Dear YeePing,
today you asked about the verse
"namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma-sambuddhasa"
This is chanted at the very beginning of every sutta chant, every puja (paying homage), every gathering. And I gave you a CD today to help you listen to it as a musical piece to calm you down, to help you be at peace.
It is a verse in Pali, a language in India that were spoken by the common people and understood by all, the lower and higher castes, unlike sanskrit which is restricted to the higher castes. It is a language now only commonly used by serious students of the Dhamma as the Collections of the Buddha's discourses are recorded in Pali.
Namo Tassa (pay homage to)
'Namo tassa' by itself is just about paying homage. We speak of paying homage but to who?
Bhagavato (one who have destroyed, eradicated and crossed the great ocean of Samsara, to final salvation from all pain and suffering, One who has transcended all)
Bhagavato is from the word 'bhagava' which is another title for the Buddha, the one who have experience nibbana bliss and gained enlightenment.
Arahato ('Araham' - worthy of respect and offering, a perfected being freed from the fetters)
Araham means one who destroyed all his defilements.
The Buddha is firstly an araham, worthy of offering and paying homage to.
There was a brief meeting between the Buddha and a Brahmin. The Brahmin was amazed by Lord Buddha's serene figure and complexion.
Br: May I know whether you are a God?
Buddha: No, I am not a God.
Br: Are you any form of supernatural living being?
Buddha: No, I am all natural.
Br: Then, are you an ordinary man?
Buddha: No, I am not an ordinary man.
Br: Who are you?
Buddha:
I understood everything that exists in this world.
I have practice all the great qualities, virtues, principles, percepts, morals, and all evil is completely eradicated from my mind
Therefore, I am the Buddha, not a God, not an Angel, not an ordinary human being. I am the Buddha.
The Buddha is not his name. It is a title of the Fully Self Enlightened Being.
How can the Buddha help us?
When you are sick, you go to the doctor. The wise Doctor examined you and prescribed you some medicine. You don't want to take the medicine because it tastes bitter but you go home appreciating the doctor's great intelligence and his expertise and his clinical skills. Will your illness be cured?
We gain by learning what Lord Buddha had taught and how to gain our own salvation.
I have a Buddha image in my clinic room. Some would ask me, "this is your god, eh". I would tell them. "No, he is my teacher."
We do not worship the Buddha. We concentrate on the qualities of the Lord Buddha, learn the Truth that he discovered and taught, and strive to attain our own enlightenment.
Samma Sambuddhasa (The Supremely enlightened one, the Buddha who realized the Dhamma/Truths and subsequently teaches to others)
Gautama Buddha is a Samma Sambuddho as he is the one who understood, realized and explained to others the 4 noble truths and 8 noble path.
Therefore: in the salutation
"Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhasa" we recall all these qualities. This is also the salutation used by people even during the Buddha's time when they pay respects to him.
This is chanted at the very beginning of every sutta chant, every puja (paying homage), every gathering. And I gave you a CD today to help you listen to it as a musical piece to calm you down, to help you be at peace.
It is a verse in Pali, a language in India that were spoken by the common people and understood by all, the lower and higher castes, unlike sanskrit which is restricted to the higher castes. It is a language now only commonly used by serious students of the Dhamma as the Collections of the Buddha's discourses are recorded in Pali.
Namo Tassa (pay homage to)
'Namo tassa' by itself is just about paying homage. We speak of paying homage but to who?
Bhagavato (one who have destroyed, eradicated and crossed the great ocean of Samsara, to final salvation from all pain and suffering, One who has transcended all)
Bhagavato is from the word 'bhagava' which is another title for the Buddha, the one who have experience nibbana bliss and gained enlightenment.
Arahato ('Araham' - worthy of respect and offering, a perfected being freed from the fetters)
Araham means one who destroyed all his defilements.
The Buddha is firstly an araham, worthy of offering and paying homage to.
There was a brief meeting between the Buddha and a Brahmin. The Brahmin was amazed by Lord Buddha's serene figure and complexion.
Br: May I know whether you are a God?
Buddha: No, I am not a God.
Br: Are you any form of supernatural living being?
Buddha: No, I am all natural.
Br: Then, are you an ordinary man?
Buddha: No, I am not an ordinary man.
Br: Who are you?
Buddha:
I understood everything that exists in this world.
I have practice all the great qualities, virtues, principles, percepts, morals, and all evil is completely eradicated from my mind
Therefore, I am the Buddha, not a God, not an Angel, not an ordinary human being. I am the Buddha.
The Buddha is not his name. It is a title of the Fully Self Enlightened Being.
How can the Buddha help us?
When you are sick, you go to the doctor. The wise Doctor examined you and prescribed you some medicine. You don't want to take the medicine because it tastes bitter but you go home appreciating the doctor's great intelligence and his expertise and his clinical skills. Will your illness be cured?
We gain by learning what Lord Buddha had taught and how to gain our own salvation.
I have a Buddha image in my clinic room. Some would ask me, "this is your god, eh". I would tell them. "No, he is my teacher."
We do not worship the Buddha. We concentrate on the qualities of the Lord Buddha, learn the Truth that he discovered and taught, and strive to attain our own enlightenment.
Samma Sambuddhasa (The Supremely enlightened one, the Buddha who realized the Dhamma/Truths and subsequently teaches to others)
Gautama Buddha is a Samma Sambuddho as he is the one who understood, realized and explained to others the 4 noble truths and 8 noble path.
Therefore: in the salutation
"Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhasa" we recall all these qualities. This is also the salutation used by people even during the Buddha's time when they pay respects to him.
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