Chapter 8
The Harm Wrought
By Not Practicing Sila
The fruits of Sila practice are too numerous to enumerate. Likewise, the ill consequences wrought by Sila transgression are also too numerous to enumerate. If only everyone on earth could truly know the calamitous results of Sila transgression, no one would dare transgress it. A person who transgresses the Sila not only harms others but also commits the worst offence against himself.
When one transgresses the Sila, normalcy is destroyed. Sila transgression turns a clear and clean mind into a sad and gloomy mind. The more one transgresses the Sila, the more precipitously the quality of one's mind deteriorates. A sad and gloomy mind attracts every bad and undesirable thing into one's life. Moreover, the ill consequences of Sila transgression go on to wreak havoc in one's future existences.
On the subject of Sila transgression, this is what our Lord Buddha said to the villagers of the Patali Village.
"Behold, householders, a person who transgresses the Sila will meet with the following five consequences.
Firstly, his material wealth will disappear as a result of his recklessness.
Secondly, his reputation will suffer.
Thirdly, he feels awkward and self-conscious in the company of royalties, Brahmins, millionaires, and ascetics.
Fourthly, he will be devoid of mindfulness and self-possession at the moment of death.
Lastly, he will be reborn in the state of loss and woe, the States of Unhappiness, the place of suffering, the Hell Realm.
Behold, householders, these are the ill consequences of the person who transgresses the Sila."
The consequences of Sila transgression are unimaginably cruel and frightening. Therefore, it behooves every one of us to learn as much about them as possible through the lives of those who had made the mistake of transgressing the Sila as exemplified in the following stories.
The III Consequences of Killing
When a person makes the mistake of killing another living being, he will have to repeatedly pay for this retribution.
The Matakabhatta Jataka
At a time when King Brahmadata was the ruler of the city of Varanasi, one famous Brahmin teacher wanted to worship the souls of the deceased by sacrificing a goat.
He told his students to find him a suitable goat and to decorate it for the sacrificial offering.
Having chosen an appropriate goat, the students led it to the river in order to bathe it. Having bathed and decorated the goat, they allowed it to stand at the pier by the river.
While standing there, the goat recalled the past misdeed that had caused it to be reborn a goat. When it realized that on that very day, its suffering would come to an end, it felt so glad that it burst out laughing. But when it thought about the Brahmin who wanted to have it killed as a sacrifice and the ill consequences that he would incur, it felt so sorry for him that it started to cry loudly.
The Brahmin's student asked the goat, (it needs to be mentioned here that according to the Lord Buddha, there are certain periods on earth where animals and human beings can communicate wit each other.)
"Hey, why were you laughing and are now crying?"
The goat answered, "Ask me that question after we return to your school."
The student led the goat back to the school and recounted the entire incident to the Brahmin teacher.
The Brahmin asked the goat, "Hey, why did you laugh and then cry?"
The goat answered, "Sir, in one of my previous existences, I was a Brahmin just like yourself. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of killing a goat as a sacrificial offering. As a result of having killed just one goat, I had been decapitated for the past 499 existences, and this is the last existence that I will be decapitated. That made me glad, so I burst out laughing. But then when I thought about how you would be decapitated for the next 500 existences, I cried because I felt so sorry for you."
The Brahmin then said to the goat,
"You have nothing to fear now, for I will not kill you."
But the goat said, "Whether or not you kill me, today is the day that I die."
The Brahmin said, "Fear not, I will be nearby to protect you."
"Sir, the retribution for my misdeed is far more powerful than your protection."
The Brahmin insisted that he would not allow anyone to kill the goat.
The Brahmin then released the goat; and he and his students followed the goat around to be its bodyguards.
Having been released, the goat then went toward a tree which grew behind a stone slab. While it was browsing, a lightning bolt struck the stone slab causing a shard to fly toward the goat and decapitated it.
The goat's death caused many people to come together to discuss the matter. Our Bodhisatta was reborn a wood nymph in that existence. He appeared to the people by standing in the air and said,
"When living beings learn about the retribution for killing, they would abstain from killing. Know that birth brings about suffering.
One living being should not kill another living being, for the one who kills will come to grief."
The goat's laughing and crying on his last day on earth served to prevent many from transgressing he Sila. But still, the good-hearted and contrite goat had to pay for its misdeed and die prematurely.
One single act of killing causes the mind to deteriorate to the point where rebirth in the Human Realm is made impossible. One has to pay dearly for one's misdeed by being repeatedly reborn in the Animal Realm.
