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Fully Quenched

Poem
Andrew Olendzki
Spring 2006

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When Anāthapiṇḍika, the wealthy merchant from Sāvatthī, visited Rājagaha one time on business, he found the household of his wife’s family in great commotion and unable to greet him with their characteristic style. He was told by his host that the Buddha had been invited for a meal the next day, and all the preparations were for this momentous event. The sound of the Buddha’s name, we are told, stopped Anāthapiṇḍika in his tracks. “Did you say ‘Buddha?’” he asked three times, as if sensing some great karmic confluence. He was so thrilled at the prospect of meeting him that he awoke three times during the night, thinking that dawn was at hand.

He got up so early the next morning that it was still dark as he made his way out of the city to the Cool Grove where the Buddha was pacing back and forth in his morning walking meditation. He approached with fear on account of the darkness, the hair standing up on the back of his neck. After all this Anāthapiṇḍika could manage no more than a conventional greeting to the Buddha of “I hope all is well with you, Sir?” Whereupon he received these magnificent two stanzas in reply.

The poem simply but elegantly expresses the nature of the Buddha’s awakening. It would have been uttered shortly after the event, and well before he gathered a large following. Notice how the language is expressing a psychological transformation rather than a cosmological event. All eight lines of the poem say something about the cessation of suffering, the relinquishing of desire, the discovery of peace—here and now. There is nothing about former or future Buddhas, nothing about the workings of karma, and nothing about the end of rebirth or the fulfillment of a destiny.

The rest, of course, is history. Anāthapiṇḍika is taught dharma there and then by the Buddha, immediately attains stream-entry, and becomes one of the Buddha’s most generous supporters to the end of his days.

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Insight Journal

Spring 2006

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In this volume:

Fully Quenched

By Andrew Olendzki

Poem

Truth

By Andrew Olendzki

Sutta Study

What the Buddha Taught

By Andrew Olendzki

Article

Getting the Message

By Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Article

Grounded by the Earth

By Anne Carolyn Klein

Article

Working with Anger

By Harvey Aronson

Article

Deep Listening: An Interview with Gregory Kramer

By Greg Kramer

Interview

 

All issues:

See all Insight Journal issues

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  • Home
  • About Us
    • New and Notable
    • COVID-19 Safety Protocols
    • Mission and Values
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
    • Board of Directors
    • IMS
    • Staff
    • Job Openings
    • Getting to BCBS
    • Mailing List
    • Contact Us
  • Onsite Programs
    • Current Course Calendar
    • Everything You Need to Know About Residential Programs
    • Typical Residential Schedule
    • Continuing Education Credits
    • Financial Assistance
    • Teacher Dāna
  • Online Programs
    • Upcoming Programs
    • Wisdom Collaborations
    • Previously Offered Programs
    • Cancellation Policy
  • Path Programs
  • Teaching Faculty
  • Resources
    • Insight Journal
    • Bhikkhu Anālayo’s Offerings
    • The Daily Sit
    • Freely Offered Dharma
      • Events
      • Courses
    • BCBS Publishing
    • BCBS Bookstore
    • Access to Insight
    • Dharma Seed
    • Ways to Engage in Social Justice
  • Generosity
    • Donate
    • Recurring Donations
    • Planned Giving
    • Stocks, DAFs, and IRA Gifts
    • Teacher Dāna
    • Volunteer