertook long grueling fasts, he still did not come any closer to what he really sought: the way to uproot all the causes of suffering and so end rebirth once and for all.

Under the Bodhi Tree

After the Bodhisatta spent six years pursuing ascetic practices to their limit, he finally set out alone to discover another method to fulfill his aim. He had realized that self-torture was not the solution, so he started to consume normal food again. He walked to the place now known as Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India. There he began to meditate under a tree, using a method he recalled from a spontaneous childhood experience of meditation. He was determined either to attain full liberation then and there or else to die in the attempt.

According to tradition, as the Bodhisatta struggled against Mara beneath the Bodhi Tree, when Mara challenged his right to attain awakening, he asked the earth to witness how he had perfected himself for so long to reach Buddhahood.

Many devas and brahmas joined the battle, vouching for his completed paramis. Thereupon Mara, along with his evil troops, was routed and fled the scene. This "calling the earth to witness" is memorialized in innumerable paintings and statues: the Bodhisatta, seated cross-legged in meditation posture, touches the ground by his knee with his right hand, a gesture intended to draw forth its testimony.

In the eighth week following the awakening, while the newly enlightened Buddha was still near the Bodhi Tree, he hesitated to teach the Dhamma, apprehensive that it would be too profound for human comprehension. Brahma Sahampati then became aware of what was going on in the Buddha's mind. This brahma, according to the commentaries, had become a non-returner under a previous Buddha and resided in one of the Pure Abodes. Distressed at the Buddha's hesitancy, he thought: "The world will be lost, utterly perish since the mind of the Tathagata, Arahant, Supreme Buddha inclines to inaction and not towards preaching the Dhamma!"

So he appeared before the Buddha, respectfully stooped with his right knee to the ground, paid homage and appealed to him to teach: "Let the Exalted One preach the Dhamma! There are beings with little dust in their eyes; they are wasting from not hearing the Dhamma. There will be those who will understand the Dhamma." (MN 26.20)

The Buddha then gazed out upon the world with his "eye of a Buddha," and having seen that there are beings "with little dust in their eyes" who would be capable of understanding the truth, he announced, "Open for them are the doors to the Deathless" — a gift that has come down to us through the centuries. Brahma Sahampati was gratified and joyously thought, "Now I am one who has given an opening for the Buddha to teach the Dhamma to beings." The Brahma then bowed to the Buddha and vanished.[18]

One might wonder why the Buddha, who had prepared himself for numerous lifetimes just to teach the Dhamma to other beings, needed the prompting of Brahma Sahampati to set out on his mission. The commentary offers two explanations: (1) only after he had attained Buddhahood could the Buddha fully comprehend the actual scope of the defilements saturating the minds of beings and the profundity of the Dhamma; and (2) he wanted a brahma to request him to teach so the numerous followers of Maha Brahma would be inclined to listen to the Dhamma.

Turning the Wheel of the DhammaNow that he was committed to transmit the Dhamma, the Lord had to find his first students. He determined that the five ascetics who had assisted him in his struggle for the last few years would be the appropriate auditors. Aware that the group was staying at Isipatana, a royal deer reserve not far from Varanasi, he made his way there in stages. When the ascetics first caught sight of him in the distance, they decided not to greet him, for they believed he had reverted to a comfortable life and had abandoned the search for truth. However, as the Buddha approached, his unique demeanour dispelled this assumption and they listened keenly when he spoke. He taught them the Middle Way between the extremes of asceticism and immersion in sense pleasures, the path which he himself had followed when he abandoned futile austerities.

The Buddha next explained the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. While he spoke devas and brahmas paid close attention, and at the conclusion they sounded their applause upwards from the lowest plane of the earth-bound devas, through each of the six sense-sphere deva planes, even up through the Brahma-world: "The matchless Wheel of Dhamma, which cannot be stopped by any recluse, brahman, deva, Mara, brahma, or by anyone in the world, has been set in motion by the Blessed One in the Deer Park at Isipatana near Varanasi." (KS V, 360; SN 56:11; also Vin. I,10)

Under the impact of this momentous event, the entire ten-thousandfold world system shook and reverberated, and a brilliant light appeared, far superior to that of all the devas and brahmas, matched only by wisdom illuminating the Truth. The gods were messengers conveying this wonderful news throughout the universe.

