Date: 01/13/2024 01/14/2024
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Lucy Zhou
Dharma talk
Like the successive relays of the postal carriage
On one occasion, The Buddha and his bhikkhus came to Raigir, the capital city of the Magadha kingdom. They settled down for the summer retreat in the bamboo garden of Karanda on the northern outskirts of the city.
On this day, a group of bhikkhus who had finished their summer retreat in their hometown came to meet the Buddha at the bamboo garden of Karanda. The Buddha asked them:
“Bhikkhus! In your hometown, which bhikkhu is recognized as the noblest for his advancement, virtue and enlightenment?”
“The Blessed One! That is the venerable Purna.” said the visiting bhikkhus in unison.
At that moment, the venerable Sariputra, who was sitting next to the Buddha, thought to himself:
How honoured and blessed is the Venerable Purna! To be so unanimously praised by his wise companions before the Buddha. I must have a word with him some other time.
A few days later, the Buddha decided to end his stay at Raigir and went to Jatavana in the southern suburbs of the city of Shravasti in the country of Kosala. The venerable Sariputra stayed with the visiting bhikkhus for a few more days, and they went together to the Jatavana.
On the other hand, the venerable Purna also ended his stay in his hometown and came to the Jatavana and solitude to meet the Buddha. After listening to the Buddha’s talks and encouragement, the venerable man took his leave and went to settle down in Andain.
Then a bhikkhu told the venerable Sariputra the news.
So venerable Sariputra came to Andalin in the evening, intending to have a talk with the venerable Purna.
According to the description of others, venerable Sariputra found venerable Purna, but he was not so sure, so venerable Sariputra asked：
“My friend! Do you study with Shakyamuni Gautama?”
“Yes!”
“Are you studying with Shakyamuni Gautama for the purpose of ‘keeping precepts and perfecting virtue’?”
“No!”
“Or are you studying with Shakyamuni Gautama for the purpose of ‘pure mind’?”
“Neither!”
“Or are you studying with Shakyamuni Gautama for the purpose of ‘correct insight’?”
“Neither!”
“Or are you studying with Shakyamuni Gautama for the purpose of ‘eliminating doubts’?”
“Neither!”
“Or are you studying with Shakyamuni Gautama for the purpose of ‘knowing cultivation path’?”
“Neither!”
“Or are you studying with Shakyamuni Gautama for the purpose of ‘knowing what the right way of cultivation is and what is not?”
“Neither!”
“Or are you studying with Shakyamuni Gautama for the purpose of ‘completing your cultivation and realization’?”
“Neither!”
“Then for what purpose do you follow Shakyamuni Gautama?”
“My friend! I am following Shakyamuni Gautama for the sake of attaining Nirvana without attachment.”
“But what is nirvana without attachment?” then the venerable Sariputra continued to ask.
“My friend! Did Shakyamuni Gautama’ keeping precepts and virtue being perfect’ as ‘nirvana without attachment’?”
“No!”
“With ‘pure mind’, ‘correct insight’, ‘eliminating doubts’, ‘knowing what the right way of cultivation is and what is not, ‘knowing cultivation path’, ‘completing cultivation and realization’ as ‘nirvana without attachment’?”, the venerable Sariputra continued to ask one by one.
“No.” The venerable Purna answered one by one.
This mere “no” reply seemed difficult for Sariputra to confirm what Purna meant, so venerable Sariputra asked venerable Purna to elaborate on the meaning.
Then the venerable Purna said:
“My friend! If the World Honoured Shakyamuni Gautama merely ‘keeps the precepts and is perfect in virtue’ as ‘nirvana without attachment’, then all that still carries taking can be called Nirvana.”
“Likewise, if the If the World Honoured Shakyamuni Gautama merely took ‘pure mind’, ‘correct insight’, ‘eliminating doubts’, ‘knowing what the right way of cultivation is and what is not, ‘knowing cultivation path’, ‘completing cultivation and realization’ as ‘nirvana without attachment’, then all that still carries taking can be called Nirvana.”
“But if the Blessed One says Nirvana without these, then ordinary people who do not practice are also Nirvana-bearers because they cannot achieve these and leave these dharmas.
“So, my friend! It is because of ‘keeping the precepts and being perfect in virtue’ that one can ‘pure mind’; because of ‘purifying mind’ that one can achieve ‘correct insight’; because of ‘correct insight’ that one can achieve ‘elimination of doubts’; because of ‘elimination of doubts’ that one can achieve ‘knowing what the right way of cultivation is and what is not; because of ‘knowing cultivation path’ that one can achieve ‘completing cultivation and realization’; because of ‘completing cultivation and realization’ that one can achieve ‘nirvana without attachment’.”
“My friend! Let me use an analogy: King Pasenadi of Kosala was in the capital city of Shravasiti and had to arrive in the faraway city of Sakyadhara in a day because of urgent matters. In order to do so, he thought of a way to set up seven courier stations on the road between the two cities, including the beginning and the end. Each courier station was equipped with strong horses and well-maintained carriages. The king set out from the palace of the city of Shravasiti by carriage, and when he arrived at each courier station, he immediately abandoned his tired carriage and took the new one waiting there. Thus, he arrived at the city of Sakyadhara within the scheduled time.”
“At this point, if the ministers asked the king which carriage he took to arrive so quickly, what should King Pasenadi answer?”
“My friend! Of course, King Pasenadi would say that he set out in the first carriage and changed to the second carriage at the second courier station and that it took seven to get there so quickly in one day”, the venerable Sariputra answered.
“Yes, my friend! King Pasenadi should answer like this. Just like this, my friend! Because of ‘keeping the precepts and being perfect in virtue’ that one can ‘pure mind’; because of ‘purifying mind’ that one can achieve ‘correct insight’; because of ‘correct insight’ that one can achieve ‘elimination of doubts’; because of ‘elimination of doubts’ that one can achieve ‘knowing what the right way of cultivation is and what is not; because of ‘knowing cultivation path’ that one can achieve ‘completing cultivation and realization’. Thus, the Blessed One said that is the ‘completing cultivation and realization’ to achieve ‘nirvana without attachment’.”
Greatly impressed by this explanation, the venerable Sariputra asked:
“My friend! May I have your name? What do your companions call you?”
“My friend! My name is Purna, and my companions call me Mancizi.”
The venerable Sariputra, faced with this venerable person whom he had long admired in his heart, was even more admired, so he expressed his many admirations and praises for the venerable Purna face to face.
At this point, the venerable Purna also felt the extraordinary nature of the questioner’s words and asked:
“My friend! May I have your name? What do your companions call you?”
“Honourable one! My name is Upatissa, and my companions call me Sariputra.”
The venerable Purna had also known the fame of the venerable Sariputra, so he also showed many admirations and praises to the venerable Sariputra face to face.
