Remembering all Details of a 1000 Universal Cycles!
Once when the Venerable
Anuruddha was dwelling at
Savatthi
in Jeta's Grove,
Anāthapindika's Park, a number of Bhikkhus went to
the Venerable
Anuruddha
and exchanged polite
greetings with him.
Then they sat down and asked the Ven. Anuruddha: Venerable
Sir: What has the Venerable Anuruddha developed and
cultivated so
that he has attained to his famous greatness of direct knowledge?
He answered:
It is, friends, because I have developed and cultivated these four
Foundations of Awareness
that I have won great direct
knowledge.
What four?
Here, friends, I dwell constantly contemplating upon: 1: The
body only as a frame of transient form, neither as I, me, mine, nor a
self...
2: The
feelings only as passing sense reactions, neither as I, me, mine, nor a
self...
3: The
mind only as habitual & transient moods, neither as I, me, mine, nor any
self...
4: All
phenomena only as momentary mental states, not as any real static
existents...
while eager,
clearly comprehending, and
acutely aware, by that removing all desire and
therefore also all frustration rooted in this world! It is thus, friends,
because I have
developed and cultivated these
Four Foundations of Awareness, that I have attained
to greatness of direct knowledge. Furthermore, friends, it is indeed, because I
have
developed and completely refined these 4
Foundations of Awareness, that I clearly &
easily can remember all the historical details of a Thousand
Aeons... !!!
Comments:
In Buddhist cosmology an
Aeon
(kappa) means a universal cycle, where space first expands,
then stands almost still, then contracts and lastly implodes usually caused by
extreme heat.
This is said to happen, when 7 suns, due to the contraction of space, have come
so close, that
they can be seen from earth. All the oceans will have evaporated, when 5 suns
can be seen!
It is worth noting that this non-steady-state model of the universe described in
detail by the
Buddha ~ 2500 years ago, first was "rediscovered" in the 1920ties as the
Big Bang theory...
