U PUN
By U Ba Than
Translated by Ba Thet Gyi
Ananda
Sayadaw , in his discourses, often mentioned the name of
U Pun. On many occasions he recounted one or another thing
that U Pun had said and used to illustrate his Dhamma talks
with his examples. We always found U Pun ‘s way of
approaching Dhamma surprising and humorous. He was an old
Chinese man who had lived and realized Dhamma in Henzeda,
a town in the delta of the Irravaddy. He used to discuss
Dhamma expressing himself in his own manner of speech.
His presentations were distinct, clear and precise.
One
day in July 1974 I received a message from Ananda Sayadaw,
who was visiting the Peacock Monastery in Rangoon , that
U Pun was there in person. Grabbing a pencil and notebook,
I left for the monastery immediately. I was very excited
at the prospect of recording the dialogues.
U Pun
was there. He was about seventy- four years old, lean,
and very active. When he spoke, he could be heard from
a good distance. Not only did he speak loudly but also
his voice was deep and sharp especially when he was in
an inspired debate. He had a very heavy Chinese accent
which made his conversation all the more thrilling and
exotic for us Burmans. He had the habit of waving his hands
expressively when he talked. The way that he gestured,
spoke and laughed drew us into his joy.
While
U Pun spoke broken but understandable Burmese, he could
only read and write in Chinese. He was married to a Burmese
lady and they had five children: two doctors, two teachers
and a Buddhist monk who followed the Burmese style of Buddhism.
He owned and operated a pawnshop and retired at the age
of fifty-nine. After his retirement, he used to play
mahjong games throughout the day. When he returned home,
he used to throw himself on the bed to relax. For some
time whenever he closed his eyes, he saw a disk of bright
light. At first he thought this must be a symptom of some
kind of illness and told his wife about it. She was reading
a scholarly book written by the famous Ledi Sayadaw. “ This
is not an illness”,
she said, “This is the sign of your good mental
concentration. This is because of your acquired virtue.
Why don’t you
undertake meditation practice?” With that he
became interested in the Dhamma.
Unfortunately,
he did not have any Dhamma friends nor did he know any
monks to approach. He found things rather difficult until
one day a friend of his from Rangoon gave him two
Dhamma books in Chinese. One happened to be on Chan Buddhism
written by an obscure author and called “Notes
on Noble Words”.
At first he found the Chinese scriptures impenetrable
and had to read them over and over again. “ Don’t think
about virtuous action and don’t think about non-virtuous
action”, this stuck in his mind. He used to meditate
by reciting this phrase. He had been meditating this way for
three solid years but he seemed to be getting no where and
nothing seemed to be happening in him. Then he thought that
he should cleanse his body and he became a vegetarian vowing
that he will live on vegetables until he realized the Dhamma.
One month, two months, three months passed without any development.
After three months had passed, one night at about two in the
morning, he woke up to relieve his bladder. When he returned,
he initially laid down on the bed but then he said to himself “ I
have slept throughout my life” and with determination
sat upright, closed his eyes and contemplated the Dhamma. U Pun explained, “As I sat there,
the bright light I used to see was not like before. It
was really bright and was in my eyes for a flash. After
that moment, when I read the scriptures, I was well aware
of its meaning. I understood. I received the bright light.
That was the light of my wisdom. Then I understood that
there was neither Buddha nor beings, which means the light
of wisdom. Later, there was the Buddha and beings, which
means the usage of the wisdom. Then I realized the ultimate
truth that never changes; a steadfast Dhamma is the root
of wisdom. The destruction of craving, pride and wrong
view is the strength of wisdom.”
" The next day, I related
my experiences to my wife and my eldest son the monk. My
wife who was reading the treatises and my son who had passed
the compendium of Abidhamma exams did not accept my experience
because it differed from the books they had read. They said
that Lord Buddha taught impermanence and Papa’s Dhamma
is about permanence. After that I avoided discussing Dhamma
with them. The Dhamma I saw was genuine and I found their
criticism wearisome. I read the scriptures over and
over again. The essence of my Dhamma understanding is that
original wisdom is‘ as is ‘. And on the other
hand the usage of wisdom is “in the realm of “becoming
and breaking apart”. That’s the main point as
I see it. In the beginning after I understood the Dhamma
I was tongue-tied. As time passed, I learned how to approach
people and how to point things out to them so that they could
understand easily”.
