Dangerous rush!

The blessed one always advised us to be diligent.  Diligence is the root for your liberation. But what if you misunderstand being diligent means to be rushed or being hasty?  Well, most if practitioners do so!  So, they are focusing only on the deep teachings of Pali Canon according to their view... Sometimes out of three Pitaka maybe they focus only on Abhidhamma Pitaka... They focus only on so call deep meditation practices according to their view... They find out what is "more fruitful" according to Samma Sambuddha and they try to practice that certain part only.  All these are because they misunderstood the nature of diligence!

Let me take some commonly misunderstood Sutta Dhamma like Velāma Sutta and Dakkhiṇā Vibhaṅga Sutta.  Both sutta are explaining about Giving or Generosity and how it should be developed within and how it should be guide us to liberation!

In Dakkhiṇā Vibhaṅga Sutta the blessed one explained about 14 types of donations which one could focus on individuals.  It starts with animals. 

1. Being generous towards to an animal
2. Being generous towards to an ordinary person who has bad ethical conduct
3. Being generous towards to an ordinary person who has good ethical conduct
4. Being generous towards to an outsider who is free of desire for sensual pleasures like ascetic practitioners. 
5. Being generous towards to someone who entered to the path of stream-entry
6. Being generous towards to a stream-enterer
7. Being generous towards to someone who entered to the path of once-return
8. Being generous towards to a once-returner
9. Being generous towards to someone who entered to the path of non-return
10. Being generous towards to a non-returner
11. Being generous towards to someone who entered to the path of perfection
12. Being generous towards to a perfected one – the enlightened Arhants. 
13. Being generous towards to silent Buddha also called Paccheka Buddhas
14. Being generous towards to the Realized One, the perfected one, the fully awakened ones named Samma Sambuddhas.

And in this sutta the blessed one further explains how being generous towards to an ordinary person who had bad ethical conduct is more fruitful than being generous towards to an animal.  And Samma Sambuddha further explained how each 14 levels of generosity give different outcomes and become more fruitful for the giver.

In this teaching, Samma Sambuddha actually showed us about our narrow mindset through these 14 types of generosity to individuals. How our generosity becoming limited by focusing individuals only.  Then the blessed one guided us further by adding, if you are capable enough to focus on the noble ones instead of just focusing individuals, that would be the highest generosity level which gives you the highest return.  Who are the actual noble ones?  The one those who aware and realized about the eternal truth.  Those who started to end the existence by knowing how existence leads to trouble other beings as well.  These are the one who started their journey by entering to the path of stream - entry... these are the one who entered to the level of Stream Entry.  These are the one who walking in the noble eight-fold path... these are the one who became Arhanth.  These are the ones who we call Paccheka buddhas, these are the one whom we call fully realized ones like Samma Sambuddhas.  If you can see all these noble ones through any Bhikkhu or Bhikkuni or any lay practitioner, without focusing individually that means, your mindset developed certain skill in this path of liberation!

Samma Sambuddha further explained, in times to come there will be monk whom do not wear the robe, instead they wear a scrap of cloth or just a thread to represent the robe, these so-called monks who claims them as bhikkhus or disciple of Samma Sambuddha are still worthy of offering.  If you can offer them by remembering the noble ones, that offering still gives you the highest return of all.  Can you see the reason?  Because your mindset became broad here! It is now skilled to not to see the appearance or focus on useless outer things.  That's why you gained the best return. 

The blessed one further added the nature of a skilled mindset and what's nature of its generosity In Velāma Sutta. Being generous to build place to reside for the name of all the noble one’s past, present and future is more fruitful than all of these.  As you can see here, the mindset developed and being more skillful to look beyond what is present also.  And then the mindset is skilled enough to take the right refuge.  Seek for the liberation honestly.  That's how the blessed one adding to go for refuge to the Buddha, the teaching, and the Sangha with a confident heart is more fruitful than to build a place for noble ones.