The III Consequences of Stealing
It is said that "A person of power and position cannot uphold power and position if he does not practice Sila."
A Court Advisor's Experiment
At a time when King Brahmadata was the ruler of the city of Varanasi, one of the court advisors who has maintained his Sila practice immaculately wanted to find out for himself what would happen if he transgressed the Sila. Therefore, he began stealing one piece of money a day from the royal treasury.
On the first and second day, nothing happened because the officials had had a high regard for the court advisor. But on the third day, the officials cried "Thief! Thief!" and arrested the court advisor.
As the court advisor was being escorted to the royal palace, he passed a snake charmer. Although everyone knew that the snake was poisonous, but it did not strike anyone because it was under the spell of the snake charmer, yet everyone marveled at how the snake was good and tame. The court advisor thought that if a snake could be admired for being good, how much better it would be for a human being like him to be admired for his Sīla practice.
When the court advisor came before the king, he was asked the reason for his misbehavior.
The court advisor said, "I did it in order to find out what it would be like to transgress the Sila. I used to wonder why I was held in such a high regard by your majesty and the people. I wondered if it was due to my family, my knowledge, my position or my Sila practice. Now, I have found out that it was due to my Sila practice.
Your Majesty, the material wealth passed on to me by my father, the material wealth that I have gained on my own, and the material wealth given to me by your majesty are great indeed. I stole from the royal treasury in order to see what it is like to transgress the Sila. As a result, I now realize that Sila practice is higher than family and lineage. It is above and beyond every kind of material wealth.
The court advisor then asked the king for permission to take up the religious life. He then became a Yogi and went to live in the Himavanta Forest. He had practiced Sila and meditation until he could achieve meditative attainments. And after he died, he was reborn in the Brahma Realm.
The wise court advisor discovered for himself that power, position, and material wealth cannot come to his aid when he was called a thief.
If the theft had been committed for real out of greed, the story would have definitely ended very differently. It would have ended in total disaster.
The worst consequence of stealing is not so much the damage done to the royal treasury or the punishment exacted by the rule of law, but it is the loss of humanity in the person who has committed the act.
The III Consequences of Sexual Misconduct
While our Lord Buddha was accumulating merit and pursuing Perfections as a Bodhisatta, He had to suffer the ill consequences of sexual misconduct for a very long time as shown in the following story.
The Story of a Young Goldsmith
In one existence, our Bodhisatta was born into a goldsmith family. He was endowed with tremendous good looks and he was also an expert in the craft. His reputation was such that he was commissioned by a millionaire to produce gold jewelry for his daughter who was about to be wed to the son of another millionaire.
Having seen the goldsmith's tremendous good looks, the millionaire was afraid that his beautiful daughter might fall for him should she see him. So he asked the goldsmith,
"Can you produce gold jewelry for my daughter if you see only her wrists and her ankles?"
"Yes, of course," was the goldsmith's answer.
The millionaire told his servants to create a partition between the goldsmith and his daughter with just enough spaces for the daughter to extend her hands and feet. The daughter was curious that such an elaborate partition had to be put in place when it had never been done before with other goldsmiths. She decided to take a peek and upon seeing the goldsmith, she immediately fell for him. So, she wrote him a message and threw it across the partition.
"Beloved goldsmith, please meet me at the large tree behind my house tonight."
The goldsmith was pleased to receive the message and went to wait for the millionaire's daughter at the appointed time. Since he had been working hard all day, he was overtaken by sleep.
After everyone in the house had gone to bed, the millionaire's daughter brought some food out for the goldsmith. She did not dare wake him because in those days it was believed that it was a grave sin to wake someone. She waited a while but eventually had to leave.
On the next day, the millionaire's daughter gave him another message urging him not to fall asleep. But once again, he did.
On the third day, the same thing happened. The millionaire's daughter was very disappointed and the goldsmith was very mad at himself.
The following day was the day that the millionaire's daughter was to be wed. But the goldsmith could not put her out of his mind. So he came up with an idea to produce an elaborate piece of gold jewelry for the viceroy. The viceroy was very pleased with the gift and asked the goldsmith,
"Is there some favor you want to ask of me?"
The goldsmith told the viceroy of his plight. The viceroy told him to dress as a woman and took him to the millionaire's house. He said to the millionaire,
"The king wishes me to visit the border, and I need to leave my sister with you under your daughter's care until I come back."