When the Buddha was ill

Devas came to the Buddha several times when he was physically unwell.

Once the renegade monk Devadatta, who wanted to take over the Sangha by force, hurled a massive boulder at the Buddha. The stone splintered before it hit the Lord, but a small fragment lodged in his foot, causing severe pain. So for some time, the Buddha lay down "mindful and discerning," observing the painful sensations (KS I, 38-40; SN 1:38).

Then a large group of devas came to see the Teacher, anxious for his welfare. Impressed by the perfect equanimity he displayed despite the wound, they spoke in turn, praising him as a bull elephant, a lion, a thoroughbred, a bull, an ox, for his ability to patiently endure painful bodily feelings — "racking, sharp, piercing, harrowing, disagreeable" — mindful and clearly comprehending, without becoming distressed.

A few months before the Parinibbana, the Buddha spent the rains retreat near Vesali, where he suffered from dysentery. According to the Dhammapada Commentary (to vv. 206-8) Sakka, king of the devas, found out the Blessed One was ill and came to nurse him. The Buddha told him not to bother as there were many monks to handle this task, but Sakka stayed on and looked after the Buddha's physical needs until he had recovered. Some monks were surprised to see the great deva doing such menial chores. The Buddha explained to them that Sakka was so devoted to the Tathagata because he had gained stream-entry by learning the Dhamma from him (see above p.20). The Buddha then pointed out that it is always good to associate with the wise, to be in their presence and learn from the example of their actions as well as from their verbal teachings.

The Parinibbana

Devas and brahmas were active at several phases of the Maha Parinibbana — the Buddha's final passing away at Kusinara — as recorded in the Maha Parinibbana Suttanta (DN 16). This event was not just the demise of a greatly revered being but it also represented the personal consummation of his teachings. It was the utter, permanent cessation of the aggregates of the one who discovered and taught the way to the end of suffering.

A short while before the Buddha attained final Nibbana, he lay down to rest between two sal-trees. They began flowering profusely, out of season. After some time, the Buddha told the monk who had been fanning him to go away. Then the Venerable Ananda, his devoted attendant, asked him why he had dismissed that monk.

The Buddha replied: "Ananda, the devas from ten world-spheres have gathered to see the Tathagata. For a distance of twelve yojanas around the Mallas' sal-grove near Kusinara there is not a space you could touch with the point of a hair that is not filled with mighty devas, and they are grumbling, 'We have come a long way to see the Tathagata. It is rare for a Tathagata, a Fully Enlightened Buddha, to arise in the world, and tonight in the last watch the Tathagata will attain final Nibbana, and this mighty monk is standing in front of the Lord, preventing us from getting a last glimpse of the Tathagata!'" (DN 16.5.5)

The indomitable Ananda, who had permission to ask the Buddha any question, next wanted to know what kinds of devas were around them. The Buddha said he saw lower devas who are "weeping and tearing their hair" in distress, moaning, "All too soon the Blessed Lord is passing away, all too soon the Well-Farer is passing away, all too soon the Eye of the World is disappearing!"

But there were devas free from craving who endured this patiently, saying. "All compounded things are impermanent — what is the use of this?" (DN 16.5.6).[19]

After passing through the successive jhanas, the Buddha finally expired, attaining Parinibbana, the immutable cessation of rebirth. At that moment the earth quaked, as it does whenever Buddhas pass away. Brahma Sahampati, who had entreated the Buddha to teach forty-five years earlier, spoke a verse as a short eulogy: "All beings in the world, all bodies must break up:Even the Teacher, peerless in the human world,The mighty Lord and perfect Buddha has expired."Sakka repeated a verse of the Buddha's on the theme of impermanence.[20]

While Sahampati used conventional speech adoring the deceased Lord, Sakka spoke in impersonal and universal terms. His verse makes an excellent theme for meditation and is often chanted at Buddhist funerals: "Impermanent are compounded things, prone to rise and fall,Having risen, they're destroyed, their passing is truest bliss." (DN 16.6.10)

All the "compounded things," which make up everyone and everything in all the world, come into being and perish. Only when they cease utterly never to rearise ("their passing") can there be the perfect bliss, Nibbana. These stanzas by the renowned brahma and the king of the devas show how the beings on the higher planes applied their insight into impermanence and suffering, even to the Parinibbana of their Lord and Master.

