Episode 50 – Cow-Herder Nanda and Sundarananda
>> We must completely abandon all afflictions and defilements. When we eliminate desires, the mind will not be disturbed. We must uphold and practice the teachings to give rise to precepts, Samadhi, wisdom. When we are nourished with Dharma-essence, wisdom-life will grow.
>> Nanda was also called Cow-herder Nanda and Wholesome-Bliss. He was the son of a cow-herder.
>> The first three syllables of Sundarananda mean loving and can also mean refined. [Sundari] was also the name of Nanda’s wife.
There are many afflictions in life. How do we engage in spiritual practice? We must start over every day. Every day when I speak, don’t I always start by reminding everyone to “eliminate all afflictions”? When I finish [speaking], I always tell everyone, “Always be mindful.” Every day, from beginning to end and in the middle, everything has to do with our minds.
Therefore, we must completely abandon “all afflictions and defilements.” We must be able to reach the state of eliminating all afflictions. Why can’t all afflictions be eliminated? It is due to our habitual tendencies, and in particular, those of desire. If we can thoroughly “eliminate desires,” then naturally “the mind will not be disturbed.” With this habitual tendency of desiring things, it is not that we are truly lacking, nor is it that we truly need something. Nor do we grasp at things because we are intentionally greedy. Not at all. It is only a habitual tendency that has not yet been eliminated, so it easily confuses our mind. Thus, this habitual tendency manifests.
You may think, “As much as I try, I cannot think of any desires that I have.” Actually, desires can be weak or strong. Subtle desires can be very minor and weak. An example is love for ourselves. Caring for the self is also a type of desire. I often say that we must love ourselves. As people who love ourselves, we must constantly heighten our vigilance toward bad habits. Then naturally, we can come to develop a habit of self-discipline.
This shows that we all have habitual tendencies. When these habitual tendencies manifest unintentionally, we must quickly subdue them. If in that instant, we do not subdue them and act on them, we must immediately self-reflect. This principle is clear. So, if we go against this principle, our afflictions will constantly multiply. Though we have regrets after the fact, if we do not quickly eliminate [these habits], our minds will be disturbed.
Therefore, desires are very coarse [and obvious afflictions]. Because of desires, we create much evil karma. Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt all arise from desires. Such coarse ways of creating karma are [noticeable] so we can constantly control and eliminate them. But, when it comes to the self, there are still subtle afflictions. This type of desire still has not been eliminated, so these subtle habitual tendencies still exist.
Therefore, what worries us most are these slight habitual tendencies. Eliminating them is more difficult. So, we must always be highly vigilant. “Eliminate desires, and the mind will not be disturbed.” We must eliminate them all. The love that we have for ourselves must be something we can control so that no habitual tendencies will manifest. Then that is true self-love.
We must “uphold and practice teachings to give rise to precepts, Samadhi, wisdom.” We must uphold and practice the teachings of the Buddha. We must make an effort to uphold these precepts. So, if we can do this, naturally precepts, Samadhi and wisdom will protect us and nourish our wisdom-life. Then our principles will not be in disarray. We must have the true Dharma-essence to nourish us so that our wisdom-life will continually grow.
We must completely abandon all afflictions and defilements. When we eliminate desires, the mind will not be disturbed. We must uphold and practice the teachings to give rise to precepts, Samadhi, wisdom. When we are nourished with Dharma-essence, wisdom-life will grow.
These days I have been introducing those whom everyone knew and recognized as Arhats. Arhats also had their own habitual tendencies, as well as their own strengths and weaknesses. I mention this to everyone so we can be more vigilant, and reflect on whether we ourselves have those [weaknesses]. If so, then we must quickly change. As for [strengths] we are lacking, we must learn from them and apply this to ourselves. Thus, as humans, we must [learn to] measure ourselves against good examples and learn to be vigilant from the bad. “Among a group of three, I will find my teacher.”
Next is Nanda, which translates into happiness and felicity. He was very joyful. Actually, he was the son of a cow-herder. Within India’s four-caste system, how could one go from herding cows to becoming a monastic? It must have happened when the Buddha returned to the Kingdom of Kapilavastu to transform His relatives and His father. As soon as He arrived, the whole kingdom rejoiced, and all the people of the kingdom were happy. The king saw that his son had become the Great Enlightened One, respected by everyone. When people saw the Buddha manifest the appearance of a monastic, [they were very touched]. Even his father, the king, led his relatives and ministers to take refuge and pay respect to Him.
At that time, the king wondered how he could make his son’s Sangha even more impressive. So, he issued a decree to his entire kingdom that if a family had two or more sons, one could become a monastic. Besides his citizens, this also applied to those in the royal family. I have shared this part with everyone before. So, it was hoped that this Sangha could grow to have 100,000 monastics.
Nanda herded cows. His father was a cow-herder, and he was also a cow-herder. They were both herdsmen. Because the king issued this decree, he could then leave home and become a monastic. He had a very dignified appearance, and people found him pleasing. He was kind by nature, so he was also called Wholesome-Bliss. He made others happy when they saw him.
When he herded cows, he would begin by playing the flute, or he would play an instrument. Also, he sang very well; he had a great voice. So, he was very smart, pure in heart and kind, and an expert vocalist pure in heart and kind, and an expert in vocals. He not only studied musical instruments, he even developed a very good singing voice. Everyone who heard it felt blissful, so he was called Wholesome-Bliss.
