After flowing-on for a hundred thousand ages, she evolved in this Buddha-era among gods and men in a poor family in Sāvatthi. Her name was Gotamī-tissa, but because her body was very skinny she was called 'Skinny Gotamī'. When she went to her husband's family, she was scorned [and called] 'daughter of a poor family'. Then she gave birth to a son, and with the arrival of the son she was treated with respect. But that son, running back and forth and … [Read more...]
Vipassana in Snow White: A Fairy Tale Jataka Story
Once upon a time there was a child whose heart and mind were as pure as snow. But she came under the power of a wicked queen whom we shall call Māra, ruler of illusion, greed, and hatred. To free herself from Māra's huntsman, the child sets out on a journey through the dark forest. The journey leads to discovery and, despite Māra's attempts to poison her, to awakening and true happiness. There are many stories that come to us from Asia, called Jātaka tales, about the Buddha's lives as a … [Read more...]
May All Beings Practice Dying
Rodney Smith lives in Seattle, Washington, where he has been running a hospice. He has also set up hospices in Texas and Massachusetts and teaches workshops nationwide on working with death and the dying. He has been offering vipassanā retreats at IMS for many years, and has recently completed a book called Lessons from the Dying, to be published by Wisdom Publications. You were on staff at IMS in the very early years, weren't you? What was it like in those days? When I first came on … [Read more...]
Flying in the Face of Death
I must confess that wherever I am, a large part of my heart always lies in Africa where I was born. Among the tribes in Africa, there is a tradition that I would like to retell: Soon after her wedding, the young newlywed wife leaves the hustle and bustle of the village and goes out to a quiet place in the surrounding veld. Perhaps she finds a tree under which she sits, or a river beside which she places herself. And there, she listens. She listens for the song of her child that has yet to … [Read more...]
Irresistible Force (Saṃyutta Nikāya 3.3.5)
This verse emerges from a discussion between the Buddha and the Kosala king Pasenadi, who generally feels secure behind his four-fold army (elephant, chariot, cavalry and infantry divisions), his conjurers and his treasury. The Buddha asks him to imagine a situation–the fantastic closing-in of four mountain ranges—where all his royal resources will not help him meet the foe. Such is the situation in which we actually all find ourselves—rich or poor, aristocrat or laborer—though we … [Read more...]
The Healing Medicine of Dhamma (Milinda-pañho 335)
These two verses point to the healing symbolism of the the Buddha’s teaching. He is often pictured as the great physician who, seeing the suffering of all beings in the world, applies the medical formula of the four noble truths to 1) describe the symptoms of suffering; 2) investigate its specific causes; 3) using this information, reverse the causes to conceive a cure; and finally 4) lay out a flexible program of treatment that will lead a person out of affliction to lasting health of … [Read more...]
Advice to a Dying Man
Advice to a Dying Man: Anāthapindikovāda Sutta (Majjhima Nikāya, 143) This systematic exploration of the phenomenal field of human experience is a powerful exercise in non-attachment. No need to wait until lying on your death bed to undertake it. Put aside an hour, find a quiet place, and try working through this map of the inner landscape, step by step. On one occasion the householder Anāthapindika was afflicted, suffering, and gravely ill. The venerable Sāriputta dressed, and taking his … [Read more...]
Māra Rebuffed
This poem is all the more remarkable when you know the story behind it. The Elder Gotamī is the very same KisaGotamī who was at the heart of the mustard seed tragedy. As a young woman she was married into an abusive family, who scorned her for being so skinny (kisa) and for not bearing children. She finally did give birth to a fine healthy son, and was then treated well by her relatives. Alas the child had some sort of terrible accident as a toddler and was killed. This drove Gotamī mad with … [Read more...]
The Crow-Birth: A Jātaka Story
Jātaka is a Pali word meaning “birth-story” (jāta—“that which is born” and ka—from katheti—“to relate”). The Jātaka may simply be Indian folklore reworked to suit Buddhist aims, but they are also believed to be the Buddha’s own account of his previous lives. In each of these tales, the Bodhisatta [one committed to awakening] is seen perfecting those qualities that led to his full awakening as the Buddha of our era. Scenes from the Jātaka appear on the carved stone railings at Sanchi and Bharhut … [Read more...]
A Mother’s Blessing
The woman who is said to have composed this poem was Pajapati, the Buddha's step-mother and a Queen of the Sakyas. Her younger sister was Maya, married to King Suddhodana only after Pajapati herself was unable to conceive an heir. Queen Maya died in childbirth, and it was Pajapati who raised Gotama as her own son. After his enlightenment, Pajapati also left the palace and became the first of the bhikkhuis, the order of nuns. The third stanza suggests that her attainments included the … [Read more...]