After they had honored the Buddha's body for a full week, the Mallas of Kusinara decided it was time for the funeral. They began to prepare for the cremation but could not lift the body and carry it out the southern gate of the city. Puzzled, they asked the Venerable Anuruddha what was wrong. This great elder, renowned for his "divine eye," told the devotees that the devas had their own ideas of how to arrange the funeral. The deities, he said, planned first to pay "homage to the Lord's body with heavenly dance and song" and then take it in procession through the city of Kusinara to the cremation site. The devas intended the cremation to be at the Mallas' shrine known as Makuta-Bandhana. The Mallas were happy to change their plans and proceeded unhindered to arrange the funeral as the devas wished. Out of respect the gods participated in all phases of the funerary proceedings. It is said that "even the sewers and rubbish-heaps of Kusinara were covered knee-high with [celestial] coral tree flowers. And the devas as well as the Mallas... honored the Lord's body with divine and human dancing and song."

They transported the body to the Makuta-Bandhana shrine and placed it there. They wrapt it many times in layers of finest cloth, built the pyre of scented wood, and placed the bier bearing the Buddha's body on top. But when the men tried to light the fire it would not ignite. Again the reason lay with the devas. Anuruddha explained that the devas would not allow the pyre to be lit until the Venerable Maha Kassapa arrived for the cremation.

Once Maha Kassapa and his group of bhikkhus had arrived and paid their last respects to the Exalted One's body, the pyre blazed up spontaneously, burning until almost nothing remained behind. (DN 16.6.22-23)

V. Liberation for Humans, Devas, and Brahmas

The encounter with sufferingHuman beings, devas, and brahmas are the broad categories of beings in the "happy realms of existence." The human world is marked by a pervasive admixture of happiness and suffering. This dual nature is the main reason why Buddhas are born here. The uneven quality of human life enables us to realize the unreliable nature of happiness and inspires in us a sense of urgency about the need to win deliverance from suffering.

Unlike the beings in the lower planes, few humans are overwhelmed by unmitigated and excruciating pain. We do, of course, experience physical pain and mental stress, but such experience is generally intermittent. For the most part our suffering is of a more subtle character. We can observe that every pleasure brings along some measure of dissatisfaction. Our contentment is unsteady and secured with difficulty.

We must struggle to satisfy our needs and desires, but become anxious the moment we succeed. Even when we are relatively happy we are beset by a deep, subtle kind of suffering. This suffering, which lies below the threshold of painful feeling, stems from the momentary vanishing of all the conditioned formations of body and mind. In spite of our pain, human beings with an inclination for the Dhamma can make the effort to live by the Five Precepts of morality. We can find the energy to train our minds towards the concentration and insight required for awakening.

In contrast, devas see far less of the evident kinds of misery in their daily existence. Some brahmas meet no gross suffering except when they look down at beings on lower planes. Many devas instantly obtain whatever sense object they wish for. Brahmas dwell in sublime bliss and equanimity. In the fine-material and immaterial spheres ill will is suppressed, and without it there is no mental unhappiness.

It is difficult for deities to appreciate that everything changes and to recognize that their present pleasure and bliss do not last forever. Like Baka Brahma, many imagine that they are eternal. The subtler forms of suffering tend to escape them as well. Without help from a Buddha or one of his disciples, they do not understand that the impersonal conditions that will terminate their felicity are already in operation. Many of the higher beings, as we have seen, have no idea that they will die, that their worlds and lives are in flux, that they are not fully in control, but are decaying at every instant. So in spite of their excellent concentration and present opulence, they are even at a disadvantage compared to human beings, who are driven by pain and frustration to seek the path to deliverance.

How then can such beings be induced to meditate? Why should they become concerned with suffering and its cessation? We have indicated the answers to those questions in preceding chapters. This is the job of the Buddha as "teacher of the gods."The devas aspire to be humanSome devas long to be reborn as human beings because they are aware of the greater possibility of comprehending impermanence, suffering, and non-self on the human plane. There is no real illness on the deva planes. When a deva faces death, his aura begins to fade and dirt appears on his clothes for the first time. When the gods see these indications of impending death, they tell their friend: "Go from here, friend, to a good bourn. Having gone to a good bourn, gain that which is good to gain. Having gained that which is good to gain, become firmly established in it."