Even though the millionaire told the viceroy that his daughter had just gotten married and could not really oblige, the viceroy insisted that the millionaire's daughter took good care of his sister. Moreover, no one including the husband, was to bother the millionaire's daughter during his sister's stay.
As a result, the goldsmith and the millionaire's daughter had committed adultery for a period of three months. As a result of this grave misdeed, our Bodhisatta had to undergo the round of rebirth in the States of Unhappiness for a total of fourteen Earth Ages.
Having been blessed with so many good attributes and instead of using what he had to accumulate merit and pursue Perfections, he chose to become the slave of lust. As a result, he had lost precious time in his pursuit of Perfections.
With hindsight, the goldsmith would probably never have done what he did. For just three months of lustful indulgence, he had to pay for it for Earth Ages in the States of Unhappiness.
Only Sila practice can prevent one from falling prey to such wrong and lustful indulgence and protect one from its ill consequences.
The III Consequences of Lying
Before saying anything, we must make sure that what we are saying is true. To tell a lie is to destroy one's worth as a human being as shown in the following story.
The Kakkaru Jataka
At a time when King Brahmadata was the ruler of the city of Varanasi, a huge festival was organized. It was attended by a large number of human beings, Phya Nagas, Garudas, and earth sprites. The festival was also attended by four male celestial beings from the celestial realm of Tavatimsa. They wore garlands of celestial flowers on their heads. The gorgeous scent of celestial flowers pervaded the entire city. And the people wondered where the lovely scent was coming from.
These four celestial beings appeared in the air in front of the royal palace for all to see.
"From which celestial realm are you? And why are you here?" The people asked.
"We came from the Tavatimsa Realm and are here to attend the festival."
"What are the flowers on your heads called?"
The celestial beings told the people that they were called celestial winter melon flowers. The people asked if they could wear them too. The celestial beings answered,
"These celestial flowers possess enormous supernatural powers and they are meant for celestial beings only. They are not meant for human beings who are immoral, devoid of insight, and have a penchant for lowly and evil deeds."
Then the first celestial being said,
"Whoever does not steal, does not lie, does not become pompous as a result of title and position, is worthy of wearing this celestial garland on his head."
The king's court advisor knew that he had no such qualifications. But he thought that he would lie to the celestial being so that he could wear the celestial garland on his head and the masses would then think that he possessed the aforementioned virtues.
"I possess these qualifications, sir."
The court advisor took the celestial garland from the first celestial being and put it on his head.
The second celestial being said,
"Whoever seeks material wealth by righteous means and does not become intoxicated with his material wealth is worthy of wearing this celestial garland on his head.
The court advisor once again lied to the second celestial being that he possessed such qualifications. Having received the celestial garland, he put it on his head.
The third celestial being said,
"Whoever has unshakable faith and shares delicious food with others, is worthy of wearing this celestial garland on his head."
Again, the court advisor lied and put the third celestial garland on his head.
The fourth celestial being said,
"Whoever does not criticize a righteous man to his face or behind his back, but is true to his word, is worthy of wearing this celestial garland on his head."
Again, the court advisor lied and put the fourth celestial garland on his head.
Having given the celestial garlands to the court advisor, all four celestial beings ascended to the Tavatimsa Realm.
As soon as they left, the court advisor began to feel piercing pain in his head. He felt as though his head was being pierced by a sharp knife and bound up tightly by a rope of iron. The tremendous pain caused him to drop to the floor, and he had to confess,
"I lied because I wanted to wear the celestial garlands on my head. Please help me to remove them from my head."
The people tried to help but to no avail. They took the court advisor home and he had to suffer the tremendous pain for seven consecutive days.
The king did not want the immoral court advisor to die and he asked his ministers how they could help the court advisor. The ministers suggested that a huge festival be organized once again so that hopefully the same four celestial beings would attend.
The king agreed and indeed the same four celestial beings did attend the festival. The court advisor entreated them to save his life.
The four celestial beings chastised the court advisor in front of the masses by saying, "You are not worthy of these celestial flowers because you do not practice Sila. You lied to us and have had therefore to suffer the consequences of your lying."
Having chastised the court advisor, they removed the celestial garlands from his head and advised the masses to practice Sila before returning to the Tavatimsa Realm.
The physical pain endured by the court advisor could not be compared to the shame that was heaped upon him as a result of his immorality. But however much he did suffer physically and mentally here on earth, the real punishment for his misconduct still awaits him in the hereafter.
