thinks: ‘I am Brahmā, the Great Brahmā, the Conqueror, the
Unconquered, the All‐seeing, the All‐powerful, the Lord, the
Maker and Creator, Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All
That Have Been and Shall Be. These beings were created by me.
How so? Because I first had this thought: ‘Oh, if only some other
beings would come here!’ That was my wish and then these
beings came into this existence!” But those beings who
subsequently arose think: “This, friends, is Brahmā, the Great
Brahmā, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All‐seeing, the
All‐powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, Ruler, Appointer
and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. How
so? We have seen that he was here first, and that we arose after
him.”
“And this being that arose first is longer‐lived, more
beautiful and more powerful than they are...” (Maurice Walshe,
trans.)
7. Page 365, And the beings and the world sprang forth...
Interestingly enough, this paragraph is echoed by a passage in
the Book of Job, Chapter 38, verses 4–7, where The Voice from the
Whirlwind says:
“Where you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who
was it who measured it? Who stretched the line upon it? On what
are the foundations fastened? Who laid down its cornerstone, while the
morning stars burst out singing and the angels shouted for joy?!”
8. Page 366, These beings … rejoicing in their own existence.
And why? Because they do not understand it… This phraseology
echoes that used in the first sutta of the Middle Length Discourses,
the Mūlapariyāya Sutta (see Chapter 21, note §5). In this subtle and
penetrating teaching the Buddha expends considerable effort to point
out that all such eternalist attitudes are subtly rooted in wrong view,
for example: “They perceive All as All. Having perceived All as All,
they conceive [themselves as] All, they conceive [themselves] in
All, they conceive [themselves] apart (or coming) from All, they
conceive All to be ‘theirs,’ they delight in All. Why is that?
Because they have not fully understood it, I say.” (M 1.25)
He follows this by addressing the habit of grasping even the
most perfect of spiritual realizations:
“They perceive Nibbāna as Nibbāna. Having perceived
475
Nibbāna as Nibbāna, they conceive [themselves as] Nibbāna,
they conceive [themselves] in Nibbāna, they conceive [themselves
apart] from Nibbāna, they conceive Nibbāna to be ‘mine,’ they
delight in Nibbāna. Why is that? Because they have not fully
understood it, I say...” (M 1.26) His advice is to change the way of
seeing things:
“He directly knows Nibbāna as Nibbāna. Having directly
known Nibbāna as Nibbāna, he should not conceive [himself as]
Nibbāna, he should not conceive [himself] in Nibbāna, he should
not conceive [himself apart] from Nibbāna, he should not conceive
Nibbāna to be ‘mine,’ he should not delight in Nibbāna. Why is that?
So that he may fully understand it, I say.” (M 1.50, Bhikkhu Ñānamoli
& Bhikkhu Bodhi trans.)
The Buddha describes his own experience as: “Having directly
known that which is not commensurate with the Allness of All, I
did not claim to be All, I did not claim to be in All, I did not claim
to be apart from All, I did not claim All to be ‘mine,’ I did not
affirm All.” (M 49.23)
9. Page 366,
So I shall help all in helping myself… This
is a very well‐known principle within the Buddhist tradition.
The passage most often quoted on this is called ‘The Simile of
the Acrobats,’ it is found at §19 of the ‘Collection on the Foundations
of Mindfulness,’ S 47.19: “Said the master to the pupil: ‘Now my
lad, I’ll watch you and you watch me, thus watched and warded
by each other we’ll show our tricks and get a good fee, and
come down safe from the pole. ‘No, no! That won’t do, Master!
You look after yourself, and I’ll look after myself. Thus watched
and warded each by himself we’ll show our tricks, get a good
fee and come down safe from the pole. That’s the way to do it!”
In this analogy it is the pupil who is the one who gets the praise
of the Buddha.
10. Page 367, called to the bliss of reflecting the glory of
the Supreme God… Once again (see Chapter 36, note §5)
K.G. seems to be having a dig at Judæo‐Christian theological
forms — the idea of human perfection, in that way of thought,
sometimes being presented as the opportunity simply to praise
and reflect the glory of the Almighty for eternity.
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11. Page 367,
so then I am not omnipotent… so I am not
omniscient… As before (in Chapter 38, note §6 and Chapter
44, note §3), K.G. is drawing upon the Buddha’s meeting with
the brahmā god Baka, and his ability to vanish from the brahmā’s
sight while the brahmā could not disappear from his. The story
is told at M 49.26 and at S 6.4. Incidentally, ‘Baka’ means ‘heron’
— apparently, in Indian folklore, the bird symbolises a deceitful
and arrogant character; perhaps equivalents in English would
be such names as ‘Sharkey’ or ‘Big‐head.’
12. Page 369, as the light of a lamp goes out when it has
consumed the last drop of oil in its wick… This closing
image, of the going out of a flame, is a very common metaphor
for the ultimate realisation in the Buddha’s teachings. Along with
a prime example at M 140.24 (see Appendix 2) here are a couple
of quotations that illustrate and illuminate this.
Firstly, from the enlightenment verses of the Elder Nun
Patācārā, at Thig. 112‐6:
Taking my lamp
I entered my hut
sat on my bed
and watched the flame.
I extinguished the wick
with a needle.
The liberation of my mind,
was just like the flame’s
disappearance.”
Also, shortly after the Arahant Dabba the Mallian had passed
away, having risen into the air under his own power and then absorbed
his body into the fire element, the Buddha proclaimed:
Just as the bourn is not known
Of the gradual fading glow
Given off by the furnace‐heated iron
As it is struck with the smith’s hammer,
So there is no pointing to the bourn
Of those perfectly released,
Who have crossed the flood
Of bondage to sense desires
And attained unshakeable bliss
Ud. 8.10 (John D. Ireland trans.)
477