Taking refuge of noble triple gem doesn't means chanting some words.   That means your mind is skilled enough to realize the eternal truth.  Skilled enough to become a Stream - enter.  Your generosity level has developed to the level of giving up the existence for the sake of all beings.  Your kindness reached to some major point where it will give you a higher fruit than giving something in return in existence. Because of that realization and understanding your precepts becomes your life. Your virtue begins with full awareness. That's why the blessed one said, practicing in accordance to the disciplinary rules to develop a disciplined mind, body & speech will be more fruitful than all the other. Because of that realization and understanding your precepts becomes your life. Your virtue begins with full awareness. That's why the blessed one said, practicing in accordance to the disciplinary rules to develop a disciplined mind, body & speech will be more fruitful than all the above other.

When one reached this level means, that this noble disciple has reached to the point where they developed the noble compassionate level.  Their compassion is not worldly or limited or narrow anymore.  It is filled with the realization of eternal truth.  This realization gave them a certain samadhi named "Aimlessness Samadhi also call as Apraṇihita Samadhi or Appaṇihita Samādhi which comes with the realization of true nature of suffering.  As one realizes the true dense of suffering and how existence filled with this nature, the compassionate level to each and every being becomes unlimited.  That's why developing such a compassionate level even in a one whiff of time would give more fruitful than everything else.

The noble disciple developed the "Aimlessness Samadhi also called as Apraṇihita Samādhi or Appaṇihita Samādhi which comes with the realization of true nature of suffering. But this level of compassion or samadhi doesn't come alone.  It arises because of the realization of true nature Anicca the uncertainty nature of everything.  The nature which makes us realize that we cannot depend on anything at all.  This gives the Samadhi of Anicca.  The Sign-lessness-samadhi also named Animitta Samādhi.  These two Samadhi levels are filled with Emptiness-samadhi named Sunyata Samādhi which comes with true nature of everything so called existence!

As you can see, if a person can develop this skill to see the nature of Anicca which also means to be in Animitta Samādhi even for a just a finger-snap that means it's truly rare and noble!  It's obvious that achieving this level is the greatest from above all.  In fact, all the skills were developed for this realization only!

So, if your hasty decisions guide you to develop the highest achievement first instead of developing your skills... be careful my dear dhamma friends!  Because the path of liberation... the path of noble ones cannot be achieved by a delusional mind.   Your delusional mind will make sure you to believe, that you can achieve these realization levels without being kind to anyone around you.  It will make you forget that all creatures are deserving of kindness, and such kindness is always a sacred act.  So, your conditioned agitated mind will tell you to practice and focus only on things which gives you the higher fruits only.  But with such a narrow mind how on earth you think you are going to understand even the tiny bit of compassion level which a noble one explains.

All these stages are to show you how you should develop your letting go nature.  Generosity doesn't mean you are giving up on material things.  It means you are giving up on everything eventually.  Even the desire for existence!  This is how you are liberating from this Samsara Cycle! So, my dear dhamma friends, The Greatest Teacher above all... The Samma Sambuddha explained this beautiful example once;

The blessed one said, suppose a person was to come along who wanted to go to a certain Destination, but he doesn't know how to reach there.  So, he comes to you and seek for the instructions.  Then you instructed him correctly without missing anything at all.  But what if that person took the wrong turn and ignored all the given instruction by you?  Will he reach to his destination? NO, he won't! In the same way, though liberation is present, the path leading to liberation is present, and I am present to encourage them, instruct them the correct way.  Still, some of my disciples, instructed and advised like this, achieve the ultimate goal, liberation, while some of them fail.  Those who fail, fail because they have decided to take the wrong turn and ignore all the given instruction.  What can I do about that?

Likewise, my dear dhamma friends, don't be hasty and rush to achieve something which you believe is the greatest achievement.  Instead follow the given instruction which are still available and you just have to be skillful to listen to them properly! Be diligence!  Be wise! You will reach you destination!