A person that is a habitual liar destroys his own truthfulness. His lies do much more damage to his own mind than to whomever he lies to. The more lies he tells, the poorer the quality of his mind becomes.
Such are the true consequences of lying.
The III Consequences of Alcohol
Consumption
During the Lord Buddha's time, there was a Buddhist monk who practiced righteousness according to the disciplinary rules. He also possessed great supernatural powers as a result of his Jhana attainments. But all the virtues he had possessed disappeared as a result of his alcohol consumption.
Venerable Sagata's Story
At the end of the Rains-Retreat spent in the city of Savatthi, our Lord Buddha decided to trek to the countryside of Cetiya. Upon arriving at the village of Bhaddavatika, the villagers said to the Lord Buddha,
"Most Exalted One, please do not trek to the quayside of Amba because a venomous Phya Naga is living there near the ashram of the fire-worshippers. If you go there, you may be harmed by the Phya Naga."
They told the Lord Buddha thus three times but the Lord Buddha said nothing to them in return. He continued to trek to the village of Bhaddatika.
On that occasion, Venerable Sagata, who had attained the mundane Jhana states, trekked to the fire-worshippers' ashram and went inside the fire-worshipping hall. He made a seat for himself by covering the ground with bunches of grass and went immediately into meditation.
The Phya Naga was furious to see Venerable Sagata there. It sprayed venom at Venerable Sagata. Venerable Sagata employed his supernatural powers to spray venom back at the Phya Naga. The Phya Naga then blew columns of fire at Venerable Sagata. Venerable Sagata entered into the Jhana state of Tejosamapatti and blew back columns of fire at the Phya Naga until he succeeded in quelling the Phya Naga. He then told the Phya Naga to believe in the Triple Gem before returning to report the success of his mission to the Lord Buddha at the village of Bhaddavatika.
Having stayed at the village for a time, the Lord Buddha decided to go to the city of Kosambi. All the city inhabitants came to welcome the Lord Buddha and His disciples. Somehow, the story of Venerable Sagata's victory over the Phya Naga became known to the people. And all of them wanted to know what rarity they could offer to the venerable monk as a show of their admiration.
It so happened that one Buddhist monk, who was jealous of Venerable Sagata's accomplishment, misled the people by advising them to offer alcohol, the color of a pigeon's feet, to Venerable Sagata.
When Venerable Sagata went on his alms-round in the morning, every household offered him the alcoholic drink. And he drank it from every household until eventually he fell down completely drunk at the city gate.
The Lord Buddha and many of His disciples were leaving the city at the time and they saw Venerable Sagata lying down at the city gate. He told His disciples to help Venerable Sagata up and lay him down with his head toward the Lord Buddha. But Venerable Sagata moved his body around so that his feet were toward the Lord Buddha.
The Lord Buddha said to His disciples,
"Behold, monks, isn't it true that Sagata held me in high regards before now?"
The monks answered, "It is true, Most Exalted One."
"But what about now? Does he still hold me in high regards?"
"Not at all, Most Exalted One."
"Isn't it true that Sagata had victory over the Phya Naya in the village of Bhaddavatika?"
"It is true, Most Exalted One."
"But now, Sagata cannot have victory even over a water snake."
"No, he cannot, Most Exalted One."
"Tell me, a drink that brings about unconsciousness, should it be drunk?"
"It should not, Most Exalted One."
"Behold, monks, Sagata's action is not befitting that of a Buddhist monk. He consumed an alcoholic drink. Therefore, his action cannot inspire non-believers to believe, nor can it inspire those who believe to develop a deeper faith."
Alcohol consumption caused Venerable Sagata's supernatural powers to disappear. His conduct brought shame upon himself. Alcohol had so easily turned him from a brave and virtuous person into a weak and despicable person.
It is bad enough that human beings have to cope with the vicissitudes of life. It takes every ounce of willpower and effort just to deal with all the problems in life. There is no need for human beings to add more misery to life by consuming alcohol, which will only cause the mind to deteriorate further and further.
We all know that a gloomy mind leads to rebirth in the States of Unhappiness.
Alcohol consumption has a disastrous effect on one's life.
Transgression of the Sila not only brings about misery and problems, but if the transgression violates the rule of law, one will also receive punishment according to the rule of law.
Every crime, however minor or serious, is caused by the transgression of the Sila. Transgressors of the Sila will receive punishment according to the rule of law. But whoever practices Sila will never break the law.
