Namo Buddhaya!!! Children’s Dhamma Program Noble Dhamma for Little Hearts

The Story of the Novice

Udakaṁ hi nayanti nettikā - Usukārā namayanti tejanaṁ, Dāruṁ namayanti tacchakā - Attānaṁ damayanti paṇḍitā.

Irrigators guide water to wherever it is needed.Arrow makers shape arrows to fit task. Carpenters fashion wood for the desired design. The wise tame themselves in the same way.

Dear children,

Pandita was a young son of a rich man of Savatthi. He became a samanera(a novice monk) at the age of seven. On the eighth day after becoming a samanera, as he was following great Arahanth Sariputta on a Pindapatha(alms-round), he saw some farmers channeling water into their fields and asked the Arahanth, "Can water which has no thinking power be guided to flow wherever a person wants ?" The Arahanth replied, "Yes Samanera, it can be guided to flow wherever a person wishes."As they continued on their way, the Samanera next saw some fletchers(who make and sell arrows) heating their arrows with fire and straightening them. Further on, he came across some carpenters cutting, sawing and preparing timber to make it into things like cart-wheels. Then he thought, "If water which is without mind or thinking ability can be guided to flow wherever one likes, if a crooked bamboo which is without same can be straightened, and if timber which is without same can be made into useful things, why should I, having a mind with thinking ability, be unable to tame my mind and practise (tranquillity) and Vipassana(insight) meditation?"

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Then and there he asked permission from the his teacher great Arahanth Saripuththa to be secluded for practicing meditation and returned to his own room in the monastery. There he practised meditation with a great interest and enthusiasm, reflecting the body,feelings,mind and phenomena(mental objects). The God Sakka and some other Gods also helped him in his meditation by keeping the monastery and its surroundings very calm and quiet suiting for meditating. Before meal time Samanera Pandita attained Anagami(non returner) fruition. At that time great Arahanth Sariputta was bringing food to the samanera as well. The supreme Buddha saw with his supernatural power (divine eye) that the Samanera Pandita had attained Anagami fruition and also that if he continued to practise meditation further,he would soon attain the Arahanthship as well. So the supreme Buddha decided to stop Arahanth Sariputta from entering the room, where the samanera was practicing intense meditation. The supreme Buddha went to the door quickly and kept Arahanth Sariputta engaged an another job by getting some instructions to him. While the conversation was taking place, the samanera attained Arahanthship.

Thus, the samanera attained Arahanthship on the eighth day after becoming a novice monk. In this connection, the supreme Buddha said to the () of the monastery, "When one is sincerely practising the Dhamma, even the God Sakka and the other Gods give protection and keep guard; I myself have kept Arahanth Sariputta engaged at the door so that Samanera Pandita should not be disturbed. The samanera, having seen the farmers irrigating their fields, the fletchers straightening their arrows, and carpenters making cart-wheels and other things, tames his mind and practises the Dhamma. And as a result of his smartness he has now become an Arahanth.

Dear children,

The mind we everyone have is, really the most wonderful and amazing treasure which has great skills in many different ways. First of all, the supreme Buddha purified his mind and out of compassion taught the method for us as well. Generally the nature of our mind is very tricky and has to always keep in touch with the advice given by supreme Buddha avoiding unwholesome karmas may happen due to the ignorance. In this story, the seven years old little monk was really skillful to follow great advice of his teachers then was fortunate enough to attain Arahanthship as well by taming his own mind. We are also very lucky to have those instructions showed by the supreme Buddha even in today. So we will determine to use them and tame the minds in order to escape from this dangerous Samsara(cycle of death and re- birth).

Theruwan Saranai!

Mahamevnawa Center of New Jersey

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