The book talks about the life of the Buddha. What touches me was the way the Buddha practised using self-mortification. Buddha’s hard work will not be in vain for I’ll practise in accordance with his teaching and this is the only way to honour and be grateful to the Buddha.
S.Dhammika made the Buddha’s history come alive. He also listed the buildings or sites as what we see today that were once seen and walked by the Buddha. Below is the link to the book.
Below are the quotes that I find it beneficial to me.
“Suppose a man wandering through the forest were to see an ancient road or path traversed by people in days gone by and he were to follow it until he came to an ancient city once inhabited by people, with parks and groves; reservoirs and walls—a really beautiful place. Then that man would inform the king or one of good ministers about it and say, ‘Sir, restore that city!’, and they would, and in time it would become rich and prosperous, crowded and full of people, so that it would grow and flourish again. In the same way I saw an ancient road or path traversed by fully awakened Buddhas in the past. And what is that ancient path, that ancient road? It is the Noble Eightfold Path”.
“Before my awakening I thought like this:’ Being myself subject to birth, ageing, sickness, death, sorrow and defilement, and having understood the dangers in them, I should seek after the unageing, unailing, deathless, sorrowless, and undefiled security from bondage, Nirvana.’ So later, while still young, with black hair, endowed with the blessings of youth and in the prime of life, despite my mother and father objecting with tear stained faces, I shaved off my hair and beard, put on the yellow robe and went forth from the home into homelessness “.
“Such was my asceticism that I went naked, rejecting conventions, licking my hands, ignoring requests to come for alms, refusing food specifically prepared for me or an invitation to a meal… I took food only once a day, or only once every two days, or only every three, four, five, six or seven days. I was an eater of teak leaves, millet, wild rice, hide parings, rice bran and the scum from boiled rice, of sesame pomace, grass and even cow dung. I foraged for forest roots, fruit or the fruit that had fallen from the tree… I was one who pulled out my hair and beard [rather than shaving], I remained standing or squatting for extended periods, I slept on a bed of thorns, I immersed myself in the river three times a day, sometimes at night. Just as grime and dust on a tree stump peels off and flakes off, like that the grime and dust that had adhered to my body over the years peeled off and flaked off, and yet it never occurred to me to wipe it off… I went on all fours to the core kraals after the cows and cowherds had gone and ate the dung of the suckling calves. As long as my own faeces and urine lasted. I consumed my own faeces and urine. I would plunge into the fearful forest, fearful enough to make one’s hair stand on end if one was not free from lust. During the cold winters I would spend the night out in the open, and during the summer I would spend the day similarly…”
“Because I ate so little, my backbone looked like a string of beads, my ribs like the rafters of an old shed, my eyes sunk into their sockets, and the gleam in my eyes looked like the gleam in the water at the bottom of a deep well. Because I ate so little, my scalp shrivelled and dried up like a gourd withered in the sun. If I tried to touch my backbone, it was the skin of my belly I touched. I would get up to urinate or defecate and fall down on my face, and if I stroked my limbs, the hair, rotted at its roots, fell out “.
“[W]ith my teeth clenched and my tongue pressed against my palate, I crushed, subdued, and suppress my mind using my mind”.
“Such was my isolation that I would enter some forest and remain there. If I saw a cowherd or a shepherd, a grass-cutter, twig gatherers or a woodsman, I would flee from one grove or thicket to another, from one gully or upland to another, so that they would not see me or I them”.
“While I dwelt [in the forest], a wild animal would prowl somewhere near me, a peacock would snap a twig or the wind would rustle the leaves, and I would think, ‘Here comes that fear and dread. Why am I staying here getting nothing but fear and dread? I will master it and remain without moving.”
“I thought, ‘Why am I afraid of that happiness that has nothing to do with sensual pleasures and unskillful states of mind?’ And I thought, ‘I am not afraid of that happiness.’ Then I considered further. ‘It is not easy to attain that happiness with such a severely emaciated body. I should eat some solid food, some boiled rice and barley porridge.’ And so I did…
“Then, being a seeker for the good, searching for the incomparable, matchless path of peace, while walking on tour through Magadha, I arrived at Uruvelà, the army village. There I beheld a beautiful stretch of ground, a lovely woodland grove, a clear flowing river with a delightful ford and a village nearby for support. And I thought, ‘ This is a good place for a young man set on striving.’ So I sat down there “.
“I recalled that when my Sakyan father was working and I was sitting in the shade of a jambu tree with my mind completely secluded from sensual pleasures and unskilled states of mind, I entered and remained in the first jhāna which had a joy and happiness born of seclusion together with applied and sustained thought. And I thought, ‘Could this be the way to awakening?’ …And I decided that indeed, this is the way “.
“Tireless energy was aroused in me and continuous mindfulness, my body was calm and untroubled, my mind concentrated and unified. Then, quite secluded from sensual pleasures and unskilled states of mind, I entered and remained in the first jhāna, which had a joy and happiness born of seclusion, together with applied and sustained thought. Then, with the ceasing of the applied and sustained thought, I entered and remained in the second jhāna, with inner tranquility, oneness of mind, an absence of applied and sustained thought and has joy and happiness born of concentration. With the fading of that joy, equanimous, mindful and with the body at ease, I entered the third jhāna, experiencing the happiness of which the worthy ones say, ‘Happily lives he who is equanimous and mindful.’ Then, with the giving up of both happiness and sorrow, pleasure and pain, I entered and remained in the fourth jhāna, beyond pleasure and pain and with a mindfulness purified by equanimity “.
