The Questions Of Sakka - Saraniya
The Questions of SakkaA Discourse byVenerable Mahāsī SayādawAn Abridged Translation byU Aye Maung
Buddha Sāsanānuggaha OrganisationMahāsī Translation Committee, RangoonThe Questions of SakkaA Discourse on the Sakkapañha SuttabyVenerable Mahāsī SayādawAn Abridged Translationby U Aye MaungFirst printed and published in the SocialistRepublic of the Union of BurmaDecember 1980Online EditionEdited by Bhikkhu PesalaJanuary 2011Cover Illustration by Christine FitzmauriceThe illustrations are copyright.
Editor’s ForewordA number of the late Venerable Mahāsī Sayādaw’s discourses have been anslated into English, and most of these have been reprinted before inMalaysia, but this new edition has been prepared for dis ibution in Englishspeaking coun ies. Although many changes have been made to the original anslation, they are only grammatical ones. The content of the VenerableSayādaw’s discourse has been fully preserved and is now much easier toread than it was. I am indebted to Christine Fitzmaurice-Glendining for hermeticulous work in correcting the grammar. She also checked the final proofs.If any errors have unwi ingly been in oduced into the anslation then thatresponsibili is mine alone.The Venerable Sayādaw’s discourses were addressed to meditatorspractising intensively at his meditation cen e in Rangoon, so they containmany Pali words that, though familiar to those who have heard regulardiscourses, may be unfamiliar to others. In preparing this edition of theSakkapañha Su a I have replaced the Pali words with a anslation whereverpossible. However, since this book deals with advanced topics such as mentalabsorption (jhāna) and insight knowledge (vipassanā-ñāṇa), the use of Paliterms is sometimes preferable.In the footnotes, references are to the page numbers of the Pali texts ofthe Pali Text Socie , which in the anslations are given [in square brackets]at the top of the page or sometimes in the body of the text. However, in thecase of the Dhammapada or Su a Nipāta, references are simply given to versenumbers.The Sakkapañha Su a is the twen -first discourse of the Dīghanikāya, thelong discourses.I have again updated this edition, this time for convenient reading onlineas in PDF format. If you find any errors, please inform me via my forums.iii
PrefaceThis is the abridged anslation of Venerable Mahāsī Sayādaw’s discourseon the Sakkapañha Su a. The discourse was given in December 1977 at therequest of U Pwin Kaung, the President of the Buddha SāsanānuggahaOrganisation, on the occasion of the annual gathering of Buddhist devotees om all over Burma, who came to pay their respects to the Sayādaw and tohear his teaching.The President requested the Venerable Sayādaw to give a Buddhistdiscourse that would be universally applicable, so Mahāsī Sayādaw choseto give a series of talks on the Sakkapañha Su a, which was the subject of amanuscript that he had been preparing for publication. This discourse tellsus about the Buddha’s dialogue with Sakka, the king of the gods, and of hispene ating analysis into the causes of conflicts, us ations and sufferingthat beset all living beings. The Sayādaw rightly describes the discourse asthe Buddha’s teaching on world peace, and indeed it has an importantmessage for people all over the world.The Venerable Sayādaw’s discourse on the su a is very informative andilluminating. Many of his observations are essential to the proper understanding and practice of the Dhamma. Thus, according to the Sayādaw, thein oduction to a su a is not as important as its cen al teaching. It serves toestablish the authentici of the discourse but, as in the case of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, its absence does not necessarily cast doubt on the origin of aBuddhist teaching. Such practices as the melodious recitation of scriptures,which is customary among some Buddhist preachers, and the mass slaughterof animals for food at pagoda festivals are to be deprecated because theyrun counter to the Buddha’s teaching. No less incompatible with the spiritof the Dhamma is the fondness for lengthy prayers. This probably stems omthe tendency to rely on external help rather than on making the effort toa ain one’s objective.As well as these passing remarks on ma ers of general interest toBuddhists, the Sayādaw’s discourse on the essence of the Buddha’s teachingin the Sakkapañha Su a is superb. It is based on rational observations,anecdotes and the teachings in the texts and commentaries. The Sayādaw’sclarification of wholesome sorrow, wholesome depression, etc., will inspiremeditators who are discouraged by lack of spiritual progress. His otherexplanations will also enlighten those who do not have much knowledge ofthe Dhamma or much experience of insight meditation.iv