After he became a monastic and entered the path, he was very earnest and diligent. So, he wholeheartedly accepted and upheld the Dharma and the Buddha’s teachings. Thus, he was also one of the bhiksus known and recognized by the assembly. He was very kind and worked hard in practicing the Buddha-Dharma.
Nanda was also called Cow-herder Nanda and Wholesome-Bliss. He was the son of a cow-herder.
There was also another Nanda. This Nanda was known as Sundarananda, who was not the same as the aforementioned cow-herder Nanda. Sundari was the name of his wife, the crown princess he married. She was very beautiful. The husband and wife were very loving. This Nanda had the same father as the Buddha but a different mother.
The first three syllables of Sundarananda mean loving and can also mean refined. [Sundari] was also the name of Nanda’s wife.
One time, Nanda and his wife were in their residential quarters observing the happenings on the street. They looked down on the area surrounding their palace. The area around their building was very beautiful. When he looked a little farther into the distance, Nanda could see the lively city streets. In the middle of it all, he saw members of the Sangha, including Ananda, accompanying the Buddha. The Sangha came out and split up; they went down every street and every alley. They went begging for alms.
The Buddha and Ananda walked together. So, as he saw them approach his residential quarters, Sundarananda could not control himself. He told his wife, “That is my older brother. Through His spiritual practice, He has become the Great Enlightened One and is respected by everyone. Now, He has come out to beg for alms. I will collect His alms bowl to make an offering.” His wife refused to let him go, but he said, “I will go down and collect the alms bowl. After I fill the bowl and make my offering, I will hurry back up.” His wife then said, “I will wait for you to come home before I eat.” So, he agreed that after making his offering to the Buddha, he would return to eat with his wife.
He hurried downstairs to meet the Buddha and collected His alms bowl. But the Buddha kept walking forward without waiting. Nanda took the alms bowl, hurried inside and put the best food they had into the bowl. Holding this bowl of offering, he chased after the Buddha. The Buddha returned to His abode, and Nanda followed Him there to make his offering. When the Buddha took back His alms bowl, almost everyone else had also returned. The Buddha then said to everyone, “There is something very important. When we can help another become a monastic, we create boundless merits. Come, Nanda, since you have already entered the abode, prepare to shave your head.”
At that time, Nanda was very startled. He absolutely could not become a monk. “My princess is waiting for me at home to eat. Who dares to get close to me and shave my head!” The Buddha then said, “No matter what your status was, in this Sangha, we are all equal. So, shave your head.” Just like that, everyone grabbed him and forcibly shaved his head.
The next day, as the day was dawning, he said to the Buddha, “You are all going out again to ask for alms; let me sit quietly and look after the abode.” The Buddha knew what was on his mind. “Fine. You can look after the abode. Close all the surrounding gates and thoroughly sweep and clean the inside.” Everyone left. Nanda saw that the Buddha had left and was very happy. He quickly snuck out. Halfway home, amidst a grove of trees, he saw the Buddha, who had turned back, The Buddha asked, “Nanda, where are you going? I wanted to go for a walk. Sure, I will take you on a walk.” This is when the Buddha took him to visit heaven.
He saw heaven [and wondered], “Why is there major construction?” So, he asked the Buddha. The Buddha said, “You can go ask them.” So, he asked someone, “You are building a magnificent house; who does it belong to?” [The person] said, “In the human realm, a disciple of the Buddha named Nanda just left home and became a monastic. He will be able to create blessings. If he resolves to create blessings, he can return to heaven when he dies.” That made him very happy, and he thought, “Even though I was forced to become a monastic, by forming aspirations, I can diligently practice and go to heaven. I’m so happy.”
The Buddha led him to begin walking again. “I want to take you to another place.” But as they were walking, the image of his wife appeared [in Nanda’s mind]. “Did she eat at all yesterday? I’ll just enjoy the blessings of the human realm.” As the Buddha walked with him, a very frightening scene appeared. [Nanda saw] hell, hot cauldrons of oil and pillars of fire, and many people being tortured. [He heard] the sounds of unspeakable suffering.
In the midst of this, a cauldron of oil was being heated to a boil. He asked, “Why is it that each cauldron contains people, but this cauldron is only now being heated?” A minion then said, “There is a spiritual practitioner named Nanda. His heart is unsettled and riddled with desire. So, it is very possible he will return to the lay life for pleasure, to indulge in worldly desires. So, Nanda will come here in the future, into this boiling cauldron.” Frightened, [Nanda said], “Venerable Buddha, let’s hurry [and leave]! I’m very scared.” The Buddha said, “If you are scared, you have to make a decision.” Then they returned. He steadied his heart and resolved to engage in spiritual practice and eliminate all his desires. He followed the Buddha and listened to Him expound the Dharma. This is the story of how Nanda became a monastic.
In life, we must constantly be vigilant. With one resolve, we can rise to heaven. When we lose our resolve, we can fall to hell. Moreover, we are not practicing to go to heaven, nor do we want to fall into hell. We are willing to return to this world to save sentient beings. Therefore, we must be replete with precepts, Samadhi and wisdom so that we can nourish our wisdom-life. Therefore, we must always be mindful.