“The truth I have realised is profound, difficult to see and understand, peaceful and sublime, impenetrable by mere reasoning, subtle, and accessible only to those who are wise. But people nowadays delight and rejoice in the things of the world, and it would be hard for them to see this truth, that is, how things come into being according to conditions. It would be hard for them to see this truth, that is, the stilling of all mental constructs, the letting go of all attachments, the destruction of craving leading to dispassion, cessation, Nirvana. If I were to teach this truth to them, they would not understand me, and that would be wearisome and troublesome for me “.
“Lord, teach the Dhamma, let the Happy One teach the Dhamma. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who are wasting away through not hearing it. There will be those who will understand it”.
“In a pond of blue, pink or white lotuses some sprout and grow in the water but never reach the surface, others grow up but remain on the surface, and a few grow above the surface and stand there untouched by the water. In the same way, I saw beings with little dust in their eyes and much dust, quick witted and slow witted, with good disposition and bad ones, amenable to instruction and resistant to it, only a few of them seeing the danger in doing wrong and its results in the future”.
The Lord is awakened; he teaches the Dhamma for awakening. The Lord is tamed; he teaches the Dhamma for taming. The Lord is calmed; he teaches the Dhamma for calming.
“Whether Tathāgatas appear in the world or not, this order exists: the fixed nature of phenomena, their regular pattern and their general conditionality. The Tathāgata discovers this and comprehends it and, having done so, he points it out and teaches it, explains and establishes it, reveals, analyses and clarifies it and says ‘Look’.”
“There is one person who is born into the world for the welfare of the many, for the happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare and happiness of both gods and humans. Who is that person? It is the Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the fully awakened Buddha”.
“Suppose a man wanting to cross a river were to take an axe, go into a forest and chop down a young, straight tree, one without any knots. He would lop off the crown, strip the foliage and branches off, shape the log with the axe, trim it with an adze, smooth it with a scraper, then polish it with a stone ball and, having done so, set out across the river. What do you think? Would he be able to cross the river?”
The man answered:
“No sir, he would not. Because although the log has been well shaped on the outside, it had not been cleaned out on the inside”.
“Imagine a lovely, delightful river and a man being carried along it by the current. Then imagine that a perceptive man standing on the bank were to see this and call out, ‘Hey sir! Further downstream there are rapids and whirlpools, crocodiles and demons, and if you end up there you will suffer death or death-like pain.’ Hearing this, the man in the river would struggle against the current with his hands and feet “.
“Sir, some samanas and brahmins come to Kesaputta and proclaim and explain their own doctrine and then criticise, condemn, deride and clip the wings of the doctrines of others. Then other samanas and brahmins come and do the same to what the earlier ones had said. We are on doubt, we are confused as to which of these respected teachers is speaking the truth and which falsehood”.
“Who does the samana Gotama speak with? From whom does he get his lucidity of wisdom? His wisdom is destroyed by living in solitude, he is unused to discussions, he is no good at speaking, he is completely out of touch. The samanas Gotama is like an antelope that circles around and keeps to the edges “.
“I tell you this. Let an intelligent person who is sincere, honest and straightforward come to me, and I will teach him Dhamma. If he practises as he is taught, within seven days, and by his own knowledge and vision, he will attain that holy life and goal. Now you may think that I say this just to get disciples or to make you abandon your rules. But this is not so. Keep your teacher and continue to follow your rules. You may think that I say this so you will give up your way of life, follow things you consider bad or reject things you consider good. But this is not so. Live as you see fit and continue to reject things you consider bad and follow things you consider good. But there are states that are unhelpful and defiled, causing rebirth, fearful, distressful and associated with birth, decay and death, and it is only for the overcoming of these things that I teach the Dhamma”.
“It is not easy to teach the Dhamma to others, so when you do so establish these five things in yourself first. Teach the Dhamma to others, thinking, ‘I will teach in a gradual way. I will teach keeping the goal in mind. I will teach out of kindness. I will not teach for personal gain, and I will teach neither to my own detriment or the detriment of others’.”
“When I am dwelling dependent on a village or town, I dress in the morning, take my robe and bowl and enter that village out town for alms. After eating, I go into a nearby grove, make some grass or leaves into a pile and then sit down, crossing my legs and keeping my back straight, arouse mindfulness in front of me “.
“Having five qualities, a nurse is capable of tending to the sick. What five? He can prepare medicine; he knows what is effective and what is not and administers the elective, not the ineffective; he nurses the sick out of love, not out of hope for gain; he is unaffected by excrement and urine, blood and spittle; and from time to time he can instruct, inspire, gladden and comfort the sick with talk on Dhamma “.
“If anyone should criticise me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, you should not because of that be angry, resentful or upset. For if you did, that would hinder you and you would not be able to know whether what they said was right or wrong. Would you?
