023/ MN016-017 Cetokhila & Vanapattha
In this podcast, I'd like to deal with the next two sutras in the Majjhima Nikaya, numbers 16 and 17, the Cetakila and the Vanapata. These two sutras are about making progress on the spiritual path. In different sutras, the Buddha describes such progress in different ways, and these are two of them.
The Cetakila Sutra gives teachings about giving up greed and hate. We are all familiar with the three poisons, greed, hate and delusion. This sutra is mostly about giving up greed and hate, though here hate is mostly described as doubt.
Doubt about the teacher, doubt about the teaching, doubt about the sangha, doubt about the training, as well as more general animosity, discontent with one's fellows. And greed, greed is described here in terms of lusting for sensual pleasures, indulging the body, craving for rupas, gluttony, and what I suppose we can call megalomania. The person who abandons these bad habits may develop certain spiritual power, and this releases zeal, energy, concentration, investigation, and enthusiasm.
And the Buddha says that a trainee who has abandoned these five forms of greed and five forms of hate, and developed the five powers, may achieve complete liberation and become an arahat. That's the whole message of the Cetakila. Then the second of these sutras, the Vanapada, emphasizes that it is the spiritual life and progress on the spiritual life that matters, and is far more important than the material aspect of life.
Whether it's easy or difficult to gain livelihood, what matters is whether spiritual progress is made. Mostly we make what we consider to be the big decisions of life by considering material advantage. Will the change bring about more comfort, more money? Will we get the things we need more easily, and so on? Buddha is saying that that's not what's really important.
The really important thing is progress on the spiritual path, whether the material things come along or not, and here he measures progress by reference to some particular pointers again. Does mindfulness become established? Does the mind become more concentrated? Are the taints destroyed? Does a person attain freedom from bondage? We could rephrase these somewhat as, does the Dharma become more established in one's mind? Is one more single-minded in one's application to practice? Does one's character improve? Does one see through the lure of temptation? The last of these is quite interesting and dealt with in other sutras, because Buddhism doesn't really assert that one will arrive at a state in which temptation never comes up, but rather that through clear perception of the nature of things, one will become free because when the passions arise, one will clearly see where they lead to. In any case, the main point of this sutra is not really to explain these progress markers, but to assert that they are more important guides to how we should progress in life than questions of physical well-being. If the physical things come, and we make no spiritual progress, we should change our ways. If spiritual progress comes, even if the material things don't, we're on the right track.
Thank you very much.
Namo Amida Bu.
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