Perception Unveiled The Six Facets

Unraveling the Noble Eightfold Path

The Enlightened Path of Sukkhavipassaka

Understanding Marana

Kammabava The Exertion of Action

The Enlightened Path of Sukkhavipassaka

Teacher Training

Teacher Training

King Kanishka the Great: The Colossus of Kushan India

A Monarch Without Equal

After Emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE), India waited 600 years for a ruler of comparable grandeur—Kanishka I (c. 127–150 CE). His Kushan Empire stretched from Mathura to Afghanistan, with its capital at Purushapura (modern Peshawar, Pakistan).

The Mathura Statue: A Royal Puzzle Solved

In 1864 CE (2407 BE), archaeologist Alexander Cunningham unearthed a headless red sandstone statue at Katra Mound, Mathura. The figure’s legs faced opposite directions—a mystery until its Brahmi-inscribed base revealed:

"Mahārāja Rājadhirāja Devaputra Kāṇiṣka"
(“The Great King, King of Kings, Son of God, Kanishka”)

 

• Significance:

  • Proves Kanishka’s patronage of Mathura’s art school, which blended Hellenistic and Indian styles.

  • Titles echo Ashoka’s Devanampiya (“Beloved-of-the-Gods”), but with Persian-inspired Rājadhirāja.

• Current Location: Mathura Museum, Uttar Pradesh.

Kanishka’s Buddhist Legacy

1. Fourth Buddhist Council:

   • Convened at Kundalvana, Kashmir (c. 78 CE)—standardized Sarvāstivādin texts and birthed Mahayana Buddhism.

   • Attended by 500 monks, including the philosopher Vasumitra and poet Ashvaghosha.

2. Coinage Revolution:

   • Issued gold coins depicting Buddha, Shiva, and Iranian deities—a multicultural empire’s hallmark.

3. Gandharan Art:

   • His reign perfected the Greco-Buddhist style (e.g., Kanishka Reliquary from Shah-ji-Dheri).

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Xuanzang’s Account (7th c. CE)

The Chinese pilgrim recorded:

• Kanishka built a 400-foot stupa at Peshawar, housing Buddha’s alms bowl (later destroyed by Mughals).

• His conquests matched Ashoka’s, but his religious tolerance included Zoroastrianism and Hinduism.

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Why Kanishka Matters Today

• Bridge Between Worlds: His empire linked Rome, China, and India via the Silk Road.

• Buddhist Icon: The Kanishka casket (found in 1908) proves his role in spreading Buddhism to Central Asia.

Did You Know? The Kanishka era (started 78 CE) is still used in Nepal’s Bikram Sambat calendar!

(Note: Debate persists over Kanishka’s dates—some scholars place him in the 2nd c. CE.)

Thank note to Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University

Acknowledgment to Sithagu Sayadaw

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Samuccheda-sīla (Virtue of complete cutting off)

"Let's examine the aggregates. Isn't form (rūpa) taught to be like foam? Isn't feeling (vedanā) taught to be like a water bubble? Isn't perception (saññā) taught to be like a mirage? Isn't mental formations (saṅkhāra) taught to be like a banana trunk? Isn't consciousness (viññāṇa) taught to be like a magic show? Consider this.

All five have no essence. This essencelessness must be understood. Aren't all five taught to be like five enemies? We live with these enemies daily. If we know they're enemies, shouldn't we try to break free from them? Now we suffer because we don't recognize them as enemies. Try to understand this.

🌺Form (Rūpa)🌺
We need to understand the meaning of form. Countless deaths have occurred due to this form. Haven't you seen or heard of people dying from diarrhea? They call it dysentery. Medicine couldn't help. That's being killed by rūpakkhandha. Isn't this worth considering?

🌺Feeling (Vedanā)🌺
Haven't people been killed by feeling? Isn't feeling taught to be like a water bubble? Consider the story of Brahmin Cūḷaka - when the food suited his taste, he ate too much, drank water, and died when his intestines burst. Have you heard of him? That's being killed by vedanākkhandha. Isn't this worth considering?

🌺Perception (Saññā)🌺
There are deaths caused by perception too. Haven't there been cases of wrong injections due to misperception? Haven't people died from wrong injections? That's being killed by saññākkhandha. Countless have died this way.

🌺Mental Formations (Saṅkhāra)🌺
Isn't it taught "one wrong step on the path, one wrong spoonful of food"? That's being killed by saṅkhārakkhandha.

🌺Consciousness (Viññāṇa)🌺
There are deaths caused by consciousness too. Consider young couples in love after high school, promising to marry after graduate studies. Both study hard. After graduation, they plan to marry, but both sets of parents disapprove. When they can't be together, they say "If I can't have him/her, I'll take poison and die." Haven't you heard of people dying by taking poison? That's being killed by viññāṇakkhandha. Haven't people hung themselves? That's being killed by viññāṇakkhandha. Haven't people jumped into water? That's being killed by viññāṇakkhandha. Do you believe this?"

"Form (Rūpakkhandha) changes like foam on water,
Contemplate its arising and passing like foam,
This leads to Path and Fruition.

Feeling (Vedanākkhandha) experiences like a water bubble,
Contemplate its arising and passing like a bubble,
This leads to Path and Fruition.

Perception (Saññākkhandha) marks like a mirage,
Contemplate its arising and passing like a mirage,
This leads to Path and Fruition.

Mental formations (Saṅkhārakkhandha) construct like a banana trunk,
Contemplate its arising and passing like a banana trunk,
This leads to Path and Fruition.

Consciousness (Viññāṇakkhandha) knows randomly like a magic show,
Contemplate its arising and passing like a magic show,
This leads to Path and Fruition.

