Issue 286

Why can’t they become Buddhas or even demon-kings? It is that they do not know the two fundamental roots and are mistaken and confused in their cultivation. They do not know the two fundamental roots and are mistaken about how to cultivate and as a result become confused. They don’t know how to properly apply their effort.

And they misunderstand; They cultivate the wrong way. For example, there is an outside way in India which professes to cultivate asceticism by sleeping on beds of nails. They say that one derives merit and virtue from bearing that kind of pain. What merit and virtue is there in that? Even if you were to sleep on knives, it would be of no use. Other people in India emulate the morality of cows and dogs. They mimic the behavior of those animals. Why? It is also a case of being mistaken and confused in their cultivation. They consider themselves genuine cultivators of the Way, but they are practicing non-beneficial ascetic practices which reap no fruit, no matter how hard you cultivate them.

These two roots are extremely important and will be explained in the following passages. Don’t get anxious yet. If I talk about the two roots now, there will be nothing left to explain in the following text. It’s like a novel’s ‘wait till next episode explanation’. As we’re not on the next episode yet, there will be no explanation here.

What are they like? Now the Buddha gives us an example. They are like one who cooks sand in the hope of creating savory delicacies.

They may pass through as many eons as there are motes of dust, but in the end they will not obtain what they want. ‘Dust motes eons’: means an extremely long time; many eons with numbers like dust motes of sands. Although such a long time had passed, the sand will remain nothing but sand. It cannot change into food. Those who do not understand the two fundamental roots are mistaken and reckless in their cultivation which amounts to the same thing.

“What are the two? Ananda, the first is the root of beginningless birth and death, which is the mind that seizes upon conditions and that you and all living beings now make use of, taking it to be self-nature.

Now we will lecture on the two fundamental roots. What are the two? I’m telling you now, Ananda! The Buddha will now explain the two fundamental roots to Ananda, and I think everyone would like to know what they are. However, I’m not going to discuss them just yet. Because I have talked a lot about Ananda, I’m going to tell you first about Ananda’s elder brother, since I haven’t introduced him to you yet.

Ananda’s elder brother was called Sundarananda. Why was he called by that name? This is to distinguish him from Ananda. Sundari was the wife of Ananda’s elder brother. Hence, Sundarananda was given the name Sundari’sAnanda – Sundarananda. Sundarananda got along very well with his wife Sundari; they were stuck together like glue. All day long they stayed right beside one another, they were so compatible.

The day came when the Buddha went to cross Sundarananda over. He took up his bowl and went to Sundarananda’s home to beg for food. When Sundarananda saw the Buddha coming, he withdrew from his wife and said, “Wait a bit, I am going to make offerings to the Buddha.”
His wife said, “You are going to make offerings to the Buddha? Come back immediately. Don’t go and then not come back.” “Of course, I’ll come right back,” Sundarananda said.
Sundari then spit on the dirt floor and said, “You’d better be back before that dries, or I won’t let you in my bed.”That was her order for Sundarananda.

Sundarananda heeded the command and said, “I’ll be back right away, for sure.” And he took vegetables and rice to fill the Buddha’s bowl, held it with his hands and setoff to make an offering to the Buddha. But how was he to know that the Buddha would act so strangely? The Buddha used his spiritual power. Every time Sundaranand a took a step toward to the Buddha, the Buddha backed up, so that Sundarananda couldn’t reach him. Sundarananda kept advancing to keep up with the Buddha, and in just a few steps they arrived at the Jeta Grove, despite the fact that it was a long way from Sundarananda’s house. Once they got there, Shakyamuni Buddha said, “Don’t go back. You stay here with me and leave the home-life.”Sundarananda was shocked; he got goose-flesh. “Impossible,” he said emphatically. “I can’t stay. Sundari is waiting for me. I can’t remain here and leave home.”The Buddha said, “You can’t leave home? Let me show you some things and see what you think.”

The Buddha took Sundarananda to a place where there were hordes of monkeys. “Which is more beautiful,” the Buddha asked him, “these monkeys or your wife Sundari?”
“Obviously Sundari is more beautiful,” replied Sundarananda. “How could Sundari be compared to a monkey?”
“Quite right,” the Buddha agreed.

Then the Buddha took him to the heavens.As they strolled, they noticed one particular palace was bustling with activity as servants scrubbed and polished. There were also 500 heavenly maidens in that palace, each one exquisite beyond compare.
“Why are you doing all this cleaning?” Sundaranda asked one of the servants.
“We’re getting this palace ready for the Buddha’s cousin Sundarananda,” they replied. “After he cultivates he’ll come to heaven to enjoy his blessings. These 500 heavenly maidens will be his wives.”Sundarananda was ecstatic.
“Tell me, Nanada,” the Buddha said to him, “which would you say is more beautiful, Sundari or these heavenly maidens?”
“These maidens, obviously,” Sundarananda replied. “Why, compared to these maidens, Sundari is as ugly as a monkey.”
“Fine,” said the Buddha, “this place is being readied for you.”

After they finished touring the place the Buddha took his cousin down to the hells. There they saw two ghosts heating a cauldron of oil. One of the ghosts was sound asleep and although the other one was awake, he didn’t have his eyes open. Nanda sized up the situation and thought to himself, “these ghosts are suppose to be tending the fire under that cauldron, but they’re not doing their job at all. Boy, are ghosts lazy!” Then he meddled a bit and nudged one, saying, “What are you doing this for?”
The little one’s droopy eyes popped open and glared at him. “What’s it to you?” he snapped.
“I just wondered,” said Sundarananda.
“You gotta know, huh? Okay, I’ll tell you. The Buddha’s got a cousin who’s cultivating the blessings of people and gods. He’s going to get born in the heavens and enjoy 500 years of heavenly blessings before he falls. Once he topples, however, he’ll come all the way down to hell and when he gets here, we’re supposed to have this pot hot. He’s to be deep-fried alive.”

Sundarananda was horrified and his hair stood on end. He suddenly understood the whole picture and thought, “Having rebirth to the heaven, but 500 years of bliss with them isn’t worth it if I’m eventually going to end up in a pot of boiling oil. I’d better follow the Buddha, leave home, and be a monk.” So, he forgot about Sundari and left home. He was the Buddha’s cousin with this kind of cause and condition.

In order to rescue Sundarananda, the Buddha took great effort and had to accompany him to the heavens and the hells. But saving Ananda, Sundarananda’s younger brother, was proving even more difficult. The Buddha explains one principle and Ananda doesn’t understand. The Buddha explains another principle and Ananda still doesn’t understand. The Buddha keeps on explaining and Ananda continues to be confused. Now the Buddha reveals the two fundamental roots that cause people to be mistaken and confused in their cultivation. He wanted to lead Ananda to understand how to direct his cultivation so that he could become a Buddha in the future.