The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha
Page 47
7. “When this was said, Baka the Brahmā told me: ‘Good sir, I say of the permanent that it is permanent, [328] of the everlasting that it is everlasting, of the eternal that it is eternal, of the total that it is total, of what is not subject to pass away that it is not subject to pass away, of where one is neither born nor ages nor dies nor passes away nor reappears that here one is neither born nor ages nor dies nor passes away nor reappears; and when there is no escape beyond this, I say that there is no escape beyond this. Before your time, bhikkhu, there were recluses and brahmins in the world whose asceticism lasted as long as your whole life. They knew, when there is another escape beyond, that there is another escape beyond, and when there is no other escape beyond, that there is no other escape beyond. So, bhikkhu, I tell you this: You will find no other escape beyond, and eventually you will reap only weariness and disappointment. If you will hold to earth, you will be close to me, within my domain, for me to work my will upon and punish.507 If you hold to water…to fire…to air…to beings…to gods…to Pajāpati…to Brahmā, you will be close to me, within my domain, for me to work my will upon and punish.’
8. “‘I know that too, Brahmā. If I will hold to earth, I shall be close to you, within your domain, for you to work your will upon and punish. If I will hold to water…to fire…to air…to beings…to gods…to Pajāpati…to Brahmā, I shall be close to you, within your domain, for you to work your will upon and punish. Further, I understand your reach and your sway to extend thus: Baka the Brahmā has this much power, this much might, this much influence.’
“‘Now, good sir, how far do you understand my reach and my sway to extend?’
9. “‘As far as moon and sun revolve
Shining and lighting up the quarters,
Over a thousandfold such world
Does your sovereignty extend.
And there you know the high and low,
And those with lust and free from lust,
The state that is thus and otherwise,
The coming and going of beings.
Brahmā, I understand your reach and your sway to extend thus: Baka the Brahmā has this much power, this much might, [329] this much influence.508
10. “‘But, Brahmā, there are three other bodies, which you neither know nor see, and which I know and see. There is the body called [the gods of] Streaming Radiance, from which you passed away and reappeared here.509 Because you have dwelt here long, your memory of that has lapsed, and hence you do not know or see it, but I know and see it. Thus, Brahmā, in regard to direct knowledge I do not stand merely at the same level as you, how then could I know less? Rather, I know more than you.510
“‘There is the body called [the gods of] Refulgent Glory… There is the body called [the gods of] Great Fruit. You do not know or see that, but I know and see it. Thus, Brahmā, in regard to direct knowledge I do not stand merely at the same level as you, how then could I know less? Rather, I know more than you.
11. “‘Brahmā, having directly known earth as earth, and having directly known that which is not partaken of the earthness of earth, I did not claim to be earth, I did not claim to be in earth, I did not claim to be apart from earth, I did not claim earth to be “mine,” I did not affirm earth.511 Thus, Brahmā, in regard to direct knowledge I do not stand merely at the same level as you, how then could I know less? Rather, I know more than you.
12-23. “‘Brahmā, having directly known water as water…fire as fire…air as air…beings as beings…gods as gods…Pajāpati as Pajāpati…Brahmā as Brahmā…the gods of Streaming Radiance as the gods of Streaming Radiance…the gods of Refulgent Glory as the gods of Refulgent Glory…the gods of Great Fruit as the gods of Great Fruit…the Overlord as the Overlord…all as all, and having directly known that which is not partaken of the allness of all, I did not claim to be all, I did not claim to be in all, I did not claim to be apart from all, I did not claim all to be “mine,” I did not affirm all. Thus, Brahmā, in regard to direct knowledge, I do not stand merely at the same level as you, how then could I know less? Rather, I know more than you.’
24. “‘Good sir, if that is not partaken of by the allness of all, may it not turn out to be vacuous and empty for you!’512
25. “‘Consciousness non-manifesting,
Boundless, luminous all-round:513
that is not partaken of by the earthness of earth, that is not partaken of by the waterness of water…[330]…that is not partaken of by the allness of all.’
26. “‘Good sir, I shall vanish from you.’