“No, Lord.”
“Therefore, if others criticise me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, simply explain what is incorrect, saying, ‘That is incorrect. That is not right. That of not our way. We do not do that.’ Likewise, if others should praise me, the Dhamma and the Sangha, you should not because of that be pleased, elated or self-satisfied. For if you were, that would hinder you. Therefore, if others praise me, the Dhamma or the Sangha, then simply explain what is correct, saying: ‘That is correct. That is right. That of our way. That is what we do’.”
“I have heard it said that you, good Gotama, teach that charity should only be given to you, not to others, to your disciples, not to the disciples of other teachers. Are those who say this representing your opinion without distorting it? Do they speak according to your teaching? In truth, good Gotama, I am anxious not to misrepresent you “.
The Buddha replied:
“Those who say this are not of my opinion; they misrepresent me and say something false. One who discourages another from giving charity hinders in three ways: he hinders the giver from receiving merit, he hinders the receiver from receiving the charity, and he has already ruined himself through his stinginess “.
The monk or the nun, the layman or the laywoman who lives by the Dhamma and perfectly fulfills it: it is they who honour me with the highest reverence.
Dīgha Nikāya II, 138
“Cultivate the friendship of Sāriputta and Moggallāna; associate with them, for they are wise and helpful to their companions in the spiritual life.Sāriputta is like a mother, and Moggallāna is like a foster-mother. Sāriputta trains others to attain the first stage leading to awakening, while Moggallāna trains them to attain the highest goal. Sāriputta is able to announce, teach, describe, establish, reveal, expound and exhibit the Four Noble Truths”.
“I will not pass away until the monks and the nuns, the lay men and the lay women are learned and well-trained, skilled and competent, erudite in the Dhamma and walk the path of the Dhamma; not until they, with confidence in the teachings, can pass on to others whether have learned from the Teacher, explain it and established it, expound it, analyse it and make it clear; not until they can use it to thoroughly refute false teachings that have appeared and proclaim the Dhamma in all its wonder”.
“The person who accumulate wealth lawfully and without harming others and, in doing so, makes himself happy and fulfilled, shares it with others, does good works, makes use of it without greed or infatuation, aware of its limitations and keeping in mind his own spiritual growth, is praise on all these counts”.
“Monks, in the training of the worthy ones, singing is wailing, dancing is derangement, and laughing so much that it shows the teeth is infantile. Therefore, do away with singing and dancing, although it is acceptable to give a smile if the Dhamma makes you glad”.
“Just as great rivers such as the Ganges and Yamuna, Achivaratī, Sarabhū and the Mahī lose their names and identities when they reach the great ocean and become just ‘great ocean’, like that, on leaving their homes and entering the Dhamma and training taught by the Tathāgata, warriors, brahmins, merchants and menial lose their names and identities and become just ‘sons of the Sakyan’.”
“We will eat in moderation. Reflecting wisely, we will not eat for fun, for amusement or for physical attractiveness but only for the maintenance and continuance of this body, for allaying the pangs of hunger, for assisting in living the holy life and with the thought, ‘I will end the old desires and not encourage new ones and thus be healthy, blameless and live comfortably’.”
There is one thing which when it is present in the world is for the welfare and happiness, the good and the benefit of gods and humans. What is the one thing? It is unity in the Sangha.
Itivuttaka 11
“Is it true that you are arguing, quarreling, disputing and stabbing each other with the weapon of words; that you can neither convince nor persuade the others or be convinced or persuaded by them?”
They admitted that it was true, and the Buddha said:
“What do you think? When you are doing this, are you relating to your companions in the spiritual life with love through body, speech and mind, in public and in private?”
“No, Lord.”
“You foolish men! Can you not understand or see that this well be to your sorrow and suffering for a long time?”
“Lord, it is wonderful that you are comfortable and well again. When you were sick, my body felt as if it was drugged’ I was disorientated and things were not clear to me. But I was consoled by the thought that you will not pass away without making some statement regarding the monastic Sangha”.
Apparently surprised by this, the Buddha replied:
“But what does the Sangha expect from me, Ānanda? I have proclaimed the Dhamma without making any distinction between secret and open teachings. I do not have the teacher’s fist, which holds some teachings back. If anyone thinks, ‘I will take charge of the Sangha’ or ‘The Sangha should follow me’, then let them make such statement. But the Tathāgata does not think like that, so why should he make some such statement regarding the Sangha “?
Then he reiterated his appeal for self-reliance in spiritual matters:
“Ānanda, be an island unto yourself; be your own refuge, with the Dhamma as your island and refuge, with no other refuge. Whether now or after I have passed away, anyone who lives as their own island, their own refuge, will attain the highest, if they have the desire to learn “.
“These sal trees have burst into blossom out of season. Never before has the Tathāgata been so honoured and revered, respected, esteemed and saluted. But the monk or nun, the lay man or lay woman disciple who live practising the Dhamma fully and perfectly fulfils the path of the Dhamma, it is they who truly honour the Tathāgata, revere, respect and worship him in the highest way “.
Cats who teach me to fly... 
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