By Ariesen Ahubudu
King Tissa: Will the Dhamma that you intend to preach be beneficial
to my country and to me, Ven. Sir. I shall listen to it only if it is so.
If not I shall not listen even if it is the Dhamma.
If my land - the Hela Diva
- becomes servile to Jambudvipa by reason of the Dhamma which comes from that
land, I do not wish to embrace it. I am the king of this country.
Arhant Mahinda: This Dhamma destroys servility. It brings everlasting
bliss.
The King: Is there any such thing as everlasting bliss in this
world?
The Arhant: Oh, King, why do you say so?
The King: Ven. Sir, there is no bliss sans sorrow. There is also
no sorrow sans bliss. Therefore, how can there be everlasting bliss in this
world?
Warmth means less cold.
Cold means less warmth. Those who do not know that say that warmth and cold
are two different things.
Both are the same, if perceived
through the eyes of wisdom.
Similarly there aren’t
two things as bliss and sorrow.
Just as much as less cold
gives warmth and less warmth gives cold, less sorrow gives bills whilst less
bliss gives sorrow.
There is neither everlasting
warmth nor everlasting cold. It is only a mental feeling caused by the change
from one to another.
Therefore, I do not think
there exists an everlasting bliss as you preach. It is only a change from
bliss to sorrow and vice versa.
If there is a law which
can be taken as "everlasting" it is none other than this change.
The Arahant: Oh King, your mental prowess would astonish the wise.
I am impressed by your
viewpoint, as if lit up by a lamp.
The King: Ven. Sir, I too am no less impressed by you. But this
position of being impressed would hinder our logic. Isn’t it so, Ven. Sir.
The Arahnt: Yes. Oh King.
The King: If so Ven. Sir, let us keep those feelings aside and
resume our debate on "Everlasting Bliss".
Ven. Sir, let us for a
moment think that everlasting bliss which I say is non-existent, does in fact
exist. Alright. What is the use of acquiring such everlasting bliss?
The Arhant: Oh, King, why do you say so?
The King: Ven. Sir, it is the same even if you enjoy everlasting
bliss or everlasting sorrow if viewed through the eyes of wisdom. If there
is bliss sans sorrow, one would not feel that it is bliss. If there is sorrow
sans bliss, one would not feel that, too, as sorrow. The worm resting on a
heap of dirt will feel it is bliss, just as much as a God in heaven does.
The worm and the God take
up similar mental states.
The wise who see the difference
take that as sorrow and this as bliss.
If there are no huge trees
in this forest even bushes will be seen as huge trees. They are differentiated
as trees and bushes through identification of this disparity.
One would not feel that
it is bliss if there wasn’t sorrow. Therefore, there is no bliss sans sorrow.
If there is everlasting happiness anywhere, it will be the same in terms of
enjoyment be it in any world or hell.
The Arhant: It is true Oh, King, that there is some truth in your
vision. That is the worldly truth. You gauged sorrow and bliss from mundane
things. But supra-mundane bliss is not the worldly sorrow and bliss you speak
of.
There is neither worldly
bliss nor sorrow in supra-mundane bliss. There occur changes as worldly bliss
is not everlasting.
This change is a characteristic
of worldly bliss and sorrow. I state that supra-mundane bliss is everlasting
as there is no such changes thereon. Worldly bliss is uncertain due to this
change therein.
Therefore, it is also impermanent,
sorrowful and soulless.
Worldly bliss cannot be
taken as bliss as it is not free of the three signs "Anithya, Dukkha,
Anathma."
The King: Ven.
Sir, now I have understood what you say. I offer my veneration to you.
I shall follow the path
preached by the Buddha.
I shall make Sri Lanka
a hall to preach the Dhamma.