Hoa Vo Uu (Buddha Dharma Education Association)
Venerable Shravasti Dhammika
The Buddha’s Words of Wisdom
The Lord said to Sãriputta: “Tell me, Sãriputta, could a noble disciple who is fully devoted to and has perfect faith in the Tathãgata have any doubt or uncertianty in the Tathãgata or the Tathãgata’s teaching?”
“No, Lord, he could not. It may be expected that the noble disciple with faith and energy will live resolute in energy, always striving to abandon bad qualities and develop good ones; he will be stout and strong in exerting himself, not throwing off the burden of good qualities.
His energy is the controlling faculty of energy. It may be expected that the noble disciple with faith will be minful, possessed of good discrimination, one who calls to mind and remembers things done long ago.
His mindfulness is the controlling faculty of mindfulness. It may be expected that the noble desciple with faith, energy and mindfulness will make self surrender the object of his thought; he will develop concentration and one-pontedness of mind. His concentration is the controlling factor of concentration.
Again, it may be expected that the noble diciple with faith, energy, mindfulness and with thoughts stilled with understand: “Without end is this samsãra. The beginning of beings hindered by ignorance, bound by craving, who run on, fare on through samsãra, cannot be knwon. The utterly passionless cessation of ignorance, of this state of darkness is this happy, excellent state, the calming of all constructs, the giving up of all bases of rebirth, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, Nirvãna.”
This noble disciple with faith, striving again and again, being mindful again and again, concentrating the mind again and again, clearly understanding again and again gains great confidence and he thinks: “Before I had only heard of these things; now I live experiencing them personally”. This faith is the controlling faculty of faith.”
