Soṇadaṇḍa

I'm reading DN4, With Soṇadaṇḍa. I wouldn't say it's a sutta that needs to read a lot, but once doesn't hurt. 

It is amazing to me that you can go visit Gaggara's pond (source). The fact that the teachings were seen as so precious that they were preserved even before writing. On another level, it's amazing that it took so long for the teachings to get to America and English. They were really held precious. It must mean that the teachings can only be passed on through deep relationships, and traveling the world in deep relationships is quite slow. That Kukai took teachings from Xi'an China to Kyoto Japan is amazing in the 8th century. 

The Buddha's teachings are good in the beginning, middle and end. I think I hit on about 1 in 20 comments as good, and that's another reason I know I'm not enlightened. I feel like I'm getting better though. I'm not preparing to be a teacher, but it's a natural outgrowth to want to share what you do get through hard work. 

The officiousness of the Buddha's time was to be well born. There's always some quibble about who should be more respected the visitor to the Buddha or the Buddha. I think that he could so easily be dismissed is interesting. I think there are similar analogues today, we could easily dismiss the teachings. I read r/Buddhism on Reddit and people come with quibbling puzzle questions every day that it's hard to unpack and redirect. 

In the previous sutta the Buddha licks his ears to prove he has the 32 marks of a great man, having a long tongue is one mark. These magical things, I think they announce the thought world, away from the practical world. Imagine that, they seem to say. In my incredulous mind, my sophisticated modern mind, I dismiss the Buddha licking his ears, they are just giving marketing spin. And yet I have great faith in the Buddha, his teachings of him and the community. I believe in my Buddha-nature. Not because he had a long tongue, but because I feel healthy doing the practices of meditation, study, fellowship, ethics and devotion. 

It is amazing that King Bimbisara and King Pasenadi have Wikipedia entries. Both of them make great strides in the spiritual life and supported the Dharma. Support of the sangha during the time of the Buddha is crucial to it's survival. 

Soṇadaṇḍa is afraid he won't be able to ask a good question. The Buddha reads his mind and asks him a question about his area of expertise in the Vedas. What makes a Brahmin. Among the answer is they have a sacrifice ladle. I googled that, and there's only an ornamental Roman ladle, nothing comes down to us from India on the English internet about sacrifice ladles.

The Buddha removes qualities of a Brahmin to see if he can get him down to nothing.

There's all kinds of repetitive formulas and such, but the beauty of some images somehow shines through to me. The Buddha convinces him of the superiority of the BuddhaDhamma. He says it's as though something knocked down has been put back up. To me that almost describes the health I feel when I practice the BuddhaDharma. It also could be construed as Buddha-nature, but maybe that's just because I've read a complicated book that explains it. 

Another interesting note is that he creates the symbol of putting his hands together as a salute that would mean he respectfully bows to the Buddha, so that he doesn't have to lose his position in the society, and still show respect to the Buddha. I like it, a secret symbol of respect by putting your hands together.