Dhammapada Yamakavagga (The Twin Verse)

CHAPTER 1

YAMAKAVAGGA (THE TWIN VERSE)

Verse 1 (I:1. The Story of Cakkhupala Thera )

One day, Cakkhupala Thera visited Jetavana monastery to do homage to the Buddha. Later that night, while doing walking meditation, the thera accidentally stepped on a lot of insects to death. The next day, early in the morning a group of bhikkhus who heard the arrival of the thera meant to visit him. In the middle of the road, near where the thera stay they saw a lot of dead insects.

“Why are so many insects die here?” exclaimed a bhikkhu. “What if …,” quipped another. “What if what?” snapped a few bhikkhus. “What if it’s the work of the thera!” he replied. “How come?” asked another. “Well, before the thera dwells here, these are not present. Maybe the thera were bothered by the insects. So he killed them out of irritation.”

“That means he is breaking the Vinaya, then we need to report it to the Buddha!” cried some bhikkhus. “Right, let’s report this to the Buddha, that Cakkhupala Thera had violated the Vinaya,” said most of the bhikkhus.

Instead of visiting the thera, the bhikkhus changed their way, flocking together to go to the Buddha to report their findings, that ‘Cakkhupala Thera has violated the Vinaya!’

Hearing the reports from the bhikkhus the Buddha said, “Bhantes, did you see the accident by yourselves?”

“No, Bhante,” they chorused.

The Buddha replied, “You do not see it, so too Cakkhupala Thera also do not see the insects, because his eyes are blind. In addition, Cakkhupala Thera has reached arahat. He had not the will to kill.”

“How can a man reached arahat when he is blind?” asked some monks.

Then the Buddha tells the story below:

In past lives, Cakkhupala was born as a reliable physician. Once came a poor woman. “Lord, please heal my eye diseases. Because I am poor, I could not pay the your help with money. However, if I recovered, I promised together with my kids I will be your maid, sir,” the woman pleaded. The request was afforded by the physician.

Slowly her severe eye diseases began to heal. Instead, the woman became frightened, if her disease is cured, she and her children will be bound into as the physician‘s maid. Angrily, she lied to the physician, that instead of recovering, her eyes has gotten even worse.

After careful examination, the physician knows that the poor woman had lied to him. The physician became offended and angry, but did not show it to the woman. “Oh, then I will change your medicine,” he replied. “Stay tuned for my revenge!” he cried silently. True, the woman eventually became totally blind because of the retaliation of the physician.

As a result of his evil deeds, the physician has lost his eyesight in his next life.

Finishing his story, the Buddha preached the poem below:

Mind is the forerunner of everything, the mind is the leader, the mind is the former. If one speaks or acts with an evil thought, then suffering will follow like a wagon wheel following the ox’ footsteps that pulls it.

At the time the Dhamma sermon ended, among the bhikkhu who attended there was one who had his inner eyes opened and reached arahat with the ability of an analytical mind of the Light ‘(pati-sambhida).

Originally posted by Ansari Kusuma on September 27, 2010 at 11:30 PM in kusalayani.webs.com

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