4stanza.samvega, Angielski
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Saµvega
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SSOCIATION
FOR
I
NSIGHT
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EDITATION
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Venerable Ledi Sayædaw
Saµvega
Printed for free Distribution by
A
SSOCIATION
FOR
I
NSIGHT
M
EDITATION
3 Clifton Way • Alperton • Middlesex • HA0 4PQ
Website: AIMWELL.ORG Email: pesala@aimwell.org
Venerable Ledi Sayædaw
A F
OUR
S
TANZA
P
OEM
on
A F
OUR
S
TANZA
P
OEM
on
16
Explanation of the Four Stanzas
A Four Stanza Poem on Saµvega
When knowledge of things as they really are is attained
by virtuous worldlings and lesser stream-winners, they
begin to escape from the control of conditioned things,
which they can contemplate as impermanent, unsatisfac-
tory, and not-self. They can realise that psychophysical
phenomena are not a person, a being, a man or a woman.
The defect, harm, and danger of psychophysical phenom-
ena can be known by seeing things as they truly are. This
is the victory of virtuous worldlings and lesser stream-
winners over psychophysical phenomena. However,
Kinwun Mingyi has not found the escape from bondage by
gaining that knowledge.
“When will you be able to extinguish the fire?”
refers
to the fire of death and the other ten kinds of fire that are
consuming all the planes of existences. When, and in
which Buddha’s dispensation, will Kinwun Mingyi gain
final liberation from saµsæra?
1. Due to the darkness without any light,
the deathless upper land is out of sight.
In time, you can’t struggle on in any way,
drifting in the whirlpool in this bay all day.
2. Now, it’s the most favourable chance,
five rare attainments to enhance.
Oh! You’re a man of international fame,
and you’ve plenty of affairs all the same.
They seem important and substantial,
but they are not useful nor essential.
Your viewpoint is neither clear nor right,
in charcoal-room at dark cloudy midnight.
You perform good actions occasionally,
according to your whims, traditionally.
Time is steadily passing without stopping,
as to death, the leveller, you’re approaching;
as a gift or fee for the executioner,
with various foods, to present or to offer.
Resting in the aggregates of wealthy chamber,
you are waiting to die with satisfaction
enjoying the worldly assumed perfection.
3. Though they’re causes of grief and despair,
you fancy them to be a pleasant affair.
With unseen starting point of life,
in the process of existences that strike.
Always you’re in perpetual hunger,
without quenching the thirst of desire.
12
Explanation of the Four Stanzas
Second Stanza
5
for each portion of a day, month, year, or life-span is
“total loss at last.”
“To mingle with common ash and earth”
means the
bodies of beings in the eleven sensual realms and sixteen
realms of form are like earth. The bodies of
devas
and
brahmæs
are composed of subtle earth elements and the heat
guarding them is very powerful. The body of a
deva
or
brahmæ
disappears totally at death like an extinguished
flame with the expiration of the earth elements produced by
consciousness and nutrition. There is no corpse after death.
The
devas
and
brahmæs
are beings of spontaneous birth and
death. There is no chance of treatment — they expire
suddenly as if vaporised. However, the bodies of men and
animals remain after death and the disappearance of earth
elements generated by kamma. Their dead bodies add to
the earth and ash in the cemetery. Thus, the living bodies
of men are going
“to mingle with common ash and earth.”
iii. The very rare opportunity to be a Buddhist monk
or novice
(pabbajjita dullabha).
iv. The very rare attainment of faith or confidence in
the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sa³gha, and the law
of kamma
(saddhæsampatti dullabha).
v. The very rare opportunity of hearing the Dhamma
leading to nibbæna
(saddhammasævana dullabha).
“They aren’t worthy or essential”
refers to worldly or
political affairs, which are not concerned with morality,
concentration, and insight. It means that Kinwun Mingyi
was fully occupied with those unimportant affairs until
his old age, so his life was in vain. He was preoccupied
with futile anxiety, delusion, and restlessness.
“They seem to be important or real”
means that
Kinwun Mingyi was sincerely trying his best for those
affairs, but they were in vain.
“Your view-point is neither clear nor right”
means
that you cannot see the true nature of the five aggregates
of materiality and mentality. If you think that they are
not your own, it is right view. If you regard them as yours,
that view is not right. Right view means seeing things as
they really are
(yathabhþta).
Wrong view is personality
view
(sakkæya-di¥¥hi)
or belief in a soul
(atta-di¥¥hi).
You do not try to follow the right way, so you are
going astray. That is why there is no chance for your
accumulated perfections
(pæramø)
to appear. They are
Fourth Stanza
“The empire of ‘I’ is very large”
means that there is
the wide sphere where the conceptual ‘I’ wanders. That
concept is the banner of craving, the true cause of suffer-
ing. It is like saying
“there’s no smoke without fire.”
