What is the Starting Point of all Advantageous States?
Venerable Bahiya once
approached the Blessed Buddha and asked: Sir, Please teach me the
Dhamma in brief, so that I can withdraw into retreat, and dwell secluded, keen,
ardent, alert and determined. Well, Bahiya, purify the very starting point of
all advantageous states. And what is the starting point of
all advantageous states?
1:
The Body merely as a transient and compounded Form.. 2: Feelings just as
vanishing Reactions to sense-contact.. 3: Mind only as a group of habitual
and conditioned Moods.. 4: All Phenomena simply as
discrete momentary Mental States..
Thereby removing
any desire,
jealousy, envy and discontent rooted in this world.. When, Bahiya, based upon
Morality,
established upon
Morality,
you develop these
Four
Foundations of Awareness in such a way, then both night and day, you will grow in all advantageous states, and not decline into
any degradation! Then the Venerable Bahiya, delighted, enjoying and rejoicing in what the
Blessed Buddha had explained, rose from his seat, and, after kneeling for the Blessed One, keeping him on his right, he left. Then dwelling all
alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, the Venerable Bahiya, realizing
it by direct experience, in this very life entered that incomparable goal
of
the Noble life for the sake of which clansmen rightly go forth from this
household life into homelessness. He directly knew: Destroyed is rebirth,
the Noble life is completed, done is what had to be done, there is no more
coming into any state of being... Venerable Bahiya had become another
one of the awakened Arahants!
The 4 great frames of
Reference!
Comment #:
Straight View = Seeing the Efficacy of Kamma! The
Straight View is understanding that
everyone is responsible for their own actions, and that all beings experience their
own delayed resulting echo effects,
of any good and bad action,
not only in this life, but in many future lives to come!