“‘Vanish from me if you can, Brahmā.’
“Then Baka the Brahmā, saying: ‘I shall vanish from the recluse Gotama, I shall vanish from the recluse Gotama,’ was unable to vanish. Thereupon I said: ‘Brahmā, I shall vanish from you.’
“‘Vanish from me if you can, good sir.’
“Then I performed such a feat of supernormal power that the Brahmā and the Brahmā’s Assembly and the members of the Brahmā’s Assembly could hear my voice but could not see me. After I had vanished, I uttered this stanza:
27. “‘Having seen fear in being
And [having seen] that being will cease to be,
I did not welcome any kind of being,
Nor did I cling to delight.’514
28. “At that the Brahmā and the Brahmā’s Assembly and the members of the Brahmā’s Assembly were struck with wonder and amazement, saying: ‘It is wonderful, sirs, it is marvellous, the great power and great might of the recluse Gotama! We have never before seen or heard of any other recluse or brahmin who had such great power and such great might as has this recluse Gotama, who went forth from a Sakyan clan. Sirs, though living in a generation that delights in being, that takes delight in being, that rejoices in being, he has extirpated being together with its root.’
29. “Then Māra the Evil One took possession of a member of the Brahmā’s Assembly, and he said to me: ‘Good sir, if that is what you know, if that is what you have discovered, do not guide your [lay] disciples or those gone forth, do not teach the Dhamma to your [lay] disciples or to those gone forth, have no yearning for [lay] disciples or for those gone forth. Before your time, bhikkhu, there were recluses and brahmins in the world claiming to be accomplished and fully enlightened, and they guided their [lay] disciples and those gone forth; they taught the Dhamma to their [lay] disciples and to those gone forth; they had a yearning for [lay] disciples and for those gone forth; and on the dissolution of the body, when their life was cut off, they became established in an inferior body. Before your time, bhikkhu, there were also recluses and brahmins in the world claiming to be accomplished and fully enlightened, [331] and they did not guide their [lay] disciples or those gone forth; they did not teach the Dhamma to their [lay] disciples or to those gone forth; they had no yearning for [lay] disciples or for those gone forth; and on the dissolution of the body, when their life was cut off, they became established in a superior body. So, bhikkhu, I tell you this: Be sure, good sir, to abide inactive, devoted to a pleasant abiding here and now; this is better left undeclared, and so, good sir, do not advise anyone else.’515
30. “When this was said, I told Māra the Evil One: ‘I know you, Evil One. Do not think: “He does not know me.” You are Māra, Evil One. It is not out of compassion for their welfare that you speak thus, it is without compassion for their welfare that you speak thus. You think thus, Evil One: “Those to whom the recluse Gotama teaches the Dhamma will escape from my sphere.” Those recluses and brahmins of yours, Evil One, who claimed to be fully enlightened, were not fully enlightened. But I, who claim to be fully enlightened, am fully enlightened. If the Tathāgata teaches the Dhamma to disciples he is such, Evil One, and if the Tathāgata does not teach the Dhamma to disciples he is such.516 If the Tathāgata guides disciples he is such, Evil One, and if the Tathāgata does not guide disciples he is such. Why is that? Because the Tathāgata has abandoned the taints that defile, bring renewal of being, giv
e trouble, ripen in suffering, and lead to future birth, ageing, and death; he has cut them off at the root, made them like a palm stump, done away with them so that they are no longer subject to future arising. Just as a palm tree whose crown is cut off is incapable of further growth, so too, the Tathāgata has abandoned the taints that defilethem off at the root, made them like a palm stump, done away with them so that they are no longer subject to future arising.’”
31. Thus, because Māra was unable to reply, and because [it began] with the Brahmā’s invitation, this discourse is entitled “On the Invitation of a Brahmā.”
Māratajjanīya Sutta
The Rebuke to Māra
[332] 1. THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the venerable Mahā Moggallāna was living in the Bhagga country at Suṁsumāragira in the Bhesakaḷā Grove, the Deer Park.