The
aggregates of the eleven planes of desire are created and
governed by sensual craving. The aggregates of the sixteen
planes of form are made and governed by craving for form.
2
Venerable Ledi Sayædaw
Fourth Stanza
15
You’re seeking taste in objects as in reality,
but they’re just a pile of ash in fragility.
Hoisting the banner of self-centred ‘I’,
you live like a villager’s swine in a sty.
That pig will become fatter and fatter
for food, its danger is nearer and nearer.
You’re haughty and proud in society,
lofty with status and without anxiety.
You’re happy and pragmatic
just like that villager’s pig.
Screened by custom, pride, society, and glory,
far from seeing any truth or reality.
You have to face the total loss at last,
to mingle with common ash and earth.
4. The empire of ‘I’ is very large,
in three eras from sky to earth.
Fire of death is blazing down ever and anon,
that won’t leave even a tiny atom.
Shaking the whole universe
death, the murderer, is at large.
The existences or lives are only fuel,
appearance and disappearance are perpetual.
Death is the only monarch
in cycles of world after world.
You can’t have the knowledge of reality,
on conditional materiality and mentality.
When will you be able to extinguish the fire
that’s very dangerous, ferocious, and dire?
Those conditional things and beings are destined to end
in destruction, and none can remain forever.
“In cycles of world after world”
means that at every
cycle of the world system, conditioned things are seen to
be only the fuel of death, which will consume them all,
not leaving a single atom.
“You can’t have the knowledge of reality.”
A king
thought that an ogress was the most beautiful princess,
and took her to the royal palace, appointing her as his
chief queen. The king was tricked and dominated by the
pretentious princess until he got the power of clairvoy-
ance that helped him to see the ugly and fearful appear-
ance of the ogress. When he saw the truth, he executed
her and regained his power.
Similarly, beings are deceived and controlled by con-
ditioned things as long as they cannot see things as they
really are. Psychophysical phenomena are not a person,
a being, a man, or a woman. They beguile beings who
regard them as persons, beings, men, or women. Blind
worldlings love and adore pretty, beautiful, and hand-
some persons because of attachment. Love and adoration
are the strong iron fetters and chains of Mæra and the
king of hell. Worldlings cannot escape from the clutches
of Mæra and the king of hell because they are tightly
bound by those fetters. Thus they are dominated and
controlled by conditioned things.
6
Explanation of the Four Stanzas
Third Stanza
11
hidden like embers covered with wet mud. Therefore,
your viewpoint is neither clear nor right.
“At dark cloudy midnight.”
In your younger days, you
had few detrimental affairs. When you heard of the
Buddha, Dhamma, or Sa³gha your confidence could
shine. With the growth of wealth and property, your
detrimental works are increasing day by day. You are not
a stranger to the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sa³gha, but your
confidence is fading with age. Despite the repeated echoes
of the noble qualities of Buddha, Dhamma, and Sa³gha,
your confidence is no longer radiant. You perform good
deeds in the traditional way merely to gain the high regard
of others. So you are at dark cloudy midnight.
“In charcoal-room”
refers to the worldly affairs to
support your family that darken your view.
“You perform good actions occasionally, according to
your whims, traditionally.”
Now that you have reached
a mature age, you have fallen into the charcoal-room of
worldly affairs for the welfare of your family, and cannot
get out of it. Then you put the blame on your lack of
accumulated perfections. With weak confidence and
wisdom, you occasionally accomplish the traditional
meritorious deeds of charity and meditation. However,
you take solace in meditation with weak expectations.
You sometimes contemplate impermanence, unsatis-
factoriness, and not-self, or the noble qualities of the
Giving no chance for mindful trepidation
(saµvega)
to arise, they collect and enjoy sensual objects and com-
panions, concealing their fear with them. The screen is
so good that they are not alarmed by impending repeated
deaths. They are not afraid of death in the present life.
They meekly accept it as a natural solace. Since they are
not afraid of death, there is no chance for them to be free
from saµsæra. If the fear of death is only slight due to the
good screen they do not think of final liberation. This is
the meaning of
“screened.”
“The truth or reality”
is the true nature of death and
destruction.
“Society”
is association with relatives,
friends, and society.
“Pride, society, and glory”
are the
various forms of delusion that cover and conceal the
truth.
“Custom”
means the polite manners and customs
in society, which also conceal the truth or reality.
A powerful
deva
can see five signs of death a week in
advance. Then, he is shaken and afraid, so the other
devas
take him to the Nandavana garden, which is so pleasant
that the frightened
deva
forgets his fear and anxiety. The
screens for
devas
and
brahmæs
are very good and powerful.