The Buddha then explained the devas' concept of a good birth and of what is "good to gain": "It is human existence, bhikkhus, that is reckoned by the devas to be a good bourn. When a human being acquires faith in the Dhamma-Vinaya taught by the Tathagata, this is reckoned by the devas to be a gain that is good to gain. When faith is steadfast in him, firmly rooted, established and strong, not to be destroyed by any recluse or brahman or deva or Mara or brahma or by anyone else in the world, this is reckoned by the devas to be firmly established."

The last sentence refers to a stream-enterer. Only stream-enterers (and other noble ones) have such steadfast confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. They will definitely attain final awakening and release, and until then will never be reborn on a plane below the human one. To become anariya is the greatest achievement for any being lost in the round of rebirth.

Only by entering the stream to awakening can beings proceed to eliminate all the causes of suffering.

The Buddha explained that the devas view a human existence as an excellent opportunity for growth in morality, giving, faith, and understanding. With compassionate concern for their dying cohort, they say: "Go, friend, to a good bourn,To the fellowship of humans.On becoming human acquire faithUnsurpassed in the true Dhamma.

That faith made steadfast,Become rooted and standing firm,Will be unshakeable for lifeIn the true Dhamma well proclaimed.Having abandoned misconduct by body,Misconduct by speech as well,Misconduct by mind and whatever elseIs reckoned as a fault,Having done much that is goodBoth by body and by speech,And done good with a mindThat is boundless and free from clinging,With that merit as a basisMade abundant by generosity,You should establish other peopleIn the true Dhamma and the holy life.'" (It 83)

The devas urge their friend to become a morally upright human being. He should give up everything unwholesome, be generous, and, once established in faith and meritorious deeds, help spread the Buddha's message.Not only do wise gods long for human birth to practice the Dhamma, they also rejoice when they observe people establishing themselves in the way to the cessation of suffering. Such deities are convinced that human beings like these are greater than themselves. In spite of all the magnificent sights, appealing perfumes and tastes, melodious music, and other sensual pleasures they have at their beck and call, these devas understand the unsatisfactory nature of existence sufficiently to value the effort to put an end to samsaric wandering.

In the sutta preceding the one quoted above, the Buddha spoke of "joyous utterances" devas give forth in three situations: (1) when a man is preparing to ordain as a bhikkhu; (2) when a person is "engaged in cultivating the... requisites of enlightenment";[21] and (3) when someone attains the goal, utterly destroying the mental defilements. Whenever devas notice people engaged in the first two deeds, they rejoice saying, "A noble disciple is doing battle with Mara." When the devas see that someone on the human plane has become fully awakened, they declare: "A noble disciple has won the battle. He was in the forefront of the fight and now dwells victorious." They commend and extol the arahant in verse (It 82).

Paths to awakening and happy birthsThe Buddha has explained in many ways that liberation is infinitely more valuable than any state of existence. Even blissful lives in the deva and brahma planes invariably include subtle suffering, end in death, and are followed by uncertain rebirth.

In a discourse called "Reappearance
according to one's Aspiration," he said: "A bhikkhu possesses faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom. He thinks: 'Oh, that on the dissolution of the body, after death, I might reappear in the company of well-to-do nobles!'

He fixes his mind on that [idea], establishes it, develops it. These aspirations and this abiding of his, thus developed and cultivated, lead to his reappearance there. This, bhikkhus, is the path... that leads to reappearance there."The Buddha repeated the same statement in regard to every happy plane as far as the highest realm of existence. The good kamma generated by positive mental qualities, conjoined with the aspiration for a particular birth, can bring about rebirth on that plane. So by cultivating these traits one can be reborn in any of the six deva planes. With the support of the requisite jhana, one can take birth in any of the fine-material or immaterial planes. If, additionally, one has destroyed the five lower fetters and become a non-returner, one can be reborn spontaneously in the Pure Abodes.

The supreme aim, however, is arahantship. If one has purified one's mind totally of greed, hate, and delusion, one would experience "the destruction of the taints." Hence the discourse culminates with a monk aspiring for arahantship: "Oh, that by realizing for myself with direct knowledge, I might here and now enter upon and abide in the deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom that are taintless with the destruction of the taints!' And by realizing for himself with direct knowledge, he here and now enters upon and abides in the deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom that are taintless with the destruction of the taints. Bhikkhus, this bhikkhu does not reappear anywhere at all." (MN 120.37)

That bhikkhu's demise is parinibbana, the end of all possible forms of suffering forever.