2. Now on that occasion the venerable Mahā Moggallāna was walking up and down in the open. And on that occasion Māra the Evil One went into the venerable Mahā Moggallāna’s belly and entered his bowels. Then the venerable Mahā Moggallāna considered thus: “Why is my belly so heavy? One would think it full of beans.” Thus he left the walk and went into his dwelling, where he sat down on a seat made ready.
3. When he had sat down, he gave thorough attention to himself, and he saw that Māra the Evil One had gone into his belly and had entered his bowels. When he saw this, he said: “Come out, Evil One! Come out, Evil One! Do not harass the Tathāgata, do not harass the Tathāgata’s disciple, or it will lead to your harm and suffering for a long time.”
4. Then Māra the Evil One thought: “This recluse does not know me, he does not see me when he says that. Even his teacher would not know me so soon, so how can this disciple know me?”
5. Then the venerable Mahā Moggallāna said: “Even thus I know you, Evil One. Do not think: ‘He does not know me.’ You are Māra, Evil One. You were thinking thus, Evil One: ‘This recluse does not know me, he does not see me when he says that. Even his teacher would not know me so soon, so how can this disciple know me?’”
6. Then Māra the Evil One thought: “The recluse knew me, he saw me when he said that,” whereupon he [333] came up from the venerable Mahā Moggallāna’s mouth and stood against the door bar.
7. The venerable Mahā Moggallāna saw him standing there and said: “I see you there too, Evil One. Do not think: ‘He does not see me.’ You are standing against the door bar, Evil One.
8. “It happened once, Evil One, that I was a Māra named Dūsī,517 and I had a sister named Kālī. You were her son, so you were my nephew.
9. “Now on that occasion the Blessed One Kakusandha, accomplished and fully enlightened, had appeared in the world.518 The Blessed One Kakusandha, accomplished and fully enlightened, had an auspicious pair of chief disciples named Vidhura and Sañjīva. Among all the disciples of the Blessed One Kakusandha, accomplished and fully enlightened, there was none equal to the venerable Vidhura in teaching the Dhamma. That was how the venerable Vidhura came to have the designation ‘Vidhura.’519 But the venerable Sañjīva, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty hut, entered without difficulty upon the cessation of perception and feeling.
10. “It happened once, Evil One, that the venerable Sañjīva had seated himself at the root of a certain tree and entered upon the cessation of perception and feeling. Some cowherds, shepherds, ploughmen, and travellers saw the venerable Sañjīva sitting at the root of the tree having entered upon the cessation of perception and feeling, and they thought: ‘It is wonderful, sirs, it is marvellous! This recluse died while sitting. Let us cremate him.’ Then the cowherds, shepherds, ploughmen, and travellers collected grass, wood, and cowdung, and having piled it up against the venerable Sañjīva’s body, they set fire to it and went on their way.
11. “Now, Evil One, when the night had ended, the venerable Sañjīva emerged from the attainment.520 He shook his robe, and then, it being morning, he dressed, and taking his bowl and outer robe, he went into the village for alms. The cowherds, shepherds, ploughmen, and travellers saw the venerable Sañjīva wandering for alms, and they thought: ‘It is wonderful, sirs, it is marvellous! This recluse who died while sitting has come back to life!’ [334] That was how the venerable Sañjīva came to have the designation ‘Sañjīva.’521
12. “Then, Evil One, the Māra Dūsī considered thus: ‘There are these virtuous bhikkhus of good character, but I do not know their coming or their going. Let me now take possession of the brahmin householders, telling them: “Come now, abuse, revile, scold, and harass the virtuous bhikkhus of good character; then perhaps, when they are abused, reviled, scolded, and harassed by you, some change will come about in their minds whereby the Māra Dūsī may find an opportunity.”’522
