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Buddhism: Awakening
[human rights]
Contributor: Sakoun Sok, NY
Email:khmerneaksre@aol.com
The Buddha was meditating on the bank of a river. A brahman performing
his worship rituals nearby had some unused cake and wanted to
give it away. He went over to the Buddha but was put off when
he saw the Buddha's shaven head-a sign of a nobody. "What
caste are you?" he asked. "I am not a brahman, a prince,
a farmer, or any other caste. I am one who understands how existence
comes into being. Your question about caste is irrelevant."
"You seem a wise man and so I want to give you this offering
of cake. I like to make offerings, for I feel they will bring
me merit. Can you tell me what makes an offering effective for
merit?" The Buddha replied: "Since you are searching
for an understanding, listen carefully. Don't ask about caste
or riches but instead ask about conduct. Look at the flames of
a fire. Where do they come from? From a piece of wood-and it doesn't
matter what wood. In the same way, a wise person can come from
wood of any sort. It is through firmness and restraint and a sense
of truth that one becomes noble, not through caste.
"I will tell you who is worth offerings. It is the one who
doesn't cling to life and who has seen where birth and death end.
In the fullness of that state he has realized the way things are.
His mind no longer seeks resting places. He sees the end of habit-chains.
No more does he think of himself in terms of a self, and so there
is nothing in him that can lead to bewilderment. He perceives
all phenomena with clarity. That is the one who is worthy of offerings.
That is where offerings are due."
Overwhelmed, the brahman held out his cake. "I have now
met a being who understands everything completely, therefore my
offering will be true. I ask you to accept my cake." But
the Buddha replied: "Now, brahman, I do not accept gifts
for telling the truth. This is not the way with people of clear
knowledge. Go and find a great saint who is perfect and is able
to calm all anxieties. That will be- the right place for a man
like yourself who is looking for merit. That is how a gift will
be effective."
The brahman put away his cake. "You are worthy of a gift,
for you have given one to me. It is unsurpassable and of immense
fruitfulness." He then went on his way to find a perfect
saint.
[Sutta Nipata]
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