Date: 02/22/2025 02/23/2025
Location: Star Ocean Meditation Center
Teacher: Otto Huang
Dharma Talk
The Courageous Venerable Pūrṇa
Once, the Buddha was staying at the Jetavana Monastery in Sāvatthī, the capital of the Kingdom of Kosala.
One evening, the Venerable Pūrṇa came to seek guidance from the Buddha and said:
“Blessed One, I wish to go to a secluded place to practice diligently and seek liberation. Please teach me the essential Dharma so I may achieve this goal.”
The Buddha replied:
“Pūrṇa, when the six sense faculties come into contact with pleasing objects, if joy, praise, attachment, and craving arise as a result, suffering will inevitably follow. Therefore, I say that the arising of joy leads to the arising of suffering.
Pūrṇa, if the six sense faculties encounter pleasing objects but do not give rise to joy, praise, attachment, or craving, then suffering will not arise. Thus, I say that the cessation of joy is the cessation of suffering.
Pūrṇa, this is my brief teaching for you. Where do you intend to go for your practice?”
“Blessed One, I wish to go to the western region of Sronāparanta.”
“But, Pūrṇa, the people in the western region of Sronāparanta are generally fierce and rude. If you are insulted by them, what will you do?”
“Blessed One, if the people of Sronāparanta insult me, I will think: ‘The people of Sronāparanta are actually quite kind; they have not physically harmed me.’”
“What if they strike you?”
“Blessed One, whether they strike me with fists, stones, or sticks, I will think: ‘The people of Sronāparanta are actually quite kind; they have not killed me with a knife.’”
“What if they try to kill you?”
“Blessed One, if they try to kill me, I will think: ‘Some disciples of the Buddha, disillusioned with their bodies, must resort to various methods to take their own lives. If the people of Sronāparanta kill this decaying body of mine, they would actually be doing me a great favor.’”
“Well done, well done, Pūrṇa! With such patience and tolerance, you are well-prepared to go to the western region of Sronāparanta.”
Receiving the Buddha’s approval, Venerable Pūrṇa joyfully bade farewell to the Buddha and set off the next day. Along the way, he traveled while begging for alms and teaching. Upon reaching the western region of Sronāparanta, he settled there. In addition to diligently practicing himself, he taught the Dharma to many locals, guiding them to take refuge in the Buddha’s teachings.
Before the onset of the next rainy season, Venerable Pūrṇa had already inspired 500 lay disciples to embrace the Dharma and established a monastery in the area capable of accommodating 500 practitioners.
After three months of the rains retreat, Venerable Pūrṇa attained the Threefold Knowledge and entered parinirvāṇa in that very place, achieving final liberation.