“Two years later, my son brought a booklet by Lion
Cave Sayadaw and said, “ The way you talk about Dhamma
is the same as in this book”. I decided then and there
to find this Sayadaw and to discuss Dhamma with him. In the
mid sixties I came to Rangoon to meet the Sayadaw and had
a discussion with him, which lasted about four hours. By
the end Sayadaw said “ Bagyi Pun, We still have a lot
to talk about, so why don’t you make it very brief?”
U Pun :- “ Put
the mind as it is.’ is a saying
coined by you, isn’t it?”
Sayadaw :- “Yes, it is.”
U Pun :-“What was your intention? Was it for pointing
out impermanence or permanence?
Sayadaw :- “ For permanence”
U Pun :-“ The word ‘ put ‘ implies volitional
action, doesn’t it? If you have to ‘put’ the
mind in its natural state then this ‘put mind’ is
a conditioned mind subject to impermanence. You just said
you wanted to point out the permanence of the natural state
of the mind, but if one adds ‘putting’ what will
happen?
Sayadaw. “ You
understand Dhamma and you can also express yourself nicely.” “Sayadaw requested me
to ordain as a monk and teach. I replied “ Don’t
you think that I have already put on the robe?” Sayadaw
smiled. By that time the gong for the main meal was sounding
and he left.
I asked U Pun to relate some of his experiences debating
with other Dhamma practioners .
“On one occasion”, U Pun began, “A Sayadaw
who was the abbot of a monastery in Saggain came to Henzeda.
He was invited by the owner of a cigar factory. The Pakhan
Sayadaw , who was the abbot of one of the monasteries in Henzeda
and a disciple of the Lion Cave Sayadaw, was invited to the
meal to meet the Saggain Sayadaw. He invited me to go along
too. After the mid day meal, Pakhan Sayadaw pointed his finger
at me and introduced me to the Saggaing Sayadaw requesting
him to test my knowledge of Dhamma.
“The Sagaing Sayadaw asked me questions for nearly three
hours. He was satisfied that I understood the Dhamma and asked
me to clarify one point for him. The discussion went on like
this:
Sagaing Sayadaw “Lord Buddha taught permanence and
impermanence. I have been
thinking about this for last ten years and I am not clear about it yet. Can
you
explain it to me?”
U Pun :- “Permanence
and impermanence aren’t the same. Although
they aren’t the same there not different. The idea is that they are
one and the same.”
Sagaing Sayadaw :- “What you are saying is quite vague. Could you give
me an example?”
U Pun :-“ You see this tea cup. Does it become a tea cup by itself?”
Sagaing Sayadaw :- “It has to be made.”
U Pun :-“ What will happen if I drop it?”
Sagaing Sayadaw :-“ It will break.”
U Pun :-“This breaking is the meaning of impermanence.”
Sagaing Sayadaw :-“ Please tell me how it is that impermanence is the same
as permanence.”
U Pun :-“ Before you make it into a tea cup, what do you have?”
Sagaing Sayadaw :-“ Clay.”
U Pun :- “After it became a tea cup, did the substance
change?”
Sagaing Sayadaw :-“ No.”
U Pun :-“When you break the cup, the substance remains unchanged?”
Sagaing Sayadaw :-“Yes.”
U Pun :-“ As for the tea cup, it is impermanent, while the substance is
permanent”.
Sagaing Sayadaw :-“ That is true, but I need more examples.”
U Pun :-“ The
substance, clay, is absolute. Making the cup is volitional
action or Sankhara. Whatever you do is subject to becoming
and breaking apart. The names change accordingly. How
permanence and impermanence are different is that the
names change. How it is that they are the same is that
absolute truth does not change”.
Sagaing Sayadaw :-“ I like that very much. The problem is now clear. Now
let me ask. The Buddha said
That there is a beginning and an ending. He also discussed
that there is no beginning
And no end. Please clarify this for me”.
U Pun :-“ Let us take the chicken and the egg an example. Which comes first?”
Sagaing Sayadaw :-“ I think that the chicken comes first”.
U Pun :-“ If
there wasn’t an egg to start with, where will the
chicken come from? Without the chicken, where will the
egg come from? That is why Lord Buddha taught that there
isn’t any beginning or end.”
Sagaing Sayadaw :-“I am clear now. What about the beginning and the end?”
U Pun :-“For
the past, the egg is considered as the cause and the
chicken is considered as the effect. Now the chicken
becomes the cause and the egg becomes the effect. Only
when you consider the past, present and future together
will you have beginning and ending. Otherwise there wouldn’t
be any beginning or ending.” |
