#9. Senior Mendicants

Rāhula asks how to contemplate to let go of conceit and be free. The Buddha urges him to see the aggregates as not-self.At Sāvatthī. Seated to one side, Rāhula said to the Buddha: “Sir, how does one know and see so that the mind is rid of ego, possessiveness, and conceit for this conscious body and all external stimuli; and going beyond discrimination, it’s peaceful and well freed?” “Rāhula, when one truly sees any kind of form at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; coarse or fine; inferior or superior; far or near: all form—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self,’ one is freed by not grasping. [Read More]

Rāhula asks how to contemplate to let go of conceit. The Buddha urges him to see the aggregates as not-self.At Sāvatthī. Then Venerable Rāhula went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Sir, how does one know and see so that there’s no ego, possessiveness, or underlying tendency to conceit for this conscious body and all external stimuli?” “Rāhula, one truly sees any kind of form at all—past, future, or present; internal or external; coarse or fine; inferior or superior; far or near: all form—with right understanding: ‘This is not mine, I am not this, this is not my self. [Read More]

Remorseful after being admonished by the Buddha on his deathbed, Venerable Channa asks for teachings from the mendicants. Unsatisfied, he seeks out Ānanda, who teaches him the address to Kaccāyana (SN 12.15).At one time several senior mendicants were staying near Benares, in the deer park at Isipatana. Then in the late afternoon, Venerable Channa came out of retreat. Taking a key, he went from dwelling to dwelling, going up to the senior mendicants and saying, “May the venerable senior mendicants advise me and instruct me! [Read More]

Venerable Khemaka is ill, and some senior mendicants ask Dāsaka to convey their concern to him. There follows a series of exchanges mediated by Dāsaka until eventually Khemaka, despite his illness, goes to see the other mendicants himself. The seniors are asking to determine Khemaka’s understanding of the Dhamma, and he says that although he has let go of the five lower fetters, he still has a residual attachment to the five aggregates. [Read More]

Venerable Assaji is ill, and asks the Buddha to visit him. The Buddha does so, and learns that Assaji has difficulty maintaining his meditation. The Buddha encourages him to contemplate the impermanence of the aggregates.At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground. Now at that time Venerable Assaji was staying in a monastery built by a Kassapa, and he was sick, suffering, gravely ill. [Read More]

Venerable Vakkali is ill, and asks the Buddha to visit him. The Buddha does so, but says there is no point in seeing his physical body, as one who sees the Dhamma sees him. Later, Vakkali is taken to the Black Rock on Isigili, where he declares that he has no attachment to the aggregates, and takes his own life. The Buddha says that he had attained final extinguishment.At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, in the Bamboo Grove, the squirrels’ feeding ground. [Read More]

Venerable Anurādha is questioned by a number of ascetics, and ends up by saying that the Realized One is described in terms other than “existing after death” and so on. The wanderers say he’s a fool, so he checks with the Buddha, who says that a Realized One is not even apprehended in this life, so how can he be described after death?At one time the Buddha was staying near Vesālī, at the Great Wood, in the hall with the peaked roof. [Read More]

Venerable Yamaka had the wrong view that one whose defilements have ended is annihilated at death. The monks ask Sāriputta to help, and he asks Yamaka whether the Realized One in this very life may be identified as one of the aggregates, or apart from them. Convinced, Yamaka lets go of his view and sees the Dhamma.At one time Venerable Sāriputta was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery. Now at that time a mendicant called Yamaka had the following harmful misconception: “As I understand the Buddha’s teaching, a mendicant who has ended the defilements is annihilated and destroyed when their body breaks up, and doesn’t exist after death. [Read More]

Venerable Tissa, the Blessed One’s paternal cousin, tells the monks that he is dissatisfied as a monk. When the Buddha hears of this, he calls Tissa to him, and questions him on the aggregates. As Tissa showed his understanding of each question, the Buddha praised him, lifting his spirits.At Sāvatthī. Now at that time Venerable Tissa, the Buddha’s paternal cousin, informed several mendicants: “Reverends, my body feels like it’s drugged. I’m disorientated, the teachings don’t inspire me, and dullness and drowsiness fill my mind. [Read More]

Ānanda praises Venerable Puṇṇa Mantāniputta, and says that it was when hearing his teaching on the aggregates that he understood the Dhamma.At Sāvatthī. There Ānanda addressed the mendicants: “Reverends, mendicants!” “Reverend,” they replied. Ānanda said this: “Reverends, the venerable named Puṇṇa Mantāniputta was very helpful to me when I was just ordained. He gave me this advice: ‘Reverend Ānanda, the notion “I am” occurs because of grasping, not by not grasping. [Read More]