Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammāsambuddhassa

Introduction to 3.7.11 Upaññātasuttaṃ – 
‘Let my Efforts be Maintained until I have Attained what is Attainable!’
- About strong Determination

 

‘‘Atisītaṃ atiuṇhaṃ, atisāyamidaṃ ahu;

Iti vissaṭṭhakammante¹, khaṇā accenti²māṇave.

Yo ca sītañca uṇhañca, tiṇā bhiyyo na maññati;

Karaṃ purisakiccāni, so sukhā na vihāyati³.

Dabbaṃ kusaṃ poṭakilaṃ, usīraṃ muñjapabbajaṃ;

Urasā⁴ panudissāmi⁵, vivekamanubrūhaya⁶’’nti

“It’s too cold, too hot and too late in the evening,

People who say this, shirking their work, thus the moments pass them by.

Whoever regards neither cold nor heat as no more than grass,

And performs his manly duties won’t fall away from ease.

With my chest I push through shrubs and grass, through wild grass,

Spear-grass, roots, reeds and bulrush, cultivating my seclusion of heart.”⁷

     Achieving the final goal of liberation doubtlessly isn’t an easy task!

     A long road has to be travelled, various unexpected obstacles to be crossed, manifold hindrances to be left behind and numerous qualities to be developed and fostered. The path itself has to be properly understood, knowledge and wisdom cultivated and matured and multifarious efforts executed unyieldingly. When the Buddha once addressed the Bhikkhus at Kīṭāgiri⁸ he explained to them that all his teachings were based on the experience and wisdom that he had realized and that his disciples should follow his teaching likewise:

     ‘‘Nāhaṃ, bhikkhave, ādikeneva⁹ aññārādhanaṃ¹⁰ vadāmi; api ca, bhikkhave, anupubbasikkhā anupubbakiriyā anupubbapaṭipadā aññārādhanā hoti.”¹¹ – “I do not say, Bhikkhus, that final knowledge is accomplished at once. It is that final knowledge has to be accomplished by gradual training, by ongoing practice and by gradual walking on the path.”

     He continues:

     Kathañca, bhikkhave, anupubbasikkhā anupubbakiriyā anupubbapaṭipadā aññārādhanā hoti? Idha, bhikkhave, saddhājāto upasaṅkamati, upasaṅkamanto payirupāsati¹², payirupāsanto sotaṃ odahati, ohitasoto dhammaṃ suṇāti, sutvā dhammaṃ dhāreti, dhatānaṃ¹³ dhammānaṃ atthaṃ upaparikkhati¹⁴, atthaṃ upaparikkhato dhammā nijjhānaṃ khamanti¹⁵, dhammanijjhānakkhantiyā sati chando jāyati, chandajāto¹⁶ ussahati¹⁷, ussāhetvā tuleti¹⁸, tulayitvā¹⁹ padahati, pahitatto²⁰ samāno kāyena ceva paramasaccaṃ sacchikaroti, paññāya ca naṃ ativijjha passati.²¹ – “And how is final knowledge accomplished by gradual training, by ongoing practice and by gradual walking on the path? Here, Bhikkhus, one who has acquired faith approaches (a teacher), having approached (the teacher) he sits respectfully beside him, having sat respectfully beside him he gives ear, giving ear he listens to the Dhamma, having listened to the Dhamma he mentally dwells on what he has heard, bearing the Dhamma heard in mind he investigates the meaning, having investigated the meaning he approves it with insight, having approved the Dhamma with insight ardour springs up, with reinforced enthusiasm he examines the Dhamma, having examined it he strives resolutely, striving resolutely he realises personally the ultimate truth and having realised it he ‘eyewitnesses’ it with with wisdom in all details.

