In the Buddha's Words - Bhikkhu Bodhi [115]
“Those who had been shown the head of the elephant replied, ‘An elephant, your majesty, is just like a water jar.’ Those who had been shown the ear replied, ‘An elephant is just like a winnowing basket.’ Those who had been shown the tusk replied, ‘An elephant is just like a plowshare.’ Those who had been shown the trunk replied, ‘An elephant is just like a plow pole.’ Those who had been shown the body replied, ‘An elephant is just like a storeroom.’ And each of the others likewise described the elephant in terms of the part they had been shown.
“Then, saying, ‘An elephant is like this, an elephant is not like that! An elephant is not like this, an elephant is like that!’ they fought each other with their fists. And the king was delighted. Even so, monks, are the wanderers of other sects blind and sightless, and thus they become quarrelsome, disputatious, and wrangling, wounding each other with verbal darts.”
(Ud 6:4; 67–69)
(3) Held by Two Kinds of Views
“Monks, held by two kinds of views, some devas and human beings hold back and some overreach; only those with vision see.
“And how, monks, do some hold back? Devas and human beings delight in existence, are delighted with existence, rejoice in existence. When the Dhamma is taught to them for the cessation of existence, their minds do not enter into it, acquire confidence in it, settle upon it, or resolve upon it. Thus, monks, do some hold back.
“And how, monks, do some overreach? Now some are troubled, ashamed, and disgusted by this very same existence and they rejoice in nonexistence, saying, ‘In as much as this self, good sirs, is annihilated and destroyed with the breakup of the body and does not exist after death, this is peaceful, this is excellent, this is just so!’ Thus, monks, do some overreach.
“And how, monks do those with vision see? Here, a monk sees what has come to be as having come to be. Having seen it thus, he practices the course for disenchantment, for dispassion, for the cessation of what has come to be. Thus, monks, do those with vision see.”
(It 49; 43–44)
8. FROM THE DIVINE REALMS TO THE INFERNAL
“Monks, there are these four kinds of persons found existing in the world. What four?
“Here, monks, some person dwells pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with loving-kindness, likewise the second quarter, the third, and the fourth. Thus above, below, across, and everywhere, and to all as to himself, he dwells pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with loving-kindness, vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill will. He relishes it, takes a liking to it, and is thrilled by it. If he is firm in it, resolves upon it, often dwells in it, and has not lost it when he dies, he is reborn in companionship with the devas of Brahmā’s company. The lifespan of those devas is an eon. The worldling remains there all his life, and when he has completed the entire lifespan of those devas, he goes to hell, to the animal realm, and to the domain of spirits. But the Blessed One’s disciple remains there all his life, and when he has completed the entire lifespan of those devas, he attains final Nibbāna in that very same state of existence. This is the difference, the disparity, the distinction between the instructed noble disciple and the uninstructed worldling, that is, with regard to destination and rebirth.
“Here, monks, some person dwells pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with compassion, likewise the second quarter, the third, and the fourth. Thus above, below, across, and everywhere, and to all as to himself, he dwells pervading the entire world with a mind imbued with compassion, vast, exalted, measureless, without hostility, without ill will. He relishes it, takes a liking to it, and is thrilled by it. If he is firm in it, resolves upon it, often dwells in it, and has not lost it when he dies, he is reborn in companionship with the devas of streaming radiance. The lifespan of those devas is two eons. The