Although devas and brahmas have very long lives pervaded by inconceivable bliss, they are not inherently greater than human beings. As we have seen, they are all subject to repeated becoming. A deva may well be reborn on one of the lower planes. Brahmas can fall to a ghostly or hellish existence after one intermediate life as a deva or human. The Buddha states that even lives lasting many aeons in the highest formless planes can end in lower births.

Therefore such lives provide no security, but only temporary remission of the underlying disease, and if they are not dedicated to progress towards Nibbana their value is virtually nil. One who has understood the noble Dhamma will look upon such modes of existence with revulsion and dispassion (see GS V, 41; AN X,29).

Only by becoming an ariya can one be sure that one faces no more lower rebirths and is headed for the complete cessation of samsara. To become a stream-enterer requires three things. One has to (1) develop confidence in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, (2) relinquish any idea that rituals lead to liberation, and most important, (3) eliminate the deep-seated view "I am real and lasting" that characterizes all worldlings. By uprooting that deluded view, noble ones remove their tendency to create the heavy bad kamma that leads to birth in the realms of woe.

Sometimes lay people, not yet ripe enough to desire liberation, asked the Buddha how to be successful in their mundane endeavors or how to be reborn on a celestial plane after death.

The Master would reply with a discourse suited to their limited ability and inclination. He would tell them to give generously and live a moral life.

He would specifically urge them to observe the Five Precepts without a breach and to undertake the Eight Precepts on special occasions.

Generating such good kamma is the way to general well-being, now and after death. These basic steps form the starting point of the gradual training that leads all the way to arahantship.

The Dhamma is consistent from start to finish.When the Buddha describes the entire course of a bhikkhu's training, from leaving home to arahantship, he devotes considerable attention to the jhanas, the highest form of concentration. One who can keep the mind absorbed on a single object can apply this capacity for attention to insight, the wisdom section of the path. One skilled in jhana can easily discern the impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and selfless nature of the aggregates for extended periods. The jhanas also create strong wholesome kamma, as they are all associated with some form of wisdom.

Individuals who practice the jhanas but do not reflect on them with insight may think the jhanas permanently efface their unwholesome tendencies. The Buddha found, however, that mental defilements are only suppressed — perhaps for a very long time — by these meditative states.

Such absorptions bring bliss and peace here and now, generate wholesome kamma, and may bring rebirth in a plane of the brahma world.

However, they do not uproot the latent defilements and thus cannot cut off the root causes of samsara. For this one needs insight-wisdom, the discernment of the three universal marks of impermanence, suffering, and non-self.

Conclusion

Let us human beings apply ourselves wholeheartedly and take up the unique opportunity given by our present birth. In the round of samsara it is extremely rare to rise above the realms of woe, where the way out of suffering cannot be followed, and a human birth is even more favorable to awakening than birth in the realm of the gods. Devas envy us our place, ostensibly so low on the cosmic scale, and wish to be reborn as humans. The Buddha Sasana still thrives, the Dhamma is available in full, there are excellent teachers who are true disciples of the Master, and we are on the best plane for striving.

Final awakening does not bring "eternal life" in some heaven as many religions promise. Nibbana means letting go of everything — relinquishing every state of being anywhere in the cosmos. It is our attachments and cravings, rooted in ignorance, that keep us revolving in samsara's misery.

Wisdom shows how all existence is bound up with suffering and thereby illuminates the futility of all craving for being. Then all old kamma is burnt up and no new fuel for birth is created. The process of birth and death just stops, once and for all. This is not the end of an existing being, as no such being ever was. It is only the end of a process, of the flux of physical and mental phenomena arising and vanishing due to complex networks of causes and conditions. There is no controlling or enduring self of any sort at any time.

What the Buddha taught deities, he taught people; what he taught people, he taught devas and brahmas: just the universal fact of suffering, and the way to the cessation of suffering — morality, concentration, and wisdom.

For the Welfare of ManyThe teacher, the great sage,Is the first in the world;Following him is the discipleWhose composure is perfected;And then the learner trainingOn the path, one who hasLearned much and is virtuous.

These three are chiefAmongst devas and humans:Illuminators, preaching Dhamma,Opening the door to the Deathless,They free many people from bondage.Those who follow the pathWell taught by the unsurpassedCaravan-leader, who are diligentIn the Sublime One's dispensation,Make an end of sufferingWithin this very life itself. (It 84)

Notes

In some cases my quotations from existing translations have been modified, especially when quoting from GS. Quotations from MLDB invariably, and from Ud, It, and LDB usually, are exactly as they occur in these contemporary translations. Bhikkhu Bodhi's draft translation of SN is quoted verbatim.1.Only ariyas, noble ones, can be sure that they will never suffer the agony of rebirth in one of the lower realms where suffering is incredibly intense and all-pervasive.2.It seems probable that some devas become anagamis or even arahants while practicing the Buddha's teachings in the celestial planes, but I cannot cite any canonical texts to support this.3.This phrase comes from Ven. Mahakaccana's elucidation of a brief remark by the Buddha: "And how, friends, is the mind called 'stuck internally'? Here, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhana, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. If his consciousness follows after the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion, then his mind is called 'stuck internally.'... If his consciousness does not follow after the rapture and pleasure born of seclusion... then his mind is called 'not stuck internally'" (MN 138.12). Clinging to a jhana one has attained can prevent one from attaining awakening.4.This phenomena is mentioned several times. Once, for example, a bhikkhu named Hatthaka had become an anagami. When he died, he was reborn in the Aviha brahma plane, the lowest of the Pure Abodes. Shortly after arising there he came to see the Buddha. Hatthaka intended to stand "in the presence of the Exalted One," yet he was "unable to do so, but sunk down, collapsed, could not stand upright." Seeing this, the Buddha told him, "Create a gross body form." Once he had done so, he could stand at one side and have a discussion with the Buddha (GS I, 257; AN III, 125).5.The opening section of the Samyutta Nikaya is devoted entirely to dialogues between the Buddha and various gods.6.The Pali word naga is used to refer to any powerful creature, particularly the cobra and the bull elephant. In relation to the Buddha and the arahants it is used in this latter sense; see Dhp. Nagavagga (Chap. 23).7.Direct quotations from the sutta are from the Walshe translation unless otherwise noted. See Bibliography for details of all translations consulted for this discourse.8.This paragaraph is based on Sister Vajira's translation.9.The commentary points out that the Buddha himself first penetrated the Abhidhamma during the fourth of the seven weeks he spent meditating near the Bodhi Tree immediately following his awakening (Expos 16-17).10.We may deduce that they proceeded to the third plane of the first jhana, No. 14. The brahma must have been the incumbent Maha Brahma, the God All-Mighty of many religions. That would make his ministers and retinue the occupants of the two brahma planes lower than Maha Brahma's own realm, Nos. 13 and 12 respectively.11.That the being Mara is a deva on the highest deva plane accentuates the fact that the gods are not necessarily wise or good. Mara also stands for death and defilements.12.The part of the discourse about the brahmas ends here, but Mara was unhappy with this turn of events and interceded again, urging the Buddha not to share what he had learned with others. See MLDB for the complete sutta (No. 49).13.The arahant Kumara Kassapa once said, "Human beings are generally considered unclean, evil-smelling, horrible, revolting by the devas," so they rarely visit this world. See DN 23.9.14.For example by Ananda at MN 53.25; by the Buddha at DN 3.1.28.15.The Pure Abodes are the highest fine-material brahma planes (Nos. 23-27) and are populated exclusively by anagamis and arahants. The anagamis will never be reborn on a plane below the Pure Abodes because they have eliminated all traces of ill will and desire for sense pleasures. When they have become arahants in the Pure Abodes, they will, of course, have no more births anywhere at all.16.The same brahma helped another member of that group attain arahantship under Buddha Gotama. The brahma gave a detailed riddle to Kumara Kassapa and told him to ask the Buddha its meaning. When the bhikkhu received the explanation of the imagery, he attained arahantship. See MN 23.17.DN 20. See also Sayagyi U Chit Tin, The Great Occasion.18.This story appears at MN 26.19-21; SN 6:1 (= KS I, 171-74); also at Vin. I, 4-7.19."Devas who are free from craving" refers to brahmas from the Pure Abodes.20.See LDB 290, DN 17.2.17.21.These are the thirty-seven bodhipakkhiya dhamma, such as the four foundations of mindfulness, etc. See DN 16.3.50.