PrefacevThe importance of the Sakkapañha Su a as expounded by Mahāsī Sayādawis not confined to Buddhists, nor for that ma er to a particular segment ofthe world’s population. It concerns the whole of humani and also all otherbeings in the universe, and those who practise it diligently may rest wellassured of an end to suffering.Bhikkhu Indaka (Nyaung gan)Mahāsī DhammakathikaSāsana YeikthaRangoon, Burma
ContentsEditor’s Foreword.iiiPreface.ivA Discourse on the Sakkapañha Su a.1Substance of the Discourse.1In oduction to the Discourse.2Sakka’s Question and the Buddha’s Answer.7Meanness (macchariya).9Love and Ha ed.10Desire is the Cause of Love and Ha ed.11The Conquest of Craving.12Pleasant Feeling and Unwholesome Thoughts.13Wholesome Joy.14Insight Meditation.16Unpleasant Feelings to be Sought or Avoided.17Wholesome and Unwholesome Indifference.22The Rebirth of Sakka.24The Virtue of Monastic Res aint.26The Virtue of Sense-facul Res aint.26The Story of Mahātissa Thera.28The Story of Ci agu a Thera.28The Self Res aint of the Three Theras.30Satipaṭṭhāna: A Big Heap of Wholesome Kammas.31Diversi of Views.32Eterni Belief and Buddhism.33Mahāyāna and Theravāda.34The Ultimate Goal.36Moral Practice of a Candidate for Sakka’s Office.38The Elation of Sakka.40
A Discourse on the Sakkapañha Su aSubstance of the DiscourseIn Buddhist literature, Sakka is the name given to the king of the gods(devas) and pañha means question. So the Sakkapañha Su a is the discourseon the welfare of living beings that the Buddha gave to the king of the godsin response to his questions.Sakka asked the Buddha as follows, “Lord, there are devas, human beings,asuras, nāgas, gandhabbas and many other living beings. These beings wishto be ee om quarrels, armed conflicts, animosi and unhappiness. Yetthey are not ee om these evils of life. What is the fe er (saṃyojana) thatmakes them unable to fulfil their wishes?”Here the devas referred to are probably the Catumahārāja and Tāvatiṃsadevas for these devas were well known to Sakka. We know that the Asuradevas were originally the enemies of the Tāvatiṃsa devas, as their ba les arementioned in the Dhajagga and other su as. Formerly they lived in Tāvatiṃsaheaven but, while they were drunk, they were hustled down to the foot ofMount Meru by Sakka. The nāgas are a species of serpent who can workwonders with their psychic powers. The gandhabbas are a kind of Catumahārāja deva who excel in dancing, playing music and the other culturalactivities of the celestial world. Then there are yakkhas (a kind of demonicgod), animals and so forth.The gods, humans and other beings of the sensual world have their heartsin the right place. They want to be ee om ha ed, not wishing to beargrudges nor to ill- eat others, nor to be ill- eated or robbed themselves.They do not want to become the enemies of other people. In short, all livingbeings long for securi , peace, eedom and happiness. Yet they are all besetwith danger, misery and suffering. What is the fe er that causes thissituation? Today we hear the universal clamour for world peace and for thewelfare of humani , but these hopes for a happy world are still far ombeing realised. This naturally raises the question about the cause of our us ation.In his reply, the Buddha described envy (issā) and meanness (macchariya)as the two fe ers that lead to the unhappy plight of humani .Issā is envy that generates ill-will towards those who excel us. Macchariyais meanness that makes us reluctant to see others become as prosperous asourselves. These two fe ers of envy and meanness us ate us and causequarrels, enmi , danger and misery. Those who envy a man because of his
