..續本文上一頁an keep in mind, and are general principles to make use of in judging and deciding the various questions you will encounter in the future. The Buddha said that if doubt arises on any point, we must compare the doubtful proposition with the general principles. If it fails to fit in with the general principles, reject it as not being a teaching of the Buddha. Whoever made the statement has got it wrong; such a teacher is teaching the wrong thing. Even if he claims to have heard it from the Buddha himself, don”t believe a word of it. If it doesn”t fit in with the general principles, that is, doesn”t fit in with the Suttas and the Vinaya, reject it as not being an utterance of the Buddha. The Buddha”s teaching is non- grasping, non-clinging, su..atā, anattā (non-selfhood), and anything dealing only with elements, rather than with beings, inpiduals, selves, “I”, and “he” or “she”.
Out in the country, in the district where I come from, people used to have to learn this Pali verse on the first day they went to live in a monastery:
“Yathā paccaya. pavattamana. dhàtumattameveta. (These things are merely natural elements ceaselessly concocted by conditions,)
Dhātumattako (Just elements only,)
Nissatto (Not real beings,)
Nijjavo (Not inpidual lives,)
Su..o (Void of any self-entity.)
They had to learn this as the first thing on the very first day they went to stay in the monastery. They had not yet learned how to pay respect to the Buddha”s image, how to chant, or how to perform the morning and evening services; they had not yet learned how to carry out the pre-ordination procedures. In other words new arrivals were equipped with the highest knowledge, the very essence of Buddhism, right from the first day they entered the monastery to ask for ordination. Whether this custom still exists anywhere I don”t know, and whether applicants for ordination would understand what the verse means I don”t know either. But the objective of this custom was excellent, to give a person the essence of Buddhism right from the day he arrived. “Yathā paccaya., (these things are causally conditioned, that is, they are devoid of selfhood). Dhātumattameveta., (these things are only elements, that is, they are devoid of selfhood). Nissatto, nijjivo, su..o, (they are empty, nothing inpidual or personal, devoid of selfhood). “This they were taught on the very first day, but their descendants have let this custom die out. Who will be to blame when the day comes that su..atā is so little understood that there is. nothing left of the original Buddhism
I hope this has done something to stimulate you good people to do some thinking, and so help nourish and sustain Buddhism.
For the sake of the peace and happiness of the world, forget all about that “self”! 3
scriptURAL REFERENCES
IN THE ORIGINAL talks, Ajahn Buddhadāsa provided references (volume and page) to his sources in the Royal Siamese Pali edition of the Tipi.aka where appropriate. We have translated them into a form that should help interested readers to consult the English translations. They are listed according to the numbers of the Question-Sections as found in the “Contents”.
1) Majjhima-nikāya, Alagaddūpama-sutta (#22)
3) Majjhima-nikāya, Cū.a-ta.hā-sa.kheyya-sutta (#37)
5) A.guttāra-nikāya, Catukka-nipāta, Rhohitassa-vagga (#45)
6) Majjhima-nikāya, Alagaddūpama-sutta (#22)
7) Sa.yutta-nikāya, Mahāvāra-vagga, LV, vi, 3
8) Sa.yutta-nikāya, Mahāvāra-vagga, XLV, i, 76
9) A.guttāra-nikāya,Pa.caka-nipāta, The Warrior (#79)
10) Majjhima-nikāya, Cū.a-saccaka-sutta (#35)
11) A.guttāra-nikāya, Tika-nipāta, Mahā-vagga, Kālāma Sutta (#65)
12) A.guttāra-nikāya, Tika-nipāta, Enlightenment, (#103)
13) Majjhima-nikāya, Sa.āyatana-vibha.ga-sutta (#137)
14) A.guttāra-nikāya, Tika-nipāta, Devaduta-vagg…
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