“The total loss”
means that in the endless round of
rebirth, sentient beings try their best to get the best
screens. The screen is to forget the good deeds. Forgetful
of doing good deeds, they do not dare to think of final
liberation from death. The duration of seeking screens
14
Explanation of the Four Stanzas
Explanation of the Four Stanzas
defilements. Volitional activities includes mental forma-
tions
(sa³khæræ),
which are past activities, and becoming
(kammabhava),
which are present volitional activities or
becoming for future existences. The five resultants are:
rebirth-consciousness, psychophysical phenomena, six
senses, contact, and feeling.
Because of ignorance, craving, and attachment,
there are mental formations and becoming — good and
bad actions that create resultants in the next existence
as a human being or
deva,
which again produces defile-
ments. Thoughts such as: “It is me,” “It is mine,” “I am,”
“This is my soul,” “I am a king,” “I am a brahmin,” “I am
rich,” “I am Sakka,” I am Brahmæ,” “I am a woman,” I am
a man,” etc., appear in the minds of blind worldlings
because of craving and attachment. Defilements cause
kamma, which produces the resultant of another exist-
ence, which leads to more defilements. That vicious
circle, called
“va¥¥a,”
will continue eternally until the
realisation of things as they really are.
“Appearance and disappearance.”
Beings and things
in all universes are always permeated by appearance and
disappearance.
“Death is the only monarch”
means that although
conditioned things and beings may be increasing, they
cannot overcome death. Hence death is the universal
monarch that cannot be conquered by any of them.
First Stanza
The four kinds of ignorance (
avijjæ)
that conceal four
kinds of truth. These four kinds of ignorance are called
“darkness without any light.”
In other words truth cannot
be realised because the darkness of ignorance conceals it.
The four kinds of truth are as follows:
1. The five aggregates of materiality and mentality
are the truth of suffering.
2.
Greed or craving is the truth of the cause of suffering.
3. The peace of nibbæna is the truth of the end of
suffering.
4. The Noble Eightfold Path starting from right view
is the truth of the way to the end of suffering.
There are four kinds of ignorance that hide the afore-
said four kinds of truth. There are also four kinds of
wisdom or knowledge
(vijjæ)
that reveal them.
The
“deathless”
is nibbæna, which is free from death.
Moreover, nibbæna is not associated with condition things
(sa³khæræ)
so it is deathless. Nibbæna is also called
“the
upper land”
because it is attained by struggling against the
current of saµsæra, the eternal cycle of birth and death.
“In time, you can’t struggle on in any way”
means
Kinwun Mingyi is not able to practise the noble path to
attain nibbæna.
3
10
Explanation of the Four Stanzas
Second Stanza
7
A lunatic chooses and picks up things he likes from a
rubbish heap abandoned outside the village gate. He
finds many things that he thinks are good and enjoyable,
collecting them with pleasure. Similarly, the luxury and
wealth of men,
devas,
and
brahmæs
are only a pile of ash
or rubbish forsaken by the Noble Ones.
“A villager’s swine in sty.”
The fatter a pig becomes
due to abundant food, the more the villager thinks to sell
it for slaughter. The pig does not know that it will be
displayed on the butcher’s stall in the market tomorrow,
so it enjoys happiness for the moment as the leader of a
brood of pigs. Similarly, the achievements of wealth and
social status are prone to destruction, but you cannot see
the reality, though you will definitely be on the stall of
the cemetery market for the dinner of death before your
hundredth birthday. That is why you can enjoy official
status and society without any anxiety until now. You are
like General Bandoola, who could not see the weapon
aimed at him from a tree. You do not see the destructive
weapon of death aimed at you because you are screened
by friends and enjoyable property. Being tied to a post,
you think it is better to die with your face covered, so
that you cannot see the weapon aimed at you. Likewise,
people fear to face the weapon of death aimed at them,
and think it better to die without noticing, so they cover
their faces.
Buddha, Dhamma, and Sa³gha, but your insight and
confidence are far from clear. You only carry out these
noble deeds with the hope of cultivating a good habit.
“Time”
is a being’s life-span for meditation on death.
If a being is expected to live for a hundred years, the
life-span is a hundred years. According to the Burmese
way of calculation, it is six hundred seasons or 2,400
lunar fortnights. When a train is moving, trees and
bushes are left behind as if they were in a circle beside the
railway. In the course of a life-span, hours and days are
left behind in the same way. Therefore,
“time is steadily
passing by without stopping.”
The
“executioner”
means death. Sentient beings are
wandering in the innumerable universes of infinite
saµsæra, the starting-point of which cannot be seen. All
these existences are only the
“various foods”
of death.
They are waiting for the time of death to collect the
“fee.”
They are waiting with healthy bodies, houses, land, furni-
ture, and family. Therefore,
“you are waiting to die with
satisfaction enjoying the worldly assumed perfection.”
“You are waiting to die with satisfaction”
means that
you are trying to satisfy the defilements until the arrival
of death. You are treating defilements with various
objects so that they never become weary. Thus, you are
waiting for death. The duty for death is to be alive before
its advent. The responsibility for the defilements is end-
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