2A Discourse on the Sakkapañha Su aprosperi , influence or status will be unhappy, however much they maytalk about their desire for inner peace. Their unhappiness stems om theevil designs they harbour against the object of their envy. Naturally, thosewhom one envies become one’s enemies, and vice versa. Many people suffer om envy, and doubtless this envy will subject them to suffering beyondredemption throughout the cycle of existence.Again, despite one’s desire to avoid conflict, meanness leads to it. Onechafes at any person acquiring or using one’s proper . One resents anyintimacy between one’s beloved and another person; this is obvious in thecase of married couples. Officials are unhappy when they face the prospectof their jurisdiction passing on to others. So meanness leads to enmi , danger,anxie and misery.To sum up the Buddha’s reply, the root causes of envy and meanness arethe sense objects, which one either likes or dislikes, and discursive thinkingabout them. The remedy is to observe all phenomena arising om the sixsenses, to avoid unwholesome thoughts, and to entertain only wholesomethoughts.This, then, is the substance of the discourse. Now a few words about thein oduction to the discourse.In oduction to the DiscourseThe in oduction to a discourse tells us where, why, to whom and bywhom the discourse was given. Thus it serves to establish the authentici of the Buddha’s teaching. Without it, the origin of a discourse is open toquestion, as in the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, which has no such in oduction.The Abhidhamma was preached by the Buddha in Tāvatiṃsa heaven. Atthat time the Buddha went daily to the Himalayan forest, leaving his proxy,the Nimmita Buddha, to carry on his regular teaching. The Buddha gaveVenerable Sāripu a a summary of the Abhidhamma that he had taught forthe day, and the chief disciple in turn preached it to five hundred monks. Sothe Abhidhamma is ascribed to Venerable Sāripu a but, as the commentarysays, since he heard it om the Lord, it is the teaching of the Buddha. TheAbhidhamma Piṭaka has no in oductory statement such as, “Evaṃ me sutaṃ:Thus have I heard:” so, according to the commentary, some did not acceptit as the ue teaching of the Buddha.So that posteri might have no doubt about the authentici of theBuddha’s teachings, most of those included in the canon at the First BuddhistCouncil have in oductions based on the questions and answers of the leading
In oduction the Discourse3elders of the assembly. The exceptions are the Dhammapada and a few otherdiscourses.The in oduction to the Sakkapañha Su a is superb as it makes the discourseimpressive and highlights the substance of the Buddha’s teaching. To recordsuch an important event, Venerable Mahākassapa asked Venerable Ānandawhere, to whom and why the discourse was preached, and Venerable Ānandaanswered as follows.Once the Buddha was dwelling in a cave that lay to the east of the ci ofRājagaha in the coun y of Māgadha. At that time Sakka sought to see theBuddha. He had seen the Lord on the eve of His supreme enlightenmentand at another time in Jetavana Monastery at Sāva hi, but as he was thennot yet spiritually mature, the Buddha did not grant him an interview. NowSakka had decided to see the Lord, accompanied by his retinue of devas,because he hoped to hear a discourse that the Lord might teach to someoneamong his followers who was worthy of liberation. However, it was largelyhis fear of death that aroused his s ong desire to see the Buddha. For, beingaware that the end of his life was approaching, he was anxious for somethingto rely on for his salvation.When a deva is about to pass away, five signs appear: 1) The flowers onhis head wither, 2) His garments become dir and worn out, 3) Though devasnever normally sweat, he sweats om the armpits, 4) His youthful appearancegives way to signs of old age. 5) Finally, in the last week of his existence, hebecomes weary of life. Having seen these five signs, Sakka reflected on hisimminent death and became very depressed. To get over his depression, hedecided to visit the Lord and listen to the Dhamma. Consequently, heappeared instantly near the Buddha’s residence, with his retinue of devas.According to the commentary on the Visuddhimagga, it took Sakka andhis followers no longer than it takes to s etch or bend a hand for them toget om Tāvatiṃsa heaven to Māgadha. As the famous commentary says,“Phenomena that arise in one place pass away just there, they do not pass onto another place.” The meditator who watches the bending and s etchingaccording to the Satipaṭṭhāna method is aware of the passing away ofphenomena several times in an instant. Just as psycho-physical phenomenaarise and pass away instantly, so too, the devas reached Māgadha within asplit second through the successive flux of mind and ma er. This was dueto the divine power (kammajiddha) that gives devas a speed far greater thanthat of modern rockets or spaceships.