     Depending on the qualities every individual has developed to support one’s endeavour naturally the starting point is different for each individual at different periods. When the texts refer to the time of the Buddha and relate that many of his contemporaries: ‘… saw the Dhamma, attained it, understood it and plunged into Dhamma, crossed over doubt, left behind uncertainty gaining full confidence in the teaching without any other help… - … te diṭṭhadhammā pattadhammā viditadhammā pariyogāḷhadhammā tiṇṇavicikicchā vigatakathaṃkathā vesārajjappattā aparappaccayā satthusāsane bhagavantaṃ etadavocuṃ …’ - then the qualities or perfections –pāramī– of these peers were highly developed.²²

     So when Mātaṅgaputtatthera had overcome his lethargic nature it seemed to have been easy for him to earn the fruit of his endeavour quickly on the base of previously developed perfections.

     When the Bodhisatta had fulfilled the necessary precondition of all the dasa pāramiyo necessary for the attainment of full enlightenment of a Sammasaṃbuddha he was able to make a vow of the following strong determination-adhiṭṭhāna-: “May my skin and sinews, my bones remain and the flesh and blood of my body dry up entirely, not before I have attained full enlightenment will I leave this cross-legged position!” With this foundation ‘… the Bodhisatta sat down with his back to the Bodhi-tree, facing East, bending his legs cross-legged in an undividable position not to be disconnected even by a hundred thunderbolts (thrown at him) till he had achieved full enlightenment of a sammāsambuddha ²³.

     Therefore the Bodhisatta could uphold his ardor and equanimity when confronted with all that was to be faced - picturesquely and metaphorically described in the Jātaka-aṭṭhakathā as the ferocious attack of Māra’s army²⁴.

     Reflecting on the forthcoming assault in his unaccompanied situation, the Bodhisatta was left all alone, where the devas fled, where no mother, father, brother or any relative could help him, he took shelter in the ten perfections²⁵ which he had developed over a long time. They were like retainers and when he sat down he made them his shield towards all directions from where Māra attacked and likewise used it as the defensive weapon of his own counter-attack.

     Only on the base of the perfection of the dasa pāramiyo

–dānaṃ, sīlaṃ, ca nekkhamaṃ, paññā, vīriyena pañcamaṃ,

khantī, saccaṃ, adhiṭṭhānam, mettaṃ upekkhā ti te dasa–

in their threefold ways the Bodhisatta could utter such a determination with the assurance of successful attainment. For a Bodhisatta each of the ten had to be accomplished in the threefold manner:

              ·  as ordinary perfection (pāramī),

              · higher perfection (upapāramī)

              · and as highest perfection (paramattha pāramī).

     The Ratanacaṅkamanakaṇḍavaṇṇanā defines these thirty perfections:²⁶ Evaṃ dasa pāramiyo dasa upapāramiyo dasa paramatthapāramiyoti samattiṃsa pāramiyo honti. - Thus there are thirty perfections: ten perfections (pāramī), ten higher perfections (upapāramī) and ten ultimate perfections (paramattha pāramī).

     Elucidating with the example of the dānapāramī the commentary highlights how each of the pāramitā have to be accomplished firstly by sacrificing one’s possessions, sacrificing any of the body’s limbs as higher–upapāramī and sacrificing even one’s life as ultimate–paramattha pāramī.²⁷ In this way the three perfections are achieved as well likewise all the other pāramitā²⁸ i.e. by maintaining patience, protecting the truth etc. even one’s life will be sacrificed²⁹.

     So when Māra approached with its horrifying army to remove the Bodhisatta from his seat of enlightenment the Buddha could rely on all these perfected qualities to confront the attack successfully: “Māra, neither have you practised the ten perfections, nor the higher nor the ultimate perfections! … This seat is not meant for you. It is my right alone!”³⁰

     Keeping in mind this inspiring situation a follower of the path today will learn to judge where his own confines lie.

     Recurrently recalling the twofold advise the Buddha gives in the Upaññātasutta: - yā ca asantuṭṭhitā kusalesu dhammesu, yā ca appaṭivānitā padhānasmiṃ - will be an ever present inspiration expanding these confines in a balanced way: “ … (still) not contented I urged on towards the path of Arahantship, as long as this did not arise, I remained dissatisfied. Being dissatisfied in endeavoring, I strove on in putting forth endeavor unremittingly.³¹