Sweeping the mind
One day, the Buddha saw a Bikshu crying aloud outside the entrance to Jetvana Vihara. A crowd of bystanders made fun of him and sneered at his stupidity. He was rather slow and dull, and his name was Ksudrapanthaka. Knowing that he was upright, the Buddha valued him and asked sympathetically:
" Why are you crying so bitterly?"
" Buddha! I am very slow in learning. I have renounced with my older brother who taught me a gatha the other day. As I could not remember it, he said I am hopeless in cultivation. He ordered me to return home and sent me out. It is for this reason that I am crying here. I implore the Buddha to have mercy on me!"
Having heard this, the Buddha kindly consoled him: " Do not worry but come with me to my place. Those who know themselves to be stupid are really the wise ones. The stupid are those who think they are wise."
As soon as they had returned, the Buddha ordered Ananda to teach Ksudrapanthaka. Not long afterwards, Ananda told the Buddha that it was impossible to teach him.
So, the Buddha came to teach him personally. He taught him to recite the phrase ' sweep the dust and remove the dirt'. No matter how hard he tried, he could not remember it. Everyone thought he was hopeless except the Buddha, who never gave up on any sentient being. He said to Ksudrapanthaka:
" Now, your job is to sweep the floor with the broom, and dust the clothes and shoes of the other Bikshus. Keep saying the phrase as you do this."
Following the Buddha's orders, Ksudrapanthaka readily served all the other Bikshus although he was considered a nuisance by them. But the Buddha reminded them that he was doing his job at the Buddha's will.
From then on, everyone pitied Ksudrapanthaka when he swept the floor, and they helped him memorise the phrase.
Working conscientiously, Ksudrapanthaka eventually memorised the phrase 'sweep the dust and remove the dirt'. And in time, he even percieved the meaning of this phrase. He pondered:" We can look at dust and dirt from two different angles. One is the internal, the other the external. External dust and dirt consist of the ashes and sands which are easy to clear away; the internal dust and dirt of greed, anger, ignorance are defilements which require removal by great wisdom."
At this, the mind of Ksudrapanthaka became brighter and clearer. What he could not understand before can now be seen. He deliberated again:" People's desires are dust and dirt. The wise would definitely cast away desires as otherwise they could never be liberated. It is desires which have given rise to the causes of defilements that lead to afflictions. Without them, we will not be bondaged but be liberated. It is only then that our minds will be purified and the real truth witnessed."
As he meditated,Ksudrapanthaka gradually calmed his mind from the effects of the three poisons. It entered the state of equanimity without any stir of love or hate, good or evil. It had emerged out of its shell of ignorance, and his previously hindered mind had now opened up.
The enlightened Ksudrapanthaka went blissfully before the Buddha, paid his respects and said: " Buddha! I have percieved, and have swept my mind clear of dust and dirt."
The Buddha gladly commended on him to the public: " How can one benefit if he does not percieve the meaning of the many Sutras he recites and practise it accordingly? One might as well just learn one gatha phrase and practise it really well to be assured of attaining the Way. Just look at the example of Ksudrapanthaka!"
Ksudrapanthaka became a well known and respected Bikshu of Jetvana Vihara. He did not change his way of life, and still carried on sweeping the floor daily while reciting the words:'sweep the dust and remove the dirt'.
The Buddha always taught with expediency to derive the best results. He
would never give up on any of his followers. To the Buddha, the slow learners
were like the seriously ill. Given time and patience, they would surely
progress. The Buddha was certainly the magnanimous educationist of the world
and teacher of all beings.
