Notorious serman by Sitagu Sayadaw (Theetagu sayadaw) saying king would not go to hell because only 1 1/2 humans (Buddhists) among hordes of Tamils killed

Sitagu Sayadaw’s ‘Mahavamsa’ Sermon Posted on November 3, 2017 by Paul Fuller This is an English translation of a sermon given by the revered Burmese Buddhist leader Sitagu Sayadaw. It was given on 30th October 2017 to army officers at the Bayintnaung garrison and military training school in Kayin, Mynmar. The following is part of the sermon with English translation and Burmese script. The original sermon was 3 hours long. It has gained much attention as the Sayadaw quotes from the notorious Dutthagamani passage from the 5th Century CE Sri Lankan chronicle, the Mahavamsa, which was originally composed in Pali. The standard English translation of the Mahavamsa by Wilhelm Geiger is available here. In the famous episode Dutthagamani, having waged a long and bloody war in which millions were killed is advised by a group of eight Arahants (Buddhist saints): From this deed arises no hindrance in thy way to heaven. Only one and a half human beings have been slain here by thee, O lord of men. The one had come unto the (three) refuges, the other had taken on himself the five precepts. Unbelievers [they have ‘wrong-views’, micchādiṭṭhi ] and men of evil life were the rest, not more to be esteemed than beasts. But as for thee, thou wilt bring glory to the doctrine of the Buddha in manifold ways; therefore cast away care from thy heart, O ruler of men!’ The Pali reads: saggamaggantarāyo ca natthī te tena kammunā / diyaḍḍhamanujā ve’ttha ghātitā manujādhipa // saraṇesu ṭhito eko, pañcasīle pi cāparo / micchādiṭṭhī ca dussilā sesā pasusamā matā // jotayissasi ceva tvaṃ bahudhā buddhasāsanaṃ/manovilekhaṃ tasmā tvaṃ vinodaya narissara, Mhv xxv. 109-111. 00:00-00:25 During Burma’s fight for independence, under the leadership of General Aung San, almost every one of the prominent warriors in the Burmese Army took shelter at the Buddhist monasteries in the rural villages, all over the country. We have learnt and read about that in history books. Buddhist monks and [Burmese] soldiers are inseparable. 00:26- 00:45 King Duttagamani accepted a flying alms-bowl. Not only was there food for himself, but his horse and the soldiers were also fed, as it was full of food. After they had had the food, they washed it [the bowl] and the empty alms-bowl was sent flying back. This was called the “flying alms-bowl”. 00:46-01:20 King Duttagamani had won the battle triumphantly. Millions of Tamils (Damilas) had died in the battle. After the battle, King Damainla, King Kyae were killed. King Duttagamani managed to unite the divided island of Lanka. Did you know that the island of Sri Lanka was separated into two sides? One side was Tamil (Damila) and the other was Buddhist. So who managed to combine the two separated parts into one country? King Duttagamani. 01:21-01:40 After the battle, the King was too exhausted to fall asleep. He couldn’t fall asleep and stayed awake in the middle of the night. What was happening to him was that he was being overtaken by remorse. What is that called? (to the audience) “remorse” (The audience answers) 01:41-02:05 We are talking about the powers of the Dhamma. The victory of this battle is due to the power/quality of the Dhamma over King Duttagamani. The battle was won because of the effects of the power of the Dhamma. And as a result of the unity of the monks in fighting the battle together, the battle was over. That was how they had a landslide victory in beating the invaders. 02:06-02:21 It’s about unity, right? There must be unity between the King (leadership) and its people as well as the unity between the Army and Sangha (the Monks). The Four of them also have to be united. It’s like the four legs of a chair. They all have to support the country. 02:22-03:02 The King was unable to sleep until midnight because he was thinking about those millions of opposing Tamil soldiers, whom he had killed in the battle. He feared he would go to four hell realms due to the his unwholesome actions (B. arkhutho. P. akusala-kamma) he committed by killing millions of human beings. He was mentally exhausted because of fighting in the battle; the worries of having to rebuild the country again; the worries of resisting and defending the country against the Tamils; the worries about the unwholesome actions he committed. All these worries accumulated because of the millions of lives lost in battle. 03:00-03:30 The Arahants residing in the countryside become aware of the remorse of the King [through their ‘spiritual powers’, abhiññā]. -Who are they? (He asked the audience) -The Arahants. (The audience answered) You all need to understand that these arahants are always taking care of the King. The King receives metta [loving-kindness] from the arahants, which is well received. 03:31- 03:50 As soon as they were aware of the King’s remorse, eight of these arahants arrived in the middle of the night. They asked the guard to open the palace gate. The guard informed the King and he let the Arahants go in to see the King. They asked the King why he isn’t sleeping well. The King said he was remorseful. 