02.1 THE FIRE SERMON

THE FIRE SERMON

The most important factor for your meditation shown in the introduction was the interesting fact that Buddha did not give the Fire Sermon until all had pledged themselves to Buddha Dharma, though the ideas you presented were all valid.

That is worth understanding. Why did he not give the sermon before? Was it possible that this sermon would have been a better impetus for their joining his expanding Sangha?

He clearly considered not. Why was that? The answer lies in the simple act of listening with free critical enquiry, which you too must learn if you wish to advance in a way which is more than with cognitive intellect.

Watch people in normal discussions. What is their tactic? When someone is speaking they are already preparing their reply. They are looking and searching for loopholes in the others' arguments without really listening in a profound way. That is why there are so many interruptions in discussions.

Many years ago I learned a valuable lesson. A famous politician at the time, called Winston Churchill, declared, “One must know the arguments of one’s opponents fully, better or as good as your own, before you can demolish them.” One can only know the arguments of others or their teachings by listening. You must allow them to complete fully their arguments without interruption and then ask questions without aggression or thoughts to destroy that idea presenting one of your own, so that they can really develop their ideas and present them fully. When they have finished you can then look at their presentation for internal consistency, use of emotional arguments that colour reason, uncompleted ideas, etc. Then you must let them do all they can to remedy that foundation.

Then and only then can you justify entering your own ideas and thoughts, trying first to see where you may be incorrect. That is free critical enquiry.

The fire worshipers, convinced and firm in their own errors would not have listened or understood the importance of the Fire Sermon unless they first had decided, for whatever reason, to join Buddha's fold.

Then there is another thing that we can see. These fire worshipers were not ignorant people; most would have been educated to some degree and have rejected other philosophical positions, so the examination of ideas and concepts in a profound way was not foreign to them. In other words, they were prepared intellectually to look deeper into statements than the mere words.

Alright, that is what you are faced with when you read the fire sermon. If you are not dedicated to the Buddha Dharma Path it will not be easy to penetrate with patience without intellect. If you are used to intellectual examination it will also not be easy. Let’s see then what you can make of the Fire Sermon in another version.

Examine it carefully.

THE FIRE-SERMON.

Translated from the Mahâ-Vagga (i.211).

And there in Gayâ, on Gayâ Head, The Blessed One addressed the priests:--

"All things, O priests, are on fire. And what, O priests, are all these things which are on fire?

"The eye, O priests, is on fire; forms are on fire; eye-consciousness is on fire; impressions received by the eye are on fire; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by the eye, that also is on fire.

"And with what are these on fire?

"With the fire of passion, say I, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of infatuation; with birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, and despair are they on fire.

1.   "The ear is on fire; sounds are on fire; ear-consciousness is on fire; impressions received by the ear are on fire; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by the ear, that also is on fire.

2. "The nose is on fire; odors are on fire; nose-consciousness is on fire; impressions received by the nose are on fire; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by the nose, that also is on fire.

3. "The tongue is on fire; tastes are on fire; tonge-consciousness is on fire; impressions received by the tongue are on fire; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by the eye, that also is on fire.

4. "The body is on fire; things tangible are on fire; tact-consciousness is on fire; impressions received by tact are on fire; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by tact, that also is on fire.

5. The mind is on fire; ideas are on fire; thinking-consciousness is on fire; impressions received by thinking are on fire; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by thinking, that also is on fire.

"And with what are these on fire?

"With the fire of passion, say I, with the fire of hatred, with the fire of infatuation; with birth, old age, death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, and despair are they on fire.

"Perceiving this, O priests, the learned and noble disciple conceives an aversion for the eye, conceives an aversion for forms, conceives an aversion for eye-consciousness, conceives an aversion for the impressions received by the eye; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by the eye, for that also he conceives an aversion.

"Perceiving this, O priests, the learned and noble disciple conceives an aversion for the ear, conceives an aversion for sounds, (and all that follows)

"Perceiving this, O priests, the learned and noble disciple conceives an aversion for the nose, conceives an aversion for odours, (and all that follows)

"Perceiving this, O priests, the learned and noble disciple conceives an aversion for the tongue, conceives an aversion for tastes, (and all that follows)

"Perceiving this, O priests, the learned and noble disciple conceives an aversion for the body, conceives an aversion for things tangible, (and all that follows)

"Perceiving this, O priests, the learned and noble disciple conceives an aversion for the mind, conceives an aversion for ideas, conceives an aversion for mind-consciousness, conceives an aversion for the impressions received by the mind; and whatever sensation, pleasant, unpleasant, or indifferent, originates in dependence on impressions received by the mind, for this also he conceives an aversion.

"And in conceiving this aversion, he becomes divested of passion, and by the absence of passion he becomes free, and when he is free he becomes aware that he is free; and he knows that rebirth is exhausted, that he, has lived the holy life, that he has done what it was natural for him to do, and that he is no more for this world."

Now while this exposition was being delivered, the minds of the thousand priests became free from attachment and delivered from the depravities.