On one occasion, the Lord Buddha said to His disciples,
"Behold, monks, have you ever heard of a person who has abstained from killing be executed, imprisoned, banished from the kingdom or punished for the very reason that he has abstained from killing?"
"Never, Most Exalted One."
"Neither have I. I have only heard and seen that a person who has killed someone be executed, imprisoned, banished from the kingdom or punished for the very reason that he has killed someone."
"That is so, Most Exalted One."
"Behold, monks, have you ever heard or seen that a person who has abstained from stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and alcohol consumption be executed, imprisoned, banished from the kingdom or punished for the very reason that he has abstained from stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and alcohol consumption?"
"Never, Most Exalted One."
"Neither have I. I have only heard that such a person stole things from a house or the forest; such a person molested someone's wife or daughter; such a person bore false witness and caused others to suffer; such a person was drunk and killed another person; such a person was drunk and stole things from someone's house or the forest; such a person was drunk and molested someone's wife or daughter; such a person was drunk and lied and caused others to suffer. Such a person is then executed, imprisoned, banished from the kingdom or punished as result of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and alcohol consumption.
"That is so, Most Exalted One."
In the Sabbalahusa Sutta, the Lord Buddha teaches us the unimaginable consequences of Sila transgression as follows.
"Behold, monks, whoever makes it a habit to kill other living beings will be reborn in the Hell Realm, the Animal Realm, and the Peta Realm. The lightest retribution for killing when reborn in the Human Realm is a short lifespan."
"Behold, monks, whoever makes it a habit to steal will be reborn in the Hell Realm, the Animal Realm, the Peta Realm. The lightest retribution for stealing when reborn in the Human Realm is financial disaster."
"Behold, monks, whoever makes it a habit to commit sexual misconduct will be reborn in the Hell Realm, the Animal Realm, the Peta Realm. The lightest retribution for sexual misconduct when reborn in the Human Realm is vindictive enemy.
"Behold, monks, whoever makes it a habit to lie will be reborn in the Hell Realm, the Animal Realm, the Peta Realm. The lightest retribution for lying when
reborn in the Human Realm is false accusation."
"Behold, monks, a person who makes it a habit to practice divisive speech will be reborn in the Hell Realm, the Animal Realm, the Peta Realm. The lightest retribution for practicing divisive speech when reborn in the Human Realm is falling out with friends."
"Behold, monks, a person who makes it a habit to practice offensive speech will be reborn in the Hell Realm, the Animal Realm, the Peta Realm. The lightest retribution for practicing offensive speech when reborn in the Human Realm is hearing what is displeasing."
"Behold, monks, a person who makes it a habit to practice nonsensical speech will be reborn in the Hell Realm, the Animal Realm, the Peta Realm. The lightest retribution for practicing nonsensical speech when reborn in the Human Realm is causing others to doubt one's words."
"Behold, monks, a person who makes it a habit to consume alcohol and/or other addictive substances will be reborn in the Hell Realm, the Peta Realm, the Animal Realm. The lightest retribution for the consumption of alcohol and/or other addictive substances when reborn in the Human Realm is insanity."
Sila transgression causes one to incur grave and light retribution respectively, namely, rebirth in the Hell Realm, the Peta Realm, and the Animal Realm.
The lightest retribution for killing when reborn in the Human Realm is a short lifespan and many illnesses.
The lightest retribution for stealing when reborn in the Human Realm is poverty and destitution. If one had accumulated merit by giving alms in one's previous existence(s), one will be reborn in a wealthy family. But eventually, one's material wealth will be destroyed as a result of water, fire, robbery or embezzlement.
The lightest retribution for sexual misconduct when reborn in the Human Realm is encountering many vindictive enemies.
The lightest retribution for lying when reborn in the Human Realm is encountering false accusation or defamation to the point of committing suicide in some cases.
The lightest retribution for divisive speech when reborn in the Human Realm is falling out with friends, being involved in frequent arguments and fights.
The lightest retribution for offensive speech when reborn in the Human Realm is hearing what is displeasing and disturbing on a regular basis wherever one is.
The lightest retribution for nonsensical speech is having one's words doubted by others and
having difficulty in meeting with success in life.
The lightest retribution for the consumption of alcohol and/or other addictive substances when
reborn in the Human Realm is absentmindedness or insanity.
The lightest retribution for a past misdeed when reborn in the Human Realm is enough to make one's life miserable and difficult. Still, such hardship can never be compared to rebirth in the Hell Realm, the Peta Realm, and the Animal Realm.