4A Discourse on the Sakkapañha Su aSakka wanted the Buddha’s permission for his visit, so he told Pañcasikhadeva to go and find out first whether the Lord was well disposed to welcomehim. In Sakka’s statement the word ‘pasadeyyāsi’ occurs, which literallymeans ‘to make one cheerful’. According to the commentary, it meansgrati ing a person and seeking his consent. It is a Pāḷi expression that Indiansof the time used in speaking politely. It is somewhat like the saying of thejackal to the elephant in the Sanskrit work Hitopadesa. The jackal said, “MyLord! Kindly make your eyes clear”, which means, as the expositor says,“Kindly help me or do me the favour.”So in compliance with Sakka’s request, Pañcasikha went to the Buddha’sresidence. Standing respectfully at a suitable distance om the Lord, he playedhis harp and sang songs about the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Saṅgha and theArahants. The Buddha would not have approved of the deva’s way of honouringhim with songs and music any more than he would have approved of somemodern Burmese Buddhist practices, such as the melodious recitation of Pāḷiscriptures, the holding of pagoda festivals on a big scale, the killing of lots ofanimals for food for celebrations and so forth — practices that do a disservice tothe Buddhist religion. However, the Buddha said nothing as he knew that manypeople would benefit om his dialogue with Sakka. Some of Pañcasikha’s songswere sensual in character, for they describe his infatuation with a beautifulgoddess, which had made him almost crazy. His us ation shows that the devaworld does not guarantee the fulfilment of all one’s desires and that the life of adeva is not always a bed of roses. His songs also contain references to the Buddha,the Arahant, and to the good deeds he had done on earth. He speaks of thebodhisa a who is always mindful, absorbed in jhāna and bent on nibbāna.Here jhāna means watching. The object that one watches may be the objectof concen ation, or it may be the nature of the mind and body such asimpermanence, etc. A er giving up self-mortification, the bodhisa a resortedto breathing exercises and a ained jhāna. These jhānic a ainments cen e ona single object of a ention and may last for a couple of hours. It was throughthe power of jhāna that the bodhisa a gained the knowledge of previousexistences (pubbenivāsañāṇa), while si ing under the Bodhi ee in the earlypart of the night. At midnight he a ained the divine eye (dibbacakkhu), whichenabled him to see the passing away and coming into existence of all beingsin the universe. In the last part of the night the bodhisa a reflected ondependent origination and a ained insight into the arising and dissolutionof mind and ma er while seeing, hearing, etc. This constant mindfulness ofthe nature of existence is a mark of mature wisdom, but it does not seem to
In oduction the Discourse5have been well known to Pañcasikha deva. He knew only that the bodhisa areflected constantly and that he was intent on a aining the Deathless (amata)or nibbāna. The word amata comes om the Sanskrit amrita, which meansdeathlessness, and so amata refers to the deathless or nibbāna.Questioned by the Buddha as to the origin of his songs, Pañcasikha saidthat he had composed them for serenading his beloved goddess. She was sodelighted with his songs about the Buddha that she had allowed him tospend a day with her, a favour that she did not grant him again. Dis aughtand us ated over his unrequited love, the deva gave vent to his feelings inhis songs. Here the deva was no different om the ordinary person who isso overwhelmed with desire that he cannot think rationally.Once, the disciple of a famous Sayādaw le the Holy Order a er an affairwith a woman. The Sayādaw’s followers blamed the couple but he admonished them thus: “You should not blame them. They have fallen into thispredicament under the pressure of their craving. So you should blame theircraving.” This is indeed a realistic teaching.When the deva paid respect to the Buddha on behalf of his master, theLord wished Sakka happiness in both body and mind. The Buddha expressedthis wish because all living beings want happiness and that is the way thathe blessed those who worshipped him. When Sakka expressed his adorationof the Buddha through the deva he was not u ering a prayer, but, by the Pāḷiwords “abhivadeti abhivandati vandati” we are to understand that he expectedto be assured of happiness. In other words, he hoped that the Buddha wouldsay, “May you be happy!”Th
Substance of the Discourse In Buddhist literature, Sakka is the name given to the king of the gods (devas) and pañha means question. So the Sakkapañha Su a is the discourse on the welfare of living beings that the Buddha gave to the king of the gods in response to his questions. Sakk
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