Date: 10/12/2024 10/13/2024
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Otto Huang
Dharma Talk
Unable to Find Kutikha’sConsciousness Anywhere
Once, Buddha traveled to the kingdom of Magadha and stayed in the Seven-Leaf Cave on Mount Vulture’s Peak, east of the capital city of Rajagriha.
At that time, the venerable Kutikha was also living near Rajagriha, in the Black Rock Cave on Mount Sennin, practicing meditation alone with great diligence.
During his meditation, Venerable Kutikha, due to the power of concentration, attained temporary “mental liberation,” but shortly after, he lost it due to insufficient concentration. He continued to make efforts, practicing diligently without any slack, and soon entered “mental liberation” once again. However, like the last time, this state of “mental liberation” was also temporary and faded away shortly after. This happened repeatedly, with attainment and loss occurring six times.
Despite experiencing loss six times, Venerable Kutikha did not get discouraged and continued to practice diligently. When he entered liberation for the seventh time, he thought to himself:
“I am here practicing diligently and meditating alone, striving to achieve and benefit from my practice. I have attained ‘mental liberation’ six times before, and lost it six times. Now, for the seventh time, I should seize this opportunity before losing it again by using a knife to commit suicide and cut off this physical interference, to prevent the seventh loss.”
When Venerable Kutikha made this decision, the demon king Mara knew about it and thought:
“If this monk successfully commits suicide, he will definitely leave my control. I must stop him from committing suicide! I should inform his teacher to prevent him from killing himself.”
So, the demon king Mara went to Buddha and told him:
“O great wise, powerful, and omnipotent one! One of your disciples, who is tormented by burning desires, is preparing to commit suicide. Great sage! You should go and stop him from committing suicide. How can a monk, who is learning the noble path and discipline under the guidance of the World-Honored One, think of committing suicide because he cannot achieve his practice?”
While the demon king Mara was speaking these words to Buddha, Venerable Kutikha raised the knife and committed suicide.
Buddha, knowing both Mara’s provocations and Venerable Kutikha’s act of suicide, responded to Mara:
“Negligent Mara! You are here for your selfish purposes, not for Kutikha! Kutikha is a monk dedicated to his practice. He often abides in meditation, whether day or night, diligently practicing without regard for his life. He clearly understands the horrors of the cycle of birth and death in the realms of desire, form, and formlessness, and has completely eradicated greed and love. He has destroyed your army of demons and achieved liberation, entering Nirvana.”
Hearing Buddha’s words, the disappointed demon king Mara, realizing he had lost another follower, felt both frustrated and worried, and quietly disappeared.
After Mara left, Buddha gathered the nearby monks and went to the Black Rock Cave on Mount Sennin to visit the body of Venerable Kutikha, who had achieved Nirvana through suicide.
From a distance, the World-Honored One saw the body of Venerable Kutikha lying on a bed in the cave, with a faint black mist swirling around it. Buddha told the monks: “Monks, do you see a faint black mist swirling around the body of Venerable Kutikha?”
“World-Honored One, we see it, just as you said.”
“Monks, this is the demon king Mara, swirling around Venerable Kutikha’s body, trying to find where Kutikha’s consciousness has gone after his death. However, when Venerable Kutikha committed suicide, his mind had no trace of greed or attachment. His consciousness has entered Nirvana and has no place to dwell anymore, so how can it be found?”
Buddha’s words confirmed that Venerable Kutikha had achieved liberation, which is known as receiving the “first confirmation.”
At this moment, the demon king Mara approached Buddha again and said:
“I searched everywhere, east, west, south, north, above, and below, but I couldn’t find where Kutikha’s consciousness went.”
Buddha responded:
“Such a steadfast practitioner, with no desires, has completely eradicated the roots of greed. Kutikha has entered Nirvana.”
