Four Observable Benefits for One Who Learned The Teachings by Ear

Monks, when one has learned The Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view, four benefits are to be observed.

What four?

Here, a Monk masters The Teachings: discourses, mixed prose and verse, expositions, verses, inspired spoken phrases, quotations, birth stories, amazing accounts, and questions-and-answers. He has learned those Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. He passes away muddled in mind and is reborn into a certain group of heavenly beings. There, the happy ones recite passages of The Teachings to him. The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction.

This is the first benefit to be observed when one has learned The Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view.

Again, a Monk masters The Teachings: discourses, mixed prose and verse, expositions, verse inspired spoken phrases, quotations, birth stories, amazing accounts, and questions-and-answers. He has practiced those Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. He passes away muddled in mind and is reborn into a certain group of heavenly beings. There, the happy ones do not recite passages of The Teachings to him, but a Monk with psychic potency who has attained mastery of mind teaches The Teachings to an assembly of heavenly beings. It occurs to him: This is The Teachings and discipline in which I formerly lived the spiritual life. The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction.

Suppose a man were skilled in the sound of a kettledrum. While traveling along a highway, he might hear the sound of a kettledrum and would not be at all confused or uncertain about the sound; rather, he would conclude: That is the sound of a kettledrum. So too, a Monk masters The Teachings … The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction.

This is the second benefit to be observed when one has followed The Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view.

Again, a Monk masters The Teachings: discourses, mixed prose and verse, expositions, verses, inspired spoken phrases, quotations, birth stories, amazing accounts, and questions-and-answers. He has learned those Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. He passes away muddled in mind and is reborn into a certain group of heavenly beings. There, the happy ones do not recite passages of The Teachings to him, nor does a Monk with psychic potency who has attained mastery of mind teach The Teachings to an assembly of heavenly beings. However, a young heavenly being teaches The Teachings to an assembly of heavenly beings. It occurs to him: These are The Teachings and discipline in which I formerly lived the spiritual life. The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction.

Suppose a man were skilled in the sound of a conch. While traveling along a highway, he might hear the sound of a conch and he would not be at all confused or uncertain about the sound; rather, he would conclude: That is the sound of a conch. So too, a Monk masters The Teachings ... The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction.

This is the third benefit to be observed when one has learned The Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view.

Again, a Monk masters The Teachings: discourses, mixed prose and verse, expositions, verses, inspired spoken phrases, quotations, birth stories, amazing accounts, and questions-and-answers. He has practiced those Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view. He passes away muddled in mind and is reborn into a certain group of heavenly beings. There, the happy ones do not recite passages of The Teachings to him, nor does a Monk with psychic potency who has attained mastery of mind teach The Teachings to an assembly of heavenly beings, nor does a young heavenly being teach The Teachings to an assembly of heavenly beings. However, one being who has been spontaneously reborn reminds another who has been spontaneously reborn: Do you remember, dear sir? Do you remember where we formerly lived the spiritual life? The other says: I remember, dear sir. I remember… The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction.

Suppose there were two friends who had played together in the mud. By chance they would meet one another later in life. Then one friend would say to the other: Do you remember this, friend? Do you remember that, friend? And the other would say: I remember, friend. I remember. So too, a Monk masters The Teachings… The arising of his memory is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction.

This is the fourth benefit to be observed when one has learned The Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view.

These are the four benefits to be observed when one has learned The Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view.

(Reference: AN 4.191)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, we can observe the method of learning during The Buddha’s lifetime. “When one has learned The Teachings by ear, recited them verbally, examined them with the mind, and penetrated them well by view” is how Students would learn with him over 2,500 years ago.

Gotama Buddha shared The Teachings orally and nothing was written down during his lifetime. It was not until later, after his death, that it was decided to capture The Teachings in written format.

An Enlightened mind has such a high degree of memory that all the Enlightened beings who had attained Enlightenment during Gotama Buddha’s lifetime were committed to recite what they remembered and to document The Teachings for future generations.

The spoken words of The Buddha were recited by his more developed Students and captured for the ultimate development of what we refer to as The Pāli Canon or The Pāli Text.

“The Words of The Buddha” book series is comprised of those spoken words that came from the mind of Gotama Buddha, into the minds of his Students, produced countless Enlightened minds, remembered for the duration of The Buddha’s lifetime, then recited and captured to eventually end up in The Pāli Canon and into your hands at this moment.

These Teachings have been preserved throughout history because they work. These Teachings in the format of this book series provides a method of learning that was not available during the lifetime of The Buddha. Today, you have access and we can distribute these Teachings worldwide in an instant with the ability to reference these Teachings throughout your life as you develop your life practice.

Today, recitation of The Teachings “word for word” is not needed. Instead, one needs to learn, reflect, and practice The Teachings for deep understanding.

Gotama Buddha shared this same method of learning during his lifetime.

1.) Learn:“when one has learned The Teachings by ear, recited them verbally”.

2.) Reflect:“examined them with the mind”.

3.) Practice:“penetrated them well by view”.

While today we have books, videos, podcasts, and other methods of sharing The Teachings, it is important to also learn directly with a Teacher in an environment where a Teacher can verbally explain The Teachings and you have the opportunity to ask questions for clarification.

It would be impossible for someone to read a book, watch videos, listen to a podcast, and/or use other resources in a way that would produce an Enlightened mind without any interaction with The Community to include a Teacher.

There are many questions and points of clarification that are needed along The Path to Enlightenment. There are many challenges and having a relationship with a Teacher will allow you to gain insight through seeking guidance.

As one does, they come to develop the mind in this life and have an improved ability to attain Enlightenment experiencing the life changing results of developing one’s life practice with guidance from a Teacher.

If one applies effort towards learning and does not attain Enlightenment, like those described in this Teaching, then there is an improved rebirth for one’s next existence.

The goal is to attain Enlightenment as an Arahant and to no longer experience rebirth into a new existence. But, should that not occur, one will have gained the benefits of learning, reflecting, and practicing in this life. In fact, you may have learned, reflected, and practiced in a previous life and this is now part of your continuation of The Path to Enlightenment in this current life.

In this Teaching, The Buddha is describing four unique situations where one who has been learning, reflecting, and practicing yet the mind is still “muddled” having not attained Enlightenment, died, and was reborn into the heavenly realm. But the heavenly realm is not the goal of this path as Enlightenment is the goal where one has escaped The Cycle of Rebirth. If one is reborn into the heavenly realm, there is still existence and one has the potential to then fall down into another realm from the heavenly realm.

Each of the situations described in this Teaching involves a being who learns, reflects, and practices The Teachings during a human birth, is reborn into the heavenly realm, continues their learning in the heavenly realm, and then with “the arising of his memory [being] is sluggish, but then that being quickly reaches distinction” or in other words, quickly reaches Enlightenment from the heavenly realm.

Understanding the individual situations described in this Teaching is not necessarily important for one’s progression to Enlightenment. The important lesson being shared here is that one’s efforts to learn, reflect, and practice are moving the mind towards Enlightenment in this very life but if for some reason one does not attain Enlightenment, then, all is not lost. With improved development of the mind, a Practitioner will be able to experience an improved rebirth and continue their progress from within that new existence.