03:51-04:02 He said he had remorse about the unwholesome actions he had committed and that he will go to hell for those actions. The eight Arahants said “Do not be worried at all, your Majesty. It was only a tiny bit of unwholesome action that you have committed” 04:03-04:42 “Why only a tiny bit”, the King asked. The Arahants answered that “even though millions of beings had been destroyed, there was only one and a half human beings who is a genuine being. There was only one and a half beings who can be regarded as a human being. Out of these Tamil invaders, there was only one who had adopted the five precepts, and one who had adopted the five precepts and taken the three refuges in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. Therefore, there was only one and a half human beings. The arahants have the ‘spiritual power’ (abhiññā) to see this. So, even the person who practices the five precepts is not a complete being. He is half a human being. 04:43-05:20 “The one who adopts the five precepts together with the three refuges in Buddha, Dhamma and Sanga, is a complete (full) human being. Among the millions of beings who he killed by shooting, hitting & chopping, there was only one whom can be called a human being and one whom can be called half a being. Thus, there’s only one and a half human beings in total. Please do not be worried, your Majesty” We did not say it. Who said it? (He asked the audience) He answered to his own question – The Arahants said it. The King then had peace of mind. 05:21-06:49 [Then Sitagu Sayadaw recites a sermon/Sutta, with interpolations]: “Laypeople lead by their leader and members of Sangha lead by the Venerable monks shall be mutually dependent and support each other. After having totally freed from 62 years of being a slave’s life, our native land shall be built again. Our country, our land, our inheritance shall be established and prospered. Don’t let it falter.” 06:50-07:20 Land, water, sky [alluding to the three parts of the military: Army, Navy and Air Force]. There was that monk who saw the Tipiṭaka books being buried inside the meditation compound. So that counts as “Land”- your infantry Army, “water”- your navy, “sky” –that means your Air Force, right? 07:21-07:40 The monks see that. They have a big heart for the country. Land, water and sky. One should not lack anything, no omissions. Our Land should be protected. Our water should be protected thoroughly including the Straits. Don’t take anything for granted. 07:41-07:43 Do not worry. No matter how much you have to fight, how much you have to shoot them, just remember what was being said earlier. There are only one and a half beings that can be regarded as human beings. The persons who cannot be called human beings are not important. 07:44-08:30 All three of them – land, water, sky, should not lack in any protection and should be safeguarded by the Army. So, this is to the officers in the Army here – land, water, sky – should not lack anything. What does it mean? Safeguarded by the assembly of troops, during the military parades ceremony, on the Armed Forces Day, the chief of the military parade offered all the troops to the Chief of Defence. Doesn’t he use this particular term while doing so? It was the same term written 80 years ago by Gadaryone Sayadaw called “tut paung” (assembly of troops). 08:31-08:55 This term was already written 80 years ago by Gadaryone Sayadaw. Land, water and sky should be safeguarded by the assembly of troops. Like King Duttagamani and King Ajātasattu, they not only fight for the country, but they also fight for the Buddha sāsana. This should be the way. 08:56-09:54 If you want to hear, just listen to this. King Duttagamani made a solemn vow before he marched towards the battle [solemn vow recited in Pali.] This was King Duttagamani’s solemn vow, meaning “the reason I fight for this battle is not to sustain the luxury of being a King. The reason I am fighting Kyay Kalars (the Damilas, Tamils) is to preserve Buddha’s sāsana for as long as possible on this island of Sri Lanka. This was King Duttagamani’s solemn vow. He did not fight to preserve the luxury of being in the palace. Why did he fight? He fought to preserve Buddha’s sāsana for as long as possible. 09:55-10:35 The London Pali text society wrote this in English: [not clear where this is from, it is quoted by Sitagu Sayadaw in English], “My battles are not only to the secure kingship, but also for the future security long establishment of Buddhism.” [Then he explains this quote in Burmese]: In order to have a safe and secure Buddha sāsana and to preserve and sustain Buddhism in this country and in the future, I fought this battle” Who made this solemn vow? King Duttagamani and King Ajātasattu. 10:36-10:49 Similarly, our soldiers should take this example of King Duttagamani and King Ajātasattu in your heart. Thus, I would like to conclude this ceremony by encouraging you undertake this military responsibility of serving for the country and sāsana. 10:50-12:07 [Then Sitagu Sayadaw repeats the sermon/Sutta that he gave earlier]: “Laypeople lead by their leader and the members of Sangha lead by the Venerable monks shall be mutually dependent and support each other. After having totally freed from 62 years of being a slave’s life, our native land shall be built again. Our country, our land, our inheritance shall be established and prospered. Don’t let it falter.” Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu. -- DO NOT worship such a racist bloke!!!