13. “Then, Evil One, the Māra Dūsī took possession of those brahmin householders, telling them: ‘Come now, abuse, revile, scold, and harass the virtuous bhikkhus of good character; then perhaps, when they are abused, reviled, scolded, and harassed by you, some change will come about in their minds whereby the Māra Dūsī may find an opportunity.’ Then, when the Māra Dūsī had taken possession of the brahmin householders, they abused, reviled, scolded, and harassed the virtuous bhikkhus of good character thus:523 ‘These bald-pated recluses, these swarthy menial offspring of the Kinsman’s feet,524 claim: “We are meditators, we are meditators!” and with shoulders drooping, heads down and all limp, they meditate, premeditate, out-meditate, and mismeditate.525 Just as an owl on a branch waiting meditate, and mismeditate.525 Just as an owl on a branch waiting for a mouse meditates, premeditates, out-meditates, and mismeditates, or just as a jackal on a river-bank waiting for fish meditates, premeditates, out-meditates, and mismeditates, or just as a cat, waiting for a mouse by an alley or drain or rubbish bin, meditates, premeditates, out-meditates, and mismeditates, or just as a donkey unladen, standing by a door-post or a dustbin or a drain, meditates, premeditates, out-meditates, and mismeditates, so too, these bald-pated recluses, these swarthy menial offspring of the Kinsman’s feet, claim: “We are meditators, we are meditators!” and with shoulders drooping, heads down and all limp, they meditate, premeditate, out-meditate, and mismeditate.’ Now, Evil One, on that occasion most of those human beings, when they died, reappeared on the dissolution of the body, after death, in a state of deprivation, in an unhappy destination, in perdition, even in hell. [335]
14. “Then the Blessed One Kakusandha, accomplished and fully enlightened, addressed the bhikkhus thus: ‘Bhikkhus, the Māra Dūsī has taken possession of the brahmin householders, telling them: “Come now, abuse, revile, scold, and harass the virtuous bhikkhus of good character; then perhaps, when they are abused, reviled, scolded, and harassed by you, some change will come about in their mind whereby the Māra Dūsī may find an opportunity.” Come, bhikkhus, abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with loving-kindness, likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth; so above, below, around, and everywhere, and to all as to yourselves, abide pervading the all-encompassing world with a mind imbued with loving-kindness, abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will. Abide pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with compassion…with a mind imbued with altruistic joy…with a mind imbued with equanimity… abundant, exalted, immeasurable, without hostility and without ill will.’526
15. “So, Evil One, when those bhikkhus had been thus advised and instructed by the Blessed One Kakusandha, accomplished and fully enlightened, then, gone to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty hut, they abided pervading one quarter with a mind imbued with loving-kindness…with a mind imbued with compassion…with a mind imbued with appreciative joy…with a mind imbued with equanimity…without hostility and without ill will.
16. “Then, Evil One, the Māra Dūsī considered thus: ‘Though I do as I am doing, still I do not know the coming or the going of these virtuous bhikkhus of good character. Let me now take po
ssession of the brahmin householders, telling them: “Come now, honour, respect, revere, and venerate the virtuous bhikkhus of good character; [336] then perhaps, when they are honoured, respected, revered, and venerated by you, some change will come about in their minds whereby the Māra Dūsī may find an opportunity.”’527
17. “Then, Evil One, the Māra Dūsī took possession of those brahmin householders, telling them: ‘Come now, honour, respect, revere, and venerate the virtuous bhikkhus of good character; then perhaps, when they are honoured, respected, revered, and venerated by you, some change will come about in their minds whereby the Māra Dūsī may find an opportunity.’ Then, when the Māra Dūsī had taken possession of the brahmin householders, they honoured, respected, revered, and venerated the virtuous bhikkhus of good character. Now, Evil One, on that occasion most of those human beings, when they died, reappeared on the dissolution of the body, after death, in a happy destination, even the heavenly world.
18. “Then, Evil One, the Blessed One Kakusandha, accomplished and fully enlightened, addressed the bhikkhus thus: ‘Bhikkhus, the Māra Dūsī has taken possession of those brahmin householders, telling them: “Come now, honour, respect, revere, and venerate the virtuous bhikkhus of good character; then perhaps, when they are honoured, respected, revered, and venerated by you, some change will come about in their minds whereby the Māra Dūsī may find an opportunity.” Come, bhikkhus, abide contemplating foulness in the body, perceiving repulsiveness in nutriment, perceiving disenchantment with all the world, contemplating impermanence in all formations.’528