Arising and passing - what truth is this? (It's the Truth of Suffering, Lord)
Is it happiness or suffering? When you truly know it's suffering, this is yathābhūta-ñāṇa (knowledge of things as they really are).

Try contemplating a second time - don't you see only arising and passing?
What truth is this? (It's the Truth of Suffering, Lord)
Now the knowledge matures. Don't you develop the desire to be free from the aggregates?
You become disenchanted with the world - isn't this called nibbindā-ñāṇa (knowledge of disenchantment)?

Try contemplating a third time - don't you see only arising and passing?
What truth is this? (It's the Truth of Suffering, Lord)
Search from head to toe, throughout the body.
Can you find even a needle-point of happiness?
If you can't find even that much happiness, isn't it all suffering?
When you determine this, don't you gain clear comprehension?

At this point, the three factors of the Noble Eightfold Path enter:
Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood - these three factors of virtue.
This virtue becomes samuccheda-sīla (virtue of complete cutting off).
It's full of essence, like an unmovable stone pillar.
Isn't it worth examining how it becomes so unshakeable?"

"If someone speaks harmful words that could cause shame and loss, do you still think of retaliation? Do you still act out with excessive speech? Do you still act out physically? This is how complete the sīla (virtue) becomes. Isn't this called samuccheda-sīla (virtue of complete cutting off)?

When these three factors combine with the five insights, don't they complete the eight? When eight are complete, as the ancient masters taught, 'Maggābhiññā sakiṃ matā' - like a thunderbolt. When lightning strikes a palm tree, does it grow again? Now too, attaining one Path and Fruition is crucial.

When the eight are complete, do you still see the five aggregates? Do you still see arising and passing away? Isn't this called lokuttara (supramundane)? Isn't it worth considering what Stream-enterers abandon? Don't they eliminate the latent defilements of wrong view (diṭṭhi) and doubt (vicikicchā)? When these latent defilements are eliminated, do mental actions still arise?

When mental actions don't arise, do physical and verbal actions still occur? If they don't occur, aren't the kamma leading to lower realms exhausted? Doesn't the cycle of suffering in lower realms end? Isn't this called pahāna-pariññā (knowledge of abandoning)?

Ñāta-pariññā, tīraṇa-pariññā, pahāna-pariññā - for one who gains these three kinds of knowledge, countless unwholesome kamma from beginningless saṃsāra: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, false speech, taking intoxicants - all these ancient unwholesome kamma and debts, as vast as the earth itself...

Do these unwholesome kamma still have the chance to give results? Don't they all become ahosi-kamma (ineffective kamma)? How inspiring is this! When these three kinds of knowledge are gained, true happiness is attained. Practice with conviction!

When contacted, aggregates arise and pass away
What truth is this? (The Truth of Suffering, Lord)
What knows this? (The Truth of the Path, Lord)
What is abandoned? (The Truth of Origin, Lord)
No more aggregates arising is (The Truth of Cessation, Lord)

How many sections in Dependent Origination? (Four sections, Lord)
How many factors in each section? (Five factors, Lord)
Five times four equals (Twenty)
These eight factors (Should be easily memorized as the way to liberation from saṃsāra)

Sādhu! Sādhu! Sādhu!"

The Sacred Legacy of Lord Buddha's Plasma Stupa in Ancient India

In a remarkable testament to the enduring legacy of Lord Buddha's teachings and the profound impact of his final days, a tale unfolds that intertwines suffering, faith, and reverence. According to ancient scripts recounting the final days of Lord Buddha, it is told that he endured a profound affliction—bleeding per rectum, a condition often associated with dysentery. As he approached the end of his earthly journey, the Enlightened One faced excruciating pain, with each passing moment marked by the agony of bloody diarrhea. It is speculated that these symptoms align with those of Entamoeba histolytica, a parasitic amoeba known to cause dysentery. Despite the immense suffering, the compassionate physician of Lord Buddha attended to him diligently. Yet, in the wake of his passing, the remnants of his ailment became relics imbued with profound significance. Seven vessels containing Lord Buddha's blood, the poignant remnants of his earthly ordeal, remained under the care of his physician.

However, in a twist of fate, these relics found their way into obscurity, relegated to the confines of a stupa with little regard. It was only when news of these relics reached the ears of His Majesty King A. Jata. Sat that their significance was recognized. Moved by reverence and a sense of duty, King A. Jata. Sat retrieved the relics from the physician's stupa and brought them into his kingdom. Yet, the journey of these relics did not end there. With the passage of time and the shifting tides of history, His Majesty King Kanishaka emerged victorious in conquest, bringing the relics under his domain. Among the treasures he discovered within the stupa were three vessels containing Lord Buddha's blood, a poignant reminder of the Enlightened One's mortal suffering and transcendent wisdom. In a gesture of profound veneration, His Majesty King Kanishaka honored these relics by creating a stupa dedicated to preserving their sanctity. Within the walls of this sacred monument, the blood of Lord Buddha, once a testament to mortal suffering, became a symbol of spiritual transcendence and enlightenment. The preservation of Lord Buddha's blood plasma for over 2600 years defies conventional understanding, yet it finds its explanation in the advanced medical knowledge of the time. During that era, physicians like Zewaka were adept at surgical procedures, including brain operations. It is through the application of such refined medical techniques that the precious blood plasma of Lord Buddha was securely kept, ensuring its preservation through the ages Today, these blood stupas stand as testament to the enduring legacy of Lord Buddha, a reminder of the transformative power of suffering and the eternal resonance of his teachings. Through the ages, they continue to inspire reverence and contemplation, inviting all who encounter them to reflect on the profound truths they embody.