The Inner Beggar

July 2024 edition

The Inner Beggar

Article summary

As we discussed some beautiful moments about Verañjā rainy season through our last editorial, I thought of adding some more beautiful teaching with regards to the same Verañjā situation. This could be also a good advice for you to understand the quality of a noble disciple!

So, when the blessed one and nearly 500 bhikkhus spend the rainy season at Verañjā, there were some lay people who stayed with them.  They were almost like beggars, they used to eat leftovers of alms food.  In pali canon, we could see such stories about these beggar type lay people who joined the blessed one's disciples in their long journeys to various cities.  Because of the food and other gifts they received, they were attracted towards the noble ones.  But sometimes they benefited through the Dhamma and became noble ones too. 

So, likewise the Verañjā visit also had such bunch of beggar type lay people with the noble ones.  They went back to the city of Sāvatthi with the noble ones.  When they reached the city of Sāvatthi there were many foods and all the comfort they needed.  So, they ate a lot and slept well during the day time and woke up in the evening.  They all gathered together near the river bank to play wrestling in the evening and they were cheering and shouting loudly.  By hearing this noise and by observing their behaviour, few bhikkhus were talking about them.

“Look at these beggars.  They used to be so silent and calm when they didn’t have much food at Verañjā.  But as soon as they enter to Sāvatthi and have many foods and comfort their behaviour changed.  Now they have seems gone mad!  But the bhikkhus who spend the rainy season at Verañjā stays calm and still as they were used to stay at Verañjā.  The hard time of Verañjā or the comfort in Sāvatthi didn’t make any change or didn’t affect them.  How wonderful!

So, blessed one heard this conversation and explained a similar situation related to these beggar type lay people in their previous lives.  Samma Sambuddha said, their behaviors were quite similar in their previous lives too.  They used to be donkeys in one life and used to live with some Ājāneya horses identified as rare species of fine horses.  One that time king ordered to give some Grape extracts to the horses.  So, the servants who made grape extracts asked the king what to do with the leftovers of Grapes.  So, king ordered to mix them with water and give them to the donkeys.  After drinking the grape leftover mixed water, donkey’s started make noises and behave like drunken donkeys.  King was surprised to see how the fine Ājāneya horses didn’t feel drunken even after drinking fine grape extract yet the leftover made the donkeys drunken.  Then the blessed one said that’s how those with defilements easily intoxicate with anything. 

Like the donkeys couldn’t handle the leftover grape water these beggar type lay people can’t handle the comfort they received.  They are intoxicated by the comfort feeling.  Their moods are changing according to the external situations.  Coz, they fail to develop their inside.  They are becoming the slave of their mind while the true disciples winning the battles of defiled mind. 

The blessed one added; “The noble one… the person with integrity means the one who has ceased all kind of defilements.  They have ceased the attachments towards everything including the five aggregates named form (Rūpa), feeling (Vedanā), perception (sañña), fabrication (Saṅkhāra), consciousness (viññāṇa).  So, the noble ones don’t change or falls into the different feelings of comfort or suffering or neutral feelings.  They don’t ask their donors like this; “How are you and your family?  Are they doing well? Hope you don’t have any discomfort these days?” just to know whether they are capable of offering them and by hoping that they will answer like; “Yes, bhikkhu… we are all fine… everything goes well… now it is a good time indeed for you to visit us… we can take care of you… etc.,” Noble one doesn’t have this type of changing nature. So, one should identify their defilements and become solid calm & tranquil person from inside no matter what the situation is”

So, look inside my dear dhamma friends.  Do you also a beggar type person? Who is begging for defilements? Does a simple food can make you an intoxicated person?  Do you also lose your senses because of the basic needs like food, cloths, place & medicine?  Do you also a person who quantifying your comfort or suffering according to these basic needs? 

So, my dear dhamma friends, if you need to become a true disciple and liberate from this samsara soon you should identify your beggar type nature… you should identify the intoxicated mind set and how these basic needs can shake you and up to what extent you are shaken and intoxicated.  When you identify your agitated mind it’s easy for you to overcome such beggar type nature!  May triple gem bless you to win that battle!  Defeat the beggar inside you my dear friends!

Rajitha Viduransi | Kelaniya, Sri Lanka