11/28/2023 0 Comments Random lion growl noise on windows 10The words do not mean that other religions are destitute of persons of saintly stature. ![]() In order to understand this statement properly, it is important to distinguish exactly what the words imply and what they do not imply. The "doctrines of others" (parappavada), the Buddha says, are devoid of true recluses, of those who stand on these elevated planes. The expression "recluse" (samana) here refers elliptically to the four grades of noble disciples who have reached the stages of realization at which final deliverance from suffering is irrevocably assured: the stream-enterer, the once-returner, the non-returner and the arahant. He tells his monks that they can boldly declare that "only here" (idh'eva) - i.e., in the Dispensation of the Enlightened One - is it possible to find true recluses of the first, second, third and fourth degrees. The Buddha opens the discourse by disclosing the content of this roar. Viewed in the light of this distinction, the Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar exhibits a hybrid character, being a sutta spoken by the Buddha to instruct his disciples how they should affirm, in discussions with others who hold different convictions, the singular greatness of the Teaching. The former is sounded when the Buddha extols his own attainments or proclaims the potency of the doctrine he has realized the latter, when accomplished disciples testify to their own achievement of the final goal, the fruit of arahantship. The Pali Commentaries explain that there are two kinds of lion's roar: that of the Buddha himself and that of his disciples. Each delivers in its own way an eloquent and inspiring testimony to the uniquely emancipating nature of the Buddha's Teaching and the peerless stature of the Teacher among the spiritual guides of humanity. Still, both suttas, as their controlling image suggests, are of paramount importance. At another level, these different designations may allude to the relative weight of the subject matter with which they deal, the "great" discourse being a rare revelation by the Buddha of his exalted spiritual endowments and all-encompassing knowledge, which entitle him to "roar his lion's roar" in the assemblies of human beings and gods. The variation in their titles, signalled by the Pali words cula, "minor," and maha, "great," evidently refers at one level to their different lengths, the one being four pages in the Pali, the other sixteen. ![]() 12 in the collection - are called respectively the Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar and the Great Discourse on the Lion's Roar. The Majjhima Nikaya, the Collection of Middle Length Discourses, contains two suttas which bear this metaphor in their title. It is thus not surprising that when the Buddha has occasion to refer to himself, he chooses to represent himself as the stately lion and to describe his proclamation of the Dhamma, bold and thunderous, as a veritable lion's roar in the spiritual domain. The Buddha's discourses, as found in the ancient Pali canon, frequently draw their imagery from the rich and varied animal life of the luxuriant Indian jungle. On such an occasion none dares even to sound its own cry, let alone to come into the open and challenge the fearless, unsurpassable roar of the golden-maned king of beasts. ![]() When the lion steps forth from his den and sounds his roar, all the other animals stop and listen. ![]() The expression of the lion's supremacy is its roar - a roar which reduces to silence the cries, howls, bellows, shrieks, barks and growls of lesser creatures. The living embodiment of self-possessed power, he is the most regal in manner and deportment, the mightiest, the foremost with respect to speed, courage and dominion. The Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar IntroductionĪmong the hordes of animals that roam the wild, whether the jungle, the mountains or the plain, the lion is universally recognized to be their chief.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |